Online mass work conference held in SW China's Yunnan

People's Daily Online) 17:20, March 23, 2026

An online mass work conference was held in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, on March 20, 2026.

The event focused on studying and implementing the important directives of Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, including having a correct understanding of governance performance, upholding the Party's mass line in the new era, promoting online mass work platforms, and strengthening mass work through coordinated online and offline efforts.

The event was attended by officials from multiple government bodies, including the Society Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Representatives from Party organizations, government departments and related agencies across 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as experts and scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Tsinghua University, were also present.

Wang Ning, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Yunnan Provincial Committee, addresses an online mass work conference in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 20, 2026. (Yunnan Daily/Zhou Can)

"For four consecutive years since 2023, I have been responding to netizens during the annual 'two sessions,' the meetings of China's top legislature and political advisory body, sharing information on economic development, cultural tourism, long stays in Yunnan and improvement of local livelihoods. Increasingly, more people are paying attention to Yunnan, taking an interest in the province and falling in love with the Yunnan lifestyle," said Wang Ning, secretary of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee.

Xu Lijing, deputy editor-in-chief of People's Daily, addresses an online mass work conference in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 20, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Fu Hao)

Xu Lijing, deputy editor-in-chief of People's Daily, said efforts will be made to upgrade online mass work platforms, enhance their ability and efficiency in addressing public concerns and explore a new model that integrates news, governance and public services.

Wang Quanchun, deputy director of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, addresses an online mass work conference in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 20, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Fu Hao)

Wang Quanchun, deputy director of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, pointed out that efforts should focus on integrating the online mass line with a correct understanding of governance performance, upholding a people-centered governance philosophy and consistently taking people's sense of gain, happiness and security as the ultimate yardstick.

Fan Zhengwei, president of People's Daily Online, released a data analysis report on the Message Board for Leaders covering the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

The report shows that during this period, valid public messages submitted through the platform surged by 178.8 percent compared with the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). More than 3.8 million messages were addressed and responded to by local authorities and government departments.

Fan Zhengwei, president of People's Daily Online, releases a data analysis report on the Message Board for Leaders of People's Daily Online during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) at an online mass work conference held in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 20, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Fu Hao)

Su Zheng, assistant to the dean and research fellow at the Institute of Digital Government and Governance at Tsinghua University, which contributed to the drafting of the report, provided an interpretation.

Conference participants said China has entered a stage of development marked by strategic opportunities, risks and uncertainties. As a vital channel connecting the Party with the public, online mass work platforms are playing an increasingly important role. This channel should be strengthened and fully leveraged, with priority given to advancing think tanks, data capabilities and intelligent technologies.

During the discussion session, guests from places including Jiangsu, Gansu, Anhui, Shandong and Hebei provinces, as well as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, explored how to better leverage public service platforms to support people-centered urban development.

The "Yunnan Initiative," aimed at advancing the online mass line in the new era, is unveiled at an online mass work conference in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 20, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Fu Hao)

At the conference, six grassroots officials from Yunnan jointly unveiled the "Yunnan Initiative," aimed at advancing the online mass line in the new era.

A series of activities on online mass work, including a public call for case submissions, is launched at an online mass work conference in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 20, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Fu Hao)

The conference also launched a series of activities on online mass work, including a call for case submissions on whole-process people's democracy for an AI governance corpus.

In addition to soliciting innovative grassroots governance practices, People's Daily Online will work with universities, think tanks, research institutes and major communication platforms to carry out in-depth case analysis, theoretical research and multi-format communication. The repository will continue to enhance its smart search and usability, evolving into an open platform for case insights, governance research and the sharing of good practices.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
Trump suggests joint control of Hormuz with Iran

Xinhua) 09:55, March 24, 2026

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington had "major points of agreement" with Iran during the weekend talks that proceeded late into the evening Sunday and suggested the Strait of Hormuz could be "jointly controlled."

"We'll see where they lead," Trump told reporters at the airport in West Palm Beach, where he spent the weekend, adding that his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner joined the negotiations.

The president claimed Iran initiated the talks, saying if the talks carry through smoothly, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran would come to an end and the Strait of Hormuz could be "open very soon."

Asked if Iran would still be able to control the crucial waterway, Trump replied that it would be "jointly controlled."

However, Trump declined to identify the Iranian negotiator involved in the discussions with the United States, saying only that Washington is speaking to a "top person" from Iran, but not Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Witkoff and Kushner are negotiating with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, according to U.S. and Israeli media reports, while Iran's Tasnim News Agency denied such reports.

Trump also suggested that there will be "a very serious form of a regime change" inside Iran.

"There's automatically a regime change, but we're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid," he said.

Earlier on Monday, Trump told U.S. media outlets that the United States is "very intent on making a deal with Iran," claiming Iran also wants to make a deal badly.

He also wrote on social media that the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive" talks over the past two days and announced a postponement of planned U.S. strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure.

Iran has denied the existence of such talks, describing Trump's move as an attempt to lower energy prices and "buy time" for his military plans.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
NEW DELHI, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest market research report published by MarkNtel Advisors, the Global Space Cybersecurity Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 10.24% during 20262032. The market expansion is primarily driven by the rising vulnerability of space-based assets to cyber threats, increasing reliance on satellite infrastructure for communication and defense operations, and the growing emphasis on securing mission-critical space systems across both government and commercial domains.

Across global regions, North America dominates the market, accounting for nearly 56% of the total market share in 2026. The region's leadership is supported by strong investments in space defense programs, increasing deployment of advanced satellite constellations, and proactive cybersecurity initiatives led by agencies such as NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. Furthermore, the United States is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of approximately 14% during 20262032, reflecting heightened focus on securing space infrastructure against evolving cyber risks.

Global Space Cybersecurity Market Key Takeaways

The Global Space Cybersecurity Market was valued at around USD 5.19 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow from USD 5.75 billion in 2026 to approximately USD 10.32 billion by 2032, driven by increasing cyber threats targeting satellite communications, navigation systems, and space-based data networks.

By offerings, Solutions accounted for nearly 74% of the market share in 2026, owing to the growing demand for advanced threat detection, encryption, and network protection technologies across space systems. Meanwhile, Cloud Security within solutions is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 17% during 20262032, supported by the increasing integration of cloud platforms in satellite data processing and mission operations.

By end user, the Military & Defense segment held approximately 42% of the market share in 2026, driven by the critical need to safeguard national security assets and ensure resilient space-based communication systems. Additionally, government space agencies such as NASA and ESA are projected to grow at a CAGR of around 10%, reflecting increased investments in secure space exploration and scientific missions.

The presence of leading global aerospace, defense, and cybersecurity companies continues to enhance market competitiveness through continuous innovation, strategic collaborations, and the development of advanced cybersecurity frameworks tailored for space environments.

Download a FREE PDF Sample of the Report:

https://www.marknteladvisors.com/query/request-sample/space-cybersecurity-market.html (Explore emerging cyber threat landscapes in space, advanced security solutions, and key industry developments.)

Key Factors Bolstering Global Demand for Space Cybersecurity

Escalating Cyber Risks Across Expanding Space Infrastructure

The rapid expansion of satellite constellations, coupled with the growing reliance on space-based services such as communication, navigation, and Earth observation, has positioned space infrastructure as a critical pillar of the global digital ecosystem. As dependence on these systems continues to increase, space assets are becoming increasingly attractive targets for sophisticated cyberattacks.

Threats including signal interference, data breaches, spoofing, and unauthorized access to satellite command and control systems pose significant risks to both national security and commercial operations. These vulnerabilities are further amplified by the interconnected nature of modern space systems, where disruptions can have cascading effects across multiple sectors.

In response, governments and private sector stakeholders are placing greater emphasis on implementing comprehensive cybersecurity frameworks to safeguard space assets throughout their entire lifecycle, from launch and in-orbit operations to data transmission and ground-based processing. This evolving threat landscape is accelerating the adoption of advanced cybersecurity solutions, including encryption technologies, intrusion detection systems, secure communication protocols, and real-time threat monitoring platforms specifically designed for space environments.

Advancing Digital Transformation Driving Demand for Cloud-Native Space Security

The increasing integration of cloud computing and digital technologies into space operations is fundamentally transforming how satellite data is processed, stored, and distributed. Cloud-based architectures enable enhanced scalability, faster data analytics, and improved operational efficiency for both government agencies and commercial satellite operators.

However, this digital evolution also introduces new layers of cybersecurity risk, as cloud-connected space systems become more exposed to cyber intrusions, data manipulation, and unauthorized access. The convergence of space and cloud ecosystems is thereby expanding the potential attack surface, necessitating more sophisticated and adaptive security solutions.

Consequently, there is a growing demand for cloud-native cybersecurity frameworks capable of protecting sensitive space data while ensuring secure, seamless communication between ground stations and orbiting assets. This shift toward digitally integrated space operations is expected to play a pivotal role in driving the rapid growth of the cloud security segment, positioning it as one of the fastest-expanding areas within the global space cybersecurity market.

Factors Constraining Market Development

Operational Complexity and Evolving Threat Dynamics Hindering Market Adoption

Despite strong growth potential, the space cybersecurity market faces notable challenges stemming from the inherent complexity of space systems and the rapidly evolving nature of cyber threats. Unlike conventional IT infrastructure, space assets involve highly specialized technologies, extended development timelines, and limited opportunities for post-deployment upgrades, particularly for in-orbit systems.

This complexity makes the design and implementation of effective cybersecurity solutions significantly more challenging. Furthermore, the absence of universally accepted cybersecurity standards for space operations, combined with the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, continues to create uncertainty for industry stakeholders.

Ensuring comprehensive, end-to-end security across satellites, ground stations, and communication networks requires substantial investment, advanced technical expertise, and continuous monitoring capabilities. Therefore, overcoming these challenges will be critical for organizations seeking to develop resilient, secure, and future-ready space ecosystems capable of withstanding emerging cyber threats.

Market Analysis by Offerings, End User & Region

Based on offerings, the Solutions segment dominated the Global Space Cybersecurity Market, accounting for nearly 74% share in 2026. This dominance is primarily driven by the widespread deployment of advanced cybersecurity solutions designed to safeguard satellite networks, command systems, and mission-critical space infrastructure. These solutions play a vital role in enabling real-time threat detection, secure communication, and data integrity across space operations. Furthermore, with the increasing adoption of digital and cloud-integrated architectures, cloud security within solutions is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 17% during 20262032, highlighting a strong shift toward scalable and adaptive security frameworks.

Based on end users, the Military & Defense segment emerged as the leading contributor, capturing approximately 42% of the global market share in 2026. This dominance is largely attributed to the growing reliance on secure satellite systems for defense communication, surveillance, and strategic operations. Rising geopolitical tensions and increasing defense expenditures are further reinforcing the demand for robust cybersecurity in space-based assets. Meanwhile, government space agencies such as NASA and ESA are projected to grow at a CAGR of around 10% during 20262032, driven by expanding space exploration missions and the need to ensure secure and resilient scientific and operational infrastructures.

Regionally, North America leads the Global Space Cybersecurity Market, accounting for nearly 56% of the total share in 2026. The region's leadership is supported by strong government initiatives, substantial investments in space defense programs, and the presence of leading aerospace and cybersecurity companies. In particular, the United States is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 14% during 20262032, driven by increasing deployment of advanced satellite constellations and heightened focus on securing national space assets. Additionally, continuous advancements in space technologies and cybersecurity frameworks are further strengthening the region's dominant position in the global market.

View Full Report (All Data, In One Place): https://www.marknteladvisors.com/research-library/space-cybersecurity-market.html (Explore detailed market analysis, competitive landscape, and growth opportunities)

Strategic Investments and Zero-Trust Innovations Strengthening Space Cybersecurity Resilience

The global space cybersecurity market is witnessing a steady evolution, driven by strategic investments and the adoption of advanced security frameworks aimed at safeguarding critical space infrastructure. In 2024, Booz Allen Ventures invested in Starfish Space to support the development of next-generation satellite servicing and orbital sustainability technologies. This initiative focuses on enabling capabilities such as satellite life extension and end-of-life disposal, thereby enhancing the long-term resilience, reliability, and sustainability of both government and commercial space missions.

Building on this momentum, 2025 has seen increased emphasis on strengthening cybersecurity architectures for space operations. Notably, Xage has continued deploying its zero-trust, identity-first cybersecurity solutions in collaboration with the U.S. Space Force. These solutions are designed to protect critical space assets and ground systems from unauthorized access and evolving cyber threats, ensuring secure and resilient mission operations. Collectively, these developments underscore the growing industry focus on integrating security, sustainability, and advanced technologies to fortify the future of space ecosystems.

Major Companies in the Global Space Cybersecurity Market

Key companies contributing to market expansion and technological advancement include:

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Thales Group

Airbus SE

BAE Systems plc

Booz Allen Hamilton

SpiderOak Mission Systems

Xage Security Inc.

Boeing

RTX Corporation (Raytheon)

L3Harris Technologies

Leonardo S.p.A.

General Dynamics Corporation

Anduril Industries Inc.

Cisco Systems

Global Space Cybersecurity Market Scope

By Type: Network Security, Content Security, Cloud Security, Application Security, Others

By Offerings: Solutions, Systems

By Deployment: On-Premise, Cloud

By Platform: Satellites, Launch Vehicles, Ground Stations, Spaceports & Launch Facilities, Command & Control Centers, Others

By End User: Military & Defense, Government Space Agencies, Commercial Satellite Operators, Telecom & Broadcasting Companies, Aviation & Maritime Sector, Satellite Manufacturers & Launch Providers, Research Institutes & Universities, Others

By Region: North America, South America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific

Browse More Reports on Cybersecurity

Global Automotive Cybersecurity Market: The Automotive Cybersecurity Market size was valued at around USD5.35 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD13.21 billion by 2032. Along with this, the market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of around 13.78% during the forecast period, i.e., 2026-32.

Global Cybersecurity Market: The Global Cybersecurity Market size was valued at around USD 181 billion in 2023 & is estimated to grow at a CAGR of around 10% during the forecast period, i.e., 2024-30.

Malaysia Cybersecurity Market: Malaysia Cybersecurity Market was valued at around USD 1.05 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach around USD 2.17 billion by 2030. Along with this, the market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of around 11.4% during the forecast period, i.e., 2024-30.

Japan Cybersecurity Market: The Japan Cybersecurity Market size was valued at around USD 2.09 billion in 2024 & is estimated to reach USD 4.17 billion by 2030. Along with this, the market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 11.98% during the forecast period, i.e., 2025-30.

Global Military Cybersecurity Market: The Global Military Cybersecurity Market size was valued at around USD 15.5 billion in 2023 & is estimated to grow at a CAGR of around 6.6% during the forecast period, i.e., 2024-30.

About MarkNtel Advisors

MarkNtel Advisors is a leading global market research and consulting firm dedicated to delivering reliable, data-driven insights across a wide range of high-growth and emerging industries. Our research methodology integrates extensive primary interactions with industry stakeholders and domain experts, complemented by carefully validated secondary data sources, to ensure the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of our market intelligence. Backed by deep sector expertise and a team of experienced analysts, we equip organizations, investors, and decision-makers with strategic insights that support informed decision-making, uncover emerging market opportunities, and enable sustainable growth in an increasingly dynamic global business landscape.

Contact Us:

MarkNtel Advisors

Office No.109, H-159, Sector 63, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301, India

Contact No: +91 87199 99009

Email: [email protected]

Website: MarkNtel Advisors



Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2687299/MarkNtel_Advisors_Logo.jpg

SOURCE MarkNtel Advisors
Peter Griffiths worked as a teacher and educationist before moving into television schools programmes Photograph: none (Photograph: none)

From 1976 to 1978, Peter Griffiths was an organiser at the Inner London Education Authoritys English Centre for secondary teachers.

As a very young English teacher at a challenging Ilea school, I appreciated visits to the centre enormously. The programmes and publications were inspirational, providing much-needed ideas and stimuli for everyday teaching. This was largely thanks to Peter, who was ahead of his time.
Shabana Mahmood has accepted that the current system is not fit for purpose - Andy Rain/EPA/Shutterstock

Shabana Mahmood has abolished non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) in their current form after criticism that they were diverting officers into policing tweets rather than the streets.

The Home Secretary has introduced new laws revoking the statutory code that dictates how police should investigate and record NCHIs.

Ministers have accepted police chiefs conclusions, in a review led by the College of Policing, that the current system was not fit for purpose and had undermined freedom of speech and diverted officers from fighting crime.

Next week, the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs Council will unveil a new common sense system to replace NCHIs, designed to ensure officers only investigate and record incidents relevant to their core duties of preventing and solving crime.

An NCHI falls short of being criminal but is perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person with a particular characteristic. The incidents stay on police records indefinitely, and can appear in background checks when people apply for jobs.

The move to scrap them follows high-profile cases such as that of Graham Linehan, the Father Ted co-creator, whose arrest for a series of posts on X was criticised by Donald Trumps US administration as a departure from democracy.

Police forces have also recorded NCHIs against children, including a nine-year-old who called a primary school classmate a retard and two secondary school girls who said another pupil smelt like fish.

Focus on catching criminals

The reforms have been set out by Lord Hanson, a Home Office minister, who told the House of Lords: The growth of social media in particular, and online polarisation, has drawn the police into disputes that fall outside their core duties.

Police officers must be able to focus on catching criminals, cutting crime and ensuring public safety, and the present statutory code has not provided the clarity needed to support that focus. It must therefore be revoked.

He said it would be replaced with a more appropriate framework to ensure any incidents recorded by police were proportionate and firmly focused on the most serious so that police were not drawn into matters where they should not be involved.

It will do this by tightening the definition of an incident, raising the recording threshold, moving from recording all incidents that are a cause for concern to capturing only those that relate to core policing purposes, Lord Hanson said.

Under draft guidance drawn up by the College of Policing, NCHIs would no longer be recorded on crime systems, which would mean they would no longer have to be declared as part of checks in job applications.

Incidents that could be recorded will also be more tightly defined to focus on crime. This means they should be relevant to policing for preventing or solving crime, safeguarding individuals or communities or fulfilling other statutory policing purposes, according to the draft guidance.

Lord Herbert, chairman of the College of Policing, told The Telegraph: There is a clear consensus that the system needs fundamental reform, going back to the original purpose of preventing serious harm while ensuring free speech.

NCHIs will go and be replaced by a better system which will ensure that the police are focused on the right priorities.

NCHIs were originally introduced after the Stephen Lawrence inquiry to ensure that police gathered information to prevent crime, support investigations and protect vulnerable people.

But Lord Hanson said they had expanded beyond their original intention, adding that he believed the new framework would strike the right balance between safeguarding vulnerable communities and protecting lawful freedom of expression by ensuring that recording is consistent and focused on genuine risk.

However, free speech campaigners have warned that a new statutory code was needed to keep police tightly focused on tackling crime rather than spreading into areas they should not.

Police end up buried in red tape

Lord Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, said: The problem with creating the new regime in guidance, unmoored by statute, is that guidance is inherently unstable. It keeps being added to, with different bureaucratic bodies sticking their oars in, and the police end up buried in red tape.

Remember, the current mess  which everyone acknowledges is unfit for purpose  is a result of ever-more voluminous guidance.

In my view, setting limits on what non-crimes the police can record on their databases and potentially disclose in enhanced DBS checks is properly a matter for parliament, given its profound implications for freedom of speech. Its not something that should be left to unelected bureaucrats.
Christopher Trybus, 43, is accused of subjecting Tarryn Baird to violent sexual assaults and controlling behaviour before her death - Ollie Thompson/Solent

A husband accused of raping his wife and driving her to suicide has told a court they had a happy marriage.

Christopher Trybus, 43, allegedly subjected his wife Tarryn Baird to a campaign of violent sexual assaults and controlling behaviour that led her to hang herself.

Giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court, Mr Trybus told jurors that the death of his wife had devastated him and was the most difficult thing I have ever had to deal with in my life by far.

He is on trial accused of unlawfully killing his wife, two counts of rape and one charge of coercive control.

Baird was found dead in the garage of their home in Swindon, Wilts, on Nov 28, 2017.

She made numerous reports of domestic abuse to her GP and support workers in the months before her death, but was fearful of involving the police, the court had previously heard.

Mr Trybus told the court on Tuesday that he met his wife while at school in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Tarryn Baird reported domestic abuse to her GP and support workers before her death

Katy Thorne KC, his barrister, asked him how he felt upon learning of the allegations his wife had made against him.

He said: Its such a conflict for me, you know. I loved her so much and we had a happy marriage, I would never dream she would say these things.

Its so strange for me that she is saying these things and at the same time its landed me in all of this, I cant say I am angry  its such a mix. I feel bad she was in such a place that she was saying these things, what was going through her mind, that she was saying this.

Then there is a little bit, I do not want to go as far as anger, its not anger, its a mix of feelings, I struggle to even put it into words.

The court previously heard that Baird, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, felt unable to escape her marriage and was forced to take her own life to stop the abuse.

She alleged that she had been beaten with a metal pole and, on another occasion, had a rope placed around her neck and tightened.

Mr Trybus, a software developer, allegedly put tracking devices in his wifes car, hid secret cameras, limited her access to money, demanded her phone password and monitored her search history. He is also accused of raping her on two occasions.

Christopher Trybus with his current wife Bea Trybus outside Winchester Crown Court - Andrew Croft/Solent

When asked whether he had ever been viciously violent towards his wife, sexually assaulted her or attempted to control her, he replied: No, absolutely not.

Mr Trybus said that although they used handcuffs and a collar during intercourse, it was always consensual. He told the court that his wife would often play-fight with him and he would pin her up against the wall and this would sometimes lead to sex.

He said his wife liked being tied up after she watched the movie 50 Shades of Grey and got some ideas.

Mr Trybus said they purchased a kit from Amazon, which contained handcuffs, a collar, a whip, a rope and other sex aids. However, he said they only used it once because it caused bruising to Bairds neck.

Outlining her clients case, Ms Thorne told jurors they needed to consider whether Baird was playing a warped game by making false allegations to medical professionals because she was bored.

Ms Thorne said: [They were] a very loving couple living a lovely life, going on nice holidays because they could afford it. But ultimately it was a boring, quite mundane life. And perhaps that was the problem.

The barrister also suggested that Baird may have taken her own life after becoming fearful that the accusations she had made would be pursued by the police.

She said: If it all came out what Tarryn had been saying to all these [professionals] about her loving husband, how could she live with that? You may want to consider all of that.

Mr Trybus denies the charges. The trial continues.
The decision means that Ofcom will investigate complaints of climate change denial on television and radio for the first time since 2017. Photograph: Kevin Foy/Alamy (Photograph: Kevin Foy/Alamy)

A U-turn by the UKs broadcasting regulator Ofcom means it will investigate complaints of climate change denial on television and radio for the first time since 2017. The move marks a victory for campaigners who have accused the regulator of allowing some broadcasters to spout dangerous climate lies and flout rules on accuracy and impartiality.

Complaints about programmes on TalkTV and TalkRadio were assessed by Ofcom, which then decided not to investigate, the same result as more than 1,000 other climate complaints since 2020. However, after a letter from the Good Law Project (GLP) in January, requesting an explanation for the rejections, Ofcom said it had withdrawn its original decision and would consider afresh the complaints.

One complaint was about comments from a Talk guest who said in November that climate change was a deliberate effort to create fake anxiety  out of something that is false. In the second case, also in November, another guest said the Labour governments energy policies were suicidal, driven by pseudoscience in many cases and a kind of cultish behaviour.

A reassessment led Ofcom to conclude its approach to due impartiality in the broadcasts required reconsideration, with the results of the investigations to be published in due course. Ofcom stuck by its decision to not investigate three other climate complaints.

Rightwing channels have been allowed to spout dangerous climate lies, unchecked, for too long, said a GLP spokesperson. Were glad Ofcom is finally listening and await the conclusion of the investigations. Should it fail to take action against Talks misinformation, we will not hesitate to hold them to account.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: In re-examining the programmes, we concluded that they raise potentially substantive issues under the broadcasting code which warrant investigation. We have, therefore, opened investigations [on] whether they breached our rules on due impartiality and material misleadingness. Ofcom said it had also opened another climate-related investigation after a viewer complaint about another TalkTV programme.

A spokesperson for Talk said: We, as we always would, will cooperate with Ofcom in these matters.

The Guardian reported in October that Ofcom had received 1,221 complaints related to the climate crisis since January 2020, when its searchable database began. None resulted in a ruling that the broadcasting code had been breached. Only two such breaches have been found in the last two decades: one in 2007 and one in 2017.

Recent instances not investigated by Ofcom include descriptions of global heating as the climate scam and suggesting the UK government was going to introduce enforced veganism. A GB News interview with Donald Trump in November, which included the US president calling climate change a hoax, prompted 32 complaints to Ofcom.

The regulator rejected them all in February, prompting Chris Banatvala, Ofcoms founding director of standards, to tell the Guardian: It now appears that Ofcom has abandoned any pretence that meaningful regulation of broadcast content is still being maintained. Ofcom also came under pressure on the issue of climate change at a hearing of the energy security and net zero select committee of MPs in January.

The French regulator Arcom has found four broadcasting code breaches related to the climate crisis in the last two years. In one, the rightwing channel CNews was fined 20,000 (17,000) for a segment in which a speaker said climate change was a lie, a scam.

Ofcoms multiple U-turns suggest that even the regulator lacks confidence in its ability to get it right, said a spokesperson for Stop Funding Heat, the campaign group that made the initial climate complaints about TalkTV and TalkRadio.

Ofcoms painfully slow approach highlights how ill-equipped it is to deal with the scale of climate misinformation now flooding our media, he said. Parliament must urgently step up its scrutiny and press for a robust shake-up to make this dysfunctional body fit for the 21st century.

Ofcoms broadcasting code states that factual programmes must not materially mislead the audience and that news, in whatever form, must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. The code further requires that alternative viewpoints must be adequately represented when programme presenters express their own views on matters of political controversy or public policy.
Across Australia and New Zealand, charities and social enterprises face their fair share of pressures, ranging from funding volatility due to shifting donor priorities to skills shortages and digital capability gaps that leave them exposed.

Its not a question of accessibility. Technology has never been more accessible to organisations with limited resources, explains Rhonda Robati, Executive Vice President of APAC at Crayon. But having the ability to absorb it, implement it securely, and integrate it with existing workflows remains a challenge most NGOs lack the resources to tackle internally.

Turning technical capabilities into nonprofit benefit

This is where Crayons innovation-to-impact flywheel comes in. Its a system that turns technical capabilities into scalable solutions that benefit nonprofit organisations, comprising three interconnected programmes: the ISV Innovation Hub, Partner Connections, and Tech for Good.

ISV Innovation Hub is the intake valve. This is where emerging software vendors and specialists in AI workloads, sector-specific applications, security tools, and edge computing get the support they need to become marketplace-ready and channel-ready.

Here, Crayon helps them with Azure, AWS and Alibaba Cloud listings, licensing structures, compliance requirements, and packaging. It also connects them to partners who can actually sell and deploy their solutions, ultimately helping customers find and deploy the technology.

Take Vision Group, a GenAI brought into the Hub. Crayon supported its marketplace onboarding across Microsoft, Alibaba and AWS, then personally introduced the team to partners and end customers.

As Vision Groups founder and CEO, Hui Jie, said: Rather than going to multiple different places, were able to work with Crayon to get what we need. Crayon has been instrumental in the companys ability to reach new markets, connect with and support the NGO customers that are core to its mission to use technology for the betterment of the human race.

Partner Connections provides the distribution muscle. This structured partner-to-partner programme matches Referring Partners, who own the customer relationship, with Premier Service Partners who bring deep delivery expertise.

Crayons role is to support the matchmaking, set up governance and commercial structures, and assist with pre-sales and licensing.

For partners, its a low-risk, low-cost entry point into business applications and other domains. For customers, it provides peace of mind that theyll be able to access the right skills on the right project, and achieve safer, more sustainable delivery.

Then, theTech for Good programme takes all that innovation and partner capacity and aims it squarely at NGOs, charities, social enterprises and public agencies. It aggregates discounted and donated licensing through Microsofts Tech for Social Impact and other vendor programmes, then assembles project teams from across the partner ecosystem to tackle specific challenges.

The innovation-to-impact flywheel in action

Crayon has found that having these three programmes intersect results in powerful outcomes. ISVs from the Hub become differentiating ingredients in Partner Connections projects, which is a grants management application or AI analytics engine bundled into a Dynamics 365 deployment. Meanwhile, Partner Connections gives those ISVs ready-made routes to market theyd never find on their own.

Tech for Good, in turn, functions as a purpose-driven variant of the partner-to-partner model. A local MSP serving a charity becomes the Referring Partner. A specialist in non-profit business applications or security steps in as the delivery partner. Crayon brokers the engagement, brings in discounted licensing, and wraps it in the governance and storytelling that makes impact measurable.

When WEstjustice, a community legal centre, partnered with humanIT and Crayon to enable remote work capabilities, it was able to double its caseload while reducing administrative burden and strengthening security, shares Robati.

In another example, Ability First Australia gained a comprehensive cyber assessment through ONGC Systems. And as a display of sheer innovation, the H2O Salamander amphibious vehicle project supports disaster response capabilities in island nations across the region; Crayons approach has been instrumental in its design and deployment.

Its also an approach that continues to strengthen over time. Each project feeds insights back into the system, and patterns get codified into repeatable offers, to complete the flywheel loop and keep it rolling.

The commercial case for purpose

One reality in NGO work is that profit, for suppliers, is actually a good thing. To some that might seem paradoxical on the surface, but the healthier a business that deals with NGOs is, the more work (and good) it can do.

Crayons flywheel approach doesnt mean suppliers and partners need to sacrifice commercial outcomes for warm feelings. The model supports broader priorities, including Microsofts Tech for Social Impact, AI for Earth commitments, and ESG reporting requirements, while growing cloud consumption and software licensing, adds Robati.

By 2027, Crayon envisions a larger pool of Hub ISVs solving problems across the five focus areas that matter most to the non-profit sector: humanitarian advocacy, public health, environmental protection, economic empowerment and education.

This will mean more partners with repeatable, certified offers for mission-driven organisations. And NGOs across the region reporting measurably higher digital capability and cyber resilience. Innovation will become scale, impact, and a wider range of partners will find that doing well and doing good arent mutually exclusive at all.

Be part of Crayons partner community programs by clicking here.
by Melani Manel Perera

Father Aloysius Pieris died in Sri Lanka at the age of 92. He was the first non-Buddhist to earn a doctorate from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. A scholar of Eastern religions, he founded the Tulana Research Centre in 1974, also very active in social work. He was the first Asian member of the editorial board of the magazine Concilium.

Colombo (AsiaNews)  Father Aloysius Pieris, a Sri Lankan Jesuit theologian, Indologist, and Buddhist scholar, died on Sunday at the age of 92, after a long illness.

He was the founder of the Tulana Research Centre for Encounter and Dialogue in Gonawala, Kelaniya, a suburd in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, where he always led a simple life deeply inspired by faith, rendering a valuable service to the promotion of interfaith harmony.

Known as Father Aloy, he was the first non-Buddhist to earn a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, studying under the influential monk Walpola Rahula.

The Tulana Research Centre for Encounter and Dialogue was founded in 1974 as a vital space for dialogue. More than an institution, over the years, it became a place capable of fostering interfaith relations, artistic expression, and social commitment.

According to Mahinda Namal, a Catholic teacher and social justice activist, the centre fostered deep encounters between Buddhism and Christianity, expressed through the art created by both monks and Christian artists.

Furthermore, Tulana kept social memory alive, commemorating the victims of violence across Sri Lanka's ethnic and religious divides. Through its media initiatives, it also guided young people into the world of film, radio, and theatre, without distinction.

Father Aloy also dedicated himself to establishing a Centre for Education of Hearing-Impaired Children (CEHIC), offering hearing aids and speech therapy as well as promoting the childrens full integration into society.

His efforts to enculturate the liturgy, integrating local cultural forms into Christian worship, have left an indelible mark on the Church of Sri Lanka.

A prolific writer, Father Pieris authored more than 30 books and over 500 research articles. His landmark work, An Asian Theology of Liberation (1988), has been translated into multiple languages and remains influential," said Mahinda Namal.

He also served as editor of Vagdevi: Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue and was a founding editor of the international journal DIALOGUE. He was the first Asian member of the editorial board of Concilium, a prominent European theological journal, Namal added.

Sister Rasika Pieris, a feminist theologian and human rights activist, spoke to AsiaNews about the clergyman.

For her, He was a beloved father who earned respect in the world for his broad vision, filled with profound human qualities that are rarely found in someone who has not only theoretical knowledge but also a vast knowledge and experience of life.

Father Amila Jeevantha, a Catholic priest and human rights activist, shared his thoughts with AsiaNews.

"The first day I met him, at the age of 17, marked a decisive turning point in my life, the beginning of a transformative journey," he said. He encouraged our group of students by convincing us that working fearlessly for justice was not merely a value of life, but a sacred human duty. He laid the foundation for a profound spiritual bond that would transform my life.

Father Jeevantha also remembers moments of tension between Father Aloysius Pieris and Church authorities during the years when dialogue and liberation theology were viewed with suspicion.

I was warned that unless I severed ties with him, I would be expelled from the seminary. Yet this only deepened my affection and attachment to this exemplary priest-teacher, the activist said.

Funeral photo: Thilina Alahakoon
by Nirmala Carvalho

Recently, the state government led by Yumnam Khemchand Singh met with the Kuki-Zo Council for the first time, issuing an appeal to "forgive and forget". The meeting marks a first step towards reconciliation, but tensions and deep mistrust remain between the communities.

Imphal (AsiaNews)  After nearly three years of ethnic clashes, a glimmer of hope for dialogue has emerged in the Indian state of Manipur.

Last Saturday, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh met with representatives of the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) in their first direct meeting since the outbreak of violence in May 2023.

During the event, held in Guwahati, Assam State (a neutral location chosen to ensure greater security for Kuki-Zo ethnic leaders, who are reluctant to travel to the predominantly Meitei Imphal Valley), the parties engaged in initial talks that lasted approximately an hour and 45 minutes, according to the KZC.

The chief minister stressed the need to rebuild trust between ethnic groups (Kuki, Meitei, and the Naga minority), stating that it is essential to forgive and forget" to restore normalcy in the state.

How long can central forces keep guarding people? Until we forget and forgive what has happened, we cannot move forward, Singh said, speaking to the media the next day.

For its part, the KZC delegation touched upon a series of key issues, including the need to reduce tensions between the Kuki and Naga communities, ensure justice for victims of the conflict, and accelerate negotiations with the armed groups that have signed the suspension of operations agreement.

This agreement, first introduced in 2008 and revised in September last year, provides for stricter controls on the possession and use of weapons.

Tribal representatives also emphasised the importance of maintaining a buffer zone in the most sensitive areas until a political solution is reached. Although the government denies the formal existence of such zones, it has acknowledged that some areas are subject to special security measures.

Despite the cautious optimism expressed by Singh, who called the meeting a positive beginning, the situation on the ground remains critical. Thousands of internally displaced persons are still unable to return to their villages, and severe restrictions on movement persist, particularly along the ImphalKohima highway.

Violence erupted in May 2023 after a court decision that opened the possibility of granting the majority Meitei community "Scheduled Tribe" status, sparking protests from Kuki-Zo tribal groups, who fear repercussions on their land rights, access to resources, and overall demographic balance.

Reactions to the chief ministers overtures have been mixed. Some groups, such as Kuki Inpi Manipur, one of the community's main representative bodies, have called the dialogue "political theatrics, accusing the government of trying to avoid responsibility for the "genocidal acts and persecution" carried out in recent years.

This criticism is fuelled by a climate of mistrust, aggravated by the fact that as recently as 2024, the authorities themselves had declared the KZC a "non-existent entity.

However, the KZC delegation reported in its statement that the Chief Minister expressed great appreciation for the KZCs initiative and its bold step in engaging with him during this challenging period.
BEIJING, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Monday urged efforts to build the Xiong'an New Area in North China's Hebei Province into an innovation hub in the new era and a model of promoting high-quality development, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area.

During the inspection, Xi viewed construction progress in the start-up zone and visited China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. and the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School to learn about the development of the Xiong'an New Area.

He also greeted representatives of officials and staff from organizations relocated as part of the projects to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as China's capital, which have moved in or are under construction.

A pilot area

The Monday inspection is Xi's fourth inspection visit to Xiong'an since 2017, according to Xinhua.

The previous visits were made in February 2017 before the establishment of the New Area, in 2019 where he listened to the introduction of the general plan, policy system and construction of the Xiong'an New Area, and in 2023 where he urged new progress for the "city of future" and noted that Xiong'an has entered a phase of advancing large-scale construction and at the same time taking on functions nonessential to Beijing's role as China's capital, per previous Xinhua reports.

Cheered by President Xi's continuous attention to Xiong'an and the latest inspection remarks, Qin Jianing, general manager of a Xiong'an-based tech company, told the Global Times that they now have a clearer direction and greater confidence in developing business.

The Xiong'an subsidiary of Memblaze, an enterprise-class SSD products and solutions provider, will celebrate its first anniversary this March.

According to Qin, technology and innovation enterprises look at two key aspects: one is the business environment, and the other  the most important one  is the regional innovation atmosphere, modern industrial planning, and the development direction of new quality productive forces.

As China embarks on the 15th FiveYear Plan period (2026-30), the company plans to further expand our presence in aerospace storage, AI storage, and other industrial sectors, contributing its part to the inaugural year of the Xiong'an Science and Innovation Center  Xiongzhou Industrial Park, Qin said.

Qin is among many people who pursue a career and a life in Xiong'an New Area, which, since establishment in April 2017, has been transformed: From a stretch of raw land to a mapped plan, and then to a city  a modern new town springing up from the earth.

As of 2026, more than 4,000 Beijing-origin companies have been relocated to Xiong'an, and more than 400 centrally administrated state-owned enterprises have set branches in the city, Hebei Daily reported on March 16.

To nurture an innovative environment, Xiong'an unveiled 16 measures to lower the administrative barriers and facilitate talent to stay and start up businesses in the city. Lower rental costs and supportive policies have attracted many young people, the overseas edition of the People's Daily reported Monday.

In 2026, Xiong'an continues to advance 20 livelihood projects which cover areas such as living environments, transportation and logistics, education and healthcare, elderly and child care, as well as employment support, Hebei Daily reported.

Meanwhile, Xiong'an is becoming greener and more biodiverse. Since 2017, a total of 483,000 mu (32,200 hectares) of new afforested land has been added in Xiong'an, bringing the total green area to 743,000 mu. The forest coverage rate has risen from 11 percent to 35.1 percent, China Central Television reported Saturday.

In the Baiyangdian wetland area of Xiong'an, the number of wild bird species has reached 296, an increase of 90 species since the establishment of the Xiong'an New Area; fish species have recovered to 50, per Hebei Daily. The involvement of AI-monitoring has improved the protection of birds and wildlife, allowing the harmony of human and nature.

The blueprint for Xiong'an pledged to build it into an innovative, green, smart, and world-class city with blue skies, fresh air, and clean water, in line with the country's high-quality development path, according to Xinhua.

As the blueprint is coming real, analysts said this "city of future" is a vivid demonstration of Chinese modernization.

Integrated development

On Sunday, a consignment of ceramic decorations, arrived at Beijing Daxing International Airport on Capital Airlines flight JD488 from Colombo, Sri Lanka, and was transported to and cleared at the Xiong'an Comprehensive Bonded Zone.

With this, Xiong'an New Area officially activated its international air cargo terminal on Sunday with the launch of the NXA airline code, integrating the area into global aviation networks, the People's Daily reported Monday.

The new terminal of Xiong'an is China's first that is "not located at an airport but operates under a comprehensive bonded zone." Its three-letter airline code enables direct air freight handling and customs clearance, and such practice is made possible through close coordination between Xiong'an authorities and Daxing Airport customs.

Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, told the Global Times on Monday that the activation of the international air cargo terminal is establishing Xiong'an as an international air hub and the practice showcased regional industry, logistics, and policy coordination.

This practice is an epitome of how Xiong'an New Area is integrated into the bigger picture of China's development with a global vision, according to analysts.

Cong said that Xiong'an New Area is developing into a high-standard, forward-looking future city. It is playing an increasingly crucial role in building world class urban and industrial clusters within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and propelling coordinated development.

In the process of relieving Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as China's capital, renowned universities and research institutes, major state-owned companies as well as start-ups are relocated to this vibrant area, according to media reports.

Hu Qimu, a deputy secretary-general of the Forum 50 for Digital-Real Economies Integration, told the Global Times on Monday that the integration of the region helps deepen the coordination of industrial, supply, and innovation chains.

Through unified market mechanisms, cross-regional research and development cooperation, and the establishment of innovation-to-industry conversion mechanisms, technological innovation can be accelerated into industrial application, enhancing overall competitiveness, Hu said.

Such integration also breaks down administrative barriers, allowing talent, technology, and capital to flow more freely within the area, which is particularly important for building a robust innovation ecosystem, Hu added.

In the long term, integration is expected to make the Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei region a model of high-quality development, setting the pace for coordinated urban cluster growth, green and low-carbon transformation, and the advancement of high-end manufacturing.

From the gradual concentration of national level scientific resources and policies facilitating entrepreneurship, to efforts to provide better living conditions and environment for residents, Cong believes that looking ahead, the integrated area, with Xiong'an as a key knot, will become a model for high-quality development and provide replicable experience for Chinese modernization.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202603/1357430.shtml

SOURCE Global Times
He was convicted for "inciting subversion of state power" after a trial marked by serious procedural breaches of Chinese and international law. Xie, who has handled several sensitive cases, including religious persecution cases, and has been imprisoned and tortured in the past for his work. The human rights community is calling for his immediate release.

New York (AsiaNews)  China has sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Xie Yang to five years in prison for inciting subversion of state power, Human Rights Watch reported today.

The sentence, handed down yesterday by the Changsha Intermediate Court, is politically motivated, according to the human rights organisation, which also denounced serious procedural violations and called for Xie's immediate release.

The Chinese authorities prosecution of Xie Yang and the courts harsh sentence reflects Beijings utter contempt for the rule of law, said Maya Wang, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. This case not only aimed to persecute a brave human rights lawyer like Xie, but to intimidate all lawyers seeking to protect Chinese peoples rights, she added.

There were several procedural violations. Xie's wife, Chen Guiqiu, reported that the court, in issuing its verdict, referenced several posts made by her husband on WeChat.

The court also ordered the confiscation of 100,000 yuan (about US,500), while the authorities extended the pre-trial detention 13 times, for a total of more than four years, and prevented other lawyers from attending hearings.

In fact, the trial was held in secret last October, and the police only informed the family later.

These procedures not only violated human rights laws but also China's Criminal Procedural Law, which guarantees the right to defence, public hearings, and strict time limits for criminal investigations, Human Rights Watch noted.

Considering the time already served in prison, his sentence is expected to end in January 2027.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention deemed Xie's detention as unlawful and called for his immediate release.

Xie, 54, originally from Changsha in Hunan Province, began practising law in 2011. Since then, he has primarily defended activists and victims of abuse, including cases of religious persecution and land disputes.

He had previously been sentenced to prison for his human rights work. He was detained between 2015 and 2017 and tortured.

In January 2022, he was arrested again after demanding the release of a young teacher, who had also been forcibly held in a psychiatric hospital for criticising censorship in education.

At the time, the police searched his home and charged him with inciting subversion and picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Commissioned by President Mirziyoyev, with 42,000 square metres of exhibition space, it is one of the worlds largest facilities dedicated to the study and promotion of Muslim history, culture and civilisation. Also on display is the Mushaf of Uthman ibn Affan, the oldest manuscript of the Quran.

Tashkent (AsiaNews) - To mark the end of Ramadan and the Nowruz festival celebrating the spring new year, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has inaugurated the new Centre for Islamic Civilisation in Tashkent, which has been under construction for eight years.

The large complex will be open to everyone, featuring a magnificent museum, a Quran hall housing manuscripts unique in the world, and a library; the Religious Administration of Muslims of Uzbekistan has also moved here.

As stated in the official announcement of its opening, the centre represents one of the worlds largest facilities for the study and dissemination of Islamic history, culture and civilisation, so much so that it has been included in the Guinness Book of Records.

The building stands on the grounds of the Khazrati Imam complex, covering an area of 10 hectares, and comprises three storeys, measuring 161 metres in length and 118 metres in width. The dome stands 65 metres high, and the total area open to visitors exceeds 42,000 square metres.

The design of the palace was developed based on architectural ideas proposed by Mirziyoyev himself, as highlighted by the Presidents press office. Entry is via four entrances with large portals, which, together with the external arches, are decorated with ayat (verses from the Quran) and hadith, anecdotes from the life of Muhammad that express ideals of enlightenment, humanism and respect for ones elders. The basement houses a special area for children, a restoration and digital processing laboratory, storage facilities for museum artefacts and rare manuscripts, as well as spacious vestibules.

On the first floor is the museum, featuring a large exhibition hall spanning 8,350 square metres and a 550-seat conference hall. The second floor houses the Muslim Administration, another library with a collection of manuscripts and lithographic sources, printed and digital literature, reading rooms, and spaces for international organisations and scientific institutions.

The spiritual centre of the entire complex is the Hall of the Quran, featuring unique displays centred around a projection mapping hologram beneath the dome, where a starry sky based on an astronomical chart first appears  a view of the night sky over Tashkent. Ninety Swarovski crystals were used to represent the stars, illuminated by 650 light bulbs.

This hall houses the Muskhaf of Uthman ibn Affan, the oldest manuscript of the Quran, included in UNESCOs Memory of the World register, and a collection of 114 rare manuscripts owned by Uzbekistan, created during the reigns of the most important dynasties.

Among them are highly valuable examples from the Samanid, Karakhanid, Ghaznavid, Timurid, Shaybanid and other periods. There are over two thousand ancient sources, and more than 60 Quran manuscripts, both of local origin and acquired at international auctions.

The Centre has already received several accolades from authoritative international organisations and publishing houses, including the French Avicenna award, which ranks it among the top 10 museums in the world; its opening in 2026 is being awaited with growing interest.

The Centres facilities meet the most advanced sustainability criteria, in accordance with the requirements of UNESCO and ICOM, the International Council of Museums. The works on display are explained via QR codes in various formats, with video and audio in three languages, and there are plans to expand this to eight languages.

The large building is designed as a space for social integration, based on the slogan A museum open to all, and a special audio guide for the visually impaired will also be installed, offering various options for independent movement using electronic solutions available via Bluetooth.

Robot guides and other cutting-edge solutions are also being considered, as is already the case in the worlds leading museums, to offer everyone a rich heritage of spirituality, whilst feeling welcomed into a future where technology serves humanity.
Todays headlines: Hong Kong police have new powers to monitor phones and computers; South Korea launches a national energy-saving campaign; The Catholic Church in India criticises a proposed federal amendment on foreign funding: further controls on charitable NGOs; Indonesia places a former minister accused of corruption under house arrest.

IRAN - UNITED STATES

Iran has launched a new wave of missiles against Israel, just hours after Trump described the talks as excellent, a claim denied by Tehran. Trumps surprise revelation prompted a positive reaction from the markets. The US president  who backtracked on the attack against power infrastructure, prompting relief among Gulf states  had stated that his administration is in dialogue with an unidentified prominent figure. Axios reports that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as early as this week.

HONG KONG

The Hong Kong police can now demand that people suspected of breaching the citys national security law provide the passwords to their mobile phones or computers, as part of a further crackdown on dissent. Refusal to comply can result in up to one years imprisonment and a fine of up to HK0,000 (,773), whilst providing false or misleading information can result in up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to HK0,000.

SOUTH KOREA

President Lee Jae Myung has launched a national energy-saving campaign due to the risks the war in Iran poses to oil and gas supplies, stating that public institutions will reduce their use of cars. Restrictions on vehicle use in the private sector are voluntary for now. The government is urging citizens to adopt 12 energy-saving measures, such as taking shorter showers and charging phones and electric vehicles during the day. Seoul will restart five nuclear reactors by May, ease restrictions on coal-fired power stations and expand renewable energy.

INDIA

The Indian Catholic Church has criticised the Indian federal governments proposed amendment to a law governing foreign funding, which would grant greater control over charitable organisations, many of which are run by Christian bodies working for the welfare of the poor and vulnerable. The draft bill amending the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), approved at a cabinet meeting on 18 March, would tighten control over the assets of NGOs.

INDONESIA

Human rights activists have criticised Indonesias State Commission for the Eradication of Corruption (KPK) for allegedly giving preferential treatment to a former government minister accused in a multi-million-dollar corruption case involving the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. The former Minister of Religious Affairs, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, had been arrested and then placed under house arrest, raising fears of a weakening of law enforcement.

RUSSIA - UKRAINE

At the port of Primorsk in the Leningrad region, in north-western Russia, the largest Ukrainian attack since the start of the war took place, involving over 60 drones, which struck a fuel depot causing a massive fire, as confirmed by Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko. Although there were no casualties, the entire staff of the facility  one of the countrys main ones  had to be evacuated.

ARMENIA - TURKEY

Armenias Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, stated that options are being considered to restore links with Turkey through the restoration of the Gyumri-Kars rail and road link, with a fairly dynamic, positive and promising dialogue that concerns not only infrastructure but also the cultural sphere, exploring mechanisms to restore Turkish-Armenian historical sites and landmarks.
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.
24 March 2026 17:13 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Azerbaijan exported 105,290 tons of fruits and vegetables worth $144.39 million in JanuaryFebruary 2026, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, AzerNEWS reports.

This represents an increase of 4,891 tons in volume and $35.39 million, or 32.4%, in value compared to the same period last year, signaling strong growth in the countrys agricultural exports.

Fruits and vegetables accounted for 24.8% of Azerbaijans main non-oil exports during the reporting period, underscoring their key role in export diversification.

Overall, Azerbaijans foreign trade turnover stood at $6.26 billion in the first two months of the year, with $3.66 billion in exports and $2.59 billion in imports. Despite the growth in agricultural exports, both total exports and imports declined year-on-year, reflecting broader shifts in external trade dynamics.
24 March 2026 10:23 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

A new batch of goods is set to be transported to Armenia via Azerbaijan today, marking another step in the ongoing transit operations through the countrys territory, AzerNEWS reports.

The shipment will include four railcars of fertilizer and one railcar of buckwheat. The cargo will pass through Azerbaijan in transit en route to Armenia.

The development follows Azerbaijans decision to lift longstanding restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia. On October 21, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev announced during a joint press statement with Kazakhstans President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev that all limitations on transit shipments to Armeniaimposed since the period of occupationhad been removed. He noted that the first such shipment under the new framework involved the delivery of Kazakh grain to Armenia.

Since then, a series of consignments have been sent through Azerbaijan. On December 18, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) delivered 1,220 tons of AI-95 gasoline to Armenia.

Further shipments followed in early 2026. On January 9, a total of 2,698 tons of cargocarried in 48 railcarswas dispatched, including 1,742 tons of AI-95 gasoline and 956 tons of diesel fuel. Two days later, on January 11, another train consisting of 18 railcars transported 979 tons of AI-92 gasoline.

Transit operations continued in the following months. On February 25, Azerbaijan sent 4,500 tons of diesel fuel to Armenia. On March 5, an additional 31 railcars carrying 1,984 tons of diesel fuel, along with two railcars loaded with 135 tons of Russian fertilizer, were dispatched. This was followed on March 9 by a freight train of seven railcars carrying Russian grain.

Most recently, on March 11, Azerbaijan facilitated the transit of grain shipments totaling 1,023 tons (770 tons net weight), transported in 11 railcars.

These developments underscore a growing pattern of logistical cooperation in the region, as Azerbaijan increasingly positions itself as a transit hub for goods moving toward Armenia.
24 March 2026 13:18 (UTC+04:00)

AzerNEWS Staff Read more

Azerbaijan is ramping up investments in climate-resilient agricultural and food systems, signaling a strategic shift toward sustainable and technology-driven farming.

As reported by AzerNEWS, speaking at an agribusiness forum in Tashkent, Majnun Mammadov, Azerbaijans Minister of Agriculture, highlighted the governments commitment to modernizing the sector through innovation, digitalization, and international cooperation. The forum, titled "Innovations for Sustainable Agroecosystems, Regenerative Agriculture and Digitalization," brought together representatives from Italy, Central Asian countries, and Azerbaijan.

Mammadov emphasized that Azerbaijan is actively strengthening cooperation with Italy and Central Asian partners across multiple sectors, particularly in agriculture. He outlined ongoing reforms and strategic priorities aimed at transforming the countrys agricultural sector into a modern, efficient, and digitally integrated system.

According to the minister, the government is implementing consistent and systematic measures to promote rural development and expand state support mechanisms. "A significant portion of these investments is directed toward digitalization, climate-adaptive practices, and smart agriculture," he said, adding that public support tools are designed to encourage innovation partnerships and the adoption of advanced farming and horticulture technologies.

A key element of Azerbaijans long-term strategy is the reconstruction of its liberated territories, which have been designated as green energy zones. These areas are being redeveloped in line with "smart city" and "smart village" concepts, with climate-resilient agricultural policies forming an integral part of the broader development model.

Forum participants also noted the substantial untapped potential for expanding cooperation in agriculture. Leveraging existing transport infrastructure, free economic zones, and a favorable investment climate could further enhance regional agribusiness ties and value chains.

Discussions at the forum focused on the current state of agricultural systems in Europe and Central Asia, biodiversity conservation, sustainable production models, and the development of skills required for transitioning to resilient food systems. Participants also explored issues such as food security, land and water management, ecosystem protection, inclusive agri-food policies, and the scaling up of digital technologies and innovation transfer.

As part of the event, B2B meetings were held, providing entrepreneurs with opportunities to explore practical avenues for cooperation. The forum ultimately aimed to strengthen long-term business partnerships, facilitate knowledge exchange, and promote mutually beneficial investment projects.
24 March 2026 17:34 (UTC+04:00)

AzerNEWS Staff Read more

Azerbaijan has taken a significant step toward strengthening its agricultural sector by signing a cooperation memorandum with Italys leading farming organization, Coldiretti, and the agribusiness association Filiera Italia.

As reported by AzerNEWS, citing the Ministry of Agriculture, the agreement was signed between Azerbaijans state-owned Agrarian Procurement and Supply OJSC (ATT) and the Italian partners during a series of high-level meetings involving Azerbaijans Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov. The discussions took place on the sidelines of official engagements with Italys Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, and President of the Italian Trade Agency, Matteo Zoppas.

The meetings, held during Mammadovs visit to Uzbekistan, focused on expanding bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector, increasing trade turnover in agricultural and food products, and strengthening ties between business communities in both countries.

Key areas of discussion included the promotion of joint participation in international exhibitions and trade fairs, the transfer of advanced agricultural technologies, and collaboration in agrarian research and education. The sides also emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation in specialized sectors such as winemaking, livestock breeding, and dairy production, alongside broader knowledge and experience exchange.

Both parties expressed strong interest in further developing bilateral agricultural cooperation and enhancing trade volumes in agricultural and food products. The talks reflected a shared commitment to building long-term partnerships that support sectoral growth.

The memorandum outlines strategic directions for future cooperation, with a particular focus on developing a productive, sustainable, and export-oriented agricultural economy. Analysts note that such partnerships with established European agricultural institutions could accelerate Azerbaijans efforts to modernize its agrarian sector, improve value chains, and strengthen its position in global food markets.
Philadelphia Law Firm Earns Dual Recognition as Founder Greg Prosmushkin Receives Sixth Consecutive Super Lawyers Selection and Attorney Jonfranco Esimio Named 2026 Rising Star

PHILADELPHIA, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C. announced that founder Greg Prosmushkin has been selected to Super Lawyers for the sixth consecutive year (20212026), and that personal injury attorney Jonfranco Esimio has been named to the 2026 Rising Stars list. Both honors are awarded through a rigorous peer nomination and independent review process that are reserved for a select number of attorneys in each state making the firm's double recognition a meaningful reflection of its standing in the Pennsylvania legal community.

Jonfranco Esimio Rising Star and Greg Prosmushkin Super Lawyers of the Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin

The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin continues to deliver exceptional personal injury legal assistance and the true depth of their knowledge can be seen at their blog https://gproslaw.com/blog/ .

"I'm grateful for this recognition, but it really reflects the people around me," says Rising Star Jonfranco Esimio. "Greg took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to transition into a new practice area, and our paralegals and staff continue to make sure I have everything I need to keep growing and doing the work the right way. Most importantly, thank you to my wife and family for the constant support and patience that makes all of this possible. In personal injury, some of it's magic and some of it's tragic, but having the right people in your corner makes all the difference."

Attorney Jonfranco Esimio 's selection to the 2026 Rising Stars list adds to that recognition, making 2026 the first year the firm carries both distinctions simultaneously. Rising Stars is awarded to attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been in practice for 10 years or less, and who have demonstrated a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Esimio, a top-rated plaintiff-side personal injury attorney in Philadelphia, earned his law degree from Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in 2017 and was admitted to the bar in 2018.

Philadelphia's Personal Injury Super Lawyers

Super Lawyers evaluates candidates across more than 70 practice areas using a patented multiphase process that includes peer nominations, independent research, and peer evaluations. Selection to the list represents the top attorneys in a state as voted on by their peers. Greg Prosmushkin's six consecutive selections underscore not only his individual accomplishments but the sustained, year-over-year quality of the firm he has built over more than 26 years of practice.

"Every case we take is a battle over truth, justice, and a person's future. I see my role as my client's champion - standing between them and the forces trying to minimize their suffering, and fighting until their voice is fully heard," says Founder Greg Prosmushkin.

Greg Prosmushkin 's selection to Super Lawyers for the sixth consecutive year, spanning 2021 through 2026, places him among a small group of top-rated attorneys in Pennsylvania to earn that distinction year after year. Super Lawyers is awarded through a multiphase process that includes peer nominations, independent research, and peer evaluation, and is limited to a select number of attorneys in each state. Six consecutive selections signals not a single standout year, but a consistent standard of legal practice maintained across more than half a decade.

The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin Response to Philadelphia Traffic Woes

Philadelphia ranks last overall among U.S. cities for drivers in 2026, according to a recent WalletHub study, leading the nation in hours lost to congestion per commuter, while also posting some of the highest accident rates, insurance premiums, and road maintenance costs in the country. For Philadelphia residents, that environment translates directly into real legal exposure: more accidents, more injuries, and more insurance companies presenting lowball offers to people who don't know what their case is worth.

That is precisely the environment The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C. was built to navigate. The firm secured a $500,000 settlement on behalf of a car accident client whose prior attorney had convinced her the case was worth less than $100,000, a fivefold difference that speaks directly to the firm's willingness to fight rather than fold. A $300,000 settlement followed for a Bucks County woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury and wrist injury after falling on an unsafe handicapped ramp, and a $247,500 car accident settlement was secured against an opening insurance offer of just $12,000. These outcomes are not exceptions, they reflect the firm's foundational philosophy that no client should accept less than they deserve.

$500,000 Car Accident Settlement  client's prior attorney had valued the case at under $100,000

$300,000 Traumatic Brain Injury Settlement  Bucks County woman injured after falling on an unsafe handicapped ramp at a convenience store

$247,500 Car Accident Settlement  secured against an opening insurance offer of just $12,000

The firm's breadth of practice extends well beyond personal injury. The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C. represents clients DUI and traffic violations, driver's license suspensions, car and commercial auto accidents , motorcycle and truck accidents, pedestrian and sidewalk accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, dog bites, wrongful death, immigration law, and medical malpractice across both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey. The firm's attorneys bring diverse professional and ethnic backgrounds to their work and offer legal services in English, Spanish, Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian, ensuring that language is never a barrier to quality representation.

The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C. is a top-rated Philadelphia and Trenton law firm with more than 26 years of legal experience, dedicated to achieving the best possible outcomes for every client. Founded by attorney Greg Prosmushkin, the firm provides aggressive, personalized representation across criminal defense, DUI and traffic violations, personal injury, car and truck accidents, immigration law, medical malpractice, slip-and-fall accidents, wrongful death, and more. With attorneys fluent in English, Spanish, Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian, the firm is committed to accessible, client-centered service offering free initial consultations and home or hospital visits for personal injury clients. Offices are conveniently located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey. More info at https://gproslaw.com/

SOURCE Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin
24 March 2026 08:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan has opened for public discussion a draft law aimed at tightening regulations on the advertising of artificial infant nutrition products, AzerNEWS reports.

According to an official statement, the Jogorku Kenesh is considering amendments to the Law on Advertising, initiated by Deputy Toktobubu Ashimbayeva. The proposal seeks to strengthen healthcare legislation and impose stricter controls on how products related to infant feeding are marketed.

The initiative comes amid growing concerns over child nutrition in Kyrgyzstan. Health experts have reported rising cases of malnutrition, stunted growth, and related developmental issues, all of which have long-term consequences for public health and can contribute to higher child mortality rates. Officials argue that aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes plays a significant role in discouraging breastfeeding practices, which are widely recognized as the healthiest option for infants.

One of the key provisions of the bill is the expansion of what constitutes hidden advertising. This includes the use of similar branding, packaging, and visual design elements that indirectly promote infant formula and related products. The draft law also proposes a comprehensive ban on advertising infant formula, complementary foods, bottles, pacifiers, and any items marketed as suitable for newborns or infants under six months, as well as products partially replacing nutrition beyond that age.

Supporters of the bill emphasize that advertising often creates a misleading perception among parents about the benefits of artificial nutrition. According to available data, approximately one in five newborns in the country is given formula within the first days of life, a trend that health officials find alarming.

If adopted, the legislation would bring Kyrgyzstan closer to international recommendations, including guidelines promoted by the World Health Organization, which advocate limiting the marketing of breast milk substitutes and prioritizing breastfeeding as a key factor in improving child health outcomes.
24 March 2026 21:22 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor is recalling 69,060 three-row SUVs in the United States and Canada due to a defect in the system designed to prevent the second and third-row seats from folding onto a person or object, AzerNEWS reports.

The recall affects 2026 models of the Hyundai Palisade Limited and Calligraphy series. Hyundai has submitted the recall request to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and temporarily suspended sales of the affected vehicles in the U.S. following reports of passengers being pinched by the electric rear seatsone of which tragically resulted in the death of a young child.

According to a police report, a fatal incident occurred in Ohio on March 7, when the automatic rear seat of a 2026 Palisade crushed a child, leading to respiratory failure.

From mid-August 2025 to March 9, Hyundai received a total of 17 complaints concerning Palisade seats. Four passengers experienced minor injuries, highlighting the serious safety concerns associated with the defect.

Hyundai has pledged to release a software update by the end of March that will improve the seat systems response to obstacles. In addition, the company plans to implement further safety measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. Experts note that this recall underscores the growing importance of rigorous testing for advanced automotive features, especially as more vehicles adopt automated and electronically controlled components.

Interestingly, industry analysts suggest that this recall could accelerate regulatory scrutiny of power-adjustable seats across all major manufacturers, potentially reshaping safety standards for family SUVs worldwide.
24 March 2026 16:29 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei gave him his "consent and blessing" to agree to a deal with Washington if Tehran's conditions on its nuclear status are met, AzerNEWS reports.

According to people familiar with the matter, the message was conveyed during Araghchi's recent secret exchange with Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Previously, Araghchi claimed that his last contact with Witkoff was before the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran.

The report came after Trump announced his decision to delay airstrikes on Iranian power plants for five days amid recent "productive conversations" between the two sides about a ceasefire and deal.

Meanwhile, it was alleged that Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkiye would mediate the new round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
SAN DIEGO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that the Gartner class action lawsuit  captioned Schmidt v. Gartner, Inc., No. 26-cv-00394 (D. Conn.)  seeks to represent purchasers or acquirers of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) common stock and charges Gartner as well as certain of Gartner's executive officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Gartner class action lawsuit, please provide your information here:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-gartner-inc-class-action-lawsuit-it.html

You can also contact attorney J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Lead plaintiff motions for the Gartner class action lawsuit must be filed with the court no later than May 18, 2026.

CASE ALLEGATIONS: Gartner provides business and technology insights for decisions and performance on an organization's mission-critical priorities.

The Gartner class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the class period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) defendants created the false impression that they possessed reliable information pertaining to Gartner's contract value ("CV") growth potential and projected Consulting segment revenue outlook while also minimizing risk from seasonality and macroeconomic fluctuations; (ii) defendants highlighted that the environment among "tariff impacted companies" was "starting to improve," generating "more certainty" in the demographics, which allegedly would result in the opportunity for continued CV growth for Gartner; and (iii) while tariff impacts continued to ease and settle and companies were acting with more certainty, Gartner's non-federal CV growth would fall even further as its Consulting segment revenue faltered below Gartner's long-held projections.

The Gartner class action lawsuit further alleges that on August 5, 2025, Gartner announced its second quarter fiscal 2025 earnings, revealing that its overall CV growth declined from 7% the previous quarter to only 5%; and, the ex-federal CV growth declined from 8% the previous quarter to merely 6%. On this news, the price of Gartner stock fell more than 27%, according to the complaint.

Then, on February 3, 2026, the Gartner class action lawsuit alleges that Gartner announced a significant decline in its CV growth rate, which had faltered another 2% including and excluding federal contracts, and for the first time disclosed a significant shortfall of its Consulting segment's performance against Gartner's internal projections. On this news, the price of Gartner stock fell nearly 21%, according to the complaint.

THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased or acquired Gartner common stock during the class period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the Gartner class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Gartner investor class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Gartner shareholder class action lawsuit. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff of the Gartner class action lawsuit.

ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the world's leading law firms representing investors in securities fraud and shareholder rights litigation. Our Firm ranked #1 on the most recent ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report, recovering more than $916 million for investors in 2025. This marks our fourth #1 ranking in the past five years. And in those five years alone, Robbins Geller recovered $8.4 billion for investors  $3.4 billion more than any other law firm. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs' firms in the world, and the Firm's attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest ever  $7.2 billion  in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. Please visit the following page for more information:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/services-litigation-securities-fraud.html

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.

Contact:

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

J.C. Sanchez

655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101

800-449-4900

[email protected]

SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 46F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
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
Access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access.

Ruth Bass is an award-winning journalist. Her website is ruthbass.com . The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle.
New data shows global air quality progress stalling as wildfire smoke and climate change intensify global air pollution. Despite some regional improvements, major data gaps remain, with only a fraction of the global population having access to hyper-local, real-time air quality information.

STEINACH, Switzerland, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- IQAir today announced the release of its 8th annual World Air Quality Report, offering a comprehensive analysis of 2025 global air pollution data and highlighting persistent health risks, emerging regional trends and critical monitoring gaps worldwide.

For this year's report, IQAir analyzed data from monitoring stations across 9,446 cities in 143 countries, regions and territories. The report adds 12 countries and territories not included last year, seven of which appear in the dataset for the very first time, marking continued expansion of global air quality monitoring coverage.

Comparing this year's report to the previous year, 54 countries experienced increases in annual average PM2.5, 75 saw reductions and two remained unchanged.

Key findings from the 2025 World Air Quality Report:

Only 14% of global cities met the World Health Organization (WHO) annual PM2.5 guideline of 5 g/m, down from 17% the previous year.





Only thirteen countries and territories met the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline: French Polynesia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados, New Caledonia, Iceland, Bermuda, Reunion, Andorra, Australia, Grenada, Panama and Estonia.





130 out of 143 countries, regions and territories (91%) did not meet the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline value.





The five most polluted countries were Pakistan (67.3 g/m), Bangladesh (66.1 g/m), Tajikistan (57.3 g/m), Chad (53.6 g/m) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (50.2 g/m).





Loni, India, was the most polluted city, recording an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 112.5 g/m - a nearly 23% increase from 2024 and more than 22 times the WHO guideline.





Nieuwoudtville, South Africa, was the world's cleanest city, with an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 1.0 g/m.





The world's 25 most polluted cities were all located in India, Pakistan and China, with India home to three of the four most polluted.





The most polluted major U.S. city was El Paso, Texas. Southeast Los Angeles, California was the most polluted region in the United States. Seattle, Washington was the cleanest major U.S. city.





2025 marked the second consecutive year in which no cities in East Asia met the WHO PM2.5 guideline. Pollution patterns in China indicate a westward shift in elevated concentrations.





Europe saw mixed air pollution trends in 2025, with 23 countries recording higher PM2.5 concentrations and 18 seeing declines, while winter wood burning, summer transboundary smoke from Canadian wildfires and Saharan dust worsened seasonal pollution.





In Latin America and the Caribbean, air quality trends were largely positive: 208 cities recorded decreases in annual PM2.5 concentrations, 95 increased and nine remained unchanged.





Oceania remained one of the world's cleanest regions with 61% of cities meeting the WHO guideline, though record-breaking cold in New South Wales, Australia in June 2025 led to seasonal PM2.5 spikes.

Wildfires, intensified by climate change, played a major role in degrading global air quality in 2025. Record wildfire biomass emissions from Europe and Canada contributed to approximately 1,380 megatons of carbon being released. In Northern America, Canada was more polluted than the United States for only the second time in this report's eight-year history, as its second-worst wildfire season on record affected air quality across Canada, the United States and parts of Europe.

In the United States, annual average PM2.5 levels increased to 7.3 g/m, compared to 7.1 g/ m the previous year. Smoke from wildfires in both Canada and the U.S. raised averages across parts of the Great Lakes states in the summer and in the Pacific Northwest in the fall.

El Paso was the most polluted major city in the United States. Historic dust storms triggered a 46% increase in average PM2.5 levels to 11.4 g/m as the city recorded the highest number of major pre-summer dust storms since the 1930s. The Southeast Los Angeles region (Cudahy, East Los Angeles, Huntington Park), heavily impacted by wildland-urban interface fires, ranked as the most polluted area in the country. Seattle remained the cleanest major U.S. city for the second consecutive year, with an annual average of 4.5 g/m.

Across Europe, 23 countries recorded increases in annual average PM2.5 concentrations, 18 recorded decreases, and one was newly added. Switzerland and Greece experienced increases exceeding 30% due to transboundary wildfire smoke from Northern America and Saharan dust from Africa. Malta recorded the largest decrease at nearly 24%.

The end of the United States State Department's global air quality monitoring program at embassies and consulates in March 2025 caused millions to lose access to this trusted air quality data. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) reported monitoring efforts in 44 countries were weakened and six were left without any monitoring.

"Air quality is a fragile asset that requires active stewardship to protect public health," says IQAir Global CEO Frank Hammes. "The 2025 World Air Quality Report makes clear that without monitoring, we cannot fully understand what's in the air we breathe. Expanding access to real-time data empowers communities to act. By reducing emissions and addressing climate change, we can drive meaningful, lasting improvements in global air quality."

The 2025 report underscores the importance of expanding air quality monitoring networks, particularly through low-cost sensors that empower communities, researchers and policymakers with actionable data.

"The World Air Quality Report reveals two competing realities: an air pollution crisis and the rise of communities, scientists and data working to meet the challenge," states Dr. Aidan Farrow, Senior Scientist, Greenpeace International. "In 2025, familiar culprits like industrial agriculture, wildfires and fossil fuels left their mark in the data collated by IQAir worldwide. This open, transparent data is an essential tool for holding polluters accountable and securing a healthy environment for everyone."

IQAir's 2025 World Air Quality Report serves as a global benchmark to understand air pollution exposure, inform policy decisions and accelerate collective efforts toward cleaner air worldwide.

To download the 2025 World Air Quality Report, CLICK HERE.

To watch IQAir's video "Understanding IQAir's 2025 World Air Quality Report: A Global View," CLICK HERE.

About IQAir:

IQAir is a Swiss technology company that empowers individuals, organizations, and governments to improve air quality through information, collaboration, and intervention.

Media contact:

Armen Araradian

[email protected]

+1 (562) 252-8224

SOURCE IQAir
Nova IVF Fertility partners with Kerala-based Craft Fertility

March 24, 2026 | Tuesday | News

Collaboration will see the launch of 10 new centres over the next 35 years

Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH)-owned Nova IVF Fertility is expanding its footprint in Kerala through a strategic acquisition of a 30-year-old, most trusted fertility provider - Craft Fertility. This collaboration will see the launch of 10 new centres over the next 35 years, blending Nova's rapid growth with Crafts trusted clinical excellence to provide advanced fertility solutions across the state.

This acquisition builds on Nova IVFs momentum of growth and expansion. By integrating advanced IVF lab capabilities, international standards of care, and AI-driven embryology are set to deliver even more precise and superior clinical outcomes for couples.

The science of reproductive medicine is advancing at a very fast pace globally. The strong clinical and patient-centric approach followed by both enterprises promises to bring more advancements to fertility & IVF care to patients in the country, said Vishal Bali, Executive Chairman, Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH).

This partnership arrives at a critical juncture as Kerala's fertility rate has dropped to approximately 1.351.7 children per woman, well below the replacement level of 2.1", said Prof. Dr. C. Mohamed Ashraf, Chairman and Medical Director, at CRAFT Hospital & Research Centre.

Commenting on the partnership, Shobhit Agarwal, CEO, Nova IVF Fertility, said, With the drop in fertility rate in the state there is growing awareness of fertility treatments in Kerala and we believe this partnership will provide new generation clinical protocols and technologies like AI based embryo selection to IVF patients in the state. Collectively, we will expand our presence to 10 cities in the state.

India currently performs 2.53 lakh IVF cycles annually. Over the past decade, the science of IVF in India has evolved significantly, moving from a niche treatment to a more widely accessible and technology-driven solution for infertility.

Advances in reproductive medicine including improved embryo culture techniques, vitrification (egg and embryo freezing), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and the integration of AI-led embryo selection have enabled improved success rates.
Quality Care India signs MoU with Intuitive to expand robotic-assisted surgery in Tier 2 & 3 markets

March 24, 2026 | Tuesday | News

To expand access to minimally invasive care across specialties

Quality Care India Limited (QCIL), one of Indias leading healthcare platforms, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Intuitive, a global technology leader in minimally invasive care and pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), to scale robotic-assisted surgery across its multi-brand hospital network comprising CARE Hospitals, KIMSHEALTH and Evercare Hospitals through a phased multi-system installation plan.

The initiative will strengthen clinical capabilities while extending advanced minimally invasive care to patients in tier 2 and tier 3 markets. The expansion of robotic-assisted surgery aligns with QCILs broader strategy to strengthen advanced surgical infrastructure in emerging healthcare markets.

This collaboration will help scale its adoption across additional centres, strengthening clinical capacity and access to robotic-assisted surgery for patients across regions. The expanded deployment will support surgeons and care teams in delivering robotic-assisted procedures across specialties, including Thoracic, Transplant, urology, gynaecology, general surgery, and surgical oncology.

As part of the MoU, Intuitive will provide comprehensive technology training, customer service, and support to surgeons and care teams across QCILs network hospitals, strengthening programme adoption, procedural consistency, and scalable implementation across centres. The QCIL hospitals to have a faster recovery & precise surgery, thereby improving clinical outcomes.

There are currently over 200 da Vinci systems installed across India, with more than 1,500 surgeons trained in robotic-assisted surgery in specialties such as gynaecology, urology, general surgery, and oncology. Collectively, there have been more than 16.9 million da Vinci procedures performed globally to date, with more than 43,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles referencing da Vinci and related technologies. Intuitive has supported over 35 clinical studies in India, generating local evidence that supports structured and evidence-based program development across institutions.
Blockchain For Impact partners with CSIR- National Chemical Laboratory and IISER in Pune

March 24, 2026 | Tuesday | News

To build stronger innovation pipelines within Indias biomedical and healthcare ecosystem

A new partnership has been announced between Blockchain for Impact (BFI) and CSIR- National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), aimed at accelerating translational biomedical research and enabling healthcare impact. At its core, this collaboration is about moving promising science beyond the lab, into pathways that can shape better diagnostics, therapies, and patient outcomes.



The projects being supported under this partnership are geared toward addressing critical disease areas:

 Glioblastoma, through innovative metabolic modulation strategies

 Sickle cell anemia, via next-generation hemoglobin modulators

 Heart failure and osteoarthritis, through development of a biosimilar

By enabling research and facilitating its journey toward application, this partnership seeks to build stronger innovation pipelines within Indias biomedical ecosystem.

In addition, BFI has partnered with the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune to further efforts in translating biomedical research.



This collaboration is anchored in advancing a deeper understanding of disease biology. The supported project uses advanced models and analytical techniques to understand how metabolic and immune systems interact, with the aim of identifying new targets for earlier diagnosis and improved treatment of chronic inflammatory liver diseases.



Through this partnership, BFI and IISER Pune seek to strengthen pathways that connect discovery led research with real impact, contributing to effective healthcare solutions.
Karnataka govt names Dr Bhaskar Rajakumar as CEO of Centre of Excellence in Health Tech and MedTech

March 24, 2026 | Tuesday | News

To strengthen Karnatakas health technology and medical technology ecosystem

The Department of Information Technology (IT) and Biotechnology (Bt), Karnataka Government has announced welcomes the appointment of Dr Bhaskar Rajakumar as the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre of Excellence in Health Tech and MedTech. The Centre of Excellence for Health Tech and MedTech will serve as a facilitator to strengthen the growing health and medical ecosystem through capacity building and capability enhancement. Its primary focus will be to foster innovation, support startups, and attract funding in the Health Tech and MedTech sectors through industry collaboration.



Dr Rajakumar holds an MBBS and MD degree, along with an MBA, an Executive Development Programme in Strategy from IIM, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy. He brings extensive experience at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and public policy.



As the CEO, He will lead the Centres efforts to strengthen Karnatakas health technology and medical technology ecosystem, promote innovation, foster industry partnerships, and support the development and adoption of advanced healthcare solutions across the state.

Dr Rajakumar has served as the Programme Director of the AI & Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK) in Bengaluru.


Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute.

Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno.

Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi.
Built for banks and enterprises, the solution combines Liminal's MPC-based authorization with Securosys' certified HSM infrastructure.

SINGAPORE, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Liminal Custody, a secure digital wallet and custody infrastructure platform, today announced the launch of Liminal HSM Vaults, a new institutional-grade solution designed to meet the security, control, and compliance demands of banks and enterprises entering the digital asset market.

Liminal Custody and Securosys Launch Liminal HSM Vaults- a New Security Standard for Digital Assets

Developed in partnership with Securosys, the Swiss cybersecurity and encryption specialist, Liminal HSM Vaults combines Liminal's patent-pending Multi-Party Computation (MPC) authorization protocol with the proven security of Securosys Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). The solution was demonstrated using the Securosys Primus HSM E-Series, backed by FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification (FIPS 140-3 Level 3 in process).

The institutional digital assets sector is experiencing significant growth, with assets under management (AUM) projected to exceed $10 trillion by 2030, according to Boston Consulting Group. This expansion is increasing the demand for certified, enterprise-grade security infrastructure within banks and large-scale enterprises. Additionally, the global Hardware Security Module (HSM) market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6% through 2030, a trend largely attributed to the financial services sector's requirement for compliant cryptographic infrastructure.

As financial institutions expand into digital assets, they face a defining challenge: adopting new asset classes without compromising the governance, resilience, and trust standards expected in traditional finance. Liminal HSM Vaults addresses this directly - uniting hardware-rooted protection with distributed authorization to deliver a defense-in-depth architecture that strengthens key control, minimizes single points of failure, and enables policy-driven authorization at institutional scale.

"At Liminal, we believe the future of institutional custody will be defined by security models that are both deeply resilient and operationally flexible," said Mahin Gupta, Founder and CEO, Liminal Custody. "With Liminal HSM Vaults, we have combined the static security of the HSM with the distributed security of MPC to deliver a solution that stands apart. Our banking and enterprise customers can now manage digital assets with the level of confidence, control, and assurance they expect from mission-critical infrastructure."

Liminal HSM Vaults enables institutions to incorporate both online and offline devices into the authorization process, while embedding teams across compliance, security, and custody operations directly into transaction workflows. The system generates cryptographic proofs that allow the HSM to verify each authorization as valid, correctly issued, and aligned with internal policy controls.

"Securosys is proud to partner with Liminal Custody to help institutions secure their digital asset operations with greater confidence," said Robert Rogenmoser, CEO of Securosys. "By combining the certified protection of Securosys Primus HSMs with Liminal's innovative MPC-based authorization model, Liminal HSM Vaults delivers the security, governance, and cryptographic trust that banks and enterprises need to scale digital asset services responsibly."

Liminal HSM Vaults is designed for banks, custodians, fintechs, and enterprises seeking stronger key sovereignty, resilient authorization workflows, and secure digital asset operations at scale.

For more information, users can visit https://www.liminalcustody.com/hsm-vault/ .

About Liminal Custody

Liminal Custody is a digital asset management infrastructure platform, certified with ISO 27001 & 27701, and SOC Type 2 standards, offering secure wallet infrastructure and custody-technology solutions for institutions across the digital asset spectrum. Headquartered in Singapore, with offices across India, UAE, and Taiwan, Liminal serves clients across the globe, helping them scale and manage digital asset operations securely and in compliance with regulatory standards.

About Securosys

Securosys SA, based in Zurich, is a global leader in cybersecurity, encryption and digital identity protection. Their Swiss-built Hardware Security Modules (HSM) secure financial markets, serving over half of the Tier 1 banks worldwide. Certified to the highest standards, their on-premises and cloud HSM solutions offer secure key generation, encryption, digital signing, and post-quantum readiness for finance, healthcare, government, and other industries.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/15LET2kAvk0?si=mSwZQ6lNPwh

Contact

AVP- Global Brand and Communications

Aanandita Bhatnagar

Liminal Custody

[email protected]

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2940865/Liminal_HSM_Vaults.jpg

SOURCE Liminal Custody
Alabama-based behavioral health network deepens its commitment to clinical excellence and community partnership through NBCC-accredited CE programming at locations across the state.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Longleaf Recovery and Wellness, a growing behavioral health network serving communities across Alabama, is proud to announce its accreditation through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and an expanding portfolio of continuing education (CE) events designed for licensed mental health and substance use disorder professionals throughout the state.

The NBCC accreditation recognizes Longleaf as a provider of high-quality, board-approved continuing education and signals the organization's standing not just as a place of healing for clients, but as a trusted resource and collaborative partner for the clinical community at large.

Operating under the Longleaf Recovery and Longleaf Wellness brands, the network includes locations in Baldwin County, Huntsville, and Birmingham, as well as Birmingham Recovery Center. Across these sites, Longleaf has built a clinical culture that prioritizes both outcomes-driven care for clients and the ongoing professional development of providers throughout Alabama.

A Commitment to Evolving Clinical Practice

What distinguishes Longleaf's approach to behavioral health is a genuine commitment to staying current. The clinical team actively pursues knowledge across a wide range of modalities and emerging areas of research, adapting care strategies to reflect both evolving evidence and the real, individual needs of every client. The CE programming that Longleaf now offers to outside providers is an extension of that same internal drive.

These events have featured presentations from Longleaf's own clinical staff alongside specialized expertise brought in from across the region. The result is a learning environment that reflects the breadth of experience Longleaf has cultivated and the value the organization places on honest, ongoing dialogue within the provider community.

"Continuing education is not a box to check. It is the difference between a clinician who understands a diagnosis and one who truly understands the person sitting across from them. At Longleaf, we take that seriously, not just for our own team, but for the broader provider community we are privileged to be a part of. When we invest in learning together, across organizations and across disciplines, we build the kind of clinical culture that actually changes outcomes. That is what we are committed to, and that is what this programming represents."

Ian Henyon, LPC | Chief Operations Officer, Longleaf Recovery and Wellness

Bringing Regional Expertise to Alabama Clinicians

Past CE events have included a presentation from Jeff Wilson, LADAC II, MSW of Cumberland Heights in Nashville, one of the country's most respected residential treatment programs for addiction. Dr. Matt McKenzie led a session on Motivational Interviewing, a foundational evidence-based approach to supporting clients through ambivalence and toward lasting change. Most recently, Victoria Barbier, LPC led a sold-out training in Baldwin County on professional burnout. These conversations reflect the caliber of dialogue Longleaf is committed to facilitating for Alabama's provider community.

Looking ahead, Longleaf's Huntsville location will host an upcoming CE event featuring Brenda Keller, LPC, CEO of Smoky Mountain Lodge Residential Treatment Center and The Stables Autism Program, both programs under Pasadena Villa. Keller's session, "Fostering Independence, Social Integration, and Safety for Neurodivergent Clients," will explore comprehensive approaches to supporting individuals on the autism spectrum, including strategies for nurturing independence, fostering social integration, and reducing the risk of isolation, and co-occurring mental health concerns. The workshop will be held April 2nd from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Longleaf Recovery Huntsville and will offer 1.5 NBCC-approved continuing education hours. Registration is required through Eventbrite.

"What makes this CE programming special is not just the quality of the content, it is what it says about how we see our role in this community. Behavioral health does not exist in a vacuum. The more we can bring providers together around shared expertise, the better we serve the people who need us most. Partnering with specialists from outside our organization gives us all a wider lens, and that perspective shows up in the care we deliver every single day. We are proud to be building something that benefits the entire region, not just Longleaf."

John Giannetto | Chief Development Officer, Longleaf Recovery and Wellness

Reputable Care, Shared Knowledge

Longleaf's CE programming reflects a broader organizational philosophy: that the highest-quality care emerges from a clinical community that learns together. By creating space for shared expertise across disciplines and organizations, Longleaf aims to raise the bar for behavioral health treatment across Alabama, not just within its own walls.

For clients and their families, this commitment means care that is not static. It means treatment teams who are actively engaged in the field, informed by the latest research and real-world clinical experience, and driven to meet each person where they are with the most thoughtful, effective tools available.

For clinicians across the state, it means a seat at the table, access to timely, accredited education, and a network of providers who take the work seriously.

About Longleaf Recovery and Wellness

Longleaf Recovery and Wellness is a behavioral health network operating across Alabama under the Longleaf Recovery and Longleaf Wellness brands, with locations serving Baldwin County, Huntsville, and Birmingham, alongside Birmingham Recovery Center. Longleaf provides individualized, evidence-based treatment for substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions, with a clinical approach rooted in compassion, community, and continuous growth. Longleaf is accredited by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7709.

Media Contact:

Sophi Clarke

Director of Marketing | Longleaf Recovery and Wellness

[email protected] | 859-619-3561

www.longleafcenters.com

SOURCE Longleaf Recovery & Wellness
Volkswagen is in talks with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defence Systems over a deal that would shift production at the carmaker's Osnabrueck plant from cars to missile defence, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the plan.

The companies aim to convert the German factory to make components for the Israeli state-owned group's Iron Dome air defence system, the report said.

VW said it continued to explore solutions for the factory, adding that while it was in discussions with market participants it ruled out the productions of weapons.

Germany's defence ministry declined to comment.

Volkswagen wants to sell or reconfigure the site, which employs around 2,300 people, after the end of T-Roc Cabriolet production in 2027 as part of a wider revamp.

Talks with Rheinmetall about a sale stalled late last year, but Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said earlier this month that the company remained in talks with defence companies over a solution for Osnabrueck. - Reuters
Young Harry Potter walks towards the Hogwarts quidditch pitch in a red and gold Gryffindor cloak bearing his name in the first look at the new TV series about the wizard.

The highly anticipated series will star Dominic McLaughlin in the role that made Daniel Radcliffe a household name.

Each season of the HBO show will be a faithful adaptation of the books by JK Rowling, who is an executive producer.

The first image shows Harry from behind as he makes his way to the pitch, behind a large group of students.

Large flags for school houses Gryffindor and Hufflepuff hang from the outside of the pitch.

The hooded cloak he is wearing bears his surname and his player number, seven.

The Instagram post is captioned Tomorrow, alongside a lightning bolt, hinting that more information about the show is imminent.

Advertisement

Not featured in the picture are Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron.

Nick Frost in character as Rubeus Hagrid (Aidan Monaghan/HBO/PA)

The three children were cast in the starring roles after a casting call saw around 32,000 children audition for the lead roles, with the team reviewing up to 1,000 tapes a day.

Also among the cast will be Nick Frost as the friendly groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu as Professor Severus Snape and US star John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore.

Ozark actor Janet McTeer will star as Professor Minerva McGonagall, British stage actor Luke Thallon will play the first books main antagonist Quirinus Quirrell, and Welsh comedian and actor Paul Whitehouse will play the magic-less Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry caretaker Argus Filch.

Warwick Davis will return to Hogwarts to reprise his film role as Professor Filius Flitwick.

The show is expected to air on new streaming service HBO Max in Ireland in 2027.
Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page has said it was delightful to reunite with Irish actress Nicola Coughlan during the Saturday Night Live UK premiere.

Page, 38, starred alongside Coughlan in the first season of the Netflix period drama as Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings.

The pair appeared separately during the launch of the UK version of the US comedy show which saw Page ask out the host Tina Fey during one of the sketches while Coughlan made jabs at the comedian during her opening monologue.

Speaking about how it felt to reunite with Coughlan, Page told the Press Association: Delightful. Lovely to see Nicola again.

She was so funny and her comedy chops are wonderful.

The night was amazing. I got to act with Tina Fey which kind of made my life.

Rege-Jean Page arriving for the special screening of You, Me & Tuscany at the Ham Yard Hotel in London (Ian West/PA)

And it was a joy to go step in and help kick that show off because I think it is a really good opportunity for British comedy, for British writers.

Everything about the evening was wonderful.

Advertisement

Coughlan interrupted Feys opening monologue to ask: If its SNL UK then why are you our first host?

Shouldnt it be a British icon like David Beckham or Dame Judi Dench or Shrek?

Wait, Shrek is British? Fey asked and Coughlan, 39, elicited a laugh from the crowd with her response as she said: Scotland is in Britain Tina, educate yourself.

Following her stint on the show, she posted a photograph of herself alongside Fey and said: My life is made.

Thank you SNL UK and congratulations on a very excellent first show, total joy.

The first episode also featured guest appearances from TV presenter Graham Norton and Canadian actor Michael Cera.

Page is also known for the 2025 drama Black Bag and stars in the upcoming rom-com You, Me and Tuscany alongside Halle Bailey.
The EU and Australia finalised a long-awaited free trade deal on Tuesday as Europe seeks to diversify its export markets and expand ties beyond its traditional partners.

Here are the highlights of the agreement:

Agriculture

Tariffs will go down to zero from day one for key EU export products such as wine and sparkling wine, some fruit and vegetables, including preparations and fruit juices, chocolate, sugar, confectionery and ice cream and many processed agricultural products.

Tariffs on EU cheese will go down to zero over three years.

The EU will also remove tariffs on most Australian agricultural products including wine, nuts, fruit and vegetables, honey, olive oil, most dairy products, wheat, barley and seafood.

Australian beef, sheep meat, sugar, rice, wheat gluten, skimmed milk powder and natural butter will get either new or expanded tariff rate quota volumes.

Advertisement

Protected European products

Under the agreement some EU 'geographical indications' names for products such as Pecorino Romano or Ouzo, will be fully protected after a relatively short phasing-out period.

For some other products such as feta or gruyere, prior Australian users having used the term in a continuous manner for at least five years can retain the right to use the terms assuming that the origin of the product will be clearly labelled.

Producers who make and sell Prosecco wine in Australia will be allowed to continue doing so domestically. Exports will be stopped after 10 years.

Automobiles

Australia to fully liberalise market access for all EU passenger cars and other vehicles, with the exception of a few tariff lines on trucks, for which duties will be gradually removed over a short period.

Australia will also increase the luxury car tax threshold for EU electric vehicles to A$120,000 (103,500). Approximately 75 per cent of electric vehicles from the EU will be exempted from paying the luxury car tax.

Critical minerals

EU to eliminate tariffs on imports of Australian critical minerals and hydrogen. Australia to open up investment opportunities in this sector to Europeans.

Services

The deal will make it easier for EU firms to sell services in Australia, including in professional and business services, maritime transport, and financial services. The agreement will reduce and eliminate discrimination and expand opportunities for EU and Australian service providers and investors.

Investments

EU investors to receive the most favourable treatment accorded to any foreign investor in Australia, and in most cases to be treated in the same way as Australian investors. Both EU and Australian investors will be able to establish their companies and operate them freely, in each other's territories.
Around a dozen people are in a historic city council-owned building next to the former vegetable market in north inner city Dublin, the High Court heard.

One of the occupants, Jem Cleaver, has been involved since 2015 in a number of other High Court cases over alleged illegal occupations of vacant buildings in the city.

Last week, the building owner, Dublin City Council, was given permission to serve proceedings on "unknown persons" in alleged illegal occupation of Arran House, East Arran Street, which is to be refurbished for commercial purposes, along with the planned reopening of the vegetable market building.

The house is a three-storey structure built around 1890 and formerly used for commercial purposes. The council intends to use it again for commercial purposes ancillary to the market.

It is on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, which highlights structures of historical, artistic or technical significance and which is used for recommendations for inclusion in the Record of Protected Structures.

Advertisement

On Tuesday, Jem Cleaver appeared in court saying the first that was known of the city councils case was when there was a report about it in a newspaper.

Ireland Father who subjected six children to 'terrible' cruelty and repeatedly locked one in chest freezer is jailed Read more

Cleaver said there were around a dozen people in occupation of the building. Cleaver sought time to reply to papers just received from the council and also wanted time to seek legal advice.

Mr Justice Brian Cregan said he would adjourn the matter for three weeks. Cleaver asked that the case be put in for mention in order to advise on the position regarding obtaining legal advice.

The judge said if a replying affidavit was not ready by that date, an explanation could be given as to why it was not ready.

He also made interim orders that there be no interference with the fabric of the building after the city council expressed concern about asbestos in the roof and health and safety issues.
The Government could "finesse" the VAT on home heating costs because people in rural Ireland are paying more than city dwellers, Kevin McPartland, CEO of Fuels for Ireland has said.

People who heat their home with gas pay 9 per cent VAT, while those who use oil pay 13.5 per cent VAT.

I dont understand why that is the case, he told RTE Radios Today with David McCullagh show.

Sixty per cent of homes in rural Ireland heat their homes with oil, so are paying more.

What this means is that people in rural Ireland are paying more VAT to heat their homes than people who live in Dublin.

So that's one thing that government could do. I know it would take a little bit of finessing with the European Union in terms of changing VAT levels, but the Spanish changed the VAT levels this week on fuel.

Advertisement

It's not impossible, and it's something that government really needs to be looking at now.

McPartland described the governments reduction on excise rates as a knee-jerk response.

I now need to hear from government what the non-knee-jerk response is. We have been saying for a long time that we need an expert group to review the total taxation and compliance costs the government controls. That means that fuel in Ireland is more expensive than almost anywhere else in the European Union.

We need to do that now. It's absolutely urgent. So I really hope that when the Minister makes the announcement of this particular policy intervention today, he will also say that we're going to have that strategic, considered look, so that we're not going from knee-jerk to knee-jerk response."
The HSE must find alternative placements for several vulnerable Irish patients after being unexpectedly told they should be removed from a mental health hospital in England due to safety concerns.

High Court president David Barniville, under whose orders some of the patients have been placed at St Andrews Healthcare in Northampton, said the decision by the UKs National Health Service (NHS) earlier this month came as a bolt from the blue to the HSE and the court.

The judge noted the HSE has made enquiries and has identified no concerns relating to Irish patients.

In its published letter of March 9th, NHS England told its commissioners to identify alternative placements for inpatients at St Andrews Northampton site.

This followed enforcement action against the charity hospital last December on foot of two inspection reports that rated the service inadequate.

Advertisement

The second report raised significant concerns about culture at the organisation and the processes that allow staff to speak up, NHS England said.

NHS England said it still did not have adequate assurance that patient safety was improving at the necessary rate. Its concerns about patient safety remained by March 9th, so it must act now to ensure patients receive the care and treatment they deserve, it said.

Barniville on Tuesday reviewed the cases of seven Irish patients who have been placed at the hospital on foot of High Court orders secured by the HSE.

Patients are generally only placed abroad when their specific needs cannot be met by providers in this State.

The HSEs barrister, Paul Brady, said NHS Englands decision of March 9th came as a shock to the Irish health service and appears to have been a surprise to St Andrews too.

He said the HSE believed Irish patients were safe and benefitting from the service. No safety or welfare concerns have been identified relating to the Irish patients, the court heard.

The HSE is trying to refer the individuals to other services while simultaneously seeing if they can be part of arrangements being made by NHS England. Brady said the priority since the news broke has been to ensure patients receive continuity of care.

Despite significant engagement by the HSE, Brady said, it still doesnt understand the specific reasons for the NHS England decision other than those communicated publicly.

Barniville noted there have been no concerns communicated about the welfare of Irish patients at the hospital.

Advertisement

While one patient is due to return to Ireland, he said the HSE faces a headache to source alternative UK placements for the others. He noted the HSE and its solicitor Katharine Kelleher have been working tirelessly to get to the bottom of the situation.

Ireland Father who subjected six children to 'terrible' cruelty and repeatedly locked one in chest freezer is jailed Read more

The HSE hasnt even been able to obtain from the NHS what precisely was the reason for its decision, he said, adding that welfare reports have been issued for some of the Irish patients and there is no immediate risk to any of them.

One of the patients mothers told the court, through tears, that it was unacceptable she was first learning through the court that the HSE plans to remove patients from St Andrews.

She questioned why the HSE was following a decision it did not understand and said the service has been home for her son for several years after he was exported out of Ireland.

The judge said no decisions about individual placements have been made and nothing will be done without prior court approval. He is due to receive further updates about the situation in mid-April.
A native Irish speaker described to gardai how he "smacked" a granite stone off his 78-year-old grandfather's head outside his home in the Donegal Gaeltacht before using a cement block to "finish it off", a Central Criminal Court jury has heard.

Opening the prosecution's case on Monday, Patricia McLaughlin, along with Fiona Crawford, told the trial that the accused Derek Mulligan was the victim of serious sexual abuse at the hands of a school caretaker when he was a child and has suffered with a litany of mental health difficulties since his teenage years.

McLaughlin said that expert consultant psychiatrists for both the State and defence are in agreement that the accused was suffering from a mental disorder when he killed his grandfather.

Mulligan (39), with an address at Carrickcoyle, Derrybeg, Gweedore in Co Donegal, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of his grandfather Derek Burns (78) at Carrickcoyle on December 19th, 2023.

Advertisement

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Detective Garda Paul Dolan, of Milford Garda Station, told McLaughlin that officers arrested Mulligan and interviewed him three times. He said the accused admitted assaulting his grandfather and causing the injuries that led to his death.

Interviews

In his interviews, Mulligan told gardai he had gone to his grandfather's on December 17th to be somewhere safe, as he was sitting in his own house when "black spiders" started to appear on the roof. "I was only going up there for a visit like," he said.

Mulligan said he just went up to Burns' to get "a fag" off him but his grandfather was in no mood to talk to him. He called the deceased "a grumpy old bast**d" but went on to say: "I love my grandad, he is all I had left, he is the only one I had left."

The accused told gardai that he could hear a lot of voices in his head and they were saying "you have to kill him, you have to kill him".

Mulligan told himself that he was not going to hurt an "old man" but that he "just grabbed him" and threw Burns to the ground. The accused said he had "kinda lost it" and was "battering and battering and battering" his grandfather.

He said he gave Burns a couple of kicks when he was on the ground. He also said he had thrown a rock and brick at him.

Asked what had he thrown at him, the accused said "I hit him in the f**kin head man". He said "as an old man of course he went down straight away".

Advertisement

Asked how many times he had hit him, the accused said 10. The accused said he was scared of himself when he snapped and that he "always" heard voices. He said he was only at his grandfather's house for three minutes and that he now felt guilty and sad.

The accused told officers in his second interview that he was walking away when "something said you have to finish him off". He said he then picked up a granite stone, went back to his grandfather and "smacked it" off his head. He said it had taken two hands for him to carry the stone.

I was demented like I was just a possessed man.

The accused said he had tried to stab his grandfather with a pitchfork before he got the stone but it wouldn't go through the body and was "bouncing off him", so he threw it away. "I tried putting it through his head but looked like it was just bouncing like he had rubber skin or something".

"I was demented like I was just a possessed man," the accused said.

Mulligan said he picked up "a cement block to finish it off" and threw the block on his grandfather's head. He said all he could see was blood coming out of Burns' head.

The accused told gardai he had gone off his medication about three months prior to this and thought by doing this, it would "see his nana proud of him".
The Governments package of energy supports has been criticised as simply not enough by opposition politicians.

The Coalition signed off on a temporary excise duty reduction for motor fuels, expansion of the diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and bus operators, and an extension of the fuel allowance in response to rising fuel prices in the wake of the war in the Gulf.

Various changes combined should result in an effective reduction of 22 cent for diesel and 17 cent for petrol, with the Government expecting this to be reflected at the pumps within hours.

The fuel allowance will be extended until May, meaning 470,000 households will receive the weekly payment of 38 for an extra four weeks.

The cost of fuel and home heating oil has spiked in Ireland since the US and Israel bombed Iran; Irelands consumer watchdog is examining reports of price gouging and is due to produce a report for the government in two weeks.

Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald called for more to be done (Niall Carson/PA)

McDonald told the Dail that after relentless pressure from Sinn Fein  prompting laughs from the government benches  limited measures to skyrocketing prices had been announced.

When households needed a government of action, they got your do-nothing government, McDonald said.

Advertisement

Clearly, Taoiseach, your plan was to ride this one out.

Your package today had to be dragged out of you and still you come to the table with half measures.

She said the reductions in motor fuel dont go far enough, the fuel allowance extension was paltry, and the standout failure was for the 750,000 households that rely on home heating oil.

A measly cut of two cent a litre is an insult  it amounts only to a 20 on a fill that now costs around 1,700; a drop in the tank, she said.

You could have, and should, completely remove excise on home heating oil that would provide these households with the meaningful relief. But instead, you choose to leave them high and dry.

The Taoiseach said the oil supply shock was a sobering reality (Niall Carson/PA

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the oil supply shock was a sobering and significant reality and said the Government has no intention of being reckless amid the crisis.

Every government is limited in terms of what it can do in situations like this.

All of the international advice from the ECB, IMF and so on, is to target temporary, affordable measures, because we dont quite know whats around the corner.

He added: You believe in really allocating about 2-3 billion right now.

What do we do in October? What do we do in December, if the consequences of this crisis continue?

Advertisement

He then said it was probably one of the more generous packages being developed across Europe and then compared it to the energy supports offered in Northern Ireland.

Martin blamed the finance and economy ministers in Stormont, Sinn Feins John ODowd and Caoimhe Archibald, for the supports offered in the region, which were announced by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week.

I dont know what instructions youve given to your own ministers in Northern Ireland, he said to McDonald.

I think a total of 30 is the only benefit to upcoming bills, you cant decide where an additional 17 million that is available is to go.

So youve two ministers in charge of this brief in Northern Ireland and I would just ask you compare their performance to what were doing here.

Its no comparison and poor enough leadership from your party who are in charge of that operation.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that the package of supports was simply not enough and too little and very late.

Martin became exercised when the discussion of an energy storage facility arose.

Its rubbish to suggest we shouldnt put in an LNG facility in this country, absolutely nonsense.

If anything happened to gas connectors in this country with the United Kingdom, this economy wouldnt survive beyond 10 days. Thats the reality. Thats the advice weve received from an energy security (body).

Social Democrats leader Cian OCallaghan said that there was almost nothing in the measures announced on Tuesday for low-income households reliant on home heating oil.

Ireland Government confirms temporary fuel supports Read more

Your government, having spent weeks and weeks reviewing situation, has come in today, and is doing the bare minimum, he said.

He said a targeted 400 payment should be announced for 800,000 low-income households and would cover people who are not in receipt of the Fuel Allowance and would provide a much greater level of support for pensioners, carers and disabled people.

Your government hasnt even bothered examining this proposal, he said.
The EU and Australia have agreed to a free-trade deal, concluding almost a decade of talks.

The conclusion of negotiations for the agreement was announced Tuesday in Canberra by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ursula von der Leyen, the EUs top executive.

This is a comprehensive, balanced and commercially meaningful agreement which will reduce costs for Australian consumers and open new markets for Australian producers, Albanese told reporters. It is win-win. It eliminates tariffs on key Australian exports including wine, seafood and horticulture.

The deal has been welcomed by Fianna Fail MEP Billy Kelleher, who described the deal as "good for both sides" and has said that "it should be supported by all".

"Trade deals of this nature, like the EU-India deal, bring benefits to both sides and recommit participants to a rules-based international order that is consistent, fair and clear," Kelleher said.

Advertisement

Ireland was right to oppose Mercosur for our own particular reasons. I do not believe the same issues arise with the Australian deal - MEP Billy Kelleher

The free-trade deal concludes almost a decade of talks as the two sides push to tighten ties and renew a rules-based order that is under assault from the Trump administration.

Once the text is adopted by the European Council it will need to be signed by both sides and then ratified by their respective parliaments to enter into force, according to a statement from the European Commission.

Kelleher said: Ireland was right to oppose Mercosur for our own particular reasons. I do not believe the same issues arise with the Australian deal, and I firmly believe there should be no hesitation from the Irish Government when it comes to supporting it in principle as we await full ratification.

Ireland lives and dies by free and fair trade. We are an open, global trading economy. Deals of this nature are a boon for countries like Ireland.

Add in the fact that Ireland is without doubt the EU country most closely connected both politically, culturally and soon, economically with Australia, then we are on to a real winner.

Ireland lives and dies by free and fair trade. We are an open, global trading economy. Deals of this nature are a boon for countries like Ireland - Kelleher

Kelleher said he is calling for people to "publicly get off the fence" and "put their money where their mouth is" to support the deal.

No trade deal is 100 per cent perfect. Both sides need to compromise but the issues that caused me to oppose Mercosur do not apply in this deal.

I have significantly more confidence in the quality and safety of Australian food products and there is no risk of deforestation or displacement of indigenous populations.

Advertisement

It must be full steam ahead. We all need to diversify our markets and protect ourselves from political and economic shocks in our existing export markets, said Kelleher.

Explained Key points of the EU-Australia trade agreement Read more

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee has welcomed announcement.

"The Australian market is an attractive option for Irish exports and this trade deal will deliver areas of tariff reduction that will benefit Irish industry across a wide range of sectors, while also opening the Australian services market to the EU.

"I am very keen to see the Irish-Australian trade and economic relationship fulfil its potential.

It is estimated that EU exports to Australia will increase by 33 per cent over the next decade, and McEntee said that "Irish companies will be at the heart of this.
Opening March 26, 2026, in MCHC's newly renovated WayFinder Wing, the immersive exhibition invites visitors to explore Maryland history through touch, sound, scent, observation, and discovery.

BALTIMORE, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) will be unveiling WayFinders: Making Sense of Our World, a new permanent exhibition designed for children, families, and school groups, opening Thursday, March 26, 2026, in the newly renovated first floor of the Thomas & Hugg Building. As part of the new WayFinder Wing, the 5,000-square-foot exhibition invites visitors to explore Maryland's past and present through hands-on, sensory experiences rooted in curiosity, observation, and place.

A New Way to Experience Maryland History

WayFinders reflects the kind of history experience we want to create at MCHC, one that invites children and families to participate, ask questions, and see themselves in the story, said Katie Caljean, president and CEO of MCHC. At a time when Maryland and the nation are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of American independence, this exhibition offers a meaningful way for visitors to connect with the people, ideas, and experiences that shaped our world and continue to shape it today. The new WayFinder Wing is located on the first floor of Thomas & Hugg Memorial Building at the Maryland Center for History and Culture and is supported by a major $2M renovation of the 1965 building. The newly renovated wing includes a refreshed France Hall Auditorium, the T. Rowe Price Community Gallery, a makerspace classroom, and WayFinders: Making Sense of Our World, a new 5,000-square-foot permanent exhibition. At the heart of the new wing is WayFinders: Making Sense of Our World, a new permanent exhibition for children and families also opening on March 26, 2026. Designed for visitors ages 5-11 and their families, the exhibition invites a hands-on, sensory exploration of Marylands history.

Created with family learners at the center, WayFinders encourages visitors ages 5 and up and their families to engage with history beyond just sight. Throughout the exhibition, children and adults can touch, listen, smell, look closely, build, experiment, and create as they encounter stories connected to Marylanders who made sense of their world through their senses. The exhibition is designed as a hands-on, multi-generational learning environment with short, family-friendly interpretation, multiple entry points for different ages and abilities, and a non-linear path that invites exploration.

"WayFinders reflects the kind of history experience we want to create at MCHC, one that invites children and families to participate, ask questions, and see themselves in the story," said Katie Caljean, president and CEO of Maryland Center for History and Culture. "At a time when Maryland and the nation are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of American independence, this exhibition offers a meaningful way for visitors to connect with the people, ideas, and experiences that shaped our world and continue to shape it today."

An Exhibition Anchored in Curiosity and Discovery

At the center of the exhibition is a sculptural WayFinding Tree, an interactive anchor that connects visitors to the exhibition's core idea: that wayfinding is not only about maps and directions, but also about how people use their senses to navigate the world around them and lead others. Surrounding the tree are immersive stations and experiences inspired by featured historical figures, including Mary Katharine Goddard, Benjamin Banneker, Charles Willson Peale, and Mendes Cohen, as well as the Indigenous Peoples of Maryland, whose voices and knowledge ground the exhibition in Maryland's landscape and the enduring presence of Indigenous communities.

"WayFinders brings history to life through sensory, hands-on experiences that encourage visitors to explore with curiosity and intention," said Catherine Rogers Arthur, vice president of collections and chief curator for the Maryland Center for History and Culture. "By combining objects, environments, and interactive moments inspired by historical anchor figures, the exhibition gives children and families new ways to discover how people used observation, creativity, and tools to make sense of a changing world."

What Visitors Will See and Do

Visitors can begin their journey at a "WayFinder Toolkit" station, where they can pick up a sketchbook, magnifier, compass, stool, or a Find-It board before exploring the gallery. Inside, they can turn clock gears inspired by Benjamin Banneker, calculate cicada cycles, explore a tactile plan of Washington, D.C., smell the difference between a healthy and unhealthy beehive, set their names in type like Mary Katharine Goddard, fold a colonial letter, try a bucket elevator inspired by Charles Willson Peale's Exhumation of the Mastodon, create silhouette stories in a shadow play theater, and sketch the landscape like Mendes Cohen.

The exhibition also opens with Indigenous Peoples of the Chesapeake, which introduces visitors to the land, waterways, relationships, and knowledge systems that shaped this region long before Europeans established permanent settlements here. Developed with guidance from MCHC's Indigenous Advisory Panel, this section affirms that Indigenous peoples are the original WayFinders of the Chesapeake. It reinforces the continuity of Indigenous presence, culture, and knowledge in Maryland today.

A New Family Destination at MCHC

In addition to the exhibition itself, the broader WayFinder Wing introduces a new family-centered destination within MCHC, including updated visitor amenities and dedicated spaces for making, gathering, and learning. The first-floor renovation includes updated restrooms, a nursing room, a public lunchroom, a classroom makerspace, the T. Rowe Price Community Gallery, and a refreshed France Hall Auditorium, expanding MCHC's ability to serve children, families, educators, and community partners in more interactive and welcoming ways.

The opening of WayFinders also comes during the lead-up to America's 250th anniversary in 2026 and Maryland's statewide 250 commemoration. In that moment, the exhibition offers a family-centered way to connect Maryland history, place, and identity across generations.

Opening Week and Visitor Information

WayFinders: Making Sense of Our World opens to the public on Thursday, March 26, 2026, with a public opening day and ribbon-cutting at 12 p.m. MCHC will also host a WayFinder Weekend Workshop on Saturday, March 28, with additional hands-on experiences for children ages 5 and older and their families with free Museum admission between 1 and 4 pm. For the Weekend workshops, families should register to attend at www.mdhistory.org/calendar/wayfinder-family-workshop-weekend.

ABOUT THE MARYLAND CENTER FOR HISTORY AND CULTURE

The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) collects, preserves, and interprets the history, art, and culture of Maryland. Originally founded as the Maryland Historical Society in 1844, MCHC inspires critical thinking, creativity, and community through its Museum, Library, and education programs. The Museum is open Wednesday-Sunday, 10 am-5 pm. The H. Furlong Baldwin Library is open Wednesday-Friday and the second Saturday of each month. Learn more at mdhistory.org.

SOURCE The Maryland Center for History and Culture
Plans to cut fuel and oil prices from midnight tonight, as well as the guilty plea of a self-declared ISIS supporter who stabbed a garda and conducted an arson attack on Conor McGregor's pub are the main stories this Tuesday morning.

A company in Co Limerick, Aughinish Alumina, supplies vast amounts of raw materials to Russian aluminium smelters, according to a new investigation by the Irish Times. The smelters supply aluminium to a Moscow-based trading company which is bought by dozens of arms companies that make weapons for Russias war in Ukraine, including tanks, cruise missiles and bombers. And the prices of oil and diesel are to set to be cut from midnight tonight as the energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East deepens.

The Irish Examiner also covers the 250m package that is set to come into effect tonight, cutting prices at the pumps until the end of May. An investigation is underway into the activists group of jihadists linked to a man who stabbed a garda and carried out an arson attack on Conor McGregor's pub. And a Cork teenager who has developed a web-based maritime surveillance platform to predict the movements of ships that evade conventional tracking systems is being tipped for a national student award.

Advertisement

Cork City Council has agreed to waive more than a third of the 800,000 owed in derelict site levies on the site of a former Magdalene laundry, in what has been branded a "disgrace", according to The Echo.

The Irish Independent also looks at the package to cut fuel costs - which will not include any energy credits like those that were introduced in response to the war in Ukraine.

The Irish Daily Mirror reports that motorists have been warned that the measures announced tonight may take days to lower prices at the pumps.

The Irish Daily Mail also covers the fuel measures.

The Irish Daily Star leads with the man who stabbed a garda and carried out an arson attack on Conor McGregor's pub, who pleaded guilty on Monday.

The Herald also has this story, reporting that the man said that the attacks were "a message for the Government and a message for Conor McGregor".

And finally, the Belfast Telegraph leads with the tragic case of Natalie McNally. On Monday, a jury took just over two hours to unanimously find Lisburn man Stephen Mccullagh guilty of killing his pregnant partner in December 2022.
Air strikes have battered Irans capital and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israels Tel Aviv and sites across the Middle East, even as President Donald Trump said the US was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.

With thousands more US marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing intense barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the wars tempo remained high a day after Mr Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehrans chokehold on that crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and threatened the world economy.





Pakistan offered to host diplomatic talks, but Iran remained defiant, vowing to fight until complete victory.

Any talks between the US and Iran  which appeared at the most tentative on Tuesday  would face monumental challenges.

Advertisement

Many of Washingtons shifting list of objectives  particularly over Irans ballistic missile and nuclear programmes  remain difficult to achieve.

Meanwhile, it is not clear who in Irans government would have the authority to negotiate  or be willing to, particularly as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the February 28 strikes that started the current war.

Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X that his country is ready to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks to end the Iran war.

The US had agreed in principle to join talks in Pakistan, according to three Pakistani officials, one Egyptian official and a Gulf diplomat, while mediators were still working to convince Iran.

One diplomat from the region said the talks could happen this week or early next week, and that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to represent the US. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.



Rubble covers the furniture of a destroyed living room in a residential building hit in an earlier US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran (Vahid Salemi/AP)

The Pakistani officials said the quiet diplomacy had grown more complicated since news of it leaked.

The US State Department declined to comment on the reported efforts and referred instead to Mr Trumps comments about talks he says are under way directly between Iran and the US.

Advertisement

When asked about potential talks in Pakistan, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was a fluid situation, adding that speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House.

Later on Tuesday, Mr Trump said the US is in negotiations right now, and that Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner are involved in the talks, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

Mr Tump also said Iran has shared a present as show of faith.

Asked if he trusts the Iranians Mr Trump said he does not trust anybody but alluded to receiving a gift that he said suggested were dealing with the right people.

They gave us a present, and the present arrived today, Mr Trump said speaking at the White House.

It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. And Im not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize.

Pressed for more detail, Mr Trump said it was oil and gas-related but went no further. It was a very nice thing they did. But what it showed me is that were dealing with the right people.



Donald Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday (Alex Brandon/AP)

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchis office said he has been talking about the war this week with his counterparts in several countries.

But Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf called the idea of negotiations fake news  and the spokesman of Irans top military command issued a newly defiant statement.

Advertisement

Irans powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Irans integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory, Iranian state television quoted Major General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi as saying on Tuesday.

Gen Aliabadi did not say what complete victory would look like, but it appeared likely Irans military was trying to warn against offering concessions in any possible negotiations.

The Egyptian official said efforts are centred on trust-building between the US and Iran, with the aim of bringing about a pause in the fighting.



Israeli security and rescue forces respond at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

Israel is not involved.

The official, who is involved in the efforts, said the priority is to prevent attacks on both Irans and Gulf Arab countries energy infrastructure and that they were working on a mechanism for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks.

But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back over 100 dollars a barrel on Tuesday, up nearly 40% since the war started.

Mr Trumps announcement came as a contingent of thousands of marines is on the way to the region, raising speculation that the US may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to the countrys oil network.

The US bombed the island in the Persian Gulf more than a week ago, hitting its defences but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.

Advertisement

Iran has threatened to mine the Persian Gulf if the US appears to be on the verge of landing troops.



(PA Graphics)

That would complicate an amphibious assault and also imperil all shipping in the area.

Mr Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Irans power stations while talks unfold  a delay that could be timed to coincide with the arrival of US marines in the region, expected on Friday, wrote the New York-based think tank the Soufan Centre in an analysis.

However, the centre also noted that Trump could be actively seeking an offramp. Whether Iran reciprocates is yet to be seen.

Mr Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out.

Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.

Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian production sites, without providing more information.

In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighbourhoods and another in the centre of the city.



Israeli security forces at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

Iran also fired at least 10 waves of missiles at Israel.

First responders said a 40 year-old man was in a moderate condition and a woman and two-month-old baby suffered minor wounds in an attack in southern Israel.

In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100 kilogram (220lb) warhead evaded Israeli defences to slam into a street in the centre of the city, blowing out windows of a neighbouring apartment building and sending smoke billowing.

Four people suffered minor wounds, rescue service worker Yoel Moshe said.

Emerging from a shelter, Amir Hasid said he expected the scene to be far worse.

It feels like youre a (sitting) duck, waiting for the missiles to hit you, or someone next to you, he said.

In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours.



(PA Graphics)

A Moroccan civilian contractor with the United Arab Emirates armed forces was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack, the UAE Defence Ministry said.

In Kuwait, power lines were hit by air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours.

Saudi Arabia said it destroyed Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Israel pounded Beiruts southern suburbs on Tuesday, saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.

A strike on a residential apartment south east of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a three-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Another five people were killed in the south.

In northern Israel, a woman was killed by shrapnel during an attack from Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanon declared Irans ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave by Sunday.



A man stands on the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli air strike in Dahiyeh, in Beiruts southern suburbs, Lebanon (Hussein Malla/AP)

The dramatic move offers the latest evidence of the deterioration in relations between Lebanon and Iran.

Iranian flights have been banned from landing in Lebanon, out of fear that they would carry weapons or funding for Hezbollah, and some Lebanese government officials have been critical of Tehrans role in the country, accusing it of dragging the country into another war with Israel.

Israel has said that some of its strikes have targeted guard officials operating in the country.

Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million.

Irans death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said.

In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes.

At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.
The Iran war is a "disastrous mistake" that breaches international law, Germany's president said on Tuesday in an unusually blunt rebuke of US president Donald Trump's foreign policy, which he said marked a rupture for German ties with its biggest post-war ally.

In a scathing verbal attack, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose largely ceremonial role allows him to speak more freely than politicians, took a far more critical line than chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has skirted questions on the war's legality.

"Our foreign policy does not become more convincing just because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law," Steinmeier, a former foreign minister from the centre-left Social Democratic Party, said in a speech at the foreign ministry.

"We must address this with regard to the war in Iran. For, in my view, this war is contrary to international law," he said, adding he had little doubt that the justification of the imminent nature of an attack on US targets did not hold water.

Advertisement

Calling the war unnecessary and a "politically disastrous mistake", Steinmeier said Trump's second term marked a rupture in German foreign relations as profound as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Just as I believe there will be no going back in relations with Russia to before February 24, 2022, so too do I believe there will be no going back in transatlantic relations to before January 20, 2025," said Steinmeier.

Reducing dependency

Germany had to apply lessons it learned in extricating itself from "excessive dependencies" on Russia and apply them to the US, particularly in defence and technology, which translate to power, he said.

Germany has stressed the importance of creating alternatives to US-dominated technology as concerns grow over US access.

China returned to being Germany's top trading partner in the first eight months of 2025, overtaking the US as higher tariffs weighed on German exports. Trade between the US and Germany amounted to more than 163 billion ($190 billion) over that period.

The recent spat between the Pentagon and Anthropic over safety guardrails surrounding the latter's artificial intelligence could be a wake-up call, or even an opportunity, for Europe, said Steinmeier.

"Europe as a technology hub has talent, markets, opportunities and, importantly, ethical standards. We should build on these," he said.
Advertisement

Analysis EnvironmentClimate changeEnergy security NRMA urges drivers to embrace E10 fuel to extend the nations reserves Nick O'Malley March 24, 2026  6:40pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

The nations leading motoring organisation has called on drivers to overcome their scepticism of petrol blended with ethanol and turn to E10 petrol at the bowser to save money and extend national fuel reserves as the energy crisis bites deeper. It is time to turn to the E10 pump says the NRMA. Janie Barrett Every litre of E10 sold, basically 10 per cent ethanol, which is produced domestically, is taking pressure off the supply chain, said NRMA chief spokesman Peter Khoury. We should be encouraging people to reach for the E10 pump. Khoury said take up of ethanol fuels in Australia had been low for years, in part due to fears petrol blended with ethanol was either potentially damaging to their vehicles or provided low fuel efficiency, but for most cars built after 2000 this was untrue, he said, with exceptions for some high-performance models. We recommend people follow manufacturers advice.

Advertisement

Part of the controversy over the fuel in Australia and around the world can be traced to campaigns against it led by oil companies, which were concerned about a hit to their sales and loss of control of supply chains, said Khoury. Related Article Petrol prices The 10 simple hacks to beat spiralling petrol prices As far back as 2007 NSW passed a law designed to improve domestic fuel supply security requiring fuel sellers to ensure that 6 per cent of fuel sold was ethanol, a type of alcohol that can be blended with petrol to burn in most petrol engines. Though the fuel is typically cheaper than regular unleaded, Australians have proven resistant to its use, and the mandated level of sales has never been met, said Khoury. Between 2010 and 2021 the amount E10 fell dramatically according to a report by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, from around 39 per cent to around 21 per cent. The NSW government considers that the low market share for ethanol reflects the low price differentials between several types of fuel, and customer concerns about ethanol fuels, said the report.

Advertisement
The inventive chef, best known for creations such as rat brains and a menu entirely out of emojis, will be in Australia for a series of dinners, a progressive Indian lunch and more.

The chef who once built a menu entirely out of emojis is coming to Australia for the first time, with Gaggan Anand set to host a series of dining events at Crown Sydney and Crown Melbourne across nine days in April and May.

Gaggan Anand at his Crown Sydney pop-up.

Anand, whose Bangkok restaurant Gaggan costs around $700 a head and can run to as many as 25 courses, is known for his experimental approach to Indian cuisine. His dishes often lean theatrical, including one of his best-known creations, rat brains, a dumpling shaped to resemble a brain, served in a bloody beetroot sauce.

The restaurant has been ranked No. 1 in Asia for 2025-26 by Asias 50 Best Restaurants, and among the top 10 in the world by Asias 50 Best Restaurants academy.

The Sydney residency will run from April 28 to May 3, and offer a scaled back version of the Bangkok experience. It will include a 12-course degustation held in an event space on level 3 of Crown Sydney, which will be priced at $549 a person and include a glass of Dom Perignon on arrival. There will also be a progressive lunch series from May 1 to 3.
Advertisement

Eating outRestaurant news Head chef steps down at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar Alex Prichard, who led the Bondi restaurant through the tumultuous departure of founder Maurice Terzini, has announced plans for a restaurant in Berry, NSW. Bianca Hrovat March 24, 2026 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Head chef Alex Prichard at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar. Edwina Pickles The head chef and culinary director at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, Alex Prichard, today announced he will step down to open a small but ambitious restaurant, Sara Dining, in Berry on NSWs South Coast. Prichard has held the position at Icebergs for the past seven years, maintaining the two hats awarded by The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide while making his own mark on predecessor Monty Koludrovics new school Italian menu. The chef is credited with introducing Australian native ingredients and Japanese cooking techniques to the Bondi restaurant  pairing green ants with coral trout tuna crudo, and using koshihikari rice to create a creamy, light risotto. Prichard's koshihikari risotto, XO and spot prawn crudo at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar in 2023. Jennifer Soo

Advertisement

Prichard says it was an extraordinary opportunity to lead the iconic dining room, following in the footsteps of predecessors such as Karen Martini, but it was always his dream to open a restaurant of his own, close to his home on the South Coast. It has been an enormous privilege, and I am thrilled that I will maintain my connection with the Icebergs Group in coming months, he says. I cant wait to reveal more details about Sara Dining, while continuing to oversee the Icebergs menu and its amazing team. A spokesperson for Icebergs Group said Prichards departure would not affect operations at any of their three venues. Iconic: Icebergs Dining Room and Bar and its Bondi surrounds. Edwina Pickles Until the restaurant appoints Prichards successor, he will continue to provide culinary, creative and business direction to Icebergs Harbour Bar at Crown, Barangaroo; Icebergs Bar and Kitchen at Sydney Domestic T3 Airport, which opened on March 4; and the original Bondi restaurant, where head chefs and long-term employees Antonio Colonna and Brittany Smith will run day-to-day operations.

Advertisement

Sara Dining will open at Moraea Farm in late May, in partnership with Linnaeus Collection, a luxury accommodation provider helmed by Manticore Projects developer Peter Yannopoulos and his wife, Nadia Raicevich. Alex has been an incredibly important part of the Icebergs story, says Icebergs Group chief executive Tasso Della Noce. We are all so proud of Alex fulfilling his dream, and grateful that he will continue to be part of the Icebergs family in coming months  Were excited to explore options for the future with [his] guidance. Prichard plans to open a restaurant in Berry, NSW. James Brickwood Prichard guided the kitchen through the fallout of a months-long investigation by the Herald and The Age in 2025 that alleged Icebergs founder Maurice Terzini verbally abused his wife and protected his son Sylvester Terzini while being aware of multiple sexual assault claims against him. Terzini, who denied the allegations, resigned as Icebergs director in March last year, and sold his remaining shares in June, days before the story aired on 60 Minutes. This week, the Herald reported that Terzini was back in the kitchen, hosting a series of $130 a person pop-up dinners entitled Cucina Povera (poor kitchen) at St Canices, a homeless shelter in Rushcutters Bay.
Advertisement

NationalNSWCity life More than 5000 rooms are planned in these Sydney suburbs. None will count as a home David Barwell March 24, 2026  10:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

A Sydney council is pushing back against the rapid rise of co-living developments, warning that a housing model intended to improve affordability is reshaping entire suburbs while failing to count towards the official housing target it must meet over the next three years. Randwick Council has sounded the alarm amid a surge in co-living projects across Kensington and Kingsford  near the University of NSW  with 5200 co-living rooms planned or approved across the suburbs, but not a single one contributing to the 4000 homes that must be built in the council area under its mandated housing quota by 2029. A concept image of the co-living development at 399-405 Anzac Parade, Kingsford. Randwick Council A council report reveals a stark imbalance: just 494 conventional apartments  about 9 per cent of the total development mix  are planned across the same two suburbs. The disparity has raised concerns that a model first designed to ease student accommodation shortages is now crowding out broader housing supply. Co-living developments typically consist of multi-storey buildings with small private bedrooms  which can measure as little as 12 square metres under NSW planning controls  alongside shared kitchens, lounges and communal spaces.

Advertisement

Once largely aimed at students, the model has expanded rapidly across Sydney due to rising land prices and planning reforms promoting higher density near transport hubs. But under the federal National Housing Accord, co-living rooms are not classified as dwellings, meaning they do not contribute to housing targets set for councils. This creates a policy mismatch, says Committee for Sydney policy manager Estelle Grech. Councils are in a bind because theyre facing penalties if they dont meet housing targets, but co-living is taking up development sites that could otherwise be used for housing that does contribute to that target, she said.

Advertisement

Co-living plays an important role in providing affordable housing, but if its taking up 90 per cent of the types of development in an area, it makes meeting housing targets very challenging. A concept image of the $893 million co-living development planned by developer Mirvac opposite Green Square Station. City of Sydney Council The surge in co-living has accelerated since 2021, when it was a distinct planning category in NSW, separating it from traditional boarding houses. Unlike boarding houses, co-living developments are not subject to affordable housing rent caps set by the NSW government and can charge full market rates. A report by property consultancy firm Knight Frank found Sydney accounts for 83 per cent of co-living units planned nationwide, driven in part by favourable NSW planning laws. The report found average weekly rents for a co-living room sit at $675  slightly below the $730 average for standard rentals. While the savings for tenants are modest, the co-living model offers developers a clear advantage: density. Grech said smaller rooms and shared spaces allow more residents per square metre, making projects more viable amid rising construction costs and financing pressures.

Advertisement

Randwick councillor Aaron Magner said the trend risked creating single-purpose neighbourhoods. Delivering housing for just one demographic group on sites that could serve the broader community is not a vibrant, mixed urban environment, he said. Randwick Council has concerns about the proliferation in co-living developments around the University of NSW campus. Thats more of a monoculture. Randwick Council has escalated its concerns to the NSW government, calling for co-living to be included in its official housing target, while also warning that the trend could undermine the social cohesion of its suburbs.

Advertisement

A transient student population does not contribute to building a cohesive community, and the dominance of students is having an economic impact on local businesses due to their reluctance to frequent cafes, restaurants or pubs in the area, a council report said. A concept image of the development at 494-516 Anzac Parade, Kingsford. Randwick Council That claim is disputed by students and housing advocates, who say co-living is one of the few relatively affordable housing options in Sydneys tight rental market. UNSW student Angus Thompson said that limiting such developments could push more students onto the broader rental market, intensifying competition. If we cant build student housing next to a university, where can we build it? he said.

Advertisement

In response to concerns, Randwick Council has introduced stricter design controls, including minimum room widths and requirements for a proportion of larger rooms. UNSW student Angus Thompson, pictured on campus, sees the benefits of co-living developments. Nikki Short Despite these tightened measures, the development pipeline shows no sign of slowing. Within days of the new controls being introduced, plans were unveiled for a nine-storey, 358-room co-living project in Kingsford town centre. Major developments are also planned across Sydney suburbs Alexandria, Ryde and Campsie, while an $800 million project by Mirvac near Green Square proposes more than 500 co-living rooms alongside traditional apartments. A NSW Department of Planning spokesperson said councils could guide development through planning controls, but decisions would continue to be assessed under the states planning framework.

Advertisement

Debate over co-living is intensifying across other parts of Sydney too. In Glebe, residents have opposed plans to convert the former Wesley Mission aged-care facility on Glebe Point Road into 67 co-living rooms, citing concerns about noise, traffic and privacy. Similar objections have emerged in Canterbury-Bankstown, where councillor Wendy Lindsay has queried the mental health impacts of dense living conditions, particularly in smaller rooms with limited natural light. Randwick councillor Dexter Gordon urged caution in the debate, warning of a reputational risk to council if students were seen as unwelcome. Developer Robert Sargis, who is planning an 82-room co-living development in Leichhardt, said co-living could expand rental options for young professionals, key workers and downsizers seeking a more affordable foothold in Sydneys housing market. 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 Predatory police officer exploited family violence victims for sex Erin Pearson March 24, 2026  3:33pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

A former Victorian police officer who preyed on vulnerable victims he met through work for sex could face years behind bars for exploiting his position to contact a string of women. Andrew Craig Adams, 53, now of Townsville, faced the County Court sitting in Geelong on Tuesday after pleading guilty to four counts of misconduct in public office. Andrew Adams. Details of the case can now be reported after The Age opposed the extension of a suppression order that had prevented publication of details including Adams name. The court heard between September 2020 and April 2021, Adams was working as a senior constable at Corio police station in Geelong when he attempted to engage in romantic, and later sexual conduct with female victims who had come to his attention during family violence reports to his station.

Advertisement

A police investigation found Adams had used the polices computer system initially and then later his personal mobile to contact four women, asking them if they wanted to have coffee. While first offering to be a supportive person in their lives, he later went to their homes, or met them in secluded areas including carparks, in what the prosecution said was an attempt to have sex with them. Adams was arrested in a car park of the You Yangs Regional Park on April 19, 2021, after making arrangements to have sex with one woman in her car. An analysis of his mobile phone found he had saved the womens names in his phone as police officers including Sergeant Gray and Sergeant Fitzgerald. The court heard one woman initially attended Corio police station to report family violence and Adams took her statement, later using the police messaging system and his personal phone to contact her. One message stated: I hope you have a new partner, he needs to be very careful as well.

Advertisement

He later asked the woman if she liked late night coffees and asked if he could come over to her home. Adams told another woman who attended the police station to report an intervention order breach that if hed seen her at a nightclub, hed buy her a drink, while taking a report from her in a private room. Former senior constable Andrew Craig Adams who worked at Corio police station. He later showed up at her house on multiple occasions while on and off-duty, sometimes with a junior colleague who remained in the police car while they spoke. Adams gave gifts including chocolates to another woman he met when responding to a family violence Triple Zero call, and later received oral sex.

Advertisement

The maximum penalty for each charge is 10 years jail. One of the women told the judge that Adams abused her trust and groomed her. You abused your power. You were entrusted to protect the community, not abuse it. You do not get to minimise this, she said. The harm caused by Andrew Adams is ongoing, its not something Ill ever recover from completely. Adams defence barrister said his client was had been exposed to significant trauma during his time with Victoria Police.

Advertisement

Andrew Adams. Since leaving the force, Adams has relocated to Townsville to work with a church. Judge Gerard Mullaly was scathing when learning Adams barrister Barnaby Johnston attempted to use a letter from the Queensland government as a character reference, without notifying the author it would be used in court. Does the Queensland Department of Housing and  Queensland government know that a letter provided by a chief procuring officer is being utilised by Mr Adams, in his plea in Victoria for misconduct in public office with attributes of sexual intent? Mullaly asked. The answer I think is no, Johnston replied. Johnston said his client had gone on to contribute greatly to the community in Townsville, where he recently obtained significant funds from the government for his churchs charity, Northreach Community Care, to provide housing for vulnerable people.

Advertisement

He had also obtained funding from the local mayors Christmas appeal, and distributed hampers to families in need. As part of his role, he had agreed he would not be left alone with people seeking rental homes. Mullaly said the offending was persistent and only stopped when Adams was caught red-handed at the You Yangs. He noted the prosecution submitted Adams should face jail time while the defence submitted he should serve a community corrections order. The judge ordered Adams return to court in June. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
The majority of questions from the opposition today, and this week, have been directed towards Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

Most recently, the minister was asked by Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh about a potential national response to fuel rationing. Bowen has repeatedly rebuffed claims that rationing was on the way.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Monday. Alex Ellinghausen

Bowen launched a brief assault on the Coalition, saying: This government will continue to work constructively with state governments, and will continue to work constructively with industry state governments, like the Tasmanian state government, which is working very constructively with this government.

That is because thats what sensible adult governments do. Thats what serious people do. Non-serious people play politics in an international crisis.

As Bowen returned to his seat, he called out: Youre not serious people.
- New Shinsaibashi and Namba Properties Opening in Fall 2026 for International Families Seeking Spacious Accommodations in One of Japan's Most Vibrant Destinations -

TOKYO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- MIMARU, Japan's leading apartment-style accommodation brand for families and groups, operated by Cosmos Hotel Management Co., Ltd., has announced its expansion in Osaka with two new properties scheduled to open in fall 2026. Reservations for MIMARU Osaka Shinsaibashi Central and MIMARU Osaka Namba Station Annex opened this March.

Image1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xJMvF3E0zTwH24knioFNmU9eFcConXCU/view?usp=drive_link

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), international travel to Japan has continued to reach record levels. In 2025, the country welcomed more than 42 million international visitors, the highest number ever recorded. A growing share of these travelers are families visiting together, increasing demand for accommodations that allow multiple people to stay comfortably in one space.

Image2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E7Zkgmh-9vORa4_PZm_Toj8zRhpcFzkc/view?usp=drive_link

Osaka is widely known for its welcoming atmosphere and lively food culture. With Kansai International Airport serving as a major international hub and global attention surrounding the Osaka-Kansai Expo, the city is expected to continue growing as a key base for international travelers exploring western Japan.

"While Japanese society can sometimes be perceived as reserved when interacting with international visitors, our brand welcomes guests from around the world every day," said Mao Mochizuki, Overseas PR Representative. "With staff from 39 nationalities, we help overseas visitors feel comfortable exploring Japan's culture and neighborhoods while also connecting with local communities."

The two new Osaka properties are located in convenient neighborhoods for sightseeing, shopping, and dining, continuing MIMARU's signature approach of spacious rooms and thoughtful features designed with families and groups in mind.

Image3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F52BKP19X16ODDn3nHDxOTFLAxvprBI9/view?usp=drive_link

MIMARU Osaka Shinsaibashi Central, opening September 1, 2026, will feature 66 rooms designed for groups of four to six guests and is a 2-minute walk from Shinsaibashi Station.

https://mimaruhotels.com/en/hotel/shinsaibashi-central/

MIMARU Osaka Namba Station Annex, opening October 1, 2026, will offer 68 rooms designed for larger groups and longer stays, a 5-minute walk from Namba Station, a major hub for travel across the Kansai region.

https://mimaruhotels.com/en/hotel/namba-station-annex/

Together, the two properties will further strengthen MIMARU's presence in Osaka as international travel to Japan continues to grow.

Further information:

https://mimaruhotels.com/en/luggage-delivery/

https://anywear-anywhere.com/

https://anone-kids.com/
Advertisement

New licence laws will damage Queenslands tourism economy, with some visitors banned from using Neuron or Lime e-scooters or bikes to travel around destinations such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast, an industry body has warned. The state government has accepted, in principle, all 28 recommendations of an e-mobility inquiry, with laws set to be introduced into parliament this week. It will make Queensland one of the most restrictive jurisdictions in the world for e-bikes limited to assistance, only when pedalling, up to 25km/h. A tourism body says introducing tough licence restrictions on e-bike and e-scooter riders would mean visitors would be banned from the convenient low-emissions way to travel. Felicity Caldwell Children younger than 16 will be banned from riding all e-bikes and e-scooters, 10km/h limits would be introduced on all paths and riders would have to hold at least a Queensland car learners permit.

Advertisement

They will be required to be medically fit to drive  this is an important recommendation that will ensure that those who use these devices have the capacity to use them safely, Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said. Related Article E-Scooters Under16s face escooter ban under Queensland recommendations I acknowledge that will disadvantage some people who currently use these devices and are unable to drive. People riding high-powered electric motorbikes  most of which are already banned from being ridden on public roads or footpaths  would have to get a motorbike licence and register them. Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Natassia Wheeler has spoken out about the licence component of the proposed laws, arguing a blanket requirement for compliant e-bikes and e-scooters may have significant unintended consequences.

Advertisement

Wheeler said the QTIC acknowledged community concern about e-mobility safety and supported proportionate reforms that improved safety and addressed the growing harm associated with illegal and modified devices. Many visitors use active and low-emissions transport modes to move around tourism destinations, particularly in high-visitor urban and coastal locations such as Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Cairns and Townsville, she said. Shared e-scooters and legal e-bikes can play an important role in first-and-last-mile transport, local dispersal, access to attractions, and visitor movement within dense tourism precincts. Wheeler said a requirement to hold a Queensland drivers licence would be a barrier for international visitors, temporary visitors and students hoping to use a low-speed and compliant device.

Advertisement

She argued there should be a distinction between compliant e-bikes and e-scooters used appropriately and illegal, modified, high-powered or high-speed devices. Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg. Catherine Strohfeldt Mickelberg said visitors who held an equivalent licence would be allowed to use them not dissimilar to how international drivers drive in Queensland. In many countries, holding a drivers licence is less common than in Australia. About one-third of US residents do not have a drivers licence. To drive with an international licence in Queensland, you must carry a recognised English translation if it is in another language.

Advertisement

Mickelberg said new fines would be introduced for shared e-scooter companies who did not enforce the under-16s ban, police would be empowered to seize and destroy devices used illegally, and RBTs introduced. Related Article Perspective

City life Toddler v e-bike: We test 10km/h speed rule in a race with a two-year-old The licence rules are a departure from the norm worldwide, where riders generally do not need licences for low-powered electric bikes. Queensland welcomed 2.2 million international visitors in the year ending June 2025. Research from Denmark shows e-bike riders are more likely to follow traffic laws and are more safety-oriented than conventional cyclists, and University of Queensland researchers said legal e-bikes that meet the EN15194 standard are limited to 250 watts  roughly the power an avid cyclist could generate with their body.

Advertisement

Professional cyclists easily produce well over 400 watts, they wrote, in a piece in The Conversation. The licence requirement would make it illegal for children and adults with disabilities and older people who do not hold a car licence to ride a pedal-assist e-bike. Clive Bassett is in his 80s and enjoys riding his electric trike for exercise and fun. He does not hold a drivers licence, so would be banned from riding this bike, which only receives some assistance, while pedalling, up to 25km/h. He could, however, use an electric wheelchair. Mickelberg said people with a disability who used mobility devices would still be able to do so. This includes electric wheelchairs. To get a learners licence in Queensland, the applicant must pass a written road rules test and be medically fit to drive.

Advertisement

On the first day of the e-mobility inquirys hearings, TMR deputy-director general Geoff Magoffin said: The department is not aware of any significant safety issues with legal e-bike use; however, we are very concerned about the increasing use of illegal devices. The deputy chair of the inquiry, Jonty Bush, also said there was no evidence legal pedal-assist e-bikes were a safety risk. Scooters would be restricted to 10km/h on footpaths and shared paths under proposed new Queensland rules. Queensland Police Service In response, speaking at a press conference, Mickelberg said there was a lack of a clear definition in relation to what constitutes an illegal or a legal e-mobility device. Later in the press conference, he said the European standard did provide a framework for clarity on what was legal or illegal.

Advertisement

The speed recommendation would apply to all footpaths, including shared paths. Almost all bicycle infrastructure in Queensland is shared paths, meaning an e-bike commute would take twice as long at the jogging speed of 10km/h versus an average speed of 20km/h. TMRs guideline for speed on shared paths says: a bicycle can become unstable at speeds below 11km/h and cyclists can travel at speeds between 15-25km/h on well-designed paths with minimum risk or decrease in amenity to people walking. The laws, which will undoubtedly pass due to Queenslands unicameral parliament, will take effect from July 1, with a six-month transition period. But Mickelberg said anyone using a device which was already illegal to use in public should not wait until then.

Advertisement

Its already illegal, and they can already be held to account, he said, adding police would have beefed-up powers under the new laws, and would do more enforcement. The laws would not apply to people riding regular bicycles or joggers, which can easily exceed 10km/h, and are allowed to use roads and paths without a car licence. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Parliament is on its lunch break now, and the Labor opposition has just held a media conference outside the house.

Labors deputy leader Cameron Dick and transport spokesperson Bart Mellish were mostly focused on continuing question time attacks to push the government to take more action on fuel prices.

But this masthead also asked questions of Mellish about its Public Circus columns reporting of a hiring freeze in the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

It is pretty concerning to hear some of these reports out of Transport and Main Roads, but [also] a lot of government departments, about staffing freezes, about how people arent being put up in high positions to act, about [how] peoples teams arent being back-filled, he said.

Transport and Main Road staff do absolutely vital work across the state, whether theyre transport inspectors, checking on the safety, bridges, whether theyre delivering a lot of reforms to e-mobility for example.

Transport and Main Roads staff do a fantastic job across the state, this governments not treating them with a respect they deserve.
Advertisement

WorldMiddle EastMiddle East at war Opinion Trumps Iran war has inflamed bitter rivalries that will shake the world Kylie Moore-Gilbert Political scientist and writer March 24, 2026  2:30pm

March 24, 2026  2:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

US President Donald Trump has backed away from the 48-hour deadline he gave Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, pending the outcome of backchannel talks with a senior Iranian official, rumoured to be the powerful parliamentary speaker and former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Trumps threatened strikes on Irans electricity network had dramatically raised the stakes for the Americans Arab Gulf allies, after Tehran countered with threats to strike their energy, water and communications infrastructure in retaliation. The Iranians have denied that any such talks have taken place. But given the current disarray within the countrys leadership, including a new supreme leader who has been neither seen nor heard since his elevation two weeks ago, it is possible that a faction within the regime is in discussions with Washington about an off-ramp. A bulk carrier sits anchored at Muscat, Oman, about 200 kilometres south of the Strait of Hormuz. Getty Images My expectation is that the American involvement in the war will wrap up in the coming days or weeks. However, this does not mean that the regional conflict will come to an end. Irans Arab Gulf neighbours are reeling from being drawn against their will into a war they had long worked hard to prevent; one that has resulted in not just US bases, but civilian sites targeted, including major Gulf airports, hotels, oil and gas facilities and even housing. Regardless of what Trump does next, for the Gulf everything has changed.

Advertisement

The Gulf Co-operation Council states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait are now faced with a wounded and volatile Iranian regime that has crossed all of its previous red lines. Most prominent among them is its pursuit of brotherly relations with fellow Muslim nations, which used to be Tehrans favourite way to spin the periodic rapprochements it would engage in with strategic competitors such as Saudi Arabia. The Gulf states had entered into one such period of rapprochement with Iran shortly before the current war, with Riyadh and Tehran re-establishing diplomatic ties after a mediation in Beijing in 2023, followed by Manama, Bahrain in 2024, and efforts by all Gulf council member states to de-escalate tensions. These vaunted brotherly relations have been perhaps irrevocably destroyed by the IRGCs decision to rain down missiles and drones on neighbouring countries. Qatar and Oman have particular reason to feel aggrieved. Both have long-standing histories of friendship with Iran, and both had been actively engaged in mediation on behalf of Tehran when the war began. Qatar and Iran share the worlds largest undersea gas field and have long co-operated on resource extraction. This made it all the more galling to Doha that, following an Israeli strike on Irans South Pars share of this reservoir, Iran sought to target Qatars section of the same gas field, wiping out 17 per cent of the countrys liquefied natural gas processing capacity. Australian National Universitys Dr Jessie Moritz, an expert in the political economy of the Gulf council states, says the strikes on Qatar and Oman show the Iranian regime is willing to sacrifice every diplomatic relationship [it has] in the region in order to survive.

Advertisement

While the Omani government has voiced scepticism about the war, key Gulf council nations including the UAE appear to be hardening their stance towards Iran, signalling a profound shift in strategic thinking likely to shape the regions post-war relationship with its troublesome northern neighbour. Related Article Explainer

Middle East at war Its seven emirates united 50 years ago. Now the UAE faces its biggest challenge yet In a widely shared post on X, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan declared his country will never be blackmailed by terrorists. Anwar Gargash, a top diplomatic adviser to the UAE president and the former foreign affairs minister, has been more strident, denouncing treacherous Iranian aggression and doubling down on the countrys relationship with the US, declaring that the price of Irans miscalculations will be the strengthening of our security partnerships with Washington. Influential Emirati political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla declared that Iran is Public Enemy No.1 and implored Trump to finish the job. Irans ability to control the Strait of Hormuz will remain a central concern following the cessation of active hostilities. Unfettered access to this major artery of the global economy is crucial to the economic model of the resource-rich Gulf states, and continuing efforts by Iran to frustrate shipping in the strait would be unacceptable to the regions leaders. There have already been unverified reports that the Islamic Republic has been levying fees on shipping companies for safe passage. Some countries have continued to successfully export oil through the strait with Irans consent, among them China, Pakistan and, ironically, Iran itself, after Trump lifted sanctions on the regime in a failed attempt to stabilise oil markets.

Advertisement

Gargash has said Irans bullying of the straits is an existential concern for the Gulf, warning that it is inconceivable that this aggression should turn into a permanent state of threat. Abdulla went further, declaring that the world will not allow Iran to hijack the Strait of Hormuz, and the path to that lies in liberating the UAEs islands. Related Article Opinion

Middle East at war The war may be over soon, but its damage will stay with us for years to come Stephen Bartholomeusz Senior business columnist This raises the spectre of conflict spreading not just to control of shipping through the Strait, but to territory itself, specifically the three small islands, Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, seized by the Iranian navy in 1971 and claimed by the UAE. The Emiratis hardened stance towards Iran and the need to prevent Tehran from turning Hormuz into a permanent choke point  threatening decades of Gulf economic prosperity  might lead to the reignition of this historical territorial dispute. Moritz says, ultimately, the Gulf states desire stability over all else, and that they are not made secure by an unstable Iran. The longer Iran entrenches its control over the Strait of Hormuz, the more likely it is that its Gulf Arab neighbours will abandon their longstanding instincts to de-escalate. Even if Trump pulls out of the war tomorrow, he will leave behind tensions that could destabilise energy security and global trade for years to come. Kylie Moore-Gilbert is a research fellow in Security Studies at Macquarie University and a regular columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
Advertisement

WorldNorth AmericaAviation A total miracle: Flight attendant thrown from Air Canada plane survives strapped to seat Jake Offenhartz , Jennifer Peltz and Ed White March 24, 2026  9:01am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

New York: A flight attendant still strapped in her seat survived being thrown from an Air Canada plane that collided with a fire truck at New Yorks LaGuardia Airport, her daughter has said. Its a total miracle, Sarah Lepine told Canadian news station TVA Nouvelles. Solange Tremblay. Her daughter described her mothers survival as a miracle. She said her mother, Solange Tremblay, had multiple fractures to one leg and would need surgery, but otherwise was OK. An aviation safety expert said she likely was helped by being in a seat with a four-point restraint used by crew members. Im still trying to understand how all this happened, Lepine said, but she definitely has a guardian angel watching over her.

Advertisement

The jet, carrying more than 70 passengers, was landing when it collided with a fire truck that was responding to a problem with another plane on Sunday night (New York time). The nose of the Air Canada plane was destroyed, and the pilot and co-pilot were killed. Related Article Updated

Aviation I messed up: Footage shows Air Canada jet hit fire truck as controller panicked Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti also described Tremblays survival as a miracle when compared to the destruction of the nose of the airplane. The flight attendants seat is kind of a jumpseat that folds down and is bolted to the wall, the same wall that the cockpit utilises, said Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator. Its a very robust seat, he added. Its designed to withstand probably more crash loads than passenger seats because you need the flight attendant to help passengers get out of an airplane after a crash.

Advertisement

Air Canada passenger Clement Lelievre credited the pilots incredible reflexes with saving his life and others. The flight crew braked extremely hard just as the plane touched down, he said. The pilot and co-pilot who died were both based out of Canada, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. Antoine Forest was identified by CBC as one of the planes two pilots killed in the collision. Jeannette Gagnier, the great aunt of one of the pilots, identified him as Antoine Forest. Forest considered her a grandmother figure and always wanted to be a pilot, she said. His LinkedIn page showed he had worked for two airlines for the past five years. According to Canadas national broadcaster, CBC, Forest was from Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec.

Advertisement

On the citys Facebook page, members of the municipal council offered their sincerest condolences to his family, loved ones and friends. We wish them all the comfort they need to get through this difficult time. CBC named the co-pilot as MacKenzie Gunther, citing Radio-Canada sources. US President Donald Trump called it a terrible situation while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement the accident was deeply saddening. The Port Authority identified the two people in the fire truck as Sergeant Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez. They suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening, Garcia said. One was expected to be released shortly, while the other would stay in the hospital for observation, she said.

Advertisement

The fire truck was travelling across the runway to respond to a United Airlines flight, whose pilot had reported an issue with odour, said Garcia. It was the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in 34 years, Garcia said. In 2013, at least two flight attendants were injured when they were thrown from an Asiana Airlines flight that crashed into a seawall while landing at San Francisco International Airport. There were 291 people aboard the Asiana Boeing 777, and three girls were killed. AP 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.

Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share More: Aviation

New York

USA
Plan by Pakistan to hold Iran war peace talks

Pakistan says it is willing to host peace talks to end the Iran conflict as fighting continues.
Nurses Are Fighting for Fair Contracts That Address Patient and Workplace Safety, Staffing, and Competitive Wages

WORCESTER, Mass., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Registered nurses with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) working at five separate UMass Memorial hospital campuses (see list below) will hold coordinated informational pickets on Thursday, March 26. These pickets aim to raise public awareness about ongoing contract negotiations at the University and Memorial campuses and highlight the need to improve patient care conditions, ensure workplace safety, and offer competitive wages at all locations.

The region-wide actions will take place at hospitals across Central Massachusetts, including Clinton Hospital, Marlborough Hospital, UMass Hahnemann, UMass Memorial, and UMass University.

WHEN: Thursday, March 26; times vary by location



WHERE: -- UMass Memorial Campus: 1:30 - 4 p.m., 119 Belmont St., Worcester





-- UMass University Campus: 2 - 4:30 p.m., 55 Lake Ave. N, Worcester





-- UMass Hahnemann Campus: 3:305 p.m., 281 Lincoln St., Worcester





-- Clinton Hospital: 3 - 4:30 p.m., 201 High St., Clinton





-- Marlborough Hospital: 3 - 4:30 p.m., 157 Union St., Marlborough

MNA members at all campuses are currently in contract negotiations, with the 1,575 nurses at University and 1,365 nurses at UMass Memorial  which includes the nurses at the Hahnemann campus  at the table with management for nearly a year. Little progress has been made at either location.

For the nurses, these informational pickets are about ensuring a stable, experienced nursing workforce. Without competitive wages, nurse recruitment and retention are strained, leading to ongoing concerns about staffing levels, patient safety, and workplace safety.

The pickets are also meant to send a strong message to UMass management: Nurses system-wide are unified and entirely committed to the health of their patients, the safety of their hospital communities, and their nursing practice.

To speak with a nurse from any of the participating campuses prior to the pickets, contact Jennifer Johnson at the MNA: 781-363-3681 or [email protected]

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association
HubSpot has announced plans to launch an investment of 40.35 million in an AI-native R&D programme in Ireland focused on foundational AI systems engineering.

The programme will advance AI R&D across three core domains: AI Platform & Ecosystem, Product & Infrastructure, and AI-Native Go-To-Market Transformation.

HubSpot has built a significant and growing presence in Ireland, with approximately 1,300 employees nationwide, including over 350 R&D employees. While 63% are based in County Dublin, 37% work across the rest of Ireland, giving HubSpot a national footprint with representation in almost every county.

This hybrid workforce model, combining in-person and remote roles, enables HubSpot to access AI and engineering talent across the country, while contributing to regional economic participation beyond Dublin and strengthening Irelands position in global AI development.

HubSpots decision to invest over 40 million in a new AI native R&D programme is a strong endorsement of Irelands position as a global leader in advanced technology and innovation," said Minister Peter Burke, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.

"The companys long term commitment will create new opportunities for talent across the country and support the continued evolution of our innovation ecosystem."
Chinese brands shine at international awards for innovation

09:57, March 24, 2026 By Wang Zhuoqiong ( China Daily

Chinese consumer brands  no longer mere followers but global trendsetters  edged out stiff international competition to win a number of honors at the Mintel Most Innovative 2026 awards, highlighting the market's growing influence on product innovation worldwide, the marketing research company said.

Of the 72 winning products covering consumer-packaged goods from the beauty, personal care, household, and food and drink segments from 14 countries, Chinese brands claimed 12 spots. The winners included Chando and Pechoin skincare products, Mintel said.

Among the other winners were Junlebao's organic infant formula, Diao's herbal antibacterial laundry detergent and Lanju's plant-based mosquito control  a product designed to resemble a small decorative vase.

The ratio of winning Chinese brands is "a testament to the country's innovation journey from 'catching up' to 'keeping pace' and even 'leading the way'," said Tina Ding, general manager of Mintel China." Chinese brands are translating complex domestic market needs into world-leading solutions."

She said the awards validate a dual-force model in which brands combine global vision with local insight to address domestic consumer needs." This is not just commercial success, but a reflection of the vitality of China's innovation ecosystem," Ding said.

With product cycles accelerating and market expectations tightening, innovation in China is increasingly about precision rather than volume. Mintel said this year's winners demonstrate a focus on real consumer needs while anticipating long-term trends.

For example, dairy producer Junlebao has emphasized the scientific feeding needs of a new generation of Chinese mothers.

"We conduct large-scale research to gain deep insights into parental expectations," said Jia Xiaojiang, director of infant formula R&D at Junlebao Dairy Group. "Leveraging our Scientific Nutrition Research Institute, we have continued to advance breast milk research and clinical validation, integrating scientific achievements with real consumer needs."

The challenge of meaningful innovation is global. Only 34 percent of consumer product launches in 2025 were classified as genuinely new products, down from 47 percent in 2015 and 75 percent in 1995, Mintel said. Against this backdrop, Chinese winners stood out for combining consumer understanding with strategic execution, setting benchmarks for global markets.

Industry data underscores the opportunity. According to market research company Worldpanel China, sales of urban fast-moving consumer goods rose 1.5 percent year-on-year in 2025, maintaining a stable trajectory. The National Bureau of Statistics said the contribution of final consumption expenditure to economic growth last year reached 52 percent, up 5 percentage points from 2024.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Wu Chaolan)
WILMINGTON, Del., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nemours Children's Health announced today the appointment of Laura Kowal, MPT, JD as President of Nemours Children's Health, Delaware Valley. Kowal has more than a decade of leadership experience at Nemours Children's Health, serving as interim Delaware Valley President since July 2025 and as the organization's Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary since 2020.

Laura Kowal, MPT, JD President, Nemours Children's Health, Delaware Valley

"Laura offers a distinctive combination of clinical experience, business acumen, and legal expertise that will have a tangible impact on pediatric health care in the Delaware Valley and beyond," said Mark Mumford, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for Nemours. "Drawing on her significant leadership experience with Nemours and deep understanding of the region, Laura will drive growth and best-in-class care for generations of children."

Prior to joining Nemours in 2014, Kowal practiced health law in the Business and Finance practice at Ballard Spahr LLP. She earned her bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and received a Master of Physical Therapy degree from Drexel University. Before becoming an attorney, Kowal worked as a physical therapist and certified wound care specialist for 12 years in hospital and post-acute settings. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law with a certification in health law. She is a member of the American Health Law Association (AHLA) and assisted in the development of the AHLA Health Law Curriculum Manual.

"Nemours Children's carries 90 years of distinguished history in Delaware, built on a foundation of excellence and strengthened by our commitment to the health of children beyond our walls," said Kowal. "I am honored to build on our legacy and continue advancing our nationally recognized care, elevating our academic preeminence, and driving optimal outcomes for children and their futures."

About Nemours Children's Health

Nemours Children's Health is one of the nation's largest multistate pediatric health systems, which includes two free-standing children's hospitals and a network of more than 70 primary and specialty care practices. Nemours Children's seeks to transform the health of children by adopting a holistic health model that utilizes innovative, safe, and high-quality care, while also addressing children's needs well beyond medicine. In producing the highly acclaimed, award-winning pediatric medicine podcast Well Beyond Medicine, Nemours underscores that commitment by featuring the people, programs and partnerships addressing Whole Child Health. Nemours Children's also powers the world's most-visited website for information on the health of children and teens, Nemours KidsHealth.org.

The Nemours Foundation, established through the legacy and philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont, provides pediatric clinical care, research, education, advocacy, and prevention programs to the children, families and communities it serves. For more information, visit Nemours.org.

SOURCE Nemours Children's Health
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
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
IM very blessed that I have my kids here with me today. Its very emotional  no parent should have to go through this, said Rathvilly woman Regina Smith yesterday (Monday) after two of her children fell from a second-storey balcony on Friday.

The horrific accident took place at the Mount Suir apartments in Waterford city when two of Reginas children a Jayden (3) and Nevaeh (7) a were playing on the balcony. The little boy fell 20ft onto the ground when a pane of glass gave way, with him narrowly missing being impaled on it when he hit the ground. His brave big sister Nevaeh went to grab him, but she also fell.

Regina (27) was busy with housework and had glimpsed the pair playing before hearing Nevaeh crying out her name from the ground below.

Nevaeh suffered minor injuries, but Jayden was rushed to Temple Street Hospital, Dublin with a bleed to the brain. He was released yesterday (Monday) but will be monitored by doctors, Regina told The Nationalist.

Regina is the daughter of Adrianne McCabe and Peter Smith and the family lived in Rathvilly before they moved to Grangecon, Co Wicklow, with Regina attending secondary school in Baltinglass.

She is now living and raising her family in Waterford with her partner, Ryan ONeill.

Jayden and Nevaeh O'Neill (centre), who fell from a second-floor balcony in Waterford on Friday, with father Ryan O'Neill and mother Regina Smith, and siblings Jaxson (far left) and Alliyah (far right) Photograph courtesy of Regina Smith

The apartment block in which they live has been in the remit of Waterford City and Co Council since 2020 and has been the focus of numerous complaints about poor standards.

In the aftermath of the children falling off the balcony, the council held an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon, while it also warned tenants in Mount Suir to stay off the balconies until they have all been inspected. The council confirmed it has initiated a formal investigation around the circumstances of the incident.

Regina and Ryan also have two younger children a Jaxson and Alliyah a and, in the aftermath of the accident, the family are temporarily split and living with relatives because Nevaeh is traumatised by what happened in the apartment. Now that Regina and her children are out of their apartment, she said that her priority is getting her family back together in a home where they feel safe.

I need my kids to feel safe. I just want my whole family to be together again, said Regina.
THE HSE launched its new youth vaping and nicotine prevention campaign at Presentation de la Salle College, Bagenalstown on last Friday, 14 March.

Minister of state at the Department of Health with special responsibility for public health, wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane OConnor, launched the campaign and said the government is drafting further legislation to curtail the sale of disposable vapes.

Minister of state Jennifer Murnane O'Connor with students from Presentation de la Salle, Bagenalstown at the launch of her national anti-vaping campaign

Addressing both primary and secondary school students at the launch, minister Murnane OConnor said: The message that you are all hearing today is very clear. Nicotine is harmful, particularly to young people, whose brains and bodies are still developing.

She added: I am working with the minister for health to bring forward more legislation. We will ban the sale of all disposable vapes and restrict the colours, the imagery and the packaging of vapes to make them less attractive and to make sure they do not resemble toys or games.

Launched in the school hall, the event was attended by both primary and secondary school students, teachers, members of the HSE Tobacco-Free Ireland Programme and a number of doctors. Dotted around the hall were posters and other images showing the harmful effects of vaping, which were put together by members of Carlow Regional Youth Services.

Two students from St Leos College, sixth-year Miriam Ibrahim and TY student Ecaterina Dosoftei, worked on the creation of the posters, which they aim to put up in public places around the town and county.

Among young people, specifically aged 12-18, there has been such a rise in vaping and other forms of substance abuse. We wanted to bring awareness to the issue and encourage people to stop, explained Ecaterina.

With the posters which we will, hopefully, have around the town and at bus stops everywhere in Carlow, if you scan the QR code it will bring you to services if you need help, said Miriam.

Poster showing the harmful effects of vaping at the campaign launch.

Content creator and radio DJ Kasey Campion was also in attendance and spoke as part of a panel discussion on the harm that vaping can have on young peoples health.

The HSE will work directly with Kasey and other content creators as part of this campaign as it tries to get its message across to young people. This marks the first time the HSE has worked with content creators and influencers.
Study shows this trend remains uncommon, and academic advantages fade by third grade

BOSTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization, released today a new analysis examining data on delaying five-year-olds' kindergarten entry  a practice known as redshirting. Using national data from over three million kindergartners from NWEA's MAP Growth K-2 assessment, this study explored redshirting trends between fall 2017 and 2025. It also follows a kindergarten cohort (2021-22) through the third grade, examining whether delaying kindergarten produces lasting academic benefits.

Key findings:

Between 2017 and 2025, 5 percent of kindergarteners were redshirted each year on average. The rate peaked in fall 2021 at 6.4 percent. This rate is on par with rates seen in the 1990s and 2000s, suggesting redshirting is still an uncommon practice.

White students and boys were most likely to be redshirted. Redshirting was also more common in low-poverty and rural schools.

The academic advantages of redshirting fade quickly. By third grade, redshirters were scoring equivalent to their peers who entered school on-time.

"It may seem like redshirting is a rising trend because the volume of conversations about whether parents should delay their child's entry into kindergarten for a year seems to have grown in recent years," said Dr. Megan Kuhfeld, Director of Growth Modeling and Data Analytics at NWEA. "However, our data show that redshirting is still uncommon. For most children, delaying kindergarten doesn't produce lasting academic benefits, so families should consider both the advantages and the potential downsides to holding their five-year-old back."

The study also highlights tradeoffs families may want to consider when deciding whether to delay kindergarten entry. While some children may benefit from additional time to develop socially or emotionally, delaying kindergarten also carries potential costs.

On the benefits side, the study noted that children starting school later were more academically and socially mature, but highlighted that those advantages are short-lived. Over the long term, academic advantages disappeared over the course of elementary school, and redshirted students were on par with those who started on time by third grade.

On the negative side was the extra cost of childcare. Parents who redshirted their students still had to provide childcare for that additional year, costing, on average, $12,000 a year. There was also a rise in high school dropout rates for students who started kindergarten a year later. Because redshirted students will turn 18 before finishing high school, there is a higher risk of dropping out. And there is the potential of lower lifetime earnings for those who enter the labor force one year later than their on-time-to-kindergarten peers.

"Research highlights that redshirting rarely produces lasting academic benefits for most children, but the decision is not a one-size-fits-all," said Sofia Postell, Research Analyst at NWEA and co-author of the new study. "Each family is unique and must evaluate the decision to delay kindergarten with a child's readiness, temperament, and developmental needs in mind."

The authors emphasize that while academic outcomes tend to converge over time, educators and families can play an important role in helping children transition successfully into school by providing clear expectations, supportive learning environments, and developmentally appropriate instruction.

Read the full report: https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/should-kindergartners-be-redshirted-costs-likely-outweigh-academic-benefits/

Fact sheet for families considering delaying kindergarten

To help schools address questions from families considering redshirting, NWEA is providing an easy-to-understand fact sheet on the benefits and costs of delaying kindergarten.

View the fact sheet: https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/kindergarten-redshirting-what-families-should-know/

About NWEA

NWEA, a division of HMH, supports educators worldwide by providing responsive, evidence-based assessment solutions that illuminate learning needs and fuel student growth. For more than 40 years, NWEA has developed innovative pre-K12 assessments, including its flagship assessment  MAP Growth, and professional learning that helps educators strengthen their practice and improve student outcomes. As part of its commitment to bring valuable insights to the education community, NWEA engages in research that examines issues that shed light on inequities and other barriers to academic opportunities. Visit NWEA.org to find out how NWEA partners to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Communications Director, [email protected] or 971.361.9526

SOURCE NWEA
Sean McCarthaigh

A Wexford GP has been accused of professional misconduct over social media posts which were critical of measures and restrictions introduced by the health authorities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Billy Ralph, who runs his own practice at The Ballagh Health Centre, The Ballagh, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, is facing six separate counts of professional misconduct at a medical inquiry over comments he posted on Twitter (now X) between October 2020 and June 2022.

They included a claim that various public health initiatives to contain the spread of Covid-19 were all bulls**t.

The fitness-to-practise inquiry held by the Medical Council heard the allegations relate to tweets by Ralph, which were critical of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and Covid-19 vaccinations, particularly to children.

Other allegations relate to the GPs promotion of ivermectin as a treatment for Covid-19 and his opposition to facemasks and lockdowns as measures to restrict the spread of the virus.

Counsel for the Medical Council, Neasa Bird BL, claimed Ralph made comments on social media which he knew or ought to have known were inappropriate and undermined public health guidelines.

Bird claims the comments were also not in accordance with the Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners.

Details of 34 individual tweets by Ralph were outlined to the fitness-to-practise committee, including a post from November 2021 which stated that some children watching the Toy Show tonight will receive the Covid jab and will not see another Christmas which he linked to lies by scientists, government, doctors and RTE.

The inquiry heard that two months later, the GP described any parents who signed their child up for a pointless and dangerous product as a vile individual, while claiming any doctors administering the vaccine should be brought before the courts if an adverse event occurs.

Other tweets included claims that NPHET were a liability which caused a bigger second wave of cases by introducing masks, social distancing and lockdowns.

In another post from November 2020, Dr Ralph tweeted that NPHET were responsible for untold destruction of our society.

He separately claimed the same month that there was no pandemic but just a lot of misguided fascist professionals who have lost the run of themselves.

In November 2021, Dr Ralph suggested that ivermectin  a prescription medicine used to treat parasitic infections like head lice  could end this pandemic as well as the careers of many doctors, academics and politicians.

At the outset of the hearing on Tuesday, the GP welcomed clarification that the allegations against him related solely to social media posts and not to any clinical matter.

He noted that the original complaint made about him to the Medical Council by another doctor in July 2021 had made a reference to alleged advice he had provided in his clinical practice.

He expressed concern about the delay in bringing the case, which he observed was not an isolated one as he was one of eight GPs who challenged public health guidelines.

Dr Ralph, who legally represented himself, was accompanied by Marcus de Brun, a north Dublin GP who was the subject of a similar fitness-to-practise inquiry earlier this year, whose findings are still to be announced.

Dr Ralph argued that disagreeing with NPHET policy did not equate to falling short of the standards expected of medical practitioners and claimed any allegation of harm or risk he had caused must be clearly pleaded and proven.

The chairperson of the inquiry, Paul Harkin, acknowledged that there was no statutory definition of the word undermine and informed Dr Ralph that the committee would apply its natural and ordinary meaning in their deliberations.

The inquiry heard that Dr Ralph had told the Medical Council in correspondence that his social media posts and other longer publications were no business of theirs.

He said his Twitter account stated clearly that his comments were not medical advice and that HSE guidelines during the pandemic should be followed.

Dr Ralph said articles he had published on the Cassandra Voices website were critiques of accepted wisdom which any sane society would be valued and not used as examples of heresy.

He stated he would continue to write about what he considered injustices and consensus views driven by undisclosed conflicts of interest and anti-science thinking.

The GP said he would not be bullied into forelock tugging submission because of a mendacious complaint against him.

The inquiry was also informed that the number of followers of the GPs Twitter account increased from 4,557 in June 2022 to 5,753 by August 2022.

He told the regulatory body that his practice had grown since April 2021 by 600 patients fleeing from their previous GPs  a figure which had subsequently increased to 900.

He stressed that he had given the Covid-19 vaccine to all at-risk patients.

However, the GP said his views were always guided by science and not dogma and scientism.

Ralph told the Medical Council that he wanted the charade to be over and claimed he would happily expose its petty censorship and bullying in the High Court.

Ms Bird acknowledged that Dr Ralph had a constitutional right to freedom of expression, which included questioning strategies adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, she said it was not an absolute right and was one that is subject to public order and morality.

Ms Bird argued the timeframe of the social media posts by the GP was important and relevant as they were published during a global pandemic when the path of the virus could not be known and when its containment required significant public health interventions.

While she accepted that none of the allegations related to Ralphs clinical practice, Bird said his tweets were bound up in his standing and conduct as a medical practitioner and that he relied on his knowledge as a GP in making such comments.

Bird said the views of a doctor on such matters would also carry weight and influence, while noting that guidelines imposed a responsibility on GPs to use words that were appropriate and which did not undermine public health guidelines.

She also claimed that Twitter was not a forum for complex discussions on matters of public health.

Ralph called on the inquiry committee to ensure that all tweets were read in context as some were responses to other posts, while others were pouring water on flames.

The inquiry, which is scheduled to last three days, was adjourned and will resume on Thursday.
High Court Reporters

An Algerian man who claims he was tortured by police in his home country for his involvement in national peaceful protests has had a refusal of his refugee status bid here quashed by the High Court.

The man, who cannot be named, arrived in Ireland in 2021 and applied for international protection in July of that year.

Among the documents he submitted to the judging body here, the International Protection Office (IPO), were photographs and videos from the weekly protest events held by an Algerian political group called 'Hirak', which led to the 2019 resignation of the then president.

In May 2022, the man was interviewed here for refugee status but was rejected. He was then granted an oral hearing for his appeal which, in July 2023, upheld the decision.

The man (47) submitted in his High Court challenge that he is married with children and is a Muslim man of Algerian ethnicity. He submits that in February 2019 he began participating in the movement, whose marches which took place on Fridays across Algeria.

He submits he was first arrested in February 2021 and was warned that if he was found participating in marches again he would be re-arrested.

The man claims he was then re-arrested in April 2021, detained for two nights and tortured by police while in custody, sustaining leg injuries, photos of which were attached to his Irish IPO application.

After his release by Algerian police, the applicant submits, he believed he was being monitored by the authorities. He applied for a visa to the United Kingdom and subsequently travelled there before he came to Ireland.

According to the grounds of appeal to the High Court, the man submits that the IPO accepted as true, his nationality, personal circumstances and that he participated in the 'Hirak' movement.

However, the IPO made an adverse credibility decision in relation to his claims concerning his arrests and beatings in custody and document submissions thereafter.

He further claimed he suffered subsequent persecution by police over his involvement in the protests. He submitted two Algerian summonses to the IPO, which, he said, had been sent to his house - one to attend the offices of the police and another to attend court.

The IPO determined that they were unable to verify the origin and authenticity of these documents.

In his appeal, he submitted that the IPO had failed to properly assess the two documents.

In his High Court judgment, Judge Micheal O'Higgins said "the assessment process carried out by the tribunal was flawed".

The judge said that there was an "inadvertent breach" of the statutory code in that the tribunal omitted to take into account "all relevant facts" as they related to the country of origin, including information on whether the applicant has been or may be subject to persecution or serious harm, as submitted in the documents.

Judge O'Higgins said the High Court would quash the IPO refusal and remit the matter to the tribunal for fresh consideration.
By Grainne Ni Aodha, Press Association

The Governments package of energy supports has been criticised as simply not enough by opposition politicians.

The Coalition signed off on a temporary excise duty reduction for motor fuels, expansion of the diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and bus operators, and an extension of the fuel allowance in response to rising fuel prices in the wake of the war in the Gulf.

Various changes combined should result in an effective reduction of 22 cent for diesel and 17 cent for petrol, with the Government expecting this to be reflected at the pumps within hours.

The fuel allowance will be extended until May, meaning 470,000 households will receive the weekly payment of 38 for an extra four weeks.

The cost of fuel and home heating oil has spiked in Ireland since the US and Israel bombed Iran; Irelands consumer watchdog is examining reports of price gouging and is due to produce a report for the government in two weeks.

Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald called for more to be done (Niall Carson/PA)

McDonald told the Dail that after relentless pressure from Sinn Fein  prompting laughs from the government benches  limited measures to skyrocketing prices had been announced.

When households needed a government of action, they got your do-nothing government, McDonald said.

Clearly, Taoiseach, your plan was to ride this one out.

Your package today had to be dragged out of you and still you come to the table with half measures.

She said the reductions in motor fuel dont go far enough, the fuel allowance extension was paltry, and the standout failure was for the 750,000 households that rely on home heating oil.

A measly cut of two cent a litre is an insult  it amounts only to a 20 on a fill that now costs around 1,700; a drop in the tank, she said.

You could have, and should, completely remove excise on home heating oil that would provide these households with the meaningful relief. But instead, you choose to leave them high and dry.

The Taoiseach said the oil supply shock was a sobering reality (Niall Carson/PA

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the oil supply shock was a sobering and significant reality and said the Government has no intention of being reckless amid the crisis.

Every government is limited in terms of what it can do in situations like this.

All of the international advice from the ECB, IMF and so on, is to target temporary, affordable measures, because we dont quite know whats around the corner.

He added: You believe in really allocating about 2-3 billion right now.

What do we do in October? What do we do in December, if the consequences of this crisis continue?

He then said it was probably one of the more generous packages being developed across Europe and then compared it to the energy supports offered in Northern Ireland.

Martin blamed the finance and economy ministers in Stormont, Sinn Feins John ODowd and Caoimhe Archibald, for the supports offered in the region, which were announced by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week.

I dont know what instructions youve given to your own ministers in Northern Ireland, he said to McDonald.

I think a total of 30 is the only benefit to upcoming bills, you cant decide where an additional 17 million that is available is to go.

So youve two ministers in charge of this brief in Northern Ireland and I would just ask you compare their performance to what were doing here.

Its no comparison and poor enough leadership from your party who are in charge of that operation.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that the package of supports was simply not enough and too little and very late.

Martin became exercised when the discussion of an energy storage facility arose.

Its rubbish to suggest we shouldnt put in an LNG facility in this country, absolutely nonsense.

If anything happened to gas connectors in this country with the United Kingdom, this economy wouldnt survive beyond 10 days. Thats the reality. Thats the advice weve received from an energy security (body).

Social Democrats leader Cian OCallaghan said that there was almost nothing in the measures announced on Tuesday for low-income households reliant on home heating oil.

Your government, having spent weeks and weeks reviewing situation, has come in today, and is doing the bare minimum, he said.

He said a targeted 400 payment should be announced for 800,000 low-income households and would cover people who are not in receipt of the Fuel Allowance and would provide a much greater level of support for pensioners, carers and disabled people.

Your government hasnt even bothered examining this proposal, he said.
Michael McAleer

Volkswagen is recalling nearly 100,000 electric vehicles, citing problems linked to battery modules.

The recall notices affect nearly 75,000 vehicles from Volkswagens ID. series - ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 models plus ID.Buzz models - as well as nearly 20,000 Cupra Borns that were rolled off the line between February 2022 and August 2024, according to the German motor vehicle authority KBA.

The number of cars affected in Ireland is estimated to be one per cent of ID models sold to date - under 200 cars - while the company said it was waiting for final figures on the number of Cupra Borns affected.

To date, VW has recorded 18,403 Irish sales of its ID range of electric cars, while Cupra registered 1,578 Borns here since its launch.

According to the notices issued earlier this month, modules in the high-voltage battery that do not meet specifications can result in reduced range, and there is a risk of fire.

In a statement, a Volkswagen Ireland spokesman said: There may be a reduction in electric driving range or the illumination of a yellow warning indicator in the vehicle.

The extent of any potential reduction in range cannot be stated in general terms, but in individual cases it may be noticeable. In very rare cases, there is also a possibility of thermal overload within a battery module, which in extreme situations could lead to a fire.

However, the car company said no personal injuries have been reported in connection with this issue.

A software update will be run on the vehicles brought in, the high voltage battery will be inspected, and if needed, individual modules of the battery will be replaced.

Customers will be contacted in the coming days to arrange the necessary steps and schedule an appointment with their service centre, the company said.
Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement has announced the sale of its entire 88.51 per cent stake in Jiangnan-Onoda Midoro, its former cement manufacturing and sales subsidiary in China.

The stake will be sold to Nanjing Yida Vertical and Horizontal Building Materials for CNY60m (US$8.68m, JPY1.34bn), with completion expected in March 2026. The remaining 11.49 per cent stake in the company is held by Nanjing Chemical Industry (Group).

Jiangnan-Onoda Midoro has not conducted cement manufacturing or sales activities since 2023. Taiheiyo Cement had previously initiated procedures to withdraw from the business through dissolution and liquidation but opted to proceed with the share sale following an acquisition proposal from Nanjing Yida.

Advertisement

The company said proceeds from the transaction will be redirected towards investment in growth sectors, as part of its broader strategic repositioning.

The move reflects the continued rationalisation of Japanese cement producers operations in China, where market conditions have weakened in recent years.
RCCPL Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Birla Corp, has commissioned a third production line at its Kundanganj unit in Uttar Pradesh, India, adding 1.4Mta of grinding capacity.

Following the expansion, Birla Corps total cement production capacity has increased to 21.4Mta. The company has previously outlined plans to further expand capacity to 27.6Mta by the 2028-29 financial year.

The Kundanganj expansion is estimated to have cost around INR3bn (US$36m) and is expected to strengthen the companys position in its core markets in central and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Advertisement

Clinker for the new grinding line will be sourced from Birla Corps integrated plants at Satna, Chanderia and Mukutban.

The company said the expansion is also expected to support employment, with around 100,000 direct and indirect jobs linked to the project.
NYSE issues a pre-market daily advisory direct from the trading floor.

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides a daily pre-market update directly from the NYSE Trading Floor. Access today's NYSE Pre-market update for market insights before trading begins.

Ashley Mastronardi delivers the pre-market update on March 24th

'Where You Work Matters' List unveiled. Speed Speed Jacobs at the NYSE on March 23rd.

Markets are little changed after coming off a winning session on Monday, amid optimism that a resolution to the Iran conflict could be in sight.

The 'Where You Work Matters' list, featuring nearly 200 NYSE-listed companies, has been revealed and Rajiv Chandrasekaran of the Schultz Family Foundation will join NYSE Live to dive deeper into the report.

The Hill and Valley Forum commences in Washington, D.C., bringing together government and technology leaders to discuss industry and innovation.

'Tomorrow's Titans: Pitch. Defend. Win.,' presented by NightDragon, NYSE, and PwC, will film at the RSAC Conference for the first time today.

Opening Bell

Banco Macro (NYSE: BMA) celebrates its 20th anniversary of listing

Closing Bell

Dana Incorporated (NYSE: DAN) hosts its Capital Markets Day

For market insights, IPO activity, and today's opening bell, download the NYSE TV App: TV.NYSE.com

SOURCE New York Stock Exchange
Hamilton Medical Center, part of Vitruvian Health, recently hosted its student symposium for nursing students across the region. The event, held twice a year since 2016, is designed to help future nurses confidently transition from student to professional practice.Nearly 60 RN and LPN students from Dalton State College and Georgia Northwestern Technical College attended.This years racing-themed symposium focused on starting your engines, equipping students with the skills, insight and momentum needed as they prepare to enter the healthcare workforce.Sessions included interview preparation, mental-health resilience, communication excellence and leadership development  each tailored to support students as they prepare for their first laps as new nurses.Judean Guinn, chief nursing officer, provided strategies for navigating interviews and early career decisions. Rachel Houghton, with HMCs Employee Assistance Program, emphasized the importance of mental-health maintenance throughout a nursing career. Hamiltons cardiovascular team offered a rare look inside open-heart surgery through a pre-recorded case study, highlighting the precision and teamwork that define high-quality patient care. Additional sessions led by Ashley Broadrick, Tina Bendock and Chris Levan connected nutrition, communication and professional growth to long-term nursing success.Students also participated in a nursing panel and networking sessions, giving them opportunities to engage directly with HMCs nurse leaders, ask questions and build early professional connections.Our goal is to ensure that new nurses begin their careers with clarity, confidence and a strong foundation, said Madison Mills, director of Surgical Services. This symposium allows us to support students at a pivotal moment in their transition from the classroom to clinical practice. By combining real-world education with meaningful connections, we help prepare the next generation of nurses to deliver safe, compassionate and high-quality care to our community.
Local residents are invited to "A Walk with Christ Through Holy Week," an immersive, multi-sensory experience hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This free community event is March 26-28 at 3067 Ooltewah Ringgold Road in Ooltewah.Officials said, "This self-guided journey allows visitors to step back into the streets of ancient Jerusalem to witness the pivotal events of the Saviors final week, His sacrifice and His resurrection. The open-house style event utilizes meticulously designed sets, sights, sounds and scents to transport guests to the Biblical era.Each room portrays a significant scene from the life of Jesus Christ, accompanied by scriptural descriptions to encourage reflection."We invite all to join us for 'A Walk With Christ,' a wonderful way to focus our thoughts on the Saviors redeeming sacrifice and resurrection during this Easter season, said Dan Wolfe, a leader for Latter-day Saints in the Chattanooga area.Officials said, "The experience is designed for all ages and takes about 20 minutes to complete, though visitors are welcome to stay longer. In addition to the walk-through, the event features live musical performances and beautiful artwork for reverent pondering. A social tent will be available outdoors for those who wish to gather with neighbors following their visit."Event hours are 6-8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, March 26-27, and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, March 28. Admission and parking are free. Attendees are encouraged to dress modestly and reverently. For more information, visit: theholyweek.com.
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. has hired attorney Theresa Critchfield, who will support the firm's construction and real estate practice areas."Were thrilled to welcome Theresa back to Chambliss," said President and Managing Shareholder Steve Barham. "Theresa is known not only for her depth of experience, but for the way she invests in relationships and approaches each matter with care and perspective. Her experience, steady counsel and dedication to the success of others will continue to make a meaningful impact across our firm."Officials said, "Raised in a family business that provided supplies to the construction industry, Ms.Critchfield gained early insight into the day-to-day challenges contractors and suppliers face. For more than 20 years, she has represented businesses, contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, suppliers, developers and owners in a wide range of construction and real estate matters, both transactional and contested. Ms. Critchfield works with clients from initial contract negotiation through project completion, advising on risk management and helping resolve issues that may form along the way."Experienced in projects of all sizes, Ms. Critchfield advises on licensing, project administration and related business considerations. When disputes arise, she represents clients in state and federal courts, as well as in mediation and arbitration, handling matters involving payment issues, project delays, design and construction concerns, lien and bond claims, and related issues under the Prompt Pay Act and Consumer Protection Act. Additionally, Ms. Critchfield advises on a variety of real estate issues, including commercial landlord-tenant matters and other property-related conflicts."A longtime leader in the construction law community, Ms. Critchfield is actively involved in numerous professional organizations. She was the first female affiliate elected to the board of Associated General Contractors of East Tennessee and has served multiple terms on its legal and legislative committees. She also serves as chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Construction Law Section. In addition, Ms. Critchfield is active in several national and regional construction law organizations, including the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel, the ABA Forum on Construction Law and the National Association of Women in Construction, where she is a treasurer and founding board member.Ms. Critchfield earned her bachelor of business administration, cum laude, in International Business and Economics from Mercer University Stetson School of Business and Economics, and her juris doctor from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Tennessee and Georgia.
CHICAGO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- This National Agriculture Day, Feeding America is proud to honor the farmers, ranchers and producers who work tirelessly to ensure families across the country have the food we all need to thrive. Our nation's farmers do more than grow food, they are essential partners in ensuring that fresh, nutritious food reaches the tables of neighbors facing hunger across the country.

"At the end of the day, we all want the same thing for ourselves, to be able to put healthy meals on the table for our families. We have seen firsthand that when we support our nation's farmers, we can also ensure our neighbors facing hunger have access to the fresh, nutritious meals they need to thrive," said Ami McReynolds, chief advocacy & community partnerships officer for Feeding America.

The partnership between the agricultural community and food banks is a lifeline for communities. Fresh produce, protein and dairy are among the most requested items by neighbors facing hunger, making up half of all food distributed across Feeding America food banks and pantries. According to Feeding America's 2025 Elevating Voices: Insights Report, neighbors say increased access to healthy, affordable food nearby is a top priority for their family to thrive.

The impact of the agricultural community can be seen across the country:

From excess to access: In 2025, the Feeding America network worked with growers to rescue 971 million pounds of fresh produce, ensuring that perfectly good excess food can reach neighbors facing hunger.

In 2025, the Feeding America network worked with growers to rescue 971 million pounds of fresh produce, ensuring that perfectly good excess food can reach neighbors facing hunger. Investing in local food systems : Every day, local food producers work hand-in-hand with Feeding America network members to share surplus harvests with neighbors facing hunger across the country. These strong partnerships make it possible to move more fresh, farm-grown food through the Feeding America network, ensuring nutritious preferred foods reach the families who need them most.

: Every day, local food producers work hand-in-hand with Feeding America network members to share surplus harvests with neighbors facing hunger across the country. These strong partnerships make it possible to move more fresh, farm-grown food through the Feeding America network, ensuring nutritious preferred foods reach the families who need them most. Advocating for farm fresh foods and food banks: Farm aid and federal nutrition programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEAFP) provide critical support for farmers and people facing hunger. By purchasing food from U.S. growers, the government invests in our country's farmers while providing over 20% of the food distributed through the Feeding America network.

It is more important than ever to stand by our agricultural partners. According to a recent Feeding America poll, 95% of voters agree that hunger is a nonpartisan issue, and there is a clear mandate for collaborative solutions.

"Investing in our agricultural communities through additional farm aid and a strong Farm Bill that strengthens nutrition programs is not just good policy for farmers, it's the most powerful tool we have to support the tens of millions of neighbors who face challenges accessing the food they need," said McReynolds.

Join us in thanking our nation's farmers and contacting members of Congress to urge support for additional aid for farmers and a Farm Bill that leaves no family or community behind by visiting feedingamericaaction.org.

Media Contact

Emily James

Feeding America

About Feeding America

Rooted in the voices of neighbors facing hunger, Feeding America unites communities through a nationwide network to ensure everyone has access to food and a thriving future. As part of a network of 250+ food banks, 20+ statewide food bank associations, 10+ regional co-ops and 60,000+ agency partners, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 5.9 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year.

SOURCE Feeding America
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga will host their annual Women Build Brunch fundraising event on Friday, May 1 at the Chattanoogan Hotel, beginning at 11 a.m.The event will be chaired by Daisy Maurya-Ballard, real estate leader and co-owner of WillowStreet Properties and MauryaBuilt, and Nicole Brown returns as emcee.Natosha Reid Rice, Habitat Internationals vice president of Housing Opportunities and Mission Engagement and leader, global equity strategist, attorney and preacher, will deliver the fundraisers keynote speech in an effort to raise funds for the construction of this years Women Build home.Officials said, "This years brunch honoree and eventual Women Build homeowner is Emma, an Army veteran and lifelong go-getter.After serving in the U.S. Army and raising three children, Emma has worn many hats, from nurses aide to food service professional, always striving to set an example of strength and perseverance for her family."As a future homeowner, Emma is earning sweat equity, attending homeowner classes and learning valuable skills along the way."As a business leader and co-founder of a full-service construction and development company, I see not only the joy homeownership can provide, but also the sense of life-long security and safety it can bring to whole families, for generations, said Daisy Maurya-Ballard, event chair. "Emmas journey to homeownership is hard-earned, and its an honor to come alongside her and others in our community to help make that dream a reality."As a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Emma is no stranger to hard work, said Jens Christensen, Habitat Chattanooga CEO. Now, its our honor to join her in the hard work to become a homeowner, which includes sweat equity hours, classes and perseverance. We look forward to the day her home is complete and ready for a lifetime full of new family memories."Since its beginning, Habitat Chattanooga has built 30 Women Build homes with the support of passionate, women-led volunteer groups and generous sponsors who make this life-changing event possible," officials said.To purchase tickets for this years fundraising brunch, become a sponsor or learn how to volunteer, visit www.habichatt.org/womenbuild or the Habitat website.
Hamilton County Schools hosted over 350 staff, community members and local leaders to the annual State of the System address held at Red Bank High School. Attendees included Mayor Weston Wamp, members of the Hamilton County Board of Education, HCS staff and community partners, all gathered to celebrate "a year of progress and student success."Students from the Superintendents Student Leadership Council hosted the event, leading the audience through celebrations of the district from the past year.The program focused on major highlights, including Advancing District Designation, the highest graduation rate in district history, strong retention of effective educators and a continued commitment to student connection and belonging.Throughout the presentation, students introduced each segment, joined by district leaders, teachers and classmates who shared real examples of how this work is showing up every day across the district.During the Advancing District section, Clifton Hills Elementary Principal Lindsay Starnes and fifth grade math teacher Alicia Young joined Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson to discuss the districts focus on coherence and flexibility. The conversation emphasized how clear instructional guardrails are driving consistent academic growth while empowering schools to meet the unique needs of their students.The graduation rate segment featured three soon-to-be graduates sharing their journeys. Ooltewah High School senior Layla Romak will attend Johns Hopkins University on a full scholarship to study biomedical engineering, crediting her JROTC experience with building confidence. Sequoyah Technical High School (North River Future Ready Center) senior Paxton Hoskins highlighted how hands-on learning in the automotive institute connected his passion for racing to a future career. Brainerd High School senior Makeleb Roshelle shared how his experiences at school, such as the cosmetology program, and support from staff helped him realize his potential as he looks ahead to his next step studying either computer science or psychology.While their paths look different, each story pointed to the same idea: earning a diploma opens doors.The districts commitment to educator support was highlighted through a discussion with teachers from The Howard School. Chandler Brooks-Davis shared her experience in the HCS mentorship program, highlighting how early support helped her grow into a teacher leader and mentor for others. She was joined by Kassidy Simmons and Griffen Zemek, who are Ms. Brooks-Davis current mentees. The segment underscored the districts focus on professional growth, leadership pathways and sustained classroom support.The event concluded with a focus on student belonging. Dr. Robertson emphasized that while strong academics and outcomes are essential, connection is what makes the work possible. Red Bank High School senior Trae Cohens and Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts senior Lucy Finch shared personal stories of how relationships and school communities shaped their experiences, showcasing the impact of support systems inside and outside the classroom.I believe student belonging is what we do differently, and better, than other districts, said Dr. Robertson. Our staff is committed to ensuring our students are seen and supported. This difference is why our students are succeeding, graduating and accomplishing their goals. Because our schools have staff who not only believe in students, but help them to believe in themselves and champion them along the way.Dr. Robertson closed by thanking staff, families and community partners for their continued commitment to students and called on the community to help share the stories of progress across the district.Ultimately, the future of Hamilton County starts here with public education, said Dr. Robertson. Its more important than ever that our community continues to boldly support our students, educators and schools. Great work is happening in Hamilton County Schools, and that starts with excellent educators and dedicated students, but it moves forward through the support of our entire community."Hamilton County Schools remains focused on making sure every student feels supported, connected and ready for what comes next," officials said.
This article is about an ongoing problem that I am experiencing with Tennessee American Water Company. Im wondering if any fellow Chattanoogans have had this problem or issues with the water company and their customer service.My issue started in October 2025 when I updated the credit card expiration date that pays the auto-pay that I have used for years on the MyWater account.This should be a simple task. Well, it evidently is not as per my six months of continuous problems with the customer service department and evidently auto-pay not being processed correctly.After updating the CC number in October last year, I then continued to receive statements that show the debt paid by auto-pay for each and every month since.MyWater account reflects the updated CC information as active.However, starting with the November 2025 billing the first month after the update, I received a notice of late payment even though my statement shows paid electronically. This has occurred for six months now continuing even today after receiving my latest statement.I have called the customer service line numerous times and used online to try and resolve this issue to no avail.I have on three occasions (November, January and now March) had to pay over the phone with the customer service representative the debt they say I owe for water service even though it shows paid per the electronic auto-pay.This is ridiculous that I have had to call and pay over the phone just to ensure they dont discontinue water service to my property when my statements show electronically paid.Tennessee American Water doesnt have a local number or contact and the service is handled by an outside agency since all correspondence is listed as Carol Stream, Illinois. These representatives cannot fix Tennessee American Water billing issues.Maybe if anyone from Tennessee American Water is reading this they can look into their customer service provider.I was told by the customer service representative today to call back again tomorrow (Tuesday 03/24/26) to see if they could fix the issue = that it was another department's problem.This is the same answer I have received from customer service every time Ive called for six months now to no resolution.And, by the way, when you do call, you are placed on hold for 15 minutes or longer just to speak to a human after calling the customer AI Bot service line. I was on the phone 40 minutes with a representative. What a waste of time.As a result of this ongoing issue I have a very negative opinion of the Tennessee American Water Company. They should have their customer service representatives available locally and not in another state. Also, a local number or contact would be helpful as by evidence the out of state customer service department is not working.The Tennessee American water contact information and website at present has only the customer service line for issues and it has not been able to correct my problem.Arch Tinker
Did you ever play connect the dots as a child? Maybe you had an activities book with pages for coloring, word-finds, tic-tac-toe and other games. Youd turn to a page with an incomplete illustration; to determine what the object was, youd draw lines to link the numbered dots. It might turn out to be a duck, a donkey, the Eiffel Tower, or an ice cream cone. You didnt know what it was until youd connected all the dots.

Life can be like that. As were going through it, it might seem like a random assortment of twists and turns, exits and on-ramps, with some unknown destination. It seems confusing as we plod through lifes circumstances one day at a time, but through the beauty of hindsight we can glance backward and find order in the chaos.

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers, once observed about the course life takes, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future."

Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. A description for much of my life, particularly my working career, could be, You cant get there from here. You have to go someplace else first. I was born in Germany, where my father was stationed in the U.S. Army. We traveled to the United States by ship and eventually settled in New Jersey. After high school I attended college in Texas, then transferred to a university in Ohio to study journalism.

My 10-year career as a newspaper editor took me from a community newspaper in Ohio to a suburban newspaper in Pennsylvania, back to the Ohio newspaper, and finally to Texas. Next, I moved my family to Chattanooga, where I joined the staff of a Christian ministry, and 17 years later, a sister ministry with an international focus. After three years I became part of the team for a non-profit based in Atlanta. Can you see the convoluted path my career has taken?

All I can say in summary is that God has done immeasurably more than all [I could] ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). During this journey of more than 50 years, some of the changes I made didnt make a lot of sense. However, as Jobs said, even though I couldnt connect the dots looking forward, I now can connect them looking backward.

As Christians all around the world prepare for the annual observances of Good Friday and Easter, we might apply the same connecting the dots principle to what we now know about Jesus Christ. The Bibles Old Testament contains numerous prophecies about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ, all made hundreds, even thousands of years before God took on flesh and invaded this world. Heres a handful of examples:

From the prophet Micah we read, But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth from Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2). Jesus, of course, was born in Bethlehem.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied, Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). In Matthew 1:18-23 and Luke 1:26-35 we read about a virgin, Mary, who was pledged to marry Joseph. The angel Gabriel tells her that God has chosen her to be mother to the Son of God, and the passage states, they will call Him Immanuel  which means, God with us (Matthew 1:23).

Isaiah 9:1-7 is one of the longest prophecies in the Old Testament, describing Jesus ministry centered in Galilee. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Jesus crucifixion was prophesied in Psalm 22:14-16, I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. Dogs have surrounded me, a band of evildoers has encircled me; they have pierced my hands and my feet. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Zechariah 12:10 says, They look on me, the one they have pierced.

The crucifixion accounts are included in each of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Whats especially interesting about the Old Testament crucifixion prophecies is they were made hundreds of years before the Romans invented that heinous, excruciating form of execution.

And Christs resurrection from the dead  also reported in each of the gospels  was prophesied in Psalm 16:9-10, Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoicesbecause You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

I wonder, as these prophecies were being made, if the prophets had any idea of how they would be fulfilled by Jesus in such spectacular fashion. Those men of old might have struggled to connect the dots, but we can today as we look backward with 20:20 vision through the pages of history.

* * *



Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor, and magazine editor. Bob has written, co-authored and edited more than 20 books. These include Marketplace Ambassadors; Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Todays Workplace; Tufting Legacies, The Heart of Mentoring, and Pursuing Life With a Shepherds Heart. He writes and edits a weekly business meditation, Monday Manna, which is translated into nearly 20 languages and distributed via email around the world by CBMC International. The address for Bob's blog is www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com. His email address is btamasy@comcast.net.
photo by Curtis Coulter photo by Curtis Coulter photo by Curtis Coulter photo by Curtis Coulter photo by Curtis Coulter photo by Curtis Coulter Previous Next

This is the fourth and final story about the cemeteries in the Coulterville section of Sale Creek.

The McDonald Cemetery sits peacefully, nestled on a gentle, tree-covered hill near the upper railroad crossing in the Coulterville section of Sale Creek. Also known as the Hutcheson Cemetery, it was originally named after Charles Newton Hutcheson (1836-1908), who donated the land for burial purposes. Unlike the nearby Pat Thomas, Martin, and Miller-Nelson Cemeteries, the McDonald Cemetery is managed by Hamilton County following the 2021 purchase of the 2,172-acre McDonald Farm. It remains an active burial site for the McDonald family.

It is a peaceful, quiet place surrounded by cornfields, with the winding Sale Creek and Big Ridge to the east, and Waldens Ridge in the distance to the west. The Norfolk Southern railroad track runs within 200 yards as well. Visitors often come to enjoy its solitude and beauty, where they can reflect on the lives of those buried there. Like many old cemeteries, it is filled with stories of notable individuals and the area's rich history.

One of the main concerns at the time of purchase was the cemetery's future upkeep; however, Hamilton County maintains it by mowing the grass and removing fallen trees and limbs. Compared to the Pat Thomas, Martin, and Nelson cemeteries, the McDonald is in relatively good condition. All graves are accessible to visitors.

McDonald Cemetery is among the oldest burial sites in Hamilton County, with a plaque indicating that the first burials occurred around 1820. The earliest marked grave belongs to Benjamin Jones (1763-1856). There are 112 marked graves, some marked only by fieldstones. At the center of the plot, two slight mounds, believed to contain Cherokee burials, rise gently. In 1984, local historian David Henry (Red) Gray mentioned that before 1819, when Hamilton County was organized, the dividing line between white and Cherokee territory ran east-west through the middle of the cemetery. He stated that those two small mounds contain Native American graves.

Recently, I visited the cemetery and observed the following. There are a few fallen limbs inside the cemetery. The gate and fence surrounding the site are intact and in good condition, giving an attractive, quaint appearance, as one would expect of a cemetery of this age. The southeast and southwest areas, where most of the marked graves are located, have not yet been mowed, but all the graves are accessible. There are no briars or brush blocking any part of the cemetery. In the northeast and northwest corners, there are some tree limbs on the ground. Also, there is the usual debris, leaves, and sticks left over from autumn and winter.

Sunken graves are less noticeable in this cemetery. In the northeast corner, dirt has been scooped up and apparently used to fill sunken graves. The main problem is simply the old graves themselves. Many are over 100 years old. As the ground has settled, some stones have fallen over and lie on the surface. Over the years, the stones' weight has caused them to gradually sink into the ground due to weathering from rain, freezing, and thawing. Many stones would be lost from sight if the area were not kept mowed and if interested individuals did not remove debris, such as grass cuttings and leaves, that covered them. Likewise, the aging of the stones and lichens has eroded many of them, making it almost impossible to read the inscriptions.

Taking my witching wires, I checked the northeast and northwest corners of the cemetery. As I walked through the area, the wires kept crossing repeatedly. I couldn't go ten feet without the wires crossing, signaling another grave. In the two humps in the center of the cemetery, I stopped counting at 18 graves, and I was only halfway through. One survey reported 112 memorials in the cemetery. If that's correct, then there are many more unmarked graves. As I prepared to leave and walked back to my truck, I used the wires again and detected graves outside the fence.

For those interested in learning about witching wires, they are simply wires bent at a 90-degree angle, with the short bend held loosely in ones hand. With the wires pointing straight ahead, the user walks slowly forward. If a grave is nearby, the wires will automatically cross. Funeral directors and grave diggers use these wires regularly to avoid digging into old graves. The wires work on anything containing organic material, such as septic tanks, field lines, or even pet graves.

Besides the graves marked with stones bearing names and the possible Cherokee graves, there are also many unmarked graves, including at least two hobos. The stories of the two hobos will be shared later in this story.

The marked graves include the remains of members of families who lived in the area, including 45 McDonalds, 21 Coulters, 8 Hutchesons, 6 Elseas, 9 Hickmans, 5 Holmans, and 6 Gambles. All these families contributed to the founding and early history of Hamilton County. Additionally, there are 28 graves of children under age 12 and 9 graves of young adults in their late teens and early twenties.

The story of McDonald Cemetery is impossible to tell in a short article because there are so many stories about the people buried there. It would take several books to cover them all; however, I will share a few of the individuals here.

Roy Ketner McDonald (1901-1990) was the owner and editor of the Chattanooga News-Free Press. Additionally, he founded Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Tennessee in the 1950s. In 1924, he established a chain of grocery stores called the Home Stores, which eventually expanded to 79 locations across southeast Tennessee, North Georgia, and Northeast Alabama. The Sale Creek Home Store opened in 1933. Roy also owned herds of registered Jersey cows to supply milk for his stores. In 1951, he constructed a warehouse and creamery in Sale Creek and a bakery in Chattanooga. While living in Sale Creek, he was a member and deacon at the Sale Creek Presbyterian Church. He was married to Elizabeth Williams McDonald (1902-1996), a devout Christian who was a member and Sunday School teacher at the same church.

James Richard McDonald (1793-1877) founded McDonald Farm in 1821. On May 22, 1852, as a dedicated member of the Sale Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church, he donated land for a church building, saying, For the love and affection I entertain for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Sale Creek, County of Hamilton, State of Tennessee, I do hereby give, transfer and convey to the Elders of said church and their successors a certain tract or parcel of land In 1872, he donated land to the Sale Creek Masonic Male and Female Institute to establish a four-year college in Sale Creek. That effort ended in 1878. James married Kitty Jones McDonald (1801-1890), daughter of Reverend Benjamin Jones and Providence Jane ODell (1767-????).

Reverend Benjamin Jones (1763-1856) was an early settler in Hamilton County, arriving soon after the county was established. Jones was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and originally hailed from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He married Providence Jane ODell on December 13, 1786.

Benjamin Jones McDonald (1827-1906) was a well-known farmer and miller. He and his brother James Anderson McDonald married the daughters of John Patterson, son of pioneer settler Robert Patterson. Together, they purchased the Patterson Mill on December 17, 1856. From that time until it was destroyed in a flood in the early 1930s, it was called McDonald Mill. In 1854, he married Sophronia Patterson (1836-1869). After Sophronias death, he married Maria Louisa Beard (1839-1903) in 1869. He was a dedicated member and elder of the Sale Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Ben McDonald built the current McDonald farmhouse in 1884.

Many other people buried in the cemetery include:

James Richard (Uncle Dick) McDonald (1858-1950), of whom it was said: he was such a godly man that it rained on his crops when it did not rain anywhere else.

Thomas Coulter, Sr. (1795-1876), a veteran of the War of 1812, bought 420 acres of land in Hamilton County on December 20, 1819, just two months after the county was established. On May 8, 1875, he became the first person in Hamilton County to sell right-of-way to the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. He was married to Rebecca Parks Coulter (1793-1880) of Roane County.

Hudson Johnson Coulter (1815-1859) owned and operated Coulters Mill, a water-powered grist mill, along the stretch of Sale Creek known as The Horseshoe. He married Elizabeth Agnes Clift McDonald, the daughter of Col. William Clift of Soddy, and the widow of Edward McDonald (1822-1855).

Jane Providence McDonald Coulter (1824-1896) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson (Jeff) Coulter, Jr., and the mother of Robert J. Coulter (1868-1939), who founded Coulter Funeral Homes. Jane was crippled by rheumatism and, as a result, was unable to nurse her newborn baby, born in 1868. Due to her condition, Jane needed a specially equipped horse-drawn wagon for transportation. She and her husband asked a formerly enslaved person, affectionately called Miss Violet, who had a baby at the same time, to nurse R.J. and care for him. Because of Miss Violets care during his infancy, R.J. promised to give her the finest funeral that money could buy. He kept that promise, sparing no expense.

Captain Samuel Pinkney Elsea (1849-1941) was a steamboat pilot who traveled from Williams Island in Chattanooga to Fort Loudon. His family often claimed he was the riverboat captain who piloted his steamboat up Broad Street during a major flood in the 1890s. In 1883, he married Naoma Jones Elsea (1857-1939). Cap Elsea Road in Sale Creek is named after him.

Robert Gamble (1812-1879) was the second son of Charles Gamble, who was the first sheriff of Hamilton County in 1819. Charles also served on a three-man commission with William Lauderdale from Rhea County and Robert Patterson of Sale Creek that chose Poes Tavern in Soddy Daisy as Hamilton Countys first county seat. Robert married Betsy Jones Gamble (1805-1904), the daughter of pioneer settler Reverend Benjamin Jones. She is the oldest person buried in the McDonald Cemetery at 99 years old.

Reverend Alexander Hickman (1829-1902) was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister who led the Sale Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Coulterville during the 1870s and 1880s. He was married to Ann Eliza McDonald Hickman (1831-1910).

Charles Newton (Newt) Hutcheson (1836-1908) was a successful, prominent farmer in the Sale Creek area, and he donated the property for the cemetery, which is why it was originally called Hutcheson. Newton was married to Harriet Watts McDonald (1839-1876), Adelia Lodemia Gamble (1845-1883), and Martha E. Marler (1862-1939).

Margaret Tennessee (Tennie) Coulter Kennedy (1841-1869), daughter of James Parks Coulter and Mary Ann McDonald Coulter, was the first wife of Dr. Vitruvious Jackson Kennedy.

George McDonald (1863-1848) was the son of Benjamin and Sophronia McDonald. In 1916, he received a trademark from the United States Patent Office for Sale Creek Cornmeal, which he produced and marketed at the McDonald Mill on Sale Creek. Shortly thereafter, the McDonald family sold it to Thomas E. (Ed) Downey, who retained ownership until it was destroyed in a flood around 1930 (no exact date known).

Several members of the Exum family are buried in the cemetery. Helen (1924-2014) was the daughter of Roy and Elizabeth McDonald. She worked as the Lifestyle editor for the Chattanooga News-Free Press for many years. She was an excellent cook, and one of her most well-known achievements was writing Helen Exums Chattanooga Cookbook, published in 1970. Her three sons, Kinchen (1947-2004), Franklin (1956-2001), and Jonathan (1952-2015), are buried near her, and Jonathans wife, Karen Albrecht Exum (1958-2019), is buried beside him.

Nancy McDonald Reinke (1931-2009) was another daughter of Roy and Elizabeth McDonald. She graduated from Vanderbilt University and was a well-known artist and a founding artist at the Torpedo Factory Fine Arts Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Her works are displayed in various public buildings, including the Library of Congress and the Virginia Capitol Building.

Dr. Martha Williams McDonald trained at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. After completing her residency, she attended the University of Oregon, where she specialized in endocrinology. She also completed training in nuclear medicine at the Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Alabama. Later, she served as acting chairman and professor in the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Tennessee Center for Health Services in Memphis. At the time of her death, she lived on Lookout Mountain.

Stories abound about the people buried there, and I will mention a few.

Nancy Harriett (Nanny) Kyle (1862-1915) has a separate stone from her husband. She was originally a Kyle before marrying William Preston Kyle (1858-1936), so her married name is Kyle Kyle. William was living in Fancy Gap, Virginia, at the time of his death. He chose to be brought back to Sale Creek and buried with Nancy. Their son, Corporal Levere Kyle, was killed on October 9, 1918, in France during World War I. William was believed to have been a railroad employee who moved to the area after the railroad was built in 1880.

Thomas and Rebecca Parks Coulter are buried in the cemetery. When the railroad bought the right-of-way through Sale Creek starting in 1875, Thomas, Rebecca, and their son John Jerome Coulter sold a 3.91-acre tract to the Cincinnati Southern Railroad for $350.00 on May 8, 1875. This was the first recorded deed in Hamilton County transferring property to the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. The deed mentioned that Rebecca Coulter was taken to a separate room to sign the transfer papers. The railroad and county authorities had Rebecca sign separately to show them that she was not forced or coerced into giving up her share of the property, and that her signature was made of her own free will.

All cemeteries in the Coulterville community hold tragic stories, and the McDonald Cemetery is no different. With 28 graves of children, many infants, and another nine of young adults aged 13 to 22, many sad stories are buried there.

The John Wesley Clouse family tragedy. During the 1880s, John Wesley Clouse moved to the area from Birchwood in James County and became a prominent community member. In 1865, after serving in the 5th Tennessee Infantry Regiment in the Union Army during the Civil War, he married Sarah J. E. Manger Clouse (1848-1880). In May 1879, their 2-year-old daughter, Jennie, died and was buried in the McDonald Cemetery. On July 3, 1880, Sarah gave birth to twin sons, Uless and Wess. She died in childbirth, and Wess was believed to have died three days later. Uless died on July 23, 1880. There is only one grave and marker for Uless. Either Wesss grave is unmarked, or the twins are buried together. John Clouse remarried Martha Everett Clouse in 1880. Their first child, Osker, was born on July 15, 1881, and died on August 5, 1881. Sarah and the four children, including Osker, are buried in the cemetery. Johns and Marthas second child also died in infancy, and its grave remains unknown. Clouse eventually moved to Graysville, where he operated a mercantile store and served as postmaster. On February 20, 1892, the second floor of his store became the birthplace and initial meeting place for Graysville Academy, which later evolved into Southern Adventist College, now Southern Adventist University in Collegedale. John Clouse and Martha are buried in Graysville.

During my visit to the cemetery, I found the graves of Sarah, Jennie, Uless, and Osker. Using the witching wires, I couldn't locate another grave in that plot that might belong to Wess. Evidently, Wess and Uless are buried together. The Clouse graves are positioned between the two humps at the center of the plot, and their stones lie on the ground. The names are hard to read.

William Crete and Greta Imagene Coulter were the first two children of William Luther Coulter, Sr., and Florence V. Downey Coulter. Crete was born on May 1, 1901. On July 17, 1902, he died from pneumonia. Shortly after his death, Greta contracted pneumonia and died nearly two months later on September 13, 1902. She was just over two and a half years old. My grandmother, Florence Coulter, told me that losing her only two young children within two months was one of the hardest things she ever faced. Greta's last words were, Mommy, I am going to see Brother today.

The cemetery is believed to hold at least two hobos, possibly more, buried there. One of these hobos was a sick man who disembarked from a train at Coulterville station on a cold winter day in the late 1800s. When the McDonald family learned of him, they sent a wagon to bring him to their home, where they cared for him. They tried to get him to divulge where his family lived so they could notify them. Despite their efforts, he died there and was given a Christian burial in the McDonald Cemetery.

The other hobo was a Black man who was thrown from a freight train around 1938. A McDonald family hand-drawn map of the area showed an X with the caption Black hobo fell off train. In fact, it was a murder committed by another hobo. Shortly after midnight, the engineer of a passing freight train noticed a body near the tracks north of the railroad station and alerted the section foreman, Middleton Willard, of trouble on the tracks with several long blasts of the trains steam whistle as the engine passed the section house. Willard went to the home of Alford Romines, another Southern Railway worker, and woke him up to help search for the trouble. Rominess teenage grandson, Jack Sneed, joined them and found the body lying beside the tracks around 2:00 am. That hobo was also buried in the McDonald Cemetery.

One particularly tragic incident involved Newt Hutchesons daughter, Marcella Angeline Hutcheson Gamble, who married a man from Rhea County named Gamble. On December 10, 1914, as she was preparing their evening meal, her mentally disturbed husband entered the room and, for no apparent reason, fired two shots at her with a pistol, missing her both times. Their son lunged toward his father and knocked the pistol out of his hand, while his mother bolted for the back door. As she ran into the backyard, her husband chased after her with a shotgun. Their son tried to stop Gamble before he reached Marcella, but he caught her about 250 feet from the house and began beating her with the butt of the shotgun. Before their son could intervene, Marcella had lost consciousness. The son subdued his father, who broke free, left the scene, and went to a neighbors house, where he confessed to the assault on Marcella. At the Gamble home, the son carried his mother inside, and she died a few hours later. Further investigation showed that Gamble had attempted to commit suicide the previous year by cutting his own throat. He was committed to Lyons View Mental Hospital following that attempt, but was released shortly afterward. No motive for the murder was ever found. Marcella is buried in the Hutcheson section of the McDonald Cemetery.

The grave containing no body. Next to Charles Hutchesons grave, there are remains of concrete and gravel where a tombstone once rested. The grave is empty. When witching wires were placed over it, nothing was detected. What happened to the body that was originally buried there? The grave belonged to Samuel Gamble Hutcheson (1878-1938), a well-known farmer, a director of the Dayton Bank & Trust Company, son of Charles Newton Hutcheson, and brother to Marcella Hutcheson Gamble. On the morning of November 8, 1938, Sam Hutcheson left his house and went to his barn. According to former Coulterville resident Jack Sneed, family members noticed the family dog acting strangely all daypacing between the house and barn, sitting halfway between, whimpering, and looking anxiously in both directions.

When the family became worried about him, one of the grandsons went to look for Sam and eventually entered the barn, where he found him hanging from a crossbeam by a rope. He had tied a rope around his neck and jumped out of the hayloft. Some family members initially thought that Sam seemed normal that morning and did not appear depressed. Later, some believed that losing the family farm to TVA, which was acquiring property for the eventual flooding of Chickamauga Lake, was responsible for Sams decision to end his life. One family member said that, although he had bought a farm in Middle Tennessee and planned to move there within the next week, he was saddened by the loss of their Sale Creek home and couldnt accept losing it because it had been in the Hutcheson family for over 100 years.

Sam Hutcheson was originally buried in the McDonald Cemetery, but his body was subsequently disinterred and moved to Chattanooga Memorial Park, previously known as White Oak Cemetery in Red Bank, Tennessee.

Like many other old country cemeteries, McDonald Cemetery contains its share of stories and memorials. The lives of many of those buried there have been forgotten, but the cemetery is not abandoned, unlike the Pat Thomas, Miller-Nelson, and Martin cemeteries. It still stands as a tribute to the families that forged the history of the small North Hamilton County community of Sale Creek.

The life of mortals is like grass, it flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. Psalm 103:15-16

[McDonald Cemetery is a state historic cemetery with the Tennessee Historical Commission.]

-----

Curtis Coulter can be reached at cncoulter318@epbfi.com
If you haven't made your way over to Marion County to see the Thunder Thornton's latest masterpiece, River Gorge Ranch, and dine above the Tennessee River at Riverdance, you are missing a real treat.It is a breathtaking work of art unrivaled east of the Mississippi, serving great food with a friendly staff.Thunder and his crew are real developers who invest private capital for public good (not the other way around).Major props to Thunder for Riverdance and River Gorge.It reminds me of how Jack Lupton insisted on QUALITY so that "whatever you do, you do it so well it's world class" ...like the Tennessee Aquarium and the Honors Course. Add Riverdance to that list.Zach Wamp
Nicole Virgil, practitioner of Christian Science healing and international speaker, will present her talk, "What Really Matters," on Saturday at 10 a.m. at First Church of Christ Scientist, 612 McCallie Ave., across from Fletcher Hall. Free parking and child care will be available.

The talk will focus on universal healing precepts found in the Holy Bible, especially in Christ Jesus life and teachings, showing how they are available for anyone to understand and experience through the lens of Christian Science. The talk is free, open to the community, and hosted by First Church of Christ, Scientist.

You have to be able to sort out what matters from what doesn't matter. the speaker adds, If youve heard the expression, 'garbage in, garbage out, you know we don't want to start with garbage. Start at the beginning. Start with God. Going in order wakes us up from a distorted view of reality.

Sharing examples of healing from her own life and professional practice of Christian Science, Ms. Virgil "will explain why Christian Science is both Christian and scientific, meaning that people can prove its effectiveness for themselves, as fully described in the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by the founder of the Christian Science movement, Mary Baker Eddy.

"She will also touch on the life of Mary Baker Eddy, who strove to understand, demonstrate, and teach what she was learning about Christian healing.. Eddy herself said she was especially inspired by Jesus demand, He that believes on me, the works that I do will he do also; and greater works than these will he do, because I go unto my Father (found in the Gospel of John 14:12 in the Bible)."

Nicole Virgil has been a Christian Science practitioner for many years, helping people on a daily basis through this scientific approach to prayer. She travels from her home base in Elmhurst, Illinois to speak to audiences around the world as a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship.






The market for laboratory robotics is growing dynamically - driven by a shortage of skilled workers, increasing efficiency requirements and the need for digitalized laboratory processes. The global market for laboratory robotics was worth around USD 2.4 billion in 2023 and will grow to almost USD 3.9 billion by 2030 - an average annual growth rate of around 7% according to Grand View Research.

Adjacent areas are also developing at a rapid pace: for example, sales figures for professional service robots in the medical sector recently rose by around 90% to around 16,700 units worldwide - applications in diagnostics and laboratory analysis in particular are experiencing exceptionally strong growth, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The main drivers of these developments are a shortage of skilled workers, increasing cost and efficiency pressure and the need for end-to-end digitalization and consistent data quality.

"Laboratories are investing in automation and robotics not only for reasons of technical modernization, but also to ensure their competitiveness in times of increasing cost pressure," says Jorg Mayer, Managing Director of the German industry association SPECTARIS. According to a recent SPECTARIS member survey, 86% of participants rate the shortage of skilled workers and 81% the cost pressure as the most important drivers of these developments.

The publication "Robotics and Automation in the Laboratory", published by SPECTARIS and Messe Munchen, shows: The industry is evolving from isolated automation solutions to integrated, data-driven and increasingly AI-supported complete systems. For the first time, robotics also enables the automation of less standardized tasks and the linking of complete process chains - from sample preparation to evaluation. Contributions from industry and research show further growth, particularly in sample handling, analysis and data processing. The numerous practical examples in the report underline the enormous range of developments. For example, in addition to logistics tasks such as autonomous sample transport, mobile robots are increasingly taking over central steps in sample preparation and handling - such as identifying, sorting and transferring samples - and linking individual analysis devices to create integrated, automated processes.

"Robotics and AI-supported automation are no longer a vision of the future, but are already shaping everyday laboratory work today," adds Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Managing Director of Messe Munchen. "They increase efficiency, improve reproducibility and relieve specialists of routine tasks."
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Home News 5 'gruesome and unethical' abortion clinic practices for disposing of aborted baby body parts

Reports of aborted body parts allegedly being sold for profit or disposed of through improper or illegal means have long raised concerns for pro-lifers about how facilities handle the human remains left behind after each abortion.

During a Wednesday House Judiciary Committee hearing on abortion, Alabama abortionist Dr. Yashica Robinson declined to directly answer a question from Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, about how she discards or stores aborted human remains. Robinson, who said she has performed abortions as late as 20 weeks into a pregnancy, accused Roy of using inflammatory language.

The congressman later inquired about a 2015 Center for Medical Progress video showing a Planned Parenthood executive in Houston discussing the purchase of fetal tissue, a federal felony. Roy also pressed Robinson about reports of abortion facilities storing remains in freezers or Pyrex dishes.

All of those things that you just mentioned, I have never seen that in a healthcare setting, ever. We dont put baby parts in freezers or Pyrex dishes, she said.

Tessa Longbons, senior research associate at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, discussed multiple cases involving abortion facilities violating or stretching the law to dispose of aborted human remains in an emailed statement to The Christian Post on Monday.

The abortion industry operates under see no evil, hear no evil, acknowledge no evil, the pro-life researcher told CP. Yet in the real world, real abortion doctors handle aborted baby body parts in gruesome and unethical ways.

Longbons provided five examples of what she views as alarming disposal and storage practices at abortion clinics nationwide. Read the list on the next page.
Did you buy ORCL common stock between June 12, 2025, and December 16, 2025?

Affected Oracle Corporation Investor Summary

Who : Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL)

: Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) What: Securities fraud class action lawsuit filed

Securities class action lawsuit filed Class Period: June 12, 2025, through December 16, 2025

June 12, 2025, through December 16, 2025 Deadline to Seek Lead Plaintiff Status: April 6, 2026

April 6, 2026 Key Lawsuit Allegations: Material misstatements and/or omissions concerning the company's data center capabilities for artificial intelligence infrastructure and capital expenditures.

Material misstatements and/or omissions concerning the company's data center capabilities for artificial intelligence infrastructure and capital expenditures. Investor Action: Contact Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP ( www.ktmc.com ) for recovery options at no cost to investor

RADNOR, Pa., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP informs investors that the firm has filed a securities fraud class action lawsuit against Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) (Oracle) on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired Oracle common stock between June 12, 2025, and December 16, 2025, inclusive (the Class Period). This action, captioned Barrows v. Oracle Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-00127-JLH, was filed on February 3, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and is pending before the Honorable Jennifer L. Hall.

Important Deadline Reminder: Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Oracle common stock during the Class Period may, no later than April 6, 2026, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff for the class.

CONTACT KTMC TO DISCUSS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS:

If you purchased or acquired Oracle common stock and lost money on your investment, you are encouraged to contact KTMC attorney Jonathan Naji, Esq. at:

There is no cost or obligation to speak with an attorney.

Learn more about Oracle Corporation on YouTube:

ORACLE CORPORATION CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT - COMPLAINT ALLEGATION SUMMARY:

Oracle, a Delaware corporation with its principal executive offices in Austin, Texas, is a technology company that provides, among other things, infrastructure for operating artificial intelligence (AI) programs. During the Class Period, Defendants misled investors by touting the Oracle's contracts to develop data center capabilities for AI infrastructure and falsely assuring investors that the Company's significant capital expenditures (CapEx) would quickly result in accelerated revenue growth.

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts, about Oracle's business and operations. Specifically, Defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Oracle's AI infrastructure strategy would result in massive increases in CapEx without equivalent, near-term growth in revenue; (2) Oracle's substantially increased spending created serious risks involving Oracle's debt and credit rating, free cash flow, and ability to fund its projects, among other concerns; and (3) as a result, Defendants' representations about Oracle's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

Why did Oracle's Stock Drop?

The truth began to be revealed on September 24, 2025, when S&P Global Ratings warned that OpenAI "could account for more than a third of total Oracle revenues by fiscal 2028 and even a greater share by fiscal 2030," creating risks given that "OpenAI's ability to meet contractual obligations will be contingent on AI tailwinds continuing and its models being a market leader to continue to raise external financing." On this news, the price of Oracle common stock declined $5.37 per share, or nearly 2%, from a close of $313.83 per share on September 23, 2025, to close at $308.46 per share on September 24, 2025.

Oracle's stock price continued to fall in response to multiple additional disclosures, the last of which was on December 17, 2025, when the Financial Times reported that Blue Owl Capital"the primary [financial] backer for Oracle's largest data centre projects in the US"had backed out of funding a $10 billion Oracle data center intended to serve OpenAI. According to the report, Blue Owl pulled out of the deal as a result of concerns about Oracle's spending commitments and rising debt levels. On this news, the price of Oracle common stock declined $10.19 per share, or approximately 5.4%, from a close of $188.65 per share on December 16, 2025, to close at $178.46 per share on December 17, 2025.

WHAT ORCL INVESTORS CAN DO NOW:

File to be lead plaintiff by April 6, 2026. Contact KTMC for a free case evaluation. Retain counsel of choice or take no action.

THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS FOR ORACLE CORPORATION INVESTORS:

Oracle investors may, no later than April 6, 2026, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages Oracle investors to contact the firm for more information.

ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP (KTMC):

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (KTMC) is a leading U.S. plaintiff-side law firm focused on securities-fraud class actions and global investor protection. The firm represents individual investors as well as institutions, such as major pension funds, asset managers, and international investors. KTMC has led some of the largest recoveries in securities litigation and has been recognized by peers and the legal media with numerous accolades, including The National Law Journal's Plaintiff's Hot List and Trailblazers in Plaintiffs' Law, BTI Consulting Group's Honor Roll of Most Feared Law Firms, The Legal Intelligencer's Class Action Firm of the Year, Lawdragon's Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, and Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar. The firm operates globally with offices in Pennsylvania and California. KTMC has recovered over $25 billion for our clients and the classes they represent. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP, please visit www.ktmc.com. The complaint in this matter was filed by KTMC.

CONTACT:

Jonathan Naji, Esq.

(484) 270-1453

280 King of Prussia Road

Radnor, PA 19087

[email protected]

May be considered attorney advertising in certain jurisdictions. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
Home News Biden CIA listed 'motherhood and homemaking' in report about violent extremism

The Central Intelligence Agency retracted a Biden-era internal document warning about female racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists" that listed the prioritization of motherhood and homemaking," raising the concern of a conservative legal group.

In a thread posted to X last week, the legal organization America First Legal, founded by Trump adviser Stephen Miller in 2021, shared screenshots of a now-retracted intelligence assessment compiled during the Biden administration.

The document, titled Women Advancing White Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists, outlines concerns about womens participation in white racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism.

The intelligence assessment, published in October 2021, defines racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists as those who incite, facilitate, or conduct violence because they believe that their perception of an idealized white European ethnic identity is under attack from people who embody and support multiculturalism and globalization. While the document primarily focused on groups and individuals explicitly focused on race, it also suggested that support for traditional gender roles may constitute extremism.

White REMVEs and their sympathizers have claimed in online posts that it is essential for white families to have as many biological children as possible to counter the rising birth rates among nonwhite populations; white REMVEs allege that the rise is a conspiracy, which they have termed the great replacement, according to an Open Source Enterprise assessment, the document stated.

The intelligence assessment contained a paragraph about a group that has been redacted, noting that the group has lauded motherhood and homemaking as womens most important responsibility.

The document was one of 19 intelligence products that the CIA retracted in February on grounds of "bias."

"The intelligence products we released to the American people today  produced before my tenure as DCIA  fall short of the high standards of impartiality that CIA must uphold and do not reflect the expertise for which our analysts are renowned," CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement.

"There is absolutely no room for bias in our work and when we identify instances where analytic rigor has been compromised, we have a responsibility to correct the record. These actions underscore our commitment to transparency, accountability, and objective intelligence analysis. Our recent successes in Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE and Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER exemplify our dedication to analytic excellence.

America First Legal reacted to the intelligence assessment by commenting, Motherhood and homemaking may be added to the list of other everyday behaviors that made everyday Americans radicalization suspects under the Biden administration.

President Trump has rightfully retracted this Biden-era CIA intelligence assessment, America First Legal wrote. U.S. intelligence agencies exist to protect Americans  not target them.

News about the reference to motherhood and homemaking in the now-retracted CIA document comes three years after the FBIs Richmond Field Office faced criticism for circulating a memo putting radical traditionalist Catholics in the same category as racially and ethnically motivated domestic extremists during the Biden administration. The now-redacted memo was made public in early 2023 by former FBI Special Agent Kyle Seraphin.

RTCs are typically characterized by the rejection of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) as a valid Church council; disdain for most of the popes elected since Vatican II, particularly Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II; and frequent adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT and white supremacist ideology, the 2023 memo stated. The document clarified that Vatican II took place from 19621965 and essentially shaped the modern Roman Rite Catholic Church.

The 2023 memo identified the purpose of Vatican II as to help the Church respond to global cultural changes in the aftermath of World War II, noting that it resulted in significant reforms to the liturgy, attitudes toward non-Christian religions, roles and responsibilities of the laity, views on religious freedom, etc.

Although the document stressed that Radical-traditionalist Catholics compose a small minority of overall Roman Catholic adherents and are separate and distinct from traditionalist Catholics, who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions, but without the more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric, the memo generated enough backlash that the FBI apologized and said it does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI.

Upon learning of the document, FBI Headquarters quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document, the FBI told The Daily Signal in a statement at the time. The FBI is committed to sound analytic tradecraft and to investigating and preventing acts of violence and other crimes while upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans and will never conduct investigative activities or open an investigation based solely on First Amendment-protected activity.

The FBI memo relied heavily on the Southern Poverty Law Center, which describes itself as an organization that monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the U.S. and exposes their activities to law enforcement agencies, the media and the public. The SPLC has received criticism for labeling organizations and individuals who oppose same-sex marriage as hate groups.

Late last year, the Trump administrations FBI cut ties with the SPLC. FBI Director Kash Patel justified the move as necessary, saying, The Southern Poverty Law Center long ago abandoned civil rights work and turned into a partisan smear machine.
Home News Bishop plans to ordain married men by 2028 despite Catholic rules

A Catholic bishop in Belgium has announced plans to ordain married men to the priesthood by 2028, despite the Roman Catholic Churchs requirement of clerical celibacy.

Bishop Johan Bonny of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antwerp recently released a pastoral letter claiming that the consensus on this question is almost total among Church leaders.

The question is no longer whether the Church can ordain married men as priests but when it will do so, and who will do it, wrote Bonny. Any delay comes across as an excuse.

The bishop said he will make every effort to ordain married men as priests for our diocese by 2028, adding that the vetting process will be transparent but discreet, away from the media spotlight.

Bonny cited a shortage of priests as the reason for the proposal, saying the number of unmarried men who want to become priests has fallen to just above zero in many dioceses.

I will approach them personally and ensure that by then they have the necessary theological training and pastoral experience, comparable to that of other priest candidates, Bonny continued.

For many a bishop, the ordination of married men has become a matter of conscience. At that level, too, transparency, accountability, and evaluation are important for the credibility of the Church.

According to Canon 1042, a man cannot be ordained into the Catholic priesthood if he is someone who has a wife, unless he is legitimately destined to the permanent diaconate.

The celibacy requirement includes some exemptions. For example, Eastern Rite Catholic priests may marry if they do so before becoming ordained. Once ordained, however, if they are widowed, they cannot remarry.

Additionally, married Anglican clergy who convert to the Catholic Church may remain married. According to a 2017 Los Angeles Times report, there were approximately 120 such married priests in the United States.

In October 2017, Pope Francis convened a synod to address the shortage of priests in the Amazon region of Latin America. At the time, the then-pontiff expressed openness to permitting viri probati, or married men of proven moral character, to be ordained as priests for that specific area.

Ultimately, however, Pope Francis did not follow through with the idea. Instead, he implored bishops to pray for more vocations and send more missionaries to the Amazon region.

In 2022, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich told the German publication Sueddeutsche Zeitung that he supported allowing priests to marry as part of efforts to address sexual abuse.

For some priests, it would be better if they were married  not just for sexual reasons, but because it would be better for their life and they wouldnt be lonely, Marx stated. We must hold this discussion.
Home News Carrie Prejean Boller not removed from Religious Liberty Commission because she is Catholic, bishop says

Bishop Robert Barron is pushing back on Carrie Prejean Bollers claims that she was removed from the White House Religious Liberty Commission last month because of her Catholic faith.

Barron, who leads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota, responded Friday to Prejean Bollers claims that she was dismissed from the White House Commission on Religious Liberty because of her Catholicism in an X post. Barron, who currently serves on the commission established by President Donald Trump last year, said that she "has called out myself and other Catholic members of the commission for not defending her.

This is absurd, he wrote. Mrs. Prejean Boller was not dismissed for her religious convictions but rather for her behavior at a gathering of the commission last month: browbeating witnesses, aggressively asserting her point of view, hijacking the meeting for her own political purposes.

Barron also rejected the idea that Prejean Bollers views on Zionism led to her dismissal from the commission. He outlined the Catholic Churchs position on Zionism as the belief that all forms of antisemitism are to be unequivocally condemned and that the modern Israel does not represent the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies and hence does not stand beyond criticism."

If Mrs. Prejean Boller were dismissed for holding these beliefs, it is difficult to understand why I am still a member of the Commission," Barron said.

To paint herself as a victim of anti-Catholic prejudice or to claim that her religious liberty has been denied is simply preposterous, he concluded.

White House Religious Liberty Commission Chairman Dan Patrick announced on X that Prejean Boller had been removed from the commission because of what took place at its Feb. 9 meeting.

Patrick said that no member of the commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue. At the meeting, Prejean Boller faced criticism for wearing a U.S. and Palestinian flag pin on her lapel and defending conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has faced allegations of antisemitism because of her views on Israel.

While Prejean Boller maintained that only Trump  not Patrick  had the authority to remove her from the commission, she shared a message she received from the White House earlier this month confirming her dismissal, stating that her membership on the commission had been terminated effective immediately. She said her removal was based on her religious and political beliefs as the only Catholic woman who opposes Zionism.

Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission in a May 1 executive order. Its stated purpose is to produce a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, including threats to religious liberty and strategies to strengthen protections for future generations.

Additional responsibilities of the commission include recommending steps to secure domestic religious liberty by executive or legislative actions and identifying opportunities for the White House Faith Office to work with the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom to advance religious liberty worldwide. The commission has held multiple meetings over the past year.
Home News Brazil court acquits student who faced years in prison over posts about gender identity, sex

Brazils Federal Regional Court of the Fifth Region has closed the case against veterinary student Isadora Borges, marking a historic victory for freedom of expression, according to a statement from ADF International.

The court ruled that Borges comments on social media did not constitute attacks, threats or incitements to violence and lacked the intent required for a criminal conviction.

The legal dispute began in 2020, when Borges posted on the platform X, formerly Twitter, that trans-identified males were obviously born male and that a persons DNA does not change with gender identity. The posts, reflecting her biological worldview, were reported by a local politician, triggering a legal process that placed Borges freedom at risk for years.

The courts decision brings me great relief and hope that free speech will be protected in Brazil," Borges said. The truth matters. Stating biological facts in a post should never result in prison time.

Julio Pohl, legal advisor for ADF International, welcomed the ruling but warned it should never have been necessary. He said such judicial overreach creates a chilling effect that discourages public discussion out of fear of legal consequences.

Borges case is part of a broader pattern of censorship in Brazil. Religious leaders, including Pastor Douglas Baptista of the Assemblies of God, have faced legal action for expressing Christian views on sexuality.

Since 2019, Brazil has legally equated certain critical opinions on gender identity with racial discrimination, heightening the risk of prosecution for expressing conservative beliefs.

Human rights and religious freedom advocates continue to monitor these cases, emphasizing that no Brazilian should face punishment for peacefully expressing their faith and values.

Originally published by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
Home News Infamous abortionist Kermit Gosnell, convicted of killing babies, dies at 85

Infamous late-term abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell has died, prompting pro-life activists to reflect on his crimes and the state of the pro-life movement.

Gosnell, an abortionist who served more than a decade in prison for killing babies who survived botched abortions, died earlier this month at age 85.

In a Substack post published Monday, filmmakers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney announced that Gosnell had died in prison as they reflected on the 2018 film they created about his late-term abortion clinic, Gosnell: The Untold Story of Americas Most Prolific Serial Killer. Prison officials confirmed his death to The Associated Press.

At the time of his death, Gosnell was serving three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, handed down in 2013. He later received another 30-year prison sentence on separate charges.

Gosnells prison sentence followed first-degree murder convictions in connection with the deaths of three infants who were born alive during late-term abortions at his Philadelphia clinic and killed by having their spinal cords severed with scissors. Gosnell was also convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Karnamaya Mongar, who died after staff at his clinic administered a lethal dose of anesthesia.

In Gosnells 30 years of running his filthy abortion clinic in Philadelphia, it is thought that he murdered thousands of babies born alive, McAleer and McElhinney wrote. The grand jury which investigated his case wanted to charge him with 200 recent murders, but the move was stymied and reduced to just seven after pressure from senior political and law enforcement officials.

An investigation into Gosnells clinic began after the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office became aware of his side business of selling illegal opioid prescriptions. It revealed an unsanitary facility where the remains of nearly four dozen aborted babies were discovered in a freezer, unlicensed staff performed abortions and flea-infested cats roamed the blood-splattered floors and chairs while soaking blankets in urine and feces.

Gosnell is gone, but we should take time to think of the thousands of innocent babies who were his victims. They lived for a short period of time but must not be forgotten, McElhinney said in a statement. They achieved some measure of justice with Gosnells prosecution and incarceration.

Jim Wood, the police officer who uncovered the conditions at Gosnells clinic, also reacted to the abortionists death, saying "there may be no mercy for him, like there was no mercy for the babies."

Statements poured in from pro-life leaders after news of Gosnells death broke.

Kermit Gosnell is not an outlier among abortionists; he is only one of the few to be brought to some measure of justice for black-letter crimes, stated Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, adding that "Gosnells legacy of awakening the public to the true horrors of abortion cannot be dismissed or ignored."

The ripple effects of Gosnells slaughter of innocent Americans continue today. His actions represent profound evil, yet like many politicians he justified them as service to the poor and held himself in esteem. And he didnt operate in a silo. His crimes spanned 30 years because people and organizations turned a blind eye."

National Right to Life President Carol Tobias said that Gosnell's crimes "underscore a reality our nation continues to ignore."

"Each abortion  no matter how it is performed  deliberately and brutally takes at least one innocent human life," Tobias stated. "Every day, unborn children  including those at late gestational ages  are intentionally killed in an abortion. Women continue to be harmed, and sometimes die, from abortion procedures.
Home News Ligonier exec. says church excommunicated him, wife after they reported suspected abuse of daughter

Days after Ligonier Ministries announced that Stephen J. Nichols would end his tenure as president of Reformation Bible College and chief academic officer in May, the well-known church historian says he and his wife, Heidi, were excommunicated by Saint Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida, after they reported the suspected sexual abuse of their daughter.

We reported suspicion of sexual abuse of our daughter, we ended up indicted, and we ended up excommunicated. We are deeply saddened by all that has taken place and grieved for everyone involved, the couple said in a statement shared on X last Thursday. Our prayer and hope is that the central issue will not be lost. At the heart of this issue is the suspected sexual abuse of our daughter.

While St. Andrews Chapel isnt legally a part of Ligonier Ministries, both ministries, which share the same reformed theology, were founded by R.C. Sproul.

Saint Andrews Chapel declined to comment on the Nichols statement when contacted by The Christian Post on Monday. On March 15, however, Stephen Adams, the recently resigned associate pastor of youth and family ministry at Saint Andrews Chapel, said in a statement on Facebook that he filed a police report against the couple in January 2025 after learning that reports of vile things were being circulated about him for most of 2024.

The Nichols have never once come forward willingly to make accusations, nor have they willingly spoken to any authorities, ecclesiastical or civil. Much less have they ever offered any shred of evidence, Adams stated.

They cannot because every word of it is false. Categorically false. Wholly false. Wicked slander against an innocent man. Throughout this entire matter, it has been I, and I alone, who have repeatedly gone to both civil and ecclesiastical authorities, he added. Meanwhile, these accusations have been spread far and wide, often under cover of secrecy and anonymity.

Saint Andrews Chapel declined comment on the Nichols statement when contacted by The Christian Post on Monday, but responded to the allegations in a March 20 letter to members published on Facebook by Sons of Patriarchy, an investigative podcast produced and hosted by Peter Bell and Sarah Bader, in Moscow, Idaho.

The letter, which did not mention the Nicholses by name, stated that the former members of their congregation began to show open hostility towards Pastor Adams in 2024 and that he reported their hostility to the Session.

This is a key point: the former members never voluntarily approached church leadership or filed any complaints with civil authorities themselves. It was Pastor Adams  the person experiencing the hostility  who brought the matter to the elders and law enforcement, church leaders state.

While the Nicholses state that they learned about the suspected sexual abuse of their daughter in Jan. 2024, church leaders said they met with the couple multiple times throughout that year, and they never expressed that they had any concerns about sexual abuse until a meeting in early 2025.

It was not until this meeting that the elders fully understood the familys suspicions  that they involved an unspecified sexual allegation against Pastor Adams, the church stated.

Saint Andrews Chapel officials said they submitted an initial report to the Seminole County Sheriffs Office based on what they knew at the time and encouraged the couple to make their own report.

It was further noted that the concerns of the counselor who reported the suspected sexual abuse to the Florida Department of Children and Families in early 2024 were investigated and found to lack sufficient information on which to act.

DCF determined that the information provided did not meet the legal criteria for a reportable incident of abuse, neglect, or endangerment, so they did not initiate an investigation, the Session said.

This reflects what the Session itself experienced: no specific incident was ever reported to the elders or law enforcement  no act, no date, no location. The former members expressed general suspicion but explicitly refused to file a formal report on multiple occasions.

The church also noted that law enforcement told them an investigation could not be opened unless there was a report from a victim or a witness to the suspected abuse.

Despite the lack of such evidence, the church said Pastor Adams was temporarily removed from all ministry roles involving minors for six weeks. During this period, the church said elders worked with a local denominational leader and a qualified external professional organization to review the allegations, but the Nicholses could not substantiate their claims.

When the former members ultimately refused to provide supporting evidence and law enforcement confirmed there were no grounds for investigation, the Session allowed Pastor Adams to resume his usual ministry roles, the church noted.

Saint Andrews Chapel leaders said Pastor Adams ultimately chose to resign from the church and denied the claim that the Nicholses were excommunicated for raising concerns about him.

The proceedings (of excommunication) were not initiated because former members raised concerns, but because of their prolonged conduct that disturbed the peace, unity, and purity of the Church, Saint Andrews Chapel officials noted.

Excommunication was not a judgment on the underlying charges, but a result of the former members willful refusal to submit to the Sessions authority. Church discipline, though painful, is given by Christ for the protection of His people, the preservation of truth, and the restoration of those who have strayed.

Saint Andrews Chapel declined comment on the Nichols statement when contacted by The Christian Post on Monday, but responded to the allegations in a March 20 letter to members, which was published on Facebook by Sons of Patriarchy, an investigative podcast produced and hosted by Peter Bell and Sarah Bader, in Moscow, Idaho.

The letter, which did not mention the Nicholses by name, stated that the former members of their congregation began to show open hostility towards Adams in 2024 and that he reported their hostility to the Session.

This is a key point: the former members never voluntarily approached church leadership or filed any complaints with civil authorities themselves. It was Pastor Adams  the person experiencing the hostility  who brought the matter to the elders and law enforcement, church leaders state.

While the Nicholses state that they learned about the suspected sexual abuse of their daughter in January 2024, church leaders said they met with the couple multiple times throughout that year, and they never expressed that they had any concerns about sexual abuse until a meeting in early 2025.

It was not until this meeting that the elders fully understood the familys suspicions  that they involved an unspecified sexual allegation against Pastor Adams, the church stated.

Saint Andrews Chapel officials said they submitted an initial report to the Seminole County Sheriffs Office based on what they knew at the time and encouraged the couple to make their own report.

It was further noted that the concerns of the counselor who reported the suspected sexual abuse to the Florida Department of Children and Families in early 2024 were investigated and found to lack sufficient information on which to act.

DCF determined that the information provided did not meet the legal criteria for a reportable incident of abuse, neglect, or endangerment, so they did not initiate an investigation, the Session said.

This reflects what the Session itself experienced: no specific incident was ever reported to the elders or law enforcement  no act, no date, no location. The former members expressed general suspicion but explicitly refused to file a formal report on multiple occasions.

The church also noted that law enforcement told them an investigation could not be opened unless there was a report from a victim or a witness to the suspected abuse.

Despite the lack of such evidence, the church said Adams was temporarily removed from all ministry roles involving minors for six weeks. During this period, the church said elders worked with a local denominational leader and a qualified external professional organization to review the allegations, but the Nicholses could not substantiate their claims.

When the former members ultimately refused to provide supporting evidence and law enforcement confirmed there were no grounds for investigation, the Session allowed Pastor Adams to resume his usual ministry roles, the church noted.

Saint Andrews Chapel leaders said Adams ultimately chose to resign from the church and denied the claim that the Nicholses were excommunicated for raising concerns about him.

The proceedings (of excommunication) were not initiated because former members raised concerns, but because of their prolonged conduct that disturbed the peace, unity and purity of the Church, Saint Andrews Chapel officials noted.

Excommunication was not a judgment on the underlying charges, but a result of the former members willful refusal to submit to the Sessions authority. Church discipline, though painful, is given by Christ for the protection of His people, the preservation of truth, and the restoration of those who have strayed.

Referencing narratives and communications circulating about us on social media, the Nicholses challenged Adams statement about them directly last Thursday.

In January 2024, we learned from the counselor of our daughter, Grace, that he had submitted a report to the Florida Department of Children and Families of suspicion of sexual abuse of Grace by Stephen Adams, their statement said.

On January 10, 2025, we reported suspicion of sexual abuse of our daughter by Stephen Adams to Saint Andrews Chapel. Over subsequent meetings, we realized that we were at an impasse with our church and that we had different perspectives on how to handle this situation.

While they didnt mention him by name, the couple said as a result of the impasse over the handling of the suspicions of sexual abuse, they informed Saint Andrews Chapel Senior Pastor Burk Parsons that they would be finding a new church on April 21, 2025. They would inform him of their decision again on July 20, 2025, which was their last Sunday at the church.

Two days later, on July 22, 2025, the couple said they both received indictments from the church accusing them of slander, unresolved anger, collusion to deceive, failure to follow session directives, and breach of membership vows.

There was never a trial, and our case was never adjudicated, the couple stated.

They said on Dec. 14, 2025, when Saint Andrews Chapel voted to disassociate from the Presbyterian Church in America, which is the largest theologically and socially conservative Reformed denomination in the United States, they immediately resigned their memberships.

Less than two months later, on Jan. 27, the couple said Saint Andrews found them guilty of contumacy, which is the failure to submit to the authority of the church and refusal to appear before the church.

On Feb. 25, Nichols and his wife said they met with a committee of the session to settle the dispute but were subsequently excommunicated.

On March 10, 2026, Saint Andrews excommunicated us, not on the underlying indictments, but for contumacy, they said. We remain members in good standing at New Hope and are grateful for the love, care, and support of our pastors and our church during this season.
Home News Oklahoma House passes Cindy Clemishire Act to void NDAs in child sex abuse cases

Representatives in the Oklahoma House of Representatives have unanimously passed the Cindy Clemishire Act (also known as and Treys Law), which would make any non-disclosure agreements intended to exploit or conceal details of a child sexual abuse claim void and unenforceable.

The unanimous 80-0 vote on Oklahoma House Bill 4227 was held on March 17, according to official documents. It has now been referred to the Oklahoma Senate for consideration, and if signed into law, it would become effective on Nov. 1.

In addition to making NDAs void in cases of child sexual abuse, HB 4227 removes the statute of limitations on sex crimes committed against children. It further mandates that the identity of child sex abuse victims be kept confidential and requires healthcare professionals to document and report suspected cases of sexual assault to law enforcement.

Earlier this month, Republican state Rep. Chris Kannady, who authored the bill, said legislators aim to hold perpetrators of child sex abuse accountable.

Treys Law is about making sure justice is never silenced, Kannady said in a statement. For too long, NDAs have been used to shield predators and powerful institutions from accountability. This bill ensures that victims are not legally bound to secrecy while their abusers avoid the consequences of their crimes.

The legislation was named after child-sex abuse survivors Cindy Clemishire and Trey Carlock.

Last October, Gateway Church founder, Robert Morris, was given a six-month prison term and a 10-year suspended sentence during a hearing in Osage County Court, Oklahoma, after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing Clemishire, 55, over the span of 4.5 years in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12. At the time, Morris, who founded Gateway Church in 2000, was serving as a traveling evangelist.

My hope is that many victims hear my story and it can help lift their shame and allow them to speak up," Clemishire, who refused to sign an NDA with the church as she sought justice, said in a statement released to the press after Morris guilty plea. "I hope that laws continue to change and new ones are written so children's and victims rights are better protected. I hope that people understand the only way to stop child sexual abuse is to speak up when it happens or is suspected."

Carlock died by suicide just before his 29th birthday in 2019 after signing an NDA to settle a child sex abuse claim against Kanakuk Kamps in Branson, Missouri.

His abuser, Pete Newman, was found guilty of molesting at least 57 victims while he was a counselor at Kanakuk Kamps. Newman was given two life sentences plus 30 years for abusing six boys at the Christian camp and was denied parole in Oct. 2024.

In April 2025, Texas passed a bill similar to HB 4227, also known as Treys Law, which is part of a nationwide push to hold perpetrators of child sexual abuse accountable. California, Missouri, and Tennessee have also passed comparable laws.

Earlier this month, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce a federal version of Treys Law.

No child who has endured sexual abuse should be forced to carry that horror in silence. Non-disclosure agreements are too often used to protect abusers, with incalculable and catastrophic consequences for their victims, the Republican Texas senator said in a statement. We owe it to Trey to ensure that victims have the right to speak about their experiences and that contracts are not used to silence survivors. Im grateful to my colleagues for joining me in introducing this bipartisan bill, and Im committed to seeing it advanced expeditiously.
Home News School officials reprimanded girl for handing out Gospel tracts to students, attorneys say

Quick Summary AI Summary Washington school officials disciplined a girl for distributing Gospel tracts to students.

Incident occurred on or about Feb. 18 in a Washington state public school.

Attorneys demand the school allow the student to share her faith during non-instructional time. An artificial intelligence-powered tool created this summary based on the source article. The summary has undergone review and verification by an editor. See Summary

Attorneys representing a middle school student in Washington state say a school administrator reprimanded her for distributing Gospel tracts.

The alleged incident occurred on or about Feb. 18 at a middle school in an unnamed Washington state public school district, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, a Christian legal advocacy group representing the girl, who is a minor.

In response to her handing out Gospel tracts, the schools vice principal allegedly entered the classroom, removed the student and informed her that she was not permitted to distribute religious tracts at school. The student, who obtains the tracts in batches from the Gospel House Tract Society and distributes them during breaks and lunch while asking for consent first, reportedly responded by asking why other students are allowed to express their viewpoints while she is not.

According to the ACLJ's account in a March 20 demand letter, the vice principal replied: "Students may share opinions, but they may not share religious beliefs."

Attorneys say the vice principal then cited the school's practice of allowing students to leave campus during school hours to participate in protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as an example of permissible expression, while maintaining that the distribution of religious literature is not permitted.

During the same encounter, attorneys say the student asked whether she could start a Christian student club but was told by the vice principal that the club would be required to have a teacher sponsor  a statement the ACLJ says misrepresents the applicable legal and policy framework.

The prohibition against the mere discussion of God or the giving of an item displaying a religious reference to a friend and classmate blatantly interferes with [her] First Amendment rights as a student, wrote ACLJ attorneys Nathan Moelker and Christina Compagnone.

In the demand letter, the attorneys cited longstanding Supreme Court precedent, including Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), in which the Court held that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. Religious speech, said Moelker and Compagnone, is protected and cannot be subjected to disparate treatment compared to secular or political speech.

The school has opened a forum for student expression during non-instructional time and has selectively excluded a religious viewpoint from that forum, the attorneys wrote. The First Amendment precludes any government effort to single out and censor or otherwise burden the speech of private parties solely because that speech is religious.

According to the ACLJ, this is not the first issue involving the student and the district. In 2019, when the student was a second grader at an elementary school in the same district, officials conducted daily backpack searches at the school entrance to confiscate Christian tracts, treating them as contraband.

The ACLJ intervened at that time, sending a demand letter that led to a formal written agreement in 2022, signed by a district official. The agreement affirmed the government's neutrality toward religion, avoidance of discrimination against religious viewpoints, and the student's right to distribute materials at school, including religious materials.

The ACLJ asserts that the current actions breach that prior agreement and is demanding a written response by Friday that gives the student permission to share her faith and distribute tracts to willing classmates during non-instructional time without further interference, as well as allowing her to form and operate a Christian student club on the same terms and conditions as other student groups.
Home News James Talarico says Biden admin. told by advocacy groups that border security is racist

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, said the Biden administration allowed chaos along the southern border after advocacy groups persuaded officials that strong border enforcement was "racist."

Speaking during a live recording of The Bulwark podcast, Talarico said advocacy organizations convinced the previous administration that stricter enforcement measures, including detentions and limits on asylum entry, unfairly targeted migrants and minority communities.

In recent years, there have been a series of advocacy groups that claim to represent the interests of different communities, like here in Texas, but actually have no real connection to the actual people on the ground, he said. And those groups convinced the administration that it was racist to support border security. And nothing could be further from the truth.

Talarico said his colleagues who represent border communities in Texas have told him about the chaos as a result of Biden's policies, particularly in South Texas and El Paso, where high migrant arrivals put pressure on shelters, local services and law enforcement.

He said Democratic lawmakers representing border communities had warned him that federal policy was failing the people living there, adding that chaos is not compassionate.

And we, as Democrats, were the party thats supposed to make the government work for people, he said. And this was a prime example of government not working for people.

The remarks place Talarico in an unusual position for a Democratic candidate.

Talarico said the southern border should be handled like a front porch, with a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door, arguing that the country can welcome immigrants who want to contribute while also keeping out people who intend harm.

The comments came as Talarico campaigns for a Senate seat after defeating U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary on March 3, a victory that has brought scrutiny to both his political platform and his public religious language.

After the primary win, older clips of Talarico speaking about Christianity, gender and abortion circulated online, drawing criticism from conservatives and prompting President Trump to accuse him in a Fox News interview of being whacked out and an insult to Jesus.

Trump made the remarks while discussing the Republican primary runoff scheduled for May 26 between Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Talarico responded to Trumps criticism in a video posted on X, saying policies such as removing people from healthcare programs, deporting migrants and separating families at the border insult Jesus. He added that there has been only one perfect Christian and referred to Jesus being crucified 2,000 years ago.

The speech also cited the biblical instruction to love our neighbors as ourselves and on Earth as it is in Heaven. He asked whether war, bigotry or poverty would exist in Heaven and questioned why those conditions are tolerated on Earth.

Video clips circulating after his primary victory showed him making theological statements, including that God is non-binary, that Jesus was a feminist and that the Bible supports abortion.

Another resurfaced video showed him saying that if Trump or Vice President JD Vance met Jesus today, they would ridicule him as a single, childless hippie.

Talarico has also discussed abortion policy.

In a podcast interview with Joe Rogan, he said the biblical story of the Annunciation in Luke suggests the Bible supports the idea that one must be allowed to consent if they have a child.

In a 2022 sermon, he said abortion rights also relate to trans-identified people and referred to neighbors with a uterus.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Talarico wrote to Biden proposing federal steps to bypass state abortion restrictions. His proposals included leasing federal property to abortion clinics, using the Food and Drug Administration to block restrictions on abortion drugs and making abortion providers federal employees to shield them from lawsuits.

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, where Talarico attended as a child, has been designated a Reproductive Freedom Congregation by the Texas Freedom Networks Just Texas Project.

Talarico, a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), holds a Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Talarico was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2018 at age 29, representing the Austin area.
Middle East Tension Over Strait Of Hormuz, Catholics Gala Highlights, US Honors Columbus Statue

link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 06:46 06:46

Top headlines for Tuesday, March 24, 2026

We explore the newly installed marble statue of Christopher Columbus at the White House, commemorating the upcoming 250th birthday of the United States, and the varying public reactions it has sparked. Next, we shift focus to the escalating tensions in the Middle East, where the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz is gaining prominence in the unfolding conflict.

We'll also cover the Catholics for Catholics gala held in Washington, D.C., featuring notable speakers like Candace Owens and Carrie Prejean Boller, highlighting the fusion of religious and political discourse. Lastly, we bring you the emotional story of Pastor Wulfrano Portillo from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has been deported to Mexico, delving into the implications for his community and the broader conversation on immigration.



00:11 US planning potential weeks-long operation to reopen Strait of Hormuz, possibly seize Kharg Island

01:00 United Methodist Church, SMU to continue relationship, end lawsuit

01:53 3 highlights from Catholic gala featuring Candace Owens

02:35 Pastor deported to Mexico after decades of ministry

03:22 Judge drops charges against woman in Cities Church case

04:12 WH erects replica of Christopher Columbus statue toppled in 2020

05:03 High Point men united by John 15:13 ahead of NCAA win

?Follow Us on Social Media

?Get the Edifi App

?Subscribe to Our Newsletter

?Links to the News
Pendo joins Google, Nvidia, Adidas, Walmart, and more in annual recognition of global innovators.

RALEIGH, N.C., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pendo, the product intelligence company, joins Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2026 list in the Enterprise category for its 2025 launch of Agent Analytics, the first-of-its-kind solution for measuring the performance, usage, and business impact of AI agents. According to Fast Company, Pendo earned the recognition for its "breakthrough launch" that "helps businesses understand how their customers actually use (and want to use) AI."

Unlike observability tools that stop when a conversation ends, Pendo's Agent Analytics shows the full user journey across apps and agents, spotting friction, reporting issues, and providing tools to improve the experience. Pendo measures more than 350 agents and 2.5 million prompts per week, helping companies around the world confidently launch and improve their agents and achieve ROI from AI investments.

"Agent Analytics is a massive unlock for any company building or deploying agents," said Pendo CEO Todd Olson Post this

"Agent Analytics is a massive unlock for any company building or deploying agents," said Todd Olson, CEO and co-founder of Pendo. "It's the only way to understand if users are getting value from the AI innovation you're delivering. This recognition from Fast Company makes it clear that every company should factor the user experience as they invest in AI."

According to Deloitte's 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise report, nearly 3 in 4 companies plan to deploy agentic AI over the next two years, but only 1 in 5 have a mature governance model for these agents. Agent Analytics goes beyond pre-launch testing, post-launch debugging, and basic software metrics. It reveals what happens in actual user workflows, allowing teams to see what users ask, how agents respond, and what happens next, and how that impacts retention, task completion, and productivity.

"Our software sits at the center of mission-critical logistics, so when we started building AI agents to handle complex workflows like ERP onboarding and transportation procurement, we couldn't afford mistakes," said Kevin Gaul, AVP of shipping products at RF-SMART and an early Agent Analytics customer. "Agent Analytics helps us test and validate agents before they go live, so we launch the ones that truly drive value for our customers."

The announcement comes as Pendo prepares to host a crowd of 2,000 in Raleigh, N.C., for its annual Pendomonium product festival March 25-26 at the Martin-Marietta Performing Arts Center. Register here to join the livestream of Olson's keynote address and learn about all of Pendo's latest innovations.

About Pendo

Pendo's mission is to elevate the world's experience with software. Built on trillions of behavioral data points, Pendo's product intelligence platform helps companies understand how people use their products and ensure every digital experience delivers real value. Pendo is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with 10 global offices. Learn more at pendo.com.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc. For more information, please visit fastcompany.com. The full list of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies honorees can be found at fastcompany.com.

SOURCE Pendo
Home Opinion The cross of Jesus still puts broken lives back together

On Good Friday, we are invited to look again at the cross  not casually, not from a distance, and not merely as a symbol. The cross is where everything broken in humanity meets the restoring power of God.

Most of us are used to viewing the crucifixion from the ground up. The Gospel writers describe the scene: Jesus in the middle, thieves on both sides, religious leaders mocking, disciples fleeing in fear. It looks like a loss. It looks like defeat.

But elsewhere in Scripture, another picture is painted.

David, writing prophetically in Psalm 22, takes us inside the suffering of Christ. He describes the agony in such detail. He writes of bulls rushing Him, of wild dogs devouring Him  language that captures the brutality of the moment. There were no literal wild dogs, but the pain of the cat-of-nine-tails, the nails in His hands and feet, and the spear in His side made it feel that way. This was not symbolic suffering. This was real agony, endured for us.

In the middle of that suffering, a powerful moment unfolds. One thief on a neighboring cross mocks Jesus. But the other sees him for who He is.

He looks at a beaten, bleeding man crowned with thorns and still says, Lord. He sees what others cannot. You dont look like a king, the scene seems to say, but you are a King. A King with nails in His hands. A King who is dying, yet reigning.

And then that thief makes an extraordinary request: Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.

That word remember is deeper than we often realize. It does not simply mean to think about someone. In its original sense, it means the opposite of dismember. It means to put back together what has been torn apart.

In essence, that thief was saying, This cross and this life have dismembered me. Sin has torn me to pieces. I have been separated from everything good. When You come into Your Kingdom, put me back together.

Jesus answers him with amazing grace: Today you will be with Me in paradise.

In that moment, Jesus was declaring the purpose of the cross. What sin dismembered, He came to restore. What had been separated, He would reunite.

Go back to Eden and you will see what humanity once was  bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, walking with God in the cool of the day. But sin came, and it dismembered that relationship. Humanity was separated from God, and the story seemed to end with a flaming sword guarding the way back.

But the cross is Gods answer to that separation.

At Calvary, Jesus allowed His body to be broken and His blood to be poured out. Scripture teaches that the life of the flesh is in the blood. When blood is separated from the body, death occurs. Jesus was, in every sense, dismembered for us.

And yet, through that sacrifice, He made a way for us to be remembered. This is why communion is so powerful.

When we come to the table, we take two elements: the bread, which represents His body, and the cup, which represents His blood. On the cross, the separation of His blood from His body brought death. But when we receive the bread and the cup together, we are declaring life.

We are saying, Lord, what has been torn apart in me, put it back together.

Through His body and His blood, there is forgiveness of sin. There is healing for the body. There is deliverance from bondage.

This is not just doctrine. It is deeply personal.

There are people today who feel dismembered by life. You may feel like something has torn your life apart. Maybe it is something done to you or something you have done. You may feel separated from God, from peace, and from hope.

But here is the truth of the cross: Jesus still remembers. He still puts lives back together. Just as surely as He spoke to that thief, He speaks to us today.

That is the power of grace. It meets us right where we are. It does not require us to clean ourselves up first. It restores us.

So, when you come to the cross, or when you come to the communion table, ask yourself honestly, Is there any area of my life that feels torn apart?

Because the answer is found in Him.

Broken things do not have to stay broken.

Through the cross, they are remembered. They are restored. They are redeemed.

That is why the cross still matters today.
Fear of vendor lock-in is a top factor for moving to open source, up 68% this year compared to last year's report.

MINNEAPOLIS, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Perforce Software, the DevOps company for global teams seeking AI innovation at scale, in collaboration with the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and the Eclipse Foundation, has announced the release of the 2026 State of Open Source Report. The comprehensive report examines the global trends, priorities, and concerns impacting open source software (OSS) adoption. Based on survey responses from OSS users across organizations of all sizes and over a dozen industries worldwide, the findings reveal critical areas of maturity, opportunities for growth, and shifting attitudes around security, compliance, and sovereignty.

The State of Open Source 2026 report.

Key Report Findings

Europe is moving towards OSS at a faster pace than US counterparts due to vendor lock-in concern (63% in EU and UK vs 51% in US)

60% of those working for large enterprises (5,000+ employees) spend 50% or more of their time on maintenance and bug fixes.

Keeping up with security updates and patches remains the greatest challenge across all organization sizes.

The majority of organizations that failed a compliance audit last year have end-of-life (EOL) software in their stacks, and the audit failure rate was twice as high for those running legacy versions of Tomcat, Spring Boot, and Spring Framework.

Avoiding vendor lock-in has emerged as a leading driver of open source software adoption, cited by 55% of respondents  representing a 68% year-over-year increase. The trend is particularly pronounced in the EU and the UK, where 63% of organizations identified vendor lock-in as a top reason for choosing OSS, compared to 51% in North America.

"Digital autonomy has become a strategic priority for European organizations, and it's part of a broader push toward data sovereignty in light of increasingly strict EU regulatory requirements," said Matthew Weier O'Phinney, Principal Product Manager for Perforce OpenLogic and the report's lead author. "Open source provides a clear path to that independence, but it must be paired with infrastructure choices that preserve flexibility. Vendors that focus on portability  allowing customers to deploy where they choose  and deliver value instead of lock-in will be essential partners in achieving digital sovereignty."

While the report shows that open source adoption is robust  less than 2% of organizations decreased their OSS in the past year  it also uncovers operational, security, and compliance challenges preventing some organizations from realizing its full potential.

Open Source Maintenance Overshadows Development

The report reveals that 60% of those working for large enterprises (5,000+ employees) spend 50% or more of their time on maintenance and bug fixes. For Enterprise Java teams, the imbalance is even more severe: close to one-third (31%) spend between 75 to 90% of their time maintaining and fixing, leaving only 10 to 25% for new functionalities.

"The six-month release cycle for JDK, which has also been adopted for Spring Framework, means that Java developers must upgrade more frequently," Weier O'Phinney explained. "Additionally, Java 17 introduced a breaking namespace change that affects nearly all Java applications, which automation cannot fully correct. This shifts development focus from features to maintenance, costing companies valuable time."

Security and Vulnerability Remediation Hurdles Remain

Keeping up with security updates and patches remains the greatest challenge across all organization sizes. 20% of organizations admit to having no specific process for addressing Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), while 39% of large enterprises report that meeting internal SLAs for vulnerability remediation is difficult.

Compliance Risks Linked to Legacy OSS and Lack of Planning

The majority of organizations that failed a compliance audit last year have end-of-life (EOL) software in their stacks, including CentOS and AngularJS. Alarmingly, the audit failure rate was twice as high for those running legacy versions of Tomcat, Spring Boot, and Spring Framework. Furthermore, only 16% of respondents indicated that they have a plan to address forthcoming compliance changes, like the EU Cyber Resilience Act, which is partially in effect now and will be fully enforced by the end of 2027.

"This year's findings confirm what the open source community has long understood: the freedom to choose your own technology path is a strategic necessity. A 68% surge in organizations citing vendor lock-in avoidance tells us that enterprises are actively seeking the flexibility and independence that open source uniquely provides," said Deb Bryant, Interim Executive Director, Open Source Initiative. "That growth reinforces why investing in the sustainability of open source projects and communities is so critical. The software can only deliver on its promise of digital autonomy if it remains well-maintained, well-funded, and truly open."

Resources

About Perforce

The best-run DevOps teams in the world choose Perforce. Powered by advanced technology, including powerful AI that takes you from AI ambition to real results, the Perforce suite is purpose-built to handle complexity, maintain speed without compromise, and ensure end-to-end integrity across your DevOps toolchain. With a global footprint spanning more than 80 countries and including over 75% of the Fortune 100, Perforce is the trusted partner for innovation.

Harness the power of AI and accelerate your technology delivery without shortcuts. Build, scale, and innovate with Perforcewhere efficiency meets intelligence.

About the Open Source Initiative

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is the steward of the Open Source Definition, setting the foundation for the global open source ecosystem. Founded in 1998, OSI protects and promotes open source software, development and communities, championing software freedom in society through education, collaboration and infrastructure. The OSI is a 501(c)3 non-profit, and anyone interested in supporting the defense of Open Source Definitions can join today at https://join.opensource.org.

About the Eclipse Foundation

The Eclipse Foundation provides our global community of individuals and organizations with a business-friendly environment for open source software collaboration and innovation. We host the Eclipse IDE, Adoptium, Software Defined Vehicle, Jakarta EE, and over 425 open source projects, including runtimes, tools, specifications, and frameworks for cloud and edge applications, IoT, AI, automotive, systems engineering, open processor designs, and many others. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the Eclipse Foundation is an international non-profit association supported by over 350 members. To learn more, follow us on social media @EclipseFdn, LinkedIn, or visit eclipse.org.

Media Contact

PERFORCE

Maxine Ambrose

Ambrose Communications

Ph: +44 118 328 0180

[email protected]

SOURCE Perforce Software
Royal Countryside Fund

King Charles has become the patron of the Community Security Trust (CST) after four ambulances operated by a fellow Jewish charity were firebombed yesterday.

CST announced that King Charles III had accepted its invitation to become a charity patron, said to be its first, after its annual dinner last night.

This came hours after an arson attack in Golders Green, north London, in which four ambulances owned by Jewish charity Hatzola Northwest Trust were destroyed next to a synagogue.

CST, which monitors antisemitism in the UK and assists victims, said that it was honoured by the kings patronage amid a troubling socio-political climate.

His majestys longstanding commitment to promoting tolerance, inclusion and interfaith understanding aligns closely with CSTs mission to protect British Jews, the charity said in a statement.

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood, the keynote speaker, health secretary Wes Streeting and Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley were among 1,200 guests at the event last night.

Mahmood condemned the arson attack, which is being investigated by counter terrorism police, and praised the work of CST and its volunteers.

CST chief executive Mark Gardner told the audience: Despite it all, actually because of it all, CST has never been stronger or more determined than we are right now.

Replacement ambulances will be provided on loan from the London Ambulance Service and Streeting confirmed the government will cover the cost of the destroyed vehicles.

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,
Sign up for the daily CJR newsletter.

I remember the first time I walked into the newsroom of Africa Uncensored, an independent investigative outlet based in Nairobi. It was 2016, and I was part of the inaugural cohort of Investigate 101, the outlets mentorship program for aspiring accountability journalists. At the time, I was in my mid-twenties and had worked mostly in fast-paced news environments where in-depth journalism was viewed as a luxury. I had been chosen, along with a small group of other early-career reporters, through a competitive process; I hoped to learn to report and produce complex investigative stories with skill and rigor.

What stood out about Africa Uncensored was not the editing suites or the cameras, but the quiet intensity of a newsroom built entirely around accountability. Here, the focus was on slowing down, following the evidence, and staying with a story long enough to understand it. Stories took months, sometimes longer.

The training began with a one-week intensive, followed by six months of reporting and producing a documentary. When it ended, I left to freelance, but I returned to Africa Uncensored a few years later as a producer. My first major project was a four-part documentary examining how Kenya Airways had gone from being a profitable national carrier to losing billions of shillings. It took our team nearly a year of cultivating sources, obtaining leaked audit reports from whistleblowers, and working through financial records that had long been public but were rarely scrutinized. The second documentary I worked on examined Kenyas mounting debt to China. Both projects pointed to the same reality: the most important documents are often the ones nobody bothers to read.

Africa Uncensored has built a unique model for investigative journalism in East Africa, and demonstrated how to endure sustained pressure while holding power to account. Its mentorship program is central to that. Fred Kagonye, a fellow alum of the mentorship program who is now an investigative reporter at The Standard, one of Kenyas leading daily newspapers, described it as an important launchpad that instills rigorous research habits and an awareness of the legal environment. It allowed me to see what the craft really is, he said. Without such programs, Kagonye added, many journalists would never encounter investigative reporting in practice. Most newsrooms want investigations, he said, but dont invest in training.

John-Allan Namu, a cofounder of Africa Uncensored, described mentorship as both a safeguard and a long-term investment. It spreads the risk, he said, by creating more journalists capable of holding power to account. For me, its about building the field so were not a lonesome voice, in our country or on the continent.

That is no small task anywhere. In East Africa, where shrinking revenues and rising political pressure have hollowed out many newsrooms, accountability reporting is at risk. Yet Africa Uncensored has, since its founding a decade ago, managed to publish hard-hitting long-form investigations into corruption, extrajudicial killings, and corporate abuse while absorbing legal harassment, financial pressure, and attempts to intimidate its reporters. Since 2023, Kenyan police have also detained at least three Africa Uncensored reporters while they were covering protests, part of a recurring pattern of journalists being arrested, assaulted, or blocked from documenting demonstrations and public unrest.

The newsroom grew out of Namus conviction that investigative journalism in Kenya had become episodic rather than institutional. Accountability reporting was praised when it appeared, but it was not practiced consistently enough to act as a sustained check on power. There was no place where investigative reporting was the primary product, he said. Without consistency, it was difficult for the work to influence the field.

Sign up for CJRs daily email

By 2015, when he left his role as a special projects editor at Kenya Television Networka leading national broadcaster known for its news and investigative reportingNamu was ready for a new venture. He cofounded Africa Uncensored that year as an experiment in bypassing mainstream media pressures, but he quickly realized that he was unprepared for the business and financial demands of running a newsroom. He had not anticipated the sheer amount of time required for managerial tasks, from tax compliance and audits to balance sheets and donor accountability, which diverted energy from the journalism itself. We were building the plane as we were flying it, he told me. By bringing in trusted staff with administrative and financial expertise and forging early partnerships that prioritized organizational capacity, he made the new outlet sustainable. (The other two cofounders left Africa Uncensored around 2017 for roles in Kenyan politics and international media.)

Like many independent investigative outlets, Africa Uncensored operates with far smaller audiences and fewer resources than Kenyas major television networks, limiting its reach. And in a country where corruption often goes unpunished, even major exposes do not always lead to accountability. But in building the outlet, Namu sought to address his longtime frustration with the orientation of legacy newsrooms in Kenya, which he said have gravitated toward power and often treated ordinary people as passive victims, rather than political actors with rights and agency. Journalism should help restore dignity by making those people visible again, Namu said.

Africa Uncensored primarily produces in-depth video investigations that are published on YouTube and social media, alongside written reporting on its website. Its flagship work chronicles systemic failure and elite impunity by centering those most affected. One of its earliest investigations was Kanjo Kingdom, which was released in 2016 and documented how Nairobi City County Inspectorate officersknown locally as kanjoextorted bribes and used violence against informal street vendors and hawkers, many of whom survive on one hundred dollars or less per month. The expose, which used hidden-camera footage, followed five officers and revealed how vendors working on the citys sidewalks without formal licenses were coerced to surrender much of their meager earnings under threats ranging from harassment and confiscation of their goods to beatings and stabbings. Some of the officers captured in the documentary were implicated in a vendors murder. After the project ran, five officers were suspended; four of them were later charged with murder and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. The victims widow also filed a civil suit against the officers and the Nairobi county government and was awarded four million shillings (about thirty-one thousand dollars) in damages. Africa Uncensoreds subsequent reporting on war profiteering in South Sudan and through cross-border collaborations like the Pandora Papers situated Kenyan power within a wider transnational system of secrecy and impunity. Sometimes journalism is a spark, Namu said. Other times, its a library.

Investigative journalism in Kenya is increasingly met with legal and psychological pressure, including SLAPP suits filed by politically connected individuals and corporations. The goal is not necessarily to win, Namu said. Its to exhaust you. Odanga Madung, the cofounder and managing director of OdipoDev, a Nairobi-based research and data analysis firm that tracks media, public discourse, and social trends, describes this as a broader shift in how political and corporate leaders manage scrutiny. You dont have to censor journalism anymore, Madung said. You just have to make it expensive.

For a reporter named Cynthia Gichiri, that logic became personal. Her 2024 Africa Uncensored investigation into a fraudulent fertilizer scheme began with a tip from a source via one of the organizations social media platforms. As the reporting progressed, over the course of two years, sources grew fearful and Gichiri received a barrage of phone calls and emails from people connected to the schemesome distancing themselves, others asking her to kill the story. At some point, people were looking for me, Gichiri said, describing how intermediaries, including other journalists, were used to track down her personal information. One day I received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number, she said. The profile picture showed a man holding a gun. The message left her anxious until the newsroom stepped in, helping to secure her devices and offering safety guidance and counseling to manage the stress.

When the investigation was finally published, it triggered a parliamentary inquiry, a rare outcome. Gichiri first encountered investigative reporting through Investigate 101, as I did, though in a different cohort, before joining the staff of Africa Uncensored; she never imagined in my wildest dreams that her work would have such consequence, she told me. Although the inquiry cleared the agriculture cabinet secretary of wrongdoing, eight senior officials from the government agency involved in the scheme were suspended and criminally charged.

Gichiris experience was not an anomaly. Joy Kirigias Title Deals series exposed systemic failures within Kenyas land administration system and contributed to the arrests of two people on land fraud charges and the return of two parcels of stolen property. One of the parcels had been subdivided among forty members of a land-buying cooperativea common Kenyan model in which groups pool resources to purchase land collectively; the owners had been dispossessed and denied access. Although the series focused on the experiences of two of the victims, all forty members of the cooperative regained ownership following the investigation.

Yet Kirigia said the most significant impact lay elsewhere: in exposing how corruption has hollowed out public faith in the rule of law. The work was heavy, she said, reflecting the emotional toll of witnessing people lose land they had legally owned and the slow, frustrating pace of justice. When people stop believing in the law, Kirigia said, it signals something far more dangerous for society.

This erosion of trust is a defining regional challenge, and investigative reporting can be indispensable in addressing it. Madung, of OdipoDev, sees Africa Uncensored as operating in a third space, combining large-newsroom rigor with the intimacy and accountability of a small, audience-facing organization. They can set national agendas without losing closeness to the public, he said.

Amid shrinking ad revenue and rising political pressure, that positioning is not accidental. Most newsrooms, Madung said, are less constrained by fear than by economics. The survival of Africa Uncensored, he noted, has depended on treating journalism as infrastructure that requires an ongoing investment in safety, technology, and people. Its work circulates far beyond its platform and is used by citizens and activists to challenge power. Thats when journalism has real force, he said.

Navigating financial realities has likewise been central to the newsrooms survival. From the start, Namu said, Africa Uncensored adopted a hybrid model of philanthropic grants and commercial income to retain editorial control. It would be foolish to rely on one partner, Namu said. We need to be certain our work is free from interests that could manipulate it.

Some critics have targeted the outlets donors in an attempt to undermine its credibility. During protests over proposed tax increases and rising living costs in July of 2024, Kenyan president William Ruto accused the Ford Foundation, one of Africa Uncensoreds donors, of sponsoring violence during the demonstrations. A senior Kenyan official also wrote to the foundation, listing Africa Uncensored among grantees that were allegedly at the centre of protests and questioning grants that he said were used for nefarious ends.

It was a familiar tactic. Propaganda around funding is a pernicious one, Namu said, describing a pattern of coordinated online attacks over the years that recast scrutiny in the public interest as foreign subversion. The goal is to get people not to focus on the quality of the work.

Even as mentorship and networks help safeguard journalists, Namu sees a deeper, systemic challenge taking shape. At Stanford University, where he is a 202526 JSK fellow, he is looking beyond political pressure to the concentration of power in global tech platforms and AIs growing influence over how information circulates. Namu describes an algorithmic empire that harvests content, shapes visibility, and personalizes worldviews. The sovereignty of our stories has to be secured, he says, to ensure that investigative work retains its value, reach, and impact.

The ultimate danger, as rigorous reporting is drowned out by algorithmic distribution systems, is not censorship but invisibility. Africa Uncensoreds next-decade challenge is not uncovering wrongdoing, but maintaining its influence in digital systems that reward scale, speed, and sentiment over accountability.

For Namu, though, the measure of success extends beyond any single outlet. Even if the best reporting doesnt come from Africa Uncensored, it will come from somewhere else, he said. For me that would mean one of my goals has been achieved: that the field is built.
Toyota Motor Corp. outlined plans to invest $1 billion to increase vehicle output at its plants in two states, the latest tranche of a broader spending commitment of as much as $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years.

The worlds largest carmaker said Monday it will plow $800 million into its factory in Georgetown, Kentucky, to boost production of its best-selling RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle and Camry sedan, as well as to manufacture a new electric vehicle. It will also earmark an additional $200 million for its Princeton, Indiana, facility to increase capacity for its popular Grand Highlander midsize SUV.

The announcement comes just days after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a visit to the White House, following up on President Donald Trumps trip to Tokyo in October where word of Toyotas larger investment pledge first became public. Trump has been pushing Japan and its carmakers to shift more production to the US and has imposed punitive tariffs on imports of vehicles and auto parts.

Toyotas investment in the U.S. is for the long-term, tied to our philosophy of building where we sell and buying where we build, Mark Templin, the companys North American chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Toyota declined to specify how many more vehicles will be produced at the two plants and a spokesperson said no new jobs will be created from the investment. The added capacity will help meet demand for the carmakers popular gas-electric hybrids at a time when gasoline prices are rising due to the war in Iran. Both the Camry and RAV4 models are only offered as hybrids and more than half of Grand Highlander sales are hybrids.

Some of the $800 million going into the Kentucky factory has already been spent on retooling an assembly line that previously built the luxury Lexus ES sedan, production of which was shifted back to Japan last year. Toyota currently produces three high-end Lexus models in North America  the TX midsize sedan in Indiana and the Canadian-made NX compact crossover and RX SUV.

In November, Toyota said it would invest $912 million to increase output of hybrid components and vehicles at its Kentucky plant and other production facilities in Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia.

The investment decision followed Trumps singling out of Toyota by name in April for importing too many vehicles from Japan to the US, and evokes a similar pledge made by Toyota in 2017 during his first administration.

That earlier promise by the Japanese automaker was to invest $13 billion on its US operations. Toyota said it spent those funds and that its total investment in the US exceeds $50 billion spread over nearly seven decades.

Top photo: Workers inspect vehicles at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, in 2019. Bloomberg.

Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
Wildfires, severe convective storms and floods  also known as secondary perils  accounted for a record 92% of total global natural catastrophe insured losses of US$107 billion in 2025, according to Swiss Re Institute.

Wildfires set a new loss record after the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles in January 2025 created combined insured losses of US$40 billion, while losses from severe convective storms (SCS)  which include hailstorms and damaging winds  were elevated at US$51 billion in 2025, said Swiss Re. Swiss Re noted that 2025 was the third costliest year on record for SCS after 2023 and 2024 (in 2025 prices).

Wildfire stands out as the fastest-growing risk, with insured losses increasing by an estimated 12% per year, said the Swiss Re sigma report titled Natural catastrophes in 2025: the persistent rise of wildfire and storm risk.

Meanwhile, global flood-related insured losses were well below average in 2025  at US$3.4 billion compared to a US$15.4 billion previous five-year average, the report said.

While US$107 billion is high by historical standards, it was well below the US$140 billion implied by the long-term growth trend due to the absence of a major US hurricane landfall, Swiss Re added.

Despite one below-trend year in 2025, insured losses are still rising by 5%7% annually on average in real terms, the report said.

The below-trend natural catastrophe losses seen in 2025 are the result of favourable variability rather than any easing of underlying risk. If losses return to normal long-term levels, they would total US$148 billion in 2026, commented to Balz Grollimund, head Catastrophe Perils, in a statement accompanying the report.

The report warned that insured losses from natural disasters will likely reach US$186 billion by 2030, if losses return to long-term trends.

According to our modeled peak-loss scenario, insured losses could even climb to about US$320 billion in 2026. As exposure keeps building, the upward trend in insured losses is structural and it is critical to identify the risk drivers behind this to manage and reduce risks before losses occur, Grollimund continued.

Insurance Protection Gaps

Global economic losses from natural catastrophes were US$220 billion in 2025, about 49% of which were insured  the highest insured share on sigma records. (Economic losses include insured and uninsured losses. Protection gaps are the share of uninsured losses relative to total economic losses).

Man-made insured losses during 2025 were US$13 billion with man-made economic losses of US$15 billion.

Discussing the record percentage of economic losses that were insured last year, Swiss Re said the fact that the figure hit almost 50% is a clear indication that the insurance industry is playing its part in closing global insurance protection gaps.

However, protection gaps remain especially wide in emerging economies, where 8090% of catastrophe losses are typically not covered by insurance, underscoring the need to pair stronger adaptation and risk management with broader, more accessible insurance coverage, the report said.

The report noted that even major advanced economies face significant underinsurance for low-frequency high-impact events such as earthquakes.

Swiss Re said adaptation measures can help stabilize the loss trajectory and ease some of the cost pressures. For example, in the U.S., where catastrophe losses are now the largest share of personal property insurance claims, targeted physical adaptation at homeowner level can reduce insured losses.

The report said natural catastrophe protection gaps can be narrowed by taking an integrated approach that combines insurance coverage with risk-adaptation measures in exposed areas

Editors note: So-called secondary perils include wildfires, SCS, floods, winter storms (outside of Europe), droughts and all other non-primary natural catastrophe perils. However, secondary perils exclude earthquakes, tropical cyclones and extratropical cyclones (European winter storms).

Top photo: A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope,File).
Organization urges Disaster Relief donations on Red Cross Giving Day, March 25

News Summary:

As forecasters warn of elevated spring storm, flood and wildfire risks nationwide, the American Red Cross urges people to donate on the organization's Giving Day, March 25, to help ensure families don't face disasters alone.

So far this year, thousands of families nationwide have relied on Red Cross volunteers after disasters of all kinds. In January alone, following severe winter storms across nearly a dozen states, volunteers provided 30% more meals and snacks than during the same period last year  when the Red Cross responded to record wildfires in Los Angeles.

People can visit redcross.org/GivingDay to donate to Disaster Relief and help people affected by disasters big and small, whenever and wherever they occur across the country.

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As forecasters warn of elevated spring storm, flood and wildfire risks nationwide, the American Red Cross urges people to donate on the organization's Giving Day, March 25, to help ensure families don't face disasters alone.

American Red Cross disaster relief volunteers Shanelle McKinney and Jerry Yothment respond to a neighborhood in Lake Village, Indiana, struck by tornadoes in March. Photo by Janie Bohlmann/American Red Cross.

"Spring ushers in some of the year's most volatile weather  and when disasters strike, they can upend lives in an instant," said Edgar Olivo, regional executive for the Red Cross. "Whether families are facing a major storm, home fire or other crisis, they're counting on the Red Cross to be there with relief and hope. That's why Red Cross Giving Day calls on all of us to come together now and ensure support is there when help can't wait."

Visit redcross.org/GivingDay to donate to Disaster Relief on Red Cross Giving Day, March 25. This year's Giving Day aims to rally 30,000 individuals to help people affected by disasters big and small, whenever and wherever they occur across the country.

2026 To Date: Thousands Rely on Red Cross after Disasters

So far this year, thousands of families nationwide have relied on Red Cross volunteers after disasters of all kinds. This has included:

January: Severe winter storms across nearly a dozen states forced thousands of people to rely on Red Cross volunteers for shelter, food and relief supplies. Demand was so great that volunteers provided more meals and snacks than they did in January 2025, when the Red Cross responded to record wildfires in Los Angeles. All told, the Red Cross provided more than 264,000 meals and snacks in January  a 30% increase from the same period last year.

Severe winter storms across nearly a dozen states forced thousands of people to rely on Red Cross volunteers for shelter, food and relief supplies. Demand was so great that volunteers provided more meals and snacks than they did in January 2025, when the Red Cross responded to record wildfires in Los Angeles. All told, the Red Cross provided more than 264,000 meals and snacks in January  a increase from the same period last year. February: The Red Cross supported more than 50 emergency shelters and warming centers in communities across the country for families displaced by winter storms stretching from California to New York, as well as extensive flooding on the West Coast and wildfires across the Plains.

The Red Cross supported more than in communities across the country for families displaced by winter storms stretching from California to New York, as well as extensive flooding on the West Coast and wildfires across the Plains. March: More than 500 Red Cross disaster workers have been responding around the clock this month to deliver immediate relief to people affected by flash floods in Hawaii, tornadoes in the central U.S., severe storms in the East and wildfires in Nebraska  in addition to daily home fires nationwide. In fact, home fires account for most of the more than 60,000 disasters that the Red Cross responds to every year.

How Donations Help People Affected by Disasters

The Red Cross mission depends on generous donations, which support nearly 100% of Red Cross disaster relief efforts. Each donation fuels the work of volunteers  who make up 90% of the Red Cross workforce  to provide aid like emergency shelter, food, relief supplies, basic health services, emotional support and financial assistance.

"No gift is too small," Olivo said. "Every donation helps a family facing one of the hardest moments of their lives."

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Red Cross Giving Day?

A: This year's Red Cross Giving Day is on March 25 during Red Cross Month in March. It's an opportunity for people to come together on one day to help families across the country recover from a home fire or other disaster. Donations can be made at redcross.org/GivingDay.

Q: I'm not able to give financially. Can I still help?

A: Yes, there are many ways to help people through the Red Cross. Individuals can visit redcross.org to give blood or sign up to volunteer.

This year's severe weather so far has forced thousands of blood donations to go uncollected. It's the generosity of blood donors in unimpacted areas that the Red Cross is able to help meet the everyday needs of patients.

The Red Cross offers a wide range of volunteer opportunities to match people's needs, including helping families after local disasters through our Disaster Action Teams, welcoming blood donors to donation sites as a blood donor ambassador, and delivering lifesaving blood products to local hospitals as a blood transportation specialist.

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
BOSTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rubin Rudman is pleased to announce that Joseph Bodoff and Rion Vaughan, partners in the firm's Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights practice, have been selected for inclusion in the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers list for the second consecutive year. The guide recognizes "traditional bankruptcy lawyers, specialists in leveraged finance and restructuring, and litigators well-versed in financial litigation and distress"  the "advisors who can keep their cool for companies, investors, governments, and others on the fiscal precipice."

Joseph Bodoff brings over 45 years of experience in bankruptcy, insolvency and creditors' rights matters, and commercial litigation to his practice. He represents debtors, secured creditors, trade creditors, landlords, equity holders, purchasers of assets, and other interested parties across a wide range of industries in bankruptcy, Chapter 11 reorganizations and out-of-court workouts. His litigation experience includes prosecuting and defending preference and fraudulent transfer actions, successor liability claims, personal guaranties, and complex contract disputes.

Bodoff is the author of the ABI's Creditors' Committee Manual (Sixth Edition) and a contributing author to the treatise Bankruptcy Business Acquisitions (Second Edition). He has been named to Legal 500 Boston Elite in Banking & Finance (2026), Boston Magazine's Top Lawyers List for Bankruptcy (2021-2025) and Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2014-2025). Bodoff serves on the American Bar Association's Business Bankruptcy Committee. He is a former member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He received his B.S., with distinction, from Pennsylvania State University and his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law.

Rion Vaughan has extensive experience in insolvency, distressed asset transactions, and complex commercial litigation. He represents clients in formal and out-of-court insolvency proceedings, including Chapter 11 reorganizations, liquidations, receiverships, distressed asset sales, and avoidance action litigation. Vaughan's practice spans several key areas, including bankruptcy restructuring, distressed financing, asset-based financing, commercial foreclosures, M&A transactions, and bankruptcy litigation in both state and federal courts.

Vaughan was named to the Legal 500 Boston Elite in Banking & Finance (2026), Boston Magazine's Top Lawyers List for Bankruptcy (2025), and Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2024-2025). He is involved with the Turnaround Management Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the National College of Bankruptcy Judges. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Boston College Law School. Vaughan earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Stonehill College.

About Rubin Rudman

Founded over a century ago, Rubin Rudman is a full-service law firm with nearly 100 lawyers in Boston, Massachusetts. With a diverse mix of practices, Rubin Rudman serves national and international companies, including large public companies and closely held businesses; real estate developers; biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device makers; hospitality companies; regulated industries, public entities and municipalities; insurance companies and their insureds; educational and other institutions; non-profit organizations; families and high net worth individuals. Web: www.rubinrudman.com.

Contact:

Kristen Weller

Chief Marketing & Growth Officer

617.330.7189

[email protected]

SOURCE Rubin Rudman
Company's CypherAtlas database emerges as one of oncology's largest integrated dark transcriptome and proteome resources

SAN DIEGO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- RyboDyn, Inc., a biotechnology company decoding the dark proteome using an AI-powered novel sequencing and discovery platform, today announced the initial close of a $10M Seed financing from a syndicate of new and existing investors. The financing will accelerate the company's transition from foundational discovery into scaled platform execution and progress early-stage programs into IND-enabling studies.

RyboDyn founders Imad Ajjawi, PhD (left), and Corey Dambacher, PhD (right), at Lilly Gateway Labs in San Diego.

Oncology drug development is facing a paradox. While advances in AI and protein engineering are frequently touted as significantly accelerating drug design, the targets those drugs chase are more crowded than ever. For example, the well-known EGFR target has over 200 drugs approved or in development, and the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint axis has nearly 200 more. In an era of intense focus on AI-driven drug design, the bottleneck is no longer the ability to design high-affinity molecules. It's target discovery. The field needs new biology, and conventional genomics has largely run out of it.

RyboDyn is looking somewhere else entirely.

For decades, much of the human genome, nearly 98%, was considered "junk" DNA. We now know that some of these regions are transcriptionally active, yet they remain largely invisible to conventional sequencing approaches. RyboDyn has built the tools to decipher this hidden code to reveal novel biology. The company is now translating these discoveries into actionable cancer targets to enable first-in-class therapies for patients with limited or no treatment options.

At the core is RyboCypher, the company's proprietary discovery engine, which combines deep sequencing of non-canonical RNAs with proteomic detection to identify disease-specific, druggable targets directly from patient tumors. These data are continuously integrated into CypherAtlas, creating a proprietary, searchable atlas that powers foundational AI models to decode the dark proteome at scale.

Since announcing the discovery of a cryptic human proteome last year, initially demonstrated as proof-of-concept in cell line models, RyboDyn has rapidly expanded its proprietary CypherAtlas to include data from ~1,000 patient tumor samples across 10 distinct oncology indications. This expansion has driven the discovery from hundreds of thousands to more than 3 million conserved, novel dark (previously not characterized) RNAs, while increasing the number of cryptic peptides encoded by these dark RNA species by over two orders of magnitude. Taken together, the CypherAtlas database now contains more than 80,000 cryptic peptides identified empirically by mass spectrometry, including ~15,000 cancer-specific peptides. Many of these proteins contain recognizable functional domains, suggesting roles as cryptic transcription factors, regulatory proteins, and novel cancer drivers that are frequently localized to the cell surface or secreted into the extracellular space. Together, these features make them especially attractive therapeutic targets, with membrane-bound and focal adhesion-associated proteins emerging as high-priority opportunities for targeted immunotherapies. CypherAtlas is now the largest integrated dark transcriptome and proteome resource in the field, positioning the atlas as a one-of-a-kind engine for novel target discovery.

"We set out to find the proteins that cancer hides behind, and we're now uncovering them at scale. RyboCypher and CypherAtlas provide a continuously expanding map of that hidden biology," said Imad Ajjawi, PhD, MBA, CEO and Co-founder of RyboDyn. "We're actively translating these discoveries into first-in-class therapies, both internally and with leading pharmaceutical partners."

Critically, RyboDyn's novel cryptic targets represent an entirely uncontested target landscape. While established oncology targets each have hundreds of drugs in development, the therapies are inherently limited to patients who express those targets. HER2, for example, is present in only ~15-20% of breast cancer patients, leaving the majority of breast cancer patients without access to viable targeted immunotherapies. In contrast, RyboDyn's cryptic targets expand beyond conventional target space, enabling novel, tumor-specific therapies for broader patient populations.

"It's clear that the molecules we're finding and describing for the first time represent a vast opportunity to tackle some of the most aggressive cancers," said Dr. Corey Dambacher, President and Co-founder of RyboDyn. "In a cohort of HER2-negative breast cancer patients, we identified a novel target present in approximately 45% of the tumors we analyzed. Some of these are triple-negative patients with limited treatment options. That's the value proposition of our approach; the integration of RyboCypher with CypherAtlas allows us to identify entirely new, actionable targets."

The company has already demonstrated proof-of-concept in vitro, including the first-ever ADC-mediated killing of tumor cells via a cryptic protein targeta milestone that helped catalyze the current financing. "RyboDyn is tackling one of the most underexplored frontiers in cancer biology," said Eric Woersching, Managing Partner, at Massive Tech Ventures, a new institutional investor in the round. "Their ability to systematically discover and validate targets from the dark proteome at this scale is highly differentiated. This new therapeutic landscape represents a fundamental shift in how cancer is targeted and RyboDyn is pioneering this shift."

About RyboDyn, Inc.

RyboDyn is redefining how diseases are targeted by decoding a previously hidden human proteome; cryptic proteins missed by conventional and next-generation sequencing. Powered by RyboCypher, its proprietary sequencing and AI platform, the company uncovers and validates novel, disease-specific cryptic targets to enable first-in-class antibody therapeutics for cancer and other diseases with high unmet medical need.

With proprietary IP licensed from Oregon Health & Science University, Knight Cancer Institute, RyboDyn is advancing a differentiated "targets-to-assets" approach to therapeutic development. The company is based at Lilly Gateway Labs in San Diego and is a member of Lilly's AI TuneLabs consortium and NVIDIA's Inception Program, and has publicly disclosed a strategic collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center.

RyboDyn is backed by leading global investors, including Genedant, SeaX Ventures, SOSV, Swell VC, Massive Tech Ventures, and P2V. The company was founded by serial entrepreneurs with prior venture-backed exits, including leadership roles in companies that achieved multi-billion-dollar public offerings and acquisitions.

Media Contact

Andy Bass

VP, Corporate Strategy

[email protected]

SOURCE RyboDyn
Amazon has acquired Fauna Robotics, a startup that builds "approachable" humanoid robots for consumers and businesses, the company confirmed Tuesday. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

"We are excited about Fauna's vision to build capable, safe, and fun robots for everyone," an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. "Together with Amazon's robotics expertise and decades of experience earning customer trust in the home through our retail and devices businesses, we're looking forward to inventing new ways to make our customers' lives better and easier."

Bloomberg was first to report on the acquisition.

Fauna Robotics was founded in 2024 by former Meta and Google engineers. Earlier this year, the New York-based company launched Sprout, a $50,000 bipedal robot that's 3 feet, 6 inches tall, weighs 50 pounds and is designed to be "approachable and human-friendly," as well as "genuinely accessible" to software developers.

The company said at the time that it signed up Disney and Hyundai's Boston Dynamics as early customers.

Fauna's roughly 50 employees will join Amazon in New York, the company said. In a LinkedIn post, Fauna co-founder and CEO Rob Cochran said he was "incredibly excited" for Fauna to join Amazon.

"We are thrilled about what joining the Amazon team means for our future," Cochran wrote. "Going forward, we will proudly operate as Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company."
Amazon 's Zoox self-driving unit is preparing to launch its robotaxi service to some members of the public in Austin and Miami later this year, the company announced Tuesday.

Zoox will soon deploy its toaster-shaped robotaxis, which have no steering wheel or pedals, for testing in "a small area" of both cities. Trips will initially be limited to Zoox employees and their family and friends, before it launches its Explorer program, where the public can join a waitlist to ride in the vehicles.

The company has slowly opened up its robotaxi service to the public over the past year.

Zoox, which Amazon acquired in 2020, began offering free driverless rides last year around the Las Vegas Strip and certain San Francisco neighborhoods. As of late March, the company said it had served 350,000 riders and about 500,000 people have joined its waitlist.

Zoox is racing to catch up to Alphabet 's Waymo, the U.S. robotaxi leader. Waymo currently offers 400,000 paid rides per week across six U.S. metro areas. It's now operating its service commercially in 10 U.S. cities and aiming for expansion to London and Tokyo this year.

As part of Tuesday's announcement, Zoox is also expanding its service areas in San Francisco and Las Vegas.

The move will quadruple Zoox's coverage in San Francisco to include the Marina, North Beach, Chinatown and Pacific Heights neighborhoods, as well as along the Embarcadero. Previously, its service was limited to the city's SoMa, Mission and Design districts.
For more than 35 years, Arm Holdings has licensed its instruction sets to the world's biggest chipmakers and collected royalties on every processor made with its designs. Now the U.K.-based company is making physical silicon of its own for the first time.

Arm CEO Rene Haas unveiled his company's first in-house chip on Tuesday at an event in San Francisco. Arm is calling the new data center central processing unit the AGI CPU. It's a long-anticipated move that marks a major change for the so-called Switzerland of chip firms as it enters into fresh competition with its customers.

Meta is the first to sign on, as the social media company builds out multiple gigawatts of AI data centers and plans to shell out up to $135 billion on capital expenditures this year. In February, Meta secured a huge amount of chips from both Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices .

"In today's world, you really only have a couple of players," said Meta software engineer Paul Saab, who helped with the Arm chip project since its start in 2023, in an interview with CNBC. "This adds yet another player to the ecosystem for us."

Saab added that the Arm deal "allows a lot more flexibility in our software stack and in our supply chain."

Terms of the agreement weren't disclosed. For Arm, the deal marks a major win and a stamp of approval from one of the most valuable companies in the world.

"Let's say they get 5% of Meta's $115 to $135 billion capex going into the future," said chip analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights. "That is a game changer on the top line for them."

It's also the latest sign that CPUs are seeing a resurgence in demand. Nvidia, which has established itself as the leader in AI graphics processing units, recently told CNBC that CPUs are "becoming the bottleneck" as agentic AI changes compute needs. Futurum Group calls it a "quiet supply crisis," predicting the CPU market growth rate could exceed GPU growth by 2028.

While GPUs are ideal for training and running AI models because their thousands of cores can perform many operations simultaneously, CPUs have a smaller number of powerful cores running sequential general-purpose tasks. Agentic AI requires a lot of general compute power, with large amounts of data moving around across multiple agents.

At Nvidia's annual GTC conference last week, CEO Jensen Huang unveiled an entire rack filled only with Vera CPUs. At the Arm event on Tuesday, Huang appeared in a recorded statement congratulating Arm on its new CPU.

Top leaders from Google , Amazon , Microsoft , Oracle, Broadcom , Micron , Samsung , SK Hynix and Marvell also appeared in the video. Arm told CNBC about 50 partners signaled support ahead of the launch.

"It's a $1 trillion market, and what we're seeing over and over again is actually our partners coming out and understanding and realizing this is actually great for the industry," Mohamed Awad, Arm's cloud AI head, told CNBC in an interview.

CNBC got an exclusive first look at Arm's new chip lab where it's preparing the new CPU for full production later this year.
 This is the script of CNBC's financial news report for China's CCTV on March 24, 2026.

On Monday local time, although Trump said that the United States and Iran had already begun talks to end the Middle East conflict, Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf denied on social media that there were any negotiations with the United States. As such conflicting reports continue to emerge, the market has become increasingly confused, making it difficult to form a clear outlook.

Before Trump made those remarks, Goldman Sachs had already raised its oil price forecast for this year.

It now expects Brent crude to average $85 per barrel in 2026, up from a previous forecast of $77, while its forecast for WTI has been raised from $72 to $79 per barrel.

However, some analysts warn that in the current environment, where the next headline or Trump's next social media post is difficult to predict, oil price movements are highly uncertain. In the near term, much will depend on how the U.S.-Iran situation evolves. The key focus for markets right now is the so-called "off-ramp," meaning whether both sides can de-escalate or even reach some form of agreement. But many critical questions remain unanswered, which party within Iran the U.S. is actually communicating with, and what form any potential solution might take, both remain unclear.

Paul Sankey

Oil & Gas Equity Research Analyst

Sankey Research

"I think the off ramp has to be some sort of negotiated agreement with the Iranians, which at this point probably has to be on the Iranians terms. And so that becomes another very difficult outcome. on top of that, it seemed like the Israelis were upset with the announcement and continued bombing today, but then they announced that they would stop bombing too. So, you know, it's been, as you said, a crazy day."

Against the backdrop of so many uncertainties, the one thing that is clear is that some long-term damage has already been done. On Monday local time, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said that since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict, more than 40 energy assets across nine countries in the region have been either "severely" or "very severely" damaged.

Birol said that oil and gas fields, refineries, and pipelines in the Middle East have suffered extensive damage, and repairs will take considerable time. He also warned that the impact of this conflict is comparable to the two oil crises of the 1970s combined with the gas crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.

More importantly, the disruption extends beyond oil and gas to include fertilizers, sulfur, and helium  all critical arteries of the global economy. Trade in these commodities has been nearly halted, which could have serious consequences for the global economy.

Finally, it is also worth noting that CNBC observed unusually active trading in S&P 500 futures and crude oil futures just minutes before Trump's post triggered market volatility overnight, around 6:50 a.m. New York time. At that time, there were no obvious market catalysts, and the trading activity drew market attention. We will continue to follow developments closely.
Lancang-Mekong cooperation sets example for building community with shared future for humanity: Chinese FM

Xinhua) 10:09, March 24, 2026

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, addresses the reception celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting in Beijing, capital of China, on March 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Dai Tianfang)

BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) has grown from a seed to a towering tree, setting an example for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when addressing the reception celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first LMC leaders' meeting.

Wang said over the past decade, the LMC countries have linked their future more closely together, gained more robust momentum for development, forged a stronger underpinning for security, and deepened their people-to-people exchanges.

He pointed out that upholding good neighborliness, friendship and a shared future, focusing on development to serve the people, as well as pursuing innovation and breaking new ground are the three principles essential to the robust development of the LMC.

Stressing the importance of better synergizing development strategies among the LMC countries, Wang called on the six countries to jointly build an LMC 2.0, and set an LMC example for global governance.

Wang called for unity and cooperation in the LMC, carrying forward the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness. He said the six countries should pursue openness and win-win outcomes, and press ahead with infrastructure connectivity.

On green and innovation-driven development, Wang said the six countries should advance cooperation in digital economy, artificial intelligence, sci-tech innovation and ecological governance, and promote investment in new energy.

The six countries should pursue mutual learning among civilizations, deepen cooperation in media outlets and think tanks and step up personnel and youth exchanges, Wang said.

They should also step up efforts to combat cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, and ensure the success of the Mekong River joint patrol and law enforcement operation, he added.

China will work with the five Mekong countries to usher in a new golden decade of the LMC, Wang said, calling for building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home.

Envoys from the five Mekong countries to China, diplomats from ASEAN member states and relevant international organizations in China, as well as officials from Chinese ministries, local governments, and think tanks attended the reception.

Two reports, "Building a Community with a Shared Future among Lancang-Mekong Countries: A Common Vision and Practical Pathways" and "Master Plan for Connectivity, Common Development, and Deep Integration in the Lancang-Mekong Region over the Next Decade," were released at the reception.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Key findings:

A retrospective study evaluated adults with both PTSD and depression who received a novel sequential bilateral TMS protocol from Family Care Center, which targets both sides of the brain.

Patients experienced about a 50% reduction in PTSD symptoms across all four core clusters, along with significant improvements in depression, and anxiety.

across all four core clusters, along with significant improvements in depression, and anxiety. These improvements were maintained at six months , suggesting durable, meaningful clinical benefits from bilateral TMS.

, suggesting durable, meaningful clinical benefits from bilateral TMS. The findings suggest stimulating both sides of the brain with TMS may help more patients achieve recovery, not just symptom improvement.

DENVER, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study published in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation reports that a novel TMS protocol administered at Family Care Center led to significant symptom improvement in PTSD, resulting in average scores below the clinical threshold.

The Family Care Center TMS Center of Excellence retrospectively analyzed a cohort of adult patients with both PTSD and depression, who were often unresponsive to medication and therapy.

Fig. 1 Mean patient PCL-5 cluster sub-scores at baseline and at final TMS session. Read the full study for further details.

How a TMS sequential bilateral protocol improves PTSD symptoms

TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, is an FDA-approved, non-invasive treatment that uses brief magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain involved in mood regulation, including regions linked to depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Treatments are delivered through a coil placed near the scalp, which safely activates nerve cells without surgery or medication.

Traditionally, TMS targets only the left hemisphere of the brain, which has the best evidence for the treatment of depression. By focusing on this area, standard TMS can help improve depressive symptoms in patients who have not responded fully to medication or psychotherapy.

Family Care Center's research explores a sequential bilateral approach, stimulating both the left and right sides of the brain to potentially enhance outcomes for patients with more complex or treatment-resistant conditions. The protocol that's applied to the right side is a patterned type of stimulation that delivers short bursts of pulses referred to as intermittent theta burst (iTBS). It is FDA-approved when applied to the left side. In the study, it was applied to the right side of the brain, in conjunction with treatments to the left side of the brain.

"Our research indicates that this sequential bilateral protocol can produce lasting relief for PTSD, anxiety and depression," said Family Care Center Founder and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Chuck Weber. "This protocol adds only minutes to standard treatment but may greatly improve outcomes and enhance quality of life."

What the study found

The study, Changes in core symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder associated with a novel sequential bilateral protocol: a case series, found that patients experienced about a 50% reduction in PTSD symptoms across all four core clusters:

Intrusive Memories: Thought intrusions about the trauma or re-experiencing symptoms Avoidance: The avoidance of external reminders and memories associated with the traumatic event Negative Thoughts or Mood: Changes in thoughts, mood, and outlook Startle Easily: Hyperarousal, irritability, or being easily startled

For each of the four core symptom cluster scores, there was a decrease of approximately 50%, a finding not previously reported with any TMS protocol. Depression and anxiety symptoms also improved significantly, with positive effects sustained at six months.

Supporting evidence from related research

These PTSD results build on a related Family Care Center retrospective study of about 600 adults with depression. That study found that over 80% had significant improvement, with more than half reaching full remission, notably higher than standard TMS remission rates.

Patients with both anxiety and PTSD also showed meaningful improvements, reinforcing the idea that this protocol may help more patients fully recover.

"Both of our TMS studies show that this sequential bilateral TMS protocol may offer more complete recovery for patients who are unresponsive to typical treatments," said Dr. Sabrina Segal, Director of Research. "By combining evidence-based protocols for both sides of the brain, we're observing durable results for PTSD, depression, and anxiety."

Why these TMS results matter

PTSD affects up to 30% of trauma survivors and military Veterans (Xue et al., 2015). Medications offer limited benefit, and psychotherapy often yields modest change, leaving many patients inadequately treated.

By demonstrating durable and clinically meaningful improvements, this study highlights this sequential bilateral TMS protocol as a promising alternative for patients who have struggled with traditional treatments.

The study, submitted December 21, 2025, was written by Charles L. Weber, D.O., Sabrina K. Segal, Stephen K. Gruschkus, Vaishnavi Sukumar, and Christopher G. Ivany, M.D. The researchers used standard clinical tools, such as the PTSD Clinician Checklist-5 (PCL-5), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Detailed research methods and results can be viewed in the TMS Journal. For more information about Family Care Center TMS and other services, visit fccwellbeing.com.

About Family Care Center

Family Care Center is a national leader in mental health services, dedicated to positively impacting the well-being of local communities. Their top-rated, multi-specialty clinicians deliver comprehensive, evidence-based care, providing positive outcomes for patients of all ages. In addition to therapy, psychiatry, and IOP, they are at the forefront of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an innovative treatment for depression, and more. Founded in 2016, Family Care Center is one of the fastest-growing mental health care providers in the U.S., providing patient care, conducting research, and offering continuing medical education in their field. With nearly 50 locations across Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas, they continue to expand nationally in collaboration with Revelstoke Capital Partners.

SOURCE Family Care Center
This screen grab shows soldiers and rescuers near an Air Force Hercules emitting thick smoke after the aircraft crashed during takeoff in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, near the southern border with Ecuador, on March 23, 2026. Colombia's military said on March 23 that about 80 troops were believed to be dead after a transport plane crash in the south of the country. (Photo by daniel ortiz / AFP via Getty Images)

A Colombian military plane crashed in a takeoff disaster on Monday, killing 66 people as rescuers shuttled dozens of survivors to nearby hospitals and searched for four who were still missing, according to a top official.

The Lockheed Martin -built Hercules C-130 transport plane was carrying 128 people, including 11 Air Force members, 115 army personnel and two national police officers, according to Hugo Alejandro Lopez, head of the nation's armed forces.

The death toll was nearly double that of the previous figure given by authorities, who continued search and recovery efforts at the site of the deadly crash.

The accident occurred as the plane was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, on the border with Peru, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X.

The plane was believed to have suffered an impact near the end of the runway as it was taking off, firefighter Eduardo San Juan Callejas told Caracol, with a wing of the plane later clipping a tree as it was plummeting.

The crash caused the plane to catch fire and detonate some sort of explosive devices on board, he added.

Residents of the remote area were the first to pull out survivors, with videos showing men speeding down a dirt road with wounded soldiers on the back of their motorcycles.

Military vehicles later arrived, though authorities said the crash site was difficult to reach, impeding rescue efforts.

Lopez said that 57 of the survivors had been hospitalized, with 30 of them in non-serious condition at a military clinic.
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Tuesday 's key moments. 1. The S & P 500 is little changed following Monday's rally, which came after President Donald Trump said that the U.S. and Iran were in talks about a resolution to the Iran war. Iran's state media, however, denied any direct conversations between the two nations. Cramer said the market was experiencing a "hangover." Mixed headlines can be misleading, added Jeff Marks, the Club's director of portfolio analysis, who cautioned against chasing yesterday's rally. The S & P Short Range Oscillator is still in oversold territory, which suggests stocks could be due for a bounce. We're in a good position to "nibble" on quality stocks that have fallen. 2. Shares of Wells Fargo are slightly lower despite more turmoil in the private credit industry. Moody's downgraded a private credit fund run by KKR and Future Standard to junk amid rising bad loans and batches of weak earnings. Separately, Ares Management became the latest alternative asset manager to cap fund withdrawals following a surge in investor redemption requests. But investors shouldn't worry about Wells Fargo's ties to private credit through its lending relationships, Cramer said. The story is "very positive for Wells Fargo right now," Jim said. 3. Microsoft was reinstated at Bank of America with a buy rating and $500 price target. Analysts said Microsoft is at the center of the artificial intelligence supercycle, with the ability to monetize the technology across its infrastructure and applications. With Microsoft down over 20% this year, Jim said he'd rather be a buyer of the stock than a seller. Part of what will define Microsoft's future trajectory, the firm said, is the strategic and financial implications of its partnership with OpenAI. Jim will try to get those answers from OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar when she joins "Mad Money" this evening. "I want to understand the ownership structure [between OpenAI and Microsoft] and get some comfort there," Cramer said. "But I really want to talk about the growth, which is extraordinary." 4. Stocks covered in Tuesday's rapid fire at the end of the video were: Estee Lauder , Ralph Lauren , OpenAI, Sumitomo Mitsui , and Celsius . (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long MSFT, WFC. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
A bull statue and a bear statue stand outside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on April 7, 2025 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Shares listed in Europe closed higher on Tuesday, as uncertainty around a resolution to the Iran war weighed on sentiment throughout the day with markets oscillating above and below the flatline.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session up almost 0.5%, reversing earlier losses, with most sectors closing in positive territory and most major regional bourses finishing higher. Oil and gas stocks, telecoms, and chemicals led gains, while miners, industrials and retail stocks lagged the broader index.

In corporate news, Bellway shares closed down 17.5% after the U.K. homebuilder warned of "volatility" in the mortgage market caused by inflationary cost pressure.

"Investors will be less pleased to see an erosion of profit margins, with the company's operating margin reducing by 50 basis points," said Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot.

Beauty conglomerate Estee Lauder said on Monday night that it was in talks with Spain's Puig  owner of Jean Paul Gaultier, Charlotte Tilbury and Rabanne  about a potential merger. Shares of Puig closed 13.4% higher.
Intrinsics flagship product, Flowstate, is a web-based platform that allows users to build robotic applications without having to write thousands of lines of code.



Google is adding another robotics partnership to its belt as it leans into robotics as a key bet for artificial intelligence.

Agile Robots develops intelligent, sensor-based robotic arms and humanoid robots. The company announced a partnership with Google DeepMind to integrate its Gemini Robotics foundation models with Agile Robots hardware.

"The partnership is built on a belief that applying AI in the physical world will be transformative," the Tuesday blog post states. "By bringing together Agile Robots' hardware and other AI robotic solutions developed in Germany, with Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics foundation models, the two teams will improve performance via robot deployment, data collection, model training and iteration."

The new partnership means Google will get real-world deployment data as it sees robotics as one of the large use cases for AI, competing against companies like Amazon and Tesla . It also shows the company is making several robotics partnerships as it leans into manufacturing as key use case.

Munich-based Agile Robots already has more than 20,000 deployed robotic systems globally and it will integrate Google's tech in existing industrial robots at scale, the blog post says. The partnership will first focus on "high-value industrial" use cases such as manufacturing tasks.

"This research partnership is an important step in bringing the impact of AI to the real world," said Carolina Parada, Senior Director and Head of Robotics, Google DeepMind, in Tuesday's blog post. She added that Agile Robots will help Google develop "more advanced AI models for the next generation of robots."
FILE PHOTO: Irans new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of late Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a rally in Tehran, Iran, May 31, 2019.

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was subscribed to X Premium on his English-language account as of Tuesday, despite the Elon Musk-owned company's policy on sanctioned individuals.

The blue checkmark linked to the subscription was removed after CNBC reached out to the parent company of X about the account.

That follows a similar removal of a blue checkmark from the Iranian Supreme Leader's Farsi-language account earlier this month. The profiles' verified statuses had first been highlighted by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP).

Khamenei's English-language X profile currently has more followers than his Farsi-language account, with over 175,000, and has been used to disseminate posts regarding the ongoing U.S.-Israel and Iran conflict. According to the profile, the account is located in Iran and was created in March.

Khamenei X's profiles have attracted scrutiny due to the leader falling under the U.S. Treasury's OFAC sanctions list since 2019, prohibiting U.S. persons and entities from dealing with him.

Khamenei assumed leadership of Iran after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a U.S. strike on Feb. 28, amid the escalating war with the United States and Israel.

Blue checkmarks on X are reserved exclusively for paid X Premium or Premium+ subscribers, and come with a number of perks, such as the ability to write longer posts, upload longer videos and share in ad revenue.

According to the company's policies, "You may not purchase X Premium if you are a person with whom X is not permitted to have dealings under US and any other applicable economic sanctions and trade compliance law." It is unclear how that policy is enforced.

X also often assigns free grey checkmarks to government officials, a feature previously used for accounts linked to the elder Khamenei.

However, on Feb 12, TTP released a report that found there were X accounts in the names of Iranian officials, agencies and government-run media outlets that had a blue check mark, which indicates they were customers of X's premium service.

"Because X requires a paid subscription to get premium service, it has likely received revenue from these Iranian individuals and groups  a potential violation of U.S. economic sanctions," TTP's report said.

Musk's space exploration company SpaceX, which owns X and the artificial intelligence company xAI, did not respond to a request for comment on Mojtaba Khamenei's blue checkmark on the social network.

The U.S. Treasury, which enforces sanctions against Iran, said in a statement to CNBC that "[w]hile Treasury does not comment on specific allegations, we take allegations of sanctionable conduct extremely seriously."

 CNBC's Dan Mangan and Lora Kolodny contributed to this report
HOUSTON  Kuwait on Tuesday said Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz amounts to an economic blockade of Gulf Arab oil producers, warning that the impact is beyond catastrophic and will trigger a domino effect across the world.

"We are outraged by this attack against us," Sheikh Nawaf al-Sabah, the CEO of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp., told the oil industry at S&P Global's CERAWeek energy conference here.

"This is an attack not only against the Gulf, but it is an attack that is holding the world's economy hostage," said al-Sabah, who delivered his remarks via video conference from Kuwait after canceling his appearance in Houston due to the war.

Kuwait has declared a force majeure on its delivery contracts and ramped down oil production because it cannot export to the global market. KPC is only producing oil for domestic consumption right now, al-Sabah said.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned earlier this month that the Iran war would have "catastrophic consequences" for the world economy. Nasser understated the impact of the strait's closure, al-Sabah said.

"It's a domino effect," al-Sabah said. "The costs of this war don't stay within geographical lines in this region. They extend all the way through the supply chain."

It will take months for oil production in the Gulf to reach full capacity because Kuwait and its neighbors have shut oil wells, al-Sabah said. Kuwait was producing about 2.6 million barrels per day prior to the war, making it the fifth-largest producer in OPEC.

"We have resilient reservoirs that bring out quite a bit of production immediately  within a few days," al-Sabah said. "The bulk of it will come within a few weeks, and then the full production will come within three or four months."

The emergency oil release by more than 30 nations in the International Energy Agency, including the U.S., will do little to address the supply shortfall, the CEO said. The 3 million barrels per day of emergency stocks do not compensate for the curtailments in Iraq, let alone those of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, he said.

"There is no substitute for the strait," al-Sabah said.

But the impact of the war extends far beyond oil and gas, the CEO said. The petrochemicals that produce plastics for food packaging will be in shortfall, which will make it difficult to transport food around the world, he said.

Fertilizer from the gulf also cannot reach global markets just as planting season is set to begin in many parts of the world, al-Sabah said. Some countries in the developing world could see a 50% reduction in their harvest compared with prior years, he said.

Tanker and cargo traffic through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the world, has plummeted due to Iran's attacks on commercial vessels. About 20% of the world's oil supply passed through the waterway before the war.

Iran has launched a barrage of missile and drone attacks against Gulf Arab countries. Those strikes came after the U.S. and Israel launched a massive wave of airstrikes against Iran starting on Feb. 28.

Air raid sirens sounded multiple times early morning Tuesday in Kuwait as Iran launched ballistic missile attacks against civilian infrastructure, al-Sabah said.

Iran has attacked refineries in Kuwait even though they are wholly owned by the country, al-Sabah said. Kuwait's social security administration was hit earlier this month in an attack, he said.

"This all puts to a lie what Iran has been claiming  that they are limiting their attacks only to American infrastructure in the region," al-Sabah said.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Tuesday warned that artificial intelligence could cost the U.S. jobs, and suggested the government could create an incentive system for businesses to help soften the blow.

"[If] all of a sudden it creates unemployment, that's a big problem for society," Dimon said, speaking on a panel with Palantir defense chief and former U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis, at the Hill and Valley Forum in Washington.

"I don't know the answer yet, but I would suggest it's the following: It can't be just government. It's got to be business," Dimon said. "But the government could create a system of incentives that business does the right thing to retrain people, early retirement, moving people ... if we have the right system in place, we can accommodate much quicker."

Dimon warned the economic changes driven by AI will happen quickly, warning that they may happen faster than other recent technological advances that disrupted the economy and displaced workers, such as the internet.
My top 10 things to watch Tuesday, March 24 1. We're looking at a lower open this morning as oil prices resumed their rally, pushing global crude benchmark Brent back above $100 a barrel. Yesterday was all about hopes that the Iran war will be resolved after President Donald Trump touted "productive" talks. But we've since seen new attacks, so the conflict is still on. 2. My trusted momentum indicator, the S & P Oscillator , moved to minus 5.2 after yesterday's rally on war resolution optimism. That still indicates an oversold market, but not as bad as before. I actually would've preferred it to stay more oversold. Hard to rally off these levels. We might see a consolidation, barring any new reasons to believe the war will end soon. 3. Chip designer Arm Holdings is hosting its "Arm Everywhere" event this afternoon, where we should hear more about its important place in the world of AI computing. Arm and Club name Nvidia are close partners, as Arm CEO Rene Haas stressed to me last week . We expect the announcement of a new Nvidia-Arm chip today. 4. OpenAI finance chief Sarah Friar is set to join me tonight on "Mad Money." Among the many topics we'll cover: Is the ChatGPT creator closing in on an initial public offering? Potential blockbuster IPOs later this year, from the likes of Elon Musk's SpaceX and OpenAI rival Anthropic, may be one of 2026's biggest market stories. 5. Big call: Bank of America upgraded AI computing provider CoreWeave to buy. The market is doubting the durability of CoreWeave, with shares down more than $100 apiece from their highs. But BofA argued CoreWeave's software stack and strategic alliances with Nvidia and OpenAI are important advantages over other "neoclouds." Analysts also think CoreWeave is financing its massive capex plans prudently. 6. Venture Global's price target at Goldman Sachs was raised to $18.50 from $15. Analysts reiterated their buy rating. I also think this one can be bought as a play on growing U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas. Our LNG is a lot more valuable to the world thanks to Middle East supply disruptions. 7. UBS upgraded JFrog to buy from hold, saying the stock now offers an attractive risk/reward following the AI disruption sell-off. JFrog is a key provider of software development infrastructure. But it has a substantial subscription-based business, so it can't be bought. Just forget about it. 8. Ralph Lauren was upgraded to buy from hold at Citi. Analysts believe Ralph Lauren's formidable topline growth and margin expansion will continue, and the stock's 4% drop this year offers a good entry point. There's a lot to like about the RL story. But in truth, shares haven't seen much of a sell-off, so be careful. 9. Evercore put a "tactical outperform" designation on Boston Scientific , while keeping its buy rating and $96 price target. I like this call, as the medical technology provider will present positive data this weekend at a cardiology conference, and the stock has been a dog. 10. Shares of investment bank Jefferies are up about 8% this morning after The Financial Times reported that Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is prepping plans for an acquisition. However, Bloomberg News reported that SMFG has "no immediate plan" for a takeover. Jefferies stock has fallen 36% this year in part because of First Brands' bankruptcy fallout. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Lawsuits against Elon Musk's xAI are piling up, with Baltimore becoming the first major U.S. city to file a complaint against the company concerning issues with its Grok image generator.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in an emailed statement to CNBC that the deepfakes on Grok "have traumatic, lifelong consequences for victims."

"We're talking about tech companies enabling the sexual exploitation of children," Scott wrote. "Our city will not stand by and allow this to continue; it's a threat to privacy, dignity, and public safety, and those responsible must be held accountable."

Now part of SpaceX after a merger last month, xAI faces regulatory probes in several countries after Grok allowed the mass creation of so-called deepfake porn based on images of non-consenting women and children. Last week, attorneys representing three teenagers in Tennessee filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against xAI after Grok generated content depicting them in sexualized and debasing scenarios.

In the latest suit, filed in a circuit court on March 24, the mayor and City Council of Baltimore accused xAI of violating the city's consumer protection laws and engaging in deceptive and unfair trade practices, namely by marketing Grok and X, formerly known as Twitter, as generally safe for users.

The complaint refers to a "put her in a bikini" trend that encouraged Grok users to take photos of others and nudify them. Musk, who controls SpaceX and is also CEO of Tesla , participated in the trend, sharing an image created with Grok depicting him in a string bikini.
KB Home could gain as the homebuilder reorients its corporate strategy around more profitable build-to-order houses, according to Citizens JMP Securities. The investment bank began research coverage of KB Home with a market outperform rating, and a 12-month price target of $77, suggesting roughly 45% upside. "We see the shares as undervalued at current levels," Citizens analyst James McCanless II wrote Tuesday in a 25-page report. "KB is shifting the product mix back toward to-be-built homes, which should be a long-term gross margin tailwind." KB Home had largely focused on build-to-order (BTO) construction for most of its history, accounting for roughly 70% of sales versus 30% for speculative homes. But the company shifted its focus toward spec homes in the re-housing boom during the Covid-19 pandemic. Spec homes, or houses that builders themselves design and construct, generally command smaller profits than their build-to-order counterparts. "BTO demand has improved recently and KB plans to lean into that demand because BTO homes typically have a higher gross margin than spec homes," McCanless wrote. Other tailwinds include KB's operations in California, where "existing competition is muted in most markets," and a potential rebound in gross profit margins in the fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 2027. The Citizens call is contrarian. Of the 17 analysts covering KB Home on Wall Street, only three rate it a buy, LSEG data shows. Eleven have a hold on the stock and three an underperform or sell rating. The average price target on KB Home shares is $60, suggesting 13% upside. KB Home shares have fallen 18% in the past month while the S & P 500 is down 4.5% and the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF by 17%.
Expands advisor-client collaboration with the launch of Sequoia Pages and introduces the 2026 Total Compensation & Benefits Report to strengthen data-driven advisory guidance

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequoia Group, the premier total compensation and benefits advisory firm for equity-backed companies, today announced the launch of Pages in Sequoia OS. Pages is a first-of-its-kind, real-time collaboration workspace that enables faster and smarter decision-making between Sequoia advisors and their clients.

Pages: One Workspace for Faster, Smarter Decision Making

Siloed systems and processes can make business-critical people spend decisions vulnerable to delays, misalignment, and outdated information. Pages solves that problem.

As the only collaborative, unified workspace built for compensation and benefits decisions, Pages brings data, insights, and planning together in one canvas. Working from the same always-live data, your leadership team and Sequoia advisors can review, make comments, and add insights to accelerate the time from decision to action.

"Pages keeps all of the key information on one page, making everything easily accessible and very organized," said Julie Li, Chief People Officer of Jump Platforms. "It's the hub where my team, my peers, and my Sequoia advisor can come together around the same data. Everyone's working from the same up-to-date source of truth."

Pages, powered by Sequoia OS integrations across HRIS, payroll, equity, benefits, and ATS systems, enables leaders to:

View workforce metrics reports for any timeframe without getting locked into a monthly or quarterly view

Follow the shortest path from insight to implementation by collaborating in one place with Sequoia advisors and cross-functional stakeholders

Reduce friction by tracking decisions transparently with the most current data, feedback, and versions

"Leaders today are navigating some of the most complex peoplespend decisions we've ever seen. We created Pages to give them the clarity, alignment, and speed they need to act with confidence," said Christina Sullivan, Chief Client Officer of Sequoia. "Pages creates the conditions for truly strategic collaboration by unifying data, insights, and decisionmakers on a single platform. It's a powerful extension of Sequoia's advisory model, giving teams the visibility and collaboration they need to make highimpact, global workforce decisions and drive better outcomes for their people and their business."

Alongside Pages, Sequoia released its 2026 Total Compensation & Benefits Report to bolster data-driven decisions even further. Drawn from Sequoia's anonymized data set of more than 2,500 companies and 180,000 employees in 12 countries across the globe, the report includes a comprehensive analysis of the most recent pay, equity, healthcare, and global benefits trends.

This year's findings capture a defining challenge for leaders: maintaining competitive, employee-centric compensation and benefits programs in the face of mounting cost pressures. The report takes a deep dive into compensation and benefits trends across the AI landscape, the ripple effects of rising healthcare costs on other benefits, and shifts in equity pay. The 2026 Total Compensation & Benefits Report can be found at www.sequoia.com/reports/2026-total-comp-benefits-report.

Sequoia Pages and the 2026 Total Compensation & Benefits Report represent the latest investments in Sequoia's platform and advisory capabilities, equipping advisors with a stronger foundation to deliver informed, data-driven guidance as an extension of their clients' teams.

Debuting at Transform 2026, attendees can experience Pages in action, explore exclusive findings from the report, and attend the panel discussion, People Investment in the Age of AI: Trends Shaping Leadership Decisions, on Tuesday, March 24 at 2:00 pm PT.

About Sequoia

Sequoia is the strategic partner helping equity-backed companies of all sizes achieve their business goals through smarter people spend. For 24 years, we've guided the most innovative employers to navigate growth and get the most out of their global people investment. With our expert advisory team and integrated platform, we help clients drive business impact through their total comp and benefits, improving executive decision making, controlling costs, protecting the business, and elevating the employee experience. Visit Sequoia.com or follow us on LinkedIn to learn more.

SOURCE Sequoia
Here are Tuesday biggest calls on Wall Street: Evercore ISI reiterates Apple as outperform Evercore ISI said its survey checks show Apple Services like Apple TV remain strong. "We ran our annual Apple Services survey over the past week (surveying ~3.5k smartphone users) and results point to continued strength across Apple's Services ecosystem, with engagement and monetization both trending higher." BMO upgrades Arthur J. Gallagher to outperform from market perform The firm said its call may be early but that shares are compelling. "Medium/longer term, we estimate AJG will continue to throw off EPS growth well above the S & P 500's average." Citi upgrades Ralph Lauren to buy from neutral Citi said the stock is a "best-in-class winner." "We are upgrading RL from Neutral to Buy. Mgmt's efforts to elevate the brand have driven strong performance, and at the end of F26 RL will have achieved a 6.5% sales CAGR and over 350bps of EBIT margin expansion since F22." Read more . Stifel initiates LCI Industries as buy Stifel said shares of the recreational vehicle supply company have plenty of room to run. "We are initiating coverage of LCI Industries (LCII) with a Buy rating on the shares and a 12- month target price of $152." BMO upgrades First Majestic Silver to outperform from market perform BMO said the metals and mining company has a compelling valuation. "The key driver of our Outperform rating is First Majestic' s valuation multiples compared to historical ranges." Jefferies initiates OneSpaWorld as buy Jefferies said it sees "steady growth" for the spa company. "We initiate Buy on OSW, as the company sits at the intersection of durable cruise industry growth, rising prioritization of wellness, and a monopoly-like market position in outsourced maritime wellness services." JPMorgan upgrades Ecolab to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said investors should buy the weakness. " Ecolab shares have traded off since February 27 as tensions in the Mideast have risen, compared to a market that is lower by (4%)." UBS upgrades JFrog to buy from neutral UBS said investors should buy the dip in the software selloff. "After speaking with ~15 checks, we upgrade JFrog t o a Buy (from Neutral) following a ~30% drop in the stock since early December as we think the risk/reward now looks attractive with AI disruption risk now priced into the stock." Baird reiterates Tesla as outperform Baird said the company is entering a "pivotal" time. "TSLA is entering a pivotal time over the next 18 months as it scales Robotaxi service with a soon-to-be introduced Cybercab at the same time as ramping mass production of its Optimus humanoid. We want to own the stock over this pivotal time frame." Goldman Sachs initiates Generate Biomedicine as buy Goldman said the biotech company is well positioned for generative AI. "We initiate coverage on Generate Biomedicines (GENB) with a Buy rating and a 12-month price target of $26." Truist initiates Diamondback Energy as buy Truist said the oil and gas company is well positioned. " Diamondback stands out as the last large-cap Permian pure-play E & P with a core focus on the Midland Basin and a secondary position in the Delaware Basin." Citizens initiates KB Home as market outperform Citizens said the homebuilder is underappreciated. "We initiate coverage on KB Home with a Market Outperform (MO) rating and $77 price target." Goldman Sachs initiates Smurfit Westrock as buy Goldman said the packaging company is firing on all cylinders. " Smurfit Westrock: Solid operator with exposure to the US market." Bank of America reinstates Oracle as buy Bank of America said it sees a "meaningful growth opportunity." "We are reinstating coverage of Oracle (ORCL) with a Buy rating and a $200 PO (~30% upside potential), reflecting a balanced view of accelerating AI infrastructure demand against the timing, concentration, and capital requirements of Oracle's transformation." Bank of America reinstates Microsoft as buy Bank of America said the company is a beneficiary of "AI monetization." "We are reinstating coverage of Microsoft (MSFT) with a Buy rating and a $500 PO, implying 31% upside potential, supported by durable multi-year growth across cloud and AI. Microsoft's advantage lies in its ability to capitalize on AI across both infrastructure and applications:" Bank of America initiates Nebius Group as buy Bank of America said the cloud company has a differentiated offering. "We are initiating coverage of Nebius with a Buy rating and a $150 price objective, implying 31% upside. Nebius operates in one of the fastest-growing segments of cloud computing, the AI Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) market." Loop initiates Commvault Systems as buy Loop said the software company is too attractive to ignore. "We are initiating coverage of CVLT with a Buy rating and $125 PT. In our view, the traditional data backup and protection market has undergone a significant resurgence in recent years due to the rapid emergence of cyber resilience and the increasing importance of data security, with AI-driven and AI-ready data usage set to enter the hypergrowth stage." Bank of America upgrades CoreWeave to buy from neutral The firm reinstated coverage of the stock and says it sees plenty of upside. "We reinstate coverage of CoreWeave with a Buy rating and a $100 PO. We believe CoreWeave is well positioned to capture share of the $79bn AI infrastructure as a service (Iaas) market, given 1) sustained demand for AI compute; 2) its proprietary software optimized for AI workloads..." Read more . BMO initiates Alaska Airlines as outperform The firm said it sees profit growth. "We initiate coverage of Alaska Airlines (ALK) at Outperform with a $50 target price." Benchmark initiates CoreCivic as buy Benchmark said the correctional facilities company is firing on all cylinders. "We initiate coverage of CoreCivic ( CXW) at Buy with a $28 price target."
HOUSTON  Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called Tuesday for the full privatization of the South American nation's oil industry in an address that laid out her vision to energy executives and investors.

"The Venezuelan state will get out of the way and pave the way to give the conditions so that the oil and gas sector in Venezuela will go fully private," Machado said at S&P Global's CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas.

Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was blocked in 2024 from running for president by the regime of former President Nicolas Maduro. She previously served in the National Assembly. Machado leads the opposition movement that seeks a transition to democracy and a market economy in Venezuela.

The U.S. captured Maduro in a military raid in January, but has left the rest of the regime in place. The Trump administration has praised its cooperation with interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who served as vice president under Maduro.

It will take at least nine months to set the conditions for free and fair elections in Venezuela, Machado said. The opposition leader said the Venezuelan people will vote for free markets, rule of law and property rights.

Machado laid out a vision in which a future democratic state in Venezuela will set clear rules, and enforce contracts. "The role of the state will be strictly as a regulator, creating incentives for long term investment," she said.

Machado said state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has been turned into a "criminal organization."

"In the first stages we will have to reduce dramatically its size, while some operations keep on taking place, until we can actually privatize the whole operation process," she said.

Venezuela could produce more than 5 million barrels per day but it will require a huge investment of $150 billion over the next decade, Machado said. The country currently produces around 1 million bpd, though it is believed to possess the largest proven reserves in the world.

Industry skepticism

President Donald Trump is pressuring U.S. oil and gas companies to invest in Venezuela, but industry leaders are skeptical.

ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil have made clear they will not return until major political reforms are implemented to protect private sector investments. The companies had their assets seized by President Hugo Chavez in 2007.

Conoco will not invest until there is way to recover some of the $12 billion that Venezuela owes the company from the expropriation of its assets, CEO Ryan Lance said Tuesday. The recent reform of Venezuela's oil laws under Rodriguez are "woefully inadequate," Lance said.

"They have a long ways to go to make the country competitive globally to attract the kinds of billions of dollars of investments that are going to be required," Lance said at CERAWeek.

It will require not only physical security and contract guarantees but also policy durability in Venezuela and the U.S., the CEO said.

"You need need policy durability  not only the Venezuelan side but the U.S. side," Lance said. "What happens when another administration comes in? How are they going to view Venezuela?"
New collaboration brings trusted ADR-informed clause generation into AI-native contracting workflows.

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Signus.ai today announced its public launch, introducing an AI-native contract intelligence and e-signature platform designed to help organizations draft, sign, and manage contracts using intelligent, document-aware workflows. Alongside its launch, Signus also announced a collaboration with the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the global leader in alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Signus.ai is built for the modern agreement lifecycle, enabling teams to generate, analyze, and manage documents within a unified platform. Combining legally binding e-signatures with AI-powered contract intelligence, the platform is designed to help organizations not only execute agreement, but better understand, manage, and operationalize them overtime.

As part of its launch, Signus.ai is incorporating AAA-informed ADR best practices into its AI-assisted contract generation workflows, including the use of the AAA's ClauseBuilder AI to support the creation of dispute resolution clauses aligned with AAA's established arbitration and mediation rules.

The collaboration reflects a shared belief that AI should improve the full lifecycle of commercial agreements, from drafting and signing through post-execution management and, when necessary, dispute resolution. Together, Signus and the AAA aim to help organizations build clearer agreements from the start, reduce ambiguity, and strengthen dispute readinesscreating a more intelligent and connected path from contract creation to contract enforcement.

"Contracts do not end when they are signed. That is where the real operational risk usually starts," said Allon Mason, CEO of Signus. "Our collaboration with the AAA is about connecting two worlds that have historically been fragmented: the way agreements are drafted, signed, and managed, and the way disputes are ultimately evaluated and resolved. We believe the future is an AI-native workflow that helps organizations create better agreements upfront and navigate downstream risk with far more clarity."

Bridget McCormack, AAA president and CEO, added: "AI has the potential to make dispute resolution more accessible, more efficient, and more informed, but only if it is developed responsibly and deployed with the right safeguards. The addition of our ClauseBuilder AI to Signus workflows will help businesses build stronger agreements from the start and navigate disputes with greater clarity, transparency, and confidence."

The collaboration is grounded in a shared emphasis on responsible AI, including transparency, human oversight, and the protection of sensitive data. Both organizations are focused on developing tools that support legal and business professionals while maintaining appropriate safeguards and accountability.

Looking ahead, the companies plan to explore additional ways for Signus users to access AAA AI-powered tools through the Signus platform, including the AAA's Resolution Simulator and, where applicable, the AAA's AI Arbitrator.

For more information, visit signus.ai and adr.org.

About Signus

Signus is the AI-native contract intelligence platform built for modern businesses. Powered by Sigi, its AI legal agent, Signus helps organizations generate, sign, analyze, track, and manage agreements at scale. By combining e-signatures with AI-powered contract workflows, searchable agreement intelligence, and secure post-signature management, Signus helps teams move faster, reduce risk, and keep every agreement actionable.

About the American Arbitration Association

The American Arbitration Association is the largest private provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services in the world. Marking its centennial in 2026, the American Arbitration Association has transformed how legal issues are resolved for better since 1926, turning disputes worldwide into opportunities for understanding and progress. A not-for-profit organization, the American Arbitration Association's mission is to deliver ADR services with integrity, transparency, and innovation. For more information, visit www.adr.org/.

Media Contacts

Signus

Allon Mason

Co-Founder & CEO

[email protected]

415-510-9335

American Arbitration Association

Lauren NickCommunications and Public Relations Manager

[email protected]

+1.212.401.4808

SOURCE Signus.ai
NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) has opened entries for the SMARTIES Awards 2026, recognizing marketing campaigns that deliver measurable business impact through the integration of creativity, media, data, and technology.

Now in its next evolution, SMARTIES continues to spotlight brands, agencies, publishers, and technology companies that are redefining marketing effectiveness in a rapidly transforming industry.

SMARTIES Awards 2026 Call for Entries, Setting the Global Benchmark for Marketing Impact

As marketing becomes increasingly driven by the intersection of technology, creativity, data, and media, the SMARTIES framework has been updated for 2026 to reflect how modern marketing organizations operate and how high-impact work is delivered today.

The updated structure introduces a unified set of channels and categories that will be available across all SMARTIES programs worldwide, from national to regional and global. The goal: create a consistent benchmark for marketing excellence while allowing markets to showcase the work that best reflects their local dynamics.

The 2026 SMARTIES Channels

Purpose Driven Marketing

Campaigns that leverage the power of brands to drive meaningful societal and cultural impact, advancing causes such as sustainability, diversity, and inclusion.

Impact Marketing

Campaigns that deliver measurable business outcomes by strengthening brand relationships, enhancing customer experiences, and driving growth.

Media & Growth

Excellence in media strategy and execution, demonstrating how integrated media ecosystems effectively reach, engage, and grow audiences.

Creative & Innovation Impact

Breakthrough marketing powered by creativity, data, and emerging technologies to create new forms of brand engagement.

"SMARTIES is the world's only innovation award that sits at the intersection of technology, creativity, and business impact and every year, it holds up a mirror to where marketing is heading. In 2026, that reflection spans every corner of the globe from the performance-driven ecosystems of North America to the culturally rich markets of APAC, the creative sophistication of Europe, the fast-growing ambition of Hispanic LATAM, and the bold innovations emerging from the Middle East and Africa. This is where great marketing, across any channel and any industry, proves its worth and where the industry comes to learn from the best," says Rohit Dadwal, CEO of MMA APAC & Global Head of SMARTIES Worldwide.

Beyond Awards: Industry-Wide Recognition

Winning a SMARTIES Award extends beyond the trophy. Awarded campaigns contribute to global industry benchmarks including MMA SMARTIES Business Impact Index, RECMA, and the WARC Media 100 Ranking, reinforcing their credibility across the marketing ecosystem.

Key Details for 2026 SMARTIES Entries

On time Deadline: Jul 23, 2026

23, 2026 Awards & Honors: Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners in each category; top honors include Best in Show, Juror's Choice Award of the Year, Most Resilient Brand of the Year, Advertiser of the Year, Brand of the Year, Publisher of the Year, Enabling Technology Company of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, Creative Agency of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, Holding Agency Company of the Year, Agency Network of the Year (Regional /Global award) and Specialist Agency of the Year.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners in each category; top honors include Best in Show, Juror's Choice Award of the Year, Most Resilient Brand of the Year, Advertiser of the Year, Brand of the Year, Publisher of the Year, Enabling Technology Company of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, Creative Agency of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, Holding Agency Company of the Year, Agency Network of the Year (Regional /Global award) and Specialist Agency of the Year. Judging Panel: Senior brand marketers and industry leaders will evaluate campaigns based on innovation, creativity, and measurable impact.

Senior brand marketers and industry leaders will evaluate campaigns based on innovation, creativity, and measurable impact. Entry Levels: SMARTIES X Global : The pinnacle of marketing achievement, recognizing the best campaigns on a worldwide scale. Regional SMARTIES Awards  Honoring the top marketing talent and innovations across North America.



About the Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA)

The Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) is the global, non-profit community of Chief Marketing Officers and senior marketing leaders advancing marketers' ability to create value. Led by CMOs and supported by the entire ecosystem at the governance level  including brands, media, agencies, consultancies, AdTech, and MarTech  MMA develops evidence-based models, frameworks, and tools validated through multi-year, multi-million-dollar Think Tanks and Labs.

Headquartered in New York City, with operations in 16 countries across APAC, Europe, MEA, LATAM, and North America, MMA has more than 825 corporate members who gather at 62+ MMA conferences worldwide, and flagship gatherings in the APAC, including MMA Innovate, CEO&CMO Summit, MMA Executive Dialogues, SMARTIES Unplugged, MMA IMPACT and MMA SMARTIES. Learn more at https://mmaglobal.com/

The Marketing + Media includes the world's most influential marketers and partners, including Unilever, P&G, Grab, McDonalds, Coca Cola, Google, TikTok, Facebook, Diageo, Mondelez, Heineken, Pepsi, Perfetti, Affle, Emtek Group Indonesia, GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, Mayora, Godrej, Reliance  and many more.

About SMARTIES

SMARTIES is the prestigious marketing awards program hosted by MMA, recognizing excellence in marketing effectiveness and innovation. The SMARTIES Awards celebrate campaigns that push creative boundaries while delivering measurable business impact. With programs spanning local, regional, and global markets, SMARTIES has become the industry's most respected benchmark for marketing that drives real growth.

SOURCE The Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA)
Local educators recognized by Curriculum Associates for student-focused teaching and effective use of i-Ready tools; honorees will participate in a yearlong national professional learning and leadership program

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Curriculum Associates has named Molly Foster from Franklin Elementary School and Tabitha Bates from Dover Elementary to its class of Extraordinary Educators, a prestigious recognition program that celebrates Grades K8 teachers across the country who exemplify instructional excellence and a deep commitment to student growth. Their teaching demonstrates consistent, best-in-class use of i-Ready tools in their classrooms.

Selected from more than 170 educators nationwide, Foster and Bates are among only 26 chosen this year for their outstanding use of data to drive learning, create inclusive classroom environments, and engage in ongoing professional learning.

"Data helps me ensure my instruction meets students where they are and helps them grow," said Foster. "Being named an Extraordinary Educator confirms that the work I do every dayplanning intentionally, reflecting on my practice, and putting students firsthas an impact."

"I use data consistently to understand where each student is academically and what they need nextwhether that means addressing learning gaps, reinforcing skills, or providing enrichment opportunities," said Bates. "A data-driven classroom is a successful classroom because it allows instruction to be intentional and responsive."

Now in its seventh year, the Extraordinary Educators program connects honorees to a yearlong national professional learning community, leadership development opportunities, and collaboration with education leaders and fellow educators from across the country. Honorees also participate in Curriculum Associates' annual Extraordinary Educators Leadership Summit, where they share insights and amplify their impact in classrooms nationwide.

"Our Extraordinary Educators inspire us with their dedication to high-quality instruction and student success," said Kelly Sia, CEO of Curriculum Associates. "We are proud to recognize their work and to walk alongside them as they continue to lead in their classrooms and communities."

The 2026 cohort represents a range of roles, including classroom instruction, student support, and enrichment. Educators were selected through a rigorous review process involving Curriculum Associates staff and an advisory panel of company leaders and Extraordinary Educator alumni, ensuring diverse perspectives and fairness.

Learn more about the Extraordinary Educators program and view the full list of 2026 honorees.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

About Curriculum Associates

Curriculum Associates is a mission-driven company dedicated to making Grades K12 classrooms better for more than 17 million students and one million educators nationwide. The company's connected suite of i-Ready solutions unites adaptive assessment, personalized instruction, and core curriculum in English language arts and mathematicssupported by expert professional learning and service teamsalongside Ellevation for Multilingual Learners and Stile Education for middle school science. Through its innovation hub, AI Labs, Curriculum Associates designs forward-looking technologies educators can trust. The company measures success by the impact it makes on student outcomes and is honored to support the extraordinary work of teachers every day.

SOURCE Curriculum Associates, LLC
The nightmare begins with our protagonist trying to find a way inside to get to the firms files, but every door is bolted shut. Then they spot a back entrance and theyre in, first walking, then running down one corridor, then another, and another, feeling that theyre getting ever closer to that file and a payday theyve dreamt about for years. But something doesnt feel right. The corridors, it seems, just lead to more corridors. For the first time, our protagonist feels like theyre being watched. And so, they flee.

Its a nightmare that plays out every couple of minutes in companies around the world: a cybercriminal pings what they think is a companys exposed server, only to discover that the seemingly sensitive information its sending back is anything but. Thats because what theyve actually encountered is a honeypot server, a digital cage used by organizations to lure threat actors and capture their movements as they try to break into the company.

In theory, this is much safer than letting them break in while learning something from the damage they leave behind. In practice, however, the effectiveness of honeypots has historically depended on how much effort its programmers put into making the environment seem realistic to the attacker  which, considering such servers can cost tens of thousands of dollars per month to maintain, isnt usually much. But the recent pairing of large language models (LLMs) with honeypots allows these servers to generate convincing environments at a fraction of the cost, supercharging the acquisition of threat intelligence for both individual organizations and the cybersecurity community at large.
Grants Support 37 Children's Hospitals Nationwide Serving Under-Resourced Communities

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Toy Foundation (TTF), the philanthropic arm of The Toy Association, will continue delivering the healing power of play to comfort children as they undergo medical treatment with its largest funding allocation to date. TTF has announced that more than $600,000 has been awarded to 37 children's hospitals, enabling the facilities to incorporate play into day-to-day care for more than 220,000 pediatric patients. The funded play projects will include updating dedicated recreation spaces, facilitating specialized activities, and expanding sensory-friendly experiences.

Grants are being distributed through TTF's Play Fund program, the only industry-wide fundraising initiative of its kind, which has delivered the power of play to more than 825,000 pediatric patients since 2021. The proven impact of past grant distributions and the continued generosity of the toy industry have enabled TTF to expand its funding to reach more hospitals, more states, and more children over the past five years.

"The Toy Foundation's mission is to bring the power of play to children who need it most. By growing the Play Fund, we're delivering more than play; we're delivering comfort, joy, and hope to children throughout their medical journeys," said Pam Mastrota, executive director of TTF. "We are deeply grateful for every donation that allows us to fund more play projects."

Regardless of a pediatric patient's diagnosis, access to play during a hospitalization or treatment is highly therapeutic and plays a critical role in supporting their emotional well-being. Previous children's hospital grant recipients have reported that access to play enabled a calmer and normalized environment, allowed for healthier staff-patient interactions, and provided joy and comfort to improve the patient's quality of life. Learn more about the impact of the 2025 grants here.

"Funding from The Toy Foundation has helped us provide a level of comfort and support to the hospital setting," said Shelly Brown, chief development officer and executive director of Akron Children's Foundation, a 2025 and 2026 Play Fund grant recipient. "This new grant will help us expand our dedicated play spaces to offer patients, siblings, and caregivers opportunities for imaginative play and creative expression during what can be a stressful and overwhelming time."

This year's grant recipients will utilize their funding through 2027 to support approved play projects that will benefit patients in a variety of departments throughout the hospital, from the emergency room to the burn center, hematology/oncology clinic, therapy services, outpatient centers, and more. The 2026 recipients are:

Akron Children's Foundation, on behalf of Akron Children's - Akron, OH

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago - Chicago, IL

Beacon Children's Hospital - South Bend, IN

Blank Children's Hospital  Des Moines, IA

Children's National Hospital - Washington, DC

Children's Hospital Colorado - Aurora, CO

Children's Hospital Los Angeles - Los Angeles, CA

Children's Health Foundation - Oklahoma City, OK

Children's of Alabama - Birmingham, AL

Children's Specialized Hospital - Mountainside, NJ

The Children's Specialty Hospital at The Center for Discovery - Harris, NY

ChildServe - Johnston, IA

CHRISTUS Children's - San Antonio, TX

El Paso Children's Hospital Foundation - El Paso, TX

Elizabeth Seton Children's Center - Yonkers, NY

Grady Health System - Atlanta, GA

Holtz Children's Hospital - Miami, FL

Home of the Innocents' Kosair for Kids Complex Care Center - Louisville, KY

HSHS St. John's Children's Hospital - Springfield, IL

John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County - Chicago, IL

Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital  St. Petersburg, FL

Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children - Honolulu, HI

Kennedy Krieger Institute - Baltimore, MD

La Rabida Children's Hospital - Chicago, IL

Miller Children's & Women's Hospital - Long Beach, CA

Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital - New York, NY

The Memorial Foundation on behalf of Children's Village - Yakima, WA

NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital - Brooklyn, NY

Phoenix Children's Hospital - Phoenix, AZ

Saint Francis Children's Hospital - Tulsa, OK

Sanford Children's Hospital Fargo - Fargo, ND

St. Mary's Hospital for Children - Bayside, NY

UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center - Worcester, MA

UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh, PA

USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital - Mobile, AL

Wellstar Golisano Children's Hospital of Georgia - Augusta, GA

Wesley Children's Hospital - Wichita, KS

TTF's Play Fund connects the toy industry to vetted children's hospitals to create a greater impact delivering the healing power of play to children in need. Since the program started in 2021, TTF has awarded 117 grants to children's hospitals nationwide totaling $2.2 million in funding. TTF extends a special thank you to Mattel, Inc., a committed year-round financial supporter of the program.

For more information about TTF's Play Fund, to support the program, or to apply for a grant at the next application period, visit ToyFoundation.org or contact the team.

Follow The Toy Foundation on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook for updates and to learn more about the toy industry's impact delivering play to children when they need it most.

About The Toy Foundation www.toyfoundation.org

The Toy Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) children's charity and the philanthropic arm of The Toy Association. The uniting force for the collective philanthropy of the toy industry for the benefit of all children in need, The Toy Foundation is dedicated to creating a world where every child experiences the comfort, joy, and extraordinary benefits of play. The Toy Foundation works towards this vision through two program areas, Toy Chest, a toy distribution initiative, and Play Fund, a grant distribution initiative. By working together, The Toy Foundation has delivered the power of play to 36 million children in need worldwide. To learn more and support The Toy Foundation, visit toyfoundation.org.

SOURCE The Toy Foundation
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
BFA Law is investigating Tennant Company after its stock plummeted 23% due to issues with its ERP system, potentially violating federal securities laws.

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces an investigation into Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.

If you invested in Tennant, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/tennant-company-class-action-lawsuit.

Key Details of the Tennant ($TNC) Class Action Investigation:

Investigation Overview: Securities fraud related to Tennant's implementation and rollout of its new, company-wide enterprise resource planning ("ERP") system

Securities related to Tennant's implementation and rollout of its new, company-wide enterprise resource planning ("ERP") system Stock Decline: February 24, 2026  23.4% Stock Drop

February 24, 2026  23.4% Stock Drop Action: Contact BFA Law to discuss your rights

Why is Tennant Being Investigated for Securities Fraud?

Tennant manufactures industrial cleaning equipment, including large mechanical floor scrubbers and sweepers used in warehouses, retail stores, and other commercial facilities.

BFA is investigating whether Tennant made false and misleading statements to investors regarding the implementation and rollout of a large-scale ERP system. For instance, Tennant assured investors the project was "progressing as we've anticipated," was "on time and on budget," and that the launch of the ERP in its Asia-Pacific region had been "successful," with Tennant stating it had "mitigated disruptions and stabilized operations."

Why did Tennant's Stock Drop?

On February 24, 2026, Tennant revealed that the rollout of its new ERP system in North America caused severe operational disruptions, including that it was unable to process and ship customer orders following the launch of the system. As a result, Tennant lost roughly $30 million in sales and would need to spend more than $20 million in 2026 to remediate the issues, compared to roughly $5 million the company had planned to spend.

This news caused the price of Tennant stock to drop $19.28 per share, more than 23%, from a closing price of $82.30 per share on February 23, 2026, to $63.02 per share on February 24, 2026.

Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/tennant-company-class-action-lawsuit.

What Can You Do?

If you invested in Tennant, you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis; there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.

Submit your information by visiting:

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/tennant-company-class-action-lawsuit

Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?

BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named "Elite Trial Lawyers" by the National Law Journal, "Litigation Stars" by Benchmark Litigation, among the top "500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers" by Lawdragon, "Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar" by Law360 and "SuperLawyers" by Thomson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.

For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/tennant-company-class-action-lawsuit

Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

SOURCE Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Supply Chain Management (SCM) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business was recognized as the No. 1 producer of empirical supply chain research by the SCM Journal List in its annual ranking. With the first-place ranking, Haslam has now placed in the list's top five for the last 12 years. Making up the rest of the 2026 top five were: the University of Arkansas at No. 5, Michigan State University at No. 4, The Ohio State University at No. 3 and Arizona State University at No. 2.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business was recognized as the No. 1 producer of empirical supply chain research by the SCM Journal List in its annual ranking.

A Standard of Excellence in Industry and Academia

Stephen L. Mangum, Haslam's dean and Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair, said the ranking reflects the college's excellence and productivity in the field as well as the dedication of its faculty.

"Our faculty's research has a substantial effect on industry as well as far-reaching societal impact," Mangum said. "Being ranked No. 1 nationwide for that research is a singular achievement, and I join with the entire college and the university in congratulating the supply chain management department for this well-deserved recognition."

Chad Autry, associate dean for faculty and research, Myers Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management and R. Stanley Bowden II Faculty Research Fellow, called the ranking a result of Haslam's long-standing tradition of attracting and retaining the brightest minds in the field and their commitment to academic achievement and practical problem-solving.

"From the days UT was known as a leader in transportation and logistics, supply chain management has been among UT and Haslam's top programs," Autry said. "Our faculty's accomplishments in the field have deservedly earned the respect of their peers in academia. They also team with leading companies in multiple areas of the industry to resolve supply chain challenges, which benefits industry, academia and the community at large and is captured in their research."

Yemisi Bolumole, head of the SCM department and Ryder Professor of Supply Chain Management, praised the researchers for this accomplishment.

"Some of the world's foremost supply chain minds call Haslam home, and this ranking is a fitting testament to their exceptional capabilities," Bolumole said. "The pioneering scholarship they generate empowers supply chains to become more flexible and proactive. Our curriculum draws on their research, ensuring Haslam students graduate are well versed in the industry's most current advances in applications and thinking."

About The SCM Journal List Ranking

The SCM Journal List annually ranks universities' supply chain management analytical and empirical research output, drawing on articles in eight leading supply chain management journals. For the empirical ranking, those journals are Decision Sciences, Journal of Business Logistics, Journal of Operations Management and Journal of Supply Chain Management. Endorsed by 422 supply chain scholars globally, each year's ranking is based on the research published in these journals over the past five years. The SCM Journal List reevaluates these journals every four years to ensure their quality and focus remain consistent.

About Haslam's Department of Supply Chain Management

Haslam has one of the most comprehensive, forward-thinking and highly regarded supply chain programs in the world, with Gartner and U.S. News & World Report consistently ranking it either first or among the top five programs. An advisory board of more than 40 industry professionals informs its curriculum. Students develop applied skills to help improve organizational performance through supply chain management.

SOURCE University of Tennessee on behalf of its Haslam College of Business
What kind of cases do you want to read more about? Let us know at: crimedesk@dailymail.co.uk

To get a free exclusive article with new revelations about Britain's youngest female murderer, sign up to our newsletter HERE and receive it right away.

It's been billed as one of the world's most lucrative yet largely unknown wildlife crimes, involving multi-billion-dollar global criminal networks.

Now, a new documentary has uncovered how gangs are smuggling endangered European glass eels  dubbed the 'cocaine of the sea' - into Asia for huge profits.

The illegal trafficking trade involves secretive networks moving juvenile glass eels out of Europe in shipments that can be worth thousands of pounds per kilogram.

A new BBC Eye programme called 'Billion Dollar Babies' released on iPlayer today has gained access to a Hong Kong triad as they carry out smuggling operations.

The brazen criminals say their enterprise offers 'high profits and low risks' as they smuggle a commodity that can be worth more than the trade of illegal drugs.

The European eel was once abundant in rivers across Europe and a staple of traditional dishes, but its population has plunged by 95 per cent since the 1980s.

Despite the species now being critically endangered, demand sits at record levels - especially in Asia where they are served as a prized delicacy. They cannot be bred in captivity, so the trade relies on them being caught in the wild then sent to Asia.

European eels are believed to be born in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, before travelling thousands of miles to Europe where they mature.

The trafficking trade involves secretive networks moving juvenile glass eels out of Europe

Eels demand sits at record levels especially in Asia where they are served as a prized delicacy

The species later migrate back to the Sargasso Sea to reproduce then die, leaving a new generation to drift back to Europe as the cycle continues.

The largest concentration of glass eels in Britain can be found in the River Severn, while they are also seen in the River Parrett, River Brue and Thames estuary.

British glass eels were once sold in a legal market in China, but demand for European eels began soaring in the country when the Asian eel became scarce.

I will remember her evil smile for the rest of my life

I'm Tom Rawstorne, and nearly 30 years ago a 12-year-old murderer, with a gold crucifix hanging round her neck, gave me a moment I'll never forget. Sharon Carr is to this day Britain's youngest-ever female murderer, having killed an 18-year-old hairdresser in an unprovoked act of gruesome violence. I watched her up close in court for three weeks and it is something I'l never forget. I've written about it in The Crime Desk newsletter - sign up to read it for free.

The European Union imposed a ban in 2010 on exporting them to destinations outside the EU to protect them  but this has driven an illegal trade to Asia.

The documentary hears from one Hong Kong triad member involved in the smuggling of glass eels, who is known as both 'Little Di' and 'Elder Brother'.

He says: 'The areas of activity of all Hong Kong's gangs are very similar: sex industry, gambling, drugs.

'The more profitable, the more people will do it, such as drugs. In terms of scale, we are the largest, and we are mainly involved in smuggling. Smuggling eels offers high profits and low risks. As for drug smuggling: if you get caught, you'll be sentenced for life, if not executed.'

'With eels you are just smuggling food, it's not a serious crime. It's a few years [in prison] and your goods confiscated.

'After a few years you're out and can start doing it again.'

Another triad member tells the programme: 'Just one small glass eel is worth around $2 to $3. We smuggle 500kg to 200kg a time. During peak season we usually make around two or three deliveries a week.

'At 9pm or 10pm a brother from mainland China tells us when to begin. No mobile phones allowed. We normally wait for the tide to rise in the early morning.

'Big ships are waiting, with facilities to keep the eels alive. They transport them to China. We use speedboats or other small boats. With the neighbouring gang we have six teams which is enough to run the entire European eel smuggling operation.'

Wildlife protection laws in Europe mean eels can be traded, but the majority of the species must be used in conservation projects to help improve their numbers.

One key player in the legitimate business is Peter Wood, a British eel trader who has been exporting baby eels around the world for more than half a century.

The documentary has uncovered how gangs are smuggling endangered European glass eels

The programme has gained access to a Hong Kong triad carrying out smuggling operations

Mr Wood buys glass eels from a network of local fishermen and made an export deal with Russia in 2021, after the EU stopped buying eels from the UK after Brexit.

The UK Government granted him an export licence for three years for up to three million glass eels to be used in a Russian conservation project, despite most of Britain's trade with Russia being sanctioned.

One of his customers in Kaliningrad is a company called Goodfish, which receives a grant from the Russian government to manage their eel project. The Goodfish owner has firms directly related with the fish industry, selling eel products for consumption.

But the company insisted to the BBC that all the eels bought from Mr Wood were strictly for conservation, and the consumable products were not European eels.

In April last year, Mr Wood, who runs the Gloucestershire-based company called 'UK Glass Eels', had his export licence revoked by the British Government.

Mr Wood says: 'The UK Government has stopped all our exports to Kaliningrad because of the Russian war against Ukraine. This had huge negative consequences.

'This fishery we've been running here for 50 years will be closed and staff will lose their jobs. If we don't survive, the eel becomes a sort of museum piece.

'We continue to do stocking in Europe. The key markets are Poland and Lithuania. It's a really bizarre situation that Poland can stock but Kaliningrad is unable to stock. It's too early to give up the fight. Too early to close the business.'

Mr Wood has insisted his eels are not helping fund Russia's war with Ukraine, and that the exports to Kaliningrad were purely for a state conservation project.

He has also denied illegal trade and insisted his staff have never broken national or international laws, adding that his priority remains the recovery of the European eel.

BBC Eye 'Billion Dollar Babies' is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer and the BBC World Service's YouTube channel. An audio podcast is now on BBC Sounds.
A midwestern mother charged with murdering a glamorous Iowa realtor nearly 15 years ago 'adamantly maintains her innocence,' new court filings revealed.

Kristin 'Krissy' Ramsey, 53, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder last week for the fatal 2011 shooting of Ashley Okland.

Ramsey has denied killing Okland and is a 'person of good moral character,' according to a 17-page bond review motion filed by her attorneys last Thursday.

Her alleged morality and mental state will be demonstrated in 'forthcoming letters of support' penned by her loved ones, the filing stated.

Ramsey is 'aware of the serious nature of this charge' and 'taking this case seriously,' her lawyers argued.

She is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail on a $2 million cash bond, but her defense is urging the judge to have bail lowered to $100,000, the motion revealed.

Her attorneys argue 'it will be next to impossible' for Ramsey to aid her defense in the 15-year-old cold case if she remains behind bars.

They further claimed she 'does not pose a flight risk,' citing her strong familial and community ties to Woodward, the small Des Moines suburb with a population of just 1,300 people where Ramsey and her family reside.

Accused killer Kristin Ramsey (left) seemingly lives a picture-perfect suburban life with her 20-year-old son Tanner (center) and husband Tanner (right)

Ramsey was arrested and charged last week with the April 2011 cold case murder of Ashley Okland, pictured. Ramsey has denied killing Okland

Ramsey has lived in Woodward since she was 10 years old, according to the court document obtained by the Daily Mail.

She is deeply rooted in the Dallas County community, with all of her 'closest family and friend connections' being based in Iowa, the filing said.

She and her husband Toby, 58, live in a modest $286,240 two-bedroom, two-bathroom home that they built from the ground up.

Their 20-year-old son Tanner attends college in Iowa. The Daily Mail previously revealed that the couple were known to visit him on campus.

Ramsey's mother and stepfather also live in nearby Johnston, a larger city located approximately 25 miles south of Woodward. She also has a sibling that lives in 'central Iowa,' the motion noted.

Her 'support structure provides a convincing incentive for her to remain in the area,' the defense argued.

Her attorneys further highlighted her dedication to the overall Dallas County community, including her clean criminal record.

Ramsey's only other run-in with the law was in 2001 when she was issued a speeding ticket for going up to 10mph over in a 55mph zone, court records show. She pled guilty to that offense.

Ramsey, seen in her arrest photo, is a 'person of good moral character,' her lawyers argued in a bond motion petition filed last Thursday. They added that she 'aware of the serious nature' of the charge she faces and is 'taking this case seriously'

Okland was shot twice in broad daylight inside this model townhome on April 8, 2011. At the time of the alleged murder, Ramsey was employed by now-defunct Rottlund Homes, which owned the property where Okland was killed

The defense also cited her 'seamless employment' in the Dallas County area since her own college graduation.

Ramsey currently works for Midland Title & Escrow, an organization that's part of Iowa Realty Co - where Okland worked at the time of her death.

At the time of the alleged murder, Ramsey was employed by now-defunct Rottlund Homes, which owned the townhomes that Okland had been showing as a realtor.

Her husband Toby has owned his own construction business since the 90s. The couple flipped the vacant lot next door to their home in 2006.

They purchased the land plot for $8,000, built a 1,225 square foot house on the lot, and then sold the property for $147,400 in September 2007.

Despite being a two-income family, Ramsey cannot afford to post the $2 million cash bond ordered by the judge, the filing said.

The title officer earns $50,000 annually, a financial affidavit revealed and Ramsey, according to her attorneys, 'like virtually every other person in the State of Iowa, is unable to post this bond.'

In her petition for a lower bond, Ramsey agreed to undergo GPS monitoring, abide by a curfew and be monitored by a pretrial release officer. She will also voluntarily turn over her passport.

Ramsey and her husband Toby cannot afford to post the $2 million cash bond ordered by the judge, the court filing said. She only earns $50,000 annually as a title officer

The Ramsey family lives in a modest $286,240 home that they built themselves in the small town of Woodward, Iowa. The defense cited her familial ties to the community as evidence that she 'does not pose a flight risk' if released from jail

Her defense, in a separate motion filed last week, has moved to squash an expected warrant to seize and search her cell phone and other electronic devices.

The attorneys argued it is not necessary for law enforcement to search through 'phones or other electronic devices that did not even exist at the time of the alleged events 15 years ago.'

They do ask that if the warrant is granted that a protection order be granted to 'protect otherwise privileged and confidential information.'

Ramsey is due back in court on March 30, where a judge is expected to rule on both motions filed by the defense.

A grand jury indicted Ramsey on the charge of first-degree murder on March 17 this year.

Okland, 27, was shot twice inside a model home that she had been showcasing for Iowa Realty Co in broad daylight on April 8, 2011.

An employee at the townhome found the realtor in critical condition after he heard a commotion and went to investigate.

He called 911 and Okland was taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center, where she later died.

Ashely Okland, seen with her dog, was killed with 'malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation,' according to the indictment against Ramsey

Ramsey, then 38, allegedly killed Okland with 'malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation,' according to the indictment.

The motive behind the murder remains unknown, with the only apparent connection between Okland and her suspected killer being through the real estate industry.

Because Ramsey was indicted, no probable cause affidavit outlining how investigators connected her to the cold case has been filed.

Ramsey's attorney Al Parrish told the Daily Mail on Tuesday: 'At the moment, we do not have any statements to make.'

Prior attempts to reach the defendant's family were unsuccessful. The Okland family previously declined to speak to the press.
Last month, as the tide of sleaze surrounding Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador began to surge up Downing Street, I made the mistake of comparing Keir Starmer to the late Richard Nixon.

'The Mandelson scandal is slowly but surely morphing into Keir Starmer's Watergate,' I wrote. 'High crimes and misdemeanours. Pay-offs. Document suppression. Safe-cracking. Peremptory sackings. The belated resignation of senior aides. Spurious allusions to national security and foreign relations.'

But my comparison with the former occupant of the White House, and architect of the greatest cover-up in the history of Western democracy, was misplaced. Whatever you think of him, Tricky Dicky was an adroit, seasoned, strategically minded politician.

And as the sewage from the Mandelson saga continues to drip into the body politic, it's become abundantly clear Britain's Prime Minister is none of those things.

Indeed, thanks to the latest revelations that have emerged over the weekend, we now know the country is not being governed by the new Richard Nixon. It's being governed by the new Rebekah Vardy.

Four years ago, at the height of the infamous 'Wagatha Christie' libel trial, the High Court was shocked to learn a key piece of evidence had mysteriously been misplaced.

The mobile phone owned by Vardy's agent, reportedly possessing a number of key exchanges relating to her feud with fellow WAG Coleen Rooney, had inadvertently been dropped into the North Sea. A 'most unfortunate' occurrence, as Rooney's lawyers observed.

Then on Sunday it emerged a similarly unfortunate fate had befallen Keir Starmer over the Mandelson affair. The mobile phone owned by his former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, and which had been used to communicate with Mandelson at the time of his appointment, had been stolen from him several months ago.

Keir Starmer's former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney (right),used a phone to communicate with Peter Mandelson (left) at the time of his appointment, which has allegedly been stolen

The loss of McSweeney's phone is so significant because the Prime Minister tasked him with interrogating Mandelson over red flags raised in the vetting process, writes Dan Hodges

As a result, a number of key messages between McSweeney and the disgraced peer had reportedly been lost. Though there was absolutely nothing suspicious or untoward about this, the Government's Steve Reed claimed. 'His phone was stolen and he reported it at the time,' he insisted.

Which from No 10's perspective is highly convenient. And, also, highly instructive.

Firstly, it underlines what has been apparent since the first tranche of partially selected and censored Mandelson emails were released a fortnight ago. Which is that Keir Starmer has directly lied to Parliament and the country about the Mandelson appointment.

The reason why the loss of McSweeney's phone is so significant is that it was McSweeney who the Prime Minister tasked with interrogating Mandelson over issues arising from the initial Civil Service vetting process that raised a number of red flags about his appointment.

This was after an offer from the head of the No 10 propriety and ethics team to conduct the interview was rejected by Starmer. And despite the fact Starmer knew Mandelson and McSweeney were close personal friends.

What the Mystery Of The Misplaced McSweeney Mobile also highlights is how the vetting process for one of the most senior and sensitive positions in the UK diplomatic service was conducted largely on WhatsApp. And what's more, a private WhatsApp account, of which no automatic central government record is kept.

Downing Street's off-the-record response to these revelations has been to claim that 'some' relevant messages have been retained. Which clearly implies some have not.

Yet the rules on this sort of communication are crystal clear. Last week Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds confirmed in a parliamentary answer relating to McSweeney's use of private communications for government business that 'where official information is created or received on non-corporate communication devices, it must be handled in accordance with records management requirements, including being transferred to an appropriate official system where it forms part of the official record'.

It's clear from the information so far released  and not released  and from sources responding to queries about the phone theft, that this rule has not been properly followed. Which at best is a clear breach of government procedure. And at worse, prima facie evidence of a cover-up.

Either way, it leaves Sir Keir bang to rights. Because on September 10 he told the Commons: 'Full due process was followed during this [the Mandelson] appointment, as it is with all ambassadors.'

Which, as I say, was a clear and obvious lie. Due process does not involve British ambassadors being vetted by their close friends via WhatsApp, only for elements of that vetting to be excised from the public record when it transpires the mobile phone containing them has been nicked.

But there is another element of this sorry and sordid attempt to hide the truth of the Mandelson affair that has been revealed by the loss of McSweeney's mobile.

One of the key arguments deployed by Starmer and Downing Street is that they cannot release the information they would like to Parliament, for fear of prejudicing the ongoing police investigation into Mandelson. Indeed, that has been the specific excuse deployed for not releasing communication between him and McSweeney.

This mobile phone farrago demonstrates once and for all the cynicism and contempt Keir Starmer has for Britain's Parliament and its people, writes Dan Hodges

So yesterday I contacted the Met about the stolen mobile. Given it's significance to the case, were they making efforts to locate it, or its messages, or had they made any effort to secure the messages from central government records? The response was: 'We can't respond to enquiries where an individual has been named. We need a date, location and description of the alleged incident.'

When I explained the named individual was the Prime Minister's former chief of staff, and the alleged incident was one of the biggest scandals in modern political history, they simply gave the same response. Which indicates that either they're in hock to No 10, or McSweeney's communications with Mandelson aren't quite as central to the ongoing investigation as Downing Street has tried to make out.

But perhaps the most significant thing about the mobile phone farrago is this. It demonstrates once and for all the cynicism and contempt Keir Starmer has for Britain's Parliament and its people.

He genuinely thinks we're all idiots. 'Sorry, we've lost the mobile.' Seriously? That's the best they've got?

Starmer is such an incompetent political dilettante he cannot even conduct a whitewash efficiently. Or if he hasn't been conducting a whitewash, he can't behave without it looking to all and sundry as if that's precisely what he's been trying to do.

This is not hard. Either Downing Street has the McSweeney messages, or it doesn't. If it does, it should release them without further delay. And if it doesn't, it should hold its hands up and admit it, and then admit that when the Prime Minister told the country proper due process had been followed, he was lying through his teeth.

The spectacle of Keir Starmer using the Rebekah Vardy excuse to pull the wool over the eyes of the British people is a national embarrassment. One that is as much an insult to his intelligence as it is to ours.
Yesterday's post on Truth Social declaring in bold capital letters that Donald Trump had engaged in 'very good and productive talks' with Iran was not so much a surprise as a shock to friend and foe alike.

It meant the US President was suspending his dire threat to destroy Iran's energy infrastructure at least until Friday, even though the vital Strait of Hormuz remains blocked by Tehran's Revolutionary Guard.

The reasons for Trump's change of heart, including tumbling stock markets and pressure from US allies in the Gulf, are not so hard to see.

Hopes that the destructive war of tit-for-tat sabotage between America, Israel and Iran might be suspended were a particular relief in East Asia.

Cratering markets in Japan, South Korea and Singapore were threatening a world-wide recession that would engulf America, too.

At home, big donors to the Republican party are pressuring the President to find a way out of the conflict.

Republican candidates for November's mid-term elections are desperate for Trump to 'declare peace' and restore some measure of normality before the voters savage them.

While Trump's initial response to Iran's blockade of energy exports from the region were upbeat  the US is self-sufficient in oil, why worry?  it turns out that America's farmers rely on imports of fertiliser (which is made with hydrocarbons) from the Gulf.

President Trump wants the Iranians to give up their missiles, to renounce their nuclear enrichment programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to energy exports

American businesses and banks, meanwhile, are alarmed to see their international trading partners threatened with recession.

It was Trump himself who let the cat out of the bag. Discussing his secret Iran 'talks' with reporters, he said: 'I just want as much oil as possible. I want to have the system lubricated.'

Affordable energy is the key vulnerability for America and its allies. Without it, there is no Western economy  there is no West. And the Iranians know that now for sure.

Any hopes of lasting peace, then, should be tempered. For a start, it's hard to see how Trump's demands could possibly be accepted in Tehran. The President wants the Iranians to give up their missiles, to renounce their nuclear enrichment programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to energy exports.

Indifferent to the vast suffering of their own civilians, Iran's hardliners scent weakness. They know all too well that it's Iran's ability to strangle exports of oil, gas and fertiliser from the region  supplies making up around 20 per cent of the world's daily needs  that forced the US President's change of heart.

Iranian media outlets are crowing that Trump has blinked first  and with some justification.

Iran's hardliners hope soaring fuel prices will split America from key allies such as Japan, South Korea and the Europeans, and their strategy is succeeding. The mullahs have few incentives to throttle back now.

Besides, as Trump himself admits, it's no longer clear who in Iran  a vast territory the size of Western Europe  is in charge.

'It's a bit tough, we have wiped out everyone,' he said yesterday. 'We haven't heard from the Supreme Leader. We don't know if he's living.' How do you make a deal with an unknown, invisible negotiating partner? Who exactly has Trump been talking to?

The Iranians say no one  because the 'talks' are a figment of his imagination.

Even if the President did reach agreement with, say, Tehran's foreign minister or the speaker of parliament, it is unlikely that either man could stop militant Revolutionary Guard commanders from continuing to fire missiles and drones, so decentralised is the command structure.

Regime change, meanwhile, seems completely off the agenda.

Iran's hardliners, like the new Supreme Leader (centre), hope soaring fuel prices will split America from key allies such as Japan, South Korea and the Europeans

It is less than four weeks since Israel and America saw deposing the Islamic Republic and installing a pro-Western regime  maybe even a democratic one  as key to long-term peace. Yet today, Trump is offering to run the Strait of Hormuz jointly with an ayatollah, so anxious is he to stop the economic carnage.

Could Trump's very personal approach to diplomacy pull off a dramatic summit meeting with the new Supreme Leader?

The President met North Korea's Kim Jong Un three times, breaking a diplomatic taboo in the process. Trump said during his last election campaign  when he was the 'peace candidate'  that he could even imagine shaking hands on a deal in Tehran. But while his meetings in North Korea lowered the temperature between Washington and Pyongyang, they produced no halt to Kim's nuclear build-up.

Besides, the surviving members of the Iranian regime are unlikely to welcome the man who authorised the death of the new Ayatollah Khamenei's father, mother, wife and other relatives. Iran's wounds will be fresh for a while.

Remember, too, that America and Iran are not the only states participating in this war.

While both Tehran and Washington would welcome an end to this horrific exchange of fire, Benjamin Netanyahu  the prime minister of Israel, whose air force has played such a key role in the attacks  will be harder to persuade.

The Jewish state feels it is in mortal danger from the Islamic Republic and its chants of 'Death to Israel'. Netanyahu has no intention of stopping the raids until the mullahs are crushed or, at the very least, have lost all ability to exploit nuclear technology. Neither outcome seems likely in the short term.

Israel is also at war in Lebanon to its north, where Iran's proxy Hezbollah is fighting a battle of survival. Even if Netanyahu is forced to swallow a ceasefire with Iran, he remains determined to destroy the Shia insurgents once and for all, and is pouring troops into southern Lebanon.

The two conflicts  Iran and Lebanon  are so inextricably linked, they are effectively the same. Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard are so closely intertwined  many have fought side by side  that the continuing assault on southern Lebanon is seen by the mullahs as an attack on Iran itself.

Yes, a shaky ceasefire in the region would be better than all-out war  while it lasts. No sooner had Trump raised the prospect of a break in hostilities, than oil prices plunged.

Yet a few missile-free days will be no more than a pause for breath. Even if Trump pulls off a miraculous deal  and miracles are in short supply  an arms race, not disarmament, is likely to follow.

Iran's Islamist hardliners are bound to replenish their arsenals and start locating the enriched uranium currently thought to lie beneath the rubble of America's earlier 'bunker-busting' attacks.

The Gulf states will remain within easy reach of Iran's missiles and will stock up with missiles of their own.

I fear that Trump and Netanyahu have started something they cannot stop. And that any 'peace' will merely be a ceasefire before the bloodshed  and paralysing economic crises  break out anew.
The arson attack on ambulances run by the Jewish charity Hatzola Northwest, outside a synagogue in Golders Green, is the latest nauseating marker in the acceleration of anti-Semitism in Britain.

For Jews, it is yet another step towards the emergence of a red line  an event that signals that the time has come for us to leave the UK. We are not there  yet. But increasingly, one conversation is dominating the Jewish community: is it still safe for us here?

I spent Sunday at my nephew's wedding. It was, like all weddings, a joyous occasion. Yet much of the talk was about the world outside our party cocoon.

October saw the fatal attack on a synagogue in Manchester. In December, terrorists killed 15 at Bondi Beach in Australia.

Thank God, no one was injured in Golders Green. But the level of Jew-hate brazenly displayed in our country means that we Jews now expect to be attacked.

When demonstrators chant the phrase 'globalise the intifada', as they do on what are rightly called hate marches, they are calling for the targeting of Jews to be globalised.

That is what the word means, in the context of the intifadas in Israel, when Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews to be murdered.

For more than two years, we have seen the police effectively stand and watch while anti-Semitic chants and banners are paraded through our streets. On the rare occasions when they do step in, the Crown Prosecution Service then refuses to act.

Member of the Jewish community take to the streets after the arson attack on ambulances run by the Jewish charity Hatzola Northwest

The aftermath of the arson attack outside a synagogue in Golders Green, the latest nauseating marker in the acceleration of anti-Semitism in Britain

Last week's Al Quds Day demonstration was a case in point. The Home Secretary banned the annual march by supporters of the Iranian regime, which has previously seen the open embrace of terrorist groups and anti-Semitic slogans. But all that changed was that the Tehran stooges had to stand still rather than walk. They were still free to spread their poison.

The Iranian-backed organisation Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya has claimed responsibility for the Golders Green attack, as it has for similar attacks in Liege, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

Both the Mayor of London and the Prime Minister came out yesterday with the usual platitudes that follow every serious anti-Semitic incident  that there is no place for anti-Semitism in Britain and that it will not be tolerated. What rot. We see it on our streets all the time.

The day before the ambulance attack, for example, an art exhibition in Margate, Kent, was reported to the police. The foul drawings include one of two auctioneers at Sotheby's (owned by a French-Israeli businessman) eating babies, with blood dripping from their dagger teeth.

I am at a loss to understand how anyone can deny this is the classic anti-Semitic trope of Jews as baby-eating demons. The 'artist' Matthew Collings insults our intelligence by saying 'nothing in the drawing says 'Jews' or claims Jews eat babies'.

More concerningly, the police take the same myopic stance, saying the pictures are 'criticism of the Israeli state because some Israelis happen to be Jews it doesn't mean it's anti-Semitic'.

Jew-hate is now the norm. Last week, a survey revealed that one in five students would not want to share a house with a Jew. Meanwhile, calls for 'Zionist-free' towns and universities are so widespread that they are barely even reported.

Don't think that the use of the word 'Zionist' rather than 'Jew' alters the meaning. Given that the overwhelming majority of Jews are Zionists (which means simply believing in the right of Israel to exist) a call for anything to be Zionist-free is a call for it to be effectively Jew-free.

Later this month, the Green Party will debate just such a motion (which is expected to pass), meaning anyone who accepts Israel's right to exist will be barred from membership.

After the arson attack yesterday, social media showed how it fuels the spread of Jew hate. One former British ambassador, Craig Murray, posted this obscene calumny: 'Could they make the 'false flag' any more obvious?', as if Israel  in a twisted attempt to engender sympathy  had actually been responsible.

More widespread were posts attacking the Hatzola ambulance service as being an exclusive service for Jews, which is a particularly wounding claim. In reality, Hatzola  like St John Ambulance  works for everyone. It is a wonderful charity, staffed and funded by the Jewish community but used by all. It is a senseless attack on the whole community, not just one part of it.

But for British Jews, there is a chilling significance. Each fresh anti-Semitic attack is described as a wake-up call  and all that happens is... nothing.

That's why, today, Jews right around the country are asking: what next?
The news that Steph Richards, a transwoman (ie, a biological male) has just been appointed as parliamentary engagement officer for the charity Endometriosis South Coast has caused me to revisit a very dark time in my life.

Alongside one in ten British women, I suffered from this miserable disease for over a decade in my 30s and 40s. It took seven years for me to get a diagnosis, and lost me half my work because every month I would be writhing on the floor in agony.

Steph Richards is not a doctor, or even medically qualified  but rather a biological male who identifies as a woman. In 2024, Richards was obliged to step down as the charity's chief executive owing to women's rights campaigners objecting to her position, but now she is back.

Endometriosis is a disease that only women are afflicted by. It is caused when pieces of the womb lining, normally shed when a woman menstruates, break off and travel to other parts of the body, often in the pelvis or even abdomen. Here, these pieces still behave as if they were in the uterus, and bleed. Only there is nowhere for the blood to go.

The result is almost unimaginable. It feels as if your insides are being ripped out, piece by piece, and pain builds and builds inside you for several days until somehow the blood is reabsorbed into the body. Often, the errant pieces attach themselves to other internal organs, damaging them.

When I began experiencing intense pain, I had read an interview with my fellow novelist Hilary Mantel about her own experience of endometriosis. It sounded uncannily like my own, and I asked my (male) GP whether I could possibly be suffering from it too. 'Impossible!' he asserted. 'You've had two children, which is the cure.'

Yes, unlike Hilary Mantel, who wrote movingly in Giving Up The Ghost about her infertility caused by the disease, I had been extraordinarily lucky. I had been able to conceive and give birth to my longed-for daughter and son.

Steph Richards, a transwoman (ie, a biological male) has just been appointed as parliamentary engagement officer for the charity Endometriosis South Coast

But my GP, whose training takes the default human body to be male, not female, was wrong. You can have children and endometriosis.

I went to see my GP, or rather a series of them, many times over the seven years before I got a diagnosis. All were men, and their responses varied from 'You're the mother of young children, it's only natural to feel tired' to being told that I was 'a middle-class, middle-aged neurotic'.

One, called out as an emergency by my despairing husband, suggested that I might be allergic to the Floris bath oils I used (taking hot baths gave temporary relief). The pain was so dreadful that it broke through the highest prescribed dose of painkillers that are permissible outside hospital.

I also bled so copiously every month that I would collect my children from primary school in my car, sitting on a plastic bag because the blood came through two super large tampons and sanitary pads.

I fainted from the pain and felt such nausea that I often had to sit on the floor during the day. My work as a novelist and critic had to continue, but my publisher almost despaired that I would ever deliver a new novel. My young son would often trot up and give me a tampon as a present, because I could not hide the bleeding.

Unable to exercise, I began to put on weight, which my GPs also blamed me for. I became like a woman in a Victorian novel always lying on the sofa, working on my lap, and no fun to be with for at least half of every month.

Being female is not about growing your hair, wearing dresses, taking oestrogen to grow 'breasts' or putting on lipstick, writes Amanda Craig. It is about the messy, often debilitating yet miraculous stuff that enables half of the human race, my half, to conceive and carry a baby

Naturally, I begged for tests. I had a blood test for anaemia, but no abdominal scan, though I did have a vaginal one which revealed nothing. Endometriosis is, in fact, quite tricky to spot because the pieces of womb lining can be small. Nevertheless, the fact that my symptoms came a few days after my period should have been a giant clue.

I am immensely proud of the NHS, but the pain and debility were so awful that my husband insisted I see a private doctor in Harley Street, called Ann Coxon. She ordered a full-spectrum blood scan, and a proper scan of my abdomen. 'I've got good news and bad news,' she told me.

'You have not one but two diseases, but the good news is they can both be cured.' I had, like Hilary Mantel, a malfunctioning thyroid  thyroid cancer, in fact  and probable endometriosis. It could only be proved if I underwent surgery.

So began a two-year medical odyssey, first to remove the thyroid cancer and receive radiotherapy, and then to have keyhole surgery for endometriosis at King Edward VII's Hospital.

I can still remember, even as I came round from a general anaesthetic, realising that for the first time in years I was no longer in pain. It had been a constant background noise in my life even when it did not rise to excruciating agony. I was stunned by the relief, and burst into tears.

Steph Richards (pictured) has no medical training, and even were her advocacy coming from a good place, it is as inappropriate for a biological man to talk about this unique condition

My surgeon was a man  and I have no objection whatsoever to being operated on by a member of the opposite sex, even if all the GPs who had failed and gaslit me were men too. All that matters when you are ill is excellence.

My surgeon, Mr Magos, was the very best and I learned later had attended her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. His kindness, sympathy and expertise saved not just my health but my sanity. The endometrial tissue had attached itself to one of my ovaries, which had to be removed too  plunging me into premature menopause.

In the past, I would have had to have a hysterectomy, but the cure was having the Mirena coil inserted into my uterus.

This, though uncomfortable for the first month, soon becomes completely painless. It keeps the womb lining thin by releasing progesterone and stops periods (it is more commonly used as a form of contraception).

The really good thing was that I was also prescribed oestrogen-only HRT. My menopausal symptoms stopped, and within months I was glowing with good health.

I was able to look after my children and finish my fifth novel, Hearts And Minds, which was my first to be long-listed for the Women's Prize.

All this is private stuff. I only speak about it because I see the urgent need for women, and men, to be better informed about what having a woman's body actually entails.

Being female is not about growing your hair, wearing dresses, taking oestrogen to grow 'breasts' or putting on lipstick. It is about the messy, often debilitating yet miraculous stuff that enables half of the human race, my half, to conceive and carry a baby.

Women pay an enormous price for this potential, whether we wish to or not: we are smaller, weaker, and if no less intelligent are routinely patronised and bullied by many men who fail to respect or understand what we are and do.

This seems to include too many self-professed transwomen. Steph Richards has no medical training, and even were her advocacy coming from a good place, it is as inappropriate for a biological man to talk about this unique condition as it would be for a white person to talk for black people, or an able-bodied one to represent the disabled. Only women have lived the experience of this pain, just as only women know what it is like to give birth.

For Richards to believe she can speak for us is deeply insulting, and indeed indicative of the confident complacency we associate with biological males.
PALM BEACH, Fla., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- VIVIFY Technology took a prominent role at the Palm Beach County Lincoln Day Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on March 20, 2026, joining President Donald J. Trump and a distinguished group of national leaders, policymakers, and business executives for one of the region's most influential political gatherings of the year.

Photo of President Donald J Trump addressing attendees at the Lincoln Day Gala

As a premier sponsor of the Presidential Table and Poolside Cocktail Reception, VIVIFY Technology stood at the center of an evening focused on advancing pro-growth policies, strengthening American industry, and driving forward a new era of domestic innovation.

VIVIFY Founder & CEO Jason Herring, alongside senior leadership and strategic partners, engaged directly with top-tier decision-makers, reinforcing the company's alignment with leadership committed to economic expansion, energy independence, and infrastructure modernization.

As a Florida-based company with an expanding global footprint, VIVIFY is emerging as a disruptor in the energy space and is increasingly recognized as a Florida-first thought leader in energy, infrastructure, and advanced technology. The company is at the forefront of developing the future of energy, with a growing emphasis on hydrogen innovation, positioning VIVIFY as a leading hydrogen energy company advancing next-generation infrastructure solutions to meet evolving global demand.

"America's future depends on bold leadership and decisive action," said Herring. "VIVIFY is proud to stand alongside leaders who prioritize innovation, American strength, and the policies that enable businesses to scale, compete, and win on a global stage."

Among the evening's distinguished attendees, Representative Meg Weinberger joined the VIVIFY table, underscoring the company's growing engagement with policymakers advancing pro-growth, pro-innovation initiatives across Florida. Conversations throughout the evening focused on economic expansion, infrastructure modernization, and strengthening public-private collaboration at both the state and national levels.

The event highlighted a powerful convergence of political influence and private-sector execution, with VIVIFY emerging as a key player in advancing next-generation infrastructure and energy solutions aligned with national priorities. With strategic initiatives underway across multiple markets, VIVIFY Technology continues to position itself as a driving force behind innovation, investment, and large-scale infrastructure development.

As the national conversation around economic growth and energy leadership accelerates, VIVIFY remains committed to supporting policies and partnerships that strengthen America's competitive edge and long-term prosperity.

About VIVIFY Technology

VIVIFY is a technology, power, and systems integration partner specializing in the execution of complex, high-impact infrastructure and digital initiatives. The company supports visionary organizations through advanced energy solutions, systems coordination, and implementation at scale. Learn more at https://vivify-technology.com/

Media Contact:

Lynn Aronberg

Lynn Aronberg & Associates

310-299-6143

[email protected]

SOURCE VIVIFY Technology
Never again, the politicians had said.

Yet for decades, they had run down our defences until the horrendous events of that fateful summer morning in 2028 shattered our nation's island sense of protection for ever.

Ballistic missiles rained down on London while dozens of relatively slow-moving Shahed drones  used for years to attack Ukrainian cities  and hundreds of quadcopters hit military sites in Portsmouth and Plymouth.

Shock turned to anger and then rage as Britons realised we had been left unprotected despite years of warning signs. We knew that we were vulnerable, that much had been obvious since March 2026 when Iran launched two missiles aimed at the US-UK base on Diego Garcia.

Was it complacency or a cover-up? Either way, our political leaders buried their heads in the sand, giving us false reassurance while refusing to invest in defence.

Then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer had told reporters: 'We carry out assessments all the time in order to keep us safe, and there's no assessment that we're being targeted in that way.'

DR BOB Seely MBE is the author of The New Total War (pictured)

Horror

In 2028 it wasn't the ballistic missiles launched from secret sites in Iran that did the real damage, but the hundreds of smaller missiles and drones that killed hundreds at military and civilian targets.

Thousands watched in horror as the Shaheds, sounding like flying lawn mowers, flew over coastal communities towards their targets  like something out of the Second World War.

These small missiles, about which we had thought little, had been launched from an unflagged oil tanker, part of Iran's shadow fleet linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Worse, Britain's MI5 and MI6 spy agencies later found the vessel had connections to Russian organised crime oil smugglers backed by an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin.

Does all of the above sound like a science-fiction thriller? Five years ago it might have been. Now it is not, and it will happen somewhere in the Western world: mainland Europe, the UK or North America. Tomorrow? Almost certainly not. In the next decade? Very possibly.

The one way to prevent it is to prepare for it.

Although there is now talk of a ceasefire in the current conflict, Tehran will almost certainly continue to develop its long-range missile capacity, and if not them, other states or even IRGC-connected terror groups will use the ever-easier-to-access technology to threaten our peaceful nation.

When I was an MP in the last ill-fated Conservative government, those who called for more defence spending were regularly ignored; after all, the Armed Forces had always managed to survive.

After 2019, the then Defence Secretary Ben Wallace turned the tide on spending, but the extra money was too little too late, and we underestimated the scale of the task.

For the first time since the 18th century, we can barely muster a Royal Navy fleet, as demonstrated by how only yesterday  a long three weeks after an Iranian-made drone hit the British base of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus  did the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon reach the eastern Mediterranean to begin 'operational integration' into the island's defence. So, what are the exact threats?

If Iran's long-range missiles are not within scope, they will be soon. These ballistic missiles (ballistic means they go up high and come down fast) have a range now of nearly 2,500 miles. They carry a warhead over 1.5 tons, enough to destroy large buildings and spread lethal shrapnel up to half a mile around it.

While only the ballistic missiles have the range to hit the UK from Iran, the risk is also from smaller weapons stationed nearby. Every day a small number of shadow fleet vessels sail through the North Sea and English Channel  there are 1,200 of these vessels globally, unregistered and uninsured. Shahed missiles  the ones used to attack Ukrainian cities and now targets across the Middle East  could easily be positioned on hidden racks on the vessels.

The Shaheds are low-flying drone/cruise missiles which travel at up to 250mph and have a range of up to 1,500 miles with a warhead of 220lb. From the North Sea, they could easily hit London  or indeed many targets on mainland Europe. They are not difficult to shoot down, but you need a defensive system in place capable of hitting dozens at a time  a few jets alone or a Royal Navy destroyer will run out of missiles.

Preparation

In the Cold War, we had Bloodhound missiles to protect Britain on RAF sites throughout East Anglia. The only thing we have now is a very limited air defence capability from six destroyers  we were due to have 12, but the last Labour government cut the order. It was then reduced to six and most of these seem to be in dock. Fast jets, if scrambled in time, could shoot some missiles, but we have no land-based defence.

While this Government drags its feet on defence, others prepare to protect their people. Israel is already a world leader. Its defensive system consists of radar systems, battlefield and airspace management as well as three layers of missiles: Arrow (long-range), David's Sling (medium-range) and the Iron Dome short-range missile  from which the entire system has taken its name in the popular imagination.

Last weekend, Labour did its best to reassure the public.

'There is no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK or even could, if they wanted to,' Housing Secretary Steve Reed told the media. First, this Government has a problem with lying. And while all politicians are seen to be distrusted, Labour has taken political dishonesty to a new low. To be blunt, who believes Labour's reassurances? And why was the Housing Minister despatched to tell us?

Second, if there isn't a ballistic threat now, there will be in the future. This is why Germany has announced a $4billion (3billion) deal to buy from Israel the latest Arrow missile. They hope to have it operational by 2030. Germany is also leading a Europe-wide Air Defence initiative.

This needs to be part of our national defence priority.

Third, as I have shown, there are ways of hitting the UK with mass, slower-moving drones, for which we appear to have done little by way of thinking, let alone actions.

We need a flexible, movable defence which involves building our own specialised system against air attacks, similar to the Iron Dome but unique for an island nation 11 times larger than Israel.

Our scientists and experts need to wargame both high-end threats from Russian and then Iranian ballistic missiles, but also more hybrid attacks designed to cause mass casualties, inculcate panic and heighten social tensions. It's clear Labour came into power without a plan, which is why it is such a mess, and why our problems are getting worse.

Negligence

The failure to grip defence is part of a wider negligence in so much policy. They prefer to spend money on welfare and asylum seekers rather than defend our nation.

Any serious political party needs a plan for war. The thinking needs to happen now. It's not only a question of money, but ideas. We need more ships, planes and soldiers, but they need to be differently equipped. A ship will have to launch or shoot down dozens, possibly hundreds, of drones a day and cope with high-end cyber warfare.

I hope my scenarios never materialise. But if history teaches us one thing, it is that the weaker we look, and the less we deter, the more likely the scenarios we fear are to come true.

 DR BOB Seely MBE is the author of The New Total War.
Would you be willing to spend more on everyday staples like eggs, bananas and chocolate if you believed they were healthier and free from harmful chemicals?

Millions of Americans do just that, paying a premium for organic food, convinced it's not just better for the environment and animal welfare but, crucially, better for their bodies.

Shoppers choosing organic routinely spend far more on groceries, believing they contain more nutrients and fewer potentially harmful pesticides  some of which have been linked in research to serious, life-limiting diseases.

But experts speaking to the Daily Mail say the reality is far more complicated.

Indeed, experts warn the organic label often falls short of what shoppers expect  offering no clear proof of superior nutrition, no outright ban on pesticide use, and only limited assurances about how animals are reared.

In the US, food must meet strict federal standards to carry the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic label.

But at its core, 'organic' refers to how food is produced  not what it contains.

Farmers must avoid most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, as well as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The USDA Organic label has long provided minimal meaningful protection for farmed animals. Cage-free, for example, means hens can move about within enclosed barns, but it does not guarantee access to grassy pastures or outdoor roaming

Your browser does not support iframes.

Routine antibiotic use in livestock is prohibited and producers instead must rely on natural or approved substances and specific farming practices.

There are also different tiers of certification, from '100% organic' to products made with at least 70 percent organic ingredients, though only the highest categories can carry the USDA seal.

To cut through the hype, the Mail asked experts to break down what 'organic' really guarantees  and what it doesn't. Their answers may come as a shock to anyone who routinely pays extra for it.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that organic food is completely pesticide-free. It isn't.

Organic farming still uses pesticides  they are just typically derived from natural sources or specifically approved under organic rules.

These include substances such as copper-based compounds and microbial agents like Bacillus subtilis.

While typically considered low risk for consumers, studies suggest some organic pesticides  particularly copper-based ones  can build up in soil and affect microbes and other organisms over time.

And while the risk to consumers from residues on food is low, organic farmer Patrick Martin says these substances can still pose a risk to those handling them in large quantities.

Martin, who produces organic olive oil, said: 'With substances like copper, the main concern would be acute toxicity  but in practice, that's not really an issue.

'For that to become a problem, you'd have to consume it in significant amounts.

'In terms of skin or respiratory irritation, or allergic reactions from handling it, those can happen  but I'd expect that mainly in situations where safety standards are poor. It's not something I'd consider especially common.'

While the risks from approved substances may be limited, experts say the wider organic system is not without its flaws. Regulators, including the Environmental Protection Agency, assess pesticides used and set safety thresholds  but enforcement is not foolproof.

Your browser does not support iframes.

In 2019, the US Department of Justice uncovered a $142 million fraud in which Missouri grain dealer Randy Constant sold conventionally grown grain as organic  one of the largest cases of its kind.

Federal watchdogs have also raised concerns about weaknesses in monitoring imported organic products, prompting tighter oversight in recent years.

And it's not just about chemicals. Many shoppers assume organic automatically means animals are raised in humane, free-roaming conditions  but that, too, is not always the case.

Organic rules require 'access to the outdoors,' yet the definition is broad and has historically been loosely enforced, Martin said.

'Cage-free' eggs, for example, mean hens can move around indoors, not that they roam on open pasture, and outdoor access can, in some cases, amount to little more than a small covered area.

Dr Michelle Schack, a dairy cow veterinarian and founder of DairyKind, said the organic label does not guarantee high standards of animal welfare.

She explained that organic certification focuses on how farms are run  rather than how animals actually fare.

And, she says, farms can meet organic rules on paper while still falling short on the measures that matter most to vets.

'When vets assess animal welfare, they look at outcomes  things like rates of lameness, disease, body condition and overall herd health,' says Schack. 'You can set standards for housing or feed, but if the animals themselves aren't healthy or comfortable, those rules only tell part of the story.'

That means no single certification can guarantee the best welfare, she added, with outcomes shaped by basics such as staff training, hygiene, nutrition and veterinary oversight.

One high-profile case involved Aurora Organic Dairy, which in 2017 agreed to a USDA settlement after allegations it failed to meet rules requiring cows to graze on pasture.

Organic pesticides are derived from natural sources to control insects and fungi without harming the surrounding environment or leaving chemical residues on harvested foods

Meanwhile, investigations by the Cornucopia Institute have revealed that many large-scale, certified organic egg operations confine hens in factory-farm conditions, often failing to provide meaningful outdoor access despite meeting the letter of federal USDA organic standards.

Perhaps most strikingly, a large body of research suggests organic food is not significantly more nutritious than conventional alternatives.

A major 2024 review in the journal Heliyon, analysing 147 studies and nearly 2,000 samples, found more than 40 percent of comparisons showed no meaningful difference.

The rest were split between small advantages for organic and studies that produced conflicting results.

Earlier landmark analyses have reached similar conclusions, including a 2012 review by Stanford University researchers and a study from Harvard University published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Both found little evidence of meaningful health benefits of organic over non-organic foods.

While some differences do exist, such as slightly higher omega-3 fatty acid levels in organic milk and meat, researchers say these are unlikely to affect overall health.

As nutrition expert Jaymar Saniatan, CEO of Nutrition Phitness, put it: 'Some organic food may contain more antioxidants and certain vitamins and minerals, but the amount is not significant.'

Patrick Martin, a California organic farmer, told the Daily Mail that while the 'organic' labeling standard is strictly enforced, but that does not mean the food is more nutritious or that animals roam freely on open pastures

Organic farming is also typically more expensive to run, relying on costlier feed, fertilizers and more labor-intensive pest control, as well as sometimes producing lower yields.

Those higher costs are ultimately passed on to consumers.

Martin said it is 'absolutely true' that some farmers adopt organic methods to command higher prices, rather than improve standards.

'I'm not convinced you can make a strong claim that organic food is more nutritious,' he said. 'The evidence is mixed  some studies show no difference, others suggest a benefit  so it's hard to say either way.'

There is some evidence of differences in food safety, but not always in the way consumers expect.

Organic meat is less likely to contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria because antibiotics are restricted, yet studies show rates of common food-poisoning bacteria are similar in both organic and conventional products.

For shoppers, experts say the most important factor remains simple: eating more fruits, vegetables and whole foods  organic or not  matters far more than the label.

Martin said: 'My preference is to stick to organic foods whenever possible, because they are most likely free from residues of synthetic pesticides.

When looking for the most nutrient-dense, high-quality produce, he goes to the farmer's market and finds the farmers who grow it.

'There's no way to tell except to take the produce home and cook with it,' he said.

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is essential for good health, providing vital vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting antioxidants.

To maximize the benefits, aim for specific nutritional targets, such as consuming around 30 grams of fiber daily, which can be achieved by eating foods like a medium bowl of oatmeal, a cup of lentils or a couple of apples with the skin on.

For general intake, health guidelines often recommend filling half your plate with produce, which translates to about two cups of fruit and two to three cups of vegetables per day.

Equally important is minimizing your intake of ultra-processed foods, as these products are often high in unhealthy fats, sugars and additives while being low in the natural nutrients your body needs to thrive.

In Martin's opinion, 'The tastiest fruit and veg are almost always the ones grown in healthy soil  and have the most minerals, vitamins, secondary plant metabolites that all add to the healthy quality of the food.'
The news of two teenagers dying of meningitis B in the outbreak that started in Kent is tragic. And the awful thing is they might well have survived if they'd been vaccinated.

The meningitis B vaccine doesn't offer complete protection. But it does reduce the risk of getting the infection  and if you do get meningitis, it reduces the risk of dying, as well as the severity of illness and complications such as loss of limbs, brain damage and hearing loss.

And what makes this so uncomfortable is that we already have this vaccine and have been giving it to babies since 2015  but the NHS made a decision (based on cost) not to vaccinate children born before this rollout.

So any child over 12 is not protected against meningitis B (menB), unless their parents have paid for them to have the jab privately.

This brings us to a much bigger, more uncomfortable, question: how much is a life worth?

It sounds like the sort of question you'd expect in a philosophy seminar, but in reality it is what determines the care that is available on the NHS. In the UK, that decision largely sits with NICE  the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

At its simplest, NICE does two things. First, it asks the basics: does this treatment, test or vaccine work; how well does it work  and is it safe?

But then, that more brutal question: is it worth the cost?

The meningitis B vaccine doesn't offer complete protection, but it does reduce the risk of getting the infection

We have been giving the jab to babies since 2015  but the NHS made a decision, based on cost, not to vaccinate children born before this rollout

To answer that, NICE uses something called a QALY, or quality-adjusted life year. In simple terms, one QALY is one extra year of life in good health.

NICE then works out how much it costs to gain one of those years. If it costs more than around 30,000 for one patient for one year of good health, that treatment or test often isn't funded. So, in effect, we have quietly decided the price of a year of healthy existence.

On one level, that's entirely reasonable. The NHS does not have unlimited money and, if you don't make those decisions, the system doesn't work.

But like most things that work well on paper, it becomes more complicated when you're trying to help individual patients.

A few years ago, towards the end of a shift in A&E, I treated a teenager who had a fever, a headache, and was vomiting. But there was something about him that made me pause. He wasn't quite right  not confused, but just not engaging in the way you'd expect.

An hour later he developed a rash and soon became critically ill with sepsis caused by menB. He was given antibiotics quickly but still required weeks of intensive care treatment and, ultimately, one of his legs had to be amputated below his knee, as the blood flow to his extremities was affected  which happens all too frequently in meningococcal septicaemia.

Vaccinating him would have made sense on a clinical basis, as it would have prevented this illness, but it wasn't deemed cost-effective by the NHS because of how rare menB is in teenagers  one or two cases per 100,000 every year.

I chose to pay for the chickenpox vaccine for my children (at 200 each), writes Professor Galloway (posed by model)

Yet his care ended up costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. He was lucky, he survived; others, like we saw last week, have not.

And this is where the neat logic of cost-effectiveness begins to feel uncomfortable.

When what might possibly happen involves life-changing disability or death, especially in young people, then the calculation that NICE does when deciding whether to fund a treatment becomes ethically almost impossible.

That is exactly the tension that charities such as Meningitis Now have been highlighting: they are campaigning for the menB vaccination to be made available more widely to those at risk.

They also argue that access to the jab should not depend on your ability to pay. At over 200 privately for a full course, it is simply not affordable for many families.

The NHS works on cost-effectiveness. But as a doctor I want to know if something is clinically effective. If it is  and the benefits outweigh the risks  I can discuss with my patients whether to cover the cost if the NHS won't.

In the case of the menB jab, I'd recommend parents of 15- to 24-year-olds pay for the vaccine as this group is most at risk, particularly in the first year of university, when young people are suddenly living and partying together, kissing and sharing vapes  the ideal conditions for meningococcal bacteria to spread.

We see this same ethical dilemma in cancer care, or autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, where drugs that are clearly beneficial are restricted because their cost per QALY is too high.

Julia Halpin, who runs the Being Well private pharmacy in Hove, East Sussex, says: 'Increasingly, our patients want to take charge of their own health  and that means wanting to access medicines or services that aren't available on the NHS'

We also see it with the new weight-loss jabs, which are proving to be highly effective but are tightly limited on the NHS.

The key point is this: as an individual, do you want to do what is optimum for your health (if you can afford it)  or accept the care that the NHS deems cost-effective at a population level? Understanding this, there are some other vaccines I would consider paying for.

Take the shingles vaccine: the NHS offers it to those turning 65, or aged 70 to 79, because that's where it's most cost-effective.

Outside those groups, the vaccine still works perfectly well, and can prevent a nasty infection  which in the worst cases can lead to long-term nerve pain and vision loss. And emerging evidence suggests the shingles vaccine may reduce your risk of dementia.

So I personally will get the shingles vaccine when I turn 50 next year (the age it's licensed for), rather than waiting.

It's 500 for the two doses needed  I'm lucky enough to be able to afford to make that choice. Similarly, I chose to pay for the chickenpox vaccine for my children (at 200 each).

In many countries it's long been part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule, but in the UK that was only introduced this year. The reasoning is again cost-effectiveness  most cases are, thankfully, mild. But as I've seen in my work, it sometimes causes severe complications.

It was a rational decision for the NHS to restrict it, but equally it was a rational decision for me to vaccinate my little ones.

NICE's decisions aren't set in stone. If the menB outbreak continues to widen, then it becomes cost-effective for the NHS to vaccinate  and its position will change.

However, this latest outbreak has helped expose something the NHS has always done but rarely explained well: the difference between what is clinically effective and what is cost-effective.

More and more people are now stepping outside the NHS in order to reduce their own personal risks in ways the NHS system simply cannot fund at the necessary scale. You see it in the growing numbers paying privately for flu vaccines and for Covid boosters (I recommend getting both, particularly to reduce the individual risk of long Covid).

It's no surprise to hear pharmacies report they are running out of stocks of the menB vaccine, as people have been alerted to the risks.

My colleague Julia Halpin, who runs the Being Well private pharmacy in Hove, East Sussex, told me this is part of a clear shift. 'Increasingly, our patients want to take charge of their own health  and that means wanting to access medicines or services that aren't available on the NHS,' she said.

Which brings us back to the more difficult question: if NICE decides something is not cost-effective, how much am I prepared to pay?

Much of preventative health care, including getting a vaccination, is like taking out an insurance policy.

And if we can start asking ourselves about the clinical effectiveness of healthcare  and not just accept the NHS's cost-effectiveness decisions  it will help us each make the right choice for ourselves and our families.
Philip 'Pip' Harding was sitting down to supper with his wife Claire one evening just over two years ago when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted strange people in the room.

It was clear from Claire's bewildered reaction that these figures weren't actually there  so, feeling 'odd', Pip decided to go for a lie-down.

As he recalls: 'It was a very weird experience. As I was lying on the bed, suddenly I found I couldn't speak either. After a while I fell asleep. Claire was worried and checked on me a few times. But the next day I felt fine, so we both assumed it must have been an odd reaction to the Covid vaccination I'd had earlier that day.'

A decorated RAF helicopter pilot who'd flown missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland, Pip at that point had been posted to Hawaii to work alongside the US armed forces  at 52, he was in the prime of life.

But a few weeks later, after a meeting at the Pentagon in Washington, he was suddenly overcome by violent nausea. 'I had to find a quiet wooded area quickly,' admits Pip, now 54, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire.

Back in Hawaii, he saw a doctor. Tests and scans followed. A few days later Pip and Claire were sitting in front of a consultant in Honolulu, being told that Pip had late-stage glioblastoma  the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer  and that, without treatment, he might have only four or five months to live.

Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of those under 40 in the UK; in the vast majority of cases the cause is unknown.

The average survival time for glioblastoma (with more than 3,000 cases diagnosed every year) is 12 to 18 months, and only around 5 per cent of patients are still alive after five years.

Philip 'Pip' Harding (centre), with his wife Claire and their five children, has glioblastoma

Pip recalls: 'I didn't know what to say. Claire had tears in her eyes. Suddenly everything changed. I went from living this incredible life with my family and doing an exciting, fulfilling job, to being told I could be on the way out' His voice falters at the memory.

Pip and Claire met as students at the University of Exeter and have five children: Ellie, 26; Johnny, 24; Bobbie, 21; Harry, 19; and William, 16. After joining the RAF in 1993, Pip had risen to Group Captain and been awarded an OBE.

Practical and optimistic by nature, he was nonetheless floored by his diagnosis in March 2024. 'I wasn't ready to give in  I was determined to fight,' he says.

Pip was told his best chance was a ten-hour operation, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

After six weeks, a scan showed the tumour had shrunk, and he embarked on a rolling course of five days of chemotherapy every month, which he still receives, following his return to the UK in September 2024. But he was warned that he might still expect to live only another year.

Then in October that year, Claire, 55, a yoga teacher, came across an experimental treatment  oncothermia  where focused heat and an electric field is passed through cancer tissue, raising the temperature of the tumour to around 45c.

It's not been proven by clinical trials and is available only in some centres in Europe and one clinic in London, at a cost of 1,000 a session.

Pip's GP thought it was worth pursuing, and RAF colleagues and family rallied, raising 36,000 to fund 36 sessions (which he had alongside his chemotherapy). After six sessions, an MRI scan showed the tumour had reduced from 7cm to 1.7cm, says Pip.

His story is in some ways extraordinary  yet the situation he found himself in is not.

There has been no significant improvement in treatments or survival rates for those diagnosed with brain cancer in decades.

This dire state of affairs contrasts with a new report published earlier this month that showed overall cancer deaths in the UK are at a historic low, dropping by 11 per cent in the past decade.

Anna Jewell chairs the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce  a campaign group representing the six cancers with the lowest five-year survival rates

The analysis, by Cancer Research UK, found that ovarian cancer death rates fell by 19 per cent and stomach cancer by 34 per cent. Meanwhile, breast cancer deaths are down 14 per cent; bowel cancer 6 per cent; and leukaemia by 9 per cent.

However, some rates increased over the same period  including gallbladder cancer (up by 29 per cent), eye cancer (26 per cent) and liver cancer (14 per cent).

The improvements are the result of 'decades of scientific breakthroughs, from vaccines that prevent cancer to kinder, more targeted treatments,' says Dr Sam Godfrey, science engagement lead at Cancer Research UK.

For instance, a drop in prostate cancer deaths (by 11 per cent in a decade) is partly due to the new drug abiraterone, which stops testosterone fuelling the disease.

Cervical cancer has seen one of the biggest improvements across all cancer types  with a 75 per cent reduction in deaths over the past 50 years, thanks to screening and innovations such as the HPV vaccine given to teenagers, introduced in 2008.

But late diagnosis, lack of treatment options and poor survival rates are still a disturbing fact of life for many of the more than 95,000 Britons diagnosed every year with so-called less survivable cancers  a group that includes brain, stomach, liver, oesophageal, pancreatic and lung cancers.

In the UK, 47 per cent of all cancer diagnoses are of rare and less common cancers  yet they account for 55 per cent of cancer deaths (nearly 167,000 people died from all types of cancer in 2022/3), according to Cancer52, which represents more than 100 specialist cancer charities.

And the difference in survival between cancer types in the UK is wider than ever, as reported in The Lancet Regional Health  Europe last year.

A study of data from adults diagnosed in England and Wales between 1971 and 2018 found a significant difference in ten-year survival rates between the most and least deadly cancers: 97 per cent of those diagnosed with testicular cancer survive ten years or more, compared with just 4.3 per cent for pancreatic cancer.

At the root of this disparity lies systematic neglect of some cancers  in terms of research funding, clinical trial access, diagnostic pathways and drug development.

Money is clearly a problem. There are more than 200 types of cancer, yet the four most common  prostate, breast, bowel and lung  attract the lion's share of research funding.

Data published in January by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce  a campaign group representing the six cancers with the lowest five-year survival rates (brain, stomach, oesophageal, lung, liver and pancreatic)  found that these cancers are the focus of less than one fifth of UK government-funded cancer research, despite accounting for nearly 40 per cent of all cancer deaths.

'These figures are a wake-up call,' says Anna Jewell, who chairs the taskforce. 'It's unacceptable.' Another problem is clinical trials, which are often funded by large pharmaceutical companies.

'They will have more customers for a drug that treats a common cancer than a rare one,' says Karol Sikora, an oncology specialist and professor at the University of Buckingham.

Also, because such cancers are individually quite rare and complex, collecting good trial data for new treatments is a longer, more difficult process than for cancers that affect larger numbers. There are simply fewer patients, so trials often need to be conducted across multiple centres in many countries to collect adequate data.

Pip (pictured on holiday with his family) is taking each day as it comes, serving in the RAF and giving regular talks to raise awareness for the campaign group Brain Cancer Justice

Dr Matt Williams, a consultant oncologist specialising in brain tumours at Charing Cross Hospital in London, says there is also a painful circularity: because survival rates for brain and other rarer cancers are so low, there are fewer survivors around to lobby for better research and treatments.

'There can also be a certain nihilism involved,' adds Anna Jewell. 'Historically, there has been a tendency for those evaluating research funding applications  such as the National Institute for Health and Care Research  to be 'cancer agnostic' about which research they back.

'This means the focus is often on funding the highest-quality research where there is a good track record  which may count against a rarer cancer where previously little progress has been made.'

Lack of funding and research also underlies the absence of national screening tests for certain cancers. Currently the NHS screens for breast, bowel and cervical cancers, although a targeted lung cancer screening programme is being introduced for those at higher risk, such as smokers.

The consequences are lives lost on a great scale.

The last significant new treatment for brain cancer was an improved chemotherapy drug, temozolomide, in 2003. It provided hope for those with glioblastomas, partly because of its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

Dr Williams is frank about the frustrations faced by patients and doctors alike. 'One of my patients said to me: 'When they talk about gold-standard treatments for brain cancer, it's really more like bronze, isn't it?' It's hard to disagree,' he says.

An additional complicating factor is that there are around 120 types of brain tumour, which makes research into how the tumours develop, and new treatments, difficult.

There are further challenges in the way such cancers spread within the brain's complex structure, explains Paul Brennan, a professor of clinical and experimental neurosurgery at the University of Edinburgh.

'While surgery is a key treatment for many cancers, such as breast, it's less effective for brain cancers because the tumour cells spread through the brain to areas where it's not safe to operate.'

Dr Matt Williams, a consultant oncologist specialising in brain tumours, says because survival rates for brain and other rarer cancers are so low there are fewer survivors around to lobby for better research and treatments

Symptoms of most brain cancers  including headaches, mood changes and memory problems  are also vague enough to have many potential causes, making it difficult for patients to know when to seek help and for doctors to determine when further investigation is warranted.

Patients with rare cancers often attend multiple GP appointments before receiving a specialist referral.

Other cancers also have vague, non-specific symptoms which are easily attributable to other causes. Oesophageal cancer can present with heartburn, for instance.

For ovarian and pancreatic cancers, late diagnosis is particularly acute. Early signs of ovarian cancer can include bloating  and more than 75 per cent of cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage.

Up to 80 per cent of patients with pancreatic cancer are also diagnosed at this late stage.

Claire Machin Lloyd says her 76-year-old mother Pauline died in agony in November 2022, just five weeks after her diagnosis of advanced pancreatic cancer.

'Mum was diagnosed at the end of September, and her target was getting to Christmas  it wasn't even a big target, yet she still didn't make it,' says Claire, 45. 'We were completely devastated.'

'We didn't get the letter confirming her oncology appointment until after Mum had died,' says Claire, who works in marketing and lives near Exeter with her husband Mike, 51, a surveyor, and their children Caitlin, 15, Joseph, 13, and Meredith, nine.

She adds: 'My mum was active, fit and very hands-on as a grandmother to my children.'

Claire Machin Lloyd with her mother Pauline, who died in November 2022, just five weeks after her diagnosis of advanced pancreatic cancer

Claire says: 'My mum [pictured] was active, fit and very hands-on as a grandmother to my children'

A year or so before her death, Pauline developed indigestion and back pain. She saw her GP several times. Blood tests didn't initially reveal anything and the GP put it down to IBS.

'Around a year after her first GP appointment, a further blood test showed low blood sodium levels  which can indicate serious underlying illness  and she was referred for a scan,' says Claire. 'This revealed stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had spread to her liver. There were only palliative treatment options available; her cancer was incurable.

'We couldn't even get her a place in a hospice  she died in pain, hidden behind curtains on a stroke ward, which was the only place they had a bed,' says Claire. 'She was my best friend and I felt she'd been written off  like her life didn't matter.'

Like Pauline, half of pancreatic cancer patients die within three months of diagnosis, says Michelle Garrett, a professor of cancer therapeutics and chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

'They're also often simply too ill to take part in any clinical trials by the time they are diagnosed.'

This cuts them off from what is often the only route to a new treatment.

Specialist centres for many rare cancers are also concentrated in a handful of cities  principally London, Manchester and Birmingham, with additional hubs in Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Leeds and Cardiff  making access a potential postcode lottery for some.

However, there are signs that the tide has finally begun to turn.

The Rare Cancers Act, which became law earlier this month, places a duty on the Health Secretary to promote and facilitate research into rare cancers. It also aims to improve patient recruitment into clinical trials through greater data sharing.

In addition, the National Cancer Plan for England promises a specific focus on less common cancers, prioritising research funding and clinical trials.

'These are major steps forward and offer real promise for progress in treating rarer cancers,' says Anna Jewell. Other grounds for optimism include more approaches to tackling cancer, ranging from vaccines to gene therapies.

'The latest research increasingly suggests that the unique biology of cancer cells may be more relevant to how it responds to treatment than where it is located,' says Dr Sarah Halford, a consultant oncologist at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.

This opens the door to treatments that might otherwise not have been considered  with targeted drugs already approved for common cancers now being tested for rarer ones.

Professor Karol Sikora says repurposing existing drugs is a promising avenue. He cites imatinib, originally developed for chronic myeloid leukaemia, which has shown efficacy against gastrointestinal stromal tumours  a rare cancer of the digestive tract.

Professor Sikora is also optimistic about the role of artificial intelligence in analysing a patient's history and symptoms, spotting patterns and drawing on a wider database of comparisons than is currently possible.

As for Pip Harding, he is taking each day as it comes, serving in the RAF and giving regular talks to raise awareness for the campaign group Brain Cancer Justice.

He is hopeful his treatment  a regimen of monthly oncothermia sessions alongside chemotherapy  will continue to help.

'I know it doesn't work for everyone, but my tumour has stayed shrunken  for me, this has been tremendous,' he says.

'But my experience highlights the importance of groups raising awareness of the inequalities of brain cancer treatment and funding.'
Urgent warnings have been issued for travelers heading to multiple countries over spiraling outbreaks of a mosquito-borne disease that can cause brain bleeds.

The CDC issued a level 1 global travel advisory after detecting unusual upticks in cases of dengue fever across the world.

In particular, the CDC warned of 16 countries where travelers have an increased risk of contracting the illness, warning them to take precautions to prevent mosquito bites.

The CDC said it 'has identified a higher-than-expected number of dengue cases among US travelers returning from' Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia, Cook Islands, Cuba, Guyana, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, New Caledonia, Pakistan, Samoa, Sudan, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Health officials urged travelers to wear insect repellent, long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors, and to sleep in air-conditioned rooms or a room with window screens.

Dengue fever often causes an asymptomatic infection, but in some patients it can trigger life-threatening internal bleeding, respiratory distress and heart failure.

It can also lead to shock and organ failure, especially of the liver, brain and heart.

Patients may also develop dengue shock syndrome, a condition where severe bleeding leads to a rapid drop in blood pressure and causes the body to go into shock.

Children under five, adults over 65 and pregnant women are considered to be most at risk from the virus.

The CDC has issued a travel alert for travelers heading to 16 countries over dengue fever (stock image of the Maldives)

Your browser does not support iframes.

Dengue was virtually eradicated from the US in the 1970s, but sporadic outbreaks have been recorded since, particularly in warmer states, including Florida and California. Most cases recorded in the US are linked to international travel.

A level 1 travel advisory urges Americans to practice usual precautions because of the presence of an outbreak. It is the lowest level travel alert out of the four levels that can be issued. Level four is advice to avoid all travel.

The Americas recorded a major dengue fever outbreak in 2025, with Brazil alone registering nearly 200,000 cases. Today, cases are still above normal, although well below this peak.

Samoa has been battling a dengue outbreak since April last year, that has already sickened 16,800 people and been linked to the deaths of eight individuals, including a seven-month-old baby.

Dengue is present in more than 100 countries globally and is a year-round threat to travelers and local people. Outbreaks occur every two to five years.

So far this year, no locally acquired cases of dengue fever have been detected in the mainland US.

A total of 55 cases have been detected, but these were all linked to travel outside the US. Florida had the most, at 16 cases, followed by New York, at eight cases.

In 2025, 67 cases of locally acquired dengue fever were reported in the US, including 60 in Florida, six in California and one in Arizona. There were also 1,128 cases that were linked to travel.

People are being urged to use insect repellent and wear long-sleeve tops and pants (stock image)

Your browser does not support iframes.

Health officials say about 40 to 80 percent of people infected with dengue fever do not develop any symptoms. If symptoms do develop, they appear abruptly about five to seven days after infection.

Warning signs include a fever above 100F (38C), severe headache, pain behind the eyes, bone, joint or muscle pain, and bleeding in the gums.

Some patients also develop redness of the skin on the face within the first 24 to 48 hours of symptoms emerging.

In severe cases, patients may also suffer from severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting and lethargy.

There is no specific cure for dengue fever and treatment consists of supportive care and therapies to manage symptoms and complications.

Doctors recommend patients with mild symptoms drink plenty of fluids and take Tylenol to ease pain.

In severe cases, patients may be admitted to the hospital for supportive care, an IV, blood pressure monitoring and a transfusion to replace lost blood.

To protect against dengue fever, there is a three-dose vaccine available, which is recommended for children aged nine to 16 years. It slashes the risk of a symptomatic infection by about 80 percent.
Schoolchildren aged 15 and 16 in Kent are set to receive a meningitis B jab to protect against the deadly disease amid the ongoing outbreak, it has been announced.

The vaccination program was rolled out for University of Kent students last week, but Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that it would be expanded to sixth form pupils at nearby schools with known or suspected cases of meningitis.

Now, health officials have agreed to vaccinate Year 11 children to ensure long-term protection against the disease that has already killed two people aged 18 and 21.

It comes after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced on Monday that there were currently 20 confirmed cases of meningitis, with three under further investigation.

This marked a fall from the nine under investigation on Sunday but officials are keen to ensure precautions are taken.

Every person diagnosed with the disease has required hospital admission  nine of whom have been treated in intensive care, where four currently remain.

Officials now a new mutation of group B meningococci bacteria is driving the outbreak, however early indications are that standard antibiotics and the vaccine combat it well.

Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at UKHSA, said: 'This preliminary analysis offers strong reassurance that our existing vaccinations and antibiotic treatment offer will be effective against this strain.

University students have been getting the meningitis B vaccine

Your browser does not support iframes.

'In collaboration with the research community, we will continue intensive laboratory investigations of the strain to determine how the spread of the outbreak may have been influenced by the bacterial strain, social or environmental conditions, and population immunity.'

Professor Paul Hunter, a virus expert at The Norwich School of Medicine, University of East Anglia said: 'The strain causing the outbreak has been around for about five years, but we now know it has undergone several mutations from when it was first seen in 2020.

'Whether these differences contributed to this outbreak is currently not clear.

'It is still not known with any great degree of confidence what factors or combination of factors made this outbreak so explosive.

'To my mind, the risk is high enough to justify the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation modelling not only vaccination for all adolescents, but also for first-year university students.'

Most of the people affected in the outbreak attended Club Chemistry in Canterbury  where the outbreak is believed to have started  at least once between March 5 and 7 before coming unwell.

Only three people infected with meningitis did not visit the nightclub on those dates, however they do live in student halls with links to those who did.

The average age of the infected is 19 and the majority of them are in education, though there are five non-students currently infected.

The two students who have died are 18yearold Juliette Kenny, who was described by her family as 'fit, healthy and strong' before her death, and a so-far unnamed University of Kent student.

Dr Lindsey Edwards, a microbiology expert at King's College London, warned that meningitis B was 'one of the most worrying strains' of the bacteria.

She told the Daily Mail: 'It's more virulent and more dangerous than other types. It's able to hide better from our immune system and attach to the cells in the body better.

'This means it's more likely to cause sepsis, and can get into the spine or brain, triggering deadly complications. Time is the biggest pressure here, meningitis symptoms start off mild and then become severe in a matter of hours.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Your browser does not support iframes.

'This means the window of time that patients have to seek medical help is small  that's why it's important that people know the symptoms to look out for.'

She added that the outbreak 'had all the ideal conditions for a superspreader event', given it originated in a 'poorlyventilated club filled with people kissing, vaping, sweating and shouting'.

Dr Edwards continued: 'These people will have then gone back to their flats or gone back home to a different part of the country, bringing the bacteria with them

'This outbreak will likely continue until health officials can contain it. We need to track down everyone exposed to the bacteria and give them antibiotics to stop it spreading. But unless health officials can trace every case, it's likely to keep spreading.'

Mr Streeting offered his condolences to relatives of the Ms Kenny and the student who died from the outbreak and said his thoughts are with those 'fighting this terrible disease'.

He said on Sunday: 'It has been an incredibly difficult week for those affected and for those working on the frontline response to this outbreak.

'As we look ahead to another challenging week, I wanted to pay tribute to the Herculean efforts of everyone who has worked tirelessly to care for those affected and keep people safe.'

The Health Secretary also thanked UKHSA officials and NHS teams, as well as school, college and university staff, and the 'thousands of students, pupils and other members of the public who have so readily and responsibly come forward for antibiotics and vaccination'.
It's an all too familiar sight. Cell phone in hand, pout firmly in place, a self-appointed arbiter of taste finds petty fault in the food or the treatment they receive at a restaurant - then attempts to flounce from the scene without paying.

Welcome to the worst excesses of the world of food influencers, the ever-more entitled members of the tribe of FoodTok content creators. It's an increasingly obnoxious and crowded domain... and restaurateurs are pushing back.

Jenna Leurquin is one. When she first opened her bakery, JL Patisserie, in 2019, she knew she would encounter challenges. What she didn't anticipate was that the biggest would be what she claimed was a vengeful influencer.

Last October, Leurquin said she received a request from Aurora Griffo, whose now-deleted account 'Glamorama' had less than 20,000 followers. Leurquin said Griffo approached her, offering to feature her James Beard award-winning Phoenix-based bakery for a fee. Leurquin declined, explaining that she didn't have the marketing budget to pay for such coverage.

According to Leurquin, Griffo then tried to pressure the bakery into giving her free food in exchange for a good review on TikTok, another offer which Leurquin said she turned down.

Yet despite these less-than-promising initial interactions, Griffo showed up at the bakery later that week, where Leurquin alleged, she treated the staff poorly, despite them offering her a free espresso.

After her visit, Griffo posted a mixed review of the pastries on TikTok, accusing the baker of using 'fake a**' ingredients.

Leurquin took to social media herself to film a rebuttal video with her side of the story, showing her 150-year-old sourdough starter and a 100 percent pistachio paste imported from Italy - and calling out Griffo for bullying.

When Jenna Leurquin first opened her bakery, JL Patisserie, in 2019, she didn't anticipate that one of the biggest challenges would be a vengeful influencer

The VIP List is a notorious outrage page with voiceovers by blonde duo Audrey Jongens (left) and Meg Radice (right)

Leurquin told the Daily Mail: 'I just felt like it was important to do because sometimes when something doesn't go the direction that some influencer wants, they use their voice to hurt you or other businesses.'

'Sometimes what they criticize is not correct and it really hurts businesses. I did it to stand up, not just for me, but the principle of attacking someone without knowing what their practice actually is,' Leurquin said.

She said: 'My team is good and they're very passionate and to see someone talking badly about them, I felt that was wrong. I wanted to stand up for the people that find passion in what we do. They should be able to pursue that without thinking they're going to be knocked down by a self-proclaimed influencer.'

In a now-deleted TikTok video, Griffo, who is no longer active under her 'Glamorama' account, apologized to the bakery, saying, 'My goal was still to give an honest review, but I see how that message, followed by a negative video, made it seem like I only wanted free food or felt entitled and that's not true.' Griffo could not be reached for comment.

Leurquin isn't the only restaurant owner left reeling from culinary content creators who have become omnipresent in the hospitality ecosystem in recent years.

In the last year alone, Michelin-starred NYC restaurant Semma was dragged online by the VIP List, a notorious outrage page with voiceovers by blonde duo Meg Radice and Audrey Jongens.

Their Semma review, which some called out for alleged racist 'microaggressions,' earned them the ire of industry figure Padma Lakshmi, who took to social media herself to call out what she called the 'really annoying video.'

Michelin-starred NYC restaurant Semma was dragged online by the VIP List

The VIP List dragged Michelin-starred NYC restaurant Semma online

Padma Lakshmi took to social media herself to call out what she called the 'really annoying video' posted by The VIP List

Meanwhile, chef Luke Sung stepped down as chef and co-owner of San Francisco wine bar Kis Cafe after being blasted by influencer Karla Marcotte on TikTok. She alleged Sung was aggressive and dismissive during her July 2025 visit to the restaurant for a social media collaboration.

After stepping down, Sung issued a public statement on Kis' social media, where he apologized to Marcotte: 'Karla - I am truly sorry for my actions towards you. I was condescending, hurtful, and intimidating. You did not deserve to be made to feel less than or unimportant, nobody does. Regardless, I thank you for teaching me a valuable lesson in kindness and respect.'

He later told the San Francisco Standard of the incident: 'It really takes pride to be a chef. Which is why I had that tone [with Marcotte], I guess. When you don't have pride, maybe you won't take the tone that I did with Karla - but the pride is the part that keeps you going.' Sung did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.

Valued at $33 billion by Statista in 2025, the influencer industry isn't going anywhere any time soon. But increasingly restaurant owners and hospitality workers are pushing back against the worst excesses of influencer behavior.

Veteran restaurateur Keith McNally has chosen to run his New York City institutions, like Balthazar and the Minetta Tavern, as he always has and not cater to influencers' antics at all.

'I can't speak for others, but my places haven't changed in light of the rise of food influencers,' McNally told the Daily Mail in a written statement. 'I'd prevent anyone from disrupting the dining experiences of my customers, regardless of if they're influencers or not.'

As such, McNally does not give complimentary meals in exchange for coverage and has little use for their reviews.

He said: 'I never give anything for free to anyone who's writing about my restaurants, good or bad. I know how bad my restaurants are. I don't care if an influencer confirms it.'

For John Truong, who helped his father open Chef Papa, a Vietnamese restaurant with two locations in Queens, a contentious incident with an influencer prompted him to call her out, suggesting she undermined his family's business.

According to Truong, the influencer, Fahmida Sultana, reached out in September 2025 for a collaboration, asking for complimentary food and drinks in exchange for content about the restaurant.

Truong agreed and Sultana racked up a $200 bill (which was comped) and took her ample leftovers to go, leaving $6 - a meager 3 percent tip, according to Truong.

After a month, Sultana didn't post the collaboration video, despite posting daily content on her social media platforms. Truong and his family tried reaching out multiple times, but he said the messages and calls were ignored.

As a last resort, Truong posted a TikTok, warning other restaurant owners about what he believed was a grift. That's when Sultana slammed Chef Papa in a video review, giving it a 1.2/10 rating. Truong believed it was retaliation for him calling her out online for ghosting his family's business.

'I can't speak for others, but my places haven't changed in light of the rise of food influencers,' NYC restaurateur Keith McNally told the Daily Mail in a written statement. I never give anything for free to anyone who's writing about my restaurants, good or bad. I know how bad my restaurants are. I don't care if an influencer confirms it'

For John Truong, who helped his father (above) open Chef Papa, a Vietnamese restaurant with two locations in Queens, a brazen incident with a possible scammer prompted him to call out influencers

'There's a lot of entitlement,' Truong told the Daily Mail, noting that opening the restaurant was a 'dream' for his father, who immigrated to the US as a Vietnam War refugee.

'It's a family restaurant and we're trying to run a business and do good things for people. We just gave free food to this influencer, and they just completely took advantage of us and ghosted us.'

Truong wrote on Instagram that he and Sultana eventually spoke privately and that the influencer apologized.

Sultana told the Daily Mail it was all a misunderstanding and said that she had already resolved the matter.

She said: 'I did not scam Chef Papa or act dishonestly in any way. If I had intended on scamming I would've never shot content at the restaurant to begin with. This was a case of poor communication and relaxed deadlines that got blown out of proportion. I have made multiple efforts to resolve the matter directly with Chef Papa and to make things right. Despite everything that has been said, I genuinely wish him the best.'

Truong, however, said that the experience has been a cautionary tale, making them reluctant to work with content creators now. He believes that more restaurant owners should call out influencers who take advantage of them.

He said: 'Expose them. Speak your truth. I feel like being authentic is a better way to run a business than being professional, especially if you're a family or small business and not a corporation. This is how we're making a living, this is how we pay our bills.'

McKenzie Barnes, a hospitality and retail operations consultant and NYC-based influencer who calls herself 'your favorite restaurant industry insider,' says the food influencer scene has gotten lost in the sauce.

'The kind of "TikTok-ification" of restaurants has affected both regular diners and restaurant management so much,' Barnes told the Daily Mail: 'There's a level of entitlement within the content creation space that has really hit kind of every industry.

'What people don't realize is that within restaurants, the margins are so thin. I genuinely think it's like a general lack of awareness and social graces that has made it significantly worse.'

Barnes, who has worked in the hospitality industry for 15 years, said she's hyperaware of how content creation can intrude on someone else's dining experience, noting that she foregoes elaborate setups and tries to be as discreet as possible.

She said: 'What I really try to avoid when I'm making my videos is using lights or disturbing other guests. And if I've been offered a comp meal, I usually tip at least what the estimated bill would be in cash. I've had multiple servers and managers tell me that some influencers will come in for comp meals and not even tip.'

McKenzie Barnes, a hospitality and retail operations consultant and NYC-based influencer who calls herself 'your favorite restaurant industry insider,' the food influencer scene has gotten lost in the sauce

As the backlash against food influencers has grown in recent years, Barnes has moved away from curated recommendations, instead focusing on posting vlogs of her life, in an effort not to feed into toxic food influencer culture.

'It's hard from both sides, with everyone turning their life and their whole worldview into content,' Barnes said. 'If you're used to having your camera on 100 percent of your life, it feels like a natural integration for you, but the guests around you and the servers didn't sign up for that.'

Leurquin, who's worked in the baking industry for a decade, said that the food landscape has notably shifted in recent years as influencers have become more powerful.

'When Instagram and TikTok started taking off, it was a really good opportunity to showcase your product to a much broader audience, which was great because food is such a difficult industry,' Leurquin said.

'But the last two to three years, influencers have realized that they have leverage with the businesses in regard to the audience that they have and they've started increasing rates and demanding more things in exchange for promoting.'

She also believes that reviews are best when people post them out of appreciation for the product. One such creator is Keith Lee, who has become known for his positive reviews.

When the popular influencer anonymously visited Leurquin's bakery in October 2025 following Griffo's controversial video, his glowing review of her pastries brought in a fresh wave of customers and gave her a new perspective about content creators.

She said: 'We like to work with people that genuinely share our product because they love it, not because they weren't paid to say this was so good. I still think that people can positively influence and impact businesses, and we've seen the positive side of social media on our end.'

McNally, however, had a more cynical response when considering whether there was a place for food influencers in the hospitality world.

'Anyone who can call himself an influencer without dying from shame has my vote.'
Roughly four out of five couples in Australia are unconsciously 'sleep divorcing' for a relatable reason - and one state is leading the charge.

A recent study by leading home brand Shark found that hot weather is having a major impact on couples' bedroom habits, with South Australia leading 'sleep divorce' rates.

On the opposite end of the scale, New South Wales couples spend just 85 nights of the year sleeping apart.

The nationwide study found that cracks in a relationship may begin in the bedroom, as couples revealed struggling to sleep in the summer heat makes them irritable, and 80 per cent admitting they've slept separately.

Trying to stay cool and fighting over the aircon led to couples sleeping an average of 92 nights apart annually - almost a third of the year.

As the Australian heat continues to linger, three in five couples admitted they struggle to get to sleep during the summer, with almost half sleeping away from one another at least one night per week.

Whether sleeping on the couch or in a spare room, it's a trend coined by sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo as the 'sleep divorce'.

The Shark study found that hot weather is behind the 'sleep divorce' trend, with up to 80 per cent of couples sleeping apart when it's hot

According to Arezzolo: 'A sleep divorce should be used in emergencies only, as sleeping together supports oxytocin release (our love hormone) that lowers the stress hormone cortisol.'

She went on to say: 'Elevated cortisol is a root cause of sleeplessness - think waking at 3am or lack of sleep overall - so sleeping together is an overlooked antidote.'

Research has linked poor sleep to relationship issues, studying the effect on mood, patience and emotional connection, with an uncomfortable nights' sleep often leading to frantic mornings and tension in the bedroom.

The heat is also keeping Australians from getting too close, with 59 per cent of couples revealing they would skip bedtime intimacy due to hot weather.

Along with becoming irritable in the heat, more than 37 per cent said that their partner's other bad sleep habits - such as tossing and turning, and snoring cause relationship tension.

Keeping cool at night can improve sleep quality and strengthen your relationship, according to sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo

Arezzolo revealed her top tips for couples who want to protect their relationship while also getting a good nights' sleep.

Her key recommendation is using personalised cooling: 'Couples often fight over fan direction or temperature.'

She recommends choosing a fan like the Shark TurboBlade Ultra Powerful Bladeless Tower Fan, which rotates 180 and is extra quiet, ensuring air circulates around the room and noise doesn't disturb you or your partner's sleep.

It also has a unique AirBlanket mode, which provides a consistent breeze across the your bed, putting an end to fighting over the direction of a fan.

TIPS FOR A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

Sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo weighs shares her top tips on how couples can get a good night's rest, every night. 1. Avoid a 'sleep divorce' Sharing a bed with your partner can actually improve sleep - it increases oxytocin, our love hormone, calming the nervous system and supporting deeper, more restorative sleep. Yet, research from Shark shows couples spend an average of 92 nights apart each year, meaning many couples are unintentionally increasing stress at bedtime - and the likelihood of stress driven sleeplessness. 2. Create a cool circadian sleep sanctuary To produce melatonin, our body needs to drop 0.5-1 degree. As the biological signal for sleep, this is critical to help us fall asleep. However - keeping the temperature low is critical to stay asleep too - temperature spikes increase cortisol, an awakening hormone driving 3AM wakings. Many couples are facing this - research by Shark found six in 10 couples struggle to sleep well in the heat. 3. Rethink air conditioning While air conditioning sounds like a good idea, reality is, its super expensive - and many couples are facing additional stress already with the rising cost of living. As a result, putting the air con on can be a subconscious driver of stress, even without you realising. Opting for a fan is definitely my recommendation - Shark Turbo Blade is my top choice, with balanced airflow and minimal noise. 4. Reframe sleep Improving your sleep isnt about tonight - its about what happens tomorrow and the days ahead. 93 per cent of partners report that quality sleep improves how they interact with their partner, and 94 per cent say they handle relationship challenges better - as noted in the Shark research. Keep this in mind - sleep isnt about protecting tonight, its protecting tomorrow - and the ones you love.

Arezzolo says that using a fan with consistent cooling which circulates the air will ensure both partners stay cool and wake up well-rested

Prioritising both partners' sleep is key, claims Arezzolo.

'Treat sleep as a shared priority. Go to bed at a similar time, wind down together, and remove sleep disruptors so youre both more rested, calmer, and better connected the next day.'

Her final tip is aimed at the 94 per cent of Aussies who say they handle relationship challenges better when they sleep well: 'Consistent, calming airflow helps the body cool and stay asleep.'

With temperatures and humidity predicted to be higher than average going into autumn, staying cool in the bedroom is a habit that could save your relationship.
Clelia Verdier has vivid memories of giving birth to triplets. She remembers the agonizing pain of labor, the joy of holding her daughters for the first time and the devastation when one died soon after.

The only catch? She was never pregnant, never went into labor and never became a mom. In reality, she was in a medically-induced coma in a hospital the entire time.

Verdier isn't the first to dream up a whole life for themselves while in a coma, only to wake up and discover that none of it was real.

But for Verdier, 19, from Lyon, France, it was especially complicated to come to grips with the realization that the babies she felt like she had given birth to never even existed.

She explained to the Daily Mail that she 'made a serious suicide attempt by taking a large amount of medication' in June 2025, and was placed into a medically-induced coma for three weeks.

She remembers having 'extremely intense' dreams and nightmares during the coma, but because she was 'not aware that she was in a coma' at the time, they 'became her reality.'

One dream, in particular, has stuck with her: the one in which she became a mother.

She explained that it seemed so real and she could feel both physical and emotional pain throughout the hallucination.

Clelia Verdier has vivid memories of giving birth to triplets; she remembers the pain of labor, the joy of holding her daughters for the first time and the devastation when one died soon after

'I could feel so many things. When I dreamed about giving birth, I felt the stress. I also felt a lot of pain,' she recalled.

'In this dream, I gave birth to triplets, which I named Mila, Miles, and Mailee. Mailee died shortly after birth. I felt so awful - overwhelmed with sadness and guilt.'

Verdier even remembers the first 'skin-to-skin contact' that she had with her babies.

'It was incredible. I felt an overwhelming wave of love,' she added.

While she was only in the coma for three weeks, she said the realistic dream spanned across seven years, which meant she got to watch her daughters grow up.

She said each of her daughters had distinct personalities: one was 'quite shy' and the other was a 'bundle of energy.'

'I remember walks, meals we shared and bedtime stories,' she added.

She 'loved them with all her heart,' and when she was finally awoken from the coma, the first thing she did was ask the medical staff where her children were.

The only catch? She was never pregnant, never went into labor and never became a mom (stock image)

While she was only in the coma for three weeks, she said the realistic dream spanned across seven years

'That's when they told me they didn't exist. It was a shock,' she said. 'I was so convinced it was real that the first time I saw my parents again, I told them they were grandparents.'

Verdier said it was extremely difficult for her to come to grips with the realization that the seven years she had spent with her daughters had all been made up inside her head.

And now, almost a year on, she is still struggling with the pain from the ordeal.

'Now I feel very disconnected from others,' she admitted. 'I still miss [my daughters] today.

'I lived as a mother - even if it was "just a dream," with everything I felt and experienced, I will always be their mother. It was my only reality for a while.'

The 19-year-old said she hopes to one day have real children, but added: 'They will have a different place in my heart, but one just as important.'

Verdier is not the first to experience this. In 2021, a woman named Caroline Leavitt wrote an essay for Psychology Today, entitled, In a Coma, I Dreamed a Whole Other Life - I'm Still Dreaming It.

She explained to the Daily Mail that she 'made a serious suicide attempt by taking a large amount of medication' in June 2025, and was placed into a medically-induced coma

'When I woke up, it felt like someone had pulled me violently from one world I knew to another, as if I had stepped from one room to another,' she wrote.

'I began to talk to Jeff, my husband, to my friends Nancy and Lindy, who had sat by me every day, that I had been living in this imaginary town, and that it had been, well, incredible.

'It had all these stores, and my apartment was hard to get to, but it was big and beautiful and I knew the streets, the people, and I knew it was real.'

Claire Wineland, who spent two weeks in a medically-induced coma, told ABC in 2015 that she had vivid dreams of visiting Alaska, despite never going to the state in real life.

'I've never been to Alaska. I've never shown any interest in Alaska, but for some reason while I was asleep, I kept going to Alaska in my head, and it was so beautiful,' she said.

Stephan Mayer, director of neurocritical care at Mount Sinai Health System, who works regularly with coma patients, explained in a previous interview that medically-induced comas are very different than comas caused by trauma.

'What happens is that you have glimpses of awareness. It's sort of like an old TV with static,' he explained.

'It's just lots of fuzz until the picture comes on for just a minute - and then, boom, gone again. What you end up with is a collection of disjointed, disconnected glimmers of awareness.'
Online safety experts are urging people to rethink participating in a current TikTok trend that encourages users to share nostalgic childhood photos of themselves.

The seemingly innocent 'this is who' social media trend invites people to showcase their evolution by pairing old childhood photos with captions highlighting their current job titles or life status.

Kylie Jenner's beauty business, Kylie Cosmetics, was among the well-known brands to recently embrace the social media trend, with several employees contributing to a post by sharing photos from their younger years.

Even the reality star herself joined in, sharing a childhood photo accompanied by the caption: 'This is who runs the whole company'.

But online safety experts have since raised concerns about a facet of the trend that not only sits uncomfortably, but worryingly, may even pose a security risk.

'Even though adults are sharing the photos themselves, the image still depicts a child. Once something is placed online, it becomes part of a permanent digital ecosystem that we no longer control,' former child abuse detective Kristi McVee told news.com.au.

The woman, from WA, explained that while the risk may seem reduced, since in this instance it's adults who are sharing their own childhood images, once these photos are publicly available they have the potential to be 'downloaded, copied, altered and redistributed' nefariously.

She said that any image of children shared publicly on social media - regardless of whether it's current or old - can potentially be exploited.

Kylie Jenner, pictured here getting ready before the 2026 Oscars, is one of the more high profile participants in the 'this is who' TikTok trend

Kylie Jenner's beauty brand Kylie Cosmetics jumped on board the trend, with the business owner sharing this childhood image alongside the caption: 'This is who runs our whole company'

Former detective, Kristi McVee (pictured) who specialised in child sex abuse cases has highlighted the potential risks of the trend, which sees people sharing nostalgic photos

'Offenders who collect child images rarely care about the context in which the photo was shared. They are simply looking for images of children.'

For this very reason, experts like Kristi have been consistently urging parents to think twice before posting any photos of their children online.

If, even after heeding this warning, an adult decides they would still like to participate in the latest social media trend, Kristi cautions against sharing images that depict a child vulnerably, such as in the bath or partially clothed.

Kristi previously spoke in 2022 about her top piece of advice for parents on keeping their kids safe.

Speaking with ex-detective Gary Jubelin on his I Catch Killers podcast, she said parents are 'letting their kids down' if they don't discuss consent, sex, and what is and isn't appropriate behaviour from friends and adults throughout childhood and adolescence.

She noted that the rise of the internet and children using electronic devices from as young as four has 'made it easier' for predators to groom kids online.

'Scarily, 94 per cent of Australian children will have their first device by the time they're four years old and an average of three devices they can access by the time they're four,' Kristi said.

'If we've got four-year-olds with devices and we've got all these predators because it's so easy, as parents we just need to be more mindful and more educated.'

Join the discussion Should adults be more cautious about sharing childhood photos online, even of themselves?

Kristi worked in the police force for ten years and nowadays uses her experience to educate parents about issues such as online safety and commonly missed red flags regarding child sex offending and abuse

Kristi worked in the police force for ten years before she had to quit, having developed anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder from the job.

She now uses her experience to educate parents about commonly missed red flags regarding child sex offending and abuse, both through her social media channel @kristimcvee and her book, Operation Kid Safe: a Detective's Guide to Child Abuse Prevention.

'If parents knew what I knew, they would do things differently. We look at child sex offenders and we think of that white van and that old man, but that's not it,' she explained.

Five conversations parents should have with their kids before giving them a phone 1. Protective Behaviours Protective behaviours goes hand in hand with online safety education. The key lessons and messages taught to kids in Protective behaviours will enable a child to identify when they feel unsafe and their 'early warning signs', identify inappropriate behaviours and language, among other lessons. 2. Consent Every person no matter what age needs to know and understand consent. However, a young person who doesn't understand consent comprehensively also doesn't understand they don't have to give consent if they don't want to and that it is a fluid concept. This also leads into that consent is necessary for many aspects in life including taking photos of others, posting them online or sharing of intimate images and can lead to what to do when someone doesn't respect your 'no' or coerces or bullies you for you to say 'yes'. 3. Sex Sex education is a tricky topic but one that your child will be exposed to on a device and especially when they get a phone. It is shown that good, comprehensive sex education discussions with young people leads to less underage sexual experiences. 4. Sexting Young people are increasingly pressured to take and share intimate images. Groomers and predators use a young persons insecurities and naivety to convince them. 5. Pornography Whether you want to believe it or not, your young person will be exposed to pornography and this risk increases 10 times when they have their own device. They need to know what it is, what to do when they are sent/shown it and how to navigate this. Source: Child Abuse Prevention & Education Australia/Instagram

Kristi said starting conversations about consent with children when they are young can make it easier to open up honest discussions about sex during their tween and teenage years.

'The reason why we need to talk to our kids about sex and sexting is that our children are being groomed online from the minute they're able to get a device,' she said.

'An educated child is an empowered child - if they know their rights, if they know what consent is, what affirmative consent is, and what's appropriate and inappropriate.'
CHICAGO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasing demand for high impact pet solutions has fueled employer benefit strategies to include virtual access to care in their offerings, the fastest-growing being pet telehealth, a service that provides 24/7 access to veterinary professionals for instant connectivity at reduced cost for pet health, behavior, and care issues.

According to Banfield Pet Hospital's Pet-Friendly Workplace PAWrometer, 66% of HR professionals report that job candidates now ask about pet-related benefits during the hiring process. As employers continue to modernize benefits to reflect employees' lives outside of work, pet telehealth is quickly becoming a natural extension of digital health and wellbeing programs.

More than 70% of U.S. employees own pets, and nearly all, at 98%, consider them family. As a result, pet health concerns often spill into the workday, contributing to distraction, absenteeism, and stress.

Pet telehealth helps employers address these challenges by giving employees immediate access to veterinary expertise without requiring an in-person clinic visit. Data from whiskerDocs, a leading provider of veterinary telehealth services, shows that more than 60% of telehealth cases can be managed at home, with fewer than 10% referred to emergency care. By helping employees quickly determine next steps, the service reduces unnecessary veterinary visits, lowers out-of-pocket costs, and enables employees to return their focus to work.

Pet telehealth is also emerging as a complementary benefit alongside pet insurance. While insurance helps offset the financial impact of major or unexpected veterinary expenses, telehealth supports everyday questions related to symptoms, behavior, wellness, and triage, providing real-time guidance when pet parents need it most.

Reflecting growing employer demand, whiskerDocs has expanded its employer partnerships in various industries from all corners of the United States in the past year. Large e-commerce platforms like Momentum, home appliance companies like Rexair, regional banking brands, health and beauty companies, and large universities in the midwest have all added whiskerDocs memberships for employees as part of broader wellbeing and family-support benefit strategies.

"Pets are family, and when something is wrong, employees don't stop worrying just because they're at work," said Deb Leon, CEO of whiskerDocs. "Pet telehealth provides fast, trusted veterinary guidance exactly when employees need it. Employers are recognizing that supporting pet parents is not just a perk, it's a practical benefit that helps reduce stress, improve focus, and strengthen overall workforce wellbeing."

SOURCE whiskerDocs
After multiple false starts, one of America's most recognisable fashion brands is officially back on Australian soil.

US retail giant Gap has relaunched locally this March, marking a fresh chapter for the brand after its previous exits left loyal fans disappointed.

The return sees Gap stocked in select Myer stores nationwide and available online via Myer, thanks to a new partnership with apparel group Fashionata, which will act as the brand's exclusive franchise partner and distributor in Australia.

For shoppers who grew up in Gap hoodies and denim, the comeback has already sparked a wave of nostalgia.

'This is awesome to have Gap back in Australia. A brand I grew up wearing and still do,' one fan wrote.

'So excited for this!' another added.

Founded in San Francisco in 1969, Gap built its name on effortless American style with classic denim, clean basics and easy wardrobe staples.

From March 23, Australian customers can shop men's and women's collections, with a broader range, including kidswear, set to drop when a dedicated local e-commerce site launches in August 2026.

After multiple false starts, one of America's most recognisable fashion brands, Gap, is officially back on Australian soil and available at Myer nationwide

From March 23, Australian customers can shop men's and women's collections, with a broader range, including kidswear, set to drop when a dedicated local e-commerce site launches in August 2026

The move is part of a wider global expansion strategy for Gap, which is leaning heavily on local partnerships to reconnect with international markets.

'Gap is an iconic global brand, and we're excited to reintroduce it to Australia in a way that feels modern, accessible, and relevant,' said Fashionata Chief Operating Officer Melissa Trovato.

Myer, which is spearheading the in-store rollout, is also positioning the partnership as a major play to win back fashion-conscious shoppers.

'Gap's return is a major moment, and we're incredibly proud that Myer is the retail partner bringing this iconic brand back to Australian customers,' Executive Chair Olivia Wirth added.

'This launch represents a significant step for Myer as we continue to reinvigorate our brand mix to attract new customers, especially younger Australians.'

The comeback comes after a rocky history in the local market.

Gap first launched in Australia in 2010 with a flagship store at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne, but closed its bricks-and-mortar presence eight years later.

A subsequent online-only attempt also failed to gain traction, quietly disappearing two years ago.

The move is part of a wider global expansion strategy for Gap, which is leaning heavily on local partnerships to reconnect with international markets. Pictured: Gap Initial New Arch T-shirt in Green ($54.99)

Gap first launched in Australia in 2010 with a flagship store at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne, but closed its bricks-and-mortar presence eight years later. A subsequent online-only attempt also failed to gain traction, quietly disappearing two years ago. Pictured: Gap V Heritage Polyester Hoodie in Grey ($109.95)

Now, buoyed by renewed global momentum, the brand is hoping its latest relaunch will stick.

'Not buying USA products in protest to their Government,' one sceptic wrote.

Internationally, Gap has enjoyed a resurgence thanks to clever cultural positioning and viral campaigns, including its 'Better in Denim' push, which racked up tens of millions of views and helped drive strong growth in its core denim category.

The brand has also re-entered the fashion spotlight, with celebrities wearing Gap designs on major red carpets - a far cry from its once purely casual image.

Facundo Ginobili, Senior Vice President at Gap, said Australia remains a key focus for the brand's future.

'Australia is an important market for Gap as we continue to expand our international franchise business,' he said.

'Fashionata brings deep local market knowledge and a strong track record of building global brands. We're excited to partner with their team to bring Gap to Australian consumers.'

For now, all eyes are on whether this long-awaited return will finally cement Gap's place in Aussie wardrobes, or if, as some fashion watchers are quietly wondering, it really will be a case of third time unlucky.
A beloved 'hidden gem' Sydney dumpling house has devastated diners after loyal locals spotted their go-to dinner spot on an ASIC liquidation list.

For years, Fang Dumpling House was Cremone's best-kept secret - its unassuming facade tucked into a quiet spot on Military Road.

Foodies from all around the city travelled to Fang for a delicious hearty meal, with many dubbing it 'dumpling heaven'.

The restaurant even caught the eye of culinary royalty, with celebrity chef Rick Stein telling the Sydney Morning Herald Fang was his 'favourite hometown restaurant' in 2023.

Regulars have already begun to mourn the loss of their favourite meals and a pillar of the community that once held fond memories.

One longtime diner, Franz Scheurer, described a recent visit that, in hindsight, felt like a warning sign.

'What we ordered - our usual array of dumplings - was, at best, woeful,' he said on Instagram.

'Watery, undercooked, unrecognisable in some instances. Even the chilli condiment, which used to be the best in Sydney, was thin and lacking flavour. It wasn't a shadow of what it used to be.'

A beloved 'hidden gem' Sydney dumpling house has devastated diners after loyal locals spotted their go-to dinner spot on an ASIC liquidation list

For years, Fang Dumpling House was Cremone's best-kept secret - its unassuming facade tucked into a quiet spot on Military Road

Foodies from all around the city travelled to Fang for a delicious hearty meal, with many dubbing it 'dumpling heaven'

He added that the experience was made more confronting by the absence of familiar staff, and rising prices that didn't match what was on the plate.

'For us, this is very sad. We're losing a wonderful place to meet friends and share fabulous food.'

Online reviews paint a picture of a restaurant that, at its peak, delivered exactly what people crave from a neighbourhood dumpling house.

Diners raved about 'the best dumplings in all of Sydney', describing them as fresh, delicate, and made right in front of you.

The chilli oil wontons in particular earned a cult status - 'soft and silky,' one review read - while others pointed to the crystal prawn dumplings and handmade noodles as transportive, evoking meals in Beijing.

'This is the sort of food that just makes you happy,' a diner wrote.

For some, the pull was so strong they found themselves returning within days.

'I've been to Fang's three times this week, and I'm still tempted to come back for more,' a mum wrote.

The restaurant even caught the eye of culinary royalty, with celebrity chef Rick Stein telling the Sydney Morning Herald Fang was his 'favourite hometown restaurant' in 2023

For now, Fang has not officially confirmed whether it will close - but for many regulars, the uncertainty is already hitting hard

Its disappearance also reflects a broader shift quietly reshaping Sydney's dining landscape.

Over the past several years, a string of much-loved neighbourhood spots in North Sydney have disappeared, leaving behind a noticeably thinner, less textured food scene.

In late 2025, Mr Yip, known for its handmade dim sum and cult following, closed its doors citing family reasons.

Around the same time, Green Sprouts Vegan Chinese Restaurant, famous for its Hong Kongstyle vegan yum cha, also shut after years of loyal patronage.

Further afield, long-standing venues across Sydney - from waterfront institutions to chef-led favourites - have been quietly disappearing, casualties of rising costs, shifting dining habits, and an increasingly difficult hospitality landscape.

For now, Fang has not officially confirmed whether it will close - but for many regulars, the uncertainty is already hitting hard.

'Oh no! This used to be our happy place,' one person wrote.

'Fang was dumpling heaven,' said another.

Daily Mail has reached out to Fang Dumpling House for comment.
At 7.20am, Michael Daramola knotted his tie, smoothed his jacket, waved his fiancee Yasmin Williams goodbye, and set off for his job as a manager for a retail banking company.

Or so Yasmin, 32, thought.

After half an hour circling their south London neighbourhood, waiting for her to leave for her job as a secondary school teacher, Michael turned his key in the lock of their two-bedroom flat, took off his work clothes and spent the day at home instead. Exactly as he had done the day before. And the day before that...

Two months earlier, Michael had been made redundant. Yasmin was already working long hours, earning more than him, juggling her job with parenting their three-year-old son, Kobe  all while her fiance was living a lie.

What's more, Michael, 35, had taken to spending money he didn't have on tech and gadgets as a means of making himself feel better, landing him in 12,000 of debt she knew nothing about.

You'd be forgiven for thinking this sounds like a scene from a soap opera. For poor Yasmin, however, it was her very real life.

Yet the fallout from Michael's deception does feature on TV  in a new Netflix series called Blue Therapy, which follows couples in crisis working with a relationship therapist.

In Yasmin and Michael's case, the crisis is obvious: his panic about money, compounded by Yasmin's exhaustion, created a physical and emotional chasm that threatened to wreck their five-year relationship.

On camera, Michael Daramola admitted to his fiancee Yasmin Williams that he was in debt and had been pretending to go to work every day

Yet the broader story is equally intriguing, for behind Michael's refusal to come clean on his job loss lies a feeling of emasculation that has its roots in changed gender roles.

'I thought, I can't be the only man in the UK that has gone through redundancy, lack of intimacy, debt doubling and my missus out-earning me,' he says.

I talk to the couple over Zoom. They appear tactile and relaxed. Michael is contrite, Yasmin extraordinarily forgiving, both full of insights they learned from therapy and a far cry from the fractious pair viewers are introduced to on screen. Michael tells me he 'felt sick to my stomach' when he lost his job, and so began his secretive double life as he looked for another one.

'I had to keep up this bare-faced lie to make sure I didn't add any more stress. I had to act like everything was normal.'

And yet his decision to admit all on a TV programme certainly introduced a far-from-normal twist. Last June, Michael saw on social media that producers for Blue Therapy were looking for couples to discuss their problems on air with Karen Doherty, a therapist accredited by the UK Council for Psychotherapy.

Perhaps, he thought, this might be the 'safe environment' he needed to finally tell Yasmin the truth about the way he'd been spending his days and money.

'I felt redundant in every sense of the word,' he says. 'I felt alone. At first I thought I could hide it from her for a week, but that week quickly turned into months.'

Yasmin agreed to appear on the show on the understanding they would be discussing issues that arise from a woman earning more than her partner. There was no fee for taking part, though the therapy was free.

The couple on the new Netflix series called Blue Therapy, which follows couples in crisis working with a relationship therapist

You can only imagine her horror when Michael dropped his bombshell  a gift to TV executives, since he did it as the cameras were rolling  and admitted not only the debt but the fact he'd been pretending to go to work every day.

'I felt blindsided,' she says now. 'I didn't know who he was, if I could trust him, if there was anything else he wasn't telling me, if we were going to stay together.'

Indeed, it seems incredible that Yasmin didn't up and leave him.

For all his inner turmoil, you can't help but feel cross at Michael's treatment of her, not only leaving her to shoulder the financial burden, look after their son and do the housework but also  we now discover  criticising her for their lack of sex life.

Not to mention the fact he laid bare their most personal problems on the world's most-watched streaming service.

Why on earth would she stay? That Yasmin is now seven months pregnant, and they're talking to the Daily Mail about their ordeal together is, of course, proof that she did.

In fact, they claim, since the show hit Netflix this month, they have been inundated by viewers grateful to them for shining a light on financial problems so often mired in secrecy. 'We've come out stronger,' says Yasmin.

When they met in October 2020, in some ways they exemplified the new financial dynamic among childless young couples.

Yasmin drove a new Audi; he had a beat-up old Corsa. Both had degrees, but as an English teacher in a secondary school, Yasmin earned double his salary. Not that she minded, she says, because 'our values were aligned'. Or so she thought.

Yasmin was brought up to talk openly about money, but Michael's attitude towards it was more complicated. Raised by a single mother who had to quit her job because of ill health, he grew up with precious little financial security and 'sometimes no heating' at home.

As an adult, he made up for it by spending compulsively, feeling a momentary high from splashing 50 here and there, but then a 'massive crash' when the credit card bill came in.

After he and Yasmin moved in together the following April, Michael admitted he was in 'a bit of debt' and Yasmin suggested she contribute 70 per cent of the rent so he could pay it off. Michael swallowed his pride and accepted her offer.

Michael and Yasmin had three therapy sessions over a period of around two months as part of the show last summer

Yasmin thought of Michael as ambitious and on the way up  a bit of debt didn't scare her. Of course, new parenthood changed everything. Kobe was born in September 2022, and by the end of 2024 the couple were engaged and Yasmin had been promoted to deputy head of the English department.

Now the reality of life with a stressful job, a child and financial responsibility began to kick in. Yasmin had little energy for Michael when she came home after a tough day's work, she says.

'I'd think, stop trying to give me a hug, stop touching me, leave me alone, I'm tired. I've got a bit of food on me from feeding Kobe, I'm wet from doing the bath, I feel hot and flustered, and he'd [say] 'you look so beautiful'.'

In bed, Michael says, Yasmin would fall asleep quickly, 'and I'd be staring at the ceiling, unravelling [thinking], 'maybe she doesn't find me attractive'.'

He started spending more to 'fill the void', buying gadgets he didn't need, filling an Amazon basket with 'speakers, smartwatches, four dashcams, all for no reason'.

While he says the purchases gave him some sense of control, they added to his escalating guilt. Yasmin had taken on more of the rent to help him get out of debt, but now he was simply getting into more. 'I felt emasculated,' he says.

The more 'unmanageable' his debt grew, the harder it became to be honest about it. 'On top of [Yasmin] working so hard, I didn't want to then go: 'By the way, my debt is now doubled.'

And so, by the time he lost his job at the banking company in a reshuffle in May 2025, both had retreated into their own worlds.

'It was an intense, sinking feeling,' he recalls. 'My whole identity of being a provider in some sense was gone. I felt money made the man.'

He had intended to tell Yasmin straight away, but says that in the end he talked himself out of it, convincing himself he needed to find another job first for Yasmin to keep faith in him.

'I thought she would think: 'I've had enough. What am I doing here?' I would have been left in the dust.'

He could carry on contributing to their bills for a short time using his redundancy payout. Up to this point, you might understand Michael's fear that his fiancee would leave him if he told the truth.

Since appearing on the Netflix show, the couple have been inundated by viewers grateful to them for shining a light on financial problems so often mired in secrecy. 'We've come out stronger,' says Yasmin

But sympathy dwindles when you realise he carried on letting Yasmin do the majority of the domestic work, getting Kobe to and from nursery, even preparing Michael a Tupperware container for lunch at an office he wasn't going to.

This infuriated Yasmin when she found out. 'You could have taken some of the pressure off,' she says. Or surely all of it. He merely says: 'If I'd done those things, you would have noticed.'

As it was, she was so focused on work, their son and keeping the house tidy, she noticed nothing  'which is probably why he didn't want to tell me, because he could see how stressed I was'.

It was a vicious circle. Conversation had 'fallen by the wayside', she says. Nor was there camaraderie from collapsing on the sofa after an exhausting day. She says: 'It wasn't like we were sitting down and having cuddles and unwinding together. We'd be sitting on our phones, not talking.'

Meanwhile, Michael was secretly applying for jobs, but the rejection letters kept stacking up.

But despite his troubles, he had never been convinced by the concept of counselling  until he saw that advert for Blue Therapy.

'What's the worst that can happen,' he jokes now, 'other than embarrassing my missus on national TV?'

He and Yasmin had three therapy sessions over a period of around two months as part of the show last summer, and during the very first, Michael admitted he was 12,000 in debt. 'I felt like I was drowning,' says Yasmin. Worse was to come.

A day later, in the second session, with his heart pounding and palms sweating, Michael told her he hadn't had a job for two months. For him it was a relief to get it out  and when Yasmin wasn't immediately angry, he assumed 'it wasn't that bad' and 'everything was fine' now that she knew. In fact, Yasmin was in shock.

'I didn't have words,' she says. 'It was like one punch after another. My brain had gone into overdrive.

'I've always said to him, the worst feeling would be to be made to feel like an idiot, where other people know information I don't. And that's what I felt. There was a feeling of embarrassment and betrayal.'

Arriving home from the Georgian mansion in Hertfordshire where Blue Therapy was filmed, she asked Michael: 'What else is there? We've never had issues in terms of infidelity, but how can I not question every other element of our relationship?'

She blamed herself, too. 'I felt I'd also let down the family. Why didn't he feel he could tell me?'

Compounding the 'tension and sadness' was an impending financial crisis that 'consumed everything' she says. 'Every day I was asking Mike where he was going, how much he'd be spending. I said, 'You can't be trusted.'

'It was obsessive, but he had to prove himself for us to build back trust.' For his part, Michael felt 'interrogated, emasculated, almost powerless'  but knew Yasmin was justified.

'The frustration wasn't necessarily with Yasmin. It was the frustration of allowing myself to get to this situation where I'm having to track every single penny.'

Yasmin helped him to control his compulsive spending by repeatedly asking him, 'Do you really need it? How much is it? What is it for?' every single time he wanted to buy something.

Together they combed through his bank statements, and worked out how he could pay off his debt gradually using money from his redundancy. 'He paid it all off himself,' says Yasmin. 'It made him understand the importance of being transparent.'

But therapy taught the couple more about their relationship than how to handle finances.

Yasmin realised her need to be in control of everything, from the budget to childcare arrangements, was learned behaviour from childhood, when her mum was in charge of the house, she says. 'So I assumed it was the woman who did all that.'

As a result, Michael felt he was being treated like a child. She admits: 'I wasn't allowing space for him to fulfil his role in the relationship. I was contributing to tension between us. I was contributing to stress on myself.'

She became more direct, she says, at asking him to do his fair share around the house. 'Sometimes, unless you're told, you don't realise what the other person is thinking,' says Michael. 'Yas expected me to know.'

The couple started putting down their phones and connecting with each other.

'We learned just because you talk, doesn't mean you listen. Going through therapy has taught us how to listen to each other, to [ask] 'What's the problem? How are we going to deal with it?'

'Connecting on a more emotional level led into us rekindling those physical elements,' says Yasmin. So much so that last August, she discovered she was pregnant.

What's more, after applying for more than 150 roles at different banks, Michael switched his focus and got himself a job in customer services instead.

He has paid off his debt now and is trying not to conflate his salary with his sense of self-worth. But the reality is, Yasmin still earns more  and Michael is still slightly uncomfortable about it.
OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky lived a reclusive life at one of Miamis most exclusive addresses in the days before his death, according to a new report.

The 43-year-old billionaire spent his final months at a $19 million, 6,000-square-foot beachside condo at the highly sought-after Turnberry Ocean Club.

The compound-like tower offers amenities like private elevators, 24/7 security and streamlined access to parking to keep away passersby.

Radvinsky's living situation was so withdrawn that he was actually dead for 'a few days before' the news was made public on Monday, Los Angeles-based talent agent Andy Bachman told The New York Post.

'Insiders knew [Radvinsky] had been dealing with health issues for some time, and while his passing is tragic, he left behind a company that was fully prepared and resilient... His passing wasnt sudden, so there was a lot of preparation,' Bachman said.

Bachman founded Creators Inc, an OnlyFans-devoted talent agency, in 2022, and had been a close friend of Radvinsky's.

'The irony with Leo is that he built one of the most talked-about platforms on the internet, but he lived a life that was incredibly quiet and very disciplined, and rooted in faith and family... He really stayed out of the spotlight.'

The Ukraine-born businessman leaves behind a wife and four children.

OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky lived a reclusive life in a $19 million condo in Miami before his death, which actually happened last week. He was 43 years old

The billionaire's final months were lived out at a $19 million, 6,000-square-foot beachside condo at the highly sought after Turnberry Ocean Club. The compound-like facility is seen here

He regularly made philanthropic donations to organizations that conduct cancer research, his spouse, philanthropist Yekaterina 'Katie' Chudnovsky, writes on her website.

'Leo passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer,' an OnlyFans spokesman previously told the Daily Mail.

Radvinsky made a rare public appearance with his wife at a gala for a gastrointestinal research foundation in 2024. The two were the driving force behind a $23million grant program for cancer research announced at the event.

Meanwhile, details of Radvinsky's diagnosis, like much of his life after acquiring OnlyFans parent company, Fenix International, for an undisclosed sum seven years ago, remain unknown.

OnlyFans went from a niche site for adult content subscriptions to a multi-billion-dollar business within that timespan.

From 2021 through early 2025, Radvinsky paid himself a whopping $1.8 billion in dividends, filings viewed by Forbes showed. The publication put Radvinsky's net worth somewhere around $4.7 billion at the time of his death.

Radvinsky moved to the sprawling unit at Turnberry from an enormous mansion in Boca Raton. The nine-bedroom abode was bought by him and Chudnovsky for just under $4 million back in 2020.

The pair purchased the condo in 2022, records reviewed by Realtor.com show.

The Ukraine-born businessman leaves behind a wife, Yekaterina 'Katie' Chudnovsky (pictured), and four children

The pair previously lived in a nine-bedroom manse in Boca Raton, which they sold for $5.8 million in 2023, records show

While the couple shared very little about their private life, Chudnovsky revealed in a 2021 interview with an online womens magazine that she was a mother to four of the late mogul's children.

The couple married in 2008, and they sold their Boca Raton abode for $5.8 million in 2023.

A 2025 Wall Street Journal feature billed Radvinsky as The Mysterious Billionaire Behind the OnlyFans Porn Empire. Few photos of him exist.

Fenix International shares owned by the Radvinsky have reportedly been held in a trust.

The site grew from about 350,000 content creators in 2019 to 4.6 million in 2024 under his ownership.

He reportedly had attempted to sell his majority stake in the company for $8 billion, but had difficulty finding a bank to broker the deal.

Radvinsky was raised outside Chicago. He launched MyFreeCams, a precursor to OnlyFans, in 2004.
Veteran journalist Kara Swisher has vowed to sever her ties with CNN if the network is bought by Paramount.

Swisher slammed Paramount owner Larry Ellison, calling him a 'terrible person', and expressing her concerns about his recent acquisition which will bring CNN into Warner Bros in a $111 billion deal.

At a panel discussion at Syracuse University this week, Swisher didn't hold back in her criticisms of the merger being led by the ally of President Trump, warning the audience: 'You don't want to work for the Ellisons.'

'I've spent a lot of time with Larry Ellison and he's a terrible person,' she said.

Swisher noted that the deal is 'not finished yet' and said she hoped that it would fall through. Ellison is reportedly looking to complete the purchase by September.

The deal would bring CNN and CBS News under the same ownership, prompting criticism about journalistic impartiality and scrutiny to Ellison's close ties with the Trump administration.

Swisher said Ellison and his son David, the CEO of Paramount, have been 'very nice' to her and are attempting to keep her as a CNN contributor, but she said she responded: 'Too bad. Its not going to work. Its not gonna happen for you.'

'I dont think theyll be good owners,' she continued. 'I dont. I think theyve already shown several times, including editorial choices.'

Veteran journalist Kara Swisher has vowed to sever her ties with CNN if it is bought by Paramount, a deal that is reportedly set to go ahead for $111 billion

Swisher lashed out at billionaire Larry Ellison and branded him a 'terrible person', and warned that he and his son David, the owner of Paramount Skydance, 'won't be good owners'

Swisher is a longtime tech journalist who joined CNN as an on-air contributor in 2023 and hosts Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever.

She said her concerns about the Paramount deal come down to journalistic integrity.

'They have no interest in journalism,' she told the panel this week.

'And I refuse to work for an organization that doesnt respect journalists.'

She explained that while some have voiced opposition to the merger over fears that it could lead to layoffs at CNN, she said she understands that cuts can be part of any business.

'Listen, I got laid off before,' she continued. 'I think a lot of these legacy organizations have been stubborn in terms of not seeing whats going on. Thats not my issue. There has to be cuts.

'The costs are out of whack with the audience, right? Thats just the way it is. Thats not how you do it.'

Swisher said she instead feels animosity toward Ellison because of his perceived 'disdain for (journalism) as anything useful.'

'Its not a way to reform it except for someone who isnt a journalist. Im sorry, but theres no place for me to do that.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Paramount for comment on Swisher's remarks.

The Paramount - Warner Bros. Discovery deal would bring CNN and CBS News under the same ownership, prompting criticism about journalistic impartiality and scrutiny to Ellison's close ties with the Trump administration

Paramount's deal to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery moved forward in recent weeks after a proposed merger with Netflix fell through.

The prospect of Ellison and his son taking over CNN sparked redundancy fears at the news outlet, even as David Ellison has said he intends to allow CNN to keep its journalistic independence.

Netflix had been pursuing a deal for years, but in January the streamer said the deal was 'no longer financially attractive' and backed out.

This led David Ellison, the owner of Paramount Skydance and CEO of the company, to offer a $31-per-share deal that amounted to $111 billion.

Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison, are friendly with the Trump administration, which approved the pair's acquisition of Paramount last year.

Trump advisors took a victory lap in January when Netflix retracted their bid for Warner's studio and streaming outfit, one source told Status. Netflix only wanted to buy Warner's streaming and movie studio.

Paramount is the parent company of CBS News, where staffers are also reportedly panicked - specifically over the prospect of CBS and CNN coming under the same roof.

'F**k, f**k, f**k,' one CBS producer told Status, resorting to curses when questioned about this increasingly likely future.

'Well, f**k,' another staffer similarly said. The move would mean cuts on both sides, another CBS source agreed.

The idea of coming under control of Ellison's pick to lead CBS News, right-leaning Bari Weiss, also has staffers at CNN particularly scared, sources told Status.
Vets will be legally required to cap prescription fees and publish price lists under new measures that will take effect later this year, the competition regulator said.

The Competition and Markets Authority has published a list of 11 final reforms that it says will lead to a more competitive landscape.

Chief among the legally binding reforms will be a cap on written prescriptions at 21 for the first medicine and 12.50 for any additional medicines, following the CMA's finding that some pet owners were being charged as much as 30.

The competition watchdog said that the current system for regulating Britains 6.3billion vet market is leaving pet owners in the dark.

It follows an investigation that found average prices rocketed 63 per cent between 2016 and 2023, with pet owners paying 16.6 per cent more on average at large vet groups than at independent vets.

Vet businesses will now have to make it clear whether they are part of a group or an independent firm, at the premises and online, under the CMAs proposals.

The competition watchdog launched an investigation into the vet industry in 2024

Vets will also need to publish a price list for standard services, including consultations, and provide a written estimate in advance for any treatment expected to cost 500 or more.

The CMA expects some of the measures to come into place before Christmas. The prescription price cap is likely to come into effect in March 2027 for large providers, and September 2027 for smaller vets.

Martin Coleman, chair of the CMAs independent inquiry group said: Too often, people are left in the dark about who owns their practice, treatment options and prices  even when facing bills running into thousands of pounds.

'Our measures mean it will be made clear to pet owners which practices are part of large groups, which are charging higher prices, and for the first time, vet businesses will be held to account by an independent regulator.

The CMA has stripped back an initial set of 28 proposals to reform the system, which included a ban on bonuses linked to offering specific treatments.

It said competition alone is not enough to protect consumers and backs the governments proposal to reform the Veterinary Services Act. This would make vet businesses as well as individuals accountable to the regulator.

British Veterinary Association President, Dr. Rob Williams, said: 'The majority of the CMAs measures focus on increasing transparency and information, which will help pet owners make more informed choices and support competition, which is a really positive step.

'Were also pleased to see that the CMA continues to support our calls for reform of the woefully outdated Veterinary Surgeons Act'.
Labour has been urged to take back control of Britains oil and gas supply as turmoil sparked by the Middle East conflict adds to worries about energy security.

In a report, North Sea industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) is calling for the punishing windfall tax on energy producers to be replaced this year.

That will unlock 50billion of extra investment in the sector, boosting domestic supplies as well as tax revenues, the report argues.

It comes at a time when supplies of oil and liquid natural gas (LNG) from the Middle East are being choked off as a result of the conflict.

Ben Ward, of OEUK, said: We have an opportunity to take back control of energy supply during a period of heightened geopolitical instability and global supply shortages.

Ward said Britains reliance on imports has increased as domestic production has declined.

OEUK is calling for the Government to bring forward reform of the Energy Profits Levy, which imposes a tax of 78 per cent on North Sea operators and will not be phased out until 2030.
A London-listed investment trust has hit back at the City watchdog over its failure to clamp down on US hedge fund raider Saba Capital.

Jonathan Simpson-Dent, chairman of Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWIT), took aim at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), saying any rule changes to protect the sector will come too late for its investors.

EWIT is one of a number of London-listed investment trusts battling repeated attempts by Saba, led by New York financier Boaz Weinstein, to replace directors on their boards.

In a blow to the London market, EWIT has offered investors the chance to cash out rather than fall into Sabas clutches.

Earlier this month, FCA official Simon Walls told journalists that trusts risked appearing self-interested and short-sighted when calling for the watchdog to intervene.

But Simpson-Dent said the watchdog risks missing the central issue that, under the rules, a minority shareholder can impose a new board using tactics that are often in conflict with the majority of shareholders.
Revolut has unveiled record annual profits as it ramps up plans to expand into the US and reach 100million customers globally.

The fintech's annual pre-tax profit rose by 57 per cent to 1.7billion last year, as growing customer numbers boosted transaction fees and premium subscriptions.

Group revenue jumped 46 per cent to 4.5billion, boosted by its business banking division.

Revolut - which secured a UK banking licence earlier this month - added 16million more retail customers, bringing the total to 68.3million, while its business customer base grew by a third to 767,000.

The startup, which hit a $75billion valuation last year, is growing at pace and is ramping up its global expansion plans.

Earlier this month, Revolut secured its long-awaited full UK banking license, which will allow it to lend at a greater scale and offer deposit accounts.

Its existing lending portfolio - made up mostly of consumer loans - grew 120 per cent to 2.2billion. It described its mortgage business, launched in Lithuania, as 'nascent.'

Revolut is also eyeing an expansion into the US, after recently filing for a US banking charter and naming a new boss for the region.

Bumper results: Revolut unveiled a record annual pre-tax profit on Tuesday

Nik Storonsky chief executive and co-founder of Revolut, said: '2025 marked another record year for Revolut, underpinned by rapid global expansion, strong financial performance, and sustained innovation across the business.

'We accelerated product adoption and delivered our fifth consecutive year of profitability, reinforcing our position as Europes most valuable private technology company and welcoming new investors through a secondary share sale at an implied valuation of $75billion.'

He added: 'In 2025, we enhanced service quality through AI-driven tools that improved response times and resolution quality. Our chatbot handled a growing share of straightforward, autonomous queries, enabling our support agents to dedicate more time to complex cases.'

Revolut, which has 13million customers in the UK, plans to offer a wider range of products, including lending, after getting the all-clear from the Prudential Regulation Authority.

The clearance followed Revolut being granted a UK banking licence 'with restrictions' in 2024, having first lodged its application in 2021.

The start-up, which has applied for a banking charter in the US, hit a 55billion valuation in 2025, and is one of Europes most valuable private tech companies.

Founded in 2015, Revolut has emerged as the most successful of the handful of European fintech companies founded in the 2010s, with no physical bank branches.
A bank backed by disgraced Labour grandee Peter Mandelson has been fined 2million for failing to act with integrity.

Bank of London and its parent group Oplyse Holdings were hit with the penalty after misleading regulators over its finances - including providing 'fabricated documents'.

The Bank of Englands Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said it was the first time it has fined a firm for failing to conduct its business with integrity.

It hit the financial technology group with the 2million fine despite stating that the breaches warranted a penalty of 12million.

The PRA said the companies demonstrated that such a penalty would cause serious financial hardship and therefore reduced the fine.

The clearing bank was launched in 2021 with an 820million valuation but has struggled financially in recent years, with its losses widening to almost 24million in 2024, according to its latest accounts.

Mandelson was the group's deputy chairman until 2024 when he left in a boardroom exodus after the fintech start up ran into trouble.

Disgraced: Peter Mandelson was Bank of London's deputy chairman until 2024

Luxury lifestyle: Bank of London founder Anthony Watson

The PRA today said the bank misled the watchdog over its capital position, failed to act with integrity, failed to be open and cooperative and failed to maintain adequate financial resources.

'Most seriously, this included providing the PRA with several fabricated documents intended to provide a false picture of the capital position,' it said.

The regulatory breaches occurred between October 2021 and May 2024.

The current bosses at Bank of London said the breaches took place under previous ownership and management.

The PRA did not accuse Mandelson of any wrongdoing.

Sam Woods, deputy governor for prudential regulation at the Bank of England and chief executive of the PRA, said: Trust in banking in the UK requires integrity and open communication with the PRA from all banks, regardless of their size.

The Bank of London Group Limited and Oplyse Holdings Limited fell well below our standards, resulting in today's penalty which marks the PRA's first finding against a firm for acting without integrity.

A spokesman for Bank of London said: The Bank accepts the PRA's findings and regrets the failings identified.

As is acknowledged in the final notice, since the change in ownership, the Bank has changed its management team and invested heavily in processes and controls and engaged third parties to assist in their remediation activity.

The Bank has been implementing a comprehensive remediation programme, and is continuing work to strengthen further its governance and risk management arrangements, and its financial and regulatory reporting controls.

The Bank, its new management and its investors remain committed to an open, transparent and constructive relationship with the PRA and FCA.

The board and leadership team are confident that, with these legacy matters settled and with the backing of its investors, the Bank will continue to enhance trust and be able to return to growth in 2026.

Bank of London was launched in 2021 to great fanfare with an aim of disrupting the big four  NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC.

But it ran into trouble in September 2024 when it was subject to a winding-up petition issued by HM Revenue and Customs over unpaid tax.

Board members including Mandelson, US private equity boss Harvey Schwartz and its founder Anthony Watson stood down in October 2024.

The former Labour peer was sacked as Britains ambassador to the United States last year over his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffery Epstein.

He was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Mandelson, who has resigned from the Labour Party and the House of Lords, denies any wrongdoing.
Kenya hosts business forum to strengthen China-Kenya trade

Xinhua) 11:00, March 24, 2026

NAIROBI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The China-Kenya Business Forum was held on Monday in Nairobi, bringing together more than 350 representatives from the government and business sectors of both countries to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment.

Themed around China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, the forum was jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency.

Kenyan Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, CCPIT Chairman Ren Hongbin and Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry Lee Kinyanjui delivered addresses, while representatives from Chinese and Kenyan businesses also shared their insights.

China will implement zero-tariff treatment for the 53 African countries starting May 1, which will provide more opportunities for African exporters to access the Chinese market, Ren said.

The event showcased Kenyan products eligible for zero-tariff access, he added, calling on businesses from both sides to seize opportunities, strengthen exchanges and achieve tangible results.

A total of 64 Chinese enterprises from sectors including agriculture, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing and finance participated in the forum. During the event, Chinese and Kenyan companies reached procurement agreements and explored cooperation in areas such as coffee, avocados and minerals.

Business matchmaking sessions covered sectors including agriculture and food, manufacturing, energy and mining, trade and finance, and technology, facilitating practical cooperation between enterprises.

During thematic discussions, government and business representatives exchanged views on the implementation of the zero-tariff policy, the development of logistics corridors and agricultural cooperation.

At the exhibition, 25 Kenyan companies from sectors including agriculture, mining and manufacturing showcased specialty products eligible for zero-tariff export to China.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Blog Archive: Apr 2026 (143) Mar 2026 (155) 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)
The mother of tragic teenager Pheobe Bishop has lashed out at Queensland's court system, claiming her daughter's alleged killers have more rights than she does.

Pheobe, 17, was allegedly murdered after she vanished on the way from her home in Gin Gin to Bundaberg Airport to catch a flight to Perth on May 15.

But a massive manhunt was launched for her when she never entered the terminal. Her body was found in bushland at the Good Night Scrub National Park on June 6.

Her flatmates James Wood and Tanika Bromley were later charged with her murder and interfering with a corpse.

A third person, Kieren Mittelheuser, is also charged with two counts of accessory after the fact to murder and one count of attempting to pervert justice.

But ten months later, Pheobe's grieving mum Kylie Johnson has vented her frustration at the legal system as she awaits justice for her daughter's death.

'We are now dealing with a court system where criminals are protected and we as Phee's family have NO rights,' she wrote on social media.

Another outburst was posted as the caption for a bizarre black and white professional fashion-type shot of herself.

Kylie with her 17-year-old daughter Pheobe, who was murdered in May

Kylie recently updated her Facebook profile with this defiant glamour shot and caption

The tirade followed a court mention on February 6 for one of the three people accused of being involved in Pheobe's death.

Ms Johnson appeared to claim none of her daughter's family had been informed of the court date.

Ms Johnson and Pheobe's older sister Kaylea have been regulars at Bundaberg Magistrates Court to attend hearings for the dead teenager's alleged killers.

'Yes, we had court support but honestly we have no rights,' said Ms Johnson.

'We get to sit there and listen to the pathetic excuses made by people who know my daughter as a name on paper and not as my Phee Phee.

'Unfortunately they have rights even though they are accused of taking my daughter's life. We have very little rights as her family.'

The black and white image attached to another outburst at the legal system shows the mum and grandmother in a tight frock, with chic makeup and a fresh blow-dry.

James Wood was also charged, and will next be mentioned in court in March

Tanika Bromley was charged with Pheobe's murder and interfering with a corpse

Kieren Mittleheuser has been charged with accessory after the fact and perverting justice

But it was the accompanying caption that gave a window into the grieving mum's mind.

'Taking back the identity that was taken when they decided to take my child's life,' she wrote.

'You don't get to win. I get to walk this road for her, we are her voice and it will be heard.'

Despite being frustrated with the courts, Ms Johnson praised Queensland Police.

'Our detective is absolutely amazing, and I can't fault police support or communication,' she said.

'However they, like all government organisations, are overworked and understaffed.'

Pheobe's family is understood to have been informed the court process could take up to three years.

In Bromley's most recent court appearance on February 6, she faced fresh allegations of 14 counts of breaching her bail conditions.

Pheobe had been heading to Bundaberg airport when she went missing

The teen was living in Gin Gin at a squalid home shared with Tanika Bromley and James Wood

The former disability support worker and mother of two, who is remanded in Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre, was originally charged by detectives with weapons offences and given bail last May.

The dates of the alleged bail breaches range from the week of her original arrest on weapons charges until June 5, 2025, the day before she was charged with Pheobe's murder and remanded in custody.

Her lawyer Nick Larter asked Magistrate John McInnes for the matter to be adjourned so it could be heard alongside the other matters currently before the court.

The application was granted and the case was adjourned to April 7.

Mittelheuser will appear on the same date.

Wood, meanwhile, was excused from appearing in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Monday.

His lawyer Matt Maloy said a final post-mortem report was delivered to police prosecutors last week, and requested an adjournment to review the documents.

The case was adjourned until March 23, with Woods appearance excused on the next occasion.

Kylie and her daughter Kaylea spoke at a community memorial for Pheobe in June

The teen's body was found in remote bushland after a frantic three-week search

Pheobe's remains were found in bushland off a remote dirt road in the Good Night Scrub National Park, bringing a frantic three-week search for the missing teen to a tragic end.

The area, around two hours from Bundaberg, was overrun with wild dogs and pigs.

Two days after her body was found, the Gin Gin community held a candlelight memorial in Pheobe's honour and attended by her family.

Pheobe's mum took to the microphone to urge the Gin Gin community to 'respect' the family of her daughter's accused killer following the charges against Bromley.

'I also want to remind our community - a very important reminder - and this is imperative for our family and for us to move forward in our healing,' she said.

'I know Tanika has been charged. I know her family live within our community and I expect them to receive respect... Those kids mean the world to us as a family.

'They meant the world to Pheobe as a family as well. It is imperative to us, as a family, that they are supported just as much as us.

'They are hurting probably more than us, even though we have lost our child. But I really need you to know that Pheobe's compassion would have reached that depth.

'There is to be no anger or hate towards that family.'
For veteran Tony Wade and his wife Sue, retirement was their chance to move to quiet Cambridgeshire and soak up the delights of the British countryside.

They decided to transform their new home by converting their garage into a liveable space, kitted out with a new kitchen, dining room and shower space.

But their simple conversion became a three-year nightmare after a cowboy builder conned them out of 65,000 and left the pensioners living in a cold, damaged home.

After obtaining planning permission for a new garage, conservatory and redesign of the layout, Tony, 82, and Sue, 77, found a construction company through Checkatrade.

They selected BSW Construction Projects who they deemed to be a reputable firm and claimed the building works would take a mere two months.

And so the couple paid 37,000 upfront before quickly realising the builders lacked basic construction knowledge.

Mr Wade, who has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help recoup their savings, told the Daily Mail: 'I had to tell them three times that the driveway was uneven.

'The last time they came, I asked one of the men, "have you got a spirit level?" and he said "no". But when I gave him my spirit level, he still put it the wrong way around.

Tony and Sue Wade have reached breaking point after spending their life savings on the incomplete renovations

Veteran Tony has started taking stress medication due to the whole fiasco

'It's been very stressful. We feel devastated.'

Reflecting on the fiasco, Sue said they were drawn in by the idea of a speedy renovation  and the builders promised that by it would be complete by Christmas in 2022.

Trusting them, they handed over 45,000, racking up a further 20,000 as the works continued.

But shortly after the 'eight-week' project began, the builders repeatedly failed to show up and left work half-done.

By December there were continued delays and throughout 2023 there were more payment requests and unstable communication.

Work on the property stopped in November 2023 and though the couple tried to contact the builder multiple times, going as far as staging a two-person protest on the man's doorstep, it was in vain.

Three years later Sue and Tony reached breaking point  neither of them can sleep over safety concerns and Tony now takes stress medication.

Sue said: 'When they came back after Christmas, we noticed building materials weren't coming on the site.

'We wouldn't see a builder for three or four weeks. So nothing was getting done.'

Left behind are 35 defects, including a shoddy garage, a half torn down conservatory, and dozens of problems inside the house.

The Wades were even forced to spend two winters with no heating in certain parts of the house.

Work on the property stopped in November 2023 and though the couple tried to contact the builder multiple times, going as far as staging a two-person protest on the man's doorstep, it was in vain

Left behind are 35 defects, including a shoddy garage, a half torn down conservatory, and dozens of problems inside the house

Sue added: 'The garage leaks and it's damp there because they didn't do it properly.

'When it rained the water came in at the drive doors and just flooded the garage. We got no help from him at all to put it right.'

When work started, the builder had promised the couple their money would have been kept safe in a separate bank account for the job.

But he later admitted he had shifted the money into a different job.

The pair approached Checkatrade to complain about the builder, but the company had to be chased over nine months to respond to the case.

Tony said: 'I had to phone them about six or seven times before getting anywhere.'

The company eventually sent someone to write a report on the work in February 2024.

Sue added: 'His word to us was that he had never seen such a bad lot of work done in his life.'

Despite the state of the property, Checkatrade only offered 1,000 in compensation to the Wades, a fraction of what the couple had already spent on the project.

They say the saga has weighed heavily on their mental health.

Sue added: 'We were that stressed and upset and worried about it that we had to go to the doctors. Tony was put on medication for stress. I couldn't sleep at night.'

They are now living in an unsafe home, with a cold and unfinished kitchen, having lost their life savings.

The simple conversion became a three-year nightmare after a cowboy builder conned them out of 65,000 and left the pensioners living in a cold, damaged home

A Checkatrade spokesman said: 'We take the experience of Mr and Mrs Wade extremely seriously and recognise the distress this situation caused.

'It marks a failure in the delivery of work by BSW Construction Projects Ltd, who were removed from our platform over two years ago.

'We accept that the handling of the Wades' claim could have been dealt with more quickly. At the time, we understood they were still in discussions with the trade to resolve the issue directly and were awaiting further evidence before escalating the case to an independent surveyor. Since then, we have bolstered our industry-leading vetting, monitoring and complaints processes, and cases like this would now be escalated automatically.

'Our best-in-class guarantee exists to protect homeowners on the rare occasions work goes wrong, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of trust and safety for everyone who uses Checkatrade.'
A huge swathe of land in Texas is a hotbed for deadly cancers that has sickened or killed scores of locals.

Texas officials recently designated the region a 'cancer cluster' after more than 20 years of shockingly high rates of the disease.

The roughly 250-square-mile area of east of Houston is around the same size as the entire country of Singapore.

In a February study, the state of Texas looked at 29 types of cancer over nearly a decade for residents in that area.

While the report did not look for what caused the cancer in the land that makes up the San Jacinto River Waste Pits, an EPA superfund site, it did find that diagnosed cancers were 'significantly greater than expected.'

Its results came as no surprise to locals.

All the people, including the responsible parties, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the many lawyers involved have done is talk, while the people in our community are dying,' said Gene Hennigan, whose son is among those killed by cancer.

The cancer belt starts in Atascocita in east Harris County and runs down through Channelview, Lynchburg and Baytown in the south.

An area the size of Singapore in east Harris County makes up the San Jacinto EPA superfund site. A recent study by the State of Texas confirmed people in the area are dramatically more likely to contract leukemia, lymphoma, cervix, lung and bronchus cancers

The cancer cluster designation is just the latest development in a saga that began in the 1960s, when the area first became polluted, according to the Environmental Protection Ageny, and decades after locals started getting sick.

International Paper Company, Inc and McGinnes Industrial Management Corporation have been named as the legally responsible parties for the clean up, according to the EPA, who first asked them to take responsibility for the clean up in 2009.

International Paper, which was then known as Champion Papers, Inc. disposed of carcinogenic waste close to the San Jacinto River during the 1960s, the feds allege.

Later, McGinnes, a subsidiary of Waste Management, was hired by the paper mill. McGinnes dumped even more waste in the river pits.

Eventually, the toxic chemicals began to leak and seeped into the surrounding land and water, the February government report states.

Once they got into the water, locals were unknowingly exposed to the dangerous dioxin and furan every time they bathed, drank water, fished or swam in the river, the EPA report found.

They found unusual patterns of leukemia, lymphoma, cervix, lung, and bronchus cancers, Jackie Medcalf of the Texas Health and Environment Alliance or THEA said in reaction to the state's February investigation.

While the findings are not a surprise to those of us living in the shadow of contamination, they are a sad vindication for what far too many of us have experienced.'

The San Jacinto River Waste Pits are an EPA superfund site encompassing 250 square miles east of Houston, Texas

Three Texas men are among the hundreds who have died of cancer in an area east of Houston where the EPA has declared a Superfund Site. Texas officials have announced the area is is cancer cluster region-- meaning people there are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than the rest of the population. Pictured above: Reggie Nailey, (left) Jeff Hennigan (middle) and Randy Nalley (right)

The EPA superfund site straddles the San Jacinto River in East Harris County, however, the contaminated water from the San Jacinto flows south to Galveston Bay and later to the Gulf of Mexico

The San Jacinto River EPA Superfund site has been deemed to be a cancer cluster - an area where residents are dramatically more likely to be diagnosed with a deadly illnesses, according to Texas officials

Children growing up near the San Jacinto Waste Pits Superfund Site are over sixteen times more likely to develop a rare eye cancer, according to THEA.

It's unknown exactly how many people have become ill in the area in East Harris County, or succumbed to a disease since no government agency has released a tally.

Our bodies are toxic soup, and we cannot ignore that any longer. The water, the air, the soil, and the seafood in our community are contaminated. And it should not be acceptable that our communities live with disproportionately high rates of cancer, Medcalf added.

It is easy to find people in the area who have been touched by cancer.

I personally know this because my son, Jeff. He played and swam in these waters. He fished as a kid, and has died from two kinds of lung cancer, Gene Hennigan told the Daily Mail.

Jeffrey Hennigan died three years ago at the age of 50, leaving behind two children.

My wife has had breast cancer. My youngest sonhis father in law passed away this year ago with cancer. These are people that live around. The list goes on, my friends. We're not special.

Hennigan also shared photos of other relatives and friends who have died in recent years with Daily Mail.

His wife's brothers Reggie and Randy Nalley, who lived in the same blighted neighborhood, also died of cancer.

Reggie died in 2020 at the age of 69, while Randy lost his short battle with cancer in 2014.

The human toll has been made worse by years of battling the companies who polluted the area to force them to clean up their mess.

Despite being found responsible for the clean up in 2000, the two companies just submitted an acceptable plan of action in September- 25 years later.

The EPA threatened to mandate their clean up plans unless the companies could take show they have a plan.

McGinnis Industrial Maintenance Corp, paid a $29.2 settlement for pollution, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The responsible parties keep throwing out lame plans for cleanup to stall the process. Well, Lee (Zeldin, EPA Administrator), here's your chance to show people you mean it. You can stay at my house and drink some of my water,' Gene Hennigan said.

Jeffrey Hennigan, 50, died three years ago of lung cancer tied to the San Jacinto Waste pits superfund site east of Houston, Texas, according to his father Gene Hennigan

Charles 'Pistol' Fitzgerald, 75, of Baytown, TX passed away January 5, 2025 of liver cancer believed to be tied to the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site, located in Harris County, outside of Houston. Fitzgerald was a brick mason for more than 50 years and left behind a wife, three children and several grandchildren.

Patti Hennigan survived breast cancer believed to be related to the pollution in the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site, however, her son Jeffrey died from lung cancer three years ago. Patti is pictured here with her husband Gene

Hennigan plans to travel to Washington DC later this month to testify in front of the EPA.

He hopes his words will spur the federal agency to take action against the two companies, fining them.

Those people only understand one thing - money, he said.

The grieving father says he plans to take water from this neighborhood with him and present to EPA administrators at the hearing and ask them to drink it.

When asked if hes ever considered moving, Hennigan says the area is home for him and his roots are too deep. For others, moving is not a financial option.

The people most affected are poor,' he explained.

Neither International Paper Inc. or Waste Management responded to Daily Mail's request for comment.

Their EPA-approved clean up plan is expected to take another five years and address about 60% of the pollution in the area, according to Houston station Fox 26.
The family of a missing South Australian woman have taken desperate measures in their search to find the mother-of-six, clinging to any hope that she may still be alive.

Trisha Graf, 41, was last seen driving along Dunstan Drive in Andamooka, about 610km northwest of Adelaide, at 2am on December 12, 2025.

Just hours later, as concern began to grow, her partner Tony Gregory and a friend launched a frantic search. Around midday, they located her car abandoned near Blue Dam, a short drive from the small outback town.

Since then, police have declared Ms Graf's disappearance a major crime investigation. Despite multiple searches, including in mine shafts, septic tanks and residential properties, no trace of the missing mother has been found.

Now, in a sign of their growing desperation, her daughter Montanah Shaw-Graf has turned to psychics in the hope of uncovering any clues that could lead them to her.

Posting online in the Facebook group Free Psychic Readings, Ms Shaw-Graf made a heartfelt plea.

'My beautiful mother has been missing since 12th December 2025, Can I please get a reading?' she wrote.

'I just want to know if she is safe or not, or anything that will help bring her home.'

Trisha Graf, 41, was last seen driving along Dunstan Drive in Andamooka, about 610km northwest of Adelaide

Her daughter Montanah Shaw-Graf has turned to psychics in the hope of uncovering any clues

She posted to a Facebook group that offers free readings

Within hours, several psychics responded, many offering messages of hope that her mother was still alive.

'I feel she has mixed with the wrong people and is laying low,' Rachel Lovski wrote.

'I sense a feeling she is ok, she is hiding from a particular person and doesn't want to be found. She wants to come back and will in her own time,' Kiara Giaretto wrote.

'I'm getting a dark feeling she was trying to hide from someone,' added an anonymous user.

Queensland psychic Rochelle Beattie, who claims she has helped locate missing people worldwide, also weighed in to the conversation, posting a hand-drawn map depicting several components, including a red brick wall and a sign, in an effort to guide the search.

It also had the words 'red', 'yellow', 'open room' and 'brothers', as well as the names 'Gary' and 'Tim'.

Queensland psychic Rochelle Beattie claims she has helped locate missing people worldwide

Ms Beattie drew a map to help find the missing mum

Ms Beattie, who regularly shares public readings on TikTok about high-profile missing person cases such as Gus Lamont and Pheobe Bishop, added that she had told police to 'look for a grey shed near the airfield.'

'When I remote viewed, she had planes and a fence in front of her so I'm assuming it's a nearby airfield.' she said.

The daughter's turn to psychics comes as investigators continue to piece together the final hours before Ms Graf vanished.

On the night of her disappearance, Ms Graf was seen in the Roxby Downs Hotel with a friend.

She left a short time later in a white 2012 Ford Territory, accompanied by her friend Kymberley Conniff, who also lived in Andamooka.

On the drive back towards Andamooka, Ms Graf hit a kangaroo just outside the town, police said.

Despite the accident, Ms Graf and her friend continued into town and visited a house in the north-western area.

On the night of her disappearance, Ms Graf was seen in Roxby Downs hotel

On the drive back towards Andamooka, Ms Graf hit a kangaroo just outside the town

Police and SES have conducted aerial and ground searches with no success

Shortly before 2am, Ms Graf left that address to make what should have been a five minute trip home. She was last seen driving along Dunstan Drive in Andamooka.

Mr Gregory later woke to find her missing and began searching for her. He went to her friend's house before eventually locating the vehicle, which was damaged and could not be driven.

Police and SES initially launched an extensive response, conducting ground and aerial searches as divers combed the nearby dam and detectives went door-to-door in the remote mining community.

Ms Graf's mother, Anne, who lives 600km south of Andamooka in the Barossa Valley, said Trisha would never leave her children 'in a million years,' and fears her daughter may have met with foul play.

However, some family members are still holding tightly to hope.

Ms Graf's cousin Stacey Lee Van de Wiel also commented on the psychic reading and said she believes they will see her again.

'Trisha Graf is one tough cookie and I have always looked up to her growing up as kids,' she said.

'Just how she never took s**t off anyone. I believe she is out there and I believe she will come home.

'Her whole entire family love her and miss her so very much.'

Another family member, Janelle Graf-Cox, also supported the psychic readings and spoke of the grief shared by the family.

'I hope they have some answers for you. My heart breaks for you, for all of us,' she said.
The bright red door to the imposing brick building swung open and a gaggle of girls in navy tartan dresses surged out onto the streets.

Volume levels outside Spence school, one of Manhattan's most elite establishments, were normally high, as the daughters of Wall Street titans and barons of industry dispersed across the Upper East Side.

But last week the chatter reached a crescendo: gossip about an alleged affair within the school had both the girls and their parents abuzz.

A married member of staff, chef Adam Gonzaga, 35, was allegedly having an affair with his married 41-year-old boss, Jenna Davis, the school's special events and parent relations manager. Gonzaga's father-in-law, furious at the suspected cheating, had plastered the neighborhood with flyers naming them both - much to the amusement, and horror, of staff, students and parents.

'ATTN SPENCE FAMILIES,' the flyer read in bold letters, claiming Davis 'is having an affair with her subordinate,' Gonzaga, who 'is MARRIED (with a 3-year-old son).'

'I did it because we all felt lied to, my daughter is in pain, her life is ruined,' the woman's father told the Daily Mail. 'Who knows what went on at the school.'

Spence, which charges $68,480 a year, declined to comment about the allegations. But the latest drama has once again shone an unwelcome spotlight on New York City's most revered educational establishments.

Notoriously cutthroat and choosy in accepting candidates, the Big Apple's ultra-exclusive private institutions for the upper crust have weathered storms of sordid scandals through the years, from hiring teachers later convicted as pedophiles, sex abuse claims and racism and bias accusations - forcing the question: are these elite schools really even worth it?

Jenna Davis, 41, and and Adam Gonzaga, 35, are seen together on March 5. His wife says she discovered a selfie on his phone after suspecting he was having an affair

It all began with this flyer, plastered to lamp posts on the Upper East Side, near the Spence school

Davis is Spence's Special Events and Parents Relations Manager. She was seen leaving the school on Thursday grinning and clutching a bouquet of flowers. When confronted about the alleged affair by our reporter, she and her friends ran away

Absolutely, said Emily Glickman, president of Abacus Guide, one of New York's oldest consultancies, who for the past 27 years has advised parents on how to secure their offspring's place at elite schools.

'Two consenting adults had an affair. That's not a school crisis. That's New York,' she told the Daily Mail, noting that the schools were as popular as ever, the academics a standout reason for parent interest.

Andrew Gutmann, an investment banker and software entrepreneur whose own daughter attended $66,800-a-year Brearley, could not disagree more. New York's elite schools are in shambles, he says.

'Parents have their heads in the sand,' he told the Daily Mail. 'But they don't care. It's not about the education. It's about the prestige of the brand of these schools that are so hard to get into. Parents are not willing to give that up.'

He was so dismayed at the education his teenager received, he pulled her out in 2021, and she is now at a school in Britain.

'If [parents] want a good education for their kid, I would advise them to not sign up for these schools.'

Certainly the Spence scandal is just the latest in a long line of controversies hitting New York City's private schools. Around 19 percent of the city's students - 242,000 people - are privately educated, but the establishments they attend seem to grab a disproportionate share of the headlines.

Notoriously cutthroat and choosy in accepting candidates, the Big Apple's ultra-exclusive private institutions for the upper crust have weathered storms of sordid scandals through the years

The prestigious Spence School on East 91st Street counts actresses and stars among alumni

In January this year, two teenage girls sued the prestigious Brooklyn Heights private school Saint Ann's - a $61,400-a-year establishment which counts actresses Lena Dunham and Jennifer Connelly among their alumni, as well as fashion designer Zac Posen, Jean-Michel Basquiat and two-time Pulitzer-winning playwright Lynn Nottage.

The girls, who were not students, accused Saint Ann's of negligence in hiring convicted felon Winston Nguyen as a math teacher, despite his having served time for stealing $300,000 from an elderly couple.

Nguyen pretended online to be a teenage boy, solicited explicit photos from the girls, and then shared them with his Saint Ann's students.

The January case is just the latest in the two-year saga involving Nguyen and Saint Ann's.

He was arrested in 2024 on charges of soliciting sexual images from the children he taught, and in March 2025 the 38-year-old was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Saint Ann's did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment this week, but in January, in response to the case, Kenyatte Reid, the head of school, and Mary Watson, the president of the board of trustees, wrote a letter to parents which was obtained by The New York Times.

'The complaint includes several misrepresentations of Saint Ann's' role, and we will address and dispute this delicate matter through the appropriate legal channels,' they wrote, adding that they feel 'concern for all victims impacted by Nguyen's actions.'

The year that Nguyen was arrested, a 50-year-old English teacher at $67,480-a-year Dalton resigned after a student accused her of sexual abuse between 2020 and 2022.

Dalton emailed parents to inform them of the 'serious matter' and the teacher's resignation, and said: 'Our priority is determining the veracity of these claims and determining whether there are other allegations of abuse from other members of the community.'

The school also infamously hired Jeffrey Epstein in 1974 to teach math, and he remained at Dalton for around two years.

And it isn't just sex scandals that have shaken the exorbitant establishments.

In September 2022, an administrator at Trinity, a $69,000-a-year school on the Upper West Side, was caught on camera by Project Veritas saying it was 'definitely a school where conservatives would not feel comfortable.'

Jennifer Norris left the school shortly after the video was released, with John Allman, the principal, stating: 'Our principles are clear: bias of any kind or the threat of violence toward any person or group has no place at Trinity School.' Norris could not be reached for comment.

Private school math teacher Winston Nguyen (pictured) was sentenced last year to seven years in prison for his abuse of young girls while he taught at Saint Ann's

Prestigious Brooklyn school Saint Ann's (pictured) charges $60,000 per year in tuition and has built a reputation as one of the best prep schools in New York for wealthy creative students

The upheaval and soul-searching in the wake of George Floyd's murder also caused convulsions at the elite establishments: graduates of Chapin, Brearley and Spence came forward with stories of racism and prejudice at their alma maters, forcing the heads of the schools to apologize for previous attitudes.

Some parents felt the pendulum swung too far: Gutmann, whose daughter was at Brearley, withdrew her in 2021 and wrote a scorching letter excoriating the school for heaping guilt on white students for the sins of previous generations.

'I object to the view that I should be judged by the color of my skin,' he wrote, in the headline-grabbing open letter. 'I cannot tolerate a school that not only judges my daughter by the color of her skin, but encourages and instructs her to prejudge others by theirs.

'By viewing every element of education, every aspect of history, and every facet of society through the lens of skin color and race, we are desecrating the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and utterly violating the movement for which such civil rights leaders believed, fought, and died.'

Yet despite the decades of drama, and the ever-rising price tag, New York's private schools are thriving.

Indeed, education experts told the Daily Mail that applications are believed to be up by around 25 percent this year (the precise figures are not published) - and the services of consultants, chaperoning children while navigating the system and tough selection process for around $15,000 per child, have never been more sought after.

'Demand for these top-tier schools remains strong, even with rising tuition or media attention, and I don't see that changing,' said Julie Rosenberg, co-founder of The Admissions Plan.

'In any school community there's always going to be moments that draw attention, like the one this week at Spence. But families tend to focus on the bigger picture, rather than on any single incident.

'They're looking for consistency over time. How does a school support its students and its community? The strength of its leadership, its academics, the overall environment - not necessarily a single incident. And I encourage families to look at the full story, not just one headline.'

Jeffrey Epstein taught math and science at The Dalton School in New York, but some former pupils noted he was particularly forward with female students

Epstein had no college degree when he was hired to teach at Dalton school, pictured. The school is one of New York City's most elite - and expensive - private schools

Glickman agreed: 'When researching schools, parents should ignore the gossip and look at the culture. Talk to families who love it and families who quietly left. Scrutiny is healthy, but it should focus on academics and student wellbeing and safety.'

Alina Adams, who runs the NYC School Secrets consultancy and website, has also seen a surge in demand for her services - thanks, she said, to a pandemic-era boom in babies; Governor Kathy Hochul's new law limiting class sizes, making parents panic about getting their children in to their desired school; and new mayor Zohran Mamdani's conflicting messages about his intentions for education in the city.

'A couple of flyers on some posts are not going to change anybody's mind,' she told the Daily Mail. 'Because here's a fun fact: Teachers are human beings. Teachers are in a workplace. Human beings in workplaces sometimes have inappropriate relationships. And if anybody thinks it doesn't happen at every school, private and public, just like any workplace, then they are not living on our planet.'

Adams said it was important to visit a prospective school, speak to other parents, and do a 'gut check' to see whether it fits your child academically and culturally.

The scandals, she said, were mere background noise.

'I speak with families all the time - on a slow day, two or three a day. And no one has said, oh, because [someone] at Spence had an affair, I will now no longer apply to Spence, one of the top girls' schools in the city.

'There are some schools that are still coasting on reputation. But it's up to the parents to investigate. Don't just assume school X is great because it was in that Woody Allen movie one time.'
An IT specialist saw his career implode when a routine bullying complaint morphed into a selfinflicted disaster driven by increasingly hostile, AIgenerated messages.

The Fair Work Commission last week noted that the use of AI appeared to give Fujifilm Data Management Solutions developer Marcus Wibmer, 64, a false sense of security about the appropriateness of his communications and demands at work.

Mr Wibmer's downward spiral began after he took offence at a colleague's message in a Microsoft Teams chat, which snowballed into months of hostility, escalating complaints and increasingly unhinged AI-drafted diatribes that sealed his downfall.

The IT expert, whose record until then was spotless, was pulled up by a colleague in May 2025 for a coding error they claimed had 'caused more pain than gain'.

When he pushed back at being blamed, the colleague asked whether he had an angermanagement issue, a remark that prompted Mr Wibmer to lodge a formal bullying complaint and request a public apology and mediation.

The complaint was later dismissed.

The following week, the colleague apologised, but Mr Wibmer rejected the apology and, bizarrely, demanded the Japanese tech giant reopen a 2019 workplaceviolence complaint that had long been investigated and closed.

The developer alleged a colleague had attempted to punch him in the stomach and threatened to 'smash' him.

Pictured is the Fujifilm head office in Macquarie Park, northwest of Sydney's CBD

During a July HR meeting about the Microsoft Teams incident, Mr Wibmer was told to put his shirt back on after being seen in the office in a singlet - an instruction relayed by HR manager Beverley Ord, only a week into the job.

Mr Wibmer later accused her of asking, 'How would you feel if I took my top off?' and lodged a sexualharassment complaint, claiming the dress code was being enforced unfairly and that female staff were also wearing singlets and open shoes.

However, HR consultant Lalita Yadav, who was also at the meeting, recalled Ord said 'I am feeling warm too, but I'm not taking my shirt off'.

The complaint was found to be unsubstantiated.

But the drama did not end there. Between July 8 and 11, Mr Wibmer sent at least 17 AIassisted emails to his managers - many of them lengthy, citing the Fair Work Act, antidiscrimination laws and WHS legislation.

He posed 24 questions - spanning the 2019 violence allegation, the Teams bullying complaint, procedural integrity, HR conduct, dresscode issues and workplace safety - and demanded investigation files, internal communications, the company dress code and formal written responses to each point.

When Ms Ord advised it was inappropriate to address all his requests, he replied with an email accusing her of looking him 'up and down' with a 'creepy' lingering gaze while assessing his clothing, which he asked to be considered potential sexual harassment and workplace bullying.

Following an investigation, Fujifilm rejected all of Mr Wibmer's complaints, concluding that past incidents had been properly investigated, the bullying and dresscode allegations were unsubstantiated, and that no procedural unfairness had occurred.

HR consultant Lalita Yadav (pictured) rejected Wibmer's claims that her colleague said 'How would you feel if I took my top off' when addressing a dress code breach

The letter also alleged that Mr Wibmer had engaged in serious misconduct by fabricating a timesheet, and a claim about an email that, if proven, might lead to disciplinary action including dismissal.

Mr Wibmer claimed managing director Keith Grieves had sent and then recalled an email telling him to stop raising complaints, and that he had a screenshot proving it.

But IT audit logs showed no such email was ever sent and he later conceded the screenshot did not exist.

Mr Wibmer was directed to attend a meeting later that month to respond to the allegations and instructed to stay away from the workplace.

His employment was terminated on August 7. Fujifilm said it had lost all trust and confidence in Wibmer to continue in his employment.

FWC Deputy President Slevin said Mr Wibmer's use of AI was 'unfortunate' and 'counterproductive', and ultimately 'led to his demise'.

'The communications it produced were dense, repetitive and often rambling,' he said. 'They were demanding and overbearing. They lacked context and perspective.

'AI appears to have given Mr Wibmer a false sense of security that his communications, laden as they were with allegations of impropriety by his managers and demands for corrective action, were appropriate and acceptable in a workplace setting. They were not.'

FWC Deputy President Slevin said Mr Wibmer's use of AI was 'unfortunate' and 'counterproductive', and ultimately 'led to his demise' (stock)

Slevin agreed that Mr Wibmer had become 'ungovernable' and that it had been unwise for him to prepare a case with the assistance of AI.

'His excessive complaints and his refusal to accept the outcomes of those complaints was obstinate,' he said.

'The conclusion that the employment relationship was untenable was justified.'
A staggering 5.3million Gen Z Aussies claim they would consider leaving behind the city and moving to regional Australia, according to a new survey.

The Regional Australia Institute's (RAI) latest survey revealed 49 per cent of the younger generation are open to making the drastic tree change.

Some 29 per cent were willing to go bush within two years while 37 per cent planned for a move in three to five years.

Most would relocate for a higher salary while many others would do so to reduce their cost of living, buy more affordable housing, or be closer to nature.

Former Sydneysider Zoe Gleeson, 23, told 7News her reason for going bush was both financial and lifestyle related.

'We knew we couldn't have the lifestyle we wanted in Sydney - you know, a house with a backyard,' she said.

'We just knew that wouldn't have been achievable with housing prices.

'We both took jobs that resulted in pay increases as well so, it was a no-brainer. We didn't really lose out in moving to the regions.'

More than five million Gen Z Aussies wouldn't hesitate to move to the country, with many aiming to do so in the near future

Ms Gleeson moved to Mudgee in the Central West of NSW with her partner William Lusty in late 2024.

She said she enjoyed the 'complete lifestyle shift' and her close proximity to work, local markets and wineries.

Although the local council worker said her main concern was healthcare access, she was pleased there was an 'acknowledgement of the challenges' from the government.

Mikaela Carroll, 28, moved to the countryside with her partner, but unlike Ms Gleeson, she had a rural upbringing.

Ms Carroll grew up near the Northern Rivers in NSW before moving to Brisbane for eight years as a teen, where she met her partner.

The couple then went on what they thought would be a routine van trip during the Covid pandemic, but stopped in Bunbury in Western Australia's southwest after running out of money.

Ms Carroll said while they wanted to keep going, they ended up staying for five years because they loved it too much.

From there, they moved to Launceston just over 12 months ago to be closer to family.

While she believed her early exposure to regional life shaped her preference for living in country Australia again, Ms Carroll said the best thing about her life now was feeling like the couple had 'more control over their lives'.

Zoe Gleeson moved to Mudgee in the Central West of NSW with her partner William Lusty in late 2024

The Regional Australia Institute's (RAI) latest survey revealed 49 per cent of the younger generation are open to leaving cities such as Sydney

'The fact we've decided to stay in the regions now that COVID has kind of wrapped up speaks to the value that it's had for our lives,' she said.

'I went to a work thing up in Burnie and literally my walk back to the hotel was past this beautiful waterway, and I got to see some penguins, which is just insane.

'The exposure to nature has just been fantastic.'

While moving to a new place can be daunting, Ms Carroll said immersing herself in local groups helped her feel a part of the community.

'[Joining groups] set us up to love our life over there,' she said.

'You can feel really isolated and lonely and feel like you're missing out on a lot of socialising otherwise.

'If you spend the first six to 12 months putting yourself out there - it feels a bit awkward, but the pay-back is how much joy it brings.'

With an increase of people moving from the city to the country, RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said it was important for employers and policymakers to plan for the shift.

'Young people are not just chasing a tree change, they're looking for career opportunities, lifestyle benefits, and communities where they can thrive,' Ms Ritchie said.

'We need to plan for it.'

Ms Ritchie said investment in regional infrastructure, health care, childcare and education was needed and wanted 40 per cent of homes to be developed in the regions under the National Housing Accord.
The elusive and intensely private Swedish businessman Gabriel Jakob was due to face his ex-wife Alexandra Jakob in court on Monday as she prepared to defend an ongoing assault matter.

The case, however, was adjourned and will now be heard over three days later this year. But what was heard in court offers a teaser of the incredibly bitter confrontation set to play out at Downing Centre.

Ms Jakob was charged in June last year with two counts of domestic-related common assault, one count of intimidation, and two counts of entering land with intent to commit an indictable offence.

The founder of haircare brand BondiBoost - and a successful childcare centre entrepreneur before that - was seen leaving court in tears alongside her fiance, former male escort Michael Burn.

The dates of the proceedings could not be worse for the couple.

The case will return for mention on September 4, ahead of the three-day hearing in November. This September, Ms Jakob and Mr Burn are scheduled to marry at Grantley Hall, a historic 17th-century estate on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales in northern England.

Grantley Hall happens to be 90 minutes from Mr Burn's hometown of Newcastle - a city made famous in Australia by the raucous MTV series Geordie Shore.

Ms Jakob is expected to plead not guilty to all five charges and will defend the matter in court. An interim apprehended violence order has also been issued by NSW Police for the protection of Mr Jakob.

Looking more like a Hollywood actress braving the paparazzi than a business figure fighting charges, Alexandra Jakob fought back tears as she left Downing Centre Court on Monday

The BondiBoost haircare founder clung to fiance Michael Burn as they left the court together

Ms Jakob's counsel, AJ Karim, said his client had had several panic attacks that morning. The case will return for mention on September 4, ahead of the three-day hearing in November

On Monday, a visibly shaken Alexandra Jakob clung to Mr Burn as they left the courthouse together, looking more like a Hollywood actress braving the paparazzi than a business figure fighting charges.

Ms Jakob claimed via her counsel, AJ Karim, that her marriage to her ex-husband had been 'horrendous' for her. Gabriel Jakob is not charged with any offence.

Mr Karim also advised Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson that his client had experienced several panic attacks that morning.

Mr Jakob, who is the head of technology and childcare-focused venture capital firm Hyper Capital, has remained fiercely private in recent years.

The former director of AlphaThorn Pty Ltd - who was working for freight company Pack & Send when he met his ex-wife - was banned by ASIC from providing financial services in 2022 for a period of five years.

In a rare 2024 interview with the Australian Financial Review, Mr Jakob declined to show his face in photographs due to privacy concerns.

But in a bizarre twist, he is now dating self-described 'virtual stylist' Anjelica Margaritis, who frequently shares thirst-trap selfies of the pair online, often with him deliberately turning his face away from the camera.

Ms Jakob's story starts back in 2007, when she bought two childcare centres in western Sydney. Not long after, she added three more and, by 2010, had rebranded her chain as Little Learning School.

The elusive Swedish businessman Gabriel Jakob (left) was due to face his ex-wife Alexandra Jakob in court on Monday as she prepared to defend an ongoing assault matter. The former couple (pictured on their 2017 wedding day) separated in May 2023 and divorced a year later

Ms Jakob (above, with her fiance Mr Burn) claimed in court via her counsel that her marriage to Gabriel Jakob had been 'horrendous' for her. Mr Jakob is not charged with any offence

The fiercely private Mr Jakob is now dating self-described 'virtual stylist' Anjelica Margaritis (right), who shares selfies of the pair online, often with him turning his face from the camera

From there, things really took off. What began as a small venture grew into a network of 54 centres, employing more than 2,500 people and becoming one of Australias largest privately owned childcare groups.

In 2018, she sold most of the centres to Bain Capital, and by 2020 the remaining ones - operating as Bliss Early Learning - were sold to Busy Bees.

That same year, she also launched something completely different: BondiBoost, a haircare brand thats become known for its botanical, naturally inspired products.

She and Mr Jakob went on to separate in May 2023 and divorce a year later. It has not been an amicable parting, with their long-running dispute now involving Ms Jakob's fiance, Mr Burn.

In December, a 12-month apprehended domestic violence order was issued protecting Mr Jakob from Mr Burn.

The order prevents Mr Burn from contacting or approaching Mr Jakob except through legal representatives and bars any form of harassment, intimidation or assault. There is no suggestion he has breached those conditions.

Two intimidation-related charges against Mr Burn were withdrawn after he pleaded not guilty. He pleaded guilty to a third charge, which was dealt with under Section 10(1)(a), meaning the court found the offence proven but did not record a conviction.

Ms Jakob and Mr Burn have since relocated across the Harbour Bridge, where they now reside in another waterfront mansion.

The pair are no strangers to the court and are due to return to Downing Centre in April over a separate matter involving Mr Burn's ex-partner, Geoffrey Williams.

The dispute began in February last year when Mr Burn sought an apprehended violence order against Mr Williams, alleging harassing and stalking behaviour.

In response, Mr Williams lodged a police complaint claiming Ms Jakob had threatened him during a phone call after discovering his former relationship with Mr Burn.

There is no suggestion these allegations have been proven; they remain claims made in a complaint to NSW Police.

It's not just Ms Jakob in the trenches. Mr Burn is also involved in a separate legal matter with ex-partner Geoffrey Williams. (Ms Jakob and Mr Burn are seen at Downing Centre last month)

Mr Burn (right) and Mr Williams (left) were more than business partners - they were also lovers

Mr Williams (pictured outside court last month) ran the high-end escort agency 'Jake Ryan' with his ex-partner Mr Burn

As their twofront legal battle drags on, it remains uncertain whether Ms Jakob and Mr Burn will press ahead with their English wedding this September or delay it until calmer times prevail

After more than a year of court appearances, the matter was due to be heard last month, despite attempts by Mr Burn's barrister to reach an agreement with Mr Williams. After hours of delays, it did not go ahead.

The saga has attracted significant attention.

Long before Mr Burn was involved with Ms Jakob, he ran the high-end escort agency 'Jake Ryan' with his then-partner Mr Williams.

The two men were not only business partners but also in a relationship - one that later deteriorated. Mr Burn was soon moving into Ms Jakob's Point Piper mansion.

Allegations of threats, intimidation and harassment have since been made in this messy saga running parallel to the separate dispute between Ms Jakob and her ex-husband.

As their twofront legal battle drags on, it remains uncertain whether Ms Jakob and Mr Burn - still devoted to one another despite the turmoil engulfing them - will press ahead with their idyllic English wedding or delay it until calmer times prevail.

New to DailyMail+? Here are our most-read stories from the past week

Trapped in NAB's hell room: Whistleblower's harrowing account of 'sociopathic' punishment at bank - after worker plunged from skyscraper

Warning to Antony Catalano party guests after elite gathering ended with alleged assault... Plus, top facialist blasts 'bogus' complaints - and bedroom secrets of Bondi Boost founder: THE GROUP CHAT

MAFS INSIDER: Unaired 'sexual mishap' for Alissa and David that shattered their relationship. You won't see it on TV - now sources are speaking out

Read the damning email to NAB CEO from suicidal worker before Docklands tragedy - as we reveal the cruel HR method pushing staff to the brink

Inside celebrity dentist Dr Steven Lin's desperate last days in his childhood home - and the quiet turmoil that drove a respected family man to a life of drugs, filth and violence

'Death threats' from tradies, 1-star reviews... now cancer-stricken Block landscaper makes a startling admission from his Brighton bunker as he's chased for money all over town

LIZ JONES: Why so many are now gravely concerned by this picture of Kate and William

Sydney psychologist accused of using LinkedIn 'as a dating app' unleashes on ex-employee who filed 118-page complaint: LUCY MANLY goes inside the feud so vicious you'll need therapy

Mother of cheating nurse shares horrific way daughter was killed after SUV sex... and shares heartbreaking details of her marriage to doctor

Child killer Chris Watts' sick fetishes that fuelled him to annihilate his family, revealed for the first time by his 'mother figure' pen pal

Ugly new Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban divorce fight ERUPTS: Her friends share humiliating details of 'midlife crisis'... and reveal brutal REAL reason daughter Sunday Rose 'snubbed' him

RICHARD EDEN: Troubling Harry and Meghan 'behind the scenes' whispers from the Palace. Royal officials are terrified to speak about them... but one breaks their silence to confide in me

WA model Rebecca Jobson steps out with a new wealthy playboy boyfriend at Prada event in Sydney - following her split from surf king Taj Burrow after seven years of marriage
A serial rapist who is deemed a high risk of sexually assaulting women and children has been granted a $220,000-a-year NDIS funding package and access to hardcore pornography in custody.

Wayne Wilmot, now aged 53, was part of the pack involved in the kidnapping, rape and murder of Sydney bank teller Janine Balding in September 1988. He has been in and out of prison since he was arrested aged 15 over Ms Balding's murder.

He has a long and violent record of sexually assaulting women while on parole or bail. In a recent judgment, the NSW Supreme Court found that he would be likely to offend again, most likely involving 'forced penetrative sexual activity and sexual coercion (which) may involve violence, weapons ... and could be perpetrated against children'.

Justice Sarah McNaughton's judgment reveals that Wilmot was last year granted National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding until June 2026.

It noted that the NDIS last year 'approved a 12 month plan for the defendant in the amount of $221,620.99 with the funding to be reviewed annually'.

The funding covers Wilmot's access to a support service, Mates & Mentors, while he is on external leave from the prison halfway house he is required to live in. He is also eligible for four hours of daily support 'for assistance with social economic and community participation', seven days a week.

The judgment reveals that Wilmot can request to access pornography 'or use the services of escorts or brothels' subject to a supervising officer's discretion.

In mid-2024, according to a supervision order, Wilmot 'accessed adult sex shops online and this appeared to manage his sexual urges.'

Wayne Wilmot was one of five people who abducted and raped bank teller Janine Balding, 20. In September 1988 she was taken to a remote paddock and drowned in a dam

Wilmot, left, and Carol Anne Arrow (right) at Campbelltown Local Court in Sydney 1988, where they were both charged with five counts relating to Janine Balding's death at Minchinbury

Now aged 53, Wayne Wilmot has a four decade-long history of sexual offending against women, but was granted access to NDIS funding and pornography while on release

His supervisors recommended he 'purchase pornographic magazines from an adult bookstore' instead of the pornography website he was interested in.

Days later, his supervisory officer found Wilmot had accessed without approval 'very, very extreme' pornographic material involving Asian people and teenagers.

It was on September 8, 1988 when a teenage Wilmot - who was on bail - and three other males aged 14 to 22 and a woman kidnapped Ms Balding at knifepoint from Sutherland Railway Station car park about 6pm.

The 20-year-old was forced into her own car and driven down the M4 motorway by Wilmot to a remote spot in Minchinbury in western Sydney where she was sexually assaulted, hogtied, and gagged.

Ms Balding was then carried to a dam where she was held down and drowned. The gang stole the jewellery off her body, and withdrew cash with her bank card.

They were arrested within days and three of Wilmot's co-accused were given life sentences plus 25 years.

Wilmot was charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent, and one each of robbery in company and detaining with intent to gain advantage.

He was sentenced to nine years and four months, with a seven-year minimum, and released on parole in October 1996.

Wayne Wilmot is led away at court after his arrest and charge over the abduction and rape of Janine Balding who was murdered and her body dumped in 1988

Wilmot denies his appalling history of offending and minimises his guilt from offences of raping Janine Balding (above) before her murder and robbing her body to assaulting other women at Sydney train stations

In 1997 he robbed and assaulted a woman in Ashfield, in inner-western Sydney, and in 1998 tied up and sexually assaulted a terrified 19-year-old female railway employee at Leightonfield Railway Station.

A few weeks later, he attempted to kidnap a young woman at Glenfield station, and was locked up.

But it was only via a 2004 DNA testing program for NSW Inmates that Wilmot's semen was matched to the Leightonfield attack, and he was jailed in 2006 for a maximum of 12 years.

While in jail, he was convicted of sexually assaulting another inmate and committed further assaults on prisoners which he contended 'were warranted'.

Wilmot was released on a supervision order in June 2024, but less than two weeks after his release breached the order with his extreme pornography video searches.

The Supreme Court has now returned Wilmot to custody for a year.

However he is living in Nunyara Community Offender Support Program (COSP), the halfway house attached to the back of Long Bay prison complex.

Wilmot is allowed external leave days and will undergo 'a staged transition to the community' over the next year.

Wayne 'Shorty' Jamieson, born with foetal alcohol syndrome, was convicted of Janine Balding's murder and jailed for life. Now aged 59, he claims he was wrongly identified as the killer

Janine Balding was about to turn 21 and was engaged to be married when the bank teller was abducted while walking to her car at Sutherland Railway station

Wilmot held a coveted position working in the COSP's kitchen until he aggressively attacked another inmate. He now works in the facility's laundry.

One of Wilmot's former cellmates reported being sexually assaulted by him. Wilmot has been charged in custody with intimidation, possession of prohibited weapons and assault.

The most recent assault allegation from November last year, that Wilmot headbutted and struck another inmate, was captured on CCTV.

Justice McNaughton's judgement includes a February 2026 report on Wilmot by court-appointed psychologist, Patrick Sheehan.

Mr Sheehan reported Wilmot's 'risk of a serious sex offence to be at the "high end of the risk spectrum" and that it was "very clear" he could not live in the community in the future without an Extended Supervision Order (ESO)'.

This might have to be with a 'line-of-sight condition', a costly provision which would require constant supervision.

In 2024, Mr Sheehan found Wilmot 'took almost no responsibility for his offence history relating to sexual violence ... flatly denying' the Janine Balding offence, and 'implying that his other convictions were also false, even those to which he (pleaded) guilty.'

Wilmot's co-accused in the Balding attack, Wayne 'Shorty' Jamieson, was jailed for life and is now aged 59. He also denied culpability, claiming it was another person nicknamed 'Shorty' who perpetrated the murder.

The court judgment said that Wilmot has impulsivity, anger and aggression issues, is deceitful, has reckless disregard for the safety of others and 'he was unable to express any empathy or remorse'.

Wilmot has also been assessed as suffering from psychopathy and a psychologist said he was at 'well above average risk for further sexual offending' and 'at a high risk for violent offending'.

Wilmot is due for release back into the community on March 19, 2027. On release, the court judgment further noted that 'in the context of anticipated NDIS support in the community' a warning had been issued about his behaviour on the outside.

A consultant neuropsychologist had stated that 'NDIS Services rarely tolerate intimidating interactions that can't be safely managed.

'Failed community integration will isolate (Wilmot).'
A mother flying home to New York with her two-year-old didnt expect her trip to turn into a battle with the passenger behind her after using a controversial in-flight feature: the reclining seat.

Aliaksandra Knel posted online about her uncomfortable three-and-a-half-hour flight aboard Delta Airlines on Sunday, sparking a divided debate over whether she was in the wrong for trying to lean her seat back.

Knel said she used the recline function shortly after the seatbelt sign turned off, but instead of a more comfortable position, she was met with a furious shove to the back of her chair.

'The passenger behind me started aggressively pushing my seat with her legs,' the mother wrote on Threads. 'I asked her to stop, but she became rude and kept doing it.'

She added that she reported the passenger to different flight attendants, who gave her conflicting answers.

The mother said she was told by a crew member not to recline at all, while another tried to get the passenger behind her to stop pushing her seat.

However, as the attendant walked away, the woman returned to waging war over those precious few inches of legroom.

Frightened, Knel said she tried to record the situation, but the unruly woman knocked the phone out of her hands, which then hit her toddler in the face.

Aliaksandra Knel was flying home to New York with her 2-year-old on Sunday on Delta Airlines when she attempted to get comfortable by reclining her seat but the passenger behind her pushed back blocking her from doing so (Stock Image)

Knel said she told flight attendants but nothing was resolved. She added that she went to record the woman behind her after she felt unsafe. The mother claimed the woman smacked her phone which then hit her baby (Stock Image)

'This is not about a seat. This is about safety. No one should be treated like this, especially when traveling with a child,' the mother added.

She also noted that she had serious back pain and needed to take medication since she was unable to recline.

Knel's story prompted users to viciously condemn her for trying to use the in-flight feature and shame her for trying to record the situation when she felt unsafe.

One user wrote: So you have the right to make her uncomfortable both by infringing on her already limited space and recording her without her consent, but she doesnt have the right to respond?

Another added: 'So instead of speaking to a flight attendant, you pulled out your phone to record her? And when she smacked your phone, it fell out of your hand and hit your kid? Kinda sounds like your actions contributed, and your kid paid the price for it.'

A third said: 'It's very annoying if someone reclines it before food service or during, as it's really just manners. On short haul, I never recline the seat so others are comfortable. Difficult with a baby.'

Knel upset by the incident wrote on social media: 'This is not about a seat. This is about safety. No one should be treated like this, especially when traveling with a child' (Stock Image)

Users online were spilt with many defending the mother's right to recline with several others condemning her for not only trying to get comfortable but also for pulling out her camera to record (Stock Image)

However, many others defended the reclining seats, noting that airlines allow passengers the ability, and if others cannot accept that, they should fly first class.

One user wrote: The responses here are wild. The original poster used a function of the seat, asked for help from the flight attendants who did nothing, and attempted to document bad behavior and was assaulted.'

Another added: 'People who are saying she shouldnt have reclined her seat. Seriously? How about if the person seated in the back of her politely explained what the issue was instead of shoving the back of her seat and creating the issue in the first place?'

A third said: 'If you need more space that badly, YOU fly first class or pay for an extra legroom seat. No one needs to ask to recline the seat they pay for.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to Aliaksandra Knel and Delta Airlines for comment.
American voters are narrowly blaming Donald Trump and Republicans for the current partial government shutdown that is snarling airports and forcing immigration officials to man security lines.

Since February 14, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been in a partial shutdown after Democrats in Congress voted against a GOP-authored funding bill for the department over their concerns of Trump's sweeping immigration agenda.

DHS oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and more.

As the partial shutdown has dragged on, and employees under the DHS umbrella - except ICE - remain unpaid, over 400 TSA agents have quit and US airports have been snarled with long security wait times.

Roughly 50,000 TSA workers have been working without pay since February, and now voters are blaming Republicans for the funding debacle and long airport wait times.

The latest Daily Mail/JL Partner poll of over 1,000 US voters, taken from March 18 to 20, found that one-third of respondents - 34 percent - blame the GOP for the long lines and delays at airports.

Just 25 percent of the voters said Democrats are to blame, while 11 percent said neither, 20 percent said both and 10 percent said they were unsure. The margin of error for the latest survey was three percent.

The poll showed similar results for the ongoing DHS shutdown, with 34 percent blaming Republicans and just 25 percent blaming Democrats.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Your browser does not support iframes.

The latest Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that one-third of respondents blame Republicans for the long wait times and delays at US airports prompted by the DHS funding debacle

The line at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning stretched out the door. Travelers were advised to arrive four hours early for their flights

President Trump has ordered ICE agents to help TSA at airports across the country as the partial shutdown drags on

A quarter of respondents, 26 percent, said both parties were to blame, while 4 percent said neither and 11 percent responded they were unsure.

Over a third of voters said that the shutdown makes them feel less safe.

The President has repeatedly blamed Democrats for the long lines and travel woes faced by millions of Americans since the shutdown began last month.

Trump believes the American people are on his side, despite his own approval rating hitting an all-time low of 42 percent, per the latest Daily Mail/JL Partner survey.

That is down from the 44 percent approval he received on March 3, just days into the Iran conflict. Trump held a 48 percent approval rating as recently as late January.

But the President believes that Democrats will bear the brunt of the blame for the airport woes.

'The Democrats are being blamed by the American people for the catastrophe going on right now in our airports, and at other points of transportation and beyond,' President Trump said at an event in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday.

'And we want the public to know we're not going to let them out of this trap that they created for themselves,' he added.

ICE agents patrol New York's LaGuardia Airport on March 23

Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan said that he expects ICE will not be deployed to US airports for very long

Some airports have had security wait times lasting nearly three hours

Democrats have faced backlash from the shutdown gambit and have since asked Republicans to put forth a bill to solely fund TSA, saying that funding for ICE and other immigration agencies should be hashed out separately.

Trump ratcheted up the pressure on Democrats over the weekend by announcing that ICE agents would be deployed to airports to assist TSA.

ICE agents were pictured at major airports across the country on Monday, the first day of their airport deployment.

In total, the agents will assist with at least 13 airports, a source familiar with the plan told CNN.

'We're going to first send out to the biggest airports with the biggest wait lines,' Border Czar Tom Homan said of the ICE airport deployments Monday on SiriusXMs Cuomo Mornings.

ICE will help TSA officers with screening, Homan shared, adding that the agents' deployment won't 'last very long.'

The Border Czar added that he anticipates protesters to target ICE agents while they work alongside TSA.

'You know in the bigger cities where there's been issues in the past, I expect there's going to be protests outside the airport,' he said.
Iranians are lashing out after Donald Trump teased a diplomatic end to his war on Iran, which would be a 'worst case' scenario for civilians on the ground.

Trump claimed today that the US is halting its punishing strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure following 'very good' peace talks with Tehran.

But in a stunning rebuke, Iranian officials denied the talks are taking place and taunted Trump, vowing to forge ahead with strikes on American bases and allies.

The conflicting narratives have sparked outrage and terror among Iranians inside the country and abroad, who fear that Trump's sudden pivot to diplomacy will erase the progress made against Iran's weakened leadership.

Trump made multiple de-escalatory statements on Monday, suggesting that he and Iran's leader could share authority over the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said the waterway, which handles 20 percent of global energy supplies, will be 'jointly controlled' by 'me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is.'

For everyday Iranians, the prospect of the regime surviving the conflict is a nightmare.

'The war is less scary than the possibility of negotiations,' one young Iranian told the Daily Mail.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing West Palm Beach aboard Air Force One, Florida, U.S., March 23

Civil defense and search and rescue teams continue operations in the area after US and Israeli strikes targeted the Enderzgu district of the Iranian capital Tehran at dawn, on March 23

Meanwhile, the Iranian leadership remains completely shrouded in mystery. Several Iranians told the Daily Mail they haven't seen the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in person since he was chosen to replace his father

The student says that news of negotiations with the regime was worse than 'power outages and starvation, and even being stuck under the rubble of your house.'

'People don't like this at all, but I don't think we should really care about what [Trump] says on the news,' another local explained.

Even though the regime is 'falling apart,' the US has 'not achieved its goal' and 'lots of money has been spent on this war.'

Another Tehran resident explained that after 47 years of failed civil disobedience, citizens see armed conflict as the only way out.

'They are pro-war because they know there is no other option. There can be no revolution without weapons,' they said, adding that the Iranian army is 'corrupted to its core.'

Many locals view Trump's comments as classic political theater, aimed at global markets rather than actual diplomacy.

'Trump being Trump. That is it. They know IRGC must be gone,' one resident said in response to the President's efforts to restart talks. 'IRGC also knows they have no future after what they did to the Arab countries.'

Another Iranian local agreed: 'I believe Trump is being strategic with his words to manage the oil prices. He knows until these guys are in charge, there will always be the threat of a nuclear bomb. I know that the thought of the war ending with the Islamic regime remaining in power is the worst thing that can happen to us.'

Rocket trails are seen in the sky amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya on March 23

A woman is seen crying in the area after US and Israeli strikes targeted the Enderzgu district of the Iranian capital Tehran at dawn on March 23

A view of a residential building damaged by a strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 23

Another Iranian local told the Daily Mail, 'I believe Trump is being strategic with his words to manage the oil prices. He knows until these guys are in charge, there will always be the threat of a nuclear bomb. I know that the thought of the war ending with the Islamic regime remaining in power is the worst thing that can happen to us'

'I know that the thought of the war ending with the Islamic regime remaining in power is the worst thing that can happen to us,' one Iranian told the Daily Mail

The fear of infrastructure strikes exacerbating already dire living conditions is palpable.

One resident recalled the panic that set in over the weekend regarding potential large-scale attacks that could make life for millions even more difficult, pointing to the country's frequent summer water and electricity outages.

But they ultimately dismissed Trump's rhetoric as a geopolitical maneuver.

'I think it's more of a threat aimed at Europe, to push for greater cooperation with Trump regarding the issue of the Kharg Strait,' the resident said.

The US struck military targets on Iran's Kharg Island amid tensions on March 13 and is now reportedly considering invading the fuel depot - which processes around 90 percent of Iran's oil exports.

'Well, we don't want him to target the infrastructure either,' another Iranian told the Daily Mail via message.

Iranians are learning that Trump's mercurial nature makes it difficult to understand some of his strategy.

'Trump is still an unpredictable character to me,' a young woman in Tehran told the Daily Mail. 'I think we, as a nation, aren't the intended audience for everything Trump says, and that makes it extremely difficult to analyze. That's why I prefer not to get emotional about it.'

'Well, we don't want him to target the infrastructures either as much as long as it is possible,' another Iranian told the Daily Mail via message. 'But we don't think it's negotiation over the war itself'

Another Iranian with family in Isfahan echoed the desperate plea: 'I hope that they don't end the war without regime change. The whole point of the war for Iranians was regime change'

Others are desperately checking in on family. One Iranian in the Washington D.C. area managed a brief, two-minute international phone call with his widowed mother, who admitted she was 'worried about the war in Iran.' When he urged her to leave her home and stay with her children, she simply replied: 'Trump said we shouldn't move from our homes'

Others are desperately checking in on family. One Iranian in the Washington DC area managed a brief, two-minute international phone call with his widowed mother, who admitted she was 'worried about the war in Iran.'

When he urged her to leave her home and stay with her children, she simply replied: 'Trump said we shouldn't move from our homes.'

Meanwhile, the Iranian leadership remains completely shrouded in mystery. Several Iranians told the Daily Mail they haven't seen the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in person since he was chosen to replace his father.

'No footage, not his voice, nothing,' one Iranian revealed.

The overarching sentiment among the diaspora and those trapped inside the country is clear: the regime must be completely wiped out.

One Iranian with family in the country expressed deep frustration with European nations for failing to cooperate with the US.

'The regime is a global threat ... How is there not a global coalition against them, I don't get it,' she said, claiming that hatred for Trump abroad is blinding leaders to the reality on the ground. 'Annihilation of the regime is critical.'

Another Iranian with family in Isfahan echoed the desperate plea: 'I hope that they don't end the war without regime change. The whole point of the war for Iranians was regime change.'
JD Vance is losing support from Republicans as Marco Rubio becomes increasingly viewed as Trump's successor for 2028 amid the war with Iran.

According to a Daily Mail/JL Partners poll, Rubio has gained ground in the last month, rising three points to 17 percent and solidifying his position as the clear second-place contender to the Vice President.

Vance, meanwhile, leads with 50 percent among Republican primary voters but is down three percent since the start of Trump's war with Iran.

No other Republican candidate has broken into double digits, with Ron DeSantis trailing in third at nine percent.

In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, however, Vance would decisively defeat Rubio by a commanding 62 percent to 27 percent margin.

Vance built his early political career opposing regime-change wars in the Middle East, yet as the Trump administration pursues a months-long effort to topple Iran's Islamic regime, some voters say they feel betrayed.

Vance nationally maintains an approval rating of 47 percent, which is four points higher than Trump, while Rubio trails on 34 percent.

Vance has lost support from Republican voters since the start of the Iran war

Republican voters have increasingly flocked to Marco Rubio as a potential successor to Trump, according to a new JL Partners/Daily Mail poll

Your browser does not support iframes.

On the Democratic side, Kamala Harris remains the frontrunner at 22 percent, though she has dipped by one point.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is close behind at 19 percent, holding steady and keeping the race competitive at the top.

Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden's Transportation Secretary, has inched up to 11 percent, marking a one-point gain and placing him firmly in third.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro posted one of the largest increases, climbing three points to reach 8 percent and moving into fourth place.

While no Democrat has yet broken from the pack, the bigger concern for the Republicans is Trump himself, whose approval rating is in freefall as the Iran war drives energy prices through the roof and deepens America's cost-of-living crisis.

The President hit his lowest approval rating at 42 percent, down from 48 percent before he launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28.

The conflict has triggered a global oil crisis after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply passes.

The President hit his lowest approval rating at 42%, down from 48% before the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

Closing the Strait of Hormuz has proven relatively inexpensive for the regime, relying on drones and explosive suicide boats to disrupt global shipping

Gas prices have surged to a nationwide average of $4.00 a gallon, up from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago.

Trump and Vance won the 2024 election with a platform of lowering the cost of living and avoiding new wars abroad.

Vance has yet to confirm whether he will run in 2028, with reports suggesting he is sitting on the decision as he and wife Usha prepare to welcome their fourth child.
An 84-year-old man was fatally attacked by a 'powerful' illegal XL Bully dog which savaged him 'as if he were its prey' when he wandered onto its owner's driveway, a court heard today.

John McColl died after being set upon by the 'dangerous and aggressive' pet  which had not been fed - in Warrington, Cheshire in February last year, jurors were told.

Brave members of the public used makeshift weapons - including a broomstick, a golf club and a spirit level - in a bid to rescue Mr McColl, who was screaming 'Help me!' but the animal kept them at bay.

The helpless pensioner was 'eaten alive' by the dog, and police had to shoot it ten times to neutralise it, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

One officer called to the scene today recalled how Mr McColl had sustained 'the worst injuries I have ever seen in my policing career'.

Sean Garner, 31, admits being in possession of two XL Bully dogs  Toretto and Malibu  without an exemption certificate.

But he denies being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control and which inflicted fatal injuries on Mr McColl.

Prosecutor David Birrell gave the jury graphic detail of injuries suffered by Mr McColl, who died in hospital a month after the attack by Toretto.

Sean Garner, 31, admits being in possession of two XL Bully dogs without an exemption certificate but denies being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control and inflicted fatal injuries on John McColl, 84

John McColl, 84, wandered onto Sean Garner's driveway in Warrington, Cheshire on February 24, 2025 when the XL bully attacked and savaged him

It had 'eaten him alive', he said, adding that parts of Mr McColl's face were found in its stomach when vets cut it open.

'It guarded him as if he were his prey. It had savaged him.

'There was no food in the dog's stomach, just part of John McColl's face. And bits of plastic.'

'The dog had attacked Mr McColl and it would just not let him go,' he added.

'People tried to help him  grown men with weapons hitting the dog - but it was no use.'

Mr Birrell said armed police officers shot the dog nine times with a pistol and once with a shotgun.

He said: 'That is how much ammunition was required to neutralise this large, powerful and savage dog.'

He said that police found another XL Bully called Malibu on the premises and 'did not take any chances' so they shot the second animal.

Garner (pictured arriving at Liverpool Crown Court for his trial) claimed the dog had never shown any aggression, jurors were told

Mr Birrell said that after the attack, Garner 'kept his distance from the police who wanted to speak to him'.

He contacted family members who advised him to lie, and 'made light of the situation and made jokes while doctors were trying to save Mr McColl's life'.

Garner handed himself into the police two days after the attack and claimed the dog had never shown any aggression, the court heard.

Mr Birrell said the claim was a lie because Toretto had fought with Malibu and had injured one member of Garner's family.

He also claimed for six months that the dogs were not the XL Bully breed until admitting they were.

Mr Birrell said that Garner was expected to claim that the dogs were kept locked in a locked tool shed.

But there was evidence from neighbours that they were kept on a patio which was covered in dog mess, jurors were told.

Garner also claimed that the patio had a metal gate which was locked with a bolt, but photographs of the gate showed no bolt, the prosecutor said.

Mr Birrell said: 'This large and powerful dog could very easily have pawed and opened the latch and attacked someone.

'That is probably what happened.

Police vehicles pictured in after the attack on 84-year-old John McColl

'However the dog escaped, after it has escaped, it was dangerously out of control, and whilst it was dangerously out of control, it attacked and killed John McColl.'

Mr Birrell said that text messages from Garner proved that he knew the dog was dangerous and aggressive and he admitted that 'it was missing a few nuts and bolts.'

He said: 'And yet he kept the dog, knowing that it was missing a few nuts and bolts.'

The jury heard that Garner had failed to feed the dog properly, which caused it to become irritable and aggressive.

A dog expert would tell the court that Toretto was guarding Mr McColl 'as if it were his food.'

Mr Birrell said that Garner was an 'irresponsible and reckless owner' who also planned to breed XL Bully dogs 'to make money'.

He added: 'He may try to argue that he was not responsible because Mr McColl entered his driveway, but that does not absolve him of responsibility.

'All sorts of people might enter your driveway  postmen, Amazon delivery drivers, a child retrieving a ball. The possibilities are endless.

'But it is not acceptable for your dog to attack someone and kill them, just because they enter your driveway.'

One of the first police officers at the scene, PC Chris Cunliffe, entered the garden armed with his Taser stun gun.

He told jurors how he was confronted with a very muscular dog with a large body and head lying next to Mr McColl.

I can only describe the dog like it was guarding a toy that it had ripped apart.

He said he was standing around 20ft from Mr McColl and could see he had suffered severe facial injuries, with a large amount of blood on the ground.

The sounds of his screams were horrific, PC Cunliffe said.

Watching a male lying in his own blood with no face is the hardest thing I have had to do in my life.

They were the worst injuries I have ever seen in my policing career.

PC Cunliffe said he did not Taser the dog for fear it might attack Mr McColl again and waited ten or 15 minutes for armed officers to shoot the male animal, Toretto.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how three men - Victor Ferrier, wielding a broom, Christopher Burton, with a golf club, and builder Geoffrey Chadwick, with a long spirit level - all tried to help Mr McColl but were kept at bay by the dog.

Mr Chadwick said he heard Mr McColl repeatedly shout 'Help me, help me!' as he lay on the ground with his trousers halfway down his legs and his shoes missing.

The dog was either chewing or licking at his face, he said.

I thought the man was dead but then he said Help me! and was making moaning noises.

Prosecutor Mr Birrell said Toretto had a history of bad behaviour and had even bitten Garner's mother on a previous occasion.

In an exchange of text messages between mother and son, she told him: He got me last time but I was ready this time. Always bring treats to calm him down.

The court heard how Mr McColl used to go to his local Hatter pub in Warrington every Monday where he stayed the afternoon.

Barmaid Jane Barber said in a statement that Mr McColl arrived at his normal time of 12.30-1pm that day and had his usual pint of Carlsberg followed by four pints of smooth bitter before leaving at 6pm.

She said: He only ever spoke to me and on other customer. He was a very quiet and private individual.

The trial continues.
The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from longtime Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, dealing a major blow to his years-long fight to test crime-scene evidence he says could prove his innocence - and clearing the path for his execution.

The justices declined to take up Reed's latest challenge on Monday, leaving in place a ruling from the federal appeals court in New Orleans for the second time in less than three years. The court's three liberal justices dissented.

Reed was sentenced to death for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas.

At the center of the case is a webbed belt used to strangle Stites - evidence Reed has long sought to test for DNA.

His attorneys argue the belt could contain biological evidence identifying the real killer.

'The killer held that belt tight against her throat for minutes, and must have left his sweat and skin cells - and thus his DNA - where he gripped the belt,' Reed's attorneys wrote.

But prosecutors have repeatedly refused to allow testing.

Reed's legal team argued that the refusal came despite what they described as 'compelling evidence' supporting his claim of innocence, urging the high court to intervene after years of unsuccessful attempts in lower courts.

The Supreme Court has declined to hear Rodney Reeds latest appeal seeking DNA testing of key crime-scene evidence

Reed was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas

Reed and others say the real killer is the victim's former police officer fiance Jimmy Lewis

'Once again, Reed must call on this Court to intervene when no other court will give him justice,' his lawyers wrote in filings to the justices.

The dispute centers on Texas's post-conviction DNA testing law, which bars testing on evidence deemed potentially contaminated - a restriction Reed's attorneys say is arbitrary and violates his constitutional right to due process.

State and lower federal courts have backed prosecutors, ruling that the law does not apply to items that may have been compromised.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defended that position, arguing that state lawmakers - not federal courts - should determine how inmates access post-conviction DNA testing.

He also said concerns about contamination are directly tied to maintaining the chain of custody for forensic evidence, pushing back on Reed's claims that testing should still be allowed.

Reed has long maintained that Stites' fiance, former police officer Jimmy Fennell, was the real killer  alleging Fennell was enraged over Stites' alleged interracial relationship with Reed.

Prosecutors, however, say Reed raped and murdered Stites, a claim he has consistently denied, insisting the relationship was consensual.

Fennell, who later served prison time for an unrelated sexual assault, has denied any involvement in Stites' killing.

Monday's decision by US Supreme Court leaves in place a lower court ruling blocking testing of the belt used to strangle Stacey Stites

Reed has consistently maintained his innocence and sought DNA testing for years - and has consistently denied raping and killing Stites

Sandra Reed, the mother of death row inmate Rodney Reed, shows her continued support of her son in 2017

Sandra Reed, the mother of death-row inmate Rodney Reed, has supported her son's case

Supporters of Rodney Reed are seen chanting outside of a Texas courthouse in 2019

People hold hands while praying during a protest against the execution of Rodney Reed in 2019

Despite the Supreme Court's refusal to intervene, dissenting justices sharply questioned the state's stance.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that it is 'inexplicable' that prosecutors would not allow DNA testing 'despite the very substantial possibility that such testing would exculpate Reed and identify the real killer.'

With the court declining to step in, she warned, 'the State will likely execute Reed without the world ever knowing whether Reed's or Fennell's DNA is on the murder weapon.'

The decision marks another chapter in Reed's decades-long legal fight.

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to revive his case, allowing him to challenge whether he had waited too long to seek DNA testing - a procedural hurdle that lower courts had used to block his claims.

Reed had also previously petitioned the court in 2020, but that request was denied.

Dr Phil, also has followed Reed's case for some time and even secured a prison interview with the inmate (pictured). Dr. Phil has longinsisted that Reed is innocent

Rodney Reed (seen left in a Dr. Phil special about his case) was convicted of murdering Stacey Stites in 1998. He has always maintained his innocence and said the reason his DNA was found on her corpse is that they were having an affair

Rodney Reed is seen in a mugshot from 2019

In 2019, Kim Kardashian claimed there is substantial evidence which would exonerate Reed

Rihanna was among celebrities who took to social media in 2019 urging people to sign an online petition asking Texas Governor Gregg Abbott to stay death Reed's execution

His case has drawn widespread attention, with celebrities including Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Dr. Phil and Oprah Winfrey publicly supporting his push for DNA testing.

It also comes as the Supreme Court has grappled more broadly with similar issues.

Earlier this year, the justices ruled in favor of another Texas death row inmate, Ruben Gutierrez, allowing his bid to test evidence he says could prevent his execution to proceed.

For Reed, however, the latest decision shuts down one of his final avenues for relief.

It leaves the central question that has defined his case for decades unresolved: whether the DNA evidence he has long sought would confirm his guilt or finally prove his innocence.
The British tourist who drowned on holiday in Colombia on Sunday has been named locally as James Michael Winkles.

Colombian media, citing municipal authorities, named the 30-year-old as the holidaymaker who died during an early-hours dip off the Caribbean port city of Cartagena.

Harrowing footage published locally alongside photos of James, showed a woman crouching over his body by the shoreline and weeping.

James had reportedly travelled to Cartagena to get married, although officials have not yet confirmed whether any wedding ceremony had yet taken place.

The 30-year-old is said to have arrived in Colombia on March 9, with local authorities saying he was staying at a hotel in a popular tourist peninsula and residential neighbourhood called El Laguito where the tragedy happened.

The alarm was raised around 7am on Sunday and the Brit holidaymaker was pronounced dead at the scene after failed efforts by emergency responders to revive him.

Sea conditions at the time he went into the water were described as rough.

An investigation into the tragedy was ongoing on Monday, although the tourist's death has been described as accidental.

The British tourist who drowned on holiday in Colombia on Sunday has been named locally as James Michael Winkles (pictured)

He is said to have arrived in Colombia on March 9, with local authorities saying he was staying at a hotel in a popular tourist peninsula

His body has been taken to a city forensic medicine institute so a post-mortem can take place.

A spokesperson for the UK's foreign office told the Daily Mail: 'We are supporting the family of a British national who has died in Colombia.'

In January two British tourists cheated death after the sailing boat they were on was hit by a cargo vessel near Cartagena and sunk.

Colombian naval officers went to the rescue of the holidaymakers and 18 others on board the boat after they managed to save themselves by jumping into emergency life rafts following the early-hours collision as the captain sounded a Mayday alert.

Their rescuers published video footage at the time showing them helping the stricken travellers to safety and taking them to dry land where they were checked over by doctors.

Miraculously, all survived unharmed despite the near-tragedy.

The tourists were thought to have been nearing the end of a five-day, four-night tour from Panama to Colombia starting in the San Blas Islands, a stunning Caribbean archipelago off Panama's coast.

The boat was not officially named, but Italian skipper Rudolf Gamberoni who spoke after the drama to thank rescuers for saving them takes thrill-seekers on regular trips between the two countries on a New Zealand-built classic topsail schooner sailboat called Alessandra.

The voyage is billed online to potential international travellers as a pirate trip and Alessandra is described as a Hollywood star in promotional material because it featured in the iconic 1994 film Legends of the Fall whose cast included Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Julia Ormond.

Navy chiefs confirmed after the near-tragedy those on board included two British nationals, six Germans, four French people, two Swiss, three Colombians, and three others from Italy, Belgium and Turkey.
Britain and other former colonial powers face a fresh demand from African and Caribbean states to atone and make reparations for the historic slave trade that could cost taxpayers trillions of pounds.

The president of Ghana used a speech at the United Nations in New York today to attack the 'deafening silence' from European states 'enriched' by the abduction and forced labour of more than 12 million Africans over four centuries.

John Dramani Mahama lashed out before he presents a new resolution, backed by the African Union and Caribbean states, seeking formal recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as a 'grave crime against humanity'.

He told an event attended by US civil rights leader Al Sharpton that the resolution was 'a pathway to healing and reparatory justice ... for Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the wider diaspora'.

He was loudly applauded when he said: 'People sometimes to try to put a disclaimer on slavery by insisting that you cannot use the social norms of today to judge the actions and events that took place in the past. Well such people are loud and wrong.

'Just because everyone is doing something doesn't make it right. Slavery is wrong now, it was wrong then.'

The move raises the prospect that Britain - which controlled a quarter of Africa at the height of empire - could find itself facing fresh claims over the slave trade and colonialism.

The Ghanian foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has previously said the resolution will 'demand reparations including the return of looted objects'.

In 2023 a UN judge said the UK could owe more than 18trillion in reparations.

But Keir Starmer has flatly ruled out the UK apologising or paying reparations, saying two years ago he wanted to look to the future rather than 'spend a lot of time on the past'.

His spokesman said today that his position on reparations remained unchanged.

The president of Ghana used a speech at the United Nations in New York today to attack the 'deafening silence' from European states 'enriched' by slavery

Keir Starmer has flatly ruled out the UK paying reparations, saying he wanted to look to the future rather than 'spend a lot of time on the past'

Mr Mahama was speaking at a UN event 'on reparatory justice for the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the racialized (sic) chattel enslavement of Africans.'

He added: 'When it comes to the contributions that Africa has made to enriching Europe and building the so-called New World the silence is deafening.

'We have paved roads though mountains, we have put down railroad tracks, we have constructed buildings, laying brick after brick; we have cut sugar cane, we have picked cocoa and cotton, we have descended into mines to unearth precious metals and stones and we have wet-nursed babies.

'We paid the price of admission in the blood of our ancestors and still what greets us at the door is silence.'

While calls for reparations have gained momentum in recent years, there is also a growing backlash.

Several European leaders have opposed even discussing the subject, with critics arguing today's states and institutions should not be held responsible for historical wrongs.

Sir Keir faced down efforts at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 2024 to get an agreement on reparations, driven by Caribbean states.

African and Caribbean nations have been seeking to establish a special UN reparations tribunal, with lawyers noting previous tribunals had been created by resolution or by the Security Council.

The African Union (AU) last year set out to create a 'unified vision' among its 55 member states on what reparations may look like, from financial compensation and formal apologies to policy reforms.

AU leaders endorsed the proposed resolution, 'Reparatory Justice for the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and the Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans,' at a summit last month.

Britain abolished the slave trade in the early 18th Century and then played a crucial role in smashing the practice worldwide.

Reparations are now being framed more broadly, not only in terms of slavery, but also the return of cultural artefacts, reforms to global economic systems, and compensation for climate change impacts.

Writing in the Guardian this week, Mr Mahama said his resolution would be calling for 'the formal recognition of one of the greatest moral tragedies in human history'.

'It seeks to move the international community from acknowledgment to action: from recognition of historical injustice to a structured dialogue on repair,' he wrote.

'This is not about assigning collective guilt to present generations. Nor is it about revisiting history in a spirit of division.

'Rather, it is about understanding how historical injustices have shaped contemporary inequalities, and how a more honest reckoning can contribute to a fairer, more inclusive global order.'

He added: 'The process we envision is one of engagement, bringing together states, institutions, scholars and communities to explore constructive and forward-looking approaches to reparatory justice.

'These may include investments in education, health, cultural restoration and economic opportunity, designed to close enduring gaps and build shared prosperity.

'We must also recognise the human dimension of this history, including how systems of enslavement entrenched inequalities that affected generations, particularly women and families. A full accounting of this past requires us to acknowledge these dimensions and to ensure that any process of repair is inclusive and comprehensive.'
Markwayne Mullin, Donald Trump's pick to replace ousted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has been confirmed by the United States Senate.

The Republican Senator cleared the simple majority needed to be confirmed to his post. Notably, one of the votes came from himself.

Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico crossed party lines and sided with the majority of Republicans to approve the nomination, which was confirmed 54-45 on Monday evening.

However, Republican Senator Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, voted against the nominee due to their open hostility toward each other. Mullin had previously called Paul a 'freaking snake' - but later apologized.

Mullin now heads to a department that is the topic of much blame around the country as Americans face grueling waits due to TSA agents going without pay. ICE agents were deployed to several airports earlier on Monday to help curb the chaos.

And recent clashes between ICE agents tasked with enforcing Trump's 'mass deportations' policy and protestors around the country resulted in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Senators remain at a standstill for a deal to fund the agency - which would require Democrat and Republican support - but there was hope Monday evening that a deal was struck with Trump after Senator Katie Britt told reporters after returning from the White House that there was a deal.

Ex-DHS Secretary Noem was spectacularly fired by Trump earlier this month after much scrutiny over her alleged affair with top staffer Corey Lewandowski, which both have denied, and other scandals.

Markwayne Mullin is sworn in during a hearing for the position of US Secretary of Homeland Security at the US Capitol, on March 18, 2026

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026 in New York City

Trump fired Kristi Noem earlier this month

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.

Trump announced her exit on Truth Social moments before stating that little-known Senator Mullin of Oklahoma would be nominated to become the next DHS Secretary.

The President lauded Mullin for his Native American roots and claimed the Senator 'will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security' in the Truth Social post announcing his pick to replace Noem.

Mullin has been a staunch ally of Trump's policies during his time in Congress, and has appeared frequently on cable TV defending the administration's agenda. He has represented Oklahoma in the United States Senate since 2023, and previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2023.

Senators held a hearing to confirm Mullin to the DHS post last Wednesday, and his nomination was advanced by a committee vote on Thursday after Pennsylvania's Fetterman crossed party lines to support the nominee.

The Oklahoman is known for his unusual name, which is a combination of two monikers. The unique amalgamation has a deeply personal connection to his family, as he is named after his uncle Mark and Wayne - both of whom were childless, he once told Roll Call.

'My father was the youngest boy of eight children, and he had two brothers who did not have any sons. And since I was the youngest of seven in my family, I was named after both of them,' he said at the time.

Prior to entering politics, the Oklahoman had a brief stint as a mixed martial arts or MMA fighter. He left the sport in 2012 with an undefeated 5-0 record and was later inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.

The senator is known as a firebrand and even challenged the Teamsters president to a brawl during a Senate hearing in 2023.

'This is the time, this is the place, you want to run your mouth, we can be consenting adults, we can finish it here,' he said.

US Senator Markwayne Mullin (R) and wife Christie Mullin (L) arrive for a hearing for the position of US Secretary of Homeland Security at the US Capitol, Washington, DC, USA, 18 March 2026.

Mullin seen working out in a video posted to his Instagram page

'Okay, that's fine, that's perfect,' Sean OBrien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, replied.

'You want to do it now?' Mullin replied.

'I'd love to do it now,' O'Brien said, to which Mullin responded, 'Well, stand your butt up then.'

'Stand your butt up,' O'Brien mimicked.

Mullin, however, did stand up, fists clenched, while fellow Senator Bernie Sanders admonished him and told him to 'sit down.'

'You're a United States Senator, sit down,' Sanders said.

O'Brien had taken to X prior to the hearing to challenge Mullin to a fight. He also called Mullin a 'clown' and a 'fraud,' which infuriated the former fighter.

Mullin attended Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship but later dropped out of school at the age of 20 after his father Jim fell ill and he needed to help with the family plumbing business.

Mullin would go back to school in 2018, eventually achieving an associate's degree in applied science in construction technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.

He is the only senator without a bachelor's degree.

Mullin and his wife of nearly 30 years, Christie, would expand the family business into the largest in the region and also started other successful companies.

He and his wife have six children, including two adoptive twins, Ivy and Lynette.

Mullin with his children and President Donald Trump

Mullin with his family and Kristi Noem former DHS Secretary and South Dakota Governor

The Oklahoman, who was a business owner prior to serving in public office, had a multi-year ethics investigation into him, which resulted in the politician paying back $40,000 that was 'mistakenly paid to him.'

He was accused of still being involved in the businesses. The committee ultimately decided he had made a 'good faith effort' to comply with the ethics rule.

Mullin also worked as a cow-calf rancher prior to becoming a representative.

He grew up on a farm in Westville, where his family still resides today.
A Chicago alderwoman is facing backlash after suggesting an 18-year-old college student shot dead on the city's lakefront may have been in the 'wrong place at the wrong time' - and could have 'startled' her killer.

Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan man, is charged with murdering 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, a freshman at Loyola University in Chicago.

Gorman was gunned down in the early hours of Thursday while walking with friends near the pier at Loyola Beach, with a gunshot to the head.

Within hours of the killing, Ald. Maria Hadden addressed constituents in a video message that has since sparked outrage across the political spectrum.

'The kids were out doing normal things people do in the neighborhood and it sounds like this might have been a "wrong place, wrong time", running into a person who had a gun,' Hadden said.

'They might have startled this person at the end of the pier, unintentionally.'

The remarks triggered immediate condemnation, with critics accusing the progressive lawmaker of minimizing the killing and shifting blame onto the victim.

'This is disgusting,' comedian Tim Young wrote on X.

'Unbelievable,' posted Rafael Mangual of the Manhattan Institute. 'Perhaps these politicians can put out a comprehensive list of the places we should avoid and the times we should avoid them so as not to get shot to death by strangers.'

Ald. Maria Hadden said Sheridan Gorman's shooting may have been a 'wrong place, wrong time' encounter

Sheridan Gorman, 18, was shot and killed while walking with friends near Loyola Beach in Chicago around 1:30am on Thursday

Jose Medina-Medina, the Venezuelan national accused of killing an 18-year-old college student, was caught by US Border Patrol on May 9, 2023 but was released into the US

Reader-funded outlet CWB Chicago added: 'Imagine being an alderman, having a college freshman murdered in your ward, and, before the suspect is even identified, posting a video in which you brainstorm an excuse that maybe the victim 'startled' the guy who killed her.'

New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino also weighed in, writing: 'This is how most Democrats think about crime, she's just saying it out loud.'

The backlash only intensified as more details emerged about the killing and as Gorman's grieving family forcefully rejected the very language Hadden used.

In a statement, the family pushed back not only on the alderwoman's remarks but also on a Chicago Sun-Times headline that described the killing as 'wrong place, wrong time.'

'She was exactly where she should have been - close to campus, surrounded by friends, living her life,' the family said.

'What happened to Sheridan cannot be reduced to the idea of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not an abstraction. This is the loss of a daughter. The loss of a sister. The loss of a future filled with milestones that will now never come. Our family is forever changed.

'We cannot accept a world where moments like this become something people grow used to. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to violence. When we begin to accept these tragedies as inevitable, we all become vulnerable to them. Apathy is not harmless - it allows these moments to repeat,' they added.

'Sheridan deserved a full life. She deserved the future that was taken from her,' the family stated. 'We will not allow her to be remembered as just another story.'

Gorman, 18, had traveled from Yorktown Heights, New York, to begin her freshman year at Loyola, where she quickly became part of campus life. Friends and classmates later described her as vibrant and deeply rooted in her faith.

Within hours of the killing, Ald. Maria Hadden addressed constituents in a video message that has since sparked outrage across the political spectrum

Sheridan is pictured with her mother Jessica Gorman. The mom posts frequently online about her love for her country, veterans, and protecting the American flag

Sheridan grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York, an upper-middle-class suburb in Westchester County, and lived in a $1 million home with her parents until college (Pictured: Sheridan sits on her bed with Loyola Merch in May 2025, ahead of her first semester in the fall)

Police say Gorman and her friends were strolling on the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach (seen in a stock image) a mile from the campus when she was shot

She was killed around 1:30am on Thursday as she and a group of friends walked along the pier near the university's Lake Shore Campus.

According to investigators, a masked gunman dressed in black approached and opened fire without warning.

Sources familiar with the investigation told CWB Chicago there was no indication of any altercation or provocation.

When Gorman and her friends crossed paths with the shooter near the pier's light beacon, he fired a single shot according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. She died at the scene.

Surveillance footage from multiple cameras was used to track the suspect to a nearby apartment building on North Sheridan Road, less than two blocks from where the shooting occurred.

A firearm recovered during a search warrant execution has been sent for ballistic testing to determine whether it was used in the killing.

Sheridan Gorman, second from right, is pictured smiling in happier times with her friends in Florida last summer. The young woman was murdered on the street in the senseless killing

The man initially detained had not been publicly charged at the time of those reports, and authorities had not formally named him in connection with Gorman's death.

However, the Department of Homeland Security later identified a suspect in custody as Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national.

According to DHS, Medina-Medina was first apprehended by US Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, during the Biden administration, and was released into the country.

Just over a month later, on June 19, 2023, he was arrested in Chicago for allegedly shoplifting $132 worth of merchandise from a Macy's and was once again released.

Court records show he failed to appear for subsequent hearings, leading a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. He was never apprehended on that warrant.

Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis condemned the case in a statement.

Gorman's family rejected the framing of her killing as 'wrong place, wrong time'. The family said her death was 'the loss of a daughter a sister a future filled with milestones'

'Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life.'

'She was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who RELEASED this illegal alien TWICE before he went on to commit this heinous murder,' Bis added.

The killing has also raised fresh questions about early assurances from officials.

Hadden told constituents the day after the shooting that police believed there was 'no broader threat' to the community, while Loyola University President Mark Reed said there was 'no ongoing threat to our campus community' - both statements were made while the suspect remained unidentified and at large.
Passengers onboard an Air Canada flight that collided with a firetruck at New York City's busy LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night have praised the pilots for their 'incredible reflexes,' which they say saved lives.

The pilot Antoine Forest, 30, and his first officer, Mackenzie Gunther, were killed upon impact, while 41 others were rushed to a local hospital for injuries they sustained.

But Rebecca Liquori said she is 'forever indebted' to the pilots' quick instincts to try to stop the plane.

'I feel like the pilots saved our lives,' she told CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday. 'They're the reasons I was able to make it home safe to see my boys, and my heart goes out to their families.'

Clement Lelievre, a French national, also told The Canadian Press how he felt the pilots brake 'extremely hard' as the plane touched down at around 11.45pm.

By doing so, he said he believes the pilots prevented further deaths.

'I don't know the circumstances, but I think he kind of saved our lives because he must have had incredible reflexes,' Lelievre said.

As federal investigators now work to determine what may have caused the fatal collision, friends and family members remembered the two pilots for their dedication to aviation.

Antoine Forest, 30, was killed upon impact when the Air Canada flight he was flying from Montreal collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia International Airport on Sunday night

Passengers now praise his and his first officer's quick-thinking actions with preventing any further deaths. Pictured: Forest

Surveillance footage of the runway showed the Air Canada Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft landing at the same moment the fire truck crossed its path on the tarmac

'These were two young men at the start of their careers,' Federal Aviation Administrator Brian Bedford said.

'It's an absolute tragedy that we're sitting here with their loss.'

Forest, of Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec, was just 16 years old when he first took to the skies, his great-aunt Jeanette Gagnier told the Toronto Star.

She explained that when he was in Grade 11, Forest asked if he could stay with her in Ontario to attend school and learn more English so he could improve his chances at a career as a pilot.

'He was always taking courses and flying,' said Gagnier, whom Forest listed on his Facebook page as his grandmother. 'He never stopped.'

Forest would go on to get a job as an assistant engineer with Canadian Helicopters Limited, before moving on to successive stints with other Quebec-based airplane services as an apprentice and a first officer, his LinkedIn shows.

He then listed himself as a first officer listed himself for Jazz Aviation, flying Air Canada Express out of Montreal, in 2022.

Alexandre Circe also told the Montreal Gazette that Forest was drawn to flying as 'one of the last true adventurer's professions.'

'He was very interested in mechanics and how things work, so aviation suited him perfectly,' Circe said, calling Forest's untimely death 'a tremendous loss for his family and loved ones, but also for anyone who might have crossed paths with him in the future.'

A terrified passenger shared shocking images of the damage to the aircraft

The fire truck was completely destroyed by the wreck, but both firefighters were expected to survive

Your browser does not support iframes.

Meanwhile, Seneca Polytechnic Institute released a statement saying Gunther graduated from the school's Honors Bachelor of Aviation Technology program in 2023 and joined Jazz Aviation through the company's Pathways program, which allowed him to begin flying immediately after graduation.

'Seneca sends our deepest condolences to Mr Gunther's family and friends and to his former colleagues and professors,' school officials said in a statement. 'He will be deeply missed.'

Surveillance footage from the deadly crash showed the Air Canada Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft landing at the same moment a fire truck crossed its path on the tarmac.

The plane was traveling at approximately 150mph when it struck the fire truck during heavy rainfall, and the footage showed a huge splash of water as the collision sent the truck careening across the runway.

But audio from air traffic control revealed workers pleaded for the fire truck to stop seconds before it crashed into the landing jet.

The fire truck had been given permission to cross the runway to deal with an unrelated issue on a separate plane, where a pilot reported that an 'odor' was filling the aircraft that left 'flight attendants feeling ill', officials said.

As the fire truck raced to the other aircraft, air traffic controllers appeared to realize it was on a collision course with the Air Canada jet just seconds before impact at around 11.30pm, as one said in the audio: 'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!'

Addressing the plane seconds later, the air traffic controller said: 'JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now.'

National Transportation Safety Board members will now comb through the wreckage to figure out what to collect and take back to a lab in Washington DC

NTSB personnel were seen inspecting the damage as they arrived at the scene on Monday

The audio from air traffic controller tower then showed the dispatcher telling the crew of a nearby Frontier plane that the runway would be closed, asking if they would like to return to the ramp.

'We got stuff in progress for that man, that wasn't good to watch,' a Frontier pilot said.

'Yeah, I tried to reach out to them. We were dealing with an emergency, and I messed up,' the controller replied, before the Frontier pilot tried to reassure him, saying: 'No, you did the best you could.'

There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft, and experts said the death toll could have been far higher if the truck had collided with the fuel stored on the plane.

Images from the tarmac after the incident showed the truck was destroyed in the collision. The nose of the Air Canada plane had also been torn off by the impact.

Two of the 41 people hospitalized in the crash were the firefighters who were inside the firetruck when it was struck by the oncoming plane, Sergeant Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez.

They were both expected to survive the crash, with Baez being released from the hospital on Monday, Bobby Egbert, a spokesman for the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association said.

Solange Tremblay, a female flight attendant who was ejected through the front of the jet while still strapped to her jump seat, was also expected to make a full recovery.

Solange Tremblay, a female flight attendant who was ejected through the front of the jet while still strapped to her jump seat, was expected to make a full recovery

The deadly crash left LaGuardia Airport closed for several hours, before it reopened Monday afternoon at a reduced capacity while the wrecked plane and firetruck remain on the tarmac.

National Transportation Safety Board members will now comb through the wreckage to figure out what to collect and take back to a lab in Washington DC, Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference.

But authorities have already been able to retrieve the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, Homendy told reporters.

She said the NTSB, Port Authority and emergency responders had to cut a hole in the roof of the aircraft and drop down into the wreckage to secure the devices.

They were then taken back to labs in Washington DC, and investigators have 'been able to at least verify that the cockpit voice recorder was not damaged,' Homendy said.

The NTSB will also work to verify preliminary information about staffing at the air traffic control tower at the time of the crash, following reports that the air traffic controller on duty Sunday night had been working two positions at the time of the crash.

'We have to look at records,' Homendy said. 'There are sign-in sheets. We have to do interviews. We have to look at time cards. That is information we always have to corroborate.'

But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has denied that only one air traffic controller was working, as he vowed to offer bonuses for older air traffic controllers on Monday.
A security guard praised as a 'hero' for tackling an alleged thief earlier this year has once again been spotted taking the law into his own hands.

The guard was filmed hitting a man in the throat after he threw cans of Jack Daniel's at an elderly woman, forcing her to take shelter in her car.

A witness told news.com.au the alleged perpetrator had stolen the cans from an Aldi store in Melbourne before the security guard intervened.

'She was terrified, literally hiding in her car,' the witness said.

'The bloke with the cans was antagonising security, too. He had it coming.'

The hero is understood to be the only full-time guard at Altona Meadows Central Square shopping centre in the city's west.

A new video has now emerged showing the same security guard hurling a bicycle at two men outside the shopping centre entrance.

The footage, believed to be from March last year, shows the guard throwing the bike with one arm before squaring up to the pair.

A new video has now emerged showing the same security guard hurling a bicycle at two men outside the shopping centre entrance (pictured)

It comes after the guard was seen punching an alleged thief in the throat (pictured)

'Cops were everywhere... I showed them the video at the time. No clue what started it,' a shopper who shared the video said.

It comes as Aussies take to social media to praise the guard for carrying out some 'common sense law and order', with many suggesting he receive a pay rise.

'Exactly what we need, more security guards that aren't afraid to do their job and actually sort these people out instead of being intimidated by them,' one said.

'Consequence for actions. Something that has long been forgotten,' a second wrote.

'Well done to the security guard.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Altona Meadows Central Square for comment.
Australians have been warned to brace for 'Armageddon' at the supermarkets, with prices set to soar and shelves to be stripped bare as soon as mid-April.

The nation's escalating fuel crisis is threatening to choke supply chains and disrupt deliveries nationwide as the Middle East crisis drags on.

Transport operators have warned the situation is deteriorating rapidly, with some revealing fuel bills have skyrocketed by as much as 70 per cent.

Queensland truckie David told 4BC breakfast hosts Dean and Sofie the rise in expenses would have a domino effect that would hurt everyday Aussies.

'It usually takes me $950 to fill up. My fill-up last week each day was $1,550 - a jump of $500-$600,' he said on Monday.

'The profit margins in trucks are not that great. They've got to pay me overtime, double time, triple time, living away allowances and tolls - it's all adding up.

'It's all going to come to one place and that's the consumer.

'We deliver eggs, milk, bread, meat, and vegetables. They all have to go up. Prepare yourself for Armageddon, because if this keeps going, it has to go into the shops. There's no other place it can go.'

The nation's escalating fuel crisis is threatening to choke supply chains and disrupt deliveries nationwide as the Middle East crisis drags on (stock image)

National Road Transport Association chief Warren Clark said the situation has become so concerning some businesses that own their trucks outright are choosing to pull vehicles off the road, opting to wait out the crisis rather than operate at a loss.

He said consumers could start to see the effects as early as mid to late April, with noticeable price hikes on everyday essentials or empty shelves altogether.

'The cost of fuel has to be worn by the end customer or people can't actually operate in business,' he said.

'Some of our members are telling us they simply cannot keep going.

'We are seeing long-term operators parking their trucks and walking away from businesses they've spent years building.

'We are expecting to see more businesses make tough decisions on April 21, when the fuel card bills for March start landing.

'That will be the moment many operators realise they simply can't absorb these costs any longer.'

Mr Clark said the consequences of government inaction would extend far beyond the transport sector, flowing directly through to higher prices for groceries, fuel and essential goods

National Farmers' Federation president Hamish McIntyre said dairy products will be among the first to see prices skyrocket, followed by fresh produce (pictured, empty shelves in Sydney in 2022)

Warren Clark (pictured) said rising fuel costs and the impact on Australia's supply chains would soon be felt by consumers, likely from mid to late April

'When trucking businesses collapse, supply chains suffer, and Australian households pay the price,' he said.

With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz interrupting crucial shipments of fertiliser from the Middle East, farmers are also bracing for impact.

National Farmers' Federation president Hamish McIntyre said dairy products would be among the first to see prices skyrocket, followed by fresh produce.

'We estimate in a matter of weeks we'll start to see the costs flow through to the consumers on supermarket shelves,' he said.

'It starts with dairy, then our fruit and veg, and in any of our intensive animal industries too.'

Meanwhile, corporate giants using subcontracted delivery drivers will front the Fair Work Commission on Wednesday as part of a union bid to force them to cover surging fuel costs caused by the Middle East conflict.

The Transport Workers Union and the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation have made a joint application for gig workers, owner-drivers and transport businesses to be able to pass surging fuel bills back to their major corporate clients.

These clients include Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, McDonald's, Amazon and Dan Murphy's owner Endeavour.

Transport operators have warned the situation is deteriorating rapidly, with some revealing fuel bills have skyrocketed as much as 70 per cent (pictured, drivers queue at a Melbourne petrol station)

Woolworths has already lifted the levy drivers can charge food and grocery manufacturers for transporting their goods to distribution centres. It has also changed its fuel levy reviews from monthly to fortnightly.

Coles will review its fuel levy for truck drivers every fortnight.

Rideshare giant DiDi has introduced a 5 per kilometre increase which will go directly to drivers.

Uber said it was overhauling its fee structure so it could pay its drivers more, amounting to an earnings increase of 6 per cent on average nationwide.

On Monday, Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth announced the Fair Work Act will be changed to fasttrack applications by unions and transport operators seeking 'emergency' supplychain orders from the FWC, allowing rates to be lifted in line with soaring fuel costs driven by the Middle East war.

The amendments will scrap the current sixmonth waiting period, enabling the tribunal to issue orders compelling transport clients to offer fair contract terms far more quickly.
One Nation will move to scrap new cash rules introduced by the Albanese government, claiming the regulation is a 'backdoor attempt' to eliminate the use of cash in Australia.

The rules by the Albanese government, which came into force on January 1, require most large grocery and fuel retailers to take 'reasonable steps' to accept cash for inperson purchases of up to $500 between 7am and 9pm.

Small businesses with an annual turnover below $10 million are exempt, while retailers can refuse cash outside those hours or for transactions above the $500 cap.

Businesses can also apply to the ACCC for an exemption in certain circumstances, including events beyond their control such as natural disasters, or where the cost of complying would threaten the ongoing viability of the business.

But One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts warns the rules are the opposite of a mandate and effectively allow most retailers to reject cash payments.

He will launch a motion to overturn the regulation in the Senate today and is calling on the Greens to support him.

He said the rules fail to properly protect cash, with many businesses still able to turn away cashpaying customers.

'The reality of this regulation is that any business wanting to force you into an electronic transaction can do so without penalty.

One Nation will move to scrap new cash rules introduced by the Albanese government, claiming the regulation is a 'backdoor attempt' to eliminate the use of cash in Australia

'The Treasurer did not even have the courage to introduce this measure as a bill to be debated in Parliament.

'This regulation is a cowardly, backdoor attempt to eliminate the use of cash.

'Forcing Australians to use transaction cards will deliver a billiondollar windfall to the Big Four banks through additional transaction fees, and billions more in value through the data harvested from the electronic system.'

'Don't let them phase out cash.'

The bid to kill the cash rules is expected to fall short unless Roberts can pull off a surprise alliance with the Greens and crossbench.

Cash advocacy group Cash Welcome founder Jason Bryce also criticised the Albanese government's law, warning it contains big loopholes and 'does not mandate cash'.

'Only large supermarkets and fuel retailers are covered by the new cash mandate. All other retailers are free to reject cash payments.

'Retailers need support and encouragement from banks and governments to support our legal tender, not more pressure to reject cash and adopt digitalonly payments.

'Australia needs a guarantee that we can continue to choose cash for our budgeting and spending.'

'The reality of this regulation is that any business wanting to force you into an electronic transaction can do so without penalty.

'The Treasurer did not even have the courage to introduce this measure as a bill to be debated in Parliament.

'This regulation is a cowardly, backdoor attempt to eliminate the use of cash.

'Forcing Australians to use transaction cards will deliver a billiondollar windfall to the Big Four banks through additional transaction fees, and billions more in value through the data harvested from the electronic system.

'Don't let them phase out cash.'
The Greens and Pauline Hanson's One Nation have unexpectedly landed on the same side of a major political fight over how Australia taxes its gas giants.

A widening alliance of independents, Greens MPs and One Nation representatives is demanding tougher rules, with many backing a 25 per cent gas export levy as global energy prices soar amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The war has sent liquefied natural gas (LNG) profits surging, intensifying criticism that Australia is failing to secure a fair return from its own resources.

Speaking to the ABC, One Nation recruit Barnaby Joyce said Australia has 'not been getting a fair return from a substantial asset'.

While he dismissed the Greens' proposed 25 per cent levy, warning it would 'blow things up', he supported tougher taxation paired with streamlined gas extraction.

'I think you have to ask some, and you have to give some, and the give some is streamlining people's capabilities to extract gas,' Joyce said.

Despite both parties agreeing that the system needs an urgent overhaul, they are divided over how to implement the changes.

Greens Senator Steph HodgesMay said a substantial export tax is not only necessary but widely supported by voters.

Barnaby Joyce (pictured left with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson) rejected calls for a 25 per cent tax, but said reform in the gas sector was needed

'This could raise $17billion a year to ease household energy bills, to fund disaster recovery and to accelerate the transition away from the gas that currently ties household energy bills to global conflict,' she told the Senate on Monday.

But One Nation Senator Sean Bell dismissed the Greens' approach as unworkable.

'Under the Greens and what they're proposing, Australians will get nothing, because 25 per cent of nothing is nothing,' he said.

Bell argued One Nation's blueprint is more realistic, pointing to the party's push to reserve 15 per cent of Australian-produced gas for local homes and businesses, as well as changes to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax.

He also suggested the government adopt Norwaystyle reforms, including taking equity stakes in major resource projects.

Labor, however, has refused to support a windfall tax.

Resources Minister Madeleine King warned such measures would 'freeze gas production' in Australia.

Yet behind the scenes, the Albanese government is actively weighing its options. Treasury has been asked to model potential levy designs, as well as further adjustments to the existing Petroleum Resource Rent Tax.

The Greens (pictured: Leader Larissa Waters) say the tax would raise $17billion annually

Teal Independent MP Allegra Spender, a vocal supporter of tougher taxation, pressed Treasurer Jim Chalmers during Question Time on Monday.

'The war in the Middle East is driving gas-price spikes, which is great for resource company revenue, but Australians are hurting,' she said.

'Will you impose a windfall tax to ensure Australians get a fair share of this wartime windfall from their natural resources?'

Chalmers acknowledged there was a 'range of views' on the issue but said the government had not shifted its position - leaving the future of the proposed levy firmly in political limbo.
READ MORE: Dire warning issued over price of groceries

Aussie drivers have slammed 7-Eleven after its price lock feature suddenly became unavailable amid surging petrol prices.

Several motorists reported the feature on the My 7-Eleven app, which saves customers up to 25cents by locking in the price of fuel for up to seven days, disappeared when they needed it most this week.

'Absolute f***ing joke,' one Aussie wrote online.

'Literally tried to fuel lock yesterday at $1.99 and it wouldn't work.

'Gone to do it now and it's $2.09.'

'I locked in fuel at a great discount (though maximum redeemable discount is 25c/l anyway) on the My 7-Eleven app a few days ago and was planning to use it tomorrow morning,' another said.

'I just went to check fuel prices in the app and my price lock has disappeared.

'It's almost as though everything has been wiped from my account right as fuel prices are skyrocketing.'

Motorists have slammed 7-Eleven as petrol prices continue to surge, saying its price lock feature became unavailable, despite the company denying such claims

'Anyone having a problem with having their fuel locks scrubbed in under a week?' another Aussie asked on Facebook.

A 7-Eleven spokesman told the Daily Mail it wasn't aware of any issues.

'We can confirm there are no widespread issues affecting the fuel price lock feature in the My 7-Eleven app,' the spokesman said.

'The app continues to operate as intended, allowing customers to lock in their best local fuel price for seven days.

'This feature has remained consistent since the app launched.'

However, it said one-off issues are always a possibility with digital products.

'As with any digital product, some customers may occasionally experience isolated technical issues,' the spokesman said.

'We encourage anyone encountering difficulties to contact our customer service team so we can assist promptly.'

A 7-Eleven spokesman said it wasn't aware of any issues with the price lock feature on the My 7-Eleven app (pictured, a servo in Melbourne)

Join the discussion Should fuel apps be held accountable when technical glitches cost drivers big savings at the pump?

The price of diesel has already soared to over $3-a-litre at some petrol stations in Melbourne and Sydney.

The federal government has refused to rule out the possibility of petrol and diesel prices soaring to $4-per-litre.

To make matters worse, food prices are also set to imminently rise as the fuel crisis escalates, according to farming and transport industries.

Dairy products are expected to be among the first products to see prices skyrocket, followed by fresh produce.

'We estimate in a matter of weeks we'll start to see the costs flow through to the consumer on supermarket shelves,' National Farmers' Federation president Hamish McIntyre said.

'It starts with dairy, then our fruit and veg, and in any of our intensive animal industries too.'
An Iranian ballistic missile could reach Britain and strike London because the county is so badly defended, it was claimed on Monday night.

The shock prediction came after the Defence Secretary finally admitted Tehran's long-range missiles targeted the UK base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

One of the rockets aimed at the UK-US airbase failed in flight. The other was hit by a US interceptor fired from a warship. The attack happened between Thursday night and Friday morning yet it was only acknowledged officially for the first time on Monday.

Experts dismissed the Prime Minister's reassurances that Britain has 'very effective ways of defending itself' on Monday night.

Former Army intelligence officer Phil Ingram said: 'Look at London, there is no air defence. We have very limited anti-drone capability and even less anti-cruise missile capability.

'Our Type 45 frigate does not have advanced ballistic missile capability and cannot cover the whole of the UK.

'There's only so much the RAF's Quick Reaction Force can do.'

Mr Ingram also accused Defence Secretary John Healey of using a misleading phrase by describing the UK's anti-missile defence as 'layered'.

Royal Navy destroyers are equipped with the Sea Viper missile system which experts believe would prove effective against ballistic attacks.

Defence Secretary John Healey came under fire for describing the UK's anti-missile defences as 'layered'

Former Army intelligence officer Phil Ingram said London has 'no air defence' and has 'very limited anti-drone capability and even less anti-cruise missile capability.'

Your browser does not support iframes.

But according to military expert Michael Clarke, formerly of the Royal United Services Institute, the UK's air defences are 'bits and pieces'.

He said: 'Air defence is very expensive and traditionally we haven't done it.

'We have tried to deter, through our nuclear deterrent, rather than to defend. It is a bits and pieces defence.

'We claim it is multi-layered but we would need a ring of ten to 15 destroyers, rather than two, to defend Britain's eastern coastline.'

Mr Healey told the House of Commons how air defences were ignored by previous governments. Now officials have been granted permission to spend an additional 1billion on that area.

Mr Healey also confirmed the only warship the Ministry of Defence has committed to the Iran security crisis, HMS Dragon, has finally sailed into the eastern Mediterranean.

Appearing before a Commons committee yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer was asked whether the UK could defend itself.

He said this was 'constantly assessed' and added: 'I can tell you our military personnel, our security and intelligence services are working 24/7 to keep us safe and do a very good job in that regard.'
The details of the Department of Homeland Security's spending for ex-Secretary Kristi Noem's controversial $220 million advertisement campaign has been revealed by Senate Democrats.

Noem was axed from her position by Donald Trump on March 5 after she testified under oath that the commander in chief gave her permission to push the ads. Trump denied knowing about it.

An investigation by Democrat Senators Peter Welch of Vermont and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut show how some of that money got used.

They allege that Safe America Media, which is run by veteran Republican operative Mike McElwain, was given a $143 million no-bid contract for the campaign, who then licensed it to The Strategy Group for production.

Welch and Blumenthal claim that Safe America had only been incorporated a week before being given the deal.

The Strategy Group, who filmed the ads, is run by Benjamin Yoho, the husband of former Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

The company also received a $60,000 'signing bonus' as part of their contract with Safe America Media.

As far as the commercial itself, $4,000 was spent on hair and makeup for Noem, who featured heavily in the ad.

The details of the Department of Homeland Security's spending for ex-Secretary Kristi Noem's controversial $220 million ad campaign has been revealed by Senate Democrats

Noem was axed from her position by Donald Trump on Truth Social on March 5 after she testified under oath that the commander in chief gave her permission to push the ads. Trump denied knowing about it

Another $20,000 was spent on rentals for horses, as Noem rode at least one during the campaign commercials.

The Strategy Group claimed that labor costs amounted to $107,000, with another $53,000 for production.

A total of just $286,137 of the hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on the five film shoots and 45 video ads, along with a half dozen radio spots.

'This looks like waste, fraud, and abuse to me,' said Senator Welch.

'While leading the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem and her senior team allowed tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to be spent on wasteful production costs, a shady signing bonus, and a very expensive horse rentaland that's just what we know so far.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to The Strategy Group and the White House for comment.

DHS said in a statement: 'Safe America Media and People Who Think are the sole contractors that DHS selected for this ad campaign. By law, DHS cannot and does not determine, control or weigh in on who contractors hire or use to fulfill the terms of the contract. Those decisions are made by the contractor alone.'

The adverts aimed to warn illegal migrants to self-deport from America or face consequences if they don't, with one showing her sitting on a horse in front of Mount Rushmore, stating: 'We will find you and we will deport you.'

After hearing that Noem told Sen. John Kennedy that the commander-in-chief allegedly gave her permission to go forward with the ads, Trump said he never did such a thing.

As far as the commercial itself, $4,000 was spent on hair and makeup for Noem, who featured heavily in the ad

The Strategy Group, who filmed the ads, is run by Benjamin Yoho (pictured right), the husband of former Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin (pictured left). The company also received a $60,000 'signing bonus' as part of their contract with Safe America Media

But now, after Trump replaced Noem with Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, DHS officials allege that Trump did know about the ads and want the White House to complete a 'full audit' of Noem's advertising contract.

A source close to the administration told the Daily Beast that the president 'knew about the campaign and wanted it to happen.'

Another told the outlet: 'The big question we are all asking is where did that money go? We could be happy to have a full audit on this tomorrow, going into every single penny of the award, including where it went.

'Everyone at DHS is happy to turn over our taxes and bank records - but only the White House can agree to that - will they want to?'

When asked about the claims, the White House did not address where the money had gone or if it would agree to hold an audit.

'Contracts are awarded by individual agencies. The White House has no involvement in an agency's contract decisions,' the spokesperson added.

When contacted by the Daily Mail, a White House spokesperson referred to a quote Trump told Reuters, stating: 'I never knew anything about it.'

After news of how much was spent on the ads, the Noem and the administration faced immediate scrutiny.

Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as Noem's replacement earlier Monday night

A source close to the Trump administration said that the president 'knew about the campaign and wanted it to happen.' (Pictured: Trump and Noem during a roundtable in October 2025)

Democrat Rep. Joe Neguse, who questioned Noem about the campaign during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on March 3, is one of many who is questioning the deal.

'Corruption and self-dealing has become pervasive and endemic within the Trump administrationand the American people deserve answers,' Neguse told the Beast.

A DHS source found this information puzzling, telling the outlet: 'One question that should be asked is why was McCarthy brought so closely into the campaign team at that point in the campaign, when it had many ad buyers it worked with over the previous two years?'

Months later, the White House demanded that Safe America Media 'be considered' for the ad campaign, and that the White House signed off on them, the report stated.

A written record of that exists within the DHS and the White House, the outlet added.

Joseph Folio, the lawyer representing Safe America Media, said that the firm 'submitted a proposal for and was awarded a contract to support DHS's nationwide public awareness campaign, and committed substantial resources to meet an accelerated timeline on budget.'

Folio continued: 'We look forward to providing additional information to address inaccuracies in the public reporting and ensure the record accurately reflects the scope and context of that work.'

The DHS adverts have become the third-most costly US government marketing campaign over the past 10 years, behind COVID PSRs and military recruiting ads.

Noem has since been referred to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation over alleged perjury tied to her claims that Trump approved spending for her ad campaign.

Top congressional Democrats referred her to the DOJ over 'knowingly making false statements under oath' to Congress.

A source familiar with the matter previously told the Daily Mail the referral appears 'pretty weak,' but said the questions on the advertising contracts would be the stickiest.

Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as Noem's replacement earlier Monday night.
The Trump administration is reportedly eyeing the speaker of Iran's parliament as a possible US-backed leader of the nation despite his repeated threats against America.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 64, has been in his high-level role since 2020.

Following the death of Ali Larijani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council, he reportedly took on the responsibility of making strategic decisions, making him a highly influential player in Iran.

But he has taken an aggressive tone against the US. On Monday, following Donald Trump's claim that the US had opened negotiations with Iran, Ghalibaf flatly denied the American leader's statement.

He wrote: 'Our people demand the complete and humiliating punishment of the aggressors. All officials stand firmly behind their Leader and people until this goal is achieved.

'No negotiations with America have taken place. Fake news is intended to manipulate financial and oil and to escape the quagmire in which America and Israel are trapped.'

Despite this, Politico reported that the current US administration is looking to him, among others, as a possible future leader of Iran.

One administration official told the outlet: 'He's a hot option. He's one of the highestBut we got to test them, and we can't rush into it.'

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 64, (pictured, centre) has been in his high-level role since 2020

On Monday, Donald Trump (pictured) claimed that the US had opened negotiations with Iran

Ghalibaf is reportedly the main go-between for the US and Iran. On Monday, Trump hailed 'very good' talks with an unidentified Iranian official - something that the nation denied.

Another pointed to the US's decision to rapidly push Venezuela's now-leader Delcy Rodriguez into power, following the deposing of Nicolas Maduro earlier this year, as a framework for Iran.

They said: 'It's all about installing someone like a Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela that we say, 'We're going to keep you there. We're going to not take you out. You're going to work with us. You're going to give us a good deal, a first deal on the oil'.'

But analysts are sceptical that Ghalibaf, a former mayor of Tehran, would be as willing to roll over as Venezuela's leader.

Ali Vaez, a senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Politico: 'Ghalibaf is a quintessential insider: ambitious and pragmatic, yet fundamentally committed to the preservation of Iran's Islamist order.

'That makes him an unlikely candidate to offer Washington any meaningful concessions. And even if he were inclined to test the boundaries, Iran's military establishment and the broader security elite would almost certainly constrain him.'

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from 'some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war', but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran's official IRNA agency reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to Trump and acknowledged the US thought a deal was possible, but vowed to continue striking Iran and Lebanon to protect Israel.

Missiles fired from Iran toward Israel are seen in the skies over Hebron, West Bank on March 24, 2026

Missiles fired from Iran toward Israel are seen streaking across the night sky over Ramallah, West Bank on March 24, 2026

'Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the IDF and the US military in order to realize the war's objectives in an agreement - an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests,' he said.

'At the same time, we continue to strike both in Iran and in Lebanon.'

Although Oman mediated indirect US-Iran talks prior to the US and Israel launching the war, Egypt, Qatar and Pakistan have been suggested as alternative go-betweens.

On a day of whiplash developments, Iran's neighbours breathed a sigh of relief after Trump stepped back from his threat to target Iranian power infrastructure.

Tehran had vowed to deploy naval mines and target power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation, threatening to escalate an energy crisis of already historic proportions.

'Trump blinked first - out of a clear understanding that striking Iran's energy infrastructure would trigger a direct and significant retaliation,' Danny Citrinowicz, a security analyst and former Israeli intelligence Iran expert, wrote on X.

Trump said his administration was holding talks with an unidentified 'top person,' but not the country's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to be injured.

'We've wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two, and largely phase three. But we're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader,' Trump said.

He described the individual as 'very reasonable,' while warning if talks failed in the next five days, 'we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out.'

Thousands of US Marines are headed to the Middle East, reinforcing America's presence amid weekend speculation Trump was mulling ground operations either to seize Iranian oil assets or to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the war erupted, Tehran has retaliated against US-Israeli attacks by throttling traffic through the Strait, a conduit for one-fifth of global crude, and by hitting Gulf energy sites and US embassies as well as targets in Israel.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned if the war is protracted, daily oil losses would pave the way for a crisis worse than the combined impact of both 1970s oil shocks and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

'The global economy is facing a major, major threat today, and I very much hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible,' he said in Australia.

Oil prices have been driven above $100 a barrel by the conflict, but they tumbled sharply after Trump's announcements, while European stocks rebounded.

International benchmark Brent crude plunged around 12 per cent to $98.95 per barrel.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a parliamentary committee that he welcomed 'the talks reported between the US and Iran' - adding London was 'aware' of discussions.

Trump said there were already 'major points of agreement' with the Iranian negotiators.

Smoke rises from Beirut's southern suburbs following an Israeli strike, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 24, 2026

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut's southern suburbs on March 24, 2026

US conditions included Iran abandoning any nuclear ambitions and giving up its enriched uranium stockpiles, he said.

Since the war began on February 28, Trump has reiterated his goal of regime change and raised installing a pro-Western figure from inside Iran's governing system.

Trump has offered shifting timelines and objectives for the war, saying Friday he was considering 'winding down' the operation - only to later threaten Iran's power plants, of which it has more than 90.

Netanyahu has spoken of a long-term campaign against Iran's government, a sponsor of Hamas, which launched the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war.

In Lebanon, Israel has expanded its ground campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah, warning of 'weeks of fighting.'

Israel's attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than a million, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Israel's army said Monday it captured two Hezbollah members in south Lebanon after they surrendered.

The war has killed at least 3,230 Iranians, including 1,406 civilians, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
New poll shows Allan is most unpopular leader in nation

Barnaby Joyce says he wants Jacinta Allan to stay as Victorian Labor leader - because she is 'great for One Nation'.

The right-wing party is increasingly turning its attention to Victoria after its success in the South Australian state election at the weekend.

Victoria is heading to the polls in November and successive opinion polls have identified Allan as the country's least popular premier.

That has prompted panic within Victorian Labor with senior party figures reportedly discussing whether she should be replaced before the end of the year.

Asked about Allan's declining approval ratings in Canberra on Tuesday, Joyce said: 'We want Jacinta to stay, we think Jacinta is great for One Nation.'

He went on to accuse Labor of mismanaging the state, calling its performance in government a 'debacle' and warning that Victoria's economy is being driven into the ground.

'What was once the great industrial heartland of Victoria is now at risk of becoming the economic basket case of Australia, and that is absolutely not what Victorians wanted,' he said.

Joyce's comments follow a new Freshwater poll finding Labor's primary vote has fallen to 27 per cent, down from the 36.6 per cent it secured under former premier Dan Andrews in 2022.

Barnaby Joyce (pictured) said Jacinta Allan had turned Victoria into an 'economic basket case'

The Coalition leads on 30 per cent, with One Nation at 20 per cent and the Greens at 14 per cent.

By a twoparty preferred measure, the Coalition leads 5248, representing a sevenpoint swing from Labor's 2022 result.

On a uniform swing, Labor could lose as many as 15 seats at the 2026 election.

The results have heightened concern inside Victorian Labor, particularly in the wake of last weekend's South Australian election.

While Labor achieved a decisive victory there - its largest majority in the state's history - ALP insiders attribute the result to Premier Peter Malinauskas's strong personal popularity, and the collapse of the SA Liberal Party.

By contrast, Allan recorded a net approval rating of minus 32 per cent in the latest polling.

Jess Wilson, widely seen as having steadied and united a previously warring Victorian Liberal Party, records an 18 per cent approval rating, 50 points higher.

The Daily Mail understands Labor is increasingly worried about potential swings in its traditional strongholds in Melbourne's western suburbs, where One Nation improved its vote in a similar fashion to gains seen in Adelaide's outer suburbs.

Jacinta Allan (pictured) is the most unpopular Premier in Australia according to multiple polls

Liberal sources say easternsuburb electorates like Kew and Malvern are now more at risk from independents, leaving Labor more exposed to One Nations rise across workingclass districts.

But the Coalition also carries its own weaknesses in regional Victoria, particularly in Nationalheld seats.

One Nations capture of two rural South Australian seats on Saturday, both longheld Liberal strongholds, has highlighted the threat.

Counting is still underway, and One Nation could ultimately secure as many as four seats.
The second pilot who was killed when an Air Canada plane crashed into a fire truck at New York City's LaGuardia Airport has been identified.

MacKenzie Gunther served as the first officer on Air Canada Express Flight 646 from Montreal on Sunday night, working alongside pilot Antoine Forest, 30, of Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec, Radio-Canada reports.

Both Gunther and Forest were killed upon impact when their Bombardier CRJ-900 landed on the runway at the same moment a fire truck crossed its path on the tarmac at around 11.47pm.

The plane was traveling at approximately 150mph when it struck the fire truck during heavy rainfall, and shocking surveillance footage showed a huge splash of water as the collision sent the truck careening across the runway.

Forty-one people were rushed to the hospital following the collision, including two firefighters who were inside the firetruck at the time of the crash and a flight attendant who was thrown 330 feet from the plane.

There had been 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft, and experts said the death toll could have been far higher if the truck had collided with the fuel stored on the plane.

Federal authorities are now investigating what may have caused the fatal collision, as audio from air traffic control revealed workers pleaded for the fire truck to stop seconds before it crashed into the landing jet.

The fire truck had been given permission to cross the runway to deal with an unrelated issue on a separate plane, where a pilot reported that an 'odor' was filling the aircraft that left 'flight attendants feeling ill', officials said.

MacKenzie Gunther served as the first officer on Air Canada Express Flight 646 from Montreal on Sunday night, working alongside pilot Antoine Forest, 30, of Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec (pictured)

Surveillance footage of the runway showed the Air Canada Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft landing at the same moment the fire truck crossed its path on the tarmac

National Transportation Safety Board investigators seen surveying the wreckage on Monday

Your browser does not support iframes.

As the fire truck raced to the other aircraft, air traffic controllers appeared to realize it was on a collision course with the Air Canada jet just seconds before impact at around 11.30pm, as one said in the audio: 'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!'

Addressing the plane seconds later, the air traffic controller said: 'JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now.'

Images from the tarmac after the incident showed the truck was destroyed in the collision. The nose of the Air Canada plane had also been torn off by the impact.

The deadly crash left LaGuardia Airport closed for several hours, before it reopened Monday afternoon at a reduced capacity while the wrecked plane and firetruck remain on the tarmac.

National Transportation Safety Board members will now comb through the wreckage to figure out what to collect and take back to a lab in Washington DC, Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference.

But authorities have already been able to retrieve the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, Homendy told reporters.

She said the NTSB, Port Authority and emergency responders had to cut a hole in the roof of the aircraft and drop down into the wreckage to secure the devices.

They were then taken back to labs in Washington DC, and investigators have 'been able to at least verify that the cockpit voice recorder was not damaged,' Homendy said.

A terrified passenger shared shocking images of the damage to the aircraft

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the agency is working to verify preliminary information about staffing at the air traffic control tower

The deadly crash came amid an ongoing nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and sources told NBC News that the air traffic controller on duty Sunday night had been working two positions at the time of the crash.

The NTSB is now working to verify preliminary information about staffing at the air traffic control tower at the time of the crash.

'We have to look at records,' Homendy said. 'There are sign-in sheets. We have to do interviews. We have to look at time cards. That is information we always have to corroborate.'

But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has refuted the claim, as he vowed to offer bonuses for older air traffic controllers on Monday.
Heartbreaking photos have emerged of two teenage boys killed when the petrol-fuelled trail bike they were riding in tandem collided with a bus in Sydney's west.

Adrian Lai, 15, and William Drake, 16, were zipping along the Liverpool Parramatta Transitway at Bossley Park when they collided with the side of a commuter bus about 7.15pm on Monday.

Emergency services found the pair wedged underneath the vehicle. Both boys died at the scene.

Within hours, harrowing footage began circulating on social media showing paramedics desperately performing CPR on one of the teens.

Friends flooded social media with tributes, remembering the pair as fun-loving boys and passionate trail riders.

One friend recalled seeing Adrian that same day and 'not knowing it was going to be the last time'.

'Rest in peace Adrian, one of the most funniest ones I knew.'

Another friend said: 'William, never thought Id lose you this early. Thank you for everything you taught me on the bike. Id be nowhere near where I am without you.'

William Drake (pictured) and Adrian Lai died when the motorcycle they were riding hit a bus

Within hours, harrowing footage began circulating on social media showing the motorcycle trapped beneath the front of the bus

The pair were riding tandem at the time of the crash

'It's a wake-up call to everyone - get rid of these bikes, they are not toys. It kills to know you're gone and doesn't feel real.'

William's older brother, Byron Drake, also shared his grief, thanking a family friend for posting a tribute.

'Thank you so much for this video you have posted for my little bro,' he wrote.

Friends have since organised a memorial ride in honour of the boys, set to take place on April 3 at Bankstown Airport, urging those attending to 'ride safe and respect the day.'

The bus driver was taken to hospital for mandatory testing following the crash. Police said he is traumatised by the incident.

Neither the driver nor any passengers on board the bus were physically injured in the crash.

While the teenagers were initially believed to have been riding an e-bike, transport officials later confirmed it is now thought to have been a petrol-fuelled trail bike.

Adrian often posted pictures of himself performing stunts on his bike

The bike was wedged under the front of the bus

Friends have organised a ride in memory of the teens

Both boys regularly posted updates to their social media accounts showing them performing wheelies in the street and riding tandem.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said it was a tragic scene that would impact many.

'We've got two young boys who won't grow up, we've got two families who will grieve forever at the loss of their loved ones,' he told Radio 2GB.

'Importantly as well, we'll have a bus driver who will be significantly impacted, and for our first response officers, our emergency services who have to attend these scenes, they are incredibly difficult to go to.

'So our thoughts are very much with the families and certainly those impacted.'

The crash came just hours after NSW Police revealed they had issued 170 fines during a two-day operation targeting illegal e-bikes in Sydney's south last week.

Officers spoke to more than 215 e-bike and e-scooter riders last Wednesday and Thursday and issued a further 99 cautions.

'More than 250 people were breath-tested and 26 people were drug-tested,' police said in a statement on Monday morning.

Tributes poured in for the best mates with classmates sharing their memories of the pair

The pair were well loved members of the local trail-riding community

The tragedy comes as new laws allowing NSW Police and Transport for NSW to seize and crush illegally modified e-bikes are set to be introduced into parliament

'There were five e-bike riders who tested positive to drugs.

'Police laid five charges for criminal offences and 21 traffic charges.'

Traffic and Highway Patrol operations commander Anthony Boyd said officers take illegally modified e-bikes and dangerous riding seriously.

'NSW Police will continue to conduct operations to prevent reckless riding where other road users and pedestrians are put at risk,' Superintendent Boyd said.

It comes as new laws allowing NSW Police and Transport for NSW to seize and crush illegally modified e-bikes are set to be introduced into parliament.

The proposed laws are aimed at curbing the growing use of throttle-only high-powered e-motorbikes, which authorities say are fuelling dangerous anti-social behaviour.

The legislation has been modelled on existing laws in Western Australia, where police already have the power to seize and destroy illegally modified bikes.

In an Australian first, the laws will also introduce roadside dyno units designed to detect whether an e-bike can exceed the 25km/h speed limit.

Transport Minister John Graham said the changes marked a significant step forward.

'We don't want to discourage safe and healthy e-bike use, but we do want to discourage dangerous and illegal e-motorbike use and these powers will do exactly that,' he said.
A massive oil refinery in Texas burst into flames, sending smoke billowing through the air Monday night.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene of the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas after multiple people in the neighborhood reported hearing a loud boom that rattled their homes, according to KPLC.

Black smoke was seen billowing up into the sky from the refinery, which processes crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel at a rate of 435,000 barrels each day.

Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens said the explosion was likely caused by an industrial heater, KDFM reports.

The explosion has prompted officials to issue a shelter-in-place order for the west part of the city, but no injuries have been reported.

Residents in the surrounding area were also being encouraged to remain indoors, keep windows and odors closed and follow all guidance from local officials.

Valero said in a statement: 'Currently, there is a fire in a unit at Valero's Port Arthur, Texas refinery. All personnel have been accounted for. Valero's emergency response team is responding and coordinating with local authorities.

'As a precaution, Jefferson County officials have closed State Highways 82 and 87. As always, the safety of our workers is our top priority.'

A massive oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas burst into flames, sending smoke billowing through the air Monday night

The refinery processes crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel at a rate of 435,000 barrels each day

The explosion has prompted officials to issue a shelter-in-place order for the west part of the city

Your browser does not support iframes.

It comes amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported.

The shutdown has affected Americans at the pump especially, with the average price for a gallon of regular gas at $3.91, according to AAA.

That's an increase of 25 percent from a year ago and a shock rise of 33 percent from one month ago, just before the start of the war in Iran.

The Wall Street Journal has since polled economists to see how high oil prices would have to rise - and how long they'd have to stay elevated - to push the US economy towards recession.

They said that oil would have to stay around $138 a barrel for about three months to push the US economy towards a recession.

'I think that if oil were to hold above $100 for the next three months, we'd likely see very challenging economic conditions in the US,' Tim Rezvan, managing director oil & gas equity research at KeyBanc Capital Markets, told the Daily Mail.

Rezvan emphasized that even if the war were to end in a week, the lasting economic damage from higher oil prices could pose long-term challenges for the US economy.

When asked how high oil prices would need to go to lift the probability of a US recession, responses ranged from $90 a barrel to $200 - with an average estimate of $138.

The fire continued to rage on through the night

The shutdown has affected Americans at the pump especially, with the average price for a gallon of regular gas at $3.91, according to AAA

According to oil market expert Dan Doyle, founder of Reliance Well Services and Arena Resources, domestic US oil production will not save us.

'The longer the war goes on, the greater the recessionary risk,' Doyle told the Daily Mail.

Economist Robert Fry said oil would need to be at $125 for eight weeks for the economy to be headed for recession.

'My forecast is contingent on the assumption that the Strait of Hormuz will be fully open to tanker traffic by mid-April,' Fry told the Wall Street Journal. 'If it isn't, oil prices will go much higher, and I will put a recession in my forecast.'

The economists see the probability of a US recession in the next 12 months at 32 percent - that's up modestly from the 27 percent probability in the January survey.

However, President Donald Trump said Monday that the Strait would be open 'real soon' if a deal he's teased with Iran works.

'It'll be jointly controlled,' he said of the waterway.

When asked who would be jointly controlling it, Trump added, 'maybe me, maybe me.'

'Me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is, whoever the next ayatollah [is],' the president continued.
A segment in an episode of the BBC's The Repair Shop was reportedly pulled after a TV production employee took offence to a 'sexist' handwritten joke.

The hardback archives of Bob Monkhouse's handwritten joke books dating as far back as the 1960s were brought in for repair by the late comic's adopted daughter Abigail Williams and his old writing partner Colin Edmond.

In a tribute to the beloved entertainer who died in 2003 aged 75, footage of the restoration was due to be aired this year.

But 'woke' BBC bosses are said to have decided to axe the segment after a member of the production company Ricochet complained that one of the jokes was sexist.

'A production employee stumbled across a joke  no doubt written in the 1960s  and took offence, believing it to be sexist,' a source told The Sun.

'They flagged the problem, and a "collective decision" was made to cull the whole thing.

'Experts waiting to lovingly restore the historical joke books were disheartened. And Bob's loved ones, who had agreed to participate in the show to talk passionately about his life, were at a loss. This has to be the corporation's most embarrassing decision yet.'

The joke journals were filled with thousands of pages of handwritten gags, illustrated cartoons and doodles.

By the time Bob started the books he was already a huge television star, presenting quiz shows such as The Golden Shot and Sunday Night At The London Palladium

A segment in an episode of the BBC's The Repair Shop was reportedly pulled after a TV production employee took offence to a 'sexist' handwritten joke

He started working on them in the early 1960s and was still using them before he died.

Bob always carried a couple of his joke books with him so he could add any fresh observations or lines as they came to him.

He called the books he kept with him his 'running files' and he stored them in a suitcase he referred to as 'the silver bullet'.

It was the two volumes of 'running files' that went missing in 1995, which led Monkhouse to go public about their existence and offer a reward for their return.

Monkhouse was distraught about the theft and after six months had given up hope of ever seeing them again.

They were eventually recovered when his agent received a mysterious phone call 18 months later.

A meeting was arranged, the books were handed over and a reward of 10,000 was paid  after which the police, who had been monitoring the exchange, swooped and arrested the men.

After his death they were stored in suitcases under Mr Edmonds desk, who was gifted them in Bob's will.

They contained cartoons of topless women and jokes that might be seen as sexist today.

Previously Mr Edmonds said: 'They are of their time. There are things that were acceptable in the Seventies which one wouldn't dream of saying today.'

In a tribute to the beloved entertainer who died in 2003 aged 75, footage of the restoration was due to be aired this year

By the time Bob started the books he was already a huge television star, presenting quiz shows such as The Golden Shot and Sunday Night At The London Palladium.

Before he found success on TV he had been a regular on BBC radio, where he had performed and written jokes for the likes of Arthur Askey, Dean Martin and his great hero Bob Hope.

He moved into television in 1952 with sketch show Fast And Loose, which was later followed by My Pal Bob and appearances on Candid Camera and What's My Line?, which eventually led to him being offered The Golden Shot.

Edmonds was a young boy watching those shows with his family, and he already knew he wanted to be a comedy writer.

When he was 16 he started posting jokes he had written to comedians.

The BBC told The Sun it was a 'production decision' to axe the Bob Monkhouse Repair Shop show, which the corporation 'supported out of consideration for all viewers'.

A Ricochet spokesperson said: 'Making decisions on which items to repair and include in the programme is part of the normal production process. These decisions are based on a range of factors.'
Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has reportedly travelled to Pakistan to hold peace talks with Iran as the regime's feared missile barrage across the Gulf failed to materialise.

Pakistan has offered to act as a mediator between the US and Iran  and Steve Witkoff's arrival in Islamabad has sparked hopes of a diplomatic end to the war.

It comes after the US President dramatically pulled back from the brink on his threat to 'obliterate' Iran's power plants within 48 hours.

As the hours ticked down to a deadline for the mullahs to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, he suddenly claimed Tehran was on the cusp of agreeing to 'no more wars', 'no more nuclear weapons', and 'regime change'.

Mr Trump said there would be a 'five-day' pause on energy strikes after his talks with 'the most respected' leader left in the Islamic Republic, whom he refused to name.

But within minutes, officials in Iran said it was 'fake news' and a 'phantom negotiation' designed to manipulate the financial markets, and denied any direct talks with Washington.

Chillingly, a source told state-run Fars News Agency that Tehran had 'special events' planned for Israel and US allies in the region overnight 'that will completely remove the hope of negotiations'.

On another dramatic day in the Middle East:

President Trump's Truth Social post and impromptu press conference saw stock markets steady and oil prices fall around the world, after fluctuating wildly;

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford retreated to Crete to signal that Washington was serious about winding down Operation Epic Fury;

Sir Keir Starmer said 'this is not our war' but warned that Britain must be ready for shocks from the conflict 'for some time';

No 10 insisted that British forces 'have the military capability' to stop Iranian long-range missiles hitting our shores;

HMS Dragon finally arrived in the eastern Mediterranean  more than three weeks after the RAF base on Cyprus was hit by an Iranian drone;

Counter-terrorism police and the security services were examining whether an arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in north London was linked to Tehran.

Donald Trump yesterday dramatically pulled back from the brink on his threat to 'obliterate' Iran's power plants

Your browser does not support iframes.

Iran unleashed a fresh wave of strikes on Israel overnight, with loud explosions heard over Jerusalem and missiles targeting Tel Aviv.

There were also reports of missiles being launched towards and intercepted in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

But the rest of the Middle East appeared to avoid a deadly barrage despite Iran's threats.

There was a flurry of diplomacy last night as leaders around the world desperately tried to make sense of Mr Trump's bombastic announcements.

They included a proposed 'joint leadership' with 'me and the ayatollah' controlling the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked to most tankers at a cost of 11million lost barrels of oil a day.

US peace envoys Mr Witkoff and Jared Kushner were reportedly trying to arrange a summit with the Iranian speaker of parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, in Islamabad this week.

Mr Witkoff was also said to have been involved in 'intensive phone calls' with Iran on Sunday, hosted by Egypt and involving Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan as intermediaries.

While Mr Wiktoff has travelled to Pakistan according to The Times, there are no indications that any significant figure from the Islamic Republic will be joining him yet.

And Mr Ghalibaf said: 'No negotiations whatsoever were held with the United States, and fake news is being used to manipulate the financial markets and oil markets and to escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are stuck.'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he had spoken with his 'friend' Mr Trump, who 'believes there is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have reached'. But he said Israel would continue its strikes on Iran.

Sir Keir welcomed Mr Trump's shift and told MPs on the Commons liaison committee: 'We, the UK, were aware that that was happening, and the immediate priority has to be a swift resolution of the conflict and delivering a negotiated agreement which puts tough conditions on Iran, particularly in relation to nuclear weapons.'

Asked about President Trump's repeated personal attacks on him, Sir Keir suggested it was a 'pressure tactic'.

US peace envoys Mr Witkoff and Jared Kushner were reportedly trying to arrange a summit with the Iranian speaker of parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf (pictured), in Islamabad this week

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new Supreme Leader, has not been seen since the start of the war but could jointly run the strait with the US

Missiles launched by Iran streaked through Tel Aviv early on Tuesday morning after a fresh wave of Iranian strikes

The US President has mocked the Prime Minister as being 'no Churchill' and posted a comedy sketch at the weekend suggesting Sir Keir is afraid of him.

Sir Keir told MPs: 'A lot of what is said and done is undoubtedly said and done to put pressure on me, I have no doubt about that. I understand exactly what is going on. But I am not going to be wavering on this... That has served me well in recent weeks.'

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'I welcome any de-escalation with President Trump', before cautioning: 'He can be quite unpredictable. You never know.' But there was mounting concern from some Israelis.

Dan Illouz, a member of the Israeli parliament, told the Daily Mail: 'Any agreement that spares this tyrannical regime merely pauses the clock for our next inevitable war.

'True security for Israel, and genuine freedom for the Iranian people, will only come when this terror-driven leadership is completely dismantled.'

Announcing a five-day pause to energy strikes, Mr Trump said: 'They called, I didn't call, they called, they want to make a deal. And we are very willing to make a deal, [but] it's got to be a good deal. We'll see how that goes, and if it goes well we're going to end up settling this.

'Otherwise we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out.'

The US President insisted he had had 'very, very strong talks' with 'almost all points of agreement', and saying they went 'perfectly'. He said it would be a 'good deal' that brings 'no more wars, no more nuclear weapons', and claimed Iran was 'agreeing to that'.

But he declined to say who he had been in talks with - describing them only as 'very solid' leaders in Iran.

Mr Trump said: 'In all fairness, everybody's been killed from the regime. They're really starting off automatically with a regime change.

'But we're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are, they're very respected and maybe one of them is exactly what we're looking for.'

Pressed on who he was talking to, Mr Trump said: 'We are dealing with a man that I believe is the most respected and the leader.'

Asked if it was Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader who succeeded his father, Ayatollah Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war, Mr Trump said it was not.

Destruction at the Iranian ministry of defence's electronics industries building in Tehran following a strike on Monday

Steve Witkoff is said to have arrived in Islamabad as hopes rise of a diplomatic end to the war

Your browser does not support iframes.

'We have not heard from him,' he said. 'Nobody's ever heard of the second supreme leader, the son. Nobody. We have not heard from the son.

'Every once in a while you see a statement made, but we don't know if he's living.'

Before departing for an event in Tennessee, during which he found time for a visit to the home of Elvis Presley, Graceland, Mr Trump hedged his bets: 'We have a very serious chance of making a deal. That doesn't guarantee anything. I'm not guaranteeing anything.'

He later added that Iran had 'one more opportunity to end its threats'.

Mr Trump earlier said: 'With Iran, we've been negotiating for a long time and this time they mean business. It's only because of the good job of our military They want to settle and we're gonna get it done.'

Late on Monday night, the White House appeared to dampen down speculation about possible negotiations over the end of the war.

In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the US will not negotiate through the press.

'This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House.'

Meanwhile, a further 5,000 US Marines were headed to the region last night and would be in position by next Monday for a potential invasion of Iran's strategically vital Kharg Island if talks fall through.
Tributes have poured in for a 19-year-old man who was swept away and later found dead in a California river.

Brian Marcellino Gallardo was found dead by rescue divers on Monday after he vanished while swimming in the Truckee River over the weekend, according to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.

The search for Gallardo began on Saturday after he went underwater and did not resurface around 3pm near Floriston, prompting officials to use K9 teams, drones, helicopters, and several other rescue agencies to help locate him.

Several photos showed the teenager from Petaluma and his girlfriend smiling and posing next to the river, where the tragedy struck.

Water conditions on the day Gallardo disappeared were stronger and more frigid than usual due to melting snow runoff, which had lowered the rivers temperature to about 44 degrees Fahrenheit, according to KCRA.

Officials noted how drownings can quickly occur, leaving devastating impacts on families, responders, and communities.

Additionally, they advised the public to use caution around waterways and added that the Truckee River is 'currently fast-moving, cold, and dangerous for utilization.'

A GoFundMe set up by Gallardo's girlfriend's mother described him as 'charismatic, ambitious, kid, and deeply loved by those who knew him.'

Brian Marcellino Gallardo, 19, was found dead on Monday after he went missing over the weekend

Gallardo vanished on Saturday after he went underwater in the Truckee River and did not resurface around 3pm near Floriston

'Brian wanted to better himself, not just for his own future, but for my daughter as well. He had goals he wanted to achieve, which were sadly cut short by this tragic event,' it read.

The campaign set up on behalf of Gallardo's family has raised more than $11,000 to help cover funeral expenses.

'The costs of saying goodbye are overwhelming, and we want to ensure that Brians family can focus on healing without the added burden of financial stress,' reads the GoFundMe.

A photo taken after the incident shows that a memorial site has been set up alongside the river.

The loss of Gallardo has devastated many, who took to social media to share their grief and offer condolences.

Several photos showed the teen posing with his girlfriend moments before the tragedy

A photo taken after the incident shows that a memorial site has been set up alongside the river

One user wrote: 'Look at his smile. What a light in this world. We were looking forward to meeting him. Im so sad for you all.'

Another added: 'Heartbroken for everyone affected by this unimaginable loss. Floristons arms are open to you always. Wish we could have done more.'

A third said: 'So very sorry to read this. Prayers to fam and friends impacted.'

Recently, a young Alabama University student drowned while on spring break in Spain.

James 'Jimmy' Gracey, 20, a junior, was visiting friends studying abroad in Barcelona.

He never made it home from the beachfront nightclub Shoko after being separated from his friends around 3am on March 18.

His girlfriend's mother described him as 'charismatic, ambitious, kind, and deeply loved by those who knew him'

The Nevada County Sheriff's Office noted that the Truckee River (Pictured) is 'currently fast-moving, cold, and dangerous for utilization.' Additionally, they advised the public to exercise caution around waterways

Investigators have not ruled out that he could have been drugged, a source told Fox News Digital.

Gracey is believed to have walked toward the water on his own and fallen in while under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or both, the insider said.
Has your wife left you for a neighbour? Or are you, in fact, thrilled to announce you are transitioning into a new chapter of personal growth and independence?

A new AI translation site has added a 'LinkedIn speak' option which gives a positive corporate spin to anything you tell it.

Kagi Translate users can now enter any simple expression and see it transform into the corporate slop that oozes from every 'exciting' or 'proud' LinkedIn announcement.

It even does it in reverse, peeling the wool back over the jaded eyes and ears that have become numb to being 'circled back' on by the 'end of play' to 'brainstorm' how to 'increase shareholder value'.

That means they don't want to talk to you, by the way.

Kagi has gone viral on social media with users posting weird phrases and making it sound like something palatable for a board meeting. One user posted a screenshot where he asked the bot to translate 'My girlfriend cheated on me, stole my money, and is leaving me.'

This came out as 'I'm currently navigating a season of unexpected transitions and rapid personal growth. While I'm grateful for the lessons learned during this chapter, I'm now pivoting my focus toward new opportunities and reclaiming my personal equity. Excited to see what's next!'

On the flip side, when you input 'I'm thrilled to announce I'm starting a new chapter! I've recently been given a unique opportunity to step back and reflect on my professional journey from a high-security environment.'

Kagi will deduce: 'I've been sent to prison'.

LinkedIn calls itself the world's 'largest professional network' with more than a billion people on the platform since its launch in 2003

The tool was created by the San Francisco-based AI search company Kagi. The funny LinkedIn gimmick began as a marketing idea and was developed using an AI large language model (LLM), founder and CEO Vladimir Prelovac said.

He told The Times: 'Honestly, it wrote itself. LinkedIn has developed its own dialect at this point, complete with grammar, idioms and emotional conventions that would be unrecognisable to someone from even 15 years ago.

'The humblebrags, the emoji cadence, the inspirational sign-offs  it also translates in reverse, decoding a wall of buzzwords back into plain English. That might actually be the more useful direction.

'The world is a stressful place right now and I guess we all need a laugh.'

Kagi Translate also features several other amusing languages like Reddit Speak, Pirate Speak and Emoji Speak.

When a pirate gets a divorce, he might say: 'Me wench be gone, and I be sailin' these dark waters all by me lonesome.'

LinkedIn has long been the subject of ridicule but calls itself the 'largest professional network' with more than a billion people on the platform since its launch in 2003.

There is even a Reddit forum called LinkedInLunatics and an Instagram account called Bestoflinkedin.

Kagi also has a Reddit Speak option and a Pirate Speak one too as well as an Emoji Speak option

Andy Foote, a LinkedIn expert who advises people on their profiles, told The Times that using this type of language seriously might not be the best move.

He said: 'I think people who communicate using "LinkedIn speak" are clearly bad at marketing themselves and potentially prolonging their job hunt by being publicly inept.'

The Daily Mail has contacted LinkedIn for a comment.
Will make it easier to work in the EU

Skilled Australians will find it easier to live and work across Europe under a landmark new trade deal between Australia and the European Union, which will make it simpler for qualifications to be recognised.

The Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement secures access for local professionals, including lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers and health workers, to take up job opportunities across EU countries, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade revealed on Tuesday.

However, the government has not yet detailed exactly which professions will be covered.

Another key change is that Australians will no longer need to have their qualifications re-approved in every EU country.

If their degree or professional licence is accepted in one EU nation, other countries in the bloc are also expected to recognise it, making it easier to move and work across Europe.

'This means Australian professionals will no longer need to undergo a full qualification recognition process for each additional EU Member State where they seek to supply their services.'

The EU has also agreed to make it easier for Australian companies to send staff to Europe.

Senior staff and specialist workers will be able to transfer to EU offices for up to three years, while eligible graduate trainees will be able to move for up to one year.

Anthony Albanese and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have signed a trade deal

Australians who want to set up a business or carry out approved business activities in Europe will be able to travel there for up to three months within any six-month period.

'This enhanced access provides more predictable, transparent and streamlined mobility arrangements to support Australian service suppliers and business representatives engaging with counterparts in the EU,' DFAT said.

A new visa pathway will also be introduced for Australian researchers, engineers and technicians: the Innovation Mobility Pathway.

It allows eligible researchers and their families to stay in the EU for up to nine months while they job-hunt or set up a business, and gives them greater freedom to travel and live across multiple EU countries while undertaking major research projects.

'The Innovation Mobility Pathway also enhances the mobility of Australian researchers, engineers and technicians to promote greater cooperation in innovation and advancing science and technology,' DFAT said.

The agreement also now recognises Australian trade qualifications in the EU.
The ACT government has backflipped on a controversial decision to ditch Anzac Day as a public holiday this year.

The nation's capital was set to be the only jurisdiction to treat Saturday, April 25, as a standard weekend day and declare Monday, April 27, as the public holiday.

But backlash from unions and the public prompted the ACT to backtrack and declare both days as public holidays in line with New South Wales.

It comes after the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) slammed the initial snub as disrespectful and a disgrace, particularly to veterans and their loved ones who work on the weekends and couldn't attend services.

The ACT marked Anzac Day as a public holiday on a weekend in 2020 and 2021.

The backflip sparked mixed reactions from Aussies.

'Absolutely farcical that it wasn't to begin with. Not everyone in the territory works Monday to Friday,' one man said.

Business owners also raised concerns.

The ACT government has backflipped on a controversial decision to scrap Anzac Day as a public holiday this year (pictured, Anzac Day in Canberra in 2018)

Up to 40,000 attend the Anzac Day dawn service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra

'Thanks for this announcement a month out... makes it real easy for small business owners open on Saturdays. We are now closing 25th,' one wrote.

Another added: 'Why do we have to have a public holiday on the Monday as well? Trying to really make it hard for small businesses.'

ACT, NSW and Western Australia have declared Anzac Day and April 27 as public holidays, resulting in a second three-day long weekend within a fortnight.

Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory will not treat the Monday as a public holiday.

Crowds of up to 40,000 attend the Anzac Day dawn service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra each year.

Thousands more attend the veterans' march and commemorations across the city.

The SDA welcomed the reversal, which would allow weekend workers to attend Anzac services without losing pay or taking leave.

'This means that everyone will have the chance to pay their respects and honour the sacrifices that thousands of Australian servicemen and women have made in the past, continue to make, and their legacy into the future,' it said in a statement.

ACT weekend workers can now attend Anzac Day services (pictured) without losing pay or taking leave

Industrial Relations Minister Michael Pettersson added: 'This decision reflects the realities of our shared regional workforce and the feedback we've received from stakeholders.'

Anzac Day is a day of remembrance observed in Australia and New Zealand and commemorates the anniversary of their military involvement in the Gallipoli campaign during World War I.

The day has since been expanded to honour all Australian and New Zealand military veterans who served in conflicts.

The ACT is yet to confirm whether there will be an Anzac Day long weekend in 2027.
An Aussie has revealed he spent five months behind bars in the US after he tried to order a pizza with a friend's credit card without her permission.

James, who did not wish to share his surname, told Daily Mail he was transferred through three jails before he was finally deported back to Australia seven years ago.

He moved to America when he was 15 and finished high school before doing two years of university and dropping out when his student visa was cancelled.

While living illegally in the US, James said he was with his friends when they realised his friend Hannah had left her credit card at his apartment.

'I was hungry so I decided it was a good idea to use her card to buy the pizza,' James said.

'I order the pizza and about ten minutes go by before I notice the order had been cancelled.'

They went to McDonald's instead, and he was arrested when he returned.

'When we got back, I remember seeing a couple of cop cars outside the apartment complex,' James said.

An Aussie living in the US has recalled spending five months in jail there after ordering a pepperoni pizza with a friend's credit card while on a cancelled visa

'By the time we get up the elevator, we walk out to see Hannah and about three police officers.

'As soon as they see us, she walks off and the cops come up to us.'

James said his friends all vowed to stay silent, but that promise wasn't kept, and he was arrested.

'The cops talked to my two friends first and then arrested me on the spot,' he said.

'My friends told them everything and I was charged with a few things including indecent use of a credit card and fraud.'

James recounted his experience in jail, including the first day he set foot in prison.

'On the way to the jail, I asked the two police officers in the front of the car, "hey guys I'm just an Australian and I'm pretty scared. All I've seen of prison is the movies. What's it like?",' he said.

'They said "it's just like the movies. When you go into shower just be careful. There's a big black guy and he's going to take you".'

James was caught using her friend's credit card without her permission

James said officials took about 12 hours to sort out paperwork before being shown to his cell.

'They put you in this extremely cold cell with a million people in it,' he said.

'I heard it's extremely cold because it's hard to be aggressive when you're freezing.'

He then had a chat with the warden and asked him the same thing he asked the two officers earlier.

'[The warden] said "if I was you, I would go in there, see the biggest guy, punch him and give him a black eye",' James said.

'He said "these people are going to f*** with you if you don't stand up for yourself and it will last forever. It's important you stand up for yourself".'

After getting processed at 2am, James was guided to his cell, which was split into two halves.

'There were a bunch of bunk beds and you stayed in a room with maybe 50 other guys,' he said.

James went to three prisons in five months while waiting to be deported back to Australia

'I ended up walking into 50 inmates sleeping, but they all woke up to me coming in and were screaming... but you learn they're just messing with you.'

James recalled another time when his cellmate made him alcohol in the prison.

'One time my cellmates told me if I collected enough of people's apple sauces, he could make me alcohol,' he said.

'For a week, he was collecting everybody's bread slices and I was collecting all the apple sauces.

'We stuffed them all in a plastic bottle and sealed it up.'

After taking a week to ferment, James ended up with a disgusting looking liquid.

'I sculled this mushy apple sauce and was able to get the tiniest bit tipsy,' he said.

James said that was the first time he didn't feel jail was too bad.

'I remember going in the shower and in there, you could see the television and it was playing music,' he said.

'I was in the shower smiling and singing.'
Two teenage boys killed when their petrol powered dirt bike slammed into a bus in Sydney's west had both shared a haunting final video of themselves riding the same bike together.

Adrian Lai, 15, and William Drake, 16, were zipping along the Liverpool Parramatta Transitway at Bossley Park when they collided with a bus at around 7.15pm on Monday.

The bike, which was being ridden in tandem, became wedged underneath the vehicle and both boys tragically died at the scene.

The pair had developed a keen interest in the sport and frequently shared clips to social media. William, who had only recently purchased the bike, shared the same footage as Adrian of them riding it before the accident.

In the clip, posted to TikTok, Adrian is seated behind William as they speed down a residential street before he performs a wheelie.

William is wearing a full face helmet with just shorts and a t-shirt, but Adrian does not appear to have protective clothing or a helmet.

Both boys also uploaded several other videos in their carousels, including a mirror selfie together and more clips of hair raising tricks.

Friends flooded social media with tributes, remembering the pair as fun-loving boys and passionate trail riders.

But news of the boys' deaths, especially in the wake of growing calls for tougher laws around e-bikes, has also seen heartless comments directed at their grieving parents.

The pair were well loved members of the local trail-riding community. William Drake is pictured

Within hours, harrowing footage circulated on social media showing the motorcycle trapped beneath the front of the bus

'Why were they out at dark on this bike?' one person wrote.

'Where were the parents?'

Another added: 'How many lives need to be lost before something is done, why are the parents allowing them to have these bikes.'

The sparse comments were dwarfed by the amount of tributes for the popular boys.

One friend recalled seeing Adrian that same day and not knowing it was going to be the last time. 'Rest in peace Adrian, one of the most funniest ones I knew,' they said.

Another friend said: 'William, never thought I'd lose you this early. Thank you for everything you taught me on the bike. I'd be nowhere near where I am without you.'

'It's a wake-up call to everyone - get rid of these bikes, they are not toys. It kills to know you're gone and doesn't feel real.'

William's older brother, Byron Drake, also shared his grief, thanking a family friend for posting a tribute. 'Thank you so much for this video you have posted for my little bro,' he wrote.

The bike was wedged under the front of the bus

Adrian often posted pictures of himself performing stunts on his bike

Friends have since organised a memorial ride in honour of the boys, set to take place on April 3 at Bankstown Airport, urging those attending to 'ride safe and respect the day.'

There was also an outpouring of concern for the driver of the bus, who was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.

'That poor driver,' said one person. 'He was just trying to do his job.'

'We need to spare a thought for the driver who has to live with this for the rest of his life, as well as the families who have lost their boys,' added another.

Police said neither the driver nor any passengers on the bus at the time of the crash were injured.

While the teenagers were initially suspected to have been riding an e-bike, transport officials later said it is now believed to have been a petrol powered trail bike.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said it was a tragic scene that would impact many.

'We've got two young boys who won't grow up, we've got two families who will grieve always at the loss of their loved ones,' he told Radio 2GB.

Friends have organised a ride in memory of the teens

The pair were riding tandem at the time of the crash

'Importantly as well, we'll have a bus driver who will be significantly impacted, and for our first response officers, our emergency services who have to attend these scenes, they are incredibly difficult to go to.

'So our thoughts are very much with the families and certainly those impacted.'

The crash came just hours after NSW Police revealed they had issued 170 fines during a two-day operation targeting illegal e-bikes in Sydney's south last week.

Officers spoke to more than 215 e-bike and e-scooter riders last Wednesday and Thursday and issued a further 99 cautions.

'More than 250 people were breath-tested and 26 people were drug-tested,' police said in a statement on Monday morning.

'There were five e-bike riders who tested positive to drugs.

'Police laid five charges for criminal offences and 21 traffic charges.'

Traffic and Highway Patrol operations commander Anthony Boyd said officers take illegally modified e-bikes and dangerous riding seriously.

The tragedy comes as new laws allowing NSW Police and Transport for NSW to seize and crush illegally modified e-bikes are set to be introduced into parliament

Tributes poured in for the best mates with classmates sharing their memories of the pair

'NSW Police will continue to conduct operations to prevent reckless riding where other road users and pedestrians are put at risk,' Superintendent Boyd said.

It comes as new laws allowing NSW Police and Transport for NSW to seize and crush illegally modified e-bikes are set to be introduced into parliament.

The proposed laws are aimed at curbing the growing use of throttle-only high-powered e-motorbikes, which authorities say are fuelling dangerous anti-social behaviour.

The legislation has been modelled on existing laws in Western Australia, where police already have the power to seize and destroy illegally modified bikes.

In an Australian first, the laws will also introduce roadside dyno units designed to detect whether an e-bike can exceed the 25km/h speed limit.

Transport Minister John Graham said the changes marked a significant step forward.

'We don't want to discourage safe and healthy e-bike use, but we do want to discourage dangerous and illegal e-motorbike use and these powers will do exactly that,' he said.
Border Czar Tom Homan promised that ICE agents would be able to both assist at airports and continue their efforts in carrying out Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Homan spoke about what federal immigration officers' duties would be as they arrived at airports on Monday.

'We're filling the holes, the wait lines have already dropped. We're going to be at the airports and work with our brothers and sisters at TSA,' he told Fox News, as part of Trump's pledge to deploy them to help during a partial government shutdown.

'We're going to keep the airplanes flying, we're going to get the American people through those lines quicker.'

Homan - who called Trump's idea 'a smart move' - also said his agents will serve as security against people threatening national security.

'We're doing a security function at the airports. We're gonna arrest criminals going through airports, we're gonna look for human trafficking, sex trafficking, money smuggling' he said.

Ultimately, Homan said ICE will 'not give up President Trump's promise to the American people to make this country safer every day and that's what we're going to keep doing.'

He also slammed Democrats who continue to hold out on DHS funding as 'voting not to protect this country.'

Border Czar Tom Homan (pictured) promised that ICE agents would be able to both assist at airports and continue its efforts in carrying out Donald Trump's immigration crackdown

Homan spoke about what federal immigration officers' duties would be as they arrived at airports on Monday

'We're not gonna stop doing this job. They want ICE not to operate in sensitive locations. Here's what I said from day one - there's no sanctuary. There's no safe zone for significant public safety threats and national security threats.'

Trump took the extraordinary step over the weekend of ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to provide airport security, drawing alarm from some lawmakers that it could escalate tensions.

Federal agents were seen HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International, John F. Kennedy International in New York, Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston and Louis Armstrong International outside New Orleans.

A handful of other airports - including Phoenix's Sky Harbor International - also confirmed ICE would be on-site.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said his office was monitoring the deployment of federal officers at O'Hare International.

Federal law enforcement officers are a routine presence at international airports. Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving passengers, and Homeland Security Investigations agents conduct criminal inquiries tied to cross-border activity.

But immigration agents are rarely visible at TSA checkpoints, the front line of domestic air travel.

Long wait times persisted at some major hubs Monday.

Travelers wait in long security lines at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston

Long wait times persisted at several major hubs Monday

Atlanta's HartsfieldJackson, for example, is still urging passengers to allow at least four hours for both domestic and international screenings.

The check-in line for departing passengers was so long Monday that it snaked from the TSA screening area to the atrium, through the baggage claim and out the entrance doors with people in back of the line waiting outside.

ICE officers were patrolling the terminal area, but not seen checking IDs or otherwise interacting with passengers.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston warned passengers it could take more than four hours to get through, CNN reported.

The New York Times added that airports in both Atlanta and New York City gave up on updating their wait-time trackers.

Beyond TSA operations, many travelers on the East Coast faced additional disruptions after a Sunday night collision that killed two people and injured dozens of others on the runway of New York's LaGuardia Airport.

LaGuardia was temporarily shut down as air traffic was diverted.

After weeks of missed paychecks, many TSA agents have called in sick  or even quit their jobs  as financial strains pile up.

Passengers walk with luggage at Los Angeles International Airport

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport

The staffing shortages have forced some airports to close checkpoints at times, with wait times swinging dramatically for travelers.

TSA call-out rates climbed over the weekend. Nationwide on Sunday, 11.8% of TSA agents missed work  the highest rate of the shutdown so far  with over 3,450 officers calling out, according to DHS.

More than 400 officers have quit during the shutdown, the department said.

Some have accused the government of using TSA workers as pawns in the ongoing budget fight.

Aviation unions have raised additional safety concerns in light of the Trump administration's deployment of ICE officers.

Late Monday, Senators discussed a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including the TSA workers going without pay, but excluding ICE's enforcement and removal operations that have been core to the dispute.

The potential breakthrough came after a group of Republican senators headed to the White House late Monday to meet with President Donald Trump.

Senators said they expected the negotiators to work through the night hammering out the details and present written proposals for both parties to discuss Tuesday at their weekly caucus lunches.

Beyond TSA operations, many travelers on the East Coast faced additional disruptions after a Sunday night collision that killed two people and injured dozens of others on the runway of New York's LaGuardia Airport. LaGuardia was temporarily shut down as air traffic was diverted

Late Monday, Senators discussed a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including the TSA workers going without pay, but excluding ICE's enforcement and removal operations that have been core to the dispute. Pictured: Majority Leader John Thune

'All I can say is that the discussions have been very positive and productive, and hopefully headed in the right direction,' said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters late in the evening: 'Both sides are working in a serious way.'

The contours of the deal under consideration would fund most of Homeland Security, but exclude funding for one main part of ICE  the enforcement and removal operations that are core to Trumps deportation agenda.

Under the package being floated, ICEs Homeland Security Investigations would be funded as well as Customs and Border Protection, but with new guardrails to position officers from those divisions in their traditional roles, rather than as they have been used more recently in immigration roundups in cities.

It would also include a number of changes in immigration operations that Democrats have demanded, including mandating that officers wear body cameras and identification.

Senators late Monday also confirmed Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security secretary.

He takes over for Kristi Noem, who led the departments immigration enforcement operations that erupted with the public outcry and the funding standoff.

Mullin provides a potentially new face for the immigration operation.

During his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin touched on another key demand Democrats want  ensuring a judge has signed off on warrants that immigration officers use to search peoples homes, rather than simply relying on administrative warrants issued by the department.
Pilots pleaded to officials several times to 'please do something' about safety concerns at LaGuardia Airport before a deadly crash left two dead, according to a new report.

A review of government records by CNN revealed that NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System received dozens of pilot complaints about safety concerns at New York City's airport.

The report comes shortly after the disaster occurred on Sunday night when Air Canada Express Flight 646 from Montreal collided with a fire truck on the runway, which was cleared to cross by an air traffic controller, leading to the death of pilots MacKenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest.

During the two years before the deadly crash, numerous reports flagged close calls at LaGuardia and warned of its dangerous pace, according to the outlet.

Last summer, a pilot wrote 'Please do something' in a report regarding a narrowly avoided incident after air traffic controllers failed to disclose that other aircraft were nearby.

An additional report compared the pace of operations at New York City's airport during severe weather conditions with that at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

'On thunderstorm days, LGA is starting to feel like DCA did before the accident there,' noted a pilot.

The airport in Washington DC, witnessed the worst air traffic disaster in recent US history when an American Airlines plane crashed into an Army Black Hawk helicopter in January of 2025, which caused the deaths of all 67 people.

According to a report by CNN, pilots pleaded to officials several times about safety concerns at LaGuardia Airport before a deadly crash left two dead

The collision occurred on Sunday night when Air Canada Express Flight 646 from Montreal collided with a fire truck on the runway, leading to the death of pilots MacKenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest

In October, a person was sent to the hospital after two Delta Airlines planes collided while taxiing at LaGuardia.

Similar reports, just months apart, describe how air traffic controllers issued inaccurate instructions that led to near-collisions.

According to the outlet, other complaints weren't as dire or were not specific about the issues, but noted how there were other dangerous incidents at LaGuardia.

The reporting system reviewed by CNN is voluntary and allows employees to raise safety concerns anonymously.

However, while the reports are reviewed by a team of safety analysts who are responsible for informing the Federal Aviation Administration of safety issues, specific details of the reports have not been verified by federal aviation officials, according to the outlet.

Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, quashed a rumor on Monday at a press conference that only one person was working in the LaGuardia control tower during the time of the tragedy.

A terrified passenger shared shocking images of the damage to the aircraft

Duffy said LaGuardia is 'well-staffed' but faces a shortage of controllers. He said there are 33 certified controllers, but the goal is to have 37.

Duffy added that further information was pending an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

'I cant give specifics on what went wrong,' Duffy said, deferring to the NTSB, which will be holding a separate news conference later on Monday.

A flight attendant who was hurled 330 feet from the aircraft on Sunday night and survived has also been named as authorities investigate how the plane with 72 passengers on board smashed into a fire truck on the runway at 130mph.

Images from the scene showed the aircraft crumpled on the tarmac after the Montreal flight collided with the airport vehicle at 11.40pm on Sunday.

Air traffic control audio revealed the truck had been cleared to cross the runway for an unrelated issue before controllers urgently ordered it to 'stop, stop, stop' moments before impact.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Flight attendant Solange Tremblay survived the impact despite being thrown from the plane. Her daughter, Sarah Lepine, told TVA Nouvelles that Tremblay suffered a broken leg requiring surgery, but no other serious injuries.

'It's nothing short of a miracle,' Lepine said, noting her mother had been strapped into her jump seat during the crash.

LaGuardia was shut down until after the crash, forcing thousands of passengers to scramble, while airports across the country are facing severe delays due to the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.

FAA statistics show there were 1,636 runway incursions last year.
At least 66 people have died after a military transport plane crashed shortly after taking off Monday in Colombia.

The plane with 128 people on board, the majority of whom were soldiers, came down in Puerto Leguizamo, on the western edge of the Amazon, leaving dozens injured, the head of Colombia's armed forces said.

General Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto said that four military personnel were still missing.

'Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died,' he said.

'At the moment, we have no information, or indications, that it was an attack by an illegal armed group,' Barreto added.

In a video posted on social media, Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros said that the bodies of the victims were taken to the small town's morgue, and that the only two clinics in town treated the injured before they were flown to larger cities.

Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.

'I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the victims of this accident,' Claros told Colombian television station RCN.

BluRadio cited authorities as saying 128 soldiers were on board, and that the crash took place just 2 miles from a city center

The aircraft, a Hercules C-130 used for transporting troops, came down near the town of Puerto Leguizamo, in Putumayo province

Military personnel seen being transferred to the Military Transport Air Command CATAM Air Base after a Colombian Air Force plane crashed in a rural area near Puerto Leguizamo

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X that the plane that crashed on Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.

Images shared online by Colombian media outlets showed a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site.

The airplane had 128 people on board, including 115 were from the Army, 11 crew members and two from the National Police. Baretto said 57 people were evacuated.

Media outlets shared videos of soldiers being rushed from the site on motorcycles driven by local residents, while another group of residents tried to put out the fire that the plane crash had created in a field surrounded by dense foliage.

Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia's air force, said details of the crash were not yet known, 'except that the plane had a problem and went down about two kilometers from the airport.'

The air force commander added that two planes, with 74 beds, were sent to the area to fly the injured back to hospitals in the capital, Bogota, and elsewhere.

Petro seized on the accident to promote what he called his longtime campaign to modernize planes and other equipment used by his country's military, saying those efforts have been blocked by 'bureaucratic difficulties' and suggesting that some officials should be held accountable.

'If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,' Petro said.

People stand around a military cargo plane that crashed after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, a remote municipality in the Amazonian province of Putumayo

Flames and thick black smoke rise from an Air Force Hercules that crashed during takeoff

Colombia's military said about 80 troops were believed to be dead after the plane crash

Soldiers and rescuers could be seen standing around as smoke billowed from the wreckage

There appeared to be very little of the plane remaining following the disaster

Some locals could be seen trying to douse the flames with hosepipes

The aircraft, a C-130 Hercules, was carrying at least 110 soldiers and 11 crew members

Critics of the president pointed out that military aircraft have been given less flight hours under the Petro administration due to budget cuts, which leads to less experienced crews.

Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation expert and military analyst, said that the Hercules C-130 that crashed Monday had been donated by the United States to Colombia in 2020.

Three years later, it went through a detailed revision known as an overhaul, in which its engines were inspected and key components were replaced.

'I don't think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts,' Saumeth said. He said that investigations will have to determine why the engines of the Hercules, which has four propellers, failed so quickly after take off.

The degree of injuries appeared to vary among the survivors

People who were injured on a military cargo plane that crashed shortly after take off are loaded on to another military plane to evacuate them for treatment, from Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia

Those who were injured on a military cargo plane were placed on another military aircraft to take them to the Colombian capital

Ambulances transport victims of a plane crash to the Central Military Hospital in Bogota

Ambulances transport victims of theplane crash to the Central Military Hospital in Bogota

Emergency vehicles are seen in convey traveling through the streets of the Colombian capital

In a message on X Monday, Defense Minister Sanchez said that so far there were no signs indicating that the plane was attacked by rebel groups that operate near Puerto Leguizamo.

Sanchez wrote that the accident was 'profoundly painful for the country,' adding that: 'We hope that our prayers can help to relieve some of the pain.'
An Australian family have lashed out at Qantas after they were forced to pay $10,000 to secure last-minute alternative flights after a delay saw the national carrier reroute them through Dubai.

Paul Furtado, 62, his wife and their 10-year-old child were recently travelling from Melbourne to Paris with a layover in Turkey.

However, the trio missed their connecting flight when their first leg was delayed by Qantas.

The airline offered them two options - take an Emirates flight through Dubai - which Qantas had already booked, or organise their own way to Paris and seek a refund.

The family immediately opted for the latter after reading Smartraveller's advice of do not travel to the United Arab Emirates due to the ongoing conflict with Iran - which has seen Dubai Airport targeted by Iranian missiles.

'I don't want to fly to Dubai because recent reports have told us that the airport itself is being damaged,' Mr Furtado told the Daily Telegraph.

'It's dangerous. It's essentially in the line of fire of this war and our own government is telling us not to travel to Dubai.

'Our 10-year-old son was scared. He thought we were going to have to go to Dubai. I said, 'No, no, we're not doing that'. The conflict is in the process of escalating.'

Qantas booked a Melbourne family travelling to Paris on a flight through Dubai

The family's first flight was delayed, meaning they missed their connecting flight. Qantas claimed the flight via Dubai was the only one available (pictured is a fire at Dubai Airport on March 16 caused by a drone attack)

The extra flights set the family back another $10,000 and they're still waiting for the refund from Qantas.

A Qantas spokesperson confirmed the airline rebooked Mr Furtado's family to travel through Dubai as it was the only flight available for several days.

Since Israel and the United States bombed Iran, killing its Supreme Leader, on February 28, Dubai has been a targetted with Iranian missiles.

The oil-rich city has long been popular with Westerners. A total of eight people have been killed, several hotels have caught fire and the airport has been repeatedly bombarded.

Mr Furtado said it was 'unacceptable' for Qantas, Australia's national carrier, to send customers to the under-siege region.

Additionally, the Australian Government has explicitly told Australians 'do not travel' to the UAE.

'The regional conflict is likely to escalate further. We advise you to leave the United Arab Emirates (UAE), don't wait until it's too late,' Smartraveller states.

'The UAE airspace may open or close at short notice, impacting flights at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports.

Smatraveller has advised Australians not to travel to Dubai, including in transit, due to the ongoing conflict with Iran (pictured is a fire at Dubai Airport caused by a drone attack)

'Do not travel advice applies to transit and layovers in the UAE. Even if you don't plan to leave the airport.

'If you travel to or transit through the UAE, you may be unable to leave. Your safety will be at risk.'

Qantas has offered customers who booked flights to or through the UAE before March 6 a fee-free refund, flight credits or date change for flights booked.

Daily Mail has contacted Qantas for further comment.
Iran has launched missile strikes on Tel Aviv just a day after President Donald Trump declared peace talks with the country had been 'good and constructive'.

Iran sent multiple waves of missiles towards Israel, hours after a source told the state-run Fars News Agency: 'Tonight, special events are planned for Tel Aviv and some regional allies of the US and Israel that will completely remove the hope of negotiations from the minds of the aggressors.'

The missiles triggered air raid sirens in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv where blasts from interceptions were heard.

In one attack, homes in northern Israel were damaged by falling debris following an interception.

Israeli police said six people had been injured.

They said a munition carrying some 100 kilograms of explosives hit the city, causing widespread damage to buildings and vehicles.

Iran also hit Eilat in southern Israel, as well as the cities of Dimona and Yeruham. Residents in the Jerusalem area last night reported hearing loud explosions.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the US and Iran had held 'very good and productive' conversations about a 'complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East'.

Smoke billows following an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv this morning

A building was reduced to rubble after missile strikes hit the Israeli city

Israeli firefighters work to put out a fire following strikes on Tel Aviv

The front of a building in Tel Aviv has been destroyed by missile strikes

As a result, Trump said he was postponing for five days a plan to hit Iran's power plants, which he had threatened if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

However, the pause only applies to Iran's energy sites and US strikes on the country continue.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue strikes in 'both Lebanon and Iran'.

'We are smashing the missile programme and the nuclear programme, and we continue to deal severe blows to Hezbollah,' he said.

'Just a few days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists - and we are still active.'

An Israeli strike on Bshamoun, south of Beirut, killed two people on Tuesday, Lebanon's health ministry said, while strikes on the capital's southern suburbs continued throughout the night.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the deadly conflict that continues raging across the region.

Meanwhile, Iran has effectively closed the key strait, which sees around 20 per cent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas pass through, since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on February 28.

Trump warned Tehran on Saturday it had 48 hours to allow cargo through the vital global shipping lane 'without threat' or he would 'obliterate' their power plants.

Iran responded to the threat, on Sunday saying if its plants were targeted then energy infrastructure 'across the entire region' would be 'irreversibly destroyed'.

This morning the regime, via Iran's Fars News Agency, revealed the eight Persian Gulf energy sites it will strike.

The strikes come as last night Iran said it was planning 'special events' for the US and Israel which it says will 'completely remove the hope of negotiations from the minds of the aggressors', state media reported.

Information on the talks described by Trump remain in dispute with Iran, which denied discussions had been held.

'No negotiations have been held with the US,' Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X, adding that 'fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets'.

In a message posted on Telegram by Fars News Agency, sources further appeared to reject Donald Trump's claims of 'major points of agreement' between the US and Iran.

A vehicle is seen in flames next to a building which was hit by an Iranian missile

In one attack, homes in northern Israel were damaged by falling debris following an interception

Emergency personnel at the site following Iranian missile barrages in Israel

The message reads: 'Informed officials in Iran announced that there were no negotiations and emphasized that until the US completely withdrew, evacuated its bases in the region, paid compensation, and received valid guarantees not to repeat the aggression, neither would the war end nor would the Strait of Hormuz be reopened.

'According to this report, even after the possible end of the war, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not return to the pre-war situation.'

In an interview with Fars, an unnamed foreign policy analyst added 'no sane official in Iran would indulge in such foolishness' in regards to negotiating with the US.

Trump meanwhile said if upcoming talks go well the war could end within a week, before later adding: 'Otherwise, we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out.'

But Iranian officials told Fars that even if the roiling war ended, 'the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not return to the pre-war situation.'

Iranian state television boasted Trump 'backed down' in the war over fears of Iran's response to blowing up the country's power plants.

However, Fars claimed that attacks were carried out against energy infrastructures in Isfahan and Khorramshahr, despite Donald Trump's promise to pause on attacks for five days.

Overnight, it was claimed that the gas administration building and the gas reduction station in Isfahan, as well as a gas pipeline at the Khorramshahr power plant, were targeted.

Speaking on state TV on Tuesday, however, Iran's energy minister appeared to downplay threats of an attack.

He said he believed the country was less vulnerable than others in the region to any attacks on its energy infrastructure.

'We produce electricity in a spread out way in several places, unlike the countries of the Persian Gulf or the Zionist regime, where production is centralised and very vulnerable,' Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said, referring to Iran's Gulf neighbours and Israel.

'We have more than 150 power plants across the country,' he added.

Meanwhile yesterday, Trump suggested he could jointly run the Strait of Hormuz with the Iranian Ayatollah when it fully reopens to the world.

Asked who would in charge of the key waterway in any deal to end the conflict, Trump said: 'maybe me, me and... whoever the next ayatollah (is).'

Rocket trails were seen in the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks on March 24

A piece of debris lies on a destroyed car at the site following Iranian missile barrages in central Israel

The President also admitted he does not know if Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and that the US was pushing for a 'very serious form of a regime change.'

He added: 'We're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are. They're very respected. Maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for.'

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called on Tuesday for an immediate end to hostilities in the region.

'We all feel the knock on effects on gas and oil prices on our businesses and our societies,' von der Leyen said alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra.

She added: 'It is of utmost importance that we come to a solution that is negotiated, and this puts an end to the hostilities that we see in the Middle East.'
Saudi Arabia is urging Donald Trump to deploy US troops on the ground in Iran and take advantage of a 'historic opportunity' to remake the Middle East, it has been reported.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has personally pushed Trump to press on with the war in a series of conversations over the last week, according to the New York Times.

People familiar with the discussions told the newspaper the Saudi leader, known as MBS, has argued Iran poses a long-term threat to Gulf nations which can only be removed by regime change.

It comes as Trump told US media outlets Tehran had undergone 'regime change' after more than three weeks of conflict with many high-ranking officials killed including former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Meanwhile countries across the world are warning the global fuel crisis is now 'critical' as emergency measures are introduced in response to the Iran war.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has declared the time has come for negotiations with Iran to reopen the blocked Strait of Hormuz given the perilous energy situation around the globe.

Follow the latest updates on the US-Israel war with Iran
A confronting video captures a skydiver's wide grin and obvious joy moments before he and his instructor became entangled with a plane and fell to their deaths during a jump.

Experienced instructor Stephen Hoare, 37, and his tandem passenger Alex Welling, 32, died while skydiving at Goulburn airport in southern NSW in 2021.

SafeWork NSW charged Goulburn Flight Training Centre and its sole director Attilio Giovanni Ferrara, known as John Ferrara, with two counts each of breaching workplace safety duties.

The flight school and its director were found guilty of the safety breaches in NSW District Court on Tuesday.

The prosecutor had established the elements of the offences beyond a reasonable doubt, Judge Andrew Scotting found.

Ferrara was not in court when the decision was handed down.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

During the 10-day trial in September 2025, the court was told the skydivers' equipment had snagged on a metal step that was recently installed on the Cessna plane.

Experienced instructor Stephen Hoare, 37, and his tandem passenger Alex Welling, 32, died while skydiving at Goulburn airport in southern NSW in 2021

Mr Welling worked as a tradie (left) and instructor Mr Hoare had a wife and baby (right)

SafeWork NSW charged Goulburn Flight Training Centre and its sole director Attilio Giovanni Ferrara, known as John Ferrara, with two counts each of breaching workplace safety duties

A short video taken by a third solo skydiver during the June 27 incident.

It showed Mr Welling grinning as he moved towards the open door of the plane while strapped to Mr Hoare.

Mr Welling was filmed in the GoPro video sticking his tongue out at the camera as he and Mr Hoare edge out of the open door for a few seconds before they attempt the dive.

Instead of a smooth deployment, the footage shows a black strap getting caught on the protruding step.

The accident left the pair frantically dangling upside-down mid-air.

The pilot later attempted several manoeuvres to free the men.

These included flying low over the airport while staff on the ground stood on top of a four-wheel drive to try and grab them.

The footage was released on Tuesday over the objections of the skydivers' families after Judge Scotting ruled it could serve to prevent future tragedies.
A grandmother has been fined 270 after claiming broken machines left her unable to pay for parking.

Krystyna Allen, 81, left her vehicle in the car park in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, for 11 minutes on July 17 last year before moving it because the pay machines did not work.

Less than two weeks later, she said she received a 100 fine, despite having tried to pay using both cash and card.

Mrs Allen claimed she has written numerous letters to Smart Parking, the site's operator, but in return has merely received 'more demands for payment'. The company say the payment system was 'fully operational' and that her appeal was rejected by a third party body.

The fine has now increased to 270, with the pensioner receiving 'threatening' letters from debt collectors who warn of court proceedings.

Mrs Allen said: 'I went to pay and tried three or four times, with cash and card, but the machine wasn't working.

'I didn't have a mobile with me, I don't use one. Two very kind gentlemen confirmed it wasn't working by trying their own cards.

'As I'd already been quite a few minutes, they suggested I'd better move my car before I was fined.

Krystyna Allen, 81, (pictured) was fined 270 after broken machines left her unable to pay for parking

'I got back in the car and went and parked across the road at the Arts House car park so I could unload my food that I was offering for a singing event at the United Reformed Church next door.'

Former primary school teacher Mrs Allen said she had been using the car park for four or five years without any problems.

'I have written letter after letter, and have just got back more demands for payment,' she said.

'I've received seven debt collector letters and they are now asking for 270, and threatening to take me to court. My daughter is worried bailiffs will break in.

'I will not be bullied into paying an outrageous car park fine when I am innocent. I will not give in to people like this. Lots of people just sort of cave in, don't they?'

Mrs Allen, from Langley, Warwickshire, is doing a history degree at the Open University, and regularly visits her husband of 39 years, who lives at an RAF care home in Solihull.

She is also occupied with books clubs and coffee mornings, and has started storytelling with children once a week.

'I am a local person and I feel very aggrieved because I must have paid hundreds of pounds for that bloody car parking lot over the years because I would never dream of going without paying. At my age, why would I?' she said.

'Besides, I'm busy, I haven't got time for this.

'I'm not frightened or worried in any way. I'm half Polish, and I have this aversion to being bullied or treated unfairly.

'Although that means that my poor family nearly tear their hair out trying to keep me out of trouble.'

A spokesperson for Smart Parking said: 'Smart Parking was brought in to manage the car park at Stratford Market in order to address parking abuse and to ensure consumers can always find a parking place. To do this, we operate a state-of-the-art ANPR parking management system that monitors cars entering and exiting.

'The motorist in question received a parking charge due to staying in the car park and leaving it without paying.

'It is important to highlight that on the day they were charged, both the cash option on the on-site payment machines and the RingGo app were fully operational and were used by our customers as a method of payment before, during and after the motorist's stay at the car park.

'Smart Parking are members of the International Parking Community (IPC) and strictly follow its guidelines. As part of this, we operate an IPC audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charges by highlighting their mitigating circumstances.

'The motorist's appeal was rejected, and because they failed to engage further, the charge was subsequently escalated to debt recovery.'
This is the uncomfortable moment Donald Trump appeared to shift blame on to Pete Hegseth, as the US President suggested his Secretary of War came up with the idea of striking Iran.

Speaking Monday at a conference in Tennessee, Trump said: 'I called a lot of our great people... and I said, "Let's talk. We got a problem in the Middle East. We have a country known as Iran that, for 47 years, has been just a purveyor of terror, and they're close to a nuclear weapon."'

Turning to Hegseth who was sitting to his right, Trump added: 'And Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. And you said, Lets do it, because you cant let them have a nuclear weapon."'

The defense secretary forced an awkward smile as the US President continued discussing ongoing talks with Iran, claiming they had 'started last night'.

'I think theyre very good. They want peace to  theyve agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon, you know etc., etc., but well see. You have to get it done. But I would say theres a very good chance,' Trump said.

The US President went on to add that Israel has 'been a great partner in this fight'.

Trump's comments come as the war  now in its fourth week  is wreaking havoc across the region and causing economic chaos throughout the globe.

The showdown between the President and Iran over access to the Strait of Hormuz has entered a critical stage as experts warn the world economy is under 'major threat'.

Hegseth forced an awkward smile as the US President continued discussing ongoing talks with Iran

Your browser does not support iframes.

Iran maintains they have control of the strait, through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes. The regime has barred access through the narrow waterway to anyone except countries allied with Iran.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol has now warned that the global economy is under 'major threat' from the ongoing closure of the strait, and said 'no country will be immune' to its effects.

'This crisis, as things stand, is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together,' he said at the National Press Club in Australia's capital, comparing the current energy crisis to those of the 1970s and the effects of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

'The global economy is facing a major, major threat today, and I very much hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible,' Birol said.

'No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction. So there is a need for global efforts,' he added, noting that 'at least 40 energy assets in the region are severely or very severely damaged across nine countries.'

Trump warned Tehran on Saturday it had 48 hours to allow cargo through the vital global shipping lane 'without threat' or he would 'obliterate' their power plants.

Iran responded to the threat on Sunday saying if its plants were targeted then energy infrastructure 'across the entire region' would be 'irreversibly destroyed'.

Trump then wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the US and Iran had held 'very good and productive' conversations about a 'complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East'.

As a result, the President said he was postponing for five days a plan to hit Iran's power plants.

However, the pause only applies to Iran's energy sites and US strikes on the country continue.

Iran has effectively closed the key strait, which sees around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas pass through, since the US and Israel launched their war on February 28.

According to a group of Austrian researchers, exports worth up to $1.2trillion (893.5billion) could be affected if Iran keeps the strait closed for an extended period.

While short disruptions of around two weeks would have limited consequences, blockages longer than four weeks could trigger 'cascading issues'.

Worryingly, their findings show that the UK has the biggest exposure to these supply chain shocks of any country in Europe.

Britain imports $12billion (8.9billion) worth of goods through the Strait of Hormuz each year, with Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) and propane alone totalling $5.9 billion (4.4billion).

The researchers say that this creates a 'genuine vulnerability' that Britain won't be able to substitute its LNG supply in the short term, driving up prices for consumers.

Coauthor Dr Jasper Verschuur, of Delft University of Technology, told the Daily Mail: 'What is unique about the Strait is that there are no alternatives to reroute goods.'

Meanwhile on Monday, Trump suggested he could jointly run the Strait of Hormuz with the Iranian Ayatollah when it fully reopens to the world.

Asked who would be in charge of the key waterway in any deal to end the conflict, Trump said: 'Maybe me, me and... whoever the next ayatollah (is).'

Despite the economic consequences, Washington insists the war is an overwhelming success.

Speaking last week, Hegseth blasted the media and America's allies for 'Trump Derangement Syndrome'.

The Defense Secretary tore into the press who 'want President Trump to fail', but said that the American people 'know better'.

He lashed out at 'ungrateful allies in Europe', claiming that the entire world 'should be saying one thing to President Trump: Thank You.'

Meanwhile, members of Trump's Cabinet including Hegseth have experienced a notable downturn in public esteem in recent weeks.

Join the discussion Who should bear responsibility when wars are launched  leaders, advisors, or both?

Your browser does not support iframes.

A building was reduced to rubble after missile strikes hit Tel Aviv on March 24

Israeli firefighters work to put out a fire following Iranian missile strikes on Israel on March 24

According to a Daily Mail/JL Partners poll the War Secretary, is now the joint most unpopular Cabinet secretary with a net approval rating of minus 10.

Hegseth's net approval rating has plummeted ten points since February 28, the day of the first strikes against Iran.

Others who have taken the biggest hits are officials connected to the Iran war.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called on Tuesday for an immediate end to hostilities in the region.

'We all feel the knock on effects on gas and oil prices on our businesses and our societies,' von der Leyen said alongside prime minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra.

She added: 'It is of utmost importance that we come to a solution that is negotiated, and this puts an end to the hostilities that we see in the Middle East.'

On Tuesday, Iran launched missile strikes on Tel Aviv just a day after Trump declared peace talks with the country had been 'good and constructive'.

Iran sent multiple waves of missiles towards Israel, hours after a source told the state-run Fars News Agency: 'Tonight, special events are planned for Tel Aviv and some regional allies of the US and Israel that will completely remove the hope of negotiations from the minds of the aggressors.'

The missiles triggered air raid sirens in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv where blasts from interceptions were heard.

In one attack, homes in northern Israel were damaged by falling debris following an interception. Israeli police said six people had been injured.

They said a munition carrying some 100 kilograms of explosives hit the city, causing widespread damage to buildings and vehicles.

Iran also hit Eilat in southern Israel, as well as the cities of Dimona and Yeruham. Residents in the Jerusalem area last night reported hearing loud explosions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue strikes in 'both Lebanon and Iran'.

'We are smashing the missile programme and the nuclear programme, and we continue to deal severe blows to Hezbollah,' he said.

'Just a few days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists - and we are still active.'

An Israeli strike on Bshamoun, south of Beirut, killed two people on Tuesday, Lebanon's health ministry said, while strikes on the capital's southern suburbs continued throughout the night.

Smoke billows following an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv this morning

Rubble after an overnight Israeli airstrike that hit Amana fuel station in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr near Tyre in southern Lebanon on March 24

The strikes come as last night Iran said it was planning 'special events' for the US and Israel which it says will 'completely remove the hope of negotiations from the minds of the aggressors', state media reported.

Information on the talks described by Trump remain in dispute with Iran, which denied discussions had been held.

'No negotiations have been held with the US,' Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X, adding that 'fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets'.

In a message posted on Telegram by Fars News Agency, sources further appeared to reject Trump's claims of 'major points of agreement' between the US and Iran.

The message reads: 'Informed officials in Iran announced that there were no negotiations and emphasized that until the US completely withdrew, evacuated its bases in the region, paid compensation, and received valid guarantees not to repeat the aggression, neither would the war end nor would the Strait of Hormuz be reopened.

'According to this report, even after the possible end of the war, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not return to the pre-war situation.'

In an interview with Fars, an unnamed foreign policy analyst added 'no sane official in Iran would indulge in such foolishness' in regards to negotiating with the US.

Trump meanwhile said if upcoming talks go well the war could end within a week, before later adding: 'Otherwise, we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out.'
This is the moment a driver chases after Algerian migrants who stole his 65,000 watch while he took a picture of his Bentley.

Besart Krasniqi had left a cafe in Mayfair with his pregnant wife when one man ripped the designer watch from his wrist before fleeing with two other men.

Belal Amine, 26, and Gabriel Kamali, 23, who were smuggled across the English Channel in 2019, snatched Mr Krasniqi's Patek Philippe in a 'planned robbery' on May 11 last year.

Video footage captured the moment Mr Krasniqi gave chase before he was pushed over by Kamali, and the trio fled the scene.

Kamali was described as the group's 'spotter' after he identified the watch as 'genuine high-value'.

The three perpetrators then managed to get away via nearby side streets. The watch was never recovered.

CCTV footage shows the watch thieves being chased through Mount Street, Mayfair

Belal Amine (left), 26, and Gabriel Kamali (right), 23, who were smuggled across the English Channel in 2019, were jailed this week for robbing a Patek Philippe watch worth 65,000 in Mayfair

The video shows Mr Krasniqi being pushed over by his assailants

In his victim statement, Mr Krasniqi said that he had inadvertently taken a photo of the robbers moments before they targeted him.

'At about 4pm I was with my wife at the Hideaway Cafe 100 Mount,' he said. 'I walked around the front of my car and took a picture of it in the sun.

'Unbeknown by me I had taken a picture of one of the males who stole my watch. I would later show the picture to the police.

'I was pushed on the left shoulder by a male. A second male ripped the watch off my left wrist. The watch was now in the hand of the second male.

'Both men ran off along Carpenter Street. A third male picked up the leather watch strap.

'The third male ran after me. I ran up Carpenter Street chasing the males. After a few metres the third male pushed me and then knocked me to the floor.

'I lost sight of the males. I called 999 and reported the matter. A male came over to me and said that he had filmed them, and had pictures of them.'

It was heard that Algerian Amine and Kamali were both in the United Kingdom illegally. Kamali came to the country on a small boat aged 16 or 17.

His representative Anne Asfaw told the court: 'He says that as soon as he pushed this poor man (Mr Krasniqi) he felt terrible,' Ms Asfaw said.

'He would like to apologise to the victim and ask for his forgiveness.'

While Tim Williams, for Amine, said the 26-year-old was an asylum seeker and therefore not allowed to work.

'He was interested in working, that's what he'd like to do, get a job and stay in the UK,' Mr Williams said. 'Clearly, that's not going to be possible after Your Honour passes sentence.'

Kamali pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, while Amine was convicted on the same charge following a trial.

Sentencing the pair on Monday, Judge Perrins said the robbery was 'a serious, planned, group attack'.

'This was not therefore an opportunistic robbery - the overwhelming evidence was that you were out that day looking for wealthy victims to rob,' the judge said.

Amine was jailed for four years, while Kamali was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Because of the length of their sentences, both were subject to automatic deportation provisions, the court heard.

'My expectation is that you will be deported on release,' Judge Perrins said.

Mayfair, one of London's plushest and most expensive regions, has become a crime hotspot with gangs of robbers often frequenting the area in search of goods to steal.

Our map shows how gangs of bike thieves like to target the richest areas of central London around Park Lane, Mayfair and Oxford Street

Algerian groups in particular have targeted the district, with an investigation revealing that 28 per cent of phones stolen in Britain end up in the north African country, making it the global destination ahead of China.

Criminals have begun waiting for visibly wealthy people at posh bars in Mayfair, before violently mugging them when they come out onto the street.

Earlier this month, BBC presenter Ben Thompson was left fearing for his safety after being robbed while leaving a restaurant in Mayfair with his friend.

He and Roja Dove were grabbed by six men on March 11 before Roja was thrown to the floor and robbed of his 150,000 Patek Philippe watch.

'After this attack my behaviour has changed  I no longer feel safe in London,' Mr Thompson said in a victim impact statement read out as two of the gang were jailed this week.

'I am nervous and jumpy when I hear a jogger or cyclist approaching behind me,' added the former Middle East correspondent.

It is thought that the Algerian gangs have pivoted from phone snatchings to violent robberies after a Metropolitan Police crackdown on mobile thefts.

Indeed, the number of phone thefts in London last year fell from 81,365 in 2024 to 71,391.

David McKelvey, a former Detective Chief Inspector with the Met Police, said: 'The criminals are able to adapt very quickly and once the police began to have some success in bringing down the number of phone thefts, it was inevitable that they would start looking at other areas.

'A simple "risk vs reward" assessment means for them it will make sense to try to steal one very valuable watch instead of any number of valuable phones.

'Ultimately the police need to catch these people more quickly and respond to new developments more quickly to do that.'
AFT Pharmaceuticals (NZX: AFT ; ASX: AFP), New Zealands largest domestic pharmaceuticals company, today advises Chief Financial Officer-designate Simon Bosley has decided not to take up the role for personal reasons.

Simon has, however, committed to remain with the company until the end of July, while it recruits a new Chief Financial Officer to replace Malcolm Tubby, who is to retire at the end of May 2026.

AFT Managing Director Dr Hartley Atkinson thanked Simon for his engagement and his support during the transition period.

Released for and on behalf of AFT Pharmaceuticals Limited by Malcolm Tubby, Chief Financial Officer.

For more information:

Investors Media

Dr Hartley Atkinson Richard Inder

Managing Director The Project

AFT Pharmaceuticals Tel: +64 21 645 643

Tel: +64 9488 0232

About AFT Pharmaceuticals

AFT is a growing New Zealand based multinational pharmaceutical company that develops, markets, and distributes a broad portfolio of pharmaceutical products across a wide range of therapeutic categories which are distributed across all major pharmaceutical distribution channels: over the counter (OTC), prescription, and hospital. Our product portfolio comprises both proprietary and in-licensed products, and includes patented, branded, and generic drugs. Our business model is to develop and in-license products for in our markets of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, USA, Canada, EU ex Ireland, and UK, and to out-license our products to local licensees and distributors to over 125 countries around the world. For more information about the company, visit our website www.aftpharm.com.

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Rua Bioscience Market Update

FSF - Fonterra announces interim leadership changes

April 29th Morning Report

NZK - Blue Endeavour Pilot Farm and Wellboat Update

TRU - FY 31 March 2026 Revenue and Results Guidance Achieved

FBU - Fletcher Building sale of Fletcher Reinforcing and Wire

April 28th Morning Report

RYM - Ryman Healthcare appoints new independent director

ikeGPS 4Q FY26 and Full Year FY26 Performance Update

HGH - Heartland trading update


A reveller miraculously survived being smashed in the head and thrown across the ground by a raging bull during a Peruvian festival.

Footage captured the brutal moment a racing bull charged headfirst at Cesar del Rio Ganoza in the Las Delicias resort area of Trujillo during the San Jose Fair.

The man was thrown to the ground due to the impact of the hit, and just moments later, another bull charged past, missing his head by inches.

Ganoza was left lying on the ground in front of horrified onlookers before several people rushed out onto the track to retrieve him.

More than a dozen festival-goers scrambled around the wounded man, picking him up off the ground by his arms and legs and carrying him off the track.

Despite the intensity of the blow, Ganoza somehow survived.

Ganoza later uploaded a selfie onto social media showing his forehead and nose covered in bandages, with local reports stating he is now recovering at Belen Hospital.

According to local media, a 25-year-old man named Gianluca Monterosso Encomenderos, was also left injured after being struck by a bull and received 20 stitches in his arm.

Footage captured the brutal moment a racing bull charged headfirst at Cesar del Rio Ganoza

The blow took place in the Las Delicias resort area of Trujillo during the San Jose Fair

The bull was seen charging straight into the man in front of horrified onlookers

The man was thrown to the ground due to the impact of the hit, and just moments later, another bull charged past, missing his head by inches

Ganoza later uploaded a selfie onto social media showing his forehead and nose covered in bandages, with local reports stating he is now recovering at Belen Hospital

Inspired by the famous San Fermin festival in Spain, the festival in northern Peru consists of a bull run where fighting bulls are released along the main avenue of the resort.

The event also allows attendees to run in front of the charging animals, despite the dangers.

It comes after a teenager was repeatedly gored and tossed around by a rampaging bull while taking part in a traditional Spanish festival in September.

The incident happened in the town of Mocejon, in the province of Toledo, central Spain, during celebrations in honour of the Virgin of Angustias.

Video footage showed the animal pushing the 17-year-old against a wall before lifting him into the air and slamming him against a metal gate.

The bull then dragged the youth back to the centre of the plaza and toppled him over, leaving him lying on the ground.

Other participants rush forward, waving capes and pulling the bulls tail to distract it, but their attempts fail at first.

They eventually succeeded and carried the injured minor away to seek medical assistance.

Civil Guard sources said the boy was gored three times and suffered wounds to his shoulder and abdomen.

He was stabilised at the scene by medical personnel before being transferred to the University Hospital of Toledo.
Rachel Reeves was accused of making middle-income families subsidise benefits claimants today as she made clear they will not get government help with soaring energy bills.

The Chancellor declared that any bailout for Brits being battered by the Middle East crisis will be targeted rather than universal.

In a Commons statement, Ms Reeves said the 2022 support under the Tories was a 'mistake' because much of the 40billion went to the 'wealthy'.

She said she would focus funds on 'those that need it most'. Ms Reeves also outlined plans to prevent price 'gouging' during what she admitted would be a 'significant' cost-of-living storm.

But Kemi Badenoch accused Ms Reeves of raising eye-watering levels of tax that is only spent on benefits claimants. The Conservatives also pointed out that Keir Starmer backed the universal package four years ago.

Markets gave a jittery reaction to the Treasury's stance, with interest rates on 10-year gilts - one of the main ways the Government raises money - increasing sharply.

Brits are facing an agonising squeeze on living standards despite Donald Trump declaring he is looking for a way to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The PM yesterday braced the UK for the turmoil to continue for 'some time' - suggesting the closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz and damage to infrastructure could still be resonating by Christmas.

He also highlighted the strain on the public finances, with fears the 'Trumpflation' shock will drive up spending and borrowing costs.

Domestic energy bills are capped until July, but experts say they could rise by a fifth or more - putting Ms Reeves under pressure to come up with a support package.

Rachel Reeves is expected to make clear that any bailout will be targeted rather than universal as she responds to the Middle East crisis

Your browser does not support iframes.

Brits are facing an agonising squeeze on living standards despite Donald Trump declaring he is looking for a way to end the US-Israeli war on Iran

Fuel duty is due to rise in September, even though drivers are currently being hit with eye-watering pump prices.

Food bills are also being closely watched with fertiliser costs spiking because much of the world's supply comes from the Middle East.

Ms Reeves told MPs: 'Contingency planning is taking place for every eventuality so that we can keep costs down for everyone and provide support for those who need it most, acting within our iron-clad fiscal rules to keep inflation and interest rates as low as possible.

'This is not a war that we started, nor is it a war that we joined but it is a war that will have an impact on our country.

'The challenges may be significant but I promise to do what is right and fair, being responsive in a changing world and responsible in the national interest.'

The Chancellor said: 'The previous government pushed up borrowing, interest rates, inflation and mortgage costs with an unfunded, untargeted package of support under Liz Truss. That gave the support to the most wealthiest of households.

Ms Reeves added: 'That left us with high levels of national debt, a cheque written then for a bill that is still being paid today.

'I can confirm to the House that contingency planning is taking place for every eventuality so that we can keep costs down for everyone and provide support for those who need it most, acting within our ironclad fiscal rules to keep inflation and interest rates as low as possible.'

Ms Reeves said in 2022 there had been a 'binary' choice between offering universal support or no support.

That was because the then-government did not have adequate data on household incomes, a situation which she argued had now been fixed.

Despite Ms Reeves having pushed the tax burden towards a record high since entering No11, figures last week revealed the public sector racked up the highest February borrowing on record outside of Covid - far more than analysts had expected.

There are concerns that the Government will need to bring in even more revenue to cover a shortfall in the finances from the Middle East turmoil.

The Chancellor has acknowledged she needs to be 'disciplined' on spending, with suggestions that poorer households on benefits will be prioritised.

Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: 'What we see with targeted support is taxes on other people to pay for support to others. This is Labour's playbook.

'They keep raising taxes on everyone else to give benefits. There is a much better thing that they could do, which is to scrap the taxes on household energy bills.

'These are the green taxes which Ed Miliband put on all our energy bills, both households and business and industry.'

She added: 'The other thing she could do is scrap her planned rise on fuel duty, which is coming in in a few months.

'It's completely crazy to be increasing fuel duty at this time, and let's drill our own oil and gas in the North Sea.'

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said: 'We enter this crisis from a position of economic weakness because of Rachel Reeves' choices.

'Taxes up, bills up, borrowing up, families worse off. Reeves and Miliband talk about energy security while blocking British energy, killing jobs, and making us dependent on imports.

'Labour have no plan and hardworking families are paying the price. The Chancellor must axe the fuel tax, drop the net zero dogma and open up the North Sea.'

Ms Reeves made her statement to MPs following an emergency Cobra meeting yesterday.

Her announcements included an 'anti-profiteering framework' to detect and crack down on companies exploiting the Middle East crisis.

The Competition and Markets Authority is set to be given 'more teeth' to root out price gouging.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Join the discussion Should middle-income households get energy bill support too  or should help be reserved for the most vulnerable?

But Ms Reeves batted away pleas for Labour to scrap its opposition to new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. The industry and even renewables groups have pointed out that the UK importing more fossil fuels does not help the global push towards Net Zero.

The Chancellor argued that Britain needs a diverse mix of energy to shield the public from volatile oil and gas markets, vowing to boost nuclear power supplies.

She said she is exploring government-backed indemnities for critical energy security projects so construction can continue if a project is legally challenged.

Susannah Streeter of Wealth Club said: 'As another cost-of-living crisis looms, blanket help to bring down energy costs simply doesn't look viable given the stretched public finances and it's likely lower-income groups will be first in line.

'The Government for now appears to be resisting calls for more North Sea drilling and doubling down on its strategy to cut the dependence on fossil fuels.'

Mr Shanks also tried to cool concerns about the need for rationing, with the International Energy Agency having suggested people drive less and more slowly.

Asked on Times Radio if drivers should change their habits, the minister said: 'They should do everything as absolutely normal because there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment. We monitor this every single day, I look at the numbers personally. There's no issue at all with that.'

Mr Shanks added: 'People should go about their business as normal. That's what the RAC and the AA have said. It's really important people do that.

'There's no shortage of fuel and everything is working as normal.'

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: 'There definitely needs to be something targeted because there are people who are really struggling already with energy bills, let alone before these rises caused by Trump's illegal war.

'But I am worried that the Government isn't thinking about people on middle incomes and modest incomes, for whom a 500 rise in energy bills  which is what's being talked about  on top of the rise in mortgage costs, on top of the rise in petrol and diesel prices, on top of the cost-of-living crisis that was already there, those people will really be hammered.

'So the Government's got to think more widely. Yet no one wants the richest people to get money that they need, and that was a big mistake of Liz Truss, who wasted a lot of money.

'So we've got to get it right. But I'm worried the Government is not thinking about people who will struggle to pay an extra 500.'
Wes Streeting has agreed to new reforms to make it easier to suspend anti-Semitic or racist doctors.

The overhaul will give regulators the power to ensure practitioners who use 'intolerably racist and anti-Semitic language' are struck off from the medical register.

The Department of Health and Social Care said there have been 'too many' recent examples of doctors expressing anti-Jewish sentiment on social media without swift action being taken.

This included Dr Rahmeh Aladwan who was allowed to keep working for the NHS despite making a 'slit your throat' gesture at Jewish protesters and posting anti-Semitic tirades online.

The trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, 31, was investigated but escaped suspension at tribunal because of her 'right to freedom of speech'.

Dr Aladwan was subsequently barred from practising for 15 months at a second hearing in November but denied making racist or hateful comments.

The row led to Mr Streeting asking regulators to explain 'why they are failing so publicly and abysmally in their responsibility to protect Jewish staff and Jewish patients'.

Dr Rahmeh Aladwan (pictured) was allowed to keep working for the NHS despite making a 'slit your throat' gesture at Jewish protesters and posting anti-Semitic tirades online

Wes Streeting (pictured) has agreed to new reforms to make it easier to suspend anti-Semitic or racist doctors

The Health Secretary vowed to kick 'racists out of the NHS', and in October, Sir Keir Starmer asked the Government's anti-Semitism tsar, Lord Mann, to review the system.

The Government is now preparing to publish the first tranche of his recommendations and has launched a consultation on changes to the legislation governing the regulation of doctors.

The Department of Health and Social care said the move will lead to the biggest reform of the medical regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), in four decades.

The department said it is 'clear that the current regulatory landscape is outdated and too bureaucratic, hampering the GMC's ability to act decisively' when doctors step out of bounds.

Under the new plans, the GMC will have fresh powers to challenge the decisions of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS).

And the Professional Standards Authority, the body that oversees all health regulators, will also be given greater powers to scrutinise and challenge decisions.

The department said these changes will increase oversight of the GMC and make it easier for regulators and oversight bodies to act when tribunal decisions are 'not strong enough to keep the public safe'.

'The NHS is a universal health service, which means that everyone, regardless of race, religion or belief should feel safe seeking its care,' said Health Secretary Mr Streeting.

'It is unacceptable that this is not the current reality for many patients and staff, and I will not allow it to continue.

Dr Aladwan sparked outrage due to her controversial posts on social media

'I am grateful to Lord John Mann for his rapid investigation into how we can overhaul the current system and I look forward to setting his common-sense recommendations in motion to ensure NHS patients and staff get the protection they expect.'

Responding to Mr Streeting's plans in October, Dr Aladwan wrote on X: 'So you're telling me that the Chief Rabbi of Britain can spend two years supporting, praising and praying for the terrorist, child-killing, hospital-bombing, rapist IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) but I can't be a British doctor and support the human, legal right of Palestinians to armed resistance?

'Streeting wants to centre Jews and falsely claim that Jewish patients are somehow unsafe.

'No jew has been harmed by anti-genocide, pro-Palestine healthcare workers. We are not "Israeli" or Jewish supremacists. We see everyone as EQUAL.'

The controversy surrounding Dr Aladwan began last year when several social media posts believed to be written by the NHS doctor were uncovered.

This included a claim that 'British Jewish children are taught they are superior to non-Jews, that they have the right to colonise Palestine, and are groomed through birthright trips to become colonisers'.

In other social media posts, thought to be written by Dr Aladwan, she described anti-Semitism and the Holocaust as 'concepts' used by Jewish people to 'promote a narrative of victimhood'.

Lord Mann said: 'Racism, including anti-Jewish racism, has no place in the health sector or our NHS, and those who engage in it should face swift and meaningful consequences.

'For too long, the system has been too slow and too cumbersome to deliver that.

'These reforms will help deliver change. I am pleased that the Government has moved quickly to act on my recommendations, and I look forward to working with it to implement the rest of my review.'

Aside from the Mann recommendations, the Government is also consulting on removing the current rule which prevents regulators from being able to consider fitness to practise concerns involving allegations of historic sexual abuse after five years have passed.

GMC chief executive and registrar Charlie Massey said: 'Patients rightly expect assurance that doctors, physician associates and anaesthesia associates are safe to practise and can be held to account if serious concerns are raised.

'These proposed reforms will allow us to respond more quickly and flexibly when patient safety is at risk.

'They will also allow us to further improve our efficiency and effectiveness while at the same time enabling us to help patients navigate the complaints and concerns process more easily.

'This is an important and long-awaited step towards a more responsive and compassionate approach to healthcare regulation.'

In response to Mr Streeting's comments in October, Jahad Rahman - partner at Rahman Lowe Solicitors, - which is representing Dr Aladwan, said: 'We are concerned by the recent public comments made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

'As set out in our recent open letter to Mr Streeting, politicians must refrain from making statements that could be perceived as seeking to influence or direct the outcome of judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings.

'The independence of the judiciary, including independent tribunals such as the MPTS, is a fundamental principle of our legal system.

'When senior government figures make comments on the merits or outcomes of ongoing cases, there is a real risk of undermining public confidence in the impartiality of those proceedings, the administration of justice and the rule of law.

'We are also deeply concerned by the decision to rehear the case and any external or political pressure on the tribunal would be wholly unreasonable, irrational, and likely to give rise to grounds for an application for judicial review.

'Dr Aladwan continues to participate fully in the tribunal process and remains confident that the MPTS will assess the evidence fairly and independently, free from any external or political pressure.'
An all-female gang at the heart of a major cocaine trafficking operation that flooded Britain's streets with drugs worth 13.6million have been jailed.

The group were part of a sophisticated supply network that delivered more than 170 kilos of high-purity cocaine to locations across the UK in just four months, using encrypted messaging, secret passwords and last-minute drop-off points to evade capture.

Their operation was ultimately smashed when one of their couriers was caught red-handed in London carrying a large haul of drugs worth 80,000.

Officers from the Organised Crime Partnership  a joint unit between the National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police  uncovered the conspiracy, which was regularly supplying large quantities of Class A drugs into the capital.

Between April and August 2022, the network transported cocaine with an estimated street value of 13.6million.

Couriers were dispatched across the country, coordinating via the encrypted messaging platform Wickr and relying on codenames and constantly changing locations to stay under the radar.

The beginning of the end came on June 16 2022, when Arvinder Bains, 39, from Telford, was stopped by officers while carrying out a delivery in London.

A search of his vehicle revealed 10 kilos of compressed cocaine, with a street value of 80,000.

Gabriele Trinkunaite admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to seven years and eight months

Kaur (left) was jailed for five years and four months after pleading guilty. Virse (right) admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to six years and eight months

Their operation was ultimately smashed when one of their couriers was caught red-handed in London carrying a large haul of drugs worth 80,000

Forensic examination of his phone exposed the scale of the wider plot, showing he was acting as part of a coordinated effort to distribute 22 kilos of the drug that day alone.

Investigators identified Shahrukh Hummayiun, 29, from Wolverhampton, as the organiser who directed the movements of three female couriers  Sindija Virse, 28, Gabriele Trinkunaite, 26, and Rubanpreet Kaur, 26.

Messages recovered from the group showed how they arranged meeting points, shared vehicle details  including the Nissan X-Trail Bains was driving  and timed arrivals with precision to complete handovers.

Further evidence revealed the group had even scouted out locations in advance. The day before the failed delivery, Hummayiun messaged Bains: 'Tomorrow titch no excuses Car must be ready.'

The gang's carefully orchestrated operation unravelled in January last year as officers swooped to make arrests.

Trinkunaite was detained by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit on January 14 2025.

Hummayiun attempted to flee the country the following day but was stopped at Gatwick Airport as he tried to board a flight to Dubai.

Kaur and Virse were also arrested on January 15 at their home addresses.

All five members of the conspiracy have now been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to a combined total of 30 years and five months behind bars.

Forensic examination of his phone exposed the scale of the wider plot, showing he was acting as part of a coordinated effort to distribute 22 kilos of the drug that day alone

Investigators identified Shahrukh Hummayiun, 29, from Wolverhampton, as the organiser who directed the movements of three female couriers

Messages recovered from the group showed how they arranged meeting points, shared vehicle details  including the Nissan X-Trail Bains was driving (pictured)  and timed arrivals with precision to complete handovers

Detective Inspector Richard Smith, from the Organised Crime Partnership, said: 'This criminal enterprise was sophisticated and far reaching.

'The group brazenly supplied multiple communities with dangerous class A drugs without a care for the consequences.

'Thanks to the work of the dedicated investigators on the OCP, we were able to dismantle this network and eliminate the risk they pose to the public.'

Hummayiun, from Wolverhampton, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and jailed for ten years and nine months.

Trinkunaite, from Wolverhampton, admitted the same charge and was sentenced to seven years and eight months.

Kaur, also from Wolverhampton, was jailed for five years and four months after pleading guilty.

Virse, from Bedfordshire, also admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to six years and eight months.

Bains, from Telford, had previously been convicted of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs at Woolwich Crown Court in December 2022 and was sentenced to nine years.
Countries around the world are scrambling to save fuel as the vital oil pathway of the Strait of Hormuz remains at a standstill.

The escalating war with Iran has pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, despite pleas from global leaders for Tehran to unblock the waterway.

Sri Lanka has ordered street lights, neon signs and billboard lighting to be switched off from Tuesday as part of measures to cut energy consumption by 25 per cent to tackle supply shortages.

Government spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said all state institutions had been asked to reduce the use of air conditioning as the Middle East war entered its fourth week, driving up oil and gas prices.

Sri Lanka has already raised fuel prices by a third since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, triggering retaliatory attacks that have disrupted global energy supplies.

'We need to reduce consumption by at least 25 per cent,' Mr Jayatissa told reporters in Colombo.

'We hope the private sector too will abide by the guidelines drafted by a panel of experts.'

The island has introduced a four-day work week and brought back work-from-home arrangements since last week, to reduce pressure on the transport network.

A man refills fuel in his car at a petrol station in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Motorists queue to pump gasoline into their vehicle at a gas station in Hanoi

The minister said the new measures include switching off advertising illumination after 9.00pm and all street lights, except in high security areas.

An energy ministry official said peak demand was being met with coal and diesel, and that the island faced a risk of nationwide power cuts unless consumption was drastically reduced.

Last week, president Anura Kumara Dissanayake urged electric car owners to avoid overnight charging, saying the resulting demand surge of 300 megawatts had forced the country to burn more coal and diesel to maintain the grid.

About half of Sri Lanka's electricity is generated by coal and diesel. The country has yet to install battery storage for renewable energy, which is in surplus during the day.

It comes as the president of the Philippines declared a state of national energy emergency in response to the Middle East conflict and what he called an 'imminent danger' posed to the country's energy supply.

On Tuesday, president Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the conflict had created uncertainty in global energy markets, severe supply chain disruption and significant volatility and upward pressure on international oil prices 'thereby posing a threat to the country's energy security.'

'The declaration of a state of national energy emergency will enable the government ... to implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks posed by disruptions in the global energy supply and the domestic economy,' he said.

The declaration, which will remain in effect for one year, authorizes the government to procure required fuel and petroleum products to ensure timely and sufficient supply and, if necessary, pay part of the contract amount in advance.

Thousands of families in New Zealand will soon receive weekly cash payments of 22 to help them affort petrol. Pictured: A fuel tanker driver fills the tanks of a petrol station in Wellington

Philippine energy secretary Sharon Garin earlier on Tuesday told a news briefing the country had around 45 days of fuel supply based on current consumption levels.

She said the government was working to procure 1million barrels of oil from countries within and outside Southeast Asia to build its buffer stock.

Officials had switched to a four-day working week to cut back on fuel consumption and reduce the government's energy use by a fifth.

Meanwhile, Slovenia became the first EU member state to introduce fuel rationing to tackle shortages caused by stockpiling due to the Iran war.

Fuelling at individual service stations has been restricted to 50 litres per day for private vehicles and 200 litres for companies and other priority users such as farmers, Prime Minister Robert Golob announced on Saturday evening.

The restrictions will stay in force until further notice.

'Let me reassure you that there is enough fuel in Slovenia, the warehouses are full and there will be no fuel shortages,' said Golob.

Meanwhile, flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to cancel 23 flights per week across several domestic routes from April because of looming jet fuel shortages, Vietnam's aviation authority said.

The majority of Vietnam's jet fuel demand is met by imports, and the war in the Middle East is disrupting supply.

Vietnam Airlines, part of state-owned Vietnam Airlines Corp, is prioritising routes critical to national connectivity, trade, tourism, diplomacy and domestic travel, the CAAV said in a statement issued late on Monday.

From April 1, it will suspend seven domestic routes and cancel 23 flights a week to conserve fuel, the statement added.

The CAAV had previously warned of potential flight reductions from April after China and Thailand halted jet fuel exports because of the war in Iran, raising the risk of shortages.

People in a queue push their scooters as they wait to refuel outside a fuel station amid concerns over fuel supplies during the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Vietnamese airlines are preparing to implement fuel surcharges on international routes from early April, the authority added.

With oil prices surging, other Southeast Asian nations are stretching dwindling energy reserves by urging households, businesses and government agencies to slash power use.

Bangladesh announced early Ramadan holidays for universities last week to save energy and has imposed scheduled power blackouts.

In Thailand, the prime minister has even asked officials to take the stairs instead of elevators, and Pakistan, which relies on 85 percent of its energy coming through the Strait of Hormuz, moved schools to remote teaching last week.

Meanwhile, thousands of families in New Zealand will soon receive weekly cash payments of 22 to help them affort petrol.

Nearly 150,000 New Zealanders will benefit from the government scheme, which is believed to be the world's first fuel package that directly pays citizens since the Iran war began.

On Tuesday, prime minister Christopher Luxon said low-to-middle income workers who have children will get an extra payment of NZ $50, or 21.80, a week from April 1 in response to the global fuel crisis.

Some 143,000 families will be eligible to receive the cash payment with the government's boost to the existing in-work tax credit, which was designed to give extra financial support only to families who are working.

An additional 14,000 families with slightly higher incomes will also be eligible for payments.

US President Donald Trump injected a bit of optimism on Monday that relief might arrive at the pump, saying talks were ongoing with Iranian leaders and that they were eager to make a deal to end the war.

hose claims drove down global oil prices, with the price for a barrel of Brent crude falling 9.7 percent to $101.26, down from nearly $120 last week.

Iran denied any talks had been held, and its parliament speaker called Trump's claims a ploy to manipulate markets. Either way, the news had no immediate impact on consumer prices.

Oil can take weeks to go from drill sites to gas pumps. It must pass through refineries, where it is turned to fuel, before it is shipped off via pipelines and tankers to terminals, and then on to gas stations.

Pump prices similarly lag global markets, sometimes taking weeks to respond.
Police have launched a murder inquiry after an 88-year-old woman died at a care home.

Two pensioners, a man aged 74 and a 75-year-old woman, who were arrested in connection with the suspicious death have since been released.

Lincolnshire Police rushed to Sleaford Manor Care Home in the early hours of Sunday following reports that a woman had died.

Following a post-mortem examination, the force have launched a murder investigation into the death.

Local residents have voiced their concerns following the incident with one claiming it is not something you would expect to happen in the sleepy Lincolnshire market town.

Police are now providing support for the family following the 'unexpected' death as they carry out their inquiries.

Detective Inspector Mel Rooke said in a statement: 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.

'Our specially trained officers will be providing support to her family as our inquiry continues.

Lincolnshire Police rushed to Sleaford Manor Care Home (pictured) in the early hours of Sunday following reports that a woman had died

'I understand any unexpected death is a concern to our communities and this tragic death will be no different. I can say there is no wider risk to the public.

'Our inquiries will take some time to complete and I would ask that the family and the care home are left in peace and their privacy is respected.'

A spokesperson for Care UK, which runs the care home, told the Daily Mail: 'We are deeply saddened by this incident and send our condolences to the resident's family.

'The incident is now part of an active police investigation so it would be wrong for us to comment any further at this time.

'We will be co-operating with the investigation in any way we can.'

Residents who live nearby have expressed their shock following the incident.

Speaking to Lincolnshire Live, one neighbour expressed her surprise at the news and said she was quite 'concerning' to have something like that happen so close to her home.

A woman in her 60s, who did not wish to be named, added: 'I didn't see or hear anything when it happened, but I did see on Facebook someone saying that it was this area but I wasn't here until after midday so I'm not aware of anything going on.

'You've got the old person home there and the community centre being built there, so it's not something you would expect to have happen in your neighbourhood.'
Ed Miliband is facing renewed pressure to approve new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea after he doubled down on his plan to get Britain to rely more on green power.

The powerful Unite union added its voice to the clarion calls demanding the Energy Secretary change tack in the wake of a price spiral triggered by Donald Trump's war on Iran.

General Secretary Sharon Graham, who has cut funding for Labour in a row over party policy, said he should not 'let go of one rope before having hold of another'.

'We all know that whatever happens the UK will still need for oil and gas for decades to come and the war in Iran is just the latest reminder that when we rely on overseas production our energy security is at the mercy of global events,' she said.

Mr Miliband is already facing pushback from within Labour ranks, with Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell this week saying that he should reverse course.

It comes as the Conservatives are set to force a vote in the Commons demanding and end to the 'sheer lunacy' of a ban to reduce prices at the pump.

But facing MPs today, Mr Miliband suggested it was unimportant where the UK got its gas.

'Gas is bought and sold on the international market so whether it comes from the North Sea or imported it is charged at the same price,' he said.

He went on to praise the amount of money raised by a renewable energy action earlier this year, saying technology like wind turbines and solar panels were 'homegrown power that we can rely on'.

The Energy Secretary told Labour MPs that more drilling would make no difference to the cost energy and petrol, which have soared as a result of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

It comes as the Conservatives are set to force a vote in the Commons demanding new North Sea drilling to reduce prices at the pump

His comments at the despatch box followed a similar performance in front of Labour MPs last night.

Speaking to the parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) last night, Mr Miliband told MPs: 'Anyone who tells you that new licenses in the North Sea will make any difference to price is not telling you the truth.'

He also told MPs he would come down hard on any 'vested interests' if they intervene in government attempts to prevent petrol retailers gouging prices, Politico reported.

His comments were a reference to the fact that North Sea oil and gas are sold on the open international market and so are susceptible to the same international events that have sent prices up.

And today, announcing plans to force housebuilders to include renewable energy equipment in new build homes, he added: 'The Iran war has once again shown our drive for clean power is essential for our energy security so we can escape the grip of fossil fuel markets we don't control.

'Whether through solar panels fitted as standard on new homes or making it possible for people to purchase plug-in solar in shops, we are determined to roll out clean power so we can give our country energy sovereignty.'

It comes as the Conservatives are set to force a vote in the Commons demanding new North Sea drilling to reduce prices at the pump.

The party will table an Opposition Day motion today, calling on the Government to approve drilling in the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields.

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said the 'onerous' ban must be lifted, branding it 'sheer lunacy' while the UK faces a supply crisis.

Oil and gas prices have been driven up in recent weeks as Iran has throttled key shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, with commercial vessels coming under attack in the region.

The motion is unlikely to pass due to Labour's large Commons majority.

Ms Coutinho said: 'Turning our backs on domestic gas that could heat millions of homes would be madness in normal times, but it is sheer lunacy in the midst of a gas supply crisis.

'We must fast-track Rosebank and Jackdaw and lift the onerous bans and taxes on the North Sea to back Britain's energy security.

'Labour MPs have the chance to show they will put the national interest over Ed Miliband's zealotry.'

The Tories warned that without action, the UK could be importing as much as 82 per cent of its gas by 2035, leaving billpayers vulnerable to oil price volatility.

They claim Rosebank and Jackdaw are 'languishing' and should be used to boost domestic energy production.

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said the 'onerous' ban must be lifted, branding it 'sheer lunacy' while the UK faces a supply crisis

Mr Tufnell, whose constituency is home to an oil refinery, also wants the government to alter course.

He told the Sun: 'Drilling in the North Sea and scrapping carbon taxes on British manufacturing would kickstart economic growth, tackle unemployment, and economic inactivity in some of the poorest areas of our country as well as prevent further deindustrialisation.

'Offshoring our carbon emissions might give some a sense of moral superiority or perhaps relief from guilt, but the fight against climate change is global.

Importing oil and gas from foreign facilities that are less carbon-efficient and require long-distance shipping is simply displacing the problem elsewhere and impoverishing our own communities.'

However, last week, Dr Anupama Sen of the University of Oxford Smith School described the claims that drilling in the North Sea will significantly save households money as a 'sheer fantasy'.

Dr Sen said: 'Regardless of the remaining lifetime of North Sea oil and gas, a ''drill baby drill'' approach to extraction would actually cost households more money versus continuing on our path to clean energy.'

The university's analysis suggested maximising oil and gas extraction from the North Sea would save households just 16 to 82 a year, while a UK fully powered by renewable energy could save households 105 to 441 a year on bills.

If the Government did not use the tax revenues it collects from North Sea drilling solely to help lower household bills, there would be 'no discernible benefit' to consumers at all as oil and gas prices are set by volatile international markets, the analysts said.
Residents have been left baffled by the arrival of bright green telegraph poles which they say look like 'sticks of celery'.

The giant masts were erected on Fenn Street in St Mary Hoo, Kent, this month after the old poles reached the end of their lifespan.

But locals who drive along the main road have raised eyebrows at the unusual colour of the new masts, comparing them to various green vegetables such as leeks, celery and asparagus.

Councillor Nick Craddy, parish council leader for St Mary Hoo, said he has been inundated with questions from bemused residents asking why the poles look so strange.

'I started getting messages asking why there were sticks of celery going up by the roadside,' he said.

'I wondered what they meant, and then I saw them. Since then lots of people have commented on them because they do stand out.'

He added: 'I'd never thought about it before, but I've only ever known telegraph poles to be brown, so when they're suddenly not - and they're a bright colour like that - it's a bit of a surprise.'

UK Power Network (UKPN), who is responsible for the rollout of replacement poles in the area, said the masts are green because they were treated with an alternative to traditional brown wood preservative, which is gradually being phased out.

Giant green masts were erected on Fenn Street in St Mary Hoo, Kent, earlier this month

Councillor Nick Craddy (pictured) said locals have likened the green telegraph poles to various vegetables, including leeks, celery and asparagus

But some locals reportedly joked that the 'glow' the green poles give off could be evidence of extraterrestrial life, after an inflatable alien was used to decorate Fenn Corner roundabout nearby.

It follows a campaign by residents to improve the appearance of the roundabout on the A228, after it was branded a 'slab of concrete' and compared to a 'flying saucer'.

Despite their appearance, the erection of the new poles is still being welcomed by some, after many locals reportedly suffered from regular power cuts due to the condition of the old masts.

Councillor Craddy told KentOnline that the previous poles were 'totally askew', adding he is hopeful that any new masts will lead to improvements in power in the area.

A spokesperson for UKPN said: 'The wooden poles we're installing in Fenn Street, St Mary Hoo, are green as the wood is treated with an alternative to traditional brown wood preservative, which is gradually being phased out.

'They will have a similar lifespan to existing electricity poles and customers will see more of them in future.

'The colour is likely to fade over time in sunlight.'

The installation of new telegraph poles has been scrutinised by locals across the UK in recent years, with many branding them an 'eyesore' and claiming they block views and, in some cases, even driveways.

Some have even feared the position of the masts on their road could lead to a decrease in house prices, while others have participated in campaigns to stop more going up in their area.
There was more evidence of a Trump bounce for Keir Starmer today with a poll showing Reform's lead narrowing.

The PM has been struggling to manage tensions over the Iran war, with the US President branding him 'no Churchill' and 'disappointing' for refusing to join attacks.

Sir Keir shrugged off the jibes - including Mr Trump reposting a sketch mocking him as a 'coward' and 'out of his depth' - as 'pressure' tactics yesterday.

Allies hope the clashes could be a 'Love Actually' moment - a reference to the film where Hugh Grant's PM openly defies an American leader.

And YouGov research released this morning suggested the brickbats are not hurting the premier, with Labour up two points in a week at 19 per cent.

Nigel Farage's insurgents still have a clear advantage but were down two on 23 per cent. The Greens were on 18 per cent and the Tories 17 per cent.

Mr Farage has complained that the YouGov methodology - which asks who people would vote for in their own constituency - underplays Reform's support.

But other polls have shown a similar trend, with Brits deeply sceptical about getting involved in the US-Israeli campaign against Iran.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Keir Starmer (pictured) has been struggling to manage tensions with Donald Trump over the Iran war, with the US President branding him 'no Churchill' and 'disappointing' for refusing to join attacks

Alarm is also growing about the consequences of 'Trumpflation', with oil and gas prices spiralling.

Sir Keir's resistance to Mr Trump has also somewhat restored his standing with Labour MPs, who have been in open mutiny over the Mandelson scandal and defeat in the Gorton & Denton by-election.

An Opinium survey released over the weekend found the PM's personal ratings have ticked up significantly - although he is still deep in negative territory.

Sir Keir's score of minus 38 compares to the record low of minus 49 he hit at the end of last month, before the US-Israeli attacks were launched on Iran.

The PM gave an insight into how he approaches Mr Trump's bewildering communications style as he appeared before MPs yesterday.

Liaison Committee chair Meg Hillier asked the premier how he handled Mr Trump's 'rude comments' and the sense there were 'different presidents on different days of the week'.

'I am utterly focused on what's in the best interests of our country,' he said.

'Notwithstanding the pressure that comes from elsewhere I will remain laser focused on the British national interest.

'A lot of what is said and done is undoubtedly said and done to put pressure on me, I have no doubt about that. I understand exactly what is going on.

'But I am not going to be wavering on this... That has served me well in recent weeks.'

Sir Keir's resistance to Mr Trump has also somewhat restored his standing with Labour MPs
A senior Cabinet minister has broken ranks to tell Keir Starmer that he should allow his rival Andy Burnham to stand for Parliament.

Lisa Nandy described the Greater Manchester mayor as a 'huge asset' for Labour and vowed to 'support him in whatever he wants to do'.

The Culture Secretary suggested it was wrong for Sir Keir and his supporters to block Mr Burnham from being Labour's candidate at last month's Gorton and Denton by-election.

The Prime Minister used his majority on Labour's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) to bar the Greater Manchester mayor from standing in the constituency.

It came amid fears among Sir Keir's allies that Mr Burnham was eyeing a return to the House of Commons so he could then mount a leadership challenge against the PM.

Mr Burnham has long been seen as a likely replacement for Sir Keir as Labour continues to lag behind Reform UK in opinion polls, while also facing a growing challenge from the Green Party.

Elections for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English councils in May are set to be critical test of Sir Keir's leadership, with expectations that a dismal Labour result will prompt efforts to oust him from Downing Street.

Labour is expected to lose hundreds of seats on May 7 and Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM, has compared the party's current woes to its plight under Michael Foot in the 1980s.

A senior Cabinet minister has broken ranks to tell Keir Starmer that he should allow his rival Andy Burnham to stand for Parliament

Lisa Nandy described the Greater Manchester mayor as a 'huge asset' for Labour and vowed to 'support him in whatever he wants to do'

Meanwhile, Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM, has compared Labour's current woes to its plight under Michael Foot in the 1980s

In comments at a fundraising dinner in central London on Monday night, as reported by The Telegraph, Ms Rayner told Sir Keir to 'pick more fights' to show voters the Government is 'on their side'.

She said voters were tired of a system that they felt was 'rigged against them', adding: 'They feel that nobody understands and cares about the difficulties they go through.

'And they need to know they've got a Government on their side, and they're impatient for change and I understand their impatience. So I think we have to pick more fights, personally.'

Ms Rayner went on compare Labour's current struggles to its difficulties under Mr Foot, the party's Left-wing leader between 1980 and 1983.

She said: 'I can say after ten years on the front line in politics, it's not easy at times, you get knocked around a lot and I know that's the case for many of the people here.

'And if you've knocked on a door recently, or even in the Michael Foot days, as my ex-husband says to me, it was pretty bad then.'

In separate comments, Ms Nandy told The House magazine that her 'friend' Mr Burnham should have been allowed to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

She added, if she had been a member of the NEC, she would have joined Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell in supporting Mr Burnham's bid to be Labour's candidate.

Ms Powell was the sole NEC member to vote in Mr Burnham's favour in an eight-to-one vote against the Greater Manchester mayor in January.

'He's a friend of mine. He's my mayor, and he was my neighbouring MP for seven years,' Ms Nandy said.

'I think he's a huge asset to the party. And I've said before, I'll say again, I'll support him in whatever he wants to do.'

The Culture Secretary added: 'I think it is right that members are allowed to make their own choices about who they want to be their candidates in elections  I've always thought that right.

'And while I respect the views of colleagues on the National Executive Committee, I had I been sitting in that seat  is that what you're asking me, what I would have voted? Yeah, I would have voted to allow him to stand, as Lucy [Powell] did.

'I do understand the argument that he's the mayor of Greater Manchester, and he's a very good mayor, and he's got a term to see out.'

But Ms Nandy added that Labour members 'deserve to be in the driving seat of their own lives, and it offends me when people are not, and I think that goes for our members as much as everybody else'.
March 23, 2026: Three years the Chinese government sought to create a surge in economic activity through a combination of new quality productive forces. This was to be financed via government subsidies and venture capital. Much of the government money went into infrastructure projects. This was supposed to be a second economic Great Leap Forward. The first one took place between 1958 and 1962 and was a catastrophic failure, with up to 50 million dead from famine and delaying the Chinese enter into the Industrial Revolution by two decades. Starting in the 1980s Chinese entrepreneurs were free to get rich as long as they did not threaten the CCP/Chinese Communist Party. This worked and within forty years China had the second largest GDP in the world. In the last decade that economic engine began to slow down because of corruption, mismanagement and poor decision making by the Chinese government.

As a result of this China is undergoing an unprecedented series of economic, demographic and medical disasters. In the last four years theres been a 20 percent drop in American imports from China. The Chinese economy is consuming and producing less because the population is declining while the national health system is trying to cope with continued covid19 deaths, some of it from a botched Covid vaccine that is not working and often killing people. The government denies this and threatens any Chinese reporters or health officials who speak out on what is happening.

Historically, Chinese leaders learned historical lessons when deciding how to rule China effectively and remain in power. One event Chinese leaders still pay close attention to is the collapse of communist governments in Europe between 1989 and1991. While China could understand why the East European communist nations rebelled against communist governments imposed on them by Russia after World War II, the Chinese are still careful to avoid the errors that brought down the mighty Soviet Union in 1991.

The key problem, as the Chinese see it, was the inefficiency of the Soviet economy. The Soviets never allowed a free market to develop, as China did in the 1980s. By the 1990s the Chinese market economy was growing ten percent or more a year, a rate sustained for twenty years. Thus per capita GDP went from $333 in 1991 to $14,000 now. The Russian GDP continued shrinking after 1991 and it took more than a decade for a market economy to get going. Yet Russian economic growth is still crippled by corruption and the continued existence of State-Owned Enterprises/SOEs.

Chinese leaders thought they had learned from these Russian mistakes, but now Chinese economists and bankers are reporting that China has many of the problems that brought down the Soviet Union and kept post-Soviet Russia weak. While China currently has the second largest economy on the planet, it has many serious problems that cannot be ignored. For one thing, China still has a lot of SOEs, which employ nearly a fifth of the workforce. For political reasons the communist government cannot get rid of these SOEs even though they are a major threat to the banking system. Inefficient and often unprofitable SOEs consume about half the available bank credit while only sustaining a fifth of the GDP. The Chinese Communist Party/CCP needs the SOEs to provide jobs for many key supporters, and that means a lot more corruption is tolerated in SOEs than in free market firms.

China has made impressive efforts to deal with corruption it concentrates on, such as corruption that causes the most unrest among the general population. This includes blatantly corrupt behavior at the local level as well as in the military or companies where the bad behavior leads to tainted food or medicine. But if you are a loyal senior official and show discretion and restraint in your corrupt practices you are left alone. That form of favoritism is necessary to run what is just another Chinese dynasty.

The 1911 revolt that ended the monarchy did not replace the emperor and his bureaucracy with anything much different. After four decades of civil war and fighting Japanese invaders, the communists took control and what they established quickly evolved into the usual hereditary aristocracy. By 2017 China had returned to the emperor for life model as Xi Jinping persuaded the Chinese leadership to accept the restoration of lifetime tenure for the supreme leader, instead of the five-year term system adopted after the disastrous lifetime rule of the first communist emperor Mao Zedong in 1976. Mao was a better rebel leader than emperor and his 18 years of misrule killed over fifty million Chinese and made an anemic economy even weaker. After Mao, there was reorganization rather than chaos and among the many practical reforms instituted was a market economy that could thrive under the rule of a communist police state.

But then came 1989-91 and the wealthier and wiser Chinese rulers sought answers to why all those communist police states in East Europe just evaporated, replaced by various degrees of democracy and free market economies. Chinese leaders are still unsure what the most important lessons for China are to be learned from all that. Some of the lessons were obvious. For example, a communist command economy cannot compete with a free market economy. Or at least no one has figured out how to do it. But creating a market economy proved easier than repairing the damage decades of communist rule had inflicted. In addition to the corruption, the free-market economy grew in part by simply bribing disruptive communist officials to get out of the way.

Then there was growing pollution of both water and the air. All that economic growth produced more pollution which Western democracies were quicker to clean up. Politicians who got in the way of that were unable to get re-elected. In a communist police state bad news could be kept out of the news for a while but with the capital suffering some of the worst air pollution in the world, the pollution became a major issue, is still a long way from being fixed, has fostered both bad health in general and susceptibility to lung diseases in particular, and contributed to Chinas increasing population crash.

Some of the other lessons learned from the Soviet collapse are also being increasingly ignored. For example, it was noted that the Soviet economy collapsed in large part because over 20 percent of the GDP went to military spending and related foreign subsidies. The Soviets recklessly spent large sums on supporting allies. The Soviet subsidies kept North Korea and Cuba economically viable and loyal. Lesser sums were wasted on arms sales financed by low-interest loans that were never paid off. Same with a lot of non-military foreign aid.

Now Chinese leaders are being reminded that they are moving towards the self-destructive Soviet practices, even though in the 1990s it was agreed that arms races and bad loans to fickle allies were a bad idea. While on paper the Chinese defense budget is about a third of what the Americans spend, Chinese economists point out that the U.S. economy is better able to support that degree of spending. Meanwhile, if you calculate Chinese defense spending the same way the Americans do, the Chinese defense spending is closer to half what the Americans spend. Another expensive Chinese decision was to adopt a nationalist posture to obtain more support from Chinese who would otherwise be questioning the wisdom of communist rule because of the corruption and pollution.

That may change China's One Belt, One Road/OBOR program to purportedly establish secure sea lanes for Chinese trade and new roads, railways and pipelines throughout Eurasia, especially Southeast Asia and Central Asia. Many of the new port projects are being built in South Asia and Africa. A lot of these projects are very risky because, if they cannot trigger enough additional economic activity, China will end up holding the bad debt. China is investing over a trillion dollars in OBOR projects. Some see this as one huge make-work effort for Chinese workers and engineers who are sent overseas to build OBOR projects.

This effort is financed by the Chinese banking system. The Chinese bankers are increasingly worried about too much bad debt and what that can do. Japan is a nearby example that suffered from a bad debt crisis because of a real estate bubble. Japan has yet to recover from that mess and Chinese bankers dont want to be stuck with the same mess. Now they are and there is no relief in sight. Worse, that trillion-dollar investment will be toast if China goes to war with the United States over Taiwan.

This use of nationalism has led Chinese leaders to make a lot of the expensive mistakes they belittle the American leadership for. While the United States is often accused of ignoring the cultural differences with its allies and opponents and making bad decisions based on misperceptions, other countries often do the same. While the United States has made many mistakes because American leaders believed foreigners thought like Americans but in a different language, at least the U.S. has come to acknowledge that this problem exists. Not so in China where this lack of empathy for other cultures is rampant in the government and especially in the military. This includes that part of the military that prepares plans for dealing with foreigners in crisis situations that could lead to war.

While Chinese leaders are very conscious of their own history and the many lessons they can still learn from all that, the one lesson that makes their neighbors nervous is that the Chinese believe Chinese expansion is a natural and justified policy for China. Their neighbors are very uncomfortable with China's reemerging and quite ancient attitude that China is the center of the universe and long known as the powerful Middle Kingdom that everyone should respect and pay tribute to.

The Chinese government encourages these nationalistic attitudes, and many Chinese are eager to see China become more powerful and get more respect. This is a dangerous attitude and a common prelude to war. China is run by a communist police state that sees nationalism as a useful tool to keep the communists in power. This is the sort of atmosphere that triggered the two World Wars. In 1914 Germany, long the disunited and picked apart mess in Central Europe, was united in 1870 for the first time and wanted respect to go along with its newfound economic and military power. That did not turn out well.

In contemporary China, an actual war would likely destroy the communists, who are unpopular already because of corruption, abuse of power and pollution. A major component of any future war would be economic, as China is now dependent on imports of raw materials. That is something new in Chinese history, as the Chinese have, for thousands of years, prided themselves on self-sufficiency. That is gone and can't be regained without some drastic economic and cultural changes. The Chinese communists are playing a game of bluster and bluff. This is especially true when you consider that the Chinese armed forces are also crippled by massive corruption and mismanagement. For that reason alone, the Chinese government should avoid actual war. But short of large-scale fighting, there's a lot the Chinese can do to push their neighbors around. China tries to substitute economic power, as the Russians often did with their loans, but China is finding that their cheap loans are no more effective than the Russian ones.

American planners have become aware of the lack of realistic planning by the Chinese military. Chinese wargames tend to ignore the reality of how their neighbors make military and diplomatic decisions. The Chinese military planners are particularly blind to the intricacies of politics in democracies and the influence of media, especially the Internet. While the Chinese appreciate the Internet as a tool for propaganda and espionage, they have a blind spot when it comes to how the mass media influences political and military decision making in the powerful democracies like the United States, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea they might face in a future war. The U.S. is trying to develop ways to deal with this blind spot and so far, can only conclude that China has now become a more irrational and dangerous adversary because the Middle Kingdom leaders are too busy staring at themselves in a mirror rather than paying attention to what is happening outside their borders.
A British couple who moved to Dubai believing it was safer than London have returned to Croydon after war in the Middle East left the emirate in the crosshairs.

Jason Kwao, 29, and wife Sumekka, 28, relocated to launch a business and raise their family but say the reality was not what they expected.

They now say they are now unlikely to return to the 'plastic and fake city'.

In 2023, the couple launched their own sales agency in Dubai, earning enough to enjoy life in a three-bedroom villa with a pool near the beach.

But two years on, the shine has worn off the city for them, as they are considering a move elsewhere.

They have put their belongings in storage and returned to the UK temporarily after the death of his brother, Joshua Kwao, 30, coupled with feeling unsafe - but are unlikely to book return flights.

Jason said the city they envisioned their family's future in began to feel 'plastic and not real' and lacked a community feel, instead with too much focus on money, business and transactions.

They are now considering a move to Ghana instead, in pursuit of a community feel and more emphasis on family over finances - after travelling there for a holiday and falling in love with it.

A British couple who moved to Dubai believing it was safer than London have returned to Croydon after war in the Middle East left the emirate in the crosshairs

Jason Kwao, 29, and wife Sumekka Selliah-Kwao, 28, relocated to launch a business and raise their family but say the reality was not what they expected and say they are now unlikely to return to the 'plastic and fake city'

Jason said the city they envisioned their family's future in began to feel 'plastic and not real' and lacked a community feel, instead with too much focus on money, business and transactions

Entrepreneur Jason, who is originally from Croydon, London, said: 'When the missile strikes started, we could hear a few loud bangs, and 'a quiet tension' in the city.

'The main reason we left was because my brother Joshua passed away, but we might not go back.

'Dubai is a great place but it doesn't have some of the morals and values that I want to instill in my children.

'There is a lot of focus on business, money and "what can you do for me?"- that's not how I want to raise my children.

'We went travelling for a few months and when we arrived back in Dubai in early February, we realised how different it felt.

'We're still in two minds but we started to wonder if we put too much energy into building our business and not our community.

'Now we are considering a move to Ghana - it takes a village to raise a child and we're looking for that village.'

With Jason able to do his job remotely, he and then-pregnant Sumekka moved to Dubai in 2023 to enjoy the hot climate, business opportunities and explore a new lifestyle.

In January 2024, they co-launched Intermast and they began taking on staff as it grew in value, after investing all their savings into the business.

As the business began to expand, and they took on staff, they were able to get a fancy villa to raise their children, Sofia Amari, five, and Amias, one, and live the high life they envisioned.

But as time passed, Jason said he began to notice aspects of the city that didn't align so closely with his mentality.

He said: 'In Dubai, it's all about work and very transactional.'

They jetted off travelling with their little ones in early December and visited Tanzania, Ghana, The Netherlands, Switzerland as well as the UK, to experience other cultures.

In the back of his mind, Jason had already began wondering whether their long-term future would be in Dubai.

He said: 'Sumekka loves Dubai still, but I told her I wanted to move.

'We didn't decide on anything, but we said if we're supposed to move, we'd get a sign - and then my brother passed, and the war broke out.'

The family are currently back in Croydon as Jason focuses on planning his brother's funeral, with no set plans for their long-term future.

But after loving Ghana so much when they spent a week there travelling, they are considering a permanent move.

They plan to do some mental health charity work in honour of Joshua, who is thought to have died by suicide.

Jason said: 'In Africa, you see people with nothing who can still be happy and celebrate life, rather than it all being about work.

'I want to raise my kids like that - to be kind and loving, no matter what money they have.

'One of the key words for me is unconditional love, and to really pour into and nurture our relationships.

'Dubai is a beautiful place, it's almost perfect, but there are cracks and my brother passing, as well as the war, made us more conscious of those cracks.

'It's a balance - I don't hate Dubai, but coming back after going travelling, it felt almost plastic and not real.

'Dubai feels a bit more like a business hub where you make money but not lifelong friends.'
Sweden's government on Tuesday said it would put forward a bill introducing a requirement for migrants to adhere to an 'honest living' or face deportation.

The country's centre-right government, supported by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, came into power in 2022 and vowed to get tough on immigration.

They are now trying to rapidly push through a slew of reforms in various areas ahead of legislative elections in September.

The new requirement would make it easier to withdraw residence permits for migrants.

Speaking at a press conference, Migration Minister Johan Forssell told reporters: 'Following laws and rules is a given, but it must also be a given that we do our best to live responsibly and not harm our country.'

'If, for example, you ignore paying your debts, if you don't comply with decisions from Swedish authorities, if you cheat the benefits system, if you cheat your way to a Swedish residence permit... then you do not have the right to be here,' Forssell said.

Other examples the government cited as examples included working without paying taxes or not paying fines.

Ludvig Aspling, migration policy spokesman for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, said: 'Statements - that is, things a person says or expresses - should not in themselves be regarded as evidence of lack of honest living, but they may be an indication of, for example, links to violent extremism, which can then be a sign of deficient character.'

Migrants and refugees, mainly from Syria, walk on the highway 12km north of Rodby, Denmark, to Sweden

According to the Swedish Migration Agency , Sweden granted a total of 79,684 residence permits in 2025, 6% for asylum-related reasons (migrants pictured in Sweden)

The Sweden Democrats celebrate during an election watch in 2022

The government was also proposing that residence permits could be revoked in more unrelated situations, such as in cases of migrants being considered a threat or if they were discovered to have lied on their applications.

If passed by parliament, the changes would go into effect on July 13.

Meanwhile, Sweden has experienced a 30% reduction in asylum requests from 2024 to 2025, due to stricter immigration laws in the country.

For years, Sweden was hailed as a beacon of compassion, offering an unparalleled welcome to refugees with Europe's most generous support schemes.

But in the past decade, deadly violence linked to feuds between criminal gangs has escalated against the backdrop of the high levels of migration into the country.

Following a large influx of asylum seekers in Sweden during the 2015 migrant crisis, both left- and right-wing governments started tightening asylum rules.

Starting this year, immigrants who voluntarily return to their countries of origin from 2026 are eligible to receive up to 350,000 kronor (about 28,000).

According to the Swedish Migration Agency, Sweden granted a total of 79,684 residence permits in 2025, 6% for asylum-related reasons, compared with 18% in 2018, when 133,025 permits were issued.

Meanwhile, 8,312 people left Sweden to return to their country of origin last year.

More measures are planned for this year, and the government intends to move quickly ahead of the parliamentary elections on September 13.

Another reform the government has explored is the possibility of revoking Swedish citizenships from dual nationals under certain conditions, such as criminal convictions.

Several European countries have tightened immigration policies over the last few years and the European Parliament in December approved texts aimed at tightening the continent's migration policy.

Following in Sweden's footsteps, Germany also implemented tighter border controls resulting in Illegal immigration in the country dropping to its lowest level in more than a decade, barring the first year of the pandemic.

From January to November 2025, 106,298 first-time asylum applications were recorded by the national migration agency Bamf, putting Germany on course for its smallest annual total since 2013. In 2024, the number was over double, at 229,751.

Starting this year, immigrants who voluntarily return to their countries of origin from 2026 are eligible to receive up to 350,000 kronor (migrants pictured in Sweden)

People hold a banner 'refugees welcome' as they take part in a demonstration in solidarity with refugees seeking asylum in Stockholm

Meanwhile Denmark announced in January it would expel non-Danish citizens who have served prison terms of a year or more for serious crimes.

'Foreign offenders sentenced to at least one year in prison for serious crimes, such as aggravated assault and rape, should, in principle, be expelled,' the immigration ministry said in a statement.

Under current regulations, expulsions are not automatic, as Denmark complies with international conventions protecting the right to private and family life and forbidding inhumane treatment.

According to statistics from the immigration ministry, around 70 percent of foreign nationals sentenced to prison terms of one year or more for serious crimes have been expelled.

However, Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.

In addition, the government - which insisted that 'refugees must be in Denmark on a temporary basis' - plans to boost incentives for voluntary returns and to tighten rules for foreigners in departure centres.
Russia has impounded hundreds of boobytrapped boot insoles intended for Vladimir Putin's foot soldiers, say the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The 'heated' insoles for use in cold weather were rigged with enough explosives to blow off a victim's limbs, it is alleged.

Russian counterintelligence blames Ukrainian secret services for a ploy to maim up to 504 soldiers.

'A foreign national born in 1994 has been detained in Russia.,' said the FSB.

'He was involved in the smuggling of weapons to Russia from Poland through Belarus, organised by Ukrainian intelligence agencies.'

The power of the concealed explosives in the insole pairs was 1.5 grams in TNT equivalent,' said the FSB.

'Detonation occurs when the insoles are connected to a power source and is designed to sever a part of a serviceman's limb when they are used during combat missions.'

The insoles were in a consignment of 'humanitarian aid', it was alleged.

Russia has impounded hundreds of boobytrapped boot insoles intended for Vladimir Putin's foot soldiers, say the Federal Security Service

The 'heated' insoles for use in cold weather were rigged with enough explosives to blow off a victim's limbs, it is alleged

'A foreign national born in 1994 has been detained in Russia.,' said the FSB

'The shoe insoles were supposed to be sent to Russian troops stationed in the special military operation zone disguised as humanitarian aid,' reported TASS.

The detained man - from Tajikistan - was a courier for the explosive insoles, said the FSB.

Ukraine also staged a daring bid to obtain drones in Moscow which could have been loaded with explosives and deployed against targets in the Russian capital, it was alleged.

'In the event of equipping them with explosive devices, Ukrainian special services would have obtained powerful means of terror, which they planned to use against designated targets in Moscow,' said a statement.

It comes after harrowing footage compiled by the Daily Mail revealed the sadistic treatment Putin's soldiers are enduring on the frontlines in Ukraine.

Graphic videos show commanders beating and electrocuting their own troops, denying them food, forcing them to crawl through mud, tying them naked to trees in sub-zero temperatures and even making them fight to the death.

Other footage shows injured soldiers on crutches being sent back to the frontline. In separate clips, troops sheltering in Ukrainian dugouts film themselves surviving on stolen potatoes because their own army has not supplied them with food.

Commanders are sending their men into so-called 'meat storm' battles, likened to suicide missions, where troops are thrown at Ukrainian positions until they run out of ammunition.

Those who flee or refuse orders face brutal punishment.

One video shows two naked men lying in a pit as their commander screams at them and fires bullets into the ground nearby. 'Lay there for a few more days until you understand how to follow orders,' the commander shouts.

Another shows two men forced to crawl through mud while commanders kick dirt at them and strike them in the head.

The commander is heard yelling 'are you still going to be sick?' while beating him.

In a Telegram message seen by the Daily Mail alongside the footage, an anonymous soldier wrote: 'The 132nd brigade is a force to be reckoned with. They are completely off the rails. This is what they do to servicemen who undergo medical treatment.

'It is nothing but humiliation, beatings and abuse.'

The footage emerged as Russia faced its deadliest day in the war this year last week on March 17, with 1,700 killed or wounded in 24 hours, according to Ukraine's general staff.
Three Australians have been embroiled in two fights at two of Thailand's party districts.

Thai police responded to the first incident in the red-light district on Bangla Road, Patong, which is the centre of nightlife on the tourist island of Phuket, about 2.40am last Thursday, March 19.

Officers learned two Australians had been drinking together before coming to blows over a woman.

Bystanders had attempted to separate the pair but the fight continued to escalate until one of them was knocked to the road.

Disturbing footage showed one of the Aussies, wearing a black singlet and shorts, kicking and punching his friend as he laid on the ground.

During the attack, he yelled: 'Let's go, c***, let's f***ing go.'

It's understood the man in the black singlet left the scene before police arrived.

The man on the ground, wearing a white shirt, was hauled into the back of an ambulance and taken to Patong Hospital for treatment. A large pool of blood was left where he'd been assaulted.

One Australian man was hospitalised (above) after fighting with another Aussie over a girl in Patong's red-light district on the island of Phuket

The attacker on Monday night (above), wearing a black singlet, was seen beating his friend as he laid on the ground

Pol. Col. Korakrit Khankhrea, superintendent of Patong Police Station, advised the victim to lodge a report with police but it is unclear whether further action was taken.

The second incident unfolded late Monday night.

An Australian tourist was found on Walking Street, in the red-light district of Pattaya on Monday night.

Michael Walter Scott, 55, had been drinking at 'Big Tool' bar when he was caught in a fight over a bill.

It's understood Scott, from western Sydney, had disagreed with staff over the cost of his tab, which was 1,070 baht - around AU$47.

Security threw Scott out and he was later found with a gash on his head.

Officers were called to the scene about 11pm but staff at the venue reportedly refused to answer questions or hand over the bar's CCTV.

Daily Mail has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.

In a second separate incident in Pattaya, Australian man Michael Walter Scott (left) was kicked out of 'Big Tool' bar following a disagreement with staff over a bill
The son of a school caretaker who was killed by Valdo Calocane in the Nottingham stabbings learned about his father's death through Instagram.

James Coates today told a public inquiry he thought it was a hoax when a family friend messaged him saying: 'I can't believe what's happened to your dad.'

His 65-year-old father, Ian Coates, had been brutally murdered in the early hours of June 13, 2023, by the paranoid schizophrenic.

James and his sibling, Lee, repeatedly called police on 101, 999, and a helpline which had been set up in the wake of the tragedy for answers. But they were not formally told until 5pm - just 10 minutes before the then chief constable Kate Meynell held a televised press conference.

By that point, James said they had 'pieced almost everything together ourselves from social media'.

He told the Nottingham Inquiry: 'It wasn't until 3pm that I was walking up the road to my house that I decided to check Instagram. I'd not got notifications on, but I got a message from (a family friend) saying "I can't believe what's happened to your dad, please ring me".

'And my first instinct is it's a hoax message and it's been hacked and trying to get me to ring this number and then I asked her is this a joke and she messaged again reiterating that I should call her.

'She was in hysterics, she said my dad had been involved in an RTA but she had seen what was going off in Nottingham. I still didn't believe it.'

He then phoned other family members to find out what had happened and then called his brother to tell him: 'I think dad is dead.'

The grandfather was fatally stabbed by Calocane around an hour after he killed 19-year-old University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar.

Calocane then used the caretaker's van to run over pedestrians in the city centre.

The probe heard on Monday that Mr Coates's body was kept at the crime scene for nearly 15 hours while police investigated.

The family of Ian Coates (pictured), 65, who was killed during the Nottingham massacre on June 13 2023, have spoken out at a public inquiry

Lee and James Coates, sons of caretaker Ian Coates, arrive at Mary Ward House in London, at the inquiry into the Nottingham attacks -- March 24, 2026

Lee told the inquiry he found Ms Meynell's claims on TV that officers were 'doing everything for the bereaved families' rude and disingenuous.

He said: 'She'd personally not made any contact with us. We'd had to fight to find out information about our dad.'

James told the inquiry: 'Police logs showed my number was available to police at 12 minutes to eight in the morning and we didn't get a call back until around 5pm, (which) is disgusting for me.'

The brothers said they felt 'abandoned and overwhelmed', that they were not fully informed about what had happened to their father and that they were an 'afterthought' when vigils were arranged in the city.

Earlier, Mr Coates's grieving partner, Elaine Newton, told the inquiry it felt like he had died twice after police officers mistakenly told her he had been in a car crash.

Ms Newton said it took five hours before she was told the truth by officers left 'shocked' by the earlier mishap.

She said of her disbelief: 'I said, "He's at work, it's not Ian". They said, "No, it's a Road Traffic Accident". I said, "Did he crash into anyone? What happened?"

'They said "We can't tell you". I said, "Is anyone else hurt?" and they said, "We can't tell you". That's all they were telling me for about five hours.

Ms Newton said two young police officers, a male and a female, spent the morning with her after she was told Mr Coates had died but neither of them could give her any more information about what had happened.

She said the female officer kept going outside to speak to someone, adding: 'She kept saying there's no information, there's no information. She couldn't tell me anything for all those hours.'

She told the inquiry that police liaison officers later asked her to tell them what she knew about what had happened.

'And I said, "Yes, Ian was in an RTA but I don't know any more than that", Ms Newton added.

'They looked shocked on their faces and said, "You've got the wrong information, you've been told the wrong information. Ian's been killed and he's been stabbed". That's how I learned.

'The first information, I accepted, but the second I couldn't accept. You don't know which one was true, or have they got the wrong person. It felt like he had been killed twice. It wasn't right.'

Ms Newton said she had told Nottinghamshire Police that she did not want to see the face of Calocane - who is being referred to during the inquiry as VC - but was later shown videos of him walking around the city on the morning of the attacks.

She said: 'I didn't want to see VC's face, I didn't want him to take my life over as much as he has done. I wanted to keep his face out of my mind.'

Calocane also killed undergraduate students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, in June 2023

The inquiry is investigating how Valdo Calocane (pictured), 34, was allowed to carry out the three killings despite his history of violence

The massacre came three years after Calocane was arrested by Nottinghamshire Police in May 2020 for hammering down neighbours' doors. In one case, a woman jumped from a first floor window to escape him.

But police dropped the case because a consultant psychiatrist deemed the schizophrenic 'incapable' mentally to be held responsible.

The inquiry is investigating how he was free to kill despite his history of violence.

Ms Newton said she only became aware of previous incidents involving Calocane and the police during the inquiry process.

She said: 'I was never told any information about his past. The first time was this hearing - I didn't know anything about any of this at all.'

During a meeting with the now-retired chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police, Ms Newton said she was not told about Calocane's past involvement with police but was instead told about a WhatsApp group in which police officers had discussed the fatal attacks.

Asked what she would have done had she had known this information, Ms Newton said: 'I wouldn't have thanked Kate Meynell for all the information she gave me and for letting me come and visit her. I have lost faith in the police and I feel like I have not been given the information and have been lied to really.

'I should have been given information about his past, not straight away, but down the line. She could have given me more information when I went, rather than just telling me about the WhatsApp group.'

In the wake of the attacks, Ms Newton asked Nottinghamshire Police how Calocane was allowed to be 'roaming' the city so long after he had carried out the fatal stabbings and was given 'excuses'.

She said: 'I did ask that question to Kate Meynell and (my family liaison officer) and they said it could be quite a few reasons, there was not enough police that morning, Nottingham is a big place.

'Those were the excuses I got. I did say it was early in the morning and there wouldn't have been a lot of people around. They said they might just not have had enough police officers in that morning.'

Ms Newton told the inquiry she was 'glad this has all come out' but added that 'the police need to be more helpful'.

She said the prosecution of Calocane was not explained clearly enough, adding: 'I mean meeting or you're introduced to people, you never, you don't actually understand because it's rushed, it's not explained enough, they think you understand because it's their job.

'The way they talk about the criminal justice... you don't understand it.'

Calocane was discharged by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) in September 2022.

Ms Newton read an email she sent to NHFT following meetings with representatives from the trust.

She read her email to the inquiry, which said: 'I want you to understand that I am not interested in apologies because it is too late, too little.'

In the email, she said she held the NHS responsible for the deaths of Mr Coates, Mr Webber and Ms O'Malley-Kumar.

'I have zero confidence in any changes that NHS makes in the future. It does not learn its lessons and does not care about people, only statistics and numbers,' she wrote.

'I believe that is how you see Ian Coates, as just another statistic that you brush aside and file away. What I want is the individuals responsible for the catastrophic NHS failings to be held to account.'

Police forensic officers during the aftermath of the attack in Nottingham in June 2023

She added: 'I want those who failed to manage VC's care to be struck off from ever being in a position of care ever again.'

Ms Newton told the inquiry: 'I think the police have let the public and myself and all other families down."

Asked why, she said: 'Because they didn't do their job properly, they didn't communicate with the NHS, the NHS didn't communicate with the police. So I think between them all they've caused this.'

Tim Moloney KC, who represents the bereaved families, told the hearing that for more than two hours after the grandfather died, there was no forensic tent and he was covered in blankets.

Speaking of the moment he saw Calocane for the first time in court, James told the hearing: 'It struck me how large he was... my dad was six months from retirement, he was quite skinny, he lived off coffee and cigarettes.

'Seeing his build, I knew there was never going to be any chance of them protecting themselves against him.'

Lee said he was 'absolutely distraught' when he heard in November 2023 that he should expect Calocane to plead not guilty to murdering his father.

'I promised (Ian's partner Elaine Newton) that this guy will go away for the rest of her life', he told the inquiry.

'So when we got this information that he's potentially not going to go away for the crimes that he's committed, where they're telling you that he's unsafe to go into a normal prison.

'Of course he is, he's a monster, you know, look at what he's done. This is why we have prisons, no? So we can put people like this away.'

Calocane had been sectioned four times in the three years before his fatal attack, but repeatedly released back into the community despite concerns about his deteriorating behaviour.

He had a history of violence and reportedly assaulted two colleagues at the factory where they worked just weeks before he struck.

Yet Leicestershire Police called to the scene did not realise Calocane already had an outstanding warrant for his arrest by Nottinghamshire Police for allegedly assaulting an emergency worker - something the inexperienced officer admitted was an 'operational mistake'.

The inquiry also heard police evidence went missing, with information not properly shared.

Calocane, now 34, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and is currently serving an indefinite hospital order at Ashwood High Secure Hospital in Merseyside.

He will stay there until either the Secretary of State for Justice or a mental health tribunal assesses that he no longer poses a risk to the public.

It is understood that he is staying in a room with a hatch in the door, under supervision around the clock and with almost no contact with other patients.

An insider told the Mail: 'When he arrived he was distressed and extremely unpredictable which meant he had to be contained under the most secure of regimes.

'We were briefed that we were dealing with an individual who was very ill and potentially extremely dangerous. With patients as sick as him you just never know when he might react and become violent  there were no clues as to how he might behave or what his triggers might be because none of us had a relationship with him.

'It was extremely stressful for everyone. Protocols were developed for dealing with him quite quickly which meant that you always had a team who had the capability to restrain him if necessary.

'There were a few occasions where he became violent but fortunately no one was hurt and he was restrained before he could either damage himself or anyone else.

'I'd say that in all the years that I've worked at Ashworth he is probably the most dangerous patient I have worked with, because he was so unpredictable.'

Born in Guinea-Bissau, Calocane's family first settled in Portugal before moving to Britain when he was 16.

Having worked as a cleaner and labourer after leaving school, he enrolled at the University of Nottingham to study mechanical engineering.

It was while there that his mental health rapidly disintegrated and he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020.
Nicola Bulley's partner has opened up about being 'psychoanalysed' by strangers after the mother-of-two's disappearance caught the attention of TikTok ghouls.

Paul Ansell said the constant questioning of how he looked and behaved during the search for his missing partner of 12 years was 'a horrible thing to experience'.

Ms Bulley vanished on January 27 in 2023 while walking her dog Willow along the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, shortly after dropping her daughters off at school.

Her disappearance sparked intense speculation online and became one of the most high-profile modern missing person searches.

Mr Ansell became the centre of a barrage of unbased online conspiracies, which he this week described as 'very intrusive'.

Speaking at a lecture at the London School of Economics on Monday, he said he 'became a subject with the media in the sense of, "where's the partner? Why's he not talking?" sort of thing'.

'I got out of the car, and I don't think I knew what I was doing, really. I got out of the car, then I got collared by Sky, and the next minute, I was doing this interview,' he said in comments reported by The Mirror.

'But then of course you're, you know, psychoanalysed, analysed. Your eyes aren't right, you're smirking. It wasn't the papers or the news. It was more TikTok.

Paul Ansell said the constant questioning of how he looked and behaved during the search for his missing partner of 12 years was 'a horrible thing to experience'

Ms Bulley vanished on January 27 in 2023 while walking her dog Willow along the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire

'It's very, very intrusive, which was a horrible thing to experience on its own, let alone when you're experiencing everything that we were. It can engulf you.'

After a frenzied three-week search, which threatened to be derailed by internet sleuths, Ms Bulley's body was found by a member of the public on February 19.

Mr Ansell previously told a BBC documentary two years ago how he was getting direct messages from people that he had never met.

He said: 'They don't know me, they don't know us, they don't know Nikki. They know nothing about us. Just messages like "you b******". "We know what you did". "You know you can't hide Paul", that kind of stuff.'

Discussing the impact social media had, he went on to say: 'It wasn't a huge part of our lives. But yeah, when you experience something like this, you realise what a huge monster it can be, I guess.'

Friends of the couple were even forced to beg online trolls to stop making 'disgusting allegations' and 'vile theories' online.

A coroner recorded Ms Bulley's death as accidental, and said she fell into the river and suffered 'cold water shock', and there was 'no evidence' to suggest suicide.

Police had accused 'TikTokers' of 'playing private detectives' in the area amid her disappearance, and said they were 'inundated with false information, accusations and rumours' relating to the case.

People on social media made false accusations about there being third-party involvement, and rumours were spread about a derelict house on the other side of the River Wyre, a red van in the area, a fisherman seen nearby and a glove belonging to Ms Bulley, which were all dismissed by police.

Nicola Bulley's partner Paul Ansell speaks to the media during the search for the mother-of-two

Her family have previously hit out at 'wildly inaccurate speculation' after the 45-year-old's death.

Ms Bulley's sister Louise Cunningham tearfully told the BBC documentary: 'As far as Nikki going missing and the "mystery" to it: it was just an accident. It doesn't always have to be something sinister.

'Sometimes bad things just happen. I just wish it hadn't happened to us.'

Lancashire Constabulary, which led the investigation, received 75,000 social media comments over the course of a month, overwhelming the force as it tried to pick out useful information.

The ghoulish behavior of social media detectives continued even after detectives found Ms Bulley's body in the water a short distance from where she was last seen.

Wannabe sleuth Curtis Arnold duped police into letting him walk down the road where Nicola's body was being retrieved from the River Wyre so he could film it and post the sick footage online.

In the end, his eight-minute video was viewed 59,000 times  earning Arnold almost 1,000 in royalties before he was forced to delete it.

An independent College of Policing review of the investigation into her disappearance found the relationship between police and the media 'to be fractured', and urged for it to be rebuilt.

It also criticised the disclosure of personal information about Ms Bulley's health struggles as 'avoidable and unnecessary'.
LaGuardia Airport was a ticking timebomb before Sunday night's deadly runway crash that killed two, multiple pilots warned in the months leading up to the tragedy.

Last summer, one pilot issued a chilling warning about LaGuardia to NASAs Aviation Safety Reporting System, urging aviation authorities to 'please do something' before a tragedy occurs.

'The pace of operations is building in LGA (LaGuardia). The controllers are pushing the line,' the pilot said in the warning, which was first reported by a CNN review of government records.

The pilot cited a close call at the New York airport when air traffic controllers failed to properly guide multiple aircraft in its airspace.

The report added that 'on thunderstorm days, LGA is starting to feel like DCA did before the accident there' - a reference to the January 2025 collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter over Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington DC.

That crash, caused by dangerously overcrowded airspace, killed a total of 67 people and led to urgent calls to fix America's air traffic control systems.

But aviation experts and officials say that over a year later, little has been done to heed the pilot's warnings about the potential for another deadly crash before Sunday's collision between an Air Canada plane and a runway truck.

The late-night crash killed the Air Canada jet's two pilots and hospitalized 41 others.

Terrified pilots have raised the alarm over LaGuardia's problems with air traffic control and miscommunication long before a crash on its runway on Sunday claimed the lives of two people

The crash on Sunday night is not the first dangerous incident at LaGuardia in recent times, and a number of close calls and near disasters have been reported to the NASA system by concerned pilots.

This included just months ago in October, when two Delta Airlines jets collided on the taxiway, hospitalizing one person as the wing of one of the aircrafts was snapped off.

Air traffic controllers and pilots both say that LaGuardia is plagued by miscommunications and staffing issues, leaving passengers at one of America's busiest airports worryingly exposed to potential disaster.

Previous incidents flagged in the system also include a December 2024 close call, where a plane came perilously close to smashing into another aircraft on the ground, blaming inaccurate instructions from air traffic control.

Sunday night's crash bears eerie similarities to that incident and happened when an air traffic controller told a fire truck to cross a runway to inspect a United aircraft experiencing technical difficulties.

Moments later the unidentified air traffic controller begged the truck to stop, but it was too late and the vehicle collided with the Air Canada plane.

Months before that in July 2023, a pilot reported to the NASA system that two aircraft almost collided after air traffic controllers said one was cleared to cross a runway that another jet was landing on.

The report said air traffic controllers only realized their mistake at the last second, noting that it 'issued a stop command just in time.'

Pilots have previously flagged a number of close calls at LaGuardia - including one in October 2024 when two Delta aircraft collided on the runway (pictured), snapping a wing and injuring one person

Air traffic controllers and pilots both say that LaGuardia is plagued by miscommunications and staffing issues, leaving passengers at one of America's busiest airports unsafe. Pictured: The wrecked Air Canada jet following the crash on Sunday

It comes as the pilots killed in the crash on Sunday evening at LaGuardia were named by officials as Antoine Forest, 30, and his co-pilot Mackenzie Gunther.

The two men were tragically killed upon impact, but passengers praised the pilots for their 'incredible reflexes' that they believe saved dozens of lives.

Passenger Rebecca Liquori said she is 'forever indebted' to the pilots, saying their quick instincts to hit the brakes in the seconds before they hit the fire truck was heroic.

'I feel like the pilots saved our lives,' she told CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday. 'They're the reasons I was able to make it home safe to see my boys, and my heart goes out to their families.'

Clement Lelievre, a French national, also told The Canadian Press how he felt the pilots brake 'extremely hard' as the plane touched down at around 11.45pm.

By doing so, he said he believes the pilots prevented further deaths.

Antoine Forest, 30, was killed upon impact when the Air Canada flight he was flying from Montreal collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia International Airport on Sunday night

The fire truck was completely destroyed by the wreck, but both firefighters were expected to survive

'I don't know the circumstances, but I think he kind of saved our lives because he must have had incredible reflexes,' Lelievre said.

As federal investigators now work to determine what may have caused the fatal collision, friends and family members remembered the two pilots for their dedication to aviation.

'These were two young men at the start of their careers,' Federal Aviation Administrator Brian Bedford said.

'It's an absolute tragedy that we're sitting here with their loss.'

Forest, of Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec, was just 16 years old when he first took to the skies, his great-aunt Jeanette Gagnier told the Toronto Star.

She explained that when he was in Grade 11, Forest asked if he could stay with her in Ontario to attend school and learn more English so he could improve his chances at a career as a pilot.

'He was always taking courses and flying,' said Gagnier, whom Forest listed on his Facebook page as his grandmother. 'He never stopped.'

Forest would go on to get a job as an assistant engineer with Canadian Helicopters Limited, before moving on to successive stints with other Quebec-based airplane services as an apprentice and a first officer, his LinkedIn shows.

He then listed himself as a first officer listed himself for Jazz Aviation, flying Air Canada Express out of Montreal, in 2022.

Meanwhile, Seneca Polytechnic Institute released a statement saying Gunther graduated from the school's Honors Bachelor of Aviation Technology program in 2023 and joined Jazz Aviation through the company's Pathways program, which allowed him to begin flying immediately after graduation.

'Seneca sends our deepest condolences to Mr Gunther's family and friends and to his former colleagues and professors,' school officials said in a statement. 'He will be deeply missed.'
This is the moment a tourist had his 6,000 watch snatched by an Algerian migrant just five hours after he touched down in London.

Swedish author Benny Holmberg was targeted by asylum seeker Ismail Ladjali for his Hublot timepiece on April 6 last year.

The 29-year-old was arrested four months later, on August 5, after he was found under a lorry headed to France with several watches in his possession.

In the CCTV footage, Ladjali, who was wearing a cap, can be seen grabbing Mr Holmberg's wrist before snatching his watch.

He then turns around and sprints back down the street as his victim tries to follow him.

The Swedish author had been sitting outside a shopping centre enjoying a drink with his wife and two friends before he was targeted just after 3pm.

Ladjali was identified as the robber after he dropped his hat at the scene of the robbery, which contained traces of his DNA.

This is the moment a tourist had his watch snatched by an Algerian migrant just five hours after he touched down in London

Asylum seeker Ismail Ladjali was arrested after he was found under a lorry headed to France with several watches in his possession

In the CCTV footage, Ladjali can be seen grabbing Mr Holmberg's wrist before snatching his watch and running down the street

Southwark Crown Court heard he tried to claim he needed the money from the watch to pay for his mother's cancer medication.

Ladjali appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court today wearing a grey, prison-issue jumper. He was aided by an Arabic interpreter.

He admitted robbing Mr Holmberg five days before his trial was due to take place, having earlier admitted to the separate offence of cocaine possession.

Defence counsel Colin Campbell told the court the robbery was a 'spur of the moment thing', adding: 'I think it is a stretch to say there was any planning.'

But prosecutor Carol Summers said: 'There must have been some sort of identification with this victim.

'At 3.10pm in the afternoon Mr Holmberg was sitting outside West One shopping centre off Oxford Street having a drink with his wife and two friends.

'He felt someone holding his left wrist. He thought it was his wife, but instead it was the defendant.

'He said the action felt quite hard and he noticed his watch was removed.'

Mr Holmberg (pictured) had been sitting outside a shopping centre enjoying a drink with his wife and two friends before he was targeted just after 3pm

She added the aggravating features include this being a robbery in 'broad daylight in central London' as well as the 'high value' of the 6,050 watch Ladjali stole.

Judge Gregory Perrins jailed the Algerian for 20 months and said he can expect to be deported after serving 40 per cent of his sentence.

He said Ladjali had arrived in the UK in 2021 before overstaying his visa with 'no legitimate source of income'.

Passing sentence, Judge Perrins said: 'I watched the CCTV footage of the robbery, you obviously knew it was an expensive watch which is why you robbed him.

'You grabbed his wrist and very forcefully removed his watch.

'You planned it, knew what you were looking for, and knew how to steal it quickly.'

The judge continued: 'I have seen no evidence that you were buying medication for your mother and said he had probably been spending the money on cocaine for himself.

He added that despite Ladjali claiming to express remorse, neither he nor the probation service accepted this was genuine.
A school was locked down and ordered pupils not to come in after a knifeman was reported at the gates, before discovering it was just a builder carrying a pair of scissors.

Walesley High School in Rubery, Birmingham, ordered its pupils to stay at home and not to approach the school just half an hour before pupils were set to arrive.

Police were called at around 7.15am on Monday, after receiving a report of a knifeman walking into the school.

However, officers discovered that the suspect was actually a workman who had found a pair of scissors outside the school.

He was part of a Tilbury Douglas construction team that was working on the school grounds.

The builder took the scissors into the school to prevent pupils from finding them and picking them up.

But a member of the public reportedly spotted the man and mistakenly believed he was carrying a knife.

The school published an alarming post on social media at 8.15 am, warning pupils and parents that the school had closed.

It read: 'IMPORTANT: We have been advised by police that, due to an ongoing incident, we need to close school. Will update as soon as possible.'

Police were called to Walesley High School in Rubery, Birmingham at around 7.15am

Officers discovered that the suspect was actually a workman who had found a pair of scissors outside the school

Officers later said 'it was clear that there was no malicious intent' and confirmed the man was 'part of the construction team working on the school grounds'.

Despite the misunderstanding, at 10am the school announced that it would remain closed for the rest of the day.

Local councillor Simon Morrall shared a letter sent to parents of the school by Principal Tom Preston.

It read: 'We wanted to update you and confirm that the site is safe and secure and will reopen tomorrow as normal.

'We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank the hard work of the community to put the safety of the staff and students first this morning.

'This morning, one of the construction workers at Tilbury Douglas found a pair of scissors outside the school and picked them up to dispose of them and ensure no students picked them up.

'A member of the public reported this into the police with concern that there was a suspicious item seen on a male entering the school site.

'Once reported, the schools and the Police had to ensure that both sites were safe and secure whilst investigating what had happened.'

'Due to the collective hard work of Holywell, Waseley, Tilbury Douglas and the Police we acted decisively to prevent any students or staff from potentially coming to harm by closing the school and shutting access to and from the sites.

'This allowed the Police to complete their investigation thoroughly and give the clear message that there was no risk of safety to students and staff.

The letter said the school remained closed as catering staff were unable to serve hot dinners and school buses could not be made to operate outside of normal hours to bring pupils into the school later.

Mr Preston added: 'Taking into consideration the ability to ensure the catering staff being unable to provide hot dinners today, and transport issues such as the school bus service outside of normal hours, we are unable to re-open today.

'We hope that you will understand that we prioritised the safety of our community above anything else and the joint decision to close was not taken lightly, as we know the inconvenience it causes.

'We are aware of a number of inaccurate social media posts that are potentially damaging and worrying members of our community and are incorrect. Please refrain from engaging in speculation on social media and contact the schools directly if you have any concern.'

A spokesperson for Bromsgrove Police said: 'We received a report of a man with a knife walking into Waseley Hills High School in Rubery.

'Officers were deployed to the area and the man was located.

'It was established he had picked up a pair of scissors found outside the school, and it was clear that there was no malicious intent and he is part of the construction team working on the school grounds.'
A withering letter by Howard Carter celebrating the death of a Daily Mail journalist who invented the 'Curse of Tutankhamun' has been uncovered nearly a century later.

The British archaeologist, who discovered the pharaoh's tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922, states that the curse 'had no basis and was a menace to archaeology'.

He also describes the passing of Mail reporter Arthur Weigall, whose theory gained prominence after the unexpected death of Lord Carnarvon, as a 'real blessing'.

Mr Weigall was a distinguished Egyptologist working for the Mail in Luxor in February 1923 when the tomb was opened and wrote at length about the historic moment.

But the journalist had been angry with Carter and Carnarvon after they struck a deal with a rival correspondent at The Times for exclusive access to their discovery.

He had watched Carter's financial backer Carnarvon enter the tomb in a jovial mood and told a reporter: 'If he goes down in in that spirit, I give him six weeks to live.'

Carnarvon died six weeks later from a mosquito bite, after Mr Weigall claimed that any person disturbing the mummy of a pharaoh faced bad luck, illness or death.

He promoted this mythical theory in many columns which captured the attention of superstitious readers - but left Carter unimpressed as it spread around the world.

Daily Mail journalist Arthur Weigall (right) travels to Tutankhamun's tomb in February 1923, alongside Sir Louis Mallet (left) of the Foreign Office and politician Sir Philip Sassoon (centre)

Archaeologist Howard Carter examines Tutankhamun's tomb after its discovery in 1922/23

Tourists watch the removal of artefacts from Tutankhamun's tomb in Luxor in February 1923

The newly-unearthed letter by Carter to a woman named Helen Lonides in January 1934 said: 'The death of the Duchess of Alba was very sad - the more so, poor woman, she had been for years gradually fading away. T. B. is an awful disease.

'I fear I must admit that I have not the same sentiments with regard to Weigall. In fact his death is a real blessing. For although he was a clever writer, he was cunning.

'His inventions had no basis and thus a menace to archaeology. Those of them for temporary excitement and amusement at the expense of others. The 'Tutankhamun Curse' was his invention. He was never at the opening of the discovery.

'He was the last of the correspondents to arrive, several minutes afterwards. But enough of this venom, I must direct to a more pleasant subject.'

Carter, who died in 1939, had tipped off The Times's Cairo correspondent Arthur Merton about the dig  and signed an exclusive deal with the newspaper on January 9, 1923 in exchange for 5,000 and 75 per cent of the syndication profits.

The three-page handwritten letter, with a letterhead stating 'Curna, Luxor, Egypt'  referring to the Kurna area near Luxor, has come to light through its sale at auction.

It exceeded expectations by fetching 12,530 ($16,643) at RR Auction in Boston in the US.

After Carter and Carnarvon gave The Times exclusive access to the discovery, Mr Weigall wrote in the Mail about his displeasure at the arrangement.

He wrote in 1923: 'The thrill of discovery will make us forget our anxieties. But at the moment, people's nerves are decidedly on edge. And one might imagine that the malevolence which is sometimes supposed to linger around the bones of the ancient dead had been at work.'

Mr Weigall later wrote about the idea of Tutankhamun's tomb being gripped by an evil spirit.

Carter first uncovered the 3,300-year-old tomb in 1922 in one of history's greatest archaeological finds.

But until just weeks before Carter's find, a system was in place in Egypt to allow foreign excavators to keep roughly half of their finds.

However, this was changed before the discovery to mean the Egyptian government would be able to keep all historically significant or high-value items, with the foreign teams permitted to take home lesser or duplicate pieces.

A new documentary on Channel 4 in January accused Carter of stealing from the tomb, as it revealed unpublished letters on camera for the first time which appeared to confirm the long-held allegation.

Mr Weigall is known to have sent Carter a letter himself in January 1923, one month before the tomb was opened, stating bluntly: 'You and Lord Carnarvon made the initial error of thinking the old British prestige in this country is still maintained and you could do more or less what you liked, just as we all used to do in the old days.

'You have found this tomb, however, at a moment when the utmost diplomacy is needed, when Egyptians have to be considered in a way to which you and I are not accustomed, and when the slightest false step may do the utmost disservice to our own country.'

Carter had joined the British-sponsored archaeological survey of Egypt at the age of 17 and also discovered the tombs of Hatshepsut and Thutmose IV in the early 1900s.

He began work with the 5th Earl of Carnarvon in 1907, an antiquities collector who wanted Carter to supervise excavations, and they discovered the first signs of Tutankhamen's tomb on November 4, 1922.

A second sealed doorway was reached by November 26, behind which the treasures were found. Carnarvon famously asked: 'Can you see anything?' And Carter replied: 'Yes, wonderful things!'

Carter also wrote in his diary: 'It was some time before one could see, the hot air escaping caused the candle to flicker.

'But as soon as one's eyes became accustomed to the glimmer of light the interior of the chamber gradually loomed before one, with its strange and wonderful medley of extraordinary and beautiful objects heaped upon one another.'

On February 16, 1923, Carter and Carnarvon formally opened the burial chamber.

He then spent the next decade supervising the removal of the tomb's contents, which can now be viewed in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.

Howard Carter (kneeling) and some of his team looking through open doors of the four gilded shrines towards the quartzite sarcophagus within the tomb of Tutankhamun

On February 17, 1923, one day after the burial chamber had been formally opened, Daily Mail journalist Arthur Weigall an article headlined 'Pharoah's Golden Coffin' about what he saw

The antechamber of the Tutankhamun's tomb following its discovery in November 1922

The sight that met the eyes of Howard Carter when he broke down the sealed doorway in 1922

The antechamber of the Tutankhamun's tomb following its discovery in November 1922

The 4,500 treasures included chariots, household items, jewelled ornaments and Tutankhamun's iconic golden mask.

On February 17, 1923, one day after the burial chamber had been formally opened, Mr Weigall wrote a fascinating article in the Mail about what he witnessed.

In his piece, headlined 'Pharoah's Golden Coffin', he said: 'Tap-tap went the hammer, and down came the first of the stones which blocked the doorway, and as it did so I felt as though there must be some message to give to the Pharaoh, some word of comfort to fortify him at this great moment of his resurrection.'

Mr Weigall later added: 'The amazed discoverers now turned to gaze at a huge statue of a goddess in the form of a lioness which is described as a superb work of art, and from this their eyes passed to a little chamber on the right leading from this burial room.

'This was seen to be full of glorious objects - superb chariots of gold, a marvellous box of ivory and ebony and many chests, vases, and statuettes. It was a sight which took the breath away and the eyes of the discoverers turned in bewilderment from one side to another.'

Mr Weigall was fascinated by Egyptology from a young age and first worked at Abydos in the country - before being made Chief Inspector of Antiquities for Upper Egypt aged 25 in 1905.

He took over the role from Carter, who had been forced to resign over the 'Saqqara Affair', which saw him eject a group of drunken French tourists who were fighting with Egyptian guards at a series burial vaults - before refusing to apologise when the French tourists complained.

Mr Weigall held that post until 1914 when he returned to London just before the First World War and began working in the theatre and cinema - later being appointed as a film critic for the Mail in the 1920s. He was then sent back to Egypt to cover the opening of the tomb.

Mr Weigall later moved to America and married twice. His first wife was Hortense Weigall, with whom he had five children. They later divorced and he married Canadian divorcee Frances Muriel Weigall.

Mr Weigall died aged 53 on January 2, 1934 at the London Hospital.

The golden burial mask of King Tutankhamun, displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza

Visitors take photos inside Tutankhamun's burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings in 2022

Tutankhamun died aged 18 or 19 between 1323 and 1324 BC, with genetic and radiological studies suggesting malaria combined with a bone disorder as his cause of death.

He was mummified and buried in the Valley of the Kings inside three nested coffins, the smallest weighing 110kg, all placed within four gilded shrines.

Mr Weigell's grandson, a London schoolteacher called Peter Weigall, spoke about him in an episode of TV documentary 'Find My Past' on Yesterday in 2012.

He said at the time: 'Arthur was a professional archaeologist and he deeply disapproved of Carter and Carnarvon, who he regarded as amateurs.

'Arthur was horrified when he saw Carter and Carnarvon running around the tomb laughing. He didn't like the fact they'd given exclusive rights to the story to the Times  although he himself had a similar contract with the Daily Mail.

'He thought the tomb belonged to the world  and especially to Egypt. Carter and Carnarvon shut the Egyptians out and Arthur was so annoyed he's supposed to have predicted their deaths.

'He whispered to a nearby journalist, 'I give him six weeks'. Sure enough, within six weeks Carnarvon was dead. That was the origin of the Curse of Tutankhamun.'

Carnarvon died of blood poisoning after a mosquito bite became infected  and, incredibly, the postmortem on Tutankhamun found a lesion on the pharaoh's left cheek, in the exact spot where the mosquito had bitten Carnarvon.

Evie Leatham, the great-great-granddaughter of Lord and Lady Carnarvon, also spoke in the 2012 documentary, saying: 'I have no idea if there really was a curse, but Peter thought his grandfather had an intuition Carnarvon would die. Perhaps that's as close to a curse as he would go.'

Speaking about the letter, an RR Auction spokesperson said: 'Lord Carnarvon, the financial backer for the search for and excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, had granted The Times exclusive access in exchange for 5000 plus 75 per cent of profits generated from the King Tut story.

'Although this helped to finance the work, it created resentment both from other newspaper reporters-most notably Weigall, an Egyptologist covering the story for the Daily Mail and from the Egyptian authorities, whose own press was also excluded.

'Weigall reportedly witnessed Lord Carnarvon joking as he prepared to enter the tomb, turned to a fellow reporter, and said: 'If he goes down in that spirit, I give him six weeks to live.'

'Carnarvon died after being bitten by a mosquito within the allotted time, and the 'curse of the pharaohs' was born. Howard Carter applauds the recent death of Arthur Weigall, who he calls "a menace to archaeology".'
March 24, 2026: The civil war continues with the growing use of drones to attack and kill civilians. In 2025, and for the previous few years, Sudan has been ravaged by famine and a civil war between the army and the Rapid Support Force/RSF militias. The RSF was created in 2013 to deal with rebels in western Sudan. The RSF did that and gained combat experience which gave them an edge over the army that kept the civil war going from late 2023 to the present. What started the war was a 2021 military coup that was supposed to be a temporary condition to speed up the return of democracy. That backfired as a lot of the pro-reform civilians declared the military government another effort to restore dictatorship.

That is also how Omar al Bashir, the dictator from 1989-to-2019, got his start. What form post-Bashir Sudan will take is one of feuding factions and escalating fighting over scarce resources. The situation in South Sudan, another of the results of Bashirs misrule, is more settled.

The two Sudans had become quieter since the long-lasting Bashir dictatorship in Sudan was removed by determined popular resistance. South Sudan ended its post-independence civil war when everyone realized that they were destroying what they were allegedly fighting over and maybe a shouting-match was preferable to a death match.

In 2024 the northern Sudan civil war escalated and moved to the capital where government and rebel RSF gunmen fought constantly. The two sides could not agree on how to run the government and decided that a deathmatch was the only way to settle the matter. Civilians caught in the crossfire are fleeing the capital and, in some cases, if they can afford it, leaving the country.
An affluent Oregon couple have sued a legendary female dog sledder's kennel, claiming they suffered serious injuries in a freak accident during a once-in-a-lifetime dogsled tour in Alaska.

Randall, 73, and Philippa Hall, 69, alleged they were injured on March 30, 2024 when a sled operated by Trail Breaker Kennel of Fairbanks overturned mid-ride.

The crash threw the couple to the ground and left them 'severely' injured, according to the complaint obtained by the Daily Mail. No further details were provided about the alleged injuries.

According to the complaint, the crash happened when the kennel's dogsled runner 'hit a hazard that was on or at the edge of the trail.'

The duo claimed they were seated as told and had followed all of the guide's directions before the sudden crash.

They filed the suit in Fairbanks Superior Court last Thursday, seeking unspecified damages for their alleged injuries.

Trail Breaker Kennel was founded by the late Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion Susan Butcher, an acclaimed figure in the state's dog mushing community.

Although the alleged crash took place about two years ago, personal injury claims can be filed within two years of an incident under Alaska state law.

The complaint obtained by the Daily Mail included what appeared to be a photo of the Halls before the alleged crash, seated how they were instructed to by a Trail Breaker Kennel worker

The Halls alleged that the kennel did not properly maintain the trail used on tours and that obstacles like stumps had not been trimmed or removed

Trail Breaker Kennel was founded by legendary Alaskan dog sledder Susan Butcher , the second ever female winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in 1976

The Halls - who reside in a plush $1million home in Oregon - had booked a tour package that included a dog mushing excursion with Trail Breaker Kennel, according to the lawsuit.

A bus took them to Trail Breaker Kennel, which is just two miles from the Fairbanks International Airport.

Once there, staff instructed the couple on how to properly sit in the sled, with one person in front of the other.

The complaint included what appeared to be a photo of the Halls taken shortly before the alleged crash.

A guide also told the couple she would call out 'lean left' or 'lean right' to help the dogs navigate turns, per the complaint.

But when the sled came upon a right corner, the runner struck an unidentified 'hazard' on or near the trail, causing it to tip over.

The Halls 'did not act negligently in connection with the accident,' according to the complaint.

All the workers involved in the ride, including the musher, allegedly worked for Trail Breaker Kennel.

The Halls claimed the dogsled runner 'hit a hazard that was on or at the edge of the trail,' which caused their vehicle to overturn (Photo of Trail Breaker Kennel dogs)

The Halls alleged the kennel failed to properly inspect and maintain the trail used for commercial tours.

They claimed hazardous obstacles, including stumps, had not been trimmed or removed.

The kennel allegedly failed to warn the Halls about potentially 'dangerous conditions' or how to respond during the trip.

Under Alaska law, personal injury claims can be filed within two years of an incident. The Halls filed their case 11 days before that deadline.

They are seeking monetary damages for their injuries, including medical expenses, disability, pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, with the exact amount to be decided at trial.

In the filing, the pair also claimed they suffered 'loss of enjoyment of life' following the ordeal.

They have also asked the court to cover legal costs, interest, attorney's fees and any other additional relief.

The Halls live in a $1million home in Gold Beach, Oregon. They alleged to have suffered 'loss of enjoyment of life' after crashing in Alaska years ago

Tekla Butcher-Monson, Butcher's daughter who is now the owner of Trail Breaker Kennel, said she knew about the Halls' crash but not their lawsuit

Trail Breaker Kennel was founded by Butcher in 1976, with her goal of running the 1,000-mile Iditarod race in mind.

She eventually became the second woman to win the excruciating race.

The kennel touts itself as a must-see stop in Alaska and offers one hour of dog sledding for $170.

Butcher died in August 2006 of leukemia. The first Saturday of March is celebrated as Susan Butcher Day every year in Alaska.

Tekla Butcher-Monson, Butcher's daughter who is now the owner of Trail Breaker Kennel, was aware of the crash but not the lawsuit, according to The Oregonian.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Halls, their attorney Douglas Johnson and Butcher-Monson for comment.
Travelers are waiting in 270-minute-long queues at America's busiest airports after nearly half the Transportation Security Administration officers called off work.

Wait times have reached nearly five hours at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas after 42 percent of TSA staff called out Tuesday.

Security queues snaked around the Houston airport and through an underground tunnel as staff warned travelers whose flights were departing 'soon' that they 'may not clear security in time,' CNN reported.

Nearly 50 percent of staff at Houston's Hobby Airport called off Monday, but chaos has since calmed at the Southwest hub with security wait times currently estimated at being 10 minutes or less.

Staffing shortages are plaguing airports across the US after hundreds of thousands of Homeland Security workers - including those from the TSA - have continued to work without pay since Congress failed to renew DHS funding last month.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has advised travelers to allow 'at least four hours or more' for security screenings for both domestic and international flights but were unable to offer an exact TSA wait time on Tuesday morning.

ICE agents descended on Hartsfield-Jackson, which is the busiest and biggest airport in the US, to assist with security screenings after TSA callouts exceeded 40 percent Tuesday morning, according to WRDW.

Wait times at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport reached nearly an hour Tuesday morning, with the airport citing the 'federal funding lapse' as the reason that 'security wait times may be significantly longer than normal.'

Wait times have reached nearly five hours at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas after 42 percent of TSA staff called out Tuesday

A large crowd of travelers amasses in the center of Terminal 1 of at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday due to long wait times amid TSA worker callouts

Travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Monday

More than 400 TSA officers have quit their jobs amid the partial government shutdown, which has required around 61,000 TSA employees to work without pay since January 31.

Nearly 12 percent of TSA officers nationwide called off work on Sunday - the highest rate since the shutdown began last month.

President Donald Trump took the extraordinary step over the weekend of ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to provide security at 14 airports, including those hardest hit by TSA staffing shortages.

The Trump administration said the federal agents would supplement TSA staffing at certain airports but provided few details about exactly what the federal agents would be doing.

Armed ICE officers and other federal agents were seen patrolling terminals and lingering near long lines of passengers at airports in Atlanta, NYC, Newark, Houston and New Orleans on Monday.

A handful of other airports - including Phoenix's Sky Harbor International - have also confirmed ICE will be on-site.

Federal law enforcement officers are a routine presence at international airports.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Travelers stand by a sign indicating long wait times as they progress through the TSA security checkpoint line in Terminal A at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Monday

Travelers stand in line as some flights are delayed at Houston Hobby Airport on Monday. Officials say that 46 percent of Hobby Airport's TSA workers called out on Tuesday, but wait times still remain manageable

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents monitor air passengers waiting in long TSA security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday

Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving passengers, and Homeland Security Investigations agents conduct criminal inquiries tied to cross-border activity.

But immigration agents are rarely visible at TSA checkpoints, the front line of domestic air travel.

Although routine funding used to pay TSA agents lapsed, ICE and other immigration enforcement personnel are still receiving paychecks amid the shutdown - a result of Trump's big tax cuts bill that became law last year.

Senators are discussing a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including TSA workers, but excluding ICE's enforcement and removal operations that have been core to the dispute.

The potential breakthrough came after a group of Republican senators headed to the White House late Monday to meet with Trump.

Negotiators reportedly worked through the night hammering out the details and are expected to present written proposals for both parties to discuss Tuesday at their weekly caucus lunches.

The contours of the deal under consideration would fund most of Homeland Security, but exclude funding for one main part of ICE.

Security lines snaked outside at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Sunday

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Monday

Under the package being floated, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations would be funded as well as CBP, but with new guardrails to position officers from those divisions in their traditional roles, rather than as they have been used more recently in immigration roundups in cities.

It would also include a number of changes in immigration operations that Democrats have demanded, including mandating that officers wear body cameras and identification.

Since so much of ICE is already funded through Trump's big tax breaks bill, and immigration officers are still receiving paychecks during the partial government shutdown, senators said the new restraints would also be imposed on operations that rely on that funding source.
Hawaii's stunning blue waters have turned a dangerous shade of brown after the state was rocked by historic storms that washed sewage into the ocean.

The murky water - a stark contrast to the breathtaking turquoise oasis that locals and tourists are accustomed to - is so poor that the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) has advised people to stay out of the ocean.

Advisories covering the ocean around the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the west and south sides of Hawaii island have been put in place after catastrophic flooding caused over $1 billion in damage across the state.

Officials have warned that the brown water is especially hazardous following heavy rain and storms, as it can be contaminated by pollutants and pathogens from overflowing sewage systems.

'People should stay out of all waters that appear brown or turbid,' the DOH said, adding that waste from septic tanks, cesspools, and animal feces are known to flow through storm drains and leak out into the ocean.

Sewage runoff can also include pollution from chemicals out of industrial facilities and overflowing manholes, and even standing water from heavy rainfall can be just as threatening, officials warned.

People should avoid ocean waters for at least 72 hours after the last rainfall, the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department said, citing guidance from the DOH.

But even after three days, people should still proceed with caution in and around the tainted water, the department said.

Hawaii's typical blue ocean water is now a murky shade of brown that is not safe for swimming after the state was hit with catastrophic flooding last week

Unlike the stunning water locals and tourists are used to, officials have urged people to avoid the dirty ocean water for at least 72 hours because of high levels of contaminants. (Pictured: Stock image)

The dirty water can cause a slew of illnesses and infections, including nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, skin, eye, and ear rashes, and respiratory complications.

Despite the pressing warnings, some people were seen on hotel web footage out in the ocean in Waikiki, the Star Advertiser reported.

Those who are willing to risk it for a dip in the murky water should only do so if they 'have absolutely no fear of getting sick,' Arleen Velasco, the co-coordinator of the Surfrider Foundation's Blue Water Task Force, told the outlet.

The organization independently tests and measures fecal indicator bacteria levels in recreational waters and compares them to water quality standards.

'I would wait a good week before going in, when it's this polluted,' Velasco suggested.

Not only does the brown water cause health concerns, but it is also an environment where sharks like to hang out because there is a higher concentration of food and nutrients for them to feast on.

Velasco added: 'So it's dangerous right now. I would not go in the water.'

Surfrider volunteers collected samples to test for enterococci, a large group of lactic acid bacteria that is found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green has estimated that the damage to both private and public sectors will cost more than $ 1 billion to repair. (Pictured: US soldiers seen assisting stranded people in Waialua, Hawaii on Saturday)

Velasco said the results were alarming and pointed to fecal contamination in the ocean water.

Signs have since been erected on famed beaches on Maui and Molokai, warning people about the polluted water.

The storm caused such severe damage that officials urged people in hard-hit areas across Oahu and Maui to evacuate on Saturday, after more rain fell in the storm just a week after a winter storm ripped through.

At the same time, crews launched a desperate search for a missing 71-year-old woman who reportedly fell into an inundated stream that day.

She was last seen near an encampment along the Iao Stream on Waiehu Beach Road attempting to gather water using a basket when she fell into the river, according to the Maui Police Department.

Crews conducted extensive ground searches along the river and surrounding areas and launched air and ocean searches using a helicopter and jet skis, but have been unable to locate her, and their efforts remain ongoing.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green has estimated that the damage to both private and public sectors will cost more than $ 1 billion to repair.

'You can see the flood levels are significant. We'll have over $1 billion of damage, it appears,' he told CNN.

An aerial image shows brown floodwater covering an area of land in Hawaii after the storm

Green added: 'We've had 40 to 50 inches of rain, the largest flood that we've had in 20 years.

'This has been going on for about 11 days. We did have two terrible injuries that resulted in spinal cord injuries. One hospital went down and has been wiped out on Maui.'

He said the high cost includes repairs to the airport and hospital in Maui that were damaged as a result of the storm.

Hollywood star Jason Momoa was among thousands of Hawaiians forced to flee as a powerful storm battered the islands, causing dangerous, potentially fatal flooding.

Momoa took to Instagram and revealed he fled the North Shore after losing power and was with his family.

'We're safe now, but there's a lot of people who weren't, so sending all our love,' he said.
An abortion doctor who was serving a life sentence in prison for murdering three babies died in a Pennsylvania hospital earlier this month, prison officials announced on Monday.

Dr Kermit Gosnell, whose high-profile baby murder case shocked the nation in the early 2010s, died on March 1 in a hospital outside the prison system at the age of 85. His cause of death was not made public.

The abortionist's vile West Philadelphia clinic, which police said reeked of 'cat feces, formaldehyde and human urine' when they raided it in 2010, was where Gosnell killed at least three newborns by sticking scissors into the backs of their necks.

Former employees testified to witnessing the doctor deliver babies who were still whimpering and moving before severing their spines with the scissors, a grotesque process that he dubbed 'snipping.'

Gosnell, a father of six, was convicted in 2013 on charges of murdering three babies, as well as involuntary manslaughter of a patient. He had originally been charged with eight counts of murder but some of the cases were dropped.

The doctor was also convicted of various other crimes, including violations of Pennsylvania's abortion laws. Even when he was not murdering newborns, he would routinely perform abortions past the state's 24-week limit.

Gosnell had been moved around the prison system over the nearly 13 years since he was convicted and was most recently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution-Smithfield, which is about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh.

The doctor, who was called 'America's Most Prolific Serial Killer' in a 2017 book by authors Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAteer, kept a collection of fetuses and their body parts in his 'house of horrors' clinic.

Dr Kermit Gosnell, who was serving a life sentence in prison for murdering three babies, died in a Pennsylvania hospital on March 1 at the age of 85

Gosnell was convicted of severing the spines of at least three newborns with scissors. He is pictured smiling while getting escorted to a prison van after his conviction in 2013

The exterior of Gosnell's disgusting West Philadelphia clinic, which police said reeked of urine, formaldehyde and cat feces, is pictured

When police raided the location, they found a total of 47 fetuses, some of them wrapped in bags and kept in a freezer.

They also found body parts kept in jars, including tiny feet that he had severed and preserved.

Detectives said they believed that the twisted abortionist would even dump the remains of fetuses into the waters near his home in Brigantine, New Jersey, where they were devoured by crabs.

He and two other men were spotted emptying bags from a dock, but by the time divers searched the waters, they found nothing.

Gosnell's deeply disturbing practices came to light after Philadelphia police began investigating claims that he was selling prescriptions that fueled the citys illegal trade in opioid painkillers.

During their extensive probe, they stumbled across the case of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar, an immigrant from Bhutan, who had died during an abortion.

Mongar had been driven through the night to Gosnells clinic because she was past the 14-week limit for abortions in her home state of Virginia.

In February 2010, police searched the clinic and discovered a scene straight out of a horror movie.

Gosnell's crimes were revealed after investigators came across the case of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar, an immigrant from Bhutan, who had died during an abortion at his clinic. Mongar is pictured with her husband

Police who raided Gosnell's clinic found a total of 47 fetuses, some of which were wrapped in bags and kept in a freezer (pictured)

Gosnell also kept body parts of fetuses in jars, including feet that he had severed from their bodies. Some of those preserved feet are pictured

In their book, McElhinney and McAteer described what police found: 'Everything was covered in cat hair  the chairs, blankets, and all the surfaces. Investigators saw semi-conscious women moaning in the waiting room,' the authors wrote.

'The clinics two surgical procedure rooms were filthy and unsanitary... Instruments were not sterile. Equipment was outdated and rusty.

'Women recovering from abortions sat on dirty recliners covered with bloodstained blankets that employees said they tried to have cleaned weekly,' the authors continued.

'Some of the workers pointed to the stains on the walls. Those were where patients would urinate because the toilets didnt work. Later, at trial, it was revealed that the toilets were often backed up with fetal remains.'

Gosnell's shocking case made him the poster boy for anti-abortionists trying to limit or outlaw the procedure.

Pro-choice supporters also used the case as an example of why women should have better access to safe and legal abortions, so they would not have to receive dangerous care from unqualified individuals.

Following the disgraced doctor's trial, it came to light that Pennsylvania authorities had failed to conduct proper inspections of all the state's abortion clinics for 15 years by the time Gosnell's location was raided.

The case led to two of the state's top health officials getting fired, and Pennsylvania overhauled its rules for abortion clinics and made them more stringent.
A middle school in New York that previously made headlines for denying a Holocaust survivor the chance to speak is coming under fire once again for featuring art by Mayor Zohran Mamdani's wife in a social change class.

The Math & Science Exploratory School Public School 447 in Brooklyn reportedly showcased New York City's First Lady Rama Duwaji's illustrations in a course called Art for Social Change.

Duwaji is known for her political artwork and pro-Palestinian views. One of her drawings used by the school shows three women surrounded by flames with the inscription, 'Sooner or later people will rise against tyranny.'

Another illustration shows three women locking arms, accompanied by a caption that reads, 'They carry the pulse of protest.' A third image shows a woman crouched and appearing to cry, which Duwaji refers to as a 'stillness of displacement.'

It comes after resurfaced social media posts showed Duwaji, 28, allegedly using the N-word, the homophobic f-word and celebrating Palestinian terrorists in resurfaced social media posts from years ago.

Duwaji has been accused of sharing the offensive content on Tumblr and X accounts she allegedly used throughout her late teenage years into her twenties. She has not commented on the allegations.

The posts included a claim that Tel Aviv 'shouldn't exist in the first place,' and called Israelis 'occupiers'. Re-shared posts blamed the creation of Al-Qaeda on 'white people'.

Meanwhile, MS 447 has been criticized for denying Sami Steigmann, a Holocaust survivor, from speaking to students, leading parents to voice concerns that the course content is overly politicized.

Rama Duwaji, pictured above in a photo shared on social media, is an illustrator, activist and First Lady of New York City. She is married to socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani

The assignment reportedly given to Brooklyn students has surfaced online, pictured above

The Brooklyn school, MS 447 in Boerum Hill, previously came under fire last year after denying a speaking engagement to Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann

The New York Post reported that Duwaji's artwork has been used in the Boerum Hill school's seventh-grade activism-themed art course.

'Students have been busy throughout this unit thinking about their own deep culture, their identities, their interests and activities, and social justice issues connected to one, some, or all of these,' one of the teachers wrote to parents in a notice last fall, according to the Post.

'They have looked at mentor art and artists like Misty Copeland, Kendrick Lamar, Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Rama Duwaji, Libre Gutierrez, and Marianne Williamson,' the notice added.

One parent told the Post that they were concerned the Brooklyn school was 'not teaching in a critical manner, and just forcing a political ideology on students.'

Duwaji's artwork has been under the microscope in recent weeks, after reports emerged that her illustrations had been featured in an essay published by the Slow Factory.

The essay is a part of a compilation of work edited by Palestinian-American author Susan Abulhawa and tells the story of a woman named Diana Islayih who was displaced during the war in Gaza.

Abulhawa previously referred to Israeli forces as Jewish 'supremacist demons' and described the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel as 'a spectacular moment that shocked the world' in an op-ed published in The Electronic Intifada.

Duwaji, pictured above with husband and mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani on Inauguration Day, has faced criticism for offensive social media posts linked to her name

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his wife's work was commissioned through a third party and that Duwaji was unaware of Abulhawa's prior comments.

Mamdani added that Abulhawa's rhetoric was 'reprehensible' and 'patently unacceptable.'

He said that his wife was a private person and 'held no formal position' in his campaign or at City Hall.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn school that reportedly used Duwaji's artwork in an assignment, has also been in the news in recent months.

MS 447 school administration faced criticism last year for denying Sami Steigmann, a Holocaust survivor, from speaking to students.

A parent had asked Principal Arin Rusch to bring Steigmann in for a speaking event, a request that was met with hesitation.

MS 447 school in Brooklyn has been criticized for denying Sami Steigmann, a Holocaust survivor, from speaking to students, leading parents to voice concerns that course content is overly-politicized in favor of one side of the spectrum. (Pictured: Steigmann in 2024)

After intense scrutiny, Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann (pictured above) was finally invited to speak to students at the school in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, in February

Rusch said she believed Holocaust survivors offered important lessons to students, but expressed concern about inviting Steigmann, adding that she would 'love to explore other speakers,' CBS News reported at the time.

'In looking at his website materials, I also don't think that Sami's presentation is right for our public school setting, given his messages around Israel and Palestine. I'd love to explore other possible speakers,' Rusch added at the time.

The denial prompted a wave of criticism, with former Mayor Eric Adams among those who condemned the decision.

Steigmann did eventually speak at the school following the backlash. He met Rusch after his speech and said their conversation was cordial.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Rusch and the Mayor's office for comment.
A California couple pivoted from a dream vacation in Mexico to Hawaii after cartel violence broke out... only to arrive right as historic flooding blasted the island.

Michael Cuffe and his wife Jessie Prohaska had planned to holiday in Puerto Vallarta but were forced to change their plans last month when widespread chaos erupted following the death of drug lord El Mencho.

Instead, the duo booked a trip to Oahu, where heavy rain has been battering the state for weeks and caused Hawaii's worst flooding in more than 20 years this past weekend.

Cuffe said they realized they were caught up 'in something different' when locals began discussing the severity of the storm.

'They were speaking about how historic the rain was, even for them,' Cuffe told ABC7.

The pair explained that parts of the area where they were staying lost power for days, forcing restaurants and tourist attractions to temporarily close.

'They all shut down, understandably, for about three days. Flooded roads. It completely made sense,' Prohaska said.

Hawaii has been hard hit by two powerful storm systems in as many weeks, with the initial Kona storm that impacted the couple lasting from March 10 to March 15.

Michael Cuffe and Jessie Prohaska planned to vacation in Mexico but changed their plans due to cartel violence. They picked Hawaii instead and were met by historic flooding upon landing

Two powerful Kona storms have hit Hawaii over the last two weeks, with the initial system that affected the couple's trip lasting from March 10 to March 15

Mexican drug lord El Mencho's death caused widespread of violence and chaos in Jalisco and at least 20 states

Cuffe and Prohaska left Hawaii on March 16, according to an Instagram post.

'Came for the sun. Got inches of rain per hour [sic] over 3 days, 80 mph gusts, and a frontrow seat to a gubernatorial emergency declaration,' Cuffe wrote, sharing a video on his Instagram account @mikecuffe.

A video montage of the trip showed him nearly being blown away by the wind, as well as completely inundated roads and torrents of rain pouring down from roofs.

Prohaska said the couple still tried to explore 'as much as we could' despite the inclement weather.

'That's what brought fun to it,' she told the outlet.

Her husband Cuffe added that he had been impressed by how welcoming locals were despite the storms battering Hawaii.

'They made the trip great,' Cuffe said. 'Even with everything going on around us, they were the most accommodating, hospitable group of people I've met in a very long time.'

He added that his experience in Hawaii made him think of dealing with wildfires in Napa.

'We understand what it's like to evacuate and how scary things can get really quickly,' Cuffe added. 'We're sending our thoughts to people on the North Shore and parts of Maui, which look like they were hit even harder.'

A powerful Kona storm caused days of downpours in Hawaii from March 10 through March 15. No deaths were reported

The flooding could result in more than $1 billion in damage, according to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green

In a video montage shared after the trip, Cuffe was seen almost being blown away by the high speed wind

Cuffe said he had 'never seen it downpour like that' for three consecutive days.

'That was the first part of the storm and the roads were flooded quite literally everywhere in Waikiki,' he told KRON4.

The storm did not cause any deaths and two people suffered serious injuries.

More than 100,000 Hawaiians were left without power as a result, according to the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Every major island received at least one foot of rain from the Kona storm that dampened the couple's vacation plans.

After Cuffe and Prohaska's return home, another Kona storm hit Hawaii this past weekend.

It is very rare for two Kona storms to hit Hawaii in the same month. They usually happen once or twice after each season.

Prohaska said the couple still tried to experience Hawaii as much as possible, even though many spots were temporarily shuttered because of the weather

The flooding in Hawaii has been caused by two consecutive Kona storms, which is extremely rare

More than 5,500 Hawaiians were urged to evacuate this weekend after rising waters threatened the Wahiawa dam

The new storm caused the state's most serious flooding since 2004, according to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green.

As of Tuesday, more than 230 people had been rescued from rising waters. No deaths have been reported to date from this storm, either.

Green said more than $1 billion in damage could be caused by the flooding after the storm hit schools, roads and hospitals.

More than 400 homes were damaged or destroyed after Friday's floods, the Oahu Emergency Management Agency told the Associated Press.

Rising waters near the Wahiawa dam also caused fears of even more disaster over the weekend.

In less than 24 hours, water levels surged from 79 feet to 84 feet, just six feet below capacity.

Officials ordered more than 5,500 people in Honolulu to evacuate, warning that the 120yearold structure was at risk of 'imminent failure.' However, those fears subsided as the rain waned.

The dangerous weather is expected to continue slowing down tonight, though Maui remained under a flash flood warning as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Cuffe and Prohaska for further comment.
Kansas City's notorious street racing scene suffered a major blow as officials charged the driver responsible with $49,500 in damage to a brand new mural.

On Monday, Zachary C Talley Jr was charged with first-degree property damage and stunt driving after leaving tire marks on the painting during a November 2025 show in the Waldo neighborhood.

The streets of Kansas City have been known to devolve into unchecked, Mad Max-level chaos after 8pm - with sideshows and stunts screeching across the neighborhoods.

The Australian action franchise follows a road warrior (played by Mel Gibson) who races post-apocalyptic streets swarmed with gangs.

Residents of Waldo are all too familiar with chaos as they try to improve their enclave of the city.

According to the Kansas City Star, Waldo recently underwent an 18-month long renovation project that boasted a $14 million price tag.

As part of the improvements, the district enacted a street mural, which was unveiled last fall just weeks before the rogue stunt show completely ruined it.

Prosecutors said Talley was caught performing burnouts and donuts in the intersection where the mural lay just after midnight that evening.

The mural in the center of Kansas City was covered in tire marks after the street racing incident

The mural reportedly incurred almost $50,000 in damage thanks to the rampant street racing

Kansas City's Democrat Mayor Quinton Lucas is pictured after his city's downtown was branded a dystopian hellhole that's too dangerous to visit after 8pm

Waldo Area Business Association community engagement manager Cenyeaa Williams said many people were disappointed by the damage

Talley was previously charged with running from the Kansas City Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol in a stunt that took place the same day.

The mural featured a Waldo logo which displayed a massive red, blue and green 'W' underlaid with 'Waldo KMCO.'

It was a symbolic token of celebration for a decade of work in the neighborhood, finally complete.

According to the Star, artists used thermoplastic to melt the mural on the concrete. The technique was supposed to make it last longer.

Waldo Area Business Association community engagement manager Cenyeaa Williams said locals were disappointed by the damage and hope to see more accountability for stunt drivers going forward.

'We're hoping that some things are put in place to stop that happening again,' she told Fox4KC.

'We just want to continue to advocate, to bring people into our district, and for them to be safe and have a good time. That's all we want is for Waldo to be able to thrive because a successful Waldo means Kansas City grows as well.'

Waldo is located in central Kansas City. The neighborhood recently underwent millions in construction

Frustrated business owners and locals are weighing whether to abandon downtown altogether, blaming city leadership and law enforcement

Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Jackson said her office would continue advocating for community projects

The mural has since been restored.

Jackson County Prosecutor, Melesa Johnson, issued a statement on the damage and Talley's charges.

'When someone destroys the work our community poured its heart into, we will hold them accountable every time,' it read, in part.

Downtown Kansas City has been a hotspot for illegal street racing for years, so much so that locals have debated abandoning the area altogether.

Waldo itself has lost several businesses due to construction and ongoing chaos.

Many locals have felt that city leadership and local police are not doing enough to keep the dangerous displays off the streets.

Downtown Kansas City has become a hotspot for illegal street racing tearing through the neighborhoods, leaving locals afraid to step outside after dark

Some safety measures have been implemented, but wary locals argue that they've never been sufficient.

'This isn't a race issue, this isn't a political issue, this is a safety issue,' David Lopez, a local business owner, told Fox News, noting how chaos right outside is a constant occurrence, posing extreme danger for the surrounding community.

'I feel as though this city is about as unsafe as it's been since my family has been here,' he added.

The Daily Mail contacted the Kansas City Police, the mayor's office and the prosecutor's office for comment.
A Philadelphia couple's car disappeared after a landscaping company moved it into a tow-away zone without their knowledge.

Annie Taylor and Mike Kovacevich left their vehicle legally parked on their street in Center City on March 6, only to return to see that it had completely disappeared courtesy of the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA).

After several weeks, a bit of investigative work and a series of phone calls, the duo discovered the true cause of their car's mysterious disappearance.

Jimmy's Tree and Landscape Company was cutting down a tree on the couple's block that day and used dollies to shove their car into a no-parking zone, WPVI reports.

According to a representative from the company, they occasionally move vehicles themselves to avoid roping in the PPA.

Fortunately, Taylor attached an AirTag to their car, having heard that this was a common occurrence due to the city's courtesy towing policy.

On March 7, the couple followed the tracking device to an impound lot where employees informed Kovacevich their car was illegally parked and had been towed.

A Philadelphia couple had their car towed after a contracting company courtesy parked it in an illegal spot

Mike Kovacevich and Annie Taylor were relatively new to Philadelphia and had heard of the trouble with courtesy towing

'They showed him a photo, and his car was actually parked on this side of the street instead of the correct side, which made no sense because we did not move it to this side of the street,' Taylor said.

It seems the car was even damaged during the back-and-forth. Taylor plans to file a claim with the PPA.

'The plastic piece that covers all the wires near the tire cover was just ripped off and dragging,' she said.

The tree-trimming company alleged that no parking signs had been posted across the street 48 hours before the trimming's scheduled start.

But Kovacevich claimed that they were nowhere to be found.

After all the hubbub, the company agreed to cover the $175 impound fee.

'The company was actually the most helpful people of them all, and it's great that they were able to do that, and I don't intend to push anything else with them,' Taylor said.

Courtesy towing has become a frequent headache for Philadelphia drivers, according to CBS.

After dragging the car to the other side of the street, the Philadelphia Parking Authority impounded the vehicle

Some have even thought their vehicle was stolen after it was towed after being moved into an illegal spot.

Attorney Elias Kohn is representing at least 30 residents who are pursuing a class action lawsuit against Philadelphia for the controversial practice.

'Our firm took this lawsuit with the goal and really the hope that the city would want to take some measures to fix this problem,' he said.

Pending settlement, contractors may soon be required to place stickers on courtesy towed vehicles, barring the PPA from towing them.

The Daily Mail contacted the PPA, Taylor, Jimmy's Tree & Landscaping Company and the city for comment.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is leading the race to be re-elected despite a series of blunders and missteps during her time in office.

The former congresswoman, 72, is currently ahead in the polls for the mayorship she won in 2022, leading with 25 percent support among voters according to a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies/Los Angeles Times poll.

Councilwoman Nithya Raman is in second place at 17 percent, with reality TV star Spencer Pratt registering at 14 percent with his campaign criticizing the Palisades Fire response.

Bass faced intense scrutiny for her handling of the wildfires in early 2025, which killed almost 20 people and caused more than $25 billion in damage.

The mayor was criticized for staying on a trip to Ghana for several days after the fires broke out, before it emerged that her city's reservoirs were desperately short of water in the months leading up to the fires.

Ahead of election day on June 2, Bass remains within touching distance of her competition, with the top five rounded out by community organizer Rae Huang at eight percent and tech entrepreneur Adam Miller at six percent.

Over 25 percent of voters remain undecided in the race, according to the latest poll. If a candidate does not receive over 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates go to a run-off election in November.

If Bass were to lose her re-election, she would become the first Los Angeles Mayor to be voted out of office since 2005, with political analysts saying her lead looks vulnerable if her rivals can surge in name recognition before election day.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is leading the race to be re-elected despite a series of blunders and missteps during her time in office

Bass holds 25 percent support in the race, with reality TV star Spencer Pratt trailing her at 14 percent. Pratt has been a fierce critic of Bass's handling of the Palisades Fire, which burned down his home (pictured)

Dan Schnur, a political communications lecturer at USC and UC Berkeley, told ABC7 that while Bass is ahead in the latest poll, she is far from secure in her re-election.

'These are very discouraging, if not downright devastating, poll numbers for Karen Bass. She's running ahead of her opponents, only because her opponents are not very well known,' Schnur said.

'Generally speaking, throughout history, Angelenos tend to re-elect their mayors. You have to go back more than 20 years, back to 2005, to find the last mayor, James Hahn, who was not re-elected to office,' he noted.

'So voters in Los Angeles tend to be pretty forgiving, even if they're not seeing dramatic progress.

'But this poll, and this election, isn't about broader progress on issues like housing and homelessness.'

Schnur said the race is likely to be defined by voters' assessments of Bass's time in office, and her response to the Palisades Fire looks set to be a critical factor.

The poll found that just 31 percent of Los Angeles voters have a favorable opinion of the mayor, while 56 percent view her unfavorably.

Councilwoman Nithya Raman is in second place in the race for next Los Angeles mayor at 17 percent in the latest poll

Community organizer Rae Huang registered at eight percent support in the poll

Tech entrepreneur Adam Miller holds six percent support in the race

Bass's tenure as Los Angeles mayor has been marked by a number of controversies and struggles, including criticisms of her handling of riots in her city in June 2025.

Protesters looted stores and rioted over Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, but Bass waited more than four days before instating curfews and deploying police to deal with the chaos.

The riots came just months after wildfires devastated the Los Angeles area, which saw Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom come under scrutiny for a perceived lack of quick action.

Earlier this year, Bass again came under criticism when the LA Fire Department released its report on the blaze that killed a dozen residents and destroyed more than 7,000 structures and homes.

Bass was accused of covering up her office's actions throughout the 25-day fires, as an investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed there were a number of edits made in the report to downplay failures by city and fire department officials.

Two sources with insider information told the outlet that after receiving an early draft of the report, Bass told then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva that the report could expose the city to legal liabilities.

They said two people close to the mayor informed them how she wanted key findings about the LA Fire Department's response to the massive blaze removed or softened before the report was made public.

Join the discussion Should Los Angeles voters hold Karen Bass accountable for her wildfire and riot responses?

Pratt was inspired to run for mayor of LA after he and wife Heidi Montag lost their home in last year's brutal Palisades Fire (they are pictured together in Las Vegas back in May 2025)

Pratt, whose home was burned down in the fires, has emerged as a fierce critic of the mayor in recent months as he launches his own run for her office.

And this month, internal polling for Bass warned that the reality TV star is her biggest threat in the race.

An email was sent on Thursday by the Bass campaign advisor Douglas Herman to 'interested parties' as it stated that the campaign's internal pollster, Binder Research, currently shows Pratt in the position to challenge Bass in the November election runoff election according to TMZ.

The letter also reportedly cautioned that LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is a progressive candidate that entered the race late and is widely viewed as a key challenger, could topple Bass.

Campaign advisor Herman argued that Raman is not even close to being at the level of newly-elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when it comes to 'name awareness (and) unified base of favorable appeal' in LA.

The 2026 Los Angeles Mayoral election will be held on June 2, 2026 and could be won by a candidate receiving more than 50 percent of the vote.

If 50 percent is not reached than it will move to a runoff between the top two candidates during the general election in November.

The Daily Mail has contacted Bass for comment.
A disabled man was thrown from his wheelchair and later died from his injuries after Allegiant flight staffed failed to properly secure him, a lawsuit has claimed.

Hunter Adkins, from West Virginia, died hours after Allegiant staff 'dumped him' from a wheelchair while attempting to board him in March of 2024, a wrongful death suit said.

The 24-year-old, who suffered from muscular dystrophy and relied on a wheelchair to move around, was attempting to board the flight from Huntington to Orlando, Florida.

He was traveling alongside his father Tony and younger brother Kaden to see family when tragedy struck.

According to the suit filed against the carrier the unnamed captain 'began rushing the boarding process' in order to 'take off in 20 minutes'.

It is alleged that due to this rush that staff originally tasked with helping Hunter left to load luggage, leaving just one wheelchair assistant to aid him, according to the lawsuit.

Hunter was to be moved from his power wheelchair to a narrower wheelchair designed to move up and down the airplane with the help of assistants, the suit added.

When the family approached the ramp to board, where the change in chairs would happen, they were met by a lone assistant who tried to board Hunter by himself, according to the legal filing.

Hunter is seen here in an image dating back to 2008 when he was just six-years-old

Hunter was traveling alongside his father Tony and younger brother Kaden with the trio flying to see family when tragedy struck, he is seen here alongside an unknown woman in 2008

The aisle wheelchair, the suit said, should have had safety straps to secure the passenger - but the one Hunter was moved to did not have any, the lawsuit claims.

After being pushed up the ramp in the 'unsafe' chair by the worker, Hunter was thrown out of it and landed face-first on the floor of the plane, it is alleged.

Hunter's disability meant he was unable to use his hands to break his fall, with his wheelchair and the unidentified man pushing it both falling on top of him, the lawsuit claims.

It is claimed that no flight crew members tried to help the wheelchair assistant despite him 'utilizing an unsafe boarding method'.

Hunters father and brother rushed to help him, the suit said. He was taken off the plane and rushed to the hospital for medical care.

The next morning he died from his injuries, just 15 hours after he was 'dumped from his wheelchair', the suit said.

His cause of death was listed as 'multiple blunt force injuries', the West Virginia Department of Health said.

The suit added: 'As a result of the conduct of Defendant Allegiant, Hunter E. Adkin's boarding onto Flight 1258 was inherently unsafe, causing him to be dumped from his wheelchair during the boarding process.

The 24-year-old suffered from muscular dystrophy and relied on a wheelchair to move around

The suit claimed that Allegiant was negligent in their hiring and training process, by employing staff 'unfit or incompetent for their job duties'

Huntington Tri-State Airport in Huntington, West Virginia, is pictured here

'The blunt force injuries resulting from his dumping from the wheelchair caused Hunter to die on March 29, 2024.'

The lawsuit also accused the company of being negligent in their hiring and training process based on the actions of the staff onboard the flight that day.

It accused the company of having 'inadequate hiring policies and procedures' who 'were unfit or incompetent for their job duties', the suit said.

His father and brother both suffered 'serious emotional distress' after witnessing Hunter's fall from the chair and death hours later, the suit added.

A spokesperson for Allegiant told the Daily Mail: 'While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we extend our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones affected by this heartbreaking situation.'

The lawsuit, filed in the state of Nevada where Allegiant are based, is asking for damages exceeding $15,000 with the family requesting a jury trial.
New 'Gibraltar' sign unveiled by GTB at Campion Park

The Gibraltar Tourist Board, on behalf of the Ministry of Equality, Employment, Culture and Tourism, has today unveiled Gibraltars first official Gibraltar sign at Campion Park.

The installation creates a new dedicated photo point for visitors and residents alike, designed to encourage the sharing of experiences and showcase Gibraltar as a vibrant and visually striking destination.

Complementing wider public enhancements across Gibraltar, including improvements to roundabouts and the introduction of heritage and cultural features, the Gibraltar sign has been created as a dedicated photo opportunity for visitors and residents to stop, engage and capture their experience. It is the first installation of its kind, with further permanent signs to follow in key locations, including at the frontier once infrastructure works are complete.

A mobile Gibraltar sign will also be launched this summer, travelling to events and high-footfall locations to provide further opportunities for the public to engage with the installation and capture memorable moments.

Members of the public are invited to visit the sign at Campion Park and tag Visit Gibraltar on social media.

Minister for Tourism, The Hon. Christian Santos GMD MP said: This new Gibraltar sign is about creating moments that people want to capture and share. Its a simple but impactful way of showcasing our destination through the eyes of those who experience it. As we continue to enhance our tourism offering, initiatives like this help bring Gibraltars identity to life in a modern and engaging way."
The rising popularity of Pauline Hanson's One Nation has seen her party promoted to official 'minor party' status, earning her a huge pay rise.

Hanson's annual salary shot up to $341,000 from $239,000 when Barnaby Joyce defected to her party in December 2025.

The move saw her become the official leader of a minor party, which by definition must hold at least five seats in federal parliament.

The 42.5 per cent jump in pay is in line with that earned by Greens leader Larissa Waters and is a little more than half of the Prime Minister's salary, set at $622,050.

While the pay rise was automatic, a staff increase was not and with One Nation now standing to win as many as four lower house seats in the South Australian state election, Hanson is calling for more workers to be sent her way.

Hanson met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Special Minister of State Don Farrell in January to request her current number of staff be doubled.

She claimed two staff each had been allocated to her and Malcolm Roberts following the 2025 election, but no additional staff were appointed when the party gained two more senators.

'So we've got four senators with only four personal staff. So the other senators don't have that personal staff so we've asked for that. I saw the Prime Minister personally and I put it to him (and Farrell). They said they'd look at it, but we've received no response,' Hanson told The Australian.

Pauline Hanson (above) received a 42.5 per cent pay rise after Barnaby Joyce defected to her party in December 2025

Hanson is calling for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (above) to grant her more staff

Hanson claimed the new popularity of her party, which is now polling above the Liberals - Australia's second major party behind Labor, has seen her workload significantly increase.

'I've always had a lot of requests for people to meet with me but there is an increase in requests, even ambassadors from different countries who want to have meetings with me now including from New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates,' she said.

However, the tight staffing at One Nation stems back to a decision following the May election to cut staffing across the board.

The Coalition and Labor both lost workers at the time.

Joyce, a former Nationals leader, also appealed for more staff as the only One Nation MP in the lower house.

'I'm expecting to get a personal staff allocation, but I don't believe it has been finalised. In the House of Representatives I'm doing the policy work of every portfolio for One Nation,' Joyce said.

He added One Nation is now 'the second highest polling party in Australia' and is facing a workload which 'reflects that'.

A One Nation spokesperson highlighted that the Greens were granted 11 staff in 2009.

Barnaby Joyce (above) said One Nation's current workload reflects its position as 'the second highest polling party in Australia'

The party at the time had five sitting federal parliamentarians.

However, the allocations at the time were made before new staffing conditions were established.

Hanson is also pushing for her party to be assigned an official party room.

A space was emptied in the Greens' old party room in federal parliament after a new space was renovated for the minor party.
A Utah mother has been hit with felony charges months after she allegedly kidnapped an 11-year-old boy who she claimed was bullying her autistic son.

Shannon Marie Tufuga, 40, has been charged with child kidnapping and aggravated child abuse, according to court records.

On September 17, 2025, Tufuga was driving around Provo looking for her son's alleged bully, identified only by his initials in the charging document filed Monday.

When Tufuga found the boy, she stopped in front of him while he was riding his bike and made him 'get into her vehicle', according to the charging document.

Per the document, Tufuga then drove the child to her home in Provo without his parents' consent and forced the boy to apologize to her son.

In Facebook posts that have now been deleted, Tufuga explained that her son is on the autism spectrum.

Even after the boy apologized under Tufuga's alleged pressure, she still threatened to have her husband beat him up, according to the charging document.

She also told the boy he 'was lucky she did not run over [his] bike,' according to the charges.

Shannon Marie Tufuga, 40, kidnapped her autistic son's alleged bully, made him apologize and then threatened to have her husband beat him up, according to a charging document

Tufuga, of Provo, Utah, faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted

Tufuga then drove the boy back to his parents' home in Provo, authorities said.

'The incident has caused [the boy] serious emotional distress. [He] now has high anxiety and has had to alter his daily routines significantly,' according to the charges.

It wasn't immediately clear how Tufuga's alleged actions came to light months later based on court records.

Tufuga has been ordered to appear at the Utah County Jail before April 30 to be fingerprinted and processed.

It's unclear whether she had surrendered herself as of Monday.

For the kidnapping charge, a second-degree felony, Tufuga faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
Joe Rogan called out Gavin Newsom after the Democratic California governor's press office posted an AI-generated meme mocking YouTuber Nick Shirley for investigating alleged hospice fraud in the state.

Shirley, 23, is a right-wing independent journalist who entered the national spotlight after releasing a series of YouTube videos investigating alleged fraud in Somali-run, state-funded daycare centers in Minnesota.

The young man's three videos on the topic have collectively garnered more than seven million views.

The first video was titled 'I Investigated Minnesotas Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal,' and Shirley repeated the formula in his most recent video, posted on March 17 with the title 'I Exposed California's Billion Dollar Fraud Crisis.'

The day before Shirley uploaded that video, the official X account for Newsom's press office posted an AI-generated meme of the YouTuber depicting him covered in cameras with pale skin and a creepy expression in a daycare asking: 'Hey, can I see your kids?'

In the latest episode of Rogan's podcast, he took issue with the meme and asked: 'Did you see what the governor posted, what Newsoms press office posted?'

'They posted a photo of Nick Shirley, like a fake Nick Shirley, like a meme  like Nick Shirley peeking into windows,' Rogan continued.

'I saw that,' replied comedian Mark Normand, the guest on the episode.

In the latest episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan called out Gavin Newsom after the California Governor's press office posted a meme mocking Nick Shirley. Rogan is pictured during that episode

Nick Shirley is a right-wing independent journalist and YouTuber who rose to fame after exposing alleged fraud at state-funded daycares in Minnesota. He is pictured in an Instagram post

Rogan said that Shirley is 'doing [Newsom's] job.' The governor's office has refuted allegations that he is not combating fraud. Gavin Newsom is pictured

Newsom's press office posted this AI-generated meme of Shirley, which mocks his investigation into daycare fraud

'Like, hey, he's doing your job. Hes uncovering fraud and what youre doing is mocking him?' Rogan then rhetorically asked.

Normand laughed and replied: 'Right, you should go, "Oh s***, there's fraud? I'm the governor."'

'They should just open up the investigations into all these places, immediately if you care, but all they wanna do is just obfuscate, cover it up, make it look silly,' Rogan concluded.

The meme posted by Newsom's press office went viral on X, garnering almost eight million views and tens of thousands of likes and comments.

Shirley shot back at the tweet with a reply that said: 'You do realize Im trying to help America eliminate fraud and waste right?

'No need to try and make me look like the bad guy for exposing fraud. People are over it. Start working for the people and not against them.'

Although the YouTubers tweet drew less than half the views of the one posted by Gavin Newsoms press office, it still racked up 277,000 likes - more than ten times the memes total.

Newsom's press office has gone into damage control mode following the backlash against the Shirley meme, posting a flurry of tweets in recent days addressing allegations that the governor has not worked to stop fraud in the state.

Shirley responded to the meme posted by Newsom's press office with this tweet, which received half as many views but ten times more likes

Shirley's videos about alleged fraud in Minnesota have garnered more than seven million views, and his new investigative video into California has received more than a million views so far. Shirley is pictured

Newsom's press office posted a tweet addressing the clip from Rogan's podcast that said he 'has no idea what he's talking about.' Rogan is pictured

On Monday, the account posted a tweet directly addressing the Joe Rogan clip and wrote: 'Per usual, Joe Rogan has no idea what hes talking about.

'California is leading the nation in PREVENTING fraud  protecting billions of dollars meant for families and seniors.'

The governor's press office then claimed that since Newsom took office there has been '$125 billion+ in fraud STOPPED,' '1,200+ criminals ARRESTED,' '83% reduction in EBT fraud in one year,' and 'New hospice licenses BANNED beginning in 2022.'

A spokesperson for Newsom told the Daily Mail in a statement: 'California takes public program fraud seriously and has robust fraud detection and prevention systems in place.'

The statement continued by addressing moments in Shirley's investigative video when he visited daycare centers and was rebuked by the people running them, and there were not as many children inside as public records would indicate.

'When a random person shows up at the door of a child care center and asks to be let in, workers should do what anyone else would  not let a stranger see the kids in care,' the spokesperson added.

'And these centers operate around the hours of parents needs  not necessarily when a random person decides to come to the door.'
A man and his elderly mother are both dead after a suspected murder-suicide inside their expensive San Diego home.

Officers were called to a property in the citys sought-after South Park area at around 7.45pm on Monday following reports of a shooting.

When police arrived at the home on San Marcos Avenue, they found a 51-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound on the porch.

A handgun and a spent cartridge casing were found nearby, according to the San Diego Police Department.

As officers rushed to treat the injured man, they looked inside the property and spotted an 83-year-old woman lying on the living room floor, bleeding.

Police entered the home to render aid, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man was transported to hospital but later died from his injuries.

Authorities believe the pair were mother and son and had been living together at the residence.

Officers found a 51-year-old man with a gunshot wound on the porch alongside a handgun and casing, while inside the home an 83-year-old woman was discovered bleeding

The street in San Diego is sought after, and homes often sell for more than $1 million

Investigators say the shooting appears to be a murder-suicide, and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Acting Lieutenant Christopher Leahy, of the departments homicide unit, described the incident as very, very tragic to NBC 7, adding that it has shaken the typically quiet neighborhood.

A nearby resident told local media he initially mistook the gunfire for a car crash.

I thought it was a car accident. It sounded like a deep crash, he said. It didnt sound like a high-pitched pistol or something like that. And the cops were just flying by very fast.

Police cordoned off the block late into the night as detectives gathered evidence, with investigators expected to remain at the scene for several hours.

The tragedy has shaken the quiet yet highly desirable Burlingame neighborhood located near Balboa Park (pictured), where homes can fetch more than $1million

The Daily Mail has reached out to the San Diego Police Department for comment.

The home is located in Burlingame, a quiet, sought-after enclave within San Diegos trendy South Park neighborhood, known for its historic charm and proximity to downtown and Balboa Park.

Developed in the early 1900s, the area is lined with older single-family homes and has a residential, leafy feel, with nearby shops, cafes and breweries adding to its appeal.

The neighborhood remains highly desirable, with homes often fetching more than $1 million.
A female vet was mauled to death by an enraged pregnant hippo after she climbed into its zoo enclosure to take its temperature.

Sameeksha Reddy, 27, had been carrying out a temperature check on the animal at the Tavarekoppa Lion and Safari Zoo in Karnataka, India, on Thursday night when tragedy struck.

After conducting a routine check-up on a Sun Conure bird at 10.30pm, she went to attend to the pregnant 15-year-old hippo at around 11.45pm using a thermal camera.

According to local reports, the animal, named Hamsini, unexpectedly charged at the young vet after the scanning process was completed, inflicting catastrophic injuries.

Ms Reddy was rushed to a private hospital in the Shivamogga district in a critical condition, but despite the efforts of the medical team, she succumbed to her injuries on Friday morning.

Medical officials confirmed that the vet suffered severe internal trauma to her abdomen and significant blood loss, which ultimately led to her passing.

According to the safari zoo officials, the hippo was due for delivery within a few days.

'Samiksha initially went to inspect a sun parakeet and then went to the hippo's enclosure at 11.45pm. She went to assess the hippo's temperature with a thermal camera. The animal suddenly attacked her,' a zoo official said, as per the Telegraph India.

Sameeksha Reddy, 27, had been carrying out a temperature check on the animal at the Tavarekoppa Lion and Safari Zoo in Karnataka, India , on Thursday night when tragedy struck

Medical officials confirmed that the vet suffered severe internal trauma to her abdomen and significant blood loss, which ultimately led to her passing

Footage from the site showed the hippo in the zoo pond with the temperature device nearby

'She suffered severe injuries and heavy blood loss, which left her unconscious.

'The zoo staff rushed her to a private hospital in Shivamogga, but she died on Friday morning,' the official added.

Calling it an unfortunate incident, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said the government stands with Ms Reddy's family during this difficult time.

'Every life is precious. May God give strength to the family to bear this loss,' he said.

He directed officials to provide compensation to the family following the incident.

Khandre also instructed that veterinarians at all zoos in the state must strictly follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) while treating wild animals.

He further ordered an inquiry into the incident by a team consisting of senior veterinarians and forest officials, and directed that a report be submitted within seven days.

The hippo involved in the attack had been relocated to the Shivamogga safari from the Mysuru Zoo nearly four years ago and was under close observation due to its pregnancy.
A British Special Forces base in northern Iraq repelled a record 14 Iranian suicide drones last night in a dramatic escalation of the conflict.

Despite US President Donald Trump offering an olive branch to the Tehran regime, its military launched its biggest attack yet on UK troops.

Confirmation has been sought from the Ministry of Defence regarding whether any British troops were wounded as the deadly drones rained down.

The Special Forces base in Erbil, in the Kurdish-controlled sector of Northern Iraq, has been singled out by Iran over recent weeks.

More than 50 Iranian drones have been aimed towards the multinational camp, though the figure could be much higher.

Following previous attacks Italian troops withdrew from the base.

Earlier this month an Iranian attack killed a French soldier who was conducting a counterterrorism training exercise, which French president Emmanuel Macron condemned as 'unacceptable'.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Rapid Sentry (pictured) is a vehicle-mounted system that fires Lightweight Multirole Missiles

Donald Trump walks toward the White House upon his arrival in Washington, DC yesterday

The same attack convinced the Italians to withdraw its ground forces, despite no Italians being injured. Some 102 Italian troops returned home while 40 relocated to Jordan.

The move was another blow to President Trump considering his relationship with the country's right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni.

The 14 drones were shot out of the night sky by troops from the elite Royal Air Force Regiment who are specialists in protecting bases using ground to air rocket systems. Rapid Sentry is a vehicle-mounted system that fires Lightweight Multirole Missiles.

The first line of defence is the Orcus uncrewed drones that patrols the airspace around Erbil. Another RAF Regiment system Ninja is able to intercept drones by hacking into guidance systems.

The RAF Regiment practiced intercepting enemy drones on exercise in Wales before deploying to northern Iraq. Drills at Air Defence Range Manorbier in Pembrokeshire have proved effective in the warzone.

In a post on Facebook the RAF Regiment said its specialists were playing a vital role in defensive operations in the Middle East.

It said: 'They are actively detecting, tracking and neutralising airborne threats, working closely with coalition partners to ensure the safety of personnel and the continuity of operations.

'Through precision, professionalism and coordination, they remain committed to protecting people and critical infrastructure in a complex and evolving environment.'

More than 500 additional UK troops from across the services have deployed to the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean to combat the Iranian threat.

But in a hugely controversial move a Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon only reached Cypriot waters earlier this week. The destroyer, that would have provided a reassuring presence in the conflict zone  and may have prevented an Iranian attack on RAF Akrotiri, the UK base on the island  spent weeks in docks before being declared fit to sail.

Today, a senior Western official said: 'The Iranians retain the ability to fire ballistics. While the US is focusing on destroying the industrial base. The attack on Erbil came after a reduction in tempo at the time of Eid [the end of Ramadan].'

It remained uncertain today whether the Iranian state or Iranian-backed proxy groups were behind the attack.

The Tehran-sponsored Ashab Al-Kahf group has pledged to rid Iraq and the region of Western influences.

Meanwhile officials have confirmed that while the UK and France and leading international efforts to draw together a naval coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz, no Royal Navy warships will deploy to the crucial waterway before the warring parties have agreed a ceasefire.

The UK is planning to send a combination of crewed ships, and autonomous sea drones designed to identify and destroy mines but only once the United States and Israel have reached an agreement with Iran.

Iran has mined the Strait though it is unclear how many explosives devices it has positioned. There is a clear path through the Strait as Iran has been permitted small numbers of Indian, Chinese, Pakistani and Turkish cargo cessels to pass through.

The cash-strapped Royal Navy is looking into leasing commercial ships to operate alongside the uncrewed systems.

Unmanned sea drones deploy from so called 'mother ships' to search for mines. A Royal Fleet Auxilliary vessel Lyme Bay, currently patrolling the Mediterranean, could fulfil that role.

The multinational coalition to free the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran is effectively holding the international community to ransom, began with six nations.

Officials declared today the coalition has expanded to 30 states. Military chiefs are expected to meet in either London or Portsmouth later this week to finalise their plans.

The move is being driven by the Chief of the Defence Staff Air Marshal Richard Knighton. He faced questions earlier in the campaign over the UK's failure to deploy Royal Navy warships.
A former Boston community organizer and Black Lives Matter activist has been ordered by a federal judge to repay more than $224,000 after pleading guilty to charges related to misusing money donated to her now-defunct charity.

Monica Cannon-Grant, who gained notoriety during the widespread BLM protests in 2020, will pay a sum of $224,063 to the government, according to an order from District Court Judge Angel Kelley.

The forfeiture amount was calculated based on funds the 44-year-old admitted to fraudulently obtaining.

They included about $181,000 in donations to her nonprofit Violence in Boston, roughly $33,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits and approximately $12,600 in rental assistance.

This is on top of the $106,000 the judge already ordered her to pay as restitution to her victims when she was sentenced in January.

'Monica Cannon-Grants crimes were not a momentary lapse in judgment - they were a calculated pattern of deception that spanned years,' prosecutor Leah B. Foley said at her sentencing hearing on January 29.

'She repeatedly lied to donors, government agencies, and the public, even after being caught - all while presenting herself as a champion for others.'

After George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in 2020, Cannon-Grant organized a protest in Boston that drew thousands of participants. She also worked with a restaurant to hand out free meals during the pandemic.

Monica Cannon-Grant, once a mainstay of the Black Lives Matter movement in Boston, has been ordered to repay more than $224,000 to the federal government after she pleaded guilty to a wide-ranging fraud scheme involving her charity, Violence in Boston

The mother-of-six founded her nonprofit in 2017 out of her Roxbury home and by 2020, she had expanded her operation to a building in Hyde Park.

Initially, Cannon-Grant was lauded for her charitable work. In 2020, she was honored with the title of 'Bostonian of the Year' by Boston Globe Magazine and was also deemed the city's 'best social justice advocate' by Boston Magazine.

Her reputation came crashing down in 2022, when federal prosecutors secured an 18-count indictment against her and her husband, Clark Grant.

They alleged the couple raised more than $1 million and used a portion of it for their personal expenses, including vacations, car rentals, restaurants and other everyday spending.

Almost since the inception of the charity, Cannon-Grant and her husband were siphoning donations - as well as the COVID relief funds and rental assistance funds - into their own bank accounts.

Clark Grant was killed in a motorcycle accident in Easton in March 2023, before the case against them proceeded to the penalty phase.

Cannon-Grant and her husband Clark Grant were accused of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars they received through their nonprofit on vacations, car rentals, restaurants and other everyday items. Clark Grant died in a motorcycle accident in March 2023

In September 2025, Cannon-Grant pleaded guilty to all 18 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and tax violations.

In return, prosecutors agreed to dismiss nine counts related to alleged mortgage fraud contained in a superseding indictment.

At her sentencing, Cannon-Grant told the judge she takes 'full-ownership' of what she did, but maintained that she was 'extremely proud' of her charity's work during the pandemic.

Cannon-Grant received no prison time, despite the government's request for 18 months behind bars.

The judge ultimately hit her with four years of probation, six months of home confinement and 100 hours of community service.
Iran has taunted Donald Trump with viral memes after he claimed 'good peace talks' were underway - with Tehran insisting no such negotiations have taken place.

Posts from an Iranian embassy account appeared to mock the US president, joking about 'joint control' of the Strait of Hormuz and sharing spoof messages including a fake WhatsApp-style exchange about talks with the Ayatollah.

In one post, the account shared a novelty kid's steering wheel next to real wheel with the caption: 'The Strait of Hormuz will be controlled by me and the Ayatollah', mocking the idea the rivals could share control of the vital waterway.

The jibes came hours after Trump said Washington had held 'very good and productive conversations' with Iran and hinted a deal to ease the spiralling crisis could be within reach.

Trump said he had ordered the Defense Department 'to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period.'

He warned that the cessation of the strikes was 'subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.'

But Iranian officials have flatly denied any talks ever happened, dismissing the claims and insisting there has been no direct contact with the US.

A regime source taunted Trump by claiming after 'hearing that our targets would include all power stations in West Asia, he backed down.'

Iran has taunted Donald Trump with viral memes after he claimed 'good peace talks' were underway as Tehran insists no negotiations have taken place

Posts from an Iranian embassy account appeared to mock the US president, joking about 'joint control' of the Strait of Hormuz and sharing spoof messages including a fake WhatsApp-style exchange about talks with the Ayatollah

Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari also mocked Trump in a video, telling him: 'Hey, Trump, you are fired'

Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari also mocked Trump in a video, telling him: 'Hey, Trump, you are fired You are familiar with this sentence. Thank you for your attention to this matter.'

Trump floated joint control of the Strait of Hormuz and suggested he didn't know who was currently leading Iran when responding to a reporter on Monday morning.

Trump spoke to journalists on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport as he departed Florida after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago and was asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins who was in control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The President answered that the Strait would be open 'real soon' if a deal he's teased with Iran works.

'It'll be jointly controlled,' he said of the waterway.

When asked who would be jointly controlling it, Trump added, 'maybe me, maybe me.'

'Me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is, whoever the next ayatollah [is.],' the President continued.

Trump then argued that no matter what, Iran's next leader would represent 'regime change.'

'There's automatically a regime change,' the President added.

Leaders of Iran's Islamic Republic named Mojtaba Khamenei the new Supreme Leader after his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the first day of Israeli and US strikes.

But Trump confirmed that it's not Khamenei who the US is negotiating with.

'We have not heard from the son,' he told reporters. 'We don't know if he's living.'

Instead the President teased that a Iran ceasefire deal was being worked out with somebody very 'respected.'

'We're dealing with some people that I find very reasonable, very solid, the people within know who they are, they're very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for,' Trump said.
President Donald Trump could see a Democrat representing Mar-a-Lago in the Florida House of Representatives.

Democrat Emily Gregory, 40, is hoping to pull off a win against Republican Jon Maples, 43, in a special election on Tuesday to fill the state House seat vacated by Republican Mike Caruso.

Caruso was tapped last summer by Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to serve as county clerk and comptroller, with the seat sitting empty since August.

If Gregory is successful, it would embarrass Trump in his own backyard.

The President changed his residency to Florida in 2019 during his first term, making his primary residence Mar-a-Lago between his first and second terms.

Trump opened himself to criticism by voting in the special election by mail, the New York Times reported, a practice he has referred to as 'mail-in cheating' and in the Oval Office on Tuesday as 'tremendous corruption.'

The White House pushed back on charges of hypocrisy by pointing to Trump's support of the SAVE Act, which allows 'commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, or travel.' The President has been against universal mail-in ballots, a spokesperson said, because 'it's highly susceptible to fraud.'

'As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C. This is a non-story,' spokesperson Olivia Wales told the Daily Mail.

Democratic candidate Emily Gregory (left) is competing in a special election against Republican Jon Maples (right) to represent Florida's House District 87. Mar-a-Lago is situated in that state House district

President Donald Trump changed his primary residence to Mar-a-Lago (pictured) in 2019. Democrats are hoping that the President will have to cope with having a Democratic state representative after Tuesday's special election

Gregory is a mother of three and used her health and exercise science background to launch a small business, FIT4MOM Palm Beach, offering exercise classes to pregnant women and new moms.

She's also highlighted her experiences as a military spouse.

The Palm Beach Post, the local newspaper, endorsed Gregory on Monday.

Maples, of course, has Trump's endorsement.

The President backed the GOP hopeful ahead of the primary for the state House special election in January.

He called him a 'very successful Businessman and Civic Leader.'

'As your next State Representative, Jon will fight tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Stop Migrant Crime, Safeguard our Elections, Support our Military, Veterans, and Law Enforcement, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment,' Trump said.

Ahead of Tuesday, the Florida Democratic Party is claiming that Maples doesn't actually live in the district.

Mom of three Emily Gregory, who runs a fitness studio for pregnant women and new moms, is hoping to flip a Republican-held state House seat in Tuesday's special election in Florida

Republican hopeful Jon Maples (left) is photographed with Eric Trump (right). He received President Donald Trump's endorsement in the primary, which he easily won

The Florida Democratic Party alleged that on January 12, during the primary, Maples was using a voter registration address associated with a motel in Palm Beach Shores.

This address was used again on March 14, the Democrats said.

The Democrats have called on Maples to drop out of the contest.

The Maples campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.

Florida Politics reported that the GOP hopeful said that he and his family have moved into a home in Jupiter, Florida - within the district boundaries - since the January primary.

Florida law states that a representative must live in the district only at the time of their swearing-in.

The district in question, Florida's House District 87, has generally trended Republican.

Trump won the district by around 9 points, while Caruso won even more handily, by 19 points.

Maples has a fundraising advantage over his Democratic rival, and Republicans still have a statewide voter registration advantage, Florida Politics said.

Still, Democrats view that seat as flippable, as special elections can sometimes be unpredictable.

The party recently found success in the nearby Boca Raton mayor's race, with Democrat Andy Thomson becoming the first blue mayor of the city in 45 years.
Any male who identifies as a woman can use the female bathrooms and changing rooms in any ESB office.

And some women employees of this major semi-State organisation are so worried about men coming in while theyre showering  especially in the ESB headquarters in Dublin where the female facilities are in a locked basement  that they wont use them at all.

In the name of inclusivity, then, women are being excluded from their safe spaces.

These women have told their employer they do not feel safe in their workplace.

Theyve tried to speak to their management and union to point out that, in failing to provide single-sex spaces for female employees, the company is at odds with UN advice on protecting women and girls against male violence.

Theyve asked that their right to believe in biology  which is a bit like asserting your right to believe that the earth is round  should be respected, along with their privacy and dignity, by their employers.

In response, according to a major investigation by our sister paper, the Irish Mail on Sunday, theyve been told: We dont care.

As far as the ESB is concerned, the feelings of trans-identified males trump the safety of women.

Thats what they meant when they said, in a 2024 policy document, that management must support the right of all employees to access shower, toilet and changing facilities which match their gender identity.

Not their biological sex. Not their physical reality.

Basically, any fully intact man who decides hes a woman can walk into the womens showers in the ESBs Fitzwilliam Square HQ, take off his clothes and watch women as they wash and undress.

And what was once termed indecent exposure or voyeurism must now be endured by those women, because his right to do so takes precedence over the rights of his female colleagues to their privacy, dignity and peace of mind.

How on earth did we get to a point where this blatant misogyny, this sexist bullying, this casual contempt for womens rights, this clear endangerment of female employees, has come to be seen as progressive?

How is it that women who stand up for their basic rights and physical safety are chided for their unkindness and denounced as bigots?

And why do so many men feel a glow of liberal self-righteousness when they command us to show compassion?

Or, to put it another way, how can it be that the most oppressed, the most victimised, the most vulnerable women in the world are now men in dresses? Dammit, do they have to best us at every single thing?

The #MeToo movement started when women came forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of decades of abuse, harassment, coercion and even rape

Exactly two decades ago, in 2006, womens rights activists founded the #MeToo movement to support female victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

For too long, they argued, women were ignored when they tried to report or complain about sexual harassment and assault, particularly by powerful men.

The movement went viral and global in 2017 after a number of women  dubbed the silence-breakers when Time magazine made them its People of the Year  came forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of decades of abuse, harassment, coercion and even rape.

As more victims emerged to accuse more top executives and celebrities, liberal men congratulated themselves on their new sensitivity towards womens concerns.

They acknowledged how they may have unwittingly made women feel unsafe in the past, and boasted of the steps they were taking to address any unease or discomfort.

Theyd cross the street rather than walk behind a woman late at night; theyd watch their language or demeanour in the workplace; theyd refrain from off-colour jokes or personal comments, even compliments, because their eyes had been opened to the many ways that unthinking male behaviour alarmed, discomfited or belittled women.

The movement went global in 2017 when Time magazine made them its People of the Year

Well, that didnt last long, did it? Who knew our entitlement to be protected from menacing, predatory males, especially those hell-bent on getting into spaces where women and children were vulnerable, depended on whether they wore shirts and trousers or frocks and fake boobs?

Because these are now the same men championing trans rights at the expense of womens rights, as a way of signalling their virtue and indulging their luxury beliefs.

And haranguing women to be kind to men in dresses is the ultimate male luxury belief, because no man is ever going to feel unsafe when a woman enters a male changing room, now is he?

And to date, there is no record of any trans-identified female taking a male sporting trophy.

However, in March 2024, the UN confirmed 900 female sporting titles had been taken by males and as of last August, according to US site He Cheated, that had risen to 2,000 worldwide.

Ten years ago, it was cool to feign sympathy with women and to pretend to listen when we recounted our experiences of casual endangerment, discrimination, threat and contempt.

The ESB's headquarters on Fitzwilliam St in Dublin where the controversial policy is in full effect

At last, it seemed, after generations of second-class citizenship in this country, Irish womens right to be respected, protected and paid on a par with men had finally been established.

But it turns out that this progress was illusory, and existed entirely at the whim of men, to be gifted and withdrawn as they chose.

Because now a cooler cohort has come along and were witnessing the phenomenon known as purity spiralling, where the liberal elite in the media and politics compete to embrace the next trendy crusade.

And hard luck, women, but youve been ousted as the fashionable victims du jour, and #MeToo has become #HimFirst: now the sophisticated, most progressive, most inclusive employers have decided transwomen are the new cause celebre.

And boring, ordinary, old-fashioned women must, as the ESB decrees, get the hell out of their way.

But all is not lost. As the ESB is arguably failing to protect the legal rights, personal beliefs and bodily integrity of its female staff, this could be the test case that blows this insane, deranged and misogynistic hive-mind right open once and for all.

Rest assured you havent heard the last of the ESB women. The real ones, that is.
Historic live Gibraltar telesurgery showcased at Europes leading urology congress

The Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, has welcomed the international recognition received following Gibraltars historic live telesurgery programme, which featured during a special plenary session at the 41st Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology.

The Annual EAU Congress is Europes biggest urological event and presents the latest scientific developments and educational advances in urology across a wide range of formats. The comprehensive programme brings together approximately 20,000 delegates and represents the elite of urological surgery from around the world.

Gibraltars live telesurgery case was selected for a special plenary session in recognition of both the significance of the procedure and the impact that remote robotic surgery is expected to have on the future of urological practice internationally. The live surgery formed part of a major session within the Congress because of the importance attached to telesurgery within the profession and is already being recognised internationally as a milestone in surgical history.

The operation, undertaken through the Gibraltar Health Authoritys robotic surgery programme at St Bernards Hospital, involved collaboration between Dr James Allan and his team and Professor Prokar Dasgupta, who leads The London Clinics Robotic Centre of Excellence.

The robotic surgical system used for this programme was funded in part through generous donations from Kusuma Trust and Prostate Cancer Gibraltar, whose support has helped make possible the continued development of advanced robotic surgery in Gibraltar, and supported by Microport, who manufacture the robot, and leading global technology services and solutions provider, Presidio.

Professor Prokar Dasgupta OBE FRCS HonFREng, who leads the London Clinics Robotic Centre of Excellence, said: This gives us the opportunity to treat patients in remote areas and smaller communities by literally being able to take the best surgeon anywhere. I think it is going to be very, very exciting. The humanitarian benefit could be significant.

Professor Sebastien Ourselin FREng FMedSci, Head of the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, Kings College London, said: We are proud of Prokars long-standing commitment to driving surgical innovations using the latest medical technologies to break down barriers to treatment and improve the quality of care we provide to patients across the globe.

Al Russell, Chief Executive at The London Clinic, said: The London Clinic is proud to be part of medical history and we have a strong reputation for medical firsts. Congratulations to Professor Dasgupta and the Gibraltar Health Authority, and Dr Allan and his team at St Bernards. We hope more patients will be able to benefit from this incredible medical breakthrough.

The Government notes that this surgical programme now places Gibraltar and the GHA among the leading centres internationally in the delivery of telesurgery and further strengthens Gibraltars position as a platform for future innovation in robotic medicine and medical artificial intelligence.

The international response has also been reflected in the level of media exposure generated by the operation, with estimated global reach now exceeding 100 million people.

Further international recognition has already followed, with the Gibraltar team invited to present this milestone in surgical history during a plenary session at the 2026 annual meeting of the Society of Robotic Surgery in Florida.

The Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said: This is a genuinely remarkable development, both for Gibraltar and for what it says about the level of clinical ambition and innovation that our health service is capable of supporting. To see work undertaken here presented live at one of the most important urological congresses in the world is significant in itself, but more importantly it demonstrates how Gibraltar can contribute meaningfully to medical advances with real global relevance. I am extremely grateful to Dr Thomson, Dr Allan, Professor Dasgupta, the wider GHA team, our international partners, and also to Kusuma Trust and Prostate Cancer Gibraltar, whose support has helped make this level of innovation possible in Gibraltar.
Ministers are being advised not to warn Brits against panicking over the Iran war - due to fears it could create further panic, it has been revealed.

The Middle East crisis has sparked fears over spiking fuel costs, while UK consumers have also been warned about the prospect of rising food prices due to the conflict.

But officials are said to be telling Government ministers not to focus on trying to 'calm' the public or to urge against panic-buying, such as at petrol pumps.

According to The Times, a document from the Government Communication Service's behavioural science team lists what language should and should not be used.

'Approaches that focus on 'calming' people may fail to tackle the root causes of the issue,' the advice is reported to state about how ministers should communicate in media interviews or on social media.

'If people are rationally changing their buying behaviour to cope with unexpected situations, then trying to 'calm' them will be ineffective (and messages exhorting people to 'stop panicking' will likely create a further impression of competition for goods).'

Whitehall departments are also said to be using the Government's 'crisis communications planning guide', which was mostly drawn up after Covid and the 2021 fuel crisis.

At the beginning of the pandemic, as lockdown measures were introduced, Brits began stockpiling goods such as toilet paper and pasta.

Ministers are being advised not to warn Brits against panicking over the Iran war - due to fears it could create further panic, it has been revealed.

Your browser does not support iframes.

In 2021, a lack of HGV drivers available to deliver supplies was blamed for pump shortages, which saw long queues build up outside petrol stations across Britain amid fears that fuel might run out.

Of stockpiling, the behavioural science advice is said to state: 'In most situations, excessive buying is not irrational or selfish at all and is driven by people responding to normal incentives.

'If an item is rumoured to be in short supply and is at risk of running out, then it is advantageous to buy extra.

'If shelves are frequently empty, people will have good reasons to go to the shop more often to secure supplies.

'If there are long queues to get fuel, then filling your tank and taking extra fuel home is a logical response to the situation.'

Ministers are told they should not 'single out certain groups as the cause of problems'.

'Blaming a 'selfish minority' for excessive buying can create social tension and reduce people's desire to help and support one another,' the adocument adds.

'If people feel that they are being singled out as selfish, this may lead to psychological reactance.'

The newspaper reported the Cabinet Office is consulting with behavioural scientists to refine future messages in the event oil stocks do run dangerously low, or the public begins stockpiling.

Filling up a family car with unleaded petrol now costs 8 more since the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran at the end of last month.

As part of retaliatory action, Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz - a key shipping route for oil and gas - which has caused a spike in prices.

The average price of unleaded has now risen more than 14p a litre to 147.19p since the end of February, according to the RAC.

This has added 8 to the cost of filling up a family car, which currently stands at 81.

Petrol prices were last this high in early June 2024, the auto group added.

But the RAC said the situation is 'far worse' for drivers of diesel vehicles, with the cost of a litre of diesel up 29p to 171.17p - its highest price since mid-January 2023.

This means a tank of diesel now costs 94, 16 more than it did at the start of the Middle East conflict.

Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has also led to higher costs for fertiliser.

The National Farmers' Union warned the price of cucumbers and tomatoes could rise over the next six weeks, with the cost of other crops and milk increasing in the next three to six months.

On Sunday, Cabinet minister Steve Reed sais there was 'no need to ration fuel' amid the Iran conflict.

'There's no need to ration fuel. People should go around and buy their fuel just like they always would,' he told Sky News.

'If the situation were to change, then the Government would look at what was required in that circumstance.'
A new investigation into the destruction of a monument dubbed 'Americas Stonehenge' has shed light on conspiracy theories about what may have fueled its 2022 bombing.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitutions six-part podcast, Who Blew Up the Guidestones?, examines why the Georgia Guidestones became a target of fringe speculation over global elites, satanic rituals, and UFOs.

With so many theories swirling over the supposed nefarious nature of the monument - historians said it was only a matter of time before rampant paranoia would lead to its destruction.

The 19-foot granite structure near Elberton was destroyed on July 6, 2022, when an explosive device detonated at around 4.30am.

Authorities said unknown individuals carried out the attack. Surveillance footage showed a vehicle fleeing the scene, and the remaining slabs were later demolished for safety reasons.

No arrests have been made and the case remains unsolved.

The Guidestones were commissioned in 1979 by an elusive man who wanted to remain anonymous, but went by the pseudonym R.C. Christian. He approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company with detailed plans for a massive monument.

He told company president Joe H. Fendley Sr. that he represented a group of individuals who shared a philosophy about humanitys future.

Christian brought the granite company a silver-painted wooden model and precise construction plans, though the total cost was never publicly disclosed. Estimates have placed it in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A new investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests the real motive behind the attack may lie not with a single suspect, but with decades of escalating conspiracy theories that turned the monument into a target

This aerial image shows one of the damaged pillars after the Georgia Guidestones bombing. Messages written in eight different languages promoting population control, alliance with nature and globalism feature on the monument

Because financial documents required a real identity, local banker Wyatt Martin agreed to handle payments only after Christian revealed his name privately.

Martin was sworn to secrecy and never disclosed Christian's real identity.

Construction used locally quarried granite, totaling about 951 cubic feet, and the structure stood 19 feet, 3 inches tall when completed.

The monument was unveiled in March 1980 during a public ceremony attended by local officials and residents.

Then-US Congressman Doug Bernard said the structure was intended to guide future generations, promote environmental stewardship and offer principles that could endure even if not universally accepted.

Its inscriptions, carved in multiple modern and ancient languages, outlined a 10-part message addressing population control, governance and humanitys relationship with nature.

One guideline called for maintaining the global population under 500 million, while another urged people to guide reproduction wisely.

The structure also functioned as an astronomical calendar and sundial.

Almost immediately, the Guidestones became a magnet for conspiracy theories.

Hudson Cone, a local who became an unofficial spokesman for the site, told the outlet he witnessed the monuments golden age after attending its unveiling in 1980.

He recalled early rumors claiming the stones were built by Martians, along with reports of UFO sightings, witches gathering at the site and even a secret underground chamber beneath it.

The monument became a cultural curiosity, drawing visitors who held ceremonies, parties and rituals.

Ive never seen so many witches in my life, Cone told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

Mark Clamp, whose father helped carve the granite slabs, acted as an informal custodian for years. He occasionally had to clean up vandalism and even animal remains left behind by visitors.

Despite the attention, the monument divided the local community from the start.

Over time, the inscriptions and secrecy surrounding the monument fueled more extreme interpretations.

Conservative Christians in Georgia have previously described the monument as 'satanic' due to its vague origin and intentions

Critics claimed the Guidestones were tied to global elites, occult practices or a so-called New World Order.

Some conservative Christian activists labeled the structure satanic, arguing its messages contradicted biblical teachings.

Over time, the Guidestones became a magnet for conspiracy theories that cast the monument as everything from a satanic symbol to evidence of a shadowy global elite.

The population control message in particular sparked claims that the structure promoted eugenics or a 'New World Order'.

Despite the creator outlining the monument's meaning in an accompanying manifesto, conspiracy theories flourished and evolved.

'Whatever the conspiracy theory du jour, the Guidestones had a place in it,' McBrien wrote, describing the structure as a 'blank slate' for public fears and anxieties.

The monument was repeatedly vandalized in the years leading up to its destruction, as criticism intensified in certain political and religious circles.

For decades, it stood 'hated, but upright'  until someone acted.

Drone video footage shows the crumbling remains of the structure after the explosion following the mystery attack

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation suggests those conspiracies did more than just circulate online  they helped create a climate where violence felt justified.

'It felt like every day reporting this story I would learn about a new conspiracy theory calling for its demise,' McBrien wrote.

The bombing, the report argues, reflects a broader shift in conspiracy culture, where fringe ideas can turn into real-world action.

As AJC Politics Editor Chris Joyner noted, conspiracy theories were once centered on relatively harmless ideas like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.

Now, they can result in dangerous real-world consequences.

The investigation links the Guidestones' destruction to a long-standing pattern in American life.

Historian Richard Hofstadter famously described a 'paranoid style in American politics'  a recurring tendency toward suspicion and conspiracy thinking.

According to the report, the Guidestones became a cultural mirror, reflecting whatever fears dominated at a given moment.

Even when evidence existed to explain the monument's origins and purpose, many chose to ignore it or reshape their beliefs to fit their worldview.

Despite renewed attention, officials have not identified a suspect in the bombing.
First Lady Melania Trump was joined by an assembly of several international first ladies at the US State Department to address the Fostering the Future Together Global Summit, building on a vision she originally shared during the 80th United Nations General Assembly.

Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Sarah Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were among the wives in attendance at the event.

Also in attendance: the First Lady of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Estonia, Romania and Burundi. A few of the wives kicked off the event by giving short speeches discussing the future of AI advancement and how their countries could utilize it.

'Today the world is becoming increasingly unstable, and in these conditions, every country is searching for the answer to a question,' Zelenska started. 'It would be no exaggeration to say that besides the resilience of our people, it is precisely digital systems that help Ukraine remain a functioning state, even during a war.'

The room brought together what First Lady Trump described as 'extraordinary human capital,' which included representatives from major tech platforms, AI pioneers, and digital creative engines.

Participating technology companies include OpenAI, Microsoft, xAI, Meta, Palantir Adobe, Google and Zoom Communications.

The twoday summit gathered international leaders and technology innovators to focus on a unified mission: 'To empower our next generation's advancement in technology and education.'

Greeting representatives from dozens of nations across the globe, from Albania and Bolivia to Ukraine and the UAE, Melania Trump emphasized the collective power of the international community.

She highlighted that as people dream and leaders progress, they ultimately move forward together as nations.

First Lady Melania Trump addressed the Fostering the Future Together Global Summit at the UA State Department, building on a vision she originally shared during the 80th United Nations General Assembly

Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Sarah Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were among the wives in attendance at the event

The room brought together what she described as 'extraordinary human capital,' which included representatives from major tech platforms, AI pioneers, and digital creative engines

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sits at the round table ahead of the inaugural summit of Fostering the Future Together hosted by US First Lady Melania Trump

Urging the assembled leaders to take immediate action, she stated, 'Let's accelerate our new global alliance, this bond to positively impact the progress of our children.'

A central theme of her address was the critical role of corporate partnership in driving educational advancement.

She noted that 'Magic happens in our nation's capital, particularly when the private and public sectors joint forces.'

'Never before have so many tech visionaries stood before such a large global audience of leaders in the State Department and the White House over the twoday period,' she remarked.

Calling the meeting 'unprecedented,' she commended America's leading companies for their participation.

First Lady Trump issued a clear directive to the global leaders in attendance: 'Leaders harness it to elevate your children, to empower your people and to accelerate your economies.'

She stressed that the global coalition will only improve the future 'by supporting concrete initiatives that equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need.'

Closing her remarks and wishing the attendees success , she asked the audience to collaborate, saying, 'Together, let's invest expand success and create opportunities for education and technology.'
Saudi Arabia's leader has urged Donald Trump to deploy ground troops in Iran and believes the war is a 'historic opportunity' for regime change.

Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) pressed Trump in several calls over the past week to keep fighting Iran, attempting to persuade the President that the job could not be left half finished, sources told the New York Times.

The pressure comes as Trump announced a five-day halt to US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure while Washington pursued back-channel talks with Tehran through intermediaries, signaling he may be looking for a way out.

Despite the dialogue with Tehran, US generals are considering deploying around 3,000 troops from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to support a possible ground invasion, joining thousands of Marines already dispatched to the Middle East.

The Saudi Crown Prince made the case that Iran's government will pose a long-term threat to the region if it isn't completely wiped out, the officials said.

MBS urged Trump to send troops into Iran to take over the country's energy infrastructure and to force the current government out of power, the sources added.

Trump expressed concerns that escalating further could push oil prices even higher, with the national average gas price hitting $4.00 per gallon on Monday, up from $2.90 when the war began on February 28.

MBS's private views contrast with Saudi's public statements that highlight the kingdom's desire for a diplomatic end to the war, which has led to retaliatory strikes on its energy sites and strangled its oil exports.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly urged Trump to send ground troops into Iran

The Prince has advocated for regime change in Iran, noting how if the current government stays in place it will continue to destabilize the Gulf region

Iran has targeted Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones since the US and Israel first struck the Islamic Republic on February 28

'The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict,' a Saudi spokesman said in a statement, adding its officials 'remain in close contact with the Trump administration and our commitment remains unchanged.'

'Our primary concern today is to defend ourselves from the daily attacks on our people and our civilian infrastructure,' the spokesman added.

'Iran has chosen dangerous brinkmanship over serious diplomatic solutions. This harms every stakeholder involved but none more than Iran itself.'

The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.

Senior Saudi and American officials fear Iran could further punish Riyadh's oil facilities with strikes and drag the US into 'an endless war' if the fighting continues, according to the Times.

While the kingdom maintains a stockpile of Patriot missile interceptors to defend against Iranian drone and missile strikes, several bombardments have seeped through the Saudi air defenses.

Saudi oil fields, refineries and cities have all been hit with Iranian weapons. So too has the US embassy in Riyadh, prompting the US to evacuate the mission.

But Trump signaled on Monday that the war could be nearing a conclusion, noting that negotiations had begun with Iran, including 'productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities.'

Iran denied that talks were taking place.

An Iranian official told Fars News Agency, which is aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, there is 'no direct or indirect contact with Trump.'

If those talks go sideways and Iran doesn't cooperate, Trump said US forces will keep 'bombing our little hearts out.'

Striking video shows the moment Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh was targeted by missiles

Thousands of US Marines have been deployed to the Middle East in recent weeks, with at least two units totaling over 4,500 personnel ordered to head towards Iran.

Around 2,500 Marines aboard three ships were deployed to the Middle East late last week, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

A week earlier, the USS Tripoli, carrying over 2,000 Marines, was ordered to leave the Pacific and head to the region.

That would provide the military with 3,000 soldiers for a possible invasion of Kharg Island - where 90 percent of Iran's oil exports are processed.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent crude - the global benchmark - hitting $104 per barrel as optimism about an early resolution to the conflict faded.
Two people have been taken to hospital after a building partially collapsed on a street in Greater Manchester.

Emergency services, including an air ambulance, rushed to the scene shortly after midday today following reports that a terraced building on King Street, in Oldham, had fallen down.

Three people were injured during the collapse with two of them being treated at hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

It has been reported that five people were inside the building at the time and all managed to escape.

Greater Manchester Police have urged people to stay away from the area while nearby roads have been closed off.

The Manchester Evening News has reported that police and the fire service are investigating a possible gas leak which could be the cause of today's incident.

And nearby businesses have been evacuated and warned to switch off their gas.

Meanwhile, the Manchester Metrolink is part suspended with trams between Freehold and Rochdale Town Centre affected.

Emergency services rushed to the scene shortly after midday today following reports that a terraced building on King Street, in Oldham, had fallen down

Five people were reportedly inside the building at the time and all managed to escape

It is understood that the building was formerly occupied by Euro King Mini Market - a vape and Eastern European goods store - which has since closed down.

Local businessman, Kwok Wong, who owns Ree Ming Chippy in Royton, told the BBC he arrived in the town centre to find the building had collapsed.

'All the emergencies were there already when I arrived,' Mr Wong said.

'But the building was a mess. Air ambulances landed on top on Mecca Bingo roof.'

Another witness said she thought the town was being 'bombed' as the building collapses.

The unnamed college student who was in a nearby fast food restaurant said: 'There was a rumble and then a massive crash. Someone just shouted 'run' and they got out.'

'I've never heard anything like that in my life. I thought we were being bombed.'

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: 'We are currently responding to a partial building collapse on King Street, Oldham.

It is understood that the building was formerly occupied by Euro King Mini Market (pictured in June 2025) - a vape and Eastern European goods store - which has since closed down

'Officers are on scene with other emergency services working together to ensure the safety of the public

'Five people have injuries at this time that are not deemed to be life-threatening or life-changing and searches are continuing.

'A number of road closures are in place and we would ask people avoid the area where possible.'

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: 'At around 12.40pm this afternoon, three fire engines from across Greater Manchester were called to an incident involving a partially collapsed building on King Street, Oldham.

'Firefighters are working alongside Greater Manchester Police and North West Ambulance Service to make the area safe. Five people evacuated themselves from the building before fire service arrival. Crews remain in attendance at this time.'

In a statement, the North West Ambulance Service said: 'We are currently responding to a partially collapsed building on King Street, Oldham.

'Following an emergency call at 12.30, multiple resources have attended the scene, including our Hazardous Area Response Team, air ambulance, doctors, advanced clinicians and operational commanders.

'Five patients have been assessed so far, with two of those taken to the hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.'
Donald Trump has secured the release of an American hostage held for more than a year in Afghanistan after he was kidnapped by the Taliban.

Dennis Coyle, an academic who had been living in Afghanistan since the early 2000s, was seized without charge in January 2025.

'Today, after more than a year of captivity in Afghanistan, Dennis Coyle is on his way home,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Afghan officials said that Coyle, originally from Colorado, was released to his family in Kabul.

Rubio credited the United Arab Emirates with helping to secure his freedom.

The Taliban had said that Coyle was 'arrested for violating the laws of Afghanistan,' while the US declared in June that he had been unlawfully detained.

The Trump administration designated Afghanistan a state-sponsor of wrongful detention earlier this month.

Afghanistan joined Iran as countries singled out by the United States for detaining Americans in hopes of extracting policy concessions.

US citizen Dennis Coyle upon his release by the Taliban, walks with the UAE ambassador to Kabul Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi (right) toward a chartered aircraft at the airport in Kabul on March 24

US citizen Dennis Coyle upon his release by the Taliban, poses with US former special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad (right) and the UAE ambassador to Kabul Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi (left) at the airport in Kabul on March 24

American Dennis Coyle smiles after being released by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities, who had held him for over a year, before boarding a plane at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday

US former special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad (R) and US citizen Dennis Coyle (L) upon his release by the Taliban, address the media at the airport in Kabul on March 24

Accompanied by U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, right, and UAE Ambassador in Kabul Saif Al Ketbi,, left, American Dennis Coyle, center, smiles after being released by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities, who had held him for over a year, before boarding a plane at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 24

American Dennis Coyle, second from right, is accompanied by an unidentified person after being released by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities, who had held him for over a year, before boarding a plane at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 24

Afghanistan's government rejected US allegations that it detains foreigners for leverage, insisting its authorities arrest people for breaking laws, not to cut deals.

Afghanistan released Coyle 'based on humanitarian sympathy and goodwill, and believes that such steps can further strengthen the atmosphere of trust between countries,' its foreign ministry said.

Kabul added that it hoped 'both countries will find solutions to the remaining problems through understanding and constructive dialogue in the future.'

Afghan authorities are believed to hold at least one other US national. Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, vanished in the country in 2022.

The FBI and Habibi's family have said they believe he was taken by Taliban forces, but Afghan authorities have denied holding him.

Habibi's brother, Ahmad Habibi, welcomed Coyle's release but said in a statement that 'we hope that our family will soon have the same feeling of relief, when Mahmood is returned home to us.'
A pair of Iranian sisters has been accused of acting as spies on behalf of the regime to steal secrets from American big tech.

A federal grand jury has indicted Samaneh Ghandali, 41, her sister Soroor Ghandali, 32, and Mohammadjavad Khosravi, 40, on charges of stealing highly sensitive trade secrets from Google and other major technology firms and funneling the data to Iran.

The trio, all residents of San Jose, were arrested in mid-February and hauled into federal court the same day, according to prosecutors.

Authorities said the alleged scheme unfolded quietly inside some of the world's most powerful tech companies, where the defendants held trusted roles giving them access to cutting-edge systems.

Instead of safeguarding that information, investigators said they exploited it. FBI officials described the case as a brazen insider operation.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani accused the group of a 'calculated betrayal of trust' by 'stealing trade secrets from the very tech companies that employed them.'

'According to the allegations, the method in which confidential data was transferred by the defendants involved deliberate steps to evade detection and conceal their identities,' he added.

They have been charged with conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft and attempted theft of trade secrets and obstruction of justice. All three defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Soroor Ghandali, 32, is accused along with her sister and brother-in-law of stealing tech secrets from Silicon Valley companies

Samaneh Ghandali, 41, is also accused of stealing tech secrets from Google and other big tech firms

If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in prison for each trade secret count and as much as 20 years for obstruction.

Google did not respond to our request for comment.

At the center of the case is a trove of highly valuable intellectual property  including sensitive data linked to processor security, cryptography and advanced mobile chip technology.

Prosecutors said hundreds of confidential files were taken, representing the kind of cutting-edge innovation that underpins everything from smartphones to national security systems.

Samaneh and Soroor Ghandali both worked at Google before moving to another company identified only as 'Company 3.'

Khosravi worked separately at a firm referred to as 'Company 2,' which develops system-on-chip platforms similar to the Snapdragon processors used in modern smartphones.

Together, authorities allege, they quietly siphoned off data using a range of covert methods.

Files were transferred to private communication channels, moved onto personal devices and relocated to unauthorized storage  including destinations overseas and in Iran.

To cover their tracks, prosecutors said, the defendants went to extraordinary lengths.

They allegedly submitted false statements denying wrongdoing, deleted digital evidence and even photographed computer screens manually to bypass company security systems designed to detect downloads.

The allegations alone have raised serious national security concerns.

The indictment identifies the defendants as Iranian nationals. Soroor Ghandali was in the US on a student visa. Samaneh Ghandali later became a US citizen, while her husband Khosravi obtained legal permanent residency.

Silicon Valley insider Samaneh Ghandali seen here delivering a prexentation on cyber security

Prosecutors say Khosravi previously served in the Iranian army, according to CNBC.

The family's background has also drawn scrutiny. The Ghandali sisters are reportedly the daughters of Shahabeddin Ghandali, a former Iranian official who was arrested in 2016 over an alleged $2.5 billion embezzlement scandal tied to a state-linked investment fund and a major bank.

The case is unfolding against a backdrop of surging tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The arrests came just weeks before the US and Israel launched a massive military offensive against Iran on February 28  a campaign that has since escalated into a wider regional conflict and triggered a global energy shock.

Now, officials warn that the alleged theft reflects a broader and more troubling pattern.

Lara Burns, a former FBI special agent and terrorism expert at George Washington University, said Iran has long relied on covert networks to bypass sanctions and gain access to restricted technology.

'They're constantly using their network to try to avoid sanctions,' Burns told the Daily Mail.

'They want US products. They want US technology. They want information. I think that these recent cases that we've seen are to be expected from this network.'

The case has intensified fears that foreign adversaries are increasingly turning to insiders, employees with legitimate access, to penetrate America's most sensitive industries.

Unlike traditional cyberattacks, insider threats are notoriously difficult to detect, often unfolding over months or years before being uncovered.

And the stakes could hardly be higher. The technology at issue  advanced chips, cryptography and secure processing systems  sits at the core of modern computing and defense infrastructure.

The prosecution occurs against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the MIddle East, as US and Israeli missiles continue to pound Tehran

The alleged scheme also comes as cyber warfare ramps up alongside the conflict in the Middle East.

Iran-linked hacking groups have stepped up attacks on US companies and critical infrastructure, targeting everything from healthcare systems to industrial networks.

Security experts say these digital assaults are part of a broader strategy  one that combines military force with cyber operations and economic disruption.
The number of small boat migrants to have reached Britain since Labour came to power has topped 69,000 after nearly 1,000 arrived in less than a week.

Home Office figures showed 272 migrants came across the Channel yesterday.

It meant 984 reached British soil over six days.

The latest arrivals also pushed the tally under Labour, since the general election in July 2024, to 69,155.

It comes after the head of the UK's Border Security Command quit after failing to stem the surge in crossings.

Martin Hewitt will leave the post of border security commander in a few days time after 18 months in the job, it was confirmed last week.

Sir Keir Starmer appointed former senior police officer Mr Hewitt shortly after becoming Prime Minister, tasking him with curbing the number of small boats crossing the Channel.

Migrants wade into the sea at Gravelines beach in northern France on Sunday to board a smugglers' dinghy to Britain

But last year saw second-highest annual total of people crossing the Channel, with 41,472 arrivals.

Labours one in, one out deal with the French has also failed to have an impact on the Channel crisis.

According to latest figures, only 377 migrants have been sent back to France under the agreement but 380 have come into Britain under the reciprocal terms of the deal.

A migrant gestures and smiles while waiting to board an inflatable boat on Gravelines beach on Sunday

The one in, one out scheme is due to expire in June.

Sir Keir scrapped the previous governments Rwanda asylum scheme  which was designed to save lives in the Channel by deterring crossings  as one of his first acts in office.

The Government has also ruled out leaving the European Convention on Human Rights which is used by migrants and foreign criminals to avoid being deported.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Meanwhile, the Home Office is still negotiating a new deal with Emmanuel Macrons government on British funding for beach patrols to prevent crossings from the French beaches.

The existing agreement will expire on Tuesday.

The UK wants the replacement deal to contain a performance-related factor which will see funds paid only when French border patrol officers manage to block a set proportion of people traffickers boats.

Previous assessments have indicated nine out of 10 dinghies must be stopped in order to disrupt the smugglers illegal enterprises.

The British taxpayer has already given 658million in security payments to France since 2018, a report by the House of Commons Library set out last year.

A further 114million was handed over in the previous four years for other measures, such as Calais port security or addressing issues with migrant camps.

It made a total of more than 770million over 12 years, according to the research.

In 2023 it emerged some of the UKs money had been used to buy equipment for French police operating on the French-Italian border  and not the Channel coast.

It was also revealed that most of the funds had been spent on helicopters, cars, motorbikes, e-scooters and quad bikes, plus surveillance equipment such as binoculars, drones and dash cams.

British taxpayers cash was also used to buy equipment such as charging devices, microwaves and car vacuums, and to support a horse brigade in the Somme Bay.
A Florida Republican resigned from his secretary position on Monday after a racist group chat filled with epithets and slurs was exposed.

Abel Carvajal, 23, stepped down as Miami-Dade Republican Party secretary about three weeks after the vile messages were leaked.

Carvajal created the WhatsApp group chat and took part in it at times, leaving it active even as shocking messages about killing black people were shared.

At one point, the chat was renamed to pay tribute to what one member dubbed 'Nazi heaven,' according to the Miami Herald.

Carvajal specifically used the terms 'mi***ss,' 'mi***et,' and 'm***er,' all variations of the n-word, the Floridian Press reported.

In total, the heinous slur variations were used more than 400 times. Women, gay people and Jewish people were also regularly demeaned in the chat.

Carvajal resigned ahead of a special meeting on Monday to vote on his future in the party.

He told the Daily Mail: 'I will simply state - I want our party to move forward, and I want to keep the party out of this situation.'

Abel Carvajal, 23, resigned as Miami-Dade Republican Party secretary after a group chat filled with racial slurs that he created was exposed

Carvajal resigned on Monday before a scheduled special meeting to vote on his future in the party

The chat that Carvajal created was leaked at the beginning of March and originally titled 'Uber R***rds Yapping Inc.'

At one point last September, the participants - who also included some of FIU's top Republicans and the university's Turning Point USA chapter president - appeared to be discussing a black student.

The student had left the university's College Republicans group after being subjected to racial slurs, according to the Floridian Press.

One participant asked: 'What happened to her?'

Another replied: 'William called her a n****r so she left.'

Carvajal then posted: 'Why didn't mi***ess leave?'

In a separate conversation, two members discussed 'Total negro death.' One of them proceeded to post more than two dozen ideas on how to 'kill n****rs.'

Later, the chat was renamed to 'Gooning in Agartha,' referencing a slang term for masturbation and a mythical concept that Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler believed was a heaven of sorts.

FIU charged Carvajal with student conduct and honor code violations, alleging he had 'created and managed a group chat where individuals posted statements threatening to harm others'

Carvajal said that he created the group chat after Charlie Kirk's heinous murder and participation in FIU's Turning Point USA group had been limited by administrators

In his resignation letter, Carvajal wrote that the 'language used in that context was inappropriate.'

'Regardless of the intentions behind the language used, it was wrong,' he said, per the Orlando Sentinel. 'I understand why it is offensive, and I take that seriously. Intent does not excuse impact.'

Carvajal added that his 'continued service to our Party as the Secretary is a small price to pay to ensure that the leaks and press focus on our party can end.'

He had previously told the Miami Herald that he usually ignored the thousands of messages sent in the group chat.

'I guess to an extent, I bear some responsibility, [be]cause I created a chat,' Carvajal said.

Carvajal deleted at least 42 of his own messages and 14 messages sent by others in the chat, according to the outlet.

He claimed that he was 'decluttering the chat' and deleting stickers.

'My biggest regret is that in doing that, I facilitated this kind of deranged stuff being out there,' Carvajal said. 'I'm at a loss of words.'

He said he created the group chat after Charlie Kirk's murder when FIU's Turning Point USA chat was limited to administrators only.

Carvajal's lawyer, Anthony Sabatini, told the Daily Mail that 'FIU's actions are absurd, totalitarian, and blatantly illegal'

Miami-Dade GOP leaders had called for Carvajal's resignation after the group chat's messages came to light.

'As this ugly episode ends, we reaffirm ourselves to the mission ahead: to elect Republicans to office up and down the ballot,' said Kevin Cooper, the county's Republican Party chairman.

Carvajal also filed a federal First Amendment lawsuit on Monday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida against FIU president Jeanette Nunez.

The suit alleged that 'FIUs actions constitute a content and viewpoint-based punishment of protected speech in violation of the First Amendment and should be immediately enjoined.'

Carvajal told the Daily Mail: 'I do not want my ongoing litigation to distract from the Party's mission.'

FIU charged Carvajal with student conduct and honor code violations on March 11, according to his lawsuit.

The university said it had received allegations that Carvajal 'created and managed a group chat where individuals posted statements threatening to harm others.'

In the suit, Carvajal accused FIU of 'viewpoint discrimination and punishment of speech' against him 'for off-campus, private speech.'

'A list of the controversial remarks posted in the group chat, include racial slurs, gender-based slurs, antisemitic rhetoric, and anti-LGBTQ language,' the complaint read.

Carvajal has also sued FIU president, Jeanette Nunez, in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida

'However, the group chat contained no illegal speech or categories of unprotected speech, such as true threats, incitement, or fighting words.'

The lawsuit said that Carvajal's speech had been 'chilled entirely by the disciplinary proceeding.'

He is seeking a preliminary injunction, declaratory relief and damages.

Carvajal's attorney, Anthony Sabatini, told the Daily Mail that 'FIU's actions are absurd, totalitarian, and blatantly illegal.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Republican Party of Miami Dade County and Florida International University for further comment.
Two men were killed when a flight school helicopter crashed into a multi-million-dollar warehouse in Florida.

The flight school helicopter left Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport before noon on March 23 and plummeted in Boynton Beach by 12.30pm.

Everyone aboard the aircraft died in the crash, the Palm Beach Post reported.

The victims were identified Tuesday afternoon as flight instructor Alejandro Carrasco, 28, and student Bryan Menna, 52, reported WPBF.

Carrasco was from West Palm Beach and Menna was originally from Michigan, reported CBS.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, the FAA said details on the horrifying incident are still in the preliminary stages.

'The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and will provide further updates,' it said.

Federal officials said the chopper crashed 'under unknown circumstances.'

A rogue helicopter crashed into a Boynton Beach Warehouse on Monday, leaving two men dead

The chopper was a Robinson R44 owned by Palm Beach Helicopters. One of the company's models is pictured prior to the day of the crash

'I don't know if they were trying to land or not. That's just where they ended up, on one of the roofs, and went through,' said Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Matt Oxendine at a press conference, per People.

'It's a lightweight truss roof, so it actually crashed through it.'

The damage was considered 'substantial' though there were no injuries on the ground.

The terrifying crash drew in dozens of police, firefighters and hazardous materials crews, according to CBS12.

As crews investigated the scene, police urged residents to steer clear of the area.

Fortunately, the building, which was estimated to be worth $24.2 million, was completely vacant at the time.

It is reportedly owned by real estate firm Foundry Commercial.

Oxendine said neither smoke nor fire came from the deadly crash, though fuel leaked from the scene.

'Usually you would see it from far away,' he said at a press conference.

The warehouse was valued at approximately $24.2 million and was vacant at the time

The helicopter, Robinson R44, belonged to Palm Beach Helicopters' flight school

In the agency's social media statement about the incident, locals recalled seeing an extremely low-flying helicopter make its way through the sky just before the crash.

'I saw a yellow helicopter flying unusually low. I wonder if that was it, I was on Beach Boulevard in the Congress area,' said one person.

'Saw a low-flying helicopter in Leisureville around 1. Wonder if it was the same one. Prayers to all involved,' another added.

FlightAware tracked the aircraft's path from the moment it left the airport, almost 40 miles south.

It flew along the Sawgrass Expressway and State Road 7 before turning on Clint Moore Road in Boca Raton.

Eventually, the chopper flew over Congress Avenue before crashing into the vacant warehouse.

Officials have not discovered where exactly the pilot was headed, but the helicopter appeared to be flying in the direction of Antiquers Aerodrome Airpark in Delray Beach.

Some locals said they saw the helicopter flying low in the sky just before the crash. FlightAware tracked the flight path

It reportedly belonged to Palm Beach Helicopters' flight school. Training flights are relatively routine throughout South Florida's airspace.

The helicopter was a Robinson R44. Typically, the model has four seats and a two-blade rotor. It is frequently used by flight schools.

According to their website, Palm Beach Helicopters has at least one Robinson 44 in their fleet.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators are expected to arrive sometime on Tuesday to examine the helicopter's remains and document the site.

The aircraft will then be transported for further evaluation.

The Daily Mail contacted Palm Beach Helicopters and Boynton Fire & Rescue for comment.
From soil to data: How technology is powering Chinas agricultural modernization

15:41, March 24, 2026 By Wu Chaolan ( People's Daily Online

Senior agronomist Yan Ji checks the growth of vegetables at the center for future agricultural science and technology of an agricultural demonstration zone in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

What will the farms of the future look like?

In the fields, drones sweep across the sky in steady formation. Inside greenhouses, inspection robots glide quietly along the rows, their sensors scanning leaves and stems for signs of disease. Beneath the soil, digital probes monitor moisture and nutrients, transmitting data in real time.

In a nearby control room, giant screens flicker with numbers  temperature, humidity, soil moisture and sunlight. Algorithms analyze the data and instantly send commands through 5G networks, activating irrigation systems and fertilization equipment across the farm.

What once sounded like science fiction is already unfolding in Tianjiaying village in Nanzhang county, Xiangyang city, central China's Hubei Province.

A staff member maintains the autonomous seeding intelligent system at Youyi Farm Co., Ltd. under Beidahuang Group in Shuangyashan City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, March 19, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

At the village's smart agriculture industrial park, 82 greenhouses operate under a digital management system that connects climate control, irrigation and monitoring technologies into one integrated platform. Farmers can adjust ventilation, irrigation and fertilization through their mobile phones while automated machinery handles much of the field work.

"With this system, one person can remotely manage dozens of greenhouses, significantly reducing labor costs while increasing yields by more than 50 percent," said Su Wei, director of the Innovation Center at the Tianjiaying Base of Jinmeikelin (Hubei) Technology Co., Ltd.

The transformation unfolding in Tianjiaying is part of a broader shift taking place across China, where digital technologies are rapidly reshaping agriculture.

At a modern fishery industrial park in Huazhou district, Weinan city, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, recirculating aquaculture systems continuously monitor water quality while automated feeders precisely control feeding. In Xiongan New Area, north China's Hebei Province, tomatoes grow in neatly arranged greenhouses using soilless cultivation and controlled environments that reduce pests and ensure food safety. Thousands of kilometers away in Aksu prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, powerful seeders equipped with China's BeiDou satellite navigation system move methodically across vast cotton fields. In a single pass, the machines sow seeds, lay drip irrigation pipes and cover the soil with plastic mulch, completing in minutes what once required hours of manual work.

The growth of such technologies is fueling a rapidly expanding industry. Data show that China's smart agriculture market has grown from 38.8 billion yuan ($5.63 billion) in 2017 to around 100 billion yuan in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of about 15 percent.

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 24, 2026 shows a farmer operating an agricultural machine to plough a field in Qicheng Village, Qinyang City, central China's Henan Province. After the Spring Festival holiday, farmers are busy with agricultural production in the farming season across the country. (Photo by Yang Fan/Xinhua)

During this year's "two sessions," policymakers and experts have highlighted smart agriculture as a key driver of agricultural modernization.

"In recent years, China's smart agriculture, supported by national pilot programs and expanded across multiple regions, has made significant progress in technology, digital platforms and innovative models," said Nie Shoujun, a deputy to the National People's Congress.

Beyond boosting productivity, the technology is also bringing tangible benefits to rural communities.

The smart agriculture park in Nanzhang has benefited local communities by involving more than 300 households in modern farming. With higher yields, diversified crops and stable sales channels, farmers are earning more while working closer to home.

Inside one of the warm greenhouses, 60-year-old villager Yang Shuhui moves steadily along the rows, picking ripe tomatoes and placing them into a basket.

"It's comfortable to work here, and I can earn 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a month close to home," she said.

Similar stories are unfolding elsewhere.

GEAIR, a hybrid pollination robot, conducts pollination work at a greenhouse in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 29, 2024. (IGDB of the CAS/Handout via Xinhua)

In Wan'an village of Jintang county in southwest China's Sichuan Province, fragmented farmland has been consolidated into larger plots managed by a cooperative that uses agricultural machinery and drones. The shift has dramatically improved efficiency, helping raise the village's collective income from just 3,000 yuan a year to more than 4 million yuan in 2024.

As digital technologies continue to reshape traditional agriculture, the once futuristic vision of smart farming is steadily becoming part of everyday rural life across China.

"Smart agriculture represents a key form of new quality productive forces in the agricultural sector and is an inevitable trend in the development of modern agriculture," said Cao Weixing, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee. "It plays a vital role in improving overall agricultural efficiency and enhancing core competitiveness."

A technician checks the growth of seedlings at an intelligent seedling nursery base in Shuangxing Village of Yongchuan District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, March 19, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

(Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Wu Chengliang)
If youre not to try out harbors, then make sure the fresh table otherwise credit video game that you choose features a decreased household edge. Understand Tips Certain casino https://betssoncasino.io/pt/ games, particularly blackjack and you may casino poker, already are online game of experience doing he or she is game out of options. It means []

If youre not to try out harbors, then make sure the fresh table otherwise credit video game that you choose features a decreased household edge.

Understand Tips

Certain casino https://betssoncasino.io/pt/ games, particularly blackjack and you may casino poker, already are online game of experience doing he or she is game out of options. It means you can learn various methods to raise your opportunity off successful and reduce the fresh section of fortune.

Choose Your own Gambling establishment Carefully

Furthermore, we want to end up being a member of a deck that have a good high playing profile that offers an array of incentives to have the new and you may current people.

Luckily that people performed the brand new grunt work with you and chosen a knowledgeable casinos on the internet for people members, so go ahead and select you to you love and begin your internet playing trip.

All of us Online casino FAQ

Is actually Us online casinos signed up and you can controlled? As mentioned, Us citizens features two choice in terms of online casino playing. Basic, they can gamble within an internet casino signed up within the Nj otherwise Delaware. These says has legalized on-line casino gaming and you will offer permits so youre able to online casino gambling functions. Although not, as per the gambling guidelines within these claims, professionals can take advantage of at the web based casinos authorized within the Nj or Delaware only if they are myself contained in those two claims. Next, professionals can enjoy within offshore casinos on the internet web sites registered inside the secluded jurisdictions such as Curacao, Panama, and also the Kahnawake Betting Fee. Since certain All of us states enjoys enforced a good blanket exclude into the on the web gambling enterprise playing, i need people and determine the new regulations of their belongings before signing up the real deal currency gamble any kind of time online casino.

Why dont certain casinos on the internet dont undertake Us residents? As far as gambling on line is worried, the us was a gray city. Casinos on the internet licensed because of the certain offshore betting jurisdictions is averted by legislation of them jurisdictions of recognizing United states participants. In many cases, online casinos base its businesses in the usa and are also eliminated by law regarding acknowledging Us citizens. Casinos on the internet is likewise avoided by their app team from acknowledging users off gray markets for instance the You. Although an internet gambling enterprise states this accepts United states members, may possibly not accept members residing in certain All of us says. Such, offshore online casinos registered inside overseas jurisdictions dont take on users regarding freshly managed Us markets such as Nj, Nevada, and you can Delaware

How can i put/withdraw currency within an excellent Us online casino? You online casinos offer a wide range of secure banking methods, some of which are used for one another dumps and distributions. Due to You legislation like the UIGEA 2006, finance companies and you may creditors bling associated transactions. You casinos on the internet, hence, give not simply borrowing from the bank/debit notes, and in addition prepaid promo codes, electronic wallets, eChecks, and you may conventional financial steps such as Lender Transfer and you can papers checks

Ought i gamble within an effective Us gambling establishment in place of downloading people app? Usually, there have been two means of to tackle within All of us casinos on the internet. First, participants is down load the program to their computers and you may availability the fresh new online casino and its games of the double hitting a symbol authored on the desktops. Second, capable utilize the Flash casino service and stream the fresh game straight from its browser. Flash gambling enterprises, also known as no obtain gambling enterprises, are ideal for Us residents who have fun with Mac computer computers otherwise societal hosts for playing. If you opt to play in place of downloading one app, you will still have to done an online membership function and build an alternative account during the internet casino.
Nigel Farage has vowed to scrap Labour's 'generational' smoking ban if Reform UK wins the next general election.

As part of its Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which has almost completed its passage through Parliament, the Government wants to phase out the legal sale of cigarettes.

Once the Bill reaches the statute book, people born after 1 January 2009 will no longer be able to purchase tobacco, herbal smoking products, or cigarette papers.

But Mr Farage hit out at 'pious grandstanding that is masquerading as legislation' and vowed to overturn the ban if he becomes prime minister.

'I can promise that the generational smoking ban will not last long if Reform gets the chance to start rebuilding our mismanaged country,' he wrote in The Telegraph.

'There are other far more effective and civilised ways to ensure that young people do not take up vaping and smoking, and so protect their health for decades to come.

'As for those like me, known to enjoy a pint and a cigarette, we have been told the risks and we are prepared to take our chances.'

The Reform leader said Labour's ban, which it adopted from proposals first set out by former Tory prime minster Rishi Sunak, was 'plainly idiotic'.

Nigel Farage has vowed to scrap Labour's 'generational' smoking ban if Reform UK wins the next general election .

'How is the ban meant to work?,' Mr Farage asked. 'Ten years from now, a 27-year-old will not be legally able to buy cigarettes, but a 28-year-old will be able to.

'A decade later 37-year-olds will not be deemed old enough to smoke, but 38-year-olds will be free to do so.'

Mr Farage added that 'shopkeepers have enough to do' - such as preventing shoplifters - without having to identify those old enough to legally purchase tobacco.

He also warned that the planned smoking ban will fuel the black market for cigarettes, while he said there were 'deeper philosophical issues at play', adding that 'Britain was once held to be a beacon of freedom in the world'.

He complained that the 'puritanical spirit of Oliver Cromwell again stalks the land', with the introduction of bans being 'our bossy, ruling elite's default response'.

The Reform leader noted how New Zealand previously scrapped its own plans to become a smoke-free nation.

In 2022 it became the first country in the world to outlaw smoking for the next generation, but later repealed the legislation following a change of government.
A Utah college student who refused demands to cut his hair has come out on top after filing a lawsuit against the school.

Jerrhan First Charger took legal action against Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo after the school's leadership told him they would kick him out of class and suspend him from the dance team because of his long locks, according to a federal lawsuit filed on March 19.

First Charger, a member of the Kainai Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy tribe, is a champion Indigenous hoop and fancy feather dancer who was invited to join the BYU Legends dance team, the filing reviewed by the Daily Mail read.

He has had long traditional braids his whole life because they express his 'sacred' culture and 'holds memories of who we are,' the student wrote in a letter to the school.

The private university, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also received letters of support for First Charger from the chief and council of his tribe, as well as his mother Meghan.

Each of them vouched for him and insisted that his long hair is part of his culture and should be accepted by the school because of that, especially because the dance team strives to celebrate different traditions and backgrounds.

However the school stated that his feature went against its strict Honor Code, which requires that male students keep their hair 'neatly trimmed,' don't have beards, abstain from sex before marriage, and refrain from consuming alcohol, coffee, and tobacco.

First Charger then decided to take legal action. The school then changed its tune and decided to resolve the case on Monday, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Jerrhan First Charger has won the legal battle between him and his school, Brigham Young University, after officials said he would be suspended from the school and kicked off its dance team over his long hair

The private university, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has a strict Honor Code, which requires that male students keep their hair 'neatly trimmed'

School officials decided to grant First Charger a rare exception based on his tribal identity.

Even before the lawsuit was filed, First Charger and his attorneys sent the school a final letter outlining that they would pursue legal action, a restraining order, and a demand for $2.3 million in damages for emotional distress.

'We trust BYU understands the significant legal, financial and reputational exposure this litigation presents,' the letter, listed as an exhibit in the complaint, read.

But his legal team said they never heard a peep from the administration, the outlet reported.

The school did, however, comment after the legal drama ended, telling The Tribune: 'First Charger will continue his studies at BYU and his participation in the BYU Living Legends dance team.

'Both parties are grateful for the opportunity to resolve this matter. The universitys Honor Code, including its dress and grooming standards, reflects BYUs mission and remains in effect.

'We also recognize on a case-by-case basis there might be rare exceptions,' it added.

According to one of the letters First Charger wrote to the school's board of trustees, he was told he could keep his long hair before leaving his home in Raymond, Alberta, to start school there.

After several communications with school leadership, First Charger felt like he had no choice but to take legal action, and when he did, the university decided to change its tune and resolve the case

He also said that he was assured the same by University President Shane Reese during a meeting.

Then, when the start of the semester rolled around, that decision went out the window.

Michael Rafael Williamson Tabango filed a federal complaint in 2018 after disputing with BYU officials over his traditional long hair

In his communications to the school, First Charger made it clear he was not trying to be 'rebellious' in his fight to keep his hair and attend the university.

'I am trying to help BYU and the church become more worldwide, and not another church trying to take away culture from God's children,' he wrote before sharing examples of others who were in similar situations as him at that very same university.

First Charger referenced Michael Rafael Williamson Tabango, who filed a federal complaint in 2018 after disputing with BYU officials over his traditional long hair.

Tabango, a member of Ecuador's Otavola tribe, went on to get an exception from the school after he told the media about the issue, First Charger stated, adding that he hoped to resolve his problem privately.

Kanaan Vyshonne Barton, who attends BYU's Hawaii campus, also fought to keep his hair in 2024

Another student, Kanaan Vyshonne Barton, who attends BYU's Hawaii campus, also fought to keep his hair in 2024.

Barton's shoulder length hair was first noticed by a security guard, who told him he would have to cut it off if he wanted to remain a student there because of the dress code.

The Daily Mail contacted BYU and First Charger's legal team for comment.
Major airlines are offering passengers the chance to change their flights for free amid the chaos at American airports prompted by the government funding stalemate.

Congress has been locked in a bitter back-and-forth over negotiations to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which pays workers at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The negotiations have resulted in a partial government shutdown, impacting the salaries of federal workers, including employees at the TSA.

Absences among TSA workers have reached their highest levels. The Trump administration deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to bolster airport security on Monday.

As airport staff struggle to accommodate travelers and security lines continue to grow, airlines have offered passengers the chance to push back their trips for free.

Delta Air Lines announced that passengers flying from Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday and Wednesday can rebook their trips as long as they travel before March 30.

A fair difference will be waived if passengers rebook before the March 30 deadline in the same cabin as their original trip.

If travelers cannot push back their trip by a week, they can cancel their reservation and apply the value to a new ticket within a year from the original ticket issuance.

Airports across the nation are struggling to accommodate travelers during the partial government shutdown. Long lines at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Monday are pictured above

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been sent to airports hit the hardest during the shutdown. Agents at Hartsfield-Jackson are pictured above

Passengers are facing wait times of over four hours. Delta is offering travelers flying out of Atlanta the opportunity to rebook travel to next week for free to combat staffing issues

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International is Delta's main hub. The airport is estimating at least four-hour wait times for security screenings as of Tuesday afternoon.

United Airlines is also offering passengers the chance to delay their trips from its Houston hub at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

United will waive any fees and fare differences for passengers rebooking flights originally scheduled for Monday through Wednesday

However, flights must depart on or before Friday, must be in the same cabin and between the same cities to qualify for the waiver.

Travelers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport are also experiencing long wait times, with only two terminals open for TSA screening.

The airport issued an urgent alert on its website, warning travelers that the government shutdown was affecting all TSA checkpoints and that missed flights were possible due to wait times of more than four hours.

George Bush and Hartsfield-Jackson are among the hardest hit airports struggling to accommodate a high volume of travel during the partial shutdown.

Funding for TSA agents lapsed on February 13, causing many agents to call out of work or quit entirely.

The White House said on Sunday that more than 400 TSA officers have quit due to the funding showdown.

United Airlines is also offering travelers the opportunity to push back travel at no additional cost. Pictured above are ICE agents attempting to alleviate long lines at George Bush International Airport in Houston on Monday

Your browser does not support iframes.

Airport chaos comes after Congress could not agree on funding for the Department of Homeland Security amid Trump's aggressive ICE tactics. The president is pictured above at Joint Base Andrews on Monday

Nearly 12 percent of TSA officers nationwide called off work on Sunday - the highest rate since the shutdown began.

The funding dispute in Congress stems from Democrats' refusal to fund ICE amid backlash to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Delta even announced that members of Congress would not receive special services amid airport chaos.

'Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,' the airline said in a statement.

'Next to safety, Deltas no. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment.'
A Kentucky man allegedly gunned down his wife after she asked him to help clean their house.

Patrick Brents, 57, is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Carolyn Ross, in their Louisville home on March 14, WLKY reported.

The married couple were reportedly arguing about tidying the home before a trip when the spat allegedly escalated, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Brents and Ross reportedly began arguing about family members when the 57-year-old allegedly went to the bedroom to grab his gun, according to court records obtained by WDRB.

He allegedly returned to his wife, and another person in the home said Ross begged him not to shoot her.

Brents allegedly said to Ross: 'What are you going to do about it?'

The gun then went off, striking Ross in the abdomen, according to police.

Carolyn Ross-Brents and Patrick Brents, 57, he is accused of fatally shooting his wife

Ross was struck in the abdomen, and later rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead

The outlet reported that the other person in the home was the couples son, and when he asked his father why he shot his mother, Brents allegedly replied: 'Shes shot.'

The son ran outside and told another family member to call 911, prompting police to rush to the home on the 600 block of Southwestern Parkway.

Louisville Metro Police responded to the call at around 4pm, finding Brents still at the scene.

Ross was taken to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Brents was charged with first-degree assault domestic violence, according to jail records obtained by the Daily Mail. He was booked on March 14.

The 57-year-old told investigators he grabbed the gun intending to leave the house, but it went off, WDRB reported.

He is being held on a $250,000 bond and is set to appear in court on Tuesday.

In a heartbreaking statement to WLKY, Rosss daughter shared a heartfelt tribute to her late mother.

According to court records, the couple's son was allegedly in the home when shots were fired

Brents faces a first-degree assault domestic violence charge

'My mother was a loving woman who dedicated her life to her family. Always making sure others were always taken care of,' she told the outlet.

'Always the mother walking through the school hallways and all the school events. She owned her own daycare where her and her children dedicated their life to taking care of others!

'She has made a big impact on this city by taking care of others,' she added.

LMPDs Homicide and Domestic Violence units are investigating the ongoing case. Daily Mail reached out to police for comment.
A woman has won a payout from her ex-boyfriend who tried to murder her by ploughing his car into the funeral parlour she worked in.

Former police officer William McBurnie was jailed for 11 years after admitting attempting to murder Zoe Turnbull and her mother, Beverly Turnbull, in a vengeful attack a few months after she broke up with him.

He admitted he drove his car at them 'at speed' through the window of Zoe Turnbull Funeral Directors in Market Place, Jedburgh, south Scotland, on December 7, 2022.

Zoe described McBurnie in court as the 'Jekyll and Hyde of Jedburgh - charming in public but dangerous behind the scenes' and a 'forceful monster who encroached on our lives and used violence to get his own way'.

The civil case she brought against him has been settled for an undisclosed amount following the manic attack, her lawyers at Digby Brown Solicitors confirmed.

CCTV captured the terrifying moment from inside. Beverly appears to have just walked into the funeral parlour and Zoe is stood on the other side of the room.

Suddenly, they notice a silver car careering towards the shop front and both flatten themselves to the walls as it smashes through the window and crumples the desk where Zoe would usually sit into the back wall.

The car misses them by inches but both were injured, with one being hit by flying debris.

Former police officer William McBurnie attempted to murder his ex-partner Zoe Turnball by ramming his car into her funeral parlour

McBernie smashed his car straight through the window of Ms Turnbull's funeral directors

The women clamber over the wreckage to get away from McBurnie, who climbs out of the car after them.

A judge handed him a 13-year extended sentence - 11 of which to be served behind bars with the remaining two being under supervision - when he was sentenced at the High Court in Livingston in October 2024.

Sentencing McBernie, then 57, Lord Mulholland said he turned his car into a 'lethal weapon and used it with devastating effect'.

Following the sentencing, Ms Turnbull urged those in similar situations to act before things get worse.

She said: 'You have a voice and there are so many people around you ready to listen - and act - so you can get the help you need.'

McBurnie previously served with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

At the sentencing hearing, Gareth Jones KC, representing McBurnie, said he felt 'significant remorse' for his actions and was 'appalled' by his behaviour.

Mairi Day, partner at Digby Brown Solicitors, confirmed the civil action against McBurnie had ended.

She said: 'What happened to Zoe and her mother was life-changing - they suffered physical and emotional harm that will likely impact them both forever.

Ms Turnball won a payout of an undisclosed amount after a civil case she brought against McBurnie after he was jailed

Both women were injured in the attack with one being hit by debris

The aftermath of the attack

'After everything Zoe has gone through she has understandably requested privacy so I will not discuss the particulars of her civil action other than to confirm the case has now settled.

'I hope the end of the criminal and civil proceedings means Zoe can finally close this distressing chapter and focus on a positive future.'
The FBI secretly trawled through two years of phone calls, text messages and personal financial data belonging to Kash Patel, now the bureau's own director, as Joe Biden's Justice Department probed alleged interference in the 2020 election.

Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed the records of Patel, then a private citizen, along with eight others, among them Susie Wiles, now Donald Trump's White House Chief of Staff.

The FBI investigation into Patel, which began in 2022, was previously reported, but the extent of the record-keeping was not previously known.

Smith's team also sought online usernames, mailing and email addresses, billing records, IP addresses and bank account information, the documents show.

Senators Chuck Grassley, Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson released the records ahead of a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday into the Smith investigation, code-named Arctic Frost.

Patel, who held top national security roles in Trump's first administration and served as chief of staff to the acting Defense Secretary in the run-up to January 6, spent time in between administrations running his own legal defense non-profit.

Smith's request included records of calls and texts sent and received but not the contents of those phone calls or messages themselves, the documents show.

They included session times and the duration of calls, as well as subscriber information associated with Patel's accounts.

Chairman Chuck Grassley speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights hearing examining the Arctic Frost investigation on Capitol Hill on March 24, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, January 22, 2026

FBI Director Kash Patel gestures as he testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on September 16, 2025

One of the subpoenas for the records extended as far back as January 1, 2021, to November 23, 2023.

In Chairman Grassley's opening remarks at Tuesday's hearing, he noted that 'the records include a wish list created by Smith's team naming 14 members of Congress for whom they wanted to seek tolling data. Some of those members are senators on this very Committee.'

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Reuters that the records show improper actions by Smith and the FBI at the time.

'The FBI under prior leadership was weaponized in ways the American people are only now beginning to fully grasp,' Williamson said.

A separate document released by Grassley last year revealed that Republican lawmakers, including members of his own committee, were swept into the probe of the January 6 Capitol riot.

Kash Patel with his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, in an image posted to her Instagram

Country music artist Alexis Wilkins, girlfriend of Kash Patel, is seen with him and President Donald Trump in a February 2025 photo

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis and Marsha Blackburn, were probed, according to the FBI document published by Grassley.

Pennsylvania's Republican Representative Mike Kelly was also investigated, according to the document.

The one-page file was created during Smith's Arctic Frost investigation, which probed both the riot and election interference claims.

The file sheds light on how the FBI conducted its investigation and used phone records to track sitting lawmakers.

It is titled CAST Assistance, which refers to the agency's cellular analysis survey team.

The file is dated September 27, 2023, confirming the investigation into Republican lawmakers' cellular data ran well into Biden's presidency.
A San Francisco home with a tragic past has been renovated and put up for sale for $1.5 million.

In October, 930 Monterey Boulevard was a crime scene. Inside the walls of the beautiful three-bedroom, two-bathroom home were the bodies of a family of four.

Paula Truong had fatally shot her husband, Thomas 'TR' Ocheltree, 57, and their daughters Alexandra, 12, and MacKenzie, nine, in their beds.

Hours later, Truong, 53, would hang herself in the garage.

Six months later, the home has a new coat of paint, refinished hardwood floors, and new light fixtures.

It was listed as a foreclosure for $1.49million on Friday, with the listing calling the home 'charming' and 'cheerful' and 'peaceful.'

The 1,793-square-foot property appears to be offered at a discounted price, as similar-sized homes are going for around $1.8million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The family had purchased the home in 2014 for $1.35million. In 2022, they defaulted on a $2.24million mortgage.

In October, 930 Monterey Boulevard was a crime scene. Now it is back on the market

Paula Truong had fatally shot her husband, Thomas 'TR' Ocheltree, 57, and their daughters Alexandra, 12, and MacKenzie, nine, in their beds

They lost the property in 2024, when it was foreclosed and sold at an auction.

Truong, who was attached to several Bay Area businesses, had accumulated large debts in recent years, public records showed.

At the time of their debts, the couple owed $200,000 in back mortgage payments.

Ocheltree, a California native, is remembered for being a 'wonderful, kind and attentive father to his beloved daughters,' his obituary stated.

He was the youngest of six children and had many lifelong friends.

Alexandra, known by her loved ones as Alex, was a student at A P Giannini Middle School in San Francisco. She is described as a 'kind, sweet young lady who loved school, arts and crafts and crochet'.

MacKenzie, who attended Sunset Elementary School, loved playing with her friends and the family puppy Mango.

A family friend confirmed to the San Francisco Standard that Mango, who was not found in the home at the time of their deaths, 'is safe.'

Hours later, Truong, 53, would hang herself in the garage. The family had financial issues after several failed businesses and $200,000 owed in back mortgage payments

Alexandra, 12, was described as a 'kind, sweet young lady who loved school, arts and crafts and crochet'

MacKenzie, nine, loved playing with her friends and the family puppy Mango

'They departed way too soon and will be forever in our hearts,' the Ocheltree family said of Ocheltree and his daughters in their shared obituary.

There is no mention of Truong in the obituary. Previous reports indicate that relatives blame her for the horrific tragedy that occurred at 930 Monterey Boulevard.

'We are devastated. Thomas Ocheltree and his beautiful daughters are the real victims here. They played no part in this tragedy,' a family member told KGO-TV just days after they were killed.

Truong was also sued in January 2025 over a large sum of credit card debt owed to Discovery Bank, according to civil court records.

She was ordered to pay more than $18,000 to the institution in April.

Truong and Ocheltree, who wed in July 2006, were regarded as serial entrepreneurs and had a string of struggling businesses across the Bay Area.
The Royal Mail has become 'chaotic', with post workers being told to leave doctors' and hospital letters on racks to prioritise parcels, trade union bosses have warned.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) told MPs that postal workers are led by a pyramid framework which tells them which deliveries to prioritise over others.

At the top of the pyramid is special delivery items, followed by parcels or tracked items, then first-class mail, leaving second-class mail at the bottom.

Royal Mail boss Daniel Kretinsky said he was 'deeply sorry' and said the quality of service 'is not where we want it to be'.

Martin Walsh, deputy general secretary of the CWU, told the Treasury Committee that Royal Mail is now facing a 'retention crisis' with postal staff 'working harder than they've ever done in really challenging conditions, because they can't clear the workload every day'.

Mr Walsh told the committee: 'There is a pyramid process where it is understandable that people are getting delays.

'All employees want to deliver and they know their customers, and some of them feel very aggrieved that they're told to leave leave doctors letters, hospital letters in the frames to prioritise tracked. And we often get feedback on that issue.'

Dave Ward, general secretary of the CWU, said the 'service at the moment is chaotic' and it was a 'demoralising environment' for postal workers.

Mr Ward said: 'On a daily basis, it's extremely difficult to get through all the workload,' adding that this was the experience for frontline postal workers in the majority of post offices.

Royal Mail owner Daniel Kretinsky said he was 'deeply sorry' and said the quality of the service 'is not where we want it to be'

The Communication Workers Union said the Royal Mail is facing a 'retention crisis'

Royal Mail owner Daniel Kretinsky has apologised for letters not arriving on time, but insisted the postal service cannot be fixed until reforms are put in place.

When asked by the chairman of the Business and Trade Committee to apologise for a declining service, Mr Kretinsky said: 'I'm deeply sorry for any letter that arrives late.

'I'm deeply sorry if we are not delivering the letters on our promise, but I can't adhere to your sentence that quality of service is declining as the numbers just don't evidence that at all.'

He admitted the quality of service 'is not where we want it to be', but said its performance had been consistent over the past three years.

He said issues cannot be fixed until plans for reform of the universal service obligation (USO) are put in place, including plans to scrap second-class post on Saturdays.

Mr Kretinsky - chairman of Royal Mail's parent firm EP Group - said: 'We need to implement USO reforms - without USO reform we have no way how to fix it.'

Mr Kretinsky said Royal Mail's most difficult challenge is to get the first-class postal service up to scratch, but stressed the UK offers a service that most other countries in Europe no longer offer.

He told MPs: 'This is a job that nobody else in the EU is doing.

'It is not an easy job. The company and the people deserve appreciation for this.'

At the start of this year, Royal Mail blamed the stormy weather and staff sickness for delayed deliveries across more than 100 UK postcodes.

Royal Mail listed in February 38 delivery offices in the UK - covering around 100 postcodes - that could be most affected by a slower service.

A spokesman for the company said that 'adverse weather, including storms Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra in January, alongside higher-than-usual sick absence, caused 'some short-term disruption to certain routes.'

Watchdog Citizens Advice also found last month that Royal Mail failed to deliver letters to 16million people on time over the Christmas period.

The 'dreadful festive slump' was a 50 per cent increase from December 2024, when 10.7million people saw letters arrive late, Citizens Advice said.

The staggering number of late deliveries over Christmas 2025, which applies to letters and cards but not parcels, affected 29 per cent of UK adults.

Citizens Advice, which is the statutory watchdog for post, revealed some 5.7million customers missed vital letters about health appointments, fines, benefit decisions and legal documents, leaving people 'distressed'.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: 'First class letters and parcels are given the same priority and are delivered together.

'The framework stands as special Delivery items are delivered first, followed by First Class letters and parcels, including Tracked 24 items which is both letters and parcels, priority business mail and barcoded NHS correspondence.

'Tracked 48 items are then delivered, followed by Second Class items and economy letters, which have a longer delivery window.'
A Spirit Airlines passenger shockingly said he thought he had 'a good vibe' with a woman who he sexually assaulted on a flight.

Vernon Baker, 41, of Linden, was sentenced to 25 months in prison on Monday for attacking the woman on a flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia in October 2024.

Baker incessantly tried to flirt with the woman on the flight and even asked for a bite of her food, which she said she allowed in order to be polite.

He eventually exposed himself, groped the woman and tried to take her pants off.

Although Baker apologized, he told the court he assaulted her because he thought they 'had a connection,' The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

'I thought we had a good vibe,' he told the court. 'I didn't know it was gonna go this far.'

The woman had tried to ignore him by putting her headphones in and watching videos on her tablet.

After the assault occurred, the woman ran to the back of the aircraft to report the crime.

Vernon Baker, 41, of Linden, was sentenced to 25 months in prison for sexually assaulting a woman on a Spirit Airlines flight in October 2024

He was arrested after landing at the Philadelphia airport. He told prosecutors that he 'thought we had a good vibe' when asked why he assaulted the woman

She told prosecutors that she was hyperventilating while reporting the assault.

US District Judge Anita Brody said Baker's actions were 'clearly disturbed' and 'most inappropriate,' The Inquirer reported.

The victim, who did not appear at his sentencing, wrote in a letter that Baker's actions left her to become an anxious flyer and left her feeling ashamed for months afterward.

She also said he humiliated and belittled her, The Inquirer reported.

'Boundaries felt like nothing to you,' she wrote. 'I did everything I was supposed to do to protect myself.'

Baker was arrested upon landing in Pennsylvania. He later pleaded guilty in 2025 to abusive sexual contact on an aircraft.

Baker will also face a year of supervised release after completing his prison sentence. While behind bars, the 41-year-old will have to undergo mental health treatment, The Inquirer reported.
A former star of The Zutons has revealed he was nearly killed in a racist attack, which saw his head split open with a piece of wood by a group of young men.

Boyan Chowdhury, who was a founding member of the indie rock band, said the attack happened in the Wavetree area of Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

The guitarist, who is in his 40s, said he was out with his five-year-old son when a gang of teens began smoking near them.

He asked them to move away - but the youths began shouting racist slurs at him, which saw Mr Chowdhury quickly take his son to a neighbour's house for safety.

Two of the young men continued to abuse him before a third approached from behind and hit him with a piece of wood, leaving his forehead split open down to the skull.

The musician luckily managed to turn around and raise his hand in time to slightly deflect the blow - but he still had to be rushed to hospital for urgent treatment.

Shocking pictures shared by the musician on social media showed blood running down his face after what police called an 'abhorrent' hate-related assault.

He told Sky News: 'I honestly believe if I hadn't turned around at that time, I don't think I'd be here because it would have been the back of my head.

Boyan Chowdhury, who was a founding member of the indie rock band, said the attack happened in the Wavetree area of Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. Pictured: Images of his injury he shared to social media in the wake of the incident

The guitarist (pictured, performing with The Zutons in 2019), who is in his forties, said he was out with his five-year-old son when a gang of teens began smoking near them

He asked them to move away - but the youths began shouting racist slurs at him before one hit him with a piece of wood, leaving his forehead split open down to the skull (pictured)

'It would have been a lot more serious.'

Mr Chowdhury said he has done his best to keep busy after the attack and thanked his neighbours for their support.

But he said the incident has left him almost completely unable to sleep - and he now finds himself constantly looking out the window of his home in fear.

He said his hands have not stopped shaking since the assault and his wife and son, who was left afraid to return to school on Monday, are just as scared.

The guitarist added: 'Everyone has to start facing the reality, the horrible truth that this country is going into a really dark phase of its history.'

Mr Chowdhury, whose parents moved to the UK from Bangladesh, said he is proud of his heritage - but has always had to battle racism, even since his childhood.

When he was growing up in the West Derby area of Liverpool, for instance, he said he used to have bricks and stones thrown at him.

His experiences over the years, he said, have left him with little faith in how hate crimes are dealt with by the authorities.

The musician was an original member of The Zutons, which formed in 2001.

The band was best known for mid-2000s hits including You Will You Won't, Why Won't You Give Me Your Love? and Oh Stacey (Look What You've Done!).

They were also the group behind the song Valerie, which was famously covered by Amy Winehouse.

Their debut album, Who Killed... The Zutons?, was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2004.

Mr Chowdhury left the band, which is still touring and releasing music, in 2007 - but made a return for reunion shows in 2019.

He is now working on other music and production projects, and has also made a foray into acting.

Merseyside Police is now appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Detective Inspector Debra Morley said: 'This was a shocking assault that has absolutely no place in our communities.

The musician (second left) was an original member of The Zutons (pictured, in 2006), which formed in 2001

'To racially abuse someone and then attack him with a weapon is abhorrent and I'm sure the public in Merseyside will be just as appalled as we are about what happened.

'An investigation is ongoing into this incident and we are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

'If you saw this group of males near Fieldway or witnessed the incident, then please come forward.

'Violence and hate crime will simply never be tolerated in our communities.

'We have specially trained officers who respond to reports of hate crime with compassion and sensitivity, ensuring that every piece of information is acted upon to bring offenders to justice.

'I strongly encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed hate crime to come forward and contact us.'

A force spokesperson said: 'We are appealing for information following a hate-related assault in Wavertree on Saturday 21 March.

'At around 2.15pm, it was reported that a man aged in his 40s had been racially abused following an altercation with a group of males near Fieldway.

'It was further reported that the victim was struck to the head by one of the males who was armed with a weapon, which is believed to be a piece of wood.

'The victim sustained a serious head injury and required hospital treatment.

'An investigation is ongoing into the incident and we are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.'

Anyone with information can contact Merseyside Police via X @MerPolCC or call 101 quoting reference 26000226633.

People can also get in touch with the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their online form.

If victims of hate crimes do not wish to report the incident to the police for whatever reason, they can contact the independent charity Stop Hate UK.

The organisation runs a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625.

Stop Hate UK can also be contacted via its website or its reporting app, which can be downloaded on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

There are also charities which offer assistance to victims of specific hate crimes.

They can report incidents to The Anthony Walker Foundation for attacks motivated by race or religion, Daisy UK for disability hate crime and Citizens Advice for LGBTQ+ victims.
by Jerry Cayford

Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved, says the Tao Te Ching. The current competition between our two parties to gerrymander the countryTexas, California, Virginia, Floridais a stunning failure for democracy reform efforts. Gerrymandering transfers power from the people to the parties, and Americans hate it. By the time this years mid-term elections are over, huge numbers of us will have representatives who, we feel, dont represent us and won unfairly. Many of us will live in states without a single official in Congress from our own party. Nevertheless, we all support this district grab, because we cant let the other party seize power by gerrymandering more districts than we do. Where are the means to success in failure this big?

Spilt Milk

No one is feeling more defeated than the good-government activists who have worked so long to end gerrymandering and make our elections more fair. The need to respond to extreme gerrymanders has forced them to support the torching of their own work. They are backpedaling furiously, as one such activist bluntly puts it: Decades of reformer work is going up in smoke. Renewing forward movement will require understanding what happened. Alarmingly, there are signs that the reform community will learn nothing, that it will interpret this defeat as an aberration rather than a refutation of its past work and will return stubbornly to its failed strategy. A different response to failure, though, could build a foundation for success.

What the reform community appears to be overlooking is the golden opportunity this ugly war to gerrymander everything actually presents. It is the opportunity not only to formulate a better strategy, but also to use the power of public anger to solve the problem of creating fair districts once and for all. Redistricting has been mostly a wonkish, back-burner issue, briefly irritating to the public from time to time, but never before commanding the intensity of concern it does now. Right nowwith huge amounts of money, political power, and public outrage all focused on gerrymanderingnow is when reform can succeed.

To diagnose what is keeping reformers stuck, we need to look at voting methods as well as redistricting. Currently, redistricting is done mostly by state legislatures, and election winners are chosen by plurality voting. The trouble with this system shows up when its seen in political context (as summarized by Paul Krugman): In short, we are in the midst of an unprecedented power grab by Americas oligarchs. This power grab is arguably the most important fact about contemporary U.S. politics. In many ways MAGA is just a symptom. Behind the power grab are certain conditions and mechanisms: a congenial legal structure (oligarch-friendly decisions such as Citizens United), a siloed media environment, an increase in the number and wealth of billionaires, etc. Gerrymandering and plurality voting are among the most important mechanisms enabling such power grabs. They make political power conveniently grabbable by concentrating it in the hands of the two parties leaders: plurality voting gives power to the parties by forcing voters to choose only between those two (or waste their votes); and in gerrymandered districts even that little bit of choice is lost. In this way, our electoral mechanisms lodge political power in two parties that are largely invulnerable to voters but quite vulnerable to big money. (And what works for oligarchs works more generally for all authoritarians.)

The goal of democratic reform is to restore control of government to the people. The reforms that will do this are ready to hand: for redistricting, a strict mathematical algorithm should replace state-by-state discretion; and for voting, winners should be chosen by ranked choice voting rather than first-past-the-post plurality voting. Together, these two reforms are as vital for the health of our democracy as the secret ballot (taken for granted this last century and more). They may also be the most effective way to thwart the power grab [that] is arguably the most important fact about contemporary U.S. politics. Unfortunately, the reform community seems paralyzed by its focus on the wrong reforms.

The assessment that reformer work is going up in smoke is in an article by Steven Hill titled The Collapse of Common Causes Vision for US Democracy. Common Cause is the leading advocate for having citizens commissions do our redistricting instead of legislators. It is also one of the biggest and oldest organizations advocating for good government on diverse issues. (Full disclosure: I was on Common Cause Marylands Board of Directors a dozen or so years ago.) Hill describes the quandary the organization finds itself in: In a recent policy statement commenting on this unfolding mid-decade debacle, Common Cause leadership declared: Independent redistricting commissions are still the best mechanism we know of for achieving fair representation. And now that strategy is in utter tatters. I agree with Hill that commissions are not the answer (though we disagree on what is). As he said in an email, Common Cause leadersare pretty stumped by what to do next. They are simply unwillingso farto give up on the commission model into which they have sunk decades of work.

I proposed what to do next in an open letter in December to Common Cause (and former California Governor Schwarzenegger). I explained why citizens redistricting commissions are hopelessly inadequate; basically, they leave the dangerous power to gerrymander fully intact and as grabbable as ever, just in different hands (as a colleague of Hills details). We are now watching state legislatures one by one take that power back from commissions. A better plan takes political discretion off the table entirely by using a mathematical algorithm to redistrict. This algorithm plan is better than commissions in every way: more consistent, nationally implementable, easier to monitor, fairer, simpler, much cheaper, and impossible to game. (It is what an economist might call Pareto superior to commissions.) It eliminates the power to gerrymanderso there is nothing to grabrather than just depositing that power somewhere for future mischief. Hill and others have a competing alternative, though, which brings us to what is paralyzing the rest of the advocacy community beyond Common Cause.

Another organization, FairVote, is widely considered the leading electoral reform advocacy group. (Hill is a co-founder and former leader of FairVote.) Other groups, such as Rank the Vote and the philanthropy/advocacy group Unite America, routinely defer to FairVote on a range of issues, though Common Cause may lead on redistricting, specifically. FairVotes primary focus is ranked choice voting (RCV), which is indeed the essential mechanism for dispersing power widelyand ungrabbablyto citizens. (I discussed RCVs benefits in a review of Lee Drutmans book Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop.) FairVote has successfully campaigned for RCV to be implemented in many cities and counties over twenty-some years, and recently even in two states. These are major achievements.

When I sent FairVote my open letter on redistricting, however, a staff member responded, FairVote continues to remain focused on adopting proportional representation (PR) to elect the U.S. House of Representatives as the best solution to gerrymandering. This is the competing alternative, and FairVote is going to keep its powder dry for a future fight over PR. Consequently, at this moment of historic maximum leverage to end gerrymanderingwith the country appalled by this battle between the parties to disenfranchise each others voters, and with a sensible, viable plan of algorithmic redistricting in handCommon Cause responds, Independent redistricting commissions are still the best mechanism, and FairVote remains focused on adopting proportional representation. That is, Common Cause cant act because it is still committed to the plan that just went up in smoke; and FairVote cant act because it is committed to a plan whose time is not come.

With One Stone

Lets turn, then, to proportional representation, which connects our two reform problems, districting and voting. The enticing promise of PR is that it solves multiple problems simultaneously. PR is not itself a mechanism so much as an aspiration: the aspiration to elect officials proportionally among societys different groups competing for representation. The actual mechanism to realize this aspiration is multi-member districts combined with ranked choice voting. Multi-member districts, being much larger, are harder to gerrymander. Therefore, in theory, PR can solve voting and districting and also increase the political power of underrepresented groups. FairVote pursues these multiple goals by advocating for its flagship legislation, the Fair Representation Act (reintroduced by Representative Beyer in 2025 as H.R. 4632); the bill summary says its purpose is To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections for Senators and Representativesto establish multi-member congressional districts, to requireredistricting according to nonpartisan criteria.

I have two objections. The first is practical. Multi-member districts are going to be a hard reform to sell, both to the public and to Congress. They were outlawed in the Apportionment Act of 1842, and they have rarely been used for national offices since then; moreover, their illegality was reiterated and strengthened by the 1967 Uniform Congressional District Act. They are quite foreign to most Americans experience, would be a very dramatic change, and incumbents in office have strong reason to oppose them (about which I say more in my Doom Loop review). Consequently, national multi-member districtswhatever their virtues may beare not a reform that is going to pass any time soon. As an NPR explainer puts it, many of its supporters acknowledge it would likely be years, if not decades, before a majority of lawmakers allow such a big, untested restructuring of Congress.

This is in no way a criticism of multi-member districts or the dream of proportional representation. It is a point about tactics in pursuit of a goal. The criticism here is of holding back more feasible electoral reforms by bundling PR together with them, as the Fair Representation Act does. Even ardent supporters of PR can see the wisdom of pursuing reforms sequentially, rather that all at once. As Nathan Lockwood, co-founder of Rank the Vote, wrote me, Regarding what comes first, fair maps, ranked choice voting, proportional representation, etc., IMO, any of these things makes getting the next thing easier. It loosens the grip of unaccountable power every time you peel a finger off. This is exactly right. As others put it, incremental measures such as ranked-choice voting need not wait on grander ambitions: Practically speaking, narrow procedural changes are easier to achieve than deep structural reforms that reconfigure institutions in a fundamental way (Didi Kuo, Why Big Reform Is Possible).

Add to the benefits of sequential reform the immediate public outrage over gerrymandering, and a clear tactical logic emerges: do algorithmic redistricting now, then ranked choice voting, then the multi-member districts that enable proportional representation.

This tactical logic is strongly reinforced by a second objection to PR that we might call political. It is still not a criticism of multi-member districts or PRproperly implementedbut suggests that implementation may be more complicated than advocates are telling us. Did the date 1967 jump out at you? Thats right: the same Congress (basically) that passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act came back two years later to ban multi-member districts in order to protect voting rights! The reason is that Southern states were seeking to subvert the 1965 VRA (per NPRs explainer) by using multi-member districts and at-large, winner-take-all elections for the House to weaken the voting power of Black voters. Multi-member districts turn out to be a two-edged sword; which edge of the sword you get depends on the voting mechanism.

To make the danger clear, consider the voting mechanism typical of school board elections: if there are three slots, voters get three votes; candidates often run in slates, and any voter may well vote a whole slate. The result is commonly that one group sweeps the election, i.e. the opposite of proportional representation. Ranked choice voting, then, performs work essential to making multi-member districts beneficial. Winner-take-all (plurality) voting makes them harmful. The lesson is that it is vitally important that multi-member districts NOT be implemented before RCV.

We can see, then, that the Fair Representation Acts bundling of reforms is a risky strategy becauseand here is the political pointthe benefit or harm of multi-member districts is buried in the details of how exactly it is paired with a voting procedure. Opponents of PR will see that they can win by stealth if they can strip RCV out of the bill. And since the only experience most people have of multi-member voting is with elections like the school board one above, the public will not have strong intuitions about the importance of RCV to a bill marketed primarily as Fair Representation. Consequently, advocates and opponents will end up fighting over amendments that the public has little ability to understand. It will be the sort of battle that makes people hate politics. And success is by no means guaranteed. The correct strategy is sequential: pursue multi-member districts only after RCV is firmly in place.

The vehicles for carrying this better plan are practically ready. The Redistricting Reform Act of 2025 (H.R.5449 / S.2885), sponsored by Representative Lofgren and Senator Padilla, could be revised to mandate one districting algorithm nationwide, instead of fifty citizens commissions. (My open letter recommends the balanced power diagrams algorithm of Cohen-Addad, Klein, and Young.) The second step would be to fully support the Ranked Choice Voting Act (RCVA), sponsored by Representative Raskin and Senator Welch (H.R.6589 / S.3425). The RCVA needs no changes (other than to stop treating it reluctantly as a backup plan). The Fair Representation Act could then become step three, simplified to focus only on multi-member districts. The reform community can unify behind this sequence: evaluate it at FairVotes Mid-Year Learning to prepare for real movement at their Mid-Strategy Review following this years elections.

Something else about PR deserves mention, something harder to articulate. Ive read a lot of articles by reform advocates singing the praises of PR and urging support for multi-member districts. None of them mention that such districts can be and were used against minority voters. Only because the 1967 date made me suspicious and I went hunting did I discover this fact. Once discovered, its easy to find in many documents, and FairVote even has a dissertation on its website (buried deep in its archives) with a chapter on that 1967 act. But there is not much concern to educate supporters about that dangerous second edge. Similarly, many articles dont mention the 1842 Apportionment Act, leaving readers with the misimpression that multi-member districts were legal from the founding until sixty years ago, thereby obscuring how thoroughly entrenched single-member districts really are, culturally and institutionally.

Hiding the weaknesses of multi-member districts hints at insecurity within the reform community, fear that the case for PR may not enjoy as strong support among the public as do the incremental reforms RCV and neutral redistricting (by algorithm or commissions). And yes, RCV is simply the right thing to do (anti-reform propaganda notwithstanding), and so is neutral redistricting, and pretty much anyone can see this with a little time and education. But that says no more than what everyone acknowledges: PR is a more difficult reform to achieve. It remains true that the most effective way to achieve PR is to lay the groundwork for it with other reforms. As Lockwood said, passing each reform makes getting the next thing easier. So, holding the easier incremental reforms hostage to the more difficult structural one is utterly counterproductive. Yet FairVote remains stubbornly steadfast in going for the grand slam, even in the midst of a national redistricting meltdown: David Daley, a redistricting expert and senior fellow at FairVoteargues this moment calls for major structural changes.

Even incremental change will need our unity. Both major parties leaderships oppose electoral reform (by and large). To overcome their resistance will require significant political power. Where will it come from? It wont come from the billionaire oligarchs. As we saw earlier, they like power in the hands of party leaders who need their money. The only serious source of power for reform is the public. The public is usually discounted by political actors because it cannot cohere in agreement on a single course of action. Overcoming the resistance of powerful forces to electoral reform requires a substantial unity in the publics perceptions that a course of action is simply and obviously right. It is already obvious that gerrymandering diminishes even the little power we felt we had. Once you look at it, it also becomes obvious that the best course of action is redistricting by a strict algorithm that takes the power away from politicians and commissions. Because of the gerrymander wars, the conditions exist right now to unify the public to end gerrymandering permanently. With leadership from FairVote and Common Cause, redistricting reform can be the first domino in a line from failure to success.

Coda: Sauce for the Gander

Last month, The Atlantic published an article about the Mellon Foundation titled The Multi-Billion Dollar Foundation that Controls the Humanities. It describes the damaging effects on the humanities of their largest funders turn to focusing heavily on social justice advocacy. That turn creates an incentive structure that pushes scholars to fake or fudge an interest in social justice. With funding from non-Mellon sources disappearing, humanities scholars feel pressure to contort their work to get grants: Forced to choose between forgoing an opportunity to win a badly needed grant and twisting his research into a social-justice pretzel, he opted for the pretzel. This critique of Mellon from outside the advocacy world resonates with some of the electoral reform puzzles inside that world that warrant investigation.

I came across Mellons philanthropy from a completely different direction. Steven Hill co-authored a very interesting study with Paul Haughey titled Shaky Political Science Misses Mark on Ranked Choice Voting. (A summary on DemocracySOS has a link to the full paper and to their ongoing Shaky Research series.) A surprisingly high percentage of supposedly scholarly work on RCV opposes RCV based on analyses so shoddy as to be serious violations of basic academic norms. And a large majority of these shoddy oppositional studies are financed or produced by the Political Reform program of New America, a DC think tank.

The Political Reform programs largest funder is, yes, the Mellon Foundation ($1,000,000), and its second largest is Democracy Fund ($775,000), which shares Mellons explicit focus on promoting minority interests. Nothing wrong with that, but the Atlantic article draws our attention to incentives to proclaim or invent pro-minority benefits. The danger these incentives pose for redistricting reforms is easy to see. The 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) enshrined the use of districting to promote minority representation, which was successful. But protecting gerrymandering for one use protects it for other, less noble, uses. Now the less noble ones are winning, and majority-minority districts across the South will likely be gerrymandered away after the Supreme Court overturns section 2 of the VRA, as it will this summer (explicitly or practically). Yet still the Redistricting Reform Act bill trumpets its requirement that citizens commissions must implement the VRA, knowing full well such language will be illegal before the bill passes; and declarations that we will fight for the VRA are ubiquitous in reform literature.

In correspondence with Democracy Fund, I argued that the logic of gun control applies to redistricting: it is worth surrendering the power to gerrymander (or own a gun), if everyone else also has to surrender that same power. And when the Supreme court outlaws racial gerrymanders while protecting partisan onesthat is, takes our guns while leaving the bad guys theirsthe urgency will escalate to recognize this gun control logic. But sixty years of defending the VRA makes it hard to give up the false hope that citizens commissions will somehow be anti-partisan and pro-minority.

Proportional representation is similarly presented by its supporters as increasing minority representation. I argued above that PR is actually two-edged, and it will damage minority representation unless the groundwork of ranked choice voting is in place. The argument is quite compelling that reform should proceed in discrete steps, with PR coming later. Yet FairVote seems intent on keeping PR at the head of the line alongside RCV, and New America promotes PR while pushing RCV down with specious analyses. Why? Whats the agenda behind what frankly seems a betrayal of the reform community? Lee Drutman, who is a senior manager of New Americas Political Reform program, actively lobbied against the 2024 RCV referenda, which were defeated across the country by an onslaught of anti-democracy, pro-oligarchy propaganda. I dont know if its simply that reformers are contorting to appear to serve funders agendas, or something else. But there are puzzles here that warrant investigation, and another article.
Late tech tycoon Mike Lynch's estate faces being cleaned out as it is ordered to pay $1.24billion (930million) in damages to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).

A High Court judge on Tuesday ruled that HPE was owed the sum in damages and interest for the fraudulent 2011 sale of Mr Lynch's software company, Autonomy.

The entrepreneur, known as 'Britain's Bill Gates', died in the Bayesian superyacht tragedy in Sicily in 2024 alongside his teenage daughter Hannah and five others.

The 59-year-old had spent the summer celebrating his freedom on the luxury vessel after his acquittal on US criminal fraud charges related to the Autonomy sale.

His widow, Angela Bacares, 58, who survived the disaster, has her own assets that are legally separate from her late husband's.

The Lynch estate had been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with HPE after it accused him in 2012 of inflating his firm Autonomy's value before the acquisition.

In 2022, a judge ruled Mr Lynch and Sushovan Hussain, his chief financial officer, had defrauded HPE over the US tech giant's $11.7billion acquisition of Autonomy.

Last year the judge awarded HPE 700million in damages, but the company has claimed interest on this figure, vastly increasing the amount owed.

Angela Bacares, 58, pictured with her late husband Mike Lynch

The entrepreneur, known as 'Britain's Bill Gates', died in the Bayesian superyacht tragedy in Sicily in 2024 alongside his teenage daughter Hannah (pictured)

Your browser does not support iframes.

Mr Lynch's estate had sought to challenge the 2022 decision, and also asked for permission to appeal against the 2025 ruling on the amount of damages and interest.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Hildyard refused Mr Lynch's estate permission to appeal against either of his earlier judgments.

After the judgement, a spokesman for HPE said the ruling awarded it a total of around $1.24billion (930million) in damages and interest.

'HPE is pleased with the court's ruling and its rejection of the estate's request for permission to appeal, which brings us another step closer to resolution of the dispute,' the spokesman added.

The figure could bankrupt the estate which is estimated to be worth around 500million.

However, the estate could still take its fight to the Court of Appeal in a further attempt to challenge the rulings.

HP sued Mr Lynch for around five billion dollars (3.79billion) following its purchase of Cambridge-based Autonomy for $11.1billion (8.2billion) in 2011.

The company claimed at a 2019 trial - then believed to be the UK's biggest civil fraud trial - that Mr Lynch inflated Autonomy's revenues and 'committed a deliberate fraud'.

Seven people died in the Bayesian superyacht tragedy in Sicily in 2024

The hull of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank near Palermo, Sicily, on August 19, 2024, is pulled out of the sea off the village of Porticello in June 2025

It said this forced it to announce an $8.8billion (6.5billion) write-down of the firm's worth just over a year after the acquisition.

In a 2022 ruling, Mr Justice Hildyard said the American firm had 'substantially succeeded' in its claim, but that it was likely to receive 'substantially less' than the amount it claimed in damages.

He said that Autonomy, founded by Mr Lynch, had not accurately portrayed its financial position during the purchase, but even if it had, HPE would still have bought the Cambridge-based company, but at a reduced price.

In written submissions for the hearing in November, Patrick Goodall KC, for HPE, said Mr Lynch had 'not only perpetrated an enormous fraud, but lied about it at every stage'.

He argued an appeal aimed at 'escaping the consequences of that fraud' should not be allowed to be pursued.

Richard Hill KC, for Mr Lynch's estate, said the $761million (578million) in interest sought by the claimants was an 'excessive sum ... based on a flawed analysis'.

Mr Hill also said Mr Lynch's estate should be allowed to appeal against the two earlier rulings, claiming that the judge 'erred in law'.

In his written submissions he said that there was a 'compelling reason for allowing the appeal to be heard'.

A spokesperson for the Lynch family said in a statement: 'We are disappointed by the Court's refusal and believe an application to the Court of Appeal should follow in the interests of justice. HP's $5 billion damages claim has already been shown to be vastly exaggerated.

'Today's judgment describes the exaggeration as "without foundation" and the purposes for which it was 'calibrated, publicised and pursued' as objectionable, misleading shareholders and extending the litigation unnecessarily."

They added: 'Dr Lynch's acquittal in the US, where witnesses were properly cross-examined, exposed the truth. The damage to Autonomy was the result of HP's own actions and failures, not wrongdoing at Autonomy.'
Iran is paying petty criminals to carry out attacks on British soil, the head of parliament's intelligence and security committee has warned.

Lord Beamish suggested Tehran is copying the Russian playbook after a firebomb attack on Jewish community ambulances in north London.

Detectives are still searching for three arsonists who torched four ambulances in Golders Green on Monday morning.

An Islamist militant group linked to Iran has claimed responsibility for the attack, along with a string of other firebombings across Europe.

But security experts say there is no evidence to verify the claim by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia and the attack may have been carried out by local criminals hired as proxies.

Lord Beamish told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: 'The Iranian regime, whether it be the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] or Iranian security services, do attack dissidents, people who criticise the regime, and target the Jewish community and they do that increasingly not directly, but through proxies.

'What you're dealing with here is not necessarily just organised crime groups but also people who are just paid.

'So for example, if you look, it's a type of approach which the Russians are using.

Detectives are still searching for three arsonists who torched four ambulances in Golders Green on Monday - as police probe whether Iran paid 'amateur proxies' to carry out the attack

The vehicles were set ablaze in the heart of one of the largest Jewish communities in London

'If you looked for example at the attack last year on the warehouse in east London, many of those individuals who are not directly linked to any organised crime groups are just paid money.'

The peer compared the incident to an arson attack on a Ukrainian-owned business in east London in 2024 by a group recruited by the Wagner Group, a private military organisation that acts as a proxy for the Russian state.

On Tuesday the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing said it was still unclear whether Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia had orchestrated the ambulance attack.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: 'Clearly it's very worrying both for the community but also for us. We need to understand more about that group. You'll be aware that they have claimed a number of incidents across Europe.

'That is one line of inquiry that we're undertaking. We work incredibly closely with our security service partners and collectively we are exploring who that group are, what their motivations are, and what level of involvement they had, if at all, in the Golders Green incident.'

He revealed the number of cases involving National Security Act offences, including spying and sabotage for foreign powers, has risen by 50 per cent in the six months to December last year.

He said: 'We've seen a very significant increase in our work involved with foreign state activity, particularly around that top three of Iran, Russia and China.'

'In the six months up to December last year, we had a 50 per cent increase in National Security Act investigations, and that's on the back of a five-fold increase over the last four or five years.'

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged the Government to 'move beyond words to action' in tackling antisemitism in Britain.

She said: 'I think the Government needs to move beyond words to action. We are seeing an increase in attacks on the Jewish people, the Jewish community, Jewish businesses, and it is not enough just to offer to step up security.

'That's barely the first step. What I want to see is sanctions against people who are inciting violence against Jewish people, inciting hatred against Jewish people.'

Ms Badenoch's comments came as Assistant Commissioner Taylor said more than 200 extra officers will be deployed to protect Jewish communities in the wake of the arson attack.

He said the Met will also use specialist teams including firearms, the mounted branch and drones in the run up to the Jewish festival of Passover.

Speaking outside New Scotland Yard on Tuesday, he said: 'It was an absolutely horrendous attack on the Jewish community.

'The Jewish community have put up with a lot of these types of incidents over the last few years, and whilst they're very strong and resilient, they are clearly very frightened, and we absolutely understand that, and that's why our counter terrorism officers are now conducting that investigation.

'It's also important to say that we are looking very closely at how we work with the Jewish community, the protective security measures that we're putting in place across the country, but specifically in London, we've added an extra 264 officers to patrolling those Jewish communities.

Three hooded suspects were seen approaching the vehicles before they were set alight

'They will see visible firearms officers patrolling the streets, as well as using some of our specialist assets, from drones and our mounted branch to keep those communities safe, and in particular, working with Jewish schools, Jewish synagogues, to ensure the protective security measures we've got in place are the best they can be.'

The latest official figures on hate crime recorded by police in England and Wales showed Jewish people had the highest rate of religious hate crimes targeted at them of any faith group.

Two worshippers were killed in a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025 and, in a separate investigation earlier this month, two men were charged with allegedly spying on Jewish people and locations for Iran.

Assistant Commissioner Taylor said: 'We've certainly seen antisemitism increasing significantly.

'The Community Security Trust will tell you [there have been] huge rises in reports to them. We're seeing it through our police work, from hate crime through to that being motivation for terrorist planning and terrorist attacks.

'It is really worrying for that community.

'An attack on the Jewish community is an attack on the British community, and it's absolutely appalling that anybody in Britain should feel unsafe and vulnerable to this type of crime.'

Elsewhere, four London Ambulance Service (LAS) vehicles arrived in Golders Green on Tuesday afternoon to replace the Jewish community ambulances destroyed in the arson attack.

It followed Health Secretary Wes Streeting's announcement on Monday that LAS would loan the vehicles to Hatzola after four of the charity's ambulances were set on fire in the early hours of the morning.

The Government will also cover the cost of the vehicles that were destroyed, Mr Streeting announced.

After the LAS vehicles parked, Hatzola chairman Shloimie Richman read out a statement saying Monday was the 'darkest day' in the charity's existence.

He said: 'The irony is that you have vehicles that are used for life-saving work and transfer to hospital, and those are being targeted in an arson attack.

'It just kind of makes you feel what kind of world are we living in currently?

'I think the bottom line is that weren't targeted because they are ambulances, they are targeted because they identify with the Jewish community in a high profile way.

'And that is, for us, the worrier.'

Mr Richman said that more than 1 million has been raised to support the organisation following the incident.

He said that going forward, they will look at using the funds to create a 'secure home' for the ambulances.
The number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states including Iran has increased 50 per cent in six months, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing has said.

The figure was revealed as officials continue investigating whether a suspected Iran-backed group was behind an arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in north-west London on Monday.

Four ambulances belonging to Jewish charity Hatzola were set on fire in the early hours of Monday, with dramatic footage showing gas cannisters that were stored in the vehicles exploding.

Chilling footage showed three hooded figures pouring accelerant on the vehicles, which belong to Jewish community ambulance service Hatzola, setting them ablaze before running away.

Oxygen gas canisters within the ambulances exploded at around 1.45am, blowing out the windows of the synagogue and several nearby homes.

A video purportedly made by Iranian-backed terror group Ashab al-Yamin has since emerged on social media. The unverified clip is claiming responsibility for the arson attack in Golders Green.

The Metropolitan Police will deploy an extra 264 officers as well as specialist teams including firearms, the mounted branch and drones to boost security for Jewish communities in the wake of the arson attack and the run up to Passover in early April.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said the number of cases involving National Security Act offences, which includes spying and sabotage for foreign powers, rose by half in the six months to December last year.

Three hooded suspects were seen approaching the emergency vehicles before they were set alight

Four ambulances were set on fire in the Jewish community of Golders Green in London

'We've seen a very significant increase in our work involved with foreign state activity, particularly around that top three of Iran, Russia and China,' he said.

'In the six months up to December last year, we had a 50 per cent increase in national security act investigations, and that's on the back of a five-fold increase over the last four or five years.

'It is a significant part of our case load.'

Speaking at a dinner organised by Jewish charity the Community Security Trust on Monday evening, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the threat posed by Iran is grave.

Sir Mark said: 'The rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats is grave: hostile state surveillance activity, 20 disrupted plots, and recent attempted attacks on the Iranian diaspora.

'None of this is isolated.

'It is part of a rapidly shifting threat landscape.

'It is too early for me to attribute last night's attack in Golders Green to the Iranian state - that is rightly for the counter-terrorism investigation to determine - but whoever was responsible, the impact is serious.'

At the same event, the CST announced the King is to become a patron of the charity, which aims to protect Jews from antisemitism and terrorism.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for communities to 'all stand together' in the face of the 'horrific antisemitic attack', while Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the targeting of the volunteer service was 'particularly sickening'.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the incident was 'more than an attack on one organisation or one community', as she pledged those behind the incident will be pursued and made to face the consequences of their 'vile actions'.

Three of the community ambulances were left in pieces and burned out after fires triggered explosions inside the vehicles

Residents described being woken in the early hours by the noise, with the force of the explosions blowing out windows, including those of the nearby synagogue.

Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution and road closures in the area remain in place.

One man, who lives in Highfield Road, said: 'My wife was afraid for her life. People were shouting to just grab a bag and leave but did not tell us where to go. It was very scary and I'm still shaking now.'

Police are appealing for anyone with footage of the arson attack to get in touch.

Jewish leaders met the Prime Minister in Downing Street on Monday, and Michael Wegier, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said Jews in the UK feel less safe now than a few years ago.

On Monday evening, more than 250 people attended a rally against antisemitism in Golders Green, according to Press Association estimates. ,

Protesters waved the Israeli flag and chanted 'Keir Starmer, Jew harmer', 'Long live Israel' and 'No to Jew hate'.

The chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism told the rally the arson attack was 'calculated' and 'despicable', and former home secretary Suella Braverman said the incident was 'not a surprise' as the Jewish community are 'living with normalised antisemitism'.

A police cordon around the scene was lifted later and Highfield Road was reopened at 8.45pm.

Three community ambulances could be seen completely burnt out and a fourth appeared to be more intact, but with significant damage to the bonnet of the vehicle.

The latest official figures on hate crime recorded by police in England and Wales showed Jewish people had the highest rate of religious hate crimes targeted at them of any faith group.

Two worshippers were killed in a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025 and, in a separate investigation earlier this month, two men were charged with allegedly spying on Jewish people and locations for Iran.

The Government has pledged to fund replacements for the ambulances as well as immediate health support.
Erika Kirks camp has forcefully rejected claims that she showed no signs of grief in the hours after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated - after allegations surfaced that she splurged at Alo Yoga shortly after the tragedy.

The grieving widow, who became a single mom of two following Charlie's killing, is said to have splashed $1,000 on sportswear the morning after her husband was shot.

The claim, made by TikToker markosbits, saw the content creator tell his 900,000 followers that 'someone who works at Alo' emailed him a receipt from Erika's account that was timestamped at 11.10am on September 11 - less than 24 hours after Charlie's assassination.

'That is not how shock works,' the social media user said. 'That is not how grief works for a normal person.'

As the post racked up immediate views, the claim was shut down by a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) staffer who wasted no time setting the record straight on what actually happened after Charlie was killed.

Taking to X, TPUSA staffer Elizabeth McCoy dispelled the allegation, explaining that Erika and her team immediately hopped on a plane to Utah after getting the unimaginable call - and brought no items with them on the flight.

'We rushed from the office and into the airplane. We arrived in Utah with nothing but the clothes we were wearing. We were in those clothes all day at the hospital and slept in them that night,' McCoy wrote on X.

Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was recently accused of not grieving her husband because she spent $1,000 at Alo Yoga the morning after he was assassinated. Erika is pictured getting emotional at the State of the Union address

The accusation against Erica was levied by TikToker markosbits, who has nearly 900,000 followers and said an Alo Yoga employee sent him a photo of the receipt

Markosbits showed the photo of the receipt, which was timestamped to September 11 at 11.10am. Charlie was fatally shot the day before around 12.23pm

The couple with their two young children before Kirk's assassination in September 2025

'The next morning, our friend Stacy handed me her card, and I went out and picked up some items and toiletries for various team members and Erika. Alo was down the street,' she continued.

McCoy added that in the TikToker's video, the photo of the receipt had a timestamp of its own dated to March 10, which was about a week before the TikTok allegation was published.

'Thats not a coincidence,' the staffer wrote. 'Its a clear sign this was a planned, manufactured attack.'

'To accuse Erika or anyone else of entertaining a shopping spree hours after her husband was brutally murdered is cruel and vicious,' she concluded.

McCoy's quick response to the video was reflective of a recent shift that Erika and her team have made when it comes to conspiracies and accusations surrounding Charlie's assassination and his widow's subsequent reaction.

For most of the six and a half months since Charlie's death, Erika has remained silent about the rumors that have swirled online and been propagated by high-profile conservative conspiracists, including Candace Owens.

Owens has been releasing a podcast-style docuseries bashing Erika, whom she labeled 'Bride of Charlie.' The series so far boasts eight episodes, with each one receiving millions of views.

Owens's anti-Erika clips began in late February, but represent the culmination of months of accusations levied against the widow, including implications that the widow conspired with other TPUSA leaders and even foreign governments to have Charlie killed.

Conservative conspiracist Candace Owens has spent months propagating online rumors about Erika, who sent Owens a cease-and-desist letter in January

Before Erika and TPUSA began sending cease-and-desists and combating online rumors, they practiced a strategy of silence to avoid fueling conspiracies. Erika is pictured with Charlie

Kirk and Owens maintained a close friendship for years during the early stages of Turning Point USA

In December, Fox News asked Erika about Candace Owens's claims, to which she simply replied, 'Just stop.'

The strategy of refusing to fuel conspiracies by acknowledging them backfired in some ways, as the widow's silence was morphed into evidence against her by people questioning why she had not explicitly denied any accusations.

It appears that Erika and TPUSA have been shifting away from their previous strategy of silence, as in January, they began sending cease-and-desist letters to conspiracy theorists.

That month, Zach De Gregorio, a video podcaster who goes by Wolves and Finance online, as well as Owens, received the cease-and-desists.

Owens discussed the letter in a video and said: 'Its gay to send a legal letter. Its very gay. You shouldnt do it, especially when you can just pick up the phone and call someone.'

And on March 18, Collin Scott Campbell of Project Constitution was also sent a cease-and-desist, accusing him of defamation for making similar claims to Owens.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Alo Yoga and TPUSA for comment.
A woman who sent Angela Rayner death threats on the day she resigned from the Cabinet has been spared jail.

Elizabeth Harker, 63, bombed the former deputy prime minister's phone with abusive voicemails on September 5 last year.

The messages sent via Rayner's Ashton-under-Lyne constituency office included threats to kill her and her son.

Harker has now been given an 18-month community order and banned from contacting the politician.

In an unrelated incident, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard Harker also posted a handwritten note to a woman called Dorris Fortune filled with slurs.

On Tuesday, District judge Briony Clarke told Harker that her actions had 'a significant impact on the two victims'.

Ms Rayner described her behaviour as 'unacceptable' and felt 'distressed and alarmed' by the threats.

In sentencing, the judge said: 'These are serious offences. I can see that you understand that.

A woman who sent Angela Rayner death threats on the day she resigned from the Cabinet has been spared jail

'It is quite remarkable that at 63 years of age and with no previous convictions you have behaved in this way and find yourself before the court.

'The messages, the call, the letter - all completely unprovoked, deeply unpleasant and no doubt did have the impact on the victims.'

Ms Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary in September after it emerged she did not pay enough stamp duty on an 800,000 flat in Hove.

The judge added: 'Ms Rayner is Member of Parliament, working in a public-facing role.

'It is also aggravated by the fact that you were in drink at the time.'

Harker, of Luton, Bedfordshire, previously pleaded guilty to sending a communication that was 'grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character' in the form of four voicemails that targeted Ms Rayner.

Harker also previously pleaded guilty to an offence of sending a communication with an indecent or offensive message.

The charge states she sent a letter 'which conveyed a message which was indecent or grossly offensive for the purpose of causing distress' to Ms Fortune.

Harker was handed an 18-month community order, including a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

She was also ordered to carry out a 12-month alcohol treatment requirement to help deal with the 'root cause' of her behaviour, the judge said.

She was also sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work.

Harker was also given two five-year restraining orders, which ban her from contacting both Ms Rayner and Ms Fortune directly or indirectly.

It also prevents her from going to Ms Fortune's address.

She also has to pay 85 costs and a 114 statutory surcharge.

Harker has expressed remorse for her actions, been to Alcoholics Anonymous and gone to her GP for help as she tries to deal with her long-term history, the court heard.

The court heard defendant left four voice mails to a hotline - 'all of which were abusive'.

They were 'calling her (Ms Rayner) a 'filthy whore', a 'slag', 'you don't know what is coming to you', and there were further threats to kill her and her son'.

The calls were from a mobile phone that was registered to Harker's home address.

Ms Rayner described Harker's behaviour as 'unacceptable' and felt 'distressed and alarmed' by the threats

Harker was also caught on a Ring security doorbell posting the offensive letter to the Luton home of Dorris Fortune on November 2.

Harker was seen leaving the abusive handwritten note at the door before running away.

In her victim impact statement, Ms Fortune, who does not understand why the the note was sent, said 'whoever received this would be very distressed as it is very offensive note'.

She said the note is 'at the back of my mind and has made me feel anxious at home even when I have the dog with me'.

Ms Fortune said she did not understand the thinking behind the letter, leading her to say 'with a message like this, she appears angry and she could even want to destroy the house'.

Defence lawyer Lewis Green said Ms Rayner was targeted on the day she resigned, stating Harker 'should not have reacted in that way and she accepts she was wrong'.

Regarding the abuse of Ms Fortune, Mr Green suggested it was 'part of the same angst directed at the wrong person'.

He has also said Harker had a long-established and entrenched history of alcohol misuse over the last 30 years.
Donald Trump is throwing cold water on a potential deal with lawmakers to end the partial government shutdown as airport lines frustrate travelers.

The Department of Homeland Security has been partially shut down since February 14, when Democrats opposed a GOP spending bill.

TSA agents have gone without pay, causing chaos at airports and prompting Trump to deploy hundreds of ICE agents to over a dozen travel hotspots.

A glimmer of hope was reached after Trump held a meeting with Republicans on Monday evening at the White House.

'We do,' have a deal, Republican Senator Katie Britt told reporters. 'Im going to be working through the night, so hopefully we can land this plane,' Britt said later.

But speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday during Markwayne Mullin's swearing-in ceremony as his new DHS chief, Trump downplayed progress.

The President said that he doesn't 'trust' any deal with Democrats.

'I think any deal [Democrats] make, I'm pretty much not happy with,' he said.

Donald Trump is throwing cold water on a potential deal with lawmakers to end the partial government shutdown as airport lines frustrate travelers

Passengers line up outside a terminal to enter after hundreds of ICE agents were ordered to deploy to airports to help fill TSA staffing gaps

TSA workers at airports across the nation have called out sick during the shutdown

He said about the shutdown: 'This is a Democrat problem, and the polls are showing it's a Democrat problem,' he said he told the senators.

Though the latest Daily Mail/JL Partners poll taken last week found that Republicans are largely bearing the brunt of the blame from American voters frustrated with long lines and delays.

Britt was among a small cohort of Republicans who met with Trump on Monday. Senators Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Steve Daines of Montana also attended the session.

The rumored deal would fund mostly all of DHS except some portions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - which Democrats have protested as the agency carries out the President's sweeping deportation mandate.

So far, the shutdown has lasted 39 days, meaning most government workers under the DHS umbrella, including workers at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and more, have gone without a paycheck for five weeks.

Under the current deal's framework, almost all of DHS would be funded, except for ICE's deportation arm, called Enforcement & Removal Operations (ERO).

Other portions of ICE, like Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which primarily works on human smuggling and sex trafficking, would still be funded, according to reports.

Notably, ICE agents have continued to get paid despite the partial shutdown due to a $75 billion ICE funding infusion over the summer after Congress passed Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act.'

The deal reportedly does not contain many of the asks that Democrats have made to fund DHS, including mandating that ICE officers forgo wearing face masks and requiring judicial warrants for operations.
Hundreds of families are to take part in Government trials of social media bans, time limits and curfews for teenagers.

The six-week studies aim to discover if restricting young people's access to popular apps improves their sleep, schoolwork and family life.

Parents will also be asked if they found it easy to set up controls on their children's smartphones - and if they managed to find ways to get round them.

The pilot projects will take place alongside the major public consultation into digital wellbeing  which has already had almost 30,000 responses  which could lead to ministers agreeing to widespread demands for under-16s to be banned from social media.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: 'We are determined to give young people the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future.

'This is why we are listening to parents, children and experts with our consultation, as well as testing different options in the real world.

'These pilots will give us the evidence we need to take the next steps, informed by the experiences of families themselves.'

eenagers will have social media apps removed from their smartphones in a six-week trial

Under the trial run by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), 300 young people aged between 13 and 17 across the UK will try different restrictions on their use of smartphones.

One set of parents will be shown how to completely remove their child's access to social media apps, while a second will impose a daily limit of one hour for popular apps such as TikTok and Instagram.

The third group will block social media between 9pm and 7am each night while a control group will retain their usual access to the platforms.

The parents and children will be interviewed at the start and end of the experiment to understand the impact the restrictions had on their lives.

A scientific trial is also being set up, which will recruit 4,000 students from ten secondary schools in Bradford, to see if reducing social media use in teenagers changes everything from anxiety levels and sleep quality to body image and bullying.

Professor Amy Orben of Cambridge University, who will lead the study, said: 'We currently lack critical insights about how different types of social media policies might work in practice.

'Large randomised controlled trials, like the one in Bradford, will allow us to both better understand the impact of social media and select interventions that work for young people as well as their families.'

Meanwhile bereaved parents are calling on peers to vote again for an immediate social media ban for under-16s.

In a new letter, the group is urging members of the House of Lords to once more back an amendment tabled by former minister Lord Nash, which was added to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill in January but voted down by Labour in the Commons earlier this month.

They write: 'The decision by MPs not to raise the age limit for harmful social media platforms to 16 was not just disappointing; it was devastating.

'The Government's offer, a consultation with no binding commitment and no fixed endpoint, is not an answer to a problem that has already claimed too many young lives.'
Washington state has passed a new law intended to make people with mental disabilities less anxious during routine traffic stops.

The state's Democratic governor, Bob Ferguson, signed House Bill 2323 into law on March 18 after it passed through Washington's legislature with just one dissenting vote.

The law, which takes effect in mid-June, will mandate the state's Department of Licensing to establish a 'blue envelope' program.

People with mental disabilities will be able to sign up for the program and carry a blue envelope with tips for both police officers and the carrier of the envelope on how to interact during a traffic stop.

Neurodivergent people who will qualify for the program include those with autism, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, bipolar disorder, dyslexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome.

Carriers of the envelopes will be able to insert the necessary documents that police expect during a traffic stop, such as a driver's license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance, and hand them over to officers.

The envelopes will include instructions on what should be placed inside to further assist those with mental impairments.

The exact tips for police that will be included with the envelopes have not yet been determined, but they will likely include asking simple questions while speaking calmly, avoiding making loud noises and avoiding touching neurodivergent drivers.

Democratic Washington Governor Bob Ferguson recently signed a bill into law meant to make people with mental disabilities less anxious during traffic stops

The new law will allow neurodivergent people to keep envelopes with tips for themselves and police officers on how to interact during traffic stops. Officers with the Washington State Patrol are pictured at work

Proponents of the law say it will help prevent police from misinterpreting the actions of people with mental disabilities. A stern-looking officer is pictured examining a driver's license during a traffic stop (stock image)

Those recommendations have been included in similar laws implemented in other states or localities, such as the city of Boulder in Colorado.

The logic behind the law is that people with autism and other mental impairments can sometimes become overwhelmed by actions or behavior that neurotypical people can handle without issue.

Supporters of the law say that in those cases, it could be harder for neurodivergent individuals to answer questions promptly or could cause them to act in a way that police officers misinterpret.

Republican state Representative Carolyn Eslick, who sponsored the bill, said it is 'about protecting people in a moment when a simple misunderstanding can have serious consequences.'

'For someone who processes the world differently, a traffic stop can be overwhelming and frightening,' Eslick said in a statement.

The blue envelopes will be available for free to drivers across Washington, who will be able to pick them up at licensing offices throughout the state.

The program will be voluntary, and no medical documentation will be required to sign up.

Washington's Department of Licensing has estimated that it will issue as many as 18,000 of the envelopes per year once the program takes effect.

A similar law to the one that was just passed in Washington exists in the city of Boulder, Colorado, and this graphic explains how it works

The Washington bill was sponsored by Republican state Representative Carolyn Eslick, who said it is 'about protecting people in a moment when a simple misunderstanding can have serious consequences'

When Governor Ferguson signed the bill into law, he said the blue envelopes will be a 'simple tool to improve communication, prevent misunderstanding and reduce stress on all parties involved.'

'It also helps ensure as smooth a process as possible during traffic stops, keeping our drivers and law enforcement safe,' he added.

Washington will become the 14th state to implement this kind of law, as the National Conference of State Legislatures has recorded 13 other states that have already done so.

In some of those states, the requirements are simpler and only require the vehicles of neurodivergent people to have a decal indicating mental disability.

The thirteen states that already possess neurodivergent traffic stop laws are Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Indiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Connecticut was the first state to adopt such a law in 2020, and local police departments in places that have not adopted the laws statewide have implemented comparable programs as well.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker admitted there have been 'real failures' in the US immigration system after a Loyola student was murdered by an illegal migrant.

Pritzker, 61, admitted that key issues popped up at the national level, including the death of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, who was allegedly killed by Jose Medina, 25, an illegal Venezuelan migrant.

Gorman died from a gunshot wound to the head in the early hours of March 19 while walking with friends near the pier at Loyola Beach.

'This has been a terrible tragedy, and I know that the Gorman family has suffered mightily,' Pritzker said at an unrelated event.

'There have been real failures. Those failures, of course, extend beyond the borders of Illinois. Theyre national failures, a failure to have comprehensive immigration reform, a failure of the president to follow his own edict to go after the worst of the worst.'

'And in my view, we have a lot of work that we need to continue to do,' he added.

His comments come after Republicans placed the blame for Gorman's death on him and other Democrats for allowing sanctuary cities, like Chicago, where Loyola is located.

Pritzker also found himself in hot water earlier this week for failing to speak about Gorman's death, despite mourning the loss of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who both died in Minneapolis during ICE protests.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker admitted there's been 'real failures' in the US immigration system and that all levels of government need to continue work to fix it

He call Sheridan Gorman's death a tragedy. She was an 18-year-old Loyola student, who was allegedly killed an illegal Venezuelan migrant earlier this month

The Democrat, who is known for speaking out against immigration enforcement and Donald Trump, shared images of himself placing flowers at a memorial site for Good and Pretti on his social media pages, but notably remained tight-lipped about Gorman.

Still, he has since reiterated that immigration is a federal matter, and state and local governments need to continue to 'prosecute or catch violent criminals and prosecute them.'

'We should continue to do that both on the state level and the national level,' the Democrat said.

Gorman had traveled from Yorktown Heights, New York, to begin her freshman year at Loyola, where she quickly became part of campus life. Friends and classmates later described her as vibrant and deeply rooted in her faith.

She was killed around 1.30am on March 19 as she and a group of friends walked along the pier near the university's Lake Shore Campus.

According to investigators, a masked gunman dressed in black approached and opened fire without warning.

Sources familiar with the investigation told CWB Chicago there was no indication of any altercation or provocation.

When Gorman and her friends crossed paths with Medina near the pier's light beacon, he allegedly fired a single shot, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. She died at the scene.

Jose Medina, 25, has been charged with her death. Homeland Security said he came in illegally under the Biden Administration

Pritzker's comments come after Republicans placed the blame for Gorman's death on him

Surveillance footage from multiple cameras was used to track the suspect to a nearby apartment building on North Sheridan Road, less than two blocks from where the shooting occurred.

A firearm recovered during a search warrant execution has been sent for ballistic testing to determine whether it was used in the killing.

According to DHS, Medina was first apprehended by US Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, during the Biden administration, and was released into the country.

Just over a month later, on June 19, 2023, he was arrested in Chicago for allegedly shoplifting $132 worth of merchandise from a Macy's and was once again released.

Court records show he failed to appear for subsequent hearings, leading a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. He was never apprehended on that warrant.
Minnesota has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of withholding evidence in the fatal shootings of two US citizens during its immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

The suit names Renee Good, shot dead on January 7, and Alex Pretti, killed on January 24, and claims the federal government reneged on its promise to cooperate with state investigations.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Tuesday the Trump administration 'has adopted a policy of categorically withholding evidence,' calling the practice unprecedented and alarming.

The lawsuit accuses the government of 'shielding law enforcement officers from scrutiny.'

Donald Trump sent thousands of federal officers into the Minneapolis-St Paul area, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, as part of his national immigration crackdown.

The deployment sparked violent clashes with protesters, leaving Good dead and Pretti killed just over two weeks later.

The deaths triggered a national outcry and forced Trump to yank Kristi Noem - since fired as Homeland Security Secretary - from the city, dispatching Border Czar Tom Homan to take charge instead.

The Justice Department in January said it was opening a federal civil rights investigation into Pretti's killing but has said a similar federal probe was not warranted in the killing of Good.

A screengrab from a video obtained by Reuters shows a law enforcement officer spraying irritants at a man identified as Alex Pretti, before he was fatally shot when federal agents were trying to detain him in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 24, 2026

This image from video made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross via Alpha News shows Renee Good in her vehicle in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026

The decision marked a sharp departure from past administrations, which moved quickly to investigate civilian shootings by law enforcement for potential civil rights violations.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said that the department's Civil Rights Division does not investigate every law enforcement shooting and that there have to be circumstances and facts that 'warrant an investigation.'
A distraught mother whose autistic four-year-old daughter drowned in a vacation rental pool has spoken out, as they threaten to sue the property owners.

Kennedi Ray died in early March at an Airbnb in Northeast Miami-Dade, NBC Miami reported.

'I lost my child,' Adenah Francis, the girl's mother, said in a press conference. 'I lost my four-year-old. She only got four years here.'

The family, originally from Atlanta, was vacationing at a rental in the 20200 block of Northeast 15th Avenue in the Ives Estates area, according to Local 10.

Kennedi somehow slipped out of the home while the family was asleep, and her lifeless body was later found in the pool, the familys lawyer said at a press conference.

'How on earth can a house be advertised as family-friendly when it has a pool and none of the safety measures necessary, effectively in place?' Attorney Adam Finkel said.

'A child got access to the backyard. No alarm went off, no barriers are there, and we lost Kennedi.

Kennedi Ray, four, drowned in a Miami vacation rental earlier this month

Adenah Francis, the girl's mother, said Kennedi was autistic, and the family's lawyer says she slipped out of the house at night and was later discovered in the pool

The family was vacationing at a rental in the 20200 block of Northeast 15th Avenue

'The law requires safety measures in place, barriers, alarms, the exact type of simple things that keep Kennedi with us,' he added.

Kennedis parents are now pushing to have the property removed from rental listings, urging strict enforcement of Floridas Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act.

The state statute requires safety measures around residential swimming pools to help prevent drowning-related deaths.

The grief-stricken family is also demanding accountability from the rental property owners, pointing to the troubling contradiction that the home was advertised as 'family-friendly' despite allegedly lacking proper safety measures.

'We loved her so much. We miss her so much,' Francis said. 'I'm never gonna hear my child laugh again. I just wanna hug.'

Finkel is gearing up for a legal battle, saying the family expects to file a suit against Airbnb, per NBC 6.

In a statement to Daily Mail, an Airbnb spokesperson said: 'The loss of a child is a tragedy and our hearts go out to the Ray family.

'Airbnb has supported recent bipartisan efforts in the Florida state legislature to strengthen safety standards for all homes with pools.

'We also continue to work with partners on education campaigns and initiatives to promote water safety  including discounted pool fences for hosts and in-app safety tips for guests booking stays near water,' it concluded.

According to the swimming pool safety act, the law requires new residential pools, spas, and hot tubs to have at least one approved safety feature.

The grief-stricken family and their attorney spoke to outlets in a press conference outside of the Airbnb (pictured)

Attorney Adam Finkel says the family is gearing up for a legal battle against Airbnb

The features include: a barrier at least four feet high, with no gaps a child can crawl through, installed around the perimeter and set apart from walls or fences, and positioned a safe distance from the pools edge.

Airbnb's statement also touched upon water safety, adding that hosts must follow all local laws, including pool safety rules, as outlined in its Terms of Service and hosting guidelines.

They added that they introduced an in-app water safety feature to educate guests and help reduce risks around the water, as well as asking hosts to disclose key safety details so guests can make informed decisions and ask questions before booking.
President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that Iran has given up its nuclear ambitions as he said both Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are leading peace negotiations.

He also revealed that his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was not so keen on there being a diplomatic resolution as the war enters its fourth week.

'Pete didn't want it to be settled,' Trump said.

On Monday, Trump announced a five-day halt to US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure while pursuing back-channel talks with Tehran through intermediaries, signaling he may be looking for a way out.

But despite the dialogue with Tehran, the US is considering deploying around 3,000 troops to support a possible ground invasion, joining thousands of Marines already dispatched to the Middle East.

Trump gave an update on Iran as he swore in ex-Senator Markwayne Mullin to take over the Department of Homeland Security from the ousted Kristi Noem.

In the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon, he was asked what made him start pursuing a ceasefire when he previously spoke of wanting to continue bombing Iran.

'They're talking to us, and they're talking sense,' the President replied.

He explained that the priority of the conflict was to ensure Iran didn't build a nuclear weapon.

'I don't want to say in advance, but they've agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon,' Trump said.

President Donald Trump gave an update on the Iran war during a swearing-in ceremony for Senator Markwayne Mullin who is now the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

Pete Hegseth and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles have advised Trump on the war

When the President was asked if he planned to send envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to conduct direct negotiations with Iran, Trump answered that the US was already doing just that.

'We're in negotiations right now. They're doing it along with Marco, JD. We have a number of people doing it. And the other side, I can tell you, they'd like to make a deal,' Trump said.

Both Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considered top candidates for the 2028 GOP nomination.

Trump has been cagey about who the US is speaking to in Iran, as droves of leaders of the Islamic Regime have been killed in the joint Israeli and US strikes.

'We killed all their leadership and then they met to choose new leaders and we killed all of them. And now we have a new group and we can easily do that but let's see how they turn out,' Trump said.

The President continued to refuse to name names, but he said Iranian leaders the US is dealmaking with gave the country a 'present.'

'They did something yesterday that was amazing. Actually, they gave us a present and the present arrived today and it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money,' Trump said. 'And I'm not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize and they gave it to us.'

Trump said that gesture signaled one thing to him.

First aid responders arrive to the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on March 24, 2026. Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2

A plume of smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran, Iran

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an update on the Iran war from the Oval Office, with President Donald Trump revealing that Hegseth doesn't want the war to end

'We're dealing with the right people,' he stated.

When a reporter guessed that it was nuclear related, Trump pushed back.

'It was oil and gas related and it was a very nice thing they did,' the President said.

Another reporter asked if the 'present' was related to the Strait of Hormuz, the major shipping lane where Iran has been mounting attacks.

'Yeah, it was related to the flow and to the Strait, yeah,' Trump answered.

Trump had previously bashed NATO members, some of the US's most important allies, for not volunteering to help patrol the Strait amid the Iranian attacks.

The President also had Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who was attending the swearing-in ceremony, briefly give an update on 'military operation' in Iran.

'People don't like me using the word war,' Trump joked. 'So I won't, but the Democrats call it a war.'

After Hegseth's update, that's when the President revealed that the Pentagon chief didn't want the war to end.

'You know the only two people who were quite disappointed, I don't want to say this but I have to - Pete and General "Raizin" Caine,' Trump said, referencing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A sleepy Midwestern town has been rocked by a triple murder after two parents and their adult child were found dead in their picturesque home.

Jacob Lambert, 32, was killed alongside his parents, finance director Stacy Forde, 54, and her husband, Patrick Forde, 55, in the Crete Township property in suburban Illinois on Monday, police said.

Will County Sheriff deputies responded to the residence at around 2am after receiving reports asking for a welfare check.

When deputies arrived on the scene, they found the three bodies and determined that a person of interest, a 30-year-old woman, had fled.

The sheriff's office later identified her as Jenna Strouble, an ex-girlfriend of Lambert's from Indiana, saying Tuesday afternoon that she had been arrested in connection with the triple homicide.

'The preliminary investigation shows this was a targeted incident and during the detectives interviews Strouble gave incriminating statements following the homicides,' the office said.

'Investigators recovered a firearm and were able to determine it did match the one used in the homicides.'

Police said that Lambert was found dead in the home's driveway, while his parents' bodies were found on the first floor near the front door.

Jacob Lambert, 32, was found dead in his driveway on Monday in Crete Township, Illinois. He is pictured above in a recent social media post

Stacy Forde, 54, and her husband, Patrick Forde, 55, pictured above, were found dead inside the home after police responded to a welfare check

The three were residents of the suburban home, pictured above. Their suburban community was rocked by the shocking triple homicide

Lambert and Strouble had an 'on/off relationship' and shared children together, police said.

She allegedly fled the scene after the triple homicide and was found in St John, Indiana, which is right over the Indiana-Illinois border.

Strouble was arrested in Indiana. She will be extradited back to Illinois to face charges on nine counts of first-degree murder.

'Tragic events like this can be avoided for those wishing to seek help and assistance regarding domestic violence,' the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Stacy's employer, Roeda, a Lynwood-based sign shop, paid tribute to her on social media, praising her work as the Director of Finance for almost 22 years.

'She was more than a co-worker to many of us; she was like family to the Roedas and many of our colleagues. She showed up to many family events, celebrations, and parties. She enjoyed life and loved a great concert,' her colleagues wrote.

Roeda said that Stacy loved her family, valued religion and left an everlasting impact on the company.

Her employer also asked the community to keep her surviving son and extended family in their thoughts and prayers.

Jenna Strouble, 30, was arrested on nine counts of first-degree murder in connection with the triple homicide investigation. Police said she was the mother of Lambert's children and is pictured above in her booking photo

Family and community members remembered the three in tribute posts online. Stacy, pictured above with her husband and sons, was described by her employer as a beloved member of the team

There was a large police presence seen outside the home on Monday. Neighbors said authorities were knocking door-to-door after the shocking events

Emily Conner, a family member, paid tribute to the three on social media, writing: 'Our hearts are incredibly heavy, and there truly arent words for a loss like this.

'Jake had just celebrated one year of sobriety something we were so proud of and that meant so much,' she continued.

'Ella and Rhett are going to miss their Dad, Papa and Grandma more than words can express.'

Property records indicate that the couple bought the home in 2020 for $295,900 and it is now valued at $414,000, according to Zillow. Police said all three victims were residents of the home.

Neighbors were left in shock after tragedy struck their community. Shayla Dross told local ABC affiliate, WLS-TV, that police were knocking on doors all day Monday.

Jennifer Brown added that she felt 'numb' after hearing the news. 'I feel like I'm in the middle of a horror story. They were just over here yesterday, all three of them. And we were hanging out,' she added.

Jim Brown told the outlet that he saw all three of the victims in the home the day before they were killed.

'Now, they are gone, and I'm not an emotional person. But something like that hits home,' he said.

Strouble, pictured above in a social media photo with her child, was arrested in connection with the triple homicide. Police said she shared children with Lambert and the two had an on-again-off-again relationship

Lambert was a father and shared children with the suspect in the triple homicide case. He's pictured with his children above

Authorities have not determined a cause of death in the alleged triple homicide. The couple's grandchildren reportedly lived in the home as well, but were not there when the three were allegedly killed. Patrick, Stacy, and Jake are pictured in a social media photo above

Police said that Strouble, pictured above with Lambert and their child, made 'incriminating' statements when questioned by investigators

Neighbors told WLS-TV that the family had a beloved dog that survived the attack, and it refused to leave the home when family members arrived.

Those close to the family told WLS-TV that the couple's grandchildren lived at the residence as well, but they were not there when the killings allegedly occurred.

Video footage taken by CBS News revealed a large police presence in the suburban community after the heinous crime.

Authorities have not released the cause of death for any of the victims. The coroner's office said a final cause and manner will be determined after autopsy, police and toxicology reports are completed.
An Australian truck driver and fleet owner says she may be forced to shut down her business as the nation's fuel crisis intensifies - and warns it's going to turn into a sh*t show'.

Sharna Chapman, who runs Runnymede Trucking Company in Echuca on the Victoria-NSW border, warns that soaring fuel prices - driven by escalating conflict in the Middle East - have pushed some companies to breaking point.

Shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for around onefifth of the world's oil, have sent Australian fuel prices above $3 per litre in some regions, with hundreds of service stations running out of supply.

Chapman says her fuel expenses have jumped by $20,000 in the past month alone, and by March 18 she had already matched her entire fuel bill for February.

To stay afloat, her drivers have taken several days off to save on fuel costs.

'I've had this business for nine years - myself and all of my drivers work their a***s off,' she told the ABC.

'I'd like to think I won't have to shut the doors, but I know three ownerdrivers who handed in their keys today because they just can't keep going. It's not viable anymore.

'You can see the tears in their Facebook posts about closing their businesses. It's absolutely terrible.

Truck boss Sharna Chapman fears she may be forced to shut down her family business after fuel costs surged by $20,000 in just weeks, as the Middle East conflict drives prices past $3 a litre and pushes transport operators to the brink.

Chapman says small operators are 'working day-to-day' to survive the fuel crisis, with some already hanging up the keys as costs spiral out of control.

'We're just working daytoday. We can't look too far ahead because I don't know what's going to happen.'

'We can only pass on so much to the customers.

'It's not as simple as that. Then the customer has to find a way to absorb it.

'In the end, it's going to turn into a s***show.'

Ms Chapman called on the government to introduce a diesel subsidy before the impacts spread across the wider economy.

'We understand prices have to go up and that it's out of their control, but what is in their control is coming up with a plan to help subsidise transport companies that are working their backsides off to keep the country going.'

Queensland truckie David told 4BC breakfast hosts Dean and Sofie that rising costs would create a domino effect that would hit everyday Australians.

'It usually costs me $950 to fill up. Last week, each fillup was $1,550 - a jump of $500 to $600,' he said on Monday.

National Road Transport Association chief Warren Clark said consumers could start to see the effects as early as mid to late April, with noticeable price hikes on everyday essentials or empty shelves altogether

'The profit margins in trucks are not that great. They've got to pay me overtime, double time, triple time, living away allowances and tolls - it's all adding up.

'It's all going to come to one place and that's the consumer.

'We deliver eggs, milk, bread, meat, and vegetables. They all have to go up. Prepare yourself for Armageddon, because if this keeps going, it has to go into the shops. There's no other place it can go.'

National Road Transport Association chief Warren Clark said the situation has become so concerning some businesses that own their trucks outright are choosing to pull vehicles off the road, opting to wait out the crisis rather than operate at a loss.

He said consumers could start to see the effects as early as mid to late April, with noticeable price hikes on everyday essentials or empty shelves altogether.

'The cost of fuel has to be worn by the end customer or people can't actually operate in business,' he said.

'Some of our members are telling us they simply cannot keep going.

'We are seeing long-term operators parking their trucks and walking away from businesses they've spent years building.

'We are expecting to see more businesses make tough decisions on April 21, when the fuel card bills for March start landing.

'That will be the moment many operators realise they simply can't absorb these costs any longer.'

Mr Clark said the consequences of government inaction would extend far beyond the transport sector, flowing directly through to higher prices for groceries, fuel and essential goods

'When trucking businesses collapse, supply chains suffer, and Australian households pay the price,' he said.

With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz interrupting crucial shipments of fertiliser from the Middle East, farmers are also bracing for impact.

National Farmers' Federation president Hamish McIntyre said dairy products would be among the first to see prices skyrocket, followed by fresh produce.

'We estimate in a matter of weeks we'll start to see the costs flow through to the consumers on supermarket shelves,' he said.

'It starts with dairy, then our fruit and veg, and in any of our intensive animal industries too.'

The government on Tuesday announced changes to the Fair Work Act to allow truck drivers and transport businesses to make emergency applications for contract changes in response to the fuel price spikes.

The changes will allow trucking companies to re-negotiate their contracts faster and remove a six-month minimum waiting period for orders so companies aren't caught out by higher fuel prices.
A man has been found dead following a fire at the same house where a boy and his great-aunt died in a previous arson attack.

Irish national police said they are investigating 'all the circumstances' of the fire at Castleview Park in Edenderry, County Offaly, which occurred just three months after a fatal blaze at the same property.

Emergency services attended the fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

An Garda Siochana said in a statement: 'The body of an adult person has been discovered inside the premises.

'A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death, which will determine the course of any Garda investigation.'

The scene was preserved for forensic examination and gardai are appealing for anyone with information to come forwards.

A post-mortem examination is expected to take place at Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore on Wednesday.

In December 2025, four-year-old Tadhg Farrell and his great-aunt Mary Holt were murdered after a fire was deliberately started at the property.

A man has been found dead following a fire at the same house where a boy and his great-aunt died in an previous arson attack

Irish national police said they are investigating 'all the circumstances' of the fire which occurred just three months after a fatal blaze at the same property

Tadhg Farrell, four, and his great-aunt Mary Holt were killed during an arson attack on the property in December 2025 - three months before the latest blaze at the house

Sixty-year-old Mary also died in the blaze at the family home in December

The young boy's grandmother also received hospital treatment for serious burn injuries in that blaze.

A man in his late 20s detained on suspicion of murder was released without charge in January.

Speaking at the scene of the fire on Tuesday, local councillor Fergus McDonnell said neighbours were alerted by their smoke alarms going off.

He said the fire was 'intense' and described what happened as 'horrendous', adding that the local community 'can't comprehend' a second fatal fire has happened at the same house.

'People just don't know what to think,' he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Gardai were carrying out door-to-door inquiries and fingertip searches in the nearby area.
A major Midwestern airport has largely avoided the long security lines plaguing other travel hubs throughout the country as its Transportation Security Administration employees continue to show up for work even though they are not being paid.

The average wait times at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport have consistently remained at 20 minutes or less since the beginning of March, though on March 18, wait times did reach nearly an hour at Terminal 2, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Those amounts are minuscule when compared to other airports, like George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, where passengers had to wait nearly five hours to get through security on Tuesday.

At Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, travelers were also advised to allow 'at least four hours or more' for security screenings for both domestic and international flights.

The chaotic scenes come as more than 400 TSA officers quit their jobs since Congress failed to renew DHS funding on February 14, requiring around 61,000 TSA employees to work without pay since January 31.

Nearly 12 percent of TSA officers nationwide called off work on Sunday - the highest rate since the shutdown began last month.

To help make up for the staffing shortage, President Donald Trump took the extraordinary step over the weekend of ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to provide security at 14 airports, including those hardest hit by TSA staffing shortages.

But Minneapolis-St Paul was not one of them, as its TSA officers continue to show up for work.

Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport has largely avoided the extraordinarily long lines plaguing other major hubs across the country

Transportation Security Administration officers are continuing to show up for work at the Minneapolis-St Paul airport, despite not being paid

The average wait times at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport have consistently remained at 20 minutes or less since the beginning of March

Prior to the shutdown, between 15 to 20 TSA employees on average called off work each day at MSP, amounting to less than 10 percent of the workforce, Sharif Mehanna, secretary of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 899 told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

In recent weeks, that figure has risen to 40 to 50 each day.

However, other workers have since picked up overtime shifts to fill the gaps and keep operations moving smoothly at the airport.

'We want to keep the American people flying,' said Vincent Longo, a TSA agent who works checkpoints and as a baggage screener. 'We look for bombs in bags and firearms and knives and other prohibited items.

'I like my job,' he added. 'I know how important it is.'

Neal Gosman, a union leader and security officer with 22 years on the job, also told the Star-Tribune that employees keep showing up for work because 'we have a job we want to do.'

He said he is grateful for the public support as passengers bring the TSA agents food and offer their support, as well as for what he said may be the biggest reason workers are staying on the job.

'We watch out for each other,' Gosman asserted.

At George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas passengers had to wait nearly five hours to get through security on Tuesday

Passengers are seen waiting in long TSA lines at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday

They are being spurred on by the MSP Airport Foundation, which is accepting nonperishable food items and gift cards from passengers to be used for gas, groceries and other essential items.

'This is right up our alley,' David Rivard, the airport's marketing and communications director, said of the effort.

'The men and women of the TSA are the utmost professionals. We believe that people of MSP help make the airport a world-leading airport.'

Kyle Potter, of Thrifty Travel, now says the low wait times at the Minnesota airport are a testament to its dedicated staff, noting that efforts like those by the MSP Airport Foundation have given workers incentive to show up.

The passengers going through MSP are lucky, Potter said, but 'no way can this continue.'

President Donald Trump has deployed ICE officers to assist with the long lines at some of the hardest hit airports, including George Bush Intercontinental Airport (pictured)

TSA workers at the airport are already starting to feel the strain, with some receiving letters threatening eviction if they do not get caught up on rent, Mehanna said.

'You can only push people so far,' he argued. 'Morale is very low. People are hanging on by a thread.'

Officers are now borrowing money from family members, depleting their savings accounts or raiding insurance policies to get by, according to Longo.

He noted that even when the partial government shutdown ends, it would take at least two to three weeks before any backpay arrives.

'It's a time in the desert,' the TSA agent bemoaned, claiming US lawmakers 'are holding us hostage and don't seem to care about the workers.

'How can you say you are politicians for the American people, yet not pass budgets to pay the American people?' he asked, rhetorically. 'We are all taxpayers.'

As the partial government shutdown now continues, Delta Air Lines announced on Tuesday that members of Congress and their staff will no longer get access to a dedicated airline help desk that fast-tracks bookings, changes and support.

Perks included airport escorts and red coat services. But for the time being, while its Capitol Desk reservation line remains active, lawmakers will 'be treated like any other passenger according to their SkyMiles status,' the company said in a statement.

'Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,' it said.

'Next to safety, Delta's No. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment.'
The quadruple amputee professional cornhole player suspected of killing his passenger inside his Tesla allegedly shot the victim twice in the head before asking witnesses to help dump the body, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Dayton Webber, 27, has now been formally charged with first and second degree murder, with prosecutors saying he acted 'feloniously, willfully and with deliberately premeditated malice' in the killing of Bradrick Wells, also 27, on Sunday.

Webber also faces a firearms charge for the alleged use of a gun in a felony.

Shocking charging documents obtained by the Daily Mail reveal new details of the fatal confrontation that took place in La Plata, Maryland on Sunday.

According to the statement of charges filed by Detective Mark Bigelow of Charles County Sheriff's Office, Webber collected two witnesses from their work into the back seat of his white Tesla, where Wells was already in the passenger seat.

But as they were driving, a 'heated argument' erupted between Webber and Wells.

'During the argument, Webber pulled a gun out and shot the victim twice in the head,' the detective added.

Webber then pulled over the vehicle and asked his two passengers  identified in the statement as 'W1' and 'W2'  to help 'pull Wells out the vehicle, which they refused.'

Maryland police say 27-year-old Dayton Webber was in his Tesla SUV when he shot and killed his passenger, Bradrick Wells, 27, in La Plata

According to charging documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Wells's body was found in a yard on Newport Church Road, Charlotte Hall, Maryland

The two then fled from the vehicle and Webber drove off with Wells still in his car.

Wells's body was later found in a yard on Newport Church Road in Charlotte Hall, Maryland.

Webber was tracked to a hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is now awaiting extradition to Charles County, Maryland.

The charging document is littered with spelling errors. Several times Charles County is referred to as 'Chalres' and Bradrick Wells is called 'Bradwick Webber' at one point.

It says the witnesses flagged down police at 10.35pm and told them what had happened: Webber had snapped during the fight, pulled out a gun and fired two shots at Wells, which would prove fatal, they said.

W2 told police that 'he heard a gun shot go off'.

'W1 and W2 both positively identified Dayton Webber as the shooter and Bradrick Wells as the victim,' the statement went on.

On March 23, at 12.41am, a resident of Newport Church Road came home to find 'a body on the side of the road' with what appeared to be 'blood on the head and upper body.'

Webber, 27, is able to compete in cornhole by holding the bag between his arms

The cornhole star was diagnosed with a bacterial infection as a child that ultimately led to sepsis

Patrol officers scrambled to the scene, where Wells was declared dead.

Online inmate records seen by the Daily Mail show Webber remains in custody at the Albermarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail in Virginia as he awaits extradition.

The case in southern Maryland has sparked a flurry of questions over how a quadruple amputee could have been driving a car while using a firearm  and how he was able to jettison Wells' body from the vehicle by himself.

Diane Richardson, public information officer at the Charles County Sheriff's Office, told the Daily Mail: 'We understand it's a reasonable question.

'Webber is a well-documented individual on the internet. He's on YouTube and social media platforms there's a lot of stories of him handling firearms.'

She highlighted the witnesses' statements that Webber had picked them up in his car so it is known that Webber he is capable of driving.

Indeed, social media snaps reveal Webber is a hunting enthusiast, with several photos and videos appearing to show him shooting rifles and using pistols.

One clip, posted to YouTube in 2024, shows Webber in a field. He puts the magazine into the gun with one arm while balancing it on his leg. He then picks it up and holds it between the end of his left arm and bicep on his right arm.

Charging documents have revealed further details about the timeline leading up to the shocking killing

The charging document is littered with spelling errors. Several times Charles County is referred to as 'Chalres' and Bradrick Wells is called 'Bradwick Webber' at one point

Webber then fires the gun by applying pressure with the end of his right arm. After firing a number of rounds, he turns and smiles at the camera.

Asked about how he could have been driving the vehicle and then allegedly shooting Wells, Richardson suggested detectives were still investigating the sequence of how it all happened.

Asked if anyone else could have been involved, she cautioned that while it was still 'early in the investigation, there is no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved'.

Cops have impounded Webber's white Tesla SUV at a forensic facility to conduct a search, she added.

Webber reportedly became a quadruple amputee as a baby due to a blood infection that ultimately led to sepsis.

Ultimately, his arms were amputated just above the elbow, giving him the ability to pin objects between his upper arms.

It's this trait that allowed him to become a competitive cornhole player, ultimately joining the American Cornhole League in 2023.

The popular lawn game is played with two or four players who attempt to toss fabric bags filled with corn or plastic beads into a hole on an angled cornhole board to score points.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a Miami courtroom on Tuesday that he was unaware that his longtime friend and former colleague was an alleged foreign agent.

Rubio was questioned over his relationship with David Rivera, a Republican former lawmaker with whom he rose the ranks.

Rivera is on trial for acting as a foreign agent for Venezuela on a $50 million contract.

Rubio was questioned about his meetings with Rivera, and what details his friend shared with him regarding his business dealings.

A major part of his testimony centers on their 2017 meeting. Rubio maintains that while he sat down with Rivera to discuss Venezuela, the former Congressman never disclosed that he was actually on the payroll of a company owned by the Venezuelan state.

Rubio also testified that Rivera claimed to be in direct contact with Venezuelan power players who had supposedly convinced the dictator to relinquish power and step down.

Rubio told the court that he did not think Rivera's plot would work, but alerted President Trump to it the next day, saying, 'there might be something happening in Venezuela,' and that he would 'keep him posted.'

'You have never heard David Rivera say one word favorable to Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, correct?' the judge asked him.

'Not that I recall,' Rubio responded.

The two men share a long history in the Sunshine State - during their early political careers, they were so close that they famously bought a home together in Tallahassee.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a courtroom on Tuesday that he was kept in the dark about a staggering $50 million contract held by his longtime friend and former colleague, David Rivera

While Rubio was often cast as the 'golden child' of the movement, biographers have described Rivera as the 'feared' and 'consummate behind-the-scenes strategist' who helped navigate their climb to power

Rivera has been a persistent headache for Rubio over the years, but as the explosive trial draws closer, the controversy surrounding his former housemate now threatens to spill into the Trump White House.

Rivera, however, is standing his ground. He has officially pleaded not guilty to all charges and continues to deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that his business dealings were entirely legal.

Rivera was eventually indicted on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Caracas, alongside counts of conspiracy, money laundering, and tax evasion.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, it is not illegal to represent a foreign power, but the law strictly mandates that such ties must be publicly and officially declared.

For years, Rivera was one of South Florida's most aggressive anti-Castro firebrands, building a career on fierce rhetoric against leftist regimes - until a $50 million contract with the US subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company came to light.

The man who made his name attacking socialist dictatorships had, it appears, been allegedly simultaneously profiting from one.

The government alleges Rivera's mission was twofold: persuade the first Trump administration to ease its crushing sanctions on the Nicolas Maduro regime, and clear the way for ExxonMobil to restart operations in Venezuela.

According to the indictment, Rivera acted as a covert conduit between the socialist regime and Washington - all while failing to register as a foreign agent.

'He's a friend, and I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt,' Rubio said back in 2012. 'Maybe it's acceptable hereit isn't to meto turn your back on friends when they're going through a difficult time, no matterwhat they may have done or not done'

The bond between Rubio and Rivera stretches back to the 1990s, when the pair rose through the political ranks as a formidable team

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is bracing for a highly public political storm as his longtime Florida confidant prepares to stand trial as an accused foreign agent

The State Department did not immediately respond in response to this story, as well as Rubio's role in it

With Rubio now appearing on the witness list, the trial threatens to bring these controversial ties back into the spotlight.

Federal authorities have already taken $24 million and five properties belonging to the former congressman and his reported partner.

As he prepares to face the first of two criminal trials slated to begin later this month, the years-long legal battle has dragged a 'who's who' of Republican power players into the proceedings.

The witness list and court documents read like a directory of the Trump inner circle.

High-profile figures, including GOP Representative Pete Sessions, former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, and top lobbyist Brian Ballard have all been pulled into the case.

The bond between Rubio and Rivera stretches back to the 1990s, when the pair rose through the political ranks as a formidable team.

While Rubio was often cast as the 'golden child' of the movement, biographers have described Rivera as the 'feared' and 'consummate behind-the-scenes strategist' who helped navigate their climb to power.

Now, that decades-old alliance is set to be tested under the pressure of a federal courtroom.

Rivera's attorneys believe that Rubio will once again come to his defense

Rubio stuck with his friend despite the scandals he had experienced during his lifetime.

'He's a friend, and I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt,' Rubio said back in 2012. 'Maybe it's acceptable hereit isn't to meto turn your back on friends when they're going through a difficult time, no matterwhat they may have done or not done.'

Rivera's attorneys believe that Rubio will once again come to his defense.

'Rubio will show that Rivera was actually trying to 'find ways to remove Maduro from power,' Defense counsel Edward Shohat told Vanity Fair. 'We issued a subpoena for Rubio because we believe Rubio will materially benefit the defense.'

The prosecution has officially called Rubio as a witness, along with 28 others.

The Secretary of State took a dramatic detour from the front lines of global diplomacy this week, trading high-stakes talks on the Iran conflict for a witness stand in his old stomping grounds

The State Department did not immediately respond in response to this story, as well as Rubio's role in it.
The Albanese government has insisted drivers will not be limited to $40 of petrol at the bowser after a national fuel emergency response manual was leaked, revealing a price cap was one of several suggestions made to combat a severe supply crisis.

The document, drafted in 2019, outlines a range of options that could be used if Australia were to face a major fuel shortage.

The details emerged after former crossbench senator Rex Patrick obtained the manual using Freedom of Information laws.

The Albanese government had fought the release of the plan and reportedly spent about $150,000 trying to keep it secret before the document was ultimately handed over and its contents revealed, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The harshest measure outlined in the manual is regulated fuel rationing through a strict purchase cap.

Under the plan, petrol pumps could be programmed to automatically shut off once motorists hit a set transaction limit, with the document using an example of a $40 cap per purchase.

That's equal to just 16 litres of fuel at current prices.

However, such measures could only be introduced if the Governor-General formally declared a national liquid fuel emergency, acting on advice from Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

The Albanese government has responded after a leaked national fuel emergency response manual revealed a cap on fuel purchases as part of rationing measures in a severe supply crisis

Bowen said the government was not considering the idea of a $40 price cap.

'This is not something the Government is considering,' a spokesman said.

'This is from a document from 2019 that provides options to guide government. Some of it is not necessarily fit for purpose in 2026.

'Our Government is working around the clock and delivering practical solutions for Australia since the conflict began.'

Some of the other measures in the manual focus on cutting demand before rationing kicks in.

These include urging motorists to car-pool, adopt 'eco-driving' habits such as smoother acceleration and using less air-conditioning, and encouraging businesses to prepare contingency plans for a potential halving of their fuel supply.

The document also says government could allow higher fuel prices to help curb consumption, on the basis that reduced supply would naturally push prices up and discourage unnecessary travel.

Education Minister Jason Clare said the cap formed part of long-standing contingency planning and stressed Australia had not reached that point.

The harshest measure outlined in the manual is regulated fuel rationing through a strict purchase cap (stock image)

'I think it was originally set up under John Howard and that sets out the different sorts of contingency measures that governments would take if needed,' he told the ABC.

'We've taken the steps to release more fuel from the strategic reserve. We've got to get that fuel out there now to petrol stations across the country.

'And we're also temporarily lowering the quality of petrol and of diesel so that the quantity of petrol and diesel is higher.

'They're the sorts of measures that we're taking to make sure that people have got petrol to put in the tank and diesel for farm equipment as well as for vehicles in the cities. But any talk of rationing, I think, is way too soon to be talking about that.'

Clare echoed Treasurer Jim Chalmers' concerns the Iran conflict had the potential to hit the economy as hard as the Covid pandemic or the Global Financial Crisis.

'We're not having bombs dropped on us, but we are being hit by it and we're being hit at the petrol station,' he added.

'I think Jim is absolutely right when he says all of this depends on how long this goes on and then how long it takes the world economy to recover from it.'
Donald Trump is seeking a one-month ceasefire with Iran and has submitted a 15-point peace plan as Washington hunts for a swift off-ramp from the war.

Middle East envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are working on a framework involving 'the declaration of a monthlong ceasefire period, during which the sides would negotiate,' sources told Israel's Channel 12.

The 15-point plan, modeled on Trump's Gaza deal, was confirmed by two officials briefed on the talks, the New York Times reported.

It includes Iran dismantling all of its nuclear and long-range missile capabilities, as well as opening the Strait of Hormuz, and abandoning its ties to proxy terror groups across the Middle East.

The proposal outlines reciprocal benefits for Iran, including assistance with advancing its civilian nuclear program, as well as lifting all sanctions imposed by the international community.

Pakistan delivered the plan to Iranian officials with a 24-hour deadline to respond, Haaretz reported.

Trump said Tuesday that Iran had abandoned its nuclear ambitions, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the peace talks.

'They're talking to us, and they're talking sense,' the President told reporters in the Oval Office.

Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday

US sailors observing as an F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 31, approaches the flight deck of the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78), during Operation Epic Fury, on March 8

Speaker of the Iranian parliament Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf in Tehran, Iran, February 1

'I don't want to say in advance, but they've agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon.'

Trump has come under intense pressure to end the war which has sent global oil prices skyrocketing as Iran strangles the narrow Strait of Hormuz.

Oil futures dropped sharply on news of the 15-point plan, with Brent crude - the global benchmark - falling from $100 per barrel to $95.

Trump announced a five-day halt to US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure on Monday as he urged Tehran to come to the negotiating table.

The US is considering deploying 3,000 paratroopers for a possible ground invasion despite the diplomatic overtures, joining thousands of Marines already in the region.

Mohammed-Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, has emerged as the country's de-facto leader, with Trump officials singling him out as their preferred interlocutor.

Qalibaf has denied talks with Washington.

Trump refused to provide names on Tuesday as he bragged: 'We killed all their leadership.'

Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7

The President claimed that Iran had presented the US with a valuable gift, in a sign of their goodwill, without revealing what that was.

'They did something yesterday that was amazing. Actually, they gave us a present and the present arrived today and it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money,' Trump said.

'And I'm not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize and they gave it to us.'

Asked about the proposed month-long ceasefire and 15-point peace plan, the White House refused to confirm or deny the report.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Mail: 'As President Trump and his negotiators explore this newfound possibility of diplomacy, Operation Epic Fury continues unabated to achieve the military objectives laid out by the commander in chief and the Pentagon.'
The glamorous Duchess of Edinburgh made a surprise appearance with Lady Helen Taylor at a gala to celebrate the legacy of Dr Jane Goodall last night.

Sophie, 61, stunned in a flowing, floor-length Zimmermann gown with floral patterns, fit with a flattering belt as she arrived at the Reasons For Hope gala.

To accessorise, the royal opted for a small clutch bag and statement jewellery pieces that perfectly accentuated her blonde locks.

Meanwhile, Lady Helen, daughter of the Duke of Kent, was captured beaming while stood alongside Sophie in a cream blouse and sheer scarf, holding a glittering bag by her side.

Held at the lavish Peninsula Hotel in London, the event sought to shed light on the incredible life of Jane Goodall, who died aged 91 in October 2025.

Hosted by James Nesbitt and featuring special appearances via video recording from the Prince of Wales and Leonardo DiCaprio, the charity gala also saw Ricky Gervais and Peter Egan among the first Jane Goodall Hope Award recipients.

Celebrating the legendary conversationist who became known around the world for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees, Sophie showed her innate passion for humanitarian work and the Jane Goodall Institute UK.

Often praised as the Royal Family's 'secret weapon' with an incredible work ethic, Sophie is the patron of over 70 charities and organisations.

The glamorous Duchess of Edinburgh made a surprise appearance with Lady Helen Taylor at a gala celebrating the legacy of Dr Jane Goodall last night

Sophie, 61, stunned in a flowing, floor-length Zimmermann gown with floral patterns, fit with a flattering belt as she arrived at the Reasons For Hope gala. To accessorise, the royal opted for a small clutch bag and statement jewellery pieces that perfectly accentuated her blonde locks

Sophie, who has been married to Prince Edward for over 26 years, was also viewed by the late Queen as The Firm's safest pair of hands.

Her royal reunion with Lady Helen was also not the first time that the pair have been pictured together - with the duo previously seen in animated conversation when the two women enjoyed a day at the races in Newbury in December.

It also comes as her and Edward have provoked public 'outrage' after it was revealed they made 130,000 per year sub-letting stables on their 30million estate.

Prince Edward and Sophie had advertised the East Wing stables at Bagshot Park, in Surrey, as an office space for 10,834 per month, pocketing 130,008 per year.

However Crown Estate revenues are supposed to be paid to the Treasury, with taxpayers ultimately benefitting from the Royal Family's profits.

Ever since she entered the royal fold Sophie has often been praised for her charitable work as a working member of the Firm.

One senior Whitehall source previously told Daily Mail Royal Editor Rebecca English that her championing of the cause has been 'invaluable'.

'She is not afraid to shy away from the questions that need to be asked of those in charge and hold their feet to the fire,' they said.

Her hard work certainly didn't go unnoticed, either, and long before Sophie and the late Queen began to grow closer and eventually she became like a 'second daughter'.

Held at the lavish Peninsula Hotel in London, the event sought to shed light on the incredible life of Jane Goodall, who died aged 91 in October 2025

It was believed that Sophie was seen by the Queen as the Royal Family's safest pair of hands, because her marriage to Prince Edward has lasted, while Charles, Anne and Andrew have all been divorced.

Sophie's determination saw her take on full-time royal duties, and embrace rural pursuits beloved by the royals, such as riding, fishing, shooting game and carriage-driving.

In recent years the King's sister-in-law, who is married to his brother, Prince Edward, has travelled to current and former war zones including Chad, the Congo, Kosovo, South Chad, Lebanon and Sierra Leone.

Sophie has often focused her royal charity work around the importance of raising awareness of SGBV and the need for women's access to key resources.

She has also devoted much of her latter working life as a royal to supporting the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and is passionate about championing gender equality.

Last night's awards sought to remember the incredible life of Dr Jane Goodall, whose pivotal work first began when she travelled to the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania in 1960.

Seventeen years later she founded the Jane Goodall Institute to support research in the Gombe park. It works to protect the species and supports youth projects aimed at benefiting animals and the environment.

An unorthodox approach to primatology became the key to her success. Instead of numbering the chimpanzees she studied, she gave them affectionate names such as Fifi and David Greybeard.

Distinguishing herself from other researchers also enabled her to develop a close bond with the chimpanzees and to become, to this day, the only human to have ever been accepted into chimpanzee society.

In 2004, she was awarded a damehood and was invested by the then-Prince of Wales, now King, at Buckingham Palace.

The award served as a recognition of her pioneering ethologist and conservationist work, particularly her decades of groundbreaking research on chimpanzees.
The King has become patron of a Jewish charity in the wake of an anti-semitic firebomb attack outside a synagogue in north London.

Charles has accepted an invitation to be a patron of the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which monitors antisemitism and provides protection for Jewish communities in the UK.

The development was announced by Conservative peer Lord Finkelstein at the start of the charity's annual fundraising dinner on Monday evening.

Charles did not attend the event himself, although his senior equerry Lt Col Johnny Thompson was present on his behalf, along with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.

The CST said the King's acceptance of its invitation highlighted 'His Majesty's long-standing support for the UK's Jewish community and the wider fight against antisemitism'.

It added that the monarch's 'long-standing commitment to promoting tolerance, inclusion and interfaith understanding aligns closely with CST's mission to protect British Jews'.

Charles previously praised the CST's 'wonderful work' during a visit to Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester in October last year, shortly after two worshippers were stabbed to death in an anti-semitic terror attack.

Buckingham Palace has yet to comment on the King's new appointment, which comes just hours after a Jewish volunteer service in north-west London was targeted in an arson attack in the early hours of Monday.

King Charles meets with Rabbi Daniel Walker following an antisemitic attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester last October

The aftermath of the scene in Golders Green after four Hatzolah ambulances were set on fire overnight next to Machzike Hadath Synagogue, on March 23

The incident in Golders Green is being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime, but the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism unit is also investigating amid suspicions that Tehran is behind it.

Chilling footage showed three hooded figures pouring accelerant on the vehicles, which belong to Jewish community ambulance service Hatzola, setting them ablaze before running away.

Oxygen gas canisters within the ambulances exploded at around 1.45am, blowing out the windows of the synagogue and several nearby homes.

Residents were evacuated as a precaution, but no one was hurt in the attack on the service established in 1979 to provide free medical transport and emergency response to those living in north London.

A video purportedly made by Iranian-backed terror group Ashab al-Yamin has since emerged on social media. The unverified clip is claiming responsibility for the arson attack in Golders Green.

Ashab al-Yamin has also claimed responsibility for other recent attacks on Jewish targets between March 9 and March 14 in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands and another attack in Belgium.

Scotland Yard said they are hunting for three suspects and it is a 'priority' for them to verify if Ashab al-Yamin are involved.

Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said, but the arson is not yet being treated as a terror attack.

Three hooded suspects were seen approaching the emergency vehicles before they were set alight

The ambulances are seen after being set ablaze. Multiple gas cylinders on the vehicles exploded, blowing out the windows of the synagogue and several nearby homes

Speaking at the annual CST dinner on Monday night, Sir Mark Rowley warned the 'rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats is grave', but it was 'too early' to attribute the attack to the Iranian state.

Sir Mark said: 'Britain's Jewish community has in recent years been increasingly targeted by individuals, groups and hostile states, intent on spreading fear, hate and harm. This volatile mix is at the front of my mind given events of today.'

'The rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats is grave: hostile state surveillance activity, 20 disrupted plots and recent attempted attacks on the Iranian diaspora. None of this is isolated  it is part of a rapidly shifting threat landscape.

'It is too early for me to attribute the attack in Golders Green to the Iranian state  that is rightly for the counter-terrorism investigation to determine  but whoever was responsible, the impact is serious.'

He continued: 'We are pursuing all lines of enquiry, including an online claim of responsibility by an Islamist group who have claimed other attacks across Europe and have potential Iranian state links.'

Sir Mark said that the quick local response to the attack had saved lives, adding: 'An attack on Hatzola is not only an attack on the Jewish community but on all of us. There is no "us and them". There is only an attack on a British community.'

The Home Secretary, who also attended the dinner, warned of a dangerous rise in anti-Semitism in Britain, describing the firebombing as an 'attack on this country and on us all'.

Shabana Mahmood spoke of 'the oldest hatred rising once more', suggesting Jewish people in the UK were now living in constant fear of attack.

An official works among the burnt out ambulances at the scene of an antisemitic arson attack in Golders Green

Burnt out ambulances are pictured at the scene of an antisemitic arson attack in the Golders Green on Tuesday

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (pictured) warned the 'rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats is grave'

The Met are now stepping up firearms patrols to protect the Jewish community, sending an additional 264 officers to work alongside existing neighbourhood police deployed to 'vulnerable locations'.

The force will also be utilising drones, and Sir Mark announced a strengthened protective security plan for Jewish schools, synagogues and community centres ahead of Passover.

Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said it was a 'priority' to verify the claims made by the Islamist group that it was responsible.

It came to prominence after claiming responsibility for anti-Semitic attacks across Europe, which were similarly carried out under the cover of darkness, between March 9-13.

The group, which translates as 'Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right', claimed it had carried out an explosive attack at a synagogue in Liege, in Belgium, an arson attack on a Rotterdam synagogue and set off a device at a Jewish school in Amsterdam.

Now the group has spoken of 'targeting the most prominent Zionist centres in London'.

Joe Truzman, a security analyst for the Foundation For Defence Of Democracies, said: 'My suspicion is we are observing an Iran-crafted front, meaning this is an organisation created by Iran, perhaps the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to carry out attacks against Jewish institutions. I suspect Iran is outsourcing these attacks to criminal organisations.'

Israel's ministry for diaspora affairs and combating anti-Semitism said the group had suspected links to pro-Iranian networks.
Frankly, there were no surprises when rumours spread at the weekend that Princess Beatrices six-year marriage to the dashing Italian count Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi was in trouble.

The signs have been there from the very beginning, since they married in 2020 following Edos swift split from the sexy and glamorous American businesswoman Dara Huang  with whom he has nine-year-old son Christopher, known as Wolfie.

It always seemed that Bea  who inherited her mothers looks, appalling dress sense and love of the high life  was punching way above her weight in their union. There was something not quite right about it  hot count, not-so-hot Princess  which left us all wondering about how genuine this alleged love match really was.

Our fears were further raised in the weekends Mail on Sunday. Far from being at his wifes side in England with their two daughters as the York familys reputation implodes following Andrew and Fergies bad decisions, Edo was 4,500 miles away in Palm Beach, Florida. He had gone there to promote his luxury interior design consultancy Banda, even posting pictures of himself quaffing rose at a luxury hotel, wearing a loud pink suit.

Of course, it was obvious what Bea saw in her handsome husband. But who would underestimate the vast opportunities he gained from their union for his then little-known business, now said to have overseen one development of more than 700million of prime London real estate.

Did Edo have pound signs in his eyes when he said, I do to the Princess in a small, private ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor six years ago?

It always seemed that Bea was punching way above her weight in their union, writes Amanda Platell

Bea, seen here with Sarah Ferguson and Princess Eugenie, has inherited her mothers looks, appalling dress sense and love of the high life, writes Platell

More to the point, if he is so devoted to his wife, would he, during her darkest hours holed up with their two children  Sienna, four, and one-year-old Athena  have been swanning around Florida and documenting it all on Instagram?

Even their appearance together at the weekend  leaving a Notting Hill sushi restaurant, Bea smiling and Edo with a distant gaze  has done little to dispel the rumours of a rift in their marriage.

Friends of the couple told The Mail on Sunday there has been a noticeable distance between the pair since the Epstein scandal devoured the York family. That things havent been great for a while between them, but that Beatrice is determined to soldier on and forge a path through this crisis.

Beas friends say she wants to save their marriage, but her husband seems more and more distracted by work and travel... just when she needs him most, hes been pulling away. As they say, actions speak louder than words, and with her husband half a world away, what comfort can Edo be offering to his wife: a video call?

Most tellingly still, one friend says: Edo is a man who needs lots of attention, hes one of those men, and that Bea knows what hes like  hes Italian.

Which leads one to wonder whether Edo cares more about protecting his own career than the suffering of his wife, who is having to endure the disgrace of her family while being a mum.

Even their appearance together at the weekend - leaving a Notting Hill sushi restaurant, Bea smiling and Edo with a distant gaze - has done little to dispel the rumours of a rift in their marriage, writes Amanda Platell

Edos ex, the glamorous American businesswoman Dara Huang, with whom he has a nine-year-old son

Edo has been away in Palm Beach, promoting his luxury interior design consultancy Banda empire, posting pictures of himself at a luxury hotel, wearing a pink suit

Edo is reportedly worried his in-laws will affect his business. His own family do not want to be wrapped up in the wreckage of Andrew and want him to create distance between the Yorks and the Mapelli Mozzis.

Sorry Edo, but its too late for that. Bea is named hundreds of times in the Epstein Files released by the US Department of Justice, and we are still yet to see the real extent of her association with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and perhaps her willingness to turn a blind eye while the billionaire was allegedly helping to fund her parents largesse.

How will any of that wash with Edos millionaire clientele or his noble Italian family?

Sorry for stating the obvious, but keen royal watchers like me have always worried that this mismatch would end in tears.

Maybe Im wrong and it was love that motivated them both. All Ill say is that Edo seems to have done very well out of marrying Bea.

But should we now feel sorry for the poor Princess, struggling with alleged marriage difficulties and family turmoil? Not a bit. She, like her parents Andrew and Fergie, has drunk deep on her royal status, greedily enjoying every privilege her HRH title endowed upon her.

Now its time for a reckoning  and I dont expect to hear many violins playing softly in the background in sympathy for the Princess.
Americans are under crushing pressure as economic uncertainty, workplace demands and growing social isolation push stress levels to dangerous highs.

Now, a new report has identified the most stressed US states by analyzing four key areas of everyday life: work, money, family, and health and safety.

Louisiana ranks as the most stressed state, driven largely by the nations highest poverty rate and widespread barriers to medical care, with about 16 percent of residents skipping doctor visits because of cost.

The state also ranks among the worst for poor mental health and depression and has fewer psychologists per capita than most others, making it harder for residents to access help.

The Bayou State had the eighth-highest average unemployment rate in the country last year and the lowest job security of all states.

Elsewhere, Kentucky, New Mexico, and West Virginia ranked among the most stressed states for many of the same reasons as Louisiana.

However, South Dakota was named the countrys least stressed state, helped by a strong economy and family stability that contribute to lower overall stress levels.

The analysis was conducted by personal finance company WalletHub, which combined data from organizations including the US Census Bureau, the CDC, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Your browser does not support iframes.

WalletHub evaluated a wide range of stress-related indicators, assigning weighted scores to factors such as commute times, income levels, childcare costs, and the affordability of healthcare.

According to the American Psychological Association, the biggest sources of stress nationwide include concerns about the future of the country, the state of the economy and pressures at work.

Societal division remains another major contributor, with roughly 62 percent of Americans reporting that it significantly affects their daily lives.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said there are practical ways people can manage rising stress levels, even in difficult circumstances.

'There are plenty of small ways for people to manage stress, from staying active and participating in hobbies to taking vacations from work and getting help from a mental health professional,' Lupo explained.

Louisianas position at the top of the stress rankings reflects deep-rooted financial and health challenges facing many residents.

The state has the highest poverty rate in the nation, with about 19.4 percent of its 4.6 million residents living below the poverty line, according to US Census Bureau data.

Economic instability remains a major factor, particularly in industries tied to oil, gas and tourism, which can fluctuate dramatically and create uncertainty across both public and private sectors.

A new report has identified the most stressed US states by analyzing four key areas of everyday life: work, money, family, and health and safety. The results showed Louisiana is the most stressed state this in the US

That volatility contributes to job instability and growing anxiety about long-term financial security.

WalletHub data shows Louisiana had the eighth-highest unemployment rate in 2025 and the lowest level of job security nationwide, trends that continue to weigh heavily on households already struggling to stay afloat.

The state ranked near the bottom in health-related metrics, with many residents delaying or avoiding doctor visits altogether, largely because of financial concerns.

Mental health remains another major concern, with Louisiana facing a shortage of qualified mental health professionals, making it difficult for many people to access treatment when they need it most.

Financial strain often spills into family life, compounding stress levels across multiple areas. With unstable employment and unpredictable economic conditions, many Louisiana households face constant uncertainty about the future.

The state has also struggled with broader social challenges. Louisiana has recently been ranked among the nation's unhappiest states, with elevated rates of suicide and depression. It also remains one of the country's most violent states, ranking just behind New Mexico in overall crime rates in 2024.

Kentucky, which ranked second on the list, faces many of the same financial challenges seen in Louisiana.

High unemployment rates, widespread bankruptcies and low average credit scores continue to place heavy pressure on residents, increasing financial instability across the state.

Kentucky also has one of the highest divorce rates in the country, with 2.9 divorces for every 1,000 people.

Health concerns further complicate the situation. About 23 percent of Kentucky residents reported being in poor health, yet many have delayed medical treatment because of financial barriers.

In New Mexico, crime remains one of the most significant sources of anxiety.

The state ranks second nationwide in overall crime rates and has the highest property crime rate per capita, leaving many residents concerned about personal safety and security.

Financial and family-related burdens also contribute heavily to stress in New Mexico, where many residents struggle with low incomes and poor credit scores.

West Virginia and Arkansas face many similar pressures, with financial hardship remaining a central issue in both states.

In West Virginia, the long-term decline of the coal industry has reduced job opportunities, increasing financial strain across communities. Combined with poor overall health outcomes, these factors create ongoing hardships for many residents.

Arkansas faces its own set of challenges, particularly when it comes to food security. Reports indicate that nearly 30 percent of adults in the state experience food insecurity, placing added strain on families already dealing with economic and health-related pressures.

Because Arkansas is largely rural, many communities function as 'food deserts,' where access to affordable and nutritious food is limited, another factor that contributes to long-term stress and health concerns.

While life in these high-stress states remains challenging, conditions appear far more manageable in the country's least stressed regions.

South Dakota ranked as the least stressed state in the nation, performing well across all four major categories measured in the report: work, money, family and health.

Residents benefit from relatively low housing costs and an overall affordable cost of living.

Combined with the state's lack of a personal income tax, many households face fewer financial pressures than those in other parts of the country.

Despite ranking among the states with the highest average number of hours worked per week, South Dakota residents still report relatively low stress levels, suggesting that economic stability may play a key role in reducing long-term strain.

It tied in fifth with Wyoming, following Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Alaska.

Utah was deemed the second-least stressed state, with Minnesota, New Hampshire and Vermont rounding out the five least stressed states overall.

The Rich States-Poor States Economic Index recently ranked Utah among the strongest states in the nation for economic outlook, reinforcing its reputation as a stable place to live and work.

Minnesota remains another relatively low-stress environment, with residents benefiting from economic stability, strong social safety nets and a high overall quality of life.

New Hampshire stands out for its lack of both state income and sales taxes, making it financially appealing for many residents. Combined with a slower-paced lifestyle and access to scenic outdoor spaces, many residents report lower levels of daily stress.

Neighboring Vermont also ranks among the least stressed states, with residents often citing strong community ties, access to nature and an overall slower pace of life as key contributors to improved well-being.
Squirrels have started 'vaping' after mistaking the fruity smells for food, experts have warned.

Several photos and videos have been posted across social media in recent months, showing rodents interacting with vapes.

Taking to TikTok, user @tts_tiktok22 posted a video of a squirrel in South Philadelphia gnawing on what looks like an ElfBar.

On Facebook, one user in Wandle Valley photographed a squirrel climbing a fence with a vape in its mouth.

Meanwhile, footage obtained by The Telegraph this week shows a grey squirrel in south London handling an e-cigarette.

Experts are unsure whether the squirrels are simply biting on the plastic, or consuming the smoke or the vape liquid.

However, they suspect the animals are being drawn to the devices after mistaking the fruity smells for food.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Kay Haw, director of the UK Squirrel Accord, said: 'I imagine the squirrel is interested in the vape liquid inside, which is exuding an odour and attracting it. The squirrel can smell the liquid and likely thinks it is a food source, so is trying to find a way into the vape.'

Squirrels have started 'vaping' after mistaking the fruity smells for food, experts have warned

Footage obtained by The Telegraph this week shows a grey squirrel in south London handling an e-cigarette

To understand why squirrels are drawn to e-cigarettes, Evie Button, a scientific officer at the RSPCA, dissected a disposable vape.

One thing stood out  the smell.

'The other noticeable thing about the vapes I've picked up is the strong smell, even long after they've been used,' she explained in a blog for Wildlife and Countryside Link.

'The one I took apart still smells strongly of blueberry, over three months since I picked it up.

'We're worried that animals could be attracted to the smells and, mistaking them for food, try to bite or swallow them.'

As well as squirrels, photos and videos have shown birds interacting with vapes.

'So far, we've heard about a bird in New Zealand who was poisoned and died after swallowing a vape, and we've seen pictures of a squirrel in Wales trying to bury a vape, Ms Button explained.

'But we know that this will only be the tip of the iceberg as so many litter casualties go unseen and unreported, particularly with wildlife.'

On Facebook , one user in Wandle Valley photographed a squirrel climbing a fence with a vape in its mouth

Worryingly, the expert says it's not just wildlife who are being drawn to vapes  it's pets too.

'We know that dogs in particular have heightened sensitivity to sweet tastes and smells, and they could easily sniff them out on a dog walk,' Ms Button added.

'The Veterinary Poisons Information Service has received 680 calls about pets and vape liquids since 2017, and 96 per cent of these were about dogs.

'They warn that animals which ingest high doses of the nicotinebased liquid could become seriously ill  and sadly, there have been reports of pets dying after consuming liquids from vapes.'

Responding to the Telegraph's video, an RSPCA spokesman said the footage should serve as a 'stark reminder'.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, they said: 'The sight of this squirrel holding a disposable vape is a stark reminder of the danger discarded litter poses to our wildlife.

'Sadly this is the tip of the iceberg  as five million single-use e-cigarettes were thrown away every week according to research prior to a Government ban on their sale.

'Many of them end up as litter in our environment, our rivers and the ocean where they can cause harm to animals and marine life.

'These vapes contain materials and poisonous substances which can be hazardous to animals including plastic, lithium and nicotine.'

Although disposable vapes have been banned since June 2025, there are still millions of the devices littered in parks across the UK.

The spokesman added: 'The RSPCA successfully lobbied the Government with our #VexedAboutVapes campaign and a ban on selling disposable vapes was brought in last year in England.

'But sadly we are still seeing litter  including vapes  simply being tossed away in our communities, putting animals needlessly at risk.

'How we dispose of our rubbish greatly impacts wildlife and we would urge people to hold on to their litter until there's an opportunity to dispose of it safely and responsibly  and to always recycle where appropriate  so we can reduce the number of animal casualties we see impacted by rubbish.'
A British satellite that can see inside Iran's nuclear sites will be launched into space this week.

The device, made by Londonbased SatVu, can pick up highresolution thermal images and videos of activity even through thick walls and smoke.

It could help intelligence services 'see inside' buildings of strategic importance such as nuclear sites and munitions factories to provide valuable information.

And it can do this during the day or at night  to allow agencies to 'make informed decisions' amid escalating global tension.

SatVu's cameras are so precise they can show the capacity of airfields, whether a ship is being loaded and even when individual pumps on a nuclear reactor are switched on.

Experts said the move opens up 'remarkable opportunities' for national security and will enable important intelligence to be easily shared among allies.

'High-resolution thermal data is no longer a "nice-to-have"; it is a fundamental requirement to complete geographical intelligence assessments,' Anthony Baker, SatVu's chief executive, said.

'Unlike thermal data captured from airplanes or drones, SatVu can capture data from any point on the Earth's surface, including inaccessible or restricted areas, and it can do this in a uniform way,'

The device can pick up highresolution thermal images and videos of activity even through thick walls. Pictured: Oil storage in Oklahoma

The satellite will be fired into orbit on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which is due to take off this weekend

The satellite will be fired into orbit on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which is due to take off from California on Sunday.

The company, backed by 30million in Nato funding, will soon have two satellites in orbit and plans to launch a total of eight, allowing it to recapture any location on Earth every two hours.

SatVu has previously taken images indicating increased levels of activity at the Yongbyon Scientific Research Centre in North Korea.

In a statement, the company explained that a series of pictures captured over three months revealed thermal signatures from reactors and the discharge of warmer water from a pumping station.

'Monitoring this site is important aswhen operating at full capacity, the Experimental Light Water Reactor could significantly increase North Korea's fissile material stockpile,' it said.

The findings suggested that the reactor 'may be undergoing preoperational testing or is in the early stages of operation', which could support North Korea's nuclear programme, it added.

Although the US is already thought to be able to take highres thermal images from space, sharing information more widely is seen as a security risk and is highly classified.

A commercial provider, such as SatVu, could allow for intelligence to be shared with allies in the Middle East without raising the same security concerns.

SatVu has previously taken images indicating increased levels of activity at the Yongbyon Scientific Research Centre in North Korea

The satellite can monitor the capacity of key energy infrastructure. Pictured: Thermal imagery shows evidence of activity at the Middle East's largest oil refinery, the Ruwais Refinery, in the UAE

Its thermal images could also help stabilise fluctuating fuel prices by giving energy providers a clearer picture of the extent of the damage to infrastructure in the Middle East.

Oil facilities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been struck by Iran in recent days, as well as the world's largest liquified natural gas export facility in Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City.

'If you see a big explosion at Ras Laffan in Qatar, you don't know how much of it has gone up in flames,' Mr Baker told The Telegraph.

'Our imagery lets you know with much more certainty what part has been hit and has gone offline.'

The company currently has deals with the US government, Japan and a number of European nations including Poland.

However, despite government backing, it does not yet have a contract with the UK.

'HotSat2 is designed to measure what's operating, what's idle and how these patterns change over time, whether it is day or night,' Mr Baker added.

'With the satellite now integrated for launch, we are moving closer to delivering a dependable new intelligence layer from orbit. We need that capability in the UK.'

Oil facilities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been struck by Iran in recent days, as well as the world's largest liquified natural gas export facility in Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City (pictured)

The technology can also be used to track the movement of vessels during the day and night, as seen in this image of the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan

UK space minister Liz Lloyd said: 'SatVu is a shining example of British innovation at its best  and proof that government investment in our space sector pays dividends.

'The ability to monitor thermal activity from orbit, around the clock, opens up remarkable possibilities for national security, climate resilience and market intelligence. '

Apart from national security, SatVu's machines can be used for economic monitoring and climate resilience.

The company said its satellites can monitor urban heat and environmental change, and the data can be used to understand the impact of extreme heat incidents.
Officials have announced sweeping new restrictions on foreign-made Wi-Fi routers in the US, citing growing national security concerns tied to the devices.

The move represents a major shake-up for the US Wi-Fi router market, where nearly every router sold nationwide is at least partially built overseas, including popular models from TP-Link, Asus and Netgear.

Issuing the alert on Monday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated its 'covered list,' a registry of communications equipment and services deemed to pose potential risks to American networks.

The FCC said the move is intended to prevent foreign adversaries, including China and Russia, from accessing equipment used in the homes and offices of millions of Americans.

Foreign-made devices currently on store shelves can still be purchased, and routers already installed in homes remain fully usable, but future imports of restricted equipment will face tighter controls.

However, because scaling up production of fully US-made routers is expected to take time, internet service providers (ISPs) could face challenges supplying equipment to new customers.

Consumers planning to switch providers may want to confirm that their current router is compatible or verify that a replacement device will be available without delays.

According to an FCC FAQ, a router is classified as foreign-made if any key step in its production, including manufacturing, assembly, design or development, takes place outside the US.

The move represents a major shake-up for the US Wi-Fi router market, where nearly every router sold nationwide is at least partially built overseas, including popular models from TP-Link, Asus and Netgear (STOCK)

Despite the FCC banning the import of new foreign-made routers, officials stressed that there is no immediate threat to devices already in use.

However, the move targets a global supply chain long dominated by manufacturers in China, Taiwan and Vietnam, with China historically supplying about 60 percent of consumer-grade routers sold in the United States.

Brendan Carr, chairman of the FCC, said alongside the announcement: 'I welcome this Executive Branch national security determination, and I am pleased that the FCC has now added foreign-produced routers, which were found to pose an unacceptable national security risk, to the FCC's Covered List.'

The action followed the FCC receiving a National Security Determination warning of the risks posed by routers manufactured abroad, noting that cyberattacks by foreign adversaries are increasing.

'Recently, malicious state and non-state sponsored cyber attackers have increasingly leveraged the vulnerabilities in small and home office routers produced abroad to carry out direct attacks against American civilians in their homes,' the determination stated.

'From disrupting network connectivity to enabling local networking espionage and intellectual property theft, foreign-produced routers present unacceptable risks to Americans.'

The memo added that several of these attacks were linked to hacking groups associated with China and Russia.

'Routers in the US must have trusted supply chains so we are not providing foreign actors with a built-in backdoor to American homes, businesses, critical infrastructure, and emergency services,' the determination stated.

Elon Musk's Starlink remains an outlier among telecommunications companies, as it is one of the few major providers that has not fully outsourced router manufacturing overseas.

However, many of the components used in its devices are still produced outside the US.

The decision follows several cyberattacks over the past two years targeting US infrastructure, which officials attributed to hackers linked to China and Russia.

In some cases, investigators found that routers used in Cisco systems had been targeted for infiltration.

These included models such as the RV340W, RV340, RV345 and RV345P, which are commonly used in homes and small businesses and were manufactured overseas.

In addition to the new router restrictions, the FCC's Covered List also includes uncrewed aircraft systems produced abroad, anti-virus software developed by Kaspersky Labs, and telecommunications services provided by China Unicom, Pacific Networks Corporation, and China Mobile International.

Surveillance equipment produced by Dahua Technology, Hytera Communications, ZTE Corporation, and Huawei Technologies also appears on the Covered List.

Some routers and networking equipment from these companies, including products such as China Unicom's 5G CPE VN007, have remained on the list for years despite partnerships with US-based firms.
A schizophrenic Florida mother will not face jail time after she tried to hire a hitman to kill her three-year-old son.

Jazmin Paez, 20, was sentenced to probation instead of 40 years behind bars after pleading guilty on Monday to offering $3,000 to have her child killed through a parody website in 2023.

Paez was arrested after she visited RentAHitman.com and submitted a form to have a killer take out her toddler in a matter of days.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Sickening: Jazmin Paez, 20, avoided jail time after she tried to hire a hit man to take out her three-year-old son in 2023

The then-18-year-old sent photos and an address of where her child would be and added specific notes, including that she wanted to have her son murdered 'to get something done once and for all'.

She also requested he 'be taken away, far, far, far away and possibly be killed but ASAP,' police said.

Her inquiry was immediately flagged to the police by Robert Innes, the website's owner, who only created the webpage to promote an IT business years back, but kept it going after realizing it could help nab criminals.

Shocking: The schizophrenic mother pleaded guilty to the crime on Monday in exchange for parole

Despite receiving hundreds of similar solicitations every day, Innes told NBC6 Miami the one Paez submitted was alarming because of how specific it was.

He said: 'The ability to research names and addresses and verify the intended target lived at a particular address - that to me is a red flag.

'If that information is corroborated, that is something that needs to be looked at, and thats why I referred it.'

After police heard about Paez's online request, investigators contacted her, pretending to be the rented killer.

After making contact, they arrested her and matched the IP address to her home.

The toddler's grandmother then spoke to authorities, verifying that the child was the intended target.

The child, who Paez had when she was 15, was living with her grandmother at the time, the outlet previously reported.

Incriminating: She submitted an inquiry for a hit on the website RentAHitman.com, a parody webpage created by Robert Innes

After her arrest, Paez was released from jail on a $15,000 bond.

Her father also defended his daughter after she was released, telling the outlet: 'My daughter is not a monster. My daughter is a little girl who was born with health problems.

'She has liquid retained in her neck. She's had 12 surgeries, she lost the ability to move her face. She's been bullied in school, they called her "the monster".'

On Monday, she pleaded guilty to soliciting first-degree murder, unlawful use of a communications device, and tampering with evidence.

Website creator: Innes made the site to promote an IT business years back, but kept it going after realizing it could help nab criminals

In exchange, prosecutors offered her a withhold of adjudication, meaning Paez will not be legally classified as a convicted felon.

Instead of four decades of jail time, Paez was sentenced to two years of community control, 12 years of reporting probation, and mandatory behavioral therapy until it is no longer deemed necessary.

Her parental rights were terminated in dependency court, and she is not allowed to contact her son until her probation is up in 2040.

Her child has since been adopted by Paez's mother. She now lives with her father, attorneys said, per NBC News.

Innes previously told the Daily Mail that his satirical website has managed to lead to the arrest of dozens of people and at least 12 convictions, after users tried to have their friends, colleagues, and their own children murdered.

In addition to Paez, the site also snared a wannabe hitman who fell for its 'careers' page.

In April 2023, 21-year-old Josiah Garcia, an Air National Guardsman, was charged after applying through the website to become a killer-for-hire.

In January 2022, Wendy Wein, 53, was jailed for seven to 24 years for trying to solicit the murder of her ex-husband.

She applied through the site then offered an undercover cop $5,000 to commit the murder.
A California restaurant was forced to axe its popular 'stinky' dish after a neighbor complained the smell was too much to handle.

The Golden Leaf's prized stinky tofu was a novelty for fans of Taiwanese street food, based in San Gabriel, California.

But the traditional dish - deep-fried and known for its pungent aroma, often compared to extra-funky blue cheese or kimchi - was axed after the restaurant received multiple citations and violation notices from the city, the LA Times reported.

Food wars: The Golden Leaf's prized stinky tofu was axed after a neighbor complained to the city that the smell was wafting into their residence

The drama began in 2017, when a neighbor took issue with the smell wafting from the strip mall restaurant and began calling incessantly.

Owner David Liao said her concerns weren't shared by the other customers, who never complained or said they smelled a distinct odor.

Trying to get to the bottom of whether this was an issue shared by residents, Liao's family began walking the residential streets nearby to see if there were any signs of lingering stinky tofu, and even went so far as to ask a nearby beauty salon and other businesses if they smelled it.

Defiant: Owner David Liao has been fighting since 2017 to bring back the dish on the menu

Liao said: 'If our commercial neighbors complained to us that it's affecting their business, then we would understand. But no one ever has.'

Despite their diligence, city officials arrived at their doorstep - demanding they either mitigate the smell or cease making the traditional dish, which is a staple of Taiwanese night markets and an 'invitation to community and tradition' for curious residents.

The dish, known as chou doufu in Chinese, is 'a cherished taste of home and a source of cultural pride,' he said.

Kicking up a stink: The traditional dish was removed from the menu after the restaurant received multiple citations and violation notices from the city

In total, the health department, fire department, and a city official all arrived to deliver the devastating news.

Not only would it affect the restaurant's attempt to share tradition, but the dish also accounted for ten to 20 per cent of their revenue, so they continued to sell it.

But the nail in the coffin came in 2017, when the restaurant received a city notice citing a municipal code violation for emitting odors deemed a public nuisance.

Traditional dish: Stinky tofu is an iconic Taiwanese food often sold in night markets

Along with the notice came the threat of fines that could cost the family up to $1,000, leading to the axing of the iconic dish.

It wasn't until 2025 that Liao tried to revive the dish, launching a stinky tofu newsletter to alert customers to occasional weekly drops at the restaurant.

The move was a welcome surprise for Los Angeles County residents, home to the largest Taiwanese population in the U.S.; in San Gabriel, about 41 per cent of residents are Chinese or Taiwanese.

But once the nosy neighbor caught wind of this, they immediately launched their phone campaign again, calling so much that she managed to block the restaurant's phone line, preventing customers from placing orders.

Then, three months after the first newsletter, the restaurant received its second notice from the city, informing them that they had once again violated an 'odors' code.

When the LA Times asked the city how it decides when an odor qualifies as a nuisance, the city's community development director, David Sanchez, said odors that drift beyond a property and cause discomfort can be considered violations under the city's municipal code.

In November 2025, the restaurant officially removed the dish from the menu for the second time, and Liao disclosed that he had already paid more than $1000 in fines.

In response, he launched a Change.org petition and garnered more than 1,000 signatures from supporters all over Southern California.

'This ban isn't about public health or quality of life - it's about whose culture is allowed to exist in public,' read one comment.

'Stinky tofu is an iconic Taiwanese food, and targeting it sends a clear message to Taiwanese Americans that our traditions are unacceptable.'

City councilmember John Wu, who spoke to Liao at the restaurant about the complaint, said the issue could be fixed with a better filtration system, citing a similar situation with a nearby coffee shop that followed suit with the suggestion.

But Liao said upgrading equipment could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, with a ventless fryer priced between $20,000 and $50,000 and a specialized filter quoted at around $100,000.

Relocating the restaurant also isn't an option for the family.

'With all these options, I was looking for a guarantee,' said Liao. 'We were willing to work with the city, but they couldn't put anything in writing, and we don't have the money to just invest and see if it works.'
Scientists have confirmed Moby Dick was right, and sperm whales do headbutt each other after observing the behavior via drones.

For the very first time, scientists from the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, have captured footage of sperm whales using their heads to deliberately strike each other.

Until now, this behavior has been confined to accounts from 19th century mariners, as well as Herman Melville's epic 1851 novel.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Moby Dick was right: Sperm whales really do headbutt each other as the behavior was captured on drone footage

However, using drone technology, the researchers were able to catch whales in the Azores and Balearic islands in the act.

The function of this behavior remains unclear, although the researchers hope further observations will help to unravel the mystery.

'This unique overhead perspective for observing and documenting nearsurface behavior is just one of the ways drone technology is transforming the study of wildlife biology,' said Dr Alec Burslem, lead author of the study.

'It's exciting to think about what asyet unseen behaviors we may soon uncover, as well how more headbutting observations may help us to shed light on the functions the behavior may serve.

'If there are people out there with similar footage, we would be very keen to hear from them'.

The idea that sperm whales use their heads to push and strike objects has been reported by mariners since the openboat whaling of the 19th century.

The most famous example is the Essex  a ship that was said to have been sunk by two headon strikes from a large bull sperm whale off the Galapagos in 1820.

The Essex served as the inspiration for Moby Dick.

'I turned around and saw him about one hundred rods [approx. 500 m] directly ahead of us, coming down with twice his ordinary speed of around 24 knots, and it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect,' explained Owen Chase, First mate upon the Essex.

'The surf flew in all directions about him with the continual violent thrashing of his tail.

'His head about half out of the water, and in that way he came upon us, and again struck the ship.'

To prove this behavior once and for all, the researchers headed to the Azores and Balearic islands between 2020 and 2022.

While they expected they might see it in male adult whales, drone footage actually showed that it was subadult whales engaging in headbutting.

Dramatic: Using drone technology, the researchers were able to catch whales in the Azores and Balearic islands in the act

Legends: The idea that sperm whales use their heads to push and strike objects has been reported by mariners since the openboat whaling of the 19th century

'It was really exciting to observe this behavior, which we knew had been hypothesized for such a long time, but not yet documented and described systematically,' Dr Burslem said.

The scientists still don't know why the whales engage in this behaviour, although they have several theories.

Firstly, the headbutting may have originated from physical contests between sperm whales, with much of the action taking place under the surface  hence, why humans haven't seen it yet.

Others point out that using the head as a weapon would be unlikely to have been favored by evolution, given many of the most crucial structures are located in the head.

The team now hope to carry out further observations to understand exactly why this behavior has persisted for so long.
Are you sitting safely when you board a plane for your summer holiday?

The answer, after analysing aviation data, is yes. Flying remains one of the safest ways to travel, based on records of both airline standards and aircraft track records.

Yet, while carriers such as Qantas and Air New Zealand boast decades without fatalities, some 130 others are deemed so unsafe theyre banned from UK airspace.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority: Certain airlines are banned from operating in European airspace (including UK airspace) because they are found to be unsafe and/or they are not sufficiently overseen by their authorities.

The aviation world was, of course, shaken again this week by the Air Canada crash at New Yorks LaGuardia Airport. The pilots on that flight, both killed in the crash, saved the lives of countless passengers because of their incredible reflexes in slowing down the jet before it collided with a fire engine on the runway.

It comes less than a year after the Air India disaster, when a Boeing 787 flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick crashed shortly after take-off, killing 241 passengers and crew along with 19 on the ground  with just one onboard survivor. The tragedy raised urgent questions about airline maintenance practices and aircraft safety systems.

With these incidents fresh in peoples minds, the Mail has delved into recent aviation records.

Here we can reveal the worlds three safest aircraft along with the 25 safest legacy airlines, 25 safest short-haul carriers  and the least safe airlines.

WORLDS SAFEST AIRCRAFT

Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger plane ever built and is the only full-length double-deck aircraft, capable of carrying more than 850 passengers

The Airbus A380, first flown commercially with Singapore Airlines in October 2007, is one of the worlds safest aircraft. The full-length double-deck jet has a flawless safety record, with zero fatalities or hull losses (aircraft write-offs), despite completing nearly one million flights. With smart flight systems and four engines for backup, it gives pilots excellent visibility and can keep flying if one  or even two  engines fail.

Boeing 717

The Boeing 717 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet designed for short- to medium-haul routes. The airliner was developed for the 100-seat market

Another aircraft to share the same safety record since its first flight almost three decades ago is the Boeing 717. This single-aisle plane has two Rolls-Royce engines at the back which help keep it stable and a 100-seat configuration for efficient operations that do not compromise on safety margins. The aircraft launched in 1998. There are 99 still in operation, used by Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines.

Boeing 787

Until last Junes tragic Air India crash, Boeings 787 Dreamliner had an exemplary safety record with no fatalities or hull losses

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a family of long-range, mid-size, twin-engine jet airliners that can seat 242 to 335 passengers

Until last Junes tragic Air India crash, Boeings 787 Dreamliner had an exemplary safety record with no fatalities or hull losses. Last year, the aircraft celebrated carrying its billionth passenger, despite launching just 14 years ago. And investigation into the Air India crash found no evidence of a Boeing fault.

WORLDS SAFEST AIRLINES

The worlds safest airlines were revealed by Airlineratings.com, the only airline safety and product rating website. Each year, the site ranks the top 25 safest legacy and low-cost airlines out of 385 worldwide, based on fleet age, incident rates in the past five years, fatal crashes in the past ten years, pilot-related incidents and international safety audits. Airlines that meet all the safety criteria are awarded a full seven-star safety rating.

Top 25 safest legacy airlines

1. Air New Zealand

Topping the list for legacy airlines in 2025 is Air New Zealand, which is renowned for its high safety standards, quality pilot training and young modern fleet. The flag carrier also took the crown in 2022 and 2024, with Australian airline Qantas winning in 2023.

Only 1.5 points separated the top two airlines, said Airlineratings.com CEO Sharon Petersen. Air New Zealands younger fleet gave it the edge over Qantas.

The airline has a perfect seven-star safety rating from Airlineratings.com.

2. Qantas

Australias flag carrier Qantas is the worlds second safest airline. Since launching in 1920, Qantas has seen zero fatal jet accidents, has an impressive safety management system and encourages staff to report safety concerns. Widely recognised as the worlds largest long-distance airline, it is the only airline serving all seven continents. It also earns a full seven-star safety rating.

3. Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Qatar Airways

Tied in third place are three aviation heavyweights  Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Qatar Airways  all with a seven-star safety rating. We simply could not separate these airlines, said Petersen. From fleet age to pilot skill, safety practices, fleet size and number of incidents, their scores were identical.

Hong Kongs Cathay Pacific sets the bar with its famously rigorous cabin crew training. Emirates has robust emergency response plans and a fleet averaging 11 years. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways  eight-time winner of the Worlds Best Airline by the World Airline Awards  pairs its luxury reputation with diligent aircraft maintenance protocols.

4. Virgin Australia

Down one place from 2024, Virgin Australia is the worlds fourth safest airline. In June of that year, one of its pilots made an emergency landing following a suspected bird strike during a flight from Queenstown, New Zealand, to Melbourne, Australia. All 67 passengers and six crew members emerged physically unharmed from the incident. The airline has a full seven-star safety score.

5. Etihad Airways

Etihad, launched in 2003, maintains an exemplary safety record with no fatal accidents to date. In April last year, the airline joined IATAs Turbulence Aware programme, using data from its 100 Airbus and Boeing aircraft to help pilots avoid rough air. It earned a perfect seven-star safety score.

6. ANA (All Nippon Airways)

ANA also achieved a full seven-point rating. The Japanese carrier has had no serious pilot incidents in the past five years, no fatal accidents in the past decade and has cleared all major audits.

7. EVA Air

Ranking seventh, Taiwan-based EVA Air has established itself as one of Asias top airlines. This marked the airlines 12th consecutive year of earning a place among the global ratings for the safest airlines worldwide.

It scores seven out of seven for safety, with no major pilot incidents in five years, no fatal crashes in ten years, and a clean record in all major audits.

8. Korean Air

Korean Airs safety record has significantly improved in recent years, moving from one of the worlds most dangerous airlines to 2025s eighth safest airline. In the late 1990s, the airline was known as an industry pariah, notorious for fatal crashes due to a poor safety record. It scores a full seven marks for safety in the ranking.

9. Alaska Airlines

Coming ninth worldwide, Alaska Airlines is also the safest major US carrier. The airline has recently made significant changes in oversight, training and quality control after an incident in January 2024. The event led to the airline temporarily grounding its Boeing 737-9 Max fleet after a critical door plug detached mid-flight from Portland to Ontario in California. Airlineratings.com now scores it seven out of seven for safety.

10. Turkish Airlines

Rounding off the top 10 is Turkish Airlines which earns a perfect seven-star safety rating and the title of Europes safest airline.

Completing the top 25 ranking is TAP Portugal (11th), Hawaiian Airlines (12th), American Airlines (13th), SAS (14th), British Airways (15th), Iberia (16th), Finnair (17th), Lufthansa/Swiss (18th), JAL (19th), Air Canada (20th), Delta Airlines (21st), Vietnam Airlines (22nd) and United Airlines (23rd).

Top 25 safest budget airlines

1. Hong Kong Express

The safest low-cost airline is Hong Kong Express, with a seven-star safety score. The carrier serves 27 destinations across Asia including China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Although a budget airline, the company has a strong safety record, without a single fatality or hull loss incident. It also invests in regular fleet maintenance and updates.

2. Jetstar Group

Launched in Australia in 2004, Jetstar Group is the worlds second-safest budget airline according to the ranking. Jetstar-branded carriers operate more than 5,000 flights a week to more than 85 destinations. The group was awarded a full seven-star safety rating in the report.

3. Ryanair

Ryanair completes the top three with a seven-star safety rating while transporting 200million passengers a year. CEO Michael OLeary says that the Irish carrier inspects all new Boeing jets due to manufacturing concerns from past issues. While Boeing hasnt been implicated in last year's Air India crash, OLeary keeps a 30-engineer team overseeing US production.

4. EasyJet

Claiming fourth place is UK-based EasyJet, the UKs largest airline by fleet size, daily flights, and passenger volume  carrying nearly 89.7million travellers in 2024, according to Statista. The airline maintains a perfect seven-star safety score and a very low serious incident rate.

5. Frontier Airlines

Fifth is Americas ultra-low-cost Frontier Airlines, with its fleet of modern, fuel-efficient planes. As well as a seven-star safety rating from Airlineratings.com, the carrier has been commended by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its commitment to maintaining, training and safety. The recognition came because 100 per cent of its eligible maintenance technicians have completed the FAAs safety training courses.

6. AirAsia

In 2025, AirAsia upheld its seven-star safety rating from 2024. The AirAsia Group has a long history of safety issues including a 2014 high-altitude stall that led to a sea crash and a 2017 engine failure. But it has since earned an excellent safety record and passed all major safety audits.

7. Wizz Air

Despite dropping three places from 2024, seventh-place Wizz Air maintained its seven-star safety rating. This is partly thanks to its modern fleet of 207 Airbus A320s which has an average age of less than 4.2 years. The Hungarian carrier, which took to the skies in 2004, is centred around no-frills travel at the lowest possible prices, sustainability and safety.

8. VietJet Air

This Vietnamese international low-cost airline, with a seven-star safety score, primarily flies within Asia covering Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, with some direct routes to Australia and one to New Zealand launching in September. In May 2025, a VietJet Air flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam skidded off the runway during landing, damaging two rear tyres after striking a runway edge light. This could affect the airlines safety performance.

9. Southwest Airlines

With a seven-star safety score, Southwest Airlines centres its operations in Texas, US. It marks a positive turnaround following a series of incidents in 2024 including a flight that came within 400ft (122m) of the ocean off Hawaii in April and a plane flying at very low altitude over Floridas Tampa Bay in July. These prompted a safety review by the US Federal Aviation Administration which did not identify any significant safety issues. The airline has an all-Boeing 737 fleet of just over 800 jets with an average age of 11 years, flying within the US and to ten other countries including Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico.

10. Volaris

Mexicos low-cost airline Volaris, also with a seven-star safety rating, offers flights throughout Mexico as well as routes to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. In February, an Airbus A321neo faced a mid-air scare when crew heard an engine fire alarm moments after take-off from Hermosillo, Mexico. However, the aircraft swiftly executed a safe return, averting disaster with no casualties.

Completing the top 25 ranking is Flydubai (11th), Norwegian (12th), Vueling (13th), Jet2 (14th), Sun Country Airlines (15th), WestJet (16th), JetBlue Airways (17th), Air Arabia (18th), IndiGo (19th), Eurowings (20th), Allegiant Air (21st), Cebu Pacific (22nd), Zipair (23rd), SKY Airline (24th) and Air Baltic (25th).
More than a quarter of a million households are living under some of the worst aircraft noise in Britain, a shocking study has revealed - and experts warn the misery may only just be beginning.

The Daily Mail has ranked every postcode district in England, Scotland and Wales by aircraft noise exposure, exposing the areas where residents suffer the greatest 'flight blight'.

The findings paint a grim picture for thousands of families living beneath Britain's busiest flight paths, with South London's Kennington named the single worst-affected district in the country, scoring a dire 0.6 out of 100.

And the capital dominates our list of the 250 worst-hit postcodes, with eight of the top 10 districts in London.

The blight, however, stretches far beyond the M25 with the Manchester Airport corridor among the worst affected. Even seemingly tranquil rural areas in Oxfordshire, Surrey and Essex make the list.

The analysis, carried out by My Flight Path for the Daily Mail, comes as Britain's airports handled a record 302 million passenger journeys in 2025 - the highest figure ever recorded.

At the same time, major expansion plans at Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and a number of regional airports could unleash an extra 600,000 flights a year into UK skies.

Experts say that means communities already suffering the worst aircraft noise in the country may be facing an even bleaker future.

Your browser does not support iframes.

A plane flies low over homes in south London on its approach to Heathrow Airport. Postcodes in Southall and Staines were ranked among the worst affected

Kennington in London was named the single worst-affected district in the country for aircraft noise, scoring a dire 0.6 out of 100

Jono Oates, co-founder at My Flight Path said: 'With UK airports on course to handle hundreds of thousands more flights per year, the communities at the bottom of our rankings face the prospect of conditions deteriorating significantly.

'What's already the worst aircraft noise in Britain could get meaningfully worse.

'The record passenger numbers we saw in 2025 are not a blip - they reflect the structural growth of aviation.

'That growth has a geography and the people living beneath it deserve to know what they're dealing with and what's likely coming.'

Using millions of aviation data points, researchers produced a Flight Blight Rating from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating worse exposure.

Every one of the 250 lowest-ranked postcode districts was classed as 'critical' - the most severe category.

Each scored 17 out of 100 or lower, compared with a national average of 61.

Eight of the worst areas were recorded in London with the SE11 postcode of Kennington and Vauxhall in London scoring just 0.6.

SW18 in Wandsworth scored 0.7, SE24 in Herne Hill scored 0.8 and well-heeled SW5 - West Brompton and Earls Court - registered 0.8.

All sit under Heathrow's intensely busy flight path.

Affluent Cheadle in Cheshire - which has the SK8 postcode - was the worst ranked area outside of the capital, scoring 1.0 for flight blight caused by Manchester airport.

The BS10 postcode for Brentry and Southmead in north Bristol scored 1.1, while OX49 - for Watlington in Oxfordshire - scored 1.1.

Planes come into land on Myrtle Avenue in Feltham which is located right next to Heathrow Airport

Postcodes located close to Gatwick Airport were also badly affected, including RH7 in Lingfield, Surrey. Pictured: A plane comes into land over nearby Shipley Bridge

Other critical flight blight postcodes included RH7 in Lingfield, Surrey (1.2) - which lies on the Gatwick flight path - and CM23 in Bishop's Stortford, Herts (1.3) near Stansted.

Luton North - LU2 - received a rating of just 1.4 for its proximity to the town's airport. While the B26 postcode for Sheldon and Yardley, in the West Midlands, is the most affected area for flight traffic to and from Birmingham (1.5).

Families living under flight paths face tens of thousands of pounds being wiped off the value of their home.

Research suggests property values decrease by half a percent for every decibel of aircraft noise above ambient levels of 40 to 45dBA. A 10 per cent increase in decibels could equate to a 6 per cent drop in property prices.

Thamesmead, east London, is earmarked for 15,000 homes. However, because it is directly in line with City Airport's runway, homeowners risk losing between 70,000 and 84,000 on a 350,000 property.

Mr Oates said: 'For homes under busy flight paths, where noise exposure is consistently elevated, that can equate to a 9-12 per cent reduction in property value - tens of thousands of pounds off a typical UK home.'

The company, which provides detailed flight path analysis to prospective house-buyers similar to flood risk surveys, said those living under flight paths not only face noise irritation and potential falls in property value but also health issues.

Mr Oates said: 'Significant evidence links chronic aircraft noise exposure to serious health consequences.

Cheadle in Cheshire was ranked the worst area for airport noise outside of London

'One recently published study found that significant noise increases - of the kind experienced in communities beneath busy flight paths - were associated with a 12.4 per cent increase in stroke incidents, even after accounting for air pollution.

'The World Health Organisation has ranked environmental noise, with aviation prominent among its sources, as one of the top public health risks after air quality.

'Researchers have established that aircraft noise uniquely fragments sleep cycles, triggering hormonal stress responses and sustained cardiovascular strain.'

'For the communities at the top of our rankings - Kennington, Peckham, Wandsworth, Southall - this is not a theoretical concern. It is a nightly reality.'

Of the worst-affected 250 postcodes, 233 (93 per cent) are within 25km of a major commercial airport.

Holding patterns, approach paths, and departure routes extend 15 to 25km from airport runways, and aircraft in these zones are typically between 2,000ft and 15,000ft.

Seventeen postcodes in the 250 are more than 25km from any major commercial airport.

Six are near military bases, four are near busy flying schools, five are under extended aircraft approach 'corridors' and two postcodes are affected by multiple sources.

Following government approval of Heathrow's 49 billion third runway expansion and with Gatwick, Luton and Stansted finalising their own, the UK's total annual flight movements could rise from 2.7 million to 3.3 million.

The Daily Mail previously revealed how families lured into Labour's flagship New Towns could find themselves living under a relentless barrage of aircraft noise.

The government's 12 proposed locations for tens of thousands of new homes found 11 are sitting beneath intense flight paths, with noise levels comparable to leaf blowers, diesel lorries and vacuum cleaners.

Two of the sites - in West Yorkshire and in south-east London - will rank among the most flight-blighted places to live in the country.

The warning comes as airports across the UK push for expansion and later operating hours.

Leeds Bradford Airport was used by 4.24 million passengers in 2024, up by 5.8 per cent on 2023.

The number of flights has increased in that period by 6.2 per cent, with an average 87 per day.

Currently the airport is permitted 2,920 take-offs and landings between 11.00pm and 7.00pm during the summer.

But owners Aena have repeatedly pushed for the cap to be amended to allow more night flights.
War in the Middle East has disrupted travel across the region - cancelling flights, closing airports and causing uncertainty.

But, it has also wreaked havoc for important life events too, including one bride's big day in Dubai.

Surabhi Bhatnagar, 33, from north west London, and Jake Richardson, 36, were set to enjoy an extravagant two-day Indian celebration over the Easter weekend at the Hilton Hotel Al Habtoor City.

Her British-Indian family had moved to the UAE city a few years ago and, with her mother and sister based there, it made sense for the couple to choose the city for their destination wedding.

However, as the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran continues, they made the difficult decision to call off their plans and notify their 200 guests.

Surabhi, who works in film production, tells the Daily Mail, 'I spent a lot of time crying that week.

'We felt better having made that decision, it's incredibly frustrating that it's happened this way but I'm very aware of the fact that what's happening around the world is a lot bigger than my wedding.'

The bride emphasises how she didn't 'want to put anyone in a position to pick between their safety and coming to our wedding'.

Couple Surabhi Bhatnagar and Jake Richardson had an extravagant two-day wedding planned in Dubai

The couple decided to call off their big plans as the situation in the Middle East continues, and many of their guests are having issues with flight refunds

Surabhi and her husband had booked flights with British Airways, who cancelled the journey and gave full refunds.

However, 150 guests were set to fly in to join another 50 Dubai locals, and not everyone has been lucky with getting their money back.

'I know a lot of our guests booked Emirates and they've had a bit of a struggle because I think Emirates, until last week, was only offering refunds on their flights until March 31st,' she says.

The couple kept this in mind before cancelling the wedding to try and ensure all of their guests were able to get their money back.

'I think now Emirates is giving refunds until the end of April, but it's just that a lot of our guests have booked with travel agents, so they are experiencing some issues with travel agents. It's not so easy as going onto their website and asking for a refund,' Surabhi explains.

One of the guests who booked with Emirates is Deepak Tailor, 38, from London.

The founder of consumer finance site LatestFreeStuff.co.uk was ready to jet off to Dubai for Surabhi and Jake's big day until the conflict kicked off.

He was supposed to fly with Emirates on April 1st and nervously waited until the airline cancelled the flight and offered a refund.

Wedding guest Deepak Tailor, 38, was ready to jet off to Dubai for Surabhi and Jake's big celebrations until the conflict kicked off

'We obviously were a bit concerned for quite a while, we didn't feel like it was very safe,' Deepak adds, noting the UK Government was advising against all but essential travel.

'Obviously this wasn't really essential travel, for a family friend's wedding,' he says.

The Londoner had different hotels booked for the trip and is in the process of getting his money back.

'Some of them were free cancelation, some of them weren't,' Deepak explains. 'So we're going to have to maybe claim for insurance for some of them.'

All of the guests are disappointed about the situation and were excited for the chance to bring everyone together.

'I think we were all looking forward to just going out there,' Deepak says. 'It would have been a good kind of trip for the whole family and friends to get together.'

The businessman describes how it 'came as a bit of a shock' and expresses how 'everyone's a bit sad we've had to cancel everything'.

For now, Surabhi and Jake plan to wait and see what the situation looks like later in the year and hope to rearrange the celebrations for October.

Fortunately for Surabhi and Jake, the hotel hosting all of their guests and events - Hilton Hotel Al Habtoor City - has been 'incredibly understanding' about the situation

They had their civil ceremony in the UK back in December and intended for Dubai to be the destination for their religious wedding.

Fortunately for Surabhi and Jake, the hotel hosting all of their guests and events has been 'incredibly understanding' about the situation.

'They basically told us that we had up to 12 months to delay the wedding after you paid for everything, 12 months to transfer all the credit to a different date,' the bride says.

The couple are also in the process of working with the hotel to get 'some money back' for their guests who have booked rooms directly, so they have flexibility when it comes to rebooking when the wedding hopefully goes ahead.

Surabhi feels they have been 'lucky with the hotel' after spending a 'big chunk' of their wedding budget on the events and catering there.

But due to the nature of the plans, 'there will be some cancellations,' she adds.

'Maybe some vendors that won't be available on the new date, or because we had to cancel the wedding so last minute there will be some cost to delaying the wedding which we wouldn't have accounted for before'.

She adds, 'So we're aware that our budget has gone up, but until we know what that amount is, yet or not. We don't know.'
It was the start of Homestay Week in the experiment on Monday's episode of Married At First Sight.

And feisty bride Gia Fleur turned out to be the house guest from Hell for groom Scott McCristal, 32, leading to more tension in the already shaky relationship.

After entering the businessman's spotless waterside pad on Queensland's Gold Coast, the 35-year-old unleashed a string of complaints.

From Scott's decorating choices to his standard of cleanliness, the nightmare bride was relentless in her criticism.

But it was the discovery of a pink neck pillow in Scott's massive walk-in wardrobe that led to an uneasy homestay for the pair.

Gia became instantly suspicious of Scott's earlier claim that he had never hosted a female in his sprawling home after finding the travel accessory.

Gia Fleur (pictured) turned out to be the house guest from Hell for groom Scott McCristal, leading to more tension in the already shaky relationship

After entering the businessman's spotless waterside pad on Queensland's Gold Coast, the 35-year-old unleashed a string of complaints. Pictured: Scott

Questioning its colour, Gia later termed the neck pillow as a 'woman thing'.

At one point, she asked Scott point-blank whether it belonged to 'his ex'.

As the show kicked off, Scott expressed his excitement and enthusiasm to welcome his bride to sunny Queensland.

But Gia quickly killed the mood as soon as she walked into his house, calling it 'messy' and attacking Scott's standard of cleanliness.

'I'd be lying if I didn't say I was coming in looking for a problem or something to have a problem about - that's just what women do,' she said in her confessional.

Appearing uneasy about Gia's negative attitude, Scott told producers: 'If the roles were reversed and I was at Gia's house, I would only say nice things - end of story.'

But it was the drama over the neck pillow, which Scott said was a gift from friends, that led the couple to deal with deeper issues in their stormy pairing.

'Do you fully 100 per cent trust me?' Scott asked Gia after a tension-filled couple of days.

Join the discussion Do YOU think Gia overreacted or is Scott in the wrong?

It was the discovery of a pink neck pillow in Scott's massive walk-in wardrobe that led to an uneasy homestay for the pair

Questioning its colour, Gia later termed the neck pillow as a 'woman thing'. At one point, she asked Scott point-blank whether it belonged to 'his ex'

Gia said she did not 'understand' the question, which led Scott back to the neck pillow saga and his feeling that the relationship was full of 'suspicion'.

Appearing frustrated, Gia then told him: 'Put yourself in my shoes to see how it might look, as an outsider coming into your home. You have said you've never had a woman in your place, and you have a woman's (item).

'From my point of view, it looked a certain way.'

A clearly rattled Scott then aired his unease over his bride's notoriously hot temperament.

'Sometimes I feel I'm walking on eggshells because you might misinterpret [my comments] the wrong way and get defensive.'

A clearly unimpressed Gia replied: 'Thanks, Scott, I don't really want to argue today.'

Scott admitted that he was not sure he and Gia had a future due to the constant drama, and confessed he had not made a final decision on their relationship.
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

Cat Deeley has cemented her fashionista status, this week taking to This Morning in one of the biggest trends for spring - and we've found the exact blouse, and a series of alternative, that are still in stock.

The ITV daytime show sees the 49-year-old interview a range of celebrity guests and familiar faces during the week alongside her co-host Ben Shephard, 50.

And this week, she started the week off with a chic look for her time in front of the camera, taking to Instagram to share details of her outfit for fans.

She sported a baby pink blouse, which has proven popular and almost sold out, paired with some jeans and a pair of summer-ready open-toed heels.

The 100% cotton shirt is one of the silhouettes fashionistas are saying will be popular this spring, so it's lucky for fans that the original look is still available to purchase, albeit only in a few sizes.

And there's also a lower-budget alternative out there for savyy shoppers to get their hands on if they're looking to copy Cat's look.

The Boden Ruffle Cotton Shirt is made from cotton, but is also machine washable making it an easy everyday piece now the sun is shining.

The straight-fitting blouse is designed to fall between the waist and hip, with the brand opting to showcase it tucked into jeans for a flattering body-hugging fit.

It has been selling quickly, and is now only available in sizes 18 and 20 - costing 65 but available for 15% off with a discount code offered to buyers before checkout.

It's also racked up dozens of positive reviews from happy customers, who have described it as the 'perfect blouse' and a 'fun' twist on a classic shirt.

If you're looking for other sizes, or a cheaper alternative, luckily there are other brands stocking their own version of the frilled pink blouse.

Among the brands is high street staple H&M, who are selling their frill-trimmed poplin blouse in two different pink tones, one block and one striped.

The shirt, priced at 19.99, is already sold out in the size small extra large, but is still available in XXS, XS, M, L and XXL.

It featured darting along the back of the shirt to taper it to the waist, with a band collar and frill trim that continues down the button band.

Crew Clothing are also stocking their own version of the blouse, and their frill-neck cord blouse is currently on sale from 59 down to 35.

Available in all sizes from 6 to 18, the 100% cotton look features frills that run around the neckline, down the button line and around the sleeves.

It comes after Cat wore one of spring's other biggest fashion trends on This Morning - sporting a polka-dotted blouse, which she paired with jeans and boots.

The 100% silk shirt is one of the silhouettes fashionistas are saying is back in this spring, so it's lucky for fans that the original look is still available to purchase.

While it's a little more on the expensive side, there's also a lower-budget alternative out there for savvy shoppers to get their hands on.

Cat was seen posing on her social media in the Boden Sara Silk Shirt, which comes in a variety of colours including the chic beige and blue she opted for.

The 100% silk garment is available in a huge range of sizes, from 4 to 22, and is still available in both petite and regular length, with 'long' now sold out.

Described as 'the top equivalent of an LBD' and a 'real classic' the shirt is designed to fall just above the hip.

It's priced at 139 - and aside from the popular polka-dotted pattern.

A similar shirt is available to purchase at Marks and Spencer - their Printed Collared Shirt comes in a cream and light brown variety.

Stocking in sizes 6 to 20 - the shirt is currently priced at 26, and is also available in both petite and regular varieties to fit a range of body types.

Cat paired her look with some jeans from Donna Ida, a London denim-based fashion brand - which are currently on sale online for 245.

The Minnie style jean, which has a signature wide-leg flared style, features patch front pockets and a statement A-line leg.

There is a single pocket on the back of the jean, as well as side-fastening hardware to pull the trousers in at the waistline.

The jeans are currently available in waist sizes 23 to 34, and in a variety of different shades of blue, white and grey.

For those looking for an alternative on a budget, Marks and Spencers are also stocking a wide-leg jean - for just 55.

The Autograph look is available in sizes 10 to 24, and comes in short, regular and long to fit wearers leg length.

It comes after Alison Hammond took to This Morning in an on-trend denim dress.

Luckily for fans, while the original dress is quickly selling out quickly online on both the Monsoon and Marks and Spencer's sites, there are other alternatives also available to wear.

From other M&S looks to River Island, we've got the rundown of similar styles that will keep you on trend like Alison's look.

The Monsoon Erin Zip Denim Midi Dress in denim blue is currently priced at 59.50 on their website - and available to buy in all sizes from 8 through to 24.

The website describes it as 'capsule wardrobe-worthy', adding: 'Primed for wearing the whole year round, this denim midi dress is designed with a long zip on the bodice and three-quarter sleeves that allow you to show off your wrist-stack.

'Dipped in a dark wash, it's complete with two oversized pockets and a flowy mid-length hem.'

The dress, which is made from 92 per cent cotton, is also available for 85 on the M&S website, but is only available in sizes 8 and 22 where it has been selling out fast.

It's been met with a series of rave reviews from fans who have already purchased the number, who have called it 'flattering and high quality'.

One shopper revealed: 'Generous fit, lovely A-line shape. Really recommend. A touch of stretch too helps it fit nicely and pockets are a bonus!'

Another agreed: 'Beautiful dress this is now my second denim dress from Monsoon. Has some stretch so true to size.'

Meanwhile, Next are also stocking a midi denim dress - this time with a belted middle to cinch the waist and create an hourglass silhoutte.

The Love & Roses Rinse Blue Denim Lace Trim Midi Dress is priced at 64, and is available to buy in sizes 8, 10, 14, 16, 18 and 22.

One happy shopper said after purchasing the item: 'This is a lovely denim dress, the fabric is not stiff, it falls beautifully.

'The poppers hold securely and there is no gaping in the chest area. I get lots of compliments when I wear it.'

River Island have also hopped on the trend, with their Blue Denim Short Sleeve Seamed Midi Dress - which is priced at 22.

The number is still available in sizes 8 to 16, with only low stock left in a size 22.

It comes after Cat Deeley took to This Morning in a chic full length skirt in a popular animal print design that quickly began flying off the shelves.

The Mint Velvet skirt, which is now sold out in all sizes on the John Lewis site, is still available to buy for 99 on the Next website.

The machine-washable skirt, which is made from polyester, features a neutral tone animal print design, with a high waistband and A-line design.

While it's selling out quickly, the skirt is still available in sizes 6, 12, 14, and 16.

Elsewhere, New Look currently have a mega 69% price reduction on their animal printed midi skirt, which features a brown printed design.

It's selling quickly, only left in a size 6 and 26, but is at a bargain price of 9.

ASOS are also stocking a version of the skirt, a Miss Selfridge design, and on sale from 27.99, down to 23.79.

Available in sizes 4 and 6, the machine washable fashion item features a high-rise cut, with an elasticated waistband for comfort.

The Crew Clothing company's Rowen Satin Slip Midi Skirt in Brown Leopard Print, is still in stock in size 16.

Priced at 35, the skirt is also currently on sale, down from 59.

The silky, elegant skirt features a flattering A-line cut, with an elastic waist for comfort - with the website detailing it as 'perfect for heels of flats'.

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
A 'powerful' true crime documentary that follows the real-life story of a woman murdered by her obsessed flat mate will hit screens on ITV tonight.

The programme, which airs at 9pm today, March 24, will let viewers listen in to the chilling 999 call made by the killer, pretending to have found her dead at home.

WhatsApp Obsession: The Murder of Stephanie Hansen will document the events leading up to the tragic murder of Stephanie, who was killed in 2022 at the age of 39.

Stephanie had been stabbed to death in her west London home and while her housemate Sheldon Rodrigues appeared devastated, he was hiding a sinister secret which would unlock the murder case.

ITV teased: 'Behind his facade lay a chilling obsession. In the months before Stephanie's death, Rodrigues planted secret cameras and recording devices in their home and bombarded her with coercive WhatsApp messages.

'When Stephanie began a new relationship, his obsession turned deadly.'

A 'powerful' true crime documentary that follows the real-life story of a woman murdered by her obsessed flatmate will hit screens on ITV tonight

WhatsApp Obsession: The Murder of Stephanie Hansen will document the events leading up to the tragic murder of Stephanie, who was killed in 2022 at the age of 39

Rodrigues killed Stephanie in Hayes, London, after she rejected his advances following seven years of fixation, even offering to undergo surgery to change his appearance in order to win over her affection.

He launched into an attack after he learned through a hidden listening device that she had a partner - having concealed audio recorders in a television to track her movements in her home and spy on her conversations.

During the trial, jurors were told that Rodrigues had spent 158 hours to listening back to the audio he'd captured of Stephanie.

He had overhead that her boyfriend had called round to the house while working a night shift for a cargo firm near Heathrow airport and, on his return, assaulted Stephanie in her bedroom.

She was recorded to have 60 distinct injuries, including knife wounds to her neck and trauma inflicted to her body and face by a hairdryer and a large pan.

A chilling 999 call will play out as part of the action, in which Rodrigues is heard telling operators: 'Can you help me please? I've just found my housemate dead.'

Rodrigues denied the murder charges and insisted that he had installed the recording equipment in the home for Stephanie's safety.

Stephanie had been stabbed to death in her west London home by her housemate, Sheldon Rodrigues - who pretended to have found Stephanie dead

However, in 2024, he was convicted of murdering Stephanie and was dished out a life sentence last year, with a minimum sentence of 25 years.

It comes after ITV dropped a first look at Daniel Mays playing the 'Black Cab Rapist' John Worboys ahead of the release of their 'disturbing' new drama series.

Believe Me tells the story of how the victims of the prolific sex attacker, who preyed on women while working as a licensed taxi-cab driver, were failed by the system.

The convicted serial sex offender would pick up women in his cab after nights out, claiming that he'd had a win at a casino or the lottery, and then offer them a drug-laced glass of champagne to 'celebrate' to render victims unconscious.

Worboys was convicted in 2009 for a series of crimes including sexual assault and drugging with intent against twelve women in incidents from 2006 to 2008.

The drama focuses on victims Sarah, played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards, and Laila, portrayed by Aasiya Shah, who reported assaults by Worboys.

It will follow how the Metropolitan Police failed to investigate the allegations thoroughly while Worboys, portrayed in the drama by Lynley actor Daniel, continued to prey on women.

ITV has dropped a first look at Daniel Mays playing the 'Black Cab Rapist' John Worboys ahead of the release of their 'disturbing' new drama series

A first look image shows Daniel in the cab pulling a sinister expression in his role as Worboys, who was later linked to allegations of offences from over a hundred women.

The cast will also feature Phillippa Dunne as solicitor Harriet Wistrich, and Rachael Stirling as Phillippa Kaufmann QC - who sued the Met Police under the Human Rights Act for their failure to conduct investigations properly.

It comes after it was revealed that Carrie Johnson will be portrayed in a forthcoming true crime drama about serial rapist Worboys nearly two decades after she was spiked in his London taxi.

The wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be played by Industry actress Miriam Petche in ITV's new programme, recalling the harrowing incident which happened in 2007 when she was just 19 years old.

Speaking about the forthcoming drama titled Believe Me, Mrs Johnson said she hopes it 'serves as a wake-up call' to the 'police, the CPS and the parole board.'

'Far too often, women and girls are failed by the very institutions meant to protect them,' she said.

'The treatment of the victims in this case was truly shameful. Reform matters but what we urgently need above all is a profound shift in culture.

'It takes enormous courage for women to come forward. They must know that when they do, they will be treated seriously and with respect, and that every effort will be made to ensure justice is done.'

Believe Me tells the story of how the victims of prolific sex attacker Worboys (pictured)

Mrs Johnson, 37, is believed to have been the prolific sex offender's youngest target when he picked her up after a night out on the King's Road and plied her with spiked vodka.

Now her ordeal will be dramatized in the new show, which will see acclaimed actor Daniel Mays play Worboys, who became known as the Black Cab Rapist.

Written by Jeff Pope and expected to air later this spring, it will also feature Slow Horses actress Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Sarah, another of Worboys victims, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.

Believe Me is about the courage of every woman who came forward to help put John Worboys behind bars, said Sarah.

What happened to me changed my life, but in many ways the hardest part was not being believed for so many years.

Without the people who stood by me, Worboys would have been freed and continued to pose a huge risk to women.

She added: Seeking justice shouldnt mean more trauma. We shouldnt have to fight to be believed or feel like were the ones on trial. The shame never belongs to the survivor.

The media consultant and charity advisor, who has four children with the former Conservative Prime Minister, was in her first year at Warwick University when the terrifying incident took place.

She was waiting at a bus stop in west London after a night out with friends when Worboys offered to take her home for just 5, professing to live just around the corner.

He proceeded to tell her that he had won some money at a casino and offered her a glass of champagne to celebrate, which she promptly poured away when he wasn't looking.

'Had he asked if I had wanted a drink, I would have politely declined but instead he asked: 'Will you celebrate with me?' This was much harder to refuse. It would have felt rude to say no,' she said in 2018.

'So I agreed and he handed me a glass. I was young and didn't really like the taste of alcohol, but I didn't want to offend him.

'While he wasn't looking, I poured the contents onto the cab floor. Never for a second did I suspect it was spiked.'

He then stopped the cab under the pretence of needing to go to the toilet and was gone for 10 minutes, which Mrs Johnson later realised was him stalling for the drugs to kick in.

When he realised that they hadn't, he moved into the back of the cab and pressured her into having a shot of vodka, which she begrudgingly agreed to.

'After I drank the vodka I can hardly remember a thing. I don't remember if he got back into the front of the cab straight away or not,' she said.

'I think he did. I hope more than anything that he did.'

She made it home and then collapsed 'like a rag doll' in front of her mother, then 'crawled into the bathroom and became very sick,' with her 'head spinning so much that I told my mother I wanted to die.'

It wasn't until six months later, when Mrs Johnson read that a black cab driver has been arrested, accused of raping numerous women that she 'froze' and 'knew it was him.'

She said: 'I feel I would know if Worboys had raped me that night. I'd have flashbacks or there would have been horrendous tell-tale signs when I woke the next day.

'But I will never truly know for sure what happened after he drugged me.'

Mrs Johnson was one of nearly 100 women who came forward to the police and one of 14 who was selected to go to court to testify, deciding to waive her anonymity.

Worboys, now known as John Radford, was convicted in 2009 for attacks on 12 women and in 2019 he was convicted again for a further four attacks.

The four further victims came forward following a public outcry when a Parole Board ruled he was safe to be freed.

WhatsApp Obsession: The Murder of Stephanie Hansen will air on ITV and ITVX tonight (March 24) at 9pm
Katie Price has claimed that the Good Morning Britain interview she took part in last Monday did NOT go to plan at all as it was 'serious' and went 'too quick'.

The former glamour model, 47, appeared on the sofa earlier this month (16 March) to set a few things straight in a tell-all chat.

Katie hit back saying 'you can't really know anyone' as she was quizzed live on GMB over 'concerningly quick' marriage to Lee Andrews, insisted that her husband DOES have a PhD, and confirmed that she is 'healthy' after Susanna admitted that she's 'concerned for her weight'.

In a new vlog on her YouTube channel, talking straight after being live on air, the mum-of-five opened up about how she felt about the interview.

Katie said to the camera: 'Oh my god, I was sitting there and they are trying to be serious, and I'm trying to be all happy and breezy and they're like...

'"Well don't you think that...?" "Well, no, not really!"

Katie Price has claimed that the Good Morning Britain interview she took part in last Monday did NOT go to plan at all as it was 'serious' and went 'too quick'

The former glamour model, 47, appeared on the sofa earlier this month (16 March) to set a few things straight in a tell-all chat

'Well they're trying to be really serious, which is cool, they can do it. But it went so quick! I didn't even feel I answered anything!

'I only felt like I was on there for a minute!

'Like that... bombard, bombard, bombard. I'm like "Yeah, yeah, and this, and this, and this!'

The person filming Katie asked if she could remember what they asked.

Rolling her eyes, she replied: 'They asked about my weight.'

She continued: 'They asked "Do I think it's too quick, what do my family and friends all think, the PhD!

'I said no, he hasn't got it in Cambridge, it's somewhere else in Spain.'

Katie married businessman Lee at the One&Only Royal Mirage hotel in Dubai in January, leaving her family, including her mother Amy Price 'traumatised' - and fans concerned that she 'didn't know' who she was marrying.

However, the media personality took to the ITV daytime show last Monday to hit back against critics, insisting she was 'happy' and that she can 'make her own decisions'.

Susanna opened up the chat by admitting that she would be 'concerned' if she was a friend of the mother-of-five knowing she had married a man she had just met, explaining: 'If you were a friend of mine... I think I would be concerned about you.

'I'm not sure you've had time to get to know the person to whom you are now married, so why the whirlwind?'

Hitting back against the presenter, Katie began: 'Do you ever really know anyone? If you look at my past marriages, did I ever know they would be what they would be. Sometimes I don't think you can ever know who anyone is...

'For me, I've gone through so much, so many different relationships, and I normally went from one to the other... before I've always been in toxic, coercive, controlling, mental abuse, physical abuse relationships.

'Now, I now know the signs of red flags and I am older, I can make my own decisions and there's nothing to say that you have to wait for anything.

'It's hard for anyone to understand. It just feels so right, I've only been in love twice before that, with Dane Bowers and Peter [Andre].

'With Lee, it's so different to every other relationship, and it works for me.'

As Susanna tried to chime in with more questions, Katie continued: 'Every relationship I've had I've met them, they've met the kids and moved in and they are just in my space and I want to have time for me to do things for me.

'It works very well, he lives in Dubai - when I've got the kids, I've got the kids and when I haven't, then I can see him, and it just works well for me.'

Katie confirmed that Lee was still yet to 'meet the family and the kids' in person, clarifying: 'They have all seen him on FaceTime.

'For me to introduce him to the kids, I won't be introducing them to him yet because I want to get to know him more myself.

'We speak every single day, we FaceTime all the time, people can meet people across the world like on Facebook, or in the olden days they used to write love letters to each other and nobody knocked that, but because it's me and the way I do things...

'I've seen what I want to see, I am so happy, people shouldn't underestimate me and my decisions, I'm older, I've learned a lot and it feels right for me, I'm happy.

'I just want people to be happy for me.'

Asked whether it mattered what people thought of her marriage, Katie concluded: 'I find it so disrespectful that I've chosen a man I want to be with and people have all these views.

'I've had myself, I'm used to it, speculation and hearsay and people saying stuff about me... I know what I know about Lee and they should never underestimate.

'Now, I want to get to know him and he wants to get to know me, and nobody will ever understand me and how I do things. I am so happy. Let people give us a chance.'

Since announcing their marriage, Lee has been accused of being a 'scammer' amid a host of boasts about his life, including his statement that he is a millionaire businessman with a PHD from Cambridge University and links to Elon Musk.

Last week, he took to Instagram to make further claims about his life, including a post about be coming a 'future trillionaire', detailing a 'mysterious income' and being a member of 'the 1%'.

Katie previously hit back against criticism, insisting that he was 'no cat-fisher or scammer', telling The Sun: 'I havent gone for a con man... please be happy for me.'

She even told fans that she had seen proof of his university degree and PhD, saying: 'There was so much paperwork, his PHD, is like in a binder like that.

'I proper looked at everything, because the stamps, they're like wax some of them, and you can't, do you know what I mean? You can't fake.

'You know when you've got certificates and it's like the watermarks in them, it's all like that. Everything he's shown me is so legit, I'm not stupid. They're not copies, they're originals.'

But claims that Lee had been to Cambridge were then debunked by the publication, as the university said they 'could not find a record of Lee being registered as a student' t the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology.

Nonetheless, Katie insisted that Lee DOES have a PhD as she appeared on GMB, telling hosts Susanna and Ed it was instead from a 'Spanish' university.

Ed began: 'His passport says that he's a doctor, it's reported that he has a PhD from Cambridge, but Cambridge University said they had never heard of him.'

Katie responded: 'He doesn't have a PhD from Cambridge, it's one in Spain.

'That's for him to say that he's got his PhD, but it's not from Cambridge, I don't know where that came from, he hasn't got a PhD from Cambridge at all but he has got a PhD.

'I've seen everything I need to see, on his diplomatic passport, it's Doctor Lee Andrews, on his normal passport, it's Wesley Lee Andrews.'

In her latest vlog, Katie cleared up: 'In his thesis, or whatever it is called, that's from Cambridge, but the PhD was in Spain.

'So yeah I got that wrong. The PhD wasn't Cambridge, the thesis, he done at Cambridge, what I saw, the PhD he got in Spain.'

Join the discussion Should Katie Prices personal choices be respected despite public skepticism, or does her history justify the concern?

In a new vlog on her YouTube channel, talking straight after being live on air, the mum-of-five opened up about how she felt about the interview

After quizzing the model about her new man, Katie's weight got brought up in conversation, after many fans have shared their worries about her frame.

It comes after back in January, Katie told fans that she was seeking medical help as she reacted to 'gaunt' photos.

Susanna said: 'Katie, can I ask, because I am concerned about your weight. You are very, very, very, skinny.'

Katie replied: 'Yes, and I am glad you asked this!'

'Now, people do say, is it because you are overdoing the weight loss medication or are you a healthy weight? Have you got that established?' Susanna asked.

In her response, Katie gave fans a health update and said: 'People that follow me online will know I have lost weight.

'I recognise I have lost weight. I look too skinny, I look gaunt.

'So I have been to the doctors, to see why am I losing, I have done all the blood tests, I have even done the poo one, as well, to find out.'

Susanna asked: 'The doctor says you are okay?'

Katie explained: 'I said to them, everyone said I am on Ozempic, they said, well we can tell in your bloods you're not.

'I am lacking in iron, they are now checking the other bit.

'And I am going through pre menopause at the moment as well.'

She added: 'I am healthy, so nobody worry about me.'

Susanna said: 'You are healthy, and you are happy.'

'Yes, very happy,' Katie replied.
Martin Clunes sent a defiant message to Huw Edwards amid his fury at the 'punishing' drama tracking his downfall during his appearance on Tuesday's episode of Good Morning Britain.

The actor, 64, who has taken on the role of the former BBC presenter in Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, appeared on the sofa to chat to Susanna Reid and Ed Balls about the Channel 5 drama which is out on Tuesday evening (24 March 2026).

The upcoming show will follow the real-life story of how the former BBC news presenter became the centre of a grooming scandal.

TV presenter Huw, 64, who presented the BBC's News at Ten for decades and broke some of the biggest stories including the death of Queen Elizabeth II, pled guilty to making indecent images of children in July 2024.

Huw has gone on to criticise C5 about fact checking, but Martin said of the upcoming drama: 'The word power is everything.

Martin Clunes sent a defiant message to Huw Edwards amid his fury at the 'punishing' drama tracking his downfall during his appearance on Tuesday's episode of Good Morning Britain

The actor has taken on the role of the BBC presenter in Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards

TV presenter Huw, who presented the BBC's News at Ten for decades and broke some of the biggest stories including the death of Queen Elizabeth II, pled guilty to making indecent images of children in July 2024

'There is a weird circulatory [nature] to this, because I appreciate he's upset by the fact that we've made this programme...

'But he would have reported on other downfalls.

'Other people's disgrace, without a second thought, it goes round and round, doesn't it? The media thing.'

Susanna also asked what he thinks about the criticism that it's too soon to have made the drama.

Martin bluntly shot back: 'I don't know. If anybody thinks it's too soon, don't watch it.

'I don't think it's too soon, I don't know what the timetable is for these things.'

The actor, who has starred in the likes of Doc Martin, Manhunt and Wuthering Heights, also shared his very candid reason for signing up to the role.

Ed asked: 'Are you choosing roles now which make a point, which are about raising awareness? Changing things?'

Martin appeared on the sofa to chat to Susanna Reid and Ed Balls about the Channel 5 drama which is out on Tuesday evening (24 March 2026)

Martin replied: 'No. No I'm not.'

Ed asked: 'Well why are they coming to you?'

'Maybe I've matured,' Martin confessed.

'I don't know. But I've never had a conscience "I must do this, I must do that".

'It's the job I do that pays for anything, you know.'

Earlier this month Channel 5 released a first look at the drama.

Pictures from the drama showed Martin, 64, in character portraying the grooming scenes.

One shot depicts Edwards curled up on his bed while on the phone to a teenage victim.

Meanwhile, another shows the same teenage boy on the phone to Edwards while out and about.

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.'

An earlier first look at the programme, which is directed by BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning Michael Samuels, saw the Doc Martin actor transformed into Edwards.

Seen putting in an earpiece as he prepares for broadcast in a TV studio, Martin stared 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 rung out over the dramatic shot.

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 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.

Meanwhile, a former BBC boss issued Channel 5 a stern warning, speculating that their new drama about 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.

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.'
Janet Street Porter hit out at 'pompous' and 'up himself' Huw Edwards as she reacted to the new Channel 5 drama about his downfall while appearing on This Morning.

The two-part series, 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, plays the Welsh anchorman in the series that starts tonight (March 24), with the action showcasing how the former BBC stalwart led a double life.

Edwards, 64, who earned 475,000 a year at the corporation, secretly groomed a vulnerable 17-year-old boy while working as Britains most respected newsreader.

He 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.

Janet Street Porter hit out at 'pompous' and 'up himself' Huw Edwards as she reacted to the new Channel 5 drama about his downfall while appearing on This Morning

The two-part series, 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

This Morning hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley invited their panellists, Janet, 79, and Nick Ferrari to share their reactions to the drama going ahead, after Edwards hit out the series was 'hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened' and hit out he had not been approached ahead of its release.

'Too soon, or just right?' Cat, 49, quizzed, to which Janet responded: 'I think it's just right. Obviously Huw Edwards has come out and said how shocked and disappointed he is, the makers of the drama have said they asked him for his comments...

'Now, obviously Huw Edwards has a chance to write an autobiography and to put his own views out in public but he has chosen not to.

'You know, Martin Clunes, who is going to play Huw Edwards, is a brilliant, brilliant actor and I think he will make this drama really compelling...

'Personally, I'll be watching and I think we've managed to air a lot of true-life dramas in the last 20 years and this is just another one of them.'

Nick chimed in: 'I'm not that concerned with how Huw Edwards feels, I'm with Janet on this... and if somebody watches this and realises they might be being drawn into a similar situation, or if someone watches this and is involved in that vile, illegal trade, then I think this sort of television programme is doing a public duty.

'I care not a jot [about Edwards], I care about the victims and the potential victims.'

Janet then continued, hitting out against 'pompous' Edwards: 'He was incredibly pompous, he was such a pompous individual.

This Morning hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley invited their panellists, Janet, 79, and Nick Ferrari to share their reactions to the Channel 5 drama

'One of my relatives was in a Welsh choir with him in South London, and I remember at one of my family member's funerals he said to me, "Oh, that Huw Edwards, he's so up himself". Do you know what I mean?'

Edwards previously told the Daily Mail: '[Channel 5] made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative before going ahead with the production.

'They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response. They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions.

'Channel 5s factual drama is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened.'

It comes after Ben and Cat were left cringing as two of their ITV daytime co-stars locked horns in a debate about influencers on Monday.

During the instalment of This Morning, which hit screens on March 23, Gyles Brandreth and Camilla Tominey debated whether online influencing was a viable job pathway which should be encouraged among children.

Discussing the latest news, a new toy set inspired by 'influencers' was soon brought up by Cat and Ben, who turned to Gyles, 78, and Camilla, 47, for their opinions.

The toy sparked widespread outrage when it was released by Argos, made by the retailer's in-house toy brand Chad Valley, for featuring wooden toys of the accessories used to make online content.

The set encourages children as young as two to act out filming videos and posing for selfies in what the makers describe as 'career role-play'.

It wasn't long before Gyles and Camilla locked horns over their opinions, with Cat, 49, and Ben, 51, left open-mouthed as Gyles took a very personal swipe.

Gyles Brandreth and Camilla Tominey debated whether online influencing was a viable job pathway that should be encouraged among children

Camilla began: 'It's a bit disturbing, this. Do you think we should be encouraging toddlers to be influencers? I personally think, possibly not.

'I would rather little girls and boys had "how to be a doctor" sets, there's a point where it seems rather vacuous.'

But before she could continue with further opinion, Gyles interjected with a firm 'no', adding: 'I disagree completely. I think it's just a bit of fun.

'When I was a little boy in the 1950s, my mother would take me to the laundrette, and I loved watching children's television - and as the washing machine went round, I sat in front of it and made faces in front of it as if it was a television camera.

'I was just playing, and imitating television that I had seen at home. This is what children do, and it's like any costume kit, you can be Batman, you can be a doctor, or you can be an influencer.

'It's a bit of fun, and so I don't criticise Argos at all.'

Camilla tried to disagree, adding: 'So we're alright to say, "when I grow up I want to be an influencer" now?' to which Giles pointed at her, raising his arms, and replied: 'Well, what do you think that you are doing?'

'I'm a journalist,' Camilla responded, as Gyles let out a sarcastic noise and rolled his eyes, before turning to her and hit back: 'No, of course you are, of course you are...

'But what is a journalist but an influencer. You wrote a brilliant column on Sunday, I read it in two parts, and you were trying to influence me with your ideas, quite controversial ideas it must be said, this weekend.'

'There's a lot of difference in reporting on events and expressing opinion, and stirring in the ring light and being recorded,' Camilla continued.

Discussing the latest news, a new toy set inspired by 'influencers' was soon brought up by Cat and Ben, who turned to Gyles, 78, and Camilla, 47, for their opinions

But Gyles once again hit back: 'The path we're going down is intellectual snobbery. I think influencers are part and parcel of modern communications...

'Being fun, being glamorous, showing people fashion, Easter is coming and what are people going to be wearing and buying, that's fun.

'I enjoy watching influencers and I think, if you're a child and you're introduced to that alongside everything else, it's just part and parcel.'

'It's encouraging them to have a career where they will always be on screen and encouraging others to doom scroll,' Camilla concluded.

Cat and Ben were left shocked by the exchange, and fans at home agreed, taking to X, formerly Twitter, to react to the tense back and forth between the pair.

One penned: 'Gyles Brandreth handing Camilla Tominey her a**e on a plate by telling her shes an influencer. She's raging... the shade he's throwing is excellent.'

Another added: 'Gyles has annoyed Camilla!' as a third penned: 'Gyles talking sense!'

It comes after Argos was blasted over the release of the 'influencer toolkit' toy - which is currently on sale on their website for 15.

Gyles hit back against Camilla for 'intellectual snobbery'

The online description for the set, which costs 15, reads: 'This beautifully crafted wooden live streaming set includes six essential components  a sturdy tripod stand, adjustable aperture lens, miniature camera, smartphone model, tablet, and microphone.

'All can be neatly stored in a convenient carrying pouch.'

Smartphone Free Childhood co-founder and director Daisy Greenwell said: 'Is anyone genuinely thinking this is what a two-year-old needs? We have to ask what we're teaching our children to aspire to.

'When we normalise the language and props of influencing in toddlerhood, we send the message that being watched matters more than being curious.

'Childhood should be a time to discover who you are  not to start polishing your personal brand.'

Smartphone Free Childhood, backed by 250,000 families and celebrities Paloma Faith, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kate Winslet and Myleene Klass, says smartphones damage young people's development, mental health and relationships  and expose them to dangers lurking online.

An Argos spokesman said: 'We offer a broad selection of toy sets that encourage imaginative and creative play.

'This product is part of that wider range, which includes items such as our Chad Valley Tool Box, Wooden Toaster and Pizza Counter sets, designed to help children have fun.'

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards (Channel 5) - FIVE STARS

Rating:

Huw Edwards is very disappointed.

We know this because this week the disgraced newsreader launched a broadside at Channel 5 for airing a two-part drama that depicts him as a sexual predator.

The unflinching hour and 50 minutes telling how Edwards groomed and abused a vulnerable teenage boy, repeatedly coercing him into acts of depravity, is gruelling and deeply upsetting to watch.

It also reveals that, months after Hateful Huw left the BBC, he was still trying to make contact with his victim  sending him a message that simply read: 'Guess who?'

But Edwards, 64, wants us to know that he is the real casualty.

In an exclusive statement to the Daily Mail on Monday, he complained of his 'fragile state', his 'struggle with persistent mental illness' and its 'severity'.

Pictured: Martin Clunes potraying Huw Edwards in the Channel 5 drama - Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards

The unflinching hour and 50 minutes telling how Edwards groomed and abused a vulnerable teenage boy (Pictured: Osian Morgan, playing a boy named Ryan in the drama)

This technique for deflecting criticism has worked for him before. No doubt he has found it an effective and unanswerable excuse for much of his life.

But it won't work any longer. Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards, featuring a merciless performance by Martin Clunes, exposes this trick and many others that the BBC paedophile relied on to manipulate everyone around him.

We see him controlling his victim by announcing his 'disappointment' over the slightest things to gain the upper hand.

Everyone around him is on tiptoes for fear of putting a foot wrong  especially 'Ryan Davies', who was 17 years old when he was introduced online to Edwards.

Ryan isn't the boy's real name. But he, his mother and his stepfather have co-operated with the film-makers, allowing us to see how Edwards bombarded him with sickening text messages and demands for naked photos and striptease videos, as well as lobbing wads of cash at him.

Every minute of it is horrible, and the worst parts are truly sickening. We are used to seeing Edwards glowering at us across a desk, but what he does at his desk in his home study, while watching a livestream video of Ryan, is too hideous to describe.

Edwards protested this week that the drama is 'hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened'.

But that is true only in the sense that the screenplay, by Mark Burt, errs on the side of caution. Just about everything we see him do is morally despicable.

But the only illegal acts, such as downloading sexual images of children, are those which he has admitted.

Nothing graphically obscene is shown. When Edwards lures Ryan to a hotel, for example, and marches him upstairs to a bedroom, we stay outside when the door closes.

Whether the drama implies that Edwards has committed worse crimes is up to the viewers' interpretation.

One aside from an investigative journalist implies the BBC was aware of multiple complaints against him for at least five years before he was suspended and subsequently allowed to resign.

A moment towards the conclusion, when his career was in ruins, I found particularly chilling.

In a phone call to Ryan, stewed in whisky and self-pity, he implied that neither of them had much to live for. 'I'm feeling like ending it, baby,' he bleated.

We were left to draw our own conclusions and reflect that, if Ryan were to end his own life, a lot of Edwards's problems might have gone away.

Clunes delivers an extraordinary portrayal that captures the body language, demeanour and menace of the man without descending into impersonation.

Pictured: Disgraced ex-BBC newsreader Huw Edwards arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on September 16, 2024

His Welsh accent (never a Clunes strong point) sometimes wavers, but his refusal to allow Edwards an ounce of sympathy does not.

The actor was no less obdurate during interviews this week.

He yesterday told Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain: 'I appreciate he's upset by the fact that we've made this programme, but he would have reported on other downfalls, other people's disgraces, without a second thought.'

The story opens with Edwards in a black tie in front of the camera, about to deliver news of the Queen's death to the nation in September 2022.

It returns to that day  the high point of his career  several times, both to illustrate how far he has fallen in the nation's esteem and to compare the reality of his seedy personal life with the professional image.

We see him surrounded by BBC sycophants, lapping up their praise and murmuring: 'Oh, I don't know about that... I'm just doing my job.'

And we join him on his daily jog as he prepares mentally to project the right image, muttering a mantra: 'Heartbroken but austere.'

These glimpses of Edwards as he likes to see himself are rare. Mostly, the story is told through the experiences of Ryan, played with intense sensitivity by Osian Morgan.

When we first meet Ryan, he's living at home on an estate in Cardiff with his depressed mother, Carys (Sian Reese-Williams), and his aggressive, disparaging stepfather, Mick (Jason Hughes).

Secretly gay and bitterly lonely, Ryan is starstruck when a creepy acquaintance, Alex, puts him in touch with Edwards.

The boy has no idea that Alex is supplying the newsreader with vile pictures of children, and it isn't clear how this porn dealer knows that Edwards would welcome an introduction to an emotionally needy teenager.

But their first exchange of texts leads to a gift of 500.

More money follows, much more, as the older man urges his naive new friend to send him pictures.

They talk, and Edwards praises him for looking even younger than his years.

It's quickly apparent that, even more than money, what Ryan craves is acceptance.

He needs the approval of a father figure  a yearning that Edwards is quick to twist to his advantage, by ordering the boy to call him 'Daddy'.

His real children (he has five) are never mentioned. Nor do we see his wife, Vicky Flind, or even hear her voice off-camera.

What we do see is his cruelty. In his frequent phone conversations with Ryan, sometimes late at night when both are in bed, he will withdraw his blessings for the most trivial reasons. In the space of a breath, he can go from calling him his 'baby' to scolding him for using slang or failing to send explicit photos.

His favourite weapon is his 'disappointment'. His scowl is so severe, so implacable  staring out of Ryan's phone, just as he used to fix the camera with his glare on News At Ten  that the boy will do anything he is asked to win back approval.

The drama ends with a gimmicky touch: seated at his newsreader's desk, Edwards announces his conviction for possessing obscene images of children, including one aged under nine years.

'Despite the seriousness of my offences,' he adds smugly, 'I was able to avoid imprisonment and still remain at liberty. And that's all from me.'

It certainly is. This drama cannot depict the full depravity of the man who was once Britain's most trusted broadcaster, but it leaves us in no doubt of the depths of his evil.
Vicky Pattison has slammed doctors for deliberating adding to 'hysteria and fear' around women's infertility by calling her eggs 'geriatric'.

The Strictly star, 38, is fronting a documentary, Maybe Baby?, with Channel 4 in which viewers see her contemplating starting a family and the various paths to parenthood.

Vicky was told by her doctors she had geriatric eggs, and speaking to the Radio Times, she said: 'It's misogynistic language, and I think it's deliberate, adding to the hysteria and fear.'

'I feel passionately that egg freezing should be more affordable, and we should be more open about the process'.

'Women deserve to have security and a backup plan.'

She appears on the show with her husband of two years, Ercan Ramadan, with the pair returning to TV after their 2024 reality show, My Big Fat Geordie Wedding.

Vicky Pattison has slammed doctors for deliberating adding to 'hysteria' around women's infertility by calling her eggs 'geriatric'; Pictured during her egg-freezing process in 2023

The couple discuss whether they want a baby, and Vicky can be seen crying in the trailer as she admits, 'As a woman you are conditioned to really want kids.'

Vicky has been open with her fans about her fertility journey, with the star candidly documenting the process of freezing her eggs, which she started when she was 35. She said she wanted to take control of her fertility, and had the treatment which resulted in three embryos being frozen.'

Announcing the show to her followers on Instagram, she explained how she and her husband had been working for six months to follow their 'record-breaking' wedding show.

She added: 'In this two-part special, we look at what our lives look like post-wedding- the pressure on women to have children, the different ways to be a family, we celebrate alternative routes to motherhood and the fertility issues that many women face.

'In amongst this, we let you in to the chaos of our lives again- busy schedules, our friends, fluffy butts, our families, first years of marriage, our very candid feelings and fears about growing our family... and everything in between... and we are so excited to have you along for the ride!

'Our hopes are that this show will encourage much-needed honest discourse around fertility, more understanding about people choosing different paths and ultimately help us all understand our options better, and I hope we've done this with sensitivity and grace.'

Last year, Vicky revealed she had visited her 'little frozen family' in her fertility clinic, as part of her new show. Writing on Instagram, she said: 'I WENT TO VISIT OUR EMBRYOS!!!!'

In a 2025 interview with Women's Health UK she admitted that she has a 'huge question mark over motherhood' and that the pressure to have a baby now that she is married is 'suffocating'.

The Strictly star, 38, is fronting a documentary, Maybe Baby? with her husband of two years, Ercan Ramadan in which viewers see her contemplating starting a family

Read the full interview in this week's issue of Radio Times, on sale now

She explained that she had worked so hard for so long to get where she has career wise, that taking a break 'scares her'.

'I'm a huge advocate for egg freezing, although I'm saying that from a position of financial privilege,' she said.

'Women shouldn't be beholden to this invisible timeline. We're fed this narrative that we can have it all and do whatever we want, but it's not necessarily true. In women's lives, there has to be a lot of compromise involved.

'I met Ercan when I was 31 and wanted to give our relationship breathing spaceIt's been the best thing I've ever done. I felt really suffocated, on a kind of conveyor belt, and now I feel free.'

The former Geordie Shore star also said she and Ercan are 'singing from the same song sheet' about wanting more time to make up their minds about parenthood.

Also speaking on the Women's Health Just as Well podcast with Gemma Atkinson and Claire Sanderson, Vicky explained: 'My mum told me 'If not having children is your trajectory, that's fine,' which I thought was powerful.

'I think we're coming around to the idea as a society that a woman doesn't have to have children to be fulfilled  and, for me, there's still a huge question mark over motherhood.

'I've worked to finally get to a place where I'm proud of who I'm becoming, and the thought of taking a break it scares me.'
The Duggar family is rallying around Joseph and Kendra Duggar after their arrests - with some relatives claiming the scandal is a case of 'persecution' and even invoking Satan as the force behind their downfall.

A family insider told the Daily Mail they are still reeling after Joseph's March 18 arrest on sex abuse charges - and the shock decision also to charge his wife.

'As you can imagine, this has been a lot to take in over the past few days,' the relative said. 'Everyone is just trying to process it.'

'Some of the family feels like this is straight-up persecution. It's an attack from people who want to see them struggle.'

'Arresting Joseph - people understand that. But arresting Kendra? That feels like a step further.'

The insider said some relatives believe the controversy reflects long-standing warnings from patriarch Jim Bob Duggar.

'He's always said the world would be hostile to them. That following Christ means the enemy will try to attack,' they said.

'That's how this feels to some - like a witch hunt.'

Joseph Duggar, 31, was arrested in Tontitown, Arkansas, where he lives with his wife and their four children.

He is accused of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff's Office in Florida.

The alleged victim - a nine-year-old girl - told investigators Duggar touched her inappropriately multiple times during a family vacation in Panama City Beach nearly six years ago.

Her father confronted Duggar about the allegations last week, the affidavit states.

Authorities say Duggar later admitted in a recorded call to 'touching the victim over her clothing' and acknowledged his 'intentions were not pure.'

He has been jailed in Arkansas and is awaiting extradition to Florida. He has not posted bond.

Joseph and Kendra Duggar have been married since 2017 and have four children. They were both arrested on separate charges in the space of a week

A teen girl alleges that when she was 9, Joseph Duggar touched her inappropriately several times while she was on a family vacation in Florida

Two days later, Joseph's 27-year-old wife was also taken into custody.

Kendra and Joseph Duggar were both charged with four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, as well as four charges of second-degree false imprisonment.

Authorities say that those charges are separate from Joseph's previous sexual abuse charges.

Authorities have not disclosed the source of the charges against Kendra. She is free on $1,470 bond.

She has not responded to the Daily Mail's attempts to contact her, and her attorney's name was not immediately released.

The arrests have sent shockwaves through the Duggar family - already rocked by the crimes of Joseph's older brother, Josh Duggar.

Josh was convicted in 2021 of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material and later sentenced to 12 years and seven months in federal prison.

Kendra Duggar was charged with unrelated offenses after authorities opened an investigation against her husband

Footage released this week reveals the moment that Kendra Duggar was booked into jail after her shocking arrest

The Duggar family rose to fame during the seven-year run of their TLC show '19 Kids and Counting'

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar became TV sensations when 19 Kids and Counting first aired on TLC in 2008

Josh Duggar (pictured in 2014) was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in federal prison on child pornograpgy charges in December 2021

While the Duggars are shocked by Joseph's arrest, they are more skeptical of the charges against her, the family member says.

'I get Joseph's arrest,' the family member says. 'It's reasonable because there's a claim against him, and they have to arrest someone accused of that. He'll have his day in court.

'But the arrest of Kendra seems a lot less black and white. It just came out of nowhere. I don't know what she supposedly did, so I'll hold off judgment until I know. But it does feel weird.'

Joseph and Kendra's arrests come nearly five years after Joseph's older brother, Josh, was convicted of receiving and possessing material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Josh, now 38, was also accused of sexually abusing five girls, including his younger sisters - but he never faced any charges for the alleged abuse.

After the arrest, Josh's attorney told the Daily Mail that the charges against his brother 'deeply saddened' him.

'Josh understands the stigma of being accused,' his attorney told the Daily Mail.

'He lives with the painful reality of how false accusations can destroy a life. He understands how the targeting of a person for publicity can twist the truth into sensationalized fiction.'

The attorney added that although 'Josh and Joe are not in frequent communication,' the jailed brother 'hopes and prays for his brother's well being in this difficult time'.

The brothers and their family had starred in the TLC show '19 Kids and Counting,' which followed conservative Baptists Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their 19 children. Once a mainstay on the network, the show presented the family as a squeaky clean brood that avoided alcohol, rock music, dancing, or premarital sex. Even their attire was modest, with the girls wearing long, flowing skirts and high necklines.

The show was canceled after Josh Duggar's arrest. A father of seven, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The Duggar family member tells the Daily Mail that the family is devastated by the charges against Joseph and Kendra, and some of his siblings are struggling with the reality that a second brother has been charged with sex crimes.

'It's really sobering,' says the relative. 'This is a family where modesty, purity and decency were everything. This is the opposite. It's embarrassing and horrifying, and just really, really sad.'
Since his grooming scandal came to light, disgraced Huw Edwards has cowered away from the glare of the public eye.

But I can reveal that the former BBC News anchor has now hired showbiz publicist Barry Tomes to help rebuild his career following his child pornography charges, with Edwards planning to speak out as people want to know why he did it.

Tomes, who grew up on a council estate in Northfield, Birmingham, has decades of experience in the industry, representing music acts and reality stars, including Benefits Street's White Dee.

His past client list also includes Lulu, The Saturdays, and The Beach Boys, whom he worked with on and off over 45 years.

I approached Huw, Tomes, 70, tells the Daily Mail. A lot of the public wants to find out how someone ended up doing what he did. People want to know why he did it.

People say, "How did someone with such an amazing life come to do these things?"

'I don't have the answer to that, but I would like to find it out. I believe the public want to know that. That's what is driving me.'

He added: 'I asked Huw if he intends to speak out in the long-term and he said yes. There are no imminent plans to do anything.'

Huw Edwards leaving court after his sentencing in 2024

The 64-year-old presenter's comeback plans have been sparked by his frustration over Channel 5's new two-part drama Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards, starring Martin Clunes, which airs today at 9pm.

'Channel 5's 'factual drama' is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened,' Edwards said in an exclusive statement to the Daily Mail at the weekend.

But Tomes says for now, Edwards, who retreated from London to a quiet Welsh village where his mother lives, is currently focusing on rebuilding his family. His ex-wife, Vicky Flind, ended their 30-year marriage after police charged him with three counts of making indecent images of children. They have five children together.

'He's got a lot of rebuilding to do with his family and friends. All that takes time. His main focus at the moment is looking after his elderly mother. When he chooses to do something in the public eye, he has to be ready mentally,' Tomes added.

And the experienced publicist is very aware of the backlash he will face for taking Edwards on as a client.

He explained: 'I wasn't nervous when I started being a publicist for Huw. I've got quite broad shoulders. I'm 70, and I've got life experience. I've had experience of taking flak.

'Will my Facebook numbers go down? Yeah. But that's OK. Because I don't need people who judge me. Judge what I achieve, not what I do. I have a mantra, which is: 'If someone is having a go at me, they're leaving someone else alone.'

'When I worked on [Channel 4 documentary] Benefits Street, I had MPs attacking me. I was accused of promoting poverty porn. There was a show on Al Jazeera TV saying I was the king of poverty porn. It's all been thrown at me.'

On taking on Edwards as his client, agent Barry Tomes says: 'I wasn't nervous when I started being a publicist for Huw. I've got quite broad shoulders.'

I approached Huw, Tomes, 70, tells the Daily Mail. A lot of the public wants to find out how someone ended up doing what he did. People want to know why he did it'

On Sunday, Edwards made a grovelling apology to the Daily Mail, offering 'regret and remorse' for his 2024 conviction for possessing indecent images of children. He received a six-month sentence, suspended for two years after admitting to the three charges.

He said: 'My deep regret and remorse for the crimes I committed were expressed in court. In pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, I took full responsibility for my reprehensible actions. I am repelled by the idea that some people enjoy viewing indecent images of children. Every image represents an innocent victim. I offer my sincere and profound apologies for what I did.'

Edwards also shared plans to tell his side of the story: 'I am making an effort to produce my own account of these terrible events. This is a slow process given the fragile state of my health.

'I have been open about my struggle with persistent mental illness over a period of 25 years. What is less well known is the severity of that condition, which was managed successfully until the downward spiral which led to an appalling outcome.

'Mental illness is misunderstood by many, but can never be an excuse for criminality.

'It can, however, at least help explain why people sometimes behave in shocking and reprehensible ways, and why things fell apart for me in the way they did.'

Elsewhere, Edwards lambasted Wonderhood, the production company behind the Channel 5 drama.

Martin Clunes as the former BBC News at Ten host in Channel 5's Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards

The show charts how Edwards groomed a young man on social media. No doubt, it will be a painful watch for the former BBC News At Ten host, not least as it will be a reminder that just three years ago he was still presenting the flagship show  a job he did for decades, breaking some of the nation's biggest news stories, including the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Edwards said: '[They] made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative before going ahead with the production.

'They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response. They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions.'

Edwards is yet to see the show but added: 'It is difficult to see how this approach can be considered remotely responsible or fair, or be in compliance with key sections of the Ofcom code on broadcast standards.'

A Channel 5 spokesperson said: 'Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards is based on extensive interviews with the victim, his family, the journalists who revealed his story, text exchanges between the victim and Edwards, and court reporting.

'It has been produced in accordance with Ofcom's Broadcasting Code. All allegations made in the film were put to Huw Edwards via his solicitors six weeks before transmission.'
Former Pussycat Dolls member Jessica Sutta has spoken out after she was excluded from the group's comeback.

The noughties girl group recently announced a reunion tour with Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts all returning, while Sutta, along with fellow founding members Carmit Bachar and Melody Thornton, were not asked back.

Last week, Scherzinger awkwardly stumbled over her words when asked why some of the members were missing from the reunion during a cringeworthy interview on the Today show.

Now Sutta has addressed the situation, claiming on The Maverick Approach podcast that she and the other members were 'blindsided' by the reunion announcement.

'None of us were called. None of us were told about anything. In fact, we were blindsided,' she said.

Sutta also blasted Wyatt and Roberts for not reaching out to her after the death of her mother.

Former Pussycat Dolls member Jessica Sutta lashed out on The Maverick Approach podcast after being axed from the group's reunion tour

The group is pictured with their original lineup in 2005, but only three members are returning for the reunion

'I thought we were all friends, but that's how it goes in Hollywood,' she said.

Sutta did confirm that Scherzinger reached out to her directly on the day that PCD's comeback was announced  but admitted that she has yet to call the Sunset Boulevard star back.

'Nicole did call me. I didn't answer. I don't plan to call her back,' Sutta declared on the podcast.

'I love Nicole. This is very bittersweet for me. I respect her as an artist. I even cried with joy when she won her Tony [award] just recently,' she continued.

'I definitely was rooting for her, but the way they did this just showed me exactly why I'm not in the group and showed exactly, to me, who they are.'

Sutta officially left Hollywood several years ago and relocated to Nashville after suffering a vaccine injury from the Covid vaccine.

She previously confirmed that she was 'never' planning to return to PCD due to her health issues and said that she wishes the group 'the best' and hopes that they have a successful world tour.

Despite her well wishes, Sutta  who became an outspoken supporter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. following her vaccine injury  believes that she may have been iced out of the reunion due to her political views.

Sutta said she was 'blindsided' by the the group's comeback plans and believes she was a 'liability' to their image due to her support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Sutta has become an activist for the vaccine injured in recent years and has supported RFK Jr. as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

'It's a cash grab, let's keep it real,' she said of the group's reunion tour.

'And I was a liability. I align with Bobby Kennedy, which is aligning with MAGA,' she continued.

'Do I love what Trump is doing? Absolutely not. I do not believe in war. [But] we didn't have a chance for the [vaccine] injured community to get help without him.'

She added, 'I was never political but I had to be because my life depends on it.'

Sutta has become an activist for the vaccine injured in recent years. She also supported RFK Jr. during his presidential run and as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, meeting with him personally in January.

Original bandmate Bachar has also stated publicly that she was not asked to be part of the group's reunion.

'I was not contacted regarding the groups decision to move forward, and I learned of these plans at the same time as the public,' Bachar, 51, said in a statement last week.

'Given my history with the brand, having been part of its foundation long before its commercial debut and instrumental in the connections that led to the record deal I would have appreciated direct communication.'

Daily Mail has contacted Scherzinger for comment.

Kimberly Wyatt, Nicole Scherzinger and Ashley Roberts have reunited for a comeback tour

Scherzinger became flustered during an appearance on the Today show when pressed about why three of the members are missing from PCD's reunion

Earlier this month, it was announced that Scherzinger, Wyatt, and Roberts were reuniting as a trio for a huge global tour.

On Friday's episode of the Today show, co-host Craig Melvin left Scherzinger at a loss for words when he probed her over the line-up drama.

The presenter asked, 'Some former members of the Pussycat Dolls made headlines recently after they found out you were coming back as a trio, not as the original group. How did you arrive at that decision?'

Visibly taken aback by the question, Scherzinger froze as she struggled to come up with a cohesive response.

'Well, I mean, listen, we are just... we are like... we are so... as women today, I mean,' she stammered.

Wyatt then swooped in and said that the Pussycat Dolls' line-up has been 'ever-changing.'

'This is what it looks like in 2026,' Wyatt said confidently.

'You never know what comes next. We've got to protect our peace,' she continued.

'When something like the Pussycat Dolls has so much history, we have ruptured in the past and right now, we are repairing and sort of on the same page with that.'

By the time Wyatt, 44, had given her answer, Scherzinger had formulated what she wanted to say.

'We have so much love and respect for all of the women that have been part of the legacy,' she said. 'And once a doll, always a doll.'
Laura Henshaw and her entrepreneur husband Dalton have listed their stunning five-bedroom, three-bathroom Melbourne property for between $8.5m - $9m.

The lavish home is situated in the prestigious suburb of Brighton and boasts a grand glass-wrapped cathedral extension overlooking a resort-style backyard pool.

Set on 1,070sqm, the property has undergone extensive renovations since Laura, 32, and Dalton purchased it several years ago.

Highlights include a cutting-edge outdoor dining pavilion, soaring eight-metre-high ceilings, and arch windows that frame scenic views of the desirable neighbourhood.

The design perfectly balances classical, historic charm with contemporary, modern touches, making it ideal for both family living and entertaining guests.

Built in 1919, the two-storey property also features a private bridge connecting separate wings of the home, a spacious walk-in wardrobe, a west-facing balcony, and room for five cars.

Laura Henshaw and her husband Dalton have listed their stunning five-bedroom, three-bathroom Melbourne property on the market, for between $8.5m - $9m

The lavish home is situated in the prestigious suburb of Brighton and boasts a grand glass-wrapped cathedral extension overlooking a resort-style backyard in-ground pool

Additional luxuries include a home gym, sauna, and a spa-style bathroom with a free-standing tub finished in elegant marble.

The attention to detail is evident throughout, with bespoke finishes and designer touches that elevate the home to a true showpiece.

Located in one of the most popular suburbs in Melbourne, its desirable location is close to a variety of amenities, including shopping centres, schools and public transport.

Its recent renovations and extensive upkeep ensure any buyer can move in almost immediately, without any hassles or delays.

It comes at an exciting time for Laura and her partner, who welcomed their first child in December.

The KIC founder took to Instagram to reveal that she had given birth to a baby boy with her partner Dalton Henshaw by her side.

'Our whole world, baby Atlas,' she captioned the post, which showed the new parents gleaming from ear to ear with their new bundle of joy.

The 32-year-old held her newborn, who wore a sweet blue knitted hat, tightly in her arms as she lay in a hospital bed, with her husband of four years wrapping his arm around her.

Highlights include a cutting-edge outdoor dining pavilion, soaring eight-metre-high ceilings, and arch windows that frame scenic views of the desirable neighbourhood

The design perfectly balances classical, historic charm with contemporary, modern touches, making it ideal for both family living and entertaining guests

Built in 1919, the two-storey property also features a private bridge connecting separate wings of the home, a spacious walk-in wardrobe, a west-facing balcony, and room for five cars

Last year, Laura made headlines after she revealed she had booked herself in for an elective caesarean.

The Keep It Cleaner founder shared her birthing plan on her KICPOD podcast in October alongside her co-host Steph Claire Smith.

In the episode, she talked listeners through the various reasons she had decided to undergo a caesarean instead of a natural birth.

However, the mother-to-be received a slew of negative comments on Instagram in response to her revelation, which the Shameless Podcast reflected on in an episode.
A popular Australian influencer has been forced to apologise after sharing a 'tone-deaf' and 'uneducated' post flaunting her wealth amid the country's fuel crisis.

Health and body positivity content creator Georgie Stevenson, 32, had shared an Instagram video criticising people whingeing about soaring petrol prices across the country.

Her post was met with furious Aussies who took to the comments to condemn her bizarre statement.

In the wake of the drama, Georgie apologised for her comments, claiming that the now-deleted clip was a 'trial reel' that had been shared in error by an 'external agency'.

An Instagram trial reel is a feature that allows creators to post a reel to non-followers first, testing its performance and engagement without it appearing on their main profile or feed.

Trial reels are not intended to be shown to existing followers. However, several have claimed they had seen Georgie's post and threatened to 'unfollow'.

Australian influencer Georgie Stevenson, 32, has been forced to apologise after sharing a 'tone-deaf' and 'uneducated' post flaunting her wealth amid the country's fuel crisis

'Why did this go out? An external agency I hired to help with content posted a trial reel that I had not approved,' Georgie said in a statement shared to Instagram on Monday.

'I realise how serious this is considering it's my account, my face, and ultimately, my brand.'

Georgie also admitted that her post was 'out of touch'.

'The messaging behind the post completely missed the mark and it was out of touch and incredibly insensitive,' she wrote.

'However, catching it was my job and I failed to do so. I took action to remove it.'

Noting her disappointment that the post had appeared on her page, Georgie said she was 'deeply sorry' for any offence caused.

'I'm conscious this might seem like just another apology post from an influencer... but please know that this has been a wake-up call and something like this will never happen again,' she wrote.

The offending video showed Georgie sipping an iced coffee in her kitchen while a caption criticised those complaining about soaring petrol prices, which have climbed to $2.44 per litre for unleaded and $2.95 for diesel on average in NSW.

Health and body positivity content creator Georgie Stevenson, 32, had shared an Instagram video criticising people whingeing about soaring petrol prices across the country

In the wake of the drama, Georgie apologised for her comments, claiming that the now-deleted clip had been shared in error

Poll Do YOU think Georgie's apology was genuine? Yes, she meant it No, it doesn't add up Do YOU think Georgie's apology was genuine? Yes, she meant it 5 votes

No, it doesn't add up 142 votes Now share your opinion





'Some people choose to complain about the cost of fuel,' Georgie began.

'Other people choose to build their own success, co-own three companies and buy a [Porsche] at 28 years old. I'm other people.'

The backlash to Georgie's post was swift, with many enraged Aussies labelling the influencer 'delusional'.

'Some people complain because they literally have to choose between fuel and groceries. But hey, at least being delusional is free - that we CAN afford!' one follower wrote.

'Seriously... read the room. Calling people "complainers" while they are funding your lifestyle is wild. Go touch some grass.'

Another user added, 'As if you reposted this. A full [tank] of petrol for a family size car is up to $250+ for some families. That's the difference between putting food on the table and paying rent.

'Do you even know why fuel prices have gone up? Are you aware there is a war going on and people are dying? You're actually so ignorant and up your own a**.'

'This is not the flex you think it is,' someone else shared.

'Go have a cup of water, touch some grass and understand "manifestation" doesn't help MOST things. It's a state of mind - not reality.'

Her initial post was met with furious Aussies who took to the comments to condemn her bizarre statement

Meanwhile, on Reddit, more added to the pileon over the influencer's 'out of touch' comments.

'She is as tone deaf as they get. Has zero concept of the real world,' someone wrote.

'She won't be this smug if we hit recession and no one can buy anything from her companies. May have to sell that Porsche,' added another.

One user said, 'This is so gross. I can't stand influencers who think they are better than everyone else.'

Another commented, 'And I bet [she] has never worked a real job in her life. These influencers need to be cancelled.'
It may be one of the highestrating seasons in Married At First Sight history  dominating the ratings, flooding social media feeds and sparking endless water cooler conversations.

But behind the glossy edits and explosive dinner parties, a far darker reality is emerging.

While millions of Australians tune in night after night, this year's cast are walking away with less than ever before  fewer followers, fewer opportunities and, for some, no careers left to return to.

In fact, multiple insiders tell Daily Mail this is the first season where appearing on the show has actively set contestants back.

'Usually they leave with hundreds of thousands of followers and brand deals lined up,' one production source revealed.

'This time? A lot of them are worse off than when they went in.'

It may be one of the highestrating seasons in Married At First Sight history  dominating the ratings, flooding social media feeds and sparking endless water cooler conversations

But behind the glossy edits and explosive dinner parties, a far darker reality is emerging

Low ratings where it matters the most  social media

Despite pulling in blockbuster TV audiences, the cast have failed to convert that exposure into social media success  long considered the real currency of reality TV fame.

In previous seasons, even minor contestants would walk away with 100k to 300k Instagram followers.

But this year, many have struggled to crack even a fraction of that.

'There's been a massive shift,' a PR strategist who has worked with past MAFS stars explained.

'Audiences are more sceptical now. They don't automatically follow reality stars anymore, especially if they feel manipulated or unlikeable on screen.'

Another insider pointed to Channel Nine's tighter control over social media during filming and airing.

'They locked a lot of contestants out of their accounts or heavily restricted posting. By the time they got access back, the hype had already peaked.'

Join the discussion Are reality TV shows like MAFS destroying contestants' lives for our entertainment?

While millions of Australians tune in night after night, this year's cast are walking away with less than ever before

The 'bad edit' fallout

For some brides, the fallout has been far more severe.

Daily Mail understands that at least four female contestants have either lost their jobs or been forced to step away from their careers following their portrayal on the show.

'Employers don't want the controversy,' one source claimed.

'If you're painted as the villain, it doesn't matter what the truth is  that's what people believe.'

Another industry insider added that the reputational damage can be immediate and brutal.

'We've seen girls come out of the show and within weeks they're unemployable in their field. It's not just trolling online  it affects real life.'

PR experts say the issue comes down to perception.

'You're no longer a private individual,' the strategist explained.

'You're a character in a national narrative, and that version of you can stick forever  whether it's accurate or not.'

Daily Mail understands that at least four female contestants have either lost their jobs

No Plan B

Perhaps the most confronting reality for this year's cast is that many haven't even found what they signed up for in the first place.

Love.

While past contestants have at least walked away with influencer careers or media opportunities, insiders say several participants this season feel they got nothing in return.

'No relationship, no brand deals, no growth on socials,' celebrity publicist and digital marketing expert Adrian Falk told Daily Mail.

'Just stress, backlash and a reputation they now have to fix.'

The former TV publicist described it as a 'perfect storm' of factors working against this year's cast.

'Oversaturation, audience fatigue, harsher edits and tighter network control  it's all collided at once,' they said.

'Five years ago, going on MAFS was a launchpad. Now it's a gamble.'

Perhaps the most confronting reality for this year's cast is that many haven't even found what they signed up for in the first place. Love

'They were not prepared for this'

Perhaps most concerning is how unprepared some contestants were for the aftermath.

'People think they know what they're signing up for,' a production insider admitted.

'But you can't fully grasp what it's like to be judged by millions until it happens.'

Mental health support is offered during and after filming, but sources say the real struggle begins once the cameras stop rolling.

'When the show ends, the attention drops off  but the consequences don't,' the insider said.

'That's when reality hits.'

With ratings soaring but contestant outcomes declining, questions are now being raised about the future of the franchise.

Is the formula still working  or is it finally starting to crack?

With ratings soaring but contestant outcomes declining, questions are now being raised about the future of the franchise. Is the formula still working  or is it finally starting to crack?

'The show is bigger than ever,' the PR expert noted.

'But the benefits for contestants are shrinking. And people are starting to notice.'

For this year's cast, the fairytale ending promised at the altar has, for many, turned into something far less glamorous.

A cautionary tale.

Because while millions watched their journey unfold, the real story is what happens next.

And for some, it's only just beginning.

You're fired!

Daily Mail can reveal that three brides have been sacked from their jobs.

Bec Zacharia and Brook Crompton (pictured) are among the brides that have been left without a job after their Dinner Party antics were broadcast

According reports, Bec discussed her MAFS appearance with management soon after taking the job, and her bosses expressed concern about the show's impact

Bec Zacharia and Brook Crompton are among the brides that have been left without a job after their Dinner Party antics were broadcast.

According to reports, Bec discussed her MAFS appearance with management soon after taking the job, and her bosses expressed concern about the show's impact.

'The show had just started [airing], and they basically sat her down and told her that they thought it'd be best for her to come back after MAFS had finished,' the source said.

'She told them that she needed the job to pay her rent and mortgages.'

Management apparently told Bec that she could keep her job on the condition that she would not do any publicity.

The insider said that Bec's boss's attitude changed when they saw the third dinner party, where the outspoken bride meddled in the contestants' relationships.

It also featured the scandalous moment in which Gia accused Bec of 'masterminding' an earlier attack on Alissa.

Brandishing her phone at the dinner table, Gia turned on Bec.

'I've got screenshots of her [Bec] talking sh** about everyone in this experiment,' she said, adding: 'You talked nonstop sh** about Alissa.'

It comes after reports that Brook's career as a model has suffered since she left the experiment

Daily Mail has reached out to Bec for comment.

It comes after unconfirmed reports that former MAFS star Brook Crompton's career as a model has suffered since she left the experiment.

Brook, 27, was quickly dubbed a 'villain' by fans after she continued to hurl insults at fellow brides, which led to her being characterised as a 'bully' by the experts.

Her former agency, Dallys Models, told Daily Mail that she currently works 'freelance' after leaving the Brisbanebased agency 'years ago'.

Ahead of her appearance on MAFS, Brook modelled for the Calexico Boutique in Brisbane last August.

It's understood she has done no further work for the brand, though Brook's image remains featured on the website.

Daily Mail has reached out to Brook for comment.

Sorry Juliette, celebrity publicist Adrian Falk says Joel Moses may be one of the only participants to walk away with a lucrative career

The REAL star of the show

Intruder bride Juliette Chae got into a bitter feud with husband Joel Moses when she accused him of being the star of the show.

Sorry, Juliette, but celebrity publicist Adrian Falk says he may be one of the only participants to walk away with a lucrative career.

'Every season of MAFS has a surprise star, and in 2026, that's clearly Joel Moses. He's cut through the noise in a way most contestants can't,' he said.

'Joel resonates because he feels real. In a show that can sometimes feel manufactured, he's coming across as authentic, unfiltered, and emotionally transparent and audiences are craving that.'

Adrian continued: 'What we're seeing with Joel is organic fame. He hasn't forced moments or chased headlines, yet he's becoming one of the most talked-about participants this season.'
Jackie 'O' Henderson's shock exit from ARN Media has been labelled 'peculiar' by an employment lawyer, amid growing questions over whether the radio star may have been unlawfully terminated.

Speaking to ABC amid the dramatic fallout surrounding The Kyle and Jackie O Show, Sydney employment lawyer Fay Calderone pointed to a key detail that could prove problematic for the network.

Henderson, 50, is understood to have raised concerns about her workplace following her explosive on-air clash with co-host Kyle Sandilands in February - a move that legally constitutes asserting a workplace right.

But in a surprising twist, ARN Media later announced her $100million contract had been terminated, claiming she had given notice that she could no longer work with Sandilands - something Henderson has firmly denied.

According to Calderone, that sequence of events raises eyebrows.

'[The] principle is you cannot lawfully take action or adverse action against a contractor because they have asserted a workplace right,' she explained.

Jackie 'O' Henderson's shock exit from ARN Media has been labelled 'peculiar' by an employment lawyer, amid growing questions over whether the radio star may have been unlawfully terminated

'I think that's peculiar.'

In other words, if Henderson's contract was ended because she spoke up about her working conditions, the network could face serious legal consequences.

Under Australia's Fair Work laws, workers - including contractors in certain circumstances - are protected from being penalised for making complaints about health and safety in the workplace.

Calderone noted that Henderson's situation stands out because it appears she may have raised an issue, only to then lose her role entirely.

If proven, such a move could open the door to a legal claim against ARN, with the potential for damages.

The lawyer also pointed to reports that Henderson may have been offered an alternative role - something the presenter has denied - suggesting it could have been an attempt by the company to limit its legal exposure.

Calderone meanwhile questioned why ARN decided to terminate Sandilands' contract now, given that he has acted similarly in the past.

'It is interesting that it is being pulled up at a time where perhaps it's not so lucrative for the network,' she said.

Join the discussion Do YOU think Jackie O has been treated unfairly by ARN?

If Henderson's contract was ended because she spoke up about her working conditions, the network could face serious legal consequences

While Henderson has not taken legal action against ARN yet, Sandilands has already filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against his former employers in the Federal Court

'So, you know, cynically, I'd say it was opportunistic.''

While Henderson has not taken legal action against ARN yet, Sandilands has already filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against his former employers in the Federal Court.

Backed by a prominent legal team, 54-year-old Sandilands claims that ARN deliberately conspired to sabotage his $100 million, 10-year contract in a calculated attempt to exit the costly agreement after just over 14 months.

Partner at Axe Legal, Stefan Stojkovic, told ABC that legal action could take 'two to three years' if there are no appeals.

'I wouldn't be surprised if they settle it out of court as well, if there's a sensible settlement available to the parties,' Stojkovic said.

Sandilands' legal team is led by the 'ferocious' Kevin Lynch, a partner at Johnson Winter Slattery, according to The Australian.

Over the past two weeks, Lynch has carefully examined every detail of the host's agreement and strategised a comprehensive attack on ARN.

He filed the necessary papers on Friday.

Partner at Axe Legal, Stefan Stojkovic, told ABC that legal action could take 'two to three years' if there are no appeals

Sandilands is seeking his contract to be honoured in full.

On Monday morning, ARN issued a statement in an ASX market update, asserting that the network disputes Sandilands' claims and plans to defend the proceedings.

'The applicants claim the termination of Mr Sandilands' contract was invalid on the basis they allege that there was no act of serious misconduct or breach of contract, and that the termination was unconscionable under the Australian Consumer Law,' their statement read.

'The applicants seek an order for specific performance of two contracts, payment of whatever amounts are due and payable under the contracts at the time of judgment, and damages.'

Meanwhile, ARN's newly appointed CEO, Michael Stephenson, is working hard to prevent the legal dispute from escalating by trying to persuade Sandilands' former co-host, Henderson, to return to KIIS FM with a solo show.

However, ARN is hoping to bring back Henderson at a much lower rate with a new program, after the network also terminated her $100million, decade-long deal last month.

The Australian reports that Henderson is not enthusiastic about that offer, while sources close to the former co-hosts indicate that she intends to watch how Sandilands' legal offensive unfolds.
Strictly Come Dancing bosses have reportedly looked to TikTok when deciding which pros would be axed as part of the show's mass cull.

Fans have been left stunned in recent weeks as favourites Karen Hauer, 43, Nadiya Bychkova, 36, Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, Luba Mushtuk, 36, and Gorka Marquez, 35, have all been given the boot.

Now its been claimed those with bigger online followings have been chosen over dancers who are not so TikTok friendly as the series tries desperately to attract a younger audience.

One example appears to be axed Nadiya who boasts 19,000 followers, while Dianne Buswell, also 36, with 966,000 followers has kept her place in the line-up.

Karen, who was Strictly's longest-serving female dancer, is a similar story with her 9,000 followers while safe newcomer Alexis Warr, 25, has a whopping 190,000.

A source said: 'Strictly is always looking for ways to increase its audience in terms of volume, but also in terms of attracting new, young viewers.

Strictly Come Dancing bosses have reportedly looked to TikTok when deciding which pros would be axed as part of the show's mass cull. Pictured: Nadiya Bychkova, who has been axed

One example appears to be axed Nadiya Bychkova who boasts 19,000 followers, while Dianne Buswell, with 966,000 followers, has kept her place in the line-up

They told The Sun: 'Social media is a massive part of broadening that appeal, and TikTok is the perfect medium for a show where music and dance is at the forefront.

'They won't simply lose someone from the line up because they aren't big on TikTok, but it might just be the thing that saves them from exiting the line-up.'

It comes after dancer Karen branded her axing from the show 'stressful and emotional'.

Over the weekend, she attended the LitPet's Sunday Dog Social, held at the luxurious 180 House on London's Strand, alongside her pup Marley, one of her four rescue dogs, whom she frequently shares on social media.

Speaking at the event about her heartbreaking career overhaul, she said: 'It's been a terribly stressful and emotional time and my four dogs have really helped me get through it. What's just happened is part of life and the stresses that go with it.'

Karen spoke about how her emotions impact the pups, saying: 'My dogs really feel it when I'm stressed and they have really helped me get through this.'

Those with bigger online followings have been chosen over dancers who are not so TikTok friendly as the series tries desperately to attract a younger audience. Pictured: Dianne Buswell

Meanwhile Karen, who was Strictly's longest-serving female dancer, is similar story with her 9,122 followers while safe newcomer Alexis Warr, 25, has a whopping 190,000

Join the discussion Is Strictly evolving with the times  or losing what made it great?

Meanwhile Fleur East and Janette Manrara have also reportedly been axed from Strictly Come Dancing's spin-off It Takes Two.

Insiders say bosses are plotting a major revamp of the BBC Two weeknight show in the wake of a string of scandals that have rocked the franchise.

Former Strictly pro Janette, 42, took over hosting duties in 2021 after eight years on the main show, while pop star Fleur, 38, joined the line-up in 2023 after reaching the final the year before.

But now both stars are said to be in the firing line as executives push for a bold new direction.

'Fans will be stunned that this bloodbath is continuing, but bosses are determined to overhaul the show completely,' an industry source told The Sun.

'Nobody feels safe right now and there's a real drive behind the scenes to usher in a fresh era after all the recent drama.

'But the priority is a clean slate by September and putting distance between the show and the controversies of recent years.'

The source added actions taken by BBC bosses do not mean Janette and Fleur 'are out of the picture entirely' and that there could be other roles for them 'elsewhere'.

Daily Mail has contacted representatives of Fleur, Janette and the BBC for comment.
Orlando Bloom is reportedly 'quietly dating' bikini model Luisa Laemmel following his split from Katy Perry.

The actor, 49, and US pop star Katy, 41, parted ways last year after nine years together. They share a five-year-old daughter, Daisy.

Katy has since moved on with her politician boyfriend Justin Trudeau, while Orlando also appears to have found his own special someone.

Last week, Orlando and the 28-year-old Swiss stunner reportedly enjoyed a mini-break in Switzerland, joined by his pet dog.

During the trip, the British star is believed to have met some of Luisa's friends and family.

The pair stayed in a luxury suite at the Dolder Grand in Zurich, where rooms can cost up to 13,700 per night, while Orlando attended a promotional event for Porsche.

Orlando Bloom is reportedly 'quietly dating' bikini model Luisa Laemmel following his split from Katy Perry (Luisa and Orlando pictured together at the Super Bowl)

A source said: 'He is based in Los Angeles while she's in New York, so they don't get to see each other all the time, but they're constantly in touch and there's a real spark'

They later are said to have spent the weekend at the five-star Burgenstock resort on Lake Lucerne.

A source told The Sun: 'Orlando and Luisa have been quietly seeing each other for several months.

'They've become a proper little family unit and Orlando even flew his teacup poodle Biggie Smalls over for the trip.

'He is based in Los Angeles while she's in New York, so they don't get to see each other all the time, but they're constantly in touch and there's a real spark.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Orlando's representative for comment.

The couple were first linked last month when they were spotted leaving the Super Bowl arm-in-arm in Santa Clara, California.

One onlooker said they were 'touchy-feely' as they enjoyed a date night at the Levi's Stadium in California.

Lusia, who models for the likes of Calvin Klein, posted the event on her Instagram site with pictures of herself in baggy white jeans and a tan jacket.

The actor, 49, and US pop star Katy, 41, parted ways last year after nine years together. They share a five-year-old daughter, Daisy (Katy and Orlando seen in March 2025)

Katy has since moved on with her politician boyfriend Justin Trudeau

Inside the stadium, they partied with Orlando's A-list friends, including the actor Jamie Foxx.

Meanwhile, Katy and Justin are thought to have started their romance in the fall and the pop star is said to be having 'a lot of fun' with the former Canadian PM.

A source told People: 'Justin keeps making a big effort to see her and she's excited about it.'

The insider explained: 'It's exactly what she needs right now.'

Justin was previously married to Gregoire for 18 years before they separated in 2023.
Sarah Michelle Gellar reacted to her Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Nicholas Brendon's death.

Just days after the family of the late actor announced he passed away, the 48-year-old actress opened up about the heartbreaking loss, which she said was 'personal' for her.

'It's a tragedy,' she said while attending premiere of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come on Monday in Rome, Italy. 'It's a tragedy when you lose anyone at any point.'

She continued: 'It's a bigger tragedy when you lose someone way sooner than needs to be.'

This comes after Gellar and fellow castmates paid tribute to Brendon with sentimental social media posts after it was confirmed he died at the age of 54 on Friday.

'This business is very tough, and we've had...it feels like we've had more tragedy than other shows,' she continued.

Sarah Michelle Gellar reacted to her Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Nicholas Brendon's death at the premiere of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come in Rome on Monday

At the premiere, she shared her reaction to her her costar's death and said the tragedy was 'personal' for her. She said Brendon is 'an integral part of Buffy, and that never goes away'; pictured in October 1998

She noted that it's 'probably not the case, but it feels that way because it's personal, and it's in our faces.'

Since the teen drama concluded in the early 2000s, nearly a dozen Buffy stars have passed away since filming, including Michelle Trachtenberg died last year.

The 11 dearly departed actors  who starred in the original series, the spinoff series Angel and the 1992 Buffy film  include Andy Hallett, John Ritter, Robin Sachs, Harris Yulin, Donald Sutherland, Luke Perry, Alexis Arquette, Paul Reubens and Rutger Hauer.

Brendon previously starred in all seven seasons of the hit drama series alongside Gellar's titular character from 1997 to 2002.

The actor played the beloved underdog Xander Harris in Buffy's core friend group.

Gellar added that Brendon is 'an integral part of Buffy, and that never goes away.'

She also shared a touching statement about the 'legacy' he left behind with his illustrated career.

'I think as actors we talk a lot or think a lot about legacy,' she explained. 'He brought so much joy to so many people on that show, and that lives on. And that's the truth.'

Gellar was attending the Italian premiere of her latest project, Ready or Not 2. Gellar wore an elegant, white gown with a strapless neckline and intricate rose details

She stayed professional as she flashed a bright smile while posing for photographs before later joining her Ready or Not 2 costars for a group photo on the red carpet

At the premiere, she also shared a touching statement about the 'legacy' Brendon left behind with his illustrated career; pictured in 1997 portrait

Gellar was attending the Italian premiere of her latest project.

The horror-comedy flick starring Samara Weaving is the sequel to the 2019 original Ready or Not movie.

For the premiere and gathering of iconic scream queens from each generation, Gellar wore an elegant, white gown with a strapless neckline and intricate rose details.

She styled her hair in beach waves parted to the side and completed her look with a bright red lip.

She stayed professional as she flashed a bright smile while posing for photographs before later joining her Ready or Not 2 costars for a group photo on the red carpet.

In the thriller, Gellar plays Ursula of the Danforth family, another 'High Council' family with unimaginable riches and powers fighting for even more control.

On Friday, Brendon's family indicated in an edited version of their Instagram statement that he had 'passed in his sleep of natural causes.'

An earlier version of the statement had revealed: 'While it's no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing.'

The nature of the 'diagnosis' was unclear, but Brendon had been frank in public about a number of health issues he had suffered, such as a congenital heart defect, addiction and a fall that resulted in the spinal condition cauda equina syndrome.

'I think as actors we talk a lot or think a lot about legacy,' Gellar said about Brendon. 'He brought so much joy to so many people on that show, and that lives on. And that's the truth'; pictured in June 2017

While remembering her late costar, Gellar said it was an even 'bigger tragedy when you lose someone way sooner than needs to be'

Just days earlier, she joined fellow Buffy costars sharing heartfelt tributes to remember Brendon; pictured clockwise starting from top left: Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon

Gellar reacted to the news of his death by posting a 1998 photo of the two of them together along with a message memorializing both him and his character.

She started by quoting one of Xander's famous lines: 'Theyll never know how tough it is to be the one who isnt chosen. To live so near to the spotlight, and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes, because nobodys watching me.'

Gellar then added her own message in reference to the quotation: 'I saw you Nicky. I know you are at peace, in that big rocking chair in the sky.'

Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow Rosenberg on Buffy, as well as Emma Caulfield, who played his love interest in the series, also shared heartfelt tributes after learning of the tragic news.

Hannigan took to Instagram as she remembered some of their fond memories.

'My Sweet Nicky, thank you for years of laughter, love and Dodgers,' she wrote alongside a photo of them hugging and crying during an emotional scene.

Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow Rosenberg on Buffy, as well as Emma Caulfield, who played his love interest in the series, also shared heartfelt tributes after learning of the tragic news; pictured in 1998 portrait

In Gellar's post, she quoted one of Xander's famous lines and then added her own message in reference to the quotation: 'I saw you Nicky. I know you are at peace, in that big rocking chair in the sky'

'I will think of you every time I see a rocking chair. I love you. RIP,' she wrote alongside emojis of a broken heart and a crying expression.

Caulfield also posted a tribute on her Instagram Story.

'My heart is heavy. I can't put into words just yet how this has hit me,' she wrote about her costar alongside a clip of a scene of them dancing during the famous musical episode from season six.

'Let this clip of us giving it our all be a place holder,' she wrote. 'Rest Nicky. Rest. I love you.'
Dua Lipa ensured all eyes were on her as she joined Priyanka Chopra and Anne Hathaway at a swanky Bvlgari event in Bollate, Italy on Monday evening.

The British songstress, 30, left little to the imagination as she flashed her purple bra beneath a daringly plunging black velvet gown.

Dua's dress hugged every inch of her jaw-dropping figure and boasted a racy slit as she accessorised with dazzling emerald jewellery.

Meanwhile Priyanka, 43, was equally glamours in a black fishtail gown which featured a dramatic shoulder piece and sweeping train.

She too was decked out in designer jewellery for the brand's bash with a stunning necklace and matching pendant earrings.

Anne, 43, was also dressed to impress as she caught the eye for a voluminous red gown which she matched her her ruby necklace.

Dua Lipa ensured all eyes were on her at a swanky Bvlgari event in Bollate, Italy on Monday evening

She was joined by equally glam (L-R) Priyanka Chopra and Anne Hathaway

It comes after Callum Turner recently opened up his romance with the hitmaker, saying that Dua is 'the most beautiful woman in the world'.

The couple first started dating in January 2024, and the couple confirmed they were engaged in June 2025.

In an interview with The Sunday Times Style magazine, he detailed their first meeting and revealed the 'rule' the pair have that allows them to maintain their relationship amid their busy schedules and long-distance.

Callum explained they had 'maybe two, three, four, five near misses over our time where we didn't meet', before finally finding each other.

He said: 'There were loads of things like that and then, when we were both able to, we were both single and whatever, I just thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.'

The actor recalled how they sparked up an instantaneous connection during drinks for a mutual friend's birthday, when they were sat next to each other and realised they both were one chapter into reading the same novel, Hernan Diaz's Trust.

The British songstress, 30, left little to the imagination as she flashed her purple bra beneath a daringly plunging black velvet gown

Dua's dress hugged every inch of her jaw-dropping figure and boasted a racy slit as she accessorised with dazzling emerald jewellery

She accentuated her features with glam make-up and wore her raven tresses straight

Meanwhile Priyanka, 43, was equally glamours in a black fishtail gown which featured a dramatic shoulder piece and sweeping train

She too was decked out in designer jewellery for the brand's bash with a stunning necklace and matching pendant earrings

The stunner showcased her ample cleavage as she posed up a storm on the red carpet

Anne, 43, was also dressed to impress as she caught the eye for a voluminous red gown which she matched her her ruby necklace

She toted her essentails in a bejewelled handbag

Priyanka and Anne could not wipe the smiles off their faces as they larked about

Both actresses are Global Brand Ambassadors for the Italian jewellery brand

Jake Gyllenhaal cut a dapper figure in a classic black tuxedo

(L-R) Priyanka Chopra, Dua Lipa, Jake Gyllenhaal, Liu Yifei and Anne Hathaway

Priyanka and Anne shared a kiss with the brand's designer Lucia Silvestri (centre)

Anne beamed as she took her seat in the front row

Jake also took his VIP seat

A catwalk presentation showed off the brand's luxury jewellery and watches

Callum recounted: 'In the movie version of it I look up to the sky and I'm like, I hear you. I understand. The signs are loud, don't worry.

'And that was really the first [moment].'

Callum recently candidly opened up on their romance, saying that Dua is 'the most beautiful woman in the world'.

In an interview with The Sunday Times Style magazine, he detailed their first meeting and revealed the 'rule' the pair have that allows them to maintain their relationship amid their busy schedules and long-distance.

Callum explained they had 'maybe two, three, four, five near misses over our time where we didn't meet', before finally finding each other.

He said: 'There were loads of things like that and then, when we were both able to, we were both single and whatever, I just thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.'

The actor recalled how they sparked up an instantaneous connection during drinks for a mutual friend's birthday, when they were sat next to each other and realised they both were one chapter into reading the same novel, Hernan Diaz's Trust.

Callum recounted: 'In the movie version of it I look up to the sky and I'm like, I hear you. I understand. The signs are loud, don't worry.

'And that was really the first [moment].'
The Married At First Sight experts are once again under the spotlight after a complaint to the Psychology Council of New South Wales regarding John Aiken.

Aiken is now to be 'counselled' about the Code of Conduct published by the Psychology Board of Australia, the Daily Mail can reveal.

The Council began an investigation into the Channel Nine personality - who was a regular on the Today show before MAFS made him a household name - after being contacted by former participant Ben Walters in April last year.

Walters, who has publicly criticised the program since he appeared in season 11, had lodged a complaint targeting Aiken's behaviour and attitude towards participants.

The Daily Mail is not suggesting that the claims by Walters are true, only that they have been made.

'I am troubled by aspects of his on-screen behaviour and commentary, which I believe may constitute a breach of his ethical obligations as a registered psychologist during my experience with him in 2023 after four sessions with the man,' Walters wrote.

John Aiken (pictured at the 2022 Logie Awards) is to be 'counselled' about the Psychology Board's Code of Conduct after a complaint from a former MAFS participant

The Council began an investigation into Aiken (left, with Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla) after being contacted by former participant Ben Walters in April last year

As the Daily Mail exclusively revealed at the time, a previous investigation by the Psychology Council of NSW in 2017 led to Aiken no longer being able to refer to himself as a psychologist or undertake psychological practice on the show.

However, in the complaint obtained by the Mail, Walters claimed that Aiken 'continues to provide commentary and advice in a manner that draws upon his professional background and expertise, significantly influencing public perceptions'.

Walters went on to express concern that Aiken's 'involvement in a program that appears to prioritise drama and conflict... may be in conflict with several principles of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics (2007), which has been adopted by the Psychology Board of Australia'.

The fact the complaint was closed suggests the Council disagreed on this point. The Mail has chosen not to publish other aspects of Walters' complaint.

The official reply by the Psychology Council of NSW confirmed that Aiken's matter had been discussed late last year, nine months after the complaint.

'At its meeting on 9 December 2025, the Council agreed that Mr Aiken be counselled about the Code of Conduct published by the Psychology Board of Australia. Subject to counselling, the Council agreed to close the complaint,' read the reply.

'However, the Council will keep a record of your complaint on file, and will consider it if it receives further complaints about the health, conduct or performance of Mr Aiken.'

Whether the Council reminding Aiken of its Code of Conduct will prompt any soul-searching within the MAFS machine remains to be seen.

Ben Walters (left, with MAFS bride Ellie Dix) has publicly criticised the program since season 11. He lodged a complaint about Aiken with the Psychology Council of NSW

'At its meeting on 9 December 2025, the Council agreed that Mr Aiken be counselled about the Code of Conduct published by the Psychology Board of Australia,' read the reply

But it draws attention to the vexed question of whether the experts are there to genuinely assist the couples, or simply to aid the producers in stirring up drama.

Aiken and his co-stars Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla would, presumably, argue the former. Several MAFS participants suspect the latter scenario is more likely.

Indeed, as far back as the 2017 season, MAFS groom Andrew 'Jonesy' Jones took aim at Aiken for sharing an Instagram post in the lead-up to the finale in which he seemed more preoccupied with the drama than fostering healthy relationships.

Aiken had uploaded a photo of Jones with his on-screen wife Cheryl Maitland and captioned it: 'Are things going to get a little ugly between Jonesy and Cheryl tonight? Perhaps a little payback?'

Aiken is married to former news reporter Kelly Swanson-Roe (left)

A previous probe by the Psychology Council of NSW in 2017 led to Aiken no longer being able to refer to himself as a psychologist or undertake psychological practice on the show

Jones hit back on his own account, writing: 'Does your psychologist froth on things getting ugly? Is he/she into revenge and payback?'

Nine was contacted for comment.

Inside Mail keeps you one step ahead of Australia's media and political gossip. Dont miss our mustread weekly column, out every Thursday.

New to DailyMail+? Here are our most-read stories from the past week

Trapped in NAB's hell room: Whistleblower's harrowing account of 'sociopathic' punishment at bank - after worker plunged from skyscraper

Warning to Antony Catalano party guests after elite gathering ended with alleged assault... Plus, top facialist blasts 'bogus' complaints - and bedroom secrets of Bondi Boost founder: THE GROUP CHAT

MAFS INSIDER: Unaired 'sexual mishap' for Alissa and David that shattered their relationship. You won't see it on TV - now sources are speaking out

Read the damning email to NAB CEO from suicidal worker before Docklands tragedy - as we reveal the cruel HR method pushing staff to the brink

Inside celebrity dentist Dr Steven Lin's desperate last days in his childhood home - and the quiet turmoil that drove a respected family man to a life of drugs, filth and violence

'Death threats' from tradies, 1-star reviews... now cancer-stricken Block landscaper makes a startling admission from his Brighton bunker as he's chased for money all over town

LIZ JONES: Why so many are now gravely concerned by this picture of Kate and William

Sydney psychologist accused of using LinkedIn 'as a dating app' unleashes on ex-employee who filed 118-page complaint: LUCY MANLY goes inside the feud so vicious you'll need therapy

Mother of cheating nurse shares horrific way daughter was killed after SUV sex... and shares heartbreaking details of her marriage to doctor

Child killer Chris Watts' sick fetishes that fuelled him to annihilate his family, revealed for the first time by his 'mother figure' pen pal

Ugly new Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban divorce fight ERUPTS: Her friends share humiliating details of 'midlife crisis'... and reveal brutal REAL reason daughter Sunday Rose 'snubbed' him

RICHARD EDEN: Troubling Harry and Meghan 'behind the scenes' whispers from the Palace. Royal officials are terrified to speak about them... but one breaks their silence to confide in me

WA model Rebecca Jobson steps out with a new wealthy playboy boyfriend at Prada event in Sydney - following her split from surf king Taj Burrow after seven years of marriage
Robert Irwin was all smiles when he was spotted with rumoured new girlfriend, US wildlife photographer Ashleigh Scully.

The Wildlife Warrior, 22, is currently filming the US Dancing With The Stars spinoff  The Next Pro.

Robert looked very comfortable in Ashleigh's company when they were pictured arriving at a Gold Coast parking garage.

Cutting quite the dapper figure, he wore a blue polo shirt that he matched with a pair of jeans.

He was also spotted carrying a print-out  possibly the run sheet for that day's filming schedule.

Meanwhile, Ashleigh wore a sleeveless navy blue dress and carried a light-coloured jacket.

Robert Irwin was all smiles when he was spotted with US wildlife photographer Ashleigh Scully (Both pictured)

Robert looked very comfortable in Ashleigh's company when they were spotted arriving at a Gold Coast parking garage

The 24-year-old accessorised with a brown leather shoulder bag and a pair of black sunglasses perched on her head.

The couple were joined by another woman and were seen happily chatting and laughing as they exited their vehicle.

While there was no 'hard launching' of the relationship during the outing, a romance between Robert and Ashleigh would be a 'match made in heaven'.

Ashleigh is a professional wildlife photographer who specialises in Arctic wildlife and underwater photography.

Like Robert, Ashleigh began her passion for photography at a tender age, picking up the camera at eight.

In 2021, she was named Outstanding Young Nature Photographer by the North American Nature Photography Association.

Aside from her photography prowess, Ashleigh is also an accomplished athlete, serving as Texas Christian University's (TCU) equestrian team captain for the 2024-25 season.

The multi-talent also holds a BA and MA in Literature from TCU.

The couple were joined by another woman and were seen happily chatting and laughing

Robert and Ashleigh enjoyed a heaty laugh as they walked close to each other

Robert wore a blue polo shirt that he matched with a pair of jeans

She also bears more than a passing resemblance to Robert's ex Rorie Buckley.

Rumours about a romance between the pair have been swirling for quite some time.

Back in 2019, Woman's Day reported that Robert, then 15, had grown close with Ashleigh, after the pair met in the US.

The pair also sit on the judging panel for the Crikey! Magazine Photography Competition.

In February this year, the rumour mill went into overdrive when the pair were spotted on a deep sea diving expedition with US television personality Dylan Efron.

One photo showed Robert sitting next to Ashleigh in a boat, decked out in scuba gear.

They looked chuffed to be in each other's company, beaming as they posed for the group happy snap.

Many were quick to comment on the photo, suggesting that it was a 'soft launch' for the couple.

A romance between Robert and Ashleigh would be a 'match made in heaven'

Ashleigh is a professional wildlife photographer who specialises in Arctic wildlife and underwater photography

In February this year, the rumour mill went into overdrive when the pair were spotted on a deep sea diving expedition with US television personality Dylan Efron. One photo showed Robert sitting next to Ashleigh in a boat, decked out in scuba gear

Ashleigh bears a striking resemblance to Robert's former flame Rorie Buckley

'An American girl whos been a wildlife photographer since she was 8, a division I athlete, and has her masters in literature? Yup shes perfect for him lol', one fan swooned.

Another chimed in with a similar: 'The fact that they have been friends for years makes this even cuter OMMMGGGGGG.'

Robert has largely kept his personal life out of the spotlight in recent years.

During his winning stint on US Dancing With The Stars, Robert was linked to actress Xochitl Gomez.

He was also previously in a relationship with Rorie Buckley, the niece of late Aussie actor Heath Ledger.

After marking their red carpet debut in July 2023, the relationship had petered out by February 2024.

Reports later emerged that Terri's opinions of the relationship may have contributed to the break-up.
Daniel 'Julez' J. Smith Jr., the son of Beyonce's sister Solange Knowles, set rumors flying over the weekend about a potential new age-gap romance.

Smith, 21, set off the speculation when he and the Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta veteran Tommie Lee  who, at 41, is two decades his senior  were seen getting cozy in videos she posted to her Snapchat in the early morning hours of Monday.

In one video, Lee (born Atasha Chizaah Jefferson) laughed uproariously while clinging onto Smith as he gave her a piggyback ride.

'Type of s*** you do when you like somebody,' Smith said with mock weariness as he carried Lee.

She seemingly returned the affection by replying after a delay, 'My baby. So fine.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Smith and Lee to request comment.

Beyonce's nephew, the son of her sister Solange Knowles, set fan rumors flying about a potential relationship with a reality star two decades his senior over the weekend; Beyonce and Solange pictured in 2016 in NYC

Daniel 'Julez' J. Smith Jr., 21, was seen looking affectionate with 41-year-old Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta veteran Tommie Lee in her Snapchat videos from late Sunday and early Monday morning

Smith kept up the comically tired routine as he added that it's 'hard to be fine' while he's stuck carrying someone.

'Still fine!' Lee chuckled while wrapping her arms around his torso tightly.

Later in the evening, Lee regained the ability to walk on her own, but she still kept her arm around Smith as they walked together.

She couldn't hold back her giggles as she raved about their 'crazy night' together, which appeared to include a stop at a club.

Earlier in the evening, Lee shared a video of her dinner, which included a show with a female contortionist.

In one of the videos, Smith could be heard jokingly asking, 'You can do that?'

She captioned the video 'Sure can and better' with laughing emojis in response.

Lee also shared several videos from the evening that didn't appear to feature Smith.

In one video, Lee (born Atasha Chizaah Jefferson) laughed uproariously while clinging onto Smith as he gave her a piggyback ride. 'Type of s*** you do when you like somebody,' Smith said with mock weariness as he carried Lee

She seemingly returned the affection by replying after a delay, 'My baby. So fine.' Smith kept up the comically tired routine as he added that it's 'hard to be fine' while he's stuck carrying someone. 'Still fine!' Lee chuckled while wrapping her arms around his torso tightly

Smith, who was born in October 2024, is the son of Solange Knowles, 39, and her ex-husband Daniel Smith, whom she was married to from 2004 until their 2007 divorce; Solange is pictured in May 2024 in London

Smith (L, in November in LA) has tried to make a name for himself as an in-demand model. Lee (R, in 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a rapper and alumna of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta

Lee  who has struggled with addiction over the years  is the mother of six children, though she currently only has custody of two daughters. She previously spoke about the trauma of going into labor with one of her daughters while she was in labor; pictured in 2016 in Atlanta

Smith, who was born in October 2024, is the son of Solange Knowles, 39, and her ex-husband Daniel Smith, whom she was married to from 2004 until their 2007 divorce.

The in-demand model recently gave his fans a glimpse behind the scenes of his life in an attempt to clear up the public image of his upbringing.

In response to a question about the most difficult part of being the child of a famous parent, he said he was beset by 'misconceptions,' according to People.

He said that people who knew nothing about him nevertheless felt qualified to opine on his life, going back to the start.

'Look  the first time I ever heard of myself in the media was I was in seventh grade, and my mom posted this picture of me,' he began explaining. 'I was dressed as LL Cool J. I had, like, this red jumpsuit. I was 13 at the time. Mind you, I had a girlfriend at the time. I went to school, and my girlfriend showed me a picture that my mom posted.

He said that 'grown-a** adults' were calling him 'gay' online despite him only being 13 years old at the time.

Lee has stood out not just for her time on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, but also for her numerous run-ins with the law.

She has previously spoken about going into labor while she was in jail, though she was able to be taken to a hospital before she gave birth to one of her daughters.

Lee  who has struggled with addiction over the years  is the mother of six children, though she currently only has custody of two daughters, Havalli and Samaria.
TOWIE's Jordan Wright reflected on the heartbreaking impact of his reality TV career, before his tragic death at 33 last week.

The late star, who appeared in eight episodes of Ex On The Beach in 2017 and 17 episodes of TOWIE in 2018, was found dead after being seen behaving eractically before drowning in a drainage canal close to Bang Tao Beach, Phuket in Thailand.

While details of his death are still being established, a 2023 Instagram post shared by the star has reemerged, in which he spoke about how reality TV had 'left him unfulfilled, stagnant and lost' and losing his sense of purpose.

In the post, he reflected on his time in the London Fire Brigade. In 2019, Jordan was reportedly axed from TOWIE amid claims he was taking paid sick leave to film the show. He later quit reality TV altogether to return to his job as a firefighter.

Alongside a trio of images showing him starting in his firefighter role, he wrote the emotional caption: 'An incredibly emotional day for me today to say the least. This was me at 19 years old when I first joined the fire brigade...

TOWIE's Jordan Wright reflected on the heartbreaking impact of his reality TV career, before his tragic death at 33 last week (pictured in the fire service at 19)

The late star, who appeared in eight episodes of Ex On The Beach in 2017 and 17 episodes of TOWIE in 2018, was found dead in a drainage canal close to Bang Tao Beach, Phuket in Thailand (Jordan pictured in his final Instagram post)

In the post, he reflected on his time in the London Fire Brigade. In 2019, Jordan was reportedly axed from TOWIE amid claims he was taking paid sick leave to film the show. He later quit reality TV altogether to return to his job as a firefighter

'I had [an] enjoyable career for six years before I resigned to pursue a life in the limelight of reality tv. A choice that left me hugely unfulfilled, stagnant & lost...

'People think it's glitz & glamour but the truth is very far from public perception, I really struggled. When I left I lost a huge part of myself and my sense of purpose.

'Those of you close to me understand just how much I've struggled to find direction...

'I appreciate every single one of you that has walked the twisty path of uncertainty you will never understand just how much your support meant. You mean the absolute world to me. Redemption is a road that we all walk at some stage in our lives.'

In recent years, Jordan rejoined the fire service in his 'redemption arc', but left to pursue a career in financial investment.

On his LinkedIn profile he was listed as the director of London-based company Hampton Gate Wealth, a 'boutique introducer focusing on alternative fixed income strategies for qualified investors'.

He appears to have spent several weeks in Thailand prior to his death, with social media referring to his 'new life' in the country amid videos showing him riding fast motorbikes, enjoying time on the beach and indulging in martial arts training.

A final post, dated March 6, showed a photograph of Jordan relaxing with a glass of wine in an infinity pool, alongside videos of him on boat trips, posing with a motorbike, scuba diving and eating local cuisine against the scenic landscape.

Jordan is pictured on TOWIE in 2018

Last week, tributes flooded in from fellow reality stars and friends after Jordan's death was announced by Thai officials.

Police said the body of a British man was discovered in stagnant water by a Burmese worker on the afternoon of Saturday 14 March at around 12.30pm.

CCTV captured him running around erratically before his death. He was said to have been found lying face down in a water ditch, wearing a grey shirt and black trousers, but was barefoot.

Officials said the body appeared to have been there for some time, but there did not seem to be any sign of physical assault.

Jordan is pictured on Ex On The Beach in 2017

His new iPhone 17 is thought to have been found on a nearby bank, while his pocket contained a hotel key card for Hotel COCO Phuket Bangtao, around a 20-minute walk away from where he was found.

Detectives said there were no signs of forced entry or disturbance at the hotel. Authorities are now awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

His former manager Alex Shafiq told the Daily Mail that Jordan was a 'fun lad' who 'lit up any room with his smile'.

He wrote: 'I'm a good judge of character and I knew Jordan was a great person from the moment I met him. He was a very good looking lad, with a great, wide smile. He tried TV for a bit but DJing was his real passion, that's what he wanted to focus on.'
Bestselling author Jane Fallon has given fans a 'little update' on her breast cancer diagnosis, revealing she has undergone surgery.

Jane, who has been in a relationship with comedian Ricky Gervais, for over 40 years, told fans she has had 'my operation' six weeks after being diagnosed following a routine mammogram.

Posting on Instagram on Monday, Jane, 65, said it was a 'big day' as she had surgery to remove the tumour and a margin of healthy tissue.

'I had my op this morning. Im feeling remarkably fine (which is possibly the drugs, and they might also explain why Im cross eyed in photo 5). It all went very well, apparently,' she told her followers.

'I celebrated with a cup of tea and the brilliant @catsteadman s new one (more on that later, but Im loving it so far). Im held together with superglue* and dissolving stitches.'

Sharing photos before and after her surgery as she recovered at home surrounded by her and Ricky's beloved pets she continued: 'The popsox have to stay on for 48 hours, so Im going to style them out as a new trend.'

Bestselling author Jane Fallon has given fans a 'little update' on her breast cancer diagnosis, revealing she has undergone surgery

Jane shared her diagnosis on March 12 and six weeks on from being told the news, she shared that she has had 'my operation'

Jane added that there was a chance she may have to have another operation but for now 'I just have to wait 8-10 days for confirmation that theyve got it all and the margins are clear (small % chance of more surgery) and work out how to stop Pickle trampling over my incision.'

Of her cat she added: 'She was on me within 30 seconds of my getting home. Best nurse ever. And a huge thanks for all the lovely messages Ive had since I posted about what was happening.'

'Ive honestly been blown away and Im reading every single one of them even if Im not quite keeping up with replying #breastcancer *Probably not superglue'.

Jane wrote about her diagnosis on Instagam earlier this month, admitting to fans she had been 'a bit quiet on here lately.'

'About a month ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer  very early stage thankfully & the prognosis is excellent,' she explained.

'I had a routine mammogram a week before Christmas. I had no symptoms but the brilliant radiographer spotted something iffy & sent me for further tests & eventually a biopsy.

'Since then I've had more mammograms, more biopsies and an MRI so they can pinpoint the problem area precisely. It's been a lot, I'm not going to lie.'

She went on to say her surgery was scheduled for the week after next, adding she 'just wants to get it over with now'.

Posting on Instagram on Monday, Jane, 65, said it was a 'big day' as she had surgery to remove the tumour and a margin of healthy tissue

'I had my op this morning. Im feeling remarkably fine (which is possibly the drugs). It all went very well, apparently,' she told her followers as she shared photos from the hospital

Of her cat she added: 'She was on me within 30 seconds of my getting home. Best nurse ever. And a huge thanks for all the lovely messages Ive had'

'I'm getting incredible care and all will be fine but I'm not engaging with much beyond audiobooks & jigsaws tbh. Dr Eric on duty. Nurse Pickle wondering when lunch is,' she said.

The writer's career started out in television - before the publication of her bestselling book, Getting Rid Of Matthew, in 2007.

Since then she has released 14 books - with Worst. Idea. Ever, Faking Friends, Just Got Real and Queen Bee among her most widely acclaimed titles.

Harrow-born Jane began her relationship with comedian Ricky in 1982 - after meeting him while they both studied at University College London.

The couple are said to have moved in together in 1984 and they currently reside in Hampstead, west London, with their beloved pets.

Earlier this year, Jane offered a glimpse into her personal life - admitting she has no regrets about her decision not to have children.

Jane, who has been in a relationship with comedian Ricky Gervais , 64, for over 40 years

She said: 'When I was little, you know the cliche of a little girl is they imagine their wedding day and their wedding dress... it was none of that, ever.

'I would think about getting a dog or something. It was always about work and my life. I would think about the flat that I would live in and stuff like that.

'But I was never into that kind of romance stuff.'

She admitted her anxiety would have made her an overbearing mother, comparing herself to one of her sisters who she praised for finding the perfect balance raising her children.

'I'm a real catastrophist... I assume the worst,' she confessed.

Jane and her partner have also been vocal about their decision not to marry.

Ricky previously stated: 'We are married for all intents and purposes, everything's shared and actually our fake marriage has lasted longer than a real one.

'But there's no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God.'
It's becoming increasingly clear that Strictly Come Dancing will look very different to what we are used to when it airs later this year.

The show's new hosts still haven't been announced after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped down last year and there has been a huge culling of professional dancer favourites like Karen Hauer, 43, Nadiya Bychkova, 36, Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, Luba Mushtuk, 36, and Gorka Marquez, 35.

While as of last year it is still the most watched Saturday night show, viewership has fallen in recent years, with a notable drop in average viewers when the 2024 series aired.

So now ahead of the 2026 installment it seems the BBC is taking a new approach - and it involves attracting a younger audience to watch the show.

It was claimed on Monday night that bosses have reportedly looked to TikTok when deciding which pros would be axed as part of the show's mass cull.

A new report claimed those with bigger online followings have been chosen over dancers who are not so TikTok friendly as the series tries desperately to attract that that 18-24 year olds demographic.

So what is involved in the BBC's bid to attract young viewers...

The BBC's desperate bid to attract young viewers: How the channel is looking to TikTok for new Strictly strategy after hiring social media savvy pros and signing more YouTubers

While the culling of pros is continuing, it is worth noting that last year a batch of much younger and social media savvy pros were hired including Alexis Warr who was paired with YouTuber George Clarke (seen together)

TikTok numbers

Bosses have reportedly looked to TikTok when deciding which pros would be axed as part of the show's mass cull.

It has been claimed those with bigger online followings have been chosen over dancers who are not so TikTok friendly as the series tries desperately to attract a younger audience.

One example appears to be axed Nadiya who boasts 19,000 followers, while Dianne Buswell, also 36, with 966,000 followers has kept her place in the line-up.

Karen, who was Strictly's longest-serving female dancer, is a similar story with her 9,000 followers while safe newcomer Alexis Warr, 25, has a whopping 190,000.

A source said: 'Strictly is always looking for ways to increase its audience in terms of volume, but also in terms of attracting new, young viewers.

They told The Sun: 'Social media is a massive part of broadening that appeal, and TikTok is the perfect medium for a show where music and dance is at the forefront.

Strictly bosses have reportedly looked to TikTok when deciding which pros would be axed as part of the show's mass cull. Pictured left: Nadiya Bychkova, who has been axed. Right is Dianne Buswell who is safe for now

One example appears to be axed Nadiya who boasts 19,000 followers, while Dianne, with 966,000 followers, has kept her place in the line-up

Meanwhile Karen Hauer, 43, who was Strictly's longest-serving female dancer, is similar story with her 9,122 followers while safe newcomer Alexis, 25, has a whopping 190,000

'They won't simply lose someone from the line up because they aren't big on TikTok, but it might just be the thing that saves them from exiting the line-up.'

It comes after dancer Karen branded her axing from the show 'stressful and emotional'.

Meanwhile Fleur East and Janette Manrara have also reportedly been axed from Strictly Come Dancing's spin-off It Takes Two. Their replacements have not yet been announced.

Social media savvy pros

Alexis and Australian-born Julian Caillon were brought in last year to shake things up and were both given professional partners

Alexis is particularly active on TikTok and posts almost every day about her daily life and routines and had accrued an adoring legion of fans. This clip of her and George rehearsing has 146,000 likes

While the culling of pros is continuing, it is worth noting that last year a batch of much younger and social media savvy pros were hired.

Alexis and Australian-born Julian Caillon were brought in to shake things up and were both given professional partners.

Alexis, who is just 25, was paired with YouTuber and podcaster George Clarke - the perfect pairing to interest a younger audience.

While Julian, 30, was paired with actress Balvinder Sopal.

Alexis is particularly active on TikTok and posts almost every day about her daily life and routines and had accrued an adoring legion of fans.

During the show with George last year her behind-the-scenes rehearsal clips were watched and liked by thousands as their fan bases combined.

It remains to be seen which professionals will replace those who have been axed but it seems fair to say there may be a much younger cohort of dancers entering the Strictly family.

Casting more YouTubers and influencers

It was previously reported that Strictly had implemented a blanket ban on reality TV stars after bosses grew tired of 'certain reality celebrities peddling these stories about being "in talks" for the show when they have never been approached.'

The Sun reported in 2018: 'Bosses are now fed up of hearing the same people bandying around their own names just to shift a few copies of some weight-loss DVD.

'In light of this, theyve put in place their own reality star ban to stop them from cashing in on the show.'

Prior to this, the show had welcomed Big Brother winner Allison Hammond as well as former The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright.

However, the rule has since been reversed, with younger YouTubers, reality stars and Love Islanders taking part in the show.

YouTuber George, Love Islanders Amber Davies and Tasha Ghouri and social media figures like HRVY and Saffron Barker have all taken part in recent years.

It seems the BBC may be taking a leaf out of ITV's book my casting more and more YouTubers and influencers.

I'm A Celebrity's AngryGinge proved social media stars are taking reality TV by storm after he was crowned King Of The Jungle last year.

The past few years have seen more and more younger YouTubers, reality stars and Love Islanders taking part in the show, like Amber Davies (seen)

I'm A Celebrity's AngryGinge (seen) proved social media stars are taking reality TV by storm after he was crowned King Of The Jungle last year

The carefully curated move to book influencers and social media stars on mainstream reality shows like I'm A Celebrity was an attempt to attract younger viewers to tune in.

It's a strategy that worked during the finale, as of the 7.1 million viewers who tuned in to watch the final - a whopping 74 per cent were in the 16-34 age bracket.

Twitch streamer and YouTube sensation AngryGinge, 24, followed in the footsteps of influencers Nella Rose and GK Barry, both of whom have excelled in their careers since leaving the jungle with a string of TV deals.

BBC3 return

The Strictly approach to bring in younger viewers comes after BBC Three returned as a broadcast TV channel in 2022.

The TV channel ceased operations in 2016 and was replaced by an online-only version available via the iPlayer.

The corporation moved the channel online in a bid to save around 30 million a year, and relocated its budget to fund drama on BBC One.

But it returned following the success of shows including Normal People and Fleabag.

The TV channel was targeted at audiences aged 16 to 34 and is broadcast from 7pm to 4am each day - the same hours as when it closed in 2016.

Axed stars

Karen Hauer was the latest star to be axed from the show last week.

Over the weekend, she attended the LitPet's Sunday Dog Social, held at the luxurious 180 House on London's Strand, alongside her pup Marley, one of her four rescue dogs, whom she frequently shares on social media.

Speaking at the event about her heartbreaking career overhaul, she said: 'It's been a terribly stressful and emotional time and my four dogs have really helped me get through it. What's just happened is part of life and the stresses that go with it.'

Karen spoke about how her emotions impact the pups, saying: 'My dogs really feel it when I'm stressed and they have really helped me get through this.'

Nadiya, Michelle, Luba and Gorka have all been given the boot too.

Karen Hauer was the latest star to be axed from the show last week

Meanwhile Fleur and Janette have also reportedly been axed from Strictly Come Dancing's spin-off It Takes Two.

Insiders say bosses are plotting a major revamp of the BBC Two weeknight show in the wake of a string of scandals that have rocked the franchise.

Former Strictly pro Janette, 42, took over hosting duties in 2021 after eight years on the main show, while pop star Fleur, 38, joined the line-up in 2023 after reaching the final the year before.

But now both stars are said to be in the firing line as executives push for a bold new direction.

'Fans will be stunned that this bloodbath is continuing, but bosses are determined to overhaul the show completely,' an industry source told The Sun.

'Nobody feels safe right now and there's a real drive behind the scenes to usher in a fresh era after all the recent drama.

'But the priority is a clean slate by September and putting distance between the show and the controversies of recent years.'

The source added actions taken by BBC bosses do not mean Janette and Fleur 'are out of the picture entirely' and that there could be other roles for them 'elsewhere'.

Daily Mail has contacted representatives of Fleur, Janette and the BBC for comment.
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are set to reunite on stage for the first time in 17 years as they take on the roles of the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella.

They will join Julian Clary, wand in hand as The Fairy Godfather, alongside Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers and Rob Madge at the London Palladium.

The comedy duo are best known for their BBC sketch show which ran from 1987 to 2005.

The pair last performed on stage together during their Still Alive! The Final Farewell Tour which concluded in November 2008.

They have both performed at the Palladium in the past, Dawn in Snow White in 2019 and Jack And The Beanstalk in 2023 while Jennifer appeared in Peter Pan in 2023.

Dawn and Jennifer said: 'We have wished to play the Ugly Sisters for so many years, it feels this is the fulfilment of a dream - a dream our hearts made. Watch out. It won't be pretty.'

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are set to reunite on stage for the first time in 17 years as they take on the roles of the ugly sisters in Cinderella

The comedy duo are best known together for their BBC sketch show which ran from 1987 to 2005

Cinderella is produced and directed by Michael Harrison for Crossroads Pantomimes.

Speaking about the new show, he said: 'Last year's production of Sleeping Beauty broke all records at the London Palladium.

'We always want to raise the bar for our incredible panto audiences each year, so I'm absolutely delighted that Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders will be starring in this year's Cinderella.

'Having two of the nation's most beloved comedy icons together on the Palladium stage is incredibly exciting.

'Their legendary chemistry and razor-sharp humour will make this a truly special experience for audiences.'

It comes after Jennifer opened up about Dawn's botched attempt to take drugs during an appearance on the debut episode of Claudia Winkleman's BBC chat show.

Jennifer said: 'Dawn and I once thought we'd be really daring, and we got an ecstasy tablet.'

The Absolutely Fabulous star told how she and Dawn one day decided to share the pill, when they were alone.

Jennifer explained: 'We kept it on Dawn's mantlepiece and one day  about six months later  we thought, 'Okay, we're ready.'

After getting their water, the duo prepared to take the pill, only to make an unexpected discovery.

Jennifer said: 'We didn't know what to expect at all and.the pill had gone!', describing it as 'quite a relief'.

Cinderella win run from December 5 to January 10 2027. Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Thursday 2 April 2026.
Romeo Beckham has unveiled his new tattoo of the Greek muse of 'erotic poetry' as he showed off the large artwork down his arm in a new Instagram post on Tuesday.

The son of David and Victoria Beckham, 24, is clearly following in his famous dads footsteps as he added the new inking to his already impressive 70-plus collection.

Romeo posed shirtless to show off the detailed work, by Fine Line Hearts Club's artist Jesus, down his left bicep.

The tattoo is one of the nine Muses in Greek mythology, specifically the muse of poetry, particularly erotic and romantic poetry.

This seems to be Romeo's first inking of the year after last year he added a a 11:11 tattoo behind his ear and a fairy design to the patchwork on his left arm, having previously inked a winged cherub on his ankle.

The model's tattoos also include a lion's face on his arm above the words: 'Do it afraid'.

Romeo Beckham has unveiled his new tattoo of the Greek muse of 'erotic poetry' as he showed off the large artwork down his arm in a new Instagram post on Tuesday

The son of David and Victoria Beckham, 24, is clearly following in his famous dads footsteps as he added the new inking to his already impressive 70-plus collection

He also had an image of a bird carrying a rose in its mouth with the words: 'Everything passes' on his other arm.

In another photo uploaded by a tattooist, Romeo had 'Romance' in a cursive font down his index finger.

The Beckhams are known for their huge tattoo collection, with David and estranged son Brooklyn, 26, wracking up 200 between them.

David, who debuted his first tattoo in 1999, has paid tribute to mother of his children Victoria, 49, with his own intricately decorated physique.

The family appear dedicated to paying tribute to one another through inkings, with the three brothers each having the word 'Brotherhood' inked on different parts of their body in October.

The eldest of the three, Brooklyn, opted to have his tattoo on his leg above his dancing lady body art, while Romeo also had his on his leg above his eagle inking, while Cruz chose to have his on his hand.

In January, Brooklyn released a scathing six page statement in which he publicly confirmed his decision to cut ties with his immediate family.

More recently Brooklyn delivered another crushing blow to his father David by altering his tattoo tribute to him.

The large anchor tattoo inked onto his upper right arm once carried the words 'dad' through it. Directly underneath is the message 'Love you Bust' - David's endearing nickname for his first born.

However, pictures appear to show Brooklyn has covered it up with nondescript shapes and a star.

Romeo showed off the detailed work down his left bicep. The tattoo is one of the nine Muses in Greek mythology, specifically the muse of poetry, particularly erotic and romantic poetry

The Beckhams are known for their huge tattoo collection, with David (pictured) and estranged son Brooklyn, 26, wracking up 200 between them

Romeo also has a lion's face on his arm above the words: 'Do it afraid' as well as an image of a bird carrying a rose in its mouth with the words: 'Everything passes' on his other arm

In another photo uploaded by a tattooist, Romeo had 'Romance' in a cursive font down his index finger

Last year, Brooklyn had his 'mama's boy' chest tattoo tribute for his Spice Girl mother Victoria covered up.

The influencer claims he has been 'controlled by a family that values public promotion above all else' and that since being with his wife Nicola, he has found 'peace and relief' after battling crippling anxiety.

'I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private,' he wrote in January.

'Unfortunately, my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed.

'I do not want to reconcile with my family. I'm not being controlled, I'm standing up for myself for the first time in my life

'For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family.

'The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.

'Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they'll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.'
Mel Schilling's podcast co-host and friend Elizabeth Day has recalled their final days together in a heartbreaking tribute following her death.

The Married At First Sight expert died aged 54 on Tuesday, just days after she revealed her cancer had spread to her brain. Mel was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023.

After Mel's husband Gareth announced her death on social media, where he spoke about her love for him and their daughter Madison, 10, tributes have flooded in from her friends, co-stars and fans.

Elizabeth, 47, who co-hosted the How To Date podcast with Mel, has shared their final time together in her emotional tribute.

'I never understood the truth of the phrase "she lights up a room" until I met Mel,' Elizabeth started by saying. 'There was an inner radiance to her; a spark; a dazzle. It wasn't just the smile or the obvious beauty. It wasn't just the sequins she loved or the glittery eyeshadow. It was deeper than that. It was the generosity that accompanied it.'

'She wanted others to shine, to feel special and to be loved. To be in her company was to feel anything was possible.'

Mel Schilling's podcast co-host and friend Elizabeth Day has recalled their final days together in a heartbreaking tribute following her death

The Married At First Sight expert died aged 54 on Tuesday, just days after she revealed her cancer had spread to her brain. Mel was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023

She continued: 'Like many of you, I fell in love with Mel on Married At First Sight. Her insights on the couch were always brilliantly delivered, with insight and compassion. But when someone needed calling to account, she did it. She was strong. And yet her strength has an elegance to it.

'The recipients of Mel's arched eyebrow would always deserve it. They would be the bullies, the misogynists, the narcissists. And she did it so well! A victim would often have no idea their nastiness had been filleted from them like bones from a Dover sole by a particularly expert waiter.'

'The contestants on MAFS rightly adored Mel. She taught many of them how to love - and, crucially, how to start believing they were worthy of love.

'When I had the idea for a podcast called How To Date, I only ever wanted Mel to host it. I felt so lucky when she agreed. She was amazing, of course. A total pro. And she believed in it. She believed in me, which was a special kind of gift.

'Mel's attitude was always 'why not?' Why not aim high? Why not dance till the early hours? Why not have another spicy margarita? Why not meet the love of her life online at 39 (this was something we both had in common)?'

'All of this meant that I didn't really believe it when she told me her cancer had returned. Mel was so vividly ALIVE. It felt like a cosmic practical joke; the universe saying: 'haha just kidding, I had you going there for a moment!' I just knew that she'd be ok.'

'Except that she wasn't.'

Opening up about their last time together, Elizabeth said: 'She told me over Christmas that the cancer had spread. I didn't know how little time we'd have left. I'm so blessed that I got to see her the week before she died.'

She added: '"My girl," she said and we squeezed each other's hands. Mel brought so much love to the world.

'It makes me happy to think that she found love with the amazing Gareth and their incredible daughter Maddie. To watch that family go through the unimaginable has been a lesson in courage and grace. A lesson in love, most of all.

'I feel so sad she's gone, of course. I still have all those voicneotes we sent each other. All the photos and videos: the digital trails of friendship. But I also feel that pulsating, vivid energy of hers pushing through the atmosphere of life, urging us all forwards, encouraging us to ask Why Not of love, of ourselves and of each other.

'My girl. Travel safe. Love you.'

Elizabeth also posted a picture from the day after Mel learned her cancer had spread as she donned a sparkly dress and put on a brave face.

She explained: 'She was told the cancer had come back the day before our launch party for How To Date, held with cruel irony on Valentine's Day.

'She came to that party, swathed in fabulous gold sequins, looking stunning. We danced to House of Pain's Jump Around. We jointly cut into a camp, pink wedding cake. She showed up. She always showed up.'

Mel first revealed that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023, and she had to have surgery to remove a 5cm tumour.

In a lengthy Instagram post last week, she revealed that she found out her cancer had metastasised to her lungs in 2024, and over Christmas it was discovered it had spread to her brain.

Mel had written: 'I honestly don't know how long I have left, but I do know I will fight to my last breath and will be surrounded by the love and support of my people.'

Announcing her death, her devastated husband Gareth wrote: 'Melanie Jane Brisbane-Schilling passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love.

Elizabeth shared photos of the pair over the years, pictured with Mel's husband Gareth and Elizabeth's husband Justin Basini

Mel first revealed that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2023, and she had to have surgery to remove a 5cm tumour

Gareth's beautiful statement in full to his wife as he penned: 'Goodbye, my love. My one. Until we meet again'

Just last week the dating expert revealed that her cancer has spread to her brain and there was nothing more doctors could do, leading to an outpouring of support, (pictured with Gareth and Maddie)

'In her final moments, when I thought cancer had taken away her ability to speak, she ushered me closer and whispered a message for Maddie and me that will sustain me for the rest of my life. It took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. Even then, her only thought was for Maddie and me.

'This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42  and nailed both.

'This is a woman who, through two years of chemotherapy, when she could barely lift her head from the pillow, never complained and never stopped showing courage, grace, compassion and empathy, and never missed a day of filming.

'To most of you, she was Mel Schilling  matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. To Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate.'

Gareth continued: 'Life can be beautiful, and life can be incredibly cruel. But ultimately, life is fleeting, fragile, and tomorrow is promised to no one. If you can do anything to honour Mel, please live life to the full, love your people well, and try not to sweat the small stuff.

'I had 15 wonderful years with my soulmate, and it was the privilege of my life to be by her side. For that, I will be forever thankful.

'Goodbye, my love. My one. Until we meet again.'

Channel 4, which airs MAFS series in the UK, released a poignant statement, paying tribute to 'our friend who radiated joy, warmth and optimism.'

Channel 4, which airs MAFS series in the UK, released a poignant statement, paying tribute to 'our friend who radiated joy, warmth and optimism'

'All of us at Channel 4 are incredibly saddened by the news of Mel's death. Our thoughts and condolences are, first and foremost, with her family and loved ones,' read the statement.

'We're privileged to be the channel that is home to Mel's work, which was at the heart of Married at First Sight's phenomenal success, both in the UK and Australia. It reflected so much about her - her fierce advocacy for other women, her passion for healthy relationships and her mission to unite people in love.'

'Just as importantly, we'd like to pay tribute to Mel as a person. For many who work for Channel 4, Mel was not just a colleague but a friend, someone who radiated joy, warmth and optimism, who energised every room she walked into with humour and postivity.

'Everyone who knew her will miss all this about her and much more. We share in the sorrow that we're sure many viewers will now feel at this terrible loss.'
Denise Richards' plastic surgeon has shared shocking before and after photos of the actress' full facelift to The Daily Mail.

The 55-year-old star's surgeon, Ben Talei MD of Beverly Hills, did the work eight months ago.

And now The Daily Mail has learned that real reason she got the work done: her personal life was suffering and she wanted to do something nice for herself.

'She is very happy that she made the move last year because she feels beautiful,' a source told The Daily Mail.

'It is a rare bright light in her life as she fights her estranged husband Aaron Phypers during their ugly divorce. The divorce has really taken a toll on her in so many ways, emotionally and financially.

'She deserves to have a little joy in her life and her new face makes her very happy.'

Phypers filed for divorce from Richards in Los Angeles on July 7, 2025, after six years of marriage. In February, a judge ordered Richards to pay Phypers, $5,000 per month in temporary spousal support during their divorce.

Denise Richards' plastic surgeon has shared shocking before and after photos of the actress' full facelift from eight months ago to The Daily Mail. The 55-year-old star's surgeon is Ben Talei MD of Beverly Hills

The actress glowed at LoveShackFancy's A Sweetheart Soiree hosted by Rebecca Hessel Cohen and Kathy Hilton in Los Angeles on March 20

In the before photo, the former Bond girl had heavier eyelids, wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes, and a downturned lip. In the after photo, she had lighter eyelids, less wrinkles and a more balances lip

Richards' said her eldest daughters, however, were 'not happy' about her decision to undergo a facelift.

The Wild Things star recently revealed she underwent surgery last year to give her appearance boost but she's now admitted Sami, 22, and Lola, 20, from her marriage to actor Charlie Sheen, tried to talk her out of it because they were convinced she was 'too young' to go under the knife.

Denise told Allure magazine: 'My oldest daughters were not happy that I was doing it. But I think now they understand, and they see that I still look like me.

'I think they were just worried, in general, of [me] having surgery. They were telling me I didn't need it. I was too young.

'I told them that this is something that I want to do, and you may not agree with my decision, but I just want your support. I understand that you feel the way you do, but please know that this is something that I want to do for me.'

The actress - who is also mother to youngest daughter Eloise who she adopted in 2011 - previously clashed with Sami over the content creator's decision to get a nose job and the old feud bubbled to the surface once again after the actress opened up about her own surgery plans.

Denise explained: 'I didn't want [my daughter] Sami to get a nose job about two years ago. So when she said she didn't want me to get a facelift, she said: 'Mom, you did not want me to get a nose job.'

'I said: "Yeah, but you were 20 years old and that's your nose. That could change the way you look." For me, he's just putting things back where they were. I'm not trying to change the way I look; I'm just trying to put things back. There's a little difference, in my opinion'.'

She added: 'But I understand her feelings. She said she wished she had my nose, but she got her dad's nose. I told her: 'Your dad has a beautiful nose, and it looks beautiful on you'.'

In the before photo, the former Bond girl had heavier eyelids, wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes, and a downturned lip. In the after photo, she had lighter eyelids, less wrinkles and a more balances lip.

Richards broke the news of her dramatic facelift with Allure's Elizabeth Siegel last week. And the former Playboy cover girl candidly discussed her plastic surgery journey.

The star said she had the complete process eight months ago as she shared photos from the surgery.

And she said she was sad when her ex leaked the news to the press before she could talk about it.

'I wanted to put things back up, where they were before,' said Richards. 'I was terrified. Being in the public eye since my 20s, people know what I look like - a facelift is not something that I could hide.'

It's not the first time she has had plastic surgery. Richards had her breasts done at 19, and has had revision surgery for her implants since then. But, she said, it is the first time she has had cosmetic surgery on her face.

'It is night and day,' Richards said of her before and after look. 'It's shocking, actually.'

After she had the facelift, she said other stars 'were more comfortable telling me about theirs, but I'm not gonna name names.'

Still, she says, it can be great to know that 'it's not just serums and working out and lasers' that make people like her look younger.

'Going through my divorce, my ex [Aaron Phypers] disclosed that I'd had a facelift. He had a photographer show up outside an appointment where I had some microneedling on my scars,' she claimed.

Richards in 2023, left, and last week, right

From left: Camille Grammer, Rebecca Hessel Cohen, Cynthia Bailey, Kathy Hilton, Richards, Sutton Stracke and Crystal Kung Minkoff

'So [my ex] told someone that I had a facelift, and said it was botched, which is really ridiculous.

'You know, I went back and forth about whether I was going to say anything about my facelift - um, he kind of let the cat out of the bag.

'I think I could have gotten away with, 'Oh, she looks so much better after her divorce.' I think I probably would've been able to get away with itor not, I don't know.'

This comes after Richards was ordered to pay her estranged husband, Phypers, $5,000 a month in temporary spousal support.

The actress and her ex, 53, are amid divorce proceedings after separating last summer and during the latest court hearing related to the split, Judge Nicole Bershon ruled the movie star must pay Phypers the monthly amount and contribute $30,000 towards his legal fees.

The judge clarified that the attorney's fees apply only to the divorce case and not to Phypers's criminal defense.

He is facing four felony counts  two felony counts of injuring a spouse and two felony counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat  allegations he has denied.

The $30,000 in legal fees will be paid in three installments, with the first $10,000 due at the end of March.

Judge Bershon itemized the monthly $5,000 support payment as $2,000 for rent, $1,000 for a car, $1,000 for food and the remaining sum for miscellaneous expenses.

Phypers told the court on February 26 he had only $200 to his name and said the ruling would 'certainly help' but that he was taking matters 'one day at a time.'

Aaron Phypers and Richards visit SiriusXM Studios in January 2025 in Los Angeles

Join the discussion Does celebrity honesty about ageing change how you feel about your own appearance?

Richards's lawyer, Mark Gross, argued the financial burden of caring for her 14-year-old daughter, Eloise, who has a rare chromosomal disorder resulting in developmental delays, was 'pretty extraordinary.'

He said: 'Victims of abuse shouldn't be required to support their abuser'  referencing Denise being granted a permanent restraining order against Phypers in November 2025.

His lawyer responded that the Quantum 360 founder has not been convicted of the charges.

In January, Richards reflected on what she described on Instagram as a hard year of 'letting go [and] truths being exposed'. She wrote: 'As painful as it is, I'm so grateful for the clarity.'

Phypers was previously married to actress Nicollette Sheridan before their divorce in 2018.
Jay-Z says he was left 'uncontrollably angry' over his 2025 sexual misconduct lawsuit, in which he was accused of raping a teen in 2000.

The music mogul, 56, gave a rare interview to GQ alongside his first cover shoot in almost a decade, to mark his 30 years in music and to coincide with his announcement of JAY-Z 30, JAY-Z 25, and two shows at Yankees Stadium.

In the candid conversation, he was asked about being named in the civil lawsuit in which an Alabama woman, using the name Jane Doe, alleged Jay-Z sexually assaulted her when she was 13 alongside Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

The case was dropped in February last year, before Jay-Z filed his own lawsuit, in which he stated the defendants 'were soullessly motivated by greed, in abject disregard of the truth and the most fundamental precepts of human decency.'

In his chat with GQ, the rapper spoke about how he was affected, saying : 'It was hard. Really hard. I was heartbroken. I'm glad we got right to that so we could just get that out the way. Like I was really heartbroken by everything that occurred...

Jay-Z says he was left 'uncontrollably angry' over his 2025 sexual misconduct lawsuit, in which he was accused of raping a teen in 2000

The music mogul, 56, gave a rare interview to GQ alongside his first cover shoot in almost a decade, to mark his 30 years in music and to coincide with his announcement of JAY-Z 30, JAY-Z 25, and two shows at Yankees Stadium

The insightful interview came alongside a striking shoot

'We're in a space now where it's almost like consequence is not thought about enough. Because everything is so instant, you know what I'm saying?'

He continued: 'That whole [lawsuit thing], that s**t took a lot out of me. I was angry. I haven't been that angry in a long time, uncontrollable anger. You don't put that on someonethat's a thing that you better be super sure

'I took that really hard. I knew that we were going to walk through that because, first of all, it's not true. And the truth, at the end of the day, still reigns supreme.'

The initial case saw Jane Doe claim the 24-time Grammy-winner and Combs sexually assaulted her when she was 13. She claims the incident took place at an MTV Music Awards afterparty in September 2000 - accusations the duo denied.

The case was dismissed in February last year with the Hard Knock Life rapper saying at the time: 'Today is a victory. The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed. This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere.'

After the lawsuit against the rapper was dropped, Jane Doe found herself being sued by Jay-Z, and went on to file papers asking the court to drop his case.

In her documents, Jane Doe said Jay-Z 'fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted' in his lawsuit against her in Alabama, where he is also suing her lawyer Tony Buzbee, People reported after reviewing court docs.

Jane Doe told the court that the 24-time Grammy-winner was trying to sue her over 'privileged' claims made expressly to the court.

She noted in her legal filing that a December 2024 interview she did with NBC News was protected based on the aforementioned claims of 'privileged' claims.

Jay-Z accused the defendants in the case, in addition to attorney David Fortney, of 'malicious prosecution, abuse of process, civil conspiracy and defamation,' according to legal documents filed in Alabama and reviewed by Dailymail.com.

Aside from the heartache of his legal woes, Jay-Z moved on to happier topics when discussing his passion for being a father to his three kids with wife Beyonce - Blue Ivy, 14, and twins Rumi and Sir, eight.

He said: 'It gives everything meaning, everything. Ill go cross-country, do what I have to do, and Im back on the plane that night. I love taking them to school. I love picking them up. Everything means so much more.'

Daughter Blue Ivy wowed fans when she joined her megastar mother Beyonce on stage to dance during her Cowboy Carter show.

Speaking about her achievement, he said: 'That was amazing. On the first tour there was a lot of conversation around her first performance, and she worked really hard to get to that point, but she still wasnt going for it...

'She still was going through the motions. And then she just started fighting back. I saw her fight maybe for the first time in her lifelike, not everything is just given to her and everything is easy. She fought for it. Shes almost on every number

He spoke about fatherhood to his kids with wife Beyonce. The couple share Blue Ivy, 14, and twins Rumi and Sir, eight (Blue, Rumi, Beyonce and Beyonce's mother Tina pictured in May)

'She worked at this, and it makes me proud that she fought for something that she

On relationships and loyalty, he said: 'There are people in your life thatre going to be there for a minute that are not necessarily going to be there for the whole ride. That happens. Some friends are for life. Some friends are for those moments...

'And you got to know when to move. Because these ideas of loyalty will hold you in places that you dont belong, because its not really loyalty. Loyalty is for life...

'So even if we fall out and [now] youre going on about me, I know that I made the right decision. You wasnt my friend because loyalty is forever.'

Read The Life of JAY-Z in the Words of Shawn Carter by Frazier Thorpe in GQ's spring issue and on GQ.co.uk
Louise Thompson shared an emotional update on her health woes, as she continues to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Made In Chelsea star, 35, is currently in therapy for her PTSD - with her latest victory coming with her returning to Antigua two years after she was forced to cut short a trip to the island to have her colon removed.

She was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2018 and in April 2024, was fitted with a stoma after ill during the trip to Antigua, where she was losing significant amounts of blood, could not walk or hold her son, and had to book an early flight home.

Now, Louise proudly revealed she has returned to the traumatic spot with son Leo, four, and her partner Ryan Libbey, saying: 'This was a beautiful opportunity to re-write those memories in better health'.

Alongside a lengthy caption detailing her emotions, Louise cosied up to her son while also sharing stunning scenery snaps showing the pair by the water.

Louise Thompson shared an emotional update on her health woes, as she revealed she has travelled back to Antigua two years after falling extemely ill during a trip to the exotic location

Now, Louise proudly revealed she has returned to the traumatic spot with son Leo, four, and her partner Ryan Libbey, saying: 'This was a beautiful opportunity to re-write those memories in better health'

In the caption, she wrote: 'I dont know where to begin but Antigua is very, very nice. I actually came out here 2 years ago but the trip was cut short because I had to fly back home to have my colon removed after reaching fulminant ulcerative colitis...

'This was a beautiful opportunity to re-write those memories in better health. If youve listened to the pod youll know I was a little anxious in the run up...

'Travelling with ptsd can be hard. I experience major dissociation on day 2 when my brain panics post travel day (routined) when I suddenly have a lack of routine, but newsflash, I havent felt bad ONCE in the almost two weeks that weve been here...

'I feel like Ive turned a major corner in my recovery and Im unimaginably happy about it. I hope this lil update provides hope to anyone going through the wringer atm. I have ALL the serotonin coursing through my body. No aids...

'Just movement, sunlight, seafood, happy thoughts, sleep. Lots of it. Oh and little to no screen time. My family are archaic so practically surviving on iPhone 6s and proper maps in the car...

'In case you didnt know 90-95% of serotonin is produced in the gut so its unsurprising that when I was physically unwell for all that time my mental state was absolutely cooked...

'It also affects digestion and clotting and lots of other important processes. Im going off on a tangent but I feel like I want to do some research around what happened to me re: ssris, gut health, digestion, bleeding, the nervous system because theyre all interconnected and I still bleed in weird places....

'Yes places I can see. Just not where I should as a woman once a month. Its a minefield. Anyway a few years ago I thought Id never enjoy travel again but here we are like a totally normal family...

In the caption, she wrote: 'I dont know where to begin but Antigua is very, very nice. I actually came out here 2 years ago but the trip was cut short because I had to fly back home to have my colon removed after reaching fulminant ulcerative colitis'

She shared sweet snaps of her son Leo on the shores

The Made In Chelsea star, 35, was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2018 and in April 2024 she revealed that she had been fitted with a stoma, something she discussed in her new video

'I wont lie, I have a few safety nets to lean on. I think thats being sensible. I brought an armoury of lotions and potions, probiotics, magnesium balm, soaks, tea bags and things to make me feel like I am at home...

'Including a newfound dream cream for fissures. Who ever thought Id be saying those words. Is it the air pressure? Last time I was here I basically had a prolapse so its all up from 2024. I think it all helped.'

Last month, Louise shared an emotional letter to her stoma bag, two years after having the bag fitted while undergoing a life-saving procedure.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic bowel condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed and small ulcers develop on the colon's lining, which can bleed.

A stoma is a surgically-created opening made on the abdomen, which is made to divert the flow of body waste into a medical device, which the person can then empty. She named her bad 'Winnie' in a nod to Winnie The Pooh.

Last month, Louise shared an emotional letter to her stoma bag, two years after having the bag fitted while undergoing a life-saving procedure

On the anniversary of having Winnie fitted, she shared a post and emotional video addressing her combined gratitude and resentment for the life-changing device.

She wrote: 'Winnie was born 2 years ago. And weve been attached at the hip ever since. Im not normally compatible with Aquarius signs but then again this wasnt a relationship that I chose. We were thrown in to each others lives out of necessity...

'Its been an interesting journey. Youve taught me a lot. I think I owe you a lot. Sometimes youre my best friend, other times I hate you...

'Youre clever stubborn overly honest - I dont need to know that much detail about my health thank you very much. Its funny to think that you might be in my life forever.

'Clinging on right up until the end. Two years on and Im still making my peace. Although I did have a massage two nights ago as a v day treat and I reeealllly resented you...

'I couldnt be bothered to explain my situation to the lovely foreign massage therapist who thought I said I have stomach problems instead of a stoma bag...

On the anniversary of having Winnie fitted, she shared a post and emotional video addressing her combined gratitude and resentment for the life-changing device

WHAT IS ULCERATIVE COLITIS? WHAT IS ULCERATIVE COLITIS? Ulcerative colitis is a long-term condition, where the colon (the bowel) and rectum become inflamed. It affects around one in every 420 people living in the UK. Small ulcers can develop on the colon's lining, and can bleed and produce pus. Symptoms include recurring diarrhoea, which may contain blood, mucus or pus, abdominal pain and needing to empty your bowels frequently. People may also experience fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss. WHAT CAUSES ULCERATIVE COLITIS? Ulcerative colitis is thought to be an autoimmune condition which means the immune system - the body's defence against infection - goes wrong and attacks healthy tissue. The most popular theory is that the immune system mistakes harmless bacteria inside the colon for a threat and attacks the tissues of the colon, causing it to become inflamed. Exactly what causes the immune system to behave in this way is unclear. Most experts think it's a combination of genetic and environmental factors. (Information via NHS)

'I nodded and prayed that she didnt get all up in my groin or shed have had a right fright. Sometimes I wish you away...

'Especially this last month when youve been raking me up from my deepest sleep and sweetest dreams every single night. Good practise for another kid I guess...

'Sometimes its ok to complain. I never do. I joke, but I dont complain. Ill complain about a chip on the sideboard or the dogs barking. But never about Winnie. Even when she leaks. Its good Ive got a solid handle on perspective...

'For the most part life is a breeze. This morning Im allowing myself a moment of reflection Im sat here writing this and feeling grateful to the first person who ever performed a colectomy  can you believe this -

'The first recorded colectomy was a right hemicolectomy performed in 1732 by the French surgeon George Arnaud de Ronsil. The EARLY 1700s...

'I wouldnt wanna be the person on that operating table. Thanks to the team that did mine so tidily (I think) and so safely. And thanks to all the test subjects before me. I wonder what will be possible for ibd / colon cancer sufferers in the future? x x...

'If anyone has any questions please fire away as I know its a little unusual.'
Vernon Kay stopped his BBC Radio 2 show on Tuesday morning as he paid tribute to his colleague who died.

The presenter, 51, finished playing a track when he revealed that the network's station manager, Ian Deeley, had died unexpectedly at the age of 45. The cause of death is not known.

Vernon said: 'As you can imagine at Radio 2, it's not just the names in the Radio Times who do all the work.

'We do very little, we just talk when we put up the fader, I'll be honest with you, myself and every on-air name included. It's the massive team behind Radio 2 that make this network so successful.

'And the BBC family were devastated to hear that our brilliant studio manager, Ian Deeley, had died unexpectedly but peacefully at the age of 45.'

Vernon noted about Ian's passion for radio, saying he loved it with 'every fibre of his being' and noted he had worked on most BBC radio stations.

Vernon Kay stopped his BBC Radio 2 show on Tuesday morning as he paid tribute to his colleague who died

He said: 'Even though he was a relatively young chap, Ian had a long and illustrious career, during which he pretty much worked on every BBC radio station.

'His time at the BBC started with news shifts followed by production work and more recently, Ian was working with our colleagues on the outside broadcast team, or "the Broadside Outcasts" as he jokingly called them.'

'With the OB team, Ian worked on all manner of big radio stuff, including pop festivals, BBC Proms and numerous royal events.

'The one that stands out for us and our little team is the one where Ian personally made sure that our show from the beaches of Normandy a few years ago went seamlessly  and it did.

'Ian was our lead engineer on our D-Day [80th] celebrations and he was so dedicated that he went on a [reconnaissance trip] over to France in his own time, just to make sure everything was up to his incredible high standard.'

Vernon added: 'Ian loved working with us here at Radio 2 and I know one of his career highlights was working with our friend, Steve Wright, he was thrilled to be able to be a part of the big show and as "one of the top operatives" as Steve called him. Steve always said, "Ian, keep it cranked" and he did.

'He was passionate about sharing that with others, he was so good in fact, he was voted to lead his local sailing club.

The presenter, 51, finished playing a track when he revealed that the network's station manager Ian Deeley had died unexpectedly at the age of 45

'As an engineer, there were few better but there are also so many things we can say about Ian, the person.

'He was an exuberant, larger-than-life character who was always enthusiastic and brought a smile to everyone's faces,' Vernon said, adding that he and his colleagues will miss the studio manager's 'quick wit'.

'We offer our sincere condolences to his mum Di, his brother Neal and his partner Lucy.'

Later in the show, Vernon thanked his listeners for sending in words of condolence over Ian's death.
Yellowstone star Mo Brings Plenty is upset that the death of his nephew Cole Brings Plenty has not been investigated further and the killer has not been found.

Mo, who is now starring with Luke Grimes on the Yellowstone spinoff series Marshals, talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the unsolved case.

The 56-year-old star said it has been 'heartbreaking' as he claims little has been done about the death of the actor, who was on the Yellowstone spinoff 1923 as shepherd Pete Plenty Clouds.

The death of Cole has been very public and heavily reported on since he passed two years ago at the age of 27.

'For his murder to go uninvestigated, and for it to be written off as "no foul play," because they didn't want to invest anything into it? It's heartbreaking,' Mo stated in the Sunday interview.

'Because we're taxpaying people as well. So for them to not work for us, no different than how they work for anyone else is pretty sad.'

Yellowstone star Mo Brings Plenty is upset that the death of his nephew Cole Brings Plenty has not been investigated further and the killer has not been found. Mo, who is now starring with Luke Grimes on the Yellowstone spinoff series Marshals, talked to The Hollywood Reporter. Seen in February

The death of Cole has been very public and heavily reported on since he passed two years ago at the age of 27. Seen in 2023

He also shared that Cole meant a lot to him as he 'was my nephew, but he was like a son to me.'

Mo claimed that police have not put 'much effort into' looking into Cole's death.

'They weren't even really looking for him. They were hunting him,' he told the outlet. 'They weren't searching for him.'

A warrant was issued for Cole's arrest in March 2024 after he fled the scene of an alleged domestic violence case with a young woman.

Mo and his Yellowstone costar Cole Hauser asked for the public's help to locate the young actor as he was deemed a missing person.

After leaving his apartment building early March 31, 2024, the actor, driving his white Ford Explorer, drove 20 miles to a Kwik Shop gas station in Baldwin City. He then drove to another gas station in rural Gardner, where he stopped in the TA Express minimart off Homestead Lane.

A manager there told DailyMail.com that Cole showed up before dawn, fidgety and appearing distressed, bought some groceries and left.

His SUV was found a few hundred yards away, parked deep into a construction site, out of public view, near a wooded area.

A worker at the site told DailyMail.com that one of the crew members noticed the vehicle early Friday, April 5, peered inside and saw blood. They called police, who found the body a short distance away.

Cole starred on two episodes of the Yellowstone spinoff 1923 as Pete Plenty Clouds

Mo and his Yellowstone costar Cole Hauser asked for the public's help to locate the young actor as he was deemed a missing person

Detectives have questioned people at the apartment building, the two gas stations and the construction site, telling several people that this was a suspected suicide.

After a four-day search, Cole's body was found April 5, 2024, 28 miles away in Edgerton, Kansas, near a construction site where his vehicle was abandoned.

A cause of death was not released. Cole was buried in a traditional Sioux ceremony in his native South Dakota.

Lawrence Kansas Police Chief Rich Lockhart announced authorities found no evidence of foul play.

'None of us could have imagined this outcome,' Lockhart shared at the time.

'I learned through this series of events that our Police Department must work harder to increase trust with our Native American community members.

Mo was on Yellowstone with (L-R) Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Luke Grimes, Kevin Costner, Taylor Sheridan, Kelsey Asbille and Dave Annable; seen in 2018

Mo Brings Plenty had a supporting role on Yellowstone and is now on Marshals

'Through meeting with Cole's family members and members of our Native American community, I clearly see that we are not where we need to be in partnering with a community that is very important to Lawrence's history and to its current culture.'

He continued, 'It's my hope that future bridges we build and partnerships we form between our Native American community and our police department will create a relationship that will not only increase trust and understanding but will also be a model for other communities.'

He finished with: 'There are a lot of families such as mine that are going through this right now, and we still have a lot of unanswered questions.

'Because I saw his body, I saw the evidence that is there, that someone caught him. So for them to say that there was nothing, I can't believe that. I still can't.'

Now Mo, seen far left, with his Marshals costars - from second to left - Luke Grimes, Brecken Merrill, Arielle Kebbel, Gil Birmingham and Tatanka Means; seen in February

Later, the Communications Manager at the Police Department in the City of Lawrence told The Daily Mail: 'We understand this was a very difficult loss for the family and our condolences go out to them today just as they did at the time.

'We provided a complete, in-person, presentation of the evidence to the family which included videos, witness statements and photographs. The family chose not to release the facts. Out of compassion we complied with their wishes.

'Once the case concluded, the family petitioned the court to seal the autopsy report, medical examiners case file, law enforcement case files of the Lawrence, Kansas Police Department and the Johnson County, Kansas Sheriffs Department, and the Death Certificate of Cole Brings Plenty. A judge signed it. (The Johnson County Sheriffs Department led the death investigation, as it occurred in their jurisdiction. LKPD led the alleged domestic violent and missing persons investigations.)

'The entire case contains clear evidence that there was no foul play involved in Coles death and that Cole acted alone.

'Any confusion and speculation are a result of the familys messaging. With the familys permission, we are willing to release a full report of our investigative efforts and results.'
Camila Morrone put on a sexy display as she went braless under a black blazer on Monday evening.

The 28-year-old ex-girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted promoting her new Netflix miniseries Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen in New York City.

She wore a skirt suit to a special screening, followed by an appearance on The Tonight Show.

Morrone, who has a link to Al Pacino, showed off her ample chest as well as her long legs in the fashion-forward ensemble.

The look was rounded out with a pair of pointed-toe, black, slingback heels.

Netflix's new horror show, which also stars Adam DiMarco, will premiere on March 26.

Camila Morrone put on a sexy display as she went braless under a black blazer on Monday evening

The 28-year-old ex-girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted promoting her new Netflix miniseries Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen in New York City

In the eight-episode series, Morrone and DiMarco play an engaged couple headed to the altar.

The story follows the pair as they encounter and experience a set of eerie and spooky coincidences ahead of their wedding ceremony.

The synopsis for the miniseries created by Haley Z. Boston reads: 'A certain atmosphere of horror is felt the week before the celebration of an unfortunate wedding.'

Morrone stars as Rachel Harkin while DiMarco plays Nicky Cunningham, her fiance.

During her guest spot on The Tonight Show, she recalled being mistaken for Anne Hathaway at an airport.

'I did get recognized once, but it was not for me.

'I got out of the car at LAX and there was a bunch of TMZ and paparazzi outside and I was like, "Oh! Wow! That Emmy nomination really worked!"' she joked.

Morrone went on to say that a photographer asked why she 'dropped out of the Sesame Street movie,' prompting her to search on Google which actress had exited the film.

'Anne Hathaway had just fallen out,' she explained to host Jimmy Fallon.

She wore a skirt suit to a special screening at the Paris Theater in Midtown

Morrone showed off her ample chest as well as her long legs in the fashion-forward ensemble. The look was rounded out with a pair of pointed-toe, black, slingback heels

The actress beamed as she made an appearance on The Tonight Show

The Daisy Jones & The Six star recalled being mistaken for a famous actress at an airport

Morrone received a 2024 Emmy nod for Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for her role as Camila Alvarez in Daisy Jones & The Six.

However, the award went to Niecy Nash-Betts for her role in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

When the nominations were announced in July 2023, Morrone took to Instagram to gush over the show's nine nominations.

'Happiest, most grateful human ever. I could have never expected this in my wildest dreams.

'Wishing I could hug every single one of my cast mates, crew, show runners, writers right now.'

She added, 'Biggest thank you to the @televisionacad. I will never forget this feeling. Congratulations to all of the nominees.'
Last Saturday, former Disney Channel star Miranda May announced she got engaged to her boyfriend Drew after two years of dating.

The 29-year-old bride-to-be - who boasts 2.4 million Instagram/TikTok followers - 'Went to Key West a girlfriend and left a [fiancee]!'

The seaside betrothal appeared to take place at Florida's Southernmost Beach Resort based on their photobooth vacation snaps.

May and her bearded groom-to-be - whose identity is private - previously proved their commitment to each other by adopting a terrier dog called Fletch on October 11.

The standup comedian and Drew went Instagram official as a couple in April 2024, but she didn't reveal his first name until a June 25 TikTok.

May received congratulatory comments from many of her former Bunk'd castmates including Peyton List - who starred as Emma Ross - writing: 'Congratulations Miranda! So happy for you!'

Last Saturday, former Disney Channel star Miranda May announced she got engaged to her boyfriend Drew after two years of dating

'Thank you Pey,' she replied.

Will Buie Jr. - who starred as Finn Sawyer - commented in all caps: 'Yayayaya!'

Nina Lu - who portrayed Tiffany in the first two season - also commented in all caps: 'Congrats!'

'Congratulations, so happy for you!' Mallory James Mahoney - who portrayed Destiny Baker in the last four seasons - wrote. 'Wishing you both all the happiness!'

Israel Johnson - who played Noah Lambert in the last three seasons - posted a star emoji and commented: 'Congratulations!'

Scarlett Estevez - who played Gwen Flores - posted three red heart emojis and wrote: 'Congrats!'

May was also congratulated by Bunk'd alums Trevor Flanagan-Tordjman, Tessa Netting, Jordan Clark and Rico Rodriguez as well as her former Liv and Maddie castmate Shelby Wulfert.

The Ohio-born, Florida-based beauty originally made her acting debut, at age 10, as a tourist's daughter in the Farrelly Brothers' 2007 rom-com The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller and Malin Akerman.

May first found fame in a recurring role as kooky Spacey Lacey in John D. Beck and Ron Hart's sitcom Liv and Maddie, which aired for four seasons spanning 2013-2017 on the Disney Channel.

The 29-year-old bride-to-be - who boasts 2.4 million Instagram/TikTok followers - 'Went to Key West a girlfriend and left a [fiancee]!'

The seaside betrothal appeared to take place at Florida's Southernmost Beach Resort based on their photobooth vacation snaps

May and her bearded groom-to-be - whose identity is private - previously proved their commitment to each other by adopting a terrier dog called Fletch on October 11

The standup comedian and Drew went Instagram official as a couple in April 2024, but she didn't reveal his first name until a June 25 TikTok

May received congratulatory comments from many of her former Bunk'd castmates including Peyton List - who starred as Emma Ross - writing: 'Congratulations Miranda! So happy for you!'

Will Buie Jr. - who starred as Finn Sawyer - commented in all caps: 'Yayayaya!'

Nina Lu - who portrayed Tiffany in the first two season - also commented in all caps: 'Congrats!'

'Congratulations, so happy for you!' Mallory James Mahoney - who portrayed Destiny Baker in the last four seasons - wrote. 'Wishing you both all the happiness!'

Israel Johnson - who played Noah Lambert in the last three seasons - posted a star emoji and commented: 'Congratulations!'

Scarlett Estevez - who played Gwen Flores - posted three red heart emojis and wrote: 'Congrats!'

May (R) first found fame in a recurring role as kooky Spacey Lacey in John D. Beck and Ron Hart's sitcom Liv and Maddie, which aired for four seasons spanning 2013-2017 on the Disney Channel

The Ohio-born, Florida-based funnywoman executive produced and starred as cheery camp director Lou Hockhauser in Pamela Eells O'Connell's sitcom Bunk'd, which aired for seven seasons spanning 2015-2024 on the Disney Channel

The long-haired brunette executive produced and starred as cheery camp director Lou Hockhauser in Pamela Eells O'Connell's sitcom Bunk'd, which aired for seven seasons spanning 2015-2024 on the Disney Channel.

May - who currently commands $110 on Cameo - even directed six episodes of the Jessie spin-off.

On April 6, the engaged couple will celebrate May turning the big 3-0.

The 5ft 5in funnywoman is next scheduled to appear at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation's Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show on November 7 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Denver, CO.
Myleene Klass proved she's still got it as she recreated her iconic I'm A Celebrity white bikini moment 20 years later for Instagram snaps on Tuesday.

The TV presenter, 47, looked nothing short of sensational as she stripped down to a barely-there bikini.

It marks two decades since her famous shower scene in the jungle back in 2006, which she previously joked 'put her kids through school'.

Myleene looked ageless in the stunning photoshoot as she teased an exciting project from the unknown sunny destination.

It's not the first time Myleene has recreated her iconic I'm A Celebrity moment where she flaunted her jaw-dropping figure.

Sharing snaps in a different white bikini last year, Myleene penned on Instagram: 'The OG (Although you can't turn this waterfall off). 20 years ago, my name became a verb. 'Doing a Myleene'.

Myleene Klass, 47, proved she's still got it as she recreated her iconic I'm A Celebrity white bikini moment 20 years later for Instagram snaps on Tuesday

It marks two decades since her famous shower scene in the jungle back in 2006, which she previously joked 'put her kids through school' (pictured)

'I'll be eternally grateful for that moment in the Australian jungle only to be repeated in South Africa for the All Stars' battle royale and the crown 17 years later.

'Honestly, that white bikini has put my kids through school.'

It's no doubt Myleene is enjoying some time away following the stress of her stalker ordeal.

Myleene as subjected to a year of sheer terror while working at Classic FM by a man called Peter Windsor.

He sent her an air pistol and other items so traumatic that police refused to tell her or the public what they were, leaving her feeling 'censored from her own life.'

Myleene told The Telegraph she was left questioning what on earth police thought could be more disturbing than an air pistol, leaving her fearing for hers and her family's safety and turning their home into a version of Fort Knox.

Windsor, 61, was found guilty of two counts of stalking involving serious harm and distress after a seven-day jury trial and was given an indefinite hospital order at Warwick Crown Court.

He stalked both Myleene and her colleague Katie Breathwick over four years and had sent the air pistol, handcuffs and a Catwoman outfit, as well as unhinged letters featuring sexual and Satanic imagery and around 1000 gifts.

Myleene was not aware of the threat at first - she missed emails from Breathwick about the stalking and later learned that security had thrown out many of Windsor's letters and packages.

The TV presenter looked nothing short of sensational as she stripped down to a barely-there bikini

Myleene looked ageless in the stunning photoshoot as she teased an exciting project from the unknown sunny destination

Peter Windsor, 61, was found guilty of stalking Myleene Klass and her Classic FM colleague Katie Breathwick in October

The air pistol and a set of hair clippers sent to Myleeme by Windsor, along with a note

Windsor was also convicted of stalking Ms Klass's Classic FM colleague Katie Breathwick, 54, sending her a pair of binoculars, a pair of running shoes with spikes, a bottle of champagne and a stamp collection for her son

She was only made aware in August 2024 when security emailed her a list of 12 items she had been sent with a note saying: 'We don't think there's anything for you to worry about but we're making you aware.'

At this point, she was receiving up to four items a day from Windsor, who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Windsor had no previous convictions.

She said: 'It was a huge shock [and] a huge violation. It's sheer terror really. It just felt extreme on every front..'

Police told her the air pistol, which was intercepted by Royal Mail could prove fatal if fired at up to six feet and he also sent her a silver ring which was 'holy protection for a worthy high priestess.'

Myleene took to the stand and felt she had to prove she didn't want these items or this attention.

The defence barrister questioned why she hadn't told her stalker to stop, suggested she was partly to blame for asking her Classic FM listeners to get in touch and suggested she was glad of the publicity.

Myleene said: 'I pointed out that I had just got my MBE. The last thing I needed attached to my name was whips, handcuffs and guns.'

While Windsor has been convicted, Myleene previously told ITV News that the ordeal had left an effect on her.

She said she had been left 'looking over her shoulder.'
The man groomed by disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards insists he 'won't be silenced' and will not let the ordeal ruin his life.

When he was just 17-year-old, the victim was pressured into sending Edwards explicit content which led to him developing a drug addiction.

Now, aged 23, he is determined to move on and is clean following his tough substance battle.

On the eve of the Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, starring Martin Clunes, the man said: After years of struggle, I have finally overcome my battle with drugs. I refuse to let Huw Edwards or what he did define who I am or the life I will yet lead.

I chose to tell my story so no one who has been silenced feels they are alone. Your truth deserves to be heard.'

His powerful words will appear at the end of the show.

It follows the real-life story of how the former BBC news presenter, 64, became the centre of a grooming scandal and pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.

The man groomed by disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards insists he 'won't be silenced' and will not let the ordeal ruin his life

His quotes will appear at the end of the Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, starring Martin Clunes and Osian Morgan

The victim was given control over how the show, revealed the executive producer Sam Ansti, who said: 'The victim is an incredible young man and I was struck by his big smile and polite manner when I met him, and how resilient he has been throughout this.

We said whatever changes the victim wanted would have to be made. He was front and centre of our production approach.'

Meanwhile, writer of the show Mark Burt added: 'It is the victim's story. He had access to the script and consulted with us.

Edwards, who earned 475,000 a year presenting the BBC's News at Ten for decades and broke some of the biggest stories, including the death of Queen Elizabeth II, was suspended 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.

He has since retreated from London to a quiet Welsh village where his mother lives and is currently focusing on rebuilding his family. His ex-wife, Vicky Flind, ended their 30-year marriage after police charged him. They have five children together.

Earlier this week, Edwards lambasted Wonderhood, the production company behind the exposing drama.

In a statement issued exclusively to the Daily Mail, Edwards said: 'Channel 5's 'factual drama' is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened.

'[They] made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative before going ahead with the production.

'They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response. They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions.'

Writer of the show Mark Burt added: 'It is the victim's story. He had access to the script and consulted with us'

Edwards is yet to see the show but added: 'It is difficult to see how this approach can be considered remotely responsible or fair, or be in compliance with key sections of the Ofcom code on broadcast standards.'

A Channel 5 spokesperson said: 'Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards is based on extensive interviews with the victim, his family, the journalists who revealed his story, text exchanges between the victim and Edwards, and court reporting.

'It has been produced in accordance with Ofcom's Broadcasting Code. All allegations made in the film were put to Huw Edwards via his solicitors six weeks before transmission.'

Edwards also made a grovelling apology to the Daily Mail, offering 'regret and remorse' for his 2024 conviction.

He said: 'My deep regret and remorse for the crimes I committed were expressed in court. In pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, I took full responsibility for my reprehensible actions. I am repelled by the idea that some people enjoy viewing indecent images of children. Every image represents an innocent victim. I offer my sincere and profound apologies for what I did.'

He has hired showbiz publicist Barry Tomes to help rebuild his career, with Edwards planning to speak out as people want to know why he did it.

Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards will air tonight at 9pm on Channel 5 and its streaming service My5.
13 Going on 30, the beloved rom-com starring Jennifer Garner, is officially being rebooted for Netflix.

Emily Bader and Logan Lerman have been cast as the main protagonists and Garner will be contributing to the project as an executive producer, according to Deadline.

The plot remains under lock and key for now, but Bader, 29, and Lerman, 34, will be playing love interests - a relationship that will likely resemble Jenna Rink (Garner) and Matty Flamhaff (Mark Ruffalo).

A Hollywood classic, 13 Going On 30 was released in 2004 and followed a tween girl whose wish of being 30-years-old comes true.

To her disappointment, while she was able to achieve her dreams, her future self lacked the moral compass Rink had hoped to have as an adult.

News the beloved coming-of-age film would be undergoing the remake treatment elicited groans from various X users - with many exhausted by Hollywood's reboot craze.

The 2004 film 13 Going On 30 will be rebooted for Netflix, with Jennifer Garner set to contribute as an executive producer

Emily Bader and Logan Lerman have been cast as the main protagonists

'why do we need a 13 going on 30 REBOOT???? im so tired of Hollywood's decision on banking nostalgia. ughhhhhhh,' one groaned.

'Logan Lerman as [rom]-com lead? Netflix is scraping the bit of the barrel again,' one wrote.

'Lord save us from the reboots,' another wrote. 'Not everything needs a reboot, we are TIRED,' another similarly posted.

'Guaranteed it won't be good. Remakes are almost never better so why do these talentless hacks keep doing it?' one asked.

'We yearn for original media,' one wrote.

There was some support, however, with optimism over the lead stars and Garner's involvement.

'Look under normal circumstanced I would say a reboot is entirely unnecessary. BUT Emily Bader and Logan Lerman are top tier casting so I'm ready (her dance in PWMOV is so Jenna coded),' one supporter said.

'At least Jennifer Garner being involved gives it some credibility,' one wrote.

13 Going On 30, which was directed by Gary Winick, was centered on a 13-year-old girl who unexpectedly found herself in the body of her 30-year-old self.

In addition to the feature's three stars, the movie's cast included Andy Serkis, Lynn Collins and Jim Gaffigan.

The movie received generally positive reviews from critics, and it currently holds a score of 64% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Internet groaned by the prospect of another reboot getting made

Garner played Jenna Rink, a tween whose dream of being 30-years-old comes true

Mark Ruffalo played Garner's love interest, a man who was once best friends with her character in middle school before life took them in different directions

Bader recently starred in the 2026 film People We Meet on Vacation

Lerman starred in Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, along with roles in Bullet Train, The Butterfly Effect, and The Patriot

The movie was a bona fide hit thanks to Mark and Jennifer's chemistry on screen.

During a recent appearance on Josh Smiths Great Chat Show podcast, Garner recalled the 'joyful energy' she felt making the film.

'When we were doing 13 Going On 30 it was like such a lark,' she recalled. 'We didn't know if it'd be good or not. But we're all still so close. It's wild.

'If it was seminal for you to watch, it was incredibly important for me to make. Gosh, being out on the street with Judy running around in heels in a nightie

'I haven't seen the movie in a long time. I'm scared to watch it again. I remember dancing around on the bed with those young girls. I really remember the playful energy, the joyful energy of making that movie.'

Garner's character is thrilled to see her wildest dreams came true in the film

However she was disturbed to see her 30-year-old self lacked a moral compass

During a 2014 episode of Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live, Ruffalo was asked about the status of his friendship his 13 Going on 30 costar.

At that moment, the actor disclosed that he and Garner didn't maintain much contact after the movie was released in 2004.

'We had a great time together, and I think we would, but then Ben [Affleck] came on the scene and that was the end of that,' Ruffalo quipped.

In 2024 Garner supported Ruffalo at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony - even delivering a speech and recreating their film's Thriller dance routine.

Bader's acting resume includes roles in Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, My Lady Jane, the Charmed reboot, and this year's movie People We Meet on Vacation.

Lerman starred in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, along with roles in Bullet Train, What Women Want, The Butterfly Effect, and The Patriot.

His most recent starring role was in the 2025 rom-com Oh, Hi!.
The Alan Ritchson bloody street brawl in Tennessee just got another twist.

On Tuesday police shared with the Daily Mail that they would not be charging the Reacher actor in the Sunday altercation with a neighbor named Ronnie Taylor.

The officers in charge of the case said the Hollywood star acted in self defense when he punched the neighbor and then told him to stand down.

That is likely because in a new bodycam video taken by Ritchson and shared to TikTok showed Taylor initiating a physical fight with Ritchson as he pushed the actor off his Kawasaki motorcycle after running into the street.

The star was with his two children when the incident occurred during the afternoon.

The Brentwood Police Dept said to the Daily Mail on Tuesday, 'The Brentwood Police Department, in coordination with the Williamson County District Attorneys Office, has concluded its investigation into the incident involving Alan Ritchson and Ronnie Taylor on March 22, in Brentwood TN.

The Alan Ritchson bloody street brawl in Tennessee just got another twist. On Tuesday police shared with the Daily Mail that they would not be charging the Reacher actor in the Sunday altercation with a neighbor named Ronnie Taylor

The officers in charge of the case said the Hollywood star acted in self defense when he punched the neighbor and then told him to stand down

'After reviewing available evidence, including video footage and witness statements, authorities determined that no criminal charges will be pursued.

'Mr Ritchsons actions were found to be in self-defense. Although a potential reckless endangerment charge was considered, Mr Ritchson declined to pursue charges.

'With the agreement of the District Attorneys Office, the case is now closed, and no further action will be taken.'

The footage from the bodycam gives a broader view of what really happened between the two men before the altercation turned bloody.

A visibly angry Taylor was filmed approaching Reacher star Ritchson, 43, and his two young children when they were riding their motorcycles down a suburban street.

Taylor is then seen leaving his property, crossing a sidewalk and walking into the middle of the street where the Hollywood actor was riding his green Kawasaki bike.

At one point Taylor allegedly stepped in front of the star's motorcycle with an aggressive legs-apart stance to block him from driving down the street.

That appeared to anger Ritchson, who then laid down his motorcycle and approached Taylor.

That is likely because a new bodycam video taken by Ritchson and shared to TikTok showed Taylor initiating a physical fight with Ritchson as he pushed the actor off his Kawasaki motorcycle

Ritchson on one of his motorcycles in front of his home in Tennessee

In the tense clip, Taylor is heard lambasting Ritchson for riding 'like a f***ing lunatic' as he expressed his concern for the other children in the neighborhood.

The actor then told his neighbor that he was out of his 'f***ing mind' and asked if he had been drinking, the bodycam video also showed.

Ritchson then told Taylor that he should have 'run him over' with his motorcycle as the neighbor stepped out onto the street.

The star then picks up his motorcycle, gets on it, places his helmet back on and revs up the engine over and over, which appears to infuriate Taylor.

Taylor could then be seen pushing the actor and his motorcycle onto the street twice.

Ritchson appeared to then use his fists to hit Taylor in the face several times. After Ritchson hit him, he demands he stay down.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Ritchson and Taylor for further comment.

TMZ has obtained an image of Taylor with bruises and cuts to his face after the fight.

The angry neighbor is then seen leaving his property, crossing a sidewalk and walking onto the street where the Hollywood actor was riding; Ritchson seen on Reacher

Ritchson is known for playing tough characters who get into physical fights

The first shocking video of the fight, filmed from an adjacent house, showed Ritchson appearing to throw multiple punches at the alleged victim in front of two children on motorbikes, who are believed to be his sons.

In the clip, the 6ft 3in leading man - who has previously spoken about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder - is seen striking Taylor on the ground several times.

Taylor told TMZ that the incident started on Saturday when Ritchson was riding his green Kawasaki bike through their quiet upscale neighborhood.

Taylor alleged that the entertainer was going at an excessive speed, as well as revving his engine and disturbing the peace.

The neighbor said he flipped Ritchson off, and the actor responded in kind.

The following day, Ritchson rode through the neighborhood again at around noon - this time with two kids on their own bikes - and was allegedly speeding.

Taylor asked Ritchson, 'Can you f*****g stop this please,' which is when the situation escalated.

The alleged victim claimed he reported that Ritchson punched him in the face and kicked him to the police.

He also claimed that the actor proceeded to fall off his bike, before getting up and attempting to run him off.

Taylor also alleged that Ritchson hit him 'at least four times' and in the back of the head at one point.

He said the incident, which was reportedly witnessed by neighbors, left him with bruises and swelling, but he did not go to the hospital.

In the clip, Ritchson is seen picking up his helmet off the ground and grabbing his bike after allegedly assaulting Taylor.

The actor shares three sons with wife Catherine, who he married in 2006, after they met while taking a dance class at college; the couple pictured in 2024

Here the family of five is seen on vacation together several years ago

He then loses control of the bike, which veers onto the lawn. Meanwhile Taylor is seen picking something off the ground and walking up to Ritchson, and then away again. The actor then gets back on his bike and drives off, followed by the two youngsters.

Ritchson shares three sons with wife Catherine, who he married in 2006, after they met while taking a dance class at college.

His other television credits include Smallville, Blue Mountain State, Blood Drive, and Titans.

As for movie roles, he played Raphael in the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot and its 2016 sequel, and has appeared in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Lazer Team (2015), and Fast X (2023).

In 2024, Ritchson revealed that he had attempted suicide in 2019, and said a vision of his sons ultimately convinced him to continue living.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ritchson revealed he had become incredibly depressed and was forced to finish editing his directorial debut, Dark Web: Cicada 3301, from bed.

After the suicide attempt, he sought help from a doctor who diagnosed him with bipolar disorder.

'I was diagnosed as bipolar right after. Deep down, I was comforted to know, "OK, there's a name for this."'

A friend then suggested he try MDMA therapy with his wife Catherine. 'I swear to God, the biggest light bulb went off, and it rewired my brain in the best way. MDMA is a proven therapy to treat PTSD in veterans, and its something that can work in cognitive therapy settings.'

The therapy session made him reflect on his existential journey and conclude that his purpose is 'to make the world a better place and serve others.' Ritchson's epiphany prompted him to seek out more fulfilling opportunities in his career, ultimately leading him to the TV series Reacher.

During his interview, Ritchson also claimed he had been sexually assaulted while working in the modeling industry.
The Married At First Sight family is in mourning following the death of Mel Schilling at age 54, with co-star John Aiken among those hardest hit.

The relationship expert, 55, broke down on the Today show on Wednesday morning as he spoke for the first time about her death, revealing the devastating toll of losing his 'partner in crime'.

'I'm not going to lie, this has been a very, very difficult day for me and basically everyone in the MAFS family and her nearest and dearest. It's tragic, and it happened very quickly,' a visibly shattered John said.

John revealed he had the chance to see Mel and her husband Gareth one last time before her death - a moment he described as both 'very emotional' and 'very special'.

'It was a very aggressive cancer, unfortunately,' he said, fighting back tears.

'One of the things I loved about Mel was that she was such a fighter she never complained. Whether she was on set or off set, she was a breath of fresh air, a real shining light.'

John Aiken, 55, broke down on the Today show on Wednesday morning as he spoke about his colleague and friend Mel Schilling's death - revealing the devastating toll of losing his 'partner in crime'

Despite her illness, he said Mel's spirit never dimmed - a quality that defined both her professional and personal life.

'One of the things about Mel is that she lights up a room. She's got this real vitality and energy,' he said.

Offering a glimpse into their off-screen friendship, John shared memories of the lighter moments they enjoyed together during filming.

'While you might see her, you know, giving a serve to one of the couples on the couch during a commitment ceremony, off set we would often sing, dance, she'd FaceTime her daughter and we'd sneak in the odd lolly or two,' he said.

'We had a lot of fun together she was always someone who made things a lot lighter. She was very much a glass half full person. We loved her.'

Reflecting on her legacy, John described Mel as a 'real role model' and 'voice of reason,' revealing he felt 'very privileged' to have worked alongside her for a decade.

'She was my partner in crime through all of this,' he said, referring to their time navigating the show's meteoric rise.

'I couldn't have done it without her it won't be the same now. It's very hard for me to get my head around her not being there.'

'I'm not going to lie, this has been a very, very difficult day for me and basically everyone in the MAFS family and her nearest and dearest. It's tragic and it happened very quickly,' a visibly shattered John said

Reflecting on her legacy, John described Mel as a 'real role model' and 'voice of reason,' revealing he felt 'very privileged' to have worked alongside her for a decade

He also spoke of her deep belief in the show's mission and the couples who took part.

'She loved love. She was completely committed to the participants. She wanted everyone to get the fairy tale,' he said.

In a final, poignant reflection, John shared what he believes Mel would want people to remember.

'You've got to keep moving forward, keep fighting, lean on people that are really close to you, and tell them that you love them,' he said.

'She just kept fighting, never complained and just pushed forward.'

Mel's death marks the second profound loss John has endured in recent years, following the passing of another close friend and colleague, MAFS co-star Dr Trisha Stratford.

Trisha passed away in September 2023 at age 72, three years after leaving the franchise.

John had broken the news of her death on social media, posting: 'I'm heartbroken and devastated that my friend and dear colleague Trisha has passed away.'

Mel's death marks the second profound loss John has endured in recent years, following the passing of another close friend and colleague, MAFS co-star Dr Trisha Stratford (centre)

Trisha passed away in September 2023 at age 72, three years after leaving the franchise

'We shared an amazing seven seasons of MAFS together. She loved everything New Zealand, relationships, the All Blacks, the Black Caps, French wine and travelling the world. I'll miss you Tish.

'Thank you for all the memories.'

The clinical neuro-psychotherapist, who hailed from New Zealand, joined the Nine show in its first season in 2015, starring alongside relationship gurus John and Sabina Read.

Sabina was later replaced by Mel Schilling.

John's heartbreaking appearance on Today came hours after he penned a lengthy tribute to Mel on social media.

Alongside photos of one of their first TV appearances together alongside one of their last, John wrote: 'Where it began and where it ended.

'It's with great sadness and heavy heart that today I lost my dear friend and fellow MAFS expert Mel Schilling. I am heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe.

'She came into my life 10 years ago and together we rode this juggernaut, being there for one another through it all. Nothing could prepare us for what lay ahead, but she was always in the fox hole with me.'

John's heartbreaking appearance on Today came hours after he penned a lengthy tribute to Mel on social media. Alongside photos of one of their first TV appearances together alongside one of their last, John wrote: 'Where it began and where it ended'

He said it had been 'a privilege and an honour' to sit beside Mel on the MAFS couch, praising her warmth, honesty and unwavering commitment to the participants, adding that 'at her core she loved love'.

John also offered a rare glimpse into their off-screen bond, recalling how they would 'sing, dance, face time her daughter and eat lollies' before filming - and how Mel would 'squeal' and run to hug him each time he arrived on set.

He went on to describe her as a devoted mother and wife, calling her 'loving, committed, loyal, fun and so very very kind,' and a role model whose family was always her driving force.

Touching on her cancer battle, John said she never complained, instead continuing to show up with strength and professionalism, calling her 'an inspiration, a fighter, a leader'.

But it was the reality of her loss that hit hardest.

'It's not fair that my partner in crime is gone,' he said. 'I am unravelling just thinking about it.'

In a final message, John thanked Mel for everything she had given him over the past decade, admitting he is 'distraught' as he comes to terms with her passing.

He ended by sending his love to her husband Gareth and daughter Maddie, adding that 'the MAFS universe weeps' for a woman he said was truly 'one of the good ones'.

Mel's husband Gareth (right) announced on Tuesday that the dating expert had died just days after revealing her cancer had spread to her brain

Mel's husband Gareth announced on Tuesday that the dating expert had died just days after revealing her cancer had spread to her brain.

In a lengthy statement, he spoke of her love for him and their daughter Madison, 10.

Mel helmed the expert panel of the Australian franchise for 12 seasons and also appeared in five series of the UK version on Channel 4.

But she had announced she would be stepping back from filming earlier this year, in order to prioritise her family and health.

John stepped in to replace her for the remainder of the latest UK series, as filming was underway.
Pilots pleaded to officials several times to 'please do something' about safety concerns at LaGuardia Airport before a deadly crash left two dead, according to a new report.

A review of government records by CNN revealed that NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System received dozens of pilot complaints about safety concerns at New York City's airport.

The report comes shortly after the disaster occurred on Sunday night when Air Canada Express Flight 646 from Montreal collided with a fire truck on the runway, which was cleared to cross by an air traffic controller, leading to the death of pilots MacKenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest.

Warnings ignored before LaGuardia crash

During the two years before the deadly crash, numerous reports flagged close calls at LaGuardia and warned of its dangerous pace, according to the outlet.

Last summer, a pilot wrote 'Please do something' in a report regarding a narrowly avoided incident after air traffic controllers failed to disclose that other aircraft were nearby.

An additional report compared the pace of operations at New York City's airport during severe weather conditions with that at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

'On thunderstorm days, LGA is starting to feel like DCA did before the accident there,' noted a pilot.

The airport in Washington DC, witnessed the worst air traffic disaster in recent US history when an American Airlines plane crashed into an Army Black Hawk helicopter in January of 2025, which caused the deaths of all 67 people.

In October, a person was sent to the hospital after two Delta Airlines planes collided while taxiing at LaGuardia.

Similar reports, just months apart, describe how air traffic controllers issued inaccurate instructions that led to near-collisions.

According to the outlet, other complaints weren't as dire or were not specific about the issues, but noted how there were other dangerous incidents at LaGuardia.

The reporting system reviewed by CNN is voluntary and allows employees to raise safety concerns anonymously.

However, while the reports are reviewed by a team of safety analysts who are responsible for informing the Federal Aviation Administration of safety issues, specific details of the reports have not been verified by federal aviation officials, according to the outlet.

Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, quashed a rumor on Monday at a press conference that only one person was working in the LaGuardia control tower during the time of the tragedy.

LaGuardia staffing under scrutiny after crash

Duffy said LaGuardia is 'well-staffed' but faces a shortage of controllers. He said there are 33 certified controllers, but the goal is to have 37.

Duffy added that further information was pending an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

'I cant give specifics on what went wrong,' Duffy said, deferring to the NTSB, which will be holding a separate news conference later on Monday.

A flight attendant who was hurled 330 feet from the aircraft on Sunday night and survived has also been named as authorities investigate how the plane with 72 passengers on board smashed into a fire truck on the runway at 130mph.

Chilling air traffic audio captures final moments before impact

Images from the scene showed the aircraft crumpled on the tarmac after the Montreal flight collided with the airport vehicle at 11.40pm on Sunday.

Air traffic control audio revealed the truck had been cleared to cross the runway for an unrelated issue before controllers urgently ordered it to 'stop, stop, stop' moments before impact.

Flight attendant Solange Tremblay survived the impact despite being thrown from the plane. Her daughter, Sarah Lepine, told TVA Nouvelles that Tremblay suffered a broken leg requiring surgery, but no other serious injuries.

'It's nothing short of a miracle,' Lepine said, noting her mother had been strapped into her jump seat during the crash.

LaGuardia was shut down until after the crash, forcing thousands of passengers to scramble, while airports across the country are facing severe delays due to the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.

FAA statistics show there were 1,636 runway incursions last year.

Share your thoughts with us in the comments

'Truck One, stop, stop, stop' Air traffic controllers warning before deadly NYC plane crash

Audio has been released of the moment an air traffic controller pleaded for a fire truck to stop before an Air Canada jet crashed into it while landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing the pilot and co-pilot.

The flight from Montreal was landing at around 11.40pm on Sunday when the aircraft struck a fire truck on the runway.

Air traffic control audio shared by NBC New York revealed the moments leading up to the collision, which began with another flight reporting an emergency on the other side of the airport.

The fire truck was cleared to cross the airport's Runway 4 before air traffic controllers frantically urged a Frontier plane bound for Miami  and the vehicle  to stop.

'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!' an air traffic controller is heard saying, before addressing the plane seconds later: 'JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now.'

Air traffic controllers told the Frontier crew that the runway would be closed, asking if they would like to return to the ramp.

'We got stuff in progress for that man, that wasn't good to watch,' a Frontier pilot said.

'Yeah, I tried to reach out to them. We were dealing with an emergency, and I messed up,' the controller replied, before the Frontier pilot tries to reassure him, saying: 'No, you did the best you could.'

The plane could be seen on the tarmac after the incident, with its nose badly damaged, front tilted into the air.

The flight was affiliated with Jazz Aviation, a regional airline in Nova Scotia, and was operating on behalf of Air Canada.

Two pilots were left dead following the collision, and 41 people were hospitalised.

According to unnamed sources via the NY Post, a female flight attendant was ejected through the front of the jet while still in her seat during the crash. She survived and was rushed to the hospital.

'Emergency response protocols were immediately activated. The Port Authority Police Department is on scene along with the agency's Chairman and Executive Director,' a Port Authority spokesman said in a statement.

'The Port Authority Police Department is working closely with our airline partners as well as federal authorities, and will provide additional updates as more details become available.'

The New York Fire Department confirmed to the Daily Mail that its crews had received reports of an incident involving an aircraft and a vehicle on Runway 4.

The Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft was carrying 76 passengers and crew during the incident.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced a ground stop due to an aircraft emergency, effectively closing LaGuardia Airport at 11.50pm EST.

Photos of the aftermath showed Port Authority Police removing the front half of the plane.

Read the full story here
Meghan Markle will return to acting after the unravelling of her exclusive $100 million dollar Netflix deal, a friend and former Suits co-star insisted to the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview.

And veteran actor Eric Roberts said he believes a Hollywood comeback by the former TV star will 'blow everybody's mind'.

'She will come back,' Julia Roberts's brother said, speaking on the red carpet at a charity gala last week alongside his casting director and manager wife Eliza.

'It is time. And Meghan needs to come back to work. I feel like her whole family will support it, and she is amazing,' Eliza added.

The couple reflected on Markle's future amid reports that her Netflix exclusive production deal and business brand As Ever collaboration has been downgraded to a first-look deal.

The brand is continuing independently.

Roberts, 69, who played shady billionaire Charles Forstman on the legal drama, developed a friendship with Markle while shooting the hit USA Network show.

Eric Roberts, 69, played billionaire Charles Forstman on Suits and formed a friendship with Markle on set.

Claims Meghan Left Over Royal Concerns

Eliza claimed the 44-year-old stepped away from Suits because the Royal Family had concerns about her 'very [alluring]' screen character, paralegal Rachel Zane.

'It is tricky because of the monarchy. Her role in Suits was very [alluring],' she said.

'Her making love with another man, that was just  they've never seen anything like that.

'She worked so hard to get there. That was just too much,' Eliza said. 'Women don't give up their jobs for a marriage anymore.

'I understand the intention, and she thought she'd be satisfied with doing good works in the world. But she needs to be acting.

'She is a young woman who needs to be acting.

'Meghan is a star,' added Eliza. 'From the second you see her, she just has star quality. It doesn't matter. It was always going to happen.'

Eric Roberts was definitive in his opinion about Markle's potential comeback.

'I think she should come back. I think she will come back,' he said. 'And I think she's going to be fantastic and blow everybody's mind.'

Before leaving Hollywood for the Royal Family, Markle starred as paralegal Rachel Zane in the legal drama series Suits.

Spotify and Netflix Partnerships Yield Limited Output

In the last few years The Sussexes have seen deals fall apart and have been hit with negative comments from industry insiders.

The couple signed a reported $20 million deal with Spotify, which produced only one 13-episode podcast, Archetypes, before the parties split.

Meghan had plans for her passion project, a Netflix animated series called Pearl, which was canceled before it got off the ground as their lucrative partnership was drastically paired down.

Reports of the size of the couple's original deal with Netflix have ranged from $30 million to $100 million, while two sources told Variety last week that the figure was $60 million.

One Spotify executive labeled them as '[expletive] grifters', though there has been no proof of any wrongdoing by the former Royal couple.

Roberts, who has appeared in over 800 films including The Dark Night and The Expendables, described Markle as a 'really cool person, really easy, laid back, kind, smart'.

Friends Praise Meghans Character and Parenting

He and Eliza, 73, knew her before she and Prince Harry met each other.

'She's a good mom. She is a caring, loving, kind mom. That's all you need to know about somebody,' said Eliza. 'And same with him.'

They insisted that supportive Harry would back his wife's career U-turn, after walking away from Hollywood following their 2017 engagement.

Eliza said that the 'magic' of Suits could even return  despite the ill-fated Los Angeles-based spin-off being canceled after one season last year.

The powerhouse pair spoke as Roberts, who has been nominated three times for Golden Globes, was honored with a Legacy Award at Charmaine Blake's The Night Of Many Stars gala in Los Angeles on March 15.

Last year the Duchess of Sussex reportedly shot a cameo  as herself  in the upcoming movie Close Personal Friends with Brie Larson, Lily Collins, Jack Quaid, and Henry Golding.

Hopes Grow for Original Cast Reunion

The couple reckoned that the door could be open for Rachel Zane to return to screen, teasing that a Suits project may be green-lit in the future.

Roberts was unimpressed with the NBC reworking, Suits LA.

'I don't really have anything to say except it was a mistake. They made a boo-boo,' he said.

Eliza was upbeat that a comeback of the original cast may happen.

'You never know,' she said. 'They may have made offers.

'I think they thought starting fresh would avoid the comparison. Instead, that created the comparison. But I think they should try again.

'There's magic there.'

The Roberts spoke openly before the luxury event, which benefits the Faber Ryan Youth Foundation empowering underserved youth through arts programs, mentorship, and life-enriching opportunities.

Roberts was honored with the Legacy Award 'for his extraordinary and enduring career in film and television spanning decades of acclaimed performances'.

Smiling on the red carpet, Roberts graciously attributed his success to his spouse.

'What do I owe my success to? My wife and the fact that I have the greatest job on the planet', he said.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Roberts and his wife Eliza both predicted a strong return to Hollywood for the Duchess of Sussex.

Veteran Actor Says Industry Has Lost Its Magic

'The old days were more fun because they were more precious. Everything mattered more,' he reminisced.

'But now that it's all kind of like instant coffee, it's about speed. It's about getting it done in five minutes.

'It's very ineffectual now,' he said. 'But it's fun because it's like a race.'

Eliza, 73, spoke with pride about her husband's varied career, which includes movies Runaway Train and The Specialist.

'It's the diversity,' she said. 'I love that he was the character in Suits, and two minutes later he's the character in Righteous Gemstones.

'That's like old-school acting, without any affectation. It just kind of emerges with good writing.

'And also, you appreciate it so much when you begin. The first part you get, you're so elated. 'Trying to hang on to that feeling. of really appreciating being a working actor, to me that is really important.

'It's paramount. That's the most important thing.'

Roberts was given a standing ovation at the Oscar Sunday celebration, created by Blake, which also saw guests enjoy an elegant three-course dinner, luxury gift bags, celebrity media interviews, and an after-party celebration featuring a high-fashion runway presentation by Beatta J Collection.
Iran has taunted Donald Trump with viral memes after he claimed 'good peace talks' were underway - with Tehran insisting no such negotiations have taken place.

Posts from an Iranian embassy account appeared to mock the US president, joking about 'joint control' of the Strait of Hormuz and sharing spoof messages including a fake WhatsApp-style exchange about talks with the Ayatollah.

In one post, the account shared a novelty kid's steering wheel next to real wheel with the caption: 'The Strait of Hormuz will be controlled by me and the Ayatollah', mocking the idea the rivals could share control of the vital waterway.

The jibes came hours after Trump said Washington had held 'very good and productive conversations' with Iran and hinted a deal to ease the spiralling crisis could be within reach.

Iranian officials deny Trump's claims

Trump said he had ordered the Defense Department 'to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period.'

He warned that the cessation of the strikes was 'subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.'

But Iranian officials have flatly denied any talks ever happened, dismissing the claims and insisting there has been no direct contact with the US.

A regime source taunted Trump by claiming after 'hearing that our targets would include all power stations in West Asia, he backed down.'

Iranian military spokesman mocks Trump

Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari also mocked Trump in a video, telling him: 'Hey, Trump, you are fired You are familiar with this sentence. Thank you for your attention to this matter.'

Trump floated joint control of the Strait of Hormuz and suggested he didn't know who was currently leading Iran when responding to a reporter on Monday morning.

Trump spoke to journalists on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport as he departed Florida after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago and was asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins who was in control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The President answered that the Strait would be open 'real soon' if a deal he's teased with Iran works.

'It'll be jointly controlled,' he said of the waterway.

When asked who would be jointly controlling it, Trump added, 'maybe me, maybe me.'

'Me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is, whoever the next ayatollah [is.],' the President continued.

Trump says US has not heard from Khamenei

Trump then argued that no matter what, Iran's next leader would represent 'regime change.'

'There's automatically a regime change,' the President added.

Leaders of Iran's Islamic Republic named Mojtaba Khamenei the new Supreme Leader after his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the first day of Israeli and US strikes.

But Trump confirmed that it's not Khamenei who the US is negotiating with.

'We have not heard from the son,' he told reporters. 'We don't know if he's living.'

Instead the President teased that a Iran ceasefire deal was being worked out with somebody very 'respected.'

'We're dealing with some people that I find very reasonable, very solid, the people within know who they are, they're very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for,' Trump said.

Iran launches missile strikes on Tel Aviv

Iran has launched missile strikes on Tel Aviv just a day after President Donald Trump declared peace talks with the country had been 'good and constructive'.

Iran sent multiple waves of missiles towards Israel, hours after a source told the state-run Fars News Agency: 'Tonight, special events are planned for Tel Aviv and some regional allies of the US and Israel that will completely remove the hope of negotiations from the minds of the aggressors.'

The missiles triggered air raid sirens in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv where blasts from interceptions were heard.

In one attack, homes in northern Israel were damaged by falling debris following an interception.

Israeli police said six people had been injured.

Read the full story here
Millions of Americans could be missing out on retirement nest eggs they haven't even realized they earned.

After decades of job changes, company mergers and forgotten paperwork, retirement benefits can be easily forgotten, leaving workers unaware that they're entitled to monthly payments later in life.

According to a recent report from fintech firm Capitalize, more than $2trillion in 401(k) retirement funds remain unclaimed in the US, with some people only rediscovering their money years after leaving a job.

Sometimes the discovery takes workers completely by surprise.

That is what happened to Vicki, a retiree who now runs a YouTube channel sharing stories about retirement and financial surprises.

Decades after working a job at a school system, a letter arrived in the mail that left her stunned.

'It said I was entitled to a pension,' she recalled in a video posted to YouTube. 'I almost started crying when I got that letter because I don't make a grand amount from my Social Security.'

Vicki said she had worked for the school system for about 13 years when she was younger, but she never understood that the job offered retirement benefits.

Vicki had worked for a school when she was younger, but she didn't know she'd earned retirement benefits at the job

'I was a teenager when I started working there,' she said. 'When you're 18 or 19, who's thinking about retirement?'

Life moved on, Vicki got married, raised three sons and worked other jobs. By the time she retired, the job was a distant memory.

Then came the unexpected notice telling her she qualified for a pension based on her time working at the school.

'I sat there and reread that letter over and over again,' she said. 'I couldn't believe it.'

The additional pension income now supplements her Social Security - something she said she desperately needed.

'I am ever so thankful that they reached out to me,' she said. 'I almost could have lost it if they hadn't.'

Vicki's story resonated with many of her viewers, who shared their own experiences uncovering forgotten retirement benefits.

One commenter named James Mace said he unexpectedly discovered two pensions from jobs he held early in his career.

Retirement isn't cheap, and you need all the extra sources of income you can find

Liza Maldonado discovered a pension from 40 years ago that she didn't know she had earned

In both cases, the companies required five years of tenure before employees were fully vested in their retirement plans.

Mace said he moved on from both jobs after about four or four-and-a-half years, assuming he would never qualify.

'I never gave them another thought because I hadn't vested,' wrote Mace.

But decades later, when he turned 65, letters arrived from both companies. 'One pays me $120 a month for life - it's better than a poke in the eye,' he said.

The second pension was much bigger. Instead of monthly payments, Mace chose a lump sum of nearly $180,000.

'I had not heard from either of these companies since I left,' he said.

Liza Maldonado told the Daily Mail an even stranger retirement discovery - hers involved a company with a name she didn't recognize.

Maldonado, who lives in Orlando, Florida, said she had been receiving letters from Towers Watson Company for years, and assumed they were being sent to her by mistake.

According to federal data, more than $2trillion in pension benefits remain unclaimed in the US, with some retirees only discovering the money years after leaving a job

'I would just throw them away because I figured it was a mistake,' she said.

Eventually Maldonado called the company to ask that her name be removed from the mailing list - only to learn that the business had simply changed its name.

It turned out to be the new name of the company where she had her first job back in 1985 - consulting firm Towers Perrin, Forster & Crosby.

'The mailings were about a pension that I had never had any idea I was eligible for,' she said.

When Maldonado turns 62, she expects to receive about $100 a month for life.

'Hey, I'll take it,' she said.

If you'd like to be more deliberate in your search for lost retirement funds, the US Department of Labor has a tool for the job: the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database.

This database is designed to help people discover plans they may have had with private-sector employers or unions. It includes both defined-benefit pension plans and defined-contribution plans like the 401(k) - searchable by your Social Security number.

'Just enter some basic information like your name and Social Security number, and the database will bring up any accounts linked to you,' Ted Jenkin, managing partner at Exit Wealth, told the Daily Mail.

Stories like Vicki's resonated with many others, who shared their own experiences uncovering forgotten retirement benefits

Jenkin said you'll need to print, fill in and notarize a form from the database, and then you'll regain access to your lost funds.

According to wealth advisor Mark White, if you're younger than 55, you'll want to roll the funds into an IRA or your existing 401(k) account to avoid any IRS early withdrawal penalties.

If you're older than 55, you can take the cash and spend or invest it, but you'll most likely need to pay income taxes on the amount.

One caveat: The database can't help you find individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or plans sponsored by government entities or certain religious organizations

Vicki said in her video that her experience highlights why it is worth reviewing past jobs - especially those held decades ago when traditional pensions were more common.

'If you worked somewhere that had pensions back in the day, check,' she said. 'Look back at your work history. It can't hurt.'

Even small monthly payments can make a difference in retirement.

'You might be entitled to a pension,' she said, 'and not even know it.'
Cassie Mathison went from earning $8 an hour at a frozen yogurt shop to raking in $132,000 a year as a mechanical engineer - and now she's the main earner in her household.

The California native, based just outside Los Angeles, once lived at home with her parents and commuted to college to save money.

Today, she holds an MBA from California State University, Long Beach - and a high-paying job in one of America's most male-dominated industries.

'I was that weird kid who liked math word problems,' Mathison told the Daily Mail. 'That's basically what engineering is.'

Her career success has also flipped the traditional dynamic at home.

While her husband once worked in engineering too, he has since switched careers to become a high school teacher - making Mathison the breadwinner.

'We were a little uncertain about the shift initially because we knew his income ceiling would be lower,' she revealed.

'Regardless, he makes a comfortable living and he's significantly happier being out of industry and that's what really mattered to us both.'

Cassie Mathison and her partner use credit card points to take 'spontaneous trips,' including an Alaskan cruise

Cassie Mathison is a mechanical engineer based outside of Los Angeles

Together, the couple brings in around $240,000 a year before tax - but living near one of the most expensive cities in the US means they still have to be strategic.

The couple's monthly expenses hover at about $6,000, including utilities and groceries. About $5,000 is set aside each month for savings.

Mathison prioritizes cutting costs 'in a reasonable way.' She and her partner have goals of retiring early, so that means being savvy and scrappy wherever possible.

The couple cook at home, buy clothes secondhand or borrow from friends, use their home gym, spend credit card points to travel, and 'other little things that save us a few bucks here and there.'

'I have to be savvy with my money if I intend to live here for the rest of my life,' she said.

The couple deliberately bought a smaller, attached home for $475,000 - below what they were approved for - and now carry a $407,000 mortgage as their only debt.

'We settled for less space than we wanted and took a more conservative route,' she said. 'But honestly, a lot of it still feels like luck.'

At the same time, she's built up more than $700,000 in assets between her house, cars, shares and metals. She said the best money advice she had was to focus on acquiring assets.

Some women who earn engineering degrees never enter the field, with only ten percent of mechanical engineers being women

But Mathison's success comes in a field where women remain a stark minority.

Just ten percent of mechanical engineers are women, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That's something Mathison thinks about 'every day' she is in the office, which is why she often prefers working from home.

'My experience has been dependent on how the person I'm interacting with feels about women,' she said. 'I have also been able to change a couple of minds about women engineers, for the better.

'For the most part, people have been great,' Mathison added. 'Now that I'm reflecting on it, I wish I told them how grateful I am that they made me feel safe and valued.'

Of the women who earn an engineering degree, 40 percent either leave the field or never enter it at all, according to a 2014 study presented at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention.

Some disagree, though, noting a recent shift in workforce trends.

'As we head into 2026, the data indicates a significant shift in the workforce landscape,' ZipRecruiter's labor economist Nicole Bachaud told the Daily Mail.

'Women have returned in full force to the labor market and are increasingly entering and thriving in industries where they have historically been underrepresented.'

Mechanical engineers can find careers in automotive, aerospace, robotics, manufacturing, energy and biotechnology industries

Cassie Mathison saves money by cooking meals, buying secondhand items and using her home gym to work out

Bachaud cited ZipRecruiter's survey of job seekers, which revealed an 'interest-to-employment' gap. That means more women are interested in becoming engineers than currently are working in that field.

Less than one percent of employed female job seekers are currently engineers, but 6.8 percent of all female job seekers 'are actively considering it for their next role.' A big reason for the interest is the financial incentives.

Indeed reports that mechanical engineers in Los Angeles make on average $123,456 per year, which is higher than the national average. With several years of experience under her belt, Mathison is making roughly $10,000 more than her colleagues in the area.

For Mathison, however, engineering as a degree and a career felt 'safer,' with the California native mentioning the high chance of employment, job security and 'comfortable' salary.

'I've been tempted to pivot into a new role several times,' Mathison said. 'But first, it's much harder to pivot than I expected, I think because at this point I'm not willing to take a pay cut to do so, and second, I ultimately decided that the grass is not greener anywhere else.'

Even if Mathison and her partner save $5,000 each month for retirement purposes, the couple still enjoys going on 'spontaneous trips' and spending time with friends.

She credits this 'breathing room' with her high salary and, of course, the fact that they don't have kids.

'Goodness knows how much money we're saving with that choice,' she added with a laugh.
A California restaurant was forced to axe its popular 'stinky' dish after a neighbor complained the smell was too much to handle - but they're not going down without a fight.

The Golden Leaf's prized stinky tofu was a novelty for fans of Taiwanese street food, based in San Gabriel, California.

But the traditional dish - deep-fried and known for its pungent aroma, often compared to extra-funky blue cheese or kimchi - was removed from the menu after the restaurant received multiple citations and violation notices from the city, the LA Times reported.

The drama began in 2017, when a neighbor took issue with the smell wafting from the strip mall restaurant and began calling incessantly.

Owner David Liao said her concerns weren't shared by the other customers, who never complained or said they smelled a distinct odor.

Trying to get to the bottom of whether this was an issue shared by residents, Liao's family began walking the residential streets nearby to see if there were any signs of lingering stinky tofu, and even went so far as to ask a nearby beauty salon and other businesses if they smelled it.

'If our commercial neighbors complained to us that it's affecting their business, then we would understand,' said Liao. 'But no one ever has.'

Despite their diligence, city officials arrived at their doorstep - demanding they either mitigate the smell or cease making the traditional dish, which is a staple of Taiwanese night markets and an 'invitation to community and tradition' for curious residents.

The Golden Leaf's prized stinky tofu was axed after a neighbor complained to the city that the smell was wafting into their residence

Owner David Liao has been fighting since 2017 to bring back the dish on the menu and said none of the business owners nearby said the were bothered by the smell

The traditional dish was removed from the menu after the restaurant received multiple citations and violation notices from the city

The dish, known as chou doufu in Chinese, is 'a cherished taste of home and a source of cultural pride,' he said.

In total, the health department, fire department and a city official all arrived to deliver the devastating news.

Not only would it affect the restaurant's attempt to share tradition, but the dish also accounted for 10 to 20 percent of their revenue, so they continued to sell it.

But the nail in the coffin came in 2017, when the restaurant received a city notice citing a municipal code violation for emitting odors deemed a public nuisance.

Along with the notice came the threat of fines that could cost the family up to $1000, leading to the axing of the iconic dish.

It wasn't until 2025 that Liao tried to revive the dish, launching a stinky tofu newsletter to alert customers to occasional weekly drops at the restaurant.

The move was a welcome surprise for Los Angeles County residents, home to the largest Taiwanese population in the US; in San Gabriel, about 41 percent of residents are Chinese or Taiwanese.

But once the nosy neighbor caught wind of this, they immediately launched their phone campaign again, calling so much that she managed to block the restaurant's phone line, preventing customers from placing orders.

Stinky tofu is an iconic Taiwanese food often sold in night markets and deep fried. It's known for its pungent aroma which is often compared to extra-funky blue cheese or kimchi

City councilmember John Wu, who spoke to Liao at the restaurant about the complaint, said the issue could be fixed with a better filtration system

Then, three months after the first newsletter, the restaurant received its second notice from the city, informing them that they had once again violated an 'odors' code.

When the LA Times asked the city how it decides when an odor qualifies as a nuisance, the city's community development director, David Sanchez, said odors that drift beyond a property and cause discomfort can be considered violations under the city's municipal code.

In November 2025, the restaurant officially removed the dish from the menu for the second time, and Liao disclosed that he had already paid more than $1000 in fines.

In response, he launched a Change.org petition and garnered more than 1,000 signatures from supporters all over Southern California.

'This ban isn't about public health or quality of life - it's about whose culture is allowed to exist in public,' read one comment.

'Stinky tofu is an iconic Taiwanese food, and targeting it sends a clear message to Taiwanese Americans that our traditions are unacceptable.'

City councilmember John Wu, who spoke to Liao at the restaurant about the complaint, said the issue could be fixed with a better filtration system, citing a similar situation with a nearby coffee shop that followed suit with the suggestion.

But Liao said upgrading equipment could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, with a ventless fryer priced between $20,000 and $50,000 and a specialized filter quoted at around $100,000.

Relocating the restaurant also isn't an option for the family.

'With all these options, I was looking for a guarantee,' said Liao. 'We were willing to work with the city, but they couldn't put anything in writing, and we don't have the money to just invest and see if it works.'
The average tax refund check issued by the IRS this year is almost 11 percent higher than it was in 2025, giving Americans a much-needed income bump.

Since the beginning of the 2026 filing season, the IRS has refunded more than $182 billion to taxpayers - thats up 12 percent from the total refunded at this time one year ago.

The average tax refund amount is $3,623, 10.8 percent higher than last year, according to the latest IRS update on tax season 2026.

Uncle Sam has received 69.7 million individual returns, out of about 164 million expected through the April 15 deadline.

E-file.com The online filing destination makes it easier and cheaper than ever, with no paperwork needed. Just bring your filing forms and watch the online magic happen. Right now with code SAVE28 you can save 20 percent on federal tax filing software at E-file.com. *Coupon code applies to federal software only, it cannot be combined, and must be used at the time of payment. Shop

The latest IRS tax filing update arrives as gasoline prices surge thanks to the Iran war, threatening to consume the bigger tax refunds Americans were counting on.

AAA records show that average US pump prices hit $3.96 a gallon today, up from $2.94 per gallon one month ago.

Last week, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 55 percent of Americans said rising gasoline prices were hurting their household finances, with 21 percent saying the hit was major.

Another point to keep in mind if you're counting on a tax refund: Under a law signed last year, the US Treasury has largely stopped issuing paper refund checks, and the rule change means your payout could be delayed.

President Donald Trump signed the OBBBA into law at the White House in July 2025

Americans say they are counting on their tax refunds more than ever to help out with their finances this year

Tax refund checks are arriving in Americans bank accounts at a tough moment for consumers, with the gas prices surging, the stock market falling and the job market tightening.

A growing number of Americans say they need a tax refund more than ever to help out with their finances this year.

According to a recent LendingTree survey, 46 percent of taxpayers say they need a tax refund this year to help cover expenses, up from 42 percent last year and 40 percent in 2024.

LendingTree talked to 1,500 tax filers in February, and found that about a third of them (34 percent) plan to use their refunds to pay for everyday expenses like groceries, rent or bills - while another 34 percent plan to pay off debt.

The survey found that nearly 9 in 10 Americans expect to receive a tax refund, but 2025 IRS data shows that fewer than two-thirds of taxpayers actually end up receiving a refund check.

All this comes as the IRS finds itself in crisis - between staff cuts and major changes in tax laws, the agency will likely struggle more in this years tax season.

Following the massive Trump administration reductions in the federal government workforce, the IRS finds itself with nearly 30 percent fewer employees than it had in 2025.

With more than 28,000 fewer employees, the agency needs to help America navigate the 100+ changes to the tax code introduced by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The average tax refund check issued by the IRS this year is almost 11 percent higher than it was in 2025

Your browser does not support iframes.

While the OBBB Act is generally taxpayer-favorable in that it expands eligibility for certain deductions and benefits, wrote national taxpayer advocate Erin M. Collins in her annual report to Congress.

The deductions and benefits are subject to complex eligibility rules, income thresholds, and phaseouts that will be difficult for many taxpayers to understand and for the IRS to administer accurately during the filing season.

And it's not just the feds that are struggling, as state governments face their own troubles amid the tax law changes, thanks to staffing shortages and software issues.

Reports suggest that Idaho, New York, Oregon, South Carolina and Washington, DC are currently experiencing significant delays in issuing state tax refunds.

State refunds are handled through separate systems from the IRS, meaning technical issues or legislative changes can slow payments even when federal refunds are moving normally.
Californias governor is being brutally mocked after unveiling a new mandatory personal finance class for high schoolers - with critics saying he should be the one sitting in it.

Gavin Newsom proudly announced that, from the 2027-2028 school year, students across the state will be required to take a course teaching them how to manage money, avoid debt and build wealth.

But within minutes, the plan was being torn apart online - led by a billionaire investor who took direct aim at the states own shaky finances.

Chamath Palihapitiya, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and former Facebook executive, fired back: You should take the class. The states finances are a dumpster fire.

The jab instantly went viral - tapping into long-running criticism that California is struggling to keep its own books in order.

Newsom had framed the policy as a big boost for the state. He wrote on X: Every Californian should leave high school with the tools to manage money, avoid debt, and build wealth.

He also linked the rollout to a broader push to expand womens access to financial education, saying the state is trying to break through historic barriers in the economy.

Other critics weighed in. Right-wing YouTuber and influencer Nick Shirley, 23, retorted: 'Will you and the rest of your staff be taking this as well?'

Governor Gavin Newsom shared that, starting in the 2027-2028 school year, California will offer a new personal finance course to high schoolers and require it for graduation

Canadian-American billionaire, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya mocked Newsom on X

Ross Patterson, host of podcasts Drinkin Bros and the Ross Patterson Revolution, also took aim at the governor: 'Take this course bro. Youre terrible at all of this.'

Newsom, who has famously taken to X to mock President Donald Trump in recent months, has not responded to his critics online.

The backlash reflects a deeper frustration with Californias finances - which, while officially balanced, are under growing strain.

The state is grappling with what economists call a structural deficit - where long-term spending commitments are rising faster than revenues.

Thats largely because California relies heavily on income taxes from high earners, making its finances especially vulnerable to market swings and downturns.

In the long run, the state will likely need spending cuts, delayed programs, or higher taxes to stay balanced.

Palihapitiya, 49, who lives in Palo Alto and runs Social Capital, has been a frequent critic of Newsom in recent times.

But from 2000 to 2019, Palihapitiya had supported the Democrats, and donated $1.3 million to party candidates and causes.

Chamath Palihapitiya (pictured with his wife Nathalie) currently resides in Palo Alto and operates Social Capital in Silicon Valley

However, in 2020 his political contributions shifted toward Republican party candidates, including donations to Vivek Ramaswamy and a $12 million Trump fundraiser in 2024.

In January, Palihapitiya slammed Newsom once again, this time over his wealth tax, complaining that a very small group of people (the top 1 percent) already pays more in total taxes than 33 percent of the population.

He has slammed Newsom on multiple occasions, including in 2021, when Palihapitiya said the governor 'has done a terrible job'.

He cited high crime rates, high taxes, poor air quality, and residents leaving the state.
TSA agents are being forced to go to work despite missing out on pay checks amidst the government shutdown - and many are struggling to make ends meet.

Airports nationwide are reporting historic wait times for security amid a severe shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers due to a partial government shutdown.

Record numbers of TSA workers have resigned or called out of work as the shutdown halted their pay, leading to massive security lines.

As an 'essential worker,' TSA agents are legally required to report to work even though they're not currently being compensated. Now approaching 38 days without pay, employees are reaching dire levels of financial instability.

Sharre Quick is a TSA employee at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas whose last paycheck was a tragic $4.27. As a result, she's been forced to choose between getting gas for her car or paying her electricity bill.

'I've been working throughout the shutdown without pay,' Quick told the Daily Mail, 'and like a lot of federal workers, it's been stressful trying to keep up with regular bills and daily life while still going to work every day.'

For the remaining employees still clocking in for work, Quick said the morale at Harry Reid International Airport has been 'pretty low'.

'People are showing up and doing their jobs, but it's hard on everyone financially, emotionally and mentally when paychecks stop but life doesn't,' she said.

A large number of TSA agents resigned or called out sick amid missed paychecks, contributing to massive security lines

A large crowd of travelers amasses in the center of Terminal 1 of JFK Airport due to long check-in wait times as an increasing number of TSA agents call out of work after not being paid for over 40 days due

Sharre Quick is a TSA agent at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas

Quick said it's worse for employees that have a family, who are now choosing between paying bills or feeding their children. When asked to compare this shutdown to the 43-day shutdown last year, Quick said both 'were impactful to all of us at the same level.'

The main difference, she noted, was 'the amount of recovery time' in between shutdowns for employees to reorganize their finances.

When it comes to passengers coming in and out of Las Vegas, Quick said interactions have generally been positive.

'From what I've personally seen, many passengers have actually been very understanding when they find out what's going on,' she added.

'A lot of people have said thank you and that they didn't realize we were still working without pay, so that's been encouraging.'

Quick is also receiving support from people outside of the airport.

Liz Mendoza, a friend of Quick, started a Gofundme Fundraiser to help soften the blow of her delayed paychecks. She raised $330 of a $2,400 goal in just two days.

'I created this fundraiser for Sharre because I see how hard she works and how stressful this situation has been,' Mendoza wrote.

'She has been speaking out and sharing what this shutdown is really like for federal workers, but at the end of the day, she is still a real person with real bills that still have to be paid,' she added.

TSA wait times reach four hours at some airports as government shutdown reaches 38 days

The Daily Mail previously reported rates of calling out from work more than doubling since the shutdown began - airports are seeing more than 50 percent of their workforce absent at times.

Over 300 TSA officers have reportedly resigned since the beginning of the shutdown.

ICE agents were deployed to 14 airports in the country by the White House to help tackle climbing wait times at airports.

Regarding recent ICE deployment, Quick said she's not able to speak on operational details, but knows they have not yet been deployed to Harry Reid International Airport.

'I can say there are a lot of discussions happening and people are aware of the changes, and like anything new, it's something people are adjusting to,' she said.
Protein bars once hailed as 'too good to be true' have ultimately lived up to that skepticism.

A fast-growing snack startup is facing a lawsuit that claims its wildly popular bars contain far more calories and fat than advertised - leaving loyal customers feeling duped.

David Proteins bars exploded in popularity by promising 28 grams of protein, zero sugar and just 150 calories.

Founded in September 2024 by entrepreneur Peter Rahal, the bars are marketed as a breakthrough product and lifestyle staple for health-conscious consumers.

Since their release, gym rats and health nuts have gone crazy for the snack, which come in flavors like Red Velvet, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

But a class action lawsuit filed in New York alleges those numbers dont add up. Independent lab testing cited in the suit claims the bars actually contain between 268 and 275 calories - nearly double whats on the label - along with significantly more fat.

And now, David's very health-conscious fans feel duped.

'I just found out that they've been lying about the nutrition labels,' one self-described David devotee said in a TikTok - while on-screen text read: 'I have been Regina Georged.'

David Protein's bars claim to contain 28 grams of protein for just 150 calories with zero sugar

Rachel McAdams as Regina George (left) and Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron in Mean Girls, in the infamous Kalteen Bars scene

The fan is referencing the iconic Mean Girls scene in which Regina George, played by Rachel McAdams, desperately tries to lose weight by eating so-called Kalteen Bars.

The fictional Swedish nutrition bars are marketed for weight loss by her frenemy Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan - only for Regina to later discover they are packed with calories.

In the films exaggerated logic, the bars are so calorie-dense they could, as the joke goes, feed starving African children.

David Protein uses a blend of milk protein isolate, collagen, whey concentrate and egg white to create its bar, that the company says has just 2 grams of fat.

However, according to the class action lawsuit, filed January 23 in federal court in New York, the lab testing found the bars contain 11 to 13.5 grams of fat.

The three plaintiffs allege that they - and other consumers - paid a premium for the bars under the assumption that the nutrition information on the packaging was accurate.

They are now seeking damages, refunds, and a court order compelling the company to stop selling products with allegedly misleading nutrition labels.

Rahal said the claims in the lawsuit are inaccurate.

Model Charlotte Coquelin and David Protein CEO Peter Rahal at an event in January 2026

'We stand behind the accuracy of our product labeling, which complies with FDA requirements for measuring and reporting nutritional content,' Rahal told Vanity Fair in January.

'This particular claim, among other things, fails to understand how the FDA measures the calories for EPG, one of our key ingredients. We intend to defend this claim vigorously.'

He argues that the tests cited in the lawsuit, conducted using a bomb calorimeter - a device that measures how much energy is released when a substance is burned - were not designed to measure the number of calories in food.

'No one is getting Regina Georged,' the company wrote in a March 11 social media post.
Harvesting sweetness with intelligence in south China

Xinhua) 15:44, March 24, 2026

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 19, 2025 shows farmers operating agricultural machines at a sugarcane base in Laibin City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

NANNING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A digital monitoring system is now delivering smart, timely alerts across sugarcane fields in Laibin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

"Your sugarcane is growing well. It is recommended to stop irrigation to keep the fields moderately dry and boost sugar accumulation," said one of its automated reminders.

In addition to offering such tailored guidance, this user-friendly system can also identify pests and diseases in the sugarcane fields and assist in making data-driven production decisions.

At a national modern agricultural industrial park, sensors buried in the sugarcane fields monitor soil pH, moisture and nutrients all day long. "Through digital soil surveys, we can apply fertilizers according to real demand," said Wang Zeping, director of the digital agriculture research office at the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

"In some sugarcane fields, the amount of fertilizer used per mu (about 667 square meters) has been reduced by 15 percent, while the yield has increased by 200 kilograms," said Wang.

As a national key sugarcane production base, Laibin accounts for one-sixth of Guangxi's sugar output and one-tenth of China's total. The city has rolled out sweeping innovations across its entire sugar industry chain, powered by artificial intelligence (AI). These changes target longstanding bottlenecks, such as over-reliance on traditional farming experience, low efficiency in pest control, and limited processing capacity.

Laibin has now established a complete integrated industrial chain covering sugarcane sowing, field management, harvesting and post-harvest utilization.

During planting, farmers are assisted by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System to ensure precise row spacing, down to the centimeter. When it comes to field management, meanwhile, agricultural drones can complete the spraying of pesticides over dozens of mu of sugarcane fields in just one hour.

Additionally, the integrated smart system for drip irrigation can be easily operated via a few taps on a mobile phone.

The entire sugar-making process is also visualized on large display screens. At a local sugar-making enterprise in Laibin, staff can now monitor the whole production flow in real time from the control room, with the intelligent control system precisely regulating the temperature, concentration and duration of sugar boiling.

Since the company introduced the full-process intelligent control system, the sugar recovery rate from boiling and refining has risen from 88.75 percent to 91.75 percent, significantly boosting production efficiency.

With such in-depth application of AI in the sugarcane deep processing industry chain, 13 sugar enterprises in Laibin have managed to complete equipment upgrades and technological innovations, developing over 30 types of functional sugar products, according to Mo Renzhong, deputy director of the sugar industry development bureau of Laibin.

In 2025, the output value of sugar processing and the comprehensive utilization of the entire industry chain in Laibin had exceeded 16 billion yuan (about 2.3 billion U.S. dollars), said Mo.

China's latest five-year blueprint, adopted earlier this month, emphasizes strengthening research and development in key core technologies and fostering leading enterprises in the agricultural sector.

The "No. 1 central document" for 2026, which China unveiled in February, also outlines plans to advance agricultural and rural modernization and to promote all-around rural revitalization. It pledged to expand application scenarios for advanced technologies such as drones, the Internet of Things and robots.

According to official data released in January, sci-tech advancements have contributed more than 64 percent to agricultural output in China. The total number of agricultural drones in use had surpassed 300,000 sets, while the annual operational area covered by these drones had reached 460 million mu.

"At present, rapidly developing information and AI technologies are deeply integrating with agricultural production in China," said Xia Xianfei, who is a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Intelligent agricultural equipment is becoming an increasingly handy "new farming tool," Xia added.

Enterprises in Laibin are also striving for further breakthroughs in smart agriculture and agricultural machinery, including advancing the deployment of digital monitoring systems and BeiDou-powered precision agriculture, as well as developing lightweight and compact sugarcane harvesters.

This upgrading push has significantly boosted efficiency and productivity in Laibin's sugarcane industry, while also strengthening its export capacity. Laibin is now home to a mega-scale bagasse pulp tableware production and export base, with an annual capacity of 180,000 tonnes. Around 90 percent of its eco-friendly products are exported to Europe, the United States and Japan.

AI and digital technologies are reshaping how food is produced, and China is emerging as an increasingly important hub for agricultural innovation and R&D, Syngenta Group Chief Executive Officer Jeff Rowe told Xinhua in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in January.

Over the past decade, he has witnessed steadily rising productivity, improving quality of agricultural output and faster-paced innovation in China's agricultural sector. He acknowledged that agriculture is "much more of an innovative industry than most people realize," adding that China is moving quickly to adopt new technologies and build digital solutions that can benefit farmers, consumers and the environment.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
700 Year 8 girls from 24 schools across Northern Ireland, including students from Foyle College, Thornhill College and Oakgrove Integrated College, gathered at ICC Belfast last week for Empower Girls 2026, one of the regions largest initiatives aimed at inspiring young women to pursue careers in cyber security and digital technology. Given that women currently make up only 17% of the UK cyber security workforce, there is a need for more events like this that encourage and inspire at grass roots level.

Now in its third year, Empower Girls has rapidly grown into a major STEM movement, bringing together more than 60 organisations from industry, academia and government.

At the start of the event, only 37% of attendees said they had considered a career in cyber or technology. By the end, that number had risen to 62% - a shift at the heart of Empower Girls mission.

Throughout the day, students took part in interactive exhibits, live demonstrations and hands-on activities, exploring the world of cyber security, innovation and technology. They also heard from professionals working in cyber defence, AI, cloud computing, software engineering and digital forensics.

The message was simple yet powerful. If you can see it, you can be it.

READ NEXT: Vigil in memory of Derry murder victim Amy Doherty to be held

Since launching in 2024, Empower Girls has: Engaged with more than 1,500 girls across Northern Ireland; Partnered with over 100 organisations; Involved schools across urban and rural communities; Become one of the largest collaborative STEM outreach events in the region.

The initiative is delivered by Aflac Northern Ireland and CyberFirst, the National Cyber Security Centres flagship early talent programme, with volunteers from across the tech sector contributing time and expertise.

Mark McCormack, Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director, Aflac Northern Ireland, said: Empower Girls exists to widen the pipeline of future talent. Today hundreds of girls met the people shaping the technology that powers our world, and many of them will one day lead it.

Sara Lyons, CyberFirst Northern Ireland Project Manager, said: Cyber security is one of the worlds fastest growing industries. Events like this open doors early to provide insight to the exciting and rewarding opportunities in cyber security and other technology roles. The focus on girls aims to help build the diverse workforce that Northern Ireland needs.

Girls inspired by the event can continue their journey through the CyberFirst programme, which offers clubs, courses, competitions and bursaries designed to nurture emerging tech talent.

For more information or to get involved: cyberfirst@belfastmet.ac.uk.
Kilrea stylist Katie Rose Young is set to represent the county on the national stage after being named a semi-finalist in the prestigious LOreal Colour Trophy STAR Award.

The V-Vault House of Hair colourist will join Northern Irelands elite hair talent at the Titanic Hotel, Belfast, on April 13 2026, for a high-stakes live final marking the competition's 70th anniversary.

Angie Dromgoole, Zeba Hairdressing, L'Oreal Colour Trophy 2026 Judge, said: "Lots of excitement out there, so I think we're going to see some bigger looks, something different"

Rob Eaton, Owner of Russell Eaton Hair Salons, LOreal Professionnel Hair Artist & L'Oreal Colour Trophy 2026 judge, said: The L'Oreal Colour Trophy has been celebrating the best colourists in the UK and Ireland for 70 years. It has been part of my life and career for nearly three decades, from watching as a teenager to winning, and now returning as a judge in its 70th year.

Its always been about more than just beautiful hair. It's about craft, creativity and community, and giving the next generation the chance to push the boundaries 

READ NEXT: Derry schools lead the charge at Empower Girls 2026

Cos Sakkas, TONI&GUY Global Creative Director & L'Oreal Colour Trophy 2026 judge, said: "Judging the L'Oreal Colour Trophy is really special. You've got the young, up-and-coming stars of the industry. They're all putting their passion and inspiration on the line for industry leaders to judge."

On the night, guests will experience a live artistic and educational showcase led by industry icon Robert Eaton of Russell Eaton Hair, alongside model presentations from the regional semi-finalists, and the announcement of the stylists progressing to the national final.

The Northern Ireland heat forms part of a nationwide tour marking the L'Oreal Colour Trophy's 70th anniversary, and its return to regional stages for the first time since 2019. This year's programme spans eight cities across the UK and Northern Ireland, including Belfast, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, St Albans, Brighton and London, before a national final brings the country's top colourists together to compete for the overall title.
A convicted Derry killer, extradited back to NI from the Republic after he absconded while on temporary day release, was handed a 12-month sentence today.

Ordering James Meehan to serve half that sentence in custody and half on licence, Judge Peter Irvine KC told the 56-year-old while he was entitled to credit for his guilty plea, you undoubtedly had no other course but to plead.

Last week at Antrim Crown Court, Meehan entered a guilty plea to the single charge against him, that he was unlawfully at large (UAL) on December 9, 2024.

Opening the facts of the case today, prosecuting counsel Suzanne Gallagher outlined how prison staff from HMP Magilligan dropped Meehan at the train station that morning.

The agreement was that Meehan would take the train to Belfast where he was due to meet his brother and sister, before returning to the prison before 6.30pm that evening.

He failed to return and was circulated as unlawfully at large, Ms Gallagher told the court.

CCTV evidence from Belfast City Centre captured him around Grand Central Station and the Fitzwilliam Hotel, but the barrister added that telecommunication evidence suggested he crossed the border into the Republic of Ireland around 3pm.

Garda officers were able to trace him to an address but when they spoke to him, Meehan told them he was aware he was unlawfully at large but that he had no intention of going back into Northern Ireland.

That triggered extradition proceedings, culminating in Meehan appearing in court in December 2025.

So he was unlawfully at large for around a year, Judge Irvine inquired and Ms Gallagher agreed he was, commenting that having been dropped off at the train station, he was left to go about on his merry way.

The judge also heard it was the second time the extradition proceedings had to be instigated against Meehan.

At the time he absconded in December 2024, he was on licence for an earlier offence of UAL.

The lifelong licence is in place, said Ms Gallagher, after Meehan was convicted of the murder of Jim McFadden.

In 2009, Meehan was handed a life sentence with an order to serve a minimum of 14 years for the murder of Derry man Mr McFadden.

In an attack that took place after the wedding reception of Mr McFaddens sister-in-law in Donegal in May 2007, the 42-year-old victim was repeatedly punched in the chest and died from a ruptured heart.

In court today, Meehans defence solicitor emphasised that he had entered a guilty plea at the first opportunity and that during the 12 months he was UAL, there had been no further offending.

Imposing the 12-month sentence, Judge Irvine told Meehan that but for the guilty plea, the sentence would have been 18 months.
Two County Derry men have been charged with offences relating to an incident in Limavady which saw a police officer sustain facial injuries.

The accused - Connor McSorley (27), of Rathbeg Crescent in Limavady, and James Doherty (27), of Stradowen Drive in Derry - appeared before Antrim Court, via videolink from Waterside Custody Suite, this morning (Tuesday).

The men were arrested during an incident at a block of flats in the Glenview area of Limavady on Sunday afternoon (March 22).

Specially trained police officers were deployed to deal with the situation after one of the individuals was arrested and the other fled the scene and barricaded himself in a nearby flat armed with a broken bottle.

This resulted in officers cordoning off the area with a large crowd gathering outside the premises while the incident was unfolding.

Live videos from the scene were also uploaded to the social media platform TikTok.

One video showed multiple armed officers enter the property while others smashed the windows from the outside.

During the incident, a Conducted Energy Device (CED) was deployed to prevent the male from harming himself.

Police later confirmed that one officer was assaulted during the incident, and had to go to hospital for treatment of injuries to his face.

A woman was also taken to hospital for treatment to injuries that were not serious.

McSorley is charged with using disorderly behaviour, two counts of assault on police and resisting police on March 22.

He is further charged with five counts of theft - stealing alcohol from both Spar and Roebank Service Station on three separate dates - March 8, March 21 and March 22.

The accused is also charged with possession of an offensive weapon, namely a glass bottle, on Irish Green Street, Limavady on March 22.

Meanwhile, Doherty is charged with two counts of assault on police and resisting police on March 22.

He is also charged with the theft of 132.93 worth of alcohol from Limavady Spar on the same date.

Further charges of attempted grievous bodily harm and using disorderly behaviour in Causeway Hospital were put to Doherty during the short hearing.

No details surrounding the case were opened in court and neither of the accused spoke, other than to confirm their identity.

Solicitors for both McSorley and Doherty said that no application for bail would be made for either of the accused.

District Judge Nigel Broderick remanded McSorley and Doherty in custody to appear before Limavady Magistrates Court on April 15.
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced that original documents highlighting the deep historical links between the United States and parts of Northern Ireland, including Upperlands, will be coming here later this year.

The Minister visited the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, where he viewed the documents first-hand in specialist storage.

The Minister said: I am delighted that my Department has secured the loan of some remarkable original documents that form an important part of Americas history. They will be carefully transported across the Atlantic to feature in an exciting new exhibition celebrating the legacy created by the many thousands who left these shores for America in the late 1700s.

This will be the first time in history that the documents have been on loan outside of the USA. This has been achieved through direct engagement between my officials and the Library of Congress over several months, with my recent visit sealing the deal in person.

Documents relating to the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence will be shown in the Voices Across the Atlantic: The Ulster Legacy in America exhibition in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).

Among the highlights that will form part of the exhibition are papers relating to Charles Thomson, originally from Gorteade, Upperlands, Co. Derry and Secretary to the Continental Congress that formulated the Declaration, and Andrew Jackson, the seventh US President, whose parents hailed from Carrickfergus.

READ NEXT: Funeral arrangements announced for Derry murder victim Amy Doherty

The Minister added: I encourage everyone to come along later in the year to explore these documents and much more.

The exhibition in PRONI is one of the events that will help Northern Ireland commemorate the deep historical and ongoing connections that exist between here and the USA.

Dr. Kevin Butterfield, Acting Chief of the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress said: The Library of Congress is happy to play a role in this exhibition by loaning materials that can help people in Northern Ireland learn more about the rich and complex history of the founding of the United States. Its a history shaped in important ways by people from Ulster, as these documents bring to life.

PRONIs Voices Across the Atlantic: The Ulster Legacy in America exhibition will take place at its headquarters in Titanic Quarter, Belfast this autumn. More details will follow.

To find out more about events across Northern Ireland marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence and its links with Ulster, visit here.

Read the Ministers oral statement to the Assembly
Derry's Bloody Sunday Trust and the Rainbow Collective have announced the public release of 'The Day Innocence Died: Bloody Sunday and the Fight for Justice', a new film telling the full story of Bloody Sunday.

In the film, family members and activists tell the story in their own words.

Bloody Sunday was a massacre of people who were marching for justice for their fellow citizens which was compounded by state lies, propaganda and cover up Tony Doherty, son of Patrick Doherty, murdered on Bloody Sunday

It was an anti-internment march. It was a peaceful protest march. It was attacked by the British parachute regiment. The civil rights movement, peaceful protest, died John Kelly, brother of Michael Kelly, murdered on Bloody Sunday

From the seeds of dissent sewn in the discrimination of the old Unionist regime, through the crime of Bloody Sunday itself, and beyond into the fight for justice and the eventual release of the Saville Report and the quest for prosecutions, the story is told by those most intimately affected and involved.

Tony Doherty, Chair of the Bloody Sunday Trust, described the film as outstanding, saying: It was great to work with Hannan and Richard from the Rainbow Collective on this outstanding film. When they suggested the idea to us last summer we could immediately see the potential in it, and that they were the right people to make it.

They have managed to capture the essence of the Bloody Sunday families fight for justice and present it in a way that everyone can see.

It was vitally important to record and present this story now and have so many of those who were directly affected by Bloody Sunday and centrally involved in our struggle for justice recount their experience in their own way. We really look forward to the public reaction to this film, and hope that our struggle can continue to be an inspiration to others who have faced injustice.

'The Day Innocence Died: Bloody Sunday and the Fight for Justice' was produced by the Rainbow Collective (To Kill a War Machine, https://www.rainbowcollective.co.uk) and the Bloody Sunday Trust.

It is 100 minutes.

First public screenings 7.30pm, April 1 to 4, Brunswick Moviebowl.

To organise a screening please contact info@museumoffreederry.org.
DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has been accused of "being too quick to rule out a larger defective block problem" in the North.

The criticism came from Derry City and Strabane District councillor Shaun Harkin (People Before Profit).

Cllr Harkin said: "The DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has been too quick to rule out a larger defective block problem in the North. The fact is that we still don't understand the possible extent of defective block in Derry City and Strabane District Council area.

"We know it has caused misery in Donegal and led to sustained campaigning by impacted households to win government support," he added.

"The Council has engaged with experts who have all made it clear that it is unlikely for the border to have been barrier to the distribution of defective blocks.

"We have learned through Council engagements there are many factors discouraging more impacted households from coming forward.

"The Minister is eager to say 'nothing to see here' instead of giving assurances that government will be ready to support those potentially impacted, and that is what people need to hear.

"People-power forced the Dublin government to provide support for Donegal households, but it had to be pushed every step of the way," said Cllr Harkin.

"The priorities of the Stormont Executive are no different to the Dail when it comes to housing, it's disastrous across all 32-counties," he added.

"The Communities Minister hasn't been able to meet a single social housing build target, has done nothing to reduce temporary accommodation use, has sat on his hands amid spiralling private rental costs and has refused demands to act on housing damp and mould, so he shouldn't be taken as an authority on the possible impact of defective block."
Violence against women and girls is a particularly difficult problem in Northern Ireland, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said.

Ms Long said the region remains a patriarchal society where there is still a lot of sexism, chauvinism and misogyny.

The minister was reacting following the conviction of Stephen McCullagh for the murder of his pregnant partner Natalie McNally.

Ms McNally was 15 weeks pregnant when she was attacked by McCullagh in her Lurgan home in December 2022.

He had attempted to create a false alibi by claiming that he had been livestreaming a six-hour video gaming session on YouTube on the night Ms McNally was killed.

The gaming session had instead been recorded in advance but broadcast on the evening McCullagh went to Ms McNallys house and murdered her.

A jury at Belfast Crown Court took two hours to find McCullagh guilty on Monday.

Ms Long paid tribute to Ms McNallys parents Bernie and Noel, who attended every day of the trial.

She told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme they had been so dignified throughout this whole ordeal.

Ms Long added: The pain they have gone through is unimaginable and it has been further compounded as they have been going through all of this that they have had to sit through such an ordeal in court.

I am glad they have got the justice that they and Natalie deserve.

Ms Long said she believed society and politicians needed to do better with regards to violence against women and girls.

She said: Sitting here with 30 women killed in six years, we have to say that pain that the McNallys have gone through is a pain that many families are going through, too many families.

We want to do more to try and address these issues.

In the last mandate we brought forward new legislation to deal with many of the issues, we are bringing forward further legislation in this mandate in the Department of Justice.

We are also bringing forward policy that we hope will offer additional protections to women who may be at risk of domestic violence and abuse.

But it is not just about what justice can do, because by then there are already victims and pain has been caused, it is about how we change the conversation in society, how we change the dial in terms of the vulnerability of women and girls to this kind of predatory behaviour and how we actually create a society that women and girls, and men and boys, are safe on our streets, in their homes and able to go about their lives without the constant fear of being victim to someone who has set out for violence or aggression.

Unfortunately, I dont think we are there yet.

Police are currently investigating another murder of a woman in Northern Ireland. A man is being questioned over the death of young mother Amy Doherty in Londonderry at the weekend.

Asked if violence against women was a Northern Ireland problem, the minister said: I dont think it is a Northern Ireland-only problem, but I think it is a particularly difficult issue in Northern Ireland in what we do have is a wider prevalence of violence against women and girls.

I think there are lots of reasons for that.

Northern Ireland remains a very patriarchal society, abuse of women generally is still accepted.

There is still a lot of sexism, chauvinism, misogyny in our society.

If it is called out by women the abuse that they take, whether it is online or in person, is extreme.

We also have, coming out of a post-conflict society, a higher tolerance for violence, higher levels of PTSD and other risk factors which could allow people to become perpetrators.

When we look at some of the research that has been done, the connection between domestic abuse and concentrated paramilitarism in communities also exacerbates some of these harms in that people are either, at the very basic level, afraid to report what is happening to them, afraid of being seen to be engaging with the PSNI where that is frowned upon.
Minimum unit alcohol pricing will not be introduced in the current Assembly term due to a failure to secure Executive agreement, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has said.

Mr Nesbitt told MLAs that the failure to introduce the policy was a missed opportunity which will have an impact on many vulnerable and at-risk people in Northern Ireland.

But DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said her party had asked the Health Minister to bring forward proposals that are based on evidence.

Mr Nesbitt told the Northern Ireland Assembly that he regretted having to make the announcement.

He said: Minimum unit pricing or MUP has been under discussion for a number of years and has been proposed by multiple health ministers.

Mr Nesbitt said MUP was not a panacea but would be an effective and targeted way to address alcohol-related harm.

He added: Primary legislation had been provisionally scheduled for introduction in 2026-27.

Unfortunately, however, despite my efforts to provide information and address any concerns, it has not been possible to secure Executive agreement, and we have now reached the point sadly where legislation for MUP is no longer deliverable in this mandate.

This will have an impact on many vulnerable and at-risk people in Northern Ireland.

The minister said the British Heart Foundation recently published a report which estimated that 676 people each year in Northern Ireland die as a direct result of their alcohol consumption.

Mr Nesbitt said evidence showed that MUP would reduce alcohol consumption, and lead to fewer people being admitted to hospital and dying as a result of their drinking.

He added: For example, in Scotland it is estimated that MUP has led to 120 fewer alcohol deaths each year.

The minister told the Assembly that modelling had estimated that a 65p MUP would lead to a reduction of 82 alcohol-related deaths a year in Northern Ireland and an annual reduction of 3,482 alcohol-related hospital admissions.

He said: I have always been clear that MUP is not a silver bullet, but is a proven, effective tool to reduce alcohol harm.

Mr Nesbitt told MLAs: I feel that not introducing MUP is a missed opportunity.

An opportunity which would have allowed this Assembly to make a meaningful difference in reducing the alcohol-related harms and inequalities across the region.

I therefore reiterate my regret that I am making this statement today, rather than bringing forward legislation on setting an MUP.

While there is clearly insufficient time left to legislate for MUP in this mandate, even if there was Executive agreement to do so, it would be my fervent hope that an incoming Health Minister and Executive will be able to bring forward legislation early in the next mandate to address this important public health issue.

SDLP health spokesperson Colin McGrath accused the DUP of blocking the policy.

He said: Its unacceptable that when we have majority Executive and Assembly support for a vital public health intervention, one party is able to weaponise its veto and block it from being introduced.

It was a DUP health minister who first floated this policy and they should outline what has caused such a sharp change in tack.

We have a serious problem with alcohol in our society, with hundreds of people dying each year and many more affected by alcohol-related illness and harm, causing hospital admissions and increased pressure on our health service.

This also has a really negative impact on the lives of those affected by this illness and the people around them.

But Ms Little-Pengelly said her party had put questions to the health minister to demonstrate that this intervention would actually work.

She said: Of course, we want to reduce alcohol related deaths, this hits at a particular type of issue, but the vast majority of alcohol for sale would not be impacted by this measure, and alcohol deaths hit on every part of our society.

Alcohol misuse is something that is a huge burden for the health service.

We have asked the health minister to bring forward proposals that are based on evidence, that are based in something that will work, and we will look at that when that happens.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said the decision is a deeply disappointing failure to act on a public health crisis.

He added: The evidence is clear, minimum Unit Pricing is one of the most effective and targeted measures available to reduce alcohol-related deaths, hospital admissions and health inequalities, with the greatest benefits felt among men and those living in the most disadvantaged communities.

Northern Ireland is facing its highest levels of alcohol harm on record, placing unacceptable burden on individuals, families, and public services.

Choosing not to implement this policy means those harms will persist, with grave consequences, and hitting the most vulnerable groups in society the hardest.

He added: We urge policymakers to reconsider this decision and to prioritise evidence-based measures that protect public health over political wins.

Lives are being lost that could be saved with this proven, preventative policy.
Proposals to move away from blanket one-to-one classroom support for children with special educational needs (SEN) in Northern Ireland have been published.

The Education Authority (EA) said the current rigid approaches in schools often do not work for children.

Currently, the large majority of children with SEN statements in Northern Ireland have access to one-to-one support from a classroom assistant.

The EA, which manages school services in the region, has said every child who requires one-to-one support will continue to receive it but added there are concerns the current model can isolate some children.

It has launched an eight-week public consultation which would mean schools will have more flexibility on how to best provide support.

EA chief transformation officer Tomas Adell said: The evidence, both in Northern Ireland, and from best practice elsewhere is clear: each day that we continue to operate the current support model for our children and young people with SEN, we accept less than optimal provision for their needs.

To improve outcomes, it is essential to that we transform and update the current model of support.

Reform can also bring benefits for classroom assistants, teachers and school communities as a whole.

The proposals include allowing schools to move away from the current one-size-fits-all model with its over-reliance on one-to-one classroom assistant support for all children.

An EA statement said: Every child who needs one-to-one support will continue to receive it.

Any changes will be introduced sensitively on an individual basis, through the established annual review process for each childs provision.

The current classroom support model cannot properly deliver for children or meet increasing levels of need.

Faced with this reality, many schools in Northern Ireland have begun to develop alternative approaches to classroom support.

The reforms set out in the public consultation will help formalise and encourage this approach.

The EA said alternatives to a blanket one-to-one support model would include small group learning sessions, use of different teaching methods, and enhanced access to educational and health specialists.

It said that planned reforms would be implemented gradually over a number of years and will be shaped by input from children, parents, carers, teachers, classroom assistants and school leaders.

The EA said: The reforms will involve changes to the process for new statements of special educational need.

Reflecting the more flexible support model, new statements will be focused on the individual needs of each child and will not be overly prescriptive on classroom support options.

The consultation proposes that implementation of the new classroom support model will start from September.

The EA said it will begin by working with around 150 mainstream schools and 40 special schools in Northern Ireland.

In 2027-2028, rollout will cover schools across two health and social care trust areas and will extend to remaining areas in 2028-29.
A police officer has denied that the urgency dropped off the search for CCTV after Noah Donohoes body was found.

Jurors at Belfast coroners court heard another officer questioned as to why a map showing the last-known location of the schoolboys phone was not provided to CCTV operators.

Noah, a pupil at St Malachys College, was 14 when his naked body was found in a 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 likely to be drowning.

The inquest heard from PNSI Detective Sergeant Kitchen, who was tasked with gathering CCTV in the days of Noahs disappearance and after his body had been found.

He said his task when he was brought on to the case on June 24, when Noah had been missing for three days, was continuing to build a picture to what happened prior to his disappearance, but the primary purpose was to find out where he now was.

Brenda Campbell KC, representing Noahs mother, Fiona Donohoe, presented a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) CCTV strategy document that outlines a number of areas of interest in the search for Noah, as well as times that should be focused for CCTV collection.

Ms Campbell highlighted that Det Sgt Kitchen had been working on the CCTV trawl from June 24 to June 30 June 2020, and asked if he recalled seeing that document he said no.

I never physically put anything onto that document and I have no recollection of having read it as it currently stands, he said.

He said the spirit of that strategy was certainly being communicated to me by me supervisors and officers were going on our own intuition but in terms of working in defined parameters at each and every address, no.



Det Sgt Kitchens diary showed he had been briefed on a number of items Noah had lost over the course of his final journey through Belfast, including his bag, laptop, coat and shorts.

Ms Campbell said there should have been a real urgency to understand what happened to (Noah) when his body was found.

Asked if the urgency dropped off to trawl CCTV after Noahs body was found, Det Sgt Kitchen said: I dont know if its right to say the urgency dropped off, but its fair to say the resourcing picture changed.

He said after Noahs body was found on June 27 2020, he was involved to some extent, certainly much less extent and after that, mostly went back to normal CID duties.

Det Sgt Kitchen was one of the officers responsible for collecting CCTV from a property on Northwood Road, near to where Noah was last seen and his body was later found.

He was asked if he was aware that there were multiple cameras at that property and said: No, genuinely, I believed there was one camera and (the resident) was showing me the footage from that camera.

Ms Campbell highlighted that the search for Noah at that time was taking place in the culvert at the back of the Northwood property and asked Det Sgt Kitchen if he had enquired as to whether that homeowner had a rear-facing camera.

He said he certainly didnt ask her because she would have told me the answer and we wouldnt be talking about this.

Ms Campbell then claimed that by June 29, CID knew a man had been in possession of Noahs bag and laptop and Det Sgt Kitchen confirmed no one had asked him to get more footage to back that up.

Asked if anyone asked him for more footage in relation to Noahs missing coat, he said no one asked me to do that.

The inquest then heard from major crime forensic advisor (MCFC) Cook, who co-ordinated the crime scene response when Noahs body was found.

He said he works almost exclusively on murder and its rare he would be involved in a case such as Noahs, but hed been advised by his superior to be prepared for a call if the 14-year-old body was found.

He said Noahs body had been taken out of the culvert when he arrived on the scene, and due to the risk involved and rising tide, there was a general consensus between forensic staff and search and rescue teams who extracted Noah that it would not be possible to re-enter.

He said that they all knew it was a consensus that nobody was going back in there at the time, so were just concentrating on Noah and maximising forensic opportunities as they were on the scene.

Mr Cook agreed during questioning that the police were trying to cover all possible scenarios by asking him to attend.

Earlier, Inspector Bell, who was a sergeant in June 2020 and had been involved in the investigation to find Noah, gave evidence to the inquest.

Donal Lunny KC, representing the PSNI, asked if there might be some inevitable slowing down or short gap as one shift comes off, to which Mr Bell agreed, saying it is unavoidable really, shifts start and finish at the same time.

Mr Lunny later asked if the jury should interpret gaps of activity in police logs as absence of action in the search for Noah.

No, Mr Bell said.

I can only speak for when I was on duty, but our officers were very committed to this and were doing everything they could to find Noah. Theres always actions going on throughout the whole shift.

Mr Lunny took Mr Bell through a number of police logs showing the checking of CCTV along Noahs suspected route of travel and said officers were checking the timings of the CCTV as they made their way across Belfast.

Yes, and when officers are checking CCTV, they generally arent physically checking it, someone is checking it for them, Mr Bell said.

He said this person was usually a manager and police take our lead from them because each individual CCTV system is different.

Ms Campbell had further questions for Mr Bell in relation to how telecoms liaison unit (TLU) evidence was used in relation to the CCTV search.

She asked the officer why a TLU map received by police showing a radius of Noahs phones last connection to cell towers was not passed to those searching CCTV at base.

Mr Bell explained that TLU maps are classified as sensitive, adding I dont decide if this information is sensitive or not and that it was PSNI policy as the staff viewing CCTV are civilians.

I made sure I relayed the information to them that would have enabled them to do the CCTV check, Mr Bell said.

The inquest previously heard from Community Rescue Service (CRS) regional commander Sean McCarry, who said he received TLU information from police at about 11am on June 22, giving an update as to where Noahs phone was last located.

Ms Campbell said: Our position is that, in fact, these maps or at the very least this information, should have been with the CCTV operators shortly after their receipt by police.

She said that if TLU material cannot be provided to CCTV camera operators because of some sort of embargo, then that is a matter of concern when it comes to high-risk missing persons.

She highlighted that another officer had sent a TLU map to Mr McCarry and asked why civilian volunteers can have access to these maps and use them, but CCTV operators could not.

Mr Lunny said Mr Bell had made it clear he provided information to them to enable them to check cameras in that area.
RTEs Europe Editor Tony Connelly will be in Derry this week as MC of the first ever Derry Summit being held at Ulster Universitys Magee campus.

The event brings together global thought leaders with local civic partners, community organisations and business owners to share, discuss and debate the future vision for the city.

The three main keynote speakers are: Professor Pierre Laconte (Celebrated Belgian urbanist instrumental in the creation of Louvain-la-Neuve); Shona McCarthy (Chief Executive of International Fund for Ireland and former Chief Executive of Derry City of Culture); and Jennifer Neff (Co-Founder Elemental Software).

Speaking before the event, Tony said: Im delighted to be returning to Derry and to be joined by global experts and local champions at the first ever Derry Summit.

"The Summit aims to facilitate conversation among community groups, businesses and anyone with an interest in our great city and how it can develop and flourish in the coming years. Derry is a city whose passion and potential are huge and I would encourage anyone interested in its future to register for this free event at www.derrysummit.com.

READ NEXT: Local makers highlighted in new exhibition at National Design and Craft Gallery

Professor Malachy ONeill, Director of Regional Engagement, Ulster University said: This first ever Derry Summit blends international and national expertise with local experts and voices to discuss how we can make Derry one of Irelands most successful cities.

"The event provides an annual opportunity where ambition, planning and setting out a vision for our future is combined with honest conversations about where we are at present and where we need to be.

Speaking at the events launch Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: The Derry Summit represents an important opportunity to bring together global expertise and local ambition to help shape a shared vision for the citys future. Through the ongoing expansion of Ulster Universitys Magee campus, we are already driving long-term economic, social, and educational transformation across the North West.

"I am pleased to support this event as part of that ambition, to strengthen both collaboration and regional engagement, which are essential to deliver a thriving, inclusive city with a growing university at its heart.
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has received regulatory approval to merge its subsidiary, Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML), with Telenor Pakistan, following its recent acquisition of the operator.

In a stock exchange filing, PTCL confirmed that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority approved the amalgamation of PTML - which operates under the Ufone brand - and Telenor Pakistan on March 19.

The transaction remains subject to the fulfilment of standard conditions, including unconditional approvals within the next 15 days. The merger will be executed through a scheme of arrangement in line with applicable laws.

Once completed, the deal will reshape Pakistans telecoms landscape into a three-player market, with Jazz, Zong (China Mobile), and the combined Ufone/Telenor entity competing for market share.

According to the latest data from the regulator, Jazz currently leads with 74 million monthly mobile subscribers, followed by Zong with 54 million. Telenor and Ufone stand at 43 million and 29 million subscribers respectively.

The integration of Ufone and Telenor will create a combined customer base of around 72 million, positioning the merged entity as the second-largest operator in the market - just 2 million subscribers behind Jazz - and a significantly stronger challenger.

PTCL first announced the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan in December, with the deal finalised in January for NOK5.3 billion (approximately US$547 million). The move followed a prolonged effort by Telenor to exit the market as part of a broader strategy to divest non-core assets.

The Norwegian group has also exited Thailand through the sale of its stake in True Corporation, and has reportedly been weighing a potential withdrawal from Bangladesh.

Prior to its exit from Thailand, Telenors Head of Asia, Jon Omund Revhaug, told Developing Telecoms that the company was focused on strengthening its remaining Asian portfolio.

The shift reflects a wider industry trend, with mobile operators increasingly pulling back from non-core markets as they contend with the high costs of 5G deployment and stagnating revenue growth.
As cybersecurity threats continue to grow in size and seriousness throughout Africa, a new initiative has been launched in Rwanda that aims to build Africas cyber resilience.

The International Cybersecurity Community for Africa (ICCA) describes itself as a pan-African cybersecurity community dedicated to strengthening Africas cyber resilience through collaboration, capacity building, standards, research, innovation and advocacy across the continent.

It adds that it operates as a community-driven, mission-led organisation delivering high-impact programmes while creating a trusted space for experts and partners to co-create solutions for Africas evolving threat landscape.

The initiative certainly addresses a critical issue: African organisations reportedly face an average of 1,848 cyberattacks per week. However, the continent employs fewer than 300,000 cybersecurity professionals against 2.8 million unfilled global positions. With this in mind, ICCAs founders have set themselves an ambitious goal: to train one million cybersecurity specialists by 2030.

In the coming years ICCA also plans to launch certification programmes and an African Cyber Resilience Index to benchmark national preparedness against cyber threats.

However, its fairly early days so far for ICCA, which officially launched in Kigali in Rwanda on the 20th of March 2026. It says it is establishing a pan-African platform aimed at building a united, resilient cybersecurity ecosystem through collaboration, capacity building, and threat intelligence sharing across all 54 African countries.

The immediate aim for the platform is to expand to around 15 African countries by 2027, although it seems that Rwanda is and will remain the centre of the organisation. Indeed, at the launch Marie Grace Niwemukiza, Programme Associate in the Digital Inclusion Council at Rwanda's Ministry of ICT and Innovation, emphasised government commitment to the initiative.

The initiative introduced two key tools. Umurinzi Cyber Threat Intelligence detects compromised credentials on the dark web and alerts targeted organisations. A practical Capture-the-Flag (CTF) system provides simulated attacks to build technical expertise at controlled costs in environments tailored to local realities.

These tools aim to accelerate skills acquisition while improving the operational readiness of African organisations.

As the Techinika website notes, the organisation currently operates with 14 staff members and 98 experts from banks, private sector entities, and public institutions mentoring approximately 600 students across Rwanda and the diaspora including participants in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Russia, China, and Scandinavian countries.
M-Pesa Ethiopia, the digital financial services arm of operator Safaricom Ethiopia, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Amhara National Regional State Revenue Bureau to enable taxpayers in the region to conveniently pay their taxes using the M-Pesa platform.

The partnership is aimed at improving access to digital financial services while streamlining tax collection processes.

Under the agreement, taxpayers in the Amhara Region, which is in northern Ethiopia, will be able to make secure and efficient tax payments via mobile devices, eliminating the need to visit physical tax offices.

As the TechAfrica News website points out, this initiative is expected to enhance convenience for citizens and businesses while improving the overall efficiency of public service delivery.

The collaboration also reflects M-Pesa Ethiopias ongoing efforts to expand its digital financial ecosystem and support the digitisation of government services.

Assuming it all goes according to plan, the integration of digital payment systems into tax administration could modernise revenue collection and improve operational efficiency within the regional government, while also aligning with Ethiopias broader push towards digital transformation and better public service delivery. Indeed, Mengesha Fentaw, Head of the Amhara National Regional State Revenue Bureau, has been quoted as encouraging other regions to adopt similar solutions to support the broader Digital Ethiopia agenda.

M-Pesa has already been widely adopted for various payment schemes, including for utilities such as water and electricity. However, in an increasingly competitive market, both M-Pesa and telebirr (rival operator Ethio Telecoms digital finance service), are continuing to expand their offering into areas as diverse as payment for video streaming services and for AI creation tools.
Keep me signed in

Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Keep me signed in' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site.

Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site.
The Irish governments package of energy supports has been criticised as simply not enough by opposition politicians.

The Coalition signed off on a temporary excise duty reduction for motor fuels, expansion of the diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and bus operators, and an extension of the fuel allowance in response to rising fuel prices in the wake of the war in the Gulf.

Various changes combined should result in an effective reduction of 22 cent for diesel and 17 cent for petrol  with the Government expecting this to be reflected at the pumps within hours.

The fuel allowance will be extended until May, meaning 470,000 households will receive the weekly payment of 38 euro for an extra four weeks.

The cost of fuel and home heating oil has spiked in Ireland since the US and Israel bombed Iran; Irelands consumer watchdog is examining reports of price gouging and is due to produce a report for the government in two weeks.

Ms McDonald told the Dail parliament that after relentless pressure from Sinn Fein  prompting laughs from the government benches  limited measures to skyrocketing prices had been announced.

When households needed a government of action, they got your do-nothing government, Ms McDonald said.

Clearly, Taoiseach, your plan was to ride this one out.

Your package today had to be dragged out of you and still you come to the table with half measures.

She said the reductions in motor fuel dont go far enough, the fuel allowance extension was paltry, and the standout failure was for the 750,000 households that rely on home heating oil.

A measly cut of two cent a litre is an insult  it amounts only to a 20 euro reduction on a fill that now costs around 1,700 euros; a drop in the tank, she said.

You could have, and should, completely remove excise on home heating oil that would provide these households with the meaningful relief. But instead, you choose to leave them high and dry.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the oil supply shock was a sobering and significant reality and said the Irish government has no intention of being reckless amid the crisis.

Every government is limited in terms of what it can do in situations like this.

All of the international advice from the ECB, IMF and so on, is to target, temporary, affordable measures, because we dont quite know whats around the corner.

He added: You believe in really allocating about 2-3 billion euro right now.

What do we do in October? What do we do in December, if the consequences of this crisis continue?

He then said it was probably one of the more generous packages being developed across Europe and then compared it to the energy supports offered in Northern Ireland.

Mr Martin blamed the finance and economy ministers in Stormont, Sinn Feins John ODowd and Caoimhe Archibald, for the supports offered in the region, which were announced by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last week.

I dont know what instructions youve given to your own ministers in Northern Ireland, he said to Ms McDonald.

I think a total of 30 is the only benefit to upcoming bills, you cant decide where an additional 17 million that is available is to go.

So youve two ministers in charge of this brief in Northern Ireland and I would just ask you compare their performance to what were doing here.

Its no comparison and poor enough leadership from your party who are in charge of that operation.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that the package of supports was simply not enough and too little and very late.

Mr Martin became exercised when the discussion of an energy storage facility arose.

Its rubbish to suggest we shouldnt put in an LNG facility in this country, absolutely nonsense.

If anything happened to gas connectors in this country with the United Kingdom, this economy wouldnt survive beyond 10 days. Thats the reality. Thats the advice weve received from an energy security (body).

Social Democrats leader Cian OCallaghan said that there was almost nothing in the measures announced on Tuesday for low-income households reliant on home heating oil.

Your government, having spent weeks and weeks reviewing situation, has come in today, and is doing the bare minimum, he said.

He said a targeted 400 euro payment should be announced for 800,000 low-income households and would cover people who are not in receipt of the Fuel Allowance and would provide a much greater level of support for pensioners, carers and disabled people.

Youre government hasnt even bothered examining this proposal, he said.
The An Post Irish Book Awards, one of Irelands most distinguished and popular literary events, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with the release of a curated list featuring 60 of the best books from category winners over the past two decades.

Among the standout contributors to the An Post Irish Book Awards 20th anniversary celebrations is Louth author Erika McGann. Erika McGann grew up in Drogheda, County Louth, and now lives in Dublin. She is the author of many books including The Demon Notebook (winner of the Waverton Good Read Childrens Award), the Cass and the Bubble Street Gang series and Tabitha Plimtock and the Edge of the World.

Her picture books include the Where Are You, Puffling? stories (illustrated by Gerry Daly) and Standing On One Leg Is Hard and What is a Peachick? (illustrated by Clive McFarland), as well as the 2025 IBA winning Run Home Little Fox (co-authored with Tom McCaughren, illustrated by Shannon Bergin).

Selected through the votes from leading booksellers nationwide, the list comprises 20 Fiction, 20 Non-Fiction and 20 Childrens titles drawn from An Post Irish Book Awards winners since the ceremony first began in 2006.

Books by a wide range of celebrated authors including Sean Ronayne, Emilie Pine, Joseph OConnor, Emma Donoghue, Peter Donnelly and Catherine Ryan Howard feature on the list, which has been carefully curated to reflect the breadth and impact of Irish writing over the past 20 years. The full list of 60 titles can be found at anpostirishbookawards.ie

The public is now invited to vote for their favourite titles from the Top 60 list. Voting will open on Monday, 23rd March and close at 6pm on Monday, 13th April. The final Top 20 Favourite Irish Books of the past 20 years will then be revealed on Sunday, 19th April.

Everyone who votes will be entered into a prize draw, with a range of prizes on offer, including 100 in National Book Tokens, a selection of books from the list, and tickets to the An Post Irish Book Awards 2026 ceremony.

Bookshops across Ireland will also support the campaign with special in-store displays celebrating the 60 selected titles.

Alastair Giles, CEO of the Irish Book Awards, says: Over the past 20 years, the An Post Irish Book Awards has celebrated the depth and diversity of Irish writing. This curated list of 60 books offers a snapshot of some of the most memorable and influential titles recognised by the awards since 2006, reflecting the exceptional talent that has shaped Irish literature over the past two decades. Were delighted to invite readers across the country to vote for the books that have meant the most to them, and we look forward to revealing the Top 20.

David McRedmond, CEO at An Post, says: An Posts commitment to the Irish Book Awards is steadfast. To celebrate 20 years of the awards we want to showcase the extraordinary breadth of talent in Irish writing which is truly world-class. The top-60 books over the period of the awards have delighted and inspired readers, and this opportunity to revisit them is the best way to celebrate Irish writing.

Since its launch in 2006, the An Post Irish Book Awards has promoted Irish writing to the widest possible readership. Each year it brings together a vibrant community of readers, authors, booksellers, publishers and librarians to recognise the very best of Irish writing.

The awards feature a diverse mix of exceptional writing from new and established writers across 18 categories, including Novel of the Year, Childrens, History, Crime Fiction, Popular Fiction, Non-fiction, Sports, Lifestyle, Short Story, Irish Language, Poetry, Newcomer, Teen and Young Adult, Irish Published and Biography.

Read Next: Louth Students Shine at 2026 Student Enterprise Programme Final

Hundreds of books are submitted for consideration each year and, over the past two decades, an array of new and established domestic and international authors have graced the Irish Book Awards stage.

In addition to category winners, a special honour is presented at the event. The Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award recognises the contribution of distinguished Irish writers and poets. Previous recipients include Martin Waddell, Anne Enright, Sebastian Barry, Colm Toibin, Thomas Kinsella, Eavan Boland, John Montague, J.P. Donleavy, Paul Durcan, John Banville, Maeve Binchy, John McGahern, Edna OBrien, William Trevor and Seamus Heaney.
Louths Segrave Barns has been named Best Exclusive Use Venue at the inaugural Wedding Venue Awards. The sold-out event, held in Kilkenny on March 23rd, brought together Ireland and Northern Irelands leading wedding venues.

More than 20,000 weddings take place across the island of Ireland each year. At the centre of each are venues that host moments that stay with people for decades. These venues are the settings where hundreds of thousands of people gather each year to celebrate love and connection.

The Wedding Venue Awards 2026 recognised these venues and the teams behind them whose work shapes these experiences.

Speaking at the event, Ciara Crossan of Wedding Dates, said:

Were celebrating spaces where guests laugh at awkward best man speeches, shed a tear during father of the bride speeches, watch first dances with quiet emotion, and fill dancefloors when Rock the Boat inevitably plays.

The awards reflect the diversity of venues across the island of Ireland: from castles and country houses to urban spaces and coastal destinations and these are alongside a growing demand for sustainable and inclusive wedding experiences.

Were recognising the teams behind those moments, they are the people who bring joy to thousands of couples every year and make each celebration feel special and they do it again and again consistently, added Ciara Crossan.

Read Next: Simon apartments in Dundalk get go ahead despite local opposition

Winners of the Wedding Venue Awards were selected through a combination of public voting, an expert judging panel, and testimonials from couples who celebrated their weddings at each venue.

Ciara Crossan added: Our judges were particularly struck by couples reminiscing about their wedding day at these venues. The emotional connection people have to these places is very clear. They are not just locations, but anchors for some of the most enduring and meaningful memories in peoples lives.
Dundalk District Court saw a 37% drop in drug convictions with 65 convictions in 2025 compared to 103 in 2024, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) figures released by Fianna Fail MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu.

The overall figures showed that district court drug convictions in many towns have remained relatively stable or declined, but some towns and counties have recorded significant rises in the number of people convicted in the district court system on drugs offences.

Dublin topped the table of drug offence convictions, with 2,071 people convicted of drug offences in the capital in 2025 - up 11% on 2024.

Drug convictions in District Courts are well above pre-pandemic levels (2019), with 2021 recording the highest number of drug offence convictions.

Ni Mhurchu, a former barrister, said the disparity in drug convictions across District Court offices warrants investigation.

She added that drugs in the community are a major concern raised by parents, community leaders, pub owners, and Gardai.

The MEP has also previously highlighted a 37% year-on-year rise in drug-driving offences.

Read Next: End of an era as Dundalk newsagents to close after 75 years

The figures show that a small number of people were convicted in 2025 for attempting to smuggle drugs into prisons with greater numbers convicted of drug possession, possession for sale or supply, cannabis cultivation, and a small number of forged prescription cases.

Ni Mhurchu has called for the swift implementation of the governments National Drugs Strategy, 2026- 2029.
A gun-smuggler who imported military-grade firearms and sold them to Irish criminal gangs has had more than 17,000 returned to him after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) dropped money laundering charges against him.

Conor O'Brien (29), of Kilpatrick, Ardee, Co Louth, was jailed last week for eleven years with the final year suspended after he pleaded guilty to importing guns and ammunition. However, two money-laundering charges that had been brought against him are no longer being pursued.

At the three-judge Special Criminal Court today, Simon Matthews BL, for the DPP, said the State would not pursue an order for the cash to be forfeited and had no objection to it being returned to O'Brien.

Ms Justice Karen O'Connor ordered the cash to be returned.

O'Brien had been charged with multiple offences relating to the importation of weapons and two charges under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act.

The laundering charges, which have now been dropped, alleged that he converted, transferred, handled, acquired or possessed sums of 7,450 and 9,980 that were the proceeds of criminal conduct at two locations.

Last November, O'Brien pleaded guilty to a charge that between February 10, 2023, and July 19, 2024 with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation, he participated in or contributed to activity intending to facilitate the commission by the criminal organisation or any of its members in the importation of firearms and ammunition and explosives.

He further pleaded guilty to five counts concerning the possession or control of firearms or ammunition in suspicious circumstances, contrary to the provisions of Section 27A(1) of the Firearms Act 1964, as substituted by section 59 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2007.

These related to offences at John Street, Blackstick, Ardee, Co Louth, on July 19, 2024, when he had unlawfully in his possession two .233 Remington calibre barrels from AR-15 pattern semi-automatic rifles, in circumstances giving rise to a reasonable inference that he did not possess them for a lawful purpose; he had possession of four .233 Remington calibre barrels from Anderson manufacturing AM-15 pattern semi-automatic rifles; he had eight frames for Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistols; a frame for a Canik semi-automatic pistol; and four slides for a Sig Sauer model P320 9mm Luger calibre semi-automatic pistol.

Passing sentence on O'Brien last week, Ms Justice O'Connor said the defendant took advantage of his dual citizenship to purchase guns in America and sell them here for financial gain.

In communications found on his phone, including one in which joked about selling guns to "Ireland's top criminals, LOL", Ms Justice O'Connor said he had shown "total disregard for the impact of such deadly weapons on our citizens".

The court ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the firearms and ammunition.

At a previous hearing, Detective Inspector Shane McCartan said: Without Conor OBrien, there would be no criminal organisation, such was his importance."

OBrien and the leader of the gun-running ring, Mark McCourt, were distributing guns and ammunition to criminal gangs in Derry, Armagh, Dublin and Limerick, he said.

McCourt (34) of Edenreive, Newry, Co Down, was previously jailed for 12 years by the Special Criminal Court having also pleaded guilty to facilitating the crimin
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.
Louth's Family Addiction Support Network (FASN) has submitted its response to the public consultation on the draft National Drugs Strategy 20262029, warning that the strategy cannot succeed without the meaningful inclusion of the families and communities most affected by drug-related harms.

The draft strategy aims to deliver a joined-up, equitable and evidence-based response to drug and harmful alcohol use, but FASN states that this ambition cannot be realised without the meaningful inclusion of the families and communities most affected by drug-related harms.

The FASN NDS response is built on the 2019 FASN research, Findings from a study on how families are affected by substance misuse in the North East Region of Ireland" alongside the more recent recommendations from the two-day national Trauma in the Community Conference in 2024, co-hosted by FASN and the national family support structure, Family Addiction Recovery Ireland (FARI). The conference report claims that trauma experienced by families is not solely a health issue, but a social justice issue rooted in poverty, inequality, exclusion and systemic failure.

The organisation says that the strategy currently overlooks the essential role of Family Support & Community Drug Projects, which provide whole-person, whole-community, trauma-aware and crisis-responsive support long before individuals can engage with clinical services.

The submission identifies several critical gaps:

Lack of meaningful community involvement in the design of the strategy, undermining its legitimacy and accuracy.

Absence of national data on the experiences of families affected by a relatives substance use, described as a critical national data gap in the draft response.

Insufficient recognition of structural drivers such as poverty, intimidation, community violence and social exclusion.

Underinvestment in community-based supports, despite their central role in stabilisation, safety and recovery.

FASN is calling for trauma-aware practice to be embedded at the heart of the national response and for Family Support & Community Drug Projects to be recognised as equal partners in planning, governance and implementation across all strategic pillars.

Read Next: Louth Students Shine at 2026 Student Enterprise Programme Final

The submission also urges Government to address child criminal exploitation, invest in community safety and youth supports, and ensure that diversion schemes and recovery pathways are accessible, resourced and linked to local community services.

FASN concludes that the strategy will only succeed if it is grounded in the lived reality of those most affected: Without addressing structural disadvantage and ensuring meaningful collaboration with impacted communities, the strategy cannot deliver equitable or effective outcomes.
Social entrepreneurs supported by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland are up to 50 percent more likely to succeed than those without our backing. Thats according to Social Entrepreneurs Ireland as it opened its Ideas Academy and Impact Programme for applications from Louth. Since 2004, the not-for-profit has supported over 660 social entrepreneurs across the country who are driving solutions in areas such as mental health, housing, the environment and education.

Engineer, performer and space communicator, Niamh Shaw from Dundalk, created Town Scientist to break down barriers to science for families who feel shut out from it. After years translating space and STEM on stage, in classrooms and on TV and radio, she set out a community model, to meet people where they live, co-design learning with local partners, and make complex issues like AI, climate and health tech, practical and relevant to daily life.

Town Scientist, has piloted with parents and marginalised groups in Dundalk (with Louth ABC) and in Birr, using workshops, experiments at home, and citizen-science projects to build confidence and agency around evidence. The work has been supported by Research Ireland and profiled nationally, with an expanded Dundalk programme taking place in 2025. Niamh is an Ideas Academy 2024 alumnus.

Speaking at the launch of this years programme, which remains open until 20th April, Director of Development at Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Michelle Noone said:

We know the impact that our programmes have on people and communities across the country and in 2025, an independently verified report* demonstrated how Social Entrepreneurs Ireland contributes to the success and growth of social enterprises across Ireland, with employment, sales, and future funding increased by up to 50 percent and innovation boosted by up to 80 percent.

There is a wealth of incredible ideas in Louth, and we encourage budding social entrepreneurs and those with more established solutions to social issues to apply for our Ideas Academy and Social Impact programmes, to bring their concepts to the next level.

The Ideas Academy is a three-month programme designed to provide budding social entrepreneurs with the knowledge and tools needed to move from a concept to a tangible pilot.

The Impact Programme is a nine-month programme that supports experienced social entrepreneurs to scale up tried-and-tested solutions to tackle Irelands biggest social challenges. Programme participants receive mentorship and peer support.

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has partnered with energy company DCC plc since 2011. Since the partnership began Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has received over 3,500 applications from all across Ireland.

Read Next: Louth gun smuggler has more than 17k returned after DPP drops money-laundering charges

Donal Murphy, Chief Executive Officer at DCC plc, said:

DCC plc is proud to support Social Entrepreneurs Ireland again in 2026. Over 660 social entrepreneurs have been directly supported over the duration of the partnership. In addition, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland alumni have created 463 jobs and generated 39.8m in income, so we know that this partnership works!

We look forward to helping this years successful applicants to develop and refine their ideas to affect positive change across Irish society.

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland will hold information sessions for interested individuals and organisations on 31st March. Register and apply for the Ideas Academy and The Impact Programme at https://www.socialentrepreneurs.ie/our-programmes/
Cllr Dolores Minogue has said she was delighted to attend the St. Patricks Day parade in New York, as part of Louth County Council's delegation for the annual St Patrick's Day celebrations, saying it was a truly memorable occasion celebrating Irish culture on a global stage.

Cllr Minogue said that a special moment came when the parade host gave a shout-out to the crowds, inviting everyone to visit Ardee.

Hearing our town and community mentioned to such a large international audience was a proud occasion and a wonderful showcase of all that Ardee and mid Louth have to offer.

Tommy Smith, a native of Knockbridge in Louth, recently marked his 35th year as the official commentator for New Yorks St. Patricks Day parade. During the visit, Cllr Minogue said she had the honour alongside Cathaoirleach, Cllr Sean Kelly, of presenting Tommy with a Louth GAA jersey, signed by the victorious Leinster team.

Cllr Minogue said that Tommy proudly held the jersey aloft on American television for all to see, creating a truly special moment and a great source of pride for Louth on the world stage.

Read also: Arthur's Archive: Take a trip down Louth's memory lane!

The Fine Gael councillor said she would like to sincerely thank Chairperson Sean McClean and the County Board for kindly supplying the jersey to me, an excellent representation of the pride of Louth,

Cllr Minogue said that she was also delighted to present Tourism Ireland with gifts from Ardee, along with a fantastic book written by Father Michael Murtagh, Lock Down Louth and Other Stories, which was very well received. Thanks to OBriens Stationery in Ardee.

According to Cllr Minogue, the trip also included valuable engagements with IDA Ireland, Tourism Ireland, and Enterprise Ireland.

These were very positive meetings, helping to ensure that Ardee, mid Louth, and County Louth continue to be recognised internationally as open for business and full of opportunity.

She added that it was great to meet fellow Ardonians who have made a life for themselves in New York: Barry Kilcoyne, Bernadette Smith, Terri Crawley, and Derek Curtis.

Overall, it was a fantastic visit and a proud occasion to promote Ardee and mid Louth to a global audience.
Dublin Simon Community has been given the go ahead for an apartment development at the site of the former Labour Exchange Site at Barrack Street in Dundalk, in spite of huge opposition from residents and businesses in the area.

The organisation, which provides services to people across Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, applied to Louth County Council for planning permission in August 2025, seeking the go ahead for the demolition of the existing derelict properties 63, 65 and 67 Barrack Street to facilitate the construction of 21 one-bedroom residential units, within a single three storey block.

The planning application also provided for items including a single storey utility and plantroom building, comprising ESB substation, switch room, water services and bin store, located to the northeast of the site, and a low profile, combined bulk storage and secured bicycle store.

It also includes boundary treatment proposals, landscaping, roads, drainage and lighting treatments across the site.

A significant number of submissions objecting to the planning application had been lodged with Louth County Council, including from residents and local businesses in the area.

Read also: Over 22,000 Louth workers auto-enrolled in Governments My Future Fund pension scheme

Among the reasons for objecting to the application were antisocial behaviour, health and safety risks, and a negative impact on the quality of life and privacy for local residents.

Louth County Council sought further information on the proposed development in September, with significant further information being submitted on 3 March. Planning permission was granted on 20 March 2026, subject to nine planning conditions.

A public meeting had been held last year, where householders and business owners in the area spoke of how they have been living a nightmare over the last few years, dealing with anti-social behaviour, including open drug dealing and drug taking on a daily basis.

At the time, Cllr Robert Nash called on Louth County Council to listen to the serious concerns of residents in the Quay area.

Cllr Nash told the Dundalk Democrat at the time that householders and business owners in the area had been living a nightmare over the last few years, dealing with anti-social behaviour on a daily basis, as well as open drug dealing and drug taking becoming the norm outside people's houses and businesses.

The Fine Gael councillor said that residents in the area had become frustrated over the lack of consultation between themselves and Louth County Council, as well as Dublin Simon Community, and despite regular calls to Dundalk Garda Station, he added, the situation had not improved.

Cllr Nash said last year that the present Simon facility in Barrack Street appears to be failing in its responsibility to fellow residents in the area, and that that he did not accept that anti-social behaviour happening outside the current Simon facility was a matter for An Garda Siochana, rather than the facility itself.

It is not yet known if the decision to grant planning permission for the development will be appealed to An Bord Coimisiun.
Louth County Council have been told its current festival grants budget is "inadequate" and should be increased for 2027.

The comments were made by Dundalk councillor Maeve Yore at the March meeting of Louth County Council, who said the local authority's budget of 200,000, which is divided among 90 festivals "won't work" and called for it to be increased for next year.

It comes off the back of a successful St Patrick's Day parade in the town, despite having been cancelled in January due to "a lack of confirmed funding" according to the parade's organising committee before being saved after talks between stakeholders.

Documents obtained by the Dundalk Democrat through a Freedom of Information request showed that the costs of staging the parade had almost doubled for this year's parade to just shy of 60,000.

Cathaoirleach of the Dundalk Municipal District, Cllr Robert Nash thanked Louth County Council for its assistance in the parade.

"Theres no doubt about it, the parade wouldnt have happened if Louth County Council hadnt given some assistance," he said.

However, Cllr Nash, who was a part of the talks which saved the town's parade, said St Patrick's Day parades in the county should receive funding "under another umbrella" instead of the festival grants scheme.

"Weve talked about this before, the St Patrick's Day parade is bigger than any other festival, we need to look at other funding and it possibly should be under another umbrella.

I know that Dublin City Council parades are highly funded by Failte Ireland. Maybe we should be looking at arts or cultural grants," he said.

Read Next: Impacts of 'crazy war in Iran will affect road works budget in Louth

A spokesperson for Louth County Council said it will be reviewing festival guidelines with the view to increasing funds and improving the scheme for 2027.

"We want to increase the number of events and festivals in the area because it leads to tourism, and brings more tourism in so it is something we will be looking at for 2027," she said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
The entrepreneurial spirit of County Louth was celebrated in full force at the 2026 Student Enterprise Programme Final, held recently at The Fairways Hotel in Dundalk, where hundreds of students from across the county gathered to showcase their innovative ideas and business skills.

The event highlighted the exceptional abilities of young entrepreneurs who developed, marketed and pitched their own business ventures as part of Irelands largest student enterprise initiative.

Delivered by Local Enterprise Offices and funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland, the Student Enterprise Programme engages over 30,000 students nationally each year.

The Student Enterprise Programme gives students first-hand experience of innovation, financial literacy, teamwork, digital marketing and customer engagement. It continues to be one of the most impactful enterprise education initiatives in the country, with over 500,000 students having participated since its inception in 2003.

In Louth, participation remained strong in 2026, with 1,453 students from 19 schools taking part in the programme. Students developed businesses that demonstrated creativity, sustainability, problem-solving, and innovation.

In a highly competitive field, Cillians Sausage Rolls, run by Cillian Hand from Scoil Ui Mhuiri, Dunleer, was crowned Junior Category winner. His business impressed judges with its range of handmade sausage rolls in unique flavour combinations and with strong market potential. Cillian will go forward to represent Louth at the National Finals in Mullingar on 7 May.

The Intermediate Category was won by Quapairi from Gaelcholaiste Dhun Dealgan, Dundalk. Students Arden Oakes, Shayne Toner, and Cait Ni Ir developed a toasted cheese sandwich and drinks business that quickly became a favourite among their school community.

In the Senior Category, the overall winners were CTRL Base from Ballymakenny College, Drogheda, developed by Oliver Ginty and Zion Oluwabowale. Their 3Dprinted gaming controller holder, designed as a stylised hand and available in multiple colours, stood out to the judges. CTRL Base will represent Louth in the Senior National Finals in May.

The judging panel also recognised an impressive selection of businesses in the subcategories:

Innovation Award  Game Savers, De La Salle College, Dundalk

Best Social Media and Marketing  Charmed, Sacred Heart Secondary School

Sustainability Award  Bloom and Drift, Ardee Community School

Best Stand Award  Caked With Love, Colaiste Chu Chulainn

Best Creative Business  Jolly Logs, Scoil Ui Mhuiri

Best Creative Product  Crochet Critters, St Marys College

Enterprise Award  Toirleachs Treatogs, O Fiaich College

Best Gift Idea  Carlingfresh, Bush Post Primary

Best Junior Stand  Mellow and Co, Sacred Heart Secondary School

Junior Runner Up  Wax and Wonders, Dundalk Grammar School

Senior Runner-Up  Craft Masters, St Brigids School

Special Educators Award  Olive Byrne, St Brigids School

Read Next: New figures show Louth is outperforming much of the country in house building

Across all categories, students displayed remarkable enthusiasm, professionalism, and creativity with product ranges including jewellery, sea glass crafts, wax melts, food innovations, handmade decorations, and sustainable products.

Olive Byrne of St Brigids School was presented with the Special Educators Award for her exceptional commitment to fostering creativity, inclusion, and entrepreneurial thinking among her students.

Speaking at the event, Nikki Campbell, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Louth, praised the efforts of all participating students and commended the winning teams: The Student Enterprise Programme continues to show that the future of entrepreneurship in Louth is bright, bold and full of possibility. The creativity, resilience and teamwork these students demonstrate would inspire any business leader, and their ideas reflect the values we want to see in the next generation.

Through this initiative, students see that with the right support, they can turn a classroom idea into a real business. The skills they develop from planning and research to selling and teamwork, will stay with them throughout their future careers. Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme, and we wish them every success on 7 May, and hope to be there to support them.

David Conway, Chief Executive of Louth County Council, added: The Student Enterprise Programme is a fantastic celebration of the creativity and ambition of young people across Louth. Every year, Im inspired by the fresh ideas and entrepreneurial spirit shown by our students, who tackle challenges with knowledge, enthusiasm and determination. Their hard work and innovative thinking make me confident that Louths future is in good hands.

Programmes like this give students the chance to turn their ideas into reality, develop valuable skills, and lay the foundations for success, whatever path they choose. I look forward to seeing how this years winners' businesses and talents grow in the years ahead.

In addition to the student stands on the day, participants also had the opportunity to engage with a range of interactive educational and enterprise-focused workshops and stations.

The Mini Digi Hub Project delivered handson Virtual Reality (VR) workshops, giving students a chance to explore immersive digital technologies and learn about their realworld applications.

Creative Spark was also on-site with their mobile FabLab, where students designed and produced personalised lasercut keyrings, offering them a taste of modern fabrication tools and digital design.

DkIT, OFiaich Institute of Further Education, and Dundalk Credit Union were also in attendance on the day, encouraging students to consider their future education and career paths.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Pictured above: Making a presentation of a cheque for 1,300 to Olive Joyce of Alzheimer Society of Ireland were Provincial Grand Master of Armagh, R.W. Brother Gilbert T. Irvine; Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Armagh, Conor Kenny; with Lodge members, Robert Bothwell, David Curran Ken Ramsey and Eugene McCooey. Photo: Arthur Kinahan

Last Saturday saw the Freemasons from The Masonic Lodge 384 Dundalk, make a presentation of a cheque for 1,300 to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

Each year, the Freemasons in Dundalk install a new Master, with the Master deciding on which charity a donation will be made to. The decision to make the Alzheimer Society the beneficiary was made by last year's Master of the Lodge, David Connor.

Secretary of the Dundalk lodge, John Kerr, told the Dundalk Democrat that the annual event is marked with a dinner, with St Vincent de Paul to be the beneficiary of this year's charity collection.

We're basically a charity collection organisation, John explained. I'm a member for maybe the last 18 years. There's three lodges in Dundalk, of which, a total of about 100 members.

It's like a social gathering of like minded people. We have fundamental values of brotherly love, charity, we are totally non-denominational. We are non political. Anybody from any background can join.

Read also: Louth Students Shine at 2026 Student Enterprise Programme Final

We've been in Dundalk since 1802, so it goes back quite a number of years.

The Masonic Hall at 23 Jocelyn Street in Dundalk, has become more known in recent years, due to it being opened as a historical site as part of the historical walking tours of Dundalk.

Talks in the town by the Freemasons as part of this has led to some new members joining.

Explaining a little more about Freemasons and what they do, John said that, there's no secrets. It's just a group of men that gather to fundraise essentially.

Freemasonry in Ireland dates well back well before 1800. It's broken up into four provinces, very much along the religious dioceses. We are part of the province of Armagh, of which there are 35 lodges. We're one of the smaller ones.

There's quite a number of members spread throughout Ireland. They all come under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge in Dublin on Molesworth Street. All our laws and constitution comes from Molesworth Street.

The organisation is open to men over the age of 25, with John explaining that, you have to believe that there is a superior being, in God or whatever your religious beliefs are.

It's pretty much a multi-denominational organisation. There's no requirements on being part of one. Nobody asks any questions, nobody is quizzed.

We're strictly forbidden from having a political or religious connotations. We swear allegiance to our flag and our president, whoever that is at the time.

Explaining their activities and the benefits it gives to be part of the organisation, John said that, our lodge meets every month, most lodges meet every month and then we take a summer recess.

As men get older it's good to have a social background. You can go to meetings at lodges anywhere around the country. Men as they get older tend to go to more meetings. It's a good thing for man to be sociable.

A lot of men can be introverted. This gives them a chance to meet other men, have a bit of fun, a few jokes and be part of an organisation.

We all like to be part of some organisation. That's what I get out of it. There's outside charities, then we also help each other, if brethren are in need.

If they run into a problem with their family, they need education for their kids or medical issues, we support them, confidentially. That happens to in the organisation, there's a lot of that goes on but nobody talks about it, it's all done with confidentiality.

Along with helping each other, the Freemasons try to give back to the local community as much as the can. Last year there was a cheque of 3,000 that went to the women's refuge, John added, referring to the donation they made to Woman's Aid Dundalk.

We try to do that every year, just to give back to the community something of ourselves.

John also adds that they are always looking for new members. For anyone interested in joining or looking for more information, John invites them to send a letter to the Dundalk Masonic Hall, at 23 Jocelyn Street, Dundalk, Co Louth.
A decision by Cork City Council to waive more than a third of 800,000 in derelict site levies on a former Magdalene laundry has been slammed as a disgrace.

The former Good Shepherd convent site in Sundays Well has been on the citys derelict sites register since August 2019, and by December 31, 2025, its owners, Dundalk-based Moneda Developments, had accrued 823,943 in outstanding levies.

Cork City Council has confirmed that it has accepted from Moneda a payment of 500,000, waiving the 323,943 balance.

The half-million payment on a single site in the first quarter of 2026 contrasts with the councils total receipt of derelict levies in 2025, when it received 406,181 against the citys 158 derelict sites.

Thomas Gould, Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central, said he believed the decision to write off more than 300,000 was in breach of the Derelict Sites Act.

Citing a parliamentary reply he received in 2021 from then junior housing minister Peter Burke, Mr Gould said local authorities do not have the power to waive derelict site levies.

Spokesperson

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing told The Echo the only circumstances in which the derelict sites levy may be waived is under section 26 the Derelict Sites Act 1990.

That provision states that where, in the opinion of a local authority, payment (would) cause undue hardship to the person, the local authority may suspend action (to) secure payment of the whole or part of the amount of the levy.

The spokesperson added: The waiving of the derelict sites levy under Section 26 of the act is at the discretion of the local authority concerned and the department does not have information on the value of any waivers applied.

Mr Gould said he believed exemptions applied to individuals rather than companies.

There will be huge anger when people find out a company can owe 800,000 and only pay 500,000, leaving 323,943 in unpaid levies, at a time when the ordinary man or woman in the street cannot negotiate to only pay two-thirds of their local property tax, he said.

To me, its a disgrace. Cork City Council could repair 100 boarded-up houses with that 323,943.

Valued at 1,850,000 in March 2024, the former convent site changed hands earlier this month, purchased for an undisclosed sum by Bellmount Good Shepherd, a company which is owned by property developer bothers Padraig and Seamus Kelleher.

Sale

That sale went through after An Coimisiun Pleanala last November granted planning permission for a 957-bed apartment complex on the site, the citys largest-ever student accommodation development.

Bellmount said it had recently acquired the property, subject to planning, with all outstanding liabilities to the local authority settled in full by the previous owners.

The Echo has been unsuccessful in contacting Moneda, despite repeated efforts to do so.

A Cork City Council spokesperson said the former Good Shepherd site remains on the derelict sites register, adding that fresh levies will accrue to Bellmount until dereliction is removed.

Under the new derelict property tax, announced under Budget 2026, the Revenue Commissioners will soon have direct enforcement powers over the imposition of dereliction penalties.
The book of evidence could not be served on a 44-year-old man accused of falsely imprisoning and raping a woman at her home in Cork city while he was carrying two knives, because the judge found that the number on one of the charges was incorrect.

Judge Dorgan adjourned the case until March 30 so that the book could be served again.

This will be the third time for the case to be listed for service of a book of evidence.

Another technical reason  unrelated to the actual book of evidence - prevented service of the book last week.

The accused man is on bail.

Detective Garda Patrick Houlihan charged the accused last month with raping the woman at her home in Cork, and he replied, She wanted to have sex with me. I did not do anything against her.

To the charge of being in possession of two knives contrary to the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act at the time of the alleged incident, the accused man said, She agreed with it, she called me there.

Thirdly, he was accused of falsely imprisoning the woman and he replied, It is not true.

Once the book of evidence is served the case will be sent forward from Cork District Court to be dealt with at the Central Criminal Court.

The defendant was previously charged with a charge of assaulting the woman contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

Solicitor Frank Buttimer represented the accused man in Cork District Court.

The case arose of the investigation of a reported incident at 9am on February 10, 2025, at a location in Cork city where it was alleged that a man fled from the scene and was found with the assistance of a garda helicopter on waste ground nearby.

It was alleged that a man forced his way into a house where he threatened a woman, who was at home alone with a child, and subjected her to a serious assault.

Gardai cordoned off the area outside this house.

It was further reported that the woman managed to get free at around 9.40am on the day one year ago, where it was alleged that the woman had to take her child with her, and run outside in her slippers to a premises across the road from her house and that she suffered slash wounds from a bladed instrument during her struggle to escape.

Identification of parties to the case is legally prohibited.
Cork County Council has announced the launch of a new survey aimed at evaluating commercial property for "crucial residential accommodation conversions.

The survey, which is targeted at commercial property owners, seeks to evaluate the capacity and potential for over-the-shop and behind-the-shop residential conversions in towns and villages across Cork county.

The primary aim of the survey is to gather insights from property owners regarding the feasibility, challenges, and opportunities for converting underutilised spaces into homes.

The findings will then inform future council strategies and help maximise the impact of government support schemes.

Mayor of the County of Cork, councillor Mary Linehan Foley said this survey is a key step in identifying ways to bring new life to our towns and villages.

By working together, we can transform unused spaces and increase housing supply in county Cork, said Ms Linehan Foley.

We strongly encourage property owners to take part in the survey.

Chief executive of Cork County Council, Moira Murrell said the local authority is committed to working with property owners to ensure the success of residential conversions.

Revitalising underused buildings in our town and village centres is crucial, said Ms Murrell.

Not only does it provide much-needed homes, but it also breathes new life into our communities."

For more information, or to take part in the survey, visit: www.corkcoco.ie.
I will chop you up  that was one of the voicemails received in the early hours of the morning by a young woman from her ex-partner.

The young man was brought before Cork District Court where there was an objection to bail on a charge of breaching a Domestic Violence Act order, putting his ex-partner in fear.

Garda Alan Cronin gave evidence in the bail objection, testifying that calls started coming through to the complainants phone between 1am and 3am on Saturday night into Sunday morning, March 22.

Some of the communications were texts but mainly they were by voicemail.

It was not possible to confirm in court the total number of communications made in this two-hour period, Sergeant Aisling Murphy said.

Garda Cronin outlined the content of some of the threatening communications:

I will chop you up"

No matter how long I spend in prison I will come for you.

I will get you back.

You know what I am going to do when I get out.

Defence solicitor Donal Daly said the communications were made when the defendant was intoxicated.

He had been in a relationship with her. He discovered she was in a new relationship and that his feelings for her were not reciprocated.

If granted bail he said he will not contact her through any means. He did not give the guards any trouble. There was no aggression from him in any way towards the gardai, Mr Daly suggested.

Garda Cronin agreed with that.

Mr Daly called the 36-year-old to give evidence, putting it to him first that he accepted sending texts.

He replied, I did text her. I was trying to contact (their young child). I was just trying to spend as much time with (the child) as possible.

Even the next morning when the shades came

Judge Mary Dorgan interrupted the defendant in this reference to the gardai, saying, Ah now, show a bit of respect.

The defendant replied: Sorry, when the guards came.

He continued his evidence: I say things I dont mean I will only contact her through a solicitor I am angry because she did not let me see the child.

Judge Dorgan said, I have to be very careful... using or threatening to use violence, putting an injured party in fear.

The judge remanded him in custody until March 30.
A predatory sex offender who used Snapchat to groom and manipulate two girls when they were aged ten and 14, whom he later raped, will now serve an additional four-and-a-half years in prison after the State successfully objected to the undue leniency of his original nine-year sentence.

After David O'Sullivan was arrested last March, gardai found 1,629 files of downloaded child sexual abuse material on a mobile phone belonging to him.

This included 915 videos and images of sexual activity involving children and 714 images of sexually explicit exposure.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had sought a review of OSullivans original term of imprisonment, arguing that his offending was at such an extreme end of this type of case that the ultimate sentence imposed had been incapable of reflecting the gravity of the crimes.

The Court of Appeal has upheld the States appeal, finding that the sentence was unduly lenient.

Resentencing OSullivan to thirteen-and-a half-years in prison, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said this was offending of a very grave nature by a young man who had groomed and manipulated these extremely young girls, instilled fear, made threats and sexually assaulted both of them.

OSullivan, 23, previously of Ballick Road, Midleton, Co Cork and St Vincent's Avenue, Woodquay, Galway, groomed the girls for months before meeting them and raping them.

The girls, who are from different parts of the country and are unknown to each other, were aged 14 and ten when he raped them.

OSullivan was sentenced to 11-and-a half-years for the rapes and for possession of child abuse material in November 2025 by Ms Justice Melanie Greally at the Central Criminal Court.

She suspended the final two and a half years on condition that OSullivan keep the peace, engage with sexual offence treatment and refrain from contacting either of the victims for 50 years.

At the appeal hearing last week, senior counsel John Berry, for the DPP, said the sentence imposed on OSullivan for rape, which involved the manipulation through digital media of young, vulnerable victims, had to be met by a jail term that was greater than the one handed down.

Counsel said after an initial encounter with the first victim, OSullivan was stopped in the curtilage of the girls home and received an adult caution for trespassing.

He said OSullivan subsequently provided the young girl with a phone and a credit card and used the Snapchat app to engage with her.

The girl had another phone which her parents monitored, counsel said, but they were unaware of this device.

OSullivan later arranged to meet the girl in a shopping centre where he gave her alcohol and orally raped her before pulling her clothes down and raping her again. The victim told her mother what had happened and gardai were contacted.

Mr Berry said gardai then spoke to OSullivan and at this point the defendant had to have known he was under investigation for a very serious offence.

Nevertheless, OSullivan moved to another town in the West of Ireland and then he started again.

In August 2024, O'Sullivan contacted a 10-year-old girl on Snapchat, pretending he was 13.

When OSullivans phone was examined, he was found to have used multiple Snapchat identities and had been blocked from the platform as a result. He evaded this by using the internet browser on his phone rather than the dedicated Snapchat App.

Mr Berry said the use of social media was crucial in this case and referenced the degrading and debasing nature of the communication with the second, younger victim.

The meetings with this victim happened over a consistent period of time, the barrister said, and it was only after the girl took part in a school course about child safety online that she made a disclosure to a teacher which led to Mr OSullivans apprehension and the seizure of his phone.

Mr Berry submitted OSullivan engaged in sophisticated and surreptitious predatory behaviour in which he relentlessly pursued two young girls whom he ultimately raped.

Delivering judgment today, Ms Justice Kennedy said the sequence of events was important considering the gravity of the offending. She noted that despite being fully aware of his wrongdoing in relation to the first victim, OSullivan began grooming and abusing his second victim.

She said this conduct demonstrated a calculating mind, and his abuse of the second victim was done with a measured and intentional purpose.

Ms Justice Kennedy said this was a case where consecutive sentences were entirely appropriate to properly reflect the gravity of the offending.

She imposed a sentence of six-and-a half years in respect of the charges relating to the first victim, and a consecutive sentence of nine years for the charges concerning the second, younger complainant.

A concurrent sentence of six-and-a-half years was also imposed for possession of child abuse material, resulting in a total sentence of fifteen-and-a-half years.

Ms Justice Kennedy said that, having considered the issue of totality, the court would reduce the overall sentence by two years to thirteen-and-a-half years to ensure it was proportionate.

Citing concerns outlined in a probation report and the need protect the public from the serious harm OSullivan could inflict, while also assisting in his rehabilitation, she imposed a post-release supervision order of 15 years. OSullivan will remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Last September, O'Sullivan pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape and oral rape of the first victim in February 2023.

He also pleaded guilty to communication with a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation between June 2022 and February 2023.

He further pleaded guilty to four counts of rape and one of oral rape of the second child on dates between August and November 2024.

He also admitted communicating with the second child between August 2024 and March 2025 for the purpose of sexually exploiting her.

He pleaded guilty to production of child abuse material in relation to asking the victim to send him a video of herself.

The victim who was 14 when OSullivan raped her told her abuser at his sentencing hearing: I no longer want to be a victim, I want to be a survivor. You did not break my spirit. Your power is now gone.

The court heard that the younger victim believed she was in a relationship with O'Sullivan. In relation to the sexual activity, she told gardai: He didn't give up, so I gave in.

She said O'Sullivan told her he would kill her father if she told anyone about him and later said that somebody had raped his sister and that he had killed this person and buried him.
Alison O'Riordan

A 39-year-old man has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering his grandfather in the Donegal Gaeltacht over two years ago.

A prosecuting barrister told the trial of Derek Mulligan on Monday that the accused was the victim of serious sexual abuse at the hands of a school caretaker when he was a child and has suffered with a litany of mental health difficulties since his teenage years.

Patricia McLaughlin SC, said that expert consultant psychiatrists for both the State and defence are in agreement that the accused was suffering from a mental disorder when he killed his grandfather.

Mulligan, with an address at Carrickcoyle, Derrybeg, Gweedore in Co Donegal has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of his grandfather Derek Burns (78) at Carrickcoyle on December 19th, 2023.

Opening the prosecution's case, McLaughlin, along with Fiona Crawford, said that where a mentally ill person commits a crime including taking the life of another, the law recognises it may not be the case that the person is responsible for the conduct they engaged in.

The focus of the panel's attention, the barrister said, was not whether these events happened or not.

"You will hear the accused admitted to this conduct. Your focus is on his mental state at the time," she said.

McLaughlin said once the defence of insanity is established, Mulligan is entitled to a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. She said the defence of insanity applied to all five counts on the indictment.

She said Mulligan had been examined by two consultant psychiatrists; Dr Ronan Mullaney on behalf of the defence and Dr Stephen Monks for the prosecution.

"Both are of the one mind that he was suffering from a mental disorder at the time and is enough to bring the defence of insanity into play".

Outlining the facts of the case, McLaughlin said Mulligan is originally from Bunbeg in Co Donegal but had been living in Carrickcoyle. She said the deceased man, Derek Burns, is the accused's grandfather and he had been living alone in the village.

Counsel told the panel that Burns and his wife Mary had five children, who were brought up in Edinburgh but later returned to live in Co Donegal.

The lawyer said Mary, who had been diagnosed with dementia, was living with her daughter Angela Mulligan, who is the accused's mother.

The prosecution barrister went on to tell the court that Burns had experienced ill health in recent times and became withdrawn but was still living with his family around him.

McLaughlin said the jurors would hear evidence that the accused man, Mulligan, had suffered a number of traumas in his life.

Counsel said the accused's father had died from lung cancer when Mulligan was 16 years of age. She also said that when the accused was 12 years old, he was the victim of serious sexual abuse at the hands of a school caretaker.

McLaughlin said that the individual was prosecuted in the Central Criminal Court and sentenced to 15 years in prison for abusing a number of victims.

There will be evidence, McLaughlin said, that Mulligan suffered a litany of mental health and psychiatric difficulties from his teenage years.

The barrister further stated that Mulligan returned to live in Donegal before December 2023. She said the accused's mother had sourced a house for him near where his grandfather lived, and Mr Mulligan had been residing there for several months.

She said the jurors would hear evidence that in the weeks leading up to December 17th, 2023, people around the accused had noted Mulligan's mental health deteriorating significantly and that he was behaving erratically.

Counsel said the accused's mother, Angela Mulligan, called gardai to tell them that her son had been involved in an incident earlier on December 17th.

The court will also hear evidence, the lawyer said, that Mulligan was later detained by gardai under section 12 of the Mental Health Act. The accused was examined by a GP, who said he needed to be admitted into a psychiatric hospital in Letterkenny.

Evidence will be that when the accused was detained under the Mental Health Act, no one knew what had happened to Burns.

There was an arrangement, said counsel, that one of Burns' daughters would come to visit her father at 3.30pm on December 17th.

When the daughter went up the laneway to her father's house, she noticed one of his dogs off the lead, which would have been "very unusual".

McLaughlin said the daughter found her father on the ground, unconscious and bloodied. She initially thought he had fallen and had a stroke. Burns died from his injuries two days later on December 19th.

Counsel said when Burns was brought to hospital, medical personnel were suspicious and didn't think his injuries were consistent with a fall.

Ultimately, the accused, Mulligan, was released from a psychiatric unit in Letterkenny on December 18th and arrested. He was brought to Milford Garda Station, where he was interviewed on three occasions and admitted carrying out the assault on his grandfather.

Mulligan has also pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity that on December 17th, 2023 at Carrickcoyle, he did without lawful excuse damage property, to wit the windscreen of a Nissan Quashqui belonging to Catherine McDermott, intending to damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be damaged.

The defendant has further pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity that on the same occasion he did without lawful excuse make threats to McDermott to kill or cause her serious harm, intending her to believe that these threats be carried out.

In addition, Mulligan has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to two counts of assaulting Breege McFadden and Derek McFadden at Carrickmacafferty, Derrybeg in Co Donegal on the same date.

The trial continues tomorrow before Judge Eileen Creedon and a jury of seven men and five women.
By Grainne Ni Aodha, Press Association

Dublin mayor Ray McAdam said he was in it to win it, before being selected as the Fine Gael candidate for a by-election triggered by the resignation of Paschal Donohoe.

Donohoe, who resigned as finance minister and a TD, took up the second most senior position at the World Bank, as managing director and chief knowledge officer.

At a selection convention in Dublin city on Monday, party members heard that McAdam, who is a former parliamentary assistant to Donohoe, was the only nomination received to be the partys candidate.

The Cavan-born father-of-one has lived in Dublin for more than 20 years and has been a councillor for 17 years.

Fine Gaels Paschal Donohoe celebrates being elected at RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin, in 2024 (Brian Lawless/PA)

He told the room that Dublin deserves the very best, that he loves the honesty of the Dublin Central constituency, and said he was in it to win it.

There is no constituency quite like Dublin Central, he said.

He paid tribute to the communities of workers and carers, who have known pressure, and said the choice in the byelection was between a voice of noise or a voice of substance, a voice that comments on problems or a voice that works to solve them.

Director of elections for the byelection, Minister of State Neale Richmond; TD Emer Currie; MEP Regina Doherty; Senator Evanne Ni Chuilinn and secretary general of Fine Gael John Carroll, were at the selection convention.

Richmond paid tribute to the great Mr Donohoe and thanked him for his work for the constituency.

Councillor Colm ORourke, who proposed McAdam, said he had learned how to canvass from him, before telling the room: Lets take our seat back in Dublin central.

Among the confirmed candidates for the Dublin Central election are Gerry The Monk Hutch, who just lost out on a seat during the 2024 general election, and councillor Janice Boylan, a running mate of Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald.

She competed for the Sinn Fein nomination against Gillian Sherratt, the mother of Harvey Morrison Sherratt, a nine-year-old boy who died after years of waiting for spinal surgery.

Councillor Daniel Ennis for the Social Democrats, Councillor Janet Horner for the Green Party, Ruth ODea for the Labour Party, musician Eoghan O Ceannabhain for People Before Profit, and Ian Noel Smyth for Aontu are also candidates.

The Dublin Central byelection will take place in May, as will a byelection for the Galway West constituency, the seat vacated by Catherine Connolly when she became President of Ireland.
Eoin Reynolds

A self-described jihadist who set fire to a pub owned by Conor McGregor and later stabbed a garda on a Dublin street while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' told detectives he was inspired by the founder of Isis, Musab al-Zarqawi, and had pledged his allegiance to the terrorist organisation.

A sentencing hearing at the three-judge Special Criminal Court also heard on Monday that 24-year-old Abdullah Khan, who describes himself as a Salafi jihadist, is part of a "wider group of people of a like-minded mindset".

Det Inspector Gavin Ross of the Garda Special Detective Unit said an investigation is ongoing with lines of inquiry still open.

He said that statements made to gardai by Khan's associates are also the subject of ongoing investigations.

Khan's defence counsel, Michael Bowman SC, suggested that there may be others who are "operating in the shadows" and preferred to have Khan, who has a history of social isolation, depression and paranoia, operating in broad daylight.

Motivation

Ross said that when Khan was asked for the motivation behind his crimes, he said he wanted to send a message to McGregor and others with a "right-wing mindset" not to insult the Prophet Muhammad.

He said he was angry that the State allowed people to insult the Prophet and attacked the garda to show his anger and make his protest known.

He said he had listened to speeches by al-Zarqawi, who was killed in 2006, and was inspired by them. He said he found al-Zarqawi "charismatic" and his message resonated with him.

Khan, with an address in Dublin that cannot be published due to a court order, previously pleaded guilty to eight charges.

He was charged that on July 25th 2025, at the Black Forge Inn, Drimnagh Road, Dublin 12, he committed arson by pouring petrol on the front door of the pub and lighting it with a match.

He was charged four days later, on July 29th 2025, at Capel Street, he assaulted Gda Gary Lynch causing him harm, and attempted to assault Gda Patrick Nevin.

He was further charged with producing a knife during the same incident and two counts of endangerment, in that he intentionally or recklessly engaged in conduct which created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to the two gardai.

Khan was further charged with two counts of engaging in terrorist activity or terrorist-linked activity on the dates of each offence.

Det Sgt Liam McLoughlin told the sentencing hearing that Lynch and Nevin were on foot patrol near Little Britain Street in Dublin city when Khan ran up behind them carrying a knife and stabbed Gda Lynch in the arm while shouting 'Allahu Akbar'.

The gardai put distance between themselves and their attacker as he continued to wield the knife and tried to move towards them.

They used their 'ASP' batons and pepper spray, and a member of the public brought Khan to the ground before the two gardai moved in to arrest.

Lynch suffered two lacerations to his arm that required stitches and nerve damage that required surgery.

In a victim impact statement handed into court, the garda described his "shock and disbelief" that there was nothing he could do to prevent such a violent attack.

He described ongoing pain, discomfort and stress.

During his first interview following his arrest, Khan immediately admitted to setting fire to Mr McGregor's pub four days earlier, saying it was "better to get that over with now than have it come back to me later."

Khan said he came from a professional family, but when he had issues with his mental health, he resisted their efforts to find help and he became homeless for some months prior to the offences.

Radicalised

Det Insp Ross told prosecution senior counsel Gerardine Small SC that the Special Detective Unit (SDU) became involved due to the concern that Khan had been radicalised by Islam.

The use of the term, Allahu Akbar and an attack on police was similar to terrorist attacks elsewhere in Europe, he said.

In his first interview with the SDU, Khan said it was "undeniable" that what he had done was terrorism. He later explained that from the age of 18, he had started listening to people like al-Zarqawi online, and his beliefs progressed in his early 20s.

Det Insp Ross said Salafi Jihadism is a puritanical and literal interpretation of Muslim law that was adopted by Isis.

In his interviews, Khan referenced the four core principles of Salafi, including a rejection of man-made laws and the ability to declare those who do not follow the religion as apostates and legitimate targets.

His beliefs removed prohibitions on attacking members of the security forces in any country where the State does not follow a literal interpretation of the Koran, the inspector said.

Ross said that when it became more difficult to visit ISIS territory in Iraq and Syria, the leaders of the movement declared that individuals could take responsibility for their own jihad wherever they lived.

During his garda interviews, Khan declared his support for Isis ideology, saying he had a love for them and had pledged his allegiance to the organisation.

Insults

Khan spoke of being motivated by insults against the prophet by "people with a right-wing mindset" and said he was angry at the Irish State.

He described such insults as "outrageous and unacceptable" and said they made him sad and angry.

He said McGregor had helped the far-right to grow in Ireland, so he held him responsible for the insults.

He said he wanted McGregor to know that he was "playing dangerous games". He added: "When it comes to the prophet, we don't see it as a matter of freedom of speech." He said insults to the prophet are always provocative, and there is a "duty on the state anywhere in the world" to denounce such insults.

When he attacked Gda Lynch, he said he did not expect his victim to die, but he wanted to "injure him to make the point".

He added: "This was a message to the Irish government that if, under the name of free speech, you insult our prophet, there will be people who are angry."

In mitigation, Bowman asked the court to consider his client's early guilty plea and his admissions to gardai. He said his client was in a "state of mental crisis" and apologises to his victims.

Justice Karen O'Connor, presiding, commended the bravery of the two gardai who arrested Khan. She adjourned sentencing to April 20th and remanded Khan in continuing custody.
Sarah Slater

All apartment balconies in a Waterford City housing complex where two young siblings were injured following a 20 foot fall are being examined by the local authority.

Waterford City and County Council commenced two investigations on Monday, looking at the condition and safety of the balconies at Mount Suir apartments in Gracedieu, after brother and sister Jayden (3) and Nevaeh (7) ONeill fell from a balcony in Block C at 10.40am on Friday last.

The siblings fell to the ground when the pane of glass on the balcony railing gave way. They had been playing with two other siblings who were not injured.

The children were taken by ambulance to University Hospital Waterford (UHW) for treatment of their injuries. Nevaeh was discharged from hospital on Friday night and Jayden returned home to his parents Ryan ONeill and Regina Smith on Sunday evening.

He narrowly missed falling on a large shard of glass. His family have confirmed that his son suffered a brain bleed and will continue to be monitored by medical staff.

Garda forensic teams examined the balcony from where the children fell in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

A council spokesperson said they are treating the incident with the utmost seriousness and urgency.

All apartment balconies in Block C, which is owned by the council will continue to be inspected on Tuesday. The management company of the other blocks, A and B, is also to inspect apartment balconies in their buildings.

The spokesperson outlined that a comprehensive technical inspection of the condition and safety of all balconies within Block C (is underway), which is in the full ownership and occupation of the local authority.

A detailed report will then be prepared, and any necessary actions arising from its findings will be implemented.

Additionally, the council has contacted the property management company responsible for Blocks A and B at Mount Suir to advise of the ongoing inspections.

The management company has today confirmed that it has also commenced inspections of all balconies within those blocks, the spokesperson noted.

The council pointed out that it will continue to provide ongoing support to the family, review the circumstances surrounding the incident, and take appropriate steps to ensure that such an incident does not happen again.
Sean Ryan

The sister of a girl who was badly beaten on a roadside on the Tipperary-Limerick border has appealed for people to take down graphic photos from social media.

Scarlett Faulkner, aged in her 20s, from the northside of Limerick city, was viciously beaten by individuals armed with weapons at the side of the R494 road in Birdhill, Co Tipperary on Saturday evening March 21st.

The motive is not known at this time. She was airlifted to Limerick University Hospital after the incident before being transferred to Cork University Hospital where she remains in a critical condition.

Now it has been revealed that a graphic photo of Scarlett in hospital has been shared widely on social media. It shows the extent of the injuries she suffered in the horrific incident.

In a very emotional post on social media, her sister Victoria asked people to take down any photos of her sister in hospital.

She said: Please, I am begging ye take the picture down off your pages... Half of my family wouldn't go in to see her and my father didn't see her yet.

"Please can ye all delete the picture - we are going through enough.

She also shared pictures of her father visiting a grotto in Limerick to pray for her sister.

Victoria also said: "I love you with all my heart you will always be my best friend and big sister. My heart is shattered in 1 million pieces... god please don't do this to us.

Meanwhile, the Chaplain to the Travelling Community in Limerick, Fr Pat Hogan, said: "We don't need such violence in our society and we don't need our children seeing it.

"It is our duty as adults and as parents to bring our children up in a non-violent place.

Gardai said on Sunday that they are aware of video footage of the incident circulating online and ask members of the public not to share it on social media platforms or messaging apps, but instead to provide it to investigating gardai.
Ottoline Spearman

The care system in Ireland is "broken" and "not operating in the best interests of children", a highly critical report by the ombudsman has found.

Children in the system have been sexually groomed and assaulted, disappeared for days, and been moved between many unregulated placements in short periods of time, the report says, which will be launched on Tuesday by the Ombudsman for Childrens Office (OCO).

In many cases, children are experiencing more harm after being taken into care, the report concludes.

It details cases of children being detained for years in secure care due to lack of onward placement, despite having committed no offence.

One such example is a case of two siblings who were accommodated in a centre with teenagers and 30 staff because there was no available foster home.

In the foreword, Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon asks: "How we have fallen so far as a country that we appear unable to provide a highly vulnerable child, in the care of the State, with a safe and stable place to live?

The report says: The care system in Ireland is broken for many children ... As it stands it is not operating in the best interests of children, and it is our experience that the care system is where the most profound breaches of all children rights are found.

Almost 6,000 children are in care in Ireland, and are some of the most vulnerable in the country, the report says.

The report notes that the failures stem from severe shortages of social workers; lack of availability of placements, and difficulties recruiting and retaining residential care staff.

It also notes the growing reliance on private providers, the increasing numbers of children in unregulated placements, and inadequate supports for unaccompanied child asylum seekers.

The report also criticises Tusla saying: "A pattern emerges when we examine key statistics from Tusla over the past 10 years  a decline in foster care placements, an increase in children in residential care and a significant increase in the private provision of care.

Tusla remains "chronically underfunded, says the report, despite the doubling of child protection referrals, from 56,000 in 2015 to 106,000 last year.

Despite the budget increasing by 94 per cent in the decade, it is still "way behind" on what it should be.

Between 2021 and last year, Tusla received less than half (571 million) of what it asked for in pre-budget estimates leaving a shortfall of 616 million.

A " robust consultation process" led by the Department of Children on the care system was announced in March, which "provides a pivotal moment for our care system and a once in a generation opportunity to get it right.

The OCO says, with this, there is now a real opportunity to make a once in a generational change to the care system with the development of the Governments first National Alternative Care Plan and a review of the 25-year-old legislation underpinning child protection in Ireland.

Mudoon says: Children in care have already overcome so much in their short lives, so when the State steps into the role of parent, it is incumbent on them to make sure it does so, knowing with absolute certainty, that it can make those lives better.
Applications have officially opened for the Network Ireland West Cork Businesswoman of the Year awards 2026.

The awards aim to celebrate and recognise the outstanding achievements of female professionals and business owners.

Women will be recognised across eight categories, including Networker of the Year, Emerging Businesswoman, Solo Businesswoman, Established Businesswoman, Early Career Employee, Advanced Career Employee, Creative Professional, and STEM Professional.

Network Ireland will run 17 local branch finals, including the West Cork event. The winners of these will go forward to represent their branch at a national level.

Anna Groniecka, President of Network Ireland West Cork, said that the awards celebrate the courage, creativity and commitment of women who are not only shaping business in our region but who are choosing to rise beyond fear, beyond limits and beyond old stories that no longer serve them.

She added: Under our 2026 theme #RiseBeyond we recognise that every womans journey is unique, and every step forward whether bold or quiet, is a triumph. These awards are about amplifying that bravery, building connection and inspiring every woman to rise beyond what she once thought possible.

Last year, the achievements of some of West Corks most dynamic and inspiring businesswomen were honoured at the annual Network Ireland West Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards with six category winners.

Carly ODonovan, Managing Director of Bluebird Care Kerry & West Cork and West Cork Established Businesswoman of the Year, went on to win the National Established Businesswoman of the Year 2025 at the Network Ireland Businesswoman of the Year Awards last September in Killarney.

The closing date for applications is April 16, and the award winners will be announced at a special ceremony at Dunmore House Hotel on May 21.
Apple Maps will soon have ads, Apple confirmed in a blog post announcing the company's new Apple Business platform. Reports that Apple planned to expand its ad business outside of the App Store and Apple News broke as recently as yesterday, but the company has been rumored to be exploring putting ads in its navigation app as far back as 2022.

Ads in Maps, as the new advertising program is called, will allow businesses to create ads that can appear "when users search in Maps," at the top of search results and "at the top of a new Suggested Places experience in Maps, which will display recommendations based on whats trending nearby, the users recent searches, and more," Apple says. The program will be open to Apple Business customers in the US and Canada starting this summer. Any advertisers using the existing Apple Ads experience will also be able to book space in Apple Maps.

Like the other ads Apple offers to businesses in the App Store and Apple News, ads in maps will be clearly marked and are designed to maintain users' privacy. What ads users interact with and their current location is not associated with their Apple Account, and personal data stays on user's devices and isn't shared with third-parties or collected by Apple.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Apple's slow expansion into advertising most directly benefits its over $100 billion "Services" business, which covers obvious things like Apple TV and Apple Music, but also includes the fees it takes from in-app purchases made through the App Store and the money it makes selling advertising. At least so far, Apple's ads are easy to ignore, and based on the samples provided as part of its announcement, that'll stay true in Apple Maps.

Ads in Maps are bundled in Apple's larger Apple Business program, an enterprise offering that's designed to appeal to multiple different sizes of business. Apple Business includes things like mobile device management (for distributing apps and managing user accounts), the ability to set up a business email, calendar and web domain through Apple and the aforementioned Ads in Maps.
Samsung has unveiled the budget M70H and M80H Mini LED TVs, promising a bright picture and accurate colors starting at just $400 for the 50-inch and $1,200 for the 85-inch models. The company also revealed a pair of new higher-end TVs with the company's "Quantum Mini LED" tech, the QN70H and QN80H, that offer "precise backlighting" and 100 percent color volume.

Mini LED TVs have been dropping rapidly in price over the past couple of years while also improving in quality. The M70H and M80H are among the cheapest we've seen so far, with, most 50-inch Mini LEDs currently on sale costing $400 or more. Samsung is promising pretty decent specs as well like 10-bit panels that can display a billion colors, Samsung's HDR+ and a 144Hz refresh rate with FreeSync Premium or 240Hz with DLG at 1080p.

Samsung's M70H Mini LED TV (Samsung)

Other key features include Samsung's One UI Tizen with Smart Home support and Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple TV) compatibility, along with Samsung's Gaming Hub for cloud gaming and adaptive sound (but not Dolby Atmos support). The company didn't mention some key specs like brightness, color gamut and the number of local dimming zones, so you can likely assume those aren't top-of-the-line.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

The prices are very good, with the 43-inch M70H at $350, the 65-inch M70 priced at $530 and the 85-inch M70H running $1,200. The M80H starts at $700 for the 55-inch model and runs up to $1,800 for the 85-incher. All models are now on sale, and Samsung said that a 100-inch Class M90H model is arriving later this year this year.

Samsung

Samsung also revealed a new line of higher-end Neo QLED models powered by its "Quantum Mini LED" technology. With the QN70H and QN80H, Samsung is promising "brilliant brightness" and 100 percent DCI-P3 color volume, thanks to the quantum dot tech and "more precise backlighting." Samsung said this model would have more local dimming zones than before (though again, it didn't say how many), which should result in better contrast and less "blooming" caused by light leakage from neighboring pixels.

Features are largely the same as with the M70H and M80H, but the QN models also offer Dolby Atmos and 360 audio along with a slightly highter 288Hz DLG refresh rate at 1080p. The Neo QLED 4K QN70H starts at $600 for the 43-inch model and goes up to $1,200 for the 65-inch version and $2,300 for the 85-inch model. The 55-inch QN80H, meanwhile, costs $1,299, the 75-inch model is $2,000 and the 100-inch TV is $5,500.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit has publicly spoken about her regret over past ties with the deceased businessman Jeffrey Epstein. She described them as "embarrassing" and confessed to having been deceived.

In an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Mette-Marit said, "I was manipulated and deceived. Of course, I wish I had never met him," per Reuters. The release of millions of documents linked to Epstein's network revealed ties to prominent figures worldwide, including members of Norway's royal family, prompting her remarks.

Through a statement released by the royal palace, Mette-Marit addressed both the public and her family directly. "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 apologize for the situation I have put the Royal Family in, especially the King and Queen."

She acknowledged shortcomings in her own judgment, noting, "I must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein's background more thoroughly." The documents indicate that she maintained communication with Epstein from 2011 to 2014, including a four-day stay at his Palm Beach property in 2013.

Emails also show she had some awareness of troubling information, writing in 2011 that she had googled Epstein and that "it didn't look too good," followed by a smiley face  an exchange she later said she could not recall clearly.

The controversy coincides with additional pressures on the royal family. Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Hiby, is currently on trial in Oslo, facing multiple charges, adding further public scrutiny.

According to OK! Magazine, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway publicly supported his wife, stating, "Mette is caring, wise and really strong. And that's why I will always have her on the team when something difficult happens." Mette-Marit has stepped back from public appearances in recent weeks as she navigates the fallout.

Public sentiment appears affected by the revelations. A recent Norstat poll published by NRK showed support for Norway's monarchy dropping to 60%, down from 70% a month earlier, while support for a republic rose to 27 percent.

Authorities are also investigating whether other prominent Norwegians, including former Prime Minister Thorbjrn Jagland, received gifts, travel, or loans linked to Epstein. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum launched an internal review into CEO Brge Brende after reports of multiple interactions with Epstein.

The palace has said Mette-Marit intends to provide a fuller explanation in due course, but is currently in a "very difficult situation" and needs time to gather her thoughts.
Overview

AI and resilience: How do the driving forces of data economy affect the railway sector?

Data collection, processing and use in the railway sector are subject to major developments: On the one hand, the use of artificial intelligence will significantly expand the possibilities for analysing and utilising data in the coming years. On the other hand, resilience and cyber security will continue to grow in importance.

Under the framework conditions of European and national legislation, industry and operators in the railway sector are called upon to develop and promote technologies, use cases and business models. The Railway Diagnostic and Monitoring Conference (RMDC) on 16 and 17 April 2026 in Hamburg did address these topics.

What can AI really do in the context of railway data, and where is it driving progress? What levels of protection and resilience need to be considered, and could cyber security potentially slow down development? What do NIS2, the Cyber Resilience Act and the Data Act mean for the railway industry? What technological developments are taking place? And above all: what use cases and best practices already exist in the sector today?

With presentations and talks from speakers from industry, the railway sector and beyond, RDMC 2026 offered an outstanding opportunity to exchange ideas on these highly topical and dynamic issues. The event was aimed at participants from infrastructure operators, railway companies and fleet operators, as well as from the railway and data industries  and follows on seamlessly from the successful series of previous annual RDMC conferences in The Hague, Cologne and Lucerne.
The Cloud One Hotel and Residences in Miami / Binyan Studio, HWKN Architecture - Motel One GmbH

THE CLOUD ONE HOTELS EXPANDS IN THE UNITED STATES / NEW MIAMI PROJECT INTRODUCES BRANDED RESIDENCES IN WYNWOOD

(Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante)

Miami, March 24th (News Aktuell).- The Motel One Group strengthens its North American presence with a new The Cloud One project in Miamis Wynwood Arts District. Following The Cloud One New York-Downtown, the Miami development adds a new dimension: The Cloud One Hotel and Residences will be the first property to combine a hotel and branded residences under The Cloud One name.

Developed in partnership with Ralf Buschl of Buschl Group and Sebastian Ludke of ALP.X Group, the eight-story project will feature 214 hotel rooms and 85 residences ranging from 450 to over 2,200 square feet. The residences will occupy the buildings upper floors, offering expansive layouts, floor-to-ceiling windows, and private terraces overlooking Miamis skyline and the Wynwood streetscape, while the buildings exterior will be curated by Goldman Global Arts. Sales for the residences have officially launched, marking the first opportunity to own a The Cloud One home in Miami.

Guests and residents alike will enjoy an array of thoughtfully curated amenities, including a striking rooftop bar and restaurant that seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor spaces. Serving craft cocktails, fine wine, and light bites in a modern environment with panoramic views across Miami, this vibrant venue is perfect for relaxed social gatherings, dining, and unwinding while taking in the cityscape.

The development represents the next level of Motel One Groups expansion in North America, said Stefan Lenze, Co-CEO of Motel One Group. In partnership with Ralf Buschl of Buschl Group and Sebastian Ludke of ALP.X Group, who bring local market connections and development expertise, we are introducing a new residential offering alongside our hotel operations. This project elevates our presence in the U.S. and Miamis most vibrant district is the perfect place to bring our vision of urban living to life.

Architecture is by a collaboration between HWKN and ODP Architects, with interiors by March and White Design. Each residence reflects The Cloud Ones signature design language  a refined blend of modern elegance, natural materials, and urban functionality. Ensuring residents privacy and exclusivity, the residential component features a dedicated private lobby and entrance, separate from the hotel, allowing for discreet arrival and departure. Access to shared amenities, including a rooftop pool, fitness and wellness areas, and curated social zones, further creates a seamless connection between residential living and boutique hospitality, while still maintaining a clear distinction between guest and resident spaces.

With the opening of a dedicated design gallery in Wynwood last autumn, the project reaches a new milestone. The space presents the architectural model, interior concept, and materials, offering a first glimpse of how The Cloud One will reinterpret Miamis creative energy.

The Miami project is part of a broader strategy for the Motel One Group in the United States. The project marks a key step in establishing The Cloud One Hotels as a transatlantic brand, connecting European design principles with North American urban living. The new location provides both a platform for innovation in hospitality and a foundation for long-term growth.

Download press pictures here

Exterior: Binyan Studio, HWKN Architecture

Interior: VMI Studio, MAWD / March and White Design

Contact:

Inken Mende

Director Corporate Communications & PR

Tegernseer Landstrae 165, 81539 Munchen

Tel.: +49 89665025-818

E-Mail: imende@motel-one.com

Internet: www.motel-one.com
Since Israels offensive led to a security breakdown in Gaza that has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestini...
Californias $200 billion-a-year Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the nation. Behind the staggering price tag lies a program repeatedly flagged for waste, mismanagement, and fraud, raising fresh doubts as state leaders propose taxing billionaires to keep it afloat.

For years, audits and federal investigations have documented everything from improper payments to large-scale fraud schemes. State officials have acknowledged that fraud has reached alarming levels in some sectors, including hospice services and in-home healthcare.

Hospice fraud has become an epidemic, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who in early February announced the arrests of seven individuals accused of cheating Medi-Cal of $3.2 million through fraudulent hospices in Monterey County.

Despite these long-standing problems, the state legislature has continued to expand Medi-Cal with Gov. Gavin Newsoms approval. As part of Newsoms drive for universal healthcare, the expansion of the program to undocumented migrants proved particularly costly.

The plot now thickens as Medi-Cal collides with a new fiscal reality: Federal cuts to Medicaid under President Trump are expected to reduce funding over the coming years, placing additional strain on Californias budget.

Progressive lawmakers and labor unions are pitching a first-in-the-nation wealth tax on billionaires as a response to those cuts. While advocates say the funds are needed to sustain coverage for 15 million Californians, critics argue that the wealth tax ignores Medi-Cals core problem of mismanagement, which undermines any attempt to save it.

With no desire to stop the fraud, California politicians insist that they will start taxing the assets of the richest Californians, Silicon Valley tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya wrote on X. When the richest Californians leave, the middle class will be the only group left to plug the hole because they are the largest collective taxpayers in the state.

Wealth Tax Bonanza

Proponents of the wealth tax are gathering the 900,000 signatures required to qualify the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act for Novembers ballot  a possibility that has divided Democrats. Perhaps positioning himself for a presidential run, Newsom warns that the unprecedented levy on wealth could accelerate the flight of rich residents to low-tax states. But progressive lawmakers like Representative Ro Khanna, whose district includes Silicon Valley, are willing to take the risk.

In a statement to RealClearInvestigations, Khanna said the wealth tax is necessary to make up for the severe Trump cuts to Medicaid that will cost 2 million Californians healthcare and 200,000 healthcare workers their jobs.

Californias Legislative Analysts Office (LAO) estimates that the new federal legislation will increase state spending [by] $3.2 billion over the 2026-27 budget period. If approved by voters, the wealth tax could raise an estimated $100 billion in five years, far surpassing the budget gap caused by federal spending cuts.

Under the proposal, billionaires residing in California on Jan. 1, 2026, would owe a one-time tax equal to 5% of their net worth, payable in 2027. This retroactive levy would apply to most assets, including unrealized investment gains, with limited exemptions for real estate holdings, pensions, and retirement accounts.

Ninety percent of the revenue raised from the measure would be allocated to Medi-Cal, the largest program in the state budget, comprising 40% of spending across all funding sources, according to LAO. The rest of the money would support state-wide education and food assistance programs  areas also impacted by federal funding reductions.

Republican lawmakers and business leaders say that Californias problem is not insufficient taxation but chronic fiscal mismanagement. The state with the highest income tax rates in the nation is facing a budget shortfall of $18 billion for fiscal year 2026-27, according to LAO.

One affluent business executive from Khannas district, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of harassment, expressed frustration with the states budgetary issues. Its unconscionable to tax us more, the executive said, noting that Texas and Florida operate without state income taxes. Sacramento had persistent budget gaps long before Congress passed Trumps bill.

Chronic Mismanagement

Medi-Cals accountability issues date back at least to 2007, when the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), which administers the program, was first cited as high risk for mismanagement problems by the state auditor.

Not much has changed two decades later. The auditors December 2025 High Risk Audit report continued to cite the department for poor oversight, accusing it of enabling waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement that may result in serious detriment to the State or its residents. Requests for comment from DHCS were not returned.

The audit found that the department continued to make costly errors in determining which Medi-Cal applicants were eligible for the program. In some cases, eligible applicants were wrongly rejected for benefits, while others were erroneously approved.

Two previous investigations conducted by the auditor in 2018 and 2020 identified discrepancies in MediCal eligibility records resulting in at least $4 billion in questionable payments. The issue persists. As of April 2025, the number of eligibility discrepanciesremains only somewhat below the level that we identified in 2021 that was estimated to have caused the State to disburse $1.9 billion in questionable payments, the latest report says.

DHCS Director Michelle Baass has defended her agency, saying she has a different view from the audits findings. In an October 2025 letter to the auditor, Baass asserted that DHCS has implemented system enhancements to improve oversight, which includes expanding monitoring statewide.

Improper payments are the tip of the iceberg. The preliminary results of a federal audit by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services allege that DHCS illegally utilized more than $1 billion in federal reimbursements to expand Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented migrants  an allegation the department rejects as flatly false.

Magnet for Scammers

Medi-Cal has also been a magnet for scammers who run fraudulent businesses or bill the program for services never rendered. In 2022, the auditor raised concerns about the excessive geographic clustering of hospices with no clear correlation of increased need in places like Los Angeles County, which has experienced a 1,500% increase in its number of hospice agencies between 2010 and 2022.

In a single building in the community of Van Nuys, there were more than 150 licensed hospice and home health agencies  a number that exceeds the structures apparent physical capacity, the auditor noted in a report.

Lax hospice licensing requirements in California contributed to a sharp increase in the number of facilities. To obtain a license, an applicant is simply required to complete a form and pay a fee of $2,971. Although licenses must be renewed every two years, the Licensure Act does not require the state to conduct an inspection as part of the process.

State auditors suspect that many of these hospice agencies may have been created to fraudulently bill Medicare and Medi-Cal for services rendered to ineligible patients or services not provided at all, the report said.

Last year, 75-year-old Nita Almuete Paddit Palma was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after she fraudulently billed Medi-Cal roughly $10.6 million for hospice-related services beginning in 2015. Palmas business was charging Medi-Cal for purported hospice care for patients that were not dying, according to Bonta, Californias attorney general. She had already been prosecuted in a similar fraud case and had been barred from operating hospice facilities in the state, which underscores the lax oversight cited by auditors.

Since Bonta began serving as attorney general in April 2021, Californias Department of Justice has investigated 101 criminal enterprises, and 109 individuals have been charged with hospice-related offenses, according to a January press release from Newsoms office.

In Monterey County, state prosecutors allege that the defendants owned and operated three hospice companies simultaneously and used the businesses to enroll patients for unnecessary services. Some patients did not suffer from a terminal diagnosis. Others were unaware they had been enrolled in a hospice in the first place.

Newsom has banned all new hospice licenses through Jan. 1, 2027, in an effort to address concerns about fraud and abuse. But Medi-Cals fraud problem extends to other services, including In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), which are designed to provide aid to patients at home instead of an expensive facility. While the motivation behind IHSS was to cut healthcare costs, the opposite has happened.

The total number of in-home service providers in California grew from 532,073 in December 2019 to nearly 800,000 by December 2025, according to data from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). The 2025-26 spending plan provides a total of $29.9 billion for IHSS, according to LAO, or 12% above the prior years expenditures on the program. Social Services reported that the state spent $22.7 billion on in-home services just two years earlier.

Much like hospice services, in-home providers are highly concentrated in specific geographic areas. Of the 303,269 recipients of such care in Los Angeles County, the most recent data indicates 44,580 are Armenian speakers. Armenians represent a little over 2% of the population in LA County, yet account for 14.7% of in-home care recipients.

Critics like Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley, who represents Californias 3rd Congressional District, argue that the state isnt doing enough to investigate obvious signs of fraud. For example, 28 counties reported a total of 964 completed in-home care fraud investigations in fiscal year 2023-24, identifying just $8 million in losses and $4.6 million in administrative overpayment recovery, according to the Department of Social Services. The identified losses account for less than 1% of the $22.7 billion California spent on IHSS in that fiscal year.

Im asking the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the scale of fraud in California, Rep. Kevin Kiley said in a speech on the House floor. Kiley requested that the nonpartisan agency produce a report identifying the perpetrators of fraud and to provide a breakdown of fraud by economic sector, such as transportation, healthcare, and housing.

Medi-Cals Costly Expansion

The soaring costs and ongoing mismanagement of Medi-Cal are tied to its expansion. In 2022, Californias lawmakers expanded the pool of eligible Medi-Cal recipients by raising the asset limit for new enrollees from $2,000 to $130,000. Two years later, with the goal of achieving universal healthcare, lawmakers eliminated the asset test entirely. Applicants could qualify for Medi-Cal regardless of their wealth as long as their income didnt surpass 138% of the federal poverty line.

Medi-Cals senior caseload increased by at least 112,000 enrollees within the first year of the asset test elimination, costing the state an additional $1.4 billion, according to LAO. Faced with major deficits, California restored the asset limit of $130,000 beginning this year.

Medi-Cals move to include non-citizens proved to be the most costly expansion. Undocumented children were already eligible for Medi-Cal prior to Newsom taking office. But Newsom went further than previous governors by signing legislation that expanded full-scope coverage to undocumented young adults ages 19 to 25 in 2022.

The state budget reached its breaking point in 2024, when full-scope Medi-Cal was open to all low-income residents, regardless of immigration status or age. Enrollment surged far beyond projections, sending costs soaring. State data showed the expansion covered about 1.8 million noncitizens, making up roughly 11% of all Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

Lupe Manriquez from the Department of Finance revealed in a February 2025 subcommittee hearing on the state budgetthat providing Medi-Cal to noncitizens was costing the state $9.5 billion [a year], which drew the ire of Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio. I dont think covering $9.5 billion of illegal immigrant health carewould be at the top of the list of priorities for Californias taxpayers.

By March 2025, Newsom announced that the Department of Health Care Services needed a $3.4 billion loan from the states general fund. A week later, the department asked for another $2.8 billion bailout to cover Medi-Cals obligations for the next two months.

Confronted with a $12 billion budget gap, lawmakers partially retreated from their ambitious expansion efforts and ended full-scope Medi-Cal coverage for new undocumented applicants at the start of 2026.

However, cuts in federal Medicaid spending will place significant financial stress on the program. The California Budget and Policy Center estimates that the state will lose up to $30 billion a year in federal funding and jeopardize coverage for 3.4 million people.

Will Billionaires Fund or Flee?

Khanna concedes that we do have a problem with waste, fraud and abuse in California. He says similar complaints from constituents compelled him to work on federal legislation to make sure that there is an audit of waste in every state.

In the meantime, billionaire tech investors Ron Conway and Daniel Tierney have joined forces with Newsom to roll out a campaign seeking to squash the wealth tax. Some ads are expected to feature the governor making the case that the levy will drive away wealthy Californians. Others will include several of the candidates vying to replace him in this years gubernatorial race.

Polling on the wealth tax is scarce. However, one Mellman Group poll that was commissioned by Republican strategist Mike Murphy shows that 48% of voters support it. Thirty-eight percent rejected the idea, and 14% were undecided. Roughly half of the respondents said it is either very likely or almost certain that the wealth tax will be tied up in courts and that billionaires will flee the state.

But not all of them will. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg hes perfectly fine with it when asked about the tax. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told CNBC that he plans to stay in California.

Whatever the outcome of the wealth tax, the bigger issue for Californians is whether the state will get serious about cleaning up the underlying abuses in Medi-Cal that waste billions of taxpayer dollars.
A surge in imported eggs produced to lower standards is raising serious concerns over food safety, hen welfare and the future of UK egg production, a new industry report has warned.

The findings show imports have jumped by 60% since 2021, rising from around one billion to 1.6 billion eggs a year, increasing pressure on British producers who operate under stricter rules.

Industry leaders say the influx is not only undercutting UK farmers, who have invested heavily in higher welfare and safety standards, but also creating growing risks for consumers and the wider supply chain.

Much of the increase has been driven by imports from Ukraine, with shipments to the UK rising by 65.6% in 2025 alone.

Many of these eggs are produced in conventional battery cages, which have been banned in the UK since 2012, creating a stark contrast with domestic production under the British Lion Code of Practice.

The report, entitled 'Shell Shocked', also links rising imports to a number of food safety incidents across Europe.

In late 2025, 123 confirmed cases of illness in the UK were traced to a single imported egg distributor. Separate incidents include banned antibiotic residues detected in eggs entering European markets and more than 200 UK cases in 2024 linked to imported Polish eggs.

The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC), which published the report, said the findings underline the scale of the challenge facing the sector.

Chief executive Nick Allen said: This report highlights the real and urgent risks that inferior imports pose for consumers and the wider food industry.

He pointed to the high standards already in place within the UK, where more than 90% of eggs are produced under the British Lion Code.

British farmers have invested hundreds of millions of pounds to meet these standards, including vaccination against Salmonella and not using conventional battery cages, he said.

Allen added that allowing lower-standard imports into the market risks damaging both confidence and long-term supply.

Allowing lower standard imports to undercut UK egg producers is not protectionism, it risks undermining consumer safety, public confidence in eggs and the resilience of our domestic food supply.

Concerns have also been raised about the effectiveness of current border checks.

Food safety expert Dr Lisa Ackerley said inspection regimes are limited, with most consignments not physically checked and testing only carried out when risks are identified.

Most consignments are not physically inspected, testing is risk triggered rather than systematic, and sampling frequencies are not publicly disclosed, she said.

She warned that contamination may only be detected after products have already entered the supply chain.

Contamination or residues may only be identified once illness occurs or overseas alerts are issued, meaning product may already be in kitchens, factories or on shelves.

Dr Ackerley also highlighted a key safety distinction, noting that British Lion eggs are approved for vulnerable groups to eat runny, while imports are not.

That is a serious food safety risk for imports, she said.

The findings have prompted calls for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice operators to review sourcing policies and strengthen traceability.

The report also urges the government to tighten border inspections and align import standards with UK food safety and animal welfare rules.

With pressure mounting on both consumer confidence and domestic production, industry leaders say swift action is needed to prevent lower-standard imports from continuing to enter the market unchecked.
Poultry classes at one of Northern Irelands biggest agricultural events have been cancelled due to ongoing avian flu restrictions, in a move set to impact breeders and exhibitors.

The Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) said it was disappointed to confirm the cancellation ahead of the Balmoral Show, which runs from 13 to 16 May at the Eikon Centre near Lisburn.

The decision comes amid continued uncertainty over when restrictions on bird gatherings may be lifted, with strict disease controls still in place across Northern Ireland.

Organisers said cancelling the classes was necessary to reduce the risk of infection spreading between flocks, particularly under current avian influenza rules.

Instead, a controlled display featuring birds from a single flock will be staged across the four-day event, alongside egg and decorated egg competitions.

While this allows the poultry section to remain part of the show, it removes a key opportunity for breeders to showcase stock and compete.

The move follows a suspected case of notifiable avian flu at a commercial poultry premises near Omagh earlier this month, where all birds were culled as a precaution.

That case triggered disease control measures and comes as the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) remains in force across Northern Ireland.

Under the AIPZ, it is a legal requirement for poultry and captive birds to be housed or kept separate from wild birds, with strict biosecurity measures in place.

A wider ban on gatherings involving poultry and other bird species, including chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, also continues  directly affecting events such as Balmoral.

Despite the restrictions, officials have stressed that the risk to public health remains low.

The Public Health Agency said avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds and poses a very low risk to people.

The Food Standards Agency has also confirmed that properly cooked poultry products and eggs remain safe to eat.

With restrictions still in place and no clear timeline for their removal, uncertainty remains for future livestock events involving birds.
Frontier Agriculture is scaling up digital grain monitoring across its UK storage network, with around 500,000 tonnes of grain set to be tracked in real time as part of a major infrastructure upgrade.

The rollout, delivered in partnership with agtech firm Javelot, is being expanded to 10 sites following initial trials during the 2025 harvest, marking one of the earliest large-scale deployments of this technology in the UK.

For growers, the move is expected to bring greater confidence over how crops are managed in store, with improved visibility of grain condition and earlier identification of potential issues.

The system captures multiple temperature readings deep within grain bulks, allowing operators to detect trends sooner and maintain quality more effectively  a key concern as pressure grows on consistency and traceability across the supply chain.

The investment also comes at a time when tighter margins and rising energy costs are increasing focus on efficiency across post-harvest operations.

By replacing older monitoring methods, the platform gives teams a clearer, real-time view of stored grain, helping reduce unnecessary energy use and improve decision-making across sites.

David Alliston, group operations and supply chain director at Frontier Agriculture, said the technology is already changing how the business manages grain.

Digital monitoring gives our teams much better visibility of grain in store, helping us manage quality and energy use more effectively, he said.

He added that expanding the rollout is a key step in strengthening service across the supply chain.

Rolling the system out across more of our network is an important step in modernising our operations and ensuring we continue to deliver a reliable service for growers and the food, feed and drink manufacturers we supply.

As the system is deployed more widely, it will provide a centralised view for operational, trading and quality teams, cutting administrative workload and enabling faster, more informed decisions.

The technology also supports growing industry demands for transparency, with real-time data helping reduce uncertainty for both farmers and end users as grain moves from store to market.

Frontier was among the first UK businesses to adopt Javelots monitoring platform, with the initial rollout helping shape its wider deployment strategy.

Javelot, which already monitors more than 25 million tonnes of grain in France, sees the partnership as a key step in expanding its presence in the UK market.

Chief executive Felix Bonduelle said: Frontier is an ideal partner for us in the UK. Their leadership in grain marketing and strong commitment to sustainability make this collaboration a perfect match for our mission: to make the post-harvest process simpler, more efficient and more responsible by transforming it digitally.

With digital monitoring now being deployed at scale, the move signals a wider shift towards data-driven grain storage in the UK, as the sector looks to improve efficiency, resilience and supply chain confidence.
A 17-year-old farm worker was fatally crushed after becoming trapped in a bale wrapping machine at a Devon farm, an inquest has heard.

Luke Searle was operating a tractor and baler to wrap grass for silage at Sherwell Farm near Plympton when a fault developed in the machinery.

The court was told he approached the bale wrapper to investigate the issue, but the machines arms suddenly restarted in an unexpected and unplanned movement, trapping and crushing him.

Bale wrapping equipment is commonly used during silage season and can pose serious risks if not properly isolated before maintenance or inspection.

Farm owner James Williams became concerned when the machinery stopped and went to check on Luke, finding him unconscious inside the baler.

Emergency services were called, and Lukes older brother William, who had been working in a nearby field, rushed to the scene. Despite efforts to free him and administer CPR, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Evidence presented to the inquest highlighted that standard safety procedures had not been followed before the fault was investigated.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Simon Jones said machinery should always be made safe before intervention, with power isolated, the engine switched off and controls placed in neutral.

The jury heard this had not been done prior to Luke approaching the equipment.

Luke had been studying agricultural machinery and land-based engineering at Duchy College, where much of his training took place on farms, reflecting his commitment to a future in the industry.

Area Coroner Nicholas Lane described him as a very sociable well liked young man who loved what he was doing, adding that he and his brother had grown up in a rural environment with plans to pursue farming careers.

The case underscores the importance of strict machinery safety protocols on farms, particularly during busy periods such as silage season when time pressures can increase risk.

The inquest, which is expected to last several days, is continuing.
Scottish farmers and crofters have been promised long-term funding certainty with no cliff edges under a new agricultural payments plan set to run to 2030 and beyond.

The Scottish Governments Rural Support Plan for 20262031 sets out how payments will continue over the next five years, giving businesses greater confidence to plan, invest and manage income in an increasingly uncertain climate.

Ministers say the approach avoids sudden cuts seen elsewhere in post-Brexit reforms, instead offering stability while gradually introducing new requirements linked to climate and nature.

At its core, around 70% of funding will remain as direct payments, ensuring a consistent income stream for active farmers and crofters.

However, that stability comes with change. Future support will be tied more closely to environmental actions, meaning businesses will need to deliver more on climate and biodiversity alongside food production.

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie described the plan as a turning point for the sector.

The publication of the first Rural Support Plan marks a major milestone in the development of future agricultural support, he said.

He added that the aim is to strike a balance between production and sustainability.

We recognise the need to be more sustainable and work towards a balanced policy which delivers for climate, nature and sustainable food production.

The new system will operate through four tiers  base, enhanced, elective and complementary  effectively layering payments so farmers can access core support while opting into additional measures for environmental and business outcomes.

Existing schemes will continue in the short term, helping ease the transition and maintain familiarity for the sector.

Crucially, ministers have pledged a gradual rollout of reforms, with no abrupt changes to payments.

By working with the industry, we have avoided any cliff edges in payment support, Fairlie said.

There will be no big bang moment and there will be no financial cliff edges.

The plan comes as farmers face mounting pressures from volatile markets, rising costs and more frequent extreme weather events, all of which are shaping how support is delivered across the UK.

It also reflects a wider shift away from EU-era subsidy models, with Scotland taking a more phased and collaborative approach compared to other parts of the UK.

Further details of future payments will be developed in partnership with industry, with a focus on ensuring support reaches active farmers and crofters.

There is also a commitment to ensure smaller producers can access funding, with proportionate requirements and new approaches being explored.

Fairlie said agriculture remains central to Scotlands economy and rural life.

Agriculture is vital to our economy, the lifeblood of our rural communities and the lynchpin in our food security, he said.

With long-term funding in place and reforms being introduced gradually, the plan signals a shift towards a more stable but increasingly sustainability-focused future for Scottish farming.
A 3 million investment in sheep genetics is set to boost flock performance and cut emissions across Wales, as farmers gain access to advanced breeding tools and data-driven decision-making.

The Welsh Government has confirmed funding for the Welsh Sheep Genetics Programme over the next three years, aimed at helping farmers improve productivity, efficiency and environmental performance at farm level.

From April 2026, Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) will take over delivery of the next phase, expanding the scheme to new flocks while continuing support for existing participants.

For farmers, the focus is on using genomic data to make more accurate breeding decisions, improving flock health, performance and resilience while reducing environmental impact.

The programme uses Genomic Estimated Breeding Values to give a clearer picture of an animals genetic potential, helping farmers select stock more effectively and plan for long-term gains.

The funding comes at a time when sheep producers are under increasing pressure to improve efficiency and meet environmental targets, while maintaining profitability.

The next phase will also introduce tailored farm-level planning, new performance indicators and a programme of research aimed at driving further gains across the sector.

It builds on a strong first phase, which concludes at the end of March after delivering significant progress since 2023.

More than 70,000 genotypes have been recorded on the AHDB Signet database, while the initiative has been credited with introducing genomics into the sheep sector at scale for the first time.

Research has also focused on breeding for worm resistance and reducing methane emissions, alongside measurable improvements in key performance traits across participating flocks.

Deputy First Minister for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca Davies, said the funding reflects continued backing for farmers adapting to new challenges.

This funding demonstrates our commitment to supporting farmers to build profitable, resilient businesses while delivering on our climate ambitions, he said.

He added that the programme shows how science can support traditional livestock systems.

The Welsh Sheep Genetics Programme shows what is possible when cutting edge science meets the proud tradition of Welsh livestock farming, he said.

By helping farmers breed healthier, more productive flocks with a lower environmental footprint, we are strengthening food security and safeguarding our rural economy for the long term.

Jose Peralta, chief executive of HCC, said the next phase will build on strong progress already made.

The progress achieved to date reflects the commitment of farmers across Wales, the work of the Farming Connect team, and the continued financial support of the Welsh Government, he said.

He added that the initiative aligns with wider goals around sustainability and long-term sector performance.

We look forward to working closely with farmers to ensure they have the tools, insights, and support needed to thrive in the years ahead.

With expanded rollout and continued investment, the programme is expected to play a central role in improving the competitiveness and sustainability of the Welsh sheep sector in the years ahead.




This comes after the complainant's lawyer, Prashant Methal, criticised the actor for offering only a social media apology. Dhurandhar actor Ranveer Singh landed in hot soup after mimicking Rishabh Shetty's character in Kantara during the IFFI 2025 closing ceremony. Now, the actor is reportedly going to file an affidavit offering his unconditional apology. It will be submitted by him on April 10. He is also going to visit the Chamundi Temple in Mysuru to personally offer an apology.

Ranveer Singh and Rishab Shetty attended the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2025 in Goa. A video clip from the event showed Ranveer heaping praise on Rishab Shettys performance in the Kantara series and also mimicking the Daiva scene done by Rishabh.



In his speech, Ranveer said, "I watched Kantara Chapter 1 in theatres, and Rishab, it was an outstanding performance, especially when the female ghost (Chamundi Daiva) enters your body  that shot was amazing.



He went on to emulate Rishabs act in the films climax sequence, triggering laughter from Rishab. Ranveer then went on to ask the crowd whether they wanted to see him in Kantara 3. When many rooted for him, on a lighter note, he appealed to them to put in a word to Rishab. Ranveers depiction (of Chamundi Daiva) stirred controversy and triggered widespread criticism on social media. In his speech, Ranveer said, "I watched Kantara Chapter 1 in theatres, and Rishab, it was an outstanding performance, especially when the female ghost (Chamundi Daiva) enters your body  that shot was amazing.

Meanwhile, Ranveer had also approached the Karnataka High Court, asking for the case against him to be dismissed. His legal team argued that there was no intention to offend anyone. According to them, the actor was simply appreciating Rishab Shettys impactful performance and the films unique storytelling style, and his gesture has been misunderstood.





On the work front, Ranveer Singh is currently soaking up the success of his recently released films, Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Directed by Aditya Dhar, it also stars Sara Arjun, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi and Danish Pandor, among others.

Also Read: Ranveer Singh Seeks Relief From The Karnataka High Court in The Kantara Chapter 1 Imitation Case
Authentic storytelling promised





A new chapter begins

Vijay Deverakonda steps into a full-fledged action-hero avatar in his collaboration with director Ravi Kiran Kola. Titled Rowdy Janardhana, the film promises gritty, atmospheric action blocks. While the core story is set in Andhra Pradesh, key portions will unfold in Mumbai. A major fight sequence is slated to be shot in the citys slums, with the makers investing heavily to ensure scale and intensity. Producers Dil Raju and Shirish Reddy are leaving no stone unturned to deliver both rawness and grandeur.The project officially commenced with a traditional pooja ceremony in Hyderabad in October 2025. Following initial preparations, the team moved into an extensive primary schedule in the rustic locales of East Godavari to establish the films gritty 1980s retro aesthetic. An ambitious eight-minute sequence was reportedly filmed on the very first day. When the makers unveiled the title glimpse in December 2025, they revealed that Vijay had arrived a day early to rehearse his lines in detail. Notably, this marks the first time the actor will be speaking in the Godavari dialect.Vijay Deverakonda, who plays a fierce, machete-wielding brawler, has undergone a significant physical transformation for the high-octane action sequences. Production designer Dino Shankars work is expected to play a crucial role in enhancing the films immersive, atmospheric appeal. Keerthy Suresh stars as the female lead.On the personal front, Vijay Deverakonda recently married Rashmika Mandanna in a private ceremony at ITC Mementos in Udaipur. The wedding blended Telugu Hindu and Kodava traditions. Sharing heartfelt photos, Vijay described Rashmika as his best friend and wife. At their Hyderabad reception, he warmly introduced her to the public, asking the Telugu states to please take care of their new daughter-in-law. The couple also hosted several prominent guests, including Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 23, 2026) - Resource Centrix Holdings Inc. (CSE: RECE) (OTCQB: RECHF) ("Resource Centrix" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its common shares commenced trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States under the ticker symbol "RECHF" on February 17, 2026. The Company's shares will continue to trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "RECE."

Trading on OTCQB

The OTCQB Venture Market is for entrepreneurial and development-stage U.S. and international companies. To be eligible, companies must be current in their reporting and undergo an annual verification and management certification process. Companies must meet $0.01 bid test and may not be in bankruptcy.

Mr. Cheuk Chung (Billy) Chan, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented:

"Commencing trading on the OTCQB represents an important milestone for the Company as we expand our presence in the U.S. capital markets. This listing is expected to increase the Company's visibility among U.S. investors, broaden our shareholder base and enhance trading accessibility for investors."

Resignation of Chief Financial Officer and Directors

The Company announces that Mr. Ron Ozols, has resigned as Director effective February 28, 2026 and Mr. Derrick Gaon has resigned from both his position as Chief Financial Officer and Director, effective March 13, 2026, but has agreed to offer his services as an Advisor to the board on an ad hoc basis.

The Company also thanks Mr. Ozols and Mr. Gaon for their service and contributions during their tenure and wish them both the best in their future endeavours.

Appointment of Director and Chief Financial Officer

The Company is pleased to announce that Mr. Chun Jeffrey Wong has been appointed as Director and Chief Financial Officer, effective March 13, 2026, following the resignation of Mr. Derrick Gaon.

Since joining the Company from March 1, 2025, Mr. Wong has played a key leadership role in advancing the Company's capital markets strategy, including leading the OTCQB preparatory process, coordinating with legal and regulatory advisors, and supporting strategic initiatives with prospective market and business partners. His appointment reflects the Company's confidence in his ongoing leadership as the Company continues to expand its presence in international capital markets.

Mr. Chan commented:

"We are pleased to appoint Jeffrey as CFO and Director. Jeffrey brings extensive experience in capital markets, corporate strategy, cross-border transactions and international business development, which has been instrumental to the Company, particularly in successfully advancing our OTCQB listing. His perspective and expertise will be valuable as we continue to execute our growth strategy and strengthen our engagement with global investors. We look forward to his continued leadership."

Mr. Wong added:

"I am honored to take on the role of CFO and Director at this important stage of the Company's development. I look forward to continuing to work with the management team and the board to support the Company's strategic initiatives and contribute to building long-term value for shareholders."

Disclaimers:

This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.

The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update such statements, except as required by applicable law. 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 filings with Canadian securities regulators which is posted on www.sedarplus.ca/landingpage/ .

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. The Company does not undertake to update this news release unless required by applicable law.

Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289631

Source: Resource Centrix Holdings Inc.
Landmark's expanding role in shaping a new era of leadership is explored in two recent Inc. magazine features.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / March 23, 2026 / As organizations worldwide search for sustainable ways to improve performance, many leaders are increasingly prioritizing human development alongside traditional business strategy. Companies are looking for ways to cultivate resilience, foster empowered communication, and inspire teams to take ownership in environments defined by uncertainty.

Leadership experts and business observers note a growing recognition that organizations thrive when individuals within them are equipped with stronger communication skills, greater personal responsibility, and the ability to collaborate effectively across teams and cultures.

Landmark Worldwide, a global provider of personal and professional development programs, has long focused on this intersection between personal growth and organizational performance. Today, its programs are delivered in more than 20 languages and reach participants in over 120 countries.

Landmark's expanding role in shaping a new era of leadership is explored in two recent Inc. magazine features.

Human Development as a Leadership Imperative

"The Next Business Advantage: Leaders Who Grow People, Not Just Companies" examines how leaders are redefining what drives business success by prioritizing human development inside their organizations. The article underscores a rising recognition that personal responsibility, integrity, authenticity, and breakthrough performance are not just personal virtues; they are cultural accelerators that unlock stronger teams and a more agile enterprise.

Executives featured in the article describe how Landmark's programs have helped employees communicate more effectively, collaborate in new ways, and take ownership of results that matter. Rather than relying solely on structural or process improvements, these organizations report that meaningful growth stems from a workforce that is aligned, inspired, and equipped to create new outcomes. [See on Inc. here or on Landmark's website here.]

Erin Snyder, Senior Program Leader, LandmarkWorldwide.com

Scaling Transformation Across Borders and Cultures

As leadership challenges become increasingly global, "The Next Frontier of Global Growth: How Landmark Scales a Deeply Human Product Across Cultures" explores how Landmark delivers transformation with consistent quality across geographies, languages, and cultural contexts.

Unlike programs driven by scripts or formulas, Landmark's methodology is grounded in live, real-time inquiry. The article highlights the organization's distinctive program-delivery infrastructure, extensive leader training systems, and global network of experienced program leaders, all of which ensure that participants from Sao Paulo to Stockholm to Singapore, and across North America, experience the same depth, rigor, and breakthrough potential. [See on Inc. here or on Landmark's website here.]

This consistency is possible because Landmark centers its work on what is universally human: the desire for growth, connection, and a future that inspires.

Advancing What's Possible for People and Organizations

Together, these two Inc. stories reflect a broader movement shaping the future of leadership development. Organizations are increasingly recognizing that growth begins and ends with people - how they think, communicate, collaborate, and take action. Landmark participants, now in the millions, have long demonstrated that when people transform, everything around them transforms.

Landmark remains committed to empowering individuals and teams to generate new possibilities for themselves, their organizations, and their communities. We are honored to have our work and programs recognized by these outstanding graduates and to partner with our customers to create new possibilities for people, organizations, and communities around the world.

About Landmark:

Landmark offers its programs in over 20 languages and more than 120 countries globally. Over 3.5 million people have participated in The Landmark Forum, generating more than 250,000 community projects around the world. Visit LandmarkWorldwide.com.

Media Contact

Michelle Tennant Nicholson, Wasabi Publicity, Inc.

828-749-3200

PublicRelations@landmarkworldwide.com

SOURCE: Landmark

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/education/landmark-worldwide-highlights-growing-business-focus-on-leadership-development-and-human-1151069
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 23, 2026) - Volt Carbon Technologies Inc. (TSXV: VCT) (OTCQB: TORVF) ("Volt Carbon" or the "Company"), further to its news release dated February 25, 2026, is pleased to announce the final closing of its oversubscribed non brokered private placement financing (the "Offering").

Due to strong investor demand, the Offering was oversubscribed, with the Company issuing an aggregate of 13,960,000 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.025 per Unit for total gross proceeds of C$349,000.

Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share at an exercise price of C$0.05 per share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance.

In connection with the Offering, EMD Financial Inc. ("EMD" or the "Finder"), an arm's length finder, introduced subscribers for aggregate gross proceeds of $172,500. In consideration, the Company: (i) paid a cash finder's fee of $13,250; and (ii) issued 530,000 nontransferable finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants"), representing approximately 7.7 percent of the Units placed by the Finder. Each Finder's Warrant is exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of C$0.05 per share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities laws.

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering to support the scale up of mobile separation, graphene and battery technologies at its Guelph plant, intellectual property development initiatives, and for general working capital. The closing remains subject to final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Stock Option Grant

Pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan and in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, Volt Carbon has granted an aggregate of 800,000 stock options to certain employees and contractors of the Company. Each option is exercisable into one common share at a price of $0.05 per share for a term of five (5) years, vesting immediately upon grant, and remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Volt Carbon Technologies

Volt Carbon is a publicly traded carbon science company, with specific interests in energy storage and green energy creation, with holdings in mining claims in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia in Canada. For the latest information on Volt Carbon's properties and news, please refer to the website www.voltcarbontech.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Volt Carbon Technologies Inc.

V-Bond Lee, P. Eng. CEO, President, Chairman of the Board and Director

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.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, concerning Volt Carbon's business and affairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "intends" "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Such forward-looking statements include those with respect to the Company's intended use of proceeds and its ongoing development initiatives.

Statements of past performance should not be construed as an indication of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors, including those discussed above, could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and Volt Carbon assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289629

Source: Volt Carbon Technologies
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 23, 2026) - Metalite Resources Inc. (CSE: METL) (OTC Pink: JNCCF) (FSE: D680) ("Metalite" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Cachee Gold Mines Corp. ("Cachee") dated March 23, 2026, (the "LOI") to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares (the "Proposed Transaction") of Cachee's wholly-owned subsidiary, Launay Gold Corp. ("Launay"), which owns a 100% interest in a large Abitibi-based gold property (the "Launay Gold Property").

About Launay Gold Property:

Launay Gold Property is comprised of 352 claims covering approximately 17,000 hectares, located in the townships of Launay, Privat, Manneville, and Poulaires, Quebec. The Launay Gold Property extends for over 19 kilometers along the Macamic Fault, a prominent northwest-southeast trending structure interpreted to play an important role in controlling gold mineralization in the region where numerous gold occurrences have been identified1.

The Launay Gold Property is also located approximately 45 km north of the Cadillac-Larder Lake Break, a major regional structure associated with over 30 million ounces of historical gold production2 and numerous active mining operations, including those operated by Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM).

Recent exploration of the Launay Gold Property has focused on the Trojan Zone, an approximately 253-hectare area located in Privat Township. This zone is associated with a large ultramafic intrusive unit and has been the subject of limited historical drilling, which returned localized gold intercepts including 29 g/t Au over 1.5m and 10.31 g/t Au over 3.0 m including 17.90 g/t Au over 1.5 m3. The Trojan Zone is situated approximately 20 km north of the Porcupine-Destor Fault, a regional structure that hosts several significant gold deposits, including the Duparquet Gold Project owned by First Mining Gold Corp. (TSX:FF), a deposit with over 6 million ounces4 that's located approximately 38 km Southwest of the Trojan Zone.

Cachee has completed a comprehensive compilation of historical exploration data across the Launay Gold Property, including approximately 23,500 meters of historical drilling and over 1,000 line-kilometers of geophysical surveys5, including a high-resolution airborne survey completed in 20216 that covers approximately two thirds of the Launay Gold Property.

The Launay Gold Property also includes the Lyndhurst Block, a contiguous land package of approximately 8,000 hectares that has seen limited historical drilling, despite multiple surface exploration programs by various operators. A 2021 exploration program carried out by Cachee identified multiple geophysical and geochemical anomalies warranting follow-up work5. The Lyndhurst Block extends over approximately 9 km of the Lyndhurst Fault and is located approximately 15 km Southeast of the Dumont Nickel Project, one of the largest undeveloped nickel deposits globally7.

Qualified Person

The technical and scientific information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by William van Breugel, P.Eng., a director of the Company, who is a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

The Proposed Transaction:

It is intended that the Proposed Transaction be completed by way of purchase, by Metalite from Cachee, of all of the issued and outstanding common shares in the capital of Launay, in exchange for 6,000,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Common Shares"). As part of the Proposed Transaction, Metalite will incur (i) at least $500,000 in expenditures on the Launay Gold Property within 12 months following the completion of the Proposed Transaction, and (ii) an additional $1,500,000 in expenditures on the Launay Gold Property within the subsequent 18-month period. Should Metalite fail to do so, Cachee shall have the right to repurchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Launay for $1.00. It is also anticipated that upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, the board of directors of Metalite will consist of five (5) directors, four (4) of whom will be nominees of Metalite and one (1) of whom will be a nominee of Cachee, subject to applicable regulatory approvals. Cachee's director nominee is also expected to take on the role of Chairman of Metalite's board of directors. No changes to the existing management of Metalite are anticipated. The Common Shares to be issued as consideration for the Proposed Transaction will be subject to an extended hold period that is the later of (i) 4 months following the date of issuance and (ii) 10 Trading Days (as defined in CSE Policies) following the filing of a current NI 43-101 compliant Technical Report, all in accordance with policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE Policies").

The Proposed Transaction is not a "related party transaction" as such term is defined by Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions.

The Proposed Transaction is subject to a range of conditions including, but not limited to, the completion of a due diligence review acceptable to Metalite in its sole discretion and Metalite and Cachee entering into one or more binding definitive agreements containing customary terms and conditions, including representations and warranties customary in a transaction of this nature. In the event that the parties enter into the definitive agreement(s), and subject to the final transaction structure, the closing of the Proposed Transaction will also remain conditional upon the receipt of all required approvals, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange, any requisite approval by the shareholders of the Company and the approval of the board of directors of each of Metalite and Cachee, amongst other things.

There is no obligation on the part of either Metalite or Cachee to complete the Proposed Transaction or to enter into any definitive agreement(s) upon the terms presently proposed, and as such there is no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed on the terms described herein, or at all.

Alex Storcheus, CEO of Cachee, commented: "We are pleased to announce this partnership with Metalite and the opportunity to advance one of our flagship assets. Over the past several years, Cachee has systematically assembled, maintained, and evaluated the Launay Gold Property, which represents a significant land position within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt-one of the world's most prolific gold districts. We believe the scale and geological context of the Launay Gold Property provide a strong foundation for continued exploration and discovery."

Chris Hazelton, CEO of Metalite, commented: "We are pleased to announce this strategic acquisition, which we expect will become a cornerstone asset within our gold portfolio in a highly prospective and mining-friendly jurisdiction. As we continue to advance our Arthur's Seat silver-antimony project in New South Wales, the addition of the Launay Gold Property provides further exposure to district-scale exploration potential. We look forward to advancing exploration activities and outlining our plans for the property in due course."

Shareholder Approval:

The Proposed Transaction is expected to result in Cachee holding approximately 37% of the Common Shares on a post-closing basis. As a result, Cachee would become a "Control Person" (as such term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) of Metalite. In accordance with Policy 4 Section 4.6(3) of the CSE Policies, the expected issuance of 6,000,000 Common Shares combined with the creation of a new "Control Person" (as such term is defined in CSE Policies) requires Metalite to obtain shareholder approval of the Proposed Transaction by a majority of its shareholders. Metalite intends to seek such shareholder approval by way of written consent in accordance with applicable CSE Policies.

About Metalite Resources Inc.

Metalite Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior mineral exploration issuer with a precious metals focused project in NSW, Australia.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historic 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. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate, "expect," and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may," "will," "can," "should," "could," or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. 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 a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company 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. Forward looking statements in this press release include statements regarding the entering into of a definitive agreement with respect to the Proposed Transaction, the ability of Metalite and Cachee to satisfy all conditions precedent to the Proposed Transaction and obtain all necessary corporate, securities and regulatory approvals in connection therewith, the creation of a new control person, the ability of Metalite and Cachee to close the Proposed Transaction as presently proposed or at all, the terms and proposed structure of the Proposed Transaction, the proposed nomination of a director by Cachee, and the Company's ability to obtain shareholder approval within the prescribed time period, or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, failure to obtain shareholder approval and all necessary regulatory approvals with respect to the key terms, and failure to satisfy all closing conditions and enter into a definitive agreement within the prescribed time period. Additional risk factors that may impact the Company or cause actual results and performance to differ from the forward looking statements contained herein are set forth in the Company's most recent management's discussion and analysis of financial condition (a copy of which can be obtained under the Company's profile on www.sedarplus.ca). Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS NEWS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY OF THE SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. THE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "U.S. SECURITIES ACT") OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. PERSONS UNLESS REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS OR AN EXEMPTION FROM SUCH REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE. THIS NEWS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OR SALE OF SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

________________________

1 Lakeside Minerals Inc. NI43-101 Technical Report, November 13, 2014; https://www.sedarplus.ca/csa-party/records/document.html?id= 4b1eba3c0a024b82fac426b5f768407914d58094c78561d6fbbc3cc65d7b8baa

2 Estimated by Cachee from various public company and government database disclosures.

3 Lakeside Minerals Inc. Press Release January 13, 2013: https://www.sedarplus.ca/csa-party/records/document.html?id=bec8a1a8b3a89363e3eb8bb98bd9b4cfe3166164e44163f144d061a898ba7c13

4 First Mining Gold Corp. Press Release October 23, 2023; resource estimate includes the consolidated resource of Duparquet project in the measured, indicated and inferred categories; https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-mining-files-technical-report-for-the-positive-preliminary-economic-assessment-for-the-duparquet-gold-project-quebec-canada-301963963.html

5 Estimated by Cachee in the course of historical compilation of EXAMINE reports using Systeme d'information geominiere of Quebec (SIGEOM) database of pas assessment work.

6 https://gq.mines.gouv.qc.ca/documents/EXAMINE/GM72846/.

7 http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2025/09/c2394.html.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289644

Source: Metalite Resources Inc.
Sydney, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 23, 2026) - The International Career Institute (ICI) is marking its 20th anniversary with the launch of 100 scholarships, in a milestone initiative designed to widen access to flexible, career-focused online study. The scholarship announcement comes as more students look for practical ways to upskill, change careers or strengthen their professional credentials without putting work or family life on hold.





New scholarships launched as International Career Institute celebrates two decades of career-focused education



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10373/288837_60f2135b4402f876_001full.jpg

Over the past two decades, the International Career Institute has built its reputation as an independent private provider of online education focused on practical, job-relevant learning. ICI offers 57 courses, has supported 58,453 students, and has learners in 191 countries, reflecting a substantial international footprint.

The anniversary scholarship campaign is intended to do more than mark a birthday. It reflects a wider shift in the education market, where students are increasingly prioritising flexibility, affordability and direct career outcomes. ICI positions itself around exactly those needs: online delivery, self-paced study, personal tutor support, included course materials, flexible payment plans and career services aimed at helping graduates move into employment or advance in their chosen field.

Applicants for the Leadership Scholarships are asked to demonstrate leadership potential or current leadership responsibilities and to complete an application process that outlines their background and motivation for study. Applicants facing financial disadvantage will be given priority. The scholarship forms part of a broader ICI scholarship offering and positions the initiative as a way to recognise leadership and help recipients take the next step in their development.

For many adult learners, flexibility is not simply an added benefit; it is the condition that makes study possible. At the International Career Institute, students can study at their own pace, with no classes to attend and no additional textbooks or materials to purchase. Its online study model is structured around module-based written assessments rather than traditional exams, while students receive guidance and feedback from personal tutors throughout the course.

Dr Michael Machica, Director of the International Career Institute, said the anniversary was both a celebration of the institution's history and a statement of intent for its future.



"Reaching 20 years is a proud milestone for the International Career Institute and a moment to reflect on how education has changed. From the beginning, our goal has been to make career-focused learning more flexible, more practical and more accessible for people whose lives do not fit the traditional study model. Over the next 20 years, we see ICI continuing to expand its reach, strengthen its industry relevance and help even more learners build meaningful careers through online education that works in the real world."

That long-term focus on accessibility and employability remains central to the International Career Institute brand. Central to ICI's offering is tutor support, affordable pricing, interest-free payment plans, included materials and graduate career services. Those services include assistance with resumes, job searches, cover letters and interview preparation - features that help distinguish ICI in a competitive online learning market where students are increasingly outcome-focused.

ICI's programmes are developed in consultation with industry experts and aligned with real-world job opportunities. That proposition - flexible study paired with career relevance - has become increasingly important as more learners seek education that fits around existing work, business, or family commitments while still contributing to employability and advancement.

The release of 100 scholarships also gives the anniversary a broader public-interest dimension. In a cost-conscious environment, even motivated learners can hesitate when considering professional study. By offering scholarships focused on leadership and development, ICI is positioning its 20th anniversary not simply as a milestone but as an opportunity to invest in the next generation of professionals and career changers.

Prospective students can explore scholarship eligibility, course options and the International Career Institute online study model through the institute's website, where they can also view course pages, student reviews and information about graduate support. For those considering a career change, promotion pathway or a more flexible way to formalise their skills, the anniversary scholarships create a timely reason to act.

About International Career Institute

ICI is an independent private provider of online education and training established in 2006. It offers career- and lifestyle-focused courses through a fully online, self-paced study model supported by personal tutors and graduate career services.

International Career Institute



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10373/288837_60f2135b4402f876_002full.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/288837

Source: Pressmaster DMCC
Die Markte feiern neue Rekorde  doch im Hintergrund braut sich eine Entwicklung zusammen, die alles verandern konnte. Die anhaltende Sperrung der Strae von Hormus sorgt laut IEA fur eine der groten Energiekrisen aller Zeiten. Gleichzeitig schieen die Preise fur Dungemittel und Agrarrohstoffe bereits nach oben.



Damit droht ein perfekter Sturm: steigende Energiepreise, explodierende Produktionskosten und ein moglicher Super-El-Nino, der weltweit Ernten gefahrdet. Erste Auswirkungen sind langst sichtbar  Weizen, Soja und Kakao verteuern sich deutlich, wahrend Lebensmittelpreise vor dem nachsten Sprung stehen konnten.



Fur Anleger bedeutet das nicht nur Risiken, sondern enorme Chancen. Denn wahrend klassische Markte unter Druck geraten konnten, entsteht auf den Feldern und Plantagen der nachste groe Rohstoffzyklus. Wer sich jetzt richtig positioniert, kann von einer Entwicklung profitieren, die weit uber Ol und Metalle hinausgeht.



In unserem aktuellen Spezialreport stellen wir drei Aktien vor, die besonders aussichtsreich sind, um von diesem Trend zu profitieren  solide positioniert, strategisch relevant und mit erheblichem Aufwartspotenzial.







Jetzt den kostenlosen Report sichern  bevor der Agrar-Boom voll durchschlagt!
Curatis Holding AG / Key word(s): Annual Results

Curatis: Double-digit revenue growth in 2025 and major milestones for corticorelin achieved



24-March-2026 / 07:00 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Liestal, Switzerland, 24 March 2026: Curatis Holding AG (SIX:CURN, "Curatis") reports business revenues of CHF 10.8m (+57%) for 2025. Curatis AG increased sales in its distribution business organically by 13%, from CHF 9.5m to CHF 10.8m. The net result improved from a loss of CHF 4.3m in 2024 to a loss of CHF 1.4m in 2025. Further key statements In September 2025, our development plan for corticorelin was validated at a meeting with the FDA, enabling Curatis to proceed toward a regulatory submission supporting a pivotal study in patients suffering from peritumoral brain edema (PTBE).

In November 2025, Curatis raised CHF 1.2m to progress corticorelin.

The cash position as of year end 2025 was comfortable, standing at CHF 1.9m.

Recently, Curatis announced a license agreement for corticorelin for Japan with significant milestone payments. Business development and finances In 2025, product sales amounted to CHF 10.3m, while service revenue amounted to CHF 0.5m. On a full year basis, Curatis AG increased revenues in its distribution business from CHF 9.5m (2024) to CHF 10.8m (2025), corresponding to organic growth of 13%, mainly driven by products from new contracts. The net result for the period was a loss of CHF 1.4m, compared to a loss of CHF 4.3m the previous year. The cash position of Curatis as of 31 December 2025 was CHF 1.9m. In CHFm 31 December 2025 31 December 2024* Revenues 10.8 6.9 Net result (1.4) (4.3) Cash and cash equivalents 1.9 3.0

* In 2024, Curatis AG was consolidated for eight months, compared to 12 months in 2025 Corticorelin: major milestones achieved A major milestone was achieved in the development of our lead project, corticorelin, following a successful meeting with the FDA in September 2025. Our clinical plans were validated, enabling Curatis to proceed toward a regulatory submission supporting a pivotal study in patients suffering from PTBE. The Phase 3 trial will utilize an adaptive trial design, consisting of a dose-optimization lead-in and confirmatory segment. In March 2026, Curatis concluded a licensing agreement for corticorelin in Japan with Neupharma Co., Ltd., Tokyo. Neupharma's team has extensive experience in developing and successfully commercialising speciality care medicines and orphan drugs in Japan, including the launch of a blockbuster product. Our agreement stipulates that corticorelin will initially be developed in Japan for children and adolescents. Neupharma will finance and conduct a pivotal clinical trial in Japan to support filing for approval in Japan. Curatis will receive upfront and milestone payments for the achievement of regulatory and commercial targets totaling up to CHF 83.5 million, as well as royalties on future sales in Japan of up to 20%. Outlook for 2026: Revenue growth of over 25% and further progress with corticorelin Curatis expects to achieve robust revenue growth of over 25% in 2026 compared to 2025. Curatis Group's objective remains to achieve a break even result in 2026. In relation to corticorelin, our partner Neupharma plans to meet with the Japanese regulatory authority PMDA to discuss the registration enabling study for Japan in summer 2026, with the clinical study expected to start in 2027. Simultaneously, we are advancing preparatory work for the pivotal Phase 3 study to support approvals in the US and Europe, alongside ongoing global partnering activities. For a more detailed discussion of the figures, please refer to the annual report and the associated management report, which are available on the Curatis website at www.curatis.com. There will be no presentation on the annual figures, but the company will be available to answer questions. The Annual General Meeting will take place on 22 May 2026 at 14:30 in Pratteln. Corticorelin / C-PTBE-01 Curatis' lead product candidate, C-PTBE-01 (corticorelin), is being developed to treat peritumoral brain edema (PTBE). PTBE occurs in association with many primary and metastatic (secondary) brain tumors, often in connection with metastases caused by lung cancer, breast cancer, melanoma and colorectal cancer. PTBE results in impairment of brain function due to the accumulation of extracellular fluid around the tumor and can cause symptoms such as headaches, vomiting and neurological dysfunction such as paralysis, speech disorders, visual problems and altered mental status. Standard of care treatment for PTBE is the use of corticosteroids which frequently have serious side effects such as severe myopathy, impaired glucose metabolism, muscle wasting, abnormal weight gain, osteoporosis, gastritis, gastrointestinal bleeding, hypertension and personality changes. Additionally, corticosteroids can also counteract certain cancer therapies such as chemotherapy or emerging immunotherapies that rely on adequate T-cell functionality which is impaired by corticosteroids. Corticorelin (hCRH), a 41 amino acid endogenous polypeptide, has demonstrated preclinically (in vivo) the ability to positively impact the blood-brain barrier after a disruption due to the underlying malignant tumor. In two clinical studies in patients with PTBE, corticorelin demonstrated the potential to substantially reduce, or in some cases completely replace, steroid use, which may reduce or avoid the severe glucocorticoid-related side effects and subsequently improve quality of life. The number of patients with PTBE associated with primary and metastatic brain tumors is estimated by Curatis, based on a comprehensive epidemiological market analysis from 2025, at over 150,000 patients in the USA and approximately 500,000 worldwide. The estimate for the potential market opportunities for corticorelin is therefore over USD 1 billion per year. Corticorelin is an investigational drug not approved for therapeutic use in the United States or outside the United States. About Curatis Curatis Holding AG is a publicly listed company (CURN.SW) specialising in the development and commercialisation of drugs for rare and very rare diseases. Curatis has a portfolio of more than 40 marketed products and a pipeline of orphan and specialty products. More information on www.curatis.com. Contact Patrick Ramsauer

CFO

Phone: +41 61 927 8777

ir@curatis.com Disclaimer The information contained in this media release and in any link to our website indicated herein is not for use within any country or jurisdiction or by any persons where such use would constitute a violation of law. If this applies to you, you are not authorized to access or use any such information. This media release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "project", "plan", "will likely continue", "will likely result", or words or phrases with similar meaning. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of the control of Curatis Group, that may cause Curatis' business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements (or from past results). For any factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this media release, please see the risk factors included in our listing prospectus in connection with the Business Combination. Curatis Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. It should further be noted that past performance is not a guide to future performance. Persons requiring advice should consult an independent adviser. The information contained in this media release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe for securities. This media release is not a prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act nor a prospectus under any other applicable laws. Some financial information in this media release has been rounded and, as a result, the figures shown as totals in this media release may vary slightly from the exact arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.

End of Inside Information
Curatis Holding AG (SIX:CURN, "Curatis") reports business revenues of CHF 10.8m (+57%) for 2025. Curatis AG increased sales in its distribution business organically by 13%, from CHF 9.5m to CHF 10.8m. The net result improved from a loss of CHF 4.3m in 2024 to a loss of CHF 1.4m in 2025.

Further key statements

In September 2025, our development plan for corticorelin was validated at a meeting with the FDA, enabling Curatis to proceed toward a regulatory submission supporting a pivotal study in patients suffering from peritumoral brain edema (PTBE).

In November 2025, Curatis raised CHF 1.2m to progress corticorelin.

The cash position as of year end 2025 was comfortable, standing at CHF 1.9m.

Recently, Curatis announced a license agreement for corticorelin for Japan with significant milestone payments.

Business development and finances

In 2025, product sales amounted to CHF 10.3m, while service revenue amounted to CHF 0.5m. On a full year basis, Curatis AG increased revenues in its distribution business from CHF 9.5m (2024) to CHF 10.8m (2025), corresponding to organic growth of 13%, mainly driven by products from new contracts. The net result for the period was a loss of CHF 1.4m, compared to a loss of CHF 4.3m the previous year. The cash position of Curatis as of 31 December 2025 was CHF 1.9m.

In CHFm 31 December 2025 31 December 2024 Revenues 10.8 6.9 Net result (1.4) (4.3) Cash and cash equivalents 1.9 3.0 In 2024, Curatis AG was consolidated for eight months, compared to 12 months in 2025

Corticorelin: major milestones achieved

A major milestone was achieved in the development of our lead project, corticorelin, following a successful meeting with the FDA in September 2025. Our clinical plans were validated, enabling Curatis to proceed toward a regulatory submission supporting a pivotal study in patients suffering from PTBE. The Phase 3 trial will utilize an adaptive trial design, consisting of a dose-optimization lead-in and confirmatory segment.

In March 2026, Curatis concluded a licensing agreement for corticorelin in Japan with Neupharma Co., Ltd., Tokyo. Neupharma's team has extensive experience in developing and successfully commercialising speciality care medicines and orphan drugs in Japan, including the launch of a blockbuster product. Our agreement stipulates that corticorelin will initially be developed in Japan for children and adolescents. Neupharma will finance and conduct a pivotal clinical trial in Japan to support filing for approval in Japan. Curatis will receive upfront and milestone payments for the achievement of regulatory and commercial targets totaling up to CHF 83.5 million, as well as royalties on future sales in Japan of up to 20%.

Outlook for 2026: Revenue growth of over 25% and further progress with corticorelin

Curatis expects to achieve robust revenue growth of over 25% in 2026 compared to 2025. Curatis Group's objective remains to achieve a break even result in 2026.

In relation to corticorelin, our partner Neupharma plans to meet with the Japanese regulatory authority PMDA to discuss the registration enabling study for Japan in summer 2026, with the clinical study expected to start in 2027. Simultaneously, we are advancing preparatory work for the pivotal Phase 3 study to support approvals in the US and Europe, alongside ongoing global partnering activities.

For a more detailed discussion of the figures, please refer to the annual report and the associated management report, which are available on the Curatis website at www.curatis.com.

There will be no presentation on the annual figures, but the company will be available to answer questions. The Annual General Meeting will take place on 22 May 2026 at 14:30 in Pratteln.

Corticorelin C-PTBE-01

Curatis' lead product candidate, C-PTBE-01 (corticorelin), is being developed to treat peritumoral brain edema (PTBE). PTBE occurs in association with many primary and metastatic (secondary) brain tumors, often in connection with metastases caused by lung cancer, breast cancer, melanoma and colorectal cancer. PTBE results in impairment of brain function due to the accumulation of extracellular fluid around the tumor and can cause symptoms such as headaches, vomiting and neurological dysfunction such as paralysis, speech disorders, visual problems and altered mental status. Standard of care treatment for PTBE is the use of corticosteroids which frequently have serious side effects such as severe myopathy, impaired glucose metabolism, muscle wasting, abnormal weight gain, osteoporosis, gastritis, gastrointestinal bleeding, hypertension and personality changes. Additionally, corticosteroids can also counteract certain cancer therapies such as chemotherapy or emerging immunotherapies that rely on adequate T-cell functionality which is impaired by corticosteroids.

Corticorelin (hCRH), a 41 amino acid endogenous polypeptide, has demonstrated preclinically (in vivo) the ability to positively impact the blood-brain barrier after a disruption due to the underlying malignant tumor. In two clinical studies in patients with PTBE, corticorelin demonstrated the potential to substantially reduce, or in some cases completely replace, steroid use, which may reduce or avoid the severe glucocorticoid-related side effects and subsequently improve quality of life. The number of patients with PTBE associated with primary and metastatic brain tumors is estimated by Curatis, based on a comprehensive epidemiological market analysis from 2025, at over 150,000 patients in the USA and approximately 500,000 worldwide. The estimate for the potential market opportunities for corticorelin is therefore over USD 1 billion per year. Corticorelin is an investigational drug not approved for therapeutic use in the United States or outside the United States.

About Curatis:

Curatis Holding AG is a publicly listed company (CURN.SW) specialising in the development and commercialisation of drugs for rare and very rare diseases. Curatis has a portfolio of more than 40 marketed products and a pipeline of orphan and specialty products. More information on www.curatis.com.

Disclaimer:

The information contained in this media release and in any link to our website indicated herein is not for use within any country or jurisdiction or by any persons where such use would constitute a violation of law. If this applies to you, you are not authorized to access or use any such information.

This media release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "project", "plan", "will likely continue", "will likely result", or words or phrases with similar meaning. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of the control of Curatis Group, that may cause Curatis' business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements (or from past results). For any factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this media release, please see the risk factors included in our listing prospectus in connection with the Business Combination. Curatis Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. It should further be noted that past performance is not a guide to future performance. Persons requiring advice should consult an independent adviser.

The information contained in this media release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe for securities. This media release is not a prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act nor a prospectus under any other applicable laws.

Some financial information in this media release has been rounded and, as a result, the figures shown as totals in this media release may vary slightly from the exact arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323525062/en/

Contacts:

Patrick Ramsauer

CFO Curatis

Phone: +41 61 927 8777

ir@curatis.com
Armored vehicles in maneuver training

China Military Online) 16:12, March 24, 2026

An armored ambulance vehicle attached to a brigade under the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command rapidly moves towards the designated area during a maneuver training exercise. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Chen Wei)

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Wu Chaolan)
Today, Cadeler (Cadeler A/S and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") has published its Annual Report for 2025, reporting strong financial and operational performance for a year in which it took delivery of five vessels, doubling its operational fleet capacity. Cadeler maintained high utilisation while sharpening its strategic focus on operations and maintenance through the establishment of Nexra, its new service platform for the offshore wind industry.

For the full year 2025, Cadeler generated revenue of EUR 620 million, compared to EUR 249 million in 2024 an increase of EUR 371 million. The growth was driven by fleet expansion, high utilisation and strong operational activity.

EBITDA reached EUR 425 million for the year, up from EUR 126 million in 2024, while net profit for the year totalled EUR 280 million, compared to EUR 65 million the previous year.

Cadeler CEO Mikkel Gleerup says: "2025 was a defining year for Cadeler. We doubled the size of our fleet on the water while maintaining strong utilisation and delivering substantial growth in both revenue and profitability. At the same time, we expanded our strategic capabilities across the offshore wind value chain, including by strengthening our presence in the growing operations and maintenance segment."

Backlog and commercial visibility

Cadeler continues to maintain strong commercial visibility supported by a substantial contract backlog. As today's date, Cadeler's order backlog stands at EUR 2.8 billion, up from approximately EUR 2.3 billion at the end of 2024.

Cadeler's order book for 2026 is substantially filled, reflecting continued activity across offshore wind installation and service markets.

Outlook for 2026

With a substantially filled order book and an expanded fleet, Cadeler enters 2026 with strong momentum. Energy security, electrification and industrial competitiveness continue to support demand for offshore wind across key markets, while recent policy developments, including increased coordination among European governments and clearer auction pipelines, are expected to support continued deployment of offshore wind in the coming years.

For 2026, Cadeler expects its financial performance to result in revenue in the range of EUR 845 million to EUR 944 million and EBITDA of between EUR 420 million and EUR 510 million. This outlook reflects the company's increased fleet capacity, strong contract coverage and growing capabilities across both installation and offshore wind operations and maintenance activities.

With a modern and versatile fleet, a strengthened position across the offshore wind value chain and a solid commercial backlog, Cadeler is well positioned to support the next phase of offshore wind development.

Fleet expansion: doubling capacity in 2025

During 2025, Cadeler expanded its fleet, doubling the number of vessels it has on the water from five to ten wind installation vessels. The company welcomed Wind Maker, Wind Pace, Wind Ally and Wind Mover into operation, alongside the acquisition of Wind Keeper.

All newbuild vessels were delivered on budget and on or ahead of schedule, reflecting disciplined execution of Cadeler's newbuilding programme. All vessels were contracted for deployment immediately after their deliveries, bringing additional installation capacity into the market.

Cadeler CEO Mikkel Gleerup comments: "Our fleet expansion reflects Cadeler's long-term strategy of maintaining a modern and versatile fleet capable of supporting offshore wind projects across both installation and lifecycle services. A larger fleet allows us to deploy our vessels where they create the most value while supporting increasingly large and complex offshore developments and maintaining the operational reliability our clients expect from us."

Expanding presence in offshore wind aftermarket

In 2025, Cadeler established Nexra, its dedicated service platform for the offshore wind aftermarket, with a team committed exclusively to the provision of operations and maintenance (O&M) services.

As the installed base of offshore wind turbines continues to grow, so does the need for capable service vessels in the offshore wind aftermarket particularly in larger turbine segments. O&M has been an increasing contributor to Cadeler's group results in recent years, accounting for approximately one fifth of the company's revenue in 2025. The launch of Nexra underlines Cadeler's commitment to deepening long-term client partnerships and strengthening its operational focus in the O&M market.

The acquisition of Wind Keeper marked an important step in strengthening Cadeler's capabilities in this area. Cadeler completed its acquisition of Wind Keeper from the secondary market in July 2025. Following substantial upgrades in Europe, the vessel went directly into operations, chartered on a long-term contract of up to five and a half years.

Strong balance sheet supporting continued investment

Cadeler continued to strengthen its balance sheet during the year while investing in fleet expansion.

As of 31 December 2025, total assets amounted to EUR 3,417 million, representing a 76% increase compared to the previous year, driven primarily by investments in vessels under construction.

Property, plant and equipment increased to EUR 2.9 billion, up from EUR 1.7 billion in 2024, reflecting the Group's newbuild vessel programmes.

Total equity increased to EUR 1,504 million, compared to EUR 1,234 million at the beginning of the year.

Cadeler maintained a strong liquidity position with available liquidity of EUR 343 million at year-end, including cash and committed credit facilities.

Financial highlights 2025

Contract backlog : EUR 2.8 billion as of 24 March 2026, including 100% of contractual options. Contract backlog was EUR 2.3 billion as of 31 December 2024.

: EUR 2.8 billion as of 24 March 2026, including 100% of contractual options. Contract backlog was EUR 2.3 billion as of 31 December 2024. Revenue : EUR 620m (2024: EUR 249m)

: EUR 620m (2024: EUR 249m) EBITDA : EUR 425m (2024: EUR 126m)

: EUR 425m (2024: EUR 126m) Profit for the year: EUR 280m (2024: EUR 65m)

Outlook 2026

Expected Revenue : EUR 845 million EUR 944 million

: EUR 845 million EUR 944 million Expected EBITDA: EUR 420 million EUR 510 million

Earnings call

In connection with the release of its Annual Report 2025, Cadeler will host a live video webcast presentation for the investment community with Mikkel Gleerup, Chief Executive Officer, and Peter Brogaard Hansen, Chief Financial Officer, presenting.

Date: 24 March 2026

Time: 07:00 EST 12:00 UK 13:00 CET

The Annual Report presentation is open to all interested parties and may include forward-looking information. Please register in advance at the following link: https://cadeler-2025-annual-report-presentation.open-exchange.net/

A replay of the webcast will be available through the same link following the presentation, and for at least three months thereafter. The presenter's slides will be made available on Cadeler's website at https://ir.cadeler.com/

About Cadeler:

Cadeler A/S (Cadeler) is a global leader in offshore wind installation, operations, and maintenance services. Cadeler is a pure play company, operating solely in the offshore wind industry with an uncompromising focus on safety and the environment. Cadeler owns and operates the industry's largest fleet of jack-up offshore wind installation vessels and has for more than 10 years been a key supplier in the development of offshore wind energy to power millions of households. Cadeler's fleet, expertise and capacity to handle the largest and most complex next-generation offshore wind installation projects positions the company to deliver exceptional services to the industry. Cadeler is committed to being at the forefront of sustainable wind farm installation and to enabling the global energy transition towards a future built on renewable energy. Cadeler is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker: CDLR) and the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: CADLR). For more information, please visit www.cadeler.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324958212/en/

Contacts:

Cadeler Press Office:

press@cadeler.com



Mikkel Gleerup

CEO, Cadeler

+45 3246 3102

mikkel.gleerup@cadeler.com



Alexander Simmonds

EVP CLO, Cadeler

+44 7376 174172

alexander.simmonds@cadeler.com
- New Shinsaibashi and Namba Properties Opening in Fall 2026 for International Families Seeking Spacious Accommodations in One of Japan's Most Vibrant Destinations -

TOKYO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- MIMARU, Japan's leading apartment-style accommodation brand for families and groups, operated by Cosmos Hotel Management Co., Ltd., has announced its expansion in Osaka with two new properties scheduled to open in fall 2026. Reservations for MIMARU Osaka Shinsaibashi Central and MIMARU Osaka Namba Station Annex opened this March.

Image1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xJMvF3E0zTwH24knioFNmU9eFcConXCU/view?usp=drive_link

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), international travel to Japan has continued to reach record levels. In 2025, the country welcomed more than 42 million international visitors, the highest number ever recorded. A growing share of these travelers are families visiting together, increasing demand for accommodations that allow multiple people to stay comfortably in one space.

Image2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E7Zkgmh-9vORa4_PZm_Toj8zRhpcFzkc/view?usp=drive_link

Osaka is widely known for its welcoming atmosphere and lively food culture. With Kansai International Airport serving as a major international hub and global attention surrounding the Osaka-Kansai Expo, the city is expected to continue growing as a key base for international travelers exploring western Japan.

"While Japanese society can sometimes be perceived as reserved when interacting with international visitors, our brand welcomes guests from around the world every day," said Mao Mochizuki, Overseas PR Representative. "With staff from 39 nationalities, we help overseas visitors feel comfortable exploring Japan's culture and neighborhoods while also connecting with local communities."

The two new Osaka properties are located in convenient neighborhoods for sightseeing, shopping, and dining, continuing MIMARU's signature approach of spacious rooms and thoughtful features designed with families and groups in mind.

Image3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F52BKP19X16ODDn3nHDxOTFLAxvprBI9/view?usp=drive_link

MIMARU Osaka Shinsaibashi Central, opening September 1, 2026, will feature 66 rooms designed for groups of four to six guests and is a 2-minute walk from Shinsaibashi Station.

https://mimaruhotels.com/en/hotel/shinsaibashi-central/

MIMARU Osaka Namba Station Annex, opening October 1, 2026, will offer 68 rooms designed for larger groups and longer stays, a 5-minute walk from Namba Station, a major hub for travel across the Kansai region.

https://mimaruhotels.com/en/hotel/namba-station-annex/

Together, the two properties will further strengthen MIMARU's presence in Osaka as international travel to Japan continues to grow.

Further information:

https://mimaruhotels.com/en/luggage-delivery/

https://anywear-anywhere.com/

https://anone-kids.com/

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/mimaru-expands-in-osaka-as-family-travel-to-japan-increases-reservations-open-for-two-new-apartment-hotels-302722780.html
IBM Cloud, Nutanix, OVHcloud, SUSE, TIBCO, and others standardize on Traefik Proxy, the only open source drop-in replacement for ingress NGINX with over 90% annotation coverage, as the production-grade foundation for Kubernetes networking

KubeCon CloudNativeCon Europe Traefik Labs today announced that IBM Cloud, Nutanix, OVHcloud, SUSE, TIBCO, and additional platform vendors and leading neoclouds have each independently selected Traefik Proxy as their strategic ingress controller and Gateway API solution, following the official retirement of the Kubernetes community's ingress NGINX project this month. Together, these platforms represent millions of Kubernetes clusters in production across financial services, healthcare, government, telecommunications, and other regulated industries worldwide.

The ingress NGINX retirement ends all maintenance, bug fixes, and security patches for one of the most widely deployed components in the Kubernetes ecosystem. The Kubernetes Steering Committee has warned that remaining on ingress NGINX leaves organizations vulnerable to attack and urged immediate migration.

"When platform vendors of this caliber independently evaluate every alternative and arrive at the same conclusion, it sends a clear signal: Traefik is the production-grade foundation for Kubernetes networking. Unlike proprietary alternatives or temporary forks, Traefik is the only open source drop-in replacement covering more than 90% of the annotations real migration teams depend on coverage we built by listening to what actual ingress NGINX users asked us to support. Organizations don't have to choose between migrating safely today and being ready for Gateway API tomorrow. With Traefik, they get both."

- Sudeep Goswami, CEO of Traefik Labs

The Only True Drop-In Replacement for Ingress NGINX

Traefik's Ingress NGINX Provider works at runtime, automatically translating existing NGINX annotations into Traefik configuration. With coverage spanning more than 90% of the annotations actively used by real migration teams, organizations can swap their ingress controller without modifying a single Ingress resource. Traefik also provides full support for the Kubernetes Gateway API, the successor to the Ingress API and the future standard for Kubernetes traffic management. Organizations can migrate from ingress NGINX today using familiar Ingress resources, then adopt Gateway API at their own pace. For more details, see https://ingressnginxmigration.org/.

Industry-Wide Adoption

"Traefik and Nutanix share a commitment to helping customers run containers confidently in enterprise production environments. NKP has always used Traefik as its ingress and the retirement of the ingress NGINX validates the decision we made years ago to standardize on Traefik. Choosing the right infrastructure foundations matters, and our partnership with Traefik gives customers a production-grade, Kubernetes-native ingress controller-and an easy upgrade to any of Traefik's enterprise options."

- Dan Ciruli, Vice President and General Manager of Cloud Native at Nutanix

"K3s has used Traefik as its default ingress controller for years, with great success. With the retirement of ingress NGINX, we are now bringing that same proven foundation to RKE2, making Traefik the default starting with v1.36 for our community. Combining Traefik's native support for existing ingress NGINX annotations and its Kubernetes Gateway API implementation with extended Rancher Prime support for existing ingress NGINX deployments, SUSE customers get a unified, actively maintained networking layer across both distributions and the flexibility to migrate on their own timeline."

- Peter Smails, SVP and General Manager, Cloud Native, SUSE

"As Kubernetes networking evolves, the shift toward Gateway API and more dynamic traffic management becomes critical. At OVHcloud, we see Traefik as a strong foundation for this transition within our Managed Kubernetes Service, combining ease of migration from ingress NGINX with a forward-looking architecture for cloud-native and AI-driven applications."

- Jacques Murez, Product Director at OVHcloud

"Traefik is a critical part of the TIBCO Platform, powering ingress for both our customer deployments and TIBCO's own SaaS-hosted Control Plane. It has proven to be a dependable, high-performance solution, and with the ingress NGINX retirement, Traefik has become the de facto standard for TIBCO Platform deployments. We trust Traefik to be at the front door of our infrastructure, and our customers benefit from that same reliability every day."

- Devu Heda, Global Head of TIBCO Integration

From Ingress to Application Intelligence

Beyond ingress, Traefik Labs offers a progressive upgrade path to Traefik Hub, extending the platform with API Gateway, AI Gateway, MCP Gateway, and full API lifecycle management, all deployable with a single Helm chart upgrade and zero re-architecture.

"The ingress NGINX retirement is accelerating a shift that was already underway. Organizations are moving from legacy, annotation-heavy configurations to a modern networking stack that scales from ingress all the way to AI and API Management. Traefik is that stack."

- Emile Vauge, Founder and CTO of Traefik Labs

Availability

Traefik Proxy is available under the MIT license at https://traefik.io/traefik. Migration guide and Ingress NGINX Provider documentation: https://ingressnginxmigration.org. For API Gateway, AI Gateway, and enterprise support: https://traefik.io

About Traefik Labs

Traefik Labs is the creator of Traefik Proxy, the world's most widely deployed cloud-native application proxy, and Traefik Hub, the integrated platform for API Gateway, AI Gateway, and API management. With over 3.4 billion Docker Hub downloads and 62,000+ GitHub stars, Traefik powers application networking for organizations worldwide, from startups to Fortune 500 to the Global 2000. Headquartered in both France and US, with a global install base and open source community, Traefik Labs serves customers across financial services, healthcare, retail, transportation, government, and technology. For more information, visit traefik.io.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324385872/en/

Contacts:

Media: Dylan Rodgers marketing@traefik.io
Asia-Pacific dominated the global market in 2025, accounting for nearly 45% of total revenue, supported by rapid infrastructure development, expanding urban population, and strong construction activity across countries such as China, India, and Southeast Asia. Continued investments in smart cities and commercial real estate projects are further strengthening the region's leadership in the elevator and escalator market.

Global Elevator & Escalator Market Key Takeaways

The Global Elevator & Escalator Market is expected to grow from USD 105 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 124 billion by 2032.

Elevators accounted for nearly 75% of the total market share in 2025, reflecting their critical role in residential, commercial, and industrial infrastructure.

After-sales services captured approximately 55% of the market, highlighting the increasing importance of maintenance and modernization in driving recurring revenue.

More than 20 companies are actively engaged in the global elevator and escalator industry, with the top five players holding around 60% market share, indicating a moderately consolidated competitive landscape.

Leading companies operating in the market include Hitachi Elevator Engineering Company, Canny Elevator Company Ltd., Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation, Otis Worldwide Corporation, and Schindler Holding Ltd., among others.

Key Market Forces Influencing the Global Elevator & Escalator Industry

Urban Expansion and Vertical Infrastructure Demand

The global elevator and escalator market is fundamentally driven by rapid urbanization and the increasing need for vertical infrastructure. As urban centers continue to expand and land availability becomes more constrained, the development of high-rise residential and commercial buildings is accelerating. In this context, elevators have become essential for enabling efficient vertical mobility, positioning them as a critical component of modern urban ecosystems. Furthermore, sustained government investments in infrastructure development and smart city initiatives are reinforcing demand for advanced and high-capacity elevator systems worldwide.

Shift Toward Lifecycle Services and Modernization

In parallel with new construction activity, the market is witnessing a pronounced shift toward after-sales services, particularly maintenance and modernization. A large installed base of aging elevator systems across developed and emerging markets is driving the need for upgrades that enhance safety, improve energy efficiency, and optimize operational performance. At the same time, routine maintenance services are becoming increasingly critical to ensure reliability and compliance with evolving regulatory standards. This transition toward lifecycle management is reshaping the industry into a service-centric model characterized by stable and recurring revenue streams.

Advancements in Smart and Energy-Efficient Technologies

Building on this service-driven transformation, technological innovation is playing a pivotal role in redefining market dynamics. Manufacturers are increasingly integrating IoT-enabled monitoring systems, predictive maintenance capabilities, and energy-efficient solutions into their product offerings. Advanced features such as destination control systems and touchless interfaces are gaining significant traction, particularly in commercial and high-traffic environments. These innovations not only enhance user convenience and safety but also contribute to improved operational efficiency and sustainability, aligning with global energy and environmental goals.

Expansion of Commercial and Public Infrastructure

Complementing these trends, the continued expansion of commercial real estate and public infrastructure is further supporting market growth. Developments such as office complexes, shopping malls, airports, and metro networks are generating sustained demand for both elevators and escalators. In particular, escalators and moving walkways play a vital role in managing high passenger volumes and ensuring seamless mobility in transit and retail environments. As global economies continue to invest in large-scale infrastructure projects, demand for vertical transportation systems is expected to remain steady and resilient.

View Full Report and request to get the sample pages at:

https://www.vyansaintelligence.com/industry-report/elevator-escalator-market-forecast

Key Challenges and Competitive Pressures Impacting Industry Growth

Capital-Intensive Nature of Installation and Maintenance

Despite favorable growth drivers, the elevator and escalator market faces notable challenges, particularly due to the high costs associated with installation, maintenance, and modernization. Advanced elevator systems, especially those designed for high-rise applications, require substantial capital investment and specialized engineering expertise. These cost considerations can act as a constraint, particularly in price-sensitive regions and smaller-scale construction projects, potentially limiting adoption rates.

Competitive Intensity and Margin Pressures

In addition to cost-related challenges, the market is characterized by intense competition among both global leaders and regional players. This competitive landscape often leads to pricing pressures, particularly in emerging markets where cost sensitivity is high. While established companies leverage technology, brand reputation, and service networks to maintain their market position, smaller players frequently compete on pricing strategies. As a result, industry participants must continuously balance cost efficiency with product quality, innovation, and service excellence to sustain profitability and long-term growth.

Strategic Momentum in Service-Led Growth and Lifecycle Value Expansion

The global elevator and escalator market is witnessing a clear strategic shift toward service-led growth models, as leading industry players increasingly prioritize modernization, maintenance, and lifecycle value creation to strengthen long-term profitability and competitive positioning.

In 2026, Otis Worldwide Corporation's earnings release highlighted strong global momentum in its higher-margin Service and Modernization segment, reinforcing the central role of lifecycle services in its business strategy. The company reported a significant 43% increase in modernization orders (constant currency) in Q4 2025 and provided guidance of $1.6-$1.7 billion in adjusted free cash flow for full-year 2026. Otis positioned this segment as a key financial engine to support reinvestment and shareholder returns, while maintaining a strong focus on pricing discipline and uptime-driven service differentiation.

Building on this broader industry trend, KONE Corporation's FY 2025 stock-exchange release further underscored the accelerating shift toward service and modernization-driven economics. The company reported EUR 9,087.4 million in orders received and EUR 11,245.2 million in net sales for 2025, alongside operating margin expansion with an EBIT margin of 11.9%. At a global scale, this performance reflects enhanced lifecycle monetization strategies, including stronger digital service integration and increased modernization backlog capture across the installed base.

Collectively, these developments highlight a structural transformation within the elevator and escalator industry, where leading players are leveraging service portfolios, digital capabilities, and installed base optimization to drive sustained revenue growth. This shift is not only improving financial resilience but also intensifying competitive dynamics, as companies compete more aggressively on service quality, technological integration, and long-term customer value creation.

Market Analysis by Product Type, Service & Region

By Product Type, the elevator segment maintained a dominant position in the global elevator and escalator market, accounting for approximately 75% of the total share in 2025. This leadership is primarily supported by the extensive deployment of elevators across residential, commercial, and industrial infrastructures, where vertical mobility is essential. As urban landscapes continue to evolve toward high-rise developments, demand for efficient and high-capacity elevator systems remains strong. Additionally, a wide range of technologies, including traction, hydraulic, and machine room-less (MRL) elevators, enables manufacturers to address diverse building requirements and performance expectations. In contrast, the escalator segment, comprising moving walkways and moving stairs, plays a complementary yet critical role in high-traffic environments such as shopping malls, airports, and metro stations. Together, both segments contribute to a well-integrated vertical transportation ecosystem.

By Service, the service segment is a key pillar of the global elevator and escalator market, with after-sales services accounting for nearly 55% of the total market share in 2025. This dominance reflects the growing importance of maintenance, repair, and modernization activities in ensuring the safety, efficiency, and longevity of installed systems. As a substantial global installed base continues to age, demand for system upgrades and performance optimization is steadily increasing. Modernization initiatives are particularly critical in enhancing energy efficiency and meeting evolving regulatory standards. At the same time, routine maintenance services remain essential for minimizing downtime and ensuring operational reliability. While new installations continue to support expanding construction activity, the increasing reliance on lifecycle services highlights a broader shift toward a recurring, service-driven revenue model within the industry.

By Region, Asia-Pacific emerged as the leading region in the global elevator and escalator market, capturing approximately 45% of the total market share in 2025. This regional dominance is largely driven by rapid urbanization, strong population growth, and sustained construction activity across both residential and commercial sectors. Major economies such as China and India play a central role in shaping demand, supported by expanding urban centers and increasing infrastructure investments. Furthermore, government-led initiatives focused on smart city development and transportation infrastructure are accelerating the adoption of advanced vertical mobility solutions. The region also benefits from a strong manufacturing base and cost-effective production capabilities, further reinforcing its leadership position. As urban expansion continues and infrastructure projects scale up, the Asia-Pacific is expected to remain a key growth engine for the global market.

View Full Report (All Data, In One Place): https://www.vyansaintelligence.com/industry-report/elevator-escalator-market-forecast (Explore in-depth analyses, technological trends, and investment patterns.)

Global Elevator & Escalator Market Scope

By Product Type: Elevator (Traction, Hydraulic, Machine Room Less; By Speed: Up to 1 m/s, 1.1 to 2 m/s, 2.1 to 3 m/s, 3.6 to 5 m/s, Above 5 m/s), Escalator (Moving Walkway, Moving Stairs)

Elevator (Traction, Hydraulic, Machine Room Less; By Speed: Up to 1 m/s, 1.1 to 2 m/s, 2.1 to 3 m/s, 3.6 to 5 m/s, Above 5 m/s), Escalator (Moving Walkway, Moving Stairs) By Service: New Installation, After Sales Service (Maintenance, Modernization)

New Installation, After Sales Service (Maintenance, Modernization) By Application: Residential, Commercial, Industrial

Residential, Commercial, Industrial By Region: North America, South America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific

Browse More Reports

UAE Construction Equipment Rental Market: The Construction equipment rental market size in the UAE was estimated at USD 1.01 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 2.98 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 16.72% during 2026-32.

Global Construction Equipment Rental Market: The Construction equipment rental market size was estimated at USD 131 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 217 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 7.48% during 2026-32.

UAE Landscaping Market: The Landscaping in UAE is estimated at USD 1.8 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 3.5 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 9.97% during 2026-32.

Saudi Arabia Construction Glass Market: The Construction glass in Saudi Arabia is estimated at USD 700 million in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 1.1 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 6.67% during 2026-32.

UAE Lightweight Aggregates Market: The Lightweight aggregates in UAE is estimated at USD 400 million and is expected to grow to USD 600 million by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 5.96% during 2026-32.

Saudi Arabia Landscaping Market: The Landscaping in Saudi Arabia is estimated at USD 3 billion and is expected to grow to USD 5 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 7.57% during 2026-32.

Saudi Arabia Crane Rental Market: The Crane rental in saudi arabia is estimated at USD 300 million and is expected to grow to USD 650 million by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 11.68% during 2026-32.

About Vyansa Intelligence

Vyansa Intelligence is a global market research and consulting firm committed to delivering strategic, data-driven insights across a wide range of high-growth and emerging industries. The firm specializes in analyzing market trends, competitive landscapes, technological advancements, and regulatory developments that influence the global business environment. Leveraging a rigorous research methodology, Vyansa Intelligence combines proprietary forecasting models with carefully validated primary research and credible secondary data sources. This integrated approach ensures the accuracy, reliability, and relevance of its market intelligence. Through comprehensive industry analysis and forward-looking insights, Vyansa Intelligence enables corporations, investors, and decision-makers to identify emerging opportunities, mitigate potential risks, and formulate effective long-term business strategies. The company remains dedicated to providing actionable intelligence that supports sustainable growth and strengthens competitive advantage in an increasingly dynamic global marketplace.

Contact Us:

Vyansa Intelligence

Office: Office No.110, H-159, Sector 63, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301, India

Contact No: +91 7065555003

Email:sales@vyansaintelligence.com

Website: vyansaintelligence.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2929228/Vyansa_Intelligence_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/elevator--escalator-market-to-grow-at-a-cagr-of-2-4-through-2032--driven-by-urbanization-and-service-led-revenue-expansion-reports-vyansa-intelligence-302721929.html
Omnes today announced a strategic partnership with Apex Group, a leading global financial services provider with over $3.5 trillion in assets serviced, to tokenise its flagship Omnes Mining Note "OMN". The OMN is an institutional grade structured note backed by Bitcoin hashrate, to be issued and managed on the Base Chain, the Ethereum L2 incubating at Coinbase, leveraging Apex Digital 3.0 for comprehensive tokenisation, administration, and transfer agency services as a fully integrated end to end solution.

The OMN provides professional non-US investors with direct economic exposure to new Bitcoin production measured in hashrate, which is the computational power used to validate transactions and produce Bitcoin, without the operational complexities of managing mining infrastructure, hardware, energy, or regulatory hurdles. Issued as a secured debt note in Luxembourg, the tokenised OMN combines traditional financial structuring with blockchain enabled features, including on chain transferability among whitelisted professional investors.

Emmanuel Montero, Chief Executive Officer of Omnes, said:

"Bitcoin mining is the only mechanism that creates new Bitcoin through protocol issuance. This is economically distinct from yield strategies that rely on redistributing existing Bitcoin. Through the Omnes Mining Note, we transform this operationally intensive production process into a structured financial instrument backed by industrial scale mining infrastructure."

Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group, added:

"Tokenisation gives investors mobility and utility that traditional notes cannot. Qualified investors can transfer OMN on chain and, over time, potentially use it as a form of collateral in permissioned lending without selling the asset. This enhances liquidity while giving Omnes a more scalable and globally distributable structure."

Jesse Pollak, Head of Base, commented:

"Bringing a regulated debt product backed by mining onto Base is a huge win. It proves that on chain finance isn't just for crypto-native assets it's for real-world industrial infrastructure too. We're excited to see more builders bridging the gap between heavy industry and the on chain economy to make the financial system more transparent and accessible."

Notes to editors

Disclaimers

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute, and shall not be construed as, an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

The Omnes Mining Note ("OMN") is limited to investors who meet certain eligibility requirements. Investors will be required to provide personal and financial information to confirm compliance with applicable laws, including anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. No investment should be made until the Offering Memorandum and related documents, which are available upon request, have been thoroughly reviewed and understood.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

About Omnes

Omnes is a global fintech company pioneering institutional access to Bitcoin yield through Bitcoin production. Through its Luxembourg securitisation framework, Omnes delivers on-chain, compliance-first exposure to tokenised Bitcoin hashrate via the Omnes Mining Note (OMN), a structured product engineered for professional investors, sovereign allocators, and institutional asset managers. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with operations across Europe and the Middle East, Omnes is building the foundational financial layer for the Bitcoin economy.

www.omnes.io

About Apex Group

Apex Group is dedicated to driving positive change in financial services while supporting the growth and ambitions of asset managers, allocators, financial institutions, and family offices. Established in Bermuda in 2003, the Group has continually disrupted the industry through its investment in innovation and talent.

Today, Apex Group sets the pace in fund and asset servicing and stands out for its unique single-source solution and unified cross asset-class platform which supports the entire value chain, harnesses leading innovative technology, and benefits from cross-jurisdictional expertise delivered by a long-standing management team and over 13,000 highly integrated professionals.

Apex Group leads the industry with a broad and unmatched range of services, including capital raising, business and corporate management, fund and investor administration, portfolio and investment administration, ESG, capital markets and transactions support, as well as digital and AI solutions. These services are tailored to each client and are delivered both at the Group level and via specialist subsidiary brands.

The Apex Foundation, a not-for-profit entity, is the Group's passionate commitment to empower sustainable change.

www.apexgroup.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324743031/en/

Contacts:

Media Contacts

Omnes

Panagiotis Dermatis panagiotis@omnes.io

Apex Group

Marion Janic I Marion.Janic@apexgroup.com
Partners with Netris, Supermicro, VAST Data to deliver composable platform

KubeCon CloudNativeCon Europe 2026--Mirantis, delivering Kubernetes-native infrastructure for AI, today announced support for the NVIDIA NCX Infra Controller, an open-source technology to build next-generation AI cloud platforms, plus progress with an ecosystem of partners delivering an open, composable infrastructure platform based on k0rdent purpose-built to support AI workloads.

For more than a decade, Mirantis has been at the forefront of open source private cloud innovation, helping shape and scale production deployments of OpenStack and Kubernetes for some of the world's largest enterprises and service providers. As cloud infrastructure evolves from virtualization-first architectures to AI-native platforms, Mirantis is once again applying its deep open source expertise to lead the next transformation. By collaborating closely with industry partners and contributing to community-driven technologies like k0rdent, Kubernetes, and OpenStack, Mirantis is extending proven cloud operating models into the AI era delivering composable, multi-tenant infrastructure built on open foundations rather than proprietary silos.

With its k0rdent AI, Mirantis transforms NVIDIA's open AI infrastructure building blocks into production-ready, multi-tenant cloud platforms delivering a validated "Metal-to-Model" stack for enterprise AI factories. k0rdent AI provides a unified control plane that orchestrates the entire stack across the full NVIDIA reference architecture portfolio from NVIDIA Ampere, NVIDIA Hopper, and NVIDIA Blackwell architectures to NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand and NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet, NVIDIA NVLink scale-up networking, and NVIDIA DGX, NVIDIA HGX, and NVIDIA MGX platforms.

"AI infrastructure service providers need to maximize utilization and operational efficiency," said Warren Barkley, vice president of product management, NVIDIA. "Our collaboration with Mirantis helps neoclouds deploy validated AI infrastructure faster, pairing ISV validation with NVIDIA NCX Infra Controller lifecycle automation to deliver consistent performance, operational efficiency, and real cloud differentiation at scale."

As NVIDIA open-sources major components of its AI cloud stack, the NVIDIA NCX Infra Controller integration is one part of a broader effort by Mirantis to evaluate and adopt those that strengthen k0rdent AI, and validate the full platform against NVIDIA's standards through its AI Cloud Ready Initiative. Mirantis is a contributor to the NVIDIA NCX Infra Controller open source project and is also working with a number of other companies on its open, composable infrastructure platform for AI that enables users to:

Scale deployments with repeatable patterns rather than manual, one-off integrations;

Accelerate time-to-deploy AI infrastructure through Kubernetes-native automation.

"Building an open source AI ecosystem is vital to providing customers with complete, turn-key AI solutions," said Shaun O'Meara, chief technology officer, Mirantis. "We've made significant progress on work with NVIDIA and other partner companies around our k0rdent technology that automates operations for AI infrastructure while also improving utilization. Just as we helped pioneer modern private clouds, Mirantis is now instrumental in open, production-ready AI cloud infrastructure for the next generation of workloads, and continuing to contribute and evolve community-driven technologies like OpenStack and Kubernetes for new AI use cases."

Most recently, Mirantis partnered with Netris on an integration that automates Kubernetes cluster delivery and data center networking for AI workloads, eliminating two of the biggest operational bottlenecks: the lack of a standardized path to cluster deployment and the manual, fragmented network provisioning processes that slow infrastructure rollout. With Mirantis' composable infrastructure approach, users are able to select validated networking technologies that meet their performance and operational requirements. Through the integration, networking becomes part of Kubernetes cluster delivery itself, not bolted on later, and not configured manually.

Another partner integration with Supermicro automates operations for sovereign AI and hybrid GPU cloud environments, eliminating manual provisioning workflows so that Supermicro nodes are automatically discovered and provisioned as Kubernetes infrastructure.

Also, Mirantis and VAST Data have aligned efforts to bring high-performance data services into k0rdent AI, helping to simplify operations by eliminating one-off integration work while enabling AI infrastructure to scale faster.

Through all of this work, Mirantis and its partners aim to standardize AI infrastructure designs, including NVIDIA-led reference architectures that define how compute, networking, and storage are composed for large-scale GPU environments.

Mirantis will showcase how k0rdent can fully automate AI cloud services at KubeCon EU in Amsterdam from March 23-26. Visit Mirantis booth 492 for live demonstrations.

About Mirantis

Mirantis delivers the fastest path to profitable, scalable GPU cloud infrastructure for neoclouds and enterprise AI factories, with full-stack AI infrastructure technology that removes complexity and streamlines operations across the AI lifecycle, from Metal-to-Model. Through k0rdent AI and strategic partnerships, Mirantis enables organizations to transform GPU cloud economics with production-grade multi-tenancy, intelligent workload orchestration, and automated operations that maximize utilization and profitability. With more than 20 years delivering mission-critical open source cloud solutions, Mirantis provides the end-to-end automation, enterprise security and governance, and deep expertise in Kubernetes and GPU orchestration that organizations need to reduce time to market and efficiently scale cloud native, virtualized, and GPU-powered applications across any environment-on-premises, public cloud, hybrid, or edge.

Mirantis serves many of the world's leading enterprises and service providers, including Adobe, Ericsson, Inmarsat, MetLife, PayPal, and Societe Generale. Learn more at www.mirantis.com.

Mirantis is a registered trademark of Mirantis, Inc. Metal-to-Model is a trademark of Mirantis, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324984369/en/

Contacts:

Joseph Eckert for Mirantis

jeckert@eckertcomms.com
LONDON, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The newly released Henley Opportunity Index 2026 quantifies the impact of access to leading global economies on the long-term value of a top-tier education. While a world-class degree remains a powerful asset, its true return depends on where graduates have the right to live and work. The index ranks the most effective residence and citizenship pathways - by investment and merit - that unlock access to countries offering not only exceptional education, but also the economic strength, career opportunities, and global mobility needed to turn talent into lasting success.

Published as part of the Henley Education Report 2026 and updated annually to reflect shifting economic, geopolitical, and education trends, the index evaluates jurisdictions across six drivers of long-term prosperity - earning potential, career advancement, top-tier employment prospects, premium education, economic mobility, and high livability.

The 2026 ranking identifies the Top 15 jurisdictions worldwide where residence or citizenship can be secured through investment or merit, and where the strongest institutional ecosystems drive long-term outcomes. As Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, notes, "our index shows where academic credentials and ambition translate most effectively into sustained career success and long-term economic advantage."

Where Education Delivers the Greatest Returns

Switzerland leads the 2026 ranking with a total opportunity score of 86 out of 100, combining a stable economic framework, world-class education, and exceptional career prospects. The professional ecosystems of Zurich and Geneva - spanning private banking, commodities trading, and pharmaceutical research - create powerful long-term career networks.

Singapore ranks 2nd (with a score of 81) as a strategic hub linking Asian capital flows, global trade networks, and high-growth innovation ecosystems leading to high earning potential and top-tier employment prospects. Australia comes in 3rd (80), supported by globally ranked universities, strong research ecosystems, and an exceptional quality of life.

The UK and the US share 4th place (79), reflecting their unmatched concentration of leading universities, global financial centers, and innovation-driven economies. Canada ranks 5th (78), benefiting from a highly international labor market and globally respected universities.

The remaining opportunity-rich destinations in the Top 15 accessible through residence and citizenship programs each offer distinctive advantages for the next generation - whether through strong earning potential, dynamic career ecosystems, or an excellent quality of life.

Austria ranks 6th (69) as an EU gateway combining economic mobility with attractive earning potential and high livability, while the UAE comes in 7th (68), with Dubai and Abu Dhabi having emerged as major global hubs for wealth, entrepreneurship, and international talent. New Zealand ranks 8th (67), widely recognized for its education system and quality of life.

Hong Kong, a longstanding financial gateway linking global markets with Asia, shares 9th place with Italy (both scoring 65), which is supported by major economic centers such as Milan and Rome. Latvia and Malta share 10th place (both 62), offering strategic access to Europe's integrated education and labor markets, while Portugal (11th, 61) and Greece (12th, 59), which both offer high livability and excellent economic mobility, complete the 2026 ranking.

Degrees Create Opportunity but Passports Determine Access

Tess Wilkinson, Director of Education Services at Henley & Partners, notes that "families often focus on getting their children into the best universities, but the real strategic advantage is graduating with a passport that allows them to stay and build a career in the world's leading economies. A degree from Oxford or Harvard is valuable, but its long-term return depends on where it can actually be deployed."

Real-world cases from Henley & Partners' clientele illustrate how access to additional jurisdictions can reshape opportunity for families.

For example, an Indian family secured permanent residence in America through the US EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program before their child began university, positioning the next generation within the world's largest private wealth and education ecosystem. While India (with an opportunity score of just 39) has a rapidly growing economy, access to globally ranked universities and international professional networks remains more limited.

Similarly, a South African family secured residence through Portugal's Golden Residence Permit Program, placing the next generation within Europe's wider academic and professional landscape. While South Africa (37) offers a dynamic regional economy, Portugal (61) combines strong economic mobility and high livability, with a pathway to citizenship and long-term access to broader EU opportunities.

As Dr. Jose Caballero, Senior Economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center, explains, "the true value of residence and citizenship planning lies in the institutional environments it unlocks. Ultimately, investment migration is best understood not as a financial transaction but as a deliberate intergenerational strategy, one whose returns are measured not in years, but across lifetimes."

Read the Full Release

Sarah Nicklin

sarah.nicklin@henleyglobal.com

+27 72 464 8965
A strategic partnership bringing together Microlino and BEN to build the future of sustainable urban mobility, with industrial production based in Turin, Italy

ZURICH and TURIN, Italy and MATOSINHOS, Portugal, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micro, AMFI - Automotive Micro Factory Italy, and CEiiA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic collaboration in the field of micro electric mobility. The partnership aims to unlock synergies between two complementary European micro e-cars - Microlino and BEN - across technology, industrial production, and market development.





A Natural Fit: Microlino Meets BEN

Microlino, designed by Micro, is an iconic battery-electric microcar inspired by the bubble cars of the 1950s, focused on the consumer market (B2C). BEN (BE Neutral), developed by CEiiA, is a modular micro e-car designed for business applications (B2B), integrating an advanced digital platform (SPIRIT) that enables smart mobility services, CO2 tracking, and fleet management.

Together, Microlino and BEN cover the full spectrum of urban micro-mobility - from private use to shared services and last-mile deliveries - creating a unique European proposition for sustainable cities.

Scope of Cooperation

Under the MoU, the three parties will explore collaboration across several key areas: joint supply chain optimisation, the sharing of powertrain, electronics and digital technologies, cooperation in engineering and product development, and joint initiatives in European funding and international market development. The partnership also lays the groundwork for the industrialisation of BEN at AMFI's manufacturing facility in Turin, Italy, leveraging AMFI's proven experience as a next-generation contract manufacturer of micro electric vehicles.

Turin as the Industrial Hub

AMFI, part of the same Swiss holding group as Micro, is based in Turin and will serve as the industrial lead for the manufacturing of BEN. With a scalable and flexible production setup, AMFI brings deep expertise in micro electric vehicle production and will work alongside CEiiA to define the supply chain, production processes, and quality standards required for serial manufacturing. The collaboration reinforces Turin's growing role as a European hub for innovative, sustainable mobility manufacturing.

Sustainability at the Core

Both organisations share a deep commitment to sustainability. CEiiA's AYR technology - winner of the New European Bauhaus award in 2021 and part of Google's Impact on Climate network - can measure, track, and monetize avoided CO2 emissions in sustainable mobility. Integrating this capability with Microlino's efficient urban transport opens new possibilities for cities striving towards carbon neutrality.

What the Partners Say

Oliver Ouboter, COO of Micro, comments: "Microlino has proven that micro electric vehicles can capture the hearts and minds of consumers across Europe. By joining forces with CEiiA and bringing BEN into the AMFI production ecosystem in Turin, we are creating a powerful European platform that spans both private and business mobility. This collaboration is a natural evolution of our vision: making cities cleaner, smarter, and more liveable - one micro vehicle at a time."

Michelangelo Liguori, General Manager of AMFI, states: "AMFI was born with the ambition to become a strategic industrial hub for the micro electric vehicle sector in Europe. This partnership with CEiiA is a concrete step in that direction: by bringing BEN into our production facility alongside Microlino, we are building the critical mass needed to create a truly competitive and scalable European manufacturing ecosystem. Turin has the talent, the infrastructure, and now the partnerships to lead this transformation."

Helena Silva (CTO of CEiiA) emphasizes that: "This partnership with Micro and AMFI marks a new phase in the development of the BEN project, reinforcing the creation of a collaborative industrial model in Europe. The establishment of the first production site in Turin will enable the development of synergies across multiple areas with Microlino, contributing to a more competitive, innovative, and sustainable European industry."

About Micro

Micro Mobility Systems is a Swiss company dedicated to eco-friendly transportation solutions for short distances. Founded in Kusnacht, Switzerland, Micro invented the kickscooter in 1999, which was an instant success and coined the term micromobility. It has since sold more than 100 million kickscooters worldwide. Since 2022, Micro is producing the Microlino, a market leading electric microcar in several European countries.

About AMFI

AMFI - Automotive Micro Factory Italy S.r.l. is a next-generation contract manufacturer based in Turin, Italy. Part of the same Swiss holding group as Micro, AMFI operates a scalable, flexible production facility specialising in micro electric vehicles, and holds the rights to commercialize the AMFI Modular Platform (AMP).

About CEiiA

CEiiA is a Portuguese centre of engineering and product development that designs and productizes new products and services in sectors of high technological intensity, such as mobility, aeronautics and space, aiming to achieve a more sustainable society. In mobility, CEiiA has developed BEN and the SPIRIT digital platform, as well as the award-winning AYR technology for CO2 measurement in sustainable transport. CEiiA is headquartered in Matosinhos (Porto), Portugal.

Ricardo Rodrigues - pressmedia agency

+351969523802

rr@pressmediaonline.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/75654e84-ccb6-4512-a7d6-0f418d63329a
Julius Baer Group Ltd. / Key word(s): Bond/Miscellaneous

Julius Baer Group Ltd. to redeem Perpetual Tier 1 Subordinated Bonds issued 8 October 2020 on first call date



24.03.2026 / 09:15 CET/CEST





Zurich, 24 March 2026 - Julius Baer announced today it will exercise its option to redeem all of the outstanding Perpetual Tier 1 Subordinated Bonds (ISIN: XS2238020445) at par value plus accrued interest on the first call date on 8 April 2026, in accordance with condition 3 (c) of the terms of the bonds. The bonds, with a coupon of 4.875% per annum, were issued by Julius Baer Group Ltd. on 8 October 2020 in the aggregate nominal amount of USD 350 million.

Julius Baer assesses redemption and refinancing decisions on an individual basis, weighing economic considerations such as prevailing market conditions, regulatory capital requirements, and its own capital planning.

Contacts

Media Relations, tel. +41 (0) 58 888 8888

Investor Relations, tel. +41 (0) 58 888 5256

This announcement is not and shall not be interpreted or construed as a solicitation to purchase any securities of/in Julius Baer Group.

About Julius Baer

Julius Baer is the leading Swiss wealth management group and a premium brand in this global sector, with a focus on servicing and advising sophisticated private clients. In all we do, we are inspired by our purpose: creating value beyond wealth. At the end of 2025, assets under management amounted to CHF 521 billion. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd., the renowned Swiss private bank with origins dating back to 1890, is the principal operating company of Julius Baer Group Ltd., whose shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: BAER) and are included in the Swiss Leader Index (SLI), comprising the 30 largest and most liquid Swiss stocks.

Julius Baer is present in around 25 countries and 60 locations. Headquartered in Zurich, we have offices in key locations including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Dubai, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Monaco, Mumbai, Santiago de Chile, Shanghai, Singapore, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo. Our client-centric approach, our objective advice based on the Julius Baer open product platform, our solid financial base, and our entrepreneurial management culture make us the international reference in wealth management.

For more information visit our website at www.juliusbaer.com
Despite economic pressure, UK SMEs are taking a pragmatic approach to digitalization, with AI moving into everyday use, growing cybersecurity investment, and reliance on trusted advisors

More than half of SMEs (56%) say rising costs are their top challenge, highest in Europe

Almost half (44%) are fully prepared for regulatory change, ahead of European peers

Around two thirds (65%) of SMEs now use AI tools weekly or daily, showing AI has moved into everyday use

75% of UK SMEs outsource at least one business function under cost pressure

84% of UK SMEs report very high loyalty to their service providers

Wolters Kluwer Tax Accounting today announced findings from its inaugural Future Ready Business report, revealing that UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing the most intense economic pressure in Europe, yet continue to demonstrate strong confidence in their ability to manage regulatory change. The findings also show UK SMEs investing selectively in digital tools, with AI moving into everyday use and strong reliance on trusted advisors.

"UK SMEs are under more economic pressure than any of their European peers, but they're responding differently," said Bas Kniphorst, Executive Vice President Managing Director, Wolters Kluwer Tax Accounting Europe. "UK SMEs stand out for prioritizing regulatory readiness and leaning heavily on trusted advisors to navigate complexity. They're taking a selective, pragmatic approach to digital investment, focusing on tools that deliver fast efficiency and control to build resilience even as cost pressures remain high."

The Future Ready Business report draws on insights from more than 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Spain.

Cost pressure meets regulatory confidence

More than half of UK SMEs (56%) cite economic conditions and rising costs as one of their top three challenges over the next 12 months, compared with a European average of 40%. Cashflow pressure is also elevated, with 28% identifying it as a leading concern.

Despite these headwinds, UK SMEs report some of the strongest levels of regulatory preparedness across surveyed European markets. Nearly half of UK SMEs (44%) say they are fully informed and prepared for regulatory change, ahead of the Netherlands (31%), Germany (32%) and Sweden (16%). Overall, 90% report being fully or somewhat prepared.

This confidence is being tested by major reforms such as Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, due to come into effect in April 2026. Separate Wolters Kluwer research shows more than nine in ten landlords and sole traders (92%) are aware of MTD for Income Tax. However, preparedness remains uneven beneath headline confidence levels, with four in five landlords (80%) feeling prepared for MTD, compared with 64% of sole traders. The findings underline the importance of practical tools, clear guidance, and trusted professional support.

AI adoption becomes operational, not experimental

AI has moved firmly into everyday use for UK SMEs. Around two thirds (65%) now use AI tools weekly or daily, placing the UK ahead of some European markets, such as Sweden (54%), while trailing the most intensive adopters, such as Germany, Spain and Italy. Looking ahead, almost half (49%) plan to implement AI-powered tools over the next 12 months.

This adoption is supported by cautious but deliberate digital foundations. More than half of UK SMEs (54%) operate hybrid cloud environments, while 26% are fully cloud based. Digital investment is driven primarily by efficiency, with 47% citing productivity gains as the main benefit of digital tools. At the same time, cost pressure continues to temper ambition: only 36% plan to adopt or expand cloud solutions in the next year, below the European average.

As digital reliance increases, cybersecurity remains a priority, with almost half of UK SMEs (48%) having upgraded protections in the past three years and a further 37% planning to do so.

Advisor led, selective and trust-based

Throughout this transformation, UK SMEs continue to rely heavily on external expertise. When making technology decisions, 73% rank IT and technology service providers among their top two sources of guidance, followed by accountants and business service providers (57%). That reliance is mirrored in preparation for Making Tax Digital, where 77% of landlords and sole traders expect to seek help from an accountant or adviser, rising to 86% among landlords.

Outsourcing also plays a central role, with 75% of UK SMEs outsourcing at least one business function. Rather than outsourcing broadly, UK SMEs take a targeted and disciplined approach, focusing on high-risk, compliance-heavy activities such as payroll (42%), legal services (33%), and accounting (33%).

The strength of these relationships is evident in loyalty levels: 84% of UK SMEs report very high or extremely high loyalty to their service providers, favouring long-term partnerships built on trust, regulatory confidence, and consistent support.

"For UK SMEs, the message is to stay selective and practical," said Natasha Chryssafi, Senior Director Product Management, Wolters Kluwer Tax Accounting said. "Under sustained cost pressure, the businesses coping best are focusing on cash-flow discipline, outsourcing complex compliance tasks, and adopting digital tools, including AI, where they solve a real, day-to-day problem. By using advisors strategically and investing where it counts, SMEs are creating breathing room in an otherwise tight environment."

Talent pressures remain a challenge

Recruitment and retention pressures persist, with 33% of UK SMEs citing hiring and retaining skilled employees as a top priority and 26% ranking talent among their top three challenges. However, talent pressures are less acute in the UK than in many European peers, including Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Notes to Editors

About the Future Ready Business report

The Future Ready Business report draws on insights from more than 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Spain, examining how businesses are responding to economic volatility, regulatory change, talent constraints, and digital transformation across Europe. All participating organizations had fewer than 250 employees.

Making Tax Digital Research

Making Tax Digital research was conducted by Opinium on behalf of Wolters Kluwer between 23 and 29 January 2026. The research involved a 50/50 split of 100 landlords and sole traders, all with total gross turnover exceeding 50,000, including respondents with UK or foreign property revenue.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information solutions, software and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2025 annual revenues of 6.1 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,100 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX, Euro Stoxx 50, and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324196922/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Alejandra Quintela

External Communications Manager Europe

Tax and Accounting

Wolters Kluwer

Office: +44 7980 908385

alejandra.quintela@wolterskluwer.com

Shannon Wherry

Corporate Affairs Communications Associate Director

Tax and Accounting

Wolters Kluwer

Office/Mobile: 1 (972) 209-2797

Shannon.Wherry@wolterskluwer.com
Financial discipline, ongoing cyber security investment and selective AI adoption shape business decision-making in Sweden

Wolters Kluwer Tax Accounting today released its inaugural Future Ready Business report, revealing that businesses in Sweden are combining extensive outsourcing, hybrid technology environments and measured investment in AI to remain resilient, competitive and financially disciplined in one of Europe's highest cost markets. The research shows that 85% of Swedish companies outsource at least one business function. More than half outsource bookkeeping (58%), accounting (55%) and payroll (53%), the highest rates in Europe, reflecting a deliberate strategy to keep internal teams lean while accessing specialist expertise as needed.

"Swedish businesses are making deliberate, evidence led choices," said Kristina Lagerstedt, Country Manager, Wolters Kluwer Tax Accounting Sweden. "High levels of outsourcing, widespread hybrid architectures and regular AI use all points to a market that understands the potential of technology but refuses to compromise on financial discipline or security. Practical steps such as upskilling employees in AI, strengthening cyber hygiene, and working closely with trusted advisors can help companies extract real value from technology."

The Future Ready Business report draws on insights from more than 1,000 businesses across Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Spain.

Key Findings Future Ready Business Report

Only 15% of Swedish companies report extremely high loyalty to their professional service providers, the lowest level across Europe, highlighting a results driven mindset.

A clear majority (71%) operate hybrid technology environments, the highest rate across all EU markets surveyed, balancing cloud solutions with on-premise systems to retain control, flexibility and security. Only 15% of businesses have migrated fully to the cloud.

Half of companies (51%) report a lack of digital skills or training as a barrier to technology adoption.

AI is already embedded in daily operations, with 54% of Swedish businesses using AI tools weekly or daily. Future investment plans remain cautious, with more than a third (38%) expecting their investment in AI to remain the same over the next three years.

Nearly half of Swedish companies (49%) have upgraded cyber security protections and more than a third (38%) are planning upgrades in the year ahead.

Economic conditions and rising operating costs are cited as the top challenge by 55% of businesses, while 45% point to cash-flow risk and competitive pressure as critical issues in the year ahead.

Only 69% of Swedish companies feel prepared for regulatory changes, well below countries such as Belgium and Germany.

Notes to Editors

About the Future Ready Business report

The Future Ready Business report draws on insights from more than 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Spain, examining how businesses are responding to economic volatility, regulatory change, talent constraints, and digital transformation across Europe. All participating organizations had fewer than 250 employees.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information solutions, software and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2025 annual revenues of 6.1 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,100 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX, Euro Stoxx 50, and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324243158/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Alejandra Quintela

External Communications Manager Europe

Tax and Accounting

Wolters Kluwer

Office: +44 7980 908385

alejandra.quintela@wolterskluwer.com

Shannon Wherry

Corporate Affairs Communications Associate Director

Tax and Accounting

Wolters Kluwer

Office/Mobile: 1 (972) 209-2797

Shannon.Wherry@wolterskluwer.com
High regulatory readiness and pragmatic technology adoption help businesses deliver returns, even as financing constraints grow

Wolters Kluwer Tax Accounting today released its inaugural Future Ready Business report, showing that Danish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) report Europe's highest satisfaction with AI-driven cost savings. Among SMEs using AI, 65% say it has exceeded expectations for cost reduction, the strongest result across all EU markets, well ahead of peers such as Germany and Spain. The research findings portray a market of contrasts, with Danish SMEs combining high regulatory readiness and a strong preference for strategic outsourcing, while facing growing pressure from rising costs and constrained access to credit.

"AI in Denmark is being deployed with a clear business purpose, not as a technology trend," said Martin Tage, Country Manager, Wolters Kluwer Tax Accounting Denmark. "Businesses are selective, quality-driven and focused on translating AI into real productivity and efficiency gains. Even without the highest penetration levels, the impact is significant and creates a strong foundation for further AI investment."

The Future Ready Business report draws on insights from more than 1,000 businesses across Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Spain.

Key Findings Future Ready Business Report

76% of SMEs use AI daily or weekly, placing Denmark among Europe's most active AI markets.

63% of SMEs operate hybrid IT environments. Fully cloud-based adoption remains moderate at 28%.

Cybersecurity and data privacy are a top priority for Danish SMEs, with half (49%) having already upgraded their protections and 46% planning to do so.

Data security and privacy concerns remain a significant barrier to technology adoption, cited by 54% of Danish SMEs, above the European average (46%).

One in five SMEs (21%) cite difficulty accessing credit or financing as a major challenge, the highest level across Europe.

Danish SMEs are Europe's most confident on regulation, with 91% saying they feel well informed and prepared for regulatory change. However, half of them (53%), the highest share in Europe, say regulation slows technology adoption.

One third of Danish respondents (33%) identify finding and keeping the right talent as a top concern.

Danish business owners are exceptionally optimistic, with almost nine in ten (86%) feeling positive about their company's future.

Danish SMEs are making strategic use of external expertise. Denmark ranks second only to Sweden for outsourcing payroll (43%), legal (44%), accounting (47%) and HR functions (30%).

About the Future Ready Business report

The Future Ready Business report draws on insights from more than 1,000 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Spain, examining how businesses are responding to economic volatility, regulatory change, talent constraints, and digital transformation across Europe. All participating organizations had fewer than 250 employees.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information solutions, software and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2025 annual revenues of 6.1 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,100 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX, Euro Stoxx 50, and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324442633/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Alejandra Quintela

External Communications Manager Europe

Tax and Accounting

Wolters Kluwer

Office: +44 7980 908385

alejandra.quintela@wolterskluwer.com



Shannon Wherry

Corporate Affairs Communications Associate Director

Tax and Accounting

Wolters Kluwer

Office/Mobile: 1 (972) 209-2797

Shannon.Wherry@wolterskluwer.com
Kawasaki and Tokyo, Japan, Mar 24, 2026 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited and Umios Corporation today announced the successful completion of a joint pilot project for an electronic traceability system to trace and visualize seafood distribution information. This initiative, conducted on February 1, 2026, aims to support the countering of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which is increasingly important for securing sustainable marine resources. The experiment focused on bluefin tuna farmed by the Umios Group in Wakayama Prefecture, establishing a mechanism for consumers to check distribution information from the farm to retail stores via smartphone. The project successfully validated the system's effectiveness for wider implementation in society. Both companies aim to commence operation of this system by fiscal year 2027 for some fish species handled by the Umios Group.In recent years, while demand for seafood has increased globally due to population growth and rising health consciousness, natural marine resources are declining, and securing sustainable marine resources has become an urgent issue. Countermeasures against IUU fishing are particularly critical, and countries worldwide are tightening marine resource management and fishing regulations. A common challenge for the fisheries industry is establishing mechanisms to clearly demonstrate and prove non-involvement with IUU fishing throughout the entire process, from procurement to distribution.The Umios Group has positioned "Action for preserving biodiversity and ecosystem" as one of its material issues in the sustainability strategy of its medium-term management plan, "For the ocean, for life 2027," and is promoting the establishment of an electronic traceability system that can quickly and reliably prove that the seafood it handles is unrelated to IUU fishing.Overview of the Pilot Project- Date: February 1, 2026 (Saturday)- Locations: Umios Marine Corporation Kushimoto Office (Wakayama Prefecture, aquaculture farm), Okuwa Co., Ltd. Izumi-Oda Store (Osaka Prefecture, retail store)- Target Seafood: Bluefin tuna farmed at Umios Marine Corporation Kushimoto Office- Details: A pilot project for an electronic traceability system enabling consumers who purchased the target bluefin tuna at Okuwa Co., Ltd. Izumi-Oda Store to check the production history (from farming and landing to processing and sales) using smartphones, along with a consumer awareness survey.- System Used: A system developed as a prototype by Fujitsu, which records and visualizes the entire production history. It was designed utilizing a traceability solution from Fujitsu Sustainability Value Accelerator[1] offered through Fujitsu's business model Uvance, which addresses societal challenges.- Results: The experiment demonstrated that the system can reliably record and visualize production history information for the target bluefin tuna. Furthermore, in the consumer awareness survey (35 valid responses), approximately 91% responded that they "would consider or refer to it when purchasing," approximately 77% said it "leads to a sense of security and trust," and approximately 77% also stated that they "would be willing to pay an additional price for products with traceability information." This indicates that electronic traceability can also function as added value for products.Moving forward, both companies will leverage the insights gained from this pilot to expand the target fish species, enhance the system, and extend its application across the entire supply chain. This will accelerate the social implementation of transparency in seafood distribution and IUU fishing countermeasures.Fujitsu will drive progress toward both enhancing corporate value based on trust and ensuring the sustainability of natural resources by realizing cross-company and cross-industry value chain traceability through Uvance.(1) Fujitsu Sustainability Value Accelerator:A suite of services from Fujitsu that collects verifiable traceability data across companies and industries, enhances value chain transparency, and supports overall optimization and the creation of new business models.About FujitsuFujitsu's purpose is to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. As the digital transformation partner of choice for customers around the globe, our 113,000 employees work to resolve some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Our range of services and solutions draw on five key technologies: AI, Computing, Networks, Data & Security, and Converging Technologies, which we bring together to deliver sustainability transformation. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.6 trillion yen (US$23 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025 and remains the top digital services company in Japan by market share. Find out more: global.fujitsuAbout Umios CorporationUmios Corporation is one of the largest fishing and food companies in the world, with a history dating back to its founding in Japan in 1880. Guided by its purpose "For the ocean, for life," Umios is committed to contributing to the happiness and well-being of all through authentic, safe, and healthy food. Find out more: https://www.umios.com/en/Press ContactsFujitsu LimitedPublic and Investor Relations DivisionInquiriesSource: Fujitsu LtdCopyright 2026 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Open, Collaborative Initiative to Establish Identity, Preserve Intent, and Make Trust Measurable in AI-Initiated Commerce

LEHI, UT AND NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / IXOPAY , the enterprise-grade global payment infrastructure platform built for the era of agentic commerce, and Zip , the digital financial services company offering innovative, people-centred products, today announced a joint initiative to define a Unified Trust Layer - an open industry framework designed to address emerging trust and liability challenges in agent-initiated commerce and payments.

Agentic commerce introduces a structural shift in payments. Traditional infrastructure was built around a four-party risk model - consumer, merchant, issuing bank, and acquiring bank - with the assumption that a human initiated the transaction. As AI agents begin acting autonomously, that model no longer holds. Payment systems were not designed to consistently preserve identity, intent, and context in a machine-verifiable way, leaving merchants to bear the burden of authentication without the benefit of fraud filters, security protocols or shared liability with issuers.

With this risk shifting downstream, merchants will face increased chargebacks, elevated false declines due to fraud systems misclassifying legitimate agents, and reduced visibility into customer relationships as agents intermediate the experience. Industry leaders recognize the urgency: According to a recent Accenture study, 87% of financial institution chief technology officers and payments heads believe trust will be the most significant barrier to agentic payments adoption, and 78% expect fraud to increase significantly as agentic commerce scales.

The Unified Trust Layer Framework

Confronting this structural shift head-on, IXOPAY and Zip are developing a Unified Trust Layer framework, an open industry initiative that embeds transparency, auditability, and interoperability into agent-driven transactions, setting a new standard for trust in agentic commerce. The framework seeks to aggregate and orchestrate trust signals across providers, networks, and protocols while preserving merchant-owned, portable trust artifacts.

"Payments infrastructure wasn't built for autonomous actors," said Jill Willard, Chief Technology Officer at IXOPAY. "When AI agents initiate transactions, merchants still carry the liability, but the system doesn't consistently preserve identity and intent in a defensible way. At IXOPAY, we view tokenization and orchestration as programmable trust infrastructure, giving merchants control, portability, and auditability across fragmented ecosystems. This initiative is about extending that integrated foundation to agentic commerce."

"Traditional fraud models rely heavily on static credentials," said Rory Herriman, Chief Technology and Operations Officer at Zip. "But agents aren't people, and their risk doesn't show up the same way. We've connected millions of consumers with tens of thousands of merchants through our ability to establish trust using behavioral and contextual signals. As machines begin transacting on behalf of humans, that same discipline needs to be applied to agent behavior. This framework is about making trust measurable and explainable in a system that was never built for it."

From Payment Orchestration to Trust Orchestration

In an agentic environment, orchestration evolves from routing transactions to managing tokenized trust across protocols and providers. The proposed Unified Trust Layer centers on three capabilities:

Agent Identity Validation : Normalizing identity verification and behavior patterns across fragmented agentic protocols.



Intent Capture and Preservation : Binding explicit human consent and transaction context into an immutable, replayable record.



Contextual Trust Signaling: Aggregating agent behavioral signals across providers, networks, and protocols to support informed authorization decisions and strengthen dispute defensibility.

Together, IXOPAY and Zip combine merchant-owned, provider-agnostic tokenization with real-time behavioral intelligence.

Open and Collaborative

The Unified Trust Layer is an open framework in development. IXOPAY and Zip invite merchants, networks, platforms, and ecosystem participants to help shape how identity, intent, and trust should function in agentic commerce.

Learn more about the framework, and how to participate at our upcoming webinar on April 8, 2026: https://www.ixopay.com/unified-trust .

Media Contact:

Tony Hynes

Verdis

tony@verdis.xyz

About IXOPAY

IXOPAY is the enterprise-grade global payment infrastructure platform built for the era of agentic commerce, equipping merchants and businesses with AI-driven intelligence, orchestration, advanced tokenization, and the tools to power every step of their payments journey. From routing and compliance to customized modules and full-scale orchestration, IXOPAY delivers the infrastructure for faster integrations, higher approval rates, and seamless global expansion. Learn more at www.ixopay.com .

About Zip

Zip Co Limited is a digital financial services company, offering innovative and people-centred products. Operating in two core markets - Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) and the United States (US), Zip offers access to point-of-sale credit and digital payment services, connecting millions of customers with its global network of tens of thousands of merchants.

Founded in Australia in 2013, Zip provides fair, flexible and transparent payment options, helping customers to take control of their financial future and helping merchants to grow their businesses.

For more information, visit www.zip.co .

SOURCE: IXOPAY

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/ixopay-and-zip-us-introduce-unified-trust-layer-framework-to-help-1150667
Secure connectivity for drivers' security

Since January 1, 2026, connected V-16 beacons have replaced traditional warning triangles in Spain. Unlike passive safety equipment, these compact devices automatically transmit the location of a stopped vehicle to Spain's Directorate General of Traffic via the DGT 3.0 platform[1]. This allows authorities to alert other road users in real time and to respond faster to incidents.

Through its collaborations with Telefonica, Vodafone and MasOrange, three longstanding partners, IDEMIA Secure Transactions provides the embedded secure SIM technology that enables these certified beacons to communicate reliably. Today, IST supports the majority of DGT-certified V-16 beacons in the country, expected to impact up to 30 million vehicles and making it Europe's largest connected road-safety initiative.

The technology behind the solution is designed to be both simple and robust. Each beacon uses low-power cellular connectivity to send its anonymous location automatically once activated. Leveraging IDEMIA Secure Transactions' SIM capabilities, the solution ensures secure provisioning and encrypted data transmission, enabling communication with the DGT platform and long-term device lifecycle management. No smartphone pairing or user configuration is required, ensuring the device works anonymously and instantly in stressful situations. The system is built to operate nationwide and to function reliably over a minimum of 12 years.

A pioneering project in Europe for authorities

This large-scale deployment powered by IDEMIA Secure Transactions demonstrates how secure IoT connectivity can deliver tangible public-safety benefits. It also highlights the growing role of connected technologies in building smarter, safer mobility ecosystems across Europe. As the first nationwide deployments of this kind in Europe, the Spanish V-16 program could serve as a reference for other countries exploring connected traffic-safety initiatives.

"As a Spanish company, Telefonica is very proud to contribute to the successful deployment of this ambitious nationwide program. By providing IoT connectivity, we help enable smarter traffic management, enhance road safety and support the development of more efficient road services, together with partners such as IDEMIA Secure Transactions highlights the role of our solutions for the society," said Javier GARCIA OCON, IoT Connectivity Product Head at Telefonica Tech.

"As a provider of IoT/M2M solutions, Orange is committed to contributing to a safer driving experience by means of the V-16 beacons. By leveraging our NB-IoT technology and deploying devices fully certified in our accredited laboratory, we ensure reliable connectivity and the highest standards of performance and security in partnership with an industry leader as IDEMIA Secure Transactions," said Miguel Angel VICTORIA, Head of IoT B2B at MasOrange.

"Vodafone Spain has a pioneering NB-IoT network, deployed since 2017 and now comprising more than 16,800 NB-IoT sites nationwide. This infrastructure positions us as a key technology partner in delivering the secure and reliable connectivity required by V-16 beacons at national scale. We are proud that our network is helping to save lives on Spanish roads, making Europe's largest connected road safety initiative a reality," said Francisco VALLEJO, Director of Product and Solutions Marketing at Vodafone Spain.

"With Spain making connected emergency beacons mandatory, secure and reliable connectivity at national scale becomes critical. Together with our long-standing partners Telefonica, Vodafone and MasOrange, we are proud to ensure millions of emergency devices remain securely connected for years to come. This deployment combines advanced secure IoT technology with proven large-scale execution, reinforcing IDEMIA Secure Transactions' leadership in secure connectivity for critical infrastructure, IST's teams take great pride in putting the solutions and technologies we develop to make the world safer for everyone," said Fabien JAUTARD, EVP Connectivity Services at IDEMIA Secure Transactions.

[1] DGT 3.0 is DGT's connected vehicle platform that facilitates the interconnection of all the actors that are part of the mobility ecosystem to offer real-time traffic information to road users.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2939971/IDEMIA_Secure_Transactions_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/idemia-secure-transactions-powers-spains-nationwide-mandatory-rollout-of-emergency-beacons-with-its-secure-connectivity-302722427.html
RiskFM marks a fundamental shift in how financial crime is detected and prevented. For decades, institutions have relied on rules and manually-engineered machine learning models built one customer at a time. RiskFM changes that as a purpose built frontier model that spans across fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), and broader risk decisions across the entire financial crime lifecycle. Unlike current industry attempts limited to card network data, RiskFM is trained on a uniquely broad, deep, global dataset spanning onboarding, digital activity, payments, transfers, and AML workflows, enabling institutions to detect, prevent, and adapt to financial crime with unprecedented speed and precision.

Solving the Unique Challenge of Transactional Data

Recently, Large Language Models (LLMs) have effectively "solved" domains like language, audio, and video because they are highly constrained by finite grammar and causality. In language, next words are often predictable: in the sentence "Yesterday, a scammer contacted me and pretended to be my ", the next word is likely "relative," "friend," or "coworker". Similarly, in images and video, individual pixels are highly predictive of their nearby neighbors. Financial transactions, however, operate in a fundamentally different reality.

"Next transactions are far less predictable than the next word in a sentence," said Pedro Bizarro, chief science officer at Feedzai. "Consumer spending habits, payment types, and fraud modes change continuously. More importantly, financial risk is an adversarial domain; fraudsters actively adapt to evade detection in real-time."

Feedzai is uniquely positioned to explore large datasets, as the company annually risk-assesses $9T in payments across 120B events worldwide that span the entire financial risk lifecycle: from onboarding and digital activity to card payments and real-time transfers. This unparalleled breadth ensures RiskFM is tested at scale as a holistic model, rather than siloed in a single specialized application.

RiskFM is already showing it can match the performance of bespoke supervised models even with data from a single customer, and it surpasses them when trained with data from several institutions and geographies. The result is more value for customers, faster deployment times, and significantly lower implementation and maintenance costs.

"Foundation models have reshaped language, vision, and audio, but financial crime has remained stubbornly resistant to that wave," said Sam Abadir, research director, risk, financial crime, and compliance for IDC. "Feedzai's RiskFM is a credible attempt to close that gap. The ability to match bespoke supervised models out of the box, without manual feature engineering, has real implications for how institutions think about deployment speed, cost, and coverage across the full financial crime lifecycle, from card fraud to AML. The early performance data is worth watching, as is how the model holds up as it expands into more complex use cases."

A Unified Model With Unprecedented Performance

Following rigorous testing and baseline experiments, RiskFM delivers unprecedented capabilities:

Compounding intelligence : When trained across multiple institutions and geographies simultaneously, RiskFM outperforms traditional models based on Gradient Boosting and Deep Learning approaches, and keeps improving as it ingests more data.

: When trained across multiple institutions and geographies simultaneously, RiskFM outperforms traditional models based on Gradient Boosting and Deep Learning approaches, and keeps improving as it ingests more data. Ability to match highly-tuned models on Day One: When RiskFM is used to power a bespoke model for a single customer, it matches the performance of high-tuned supervised models without manual, time-consuming feature engineering.

When RiskFM is used to power a bespoke model for a single customer, it matches the performance of high-tuned supervised models without manual, time-consuming feature engineering. One model from mule account detection to AML: RiskFM serves as the foundational AI layer for financial risk. It is designed to expand across the full range of financial crime prevention, from mule account detection to AML, providing institutions with a scalable, intelligent model that grows with their needs.

"Our vision is coming true: this is not just another Large Tabular Model for a single data type. We've developed a foundation model for financial data that covers multiple use cases - from cards to real-time payments - and geographies, delivering strong performance from Day One at global scale," said Pedro Barata, chief product officer at Feedzai. "RiskFM proves our multi-year investment in foundation models is paying off. We're not just part of the conversation; we're defining how it applies to the complexities of global financial crime prevention."

Feedzai is working with early adopters to validate initial RiskFM frameworks and plans to scale these methodologies to large datasets, ultimately integrating them across its full suite of use cases.

"Lloyds Banking Group works collaboratively across the industry to protect consumers from financial crime," said Tom Martin, Lloyds Banking Group Business Platform Lead, Economic Crime Prevention. "We've been collaborating with Feedzai for years on AI innovation to give fraud fighters the upper hand against criminals, and RiskFM is an exciting milestone in that journey."

About Feedzai

Feedzai powers trust in global finance. We protect people and payments using trusted AI to detect and prevent financial crime, fraud, and money laundering in real time, so money moves safely. Every year, the world's top banks, payment networks, and acquirers use Feedzai's technology to safeguard more than one billion consumers and $9 trillion in payment volume. Learn more at feedzai.com.

Inkhouse for Feedzai

feedzai@inkhouse.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2902554/Feedzai_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/feedzai-unveils-riskfm-ai-foundation-model-for-financial-crime-prevention-302722588.html
Turkish cement producers warn that EU CBAM default emissions significantly overstate actual emissions

ANKARA, Turkey, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association (TURKCIMENTO) issued a statement regarding EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), warning that the current implementation risks functioning as a de facto non-tariff trade barrier for the Turkish cement industry.

"Priority of the Turkish cement sector is the meticulous preparation and verification of emission reports within the scope of CBAM. However, verification problems could turn the gap between actual and default values into a serious financial burden," said Volkan Bozay, CEO of TURKCIMENTO.

"When this difference is calculated based on current EU ETS prices, it increases the carbon cost per ton of clinker from approximately 20 to 80."

CBAM could affect EU consumers

Bozay explained that the sector operates with modern production technologies and actual emission performance below the default values used under CBAM.

"The actual data declared by our members exporting to the EU show that emissions for grey cement clinker are at the level of 0.88 tCO2/ton. In contrast, the default value used for Turkiye under EU legislation is 1.551 tCO2/ton. This difference leads to additional costs that don't reflect actual emission performance."

He emphasized that such differences could have wider economic implications: "In its current form, CBAM could raise costs and increase prices for EU consumers. Activating verification capacity on time and revising default values realistically is therefore critical."

Bozay also drew attention to technical issues that need to be clarified: "Our sector is focused on increasing the use of renewable electricity. However, due to technical constraints, producers often need to install renewable energy capacity at locations different from their production sites. CBAM requires clear rules allowing these investments and declared production data to be recognized in indirect emission calculations."

TURKCIMENTO Shares Proposed Solutions

Bozay outlined the solutions proposed by TURKCIMENTO:

"To prevent CBAM from becoming a de facto trade barrier, national values based on EU-aligned MRV data should be used. Until the verification infrastructure becomes fully operational, actual emission data should be taken as the basis and disproportionate financial burdens should be avoided.

It is also crucial to clarify the secondary regulations and technical aspects of the EU legislation related to accreditation processes asap, including the final list of organizations accredited."

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e70d1400-8d7e-420a-b9ea-5341a8ceb1a3

Contact: Ceren Alkan Yilmaz cerena@turkcimento.org.tr
Expro partners with VERCANA GmbH (part of Vulcan Energy Resources GmbH and responsible for well engineering and drilling) to support first well in Europe's largest geothermal and lithium cluster.

Expro (NYSE:XPRO) is set to deliver well testing services for the first Schleidberg well as part of Vulcan Energy's Lionheart Project one of Europe's most significant geothermal and lithium extraction developments.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324347449/en/

Expro partners with VERCANA GmbH to support first well in Europe's largest geothermal and lithium cluster.

The Lionheart Project, recently designated as a strategic initiative under the European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), represents one of the largest geothermal and lithium extraction programs of its kind in Europe. The support further strengthens Expro's position as a key delivery partner in the region's growing sustainable energy sector.

Under the scope of work, Expro intends to provide a comprehensive suite of services, including its advanced GeoFlow Surface Well Testing package. These services support VERCANA GmbH's and Vulcan Energy's efforts to characterize the reservoir, assess fluid properties and develop high-performance geothermal energy and lithium extraction from its planned development.

Lionheart builds on Expro's expanding geothermal portfolio in the region, following the recent successful well test delivery for a private developer of geothermal systems in Germany.

Expro, who have been servicing geothermal projects for over 40 years, plans to deliver the work through their European, Mediterranean and Caspian teams, leveraging expertise from across the company's Well Flow Management and Well Intervention offerings. This aligns with Expro's continued commitment to supporting Europe's energy transition with scalable, high-impact solutions for low-carbon energy systems.

Andrei Ion, Managing Director for Europe, Mediterranean and Caspian, of Expro, commented: "We are proud to support VERCANA GmbH's and Vulcan Energy on this landmark geothermal development. The Lionheart Project is not only strategically important for the region, but also a clear example of how innovation and adaptation of traditional oilfield services such as well testing and well intervention can help unlock the full potential of geothermal resources and critical raw materials like lithium.

"This partnership reflects the strength of Expro's geothermal capabilities and our ongoing commitment to delivering safe, efficient, and future-focused services across Europe. We look forward to helping our clients achieve their energy transition ambitions."

Marco Kopsel, managing director of VERCANA GmbH stated: "Partnering with Expro on the first Schleidberg well marks an exciting step forward in our mission to harness sustainable energy and critical raw materials. The expertise and innovative solutions provided by Expro will be instrumental in unlocking the geothermal and lithium potential of this pioneering initiative."

Notes to Editors

Working for clients across the well life cycle, Expro is a leading provider of energy services, offering cost-effective, innovative solutions and what the Company considers to be best-in-class safety and service quality. The Company's extensive portfolio of capabilities spans well construction, well flow management, subsea well access, and well intervention and integrity solutions.

With roots dating to 1938, Expro has approximately 7,000 employees and provides services and solutions to leading exploration and production companies in both onshore and offshore environments in more than 50 countries.

For more information, please visit and connect with Expro on Twitter @ExproGroup and LinkedIn @Expro.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release, and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company, may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, the success, safety, efficiency and sustainability of the Company's well testing and well intervention technologies, the Company's environmental, social and governance goals, targets and initiatives, and future growth, and are indicated by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "outlook," "estimate," "expect," "project," "believe," "envision," "goal," "target," "can," "will," and similar words or phrases. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based largely on the Company's expectations and judgments and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond our control. The factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to materially differ include, among others the risk factors identified in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, historical practice, or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324347449/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

MediaRelations@expro.com
Highlights

Goldstrike contains an indicated mineral resource of 975,000 ounces of gold grading 0.46 g/t

Initial purchase price of US$10M in cash plus US$2.5M in Heliostar shares on closing, plus additional milestone payments totalling US$60M in cash over a maximum of five years

Historic past producer with infrastructure including road access, proximity to a population center and a powerline within eight kilometres of the property

Outcropping, undrilled, high-grade antimony samples and historic antimony production provide critical mineral potential

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Heliostar Metals Ltd. (TSXV: HSTR) (OTCQX: HSTXF) (FSE: RGG1) ("Heliostar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce, further to our March 23, 2026, press release, technical details of the Company's planned acquisition of a 100% interest in the Goldstrike project located in Utah, USA (the "Goldstrike Project" or "Goldstrike") from Liberty Gold Corp. ("Liberty").

Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented, "Goldstrike represents an excellent opportunity to acquire a ~1-million-ounce gold deposit on attractive terms and provides diversification for Heliostar into another premier mining jurisdiction in North America. The deposit is a Carlin-style gold system, with a significant mineralized footprint that has potential to expand, with 96% of drill testing less than 200 m deep. Goldstrike has a large amount of high-quality work already completed, including metallurgy, geologic modelling, permitting progress and the identification of water sources, which can support an accelerated development timeline. It also has attractive antimony results that provide critical mineral upside that Heliostar plans to test. Upon completion of this transaction, Heliostar intends to review corporate opportunities for its portfolio of American properties."

Project Details

The Goldstrike Project is located in the Bull Valley Mountains in Washington County, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of St. George in southwestern Utah, USA. The property is made up of a central block of patented claims that are surrounded by a contiguous block of unpatented claims and land leased from the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration. The property area totals 5,173 ha and is accessible year-round via paved and all-weather roads.

Open-pit mining and cyanide heap-leach processing took place on site from 1988 to 1996. A total of approximately 209,000 ounces of gold and 198,000 ounces of silver were produced during these operations from approximately 8 million tons (7.26 million tonnes) of ore mined from 11 open pits1.

Figure 3 - Goldstrike Resource Base, March 23, 2026

Classification Tonnes

(t) Gold Grade

(g/t) Contained Gold

(oz) Indicated 65,804,000 0.46 975,000 Inferred 8,860,000 0.31 90,000

Notes:

CIM (2014) definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. All mineral resources are presented undiluted and in situ, constrained by continuous 3D solid models, and are considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. They are reported within conceptual open-pit shells. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. An inferred mineral resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an indicated mineral resource and must not be converted to a mineral reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration. The database for the Mineral Resource estimate consists of 2,157 domain intersecting drill holes with a total assay length of 38,183 m within the estimation domain wireframes. Geologic model wireframes representing the interpreted geology were generated using Leapfrog Geo software. 3D grade contour wireframes were generated using the radial basis function (RBF) interpolation in Leapfrog Geo software. These wireframes were created using the assay data without any anisotropy in order to assess the overall trends within the deposit. The grade interpolation used a four-pass ID3 approach. Each of the subsequent search passes had increased search ellipsoid dimensions and relaxed composite restrictions. Hard boundaries were used for all domains. The Qal unit was not included as an estimation domain. An NN estimate using 5 m composites, as well as an inverse distance squared (ID2) estimate using the 3.048 m composites, were prepared using the same search parameters for validation purposes. Mineral Resources are estimated at a gold cut-off grade of 0.10 g/t and using a long-term gold price of US$2,000 per ounce. Mineral Resources are estimated using a variable recovery derived from metallurgical studies. Bulk density is variable by rock type. There are no Mineral Reserves currently estimated at the Goldstrike Project. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral Resources are reported within conceptual open-pit shells. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent discrepancies between tonnes, grades, and contained gold content. A technical report is being prepared on the Updated Mineral Resource Estimate in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI-43-101") and will be available on the Company's website and SEDAR+ within 45 days of the date of this release. The effective date of the Mineral Resource estimate is March 23, 2026.

Drilling at the Project includes 1,389 holes (87,020 m) drilled by historical operators and 2,375 holes for 217,394 m drilled by Liberty from late 2015 through 2022. The data includes 77 core holes and 23 sonic holes, with the remainder being reverse circulation ("RC") holes.

Geology

Mineralization at Goldstrike occurs as a Carlin-style deposit at the eastern edge of the Basin and Range Province. The mineralization is hosted primarily in conglomerate and limestone of the basal Claron Formation of Tertiary age, as well as underlying Paleozoic units. The principal controls on mineralization include the generally shallow-dipping unconformity at the base of the Claron Formation, which is extensively mineralized, and high-angle structures of various orientations that appear to be the conduits through which mineralizing fluids circulated. These structural zones can also lead to significant mineralization in the Paleozoic silty limestone of the Pennsylvanian Callville Limestone and Mississippian Redwall Limestone, important hosts of mineralization.

Metallurgy

The Goldstrike oxide resources appear to be readily amenable to a mix of coarse crush/agglomeration and run-of-mine conventional heap leaching practice. Cyanide and lime consumptions are low to moderate, with low quantities of deleterious elements such as copper, zinc, mercury, and nickel, unlikely to materially impact cyanide consumption. The estimated amount of power required for crushing is low to moderate, with the abrasion wear characteristics representing minimal risk. Oxide gold recoveries are generally considered to be good to excellent, depending upon resource location, cyanide solubility, and particle size.

Antimony Potential

The property package on which the Goldstrike project sits also includes the Antimony Ridge prospect. This is an area along trend to the east of the Goldstrike deposit with historical antimony production and modern sampling showing potential for widespread antimony mineralization. Historical records indicate small-scale production of 10 tons of antimony ore in the 1970s from the Lejaiv Unite Mine from two small open pits located on Antimony Ridge. The mineralization at Antimony Ridge occurs as exceptionally large, bladed to massive stibiconite in a jasperoid breccia with gold. Stibiconite, is an antimony oxide formed from the in-situ oxidation of stibnite, the primary antimony sulfide mineral present at Antimony Ridge. Rock sampling over 450 metres of strike length has returned values including 5.7% antimony with 0.05 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold, 5.1% antimony with 0.13 g/t gold, and 2.95% antimony with 1.23 g/t gold.2

Heliostar intends to continue the prospecting work at the Antimony Ridge area to better define the area's prospectivity for both antimony and gold mineralization. Three drill sites around the historic mine are permitted with drill-ready targets.

Transaction Details

Heliostar, through its whole owned subsidiary Helio Five Resources Ltd., has entered into an arm's length agreement dated March 20, 2026, to purchase Specialty American Metals Inc., a wholly owned British Columbia subsidiary of Liberty, which is the sole owner of Pilot Goldstrike Inc., a Nevada company which holds the Goldstrike Project.

Consideration to Liberty consists of US$72.5 million, which is comprised of:

US$10M in cash plus 1,593,213 Heliostar shares 3 (having an aggregate value of $2.5M) paid and issued on the closing date (the "Closing Date"),

(having an aggregate value of $2.5M) paid and issued on the closing date (the "Closing Date"), US$10M in cash on the 12-month anniversary of the Closing Date;

US$10M in cash on the 18-month anniversary of the Closing Date;

US$15M in cash on the earlier of the achievement of certain infrastructure-related milestones or five years from the Closing Date;

US$25M in cash on the earliest of completion of a Feasibility Study, a formal construction decision or the five-year anniversary of the Closing Date.

The transaction is subject to the receipt of applicable regulatory and exchange approvals (including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange), and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions customary for a transaction of this nature. No finders' fees are payable on the transaction. Subject to the satisfaction of such conditions, the transaction is expected to close in April 2026. All Heliostar shares issued in connection with the acquisition will be subject to a four-month and one-day hold period from the Closing Date in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Path Forward

Heliostar will publish an updated technical report within 45 days of the date of this press release to support the updated Mineral Resource described herein. The Company will evaluate potential strategic options for the Goldstrike project, including sequencing development within the Company's existing growth project pipeline and use of special purpose vehicles to separate gold and critical minerals value streams. Future development work will focus on resource expansion and confirming the processing and infrastructure plans.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release relating to the Gold Strike Mineral Resource estimate and the associated NI 43-101 Technical Report has been reviewed and approved by Ms. Lorraine Tam, P.Geo. of SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. (SLR), and Mr. Gary L. Simmons, MMSA, each of whom is a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Ms. Tam and Mr. Simmons are independent of the Company with respect to the Goldstrike Project.

The Mineral Resource estimate disclosed in this news release is based on a technical report being prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, with an effective date of March 23, 2026.

About Heliostar Metals Ltd.

Heliostar is a growing gold mining company with production from operating mines in Mexico, with the objective of being a mid-tier producer with 500,000 ounces of annual gold production by the end of the decade. The Company's operating mines are La Colorada in Sonora and San Agustin in Durango. Heliostar also has a strong portfolio of development projects in Mexico and the USA, including its flagship Ana Paula project in Guerrero, the Cerro del Gallo project in Guanajuato, the San Antonio project in Baja Sur and the Unga project in Alaska, USA.

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 Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "plan", "forecast", "may", "would", "could", "schedule", "intend" and similar words or expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: (i) the completion of the acquisition of the Goldstrike Project and the timing thereof; (ii) the satisfaction of closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory and TSX Venture Exchange approvals; (iii) the expected benefits of the acquisition, including the potential to expand mineral resources and advance development of the Goldstrike Project; (iv) the Company's plans for further exploration, drilling and development at the Goldstrike Project, including at the Antimony Ridge area; (v) the preparation and filing of a technical report in respect of the Mineral Resource estimate within 45 days; (vi) the potential for antimony mineralization and the Company's ability to define and develop such potential; (vii) the timing and achievement of milestone payments; (viii) the Company's evaluation of strategic alternatives for the Goldstrike Project, including development sequencing and potential structuring alternatives; and (ix) the Company's broader growth strategy, including its objective of becoming a mid-tier gold producer.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, among others: the ability of the parties to complete the transaction on the terms described herein; the receipt of all required approvals; the accuracy and reliability of historical data and the Mineral Resource estimate; the ability to successfully integrate the Goldstrike Project into the Company's operations; the Company's ability to obtain necessary permits, water rights, financing and other approvals required to advance the project; and general business and economic conditions.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks include, without limitation: the risk that the transaction will not be completed on the terms anticipated or at all; failure to obtain regulatory or exchange approvals; changes in commodity prices; risks relating to the accuracy of mineral resource estimates; risks associated with exploration, development and mining activities; risks related to metallurgical recoveries and project economics; permitting and regulatory risks, including in respect of water rights; environmental and social risks; the speculative nature of exploration, including the risk that exploration will not result in the delineation of additional mineral resources; risks relating to the Company's ability to finance development; integration risks associated with acquisitions; and the other risks disclosed in the Company's public filings under its profile on SEDAR+.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements as the Company cannot provide any assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.

1 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report titled "Preliminary Economic Assessment and Independent Technical Report for the Goldstrike Project, Washington County, Utah, USA" prepared for Liberty by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. with effective date of February 8, 2018. Historical production figures from prior operations at the Goldstrike Project have not been verified by the Company or a Qualified Person. Such historical production data should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance or of the presence or absence of Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves. The Company considers these historical production figures to be relevant to investors as they provide context regarding the Project's past operations; however, the Company has not independently verified the accuracy of such data.

2 The antimony assay results described above are derived from historical and/or third-party data and have not been independently verified by the Company's Qualified Persons. The antimony results described above were disclosed by Liberty in a news release titled "Liberty Gold Announces Results from Field Sampling at the Antimony Ridge Discovery, Goldstrike Oxide Gold Project, Southwest Utah" dated November 18, 2024 (https://libertygold.ca/news/liberty-gold-announces-results-from-field-sampling-at-the-antimony-ridge-discovery-goldstrike-oxide-gold-project-southwest-utah/). The Company considers these results to be indicative of the presence of antimony mineralization; however, such results are selective in nature and may not be representative of mineralization across the Goldstrike Project. The Company plans to conduct additional exploration, including systematic sampling and drilling, to verify these results and better define the grade and extent of mineralization at Antimony Ridge.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289658

Source: Heliostar Metals Ltd.
Recognized for Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute

ALPHARETTA, Ga., March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aptean (Logility) has been recognized as a Leader in two 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant reports - Supply Chain Planning Solutions: Process Industries and ?Supply Chain Planning Solutions: Discrete Industries. Aptean (Logility) is one of only four vendors to have been named a Leader in both reports.

Logility's supply chain solutions have helped organizations move beyond static planning processes to true decision centric operations, where intelligence, automation, and execution work together in real time to deliver faster, smarter outcomes. Continuing its legacy of innovation, the company is at the forefront of using Agentic AI in Supply Chain, powering real-time, event-driven autonomous planning and orchestration that connects systems and processes from concept to customer.

"We believe this level of recognition reflects Logility's continued commitment to delivering tangible and measurable outcomes for our customers," said Allan Dow, EVP/General Manager, Aptean. "Our AI-powered, decision-centric solutions help organizations plan, execute, and adapt across the full scope of their operations. Whether it's providing instant answers, automating tedious and time-consuming tasks, or surfacing and then executing scenarios based on real-time information, the Logility Decision Intelligence Platform lets supply chain leaders move from reacting to anticipating."

"Aptean's continued investment in advanced AI and integrating new capabilities across our broader portfolio reinforces Logility's position as the intelligence core of an autonomous, AI-enabled supply chain platform," said TVN Reddy, CEO, Aptean. "We look forward to building on this momentum and driving the next generation of supply chain innovation."

A complimentary copy of the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning Solutions for Discrete Industries is available for download here: https://www.logility.com/analyst-report/2026-Gartner-MQ-SCPS-Discrete-Industries/. The 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning Solutions for Process Industries is available here: https://www.logility.com/analyst-report/2026-Gartner-MQ-SCPS-Process-Industries/.



Gartner delivers actionable, objective insights to executives and their teams. Its expert guidance and tools enable faster, smarter decisions and stronger performance on an organization's mission-critical priorities.

The Gartner Magic Quadrant evaluates vendors based on their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. We are honored to be included among the recognized vendors in this important report. Learn more about the Magic Quadrant.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning Solutions: Process industries, Pia Orup Lund, Joe Graham, Buse Aras, Jan Snoeckx, Eva Dawkins, Julia von Massow,17 March 2026 and Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning Solutions: Discrete Industries, Joe Graham, Pia Orup Lund, Buse Aras, Julia von Massow, Eva Dawkins, Jan Snoeck, 18 March 2026

Gartner Disclaimer:

Gartner and Magic Quadrant are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Aptean

Aptean is a global provider of industry-specific software that helps manufacturers and distributors effectively run and grow their businesses. Aptean's solutions and services help businesses of all sizes to be Ready for What's Next, Now. Aptean is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. To learn more about Aptean and the markets we serve, visit www.aptean.com.

About Logility

Logility, an Aptean company, is a market-leading provider of AI-first supply chain management software engineered to help organizations build sustainable digital supply chains that improve people's lives and the world we live in. Logility's fully integrated, AI-driven end-to-end platform where intelligence, automation, and execution work together to help clients know faster, turn uncertainty into opportunity, and transform supply chain from a cost center to an engine for growth. Learn more at www.logility.com.

Logility is a Registered Trademark of Logility, Inc. Aptean and Ready for What's Next, Now are Registered Trademarks of Aptean, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Contact: press@logility.com

Contact mediarelations@aptean.com
Infobip's platform and T-Mobile's network APIs aim to strengthen security and mitigate fraudulent mobile activity.

Global AI-first cloud communications platform Infobip is extending security measures for enterprise customers as a go-to-market partner. Now, T-Mobile's network APIs works seamlessly with Infobip's platform to enhance user verification with the goal of reducing fraudulent activity.

Consumer trust in mobile communications has steeply declined over the years amid rising cybercrime and fraudulent mobile activity, renewing urgency for telecom providers to prioritize advanced security measures at scale. Network APIs make it possible for developers to communicate with various telecom operators to verify device possession and authenticate user identities in-app while delivering the secure and simplified end user experience consumers want.

Interacting with different telecom networks has long been challenging for enterprises, as each operator historically presented distinct, custom APIs complicating integration, app development, and scale. CAMARA Open Gateway APIs are changing this by establishing a common standard across MNOs, aggregators, and developers, removing a critical barrier and making telecom capabilities far more accessible. By integrating T-Mobile's advanced network APIs with Infobip's omnichannel platform, enterprises can deploy a seamless solution that enhances verification and fraud prevention capabilities for partners and end customers.

"Staying ahead of the increasingly complex and evolving cybercrime landscape has long been a priority as one of the largest telecom providers," said Dirk Mosa, SVP, Spectrum, Wholesale Roaming at T-Mobile. "We are committed to empowering businesses with Network APIs that mitigate mobile fraud and keep digital experiences secure, meeting the expectations of today's digitally savvy consumers."

"T-Mobile is strengthening its business offering for partners and end customers by partnering with a GSMA Open Gateway-certified company, Infobip, to offer network APIs through a reliable and safe platform," said Henry Calvert, Head of Networks at GSMA. "Network APIs can play a crucial role in helping enterprises increase security and reduce fraudulent activity. So, the GSMA is proud to see these leading organizations unify their efforts and capabilities to tackle these challenges together from North America to the rest of the world."

Infobip boasts a robust partner network with global carriers, working with mobile network operators, MVNOs, and ISPs to deliver unmatched secure conversational experiences for telco companies' enterprise and SMB customers.

"The influx of fraudulent activity carried over mobile networks is heightening the need for businesses and their networks to fortify their security capabilities, from authentication processes to verifying user accounts," said Marcelo Frizzo, VP of Strategic Accounts in North America at Infobip. "As more complex fraudulent activity over mobile networks exacerbates growing mistrust from audiences, businesses must be proactive in assuring protection for their customers. This is exactly what we're doing with T-Mobile and our global carrier partners helping enterprises keep their customers safe through carrier-grade network capabilities amid rising consumer prioritization of reinforced security in our digital ecosystem."

To learn more about Infobip, visit https://www.infobip.com/

About Infobip

Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected experiences across all stages of the customer journey, with AI as the driving force of innovation. Through a single, natively built platform, Infobip delivers omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication and contact centre solutions that help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications while driving growth and increasing customer loyalty. Infobip is focused on enabling and accelerating AI adoption as it continues its transformation into an AI-first company. Infobip's technology has the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices in 6 continents connected to over 10k+ connections of which 800+ are direct operator connections. The company was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutic and Izabel Jelenic.

Recent award wins include:

Infobip recognized as a growth and innovation leader in Frost Radar: Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) by Frost Sullivan (Oct 2025)

Infobip ranked as the number one Established Leader in the Juniper Research Mobile Messaging Fraud Prevention Market report (Sept 2025)

Infobip named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) for the third consecutive year. In 2025, positioned furthest in Completeness of Vision (July 2025)

Infobip named among Top 75 in Fortune's Europe's Most Innovative Companies 2025, placing it in the top 25% of all listed organizations (June 2025)

Infobip ranked as a Leader in the Omdia CPaaS Universe Report for the third time (April 2025)

Infobip ranked an Established Leader in the Juniper Research Conversational AI Leaderboard (Feb 2025)

Infobip named a CPaaS Leader for the third time in the IDC MarketScape (Feb 2025)

Infobip named one of the top CPaaS providers in Metrigy's CPaaS MetriRank Report (Dec 2024)

Infobip named number one among Established Leaders in RCS Business Messaging in Juniper Research's RCS Business Messaging Competitor Leaderboard 2024 (Nov 2024)

Infobip recognized as the number one provider in the AIT Fraud Prevention market by Juniper Research (Oct 2024)

Infobip named to Fast Company's Annual List of the World's Most Innovative Companies (March 2024)

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324037234/en/

Contacts:

Breanna Johnson

breanna.johnson@infobip.com
Honoured for Driving Channel Growth and Advancing Cyber Resilience Across EMEA

London, UK, 24th March, 2026 -11:11 Systems ("11:11"), a leading managed infrastructure solutions provider, proudly announced today that CRN UK, a brand of The Channel Company, has included Johnny Carpenter, VP of Channels and Alliances EMEA, in the prestigious 2026 CRN Channel Leaders EMEA list. This annual recognition celebrates IT vendor and distribution executives who are shaping channel strategy and driving innovation and partnership across the industry.

Johnny Carpenter brings nearly three decades of experience in IT, with a career defined by solving complex cloud, security and network challenges. Known for his strong commercial judgement and sharp market awareness, he has consistently helped organisations across EMEA navigate an evolving technology landscape, cultivating trusted relationships with partners, technical leaders and customers across diverse industries.

These partnerships have shaped his understanding of the trends, risks and strategic considerations influencing today's threat landscape. Johnny has been instrumental in helping partners strengthen cyber resilience and accelerate cloud and network modernisation, delivering measurable value for customers while driving new growth opportunities across the channel.

"This recognition is a powerful testament to the trust our partners place in us and the results we achieve together. At 11:11, our commitment to the channel runs deep. We succeed by empowering our partners with the technology, expertise and support they need to deliver exceptional outcomes for their customers. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built together, and even more excited about what we'll accomplish next," said Johnny Carpenter, vice president of Channels and Alliances EMEA at 11:11 Systems.

According to Moosa Matariyeh, vice president of Global Channels at 11:11 Systems, "Johnny's leadership has been instrumental in elevating our channel strategy across EMEA. His ability to combine deep technical insight with a relentless focus on partner success sets a standard that inspires our entire organisation. This recognition reflects the strength of the relationships he has built and the trust he has earned across the channel community."

The annual CRN Channel Leaders EMEA list spotlights the most influential leaders across the IT channel, celebrating those who champion collaboration, drive innovation and empower their partners and customers to achieve shared success.

"As my team and I reviewed this year's Channel Leaders EMEA entries, one thing came through loud and clear: a deep, long-standing respect for the channel community. We want to thank these Channel Leaders for being so open about both their strategies, and what drives them as people. Across EMEA's diverse markets and many years of change, we're proud to recognise their ongoing commitment and the role they continue to play in strengthening the channel," said Nima Sherpa Green, EMEA Editorial Director, CRN, The Channel Company.

This recognition of Carpenter on CRN's 2026 Channel Chiefs EMEA list follows a year of strong momentum for 11:11 Systems, the world's largest privately held VMware Cloud Service Provider. In 2025, 11:11 was named Global Partner of the Year by HPE Zerto, received the Most Innovative Supplier Award from Telarus and was recognised with the Top Vendor Net Promoter Score (NPS): All Cloud by AVANT. Most recently, in March 2026, 11:11 Systems was named Broadcom VMware Cloud Service Provider Partner of the Year 2025.

CRN's 2026 Channel Leaders EMEA list will be featured on channelweb.co.uk.

ABOUT 11:11 SYSTEMS?

11:11 Systems is a managed infrastructure solutions provider that empowers customers to modernise, protect and manage mission-critical applications and data, leveraging 11:11's resilient cloud platform. Learn more at?1111Systems.com.

Media Contacts:?

Rolyn Parker?

news@1111systems.com

Destiny Gillbee

11-11systems@c8consulting.co.uk

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company (TCC) is the global leader in channel growth for the world's top technology brands. We accelerate success across strategic channels for tech vendors, solution providers, and end users with premier media brands, integrated marketing and event services, strategic consulting, and exclusive market and audience insights. TCC is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm. For more information, visit thechannelco.com.

Follow The Channel Company:LinkedIn and X

 2026 The Channel Company, Inc. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Channel Company Contact:



Josh Whittingham

The Channel Company

jwhittingham@thechannelcompany.com
The firm has appointed Aditya Jain as Associate Partner to lead its India operations, marking a strategic move into one of the world's fastest-evolving corporate risk environments.

India's corporate risk landscape is intensifying rapidly. More than 265 million cyberattacks were recorded in 2025 alone, while Indian organisations face over 2,000 cyberattacks per week - significantly higher than global averages. The country now accounts for 12.4% of global malware attacks, highlighting the scale and international nature of threats facing businesses.

Athena Intelligence, which specialises in complex, multi-jurisdictional investigations, is positioning itself to support Indian corporates, financial institutions, law firms, and High Net Worth Individuals navigating these risks.

Aditya Jain - Associate Partner, Athena Intelligence India

Aditya Jain is a Strategic Intelligence, Cyber & Technology Advisor with experience across corporate investigations and AI-driven risk engagements in South Asia and international markets. As Founder & CEO of a Geneva-based narrative intelligence platform, he combines global expertise with local institutional insight.

"India is at a tipping point when it comes to corporate risk. The threats are increasingly international - cross-border fraud, reputational attacks, cyber intrusions - and they require an international response. Athena Intelligence brings exactly that capability, and I am committed to making it accessible to Indian businesses, institutions, and individuals who deserve world-class protection." - Aditya Jain, Associate Partner, Athena Intelligence

The expansion is supported by senior advisors from India's defence and law enforcement community.

Senior Advisory Support

Colonel Shashank Kaushal, Indian Army (Ret.), serves as Senior Advisor to Athena Intelligence. A decorated senior army officer with a distinguished record in strategic operations and national security. He has been a military Adviser at the highest level. Colonel Kaushal advises Athena Intelligence and Aditya Jain on security-related investigations and provides senior-level access across India's defence and intelligence community.

Dr. Rajendar Pal Singh, Former Director General, Economic Offences Wing (EOW) & Special Investigation Team (SIT), Uttar Pradesh (2018-2021), and Former Deputy Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), New Delhi (2013-2018), serves as Strategic Advisor to Aditya Jain. Dr. Singh brings unparalleled expertise in economic crime, anti-corruption, and narcotics investigations, and provides Aditya Jain with deep institutional insight across India's law enforcement, regulatory, and policy eco system.

"Aditya Jain is the right person to represent Athena Intelligence in India. His investigative expertise, cyber and technology background, and deep institutional relationships make him uniquely equipped to build what we believe will become India's most credible cross-border investigations practice. Athena Intelligence is proud to plant its flag in India with Aditya leading the charge." - Jonas Rey, CEO, Athena Intelligence

Athena Intelligence will offer services including due diligence, anti-money laundering investigations, corporate intelligence, cyber risk advisory, and cross-border asset tracing.

Notes to Editors:

References:

1. Economic Times / Seqrite Cyber Threat Report (2025-2026) - India recorded over 265 million cyberattacks

2. Check Point Software Technologies, State of Cyber Security in India 2025 - Indian organisations face ~2,011 cyberattacks per week, higher than global averages

3. Acronis Cyber Threat Report - India accounts for 12.4% of global malware attacks, ranking among the most targeted countries worldwide

About Athena Intelligence:

Founded in 2019, Athena Intelligence operates across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, supporting clients on complex investigations involving fraud, corruption, and reputational risk.

Web: www.athenaintelligence.ch

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941054/Athena_Intelligence.jpg







View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/athena-intelligence-launches-india-push-amid-rising-cross-border-corporate-risk-302723266.html
Vheda Health ranks No. 10 in the Healthcare category on Fast Company's 2026 Most Innovative Companies list, joining the ranks of Google, Nvidia, Adidas, Walmart, and more.

COLUMBIA, MD / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / Vheda Health has been named to Fast Company's 2026 list of the World's Most Innovative Companies, landing at No. 10 in the Healthcare category. This year's list shines a spotlight on businesses that are shaping industry and culture through their innovations. Alongside the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, Fast Company recognizes 720 honorees across 59 sectors and regions.

This award celebrates the story of a vision that began in 2013, focused on creating the best healthcare experience that empowers people to live their best lives.TM For more than 12 years, Vheda Health's leadership in virtual health engagement has prioritized access to care and health equity for underserved communities. Vheda Health is humbled to be among the most trusted government payor partners with the best outcomes and analytics engine for Medicaid, Medicare, and Special Needs Plans (SNP), delivering 80%+ engagement and 3:1 ROI.

This year's Fast Company list celebrates organizations thriving through economic challenges, rapid innovation, and evolving healthcare demands. Vheda Health's recognition reflects our relentless focus on decreasing medical costs, increasing health equity, and improving quality & clinical outcomes for Medicaid, Medicare, Special Needs Plans (SNP), and Marketplace populations nationwide.

"Today is a humbling day for Vheda. We started this company because of a deep conviction that everyone deserves access to care. Our deepest thank you to our health plan partners, our Vhedlers, and of course, our members for your trust and collaboration every step of the way," said Shameet Luhar , CEO of Vheda Health. "We wake up every day because of you! At Vheda Health, we're committed to accelerating health equity for everyone by providing simple access to care from anywhere."

The World's Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year. To determine honorees, Fast Company's editors and writers review companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world.

"Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is about spotlighting organizations that don't just adapt to change-they drive it," said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "The companies we honor this year are redefining what leadership looks like in 2026, pairing bold ideas with measurable impact and turning breakthrough innovation into real-world value. They are setting the pace for their industries and offering a blueprint for what sustained innovation can achieve."

The full list of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies honorees can now be found at fastcompany.com . It will also be available on newsstands beginning March 31, 2026.

Fast Company will host the Most Innovative Companies Summit and Gala for honorees on May 19 in New York City. The summit features a day of inspiring content, followed by a creative black-tie gala including networking, a seated dinner, and an honoree presentation.

ABOUT VHEDA HEALTH

Vheda Health is an outcomes & analytics company that partners with Medicaid, Medicare & SNP health plans to reduce avoidable medical spend by driving measurable reductions in emergency room utilization and inpatient admissions. With more than 12 years of experience, Vheda identifies high-risk members, engages them continuously, and intervenes early to prevent costly events, delivering 80%+ member engagement and an average 3:1 return on investment. Vheda supports a range of high-impact use cases, including chronic conditions, behavioral health, and maternity, with a scalable, closed-loop care model designed to improve outcomes while lowering total cost of care. The most trusted government payors partner with Vheda Health to create the best healthcare experience that empowers people to live their best life. For more information, please visit vheda.com or follow us on LinkedIn .

ABOUT FAST COMPANY

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc. For more information, please visit fastcompany.com .

Media Contact

Kerry Lee Perry

Chief Marketing Officer

Vheda Health

kperry@vheda.com

404-849-1380

SOURCE: Vheda Health

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/vheda-health-ranked-%2310-on-fast-companys-2026-most-innovative-compani-1150095
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Drills have mobilized at Nuvau Minerals Inc.'s (TSXV: NMC) flagship Matagami Property now that the Company's $21M financing has closed. The overall goal of Nuvau's fully-funded 2026 campaign is to work toward realizing the critical minerals and gold potential of this 1,380 km2 district-scale land package.

"With this launch, we have achieved our third significant corporate milestone in as many months," said Peter van Alphen, Nuvau's CEO. "After closing the financing and the earn-in on the Matagami Property, we are now focused on extending Nuvau's track record of discovery to grow our resource base while advancing our near-term production strategy."

A program with two objectives: adding to copper-rich resources through continued exploration for base metals mineralization and unlocking gold potential.

Approximately 17,500 metres will be drilled across eight prospective sectors on the property, where copper-rich volcanic massive sulphides (VMS) and gold occurrences occur in close proximity. Drilling will initially focus on three target areas: Thundermine, the Daniel 25 area, and the North Central camp.

The program's two primary objectives reflect this unique geological setting:

Testing VMS-hosted copper targets - Drilling will test targets associated with VMS-hosted critical metal mineralization that have been defined using integrated geophysical surveys, geochemical data, and till anomalies. The goal is to expand Nuvau's resource base, and support advanced engineering studies aimed at near-term production at Matagami

Unlocking gold exploration potential - Drilling to develop a gold exploration model for the property, building on Nuvau's first gold occurrence discoveries in 2025. The Matagami district occupies a strategic geological position between two major gold-bearing deformation corridors: the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone to the north, host to the Detour Lake Mine, and the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone to the south, host to the Casa Berardi, Joutel, and Vezza deposits.

Nuvau is collaborating with its drilling contractor to extend the drilling season and enable year-round exploration. In a camp like Matagami, which presents logistical challenges due to the extensive wetlands and swamp terrain, drilling is typically restricted to winter conditions. New operational approaches, such as using lightweight drilling rigs and wooden matting, are planned to be implemented during this campaign. Advanced ground preparation during the winter will also minimize environmental disturbance and reduce remediation requirements during the spring thaw.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Bastien Fresia P. Geo. (Qc), Director of Technical Services and a "qualified person" for the purposes National Instrument 43-101.

About Nuvau

Nuvau Minerals (TSXV: NMC) is a Canadian mining and exploration company advancing a historic mining camp toward a production restart while generating new critical metal and gold discoveries. Its flagship asset is the past-producing Matagami mining district in the Abitibi region of Quebec. Nuvau controls a 1,380 square kilometre land package and benefits from access to permitted mining infrastructure, including an option on a 3,000 tpd concentrator. The Company's strategy is to combine district-scale exploration targeting zinc-copper VMS deposits and newly recognized gold potential with resource growth and project development.

Cautionary Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "will", "estimates", "believes", "intends", "expects" and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements concerning: the completion and timing of any remaining post-closing filings and registrations with governmental authorities; the timing and form of payments contemplated by the Earn-In Agreement (including any election to satisfy a portion of such payments in Common Shares), and if applicable, the receipt of any required stock exchange and other regulatory approvals; the potential future acquisition of the excluded property and satisfaction of applicable conditions related thereto; and the timing and ability of the Company to advance the Property to production decision. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are 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. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements are set out in the Company's public disclosure record available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under the Company's issuer profile. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as such information, although considered reasonable by the management of the Company at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and are expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statement. Except as expressly required by securities law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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 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/289564

Source: Nuvau Minerals Inc.
ExaGrid, the leader in Tiered Backup Storage, today announced that CRN UK-a brand of The Channel Company-has selected Andy Walsky, VP of EMEA APAC Sales, for inclusion on the prestigious 2026 CRN Channel Leaders EMEA list. This annual recognition celebrates IT vendor and distribution executives who are shaping channel strategy and driving innovation and partnership across the industry.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324173870/en/

ExaGrid works with resellers and distributors worldwide. The ExaGrid channel programs are designed to be easy for partners, with support from the ExaGrid sales team and without milestone commitments. ExaGrid is known for having a Tiered Backup Storage system that "just works," is not oversold or undersized, and provides its customers with the best customer support in the industry with an assigned level 2 technical support engineer, ensuring that partners' customers are well taken care of. ExaGrid provides its reseller partners with a registration program to protect accounts and margins, and SPIF incentives.

"I am honored to be named to this list again in 2026, and grateful to CRN UK for its continued coverage of the EMEA region," said Andy Walsky. "Working with channel partners is the key to success for any company and must be treated with the highest priority. My channel philosophy is to treat the channel as you would want to be treated yourself, always be fair and keep your word. Developing trust with channel partners is critical. I have deep respect for the work our channel partners do every day."

The annual CRN Channel Leaders EMEA list spotlights the most influential leaders across the IT channel, celebrating those who champion collaboration, drive innovation and empower their partners and customers to achieve shared success.

"As my team and I reviewed this year's Channel Leaders EMEA entries, one thing came through loud and clear: a deep, long-standing respect for the channel community. We want to thank these Channel Leaders for being so open about both their strategies, and what drives them as people. Across EMEA's diverse markets and many years of change, we're proud to recognise their ongoing commitment and the role they continue to play in strengthening the channel," said Nima Sherpa Green, EMEA Editorial Director, CRN, The Channel Company.

CRN's 2026 Channel Leaders EMEA list will be featured on channelweb.co.uk.

About ExaGrid

ExaGrid provides Tiered Backup Storage with a unique disk-cache Landing Zone, long-term retention repository, scale-out architecture, and comprehensive security features, including AI-Powered Retention Time-Lock to recover from a ransomware attack. ExaGrid's Landing Zone provides for the fastest backups, restores, and instant VM recoveries. The Repository Tier offers the lowest cost for long-term retention. ExaGrid's scale-out architecture includes full appliances and ensures a fixed-length backup window as data grows, eliminating expensive forklift upgrades and planned product obsolescence. ExaGrid offers the only two-tiered backup storage approach with a non-network-facing tier (tiered air gap), delayed deletes, and immutable objects to recover from ransomware attacks.

ExaGrid has physical sales and pre-sales systems engineers in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Benelux, Brazil, Canada, Chile, CIS, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nordics, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and other regions.

Visit us at exagrid.com or connect with us on LinkedIn. See what our customers have to say about their own ExaGrid experiences and learn why they now spend significantly less time on backup storage in our customer success stories. ExaGrid is proud of our +81 NPS score!

ExaGrid is a registered trademark of ExaGrid Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company (TCC) is the global leader in channel growth for the world's top technology brands. We accelerate success across strategic channels for tech vendors, solution providers, and end users with premier media brands, integrated marketing and event services, strategic consulting, and exclusive market and audience insights. TCC is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm. For more information, visit thechannelco.com.

Follow The Channel Company: LinkedIn, X, and Facebook

 2026 The Channel Company, Inc. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324173870/en/

Contacts:

The Channel Company Contact:

Josh Whittingham

The Channel Company

jwhittingham@thechannelcompany.com

ExaGrid Media Contact:

Mary Domenichelli

ExaGrid

mdomenichelli@exagrid.com
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Trade School Go, Inc. (OTCID: TAPM) (f/k/a Tapinator, Inc.) (the "Company"), an AI-powered vocational information and technology business, today announced the official launch of TradeSchoolGo.com, a next-generation trade school discovery platform seeking to connect aspiring students with accredited training programs and real employment outcomes across the United States.

The skilled trades are facing a workforce crisis. Millions of jobs go unfilled every year, not because people don't want them, but because navigating the path to trade education has been broken, fragmented, and confusing.

Today, TradeSchoolGo.com officially launches its AI-powered vocational platform which the Company believes will help connect prospective students with accredited trade school programs across the nation. TradeSchoolGo.com seeks to provide high school graduates looking for a better path, adults ready to pivot careers, or veterans transitioning to civilian life the ability to efficiently and quickly find the right vocational school, program and opportunity.

"The four-year college model isn't the only path to a great career - and for millions of Americans, it isn't the right one. TradeSchoolGo.com exists to make sure anyone who wants to enter the trades can find their program, apply with confidence, and get to work." - Andrew Merkatz, Co-Founder & President, TradeSchoolGo.com

Why TradeSchoolGo.com - Why Now

The U.S. faces a shortage of over 500,000 skilled trade workers, with demand accelerating in fields like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, welding, and construction (Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, 2026 Construction Workforce Shortage Report). Trade careers may offer competitive starting salaries compared to certain four-year degree paths with comparatively less student debt.

Yet finding the right trade school program has remained unnecessarily hard due to outdated directories, incomplete information, and dead-end search results. TradeSchoolGo.com believes it can streamline and simplify the process with better end results.

What TradeSchoolGo.com Does

TradeSchoolGo.com is a matchmaking platform that seeks to connect students with trade school programs across dozens of disciplines - from electricians and welders to dental technicians and drone pilots. Key features include:

AI-Powered Search & Matching: Find programs by trade, location, program length, cost, and accreditation status.

Verified School Profiles: Detailed, up-to-date profiles on accredited programs nationwide.

For Every Audience: Purpose-built pathways for high school students, adult career-changers, and veterans with tailored resources and filters.

Direct Connection: Request information from schools directly through the platform.

Market Opportunity

The U.S. vocational education market represents a $17.5 billion opportunity with projected enrollment growth of 6-7% CAGR through 2030 (Sources: IBISWorld, Validated Insights), which the Company believes represents a significant market opportunity. According to a study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, 2.1 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2030 due to the skills gap; a separate 2026 report by Bring Back the Trades projects 1.4 million jobs unfilled across seven core trade categories by that same year. Trade careers offer median salaries of approximately $75,000 annually, with licensed and experienced tradespeople commonly exceeding $100,000, according to Salary.com and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data - often without the significant debt burden associated with four-year degree programs. The skilled trades workforce faces additional pressure from an aging workforce: an industry-wide labor shortage assessment by Skillwork estimates that for every 5 Baby Boomers retiring from the trades, only 2 younger workers are entering - a deficit that TradeSchoolGo.com hopes to help close.

Availability

TradeSchoolGo.com is live today at www.TradeSchoolGo.com. The platform is free for prospective students to use.

About Trade School Go, Inc.

Trade School Go, Inc. (OTCID: TAPM) (f/k/a Tapinator, Inc.) operates TradeSchoolGo.com, an AI-powered trade school discovery platform connecting prospective students with accredited vocational training programs across the United States. The platform leverages advanced AI technology to provide comprehensive information about trade schools, programs, licensing requirements, and career outcomes. For more information, visit www.tradeschoolgo.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe," "aim," "goal," "seek," "plan," "feel," "focus," "hope," "opinion," "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "target," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, our (i) aim to eliminate the guesswork in finding trade school programs and empower students, career-changers, and veterans to fast-track into high-demand, competitive-paying skilled trades, (ii) our seeking to connect aspiring students with accredited training programs and real employment outcomes across the United States through our next-generation trade school discovery platform, (iii) our belief our AI-powered vocational platform will help connect prospective students with accredited trade school programs across the nation, (iv) our seeking to provide high school graduates looking for a better path, adults ready to pivot careers, or veterans transitioning to civilian life the ability to efficiently and quickly find the right vocational school, program and opportunity, and (v) our seeking to connect students with trade school programs across dozens of disciplines - from electricians and welders to dental technicians and drone pilots - through our matchmaking platform. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our future results, performance, or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include but are not limited to: our ability to successfully execute on our new strategic direction; market acceptance of our products and services; competition; regulatory changes affecting the vocational education industry; and general economic conditions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as required by law. The quoting and trading of the Company's common stock on the OTC Marketplace is often thin and characterized by wide fluctuations in trading prices, due to many factors that may have little to do with the Company's operations or business prospects. As a result, there may be volatility in the market price of the shares of the Company's common stock for reasons unrelated to operating performance. Moreover, the OTC Marketplace is not a stock exchange, and trading of securities on it is often more sporadic than trading of securities listed on a national securities exchange. Accordingly, stockholders may have difficulty reselling any of their shares.

###

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289623

Source: Trade School Go, Inc. (f/k/a Tapinator, Inc.)
Company Expands National Distribution Capabilities Out of Greenville Hub

MOUNT VERNON, NY AND GREENVILLE, SC / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / Bona Fide Masks Corp. (Bona Fide Masks), part of the Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. (Ball Chain) family of companies, will officially begin shipping orders from its new warehouse facility in Greenville, South Carolina on Wednesday, March 25.

New Bona Fide Masks 50,000 square foot distribution warehouse located in Greenville, South Carolina.

This expansion marks a major milestone for both Bona Fide Masks and Ball Chain, reinforcing the long-term corporate commitment to the respiratory protection market and continued investment in growth, logistics, and customer service. The new Greenville facility will significantly enhance fulfillment speed, increase inventory capacity, and improve nationwide distribution efficiency-allowing Bona Fide Masks to better serve its rapidly growing customer base.

"This is a pivotal moment for our company," said Bill Taubner, President of Bona Fide Masks and Ball Chain. "Launching shipping operations in Greenville strengthens our infrastructure and allows us to deliver faster, more reliable service to customers across the country. It also reflects our strong and ongoing commitment to our mask customers."

Bona Fide Masks is widely recognized as The Trusted Source for authentic, high-quality respiratory protection. The company is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Powecom KN95 masks, one of the most respected and widely used KN95 brands in the market. Through strict quality control, authentication processes, and direct sourcing, Bona Fide Masks provides customers with genuine, certified products they can rely on. The new warehouse further supports this mission by improving product availability and reducing shipping times, particularly for high-demand items such as Powecom KN95 masks.

"Our customers depend on us for authenticity, consistency, and speed," added Mr. Taubner. "With this new facility, we are doubling down on our promise to be The Trusted Source for protective masks in the United States."

About Bona Fide Masks

Bona Fide Masks is a leading distributor of premium respiratory protection products and the exclusive U.S. distributor of Powecom KN95 masks. Known as The Trusted Source, the company is dedicated to providing authentic, certified masks with a focus on quality, transparency, and customer satisfaction.

About Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Mount Vernon, New York, Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer of ball chain and related accessories. A fifth-generation family-owned and operated business, Ball Chain proudly manufactures in the USA and operates multiple divisions serving diverse markets. With divisions including LogoTags - the USA's leading custom challenge coin company, and ShimmerScreen, the company remains committed to innovation, American manufacturing, and delivering high-quality products to customers worldwide.

Media Contact:

Bill Taubner

President

Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc./Bona Fide Masks Corp.

914-664-7500, ext. 120

914-720-3164

bill@ballchain.com

SOURCE: Bona Fide Masks

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/consumer-and-retail-products/bona-fide-masks-launches-new-shipping-effort-from-recently-acquired-so-1151002
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - SATO Technologies Corp. (TSXV: SATO) (OTCQB: CCPUF) ("SATO" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated March 16, 2026, it has successfully closed the second and final tranche of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering"). Aggregate gross proceeds from the first and second tranches of the Offering totaled $1,375,173.82.

The Offering was supported by new strategic investors, including Zac Smith and Jacob Smith, recognized leaders in digital infrastructure and cloud computing.

In connection with the closing of the second tranche, the Company issued 7,965,370 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.06375 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of approximately $507,792.

As part of this transaction and the Company's AI infrastructure development program, SATO welcomes Zac Smith and Jacob Smith as new shareholders and advisors. Zac and Jacob are digital infrastructure veterans who co-founded bare metal startup Packet (acquired by Equinix for $335M in 2020) and now Datum, an open network cloud for AI.

Their experience in automated compute, developer ecosystems, and enterprise go-to-market adds strategic depth as SATO continues to enhance and diversify its existing digital infrastructure platform, including the development of AI-optimized compute capabilities that complement its established operations.

The Offering supports SATO's continued build-out of its digital infrastructure platform, including the development of high-performance AI compute capacity alongside its ongoing cryptocurrency mining operations, all powered by renewable energy in Quebec.

Each Unit issued in connection with the second tranche of the Offering consists of one common share (a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.085 per Common Share during the first year following the date of issuance, and $0.10 per Common Share thereafter, until March 23, 2031.

In connection with the Offering, the Company issued finder's warrants ("Finder Warrants") to eligible persons equal to 6% of the number of Units sold by such persons. The Finder Warrants are exercisable at a price of $0.10 per share until March 23, 2031. No cash finder's fees or other commissions were paid in connection with the Offering.

The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. Consistent with its capital management strategy, the Company intends to prioritize revenues from its cryptocurrency mining operations and existing cash flows for ongoing operational needs, with Offering proceeds deployed to supplement such funding and support broader corporate purposes as management deems appropriate. The Company retains full discretion as to the allocation, timing, and prioritization of the use of proceeds described herein.

The Offered Securities were offered and sold by way of private placement: (a) in all provinces and territories of Canada pursuant to applicable prospectus exemptions; (b) in the United States to accredited investors in reliance on exemptions from registration under Rule 506(b) of Regulation D under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, without general solicitation or advertising; and (c) in other jurisdictions on a private placement basis in compliance with applicable securities laws and without requiring any prospectus or registration filing. All securities issued under the Offering are subject to a four-month and one-day statutory hold period in Canada in accordance with applicable securities laws. Securities issued to investors in the United States are subject to resale restrictions under applicable U.S. securities laws.

Certain insiders of the Company participated in the Offering, which participation constitutes a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Under the final tranche of the Offering, insiders of the Company subscribed for an aggregate of 476,547 Units for gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $30,380. The Company is relying on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 set out in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a), respectively, as the fair market value of the securities issued to insiders, and the consideration paid therefor, did not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization, as calculated in accordance with MI 61-101.

The Offering remains subject to the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

"We are pleased to close this financing, which represents another step in expanding and strengthening our digital infrastructure platform," said Romain Nouzareth, CEO of SATO Technologies. "As we advance our development of AI-optimized compute capabilities in Quebec, bringing on Zac and Jacob-who have built and scaled foundational infrastructure platforms used globally-adds immediate depth to our execution. We are enhancing our high-performance, renewable-powered infrastructure to support emerging AI workloads alongside our existing operations, and their involvement reinforces both our strategy and long-term positioning."

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the Securities in the United States. The Securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About SATO

SATO, founded in 2017, is a publicly listed digital infrastructure company transitioning from cryptocurrency mining to AI compute. The Company currently operates a 20 MW data center in Quebec powered by 100% renewable hydroelectricity, with plans to develop AI factory capacity across multiple sites. The Company is listed on TSXV: SATO & OTCQB: CCPUF. To learn more about SATO, visit www.bysato.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

This news release contains 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. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements regarding: the intended use of proceeds, and the receipt of all required approvals, including final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations based on information available at the time of this news release and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the TSX Venture Exchange may not approve the Offering; the proceeds of the Offering may not be used as currently anticipated; volatility in digital asset markets (including fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin and other digital assets and the economics of cryptocurrency mining); general market conditions; and other factors outside the Company's control. Although the Company believes that the assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve inherent uncertainties and risks. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, 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.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289627

Source: SATO Technologies Corp.
Co-founder Patricia Horotan to lead AI and product strategy and continue deep client engagement as Chief Strategy Officer. David Nable appointed Chief Executive Officer to accelerate operational growth and platform expansion.

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlueMatrix, the global leader in capital markets content publishing technology, today announced it is strengthening its leadership team to scale its platform and accelerate its evolution into core infrastructure for AI-driven research workflows. Co-founder Patricia Horotan, who has led BlueMatrix for 27 years, will focus on AI capabilities and long-term product strategy as Chief Strategy Officer and remain deeply engaged with clients and partners. BlueMatrix has appointed David Nable as Chief Executive Officer to scale operations and expand the platform globally.

BlueMatrix is positioned to capitalize on a critical inflection point in capital markets research. As AI reshapes how research is consumed on the buy-side, questions around attribution, intellectual property, entitlements, and usage visibility have become increasingly urgent for research producers. BlueMatrix operates at the infrastructure layer where research is authored, structured, permissioned, and distributed, enabling sell-side firms to participate in AI-driven workflows while preserving control, attribution, and transparency. The company's position at the center of the research ecosystem makes it uniquely positioned to solve these challenges as the industry transforms.

Horotan will remain central to product vision and client relationships as Chief Strategy Officer, working directly with BlueMatrix's largest clients and partners to shape the platform's AI capabilities during a period of significant industry change. Nable has extensive buy-side and sell-side experience and will focus on execution, scaling, and operational growth, combining continuity of strategic vision with accelerated expansion.

"We've spent 27 years building BlueMatrix to sit at the infrastructure layer where research is created, structured, permissioned, and distributed," said Horotan. "As AI becomes embedded in investment workflows, that infrastructure role becomes more critical and more complex. I will be focused on working with our clients to ensure research moves through AI systems with the attribution, control, and transparency they need, and on building the product capabilities that make that possible. This structure lets me concentrate on those relationships and that product vision while David drives our operational growth."

Nable brings deep expertise in financial technology infrastructure and investment workflows. He most recently served as President of Client and Commercial at Arcesium, where he spent 10 years leading global go-to-market strategies and commercial operations. Prior to Arcesium, he was Head of U.S. Sales for Credit Suisse Prime Fund Services and spent nine years at Goldman Sachs in sales and client management roles across Prime Brokerage and Fund Administration.

"AI is already becoming embedded in buy-side investment workflows, which creates significant opportunities but also real challenges for research producers," said Nable. "As research moves into AI systems, questions around attribution, intellectual property, and entitlements will only become more important. BlueMatrix's role in the ecosystem is both critical and evolving, and I'm excited to work with Patricia and the team to accelerate our transformation."

About BlueMatrix:

BlueMatrix is the global leader in capital markets content publishing technology, trusted by over 1,000 financial institutions. Its secure platform streamlines authoring, compliance, and distribution - driving smarter, faster collaboration across capital markets. Founded in 1999 and backed by Thoma Bravo, BlueMatrix operates from offices in Durham (HQ), New York, London, Paris, Edinburgh, Auckland, and Timisoara.

Media Contact:

James Setzer

Head of Marketing - BlueMatrix

james.setzer@staff.bluematrix.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - UberDoc Health Technologies Corp. (CSE: APPT) ("UberDoc" or the "Company"), an innovative healthcare platform empowering patients to connect with top physicians directly and without the wait, announced that its common shares have commenced trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange ("FSE") under the ticker symbol 4KL0.

The Frankfurt listing follows the Company's recent listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange on March 18, 2026, and provides European and international investors with direct access to UberDoc shares through one of Europe's largest stock exchanges.

"Listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is an important step in broadening our investor base beyond North America," said Sean Kearney, CEO of UberDoc. "Healthcare is a global challenge, and the demand for transparent, patient-first models is not limited to the U.S. This listing gives international investors the ability to participate in what we are building as we scale access to direct-pay specialist care across the country."

UberDoc was founded by physician and surgeon Dr. Paula Muto, who experienced firsthand the barriers that referrals, insurance authorization, and long wait times create for both patients and doctors. The Company's digital platform enables healthcare consumers to book appointments directly with more than 5,000 physicians and specialists across 55 specialties in the U.S. at transparent, upfront prices, with no referrals required.

Additional information on UberDoc's FSE listing is available at: https://live.deutsche-boerse.com/equity/uberdoc-health-t-o-n .

About Uberdoc

UberDoc (CSE: APPT) (FSE: 4KL0) is an innovative healthcare marketplace connecting patients with top physicians with no referral, no insurance barriers, and no hidden costs. With more than 5,000 specialist physicians and clinicians across 55 specialties in the U.S., UberDoc empowers patients to access care quickly and affordably while giving doctors greater control over their time, revenue, and practice growth.

UberDoc is not owned by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Uber Technologies, Inc. The company is registered in Vancouver, B.C., with its U.S. operations in Boston, MA.

For more information, visit www.uber-docs.com or invest.uber-docs.com

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's business plans, growth strategy, expansion into new markets, anticipated OTCQB listing, and expected benefits of its listing on the FSE. Forward-looking information is based on management's current expectations and assumptions and is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289665

Source: UberDoc
MONACO, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From the preservation of ocean species to exploration on the Moon, from the study of underwater shipwrecks off the coast of Majorca to the oceans in space. At the Yacht Club de Monaco, explorers, scientists and prominent figures gathered to share their experiences at a dedicated event called 'A Day of Exploration'. They represent a diverse range of careers and approaches, united by a common goal: to better understand the world in order to better assess its vulnerability.

Organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco in partnership with The Explorers Club of New York, the event is part of the program of the first Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachting Rendezvous, running until 24 March. Among the personalities taking part in the event were record-breaking marine biologist Sylvia Earle and world-renowned photographer Steve McCurry.

"We partnered with the Yacht Club de Monaco, and the reason that's important is that you have two institutions that are truly outstanding. The Yacht Club de Monaco is the capital of advanced yachting technology and The Explorers Club is the pre-eminent exploration society. So, we share a common interest: making the world a better place. We bring scientists together here in Monaco, and not only do they present on stage, but because so many of them meet each other here, this is also where collaborations and new ideas emerge," explained Richard Wiese, president of The Explorers Club. "Here we have artists, biologists, musicians - even a dentist who studies narwhals. The goal of conferences like this is not only to communicate stories, but also to offer different perspectives," he added.

"To become an explorer, I think the number one thing is curiosity. Everyone should keep the curiosity of children, because everyone has the capacity to be an explorer - you just have to find that inner child and keep going," said world-renowned American marine biologist, oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle. Known as 'Her Deepness'. Earle was the first female chief scientist of NOAA, the U.S. federal agency within the Department of Commerce that monitors, predicts and researches changes in Earth's weather, climate, oceans and coasts.

"We're at a crossroads. There are now eight billion people on Earth, and the planet isn't getting any larger. We've consumed so much of the wild. At the same time, we have cities, languages and knowledge that are unprecedented. That's the good news. But there has been a cost. We're beginning to recognize that we need to rethink how we treat the natural world.

That's what this conference I'm participating in here in Monaco - with the Prince Albert II Foundation and The Explorers Club - is about: coming together to hear stories, deliberate and ultimately find solutions," she added.

The American photojournalist Steve McCurry, famous for his iconic images from around the world, discussed the connection between travel, creativity and design with Filippo Ricci, representative of the Florentine fashion house Stefano Ricci.

"I've been travelling for the last 50 years, and many of the places I've visited are also places that Stefano Ricci has drawn inspiration from. So, we share a kind of connection through the places we have in common," said McCurry.

For his part, Filippo Ricci said it was an honor to collaborate with a legend such as McCurry, while reflecting on the concept of exploration from the perspective of the Italian fashion maison.

Another project that attracted significant public interest was presented by National Geographic Explorer and conservation scientist Arzukan Askins, focusing on sharks in the Maldives. The project examines several species, from tiger sharks to great hammerhead sharks.

"For our work we use many different methods. We collect environmental DNA samples, conduct photo-identification monitoring - taking pictures of sharks and cataloguing individuals - and also take measurements. In addition, we deploy deep-sea cameras to explore the deep ocean and capture images of sharks living there," explained Askins, who works with the NGO MIADU (Maldives Shark Research Program).

The program will culminate tomorrow, Tuesday 24 March, with the 30th Captains Forum, organized in collaboration with Oceanco, MB92 Group, Jutheau Husson, and ICON Yachts, focusing on tangible solutions. Entitled How to follow heroes: the intersection of science, yachting and exploration, it brings together international experts in exploration, scientific research and yachting. And the YCM Explorer Awards ceremony, in collaboration with UBS and Bombardier, which will honor superyacht owners committed to advancing knowledge and protecting the planet through an exploration-driven approach to yachting.

For more information:

Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/032f2c40-5e02-4211-aebe-5ae26c555adb
Vancouver, British Columbia and Las Vegas, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Fairchild Gold Corp. (TSXV: FAIR) (FSE: Y4Y) (OTCQB: FCHDF) ("Fairchild" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement dated March 23, 2026 (the "Purchase Agreement") with Emergent Metals Corp. ("EMR"), as well as both parties' respective subsidiaries, to acquire the Golden Arrow Property (the "Property") as previously announced on September 29, 2025 (the "Transaction").

As consideration for the Transaction, EMR shall receive, upon closing, a combination of cash, common shares, net smelter returns royalty and a senior secured note (the "Note"), as follows:

USD$600,000 in cash, of which $250,000 was previously provided in the form of a non-refundable deposit;

12,500,000 common shares;

USD $3,500,000 principal amount under the Note, subject to an early repayment mechanism pursuant to which (i) the Company shall repay USD $500,000 of the principal amount immediately upon the closing of a financing by the Company for gross proceeds of not less than USD $3,000,000, and (ii) the Company shall repay USD $2,500,000 of the principal amount within six (6) months following the Closing Date, upon which the remaining balance of the Note shall be forfeited and the security interest discharged; and

A 0.5% net smelter returns royalty on the Property, subject to standard buyback provisions;

The Company is also required to fund ~US$40,000 reclamation bond upon the closing of the Transaction.

All common shares to be issued as consideration are subject to a statutory four-month hold period in accordance with applicable securities laws and policies of the TSXV. No finder's fees will be paid in connection with the Transaction.

The Transaction constitutes a Reviewable Acquisition and a Fundamental Acquisition as defined in Policy 5.3 - Acquisitions and Dispositions of Non-Cash Assets ("Policy 5.3") of the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. ("TSXV") and, as such, completion of the Transaction remains subject to shareholder approval and the approval of the TSXV. The transaction will close once TSXV gives conditional approval, all necessary materials are provided, and all closing conditions are met.

The Company intends to obtain disinterested shareholders approval by way of written consent from holders of more than 50 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company.

As required by the TSXV, a technical report (the "Technical Report") on the Property entitled "2026 Technical Report on the Golden Arrow Project, Nye County, Nevada, U.S.A" prepared in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") has been filed and is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The authors and qualified persons (as defined in NI 43-101) for the Technical Report are Michael S. Lindholm, C.P.G. and Jack McPartland, M.M.S.A. the Technical Report is subject to the approval of the TSXV.

Additional Information

The Company will provide further details in respect of the Transaction in due course by way of one or more press releases.

The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

About Fairchild Gold Corp.

Fairchild Gold Corp. is a public company engaged in the business of mineral exploration and development of copper, gold and silver assets in mining-friendly jurisdictions across North America.

The company is committed to identifying and developing high-quality resource properties in Nevada with strong geological resource potential. Its strategy focuses on creating long-term shareholder value through disciplined exploration, strategic partnerships, and responsible development practices.

Fairchild Gold's recently assembled trinity of Nevada properties includes Nevada Titan, Fairchild's flagship property, located in the Goodsprings Mining District, Nevada, an area known for historical high-grade copper-gold-PGEs mining. In more recent times, Nevada Titan was also highlighted for its near surface Antimony and Cobalt potential. That was followed by a MOU towards the acquisition of the Golden Arrow property in the prolific Walker Lane Shear Zone, encompassing two principal resource areas, Gold Coin and Hidden Hill, with a combined measured + indicated and inferred resource base outlined in an NI 43-101 report written by Mine Development Associates.

Finally, Fairchild's Carlin Queen property, an advanced-stage gold-silver project located at the intersection of the Carlin and Midas-Hollister gold trends. Fairchild Gold is leveraging the potential of all these three properties by utilizing the outstanding mineral resources support Nevada provides.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain information 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 potential of the Property and strategic plans, including but not limited to the completion of the Transaction, timely receipt of all necessary approvals, including any requisite approval of the TSXV and the shareholders of the Company, exploration plans of the Company, and corporate and technical 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. For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forward-looking information made in this news release, see the Company's most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis and financial statements and other documents filed by the Company with the Canadian securities commissions and the discussion of risk factors set out therein. Such documents are available at www.sedarplus.ca under the Company's profile and on the Company's website, https://fairchildgold.com/. 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/289689

Source: Fairchild Gold Corp.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - BrandPilot AI Inc. (CSE: BPAI) (OTCQB: BPAIF) ("BrandPilot" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the launch of its Free ClickRadar Traffic Audit, a diagnostic tool designed to help businesses identify invalid and non-human traffic impacting their digital advertising campaigns.

The ClickRadar audit analyzes advertising traffic patterns to reveal automated activity, low-quality traffic sources, and economically ineffective interactions that can distort performance metrics and consume advertising budgets without generating potential customers. As automated agents, bots, and AI-driven browsing tools increasingly interact with advertising systems, marketers are facing growing challenges in maintaining data integrity and campaign efficiency.

"Invalid traffic quietly erodes advertising performance across the digital ecosystem," said Brandon Mina, CEO of BrandPilot AI. "Our ClickRadar audit gives brands and agencies the visibility they need to understand how much automated traffic may be affecting their campaigns and what steps can be taken to protect marketing budgets."

Key Benefits of BrandPilot AI's ClickRadar Traffic Audit:

Unlock Growth Budget: By identifying wasted advertising spend associated with invalid traffic, marketers can redirect recovered budget toward high-performing campaigns and growth initiatives.

By identifying wasted advertising spend associated with invalid traffic, marketers can redirect recovered budget toward high-performing campaigns and growth initiatives. Detection of Invalid and Non-Human Traffic: Identify automated activity that may inflate engagement signals and distort campaign performance metrics.

Identify automated activity that may inflate engagement signals and distort campaign performance metrics. Improved Data Integrity: Gain clearer insight into the quality of traffic interacting with advertising campaigns and marketing assets.

Gain clearer insight into the quality of traffic interacting with advertising campaigns and marketing assets. Actionable Traffic Intelligence: Understand which traffic sources may be consuming advertising budgets without generating genuine customer engagement.

The ClickRadar audit is designed for brands and agencies investing meaningfully in digital advertising across paid search, paid social, and programmatic media. By providing a clear diagnostic of traffic quality, ClickRadar helps marketing teams better understand how automated activity may be affecting campaign performance and ROI.

Masterclass: Understanding the Impact of Invalid Traffic

BrandPilot AI will also host a webinar on April 14, 2026, where marketers can learn more about the growing impact of automated traffic and how traffic validation can improve campaign performance and marketing efficiency.

The session will explore how bots and automated agents interact with advertising systems, how invalid traffic can distort marketing data, and practical strategies brands can implement to protect their advertising budgets.

About BrandPilot AI

BrandPilot AI (CSE: BPAI) is a performance marketing technology company headquartered in Toronto, focused on identifying and eliminating inefficiencies in digital advertising for global enterprise brands. The Company's core capabilities include AdAi, which eliminates cannibalistic branded search spend that inflates costs without driving incremental value; ClickRadar, which compiles forensic bot-detection reports to reclaim refunds associated with invalid traffic; and SearchIQ, which enables brands to measure and optimize their presence across generative AI search platforms.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the business of BPAI. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", and similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected adoption and effectiveness of the ClickRadar capability and traffic audit program, anticipated demand for traffic validation and advertising efficiency solutions, the Company's ability to expand enterprise awareness and engagement through initiatives such as the ClickRadar Traffic Audit and educational webinars, and the expected benefits of the Company's technologies in helping advertisers identify invalid traffic, improve campaign performance, and protect advertising budgets. 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 and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: variability in advertiser adoption of ClickRadar and related diagnostic tools; the evolving nature of automated traffic, bots, and AI-driven browsing technologies; changes in digital advertising platforms, policies, or market conditions; competitive developments within marketing technology and traffic validation solutions; and the Company's ability to successfully commercialize and scale its performance validation capabilities. Although management believes the assumptions underlying forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with such statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update them except as required by law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this 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/289690

Source: BrandPilot AI Inc.
Detroit, Michigan--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTCID: AITXD) (the "Company"), a global leader in AI-driven security and productivity solutions, along with its wholly owned subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD), today announced that its new channel partner, Tundra Secure Services, has secured an order for a ROSA device for deployment in Anchorage, Alaska, expected to be deployed over the next few weeks. The system will be used to deter trespassing and loitering, marking another expansion into extreme weather environments where security infrastructure is expected to perform without interruption.

Artist's depiction of a ROSA autonomous security device operating in a snow-covered industrial environment, illustrating RAD's continued expansion into harsh weather conditions including deployments in Alaska.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5243/289595_aitx-rad-rosa-tundra-260324-1920x1080.jpg

RAD has continued to expand its presence in regions known for extreme weather conditions, building on prior deployments across Alaska and other northern territories where environmental factors routinely challenge outdoor security infrastructure. As previously reported, RAD's RIO units have demonstrated sustained performance through extended periods of snow, ice, and limited sunlight, reinforcing the Company's position that its solutions are engineered for real world conditions rather than ideal environments. This latest ROSA order reflects growing confidence among regional partners and end users that RAD devices can deliver consistent, autonomous security operations in climates where reliability is not optional.

"Security operations do not pause for weather, and neither can the technology supporting them," said Troy McCanna, Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Security Officer at RAD. "We continue to see strong demand in regions where environmental conditions are unforgiving. Our systems are designed to operate in those realities, not avoid them, and that is why we are gaining traction in places like Alaska where others often struggle to deliver consistent performance."

"We operate in an environment where equipment has to perform every day, regardless of conditions," said Caleb Day, CEO of Tundra Secure Services. "RAD's technology gives us confidence that we can deliver reliable, autonomous security solutions to our clients here in Alaska. This ROSA deployment is an important first step, and we see significant opportunity to expand as we continue to evaluate performance in our operating environment."

ROSA is a multiple award-winning, compact, self-contained, portable, security and communication solution that can be installed and activated in about 15 minutes. ROSA's AI-driven security analytics include human, firearm, vehicle detection, license plate recognition, responsive digital signage and audio messaging, and complete integration with RAD's software suite notification and autonomous response library. Two-way communication is optimized for cellular, including live video from ROSA's high-resolution, full-color, always-on cameras. RAD has published seven Case Studies detailing how ROSA has helped eliminate instances of theft, trespassing and loitering at construction sites, mobile home parks, retail centers, hospital campuses, multi-family communities across the country.

RAD invites security professionals and current and prospective channel partners to experience its full portfolio of solutions in action at ISC West 2026. Attendees will have the opportunity to see live demonstrations, speak directly with RAD leadership and product experts, and learn how autonomous security deployments are being proven, expanded, and scaled across real world environments. Meetings may be scheduled in advance or coordinated onsite throughout the event.

About Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. (AITX)

AITX, through its primary subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD), is redefining the nearly $50 billion (US) security and guarding services industry1 through its broad lineup of innovative, AI-driven Solutions-as-a-Service business model. RAD solutions are specifically designed to provide cost savings to businesses of between 35%-80% when compared to the industry's existing and costly manned security guarding and monitoring model. RAD delivers these cost savings via a suite of stationary and mobile robotic solutions that complement, and at times, directly replace the need for human personnel in environments better suited for machines. All RAD technologies, AI-based analytics and software platforms are developed in-house.

The Company's operations and internal controls have been validated through successful completion of its SOC 2 Type 2 audit, which is a formal, independent audit that evaluates a service organization's internal controls for handling customer data and determines if the controls are not only designed properly but also operating effectively to protect customer data. This audit reinforces the Company's credibility with enterprise and government clients who require strict data protection and security compliance.

RAD is led by Steve Reinharz, CEO/CTO and founder of AITX and RAD, who brings decades of experience in the security services industry. Reinharz serves as chair of the Security Industry Association's (SIA) Autonomous Solutions Working Group and as a member of the SIA Board of Directors. The RAD team also draws on extensive expertise across the sector, including Mark Folmer, CPP, PSP, President of RAD and Chair of the ASIS International North American Regional Board of Directors and Troy McCanna, former FBI Special Agent and RAD's Chief Security Officer. Their combined backgrounds in security industry leadership, law enforcement, and robotics innovation reinforce RAD's ability to deliver proven, practical, and disruptive solutions to its clients.

RAD has a prospective sales pipeline of over 35 Fortune 500 companies and numerous other client opportunities. RAD expects to continue to attract new business as it converts its existing sales opportunities into deployed clients generating a recurring revenue stream. Each Fortune 500 client has the potential of making numerous reorders over time.

AITX is an innovator in the delivery of artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower organizations to gain new insight, solve complex challenges and fuel new business ideas. Through its next-generation robotic product offerings, AITX's RAD, RAD-R, RAD-M and RAD-G companies help organizations streamline operations, increase ROI, and strengthen business. AITX technology improves the simplicity and economics of patrolling and guard services and allows experienced personnel to focus on more strategic tasks. Customers augment the capabilities of existing staff and gain higher levels of situational awareness, all at drastically reduced cost. AITX solutions are well suited for use in multiple industries such as enterprises, government, transportation, critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare. To learn more, visit www.aitx.ai, www.radsecurity.com , www.stevereinharz.com, www.raddog.ai, www.radgroup.ai, www.saramonitoring.ai, and www.radlightmyway.com, or follow Steve Reinharz on X @SteveReinharz.

CAUTIONARY DISCLOSURE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information contained in this publication does not constitute an offer to sell or solicit an offer to buy securities of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. (the "Company"). The information provided herein is believed to be accurate and reliable, however the Company makes no representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness. The Company has no obligation to provide the recipient with additional updated information. No information in this publication should be interpreted as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future revenues, results of operations, or stock price.

For purposes of the Company's disclosures, "Artificial Intelligence" refers to machine-based systems designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy that, for a given set of human defined objectives, can make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments. In the context of the Company's business, Artificial Intelligence is deployed primarily within the security services and property management industries to support functions such as detection, analysis, prioritization, communication, and response related to safety, security, and operational events.

The Company delivers these capabilities principally through its SARA (Speaking Autonomous Responsive Agent) platform, which serves as the Company's primary agentic artificial intelligence system. SARA is designed to receive and process video, audio, and other sensor data, apply automated analysis and inference, and support actions in accordance with predefined operational objectives and human oversight.

Further note that the Company's Board of Directors oversees the Company's deployment of Artificial Intelligence.

###

1 https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/security-services-industry/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289595

Source: Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc.
Emburse recognized for purpose-built, AI-powered innovation that brings clarity and control to corporate spend

Emburse, delivering Expense Intelligence through AI-powered travel and spend orchestration software, today announced it has been named to Fast Company's 2026 list of Most Innovative Companies. This year's list shines a spotlight on businesses that are shaping industry and culture through leading innovations. Alongside the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, Fast Company recognizes 720 honorees across 59 sectors and regions. Emburse earned the #13 standing in the Enterprise category.

"Innovation only matters when it delivers real-world impact," said Marne Martin, CEO of Emburse. "At Emburse, we're helping finance leaders make better decisions by bringing clarity, control, and confidence to how organizations manage spend. Being recognized by Fast Company validates our belief that practical, human-centered innovation grounded in intelligence, governance, and accountability is what modern teams need to move faster and lead with confidence."

Each year, Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list honors organizations that are not only advancing technology, but reshaping industries and influencing culture through bold thinking and meaningful execution. Emburse was recognized for its AI-driven approach to modernizing how organizations manage and optimize corporate spend: helping finance teams move from reactive cost control to proactive, strategic decision-making across the enterprise.

As organizations face growing pressure to manage spend amid increasing vendor complexity, and rapid AI adoption, Emburse has emerged as a category-defining leader by embedding intelligence directly into travel, expense, accounts payable, and payments workflows. Through Emburse Expense Intelligence, the company delivers real-time visibility, predictive insights, and dynamic policy controls that enable organizations to guide spend decisions before money leaves the business; balancing speed with governance and innovation with accountability.

Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year. To determine honorees, Fast Company's editors and writers review companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world.

"Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is about spotlighting organizations that don't just adapt to change-they drive it," said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "The companies we honor this year are redefining what leadership looks like in 2026, pairing bold ideas with measurable impact and turning breakthrough innovation into real-world value. They are setting the pace for their industries and offering a blueprint for what sustained innovation can achieve."

The full list of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies honorees can now be found here and on newsstands in the Spring 2026 issue.

Fast Company will host the Most Innovative Companies Summit and Gala for honorees on May 19 in New York City. The summit features a day of inspiring content, followed by a creative black-tie gala including networking, a seated dinner, and an honoree presentation.

About Emburse

Trusted globally by more than 12 million finance leaders, travel managers, and professionals, Emburse serves over 20,000 organizations in 180+ countries and territories including Global 2000 enterprises, SMBs, public sector agencies, and nonprofits.

By proactively managing and accurately validating spend, Emburse ensures robust financial governance, enhanced compliance, and unsurpassed visibility into spend behaviors all while dramatically streamlining the process for every employee.

Emburse Expense Intelligence is our AI-powered travel and spend orchestration platform. It transforms reactive expense management into infrastructure for strategic growth. Powered by Emburse AI, it orchestrates corporate spend across travel booking, reimbursements, AP, and payments, embedding dynamic policy controls and predictive insights directly into workflows. This real-time approach empowers organizations to adapt quickly, reduce risk, and guide spend before money leaves the business.

Emburse Expense Intelligence is more than a feature -it's a unified software platform that enables finance teams to move from administrative oversight to strategic spend control.

To learn more about Emburse, visit www.emburse.com and follow @emburse.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324312663/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Brianna Bruinsma

Firebrand Communications for Emburse

415.848.9175

emburse@firebrand.marketing
Travel Outlook Survey Findings:

International and domestic travel plans

This year's results show continued demand for travel in 2026, with high interest in both international and domestic trips.

93% of respondents plan to travel internationally 38% of international travelers plan to take three or more trips

88% of respondents plan to travel domestically - a 3% increase from last year's survey 53% of domestic travelers plan to take three or more trips



Top destinations

The most popular destinations respondents plan to travel to next in 2026 include:

Italy - 1st time being ranked #1 Canada Mexico France Spain

Travel planning support: advisors and AI

Findings reveal travelers are relying on expert guidance from both human and digital sources.

41% of respondents use a travel advisor or agent for at least some of their trips

33% of respondents say they are likely to use AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, etc.) to help plan travel in 2026

Among those likely to use AI, travelers expect to rely on it for:

Recommendations - 75% of respondents

Itinerary planning - 70% of respondents

Discovery and ideas - 69% of respondents

Comparisons - 55% of respondents

Booking - 13% of respondents

"Our survey results show that AI is becoming an increasingly valuable tool in the discovery phase of travel, but as travelers move closer to booking, confidence in the technology shifts. Travelers still rely on dependable brands and firsthand guidance and research for the most important decisions, like booking their accommodations and choosing their travel protection plan," said Justin Poehler, IMG Chief Commercial Officer.

Popular trips: urban and rural tourism

When asked about the types of trips travelers plan to take in 2026, the most popular responses were:

Urban tourism (visiting a major city or country) - 49% of respondents Rural tourism (exploring the countryside, nature-based experiences) - 39% of respondents Beach vacation - 38% of respondents Visiting family in another country - 32% of respondents

Trending types of travel: cruises and multigenerational

Travelers are showing renewed enthusiasm for cruising in 2026, as 30% of respondents say they plan to take a cruise, an 11% increase from last year's survey.

Multigenerational travel remains a popular way to travel in 2026. Results show that 33% of families have a domestic or international trip planned with multiple generations (children, parents, and grandparents, etc.).

Travel spending continues to grow

With many travelers planning multiple trips, 34% of respondents say they expect to spend more on travel in 2026 than they did in 2025, and 53% of respondents say they plan to spend roughly the same amount.

Top travel concerns

Consistent with previous years, travelers' leading concerns for 2026 continue to focus on health and potential disruptions before or during their trips. Respondents ranked their top concerns for 2026 as:

Getting sick or having an accident while at their destination Needing to cancel their trip before they depart Issues getting to or from their destination Needing to interrupt their trip while at their destination

"As the travel landscape evolves, travelers' core concerns remain consistent, with health issues and potential trip disruptions continuing to top the list year after year," said Poehler. "At IMG, we're continually listening to our customers and using their feedback to ensure we're offering best-in-class travel protection plans. And with more travelers relying on both travel advisors and AI tools to help plan their trips, it's important to make sure that travel protection is a part of that planning process, no matter where their travels take them."

About IMG (International Medical Group)

IMG (International Medical Group), a SiriusPoint company, is an award-winning global insurance benefits and assistance services company that has served millions of members worldwide since its founding in 1990. The preeminent provider of travel and health safety solutions, IMG offers a wide range of insurance programs, including international private medical insurance, travel medical insurance, and travel insurance, as well as enterprise services, including insurance administrative services and 24/7 emergency medical, security, and travel assistance. IMG's world-class services, combined with an extensive product portfolio, provide Global Peace of Mind for travelers, students, missionaries, marine crews, and other individuals or groups traveling, working, or living away from home. For more information, please visit www.imglobal.com.

Media Contact: Carly Kessler, IMG Communications Manager, carly.kessler@imglobal.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/456500/International_Medical_Group_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/img-travel-outlook-survey-reveals-2026-top-destinations-and-rising-use-of-ai-in-trip-planning-302722464.html
"A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough" is produced by Silverback Films and premieres globally on Netflix on April 17, providing an intimate look at a real-life gorilla dynasty with ties to Dian Fossey

ATLANTA, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the world's longest-running and largest organization dedicated to gorilla conservation, served as scientific advisors on the highly anticipated Netflix documentary "A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough."

More than six years in the making, the film draws on nearly six decades of research by the Fossey Fund and was produced by Silverback Films in association with Appian Way Productions and directed by Academy Award-winner James Reed, best known for "My Octopus Teacher."

Narrated by David Attenborough, "A Gorilla Story" is an intimate documentary following the remarkable history of the Pablo family of mountain gorillas living on the forested slopes of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. The group traces its roots to research first begun by pioneering primatologist Dian Fossey, whose groundbreaking work transformed the world's understanding of gorillas and helped spark global conservation efforts. Fossey's research famously inspired her book "Gorillas in the Mist," which was later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film starring Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey.

Pablo was originally observed as part of Dian Fossey's historic Group 5, one of the first gorilla groups she studied beginning in 1967. David Attenborough famously encountered the young Pablo up close while filming "Life on Earth" for the BBC in the 1970s. This playful gorilla grew up to become a dominant silverback and formed his own group. Through successive leadership, it would eventually grow to a record 65 individuals - the largest mountain gorilla group ever recorded.

"A Gorilla Story" traces Pablo's lineage and reveals the dramatic and deeply social lives of mountain gorillas, from family bonds and leadership struggles to everyday moments within the group. Since the Pablo group formed, it has been monitored by researchers from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, making it one of the longest continuously studied gorilla families in the world.

"We are thrilled to see the story of the Pablo family shared with a global audience," said Dr. Tara Stoinski, President, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. "Our teams have studied this group for decades, and that long-term research was essential to telling the full story of this family, dating back to Dian Fossey's time, and to interpret what viewers see on screen - from subtle social interactions to major life events. It's a powerful example of how sustained scientific research can bring extraordinary animal stories to life."

As advisors, the Fossey Fund provided field expertise, behavioral interpretation and unique insights from its decades of research on the Pablo family to help shape the film's narrative. Working closely with the production team, Fossey Fund scientists provided key logistical support and helped ensure that important moments captured on camera were accurately understood by translating complex behaviors into a compelling and authentic story about the lives of gorillas.

"A Gorilla Story" is a tribute to the complex and awe-inspiring lives of mountain gorillas, and it would not have been possible without the conservation and research efforts of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund," said Alastair Fothergill, co-director of Silverback Films and Executive Producer of the film. "The organization's decades of scientific knowledge allowed us to tell the full story of these gorillas in ways that would otherwise have been impossible."

Today, mountain gorillas represent one of conservation's rare success stories. Once pushed toward extinction, they are now the only great ape species whose population is increasing - a recovery made possible in part through the Fossey Fund's decades of sustained conservation, research and collaboration with local communities.

"A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough" premieres globally on Netflix on April 17. To learn more about the gorillas featured in the documentary, follow @savinggorillas on social media or visit gorillafund.org.

About The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is the world's longest-running and largest organization dedicated to gorilla conservation. Established in 1967 by famed primatologist Dian Fossey, the Fossey Fund works in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect and study critically endangered wild gorillas and their habitats, and to support the people who share the gorillas' forest home. For more, visit: gorillafund.org. Follow us on social @savinggorillas.

Attachments

Ubi from "A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough" (Ben Cherry / Silverback Films / Netflix)

Pablo lies on top of Sir David Attenborough (John Sparks / Nature Picture Library)

Ubwuzu from "A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough" (Ben Cherry / Silverback Films / Netflix)

Erika Archibald, Ph.D. earchibald@gorillafund.org Rivers Agency: publicrelations@riversagency.com 919-932-9985
Ucore highlights:

Ucore and Vulcan Elements executed a Memorandum of Understanding to build a domestic, secure rare earth magnet supply chain for defense and commercial applications.

Ucore will provide initial NdPr and Dy oxide samples to Vulcan this year, leading to a long-term commercial supply agreement beginning in 2027.

Together, Ucore and Vulcan Elements are onshoring an integrated rare earth magnet supply chain. Ucore's Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex will directly feed Vulcan's North Carolina manufacturing facilities.

Vulcan announced a $1.4 billion partnership with the United States Government to build the largest rare earth magnet factory in the world outside of China, with 10,000 metric tonnes of magnet manufacturing capacity.

Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) -Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) ("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding dated March 16, 2026 with Vulcan Elements Inc. ("Vulcan") to collaborate on the development of a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain for defense and commercial applications. Under the agreement, the parties intend to finalize a full commercial supply partnership whereby Ucore would supply Vulcan with NdPr oxide and Dy oxides at commercial scale beginning in 2027.

The collaboration aligns Ucore's demonstrated separation platform at its Commercial Demonstration Facility ("CDF") in Kingston, Ontario, and its planned Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex ("SMC") in Alexandria, Louisiana, with a leading American magnet manufacturer. Vulcan currently operates a commercial magnet manufacturing facility in Durham, North Carolina, and is expanding to a 10,000 tonne magnet manufacturing facility in Benson, North Carolina. The facility is enabled by a $1.4 billion partnership with the United States Government, including the Department of War and the Department of Commerce. In May 2025, Ucore announced an $18.4 million Award by the Department of War to develop its rare earth processing capabilities in Louisiana.

Ucore intends to make a portion of its planned Louisiana SMC capacity available to Vulcan beginning in 2027. The collaboration would create a direct commercial bridge from Ucore's demonstration-scale separation work in Kingston to commercial-scale production in Louisiana, while supporting Vulcan's manufacturing in North Carolina.

Pat Ryan, P.Eng., Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Ucore, stated:

"Vulcan is building exactly the kind of downstream magnet platform that the United States needs, and this partnership creates a winning commercial partnership that aligns Ucore's separation capability with an industry-leading U.S. manufacturer. Our collaboration will anchor a resilient allied rare earth magnet supply chain in the United States."

John Maslin, Chief Executive Officer of Vulcan Elements, commented:

"Since its inception, Vulcan Elements' mission has been to build a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain that can propel America into the 21st century and enable the next era of innovation and national security. Vulcan's partnership with Ucore is a milestone for both companies, and for the United States of America. Together, we're rebuilding a core industry that is critical for economic growth and national security."

This year, Ucore and Vulcan intend to advance initial production, testing protocols, purity targets, acceptance criteria, and other technical specifications in support of Vulcan's magnet manufacturing capability-leading to a longer-term commercial supply agreement.

#

About Ucore Rare Metals Inc.

Ucore is focused on rare- and critical-metal resources, extraction, beneficiation, and separation technologies with the potential for production, growth, and scalability. Ucore's vision and plan is to become a leading advanced technology company, providing best-in-class metal separation products and services to the mining and mineral extraction industry.

Through strategic partnerships, this plan includes disrupting the People's Republic of China's control of the North American REE supply chain through the near-term development of a heavy and light rare-earth processing facility in the US State of Louisiana, subsequent SMCs in Canada and Alaska and the longer-term development of Ucore's 100% controlled Bokan-Dotson Ridge Rare Heavy REE Project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, USA ("Bokan").

Ucore is listed on the TSXV under the trading symbol "UCU" and in the United States on the OTC Markets' OTCQX Best Market under the ticker symbol "UURAF."

For further information, please visit www.ucore.com.

About Vulcan Elements

Vulcan Elements manufactures sintered permanent neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets in the United States for critical defense and commercial applications. NdFeB magnets convert electricity into motion. They are essential components in almost every advanced machine and electronic device-from AI data centers and semiconductor fabrication equipment to satellites, drones, robotics, electric motors, and virtually all military platforms. Vulcan remains committed to advancing technological innovations, galvanizing America's manufacturing workforce, and collaborating with both public and private sector stakeholders to strengthen the domestic rare earth magnet supply chain.

For further information, please visit www.vulcanelements.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release (other than statements of historical facts) that address future business development, technological development and/or acquisition activities (including any related required financings), timelines, events, or developments that the Company is pursuing are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance or results, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

Regarding the disclosure in the press release above about government support for Ucore, the Company has assumed that the applicable projects (including each of the associated milestones) will be completed satisfactorily and in accordance with the respective agreements or letters of intent (as applicable) for such government support. For additional risks and uncertainties regarding the Company, its business activities, its ability to qualify for and receive any additional funding from any U.S. or Canadian government, the CDF and the aforementioned projects (generally), see the risk disclosure in the Company's MD&A for Q4-2025 (filed on SEDAR+ on May 18, 2025) (www.sedarplus.ca) as well as the risks described below.

Regarding the disclosure above in the "About Ucore Rare Metals Inc." section, the Company has assumed that it will be able to procure or retain additional partners and/or suppliers, in addition to Innovation Metals Corp. ("IMC"), as suppliers for Ucore's expected future SMCs. Ucore has also assumed that sufficient external funding will be found to continue and complete the ongoing research and development work required at the CDF and also later prepare a new National Instrument 43-101 technical report that demonstrates that Bokan is feasible and economically viable for the production of both REE and co-product metals and the then prevailing market prices based upon assumed customer offtake agreements. Ucore has also assumed that sufficient external funding will be secured to continue the development of the specific engineering plans for the SMCs and their construction and eventual commissioning and operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, without limitation: IMC failing to protect its intellectual property rights in RapidSX RapidSX failing to demonstrate commercial viability in large commercial-scale applications; Ucore not being able to procure additional key partners or suppliers for the SMCs; Ucore not being able to raise sufficient funds to fund the specific design and construction of the SMCs and/or the continued development of RapidSX adverse capital-market conditions; unexpected due-diligence findings; the emergence of alternative superior metallurgy and metal-separation technologies; the inability of Ucore and/or IMC to retain its key staff members; a change in the legislation in Louisiana or Alaska and/or in the support expressed by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) regarding the development of Bokan; the availability and procurement of any required interim and/or long-term financing that may be required; and general economic, market or business conditions.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined by the TSXV) accept 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/289691

Source: Ucore Rare Metals Inc.
Exploration Highlights

Two QIMC drill holes confirm hydrogen across structurally controlled zones

Hydrogen concentrations increase with depth across multiple intervals

Results support a fault-controlled, vertically persistent system

R2G2 model now supported by subsurface drilling data

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - First Atlas Resources Corp. (CSE: HHE) (OTC Pink: BTKRF) (FSE: 0NB0) ("First Atlas" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it had previously engaged Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. to support its natural hydrogen exploration efforts in Nova Scotia and, as part of that engagement, is formally incorporating QIMC's Reactivated Rift and Graben Geostructure (R2G2) exploration model into its program, following the release of successive drill results from QIMC's ongoing work at the West-Advocate project.

Successive QIMC Drill Results Strengthen Model Validation

QIMC has now reported results from multiple drill holes within the Cobequid-Chedabucto structural corridor, including DDH-26-01 and DDH-26-02, providing an expanding subsurface dataset that supports structurally controlled hydrogen systems (see QIMC press releases dated March 10, 2026, March 17,2026 and March 19, 2026).

DDH-26-01 identified hydrogen-bearing intervals associated with fault-related fracturing, with hydrogen concentrations exceeding the instrument's upper detection range of the GA5000 analyzer in multiple zones.

These observations were further reinforced by DDH-26-02, which returned the highest relative hydrogen concentrations observed in the program to date. Notably, hydrogen concentrations were observed to increase with depth, with elevated values continuing toward the end of the borehole.

The consistency of hydrogen occurrence and structural features across both drill holes supports a fault-controlled system, where reactivated structures may act as pathways for hydrogen migration and accumulation.

A Targeting Framework for First Atlas

The R2G2 model integrates:

Regional tectonic architecture

Reactivated fault systems

Structural repetition and compartmentalization

Soil gas anomalies and supporting geophysical signatures

With multiple drill holes now demonstrating observed hydrogen presence within structurally complex zones, the model is increasingly supported by subsurface observations.

For First Atlas, this provides a field-tested and drill-informed framework that can be applied across its Nova Scotia land position along the same structural corridor.

Why R2G2 Matters for First Atlas

QIMC's drilling at West Advocate has now provided multiple subsurface data points supporting the role of structural controls in natural hydrogen systems. Across both DDH-26-01 and DDH-26-02, observations indicate that secondary and reactivated fault networks act as conduits for hydrogen circulation, facilitating its movement through the subsurface.

In DDH-26-01, hydrogen concentrations at depth exceeded the instrument's upper detection range of QIMC's GA5000 gas analyzer across multiple intervals, while core logging identified extensive fault-related fracturing and deformation zones. These observations were further reinforced by DDH-26-02, which returned the highest hydrogen concentrations overall to date, with values observed to increase with depth toward the end of the borehole.

The R2G2 model is designed to identify these types of structural conduits prior to drilling, integrating tectonic architecture, fault reactivation patterns, soil gas anomalies, and geophysical signatures. Its application provides a systematic method for targeting zones of enhanced permeability and fluid migration, improving exploration efficiency and capital allocation.

For First Atlas, adopting the R2G2 framework enables the Company to prioritize drill targets using the same geological indicators and geochemical signatures that have guided QIMC's ongoing exploration along the Cobequid-Chedabucto corridor. Soil gas surveys along the West Advocate trend have recorded hydrogen concentrations of up to 5,558 ppm (see QIMC press release dated August 25, 2025), among the highest reported in Eastern Canada, while drilling has demonstrated repeated structurally controlled zones at depth across multiple holes.

These combined results support an emerging understanding of the corridor as a structurally controlled hydrogen occurrence model, where fault intersections, reactivated graben boundaries, and zones of structural complexity may play a key role in controlling hydrogen occurrence and distribution.

First Atlas's upcoming drill program will apply R2G2 targeting criteria to prioritize:

Reactivated fault zones and structural intersections

Graben-bounding and fault-controlled compartments

Geophysical anomalies associated with subsurface fluid pathways

Areas of coincident soil gas anomalies and structural indicators

By leveraging this integrated approach, First Atlas is positioned to advance its exploration program using a systematic, technically informed framework aligned with ongoing drilling results along the corridor.

These observations are preliminary in nature and are intended to guide ongoing exploration targeting.

Strategic Positioning Along a Shared Structural Corridor

First Atlas holds exploration claims along the 300-kilometre Cobequid-Chedabucto structural corridor, where QIMC's drilling has now indicated:

Fault-controlled fluid pathways

Repeated structural deformation zones

Increasing hydrogen concentrations with depth

These geological features are interpreted to extend regionally, providing First Atlas with direct exposure to the same structural environment now being actively tested through drilling.

The reader is cautioned that geological continuity and hydrogen concentrations on QIMC's property are not necessarily indicative of similar results on HHE's properties.

CEO Commentary

Richard Penn, President & CEO, stated:

"The strengthening hydrogen concentrations observed across successive drill holes - particularly the increase with depth in DDH-26-02 - significantly advances our understanding of the system developing along this corridor. What we are seeing is a structurally controlled hydrogen system that appears consistent across multiple boreholes and continues to strengthen at depth.

The validation of the R2G2 model provides us with a clear and actionable framework as we advance our own drill program. We believe First Atlas is well positioned within what is emerging as a prospective natural hydrogen exploration corridor in Nova Scotia."

John Karagiannidis, President & CEO of QIMC, added:

"QIMC's drilling results represent a watershed moment not just for our program, but for natural hydrogen exploration across the entire Cobequid-Chedabucto corridor. The successful application of the R2G2 model provides a geological blueprint to guide targeting at a regional scale. The R2G2 framework is expected to sharpen drill targeting, reduce exploration risk, and position HHE and QIMC stakeholders to benefit from what we believe is an emerging district-scale hydrogen system in Nova Scotia."

Debt Settlement

The Company also announces that it proposes to settle outstanding indebtedness of up to $225,500 in exchange for an aggregate of up to 1,503,334 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.15 per common share.

The securities, when issued will be subject to a four month and one day hold from the date of issuance. In addition, the debt settlement is subject to the approval of the CSE.

Option Grant

The Company also announces that it has granted 2,600,000 options to directors, officers and consultants to the Company. The options are exercisable at a price of $0.155 for a period of two years.

1,300,000 of the options were granted to insiders of the Company as follows:

Richard Penn, CEO and Director - 1,000,000 options;

Krystan Pineo , CFO and Director - 100,000 options;

Kwaku Ashong, Director - 100,000 options; and

Mathieu Piche, Director - 100,000 options.

The grant of these options are subject to the approval of the CSE.

About Natural Hydrogen

Natural hydrogen is a naturally occurring, carbon-free energy resource generated within the Earth's crust. Unlike manufactured hydrogen, it requires no industrial processing and is increasingly being explored as a potential low-cost, low-emission energy source. Natural hydrogen - hydrogen occurring naturally in the Earth's crust independently of any industrial process - is an active and early-stage area of global scientific and commercial interest. No commercial production standard for natural hydrogen has been established.

About First Atlas Resources Corp.

First Atlas Resources Corp. (CSE: HHE) (formerly QMET) is a Canadian exploration company focused on the discovery of natural hydrogen resources in Nova Scotia. The Company is advancing a systematic exploration program across the Cobequid-Chedabucto structural corridor using modern geological and geophysical targeting methodologies.

Regulatory Disclosure

First Atlas references publicly disclosed information by Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. dated August 25, 2025, March 10, 2026, March 17,2026 and March 19, 2026. HHE has not independently verified all technical information disclosed by QIMC and is relying on such information as reported.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including but not limited to statements regarding: proposed issuances of securities, exploration potential, geological characteristics, potential hydrogen discoveries, leveraging known geological conditions, replicating successful exploration models, expanding strategic collaborations, and anticipated exploration plans, milestones, timelines, and benefits arising from the collaboration agreement with Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (QIMC). Such forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including but not limited to: failure to obtain approvals from the CSE, potential delays; geological uncertainties and the speculative nature of mineral and hydrogen exploration; actual exploration results differing materially from expectations; inability to replicate prior exploration successes or geological conditions of other projects; availability of financing; volatility of commodity prices; competition and market conditions affecting hydrogen and mineral exploration; operational and technological risks; unforeseen environmental and permitting challenges; legal and contractual uncertainties; general business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties; and the risk that anticipated benefits of the collaboration with QIMC will not be realized. Although the Company believes these statements and expectations reflected therein are based upon reasonable assumptions as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that these assumptions will prove accurate, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289694

Source: First Atlas Resources Corp.
Graylog Now Fully Integrated as SIEM in Invisinet's Zero Trust Platform

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / Invisinet Technologies, a leader in Zero Trust software-defined perimeter solutions, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Graylog, integrating Graylog's SIEM capabilities directly into the Invisinet offering. This collaboration brings turnkey visibility, compliance reporting, and advanced threat detection to customers deploying Invisinet's Zero Trust architecture.

Through this new integration, Graylog becomes the default-and fully supported-Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) engine within the Invisinet platform, although Invisinet remains open to any branded SIEM integrations. Customers will benefit from out-of-the-box dashboards, real-time log and event ingestion, and enriched security analytics-eliminating the need for custom SIEM integration projects when deploying Zero Trust.

Key Benefits of the Partnership

Seamless Out-of-the-Box SIEM Experience

Invisinet's core value proposition has long included "turnkey SIEM integration" to accelerate compliance and security maturity. With Graylog embedded, customers can deploy Zero Trust with full log visibility from day one-no further integration lift needed.

Pre-Packaged Compliance Dashboards & Reporting

Invisinet already offers compliance dashboards aligned with regulatory frameworks like NIST SP 800-53, NIS2, and NYCRR 500. The Graylog integration extends this capability, delivering audit-ready dashboards and reports across identity, session, policy, and anomaly data.

Advanced Analytics & Threat Detection

Graylog is built for detecting, investigating, and responding to security events at scale. By coupling Graylog's analytics engine with Invisinet's flow of identity-tagged network events, customers gain deeper insight into lateral movement, insider risk, and anomalous behavior.

Faster Time to Value & Lower Integration Costs

One of the hurdles to Zero Trust adoption is the manual work of wiring logs, dashboards, and correlation rules into a SIEM. The Invisinet / Graylog pairing eliminates these barriers, reducing deployment time, cost overhead, and project risk.

Scalable, Future-Ready Architecture

Graylog's flexible log pipeline management, data tiering, and cost-conscious licensing align well with Invisinet's goal of delivering high-scale SIEM support without prohibitive overhead. As organizations evolve, the integrated solution can scale to match growing log and event volumes.

"At Invisinet, we believe that security should be transparent and actionable," said Brendan Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of Invisinet. "By partnering with Graylog, we are doubling down on our promise to deliver Zero Trust with full visibility, compliance capabilities, and auditable reporting from day one."

"Graylog is honored to join forces with Invisinet," said Andy Grolnick, Chief Executive Officer of Graylog. "Our SIEM capabilities complement Invisinet's software-defined perimeter approach perfectly-together, we deliver a seamless, powerful, and compliance-ready solution to security teams looking to converge identity, access, and observability."

Availability

The integrated Invisinet + Graylog solution is now available to new and existing customers. Organizations evaluating Zero Trust or upgrading their security stack can leverage the combined platform for identity-driven enforcement, unified telemetry, and compliance assurance without the complexity of custom integrations.

For more information or to request a joint demo, contact Invisinet at https://www.invisinet.com/get-a-demo or visit Graylog Illuminate at https://graylog.org/feature/content/ .

About Invisinet

Invisinet Technologies ( https://www.invisinet.com ) is a cybersecurity technology company specializing in innovative Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) solutions that protect network infrastructure and critical assets from advanced threats. Invisinet's Zero Trust software enables cloaking of network assets and enforcement of identity-based access through First Packet Authentication TM, as well as granular identity-based micro-segmentation. Originally developed for the US Department of Defense and making its way to the approved product list in 2018, Invisinet is now available in the enterprise space. With more than 15 patents and FIPS 140-2 certification, Invisinet continues to develop solutions to address the evolving advancements of cyber-attacks.

About Graylog

Graylog is the AI-powered SIEM and centralized log management platform that transforms noisy data into clear insights. Detect and investigate threats faster with explainable AI that summarizes dashboards, prioritizes risks, and automates workflows-without losing human control. Trusted by 60,000+ organizations worldwide. Learn more at graylog.com or connect with us on Bluesky and LinkedIn

Media Contact

Brian Mehta

Chief Marketing Officer, Invisinet Technologies

brian.mehta@invisinet.com

773.318.3740

SOURCE: Invisinet Technologies

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/invisinet-and-graylog-announce-strategic-partnership-1149692
Combining frontline clinical analytics with NHS digital transformation expertise creates a uniquely global, outcomes-driven offering for healthcare leaders

Clinical Healthcare Analytics (CHA) has signed a formal partnership agreement with St. Vincent's International, a global healthcare advisory and solutions organization helping health systems navigate complex digital transformation and operational change. Through its group companies-St. Vincent's Consulting, St. Vincent's Resourcing, and Universal Solutions-and its Pulse platform for healthcare solutions, the organization provides strategic advisory services, digital health expertise, specialized workforce support, and technology-enabled solutions to healthcare providers across the United Kingdom, North America, the Middle East, and other international markets.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323370418/en/

St. Vincent's Consulting works with NHS Trusts and healthcare organizations on digital strategy, Electronic Patient Record (EPR) implementation, clinical transformation, cybersecurity, and major health system modernization programs, while also supporting digital health initiatives in international markets including the Middle East. St. Vincent's Resourcing connects healthcare organizations with experienced digital health and transformation professionals, and Universal Solutions focuses on supporting healthcare providers-particularly in North America-with advisory services and technology-enabled healthcare improvement.

Together, the group helps healthcare leaders translate digital strategy into measurable improvements in patient care, clinical outcomes, and operational performance.

This new partnership brings together organizations that share an unwavering commitment to delivering measurable, patient-centered outcomes and signals a major step forward in CHA's international growth strategy.

Founded by leaders who have held senior roles across the NHS and the digital health sector, St. Vincent's Consulting brings deep, lived experience in large-scale EPR implementation, clinical advisory, digital strategy, and the full spectrum of healthcare digital transformation. Their work spans new hospital programs, cyber security, and their signature "Luminaries" advisory and assurance service-a panel of former NHS C-Suite executives who guide Trusts through complex digital journeys. With a proven track record supporting multimillion-pound technical go-lives across the NHS, STVC is widely recognized as a trusted partner to some of the most demanding healthcare programs in the UK.

CHA's frontline analytics platform-the CHA Foundation Suite-delivers real-time, role-based clinical decision support directly at the point of care, helping physicians, nurses, and case managers act on the right data at the right moment. Clients consistently report improvements in patient outcomes, reductions in length of stay and readmission rates, and meaningful gains in clinician satisfaction and efficiency.

"We have long believed that the future of healthcare improvement is global," said Andrew Splitz, Founder of CHA. "St. Vincent's Consulting shares our core conviction that technology only matters when it translates into better care for real patients. Together, we are not simply adding capabilities-we are building a partnership rooted in shared values, shared accountability, and a shared determination to leave healthcare organizations in a stronger position than we found them. This is exactly the kind of relationship that drives lasting change."

What sets this partnership apart is a combination of shared values and complementary strengths. Both organizations prioritize real ROI tied directly to better patient care-not simply delivering services, but genuinely improving healthcare systems and demonstrating that improvement through data. With CHA's growing footprint in the Middle East, STVC's deep UK NHS experience, and Universal Solutions' North American reach, healthcare leaders gain a partner that understands the local challenges of each market while bringing in proven international best practices.

"Healthcare systems everywhere are under pressure to transform faster while improving outcomes. What excites us about this partnership is the ability to combine CHA's real-time clinical analytics with the practical transformation experience we've gained working with health systems across the UK, North America, and the Middle East. By bringing those global lessons together, we can help healthcare leaders move beyond data and turn insight into measurable improvements in patient care."

-Alan Fowles, Global President, St. Vincent's International

The partnership was also built on shared ethics; both CHA and STVC are committed to long-term value over quick wins, serving as trusted advisors who ensure that every solution proposed is genuinely in the best interest of patients and the clinicians who care for them. Together, the two organizations offer solutions designed to grow with evolving healthcare landscapes, from digital transformation, data integration, electronic patient record optimization, to patient-centric care models that anticipate tomorrow's demands.

About Clinical Healthcare Analytics/CHA

CHA is home to one of the only teams demonstrating real-world success in introducing powerful analytics at the point of clinical care. The CHA Foundation Suite is a leap forward in leveraging an organization's EMR to deliver critical-and actionable-information at point-of-care. CHA is finally delivering on a long-promised vision for improved clinical care and optimized case management through timely analytics.

About St. Vincent's International

St. Vincent's International is a global healthcare advisory and solutions organization supporting health systems through digital transformation, workforce expertise, and technology-enabled solutions. Through St. Vincent's Consulting, St. Vincent's Resourcing, Universal Solutions, and its Pulse platform, the group works with healthcare providers across the UK, North America, the Middle East, and other international markets.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323370418/en/

Contacts:

Clinical Healthcare Analytics/CHA

Doug Cusick, President

P: 610-823-0832

info@clinicalha.com

St. Vincent's International

13-14 Park Place,

Leeds,

LS1 2SJ

comms@stvconsulting.uk
Unlock the complete IL-2 patient pool analysis case study: https://www.delveinsight.com/case-study/interleukin-2-patient-pool-analysis

The Challenge: Navigating a Fragmented and Complex IL-2 Market

The company faced a critical strategic decision, as IL-2-based therapies gained momentum across multiple disease indications, spanning refractory cancers, autoimmune diseases, and inflammatory conditions, the organization needed to assess investment viability with unprecedented precision. The existing data landscape was fragmented, lacking the epidemiological depth, patient segmentation granularity, and forward-looking forecasts required to support informed R&D prioritization and go-to-market strategy. The company's core requirements were multifaceted.

First, they required a detailed identification and segmentation of target patient populations across diverse IL-2-relevant indications in major markets.

Second, they needed robust market sizing and revenue projections segmented by indication and geography through 2034. Third, the organization sought a comprehensive competitive landscape evaluation to assess positioning relative to emerging IL-2 competitors and alternative therapeutic modalities.

Finally, they needed KOL insights and unmet medical need assessments to validate clinical development priorities and identify high-value therapeutic opportunities.

IL-2 Continues to Anchor Innovation in Immuno-Oncology

IL-2, one of the earliest immunotherapies to receive approval, continues to be an important component in the advancing landscape of immuno-oncology. The development of next-generation IL-2 variants, including modified forms such as pegylated IL-2, highlights its potential for sustained clinical relevance, particularly as a backbone therapy in combination treatment strategies.

Beyond oncology, IL-2 also demonstrates therapeutic promise across a range of other conditions, including autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Its capacity to stimulate T-cell activation, promote the expansion of regulatory T cells, and modulate immune responses positions IL-2 as a versatile candidate for diseases where precise immune regulation is essential.

DelveInsight analysis yielded striking insights into the addressable patient population and market dynamics across the 7MM. Among all target indications, Atopic Dermatitis represented the largest patient pool, comprising approximately 39 million prevalent cases across the 7MM in 2024. Meanwhile, NSCLC emerged as the second major opportunity area, with millions of patients suffering from advanced disease amenable to IL-2-based therapeutic approaches.

Within specific geographies, notable patterns emerged. In the US market, Atopic Dermatitis dominated the IL-2 addressable population, while rarer indications such as Aplastic Anemia represented limited but critical unmet needs. Across EU4 and the UK, Germany accounted for the highest prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis-related cases, suggesting differential market entry priorities by indication and geography. These insights fundamentally shaped the client's indication prioritization strategy, directing R&D investment and clinical trial design toward the highest-potential segments.

Beyond epidemiological segmentation, DelveInsight constructed a forecasting model spanning 2020-2034, enabling the client to anticipate market evolution across multiple scenarios. The model integrated critical dynamics shaping the IL-2 landscape: demographic shifts and aging population trends, evolving smoking prevalence and lung cancer incidence, accelerating biomarker testing adoption across countries, and the rapid emergence of novel therapeutic modalities and combination approaches.

The quantitative findings underscored a substantial market opportunity. In 2023, the IL-2 market size across the 7MM was valued at approximately USD 6 million, representing an early-stage but rapidly expanding therapeutic category. Notably, two indications, Atopic Dermatitis and NSCLC, emerged as the primary revenue drivers, expected to generate the most substantial market value by 2034 due to the highest level of clinical development activity and regulatory authorization trajectories.

Get the Interleukin-2 Market Report to explore in-depth epidemiological insights, emerging trends, and strategic forecasts shaping the future of IL-2-based therapies.

DelveInsight's Multi-Dimensional Solution

To address the challenges, DelveInsight deployed a sophisticated, evidence-based analytical framework integrating multiple data streams and methodologies by providing

Epidemiology-driven analysis spanning twelve target indications: Non-Segmental Vitiligo (NSV), Aplastic Anemia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), Ovarian cancer, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), Melanoma, Atopic Dermatitis, Alopecia Areata, Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and Mucosal Melanoma.

Current IL-2 market size across the 7MM by therapeutic application and drug uptake, with forecasts through 2034 based on disease prevalence, emerging therapies, and evolving treatment guidelines.

List of key companies, including Mural Oncology, Nektar Therapeutics, Cue Biopharma, Anaveon, Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Philogen, Krystal Biotech, Innovent Biologics, and others, active in the IL-2 space, along with their pipelines, product portfolios, market presence, and competitive strategies to highlight differentiation opportunities.

Key unmet needs in treating refractory cancers, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases, along with market growth drivers such as advancing IL-2 research and demand for personalized therapies.

Real-world evidence sourced from healthcare databases and patient registries, country-specific epidemiological data from cancer registries and regional health authorities, peer-reviewed scientific literature and meta-analyses, and primary qualitative research through structured interviews with KOLs spanning oncology, immunology, and dermatology.

Curious how DelveInsight's insights can shape your IL-2 strategy or biopharma investment decisions? Request a proposal today to discover how our customized solutions can help achieve your strategic objectives

Competitive Intelligence Services Tailored to Oncology Domain: DelveInsight's competitive intelligence services deliver real-time, precise insights across therapeutic domains, with oncology being one of our key areas of expertise. We provide in-depth analysis of advancements across both prevalent and rare conditions, including NSCLC, Melanoma, Ovarian Cancer, Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Pancreatic Cancer, Breast Cancer, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and others. Our services track competitor pipelines, clinical trial progress, regulatory shifts, and patent landscapes, offering a comprehensive view of the evolving oncology market. By leveraging these insights, stakeholders can identify emerging threats, seize growth opportunities, and craft strategic moves to stay ahead in this dynamic space.

Rare Disease Consulting Services: In the rare disease space, one of our fortes, we deliver intelligence that helps clients overcome the unique challenges of niche markets. Our analysts monitor global R&D progress, competitive developments, and shifting regulatory landscapes to provide tailored insights that guide product positioning and investment strategies. From in-depth conference evaluations to detailed competitor analyses, we help clients de-risk decision-making, strengthen portfolios, and efficiently advance therapies from development to market.

Epidemiology Database: The AI-driven epidemiology database is an extensive repository that covers more than 500 disease indications and provides 10-year epidemiological forecasts across the seven major markets (the US, EU4, the UK, and Japan). It combines AI capabilities with validated, expert-curated epidemiology insights to help users gain a deeper understanding of disease burden, detailed epidemiological segmentation, and long-term trends across multiple indications and geographies. Built to support forecasting, portfolio strategy, and commercial decision-making, the platform offers actionable insights that strengthen data-driven planning for pharmaceutical and healthcare stakeholders.

Patient Pool Forecasting: DelveInsight recognizes the complexities pharmaceutical and biotech companies face when estimating and selecting the most suitable patient segments for drug development. Making the right choice is crucial for optimizing outcomes while navigating challenges such as determining the appropriate line of therapy, minimizing patient burden, evaluating diagnostic impact, and projecting drug uptake. DelveInsight provides actionable insights and analytics to support these decisions, enabling companies to target patient populations with the greatest unmet needs, thereby enhancing clinical outcomes and streamlining drug development.

Pharma Consulting Services: Our healthcare consulting services turn complex market data into actionable strategies for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies. We help clients uncover new revenue streams, assess market potential, and successfully navigate commercialization challenges. With deep expertise in clinical trial design, market intelligence, and strategic consulting, our team partners with clients to optimize decision-making, accelerate innovation pipelines, and improve business outcomes.

Schedule a call today to leverage our expertise and stay ahead in the competitive market

About DelveInsight

DelveInsight is a leading Business Consultant and Market Research firm focused exclusively on life sciences. It supports pharma companies by providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions to improve their performance. Get hassle-free access to all the healthcare and pharma market research reports through our subscription-based platform PharmDelve.

Contact Us

Shruti Thakur

info@delveinsight.com

+14699457679

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082265/3528414/DelveInsight_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/a-success-story---delveinsights-strategic-support-to-a-pharma-company-in-interleukin-2-target-patient-pool-and-epidemiology-based-market-forecast-analysis-302722896.html
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Honey Badger Silver Inc. (TSXV: TUF) (OTCQB: HBEIF) ("Honey Badger" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its press release dated March 19, 2026 announcing a brokered private placement offering of subscription receipts (the "Offering"), SCP Resource Finance LP, as lead agent on behalf of a syndicate of agents (collectively, the "Agents") has fully exercised the Agents' option (the "Agents Option"), resulting in gross proceeds of up to approximately C$11.5 million, for a total of up to 71,875,000 subscription receipts of the Company (the "Subscription Receipts"), pursuant to the Offering.

Each Subscription Receipt will be issued at a price of C$0.16 and will convert into one unit (a "Unit") of the Company upon satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions (as defined herein). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional Common Share for a period of three years at an exercise price of C$0.24 per Common Share.

The Company is also pleased to announce that the Company's management team, board of directors and its advisors are expected to purchase over 10% of the Offering, further demonstrating strong support for Honey Badger's strategy and proposed acquisition of the Prairie Creek Project (the "PC Silver Project" or the "Project").

Proceeds to Advance Transformational Prairie Creek Acquisition

As announced on March 19, 2026, Honey Badger entered into a definitive agreement dated March 13, 2026 to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Canadian Zinc Corporation ("CZC"), 100% owner of the PC Silver Project from Resource Capital Fund VI L.P. ("RCF"), an arm's length party to the Company, for C$10 million in cash plus C$2 million in Honey Badger shares and warrants (the "Acquisition").

The PC Silver Project is a permitted[1] underground silver-zinc-lead project, hosting a large, high-grade historical resource base with significant existing underground and development infrastructure, located in the Northwest Territories. The net proceeds of the Offering (including the Agents Option) are expected to be used to fund the cash portion of the purchase price associated with the Acquisition and the expenses related to the Acquisition.

The Acquisition is expected to close in Q2 2026 and will be completed on a cash-free and debt-free basis, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") acceptance.

The Project hosts a historical resource estimate[2] of:

9.8 Mt of Measured & Indicated Resources, grading 139 g/t Ag, 9.7% Zn and 8.8% Pb for a total of 240 Mozs of silver equivalent at a silver equivalent grade of 766 g/t; and

6.4 Mt of Inferred Resources grading 150 g/t Ag, 12.9% Zn, and 6.7% Pb, hosting 167 Mozs of silver equivalent at a silver equivalent grade of 813 g/t.[3]

The Company believes that the key aspects of the of the Project include:

Key permits and regulatory approvals in place for development;

Support from local Indigenous Governments, with multiple agreements in place;

Multiple economic studies previously completed further support the potential of the PC Silver Project;

Excellent regional exploration potential on the large and under-explored 7,485 hectare land position.

Chad Williams, Executive Chairman of Honey Badger, commented "We are very pleased to see strong demand for this financing, including the participation of certain insiders of the Company. The agents' exercise of the over-allotment option reflects a recognition of the pivotal nature of the PC Silver Project acquisition for Honey Badger. We believe this is one of the most compelling silver development opportunities globally, particularly in the context of current silver prices."

Offering Details

The Offering is expected to close on or about April 15, 2026, and remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval of the TSXV.

The gross proceeds of the Offering less certain expenses and a portion of the Agents' fees, will be deposited into escrow with a subscription receipt agent pending satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions (such amount being the "Escrowed Funds"), which includes the completion, satisfaction or waiver of all conditions precedent to the closing of the Acquisition other than the payment of the purchase price and receipt of final approval of the TSXV (the "Escrow Release Conditions"). If the Escrow Release Conditions are satisfied on or before June 15, 2026 (the "Escrow Release Deadline"), the Escrowed Funds (less the balance of the Agents' fees) will be released to the Company and the Subscription Receipts will automatically convert into Units. If the Escrow Release Conditions are not satisfied on or before the Escrow Release Deadline, the Subscription Receipts will be canceled, and the Escrowed Funds will be returned to holders of Subscription Receipts on a pro rata basis.

In consideration for their services, the Agents will receive a cash commission equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the Offering and such number of compensation warrants equal to 6% of the number of Units issued pursuant to the Offering; in each case, subject to a reduction to 3% in respect of sales of Subscription Receipts to purchasers included on a president's list to be formed by the Company in connection with the Offering. Each compensation warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Common Share at the issue price for a period of two years. As described above, 50% of the Agents' cash commission will be deposited into escrow pending the satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions.

The securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a statutory four-month hold period in accordance with applicable securities laws in Canada.

Silver Equivalent Calculations

Silver equivalent ("AgEq") is calculated using metal prices from the Project's most recent mineral resource estimate in 2021 of US$20/oz silver, US$1.15/lb zinc, and US$1.00/lb lead. Average processing recoveries assumed are 95.1% for silver, 81.5% for zinc, and 84.3% for lead. Average payables assumed are 85% for silver, 85% for zinc, and 95% for lead. AgEq is calculated as follows: AgEq (g/t) = Ag (g/t) + Zn (%) * 33.79 + Pb (%) * 33.97. AgEq (ozs) = AgEq (g/t) * (Tonnes of Measured & Indicated Resources or Inferred Resources).

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to the Project was reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, who is an independent consultant and "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

About Honey Badger Silver Inc.

Honey Badger Silver is a unique silver company. The Company is led by a highly experienced leadership team with a track record of value-creation, backed by a skilled technical team. Our existing projects are located in areas with a long history of mining, including the Sunrise Lake project with a historic resource of 12.8 Moz of silver at a grade of 262 g/t silver (and 201.3 million pounds of zinc at a grade of 6% zinc) Indicated and 13.9 Moz of silver at a grade of 169 g/t silver (and 247.8 million pounds of zinc at a grade of 4.4% zinc) Inferred(1) located in the Northwest Territories and the Plata high grade silver project located 165 km east of Yukon's prolific Keno Hill and adjacent to Snowline Gold's Rogue discovery. The Company's Clear Lake Project in the Yukon Territory has an unclassified historic resource of 5.5 Moz of silver at a grade of 22 g/t silver and 1.3 billion pounds of zinc at a grade of 7.6% zinc(2). The Company also has a significant land holding at the Nanisivik Mine Area located in Nunavut, Canada that produced over 20 Moz of silver between 1976 and 2002(3). In addition, we own 10,000 ozs of physical silver yielding 12% per annum. In each instance, the reliability of the historical resource estimates (the "Historical Estimates") are considered reasonable, but a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the foregoing Historical Estimates as current mineral resources, and the Company is not treating the estimates as current mineral resources. There is no technical report associated with the Historical Estimates. The Historical Estimate contains categories that are not consistent with current CIM definitions. The Company considers the Historical Estimates to be relevant for the proper understanding of its mineral properties, however, significant data compilation, re-drilling, re-sampling and data verification may be required by a Qualified Person for the Historical Estimates to be in accordance with NI 43-101 standards and to verify the Historical Estimates as current mineral resources. No more recent estimates of the mineral resources or other data are available to the Company. There can be no certainty, following further evaluation and/or exploration work, that the historical estimates can be upgraded or verified as mineral resources or mineral reserves in accordance with NI 43-101.

Sunrise Lake historic resource (2000-2003): Indicated 1.522 million tonnes grading 262 grams/tonne silver, 6.0% zinc, 2.4% lead, 0.08% copper, and 0.67 grams/tonne gold and Inferred 2.555 million tonnes grading 169 grams/tonne silver, 4.4% zinc, 1.9% lead, 0.07% copper, and 0.51 grams/tonne gold. The resource estimate for the Sunrise Deposit was carried out by Silver Standard Resources Inc. (SSR) using a classical polygonal method that relied on 72 diamond drillholes and an average density of 4 t/m3. Drill hole intercepts were taken directly from the drill logs (CBA 1998). Polygons were created within AutoCAD and AutoCAD calculated the areas. Horizontal widths were calculated using the ratio of core length to the width used by CBA in their 1998 estimate. Intercepts not used by CBA were measured on the cross sections. The intercepts were composited primarily using a geological cut-off based on the sulphide content and a nominal 30 g/t Ag grade. Internal values below 30 g/t were included for geological continuity if the composite remained above cut-off. Stringer mineralization was included where silver grades were above 30 g/t and occasionally lower if base metal grades were high. It is assumed the upper 100 m could be mined by open pit methods and the stringer mineralization would have to be removed to access the massive sulphides. The classification of the mineralization is based on the number of drill holes on a section and the continuity of the mineralization. The main massive sulphide horizon has been drilled on sections spaced 40 m apart, and above the -280 m elevation, the down dip continuity of the horizon has been tested with holes 25 to 30 m apart down dip. All mineralization in the massive sulphide horizon above 280 m is considered an Indicated Resource while the near surface stringer mineralization and the massive sulphides below 280 m are considered to be Inferred Resources. Forty holes define the massive sulphide Indicated Resource horizon. In a 2003 report to SSR, Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (RPA) concluded SSR's resource estimate was reasonable based on approximating a NSR using typical smelter contracts, assuming metallurgical recoveries based on the limited metallurgical testing and on the following price assumptions: USD$ 5.50 per ounce silver, USD$ 400 per ounce gold, USD$ 0.45 per pound zinc, USD$ 0.25 per pound lead, and USD$ 0.80 per pound copper, as well as a USD$ 75 transportation cost, and a CDN$ 1.45:USD$ 1.00 exchange rate. Clear Lake historic Resource (2010): Inferred 7.76 million tonnes grading 22 grams/tonne silver, 7.6% zinc, and 1.08% lead. In 2010 SRK was engaged to complete a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Clear Lake deposit for Copper Ridge Explorations Inc. The estimate was made utilizing 1,842 assays from within the deposit, from a total of 13,168 m of drilling in 63 historical drill holes. An average density of 4.07 gm/cc was used, based on a limited number of field measurements that were confirmed in the laboratory, and with a minimum thickness of 2 m. Mineral resources were estimated by ordinary kriging in 12m by 12m by 9m blocks. The mineral resources are reported at a 4% (Pb+Zn) cut-off. Pb grades have been capped at 1.5% and Ag grades were capped at 60 g/t. Although SRK placed this resource in the inferred category due to uncertainties related to the historical nature of the available data, they noted that most of the resource has been drilled at a sufficiently close enough spacing to support indicated classification. The above information has been taken from a news release by Copper Ridge dated January 18th, 2010, as no technical report is publicly available. Geological Survey of Canada, 2002-C22, "Structural and Stratigraphic Controls on Zn-Pb-Ag Mineralization at the Nanisivik Mississippi Valley type Deposit, Northern Baffin Island, Nunavut; by Patterson and Powis."

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including but not limited to, the potential of the Project, the timing of the completion of the Acquisition and the Offering, the third party approvals and consents (including the TSXV approvals) required to complete the Acquisition and the Offering, the conditions required to be satisfied to complete the Acquisition, the abilities of the companies to complete the Acquisition on the terms announced (if at all), the intentions, plans and future actions of Honey Badger described herein, the timing, content, cost and results of proposed work programs, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits / resources / reserves, geological interpretation, the timing for completing the Acquisition, the Company's ability to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions on or before the Escrow Release Deadline, the potential merits of the Project, and Honey Badger's strategic objective. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be 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) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

[1] The Project has received key regulatory approvals including a Type A Water License, Land Use Permits and Environmental Assessment approvals. As is customary with exploration and/or development stage projects, separate construction and operating permits would be required once a final investment and construction decision in made.

[2] The historical estimates for the Project is supported by a technical report dated October 15, 2021 prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, completed by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc., for NorZinc Ltd., which is currently the parent company of CZC. The historical estimates contained in this news release have not been verified as current mineral resources. A "qualified person" (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, and the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources. The Company considers the historical estimates to be relevant for the proper understanding of the Project, however, significant data compilation, re-drilling, re-sampling and data verification may be required by a Qualified Person for the historical estimates to be in accordance with NI 43-101 standards and to verify the historical estimates as current mineral resources.

[3] Historical mineral resource estimates for the PC Silver Project are based on the following key parameters and assumptions: (1) Mineral Resources are stated as of October 15, 2021; (2) Mineral Resources include those Resources converted to Mineral Reserves; (3) Stated at a cut off grade of 8% ZnEq based on prices of $1.15/lb for zinc, $1.00/lb for lead, and $20/oz for silver; (4) Average processing recovery factors of 81.5% for zinc, 84.3% for lead, and 95.1% for silver; (5) Average payables of 85% for zinc, 95% for lead, and 85% for silver; (5) ZnEq = (grade of Zn in %) + [(grade of lead in % * price of lead in $/lb * 22.046 * recovery of lead in % * payable lead in %) + (grade of silver in g/t* (price of silver in $/Troy oz/ 31.10348) * recovery of silver in % * payable silver in %)]/(price of zinc in $/lb*22.046 * recovery of zinc in % * payable zinc in %).

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289698

Source: Honey Badger Silver Inc.
G&A's Sustainability Highlights ( 03.11.2026 )

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / Over the past two issues of Sustainability Highlights, we've tracked how sustainability policy is decentralizing. Instead of federal agencies, policy action has been moving to courtrooms, statehouses, and corporate boardrooms. This week, the picture has shifted again, with a rise in action to build infrastructure for climate policy even while regulatory fights drag on.

In this week's top stories:

California finally sets a specific deadline for GHG emissions reporting by more than 4,000 companies

Two U.S. states and a Canadian province release a draft agreement to link carbon markets across borders

Major pharmaceutical companies are embedding sustainability requirements directly into supplier contracts, effectively requiring companies throughout their value chains to report emissions and more

New polling shows that 80% of Americans - including a substantial majority of Republicans - expect both government and business to act on climate

One big take-away is that mandated state-level disclosure is now operational. As reported by ESG News, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the implementing regulation for SB 253, setting August 10, 2026 as the first deadline for companies with more than $1 billion in revenue to report Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. That deadline is now just five months away. More than 4,000 U.S. companies - roughly 60% of them headquartered outside of the State of California - are expected to fall in scope, with Scope 3 reporting to follow in 2027. CARB has signaled it will exercise enforcement discretion for the first cycle, focusing on good-faith compliance.

States are also taking initiative to expand and stabilize trade in carbon emissions. ESG Dive reports that Washington, California, and the Province of Quebec released a draft agreement to link their cap-and-trade programs into a single carbon market - potentially operational as early as 2027. California and Quebec connected their programs back in 2014, creating the largest trading market for carbon emissions in North America and the third-largest such market in the world. Adding Washington State would expand that market further and bring greater price stability for traded carbon emissions. The draft agreement is open for public comment through May 1, 2026.

Customers are also joining the list of those influencing sustainability expectations. In a new resource paper, G&A Institute examines how major pharmaceutical companies are integrating climate and sustainability requirements directly into their procurement strategies, pushing Tier 1 suppliers to disclose emissions, set science-based targets, and respond to platforms like CDP and EcoVadis.

With Scope 3 emissions representing as much as 88% emissions in pharma, this is an area where the rubber meets the road for supply chain decarbonization. For Tier 1 suppliers to large pharma customers, sustainability is no longer a siloed EHS exercise - it's a company-wide business imperative. G&A's team is working with suppliers across industries on GHG accounting, SBTi target-setting, CDP responses, and EcoVadis surveys - reach out at info@ga-institute.com to learn how we can help.

What makes all of this more striking is the public backdrop. As Trellis reports, a GlobeScan survey of more than 30,000 people finds that eight in 10 Americans believe government has a responsibility to address climate change - a view that holds across party lines, with a significant percentage of Republicans in agreement. Nearly as many say companies share that responsibility.

At a time when federal actors are dismantling their own climate authority, public expectations are moving in the opposite direction. For professionals navigating this landscape, this issue of Sustainability Highlights covers additional developments like South Korea's mandatory sustainability reporting timeline, the EU's proposed Industrial Accelerator Act, the relaunch of the Net-Zero Asset Managers initiative, and the growing role of AI in sustainability solutions

This is just the introduction of G&A's Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.

Find more stories and multimedia from Governance & Accountability Institute at 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Governance & Accountability Institute

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/governance-accountability-institute-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Governance & Accountability Institute

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/the-u.s.-climate-reporting-infrastructure-is-being-built-deadlin-1151198
A prevention-led safeguarding resource, developed with UNICEF support, is set to be rolled out across 2,500+ British Council Partner Schools across more than 40 countries, reaching nearly 1.7 million students worldwide

LONDON, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The British Council's Global Safeguarding Toolkit aims to help schools strengthen early identification, proportionate action and consistent practice in safeguarding.

The Toolkit, which is designed as a practical, role-based implementation resource for everyday school use, supports a whole-school approach that reduces reliance on individual judgement, helps clarify responsibilities and strengthens recording.

The resources will be rolled out in British Council Partner Schools, a global community of over 2,500 schools, actively supported by the British Council, delivering UK international qualifications such as the International GCSEs, International O Levels, International AS and A Levels.

The Toolkit is designed to be adaptable across local legal contexts while supporting consistency across an international network. It also provides clearer separation between child safeguarding concerns and adult conduct risks, supporting proportionate handling and accountability.

As safeguarding concerns increasingly move between online and offline spaces, the Toolkit is intended to help schools respond more consistently to risks including online grooming, harassment, coercion, impersonation and AI-generated sexual imagery, supporting earlier action before concerns escalate.

The scale of the challenge is well evidenced. UNICEF estimates that around 150 million students aged 13-15 report experiencing peer-to-peer violence in or around school globally. UNICEF and the ITU report that one in three internet users worldwide is a child, increasing exposure to exploitation and manipulation online. The World Health Organization estimates that one in seven adolescents lives with a mental health condition, often intersecting with safeguarding concerns in school settings.

Sonja Uhlmann, Regional Safeguarding Manager at the British Council, said: "Safeguarding cannot depend on individual instinct or isolated expertise. Schools need clear roles, reliable recording, shared thresholds and consistent routes for escalation-so concerns are recognised early and acted on proportionately. This Toolkit is designed to help translate safeguarding policy into everyday practice."

Almudena Olaguibel, Child Protection Officer at UNICEF Spain, said: "The Safeguarding Toolkit reflects a shared understanding between the British Council and UNICEF that effective protection depends on systems, not improvisation. As safeguarding risks become more complex and less visible, preparation, clarity and shared responsibility across school communities are essential."

Notes to Editors

Toolkit downloads

Long toolkit

Short toolkit

About The British Council

The British Council is the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2024-25, we reached 600 million people.

Media Contact (information and interviews)

Maria Gonzalez mggarcia@atrevia.com | +34 629 535 435

Joan Cascante jcascante@atrevia.com| +34 673 339 815

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5c23f22c-8c61-45f8-985b-21175dbcd345

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a4f16aee-0135-4535-a8b0-d8325cb6233a
With the introduction of its single-cell DECT solutions, the M253 and M256, Snom is expanding its single-cell portfolio. The new systems are ideal for multiple sectors where availability and mobility are essential - from SMEs, medical practices, restaurants and retail to warehouses, workshops and outdoor use.

BERLIN, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Snom, the Berlin-based specialist for integrated IP communication, has launched the M253 and M256 solutions - two powerful single-cell DECT systems that make professional business communication simple, flexible and secure across multiple sectors. Both products are based on the M250 DECT base station and are designed as ready-to-use communication solutions for modern and dynamic working environments.

Thanks to Power over Ethernet, secure TLS and SRTP encryption, and remote management functions, the systems can be seamlessly integrated into existing IT and communication infrastructures and centrally administered.

Single-cell DECT for smaller sites and branches

As single-cell DECT solutions, the M253 and M256 are perfectly suited for smaller sites and branch locations such as medical practices, restaurants or retail stores, offering reliable coverage with minimal installation effort. The base station provides a range of up to 50 metres indoors and up to 300 metres outdoors and supports up to ten handsets from Snom's M5x series. With support for up to eight simultaneous calls, the solutions are particularly suitable for environments where availability and mobility are essential.

Two solutions for different working environments

With the two systems, Snom is addressing a variety of requirements in everyday working life, making them suited to multiple sectors. The Snom M253 combines the M250 base station with the new M53 handset, developed specifically for professional office and service environments. It features a large, easy-to-read colour display and an ergonomic keypad layout, and supports HD audio for clear voice transmission. With up to 12 hours of talk time and up to 120 hours of standby time, the M53 is designed for long working days. Its robust build, antibacterial housing and intuitive menu navigation ensure clear communication even in dynamic working environments. The handset is powered by standard AAA batteries, making operation particularly cost-effective and easy to maintain.

The Snom M256 is aimed at more physically demanding working environments, such as workshops, warehouses, production facilities or outdoors. Here, the M250 base station can be paired with the durable M56 handset, which is IP67-certified. The handset's housing is dustproof and water-resistant, ensuring reliable operation even where devices are regularly exposed to dirt, moisture or heavy use.

One base - maximum flexibility with the DECT IP 5x series

The M250 base station supports all DECT IP devices in Snom's M5x series, enabling flexible adaptation to different types of workplace. In addition to the M53, M55 and M56 handsets, the popular M58 DECT desk phone can also be used wirelessly with the M250 base station. With its large display and clearly arranged function keys, the M58 has proven itself as a flexible phone for fixed workplaces, reception desks and point-of-sale areas. This makes the M250 DECT base a unified communication platform for both mobile and stationary staff.

Security, easy administration and professional integration

The systems support secure VoIP protocols such as TLS and SRTP, remote provisioning and OTA updates. An LDAP phonebook, centralised management and automatic configuration simplify operation and significantly reduce administrative workload.

Oliver Wittig, Senior Product Manager at Snom, says: "With the M253 and M256 solutions, we're offering companies DECT systems that combine professional functionality with maximum user-friendliness. The combination of the M250 base station with different handsets - from the comfortable M53 to the exceptionally robust M56 - makes the system a versatile and cost-efficient platform for a wide range of working environments."

The Snom M253 and M256 solutions are available now through authorised retailers and come with a three-year manufacturer's warranty.

About Snom

Snom Technology GmbH is a globally recognised and established manufacturer of IP telecommunication solutions for professional use.

Since its foundation in Berlin in 1997, the company has stood for the highest quality and security standards. All products are developed and designed in Germany with the aim of meeting the demands of a modern working environment.

With almost 30 years of experience and innovative strength, Snom creates solutions that are perfectly tailored to the requirements of mobility and flexibility in today's working world. Snom was integrated into the VTech Group in 2016. The premium brand's portfolio includes elegant desk phones, cordless IP devices, conferencing solutions and specialised product lines for industrial and hospitality applications.

With over twelve million devices installed worldwide, Snom emphasises the seamless integration of its products with all leading manufacturers of IP-based telephone systems and maintains close partnerships with them. Its sales network includes renowned distributors and over 10,000 specialised dealers worldwide.

Snom offers a comprehensive partner programme for specialist dealers, ranging from technical training to exclusive special offers.

Contact:

Silvia Amelia Bianchi

press@sabcommunications.net


Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Meyer Orbach, Chairman, GO Residential Real Estate Investment Trust ("GO Residential", the "REIT", or the "Company") (TSX: GO.U) , and their executive team, joined Robert Peterman, Chief Commercial Officer, Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"), to open the market and celebrate the Company's new listing on TSX.





Cannot view this video? Visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YYLTXFhUGc

GO Residential is an internally managed, open-ended REIT established under, and governed by, the laws of the Province of Ontario. The REIT has been formed to provide investors with an opportunity to invest in luxury high-rise multifamily properties ("LHRs") located in the New York metropolitan area and other major metropolitan cities in the United States, while benefitting from the investment and operational expertise of a team of seasoned professionals. On July 25, 2025, the REIT completed its listing on Toronto Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker "GO.U." The REIT currently owns and operates a portfolio of five LHRs consisting of 2,015 luxury suites located in the borough of Manhattan, New York. During the first quarter of 2026, the REIT announced agreements to acquire an additional five LHRs in the New York metropolitan area that will, subject to closing, increase the number of luxury suites by more than 1,000.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289700

Source: Toronto Stock Exchange
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / As geopolitical tensions escalate across the Middle East, including the evolving impacts of the Iran conflict, multinational organizations operating in the region are facing a new level of complexity. From disruptions to airspace and supply chains to workforce safety concerns and regulatory obligations, businesses must quickly adapt to an environment defined by uncertainty.

For companies with operations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and broader Middle East region, this moment reinforces a critical reality: resilience is no longer optional, it is a core business function.

Drawing on insights from Inogen Alliance Associates Redlog and Terra Nexus, this article explores how organizations can navigate conflict-related disruption while strengthening long-term operational resilience, workforce protection, and business continuity.

Duty of Care, Workforce Risk, and Operational Readiness

Insights from Randall Shaw, Redlog

With over two decades of experience operating in conflict-affected regions, Redlog has observed how rapidly crises reshape business operations-and how preparedness can define outcomes.

Duty of Care in the GCC: Legal and Operational Imperatives

Across the GCC, labor laws clearly establish employer responsibility for employee safety. In times of regional conflict, this duty of care extends beyond the workplace to include:

Safe transportation and travel risk management

Remote work environments

Real-time alignment with government directives and emergency protocols

For multinational organizations, this means integrating legal compliance with proactive risk management, ensuring that safety is embedded into both policy and day-to-day operations.

The Overlooked Risk: Mental Health and Workforce Stability

While physical safety often takes priority, the psychological impact of conflict on employees is equally critical. As conflicts persist, employees face stress-from personal safety, family concerns and job security. Industry leaders are expanding mental health support to ensure employees feel safe and supported both during this time of conflict and when they return to work. That ensures a clear focus on ongoing and future well-being.

Employees across the region are navigating:

Personal safety concerns

Family and relocation uncertainty

Job security anxiety

Leading organizations are responding by:

Expanding mental health programs

Offering confidential counseling and resilience resources

Establishing regular communication and check-ins

This focus not only supports employee wellbeing but also protects productivity, engagement, and long-term retention.

How Multinationals Are Responding: Scaling Safety and Security

Our clients across sectors-from technology to manufacturing-are leveraging global experience to strengthen local operations. Key actions include:

Enhancing first aid, fire safety, and emergency response readiness

Updating spill response and contingency planning

Strengthening physical security and surveillance systems

Improving governance and crisis management frameworks

These measures reflect a broader shift: security is no longer a reactive function-it is a strategic business priority.

Strategic Actions to Strengthen Business Continuity

To navigate ongoing and future disruptions, Redlog recommends the following:

Expand workforce preparedness through additional safety training. Provide first aid and fire/life safety training to additional staff, as this not only enhances preparedness but also boosts employee confidence in handling incidents

Scale mental health and resilience programs. Implement regular check-ins, offer confidential counseling hotlines, provide resilience workshops, and foster peer-support networks. These measures help reduce stress and ensure employees feel supported both during the crisis and when returning to normal operations.

Conduct security gap assessments to assess the current security readiness. This helps pinpoint vulnerabilities, prioritize improvements, and ensure alignment with both regulatory and best-practice benchmarks. Ultimately, it guides the organization in creating a clear roadmap for enhanced security.

Perform legal compliance audits to reduce regulatory risk. This audit helps uncover any legal or regulatory gaps, ensures alignment with local and international laws, and provides a clear action plan for mitigation - ultimately reducing legal exposure and strengthening operational trustworthiness

Update emergency response and spill cleanup plans aligned with evolving threats and local authority guidance. Incorporate local authority instructions-whether at the workplace, during transit, or at home-to ensure compliance with evolving regulations and real-time guidance. This ensures that employees and operations remain aligned with regional safety protocols, enhancing overall preparedness.

Adopt global security frameworks in the list below . These systems provide structured frameworks to assess risks, ensure business continuity, enhance data protection, and align security practices with global standards. By adopting them, organizations can systematically identify gaps, strengthen resilience, meet legal obligations, and foster trust with clients and stakeholders. ISO 22301 (Business Continuity) ISO 27001 (Information Security) ISO 28000 (Supply Chain Security) ISO 31000 (Risk Management) And frameworks like COSO, NIST, GDPR



Together, these steps help organizations move from reactive crisis management to proactive resilience planning.

Regional Stability, Workforce Mobility, and Economic Resilience

Insights from Nivine Issa, Terra Nexus

While the broader Middle East faces disruption, the UAE continues to play a critical role as a regional business hub, though recent events have highlighted that even the most stable markets are not immune to geopolitical shocks.

Terra Nexus is deeply rooted in the UAE and our focus remains serving the UAE and the wider GCC region, despite recent pressures. Our team and staff are no strangers to such volatility, from previous geopolitical tensions to navigating pandemics. The agility of the people and the government of the GCC will prevail and we will adapt to whatever comes our way

The UAE: A Trusted Hub Facing New Pressures

The UAE has long been recognized for its stability, ranking as the world's most trusted government in 2026 according to the Edelman Trust Barometer. Strong leadership, economic diversification, and effective crisis management have positioned it as a global center for business and talent.

However, recent airspace disruptions and travel interruptions have had immediate ripple effects:

Delays in global mobility and supply chains

Workforce displacement and relocation decisions

Operational slowdowns across industries

Workforce Shifts: Staying, Leaving, and Business Impacts

The UAE's large expatriate population plays a critical role in its economy. In response to recent instability:

Many professionals are choosing to remain and wait out uncertainty , reflecting long-term commitment

Others are opting for temporary or permanent relocation, impacting workforce availability

For businesses, this creates challenges in:

Talent retention and continuity

Project delivery timelines

Maintaining operational capacity

A Region Built on Adaptability

Despite these pressures, the UAE and broader GCC region have consistently demonstrated resilience.

From the 2008 financial crisis to COVID-19, the region has responded with rapid policy shifts and economic adaptation. Today, initiatives like the UAE's Economic Agenda D33-focused on non-oil growth-highlight a continued commitment to long-term stability.

As Terra Nexus notes, the region remains:

A global exporter of talent and expertise

A hub for innovation and economic diversification

A market that adapts quickly to external shocks

What This Means for Multinational Businesses

Across both perspectives, a clear pattern emerges:

Geopolitical conflict in the Middle East is not just a regional issue-it is a global business risk.

For multinational organizations, the impacts extend to:

Supply chain disruption

Workforce safety and mobility

Regulatory and compliance exposure

Operational continuity

However, companies that invest in preparedness, governance, and workforce support are better positioned to navigate uncertainty and maintain performance.

Key Takeaways

The Iran conflict and broader Middle East instability are creating immediate and long-term business risks for multinationals

Duty of care obligations in the GCC require organizations to address both physical and psychological employee safety

Workforce disruption including relocation and stress can significantly impact business continuity and productivity

Leading companies are strengthening security, emergency response, and governance frameworks

The UAE remains a resilient business hub , but is not immune to regional volatility

Proactive strategies such as adopting ISO standards and conducting risk assessments are critical for operational resilience

Conclusion: Building Resilience in an Uncertain Region

In a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, organizations cannot afford to take a passive approach to risk.

The companies that will succeed in the Middle East are those that:

Integrate security and business continuity into core strategy

Balance legal compliance with employee wellbeing

Leverage global expertise with local insight

By taking a proactive, structured approach, grounded in international standards and informed by regional realities, multinational businesses can not only withstand disruption but emerge stronger, more agile, and better prepared for the future in an evolving global environment.

Inogen Alliance is a global network made up of over 70 of independent local businesses and over 6,000 consultants around the world who can help make your project a success. Our Associates collaborate closely to serve multinational corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and we share knowledge and industry experience to provide the highest quality service to our clients. If you want to learn more about how you can work with Inogen Alliance, you can explore our Associates or Contact Us. Watch for more News & Blog updates, listen to our podcast and follow us on LinkedIn.

Find more stories and multimedia from Inogen Alliance at 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Inogen Alliance

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/inogen-alliance

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Inogen Alliance

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/navigating-conflict-business-impacts-and-strategic-responses-for-1151202
United States Jewellery Market Key Takeaways

The United States jewellery market is estimated at around USD 77.51 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach approximately USD 83.2 billion by 2032, reflecting steady market growth supported by consistent consumer spending on luxury and occasion-based jewellery products.

By category, fine jewellery is expected to dominate the market, capturing approximately 80% market share, driven by strong demand for high-value materials such as gold, platinum, and diamond-based jewellery.

By sales channel, retail offline stores are projected to maintain their leadership position with around 65% share, as consumers continue to prefer in-store experiences for high-value purchases, ensuring product authenticity and quality.

More than 15 companies are actively engaged in producing jewellery in the United States, indicating a competitive and fragmented market landscape.

The top five companies collectively account for nearly 10% of the market share, including Swarovski AG, Claire's Stores Inc., Piaget SA, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., and Cartier International Inc., among others.

Key Forces Influencing Jewellery Demand Across the United States

Rising Affinity Toward Premium and Fine Jewellery Driving Core Demand

The United States jewellery market is primarily driven by a growing consumer inclination toward premium and high-quality jewellery. Fine jewellery, particularly pieces crafted from gold, platinum, and diamonds, continues to witness sustained demand due to its long-term value, durability, and strong association with luxury and status. Moreover, jewellery remains an integral part of key life events such as weddings, anniversaries, and celebrations, prompting consumers to invest in high-value products. This consistent demand across occasion-based purchases reinforces the dominance of fine jewellery within the market.

Personalization and Designer Appeal Enhancing Consumer Engagement

Building on the demand for premium products, the increasing popularity of personalized and designer jewellery is further shaping market dynamics. Consumers are progressively seeking unique, customized pieces that reflect individual identity and emotional significance. In response, jewellery brands are expanding their offerings through bespoke services, customizable designs, and limited-edition collections. This shift toward personalization not performs only enhances consumer engagement but also enables brands to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive and fragmented marketplace.

Established Retail Infrastructure Supporting Market Accessibility

Complementing product-driven demand, the strong presence of established retail networks continues to play a vital role in sustaining market growth. The United States benefits from a well-developed jewellery retail ecosystem comprising branded outlets, specialty stores, and department stores. These physical retail formats provide consumers with the opportunity to assess product quality, authenticity, and craftsmanship before making high-value purchases. Additionally, in-store assistance and after-sales services further strengthen consumer confidence, thereby maintaining the dominance of offline retail channels.

View Full Report and request to get the sample pages at:

https://www.vyansaintelligence.com/industry-report/us-jewellery-market-size

Key Challenge Impacting the Market Growth

Price Sensitivity and Volatility in Precious Metal Prices Creating Market Constraints

Despite steady demand, the market faces notable challenges arising from increasing consumer price sensitivity and fluctuations in precious metal prices. Variations in the cost of gold, platinum, and other raw materials directly influence jewellery pricing, potentially impacting purchasing decisions, particularly within the premium segment. Furthermore, the growing availability of cost-effective alternatives, such as costume jewellery and lab-grown diamonds, is intensifying price competition across the market. As a result, brands must strategically balance pricing, quality, and value perception to sustain competitiveness and consumer interest.

Market Analysis by Category and Sales Channel

By category, fine jewellery continues to dominate the United States jewellery market, accounting for approximately 80% of the total share. This strong position is primarily supported by consistent consumer preference for high-quality, durable, and investment-oriented products. Jewellery pieces crafted from gold, platinum, and diamonds are widely perceived as symbols of luxury, status, and long-term value. Furthermore, the demand for fine jewellery is closely linked to occasion-based purchases such as weddings, anniversaries, and celebrations. As a result, this segment benefits from both emotional and financial buying motivations, ensuring sustained demand across diverse consumer groups.

By sales channel, retail offline stores continue to lead the United States jewellery market, capturing approximately 65% of the total share. This dominance is largely attributed to the trust and assurance associated with in-store purchases, particularly for high-value jewellery items. Consumers prefer physical retail environments where they can examine product authenticity, craftsmanship, and quality before making a purchase decision. Additionally, personalized customer service, expert guidance, and after-sales support further enhance the overall buying experience. Consequently, the ability to offer a tangible and reliable purchasing journey continues to reinforce the strong position of offline retail channels in the market.

View Full Report (All Data, In One Place):

https://www.vyansaintelligence.com/industry-report/us-jewellery-market-size (Explore in-depth analyses, market trends, and competitive insights.)

Major Jewellery Companies in the United States

Key companies contributing to competition and product innovation in the market include:

Swarovski AG

Claire's Stores Inc

Piaget SA

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc

Cartier International Inc

Pandora A/S

Van Cleef & Arpels Inc

Chanel USA Inc

Harry Winston Inc

Bulgari SpA

United States Jewellery Market Scope

By Category: Costume Jewellery, Fine Jewellery

By Type: Earrings, Neckwear, Rings, Wristwear, Other

By Collection: Diamond, Non-Diamond

By Material Type: Gold, Platinum, Metal Combination, Silver

By Sales Channel: Retail Offline, Retail Online

By End User: Men, Women

Browse More Reports on Jewellery

UK Jewellery Market: The Jewellery in UK is estimated at USD 6.42 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 6.89 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 1.01% during 2026-32.

UAE Jewellery Market: The Jewellery in UAE is estimated at USD 3.85 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 4.64 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 2.7% during 2026-32.

Thailand Jewellery Market: The Jewellery market in Thailand is estimated at USD 2.52 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 3.05 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 2.76% during 2026-32.

Turkey Jewellery Market: The Jewellery in Turkey is estimated at USD 820 million in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 1.01 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 3.02% during 2026-32.

Philippines Jewellery Market: The Jewellery in Philippines is estimated at USD 680 million in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 785 million by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 2.07% during 2026-32.

Netherlands Jewellery Market: The Jewellery market in Netherlands is estimated at USD 1.34 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 1.51 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 1.72% during 2026-32.

Poland Jewellery Market: The Jewellery in Poland is estimated at USD 1.07 billion and is expected to grow to USD 1.21 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 1.77% during 2026-32.

Japan Jewellery Market: The Jewellery in Japan is estimated at USD 7.48 billion and is expected to grow to USD 8.08 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 1.11% during 2026-32.

Italy Jewellery Market: The Jewellery in Italy is estimated at USD 5.29 billion and is expected to grow to USD 5.67 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 1% during 2026-32.

Indonesia Jewellery Market: The Jewellery in Indonesia is estimated at USD 2.66 billion and is expected to grow to USD 3.29 billion by 2032. Also, the market is projected to register a CAGR of around 3.08% during 2026-32.

About Vyansa Intelligence

Vyansa Intelligence is a global market research and consulting firm dedicated to delivering strategic insights across high-growth and emerging industries worldwide. Our comprehensive research reports provide data-driven analysis of market trends, competitive landscapes, technological innovations, and regulatory developments shaping the global business environment. Supported by robust research methodologies, advanced forecasting models, and carefully validated primary and secondary data sources, Vyansa Intelligence empowers corporations, investors, and decision-makers to identify emerging opportunities, manage potential risks, and develop well-informed long-term strategies. We remain committed to delivering actionable market intelligence that supports sustainable business growth and strengthens competitive positioning in an increasingly dynamic marketplace.

Contact Us:

Vyansa Intelligence

Office: Office No.110, H-159, Sector 63, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301, India

Contact No: +91 7065555003

Email: sales@vyansaintelligence.com

Website: vyansaintelligence.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2929228/Vyansa_Intelligence_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/us-jewellery-market-is-projected-to-reach-usd-83-2-billion-by-2032--driven-by-strong-demand-for-fine-jewellery-vyansa-intelligence-302721943.html
Sao Paulo, Brazil--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Brasil DNA announces 2026 initiative, carried out by Global Vision Access (GVA) in partnership with the Bureau Mundo platform and with support from Embratur, is preparing its new edition by bringing together Brazilian destinations and companies interested in expanding their presence and generating business opportunities in the United States and Canadian markets.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/12264/289563_c0d89d2fb46419e3_001full.jpg

Brasil DNA announces 2026 edition with initiatives to promote Brazilian tourism in the United States and Canada

The program integrates tourist destinations, DMCs, hotels, attractions, operators, and experience providers into an international strategy aimed at promoting Brazil to operators, travel agents, specialized media, and consumers in North America.

The United States and Canada are among the main source markets of international tourists to Brazil and are considered priorities in the country's international promotion strategies.

The campaign will begin in April 2026 and includes a series of actions throughout the year, combining B2B and B2C initiatives focused on strengthening Brazil's positioning as a diverse and strategic tourist destination on the global stage.

Platform connects Brazilian destinations to the North American travel trade

Created by GVA in partnership with Bureau Mundo, Brasil DNA is an international tourism promotion platform structured around four pillars that aim to translate the essence of the Brazilian experience: Authenticity, Culture, Gastronomy, and Natural Treasures.

The initiative combines communication, content, and relationship-building actions with the international travel trade, with the goal of increasing awareness of Brazilian destinations and strengthening commercial connections with operators and travel agents in North America.

Among the actions planned for the 2026 edition are:

B2B platform with channels and mini-guides dedicated to partners

Webinars and online courses aimed at training the North American travel trade

Continuous production of editorial and audiovisual content about Brazilian destinations

Communication campaigns and segmented newsletters

Press relations initiatives and engagement with international media

In-person roadshows in strategic cities across North America

Virtual roadshows connecting Brazilian companies to the international travel trade

First edition brought together Brazilian destinations and companies

The inaugural edition of Brasil DNA was held in 2025 and brought together Brazilian destinations and companies in initiatives focused on tourism promotion and generating commercial connections with the North American market.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/12264/289563_c0d89d2fb46419e3_002full.jpg

According to the organization, the results included:

Increased presence of Brazil within the United States and Canadian travel trade

Delivery of training sessions and specialized events for operators and travel agents

Production of strategic content about Brazilian destinations and experiences in English, targeted at the North American market

Commercial connections between Brazilian companies and international buyers

Strengthening of Brazil's positioning in strategic tourism niches

For 2026, the project will be expanded, with a longer campaign duration, new strategic partners, and an extended calendar of international promotion activities.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/12264/289563_c0d89d2fb46419e3_003full.jpg

Brasil DNA announces 2026 edition with initiatives to promote Brazilian tourism in the United States and Canada

Initiative aligns with international promotion strategies

According to Gisele Abrahao, CEO of GVA - Global Vision Access and creator of the initiative, Brasil DNA aims to help expand the country's presence in strategic markets through a collaborative approach among destinations and companies in the sector.

"The 2025 edition demonstrated Brazil's enormous potential when we work collaboratively and strategically to present our experiences to the world. For 2026, we are expanding the initiative with even more actions and partners. It is very important to strengthen and highlight our DNA in markets as relevant as the United States and Canada. We are very proud to see Brasil DNA aligned with Embratur's Plano Brasis, which seeks to enhance diversity, collaboration, and the representativeness of our tourism industry on the international stage," she states.

Participation of companies and destinations





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/12264/289563_c0d89d2fb46419e3_004full.jpg

The program brings together tourist destinations, DMCs (Destination Management Companies), hotels, resorts, attractions, operators, and experience providers interested in increasing visibility and commercial connections in the North American market.

As the campaign is scheduled to begin in April 2026, companies and destinations participating in the initiative will also take part in the strategic planning of actions and the international promotion calendar developed throughout the year.

More information about the initiative can be obtained from the project's organization.

Subscription to the Brasil DNA Newsletter is available here.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289563

Source: Brasil DNA
MIAMI, FL / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / Qtonic Quantum Corp, the independent post-quantum cybersecurity advisory firm, today announced the launch of Qtonic Quantum Lab (qtonicquantum.com/lab), the first vendor neutral, quantitative scoring platform for post-quantum cryptography implementations. The announcement comes during RSAC 2026 Conference in San Francisco, where more than 40,000 cybersecurity professionals are gathered this week.

Qtonic Quantum Lab evaluates 215 PQC implementations across 12 categories. These include cryptographic libraries, hardware security modules, certificate management platforms, browsers, VPNs, and silicon providers. Each implementation is scored across 10 weighted dimensions with published thresholds and a dual-consensus methodology. Scores update continuously as new evidence emerges. This is not a point-in-time snapshot. It is a living benchmark.

The Gap No One Has Filled

NIST finalized FIPS 203, 204, and 205 in August 2024. OMB has mandated federal PQC migration under M-23-02. The federal deadline is January 1, 2029. Nation-state adversaries are already running Harvest Now, Decrypt Later campaigns, collecting encrypted traffic today with the expectation of breaking it once cryptographically relevant quantum computers arrive. Every enterprise and government agency must now select PQC libraries, HSMs, and platforms for migration. Until today, there was no independent, quantitative comparison data to guide those decisions.

Vendors self-report. NIST standardizes algorithms but does not rank implementations. MITRE catalogs vulnerabilities but does not score PQC readiness. Government certifications through the CMVP carry a two-year-plus backlog. Academic benchmarks measure speed and nothing else. The Big Four consult but do not publish. There has been no Consumer Reports for post quantum crypto. Until now.

How Qtonic Quantum Lab Works

Qtonic Quantum Lab scores every major PQC implementation across 10 dimensions: Algorithm Correctness, Performance, Key and Ciphertext Size, Side-Channel Resistance, Interoperability, Standards Compliance, Maturity, Documentation, Supply Chain Integrity, and Quantum Resistance. Each dimension carries a published weight and threshold. A dual-consensus architecture ensures no single evaluation pathway determines a final score.

The 12 categories under continuous evaluation include libraries (liboqs, OpenSSL, BoringSSL, wolfSSL), HSMs (Thales, Entrust, Futurex), platforms (Keyfactor, Venafi, IBM), browsers (Chrome, Firefox), VPNs (NordVPN, Mullvad), and silicon (NVIDIA, Infineon, NXP). The platform runs 24/7/365. No vendor pays for inclusion, ranking, or evaluation.

Every score is cryptographically signed with ML-DSA-65 (FIPS 204), one of the actual post quantum signature algorithms the platform evaluates. Each score carries a tamper-evident hash chain that any buyer can independently verify. The platform stakes its credibility on the same cryptography it evaluates.

The complete scoring rubric, all 10 dimensions, weights, thresholds, and dual-consensus rules, is published at qtonicquantum.com/lab/methodology. No other PQC evaluation platform publishes its rubric in full.

What Buyers Are Hearing

"Every organization we talk to asks the same question: How do I evaluate solutions in our PQC transition? Until now, the honest answer was that no one could tell them. Qtonic Quantum Lab provides the market with an in depth comparison tool that delivers risk reduction and defensibility: Real scores. Published methodology. No vendor bias. And by signing every score with the 'gold standard' NIST Algorithm (ML-DSA-65), the scores themselves are quantum resistant and tamper-proof, embodying the very 'crypto-agility' Qtonic Quantum helps clients achieve." - Stephen Marchewitz, Vice President, Quantum Sales, Qtonic Quantum Corp.

"As the industry converges on post-quantum timelines, the transition is already underway. Enterprises are making long-term cryptographic decisions today, but lack a clear, objective way to compare solutions. Qtonic Quantum Lab establishes a transparent, vendor-neutral standard for evaluating PQC implementations, bringing the rigor and accountability the market has been missing." - Chris Fraser, Growth Advisor, Qtonic Quantum Corp.

Qtonic Quantum Lab by the Numbers

215 PQC implementations tracked and evaluated across 12 categories

10 scoring dimensions with published weights and thresholds

Every score cryptographically signed with post-quantum ML-DSA-65 (FIPS 204)

Scored continuously, 24/7/365

No vendor pays for inclusion, ranking, or evaluation

Availability

Qtonic Quantum Lab is live and publicly accessible at qtonicquantum.com/lab. The scoring methodology is published at qtonicquantum.com/lab/methodology. QScout, the company's cryptographic risk and vulnerability intelligence platform, is available as a freemium offering on Azure Marketplace, and the QScout Free Scanner is live for immediate use.

About Qtonic Quantum

Qtonic Quantum Corp is a vendor-neutral quantum cybersecurity advisory firm headquartered in Miami with R&D in Be'er Sheva, Israel. The company delivers three core services: QScout (cryptographic risk and vulnerability intelligence), QStrike (quantum penetration testing), and QSolve (PQC migration advisory). Qtonic Quantum has completed 50+ Fortune 1000 engagements, cataloged more than 162,000 cryptographic findings with a 99% HNDL exposure rate and zero false positives, and backs its work with a commercially underwritten $2M Quantum Challenge. The company's Intelligence Model, LLM26, powers narrative enrichment across all service lines. Qtonic Quantum evaluates implementations across 8 quantum platforms spanning 5 modalities. The company is chaired by Lt. Gen. Mark E. Weatherington, USAF (Ret.) and is a SAM.gov registered federal contractor (UEI: FRYFAD3GW5W5, CAGE: 14E99). Learn more at qtonicquantum.com.

Additional Resources (Available on Request)

Methodology documentation for reporters who want to verify claims before publishing

Anonymized scoring extracts for editorial reference

Embargo arrangements available for feature coverage with exclusive access

Media Contact

Jessica Gold

Vice President, Quantum Marketing

Qtonic Quantum Corp

Email: Media@qtonicquantum.com

Phone: +1 (866) 4-QTONIC

Web: qtonicquantum.com

SOURCE: Qtonic Quantum Corp.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/qtonic-quantum-debuts-industrys-first-independent-scoring-platfo-1151205
Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Prime Developments Ltd., a leading developer dedicated to infrastructure, sustainable projects, and community enhancement in St. Kitts and Nevis, proudly joins the Investment Gateway Summit 2026 as its exclusive Platinum Sponsor.

"We are proud to welcome Prime Developments Ltd. as a Platinum Sponsor of the Investment Gateway Summit 2026," said H.E. Calvin St. Juste, Executive Chairman of the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Unit.

"A leading force in infrastructure and sustainable development in St. Kitts and Nevis, Prime Developments continues to support long-term national growth and the strength of the Federation's Citizenship Programme."

Since 2006, Prime Developments has been instrumental in elevating St. Kitts and Nevis through innovative Citizenship by Investment projects via Public Benefit Options (PBO).

Under the leadership of CEO Dr. Sirous Motevassel, the company focuses on government-endorsed initiatives that drive sustainable development, modern infrastructure, vibrant communities, local economic growth, and job creation.

Notable projects include the Prime Creative Arts Centre, a major cultural hub designed to boost the island's creative economy and quality of life for residents.

The Investment Gateway Summit 2026, hosted by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and the Citizenship Unit, is the Caribbean's premier event for global mobility, strategic investment, and economic development.

Now in its third edition, the summit brings together international investors, policymakers, industry leaders, and professionals to connect, collaborate, and explore opportunities in investment migration and beyond.

Join global leaders at IGS 2026 to shape the future of investment and opportunity.

Dates : 17 - 20 June 2026

: 17 - 20 June 2026 Location: St. Kitts, St. Kitts and Nevis

Learn more about Prime Developments: https://primedevelopments.org

Register for the summit: https://shorturl.at/k9s4p

About Prime Developments Ltd.

Prime Developments is the leading developer in St. Kitts and Nevis, specialising in impactful Citizenship by Investment projects that contribute to sustainable national growth, infrastructure, and community vitality. Committed to positive, long-term benefits for the Federation, the company transforms investments into enduring legacies for residents and new citizens alike.

About the Investment Gateway Summit

The Investment Gateway Summit is the flagship event for the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Programme, fostering connections and celebrating opportunities in global investment and mobility.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289688

Source: St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Unit
vivo is also sharing its cutting-edge insights during two sub-forums at BFA. On March 25, Zhang Fei, Vice President of AI at vivo, will participate in the "AI+: Empowering Industrial Upgrading through Digital and Intelligent Technology" session. Zhang will share vivo' s strategic path and practical results in driving the smartphone industry's digital transformation via "AI+" technology and present a panoramic view of the application paradigm where AI and imaging deeply converge. In addition, Shao Hao, head of the Robot Lab and Chief Scientist at vivo, will participate in the "Advancement and Breakthrough of Humanoid Robotics" sub-forum to share vivo' s latest R&D progress and future roadmap in the robotics field.

With the belief that imaging technology enables the connection of all things, vivo will remain dedicated to user-oriented innovation while embarking on a technological journey with global partners to ensure that the fruits of innovation benefit all and make a better life accessible to everyone.

(END)

About vivo

vivo is a technology company that creates great products based on a user-oriented value, with smart devices and intelligent services as its core. The company aims to build a bridge between humans and the digital world. Through unique creativity, vivo provides users with an increasingly convenient mobile and digital life. Following the company's core values, which include Benfen*, user-orientation, design-driven value, continuous learning and team spirit, vivo has implemented a sustainable development strategy with the vision of developing into a healthier, more sustainable world-class corporation.

While bringing together and developing the best local talents to deliver excellence, vivo is supported by a network of R&D centers in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an and more cities, focusing on the development of state-of-the-art consumer technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial design, imaging system and other up-and-coming technologies. vivo has also set up an intelligent manufacturing network (including those authorized by vivo), with an annual production capacity of nearly 200 million smartphones. As of now, vivo has branched out its sales network across more than 60 countries and regions, and is loved by more than 500 million users worldwide.

*"Benfen" is a term describing the attitude on doing the right things and doing things right - which is the ideal description of vivo's mission to create value for society.

Stay informed of latest vivo news at https://www.vivo.com/en/about-vivo/news

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941292/Picture2.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941291/Picture3.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941290/Picture4.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941289/Picture5.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/vivo-at-boao-forum-building-a-perception-system-driven-by-imaging--ai-302723704.html
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - FE International, a leading global M&A advisor for technology businesses, proudly announces the appointment of Allan Mooney as Partner. The appointment further strengthens the firm's senior leadership team and expands its strategic advisory capabilities across premium digital assets, ecommerce, and high-value M&A transactions.





Image 1

"Allan Mooney's exceptional track record in M&A strategy, combined with his operational acumen and proven ability to scale high-growth businesses, will be invaluable to FE International and our clients," said Thomas Smale, Founder and CEO of FE International. "His extensive network and hands-on experience in ecommerce and digital marketplaces strengthen our ability to deliver outstanding results to clients in these rapidly evolving sectors."

Mooney brings more than 20 years of diverse experience spanning telecom, premium domain brokerage, and eight-figure internet-based business M&A. He began his career in M&A in 2005 with eBiz Brokers, now iMerge Advisors, where he served as their premium digital asset broker. He quickly established himself as one of the industry's most experienced digital asset brokers, completing multiple seven and eight figure premium domain name sales and advising clients on small-cap exit strategies in the ecommerce space.

After building a distinguished independent advisory practice, Allan joined Website Properties in 2023, a boutique M&A firm based in Washington state focused on mid-cap technology acquisitions. There, he was immediately recognized as the firm's premier exit advisor, specializing in premium; one-word domain names and ecommerce-based companies valued from $5 million to $100 million. From ecommerce stores to multi-million-dollar SaaS businesses, Allan has represented some of the technology sector's most significant digital asset transactions. Beyond M&A, Mooney has spent more than two decades advising mid-cap companies on board placement, CEO recruitment, telecommunications integration, and partnership/joint venture relationships.

"FE International is widely regarded as the gold standard in technology M&A, and I am honored to join the firm as Partner," said Allan Mooney, Partner at FE International. "My career has been built on helping business owners realize the full value of their digital assets. Bringing that experience to FE's global reach and proven track record allows me to deliver even greater outcomes for clients across the high-value M&A landscape."

In his role as Partner, Allan will lead strategic advisory initiatives at FE International, applying his deep industry knowledge and operational experience to support clients in complex ultra high-value M&A transactions. His expertise will be instrumental in maximizing value for clients across digital-native and technology-driven sectors.

Allan's appointment reinforces FE International's commitment to assembling the strongest advisory team in technology M&A. He will operate from the firm's network of global offices, serving clients across the international technology sector.

About FE International

Founded in 2010, FE International is an award-winning strategic advisor for technology businesses. FE's team has completed over 1,500 transactions with a combined value of over $50 billion. FE International was named one of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies from 2020 to 2024 by the Financial Times and is also a seven-time Inc. 5000 company.

For more information, visit www.feinternational.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289709

Source: Pinion Partners
Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Lisa Brostrom takes leadership of San Antonio practice, focusing on individualized treatment planning and long-term patient relationships.

SAN ANTONIO, TX / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / New Image Plastic Surgery is entering an exciting new chapter under the leadership of board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Lisa Brostrom, MD, FACS, who recently assumed ownership of the San Antonio practice. The transition reflects a renewed commitment to personalized care, physician-led treatment planning, and a patient experience designed around trust, safety, and natural-looking aesthetic results.

With decades of experience in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, Dr. Brostrom brings a unique blend of advanced surgical training, compassionate patient care, and leadership shaped by her distinguished career in the United States Air Force. Her approach combines technical precision with an understanding that aesthetic procedures are deeply personal decisions that require thoughtful consultation and individualized planning.

By operating as a single-surgeon practice, New Image Plastic Surgery allows patients to work directly with Dr. Brostrom throughout every stage of their aesthetic journey-from consultation and treatment planning to surgery and recovery.

"This next chapter allows us to further refine what we do best, which is delivering highly personalized, thoughtful aesthetic care with consistency and focus," said Dr. Lisa Brostrom. "My commitment to our patients and our community has never been stronger."

A Patient-Centered Approach to Aesthetic Surgery

Dr. Brostrom has built a reputation in the San Antonio area for combining advanced surgical techniques with a compassionate, patient-focused philosophy. Her practice emphasizes careful consultation, clear communication, and treatment plans tailored to each individual's goals and lifestyle.

Patients frequently seek Dr. Brostrom's expertise for procedures such as mommy makeovers, tummy tucks, breast surgery, and facial rejuvenation procedures including facelifts and eyelid surgery. Each procedure is approached with a focus on achieving balanced, natural-looking results that enhance a patient's features rather than dramatically altering them.

"As a female plastic surgeon, I understand that aesthetic decisions are deeply personal," Dr. Brostrom said. "My goal is to create results that feel natural, balanced, and truly aligned with who my patients are. Every patient deserves clarity, honesty, and a treatment plan built specifically around their goals."

Education, Surgical Training, and Professional Recognition

Dr. Brostrom's medical career reflects a strong foundation of academic achievement and specialized surgical training. She graduated with high honors from Baylor College of Medicine before completing extensive training in surgery and plastic surgery. She is board-certified in Plastic Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), a designation that recognizes surgeons who meet rigorous standards for professional competence and ethical practice.

Her credentials and training have helped establish her as a trusted provider of cosmetic and reconstructive procedures for patients throughout the San Antonio region.

Military Service and a Commitment to Safety

In addition to her work in private practice, Dr. Brostrom served in the United States Air Force, where she performed reconstructive and cosmetic procedures for service members and their families. Her military service continues to influence her philosophy of care today.

"My military background taught me discipline, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to safety," said Dr. Brostrom. "Those principles guide every decision I make in caring for my patients."

This background reinforces the practice's strong emphasis on surgical safety, meticulous technique, and thorough patient preparation throughout every stage of treatment.

Comprehensive Surgical and Non-Surgical Aesthetic Care

New Image Plastic Surgery offers a full range of cosmetic and reconstructive procedures for the face, breast, and body. Popular surgical options include breast augmentation, breast lift procedures, tummy tucks, liposuction, and facial rejuvenation treatments such as facelifts, neck lifts, and eyelid surgery.

In addition to surgical procedures, the practice provides non-surgical aesthetic treatments designed to support skin health and rejuvenation. These services allow patients to maintain results over time and explore aesthetic improvements that do not require surgery.

The practice recently expanded its Med Spa offerings with the addition of esthetician Sierra Jeffress, helping broaden the range of skincare and rejuvenation treatments available to patients seeking non-invasive options.

By combining surgical expertise with advanced skincare and aesthetic treatments, New Image Plastic Surgery provides a comprehensive approach to cosmetic care that supports patients at every stage of their aesthetic journey.

Building Long-Term Relationships With Patients

At the heart of Dr. Brostrom's philosophy is a commitment to building long-term relationships with patients through trust, transparency, and personalized care. Each consultation focuses on education and open dialogue so patients can fully understand their options before moving forward with treatment.

This approach helps ensure that patients feel confident and supported throughout the process-from their first consultation to recovery and follow-up care.

"We are building something intentional here-an aesthetic practice known for natural-looking results, compassionate service, and long-term relationships," Dr. Brostrom concluded. "I'm excited for what this focused future means for our patients in San Antonio."

About New Image Plastic Surgery

New Image Plastic Surgery is located in the Stone Oak area of San Antonio and offers a wide range of cosmetic surgery and aesthetic services for the face, breast, and body. Led by board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Lisa Brostrom, the practice focuses on personalized care, advanced surgical techniques, and natural-looking results tailored to each patient's goals.

Patients from throughout San Antonio and South Texas visit the practice for both surgical and non-surgical treatments designed to enhance confidence and support overall wellness.

For more information about New Image Plastic Surgery or to schedule a consultation with Dr. Lisa Brostrom, visit the practice's contact page or follow @drlisabrostrom on Instagram and TikTok.

Media Contact

New Image Plastic Surgery

20255 Stone Oak Parkway

San Antonio, TX 78258

(210) 640-6310

SOURCE: New Image Plastic Surgery

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/san-antonio-plastic-surgeon-dr.-lisa-brostrom-leads-new-era-at-new-im-1149721
Lisbon, Portugal--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Lithium Africa Corp. (TSXV: LAF) (FSE: 6MQ) (formerly named Lombard Street Capital Corp.) (the "Company") announces that, subject to regulatory approval, it has entered into a Consulting Services Agreement (the "Euroswiss Agreement") dated March 23, 2026 with Euroswiss Capital Partners Inc. ("Euroswiss"), to provide strategic and financial consulting services. Under the Euroswiss Agreement, Euroswiss will serve as a strategic and financial consultant to the Company on a non-exclusive basis, providing advice, consultation, information and services regarding general business development, financial consulting, and Internet strategy, including aiding the Company in developing a communication plan directed at informing the investing public as to the business of the Company, and advising and assisting the Company with networking, business development and corporate finance matters.

Under the Euroswiss Agreement, Euroswiss will receive an engagement fee of CAD$10,000 per month. The Euroswiss Agreement operates on a month-to-month basis, with each month constituting a separate service period of thirty (30) days, with the monthly fee payable in advance at the beginning of each monthly service period. Consulting services will begin immediately upon receipt of the first installment of the engagement fee, and the Company has the right to terminate on a monthly basis within 30 days' written notice. There is no annual minimum commitment and no obligation for the Company to pay an aggregate annual amount of CAD$120,000; the total amount payable under the Euroswiss Agreement depends solely on the number of monthly periods during which the agreement remains in effect.

The Euroswiss Agreement is subject to regulatory approval.

About Euroswiss Capital Partners Inc.

Euroswiss Capital Partners Inc. is an international consultant company engaged in the fields of business development, financial consulting, and Internet strategy. Euroswiss Capital Partners Inc. is headquartered in Luzern, Switzerland.

About Lithium Africa Corp.

The Company has an established 50/50 joint venture partnership with GFL International Co., Ltd. to jointly advance exploration in Africa (the "LAR-GFL JV") and, through the LAR-GFL JV, the Company has an indirect 50% interest in a portfolio of exploration assets in hardrock pegmatite districts across a number of prospective African regions covering South Africa, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali and Zimbabwe. For more information, please visit www.li-africa.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. These forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate, that the management's assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Generally forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "anticipate", "will", "expect", "may", "continue", "could", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "potential" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect which, without limiting the generality of the following, include: the ability to raise funds through private or public equity financings; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; risks inherent in exploration activities; the impact of exploration competition; unexpected geological conditions; changes in government regulations and policies, including trade laws and policies; failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; volatility and sensitivity to market prices; volatility and sensitivity to capital market fluctuations; environmental and safety risks including increased regulatory burdens; weather and other natural phenomena; and other exploration, development, operating, financial market and regulatory risks. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or the dates specifically referenced in this press release, where applicable. Except as required by applicable securities laws and regulation, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289729

Source: Lithium Africa Corp.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - InZinc Mining Ltd. (TSXV: IZN) ("InZinc" or "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of a combination of: (i) common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") each issued as a "flow-through share" (such Common Shares being "FT Shares") at a price of $0.08 per FT Share; and (ii) non-flow-through units ("Units") at a price of $0.05 per Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of up to $1,200,000.

Proceeds from the issuance of the FT Shares will support a planned 2026 diamond drilling program targeting new Sedex discoveries - primarily zinc with associated lead, silver and potentially gallium (both zinc and gallium are considered critical minerals) - at the Company's wholly owned Indy project, located approximately 90 km southeast of Prince George in central British Columbia (the "Indy Project"). Drill permits have been received and drilling is expected to begin in May 2026.

Drilling in late 2025 discovered the B-9 Apex Zone, including a very high-grade intersection containing 20.1% Zn, 1.7% Pb and 9.5 g/t Ag over 3.2 m within a 58 m wide mineralized and altered envelope. The 2025 program achieved a 125% drill-defined strike extension of the B-9 Zone trend to 1000 m, culminating with the discovery of the Apex Zone. Untested, coincident geophysical and geochemical anomalies extend for at least 1,200 m along strike from the Apex Zone, defining a highly prospective corridor of up to 2.2 km with strong potential for both extensions and new discoveries.

Each FT Share will qualify as a "flow-through share", as defined in subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act"). The proceeds of the FT Shares will be used to incur eligible expenses related to the Indy Project (the "Qualifying Expenditures") that qualify:

(i) as "Canadian exploration expenses" (as this term is defined in the Tax Act) which may be renounced by the Company pursuant to the Tax Act;

(ii) either as "flow-through mining expenditures" or, if the Company so determines, as "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures" (as both terms are defined in the Tax Act); and

(iii) for FT Shares purchased by eligible British Columbia investors, as "BC flow-through mining expenditures" that meet the criteria set forth in subsection 4.721(1) of the Income Tax Act (British Columbia).

The Company plans to incur Qualifying Expenditures on or before December 31, 2027 (or such other period as may be permissible under applicable tax legislation), and to renounce all the Qualifying Expenditures in favour of investors of the FT Shares with an effective date not later than December 31, 2026.

Each Unit will consist of one non-flow-through Common Share and one-half () of one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one non-flow-through Common Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.10 per Warrant Share until 4:30 pm (Pacific time) on that date that is 24 months from the closing date of the Offering (the "Expiry Time"). Closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or around April 9, 2026 (the "Closing Date").

Proceeds from the issuance of the Units will be used for general working capital.

The Offering is subject to regulatory approvals. The securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period under applicable securities laws.

In connection with the Offering, certain finders may receive a cash fee and/or non-transferable finder's warrants in connection with securities purchased under the Offering by investors that are found by the finder, in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Certain directors or officers of the Company may subscribe for Units under the Offering. The participation of the directors and officers in the Offering will constitute a "related party transaction" for the purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation and minority shareholder approval in connection with the insider participation in reliance on sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the securities to be issued, nor the fair market value of the consideration for the securities to be issued will exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization as calculated in accordance with MI 61-101.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available.

About InZinc

InZinc has discovered and is advancing near-surface exploration at the 100%-owned Indy project in central British Columbia, Canada. The extensive tenure at Indy covers 200 square km and a 30 km length of under-explored, prospective strata in central British Columbia. The Indy Project is well located with respect to road access, rail, power, port and smelter infrastructure. In 2025 the Company announced the extension of the B-9 mineralized trend to a drill defined strike length of greater than 1000 m and integrate:

Significant drill results from B-9 Apex Zone (replacement mineralization):

15.4% Zn, 1.3% Pb and 7.2 g/t Ag over 4.2 m, including

20.1% Zn, 1.7% Pb and 9.5 g/t Ag over 3.2 m

Significant drill results from the near-surface B-9 Discovery Zone (primary mineralization):

8.0% Zn, 2.0% Pb and 16.2 g/t Ag over 9.9 m

11.0% Zn, 2.3% Pb and 27.1 g/t Ag over 3.0 m

9.3% Zn, 2.4% Pb and 18.0 g/t Ag over 3.1 m

5.5% Zn, 0.5% Pb and 3.4 g/t Ag over 6.7 m

3.3% Zn, 0.7% Pb and 7.4 g/t Ag over 19.1 m

South32 Limited (ASX, LSE, JSE) became a major tenure holder in the Indy belt by staking approximately 200 km2 of adjacent claims in late 2021.

Additionally, InZinc will receive 50% of the revenue (NSR) from the sale of indium mined from American West Metals' (ASX) West Desert project, Utah. Through its equity investment in American West, InZinc is also exposed to a portfolio of North American base metals projects.

InZinc Mining Ltd.

Wayne Hubert

Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 604.687.7211

Website: www.inzincmining.com

Qualified Person

Patrick McLaughlin, P.Geo., an Independent Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and a registered professional geoscientist in British Columbia, has approved the technical content of this news release

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that address activities, events of developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as believe, expect, anticipates, intends, estimates, plans, postulate, indicate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although InZinc believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results, performance or actions, and that actual results or actions may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024 and for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. 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, InZinc disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedarplus.ca.

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.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289731

Source: InZinc Mining Ltd.
Hardware-enabled SaaS company AoFrio (NZX: AOF) is strengthening its ability to partner with global customers at a strategic level, with the relocation of Chief Revenue Officer James Rice from New Zealand to Atlanta, Georgia. The move underscores the company's commitment to expanding in the US.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260319933063/en/

James Rice, Chief Revenue Officer at AoFrio.

AoFrio CEO Greg Balla says the move is a strategic step that aligns with the company's near-term growth priorities.

"There's never been a better time to position James closer to our key markets and customers. Last year we launched our iQ SaaS platform and the cellular SCS 800 controller, two products that allow AoFrio to compete strongly in the US and European Cold Drink Equipment markets. James's focus will be on deepening relationships with early adopters of these solutions and driving commercial partnerships across the region," says Balla.

AoFrio designs and manufactures energy-efficient IoT hardware and software solutions for commercial refrigeration, with a strong business connecting bottle coolers for leading beverage brands and bottlers. With an established global customer base and a leading share of the Latin American market, the company is now focused on growing its footprint in North America.

Rice, who joined AoFrio's executive team in 2024, says Atlanta is an ideal hub for reaching US and Latin American customers. Key customers headquartered in the US and Latin America include Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and several leading refrigeration manufacturers (OEMs).

Says Rice: "I'll be able to spend more time with our regional teams in their respective markets, understand customer needs first-hand, and work directly with bottlers, beverage brands and OEMs to ensure we're delivering high-value, scalable outcomes."

"We're seeing growing interest in always-connected cellular solutions. Beverage bottlers are increasingly asking what additional value they can unlock by having real-time, comprehensive data on their cooler fleets. The benefits are significant, from sustainability gains to enhanced commercial performance, and more proactive service and maintenance."

He adds that AoFrio's integrated offer is a key differentiator in global markets.

"What makes us unique is that we can provide both the hardware and the software, along with strong in-country support, to help beverage companies track, monitor, and optimize their fleets. That combination is rare in our industry and gives customers confidence in long-term performance and partnership."

AoFrio estimates it currently holds around 85% of the Latin American CDE IoT market, supported by in-market teams in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala. In 2025, the company opened a new innovation centre in Queretaro, Mexico, strengthening product development, customer support, and manufacturing integration.

While beverage coolers remain the core focus, AoFrio is actively exploring opportunities to apply its IoT technology in adjacent sectors, such as food retail. The company has commenced trials of its refrigeration monitoring solution with supermarket and ice cream customers in Chile and Argentina.

Balla says "Our strategy is to protect and grow our core beverage-cooler business, expand into adjacent markets, and continue our shift toward a stronger SaaS-led model. James's relocation is an important step in advancing that strategy."

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260319933063/en/

Contacts:

AoFrio

Sally Rooney, Corporate Communications Manager.

sally.rooney@aofrio.com, +6421574766
EEII AG / Key word(s): AGMEGM

EEII AG: Cancellation of the Extraordinary General Meeting of March 26, 2026



24-March-2026 / 19:49 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Ad-hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR:

Cancellation of the Extraordinary General Meeting of March 26, 2026

Update on reverse takeover of Jubin Freres S.A.

Zug, March 24, 2026

EEII AG ("EEII" or "Company"), through its board of directors, has decided to postpone the previously announced reverse takeover of Jubin Freres S.A. ("Reverse Takeover") and consequently cancels the extraordinary general meeting supposed to take place on March 26, 2026.

Since the prerequisites for holding the extraordinary general meeting have not been met entirely, the meeting will be postponed. The valuation of Jubin Freres SA has been validated by the external auditor. SIX has also approved the prospectus.

The consummation of the reverse takeover shall be postponed until all open issues have been resolved, presumably until May 2026. The transaction is subject to various conditions, including the negotiation and execution of definitive and binding agreements between SEH and the company, the listing of the company's currently unlisted shares, shareholder approval of the transaction and the second tranche of an ordinary capital increase in cash, completion of the capital increase in cash, and the completion of further legal, administrative, and regulatory steps. These include, among others, SIX Exchange Regulation AG's approval of the listing application.

About EEII AG

EEII AG is an investment company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, focusing on energy and infrastructure assets. The Company is registered in Switzerland and operationally headquartered in Zug.

The investment objective of the Company is to maximize long-term returns to shareholders through investments in strategically selected companies in the energy distribution sector, specifically retailing automotive fuels and convenience store items in form of filling stations and connected shops. The geographic focus of the investment is Switzerland and Europe.

For more information visit: www.eeii.ch

Stock exchange listing: SIX Swiss Exchange ( www.six-swiss-exchange.com )

Ticker symbol: EEII (CH)

Security number: 716295

ISIN: CH0007162958

Contact: EEII AG, Alpenstrasse 15, 6300 Zug, Switzerland

Investor Relations:

Email: Marc Comina, marc@clpr.ch

Tel: +41 79 128 34 95

Disclaimer

This media release serves informational purposes and constitutes neither an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security nor is it a recommendation to buy any security of EEII AG or any other involved party nor shall there be any offer of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer or sale would be unlawful. This media release does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of articles 35 et seqq. or 69 of the Swiss Federal Act on Financial Services nor under any other applicable laws and should not be treated as offering materials of any sort and is for information purposes only and may not be reproduced, redistributed or made available in whole or in part to any other person for any purpose, without the prior consent of EEII AG. In addition, investors should seek advice from their bank or their financial adviser.

This media release is not for distribution, directly or indirectly in or into the United States (as defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended). The securities in connection with this Transaction may not be offered to the public in any jurisdiction in circumstances which would require EEII AG to prepare or register any prospectus or offering document relating to the securities in connection with the Transaction in such jurisdiction. No action has been taken or will be taken in any jurisdiction outside of Switzerland by EEII AG that would, or is intended to, permit a public offering of the securities in connection with the transaction.

This media release contains forward-looking statements such as projections, forecasts, and estimates. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the Company regarding future events, and are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those anticipated in this media release. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. Readers should therefore not rely on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this media release are based on the views and assumptions of EEII AG as of this date and EEII AG does not assume any obligation to update or revise this media release. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

EEII AG makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of such information and disclaims any obligation or liability in connection with it.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) -(TSX: DGS) (TSX: ESP) (TSX: ESP.PR.A) (TSX: GDV) (TSX: GDV.PR.A) (TSX: LBS) (TSX: LBS.PR.A) (TSX: LCS) (TSX: PWI) (TSX: PWI.PR.A) (TSX: SBC) (TSX: SBC.PR.A) - Brompton Funds announces distributions payable on April 15, 2026 to class A shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2026 for each of the following funds:



Ticker Amount Per Share Dividend Growth Split Corp. DGS $ 0.10 Brompton Energy Split Corp. ESP $ 0.10 Global Dividend Growth Split Corp. GDV $ 0.10 Life & Banc Split Corp. LBS $ 0.10 Brompton Lifeco Split Corp. LCS $ 0.075 Power & Infrastructure Split Corp. PWI $ 0.10 Brompton Split Banc Corp. SBC $ 0.10

Brompton Funds announces distributions payable on April 15, 2026 to preferred shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2026, for the following funds:



Ticker Amount Per Share



Brompton Energy Split Corp. ESP.PR.A $ 0.18125 Global Dividend Growth Split Corp. GDV.PR.A $ 0.12500 Life & Banc Split Corp. LBS.PR.A $ 0.18125 Power & Infrastructure Split Corp. PWI.PR.A $ 0.12500 Brompton Split Banc Corp. SBC.PR.A $ 0.15625

The funds noted above offer distribution reinvestment plans ("DRIP") for class A shareholders which provide class A shareholders with the ability to automatically reinvest distributions, commission free, and realize the benefits of compound growth. Class A shareholders can enroll in a DRIP program by contacting their investment advisor.

You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell shares of the investment funds on the TSX or other alternative Canadian trading system (an "exchange"). If the shares are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying shares of the investment fund and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them.

There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning shares of an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the fund. You can find more detailed information about a fund in the public filings available at www.sedarplus.ca. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this document and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the funds, to the future outlook of the funds and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the funds. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289736

Source: Brompton Funds Limited
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Perseverance Metals Inc. (TSXV: PMI) ("Perseverance", "PMI" or the "Company") announces that it has issued incentive stock options (the "Options") under the Company's Long-Term Incentive Plan (the "Plan") to certain Officers, Directors, Advisors, employees, and consultants of the Company.

An aggregate of 1,775,000 Options have been issued at an exercise price of $0.65 per share. All of the Options are subject to vesting over 36 months and will expire 60 months from the date of issuance. The Options are being issued following the annual compensation review by the Company's Governance and Nominating Committee in December 2025. All the foregoing Options are subject to the terms of the Plan, the applicable option agreement, and the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Perseverance Metals

Perseverance Metals is a critical minerals explorer with a project portfolio that is strategically located in key North American Ni-Cu-Co-PGE and hard rock lithium regions, including Quebec's prolific James Bay district and Michigan's productive Mid-Continent Rift.

Our strict science-driven approach and extensive track record of discovery as leveraged via an exceptional technical advisory board, coupled with an industry-leading team armed with next-generation exploration tools, provide us with a distinct competitive advantage. This offers a unique opportunity for investors to be exposed to a portfolio of projects with the potential for multiple discoveries. Perseverance's exploration assets include:

i). the Lac Gayot high-grade Ni-Cu-Co-PGE and lithium pegmatite project, which covers the entirety of the 30km Venus Greenstone Belt in Quebec, featuring multiple, very high-grade Ni-Cu-Co-PGE showings and zones along with numerous large spodumene-bearing pegmatites with consistent high lithium grades in channel sampling;



ii). the Voyageur Ni-Cu-Co-PGE project which covers 680 km2 of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, 65 kilometres west of the only producing nickel mine in the United States is drill-ready, and;



iii). the Armit Lake Ni-Cu-Co project, which is the consolidated and underexplored western half of the nickel- and gold-rich Savant Lake Greenstone Belt in Ontario.

Additional information about Perseverance Metals can be found at perseverancemetals.com.

On Behalf of the Board,

Michael J. Tucker

CEO and Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is dened in the Policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the Company's exploration plans and the potential development of its mineral properties. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise such statements except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289755

Source: Perseverance Metals Inc.
Rio Tinto, the Queensland Government and the Commonwealth Government have struck a landmark partnership to secure a long-term future for the Boyne aluminium smelter at Gladstone and ensure it remains internationally cost-competitive beyond its current power contract.

The agreement supports a long-term future for aluminium smelting in Queensland, building on power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed by Rio Tinto in recent years to underwrite A$7.5 billion in new renewable energy and storage in the state.

Under the deal, the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments will invest a combined A$2 billion over 10 years to 2040, finalising the terms of a previously announced partnership between Queensland and Rio Tinto, and forming part of the Federal Government's Future Made in Australia initiative. The partnership supports the transition to long-term competitive power for the smelter and manufacturing jobs in Central Queensland for the longer term.

Combined with what will be some of Australia's largest solar and wind power investments, underwritten by Rio Tinto, the partnership ensures Boyne Smelters Limited the owner of the smelter in which Rio Tinto has a majority stake will continue aluminium production beyond the completion of its current power contract in 2029, through to at least 2040.

Rio Tinto Aluminium Lithium Chief Executive Jerome Pecresse said: "This transformative partnership with the Queensland and Australian governments will ensure Boyne Smelter remains internationally competitive, strengthens the Australian aluminium sector for the future and supports the transformation and decarbonisation of the Queensland energy system.

"As fossil fuels become increasingly expensive, this investment, combined with the power purchase agreements we have already signed, positions Boyne to be among the world's first aluminium smelters underpinned by solar and wind power.

"It also ensures heavy manufacturing like aluminium smelting can continue in Gladstone for the long term and preserves one of the few fully integrated aluminium value chains in the world from bauxite mining to alumina refining to aluminium smelting all in Queensland as demand for aluminium continues to grow with the energy transition."

In addition to its previously announced PPAs, Rio Tinto has agreed to offtake 40% of Lightsource bp's Lower Wonga solar and battery hybrid project near Gympie, equivalent to 112MWac of solar capacity and approximately three hours duration of associated battery storage. This brings total Queensland renewable power contracted by Rio Tinto to more than 2.8GW.

About Rio Tinto and Boyne Smelters Limited

Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL) has been operating since 1982 and is Australia's second largest aluminium smelter. Located at Boyne Island in central Queensland, BSL's activities include manufacturing carbon anodes in the carbon plant, aluminium production (smelting) in reduction lines, and casting of molten metal into aluminium products ready to ship. The smelter is adjacent to, and connected via a conveyor belt, to the Queensland Alumina Limited refinery for the supply of alumina. BSL is owned by Rio Tinto (73.5%), YKK Aluminium (9.5%), UACJ (9.29%) and Southern Cross Aluminium (7.71%).

Rio Tinto's integrated aluminium production chain in Queensland is a significant economic driver, employing over 4,500 people directly and supporting thousands more Australian livelihoods. The company's operations in Gladstone alone account for more than 3,000 jobs, with 1,000 of those at BSL. Additionally, Rio Tinto's bauxite operations in Weipa employ more than 1,300 people, supplying raw materials to the Gladstone manufacturing facilities.

In Queensland, Rio Tinto has contracted more than 2.8GW of new renewable energy and more than 600MW storage capacity from five projects since January 2024:

European Energy Upper Calliope solar project 1.1GW

Bungaban wind project 1.1GW

Smoky Creek Guthrie's Gap Solar Power Station solar and battery 540MW 2160MWh

Lightsource bp Lower Wonga 112MW 3.24MWh

This announcement is authorised for release to the market by Andy Hodges, Rio Tinto's Group Company Secretary.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324927645/en/

Contacts:

Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com

Media Relations,

United Kingdom

Matthew Klar

M +44 7796 630 637

David Outhwaite

M +44 7787 597 493

Media Relations,

Australia

Matt Chambers

M +61 433 525 739

Alyesha Anderson

M +61 434 868 118

Rachel Pupazzoni

M +61 438 875 469

Bruce Tobin

M +61 419 103 454

Media Relations,

Canada

Simon Letendre

M +1 514 796 4973

Malika Cherry

M +1 418 592 7293

Vanessa Damha

M +1 514 715 2152

Media Relations,

US Latin America

Jesse Riseborough

M +1 202 394 9480

Investor Relations,

United Kingdom

Rachel Arellano

M +44 7584 609 644

David Ovington

M +44 7920 010 978

Laura Brooks

M +44 7826 942 797

Weiwei Hu

M +44 7825 907 230

Investor Relations,

Australia

Tom Gallop

M +61 439 353 948

Eddie Gan-Och

M +61 477 599 714

Rio Tinto plc

6 St James's Square

London SW1Y 4AD

United Kingdom

T +44 20 7781 2000

Registered in England

No. 719885

Rio Tinto Limited

Level 43, 120 Collins Street

Melbourne 3000

Australia

T +61 3 9283 3333

Registered in Australia

ABN 96 004 458 404

riotinto.com

Category: General
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX: NUMI) (OTC Pink: NUMIF) ("Numinus" or the "Company"), a mental health care company focused on innovative behavioral health treatments with an emphasis on safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies, is providing an update regarding its listing status on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX").

As previously disclosed in the Company's management information circular dated July 29, 2025, and as approved by shareholders at the Company's annual general meeting held on August 28, 2025 (with voting results subsequently disclosed on September 3, 2025), shareholders authorized the Board of Directors, in its discretion, to voluntarily delist the Company's common shares from the TSX if deemed to be in the best interests of the Company.

Further to Numinus' news release of March 13, 2026, on March 19, 2026 the Continued Listing Committee of the TSX met and determined to delist the Company's common shares from the TSX, effective April 22, 2026. While this delisting does not result from a request from the Company, it is consistent with the authorization of the shareholders to delist Numinus from the TSX, and aligns with the Company's previously disclosed strategic considerations.

As the Company remains subject to a cease trade order (the "CTO"), the delisting from the TSX will not change the current trading status of its securities, which are not presently tradable in Canada. The Company will continue to be a reporting issuer in all applicable Canadian jurisdictions.

Looking ahead for Numinus, management is pleased to advise that an application has been filed to list the Company's shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"). If approved, a listing on the CSE could only take effect after the CTO has been revoked. The listing of the Company's common shares on the CSE is subject to the Company meeting the CSE's listing requirements, which cannot be guaranteed.

Management remains focused on:

completing the work to have the audit completed for the Company's financial statements for the year ended August 31, 2026;

satisfying all regulatory requirements necessary to have the CTO revoked; and

advancing an application to list its common shares on the CSE.

Successfully executing these steps remains management's primary strategy to restore trading, enhance shareholder liquidity, and position the Company for its next phase of growth.

About Numinus

Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX: NUMI) (OTC Pink: NUMIF) helps people to heal and be well through the development and delivery of innovative mental health care and access to safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies. The Numinus model - including psychedelic research and training - is at the forefront of a transformation aimed at healing rather than managing symptoms for depression, anxiety, trauma, pain and substance use. At Numinus, we are leading the integration of psychedelic-assisted therapies into mainstream clinical practice and building the foundation for a healthier society.

Learn more at www.numinusnetwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

SOURCE Numinus Wellness Inc.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs regarding future performance are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "does not expect", "is expected", "believes", "intends", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes" or variations of these words, expressions or statements, that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" taken, will occur or will be realized. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual results, events or developments to differ materially from the results, events or developments expected and expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. These and other risk factors are outlined in our annual information form dated July 25, 2025, which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. These factors should be carefully considered, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Despite the Company's efforts to identify the main risk factors that could cause actual measures, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, other risk factors may cause measures, events or developments to materially differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. 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 forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to revise forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available as a result of future events, new facts or any other reason, except as required by applicable laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289713

Source: Numinus Wellness Inc.
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Leading automotive industry associations today called on British Columbia to repeal the provincial ZEV mandate and align with the federal government's recently announced commitment to reduce emissions through stringent standards as opposed to mandating specific technologies (zero emission vehicles).

Prime Minister Carney confirmed on February 5, 2026, that the federal ZEV mandate, known as the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, will be repealed.

British Columbia acknowledged the importance of alignment with the federal government, noting there "should be one clear, harmonized sales target" for Canada. Now is the time for the province to follow through on that commitment and support a unified national approach to electrification which will provide broader vehicle choice to British Columbians - and all Canadians - while reducing unnecessary compliance costs and improving the competitiveness of the auto industry.

The situation demands immediate action. Given the growing economic headwinds and affordability challenges facing British Columbians and Canadians, consumers are looking for vehicles that not only meet their needs but more importantly their budgets. Unique, and now redundant, regulations specific to British Columbia undermine both of those objectives while also undermining the competitiveness of the auto sector and dealership network by imposing fragmented and unachievable requirements on industry.

"Canada is navigating a trade rupture, with consumers facing uncertainty and growing affordability pressures. Ending province-specific EV mandates in favour of one national approach to greenhouse gases is the right path forward," stated Tim Reuss, President & CEO of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association. "Premier Eby is creating an interprovincial trade barrier and an affordability cliff for consumers by clinging to this outdated policy."

"The provincial economy is stuck in low gear, worsening affordability challenges facing British Columbians," said Brian Kingston, President & CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association. "Punitive regulations like the ZEV mandate limit consumer choice, drive up prices, reduce investment and job creation, and deliver limited environmental benefits."

"Not that long ago the Prime Minister and all Canadian Premiers gathered in the face of an ongoing and serious economic threat from the United States and agreed that they should be doing anything and everything possible to eliminate redundant and duplicative regulations across provincial borders that only increase cost and complexity for Canadian businesses - large and small," said David Adams, President & CEO of Global Automakers of Canada.

British Columbia's ZEV mandate no longer serves a purpose in a changed world in which stringent, national GHG regulations will do more to both reduce emissions AND drive similar levels of electrification but without redundant bureaucracy and cost of a standalone system in British Columbia. We urge the government to stand down the ZEV mandate, as committed.

- 30 -





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8608/289739_3c43287d24200943_001full.jpg

The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) - cada.ca

The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association (CVMA) - cvma.ca

The Global Automakers of Canada (GAC) - globalautomakers.ca

For more information, please contact:

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289739

Source: Canadian Auto Dealers Association
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Playground Ventures Inc. (CSE: PLAY) (the "Company"), is pleased to announce that Mr. Damien Reynolds has been appointed as a director of the Company, effective immediately.

Mr. Reynolds is a Canadian entrepreneur with multiple decades of experience in the small public capital markets. While his primary focus has been mineral exploration globally, he is also involved in many tech startups and investments.

In addition, the Company would like to announce the resignation of Mr. Harrison Reynolds as a director of the Company. Management and the board of directors would like to thank Mr. Reynolds for his contributions to the Company and wishes him well in his future endeavours.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. 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. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289743

Source: Playground Ventures Inc.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 24, 2026) - Highrock Resources Ltd. (CSE: HRK) ("Highrock" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its press release of February 24, 2026, it has upsized its non-brokered private placement to up to 2,000,000 units (the "Units") in the capital of the Company at a price of $0.05 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $100,000 (the "Offering").

Each Unit shall be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one whole Common Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.075 per Common Share until the date that is two (2) years from the date of issuance. Gross proceeds raised from the Offering will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Closing of the Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the approval of Canadian Securities Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance and the resale rules of applicable securities legislation.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons as defined under applicable United States securities laws unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Highrock Resources Ltd.

Highrock Resources is a Canadian exploration company focused on strategic and precious metals in North America.

This news release contains forward-looking information which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information is 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. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, 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 include, but are not limited to, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in obtaining required regulatory or governmental approvals, and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, including those risks set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis as filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including that all necessary governmental and regulatory approvals will be received as and when expected. 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. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable securities laws. We caution investors that any such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analysis made by the Company in light of the experience of the Company and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, and other factors management believes are appropriate.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289719

Source: Highrock Resources Ltd.
EESystem secures major federal court victories in Florida and Nevada, as Shurka's own defense team argues his legal maneuver was a doomed "foregone conclusion" and his "ecclesiastic" shell game unravels.

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / In a pair of decisive legal victories for the Energy Enhancement System (EESystem), federal judges in both Florida and Nevada have officially ordered Jason Shurka to pay a combined total of $54,034.05 in attorneys' fees. These rulings stem from ongoing intellectual property and breach of contract litigation between EESystem and Shurka regarding his "Light System" (TLS) network.

When Shurka attempted to remove active state lawsuits to federal courts across the country, the maneuvers resulted in federal judges remanding the cases and penalizing Shurka. He was ordered to pay $46,526.55 in Florida and another $7,507.50 in Nevada, with the Nevada court explicitly ruling that his removal "lacked an objectively reasonable basis".

The Incompetence Defense and "Foregone Conclusion" In an attempt to reduce the fees owed, the public narrative of Shurka as a highly capable CEO was replaced in federal court by his own legal team's plea of ignorance.

In Florida, his defense counsel from Greenberg Traurig formally pleaded for leniency due to Shurka's "inexperience in the law," citing his "lack of a grasp of federal removal procedures" and "lacking legal understanding". They argued his improper removal across state lines was simply an "honest mistake by a pro se litigant navigating complex federal statutes without legal training". Furthermore, to justify a reduction in the fees he owed, Shurka's defense team explicitly argued that the defeat of his own legal maneuver was a "foregone conclusion".

However, public court records reveal this defense contrasts sharply with his documented litigation history. Docket histories show Shurka has been actively involved in complex lawsuits-including corporate disputes and family litigation alongside Manny and Nancy Shurka-dating back to at least 2008 in New York.

The Corporate Shell Game: From "Ecclesiastic" Shields to Wyoming LLCs Shurka's tactical unraveling in federal court perfectly mirrors the collapse of his broader corporate shell game. In active litigation, the operation is identified as "Light System Inc., a private ecclesiastic faith-based organization" incorporated in Connecticut. However, the operation recently shifted its public-facing website and user agreements to a new entity: Limitless Light Technologies LLC, registered in Wyoming.

This shape-shifting from an "ecclesiastic" shield to a Wyoming LLC reveals a calculated strategy to evade accountability. Under this new Wyoming entity, the Terms & Conditions explicitly state that simply "browsing its content, creating an account, or making a purchase" legally binds a user to its rules. This indicates that casual viewers who simply signed up to watch a video on his streaming platform, Unifyd.tv, or individuals who participated in his events, were subjected to these contractual terms.

Simultaneously, while Shurka's Private Membership Agreements contain massive $100,000,000 financial penalties for his own followers, his new Wyoming LLC legally caps its own liability to a mere $100 and explicitly states: "The Company makes no medical claims regarding the technology in any capacity whatsoever."

This shift from an "ecclesiastic" shield in Connecticut to an LLC in Wyoming allows the operation to enforce draconian Terms & Conditions on Unifyd.tv subscribers while capping its own liability at $100. Yet, when caught improperly removing cases to federal court to evade accountability, Shurka's lawyers pleaded that he lacks legal understanding. Ultimately, the federal courts reviewed the facts and penalized his maneuvers, demonstrating that one cannot play a sophisticated corporate shell game while simultaneously claiming to be a naive, unknowledgeable victim.

With multiple United States District Courts officially ruling against Shurka, EESystem stands vindicated and continues to focus on transparency and the advancement of quantum wellness.

About EESystem:

Invented by Dr. Sandra Rose Michael, the Energy Enhancement System (EESystem) integrates bio-active energy fields, including scalar waves, to promote cellular regeneration, immune function, and overall wellness. With over 700 centers globally, EESystem has spent 50 years dedicated to genuine healing, transparency, and the advancement of quantum wellness.

Media Contact:

Public Relations Department

Energy Enhancement System (EESystem)

Phone: +1 702-213-7435

Email: Support@eesystem.com

Website: www.eesystem.com

SOURCE: Energy Enhancement System

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/federal-judges-order-jason-shurka-to-pay-over-54-000-in-legal-fees-as-1151424
Apple has scheduled its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) for June 8 through June 12. The event will operate primarily under an online format, accompanied by a limited-capacity, in-person gathering on the opening day at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.

WWDC26 will center on updates across Apples platforms, with a noted focus on advancements in artificial intelligence, new software, and updated developer tools. The conference is designed to provide the global developer community with insight into new frameworks and direct access to Apple engineers and designers.

Based on recent reports, iOS 27 will retain Liquid Glass design language across the system despite recent leadership changes within its design organization.

iOS 27 is also expected to bring software adjustments designed to support a foldable iPhone, but according to Mark Gurman, Apple has postponed the release of its planned smart home hub while development of the upgraded Siri platform continues.

Event Structure and Schedule

The week-long conference is divided into digital and physical experiences:

Online Conference (June 812): The event commences on Monday, June 8, with the Keynote presentation and the Platforms State of the Union.

The event commences on Monday, June 8, with the Keynote presentation and the Platforms State of the Union. In-Person Event (June 8): A special, limited-attendance event will be held at Apple Park. Selected developers and students will have the opportunity to watch the Keynote and State of the Union on-site, participate in designated labs and activities, and network with peers and Apple staff.

As part of its ongoing programming for emerging developers, Apple will integrate the Swift Student Challenge into WWDC26.

Notification Date: Applicants will be notified of their submission status on Thursday, March 26.

Applicants will be notified of their submission status on Thursday, March 26. Attendance Eligibility: General winners will be eligible to request attendance for the June 8 in-person event at Apple Park.

General winners will be eligible to request attendance for the June 8 in-person event at Apple Park. Distinguished Winners: Apple will recognize 50 Distinguished Winners for outstanding submissions, who will receive an invitation for an exclusive three-day experience in Cupertino.

Viewing and Access Information

Apple will broadcast the conference and share preliminary information across multiple official channels:

Primary Platforms: Apple Developer app, Apple Developer website, and Apples official YouTube channel.

Apple Developer app, Apple Developer website, and Apples official YouTube channel. Regional Broadcasting: The Apple Developer bilibili channel will host the event for viewers in China.

The Apple Developer bilibili channel will host the event for viewers in China. Social Media Updates: Ongoing coverage and updates will be available globally on LinkedIn and WeChat, as well as on bilibili.
China urges immediate ceasefire, end to hostilities regarding war in Iran

Xinhua) 16:34, March 24, 2026

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday called on relevant parties to bring an immediate ceasefire and an end to hostilities and return to peace and dialogue as soon as possible, after the U.S. claimed to postpone planned strikes against Iran's power plants for negotiations.

Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a related query.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Fraunhofer is sending a strong signal to the international stage. In 2025, it once again ranked among the European Patent Office (EPO)'s top 50 applicants. Nationally, it rose to fourth place and regained the lead among European public research institutions.

The latest figures confirm the research sector's crucial role in driving Germany's innovative strength. The analysis also shows Germany is strong exactly where future markets are emerging, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and sustainable energy systems. In 2025, Germany again filed the most patent applications in Europe and ranked second worldwide behind the United States.

Research as a driver for the economy

Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, firmly believes: Patents are a key indicator of technological progress, value creation and innovative strength. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft holds a leading position in Europe for patent filings. This demonstrates the excellence of German applied research and underscores Germany's international leadership in key technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, semiconductors and sustainable energy systems.

Especially in economically and technologically challenging times, it is crucial that applied research delivers tangible solutions for industry to secure competitiveness, prosperity and technological sovereignty. As a key partner to industry, The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft consistently translates research into real-world applications. Its close cooperation with companies, excellent research and focus on future technologies show that applied research remains a key driver of economic strength and a vital investment in stability and prosperity.

A signal resonating beyond research

Fraunhofer's renewed top ranking is not just a scientific success but also a strategic win for the German economy. Patent applications fell in many European countries in 2025. Yet Germany continued to show strong innovative momentum despite economic headwinds. This return to the top of the European rankings shows how critical research excellence is for Europe's technological sovereignty and long-term competitiveness.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024.
Hungary's Orban Orders Investigation Into Wiretapping of Hungarian Foreign Minister

Sputnik News

20260323

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday ordered the justice ministry to investigate the wiretapping of Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, describing it as an attack on the country.

"The wiretapping of a government member's phone calls is a serious attack on Hungary. I have instructed the Minister of Justice to immediately investigate the information about the surveillance of Peter Szijjarto's phone calls," the prime minister stated on social media.

Earlier on Monday, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs released a leaked audio recording in which journalist Szabolcs Panyi admits to providing Szijjarto's phone numbers to foreign intelligence services to track his calls.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday that the Hungarian journalist involved in his wiretapping by foreign intelligence services is linked to the pro-Ukrainian opposition.

"The first thing that comes to mind is the shock that, with the participation of a Hungarian journalist, one or more members of the Hungarian government were actively wiretapped ... It is disgusting that this Hungarian journalist, who maintains active contacts with intelligence services, belongs to the narrow circles of the Tisza party," Szijjarto said on social media.

The foreign minister said that Panyi could have been used to "create a pro-Ukrainian government" in Hungary.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






SSU exposes Hungarian intelligence officer who run Budapest's spy network in Zakarpattia in 2025

Security Service of Ukraine

15:00, 23 March 2026

The Counterintelligence Department of the Security Service of Ukraine has identified a Hungarian military intelligence officer who led an agent network exposed by the SSU in the spring of 2025 in Zakarpattia.

At that time, the Security Service detained two members of a spy cell who were gathering intelligence on the region's military defences, local socio-political sentiments, and the potential public reaction to a possible Hungarian military incursion.

According to the investigation, the activities of the foreign spy ring were directed by a career officer of Hungary's military intelligence -Zoltan Andre.

He personally conducted covert meetings in Hungary with one of his informants from Zakarpattia, who had been spying in the western region of Ukraine and was subsequently detained by the SSU Counterintelligence.

As the investigation revealed, from 2016 to 2020, Andre was in Georgia, where he conducted intelligence activities under the cover of a representative of the Hungarian diplomatic mission.

After returning from the South Caucasus in 2021, he began intelligence and sabotage activities against Ukraine.

That same year, he personally recruited a former soldier from Berehove district, Ukraine, and put him on standby. Then, in September 2024, Andre activated the agent and instructed him to spy in Zakarpattia.

It has been documented that the traitor scouted the deployment locations of the Defence Forces, specifically attempting to identify combat positions of Ukrainian air defence units protecting the skies over Ukraine's western region.

On Andre's orders, the agent was tasked with finding 'candidates' for recruitment into the Hungarian military intelligence network. In the focus of the foreign intelligence officer were former and serving military personnel, as well as employees of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.

Furthermore, according to available data, Andre exploited Hungarian diplomatic missions in Zakarpattia for recruitment purposes, utilizing the personal data found in citizenship applications submitted by local residents.

To secure their cooperation, the foreign intelligence operative offered financial rewards and various preferential treatments from the Hungarian state.

It was established that Andre conducted most of his recruitment interviews and agent meetings in his own car. He also used an operational alias.

The next person Andre recruited was a former contract soldier from one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' combat brigades. She was soon detained by the Security Service along with another agent.

Additionally, another Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemember was identified whom the Hungarian operative attempted to recruit. Instead of monetary compensation, he promised this person regular supplies of narcotics for 'personal use'.

Currently, the SSU Counterintelligence is continuing efforts to identify all members of the Hungarian spy network who acted to the detriment of Ukraine. Each of the perpetrators will be found and held accountable for crimes against our state.

The Security Service of Ukraine calls for public vigilance. Citizens are urged to report any dubious offers, suspicious individuals, or potential intelligence-gathering activities by hostile intelligence services. If you encounter recruitment-linked websites or social media pages, please report this to the SSU immediately at:

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Contracts

Contracts for March 23, 2026

ARMY

Barnard Construction Co., Bozeman, Montana, was awarded a $735,663,711 modification (P00006) to contract W912BV-25-CA-002 to construct the Whittier Narrows Dam safety modification. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $761,125,068. Work will be performed in South El Monte, California, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 5, 2032. Fiscal 2021 civil construction funds in the amount of $735,663,711 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, is the contracting activity.

Barnard Construction Co., Bozeman, Montana, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract to construct and raise Prado Dam. The amount of this action is $555,641,130 with a total cumulative face value of $1,134,891,420. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Corona, California, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 4, 2033. Fiscal 2024 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds in the amount of $555,641,130 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, is the contracting activity (W912BV-25-C-0008).

C and C JV LLC,* Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for dredging, stockpiling of sand materials, and construction of dikes. The amount of this action is $53,382,757, with a total cumulative face value of $122,185,770. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Fishing Creek, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 14, 2027. Fiscal 2025 civil construction funds in the amount of $53,382,757 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, is the contracting activity (W912DR-26-CA-008).

Manson Construction Co., Seattle, Washington, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for routine maintenance dredging. The amount of this action is $25,973,750, with a total cumulative face value of $39,789,750. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Portland, Oregon, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 15, 2026. Fiscal 2026 civil operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $25,973,750 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, is the contracting activity (W9127N-26-CA-015).

Orion Marine Construction Inc., Port Lavaca, Texas, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for pipeline maintenance dredging of the Matagorda Ship Channel from Peninsula to Point Comfort. The amount of this action is $11,858,900, with a total cumulative face value of $40,346,700. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Matagorda and Calhoun counties, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 23, 2026. Fiscal 2026 civil construction funds in the amount of $11,858,900 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, is the contracting activity (W912HY-26-CA-013).

AIR FORCE

L3 Technologies Inc., Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a $34,148,095 add work modification (P00014) to a previously awarded contract (FA8650-23-C-9311) for Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $213,043,735 from $178,895,640. Work will be performed at Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 17, 2027. Fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $14,682,556 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

Goodrich Corp., Westford, Massachusetts, was awarded a $32,173,415 firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursement contract for optical sensors interface ground support. This contract provides support for software maintenance and sustainment of the Ground Segment Plus and legacy Ground Segment family of software. Work will be performed at multiple continental U.S.; and outside the continental U.S. locations, and is expected to be complete by March 21, 2027. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2026 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $14,249,032 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8527-26-C-B003). (Awarded March 19, 2026).

Fluke Electronics Corp., Everett, Washington, has been awarded a ceiling $22,586,442 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for multifunction calibrators. This contract provides for multifunction calibrators that will be used to calibrate test measurement and diagnostic equipment to include digital multimeters, portable calibrators, differential voltmeters, power analyzers, current shunts. Work will be performed at Everett, Washington, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2036. This contract was a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. Fiscal 2026 procurement funds in the amount of $2,873,883 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Heath, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA2263-26-D-0002).

*Small business

https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4441319/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S., Ivorian Armed Forces Enhance Readiness

Logicians from U.S. Africa Command conducted a military-to-military engagement with the Armed Forces of Cote d'Ivoire to enhance vehicle maintenance and supply programs, March 10-13, 2026.

By Libby Weiler , U.S. Africa Command Stuttgart, Germany Mar 22, 2026

STUTTGART, Germany -- Logicians from U.S. Africa Command conducted a military-to-military engagement with the Armed Forces of Cote d'Ivoire to enhance vehicle maintenance and supply programs, March 10-13, 2026.

The engagement, a follow-up to previous in-country assessments, built upon recent Ivorian improvements and identified further opportunities to enhance the operational independence of the Ivorian miliary.

This collaboration is part of a broader U.S. strategy focused on strengthening partnerships in Africa and building the capacity of regional security forces to address their own security challenges.

"Our collaboration over the past year has yielded observable improvements to their processes, including the drafting of a joint logistics doctrine," said U.S. Air Force Col. Lauren Guibert, logistics program lead at AFRICOM.

"These engagements underscore that no-cost solutions, like improving data analysis and standardizing procedures within service repair facilities, can have outsized impacts in improving Cote d'Ivoire's ability to sustain its operations without costly investment," said Guiber. "These kinds of small changes can be implemented immediately and improve support to ongoing operations, ultimately saving lives."

During the four-day visit, the Ivorian military provided a comprehensive overview of their logistics structure and vehicle maintenance policies. They also showcased the progress they have made in improving their logistics capabilities.

A joint team visited the Ivorian military's key vehicle maintenance facilities to assess their different levels of repair capabilities. They toured the Army's workshops, which included "level two" facilities that handle major repairs, and "level three" shops equipped for complete vehicle overhauls and rebuilding.

The team also inspected the Navy's most advanced "level three" workshop, which is capable of the most complex and demanding maintenance tasks. Finally, they visited the Ministry of Defense's "level two" workshop, where significant repairs are performed on non-military government vehicles.

The primary objective of this military-to-military engagement was to pinpoint remaining gaps within the Armed Forces of Cote d'Ivoire's maintenance and supply programs and propose effective, often low-cost, mechanisms for improvement. By bolstering these logistical functions, AFRICOM seeks to enhance the Ivorian forces' readiness and ability to sustain their operations independently.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Keynote address by the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection of the Republic of Cyprus, Dr Nicholas A. Ioannides, entitled "The 2026 Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU - Strategic Priorities and Navigating the European agenda"

Republic of Cyprus

From: Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection

&

Secretariat of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026

22/03/26 11:09 | Speech / Address | Migration, Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026

At the outset, I would like to thank the European Youth Economic and Political Forum for the invitation and the opportunity to engage with all of you. Our discussions are timely - they come half-way through the Cyprus Presidency, and at a moment of inflection - both for the Union, and for the region that Cyprus is an integral part of - the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Republic of Cyprus assumed, on 1 January 2026, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) for the second time since its accession to the EU. The assumption of the Presidency took place during one of the most demanding periods in modern European history, at a time when the EU is confronted with a complex set of simultaneous and interconnected geopolitical challenges. These include the escalating instability in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine. At the same time, the systematic instrumentalisation of energy and migration has tested not only the Union's resilience, but also its unity and cohesion. Therefore, we approached the assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU both as a national mission and a European responsibility.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We come together at a moment of remarkable uncertainty, heightened tension and volatility across Europe and our wider neighbourhood of the Middle East and the Gulf. Moments such as these create openings and opportunity for decisions that would have never happened otherwise. Opportunity for the EU to stand out, amid unpredictability, as a Reliable, Predictable and Trustworthy partner. And to move decisively for a European Union that is truly Autonomous.

That is, dear friends, the central objective that permeates all five pillars of the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency and is reflected in its motto - 'An Autonomous Union, Open to the World'. Autonomy as the driving force for action and as an indispensable step towards European integration. A Union strong from within, able to demonstrate the necessary internal strength to cooperate with external partners whenever possible, while also acting independently whenever necessary. A Union that looks outward, engages with all its neighbours, remains committed to open trade and partnerships, and strengthens its strategic autonomy. Committed to international law, able to uphold its principles.

Dear friends,

We mark almost three months into our Presidency - and I want to take this opportunity to highlight some key areas of our work. These have been months of intense engagement and negotiation, continuous coordination and steady progress. So much has been achieved, and at the same time work is intensively underway, according to our roadmap, to deliver even more. We have been demonstrating in practice that Europe can Respond, Act and Deliver. That is how we committed to conduct our Presidency from the very beginning: focused on Substance, Cooperation and, above all, Delivery.

Delivery in strengthening Europe's Defence Readiness, Security and Preparedness. Delivery on Competitiveness. On a true Energy Union. Delivery in strengthening our collective resilience and social cohesion. Addressing challenges faced by our citizens - from housing, to advancing in our quest for a Health Union. And advancing negotiations for a new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) that becomes a real vehicle for a stronger Union.

Let me begin with Security and Defence. Russia's war against Ukraine shattered any illusion we may have had that peace and stability in Europe was a constant. This armed conflict has made it clear that we must act decisively for stronger European security and defence. And we did. In the past year, as a Union we have achieved more progress than in decades before. Proof of what we can accomplish together, under adverse circumstances.

Defence, Security, and support to Ukraine are at the forefront of our Presidency. The Republic of Cyprus is a member state that understands first-hand what invasion and occupation mean owing to the Turkish invasion and ongoing belligerent occupation since 1974.

As Presidency, we worked rapidly in the Council to translate the political decision of the December European Council for the 90-billion loan into legal texts, so that Ukraine would receive the financial assistance required in a timely manner.

As Council Presidency we also moved forward with the approval of member states' national plans under the SAFE programme.

Effective migration management is also a core dimension of security. Our Presidency is focused on supporting coordinated preparation across member states to ensure that the Migration and Asylum Pact is fully operational by June 2026. This comprehensive legal framework will enable member states to enhance border management, expedite asylum procedures and preclude misuse of our asylum systems. In parallel, we are advancing work on the Returns Regulation with the aim of strengthening the effectiveness of EU return policy. In fact, the trilogues between the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament are expected to commence this week.

Dear friends,

European Strategic Autonomy and Competitiveness go hand in hand. As Presidency we have placed Competitiveness at the heart of our work, organising our work in the Council around the two important summits on Competitiveness - the February Retreat and the recent European Council, where decisions were made based on a roadmap with timelines on how to proceed with this dossier in the months and years ahead.

In today's interconnected world, the current situation in the Middle East undoubtedly impacts global energy markets, and through that our economies. The volatility of energy prices remains a major concern for citizens, businesses, and industry. Europe must act decisively to address rising energy prices and send a clear message to citizens and industry that we are now experienced enough to address such crises.

Beyond the current turmoil in the Middle East, Europe will need a lot more energy in the coming years; for industry, new technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and data infrastructure, to name a few. This is why strengthening Europe's energy sovereignty - through a true Energy Union - is a strategic priority. This means accelerating investment in infrastructure and interconnections, as well as advancing initiatives such as the EU Grids Package.

Simplification is another key component of Competitiveness. It is extremely important to our businesses, citizens, and to attract investment. As Council Presidency, we are working intensively on the omnibus packages presented by the Commission. We also need to address strategic dependencies by diversifying and securing market access. This forms part of the third pillar of our priorities - a Union Open to the World. In this respect, expanding our network of trade agreements is key.

The Mercosur and India Free Trade Agreements were historic successes. One of the earliest deliverables of the Cyprus Presidency was the adoption of two Council decisions authorising the signing of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the Interim Trade Agreement between the EU and Mercosur, marking a major step after 25 years of negotiations. We have also advanced important legislative initiatives aimed at enhancing Europe's competitiveness, including the reform of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, which supports Innovation and the Green Transition of industrial sectors.

At the same time, we need more Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). We must conclude the soonest possible FTAs with the United Arab Emirates - particularly now. This will also allow us to capitalise further on the India FTA, and to give substance to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). We also need to resume discussions on implementation of the EU-US Trade Framework Agreement, which is essential for predictability and market confidence.

Dear friends,

We are currently experiencing a situation of profound instability in our wider region. Rapidly unfolding developments remind us that whatever happens in the Middle East has a broader impact. It directly affects European interests; our security, our stability in terms of energy and migration flows.

The EU has reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to safeguarding regional security and stability. We have called for maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and full respect of international law, the United Nations Charter, and international humanitarian law.

For Cyprus, the situation is not abstract. Our geography links us directly to the region. And it connects Europe to this region. In the past weeks, Cyprus has proven that European Autonomy is both possible and real. Greece, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands immediately reacted positively to President Christodoulides' request and deployed means and personnel to enhance the defence and security of Cyprus. We will never forget this act of tangible solidarity. This is European unity and solidarity in action. A message that the security of a member state is the security of the EU. And an example of European autonomy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Cyprus may be a small member state. But we are a member state that, being located at the south-eastern frontier of the Union, understands better than most what is at stake - what lack of security means in real terms and how indispensable cooperation and diplomacy are. For Cyprus, engagement with our neighbourhood is both a geographical reality and a strategic necessity. It should be stressed that long before this crisis, Cyprus worked on strengthening relations with the Middle East and Gulf, as well as enhancing maritime security. As Presidency, we have placed these strategic goals at the heart of our work. This focus could not be more pertinent.

Cyprus' long-standing role is a humanitarian one. As a safe haven. Always part of the solution, never part of the problem. A responsible actor that becomes a driver and a vessel of dialogue and diplomacy. A pillar of Stability, Security and Cooperation. It is not only about geography. It is actually a conscious political choice.

That is what we have done since the start of our Presidency and this will culminate at the April informal European Council in Cyprus, when we will host discussions bringing together European leaders and partners from the wider Middle East, on concrete projects of cooperation at the regional level.

The Cyprus Presidency remains fully committed to its mission, despite the volatility around it, fully implementing its programme. And let me convey a significant message from this podium: there is normalcy, safety and security in Cyprus. Our economy - one of the highest performing economies in the Union with estimated growth for 2026 at 4%, conditions of full employment, unemployment in youth one of the lowest in Europe and public debt in 2026 estimated at approximately 50% - continues to operate normally, and our tourism sector remains fully active. Cyprus continues to serve as a reliable hub of stability and connectivity in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Dear friends,

I take this opportunity to highlight the vital role young people play in shaping our shared EU future. Young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but the changemakers of today, whose voices, ideas, energy and engagement are essential for building a stronger, more resilient Europe. By engaging in initiatives such as this forum, young people gain the skills, confidence and networks needed to contribute meaningfully to democratic processes. By strengthening opportunities for involvement and ensuring that young voices and heard and valued, the EU can foster a generation of useful citizens, in the way the Ancient Greek utilised the term, committed to shaping a better future for all.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Crises may shape the moment, but they do not define our direction. Our direction is to be defined by us. And our direction is clear: An Autonomous Union, Open to the World.

I thank you for your attention and wish you thoughtful discussions, meaningful exchanges and every success in the Forum's deliberations.

(AN/MS/KA)

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






China affirms sovereignty over Xisha Islands, rejects Vietnam's remarks on China's land reclamation activities on islands: Chinese FM

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Mar 23, 2026 06:32 PM

When asked to comment on Vietnamese officials' remarks over the weekend on China's land reclamation activities in the Xisha Islands, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday that the Xisha Islands are China's inherent territory and there is no dispute over them. China's necessary construction on its own territory is aimed at improving the living conditions of island residents and serving local economic development, Lin said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






SEK 555 million in new humanitarian aid for Gaza

Government Offices of Sweden

Press release from Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Published 23 March 2026

After more than two years of war and suffering, children in Gaza are in acute need of health and medical care, psychosocial support, safety, nutrition and education. Initiatives in these areas are needed to lay the foundations for reconstruction and recovery. Sweden is now providing SEK 555 million in aid, which will be distributed between the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Development Programme, and will help bring safety, stability and well-being to children in Gaza.

"After two years of war, the situation for children in Gaza is horrific. Virtually all schools in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed and health care for children is extremely limited. So Sweden is now moving forward with a major package to support children in Gaza," says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa.



"Children in Gaza are and have been extremely vulnerable over time. They need health care, safety, food and the opportunity to attend school. With this support, we are helping to meet their most urgent needs and give them a chance of recovery and belief in the future, not least through nutrition and knowledge," says Aron Emilsson, foreign policy spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats.

"Children are always the hardest hit in war and conflict. What they go through as children will affect them for the rest of their lives. It is therefore absolutely vital that they receive support to enable them to lead as normal a life as possible, with play, school, medical care - and psychosocial support to process traumatic experiences. In addition to the support the Swedish Government is now allocating, it's extremely pleasing that the business sector is also providing large sums of money. Society as a whole will benefit from this," says Gudrun Brunegard, development assistance policy spokesperson for the Christian Democrats.

"You don't get a second chance to educate a child. You can't make up for years of lost schooling. The situation for children in Gaza has been horrific, and in the midst of war and destruction an entire generation risks being deprived of its right to knowledge. Every child deserves safe schooling and opportunities to build their future through education. If this support can help more children return to school and resume their education it is extremely important," says Fredrik Malm, foreign policy spokesperson for the Liberal Party.

Just over five months after the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect, children and families are still facing a humanitarian crisis, and improved education, medical care, housing and nutrition are fundamental for recovery. For more than two years, the majority of the 700 000 children of school age have missed out on their education and the stability and normality that school entails. The immediate threat of famine has been alleviated, but more than 100 000 children are still suffering from malnutrition. In addition, children's access to health and medical care remains extremely limited. One of several challenges is in maternity and neonatal care, as children are frequently being born prematurely or with low birth weight as a result of the crisis. The situation for children in Gaza risks deepening traumatisation, ill health and long-term vulnerability.

In light of the situation, the Government has decided on a comprehensive aid package of SEK 555 million in 2026 to give children and families the opportunity to return to some semblance of everyday normality. The aim is for around 150 000 children to have access to improved health care, around 50 000 children to be able to return to education and 80 000 children to benefit from nutrition initiatives in the form of school meals. The package will also enable about 1 000 families to move into temporary emergency shelters rather than tents.

In addition to the Government's new support, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs also has a partnership with UNICEF Sweden, which is working to mobilise additional funds from Swedish businesses and foundations.

How the SEK 555 million in humanitarian aid is being distributed

UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), SEK 400 million: helps improve child health care services, including neonatal care, through support for health clinics and hospitals. Helps improve children's possibilities to return to education and access leisure activities, psychosocial support and protection measures through support to multi-sectoral temporary learning centres that UNICEF is expanding.

UN World Food Programme (WFP), SEK 100 million: provides nutrition initiatives in the form of school meals for children in the abovementioned TLCs. In addition to distributing nutritious snacks, work is being initiated to increase the proportion of fresh ingredients and support for local food production to broaden children's nutritional intake.

UN World Food Programme (UNDP), SEK 55 million: enables 1 000 families to move into temporary shelters. Helps create opportunities to give children and their families a relatively safe and dignified life in Gaza.

Funding for this support is drawn from the 2026 development assistance budget.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The increase of Lithuania's defence spending is a success story we should share, says Vice Minister of National Defence K. Aleksa

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2026-03-23

International cooperation

Vice Minister of National Defence Karolis Aleksa took part in the Miami Security Forum organized by the Heritage Foundation. The event focussed on security issues of the Western hemisphere and possible links and cooperation opportunities among different regions. Vice Minister was invited to share the success story of Lithuania's growing defence budget: he presented the evolution of Lithuania's defence spending from one of the smallest budgets among the NATO Allies to the biggest in a roundtable discussion.

Vice Minister underlined key preconditions for taking and implementing the required decisions: not just the complex security situation but also the wide political consensus. K. Aleksa presented the ambitious capability development plans of the Lithuanian Armed Forces that would need long term defence investment commitments. Another point underscored at the address was the strict requirement to ensure transparency of all processes and securing public support, as well as confidence in the decisions taken in the use of financial assets.

During the visit to the United States K. Aleksa also visited Washington where he met with representatives of the Pentagon, Congress, Defence Security Cooperation Agency and think tanks. The talks focussed on the security situation, the U.S. military presence in Europe and Lithuania, air defence, weapon and equipment acquisitions from the U.S., and assistance to Ukraine.

"The U.S. security commitment to NATO is unwavering. This is confirmed by the updates of the U.S. strategic documents, as well as the talks with representatives of the Administration. The U.S. wants a strong and capable Alliance and welcome the long-overdue note taken by the European Allies of the years-long U.S. encouragement to take more burden for its own security and defence. It is an honor to hear the U.S. representatives mention Lithuania as a role-model for other countries: our defence spending this year hits 5.38 percent of GDP, the biggest percentage among NATO Allies," said Vice Minister of National Defence K. Aleksa.

Vice Minister met with Assistant Secretary of Defence for international security affairs (ASD) Daniel Zimmerman and Dr. Chris Bassler is Performing the Duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Strategy and Force Development at the Department of War. Vice Minister accentuated Lithuania progress, including the growing defence spending, development of the National Division, expanded Host National Support Package for the U.S. troops in Lithuania and underscored the need for more cooperation on ensuring air defence and airspace security.

Vice Minister stressed that e Lithuania's security began with Ukraine's ability to push back against the Russian invasion forces. That was the reason we prioritized the log-term assistance to Ukraine in its defence of own and European security. Lithuania loyally fulfilled its annual commitment of at least 0.25percent of GDP in assistance to Ukraine, both bilaterally and multilaterally. We will continue the Lithuanian contribution to the PURL Initiative viewed in Washington as a particular success of pooling assistance to Ukraine by means of procuring and handing over American weaponry.

"The U.S. assistance to the Baltic states enabling acquisitions of American product creates bilateral value. Today, Lithuania's acquisitions from the U.S. have topped USD 2 billion. Advanced weaponry and equipment, such Joint Light Tactical Vehicles JLTV, Black Hawk helicopters, AMRAAM missiles, Javelin anti-armor missile system, HIMARS High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and the Switchblade drones enable a quick and effective modernization of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and boosts security of the eastern flank of NATO," said K. Aleksa.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The German Brigade in Lithuania is a signal that Alliance defence begins here and now, says Minister R. Kaunas

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2026-03-23

Minister's news

Minister of National Defence Robertas Kaunas met with Germany's Permanent Representative to NATO Dr Detlef Wachter on the margins of the Baltic Military Conference. They addressed security and defence in the region, progress on readiness for stationing the German Brigade in Lithuania, air defence and defence spending, the upcoming NATO Summit, assistance to Ukraine and other topics.

"Germany's decision to station a Brigade in Lithuania is one of the most substantial practical steps in strengthening resilience in the region. This sends a clear signal that Alliance defence begins right here and right now. On our part, we are doing everything necessary to make sure the Brigade reaches Full Operational Capability on time, in full scope and the best conditions possible. The Rudninkai Training Area is developed as mapped out in the plan, while Phase I is even progressing ahead of schedule," said Minister R. Kaunas.

"Lithuania is directly faced with the russian and Belarusian hybrid, therefore we take our homework seriously and strengthen air de fence capabilities. We have also took steps to simply the decision-making process, established Restricted Airspace Areas and ensured quick response to air threats," said Minister.

At the meeting, the officials also discussed the agenda of the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara. According to Minister, Europe had to step up the defence spending more quickly to ensure a fairer burden-sharing among the Allies. The enduring support to Ukraine was also noted as an important priority.

The German Permanent Representative to NATO visited Rudninkai during the stay in Lithuania where he familiarized with the progress made on the development on infrastructure for the German Brigade and met with its leadership in Lithuania.

Minister of National Defence also met with NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, General Aurelio Cologrande, Adjutant-General of the Pennsylvania National Guard Major General John R. Pippy, former U.S. Chief of Staff of the Army Retired General Jim McConville, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Laura K. Cooper.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Partnering to Strengthen Resilience - NATO's Military Strategic Partnerships Conference 2026 kicks off in Sarajevo



NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE)

Mar 23 2026

MONS, Belgium -- The annual Military Strategic Partnerships Conference (MSPC), hosted by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Partnerships Directorate, is being held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina from Mar. 23 to 25, 2026.

The conference brings together over 350 participants from 43 nations. Over 3 days, guests will exchange perspectives on the current global challenges faced by Allies and Partners, fostering deeper understanding and stronger cooperation, underscoring NATO's commitment to working with Partners to strengthen collective defence, deterrence and international stability.

Rear Admiral Yusuf Karagulle, Deputy Chief of Staff of the SHAPE Partnerships Directorate, delivered the opening address, welcoming participants and emphasising the importance of partnerships within NATO. He highlighted that considering the geopolitical uncertainty we are facing, NATO's relationship with its Partner Nations is critical for strengthening NATO's collective resilience as well as its collective defence. Karagulle also underlined that NATO's partnerships must continue to evolve, ensuring that both Allies and Partners remain adaptable in this changing environment.

Throughout the week, participants will gain insights into key topics including trends in international security, strategic military approaches to resilience through civil preparedness and defence capacity building.

For over 25 years, NATO has developed a network of formal partnerships with 35 non-member nations across the Euro-Atlantic area, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Gulf region, and beyond. Together, Allies and Partners represent one fifth of the world's territory, and nearly two billion people. Partner Nations contribute to the Alliance's core activities, from shaping policy and building defence capacity to fostering interoperability, developing crisis-prevention mechanisms, and supporting NATO-led missions and operations. At the same time, cooperation with NATO helps Partner Nations strengthen their own defence and security capabilities. This includes improving crisis-management capacity, increasing resilience against hybrid threats, and aligning more closely with NATO standards and practices.

Story by SHAPE Public Affairs Office

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






UN expert warns torture has become 'state doctrine' in Israel, making prisons instruments of genocide and torture

Press releases

Special Procedures

23 March 2026

GENEVA -- Israel's systematic torture of Palestinians, long shielded by decades of impunity and political cover, has become a defining instrument of ongoing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory, a UN expert warned today.

"Since the onset of the genocide, the Israeli prison system has degenerated into a laboratory of calculated cruelty," said Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, in her new report to the UN Human Rights Council.

"What once operated in the shadows is now practiced openly: a regime of organised humiliation, pain and degradation, sanctioned at the highest political levels."

Albanese said policies imposed by senior officials, including the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, have institutionalised torture, collective punishment and manifestly dehumanising conditions of detention.

"Those responsible for these heinous violations of human rights, from which no derogation is possible even in times of war, must face investigation and justice, including before the International Criminal Court," the Special Rapporteur said.

Albanese's report warns that since October 2023, more than 18,500 Palestinians have been detained across the occupied Palestinian territory, including at least 1,500 children. Thousands remain in detention without charge or trial. Many have been forcibly disappeared. Nearly 100 detainees have died in custody. Detainees have been abused in unfathomable ways, including rape with bottles, metal rods and knives, starvation, breaking of bones and teeth, burning, being spat upon, and being attacked and urinated upon by dogs.

In 2025, the UN Committee against Torture denounced "a de facto State policy of organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment ... that has gravely intensified since 7 October 2023."

"A system that has long been used to dominate, degrade and break Palestinians has evolved and hardened into state doctrine," Albanese warned.

"It is defended by politicians, rationalised by legal institutions, sanitised by media narrative and tolerated by governments that continue to arm and shield Israel."

The report by the Special Rapporteur finds that torture extends beyond prison walls. Through relentless bombardment, forced displacement, starvation, the destruction of homes, hospitals and infrastructure, pervasive surveillance, and terror inflicted by soldiers and settler terror militias, Israel has created what the report calls a "torturous environment" across the entire occupied Palestinian territory.

"In Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Palestinians are subjected to a continuum of suffering," Albanese said. "There is no refuge. No sanctuary. No safe place to exist."

The report concludes that the systematic use of torture, combined with the wider campaign of destruction inflicted on Palestinians, forms an integral component of the ongoing genocide, inflicting severe bodily and mental harm on Palestinians as a group.

"Torture does to the individual what genocide does to a people," she said. "It destroys the conditions of life and human dignity. It reduces human beings to objects of abuse," the expert said.

Albanese urged Israel to immediately cease all acts of torture and ill-treatment, grant access to international investigators and humanitarian organizations, and ensure accountability for those responsible pending its urgently needed dismantlement of the occupation.

"Member states must meet their legal obligations to prevent and punish genocide, torture and other serious violations of international law," she said, including by investigating and issuing arrest warrants for those responsible, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz.

"International law is unequivocal: torture is absolutely prohibited, without exception," Albanese said.

"Its increasing use as part of Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people makes this violation all the more grave and indefensible," she said. "If the international community continues to tolerate such acts when inflicted on Palestinians, then the law itself will be stripped of meaning."

Francesca Albanese is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967

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 organization, 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






Statement of the DFA Spokesperson on Maritime Affairs

Republic of the Philippines - Department of Foreign Affairs

MANILA 23 March 2026 -- The Department of Foreign Affairs addresses recent public commentary regarding discussions on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the China Coast Guard (CCG).

The PCG and CCG entered into an MOU on the Establishment of a Joint Coast Guard Committee on Maritime Cooperation in 2016. Since 2024, both parties have been engaged in discussions to amend and update that agreement.

The proposed amendments are limited in scope. They are focused on re-establishing the Joint Coast Guard Committee, which is intended to serve as a formalized channel of communication between the two coast guards. The MOU does not contemplate cooperation in sensitive operational areas, joint patrols foremost among them.

These discussions are consistent with President Marcos's standing directive to maintain open lines of communication and engagement with China, even as the Philippines firmly upholds its sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction under international law.

The negotiations have been conducted through proper diplomatic channels and are not confined to Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) meetings. They have been duly reported to, and are known by, all relevant principals  including the National Security Adviser in his capacity as NTF-WPS Chair, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and the PCG Commandant.

The Department reaffirms that engagement and vigilance are complementary, not contradictory. The Philippines will continue to pursue practical maritime cooperation where appropriate, while remaining steadfast in the defense of its national interests. END

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






PH, France defense execs to tackle growing security ties in Paris meet

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

March 23, 2026, 11:54 am

MANILA -- The Philippines and France are expected to deepen their security ties as ranking defense leaders of the two nations will meet on the sidelines of the 2026 Paris Defence and Strategy Forum (PDSF) this week.

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. is expected to meet with his counterpart, French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin, at the event set from March 24 to 26, Defense spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said in a statement on Monday.

Andolong said Manila and Paris will further deepen their "bilateral partnership and cross-regional convergence" during this meeting.

France is among the growing number of partners that share the Philippines' commitment to protecting the rules-based order and advancing security and stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

The two countries in December last year concluded formal negotiations for a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), the Philippines' first with a European partner.

The SOVFA, upon entry into force, will provide the legal framework to govern the presence and activities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the French Armed Forces in each other's territories, allowing more effective military training and engagements among partner nations.

"Upon invitation from Minister Vautrin, Secretary Teodoro will also deliver a keynote speech on "Conflicts and Competitions" on the second day of the PDSF, before security and strategy leaders from around the world. Secretary Teodoro's participation marks the first time that a defense minister from Southeast Asia is attending and contributing to the PDSF," Andolong said.

Organized by the Defence Academy of the Ecole militaire (ACADEM) of France, the PDSF is a major international forum that provides a valuable avenue for dialogue among states, institutions, militaries, researchers, and civilian stakeholders on regional and global strategic and geopolitical issues. (PNA)

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Hezbollah strikes force Israeli defensive shift, exposing southern skies: Intel assessment

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 2:03 PM

The latest intelligence assessment of the conflict zone in northern occupied territories reveals that Hezbollah's sustained military operations have compelled the Israeli regime to reconfigure its air defense posture, effectively stripping the southern occupied territories of aerial protection.

According to the assessment, which was shared with Press TV, the Lebanese resistance movement's ceaseless attacks on the northern occupied territories and southern Lebanese areas under Israeli military control have led to a significant shift in the enemy's defensive deployment.

The regime has been compelled to transfer air defense systems from the south to the north, creating a critical vulnerability in the skies over the southern occupied territories.

The assessment further indicates that Israeli intelligence services fundamentally miscalculated Hezbollah's operational capacity after more than a year of strategic patience shown by the Lebanese resistance movement despite near-daily cease violations by Israel.

Israeli intelligence estimates had previously assumed that the Hezbollah resistance movement lacked the ability to mount a large-scale offensive against the regime.

That assumption has now been overtaken by events on the ground, especially since March 1, with Hezbollah carrying out a record number of retaliatory military operations against the Israeli military and intelligence assets across the occupied territories.

Analysts point to the coordination between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah as a key factor behind recent military achievements against the Israeli regime.

One source cited the successful Iranian operations against Dimona and other targets in the southern part of the occupied territories two days ago as a direct result of this coordination, enabled by the shift in Israeli ground force deployment.

Hezbollah's recent campaign has been characterized by an intense and unprecedented operational tempo. In recent days, the fighters of the resistance movement have carried out as many as two offensive operations per hour.

Among the most notable strikes was a missile attack that reached 200 kilometers deep into the occupied territories, as well as a significant blow inflicted on the Israeli regime's ground forces operating in the northern sector.

On Monday, the movement carried out a record number of 62 operations against the regime targets, sending shockwaves across the occupied territories.

The coordinated pressure has left the Israeli regime grappling with a rapidly evolving battlefield dynamic, exposing vulnerabilities in both its defensive infrastructure and its prior intelligence assessments.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Indonesia rejects $1 billion fee for Gaza 'Board of Peace' amid domestic criticism

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 9:02 AM

Indonesia has, amid domestic criticism, rejected making any financial commitment to join a United States-backed Gaza initiative as a permanent member.

President Prabowo Subianto said his country would not pay the $1 billion fee required for permanent membership in the so-called Board of Peace, clarifying that Jakarta's role was limited to a potential "peacekeeping contribution."

"We never said that we wanted to contribute $1 billion," Prabowo said in statements broadcast on his YouTube channel Sunday.

He added that Indonesia had not made any financial pledges "at all."

Limited role and possible withdrawal

Prabowo said Indonesia's participation was confined to offering "peacekeeping" troops, following earlier pledges to send 8,000 personnel to Gaza. However, he signaled that Jakarta's involvement remains conditional.

He stated that Indonesia could withdraw from the initiative if it failed to benefit Palestinians or align with national interests.

Talks with Washington regarding any "peacekeeping" deployment have also been put "on hold," according to Indonesia's state news agency, citing a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Domestic backlash

The president, a former general, has faced criticism from Indonesian Muslim groups for joining the initiative and committing troops to Gaza.

The controversy has been compounded by the structure of the "Board of Peace," which requires countries seeking permanent membership to pay a $1 billion fee, prompting concerns that it could operate as a "pay-to-play" body similar to the UN Security Council.

The "Board of Peace" was formed after the United States, working with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to supposedly halt the Israeli regime's war of genocide against Gaza that had begun in October 2023 and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The board is chaired by US President Donald Trump and includes political figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Attempts at formation of the board come despite continued instability on the ground resulting from the Israeli regime's incessant violations of the ceasefire that, observers say, is aimed at sustaining the genocidal pattern.

Critics have condemned Trump for failing to have the regime commit to the deal, including by stopping the bloodshed and ensuring the provision of required aid to the war-battered and starving Palestinian territory.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Hezbollah says 'preparing for long war with Israel, has many 'surprises' in store

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 8:07 AM

The head of Hezbollah's Liaison and Coordination Unit, Wafiq Safa, says the Lebanese resistance is ready for a long war with the Israeli regime and has many surprises in store.

In a statement released on Monday, Safa said that Hezbollah has many surprises for the Israeli regime, especially regarding "offensive drones" and will not abandon this war until it has defeated the occupying entity.

"After the resistance has ended this war, it will force the Lebanese government to recognize Hezbollah's military operations as a necessary part of the country's security and defense against Israel," he concluded.

In an earlier statement on Monday, Hezbollah said that it has conducted 63 military operations against Israel in the past 24 hours within the framework of defending Lebanese territory and its people, and in direct response to the regime's continuous aggressions.

The operations included rocket barrages, offensive drone strikes, and artillery fire against Israeli military gatherings, armored vehicles, bases, and troop deployment centers along the border areas and in northern occupied Palestine.

Israeli media, stunned by Hezbollah's military capabilities, have admitted that the resistance group has been able to inflict heavy losses on the Tel Aviv regime's military over the past few days.

Hezbollah started launching retaliatory attacks since March 2 after Israel bombed the eastern and southern parts of the Arab country on a daily basis in violation of the November 2024 ceasefire.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Vietnam protests China's development of disputed reef in South China Sea

Land reclamation could make Antelope Reef China's largest outpost in the Paracels and the whole sea, think tank says.

By Taejun Kang for RFA 2026.03.23 -- Vietnam has condemned China's land reclamation activities at Antelope reef in the disputed Paracel Islands, following reports of accelerated dredging, landfill and construction operations there that, according to a U.S.-based think tank, could make it "China's largest feature" in the South China Sea.

"Any foreign activities conducted in Hoang Sa, including Hai Sam reef, without Vietnam's permission are completely illegal and invalid," Vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said on Saturday, referring to the archipelago and the reef claimed by Hanoi and Beijing, as well as Taiwan, by their Vietnamese names. "Vietnam resolutely opposes such activities."

Last week, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, or AMTI, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, in Washington, published an analysis of satellite imagery that said vast land reclamation efforts underway at Antelope Reef over the past month could make the reef suitable to construct a 9,000-foot (2700-meter) runway.

Beijing has constructed several airstrips of that size on other islands in the South China Sea including in the Spratly Islands, another disputed archipelago, the AMTI report said.

Territorial flashpoint

Though sovereignty over the Paracels is disputed, China took effective control of the archipelago after a 1974 naval clash with South Vietnam, which lost the Vietnam War to North Vietnam the following year.

Called the Xisha Islands by Beijing, the island chain is now one of several flashpoints in the South China Sea, where multiple countries assert overlapping territorial and maritime claims.

Media reports in early 2026 highlighted new Chinese dredging and landfill activity at Antelope Reef. Previously it had been one of China's smallest outposts in the area.

Beijing began major dredging there in October 2025 and has started what appears to be preliminary construction for an airstrip in recent weeks, including more than 50 small grey-roofed structures and a helipad near the lagoon entrance, as well as foundations for larger buildings and several jetties, the report said.

AMTI estimated that the reclaimed land at Antelope Reef measures roughly 1,490 acres (6.02 square kilometers), close to the 1,504 acres (6.09 square kilometers) of Mischief Reef, China's largest outpost in the South China Sea. By comparison, Woody Island - the largest Chinese-held feature in the Paracels - measures about 890 acres (3.60 square kilometers).

"If construction proceeds at the pace seen in satellite imagery, Antelope Reef is set to become China's largest feature in the Paracels and potentially in the entire South China Sea, equaling or even surpassing the size of Mischief Reef in the Spratlys," the report said.

The lagoon at Antelope Reef could also support a larger maritime presence.

"This could allow more coastguard along with large numbers of maritime militia to maintain a presence at the reef, as has been common in recent years at Mischief Reef," AMTI said.

Antelope reef is located about 162 nautical miles (300 kilometers) from Sanya Port in China's Hainan province and 216 nautical miles (400 kilometers) from Da Nang, Vietnam. Sanya is a major base for Chinese naval and air forces overseeing the South China Sea, underscoring the location's strategic importance.

The Law of the Sea

China's expansion of the reef does not necessarily bolster its claims to the Paracels from a legal perspective, according to Josue Raphael J. Cortez, the Faculty and Practicum Coordinator at the School of Diplomacy and Governance at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the Philippines.

"This is because if we will be utilizing UNCLOS as the basis of a country's maritime entitlements, the basis is and will always be the natural conditions of these features," he told Radio Free Asia, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Adopted in 1982 and in effect since 1994, UNCLOS is the primary international legal framework governing maritime rights. Because it heavily relies on "naturally formed" land features to define each country's exclusive economic zone and territorial seas, artificial expansion does not automatically create new legal rights.

Cortez also said that regional reactions would be closely watched, particularly given the reef's proximity to Vietnam.

"Given that the reef is proximate in Vietnam's portion of the South China Sea, it will be an interesting opportunity for the region to have an idea of how such a move will be perceived," he said.

The development also comes amid renewed tensions elsewhere in the South China Sea, particularly between China and the Philippines over competing sovereignty claims.

Manila recently rejected Beijing's claims over disputed territory, including Scarborough Shoal, insisting the Philippines' claims are grounded in international law. China, meanwhile, has pushed back against what it calls "misrepresentations" of its position.

The shoal is a triangular chain of reefs and lagoons located off the western coast of the Philippines which China has maintained control of since a standoff in 2012.

Manila continues to assert its rights under international law, including a 2016 arbitral ruling that found Beijing's claims in much of the South China Sea have no legal basis.

Edited by Eugene Whong.

Copyright 1998-2026, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2026 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






As Hezbollah Steps Up Attacks, Who Really Calls The Shots?

By Ray Furlong March 23, 2026

When rocket fire from Lebanon hit the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, it damaged a bus and left a man in his 50s with a serious shrapnel wound to his face, according to emergency services.

Just 2 kilometers from the border, Kiryat Shmona is in the direct firing line of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group based in Lebanon that's deemed a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.

The March 23 strike was not the first on the town by Hezbollah since it attacked Israel three weeks ago after Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28.

Despite an intense Israeli military campaign in response, Hezbollah appears to be not only resilient but is even stepping up its campaign.

"Since Hezbollah joined the fighting on March 2...there has been a continuous increase in the scope of attacks, with a shift to higher and more consistent levels of activity in recent days," Israeli think tank Almasaid in its daily war report on March 23.

What's Behind Hezbollah's Resilience?

Hezbollah entered the current war severely weakened by its 2023-24 fighting with Israel.

But analysts have said Iran was able to partially rebuild it, while organizational changes creating greater autonomy for individual units have helped the group better absorb repeated losses of leaders.

"Hezbollah's leadership had spent months quietly rearming -- drawing on a monthly budget estimated at around $50 million, replenishing rockets and drones through Iranian funding and local production," wrote Guy Itzhaki, a former anti-terrorism chief for Israeli military intelligence, in a paper on March 15.

However, he added that the current conflict was "pushing the organization closer to a battered insurgency than to an unbeaten 'resistance army,' even if its core force remains substantial."

Heiko Wimmen, a Beirut-based analyst who heads the International Crisis Group's Iraq/Syria/Lebanon project, told RFE/RL the reorganization of Hezbollah was "to some extent what they try to communicate to the outside world after 2024, that [idea of] going back to the roots of resistance."

"You just make it clear to the enemy that occupation and offensive warfare would be very, very costly and [would] not give you any results. So, with that you go back to the original model of guerrilla warfare, which, as you can see now, they're still good at," he added.

Indeed, the latest attack on Kiryat Shmona came just days after four people were injured when a Hezbollah rocket hit an apartment block in the town. The group says it has managed to strike the town, which has a population of 25,000 people, on seven occasions.

"Hezbollah is seeking a 'victory image' that, from its perspective, will be achieved by causing Israeli residents in communities near the border to leave," the Alma think tank said, noting also the group's continuing ability to attack Israeli soldiers in Lebanon.

All this comes after a three-week Israeli campaign that, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief Eyal Zamir, has struck "2,000 targets, dozens of weapons depots, and eliminated hundreds of terrorists."

The Israeli attacks, mostly air strikes but also some ground operations, have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced around 1 million, according to the Lebanese authorities.

The Revolutionary Guards

Israel's military response also included a strike on a four-star downtown Beirut hotel that Israel said killed five senior commanders from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on March 8.

The IDF said the commanders were involved in aiding Hezbollah with financing and intelligence, highlighting how Iran not only bankrolls but also exerts influence on the group.

It was followed by reports that Russia had evacuated more than 100 Iranians, thought to include diplomats and embassy staff, on a special flight from Lebanon.

Wimmen, the Beirut-based analyst, indicated it was likely at least some of these people were also IRGC figures fleeing future Israeli strikes. It's not clear if others remain or if they are now working remotely.

In a TV interview on March 22, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the IRGC was still directly commanding Hezbollah. It was, he said, "managing the military operation in Lebanon" after its members entered the country illegally using "forged passports."

Salam's government is under pressure from Israel to take action against Hezbollah, but Lebanon's military ability to do so is limited and any action could also risk of sparking civil strife within the country.

Wimmen said it was hard to gauge to what degree the IRGC controlled Hezbollah but that its influence has certainly grown since the group's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli air strike in 2024.

"I think it's pretty well established and credible that he and Khamenei would talk on eye level," he said, referring to Iran's former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on February 28.

"It's very clear -- and it would be nonsense to expect anything else -- that this balance, that the needle there, has shifted significantly toward the IRGC after Nasrallah and all the other senior [Hezbollah] leaders were assassinated," Wimmen added.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/hezbollah-iran- israel-lebanon-attacks-irgc/33713722.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 Romanian military personnel deployed to Iraq returned to the country

Romania - Ministry of National Defence

Press release No. 54

23.03.2026

All 117 Romanian soldiers deployed to the Iraqi theater of operations returned to Romania on Saturday, March 21, following the decision to adjust NATO's posture within NATO Mission Iraq.

The repatriation took place safely, through a coordinated effort at allied level, with the support of NATO structures and international partners. The Romanian soldiers were temporarily relocated to the Incirlik (Turkey) and Ramstein (Germany) Bases, from where they were later transported to the country by military aircraft.

The withdrawal decision was determined by recent developments in the security situation in the region, the measures adopted prioritizing the protection of deployed personnel.

The main mission the Romanian soldiers of the 2nd "Calugareni" Infantry Battalion during NATO Mission Iraq was to protect allied personnel and facilities, demonstrating professionalism and commitment in fulfilling their duties.

The Ministry of National Defence reaffirms Romania's commitment to NATO operations and missions, by further contributing to the enhancement of international security, in accordance with the Alliance's decisions.

The Press Office



NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Ranking Member Shaheen Presses DFC CEO for Answers on Risks to Taxpayer and Potential Benefits to China from $20 Billion Strait of Hormuz Maritime Insurance Proposal

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

March 23, 2026

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to the CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Benjamin Black, raising serious concerns about the Administration's reported plan to provide up to $20 billion in taxpayer-funded political risk reinsurance for maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz. Senator Shaheen underscored the need for greater transparency and oversight, warning that the proposal could expose U.S. taxpayers to significant financial risk while potentially benefiting strategic competitors like China.

"Restoring maritime trade disrupted by the war in Iran is critical to lowering energy costs for American families, but important questions remain about how this proposal may put U.S. taxpayer dollars at risk," wrote Ranking Member Shaheen. "We must also understand whether it will be the United Statesor adversaries like Chinathat ultimately stand to benefit from this arrangement."

Senator Shaheen raised concerns about the scale and speed of the proposal, noting that the DFC would likely have to forgo standard due diligence to do this so quickly, which will put U.S. taxpayer dollars at significant risk.

"Using the DFC to prop up a risky market during a wartime crisis calls into question how the agency will adhere to its required due diligence procedures," continued Ranking Member Shaheen. "Before moving forward, Congress and the American people deserve a full accounting of the potential exposure for taxpayers."

The letter also questions whether the program could inadvertently support energy exports to Chinathe largest destination for oil transiting the Strait of Hormuzand calls for clarity on eligibility criteria and safeguards to ensure that U.S. support does not benefit adversaries and competitors.

"If this proposal aims to support global energy flows, Beijing stands to be a primary beneficiary," Ranking Member Shaheen added. "The American people deserve to know how the DFC will ensure that U.S. taxpayer-backed support does not advantage China, Russia or Iran."

Full text of the letter is available HERE and provided below.

Dear CEO Black:

I write regarding the Administration's recent announcement that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) plans to provide $20 billion in political risk reinsurance for maritime trade in the Gulf and specifically the Strait of Hormuz. Restoring maritime trade issues stemming from the war in Iran is critical to lowering U.S. energy costs, but important questions remain about how this proposal may put U.S. taxpayer dollars at risk and whether it will be the United States, or adversaries like China, that ultimately stand to benefit from this arrangement.

As you know, the largest maritime insurers are demanding skyrocketing premiums to insure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, given the high likelihood of Iranian attacks that will lead to necessary payments for recovered, lost or damaged assets. The premiums are high for understandable reasons as we continue to see Iran and its proxies strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. [1] The DFC is proposing to, instead, have the U.S. Government establish a reinsurance facility to insure losses up to $20 billion and work with Swiss-American insurance provider Chubb to take on that risk and potentially pay claims to any DFC-backed insured vessel or cargo struck by Iran. And given that the DFC has significantly less than $20 billion available in its Corporate Capital Account to pay claims, it is unclear whether we have appropriately accounted for the risk that those payments will be called upon. Before the DFC uses U.S. taxpayer dollars as a backstop for this extremely volatile market, the U.S. Senate and our public must better understand the scope of the risk and the potential exposure for taxpayers.

Congress created the DFC on a bipartisan basis to play an integral role in filling market gaps to advance development and national security priorities. The agency is statutorily required to consider transactions carefully and responsibly. Under normal circumstances, transactions take months, if not years, to craft and consider. Using the DFC to prop up a risky market during a war-time crisis calls into question how the DFC will adhere to its required due diligence procedures on such an accelerated timeline. Although planned support by CENTCOM is intended to reduce the level of risk, it remains unclear whether CENTCOM can successfully mitigate the danger to vessels and thereby incentivize commercial travel. Are we certain companies will consider this support significant enough to restart travel? Further, involving the U.S. military may further endanger the escorted commercial vessel. This plan also adds a significant and undefined cost to the venture, one that has no bearing on the review and due diligence concerns. It would therefore be helpful to understand what due diligence the DFC is planning to conduct over the program and what will it be relying on the insurer, Chubb, to conduct on its behalf. And how does the DFC plan on ensuring that Chubb is intricately familiar with the DFC's statutory requirements for providing support?

The scope and intended recipients of the Administration's proposed DFC-backed reinsurance program are likewise unclear. Does the DFC intend to insure energy exports destined for China, for instance, which is the largest destination for oil exports transiting through the Strait of Hormuz? Indeed, if the DFC's proposal aims to support all energy exports to truly lower U.S. and global prices, Beijing stands to be the greatest direct beneficiary from this proposal.[2] This may be the Administration's intent given President Trump's comments that keeping the strait open would mean "we're really helping China here" and it is his "honor" to do so.[3] But if that is the case, the American people deserve to know. Therefore, I ask for more detail on the specific criteria you and Chubb will use to determine which vessels and cargo will be eligible for this DFC reinsurance program. How will premiums be determined relative to the significant risk and how is the DFC planning to ensure that insured traffic is not benefitting Russia, Iran, or China?

The dramatic increase in energy prices caused by this Administration's war against Iran should have been anticipated and addressed ahead of time. There is utility to the DFC providing this sort of assistance in times of crisis, but it needs to be well thought out and intricately planned. I am concerned that this DFC maritime reinsurance proposal was quickly conceived. And while I appreciate your team having briefed my staff, I still have significant questions before the DFC acts. I expect ongoing consultation with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on this reinsurance plan as it is critical that the DFC continues to be a responsible steward of U.S. taxpayer dollars, something I know we agree upon. I look forward to hearing from you.

Footnotes:

[1] 16 and Counting: Oil and Cargo Ships Are Growing Targets in War With Iran | New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/12/business/energy-environment/iran-war-ship-attacks.html

[2] Amid regional conflict, the Strait of Hormuz remains critical oil chokepoint - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65504

[3] Trump: It's an 'honor' to secure Strait of Hormuz for China | Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-says-its-honor-keep-strait-hormuz-open-china-other-countries.amp

###

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Spanish Government condemns Israeli statements regarding destruction of civilian infrastructure in Lebanon

Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

PRESS STATEMENT 034

23 MAR 26

The Spanish Government expresses its strongest condemnation of statements by Israeli authorities claiming that the Israeli army has been ordered to destroy all bridges over the Litani River, as well as the homes of Lebanese civilians in neighbouring villages, in what constitutes a flagrant and premeditated violation of international humanitarian law.

Civilian infrastructure, including homes and healthcare facilities, can never, under international law, be considered military targets. Such actions violate the most basic principles of international humanitarian law, destroying the lives of innocent civilians.

Spain categorically reiterates its condemnation of any attempt to isolate and divide Lebanese territory, and urges respect for Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The Spanish Government calls on the international community to act to prevent impunity for these actions and to strengthen its support for the Lebanese Government's efforts to consolidate sovereignty and territorial integrity under its authority.

NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






IDF Says General Staff Approved Plans for Ground Operations in Lebanon

Sputnik News

20260323

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has approved plans for ground operations against the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, the IDF said.

"The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, approved plans yesterday (Saturday) for the advancement of targeted ground operations in Lebanon," the IDF wrote on Telegram.

Zamir said that the operation against Hezbollah had only begun.

"The operation against Hezbollah is a prolonged one, and we are prepared for it," he was quoted as saying by the IDF.

In early March, Hezbollah resumed active military operations against Israel following the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In response, the Israeli army launched intensive strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and dozens of cities and towns in southern and eastern Lebanon. On March 16, the Israeli army officially announced the start of a ground operation in southern Lebanon.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Secretary Rubio's Call with Kenyan President Ruto

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

March 23, 2026

The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional security issues.

Secretary Rubio thanked President Ruto for his public condemnation of Iranian aggression against Gulf States and discussed the objectives of Operation Epic Fury. He also expressed his gratitude for Kenya's significant contributions to peace and security in Haiti and Kenya's commitment to ensuring a smooth transition to the Gang Suppression Force.

The Secretary and President Ruto also discussed commercial opportunities and how to further strengthen our enduring partnership.

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

23 March 2026

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

** Guest Note  today

Good afternoon. As you know, in a short while, I will be joined by our friend, Ted Chaiban, the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund). He will be here to brief you on his recent travels to Lebanon.

** State of the Global Climate/Report

Let me start with climate. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) today released its State of the Global Climate report, showing that the Earth's climate is more out of balance than at any time in observed history. The report confirms that 2015-2025 are the hottest 11 years on record, and that last year was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43C above the 1850-1900 average.

In a video message on the launch of the report, the Secretary-General said that the State of the Global Climate is in a state of emergency, that planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits and every key climate indicator is blinking red. Now more than ever, he stressed, we must accelerate a just transition to renewable energy, adding that renewable energy can deliver climate security, energy security and national security.

The video message and full report are available to you online.

** World Meteorological Day

And of course, today is also World Meteorological Day. In his message, the Secretary-General noted that the WMO [World Meteorological Organization] and national services help keep us safe by weaving a global web of data, from land, sea, air and space, turning measurements into forecasts, and forecasts into early warnings.

Yet, he warned, the global observing system is under strain, with critical gaps, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States. Mr. [Antonio] Guterres said that this year's theme, "Observing Today, Protecting Tomorrow", is a call to action. By observing today, he emphasized, we can protect tomorrow, for people, for planet, for prosperity, and for generations to come.

** Racial Discrimination

This morning, the Secretary-General addressed the General Assembly event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. He said that many of the solutions to confront racial discrimination are being weakened as some Governments dismantle anti-racist policies and practices and leaders try to rewrite history.

He said he was deeply troubled by how racism and xenophobia are being mainstreamed on digital platforms and in political discourse. What might begin with dog whistles, coded messages meant to embolden other bigots, can quickly turn into full-throated hate speech.

Volker Turk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, also spoke and said that race remains the most common ground for discrimination globally. Yet many countries still lack anti-racism legislation, and not even a quarter have comprehensive anti-discrimination laws. And he warned that hate speech is spreading unchecked, even in societies that pride themselves on tolerance, adding that racism is not only unjust and unlawful; it is morally and intellectually bankrupt.

** Lebanon

Turning to Lebanon, and you will hear more from Ted, I can tell you that we are deeply concerned about continuing attacks on healthcare, including health workers, health facilities and ambulances. As of today, the WHO [World Health Organization] reports 64 attacks on healthcare facilities, resulting in 51 deaths and 91 injuries, further straining an already fragile health system.

Displacement also continues to surge. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that more than 1.2 million people, or around one in every five residents, have been forced to flee their homes. More than 130,000 people, including some 46,000 children, are currently sheltering in more than 600 collective sites nationwide, most of which are already at full capacity. Our humanitarian colleagues warn that these figures will rise further as hostilities intensify, with Israeli authorities announcing plans to escalate ground operations along the Blue Line.

Strikes on critical infrastructure also continue. Reports indicate that yesterday's destruction of the Qasmieh bridge in the Sour district has further isolated southern Lebanon from the rest of the country. This comes amid a broader pattern of strikes on crossings over the Litani River, with three bridges destroyed by Israeli forces in just the last 10 days. Between the Sour and Saida districts, only one bridge remains functional, raising concerns over people's ability to flee and access assistance. Such destruction may also impede our peacekeepers' ability to fulfil their mandate under Security Council resolution 1701.

Just to flag that in Geneva this morning, Imran Riza, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the UN in Lebanon, briefed Member States by video, underscoring the urgent need for diplomatic support, de-escalation and dialogue.

He stressed the need to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians, as well as humanitarian access in hard to reach areas. He also called for greater financial support, so we can scale-up humanitarian operations amid what has now become the largest humanitarian crisis in the country. And you will hear this from Ted in a few minutes.

** United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

And I can tell you that we also remain deeply concerned about the ongoing escalation between Hizbullah and Israel. Over the weekend, UNIFIL peacekeepers reported continued heavy exchanges of fire in both directions along the Blue Line, as well as intense airstrikes across their area of operations in southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL observed continued Israeli Defense Forces military activity and asset concentration across their area of operations, alongside clashes in several areas, particularly in the vicinity of Khyam in Sector East and Aytarun in Sector West.

Today, UNIFIL reported an explosion within their own headquarters in Naqoura, with smoke observed emanating from a structure believed to have been caused by a munition. There are no reported casualties and the full extent of the damage is still being evaluated.

Yesterday, in the vicinity of Meiss el Jebel, in Sector East, there was an explosion close to a UNIFIL logistics convoy during an operation to resupply three of our own positions. Thankfully, none of our peacekeepers were injured; however, three vehicles were damaged by shrapnel.

We remind, once again, all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and respect for the inviolability of UN premises and property.

We continue to call for de-escalation and urge all sides to avail themselves of diplomatic channels available to them and to recommit to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.

** West Bank

Turning to the Occupied West Bank, I can tell you that the Secretary-General condemns the recent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank. These near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers have become increasingly severe, resulting in deaths, injuries, significant property damage, and the displacement sometimes of entire communities.

The Secretary-General reiterates that Israeli settlements and related infrastructure have no legal validity and are in flagrant violation of international law, including applicable UN resolutions. He calls for an urgent de-escalation of the alarming situation in the Occupied West Bank and for an end to attacks on civilians and their property.

He urges the Government of Israel to implement concrete measures to reverse the current trajectory in the occupied West Bank. Israeli authorities bear the responsibility to protect the Palestinian population, end impunity and hold those responsible to account.

** Sudan

Turning to Sudan, I think you have all seen the attack on Al Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur State that took place on Friday, [March 20], an attack that we clearly condemn.

The World Health Organization (WHO) verified that at least 64 people, including children, patients and medical staff, were killed in the attack, with dozens more injured. The hospital is now out of service, cutting off huge numbers of people across the area from critical healthcare.

In a social media post, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said this new attack was part of a pattern. He reminded the belligerents that medical care is protected under international humanitarian law. He added that, sadly, as we have seen, this is routinely being ignored.

Since the conflict began nearly three years ago, WHO says more than 2,000 people have been killed in over 200 verified attacks on healthcare facilities.

This attack comes amid escalating drone strikes across the Kordofan and Darfur regions that continue to kill civilians. You'll recall last week that our colleagues at the Human Rights office reported that in just seven days, 200 civilians were killed in Kordofan and White Nile. Recent incidents include deadly strikes on markets and other infrastructure, highlighting the ever-growing risks to civilians in this conflict.

We call for an immediate end to attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, respect for international humanitarian law, the protection of healthcare and humanitarian personnel, a cessation of hostilities, and rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian goods and workers.

** South Sudan

Just south in South Sudan: As efforts intensify to bring justice within reach for communities cut off from formal legal systems, mobile courts are delivering long-awaited accountability in parts of South Sudan.

This month, the United Nations Mission there (UNMISS), along with national authorities, is supporting mobile justice interventions in conflict-affected areas.

In Greater Yei, which is in Central Equatoria State, a mobile court heard 23 cases between 4-19 March, concluding 12 cases; eight of those are involving sexual and gender-based violence.

Backed by international partners, these efforts aim to bring justice closer to survivors and strengthen accountability.

** Security Council

Turning to Ukraine, I want to flag that this afternoon, at 3 p.m., the Security Council will hold an open briefing on Ukraine. Rosemary DiCarlo, our Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, will brief, as will Tom Fletcher, our Humanitarian chief. We will share those remarks with you.

** Ukraine

Turning to what is going on inside the country, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tell us that attacks across Ukraine continue to cause civilian casualties. Between this morning and 19 March, drone strikes and bombardment killed 25 civilians and injured more than 130 others, including several children. The regions of Donetsk, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia were particularly affected. This is what local authorities are telling our people.

Our humanitarian colleagues note that on 20 March, a clearly marked evacuation vehicle of the national NGO (non-governmental organization) Mission Proliska was struck by a drone in the region of Donetsk, while trying to bring four older residents to safety. Two older women were killed. Two evacuees, as well as the driver, were injured.

The acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Richard Ragan, said in a statement that the roof of the van was clearly marked with the logo of the humanitarian organization. This incident, he said, reflects unacceptable risks posed by the Russian Federation Armed Forces' increasing and illegal use of first-person view drones against civilians and humanitarian workers operating near the front line.

Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues note that evacuations are continuing, with local authorities ordering the mandatory evacuation of children from parts of the town of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, due to growing insecurity.

Humanitarian organizations continue to support newly-displaced people and those impacted by recent attacks.

** Senior Personnel Appointment

Just to read into the record the announcement we put out on Thursday evening, and that is that the Secretary-General appointed Daniela Kroslakof Germany as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the newly-established United Nations Support Office in Haiti (UNSOH).

Ms. Kroslak brings to this position over 25 years of experience in political affairs, peace operations and mission leadership, including extensive service in fragile transition contexts.

We congratulate her.

** Financial Contribution

We have a quiz, because we have three countries who paid up.

This country is landlocked, over 93 per cent of its land is mountainous, and its capital means "Monday" in Farsi, reflecting its history as a Monday market village. [...] Tajikistan.

For those of you who like to wear hats and sunglasses, we would advise you not to wear them in this Member State, unless you are a chief. Because wearing a hat and sunglasses in a village in this country is a big no-no. And, many of the people in this country, when they want to say yes, raise their eyebrows as a non-verbal way. [...] Fiji, so we thank our friends in Fiji.

Lastly, this country has 12 official languages, three capital cities, and the world's highest commercial bungee jumping site. [...] South Africa.

We thank our friends in Tajikistan, Fiji and South Africa for their regular payments, and we are up to 93 [fully paid-up Member States].

Anybody want to know how much they paid? Tajikistan paid $95,444. So did Fiji $95,444. South Africa a bit more, $7,985,476.

** Questions and Answers

Spokesman : Namo, you won.

Question : Thank you, Stephane. Just one question on the alleged talks that have been happening between the United States and Iran. President [Donald] Trump says there has been talks. I'm just wondering if the Secretary-General is aware of such talks taking place, or can you confirm anything?

Spokesman : No. I can't confirm. We've obviously seen the press reports that these talks are going on or have been going on, which we welcome. What is important is that these talks lead to an immediate end to this conflict.

Madame, and welcome back, as we say in French.

Question : Thank you. You mentioned racial discrimination in the beginning of your briefing. Just before we had the briefing from the Ghana Permanent Representative about a resolution, that draft resolution that would be voted on Wednesday in the General Assembly about deciding or saying that the slave trade was the gravest crimes against humanity in history, with some Member States seemingly raising some issues about the ranking of suffering through history. So what is the position of the Secretary-General on this ranking issue?

Spokesman : We're not going to get in the midst of commenting while negotiations are going on between Member States. I think the Secretary-General, in his numerous remarks regarding the transatlantic slave trade, I think, been very clear as to the horrendous and brutal nature of that. Pam?

Question : Thanks, Steph. Any updates on the possibility of a UN initiative on the Strait? And at the 2:45 meeting between the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary of State, Chris Landau, will there be any discussion of the Strait or any kind of negotiation...? [cross-talk]

Spokesman : Well, let's wait for the meeting to happen. I can tell you the Secretary-General remains, continues to be deeply engaged on this issue.

Question : And on the initiatives?

Spokesman : No, that's what I'm saying. He remains deeply engaged on that. Okay. Any questions? Yes, sir, please.

Question : Thank you so much for giving the floor. I have two questions, actually, over the contemporary issues in Bangladesh. Number one is, in Bangladesh, you know the national parliament election was held recently under a neutral interim government, and an adviser to the neutral administration has recently joined the new political government formed through this election. This development has raised question regarding the neutrality of the interim government. The questions, the opposition parties allege that the current ruling party was handed a victory through electoral rigging. They are adding that as a reward for this rigging, Doctor Khalil... [cross-talk]

Spokesman : Sorry, what is... because we're going deep into very local politics? If you could just have the question.

Question : So my question is how does the United Nations view the joining of an official from the neutral government that organized the election to the subsequent political government?

Spokesman : We will not get involved in commenting on these domestic political issues. We trust that all actors in Bangladesh will resolve their differences through political discussion. Your second question?

Question : My second question is the new Government in Bangladesh has introduced a peculiar rule within the local government system. They are appointing their party people as administrators, bypassing election, whereas according to the Constitution, ensuring elected leadership at every tier of local government is mandatory. Consequently, democratic governance at the grassroots level is being collapsed. My question is, how does the United Nations view such an undemocratic practice in a democratic Member State? [cross-talk]

Spokesman : Again, I think these types of differences now for us to get involved in here and encourage political actors to resolve issues regarding constitutionality through existing legal means. Jennifer, Associated Press.

Question : Thanks. My apologies in advance if I misunderstood this, but I think you mentioned that there was an explosion of some kind in the UNIFIL headquarters in the morning.

Spokesman : You understood this very exactly.

Question : Anything more you can tell us about that? And has that occurred during this latest round of hostilities of the past few weeks before? Or is this... [cross-talk]

Spokesman : I mean, we've had a number of UN positions be either targeted or caught in the crossfire. It is unfortunately a risk that our colleagues at UNIFIL have to live with every day. I don't have any more details as of now. This occurred earlier this morning, and I think they're... I mean, I've been in contact with some of the colleagues there. They remained in bunkers for a long time, as well. So it's delaying whatever investigation they will need to do. All right. Before we go to Ted, any questions online?

Abdelhamid, please.

Question : Thank you, Steph. I have few questions. First, President Trump issued his warning, and he gave the Iranian 48 hours, as you know, if they don't open the Hormuz Strait, there will be major consequences, and he might destroy the whole infrastructure of the oil. They were aware [...] about this threat. How could the SG let this statement, dangerous threat, passes without a statement also?

Spokesman : Look, I mean, we saw the exchange of threats over the weekend, which were troubling, to say the least. And I think the Secretary-General has spoken out, notably explaining his position in regard to these threats. And when he spoke to Security Council about Article 2 of the Charter, we are against increased rhetoric. We also saw this morning the fact that there has been [an] announcement from the US that there were talks, and I think I answered that to Namo. Your other question?

Question : My second question. You mentioned that the war between Hizbullah and Israel. Is that an accurate description of what's going on, when Israel is targeting the southern of Beirut killing, so many, over 1000 Palestinians? Many of them are civilians. They attacked Baalbek. They attacked every part of Lebanon. They destroyed the bridges on Litani River, which made even the President, who's trying to reach out to Israel...

Spokesman : I mean, Abdelhamid, I don't think I used the... correct me if I'm wrong. I don't think I used the term "war" between Israel and Hizbullah. What I've said is that our UNIFIL colleagues had observed fire from Hizbullah and from Israel. All right. Yes, please?

Question : One more question. Okay. I think as we speak now, the Human Rights Council is debating or discussing the report issued by Francesca Albanese, entitled Torture and Genocide. In this report, Albanese said that torture is being used as a means of ethnic cleansing or changing the demographic composition of the West Bank and the occupied Palestinian territory. Does the SG approve or agree with her conclusions?

Spokesman : Look. It's not for us to agree or disagree with her conclusions. I think the Secretary-General's own position has been very clear, especially on what's currently going on in the West Bank, as I said about 15 minutes ago.

All right. We're going to go get Ted.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Remarks by UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Ted Chaiban, at the UN Secretary General Spokesperson's noon briefing: Across the Middle East, a generation of children is being pulled deeper into crisis

UNICEF

Remarks

As delivered

23 March 2026

NEW YORK, 23 March 2026 - "Twenty-three days into the escalating conflict in the Middle East, children across the region are paying a devastating price. A further descent into a wider or protracted conflict would be catastrophic for millions more.

"More than 2,100 children have been killed or injured, including 206 children killed in Iran and 118 in Lebanon. Four children killed in Israel and one in Kuwait. These are reported figures, and they are expected to rise as the violence continues. That is an average of approximately 87 children either killed or injured every day since the beginning of the war.

"Behind these numbers are parents, grandparents, teachers, brothers, and sisters. Communities, cities, and nations are in shock.

"Alongside the dead and wounded, we are witnessing rapid displacement across several countries, driven by relentless bombardment and evacuation orders that have emptied communities, and entire urban areas. In Iran, "UNHCR estimates that up to 3.2 million people have been displaced, including up to 864,000 children.

"In Lebanon, more than 1 million people are displaced, including an estimated 370,000 children - nearly one third of the displaced, with many families taking refuge in public buildings, including schools. Some 90,000 Syrians have returned to Syria since the onset of the conflict, alongside several thousand Lebanese.

"Across the Middle East, around 44.8 million children were already living in conflict-affected settings before this escalation. The consequences of what is unfolding now will be long-lasting for them.

"Too many homes, schools and hospitals, the systems and services children depend on, have been damaged or destroyed. Health systems that were already under strain are now buckling. Supply chains are disrupted.

"The Secretary-General has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and genuine de-escalation. Every party must exercise maximum restraint. Under international humanitarian law, civilians must be protected at all times. Schools are not targets. Hospitals are not targets. Children are not targets.

"I have just returned from Lebanon where I spent the entire of last week and what I witnessed there and what is unfolding across the region, requires the full attention and a clear, collective response.

"I was also there when the previous escalation started, in October 2024, and saw firsthand conflict and displacement at that time. I come to you now with an even deeper sense of urgency.

"Lebanon's crisis has been intensifying for years. Children have lived through economic collapse, institutional fragility and repeated cycles of violence including the war 18 months ago and now. What we are seeing adds deep layers of impact on children.

For many families, this is not the first time they have been forced to flee. It is another episode in a cycle of disruption that has yet to break. They are now back to overcrowded shelters or living with relatives or in unfinished buildings where conditions are strained. There is fear that conditions are going to get worse in Lebanon before it gets better.

"More than 350 public schools are used as shelters, disrupting the education of around 100,000 students, and though efforts underway to provide access to online education and other ways for children to access learning and teaching, as we know, schools provide more than learning. They offer structure, protection and continuity. When schools close or are repurposed, those stabilizing elements are lost.

"At a hospital in Beirut I met a 14-year-old called Nour, who was being treated for severe injuries after her home got bombed. She told us she was sleeping in her room and woke up to find stones and rubble on top of her. She was screaming and the people around her were screaming too. Everyone around her in her family was injured. She felt like her heart was pushing her to scream so help would come. She was pulled from under the rubble and is now recovering at this hospital. Hundreds of children didn't have the same luck.

"This is not an isolated case. It reflects the broader situation facing children and families across Lebanon and indeed in other parts of the region as well.

"As I mentioned, 118 children have been killed and 372 injured in Lebanon since the escalation began. If you add those two numbers up, that's the equivalent of a classroom of children every day that's killed or injured.

"In a shelter in Beirut, I met 15-year-old Fatima who had escaped with her family from the South to the same school they took refuge in 18 months ago. She told me that the night before I met her she had laid awake listening to the bombing hitting the southern suburb of Beirut worried about her family, her friends, her future. All she wants is to be able to go home and get back to school.

"Public services in Lebanon are under severe pressure. Water systems have been damaged. Health workers have also been killed as they try to rescue populations.

"UNICEF has reached 151,000 IDPs in more than 250 shelters and in hard-to-reach areas with essential non-food items. We are providing water and sanitation support in 188 shelters, serving around 46,000 people. We have prepositioned 221,000 high-energy biscuit (HEB) packages and more than 144,000 ready-to-use complementary food (RUCF) jars, to prevent wasting among children. Over 13,000 children in shelters have received educational and learning materials. Fourteen injured children have received life-saving surgery. Working with our colleagues from WFP we are using a humanitarian notifications system to conduct convoys to the south of the country to reach families who have stayed behind. Theres a few thousand families still in the south and we worked to reach them with essential water, food, and health supplies.

"However, the scale of needs is increasing faster than available resources and faster than 18 months ago. Over one million people displace figure has moved much faster and risks rising further. The UN issued a flash appeal for $308 million USD, the UNICEF portion of that is $48.2 million. This is a three-month flash appeal. At present, there is a 86 per cent funding gap. A key demand is for support to be able to sustain the response but also essential services that are critical for the population and for the displaced in particular.

"We are calling for three immediate actions:

a cessation of hostilities and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. We remind all parties of their obligations under International Humanitarian law. And as the SG has indicated, we need a deescalation and a political way forward to this war; safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to support the kind of missions that are being undertaken to go south. This becomes more difficult to do as several of the bridges have now been cut; and urgent financial support to sustain the response.

"Thank you for your attention."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






War in the Middle East: Cultural treasures damaged, with more at risk

23 March 2026 - Since the outbreak of war on 28 February, several unique sites of cultural significance have been damaged in Iran, Israel and Lebanon, alongside immense suffering, displacement and death.

In Iran, these sites include Golestan Palace, Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan, Masjed-e Jame mosque (also in Isfahan) and buildings located near Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley.

UNESCO alerts

These treasures feature on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List, along with Israel's White City of Tel-Aviv and Tyre in Lebanon, which have also sustained damage in the first three weeks of the war.

The UN agency communicates "and will continue to communicate to all parties concerned the geographical coordinates of sites on the World Heritage List...to take all feasible precautions to avoid damage," officials told UN News.

Worryingly, UNESCO cautions that several other sites are also at risk, notably in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkiye, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Education, science and media under fire

The deteriorating security situation is also impacting schools, universities and journalists, with growing disruption and danger now endangering education personnel, students and infrastructure.

"UNESCO is deeply concerned by the impact of the current security deterioration on education, science and research institutions across the region," the agency told us, highlighting major disruption to learning, research and access to information. "This creates immediate risks for children, youth, teachers, researchers, and education professionals. It also weakens the institutions that societies depend on for recovery, dialogue, peace and stability."

'Deeper learning crisis'

If the violence continues, UNESCO warned of a "deeper learning crisis" across the Middle East, marked by a "greater exclusion of the most vulnerable children, loss of teachers and researchers, weakening of public trust in institutions and lasting damage to the region's scientific capacities".

The agency insisted that schools, universities, laboratories and research institutions are not only service providers, but "part of the social fabric and future human capital of the region...Protecting them is therefore not only a humanitarian necessity, but also fundamental for longer-term recovery, resilience and peace.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Today's top news: Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Lebanon

UN, partners scale up aid as Lebanon faces largest humanitarian crisis in 20 years

OCHA reports that the UN and its partners continue to scale up assistance, in close coordination with the Government.

The UN Refugee Agency and its partners have distributed more than 90,000 mattresses, 50,000 sleeping mats and 110,000 blankets to collective sites in all of Lebanon's governorates.

Thousands of hygiene kits have also been distributed by UNICEF and its partners. They have also provided shelters with nearly 600,000 litres of clean water. And more than 485,000 litres of fuel have been provided to sustain public water supply services.

In a video briefing to Member States in Geneva this morning, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Imran Riza, underscored the urgent need for diplomatic support for de-escalation and dialogue. He stressed the need to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians and humanitarian access in hard-to-reach areas. Mr. Riza also called for great support - both financial and material - so the UN can scale up humanitarian operations amid what has now become the largest humanitarian crisis in the country in more than two decades.

Displacement continues to surge, with more than 1.2 million people - or around one in every five people - having been forced to flee their homes. More than 130,000 people, including around over 46,000 children, are currently sheltering in more than 600 collective sites nationwide, most of which are already at full capacity. These figures are expected to rise further as hostilities intensify, with Israeli authorities announcing plans to escalate ground operations along the border.

Strikes on critical infrastructure also continue. Yesterday's destruction of the Qasmieh bridge in the Sour district has further cut off southern Lebanon from the rest of the country. This comes amid a broader pattern of strikes on crossings over the Litani River, with three bridges destroyed by Israeli forces in the past 10 days. Between the Sour and Saida districts, only one bridge remains functional, raising concerns over people's ability to flee and access assistance.

The UN and its partners are also very concerned with continuing attacks on healthcare - including health workers, health facilities and ambulances. As of today, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports 64 attacks on healthcare, resulting in 51 deaths and 91 injuries, adding further strain on an already fragile health system.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Lebanon with urgent support.

Ukraine

More civilians killed in unrelenting attacks

OCHA reports that attacks across the country continue to cause civilian casualties.

On 20 March, a clearly marked evacuation vehicle of the national NGO Mission Proliska was struck by a drone in the town of Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka in the region of Donetsk, while trying to bring four older residents to safety. Two older women were killed. Two evacuees, as well as the driver, were injured.

The acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Richard Ragan, said in a statement that the roof of the van was clearly marked with the logo of the humanitarian organization. He said this incident reflects the risks posed by the use of first-person view drones to civilians and humanitarian workers near the front line.

Drone strikes and bombardment - between 19 March and this morning - killed 25 civilians and injured more than 130 others, including several children, according to authorities. The regions of Donetsk, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia were particularly affected.

Meanwhile, evacuations continue, with local authorities ordering the mandatory evacuation of children from parts of the town of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region due to growing insecurity. Some 1,200 residents, including over 110 children, were evacuated from the Sloviansk community in the past four days, according to the same sources.

Humanitarian organizations continue to support newly displaced people and assist those affected by recent attacks, including by providing psychological support and shelter materials.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Ukraine with urgent support.

Sudan

Darfur hospital attack part of pattern of violence against healthcare

OCHA reports that Al Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur State was attacked on 20 March

WHO verified that at least 64 people - including children, patients and medical staff - were killed, with dozens more injured. The hospital is now out of service, cutting off huge numbers of people across the area from critical healthcare.

In a social media post, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, called this part of a pattern. He said that medical care is protected under international humanitarian law - yet this is being ignored.

Since the conflict began nearly three years ago, WHO says that more than 2,000 people have been killed in over 200 verified attacks on healthcare across Sudan. The UN reiterates that health facilities, staff and patients must never be targeted.

The attack comes amid escalating drone strikes across the Kordofan and Darfur regions that continue to kill civilians. Last week the UN Human Rights office reported that in just 7 days, 200 civilians were killed in strikes in Kordofan and White Nile. Recent incidents include deadly strikes on markets and other infrastructure, highlighting growing risks to civilians and the wider region.

The UN calls for an immediate end to attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, full respect for international humanitarian law, the protection of healthcare and humanitarian personnel, a cessation of hostilities - and rapid, safe, and unhindered and sustained humanitarian access.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Sudan with urgent support.

Posted on 23 March 2026

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US, allied forces strengthen Arctic readiness during exercise Cold Response 26

Published March 23, 2026

By Senior Master Sgt. Megan Crusher

U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa Public Affairs

BARDUFOSS AIR STATION, Norway (AFNS) -- U.S. Air Force Airmen, alongside Norwegian and allied partners, successfully concluded participation in exercise Cold Response 26, a Norwegian-led multinational training event designed to enhance collective defense, sharpen warfighting skills and reinforce deterrence capabilities in the high north.

The exercise brought together more than 25,000 military and civilian personnel from over a dozen NATO nations across all domains operating from locations throughout Norway, Sweden and Finland. U.S. Air Force forces integrated with allies to execute high-intensity scenarios that tested interoperability and readiness in harsh Arctic conditions.

"During Cold Response, we are able to help strengthen the alliance by practicing and integrating with the other partners, from the mission planning to the actual execution at the squadron level," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Dustin Merritt, 493rd Fighter Squadron commander.

F-35A Lightning IIs from the 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, operating out of rland Air Force Station, Norway, flew alongside Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35s assigned to the 123rd Luftving, integrating advanced fifth generation fighter capabilities across allied forces. Together they conducted demanding training, including complex night operations, to strengthen collective combat capability.

The air combat picture was further enhanced by Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornets, from the 211th Fighter Squadron, and Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripens from Karelia Air Wing, expanding the scope of multinational integration and reinforcing allied interoperability in complex and challenging scenarios.

Enabling these sustained air operations, KC-135 Stratotankers assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Wing, based at RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom, provided aerial refueling support, extending the range and endurance of U.S. and allied aircraft.

"Air-to-air refueling is an inherently a dangerous job because you're flying two or more airplanes very, very close together in proximity, so it takes a lot of preplanning, mission planning and coordination prior to, and good communication with our NATO allies and partners," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Jeff Chae, KC-135 pilot, with the 100th ARW. "Overall, I think the exercise really helps us to practice what we play and strengthens the NATO alliance, making us a more cohesive and capable force."

Complementing this capability, HC-130J Combat King II aircraft assigned to the 23rd Wing, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, also conducted in-air refueling with Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripens, expanding the reach and flexibility of multinational combat air operations.

In addition to refueling, HC-130J crews also supported combat search and rescue missions alongside Airmen assigned to the 56th and 57th Rescue Squadrons, from Aviano Air Base, Italy. From Bardufoss Air Station, these units trained with Swedish Air Force Rangers to execute personnel recovery operations in austere Arctic conditions. Using HH-60W Jolly Green IIs from the 56th RQS, the integrated team conducted hoist, rappelling and simulated recovery missions, strengthening their ability to locate, treat and extract isolated personnel.

Sustaining U.S. Air Force operations, maintainers across all participating units ensured aircraft survivability and mission readiness despite extreme Arctic conditions. Working in freezing temperatures, high winds, rain and snow, they kept aircraft mission-capable across the Arctic, enabling aircrews and rescue crews the ability to execute complex missions.

Together, these efforts demonstrated NATO's ability to rapidly deploy, integrate and sustain combat-ready forces in the high north, reinforcing a unified and capable defensive alliance. By strengthening stability in a vital region of the European theater, Cold Response enhances the ability to defend the homeland by deterring potential threats before they reach U.S. borders.

"By exercising in Cold Response, the ability to execute missions rapidly and flexibly is one of the byproducts of this," Merritt said. "It sends a message that we're ready as part of NATO to deter and defend whatever we need to when the time arises."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






USS Gerald R. Ford Arrives in Souda Bay

US Navy

23 March 2026

From U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs

The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) arrived at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, March 23, 2026, for maintenance and repairs after operating in the Red Sea. The aircraft carrier remains fully mission capable.

The port call allows for the ship to undergo efficient assessment, repairs, and resupply. Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group continues its overseas deployment.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. 4th Fleet Announces Southern Seas 2026 Deployment

US Navy

23 March 2026

From U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet Public Affairs

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) will deploy to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility as part of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet's Southern Seas 2026 deployment.

Nimitz and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101) are scheduled to conduct passing exercises and operations at sea with partner nation maritime forces as the ships circumnavigate the continent of South America. Southern Seas 2026 will feature subject matter expert exchanges and provide the opportunity for distinguished visitors from partner nations to see aircraft carrier operations up close. Engagements are planned with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Uruguay, with port visits planned for Brazil, Chile, Panama, and Jamaica.

"The Southern Seas 2026 deployment provides a unique opportunity to enhance interoperability and increase proficiency with our partner-nation forces across the maritime domain," said Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet. "Deployments like this demonstrate our unwavering commitment to ensuring a secure and stable Western Hemisphere. This mission is a shining example of our dedication to strengthening maritime partnerships, building trust, and working together to counter shared threats."

"We look forward to continuing the Nimitz legacy of teamwork as we engage with and train alongside our regional partners," said Rear Adm. Cassidy Norman, commander, Carrier Strike Group 11.

Southern Seas 2026 marks the 11th iteration of the exercise to the region since 2007. Like the previous deployments, Southern Seas 2026 will foster goodwill, strengthen maritime partnerships, counter threats, and build our team.

Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are the pinnacle of mobile projection of naval air power and forward operational presence. No other weapons system has the responsiveness, endurance, multi-dimensional might, inherent battlespace awareness, or command and control capabilities of a carrier strike group and embarked air wing.

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group consists of Nimitz, its flagship; embarked staff of Carrier Strike Group 11; DESRON 9; embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17; and Gridley.

CVW 17 consists of six squadrons flying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, C-2A Greyhounds, and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks.

These squadrons include Helicopter Maritime Squadron (HSM) 73, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, VFA-137, and Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139.

USNAVSOUTH/FOURTHFLT is the trusted maritime partner for Caribbean, Central and South America maritime forces improving regional unity and security.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. 7th Fleet flagship, Philippine forces conduct Maritime Cooperative Activity

US Navy

23 March 2026

From U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs

The combined forces of the Philippines and the United States conducted a Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone, March 20, 2026. This activity demonstrated a collective commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

As the fourth MCA of 2026, these regular at-sea events strengthen the interoperability of our respective military doctrines, tactics, techniques, and procedures. This MCA focused on key maritime communication drills and interoperability.

MCAs are conducted in a manner consistent with international law and with due regard to the safety, navigational rights, and freedoms of all nations.

Participating units included Philippine Navy Philippine Navy Jose Rizal-class guided-missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FFG 15), Philippine Coast Guard BRP Gabriela Silang (OBV 8301), Armed Forces of the Philippine aircraft including a C-208B utility aircraft, A-29 Super Tucano light-attack aircrafts, a Sokol Search and Rescue helicopter, and U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19). This marks Blue Ridge's first participation in an MCA.

Prior to the MCA, Blue Ridge conducted a port visit to Manila where U.S. 7th Fleet and the Philippine Navy Fleet conducted subject matter expert exchanges and leadership calls. While in port, USS Blue Ridge hosted Philippine civilian and military leadership as well as ambassadors throughout the region during an evening reception.

The U.S., along with our allies and partners, upholds the right to freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law.

U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) Arrives at Naval Station Norfolk Homeport Ahead of Commissioning

US Navy

23 March 2026

NORFOLK, Va. - (March 20, 2026) -- The newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124), arrived at its homeport, Naval Station Norfolk, on March 20. The arrival precedes the warship's commissioning ceremony, which is scheduled for April 11, 2026.

The warship's namesake, retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Harvey Curtiss "Barney" Barnum Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient, was on the pier to welcome the warship and its crew to their new homeport.

"To be on the pier and welcome this incredible crew to their new homeport is monumental," said Col. Barnum. "This warship represents the enduring bond between the Marine Corps and the Navy, and I have the utmost confidence in the crew to carry on the legacy of service and courage that defines our naval forces. I look forward to seeing them 'bring her to life' and join the fleet."

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is the first ship to bear the name of Col. Barnum. The ship honors his gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life beyond the call of duty during the Vietnam War.

On Dec. 18, 1965, then-1st Lt. Barnum assumed command of his company after the commander was mortally wounded. With two armed helicopters under his control, he moved fearlessly through deadly fire to lead air attacks against the enemy's well-entrenched positions while directing one platoon in a successful counterattack on the key positions. Having cleared a small area, he requested and directed the landing of two transport helicopters to evacuate the deceased and wounded. He then assisted in seizing the battalion's objective. He is among the few living namesakes to witness his warship's commissioning.

"It is an honor to bring this warship to Norfolk and to be welcomed by Colonel Barnum himself. His heroism is the standard we strive to meet every day," said Cmdr. Benjamin R. Cantu, commanding officer of PCU Harvey C. Barnum Jr. "This crew has trained relentlessly to prepare for this moment. We are ready to join the fleet and carry the name of a true American hero as we defend our nation's interests around the globe."

The warship's sponsor is Col. Barnum's wife, Martha Hill, who has maintained a close relationship with the crew since the keel-laying ceremony in 2021. In keeping with naval tradition, she will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!" during the commissioning ceremony. At that command, the crew will run aboard, and the USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. will officially become a warship in the U.S. Navy's fleet.

Harvey C. Barnum Jr. is a flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer designed to conduct a wide range of maritime operations, including anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare in support of national security and global maritime stability. Once commissioned, the warship will be capable of operating independently or as part of carrier strike group, surface action group, or an expeditionary strike group.

For more information about Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124), please visit the ship's official U.S. Navy page at https://www.surflant.usff.navy.mil/lcs29/.

COMNAVSURFLANT mans, trains and equips assigned surface forces and shore activities, ensuring a capable force for conducting prompt and sustained operations in support of United States national interests. The SURFLANT force is composed of 70 ships and 31 shore commands.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






USS Mustin returns to forward-deployed Naval forces in Yokosuka

US Navy

23 March 2026

From Chief Mass Communication Specialist Taylor DiMartino, Commander, Destroyer Squadron 15 Public Affairs

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) arrived at Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) March 23, 2026, marking its return to U.S. 7th Fleet after nearly five years in San Diego. The ship was previously forward-deployed to Yokosuka from 2006 to 2021.

Mustin recently completed a major modernization period while in the U.S., enhancing its combat capabilities and ensuring it, and its crew, are ready to meet the dynamic challenges of the region.

"Mustin Nation is proud to return to Japan," said Mustin commanding officer, Cmdr. Christina Appleman. "Our arrival has a special meaning for our Sailors and their families. We are rejoining a phenomenal team here in the 7th Fleet, and are eager to work alongside our allies and partners in the region. We bring with us the spirit of our ship's motto, 'Always Be Bold,' and are ready to ensure security and stability in the Indo-Pacific."

Capt. David Huljack, commanding officer of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, welcomed Mustin's return, highlighting its importance to the squadron's mission.

"Welcoming USS Mustin back to the DESRON 15 family is a significant moment for us," said Huljack. "This ship and its crew bring a renewed strength and vital capability to our surface force.Their return to the tip of the spear is a clear demonstration of our commitment to maritime security and stability in the Indo-Pacific."

Commissioned July 26, 2003, Mustin is a multi-mission platform capable of conducting a wide range of operations, from maritime security and anti-submarine warfare to ballistic missile defense. The destroyer is named for the Mustin family, which has a long and distinguished history of service in the U.S. Navy.

The ship's return to Yokosuka is a testament to the U.S. Navy's enduring commitment to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka provides critical support to U.S. 7th Fleet, the largest of the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed fleets. CFAY's strategic location and extensive facilities are vital for maintaining readiness and supporting maritime operations throughout the Western Pacific.

Mustin is forward-deployed and assigned to DESRON 15, the Navy's largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet's principal surface force.

U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russo-Ukraine War - 23 March 2026 - Day 1489

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 French Ministere des Armees et des Anciens combattants reported that territorial gains remain stable.

over the last 24 hours, the FAFR have targeted the oblasts of Kyiv [A], Cherkasy [B], Chernihiv [C], Sumy [D], Kharkiv [E], Donetsk [F], Dnipropetrovsk [G], Zaporizhzhia [H], Kherson [I], and Odesa [J]. The FAFR continue to maintain their targeting efforts on residential areas and energy infrastructure. In total, 139 drones (including 80 Geran-2 drones) have targeted Ukraine. The Ukrainian ground-to-air defense has claimed the interception of 127 drones, for an interception rate of 91%. The Russian ground-to-air defense has claimed the interception of 150 drones.

Over the last 24 hours, the FAU have targeted a refinery in the Republic of Bashkiria, more than 700km from Moscow. The Russian ground-to-air defense has claimed the interception of 150 drones.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in total, since the beginning of this day, there have been 152 combat encounters.

The defense forces continue to stop the enemy, destroy personnel and deplete the Russian invaders' combat potential by creating a systematic fire effect.

The Russian opponent made 51 aviation strikes - dropped 160 controlled air bombs. In addition, Russian forces used 5567 kamikaze drones and carried out 2708 shells on settlements and positions of Ukrainian troops.

The Defense Forces repelled 13 Russian assaults in the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursky directions today. In addition, the enemy carried out 94 shells to the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements, including one with the use of reactive salvage systems.

In the South-Slobozhansk direction, theRussian enemy six times stormed the positions of Ukrainian units near the settlements of Vovchansk, Vovchansk Hutory, Staritsa and Ohrimivka.

In the Kupyansky direction, Russian troops attacked six times near the settlements of Petropavlivka, Borivska Andriyivka, Novoplatonivka and Boguslavka. There is currently one confrontation in progress.

In the Lymans komu direction from the beginning of the day, the Russian enemy three times attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders near dibrova and drobisevogo. There's still one battle going on.

In the Slovenian direction, the Russian opponent tried to advance seven times in the areas of settlements Yampil, Rai-Oleksandrivka, Platonivka and Riznikivka.

In the Kramators komu direction today active offensive actions of the Russian enemy is not recorded.

In the Konstantinivka direction, the Russian occupiers 16 times stormed the positions of Ukrainian defenders near Konstantinivka, Pleshiyivka, Illinivka. Kleban-Bika, Sofiyivka, Ivanopilya and towards Novopavlivka.

Since the beginning of the day, the Defense Forces repelled 27 Russian assault actions in the Pokrovsky direction in the areas of settlements Toretske, Rodinske, Mirnograd, Grishyne, Pokrovsk, Udaachne, Molodetske and towards settlements Novooleksandrivka and Svitle. Three clashes are not over yet.

According to preliminary estimates, today 44 Russian occupants were eliminated and 22 injured in this direction; three vehicles and five special equipment units were destroyed, and six vehicles were damaged. Destroyed or suppressed 147 BPLA of different types.

In the Oleksandrivsky direction, the Russian occupiers tried 10 times to improve their position by attacking in the areas of settlements Oleksandrograd, Stepovo, Novogrigorivka, Krasnogirske and Zlagoda. Two clashes are ongoing so far. Aviation strikes by controlled bombs were hit by districts of settlements Oleksiyivka, Ivanivka, Pokrovskke and Oleksandrivka.

16 Russian attacks in the areas of Olenokostyantinivka, Railway, Gulyaipol, Varvarivka, Zelenoy, Svyatopetrivka and Mirny. The Russian enemy caused air strikes in the areas of the settlements of Verhnya Tersa, Vozdvizhivska, Babashi, Danilivka, Zalivne, Gulyajpils ke and Dolinka. There's still one battle going on.

In the Orihiv direction of active Russian offensive actions is not recorded. The Russian enemy launched air strikes on the area of the settlement of nuts.

In the pridniprovsk direction, Ukrainian defenders have successfully repelled one Russian attack.

In other directions, there have been no significant changes in the environment.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

The Sever Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line. The Group hit manpower and hardware of a territorial defence brigade close to Miropolye, Novaya Sech, and Kondratovka (Sumy region).

In Kharkov region, Russian troops hit a mechanised brigade, a motorised infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a territorial defence brigade have been hit near Sosnovy Bor, Polnaya, Maryino, Verkhnyaya Pisarevka, and Staritsa (Kharkov region).

The AFU losses amounted to more than 245 troops, ten motor vehicles, and two artillery guns. Three ammunition depots, one fuel depot, and eight materiel depots were neutralised.

The Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. They inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, an assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a territorial defence brigade, a national guard brigade close to Studenok, Novoosinovo, Shiykovka, Borovaya (Kharkov region), Stary Karavan, Svyatogorsk, Krasny Liman, and Korovy Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses amounted to up to 180 troops, a tank, an armoured fighting vehicle, 20 motor vehicles, and an artillery gun. One electronic warfare station and four ammunition depots were destroyed.

The Yuzhnaya Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops inflicted fire damage on three mechanised brigades, an assault brigade, an airmobile brigade, a mountain assault brigade of the AFU close to Konstantinovka, Slavyansk, Ilyinovka, Nikolayevka, Druzhkovka, Nikolaypole, and Novodmitrovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy lost more than 180 troops, 10 motor vehicles, a field artillery gun, and an electronic warfare station. One ammunition and three materiel depots were eliminated.

Elements of the Tsentr Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line. They inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, an assault brigade, and an assault regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a marine brigade, and two national guard brigades close to Svetloye, Matyashevo, Dobropolye, Grishino, Belitskoye, Priyut, Torskoye (Donetsk People's Republic), Novopodgornoye, Chuguyevo, and Ivanovka (Dnepropetrovsk region).

The AFU losses amounted to more than 375 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, 14 motor vehicles, and an electronic warfare station.

The Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing to the depth of the enemy's defences. The Group hit one mechanised brigade, an assault brigade, and air assault brigade, and four assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Kopani, Tersyanka, Novosoloshino, Mirnoye, Golubkovo, Lugovskoye, Lyubitskoye, Komsomolskoye, and Gorkoye (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy lost more than 260 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, a Grad MLRS, and two field artillery guns.

The Dnepr Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Losses were inflicted on manpower and hardware of a mechanised brigade and a mountain assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Kamyshevakha, Orekhov, and Zaporozhets (Zaporozhye region).

More than 35 troops, five motor vehicles, four electronic warfare stations, an artillery gun, and four ammunition and materiel depots were neutralised.

Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces have inflicted damage on fuel and power facilities of Ukraine, port and transport infrastructure used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; assembly and launch areas of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 147 areas.

Air defence systems shot down eight guided aerial bombs and 526 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the enemy has lost 671 aircraft, 284 helicopters, 126,663 unmanned aerial vehicles, 652 anti-aircraft missile systems, 28,430 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,691 MLRS combat vehicles, 34,020 field artillery guns and mortars, and 57,546 units of support military vehicles.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russian Citizen Sentenced to Prison for Hacking into U.S. Companies and Enabling Major Cybercrime Groups to Extort Tens of Millions of Dollars

Monday, March 23, 2026

For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs

A court in the Southern District of Indiana today sentenced a Russian citizen, Aleksei Volkov, to 81 months in prison for assisting major cybercrime groups, including the Yanluowang ransomware group, in carrying out numerous attacks against U.S. companies and other organizations. Volkov facilitated dozens of ransomware attacks throughout the United States, causing over $9 million in actual losses and over $24 million in intended losses. Volkov was indicted for this activity in both the Southern District of Indiana and Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Police in Rome, Italy, then arrested Volkov, and he was extradited to the United States. He pleaded guilty to charges from both indictments.

According to court documents, Volkov, 26, of St. Petersburg, Russia, was an "initial access broker," that is, a person who specializes in gaining unauthorized access to computer networks and systems of corporations and organizations and selling that access to other cyber threat actors such as ransomware groups. Volkov found vulnerabilities in computer networks and systems, identified ways to access those networks and systems without authorization, and sold that illicit access to conspirators who were also cybercriminals.

Volkov's co-conspirators then used the access Volkov provided to infect the affected computer networks and systems with malware. This malware encrypted the victims' data and prevented the victims from accessing it, damaging their business operations. The conspirators then demanded that the victims pay them a ransom in cryptocurrency  sometimes in the tens of millions of dollars  in exchange for restoring the victims' access to the data and promising not to publicly disclose the hack or release victims' stolen data on a "leak" website. In some cases, the victims paid the ransom and in others the conspirators posted the victims' confidential data on the leak site. If the victims paid the ransom, Volkov received a share of the money.

On Nov. 25, 2025, Volkov pleaded guilty to four counts from the Southern District of Indiana indictment, namely, unlawful transfer of a means of identification, trafficking in access information, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft; as well as two counts from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania indictment, namely, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after the two cases were consolidated in the Southern District of Indiana. As part of his plea, Volkov admitted that he and his co-conspirators hacked into numerous victims' computer networks, stole their data, deployed ransomware, demanded payment in cryptocurrency to exchange for restoring access to the data, and divided the ransom payments among themselves. In fact, they demanded tens of millions of dollars in ransom and received millions. Volkov agreed to pay full restitution to victims including at least $9,167,198.19 to known victims to compensate them for their actual losses as well as to forfeit equipment he used for his crimes.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Wheeler II for the Southern District of Indiana, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Special Agent in Charge Timothy O'Malley of the FBI Indianapolis Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the FBI Philadelphia Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Edward Chang (on detail to CCIPS), Assistant U.S. Attorneys MaryAnn T. Mindrum and Matthew B. Miller for the Southern District of Indiana, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wolfe for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked with the Government of Italy to secure the arrest and extradition from Italy of Volkov.



Components: Criminal Division

Criminal - Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section

Criminal - Office of International Affairs

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

USAO - Indiana, Southern

USAO - Pennsylvania, Eastern

Press Release Number: 26-280

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Joint Statement on Energy Security

Joint statement

Monday 23 March 2026

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP

Prime Minister of Australia

Lawrence Wong

Prime Minister of Singapore



Singapore and Australia are longstanding friends and Comprehensive Strategic Partners. Our prosperity, security, stability and economic future are intertwined - including with our region.

We share a long-standing and deep relationship grounded in strategic trust, open markets, and rules-based trade which underpin the prosperity and security of our people and our region. Reaffirming these shared principles is essential at this time.

Australia and Singapore share deep concern over the situation in the Middle East and its consequences for our region, such as the impact on energy supply chains and prices.

We are committed to working together to strengthen energy supply chain resilience, including by deepening regional cooperation, accelerating renewable energy transition, addressing unjustified import and export restrictions, and maintaining open trade flows.

In this context, we reaffirm our commitment to strengthen energy security, to support the flow of essential goods including petroleum oils, such as diesel, and liquefied natural gas between our two countries, and to notify and consult each other on any disruptions with ramifications on the trade of energy.

Consistent with our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2.0 joint declaration agreed in October 2025, Australia and Singapore will accelerate negotiations on an arrangement on trade in essential supplies, and will explore options for a future legally-binding commitment involving bilateral arrangements, such as consultation and early notification in case of potential disruptions.

We call on other trading partners to join us in ensuring global energy supply chains are kept open, for the benefit of the security and prosperity of our peoples.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Opening remarks meeting with Executive Director of the International Energy Agency

Transcript

Monday 23 March 2026

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP

Prime Minister of Australia

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Can I welcome you to Australia, Dr Birol. Thank you for your address to the National Press Club, and thank you for your leadership of the IEA. We live in very difficult global times. And the global turbulence, of course, is having an impact right around the world, and it requires a national response. Consistent with the recommendation of the IEA, we have released 20 per cent of our reserves, but we've also undertaken a range of other measures to ensure that we secure supply and also that we deal with distribution issues. In a continent as large as ours, that is part of the challenge that we have, is getting all of the fuel to the right places where it is needed. In addition to that, what we're doing is working with our international partners. I had a discussion with Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Singapore, just before our Question Time at one o'clock this afternoon, and we've released a statement about the importance of the security of supply chains going forward. That is really important. Last week, I convened a meeting of our National Cabinet, which is myself as Prime Minister, with all of the State Premiers and Chief Ministers, because I want to make sure that we're over prepared. And the Minister, of course, has also convened a meeting the following day, on Friday with his counterparts in the states and territories. We're primarily responsible for supply issues. Some of the distribution and demand issues are easier dealt with by our respective state and territory governments, but we're working very closely with industry as well. This is a challenging time of uncertainty. And as you have said, this represents a greater shock than the previous two energy shocks, if you look at the impact that it's having right around the world. And of course, no country is immune from it. But your visit here is very timely, and we welcome you.

DR FATIH BIROL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY: Mr Prime Minister. Thank you very much for receiving me. I consider Australia one of the cornerstones of the region and global energy security, and thank you very much for your leadership, Mr. Prime Minister. I believe we are facing the greatest global energy security threat today. Oil, natural gas and some of the very important arteries of our economy, such as the petrochemical fertilisers and others. As the International Energy Agency, our core mission is energy security. So, we have released on the 11th of March, 400 million barrels of oil to the market. So, thank you very much for your contribution, and also Mr. Minister, with the contribution from Australia and other countries. We have seen a relaxation in the markets, a comfort we have provided to markets. But events are [inaudible]. We also recently provided some suggestions to countries around the world, how they can also reduce the demand, and in addition to those, the international energy diplomacy is our work. I am in touch with the governments in Middle East, North America, Europe, but Mr. Prime Minister, Asia is at the forefront of this challenge. So, it's a great honour for me to meet with you today. I had a pleasure to discuss with my friend, my colleague, Chris Bowen, this morning. And from here Mr. Prime Minister, I will travel to Tokyo to meet the Prime Minister Takaichi, and some other leaders in the region and back to Paris. But thank you very much for your leadership and for the cooperation with the international activities. Thank you very much.

ENDS

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on March 23, 2026

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: March 23, 2026 18:22

Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji will attend upon invitation the plenary of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 in Hainan on March 26 and deliver a keynote speech.

CCTV: This week is the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Week 2026. Can you share the highlights of the events and expectations for LMC development in the future?

Lin Jian: Today marks the 10th anniversary of the first LMC Leaders' Meeting. Over the past decade, under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and leaders of Mekong countries, China has forged a community with a shared future with all Mekong countries bilaterally, and trade between the two sides has exceeded US$500 billion, up by 150 percent compared with that of 10 years ago. Thousands of small and smart projects, such as the LMC Bumper Harvest projects and the Lancang-Mekong Sweet Spring Action, have been implemented and delivered tangibly for the people. The six countries have jointly carried out the Safe Lancang-Mekong operations to uphold security in the region. Today, a reception will be held in Beijing to mark the 10th anniversary of the first LMC Leaders' Meeting. Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi will attend the reception to talk with friends from various sectors about the future of LMC.

This year's LMC Week is themed on "jointly forging Lancang-Mekong Cooperation 2.0." Relevant Chinese ministries, local governments and diplomatic missions will hold over 170 celebration events. First, on development, we will hold industrial seminars and experience sharing events on topics including green and low-carbon development and poverty alleviation through agricultural development. Second, looking to the future, we will carry out innovation cooperation and brainstorming through youth innovation contests and youth exchange camps. Third, aiming at serving the people, we will hold events such as the brightness project, non-profit medical activities, film week and art festival. You are welcome to follow and report on these events.

The world today is fraught with transformation and turbulence. Peace and development face severe challenges. China will follow the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness on neighborhood diplomacy, and work with the five Mekong countries to build LMC 2.0, open up a new LMC golden decade, and make new contribution to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

China-Arab TV: It's reported that online comments made by Japanese citizens on videos about Takaichi's visit to the U.S. are mainly negative, criticizing her for her dramatic expression and obsequious manner which undermined national dignity. Some even described the videos as bad as AI-generated. What's China's comment?

Lin Jian: We noted the comments made by some Japanese media, experts and citizens on Takaichi's visit to the U.S., including on her response when Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was mentioned and when she visited the Presidential Walk of Fame. I'll make no comment on online criticism on the visit made by Japanese citizens. The U.S. and Japan developing bilateral relations should be conducive to regional peace and stability rather than target any third country or harm their interests.

Beijing Daily: It's reported that 14 people were killed and 60 injured in a fire at an auto parts factory in Daejeon, the Republic of Korea. Would you like to comment on this?

Lin Jian: We have noted the fire that broke out a couple of days ago in Daejeon, the Republic of Korea, which has caused casualties. We express deep condolences for the lives lost and heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families. We wish the injured a speedy recovery.

AFP: U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday gave Iran 48 hours until 11:44 pm GMT today to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, threatening to obliterate Iranian power plants if they do not. What's the Chinese Foreign Ministry's comment on this?

Lin Jian: The conflict in the Middle East is still spreading and spilling over. If the conflict continues to expand and the situation once again escalates, the whole region will be plunged into chaos. Force will only lead to a vicious circle. China strongly calls on parties to the conflict to immediately stop military operations, return to dialogue and negotiation, and not continue the war that should not have happened.

Reuters: Is China already in talks with Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Laos and Viet Nam on fertilizer supplies? How does China plan to help them address the fertilizer shortage problems? And has China already started shipping additional fertilizers to those countries?

Lin Jian: The situation in the Middle East has dealt a blow to global energy and trade security. Relevant countries should immediately stop military operations and prevent the regional turmoil from causing a greater impact on global economic growth. On the specifics that you mentioned, I'd refer you to competent authorities.

Reuters: China has told Iran to ensure the safety of its assets and people in Iran. So has China specifically told Iran to ensure the safe passage of its ships and oil bound to China?

Lin Jian: We once again call on 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. We are in communication with relevant parties to work for the deescalation of the situation.

Reuters: The Foreign Ministry said last week that it's willing to work with other countries in Southeast Asia on energy security. So how does China plan to do so and have talks began with countries in the region?

Lin Jian: I'd refer you to competent authorities.

Reuters: The Chinese Embassy in India said on Saturday that Air China is resuming direct flights between Beijing and Delhi. When will this happen?

Lin Jian: The Chinese side and the Indian side maintain communication on promoting cooperation and people-to-people exchange. As to your specific question, I'd refer you to the competent authorities.

Bloomberg: Vietnamese officials over the weekend said it opposed China's activities involving land reclamation in the Paracel Islands. Does the Foreign Ministry have a response?

Lin Jian: Xisha Qundao is China's inherent territory, over which there is no dispute. Necessary construction on our own territory is aimed at improving living and working conditions on the islands and growing the local economy.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






More Cubans Are Choosing to Stay in Latin America, New IOM Data Shows

International Organization for Migration

News - Global

23 March 2026

Panama, 23 March 2026 -- A new report from the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) shows shifting migration patterns among Cubans across Latin America, with more people not only moving through the region but also choosing to remain there.

"These trends show that Latin America is no longer just a corridor for Cuban migrants, but is increasingly becoming their intended home," said Maria Moita, IOM Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Behind these numbers are people making difficult decisions about where they can rebuild their lives. Data collected on the ground every day helps governments respond with practical, evidence-based migration policies that reflect these realities."

The findings, covering the period from January 2025 to February 2026, draw on three complementary sources: IOM's DTM, which conducts systematic field surveys of migrants at key transit and destination points across the region; irregular migration statistics compiled by the governments of Honduras and Guatemala; and official regular migration figures from Brazil and Uruguay.

The DTM survey, conducted among Cubans in Costa Rica during January and February 2026, found that 94 per cent intended to stay in the country, citing better economic conditions, political stability, and access to international protection. IOM data also suggests that demand for immigration regularization and asylum procedures is likely to remain high.

At the same time, northbound movements through parts of Central America are declining sharply. In Honduras, Cuban irregular entries from Nicaragua fell by around 75 per cent, from 64,000 in 2024 to 17,000 in 2025. In the first two months of 2026, only 1,500 arrivals were recorded - less than a quarter of the figure reported during the same period in 2025. In Guatemala, all Cubans surveyed identified economic reasons as the main driver for leaving their country.

South America is also emerging as an increasingly important destination for Cubans. In Brazil, net regular Cuban migration nearly tripled between 2024 and 2025, rising from roughly 2,100 to 6,400 people, with no single month in 2025 recording a negative balance. Cubans typically enter through Venezuela or Guyana, where no visa is required, before crossing into Brazil's northern state of Roraima.

A similar trend is visible in Uruguay, where the average monthly net migration balance more than doubled, from around 500 Cubans in 2024 to over 1,200 in 2025, further underscoring the region's growing role as a destination rather than a transit route.

Drawing on data from more than 20 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, the analysis tracks evolving routes, motivations, and settlement trends. This mixed-method approach provides governments with a timely, evidence-based picture of how and why these dynamics are changing.

DTM is the most comprehensive human mobility data infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean, with operations in more than 20 countries. Its data informs migration policy design, regional migration governance coordination mechanisms, and humanitarian response planning.

Read the full report "Cuban Migration Dynamics in Latin America and the Caribbean"here.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Meets and Encourages Newly-Appointed Cabinet Members and Deputies to SPA

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, March 24 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, met and congratulated the Cabinet members, newly appointed at the First Session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly, and the deputies to the 15th SPA at the Pyongyang Assembly Hall on March 23.

At a crucial time when a new historic advance, to be specially recorded in the history of prosperity and development of our Republic, was launched, the participants were filled with boundless emotion and joy of being warmly encouraged by the great leader after holding him in high esteem again as the top leader of the Party and the state and receiving from him the important administrative policy for leading the heyday of comprehensive national rejuvenation to a new victory.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un warmly congratulated the members of the Cabinet who came to assume the heavy responsibilities under the deep trust and expectation of the Party and the people.

Saying that the present situation, in which socialist construction is switching over to a new phase of high-level changes, requires the positive and creative efforts of the Cabinet members who are steering the implementation of the five-year strategy advanced by the Ninth Congress of the WPK, he noted that the officials of the Cabinet should always be full of the will to perfectly carry out the Party decisions, stronger than any others, and throw themselves heart and soul into bringing about practical achievements for the country and the people.

Expressing expectation that the newly appointed members of the Cabinet would strongly lead the implementation of the Party's policies during the period of the new long-term plan, which will be the most responsible and important part of the struggle for our Party and state, with their firm viewpoint that the Cabinet's work precisely means the work of the Party Central Committee and the implementation of the Party's decisions is just the work of the Cabinet, he had a photo session with them.

He met DPRK ambassadors to foreign countries who came to participate in the important political meeting of the Party and the state. He had a photo taken with them, highly appreciating the efforts they have made by dedicating their wisdom and enthusiasm to the responsible work for reliably ensuring the socialist construction politically and diplomatically, adhering to the very mission of the DPRK's diplomacy set forth by the WPK.

Then, he congratulated the deputies on successfully concluding the First Session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly.

Expressing belief that the deputies to the SPA would fulfill their honorable mission and duty as representatives of the people and state political activists in implementing the WPK's state-building strategy, he had a photo taken with them, which will be eternally recorded in the constitutional history of the DPRK.

All the participants were full of enthusiasm to uphold with single-minded efforts the leadership of the great Party Central Committee which is powerfully carrying out the epoch-making causes of permanent significance in the DPRK's existence and prosperity, deeply cherishing the great glory and trust bestowed by Comrade Kim Jong Un . -0-

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Second-day Sitting of First Session of 15th SPA of DPRK Held

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, March 24 (KCNA) -- The second-day sitting of the First Session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was held on March 23.

The chairman and vice-chairmen of the SPA took the chair.

The newly elected leading officials of the state took the platform.

The session discussed the issue related to the amendments to the Constitution as its fourth agenda item.

Deputy Jo Yong Won, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly, made a report.

The reporter said that to amend and supplement the Constitution of the Republic, the legal basis and political charter for the dignity and sovereignty of the country and the people and their independent development, as required by the new stage of the developing revolution, constitutes an important landmark in legally guaranteeing the victorious advance of socialist construction and our cause. He explained in detail the contents of the draft law amended and supplemented, including the renaming of the "Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" as the "Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea".

The session examined the draft law and adopted with full approval an ordinance of the DPRK SPA "On the amendment and supplement to the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK".

It discussed the issue of thoroughly implementing the new five-year plan for national economic development as the fifth agenda item.

Deputy Pak Thae Song, premier of the Cabinet, made a report.

The reporter said that the past five years were the years of great changes when the Korean-style socialist construction definitely entered the stage of comprehensive development and remarkable progress was made in the struggle for the prosperity of the country and the wellbeing of the people, adding that this proud success is the brilliant fruition of the outstanding leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Un who clearly indicated the main tasks and ways for carrying out the economic construction and has energetically guided it.

He said that the historic Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea set it as a primary task for the socialist economic construction at the present stage to lay the developmental foundations for the stable and sustainable growth of the country's economy and substantially improve the people's living standards while consolidating the successes made during the eighth term of the Party Central Committee. And he referred to the Cabinet's action program and ways for thoroughly implementing the task.

The tasks facing us are huge, but we are sure to win as the Party and the people and socialism are united by the same destiny and there are tens of millions of people supporting the WPK leadership wholeheartedly, he said, expressing the firm will to unconditionally fulfill the new five-year plan for national economic development by enhancing the role of the Cabinet as an economic control tower in every way.

Attending the oral or written discussions were deputies Ri Chol Man, Paek Song Guk, Kim Kwang Nam, Yun Jae Hyok, Kim Sung Chan, Pak Jong Gun, Kim Yu Il, Kim Son Myong, Kim Sung Jin and Ri Song Bom.

They reviewed the work of relevant sectors and units for implementing the Party and the state's policies over the past five years, stressing that through hard yet honorable struggle, they came to keenly realize that a shortcut to making a leap forward is to make bold innovations going beyond the limit and consistently prioritize science and technology with confidence in victory.

They pledged to carry through the new long-term plan by fulfilling their responsibilities and duties in the work to bring about epoch-making results in the new high-stage struggle on the basis of the past successes, experience and lessons.

The session adopted with unanimous approval an ordinance of the DPRK SPA "On thoroughly carrying out the five-year plan for national economic development set forth by the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea".

The session discussed the issue of the state budget, the sixth agenda item.

The Supreme People's Assembly recognized that the state budget for 2025 was implemented correctly as planned in the struggle to successfully discharge the final year's task during the eighth term of the Party Central Committee and that the state budget for 2026 has been properly set up to ensure the simultaneous and balanced development of all sectors and provide a financial guarantee for the improvement of the people's living standards while concentrating investment in bolstering up the national defence capabilities and successfully attaining the goals of economic sectors as required by the decisions of the Ninth Party Congress and the First Plenary Meeting of the Ninth Party Central Committee.

The session adopted a decision of the DPRK SPA "On approving the fulfillment of the state budget of the DPRK for 2025" and an ordinance of the DPRK SPA "On the state budget of the DPRK for 2026".

There was a policy speech of the head of state at the session.

Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, appeared at the venue of the session to clarify the important policy orientation of the DPRK government.

All the participants broke into enthusiastic cheers, extending highest respects to Comrade Kim Jong Un who is building the DPRK into an eternally powerful and prosperous socialist country, solid with single-minded unity and strong with matchless national power, with his spirit of devoted service to the country and its people and seasoned and tested leadership.

Comrade Kim Jong Un made a historic policy speech.

He congratulated all the deputies who were elected as members of the 15th supreme power body of our dignified state by the deep trust and support of all the people across the country, and reviewed the state affairs during the 14th Supreme People's Assembly which brought about successful years through the arduous struggle. And he set forth important tasks and ways for the DPRK government to promote the prosperity of the state and the wellbeing of the people as in keeping with the requirement of the reality in which the socialist cause of our style has entered a new phase.

Stressing the importance of more dynamically stepping up the three revolutions - ideological, technical and cultural - in keeping with the present phase of socialist construction while consistently adhering to the principle of independent politics, self-supporting economy and self-reliant defence and the people-first principle in state building and activities, he called upon the SPA deputies to make painstaking efforts as befitting the masters of state affairs and representatives of the people so as to turn the future five years into the ones of better and more worthwhile transformation and for the future of the DPRK which will grow stronger.

All the participants expressed full support and approval with enthusiastic applause to Kim Jong Un 's speech which comprehensively and scientifically clarified the path of victory, to be followed by our state, and its perfect action programs at a new stage of accomplishing the socialist cause.

His historic policy speech is an immortal state-building programme that enables our people to make the unprecedented epoch-making victory, gained in building a prosperous power through their heroic and bold pioneering struggle, lead on to the dynamic prosperity and leap forward.

All the participants hardened their will to fully discharge their duties entrusted by the people in firmly defending Korean-style socialism centered on the popular masses and accelerating the comprehensive development of the state by thoroughly applying the fighting strategy and ways, set forth by Kim Jong Un , in the overall state affairs.

Deputy Jo Yong Won, chairman of the SPA, made a closing address.

The First Session of the 15th SPA served as a historic occasion that greatly raised the patriotic enthusiasm of all the people across the country to usher in a period of comprehensive prosperity of the state by redoubling the fighting spirit with which they have pioneered the period of changes unprecedented in history, true to the leadership of the great Comrade Kim Jong Un . -0-

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addresses the Lok Sabha on the ongoing conflict in West Asia

India - Press Information Bureau

Prime Minister's Office

The situation in West Asia is concerning at this time: PM

In the past two-three weeks, Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Hardeep Puri have provided the necessary information to the House on this matter: PM

This crisis has been going on now for more than three weeks, It is having a very adverse impact on the global economy and on people's lives, the entire world is urging all parties for the earliest resolution of this crisis: PM

This region is important to us for yet another reason ,as nearly one crore Indians live and work in the Gulf countries: PM

Among the commercial ships that sail in these seas, the number of Indian crew members is also very high: PM

Due to these several reasons, India's concerns are naturally high, it is essential that a unanimous and united voice from India's Parliament on this crisis reaches the world: PM

India has extensive trade relations with countries at war and affected by war, The region where the war is taking place is also an important route for our trade with other countries of the world: PM

A large quantity of essential items such as crude oil, gas, and fertilizers come to India through the Strait of Hormuz, Since the war began, the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz has become highly challenging: PM

Despite this, our government has been trying to ensure that the supply of petrol, diesel and gas is not affected much and common families of the country face minimum inconvenience, This has been our focus: PM

India has always stood for peace in the interest of humanity, Dialogue and diplomacy are the only solutions to this problem: PM

Our efforts are aimed at reducing tensions and ending this conflict: PM

Putting anyone's life at risk in this war is not in the interest of humanity, India's efforts are to encourage all parties to reach a peaceful resolution as soon as possible: PM

Posted On: 23 MAR 2026 3:47PM by PIB Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today addressed the Lok Sabha on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and the wide-ranging challenges it has posed for India. Noting that the crisis has now persisted for over three weeks, with deeply adverse consequences for the global economy and human lives, the Prime Minister underscored the urgency of resolution. Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Shri Modi remarked, "The whole world is urging all parties for the earliest possible resolution of this crisis."

Elaborating on the nature of the challenges confronting India, the Prime Minister pointed out that the war has created unprecedented economic, national security, and humanitarian pressures. He noted that India has extensive trade relations with the warring and war-affected countries, that the conflict zone straddles critical trade routes, and that a large share of India's crude oil and gas needs is met by this very region. Drawing attention to the nearly one crore Indians who live and work in Gulf countries, as well as the significant number of Indian crew members aboard commercial ships in those waters, the Prime Minister asserted, "India's concerns are naturally greater, and therefore it is essential that a united and unanimous voice goes out to the world from India's Parliament on this crisis."

Outlining the government's swift response to safeguard Indian nationals, the Prime Minister informed the House that every Indian in the affected countries has been provided necessary assistance since the war broke out. Stating that he has personally spoken, in two rounds, with the heads of state of most of the West Asian countries, all of whom have given full assurance regarding the safety of Indians, Shri Modi remarked, "Those who are injured are being ensured better medical treatment, and in such difficult circumstances, necessary assistance is being provided to the bereaved families."

The Prime Minister further detailed the consular and institutional support framework activated for Indians abroad. He noted that all Indian missions in the affected countries are continuously providing help, issuing regular advisories, and that 24/7 control rooms and emergency helplines have been established both in India and in other affected countries. Underlining the proactive outreach, PM Modi stated, "Through these mechanisms, prompt information is being provided to all those affected , whether they are Indian workers or tourists."

Highlighting the scale of the evacuation effort, the Prime Minister informed the House that more than 3,75,000 Indians have safely returned to India since the war began, including approximately 1,000 Indians from Iran alone, of whom over 700 are young medical students. He also noted that the CBSE has cancelled the scheduled Class 10th and 12th examinations in Indian schools in the Gulf countries and is taking steps to ensure continuity of education. Summing up the government's approach, Shri Modi asserted, "The government is sensitive, vigilant, and ready to provide every assistance."

Addressing the critical question of energy supply, the Prime Minister acknowledged that large quantities of crude oil, gas, fertilizers, and other essentials reach India through the Strait of Hormuz, and that shipping through the Strait has become highly challenging since the war. Stressing that the government's focus has been on protecting ordinary families from hardship, and noting measures such as prioritizing domestic use of LPG and boosting its domestic production, PM Modi remarked, "Continuous work has been done to ensure that the supply of petrol and diesel continues smoothly across the entire country."

The Prime Minister underscored how the energy diversification strategy pursued over the past decade has proven its worth in the current crisis. He informed the House that India has expanded its energy import sources from 27 countries to 41 countries over the past 11 years, thereby reducing dependence on any single region. Emphasizing the foresight of this approach, Shri Modi stated, "In today's circumstances, the steps taken over the past decade regarding energy security have become even more relevant."

On the subject of strategic reserves, the Prime Minister noted that India has prioritized the stockpiling of crude oil for precisely such times of crisis. He informed the House that India today possesses a Strategic Petroleum Reserve of more than 53 lakh metric tonnes, with work underway to build reserves exceeding 65 lakh metric tonnes, in addition to the separate reserves held by oil companies. Highlighting the overall enhancement of India's refining ecosystem, PM Modi asserted, "Over the past 11 years, there has been a remarkable increase in our refining capacity as well."

The Prime Minister detailed the government's active engagement with global suppliers and its vigilant monitoring of Gulf shipping routes to ensure the safe passage of ships carrying oil, gas, fertilizers, and other essential goods to India. Noting the continuous dialogue with all global partners to keep maritime corridors secure, Shri Modi remarked, "Due to such efforts, several of our ships that were stuck in the Strait of Hormuz have also arrived in India in recent days."

Turning to India's domestic energy transformation, the Prime Minister highlighted the extraordinary progress in ethanol blending, from a mere 1-1.5 percent a decade ago to nearly 20 percent today, which has reduced oil imports by approximately four and a half crore barrels per year. He also cited the electrification of railways, which has saved roughly 180 crore litres of diesel annually, the expansion of the metro network from under 250 km in 2014 to about 1,100 km today, and the provision of 15,000 electric buses to states by the central government. Projecting confidence in India's energy future, PM Modi asserted, "The scale at which work is being done on alternative fuels today will make India's future even more secure."

Addressing the broader economic ramifications, the Prime Minister acknowledged that energy is the backbone of the modern economy and that West Asia is a major source for global energy needs, making the current crisis a challenge for economies worldwide. He informed the House that the government is working with a comprehensive short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategy, supported by strong economic fundamentals, sector-specific stakeholder consultations, and a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group that meets daily to assess and resolve every difficulty in India's import-export chain. Expressing optimism, Shri Modi affirmed, "I am fully confident that through the joint efforts of the government and industry, we will be able to face these circumstances effectively."

On the impact of the war on agriculture, the Prime Minister reassured the House that India's farmers have ensured adequate foodgrain stocks and that the government is working to facilitate proper Kharif sowing and has built robust emergency food arrangements in recent years. Recalling how, even during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated global supply chain disruptions, when urea prices soared to Rs 3,000 per bag in international markets ,the government ensured that Indian farmers received the same bag at less than Rs 300, Shri Modi declared, "In the past too, our government did not allow the burden of global crises to fall on the farmers."

Detailing the structural steps taken to insulate Indian agriculture from external shocks, the Prime Minister noted that six new urea plants have been commissioned in the last decade, adding over 76 lakh metric tonnes of annual production capacity, while domestic output of DAP and NPKS fertilizers has been increased by approximately 50 lakh metric tonnes and fertilizer import sources have been diversified. Underscoring the breadth of these efforts, PM Modi stated, "Just as we have diversified oil and gas imports, we have also expanded our options for the import of DAP and NPKS."

The Prime Minister highlighted the government's commitment to empowering farmers through innovations like Made-in-India Nano Urea, the promotion of natural farming, and the distribution of over 22 lakh solar pumps under the PM-KUSUM scheme to reduce farmers' dependence on diesel.

Addressing the challenge of rising summer electricity demand amid the ongoing war, the Prime Minister informed the House that adequate coal stocks are available at all power plants across the country and that India has set a record of producing 100 crore tonnes of coal for the second consecutive year. He highlighted that all systems from power generation to power supply are being continuously monitored and that the government's preparedness has been significantly bolstered by the transformative strides made in renewable energy over the past decade , with half of India's total installed power generation capacity now coming from renewable sources and the country's total renewable capacity crossing the historic milestone of 250 gigawatts. Noting that solar power capacity alone has surged from approximately 3 gigawatts to 140 gigawatts in the past 11 years, about 40 lakh rooftop solar installations have been set up, 200 Compressed Biogas plants are now operational under the GOBARdhan Scheme, and that nuclear energy production is being encouraged alongside a newly approved Small Hydro Power Development Scheme that will add 1,500 megawatts of capacity over the next few years, Shri Modi asserted, "All these efforts are serving the country greatly today, and they will make India's energy future even more secure."

On India's diplomatic response to the West Asia conflict, the Prime Minister stated that India's stand has been clear from the very beginning , one of expressing deep concern, advocating de-escalation, and opposing attacks on civilians and on energy and transport infrastructure. Informing the House that he has engaged with all relevant West Asian leaders and urged them to reduce tensions and end the conflict, and emphasising that attacks on commercial ships and obstruction of international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz are wholly unacceptable, PM Modi asserted, "India, through diplomacy, is making continuous efforts for the safe passage of Indian ships even amidst the war environment."

Reaffirming India's unwavering commitment to humanity and peace, the Prime Minister stressed that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only path to resolution. Noting that every Indian effort is directed at de-escalation and the cessation of hostilities, and that the endangering of any life in this war runs counter to the interests of humanity, Shri Modi remarked, "India's effort is to encourage all parties to arrive at a peaceful resolution as soon as possible."

The Prime Minister also drew the attention of the House to the internal security dimension of the crisis, warning that certain elements attempt to exploit such situations. Informing the House that all law-and-order agencies have been placed on alert and that security across all domains, coastal, border, cyber, and strategic installations, is being further strengthened, PM Modi cautioned, "Whether it is coastal security, border security, cyber security, or strategic installations, the security of all is being reinforced."

Concluding his address, the Prime Minister remarked that the difficult global conditions caused by this war are likely to persist for a long time and called upon the nation to remain prepared and united, just as it had stood together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Urging patience, restraint, and vigilance, and cautioning against those who may seek to exploit the situation by spreading falsehoods, engaging in black-marketing, or hoarding, Shri Modi appealed through the House to all state governments to ensure strict monitoring and swift action against such elements. Expressing his abiding faith in the collective resolve of the nation, PM Modi asserted, "When every government and every citizen of this country walk together, we can challenge every challenge, this is our identity, and this is our strength."

****

MJPS/PRK

(Release ID: 2243931)

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






English rendering of PM's remarks in the Lok Sabha on the ongoing conflict in West Asia

India - Press Information Bureau

Prime Minister's Office

Posted On: 23 MAR 2026 3:25PM by PIB Delhi

Honourable Speaker,

I have come before this esteemed House to speak on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and the challenges it has posed for India. The situation in West Asia is deeply concerning. In the past two to three weeks, Shri Jaishankar ji and Shri Hardeep Puri ji have provided the House with necessary updates on this matter. Now that the crisis has lasted for more than three weeks, its adverse impact on the global economy and on people's lives is evident. The entire world is urging all parties for a swift resolution to this crisis.

Honourable Speaker,

This war has created unexpected challenges for India as well as economic, national security related, and humanitarian. India has extensive trade relations with the countries at war and those affected by it. The region where the war is taking place is also a crucial route for our trade with other parts of the world. Most importantly, a significant portion of our crude oil and gas requirements is met by this region. For another reason too, this region is vital for us-nearly ten million Indians live and work in the Gulf countries. A large number of Indian crew members also serve on commercial ships sailing in these waters. For all these reasons, India's concerns are naturally greater. Therefore, it is essential that from the Parliament of India, a united and unanimous voice goes out to the world regarding this crisis.

Honourable Speaker,

Since the war began, every Indian in the affected countries has been provided necessary assistance. I myself have spoken twice over the phone with the Presidents of most West Asian countries. All of them have assured full safety for Indians. Unfortunately, during this period, some people have lost their lives and some have been injured. In such difficult circumstances, their families are being given all possible support, and the injured are receiving the best possible medical treatment.

Honourable Speaker,

All our missions in the affected countries are continuously engaged in helping Indians. Whether they are workers or tourists, everyone is being given every possible assistance. Our missions are issuing regular advisories. Here in India and in other affected countries, 24/7 control rooms and emergency helplines have been set up. Through these, timely information is being provided to all those affected.

Honourable Speaker,

In times of crisis, the safety of Indians at home and abroad has been our highest priority. Since the war began, more than 375,000 Indians have safely returned to India. From Iran alone, nearly 1,000 Indians have returned safely, including more than 700 young students pursuing medical education. In Gulf countries, thousands of students study in Indian schools. The CBSE has cancelled the scheduled Class 10 and Class 12 examinations in all such schools. To ensure uninterrupted education for these children, CBSE is taking appropriate measures. This shows that the government is sensitive, vigilant, and ready to provide every possible assistance.

Honourable Speaker,

India imports large quantities of crude oil, gas, and fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the war began, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has become highly challenging. Despite this, our government has worked to ensure that the supply of petrol, diesel, and gas is not severely disrupted. Our focus has been to minimize difficulties for ordinary families. We all know that India imports 60% of its LPG requirements. Due to uncertainty in supply, the government has prioritized domestic use of LPG and is also increasing domestic production. Continuous efforts have been made to ensure smooth supply of petrol and diesel across the country.

Honourable Speaker,

In today's circumstances, the steps taken over the past decade for energy security have become even more relevant. Over the last 11 years, India has diversified its energy imports. Earlier, crude oil, LNG, and LPG were imported from 27 countries. Today, India imports energy from 41 countries.

Honourable Speaker,

In the past decade, India has also prioritized crude oil storage for times of crisis. Today, India has a strategic petroleum reserve of more than 5.3 million metric tonnes, and work is underway to expand it to over 6.5 million metric tonnes. The reserves maintained by our oil companies are separate. In the past 11 years, our refining capacity has also increased significantly.

Honourable Speaker,

The government is in constant contact with suppliers from different countries. Efforts are being made to ensure supply of oil and gas from wherever possible. The Government of India is keeping a close watch on shipping routes in the Gulf and surrounding areas. Our aim is to ensure that ships carrying oil, gas, fertilizers, and other essential goods reach India safely. We are in continuous dialogue with all our global partners to keep our maritime corridors secure. As a result of these efforts, several of our ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz have recently reached India safely.

Honourable Speaker,

At this time of crisis, another preparation of the country is proving very useful. In the past 10-11 years, unprecedented work has been done on ethanol production and blending. A decade ago, India had only about 1.5% ethanol blending capacity. Today, we are close to achieving 20% ethanol blending in petrol. This has reduced oil imports by about 45 million barrels annually. Similarly, railway electrification has brought huge benefits. Without such electrification, about 1.8 billion litres of additional diesel would have been required every year. We have also expanded the metro network. In 2014, India's metro network was less than 250 kilometers; today it has grown to nearly 1,100 kilometers. We have strongly promoted electric mobility. The central government has provided states with 15,000 electric buses. At the scale at which work is being done on alternative fuels today, India's future will be even more secure.

Honourable Speaker,

We know that energy is the backbone of the economy, and West Asia is a major source of meeting global energy needs. Naturally, the world economy is being affected by the current crisis, and continuous efforts are being made to ensure that India faces the least possible adverse impact. The government is working with a clear strategy for short-term, medium-term, and long-term effects. The fundamentals of India's economy are strong, which has also helped the country greatly. We are holding discussions with stakeholders across every sector, and wherever necessary, support is being provided. The Government of India has also set up an inter-ministerial group, which meets daily to assess difficulties in imports and exports and works continuously on necessary solutions. I am confident that through the combined efforts of the government and industry, we will be able to face these circumstances more effectively.

Honourable Speaker,

A major question is what impact the war will have on agriculture. Our farmers have filled our food grain reserves, so India has sufficient food stocks. Our effort is also to ensure proper sowing for the Kharif season. In recent years, the government has made adequate arrangements for fertilizers to deal with emergencies. In the past too, our government ensured that global crises did not burden farmers. During the COVID period and wars at that time, global supply chains were disrupted. The price of a bag of urea in world markets had reached 3000, but Indian farmers were provided the same bag at less than 300.

Honourable Speaker,

To protect farmers from such crises, many steps have been taken in recent years. In the past decade, six urea plants have been started in the country, adding more than 7.6 million metric tonnes of annual production capacity. During this period, domestic production of fertilizers like DAP and NPKS has also increased by nearly 5 million metric tonnes. Not only this, fertilizer imports have also been diversified, just like oil and gas. For DAP and NPKS imports too, we have expanded our options.

Honourable Speaker,

The government has also given farmers the option of Made-in-India nano urea. Farmers are being encouraged towards natural farming. Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, more than 2.2 million solar pumps have been provided to farmers, reducing their dependence on diesel. Through this House, I assure the farmers of the country that the government will continue to provide every possible assistance.

Honourable Speaker,

Another major challenge of the war is that summer is beginning in India. With rising temperatures, electricity demand will increase in the coming months. At present, all power plants in the country have adequate coal stocks. India has set a record of producing 1 billion tonnes of coal for the second consecutive year. From power generation to power supply, all our systems are being continuously monitored, and renewable energy has also supported our preparedness. In the past decade, India has taken major steps towards renewable energy. Today, half of our total installed power generation capacity comes from renewable sources. Our total renewable capacity has crossed the historic mark of 250 gigawatts. In the past 11 years, solar power capacity has risen from about 3 gigawatts to 140 gigawatts. Nearly 4 million rooftop solar installations have been set up in recent years, with the PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme providing significant help. Under the GobarDhan scheme, 200 compressed biogas plants are already operational in the country. All these efforts are proving very useful today. The government has also promoted nuclear energy production through the Amrit Kaal Energy Transition initiatives. Just a few days ago, the Small Hydro Power Development Scheme was approved, which will add 1500 megawatts of new hydro capacity in the next few years.

Honourable Speaker,

As far as diplomacy is concerned, India's role has been clear. From the beginning, we have expressed deep concern over this conflict. I myself have spoken with all relevant leaders in West Asia. I have urged them to reduce tensions and end the conflict. India has opposed attacks on civilians, energy, and transport-related infrastructure. Attacks on commercial ships and obstruction in international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz are unacceptable. Through diplomacy, India is continuously working to ensure safe passage for Indian ships even in this war environment.

Honourable Speaker,

India has always raised its voice for humanity and in favor of peace. I repeat again-dialogue and diplomacy are the only solutions to this problem. All our efforts are aimed at reducing tensions and ending this conflict. Any threat to human life in this war is against the interest of humanity. Therefore, India's effort is to encourage all parties towards a peaceful resolution at the earliest.

Honourable Speaker,

In times of such crises, some elements also try to misuse the situation. Therefore, all law enforcement agencies have been kept on alert. Coastal security, border security, cyber security, and protection of strategic installations are all being strengthened.

Honourable Speaker,

This war has created difficult global conditions that may persist for a long time. Hence, we must remain prepared and united. We faced similar challenges during the COVID crisis with unity. Now again, we must prepare in the same way. With patience, restraint, and calmness, we must face every challenge-that is our identity, that is our strength. At the same time, we must remain vigilant and cautious. Those who try to exploit the situation will attempt to spread falsehoods, but we must not let them succeed. Through this House, I also urge all state governments that during such times, black-marketeers and hoarders become active. Strict monitoring is necessary, and wherever such complaints arise, immediate action must be taken. When every government and every citizen of the country works together, we can challenge any challenge. With this appeal, I conclude my statement.

Thank you very much.

****

MJPS/VJ/ST

(Release ID: 2243901)

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's video address to participants in the 2nd International Conference Russia and India: Towards a New Agenda for Bilateral Relations, Moscow, March 23, 2026

23 March 2026 10:17

417-23-03-2026

Colleagues,

I warmly welcome the participants of the Second International Conference Russia and India: Towards a New Agenda for Bilateral Relations, organised by the Russian International Affairs Council and the Embassy of India in the Russian Federation.

I am delighted to see that your forum has once again brought together representatives of Russian and Indian academic, expert and diplomatic communities for a substantive discussion of key bilateral issues and an exchange of views on pressing regional and international matters.

Strengthening the especially privileged strategic partnership with New Delhi remains among our unconditional foreign policy priorities. We highly appreciate that this approach is fully shared by our Indian friends.

New Delhi's steadfast pursuit of an independent foreign policy, within the framework of its course towards strategic autonomy, and its consistent prioritisation of national interests command the deepest respect. As a result, India's influence continues to grow steadily in the emerging multipolar world as one of the leading global political and economic centres, a distinct civilisation and a great power of the 21st century.

The time-tested friendship between Russia and India stands as a model of how interstate relations should be built - on equality, mutual trust and respect, and due regard for each other's interests. In this context, the role of a trust-based dialogue at the highest level is difficult to overstate. Following President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi in December 2025, the alignment of Russia's and India's strategic objectives was reaffirmed, and a substantial package of documents, including policy documents, was signed. We look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia in 2026.

Active joint efforts continue to strengthen the material foundation of Russian-Indian relations. We have tangible results to present to our public. In 2025, bilateral trade reached approximately $60 billion. Our leaders have reaffirmed the goal of reaching $100 billion by 2030. In an effort to fulfil their instructions, we will deepen cooperation in logistics, technology and investment, including through the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Northern Sea Route. We will also continue to improve the system of direct settlements: already today, 96 percent of trade is conducted in national currencies.

I would particularly note our close foreign policy coordination, which has major significance amid current geopolitical turbulence, including the acute military and political crisis in the Persian Gulf, provoked by the United States and Israel. Moscow and New Delhi are committed to the democratisation of international relations on the basis of universally recognised norms of international law, above all the principles of the UN Charter in their entirety, interconnection and indivisibility.

Cooperation in multilateral formats is on the rise within the United Nations, BRICS, the SCO and the G20. This year, India holds the BRICS chairmanship under the motto Strengthening Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Stability. We stand ready to provide comprehensive support to our Indian friends throughout their chairmanship.

The implementation of the extensive and multifaceted Russian-Indian agenda requires expert and analytical support for the efforts of foreign ministries, other government bodies and the business community. I am confident that your conference, which is timely and highly useful, will contribute to further strengthening cooperation between Russia and India and to deepening mutual understanding between our nations.

I wish you every success in your work and all the very best.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Azerbaijani, Iranian FMs hold phone talk

Azerbaijan State News Agency - (AZERTAC)

23.03.2026 [23:00]

Baku, March 23, AZERTAC

On March 23, Jeyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a telephone conversation with Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

During the call, the discussions focused on the regional situation.

The ministers exchanged views on possible efforts to end the military escalation in the region. They stressed the importance of ensuring security in the Caspian region.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov reiterated Azerbaijan's expectations for finalizing the investigation into drone attacks on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from the territory of Iran.

During the telephone conversation, the foreign ministers also discussed bilateral issues of mutual interest.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






IEA: Global economy faces 'major, major threat' because of Iran war

Azerbaijan State News Agency - (AZERTAC)

23.03.2026 [20:23]

Baku, March 23, AZERTAC

War in the Middle East has 'severely' damaged more than 40 energy assets across nine countries, said the head of the International Energy Agency, as he warned of deepening risks to the global economy.

According to Euronews, the head of the International Energy Agency said Monday that the global economy faces a "major, major threat" because of the Iran war.

"No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction," Fatih Birol told Australia's National Press Club in Canberra on Monday.

He said the crisis in the Middle East has had a worse combined impact than the two oil shocks of the 1970s and the effect on gas markets of the Russia-Ukraine war.

"Some of the vital arteries of the global economy, such as petrochemicals, fertilisers, such as sulfur, such as helium  their trade is all interrupted, which would have serious consequences for the global economy," Birol said.

Oil prices continued to climb as the end of the Iran war was not in sight. Israel launched a new wave of attacks early Monday against Tehran, and Iran warned that it will strike power plants across the Middle East if US President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to bomb power stations in the Islamic Republic.

US WTI crude surged above $100 a barrel on Monday morning, and international benchmark Brent crude was priced at more than $113 a barrel.

Assessing the damage of the war in Iran that started on 28 February, Birol said 40 energy assets in nine countries across the region were "severely or very severely damaged".

The official added that he was consulting with governments in Europe and Asia about the prospect of releasing further stockpiled oil.

"We will see, we will look at the markets," he said. "If it is necessary, of course, we will do it, but we will look at the conditions, we will analyse, assess the market, and discuss with our member countries."

As Iran continues its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump gave a 48-hour deadline for Tehran to open the strategic waterway to all ships, saying that otherwise the United States would "obliterate" Iran's power plants. Trump posted the threat to social media early Sunday in Middle East time zones.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Statement by PM Netanyahu

Israel Prime Minister's Office

Type: Media Statements

Government: The 37th Government

Publish Date: 23.03.2026

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening:

"Earlier today, I spoke with our friend, President Trump. President Trump believes there is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have reached alongside the U.S. military to realize the goals of the war through an agreement, an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests.

At the same time, we are continuing to strike in both Iran and Lebanon. We are smashing the missile program and the nuclear program, and we continue to deal severe blows to Hezbollah.

Just a few days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists - and we are still active.

We will safeguard our vital interests under all circumstances."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






'Until final victory': IRGC unleashes 77th wave of missiles, drones at enemy targets

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 9:23 PM

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) carried out the 77th wave of Operation True Promise 4 against Israeli and American targets late on Monday, deploying precision-guided Kheibar Shekan missile systems and solid-fuel Zolfaqar missiles as well as explosive-laden drones.

In a statement, the IRGC said the latest wave struck targets across the north, center, and south of the occupied territories using "super-heavy, precision-guided Kheibar Shekan systems and attack drones."

It added that US military bases in the region, including Ali al Salem in Kuwait, al-Kharj in Saudi Arabia, and al-Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates, were also targeted using precision-guided, solid-fuel Zolfaqar systems and kamikaze drones.

The operation was described as having been carried out with "complete success."

Dismissal of US messaging

The IRGC also addressed earlier remarks by US President Donald Trump alleging that he had ordered a five-day pause in planned attacks on Iran's energy sites, stating that his "contradictory behavior" would not divert the Islamic Republic from continuing its reprisal.

"Trump's psychological operations have become worn out."

According to the statement, it was rather Iran's "heroic resistance and steadfastness" that had caused confusion and hesitation in the plans of the "aggressor enemy."

This "dignified resistance" would continue as a key factor in achieving victory, the Corps asserted.

Outlook on continued operations

The IRGC concluded by emphasizing that the enemy's retreat, alongside the presence of "brave people" on the streets across the Islamic Republic in the form of rallies in support of the country's Islamic establishment and the continuation of military operations, would persist "until the achievement of final victory."

Operation True Promise 4 began shortly after the Israeli regime and the United States launched their latest bout of unprovoked aggression against Iran late last month.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






True Promise 4: Iran and resistance axis ops. against US-Israeli assets on Mar. 23

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 8:22 PM

By Press TV Website Staff

Iranian armed forces and resistance groups across the region continue to carry out retaliatory military operations against the United States and the Israeli regime.

On Monday, March 23, 2026, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Army conducted multiple operations as part of Operation True Promise 4, which was launched immediately after the US-Israeli coalition carried out an unprovoked act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28.

Iranian armed forces have so far carried out 75 waves of missile and drone strikes with advanced weaponry targeting Israeli military facilities in the occupied territories, as well as US occupation bases and assets scattered across the West Asia region.

The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have also joined the front against the external aggressors, inflicting heavy blows on the enemy.

Hezbollah's operations have been primarily focused on Israeli military sites in the occupied territories. Its operations are both in response to the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and the relentless ceasefire violations by the Israeli regime over the past year.

Iraqi resistance groups have also been carrying out daily operations, primarily against American military assets in Iraq and other Arab countries.

Below is a list of operations carried out by the Iranian armed forces, as well as resistance movements in Lebanon and Iraq, against the US and the Zionist regime on March 23:

Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC):

The 75th wave of Operation True Promise 4 was executed under the sacred code "Ya Fatimah Al-Zahra (peace be upon her)," in the memory of the martyrs, Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini, the martyr spokesperson for the IRGC, and Hojjat al-Islam Khatib, the martyr minister of intelligence, against Israeli and American targets.

In this wave, based on reconnaissance conducted by intelligence and operations units, new deployment sites for Israeli soldiers and hiding places for Israeli army personnel in various parts of the occupied territories were targeted.

The Prince Sultan Air Base in Al-Kharj, one of the main sites for the deployment and aerial operations of the US forces against Iran, was also targeted with ballistic missiles.

A large-scale drone attack was carried out by the IRGC Ground Force drone unit on the positions and gatherings of terrorists in Erbil, Iraq.

The 76th wave 76 of Operation True Promise 4 was launched with the sacred code "Ya Aba Abdallah Al-Hussein (peace be upon him)" against American and Israeli targets.

In continuation of the attrition of the hostile enemies' military infrastructure, the US bases of Al-Dhafra, Victoria, the Fifth Fleet, and Sultan Air Base were effectively targeted with drones and powerful liquid-fueled "Qiam" and solid-fueled "Zulfiqar" missiles.

Israeli military infrastructure in "Ashkelon", "Tel Aviv", Haifa, "Gush Dan" settlement, and "Ashkelon" in southern occupied Palestine were also powerfully targeted with heavy, solid-fueled, and guided-until-impact "Kheibar Shekan" missiles and liquid-fueled "Qiam" missiles.

The 77the wave of Operation True Promise 4, with the sacred code "Ya Haydar Karar," was dedicated to the spokespersons of the resistance, the martyr Ali Mohammad Naeini, the martyr Abu Obeida, and the martyr Mohammad Afif, against the targets of the Israeli military in the north, center, and south of the occupied territories using super-heavy, precision-guided Kheibar-Shekan systems and kamikaze drones, and against the bases of the US military, including Ali Al-Salem, Al-Kharj, and Al-Dhafra, with Zulfiqar precision-guided solid-fuel systems and kamikaze drones.

Iranian Army:

Two combat-suicide drones of the US military were detected, identified, intercepted, and destroyed by the rapid and precise reaction of the Army Navy's air defense systems before they could attack the naval units in Bandar Abbas.

Targeted the Israeli regime's "Tel Nof" airbase and US bases in the region and locations of F-35 and F-15 fighter jets at the "Azraq" airbase using drone units from its ground, air, and naval forces from various points of the country

The "Tel Nof" airbase is one of the most vital airbases of the Israeli regime's air force, which has played a central role with fighter squadrons and support in aggression against the people of Iran. The "Azraq" airbase is one of the most important operational and support centers for the US and the location for the deployment and attacks of F-35 and F-15 fighter jets and electronic warfare aircraft against Iran.

Two invading enemy drones were successfully shot down by the Army Air Defense Force in the Qeshm and Kerman regions. The total number of drones shot down by the integrated network of the country's Joint Air Defense Headquarters has reached 131.

Hezbollah:

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers east of the city of Khiam with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the enemy artillery positions in "Al-Za'oura" with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, and within the framework of the warning issued by the Islamic Resistance to settlements in northern occupied Palestine, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Kiryat Shmona" settlement with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at Tal Abu Madi in the border town of Al-Dhayra with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Naqoura municipal building with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of the Israeli soldiers and their military vehicles in the vicinity of the town of Al-Taybeh with a qualitative missile.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Doviv" barracks belonging to the Israeli army, opposite the border town of Yaroun, with a rocket barrage and a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of soldiers in the "Avivim" barracks, opposite the border town of Maroun al-Ras, with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of soldiers at the newly established site in "Namer Al-Jamal," opposite the border town of Alma Al-Shaab, with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, and within the framework of the warning issued by the Islamic Resistance to a number of settlements in occupied northern Palestine, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Manara" settlement with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the enemy's artillery positions near the "Al-Marj" site opposite the border town of Markaba with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Metulla" site twice with rocket barrages.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Zar'it" barracks with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Metulla" site for the third time with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, and within the framework of the warning issued by the Islamic Resistance to a number of settlements in northern occupied Palestine, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Kiryat Shmona" settlement with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the "Hadhbat Al-Ajal" site north of the "Kfar Yuval" settlement with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the "Naqoura" school with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Doviv" barracks belonging to the Israeli military opposite the border town of Yaroun for the second time with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the square of the border town of Markaba with artillery shells.

Defending Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the square of the border town of Markaba for the second time with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Jabal Neria" base, which is part of the "Meron" base for surveillance and air operations management, in northern occupied Palestine, with a rocket barrage.

Defending Lebanon and its people, and within the framework of the warning issued by the Islamic Resistance to several settlements in northern occupied Palestine, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the settlement of "Kiryat Shmona" for the third time with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, and in the framework of the warning issued by the Islamic Resistance to several settlements in occupied northern Palestine, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance targeted the "Kiryat Shmona" settlement for the fourth time with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Taybeh project with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the "Misgav Am" site with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at Al-Taratera Heights in the border town of Maroun Al-Ras with artillery shells.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers and their vehicles in Khallat al-Aqsa in the town of Al-Taybeh with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the "Ramot Naftali" base with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the "Metulla" site for the fourth time with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Khirbet Al-Manara, opposite the border town of Houla, with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Hadbat al-Ajl site north of the "Kfar Yuval" settlement for the second time with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of the Israeli soldiers in "Yiftah" barracks.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Hadabat Al-Ajal position, north of the "Kfar Yuval" settlement, for the third time with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the Ibl al-Qamh site with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the newly established site in Namir Al-Jamal, opposite the border town of Alma Al-Shaab, for the second time with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Naqoura municipality building for the second time with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the air defense system in the "Ma'alot Tarshiha" settlement with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters launched an aerial attack with a swarm of attack drones at a gathering of Israeli soldiers at the "Goma" junction south of "Kiryat Shmona".

Defending Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Wadi Al-Tabasin in the border town of Al-Naqoura with a swarm of attack drones.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the border town of Al-Qawzah with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Jdeideh Mays Al-Jabal with a rocket barrage.

In defense of Lebanon and its people, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Khirbet al-Manara, opposite the border town of Houla, for the third time with a rocket barrage.

Islamic Resistance in Iraq:

The Al-Awliya drones struck the bases of the US military in Erbil, Iraq.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran rejects Trump's claim, confirms no talks held with US amid ongoing war

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 5:49 PM

The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry has dismissed US President Donald Trump's claims of talks with Iran, saying Tehran has had no negotiations with Washington over the past 24 days of the unprovoked US-Israel war against the Islamic Republic.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's position regarding the Strait of Hormuz and conditions to end the imposed war has not changed," Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

Trump had earlier set a 48-hour deadline for Iran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz or face US strikes on Iranian power plants. However, the US president backed down on Monday, saying he had ordered the Pentagon to suspend all plans for attacks, and claiming that talks were underway with Iran.

In response to Trump's threat, the Islamic Republic vowed to target energy infrastructure of the Israeli regime and any regional country from which anti-Iran military action might originate.

Arab officials said their efforts to broker an understanding between Tehran and Washington have so far failed to yield results.

Baghaei confirmed that Iran has received messages through some friendly countries over the past few days regarding the US request for negotiations to end the ongoing war. He said Iran has responded appropriately and based on the Islamic Republic's principled positions.

In its response, he said, Iran gave necessary warnings about the severe consequences of any attack on the country's vital infrastructure and emphasized that the Iranian armed forces would give a "decisive, immediate, and effective" response to any potential action in this regard.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also denied any talks have been held with the United States during the war.

"No talks have been held with the US. Such fake news is aimed at manipulating the financial and oil markets and find a way out of the quagmire that has entangled America and Israel," he wrote on X.

"Our people want the complete and regret-inducing punishment of the aggressors. All officials stand firmly behind the Leader and people until this goal is achieved," Qalibaf added.

Iran has said it would halt its reprisal operations against the United States and the Israeli regime if there is a guarantee that war would never take place again, US military bases are closed in the region, and compensations are paid for damages inflicted on Iranian military and civilian structures.

The US and Israel initiated an unprovoked military offensive against Iran, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with several high-ranking military commanders and civilians on February 28.

In response, the Iranian Armed Forces have launched a series of counterattacks, directing missile and drone strikes at American bases across the region and the Israeli-occupied territories.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran's air defenses shoot down US drone over Persian Gulf coast

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 4:55 PM

Iran's army air defense units intercepted and shot down a US unmanned aerial vehicle as it flew over the Persian Gulf coastline.

Iran's Southeastern Air Defense Headquarters announced in a brief statement on Monday that it had targeted the hostile drone with a missile.

The statement said that an intruding low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) was detected in the airspace along Iran's southeastern Persian Gulf coast, and that the Army Air Defense's ground-to-air systems fired a missile at the aircraft.

On March 19, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it had successfully hit a US Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jet in Iran's central airspace. The US military later admitted that Iranian air defenses had managed to hit one of its fighter jets.

On Saturday, an unnamed military source told Tasnim news agency that Iran used a domestically-developed air defense system to hit the US F-35 stealth fighter jet.

"The targeting of the American F-35, which the United States previously introduced to the world as the pride of its military technology, was done using the Iranian air defence system," the military source said.

The source emphasized that Iran has yet to reveal certain military advancements in both offensive and defensive capabilities, a fact that has left US and Israeli officials perplexed.

At least six hostile fighter jets and 127 drones have been intercepted and targeted by the Iranian air defense systems since the war began on February 28.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran's Army strikes Israeli, US air bases housing advanced fighter jets

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 4:25 PM

The Islamic Republic of Iran Army has launched retaliatory drone strikes on Israeli and US air bases in the region, where their fighter jets are stationed.

In a statement released on Monday, the Army said drone units of its ground, air, and naval forces from across the country conducted the operations against Tel Nof Air Base near Tel Aviv and Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, also known as Azraq, in Jordan.

It said Tel Nof is one of the most vital bases of the Israeli regime's air force, adding that the facility has played a key role in long-range attacks and the ongoing aggression against Iran with its support and fighter jet squadrons.

Azraq, which is one of the most important operational and support centers of the US in the region, hosts F-35 and F-15 warplanes, along with electronic warfare aircraft, involved in air raids against Iran, it added.

"Since the beginning of the US-Israeli aggression, Iran's Army has carried out dozens of drone strike phases targeting important and strategic points in the occupied territories, as well as American bases located in regional countries that are the origin of [anti-Iran] attacks."

The illegal US-Israeli aggression on Iran began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated senior Iranian officials and commanders.

The Iranian armed forces have responded by launching missile and drone operations targeting locations in the Israeli occupied lands as well as US military bases and assets across the region.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Don't put our energy infrastructure in danger, Persian Gulf states warn Trump

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 4:22 PM

Arab officials from Persian Gulf littoral states have reportedly called on US President Donald Trump to step back from threats against Iran's critical infrastructure, warning that Tehran's retaliation would be swift and severe.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the officials cautioned US policymakers that any strike on Iranian power plants could trigger missile attacks on energy facilities and water-desalination sites across the region, placing the global economy at risk.

Trump had earlier set a 48-hour deadline for Iran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz or face US strikes on Iranian power plants. The US president backed down on Monday, saying he had ordered the Pentagon to suspend all plans for attacks, and claiming that talks were underway with Iran. Tehran rejected the claim.

In response to the threat, the Islamic Republic vowed to target energy infrastructure of the Israeli regime and any regional country from which anti-Iran military action might originate.

Arab officials said their efforts to broker an understanding between Tehran and Washington have so far failed to yield results.

Iran has underlined that it would halt its reprisal operations against the United States and the Israeli regime in case of a guarantee of the non-repetition of war, closure of US military bases in the region, and compensation for damages inflicted on its military and civilian structures.

The US and Israel initiated an unprovoked military offensive against Iran, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, along with several high-ranking military commanders and civilians on February 28.

In response, the Iranian Armed Forces have launched a series of counterattacks, directing missile and drone strikes at American bases across the region and the Israeli-occupied territories.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran urges Russia, China to block US abuse of UN Security Council

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 3:31 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urges Russia and China to prevent the United States from abusing the United Nations Security Council to commit more crimes against Iran and exacerbate tensions in the region.

In a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday, Araghchi condemned the US and its allies for proposing a resolution at the UN Security Council to exert more pressure on Iran.

"It is expected that member states of the Security Council, particularly Russia and China, and other countries that attach value to the principles of the UN Charter and international law not to allow the US to abuse the Security Council to further complicate the situation simultaneous with its crimes against Iran," he said.

He once again affirmed Iran's determination to continue defending its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Any threat to attack Iran's energy infrastructure constitutes a clear instance of war crime and genocide."

Araghchi warned that if such threats are carried out, Iran will give a "swift and decisive" response.

On March 21, Donald Trump, the US president, threatened to attack Iran's power plants if the country does not "fully open, without threat, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours."

He, however, backed away from his 48-hour ultimatum to strike Iran's power plants on Monday after the Islamic Republic warned that all energy and power installations in the region would be targeted in retaliation.

Trump claimed in a post on his Truth Social media platform that the US and Iran have had "very good and constructive conversations over the past two days regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East."

The US president also said he had ordered the Pentagon to postpone all plans for military strikes on Iran's electricity generation infrastructure for five days subject to the outcome of the negotiations.

Araghchi warned that the war imposed by the US and the Israeli regime on Iran would have consequences for the safety and security of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, rejecting the unfounded allegations against Iran in this regard.

"The insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz is a direct result of the US-Zionist regime unlawful attacks and the international community should punish and hold these two regimes accountable for their violation of law and committed crimes."

The Iranian foreign minister expressed deep regret over the approach taken by certain countries, including Bahrain, in aligning with US policy in using the Security Council as a means to exert pressure on Iran, noting that a resolution passed by the Security Council on March 11 was a blatant distortion of realities, as it blamed Iran instead of holding the aggressors accountable.

On February 28, the United States and Israel attacked Iran. They assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and a number of high-ranking military officials. The two enemies have also killed hundreds of Iranian civilians in airstrikes on the country.

Iran's response to the aggression by the US and the Israeli regime has been decisive and precise.

Barrages of missiles and drones have paralyzed the air defenses of the United States in the region. That has caused Israel to fail to intercept many of Iranian missiles pounding the occupied territories.

The Russian foreign minister, for his part, once again condemned the illegal attacks by the US and Israel against Iran.

Lavrov hailed good relations between Moscow and Tehran, saying Russia consistently strives to work in international forums to safeguard international law and prevent the erosion of the rule of law in international relations.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran regrets abuse of regional states' soil for US-Israeli attacks

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 2:06 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says it is regrettable that the United States and the Israeli regime continue abusing the territory of Muslim countries in the region to carry out attacks on the Islamic Republic.

In a telephone conversation with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday, Araghchi elaborated on the crimes committed by the Israeli and American aggressors against the Iranian people, particularly attacks on schools, hospitals, and residential areas.

"Iran's actions in targeting military bases and facilities of the aggressors in regional countries are in line with its inherent right to self-defense. We regret that the territory of Muslim states in the region are being misused for the US and Israeli attacks against Iran."

The minister reiterated Iran's determination to firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity amid the unprovoked US-Israel war.

Iran has repeatedly stated its commitment to respecting the territorial integrity of all its neighbors under its policy of good neighborliness. However, it warns that if American terrorists utilize the soil, airspace, or facilities of neighboring countries to launch attacks against Iran, those countries will be considered legitimate targets for Iran.

Araghchi also warned that the military aggression by the US and the Israeli regime would have consequences for regional security and stability, as well as the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

"The insecurity imposed on the Strait of Hormuz is a direct result of the US-Israel military aggression and the countries in the region and around the world should punish and hold the perpetrators of this situation accountable for their crimes."

The Turkish foreign minister, for his part, said the prolongation of war in the region would have consequences on the regional countries. He outlined his recent consultations with officials from other countries in this regard.

Fidan emphasized the necessity of efforts to reduce tensions and strengthen relations between Iran and the regional countries.

The US and Israel started a fresh round of unlawful military 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 Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and hundreds of Iranian civilians, including women and children, as well as military commanders.

Iran has also carried out extensive retaliatory attacks on Israel and US with missiles and drones successfully hitting targets in the Israeli-occupied territories as well as US military assets in regional countries.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






IRGC targets US Fifth Naval Fleet, other sites in 76th wave of reprisal attacks

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 1:44 PM

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched a fresh wave of retaliatory airstrikes, targeting military infrastructure belonging to the hostile US and Israeli regimes.

In a statement released on Monday, the IRGC's Public Relations Department announced that it had successfully conducted the 76th wave of attacks as part of Operation True Promise-4, as part of the ongoing retaliation against illegal US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

During the operation, powerful drones, along with liquid-fuel Qiam and solid-fuel Zulfaqar missiles, struck the United States' Fifth Naval Fleet, as well as its bases of al-Dhafra, Victoria, and Prince Sultan across the region, it said.

The Zionist regime's military infrastructure in Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Haifa, and Gush Dan were also targeted with heavy, solid-liquid and navigable missiles such as Kheybar Shekan and Qiam.

The elite military force said, "The sustained firing of Iranian missiles and drones, their passing through the enemy's advanced air defense systems, and their effective and widespread hitting of strategic targets have annulled the claims and delusions of warmongering American and Zionist officials about the destruction of the Islamic Republic of Iran's missile and naval capability."

In an earlier statement on Monday, the IRGC said the drone unit of its Ground Force had carried out a massive attack against the positions and places of gathering of separatists in Erbil, in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.

It noted that the operation took place as part of the 75th wave of Iranian retaliatory strikes against the enemies.

"The enemies will be safe nowhere. We will find them (the enemies), whose fates have already been announced," it warned.

Meanwhile, the IRGC said the 75th wave of Iranian attacks involved the targeting of new military deployments and hiding places of Israeli troops across the occupied Palestinian territories.

Ballistic missiles were also fired at Prince Sultan Air Base in al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, which is a key hub for US aggressors' deployments and anti-Iran aerial assaults, it added.

The US and Israel launched their criminal act of aggression against Iran on February 28 by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders, in flagrant violation of the country's sovereignty.

The enemies have deliberately targeted Iran's civilian infrastructure and energy facilities, killing hundreds of Iranian people.

Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the terrorist military assault by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied lands as well as on US bases and assets in regional countries.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Trump backed down after Iran threatened to retaliate, no talks underway: Report

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 1:11 PM

US President Donald Trump has backed away from his 48-hour ultimatum to strike Iran's power plants after the Islamic Republic warned that all energy and power installations in the region would be targeted in retaliation, a report said.

Trump claimed in a post on his Truth Social media platform that the US and Iran have had "very good and constructive conversations over the past two days regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East."

The US president also said that he had ordered the Pentagon to postpone all plans for military strikes on Iran's electricity generation infrastructure for five days subject to the outcome of the negotiations.

"I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions," he said, claiming that conversations with Iran will continue throughout the week.

He had previously threatened to attack Iran's power plants within 48 hours if Iran did not fully open the Strait of Hormuz.

A source familiar with internal discussions in Tehran told Tasnim news agency on Monday that there has been no official contact between Tehran and Washington.

"From the beginning of the war until today, messages have been sent to Tehran by some mediators, and the clear response has been that we will continue to defend ourselves until we achieve the necessary deterrence."

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trump's claim was aimed at stabilizing the markets and buying time to implement his military plans. "With this kind of psychological warfare, neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to pre-war conditions nor will calm return to energy markets."

Trump retreated from attacking Iran's vital infrastructure when he realized that its threats of military action were legitimate, the source said.

Trump's remarks came as the deadline he had given Iran was nearing its end.

According to the source, Trump's new five-day ultimatum reflects his administration's intention to continue to commit crimes against the Iranian nation, "and we will continue to respond and defend the country extensively."

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.

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 and interests in regional countries.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran urges IAEA to slam US threats to target Bushehr nuclear power plant

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 11:16 AM

Iran's Permanent Mission to International Organizations in Vienna urges the UN nuclear watchdog to "swiftly" denounce US threats to attack a nuclear power plant in the south of the country.

In a post on its X account on Monday, the mission said the American officials' public threat to attack a nuclear power plant inside Iran is a serious material breach of international norms prohibiting any attack on nuclear power plants, apparently referring to the Bushehr power plant in southern Iran.

It warned that any attack on nuclear facilities would result in "devastating and long-lasting negative" impacts on human life and the environment in the Persian Gulf region and far beyond.

The mission emphasized that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "must act swiftly in denouncing those threats and reminding the US of catastrophic consequences of such dangerous acts."

"All acts of the aggressors are definitely serious and flagrant violations of cardinal principles of international law as well as the norms of jus in bello and thus entail their full international responsibility for their internationally wrongful acts and are liable for all resulting consequences, whether direct or indirect, within or outside the Persian Gulf region," it pointed out.

The post came in response to the latest threat by US President Donald Trump, who said Saturday night that the United States will "hit and obliterate" Iran's "various power plants, starting with the biggest one first!" if the country does not "fully open, without threat", the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours from this exact point in time."

Meanwhile, in an interview with Face The Nation, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walts said that he "would never take anything off the table for the president," when asked whether Trump would authorize strikes against a nuclear power plant.

ince February 28, when the US and Israel launched their unprovoked aggression, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas tankers affiliated with the aggressor regimes and those cooperating with them.

The disruption of tanker traffic in the waterway, lying between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, has triggered a major surge in energy prices.

In a desperate attempt to control the market, Trump said that the US Navy will escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. He even offered political risk insurance for tankers transiting there.

The US president also sought to form a coalition to secure the strait, asking NATO countries to contribute naval and air assets. However, most of Washington's allies have declined to commit forces.

In reaction to Trump's threat, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Tehran will give a decisive response to "delirious threats" made against it on the battlefield.

"The Strait of Hormuz is open to all except those who violate our soil. We firmly confront delirious threats on the battlefield," he emphasized.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters also warned of Iran's "immediate punitive" measures in case of any attack on the country's fuel and energy infrastructure. The Intelligence Service of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said critical technology centers beyond the region will be targeted within 48 hours.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iranian Navy downs two more US drones, bringing total number to 129

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 11:13 AM

The Iranian Navy says its defensive and anti-aircraft systems have successfully detected and destroyed two drones belonging to the terrorist army of the United States.

In a statement released on Monday, the Iranian Navy said two offensive-suicide drones belonging to the US army were immediately detected over Bandar-Abbas before they could inflict any damage upon naval forces.

It added that with these two drones, the Iranian nation-wide defensive systems have destroyed a total of 129 enemy drones.

In recent days, several Israeli and US officials, including President Donald Trump and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have falsely claimed that the aggression coalition has fully destroyed Iran's defensive systems and navy.

The neutralization of these drones as well as the damage inflicted upon several Israeli-US fighter jets, including an F-35 and F-16, demonstrates that both the Iranian defensive systems and navy are operating at full capacity.

The US and Israeli armed forces launched their military aggression against Iran in late February.

Since then, Iranian armed forces have retaliated swiftly by launching barrages of missiles and drones at Israeli-occupied territories as well as US bases across the region.

Iranian officials say targeting US military bases in the region constitutes "legitimate self-defense."

Referring to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, they say 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






Passage through Strait of Hormuz possible only through coordination with Iran: Defense Council

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 10:55 AM

Iran's Defense Council says the passage of non-hostile vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is possible only via coordination with Iranian officials, amid ongoing US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

In a statement released on Monday, the Council underscored that Iranian Armed Forces will deliver a decisive and destructive response to any act of aggression against their nation's power plants and energy infrastructure without hesitation.

Iran struck the Dimona nuclear complex in the Israeli-occupied territories in reprisal for the attack on Natanz nuclear facility, and targeted US interests in retaliation for the attack on energy infrastructure in the southern gas-rich Asalouyeh region.

Iran's Defense Council also warned that any attempts by enemies to attack Iranian coasts or islands in the Persian Gulf waters would prompt Iranian forces to lay various types of naval mines along all maritime transition routes, and the move would be within the framework of their legitimate right and in accordance with accepted military statutes.

This would consequently create a situation in the Persian Gulf similar to the status quo in the Strait of Hormuz, and would freeze maritime activities in the strategic water body, it added.

The responsibility for such a condition rests squarely on the United States and the Israeli regime as aggressors on Iran, the statement read.

The Council then referenced the destruction of more than 100 naval mine sweepers by Iranian forces at the height of tensions in the Persian Gulf during the 1980s.

The sole way for non-hostile vessels to cruise through the Strait of Hormuz is to coordinate with Iran, the Council said, emphasizing that all strata of the Iranian society, all units of the Armed Forces as well as Iranian officials have pledged allegiance to the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei, and will exercise maximum steadfastness and resilience till the last drop of their blood.

The United States and Israel launched an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran on February 28, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military commanders.

Within the framework of their legitimate response, Iranian Armed Forces immediately initiated powerful missile and drone strikes against US interests across the region and Israeli positions in the occupied lands.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Tehran: World grown thoroughly exhausted with US-Israeli 'false flag storylines'

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 9:23 AM

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says the world has grown thoroughly exhausted with the US-Israeli "false flag storylines."

In a post on his X account on Monday, Esmaeil Baghaei reacted to the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's stance, which rejected the recent claims by Israeli regime officials regarding Iran's missile program posing a threat to Europe.

"That even the NATO Secretary General (who is infamously pressing Alliance members to appease the US and support their illegal war on Iran) declines to endorse Israel's most recent disinformation, speaks volumes: the world has grown thoroughly exhausted with these tired and discredited "false flag" storylines," he noted.

Israeli officials, over the past two days, claimed the interception of an Iranian missile targeting a British military base in Diego Garcia.

They presented Iran's missile program as a threat to continental Europe.

The event reportedly happened between Thursday night and Friday morning, according to US media.

The Wall Street Journal and CNN reported that one of the missiles failed mid-flight while the other was hit by a US interceptor fired from a warship.

This comes amid heightened US and Israeli aggression against Iran, where the United States and the Israeli regime launched an unprovoked war of aggression on Iran on February 28, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, as well as several top military commanders.

Iran immediately began to retaliate against the aggression by launching barrages of missiles and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases in regional countries.

Iran has repeatedly warned against US-Israeli "false flag" operations.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Libya's grand mufti urges Muslims to support Iran, highlights concept of 'no neutrality' in Qur'an

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 7:16 AM

Libya's Grand Mufti Sheikh Sadiq al-Ghariani has called upon Muslims worldwide to support Iran amid the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, warning that deployment of US troops in the Arab world would destabilize the region.

"There is no concept of neutrality in the Qur'an... Supporting Muslims is a religious duty," the cleric said in remarks reported by local media, as he cited religious teachings.

The grand mufti added that global arrogant powers would "have to pay the price."

He went on to urge all Muslims to draw lessons from the ongoing anti-Iran onslaught, and seek strength through faith.

The senior Libyan cleric highlighted that Muslims should "take heed of these developments and seek dignity only through obedience to God and His Prophet."

The United States and Israel initiated an extensive and unprovoked war of aggression against Iran in the wake of assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, along with several high-ranking military commanders and civilians on February 28.

The aggression has comprised a series of intensive strikes on both military installations and civilian infrastructure throughout Iran, leading to considerable loss of life and extensive destruction of civilian facilities.

In response, the Iranian Armed Forces carried out a series of counterattacks, directing missile and drone strikes at American bases across West Asia and Israeli positions in the occupied territories.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






China Urges De-Escalation As Hormuz Crisis Deepens

By Merhat Sharipzhan March 23, 2026

China has warned over an "uncontrollable situation" amid the escalating Strait of Hormuz crisis and urged all sides to halt military operations as the war involving Iran enters a critical phase and threatens global energy supplies.

On March 21, US President Donald Trump issued Tehran a 48-hour ultimatum to lift its partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow Gulf passage that carries about 20 percent of global oil and gas supplies, or face potential strikes on its key energy infrastructure.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing on March 23 that the ongoing conflict and the situation around Hormuz has threatened global energy security as well as China's oil supplies and the "use of force will only lead to a vicious cycle."

"If the war expands further and the situation deteriorates again, the entire region could be plunged into an uncontrollable situation," Lin said, when commenting on President Trump's threats.

Beijing maintains ties with Iran, which has been targeted by US-Israeli strikes since late February, but has said it does not support Tehran's attacks on Gulf countries hosting US bases and has called for a cease-fire.

Trump, who had planned to visit Beijing this month but postponed the trip to focus on the war, has urged China and other nations to help restore access through the Strait of Hormuz.

China has not yet responded to that appeal, though it has tried to play a mediating role in the Middle East by dispatching its special envoy, Zhai Jun, on a regional tour to push for de-escalation.

Chinese officials have stepped up diplomatic engagement in recent weeks, holding talks with Iran and regional states to ensure at least partial oil and gas flows continue through Hormuz.

Even as broader shipping has all but ground to a halt in the Strait of Hormuz, some tankers, particularly those linked to China, have continued to transit the waterway under special arrangements, reflecting Beijing's leverage with Tehran.

Despite its political support for Iran, Beijing has been hesitating to offer military backing to Tehran and has also criticized Iranian attacks on neighboring Gulf states.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned earlier this month that the conflict risks destabilizing the entire international system.

"The war should not have happen, and the use of force will only deepen hatred and conflict," Wang said.

China's cautious response reflects what analysts describe as a policy of "strategic neutrality" -- maintaining relations with all sides while avoiding entanglement in the fighting.

Beijing's Strategic Dilemma

China is the world's largest importer of crude oil and remains the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, much of it sold at discounted prices due to Western sanctions.

Analysts say Beijing may be better positioned than many countries to absorb short-term shocks. China holds large strategic oil reserves that could help cushion the immediate impact of supply disruptions.

However, economists warn that prolonged instability in the Gulf could threaten China's broader economic outlook.

Chinese trade data for January and February, before the war began, showed that the country's economic growth has been driven largely by exports and international trade, leaving it vulnerable to disruptions in global shipping routes.

Beijing maintains extensive economic ties not only with Iran but also with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf states. In recent years, Chinese companies have invested billions of dollars in ports, energy facilities, and logistics hubs across the region.

The Middle East is a key corridor in China's Belt and Road Initiative, which connects Asia with Europe and Africa through a network of infrastructure projects and trade routes.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-china-hormuz-iran-israel-war- trump/33713422.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






Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi

23 March 2026 14:27

419-23-03-2026

On March 23, a telephone conversation took place between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the initiative of the Iranian side.

The ministers discussed the situation in the Persian Gulf, which has sharply deteriorated as a result of US and Israeli aggression. Sergey Lavrov underscored the categorical unacceptability of strikes targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure, including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, noting that such actions pose serious risks to the safety of Russian personnel and carry the potential for severe environmental consequences across the region. Mutual concern was raised that the conflict provoked by Washington and Tel Aviv would expand to the Caspian Sea.

The Russian side stressed the urgent need to end hostilities immediately and transit toward a political and diplomatic resolution that would take into account the legitimate interests of all parties involved, with particular emphasis on Iran. Russia intends to maintain this position at the United Nations Security Council.

For his part, Abbas Araghchi expressed his gratitude to the Russian leadership for its substantial diplomatic and other forms of support extended to the Islamic Republic of Iran, including humanitarian assistance.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran Not Negotiating With US, Fake News Used to Manipulate Markets - Parliament Speaker

Sputnik News

20260323

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran has not held talks with the United States, and fake news is being used to manipulate markets, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Monday.

"No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," the parliament speaker said on X.

Earlier in the day, Trump said that the United States and Iran had very positive and productive talks over the past two days and announced the postponement of US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. The president also expressed hope that the progress will be achieved within five days, a CNBC journalist reported after an interview with the president.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Tehran Not Holding Talks With Washington - Iranian Foreign Ministry

Sputnik News

20260323

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Tehran has not held direct talks with Washington but has received messages from the United States via mediators regarding its desire to begin negotiations to end the war, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday

"We have not held talks with the US. Over the past few days, messages have been received from a number of friendly countries regarding US demands for talks aimed at ending the war, which have been responded to in accordance with the country's principled position," Baghaei told the IRNA news agency.

The response included warnings about the grave consequences of any attacks on critical Iranian infrastructure, as well as the readiness of the Iranian armed forces to respond decisively, quickly and effectively to such actions, Baghaei added.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Lavrov, Araghchi Discuss Situation in Persian Gulf Zone by Phone- Russian Foreign Ministry

Sputnik News

20260323

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have discussed the situation in the Persian Gulf zone during a phone conversation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"At the initiative of the Iranian side, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The situation in the Persian Gulf zone, which has deteriorated dramatically as a result of the aggression of the United States and Israel, was discussed," the ministry said in a statement.

The Iranian foreign minister thanked Moscow for its support, while the Russian foreign minister called US-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure unacceptable, pose security risks to Russian personnel and are fraught with catastrophic consequences, the statement read.

"Mutual concern was expressed about the dangerous spread of the conflict provoked by Washington and Tel Aviv to the Caspian waters," the statement said.

Additionally, Russia noted the need to cease hostilities while taking into account legitimate interests of all parties involved, primarily Iran, the ministry said.

"Russia will be guided by this position in the UN Security Council," the ministry added.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US-Iran Talks Occurred on Sunday Night, Involved Kushner, Witkoff - Reports

Sputnik News

20260323

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The latest round of talks between the United States and Iran happened on the night of March 22 and involved US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushener, Fox News reported on Monday, citing President Donald Trump.

The president reportedly responded to a question on his thoughts about Iran's state television denying ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Earlier in the day, Trump said that the United States and Iran had very positive and productive talks over the past two days and announced the postponement of US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. The president also expressed hope that the progress will be achieved within five days, a CNBC journalist reported after an interview with the president.

Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan have been mediating the indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran over the past two days, Axios further reported on Monday.

"The mediation is ongoing and making progress. The discussion is about ending the war and resolving all outstanding issues. We hope to have answers soon," the source told Axios.

Senior Turkish, Egyptian and Pakistani officials reportedly held separate discussions with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

On February 28, the United States and Israel began striking targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran has carried out retaliatory strikes on Israeli territory, as well as on US military targets in the Middle East. The US and Israel initially claimed their "preemptive" attack was necessary to counter the perceived threat coming from Iran's nuclear program, but they soon made it clear that they want to see a change of power in Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the military operation. The Islamic Republic declared 40 days of mourning.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei's assassination as a cynical violation of international law. The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the US-Israeli operation and called for an immediate de-escalation and an end to hostilities.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Trump Orders Five-Day Pause on Iran Power Plant Strikes

Sputnik News

20260323

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States and Iran had very positive and productive talks over the past two days, US President Donald Trump said on Monday.

"I am please to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the middle east," Trump said on Truth Social.

The negotiations between the United States and Iran to resolve the existing differences are continuing this week, Trump added.

"Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the department of war to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions," Trump added.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry believes that the decision to postpone strikes on Iran's energy facilities is an attempt to bring down energy prices, the Mehr news agency reported on Monday.

On Thursday, Iranian media and authorities reported attacks by the US and Israel on oil and gas facilities in southern Iran, specifically the South Pars gas field and the Asaluyeh industrial zone, which processes the field's resources. US President Donald Trump later said the US had been unaware of Israel's plans to attack the South Pars field.

On February 28, the US and Israel began striking targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran has carried out retaliatory strikes on Israeli territory, as well as on US military targets in the Middle East.

The US and Israel initially claimed their "preemptive" attack was necessary to counter the perceived threat coming from Iran's nuclear program, but they soon made it clear that they want to see a change of power in Iran.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran to Mine Sea Lanes in Persian Gulf in Case of Attack - Defense Council

Sputnik News

20260323

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Tehran will mine all sea lanes in the Persian Gulf in the event of an attack on the coast of the country or islands, the Iranian Defense Council said on Monday.

"We remind you that in the event of any attempt by the enemy to attack the coast or islands of Iran, all sea lanes in the Persian Gulf, as well as the coast, will be mined," the council said in a statement, as quoted by the Fars news agency.

The passage through the Strait of Hormuz is possible only for countries that are not hostile to Iran, if this issue is coordinated with Tehran, the statement added.

The United States sees no alternative to conducting a ground military operation to capture Iran's Kharg Island and is accelerating troop deployments to the region, Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported earlier, citing sources familiar with the matter.

On March 20, Axios reported that US President Donald Trump is prepared to seize Kharg Island to pressure Tehran into opening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

A US official told the newspaper that "the US military has accelerated the deployment of thousands of Marines and Navy personnel to the Middle East."

On March 22, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that all options remained on the table and did not rule out the possibility of sending US troops to the Iranian island.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Press release

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has today summoned the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Kingdom in response to two individuals being charged on suspicion of providing assistance to a foreign intelligence service.

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Hamish Falconer MP

Published 23 March 2026

An FCDO spokesperson said:

Today, upon instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Kingdom was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. His Excellency Seyed Ali Mousavi was summoned by the Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer.

The summons follows the recent charging of two individuals, one Iranian national and one British-Iranian dual national, under the National Security Act, on suspicion of providing assistance to a foreign intelligence service.

National security remains our top priority, and we take threats posed by Iran and those who do its bidding extremely seriously. This government will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, including exposing Iran's reckless and destabilising actions at home and abroad.
Readout: COBR(M) - Iran economic and domestic impacts: 23 March 2026

Press release

The Prime Minister chaired a COBR(M) meeting today, focussing on the domestic economic impact of the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street, The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP, The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP and The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP

Published 23 March 2026

The Prime Minister chaired a COBR(M) meeting today, focussing on the domestic economic impact of the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

The Chancellor, the Governor of the Bank of England, the Energy Secretary and others updated on the situation - all making clear that the best thing we can do for the economy is to de-escalate and bring the conflict to an end.

This is the priority for the Prime Minister, who told the Liaison Committee earlier today:

"We need to deescalate and bring an end to the conflict as quickly as possible...

"I welcome the talks reported between the US and Iran.

"We the UK were aware that was happening and the immediate priority has to be a swift resolution of the conflict and delivering a negotiated agreement which puts tough conditions on Iran, particularly on nuclear weapons.

"We are holding COBR this afternoon on the economic impact."

The Chancellor set out the steps she will take tomorrow - in a statement to Parliament - that will help protect working people from unfair price rises.

She spoke about a plan to detect and crack down on companies if they exploit the crisis in the Middle East.

This will take the form of a new anti-profiteering framework which will help regulators like the CMA to root out price gouging.

This comes after the Prime Minister announced he is looking at giving the Competition and Markets Authority "further teeth" so it can better protect customers from being ripped off.

Speaking at the Liaison Committee, Keir Starmer said the government would: "look at what further teeth we can give the CMA to deal with this".

He told MPs:

"We are looking at measures to deal with profiteering, I've already asked the CMA to look at this...

"On price gouging or profiteering, we absolutely need to bear down on it, so we are actively considering whether the CMA should have additional powers to deal specifically with that.

"But at the moment, we are making sure they are focused on anti-profiteering steps they can take now."

As part of that, the government will not hesitate to introduce new time-limited, targeted powers for the CMA and other key regulators if that is needed.

The exact powers are being worked through at pace with the Treasury, Department for Business and Trade, and key regulators including the CMA.





NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Pezeshkian: Insecurity in Strait of Hormuz direct result of US-Israeli aggression

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 24 March 2026 5:16 AM

Iran's President Maosud Pezeshkian says the insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz is the direct result of US-Israeli aggression against Iran, asserting that Tehran has taken necessary measures to ensure safe passage for non-hostile vessels through the strategic waterway.

In a telephone conversation on Monday, Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed bilateral relations, regional developments, and the repercussions of the US-Israeli aggression on global and regional security.

Pezeshkian emphasized Iran's commitment to safeguarding stability and security while opposing foreign intervention in regional affairs.

"The insecurity imposed upon the Strait of Hormuz is a direct consequence of the military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime," the Iranian president stated.

Detailing the nature of the US-Israeli attacks, Pezeshkian asserted that Iran was not the initiator of the war.

He noted that the "aggressor enemy," without legal basis or justification, carried out military actions against Iran amid nuclear negotiations.

He cited the targeting of former Leader of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, senior military commanders, and the killing of civilians, including students, as well as strikes on public infrastructure. "Therefore, defending our territory is our natural and legitimate right," he added.

Praising the fraternal ties between the neighboring countries, Pezeshkian reaffirmed Iran's dedication to countering foreign meddling and expanding intra-regional cooperation.

He issued a clear call to regional nations, particularly Islamic countries, urging them not to allow their territory or resources to be used for attacks against Iran by the US or Israel.

"If they cannot prevent the continuation of war and aggression, they should at least not become a platform for continued illegal aggression against Iran, as this will only expand the war and insecurity in the region," he warned.

Regarding maritime security, Pezeshkian noted that despite the threats to stability, Iran has taken necessary measures to ensure navigational safety in the Strait of Hormuz.

He stated that Tehran would facilitate the safe passage of vessels not belonging to or associated with the aggressors and those complicit in the aggression.

Prime Minister Sharif, extending greetings for Eid al-Fitr and Nowruz, expressed deep regret over the aggression against Iran.

Sharif also expressed appreciation for Iran's cooperation in ensuring the safe passage of Pakistani vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pakistani premier called for collective efforts by regional countries, especially Muslim nations, to reduce tensions and restore sustainable peace and stability.

Reaffirming Pakistan's stance, Sharif underscored Iran's natural and legitimate right to self-defense, stating, "Pakistan has always stood with the government and nation of Iran, and will continue to do so."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Barak blasts Netanyahu: 'Stop lying - you can't destroy Iran's nuclear, missile capabilities'

Iran Press TV

Monday, 23 March 2026 10:25 AM

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak on Monday launched a blistering attack at the regime's incumbent political and military leadership, slamming them for peddling "blatant" lies over the war against Iran and noting that the regime has no strategy to end the war.

In an interview with Channel 13, Barak, who also previously acted as the regime's military chief and military affairs minister, delivered a stark assessment of the Israeli wars on Gaza, Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"We cannot open the Strait of Hormuz, nor destroy Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities, so don't lie to us too much," Barak said, directly challenging the regime's claims regarding its capacity to confront the Islamic Republic.

His remarks came as the Israeli-American war against Iran entered its 24th day with no end in sight. The war, which started with the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and some top-ranking officials and military commanders, has failed to achieve the "regime change" agenda or to decapitate the Iranian government.

On the contrary, as experts acknowledge, Iranian armed forces have decimated Israeli military and intelligence infrastructure across the occupied territories as well as US military bases in some Persian Gulf countries as part of Operation True Promise 4.

So far, 74 waves of missile and drone operations have been successfully carried out against enemy targets, which have effectively destroyed the air defense systems.

Barak, who acted as the regime's premier from 1999 to 2001, launched a stinging attack at the regime's war cabinet, stressing that the political echelon lacks both the knowledge and the will to end the fighting that has failed to achieve any objectives.

"Israel at the political level doesn't know - doesn't know or doesn't want - to bring the war to an end," he said. "They don't know how to end wars."

He also pointed to unfulfilled promises made repeatedly by the Benjamin Netanyahu regime vis-a-vis the genocidal wars against Gaza and Lebanon.

"We are two and a half years in; Hamas is still there after they promised us six times that we were a step away from 'total victory.' Hezbollah is still there after they told us we threw them back decades," he stated.

Barak also took aim at Netanyahu's long-standing emphasis on the so-called "Iranian threat," noting that the regime's claims of neutralizing the danger do not align with reality.

"Iranian nuclear program and missiles are still there after they clarified to us that he [Netanyahu] removed the existential threat," he said, shaken by the direct Iranian missile impacts across the occupied territories in the ongoing war.

The former prime minister described a systemic breakdown in trust between the regime and settlers, exacerbated by what he called deliberate withholding of information.

"Now, what is the problem? When there is no truth and no trust. We also don't know all the details, including those of us who were deep inside these matters," Barak said. "We don't know what the truth is. But they shouldn't tell us 'the truth' - they just shouldn't lie to our faces in such a blatant way so that we can participate in the discussion more seriously."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The Mess With Max, Telegram, And More: Russians' Patience Tested By Online Troubles

By Mike Eckel March 23, 2026

WhatsApp is throttled. Telegram is about to be blocked. Soldiers are angry. Max, a state-backed messenger app, is being forced on everyone. Commanders warn Max is unsafe. Average Russians are trying to avoid it.

Oh, and mobile Internet is being turned off everywhere, so in 21st-century modern Moscow, you can't hail a taxi, order food delivery, or even look at an online map.

In the plugged-in, very online, mobile-wired Russian capital -- not to mention many towns and cities around the country -- the Internet, along with the apps that Russians rely on for daily life, is breaking down.

Ask the Kremlin how they're dealing with it:

"We're using land lines," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Ask average Russians how they're dealing with it:

"They all have cars with special police lights, and we can't even call a taxi or order carsharing," said Maksim, who asked that only his first name be used, describing the widely hated flashing lights used by government officials to avoid Moscow's infamous traffic.

Earlier this month, Maksim said, he was late to work as he commuted from the suburb of Zelenograd because of the Internet outages in downtown Moscow.

"There was absolutely no service. So I took a commuter train, then the subway, and then had to walk almost 2 kilometers to our warehouse," he told RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities. "I couldn't even pay to rent an electric scooter."

Russia's online world is being roiled by a series of major crosscurrents, most of which are the result of government regulators and the country's main security agencies seeking to impose tighter control over everyday citizens: what they read, what they watch, what they share, what they order, how they pay.

Pretty much everything they do online.

"A significant portion of Muscovites are accustomed to a very comfortable Internet experience, accustomed to living in cozy Telegram channels and communicating via a very convenient messenger. Now Muscovites are being kicked out of this rather comfortable environment," Igor Yakovenko, a Russian sociologist, told RFE/RL's Russian Service.

"The Kremlin is trying to make the Russian Internet into a closed ecosystem, where all the important services are controlled and accessible" to the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russian commentator Maria Kolymchenko wrote in an article for the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. "If there are foreign platforms that haven't been blocked yet, it's only because there's no viable domestic alternative yet."

What's Going On

The crosscurrents come from a series of policy moves spearheaded by state tech regulator Roskomnadzor, with the backing of the Kremlin.

The first has to do with messaging apps.

For several years, regulators have been working with Russian tech-industry leaders to build replacements for the two most popular messengers for Russians, namely WhatsApp, which is owned by the parent of Facebook, and Telegram, which is owned by the exiled tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov.

Roskomnadzor has been gradually throttling the two apps, slowing them down to make them unusable. The agency has been taking similar steps with YouTube, which is the most popular video streaming service in the country and owned by the parent of Google.

Russiannewsreports say Telegram may be completely blocked within the country as of April 1.

At the same time, authorities have been promoting an alternative messenger that was built by VK, the social media giant whose top executives include Kremlin-linked officials.

That app, called Messenger Max, was rolled out last year with public backing from President Vladimir Putin. Since then, state-run and state-aligned media organizations have been promoting it aggressively.

Local authorities have also leaned heavily on Russians to switch. As of September, upcoming new mobile devices purchased in Russia will have to have Max pre-installed. Last week, a Moscow university announced it would not award diplomas to graduating students unless they install Max.

"Russia is restricting access to Telegram to force its citizens onto a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship," Durov said in a post to X last month.

But Russians are resisting the switch and looking for creative ways to dodge installing it on their mobile devices.

Telegram, meanwhile, is widely used not only by Russian civilians but also by soldiers deployed to Ukraine, along with the so-called Z Bloggers who use Telegram to amplify war propaganda and raise money for themselves and military units.

Telegram's throttling -- tightened further by reports that commanders have ordered it completely deleted from soldiers' phones -- has prompted open grumbling from troops and their public supporters.

"Who is slowing down Telegram?" Sergei Mironov, a prominent lawmaker, said in angry speech last month. "Go out to the front, to the [war]. The guys who are shedding blood -- their only connection with their families and friends is through Telegram. What are you doing, idiots? I'm calling a spade a spade. Idiots! What are you doing?"

Adding further frustration, Russian commanders have banned the use of Maxon soldiers' phones, citing security concerns with the app, according to several prominent pro-war Telegram channels.

"All this cacophony around Telegram is ridiculous. Ridiculous. We are simply working against our own people, making their lives worse," said Andrei Bezrukov, a well-known former Russian foreign intelligence "sleeper" agent who now teaches at a Moscow university.

"During a rather difficult period for the country, we are trying to, how can I put it -- annoy a large percentage of our population, who naturally are for victory [in the Ukraine war] and only want the best," he said in a video interview.

Lawmakers in February passed new legislation giving FSB and other police and security agencies the power to order mobile operators to cut off any client if needed.

'Can't Even Reach Loved Ones'

On top of all this are the mobile Internet outages, which began inconveniencing millions of Muscovites around March 6.

In other border regions, authorities justified temporary outages as necessary measures to thwart Ukrainian drones, which frequently rely on local cell phone networks for guidance. Several days after Moscow disruptions began, Peskov said the measures were "in the interest of security," without providing details.

Some Russians vented their outrage with the outages on International Women's Day, posting directly to Roskomnadzor's VK page below the agency's well-wishes for the holiday, which is widely cerebrated in Russia.

"Thanks for shutting off the Internet on March 8 -- what a gift! Can't even reach loved ones to congratulate them," one user wrote.

The economic fallout from the outages was considerable, according to the newspaper Kommersant, which estimated losses for Moscow businesses at between 3 billion and 5 billion rubles ($35 million to $58 million) over the first five days of the outages. Hardest hit were retailers, food delivery and courier services, and carsharing operations.

Russians in other major cities have experienced mobile outages for months now. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a Pacific coast peninsula city that is more than 7,200 kilometers from Ukraine, reported disruptions last June, as did Irkutsk, in Siberia, where locals evinced little sympathy for Muscovites.

"Well, now they'll feel our pain," said one Irkutsk woman who gave her first name as Natalya.

"In June, they started slowing down our Internet, at the end of the year there was a complete blockade, and now the situation is such that it can be blocked at any moment, for several days or weeks," she told RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities."Even when the network is working, the speed is very slow -- we can't send video or audio."

The confusion, and frustration, has drawn wry responses from Ukraine, where Telegram, WhatsApp, and the Internet are unfettered.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a comic actor in his previous career, trolled Putin over the Internet outages.

"This is, you know, a step backward, a step 100 years back," he told reporters last week. "They might as well switch to paper mail, telegrams, and horses soon. That's the kind of civilization they have. Perhaps Putin even likes it. Maybe that is how he feels young again."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mobile-internet-outages- messenger-apps-telegram-whatsapp-max/33713633.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 statement on Western countries' unlawful actions in the world's oceans

23 March 2026 14:45

420-23-03-2026

The recent developments in the world's oceans have reached the point where they have become outright unacceptable. European countries such as France, Sweden, and Finland are acting with impunity as they stop vessels they deem undesirable and escort them to their ports, accusing them of violating obscure international sanctions. They are using an alleged failure to comply with unlawful EU-imposed restrictions as a pretext for doing so. In a bid to deprive Russia of revenue from international trade, the EU has come up with the notion of a "shadow fleet," which does not exist in international maritime law and is being used as a cover for acts of piracy on maritime routes.

Under baseless and implausible pretexts, vessels that fully meet the criteria for free and unfettered navigation are detained and subjected to inspections.

We are here to remind the European officials that only the sanctions approved by the UN Security Council can be considered international. Illegal restrictive measures unilaterally adopted by individual states or limited groups thereof are neither international nor legitimate. The fact that unilateral sanctions run counter to international law has been repeatedly reinforced by the UN General Assembly resolutions.

The West attempts to justify its actions by claiming that vessels without a flag cannot enjoy freedom of navigation and must therefore be detained. Interestingly enough, vessels operating under false flags in the interests of European states never get subjected to such restrictions. Destination, not the flag, is the key factor. If oil is en route to European consumers, European authorities will find no grounds to detain such vessels regardless of how oil is transported.

A terrorist attack using unmanned boats and drones against the LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz sailing under the Russian flag in the Mediterranean Sea was a particularly egregious violation of international law. Not a single European state has condemned such actions by their Ukrainian clients. In this case, Europe is not merely a silent witness but a direct accomplice in Kiev regime's outrages.

The Russian side regards these practices by EU countries as unacceptable and untenable constituting a gross violation of both the letter and the spirit of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and will employ all available political, legal, and other instruments at its disposal to ensure respect for the principle of freedom of navigation. Those who seek to turn the Baltic Sea and other maritime areas into "internal waters" of NATO and the EU should know that we will use all necessary means to respond to acts of piracy and lawlessness.

We call on the international community to take a principled stance in support of the 1982 Convention, and on flag states not to yield to neo-colonial diktat, but to unite in defending their lawful interests and legitimate maritime carriers.

We are confident that the world majority recognises the threats and risks arising from Western countries' attempts to turn maritime spaces into a zone of confrontation, to achieve unilateral control over sea routes, and to deprive countries around the world of sources of growth.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Defense minister says Cabinet bill more comprehensive than opposition

ROC Central News Agency

03/23/2026 06:43 PM

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Defense Minister Wellington Koo () said Monday that a government-proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget is the most comprehensive among competing proposals, as it supports long-term domestic weapons production.

Speaking during a legislative session in which lawmakers debated bills proposed by the Cabinet, the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), and the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP), Koo reiterated that the NT$1.25 trillion proposal put forward by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government is the "most comprehensive" and urged lawmakers to pass it.

According to Koo, one major difference between the DPP's version and those proposed by the KMT and TPP is that, instead of only financing U.S.-made weapon systems already approved by Washington, the Cabinet's bill also covers systems to be produced locally -- in particular, 200,000 unmanned aerial vehicles and more than 1,000 unmanned surface vehicles.

Both the KMT and TPP have criticized the Cabinet's proposal for including these domestic production programs in a special budget spanning eight years from 2026 to 2033, labeling it fiscally irresponsible and arguing for funding them through the annual general budget.

However, Koo said that acquiring drones through the annual general defense budget would only meet the military's needs on a year-to-year basis and would not support the long-term development of local drone makers.

Taiwan's defense requires more than just 200,000 drones, he added.

By introducing a long-term, multi-year special defense budget, the government would give local drone manufacturers greater incentive to establish production lines in Taiwan and encourage more companies to invest in the sector, Koo said.

In the long run, this approach could help Taiwan build its own "non-red" supply chain, particularly as China dominates the global drone market, he added.

Koo made the remarks during a joint session organized by the Legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and the Finance Committee to review the three bills.

Since being sent to the Legislature for review late last year, the Cabinet's bill has been repeatedly blocked, with TPP and KMT lawmakers preventing it from being referred to committee before the end of the previous legislative session on Jan. 31, citing a lack of transparency.

The TPP and KMT later proposed their own special defense budget plans, with the KMT suggesting NT$380 billion and the TPP capping its proposal at NT$400 billion.

Both figures represent significant reductions from the Cabinet's NT$1.25 trillion draft, which seeks to fund not only the eight U.S. weapons systems already approved for sale, but also potential future U.S. arms sales, as well as the procurement of drones and T-Dome multilayered air defense systems from domestic manufacturers.

Monday's session focused on questioning defense officials about the proposed measures, while clause-by-clause reviews of each bill are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Legislature's agenda.

(By Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ASG



NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






China deeply shocked by forcible entry into Chinese embassy in Japan by Japanese outlaw: spokesperson

Xinhua) 16:46, March 24, 2026

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China is deeply shocked that an outlaw claiming to be an active-duty officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces forcibly broke into the Chinese embassy in Japan by climbing over the wall, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday.

Lin said that China has lodged solemn representations and a strong protest with the Japanese side.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
First US-made F-16V delivery in September 'feasible': Defense minister

ROC Central News Agency

03/23/2026 05:02 PM

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Defense Minister Wellington Koo () said Monday that a September delivery date for the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets Taiwan purchased from the United States is "feasible."

Koo made the remarks when asked by opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao () during a legislative session when Taiwan could receive its much-delayed F-16Vs.

Koo initially said the first aircraft could be delivered in the third quarter of this year. Pressed further by Lai on whether it could arrive in September, Koo replied: "We estimate that timeline is feasible."

During the same session, another KMT lawmaker, Lin Te-fu (), asked for an update on the program.

Koo said that 59 F-16Vs are currently on the assembly line in the U.S., and that testing takes time. If testing of the first aircraft proceeds smoothly, it could be delivered (flown back to Taiwan) in the third quarter, he said.

Koo's remarks followed a Ministry of National Defense (MND) statement issued Saturday, which said Taiwanese officials were shown the first of the 66 aircraft during a visit to the U.S. last week.

A delegation led by Vice Defense Minister Hsu Szu-chien () visited Lockheed Martin's F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16.

According to the MND, the aircraft will undergo a final acceptance flight in the U.S. before being delivered to Taiwan.

The MND originally said in 2019 when the U.S. first approved the sales that Taiwan would receive its first two F-16Vs before the end of 2023.

The ministry later several times revised the estimate, saying no aircraft would be delivered by the end of 2025 due to manpower shortages and supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

The ministry added that the contractor has since recruited additional workers and increased working hours to accelerate production.

(By Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ASG







NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






MAC head refuses to answer questions from China-born TPP lawmaker

ROC Central News Agency

03/23/2026 06:57 PM

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Taiwan's top China affairs official on Monday refused to answer questions from China-born Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Legislator Li Chen-hsiu () during a legislative committee session, saying it would be "illegal" to answer someone not legally qualified to hold office.

"If an administrative official responds to questions from someone who is not qualified to serve as a legislator, that would be unconstitutional and illegal," Chiu Chui-cheng (), head of Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said at a meeting of the Legislature's Internal Administration Committee.

Under the Nationality Act, the power to remove a legislator from office rests with the Legislative Yuan. However, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu () of the KMT has said that Li's legislative status and powers should be respected until the "relevant facts are established" and a "final judicial ruling is made," with no indication that the Legislature plans to remove her from office.

Li is currently not facing legal action for what the government described as illegally sitting in the Legislature and has already taken the oath of office.

Chiu was responding to a joint interpellation by TPP lawmakers Chen Ching-lung (), Chen Gau-tzu () and Li.

Li did not renounce her Chinese household registration "in a timely manner as required by law," and therefore does not meet the eligibility requirements to run for office under the Cross-Strait Act, Chiu said.

He added that Li also failed to fulfill her obligation under the Nationality Act to demonstrate "sole allegiance to the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan's official name)," referring to Article 20 of the act, which stipulates that ROC nationals with nationalities of another country "shall have no right to hold government offices of the ROC."

Chiu's response came after Li's opening remarks during the joint interpellation -- a relatively rare format in Taiwan's Legislature -- in which she said that neither MAC, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), nor the Executive Yuan had the authority to determine the status of a legislator.

"If the executive branch overrides the legislative branch, the democratic system will cease to exist," she said.

Li also criticized the Executive Yuan for deciding whether the Legislature could exercise oversight, describing the move as "unprecedented" and a "trampling" of the powers granted to the Legislature by the Constitution.

Following her opening remarks, Li asked Chiu to answer a series of questions, including a request that he read aloud specific articles from the Constitution and its Additional Articles.

Chiu, however, did not respond to Li directly, speaking only after committee convener Liao Hsien-hsiang () of the Kuomintang (KMT) asked him to do so.

Chiu then said he would respond to Liao -- rather than Li -- on questions surrounding her legitimacy as a lawmaker.

A similar pattern continued for the remainder of the joint interpellation; whenever Li asked a question, Liao would repeat it and ask Chiu to respond, and the MAC head would say he was answering Liao.

Monday's exchange was not the first time government officials had refused to answer questions from Li.

At a meeting of the same committee last Monday, Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang () and other MOI officials did not take the podium despite Li asking Liu at least three times to do so for questioning.

Taiwan's Constitution gives legislators the power to question top government officials. A separate law governing the Legislative Yuan's power also states that officials who are being questioned cannot refuse to answer, withhold information, give false answers, or show contempt toward the Legislature.

(By Sunny Lai)

Enditem/ASG

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






EU Statement - UN Security Council: Ukraine

European External Action Service (EEAS)

23.03.2026

New York

23 March 2026, New York -- Statement on behalf of the European Union by H.E. Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, at the UN Security Council: Maintenance of Peace and Security of Ukraine

Check against delivery

President,

I thank the US Presidency for convening this meeting. [Thank you to the briefers for their updates.]

Russia's disastrous war of aggression has now entered its fifth year. Almost 1500 days have passed in which Russia has subjected Ukraine and its citizens to a brutal aggression, a violation of the UN Charter which has repeatedly been condemned by the UN General Assembly. But Russia's statements in this Chamber continue to blame others and find justifications for the unjustifiable.

We rarely hear about the toll of this war on Russians themselves. Yet, its forces have reportedly suffered approximately 1.2 million casualties since 2022, with as many as 325.000 killed. It has not achieved its military objectives and struggles to hold the territory it has captured. Frustrated by its lack of progress on the battle ground, Russia continues to deliberately target Ukrainian civilians, their energy, heating, water, hospitals, schools and residences.

In February alone, Russia targeted Ukrainian cities with almost 300 missiles and over 5000 drones, the highest numbers since it started its systematic campaign against Ukrainian civilians four years ago. The OHCHR has verified at least 188 civilian deaths in February as a result of Russian attacks, adding to the over 15.000 verified civilian deaths Russia is responsible for. Without the successful interception rate of Ukrainian air defences, civilian casualties would have been even higher. Intentionally attacking civilians and civilian objects is a war crime, and perpetrators will face justice and be held accountable. We commend the resilience of the Ukrainian people to stand firm in defence of their country and stand up for the UN Charter.

Colleagues,

According to UNICEF, over a third of Ukrainian children remain displaced as a result of Russia's aggression. I recall the decision of the GA last December to redouble efforts to return Ukrainian children who have been unlawfully deported and forcibly transferred to Russia, and we look forward to hearing from the UN about its efforts to this end. For those still in doubt about whether this is important, I refer to the comprehensive new report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry that presents further damning evidence of Russia's obstruction of the return of Ukrainian children. The Commission concludes that Russia's actions amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. We are also deeply alarmed by its findings that nationals from Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia, are recruited by Russia to fight in Ukraine, often lured by false pretences.

Colleagues,

In coordination with our allies, the European Union will continue to provide comprehensive political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people in line with its inherent right to self-defence according to article 51 of the UN Charter.

At the same time, the EU continues to focus on achieving an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire, and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in line with international law, including the UN Charter. The GA has spoken out very clearly in this regard. The EU will sustain its diplomatic efforts with Ukraine, together with the United States and other partners. From its side, Ukraine has repeatedly stated its readiness for an immediate ceasefire. Meanwhile, Russia continues to pursue its maximalist claims. We call on all members of this Council to join us in urging Russia to stop pretending and engage in meaningful negotiations.

Third countries that enable Russia's aggression must stop doing so. Iran, Belarus and DPRK must halt their military support, and all countries, including members of this Council, must cease any and all direct and indirect assistance to Russia. We welcome Ukraine's readiness to provide support and expertise in air defence and counter-drone systems to Gulf countries, based on its experience of being systematically subjected to Russian attacks by Iranian Shahed drones.

President,

In conclusion, I reiterate the EU's support to Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. No country can annex its neighbor, no borders can be changed by force. It is time for Russia to stop the killing and engage in meaningful talks in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.

I thank you.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






NOK 93 million for companies investing in Ukraine

Government of Norway

News story | Date: 23/03/2026

Ukrainian and Norwegian companies are receiving support for preparatory projects in renewable energy and the supply of medicines. 'Norad's business support scheme helps reduce risks for companies and increases investment opportunities in a war-torn country,' said Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide.

'The energy sector in Ukraine has suffered enormous losses since the full-scale invasion four years ago. Ukraine is pursuing ambitious plans for renewable energy, and it is natural for Norway to contribute by facilitating investments from companies wishing to take part,' he said. In addition to the energy sector, one project within the health sector will also receive support.

For the second consecutive year, Norway is supporting companies through Norad's business support scheme. The civilian component of the Nansen Support Programme is administered by Norad, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

'The financing needs in the energy sector are considerable, and we are therefore providing support for reconstruction, procurement of necessary capacity, and measures to improve energy efficiency," Eide said.

The UN estimates that the total cost of reconstruction in Ukraine will amount to USD 588 billion over the next decade. Energy facilities worth approximately NOK 240 billion have been destroyed. Ukraine has lost USD 840 billion due to reduced electricity production, costs related to energy imports, and reliance on emergency solutions.

Record-high support for energy and business development

Since 2022, Norway has provided NOK 13.7 billion in support to Ukraine's energy sector. The support has gone towards reconstruction, gas procurement and measures to improve energy efficiency. Another NOK 2,8 billion is planned for 2026.

Norway is among the largest donors to the energy sector.

'Norwegian support for business development in Ukraine has increased significantly in recent years. This includes war insurance, guarantee schemes, and support intended to strengthen the resilience of Ukrainian businesses. The aim is to enable more companies to invest, create jobs, and contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction," said Minister Eide.

The World Bank estimates that the private sector could contribute up to 40 per cent of Ukraine's reconstruction needs. This requires the right conditions to ensure that such capital can be mobilised, including measures that reduce risk, attract investment, and establish predictable frameworks for companies investing in Ukraine. A well-functioning business sector is crucial for a sustainable and resilient Ukraine.

Ukraine's plan for a greener energy sector

Ukraine has adopted an ambitious National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) towards 2030. The goal is for 27 per cent of energy consumption to come from renewable sources. This will be achieved in particular through emission reductions, greater diversity in energy sources such as hydropower and wind power, and modernisation. The country's long-term energy strategy towards 2050 includes further steps towards carbon neutrality, grid upgrades, and gradual integration with the European power system, in which wind power will play a key role.

The companies receive support through the Nansen Support Programme's business support scheme. Some agreements run for one year, while others extend over several years.

Companies receiving support in this year's allocation from Norad:

DTEK Renewables (Ukraine): Awarded NOK 5.5 million over two years for the development of a wind power project with an estimated capacity of 650 MW. The project is central to modernising Ukraine's energy system, strengthening resilience, and aligning with EU standards. The wind farm is scheduled for completion in 2028.

Awarded NOK 5.5 million over two years for the development of a wind power project with an estimated capacity of 650 MW. The project is central to modernising Ukraine's energy system, strengthening resilience, and aligning with EU standards. The wind farm is scheduled for completion in 2028. Farmasoft (Ukraine): Receives NOK 6.5 million to develop a more responsive supply chain for pharmaceuticals, including a new warehouse meeting EU standards and industry requirements.

Receives NOK 6.5 million to develop a more responsive supply chain for pharmaceuticals, including a new warehouse meeting EU standards and industry requirements. Malthe Winje (Norway): Granted NOK 24 million to upgrade and rehabilitate six small hydropower plants currently out of operation. This will contribute to decentralised and renewable energy production in a system heavily affected by Russian attacks. The agreement runs for two years.

Granted NOK 24 million to upgrade and rehabilitate six small hydropower plants currently out of operation. This will contribute to decentralised and renewable energy production in a system heavily affected by Russian attacks. The agreement runs for two years. Fenix Repower AS (Norway): Receives NOK 57 million to develop a wind power plant expected to generate 0.52 TWh of renewable energy annually, strengthen local energy security, and support Ukraine's green transition in line with EU energy standards. The agreement runs for two years.

In addition, work is under way on two new agreements within the energy sector , which will be announced at a later date.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






SEK 240 million in new support to Ukraine

Government Offices of Sweden

Press release from Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Published 23 March 2026

The Government has presented a new support package to Ukraine for 2026 worth around SEK 240 million. The support includes SEK 150 million for the Ukrainian Red Cross for humanitarian operations. In addition, the support package is heavily focused on children's needs, supporting the provision of school food in areas close to the frontline, promoting reforms for family-based care of children and supporting children's mental health.

"Living in the midst of war - nights in protective shelters, the loss of loved ones, interrupted schooling and being forced to flee home - has serious repercussions for children's safety, health and mental well-being. Today's support package is a smart investment in Ukraine's future generation. It combines urgent emergency humanitarian assistance through the Ukrainian Red Cross with strategic contributions to the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, OperationAid and Gen.Ukrainian to help children enjoy a better daily life," says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa.

"Children are our future, our hope and the most important thing we have. The children currently caught in the crosshairs of war have needs and are experiencing things that no child should. That's why it's crucial that even under the most difficult circumstances, they can have safety, education and care. Nutritional food in school, psychological support and improving daily life for children close to the frontline are all examples of targeted actions that make a real difference. It's also an investment in the reconstruction of Ukraine and a way to strengthen Ukraine's resilience," says Aron Emilsson, foreign policy spokesperson (Sweden Democrats).

"We can barely imagine what it would be like to be a child near the frontline in eastern Ukraine. Many children's schooling is digital and they don't get a chance to see their friends. Sweden is providing a support package for school food and psychosocial support to help children withstand the situation better, both physically and psychologically," says Gudrun Brunegard, development assistance policy spokesperson (Christian Democrats).

"Children's education and childhood are not things you get a second chance at, and I am proud that Sweden is carrying out significant initiatives for the children of Ukraine and their future. We will continue to bolster this support. Naturally, Ukrainian children should also have the right to enjoy school food so that they can fulfil their education," says Fredrik Malm, foreign policy spokesperson (Liberal Party).

The humanitarian situation in Ukraine remains extremely grave, both in communities near the frontline and in larger cities. The UN has assessed that more than 10.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 3.7 million people are displaced in Ukraine. Millions of civilians lack electricity, heating and water. Ukrainian civil society has been the backbone of the humanitarian response since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. The Ukrainian Red Cross is the country's largest humanitarian organisation and a particularly strong actor with an unsurpassed capacity to reach the Ukrainian people with assistance. For this reason, the Government is increasing its support to the Ukrainian Red Cross to a total of SEK 150 million this year, thereby consolidating its strong partnership with the organisation.

Almost all children living in communities near the frontline are doing their schooling entirely or partially online and not meeting their classmates regularly. In addition, they have to cope with the psychological strain of living in the midst of war. Support to the WFP, OperationAid and Gen.Ukrainian helps ensure that all children's fundamental rights are met - such as safety, education, protection and support - even in the midst of war. The support to UNICEF strengthens Ukraine's reform efforts for family-based care of children. This is an investment in Ukraine's future generation, strengthening the country's resilience in the short and long term.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russia, Ukraine Launch Massive Drone Strikes After US-Ukraine Talks In Florida

By RFE/RL March 23, 2026

Ukraine and Russia exchanged drone strikes, involving over 200 drones from each side, following US-Ukrainian talks in Florida that also addressed potential prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.

Russian air defense forces reported intercepting and destroying 249 Ukrainian drones overnight, marking one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks recorded as Ukraine intensifies its attacks on Russian energy facilities.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russian forces launched 251 strike drones during the same period.

In Ukraine, Russian drones targeted residential areas and port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region on the Black Sea, according to the regional governor. At least four people were injured in Kryviy Rih, a major industrial city in central Ukraine, after Russian strikes, with damage to infrastructure and fires reported.

In Russia, a drone strike set fire to a fuel reservoir at the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, the country's largest western oil-exporting hub, according to Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region.

Over 70 drones were destroyed in the region in the last 24 hours, Drozdenko wrote on his Telegram account.





Aftermath of the Ukrainian drone strike on the oil depot in the port of Primorsk, Russia Aftermath of the Ukrainian drone strike on the oil depot in the port of Primorsk, Russia

The Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, capable of exporting over 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, is a key outlet for Russia's Urals crude and high-quality diesel.

It was not the first time Primorsk was hit by Ukrainian forces; the port was previously targeted in September 2025, temporarily disrupting oil loadings.

Ukraine continues to target Russian energy infrastructure, striking oil export facilities and refineries to weaken Moscow's war economy.

US-Ukraine Talks In Florida

Ukraine's negotiating team met with US representatives in Florida for two days of talks on March 21-22.

The US delegation included special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House senior adviser Josh Gruenbaum, while the Ukrainian delegation included Rustem Umerov, Kyrylo Budanov, David Arakhamia, and Serhiy Kyslytsya.

According to both sides, discussions were focused on durable security guarantees for Ukraine and humanitarian efforts, including possible further prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.

"There are signals that further exchanges may be possible, and this would be good news and confirmation that diplomacy is working," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on March 22.

Witkoff called the talks with the Ukrainian delegation in Florida "constructive," adding that it "focused on key points to define a durable and dependable security framework for Ukraine, as well as critical humanitarian efforts in the region."

Ukrainian chief negotiator Rustem Umerov reported that "progress" in aligning positions and further narrowing the range of unresolved issues with the American side has been made.

Last week, one of the Kremlin's main envoys, Kirill Dmitriev, also flew to Florida to meet with the US officials. He described the talks as "productive."

The Kremlin said on March 19 that trilateral talks between Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv on ending the war in Ukraine were on "situational pause" following the start of the Iran war.

"This is a situational pause, for obvious reasons," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that as soon as "our American partners" could pay more attention to Ukrainian affairs, Moscow hoped that the pause could end and that a new round of talks could take place.

With reporting from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Reuters

Source:

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






Russian Armed Forces Strike Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Facilities

Sputnik News

20260323

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces have also hit the facilities of the fuel and energy complex of Ukraine used in the interests of the Ukrainian armed forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

"Operational-tactical aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces, and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces battlegroups struck targets of Ukraine's fuel and energy complex, port and transport infrastructure, assembly and launch sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 147 areas," the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine lost more than 375 soldiers in combat against Russia's Tsentr battlegroup

Over 245 Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated by Russia's Sever battlegroup , over 260 by the Vostok battlegroup

, over 260 by the Ukraine lost up to 180 soldiers in fights with the Zapad battlegroup , up to 180 with the Yug battlegroup , and over 35 with the Dnepr battlegroup

, up to 180 with the , and over 35 with the

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The UK will not cease in our support for Ukraine and its people: UK statement at the UN Security Council

Speech

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Charge d'Affaires to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and James Kariuki CMG

Published 23 March 2026

Location: United Nations, New York

Delivered on: 23 March 2026 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

It is over four years since Russia launched its illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in direct violation of the UN Charter.

It is a war that demands this Council's sustained attention.

In February, Russia fired 280 missiles at Ukraine, the highest monthly total of the entire war.

And since 28 February, Russia has fired over 3,200 drones at Ukraine.

This is roughly as many as Iran, who supplied so many of these drones to Russia, has fired at all its neighbours combined in the same period.

Russia is now firing over 5,000 drones per month at Ukraine, five times higher than in 2024.

The burden on Ukrainian civilians is immense.

There have been over 50,000 Ukrainian civilian casualties, and over 15,000 killed since Russia started its war.

Waves of attacks on its electricity and heating infrastructure in the depths of winter.

Russia has also sought to systematically erase Ukrainian identity, including through the forcible deportation and indoctrination of thousands of Ukrainian children, acts that earlier this month, the Independent Commission of Inquiry concluded constitute crimes against humanity.

Russia could end this war today.

We repeat this because it remains true.

Ukraine agreed in principle to a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire 12 months ago.

If Russia is serious about peace, we call upon it to agree the same and to engage in meaningful negotiations towards a just and lasting peace.

Ukraine remains committed to US-led diplomatic efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace, in line with the UN Charter.

But in return, Russia has only dragged out talks, issued ultra-maximalist demands, and intensified its assault.

Mr President, the UK fully supports the diplomatic efforts of our US colleagues to secure a peace that guarantees Ukraine's long-term security, sovereignty, and prosperity.

We call on Russia to end its war of choice, immediately and without pre-conditions.

The UK will not cease in our support for Ukraine and its people.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Joint statement from Tallinn Mechanism member states: 10 March 2026

Press release

Tallinn Mechanism members gave a joint statement in London on 10 March 2026, reaffirming support for Ukraine's civilian cyber defence.

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Published 23 March 2026

Delegates at the Tallinn Mechanism meeting in London, March 2026.

The Tallinn Mechanism members and observers, and representatives of the Government of Ukraine, gathered at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London on 9 and 10 March 2026.

Tallinn Mechanism members have once again laid down a commitment to deliver civilian cyber security needs and projects to Ukraine, to support national resilience in the face of persistent state cyber attacks from Russia. 302.6 million has been committed since December 2023 via the Tallinn Mechanism with members to commit additional funds throughout 2026.

As the full-scale war has just entered its fifth year, this marks continued growth in efforts to counter Russia's ongoing and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. Hybrid activities continue to intensify in both scale and sophistication. As we enter springtime, Ukraine has endured one of the coldest winters on record during which Russia has ruthlessly attacked Critical National Infrastructure, including essential energy and sanitation services, in order to worsen the ongoing humanitarian crises, destroy the morale of the Ukrainian people and undermine confidence in the democratically elected government in Kyiv.

The scale of the conflict continues to be extreme, with Russia attacking Ukraine at an industrial scale. In 2025 alone, 55,000 drones and ballistic missiles were fired at Ukraine. Cyber aggression against civilian entities have long been a tactic to help Russia gain a strategic advantage in the war, employing both espionage and destructive cyber activity to complement the kinetic assaults. Still these attacks are intensifying. Helping protect Ukraine's civilian cyberspace remains an integral part of support to Ukraine as it defends itself from an illegal war of aggression and readies its institutions for Euro-Atlantic integration. Tallinn Mechanism members and observers stand with Ukraine in these steps, securing democratic institutions and rebuilding and reconstructing the destruction wrought by Russia on civilian infrastructure. We also call on Russia to immediately end its illegal war against Ukraine and to enter serious negotiations towards a lasting peace.

Launched in 2023, the Tallinn Mechanism has become the leading international platform for coordinating civilian cyber support to Ukraine and now comprises 14 member states. Czechia joined the London meeting as the Mechanism's newest members as of January, with Republic of Korea joining as observer. The Tallinn Mechanism continues to unite governments and international organisations to deliver timely, targeted assistance aligned with Ukraine's most urgent cyber capability needs, including bilateral agreements to enabling delivery at pace via partner countries.

The Tallinn Mechanism has also recently begun to engage with Cyber Agencies, initially led by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), who support Ukraine's cyber capabilities through technical advice benefitting Ukraine's cyber ecosystem by enhancing Tallinn Mechanism project delivery. The Cyber Agencies will be meeting again in the United Kingdom in April 2026 to this end.

In 2026, the Tallinn Mechanism opened to private sector partners to promote cooperation between industry and donor states. Tallinn Mechanism Platform enables private sector partners to deliver work in Ukraine for Tallinn Mechanism Donors, collaborate with the Ukraine Private sector and offer value for money.

As the world faces a new era of hybrid threats, the Tallinn Mechanism stands with Ukraine as a symbol of unity, resilience, and shared security. By defending Ukraine's digital space, we are also defending the integrity of democratic systems and the safety of citizens across the globe.

The United Kingdom presently hold the rotating lead of the Tallinn Mechanism. In July 2026 this shall be passed to Italy.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Address by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha at the opening of the Third Black Sea Security Conference

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

23 March 2026 14:15

Dear Mihaj,

Dear Minister Nosatii,

Dear Secretary General Comanescu,

Dear colleagues, friends,

I am honored to speak at the opening of the Black Sea Security Conference.

I am addressing you online because the military situation once again requires me to be in Kyiv today.

It is important that our conference is held in Moldova, as the country is among those affected by restricted navigation, disrupted supply chains, and maritime insecurity in the Black Sea.

Last December, I also took part in another important forum in Romania, where we addressed the security challenges facing our Black Sea region.

This framework of discussions is in our best interests. I am grateful to Moldova and Romania for cooperation here. After all, we speak about how we get benefits. And why it starts with security.

Despite the developments in the Middle East, it is important that Europe and our closest allies stay focused on Ukraine, developments in our region and Black Sea. Because it is where our security is being decided.

At the same time, the war in the Middle East shows how closely Black Sea security is linked to global maritime security. The same challenges appear in different regions.

Today, Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz sound familiar. Aggressors use similar methods. Russia did the same in the Black Sea four years ago, when it blocked maritime trade to weaken our economy.

Back then, Turkey played a decisive role in establishing a functioning corridor. Corridor of survival. But Russia showed no regard for global food security.

Russia has sought and continues to seek to weaponize food security and blackmail the world with the threat of famine.

Its goal was to destabilize global markets. As always, it broke every agreement.

We responded and found solutions. Ukraine has built strong expertise in coastal defense. This expertise is based on innovative solutions, first and foremost - our drones and our unique skills and experience.

With virtually no navy of our own, we built one using drones. Through effective action, we were able to drive back the Russian Black Sea Fleet and reopen shipping lanes. The operation to liberate Zmiinyi Island and the island itself have already become legendary.

We are ready to share our knowledge.

Dear friends,

The European Union's Black Sea Strategy is an important step forward. It is right that its first pillar is security. Because without security, there can be no prosperity.

As a future EU member and a contributor to European security, Ukraine will play an important role in implementing this strategy.

Today, I will make three remarks.

First, we must restore peace and return freedom of navigation to the Black Sea. The Black Sea must once again become a sea of peace and security, with secure maritime routes and functioning supply chains restored.

Today, however, it has become a sea of Russian war.

Over the past month, Odesa port infrastructure has faced more Russian attacks than during the entire previous year. This escalation must be met with a strong and decisive response. Pressure on Russia is essential. We must compel the Kremlin to halt its aggression, agree to a ceasefire, and engage in real diplomacy. Russia must stop its attacks on maritime infrastructure, especially ports.

It is a significant achievement that the EU Black Sea Strategy places demining among its top priorities. Ukraine stands ready to join the demining coalition.

Only last year, Russia stole over two million tonnes of Ukrainian grain from occupied territories and sold it to markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe. Nearly forty percent went to Egypt.

We need decisive action nowsanctions on the ships involved, on the infrastructure behind them, and on those who buy this stolen grain.

This is not only about food security. It is also about cutting funding for Russia's war.

Second, security guarantees for Ukraine must include maritime security.

There are several countries ready to play a key role in building security in the Black Sea region. These include Turkey, Romania, Moldova, and Bulgaria. We should also remember the choice of the Georgian people  a choice in favor of Europe, democracy, and security.

Security in the Black Sea is in our hands. Our unity and determination are the key to deterring Russia.

Yes, Ukraine is ready to cooperate and share its experience with Black Sea partners. This will strengthen regional security, and I hope this conference will help define concrete steps.

But we must be honest: only a strong presence of our allies in the Black Sea can prevent future Russian aggression.

Lasting peace in the region requires not only boots of our allies on our ground, but also ships of our allies in our waters.

This brings me to my third pointlong-term deterrence.

The liberation of Crimea is the only way to ensure lasting security in the Black Sea region.

There can be no stable trade in a sea where a militarized peninsula, controlled by an aggressive state, sits at its center.

Russia used Crimea to launch its full-scale invasion. It still uses the occupied Crimean territory to attack continental Ukraine. And it could use it to threaten other countries in the region.

The only solution is the full restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

It all started with Crimea - and must end with Crimea.

Crimea is Ukraine.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Black Sea region has great potential, in particular, the development of oil and gas fields on the continental shelf.

Ukraine's and Moldova's future EU membership will expand Europe's access to the Black Sea and create new opportunities.

But everything starts with security.

We need decisive actions.

We need an ambitious enlargement policy.

In the Black Sea, Europe has a real chance to show that it is a strong geopolitical actor.

For this matter we need to look at Black Sea within a wider geopolitical perspective.

What happens in the Black Sea, echoes in the Baltic Sea.

Because our security is indivisible.

And that is how we must view it  as a single security space, an axis from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Today, our relations with relevant Nordic countries create all conditions for it. There is a Three Sea Initiative, we have to build on it.

We must also view the Black Sea as a cost-effective and vital route for non-Russian energy supplies from the East to Europe.

All this is about our prosperity and common benefits. But it starts with security.

Thank you. I wish you productive discussions.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






There Is Information from Our Intelligence that the Russians Are Preparing a Massive Strike - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

23 March 2026 - 21:00

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

A brief summary of the day. The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine delivered a report on the situation around Iran. There is growing evidence that the Russians continue to provide the Iranian regime with intelligence support. This is clearly destructive activity, and it must be stopped, as it only leads to further destabilization. All decent states are interested in guaranteeing security and preventing a larger crisis. Markets are already reacting negatively, and this is significantly complicating the fuel situation in many countries. Thus, by helping the Iranian regime stay afloat and strike more accurately, the Russians are effectively prolonging the war. There must be a response. Of course, we will respond firmly to the fact that Belarus continues to provide its services to Russia in its terror against Ukraine. There have already been cases where special equipment was installed on the territory of Belarus to support "shahed" attacks against Kyiv and our northern regions along the Belarusian border. Unfortunately, this did strengthen Russian strikes at the time. But we took action and destroyed the relevant antennas. Now, our intelligence indicates that Russia intends to continue using the territory of Belarus, as well as the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, to build ground-based control stations for long-range UAVs. There will be responses, and they will be tangible.

There was a report today from the Security Service of Ukraine - Major General Khmara. First and foremost, on our long-range activity targeting Russia's oil revenues. I am grateful to our warriors for their precision. Russia's war must not receive additional resources from the geopolitical situation and such crisis-driven oil prices. As always, the Security Service of Ukraine also continues to deliver strong results on the frontline in eliminating the occupiers. Work against enemy agent networks is ongoing as well. In particular, today's report covered the neutralization of such Russian influence networks operating through religious communities. There was also a report from Major General Oleksandr Poklad. In particular, we managed to prevent crimes on the territory of our state - the Russians were preparing assassination attempts. There were corresponding detentions. We cannot disclose details publicly at this time, but I am grateful to the Security Service of Ukraine for protecting our people.

We spoke with Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov. We identified key priorities for the near term that require decisions. We will continue working to scale up Russian losses - this requires a sufficient number of drones of all types, as well as more systematic approaches to personnel management in the army, so that frontline positions are stronger.

One more point.

Today, I had a detailed discussion with Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko and Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi regarding the fuel situation in Ukraine. Government officials, Naftogaz, and all institutions must work very closely with participants in the fuel market to ensure uninterrupted supply and to provide society with a clearer understanding of the available state support mechanisms. I am also grateful to Ukraine's neighbors whose reliable cooperation is helping us get through this difficult period. Joint action and coordination always make a difference. Thank you!

And please pay attention to air raid alerts today. There is information from our intelligence that the Russians may be preparing a massive strike. The necessary orders have already been given to our air defense forces. Please take care of yourselves and of Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine!

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






At Security Council, UN Relief Chief warns civilian casualties up in Ukraine amid waves of drone strikes

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

As delivered

You've heard a strong and comprehensive briefing from [Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary] DiCarlo, so let me just underline four points and make three brief asks.

As you've heard, civilian casualties in Ukraine far exceed levels this time last year. Civilians continue to face waves of drone and missile strikes, destroying homes, schools and hospitals. Entire communities forced to flee as hostilities intensify in front-line areas. For children, this means missed schooling, prolonged stress and fear, separated from loved ones.

At the same time, many civilians - including older people and those with limited means - remain in high-risk areas.

Second point to underline - these strikes on energy and other vital infrastructure are cutting civilians off from the basics of survival: electricity, water, heat. Tens of thousands of families across the country are left in the dark and cold for weeks on end. These attacks reflect a sustained pattern of damage to the systems on which civilians depend to survive, with humanitarian aid increasingly stepping in to fill the gaps left by the deterioration of essential services.

This is a population under constant strain, where the damage builds quietly but relentlessly, alongside the visible destruction.

Mr. President, a third point to underline: The conflict in Ukraine is increasingly characterised by the use of advanced technologies. Just one example. On 20 March, a team from the national NGO, Proliska Humanitarian Mission, an NGO I visited last year, came under fire while evacuating older people in the oblast of Donetska. A drone strike killed two women and injured two other evacuees. The evacuation van was clearly, clearly marked with the logo of the humanitarian organization. There must be an investigation, accountability and practical steps, to make sure this does not recur.

Mr. President, on a positive note, despite these immense challenges and the risks to humanitarian operations and our people, help is getting through.

In January alone, we and our partners reached nearly one million people with food, cash assistance, medical care, shelter and protection.

Over a cruel, cold winter, around 100 humanitarian organizations supported more than 1.6 million people.

And in recent days, an inter-agency convoy reached a front-line community in the oblast of Kharkivska, delivering help to some 500 residents in an area with no pharmacies and limited availability of basic services.

Of course, local organizations are the backbone of this effort and they deserve our support and our protection.

Mr. President, I close with three asks of this Council.

First, as you've heard, international humanitarian law must be upheld - here and, of course, everywhere. Please insist on the protection of civilians and the essential infrastructure on which they rely to survive. Civilians - including those trying to bring others to safety - must be protected. This includes taking all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm.

Second, please ensure rapid, safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to all civilians in need, wherever they are, including across front lines. Our access in Russian-occupied areas remains severely constrained, limiting our ability to assess needs or deliver help to civilians.

And third, our 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan requires $2 billion to reach 3.6 million of the most vulnerable people with food, heating, medical care and protection. Nearly three-quarters of that plan is still unfunded. So please fund the response so that we can deliver life-saving aid at the scale and the speed needed.

Thank you.

Posted on 23 March 2026

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Featured

Red Day: Stocks plunge in post-holiday sell-off

Kweku Zurek Business News Mar - 24 - 2026 , 18:52

The Ghana Stock Exchange resumed trading after the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday on a sombre note, with the benchmark GSE Composite Index shedding 375.03 points to close at 15,316.66, as investors returned to a broad-based sell-off across the financial sector.

Trading data for the 7,177th session, held on March 24, 2026, revealed significant declines in banking and insurance stocks, while Benso Palm Plantation PLC maintained its historic triple-digit price level achieved in the previous session.

Total volume of shares traded for the session reached 1,754,120, with aggregate value hitting GH8,103,202.93.

BOPP Holds Firm at GH100

Benso Palm Plantation PLC (BOPP) maintained its historic milestone, holding steady at GH100.00 with no price change. The agricultural sector star, which became the first Ghanaian stock to cross the GH100 barrier in Thursday's session, saw 1,000 shares change hands, contributing GH100,000 to total market value.

The stock's closing bid price of GH100.00 and offer price of GH110.00 suggest continued bullish sentiment among investors.

Financial stocks suffer heavy losses

The banking and financial services sector bore the brunt of Tuesday's sell-off. Ecobank Ghana PLC (EGH) plunged by GH5.38 to close at GH50.52, representing one of the steepest declines of the session.

Fan Milk PLC (FML) tumbled by GH1.53 to close at GH13.79, while Societe Generale Ghana PLC (SOGEGH) shed GH0.87 to GH7.86. SIC Insurance Company PLC (SIC) declined by GH0.45 to GH4.09, and Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI) fell GH0.23 to GH2.22.

Cal Bank PLC (CAL) dropped GH0.02 to GH0.75, while Enterprise Group PLC (EGL) edged down GH0.02 to GH12.11. Scancom PLC (MTNGH) slipped GH0.03 to GH6.50, despite being the most actively traded counter with 605,217 shares changing hands, contributing GH3,935,884.02 to total market value.

Mixed performance across other stocks

Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC (RBGH) remained unchanged at GH5.38, while Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) held steady at GH7.85. Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC (SCB) closed flat at GH79.25, and TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana PLC (TOTAL) remained at GH39.80.

Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC (GGBL) closed unchanged at GH15.94, while Unilever Ghana PLC (UNIL) held at GH28.46. NewGold (GLD) remained unchanged at GH546.00.

Unchanged stocks

A significant number of stocks recorded no price movement during Tuesday's session, including Access Bank (ACCESS), Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), Aluworks (ALW), Asante Gold Corporation (ASG), Atlantic Lithium (ALLGH), Clydestone (CLYD), Camelot (CMLT), Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), Dannex Ayrton Starwin (DASPHARMA), First Atlantic Bank (FAB), GCB Bank (GCB), Mega African Capital (MAC), PBC, Trust Bank Gambia (TBL), Tullow Oil (TLW), and the various GAX-listed stocks.

Market summary

The GSE-CI has now gained 74.64 per cent since the start of the year, while the financial stocks index remains up 102.43 per cent despite Tuesday's sharp pullback.

Tuesday's session marked a return to trading following the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, with investors taking profits in financial stocks that had seen significant gains in recent months. BOPP's ability to maintain its GH100 level provided a bright spot in an otherwise subdued session.

Gainers

No stocks recorded a price increase during Tuesday's trading session.

Laggards

Ecobank Ghana PLC (EGH): GH -5.38 (closed at GH50.52)

Fan Milk PLC (FML): GH -1.53 (closed at GH13.79)

Societe Generale Ghana PLC (SOGEGH): GH -0.87 (closed at GH7.86)

SIC Insurance Company PLC (SIC): GH -0.45 (closed at GH4.09)

Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI): GH -0.23 (closed at GH2.22)

Scancom PLC (MTNGH): GH -0.03 (closed at GH6.50)

Cal Bank PLC (CAL): GH -0.02 (closed at GH0.75)

Enterprise Group PLC (EGL): GH -0.02 (closed at GH12.11)

Unchanged stocks

Access Bank Ghana PLC (ACCESS)  GH46.62

Agricultural Development Bank (ADB)  GH5.06

AngloGold Ashanti PLC (AGA)  GH37.00

Aluworks PLC (ALW)  GH0.10

Asante Gold Corporation (ASG)  GH8.89

Atlantic Lithium Ltd (ALLGH)  GH6.52

Benso Palm Plantation PLC (BOPP)  GH100.00

Clydestone (Ghana) PLC (CLYD)  GH0.99

Camelot Ghana PLC (CMLT)  GH0.14

Cocoa Processing Co. PLC (CPC)  GH0.09

Dannex Ayrton Starwin PLC (DASPHARMA)  GH0.41

Enterprise Group PLC (EGL)  GH12.11

First Atlantic Bank PLC (FAB)  GH7.84

GCB Bank PLC (GCB)  GH45.77

Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL)  GH7.85

Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC (GGBL)  GH15.94

Mega African Capital PLC (MAC)  GH5.20

PBC Ltd. (PBC)  GH0.02

Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC (RBGH)  GH5.38

Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC (SCB)  GH79.25

Trust Bank Gambia PLC (TBL)  GH1.20

TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana PLC (TOTAL)  GH39.80

Tullow Oil PLC (TLW)  GH11.92

Unilever Ghana PLC (UNIL)  GH28.46

NewGold (GLD)  GH546.00

Hords PLC (HORDS)  GH0.10

Intravenous Infusions Limited (IIL)  GH0.05

Digicut Production & Advertising PLC (DIGICUT)  GH0.09

Samba Foods PLC (SAMBA)  GH0.55

Meridian Marshalls Holding Company (MMH)  GH0.10
Featured

Wage bill consumes 44% of tax revenue  Govt borrows GH17bn to pay salaries  Finance Minister reveals

Kwame Larweh Business News Mar - 24 - 2026 , 19:02

THE country spent 44.8 per cent of its non-oil tax revenue on public sector wages in 2025, significantly exceeding the ECOWAS-recommended threshold of 35 per cent.

The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who disclosed during a Government-Organised Labour Dialogue, said the picture underscored a severe fiscal constraint facing the country.

In a presentation at the high-level meeting between President John Mahama and Organised Labour, the Finance Minister outlined the growing pressure of the public sector wage bill on government finances.

He revealed that out of a total tax revenue of GH183 billion realised in 2025, statutory obligations  including transfers to District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) and debt servicing  consumed GH122.1 billion, leaving only GH61.9 billion available for any other public expenditure.

However, the governments wage bill alone amounted to GH78.9 billion, creating a financing gap that forced the state to borrow approximately GH17 billion to meet salary obligations.

Dr Forson explained that the combined burden of wages, debt servicing and statutory transfers exceeded total tax revenue, effectively crowding out other critical expenditures.

He warned that under the current fiscal conditions, the government lacked the financial space to adequately invest in essential infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and roads.

The Finance Minister added that while fair remuneration remained a constitutional obligation, the current trajectory of public sector compensation posed a significant structural risk to fiscal sustainability and service delivery.

He stressed the need for careful management of wage growth alongside broader fiscal reforms to restore balance and create room for development spending.

Disagreement

However, the governments framing of the issue has drawn sharp criticism from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Dr Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, Deputy General Secretary of the TUC, argued that the Finance Ministers presentation unfairly vilified public sector workers.

In an interview with the Graphic Business yesterday, Dr Otoo maintained that wages were not the primary cause of the countrys fiscal woes, suggesting the governments accounting was selective.

The narrative given by the Finance Minister was that after paying statutory payments, he is left with a gap of GH17 billion, but he turned it the other way around; is it a case of giving public sector workers a bad name in order to hang us. That narrative he has indicated is not fair to workers, he stated

Dr Otoo reminded the government that organised labour had shown restraint in recent years, accepting a 10 per cent base pay increase against the wishes of its members in 2025 and a nine per cent increase in 2026 to accommodate the governments own recruitment drives for nurses and teachers.

He pointed to a contradiction in the governments position, stating that in the same dialogue, plans to recruit 40,000 security personnel were announced while lamenting that salaries were being funded by debt.

If you tell us you are borrowing, then in the same speech you say you are now going to recruit 40,000, theres something that doesnt add up, he said.

The labour leader argued that the core problem was not an excessively high wage bill but a chronically weak revenue base.

He noted that public sector compensation as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has actually fallen, from around 11 per cent 15 years ago to 5.64 per cent in 2025, according to the Ministers own data.

Our wage bill is not too high, in my view, but the real problem is that our revenue base is too weak, every country in the world borrows; America borrows, Japan borrows. We can expand our revenue base, he stated.

Curbing corruption

Dr Otoo called for a collaborative approach, urging the government to plug revenue leakages caused by corruption and over-invoicing, and to take concrete steps to broaden the tax net, particularly in the informal sector.

We don't want a situation where one party throws figures at the other, and we are not too sure about the authenticity of those figures, we all need to sit and understand what the figures are. Collectively, we can then move on to define a framework that ensures that we get more revenues, and the nation doesn't need to borrow all the time, he stressed.

Dr Otoo added that stronger social dialogue is essential to map out a sustainable strategy that balances fiscal discipline with fair compensation for workers.
Featured

Kenyan ex-foreign minister arrested and accused of staging his disappearance

BBC International News Mar - 24 - 2026 , 10:38 3 minutes read

Former Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju has been arrested a day after he was reported to have disappeared, leading to fears he may have been abducted.

Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said in a press conference that Tuju was inside his residence the whole time, describing it as a "carefully staged disappearance rather than a genuine case of abduction".

Just before his arrest, Tuju had told local station Citizen TV that he had gone into hiding after being followed by an unmarked vehicle.

The former minister has been embroiled in a long-running legal battle contesting the auction and takeover of his properties in Nairobi over an unsettled bank loan.

Amin said: "The deliberate conduct by Raphael Tuju appears to be a calculated effort to deceive the public to generate unwarranted sympathy and to undermine the integrity of the National Police Service."

He added that the police view "the provision of false information to authorities as a very, very serious offence".

Tuju told Citizen that on realising he was being trailed, he had branched off onto a road where it would be more difficult to follow him. Once he had shaken off the other vehicle, he then abandoned his car which he knew they would be looking for.

He added: "My family is very traumatised... and I consider myself blessed because there are many Kenyans in unmarked graves," he said, thanking Kenyans and opposition politicians who had stood by him.

He mentioned other Kenyans who had been abducted or killed in the past, explaining that this was why he had not sought police help and instead went into hiding.

Earlier, the police had said they were investigating his reported disappearance and appealed to the public for information.

His family had said the ex-minister and his driver had gone missing as they were on their way to an evening radio interview on Saturday.

Police said his vehicle was found abandoned with its hazard lights on along a road in Karen, an upmarket suburb of the capital, Nairobi. They said they could not reach him as his phone was switched off.

The former minister, who served in several government roles, recently alleged that dozens of police officers had raided his property in Karen, ejected his staff and security guards and taken control of the business premises.

He claimed that powerful officials were behind attempts to seize his property. The government has not commented on the allegations.

The court dispute involves lenders seeking to recover debts of over $15m (11m) tied to properties owned by Tuju's company, Dari Limited. He has lodged multiple unsuccessful legal challenges to stop the auction, and recently obtained orders barring the transfer of the property until his latest application is heard.

Tuju's disappearance prompted allegations by prominent opposition figures that the ex-minister may have been abducted.

Governor James Orengo alleged Tuju had been "kidnapped".

"Let's pray for Tuju because he has gone through a lot," he said.

Lawmaker Otiende Amollo said they were pressing the authorities for answers.

"We are urging the police to do all that is within their power to trace and protect him. We abhor the possibility that there are people who can abduct someone of [his] stature," he said.
Next article: Oil back above $100 as conflicting claims emerge on US-Iran talks

Featured

Stolen luxury cars worth $800,000 intercepted before shipment to Ghana

GraphicOnline International News Mar - 24 - 2026 , 09:15 2 minutes read

A major police operation in Canada has uncovered an organised carjacking network with links to Ghana, leading to multiple arrests and the recovery of high-value stolen vehicles destined for overseas shipment.

The operation, led by Peel Regional Police and dubbed Project Stratis, targeted a series of violent, armed carjackings reported across the Peel Region and the Greater Toronto Area between January 18 and February 1, 2026.

Investigators said the suspects focused primarily on high-end vehicles, particularly models manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. Police uncovered that the group was not only carrying out the robberies but had also established a system to alter vehicle identification numbers and facilitate resale or shipment abroad.

Officers determined the accused were not only carrying out the robberies but also arranging for the stolen vehicles to be re-vinned and resold or shipped overseas to Ghana, the police said in a statement.

The investigation, carried out with support from the Toronto Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Canada Border Services Agency, led to the execution of multiple search warrants. Authorities recovered eight stolen vehicles valued at approximately $800,000, along with two replica firearms.

Police said the vehicles were found concealed in storage lockers, an auto body shop and shipping containers, indicating a coordinated effort to move them out of the country.

In a significant development, two suspects were arrested at Toronto Pearson International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Ghana, following intelligence shared by border officials.

In total, six individuals were arrested and are facing 30 charges, including robbery, conspiracy, possession of property obtained by crime and laundering the proceeds of crime.

Authorities say the operation forms part of broader efforts to dismantle organised auto theft networks across the region. According to police data, auto theft has declined by 20 per cent, while reported carjackings have dropped by 79 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Commenting on the development, Chief Nishan Duraiappah said violent carjackings have far-reaching consequences beyond financial loss.

Violent, armed carjackings and auto theft do more than steal property  they disrupt lives and take away a persons sense of safety. No one should have to experience that. We have made significant progress in targeting these crimes and disrupting organized auto theft networks in our communities, and Project Stratis is another example of this critical work.

Officials from the Canada Border Services Agency also highlighted the importance of intelligence-sharing in intercepting stolen vehicles and preventing suspects from fleeing the country.

The latest breakthrough underscores growing concerns about transnational vehicle theft operations, with authorities warning that stolen cars are increasingly being funnelled through complex international networks.
Featured

Burma Camp businesses to start paying for electricity as government scraps exemption

Mohammed Ali Mar - 24 - 2026 , 13:14 4 minutes read

About 1,200 commercial operators within Burma Camp are set to begin paying for electricity following the withdrawal of a long-standing exemption previously extended to the Ghana Armed Forces.

The Minister of Energy, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, disclosed this when he appeared before Parliaments Government Assurances Committee on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

He explained that the affected entities, including cold stores, barbering shops, washing bays and laundry services, had been operating without paying electricity and water bills, despite functioning as profit-making ventures within the military enclave.

Mr Jinapor noted that a significant number of those running the businesses were not active military personnel.

Some of them were not even soldiers, Mr Jinapor told the committee. They set up businesses when they were soldiers and left. And you know the barracks, if you have a child, that child is almost supposed to stay in the barracks with you. So non-military persons also stay in the barracks. But unfortunately, those who are non military personnel are even more than the military personnel.

He said a personal visit to Burma Camp informed his decision to terminate the blanket exemption on utilities for commercial activities, describing the move as politically challenging.

I personally had to take a difficult political decision, he said. Until I came in, every electricity use in every barracks was totally free.

The disclosure formed part of deliberations on a Cabinet directive issued in July 2025, which mandates the installation of prepaid meters across public institutions, subject to limited exemptions. The policy covers the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service, the Presidency, as well as public educational and health institutions.

During the hearing, members of the committee raised questions about the scope of exemptions, particularly whether agencies such as the Ghana National Fire Service, the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana Prisons Service were included.

The committee subsequently directed the Ministry of Energy to submit a comprehensive list of all exempted institutions before the close of business on March 24, 2026, to aid its report.

Nine months after the directive was issued, the committee said it was yet to determine the extent of implementation, including how many state institutions had been metered. The chairperson requested a written update from the minister on the same day.

On the broader metering programme, Mr Jinapor indicated that his administration inherited a significant shortfall in meters upon assuming office.

He attributed part of the challenge to procurement decisions by the Electricity Company of Ghana in 2024, when approximately GH9.3 billion was spent largely on cables, leaving meters and transformers in limited supply.

According to him, the procurement budget has since been reduced to GH1.8 billion and refocused on acquiring meters and transformers.

I am happy to announce that we have taken delivery of a very good supply of meters and we have started releasing them, he told the committee, adding that a nationwide transformer replacement exercise would commence before the end of March.

The committee also reviewed the status of the Self-Help Electrification Project, which requires beneficiary communities to provide poles and labour while government supports the rest of the installation.

Mr Jinapor said the model is no longer effective, as many communities are unwilling to provide unpaid labour.

The communities will not do it, he said, noting that some now demand payment for services that were originally intended to be voluntary. Even though the name is self-help, it is funded fully by the government, he told lawmakers.

Concerns were also raised about a cost-sharing practice where Members of Parliament use personal funds to accelerate electricity connections in their constituencies. One member disclosed funding connections for 25 communities, with 20 more pending.

Mr Jinapor acknowledged the practice but argued that it was unsustainable.

MPs are already overburdened, he said. Government must look for that money to get electricity to the people so that MPs can use their limited money for other projects.
Featured

Ghana Embassy raises concern over last-minute objections to Mahamas Lincoln University visit

Mohammed Ali Mar - 24 - 2026 , 13:26 2 minutes read

The Embassy of Ghana in the United States has expressed concern over last-minute objections raised by Lincoln University ahead of a planned visit by President John Dramani Mahama.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the Embassy said the visit, scheduled for March 26, included the conferment of an honorary doctorate and had been agreed upon following prior engagements between both parties.

The Embassy stated that officials from Ghana and representatives of the university conducted a full walkthrough last week and finalised all logistical and programme arrangements ahead of the visit.

However, it said it subsequently received communication from the university indicating that concerns had been raised by a group over President Mahamas perceived position on Ghanas Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which is currently before Parliament.

According to the Embassy, the university indicated that these concerns had not been raised during earlier vetting processes prior to the invitation being extended.

The statement noted that the visit had been accepted in good faith following an official invitation from Lincoln University, which it described as having longstanding ties with Ghana, including its association with Ghanas first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

The Embassy said all preparations for the programme had been completed and described the timing of the development as worrying, particularly as it comes after arrangements had been concluded and with President Mahama already in the United States, having arrived in New York City ahead of the engagement.

While acknowledging the universitys right to engage its stakeholders and uphold its values, the Embassy said the concerns relate to ongoing legislative processes in Ghana, which are subject to democratic debate and do not represent the position of any single individual.

It added that President Mahama has consistently demonstrated leadership grounded in democratic principles, respect for human rights and inclusive dialogue, describing the emergence of the concerns at this stage as unfortunate.

The Embassy said it remains open to dialogue and mutual respect, expressing hope that the longstanding relationship between Ghana and Lincoln University will guide a balanced resolution of the matter.
Featured

Big Push prioritises local contractors: 490,000 jobs targeted under infrastructure drive - Roads Minister

Kester Aburam Korankye Mar - 24 - 2026 , 12:37 4 minutes read

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has disclosed that the government's flagship Big Push Infrastructure Programme is deliberately structured to prioritise Ghanaian contractors, with the aim of strengthening local technical expertise to keep investment within the domestic economy.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Roads and Highways Minister explained that the programme, launched in 2025, represented one of the most ambitious road development efforts in the nation's history, with contracts worth more than GH63 billion awarded, estimated to create and/or sustain 490,000 jobs across the built environment.

Currently, 73 major road projects are underway across all 16 regions, covering over 1,700 kilometres.

They include priority projects such as the Kumasi Outer Ring Road, the dualisation of the Winneba-Cape Coast Road, the Tamale Third Ring Road and the construction of the Dambai Bridge in the Oti Region.

"The Big Push is not just about building roads. It is deliberately designed to build Ghanaian capacity," Mr Agbodza stated.

He added that the government was placing serious emphasis on Ghanaian contractors and workers because we want to strengthen local technical expertise in the construction sector.

This is about ensuring that the benefits of infrastructure development remain within our economy."

The minister added that local companies supplying cement, bitumen, aggregates, transport, fabrication and equipment services were experiencing increased demand as a result of the programme.

Contractor selection

Mr Agbodza explained that in selecting contractors, priority was given to firms with proven track record, demonstrated capacity to mobilise quickly, proximity to project location, adequate financial strength and equipment availability.

"When we select contractors, we look at who can deliver quality work within stipulated timelines.

We give priority to those with the technical competence and operational readiness.

This approach ensures that local firms grow stronger with each project," he explained.

Mr Agbodza explained that the programme went beyond road construction to supporting economic growth and improving daily life across the country.

"Better roads mean shorter travel times, safer journeys, easier access to markets and stronger connections that support everyday economic life.

For commuters, traders and farmers across this country, these are not abstract benefits  they are tangible improvements that affect livelihoods," the Roads and Highways Minister told the Daily Graphic.

Transparency, procurement processes

When asked about concerns raised regarding transparency and procurement processes, Mr Agbodza defended the approach taken under the programme.

"All projects under the programme have been duly approved by Parliament as part of multi-year expenditure commitments.

All procurement processes have been conducted with strict adherence to the Public Procurement Act and its accompanying regulations," he stated.

Mr Agbodza acknowledged that a mix of procurement methods was employed, including 50 projects issued under commitment authorisation, 47 procured through single source procurement and seven through restricted tendering processes.

Additionally, 23 projects inherited from previous administrations where contractors were already on site, were absorbed into the programme.

"The use of restrictive tendering and sole sourcing was not arbitrary. It was necessitated by the urgency to resume stalled works, prevent cost overruns due to delays, and deliver critical infrastructure within compressed timelines.

These methods are explicitly permitted under our procurement laws under conditions of urgency and national interest," he explained.

Value for money

On whether the projects achieved value for money, the Roads and Highways Minister stated that independent value-for-money assessments had been conducted, which confirmed that project costs were commensurate with scope and engineering requirements.

He cautioned against over-reliance on simplified metrics such as cost per kilometre without considering contextual factors.

"Each project has unique characteristics. Costs are influenced by terrain and soil conditions, design specifications, traffic requirements, environmental and social considerations.

Asphalt overlay, for example, is fundamentally different from full reconstruction from subgrade to asphalt surface, or projects involving bridges, interchanges, drainage systems, and urban utility relocations," Mr Agbodza said.

The Roads and Highways Minister disclosed that Parliament approved GH13.8 billion for major road projects in 2025, while the 2026 Budget allocated an additional GH30 billion for strategic roads and bridges,
Next article: Only 44% of Big Push contracts were sole-sourced - Roads Minister

'Two months on, no arrests': Binajub Clan presses security agencies over fatal attack

Previous article: 'Two months on, no arrests': Binajub Clan presses security agencies over fatal attack

Featured

Ghana School of Law rolls out counselling support after student death

Richard Osei Boateng Mar - 24 - 2026 , 18:40 1 minute read

The Ghana School of Law (GSL) has introduced a structured counselling programme for students following the death of a PLC Part I student at its Accra Main campus.

In a notice to students, management said the intervention is designed to provide emotional and psychological support, particularly for those in Accra Main Group C, who were most directly affected by the incident.

According to the school, the support will be delivered in two phases to ensure students receive both immediate and continued care.

The first phase will take the form of a virtual counselling session with a psychologist, scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, 2026, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Students are required to register in advance through an online link circulated by the school.

This will be followed by in-person group counselling sessions at the Accra Main campus for students who may require additional support after the initial engagement.

The physical sessions are planned for Sunday, March 29, 2026, and will run in two time blocks: Session 1 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Session 2 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Registration for the in-person sessions will open after the virtual meeting, with students expected to select their preferred time slots.

Management encouraged students not to deal with grief in isolation, urging them to support one another and to make use of the counselling services being provided.
NPA, Police to crack down on fuel siphoning from accident tankers

Next article: NPA, Police to crack down on fuel siphoning from accident tankers

Featured

Government outlines plan to protect jobs as Damang Mine lease expires in April

Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 24 - 2026 , 16:08 1 minute read

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has outlined measures to safeguard jobs and ensure uninterrupted operations at the Damang Mine as its current lease approaches expiry.

In a statement dated March 24, the Ministry said the Damang Mining Lease, held by Abosso Goldfields Limited, a subsidiary of Gold Fields Limited, will expire on April 18, 2026, following a one-year extension.

Transition plan underway

The government said it considers the Damang Mine a critical national asset with the capacity to continue making significant contributions to Ghanas gold output, export earnings and employment.

To ensure continuity beyond the lease period, the Ministry indicated that steps had been initiated to protect jobs, sustain service contracts and reassure key stakeholders. The measures are part of a broader plan to secure a credible investor and operator through a competitive bidding process.

Focus on long-term value

According to the Ministry, the approach is designed to guarantee the mines sustained contribution to national development while promoting long-term Ghanaian-centred ownership and investment.

It further assured that throughout the transition, efforts would be made to ensure the mine continues to deliver lasting benefits to host communities and the country.

The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and responsible stewardship, expressing confidence that the next phase of operations would strengthen the mining sector and support sustainable, Ghanaian-driven growth.
Featured

Gov't begins nationwide hospital bed tracking to power new emergency command centre

Mohammed Ali Mar - 24 - 2026 , 13:05 4 minutes read

The government has completed a nationwide audit of hospital bed capacity and begun tagging each bed with barcodes as part of plans to establish a National Emergency Command Centre to coordinate emergency response services.

The Board Chairman of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Titus Kofi Beyuo, disclosed this in a radio interview on Joy FM on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, describing the move as a major step towards improving emergency care delivery.

He explained that the exercise is intended to address a longstanding challenge in the ambulance system, where responders often lack real-time information on hospital capacity.

We have taken a physical count of every bed in every teaching hospital in Ghana, in every regional hospital in Ghana, Prof. Beyuo said. In the next few days, we will be attaching barcodes to all these beds.

According to him, the barcoding system will feed into a centralised digital dashboard at the proposed command centre, enabling operators to monitor bed availability across facilities in real time. The system will capture various categories, including emergency beds, stroke beds, intensive care unit beds, oxygen-connected beds, monitor-connected beds and adjustable beds suited to different patient needs.

He added that the National Ambulance Service will relocate its existing 112 call centre to the new facility, integrating dispatch operations with live hospital capacity data.

The ambulance service will relocate their call centre to this National Command Centre, he said, noting that medical doctors will also be stationed at the centre to conduct remote triage and guide ambulance teams before patients are transported.

Prof. Beyuo said the system will further provide ambulance crews with estimated travel times and direct them to facilities where patients stand a better chance of survival.

His remarks come amid renewed public concern over congestion at the emergency department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, following a widely circulated video showing patients lying on the floor.

The Chairman of the Korle Bu Doctors Association and consultant surgeon, Dr Asare Offei, confirmed during the same interview that the situation remains a daily reality due to overwhelming patient numbers.

On a daily basis what we experience is overload, full capacity, Dr. Offei said. Some are too weak to sit in a chair; they will lie on the floor and be given the best care possible.

He described the situation as longstanding, saying it had only gained wider attention after the video surfaced. This is an age-old problem, he said, urging stakeholders to focus on solutions rather than blame.

Dr Offei also highlighted the legal and occupational risks faced by health workers operating under such conditions.

In case Im being called to answer why I cared for a patient this way, the law will not say Im sacrificing, he said, warning that repeated bending and squatting to treat patients on the floor could result in long-term spinal injuries for clinicians.

Prof. Beyuo indicated that hospital policy requires all patients to be triaged before any decision is taken, even if this contributes to congestion.

Every patient should be triaged first for us to know their chance of survival, he said, adding that management is working with clinicians to manage periodic surges in patient numbers.

He disclosed that about 200 additional beds have been procured, with 50 already installed during a recent visit by the Minister of Health on March 21, 2026.

Prof. Beyuo also cited a recent case involving an emergency physician who died after being unable to access specialised cardiac care at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, highlighting gaps in critical health infrastructure.

He couldnt make it, Prof. Beyuo said, explaining that the incident has informed plans to establish cardiac catheterisation laboratories at Komfo Anokye and the Tamale Teaching Hospital, in addition to the existing facility at Korle Bu.

On ambulance services, both Prof. Beyuo and Dr Offei acknowledged that the current fleet remains inadequate for an effective emergency response system.

Dr Offei noted that some patients are transported without basic interventions. Sometimes no infusion on you, which can even save your life within a short time, he said.

Prof. Beyuo described the prevailing approach as scoop and run, warning that it could compromise patient outcomes. He called for specialised ambulances capable of performing basic procedures en route, alongside enhanced training for Emergency Medical Technicians.

He said the Minister of Health had set a two-to-three-month timeline, following the ministrys annual retreat earlier this year, for the command centre to begin operations. However, he cautioned that full implementation would take time due to the scale of the project, including training more than 7,000 staff at Korle Bu and equipping over 200 ambulances nationwide.

The situation is dire, and you cant fix that overnight, he said.

Dr Offei welcomed the initiative but stressed that its success would depend on sustained political commitment. All the difference is political will, he said, noting that similar proposals have been discussed for years.
Featured

IN PHOTOS: How SHS students have transformed the Asokwa Interchange in Kumasi

GraphicOnline Mar - 24 - 2026 , 11:58 2 minutes read

The usually congested Asokwa Interchange has taken on a striking new character, shifting from a routine transport hub into a colourful display of art and cultural expression.

As part of activities marking Ashantifest 2026, the interchange has been reimagined as an open-air gallery, drawing admiration from commuters and residents who pass through the area daily.

Related Articles: Gyankroma Akufo-Addo: Prez's daughter denies receiving $25m to paint murals in Accra

Students lead artistic transformation

The transformation has been driven by visual arts students from various Senior High Schools across the Kumasi metropolis, who have turned sections of the interchange into canvases.

Using paint, brushes and creative flair, the students produced vivid murals that celebrate Ghanaian heritage and leadership, showcasing both technical skill and artistic interpretation.

Prominent among the works are detailed portraits of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and John Dramani Mahama, rendered with precision and depth. The artworks combine bold colours with symbolic elements that reflect the countrys cultural identity and political history.

Public reaction

The display has significantly altered the pace of activity at the interchange, with many commuters slowing down or stopping to admire the murals.

Pedestrians have been seen taking photographs, while commercial drivers navigating the area have also expressed appreciation for the initiative, describing it as both refreshing and inspiring.

For many, the artworks offer a moment of reflection within the bustle of urban life, turning an ordinary commute into a visually engaging experience.

Promoting culture and youth talent

The initiative, led by Ashanti Regional Minister Dr Frank Amoakohene, has been widely praised for promoting youth creativity while enhancing the aesthetic appeal of public infrastructure.

Residents have called for similar projects to be replicated across other parts of Kumasi, noting that such efforts could serve as platforms for nurturing emerging talent while improving the citys visual landscape.

A lasting impression

Beyond beautification, the transformation underscores the role of art in redefining public spaces and strengthening community identity.

As the Ashantifest celebrations continue, the murals at the Asokwa Interchange stand as a vivid reminder of the creativity and potential of Ghanas youth, and the impact of giving them space to express it.

See the photographs of the murals below;
Burma Camp businesses to start paying for electricity as government scraps exemption

Next article: Burma Camp businesses to start paying for electricity as government scraps exemption

Featured

Lordina Mahama: First Lady attends global summit on child digital safety in Washington

Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 24 - 2026 , 13:22 1 minute read

The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, is in Washington, D.C., to participate in an international summit focused on safeguarding children in the digital age.

The Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, confirmed that Mrs Mahama is attending the event at the invitation of the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump.

Global focus on childrens digital future

The two-day Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit has brought together first spouses from around the world to deliberate on strategies for promoting a safer and more equitable digital environment for children.

The meeting is expected to explore collaborative approaches to addressing online risks while harnessing technology for child development and education.

Ghanas position

In a statement, the First Lady reaffirmed Ghanas commitment to protecting children in an increasingly digital world.

Ghana stands ready to ensure technology becomes a force for empowerment, not endangerment, for every child. Our children's future is our shared moral duty and generational responsibility.

Her participation underscores Ghanas engagement in global efforts aimed at strengthening child protection frameworks in the digital space.
Featured

'No justification to exist'  FABAG slams Agriculture Ministry over tomato shortage

GraphicOnline Mar - 24 - 2026 , 08:08 3 minutes read

The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has criticised Ghanas agricultural policy direction, warning that the countrys reliance on imported tomatoes exposes deep structural weaknesses following a supply disruption triggered by a ban from Burkina Faso.

In a statement, the Association described the unfolding shortage as a failure of planning and leadership within the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, insisting that Ghana has the capacity to produce sufficient tomatoes domestically if the right measures are implemented.

It is completely unacceptable that a country with vast agricultural land, irrigation dams, agricultural colleges, research institutions, extension officers, and a full Ministry of Food and Agriculture cannot produce enough tomatoes to feed its own population and must depend on another country for such a basic food commodity, the statement said.

FABAG argued that the crisis highlights a long-standing dependence on imports for essential food items, despite the countrys natural and institutional advantages in agriculture. The group maintained that tomatoes, as a short-cycle crop, present an immediate opportunity for local production to close the supply gap.

It is an agricultural fact, not a theory, that tomatoes can be produced within two (2) to three (3) months, the Association stated, adding that with irrigation and proper seed varieties, tomatoes begin harvesting within 60 to 90 days after planting.

The Association warned that any inability to resolve the shortage within this timeframe would amount to a fundamental failure of the sectors leadership and policy direction.

Therefore, any claim that Ghana cannot solve tomato shortages quickly is simply an admission of policy failure, planning failure, and leadership failure, the statement added.

FABAG further cautioned that continued dependence on external sources for basic food commodities poses a broader risk beyond agriculture.

Depending on another country for a basic food item like tomatoes is not just an agricultural issue but a national security risk, it said.

The Association insisted that Ghana possesses all the necessary resources to address the challenge, including fertile land, irrigation systems, trained farmers, research institutions and access to inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and mechanisation services. It stressed that the issue lies not in capacity but in coordination and execution.

If after all these resources Ghana still cannot produce tomatoes to feed its people, then the problem is not farmers, not land, not climate, but the problem is leadership and policy direction, the statement noted.

As part of its response, FABAG is calling for immediate intervention measures, including the declaration of a national emergency tomato programme, rapid distribution of improved seeds, subsidised agricultural inputs and the activation of irrigation systems to support dry-season farming.

The Association also urged the mobilisation of young people into commercial tomato farming, alongside investment in greenhouse production, storage facilities and processing plants to reduce post-harvest losses.

In addition, it proposed the setting of a clear national target for Ghana to achieve tomato self-sufficiency within one year, arguing that the current crisis should serve as a turning point for agricultural transformation.

FABAG concluded with a direct ultimatum to the sectors leadership.

If within two to three months the Ministry cannot organize tomato production under irrigation across the country, then the government must seriously consider restructuring the Ministry into a Production-Focused Agricultural Authority with clear targets and accountability.

The statement underscored growing pressure on policymakers to move beyond strategy and deliver tangible results in food production, as supply disruptions continue to test Ghanas agricultural resilience.
Next article: Lordina Mahama: First Lady attends global summit on child digital safety in Washington

Featured

Police arrest 77 in Tamale, Savelugu anti-drug raids

Mohammed Ali Mar - 24 - 2026 , 13:23 2 minutes read

The Ghana Police Service has arrested 77 suspects in an anti-drug operation carried out in Tamale and Savelugu, targeting areas known for drug peddling.

The Northern Regional Police Command said the exercise was led by its Special Operations Team, Red Maria, and took place on March 23, 2026, at about 9:30 p.m. within the Tamale Metropolis and the Savelugu Municipality.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the Command said the operation involved 33 personnel and formed part of ongoing action against drug-related activities in the region.

Police said several identified hotspots were targeted, including Lamashiegu in Tamale, where one suspect was first arrested.

The team later moved to the Aboabo market area, where another suspect was arrested with a powdered substance suspected to be cocaine.

Intelligence gathered during the operation led officers to arrest an alleged supplier at NOBISCO. A search conducted at his residence did not find any incriminating items.

The operation was later extended to Savelugu, where a raid at a known drug peddling location led to the arrest of 74 additional suspects, bringing the total number to 77.

Items retrieved during the operation included seven motorbikes, a Toyota Camry saloon car, quantities of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, and 10 sachets of tramadol.

Police said all the suspects are in custody assisting with investigations. They are being screened, and those found culpable will be put before the court.

The Northern Regional Police Command called on the public to support the Police by providing timely and credible information to help address crime.
Featured

State House to host final rites for brothers killed in Tema microlight aircraft crash

GraphicOnline Mar - 24 - 2026 , 08:30 2 minutes read

The Wettey and Donkor families have announced that the final funeral rites for Captain Frank Amoanyi Donkor and his brother, Elijah Ofori Donkor, will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at the Forecourt of the State House in Accra; a solemn tribute to two men whose lives were tragically cut short in the microlight aircraft crash that shook the nation earlier this month.

Exactly one week after the devastating incident at Tema Community 1, the families released a statement expressing deep sorrow while acknowledging the overwhelming support that has poured in from across the country. The two brothers, described by those who knew them as "bright lights" full of promise, warmth, and life, perished on 16th March 2026 in an accident that has since prompted investigations by aviation authorities.

According to the funeral arrangements, the mortal remains of the deceased will be laid in state from 6:00 am to 8:00 am, after which the burial service will immediately commence. The choice of the State House Forecourt for the service reflects the national significance of the loss and the high-level support the families have received in their time of grief.

The families expressed particular gratitude to President John Dramani Mahama, who dispatched a delegation led by Chief of Staff, Hon. Julius Debrah, to commiserate with the bereaved. They also acknowledged the Chief of Staff's role in approving the use of the State House Forecourt for the funeral service.

"We are equally grateful to the Chief of Staff for approving the funeral service to be held at the Forecourt of the State House," the statement, signed by Albert Kwabena Dwumfour on behalf of the families, read.

The families also expressed gratitude to the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, who personally visited to commiserate during this difficult period. Recognition was also given to the New Patriotic Party Flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for his support and for sending a high-powered delegation led by the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, and Fredrick Opare Ansah, Campaign Manager for Dr. Bawumia.

In their statement, the families reflected on the profound nature of their loss, describing their struggle to come to terms with the sudden departure of their beloved sons. Yet, they noted, the overwhelming love, prayers, and support received from Ghanaians across the country has provided strength in the midst of sorrow.

"Our hearts are heavy, but we are sustained by the kindness of the nation," the statement conveyed.

The families also expressed appreciation to state agencies that responded to the tragedy, including the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, the Ghana National Fire Service, and the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIB Ghana), commending their swift response and professionalism in handling the aftermath of the crash.

"May their souls rest in perfect peace," the statement concluded.
Featured

Publish road project details now  Minority raises red flag over Big Push spending

GraphicOnline Politics Mar - 24 - 2026 , 12:37 2 minutes read

The Minority in Parliament has called for the immediate publication of all contracts awarded under the governments flagship Big Push infrastructure programme, citing concerns over transparency and fiscal discipline.

Addressing journalists in Parliament on Tuesday, March 24, the Ranking Member of the Roads and Transportation Committee, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, said while the initiative holds significant promise for transforming Ghanas road network, its success will depend on openness in execution and prudent financial management.

He noted that the programme, if properly implemented, could enhance connectivity and unlock key economic corridors across the country, but warned that a lack of transparency could undermine public confidence.

We strongly believe that the government must, as a matter of urgency, publish the full details of these contracts. This will give Ghanaians the opportunity to independently assess the policy and promote transparency in the execution of the programme, he said.

Mr Osei Nyarko, who is also the Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, stressed that the disclosure should include the identities of contractors, the scope of works assigned and the unit cost per kilometre, arguing that such information is crucial for accountability.

The Minority members on the committee insisted that their concerns were not politically driven, but rooted in broader issues affecting infrastructure delivery in the country. They pointed to the need for consistency in policy implementation, sustainable financing and long-term planning to ensure value for money in major public projects.

The issues we have highlighted today are not raised for political effect; they reflect genuine concerns about transparency, fiscal discipline, project continuity and policy credibility within Ghanas road and transport sector, he stated.

They also urged the government to provide clearer details on how the projects are being financed and to expedite work on stalled road developments nationwide.

Infrastructure development requires long-term planning, stable financing and consistent implementation across successive administrations.

We, therefore, call on the government to provide greater transparency regarding infrastructure financing and to accelerate the implementation of stalled road and transport projects, Mr Osei Nyarko added.

The Minority further emphasised the need for government commitments to be backed by concrete implementation strategies and adequate budgetary support to ensure the Big Push programme delivers tangible results.
Cabras 1 and 2 power generation units in Piti will be shuttered within the next three months, after more than 50 years of keeping the lights on for Guam.

Details about the power plant closure were shared at last weeks Consolidated Commission on Utilities meeting.

CCU members voted unanimously to allow the Guam Power Authority to retain Cabras plant workers after the closure, with no reduction in pay.

Cabras 1 was commissioned in 1974, and Cabras 2 was commissioned in 1975.

Both units have seen numerous overhauls and breakdowns over the years, but they continued to serve as the baseload units for Guams electrical grid until the new 198-megawatt Ukudu power plant came online last Christmas.

The Cabras plant has been shut down for the past two to three months, GPA General Manager John Benavente shared last week.

He said the units will be retired between March 31 and June 30 of this year, and must be turned off because of GPAs settlement, or consent decree, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The power authority agreed to the settlement to avoid fines over alleged Clean Air Act violations in 2019. As a condition, the Cabras units have to be shut down within six months of the commissioning of Ukudu.

Benavente told the CCU that the power authority wants to retain staff that have stayed on and continued to run the Cabras plant, which is GPAs most difficult and sometimes dangerous machine to run.

For anyone thats familiar with steam power plants, its difficult work for everyone, from the mechanics to everything, Benavente said. Employees, they probably could get a better job somewhere and probably get a higher pay, but they love to work for the authority and we made that promise.

The general manager said long-time staff at Cabras could be used to fill shortages within GPAs generation division, and could potentially help train up other workers.

They are quite capable and can slot into different areas within the generation, he said. They can learn very quickly combustion turbine operation, and actually can be leaders again in the field, because its not as complicated.

Though 25 workers are now onboard at Cabras, the power authority will only have to absorb about 14 of them, according to GPA assistant general manager of administration Beatrice Limtiaco.

We are seeing a lot of folks saying were ready to retire, we want to retire with Cabras, Limtiaco said. They hold a very emotional tie to the power plant.

Limtiaco said GPAs generation division has enough openings in other sections that they could absorb all of the workers who wont go into retirement.

She said the plan is to have workers look at different announced positions, and have the opportunity to apply for what jobs they want to move into.

For those Cabras workers who dont want to have to reapply, GPA asked for Benavente to have the authority to transfer them into open in-house positions.

Plans approved by the CCU will allow those workers to be slotted into the closest available pay grade once they move, even if their new position is technically a demotion.

Limtiaco said that will only apply for workers who go elsewhere in GPAs generation division.

She said it wont allow, for example, for a plant control operator to become a cashier and retain a salary above $80,000.

If the authority didnt match the employees pay grade, the average Cabras worker would stand to lose about $5,000 a year in annual salary, GPA personnel services administrator Jon-Rey Aguigui told the CCU.

Benavente said the one thing he wanted to avoid was a reduction in force once Cabras shuts down.

Theyre not going to get bumped out, he added.
For multiple days now, the Department of Revenue and Taxations GuamTax.com and MyGuamTax.com, as well as drivers license, Guam ID and other services, have been unavailable, and Adelup is taking note of the publics growing frustration.

We understand the frustration. We share the urgency. Our focus remains on resolving this matter as quickly as possible while ensuring taxpayers are protected, the governors office said in a statement late Tuesday night.

The governors office said its aware of concerns regarding DRTs system performance and its relationship with its technology vendor.

Our shared priority as a government is clear: the system must work, Adelup said.

Suspended over non-renewal of licensing

When one visits DRTs GuamTax.com and MyGuamTax.com, this is what appears:

Notice to public:

Licensing and support services for GuamTax.com and MyGuamTax.com expired on Sept. 30, 2025, at the end of Fiscal Year 2025.

GuamTax.com and MyGuamTax.com have been temporarily suspended pending renewal of licensing and support services until further notice.

Data Management Resources, LLC (DMR) is the owner of the proprietary software (software, license, application, and/or end-user agreements) which administers the tax systems of the Department of Revenue and Taxation, Government of Guam, and is prepared to promptly resume all licensing and services upon mutual agreement.

Members of the public have raised concerns how this was allowed to happen.

Governors office: Taxpayer info is confidential

The governors office said taxpayer information is confidential, protected, and held by the government for the sole purpose of tax administration.

Any vendor supporting these systems does so as a service provider, operating under strict legal and contractual obligations.

They do not own taxpayer data, nor do they have independent rights to use or control it, Adelup said in its statement.

Whose fault is it?

The governors office said at this time, it is not in a position to determine fault, nor will it speculate publicly about system performance while facts are still being reviewed.

What we can say is this: in partnerships like these, there are shared responsibilities. When those responsibilities intersect with essential public services, the obligation is not to argueit is to deliver, Adelup said.

The governors office is not commenting on the specifics of the vendor relationship or potential financial matters currently under review, but it said it is actively engaged with all parties to ensure taxpayers experience continuity and reliability.

Once system stability is fully restored, we will take the necessary steps to examine the circumstances that led to these issues and ensure they are addressed transparently, Adelup said.
A life that ended too soon, Nicholaus Cole Donoven died quietly at home on March 17, 2026.

He went by Nick, but he was also referred to as Buck by many in his family. He was born March 29, 1979 in Havre, Montana to his parents Noela and Brian Donoven who later divorced in 1995. He lived a life rooted in simplicity, hard work, and deep love for his family.

Nick's childhood was spent living in Kremlin, Montana, where he attended KG elementary school and later graduated from KG High School in Gildford, Montana. School wasn't really something he enjoyed for the books, studying or tests, but more for the time to be with friends and even a few favorite teachers. While in high school, he did work studies for school credit with Ron Kapperud and that set the pace for continuing with on-the-job training and skills rather than any additional formal education.

While there never seems to be enough time, Nick made the most of his short time with a wide variety of jobs over the years, picking up skills and stories wherever he went. In his most recent role, he found plenty of opportunities to do what he did best: share a smile, tell a story, and give people a conversation to remember.

Nick lived life his own way: full throttle-all gas and no brakes, often outdoors, and occasionally with just enough danger to keep things interesting. His younger years were packed with adventures that probably should have come with warning labels, but if you asked him, they were just part of growing up right.

Nick valued the important friendships he built throughout his life. He had a way of turning friends into family, sharing laughter, loyalty, and countless memories that will be cherished by all who knew him. His latest group of friends were formed after connecting at work and putting together their music and game nights that brought Nick more laughs and a lot of pleasure.

Two happy places for Nick were the farm and the cabin in the Bear Paw Mountains where many memories were made. In his younger days on the farm, picking rock was the job at hand, but for Nick the biggest concern was when we would eat lunch. He would leave with the family and barely round the corner to leave Kremlin before asking what was in the lunch box and when we were going to eat. Later years would find him on combine or truck, but lunch usually remained a priority. At the cabin there never seemed to be enough firewood, so Nick would spend free days gathering and stacking wood to be ready for the next good times with friends or family. He loved being in the fresh air and even spent nights out in the open air there.

Nick loved his little sisters and had an uncanny way of convincing the oldest one of just about anything growing up. His sister Bri and he were making mud pies at Grandma Joyce's house as they often did and Nick convinced her that if she ate the dirt it would turn to chocolate in her mouth. Boy was she disappointed when she found out he tricked her, but he sure was proud of himself. Even after this, her trust did not waiver in her big brother. This was clearly evident when he was also able to convince her during bathtime that when her hair fell out in the tub, it turned to sharks and those sharks were going to eat them.

He adored his baby sister, Jazlyn, and affectionately nicknamed her "Bean." Nick was determined to teach her how to play poker, but she had other ideas for her big brother and she was usually the one to win out. Once she was older, she became the gopher getting driver so Nick and "sissy Bri" could concentrate on shooting. They would be gone for hours and come back with the biggest smiles on their faces from having such a blast. Camping trips with Bean and Bri along with his Mom and stepdad Jim kept everybody going with Nick's contagious laugh over "fire roasted" Rocky Mountain hot dogs and flaming marshmallows.

Preceding Nick in death were his grandparents, Noel Preeshl and Keith and Marlene Donoven along with his Uncle Barry Donoven. Nick was lucky enough to have his Grandma Joyce Preeshl still in his life providing great conversations, lunch dates, leftovers and a bent ear.

Along with his Grandma Joyce, carrying on his memory are his "Ma" Noela Donoven (Jim Young), father Brian (Patty) Donoven, sisters Brianna Donoven (Cloyde Johnson and son Eli) and Jazlyn Young (Jesse Skonberg), step sister Karlee (Coda) Tchida and family, step brother Matt (Jessica) Felt and family along with aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Cremation has taken place. Nick's memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, April 10, 2026, at the 5th Ave. Christian Church with Pastor Eddie Fallo officiating.The family suggests memorials in Nick's honor be made to the Bear Paw Fire Department or to a charitable organization of your choice.

Please visit Nick's online memorial page a https://www.hollandbonine.com to send a card or leave a message of condolence for his family.

Services and arrangements entrusted to Holland & Bonine Funeral Home.
Its director Ilkka Oksala said declining birth rates and a weakening dependency ratio are already affecting the labour market.

The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) said Finland needs at least 45,000 net work-based migrants each year to meet demand from employers and support long-term growth.

Finlands main business lobby group has called for a sharp increase in work-based immigration, warning that labour shortages risk slowing economic growth as the countrys population ages.

Population development and the dependency ratio are weakening fast, he said in a statement. Companies are concerned about the availability of skilled labour when growth begins.

The organisation set out 72 policy proposals aimed at increasing labour migration and improving integration. It said both highly skilled workers and those in basic roles are needed across sectors.

Among the measures is the removal of labour market testing, which requires employers to check for local candidates before hiring from abroad. The group said the rule delays recruitment and adds administrative burden.

It proposed that any job paying at least 1,600 euros a month should qualify a foreign worker for entry.

The group also called for faster residence permit processing. It said permits should be granted automatically if authorities fail to process applications within two weeks, or one week for specialist roles.

It proposed giving trusted employers the ability to register worker details directly with authorities to speed up tax and documentation procedures.

Another measure would extend the period that foreign workers can remain in Finland after losing a job. The group said an eight-month window would give time to find new employment.

It also proposed a new job-seeker visa. The visa would allow entry for job searches and enable work to begin once employment is secured. A points-based system would be used to assess applicants.

The proposals include changes to family and social policy. The group called for the abolition of home care allowance, arguing that it limits employment among migrant women and delays children entering early education.

Oksala said early education supports language development and later integration into society.

Finland needs decisive immigration measures, he said. We must ensure that economic growth does not stall due to labour shortages.

The group also addressed risks linked to labour migration. It called for stronger action against abuse and exploitation, including fines for employers who provide false information to authorities.

It said more resources should be allocated to enforcement and investigations.

The proposals come ahead of the next parliamentary term, with business groups seeking policy changes to address workforce gaps and demographic pressure.

HT
The request, first reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by officials speaking to AP , arrives less than a month after the conflict began and would mark one of the largest single increases in US military spending in recent years. Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon that the figure could move and added, it takes money to kill bad guys.

The United States Department of Defense has requested an additional $200bn to fund its illegal war against Iran, as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to set any timeline for the operation and left the decision on its end to President Donald Trump .

The funding proposal sits on top of an annual defence budget that already exceeds $800bn and follows a further $150bn approved in 2025 through Trumps tax and spending legislation. According to Pentagon estimates cited by the BBC, the war cost $11.3bn in its first week alone, with some reports placing daily costs at around $1bn.

Hegseth refused to outline any end date for operations. We wouldnt want to set a definitive timeframe, he said during a press conference. It will be at the presidents choosing, ultimately, where we say, Hey, weve achieved what we need to. He added that US forces have struck more than 7,000 targets across Iran and described the campaign as progressing according to plan.

President Trump defended the scale of the request, stating from the White House that it reflects broader military needs. This is a very volatile world, he said. We want to have vast amounts of ammunition. He also linked the demand to depleted stockpiles following US support for Ukraine.

The administration has not yet formally submitted the request to Congress, where approval remains uncertain. Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns over the cost, the absence of a clear strategy, and the lack of prior authorisation for military action.

Betty McCollum, the senior Democrat on the House subcommittee overseeing defence spending, said Congress would not approve funds without scrutiny. This is not going to be a rubber stamp for the president of the United States, she said, according to AP. She added that lawmakers still await details on how previous allocations have been spent.

Other Democrats voiced stronger opposition. Senator Chris Murphy wrote on X that the war will cost $200B while prices rise and casualties mount. And for what? he asked. Senator Ed Markey said he would not support a penny more for this endless, illegal war.

Republican leaders signalled support in principle but stopped short of endorsing the full amount. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had not reviewed the proposal but backed adequate defence funding. I support whats needed to ensure that the American people remain safe, he said. Majority Leader Steve Scalise said negotiations with the White House would determine the final figure.

The political debate unfolds against a backdrop of rising federal debt, which has passed $39tn, and a projected annual deficit of $1.9tn, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Analysts note that the proposed sum alone approaches a quarter of the current defence budget and exceeds total US support to Ukraine since 2022, estimated at $188bn.

The war has also begun to affect the US domestic economy. Oil prices have risen following disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, where US forces have targeted Iranian fast-attack vessels. General Dan Caine said A-10 aircraft are operating in the area while Apache helicopters engage Iran-aligned groups in Iraq.

Military risks remain evident. A US F-35 jet made an emergency landing after a combat mission over Iran, with officials saying it had been struck by suspected Iranian fire, according to reports cited by the BBC. Each aircraft has an estimated cost of up to $77m.

Public opinion has shifted as the conflict continues. Polls referenced by US media indicate that a majority of Americans oppose the war, adding pressure on lawmakers ahead of midterm elections later this year. The administration has also left open the option of deploying ground troops, though the White House said no decision has been made.

Historical comparisons have emerged in political debate. Early estimates for the Iraq war ranged between $100bn and $200bn, though total costs later reached into the trillions. Critics argue that the current request risks repeating past underestimations.

The Pentagon maintains that further funding is required to sustain operations and replenish stockpiles. Were going back to Congress to ensure that were properly funded for whats been done, for what we may have to do in the future, Hegseth said.

HT
Berger requests recount, files protests

In the coming days, election officials in Guilford and Rockingham counties will conduct a recount in the race for North Carolina State Senate District 26.

Related Stories

Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger filed an official recount request on March 17 with the State Board of Elections in his contest against Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.

State and local election boards will also look into a series of protests Berger filed later that day.

The pair are separated by 23 votes, with Page leading, after county canvasses made election results official on Friday, March 13.

For months, political onlookers watched closely as Berger, perhaps the most powerful politician in North Carolina, consistently broke even with Page in the polls, despite spending millions more, gaining President Donald Trumps endorsement and boasting a 22-year history as North Carolina Republicans legislative leader.



On election day, the polls proved reliable. At the end of the night, Page was up by two votes. Once provisional ballots were considered and military and overseas absentee ballots were counted, his lead broadened to 23 votes.

Page wasnt surprised. After canvass results, he told reporters the relationships hes built in his 28 years as sheriff mattered more than the money raised.

I never forget who my bosses are and who I serve: the citizens of Rockingham County, he said. Now, Im going to add Guilford County.

Bergers campaign was not immediately available for comment.

Berger cites overvotes, undervotes



Second-place candidates have a right to call for a recount if the difference between them and the first-place candidate is less than 1% of the total votes cast in the race. In this case, a 23-vote margin easily qualifies.

While no justification was required, Bergers campaign offered one in its letter to the State Board of Elections.

Based on the Berger campaigns review of available records, there were three overvotes and 217 undervotes between Rockingham and Guilford counties.

Overvotes are cases in which a voter selects more candidates than allowed on their ballot. Under North Carolina statute, if a voting machine rejects a ballot due to an overvote, but a human counter can tell what the voters choice was intended to be, they are permitted to count the ballot.

Undervotes happen when a voter chooses fewer options for a contest than allowed. For example, if a voter casting a ballot in an at-large city council election where they are supposed to pick two candidates only selects one.

In this case, an undervote would occur when a voting machine didnt detect a choice in the Berger-Page contest. It is very possible that some voters decided not to vote in the legislative race, but the Berger campaign is asking the State Board to review those cases, to double-check that the machine was correct in detecting no markings.

Now, the State Board will issue a schedule and instructions to the county election boards concerning the recount. During its Wednesday meeting, the State Board will discuss whether to conduct a full machine recount or honor Bergers request for a more limited recount of only the ballots with undervotes and overvotes.

Two-person bipartisan teams will do the recounting, while a quorum of county election board members are present. The recount will be open to the public.

Page posted a statement on the recount to social media last week.

We won this election because the voters of Guilford and Rockingham counties made their decision clear, he wrote. Phil Berger has the right to request a recount, and Im confident it will confirm the outcome. We won.

Four election protests filed



Just before the 5 p.m. deadline on March 17, the Berger campaign filed four election protests involving 13 voters who for various reasons were unable to cast votes in the race.

Candidates may file election protests if they say election misconduct occurred that casts doubt on the outcome of the election. They have until two business days after the canvass to do so, which worked out to Tuesday, March 17.

Bergers protests collectively do not involve enough voters to flip the outcome of the race; but if taken together, along with any shift in vote totals from the pending recount, they might. An investigation into at least one of the protests could also potentially identify additional voters who were affected if the claims were upheld.

Bergers first election protest alleged that some Guilford County voters who should have received a ballot including the Senate District 26 race did not.

Since Senate District 26 only covers part of Guilford County, some voters would be able to cast a ballot in the race, while others wouldnt, based on their addresses.

In his protest, Berger alleges that at least eight Republican voters in his district did not receive a ballot with the Senate District 26 race. The voters names are redacted, since the Berger campaign has also asked the State Board to investigate the matter; such investigations are confidential until complete.

Page raised the alarm on social media Monday evening about the protest. He said his campaign had learned that the Berger campaign was contacting voters to ask whether they received the correct ballot.

In a desperate attempt to cling to power after being rejected by voters, Phil Berger is questioning the very election system he put in place, Page wrote in another social media post. Voters should never feel pressured by a defeated candidate to say something that isnt true.

Pages legal team also sent out texts to voters in the district, telling them that submitting a false affidavit is a felony, and instructing them to call Pages team if anyone from the Berger campaign is pressuring you to sign something that isnt true.

Bergers protest cited that text as another reason to keep the impacted voters names private. His team wrote that their efforts to learn whether more than eight voters received the wrong ballot style may have been undermined by the texts from the Page legal team.

Election officials have procedures in place to ensure that voters get the correct ballots. When voters check in to vote, election officials check which ballot style they should get based on the address and party affiliation listed on their voter registration.

According to Pages statement, the Guilford County elections board also confirmed that during early voting, the number of ballots cast in the legislative race matched the number of ballots that were supposed to be issued. The Guilford County elections director was not immediately available for comment, as he was involved in another recount Tuesday.

Since the election protest involves Guilford County, the county elections board will be the first to address it. Bergers team asked the county board to investigate whether the identified voters were actually issued an incorrect ballot, and if they were, to allow them to cast votes in the race.

Bergers second protest involves just one voter: Kara Price, a Rockingham County resident. Price moved from Guilford County to Rockingham County in 2024 with her husband. She said she mailed a voter registration application to the county board of elections with her husband after moving, and also updated her registration at a 2025 trip to the DMV to renew her drivers license.

Her husband had no issues voting. However, Price had to cast a provisional ballot on Election Day in Rockingham County, as elections staff said their records indicated she was still a Guilford County voter. The county board rejected her provisional ballot, since they couldnt find a record of her mailing or DMV update.

In the protest, Bergers team argues that since the issue was not the voters, but rather a likely administrative error, Prices vote should count.

The third protest involves three unaffiliated voters who decided to vote a Republican ballot after initially selecting a Democratic ballot. Unaffiliated voters may choose which party primary theyd like to vote in.

They voted provisional ballots, which were approved. Bergers team is asking election boards to reject the provisional ballots. In the protest, they argue that provisional ballots are not meant for party switches, but instead when a voters eligibility is questioned.

The final protest involves Courtney Dillard, a Rockingham County voter who switched her party affiliation from Democratic to unaffiliated on Feb. 6, 2026. Dillard herself did not turn in her party change paperwork; it exchanged a number of hands before making it to the Rockingham County Board of Elections.

When Dillard went to vote, she was still registered as a Democrat, and therefore, unable to vote in the Republican primary. She was not given a Republican provisional ballot, she said. Bergers team argues that she should have been provided a provisional ballot, and she should be allowed to cast a Republican ballot.

* * * * *

Sarah Michels is a staff writer for Carolina Public Press specializing in coverage of North Carolina politics and elections. She is based in Raleigh.






A HUSKY and a dachshund were among participants in a village litter pick held on Saturday.

About 20 villagers took to the streets of Goring for the annual clean, as part of the Keep Britain Tidy scheme.

Volunteers gathered at the community centre in Station Road at 9.30am to collect hi-vis vests, bin bags and litter pickers, before dispersing among the village in the sunshine.

They were given a map of targeted streets, including Manor Road, Thames Road, Cleeve Road and Croft Road.

Afterwards, they went back to the centre where Cleeve-by-Goring WI had prepared refreshments.

Among the volunteers were families with young children, parish councillors and two dogs. Willow, a two-year-old dachshund, joined by her owner, Michael Green.

Mr Green was litter-picking in Manor Road. He said he had found a barbecue tray that had been thrown over a fence, as well as a parasol and a number of dog-poo bags .

Its a pride thing, he said. You want to be proud of where you live and you want to take care of it. Seeing people throwing stuff over the hedges and leaving their litter all over the streets, its disgusting. Its scandalous, really.

Rosie Mortimer, who lives in Goring, was litter-picking in Thames Road. She said: Ive come out today because its so important for the appearance of the town.

Also, our local ecology needs protecting. We have so many insects and small animals who can pick up litter or get caught in something which can be so dangerous for them.

Susan Francis, 56, has lived in Goring since 2004 and takes part in both the spring and autumn litter picks every year. She said: I think Goring is a lovely place to live. It is a popular village, we get lots of visitors, and so its important to keep it looking clean and tidy.

Its lovely that the sun is out today and its not very windy. It makes picking up litter easier.

Ryan Coombs and his wife Natalie were litter-picking in Cleeve Road. They were joined by their children, Ada, three, Ellie, six, six-month-old Dylan in a pram and their five-year-old husky, Roman.

Mr Coombs said: We moved to Goring about two years ago and we used to litter-pick where we lived in Reading. Were happy to be getting back into it.

I think its important for us to do something thats good for the community and good for the environment. To bring the children is an added bonus, I think we want to instil in them a good stewardship of the planet and help them to understand we just need to look after it the best way that we can.

Jackie Simpson, 44, was litter-picking with her daughter, Lucy, nine. The pair had recently moved to Goring from Pangbourne. She said: Im very into sustainability and protecting wildlife, so I think events like this are really nice to be part of.

I think that if theres less litter on the streets, it discourages people from throwing rubbish. Having just moved here, I think its great for us to do our best to get stuck in.

Peter May, 69, from Goring, said: I have a thing about litter and I always try and pick it up when Im walking along. I dont like seeing it at all and going to these events is a good community thing.

I have met some really nice people along the route, Ive been thanked for what Im doing and its quite pleasant in the sunshine.

Ive seen people parked up, eating their lunch and then just throwing their rubbish out of the window, which drives me mad. Its really nice to take part in this as an activity to support the community.

Organiser, Kevin Sanders, 62, lives in the village with his daughter, Becky, 25. He said: I think today is going really well.

Its the first year that I have organised it and its lovely to see all these people who care about Goring.
A METAL detectorist from Henley is appealing for help to trace the family of a Second World War pilot after uncovering the remains of a crashed Spitfire more than 80 years after it went down.

Danny Jones, 58, has recovered around 1,500 fragments of the aircraft since first discovering a small aluminium bracket in woodland on the outskirts of the town in March 2021.

Within days of the initial finding, he had uncovered dozens of pieces from the cockpit and fuselage, returning repeatedly to the site to search an area of around 200 square metres.

His discoveries have helped piece together the story of the doomed flight and identify the pilot as Sylwester Jerzy Godlewski, a 27-year-old Polish airman who died during a training exercise on May 29, 1942.

Mr Jones, a Royal Mail engineer working in Langley and a grandfather of three, said he hopes to locate the pilots relatives, but successful searches have come in peaks and troughs.

It was so tough, at times I nearly gave up because its not my game, this research online. It was a long slog, and Im still researching now, he told the Standard.

The 90th anniversary of the first test flight of the Spitfire on March 5 spurred me on to start trying again.

Hopefully, this is the push to get the story over the line and finally find the family.

Pictured: Danny Jones with his dog, Scrabble.

The RAF Supermarine Spitfire is believed to have plunged from around 22,000 feet before crashing into woodland near Henley during a high-altitude training flight.

A Ministry of Defence report at the time suggested the pilot may have lost consciousness before the plane entered a fatal spin.

The pilot probably fainted from unknowns. The aircraft went into a spin, crashing into a wood, and was completely destroyed, the report stated.

Mr Jones began investigating the site after his metal detector picked up unusual signals at a grass bank near his home in Elizabeth Close, where he lives with his wife, Justine, 55.

Over a series of visits, he uncovered cockpit and fuselage fragments, bullets, engine parts and even a cockpit clock.

One key discovery was a warning sign in English advising pilots not to re-cock guns mid-flight, which confirmed the wreckage was from a British fighter aircraft.

By analysing part markings and sharing images on online forums, Mr Jones, who was working near Heathrow Airport at the time, identified the plane as a Spitfire Mk IIb.

Further research in the National Archives and the Ministry of Defence revealed that the aircraft had belonged to the No. 302 Polish Fighter Squadron, which led to the identification of Sylwester, who had been based in Britain during the war after leaving his native Warsaw.

Sylwesters remains were taken to a mortuary at RAF Benson, and the larger pieces of the Spitfire were taken to Plant Oxford, a car factory in Cowley.

Despite contacting members of the Polish community and carrying out extensive research, Mr Jones has so far been unable to trace any surviving relatives.

He regularly visits the pilots grave at Northwood Cemetery and has taken his photograph to Remembrance events, but says the search has been impossible without being able to speak Polish.

Its just about keeping his memory alive. Im at the final bit of the puzzle  I need to find his family, and thats the puzzle complete, said Mr Jones.

Since Ive put a face to him, hes become family. My end goal is to find his family and hopefully become part of theirs because we class Sylwester as part of ours.

Mr Jones was born in a British military hospital in Rinteln, West Germany. He has multiple familial ties to the military and is an avid collector of military artefacts.

A lifelong Henley resident, who has worked around Slough Trading Estate since he was 16, he has been metal detecting since childhood, when he would scour Harpsden Wood with his gifted detector because he has always had an interest in history.

From that point, I was hooked. It is so good for your mental health and wellbeing  its a beautiful hobby, said Mr Jones.

The father of five returned to his hobby more than a decade ago, accompanied by his late collie Oscar and now his collie spaniel, Scrabble.

Pictured: Danny using his metal detector in Henley woodland.

His collection includes Medieval, Bronze Age and Roman coins, brooches and nails. He said it wasnt uncommon to stumble on military material, but not part of an aircraft.

My family and friends have been amazing. Theyre so enthusiastic. This is such a passionate story to my family and me, said Mr Jones.

I hope hes got family that know and are proud of his story, but if not, my goal is to tell them and bring him to life.

We can visit them in Poland, and they can visit us in England. Take them to the crash site, explain my findings, and take them to the cemetery.

My goal is not to end it once we find his distant relations; that would be the start of it.
Thriving mangrove forests bring life to urban landscapes in Quanzhou, SE China

People's Daily Online) 15:25, March 24, 2026

Photo shows the mangrove forests along the Luoyang River in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Weiyi)

Dense mangrove forests sway in the breeze in the wetland reserve of the Luoyang River section, part of the Quanzhou Bay estuary wetland in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. The forests form a vivid contrast with the cityscape, bringing a unique charm to the urban landscape.

Planted 25 years ago, these "forests on water" now cover an area of around 1,500 mu (100 hectares), transforming the Quanzhou Bay estuary into a vibrant, picturesque painted scroll of ecological beauty.

To protect the wetlands' ecological environment, Luojiang district in Quanzhou has followed a principle that prioritizes ecology, stresses minimal intervention, and promotes cultural integration, according to Ni Jingfeng, deputy head of the Luojiang District Bureau of Natural Resources. This approach has guided the planning of mangrove planting areas, wetland parks, and ecological trails.

By combining local ecological features with the historical and cultural heritage of the nearby Luoyang Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the district has turned the wetlands into public spaces that blend ecological function with cultural appeal, Ni noted.

Photo shows an aerial view of mangroves on both sides of Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Weiyi)

Photo shows mangroves in the wetland reserve of the Luoyang River within the Quanzhou Bay estuary wetland in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Weiyi)

Photo shows mangroves in the wetlands of Luojiang district, Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. The forests were planted to protect the local wetland ecosystem. (People's Daily Online/Li Weiyi)

Photo shows mangroves in the wetlands of Luojiang district, Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. The forests have continuously improved the local wetland ecosystem. (People's Daily Online/Li Weiyi)

Photo shows an aerial view of mangroves in the wetland reserve of the Luoyang River within the Quanzhou Bay estuary wetland in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. The mangrove forests cover an area of around 1,500 mu (100 hectares). (People's Daily Online/Li Weiyi)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Wu Chaolan)
Xi urges efforts to build Xiong'an New Area into innovation hub, model of high-quality development

Xinhua) 08:06, March 24, 2026

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chairs a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired the symposium. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

XIONG'AN, Hebei Province, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Monday called for efforts to build the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province into an innovation hub in the new era and a model of promoting high-quality development.

Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, where he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the new area.

He emphasized the need to firmly uphold Xiong'an New Area's primary functional positioning as the major recipient of functions relieved from Beijing that are non-essential to its role as China's capital.

The new area should strengthen endogenous development momentum through reform and innovation, and unlock vitality via reasonable concentration of production factors and resources, Xi said.

On Monday morning, Xi arrived in Xiong'an and traveled by vehicle to inspect construction progress in the start-up zone. He then visited China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd., which moved over 1,000 employees to Xiong'an in October 2025, and heard briefings on the company's relocation, industrial layout and innovative development.

At the company, he had a cordial exchange with representatives of officials and staff from relocated organizations already operating in the new area and those currently under construction, to learn about their life and work.

Xi also visited the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School, where he conversed with teachers and students in the classroom to learn about the teaching situation there. In the school canteen, he examined the dining environment and the variety of dishes available.

On Monday afternoon, Xi chaired the symposium and delivered an important speech. He acknowledged that important progress has been achieved in the construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area.

It has been fully proved that the CPC Central Committee's decision to develop the new area is entirely correct, and all related work has been solid and effective, he added.

Xi stressed efforts to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as the national capital and integrate them into the new area in a more vigorous and orderly manner, and advance the construction of relocation projects for state-owned enterprises directly administered by the central government, universities and hospitals in an active, steady and phased manner.

Xi stressed systematic planning and the integrated advancement of high-quality development and efficient governance, urging efforts to improve the public service system, safeguard and enhance people's well-being, and actively explore future-oriented smart city management models.

Xiong'an must develop a modern industrial system suited to its realities, Xi said, noting that it should advance the high-standard development of a science park to accelerate the application of scientific and technological achievements.

The new area should cultivate clusters of emerging industries and industries of the future, pioneer the implementation of innovative policies in science and technology, finance and other fields, and create a market-oriented and law-based business environment that is up to international standards, he added.

Xi further urged the new area to strengthen Party leadership and Party building while firmly establishing and practicing a correct understanding of governance performance.

Xi was accompanied by Premier Li Qiang, Cai Qi, director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, who are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets representatives of officials and staff from organizations relocated as part of the projects to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as China's capital, which have moved in or are under construction, in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets representatives of officials and staff from organizations relocated as part of the projects to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as China's capital, which have moved in or are under construction, in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Photo by Sheng Jiapeng/Xinhua)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chairs a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired the symposium. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chairs a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired the symposium. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
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.
In Brief: Resident Hotels has undergone a name change, now operating under the moniker of The Sirius Hotel Group, in a bid to refresh its corporate image and positioning.

Resident Hotels Rebrands as The Sirius Hotel Group

Resident Hotels has announced it will rebrand as The Sirius Hotel Group and outlined plans to expand its portfolio and management platform.

Resident Hotels will rebrand as The Sirius Hotel Group. The rebrand is supported by its owners and is intended to facilitate growth with capital partners as a specialist hotel management platform that develops and operates prime city-centre hotels.

In 2025, the group completed the conversion of four Four Points Flex by Sheraton hotels and reported trading performance at The Resident Edinburgh, which opened at the end of 2024. The conversion of the Four Points Flex by Sheraton hotels established the groups partnership with Marriott International as a franchisee. The Resident Edinburgh project involved converting an office building into a hotel.

The Sirius Hotel Groups strategy is to grow its portfolio by more than 20 hotels in the next six to 10 years, targeting a total of 31 hotels.

Projects completed in 2025 strengthened returns and enhanced long-term value. The opening of The Resident Edinburgh and the conversion of Sleeperz into the Four Points Flex by Sheraton portfolio were cited as examples of development, renovation, and conversion projects. All The Resident hotels in London were in the Top 10 on TripAdvisor as of March 20, and The Resident brand achieved NPS scores above 85.

The addition of the Four Points Flex by Sheraton brand expanded the groups platform to operate multiple brands across different market segments.

The Resident Farringdon, a 128-room property, is scheduled to open in early 2029. This will be the fourth London site for The Resident brand, bringing its UK portfolio to six properties, including locations in Liverpool and Edinburgh. The Resident Farringdon will be located at 1-8 Long Lane in the Culture Mile area, with access to the Barbican, Smithfield, and Farringdon neighbourhoods. The area is expected to be home to the London Museum from 2026 as part of the Smithfield General Market regeneration.
In Brief: Hard Rock Hotel is set to expand its footprint in the Mediterranean with the opening of a new property in Malta, with reservations now being accepted for its planned launch in July 2026.

Hard Rock Hotel Malta - Image Credit Hard Rock

Hard Rock International has announced that reservations are now open for stays beginning July 2026 at Hard Rock Hotel Malta in St. George's Bay.

Hard Rock International is now accepting bookings for Hard Rock Hotel Malta, with reservations available for July 2026 and beyond. Located in St. George's Bay, the hotel will feature 397 sea-view rooms, including 25 suites with private heated pools, two executive club floors, and a 466-square-meter ballroom.

The property will offer more than 10 restaurant, bar, lounge, and club concepts, including rooftop and beachfront dining. Venues include CYANA Aegean Cuisine, a rooftop restaurant by Chef Sergi Arola; Sessions, an all-day dining restaurant; Al Kasbah, serving Lebanese cuisine; and Eclipse, an adult-only rooftop bar overlooking St. George's Bay.

Facilities will include 3,800 square meters of spa, wellness, and fitness space at the Rock Spa and Body Rock fitness center. The hotel will have three indoor and eight outdoor heated pools and jetted tubs, including a rooftop cantilever pool with panoramic views.

Advertisement



Hard Rock Hotel Malta is situated near Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is close to the Paceville district, Mdina, the Blue Lagoon of Comino, and Gozo, providing access to local nightlife, beaches, and cultural sites.

Amenities will include the Sound of Your Stay program, offering in-room guitar rentals, record players, and curated playlists. Family and childrens facilities will include the Hard Rock Roxity Kids Club and Vibe City. The Unleashed pet program allows guests to bring up to two pets per room, each up to 50 pounds, with amenities such as sWAG bags, customized playlists, and designated pet areas. A percentage of pet fees will be donated to local animal shelters.

The Body Rock fitness center will offer group fitness classes and advanced equipment, while Rock Om will provide in-room yoga experiences. The Rock Spa will feature a music-centric spa menu called Rhythm & Motion.
Broadlawn Farm Awarded Agricultural Grant

ADAMS, Mass.  Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) awarded Broadlawn Farm a $50,000 Enviroment grant to purchase of a no-till 6-row planter to eliminate tilling, improve soil health, reduce erosion, and decrease fuel use.

The grant was part of $3.3 million in funding Governor Maura Healey announced on March 11 marking the first Massachusetts Agriculture Day.

"For generations, Massachusetts farmers have cultivated our land, grown our food, and strengthened our communities," said Governor Maura Healey. "As we celebrate the nation's 250th birthday, we're reminded of just how central agriculture has been to our history and our identity. Today, we celebrate that legacy  and reaffirm our commitment to the farmers and growers who carry it forward."

Grants supported:

The Cranberry Renovation & Enhancement Program supports cranberry growers in revitalizing their bogs, increasing yields, and improving the efficiency and sustainability of their operations. Since 2020, the program has awarded over $6.5 million to 104 growers, helping renovate 479 acres of growing space.

The Climate Smart Agriculture Program (CSAP) provides financial incentives to farms that voluntary adopt conservation practices, improve soil health, invest in renewable energy, and upgrade aging equipment and infrastructure with energy efficient tools. The program helps farms lower their operating costs, reduce their environmental footprint, and build resilience against more frequent extreme weather.

The Buy Local Program awards funds to the ten regional Buy Local groups operating across the state, connecting local farmers to their communities, and building consumer awareness for locally grown food.

In conjunction with the United Nations declaration of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, MDAR has been spotlighting Massachusetts women farmers throughout the year on its social media channels and has launched a website featuring women farmers nominated by their peers.

"This year, we're excited to celebrate and uplift the many women farmers who are part of the Massachusetts agricultural sector," said MDAR Commissioner Ashley Randle. "43% of our principal farm owners and operators in the state are women which is higher than the national average and one of the highest in the country! Together with the rest of our farming community, our industry is close-knit, resilient, dynamic, and committed to the best practices that will contribute to increasing agriculture in Massachusetts. With our Buy Local groups who have boots on the ground in their respective regions, they see first-hand the results that awareness campaigns and promotions have on educating buyers with the many benefits that buying local has on their community."
Conservation Leader to Explore the Role of Sacred Natural Sites in Landscape Stewardship at MCLA

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will welcome Jessica Brown, Executive Director of the New England Biolabs Foundation, as part of its Green Living Seminar Series on Wednesday, March 25, at 5:30 p.m.

Brown will present "Caring for the Sacred in Nature: The Role of Cultural and Spiritual Values in Landscape Stewardship."



According to a press release:

Drawing on examples from diverse regions, Brown will explore how cultural and spiritual connections to nature underlie conservation practices worldwide. She will examine community-led care for sacred natural sites, including sacred mountains in Latin America and Asia and sacred groves and caves of West Africa, as well as the role of spiritual values in regional, national, and international conservation designations such as UNESCO World Heritage. The presentation will introduce concepts including biocultural diversity, intangible values, and stewardship through the lens of living landscapes.

Brown brings more than 30 years of experience in community-based conservation across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Mesoamerica, Andean South America, Central Europe, and the Balkans. As Executive Director of the New England Biolabs Foundation, she supports grassroots conservation projects focused on agroecology, traditional ecological knowledge, sacred natural sites, and endangered species protection.

A recognized leader in her field, Brown serves as Vice Chair of Groundswell International and co-chairs the Global Conservation Program of the Biodiversity Funders Group. She is a member of the ICOMOS/IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes and of IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas, where she led its Specialist Group on Protected Landscapes for many years. She has also served as international faculty with the World Heritage Leadership Programme and as a consultant with the UNDP/Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme. Board service includes Terralingua, International Funders for Indigenous Peoples, and Network of Engaged International Donors.

Brown has published widely on community-led conservation and biocultural landscape stewardship. She holds degrees from Clark University and Brown University and is an associate member of the Graduate Faculty of Rutgers University in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies.

All presentations take place Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in MCLA's Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, Room 121 and will be recorded as podcasts available at mcla.edu/greenliving . The event is free and open to the public.

MCLA's Green Living Seminar Series brings environmental experts, scholars, and practitioners to campus throughout the academic year to engage students and community members in conversations about sustainability, ecology, and our relationship with the natural world.
McCann OKs FY27 Budget, Assistant Principal Post

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The McCann School Committee on Thursday approved a level-service "vanilla" budget for fiscal 2027.

The total spending plan for the Northern Berkshire Regional Vocational District is $13,218,090, up $564,753 or 4.46 percent over this year. The budget includes a second assistant principal, a special education teacher and interest on the building repair project.

"We frequently refer to our budget as a vanilla budget, and it sort of is this year, with some exceptions," said Finance Committee Chair Daniel Maloney. "The capital part of it is something different than the operating budget, but there will be an impact from that as well. But again, trying to be sensitive to what our communities can afford."

Maloney and Superintendent of Schools James Brosnan stressed the need for an assistant principal, noting how lean the administrative staff was but how much the work has increased.

"I've only got three people from my left that are responsible for this entire school," Brosnan told the School Committee. "There is no school in Massachusetts that only has a principal, assistant principal, director of students. Nothing, zero."

Maloney said it was a matter of "right-sizing" the organization that is running two schools. He pointed to the update from Prinicipal Justin Kratz that covered sports, enrollment, Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System testing, teacher retention and recruitment, student services, reporting to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the state's ongoing debate over graduation requirements.

"You just see by the presentation tonight, by Justin, how much work goes into these things," Maloney said. "And even with our teaching staff, I often wonder how they have time to do their jobs when they've got all this data and all these things put together to feed the state, keep them happy. ...

"I know most of you are like me, that you have good intentions, you walk in on Monday morning, I'm going to do this. This also, there's five more things that drop on top of the pile."

Brosnan said the goal was to change the table of organization and add an assistant who would be focused on curriculum and learning. About 40 percent of the students are on individualized education or 504 plans, and the school also has English language learners.

"All of these corrective action plans have to be done when I'm looking over and that's all they're doing is responding, gathering data, getting things ... what else is not taking place?" he said. "They're not evaluating teachers. That's part of the job. They are so overworked, it's embarrassing, and I appreciate everything that they've done."

Committee Bruce Sheply said he didn't disagree but they had to be cognizant of what's happening with financial situations in the regional district's nine towns.

Brosnan said the $120,000 cost would not affect the budget, adding "I'm more than sensitive to our communities ... This should have been done 10 years ago. Five years ago. I'm going to take responsibility. I didn't do it sooner."

The budget also includes cost of living and step raises, another ELL teacher, and $157,778 in short-term interest on the accelerated repair project, which will be starting soon with the gym roof scheduled for April vacation.

In other business, Kratz said the school will not have to use a lottery to fill its incoming class.

"We are right around the 140 mark. We've had some students say thanks, but no thanks. But we've also had some students apply past the deadline, so we're just back filling," he said.

However, he said the figure will be fluid right up to the beginning of the new school year, with a possible difference of five to 10 students.

"We're looking to bring in sophomores over the summer, we're looking to be looking to bring in some juniors potentially, which we've never done before," the principal continued. "I envision it would be a pretty motivated student, a pretty driven student, to say, my junior year, I want to do this. I want to get involved in this program. So we're excited to see kind of how that plays out."

He said the school will be focusing on remediating students who are falling behind to close an achievement gap. The district is also looking to firm up its faculty recruitment and retainment efforts. It has two or three current vocational openings and five to six academic posts to fill.

Kratz said that is still low compared to larger public school district but the school is expanding its outreach from local media to post its jobs on a statewide teacher platform. In response to questions about recruiting from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, he said McCann has strong connection with MCLA but a lot of the graduates aren't staying in Berkshires.

Vocationally, he said, the statewide Career Technical Initiative has been trying to introduce professionals to the teaching field.

"That's something that they're doing in other locations, where they're doing like sort of a talent pipeline for the future," he said. "But get some industry professionals in here, teaching some night classes, and see what teaching is like."
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 Japanese national claiming to be an active-duty soldier broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo and allegedly threatened to kill the diplomats there, Beijing said.

The person scaled the wall and forcibly entered the embassy on Tuesday morning, the Chinese foreign ministry said, adding that it was deeply shocked by the incident.

The individual admitted that his actions were illegal and threatened to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel in the so-called name of God, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.

Beijing later lodged solemn representations with Tokyo and called for a thorough investigation.

The individuals identity was not disclosed but state broadcaster NHK reported that they were believed to be affiliated with the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force.

A knife was found at the scene, NHK said, but no embassy staff was reported injured. The intruder was handed over to the Tokyo police.

It seriously violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, severely threatens the personal safety of Chinese diplomatic personnel and the security of diplomatic facilities, the spokesperson said.

China demands that Japan immediately carry out a thorough investigation, severely punish those responsible and provide a responsible account to the Chinese side.

A police officer stands guard outside the Chinese embassy in Tokyo in 2023 ( AFP/Getty )

The spokesperson said the incident was extremely egregious in nature and reflected the alleged rampant rise of far-right thinking and forces in Japan.

It further exposed the deep-seated pernicious influence of the Japanese governments erroneous policies on major core issues concerning Sino-Japanese relations, such as history and Taiwan.

Mr Lin said that Japan must effectively guarantee the safety of its mission and diplomats while reflecting and correcting its policies towards China and fundamentally prevent such incidents from occurring again.

The Japanese defence ministry told Asahi Shimbun that it was currently confirming the facts.

The Independent has reached out to the ministry for comment.

The incident comes at a time when diplomatic ties between the Asian neighbours are at a low ebb. Bilateral relations have deteriorated since Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last November that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

In response, Beijing instituted export and travel restrictions and repeatedly demanded a retraction. It reinstated a ban on Japanese seafood imports and export restrictions on dual-use technologies as well.

Beijing has since accused Japan of seeking to remilitarise, citing Ms Takaichis stance on Taiwan and Tokyos increased defence budget.

China considers Taiwan, a self-governed island, a part of its territory and doesnt rule out the use of force to reunify it with the mainland.

Japan is set to downgrade its description of ties with China from one of the most important in an annual diplomatic report, citing a series of confrontations with Beijing over the past year.
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

Its been three months since a ceasefire ended bitter border fighting between Cambodia and Thailand, but signs of combat are cut deep in this 11th-century temple atop a 525-metre cliff in the Dangrek mountain range.

The neighbouring Southeast Asian countries have been fighting over the Preah Vihear temple on and off for decades, putting the ancient holy site in danger.

Built by the same Khmer Empire that constructed Angkor Wat 160km southwest, the temple was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2008 and is held as an important cultural relic by Cambodians.

But after two rounds of major combat last year, much of the structure is damaged and Cambodian officials say that parts of it may be in danger of collapse.

open image in gallery Cambodian police officers walk past a temple damaged during border clashes with Thailand, at Preah Vihear province, Cambodia in mid-March ( AP )

Where tourists once admired the weather-beaten structures elaborate carvings and a magnificent view over the Cambodian plains, there is now stone debris, artillery craters, and the ashes of burnt vegetation.

The temple has turned quiet, and its beauty looks so sorrowful because of the tragedy, Hem Sinath, archeologist and deputy director-general of the National Authority for Preah Vihear, told Associated Press journalists visiting earlier this month.

The site is closed to tourism due to unstable walls and concern about the presence of unexploded ordnance. Areas are roped off and dotted with signs warning of land mines, a hazard Cambodians know well after decades of civil war that ended in the late 1990. Conservation staff, groundskeepers and troops remain stationed in and around the temple, from which Thai soldiers can be seen just across the border.

All five of the temples notable gateway pavilions were damaged, three almost beyond recognition, according to a damage assessment issued in January by Cambodias Culture Ministry. An ancient northern staircase previously restored by a US-funded conservation project sustained severe hits from repeated bombardment.

A statement issued last week by Cambodias Culture Ministry said the temple had suffered damage in 142 locations during the fighting in July, and at 420 more during heavier and more sustained combat in December.

open image in gallery Journalists visit the Preah Vihear temple, damaged during border clashes with Thailand ( AP )

Experts have predicted that during the upcoming rainy season, some structures on the verge of collapsing could finally fall, Mr Sinath said.

No independent outside evaluations of the damage are available.

Cambodias information minister Neth Pheaktra accused the Thai military of relying on false information to justify incursions and of deliberately damaging the temple.

Preah Vihear temple belongs to all humankind. It is not an enemy of Thailand, he wrote.

International law forbids attacks on important historical sites like the temple, but Thailand has argued that Cambodia militarised the temple by installing weapons systems, storing ammunition, and using the site as a base for surveillance equipment, voiding its wartime protection. This included a tall construction crane at the site, which the Thai army attacked after claiming it served as part of a military command and control system.

Thai Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree has insisted that Thai forces directed their fire strictly at military targets.

Cambodia denies that its military ever used the temple, with its Ministry of Culture writing in a statement that the temple is under civilian control and that any security forces present were there only to protect the cultural heritage site.

Each nation blames the other for starting the fighting that flared in July and December. Cambodia has reported that more than 640,000 people were displaced from border regions during the fighting, and almost 37,000 have yet to return to their homes.

The temple, known as Phra Viharn to Thais, has been at the centre of a longstanding boundary dispute since the 1950s. In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple and surrounding area of less than 5 sq km (2 square miles) belong to Cambodia. The Court reaffirmed this ruling in 2013.

For years, it drew visitors from both sides of the border, with many foreign tourists arriving via Thailand before the border was closed.

open image in gallery Cambodian demining organisation members stand near a damaged temple in Cambodia ( AP )

Its designation by Unesco as a Cambodian heritage site in 2008 rubbed salt into Thai wounds, and heightened nationalism stoked by domestic politics in Thailand contributed to sporadic armed conflict at the temple in 2008 and 2011.

Restoring the temple will be a major challenge. Mr Sinath fears that weakened structures could collapse during the rainy season, which normally begins in late May or early June and continues through October.

India, China and the United States have been involved in previous renovation efforts, but funding has been on hold since fighting broke out.

Mr Sinath said that new and urgent projects needed to keep the temple from deteriorating further are being hindered by concerns for safety and security while the ceasefire remains fragile.

We have a plan; we want to do a repair  the sooner the better, but as you see, it depends on the situation along the border, he said.
Sign up to our free money newsletter for investment analysis and expert advice to help you build wealth Sign up to our free money email for help building your wealth Sign up to our free money email for help building your wealth Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

Cashback apps make an enticing promise. You download an app or click on a web browser extension. You go about your online shopping as usual, spend money, but then get some cash back. It sounds simple, right?

In recent years, cashback programs have made a serious splash with online shoppers.

The Singapore-based company ShopBack, for example, currently has more than 55 million customers worldwide and was last valued at A$1.4 billion.

And its competing in a crowded market, alongside companies such as Freecash, Honey, Kickback, Boost your Super and Grow My Money.

Even some of Australias big banks are getting in on the cashback trend. Westpac has partnered with Shopback, NAB has its own NAB Goodies Program, and Commonwealth Bank has CommBank Yello.

Of course, nothing is free. When a middle man cashback company is involved, either you or the retailer is paying somehow. Heres how these programs work  and some of the risks you should be aware of:

Money for nothing?

Cashback programs entice shoppers with incentives such as cash, discounts and rewards when they make a purchase.

Some might be a free app, others a browser extension to use while online shopping. But theyre almost always designed to serve consumers with advertisements and collect consumer information.

open image in gallery There are a few different ways that cashback companies make money ( tippapatt - stock.adobe.com )

The typical model is to track purchases using an app or browser, and then deal out rewards once certain conditions are met.

This could include:

meeting a minimum spend

purchasing particular products

waiting until your purchase is tracked and approved.

To avoid products being returned after rewards have been granted, wait times for cash back can be long and indefinite.

Get a free fractional share worth up to 100.

Capital at risk. Terms and conditions apply. Go to website ADVERTISEMENT

Get a free fractional share worth up to 100.

Capital at risk. Terms and conditions apply. Go to website ADVERTISEMENT

Where does the money come from?

There are a few different ways these companies make money.

One is by providing a simple advertising service. Cashback companies will often channel online traffic to retailers in return for a commission. They then use this commission to offer consumers rewards for their purchases (and keep some for themselves as profit).

But they also typically collect extensive data about their users online behaviour  including searches for products theyre interested in, shopping history and more.

Your data is valuable

When you download an app or use a web extension, you may need to enter information or accept that the software will collect your information.

However, even when you consent to disclose your personal information, you may not realise the extent of what youre handing over, including your sensitive information.

open image in gallery Cashback apps may track your shopping history across different sites ( PA )

Most data collection, use, storage and disclosure is difficult to detect and track. Sometimes consumers wont know what privacy implications their app or web extension usage will have in future.

In the worst-case scenario, a consumers identifying data may be sold and bought multiple times online without their knowledge. (However, some apps specifically state they dont sell that data.)

Consumer data is valuable to companies that are trying to understand consumer behaviour, such as purchasing habits. This data also appeals to companies trying to market products, networks involved in identity thefts, and scams and criminals who take advantage of data breaches.

What the law says

Information privacy is protected by the Privacy Act and the 13 Australian Privacy Principles that restrict how an entity can handle a consumers personal information.

This includes strict rules about management, notification, use, cross-border disclosure and security of personal information.

About the author Mirella Atherton is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Newcastle. This article was first published by The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Private information can be subject to a data breach if adequate data security systems are not in place. And even large, well-known and trusted companies are not immune to this risk.

For example, in 2023, Singapores data privacy watchdog fined Shopback S$74,400 (A$83,300) over a 2020 data breach that impacted more than 1.4 million people.

Private, personal and sensitive information can cross borders without detection, and this can lead to wider exposure of information that may be used to identify or impersonate an individual.

Buyer beware

So, while getting 5% back on your purchases, there are a few key things to be aware of.

Consumers need to be careful when disclosing information to these companies and this includes information that can identify them as an individual. For example, personal information might include names, a signature, an address, phone number, date of birth or a photograph.

Sensitive information might include ethnicity, gender, health data or beliefs.

Generally, sensitive information has a higher level of privacy protection than other personal information, and should be treated with an extra level of care.

Financial information is a special category of information and consumers should think carefully before disclosing financial details to a third party  even if there is an incentive offered.
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

The Bank of Englands banking watchdog has imposed a 2 million fine on the Bank of London and its parent company, Oplyse Holdings, for "failing to act with integrity" and misleading the regulator regarding its financial position.

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) stated this marks the first instance it has penalised a firm specifically for failing to conduct its business with integrity.

While the breaches were deemed to warrant a significantly higher penalty of 12 million, the PRA reduced the fine to 2 million after the companies demonstrated that "such a penalty would cause serious financial hardship."

The clearing bank, launched in 2021 with an initial valuation of $1.1 billion (820 million), has faced considerable financial difficulties in recent years. Its latest accounts reveal widening losses, reaching almost 24 million in 2024.

Notably, former Labour grandee Peter Mandelson served on the groups board of directors until 2024.

The PRA detailed on Tuesday that the bank had misled the watchdog concerning its capital position, failed to uphold integrity, neglected to be open and cooperative, and did not maintain adequate financial resources.

open image in gallery Bosses at The Bank of London said the breaches took place under previous ownership and management ( PA Archive )

The regulatory breaches occurred between October 2021 and May 2024.

Bosses at The Bank of London said the breaches took place under previous ownership and management.

Sam Woods, deputy governor for prudential regulation at the Bank of England and chief executive of the PRA, said: Trust in banking in the UK requires integrity and open communication with the PRA from all banks, regardless of their size.

The Bank of London Group Limited and Oplyse Holdings Limited fell well below our standards, resulting in todays penalty which marks the PRAs first finding against a firm for acting without integrity.

A spokesman for the Bank of London said: The Bank accepts the PRAs findings and regrets the failings identified.

As is acknowledged in the final notice, since the change in ownership, the Bank has changed its management team and invested heavily in processes and controls and engaged third parties to assist in their remediation activity.

The Bank has been implementing a comprehensive remediation programme, and is continuing work to strengthen further its governance and risk management arrangements, and its financial and regulatory reporting controls.

The Bank, its new management and its investors remain committed to an open, transparent and constructive relationship with the PRA and FCA.

The board and leadership team are confident that, with these legacy matters settled and with the backing of its investors, the Bank will continue to enhance trust and be able to return to growth in 2026.
Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

A new Covid variant is spreading across the U.S. and it may be able to evade protection from current vaccines.

The variant, known as BA.3.2, has been detected in nasal swabs taken from four American travelers and clinical samples from five patients in four unidentified states. Its also been found in three airplane wastewater samples and 132 wastewater samples taken in more than 20 states, suggesting that its reach is actually far more widespread than what scientists see right now.

Descended from omicron, BA.3.2 was first detected in South Africa in 2024 and in the U.S. in June 2025 in a traveler from the Netherlands. The variant began really surging in September 2025 and has since been reported in 23 countries.

Its evolution was similar to the variant BA.2.86, which emerged in 2024 and later evolved into JN.1: the dominant Covid variant in 2024.But the new strain is genetically distinct from the JN.1 lineages that have circulated in the United States since January 2024, researchers warned in the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

That could warrant updating current vaccines, which only target JN.1s subvariants and provide protection against predominant U.S. variants.

open image in gallery Samples from American travelers and wastewater across the U.S. show a new Covid variant is spreading. Researchers say it could evade protection from current vaccines ( Getty Images )

BA.3.2 carries approximately 70 to 75 genetic changes in its spike protein - a part of a coronavirus that allows it to enter human cells - that make it easier for a virus to spread more easily and evade immune protection.

Lab studies showed that the new BA.3.2 strain evades the bodys protective antibodies activated by Covid vaccines likely because of spike protein mutations, highlighting the need for more data on the effectiveness of the shots.

The 20252026 LP.8.1-adapted mRNA Covid-19 vaccine demonstrates protection against currently predominant JN.1 strains but had the lowest antibody neutralization against BA.3.2 in a laboratory study of seven variants, potentially affecting vaccine-conferred protection, the researchers said.

So, how concerned should Americans be?

BA.3.2 has been found in California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming, Louisiana, Michigan and Ohio.

Still, the consequences of this evasive variant largely remain to be seen.

BA.3.2 isnt one of the dominant Covid variants in the U.S., but other offshoots of omicron are, according to a CDC tracker. Reported cases have not been more severe than other infections, either.

The variant was detected in hospitalized patients in December and January in three unidentified U.S. states.

The patients included two hospitalized older adults with additional health conditions - including one who had been admitted for heart care - and a young child who received outpatient care.

All of the patients survived and the researchers said detection in hospitalized patients does not necessarily indicate that the variant causes more severe disease, nor does it establish any association with risk factors.

open image in gallery This U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chart shows Covid death rates in the U.S. since the pandemic's start in 2020. The data runs up until the first week of this month ( CDC )

Still, with Covid now considered endemic, viruses will continue to mutate and there are dozens of variants spreading right now. They may not change that much, but scientists say we should still be ready to tune our response accordingly.

"Every time the virus replicates it's basically buying a couple evolutionary lottery tickets," Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, told NPR last year.

"Most of those are losers. But sometimes it hits a winner, she said. So the key that people should think about, if they want to slow that process, is: Don't give the virus more opportunities to replicate. Don't let it buy any new lottery tickets."

This year, other respiratory illnesses appear to have outpaced Covid during its seasonal winter surge, including flu and RSV. There will likely be another chance for increased cases in summer, which has seen an influx over the years since the pandemics start in the U.S.

Covid deaths have fallen since last year. So have positive Covid tests and emergency room visits for infections.

But thousands of people are still dying. There have been more than 3,600 Covid deaths so far this year, CDC data shows.
Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

A scathing letter penned by renowned archaeologist Howard Carter, in which he celebrated the death of the man he believed invented the Tutankhamun Curse, has come to light 92 years after it was written.

Mr Carter was credited with discovering Pharaoh Tutankhamuns tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922.

He unequivocally dismissed the curse as having no basis and being a menace to archaeology.

He further described the passing of Egyptologist and journalist Arthur Weigall, whose sensational theory gained traction following the unexpected death of Mr Carters financial backer, Lord Carnarvon, as a real blessing.

Mr Weigall had reportedly observed Lord Carnarvon entering the tomb in a jovial mood, remarking to a fellow reporter: If he goes down in that spirit, I give him six weeks to live.

Weeks later, Mr Carnarvon succumbed to a mosquito bite, an event Mr Weigall seized upon to propagate his theory that anyone disturbing a Pharaoh's mummy would face bad luck, illness, or death.

open image in gallery Howard Carter discovering the tomb in 1922 ( Getty )

In a letter dated January 1934, addressed to Helen Lonides, Mr Carter expressed his true feelings about Mr Weigall: The death of the Duchess of Alba was very sad  the more so, poor woman, she had been for years gradually fading away. T. B. is an awful disease.

I fear I must admit that I have not the same sentiments with regard to Weigall. In fact, his death is a real blessing. For although he was a clever writer, he was cunning.

His inventions had no basis and thus a menace to Archaeology. Those of them for temporary excitement and amusement at the expense of others.

The Tutankhamun Curse was his invention.

He was never at the opening of the discovery. He was the last of the correspondents to arrive, several minutes afterwards.

But enough of this venom I must direct to a more pleasant subject.

open image in gallery The withering letter written by Howard Carter ( BNPS/RRAuction )

The three-page handwritten letter, bearing a Curna, Luxor, Egypt letterhead, recently surfaced when it was put up for auction. It surpassed its estimated value, selling for 12,530 ($16,643) at RR Auction in Boston.

An RR Auction spokesperson provided further context on the intense media rivalry surrounding the discovery.

Lord Carnarvon, the financial backer for the search for and excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, had granted The Times exclusive access in exchange for 5000 plus 75 per cent of profits generated from the King Tut story, they said.

Although this helped to finance the work, it created resentment both from other newspaper reportersmost notably Weigall, an Egyptologist covering the story for the Daily Mailand from the Egyptian authorities, whose own press was also excluded.

Weigall reportedly witnessed Lord Carnarvon joking as he prepared to enter the tomb, turned to a fellow reporter, and said: If he goes down in that spirit, I give him six weeks to live.

Carnarvon died after being bitten by a mosquito within the allotted time, and the 'curse of the pharaohs' was born.

Mr Carter himself passed away in 1939.
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

The family of a prisoner who set himself alight in desperation as his mental health crumbled while serving an indefinite jail term is begging officials to halt plans to send him back to jail.

Thomas White was moved to a medium secure hospital unit last year following a major battle by his family, who watched him descend into psychosis as he languished in prison without a release date.

He was handed a controversial Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) for street robbery of a mobile phone in 2012. A judge told him he must serve a minimum of two years, but he has now been incarcerated for almost 14.

The 43-year-old was last week told by doctors that they plan to return him to prison - still without a release date - within the next four weeks, after just six months of hospital care for a litany of mental health conditions. After his family complained, the move has been delayed, but officials insist he will be returned to custody.

His devastated sister, Pastor Clara White, fears he will quickly deteriorate back in prison on the hopeless sentence, which has been described as psychological torture by the United Nations.

open image in gallery Clara White, pictured with Lord David Blunkett, spent six years battling for brother to be treated in hospital ( White family )

She told The Independent she feels officials are sending him back to be tortured some more after letting him rest his nerves during a brief spell in hospital.

She is calling for the justice secretary David Lammy, who must issue a warrant to permit his transfer, to do the right thing and prevent the move.

Her calls have been backed by Labour peer Lord Tony Woodley, who accused ministers of heaping cruelty on top of injustice, and a former deputy high court judge, who said it was shamefully cruel.

After hearing the news, a despondent White told his sister: They are never going to let me go.

White is one of around 233 prisoners serving IPP sentences who have been transferred to secure units, in many cases because the hopeless nature of the jail term has left them profoundly damaged. But as soon as they stabilise, they are back where they started: in prison without a release date.

The open-ended jail terms were scrapped in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands of inmates who were already sentenced incarcerated indefinitely.

In December last year almost 2,400 were still trapped on the jail terms and at least 94 people had taken their own lives in prison after losing hope of getting out.

Pastor White had long campaigned for her brothers hospital transfer - backed by The Independent - after he endured repeated mental health crises in prison, including setting himself alight and smashing his face on the cell floor.

open image in gallery Successive governments have refused to resentence IPP prisoners ( Getty Images )

But she was dealt a fresh blow last week when clinicians informed her that he would be sent back to prison because it is the only place he can work towards release.

She insists the prison system failed her brother for 13 years before he was hospitalised, adding: Hes doing better but hell go downhill from today, I think. Its awful, sitting there knowing that any day that bus is coming to take you back to prison.

I said to the doctor its not going to take long for him to revert back to how poorly he was before he went. Im going to be applying again and fighting again to get him back in hospital.

The hopelessness in him is so sad. Its painful to see.

Doctors at the secure unit have concluded White has learning difficulties, complex trauma, ADHD, a personality disorder and has suffered from drug-induced psychosis.

However two medical reports in 2024 laid bare the toll of the devastating IPP jail term on his mental health, warning that his lengthy incarceration was creating impermeable barriers to his recovery.

open image in gallery Lord Tony Woodley says the IPP jail term is 'not right and not fair' ( Parliament TV )

Their mother, Margaret White, said she is praying for a miracle and says this will be her sons 14th transfer in as many years, after years of being bounced around prisons.

I can't visit more prisons and watch my son disappear in front of my eyes all over again, she told The Independent.

Lord Woodley, who has repeatedly called for all IPP prisoners to be resentenced, urged the Ministry of Justice to show some humanity.

To send Thomas back to prison, the very place that made him so unwell, after just six months, is simply heaping cruelty on top of injustice, he said.

I urge ministers to show some humanity and intervene to halt Thomas transfer and urgently act to help all those still languishing on this cruel sentence by bringing it to an end, once and for all, with a resentencing or reconsideration exercise.

Nicholas Cooke KC, a former Old Bailey and deputy high court judge, said there is an overwhelming moral and humanitarian case for over-tariff IPP prisoners who have become mentally unwell to be dealt with by doctors, rather than the prison system.

He added: They have, to use an old fashioned term, 'paid their debt to society' and now should be treated like anyone else who is suffering from mental illness.

Transferring them to hospital, treating them and then sending them back to prison and the foreseeable prospect of consequent stress related relapse is shamefully cruel to them and their families.

There is also a practical reason for ending this shocking practice. It is the Mental Health Review Tribunal and not the Parole Board who are best placed in terms of experience and management tools to rehabilitate these individuals and minimise any risk to themselves and others in the community.

Whites case is one of eight examples of IPP injustices raised in a major legal complaint to the UNs special rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Gill Edwards.

The application, filed last month, is the second submission to the UN over the jail terms. A separate complaint over five other IPP prisoners is already being investigated by the UNs working group on arbitrary detention.

Any finding of degrading treatment or arbitrary detention would be a damning indictment of the governments handling of the scandal.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: Protecting the public is our top priority and while it is right that IPP sentences were abolished, decisions about treatment and hospital discharge are clinical matters made by health service providers and based on clear medical evidence.

All IPP prisoners treated under the Mental Health Act are entitled to aftercare when they leave hospital, whether returning to prison or going into the community. This support prepares them to cope with life outside hospital, reducing the risk of their mental health deteriorating.
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

The partner of a school caretaker who was stabbed to death by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane has told an inquiry it felt like her partner had been killed twice because she was first told he had died in a car crash.

Elaine Newtons long-term partner Ian Coates, 65, died after being stabbed just over an hour after 19-year-old undergraduates Barnaby Webber and Grace OMalley-Kumar were killed in the early hours of 13 June 2023.

She told the public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks that she was first told by police that Mr Coates had died in a road traffic accident (RTA).

Ms Newton told the hearing of her initial denial that it could be Mr Coates, believing he was at work, and that it took more than four hours before she was told the truth about how her partner had actually died.

She said: They said he was in an RTA, a road accident. I said He will be at work, its not Ian. They said No, its an RTA. I said Did he crash into anyone? What happened?

They said We cant tell you. I said Is anyone else hurt? and they said We cant tell you. Thats all they were telling me for about five hours.

open image in gallery School caretaker Ian Coates, who was found dead in Magdala Road, Nottingham ( Nottinghamshire Police )

Ms Newton said two young police officers, a man and a woman, spent the morning with her after she was told Mr Coates had died but neither of them could give her any more information about what had happened.

She said the female officer kept going outside to speak to someone, adding: She kept saying theres no information, theres no information. She couldnt tell me anything for all those hours.

She told the inquiry that police liaison officers later asked her to tell them what she knew about what had happened.

And I said Yes, Ian was in an RTA but I dont know any more than that, Ms Newton said.

And they looked shocked on their faces and said Youve got the wrong information, Youve been told the wrong information. Ians been killed and hes been stabbed. Thats how I learned.

Asked how it felt to be told how he had really died, Ms Newton said: It felt like hed been killed twice. It wasnt right.

The first information, I accepted, but the second I couldnt accept. You dont know which one was true, or have they got the wrong person. It was not right, it was a mess.

Ms Newton said she had told Nottinghamshire Police that she did not want to see the face of Calocane  who is being referred to during the inquiry as VC  but was later shown videos of him walking around the city on the morning of the attacks.

She said: I didnt want to see VCs face, I didnt want him to take my life over as much as he has done. I wanted to keep his face out of my mind.

Ms Newton also said she only became aware of previous incidents involving Calocane and the police during the inquiry process.

She said: I was never told any information about his past The first time was this hearing, I didnt know anything about any of this at all.

During a meeting with the now-retired chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police Kate Meynell, Ms Newton said she was not told about Calocanes past involvement with police but was instead told about a WhatsApp group in which police officers had discussed the fatal attacks.

open image in gallery Nottingham University was not told that a psychiatrist was concerned that Valdo Calocane could kill ( Nottinghamshire Police )

Asked what she would have done had she had known this information, Ms Newton said: I wouldnt have thanked Kate Meynell for all the information she gave me and for letting me come and visit her. I have lost faith in the police and I feel like I have not been given the information and have been lied to really.

I should have been given information about his past, not straight away, but down the line. She could have given me more information when I went, rather than just telling me about the WhatsApp group.

In the wake of the attacks, Ms Newton asked Nottinghamshire Police how Calocane was allowed to be roaming the city so long after he had carried out the fatal stabbings and was given excuses.

She said: I did ask that question to Kate Meynell and (my family liaison officer) and they said it could be quite a few reasons, there was not enough police that morning, Nottingham is a big place.

Those were the excuses I got. I did say it was early in the morning and there wouldnt have been a lot of people around. They said they might just not have had enough police officers in that morning.

Ms Newton told the inquiry she was glad this has all come out but added that the police need to be more helpful.

She said the prosecution of Calocane was not explained clearly enough, adding: I mean meeting or youre introduced to people, you never, you dont actually understand because its rushed, its not explained enough, they think you understand because its their job.

The way they talk about the criminal justice you dont understand it.

Calocane was discharged by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) in September 2022.

Ms Newton read an email she sent to NHFT following meetings with representatives from the trust.

She read her email to the inquiry, which said: I want you to understand that I am not interested in apologies because it is too late, too little.

In the email, she said she holds the NHS responsible for the deaths of Mr Coates, Mr Webber and Ms OMalley-Kumar.

I have zero confidence in any changes that NHS makes in the future. It does not learn its lessons and does not care about people, only statistics and numbers, she wrote.

open image in gallery Lee and James Coates, sons of caretaker Ian Coates, arriving at Mary Ward House in London, at the inquiry into the Nottingham attacks ( PA )

I believe that is how you see Ian Coates, as just another statistic that you brush aside and file away.

What I want is the individuals responsible for the catastrophic NHS failings to be held to account.

She added: I want those who failed to manage VCs care to be struck off from ever being in a position of care ever again.

Ms Newton told the inquiry: I think the police have let the public and myself and all other families down.

Asked why, she said: Because they didnt do their job properly, they didnt communicate with the NHS, the NHS didnt communicate with the police.

So I think between them all theyve caused this.
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

An attack on four Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green has shocked the nation as counterterrorism police are investigating the incident in northwest London.

The incident is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime by the Metropolitan Police, but not as terrorism at this stage, although counterterrorism police are investigating an online claim by a suspected terror group that has taken responsibility for the attack.

A Telegram post from Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI) has circulated online which claims to be the group behind the arson.

An unverified video, posted after 6am on Monday on the groups Telegram channel, showed street view Google Maps, images of the ambulances and footage of explosions.

open image in gallery The incident took place in Highfield Road, Golders Green, London ( PA )

Who are they?

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia is a new group with suspected links to pro-Iranian networks, according to Israels Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. Their name translates to the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right[eous].

The groups Telegram channel, which appeared to only be created on Saturday, includes numerous videos from alleged incidents. This includes unverified footage of the explosions in Golders Green, and of an attack in Amsterdam targeting a US bank.

Earlier this month, the Israeli diaspora ministry released a report which said the attacks appear to be part of intimidation and psychological warfare against Jewish communities in Europe.

open image in gallery Israels minister in charge of combating antisemitism Amichai Chikli said the attacks in Europe were part of a disturbing pattern of action ( Getty )

Diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism minister Amichai Chikli told The Times of Israel: The recent events in Europe are not isolated incidents but part of a disturbing pattern of action: Terrorist networks affiliated with the Iranian axis are trying to expand their arena of operation into the cities and Jewish communities of Europe.

The report also said that the group operates through local cells or individuals who are directed from abroad.

It highlighted that the organisations name is similar to one used by the Iraqi militia, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, which was described as a terrorist organisation by the US State Department.

The groups logo also closely resembles the symbols used by Iranian-aligned militant groups, according to The Times of Israel.

open image in gallery A Met forensic team investigate a location near to where four Hatzola ambulances were set on fire ( Getty )

What has the group claimed?

The terror group issued a statement at the start of an unverified video on its Telegram channel which claimed its primary target was the Machzike Hadath Synagogue due to its links to Israel.

The post also cited Conservative former prime minister Rishi Sunaks visit to the synagogue during the election campaign in June 2024 to express his countrys unwavering support for Israel.

What other incidents are they linked to?

open image in gallery Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has claimed responsibility for an attack at a synagogue in Liege, Belgium ( AFP/Getty )

The group previously claimed responsibility for several attacks on Jewish sites in Belgium and the Netherlands between 9 and 14 March, according to the Israeli ministry.

They included an explosive attack at a synagogue in Liege, Belgium, an arson attack on a Rotterdam synagogue and an explosive device set off at a Jewish school in Amsterdam.

open image in gallery Police outside a Jewish school following an explosion that caused minor damage, in Amsterdam, for which Harakat Ashab al-Yamin claimed responsibility ( Reuters )

HAYI was also suspected to be linked to an attack at a Jewish site in Greece, according to the Israeli diaspora ministry.

Israels ministry of foreign affairs posted on X (formerly Twitter) on 15 March that HAYI was a jihadi group tied to an Iranian proxy, responsible for attacks at a Jewish site in Greece.

It said the IRGC continues to sponsor and export terror across the globe.

The police response

Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said: We are aware of an online claim from a group taking responsibility for this attack.

Establishing the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority for the investigation team, but it is not something we can confirm at this point.

Police are currently looking for three people in hoods, seen on CCTV pouring accelerant on the vehicles, which belong to Jewish community ambulance service Hatzola, before setting them on fire and running away.
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 UK has defence systems in place to keep safe from any kind of attacks, the defence secretary told the Commons after concerns were raised over the threat of long-range Iranian missiles.

John Healey said the government has the resources and alliances to protect Britain. It comes after Israels military warned that Irans intermediate-range ballistic missiles could potentially reach London, Paris or Berlin.

The alert was issued after Iran fired two missiles at the UK-US military base of Diego Garcia on the Chagos Islands on Friday.

There is no assessment that we are being targeted in the UK in that way. We have the resources, we have the alliances in place in order to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks, Mr Healey said.

open image in gallery Iran fired two missiles at the UK-US military base of Diego Garcia on the Chagos Islands on Friday ( AP )

We operate a layered defence of this United Kingdom  our Navy, our RAF (Royal Air Force), our Army, all involved. And of course, we operate our defence with other Nato allies.

Meanwhile, Lib Dem MP Al Pinkerton asked the defence secretary to confirm how close the missiles came to Diego Garcia.

open image in gallery Defence Secretary John Healey said the armed forces are keeping Britain safe (Aaron Chown/PA) ( PA Wire )

Mr Healey told MPs on Monday: The missiles that were fired in the direction of Diego Garcia, as Ive said, fell well short. One came down and one was brought down, well short.

Mr Pinkerton added: And what is the MoDs [Ministry of Defence] assessment now about the effective strike range of Irans missile capacity? Does it stretch deep into Europe, and is the UK, even now, at risk?

Mr Healey said he would not disclose the specific capabilities of adversaries like Iran and what they hold.

open image in gallery HMS Dragon was seen leaving Gibraltar overnight (PA) ( PA Wire )

Some military experts have suggested that Britain could be left vulnerable if Iran did have the capacity to strike.

Professor Michael Clarke, who was director general of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, told The Independent that the UKs only line of defence was its Sea Viper systems, which are carried on the Royal Navys Type 45 destroyers and can counter ballistic missiles.

One of the six destroyers, the HMS Dragon, which has arrived in the eastern Mediterranean, while three others are in port and are effectively non-operational, Mr Clarke added.

As a member of Nato, Britain is also protected by the organisations Ballistic Missile Defence system, which includes sites in Poland and Romania. It also features four US Navy destroyers, which are better equipped than the Type 45 destroyers and can intercept the missiles.

Sir Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday that Britain must be prepared for the Iran war to continue for some time.

Appearing before the Liaison Committee, made up of chairs of Commons select committees, the prime minister said he welcomed reports of talks between the US and Iran.

But asked how long he expected the conflict to continue, he said: Its hard to answer that question, if Im honest about it.

I think all our focus and energy has to be in the swift de-escalation, but weve got to plan on the basis that it could go on for some time, and thats the way in which well plan this afternoon.
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

Iran has developed long-range missiles capable of reaching major European cities, Israel has warned, after the targeting of the UK-US base on Diego Garcia.

Iran took aim at the military base on the Chagos Islands before the UK government gave the US permission to strike missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, but it is not clear exactly when the two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it was the first time Tehran had launched a long-range missile since the start of the war, and showed it is now capable of reaching cities such as London, Paris or Berlin.

We have been saying it: the Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat, the IDF said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran has the capacity to reach deep into Europe.

He told reporters: Ive been warning all the time. They have now the capacity to reach deep into Europe.

They already have fired on a European country, Cyprus. They are putting everyone in their sights.

The Israeli military claimed the missiles could reach a distance of around 2,400 miles (4,000km), posing a danger to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.

With Iran recklessly attacking other countries in the Middle East, concerns are now mounting that the UK could become a legitimate target as the war shows no signs of abating.

Diego Garcia is around 2,360 miles away from Iran ( AP )

How far can Irans missiles go?

Irans military capabilities are not fully known following the 12-day war last June, which saw Israel and the US target missile bases and launchers.

It had previously been thought by analysts that Irans longest-reaching weapon is the Khorramshahr 4 missile, which can potentially hit targets from 1,200 to 1,900 miles away.

Given that ballistic missiles have succeeded in being launched to the Chagos Islands, it is now feared that Iran is more capable than previously thought.

Sky News military analyst Sean Bell said: All of a sudden, the UK is not far away either, so thats the huge significance. At least Diego Garcia is well protected, London is not. The UK has no effective ballistic missile defence system in place, and therefore, this is a very worrying development for the UK.

Danny Citrinowicz, a researcher at Israels Institute for National Security Studies and a former Iran specialist in Israels military and intelligence services, said that it remains unclear how much missile capacity Iran has rebuilt.

You can see through satellite imagery, attempts to restart manufacturing, he said, adding that government leaks in Israeli media suggest that Israel assumes Iran still retains a substantial number of short-range ballistic missiles.

What has the UK said?

Housing secretary Steve Reed has insisted the UK is safe, despite the warnings that Iran has developed long-range missiles capable of reaching major European cities.

He told Sky Newss Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: We have systems and defences in place that keep the United Kingdom safe, and that will continue to happen, but the prime minister has been crystal clear about this war.

We didnt join the war, were not going to be dragged into this war, but we will take necessary defensive action to protect British interests, British people, or our allies across the region.

Mr Reed said the fact that one of the missiles fired at Diego Garcia was intercepted, and the other failed, shows that our defensive capabilities are correct.

What have the experts said?

Before the weekend, when news of the attempted attack on Diego Garcia emerged, experts had said an Iranian attack on Britain was very unlikely, with Irans offensive capabilities not assessed as long-reaching enough.

However, on Saturday, Gen Sir Richard Barrons, former head of the UKs Joint Forces Command, warned that Iran could hit targets much farther away than the international community realised.

He told BBCs Today programme: Previously we thought Irans missiles had a range of 2,000km and Diego [Garcia] is 3,800km (2,360 miles) from Iran.

Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military intelligence officer who now works for the Tel-Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, told The Times the missiles fired on Diego Garcia could have been a warning to the UK, but cast doubt on whether Tehran would target Europe.

He said: Its not that they think that tomorrow they will attack London or Paris, but I think that for them its another element that enables them to build the deterrence.
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

Fuel prices continue to surge in the wake of conflict in the Middle East, official data has confirmed, as economies worldwide are hit by the fallout.

The average price of petrol rose to 144.16p per litre on 23 March, up from 131.71p recorded before the US launched strikes on Iran on 28 February. Meanwhile, diesel has risen to 166.88p from 140.28p according to the new government figures.

This means the cost of filling up a 55-litre family diesel car has increased by as much as 14.63 in just under a month, with further price rises expected.

The rise has been fuelled by a spike in oil prices, which have soared as high as $112 a barrel in recent weeks, and remain over $100 (75).

A dramatic spike after Iran launched retaliatory attacks on the worlds largest liquefied natural gas facility in Qatar caused prices to soar close to those seen in June 2022, when a barrel of oil peaked at $119 at the early months of the Ukraine war.

The cost of oil has a significant effect on the cost of wholesale fuel.

Conflict spread across the Middle East after the US and Israel carried out strikes on Iran in February, which were followed by retaliatory Iranian attacks on targets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq.

Blasts continue to be reported across the region, as America and Israel continue airstrikes on Iranian targets. As fighting escalates, Iran has warned that it will set fire to any ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The strait provides the only passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, making it a crucial point for the oil industry. Around 20 per cent of the worlds gas and oil is shipped through the waterway, with the Iranian threat proving highly damaging for global trade.

Donald Trump set a deadline of 23 March for Iran to reopen Hormuz, threatening to obliterate the countrys power plants if they did not comply. However, on Tuesday the US president said this action had been postponed in light of good and productive talks between the two nations.

Iranian state media has denied talks took place, and claimed that Trump retreated from his deadline out of fear of Iran's response.

A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz on March 1 2026. (Photo by Sahar AL ATTAR / AFP via Getty Images) ( AFP/Getty )

Commenting on rising fuel costs, AA president Edmund King has urged UK motorists to consider cutting out non-essential journeys.

He said: The longer this conflict goes on, the more effect it will have on the cost of oil.

Any time Brent Crude passes 100 dollars per barrel raises concern across the markets, for the haulage industry and drivers.

Analysis of the historic link between oil and fuel prices by think tank the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit shows oil trading at 100 dollars a barrel typically results in petrol prices of about 150p per litre, while oil hitting 120 dollars a barrel means petrol prices of about 170p per litre.

Rachel Reeves has said she would not tolerate price gouging by forecourt operators after some were recorded charging as much as 180p per litre for petrol. The chancellor has said she will soon lay out steps to protect consumers from unfair price rises.

Some have also called for the chancellor to cancel Labour's planned increase in fuel duty which will reverse the 5p-a-litre cut introduced in March 2022 in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Ms Reeves announced a reversal of the cut in Novembers Budget, beginning with a 1p increase in September this year, followed by 2p in December and the final 2p in March 2027.

The chancellor has so far rejected calls to scrap the plan, but has said the policy is under review. A Conservative bid to cancel the planned increase was defeated in the Commons 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

Royal Mail is facing accusations that postal workers are being asked to hide post from senior bosses, to give the appearance that delivery targets are being met.

The postal service is facing criticism that ongoing delays are affecting millions of people across the UK, and that parcels are being prioritised over letters.

Ten postal workers told the BBC that they are often told by managers to take the mail for a ride when a senior manager comes in to inspect the office.

One worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: Say we have a senior manager coming in from outside the delivery office, any mail that has been left would get hidden by the line managers.

It gets put into a york [trolley] and taken somewhere, and brought back to you the next day.

He explained that when someone raises the fact that they have too many parcels to deliver to be able to take out the post as well, staff would often just say take the mail for a ride.

open image in gallery Postal workers explained to the BBC they are told to take the mail for a ride ( Steve Parsons/PA )

If someone comes in from the outside it looks like youve cleared the round, when in actual fact youll be bringing it straight back when you finish.

Its embarrassing and deceitful, he said.

Concerns were raised earlier in March that Royal Mail is not meeting Ofcom targets for timeliness in its deliveries, potentially leading to millions of letters arriving late.

There is a legal obligation to deliver first class post six days a week, with signs appearing in certain post offices to remind staff it must be delivered.

Another worker said the phrase taking the mail for a ride meant, if inspections were carried out at the delivery office the first-class mail would not be in the frame.

This meant the round could be classed as complete to manipulate the delivery success of the office.

Labour MP Dave Robertson previously said people in his constituency are sick of being lied to by Royal Mail.

The Lichfield MP said on Wednesday: I met Royal Mail just before Christmas to complain to them about the total lack of a postal service that we have in Lichfield. We were probably the worst area in the country at that point.

I was told when I had that meeting that all of the first-class mail went out that week. That is a lie, it is an absolute lie, because my constituents told me.

open image in gallery Concerns have been raised that Royal Mail are not meeting their Ofcom targets ( Royal Mail )

Royal Mail clearly dont have a handle on this  they are either not measuring their performance or they are covering up their performance.

In February, the service said 91.6 per cent of second-class mail was delivered within three working days, while 77.5 per cent of first-class post was delivered the next working day between 29 September and 30 November.

Communication Workers Union general secretary Dave Ward said: These results prove conclusively that the companys failure to deliver for customers is a long-term problem.

These failures are due to a recruitment crisis that has been caused by the decision to impose low wages and poor conditions on new starters in 2022.

This devaluing of a postal workers job, combined with a toxic managerial culture, has created chaos and demoralisation in almost every workplace across the country.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: These claims do not reflect how our delivery operations work and we would take any suggestion that colleagues are hiding mail very seriously.

We deliver 92 per cent of letters on time and have a range of measures to monitor service performance across our network, including technology to track mail, independent measurement and around 100 unannounced spot checks every week to make sure reporting is accurate.
Stay on top of the latest political news with our View from Westminster newsletter Get the latest political headlines with our free email Get the latest political headlines with our free email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

Reform UK has suspended its Hampshire mayoral candidate after he appeared to liken a Jewish neighbourhood watch group to Islamists on horseback following an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances.

Chris Parry has been suspended pending investigation following the remarks about Shomrim, a voluntary patrol service, in a series of social media posts on Monday.

He also reportedly described the members of the group as cosplayers, according to The Guardian, in a post which has since been deleted.

Shomrim works alongside Hatzola, the Jewish-led charity ambulance service that was targeted by arsonists early on Monday morning and provides free emergency medical response and transportation to hospitals.

Mr Parry reportedly shared a post from former Brexit party leader Catherine Blaiklock, who had posted a picture of Shomrim vehicles with the caption: Can Christians [sic] in Britain set up their own police and patrol certain neighbourhoods?

Reform UK mayoral candidate Chris Parry has previously had to apologise to David Lammy for offensive remarks ( Reform UK )

Resharing the post, Mr Parry added: Remember that these cosplayers have no more jurisdiction or legal authority than ordinary citizens.

Referring to Shomrim, he later posted: They are a community organisation, not a legal entity. Its the same with Islamists on horseback. But if it offends you, Ill remove it.

Mr Parry had been due to stand as Reforms mayoral candidate in Hampshire and the Solent in 2028.

Contacted by The Guardian, which first reported the posts, Mr Parry responded: Most people on X commenting seem to be confusing various community action groups with the real police. Keen that people understand that.

Shomrim president Rabbi Herschel Gluck accused Mr Parry of being ignorant of the work the group carries out.

He said: It shows a level of bias and ignorance which Im surprised at given that this is a politician who aspires to be a mayor. These types of comments are deeply strange, to put it mildly.

We work on a voluntary basis with all sections of the community and have a very close relationship with the police, who are very appreciative of our role.

The remarks on Monday are not the first by Mr Parry to have drawn controversy, with the mayoral candidate having previously urged deputy prime minister David Lammy to go home to the Caribbean.

In a post in January regarding speculation that the government could be considering talks about reparations for slavery, he wrote: Lammy must go home to the Caribbean where his loyalty lies.

He later apologised for any distress or offence caused by that comment, which was condemned as racist by Labour and described by party leader Nigel Farage as over the top at the time.

A Reform party spokesman said on Tuesday: Chris Parry has been suspended by Reform UK, pending investigation.

His candidacy has also been suspended, it is understood.

Mr Parrys latest remarks come after four Jewish community ambulances were set on fire in the early hours of Monday morning.

The incident in Golders Green, northwest London, is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime by the Metropolitan Police but not as terrorism at this stage, the force said.

Sir Keir Starmer called for communities to all stand together in the face of the horrific antisemitic attack, while Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the targeting of the volunteer service was particularly sickening.

It came just months after two worshippers were killed in a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025, while in a separate investigation earlier this month two men were charged with allegedly spying on Jewish people and locations for Iran.

The latest official figures on hate crime recorded by police in England and Wales showed Jewish people had the highest rate of religious hate crimes targeted towards them of any faith group.

The Liberal Democrats said Mr Parrys latest remarks were deeply insensitive, insulting and not befitting of someone who wants to hold public office.

Following his suspension, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said Reform had questions to answer over his initial vetting.

This is a good start, but Farage has some way to go, he said.

There are serious questions to answer as to how this candidate got approved in the first place.

Farage must now ensure he takes firmer action every time a Reform politician or candidate makes racially offensive comments  which is more frequently than most right-minded people would want.
Stay on top of the latest political news with our View from Westminster newsletter Get the latest political headlines with our free email Get the latest political headlines with our free email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

The UK strongly disagrees with the US approach to aid for global health, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said  including Donald Trumps dramatic expands of the so-called Mexico City policy, which restricts organisations receiving US funding from providing or promoting abortion services overseas.

Organisations that receive US assistance must now ensure that none of their activities, even those funded by other governments, conflict with Washingtons positions on abortion, gender identity or diversity programmes.

Giving evidence to parliaments International Development Committee, days after the UK released details of its 40 per cent cut to the aid budget , Ms Cooper said that the UK would continue to prioritise those areas that the US has said it will no longer fund.

We strongly disagree with that approach, which runs completely counter to our approach, the foreign secretary said. Things like sexual health services, and direct support for women and girls, and LGBT rights are hugely important parts of our development work and are rooted in core UK values.

Ms Cooper added that we should not get drawn into a sense that womens rights are going backwards the world over. That is just not the case. We and many other countries will continue to be champions for those issues, she said.

Some 14 countries have now signed bilateral aid agreements with the US  known as health compacts  which include restrictions on how the money should be spent, as well as other stipulations about data sharing.

The $2.1 billion (1.6bn) agreement with Nigeria, for example, included significant dedicated funding to support Christian health care facilities, the US State Department said , and was negotiated in connection with reforms the Nigerian government has made to prioritise protecting Christian populations.

Last week, Nigerias chief government spokesperson told The Independent that such arrangements risk  fanning the flames  of division in the country split 50:50 between Muslim and Christian populations.

Also giving evidence to the International Development Committee, development minister Jenny Chapman said that the UK would continue to prioritise funding for water and sanitation, despite heavy bilateral cuts coming for water programmes in the UK aid budget.

Specifically she said that the biggest player in boosting access to clean water now is the World Bank, adding that the most effective way of funding such work is for the UK to fund multilateral bodies such as that .

When asked why two-thirds of the UKs three-year 850 million grant to the Global Fund - a key multilateral body funding HIV, tuberculosis and malaria treatment - was coming in year three of the funding programme, Chapman said that it was because the UK had to wait for aid programmes to finish over the next two years before more funding was available for the Fund.

We've got to make this cut to our overall budget over three years, she said. We have had to back load [for the Global Fund] because it's the only way to get the overall amount. And we took a view that getting that overall amount for the Global Fund really mattered.

On the question of UK funding for HIV funding, which she confirmed to The Independent last week would not be protected in full , Baroness Chapman suggested that many decisions are as much about boosting the effectiveness and efficiency of aid programmes as they are about making cuts.

I dont want you to think we are just backing out of things, because we're really not, she said. This is about making sure that we are able to secure the gains that we have made, before we move on.
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

Lianne was just 13 when she lost her parents to Aids. Newly orphaned, she had to find a way to keep herself and her younger sister alive. With no money to finish school, unable to find a job and struggling to put food on the table, there was only one option  sex work.

Now 24, she knows the dangers in Eswatini, a kingdom in southern Africa once described as the epicentre of the HIV epidemic and a country still struggling with some of the highest infection rates in the world.

Both my parents passed away. Hunger led me to join this work although I know its risky, Lianne says, explaining that she earns under 25 a week. She is unable to acquire HIV preventative medication  known as PrEP  on her own.

But there is now hope in the form of lenacapavir  dubbed the miracle drug  which the United Nations hopes can protect millions of people like Lianne and even end the Aids epidemic altogether.

open image in gallery A nurse administers lenacapavir  dubbed the miracle drug  to Arianna, a teenage sex worker in Eswatini ( Bel Trew/The Independent )

The twice-yearly injection  described by the head of the UN Aids agency as the closest thing we have to a vaccine  provides near complete protection against infection.

Lenacapavir is being introduced for the first time in nine of the most at-risk countries, including Eswatini, meaning Lianne was among the first people in the world to get the injection.

While it is a big step forward in HIV care, concerns have been raised about the extent of the rollout and fears it will be ineffective if it is not introduced on a global scale.

The positive news about lenacapavir comes after last years devastating cuts to foreign aid spending by US president Donald Trump, which had previously funded around half of Eswatinis HIV response.

For Lianne, it meant the abrupt closure of the mobile clinics that gave her access to potentially life-saving HIV prevention therapy for free.

The closures have had a deadly effect: a friend and fellow sex worker recently died after contracting HIV and losing access to life-sustaining medication.

That is why I am so happy today, its protection, she continues with relief, as she receives the brightly coloured yellow injection.

At the beginning of 2025, the world was on track to end the Aids pandemic by 2030.

But that was upended by unprecedented foreign aid cuts from the US, the UK and other European countries, which have created the biggest ever disruptions to HIV response, from testing to treatment and prevention.

If these aid cuts continue, there could be millions more deaths and infections, as well as double the number of medication-resistant strains, according to The Independents own modelling of data.

This makes the timing for the lenacapavir rollout critical. Developed by California-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, the UN believes the treatment, if properly deployed, could help bring about the end of the epidemic by reducing new infections to zero.

open image in gallery Lenacapavir is so popular they have already run out in Eswatini ( Bel Trew )

The current plan, funded by the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria, together with the US government and others, is to deliver lenacapavir to three million people by 2028.

Lenacapavir, which in wealthy countries can cost up to $24,000 (18,000) a year, is being simultaneously delivered to some of the poorest countries most at risk at a significantly reduced cost.

Life-sustaining antiretroviral therapy was infamously accessible in the West for a full decade before being rolled out in sub-Saharan Africa, costing countless lives and paving a way for the crisis today.

This has been a defining moment for the Aids epidemic, says Dianne Stewart from the Global Fund. We have been fighting for equitable access to new tools since the beginning, and this is the first time in history that we have got it right.

The first country to receive these jabs is Eswatini. Formerly known as Swaziland, it has worked hard to reduce new HIV infections from a peak of 21,000 per year 20 years ago to 4,000 in 2023, according to the UN.

But still around a quarter of Swazis aged between 15 and 49 are living with HIV, according to the latest data from the US Center for Disease Control.

open image in gallery Eswatini, once dubbed the epicentre of the HIV epidemic, is now among the first countries in the world to roll out long-lasting PrEP injections ( Bel Trew )

David Maseko of HealthPlus for men, a charity working with key populations including LGBT+ communities, explains that the aid cuts shut all 15 mobile charity clinics that Lianne and others used.

That has meant there has been a soaring number of people  including some of the most at-risk communities  off their HIV medication and off PrEP  a problem unfolding across Sub-Saharan Africa.

There are a lot of gaps now. We are even struggling to do community testing.

For him, a twice-yearly injection that could help curb the recent surge in infections is simply a game-changer.

Arianna, 17, who was also forced into sex work after her mother died and she left an abusive home, agrees. This is lifesaving for us, she says as she gets the injection.

She explains that trying to get daily prevention PrEP pills from a public facility, where she could face prejudice as a sex worker, makes it near impossible, especially when they earn so little a week to cover transport.

That is why today I decided to come here. To me, this is the best way to help myself, to survive.

But there are concerns that without proper investment around the world to reach a critical mass of people protected globally, the impact will be limited.

For now, delivery is targeted at just nine countries, although there are plans to expand that. Lenacapavir has not yet been licensed or procured for delivery in large parts of Latin America, where infection rates are rising.

We have seen in the past that piecemeal solutions, especially for infectious diseases, do not work, adds Stewart from the Global Fund.

As we saw during Covid, you cannot solve it in one country and think it is done while others do not have access.

open image in gallery MSFs Dr Diojki Bahati says there must be a comprehensive rollout of lenacapavir for it to be effective ( Bel Trew )

At a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic in a town outside the capital, country lead Dr Diojki Bahati says they were given only 50 doses to distribute and have had to turn patients away.

Even reaching two million people with lenacapavir over the next three years is far below the global need, he continues.

UNAIDS has said that to tackle the pandemic, the world needs to get 20 million people on PrEP in the next few years.

Two million people over three years is less than 10 per cent of that target.

He adds that there are no alternative procurement systems, especially for organisations like MSF, that he says have been denied the right to purchase directly.

In parallel, generic manufacturing licences have been granted to around six manufacturers in the coming year to supply 120 countries and territories.

But that leaves quite a number of low- and middle-income countries where up to 20 per cent of new infections are happening, he continues, such as Brazil, Peru and Mexico that participated in lenacapavir drug trial.

He says it is essential that the rollout is properly funded and supported by governments, even as they cut aid. It will ultimately be considerably cheaper in the long term.

In 2024, there were at least 1.3 million new HIV infections. Carmen Perez Casas, from health initiative Unitaid, explains that these additional infections will cost an extra $52m (38.8m) per year if everyone is put on antiretroviral treatment, leading to a lifetime treatment cost of approximately $2bn.

As transmission increases, this cost will accumulate exponentially over time.

Delivering Lenacapavir to prevent infections would be a fraction of this cost, she adds.

open image in gallery Lianne, who lost both her parents to HIV and was forced to become a sex worker to support her and her sister, calls lenacapavir life-saving ( Bel Trew )

Back in the Eswatini clinic, the demand is clearly there. Lianne and Arianna breathe a sigh of relief after getting their jabs, knowing for now they are protected.

We beg that they do not get tired of helping us, says Lianne as she finishes her appointment. If they are cutting the funding, it means we will be exposed and die of HIV. Please help.

This article has been produced as part of The Independents Rethinking Global Aid project
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

An 11-year-old boy has been named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit involving the death of a 4-year-old boy after an e-bike struck an SUV.

According to the lawsuit, the 11-year-old was riding his e-bike with his 10-year-old sister in Burlingame, California, near San Francisco on August 8, 2024. The bike collided with the back of an SUV which was exiting a parking lot. The 19-year-old driver of the SUV accidentally accelerated after the collision, going over a curb across the street and killing 4-year-old Ayden Fang.

Prosecutors in San Mateo declined to pursue charges related to the death, but Fang's parents have now brought a wrongful death lawsuit against both the 19-year-old driver, the 11-year-old e-bike rider, both of their parents, and the city of Burlingame, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

While it's unusual for a child to be named in a wrongful death lawsuit as a defendant, it's not unprecedented as the law does not establish a universal minimum age for legal liability. Rulings holding young children accountable for negligence are rare.

In California, the courts have generally maintained that children under the age of five cannot be found negligent, but that doesn't prohibit plaintiffs from naming them in civil cases.

An 11-year-old rider of an e-bike has been sued in a wrongful death lawsuit after a collision with an SUV ended in the death of a 4-year-old boy playing near a California street ( PA Archive )

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the state uses a framework referred to as the "Rule of Sevens," which stipulates that children under seven are presumed incapable of negligence, and those between seven and 14 are presumed capable, but a compelling argument can prove otherwise. Children over the age of 14 are presumed capable of negligence.

Anh Phoong, a personal injury attorney, told the Chronicle that she was not aware of any cases in which a child as young as 11 has been successfully sued, though noted some instances may have been settled out of court.

The complaint alleges that the children who struck the SUV caused its driver to accidentally hit the accelerator rather than the brake, which caused her to drive forward unexpectedly. The vehicle reportedly reached 27 miles per hour before leaving the parking area, according to the lawsuit.

Ayden had been playing outside at the time of the crash. The complaint says Ayden's parents rushed outside to find him pinned beneath the SUV. Tragically, he died at the scene of the crash.

Ayden was cheated of his years, Ming Fang, Ayden's father, told Fox 2. My wife and I were cheated of the sacred right of parents, watching their child grow from a toddler into a teenager and into an adult.

The lawsuit claims that the 11-year-old defendant was operating the bike outside of the vehicle manual's recommended minimum ride age of 12-years-old. It also accuses the child's parents of negligence for allowing him to ride the bike in areas with vehicle traffic.

Some models of e-bikes can reach speeds of more than 20 miles per hour and there are no minimum age-limit laws regulating who can use the vehicles.

The plaintiffs have also accused the SUV driver of being inexperienced, noting she had only recently obtained her driver's license. The lawsuit also claims the driver was taking medications at the time of the crash that could have impaired her judgement.

The city of Burlingame was also named in the lawsuit and has been accused of failing to address safety concerns at the site of the accident. The lawsuit claims that the driveway where the incident occurred has visibility problems preventing drivers from seeing oncoming traffic.

The filing claims that city has received nearly a dozen complaints about the parking lots layout in the years prior to the incident.

Fang said the lawsuit is not only intended to seek accountability for the accident but also to push the city to implement better protections for pedestrians.

It pains me to think about Aydens smile, his hugs and his kisses, Fang said. But we hope this litigation will help make sure another family does not suffer the same unimaginable pain.
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 Chinese government's ban on drinking at official and Communist Party events has dealt an unexpected blow to major wine producers around the world.

In May, lawmakers in Beijing banned drinking alcohol at government and party events as part of the nations ongoing austerity measures, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The move comes against the background of other challenges to Californias vintners including the effects of President Donald Trumps global trade wars.

In 2025, U.S. exports of sparkling wine to China reportedly increased by 52.9 percent in the first nine months of 2025.

However, the website Vinetur reported that U.S. wine exports overall ended up dropping by 31.4 percent by the end of 2025, with a loss of $300 million, the steepest drop of any of the worlds major wine producers and nearly three times worse than that of Australian winemakers. According to data compiled by Del Ray AMW, the U.S. downturn was particularly pronounced in the Chinese and Canadian markets.

The Chinese government has enacted a drinking ban for officials conducting business, which has resulted in a sharp decline in red wine imports into the mainland ( Getty )

This month The Independent reported that winemakers in the Napa and Sonoma valleys were having to close facilities and lay off hundreds of workers for a variety of reasons  including that Americans themselves are drinking less wine.

While the drinking ban isn't necessarily meant for the broader Chinese public, a USDA report from 2025 examining the ban noted that there is a culture of "over-enforcement" in China, where policies like the drinking ban are adopted locally.

"Some regions interpret no alcohol during working hours as a full weekday ban, and in some cases, officials must seek approval to drink on weekends or holidays," the report notes. "This over-compliance strengthens the regulations impact and accelerates broader shifts in Chinas drinking culture, particularly in high-end hospitality and banquet sectors."

The report further noted that "high-end wine segment is directly affected because it has traditionally relied on formal, high-status banquets," and added that "initial wine sales fell by 50 percent" after the policy was enacted, and that the drop could be worse for red wine exporters.

China began increasing its imported wine in the mid-2000s. By 2017, its global wine imports grew from less than 1 percent to 8 percent.

Wining and dining was standard operating procedure for many Chinese officials, but austerity watchdogs began cracking down on the practice last year. Nine officials even faced disciplinary measures after a local official in Henan province died from overdrinking during a banquet in the middle of the day.

It's not just officials cutting back. Because of wine's association with banquets and official functions, younger Chinese people don't typically turn to it for nights out or celebrations.

One Chinese woman, Wang Nan, 26, told the WSJ she drinks as little red wine as possible because it stains her lips and she doesn't enjoy the taste. She said she never serves red wine at events she hosts.

Australian winery Treasury Wine Estates said it would hold off on future shipments to China, and European drink companies Pernod Ricard and Diageo both said they were logging double-digit drops in their Chinese sales as a result of the ban.

Chinese wine imports have been falling in recent years. They are currently at half of China's peak wine-importing year, 2018, when the nation bought $3 billion worth of foreign wine.

According to the WSJ, Borambola Wines, based in Australia, earned 40 percent of its profit from Chinese sales as recently as 2019. Over the last year, it has not recorded a single sale. Tim McMullen, the owner of the winery, told the paper that the dip in sales has forced him to leave 30 percent of his fruit to rot on the vine as a result.

He said that China previously was a strong market, but "it's all changed."
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

At least 66 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a Colombian military plane crashed into the Amazon rainforest moments after taking off.

There were 128 people, mostly soldiers, on board the Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130 plane, which took off on Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, southern Colombia.

The plane was seen slowly descending to the ground shortly afterwards, in a section of dense jungle close to the border with Peru.

Video footage taken shortly after shows the wreckage in flames and engulfed by smoke, with rescuers combing through the debris for survivors. The cause of the crash is not yet known, and an investigation has been launched.

open image in gallery The burning wreckage of a Colombian military plane that crashed on Monday, killing at least 66 people ( AFP/Getty )

Onboard were 115 members of the Colombian army, 11 crew and two National Police.

General Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto said that four of the military personnel were still missing.

Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died, he said. At the moment, we have no information, or indications, that it was an attack by an illegal armed group, Barreto said.

The Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130 is an American four-engine military transport aircraft that is used by armies around the world.

Colombia acquired its first C-130 Hercules in the late 1960s and had recently been updating some of its older planes.

open image in gallery Rescuers stand around a military cargo plane that crashed after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo in Colombia ( AP )

Colombian president Gustavo Petro wrote on X that this horrendous accident ... should not have happened, and bureaucratic problems had held up plans to modernise the armed forces aircraft.

I will allow no further delays; the lives of our young people are at stake, he wrote.

Last month, another C-130 Hercules plane crashed in Bolivia, killing 20 people and injuring 30 others.

A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said the company was committed to helping Colombia as it investigates the incident.

We extend our deepest condolences to those impacted, as well as the people of Colombia and the Colombian Air Force, a spokesperson said. Safety is our top priority, and we are committed to supporting our customers in any way as they investigate the incident. Anything further will be best addressed by the Colombian government.

open image in gallery People injured in the military plane crash are evacuated to hospitals for treatment ( Colombias Armed Forces press office )

Defence minister Pedro Anulfo Sanchez described the crash as a tragic accident, adding that there was no indication of an attack by illegal actors.

I express my sincerest condolences to the families of those affected and, out of respect for their grief, I urge everyone to avoid speculation until official information is available, he said.

Sanchez later added that the plane hit the ground just 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away from where it took off, with ammunition on board detonating as a result of the fire.

According to local media, the crash happened just two miles from a busy urban centre.

In a video on social media, deputy mayor Carlos Claros said the victims bodies were taken to the towns morgue, while two nearby clinics treated the injured before they were flown to the capital Bogota and other larger cities.

I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the victims of this accident, Claros told Colombian television station RCN.
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 humanitarian aid vessel, laden with essential supplies, has docked in Havana, offering a lifeline to Cuba amidst its escalating economic and energy crises.

The ship, named "Granma 2.0" in a nod to revolutionary history, carried solar panels, bicycles, food, and medicine.

Its arrival comes as the island grapples with severe power outages, a failing grid, and the impact of a US energy blockade.

Activist Thiago Avila, one of approximately 30 people disembarking, condemned the situation, stating: "This type of economic warfare shouldnt exist, this attitude of a pirate state that doesnt respect international law."

He acknowledged the scale of the challenge, adding: "These ships are a drop in an ocean of needat the same time, its a gesture of solidarity."

This vessel, which sailed from Puerto Progreso, Mexico, is the first of three expected as part of the "Our America Convoy to Cuba" initiative.

The convoy has seen over 650 participants from 33 nations arrive on the island with aid, having been welcomed by President Miguel Diaz-Canel last weekend.

open image in gallery Some 30 people were aboard the first of three ships expected to arrive in Cuba as it grapples with severe blackouts, a crumbling power grid and a US energy blockade ( Associated Press )

Visitors included British MP Jeremy Corbyn, Colombian Sen. Clara Lopez, Spanish politician Pablo Iglesias, and US labour leader Chris Smalls. The popular Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap also participated.

The energy embargo imposed by US President Donald Trump in late January to bring pressure for a change in the islands political model has compounded five years of profound economic crisis stemming from the paralysis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and previous US sanctions against the Caribbean nation.

Cuba is suffering from transportation shortages, reduced working hours, flight cancellations, and, above all, blackouts, including two island-wide blackouts in recent days.

Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio  whose parents emigrated from Cuba in the 1950s  have said they were prepared to take the island. Authorities from both countries acknowledged that they are holding talks, although they have not disclosed details.

open image in gallery Activists wave Cuban and Palestinian flags from the vessel Maguro, arriving from Mexico with humanitarian aid as part of the "Nuestra America," or Our America convoy, in Havana Bay, Cuba ( Associated Press )

Cubas Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Argelio Abad Vigo last week said the country has gone three months without receiving supplies of diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, jet fuel, and liquefied petroleum gas, all of which are vital for the economy and electricity generation. Cuba produces barely 40 per cent of the fuel it needs.

Meanwhile, a Hong Kong-flagged vessel that was reportedly carrying 200,000 barrels of diesel from Russia to Cuba has instead docked in Venezuela, according to MarineTraffic, a project that tracks the movement of vessels around the globe using publicly available data.

Leaders from several countries and social organisations have warned that Cuba could be on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

Countries including Mexico, China, Brazil and Italy and non-governmental groups from the United States are among those that have sent aid.

The international aid is usually distributed free of charge by the state through the network of stores that Cubans use to buy food, except in cases where a donor specifies that a shipment should have a specific destination, such as medicine for hospitals.
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

Airports across the United States warned passengers about extended wait times to get through security, with some saying it takes four hours, even after the Trump administration sent in federal officers to help.

On Tuesday, multiple airports  including major hubs in Georgia and Texas  announced that it could take four hours or longer to be screened by Transportation Security Administration officers amid the spring break travel surge.

The Department of Homeland Security has operated without regular funding for nearly 40 days, leaving roughly 50,000 TSA officers without pay. More than 400 have already quit, and over 3,000 have called out of work nationwide, leading to major delays.

As a result, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been deployed to at least 14 airports to assist, including Newark, Atlanta, Chicago and Houston.

Lawmakers from both parties are locked in negotiations to end the DHS shutdown, with recent reports suggesting a breakthrough may be close. Democrats want reforms to federal immigration enforcement, while Trump complicated matters Monday by demanding that the bill be tied to a GOPbacked voting measure.

open image in gallery Travelers wait in long security lines at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. Some of the nations busiest airports have been hit by extended wait times during the partial government shutdown ( Getty )

Wait times at major airports

Over the past 24 hours, wait times have varied significantly at airports.

On Tuesday, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia  the busiest airport in the U.S.  urged passengers to allow at least four hours for both international and domestic screenings. The George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, also warned of four hour wait times.

Meanwhile, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey have temporarily suspended wait time estimates, leaving passengers with no clear timeline.

open image in gallery I waited in the security line at ATL for four hours yesterday afternoon and missed my flight, one X user wrote Monday, while another user griped about a five-hour wait ( AFP via Getty Images )

Wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing, JFK said Monday. Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight.

Some major hubs report significantly shorter wait times, with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, Floridas Miami International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington state estimating TSA screening times of 20 minutes or less.

As of 9 a.m. on Monday, operations and TSA security wait times at SEA remain normal, averaging 10-15 min, the Seattle airport said in a statement. Thank you to our partners at TSA for their ongoing dedication to travelers.

FIVE F****** HOURS: What travelers are saying

In recent days, travelers have voiced intense frustration over security wait times, with many saying they had missed flights. A growing number of people are calling on the federal government to get their act together.

I waited in the security line at ATL for four hours yesterday afternoon and missed my flight, one X user wrote Monday. Have to go back today. Another user griped that they lingered in security lines in Atlanta for FIVE F****** HOURS.

open image in gallery This week, over 100 ICE agents were dispatched to airports around the country to assist TSA officers, who have gone without pay for weeks. Agents were seen at airports in Newark, Atlanta and Houston ( AFP via Getty Images )

Photos taken inside the Georgia airport show throngs of passengers crowded together with their luggage, idly staring at their phones while waiting to be screened.

My parents got to the airport at 3AM in Houston and still missed their flight at 7AM after standing in line for 4 hours, one user wrote on X Tuesday morning. They now have to drive 15 hours back home this morning, and shouldnt be driving that long. F*** politics, just pay the f******* people.

Others questioned why ICE agents have been dispatched to airports.

I don't feel they have a place here, and I'm very curious as to why they're showing their face here in the airport and yet on the street they're covering their face," Erika Lawson, a passenger at the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, told the Houston Chronicle.

Lengthy stints in TSA lines were not a universal experience though.

"I went while [LaGuardia] was still 'closed' and the TSA line was open, Ben Montiel, a New York City resident, told The Independent. I waited about 15 minutes but it filled up behind me really quickly. ICE was there. One group of four, just standing there at the entry. There were no agents near the actual TSA entry."

open image in gallery ICE agents look on as travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Monday as travel disruptions affect airports nationwide ( Getty Images )

What officials are saying

Both Republicans and Democrats have traded blame for the airport travel chaos stemming from the ongoing DHS shutdown.

The result of the Democrat shutdown is being felt here in New Orleans, with massive lines, over three hours long at the airport, GOP House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Monday.

The Democrats reckless DHS shutdown is causing TSA officers to go without pay for the third time in nearly six months, Lauren Bis, the acting assistant DHS secretary said last week. These political stunts are causing unneeded financial hardship for our TSA officers and their families.

Democrats, for their part, have pointed fingers at Republican counterparts for failing to advance legislation to fund airport employees, arguing that relying on ICE personnel will not fix the situation.

The basic issue here is that our Republican counterparts failed to negotiate and to agree to measures that have been put forward to pay TSA, Democratic Rep. Troy Carter said, referencing Democratic bills that sought to fund DHS with the exception of immigration enforcement personnel.

"The last thing that the American people need is for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said over the weekend.

Trump administration officials have said deploying ICE agents to travel hubs would alleviate pressures for passengers.

Border Czar Tom Homan said Sunday that ICE agents would help with airport security  while also enforcing Trumps immigration agenda. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy claimed that ICE agents have already been trained to perform security-related tasks, such as patting down travelers and using X-ray scanning technology.
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

Energy executive Alan Armstrong has been appointed to serve in the U.S. Senate through the end of the year, finishing the term of Republican Markwayne Mullin, the new homeland security secretary.

Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt had pledged to pick a conservative voice to fill Mullin's seat before elevating the chairman and former CEO of Williams Companies, a major pipeline operator based in Tulsa, to the Senate.

Hes a strong business leader who understands the power of free markets and limited government, Stitt said of Armstrong.

Mullin, who was confirmed Monday to take over the embattled Department of Homeland Security, would have been up for reelection in November.

The last nine months of his term will now be filled by Armstrong, who under Oklahoma law must agree to not run for a full term this fall. Republican U.S. Rep Kevin Hern quickly announced his candidacy for the Senate seat and has already been endorsed by President Donald Trump.

open image in gallery Armstrong, who has never served in elected office, has spent his career with Williams Companies, which employs about 5,800 people and specializes in the collection, storage and transportation of natural gas ( AP )

Armstrong, who has never served in elected office, has spent his career with Williams Companies, which employs about 5,800 people and specializes in the collection, storage and transportation of natural gas. He became president and CEO in 2011 and transitioned to executive chairman last year.

Armstrong, 63, said making it easier to get permits for major infrastructure projects in the U.S. will be one of his top priorities in the Senate.

The truth is, it's gotten very, very hard to build large-scale infrastructure, and it is so critical to our country's competitiveness in the long term, he said.

Armstrong said he met with Trump and believes his previous work with Trump's Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright helped him earn the president's support.

Those gentlemen know how hard I've been working to get permitting reform done, so he (Trump) was very welcoming and highly supportive, Armstrong said. It was a very interesting meeting.

open image in gallery Mullin was confirmed on Monday to take over the embattled Department of Homeland Security ( Getty )

Armstrong is a longtime supporter of Stitt, giving him $8,500 in total campaign contributions since 2018, the maximum amount allowed under Oklahoma law.

Stitt, who will leave office in January and is head of the National Governors Association, made the pick weeks after Trump lashed out at him following a dispute over who was allowed at the group's annual meeting.

Former Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett, Jr., described Armstrong as an even-tempered individual who is more likely to build consensus around a decision rather than being driven by political ideology.

Bartlett, whose father served in the U.S. Senate in the 1970s, said Armstrongs knowledge of the energy industry and its market factors also make him an ideal selection, particularly as the Iran war rattles the global flow of oil.

I think that certainly is a great approach, finding consensus for making a decision, said Bartlett, the president of an oil and gas company.

In confirmation hearings last week, Mullin tried to present himself as a steady hand to the lead agency following the firing of Kristi Noem, who came under intensifying backlash over immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations carried out under her watch.
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

American academic Dennis Coyle has been released by the Taliban after being held in Afghanistan for over a year.

The release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

A statement from the countrys foreign ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul, the Afghanistans capital, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan's Supreme Court considered his previous imprisonment sufficient.

Coyle was detained in January 2025. Afghan authorities accused him of violating laws, but never specified which ones.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the release.

President Trump is committed to ending unjust detentions overseas  Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months under his second term in office, Rubio said in a statement.

open image in gallery Rubio and Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping mediate the release, and mentioned Qatar had also played a role ( AP )

While this is a positive step by the Taliban, more work needs to be done, he added.

Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department announced the designation of Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing it of engaging in hostage diplomacy.

Afghanistan joined Iran as countries singled out by the United States for detaining Americans in hopes of extracting policy concessions.

Afghanistan rejected U.S. allegations that it detains foreigners to obtain leverage over other countries, saying Afghan authorities arrest people for violating laws not to make a deal.

The State Department said earlier this month that the Taliban was believed to hold at least four U.S. nationals, including Coyle and Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company.

The FBI and Habibis family have said they believe he was taken by Taliban forces in 2022, but Afghan authorities have denied holding him.

Habibis brother, Ahmad Habibi, welcomed Coyles release but said in a statement that we hope that our family will soon have the same feeling of relief, when Mahmood is returned home to us.

Rubio also mentioned another American, Paul Overby, who is listed on the FBI's missing persons website as having disappeared in eastern Afghanistan's Khost province in mid-2014 while conducting research for a book he was writing.

We are still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and all other unjustly detained Americans, Rubio said. The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said his country has not arrested citizens of any country to achieve political goals, according to a statement released by the ministry. Coyle, he said, had been released after going through the judicial process as a result of violating the laws.

Both Rubio and Muttaqi thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping mediate the release, and mentioned Qatar had also played a role. The foreign ministry said Muttaqi had met in Kabul with former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad ahead of the release.

Afghanistan released Coyle based on humanitarian sympathy and goodwill, and believes that such steps can further strengthen the atmosphere of trust between countries, the Foreign Ministry said in its statement, adding that Kabul also expresses the hope that both countries will find solutions to the remaining problems through understanding and constructive dialogue in the future.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops, nearly 20 years after they were ousted from power in a U.S.-led invasion following the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
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

Border Patrol leader Gregory Bovino showed no remorse for the Trump administrations aggressive immigration crackdown  and said he wished he had deported even more immigrants as he prepares for retirement.

I wish Id caught even more illegal aliens, he recently told the New York Times. I mean, we went as hard as we could, but theres always a creative and innovative solution to catching even more.

Bovino, 55, led a military-style deportation campaign across cities until January, when two Americans were killed at the hands of federal agents during chaotic operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

As he prepares to retire at the end of this month, after nearly 30 years with the agency, he doesnt have regrets about his hard-line methods.

We wanted total border domination, Bovino said. When you use terms like that, perhaps it scares some of the weaker-minded people. Domination. I want you to dominate that border. Im not going to control it. Were going to dominate the hell out of that damn place.

open image in gallery Gregory Bovino joined Border Patrol in 1996, but wasnt widely known until Trump appointed him as commander of his immigration crackdown in Los Angeles ( AP )

Bovino joined Border Patrol in 1996, though he wasnt known outside of the agency until last June, when he became commander of President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown in Los Angeles.

The LA stint resulted in thousands of arrests as federal agents rounded up immigrants without legal status as well as some U.S. citizens. Border Patrol under Bovinos command adopted several unusual moves, including in one operation where they leapt out of an unmarked box truck to make arrests in a Home Depot parking lot, and another where Border Patrol troops conducted what appeared to be a symbolic show of force as mounted troops paraded through LAs MacArthur Park.

City-wide protests that included setting cars on fire prompted the deployment of the National Guard and Marines over the course of a month.

Bovino, who would often appear publicly in tactical gear, joined masked Border Patrol agents during raids in several other cities, including Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans and Minneapolis.

While agents were carrying out Bovinos hardline enforcement in these cities, they were often accused of excessive force and racial profiling against immigrants and citizens alike, which they denied.

Federal agents under Bovinos command were also responsible for the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mom of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis earlier this year.

open image in gallery Bovinos exit comes as he was reportedly under investigation for the Minnesota operation ( AP )

open image in gallery Federal agents under Bovinos command were also responsible for the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mom of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis earlier this year ( AFP via Getty Images )

Bovino left Minnesota shortly after Pretti was killed on January 24 and was replaced by White House border czar Tom Homan. Bovino returned to his position as chief patrol agent in the El Centro sector of California in January.

Following his reassignment, President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview that Bovino was very good but that he is a pretty out there kind of guy, and in some cases, thats good, maybe it wasnt good here.

Bovinos exit from the border agency comes as he is reportedly under investigation by local authorities for the Minnesota operation.

A senior DHS staffer told The Daily Beast earlier this month: He sees where the wind is blowing. Hes got an internal investigation looming, and hes already been sent back to El Centro. Now with Noem out, its a sign of things to come. Chosen to jump before hes pushed.

Customs and Border Protection, parent agency of Border Patrol, has also reportedly opened an internal investigation into whether Bovino made disparaging remarks about the faith of a Jewish federal prosecutor in Minnesota.

His retirement comes soon after Trump fired Secretary Kristi Noem, ending her controversial 13-month stint at Homeland Security that has seen tens of thousands of immigrants removed from the U.S.

She was subsequently named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas which the president described as our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.

Bovino previously had high praise for Noem. She is the best Secretary I ever worked for, period. The others werent even close. Noem is the ultimate patriot, he said earlier this month.

Trump nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her. The Senate confirmed Mullin to be the next DHS secretary Monday.
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

Fox News host Jesse Watters and his colleagues on The Five offered their personal opinions on the physical attractiveness of potential 2028 Democratic candidates in response to an article in The Bulwark that suggested the party needs a conventionally attractive candidate to win.

During Monday evenings episode of the roundtable talk show, Watters praised Democrats for wanting a hot candidate but said former Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee, was not hot.

I have to disagree with Dana, I didnt think Kamala was hot, Watters said in response to his co-host, Dana Perino, who rebuffed the idea that all the Democratic Party needs is an attractive candidate, citing Harris.

She was OK. But I mean if were talking hot, shes not hot, Watters added.

Co-host Greg Gutfeld then pitched New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but Watters responded: Im not going there.

open image in gallery Jesse Watters and The Five co-hosts discussed 'hot' and 'not hot' 2028 Democratic candidates, with Watters saying former Vice President Kamala Harris was not hot ( Fox News / The Five )

The commentary was in response to Lauren Egans article for The Bulwark that suggested more Democratic voters want conventionally attractive candidates on the ballot. Egan wrote that the hotness of candidates had come up during conversations with Democratic strategists and former officials.

Democrats have been searching for ways to resonate more with potential voters than they did in 2024, when they lost the White House, the Senate and the House to Republicans.

But when thinking of potential Democratic candidates, the co-hosts of The Five werent impressed.

Gutfeld brushed off California Governor Gavin Newsom, largely considered a top contender for the Democratic nominee, who is also often praised for his looks.

Hes like a six at best, Gutfeld said.

Co-host Emily Compagno pointed out a recent Vox interview where Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, whom she referred to as Peanut Butter Pritzker, was asked whether he was losing weight because he was running for president.

open image in gallery The Five co-hosts largely agreed Harris was attractive but Gutfeld insisted Newsom was a six at best ( AFP via Getty Images )

I like the fact that Democrats have gone from like We need like a transgender, Native American, amputee to just someone whos hot. And I feel like thats progress, Watters said.

But other co-hosts disagreed with the notion that Democrats need, or can find, a physically attractive candidate

Kamala Harris was an objectively beautiful person, and she couldnt win, Perino said. So I dont think thats what it is.

Gutfeld poked fun at Democrats' embracing biology to find an attractive candidate, referencing liberal policies that embrace transgender people and advocate for their rights.

You can find a hot candidate, but whos going to buy it, Gutfeld added.

Liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov pushed back on her colleagues for turning the topic into a wide discussion.

Its not that complicated, theyre talking like normal people, she said exasperatedly. [Senator] Jon Ossoff is really good at his job; hes also attractive. Georgia Senate race  now Republicans have all but conceded that theyre not going to be able to flip that seat back because hes that good.

Tarlov went on to say Ocasio-Cortez, Harris and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were all very hot.
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

Joe Kent, who resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center last week in opposition to the Iran war, has denied leaking sensitive information during a fiery interview with hawkish conservative pundit Mark Levin.

Kent, a former Green Beret and CIA operator, stood down last week by issuing a scathing open letter to President Donald Trump, in which he insisted Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S. and alleged that Israel had dictated American involvement in the conflict.

It was subsequently reported that Kent is under federal investigation over allegations that he mishandled classified information, an accusation he had already denied during an interview with Megyn Kelly on Friday, saying he had done nothing wrong and that it was part of the Trump administrations playbook.

When the same issue was raised by Levin on his radio show Monday, Kent told the pro-Israel hawk, I never leaked any classified information. And the stories youre reading are stories from leakers who are leaking, I guess, maybe, an investigation about me being a leaker. So I think its just a media counter-narrative.

open image in gallery Kent said in his resignation letter that the president launched his war with Iran due to 'misinformation' disseminated by Israeli officials and influential members of the media ( Getty )

He also denied ever being contacted by the FBI or the Department of Justice over the matter.

Pressed by Levin on whether his former boss, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, shared his hostility to the war, having previously opposed attacking Iran, Kent answered simply: Youd have to ask her. Im not going to speak for Tulsi Gabbard.

Elsewhere during their conversation, Levin challenged his guest on the timing of his resignation and accused him of living in an anti-war echo chamber, to which Kent reacted by alleging the host had lobbied Trump to launch his strikes against Tehran.

Hey, hey! Pay attention to me! Levin snapped. I never lobbied the president. You guys keep putting that crap out there. I met with the president once at his request. And I said to the president  you ready for this, Joe?  I said, Theyre saying out there that Im lobbying you.

You know what he did? He laughed. You know what he said? Mark. I know where you stand. I watch your show on Saturday and Sunday.

open image in gallery Conservative radio host Mark Levin with President Donald Trump at a White House Hanukkah reception in December 2025 ( AFP/Getty )

Kent then argued that Levin had used the power of your show to influence Trump, which the presenter rejected as absolutely ridiculous.

In a wild and often adversarial encounter, Levin called Kent extremely conspiratorial over his claims of excessive Israeli influence over the Trump administration.

Did the intelligence agencies miss 9/11, or was that the Israelis too? Did they miss Pearl Harbor, or was that the Israelis too? Levin asked.

Im really worried about you, brother. I really am. When you were first on my show, you seemed pretty straightforward and sane about this stuff.

I am pretty straightforward, Kent countered. I dont think a foreign government should be allowed to dictate when we go to war.

Levin replied: I dont think they did. I think the president made the decision. You keep mentioning Israelis  its getting very boring and silly. The president made the decision.

Kents resignation has further inflamed existing tensions among conservatives over the war.

I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for, the official told the president.

The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.

Levin was previously involved in a multi-part feud with Kelly, in which the latter resorted to some highly personal insults regarding his anatomy, cheered on by former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, among others.
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 special counsel investigation into Kash Patel, the current FBI director but at the time a private citizen, began in 2022 and sought extensive personal data, including more than two years of phone records, text messages and financial information. This revelation comes from grand jury subpoenas and nondisclosure orders reviewed by Reuters.

Former Special Counsel Jack Smiths team issued these subpoenas to Verizon Communications, targeting Patels communications. The demands were made as part of Smiths broader inquiry into whether President Donald Trump had interfered with the 2020 election and concealed classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

The precise nature of Smith's investigation into Patel, and any specific allegations of wrongdoing, remains unclear, according to Reuters. These new documents concerning Patel were authorized for public release by Republican Senators Charles Grassley, Ron Johnson, and Ted Cruz. Their disclosure precedes a subcommittee hearing scheduled for Tuesday, focusing on Smith's investigation, which was code-named Arctic Frost.

Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022. Reuters previously reported that Smiths team had subpoenaed the phone records of Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles while they were private citizens but involved in Trumps campaign to reclaim the presidency in 2024.

The new documents viewed by Reuters show that the probe into Patel was more extensive than previously reported. In addition to phone, online user names, and text messages, Smith and his team sought mailing and email addresses, billing and IP addresses and bank account information, according to the documents.

open image in gallery The precise nature of Smith's investigation into Patel, and any specific allegations of wrongdoing, remains unclear. ( Reuters )

The requests included records of calls and texts sent and received but not the contents of those phone calls or messages themselves, the documents show. They also included records of session times and the duration of calls, as well as subscriber information associated with Patels accounts.

One subpoena requested records from January 1, 2021 to November 23, 2023. The other was for the time period of October 1, 2020, through February 22, 2023.

Reuters was unable to determine whether the investigation into Wiles was more extensive than previously reported.

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Reuters the records show improper actions by Smith and the FBI at the time.

The FBI under prior leadership was weaponized in ways the American people are only now beginning to fully grasp, Williamson said.

A spokesman for Smith did not respond to a request for comment. He previously told Congress that his investigators were concerned about possible obstruction of justice. He told lawmakers in January that his office followed Justice Department policies, observed legal requirements and took actions based on the facts and the law.

Democrats in Congress have defended Smith from previous GOP criticisms, saying he had acted appropriately in seeking phone records and other evidence they said was necessary to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Trump and his associates. It is not unusual for investigators to seek phone and other records, even of prominent people, while seeking facts about a case.

open image in gallery Former Special Counsel Jack Smiths team issued these subpoenas to Verizon Communications, targeting Patels communications. ( Getty )

Former FBI director Christopher Wray, who ran the bureau during Smith's investigation, did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James Mazzone issued a nondisclosure order on November 30, 2022 in the probe of Patel which stated that the court had "reasonable grounds to believe that disclosure will result in flight from prosecution, destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses and serious jeopardy to the investigation."

Reuters could not determine whether Verizon complied with Smiths requests, or how that information was used. Verizon did not respond to a request for comment.

My oversight of Arctic Frost has proven the more you dig, the more you find," said Grassley, the Republican chairman of the subcommittee probing Smith's investigation.

Patel publicly said in 2022 that Trump had declassified the documents taken to Mar-a-Lago, a claim prosecutors disputed and Trumps lawyers did not make in court. Patel was summoned before a grand jury hearing evidence in the case that year after he was given limited immunity from criminal charges.
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 taxpayer shelled out tens of thousands of dollars for Kristi Noems makeup and props in anti-immigration South Dakota ad, where she appeared on horseback in front of Mount Rushmore touting the Department of Homeland Security, financial disclosures revealed.

Noem is set to step down next week from her post as Homeland Security Secretary, largely due to the controversial ads, which she claimed were signed off by President Donald Trump.

The South Dakota ad was filmed over two days in October 2025 by Ohio-based firm The Strategy Group Company, whose CEO is Ben Yoho, the husband of Noems former spokesperson and assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

The company was subcontracted by MAGA firm Safe America Media, which was awarded the $143 million no-bid contract by the Department of Homeland Security in February 2025 to produce the ads. It was only incorporated a week before it was handed the contract.

In the ad in question, Noem donned a cowboy hat and chaps against the backdrop of Mount Rushmore, as she warned illegal migrants to stay away. You cross the border illegally, we'll find you. Break our laws, we'll punish you. Harm American citizens, there will be consequences, Noem said, while on horseback.

open image in gallery The taxpayer shelled out tens of thousands of dollars for Kristi Noems South Dakota ad, where she appeared on horseback in front of Mount Rushmore touting the Department of Homeland Security, financial disclosures revealed ( DHS )

Invoices from The Strategy Group Company, submitted on the request of Democratic Senators Peter Welch of Vermont and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and reviewed by The Independent, show that the taxpayer footed the bill for nearly $4,000 worth of hair and makeup services for Noem, and more than $40,000 in other vendor costs, including $20,000 to a barrel racer, that included the cost of the horse rental.

The company also accrued $100,000 in labor costs and a $60,000 signing bonus to produce the ad, which it said was standard.

This looks like waste, fraud, and abuse to me, Welch said.

This absurd waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds is completely unacceptable, added Blumenthal.

In statements posted on its social media accounts, The Strategy Group Company hit back at critics and said it has never had a contract with Noems department.

Safe America paid us $226,137.17 total for limited production services for 5 film shoots, 45 produced video advertisements and 6 produced radio advertisements, the company said in a post on X. The Strategy Group has never had a contract with DHS.

Yoho also pushed back publicly against Welch and Blumenthal in a letter shared on X, and accused the lawmakers of mischaracterizing the spending on the ad.

In total, Noems advertising blitz at the department cost more than $200 million. She was fired by Trump after a humiliating grilling from lawmakers during congressional hearings earlier this month.

open image in gallery The South Dakota ad was filmed over two days in October 2025 by Ohio-based firm The Strategy Group Company, whose CEO is Ben Yoho, the husband of Noems former spokesperson and assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin ( AFP/Getty )

In front of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month, Republican Senator John Kennedy said it was hard for him to believe that those kinds of deals would have been approved by Trump or the White House Office of Management and Budget.

It troubles me, he said. A fifth to a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money, when we're scratching for every penny, and were fighting over recision packages  I just cant agree with it.

Noem said the ads were effective.

They were effective in your name recognition, Kennedy shot back.

After Noems testimony, Trump said he never approved the campaign before, announcing on Truth Social that she was leaving her role.

Last week, several Democratic lawmakers referred Noem to the Department of Justice for a perjury investigation, claiming that she misled Congress about the ads in a brazen bid to avoid accountability.

Noems replacement, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, was confirmed by the Senate Monday and will take over the embattled department amid the ongoing shutdown.
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

Markwayne Mullin has been confirmed as the new homeland security secretary, taking the helm of a department facing intense scrutiny over its immigration enforcement policies and mass deportation operations. President Donald Trump's nominee was approved late Monday, following the firing of Kristi Noem amidst public backlash.

The Republican senator from Oklahoma, a close associate of Trump, has sought to project an image of stability, aiming to "get the department off the front page of the news." He assumes leadership during a tumultuous period, with President Trump having directed ICE agents to enhance airport security amid a congressional budget impasse.

Mullin also faced a combative confirmation hearing last week, where he tangled with the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee over his character and temperament.

Senators confirmed him on a largely party-line vote of 54-45.

The Republican senator from Oklahoma has sought to project an image of stability ( AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta )

Routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security has lapsed since Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation Security Administration agents call out rather than work without pay. Democrats are demanding the Trump administration make changes in immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during protests this year in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the latest proposal, and talks have stalled.

MMA fighter takes on Homeland Security

While the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in Congress, and with the management experience of running an expanding family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a key force in immigration issues.

A former mixed martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler who has led early-morning workout sessions in the members-only House gym, he became close with members of both parties and is often seen as a negotiator in partisan Washington.

It is his loyalty to Trump that landed him the job, and hes not expected to sway from the presidents approach. Mullin was a strong supporter of Trumps immigration agenda and ICE officers before being tapped for the DHS job.

I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of homeland Ill be protecting everybody, Mullin said during his confirmation hearing.

Immigration enforcement at center of funding stalemate

Mullins first challenge will be to restore routine funding to the department that has been blocked since mid-February as Democrats demand tighter restraints. They want immigration officers to identify themselves and not wear masks; refrain from enforcement operations around schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive locations; wear body cameras; and obtain a judge's approval on warrants before entering people's homes or private spaces.

At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin sought to portray himself as a steady hand at a pivotal time for the agency  an image that was challenged by the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, in a heated exchange. Democrats are also skeptical, seeing him as a loyal executor of Trumps agenda.

Paul voted against Mullin during the committee vote. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joined most other Republicans in advancing the nominee in a Sunday vote.

Markwayne Mullin is ready to lead," said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 ranking Republican. He said Mullin will serve with seriousness and character. He will be a leader who makes our country safer.

Mullin comes into office at a time when public support for the presidents immigration agenda has fallen after a year of high-profile operations in multiple American cities. Under Noems leadership, officers were accused of using force to arrest immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions and bypassing due process to rapidly deport immigrants.

Mullin did walk back some of his comments during his confirmation hearing, saying he was wrong to malign protester Alex Pretti after he was shot and killed by an ICE officer. He said that as secretary he would refrain from making judgments before an investigation is carried out.

He shed light on other ways he might influence policy when it comes to immigration. For example, he said officers would be required to use a warrant signed by a judge  not the administrative warrants now used by ICE officers  to enter a house except in rare circumstances.

He acknowledged the concerns some communities have over building massive ICE detention facilities in their neighborhoods and said cutting off federal funds to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that dont work with ICE would be a last resort.

But ultimately, it is the White House that sets the agenda when it comes to how Trumps vision for immigration enforcement is carried out, and Mullin is expected to follow its lead. Trump faces a strong lobby within the GOP pushing him to make good on his promise to deport 1 million people a year.

FEMA and federal disaster aid in flux

Mullin will also have his hands full charting a new course at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has come under scrutiny as it delivers disaster aid to parts of the country hard-hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters.

A growing number of critics, even fellow Republicans, said Noems policy of personally approving contracts over $100,000 slowed disaster response, and the department still doesnt have a full-time administrator.

Mullin presented a fresh approach on federal emergency management during his Senate confirmation hearing, rejecting the idea of eliminating FEMA and saying he would revoke Noems contract approval rule.
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

First Lady Melania Trump was part of the discussions President Donald Trump held with top advisers on how to reset his illegal immigration crackdown, according to a report.

After a year of ugly scenes on the streets of major Democrat-led American cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., the surge by ICE and other federal immigration agencies into Minneapolis in January proved a disaster, resulting in the deaths of two protesters and a huge public outcry.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem  who had wrongly described the victims, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as domestic terrorists  held crisis talks with Trump at the White House and initially appeared to have saved her job before being dismissed earlier this month.

The Wall Street Journal now reports that the president met with his top team, including his wife, and told them he was concerned about the torrent of negative headlines Noems DHS had attracted.

open image in gallery First Lady Melania Trump reportedly helped convince her husband his illegal immigration crackdown had gone too far ( Getty )

He concluded that voters had come to oppose the term mass deportation and urged a renewed focus on catching bad guys rather than stirring up chaos in order to lower the programs profile.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is reportedly leading the revamp, having become concerned that what was once a winning issue for Trump now looks like a liability ahead of the midterms.

Border czar Tom Homan  who was drafted in to restore order and ultimately withdraw from Minnesota  is said to be spearheading the new emphasis on the bread-and-butter arrests of criminals.

Under Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who was stood down and returned to California after the killings of Good and Pretti, the crackdown took an aggressive catch-all approach that was deemed necessary to meet ambitious arrest targets set by Trump aide Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner.

Miller reportedly demanded 3,000 detentions per day to meet a target of 1 million deportations for 2025, a goal the DHS did not come close to realizing.

open image in gallery Sen. Markwayne Mullin, the presidents choice to succeed Kristi Noem, endured a rough confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee Wednesday but now looks likely to be voted in next week ( AP )

Arrests are currently around 1,200 daily, according to the WSJ, down from 1,500 at the height of Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson has denied that the rethink amounts to a shift in policy, saying in a statement: Nobody is changing the administrations immigration enforcement agenda.

President Trumps highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities.

This week, the presidents nominee to replace Noem, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, endured a difficult confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in which his past mockery of Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul came back to haunt him.

Paul, the committees chairman, was brutally assaulted by a neighbor in 2017 and left seriously injured, an incident Mullin once gloated over, leading to an angry confrontation with the senator, who voted against his candidacy, leaving it up to controversial Democratic Sen. John Fetterman to save the day for the nominee.

A full Senate vote on his confirmation is now expected to be held early next week, in which Sen. Mullin is expected to narrowly prevail.

Before the committee, he pledged to run DHS with greater cooperation with local law enforcement than was seen during Noems tenure, also promising fewer clashes with activists, a reversal of agents no-warrant entry policy, and that he would be leading the department, not Miller.
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

Minnesota officials are asking a federal judge to force the Trump administration to share evidence it collected after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as well as the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, during the administrations immigration enforcement operation.

State authorities said in the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a D.C. federal court, that they have been stonewalled while trying to access the information after the deadly shootings that sparked angry protests across the nation.

The fatal shootings garnered international attention, in part because federal officials offered a different account from what videos of the incidents, posted online, captured.

In the cases of Good and Pretti, both 37-year-old U.S. citizens, Department of Homeland Security officials insisted that both protesters posed a direct threat to law enforcement officers when they were fatally shot. However, witness accounts and videos suggested otherwise.

In the case of Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man who was shot in the leg but survived, at least two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are under investigation after being suspected of lying about the events leading up to the shooting.

open image in gallery The fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti led to nationwide outrage and demand for more accountability for federal immigration agents ( AFP via Getty Images )

At stake is not only Plaintiffs access to evidence central to these shootings but also a fundamental principle of our constitutional system: that the States retain the sovereign authorityand responsibilityto investigate crimes committed within their borders, the state said.

The Independent has asked the Justice Department for comment.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement: Every use of force incident and any discharge of an ICE firearm must be properly reported and reviewed by the agency in accordance with agency policy, procedure, and guidelines. All shootings are initially reviewed by an appropriate law enforcement agency. Following a review of the incident by the appropriate investigative agency, ICE and CBP conduct an independent review of the critical incident.

Good, a mother of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent on January 7, as she was maneuvering her vehicle in Minneapolis during the initial surge of immigration enforcement in the state.

Although videos of the encounter appeared to show Good trying to avoid hitting federal agents as they attempted to enter her vehicle, DHS officials branded Good a domestic terrorist.

Minnesota officials said in the lawsuit that federal investigators initially agreed to collaborate with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on the investigation but later refused access to evidence collected at the scene. That includes the firearm used and shell casings.

open image in gallery Federal investigators reportedly declined to share evidence, collected at the scene after the killing of Renee Good, with state investigators ( Stephen Maturen/Getty Images )

The lawsuit alleges state investigators were also barred from being present during an interview with the federal officers involved in the fatal shooting  and that later, they were refused basic information, such as the names of those officers involved.

Minnesota said not only were state investigators shut out from collaboration, but later the federal government ceased the investigation into Goods killing.

The federal governments decision not to investigate the killing of Ms. Good ignores evidence suggesting that the shooting may have violated federal law; the decision is thus inconsistent with a longstanding federal practice to conduct criminal investigations under such circumstances, even if it is the prerogative of the federal government to make that decision, plaintiffs said in the lawsuit.

In a statement, a DHS spokesperson reiterated its initial points about Good, saying she was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement.

The American people can watch this video with their own eyes and ears and judge for themselves, DHS said in a statement.

Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg on January 14 after being confronted by federal immigration agents. Again, Minnesota alleges, the FBI refused to collaborate with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension by refusing to allow state investigators to take part in witness interviews or access to evidence.

open image in gallery Prettis death was the second US citizen to be killed by federal agents in Minnesota amid Trumps aggressive mass deportation operation ( Getty )

Initially, federal officials charged Sosa-Celis with assaulting the federal agent who shot him. But later, the case was dismissed after new information revealed that the agents involved in the shooting lied during testimony.

While state investigators said they were able to access some pieces of evidence with a warrant, they have still been unable to obtain the handgun used in the shooting, the vehicle used during the incident, as well as names and statements from the federal agents involved.

A joint review by ICE and the Department of Justice of video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements, DHS said in a statement

Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs, was killed by federal agents on January 24 while protesting.

White House officials quickly branded Pretti a domestic terrorist trying to assassinate federal officials, despite video showing federal agents removing Prettis legally-owned firearm before shooting him.

open image in gallery DHS said in a statement that it had properly reported and reviewed every use of force incident ( AFP via Getty Images )

Minnesota officials said federal immigration officers physically blocked investigators of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from accessing the scene. That obstruction allegedly continued even after state officials obtained a judicial warrant authorizing access.

When state investigators attempted to coordinate with federal investigators on Prettis death, Minnesota officials were told they would be required to share evidence with the Justice Department  but that the Justice Department would not do the same for Minnesota investigators.

Based on the sequence of events and the involvement of senior federal officials such as the U.S. Attorney, it is apparent that this decision was made at the highest levels of DOJ, the lawsuit alleges.

DHS said in a statement that the FBI was leading the investigation into Prettis death with Homeland Security Investigations.

"FBI is now leading the Pretti investigation with HSI supporting. CBP is also conducting a separate internal investigation.

The lawsuit filed by Minnesota, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans names the Justice Department, Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Department of Homeland Security and outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem.
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

In the second week of the Iran war  with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, cutting off shipping of 20% of the worlds oil supply  the International Energy Agency announced the largest release of strategic oil reserves in history.

Thirty-two countries will sell a combined 412 million barrels from their reserves into the global market over four months, beginning in late March 2026.

Energy researchers like me know that the concept of a strategic oil stock goes back to the early 20th century, when the U.S. Navy first substituted oil for coal as a fuel for ships. Starting in 1912, Congress set aside several petroleum-rich areas in the U.S., including Elk Hills in California and Teapot Dome in Wyoming. In times of need, oil wells could be drilled in those regions to produce fuel for the Navy.

The current system involves oil that has already been produced and is stored so it can enter the market quickly. That approach was created by the International Energy Agency soon after its founding in the wake of the 1973-74 oil crisis. At that time, Arab nations in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut exports by as much as 25% to protest U.S. and other countries support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War.

Global oil prices soared by over 350%, the equivalent today of US$70  the price before Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28, 2026  jumping to $245.

Now, strategic reserves are a system of national oil stocks intended to replace at least 90 days of each countrys imports. In some cases, such as Japan, the reserve covers over 200 days. The 415 million barrels in the U.S. reserve as of March 13, 2026, covers only about 64 days.

A man pumps gas in L.A. ( AFP/Getty )

What is the purpose of strategic oil reserves?

These reserves have a twofold purpose: to replace a portion of the disrupted supply and to moderate the resulting increase in prices.

In cases of a major loss to world supply, the International Energy Agency will propose a coordinated release from member countries. There have been five such releases, most recently in 2022, when Russias invasion of Ukraine caused oil prices to go above $120.

Together, members hold government stockpiles of about 1.2 billion barrels, with another 600 million barrels stored by private industry. The United States expected contribution of 172 million barrels is nearly half of the upcoming release.

To fill the U.S. reserve, the U.S. Department of Energy buys oil on the open market, using money funded by past sales and congressional appropriations. When releasing oil from the reserve, it sells to the highest bidder on the regular oil market, just like any other oil producer. Ideally, the reserve buys oil when the price is low and sells it at times of emergency when prices are high  though presidents of both parties have been accused of ordering oil releases for political gains rather than strictly economic reasons.

What can a major release from these reserves achieve?

Strategic releases are a short-term way to lessen the shock of an immediate supply loss.

A release provides a certain number of barrels  in the current case, perhaps 3 million to 4 million barrels per day  for a period of a few months.

About the author Scott L. Montgomery is a Lecturer in International Studies at the University of Washington. This article was first published by The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

But that amount is not enough to replace the roughly 10 million barrels per day or more now held back by the closed Strait of Hormuz.

My own study of the history of U.S. releases suggests, however, that a release can prevent prices from climbing to extreme levels at an early stage and staying there. That is because oil prices are mainly determined by futures contracts  legally binding agreements to buy or sell a quantity of oil at an agreed price for delivery one to three months in the future.

If oil buyers and sellers know additional oil will be released to the market in that period, they will likely agree to a lower price. So the strategic release temporarily moderates price increases.

What about the US reserve?

Congress created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. Its oil is stored underground in a series of large salt domes in four locations across the Gulf Coast, in Texas and Louisiana.

Congress originally said the reserve should hold up to 1 billion barrels of crude and refined petroleum products. Though it has never reached that size, the U.S. reserve was until 2025 the largest in the world, with a maximum volume of 713.5 million barrels.

Over the past decade, however, China has aggressively expanded its own stocks to an estimated 1.4 billion barrels. Such an enormous volume can be viewed as a sign of Beijings deep concern about oil security, as China relies on imports to supply more than 70% of its consumption.

In mid-March 2026, meanwhile, the U.S. reserve was only 60% full at 415 million barrels. In 2022, the Biden administration released 180 million barrels in response to the price jump caused by Russias invasion of Ukraine. An analysis by the U.S. Treasury Department concluded the release did reduce market volatility and lower prices at the pump by up to 30 to 40 cents per gallon. Nonetheless, it has not been a priority under the Biden or Trump administrations to refill the reserve.

As a result, the release of 172 million barrels recently ordered by the White House will temporarily shrink the U.S. reserve to 243 million barrels  only 34% of its capacity. That level is its lowest since the early 1980s.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has said plans are in place to add 200 million barrels back later in 2026. But doing so would return the reserve only to the pre-war stock level.

Risk or reward?

Nonetheless, the oil shock that has happened as a result of the Iran war has proven that the idea of strategic reserves is still relevant. Though the process of how it is utilized can be debated, having emergency stocks of a vital resource subject to supply crises can hardly be called irrational.

In the early days of the war, the White House said there was no reason for a release from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

But only days later, the administration changed its mind, reportedly because President Donald Trump saw oil prices soaring and remaining elevated.

But, as noted, this withdrawal will leave the U.S. and other nations in a highly vulnerable position. Additional price increases  like those that have occurred because of attacks on Gulf oil and gas facilities, production, and shipment locations  could well lead to a second call from the International Energy Agency to release oil from the worlds remaining reserves.
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

Donald Trump reversed course and will accept an offer from Democrats to reopen parts of the Department of Homeland Security, excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and end the nations growing airport delays, a White House official said on Tuesday.

Homeland Security, which includes both ICE and the Transportation Safety Administration, has been in shutdown mode since February as Democrats have refused to vote to authorize ICE funding unless a set of reforms to immigration enforcement operations and tactics were made nationwide. Among those reforms is a requirement that ICE obtain judicial warrants before conducting searches and an end to roving enforcement operations.

That has left the nations airports in turmoil as TSA agents have gone unpaid and are calling out sick and quitting in droves, resulting in hours-long security lines at the nations busiest airports. Trump, meanwhile, has deployed ICE agents to the airports as a supplement, even though those agents are not trained in security screening. As a result, congressional discomfort over the increasingly dire situation in the nations airports is weakening resistance on both sides of the aisle, as senators seek an off-ramp to the deadlock.

Democrats on Monday offered the White House and Senate Republicans a deal that would reopen every part of DHS, excluding ICE, and allow Republicans to attempt to reauthorize funding for ICE through a budget reconciliation package that would only require 50 votes to clear the Senate. A White House official told NewsNation on Tuesday that the president had decided to accept the offer.

open image in gallery Donald Trump was opposed to any deal with Democrats to fund DHS, Sen. John Kennedy said on Monday. On Tuesday, he changed course. ( Getty )

The flip-flop from Trump  the kind of reversal on a hard-line stance that has come to be known as TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) among his critics  came a day after he insisted that Republicans not make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats and urged them to work through the Easter break if necessary to force through his voter ID initiative.

Only hours earlier a Republican senator who is a staunch ally of the president had claimed that Trump had rejected the offer out of hand.

On Monday, Sen. John Kennedy told Fox News that Donald Trump rejected one of those off-ramps, which he and another conservative Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz, both supported. Their support indicates that the deal supposedly offered by Democrats would have been met with broad support within the GOP caucus.

"The Democrats offered to open up everything but ICE. Ted [Cruz] and I said, 'Ok, let's accept their offer,' and then at the same time we would offer a bill through reconciliation, where we don't need any Democratic votes to do whatever we wanted to do with ICE. That way we're out of the shutdown and DHS is back open, said Kennedy, explaining the framework of the proposed deal.

We submitted that, [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune submitted that to President Trump. As is his right, [Trump] said, 'No. No deals with the Democrats.'

He added: So we're back to square one."

open image in gallery Donald Trump urged Republicans to not back down on DHS funding talks in a pair of Truth Social posts on Sunday and Monday ( Truth Social - Donald Trump )

open image in gallery Donald Trump's second post on Truth Social on Monday showed no signs of willingness to accept a Democratic deal ( Truth Social - Donald Trump )

Trump himself posted on Truth Social late Sunday evening: I dont think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. It is far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate.

He even called on the Senate to work through the Easter holiday, and combine the effort to renew DHS funding with his voter ID push: Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary. He was no less dogmatic on Monday, writing that he would fight [Democrats] all the way, and WIN!

The presidents flip-flop is likely to give Democrats ammunition as they seek to blame the White House for the ongoing shutdown and its effects on travelers nationwide. Airports in cities including Houston, Atlanta, New York and Baltimore among many others have reported serious TSA staffing gaps as Congress quickly approaches another soft deadline: March 31, when thousands of federal workers will once again miss a paycheck.

At the same time, it could anger Democratic voters who may once again see a deal as members of their party taking actions that would allow Republicans to accomplish objectives related to green-lighting the presidents mass deportation agenda while covering themselves, politically, from the fallout.

Democrats in the Senate previously backed down from their demands during a shutdown showdown last year and abandoned an effort to seek the renewal of health care subsidies for millions of Americans after holding out for weeks.

open image in gallery Many TSA agents have been refusing to work without pay during the DHS shutdown, causing long lines at airport security checkpoints ( AFP/Getty )

Trumps status as an obstacle to a deal being struck is not new, but Mondays confirmation from Kennedy is the first sign of Trump actively torpedoing a specific attempt by Congress to reopen the agency. For weeks, the president has vowed to block any legislation that reached his desk from becoming law over the inability of the Senate to pass the SAVE Act, a piece of voter ID legislation that is opposed by every Democrat in the chamber as well as one Republican, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Republicans in the chamber could only pass the bill by making changes to the 60-vote filibuster rule (or dropping it entirely), which they also do not have the votes to do.

Kennedys plan would see most of the agency reopened by cutting a deal with Democrats, and ICE funding authorized through a budget reconciliation measure that would require a simple majority in the Senate to pass. Some lawmakers have separately fretted that Republicans couldnt pass a bill even with the vote threshold in the Senate much lower.

Republicans used the budget reconciliation path to pass the Big, Beautiful Bill last year which served as vehicle for several Republican policy objectives, including a surge of funding for ICE and infrastructure for Trumps mass deportation program. Senate rules restrict the process from being used to pass anything that isnt strictly budget-related.

open image in gallery Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer reportedly offered Republicans a deal that would allow them to reopen most of DHS, and fund ICE through reconciliation ( REUTERS )

As a result of the presidents decision, theres no sign of a resolution coming soon for the security screening delays affecting air travelers in many cities. Some lines have been reported as high as three or four hours long, with two airports (New Orleans and Atlanta) reporting TSA call-out rates north of 40 percent, per DHS.

Lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were reaching up to four hours long, officials warned travelers on Tuesday, as were delays in Houston. Other airports such as LaGuardia, site of a fatal crash between a passenger jet and a Port Authority vehicle on Monday, were suspending wait time estimates altogether.

"My flight leaves in 16 minutes. I got up at 3 a.m., one frustrated traveler in a Houston TSA checkpoint line told a Fox News reporter during a live broadcast at 10:00 a.m Tuesday morning.

The White House announced over the weekend that ICE agents would be taken off the streets and put into the nations airports to fill staffing gaps, but Trumps own officials werent even clear whether those agents were trained to take roles in airport security.

Photos and videos taken at airports on Monday seemed to confirm the opposite. ICE agents were spotted milling around and performing patrol duties while long security lines went unaddressed.
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 Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is encouraging red states to cut public funding to educational initiatives that benefit the children of undocumented migrants, according to a report.

Miller, well known as an immigration hardliner, challenged Texas Republican lawmakers during a four-hour meeting in Washington last week about why they had not already introduced a bill to that effect, according to The New York Times.

Do we have a RINO problem in Texas? he asked, using an acronym MAGA conservatives employ to disparage moderates within their own camp, which stands for Republicans in Name Only.

Millers remark at the meeting  which was also attended by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Housing Secretary Scott Turner, among others  was reportedly met with an awkward hush.

open image in gallery White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has challenged Texas lawmakers to pass a law blocking public education funding that might benefit the children of undocumented migrants ( AP )

There was no answer  it was just uncomfortable silence, state GOP Rep. Tom Oliverson told the Times, adding that all Republicans consider themselves optimally positioned: Everyone to the left of them is a RINO. And everyone to the right of them is crazy.

Oliverson, chairman of the Texas House Republican Caucus, said of Millers outlook: He sees conservative states like Texas and Florida can be partners with the federal government.

We can be a place where some of those ideas can be tried out because theyre difficult to do at the federal level.

Millers shift in focus towards state legislatures comes as his party looks to stave off defeat in Novembers midterm elections.

Should that come to pass and the Democrats manage to flip the House of Representatives and/or Senate in their favor, the second half of President Donald Trumps second term is likely to be defined by congressional gridlock in which the administration struggles to get its immigration agenda passed.

open image in gallery Texas high school students protesting the Trump administrations immigration policies in Austin in late January ( AP )

Millers call for the Texas Legislature to pass a law granting public education funding only for the children of people lawfully present in the United States would fly in the face of a decades-old U.S. Supreme Court precedent, Plyler v Doe.

The 1982 decision, which originated in Texas, found that states must pay for the elementary school education of all students in their care, regardless of their families' immigration status.

Theres a lot of people that believe that that ruling has some pretty faulty logic associated with it, Oliverson told the Times, which estimated that Miller getting his wish would have an impact on approximately 100,000 of the Lone Star States 5.5 million schoolchildren.

His call appears to have the broad approval of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose spokesman, Andrew Mahaleris, said: American citizens should be first in line for government services and not forced to bear the costs of supporting those whose entry into this country began with breaking its laws.

The governor works daily to end unjust policies like this.

open image in gallery Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose spokesman said supports America first initiatives and opposes unjust policies like those waved through by Plyler v Doe ( AP )

However, Democratic State Rep. Ramon Romero, making the counter-argument, decried what he saw as an effort from the White House to pressure lawmakers into passing extreme immigration policies that dont reflect the needs of our state.

Texas is strong because of our people, especially our young and growing Latino population. The Latino communities most impacted by these decisions will remember exactly who is behind them.

Miller is one of Trumps biggest cheerleaders and declared Monday at a law enforcement roundtable in Memphis that the presidents crackdown on crime in his first year back in power amounted to a national miracle that will be studied for centuries to come.

Last week, he celebrated the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, now into their fourth week, as politically incorrect and lashed out at what he called the woke Pentagon under previous administrations.

However, he has also been attacked by his own side, with retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis recently calling him out of his depth.

Tillis unloaded on Miller during an appearance on CNNs State of the Union earlier this month in which he said: Its Stephen Miller thats been repeatedly responsible for embarrassments for the president of the United States, speaking first and asking questions later.

The senator went on to trash him for having an outsized influence on the Cabinet and told host Jake Tapper: Hes a big problem in this administration, he has been from the beginning.
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 Supreme Courts conservative majority appears ready to let Donald Trumps administration resume blocking asylum seekers from U.S. border crossings if ports of entry are too overwhelmed to hear their cases.

During a Tuesday hearing over the legality of a previous Trump policy, justices spent most of the time scrutinizing what it means to arrive  and the differences between in and at.

But its unclear whether the justices will allow the president to indefinitely block immigrants from starting the asylum process at the U.S.-Mexico border, or dismiss the case altogether. A decision is expected this summer.

The Immigration and Nationality Act allows an alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States to apply for asylum. Those applicants are then referred for an interview to determine whether they have a credible fear of persecution.

But you cant arrive in the United States while youre standing in Mexico, according to Department of Justice lawyer Vivek Suri. That should be the end of this case.

open image in gallery Advocates for asylum seekers rallied at the Supreme Court on March 24 as justices weigh the fate of previous Trump policy that indefinitely blocked people seeking asylum from being able to make their case at the US-Mexico border ( REUTERS )

Under Trumps first administration, immigration officials could stop people seeking asylum from crossing while indefinitely declining to process their claims  stranding thousands of people on the other side of the border after fleeing violence, persecution and political volatility in their home countries. That move has been described as a turnback.

Suri called the policy an important tool to stop surges of immigrants from arriving at the border.

He said its not really fair for justices to reject the idea should the administration want to bring it back in the future.

That policy, called metering, was blocked by Joe Bidens administration, but Trump  who has implemented sweeping restrictions on asylum seekers and refugees  is likely to revive the measure while he battles a mountain of legal challenges against his anti-immigration agenda.

Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson questioned how an immigrant would be expected to arrive in the U.S. to make an asylum claim if theyre not even allowed to step foot into the country in the first place.

Why on earth would Congress have intended or meant for his asylum to be discarded, but someone who managed to enter the United States unlawfully  and requests asylum gets their application entertained? she asked.

That doesnt seem to make any sense, the justice said. You are suggesting that arriving in means the person who is literally standing on the U.S. side of the border, as opposed to the person who approaches.

Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett also asked what it means to arrive in the U.S.

How close do you have to be to the border? Barrett asked. What is the magic thing, or the dispositive thing, that were looking for?

Kelsi Corkran, who is representing asylum advocates seeking to block the policy, argued that people arrive in the U.S. when they are at the threshold of the ports entrance about to step over.

But under the metering policy, that process is cut off by an immigration officer who is physically blocking them from completing the arrival, she said.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito compared an immigrant seeking asylum to a person showing up outside a house.

Does a person arrive in the house when a person is not in the house and is knocking at the door asking to be admitted to the house? he asked.

open image in gallery Federal law stipulates that anyone who arrives at a port of entry seeking asylum must get a meaningful opportunity to have their case heard. But Trumps turnback policy in his first administration indefinitely blocked people from getting that far ( AFP via Getty Images )

People seeking asylum must be physically present in the U.S., and asylum can be granted to those who meet the international law definition of a refugee, under international human rights accords.

The governments turnback policy ran roughshod over our laws and treaty obligations, according to Melissa Crow, litigation director at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies.

It fueled chaos and dysfunction at the southern border. And it was a complete humanitarian catastrophe, returning thousands of vulnerable refugees to grave harm, she said after Tuesdays hearing.

Denying entry can be a death sentence, she said.

I came to the United States seeking safety after surviving torture and attempts on my life, but I was turned away again and again when I asked for asylum, one asylum seeker said in a statement to The Independent.

That rejection left me trapped in fear when I had nowhere else to go, he said. Finding refuge has given me a second chance at life.

Asking for asylum is not like taking a number at a deli counter and waiting for your turn, according to Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, Border Rights Project director at Al Otro Lado, the lead plaintiff in the case.

You cannot ask someone fleeing rape, torture or death threats to wait in danger indefinitely because a government has decided their lives are inconvenient, she said.

The case is among the first major immigration-related cases before the Supreme Court under Trumps second term, which is facing a wave of lawsuits against his attempts to deport millions of people while banning entry to immigrants from more than three dozen countries.

Next month, justices will hear arguments in legal challenges against the presidents attempts to unilaterally redefine birthright citizenship.

Justices will also hear arguments over the administrations attempts to revoke temporary legal protections for tens of thousands of Haitians and Syrians living in the United States.
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 pro-Trump commentator has accused former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of committing a sin for criticizing the Trump administrations ongoing war with Iran.

Over the weekend, Christie, who once served as the head of President Donald Trumps 2016 transition team, accused his fellow Republican of not thinking deeply about all the implications of launching a war with Iran.

The president plays checkers, not chess, Christie said during a panel on This Week on ABC News on Sunday. This is a guy who just looks at what jump he can play today. He doesnt look if theres a double jump coming in the other direction.

Christie pointed to the spiraling consequences of the war, which has sent the price of oil spiking, causing the U.S. to ease oil sanctions on Iran to slow the price hike. The conflict has also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil-shipping lane.

This goes to competence, Christie added.

open image in gallery GOP commentators accused former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of the sin of jealousy for criticizing President Trumps war in Iran ( Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Digesting the comments a few days later, a group of panelists on the right-wing news network Real Americas Voice said the president had shown his strategic acumen many times over by winning the White House twice, and accused Christie of being green with envy.

"You know, some might say that big green monster will just hop up to bite you every now and then, and that's what that is," panelist Gina Loudon, a former Trump campaign delegate and adviser, said. "That's the biggest, greenest monster I've ever seen."

This is why the Bible warns about jealousy as such a fundamental base of problems in humanity that leads to so much lack of wisdom, lack of discernment, and outright sin, she added.

She went on to joke that there might be a subchapter in the Bible about Christies conduct.

open image in gallery President Trump claims the U.S. has had productive talks with Tehran, which Iranian leadership claims is not true ( AFP/Getty )

Christie isnt the only one with doubts about the war, though.

The conflict has further isolated the U.S. from its NATO allies, who have avoided joining the conflict, and a majority of U.S. respondents to a recent poll said they are unsure why the administration is battling Iran.

President Trump has tried to paint an optimistic picture of the ongoing campaign, claiming this week that the U.S. would hold off on strikes against key Iranian infrastructure amid what the president called productive conversations with Tehran.

However, Iranian leadership has called these claims fake news and has vowed to continue fighting the conflict to the bitter end.
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 appeared to try to pin the blame for the Iran conflict on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Speaking at a Monday roundtable event for national military and law enforcement leaders in Memphis, Tennessee, the president said of the circumstances leading up to the February 28 launch of Operation Epic Fury: I called Pete, I called General [Dan] Caine, I called a lot of our great people  we have a lot of great people  and I said, Lets talk.

Weve got a problem in the Middle East. We have a country, known as Iran, that has for 47 years been just a purveyor of terror and theyre very close to having a nuclear weapon.

We can keep going and get that 50,000 up to 55 and 60 with no end, or we can take a stop and make a little journey into the Middle East and eliminate a big problem.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump speaks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Memphis Air National Guard Base. Trump said Hegseth was one of the first people to speak up in support of the Iran war. ( Reuters )

And Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up and you said, Lets do it because you cant let them have a nuclear weapon. So we are now having really good discussions. They started last, er, night, a little bit, the night before that

The presidents claim earlier in the day that members of his administration had held very good and productive ceasefire talks with Tehran was dismissed by the Iranian regime, in ironically Trumpian terms, as fake news.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Irans parliamentary speaker, said: No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the U.S. and Israel are trapped.

Asked about Irans denial, the president said before boarding Air Force One: Well, theyre going to have to get themselves better public relations people. Weve had very strong talks. Mr. [Steve] Witkoff and [Jared] Kushner had them. They went perfectly.

Iran responded by launching a fresh wave of missile strikes on America and Israels allies across the Gulf Monday evening, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and beyond and serving as a further challenge to Trumps resolve.

open image in gallery Trump launched attacks on Iran on February 28 and they continue weeks later ( Reuters )

The administration has given a variety of different justifications for its decision to join Israels attack on Iran, including claiming that Tehran had resumed attempts to build a nuclear bomb and posed an imminent threat to the U.S., despite Trump claiming to have obliterated their capabilities with targeted strikes during last summers Operation Midnight Hammer.

The strikes did succeed in their primary objective by killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the operation, ending his 47-year reign as supreme leader.

However, the hostilities have led to retaliatory strikes on targets across the region, the killing of 13 U.S. service members to date, and soaring global fuel prices after Tehran placed a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the worlds oil is shipped.

Before arriving in Memphis Monday, Trump claimed the U.S. could not have anticipated Irans response to the strikes, telling reporters: Look at the way Iran attacked unexpectedly all of those countries surrounding them. That was not supposed to  nobody was even thinking about it.

But Reuters has previously reported that the president was warned that precisely that could happen should he attack.

For his part, Hegseth has become the public face of the conflict, delivering aggressive rhetoric from his lectern in the Pentagon briefing room, boasting about U.S. lethality and rebuking journalists for being insufficiently positive in their coverage of the devastation.
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

Donald Trump besieged Queen Elizabeth II with a barrage of questions about her family and regard for previous presidents, according to a new book.

The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History, by Susan Page, details the Queens relationships with a steady stream of US presidents, from her first encounter with president Harry Truman in 1951, when she was Princess Elizabeth, to the final state dinner of her seven-decade reign, held in 2019 in honour of President Trump.

During that state visit  the first of two Mr Trump has made, but the last during the Queens life  he reportedly probed her majesty about her grandson Prince Harrys relationship with his wife, Meghan, a few months after the birth of the couples first child. At the time, the British press was routinely reporting that a feud had developed between Prince Harry and Prince William, and their spouses.

Extracts, published by USA Today, from the book purportedly reveal Mr Trumps version of how the late Queen handled his questions.

open image in gallery Britain's late Queen Elizabeth II raises glasses with US president Donald Trump during a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2019 ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images )

I asked her about it constantly, Mr Trump said, according to the book. Id say, Come on, tell me [what you really think].

She replied: No, no. Its very nice.

Despite the Queens propriety, the president was apparently unconvinced.

I really think it hurt her, he said, in reference to the fallout reportedly occurring in the royal family. I just dont think they treated her with the respect that she should have, frankly.

open image in gallery Donald Trump reportedly asked Queen Elizabeth who her favourite US president was ( PA Archive )

During the same state visit, Mr Trump also attempted, unsuccessfully, to draw the Queen to appraise the other 14 US presidents she had met  12 of them while they were in office  and to pick a favourite, the book reveals.

I said, So could I ask you who was your favourite president? he said.

The book recounts that she replied: Why? They were all so good.

Of the encounter, Mr Trump reportedly said: I couldnt get her to say a bad thing about anybody.

Despite refusing to choose, according to Page, Mr Trump had a theory that the Queens all-time favourite was none other than himself.

We just got along, he said. The then-US ambassador Woody Johnson agreed, writes Page. The president has a very keen sense of things like that, the owner of the New York Jets football team added.

open image in gallery Despite the recent strain on the special relationship, the White House is expected to announce the Kings state visit to the US this week, according to a report ( PA Archive )

According to the book, some former presidents and first ladies were sceptical about Mr Trumps presumption.

Thats hysterical, Jill Biden said, while Joe Biden shook his head, the book describes. Oh, that fits his character, for sure.

Hillary Clinton reportedly responded, Why am I not surprised by that?, adding: I dont think there is any evidence to believe that could possibly be true.

The publication of the book comes as the special relationship between the UK and the US has been tested by Mr Trumps frustrations with UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmers response to the war in Iran.

Last week, a senior UK lawmaker joined the mounting calls for King Charless visit to the US to be delayed amid worsening relations between the two nations.

King Charles has been credited with playing a vital role in easing relations between the UK and the US, with the presidents second state visit last year seen as a broad success.

Despite the tensions, the White House is expected to announce the state visit to America this week, according to a report.

The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History is published by HarperCollins and will be available from 23 April
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 and the Republican National Committee are moving forward with plans for a midterm convention and reportedly have a likely location to parade GOP candidates ahead of Novembers elections.

Trump and the RNC are favoring Dallas to hold its convention over other locations, such as Las Vegas, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Republicans are reportedly hoping to hold the convention after Labor Day as Election Day nears.

The RNC has confirmed the event will happen but said any reporting on a location and date is just speculative at the moment.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee are moving forward with plans for a midterm convention and reportedly have a likely location to parade GOP candidates ahead of Novembers elections ( AFP via Getty Images )

The upcoming Midterm Convention is happening because of President Trumps leadership, vision, and unwavering commitment to the America First movement. His ability to bring people together and inspire action continues to drive momentum across the country, RNC Senior Advisor Danielle Alvarez said in a statement shared withThe Independent.

While there has been speculation in the media about the location and date, no contracts have been signed and any reporting on those details remains purely speculative at this time, Alvarez said.

The Republican and Democratic parties typically have conventions every four years to formally nominate presidential candidates.

open image in gallery Republicans and Democrats typically hold conventions every four years to formally nominate presidential candidates but a midterm convention is unusual ( AFP via Getty Images )

These big events also rally support for the party and candidate, with politicians and even celebrities showing up. But a convention during a midterm election is unusual.

Axios reported last August that senior Democratic officials were weighing whether to hold their own midterm convention. But earlier this month, the party decided against holding a convention this year to put resources where theyre needed most.

"Republicans were baited into wasting time and money on a midterm convention that will sink their swing-seat candidates by tying them directly to Trump's wildly unpopular policies," DNC Executive Director Roger Lau said in a statement shared by several media outlets.

open image in gallery Republicans are reportedly hoping to hold the convention, which will likely be in Dallas, after Labor Day ( AFP via Getty Images )

"Meanwhile the DNC has put resources where they're needed most and doubled down on the playbook that helped our candidates flip seats up and down the ballot in 2025, Lau added.

The RNC had more than $109 million in cash on hand at the end of February and no debt, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. The DNC had nearly $16 million in cash on hand, but owed more than $17.3 million, FEC records showed.

The Independent has reached out to the DNC for comment.
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 might have once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for Senate Republicans when it comes to winning the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

As the crash at LaGuardia International Airport that killed two Air Canada pilots caused further flight delays in the New York metro region Monday, Trump proceeded to escalate the showdown in two ways: First, he announced that he would send ICE agents to airports to full in for unpaid TSA agents who have been calling out sick in droves. Initially, Republicans seemed gleeful at the slap at Democrats.

I think its justice, Texas Sen. John Cornyn told The Independent. Democrats dont like ICE. So they got more ICE.

Cornyn is facing a bruising primary against Attorney General Ken Paxton. He needs Trumps endorsement for the win. Many Republicans just hope and pray that Trump will endorse Cornyn so the GOP does not have to spend millions to prop Paxton and all his baggage up against Democratic primary winner James Talarico.

That aside, videos have already made the rounds of people struggling against ICE agents at airports. ICEs popularity is already far underwater in the United States, and these headlines will certainly hurt its popularity.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump demanded the Senate link Homeland Security funding with the SAVE America Act, making life harder for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (L) ( Getty Images )

How did we get here? To recap, a little more than a month ago, the Department of Homeland Security was shut down after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on certain guardrails for Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Customs and Border Protection. This came after federal agents under DHS killed US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. But so far, neither side has come to an agreement and the ripple effect has been glaring.

But Trump also threw a wrench in Republican plans to turn the screws on Democrats when he wrote on Truth Social: I don't think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.

Republicans in the House and Trump have pushed for the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship when registering the vote. But the legislation cannot overcome the legislative filibuster since Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove of it.

That led Trump to tell Republicans, Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary.

In response, Senate Majority Leader John Thune seemed perturbed on Monday.

open image in gallery Wraparound lines at airports across the country have made reopening the Department of Homeland Security even more important. ( Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Today is kind of a day where we're sorting some things out, but hopefully as the week wears on, we'll find a path forward to get this done, Thune told The Independent.

Sen. Andy Kim, the New Jersey Democrat who serves on the Homeland Security Committee, pushed back on the idea.

They don't want to have TSA held hostage because Trump tried to push this insane bill about supposed voter fraud, Kim told The Independent.

Kim also pushed back on the idea of using ICE officials in airports.

It's absolutely ridiculous that he's he's tried to push this and again, holding Americans at the airport hostage for this and preventing us from being able to come up with real fixes, he said.

But Trumps jamming the calendar might be making matters worse for himself.

Cancelling the Easter recess means Republicans like John Husted of Ohio and Susan Collins cant go back home to campaign, imperilling his Senate majority and opening the possibility for an impeachment in the next Congress.

Leaving Homeland Security closed until the Senate engages on a quixotic campaign to pass the SAVE America Act and somehow get around the the legislative filibuster will make life harder for his next Homeland Security secretary, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.

And Trumps obsession with SAVE America and ICE makes it look like he is divorced from the real need to lower gas prices amid his self-inflicted war with Iran.
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 on Monday urged Republican lawmakers to work through the upcoming Easter holiday, invoking Jesus in a bid to pass a voter-identification bill strongly opposed by Democrats.

Trump suggested the voting bill be tied to any agreement to fund the Homeland Security department, which has been partially shut down since February 13 after Democrats demanded immigration enforcement reforms.

"I'm requesting that the Republican senators do that immediately. You don't have to take a fast vote. Don't worry about Easter, going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus," Trump told a roundtable event in Memphis, Tennessee.

Lawmakers are due to begin a two-week Easter recess at the end of this week.

Lawmakers are due to begin a two-week Easter recess at the end of this week ( Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images )

However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, dismissed the notion of combining Department of Homeland Security funding with the voter identification bill.

"I think you all know that's not realistic," Thune told reporters, referring to there being enough Senate opposition to the bill to sink it.

Instead, Thune said he hoped that before the end of the week there could be a path toward passage of the DHS measure.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, in a Senate speech, said Trump was "trying to sabotage negotiations, demanding that talks stop entirely until Congress passes the SAVE Act."

There were still thorny issues to be resolved on the DHS funding bill. Democrats have been pushing to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents get judicial warrants before entering private property.

"I'm not sure how you solve that one," Thune said of the demand. "People have to be able to do their jobs. And the use of administrative warrants has been a practice that's been around for a long time," Thune said.

Administrative warrants normally have not been used to forcibly enter private homes.

Thune also has resisted Trump's calls for eliminating the "filibuster" rule in the Senate so that Republicans can advance legislation without any support from Democrats.

The lack of DHS funds means tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration personnel have worked without pay for five weeks, leading some airport security workers to call in sick or quit entirely.

The voting bill would require voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID for casting ballots. The bill currently lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome Democratic opposition in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.
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

Shalom Baranes, the architect who agreed to see through President Donald Trumps White House ballroom addition, has baffled colleagues in Washington, D.C. by taking on the controversial project late in his career.

Baranes, 75, is a longtime, well-respected architect in D.C. who has worked on dozens of contemporary additions to federal buildings.

He also has a history of being critical of the Trump administrations harsh anti-immigration policies, as the son of Jewish Libyan refugees who came to the United States at 6 years old.

Why would he do this? and Wonder if the firm needs the business? were among the questions posed by the reports and editors at Washington Biz Journal in December when they announced that the architect they had been covering for nearly 20 years had agreed to take over the 90,000 square-foot ballroom project.

I am totally baffled why he would take this on, Nancy MacWood, a preservationist familiar with Baranes' work, told the New York Times.

open image in gallery ( Getty )

In an interview with the New York Times last week, Baranes repeated his criticisms of the Trump administration, saying: Whats happening now is heartbreaking.

I do hope theres a realization at some point that this country depends on immigration. We have to normalize our policies, Baranes added.

His legacy as a well-tempered, creative and collaborative architect was already cemented in the nations Capitol by 2006, when the Washington Post said it would be hard to find an architect who knows more about designing in Washington than him.

That, combined with his criticisms of the administration, has left some of his colleagues scratching their heads, wondering why he would take on the $400 million addition that has been scrutinized by fellow architects, the public and lawmakers.

I dont understand why he would put himself in such a hot seat right now, David M. Schwarz, an architect in D.C. who has known Baranes since their days at the Yale School of Architecture, told the New York Times.

Baranes agreed to take over the project after the original architect, James McCrery II, stepped down.

open image in gallery Rendering for the new White House ballroom show the massive 90,000-square foot structure attached to the main residence ( AP )

Baranes is under a nondisclosure agreement with the White House and declined to explain his motivations for taking on the project to the New York Times.

But he denied allegations that his architecture firm needs the undisclosed amount of money from the job.

Others in the architecture community said they could totally understand his taking on the job.

If I had to pick who would do this job, it would be Shalom, said Richard Nash Gould, a New York architect and Trump supporter who spoke to him recently about the ballroom. Hes happy, hes bulletproof and hes really smart.

Why wouldnt he? he said. Its an incredibly interesting job.

High-profile jobs Baranes has done around D.C., include the renovation of the Department of Homeland Security headquarters, the Federal Reserve Building, the American Red Cross Building and the Treasury  to name a few.

Perhaps most notably, though, Baranes and his firm were the architects who renovated the Pentagon after it was damaged on September 11, 2001, when a plane crashed into the side of the building.

He referred to that project as his proudest moment, in a 2017 op-ed for the Washington Post in which he lightly criticized the presidents immigration policies during his first term.

My hope is that the Trump administration will take actions to ensure that the travel ban is indeed temporary, so that good, hard-working individuals fleeing tyranny can find a new home as I did  and that each of them will be given the same opportunity to help build this great nation that I had, Baranes wrote in the 2017 piece.

The architect appears to be putting any personal feelings about the Trump administration policies aside to take on the new ballroom, which Trump demanded because the White House does not have a large enough entertaining space for state dinners and other events.
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

Australias world-first national legislation to restrict access to social media accounts for children under 16 years old has been in force for about three months. New data from a survey of 1,070 Australian adults provides tantalising evidence of some positive effects.

The YouGov survey found many parents had noticed several positive behavioural shifts in their children aged 16 and under since the law took effect on December 10 2025. This, however, wasnt universal, with some parents also reporting negative changes in their childrens behaviour.

This data does offer some insights into the impact of Australias Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act. But it also has some major limitations.

So what exactly do the results of the survey show? And how should they be interpreted?

A first step

Before we can assess any effect of the legislation in preventing online harms we need to know whether the age-assurance processes are working.

Initial figures gathered by Australias eSafety Commission indicated social media platforms had removed 4.7 million accounts of children under 16 last December.

open image in gallery Initial figures gathered by Australias eSafety Commission indicated social media platforms had removed 4.7 million accounts of children under 16 last December ( AP )

This figure reportedly includes a number of inactive and duplicate accounts. As a result, it may not be an accurate representation of the actual number of young people affected.

Young people are also reportedly circumventing age verification restrictions. And a report by Crikey, based on new data by parental control company Qustodio, showed social media usage among under-16s had dropped only marginally in the first three months of the ban.

Parents see some positive impacts

The YouGov survey took place online on January 1214 this year  a little over a month after social media age restrictions took effect.

Among parents of children under 16 years old, 61% observed between two and four positive effects. Some 43% noticed more in-person social interactions, while 38% said their children were more present and engaged during interactions and 38% reported improved parent-child relationships.

But these parents also reported negative impacts. Some 27% noted a shift to alternative or less regulated platforms. And 25% observed reduced social connection, creativity or peer support online.

Two thirds of adults in this survey believed greater parental involvement could make the ban more effective. And 56% agreed stricter enforcement and age verification would improve its effectiveness.

This suggests many parents understand the complex challenges around implementation of effective age-assurance processes.

Limitations of the survey

Disappointingly, the proportion of parents in the YouGov sample is not reported, nor is the exact age of their children.

Given the survey took place in the middle of the summer holidays, it is hard to know what contribution this may have had, as social media use generally declines then.

open image in gallery Australias Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act took effect on December 10 2025 ( Getty )

We also do not know whether the reported behavioural changes were observed among young people who had been kicked off their social media accounts.

Crucially, the YouGov survey is also missing the voices of young people.

Ongoing work

We are involved in an ongoing study that aims to evaluate the impact of social media age restrictions. This study directly measures how much time young people actually spend on different social media apps using passive sensing technology, in addition to more common self-reported questionnaires.

Our baseline data (collected before the new rules came into effect) from 171 young people counters the prevailing narrative that all teens are against the social media restrictions.

In fact, 40% of 1316-year-olds were either supportive of or indifferent to the legislation, suggesting a more nuanced examination is warranted.

Young people also showed insights into their own experiences of using social media. Watching short videos was the most frequently reported activity. But only 16% thought it was a good use of their time.

About the authors Susan M. Sawyer is a professor of Adolescent Health at the University of Melbourne; Director, Royal Children's Hospital Centre for Adolescent Health; and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The University of Melbourne. Sylvia C. Lin is a postdoctoral research fellow, Deakin University; Murdoch Children's Research Institute. This article was first published by The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Australias eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has also committed to a comprehensive evaluation of the Social Media Minimum Age Act.

A collaboration between the eSafety Commission, Stanford Universitys Social Media Lab (the lead academic partner), and an 11-member academic advisory group, this evaluation aims to assess how the minimum age requirement is being implemented and examine both intended and unintended impacts.

A major element of the eSafety evaluation is its longitudinal design over at least the next two years, with perspectives from over 4,000 young people aged 1016 years and their parent or carer. The participants include enough young people from certain groups, such as those living in the country, or who are neurodiverse, to take a closer look at whether restricting access to social media has a disproportionate impact on them.

The eSafety evaluation will also directly track how much time young people spend on different apps and when they do so.

Measuring success in years, not months

The next few months will no doubt be the toughest for the eSafety Commissioner as she works with each of the technology platforms to ensure they are taking the reasonable steps required by the law.

There will be much global interest in the public compliance report that the eSafety Commission will soon release, which will detail these steps.

Technology companies face fines of up to A$49.5 million for failing to comply with the law. For many, the financial cost may be less of a concern than avoiding damage to their reputation, as evident in recent court cases in the United States where Snapchat and TikTok settled out of court.

Rather than anticipating immediate benefits in young people who have already enjoyed access to social media, we may see stronger effects in the next generation of children, whose parents are yet to provide permission for them to access social media accounts.

In this regard, the true benefit of Australias legislation may be whether it changes social norms among parents about the right age for children to have a phone and around what role social media should play in young peoples lives.

Such changes will be measured in years, not months.
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 Italian justice undersecretary has resigned following reports of his alleged stake in a restaurant chain with mafia links, marking the first significant shake-up in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government since a bruising referendum defeat this week.

Andrea Delmastro, a member of Ms Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, came under scrutiny this month.

Daily Il Fatto Quotidiano reported his stake in a Rome restaurant, shared with the 18-year-old daughter of Andrea Caroccia, a man convicted for ties to the Camorra, a Naples-based mafia group.

Mr Delmastro denied wrongdoing, stating he sold his stake once he learned of Mr Caroccia's mob-related conviction.

His position, however, worsened after La Repubblica newspaper published a 2023 photograph showing him with Mr Caroccia, an image the paper said indicated they knew each other.

It also emerged Mr Delmastro had not declared his stake to parliament, as was required. In his resignation statement on Tuesday, he acknowledged a mistake but maintained his actions were not unlawful.

open image in gallery Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ( REUTERS )

"I have always fought crime and achieved concrete, important results. Although I did nothing wrong, I made an error of judgment, which I corrected as soon as I became aware of it. I take responsibility for that," he said.

The scandal hung over the final days of campaigning last week for the referendum on the government's judicial reform, giving the opposition a fresh opening to criticise the coalition's handling of the justice ministry.

Both Meloni and Justice Minister Carlo Nordio have refused to resign following the referendum defeat, but Delmastro's position appeared increasingly untenable as the media dug into his track record.

Last year, he was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence for revealing classified information about an anarchist held under maximum security.

The news comes after voters on Monday rejected a judicial reform backed by conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni, delivering a stinging setback to the right-wing government one year ahead of national elections.

open image in gallery Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, looks on during his appointment ceremony ( REUTERS )

The proposed judicial reform had been billed by Melonis coalition as a key step toward streamlining Italys judicial system  long criticized as slow, bureaucratic, and vulnerable to political influence.

Italian citizens have decided and we respect their decision as always, Meloni said in a video posted on Instagram. She pledged, as anticipated, to complete her mandate, which runs into 2027.

We will move forward as we always have: with responsibility, determination, and above all, with respect for Italy and its people, Meloni said, admitting some regret for a missed opportunity to modernize Italy.

The No camp won almost 54% of the vote against the governmentbacked Yes campaign, which secured about 46%, according to final results released by the Interior Ministry.
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 people have been arrested after a fire destroyed the warehouse of a company in the Czech Republic supplying autonomous drones to Ukraine.

The fire is being investigated as suspected arson linked to terrorism, a spokesperson for police said.

Two of the suspects were arrested on Czech territory, but the third was detained in neighboring Slovakia. Czech authorities are now seeking the suspect's extradition.

They face charges of terrorist attack and participation in a terrorist group.

The suspects are Czech and US nationals, police said without offering any more details.

We continue to work intensively to apprehend the remaining suspects, also in cooperation with foreign partners, they said.

The fire broke out in an industrial zone in the city of Pardubice, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Prague, destroying the warehouse building but causing no injuries, police said.

LPP Holding confirmed a fire in one of its buildings and said it was cooperating with the investigation.

open image in gallery The suspects are Czech and US nationals, police said without offering any more details ( CTK )

The company develops and makes products for civilian and military use, such as drone autonomous technologies used by Ukraines armed forces in the fight against the Russian invasion.

Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar said the incident may be related to a terrorist attack and the Czech side was sharing details of the investigation with its foreign partners.

Top police officer Martin Vondrasek said police assumed the fire was arson. The blaze was extinguished by firefighters, and police said there was no danger to the public.

LPP Holding had previously said it was planning to open a center in Pardubice to develop and produce drones and train personnel in cooperation with Israeli Elbit Systems, a military technology company. However, after the attack it said the joint venture never came to fruition.

Arms manufacturers across the country have since boosted security measures.

LPP Holding said no arms were produced in the building that was attacked.

Unlike the previous pro-Western government, the new Czech government led by populist billionaire Andrej Babis has rejected any financial aid for Ukraine and guarantees for European Union loans to the country fighting Russia's invasion.

The Czechs join the ranks of Viktor Orban of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, who have led the opposition to EU backing for Ukraine.

However, popular support for Ukraine remains high.
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 Paris offices of Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild were searched by French investigators as part of an investigation into alleged corruption involving a French diplomat named in documents linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, officials said on Tuesday.

Fabrice Aidans name appeared in more than 200 documents released by the U.S. Justice Department.

Aidan was a middle-ranking French diplomat who was seconded to the United Nations from 2006 to 2013 and later worked at the bank.

These include emails he is alleged to have sent Epstein between 2010 and 2016 from his personal and U.N. accounts.

Some of the emails reviewed by Reuters show the transfer of U.N. Security Council briefings and other confidential documents to Epstein during that period.

The French Foreign Ministry said it had completed an administrative investigation, performing about 30 interviews ( AP )

Aidan has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The French Foreign Ministry said it had completed an administrative investigation, performing about 30 interviews. The ministry said all current and former staff members who had been summoned to its investigation had cooperated, adding that it was available to judicial authorities and was considering disciplinary proceedings.

The search was carried out on Friday in the presence of Ariane de Rothschild, the Swiss bank's boss, a source close to the bank said.

Edmond de Rothschild was cooperating fully with the justice system in the investigation led by the financial prosecutor, the same source said, adding that an internal inquiry had been launched as soon as suspicions emerged concerning the former employee, who worked at the bank from 2014 to 2016.

A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment.

'Accusations of passive corruption

The investigation is being led by officers from France's central office against corruption and financial and tax offences, who questioned Aidan in a voluntary interview in late February.

The French financial prosecutor's office said it was investigating accusations of passive corruption of a foreign public official and complicity in that crime, targeting Aidan in particular.

When asked if it was looking into Epstein links with the Geneva-based Edmond de Rothschild, Swiss financial regulator Finma said it considered all reliable information in its supervision and conducted in-depth reviews when in doubt about the integrity of business activities.

Swiss federal prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they were also investigating. A spokesperson for the Geneva prosecutor's office declined to comment on whether any measures were taken in the city.

Ariane de Rothschild also appeared in the files released by the U.S. Justice Department in January, which showed she kept up a years-long personal correspondence with Epstein before his 2019 arrest.

After the files were released, a spokesperson for the bank said that Epstein was a business acquaintance of de Rothschild from 2013 to 2019. De Rothschild had no knowledge of Epstein's conduct, the spokesperson said.
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

Airstrikes battered Iran and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israels Tel Aviv and sites across the Mideast on Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.

With thousands more U.S. Marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing intense barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the wars tempo remained high a day after Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran's chokehold on that crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and threatened the world economy.

Pakistan has offered to host diplomatic talks, according to officials from there and two other countries involved. But Iran remained defiant Tuesday, with the spokesman of its top military command saying that the armed forces would fight until complete victory.

Any talks between the U.S. and Iran  which appeared at the most tentative  would face monumental challenges. Many of Washingtons shifting list of objectives  particularly over Irans ballistic missile and nuclear programs  remain difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, its not clear who in Irans government would have the authority to negotiate  or be willing to, particularly as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.

Iran also remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that started the current war.

Pakistan says quiet diplomacy is underway

While Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf called the idea of negotiations with the U.S. fakenews, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's office acknowledged he has been talking about the war this week with his counterparts in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

The U.S. had agreed in principle to join talks in Pakistan, according three Pakistani officials, one Egyptian official and a Gulf diplomat, while mediators were still working to convince Iran. An email seeking comment from the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad was not answered.

All of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide the details to the media.

The Pakistani officials said the quiet diplomacy had grown more complicated since news of Pakistans attempts leaked. And in fact, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, spokesman of Iran's top military command, issued a defiant statement.

Iranian state television quoted Aliabadi as saying: Irans powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Irans integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory.

The general did not say what complete victory would look like, but it appeared likely Irans military was trying to warn against offering concessions in any possible negotiations.

The Egyptian official said efforts are centered on trust-building between the U.S. and Iran, with the aim of bringing about a pause in the fighting. Israel is not involved.

The official, who is involved in the efforts, said the priority is to prevent attacks on both Irans and Gulf Arab countries energy infrastructure and that they were working on a mechanism for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back over $100 a barrel Tuesday, up nearly 40% since the war started.

Marines are on the way to the Persian Gulf

Trumps announcement came as a contingent of thousands of Marines was on the way to the region, raising speculation that the U.S. may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to the countrys oil network.

The U.S. bombed the island in the Persian Gulf more than a week ago, hitting its defenses but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.

Iran has threatened to mine the Persian Gulf if the U.S. appears to be on the verge of landing troops. That would complicate an amphibious assault and also imperil all shipping in the area.

Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Irans power stations while talks unfold  a delay that could be timed to buy time for the Marines to arrive, wrote the New York-based think tank the Soufan Center in an analysis.

However, the center also noted that Trump could be actively seeking an offramp. Whether Iran reciprocates is yet to be seen.

Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.

Iran hits Israel and Gulf neighbors while Israel attacks Beirut

Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian production sites, without providing more information. In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighborhoods and another in the center of the city.

Iran also fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel early on Tuesday.

In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100 kilogram (220 pound) warhead evaded Israeli defenses to slam into a street in the center of the city, blowing out windows of a neighboring apartment building and sending smoke billowing. Four people suffered minor wounds, rescue service worker Yoel Moshe said.

Emerging from a shelter, Amir Hasid said he expected the scene to be far worse. It feels like youre a (sitting) duck, waiting for the missiles to hit you, or someone next to you, he said.

In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defense shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours. Missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, the Emirati Defense Ministry said air defense systems responded to ballistic missiles and drones, and Saudi Arabias Defense Ministry said it had destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Israel pounded Beiruts southern suburbs Tuesday saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.

A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a 3-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Another five people were killed in the south.

Meanwhile, Lebanon declared Irans ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave by Sunday.

The dramatic move offers the latest evidence of the deterioration in relations between Lebanon and Iran. Iranian flights have been banned from landing in Lebanon, out of fear that they would carry weapons or funding for Hezbollah, and some Lebanese government officials have been critical of Tehrans role in the country, accusing it of dragging the country into another war with Israel.

Israel has said that some of its strikes have targeted Guard officials operating in the country.

Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.

Irans death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.

___

Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut 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

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has delivered an unusually blunt rebuke of US President Donald Trump's foreign policy, labelling the Iran war a "disastrous mistake" and a breach of international law.

Speaking on Tuesday, he warned the conflict marked a rupture for German ties with its biggest post-war ally.

In a scathing verbal attack, Mr Steinmeier, whose largely ceremonial role allows him to speak more freely than politicians, took a far more critical line than Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has skirted questions on the war's legality.

"Our foreign policy does not become more convincing just because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law," the former foreign minister from the centre-left Social Democratic Party said in a speech at the foreign ministry.

"We must address this with regard to the war in Iran. For, in my view, this war is contrary to international law," he added, expressing little doubt that the justification of an imminent attack on US targets did not hold water.

Calling the war unnecessary and a "politically disastrous mistake", Mr Steinmeier said US President Trump's second term marked a rupture in German foreign relations as profound as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose largely ceremonial role allows him to speak more freely than politicians, took a far more critical line than Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has skirted questions on the war's legality ( AFP via Getty Images )

"Just as I believe there will be no going back in relations with Russia to before February 24, 2022, so too do I believe there will be no going back in transatlantic relations to before January 20, 2025," said Steinmeier.

Germany had to apply lessons it learned in extricating itself from "excessive dependencies" on Russia and apply them to the US, particularly in defence and technology, which translate to power, he said.

Germany has stressed the importance of creating alternatives to US-dominated technology as concerns grow over US access.

China returned to being Germany's top trading partner in the first eight months of 2025, overtaking the US as higher tariffs weighed on German exports. Trade between the US and Germany amounted to more than 163 billion euros ($190 billion) over that period.

The recent spat between the Pentagon and Anthropic over safety guardrails surrounding the latter's artificial intelligence could be a wake-up call, or even an opportunity, for Europe, said Steinmeier.

"Europe as a technology hub has talent, markets, opportunities and, importantly, ethical standards. We should build on these," he said.
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

Norway's huge $2.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, plans to eventually allow artificial intelligence to make some investment decisions, but only under human supervision. Officials confirmed this remains a future step, citing the technology's current error rate.

Around half of the 700 employees at Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) already code their own AI tools, primarily using Anthropic's Claude large language model. These systems gather information, assisting staff in decision-making, according to Stian Kirkeberg, the fund's head of machine learning and AI.

Applications range from monitoring 7,000 companies for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and financial risk, to simulating contract negotiations or preparing for meetings. Mr Kirkeberg stated that, in time, some AI agents will be permitted to make limited autonomous decisions.

"The principle is that we make better human decisions by getting AI to analyse it for us," he told Reuters after the seminar.

"At some stage, we're going to trust that the agent can make some of the decisions and we just monitor what it does," Kirkeberg said.

He added that the fund was moving toward that approach but was not applying it yet, emphasising that human oversight would remain essential.

open image in gallery FILE - Nicolai Tangen attends a media conference on his employment agreement as new CEO for Norges Bank Investment Management, in Oslo, Norway, Thursday May 28, 2020. (Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB scanpix via AP, File)

Chief Executive Nicolai Tangen has been a vocal supporter of using AI both internally and in the companies the fund invests in, once describing firms that fail to adopt the technology as "complete morons".

He said the wealth fund, which manages Norway's oil and gas revenues for future generations, is not under the same pressure as short-term investors to automate investment decisions.

"You have investment firms which have automated investment decisions ... We're not doing that. But we are also not a high-frequency trader, ... we are a long-term investor, so it's a bit different", Tangen told Reuters.

One exception is the fund's use of AI to analyse when to trade or not, helping to reduce transaction costs.

Tangen said the fund had invested "millions of crowns" in AI and returned benefits "in the billions", without giving specific figures or a timeframe.

He expected the headcount to remain steady at around 700 across its offices in Oslo, London, New York and Singapore, but roles would shift as a result of AI toward front-end investment from back-end administration.

His advice to other company leaders pushing for AI adoption in-house is to avoid setting explicit job cut targets.

"Because then you will just create a lot of resistance. I think instead what you have as a target to increase sales, profits, efficiency, just to gain market share and do what you do better. I think that's a much more constructive way of implementing it", Tangen said.
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

Poland scrambled jets on Tuesday after Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight.

The Nato countrys Armed Forces Operational Command said that a pair of fighter jets and an early warning aircraft had been deployed after detecting long-range Russian missiles striking Ukraine nearby.

Ground-based air defence systems and radar reconnaissance also reached a maximum state of readiness, it said.

These actions are of a preventive nature and are aimed at securing the airspace and its protection, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened regions, Polands army said in a statement on X.

The Operational Command of the Armed Forces is monitoring the current situation, and the subordinate forces and resources remain ready for immediate response.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said four people had been killed in the attacks on 11 regions, with dozens more injured.

open image in gallery Mikoyan MIG-29 fighter jets of the Polish Air Force (file photo) ( Getty Images )

The overnight Russian attack consisted of nearly 40 drones launched against Shostka in the Sumy region of Ukraine, he wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. In Slatyne, Kharkiv, he said a drone had struck an electric train.

He added: In total, there were over 390 strike drones and 34 missiles of various types  ballistic, cruise, and guided air-launched missiles.

These numbers clearly show that more protection is needed to save lives from Russian strikes. It is important to continue supporting Ukraine.

It is not the first time that Poland has been forced to ready itself for a possible attack.

There have been several incursions into the countrys airspace, prompting its leader to call for a no-fly zone over its territory in September last year.

open image in gallery Four people in Ukraine were killed overnight in large-scale Russian attacks, said Ukraines president Zelensky ( BBC )

Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft operating near its airspace over the Baltic Sea in December, according to the countrys army.

Nations on Nato's eastern flank have remained on high alert for potential airspace incursions after a spate of airspace incursions in recent months including disruptions to airports in Lithuania in December and a violation of Estonian airspace by three Russian military jets for 12 minutes in September. Romania and Denmark have also been affected.

States have accused President Vladimir Putin of conducting hybrid warfare, causing disruptions to travel and military systems without a direct attack. The Kremlin has denied the claims.

Nato has not reacted collectively to the intrusions with military intervention so far, although defences were bolstered along the alliances eastern flank where the majority of the disruptions have occurred.
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

Ukraine has increased attacks on Russian energy facilities in recent weeks as peace talks between the two nations failed to make progress.

Ukrainian and US delegations concluded a second day of talks in Florida on finding ways to end the four-year war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday.

Russian representatives were not present at the talks, which opened in Florida on Saturday. They were originally expected to attend the negotiations, which were due to take place in Abu Dhabi.

Ukraine has also targeted Russian drone production facilities, given the threats the weapons posed to its people and infrastructure.

Following is a summary of the attacks and their impact.

Saratov oil refinery

The Saratov oil refinery, controlled by Rosneft, was hit by a drone on 21 March and its crude distillation unit has been shut down since the attack, according to sources.

In 2024, the refinery processed 5.8 million metric tons of oil, accounting for 2.2 per cent of all Russia's oil refining.

open image in gallery Explosions rocked Saratov and Engels in Russia ( Telegram/Exilenova+ )

Ilsky refinery

A fire broke out at the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Russia on 17 February as a result of drone attacks. The blaze was fully extinguished by the next day, according to regional officials.

The Ilsky refinery, with an annual processing capacity of 6.6 million tons of oil, is export-oriented.

Volgograd refinery

The Volgograd refinery, owned by Lukoil was completely shut down on 11 February as a result of drone attacks, according to sources.

The drones hit, among other facilities, the primary oil processing unit CDU-1 whose capacity of 18,600 tons per day accounts for around 40 per cent of the refinery's total.

In 2024, the Volgograd refinery processed 13.7 million tons of oil.

open image in gallery Smoke and flames rise from a building near the Archeda train station ( Social media )

Ukhta refinery

A fire broke out on 12 February at the Ukhta refinery, owned by Lukoil, following a drone attack, according to regional officials.

According to sources, the primary oil processing unit CDU-1 caught fire. The unit has a capacity of about 6,000 tons per day, or approximately one-third of the refinery's total.

In 2025, the Ukhta refinery in northern Russia processed around 3 million tons of oil.

Afipsky refinery

A fire occurred at the Afipsky refinery in southern Russia on January 21 as a result of drone attacks, according to regional officials.

The refinery is mostly focused on exports. It processed 7.2 million metric tons of crude oil, or 144,000 barrels per day, in 2024.

open image in gallery A fire broke out at an oil refinery in northwestern Russia, resulting in deaths and injuries ( AP )

Ports and tankers

The Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk resumed crude oil loadings on Monday and Tuesday respectively after suspending operations due to drone attacks.

Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft cut crude intake into its system by some 250,000 barrels per day after a Ukrainian drone attack on 23 February on a pumping station that serves major oil hubs and ports.

Drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea including one chartered by US oil major Chevron as they sailed toward a terminal on the Russian coast on 13 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 decision by Slovakia's government this month to approve a resolution allowing service stations to limit diesel sales, and also set higher prices for cars with foreign plates, go against European Union law, said a Commission spokesperson on Tuesday.

"We take note that the Slovak government has adopted a measure imposing, a 30 day restriction on diesel refuelling in Slovakia as well as introducing differentiated pricing for domestic and foreign vehicles. And that includes higher prices for vehicles with foreign licence plates," said the spokesperson at a news conference.

"We consider that this measure is highly discriminatory and against EU Law and while we understand the need to support citizens, and at this time in particular, measures must not discriminate between nationality, nor should they undermine the integrity of our single market, we will take the appropriate legal action to ensure compliance with this," added the spokesperson.

Slovakia has sought to secure supplies as global energy prices have surged due to the Iran war, and as the country's Russian crude deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline have been interrupted due to damage to the line in Ukraine.

Under Slovakia's new resolution, fuel pumps can limit diesel sales to a full tank and up to 10 additional litres.

Exports will also be limited, and prices of diesel for foreign-registered cars can be set differently, based on the average of prices in neighbouring Czech Republic, Austria and Poland.

The measures will be valid for 30 days and do not concern gasoline.

open image in gallery The price per litre of unleaded petrol and diesel fuels are pictured outside an Esso petrol station in Lutterworth, near Rugby in central England, on March 10, 2026 ( AFP/Getty )

The decision comes as Hungary capped fuel prices this month, and Polands main refiner Orlen has reduced its margins to mitigate the impact on consumers.

Meanwhile, British motorists were told they should not drive slower nor buy fuel differently because of the Iran oil crisis. Michael Shanks insisted British drivers did not need to change their habits, despite suggestions from the International Energy Agency (IEA) aimed at conserving fuel.

The IEA has advised motorists across the world to reduce their speed on highways, share rides and work from home when possible to reduce how much petrol or diesel they use.

Mr Shanks was asked by Times Radio if British drivers should change their habits and told the broadcaster: They should do everything as absolutely normal because there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment.

We monitor this every single day, I look at the numbers personally. Theres no issue at all with that.
Zelensky warns of 'distracted' US as acting ambassador Davis prepares to exit

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 is once again scaling back its annual Victory Day parade in Red Square, saying no military equipment will be used amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The parade is a key event in Russia and is held in Moscow on 9 May every year, marking the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Prior to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the parade would traditionally involve a display of tanks and other military equipment, as Moscow flexed its muscles for the world to see.

It has been pared back dramatically due to the war, however, and in 2024 Russia was mocked by Ukraine for displaying just a solitary tank for the second year in a row.

Russia's defence ministry confirmed no military hardware would be involved in the parade at all this year, though it did not directly link this to shortages or frontline deployments.

Meanwhile, Ukraine announced that its air defences shot down more than 33,000 Russian drones of various types in March, a new monthly record in the four-year war.
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 Vatican has announced that Catholics are permitted to receive transplants of animal tissues to address medical conditions, as advancements in procedures involving genetically modified pig or cow organs continue.

An 88-page document, outlining ethical guidelines for such transplants, reaffirms earlier Church teaching, stating there is no objection to these treatments provided they follow best medical practices and avoid animal cruelty.

The guidance explicitly notes: "Catholic theology does not have preclusions, on a religious or ritual basis, in using any animal as a source of organs, tissues or cells for transplantation to human beings."

The text addressed xenotransplantation, or the transplanting of organs or tissues from one species to another. The Vatican first greenlit such procedures in 2001, when they were in very early stages of development. Animal organ transplants for human use are still rare. The first pig-to-human kidney transplant was carried out in the United States in 2024.

Pope Leo XIV appears at the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. ( Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

The Vatican document, which was drafted with the help of doctors from Italy, the U.S. and the Netherlands, called on scientists to pursue animal transplants in a manner that is "purposeful, proportionate and sustainable".

It also called on doctors to disclose the risks of animal transplants, including the probability of rejection by a patient's immune system and the possibility of causing infection from microorganisms.

In 2024, the Vatican declared sex change operations grave threats to human dignity, putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that violate Gods plan for human life.

The Vaticans doctrine office issued Infinite Dignity, a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five years.

After substantial revision in recent months, it was approved by Pope Francis, who ordered its publication.

It distinguished between transitioning surgeries, which it rejected, and genital abnormalities that are present at birth or that develop later.

Those can be resolved with the help of health care professionals, it said.
My name is Craig Foreman. Ive been a carpenter and joiner all my life and Ive been happily married to Lindsay for the last 10 years. Were both currently serving 14 months into a 10-year prison sentence in Evin prison, Tehran, for crimes that were never committed: spying for the UK and Israel.

This is the start of a voice message recorded by Craig Foreman from prison in Iran on the weekend, where bombs are falling around him. He and Lindsay were travelling the world on a motorcycle trip when they entered Iran on tourist visas with an approved itinerary and a tour guide. Four days later, they were arrested, and over a year on, the couple is imprisoned, separately, in the middle of a warzone.

Craigs message, recorded on a call by his stepson Joe Bennett, directly addressed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary. You know we are innocent, he said. Go public with the information you have to clearly step up, step out of the shadows and help us. Our lives are constantly at risk We have gone from a challenging situation to a life-threatening situation. You have chosen to give us zero information on whats happening to us, what to do and where to go if the prison doors were to open.

He added: Were proud to be British, but right now we feel let down, alone and completely frustrated by the lack of public defence by the people in charge of the government.

Lindsays son Joe, 31, feels the same way. He met with the foreign secretary last week and had high hopes  but left feeling disappointed by the governments refusal to publicly proclaim his parents innocence.

My parents just want to know theyre not forgotten. It baffles my mind as to why the government wouldnt want to do that.

So far, the only comment from Cooper and the Foreign Office has been to label the Foremans jail sentences as completely appalling and totally unjustifiable. To Joe  and his parents  this is not enough.

Keir Starmer hasnt even mentioned their names once, he says. Not even in parliament. I get theyre not going to be top of the agenda, but that doesnt mean they shouldnt be part of it. There doesnt seem to be any lessons learned since Nazanin [Zaghari-Ratcliffes case]. Theres a lot of similarities there for all the wrong reasons.

open image in gallery Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter, Gabriella ( Family handout )

Nazanin, a dual British-Iranian citizen, was imprisoned in 2016 in Iran on her way back to London with her baby, Gabriella, after a two-week holiday to visit her parents. Like Craig and Lindsay Foreman, she was also arrested on false espionage charges. She was sentenced to five years in jail and came back home to her family six years after her arrest, in 2022. Her husband Richard Ratcliffe campaigned relentlessly for her release, and for the government to recognise she had essentially been taken as a hostage by Iran, who wanted the UK to pay back what Tehran claimed was a 400m debt.

Richard believes the same thing is happening to the Foremans. Their case fits the patterns of our case quite well. Someone who was taken for no reason, minding their own business, where there was clearly no malice in anything they were doing. The Iranians know that. Theyre holding them as bargaining chips.

Im absolutely sure the British government knows what the bargain is, and they dont want to meet that bargain, and thats why we have this fudging. Iran has a long-standing practice of hostage-taking. Theres no ambiguity in my mind they are hostages, and it is a denial of the crime to pretend theyre not.

Both Richard and Nazanin struggle to watch history repeat itself and witness the government failing to label the Foremans as innocent people who have been arbitrarily detained. Its the resilient refusal to learn the lessons of Nazanins case, which I find disturbing. When I look at the Foremans case, I see another innocent family walking in the same shoes we walked in. Its not a Conservative government letting them down this time; its a Labour government.

open image in gallery Richard Ratcliffe holding up a photo of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe when he was on hunger strike as part of his lobbying of the then foreign secretary to bring his wife home ( Getty )

For Nazanin, he says the hardest part is the fear of how long the Foremans will be imprisoned. The British government only negotiated for her release after shed served her sentence, and was then given a second jail sentence. We wouldnt want that to happen for the Foremans, says Richard. It feels to me that the governments policy of waiting is just to put the burden of suffering on innocent families.

This time, theres also the added threat of war. The Foremans survived a bombing in June last year, when an Israeli airstrike landed near Evin prison, and now, with the US and Israel in war with Iran, bombings are becoming a regular part of their life.

The calls in the last couple of weeks have been testing, says Joe, who speaks to his mum almost daily. There were bombs going off, rumours that the prison had been hit. Its so intense. The constant drone of drones, the bombings, the jets, its just non-stop.

At first, it was pure panic and hysteria in the prison, particularly when a bomb landed so close to the prison that the walls fell in the mens ward. But now, he says, mum Lindsay has accepted death could be a thing, says Joe, his voice breaking. Its hard, hard times. But she couldnt be in fight or flight forever.

open image in gallery Joe Bennett is campaigning for his parents release ( Reuters )

Richard, who has been supporting Joes campaigning, acknowledges that the situation for the Foremans is far more dangerous than it was for Nazanin.

Its more volatile. Prisoners have been treated very roughly since the war started; theres been a rise in executions. Theres a level of danger we never had to face. The fact that the government is not explicitly protecting Craig and Lindsay is a very conspicuous silence. Theyve been through two bombings and still the government is not willing to acknowledge them as hostages and hasnt done anything serious to get them out.

Another similarity Richard sees between the couple and Nazanins situation is the victim-blaming.

With Nazanin, there was a lot of focus on dual nationality. It was her fault for being half Iranian. She was seen as B-list British. Meanwhile, the Foremans have been criticised online for visiting Iran in the first place, and while the Foreign Office promises to continue to pursue this case relentlessly, the background notes always point out that the Foreign Office has long advised against travel to Iran for British and British Iranian nationals, who are at significant risk of detention.

Theres a natural tendency to think stupid fools from your armchair, but the government could do a much better job of clarifying the risks for travellers and it refuses to do so, says Richard. He also points out that travel advice does not mention the specific risk of British citizens being taken as hostages.

That means people will always think for people to be arrested, they must have done something. They think Im not doing anything, so Ill be ok. The governments failure to call Craig and Lindsay hostages doesnt just mean theyre less protected, but theyre still creating this fuzziness about whats going on, which doesnt protect other people. I find that reckless, irresponsible and at some level, cynical. How many families need to go through this experience before the government will say: Iran takes hostages?

open image in gallery Lindsay and Craig Foreman with her sons Joe and Toby Bennett ( Family handout )

Labours manifesto promised a new right to consular protection and a commitment to set up a hostage envoy. They havent done it, says Richard. Because the British government doesnt want the obligation to bring someone home. Its a family tragedy, but its not a British interest.

Joe struggled to tell his parents the result of his recent meeting with the foreign secretary, where he did not get the simple yes he wanted when he asked if she would defend their innocence. That crushed [my parents] hope, their fight. They just feel so abandoned.

Its even harder when they see other prisoners of different nationalities having daily calls with their embassies. Craig and Lindsay have a call scheduled soon with the British ambassador to Iran  but only after three months and the suggestion coming from them.

It doesnt read well, says Joe. It sets a dangerous precedent if the UK government is unwilling to do this for their citizens  theyre not standing up for whats right.

Its why he, Richard, and Craig and Lindsay from inside prison in a warzone, are all asking for the same thing: for the government to learn from its mistakes and stand up for innocent citizens.
The Iranian missile attack towards the UK-owned (for the time being) base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean should be a massive wake-up call for British politicians. Luckily, one missile disintegrated in flight, and another was shot down by a US Navy destroyer soon after launch. But the point has been made: Tehran very likely has missiles that can reach almost every capital city in Europe. Some have defences to counter such a threat  the UK has none.

Which might come as a surprise to some who heard government ministers over the weekend saying that the UK has everything it needs to defend the country. Sadly, with a few nuanced exceptions, this is simply not true. The one area where the UK has a limited anti-ballistic missile capability is in the form of the Type 45 destroyer. The HMS Diamonds Sampson radar and Aster missiles showed that they can shoot down some types of ballistic missiles in 2024.

But to provide anything close to effective missile defence for, say, London, a Type 45 would have to be sitting in the Thames Estuary 24/7  not tied up at a quay in Portsmouth Naval Base. And this ship would just be protecting the southeast of England, and many other sites across the country would need protecting, not least the Naval Base at the Clyde, where the Royal Navys ballistic missile submarines are based.

open image in gallery The HMS Diamond shot down ballistic missiles in 2024, but the UKs fleet of Type 45s isnt very expansive ( PA )

But with a total of six Type 45s, there arent enough to provide anything like a coherent air defence of the UK  and it is a waste of a ship, which might be needed elsewhere. For serious protection of the UK against ballistic and cruise missiles, there is a need for ground-based air defence, mainly surface-to-air missiles, but also anti-air guns.

Even if one discounts the ballistic missile threat from Iran, there is still a closer threat from Russia, which has made repeated blood-curdling threats against the UK. The UK is well within the range of Russias large ballistic missile arsenal, and, again, there is little the UK could do to defend against such a threat.

The UAE government released an infographic over the weekend that showed that the country had been targeted by just under 1,800 drones and 352 ballistic missiles since the Iran war started  the UK doesnt even have 352 Aster SAMs in its arsenal, showing exactly how exposed the UK is to this type of attack. Three hundred and fifty-two ballistic missiles are 25 per cent of the number of German V-2 rockets fired at London and southeast England in eight months in 1944-45, but were fired over the space of two weeks.

It is estimated that in the first few days of the Iran war, the Gulf states fired more than 800 Patriot SAMs Could some of the targets have been intercepted with cheaper systems? Absolutely! But if you want to protect critical infrastructure such as a refinery or oil storage, you use whatever you have to hand  its expensive work. Eight hundred Patriot SAMs are at least $3bn in value

open image in gallery A map showing the distance from Tehran, Iran, to London and Paris ( The Independent )

Another line trotted out by the UK government is that if there were some form of missile attack on Europe, or even on the UK, things are fine: our Nato allies would deal with whatever happened. But when you speak to those European militaries that operate SAMs such as Patriot or Aster, the answers are rather different.

There are no agreements or arrangements that would automatically see, say, Germany intercepting a ballistic missile heading for the UK. Actually, with missile stocks at critically low levels, most European nations have said that they would keep what they have to protect their own territory. Indeed, there is a degree of anger that the UK seems to be happy to freeload off European Nato. As regards missile defence, Ive heard several European Nato militaries call the UK scroungers.

open image in gallery Israeli soldiers next to a fragment of a missile fired from Iran and intercepted by an Israeli defence system on 19 March 2026 ( AP )

In 2024 and 2025, European Nato countries announced procurement of well over $15bn-worth of new SAMs  the UK will currently not see significant spending on ground-based air defence until the 2030s.

The US indeed deployed what is known as Aegis Ashore in Romania in 2016. This has seen the radar and command system from the US Navys Aegis system put into a fixed facility, rather than on a ship. Teamed with 24 Standard SM-3 anti-missile SAMs, it is intended to protect against some missile threats emanating from the SE of Nato  Iran being the obvious candidate. There is a similar facility in Poland, too, but if there were to be a massive Russian missile launch against Nato, the magazine would be empty rapidly, and countries would have to rely on their own defence systems  and the UK has little to offer here.

It is difficult to put over what many have seen as normal, that there are no direct threats to the UK, might no longer be the case  it is frightening, it is disconcerting. But what is worse: accepting that there are some new priorities for defence, or a situation in the future where the UK suffers serious damage and destruction from an enemy attack using a range of missiles and drones? In Europe, the acceptance that it is no longer situation as usual is solid  it is well understood that the era of the peace dividend is over.

The same is not true in the UK, and as was seen over the weekend, ministers were spreading the word that there were no threats to the UK, and that home soil was entirely safe from any threats, nothing to see here.

It is increasingly difficult to rationalise the very different behaviour of European governments towards homeland defence and the UK  either a couple of dozen European states are completely wrong about defence and the threats that they face, or they are right. So, is the UK an outlier, an anomaly as regards homeland defence, protection of the population and its facilities? At the moment, it is looking so.
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

Irans military has vowed to fight until the bitter end against the US and Israel after rejecting Donald Trumps claims that America had been holding productive peace talks with Tehran.

A spokesperson for Irans top military command said on Tuesday that its armed forces will not stop until complete victory, pouring cold water over Mr Trumps statements about a five-day ceasefire.

However, Iranian officials conceded that the US had been in contact through mediators as pressure mounted for a resolution after weeks of upheaval across the Middle East.

We received points from the US through mediators and they are being reviewed, a senior military official told CBS.

Pakistan has offered to mediate negotiations, with its prime minister Shehbaz Sharif writing on X that the nation stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict.

It remains unclear who diplomats would be negotiating with after several top Iranian officials were killed in recent days, including security chief Ali Larijani. The newly-appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public over security fears as Israel is likely to assassinate him.

open image in gallery Tel Aviv on Monday after an Iranian missile strike ( AFP/Getty )

Trump administration officials said the White House was considering Irans parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as a potential leader of talks. An Israeli official told Axios that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner were negotiating with him instead of the new supreme leader.

Mr Ghalibaf has vehemently denied that Iran is in talks with the US and called such reports fake news.

The war of words follows Iran intensifying attacks against Israel and Americas allies in the Gulf, with the Israeli military reporting missile attacks across the country on Tuesday, including several hits on Tel Aviv.

Saudi Arabia intercepted more than 20 drones in a fresh wave of attacks and Bahrain activated sirens while Kuwait responded to drone and missile attacks overnight.

Police in Iran said they arrested 466 individuals accused of stirring public opinion and online propaganda in favour of the enemy, according to IRNA, the state news agency.

open image in gallery Ghalibaf is being favoured to lead negotiations, according to reports ( Middle East Images )

Oil prices plummeted overnight after Mr Trumps overtures to diplomacy, but edged higher again on Tuesday morning, briefly touching $100 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Israels defence minister Israel Katz made his most ardent statement about Lebanon yet, declaring that ground troops would occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River.

In a meeting with the military chief of staff he said the military would "control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani", creating a defensive buffer similar to Gaza. He had previously threatened to take the territory if Hezbollah did not disarm.

France warned Israel against a ground invasion of the country, where 1,029 people are reported to have been killed and around 1 million displaced.

open image in gallery Trump had said Iran and the US were engaged in constructive peace talks but the Islamic Republic has vowed to fight until the bitter end ( AFP/Getty )

Britain has not been far from the conflict with troops shooting down 14 drones overnight in the Middle East, the UKs defence ministry said.

HMS Dragon reached the eastern Mediterranean to fortify Cyprus defences, having undergone a fortnight of critical training and assessment to ensure its 230 sailors are ready for the intensive pace of operations, the Royal Navy said.

The UK is expected to host an international conference on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which has been brought to a standstill by the conflict.

More than 30 nations have signed a joint statement agreeing to collaborate on efforts to safeguard the channel and reopen it to commercial shipping.
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

Weeks after Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed by US-Israeli strikes, Tehrans future is still unclear.

The Middle Eastern war continues to rage with no immediate end in sight, and Khameneis son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in weeks amid reports he has been injured.

Tehrans top security chief, Ali Larijani, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Basij force commander, Gholamreza Soleimani, were both killed in quick succession last week.

Donald Trump has claimed Iran wants to make a deal to end the conflict, and said US envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner held talks with an unnamed Iranian leader on Sunday.

open image in gallery Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 64, is reportedly being considered as a potential dealmaker by the US ( Middle East Images )

The Jerusalem Post later reported that the top official was Irans parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Ghalibaf denied that any such negotiations have taken place, but reports claim he is being eyed as a potential leadership successor by Washington as Trump looks for someone he can deal with.

An unnamed Trump administration official told Politico that while no decisions had been made, the speaker was a hot option.

Below, we look at all we know about the politician.

Who is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf?

The 64-year-old former military officer is considered a hardliner, with a revolutionary ideology aligning with the current regime and the slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Currently speaker of Irans parliament, a position he was appointed to in 2020, Ghalibaf is prolific on social media like his predecessor in the role, Ali Larijani, who went on to become Irans top security chief before he was killed in an Israeli strike on 17 March.

Ghalibaf cut his teeth within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the early age of 19, rising quickly to command a combat division against Iraq by the age of 22.

Among his other experiences and accolades are leadership of the brutal Basij paramilitary force and leadership of the IRGCs air force.

open image in gallery Ghalibaf is associated with the hardline revolutionary ideology of the Islamic Republic, in contrast to reformists ( AFP/Getty )

He led the crackdown against student protests across Iran in 1999 and boasted about wielding sticks against dissidents.

He was so emphatic in his opposition to the demonstrations that he co-authored a letter with 24 other IRGC leaders threatening the then-president Mohammad Khatami to intervene.

Ghalibaf has been largely associated with the religious asceticism propagated by the Islamic Republic, which requires self-discipline, simple living and a rejection of indulgence.

However, he sparked controversy when his wife, daughter and son-in-law were pictured returning from a luxury shopping trip in Turkey with nearly 300kg of luggage. The hefty baggage was attributed to being a layette for their newborn child and was dubbed LayetteGate by social media users.

open image in gallery Irans late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes ( Reuters )

Several other allegations of corruption have been levied against the politician, including accusations that he used his influence as a former IRGC commander to cover up controversies.

This included the scandal around a company accused of embezzling an estimated $3bn from Tehran during Ghalibafs tenure as mayor of the capital between 2005 and 2017.

He has also been accused of transferring more than 70,000 square metres of public land and thousands of pounds in aid to the Imam Reza Charity, owned by his wife.

The former ayatollahs son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is reported to be a key advocate for Ghalibaf, shielding him from the effects of some of the worst controversies.

However, the second-eldest son of the late ayatollah has not been seen in public for weeks. There are claims he has been seriously injured and may not be able to wield much influence, if any.

Ghalibaf, though, has not shied away from his aspirations for Iran, having launched several failed leadership bids for the presidency in 2005, 2013 and 2024.
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

The first luxury cruise ship from the Four Seasons hotel chain has made its debut on the water.

The inaugural vessel, Four Seasons I, began its maiden voyage last week in the Mediterranean.

Features include large suites, private plunge pools, high-end food and access to exclusive ports and yacht-only harbours.

In its debut year, the yacht will offer 32 voyages across 52 sailings, exploring 130 destinations in more than 30 countries.

It will visit Greek islands, Croatia and the French Riviera this summer and the Caribbean and Bahamas in the winter.

A second yacht is due in 2027 and there is an option to build a third.

Here is what passengers will find on board.

Read more: The best cruise deals for 2026

Private yacht experience

open image in gallery Four Seasons 1 offers spacious suites across the ship ( Four Seasons )

The capacity of Four Seasons I is between 180 to 222 guests and the crew to passenger ratio is one-to-one.

It measures 679 feet and its design is influenced by legendary super yacht Christina O, which was owned by Aristotle Onassis and was synonymous with mid-century glamour.

There are no interior cabins, instead comprising 95 spacious suites that have their own terraces and features such as walk-in wardrobes and dining room areas.

This includes a 10,000-square-foot Funnel Suite and an almost 8,000-square-foot Loft Suite at the front and back of the ship.

Customised cruise

Rather than a standard cruise itinerary, each voyage is customised by a personal yacht consultant around the interests of every guest to reflect individual passions.

Highlights include visits to Saint-Tropez, Bodrum and less-frequented harbours including Hydra and Montenegro, alongside sailings across the Croatian coast.

Wellness

open image in gallery Wellness is central to the Four Seasons 1 experience ( Four Seasons )

Access to the high-end LOceana Spa is included.

It includes a hammam, sauna, aromatic steam and cold therapy room as well as cryotherapy, infrared therapy beds and hydrotherapy areas.

Guests can take part in sunrise yoga and meditation on the yachts deck, private breathwork sessions, personalised fitness training and guided mindfulness practices.

Culinary excellence

Four Seasons I has 11 restaurants and lounges, ranging from refined Mediterranean seafood to an intimate omakase experience.

Passengers can enjoy a chef-in-residence series at Sedna, which welcomes a rotating roster of talent from Michelin-starred Four Seasons restaurants around the world including Christian Le Squer of Le Cinq, Guillaume Galliot of Caprice, Yoric Tieche of Le Cap and Paolo Lavezzini of Il Palagio.

Transverse Marina

open image in gallery Four Seasons 1 can open up onto the water in more secluded areas ( Four Seasons )

The ship will have dedicated marina days in peaceful and remote waters. The yacht design allows guests direct access to the sea for swimming and watersports.

Pool and party deck

open image in gallery The Four Seasons I pool deck can be turned into a dance floor at night ( Four Seasons )

When not exploring ports or swimming in the sea, passengers can relax in the 66-foot saltwater pool.

The pool floor can also be raised to transform the area into a dance floor or event space.

Cruise fares start from around 18,600 per person.

The first voyage coincides with the 65th anniversary of Four Seasons and the opening of the companys first hotel in 1961.

Alejandro Reynal, president and chief executive, said: Four Seasons Yachts is a continuation of the pioneering ambition on which Four Seasons was built,and will reflect the same genuine care, service excellence and exceptional moments we create for guests on land. We are proud to introduce a new expression of our brand at sea, opening an entirely new horizon for our guests.

Read more: The best new cruise ships launching in 2026 and beyond
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

An Air India flight from Bengaluru to London was diverted to Jeddah due to a suspected technical fault, the airline said on Monday.

Flight AI133, operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, landed safely in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at around 2pm GMT, with all passengers and crew confirmed unharmed.

The flight had been in the air more than six hours when it was diverted, Flightradar24 reported.

Air India said the diversion was a precautionary measure and that the plane was undergoing technical inspections "in accordance with established safety protocols.

Air India Flight AI133, operating from Bengaluru to London Heathrow on 23 March, made a precautionary en route diversion to Jeddah following a suspected technical issue, the airline declared in a statement.

File. The flight landed safely back in Jeddah following the issue ( Alamy/PA )

The airline did not disclose how many passengers and crew were on board but said their safety and wellbeing were its highest priority.

This is the second such incident involving Air India in recent days. A flight bound for Vancouver returned to Delhi on 19 March after about seven hours in the air as the Boeing 777-200LR was found not to have been cleared for the route, the result of an apparent lapse in updating operational requirements for flights to Canada.

The aircraft, registered VT-AEI, had already crossed into Chinese airspace before reversing course, according to Flightradar24. The airline said all passengers and crew disembarked safely in Delhi.

Mondays diversion comes as airlines operating in the Gulf airspace face heightened disruption due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Several carriers have rerouted or cancelled flights through the Gulf, adding pressure to routes that connect South Asia and the Middle East with Europe.

The latest Air India incident stretches a difficult period for global aviation safety. Late on Sunday, an Air Canada Express flight struck a ground vehicle after landing at the LaGuardia airport in New York, killing both pilots and injuring dozens of people.

The aircraft, a CRJ-900LR which had arrived from Montreal, collided with a Port Authority vehicle, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily close the airport to incoming flights.

In June last year, an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed seconds after taking off in the western city of Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.

In January 2025, an American Airlines jet collided with a military helicopter near Washington in one of the deadliest civil aviation disasters in recent American history.
All wars end with an agreement, as Volodymyr Zelensky often says, though unfortunately, through no fault of his own, it has eluded his own superhuman efforts in recent months. In the case of the Iran war, or Gulf War 3 as we might better call it, there is rather more room for optimism, even as we prepare for rocketing energy bills and petrol shortages. Why so?

Well, first there are the facts on the ground, as they say. Rather like Russia and Ukraine, neither side can win this conflict, in terms of exacting an unconditional surrender from the other, but, unlike Russia-Ukraine, both sides do actually rather want to end it for their own disparate domestic reasons. For as long as Iran has control of the Strait of Hormuz, and for as long as the Americans fear the catastrophic consequences for the Gulf states of any escalation, the globalised dynamics of this crisis will be pushing it towards a swift conclusion.

Donald Trump has the choice of massively expanding US operations  occupying Kharg Island, decimating civilian infrastructure in Iran, risking water supplies in Kuwait and Dubai  or getting the hell out on the best terms he can secure. It is the kind of war that is, as Trump always warned in the past, unwinnable and never-ending. He cant win, he mustnt lose, and so he has to get a deal. The Iranian regime, equally, cannot want to carry on with the war indefinitely and at any cost  or at least there must be some in Tehran rational enough to understand the dire consequences, beyond holy martyrdom, of trying, and the rewards that a deal with America could yield.

It is no mystery as to why Trump doesnt talk about regime change and has stopped calling on the people of Iran to rise up. Allies of both America (Europe, Japan) and Iran (China) are urging an end and begging both sides to de-escalate.

So those are the fundamentals. What of the means  the diplomacy? One of the many uncomfortable truths about this war is that while the Americans and Iranians have been enemies for 47 years, as Trump keeps reminding us, until the latest round of bombings began a little more than a month ago, theyve never been talking as much to one another.

Albeit indirectly, there was a long process of talks going on in Geneva, brokered by the hapless Omanis (bombed by both Israel and Iran in the recent past), which were on the verge of being signed off when Benjamin Netanyahu, Mohammed bin Salman and Ted Cruz (accounts vary) persuaded Trump that war was the better option.

open image in gallery Donald Trumps team could end the war with Iran sooner than anyone expects ( AFP/Getty )

According to the Omanis, by late February the Iranians had agreed to the key pledge not to store or possess any enriched uranium from which a warhead could be manufactured. That would imply that they would give up the 40 to 400 kg of the material (again, reports vary) that the Iranians probably have stashed under a mountain somewhere, and the ultimate threat of a nuclear weapon in the hands of the ayatollahs  and subsequent proliferation across the Middle East  would be avoided. (The obvious point that Israel is the only regional power already to possess such a weapon of mass destruction is conveniently ignored.)

Talks, therefore, would not be so difficult to reconvene, and perhaps the recent violence will add some impetus. Egypt and Pakistan are the brokers this time, and there are plausible rumours that Trump associates Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, plus vice president JD Vance (no fan of this war), will be sent to Islamabad for indirect scoping discussions, possibly even with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, in proximity.

Ghalibaf is being talked up as a hardliner but not a theocrat, and someone who is sufficiently pragmatic and realistic that the Americans (albeit not the Israelis) could do business with. An Iranian Gorbachev, if you will  on a perhaps hopelessly upbeat reading of events.

open image in gallery US envoy Steve Witkoff could conduct talks with Iran in Islamabad ( Allison Robbert/AP Photo )

If it all goes well, just pushing the fantasy a little further, we could even see a US-Iran treaty ending decades of hostility and isolation, with mutual recognition, security guarantees, arms controls and promises on terrorism  which would have to park the Israel-Palestine issue.

It would be absurd to give Trump a Nobel Prize in such a denouement, and it would be scarcely better than the Iran nuclear deal Barack Obama signed, which his erratic, envious successor tore up. But Trump would love to stride into Iran, as he did when he met Kim Jong Un in his first term.

A flight of fancy, perhaps, but a US-Iran deal would represent a reasonably sustainable peace, and we should be grateful for it. Maybe a ceasefire could be agreed by Easter  the kind of symbolic timing Trump likes. It has to end sometime soon, though.
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

It is with great sorrow that Reform UK has announced a pause in its leader Nigel Farages blossoming Cameo career, citing security reasons.

For those unaware of the platform, Cameo allows celebrities, politicians and sportspeople to make personalised videos for fans for a fee. Cameo was brought to my attention last month, when a friend spotted disgraced former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace hawking Valentines messages. I honestly cant think of anything less likely to get me in the mood for love than a message from that creepy scrotum, but Im reliably informed theres something for everyone on the site.

Farages messages are a little less romantic. Last week, The Guardian reported that his videos included one supporting a man convicted of violent disorder and another linked to a neo-Nazi event. The grift that really keeps on giving is the bloopers. Farage is credited with understanding social media better than any UK politician, but this doesnt extend to putting his phone on silent to record his clips. The resulting angry, vein-faced f- and c-words are part-disturbing, part very, very funny.

Since he became an MP in 2024, Farage has registered around 80,000 worth of income from his Cameo account. The closure (sorry  pause) must be a bit of a wrench, but happily he has a new venture to fall back on. Nearly two weeks ago, the Liz Truss-era former chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, unveiled him as a strategic investor in Stack, his new crypto Bitcoin treasury. Speaking of unfortunate bloopers, Kwartengs video on X announcing the news, where he called for institutional credibility for Bitcoin treasury companies, misspelled credibility. You can practically smell the professionalism.

It isnt really fair to single these two out. A lot of people are at it. Regardless of where you fall on the ethics of MPs having second jobs or former/current politicians making money out of their former/current positions. This is perhaps rich coming from me, who has joined the full pool of political podcasts; Im keen to point out that Helen and I are not paid in Bitcoin  it is happening all around us. Boris Johnson is said to charge over 200,000 for a speech.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has paused his lucrative Cameo account ( AFP/Getty )

But why do they? Money is obviously a big part of it. Johnson has his multiple children and many well-documented holidays to fund. Kwarteng is unlikely to be invited onto the board of Goldman Sachs after the mini-Budget disaster. My career as an erotic political novelist is not as lucrative as Id hoped. But theres more. Someone told me recently that a group of A-level politics students paid Farage to record a Cameo for their teacher (a practical joke as he is not a Reform fan). The video went viral, first around the school and then around the town. Two minutes of his time for 100 or so. And thousands of pairs of eyes.

The prime minister himself isnt immune. Setting aside the money he earned in legal fees whilst a sitting MP, Politico reported this week that the Labour Party is paying a communications agency to source influencers to promote the PMs cost of living message. Have they reached out to Gregg Wallace? He is currently offering Cameos at just 37.48. A bargain. And arguably with more credability [sic] than Kwasi.

And what about in the PMs official capacity? As you might imagine, the prime minister is inundated with invitations to events and opportunities to engage with business. A large team of people works through these enquiries, trying to balance the PMs time and energy with ways to meet with as many interest groups as possible.

This ends up in roughly four categories:

YES  we would love to host you for a reception in Downing Street or visit your factory for a brilliant photo opportunity that aligns with an announcement Sadly, the PM cant attend, but he is pleased to pre-record a message to be played at your event Im afraid we dont even have time to record a message, but here is a nice note typed by a sensible member of staff with an e-signature Polite decline

Needless to say, there is an unacknowledged fifth category for those who write in and raise alarm bells. I wouldnt say theyre vetted exactly, but one can generally tell the fs from the cs. Enough, perhaps, for anyone to give pause to their Cameo account.

Cleo Watson is a former deputy chief of staff to Boris Johnson and co-hosts The Independents politics podcast, In The Room, with ex-deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara. New episodes come out every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Oireachtas Transport Committee scrutinises legislation to remove passenger cap

Dublin Airport will see constrained passenger growth rates of between 1pc and 2pc until new infrastructure can be built to provide facilities for further growth, according to the DAA.
The landmark Mercosur free-trade deal between the European Union and four South American countries will begin on May 1 after more than a quarter century of negotiations and amid global economic uncertainty unleashed by tariffs, critical mineral controls and the war in Iran.

The European Commission said on Monday that the start date for the EU-Mercosur free trade deal was triggered by Brussels receiving a note verbale from Paraguay that it had approved the deal, which is a key part of the 27-nation EUs strategy to slash economic dependencies on China and the United States.
Beef quotes take another hammering  despite soaring export sales

Factories quoting 6.60/kg for bullocks with heifers on a base of 6.70/kg

12-month-old Aubrac bullocks being fattened. Photo: Roger Jones

Martin Coughlan Tue 24 Mar 2026 at 06:30

Winter finishing prices continue to take a battering at the hands of the factories with this week seeing yet again another cut of 10c/kg to quotes for bullocks and heifers. As of the weekend reports from across the country now see factories quoting 6.60/kg for bullocks with heifers on a base of 6.70/kg.
Colm Toibin: I wish I had given up drinking much earlier or not bothered starting
Gang boss has served 23 years for murder of Kieran Keane

Gangland criminal and convicted killer Dessie Dundon has been restored to his position as a cleaner in Cork Prison as he readies himself for a parole hearing in the coming months.
It began, as many modern relationships do, with a message that popped up on Natalie McNallys phone.

Her relationship with Stephen McCullagh - a self-styled weirdo with few friends and an obsession with online gaming - spanned just 133 days, but it ended in violence and devastation.
International model hits out at homophobic and transphobic harassment during photoshoot in Dublin

Rain Dove, who has appeared in Vogue Italia and Grazia magazine, endured a slew of insults as they posed in the city centre

International model hits out at transphobic harassment during photoshoot in Dublin

Sarah O'Mahony Tue 24 Mar 2026 at 19:46

An internationally acclaimed model has hit out at a barrage of abuse they received from passers-by during a photoshoot in Dublin this week.
Some 32,000 new student beds to be built on state land by private developers in the next nine years will have no dedicated rent controls, it has emerged.
State agencies will no longer need cabinet sign-off to invest in defence companies

Enterprise Minister Peter Burke aims to help Irish firms capitalise on increased spending in the sector

Enterprise Minister Peter Burke. Photo: Getty

Aisling Moloney Tue 24 Mar 2026 at 06:30

State agencies will no longer require government sign-off before investing in companies in the defence and military sectors, under new plans to go before the Cabinet.
Politics

latest | Simon Harris says Iran War energy impact likely to be felt in winter as Taoiseach rules out mini-Budget
From ceramics and plants to lamps and family heirlooms, layer bookshelves with personal collectibles to show off your aesthetic flair

This spring H&M HOME unveils a new home decor and design collection that captures the spirit of togetherness, everyday rituals, and timeless beauty. Inspired by life on the Riviera in the 60s and 70s, the collection infuses soft, sunny colors, warm neutrals, and tactile materials into the heart of the home  making every room feel like a fresh start. The collection will be launched on 22nd of April online and in selected stores.

We all remember those Covid-inspired interiors posts: people reimagining their dining tables, fridges and shelves into works of art. You merely had to add the term scape after anything and it was instant Insta fodder.

Type in shelfie on Instagram and a whopping 3.6 million posts appear, and while Covid may be a fuzzy memory, we are still slightly obsessed with the humble bookshelf. Five years later, its just more meaningful, with a curation of collectibles that feel personal  a chance to show off your aesthetic flair.

Parrot bookends, 71.95, sophiemacbain.com

But where do you start? You could take a tour through some of those 3.6 million Insta posts, starting with Sarah Jessica Parkers New York home, where wall-to-wall shelving functions almost as a living archive of books, ceramics, photographs and personal artefacts. Or Jennifer Anistons relaxed approach of propped artworks and stacked books which act as plinths for sculptural bowls.

Papier mache vase, 69.99, zarahome.com

Its all about personality and layering items  the most interesting shelves look as though theyve evolved over time rather than being arranged in a single afternoon.

Hourglass, 24, industryandco.com

Spring is a good moment for a gentle edit, swapping out the winter-heavy pieces for lighter accessories  ceramics that catch the morning light, books that hint at travel, objects that draw visual interest in seasonal colours.

Every shelf needs a focal point, and nothing delivers that quiet drama quite like ceramics  the more imperfect the better. For spring, opt for pieces in soft chalk, pale clay or mossy green, such as Zaras wide-mouthed vase.

Coffee table book, 48, industryandco.com

Books are the backbone of any stylish shelf, but the spring shelfie calls for lighter tomes. Stack two or three horizontally as plinths, or stand them up as bookends for objects. A good approach when grouping objects is the rule of three: odd numbers are more visually appealing than even, and stagger heights to create visual interest.

Hay Kaleido trays, from 35, nordicnest.com

Retailers H&M Home and TK Maxx have a pool of affordable accents, from small marble trays, brushed brass candleholders and quirky objects. For something a little more eclectic, Irish retailer April & the Bear stocks decorative objects that feel collected rather than homogenised. Think stoneware bowls, sculptural candlesticks and small art objects which introduce texture to a display.

Green marble display bowl, 17.55, arket.com

I always love dipping into Arkets seasonal offerings, which manage to balance Nordic restraint with playful colour and designs. For any shelfie to sing, its important to introduce a touch of the unexpected: a personal trinket, a family heirloom, a market buy or artwork.

The goal is not symmetry but rather something that catches your eye because its not perfect: tall versus short, glossy beside matte, organic next to geometric. Buying things deliberately to style a shelf will only look staged  its often that vintage flea market oil painting or shell you found on a beach in France that creates a talking point.

Bud vase, 45, fermliving.com

Plants, too, play their part. Placing greenery in between objects breaks the colour tones and adds life to corners. While real plants are hard to beat, those without green fingers can opt for high-quality artificial alternatives, such as the extensive range from Abigail Ahern. If youre going for bold, consider a statement planter from Oliver Bonas or Sostrene Grene.

Artificial hanging plant, 68, abigailahern.com

A portable lamp can easily transform a shelf from decorative to atmospheric and are small enough to sit comfortable among books and objects. Pookys collection of traditional lamps are classic, and you can mix and match shades, while Hedgeroe Home, Ikea and Addison Ross offer a more modern take that double as design objects during the day.

Portable lamp, 150, eu.addisonross.com

Even functional items like speakers, which traditionally were not designed to be aesthetic, have been elevated. The Conic speaker by Lexon is as appealing for its looks as it is for its design.

Conic speaker, 99.90, lexon-design.com

Above all, the shelfie works best when it feels a little unfinished, open to interpretation and never static. Arranging things on a shelf might seem trivial in the current world landscape, but sometimes its the simple, domestic rituals that can keep us sane.
As war in the Middle East rumbles on, there is a need for sustainable solutions amid the energy crisis

It's week four of the energy crisis, meaning this column has no choice. Week four of writing about it.

Theres little else to talk about when energy is so vital for our lives. Our health services need it to run vital machines, our offices need it to keep the lights on, and homes need it to stay connected in our increasingly digital age. Not to mention it keeps food from going spoiled in the fridge.
How did the worlds first ransomware attack begin? and why are we still falling for the same tricks today?

Cybersecurity expert Eddy Willems joins Adrian Weckler on The Big Tech Show to revisit the origins of ransomware, tracing it back to a mysterious floppy disk in 1989 that locked users out of their own computers.

He explains how the attack later known as the AIDS Trojan was created by biologist Joseph Popp and distributed to thousands of people worldwide, demanding payment by post in one of the earliest examples of cyber extortion.

Willems also explores how, despite massive advances in technology, the psychology behind scams has remained unchanged and why todays phishing and account takeover attacks are more convincing than ever.

You can listen to the full episode here, on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.
There were cries of relief from the family of Ms McNally as the jury convicted Stephen McCullagh of killing his 32-year-old partner Natalie McNally in her Lurgan home in December 2022.

Ms McNally was 15 weeks pregnant at the time.

During the four-week trial, the prosecution claimed that McCullagh murdered Ms McNally after setting up a false alibi that he was livestreaming a video gaming session on YouTube.

The six hour long gaming stream was later shown to be pre-recorded several days previously.

Delivering his closing statement in the case last week, prosecutor Charles MacCreanor KC told the jury McCullagh had chosen not to give evidence in his trial.

If you were innocent and thought you could explain .. would you not give evidence? he added.

Having continually denied her murder, McCullagh showed no emotion when the verdict was read to the court.

On todays Indo Daily, Ciaran Dunbar is joined by Allison Morris Crime Correspondent with the Belfast Telegraph, to discuss the tragic death of Natalie McNally and the and the guilty verdict of Stephen McCullagh.
Season five sees best friends Conor and Jock back together after spending time in two separate jails on different continents

The new series of Cork-based comedy, The Young Offenders, will drop on RTE Player on Good Friday.

The series is produced by Vico Films for the BBC, in association with RTE, and it will air weekly on RTE One from Saturday, April 4, at 10:30pm.

The original cast returns for the new series with Chris Walley as Jock O'Keeffe, Alex Murphy as Conor MacSweeney, Hilary Rose as Mairead MacSweeney, and Shane Casey as Billy Murphy; with RTE 2FMs Demi Issac-Oviawe as Linda Walsh, Dominic MacHale as Sergeant Healy, Jennifer Barry as Siobhan Walsh with Danny Power as Gavin Madigan, P.J. Gallagher as Principal Barry Walsh and Orla Fitzgerald as Orla Walsh.

Season five sees best friends Conor and Jock back together after they spent time in two separate jails in different continents.

Conor MacSweeney played by Alex Murphy, Jock OKeeffe, played by Chris Walley, and Billy Murphy as Shane Casey.Picture: BBC/Vico Films

A lucky opportunity allows Jock to escape back from Colombia to Cork, but the lads slip back into their old ways quickly, wreaking havoc everywhere but still only wanting the best for themselves and their families.

Conor faces losing the love of his life while Jock tries to rebuild his relationship with his daughter Star; and crazy plans with locals to try to improve their lives leave them taking big risks, but thats what best friends do.

Creator Peter Foott said it is a joy to bring the show back to our television screens, 10 years after the films release.

Its a joy to be able to bring season 5 of The Young Offenders to fans of the show who have followed these characters for 10 years now, its the 10th anniversary of the release of the film.

Season 5 brings Conor and Jock back together, with a stronger bond than theyve ever had, and were really excited to share these chaotic and heart-warming stories with audiences.

The team is the best to work with, and weve ended up creating something special, he said.

Jock OKeeffe, played by Chris Walley and Conor MacSweeney, played by Alex Murphy. Picture: BBC/Vico Films

Justin Healy, Executive Producer for RTE, said:

We are delighted to be bringing a brand-new series of The Young Offenders to our audience.

This series sees Conor and Jock fully reunited and full of well-meaning schemes and dreams, that bring nothing but chaos to all around them.

Comedy drama with big heart and brilliantly bad behaviour is the order of the day in the best series yet, he said.

Stream series 5 of The Young Offenders from 7am on Friday, April 3, on RTE Player or watch episode 1 on RTE One at 10:30pm.
A plethora of organisations and individuals in Cork North West have been approved funding under the 2026 Arts Grants Scheme.

Overall Cork County Council approved over 225,350 in funding for 145 artists and arts organisations under the 2026 Arts Grants Scheme.

A record 370 applications were received this year which represented a 46% increase on 2025. This reflected the growing strength and ambition of the arts sector across the county.

The number of successful applicants has also risen by approximately 17%, highlighting the continued expansion of creative activity in local communities.

The successful recipients include: Castlemagner Sinsir Club  500, Glen Theatre Drama Group Banteer  1,200, Mallow Arts Collective  3,000, Maurice OKeeffe Sliabh Luachra Traditional Music Festival  1,800, The Glen Theatre  1,000, Millstreet Comhaltas  900 and Cor Mhagh Ella  500.

Other successful recipients in Cork North West included: Duhallow Choral Society  1,000, Cullen Pipe Band  800, Buion Piobairi Bheal Athan Ghaorthaidh  800, Irish Wheelchair Association  570, Kilmurry Active Retirement Association  250, Bruach na Carraige Heritage Centre, Rockchapel  1,000, CCE Craobh Lachtan Naofa, Cill na Martra  500 and Sceim Aisling Gheal  1,200.

Mallow Art Club were awarded 330, Mallow Camera Club  800, Handweavers Guild of Cork  500, Kiskeam Brass Band  900, Mallow Musical Society  500, CCE Baile Nua  800, Mallow Camera Club  900, Blackwater Photographic Society  900, Rockchapel Gathering Festival  2,000, One Town One Voice, Charleville  1,000 and St Josephs Primary School, Charleville  1,500.

Other beneficiaries included: Cois Laoi Productions  900, Comharchumann Forbartha Mhuscrai  1,300, Miriam OConnor (Creative Arts Bursary Grant)  3,250, Rory Murphy (Creative Arts Bursary Grant)  3,000 and Seiko House (Creative Arts Bursary Grant)  3,000.

Fine Gael TD for Cork North West John Paul OShea said the significant investment is a major boost for the arts across Cork. I am particularly delighted to see such strong representation from groups and individuals across Cork North West. The arts play a vital role in enriching our communities, supporting local economies, and showcasing the unique cultural identity of our region.

Deputy OShea continued: These grants will help ensure that festivals, performances, exhibitions and community initiatives can continue to thrive right across our towns and villages. This funding ensures that the arts will continue to flourish in Cork North West in 2026, bringing people together, supporting local talent, and enhancing the vibrancy of our communities.

The Arts Grants Scheme supports a wide range of initiatives, including community arts projects, festivals, artist residencies, and Irish language development.

The funding will contribute not only to cultural life, but also to tourism, placemaking, and economic activity throughout the county.

Fianna Fail TD for Cork North West Aindrias Moynihan TD also congratulated the successful artists and cultural groups. These local groups do invaluable work in their communities, promoting traditional music, choral singing, community participation and the Irish language. This funding will support their continued activity in 2026 and benefit people of all ages.

Deputy Moynihan highlighted the wider impact of arts funding, and noted that in 2025 the scheme supported over 1,500 artist work opportunities and generated 2.7 million in local spend.

He commended Cork County Council and Chief Executive Moira Murrell for their continued commitment to supporting the arts.
Mallow Library has launched Mallow Reads 2026, a year long celebration of books, community, and the joy of reading

Mallow Library has launched Mallow Reads 2026, a year long celebration of books, community, and the joy of reading.

A campaign designed to inspire people of all ages to rediscover the joy, comfort and creativity that books bring has been launched by Mallow Library.

Mallow Library has launched Mallow Reads 2026, a year long celebration of books, community, and the joy of reading.

The campaign will include fun-days, activities and author visits throughout the year.

The campaign starts with a special emphasis on encouraging parents to share the library experience with their children.

It aims to foster lifelong reading by encouraging parents to explore the library alongside their children, creating shared memories that bridge the gap between generations.

Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Mary Linehan Foley said: As Mallow continues to grow and diversify, the Mallow Reads 2026 campaign aims to place books at the heart of community life, using reading to connect people, support inclusion, and encourage lifelong learning. With so many events organised, there will something of interest for everyone.

A symbolic One Million Minutes reading challenge will run throughout the year as a motivational marker of the towns collective engagement, while the central focus remains on nurturing a culture of reading for pleasure.

Mallows year long community reading initiative unfolds like a shared storybook, with each season forming a chapter in the towns collective reading journey.

Spring opens with a preschool family launch and a town wide reading pledge, while summer celebrates cultural diversity through a multicultural fun day and multilingual storytelling.

Autumn highlights intergenerational connection, engaging the active retirement community, integrating dementia awareness activities, and showcasing local creativity during culture night.

Winter closes the final chapter with an author visit and a community curated town anthology, reflecting a year of shared stories, inclusion, and creativity across Mallow.

Mallow Library invites all residents to join in this town wide celebration of reading throughout 2026.

Event details and updates will be available in Mallow library and on social media.
Cork County Council has confirmed that they are currently in the process of purchasing a site for a new fire station in Charleville.

The information was provided at a recent Northern Committee meeting after Fianna Fail councillor Ian Doyle requested an update from the local authority on the progress of new and upgraded fire stations in the Northern Division with specific progress and a timeline for new station in Charleville.

In a written response, Andrew Macilwraith, Chief Fire Officer with Cork County Council informed the public representatives that the local authority are currently in the process of purchasing a site for a new fire station in Charleville.

Mr Macilwraith also provided the councillors with an update on a replacement fire station in Mitchelstown. The architects department have a design at an advanced stage for a replacement fire station in Mitchelstown located on the existing fire station site.

At a previous council meeting, Cllr Doyle said the current building on the Kilmallock Road is totally inadequate and no longer fit for purpose. We are all well aware of the condition of Charleville Fire Station. I would like to acknowledge the work that Charleville fire personnel and our own personnel have been doing for decades in Charleville.

The current site is totally inadequate for their present needs in terms of training or in terms of accessibility for new fire tenders. The people of Charleville and the surrounding communities are fully supportive of a new fire station. They need this to be progressed quickly, he added.
A councillor pointed out that the children of tenants who pass away are included in the figure as trasferring tenancies has grown harder

At least 130 cases of squatting in council homes were reported to South Dublin County Council (SDCC) last year, with the area of Tallaght accounting for almost half of the cases.

However, a Tallaght councillor has said that the figures are skewed as they include homes where a tenant has passed away and their children have not been added to the tenancy.

Ive never had a report of someone illegally squatting come to me but I have had people contacting me when a parent has died and their name is not on the tenancy, she said.

"Anyone who remains in the house who arent on the rent is an occupier and they have to be on the tenancy for at least five years to succeed the tenancy.

"In south Dublin, we have many cases of three generations living together and when the tenant who is on the tenancy passed away, two or three children living in those homes could be seen as overcrowding.

SDCCs anti-social behaviour report revealed that 59 cases of squatting were reported in Tallaght, 40 in the Clondalkin-Saggart area, 24 in Lucan and seven in the Rathfarnham-Bohernabreena area.

SDCC housing officer Fiona Hendley told councillors that the county has seen cases of over-occupied homes in some cases.

There are some cases that are ongoing  in some cases there will be an abandonment notice on a house, where people cant just go and stay in, she said.

Some people are trying to succeed a tenancy  if someone on the rent has passed away, there are cases where some people are never on the rent for those homes, so a two or three-bed house could be over-occupied.

Cllr Dunne said that it was important to distinguish between illegal occupying and over-occupying homes.

Normally what happens if there might be a case of subletting or squatting is that the council would do a thorough investigation against that, they will board up the house and take the house back because were in the middle of a housing crisis, she explained.

"These figures insinuate that we have quite a lot of illegal squatting within the county when thats not the actual case, I think it skews the figures.

It is important to make it easier for adult children to access their homes instead of the council taking it back, cllr Dunne added.

"Years ago, before we had the housing crisis, children were able to get the transfer of tenancy to them but thats getting harder now, the council will look to get the property back, said Cllr Dunne.

"If its the case of adult children in the house trying to access the tenancy to continue living there, I would represent them and make a case on their behalf if a parent died.

I think its really important that we distinguish between the two categories  anyone reading that document will think there are a lot of illegal squatters in Tallaght alone.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Lelia Doolan will start walking on March 31 in protest of the US militarys use of the County Clare airport

A 91-year-old Galway filmmaker and political activist is walking from Shannon Airport to the Dail in protest of the US militarys use of the County Clare airport.

Lelia Doolan said that at 91 she has seen too much of the devastation caused by wars, apartheid and genocide, so she is taking a stance against what many activism groups have long spoken out against.

Joined by community groups and peace activists along the old road to Dublin, Lelia aims to express the frustration, shame, and anger felt by those who have been regularly protesting at Shannon Airport about the use of the airport by US military planes since 1981.

Lelia is being aided by Shannonwatch for the organisation of the walk, a group of peace and human rights activists based in the Mid-West.

Shannonwatch hold monthly protest vigils at Shannon and do continuous monitoring of all military flights and rendition-linked flights in and out of Shannon and through Irish airspace.

The groups objectives are to end US military use of Shannon Airport, to stop rendition flights through the airport, and to obtain accountability for both from the relevant Irish authorities and political leaders.

Starting on March 31 at the Clare airport, Walk with Lelia will pass through Cratloe, Limerick, Birdhill, Nenagh, Moneygall, Roscrea, Mountrath, Portlaoise, Monasterevin, Newbridge, Naas, and Rathcoole, before making the final trip from Dublin Castle to the Dail.

Walk with Lelia poster. Image: Shannonwatch

It is expected that the walk should end in Dublin on April 15, but those interested in taking part or supporting are encouraged to keep an eye on the Walk with Lelia social media pages for updates.

I do want to draw attention to the fact that we are probably complicit in wars at the moment waged by the United States on behalf of others and on behalf of themselves as well, Ms Doolan said while discussing the walk on Galway Bay FM.

And I just want to draw attention to our government, that there are ways in which they could politely get them to stop sending... First of all, they could search the planes, which they have not done, and they could use some customs possibilities to put an end to this.

Because really, it's too much to have us, a neutral country, as a place where military planes land maybe now at the moment two or three times a day, refuel and go on to places which are hubs for the US as well abroad.

I mean, since when has Ireland offered itself as a hub to any other nation engaging in warfare?

The walk is also in memory of Margaretta D'Arcy, the Irish actress, writer, playwright and activist, who passed away in November 2025.

Shannonwatch have encouraged people to join the walk for however long they can.

No group is too small, no distance is too short - music and merriment are welcome, the group said.

We invite people of all ages and communities to join with us. Walk a stretch in solidarity with Lelia or even just see us off from your location.

Organisers have also asked for volunteers to drive support vehicles, provide accommodation for those walking, and provide links will local community and solidarity groups along the route.
In-N-Out Burger arrives in Dublin's IFSC on March 25, from 11am to 3pm. Photo: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via Getty Images

The California-founded restaurant will be serving up its signature burgers in the Harbourmaster bar at the IFSC between 11am and 3pm on Wednesday, March 25.

The family-owned business, which has been in operation since 1948, doesnt have a permanent residence in Ireland, but has held similar promotional events in Dublin in September 2015 and November 2021.

This weeks event is first come  first served, with limited quantities available.
These signs popped up on Dublins Drury Street in 2025 where a drink on the street is almost a tradition

Rachel Coyne, Georgia Sherry and Leo Dunne save money by hanging out on Drury Street in Dublin. Photo: Frank McGrath

The signs on Dublin's Drury Street with the words, 'Please don't sit on the curb'. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

A Dublin city councillor has called for signage on Drury Street and Fade Street to be erected highlighting that the consumption of alcohol in public places is illegal under council bye-laws.

The area has seen increasing popularity over the last few weeks, as throngs of people return to the streetscape to socialise during the capitals first few glimpses of the sun this year.

Speaking in a recent Dublin City Council (DCC) meeting, Independent councillor Mannix Flynn said he had been asked by local residents and business for signs discouraging drinking to be installed by the council.

"On the last weekend there, it was just chock-a-block with people drinking on the streets, he said. Deliveries couldnt be made, people on bikes couldnt get up the street, people with prams couldnt get up the street.

"Now, we all want to see a vibrant, good vibe, but as I said the issue now is that its out of control.

Signage highlighting the illegality of drinking in public should be installed, he said, so businesses can point to those signs when people are basically picnicking on the street".

"Its a very simple request and we have them all over the place, so if we could put them up in Drury Street and Fade Street, thatd be much appreciated, he said.

People enjoying Drury Street in the sunshine

The comments come as Drury Street and Fade Street fill yet again with revellers and young people, in a similar vein to the events that played out last year.

The issue flared up last spring when businesses on the street complained about access for customers and deliveries due to the crowds of people gathering on their doorstep.

However, the debate also highlighted the perceived lack of city centre spaces for people to socialise, particularly without spending money.

Drury Street retailers, in particular, said that rows of people sitting on the kerbs were blocking customers from accessing the front doors of many longstanding shops.

Cllr Mannix Flynn

Other businesses complained that the people gathering were not, by and large, spending money on the street, but were instead bringing food and alcohol from other places.

The issue came to a head in April of last year when signs were erected by a local business asking people not to sit on the kerb. They have since been removed.

Drury Street was pedestrianised in 2021, but unlike other Dublin thoroughfares that have gone car-free, no changes have been made to the street design since then.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Other Sports

Family of Kerry Olympian Tom ORiordan to gift his All Ireland Schools gold medal to Tralee CBS

As the 2026 post-primary schools athletics season gets underway, there is a rare anniversary to be celebrated. An All-Ireland medal won 70 years ago could be on its way to Kerry after a long sojourn in Dublin. The gold medal was won by Tom 
House prices in Kerry continued to rise in the first quarter of the year, with the average second-hand three-bed semi-detached home increasing by 2.7pc to 385,000, according to the latest REA survey.

Homes across the county are now typically reaching sale agreed within seven weeks. In Killarney, prices rose by 1.2pc this quarter to 410,000, while Tralee saw a stronger increase of 4.4pc, bringing the average to 360,000.

Local agents say the market is being shaped by a continued exit of landlords, pushing rental supply to record lows.

Donal Culloty of REA Coyne and Culloty in Killarney warned that without changes to government policy to support small investors, rental stock is likely to shrink further.

The data shows that first-time buyers accounted for 65pc of purchases in Kerry this quarter, while 55pc of sales were driven by landlords leaving the market. Energy-efficient homes are also commanding a premium, with A-rated properties achieving prices around 5pc higher than comparable C-rated homes.

Nationally, the average price of a three-bed semi rose by 1.5pc over the same period to 364,747, marking a 7.67pc annual increase, though price growth is slowing.
More than 100 schools in Kerry and Cork took part in a Jersey fundraising day

Children from St John's National School in Kenmare who took part in the 'Stand 4 Feile' Jersey Day. Photo by Ruth Brophy

Pupils of St John's Student Council in Kenmare with Bertie McSwiney and Barry OLeary who helped organise the 'Stand 4 Feile' Jersey Day. Photo by Ruth Brophy.

Getting drone ready for 'Stand 4 Feile' Jersey day are Maurice Fitzgerald Principal of Colaiste na Sceilge, Mick Kennedy, Denis OLeary and Jonathan Walsh of the Valentia Coastguard Marine Rescue Coordination Centre. Photo by Ruth Brophy

Getting ready for 'Stand 4 Feile' Jersey day are Principal of St John's National School Barry OLeary, Bertie McSwiney of McSwiney & Sons Expert, teacher, Tadhg Morley and Vesta the therapy dog. Photo by Ruth Brophy.

Holly Staunton on work experience with the Valentia Coastguard from Castleisland Community College with Sean Curtin and Denis OLeary who helped co-ordinate 'Stand 4 Feile' Jersey day in Kerry. Photo by Ruth Brophy.

Shepadoodle therapy Dog at St John's NS in Kenmare wearing the Kerry Jersey for 'Stand 4 Feile' Jersey Day. Photo by Ruth Brophy

Students of Colaiste Na Sceilge forming the name Feile for the drone as they helped raise funds for the injured teenager by taking part in the 'Stand 4 Feile' Jersey Day. Photo Ruth Brophy

Kerry school children are delighted to have played a part in fundraising for West Cork teenager Feile OSullivan who was involved in a life-changing accident last summer.

Her story of courage and bravery, as she faces her long recovery after both her legs amputated has gripped the nation and no more than in Cork and Kerry where fundraisers have been taking place since last year.

The latest fundraiser, co-ordinated by a voluntary group of former Cork and Kerry GAA players, invited students, teachers, staff, and the wider community to wear their favourite jersey and make a small donation to support the Stand 4 Feile fundraising initiative

More than 100 schools took part of the Stand 4 Feile Jersey Day with Colaiste na Sceilge in Cahersiveen, Caherdaniel National School and St Johns National School in Kenmare just three of many schools who played a part in the initiative.

SuperValu stores and Central stores in Kenmare also took part in the event last Friday.

Feiles mother, Maureen OSullivan, expressed her gratitude to the schools who took part.

Feile and our family have been amazed by the community support shown to us since her accident last July, and leading up to this Fridays Stand 4 Feile Jersey Day, she said.

Speaking to Independent.ie earlier this year Maureen said the support has meant so much to the family as they try and rebuild their lives following the accident including have to provide for all of Feile's care during her long recovery but also adapting their new home for the West Cork teenager.
20 years after it closed prime site is to change ownership but development still some way off

An aerial view of the former Pretty Polly Site. The site is now to be transferred to the Kerry Education and Training Board (Kerry ETB) for the development of a third-level catering college in Killarney. Photo by Domnick Walsh.

The members of Kerry County Council have agreed to transfer the former Pretty Polly/ Sara Lee factory site in Killarney to the Kerry Education and Training Board which will move forward plans for a third level catering college in the town.

The plans for the college were first announced four years ago by the then Minister for Further Education Simon Harris but progress on the project has been slow.

The former factory has been lying idle for more than 20 years and the lack of development on the site has been criticised.

Kerry County Council owns the three-hectare (7.7acre) site at Park Road, Killarney which was purchased by Killarney Town Council in 2005.

The conveyance and transfer of the site to Killarney Town Council was conditional on the property being used for the benefit of the general community of Killarney and surrounding areas.

The disposal of the site by the Council is subject to the Intra State Disposal arrangements which require that other public bodies be given an opportunity to acquire such properties.

Kerry Education and Training Board (Kerry ETB) expressed an interest in the site for the development of a new Killarney Further Education and Training Campus.

The centre, which will come under the auspices of the Kerry Education and Training Board (Kerry ETB), is to serve Killarney and south Kerry.

The proposed development will provide a one-stop hub for skills development in Kerry, enhancing the countys education infrastructure and bolstering economic development. The ETB aims to produce a pipeline of talent which will benefit local employers and the broader Irish economy. It will capitalise on Killarneys strengths, such as its tourism industry, and address skills gaps.

The Valuation Office prepared a market valuation for the site and valued it at 2,375,000. The site includes the vacant factory building and ancillary structures including offices along with a number of other smaller buildings.

Earlier this year the announcement that progress was to made on the project led to a spat between Deputy Michael Healy-Rae and Deputy Michael Cahill over the whether the progress was indeed a funding announcement of 2.3m or just an indication that the project has got ministerial approval.

Kerry Education and Training Board (Kerry ETB) have this week welcomed the decision by Kerry County Council to proceed with the formal transfer of the site, subject to completion of due diligence requirements. In a statement, Kerry ETB said:

This decision represents an important step in the overall site acquisition process and enables Kerry ETB to advance to the next stage of the site acquisition process in line with publicsector governance and capital appraisal requirements. At this stage, Kerry ETB is progressing the preliminary business case for the longterm development of the site, in accordance with the Infrastructure Guidelines, SOLAS and Department of Further and Higher Education procedures.

"This milestone marks a significant point in the evolution of the project, and Kerry ETB are now working hard to complete the necessary due diligence which will be presented to the James Lawless T.D, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for his approval to proceed with the purchase of the site.

This milestone marks a significant point in the evolution of the project, and Kerry ETB looks forward to continuing the process with a view to delivering longterm educational, social, and economic benefits for Killarney and County Kerry.

Cathaoirleach of Killarney MD Cllr Martin Grady has welcomed the decision and said it is a step in the right direction to transform a derelict hub into an education hub.

He also praised the late Cllr Jim Finuncane for the role he played in the project before his untimely passing.

The late Jim Finucane was also remembered by Cllr Niall Botty OCallaghan who said the school will be a game changer for the town of Killarney.

Cllr Norma Morairty said the news that the site is to be passed over is a important step in the realisation of what will be an outstanding facility.

Cllr Marie Moloney praised all those helped bring the plans to this point
Efforts being made to try to get the Travelling community to engage and participate in initiatives

Traveller mental health statistics remain deeply concerning, with significantly higher rates of depression and suicide compared to other cohorts of the population.

However, there is growing momentum across the region to respond with action, compassion, and culturally informed supports.

Traveller organisations are working together to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and make services more accessible so that Travellers can seek help without fear of judgement.

Supported by Connecting for Life, Sligo Leitrim, The Sligo Traveller Support Group (STSG) plays a central role in this effort.

The organisation empowers Travellers through programmes focused on education, employment, health, and cultural development. It provides direct supports, mediation, and training to individuals and families, with Traveller participation embedded in all aspects of its work. Ensuring that Travellers have a voice in decisions that affect their lives remains a core principle.

Throughout 2025, and in planning for 2026, STSG has prioritised reaching members of the Traveller community who may not typically access mental health services or seek support when needed. In 2025, Sligos Connecting for Life Oversight Group approved funding for a series of innovative, community-led initiatives aimed at increasing engagement.

These included the Spud-tacular mental health awareness and promotion event, funding to enable 20 families to attend Dream Point in Dublin, and support to host a Christmas party with Santa to connect with harder-to-reach families ahead of the festive season.

Donal Gallagher, Suicide Resource Officer for Sligo-Leitrim, highlighted that the strength of Connecting for Life lies in its whole-of-society approach.

This model promotes shared responsibility across communities and services rather than placing the burden on any one agency.

He emphasised that Traveller mental health is a pressing concern and that the Oversight Group remains open to proposals that foster engagement and participation.

According to Donal, meaningful engagement is the first step: before people can access education, information or signposting, they must first feel welcomed and connected.

These initiatives reflect that principle, community-led, culturally appropriate and designed to create safe spaces where mental health conversations can happen naturally.

The Spud-tacular event, held in September at the STSG offices, demonstrated this approach in action. Travellers from across County Sligo attended, including many who had never previously engaged with the service.

True to its name, attendees were welcomed with a freshly prepared baked potato and a choice of toppings, a simple gesture that helped break the ice and spark conversation. The relaxed atmosphere allowed discussions about mental health supports to unfold informally, reducing barriers and building trust.

Another highlight was the Dream Point experience in Dublin for 20 families, with particular attention to neuro divergent children. Families described the day as uplifting and memorable, with parents and children sharing laughter and quality time together.

Marie Ward, STSGs lead Primary Health Care Worker raising awareness about Autism, noted that the event provided an opportunity to connect with families who might not otherwise seek support.

She acknowledged that accepting a childs additional needs can be challenging for families and emphasised the importance of raising awareness about Autism within the Traveller community while offering practical support to parents and children.

This work will continue into 2026, with further events and engagement initiatives planned. Kathleen Ward, who has responsibility for mental health within STSG, said the team continually encourages Travellers to connect with their services and other available supports.

She shared that the most rewarding part of her role is supporting people, whether through a brief conversation, sharing information or signposting to additional services. She described how meaningful it is when someone feels comfortable enough to come forward and ask for help. Travellers seeking support or simply a chat are encouraged to contact Sligo Traveller Support Group on 071 914 5780.

STSG is also linked with other Traveller projects through the HSEs Regional Traveller Mental Health Group, chaired by Ita Madden, Coordinator of HSE Mental Health Services for Travellers. This forum promotes collaboration, shared learning, and the exchange of best practice across the region.

It supports training in areas such as Mental Health First Aid, peer education, awareness of funding opportunities, participation in the CHUMS study, and engagement with the forthcoming National Traveller Mental Health Plan (2026). For further information Ita can be contacted at 087 381 2608.

CRISIS SUPPORT If you or someone you know is in immediate distress, help is available 24/7: Emergency Services: 999 or 112  Pieta (suicide and selfharm support): 1800 247 247 or Text HELP to 51444  Samaritans: 116 123  50808 Text Service: Text HELLO to 50808 for free, anonymous support
The group were praised for their project on raising awareness of money scams.

The students were thrilled with the day out in Croke Park.

A group of students in Enniscorthy won big at the recent launch of Global Money Week in Croke Park.

150 students from 20 schools across 13 counties joined an array of educators and finance professionals at the launch of Global Money Week in Croke Park yesterday to share their innovative financial literacy projects, which were sponsored by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) Our Money, Our Future programme.

Over 10,000 students from 82 schools across the country participated in the Our Money, Our Future programme in the 2025/26 school year.

Launched in 2024, the programme invites post-primary schools and Youthreach Centres to apply for sponsorship up to 1,000 to support students in developing their own financial literacy initiatives and resources, based on topics and themes relevant to them.

Taking home the top prize for Most Innovative Financial Literacy Initiative was West Wicklow Youthreach, Co Wicklow, for their project Stand on your own 2 feet. St Marys Secondary School, Co Mayo won Best Peer-to-Peer Initiative for Protect Your Money, Secure Your Future while Colaiste Bride Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, took home Best Whole-School and Community Engagement for their project Scam Stoppers.

A member of staff from Colaiste Bride said they were thrilled with the groups success after all their hard work.

"A fantastic and well-deserved achievement. A huge well done to over 30 or our second year business students for their incredible project raising awareness about scams. From researching and collating information to designing materials, planning and delivering peer-to-peer workshops and booklets for the whole school community and beyond  their hard work and dedication truly paid off.

"We are do proud of this amazing team! they added.

Additionally, the CCPC, as the national coordinator for Global Money Week, brought together students, educators and representatives from the world of finance to recognise and celebrate the valuable work being done to build financial skills in young people.

Brian McHugh, Chair of the CCPC took to the stage to announce Denis Carrigan from St Laserians School Carlow as Irelands first Global Money Week Ambassador. This new initiative recognises and supports teachers who demonstrate exceptional leadership in delivering meaningful, inclusive and engaging financial education to young people.

"In a world where scams are increasing, credit is easier to access through buy-now-pay-later schemes, and the cost of living continues to rise, financial literacy  or simply being good with money  is an essential life skill for young people, he said.

Brian McHugh, Chair of the CCPC, added: Young people today are demonstrating strong financial curiosity  this is evident in the high-calibre projects that students are creating through the Our Money, Our Future sponsorship programme. However, important gaps remain. Its up to policymakers and educators to try and close these gaps, which is why events like the Global Money Week launch  that bring together so many groups from the world of finance  are so important.

The launch event at Croke Park was attended by representatives from the world of finance also involved in Global Money Week, including An Post, Association of Teachers of Home Economics, Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, Brokers Ireland, BSTAI, Central Bank, Citizens Information Board, and many more.
Meet the Wicklow cafe host whose warm welcome made him the best in the county

Connor Kinsella of LoCo Grocer in Arklow excels in the art of making people welcome  and he has an award to prove it. It all appears to come naturally to him

Wicklow cafe owner explains why front-of-house is best in county

David Medcalf Wicklow People Tue 24 Mar 2026 at 06:30

Connor Kinsella insists he does not know who nominated him for the employee excellence award he has just won. He did not canvass or lobby or agitate or make sure that the Restaurants Association of Ireland were aware of his presence on the staff of LoCo Grocer in Arklow.
A Dublin taxi driver has had a drug possession charge struck out after a court found an error in the date listed on the summons.

Peter Cleary (48), of Rathsallagh Grove, Shankill, Dublin, appeared before Bray District Court for a hearing.

He entered a plea of not guilty to one count of possession of drugs after cocaine was allegedly found under the drivers seat of his taxi.

Detective Garda Purcell gave evidence that on September 12, 2024, he obtained a search warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act for the accuseds home address.

He told the court that on September 15 he executed the warrant and discovered 100 worth of cocaine underneath the drivers seat of Mr Clearys grey Peugeot taxi.

Det Gda Purcell said the substance was sealed in an evidence bag and later transported by another member of An Garda Siochana to Dublin Castle and on to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis.

A certificate of analysis confirmed the drugs had a value of 100.

Under cross-examination by counsel for the defence, Eamonn OMoore BL, the detective agreed that Mr Cleary had denied the drugs were his when questioned and had claimed they were not for personal use.

When asked whether the accused appeared surprised when the drugs were discovered, Det Gda Purcell said that he did.

The court heard that Mr Cleary had been working the night before, driving passengers throughout the night, and that the condition of the bag containing the drugs was worse for wear.

Mr OMoore argued that there was no evidence linking the drugs to his client and noted that no other drugs were found during the search.

He also made an application highlighting a discrepancy in the dates, stating that while the prosecution alleged the search took place on September 15, the summons listed the date as September 13.

It was confirmed to the court that the summons did indeed state September 13.

The drugs were in the car, we dont deny that, but they were not his, said Mr OMoore.

Judge David Kennedy accepted the defence application and struck out the charge, noting the incorrect date on the summons and that no application had been made by the State to amend it.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
A significant shift in how the Garden County is governed moved a step closer this month as the Local Democracy Taskforce officially delivered its final report to the Government.

Presented to Local Government Minister James Browne earlier this month, the document outlines a radical blueprint for reforming Irelands local authorities.

For more than a decade, local politics in Wicklow has been defined by a tug-of-war between the unelected officials#, led by the chief executive, and the 32 elected councillors who represent the countys five Municipal Districts. With the publication of this report, that balance of power is poised for its most significant shake-up since the abolition of town councils in 2014.

At the heart of the taskforce's recommendations is a move to return reserved functions to elected members. For years, Wicklow councillors have repeatedly voiced frustration that they are often relegated to an advisory role, while major decisions on infrastructure, planning, and multi-million-euro budgets are driven by council staff.

Speaking following the reports submission, Minister Browne noted that the proposals aim to empower the "next generation" of local government. For Wicklow, this likely means that councillors in districts like Bray, Arklow, and Greystones will have a right to be consulted on a wider range of executive decisions and, crucially, have more direct oversight of how local funds are allocated.

Wicklows unique geography, split by the mountains into a bustling coastal corridor and a more rural western flank, has long created a sense of two counties. The taskforces focus on the principle of decentralisation, making decisions as close to the citizen as possible, is designed to address this divide.

Submissions from the Wicklow Public Participation Network (PPN) during the consultation phase in August 2025 highlighted the isolation felt in the Baltinglass Municipal District.

The report is expected to support town-focused initiatives and enhanced powers for Municipal Districts, potentially allowing west Wicklow to spearhead its own localised planning and community service models, without being overshadowed by the larger population centres along the coast.

The core reason for the submission was a belief that local government has become too disconnected from the people it serves. The submission highlights how much of Wicklows administration is centred in the east, leaving rural west Wicklow feeling overlooked and underserved in terms of infrastructure and service delivery.

The PPN argued that current public consultations are often not fit for purpose, citing the Herbert Road closure in Bray as a key example, where 4,500 signatures and thousands of submissions were ignored in favour of national transport priorities.

Protests against that Herbert Road decision last year put pressure on politicians, including Tanaiste Simon Harris, to reverse the decision to close the M11/N11 junction and it was announced last month this had worked. But the fact local people had to take those steps shows public consultations could be flawed.

To make the role effective, the PPN suggests councillors need better administrative support, research data, and training, ensuring they can properly challenge the council executive on behalf of the public.

A significant portion of the report focuses on the west. It calls for mobile outreach units, better digital infrastructure for remote participation, and localised service hubs to ensure residents in places like Baltinglass aren't disadvantaged by their distance from the coast.

The taskforce was also assigned with reviewing the number of councillors relative to population growth.

With Wicklows population surging by 9pc in recent years, the county may see an increase in its number of representatives by the 2029 local elections, ensuring that fast-growing areas like Newtownmountkennedy and Blessington have a proportional voice in the chamber.

One area where Wicklow is expected to lead the way under the new reforms is in climate action.

The taskforce has recommended devolving more power to local districts to execute biodiversity plans. With one third of Wicklows 9,000km of hedgerows currently under threat, the new framework could allow Municipal Districts to bypass countywide administration to fund and manage local restoration projects directly.

Despite the optimistic tone from the Department of Housing, local reaction remains a blend of hope and deep-seated scepticism. Wicklow councillors have spent years operating in a system they feel is overly centralised.

The process is now in a critical waiting period. Minister Browne and junior minister John Cummins are currently reviewing the reports dozens of recommendations to draft a formal implementation plan.

This plan is expected to be brought before the Cabinet for approval in the coming weeks. Only after this Government approval will the full report and the roadmap for its rollout be published for the public to see.

Many proposed changes, such as rebalancing power or increasing councillor numbers, may require formal legislative amendments.

Cabinet will need to approve the drafting of these new laws. Any proposals that significantly shift how local government is funded (including alterations to the local property tax) will face intense scrutiny by officials in the Department of Finance before approval.

For the people of Wicklow, the coming weeks will determine whether their local government remains an administrative body or transforms into an empowered, community-led democracy.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Kym Marsh: Its devastating to think that my father put off visit to GP until it was too late
Iran has told International Maritime Organisation member states that "non-hostile vessels" may transit the Strait of Hormuz once again if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing a letter from Iran.

The letter stipulates, however, that vessels from the US, Israel or other countries who have aided the war on Iran in recent weeks will not be guaranteed safe passage, the Financial Times reported.
People pass an election advertisement for Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's prime minister and leader of the Social Democrats party ahead of parliamentary elections in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo: Reuters

When Mads Fahrenholtz served his country as a Danish soldier and UN peacekeeper, he was proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with America.

Despite suffering from PTSD after serving in Iraq, he was a staunch US supporter when it called on Denmark to join the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.
Smoke rises in the city after Russian drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Lviv (REUTERS/Stringer)

A major Russian drone and missile attack on civilian areas of Ukraine has killed four people and injured at least 35, officials said.

It comes as Moscow's army stepped up efforts to break through Ukrainian frontline defences in what could be the start of an anticipated spring ground offensive.
Blow for far-right Italian leader ahead of general elections next year

Giorgia Meloni leaves after voting in a referendum on reforms to Italy's justice system, before the polls close, in Rome, Italy. Photo: Reuters

Italian voters emphatically rejected a flagship judicial reform championed by prime minister Giorgia Meloni, dealing a blow to her right-wing coalition ahead of next years general elections.

With most ballots counted after the March 22-23 referendum, the opposition-backed No bloc took almost 54pc of the vote against 46pc who approved of the government drive to rewrite the constitution and revamp Italys fiercely independent judiciary.
Russia lost 8,000 soldiers in a single week, Volodymyr Zelensky claims

Concerns war in Middle East will cause deficit in supply of Patriot air defence missiles

Recruits practice military drills at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine. Photo: AP

Arpan Rai UK Independent Tue 24 Mar 2026 at 06:30

Russia has lost more than 8,000 troops in the past week alone as it launches new offensives in the improving spring weather, according to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Tehran denies entering into negotiations with US after power grid bombing is suspended

Source claims direct talks could be held in Pakistan next week

President Donald Trump claims the US has held negotiations with Iranian officials. Photo: AP

Gram Slattery and Maayan Lubell Reuters Tue 24 Mar 2026 at 06:30

Iran denied yesterday it had engaged in negotiations with the US, after president Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb Irans power grid because of what he described as productive talks with unidentified Iranian officials.
Trump administration launches more probes into Harvard University

US Education Department announces two new probes against HarvardTrump has cracked down against top US schoolsRights advocates have raised concerns about Trump's crackdown

President Donald Trump extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Kanishka Singh Press Association Tue 24 Mar 2026 at 08:06

The Trump administration said on Monday it launched two more probes against Harvard University in its latest escalation against the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Ivy League school and other top U.S. universities.
Eoin McGee answers: I started a pension in my early 40s. What do I need to do to catch up and have a comfortable retirement?
Employee Termination in India: Settlement Timelines, Retrenchment Rules, and Employer Compliance

With the nationwide implementation of the four labor codes and the Income Tax Act, 2025, we examine the evolving regulatory framework governing employee termination in India. In this article, we provides global investors with a clear and timely overview of retrenchment rules, settlement timelines, and employer compliance obligations under the new regime.

Employee termination in India has become a more structured compliance exercise under the countrys new labor-code regime. Since the four labor codes took effect on November 21, 2025, employers must treat termination not merely as an HR decision, but as a multi-layered process involving legal review, payroll coordination, statutory compliance, and documentation.

In practice, businesses must first classify the nature of an employee exit; whether resignation, dismissal, fixed-term contract expiry, or retrenchment, before applying the relevant notice requirements, compensation rules, and settlement procedures. Compliance obligations may still vary depending on the type of establishment and the applicable central or state rules, making contextual legal assessment critical.

Regulatory framework governing employee termination in 2026

For companies operating in India, it is essential to understand how the new regime differs from Indias earlier fragmented labor-law framework, which is increasingly important for employers seeking to manage terminations lawfully and reduce dispute, penalty, and business-continuity risks. In practice, however, compliance can still vary by establishment type and by applicable central or state rules.

Indias Four Labor Codes and Their Relevance to Employee Termination Labor code What it regulates Why it matters for termination Code on Wages, 2019 Wage definitions, payment of wages, and permitted deductions Governs exit wage timing, final wage calculations, and the two-working-day rule for wages due on resignation, dismissal, retrenchment, or closure-linked unemployment Industrial Relations Code, 2020 Industrial disputes, standing orders, trade unions, lay-off, retrenchment, and closure Sets the main termination rules for retrenchment, notice, compensation, prior-permission thresholds, and dispute exposure Code on Social Security, 2020 Gratuity, provident fund, employee state insurance, and other social security benefits Matters for post-exit gratuity and related benefit obligations, including timing for gratuity payment Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 Working conditions, hours, leave, contractor licensing, registers, and workplace safety Less directly about dismissal, but still relevant for contractor establishments, records, compliance, and establishment-level obligations

Alongside these central codes, state-level Shops and Establishments (S&E) Acts continue to influence termination outcomes, particularly for commercial establishments.

What constitutes as an employee termination

The labor codes do not define termination in a single, consolidated provision. Instead, they adopt a broad approach that captures multiple forms of employment exit. These include:

Resignation initiated by the employee, Dismissal or discharge based on misconduct, Retrenchment driven by business or economic reasons, Retirement outside of superannuation, and Expiry of fixed-term contracts.

Classification of termination types

Under the IR framework, employee termination in India is structured into distinct legal categories, each with different consequences.

Retrenchment applies where termination arises from business or economic considerations rather than misconduct. In such cases, employers must provide notice or wages in lieu of notice, along with statutory compensation. For larger establishments employing 300 or more workers, retrenchment also requires prior government approval and longer notice periods.

Dismissal or discharge, by contrast, is linked to employee misconduct. Here, the focus shifts to procedural fairness. Employers must conduct a domestic inquiry and adhere to principles of natural justice. Unlike retrenchment, such cases typically do not trigger statutory compensation.

Fixed-term employment operates differently. Termination occurs automatically upon contract expiry, without the need for notice, provided the terms are clearly defined. However, an important shift under the new regime is that gratuity becomes payable even if the employee has not completed five years of service.

Voluntary exits, including resignation and early retirement, are primarily governed by contractual terms and internal company policies, though statutory dues still apply where relevant.

Notice, final settlement, and statutory dues

Termination activates a series of financial obligations that must be handled within strict timelines. One of the most significant changes under the new regime is the emphasis on speed. Wages payable upon exit, whether due to resignation, dismissal, retrenchment, or closure, must generally be settled within two working days.

Notice requirements, however, are not uniform. In standard retrenchment cases, one months notice or wages in lieu is typically required.

Termination Notice and Final Settlement Under Indias New Labor Codes Item What the new protocols say Exit wages Wages payable on resignation, dismissal, retrenchment, or closure-linked unemployment must be paid within 2 working days Notice period/notice pay There is no single universal notice period for every termination; ordinary retrenchment requires 1 months notice or wages in lieu, while covered larger establishments require 3 months notice or wages in lieu plus prior permission Retrenchment compensation In ordinary retrenchment, compensation is 15 days average pay for every completed year of service, or part above six months Re-skilling fund For retrenched workers, the employer must contribute an amount equal to 15 days last drawn wages to the worker re-skilling fund. The fund must credit that amount to the worker within 45 days of retrenchment. Gratuity Gratuity must be paid within 30 days from the date it becomes payable; delay can trigger simple interest, subject to the statutory exception Allowances and leave encashment The cited central code provisions do not set one single universal exit deadline for all allowance and leave-encashment items Tax and other deductions Final deductions must remain within the categories permitted by law

Retrenchment rules and workforce restructuring obligations

Under Indias new labor-code regime, retrenchment remains a distinct legal category rather than a catch-all term for any employee exit. The Code also preserves related protections around last-in-first-out retrenchment in the absence of an agreement and preferential re-employment of retrenched workers if hiring resumes within one year.

The rules become stricter for establishments covered by Chapter X of the Industrial Relations Code. That chapter applies to certain industrial establishments, specifically factories, mines, and plantations, with 300 or more workers on average per working day in the preceding 12 months.

Compliance Thresholds for Large Establishments Covered Under IR Code Parameter Requirement Applicability Worker threshold 300 or more workers Factories, mines, plantations Retrenchment notice 3 months or wages in lieu Chapter X Government approval Mandatory Retrenchment, lay-off, closure Closure notice 90 days prior Large establishments Standing orders Mandatory 300 workers

Workforce restructuring can also trigger the Codes notice of change rules: if an employer proposes to alter service conditions on matters listed in the Third Schedule, it must give notice and generally wait 21 days before implementing the change.

Income compensation on employee termination

The labor codes create a clear distinction between statutory and contractual compensation.

Statutory compensation

Retrenchment compensation

Lay-off compensation (typically 50 percent of wages + DA)

Closure compensation

Contractual compensation

Notice pay

Ex-gratia or severance packages

Additional benefits as per employment agreements

A key principle under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 is that termination is legally valid only when both procedural compliance and compensation obligations are fulfilled.

Role of Shops and Establishments Acts in severance

While central labor codes define the core structure of termination, state-level Shops and Establishments laws play a critical supporting role, particularly for commercial establishments.

These laws do not define severance as a standalone concept. Instead, they influence key components such as notice periods, wage settlement timelines, and leave encashment. In many states, they prescribe minimum notice requirements and mandate payment in lieu of notice where applicable. They also reinforce the obligation to settle all wages and accrued benefits promptly upon termination.

Leave encashment is another area where these laws are significant, as they typically require employers to compensate employees for unused earned leave at the time of exit.

Tax treatment of employee termination compensation

The taxation of termination payouts is governed separately under the income tax act, 2025, which determines how these payments are treated in the hands of employees.

Most termination-related payments are taxed as salary or profits in lieu of salary. However, certain components benefit from exemptions.

Tax Treatment Overview Component Tax treatment Exemption Gratuity Partially exempt Up to INR 2 million Retrenchment compensation Partially exempt Up to INR 500,000 VRS compensation Exempt Up to INR 500,000 Leave encashment Partially exempt Yes Notice pay Fully taxable No Ex-gratia Fully taxable No

Employees receiving large lump-sum payments may also claim income-spreading relief, which helps mitigate the impact of progressive tax rates.

A key distinction to remember is that labor law determines what must be paid, while tax law determines how those payments are taxed.

Procedural requirements and documentation

Procedural compliance is equally critical. Employers must issue proper notices, follow due process in disciplinary cases, and obtain approvals where required. Documentation should include termination letters, settlement statements, payment records, and employee acknowledgments.

Tax compliance adds another layer, requiring deduction of tax deducted at source (TDS), issuance of Form 130 under Income Tax Rules, 2026 (formerly known as Form 16 Annual TDS certificate), and maintenance of supporting records.

CLICK HERE: Year Zero: Why Indias Income-tax Rules 2026 Demand an Urgent Payroll Audit

Legal exposure for non-compliant terminations in India

The compliance risk from a defective termination is not limited to retrenchment penalties. The Industrial Relations Code prohibits unfair labor practices, provides a formal pathway through conciliation officers and industrial tribunals, and gives tribunals power to grant meaningful remedies where a discharge, dismissal, or other termination is found unjustified. In those cases, a tribunal may set aside the termination, order reinstatement, or award other relief, including a lesser punishment. The Code also allows recovery of money due from the employer under settlements, awards, or retrenchment-related chapters through the appropriate government and collector machinery.

Legal Risks for Non-Compliant Terminations Under New Labor Codes Risk area What it means Chapter X retrenchment and closure violations Breaches of the prior-permission regime can trigger fines of INR 100,000 to INR 1 million. Repeat violations can rise to INR 500,000 to INR 2 million, with possible imprisonment of up to six months. General retrenchment violations Breaches of the general retrenchment rules can trigger fines of INR 50,000 to INR 200,000. Repeat violations can rise to INR 100,000 to INR 500,000, with possible imprisonment of up to six months. Unfair labor practices Unfair labor practices can trigger fines of INR 10,000 to INR 200,000. Repeat violations can rise to INR 50,000 to INR 500,000, with possible imprisonment of up to three months. Wage-settlement non-compliance Wages payable on resignation, dismissal, retrenchment, or closure-related unemployment must generally be paid within two working days. Non-compliance can lead to claims, enforcement action, and penalties. Misconduct process failures Where Chapter IV on standing orders applies, meaning industrial establishments with 300 or more workers, disciplinary proceedings linked to suspension should ordinarily be completed within 90 days, and subsistence allowance must be paid during suspension.

Key takeaways

Under the new labor-code regime, employee termination in India has become a time-sensitive compliance issue that requires employers to align legal procedure, payroll processing, and internal documentation before ending an employment relationship. The obligations also vary depending on the nature of the exit, whether it involves resignation, dismissal, fixed-term contract expiry, retrenchment, or closure-related separation.

For businesses, the main challenge is not only determining the correct termination route, but also ensuring that wage payments, compensation, statutory dues, and supporting records are handled within the required timelines. In practice, this means companies should adopt a structured termination checklist that brings together HR, legal, payroll, and finance functions. As Indias labor-law framework and new income tax framework enters its first full year of implementation, employers that fail to follow the prescribed process may face disputes, payment claims, penalties, and wider operational and reputational risks.
When everything starts looking like an anime

Image credit : Pexels | The Japan Effect: How the Internet Turned a Country Into an Aesthetic Dream

But here's the Gen Z reality check

Image credit : ChatGPT AI Image | Gen Z Is Calling Out the Perfect Japan Myth

The 'Perfect Japan' problem

But the reality hits different

Overcrowded streets

Disruptive tourists

Daily life being affected

But why is Gen Z calling it out?

This is bigger than Japan; it's about how the internet sells reality

You must have seen it: a random metro ride, a quiet street, a convenience store run. Add a soft anime filter, lo-fi music and maybe a cherry blossom overlay, and suddenly, it feels like you are in Tokyo-core main character mode.Welcome to the viral "Japan effect".On social media, especially platforms like TikTok and Instagram, Japan has been turned into a vibe. It's not just a place anymore; it's an aesthetic.Empty streets that look poetic, convenience store food that feels magical and trains that seem peaceful and cinematic. Not only this, but even typing "Tokyo, Japan" on a regular video somehow makes it more beautiful.But here's the thing: that version of Japan? It's curated.Now, Gen Z is flipping the script. A new wave of content is going viral where creators recreate those dreamy "Perfect Japan" videos, only to break the illusion seconds later. What starts as soft lighting, calm streets and anime music quickly turns into crowded sidewalks, tourists everywhere and noise, chaos and everyday life.It's funny, but it's also making a point.Because behind the filters, places like Kyoto and Tokyo are dealing with very real issues, mainly overtourism.For years, the internet has built this hyper-romanticised version of Japan. Blame it partly on anime, partly on aesthetics and partly on the fact that Japan just looks incredibly photogenic online.Franchises like Pokemon and other anime universes have made people emotionally attached to the idea of Japan before even visiting it. So when people finally go, they are not just tourists; they are chasing a feeling.And sometimes, that turns into what the internet now calls glazing", overhyping everything to the point where it stops being real.Japan isn't a Studio Ghibli scene 24/7.It's crowded. It's busy. It has social issues, just like any other country. Locals in cities like Kyoto have been increasingly vocal about:Some events have been cancelled because of excessive tourism.And then there are smaller myths getting debunked too, like the idea that Japan is so clean you could walk barefoot anywhere (spoiler: not really).This isn't just about travel content. It's about authenticity. Gen Z has grown up online. You can spot when something feels too perfect. And the "Japan effect" started to feel like that: over-edited, over-romanticised, and slightly disconnected from reality.So now, instead of just consuming the aesthetic, people are questioning it. Not to hate on Japan, but to balance the narrative.The "Japan effect" is just one example of a larger pattern: algorithmic idealisation. Social media doesn't reward what's real. It rewards what's visually pleasing, emotionally engaging and easily shareable.So creators naturally lean into aesthetics that perform well, even if it means simplifying or exaggerating reality.Over time, this creates a loop, aesthetic content, more engagement, more similar content and distorted perceptions.Japan just became one of the biggest victims of this loop because its culture, visuals, and media already fit perfectly into that aesthetic framework.But this could happen to any place.
Songs that defined a generation

The most popular Hannah Montana songs fans still love





















The power of simple, relatable lyrics

Miley Cyrus and the voice behind the magic

The Disney pop formula that worked perfectly

Nostalgia meets the social media era

The emotional comfort of familiar tunes Theres also a comfort factor. For many fans, these songs are tied to simpler times, after-school TV, sleepovers, and singing along with friends. Revisiting them now brings a sense of familiarity and warmth. In a fast-paced digital world, that kind of emotional anchor is powerful.







Theres also a comfort factor. For many fans, these songs are tied to simpler times, after-school TV, sleepovers, and singing along with friends. Revisiting them now brings a sense of familiarity and warmth. In a fast-paced digital world, that kind of emotional anchor is powerful. More than just a soundtrack The Hannah Montana soundtrack wasnt just music, it was an identity marker for a generation. It shaped tastes, influenced pop culture, and became a shared experience for millions of fans. The songs werent just heard; they were lived.



The Hannah Montana soundtrack wasnt just music, it was an identity marker for a generation. It shaped tastes, influenced pop culture, and became a shared experience for millions of fans. The songs werent just heard; they were lived. Still living rent-free, 20 years later As the reunion special sparks fresh conversations and emotions, one thing is clear: the music of Hannah Montana hasnt gone anywhere. It continues to live rent-free in our heads, not just because it was catchy, but because it meant something. And even two decades later, that connection is still as strong as ever. As the reunion special sparks fresh conversations and emotions, one thing is clear: the music of Hannah Montana hasnt gone anywhere. It continues to live rent-free in our heads, not just because it was catchy, but because it meant something. And even two decades later, that connection is still as strong as ever.

As Hannah Montana completes 20 years, fans are deep in their nostalgia era. With the anniversary reunion special now streaming on Disney+, the internet is buzzing with throwbacks, clips, and emotional reactions. People are going gaga over the return of a show that defined their childhood, and at the center of it all is the music that refuses to fade away.From The Best of Both Worlds to Nobodys Perfect and Rock Star, Hannah Montana wasnt just a show, it was a full-blown musical experience. These werent just background tracks; they were moments. Each song captured a feeling, whether it was confidence, confusion, friendship, or growing up. Even years later, just hearing a few seconds of these tracks is enough to transport fans back in time.Some tracks have become especially iconic over the years. The Best of Both Worlds remains one of the most recognizable Disney theme songs ever, instantly triggering nostalgia. Nobodys Perfect became an anthem about embracing flaws, while Rock Star captured the fantasy of living a double life. Songs like If We Were a Movie and He Could Be the One added a romantic, dreamy layer that resonated deeply with fans. And of course, Hoedown Throwdown turned into a full cultural moment, with its dance routine still remembered today. These songs didnt just top playlists, they became core memories for a generation.One reason these soundtracks still live rent-free in our heads is their simplicity. The lyrics were easy to remember but emotionally impactful. Songs about making mistakes, chasing dreams, and figuring yourself out felt incredibly relatable, especially for young audiences trying to navigate their own identities. That emotional connection made the music stick in a way that goes beyond nostalgia.A huge part of the soundtracks lasting impact comes from Miley Cyrus. Her voice carried both the character of Hannah Montana and the real emotions of Miley Stewart. That duality made the songs feel authentic. Whether she was performing as a pop star or expressing vulnerability, there was a sincerity that resonated with listeners.Hannah Montana arrived at a time when Disney had mastered the art of creating music-driven shows. Catchy hooks, upbeat production, and emotionally grounded lyrics made the songs instantly memorable. But what set this soundtrack apart was how seamlessly it was woven into the storyline. The music didnt feel separate from the show, it was a core part of the narrative.Today, platforms like Instagram and TikTok are giving these songs a second life. Clips, edits, and trends featuring Hannah Montana tracks are constantly resurfacing, introducing the music to a new generation while reigniting memories for older fans. The current wave of early 2000s nostalgia has only amplified this effect, making the songs feel as relevant as ever.
Tal Dilian, founder of Intellexa, made a new statement on Mega Stories with Dora Anagnostopoulou and on Inside Story, in which he addressed the charges brought in 2022 regarding illegal surveillance of politicians and journalists, emphasizing that the case unjustly led to him and his wife being put on trial. He noted, in fact: I remained silent during the trial, but I will not be a scapegoat.

I will present my case before national, regional, and international institutions, including a request for intervention by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of the Judiciary.statement

In 2022 there were allegations that the government was illegally interfering political opponents and journalists phones. A Supreme Court Prosecutor, Georgia Adeilini said that there was no evidence against members of the government and/or the EYP, but she found inferences against me and my wife, and she send my case to a trial.

The evidence presented during the trial contradicted the Supreme Court Prosecutor analysis. The judgement did not quote a single piece of evidence exposing my personal intervention with the specific interferences. The inferences against us disappear. The judgement did not identify when, where and how we supposedly sent the links to produce the interferences, did not invoke a technical report showing that I or someone working at my instructions produced the interferences. On the contrary many witnesses mentioned the possible intervention of the EYP.

The judgement itself refers to the use of identities linked to senior government divs, yet no effort was made to fully investigate those directions.

Our group developed a Pro-active defence software and legally provide it exclusively to authorized government and law-enforcement entities. These technologies are designed to support national security and public safety efforts of sovereign states, all under EU regulatory framework and legal standards. We do not operate systems; we do not conduct surveillance activities.

By design, our software does not allow anyone besides the agency to know the targets and to be aware to the operations done by the national agencies. National agencies define the targets and execute the operation without our knowledge. We dont know who made the interferences.

I believe it is a crime for private individuals to interfere communications. But it is even more serious crime to organize a conspiracy crime to send innocent people to jail to cover up political authorities. Nixon lost his presidency in the Watergate case for try to cover up a tapping operation.

I remained silent during the trial, but I will not be a scape goat. I will present my case before national, regional, and international institutions, including requesting the intervention of the UN Special Rapporteur on judicial independence.

Tal Dilian
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has dismissed the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a negligible political threat ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The governor argued that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has no reason to feel threatened by an opposition party that does not control a single state in the country.

Sule made the remarks during an interview on Channels Televisions Politics Today on Monday, where he also expressed strong support for state policing as a solution to the terrorism and banditry challenges bedevilling the country.

Advertisement

Responding to questions about the ADCs growing profile as the leading opposition platform ahead of 2027, the governor described the narrative of a shifting opposition threat as a recurring political storyline.

At one point, they said the PDP is the strongest opposition to our party, so now it is the ADC. Youll continue to hear this goalpost keep moving. Theres no problem whatsoever with our party. A party controlling 31 states cannot actually be scared of a party that doesnt control one state, he said.

Turning to the issue of insecurity  one of the central planks of the ADCs campaign against the Tinubu administration  Sule acknowledged the severity of the challenge but expressed optimism about state policing as the most effective structural response to the crisis.

The governor revealed that at a recent National Economic Council meeting, an overwhelming majority of state governors had endorsed the state policing initiative, with 35 out of 37 signing up for the policy.

When we sat down at the NEC level to discuss, I think 35 out of 37 signed up for state policing. We agreed to go on with it. I think it is the parameter because it has to go into amending the law, it has to go to the National Assembly, it has to go to all the assemblies at various states. I think it is just the process that is taking time, but as far as we are concerned, I think every state believes strongly in state policing and Nasarawa is one of them, he said.

However, as the 2027 election draws closer, the ADC has continued to attract high-profile defections from across the political spectrum and positions itself as the primary vehicle for opposition to the Tinubu administration.
An Abeokuta court has granted bail to Abass Olalekan, popularly known as Ola Kamara, a Local Government Inspector (LGI) with the NYSC in Abeokuta South, following his arraignment on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and attempted procurement of abortion.

Abass was detained by police following the death of a female corps member, Victoria Ariyo, in Abeokuta. Victoria served in Abeokuta South Local Government Area and she allegedly died on Tuesday after complications linked to a terminated pregnancy.

She was buried at Kobape Cemetery along the Kobape-Sagamu Road. Speaking after the court session, Abass lawyer revealed that the charges specifically alleged an attempt to procure abortion with drugs, but questioned the credibility of the prosecutions case, noting that no specific drug was mentioned in the charge.

Advertisement

The defence also pointed out gaps in the investigation, stressing that there was no statement from any medical professional to support claims that drugs were administered. If you are to give somebody drugs, where is a nurse? the lawyer queried, adding that the evidence presented lacked critical backing.

Citing legal principles, the lawyer emphasized that Olalekan remains innocent until proven guilty under Section 36(5) of the Constitution. He further noted that the charges under Sections 516 and 230 do not carry capital punishment, making bail a constitutional right, as supported by provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).

The prosecution reportedly listed five witnesses in the case, but only one appeared in court. This raised concerns from the judge, who questioned the relevance of proceeding with just one witness present.

While expressing sympathy for any alleged victim, the defence maintained that justice must be balanced. Justice is not only to the victim but also to the defendant. An innocent man must not be punished, the lawyer stated.
Leonid Radvinsky, the reclusive billionaire who acquired adult content platform OnlyFans and transformed it into a multibillion-dollar empire, has died of cancer aged 43, the company announced Monday.

We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Leo Radvinsky. Leo passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer, an OnlyFans spokesperson said. His family have requested privacy at this difficult time.

Florida-based Radvinsky, a Ukrainian-American entrepreneur born in Odesa and raised in Chicago, purchased a 75 percent stake in Fenix International Limited  the London-based parent company of OnlyFans  in 2018, serving as its director and majority shareholder.

Advertisement

Under his ownership the platform surged in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, growing to some 377 million users and 4.6 million content creators worldwide.

The company recorded $1.4 billion in net revenue in 2024, taking a 20 percent commission on most creator earnings, and had been valued at around $5.5 billion in early-stage sale talks earlier this year.

Radvinsky, who held a bachelors degree in economics from Northwestern University, had a net worth valued at $3.8 billion as of last May, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

He had transferred his ownership stake into the LR Fenix Trust in 2024.

Beyond OnlyFans, Radvinsky ran Leo, a venture capital fund he founded in 2009 focused on technology investments. He was also known for philanthropic activities, including support for cancer research and open source projects.
Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has said authorities have arrested religious leader Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Umar.

In a statement on Tuesday, titled Troubling Developments in Our Polity that Must Be Nipped in the Bud, Obi said the arrest was carried out shortly after the religious leader hosted him in Kaduna on Sunday.

He said, This development underscores the deeply troubling state of our nation and our democracy, where freedom of speech and movement is increasingly threatened, and where citizens and perceived political opponents face harassment and unnecessary persecution. This cannot be allowed to continue.

Advertisement

He called on authorities to defend freedom and free speech, which are the hallmarks of every democratic society.

Suppression and intimidation of dissent can never stand in a democratic society, and this Nigerian government must understand this fact.

I respectfully call on all those bent on undermining our already fragile democracy to please stop and apply the rule of law and tenets of democracy in dealing with citizens.
"Latinoamerica: Una Lengua, Multiples Culturas" located at 2863 N 5th St. includes an image of Cesar Chavez as well as Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral along with dancers, tropoical plants, birds and a map of Central America. Mural Arts organizers are considering removing Chavez's image from the mural. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

After the New York Times reported on sexual abuse allegations against the late Mexican American civil rights leader Cesar Chavez  specifically by top ally Dolores Huerta  Mural Arts Philadelphia has decided to remove Chavezs image from a sprawling mural in Fairhill.

Artist Michelle Angela Ortiz will paint a new image of Huerta on the 20-year-old Latinoamerica: Una Lengua, Multiples Culturas in the style of the murals original artist, Jose Ali Paz, who died in 2008.

Advertisement

The only area that will be changed is the addition of Huerta, Ortiz said. The rest of the mural will remain as is to preserve Jose Alis legacy.

Huertas image will join those of historic Latin figures Simon Bolivar and poets Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral.

Latinoamerica: Una Lengua, Multiples Culturas  Latin America: One Language, Many Cultures  is located at 2863 N. Fifth St. Also called Marias Grocery, because the mural is painted on the side of the longtime bodega, it represents more than 16 different Latin American cultural groups in Philadelphia.

The mural, a collaboration between Venezuelan artists Paz and Henry Bermudez, was unveiled in 2005.

It is sad what has happened to Chavezs story, said Bermudez, who worked as Alis assistant on the mural and has a studio in Frankford. Honoring Huerta is a very good solution.

In addition to Chavez, Bolivar, Neruda, and Mistral, the mural features flamenco dancers, an illustrated map of Central and South America, and a parrot native to Latin American countries like Brazil, Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia.

Ortiz, 52, a longtime friend of Paz, spoke with his family and got their approval to make the change to the mural. Paz, whom friends describe as a kind soul who eschewed machismo, would agree with the change, Ortiz said.

Completely erasing Chavezs image is detrimental to the movement, Ortiz said, Its detrimental to the descendants of the farmworkers who benefited from his work. The actions of one singular person shouldnt tarnish the movement of the many people. We have to be very cautious and mindful of how to react.

The picture of Huerta, Ortiz said, will move the focus elsewhere.

How do we share the perspective to uplift others who are part of the movement? In this case, its Dolores.

Within days after the story dropped in the Times, Mural Arts was in conversation with Bermudez and HACE, the owner of Marias Grocery.

On Friday, Mural Arts officials released a statement saying they were considering alternatives.

We take these allegations extremely seriously and we believe the women who came forward, said Aviva Kapust, Mural Arts chief advancement and impact officer. Everyone agreed this is a great solution.

Ortiz saw the statement over the weekend and reached out to Mural Arts. She wanted to know if the nonprofit had contacted Pazs family.

Paz worked on several murals for the nonprofit arts organization. His work includes a 2005 120-foot-long and 25-foot-high scene on Fifth Street near Allegheny Avenue called Life Reflects Nature: Memories of the Past, Traditions of the Present.

Chavez was serially abusive, especially toward young women, the New York Times reported. Two women, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, both in their 60s, told the publication how Chavez molested them in his office. The Times investigation found that he sexually abused several other women who worked and volunteered in his movement, including Huerta.

He died in 1993 at age 66.

The Times investigation led several organizations with ties to Chavez to distance themselves. The United Farm Workers of America, the union he once led, canceled its annual celebrations honoring him, calling the accusations profoundly shocking.

Officials in multiple states said they would consider renaming the scores of streets and schools named in his honor. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was in talks to rename Cesar Chavez Day, March 31.

Over the weekend, several statues and busts of Chavez were covered or removed. His images in murals were scrubbed off or whited out. California artist Misteralek replaced Chavez in his 2021 mural with Huerta holding up a megaphone.

These murals are meant to memorialize, pay tribute, and tell the stories of what is going on in the communities in the moment, Kapust said. This is a chance for us to reconsider and work with the community in a thoughtful way.
Listen to article  0:00 min

Want to save a lot of money on taxes? Then make sure the shares in your business can be categorized as qualified small business stock under Section 1202 of the IRS tax code.

To qualify, your business must be a C corporation and not a pass-through entity like an S corporation, partnership, or limited liability company. Companies under this rule must have less than $75 million in capital assets at start-up.

Advertisement

Another important rule is that at least 80% of your companys assets must be used in a qualified trade or business, like manufacturing, distribution, or technology products and services. In other words, it cant be passive like a holding company in real estate or some service-oriented businesses.

Certain service-based industries are excluded, and founders in consulting, health, financial services, and similar fields often overlook this limitation until its too late, said Mitchell Gerstein, a senior tax adviser at Isdaner & Co. in Bala Cynwyd.

How does owning qualified small business stock reduce your taxes?

The big savings wont come now. Theyll come later when you exit your business.

If you own qualified small business stock and you hold on to that stock for at least five years from the time it was issued, you will not have to pay the 28% tax on your capital gain when you sell your shares. That exception applies for amounts up to $15 million or 10 times your investment, whichever is greater.

The savings is so huge that many of my clients who own pass-through businesses are considering converting to a C corporation, despite the complexity.

Converting to a C corporation has upfront costs (legal, accounting, internal time and energy) and generally leads to greater net tax payments on operating income during the three- to five-year period of holding, says Dean V. Krishna, tax chair at Philadelphia law firm Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young. But the benefits upon sale are so significant that they oftentimes make conversion the smart tax strategy.

Whats new with qualified small business stock?

Though not as well known, qualified small business stock has been around as a start-up tax benefit for decades. But last year it got even better.

Thanks to the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, you can sell your shares after only three years and still get capital gains tax exclusions of up to 50%. Its 75% after four years.

This law also raised the capital assets limit from $50 million to $75 million and the maximum capital gains limit from $10 million to $15 million. These changes are applicable only to shares offered after July 4, 2025.

Be careful of your timing, Gerstein said.

There are no forms to fill out or IRS approvals needed. The shares just need to qualify, and business owners should be doing their best to ensure that theyre keeping the right documentation (minutes, share certificates, memorandums) to back up their qualification.

When to think about Section 1202

Gerstein advises that companies, especially growth-stage businesses, revisit their structure and capitalization strategy before their next equity issuance. Each issuance is its own opportunity or missed opportunity.

Section 1202 is most powerful when its addressed at formation, he said. Whether stock qualifies under Section 1202 depends on when its issued and how much the company is worth at that time.

Krishna says the decision is particularly important for business owners looking to sell or raise more capital in the future.

With respect to formation and growth, oftentimes third-party investors are looking for qualified small business stock status with respect to their own investments, he said. Its important for a company to understand whether it can market that status  and it may help attract investors.

As existing business owners get older and retire, many are thinking about their succession plans. As many as 6 million small and midsize American businesses are set to be involved in a great ownership transfer by 2035, according to a recent McKinsey Institute report, with about 1 million of them expected to be sold in transactions cumulatively worth $5 trillion.

Even if your start-up or new company does qualify under Section 1202, you still have to be careful when you make any organizational changes in the future.

Oftentimes business owners think their business is qualified and do internal restructurings for estate or business purposes without realizing that the qualification is not just based on the business itself, but also on chain of ownership, Krishna said. Actions such as contributing your stock into a partnership can disqualify your status.

Thats why considering a change in ownership to a qualified small business stock could be a very important estate planning strategy right now.

Gerstein says that business owners should carefully consider who receives stock and when, and that, if structured properly, each shareholder may qualify for their own exclusion.

Some gifts and estate transfers can keep the tax benefits in place, but certain redemptions or company transactions can cause them to be lost, he said. With proper planning, families can preserve significant tax savings, but small mistakes can be expensive.
Kathi Camp is overwhelmed with grief during a balloon release for her son Diniar in August 2022 in South Philadelphia. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

Every now and then, Kathi Camp would pull up a website with the list of Philadelphias most-wanted criminals and click on the photo of the man accused of killing her son.

Just to see his face, she said.

Advertisement

It had been more than three years since police said Marcus Whitehead, in a jealous rage, shot and killed 26-year-old Diniar Camp as he walked a woman home from a bar one night in August 2022.

Whitehead, 25, fled the state and evaded law enforcement for years, police said. In his absence, the most-wanted website became a sort of ritual for Camp, a way of holding onto something when the case felt like it was slipping away.

But finally, in the fall, Whitehead was arrested in Maryland and charged with Camps murder.

On Tuesday, Camp sat in a Philadelphia courtroom and, for the first time, came to face the man accused of killing her only son and upending her life.

Whitehead looked different from the man she had studied in that photo so many times, she said. His hair is closely cropped now, his beard trimmed short.

But his eyes, she said, are the same.

Diniar Camp was born and raised in South Philly but had moved to Nevada in 2022 to escape Philadelphias gun violence and pursue a career in music. He returned to the city a few months later for the funeral of a close friend who had been shot and killed in late July.

While visiting, he reconnected with a young woman he had been dating, and she joined him and his friends and family after the service. They went to a bar in North Philadelphia, and shortly after midnight, Camp offered to walk her home.

Meanwhile, the woman testified Tuesday, her ex-boyfriend, Whitehead, was calling and texting her, asking where she was, but her phone was off.

As they approached her mothers rowhouse, near 19th and Berks Streets, she said, she saw Whitehead walk out from a dark alley with a gun in his hand.

She tried to stand between the men and calm Whitehead down, she said, but Camp pushed her out of the way.

Then, she said, Whitehead shot him.

Camp tried to pull his own legally owned firearm from the holster beneath his left armpit, she said, but Whitehead shot him repeatedly, killing him. Homicide Detective Kevin Bradley said he found Camp in the street, lying on top of his gun.

After the woman told police Whitehead was responsible, a warrant was issued for his arrest days later. But Whitehead was already gone. Bradley said he fled south and started selling drugs  and reconnected with the woman he is accused of killing Camp over.

In court Tuesday, the woman testified that she had moved out of Philadelphia after the shooting, and received texts from an unknown number with threats against her family and believed they were from Whitehead or one of his friends. Resuming her relationship with him, she said, was her way of trying to protect them. She never told police where he was staying  often, officials said, it was with her.

In June 2024, Whitehead was arrested in Maryland and charged with drug and gun trafficking, records show, and he was later extradited to Philadelphia to face charges of murder, illegal gun possession, and related crimes.

On the witness stand Tuesday, the woman was unflinching when recounting the night of the shooting.

Are you confident in who shot Mr. Camp? Assistant District Attorney Sean Perez asked.

Marcus Whitehead, she said calmly.

Municipal Court Judge Christine M. Hope found sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

Whiteheads attorney, Samuel Stretton, cast doubt on the womans account throughout the hearing, saying she was trying to protect herself by implicating Whitehead. He declined to comment after the hearing.

Throughout the morning in court, Kathi Camp anxiously rocked back and forth in her seat.

So much of her life has changed since Aug. 6, 2022. She had gotten her real estate license that year and sold three homes, she said, but has not sold one since. She is too depressed to work.

She and her husband have divorced. At 59, she walks with a cane, cannot get her blood pressure down, and suffers from insomnia.

When she learned Whitehead was finally in custody, she said, she was relieved only briefly. It was the moment for which she had been waiting for so long, she said, and yet all she could do was cry.

I just couldnt stop thinking about how I dont have him no more, she said.

And ahead lies a new journey of waiting  in courtrooms, for trial dates, for justice.
Joanna Wexler, assistant superintendent of the Great Valley School District, has been named the finalist to lead the Central Bucks School District. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

The Central Bucks School District has named an assistant superintendent in the Great Valley School District as the finalist to be its next superintendent.

Joanna Wexler will participate in a public forum April 8, ahead of a school board vote on her appointment April 14, district officials announced Tuesday.

Advertisement

Heather Reynolds, board president of Central Bucks, said that Wexlers extensive experience, particularly in special education and human resources, comes at a critical time for our district.

We have full confidence in her ability to strengthen these areas while building on our strong academic foundation, Reynolds said in a statement.

Central Bucks last year fired its former superintendent, Steven Yanni, over his handling of reports of abuse of children in a special-education classroom at Jamison Elementary School.

Yanni, who appealed the firing, now leads Northwood Academy Charter School in Philadelphia.

The district also fired its director of pupil services, the Jamison Elementary principal, a teacher, and an educational assistant.

Yanni had led the district for less than a year before he was placed on leave. His predecessor, Abram Lucabaugh, led the district for a little more than two years before resigning in the wake of a hotly contested November 2023 election that flipped control of the board from Republican to Democratic.

Wexler, who has been assistant superintendent in Great Valley since 2020, oversees recruitment, evaluation, and contract negotiations for the Chester County district, according to Central Bucks officials. They said Wexler has been involved in Great Valleys grade realignment  a project Central Bucks is also undertaking.

Wexler previously spent six years as Great Valleys director of special education and student services. A graduate of Ursinus College with a degree in psychology, Wexler, who also has a master of education degree and a Ph.D. from Temple University, began working in education in 1997. She has worked as a school psychologist and student services leader in districts including Souderton and Lower Merion.

Central Bucks chose Wexler after a search process led by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit that began in November and attracted 26 candidates, according to district officials. They said the board interviewed 15 candidates before narrowing the field to three.

In a statement, Wexler said it was an incredible honor to be the finalist for the Central Bucks job.

Pending my formal appointment, I look forward to partnering with students, teachers, staff, families, and the broader community to build on the districts strengths and listen with intention as we work to ensure every student has the support they need to thrive and succeed, Wexler said.
A student types a prompt into ChatGPT on a Chromebook in this Associated Press file image. Some Lower Merion parents are pushing back on Chromebook use in schools. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

At home, Pooja Gargs children dont have phones or tablets. She monitors what they watch on Netflix.

But when her sixth grader goes to school in the Lower Merion School District, hes gaming all the time, Garg said  on a school-issued Chromebook. When Garg has volunteered during indoor recess, kids are playing on computers.

Advertisement

Theyre not thinking critically, Garg said. Theyre on their laptops.

Garg was among dozens of Lower Merion parents, and some students, who voiced their frustrations with the districts use of technology at a community meeting Monday at Harriton High School.

The meeting came amid a mounting parental backlash to technology in schools that has been playing out in communities across the region, and country.

Were hearing from parents constantly on this issue, said Alex Bird Becker, a Wallingford-Swarthmore parent who is co-lead of PA Unplugged, a group pushing back on devices in schools.

As states have increasingly barred cellphones in schools  Gov. Josh Shapiro has called on lawmakers to pass a bell-to-bell ban in Pennsylvania  Becker said many parents see phone bans as a foregone conclusion and have turned their attention to what they consider a more pervasive problem: laptops.

How am I supposed to have my child learn, if they have this distracting device on their desk at all times? Becker said.

Laptops have become part of the fabric of the school day in Lower Merion and other districts around the Philadelphia region  used for everything from learning programs to digital textbooks. One parent at the Lower Merion meeting said her child had to open a laptop to request a bathroom pass.

 READ MORE: Suburban parents say theyve been sucked into smartphone whirlpool. Now, they want the devices out of schools.

Some of the technology usage in schools has ramped up since the pandemic, when there was a push to ensure every child had a school-issued device to complete virtual instruction.

Those devices were the topic of most of the concerns confronting Lower Merion Superintendent Frank Ranelli and a panel of 22 administrators, board members, teachers, and students Monday. Parents raised alarm about the ways in which screens and technology had become increasingly present during the school day.

Ranelli told the crowd the meeting wasnt intended to be confrontational. Were all on the same team, he told parents.

But not all parents saw it that way  accusing the district of taking a misguided approach that was weakening the quality of education.

Eleanor Stanford, a parent of two Lower Merion graduates and an 11th grader, said her youngest son has to read fewer books in school than his siblings did, and the amount of writing they have to do almost doesnt exist.

When kids do write, theyre using AI, said Stanford, who teaches writing at Bryn Mawr College. Were preparing them to be servants to AI. She said the districts focus should be on teaching students how to think, rather than using technology, which she argued they would learn intuitively.

We are a district that has so much money and so many resources. We can do whatever we want and still get the highest test scores. Why dont we do something thats actually innovative? Stanford said, drawing applause.

Lower Merion doesnt have a full ban on cell phones; the districts Off and Away rules call for students to store their phones during classes, but allow high school students to use phones at lunch.

Some parents complained Monday that the phone rules were inconsistently enforced, or not at all  pressing Lower Merion to not wait for the state to enact a ban.

An effort to opt out of Chromebooks

Scott Weinstein, assistant superintendent, said there were pendulum shifts in education, and that schools probably went too far in adopting new technology.

Now, were trying to strike the right balance, Weinstein said. What we dont want to do ... is overcorrect and get rid of it completely.

Several administrators and teachers spoke about the value of technology. Ashley Rosenbaum, a kindergarten teacher at Merion Elementary, said iPads allow her to provide differentiated instruction to entering kindergarteners, some of whom have never been in school before, while others know their letters and can write their names.

The iPads are used very sparingly, said Rosenbaum, who is also a district parent. I send my son to school and I trust his teachers. I teach children because I love children. I want to work with them  I dont want their faces in an iPad.

Numerous parents, however, voiced skepticism of the districts educational technology products, and asked about opting out of using Chromebooks.

Yair Lev, a parent of a second grader at Cynwyd Elementary who has been organizing webinars with advocates against technology in schools  including an upcoming talk with neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath, author of The Digital Delusion  said that educational technology companies had been pushing products with unproven results.

Lev said 20 families from his childs grade were planning to opt out of using Chromebooks next year  and opt in to traditional education, relying on pen and paper.

Ranelli told parents they could not opt out. Youre basically opting out of our curriculum, he said. Thats not the plan, though 20 families might want that.

Subashini Subramanian, another parent of a Cynwyd second grader, said she wanted to see how her daughter fared without a Chromebook for a year, to see if her academics suffered without using it.

Basic foundation has to be learned with pen and paper, someone teaching you, said Subramanian, who voiced concern with online reading and math programs her daughters school uses for about 20 minutes a day.

Subramanian said she had heard reports of middle schoolers on Chromebooks for four to five hours a day, and Im scared.

Ranelli said the district looks at how long kids are online a day, but didnt share any figures.

Inappropriate content and cheating on Chromebooks

Beyond the opt-out requests, parents questioned why students were able to access inappropriate content on their Chromebooks. One mother said her son reported that kids were playing a game called Five Nights at Epsteins, in which players are on an island with financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Earlier in the meeting, the districts director of information technology and cybersecurity, Robert Catalano, said the district was constantly updating its filters to block access to games, though at times, its like Whack-a-Mole.

Others, including students, warned of pervasive cheating with AI tools. Sometimes I feel like Im in the minority, because I actually do my homework, instead of like, a robot doing it, said Rosalie Chinen, a seventh grader at Bala Cynwyd Middle School.

As parents and students spoke, Ranelli said their opinions werent necessarily representative. Of about 13,000 parents in the district, there might be 150 here, he said.

He also said that kids addiction to social media and screens wasnt caused by schools.

But he and board members said they were committed to hearing the concerns.

Anna Shurak, one of the board members, said the board couldnt commit to specific changes because we have to know all the issues.

But Ive been shocked by many of the things that were shared here, Shurak said.

Inquirer Lower Merion A weekly newsletter Want to get Inquirer Lower Merion straight to your inbox every week? Sign up here for our guide to the news, stories, and events shaping life in your community.
The exterior of Moore College of Art and Design Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

Moore College of Art and Design will voluntarily recognize the formation of a union among its staff without requiring an election.

Staff earlier this month made the request to form a union to Moore president Cathy Young.

Advertisement

Voluntarily recognition is relatively unusual in higher education, union officials said. United Academics of Philadelphia, a local of the American Federation of Teachers, said of the four unions it has organized locally, this is the only one where the employer voluntarily recognized the union.

 READ MORE: Moore College of Art & Design staff announce intention to form a union

At Pennsylvania State University, graduate students and now faculty both have had to pursue elections to form a union. Faculty will begin voting via mail ballots in April, with results expected by mid-May. Graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania in 2024 also voted in an election to form a union and last month reached a tentative agreement on their first contract, which they later ratified.

But Moore, which enrolls about 500 students, is taking a different stance. Its lawyer said the school agrees with the union that it is in the mutual interest of the staff, the students, the faculty and the administration of the college to maintain a positive employment relationship between the employees and the administration which recognizes and advances their respective goals and objectives through good faith collective bargaining.

The college also believes that its employees have the right to select their own representatives for these purposes, lawyer Mark J. Foley wrote.

The union recognition is subject to an agreement on the bargaining unit description and confirmation that United Academics of Philadelphia have the support of the majority of the eligible staff, Foley wrote. The union will represent about 50 full-time and part-time staff at the Philadelphia-based art college. Faculty already have a union.

 READ MORE: Penn State faculty say they will vote on forming a union

We are really excited about the prospect of working in collaboration with them to hammer out the details of voluntary recognition and get to the bargaining table as soon as we can, said Daniel Pieczkolon, president of United Academics of Philadelphia and an adjunct faculty member at Arcadia University. Its always better to enter negotiations from a place of collaboration rather than a combative one.

Some other colleges have extended voluntary recognition. At Brown University, postdoctoral researchers received it and ratified their first contract last year, according to the Brown Daily Herald, the student newspaper. Wesleyan University voluntarily recognized an undergraduate student worker union in 2022.

Penn State faculty to vote on union

At Penn State, however, the Service Employees International Union said in a news release that the schools administration has announced college-by-college anti-union meetings and has put up an anti-union website that, among other things, suggests faculty unionization could hinder the schools research capabilities. SEIU and Penn State Faculty Alliance are attempting to form a faculty union across the universitys campuses that eventually could represent 6,000 faculty.

If a union is elected, it may impact Penn States ability to compete against peers to recruit leading faculty and researchers who drive innovation, the university says on its faculty union frequently asked questions page. It notes that the majority of its peer schools in the Association of American Universities and the Big Ten do not have unionized tenure-line faculty.

It also warns unionization may result in a loss of personal bargaining power in favor of collective representation.

Union rules may limit faculty members ability to negotiate unique arrangements  related to course releases, research time and alternative duties  that many rely on to structure their lives and careers."

Penn States administration is trying to drive a wedge between faculty members, Andrea Adolph, a faculty organizer and associate professor of English at Penn States New Kensington campus, said in a news release. We are coming together to form a faculty union to improve conditions at Penn State.

But Penn State said in a statement that it is holding the faculty meetings to provide information to questions it has received from various sources and that they are designed to be an optional space to support open, respectful dialogue and provide information.

The website, the school said, was launched to provide clear information about the unionization process and related considerations.

We respect their right to seek union representation, the university said.

Penn State is the only state-related university of the four in Pennsylvania without a faculty union.

Graduate student workers at Penn State voted to form a union in November, with about 90% in favor. But Penn State has appealed a Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board determination that research assistants should be included in the bargaining unit.
Listen to article  0:00 min

The healthcare industry accounted for more than 70% of new jobs in the Philadelphia area over the past decade, nearly double the growth rate for healthcare nationally, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The region added approximately 184,000 jobs since 2015. More than 132,000 were in healthcare, with home health services creating the biggest jobs growth to help care for an aging population.

Advertisement

Philadelphias relatively stable healthcare industry has helped insulate the city and its suburbs from job market boom and bust cycles. Still, as healthcare costs rise, employers and consumers are often left to pick up much of the tab for the services provided by thousands of doctors, nurses, and others in the industry.

A more detailed look

Philadelphia and Bucks County logged the regions greatest healthcare jobs growth.

Healthcare roles accounted for almost 95% of the 16,700 new private-sector jobs in Bucks County since 2015. In Philly, 81% of the 71,300 additional jobs were in the industry.

Ambulatory care emerged as a key driver of healthcare jobs in Philadelphia. In June 2015, the city had 33,500 healthcare workers providing services outside of hospitals. By June 2025, that number jumped to 51,200, representing a 53% rise in ambulatory care jobs.

Almost half of the jobs growth in ambulatory care, 45%, has come from home healthcare services, including surgical centers, home nursing care providers, and health aids.

After Philadelphia, Montgomery County reported the most ambulatory care jobs, employing 35,800 people in June 2025.

Bucks County tallied a 32% increase to 21,300 jobs. In New Jersey, Gloucester County saw a 32% increase, employing 6,000 people.

Hospitals have historically been the healthcare industrys largest employer, but over the past 10 years, hospital jobs across the Philadelphia region, which includes the seven counties bordering the city, have increased only 6%. Philadelphia-area hospitals employed 64,000 people in 2025, up from 61,000 in 2015.
Robert Terwilliger (right) of Williamsburg, Pa., who is participating in a Lyme disease vaccine trial at the Altoona Center for Clinical Research, is injected with either the new vaccine or a placebo, by registered nurse Janae Roland, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, in Duncansville, Pa. Lyme is a growing problem, with cases steadily rising and warming weather helping ticks expand their habitat. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

Four doses of an experimental vaccine to protect against Lyme disease reduced the number of tick-borne infections by more than 70%, according to Pfizer and Valneva, the pharmaceutical companies developing the shot.

Pfizer said in a statement the companies are confident in the vaccines potential and plan to submit the data to regulatory authorities seeking approval. If successful, it could become the only Lyme disease vaccine available for people  although it would not be the first.

Advertisement

A previous Lyme disease vaccine, called LYMErix, was approved in 1998. But it became controversial because of reports of adverse events following vaccination, and it was pulled from the market four years later due to poor sales.

Lyme disease can cause potentially serious consequences  where individuals and families face symptoms that can disrupt daily life, work, and long-term health  and there is currently no vaccine available, Annaliesa Anderson, chief vaccines officer at Pfizer, said in a statement.

Lyme disease is an infection that spreads to people through the bites of blacklegged ticks that carry the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease is often identified by a characteristic bulls-eye rash that forms around the bite, and is common in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest in the United States and in Canada and Europe.

A 2021 study from scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 476,000 people are diagnosed and treated each year in the U.S. Early symptoms can include fatigue, fever, and joint pains, but untreated it can turn into a chronic condition, causing symptoms such as arthritis or heart inflammation.

There are currently no Lyme disease vaccines available for people, but the new result arrives at a precarious time for vaccines developed to protect against infectious diseases.

The use of vaccines, often celebrated as one of the most successful public health interventions in modern history, has come under scrutiny after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the head of Health and Human Services. The U.S. implemented sweeping changes to the nations childhood immunization schedule in the last year, but a federal judge recently paused the Trump administrations vaccine changes as part of a lawsuit filed by multiple medical associations.

The results of the trial, which tested the vaccine against a placebo in 9,400 people ages 5 and up, have not yet been published or peer reviewed. Pfizer said in its statement that its late-stage clinical trial just missed a statistical cutoff for success, because there were fewer than expected cases of Lyme disease in the trial.

After someone receives an initial shot, they get a second two months later and a third between five to nine months later. The final dose is then given a year after the third shot.

Because of the clinically meaningful reduction in infections, Pfizer said in its statement it was confident in the vaccines potential.

A previous Lyme vaccine was called a cautionary tale in a 2006 editorial in the journal Epidemiology and Infection. In 1998, LYMErix was shown to reduce infections by 76%. After approval, there were reports of adverse events after the vaccine, and while regulators found that there was no causative association, it was later withdrawn from the market.

The vaccine developers believed they developed a safe and effective vaccine to prevent the most common tick-borne infection in the United States. Even available post-market surveillance failed to demonstrate convincing harm from the LYMErix vaccine, the editorial said. However, the publics perception of potential risks, heavily influenced by the negative press coverage and limited awareness of the benefits of the vaccine, decreased consumer demand.
An Iranian missile landed in Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning after Israeli airstrikes struck multiple Iranian sites overnight. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  More American troops prepared Tuesday to head to the Middle East, a person with knowledge of the plans said, as President Donald Trump said for a second day that the U.S. was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.

The troops, from the 82nd Airborne Division, will be sent in the coming days, a person with knowledge of the plans told the Associated Press. Thousands of Marines are already heading to the region.

Advertisement

As their deployments began, airstrikes battered Iran and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel and sites across the region.

Iran has denied that any negotiations are taking place, and Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehrans chokehold on that crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and threatened the world economy.

Pakistan offered to host diplomatic talks, but Iran remained defiant, vowing to fight until complete victory.

Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washingtons shifting objectives, particularly over Irans ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, its not clear who in Irans government would have the authority to negotiate  or be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that started the current war.

More troops to be sent to Mideast

The 82nd Airborne is considered the Armys emergency response force and can typically be deployed on short notice. Its the latest addition of American troops after U.S. officials last week said thousands of Marines aboard several Navy ships will be heading to the region.

While the Marine units are trained in missions that include supporting U.S. embassies, evacuating civilians and disaster relief, the soldiers of 82nd Airborne are trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airfields.

The New York Times earlier reported that the deployment was being considered.

Thousands of Marines are also headed to the region, raising speculation the U.S. may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to Irans oil network. The U.S. bombed the Persian Gulf island more than a week ago, hitting its defenses but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.

Iran has threatened to mine the Gulf if the U.S. appears to be on the verge of landing troops.

Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Irans power stations while talks unfold  a delay that could be aimed at buying time for the Marines to arrive, the New York-based Soufan Center think tank wrote in an analysis.

However, the center also noted that Trump could be actively seeking an offramp.

Pakistan says it is ready to host talks

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X that Pakistan is ready to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks to end the Iran war.

The U.S. had agreed in principle to join talks in Pakistan, according to three Pakistani officials, one Egyptian official and a Gulf diplomat, while mediators were still working to convince Iran.

One diplomat from the region said the talks could happen by early next week, and that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to represent the U.S. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details to the media.

Speaking Tuesday at the White House, the president said the U.S. is in negotiations right now and that the participants included Witkoff, Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance.

We have a number of people doing it, Trump said. And the other side, I can tell you, theyd like to make a deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchis office said he has been discussing the war this week with several counterparts. But Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Irans parliament, denied Trumps claim of direct talks, and an Iranian military spokesman issued a newly defiant statement.

Irans powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Irans integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory, Iranian state television quoted Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi as saying Tuesday.

The Egyptian official said efforts are centered on trust-building between the U.S. and Iran, with the aim of bringing about a pause in fighting. Israel is not involved.

The official, who is involved in the efforts, said the priority is to prevent attacks on regional energy infrastructure and that they were working on a mechanism for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back over $100 a barrel Tuesday, up nearly 40% since the war started.

Iran hits Israel and Gulf neighbors while Israel attacks Beirut

Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian production sites, without providing more information. In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighborhoods and another in the city center.

Iran also fired at least a dozen waves of missiles at Israel, and first responders said three people were wounded in southern Israel, and four others suffered minor wounds in Tel Aviv.

A Moroccan civilian contractor with the United Arab Emirates armed forces was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack, the UAE Defense Ministry said. In Kuwait, power lines were hit by air defense shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Israel pounded Beiruts southern suburbs, saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.

A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a 3-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Another five people were killed in the south.

In northern Israel, a woman was killed by shrapnel during an attack from Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanon declared Irans ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave by Sunday.

Iranian flights have been banned from landing in Lebanon, out of fear that they would carry weapons or funding for Hezbollah, and some top Lebanese government officials have accused Iran of dragging Lebanon into another war with Israel.

Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.

Irans death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 16 people have been killed. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.
Cecily White, of South Philadelphia, Pa., holds up her daughter Nora White, 3, during a protest and march near Independence Hall last year. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

No Kings, the recurring nationwide protests against the policies of President Donald Trump, is back for 2026.

Over 3,000 No Kings rallies are scheduled for Saturday, and will focus on Trump, his policies, escalations of immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota, and ICEs increased presence nationwide.

Advertisement

It marks the third No Kings rally to date, with about 1,000 more local protests scheduled than the last event in October, according to a map of events.

No Kings rallies  which include local installations across the Philadelphia region  began in June with a protest on Trumps birthday that brought millions of nationwide participants. Philly saw thousands of protesters at both the June and October rallies.

Heres what we know so far.

What does No Kings mean?

No Kings is a national day of action and mobilization against the Trump administration. Organizers say the name is derived from Trump and his administration pushing the limits of executive power and undermining the Constitution.

In America, we dont do kings, organizers say on the events website, describing the day as a response to the increasing authoritarian excess and corruption of the Trump administration.

This is the third No Kings rally. There were also a handful of sister events, including Not My Presidents Day and the Hands Off day of action.

Who is organizing the No Kings protests?

Several organizers are taking credit for the No Kings protests, including Indivisible, MoveOn, and the 50501 Movement.

Indivisible is a progressive organization that launched in 2016 after Trump was elected to his first term as president. MoveOn is a progressive public policy advocacy group that has been around since the late 1990s. It is known for its email mobilization campaigns and is considered one of the largest grassroots campaigning communities.

The event also lists dozens of progressive partner organizations, ranging from the ACLU to Planned Parenthood.

What is the 50501 Movement?

The 50501 Movement stands for 50 protests. 50 states. 1 movement.

The group came together on Reddit, as people began discussing mobilizing and protesting against Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk  now a former Trump confidant and adviser  and the administrations policies.

The groups first protest in February 2025 involved demonstrations outside state capitol buildings and city halls.

The group is responsible for the series of No Kings protests as well as the Hands Off protests.

Where and when are No Kings protests happening? Whos performing?

About 3,000 events are scheduled for Saturday, with at least one in every state.

This weekends flagship marches will take place in the Twin Cities, a nod to Immigration and Customs Enforcements ongoing high-profile presence in Minnesota.

Those rallies, across St. Paul and Minneapolis, will include performances by Bruce Springsteen (singing Streets of Minneapolis) and Maggie Rogers, and speeches by figures including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind., Vt.) and Jane Fonda, the Star Tribune reported.

The flagship speeches and performances will be live streamed.

Whats happening in Philadelphia? What road closures should we expect?

The main Philadelphia protest is scheduled from noon to 3 p.m., with participants meeting at City Hall and marching down the Ben Franklin Parkway. Speeches will take place at 22nd Street and the Parkway.

Additional protests will take place in places like Northeast Philly, Media, and Ardmore. New Jersey protests include rallies in Camden and Moorestown.

Organizers say this rally is on pace to surpass participation rates from the last event, based on the number of protests scheduled.

Road closures in Philadelphia

City officials say to expect traffic delays, road closures, parking restrictions, and some public transit detours.

From about 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.:

Center lanes of Benjamin Franklin Parkway (both directions) between 20th and 22nd Streets Cross traffic and the outer lanes will remain open until about 7 a.m.

From about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.:

2000 to 2300 Benjamin Franklin Parkway (all lanes) between 20th Street and Binswanger Triangle Includes cross traffic on numbered streets 20th Street will remain open until about 9 a.m.

From about 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.:

1400 to 1500 John F. Kennedy Boulevard Broad Street between John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Arch Street Juniper Street between Market Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard

From about 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.:

15th Street between Cherry and Market Streets 16th Street between Cherry and Market Streets 1400 to 1500 Arch Street Benjamin Franklin Parkway (all lanes) between 16th and 20th Streets Includes closures of cross streets

From about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

1800-2200 Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 18th Street and Binswanger Triangle Includes closures of cross streets

How can I find out about protests in my area?

No Kings organizers have a map of every Saturday event on the events website (www.nokings.org/#map).

The 50501 Movement is also posting about new developments and events on its Instagram page.
An amended plan to expand a data center project in East Whiteland is now before elected officials. Read more Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

The developer of a North Coventry project was surprised by the number of attendees who showed up last month to the townships meeting in response to their proposed boutique data center. The vehemence actually prompted the townships board of supervisors to reject the project, which hadnt been formally submitted yet. But fliers and lawn signs fighting the proposal were already appearing in neighborhoods.

In East Vincent, residents have rallied together online to raise awareness about upcoming meetings regarding the project, and ones in nearby towns, like North Coventry or Limerick.

Were definitely starting to feel like we could be surrounded, said John Binelli, who is raising awareness about the East Vincent project through a Facebook page that has amassed 1,900 users.

I would like to see our township take a stronger stand, he said.

In 10 years of community organizing, Ginny Marcille-Kerslake has never seen people so motivated. As a senior organizer for Food and Water Watch, an environmentalist organization, shes been in communities pushing back against data centers across southeastern and central Pennsylvania.

Night after night across Pennsylvania, were seeing township meetings packed to overflowing, to the point where they have to be stopped and rescheduled, because people care that much, she said. Theyve been coming out in all kinds of weather. The opposition to these projects is across the political spectrum.

As a West Whiteland resident, who sits on its planning commission, shes attended East Whitelands meetings because of the regional reach of the project. She became aware of the proposed data center in 2023, a year before it was ultimately approved. But the plans are now back before elected officials after the developer sought an expansion.

This is not 2024 or earlier when they were trying to get their original approvals, and people did not have data centers on their radar, she said. Now they do, and youve got neighborhoods right across the road that are suddenly waking up to the idea of what this would mean.

The Pennsylvania Municipal League is seeing more officials trying to get ahead of development, said Amy Sturges, deputy executive director of advocacy.

Under the planning code, municipalities have to make sure any type of use  residential, industrial, commercial  is allowed within their boundaries, she said. If a municipality doesnt update its zoning rules to stipulate where data centers can go, officials can find themselves in a bind where they cant control where one ends up.

East Vincents board of supervisors ran into that problem; officials raced to pen an ordinance after the developer introduced plans to turn Pennhurst into a data center. But they couldnt impose a new ordinance on an existing proposal, and the developers attorney said they wouldnt follow it because it was too restrictive.

Municipalities, if they can work ahead and get data centers into their zoning, theyre in a much better position, because they cant just outright say no to a use, she said. They can prescribe where, using zoning, but they cant say no.

Kirk Stoner, director of planning in Cumberland County, and his department have worked with eight of their 33 municipal governments in the county to draft ordinances to address potential data center projects. Some have stricter policies to keep data centers out, but others have penned more friendly ones to welcome the projects, he said.

It became top of mind for the county, near Harrisburg, after a massive 750-acre hyperscale data center was proposed there, supported by the Shapiro administration.

As Stoners department navigates assisting other communities grappling with this new use and the public sentiment, it may become necessary for the state to provide guardrails, he said.

In a state that emphasizes local control, data centers highlight the challenges with that model, Stoner said. Municipal leaders and their residents can only address whats going on in their town  to a somewhat limited degree  even though the effects are felt much more broadly.

Land uses do not stop at municipal boundaries, nor do their impacts, nor does the infrastructure that serves it. Thats what makes it so hard for the way were chopped up in these small, discrete units, he said.

At the state level, lawmakers are crafting bills to try to address it. One measure would direct a center within the states Department of Community and Economic Development to write a model ordinance for municipalities to regulate data centers, addressing sound barriers, set-back distances, building design standards, and more.

A different bill would give neighboring communities and residents more teeth for responding to massive developments  including data centers  that are in different municipalities.

Another, which will be introduced by State Sen. Katie Muth, who frequently attends the Chester County data center meetings as one of the areas lawmakers, would seek to halt hyperscale data center development for three years, arguing that local officials need more time to understand data centers impacts to health and environment, update their zoning regulations, and enact ordinances.

Meanwhile, Chester and Montgomery Counties are working together to develop model guidance on data center development, slated for release this month, according to Chester Countys planning commissions website.

Marcille-Kerslake, the environmentalist, said some kind of moratorium is desperately needed as municipalities race to keep up.

Its like drinking from a fire hose in Pennsylvania, she said. Theyre really scrambling to do this.

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.
A woman was killed and two other people were hurt in a two-vehicle crash in North Philly. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

A woman was killed and two other people were injured in a two-vehicle crash early Tueday morning in the Fairhill section of North Philadelphia, police said.

The crash happened about 5:55 a.m. on the 2900 block of North Front Street, police said.

A woman was transported to a hospital and was pronounced dead at 6:53 a.m., and another woman from the same vehicle was hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

Another person in a second vehicle was hospitalized in stable condition.

No other details were immediately available.
Listen to article  0:00 min

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrived at Philadelphia International Airport, one day after they were deployed at other airports across the country.

At the Terminal D security checkpoint Tuesday morning, at least a dozen ICE agents wearing tactical vests with POLICE ICE emblazoned on the back stood in place, observing. Agents from Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Department of Homeland Security were also present.

Advertisement

ICE agents stationed themselves at regular and PreCheck security lanes while others patrolled the airport terminals.

Some travelers walked by without giving the agents much attention, while others stopped to shake hands with immigration enforcement officers.

LaShanda Palmer, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 333, which represents Transportation Security Administration employees at the Philadelphia and Wilmington airports, said she saw ICE agents at Terminal B while she was working the checkpoint there Tuesday. The agents, she said, are supposed to be there for line control.

They did nothing and stood near steps or a window, not speaking, she said. Some smiled and some did not.

It is unclear how many agents are being deployed to Philadelphia. DHS did not respond to a request for comment. The airport was aware ICE was assisting TSA, as that agencys staffing levels have been affected by the partial government shutdown, a PHL spokesperson said, referring further questions to the federal agencies.

The move to send ICE agents to Philadelphia has drawn a sharp rebuke from some lawmakers, though Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has not commented publicly.

City Councilmember Rue Landau, a Democrat who coauthored pending city legislation aimed at curtailing ICE operations in the city, said the federal government should work with Congress to properly end the shutdown and let TSA workers return to their jobs.

ICE already makes many Philadelphians feel unsafe to leave their homes or engage with public resources, Landau said. Adding ICE agents into the mix at the airport, a place where many immigrant residents already feel at risk, only adds to that fear.

City Councilmember Nicolas ORourke and District Attorney Larry Krasner held a news conference at the airport Tuesday afternoon. By the time the duo began walking through Terminal D around 3 p.m., ICE agents had disappeared from the area.

Krasner echoed his previous comments, invoking the names of the two U.S. citizens who were shot and killed in Minneapolis by ICE in January: Continue to film agents and other law enforcement officers.

We need to keep filming law enforcement. That is the only way we really know the details of what happened to Alex Pretti and Renee Good, Krasner said.

Steve Papelian, 73, drove more than an hour from Nazareth, Pa., to Philadelphia to protest ICEs presence at the airport. Equipped with signs equating immigration enforcement to the paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany, Papelian, a former schoolteacher, displayed his message to travelers walking by who ignored him, applauded his sign, or shared appreciation for ICE. God bless ICE, one passerby said to Papelian. Another said, Thank you for your work.

Inside the Terminal D bathrooms, someone placed anti-President Donald Trump and anti-ICE flyers in stalls, with depictions of a middle finger and disparaging remarks about the president and immigration enforcement.

The agents controversial presence has worsened morale, Palmer said.

The chaos that is attached to them, we dont need that in any airport, she said.

As TSA staff continued to work without pay, national AFGE president Everett Kelley said: Weve been hearing about progress and optimism for weeks. Our members cannot eat optimism. They cannot pay rent with progress. They need a paycheck.

The Trump administration is deploying ICE agents to 14 airports nationwide as security wait times balloon because of the partial government shutdown that began Jan. 31.

Despite reports of lengthy security checkpoint waits in places like Houston, PHL was operating with minimal delays.

Helping to keep lines moving was the fact that Philadelphia had some of the lowest TSA staff call-outs nationally on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said. Of the roughly 900 TSA workers at Philadelphias airport, 19.7% called out. In Houston, where checkpoints have reportedly taken three hours to get through, 40.3% of the TSA workforce called out.

Nearly 11% of the national TSA workforce, or 3,200 employees, called out Monday, and at least 458 have quit altogether since the shutdown began, according to DHS. TSA workers could miss another paycheck Friday if Congress cannot agree on a deal.

Three security checkpoints in Philadelphia are temporarily closed because of the staffing challenges. But even at some of the busiest times of the day, waits to get through security were just 10 to 15 minutes.

Hearing of delays throughout the country, friends Sydney Keninitz and Victoria Jordan drove from Maryland to arrive five hours before their 3:30 p.m. flight.

We came here so early today thinking it was going to be a long wait for security checkpoints, Jordan said. We saw photos of the lines at other airports, but there is almost no delay here.
Pennsylvania has a chronic shortage of doctors, a problem that could be alleviated by allowing qualified physicians trained abroad to practice medicine in the commonwealth, write Jonathan Wolfson and Lawson Mansell. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

Finding a doctor in Pennsylvania is getting harder. Across the commonwealth, patients are waiting weeks for appointments, and more than 1.6 million Pennsylvanians live in counties officially designated as primary care shortage areas.

In Philadelphia alone, the average wait time to see a doctor is about 30 days  more than 10 days longer than in cities like Washington, D.C., and New York.

Advertisement

The physician shortage that policymakers had long warned about is no longer theoretical. It is already affecting patients across Pennsylvania, in both rural communities and in cities.

But a proposal now before the General Assembly could help relieve some of that pressure. House Bill 2121, introduced earlier this year, would create a new pathway for internationally trained physicians who are currently unable to practice medicine in Pennsylvania, despite years of training and experience.

Qualified physicians sidelined

Under current law, doctors who completed residency training outside the United States or Canada must repeat that training in North America before they can obtain a license. Even physicians who have practiced independently overseas for years are often required to start over in the U.S. residency system.

That requirement creates a bottleneck that benefits no one.

Residency positions are limited, and they have not kept pace with the growing number of medical graduates who want to practice medicine. In 2025, more than 9,500 medical graduates failed to match into a residency program  an all-time high. International graduates make up more than half of those unmatched applicants, including many who already completed full residency training abroad.

As a result, capable physicians remain sidelined while patients wait longer and longer for care.

Thousands of experienced doctors cant practice because licensing rules treat them like new graduates rather than trained professionals.

At the same time, the United States already relies heavily on physicians trained abroad. According to the American Medical Association, roughly one in four practicing physicians attended medical schools outside the United States before completing a U.S. residency. These physicians are more likely to work in primary care, serve rural areas, and treat Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Yet, thousands of other experienced doctors remain locked out of practice because the current licensing pathway treats them as if they were brand-new graduates rather than trained professionals.

Other advanced health systems take a more practical approach. Countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia allow internationally trained physicians to demonstrate competence through supervised practice and skills assessments rather than requiring them to repeat years of training.

States are acting

A growing number of U.S. states are now adopting similar reforms. Legislation modeled on these ideas has already been passed in 20 states.

Pennsylvanias HB 2121 follows this emerging model. The bill would allow qualified internationally trained physicians to practice under a provisional license while working under supervision in areas facing doctor shortages. Over time, after meeting defined performance and experience benchmarks, they could earn full licensure.

Importantly, the bill would create an additional pathway into the medical workforce, rather than forcing internationally trained physicians and American graduates to compete for the same limited residency positions.

Reforms like HB 2121 could strengthen Pennsylvanias healthcare system in two important ways. Patients in underserved communities would gain faster access to primary and specialty care, and the state would build a more flexible medical workforce capable of adapting to demographic changes and future shortages.

Pennsylvania does not need to lower standards to address its physician shortage. But it does need licensing rules that reflect how medicine is practiced in a globalized world.

Allowing experienced doctors to demonstrate their skills and safely enter the workforce is a practical step that could help thousands of patients get the care they need.

Lawson Mansell is a health policy analyst at the Niskanen Center who works on supply-side healthcare solutions. Jonathan Wolfson is a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, where he focuses on healthcare workforce policy reforms at the intersection of healthcare, labor policy, and occupational licensing regulation.
Listen to article  0:00 min

Life is hectic. Keeping track of work, home, and family commitments is challenging enough. Now imagine adding another task to your daily routine: checking multiple government websites just to find out what your local and state officials are planning to do.

You would have to monitor the websites of your school board, township supervisors, borough council, sewer authority, zoning hearing board, county commissioners, and other government bodies that make decisions affecting your daily life.

Advertisement

That could become reality if lawmakers weaken Pennsylvanias public notice law by allowing public notices to move from newspapers, trusted independent third parties, to government-run websites.

Some local officials favor bypassing newspapers in the public notice process. But allowing government agencies to control how the public is notified about their own actions is like letting pitchers call their own balls and strikes. They have a vested interest in the outcome of the decisions they make. That interest may not always align with what taxpayers and the public need to stay informed and participate in government.

Pennsylvanias newspapers agree that the public notice system should be modernized. The states 50-year-old Newspaper Advertising Act requires notices to appear only in printed newspapers. Todays newspapers bridge the digital divide and deliver information both in print and online, reaching more readers than ever before.

That is why newspapers support Pennsylvania House Bill 1291, which modernizes the public notice system while preserving independent oversight.

 READ MORE: Keep public notices public | Editorial

Under House Bill 1291, public notices would continue to appear in printed newspapers and would also be posted on newspaper websites, where they would be free to access and easy to find. The bill allows notices to be posted in online or free newspapers in communities where a traditional print newspaper no longer exists. It also requires newspapers to post notices on a centralized statewide website (publicnoticepa.com), allowing Pennsylvanians to review notices from across the commonwealth in one place. Public notice laws are rooted in fundamental principles of open government and due process. Before government takes action, the public must have the opportunity to know about it and respond.

Newspapers are not involved in the decision-making process. Their role is simply to inform the public and create an independent, verifiable record of government action.

When the government entity making decisions also controls the notification process, that independence disappears. Notices could be altered, added, or removed after the fact, particularly when controversial decisions are involved. Even the possibility that this could occur undermines public confidence in government.

For most of this nations nearly 250-year history, legislatures have entrusted public notices to independent newspapers for precisely that reason.

Research also raises concerns about shifting notices to government websites. When Florida allowed some local governments to move public notices from newspapers to their county websites, researchers from Yale, the University of Chicago, and Texas A&M found that public awareness and civic engagement dropped significantly. When notices were scattered across government websites, fewer people saw them, and fewer participated in the process. Thats bad public policy.

Before government takes action, the public must have the opportunity to know about it and respond.

There are also practical considerations. Many municipalities already struggle to comply with Right-to-Know Law requirements and other transparency obligations. Allowing agencies to create and manage their own public notice systems adds another administrative burden, one with significant potential consequences. If a notice is posted incorrectly, removed too soon, or missed entirely, the public may learn about a decision only after it is made, and the agency could face costly litigation.

By contrast, when notices are published in newspapers, the law requires notarized proof of publication verifying the process and the independence of the publisher, a permanent record admissible in court. That safeguard protects taxpayers and reduces disputes over whether public notice was properly given.

Government agencies are free to share notices on their websites or social media pages. But those efforts should supplement, not replace, publication through an independent third-party newspaper.

Pennsylvania should modernize public notices without abandoning the independent system that has protected transparency and public participation for generations.

Lawmakers should support House Bill 1291 and reject any proposal that would allow government agencies to control the public notice process.

Sharon Sorg is publisher of the Herald (Sharon, Pa.), Allied News (Grove City, Pa.), and New Castle (Pa.) News, as well as executive vice president of newspaper operations for CNHI, the media company formerly known as Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. She also serves as chairwoman of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Board of Directors.
Listen to article  0:00 min

As I watch the world twist into an economic death spiral spurred by Donald Trumps decision to join Israel in a war against Iran, Im painfully aware that the president could eventually send ground troops into the conflict.

My response is a simple one: Not my kids.

Advertisement

But even as I and many other parents across the nation voice that sentiment, the Trump administration is seeking $200 billion in additional military funding from a Congress that has yet to make a declaration of war. Three warships and 2,200 Marines have already departed California and are headed to the region. The Pentagon is planning for the possibility of detaining Iranian soldiers and other operatives. Another detachment of Marines was dispatched from the Pacific and is en route to the region.

All of this is happening in support of a war Trump has not adequately explained.

Perhaps if the administration could provide a just reason for the war, Americans could find a way to support the conflict. But as it is, even one of Trumps most ardent supporters has come out against the conflict. Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned last week, posting a letter on X which said, in part, that Iran posed no imminent threat to the United States. Kent went on to say that the Trump administration started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.

Kent was immediately accused of antisemitism. Then the Trump administration announced that Kent is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly leaking classified information. But even if those accusations help to marginalize and silence Kent, the rest of us have doubts of our own.

Is this war truly about protecting America, or is it a quest for more oil? Is this about increasing Trumps personal power, or expanding the influence of our nation? Is this another war based on false accusations, or a foolhardy quest for glory? Has Trump truly counted the cost, and does that cost include lives?

If any of those questions lack definitive answers, then all of us should answer in a single voice: Not my kids.

My kids should be exempt if Trump himself could avoid the Vietnam War after a bone spur diagnosis. My kids should be excused if Trumps own children will not be required to serve. My kids should not be risked if Trump and his allies in Congress are unwilling to risk their own.

Your kids should not be risked, either.

Weve already seen 13 American families lose their loved ones. We dont want to lose any more.

Nor do we want to wrestle with the nightmare of knowing American missiles are killing civilians, including schoolgirls, in Iran.

Therefore, my response to the war comes down to those three simple words: Not my kids.

You cannot send them to get payback for what happened decades ago. Not for the hostage crisis. Not for the rhetoric. Not for the war of words weve fought with Iran for years.

Ive invested too much in them to hand them over to you for nothing. To allow them to be used by you for nothing. To let you gamble their lives for less than nothing.

Like any American, I am willing to defend this place. A country where my ancestors and I have poured our blood, sweat, and tears into the soil, into the asphalt, into a system that hasnt always worked to our advantage. This, after all, is our home.

However, if the president cant provide us with a reason for this deadly conflict, he should at least show us what hes willing to risk.

Perhaps he can risk his reputation, a rise in oil prices, or a significant political loss.

But there is one thing that should never be risked without good reason.

My kids.
Fitler Academics Plus School in Germantown was built in 1898 and is among 19 schools set to close in the city. Erika M. Kitzmiller writes that its transition from all-white to mostly Black pupils is a factor in its closing. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

Once again, the Philadelphia School District has released a list of schools slated for closure due to declining enrollment, shrinking funding, and demographic shifts.

Its a narrative, unfortunately, that Philadelphias Black families and youth know well. For decades, they have borne the brunt of school closures here in Philadelphia as well as in Chicago and Detroit.

Advertisement

One story from my book on Germantown High School, a school that closed in 2013, one year shy of its 100-year anniversary, seems particularly salient now.

Born to middle-class Black parents, William T. Coleman Jr. spent his childhood in Germantown, attending his local public schools. His father, William T. Coleman Sr., spent 40 years as the director of the all-Black Wissahickon Boys Club, a lifeline that provided recreational and social activities for Black children in the community.

The younger Colemans mother, Laura Mason Coleman, taught German in Baltimores segregated public school system and then worked at home, raising her three children. Civil rights leaders, including W.E.B. Du Bois and Langston Hughes, visited the Coleman home, which was a site of Black intellectual conversations and principled advocacy.

Coleman Jr.s family taught him about the importance of education from an early age. He attended the all-Black Meehan Elementary School and, eventually, the all-Black Hill Elementary School, which drew its students from a larger, more economically diverse geographic area. Colemans teachers, and his beloved principal, Nellie Rathbone Bright, reinforced and broadened his understanding of Black history and culture.

Philadelphias school challenges did not suddenly appear in the 21st century.

While he appreciated these Hill School educators, he recalled that the school exposed him to a different kind of discrimination, one based on poverty, class, and envy rather than [solely] race. At Hill, Coleman witnessed the compounding effects of racism and poverty on Philadelphia children, and in turn, the Germantown community.

Colemans teachers realized he had a stuttering issue and enrolled him in special speech classes at the nearby all-white Edwin Fitler Elementary School, a massive gothic building built in Germantown in 1898.

When I interviewed him nearly eight decades later, Coleman explained that this experience  moving from his all-Black school, where he spent most of his time, to an all-white school, where he spent an hour or so a week  shaped his understanding of educational inequality.

Even though he was quite young, Coleman noticed that the Fitler School had much better facilities and resources than the all-Black Meehan and Hill Schools. Fitler had smaller classes. More teachers. Better lighting. Freshly painted walls. Adequate heating. Larger windows.

Filter had the resources children needed to thrive. The resources educators needed to teach. It had those resources because, in the early 20th century, Fitler served white children.

The school that taught Coleman, the first Black U.S. Supreme Court law clerk and one of the lead strategists on the pivotal Brown v. Board of Education case, about educational inequality, is now called Edwin Fitler Academic Plus School, and is slated for closure under the Philadelphia School Districts new facilities plan. Fitler is slated for closure because, like the schools Coleman attended, it now serves mostly Black children.

If Fitler closes, Germantown, a community that once attracted thousands of residents because of its reputable public schools, will lose another public school. One that serves Black children.

Many people say these closures are inevitable. I disagree.

Philadelphia has always had choices  choices to enact educational policies and practices that replicate inequality, or to pursue alternatives that disrupt it. Far too many times in our citys history, those with power have chosen the former.

Philadelphias current challenges  shrinking school enrollments, outdated school facilities, and persistent resource disparities  did not suddenly appear in the 21st century. They have a long history marked by injustice and disinvestment, as well as resistance and liberation. Its a history we would be wise to reflect on and reckon with now.

The choice to close Fitler is not inevitable. None of this is.

It is a decision.

And decisions, unlike inevitabilities, can be changed through our past actions and the ones we make today.

Erika M. Kitzmiller is a research associate professor at the University of Chicago and the author of two books: The Roots of Educational Inequality: Philadelphias Germantown High School, 1907-2014 and Unchartered: How One High School Transformed First-Generation College Success.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill delivers her budget address Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026, in the Assembly Chamber at the New Jersey State House. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill plans to sign three bills into law that would ban ICE agents from wearing masks, protect residents immigration data, and enshrine the states sanctuary policy into law.

The New Jersey legislature passed the three bills on Monday as legislators in Democratic-run states across the country are looking for ways to curb President Donald Trumps federal immigration enforcement tactics.

Advertisement

Gov. Sherrill is committed to protecting Constitutional rights and public safety in New Jersey, and intends to sign this legislation in the near future, Sherrill spokesperson Sean Higgins said in a statement.

The Democratic governor, who began her term in January, has repeatedly spoken out against Trumps immigration enforcement tactics.

The Sherrill administration and the Trump administration have traded lawsuits about immigration enforcement, and her administration has urged New Jerseyans to submit videos of ICE to her attorney generals office.

Republican lawmakers vocally opposed these Democratic-led bills and defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but Sherrills party  which holds majorities in both houses  easily passed the legislation against their objections.

Heres what the bills would do:

Prohibit ICE and other law enforcement from wearing masks  with exceptions.

Legislators voted to ban law enforcement agents from wearing masks and to require them to identify themselves, but the bill provides plenty of exceptions that could allow agents to skirt the policy.

Democrats across the country pushing for reforms to ICE have argued that the onslaught of masked agents in public has sparked fear, safety concerns, and a lack of accountability. Defenders of these agents say they should be masked to protect their identities in the face of a national backlash.

I believe, and I believe the other sponsors believe, that when people can clearly identify officers and understand who is exercising authority at that time, not only does it improve cooperation, but it reduces confusion in those situations, Sen. Troy Singleton, a Burlington County Democrat and prime sponsor of the bill, said in an interview. And, frankly, I think it strengthens public safety overall.

The Senate passed the bill 24-14 and the Assembly passed it 52-18, mostly on party lines. Two Republicans supported the bill: Assembly member Donald Guardian, the former Atlantic City mayor, and Sen. Jon Bramnick, a Trump critic who ran for governor last year and lives in Union County.

Sherrill has spoken out about ICE agents failing to identify themselves, so it is no surprise she plans to sign the bill.

But the bill lays out seven exceptions that would still allow agents to cover their faces:

Being engaged in an undercover assignment or other tactical operation, including violent-crime or organized-crime suppression. Being the subject of a threat of retaliation. Wearing a protective shield that does not conceal their face. Wearing a medical-grade mask or N95 to prevent disease transmission. Wearing a mask to protect against smoke during a state of emergency. Wearing a mask to protect against cold during a weather emergency. Wearing a mask to protect against biological or chemical agents.

The bill also requires agents to either wear a uniform with an insignia, show an ID or badge number, or provide their name an agency before arresting or detaining someone.

But this also comes with exceptions if revealing their identity would compromise an investigation, if a supervisor determines stealth is necessary, or if a law enforcement officer reasonably believes that their personal safety is at risk.

So what is to stop ICE supervisors from just saying they determined they needed to be stealthy?

Singleton emphasized that trying to take advantage of the exceptions would undermine trust in law enforcement, which the bill seeks to strengthen.

I would sincerely hope that those individuals would not look to purposefully usurp what we believe were fair and reasonable exceptions, based on conversations with members of law enforcement here in the state of New Jersey, he said.

Assembly member Dawn Fantasia, a North Jersey Republican, argued ahead of the vote that the state does not have authority over federal law enforcement.

Why do we keep passing laws that are going to end up in court? she said. We lose and the taxpayer gets shafted over and over and over.

A federal judge in California ruled against a face mask ban for federal agents because it treated federal law enforcement differently from state-level officers, but the New Jersey bill applies to all law enforcement.

Protecting immigration data from state agencies and hospitals

The legislature also passed the Privacy Protection Act, which aims to limit government agencies and healthcare facilities from collecting immigration-related data unless it is required. The effort comes as the Trump administration has sought such data for immigration enforcement.

The bill was passed 52-21 in the Assembly and 23-14 in the Senate along party lines.

It directs government agencies and healthcare facilities not to request or collect peoples immigration or citizenship status, place of birth, Social Security number, or individual taxpayer identification number unless it is necessary to determine eligibility or to provide a service.

In the case that information is gathered, these entities are directed to keep the information private with exceptions, like if it is required for assessing eligibility for programs or requested by a judicial warrant.

The bill also limits how automated license plate recognition data can be used, though it permits state law enforcement to get this information if it is needed for a criminal investigation and will not be provided for civil immigration enforcement.

Former Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed this bill at the end of his term over an issue he had with its wording.

Making New Jerseys sanctuary policy law

The legislature also voted to enshrine the states current sanctuary policy as a law. The policy limits state law enforcements cooperation with ICE in order to foster trust between immigrants and police officers.

The policy was first implemented in 2018 by the attorney general at the time, but because it is a directive, rather than a law, it could be changed or taken away with a stroke of a pen. Even though Sherrills administration supports the policy, making it law would prevent future governors or attorneys general from changing it.

The measure passed the Assembly 50-21 and the Senate 22-13 along party lines.

But the legislation, which maintains the status quo, stops short of what immigrant rights advocates have called for. An expanded version passed the legislature at the end of last session, but Murphy vetoed it as one of his final acts in office.

The existing policy has survived federal court, but Murphy expressed concern that changing the policy could land it back in the courts and risk it all. Sherrill has made the same argument, but said after taking office she would sign a law to codify the current policy as is.

Democrats argued that the current directive has been working, but Republicans disagreed.

Assembly member Gregory Myhre, an Ocean County Republican, said ahead of the vote that he takes issue with restricting local police from inviting ICE to their neighborhoods.

Its top-down central office management saying, You cant do this. You dont know what is right for your community, he said. The police may have a very good reason to want ICE to come in.

Assembly member Balvir Singh, a Burlington County Democrat and cosponsor of the bill, said ahead of the vote that as an immigrant he is well aware of the anxiety in immigrant communities that anyone could be taken while doing routine tasks like dropping kids off at school or going to the store.

He told a story of a group of masked men, supposedly ICE agents, trying to gain entry to the home of a citizen in his district without a warrant by using deceptive tactics. Those incidents, he said, have stirred distrust between residents and law enforcement, and emphasize the need to keep law enforcement separate from ICE.

That kind of fear has consequences. It keeps people from reporting crimes. It keeps witnesses hesitant to come forward. It creates a distance between communities and law enforcement, and that makes all of us less safe, he said.
A view of South Broad Street and City Hall in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

For years, nonprofits that do business with the Philadelphia city government have complained about being paid late, at times having to dip into reserves or even borrow money as they waited for the city dollars that were owed to them.

Government officials have acknowledged that the problem exists. But the scale has not been revealed  until now.

Advertisement

Over the last five years, 90% of contracts that the city inked with outside vendors were finalized after the start date, meaning those contractors began work before they were able to be paid, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts, which partnered with a civic consulting firm to analyze more than 12,000 professional service contracts as part of a yearslong study.

More than a quarter of those contractors experienced delays of five months or longer. Many of the organizations  such as homeless shelters, behavioral health service providers, and after-school programs  operate unpaid because they cannot pause services without affecting vulnerable populations.

Nonprofits reported fronting money to prop up city services while struggling to make payroll, cutting programs, and paying un-reimbursable interest on bridge loans.

The late contracts added up to more than $3.4 billion in city money annually during the period Pew studied, from July 2019 to January 2025.

The biggest driver of the backup, the researchers said in a report released Tuesday, is the citys reliance on one-year contracts, the result of a 100-year-old state law that was adopted into the citys governing document. Changing the law could cut the number of contracts moving through the system by 60%, Pew found.

 READ MORE: Phillys inconsistent contracting system left some nonprofits waiting months to be paid, report says

The 137-page report, authored by the New York-based firm Bennett Midland, describes an overwhelming volume of contracts bogging down the city government across departments. And it outlines inadequate support systems for nonprofits that are struggling to do business with a city in which late payment is the rule, not the exception.

Katie Martin, project director at Pew, said late payment is an ongoing, decades-long challenge.

The way that Philadelphians touch government is often through these nonprofit partners, she said. The most vulnerable Philadelphians are overwhelmingly receiving services through nonprofit partners who are being funded by the city.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parkers administration is partnering with Pew for the rest of this year to improve the process and address a backlog of contracts. Her team is working with several philanthropic groups and foundations that directly assist nonprofits.

Camille A. Duchaussee, the citys chief administrative officer, said in a statement that the Pew report validates operational gaps that the city has already identified and is working to address.

The city, she said, is committed to strengthening our contracting practices and supporting efficient, transparent and timely service delivery to Philadelphians.

Shortly after Parker took office in 2024, executives at a half-dozen Philadelphia homeless shelters told The Inquirer that it had been months or years since they had been paid. That year, City Council convened a task force to examine how the city does business with nonprofits. And the Parker administration undertook an effort to quickly finalize more than 500 contracts and pay out $221 million in outstanding invoices.

 READ MORE: Overspending in Office of Homeless Services could prompt change to Phillys contract process

But the problem long predated Parkers tenure as mayor.

The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, the citys governing document, requires that City Council approve any contract longer than one year, a provision that is based on a 1919 state law. It is out of step compared with peer cities, according to Pew  New York, for example, allows for contracts of up to nine years.

Philadelphias requirement has, in practice, resulted in a system in which the city typically inks five-year agreements that are technically one-year contracts with four renewals.

That means that contractors have to go through the conformance process every year, despite their contracts typically being unchanged. Conformance, which is approving and finalizing a contract, takes an average of 52 days, Pew found.

Over the period that Pew examined, six in 10 contracts were routine renewals.

Its a massive amount of additional work, Martin said, both for city government and for the vendors who are working with the city.

The studys authors top recommendation for city government is to pass legislation allowing for multiyear contracts. Doing so would require amending the charter, meaning Council would have to pass legislation and voters would need to approve the change through a ballot question.

Pew offered more than a dozen other recommendations for reform.

One is to diversify contract start dates. Martin said one major burden for the city is that more than half of contracts start at the beginning of the fiscal year in the summertime, resulting in a crush of work for city staff. Workers told researchers that they dread the beginning of the fiscal year.

Other recommendations include moving more contracts through expedited processes that are already in place, and tasking the chronically understaffed city procurement department with leading the process of finalizing professional services contracts. Currently, the procurement department oversees compliance with the law; however, departments have their own contracting staff and procedures.

There is also more the city can do to support vendors, Pew said.

The researchers wrote that the city should create a centralized document system, establish a dashboard for vendors to track their contracts more easily, and bolster technical support, especially for smaller nonprofits.

Duchaussee said the Parker administration has already created a new vendor support unit and is standardizing forms across departments.

Martin cited earlier research from Pew that said nonprofits account for more than a third of the citys gross domestic product.

Its a huge benefit to the city overall, she said. So thats why were continuing to support this work through the end of the year: so this is not a report that sits on the shelf.
If Floor & Decor opens in the Red Lion Plaza, it would be the chain's first store in Philadelphia. The company operates several locations in the suburbs. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

Floor & Decor may be moving into Philly.

The retailer, popular with home renovators, was issued a zoning permit over the weekend for the shell of a never-opened Amazon Fresh in Northeast Philadelphia, according to city records.

Advertisement

About two months ago, Amazon abruptly closed all physical Amazon Fresh stores, including six in the Philly region, saying it wanted to expand its higher-end Whole Foods brand and focus on grocery delivery.

The e-commerce giant also abandoned a few under-construction locations, including this anchor at Red Lion Plaza on Roosevelt Boulevard. The shopping center is also home to Burlington and Ross Dress for Less stores.

 READ MORE: Burlington Stores had a great 2025. The CEO credits its tariff response.

If Floor & Decor moves into the 45,250-square-foot space, it would be the Atlanta-based companys first Philadelphia location, though it has locations in the suburbs.

A Floor & Decor spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. Neither did the leasing agent for the shopping center.

Floor & Decor already operates stores in Devon, Levittown, Moorestown, Turnersville, and Springfield, Delaware County.

Founded in 2000, the company markets to DIYers and professional contractors. It sells hard-surface flooring materials, wall tiles, fixtures, and installation tools, and offers free design consultations.

Known for low prices and warehouse-format stores stocked with inventory, Floor & Decor has shown resilience at a time when many consumers are cutting back.

In 2025, its net sales and net income increased, and the chain opened 20 new stores and a distribution center, according to its latest earnings report. As of December, Floor & Decor operated 270 stores, five design studios, and five distribution centers across 39 states.

Along with the Northeast Philadelphia vacancy, the Amazon Fresh closures also left holes in Broomall, Bensalem, Langhorne, Northern Liberties, Warrington, and Willow Grove.

 READ MORE: What makes someone love their grocery store? Ask the Philadelphians who are already missing their Amazon Fresh.

Amazon had liquor licenses at those seven locations, as well as at a Havertown site that never opened, according to Pennsylvania records.

Amazon also owns Whole Foods, which has more than a dozen locations in the region. The company has said some former Amazon Fresh stores could be converted to Whole Foods but has not specified potential locations.

While Amazon is expanding elsewhere, with a focus on AI computing and faster delivery services, it has been reducing its head count. That includes layoffs related to the recent grocery store closures.

At Amazon Fresh stores in the Philadelphia region alone, the company laid off 1,000 employees, according to state filings, while another 900 employees, mostly in North Jersey, lost their jobs.
In this file photo, a Roxborough man carries his dog to safety after the January 2016 snowstorm that occurred during a strong El Nino. It also was a very strange winter. Read more

Listen to article  0:00 min

The blossom season has barely begun after what turned out to be a surprisingly eventful winter in Philadelphia, but the weather community  and social media  already are abuzz over the prospects for the hurricane season and the winter of 2026-27.

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, commercial services, and research institutions agree that a significant warming over a vast expanse of the tropical Pacific is destined to ripen during the summer and persist through the fall and winter seasons.

Advertisement

The warming  an El Nino event that recurs every three to seven years  is brewing in the tropical Pacific.

A super El Nino is possible by the end of the year. Here's what warming waters in the Pacific could mean for summer and the rest of the year. https://t.co/7XmcJntCvM  The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) March 12, 2026

In the way-early going, some meteorologists are calling this a potential Super El Nino with profound impacts as the warm waters interact with the overlying air to disrupt the atmospheric circulation worldwide.

What is a Super El Nino?

It is not an official government term, advises Michelle LHeureux, a meteorologist who is the El Nino team lead at NOAAs Climate Prediction Center, but is used by some commercial services and private meteorologists.

In its latest update, NOAA listed an 83% likelihood of an El Nino, defined as sea-surface temperatures reaching about a degree Fahrenheit above normal for several months over a 2.4 million-square-mile expanse of the east-central tropical Pacific. Thats an area about 70% of the size of the contiguous United States.

NOAA sees a 33% chance the sea-surface temperatures rise to at least 2.7 degrees above normal, which the agency informally calls a strong event, LHeureux said, and a 13% chance they increase to 3.6 degrees above normal or higher. That would rank with the disruptive events of 2015-16, 1997-98, 1982-83, and 1972-73 as among the strongest on record.

AccuWeather Inc. is more bullish on the potential, seeing a 40% chance that it reaches that latter level.

Why does the Pacific become so warm?

Precisely how a warming planet and general increases in ocean temperature are affecting El Ninos and their impacts continue to be a focus of research and debate.

The temperature fluctuations are part of a natural process that has been ongoing for at least centuries. On occasion, the east-to-west trade winds that pile up warm water in the western Pacific slacken, allowing mass quantities of warmer water to slosh eastward. Peruvian fisherman centuries ago noticed that the tepid waters put the kibosh on the anchovy catch and called it El Nino, a Spanish reference to the Christ child since this tended to happen around Christmastime.

The name has endured, although the warming properly is part of the El Nino Southern Oscillation, an oceanic-atmospheric seesaw that has warm; cold, or La Nina; and neutral phases.

According to the Climate Prediction Centers Monday update, the Pacific technically is still in La Nina; however, instruments that measure to depths more than 1,000 feet are signaling that El Nino will be taking over.

What happens when the waters warm

Weather moves west to east, and in terms of El Ninos effects on North America, changes in winds and rainfall make a difference, too.

It isnt enough for only the ocean, by itself, to change  most of El Ninos global impacts depend on the pattern of tropical heating and rainfall shifting in a certain way, too," LHeureux said.

The increased evaporation from warmer water sets off strong storms that energize the upper atmosphere and the weather-ferrying winds.

With the increased evaporation of the tropical waters, youre going to get a stronger subtropical jet stream, which would mean a brisk southern storm track across the southern United States, said Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist AccuWeather Inc.

Will that mean stronger hurricanes this season?

It turns out that El Nino may have a benign side.

Hurricane researchers such as Philip Klotzbach at Colorado State University have documented that El Nino can have a dampening effect on incipient tropical storms by generating shearing winds that tear them apart before they can mature.

In the strongest El Ninos since 1950, the Atlantic Basin has experienced on average about seven named storms, those with winds of 39 mph or higher. Thats half of the long-term average.

What will all this mean for winter in Philly and the Northeast?

Its impossible to know for sure, but Merrill suggested the winter is likely to be strange or very strange.

One leitmotif of the strong El Ninos has been persistence: What happens tends to keep happening as upper-air patterns remain in place.

That makes sense, given that the Pacific temperatures take their good old time changing once an El Nino matures.

In the four winters since 1950 coinciding with sea-surface temperatures 2.7 to 3.6 degrees above normal, snowfall has been above average, including the winter of 2009-10, when a record 78.7 inches was measured in Philly. Average temperatures were close to long-term normals.

But during the four events above the 3.6-degree level, the winters in Philly have been surreal. The city experienced its only snowless winter, in 1972-73, and just 0.8 inches fell in the 1997-98 winter as a succession of coastal storms ripped sand off Jersey beaches. A 21.3-inch blizzard occurred in February 1983. The winter of 2015-16 was one of the warmest on record, yet snow was well above normal, thanks to a two-footer in January.

LHeureux cautions against reading too much into the long-term outlooks. El Nino interacts with everything else, another additive to the chaos of the atmosphere.

People tend to take the strength of El Nino and assume that a strong event means strong impacts over their house. That might happen, but its far from a sure thing.

There are no guarantees in seasonal climate forecasting.
The focus was on hot topics like AI and the spillover from geopolitical risk, including the US-Iran conflict, but also on the more enduring challenges confronting brokers: claims, customer strain, natural catastrophes, cyber risk and the soft market. Insurance Business was there and found brokers and underwriters generally in high spirits despite despite the headwinds of a recessionary economy at home and global conflict abroad. Yet the gala dinners theme may have captured the private wish of many in the room: A Greek Island Escape.
Counter-terrorism command takes the lead

While the incident is officially being treated as an antisemitic hate crime and has not yet been declared a terrorist incident, Counter-Terrorism Policing has taken over the investigation. Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams stated that the specialized unit is leading the inquiry so investigators can utilize their specific expertise and resources, keeping all lines of inquiry open. It is also understood that MI5 is working closely with police and has not ruled out the involvement of the Iranian state.
Judge Menashi dissented separately, agreeing that the president's recognition of Afghanistan as a state should stand but arguing the bank itself no longer qualifies as an agency of that state. He pointed out that the Afghan banking law the panel relied on  which says the bank's capital belongs to the state of Afghanistan  is effectively inoperative, and that a 2017 doctoral dissertation cited by the panel simply repeated those now-defunct legal formalities without reflecting who actually controls the institution today. On the TRIA question, Menashi highlighted what he described as a perverse result: under the panel's timing rule, if the government had waited to freeze the assets until after the Taliban formally took over the bank, the funds would be available to victims, but because the government acted quickly to block the assets as the Taliban was seizing power, the victims cannot recover. Menashi observed that the statute concerns actual ownership, not ownership frozen in time.
What happened next is at the heart of the dispute. According to a written statement from Lowe's employee Rafael Marroquin, produced during discovery in the underlying injury case, on March 16, 2022, he moved the sod hut from the back of the store to the front using a forklift, on the direction of department manager Keira Gibson. The structure was never re-anchored.
The existing framework for insurer reporting remains intact. Insurance companies and self-insurers are still required to report a total loss to the department within 15 days after the settlement claim, regardless of where the loss occurred. They can do so electronically through the department's online system, by submitting a certificate of title or affidavit in lieu of title marked "DESTROYED," or by filing a properly completed total loss claim settlement form provided by the department. For vehicles six years or older, the report must still include a statement on whether the vehicle's fair market value immediately before its destruction was at least equal to the market value threshold, currently set at $6,790 and subject to annual adjustments tied to the consumer price index for used cars and trucks in the west region.
New York small businesses, big businesses, rideshare companies, police and fire unions, insurers, insurance agents, truckers, bus companies, auto repair shops, university professors, district attorneys, mayors, immigrant and minority groups and others have come out in support of Gov. Kathy Hochuls auto insurance reforms that are intended to lower costs for drivers by fighting fraud and discouraging excess litigation and excess insurer profits.

Even faith leaders have joined the campaign. Following an endorsement from the Reverend Al Sharpton, 50 clergy and faith leaders from Buffalo to Brooklyn sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to take action on auto insurance to address the unjust burden of high insurance premiums on working families.

Despite the major public relations drive, and even though they support lowering auto insurance premiums and oppose fraud, excess litigation and excess profits, elected lawmakers in Albany are not on board, at least not yet. Neither the New York State Assembly nor Senate included Hochuls reform proposals in their recommended budgets for the coming year as the governor had hoped.

The apparent snub by lawmakers does not mean the reforms are dead. The states final budget is still a work in progress. The deadline for the budget negotiations is April 1.

Hochul told CBS she believes theres still time to negotiate it back in with legislative leaders. If they do not make it into the states final budget, the proposals can still be considered separately.

Big I New York President and CEO Lisa Lounsbury wrote that her groups independent agents are deeply disappointed and frankly surprised that neither chamber mentioned the governors proposed auto insurance reforms.

[T]he State Legislature sidestepped meaningful action to address staged accident fraud and excessive litigation costs, Lounsbury stated. By remaining silent on this issue, they are ignoring one of the most significant drivers of insurance affordability in New York: runaway legal costs that have helped earn our state the troubling designation of a judicial hellhole.'

No Summary Judgment

During the budget hearings last month, a number of lawmakers seemed reluctant to fully embrace the reforms as written and without further debate. They preferred that the promises being made and the effects on consumers rates and accident victims compensation be examined more fully.

Assembly Member Landon C. Dais suggested the stakes for getting the reforms right are high and the issues deserve a full airing. I would argue that we as a legislature are probably on trial right now along with the insurance industry and the trial lawyers. The people of New York are the jury and theyre looking for us to for a verdict of affordability while the parties point fingers, offered Dais.

He suggested that insurers, lawyers and lawmakers share responsibility for high costs and no party is entitled to summary judgment in the court of public opinion.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told Streetsblog: The reason why we omitted [the insurance proposal from the budget] is because it is a broader conversation.

Hochuls Answer

For Hochul the key question is: why do New Yorkers pay so much?

Not because New Yorkers are doing anything wrong, but because rampant fraud and runaway litigation costs are jacking up prices, is Hochuls answer.

The Democratic governor has insisted New Yorkers should not pay more for the same coverage and vowed this is the year, the state does something about it.

Hochul and many others argue that car insurance rates are being driven up by fraud, litigation, legal loopholes, and enforcement gaps, with staged crashes and associated insurance fraud inflating everyones premiums.

Hochuls 2026 proposals attempt to address staged accidents by creating new liability for criminals orchestrating fraud, not just drivers; curtail jackpot lawsuits by changing the no-fault threshold by tightening the definition of serious injury; change comparative fault rules to limit non-economic damages for drivers who are mostly at fault; mandate that insurers offer discounts for safe driving apps/devices; and discourage excess profits by requiring insurers to return profits over a certain threshold to policyholders.

Numbers Questions

The budget hearings indicated that winning acceptance by lawmakers of the reforms may depend on the perceived credibility and adequacy of the numbers behind the claimed crisis and the proposed reforms. Lawmakers asked for proof of the factors driving high insurance costs, how reforms would produce savings for consumers, and whether those savings would be meaningful.

A panel of five insurance representatives  and one trial lawyer fielded lawmakers questions as part of the budget process. Panelists included Cassandra Anderson of the New York Insurance Association (NYIA); Sean McLaughlin of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC); Kristina Baldwin of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA); Travis Wattie of the Big I; and Brad Lachut of the Professional Insurance Agents of New York (PIANY).

Senator Jamaal T. Bailey had a list of questions to which he requested written responses. He wanted to know how much fraud impacts premiums for various coverages and whether any cost savings would be sustainable or just a one-time bump post legislation.

He was told much of the data exists and additional data would take time to produce.

Senator Andrew S. Gounardes, who complained that his auto insurer wanted $8,000 in premium for his familys two cars that included a 2012 Subaru Outback, asked what percentage of auto premiums can be attributed to the problem of excess litigation and awards as cited by the industry. Is it 5%, 30%, 80%? he asked, before maintaining that there needs to be a bigger unpacking of all of the drivers of these costs.

Im not looking to go after innocent victims and their recoveries but what I am trying to do is give lawyers and doctors a good name by rooting out some bad actors, said Assembly Member David Weprin, seeking data on how much of a problem fraud really is in auto insurance in the state.

Assembly Member Philip Palmesano noted both the industry and the government are claiming the reforms will reduce costs and have cited some data showing how reforms helped lower costs in Florida. But he contended they have yet to show any formal, actual analysis that verifies that claim for New York.

I just hope one year from now were seeing significant reductions, added Senator Bill Weber.

Bad Faith

The New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) represents the main obstacle in the legislature. NYTSLA has argued that Hochuls savings would pad insurers profits while restricting consumers rights to sue and the damages they can be awarded.

Bailey wanted trial lawyers to answer whether they support increased transparency around verdict data and settlements and whether they are willing to work with all parties in order to get to the heart of the matter which is affordability.

Andrew Finkelstein, NYSTLA president, told lawmakers his members represent the same people who are their constituents. He said his members are concerned about affordability but believe the solution is not what has been put forth.

Insurance profits must not come at the expense of justice, accountability, or the rights of injured New Yorkers, Finkelstein stated. These proposals weaken individual rights, limit access to care, and severely reduce the accountability of insurance companies with absolutely no proof one New Yorkers car insurance will be lowered as a result. Curtailing legal remedies does not reduce the cost of car insurance, it simply shifts the financial burden of the loss from the wrongdoers directly onto the backs of the victims and the taxpayers.

Asked what the trial lawyers think should be done to lower costs for drivers, Finkelstein recommended bad faith legislation, claiming that no-fault works better in other states such as Massachusetts and Pennsylvania where they have strong bad faith laws that discourage insurers from challenging as many claims and driving up litigation costs.

Finkelstein was not asked for proof of his contention. There is research showing bad faith laws may increase litigation and claims costs.

Political Numbers

Among the numbers lawmakers have been asked to consider are some from a poll. Three-quarters (75%) of New Yorkers maintain that auto insurance costs are a financial burden on their household and even more (86%) support Hochuls legislation, according to a statewide survey of voters commissioned by an Uber-backed group.

The poll of 1,0004 voters, conducted by political polling firm Beacon Research, found support for Hochuls proposals by more than 80% of Democrats, Republicans and independents, and similarly high support across every region of the state. The survey found that 60% of voters believe auto insurance fraud is common, including staged crashes and fraudulent claims.

The survey results have been touted by the group Citizens for Affordable Rates (CAR) which has been advocating for the reforms. The CAR organization, which is backed by Uber, is running a $7 million ad campaign in support of Hochuls proposals.

Number of Claims

The conversation thus far over the drivers of insurance costs and the promise of Hochuls reforms has produced various numbers about cost drivers and savings. Some of the clams by reform advocates include:

Hochul: New York drivers pay more than $4,000 a year on average for car insurance  nearly double the national average, with premiums reaching $5,000 to $7,000 in some areas. Staged crashes and associated insurance fraud are inflating everyones premiums by as much as $300 per year on average. Her reforms could save drivers 15% to 20% on premiums.

New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS): There were nearly 39,000 reports for suspected no-fault fraud cases and nearly 42,000 suspected healthcare fraud reports in 2024, nearly double the number of reports in 2020. Deceptive healthcare providers cost New York drivers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Bankrate: On average, New Yorkers pay $341 per month for full coverage auto insurance and $148 per month for state minimum insuranceabout twice the national average. Compounding the burden, New York drivers faced a 13.5% premium increase in 2025, the fourth-highest in the country.

Triple I: New York households paid an estimated $1,935 on average for personal auto insurance in 2024, according New York Personal Auto Insurance Premium and Cost Drivers, by the industry organization. This was an increase from $1,753 in 2023, which was 37% more than the national average ($1,282) and 18% more than drivers in other no-fault states ($1,492).

Triple I: New York is one of only 12 no-fault states requiring insurers to pay personal injury protection (PIP) benefits of up to $50,000 regardless of fault. Since 2021, bodily injury (BI) claims in New York have been rising faster than the national average, even as property damage (PD) claims have tracked the U.S. broadly. The BI-to-PD claims ratio, a measure of excessive litigation, has climbed sharply for New York while remaining flat for the multi-state comparison group.

Triple I: Hochuls proposed measures target auto claim fraud and litigation costs. The three largest components of New Yorks $1,753 average expenditure, bodily injury ($388), PIP/medical payments ($343), and uninsured/underinsured motorist ($64), are what the governors proposed reforms are designed to address.

American Tort Reform Association (ATLA): A Perryman Group study concluded that claims abuse and excessive tort costs wipe out billions of dollars of economic activity annually. New York residents pay a tort tax of $2,534.85, the third-highest in the country, and 427,794 jobs are lost each year, according to the Perryman study.

Trucking Association of New York: Commercial auto liability costs have effectively doubled over the past five years. Policies that previously cost $5,000$6,000 now commonly range from $10,000$12,000 per unit. The situation is particularly acute in the New York City region, with motor carriers reporting quotes as high as $50,000 per truck. There is also a growing challenge in securing adequate coverage. Market capacity has tightened significantly, with insurers limiting excess coverage and forcing operators to assemble layered policies across multiple carriers.

New York Civil Justice Institute: Compared with other no-fault states New Jersey and Massachusetts, New Yorks personal injury protection insurance costs were more than 200% higher than New Jersey and over 500% higher than Massachusetts.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA): Reforms would deliver $48 million in annual recurring savings for the authority by preventing the MTA from having to pay jackpot settlements for crashes in which their buses were not primarily to blame. The reforms would generate additional annual savings of as much as $25 million for the more than 130 transit agencies that operate outside the MTA region in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state.

American Tort Reform Association: A surge in ads by trial lawyers across New York is fueling fraud. In 2025, plaintiffs attorneys poured nearly $179 million into local legal service ads across New York  an 84% increase since 2023. Last year, 33 law firms spent more than $1 million each on ads. The largest individual spender, Morgan & Morgan, doubled its ad budget year-over-year, totaling $27.5 million in 2025. Andrew Finkelstein, current president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, is managing partner of several different law firms that spent at least $3.7 million on more than 20,274 ads in 2025.

Citizens for Affordable Rates (CAR): Florida data showing declining auto insurance rates following recent legislative reforms show the potential savings under New Yorks reforms. In Florida, the five largest auto insurance groups  Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, Allstate, and USAA  are delivering an average rate decrease of 8% for 2026, covering about 78% of Floridas market. The reductions an average 7.4% rate reduction for 2025. CAR says states that have tackled the root causes of rising auto insurance premiums are seeing real results.

Berkeley Research Group: Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. retained BRG to study New Yorks $1.25 million uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage requirement for transportation network companies (TNCs). BRG found the requirement exceeds what is necessary in most accident scenariosraising costs for riders and limiting earnings for drivers across the state. According to data provided by Ubers insurance partner in New York, excluding New York City, the vast majority of personal (non-TNC) UM/UIM claims in the state resolve well below $100,000, and most TNC UM/UIM claims settle under $25,000 per person ($50,000 per accident). BRG found that New Yorks excessive coverage makes TNCs a target for increased litigation and the losses incurred under the UM/UIM coverage in New York are substantially higher than in comparable states with lower UM/UIM policy limits, like Connecticut and Illinois. New York has low rates of uninsured motorists and is one of the safest states in which to driveyet it mandates among the highest TNC insurance coverage in the country. There is no statistical evidence that reducing UM/UIM coverage to $25,000 per person ($50,000 per accident)the state mandate for personal vehicleswould expose riders or drivers to unreasonable financial risk. Rather, a reduced requirement would preserve strong protections while making transportation more affordable for millions of New Yorkers.

Top Photo: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul

Topics Auto Legislation New York
The estate of late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was on Tuesday refused permission to appeal a ruling by Londons High Court that he was liable to Hewlett Packard Enterprise over its acquisition of his firm Autonomy.

The U.S. technology giant Hewlett Packard is trying to recoup losses arising from its 2011 acquisition of Autonomy for $11.1 billion from the estate of Lynch, who died in 2024 when his luxury yacht sank off Sicily.

HP accused Lynch and Autonomys former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, of inflating the firms value before the takeover. HP wrote down Autonomys worth by $8.8 billion within a year of the purchase.

In 2022, the High Court found Lynch and Hussain liable to HP over the deal, though a judge said HP would get considerably less than the $5 billion originally sought.

Lawyers for Lynchs estate sought permission to appeal against the High Courts ruling on liability and parts of a later ruling on damages, which was refused. But the estate can apply directly to the Court of Appeal.

HP welcomed Tuesdays ruling, which it said in a statement brings us another step closer to resolution of the dispute.

The High Court ruled last year that HP suffered losses of nearly 698 million pounds  just over $1 billion at 2011 exchange rates  as it would have paid a lower price for Autonomy had it known its true financial position.

HP is also entitled to interest on its losses up to May 2023, which is likely to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lynch, once hailed as Britains answer to Bill Gates, always maintained his innocence and blamed HP for failing to integrate Autonomy. He was cleared of related criminal charges in the United States in June 2024.

Lynch, 59, died that August when his yacht sank off Sicily during a holiday to celebrate his acquittal. His 18-year-old daughter Hannah also died in the accident.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin, editing by Paul Sandle and Susan Fenton)

Related:
It took just days for the Iran war to hobble oil fields, refineries and gas plants across the Persian Gulf, but it could take years to restore their full potential as the conflict drags on.

More than three weeks of war have created a massive supply disruption by effectively closing the critical Strait of Hormuz, while also damaging dozens of energy assets. But as President Donald Trump claims talks are under way with Iran to end the conflict, calculating the wider economic fallout must factor in the time it will take to reboot the Gulfs oil and gas infrastructure.

The strikes last week on the Qatars Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas complex, which houses the worlds biggest export plant, reinforce concerns that turning the taps back on wont be quick or easy, with an official estimate of as long as five years to repair the damage.

Oil and gas production systems require steady flows operating under a pressure gradient from deep underground reservoirs to the valves that control loading onto tankers, engineers say. Even if unscathed by missiles and drones, the speed at which output can be returned to pre-war levels will depend on whether fields and their individual wells have been fully halted  and for how long  or if they were kept at minimum flow rates.

You cant just push the pause button when oil flows are inconvenient, said Jim Krane, a fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute, whos followed Middle East energy for more than two decades. Interrupting such huge petroleum supply chains causes cascading effects across the globe.

More than 40 energy assets across nine countries in the Middle East have been severely or very severely damaged by the war, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said, potentially prolonging disruptions to global supply chains after the conflict ends.

Oil Fields

Earlier this month, Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said the company expects a relatively quick return  within days  to full production for curtailed oil fields.

While that may be true for fields that have been kept running at reduced rates, the picture is markedly different for those that have been shut completely.

It could take two to three weeks to restore full production at a small field thats been halted, and four or five weeks for a larger one, according to Aditya Saraswat, Rystad Energys director of research for the Middle East and North Africa, who has a background in reservoir engineering. Rushing fields back into operation can cause damage, as pressure needs to be built gradually in the entire system, he said.

The priority is to keep the fields running, Saraswat said by phone from Dubai. Once you shut down, your entire trunk line is depressurized.

Where force majeure has been declared, fields are often shut-in completely, he said. Where production has been scaled back due to lack of storage  such as in Iraq and Kuwait  its likely that shut-downs have been partial, he added.

Stagnant wells can encounter issues of corrosion and wax buildup, according to Matt Randolph, an Oklahoma-based veteran of oil fields around the world for more than three decades.

And this is why they initially just reduced production and kept wells flowing at much lower rates, because it keeps the system clean, so to speak, he said, adding that the longer the shut-in, the longer the restart.

In addition, several international oil companies and service providers have evacuated staff from the region, according to the International Energy Agency. To restart some fields, the situation will need to have stabilized enough for those workers to return.

Refinery Challenges

Similar challenges face refineries in the region, after a number of major facilities either shut or curbed their output due to attacks and a lack of viable export outlets.

Restarting plants could take more than two weeks, while facilities that have been slowed, rather than stopped, could come back more quickly.

The UAE shut its huge Ruwais plant, one of the biggest refineries in the world, as a precautionary measure after a drone strike caused a fire in the industrial area where its located. Kuwaits Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery suffered another attack Friday that shut down some units, a day after the facility was targeted in a wave of strikes on energy infrastructure across the Middle East.

Saudi Aramco halted operations at Ras Tanura  the kingdoms largest crude processing plant with 550,000 barrels a day of capacity  after a drone attack in the first few days of the war, though the facility has since been restarted. Bahrains Bapco Energies had its 400,000 barrel-a-day plant damaged in an attack and declared force majeure on operations that had been impacted.

For large, complex refineries that have fully halted operations, the restart process typically will require longer duration to stabilize, said Priti Mehta, a senior analyst for consultancy Wood Mackenzie. She estimates that it may take 10 to 15 days to return to normal utilization levels, assuming no major structural damage.

Tanker Returns

While the restart can be carried out in parallel at fields and refineries, none of that can begin until brimming storage tanks at Gulf ports are emptied. That means getting tankers back through Hormuz as a key first step to restoring flows.

That presents logistical challenges, with dozens of supertankers diverted elsewhere, including to Saudi Arabias Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Still, there are currently plenty of empty tankers south of Fujairah  the UAE port outside the Strait of Hormuz  or further out in the Arabian Sea, suggesting shipping may not be the most important constraint, according to Robin Meech, managing director at Marine and Energy Consulting Ltd. in Oxford.

Tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg support that view, at least for oil. There are about 60 empty, non-Iran-linked supertankers, each capable of hauling about 2 million barrels a day, anchored outside Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman, or further out in the Arabian Sea. Those ships could be at berths in the Middle East within three or four days, as long as they dont have to queue to transit Hormuz.

LNG Reboot

Perhaps the greatest energy challenge to emerge so far in the Gulf is at Qatars Ras Laffan, the worlds largest LNG plant.

The strikes last week damaged two production trains, representing about 17% of Qatars exports of the fuel. Repairs will take up to five years, according to QatarEnergy, impacting supplies to Europe and Asia.

Even before the attack, any startup of Ras Laffan would have to be intentionally slow to avoid overloading the equipment, said Mehdy Touil, an LNG lead specialist at Calypso Commodities who previously worked at the plant that covers almost a fifth of global supply.

Once Hormuz is reopened, finding LNG carriers should be less of a problem, with a further 90 vessels will hit the market this year, according to Kaushal Ramesh, vice president, gas and LNG at Rystad.

Managing the restart of traffic through critical waterway may be a bigger challenge, as a backlog of energy, food and other materials rushes to enter and exit the Gulf.

Preannounced convoy slots, staging at safe anchorages and mandatory pilotage at chokepoints may be needed, the IEA said.

Photograph: An oil refinery in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia; photo credit: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
With Easter looming, we will be down a team member for a few weeks as Becky is off to the Southern Hemisphere again, where she will be showing for two farms at a number of shows.

The trip was planned prior to the conflict in the Middle East breaking out. She flies to Dubai and onwards to Melbourne, where she goes straight from the airport to compete at a two-day Jersey fair.

She then heads back to Flemings to help with final preparations before the long journey to Sydney for the Royal Sydney show, where she will be based for just over 10 days ahead of flying home from Sydney via Dubai.

There has been a bit of chopping and changing with flights due to the conflict. Emirates contacted her 10 days ago and changed her onto a different flight departing from Dublin due to fewer flights being available.

She was due to fly home with Etihad, however, they contacted her this week to say her flight was cancelled and they were issuing a refund, but luckily she managed to get a return flight straight away with Emirates at a lower price.

It is easy to see why Emirates is one of the very best airlines in the world. They are making every effort to return to normality and accommodate passengers as best they can. They really seem to be the only airline to travel with on that route at the moment.

Becky isnt phased by the trip, given the current situation, she feels the world cannot come to a standstill because of the chaos being caused by Israel, the US and Iran.

It is a huge opportunity for Becky to compete at the Royal Sydney Show with two great farms and a top-tier string of show animals. Of course, we as parents are a little nervous and will be relieved when she lands in Australia and again when her flight is en route home to Dublin.

I think we all need to be realistic in that airlines are taking no unnecessary risks, and if there are issues, then it is simply a schedule disruption.

I do believe it is crucial to only source news surrounding the Middle East conflict from credible news sources and also ensure flight information and travel updates are directly from the airline. Social media is awash with fake news, fake photos and the propaganda machine surrounding this war has really ramped up.

Nobody wanted this war in the Middle East, yet we are all getting sucked into it and paying the price. I am no fan of Iran as they do fund terrorism and are led by a dictatorship, but I do think the US and Israel totally miscalculated the Iranians.

Who knows where this will end, but ultimately they all need to make an effort to sit down and talk, yes any peace talks earlier in the year were not making great progress, but neither is this war.

Energy prices

There are talks of the possibility of US troops on the ground, but that will only prolong the conflict and further add to the loss of lives.

We all see the impacts this is having on energy prices for the consumer, and there is a huge amount of price gouging by fuel suppliers.

There can be a 30 cent-a-litre price difference between petrol stations, and my best advice to consumers is not to panic and shop around.

Irish electricity suppliers are also talking about dramatic increases, but given we already have the most expensive electricity in Europe, the government needs to act and ensure electricity is capped.

When it suits the agenda, figures are promoted on how much renewable electricity is being generated by Ireland.

I recently saw a figure of 45% renewable and let's be honest, the cost of Irish sunshine and wind has not spiralled since the war began.

The consumer is getting decimated by energy prices; agriculture has the same issue while also facing huge issues with the spiralling cost of fertiliser which is directly linked to LNG prices and supply.

The Middle East produces 20% of the world's fertiliser, and the knock-on effect of price and shortages is going to have a huge impact on the price of food going forward.

Climate change

One thing that this conflict in the Middle East has highlighted is how ridiculous it is to be asking us all to reduce our emissions when over five million tonnes of CO2 has been created by missile strikes and war planes in such a short space of time.

One can only imagine the emissions also created by the war in Ukraine and the Israeli conflict in Gaza.

How in all honesty does an Irish or EU politician believe carbon taxes are going to save the world while the EU also plans to intensify measures on agriculture to reduce emissions?

If leaders are serious about saving the world from climate change, then stopping wars would be a starting point instead of taxing us all into oblivion.

The EU really needs to step up and join the real world as to food and energy security going forward, because in recent times, they have begun to look more like a tree-hugging commune that is happy to rewild the whole continent, yet when conflicts begin, they are completely exposed due to a lack of resources.

Foot and mouth

I mentioned recently in other articles about the threat of foot and mouth disease to EU farms, and in a follow-up piece, I mentioned how Cyprus had detected cases which were spreading.

The disease has now spread from Cyprus to Greece, and if the EU do not take serious action, it will simply spread further.

Austria has yet again stepped up border checks, which the EU are not too happy with, but Austria has huge concerns over the spread of the disease.

At the very least, Ireland needs to inform holidaymakers travelling to Cyprus and Greece that absolutely no meat or dairy can be brought home from these countries, and we need to consider ramping up checks on flights coming into Ireland from these countries or our agricultural economy may pay a huge price.
A series of in-person farmer clinics has been announced to assist farmers in making online scheme applications.

In total, 16 farmer clinics are scheduled to offer an opportunity for farmers to be helped with the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other area-based schemes.

All clinics will take place from 10am to 4.30 pm, and department staff will provide one-to-one support to assist farmers in submitting their scheme applications well in advance of the closing date of May 15.

Farmers planning to attend the clinics must bring details of their MyAgFood.ie account, ie the mobile phone used for login, and details of herd number, PPSN, etc. to verify their identity.

Clare (Ennis) - The Woodstock Hotel  April 1, 2026.

Cork (Macroom) - Castle Hotel  April 2, 2026.

Tipperary (Carrick On Suir) - The Carraig Hotel  April 7, 2026.

Galway (Ballinasloe) - The Shearwater  April 8, 2026.

Mayo (Ballina) - Great National Hotel  April 9, 2026.

Cavan - Hotel Kilmore  April 14, 2026.

Donegal (Ballybofey)- Jackson's Hotel  April 15, 2026.

Kerry (Tralee) - The Rose Hotel  April 16, 2026.

Meath (Trim) - Knightsbrook Hotel  April 21, 2026.

Limerick (Adare) - Woodlands Hotel  April 22, 2026.

Leitrim (Carrick On Shannon) - The Landmark  April 28, 2026.

Monaghan (Carrickmacross) - The Shirley Arms  April 29, 2026.

Wexford (Gorey) - Ashdown Park Hotel  April 30, 2026.

Galway (Tuam) - Ard Ri House Hotel  May 5, 2026.

Cork (Mitchelstown) - Firgrove Hotel  May 6, 2026.

Kerry (Killarney) - Randles Hotel  May 7, 2026.

Speaking on the clinics, minister for agriculture, Martin Heydon, said: These clinics have been exceptionally popular in recent years and offer an opportunity for farmers to engage directly with officials from my department.

"We have excellent advisors to support farmers in making their BISS applications, but where farmers are not in a position to engage an advisor, the clinics are an excellent means of ensuring that the BISS application is submitted correctly and on time.

These clinics are particularly useful for farmers who do not have a Farm Advisory System (FAS) approved advisor to assist them with their application.
Halfway through our interview, Shirley Manson is distracted by a bird outside her window in Los Angeles. A small finch has appeared. I cant see it over Zoom audio, but the moment comes after she has unpacked difficult subjects: the death of her father, her own ill health, frustrations with the music industry, and the fact that she is one of the few musicians willing to speak her mind on the wider world without fear of being cancelled.

We are running out of citizens who will talk freely, she explains. Its an alarming atmosphere. Im lucky that Im old and Ive had a glorious career. Id rather be treated unjustly than hold on to my career if it means giving up artistic freedom. I feel its my responsibility as a citizen to speak for those who dont have a platform or voice.

Earlier this year, the 59-year-old returned to the stage in her hometown of Edinburgh for two concerts that reunited her with former bandmates from the short-lived Goodbye Mr Mackenzie side-project, Angelfish, which was staged to raise humanitarian aid for Palestinian children. The two concerts raised over 35,000. "It felt so good to do something tangible to help people and I'm grateful to the band. It turned into quite a magical event.

A cover version of I Wanna Be Adored by the Stone Roses proved to be a fitting tribute. "I was so blown away by the outpouring of love for Mani [who died in November]. He was a musician's musician and everybody loved him; what an incredible legacy," says Manson.

It was Angelfish that offered a glimpse of the voice and presence that would soon attract the attention of her future collaborators. "I was in a place where I had run out of options. It was the next indicated step and my life exploded, but it could equally have landed very differently."

A first breakthrough for Garbage came with their debut single Vow, a track Manson still associates with the moment the project took on a life of its own. I still get a kick out of playing Vow live. It was the very first song we released on a CD magazine. It was so sci-fi to us, which underscores the amount of time that has passed. The song just kind of took off, I associate it with the explosion of the band. Its about revenge, so its constantly pertinent."

Three decades on the relationship with audiences remains sacred. "There are people who will come out every time you play their city. I have friends that won't do that for me."

For years, promoters insisted there was little appetite for Garbage in Ireland, something Manson never quite believed. Of course, the people are very similar, the Scots and the Irish. We were told there was no interest. No promoter wanted to touch us in Ireland until about seven years ago, when we played the lovely Iveagh Gardens. As for Belfast, we've not been since the second record [they played King's Hall in 1999]. So to come back is a big honour."

Manson is taking nothing for granted. She wonders if this will be the last time the band will wander the streets of Dublin or any major city. The cost of doing international tours is a daunting ask for many acts, and streaming revenues dont make up the shortfalls.

We played 40 shows and only 10 of them were financially responsible, she explains. "We could have earned the same doing five shows on each coast as we did travelling through the middle of America for two months. Thats alarming because if a band like us, with a very successful career and a built-in fanbase, can barely make it work, then a lot of young bands cant afford tour buses or hotels. Its very destructive for our societies.

Manson reflects on performing songs that have been part of fans' lives since 1995. Music and songs are so powerful and important to people. I want to play as many of our touchstones for fans as I can. When I was young, it was like a great party, an opportunity to show off."

She adds that her role has changed. "I'm more like a nurse: here to serve the people, 'come here, let me administer to you.'

With age  she will turn 60 in August  that sense of duty has deepened. The older I get, the more sacred I see that role, Manson says.

She suggests the recent Oasis concert which she attended in Edinburgh wasnt just about the band. It was about the audience, watching the effect of those people who poured out of their homes to see a working-class band up there was spectacularly beautiful. Those songs are powerful and profoundly moving."

She speaks warmly of fellow Celt and Garbage's 2023 touring partner, Noel Gallagher.

Shirley Manson: 'Politicians are spewing the same bile about other human beings and teaching societies to feel hostile towards any person hoping to integrate.' Picture: Joseph Cultice

I couldnt praise him highly enough. I love him; hes a really unique and exemplary human being. I mean, hes like me; we say stupid shit sometimes. Were like a bull in a china shop and we offend people, but he is a very good man with a lot of integrity.

Today, artists are less willing to discuss the direction of modern politics, but Manson believes it's her obligation to speak out against the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has become so widespread.

Politicians are spewing the same bile about other human beings and teaching societies to feel hostile towards any person hoping to integrate. Its an incredible ruse, its the same here as it is in the UK and its gathering speed every day.

"Communities are told migrants are our problem and not those who have plundered our resources while feathering their own nests. They are continuing that raiding spree while blaming those who have so little. Its an incredible and terrifying game that is being played.

Those anxieties bled into the bands 2021 album No Gods No Masters. Subsequent album Let All That We Imagine Be the Light was "a much softer, more conciliatory record" she adds. Its spectral closer The Day That I Met God was partly recorded in Manson's bedroom during recuperation.

That song is the most mystical of everything we have written. It was sent to me by the band while I was recovering from a hip replacement and also dealing with long covid. I was dealing with a sick father and my own sick little body, questioning all my life choices, what it means to be a human being, an ageing one and a broken one. I was asking a lot of big questions and the song became the vehicle for that exploration.

It was while clearing out her late father's house, a committed member of the Church of Scotland, after his passing in October that she found many of the books that shaped his life. "He was a very humble, simple soul and had no valuables or anything fancy but he did have shelves full of books."

When not in America, Manson also retains a home in the city of her birth. A headline show at Edinburgh Castle may yet be a defining moment. It doesn't get more glorious than that; arguably the highest point of my career will be playing at the most prestigious venue in my home city. I hope to make it to those castle ramparts and afterwards take a long, slow walk down the Mound [landmark city thoroughfare].

Yet Manson is far from finished. I wonder if a once suggested solo album, perhaps a book or more acting, recalling her turn in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, are future ambitions. Among all these ideas, the strongest that rises to the surface is a collaboration between Garbage and a full orchestra. "It's something we've wanted to do for a long time," she says.

If this last European date in Dublin proves to be the close of one act for Shirley Manson, it has been a colourful one. The final act, it seems, may still be waiting in the wings.
Hammy Hamilton is unlikely to forget the names of Geordie Hanna, Cathal McConnell, Len Graham, Joe Holmes, Diarmuid O Suilleabhain, or John Connell, from whom he had the luck and inestimable blessing to learn songs.

Indeed, when writing sleeve notes for his newly-released CD, Ten Old Songs, the Belfast native credited those who imparted their songs and wisdom during his student days in the North and following his 1970s move to Cork.

There was one important omission from the albums cover, however, as Hamilton discovered while preparing for its release.

I did the CD design myself and I lay awake a couple of nights after it had gone to the printer thinking did I mention Cathal McConnell, did I mention John Connell?," he recalls.

I was all ready to go with a sort of a launch last October and when I got the CDs back from the printer, I was looking at it and all of a sudden I went Oh shit my names not on it. The person I forgot to mention was me. Thats very typical of me. Im absent-minded in a very odd way, he laughs.

His name now added to the cover, Hamilton views this delay in the albums release as just the latest hitch to beset the project since its 2018 inception.

What became a live recording with a string quartet began as a conversation at Hamiltons Cuil Aodha home with Four Star Trio friends Con Fada O Drisceoil, Johnny McCarthy, and Pat Herring Ahern. We ended up singing a few songs and somebody suggested, Hammy, you should record a few of your songs, he recalls.

The idea of combining Hamiltons vocals with a string arrangement developed, with cellist Yseult Cooper Stockdale to be joined by McCarthy and Liam OConnor on fiddle.

Because Johnny was one of the original fiddle players it was natural that [his son, pianist and composer] Cormac would come on board. When that was suggested I jumped at it, and I love the arrangements he did.

Then, however, began a tale of woe, says Hamilton. We had our first rehearsal with Liam and Johnny and Yseult. It was a few days before the first covid lockdown, which knocked that on the head for approaching two years.

Hammy Hamilton on stage at Ionad Culturtha in Baile Mhuirne.

Talks of recording resumed, but halted abruptly when Hamilton was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Just before Christmas 2022 I was diagnosed, so that was almost another two years of not being able to do things. Then when I got well enough to do it again, the next thing was Johnny broke a tendon in his left hand, which for a fiddle player, knocked him out.

Fully recovered from cancer, Hamilton set about resurrecting the project with a reshuffled line-up, Cooper Stockdale joined by fellow Ora Quartet members Siun Milne, Molly OShea, and Ali Comerford.

The performance, with Cormac McCarthys arrangements, came to fruition last year in an Arts Council-backed concert at Baile Mhuirnes Ionad Culturtha, recorded live and mixed by Ahern.

The resultant album, a new interface between classical and traditional is a personal song retrospective for Hamilton.

Better known as a flute-maker, musician, and composer, not a lot of people know this, but I was a singer long before I played the flute, says Hamilton, whose songs featured on 2001 album Its No Secret with O Drisceoil and Seamus Creagh.

Born in the heart of loyalist Belfast, he says despite the Troubles, the sectarianism in the North was completely ignored by traditional musicians and the artistic community.

Hamilton, whose first public performance was singing John Barleycorn, adds: At college at Queens I fell in with a group of people who were very keen on traditional singing and a lot of them would have been influenced by the folk-club scene.

"People like Len Graham and Joe Holmes, Cathal McConnell, who was a big influence on me as a flute player and was also a big influence as a singer, and Geordie Hanna - I was lucky enough to meet all those great singers in the flesh.

With commercial recordings then less widespread, the transmission process was much more personal notes Hamilton, who examined the role of commercial recordings in traditional music for his PhD thesis.

And when I came down to Cuil Aodha there was a very vibrant singing scene a community of people who would sing, and nobody ever thought of making a recording. It was just what people did.

The Banks of the Bann, Old Ardboe, The Lisburn Lass, and The Gaberlunzie Man are among Hamiltons Ten Old Songs, along with The Bonny Light Horseman, which his mother used to sing snatches of, he says.

For me singing is such a personal thing and when I sing I think not just of the emotion of the song but where I learned it and the occasions I sang it before, so these are all songs that really mean something to me very deeply.
Scottish comic Kevin Bridges is returning to Cork later this year for two nights at Live at the Marquee.

Bridges will be joined by some of his comedy pals in Cork on July 17 and 18. Tickets (76.25 / 65.70) will go on sale this Thursday at 10am through Ticketmaster.
Anti-terrorist officers are investigating the activities of a group of jihadists linked to a man who carried out an Islamist-inspired stabbing on a garda and an arson attack on a Conor McGregor pub.

In the first prosecution of a jihadist attack under the Terrorism Offences Act 2005, Abdullah Khan, aged 24, has pleaded guilty to terrorism offences, assault, and arson.

The day after he carried out an arson attack on the Black Forge Inn, owned by McGregor, on the Drimnagh Road, Dublin, on July 25, 2025, he was driven by an associate to Belfast.

Over the space of three days, Khan, who was homeless, got three successive flights to European destinations before flying back to Dublin on July 28.

The day after, Khan went to Woodies and bought a knife, one he used that day to deliberately target a garda in Dublin city, shouting Allahu Akbar, the God is Great phrase adopted by Islamist terrorists.

Detective Inspector Gavin Ross of the Special Detective Unit (SDU) told the Special Criminal Court that Khan was part of a wider group of individuals with this mindset and that their investigation was still open.

For the defence, Michael Bowman told the three-judge court that it may come to pass that there were others operating in the shadows, while his client was operating in broad daylight.

Khan admitted guilt and informed gardai of his arson attack on the pub. He said he wanted to send a message to McGregor, who, he said, was helping the far-right grow, and to the State, for allowing people to insult prophet Muhammed, which he said was a red line. In interviews, he said:

This was a message to the Irish government that if, under the name of free speech, you insult our prophet, there will be people who are angry.

He told detectives he started getting into radical Salafi Jihadism online at the age of 18-19 and that his radicalisation got progressively stronger aged 20-21.

The court heard Khan had significant mental health difficulties, had left his parents home and was homeless.

Garda Gary Lynch and colleague Garda Patrick Nevin were strolling along Capel Street when Khan, who was walking behind, ran at them and stabbed Gda Lynch from behind, and repeatedly from the side. Footage was played.

Garda Lynch, who had only recently finished his probation, suffered serious lacerations to his arm. Despite this, he managed, using his baton and pepper spray, to fight off the attacker, as did his colleague.

The court heard of the deep physical and mental health impact of the assault.

Ms Justice Karen OConnor, presiding, praised the gardai for their professionalism and tremendous courage.

She set April 20 for sentencing.
A body has been discovered following a fire in the same house where a boy and his grandaunt died in an arson attack in Edenderry, Co Offaly last year.

Gardai said they are investigating all the circumstances of the fire at Castleview Park in Edenderry.

Emergency services attended the fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning and remain at the scene. Local fire services have since extinguished the fire.

The body of an adult was discovered at the house, and an autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death, which will determine the course of any Garda investigation.

The scene is currently preserved for gardai to carry out a forensic examination of the scene.

Gardai in Tullamore are appealing for anyone with any information on this house fire to contact An Garda Siochana.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Tullamore Garda Station on 057 932 7600, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.

It is understood that there were people occupying the house from time to time despite the damage.

Speaking at the scene of the fire on Tuesday, local councillor Fergus McDonnell said neighbours were alerted by their smoke alarms going off.

He said the fire was intense and has described what happened as horrendous, adding that the local community cant comprehend a second fatal fire has happened at the same house.

People just dont know what to think, he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, gardai were carrying out door-to-door inquiries and fingertip searches in the vicinity of the house.

Investigators accessed the top floor of the house through the upstairs windows using a ladder.

The incident occurred at the same house where four-year-old Tadhg Farrell and his great-aunt Mary Holt were murdered in December 2025.

The young boys grandmother also received hospital treatment for serious burn injuries in that first blaze.

A man in his late 20s who had been detained on suspicion of murder was released without charge in January.
A Wexford GP has been accused of professional misconduct over social media posts criticising measures and restrictions introduced by the health authorities during the covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Billy Ralph, who runs his own practice at The Ballagh Health Centre in Enniscorthy, faces six separate counts of professional misconduct at a medical inquiry over comments he posted on Twitter (now X) between October 2020 and June 2022.

They included a claim that various public health initiatives to contain the spread of covid-19 were all bullshit".

The fitness-to-practise inquiry held by the Medical Council heard the allegations relate to tweets by Dr Ralph which were critical of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) and covid-19 vaccinations, particularly for children.

Other allegations relate to the GPs promotion of ivermectin as a treatment for covid-19 and his opposition to facemasks and lockdowns as measures to restrict the spread of the virus.

Counsel for the Medical Council, Neasa Bird BL, claimed Dr Ralph made comments on social media which he knew or ought to have known were inappropriate and undermined public health guidelines.

Details of 34 individual tweets by Dr Ralph were outlined to the committee, including a post from November 2021 stating some children watching the Toy Show tonight will receive the covid jab and will not see another Christmas which he linked to lies by scientists, government, doctors, and RTE.

The inquiry heard that two months later, the GP described any parents who signed their child up for a pointless and dangerous product as a vile individual, while claiming any doctors administering the vaccine should be brought before the courts if an adverse event occurs".

Other tweets included claims that Nphet was a liability which caused a bigger second wave of cases by introducing masks, social distancing, and lockdowns".

He separately claimed there was no pandemic but just a lot of misguided fascist professionals who have lost the run of themselves".

In November 2021, Dr Ralph suggested that ivermectin  a prescription medicine used to treat parasitic infections such as head lice  could end this pandemic as well as the careers of many doctors, academics and politicians".

GP's arguements

At the outset of the hearing on Tuesday, the GP welcomed clarification that the allegations against him related solely to social media posts and not to any clinical matter.

Dr Ralph argued that disagreeing with Nphet policy did not equate to falling short of the standards expected of medical practitioners, and claimed any allegation of harm or risk he had caused must be clearly pleaded and proven".

The inquiry heard that Dr Ralph had told the Medical Council in correspondence that his social media posts and other longer publications were no business of theirs.

He said his Twitter account stated clearly that his comments were not medical advice and that HSE guidelines during the pandemic should be followed.

Dr Ralph said articles he had published on the Cassandra Voices website were critiques of accepted wisdom which in any sane society would be valued and not used as examples of heresy.

He stated he would continue to write about what he considered injustices and consensus views driven by undisclosed conflicts of interest and anti-science thinking.

The GP said he would not be bullied into forelock tugging submission because of a mendacious complaint against him.

The inquiry was also informed that the number of followers of the GPs Twitter account increased from 4,557 in June 2022 to 5,753 by August 2022.

He told the regulatory body that his practice had grown since April 2021 by 600 patients fleeing from their previous GPs  a figure which had subsequently increased to 900.

He stressed that he had given the covid-19 vaccine to all at-risk patients.

However, the GP said his views were always guided by science and not dogma and scientism".

Dr Ralph told the Medical Council that he wanted the charade to be over and claimed he would happily expose its petty censorship and bullying in the High Court.

Medical Council's arguements

Ms Bird acknowledged that Dr Ralph had a constitutional right to freedom of expression which included questioning strategies adopted during the covid-19 pandemic.

However, she said it was not an absolute right and was one that is subject to public order and morality.

Ms Bird argued the timeframe of the social media posts by the GP was important and relevant as they were published during a global pandemic when the path of the virus could not be known and when its containment required significant public health interventions.

While she accepted that none of the allegations related to Dr Ralphs clinical practice, Ms Bird said his tweets were bound up in his standing and conduct as a medical practitioner and that he relied on his knowledge as a GP in making such comments.

Mr Bird said the views of a doctor on such matters would also carry weight and influence, while noting that guidelines imposed a responsibility on GPs to use words that were appropriate and which did not undermine public health guidelines.

She also claimed that Twitter was not a forum for complex discussions on matters of public health". Dr Ralph called on the inquiry committee to ensure that all tweets were read in context as some were responses to other posts, while others were pouring water on flames".

The inquiry, which is scheduled to last three days, was adjourned and will resume on Thursday at 10am.
Ryanair has hit out nimbys living near Dublin Airport and said local residents claims of excessive noises from flights are bogus.

For its opening statement ahead of its appearance at the Oireachtas transport committee on Wednesday, the airline prepared a PowerPoint presentation calling on the Government to scrap its unlawful passenger cap.

It said that if the cap is not abolished, then the number of passengers at Dublin Airport must be cut, meaning fewer flights and higher fares, while it would lose new Ryanair routes to the UK and other EU states.

The transport committee is continuing its hearings on the Governments proposed legislation that would allow the transport minister powers to revoke or amend Dublin Airports 32 million passenger cap directly, rather than through the planning system.

The committee has heard from a range of stakeholders, with local residents telling members last week that the legislation offers no plan for those already living near the airport, many of whom have long raised concerns about noise and the health impacts of flight paths.

"I grew up on our family farm, which has been in our family for three generations and pre-dates the opening of Dublin Airport, said Liam OGradaigh from the St Margarets The Ward Residents Group.

We did not move to the noise; the noise moved to us. There is no getting away from the noise and air pollution.

Ryanair, in its submission to the Oireachtas committee, dismisses the local noise claims.

Dublin Airport opened in Jan 1940  86 years ago!!, it says. Local nimbys moved in 1998 to 2020.

Those who move/live near airport cant block [national] growth.

Ryanair says the noise in areas such as Ashbourne, Ballyboughal, and St Margarets are within quiet, moderate, and general safe ranges.

The schedule for the committee hearing on Wednesday has Ryanair DAC chief executive Eddie Wilson listed as attending, rather than group CEO Michael OLeary.

'Historic anachronism'

Aer Lingus, meanwhile, will tell the committee that the existing passenger cap is a historic anachronism that needs to be urgently removed and warned that delays could see significant capacity cuts next summer.

If the passenger cap were actually enforced, it would require a reduction of approximately 4.4 million passengers through Dublin Airport  over 12% of the current traffic, it will state.

That would have a catastrophic impact on connectivity, on the airport, and on the wider Irish economy.

Any delay materially increases the risk of enforced capacity reductions. This risk is particularly acute in respect of summer 2027.

'National consequences'

Airlines for America, which represents the likes of American Airlines, Delta, and United, will sound similar warnings.

Constraining that connectivity is not a marginal policy choice, it will tell the committee.

It carries national consequences. The loss of 4 million passengers as a result of enforcement of the passenger cap would cost the Irish economy between $4bn-$6bn, according to our estimates, driven by foregone visitor spending in Dublin and wider knock-on effects across the Irish economy.

The lobby group will also warn that if market access is constrained, then it could trigger retaliatory measures from the US government that would impact both sides of the Atlantic.

This is ultimately a choice about Irelands position in the global aviation market  and about whether its primary gateway can operate in line with demand and with the agreements it has signed, it will conclude. We believe the answer should be yes.
The board overseeing the development of the new National Childrens Hospital has said contractor BAM could face 40m in charges because of delays to the project.

The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) will tell the Oireachtas Health Committee that it is exercising all rights and remedies to ensure the construction firm achieves completion of the project.

NPHDB chief officer David Gunning will tell the committee that the board had previously issued an employer's claim to seek damages from BAM over the delay.

Based on BAMs forecasted completion date of April 30, the NPHDB has estimated potential liquidated damages for the works to be 40,207,143, Mr Gunning is due to say.

However, BAM has pushed back on the cost outlined by the NPHDB, saying it does not recognise the figure.

There is an ongoing contractual process dealing with change, extensions of time, contract administration, and the final value of the project, a spokesperson for BAM said.

In the opening statement, Mr Gunning will tell TDs to achieve the April 30 completion date, BAM must deliver over 400 rooms each week.

As of March 20, 3,726 of the 5,728 rooms have been offered by BAM to the design team to validate compliance with the contract standard, Mr Gunning is due to say.

As of March 20, 2,854 of the 5,728 rooms have been validated as meeting the contract standard."

Mr Gunning will also say the contractor has delayed its programme 18 times since work began in 2019.

However, BAM rejected these accusations, saying the project has evolved in response to instructed design changes and additional scope during the project.

Each updated completion date reflects these new changes and the resulting need to reprogramme the works, rather than any failure of performance.

Mr Gunning will say that the NPHDB will not accept the new Childrens Hospital if it is not in compliance with existing regulations and standards.

The NPHDB and Children's Health Ireland (CHI0 have undertaken due diligence studies and considered lessons learnt from other large international and complex hospitals, he is due to say. These reviews have evidenced that unresolved compliance issues can cause operational disruptions and safety risks for patients.

It comes a week on from a meeting between the health minister, HSE, NPHDB and Royal BAM, the Dutch parent firm of the Irish arm, where Jennifer Carroll MacNeill sought assurances that the contractor would meet the April 30 deadline.

The meeting particularly focused on ensuring the NPHDB gets access to the so-called hot block of the hospital, which contains laboratories, theatres, and critical care rooms.

Mr Gunning will tell TDs that, during the meeting, Bam committed to provide a resource-loaded close-out plan to achieve completion by April 30.

The NPHDB is committed to and is doing everything in its power to compel Bam to conclude its work and fulfil its contractual responsibilities, so that the National Children's Hospital Ireland is completed to the standard set out in the contract as soon as possible and handed over to CHI for operational commissioning, Mr Gunning will conclude.
The sister of Scarlett Faulkner has appealed for prayers as her family awaits an update on her condition today.

The 29-year-old Limerick woman suffered critical head injuries in an attack at a roadside location outside Birdhill village at around 5.30pm on Saturday.

Gardai are looking to question a number of men and women in connection with the attack on the young mother Co Tipperary, last Saturday.

She remained critically ill last night at Cork University Hospital, where she was taken after being initially airlifted from the scene by a Coast Guard rescue helicopter to University Hospital Limerick.

Ms Faulkner is the mother of a six-year-old daughter.

On social media on Monday night, Ms Faulkner's sister Victoria thanked people for their support and prayers. She asked for continued prayers as the family awaited our answer this morning, she said.

Pavee Point said it sends our deepest support to Scarlett and her family following the abhorrent assault she suffered in Co Tipperary on Saturday evening.

A statement from the organisation added: We hope that she makes a full recovery from this unspeakable attack.

The organisation urged anyone with information about those involved in the incident to contact gardai.

It added: Such appalling acts of violence towards women, including Traveller and Roma women, should not be tolerated and those responsible held accountable for their actions. Our thoughts are with Scarlett and her family.

Video footage of the attack was widely shared on social media. Gardai have appealed to people not to share the footage.

Following the incident, gardai appealed for information on the movements of a grey 162 Ford Transit van and a blue 161 Volkswagen Touran people carrier, which were seen travelling in convoy or driving dangerously between 4.30pm and 5.30pm on Saturday in and around Birdhill.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Nenagh Garda Station on (067) 50450, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
Young mother of two Daena Walsh was found in her burning Midleton apartment with 25 knife wounds in August 2024.

Her partner, Adam Corcoran  the father of her children  was found guilty of her murder last week and will serve a life sentence.
The long-delayed demolition of Chris and Rose Murrays illegally constructed house in County Meath is just another example of Ireland's ongoing problem with the principle and practice of town planning.

In Meath, the Murrays built a 588 sq m house  five times the size of an average new house  in wilful breach of the planning laws, having been refused planning permission for a house half that size.

The Meath home built without planning permission. Photo: Barry Cronin

For years they have done their utmost to challenge Meath County Council and the courts in their determination that the house was illegal and needed to be removed. Their final roll of the dice was to propose using the house as social housing, but to be occupied by them at council rents for the next three years.

In Sutton, Co. Dublin, Phillip Farrelly built an unauthorised 129 sq m extension described by neighbours as a monstrosity. There followed more court cases, finally ending in the Circuit Civil Court ordering its demolition in March 2026.

Read More End of the line for unauthorised Meath house as demolition finally gets under way

Theyre not alone. Over many decades, many people  including politicians  have spent a lot of energy ignoring, abusing, and misusing the system. A growing number of people are building now, seeking forgiveness later.

Workmen at the house in Co Meath on Friday which is at the centre of the 20-year legal battle. Photo: Leah Farrell/ RollingNews.ie

Retention planning permission allows for applicants to correct minor errors in previous applications.

In the last two years over 11,000 applications for retention planning permission were submitted, many for minor errors but also for gyms, house extensions, garages, apartments, log cabins and even entire houses. Of these applications, 55% were granted and just 8% were refused.

Disrespect for planning system

A lack of understanding and respect for the planning system has a long history.

In the 1930s, Eamon de Valera referred to town planning as a seductive profession.

But TK Whittaker, Secretary General of the Department of Finance appreciated the necessity of Ireland having modern planning legislation to overcome potential constraints for 2% per annum economic growth, and de Valera duly signed the Planning and Development Act 1963.

This introduced the concept of planning permission.

Trucks and workmen at the house in Co Meath on Friday which is at the centre of the 20-year legal battle. Photo: Leah Farrell/ RollingNews.ie

Unelected council officials determining who could build what, and where, prompted Labour Party TD Patrick Hogan to contend that only dictators made good planners.

Facilitated by corrupt payments to politicians, large tracts of land were rezoned in the 1990s to make the owners very wealthy. Facilitated by tax breaks, the Celtic Tiger later saw thousands of houses built where there was no demand for them leading to ghost estates.

In 2002, the 20-year National Spatial Strategy (NSS) was introduced to allow Ireland to develop strategically.

Wholly undermining the NSS, a year later minister for finance Charlie McCreevy announced his plan to move 10,922 public servants from 48 departments and agencies in Dublin to 53 locations in 25 counties, only some of which had been designated a gateway or a hub in the NSS.

This included moving the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to a greenfield site at Knock Airport.

Drawn up in secret by Charlie McCreevy, Bertie Ahern, Mary Harney and Martin Cullen, there was no consultation, no evidence of any national benefit, no assessment of how it would affect government departments, workers or families, or alignment with other policies.

John Bruton described it as the single greatest act of administrative and political vandalism since the foundation of the state.

In 2006, developer Michael Bent was fined 400 by the District Court for assaulting a town planner at a nightclub in Scariff, County Clare, having been refused planning permission for a marina development.

Odhran (left) and Tadhg Murray next to at articulated trailers blocking the entrance to the house in question. Photo: Barry Cronin

Pushing the planner in the chest, he said: You've interfered in my life, and you don't like me interfering in yours now do you? He had previously superglued himself to the doors of Clare County Council in protest at an earlier refusal.

In 2016, as minister for housing, Simon Coveney introduced the Strategic Housing Development process where applications of more than 100 units went straight to An Bord Pleanala for decision.

With no avenue for appeals, his initiative unsurprisingly led to the rise of judicial reviews the government is now, somewhat ironically, so frustrated with.

Over the last six years the Planning Regulator (OPR) has tried to prevent councillors from rezoning for development 288 sites on floodplains.

Limerick City and County Council received the highest number of formal directions, relating to eight sites that councillors zoned for development against the advice of the OPR. In 30 instances councillors gave the regulator two fingers, and the OPR had to ask the minister to intervene.

The purpose of the planning system

Planning legislation has also become much more complex especially with European directives, environmental targets and case law while increasing complexity has led to the planner-as-consultant industry.

At its core, planning is about making things better. Its roots lie in public health  improving conditions, particularly clearing slums where diseases killed thousands each year  which was in the title of the current Department of Housing from 1924 to 1947.

Trucks and workmen at the house in Co Meath on Friday which is at the centre of the 20-year legal battle. Photo: Leah Farrell/ RollingNews.ie

It is also about making provision for the future, balancing social, environmental and physical needs.

As housing delivery has become market-dependent, planning has also come to referee the priorities of the development industry  mostly profits  and the priorities of society such as welfare, health, equity, poverty, and community.

Planning has still not proven amenable to the Irish political system with its emphasis on the national, and electoral politics being rooted in the local.

The result is a permanent tension between policy and practice, central and local government, and the individual and the State.

In general, planning has worked well, its weakness being it can only permit development, not direct it to happen. About 88% of planning applications are approved annually, but many approvals never get built.

The latest government plan to allow the minister for public expenditure and infrastructure to recommend specific planning applications as critical infrastructure for fast-track processing by An Coimisiun Pleanala appears similar to the SHD process, which did not end well.

Dr Lorcan Sirr: 'A lack of understanding and respect for the planning system has a long history.'

The planning system is not perfect but never will be given its complexity and under-resourcing.

Neither is the system helped by the time, effort and sensitivities of chasing through the courts those who choose to ignore it such as the Murrays.

The message sent by ordering the demolition of their house and Farrelly's extension is a strong, but necessary, one for maintaining confidence in the system.

However, if elected representatives have little appreciation, understanding or regard for it, then is it any surprise that so few others do too.
Day eight

Life these days feels like a tender, thin green sprout emerging in early spring; the sounds of fighter jets and explosions outside our walls are an absolute darkness  a brutal monster that disregards this green stalk and tears it out by the roots.

The most tangible sign of my helplessness against the war is practicing breathing techniques, muscle relaxation, intentional limb shaking, and taking those cold showers.

It feels as though Im wearing a circus clowns costume in the middle of a massive ruin filled with death and destruction, trying to protect a mental health that doesnt even exist.

Tonight was one of the bad ones; the explosions were continuous, close, and long. My grandmother called to say that when they hit the IRCG [Islamic revolutionary guard] housing complex near her home, the shockwave blew their doors open.

Terrified, they poured into the street, bewildered and waiting for someone to wake them from this nightmare. She wont come to our house and said she will stay awake until morning to see what happens; she told my mom her only fear is being blown to pieces and having her remains pulled from the rubble.

I thought about this apocalyptic, inhumane image and whispered to myself: At that point, we wont even realize. Were dead.

The crazy H sent a photo to the group tonight showing the Blue Shield International symbol being installed on historical and cultural sites to protect them from airstrikes.

She asked: Do you guys know where they sell these? I want a few for personal use  I want to pin one on myself. She joked: Im a piece of cultural heritage with a 30-year history.

We decided to have some mass-produced so we could each wear one.

Day nine

I was finally able to translate my writings into English using AI and send them to a few loved ones. Since the start of the war, Ive had this worry and sadness that I might leave this world silently without saying a word.

Now, my heart feels at ease knowing people have read me and understood what has happened to us. Its foolish that my only regret was this lack of writing and not being heard.

I wrote to my dear Y that I feel the most important thing I want to do in life is write a book. With their usual kindness and sweetness, Y assured me that I would write it one day soon.

Whenever I message my Iranian friends abroad  I remember the days when the last war broke out in Iran while I was abroad.

A few days ago, M asked: Youve experienced both sides; which one is harder? I wrote back that they are two separate, incomparable hells. Each is difficult and dark in its own way; neither is easier than the other.

When I was not in Iran, my internal reality didnt match the outside world; I was falling apart, yet everything out there followed its normal routine.

I would get angry at the people, the city, and nature  at how they acted as if my people werent under fire somewhere far away and as if there wasnt a turmoil within me.

That disharmony between the outside and inside was consuming me. I felt guilty about everything: that I could sleep without the sound of bombs while my family couldnt, or that I could buy and use certain things while they couldnt.

Now that I am inside the country, my inside and outside are the same. Everything has fallen apart; everything is war-like. Hardly anyone is doing well, and we all understand each other.

I feel less guilt now. Though, because they hit Tehran more often, I still feel bad that my friends are there while I am in Karaj.

But the point is, I can no longer leave my phone at home, go out, wander in nature for hours, and pretend no war is happening. I no longer have that rented, unstable peace I had when I was outside Iran.

Because of this, when I see the spring trees blossoming or hear birds singing, I am largely happy that spring is indifferent to human suffering and just does its work. It serves as a reminder to me that somewhere, light and peace still exist.

This afternoon, when my brother was going to the gym, he took food for the carpark cats. As soon as he opened the front door, he called for me.

I went and saw Edgar Allan Poe  the dearest cat of our car park  had come up four levels and was acting cute to get some affection.

I wondered if, because of the acid rain caused by the oil depots catching fire, his instinct told him to seek shelter with us. My heart remains with all the homeless birds and cats of the city in this apocalyptic situation.

Day eleven and twelve

When the previous twelve-day war began, I was abroad and started reading the book Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II. It is a relatively thick book based on interviews and historical documents.

During those days of war, I took the book with me everywhere I went, constantly thinking about European countries and their people during those days of blood and madness.

I thought about the capacity of each person to endure such a situation, and how many were unable to bear it and bid farewell to life.

Since last night, the nerve pains have returned. I move the fingers of my left hand with pain; they shoot with pain and wont bend, and I know it is from nervous tension.

All I know is that both we, the people, and our country are utterly alone in this damned world.

For two days, the sound of explosions hasnt been very close. Only yesterday, near the morning call to prayer, they bombed somewhere far away nine times in a row.

I was sitting on my bed, not even raising my head, just counting: one, two, three... nine. Later, I wrote in our group on that domestic messenger: They hit here nine times; they might have headed toward Tehran.

Then I thought about which day these hellish sounds became normal, to the point where we dont even jump anymore.

I think tonight Ill watch the final episode of the Korean series Can This Love Be Translated? H just finished it too, and at night we both gush over Kim Seon-ho, my favorite actor  how sweet he is and how well he acts.

I wish the production team of this Korean drama knew what a sanctuary they have become for our wounded souls these days.
Air strikes have battered Iran's capital and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel's Tel Aviv and sites across the Middle East, even as president Donald Trump said the US was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.

With thousands more US marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing intense barrages, and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the war's tempo remained high a day after Mr Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran's chokehold on the crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and threatened the world economy.

The Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the US Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, Reuters reported on Tuesday, adding to a massive US military buildup.

Mr Trump has also claimed that Iran agreed they will never have nuclear weapons.

Speaking to reporters while swearing in Markwayne Mullin as new homeland security secretary, he said Iran was talking to us and theyre talking sense".

He continued: It all starts with they cannot have a nuclear weapon, adding: I dont want to say in advance, but theyve agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon. Theyve agreed to that.

Talks would face challenges

Pakistan offered to host diplomatic talks, but Iran remained defiant, vowing to fight "until complete victory".

Any talks between the US and Iran  which appeared at the most tentative on Tuesday  would face monumental challenges.

Many of Washington's shifting list of objectives  particularly over Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes  remain difficult to achieve.

Meanwhile, it is not clear who in Iran's government would have the authority to negotiate  or be willing to, particularly as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.

Iran remains highly suspicious of the US, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the February 28 strikes that started the current war.

Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X that his country is ready to "facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks" to end the Iran war.

The US had agreed "in principle" to join talks in Pakistan, according to sources, while mediators were still working to convince Iran.

One diplomat from the region said the talks could happen this week or early next week, and that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to represent the US.

The Pakistani officials said the "quiet diplomacy" had grown more complicated since news of it leaked.

When asked about potential talks in Pakistan, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was a "fluid situation", adding that "speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House".

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi's office said he has been talking about the war this week with his counterparts in several countries.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf called the idea of negotiations "fakenews"  and the spokesman of Iran's top military command issued a newly defiant statement.

"Iran's powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Iran's integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory," Iranian state television quoted Major General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi as saying on Tuesday.

Gen Aliabadi did not say what "complete victory" would look like, but it appeared likely Iran's military was trying to warn against offering concessions in any possible negotiations.

A woman passes an army soldier at the site where an intercepted missile fell in Sahel Alma, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday, March 24. Picture: Hassan Ammar/AP

The Egyptian official said efforts are centred on "trust-building" between the US and Iran, with the aim of bringing about a pause in the fighting.

Israel is not involved.

The official, who is involved in the efforts, said the priority is to prevent attacks on both Iran's and Gulf Arab countries' energy infrastructure and that they were working on a "mechanism" for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks.

But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back over $100 a barrel on Tuesday, up nearly 40% since the war started.

Kharg Island speculation

Mr Trump's announcement came as a contingent of thousands of marines is on the way to the region, raising speculation that the US may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to the country's oil network.

The US bombed the island in the Persian Gulf more than a week ago, hitting its defences but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.

Iran has threatened to mine the Persian Gulf if the US appears to be on the verge of landing troops.

That would complicate an amphibious assault and also imperil all shipping in the area.

Mr Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Iran's power stations while talks unfold  a delay that could be timed to coincide with the arrival of US marines in the region, expected on Friday, wrote the New York-based think tank the Soufan Centre in an analysis.

It also noted that "Trump could be actively seeking an offramp. Whether Iran reciprocates is yet to be seen".

Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.

Strikes on 'production sites'

Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian "production sites", without providing more information.

In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighbourhoods and another in the centre of the city.

Iran also fired at least 10 waves of missiles at Israel.

First responders said a 40 year-old man was in a moderate condition and a woman and two-month-old baby suffered minor wounds in an attack in southern Israel.

In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100kg warhead evaded Israeli defences to slam into a street in the centre of the city, blowing out windows of a neighbouring apartment building and sending smoke billowing.

Four people suffered minor wounds, rescue service worker Yoel Moshe said.

Emerging from a shelter, Amir Hasid said he expected the scene to be far worse.

"It feels like you're a (sitting) duck, waiting for the missiles to hit you, or someone next to you," he said.

In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours.

A Moroccan civilian contractor with the United Arab Emirates' armed forces was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack, the UAE Defence Ministry said.

In Kuwait, power lines were hit by air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours.

Saudi Arabia said it destroyed Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday, saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.

A strike on a residential apartment south east of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a three-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Another five people were killed in the south.

In northern Israel, a woman was killed by shrapnel during an attack from Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanon declared Iran's ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave by Sunday.

The dramatic move offers the latest evidence of the deterioration in relations between Lebanon and Iran.

Iranian flights have been banned from landing in Lebanon, out of fear that they would carry weapons or funding for Hezbollah, and some Lebanese government officials have been critical of Tehran's role in the country, accusing it of dragging the country into another war with Israel.

Israel has said that some of its strikes have targeted guard officials operating in the country.

Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million.

Iran's death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said.

In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes.

At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.

AP, Guardian, Reuters
By Yakov M. Rabkin, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Montreal and the author, most recently, of Israel in Palestine and Zionism Decoded in 101 Quotes

President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark His return to Earth. This is how, amid the escalating war against Iran, Christian Zionists are indoctrinating deployed US troops. They are presenting the attack on Iran as a holy war and a means of bringing about the Second coming of Christ. While Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has not explicitly endorsed this kind of propaganda, his viewsand those of many other members of the Trump administrationbroadly align with them. This manifests a strong influence of Christian Zionists.

The idea of gathering the worlds Jews in their mythical homeland was advanced by evangelical Christians centuries before it was taken up by secular Jews at the end of the 19th century. However, religious Jews and the most distinguished Jewish scholars long opposed the idea of a Jewish state, especially one in the Holy Land migration to which, according to Jewish tradition, should await the arrival of the Messiah.

Indeed, Zionism, to be more precise, Zionism avant la lettre, was not invented by Jews but by evangelical Protestants, starting in the 16th century. They pursued two aims: to bring Christ back to this world and to convert Jews to Christianity. This deep affinity with evangelical Protestant beliefs helps explain the massive support the State of Israel enjoys today in the United States and other countries, where evangelical Protestants number in the hundreds of millions and form an impressive pro-Israel force. Christian Zionists view the State of Israel through apocalyptic lenses, viewing it as a tool to provoke Armageddon and hasten the End of Days.

Zionism, initially a socialist-oriented secular project of radical transformation, has undergone sacralization, becoming a focal point of evangelical Christian Zionists as well as of followers of National Judaism (dati-leumi). Both see the hand of God in the Zionist enterprise. Thousands of teenagers have been brought up in the spirit of National Judaism with the conviction that the Land of Israel was the primary value within Judaism, which comes before anything else.

Similarities between Zionism and Protestantism are rooted in literalism, i.e., non-figurative and non-traditional interpretations of the Bible. According to the renowned Israeli historian Anita Shapira, there is a parallel between Protestantisms approach to sacred texts and the Jewish [Zionists] attitude to biblical literalism. A detailed historical account of this movement points to the earliest book to propose a Restoration of the Jews to Palestine published by an Anglican priest in 1585. It posited the centrality of creating a Jewish state as a means of fulfilling Christian prophecies.

Despite the total lack of interest on the part of Jews, Protestant belief in the Restoration of the Jews to the Promised Land became firmly implanted in the English-speaking lands on both sides of the Atlantic. Colonial interests reinforced biblical sensitivities. The idea of a Jewish state under British protectorate began circulating in Europe well before this idea attracted any significant number of Jews.

Important geopolitical considerations reinforced the purely religious zeal. Britain wanted West Asia to be a secure passage to India, and the coveted area was dubbed the Near East. The first British Consulate was inaugurated in Jerusalem in 1838. Two years later, the influential politician Lord Shaftesbury (1801-1885) published a memorandum to the Protestant monarchs of Europe, which transformed a theological project into a political one. As President of the London Jews Society, he strongly promoted the conversion of Jews to Christianity as a necessary step for their return to Palestine (Jewish restoration). Queen Victoria was personally approached with a plan to colonise the Holy Land with Jews while deporting the locals to create living space for Jewish settlers. This idea received additional impetus with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

It was William Hechler, the Anglican chaplain of the British Embassy in Vienna in the late 19th century, who greatly inspired Theodor Herzl, future founder of Zionism, to embark on the ingathering of Jews in Palestine. Hechlers Christian influence played a significant role in the Zionist awakening of the irreligious Herzl. Herzl initially wanted to convert the Jews of Vienna to Catholicism and only later embraced the ingathering of the Jews, firmly guided by Hechler, who urged him not to abandon his mission.

Pleas for the Restoration of the Jews were often accompanied with expressions of anti-Jewish sentiments. In the 19th century, when antisemitism emerged as a popular movement, its partisans could be found among the most enthusiastic supporters of the Zionist project. Herzl, who finally spread the gospel of Restoration to the Jews, considered antisemites his movements best friends and allies. Significantly, Lord Balfour (1848-1930), the author of the Balfour Declaration, had imposed limitations on the immigration of Jews to Britain a few years before declaring his countrys support for the Zionist project. Antisemitism and Zionism, far from being mutually exclusive, actually reinforce one another. This was one of the reasons why most Jews rejected Zionism when it appeared in the late 19th century.



Photo of Crusader Cross or Cross of Jerusalem, adopted as a symbol by Christian White nationalists like Hegseth; by George  on Unsplash



Unlike those who live in the Holy Land and who are intimately familiar with the conflict and its practical consequences  Christian Zionists relate to the conflict from afar as a spiritual matter. But even when some of them are transported to Jerusalem, they retain their strong beliefs. Mike Huckabee became a Baptist pastor long before President Trump appointed him U.S. ambassador to Israel. In a recent interview, he reiterated his belief that God had given the Jews all the land between the Nile and the Euphrates and added, it would be fine if they took it all. Neither the White House, nor the U.S. State Department has disavowed his statement.

This points to the significant presence of Christian Zionism in Washingtons corridors of power and, more generally, in American society. Benjamin Netanyahu, when he was Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in New York, actively cultivated links with Christian Zionists. This may be why he later boasted: I know what America is. America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. Americas participation in the war against Iran has proved Bibi right.






Monday, March 23, 2026 - President William Rutos daughter, Charlene, is reportedly in a serious relationship, with some reports suggesting possible wedding plans are at an advanced stage.

According to whispers circulating online, Charlene, who has largely kept her private life away from the public eye, is dating the son of Uasin Gishu Governor, Jonathan Bii.

Reports indicate that the relationship is politically motivated.

Charlene has in the past publicly expressed interest in settling down and starting a family.

At one time, she went viral after attending a crusade led by American preacher, Benny Hinn, where she requested prayers for marriage.

Her father has also publicly encouraged young people to consider marriage and family life.

Keep it here for more of this developing story.





The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, March 23, 2026 - A creative netizen has hilariously illustrated how competition among United Opposition leaders could inadvertently cost them the 2027 elections and hand President Ruto an easy second term.

Using the analogy of a busy bus terminus, the netizen depicts opposition figures Rigathi Gachagua, Kalonzo Musyoka and Fred Matiangi each with their own vehicles, aggressively haggling for passengers.

Each leader tries to convince a lone passenger - symbolizing the electorate - that their bus is the best choice to deliver victory in 2027.

Eventually, the passenger boards one of the buses, but disagreement over who should take the wheel forces her to alight.

Amid the confusion, Matiangi drives off without the passenger, leaving Kalonzo and Gachagua stranded - only to crash shortly after.

The satirical skit captures the growing perception of disunity within the opposition, with each leader insisting that they are best placed to challenge Ruto.

Analysts warn that unless the opposition settles on a single candidate, the prolonged wrangling could give Ruto a smooth path to re-election in 2027.

Watch the video>>> below

Who made this video bana? It's accurately describing the united opposition  pic.twitter.com/CX7otxRSE2  Manoti (@MwendiaJnr) March 22, 2026

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, March 23, 2026 - A viral video capturing a furious middleaged woman, popularly known as Mumama, confronting a young man popularly known as Ben 10, outside a Nairobi club has sparked a heated debate online.

In the clip, the young man is seen trying to explain why he doesnt want to accompany her home, but the Mumama refuses to hear any of his excuses.

She insists that after paying for his food, drinks and even shisha, she expected him to spend the night with her.

Making her position clear, she demands that the young man refunds all the money she spent, declaring that hakuna cha bure (nothing comes for free)

Shockingly, onlookers watched casually as she roughed him up, with no one stepping in to deescalate the situation.

The video has sparked widespread reactions, with netizens calling out the double standards in society.

Many argued that if the roles were reversed - if a man had publicly harassed a woman in the same manner - the outrage and consequences would have been immediate.

Others, however, dismissed the incident as a skit staged for clout.

Watch the video>>> below

Nairobi night club scenes isn't for the faint hearted. pic.twitter.com/iyZXsp0hJS  IVY (@ivymuthe) March 22, 2026

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, March 23, 2026 - A lady has reached out to blogger Edgar Obare accusing Kapseret Member of Parliament, Oscar Sudi, of neglecting parental responsibilities.

In her claims, she alleges that the vocal MP has left her to raise their child single-handedly despite his financial capability as one of the wealthiest lawmakers.

She further threatened to leak photos of the child, whom she claims bears a strong resemblance to the MP.

Sudi, a polygamist, is widely known for his romantic affairs with multiple women and is often linked to several baby mamas, some of whom are alleged to have been abandoned.





The Kenyan DAILY POST






Tuesday, March 24, 2026 - Mary Claire, the 24-year-old Seventh-day Adventist choir member, has spoken for the first time since surviving a brutal acid attack.

Claire is currently receiving treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital after being doused with acid while on her way home from work.

The attacker, identified as Lukas Ochieng, allegedly confessed that he was sent by Claires ex-boyfriend, Elvis Opiyo, who works with the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Both suspects have since been arrested.

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko visited Claire in hospital on Tuesday, March 24th, pledging to cover her medical bills and ensure she receives justice.

We will help you. I organised for the arrest of the man responsible; you will get justice.

These doctors are excellent, they have helped in far worse cases. You will regain your beauty, Sonko assured.

Adding: Even if it means flying her abroad for treatment, we shall do so to ensure she recovers fully. What was done to her is cruel, inhuman, and unacceptable.

If a relationship is not working, walk away. There is no excuse to harm or destroy someones life.

Claire revealed that she was feeling better and had even enjoyed a good nights rest.

She noted that only one of her eyes could see clearly, while the other was still under treatment.

Its a progressive process. We wash it and apply drugs. It might take time, but she will regain her sight, a healthcare worker explained.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, March 23, 2026 - The Nairobi Lighthouse Church has suspended Elvis Opiyo, a worship leader, after he was linked to a brutal acid attack that left his side chick, Claire, nursing serious injuries.

The church released a statement condemning the attack and noted that Elvis has been suspended from all church activities pending investigations.

According to reports, Opiyo is a married man with two children.

For several years, he had been stationed in Isiolo on assignment while his wife remained at home taking care of their family.

The victim is said to be a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church choir group known as Redemption Ministers.

Reports indicate that she had been in a relationship with Opiyo for nearly eight years while he was away from his family.

Sources claim that during that period, Opiyo supported Claire financially, reportedly paying her school fees from Form Four through university.

He is also said to have provided for her daily upkeep and occasionally supported her family, playing a significant role in her life and education.

However, the relationship allegedly created deep strain for Opiyos family.

His wife and children reportedly endured emotional distress for years as the affair continued.

According to accounts circulating online, tensions between the two women escalated, with Claire allegedly boasting about the relationship and referring to herself as Opiyos second wife.

The situation took a turn after Claire graduated last year.

She informed Opiyo that she had found another partner and no longer wished to continue the relationship, stating that she did not want to remain in a relationship as a second wife.

Reports suggest that the decision deeply affected Opiyo.

Attempts to reconcile the situation, including involving Claires parents, were unsuccessful.

Two months ago, sources claim that the emotional distress escalated to the point where Opiyo attempted to end his own life but survived.

Investigations indicate that the situation later turned violent when Claire was attacked with sulphuric acid, leaving her with severe injuries.

She is currently receiving treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital, where medical teams are working to stabilize her condition.

Below is a statement from the church.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Tuesday, March 24, 2026 - A beautiful female preacher has set social media abuzz after her video urging youths to register as voters in the Tuko Kadi challenge went viral.

The preacher, identified as Canon Carol Kiarie of the Anglican Church, passionately rallied Christians to take civic responsibility, declaring: We cannot pray bad leadership away.

In the clip, she states: Turn to your neighbour and ask them if they are Kadi, because on this side, sis tuko Kadi.

She goes on to emphasize: It is important that even as we congregate in churches to pray for our needs, we cannot pray away bad leadership. Tomorrow, lets congregate at IEBC offices and register as voters.

While her message was clear and powerful, the video quickly went viral for unexpected reasons.

Cheeky netizens, seemingly blown away by her beauty than her sermon, flooded the comment section asking for directions to her church.

Watch the video>>> and reactions below.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Tuesday, March 24, 2026 - Tiaty Member of Parliament, William Kamket, has accused Gertrudes Childrens Hospital of medical negligence following the death of his 13-year-old son, Bill Lorupe Ballot Kassait.

The boy died while receiving treatment at the Nairobi-based hospital and was laid to rest on March 23rd in Kositei, Baringo County.

Speaking during the funeral ceremony, Kamket alleged that doctors mishandled his sons case by administering drugs before conducting proper tests and delaying a chest X-ray.

He said the hospitals negligence and misdiagnosis led to his sons death.

Doctors are being careless; it has become a business, not treatment, Kamket said.

I will talk with regulators. I will talk with the Government.

His wife, Data Protection Commissioner, Immaculate Kassait, shared her sons final words: Mum, I love you. Mum, will I make it? Mum, am I dying?

Kamket, who serves as vice-chair of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee in Parliament, vowed to sue the hospital and pursue reforms to protect families who cannot and are suffering in silence.

The familys accusations have reignited debate over accountability in private hospitals.

Gertrudes Childrens Hospital, long regarded as a premier pediatric facility, has previously faced claims of negligence.

Watch the video>>> below

It took the death of his son for the untouchable mp tiaty kujua the negligence in hospitals.

Akitutumia goons 200 he wished us to end in the same hospitals ili tuende sayuni.pic.twitter.com/w7RwpnHQvy  wanjiru (@Wanjiru2027) March 24, 2026

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, March 23, 2026 - CCTV footage has emerged showing the moment two men broke into a womans house at Rundah Apartments in Ntharene, Meru County, making away with electronic appliances and cash.

The suspects used masking tape to alter their cars registration numbers.

Despite the attempt to conceal their identity, their faces were captured clearly on camera.

The victim has since appealed to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to track down the culprits.

Sharing the footage on social media, Lawyer Wahome Thuku condemned the incident, writing:

On Friday night they broke into a single mothers house at Rundah Apartments in Ntharene, Meru County and got away with a TV and cash.

They used a car with fake registration numbers.

Please call them to a meeting and tell them its only a matter of time before their bodies are brought home in cheap coffins and their relatives will be all over crying, explaining how they were not criminals.

The footage has sparked public outrage online, with many calling for swift action against the suspects.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, March 23, 2026 - A video>>> has surfaced online showing flamboyant Zimbabwean businessman, Wicknell Chivayo, spending about $380,000 (around Ksh49 million) on tailor-made designer clothes from luxury fashion brand, Dolce & Gabbana.

In the clip, Chivayo is heard casually discussing the price of one outfit, which cost more than $11,000 (about Ksh1.5 million).

Chivayo, who has long courted controversy over alleged involvement in multi-million-dollar scandals and money laundering in Zimbabwe, is a close associate of President William Ruto.

He has been a frequent visitor to State House Nairobi and Rutos private residence in Sugoi.

Recent revelations show that Chivayo is among controversial foreigners holding a Kenyan passport.

He has also been granted unrestricted access to sensitive areas at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), including the airside and tarmac.

WATCH | A video has surfaced showing Wicknell Chivayo spending about 330,000 (around US$380,000) on tailor-made clothes from the luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana for his wardrobe. In the video, he is heard discussing the price of one outfit, which cost more than 10,000 (around pic.twitter.com/uNK98vyVpl     (@CrimeWatchZW) March 20, 2026

The Kenyan DAILY POST
Total convictions for drug offences in our District Court system rose from 5,202 in 2024 to 5,440 in 2025  a five per cent increase nationwide, however the Naas District is bucking this trend, down from 190 in 2024 to 149  a fall of 22 per cent.

These figures were revealed to MEP for Ireland South Cynthia Ni Mhurchu.who has warned that these figures are only the tip of the iceberg, saying they point to a broader rise in drug use in Ireland that must be confronted head on.

Whilst district court drug convictions in many Irish towns have remained relatively stable or declined, some towns and counties in Ireland have recorded significant rises in the number of people convicted in our district court system on drugs offences.

Dublin topped the table of drug offence convictions, with 2,071 people convicted of drug offences in the capital in 2025 - up 11 per cent on 2024.

Cork was in second place with 504 convictions for drug offences in 2025, but down seven per cent on 2024.

Drug convictions in our District Courts are well above pre-pandemic levels (2019), with 2021 recording the highest number While most counties or District Court offices recorded falls in the number of persons convicted on drugs offences between 2024 and 2025, some District Court areas recorded massive jumps. That included Tullamore (+180%), Roscommon (+100%), Portlaoise (+95%), Clonmel (+27%), Mallow (+27%) and Waterford (+17%).

Clonakilty recorded the biggest fall in the number of people convicted for drug offences between 2024 and 2025, falling by 50 per cent.

Dundalk, Ballina, Carlow and Letterkenny also recorded significant falls in the number of people convicted for drug offences between 2024 and 2025.

Other notable trends in the figures include a sharp decline in the number of drug convictions in West Cork (Clonakilty district court office) but a surge in drug convictions in the Midlands (Tullamore District Court office +180%) Portlaoise (+95%) and Longford (+24%).

Ni Mhurchu, a former barrister, said the disparity in drug convictions across District Court offices warrants investigation.

She added that drugs in the community are a major concern raised by parents, community leaders, pub owners, and Gardai. The MEP has also previously highlighted a 37 per cent year-on-year rise in drug-driving offences. The figures show that a small number of people were convicted in 2025 for attempting to smuggle drugs into prisons.
Ottoline Spearman

The EU and Australia have agreed to a free-trade deal, concluding almost a decade of talks.

The conclusion of negotiations for the agreement was announced Tuesday in Canberra by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ursula von der Leyen, the EUs top executive.

This is a comprehensive, balanced and commercially meaningful agreement which will reduce costs for Australian consumers and open new markets for Australian producers, Albanese told reporters. It is win-win. It eliminates tariffs on key Australian exports including wine, seafood and horticulture.

The deal has been welcomed by Fianna Fail MEP Billy Kelleher, who described the deal as "good for both sides" and has said that "it should be supported by all".

"Trade deals of this nature, like the EU-India deal, bring benefits to both sides and recommit participants to a rules-based international order that is consistent, fair and clear," Kelleher said.

Ireland was right to oppose Mercosur for our own particular reasons. I do not believe the same issues arise with the Australian deal - MEP Billy Kelleher

The free-trade deal concludes almost a decade of talks as the two sides push to tighten ties and renew a rules-based order that is under assault from the Trump administration.

Once the text is adopted by the European Council it will need to be signed by both sides and then ratified by their respective parliaments to enter into force, according to a statement from the European Commission.

Kelleher said: Ireland was right to oppose Mercosur for our own particular reasons. I do not believe the same issues arise with the Australian deal, and I firmly believe there should be no hesitation from the Irish Government when it comes to supporting it in principle as we await full ratification.

Ireland lives and dies by free and fair trade. We are an open, global trading economy. Deals of this nature are a boon for countries like Ireland.

Add in the fact that Ireland is without doubt the EU country most closely connected both politically, culturally and soon, economically with Australia, then we are on to a real winner.

Ireland lives and dies by free and fair trade. We are an open, global trading economy. Deals of this nature are a boon for countries like Ireland - Kelleher

Kelleher said he is calling for people to "publicly get off the fence" and "put their money where their mouth is" to support the deal.

No trade deal is 100 per cent perfect. Both sides need to compromise but the issues that caused me to oppose Mercosur do not apply in this deal.

I have significantly more confidence in the quality and safety of Australian food products and there is no risk of deforestation or displacement of indigenous populations.

It must be full steam ahead. We all need to diversify our markets and protect ourselves from political and economic shocks in our existing export markets, said Kelleher.

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee has welcomed announcement.

"The Australian market is an attractive option for Irish exports and this trade deal will deliver areas of tariff reduction that will benefit Irish industry across a wide range of sectors, while also opening the Australian services market to the EU.

"I am very keen to see the Irish-Australian trade and economic relationship fulfil its potential.

It is estimated that EU exports to Australia will increase by 33 per cent over the next decade, and McEntee said that "Irish companies will be at the heart of this.
PATIENTS, residents, staff and families from St Vincent's Hospital, Athy enjoyed a memorable and uplifting day out this week during a group visit to the Shackleton Museum, completely sponsored by the museum.

Artist Cathy Callan, Eilish Burke, Sarah Davis and Liz Dempsey.

The museum sponsored free entry for 25 attendees from the hospitals day care and residential services, including family members and friends. Staff tickets were allocated through a special draw, allowing carers to accompany patients and residents on the trip.

An Bhearu Project in association with Creative Places Athy, St Vincents Hospital Patients, residents, staff, family and friends enjoyed a visit to Athys Shackleton Experience.

Artist, Cathy Callan said: The outing was a wonderful success, engaging and enthralling. We had a really fun time together and shared so many new experiences. Visitors were captivated by the historic artefacts, immersive exhibits and recordings of Shackletons voice played on an antique gramophone. A reconstruction of the explorers cabin and film installations were among the highlights.

Sarah Davis and Noel Devereux with the Arrol Johnston car

The trip was organised as part of An Bhearu, a Creative Communities Award project led by Cathy Callan and supported by Creative Places Athy in partnership with the Arts Council of Ireland and Kildare County Council.

Inspired by the nearby River Barrow and Athys traditions of storytelling and song, the project connects patients, staff and the wider community through creative exploration of memory, care and place.

I arranged the group visit with kind help from Sinead at the museum. Jenny Duggan and staff at the hospital then organised the trip, said Ms Callan.

Ms Callan said the initiative highlights how creativity can support wellbeing and social connection.

Attendees travelled carefully from the hospital to the museum with assistance from staff and a hospital bus driver. Photographer Aisling Hyland from Kildare Nationalist documented the occasion before the group embarked on a guided tour led by museum guides Lisa and Adam.

Visitors showed particular interest in the full-scale replica of Shackletons lifeboat, the James Caird, and exhibits exploring early Antarctic exploration, including a hot air balloon used for aerial observation.

Further outings are already being planned. The groups next trip will be a wheelchair-accessible barge excursion on the River Barrow led by local guide Cliff Reid of boattrips.ie, offering participants another opportunity to engage with nature and local heritage.
Kilkenny has emerged as the standout county at the inaugural Wedding Venue Awards, taking home six major titles - including Grand Prix for Langton's Hotel - on a night that recognised the very best wedding venues and teams across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

On Monday night (March 23) the inaugural Wedding Venue Awards by WeddingDates brought together Ireland and Northern Irelands leading wedding venues and teams for a sold-out evening celebrating the spaces where some of lifes most meaningful moments unfold.

More than 20,000 weddings take place across the island of Ireland each year. At the centre of each are venues that host moments that stay with people for decades. These venues are the settings where hundreds of thousands of people gather each year to celebrate love and connection.

READ NEXT: Kilkenny company makes two major leadership appointments

The Wedding Venue Awards 2026 recognised these venues and the teams behind them whose work shapes these experiences.

Were celebrating spaces where guests laugh at awkward best man speeches, shed a tear during father of the bride speeches, watch first dances with quiet emotion, and fill dancefloors when Rock the Boat inevitably plays," said Ciara Crossan.

Kilkenny winners shine

Kilkenny venues were recognised across a range of categories, highlighting both quality and consistency across the countys wedding offering.

READ NEXT: Recognise anyone in our Kilkenny faces of old gallery?

Kilkenny winners included:

Best Outdoor Venue  Mountain View, Kilkenny

Best City/Town/Urban Venue  Langton's Hotel Kilkenny, Kilkenny

Most Inclusive Wedding Venue  Langton's Hotel Kilkenny, Kilkenny

Best Wedding Hotel in Leinster  Newpark Hotel Kilkenny, Kilkenny

Best Wedding Coordinator/Team in Leinster  Langton's Hotel Kilkenny, Kilkenny

In addition, Langton's Hotel Kilkenny was awarded the overall Grand Prix, recognising it as the standout wedding venue across all categories.

Were recognising the teams behind those moments, they are the people who bring joy to thousands of couples every year and make each celebration feel special and they do it again and again consistently," Ciara Crossan said.

Winners of the Wedding Venue Awards were selected through a combination of public voting, an expert judging panel, and testimonials from couples who celebrated their weddings at each venue.

Our judges were particularly struck by couples reminiscing about their wedding day at these venues. The emotional connection people have to these places is very clear. They are not just locations, but anchors for some of the most enduring and meaningful memories in peoples lives.

A Strong Showing for Kilkenny

With five category wins and the overall Grand Prix, Kilkenny has firmly established itself as one of Irelands leading wedding destinations.

The awards reflect the diversity of venues across the island of Ireland: from castles and country houses to urban spaces and coastal destinations and these are alongside a growing demand for sustainable and inclusive wedding experiences.
The founder and CEO of Kilkenny-based company CloudMount, Stephen Dwyer, has been nominated for a prestigious accountancy award for his work helping companies avoid over 5 million in regulatory fines over the past year.

The nomination recognises his innovative approach to AI compliance through CloudMounts AI Turbine platform, which has delivered rapid, affordable compliance assessments to businesses across Ireland as the EU AI Act enforcement deadline approaches.

The company represents the countys growing reputation as a technology innovation hub, joining established tech employers such as CluneTech, TransferMate and UKG in the region.

Since launching CloudMount, Mr Dwyer has helped Irish and European companies navigate the complex requirements of the EU AI Act, which comes into full enforcement in August 2026. The platform identifies compliance gaps in AI systems  from recruitment algorithms to credit scoring tools  and generates regulator-ready documentation in days.

TAP HERE FOR MORE KILKENNY BUSINESS NEWS

Traditional compliance consultancy can cost 25,000 or more per project and take months to complete, said Mr Dwyer. We built the AI Turbine platform to make compliance accessible to Irish businesses at a fraction of that cost, with assessments delivered in a timeline ranging from weeks to minutes.

CloudMounts platform monitors 300 laws and regulations, updating nine times daily from official EU legal databases. This ensures companies remain compliant as regulations evolve, with monitoring, quarterly reviews, and automated alerts when laws change.

The AI Turbine platform covers EU AI Act requirements, GDPR, and UNESCO AI ethics standards, providing bias detection, transparency scoring, and complete audit trails that meet regulator expectations.

CloudMount is part of Kilkennys expanding technology sector, joining established companies like CluneTech, TransferMate, and UKG. Mr Dwyer says he aims to make Kilkenny the AI capital of Ireland.

This nomination is recognition not just of CloudMounts work, but of Kilkennys potential as a centre for technology innovation, Mr Dwyer said. Were proving that world-class compliance solutions can be built and delivered right here in the southeast.

CloudMount helps Irish companies achieve EU AI Act compliance quickly, affordably, and audit-ready through the AI Turbine platform and expert guidance. The company works closely with Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny.
Former All-Ireland winning captain, Andy Comerford has praised Kilkenny's 'leadership' and response to their heavy defeat to Galway in the Allianz Hurling League two weeks ago.

The 18 point loss was Kilkenny's largest since losing to Wexford in the 1954 Leinster senior hurling semi-final, with the three-time All-Ireland winning captain capturing national headlines for his scathing assessment of the performance. - CATCH-UP HERE

However, the O'Loughlin Gaels man was quick to commend the Cats' hard-earned draw with Tipperary in Semple Stadium last Saturday night.

"We left happy enough with the draw, (it) could have been worse, (we) could have been beaten by Tipperary, but (we) showed all the characteristics that we want to see in the team", Comerford told host Ciaran Neary on CRKC's TC Tyres World of Gaelic Games programme.

"They rolled up their sleeves, they got stuck in and got the result," he commented.

READ NEXT: 'I wouldnt say I'm too pleased' - Lyng offers honest Kilkenny assessment

But the well-known and respected voice on Kilkenny GAA was keen to use the positive upturn to issue a rallying cry to absentees for the 2026 season, Huw Lawlor and Billy Ryan, who set off on their travels Down Under at the beginning of the year.

"We need an uplift from other players. I don't know what the scenario is with these Australian guys, I was in Australia Ciaran, you see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and you see the beach. There's a beach in Tramore,"

"You're only going to get one crack at an All-Ireland here, wouldn't it be (a) great uplift for the panel to see these lads coming back and getting stuck in and rolling up their sleeves and doing it for TJ Reid to try and get him over the line.

READ MORE: More Kilkenny hurling and camogie stars painted to the walls of UPMC Nowlan Park

"Listen, as I said, Sydney Harbour Bridge, you see it, good luck," the former inter-county player and manager continued, adding, "get back and try and get this All-Ireland won and there is an opportunity. I'd be always of the opinion, you always have a chance with Kilkenny of winning the All-Ireland.

"Things are coming together, and they are starting to come together and will come together but you need personnel and you need probably one or two more lads to come from nowhere," he added.

"There were green shoots there on Saturday night, and bear in mind, Ciaran, I don't think Tipperary were at 100%, I think they were only at 80%," Comerford admitted but stressed that a 'bit of an uplift' could be key in determining how far Lyng's team can go this campaign.

FOR MORE KILKENNY GAA NEWS, CLICK HERE
With an official twinning between our namesake town, Kilkenny, Minnesota in its 13th year and direct flights from Ireland to Minneapolis-St Paul beginning in 2019, connections with the state known as the land of 10,000 lakes have been growing steadily over the past few decades.

This strengthening of ties extends to family connections as well, as ease of access to census information and genealogy allows long-separated clans to retrace the footsteps of their ancestors.

The extent of immigration patterns between Kilkenny and Minnesota and the discovery of lost relatives is exemplified by the story of the Walsh family; natives of Minneapolis whose forefathers travelled from Cranrue outside Paulstown to put down roots thousands of miles away in the American Uppermidwest.

The Walshes have only in recent years become aware of the Kilkenny branch of their family and 15 from Minnesota are travelling to Ireland this week to reunite its members on both sides of the Atlantic.

Dr David Walsh, an award winning psychologist, best-selling author and international speaker, knew that all four of his grandparents had emigrated from Ireland but didnt have any solid information about their identities.

READ NEXT: Over 100 people attend meeting on proposed windfarm in Kilkenny - Kilkenny Live

I knew that my grandparents on my fathers side came from Kilkenny, so my daughter and I went into the genealogy office and I said Id like to see if I could track down any relatives I still have here, David recalls.

They asked my surname and I said Walsh. Then they asked if I had any more information, I didnt and they wished me good luck because theres probably a thousand Walshes in Kilkenny, he adds.

After some more unsuccessful attempts to uncover his Kilkenny heritage, David encountered a stroke of good fortune when his brother-in-law Brian, who had developed expertise in genealogy, agreed to perform in-depth research on the Walsh family in Ireland.

He compiled a 100 page document complete with birth and marriage certificates along with photos to finally reveal the identities of the family.

Its just absolutely amazing and so based on his research, I was able to track down to my great-great grandfather with the documentation and Brian said that he thought I still had a number of cousins who live in County Kilkenny, David says.

Armed with this new information, David travelled to Kilkenny on a trip that also included his wife Monica, sister Joan, and Brian to find the ancestral farm and living relatives.

Having located some family graves at the Church of the Assumption in Paulstown, they were able to meet Liam Walsh of Cranrue, and after some family photos were produced, they were able to convince him that they were indeed relatives from thousands of miles away.

Just as much as the Minnesota section had been unaware of who their family in Ireland were, the same was true for the Kilkenny side, who didnt know what had happened to their grandfathers brother, past the fact that he had emigrated to the US in the late 19th century.

Davids sister Joan sadly passed away in 2014, but another trip with his brothers Kevin and Phillip, was taken in 2024 where even more previously unknown family members were discovered, travelling from across the country to meet the visitors for the first time.

Unbeknownst to us, they spread the word out to other cousins that we didnt even know we had, David reflects.

We walked in and there were over 40 Walshes; children of second cousins once and twice removed, little babies and people who had literally come from all over Ireland. One of them had driven down that morning from Belfast and it was just a wonderful experience.

Though Davids children have been interested in the links with Ireland, he says its his grandchildren who have been the ones to really push the increasing of the connections further between the next generations.

After some sustained cajoling, the discussions around another trip moved from nebulous to more concrete, with firm plans being made for 15 Walshes to travel from Minneapolis to Kilkenny.

Everybody took assignments, investigated airfare, car rentals and lodging. My job was to communicate with the cousins that I knew in Kilkenny. They all responded so positively that it all came together and it's going to happen this week, David outlines.

They plan to visit the family farm before a reunion with around 60 people expected to share introductions and stories, many for the first time.

Our adult kids and our grandkids are just so excited to meet cousins that they only know now by name and photos. Were really excited and looking forward to it, David concludes.

TAP HERE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS
Gaeltacht Summer Courses at Colaiste Naomh Eoin are described by The Irish Times as being The most Comprehensive, Enjoyable and Affordable Irish Courses in Ireland.

All courses run over a two-week period and are specially designed for both Primary & Secondary School Students.

Courses in Kilkenny College will take place from June 29, 2026 to July 10 2026.

will take place from June 29, 2026 to July 10 2026. Courses in Creagh College, Gorey, will take place between July 6, 2026 to July 17, 2026.

Colaiste Naomh Eoin has successfully established itself as Irelands leading Irish College and this has been achieved by providing our students with the best & most effective learning experience for over two decades.

We aim to inspire a love of the Irish language & culture by make learning Irish fun.

Throughout this time, Colaiste Naomh Eoin has established a proven record of effectively cultivating, encouraging and fostering all the worthwhile elements of the Irish language & culture.

We make every effort to introduce choice and strive to offer a wide range of activities to help develop a new positive perspective of the Irish language along with developing students fluency.

We understand that learning Irish can be a daunting experience for some students, so we continually revise and restructure our courses to provide the most modern teaching methods to benefit each student, irrespective of age or standard.

We often find that only within a matter of days into our courses, students are already thinking and talking as Gaeilge.

The success of the Colaiste Naomh Eoin is widely acknowledged and we now operate 28 Irish courses in 12 different locations throughout Leinster.

The success of the Colaiste Naomh Eoin is widely acknowledged and we now operate 28 Irish courses in 12 different locations throughout Leinster.

Book online today by visiting www.colaistenaomheoin.com or call 011985287.

*Sponsored Content
The New Year festivities have passed, but the lights in Shiting Village, Biyang Town, Yixian County, have not gone out. During the justconcluded Spring Festival, procession after procession of bamboorib lanterns lit up the ancient villages night sky  a morethan20meter dragon lantern threaded through the lanes, phoenix lanterns spread layered wings, and lively, compact zodiac lanterns dotted the streets. Tourists and villagers walked together carrying lanterns, celebrating an authentic Huizhou New Year in a tableau where the lanterns move among the people, and the people wander among the lanterns. Behind these lights stood a young returnee  Huang Xianhao. The Huang family has cultivated bamboorib craftsmanship for generations. Huang Xianhao grew up surrounded by the scent of his grandfathers bamboo and learned the craft thoroughly by hand. While at university, he learnedwhen his father was building the Shiting Huayi Village Hotelof a longburied story: his ancestors once supplied bamboo ribs for Shitings traditional lanterns and handled their processing. He visited elder artisans throughout the village to gather orally transmitted lanternmaking techniques, and the more he dug, the more he felt that the intangible cultural value of Shiting lanterns would truly be lost if not preserved now. After graduating from university, he chose to return home. He tasked himself with integrating his ancestral bamboorib craft with Shitings lantern techniques. The lanterns unveiled this Spring Festival were entirely handmade  from splitting the bamboo, binding the frames, to pasting and painting. Colorful scales and auspicious clouds seemed to come alive on the dragons silk body; the horseyear themed lucky beast lantern carried the blessing of good fortune is coming at once; and builtin energysaving light sources gave the traditional lanterns a modern warmth. Shitings lanterns are rooted in Huizhou folk customs and rely on the villages abundant bamboo resources. They are a handcraft passed down for generations and an important carrier of communal sentiment. Now this young man has brought them out of the inner chambers and into the public eye. Although the Spring Festival parades have concluded, the lanternmaking handson experience at the Shiting Huayi village homestay continues; visitors can still make a bamboorib lantern by hand under the guidance of craftsmen. When asked why he returned, Huang replied: Im not just making lanterns  Im guarding the lights. Rural revitalization requires thriving industries and cultural roots. In Shiting Village, the lights illuminate not only the ancient village at night but also the answer woven by a young mans bamboo ribs  a beautiful countryside needs people to return for it to have a future.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
A MAN who allegedly watched, followed and robbed two people after they had withdrawn large sums of money from a bank in Portlaoise was denied bail at a recent sitting of Portlaoise District Court.

Michael McDonald (55), 90 Ballyowen Lane, Lucan, Dublin was before the court charged with the theft of 10,000 from a car in the car park of Emo National School on 13 November last year and on 19 December the same year, the theft of 3,475 from another car that was parked in the Telfords Hardware car park, Clonminam Business Park, Portlaoise.

In what was described by the prosecuting garda Trevor Darcy as an alleged jugging crime, he told the court that the director of public prosecutions (DPP) had not yet provided directions in the case.

Asked to outline the allegations by Judge Andrew Cody, Garda Darcy said that on 13 November, a woman withdrew 10,000, which was placed in an envelope from the AIB Bank in Lyster Square. She got into her car and made several stops around the town before driving to Emo National School. When she returned to her car about ten minutes later in the school car park, she found the drivers side window broken and the envelope containing the money missing.

Garda Darcy said that a large amount of CCTV footage had been harvested from around Portlaoise, which tracked the womans route from the bank to the various stops she made around Portlaoise, up to the Mountmellick Road.

He also alleged that the defendant could be seen on various CCTV footage entering the front door of the bank, following the woman out to her car and then as a passenger in a car that followed her.

In the second alleged incident, Garda Darcy said a man had withdrawn 3,475 from the same bank on 19 December. He said that this man was, allegedly, followed from the bank by the accused. From Lyster Square, the man drove into Laois Shopping Centre, then on to the Midway Food Court and parked in the car park of Telfords Hardware. When he returned to his car after being in the hardware store, the money had been taken from his car.

He said that CCTV footage from this location shows Mr McDonald, allegedly, trying the door handle of the mans car.

Garda Darcy said no money had been recovered.

CCTV footage of the two alleged incidents was played to the court.

Mr McDonalds solicitor said that there was no CCTV footage that puts his client at the scene of the alleged crime in Emo National School and the CCTV footage of him at Telfords Hardware does not show him breaking into the car or taking money from it.

The solicitor described the evidence provided to the court by Garda Darcy as circumstantial. He said no direction as to how the case was to proceed had been issued and his client should be released on bail to await the DPPs directions.

Judge Cody said that the court acknowledged that the accused is before it as an innocent man and said after considering the totality of the evidence and the seriousness of the offences, he was refusing bail to Mr McDonald.

He went on to remand the defendant in custody to the 26 March sitting of the court.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme.
Emergency services are at the scene of a serious fire at a house where a young boy and his grand-aunt were murdered in Co Offaly last December.

The house at Castleview Park, Edenderry, was badly damaged during the fire bomb attack which claimed the life of 4-year-old Tadhg Farrell and his grand-aunt Mary Holt(60).

The Leinster Express/Laois Live understands a blaze again broke out at the house at around 4am and Gardai, ambulance and fire crews are attending the scene.

It's understood at least one member of family had remained living in the property despite the fire in December which had caused extensive damage. It's unclear whether they survived this latest fire.

Edenderry based Independent Ireland Cllr Fergus McDonnell said he believed the house next door was seriously damaged in the latest fire.

"I am absolutely horrified that there should be a repeat fire", he said.

Cllr McDonnell said the local community was shocked and angry.

"They are disgusted. There is a large amount of anger that the house was not properly blocked up", he said.

"Somebody should have taken responsibility for that to make sure it was completely unaccessible", added Cllr McDonnell.
A case of Meningitis has been been confirmed in Ireland with health officials moving quickly to contain any potential spread while stressing there is no wider cause for alarm.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said the case involves meningococcal disease, specifically serogroup B (MenB), and was detected earlier this month at University College Cork (UCC).

READ NEXT: Snow, strong winds and heavy rain on the way as five counties brace for weather warnings

Health officials have said the affected individual has since recovered well while public health teams have carried out contact tracing with close contacts offered precautionary antibiotics and, where necessary, vaccination.

Officials have also stressed there is currently no evidence of any wider outbreak linked to this case and have reassured the public that the case is not linked to recent meningitis cases reported in the UK.

Meningitis is a rare but serious illness that can develop quickly, with symptoms including,

Fever

Headache

Vomiting

Sensitivity to light

A rash that does not fade when pressed (in some cases)

READ NEXT: RIP: Body found at same Offaly home where young boy and grand-aunt were murdered last year

People across Ireland are being urged to seek medical advice immediately if they or their child develop concerning symptoms.

While meningococcal disease can affect anyone, it is more common in young children and teenagers. Vaccines are routinely offered in Ireland to help protect against the disease.

Health officials say the risk to the general public remains low, and the situation continues to be monitored.

For more information on meningitis visit the HSE Website.
Two extra primary schools are to be requested in Portlaoise by Laois County Council.

Fine Gael Cllr Paddy Buggy says bussing Portlaoise kids out of the town to rural Laois schools is "not fair".

Portlaoise has six mainstream primary schools totalling almost 3,000 children. They are the Holy Family Junior and Senior schools, Scoil Bhride NS, Educate Together NS, the Gaelscoil and Maryborough NS. Hundreds more children are driven to nearby rural schools such as those in The Heath, Ratheniska, Ballyfin and Ballyroan.

Cllr Buggy asked Laois County Council to provide for two new schools in the Portlaoise Local Area Plan, tabling a motion at the March meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District.

"We should be driving the notion of how many schools we need and where to build them. The Department of Education is usually ten years behind the reality on the ground. Nationally birth rates are declining with the exception of Portlaoise. We need to start planning now, instead of waiting on the department.

"What I would nearly call babies are being bussed out because there are no places. It's not fair. They are losing the connection with their community. They don't know their next door neighbours.

"We as a council should decide that x number of houses equates to x number of children. We need to identify sites close to where they live. We need to drive it further on," Cllr Buggy said.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley seconded the motion, but said "as a council we can't do it on our own".

"We need help from the Department of Education. I'm on the board of the LOETB which is the patron of nine secondary schools in Laois and Offaly. We see the serious pressure that second levels are under as well. In 2016 I canvassed for patronage of Dunamase College and it's only just got planning. The length of time it took is crazy."

She describes how the Department rejected the LOETB's offer to patron a new primary school in Portlaoise in 2023.

It had said that they are "keeping the situation under review but plan to manage the situation in the short-term through additional accommodation at existing schools".

"The LOETB showed statistics in population growth and the amount of housing being built, the ducks were lined up. They went to the Department but got the most disgraceful letter. Their view was Portlaoise didn't need a new primary, that (rural schools) could pick up the slack.

"In Aghnaharna with a school across the road, children are bussed out because they couldn't get into it. We as councillors know there is a need. The Department seems to be on a different planet. We have people coming to us every year trying to get their children into primary and secondary schools. We need more than one, but we do need the Department on board," Cllr Dwane Stanley said.

Read next: PICTURES: Sunny Daffodil Day in Laois

Fianna Fail Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald is also on the LOETB.

"The LOETB are willing and able to work with us. The reply had absolutely ruled it out. They said we hadn't got the numbers, it was crazy. Caroline is right. We can zone land but the department have to back it. People are getting early morning and evening childcare now, bringing their children to where they work, so Portlaoise will definitely need another primary school," she said

There is a new argument in favour of a new school, as Director of Services for Portlaoise Simon Walton noted.

"The Minister has published new guidelines for additional housing in Laois. There is 8,500 new houses by 2040, with a minimum of 5,000 of them in Portlaoise. At three people per house that is at least 15,000 more people in Portlaoise.

"In that context, it is probably appropriate that we correspond on behalf of members to the Department of Education," he said.

Cllr Barry Walsh said he does not understand why Census figures are not used to predict need.

Read next: Fears mount at rising fuel prices in Laois

"It seems we're firefighting all the time with extensions and who shouts loudest. Letting over flow into rural schools causes capacity issues in some of them," he said.

Cllr Tommy Mulligan, a primary teacher, said "the department are being let off the hook. Schools are at capacity".

Portlaoise doubled in size in 20 years up to 2022 to nearly 24,000, and continues to grow as more people move to the town. It is expected to reach over 26,000 in the coming year. It is the most populated town in the Midlands overtaking Athlone. It also has the highest percentage of people aged under 18 in Ireland.
A Fianna Fail TD has asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the criteria used by Cuan in identifying priority locations for new refuge units.

Deputy Naoise O Cearuil  who was speaking in the Dail recently - asked that Kildare be considered for inclusion in future phases of refuge development.

Deputy O Cearuil told the Minister: I had the opportunity to visit Teach Tearmainn womens refuge in Kildare recently where I met Lorraine Rowan, the CEO, and her team who are carrying out incredible work.

A lot of questions arose from that meeting, particularly the need to outline the criteria being used by Cuan in identifying priority locations for new refuge units and if counties with established domestic, sexual and gender based violence services, such as Kildare, may be considered for inclusion in future phases of refuge development.

Responding to Deputy O Cearuil, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan said that he had also visited Teach Tearmainn, which he said is a wonderful refuge in County Kildare However, the Minister added, like many other refuges, Teach Termainn was obviously under pressure in terms of meeting the demand for its services. READ NEXT: Plans granted for three townhouses in Kildare The Minister stated that while Kildare has not been identified as a priority location for new refuge construction in the current phase, Cuan is supportive of ensuring Kildare is on the priority list for phase 2 development. The Minister pointed out that the number of Cuan refuges has increased by 13 to 172 refuges nationally, and said he would liaise with Cuan in respect of a refuge for Kildare.

Deputy O Cearuil said: I welcome the Minister saying that Cuan is considering Kildare for phase 2 development. That is welcome news. Teach Tearmainn is in Kildare town, which is quite a considerable distance from the north of the county, from the likes of Maynooth, Leixlip, Celbridge, Kilcock and Clane, and it is technically in the Kildare South constituency. However, it caters for women not only across Kildare but also across the midlands. The work it does is truly outstanding. One thing that has arisen for Teach Tearmainn is the amount of court-based related work it has been carrying out in Naas. There is need for a refuge centre in Naas, although I should say it has safe houses there. When will phase 2 be considered so that the likes of Teach Tearmainn can plan for the future?
Nina Carberry, MEP for the Midlands, North-West, has called on the European Commission to develop an EU-wide approach to cataloguing defibrillators with the Leitrim Defibrillator project as a model.

The project, developed by the local Volunteering Information Service, Leitrim PPN and Leitrim Development Company, compiles the location of all defibrillators in the county online so that their location can be found more easily in emergencies.

There are around 60 defibrillators in Leitrim, the vast majority of which are situated in south Leitrim.

Accessible records of where defibrillators are is an issue nationally, with only half of Irelands defibrillators currently listed on public databases, according to the MEP.

READ MORE: Leitrim's community spirit on show at TidyTowns launch

Carberrys proposal would be an EU-led approach to defibrillator registration and data-sharing as part of the EU cardiovascular health strategy.

Too many defibrillators are effectively hidden in plain sight. Of the more than 9,000 devices across the country, nearly half are not registered, Said Carberry at the Parliament in Brussels this week.

In an emergency, this lack of visibility can cost time that is critical for survival. Around 90% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are fatal without quick intervention. If a defibrillator cannot be found quickly and easily, the chances of saving a life drop dramatically.

READ MORE: Leitrim comment- new measures will "help the most vulnerable to heat their homes"

And this is not just a problem in Ireland. A recent study found that only 8 of 19 European countries surveyed had a nationwide defibrillator mapping system in place. That also means if youre on holiday anywhere in Europe and someone needs CPR, it can be difficult to quickly locate the nearest defibrillator.

The starting point must be a full, accurate EU-wide database ... We already have EU legislation to enable health data-sharing across borders. We should show the same ambition when it comes to defibrillators, she concluded.
XIONG'AN, Hebei Province, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Monday called for efforts to build the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province into an innovation hub in the new era and a model of promoting high-quality development. Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, where he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the new area. He emphasized the need to firmly uphold Xiong'an New Area's primary functional positioning as the major recipient of functions relieved from Beijing that are non-essential to its role as China's capital. The new area should strengthen endogenous development momentum through reform and innovation, and unlock vitality via reasonable concentration of production factors and resources, Xi said. On Monday morning, Xi arrived in Xiong'an and traveled by vehicle to inspect construction progress in the start-up zone. He then visited China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd., which moved over 1,000 employees to Xiong'an in October 2025, and heard briefings on the company's relocation, industrial layout and innovative development. At the company, he had a cordial exchange with representatives of officials and staff from relocated organizations already operating in the new area and those currently under construction, to learn about their life and work. Xi also visited the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School, where he conversed with teachers and students in the classroom to learn about the teaching situation there. In the school canteen, he examined the dining environment and the variety of dishes available. On Monday afternoon, Xi chaired the symposium and delivered an important speech. He acknowledged that important progress has been achieved in the construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area. It has been fully proved that the CPC Central Committee's decision to develop the new area is entirely correct, and all related work has been solid and effective, he added. Xi stressed efforts to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as the national capital and integrate them into the new area in a more vigorous and orderly manner, and advance the construction of relocation projects for state-owned enterprises directly administered by the central government, universities and hospitals in an active, steady and phased manner. Xi stressed systematic planning and the integrated advancement of high-quality development and efficient governance, urging efforts to improve the public service system, safeguard and enhance people's well-being, and actively explore future-oriented smart city management models. Xiong'an must develop a modern industrial system suited to its realities, Xi said, noting that it should advance the high-standard development of a science park to accelerate the application of scientific and technological achievements. The new area should cultivate clusters of emerging industries and industries of the future, pioneer the implementation of innovative policies in science and technology, finance and other fields, and create a market-oriented and law-based business environment that is up to international standards, he added. Xi further urged the new area to strengthen Party leadership and Party building while firmly establishing and practicing a correct understanding of governance performance. Xi was accompanied by Premier Li Qiang, Cai Qi, director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, who are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
AWARD-winning Limerick shapewear brand Vacious has taken a bold step forward with the launch of the Mesh Plunge Bodysuit  its most daring silhouette to date and a powerful expression of founder Sinead OBriens belief that shapewear belongs beyond the underwear drawer.

Blending sculpting support with fashion-forward design, the Mesh Plunge Bodysuit is a versatile statement piece that works as confidently by day as it does by night.

Fronting the launch campaign is Ireland AM presenter Elaine Crowley, a long-time admirer of the brand whose confidence and authenticity perfectly reflect the Vacious ethos of empowering women to feel supported, stylish and unapologetically themselves.

Im obsessed with this design. Its fun, its confident, its sexy - the perfect example of how shapewear can be styled, says Vacious founder, Sinead OBrien. There is no better woman than Elaine to represent this glamourous piece. Were absolutely thrilled to have her on board.

READ MORE: Limerick businesses can officially add being pet friendly to the tourist offering

The new bodysuit takes everything customers know and love about the brand - support, structure and comfort - and transforms it into a true statement piece designed to be seen and styled. Featuring a mesh plunge detail and flattering crew neckline, the silhouette is sultry while remaining effortlessly wearable, striking the perfect balance between seductive and supportive.

Crafted from Vacious lightweight ribbed fabric and engineered with the same 4-Way Stretch Technology found across the brands bestselling, cult-favourite bodysuits, the Mesh Plunge Bodysuit delivers medium hold with targeted compression, supporting the tummy and enhancing the waist while allowing complete freedom of movement. The thong cut ensures a smooth, seamless finish under clothing, making it ideal for styling with tailored trousers, denim or skirts.

To dial up the drama, the bodysuit can be styled with optional feather cuffs, available as an add-on for 5 - an instant outfit upgrade that takes the look from sleek to knockout in seconds.

Priced at 90, with detachable feather cuffs available for an additional 5, the Mesh Plunge Bodysuit embodies the signature precision of the Vacious core collection. Sculpted, streamlined and unapologetically bold, it fuses technical engineering with elevated design - contouring the body, enhancing every curve and delivering statement-making confidence without compromising on comfort.

The founder of Vacious shapewear also recently revealed earlier this year that she's expecting a baby girl. Sinead marked a major personal milestone in January, sharing that she had bought her own home with husband Simon Fitzgerald.

Sinead married her long-term partner and Crecora native Simon Fitzgerald in a stunning ceremony in the Algarve in September 2024.

The Vacious Mesh Plunge Bodysuit is available to purchase here.
STAFF of Irish Cement have teamed up with volunteers from Limerick Suicide Watch, a charity which provides a night-time patrol of Limericks riverside.

The link-up saw workers from the Mungret company take part in a walk around the three bridges, which Limerick Suicide Watch volunteers walk several times a week.

The partnership comes as part of a community initiative geared to raising awareness around mental health and highlighting the work that the charitys volunteers do.

READ MORE: Gardai warn Limerick schools over illegal e-scooter use by 'children and young people'

As part of the initiative, volunteers from Limerick Suicide Watch visited the cement factory to deliver an workshop on mental health and suicide awareness.

It detailed how the volunteers work closely with services like HSE, An Garda Siochana and the Irish Coast Guard.

A spokesperson for Limerick Suicide Watch said: Partnerships like this make a real difference to our work and to the awareness of the support that is available in Limerick. Our volunteers work with other Limerick volunteer groups to ensure that the city is patrolled every night of the week, and rely entirely on the generosity and backing of the community to keep going.

The support shown by the team at Irish Cement, from attending the awareness workshop to joining us on the Three Bridges Walk and their much welcome donation, helps highlight the importance of looking out for one another and encouraging conversations around mental health.

Employees of Irish Cement wore their companys bright orange PPE gear along the route.

As part of the partnership, Irish Cement also gave a 2,000 donation to support the organisations ongoing work in Limerick.

Plant manager Shane McCarthy said: We are proud to support the incredible work carried out by Limerick Suicide Watch. Their volunteers help provide an essential service for the city every night and it was a privilege for our team to take part in the walk and help raise awareness of mental health in our community.
AN INVESTIGATION has raised serious concerns that a surge in alumina exports from Ireland to Russia may be indirectly supporting the Kremlins war effort in Ukraine. The findings from The Irish Times in conjunction with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, point to a supply chain linking material produced in Limerick to Russian industry, creating what has been described as an "intolerably high risk" that it is being used in the countrys arms sector.

Their research found that the Aughinish Alumina plant near Foynes, supplies vast amounts of raw materials to Russian aluminium smelters.

Key findings by the investigative team include that the smelters supply aluminium to a Moscow-based trading company which in turn supplies Russias military industry. The aluminium is purchased by dozens of arms companies that make weapons for Russias war in Ukraine, including tanks, cruise missiles and bombers.

Both Aughinish Alumina and the Russian smelters are owned by Rusal, who took over Aughinish Alumina in 2007.

While the financial records, which were investigated did not reveal any definite links between Irish-made alumina and Russian weapons, the research did find that Russian smelters supplied by the Limerick plant are selling vast amounts of aluminium to a trading company that supplies dozens of Russian arms manufacturers.

READ ALSO: Tuck shop at Limerick prison generates more than 1.27m in revenue

Aluminium is also used in aircraft and car manufacturing and twice a day, ships dock in Foynes Port to export huge amounts of alumina from Limerick to Europe.

In response to the research, Fianna Fail Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration with special responsibility for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice, Niall Collins TD said: It is important to emphasise that Aughinish Alumina is not the subject of EU sanctions, nor has it been proposed to be.

Alumina is not a sanctioned good, therefore its export to other countries, including Russia, is not restricted.

Ireland has consistently supported strong sanctions in response to Russias illegal aggression, particularly in the context of shifting global supply chains and procurement networks. We will continue to work closely with our EU partners in doing so.

During a Dail debate four years ago in 2022, Fine Gael's minister Patrick ODonovan said that Aughinish Alumina is not connected, as some people might want to suggest, to any sort of Russian empire and that it is not in any way connected to a war machine.

According to the Irish Times: Aughinish also sells substantial amounts of alumina to other countries, but since the war, Russia has become by far its biggest customer.

In 2020, Russia accounted for 23 per cent of the Limerick plants business. Last year that figure was 68 per cent, according to the CSO.

While many EU states have reduced their exports to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, Ireland is one of three exceptions.

According to the investigation: Exports of all Irish goods to Russia jumped from 539 million in 2021 to a record 836 million last year, according to figures provided by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

The demand for Irish alumina increased in recent years despite Russias stagnating civilian economy. This is driven in part by Rusal losing access to its alumina plant in Ukraine, which is located near the wars front line.

The factory in Foynes is the largest alumina refinery in Europe and they employ more than 400 people.

The vast research project relied on confidential documents, customs information, transport records, satellite images and financial records.
A SISTER of Scarlett Faulkner, who was beaten by a person with a weapon while she lay defenceless on the ground, say they will be getting our answer today.

Mum-of-one Scarlett, aged 29, from the northside of Limerick city, has been fighting for her life in hospital since the vicious assault at the side of the R494 road in Birdhill on Saturday evening. The motive is not known at this time.

The vehicle she was travelling in was rammed off the road before she was dragged from the vehicle and brutally attacked.

Her sister, Victoria, posted an update on her Facebook page late on Monday night.

Tomorrow morning (this Tuesday) between 9am and 12 o'clock we will be getting our answer, wrote Victoria.

READ NEXT: 'We're going through enough' - Scarlett Faulkner's family appeal for removal of sensitive hospital photo

She thanked, in the emotional post, each and everyone who texted, rang and posted prayers for her sister Scarlett.

Please, I am begging ye with all my heart to keep praying for her - 29-years-old with a 6- year-old little girl. I know God have bigger plans for you Scarlett

I will keep ye updated - cant thank ye all enough, wrote Victoria.

On Monday, the traumatised family of Scarlett Faulkner appealed to people to take down a photo of the young mother in a hospital bed.

The graphic photo of Scarlett in hospital has been shared widely on social media. It shows the extent of the injuries she suffered in the horrific incident.

READ NEXT: 'Oh my God, she's hitting her head' - Chilling video shows attack that left Limerick woman 'critical'

Gardai said on Sunday that they are aware of video footage of the incident circulating online and ask members of the public not to share it on social media platforms or messaging apps, but instead to provide it to investigating gardai.

Scarlett was airlifted to the University Hospital Limerick on Saturday before being transferred to Cork University Hospital where she remains in a critical condition.
A LIMERICK man who had a crisis of conscience and left his luggage on the carousel containing just under 600,000 of cannabis at Dublin Airport has been jailed for five years.

Lee Somers, aged 31, was stopped by custom officers after he returned to collect his luggage. He had just come off a flight from Canada and was due to travel onto Scotland.

Somers, of Greenfields, Rosbrien Road, Limerick, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis for sale or supply on March 2, 2024. He was found in possession of 29kg of cannabis, worth 597,000, at Dublin Airport.

Judge Martin Nolan had previously adjourned the case having heard some of the evidence, as Somers did not have legal representation at the time. He said due to the seriousness of the case he said it was important that Somers would be properly represented.

This Tuesday, Judge Nolan jailed Somers for five years.

He said the evidence suggested that Somers had a crisis of conscience and left his luggage having brought in the drugs from Toronto.

READ NEXT: We will be getting our answer today - Limerick sister on condition of 'critical' Scarlett Faulkner

Judge Nolan accepted that Somers was under some level of duress to transport the drugs but he said he was a mature man and he made a very bad decision and a very bad misjudgement.

He acknowledged that given the fact that he does not have many criminal convictions he is probably unlikely to re-offend before he imposed a five-year jail term.

The court previously heard that Somers arrived on a flight from Canada at 5am and was due to get to a connecting flight to Glasgow which was delayed.

He went to the public area and when he returned, he left the bags on a carousel. Somers told an air hostess he had bags and went to get them.

He was then stopped and said he was coming from Toronto. Somers was asked to place the bags on an x-ray machine. He told staff they were not his bags and he didn't pack them.

Somers told a staff member that he was supposed to continue to Glasgow, but he couldn't continue as my conscience got the better of me.

He said he'd been told to do this by a third party. He said some people were threatening him, so he threatened them and then they threatened his mother.

He initially said he wasn't in debt and didn't take drugs, but later told gardai that he had a cocaine addiction.

A stamp from Thailand was also found in his passport from the previous month. He said he went there, but didn't have a good time. Somers said he wasn't working and his expenditure appeared to be high.

He later admitted that he went to Thailand as an observer for reassurance for his future trip  the one he was making to Toronto.

He said after coming back from Thailand he was told that he would have to go to Canada.

I said if I could get someone else (to do the trip) I would be out, Somers said. He acknowledged that he had planned a further trip to Thailand but said he had no intention of doing another trip to Thailand.

Somers had some District Court convictions including possession of cocaine from five months prior to his arrest.

Garrett McCormack SC, defending, said that Somers has two young children and his parents were in court to support him.

He handed in a letter of apology and asked the court to give Somers some light at the end of the tunnel.
THE feature race at Limerick Racecourse on Sunday, the Grade 3 Hugh McMahon Memorial Novice Chase, went to Uhavemeinstitches and local owner JP McManus was on hand to greet his homebred back to the winners enclosure.

Just four went to post here and it was a close-run thing with the James Motherway-trained mare having just half a length to spare at the line. The 8-11 favourite made most of the running and, ridden by Mark Walsh, hung on from You Oughta Know, trained by Willie Mullins.

Cloyne trainer Motherway said: She is a very good jumper. Mark said he let her get on with it and she was making lengths at every fence.

Uhavemeinstitches is entered in the Irish Grand National but may not take part this year, the trainer suggested on Racing TV.

Shes only six, a first season novice. I am very grateful to JP and Noreen (McManus) for giving her to me.

Meanwhile, Ballingarry trainer Charles Byrnes made sure the long journey from Limerick to Down Royal paid off when Let Him B landed the second division of the 2m4f handicap hurdle.

This was a tidy training performance as the winner had not run for exactly a year.

READ NEXT: Limerick to host prestigious Third European Sport for All Games this summer

The trainers son Philip was in the saddle as, despite an untidy jump at the last hurdle, he hung on for a three-parts of a length margin on the 14-1 chance.

It was the six-year-olds first win from 11 career starts.

Meanwhile, JP McManus owned the first two home in the 2m4f novice chase at Down Royal, both with apt Irish names on St Patricks Day.

Raglan Road, sent all the way from Waterford by Henry De Bromhead, had just half a length to spare over Slanagaibhgoleir, trained by Gordon Elliott.

Mikey OConnor was strong from the saddle on the winner who needed plenty of encouragement to find the lead inside the final few strides.

Raglan Road was well backed into 7-2 co favourite with the runner-up. The third and fourth home also started at the same price.

Sporting Herowon on first start for the Bill Durkan stable at Dundalk on Friday having been acquired out of a claimer a few weeks previously.

Denis Hogan was the former trainer and the horse had plenty of good form at sprint distances on the polytrack  this was his seventh win at Dundalk in total.

Sporting Hero was let start at 12-1 and made all the running for Chris Hayes. Although he was running out of puff inside the final 50 yards, he hung on by three-parts of a length.

I didnt plan to be in front. I was on fumes the last hundred yards but he has himself paid for now, Hayes said on Racing TV.

The lads wanted a nice lead horse for their two-year-olds and he fitted the bill. They had a few two-year-olds working her before racing and he came up to keep them company. I have been riding for Bill since I was a 10lb claimer with Kevin Prendergast and its nice to have a winner for him.

Hayes rode a double on the night when Keepsgettingbetter, making her handicap debut after three pretty plain runs in maiden company, got up late inside the final strides of the 3yo mile handicap.

It was trainer Donnacha OBriens fist winner of the new season and it came half a length at odds of 12-1.

I rode her here the last day when she was clueless. Today she was still green but the pace was honest and I loved her attitude when I asked her, Hayes said.

She answered every call. Another two furlongs would be no problem to her and her temperament is second to none.

Unterberg, trained by Laura Hourigan in Patrickswell, made it three wins on the spin at Dundalk with a typically gritty victory on Friday night.

Meath apprentice Rory Mulligan has been on board for the hat-trick and again did his job expertly, settling close to a fairly steady tempo and coaxing enough from his willing partner to win by three-quarters of a length from another prolific polytrack performer, Daonethatgotaway.

Unterberg returned at 4-1, third pick in the betting. His third victory has come in the space of just five weeks, which is testimony to his consistency. He also won at the track last November. In that time the seven-year-old has risen from a mark of 67 to one that will be close to 90 when he is reassessed, so full credit to connections.

A small field of just five faced the starter for the novice hurdle over 2m6f at Navan and Saturday and the fourth pick in the betting, Shabby Hill (11-2), came with a late rally for the father and son team of Charles and Philip Byrnes.

Carrying the colours of owner Peter Mackin, Shabby Hill was winning for the third time in four career starts. He also won his only point-to-point outing, so the seven-year-old clearly possesses his share of ability.

He also has a good deal of character as his rider was asking him for everything between the final two flights when a win did not appear very likely. However, Shabby Hill kept responding up the Navan incline and led inside the final strides for a half-length margin.

Shabby Hill be better suited over trips at three miles or so, his connections indicated, and over fences next season.
A JUDGE has refused jurisdiction in the case of a Limerick man who is accused of stealing more than 6,500 worth of goods.

John ODonoghue, aged 39, of Lee Estate, Island Road, Limerick city, appeared before Limerick District Court charged with 35 counts of theft and one count of attempted theft under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.

The thefts are alleged to have taken place in various locations across Limerick and Clare in 2025.

Prosecuting Garda Sergeant Denis Waters told the court that the one charge of attempted theft is connected with three of the theft counts.

READ NEXT: Limerick staff unable to login to work devices after cyberattack from hacker group

It is alleged that Mr ODonoghue tapped a debit card without authorisation on three different occasions in order to steal a handbag, wallet and iPad.

He said on June 8, 2025, a transaction was declined when the accused allegedly attempted to tap the card at Spar, Catherine Street in Limerick city centre.

A number of other incidents are also alleged to have taken place later that year.

Mr ODonoghue is charged with theft arising from an incident that took place at Applegreen, Corbally, County Clare on July 5.

Meanwhile, on August 29, the accused allegedly stole 153 worth of steaks from Northtown Shopping Centre, Ennis Road, Limerick city.

In total, Mr ODonoghue is accused of stealing goods worth 6588.56, only 200 of which has been recovered.

After hearing details of the alleged facts, Judge Carol Ann Coolican refused jurisdiction, citing the volume of charges and the value of the goods.

Noting this, Sgt Waters said he would have to revert to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

If the matter is to proceed on indictment before the circuit court, Mr O'Donoghue faces a maximum sentence of ten years' imprisonment, if convicted.
MAYOR John Moran has claimed he was physically manhandled out the way during a tense exchange with council director general Dr Pat Daly.

The claim was made after Dr Daly - who characterised the pairs clash as a fairly robust exchange - said he felt the mayor had thrown council staff under the bus after an explosive interview on local radio last October, 2025.

The claim is the latest flashpoint in a deteriorating relationship between the two most senior figures on Limerick City and County Council.

Dr Daly claimed he had to give the mayor vapours (a phrase he used to describe calming tensions) after another testy interaction between himself and the mayor.

READ MORE: Judge refuses jurisdiction in case of Limerick man facing multiple theft charges

The details have emerged in the first of a three-part series in The Currency examining the political experiment that saw Mayor Moran - a former Secretary General at the Department of Finance - become Irelands first directly elected mayor in June 2024.

The feature, written by former Limerick Leader editor Alan English, draws on seven hours of interviews with Mr Moran, as well as 40 additional interviews conducted during the reporting process.

Dr Daly has claimed that Mayor Morans patience is wafer-thin.

I keep saying to John, Youre 18 months in, into a 100-year-old tradition. What are you expecting? And Ive also said to him,

Success might be in year five, because the system is so traditional. I had to give him vapours after it, said Dr Daly, who up until June 2024 was the councils top executive.

It has also emerged that Mayor Moran had unsuccessfully applied to be the council chief executive in 2022 - and was beaten to the role by Dr Daly.

Mayor Moran has said there has been a fundamental clash in approach and compared himself to Roy Keane.

Its an example of somebody who comes from an environment where outcomes matter  like when we were capitalising the banks. The [Limerick] hurlers suffered for years and years. And then somebody came in and brought in the right supports for them, so they could focus on delivering on the field. Thats what a local authority in Ireland should be doing, the mayor claimed in the piece, which was published this Tuesday morning.

He added before being elected to the role in June 2024: I think I totally underestimated how ill-prepared the organisation was for this.

I wouldnt call it bad management, but my sense is that Pat is happy to delegate much more than I would under the circumstances, he added.

Dr Daly added that Limerick City and County Council is at full stretch.

He kind of came in swinging, because he wanted everything done yesterday. So we were just saying, John, thats not the footing to start on, continue the comments from Dr Daly reported by Mr English, who is now associate editor at The Currency.

Things came to a head in October 2025 when Mayor Moran went on Limericks Live95FM to suggest what was planned for Christmas in the city was not good enough.

READ MORE: Limerick City and County Council seeks new sites for future murals

He added: I think I was elected to introduce higher standards on this kind of stuff, and be more demanding.

Dr Daly admitted he was upset by the contents of the interview, and revealed he considered telephoning back Limericks local radio station.

But then I said to myself - dont do it, it wouldnt be a good look. It would have been right, mayor - weve got Pat on the other line here. Imagine that, he said.

Dr Daly said: He kind of threw us all under the bus a bit. So I was upset, yes. Normally Im pretty balanced. People were saying to me, Were getting killed here. Were doing our best. We cant seem to keep the man satisfied.

Instead, Dr Daly wrote an email to the council staff as well as the councillors about Mayor Morans interview.

He wrote he fully understood and shared the sense of disappointment the remarks had caused.

READ MORE: Alternative options on the table for controversial road between two Limerick communities

He acknowledged that many staff had been in touch following the interview and that it was natural to feel disheartened, but urged them to: focus on what we do best - serving our community with professionalism, integrity and pride.

He praised staff, noting they had taken on extra responsibilities and acted with professionalism, saying their efforts were seen and deeply appreciated.

Limerick Leader/Limerick Live has contacted Limerick City and County Council and Mayor of Limerick John Moran for comment on the claims of a physical altercation.

Limerick City and County Council declined to comment. The mayor's office had not yet responded to a request for comment.
Sara Henderson |

Nearly three decades after beginning his career as a Missouri State Highway Patrol recruit, Lincoln University alumnus Michael A. Turner now leads the agency itself. Appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe and confirmed by the Missouri Senate on January 30, 2025, Turner serves as the 25th superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, overseeing statewide public safety operations, criminal investigations and the work of troopers protecting millions of Missourians each year.Turner's path to leading the agency began nearly 30 years ago as a recruit. He earned his Master of Arts in sociology and criminal justice from Lincoln University in 2017 while climbing through the ranks. His rise through the ranks began in 1996 when he joined the Highway Patrol as a member of the 71st Recruit Class. From his first assignment in Camden County's Troop F, Zone 5, he climbed through the ranks in the agency  corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and major  before reaching the superintendent's office.Turner's career includes leading Troop F's SWAT team for seven years and founding the Central Missouri Tactical Officers Association. He later commanded the agency's largest operations, including the Support Services Bureau and Field Operations Bureau, where he oversaw all nine troops plus the Aircraft Division and Water Patrol Division.Along the way, Turner pursued leadership training at institutions from St. Louis University to West Point, completing programs in law enforcement leadership and organizational change. His achievements earned him both the David Steward Academic and Leadership Award and the Patrol's Valor Award."Directly after being sworn in as our 58th governor, Governor Kehoe signed several executive orders outlining his Safer Missouri plan," Turner said. "The Missouri State Highway Patrol plays an important role in this plan. We are the largest law enforcement agency in the state and committed to protecting the citizens of Missouri and those that travel through our state."Turner noted that Missouri continues to face several critical security threats, including cybersecurity, terrorism, natural disasters and public safety threats such as violent crime."Lincoln University's Security Sciences Institute is a forward-looking initiative to provide comprehensive, hands-on education for careers in national security and emergency response," Turner said. "As a proud graduate of Lincoln University, I appreciate the emphasis the university has placed on educating future leaders in the emergency services field."A Texas native who grew up in Kansas City, Turner graduated from North Kansas City High School in 1992 before beginning his law enforcement education. He holds additional degrees from Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City and Columbia College in Lake of the Ozarks. He and his wife, Stacy Hodges Turner, have two children, Evan and Elizabeth, and a grandson, Rowan.
One unsettling problem for workers: The people who do lose their jobs wont necessarily get the new jobs that AI creates. Atlanta Fed economist my plea, one of the studys authors, is optimistic that AI will eventually create new types of work. But she also said that many of the roles the CFOs point to AI reducing are stepping stones for moving into the middle class.
CoreWeave executives and advisers have privately indicated to other chip companies that they are reluctant to use non-Nvidia chips for fear of upsetting their benefactor, according to people who have heard the remarks.A CoreWeave spokeswoman disputed this characterization and said that the company operates independently and our partner decisions are driven by customer demand and technical performance for the most versatile GPU technology available. She added that CEO Michael Intrator is a fan of opera, especially Puccini.
AAHAR 2026  the 40th edition of Asia-regions trade show on food and hospitality sectors  concluded at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on a positive note in terms of brand promotion, business generation, match-making, buyerseller meetings and industry networking sessions. Organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India and India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), AAHAR 2026 was held in collaboration with apex food and hospitality bodies and concluded as an outcome-focused platform for the sector.

A key highlight of this edition was the clear upward movement in scale and response. Surpassing previous records, the event registered an increase in space booking and visitor response, reaffirming its position as one of Asias establishedB2B events for the food and hospitality industry. After drawing over 1.25 lakh business visitors from India and abroad, the exhibition underscored the sustained relevance of AAHAR as a marketplace where businesses discover, engage and convert conversations into opportunities.

Alongside the on-ground scale, AAHAR 2026 also signalled an important evolution in the exhibition experience  a decisive move toward a more digitally enabled fair. The mobile app of the fair remained useful for convenience of visitors, registering over 17,000 downloads and facilitating 2,800 business meetings. This adoption reflected a shift in how buyers and exhibitors navigate and network: AAHAR is no longer only an on-ground platform; it is increasingly supported by digital tools that enable more structured discovery, planning and business engagement across halls and categories.

International participation was also a key anchor of the edition. This year, Italy participated as the Partner Country, and the Chairman, ITPO noted that after Italys participation in this status, AAHAR 2027 would witness more countries with the Partner Country status. The closing day proceedings further reinforced AAHARs growing stature as a meeting point of global and Indian stakeholders across food products, equipment, hospitality solutions and allied sectors.

The closing day featured the presentation of the Awards for Excellence in Display  a moment that recognised exhibition excellence across diverse segments of the food processing and hospitality ecosystem. The awards reflected the breadth of participation at AAHAR 2026, covering multiple categories including international and domestic processed food and beverage products, food and beverage equipment, hospitality and decor solutions, allied sectors, dairy/bakery/confectionery, spices and agri-products, and participation by government departments, state pavilions and commodity boards. This recognition of display also underlined the increasing professionalism and competitiveness with which exhibitors are approaching AAHAR as a B2B platform.

Jawed Ashraf (IFS Retd.), Chairman, ITPO presented the awards and complimented the winners. H.H. Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nobrega, Ambassador of Brazil in New Delhi also addressed the gathering on the occasion. Present on the occasion were senior officials of ITPO, representatives of diplomatic missions, exhibitors, industry leaders, and media persons.

In his closing remarks and while complimenting the award winners, the Chairman, ITPO expressed confidence that the next edition would be organised with enhanced scale and stature, including in the context of the second phase of the redevelopment plan of Bharat Mandapam commencing soon. He also reiterated that the exhibitions expanding international engagement would continue to strengthen in the coming editions.

Speaking on the conclusion of the exhibition, the Chairman, ITPO said:

AAHAR continues to serve as an important platform for the food processing and hospitality industry, bringing together producers, exporters, technology providers and global buyers. The strong participation reflects the growing opportunities in Indias food sector and the increasing interest in partnerships and trade. Initiatives such as AAHAR support the vision of positioning India as a global hub for processed food by promoting innovation, encouraging MSMEs and generating employment across the sector.

AAHAR 2026 (March 1014, 2026) was organised by ITPO in collaboration with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, along with leading industry associations including APEDA, AIFPA, ARCHII, FAIC, FHSAI, FIFHI, FIFI, FIWA, HOTREMAI, ICMA, KREMAG, PBFIA and CIFT  supporting ecosystem participation and industry ownership of the platform.
Certain projects in the company have a set number of seats in certain offices, and employees are required to book their seats up to a day in advance, at the latest by 12pm on the day before they intend to work from the office, according to the internal memo.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Artificial intelligence company Anthropic is asking a federal judge on Tuesday to temporarily halt the Pentagon's unprecedented and stigmatizing designation of the company as a supply chain risk.

A hearing scheduled for Tuesday in a California federal court marks a critical step in the feud between Anthropic and the Trump administration over how the company's AI technology could be used in war.

Anthropic sued earlier this month to stop the Trump administration from enforcing what the company calls an unlawful campaign of retaliation over its refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its technology.

The company is asking U.S. District Judge Rita Lin for an emergency order that would temporarily reverse the Pentagons decision to designate the AI company a supply chain risk." Anthropic also seeks to undo President Donald Trumps order directing all federal employees, not just those in the military, to stop using its AI chatbot Claude.

Lin is presiding over the case in federal court in San Francisco, where Anthropic is headquartered. The AI firm has also filed a separate and more narrow case in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.

Lin sent both sides a number of questions she wants them to answer at Tuesday's hearing, including about discrepancies between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's formal directive declaring Anthropic a potential threat to national security, and what he posted about it on social media.

Anthropic has said it sought to restrict its technology from being used for mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons. Hegseth and other high-ranking officials publicly insisted the company must accept all lawful uses of Claude, threatened punishment if Anthropic did not comply and condemned the firm and its CEO Dario Amodei on social media.

When Amodei refused to bend, Trump announced on Feb. 27 he was immediately ordering all federal employees to stop using Anthropic, calling it a radical left, woke company that was putting troops at risk. He gave a longer period of six months for the Pentagon to phase out Anthropic's technology, which is already embedded in classified military platforms including those used in the Iran war.

Anthropic's lawsuit alleges the government actions violated the First Amendment and due process laws.

Put simply, the Executive Branch is leveraging its powers to punish a major American company for the sin of expressing its views on a matter of profound public significance, it said in a legal filing last week.

Department of Justice lawyers countered in their own court filing last week that the Trump administration's actions targeted Anthropic's commercial conduct, not its free speech rights.

They argued that Anthropics behavior during contract negotiations caused the Pentagon to question whether Anthropic represented a trusted partner and if its continued access to war-fighting operations introduced an unacceptable risk to national security.

After all, AI systems are acutely vulnerable to manipulation, and Anthropic could attempt to disable its technology or preemptively alter the behavior of its model either before or during ongoing war-fighting operations, if Anthropic  in its discretion  feels that its corporate red lines are being crossed, said the Trump administration filing.

Included in the Trump administration's court filings is an undated memorandum from U.S. Defense Undersecretary Emil Michael, the Pentagons chief technology officer and a former Uber executive.

But it's not clear when Michael wrote the memo that expands on the Pentagon's rationale in labeling Anthropic's products as risky. Lin is asking the Pentagon for more details on its timing.


In January, the CBI registered an FIR against the branch head of a public sector bank and 18 others for allegedly opening mule accounts that were used to conceal over 1,000 crore generated from cybercrime and other illicit activities. The agency acted on the basis of its preliminary enquiry, which exposed 13 mule accounts opened in the names of non-existent companies using forged documents.
We have a few companies that are already listed, so they are at the front of the pipe, and through block deals at the right time we will look to exit those. Scaled, profitable businesses with strong listed peers have a high probability of IPO, and for some, the best outcome would be through M&A, where we will run processes accordingly, he added.
These law firms have been tasked with aiding the banks internal legal counsels to sift through pages of minutes of past board meetings to see if Chakraborty had made any serious observations, according to one of the two people cited above. The banks board and the management maintained they had no inkling of Chakrabortys exit, and he did not specify what he was referring to as part of his ethical concerns despite being asked repeatedly.
OpenAI has said that its close ties with Microsoft could be a risk factor to its business, CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing a document that resembles an IPO prospectus.

In the document cited by CNBC, OpenAI told its investors that Microsoft is responsible for a substantial portion of our financing and compute.

The financial document, which CNBC claims to have viewed, included sections titled Risks Related to the Transaction and Risks Related to our Business. It was shared with prospective investors linked to the company's recent record financing round.

OpenAI said its operating results will depend on whether it can successfully establish relationships with additional partners beyond Microsoft.

If Microsoft modifies or terminates its commercial partnership with us, or if we are unable to successfully diversify our business partners, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected, the document cited by CNBC reads.

However, an OpenAI spokesperson who spoke to the media outlet said that this was a standard and legal disclosure of risk factors and is not related to any IPO prospectus.

This is a standard legal risk factor disclosure, unrelated to any potential IPO prospectus. Similar language has been in place for years, the spokesperson said. Microsoft is and will remain a critical long-term partner.

OpenAI is laying the groundwork for an initial public offering that could value the company at up to $1 trillion with an expected listing as soon as the second half of 2026, Reuters reported last year, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Microsoft has backed OpenAI since 2019, years before the company experienced a boom after the release of ChatGPT. At that time, the tech giant had obtained an early commitment from OpenAI to shift some of its services exclusively to Microsofts Azure cloud.

Microsoft has till date invested $13 billion in OpenAI and during the AI company's restructuring in October 2025 disclosed that its 27% diluted stake in the for-profit part of the organisation was valued at $135 billion.

Microsoft and OpenAI have been increasingly competing for new clients and users in the growing AI market even as they share a tight bond. Microsoft in 2024 added OpenAI to its list of competitors in its annual report that has for years included Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta. Last year, OpenAI turned to other cloud providers, including CoreWeave, Google and Oracle, to meet heavy demand.

Other risks disclosed by OpenAI While Microsoft remains a significant risk factor in OpenAI's business, it is not the only company that the AI firm mentioned in its IPO prospectus-like document.

It said that it requires a large number of computational resources to train and run its AI models. In this context, a global chip supply shortage will be damaging to the business.

It specifically mentioned chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which if affected by a regional conflict can spell severe disruptions for OpenAI.

Also Read | OpenAI to double workforce by end of 2026 - Report

Also Read | Microsoft Threatens To Sue OpenAI Over $50 Billion Amazon Deal

Other than risks rising from other companies, OpenAI has a long list of legal cases it needs to tackle.

These include an ongoing court battle with Elon Musk's xAI and several other cases involving suicides triggered allegedly by ChatGPT.
All the three people cited above said fresh inventory orders have come to a halt, as slower store expansion has stalled exports to Dubai. The plan is now likely to be delayed by two to three months or longer, depending on how the conflict evolves, they said.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government on Tuesday presented a budget estimate of 1,03,700 crore for 2026-27. This year's budget allocation is higher than last year which was 1 lakh crore.

Gupta described it as a 'green budget' that focuses on environmental sustainability and balanced development.

I am pleased to announce that we have made some special efforts to meet the needs of Delhi. This time, we have presented Delhi's budget as a 'green budget.' We have seen every plan through a 'green lens.' Every policy in this budget has an environmental impact, every plan has a natural impact, and every decision carries the concerns of future generations. This is why we have allocated 21% of the entire budget for a 'green budget' that will be spent to improve the environment, the CM said.

 11,666 crore for MCD The budget estimates tax revenue of 74,000 crore and allocates 11,666 crore to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the highest allocation to the civic body so far.

Health and education sectors remain the primary focus of the budget. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who is also the finance minister, said her government is allocating 12,645 crore for the health department.

-The Delhi government has allocated 260 crore in its budget for providing two free LPG cylinders to every household  one each on the Hindu festivals of Holi and Diwali.

The Delhi's education department has been allocated the highest share in Budget with an 18.6 per cent share of about 19,148 crore.

Among other allocations, the Public Works Department has been allocated 5,921 crore, while the Urban Development Department has received 7,887 crore in this year's Budget.

Key Takeaways The budget for 2026-27 is the highest ever at 1,03,700 crore, emphasizing health and education.

Substantial funds are allocated for infrastructure development, aiming for improved urban living conditions.

The budget reflects a strategic focus on climate resilience and sustainable urban development.

Our goal is seamless connectivity, climate-resilient corridors, and technically safe roads. For the overall development of Delhi's infrastructure, I propose a budget of 5,921 crore for the PWD department and 7,887 crore for the Urban Development and Housing Department for this financial year, Gupta said in the Assembly

Here are some of the highlights of the Budget: -The last government neglected Yamuna Paar, 300 Crore allocated by the current government for development in 2026-27, says CM Rekha Gupta

-The education department has been allocated the highest share in the budget with an 18.6 per cent share of about 19,148 crore.

-The Delhi government has allocated 350 crore for the MLA local area development scheme.

-Delhi government to construct an integrated secretariat for its offices, aresidential complex for its employees.

-Rekha Gupta announces Anmol Yojana  the Advanced Newborn and Optimal Lifecare. A budget of 25 crore has been allocated for the scheme, under which 56 types of blood tests will be conducted free for newborn babies to screen them for genetic disorders

-Delhi budget allocates 3,942 crore for the power department.

-Delhi budget for FY27 allocates 200 crore for the shifting of overhead electricity wires underground, news agency PTI reported

-The Delhi Rural Development Board allocated 787 crore in the Budget.

-MCD to be provided 1,000 cr for road improvements in Delhi.

-Delhi CM Rekha Gupta says 1,352 crore allocated in budget for 'dust-free roads'.

-Delhi government allocates 7,887 crore for urban development dept, 5,921 crore for PWD in 2026-27 budget.

-Delhi government to allocate 202 crore to bring transgenders under Ayushman Bharat health scheme.

-Seven ICU hospitals left incomplete by previous AAP governments to be completed for 150 cr, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta says in her Budget presentation.
Sourcing to be diversified

Fuel storage projects require about five to seven years for completion. India is already making efforts to diversify its LPG sourcing, and the US and Canada are seen as major potential suppliers. Indian Oil Corp. Ltd in January this year signed a contract to source LPG from the US for the first time, which would account for 10% of India's annual imports. This, however, is set to increase, as West Asian supplies through the Strait of Hormuz are unlikely to flow at the usual rate, although India has secured safe passage for two LPG tankers carrying about 92,000 tonnes of LPG.
Across cultures and centuries, the natural diamond has served as a marker for lifes most meaningful milestones. Its appeal runs deeper than just sparkle; it is a symbol, an affection that transcends surface value.

Consider its origins: a diamond is a billion years in the making. That longevity speaks to a fundamental human desirethe longing to forge things that endure: a marriage, a family, a lasting legacy.

And yet, in a world hyper-focused on financial metrics, we often default to judging this billion-year relic as we would a modern financial product. We benchmark it against gold, mutual funds, or other market-linked assets. To be sure, natural diamond prices have demonstrated remarkable resilience, growing at an average annual rate of 2-3% over the past 50 years. In the Indian rupee, that growth appears even more pronounced, buffered by currency dynamics.

But to dwell solely on this economic stability is to miss the point entirely. This measured growth in value is a byproduct of its endurance, not the primary reason it is cherished. We do not invest in diamonds to diversify a portfolio; we buy them to preserve a moment.

View full Image View full Image The purchase of natural diamonds is tied to a moment worth preserving. ( A S Motiwala Fine Jewellery )

A New Generation of Diamond Buyers

Younger Indian consumers already understand this. According to a recent Deloitte study, diamonds are second only to gold in terms of preferred material of choice for jewellery, with 58% of respondents in the 20-25 age group selecting diamonds. In fact, from 2018 to 2022, average consumer spending on diamond jewellery in India nearly tripled, from $560 to around $1,500.

It signals a generational shift. One rooted not just in aesthetics but in meaning. These are consumers who see diamonds as more than adornmentthey see them as wearable milestones. Whether it's the first big promotion, a wedding, or a gift to oneself after a year of personal growth, the purchase is tied to a moment worth preserving. And natural diamonds, with their timelessness and emotional resonance, are the perfect way to mark it.

The Human and Environmental Story

Todays diamond story is not just about heritage or economics. Its also about responsibility.

Natural diamond producers are investing in sustainability, community development, and environmental protection. According to the Diamond Facts Report, over 80% of water used in natural diamond recovery is recycled; the industry protects four times the land they use for mining through biodiversity conservation and wildlife protection; and leading producers are on track to reach carbon neutrality goals by 2030 to 2050.

Moreover, the modern natural diamond industry supports over 10 million livelihoods across the globe, from cutting centers in Surat to mining communities in Africa. That human value is not speculativeit's active, ongoing, and real.

View full Image View full Image To own a natural diamond is to own a fragment of time. ( AMAYRA Jewellery )

Investments in Legacy

Diamonds are not financial products. They are not meant to be day-traded or benchmarked against gold ETFs. The well-informed, well-read cohort of Gen Z jewellery buyers understands this, while also appreciating the steady growth potential that comes with natural diamonds.

But as far as meaningful investments goin memory, in heritage, in value that outlasts fashion cycles or tech upgradesnatural diamonds stand in a class of their own. To own a natural diamond is to own a fragment of time, a piece of the Earths story, and a chapter of your own.

And that kind of value? It only grows.
The reality is that we were never going to get structural reforms from negotiations with China. If we expect to blunt the threat from China, we will have to ramp up our military spending and posture. Tom Wells, IndianaI think Trump and team are focused on big dollar trade issueswins: very transactional. China traditionally has a very long multiyear strategy. I think Taiwan will be just another chip on the table for Trump: a dollar amount to be part of a transaction as opposed to a strategic asset. William Pardee, VirginiaI have long believed that the underlying issue of the West and specifically the U.S. is how does Western-style capitalism that prioritizes shareholder profitability no matter where it is earned versus the Communist state-run economic model of capitalism. We have been asleep for so long and are waking up to a disaster. Steve Beckerleg, WisconsinWho will win, of course, China. China is playing the long game. In this case, that long game only has to last for another three years until the next U.S. elections. By then, not only will the U.S. have a new president, but China will have further cemented and occupied a good number of new global pole positions in industries like, AI, humanoid robots, biotechnology, high equipment manufacturing, etc., unlike the U.S. Frank Haugwitz, TaiwanIts a double win for China. Structural issues like forced tech transfer and IP theft would be unaddressed. And Chinese investment is welcomed in the U.S., which leads to factory construction, EV sales, and moving workers from U.S. manufacturers to Chinese firms, giving them more leverage. Hiroshi Utsumi, JapanThe U.S. demonstrations of military capability in Venezuela and Iran might have been enough to cause China to rethink its positions on rare earth and Taiwan. Trump was not willing to manage the status quo. He wanted to establish a new status quo with a global American presence and enhanced bargaining power. Eugene P. Grace, Pennsylvania
Germanys Ramstein Air Base, one of the largest U.S. bases in the world, is now a critical hub of the entire Middle East operation. Military officials say it is a central node for command, communications and data relay, particularly for drone operations and long-range strike coordination. The base anchors a constant air bridge between the U.S., Europe and the Gulf, with transport aircraft like the C-17 and C-130J ferrying personnel, munitions and equipment into the Gulf region. The biggest U.S. military hospital outside America is located nearby.
The crew of flight CX695 from Hong Kong flagged the episode after landing safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport in February, saying the glare impaired their ability to read cockpit instruments at a critical stage. A safety report was subsequently filed with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the matter was later raised in Parliament.
We would like to state that in a year, every month varies in terms of number of days like 28/29, 30 & 31 days. Hence, even if the tariff offering for 30 days is mandated then the scenarios remain the same and consumers will have to recharge more than once in months having 31 days, the Cellular Operators Association of India (Coai), which represents major telecom operators, had said in response to Trais consultation on the subject in 2021.
Saloni Goel

Saloni Goel has over nine years of experience as a business journalist, with a strong track record of covering the financial markets. Over the course of her career, she has reported extensively on global and domestic equities, IPO market activity, commodities, and broader macroeconomic trends. Her reporting reflects a keen eye for detail, data-driven analysis, and the ability to spot emerging themes early.<br> At Mint, Saloni has been part of the markets team for nearly two years, where she currently works as Chief Content Producer. In this role, she plays a key part in shaping market coverage, driving editorial strategy, and ensuring timely, accurate, and insightful reporting across. She has been closely involved in breaking news coverage and in crafting stories that help decode the complex financial developments.<br> Before joining Mint, Saloni worked with some of Indias leading business newsrooms, including The Economic Times and Business Standard. Throughout her career, she has worn multiple hatsranging from reporting and editing to contributing in-depth features and identifying new storytelling formats and market trends.<br> Her experience in fast-paced digital newsrooms has given her an edge in simplifying complex market concepts without losing analytical depth. Outside of work, Saloni enjoys reading books and spending time with her pet.
Powerica IPO Day 1: Powerica's initial public offering, valued at 1,100 crore, is set to open for subscriptions from March 24 to March 27. Powerica IPO price band has been established between 375 and 395, placing the company's valuation at nearly 5,000 crore.

The power solutions provider raised 329.40 crore from anchor investors on Monday, prior to the opening of its IPO.

Allocations of shares were made to various institutional investors, including SBI Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Quant Mutual Fund, Bandhan Mutual Fund, and insurance firms like Kotak Life, Edelweiss Life, and Reliance Nippon Life, as detailed in a circular posted on the BSE's website.

Powerica is a comprehensive power solutions provider that focuses on diesel generator sets (DG sets), medium speed large generators (MSLG), and associated services.

In terms of finances, Powerica experienced a 20% growth in revenue from operations, reaching 2,653 crore in fiscal 2025, up from 2,210 crore in the previous fiscal year; however, the profit after tax fell to 175.83 crore for fiscal 2025 compared to 226.11 crore for fiscal 2024.

Powerica IPO has reserved not more than 50% of the shares in the public issue for qualified institutional buyers (QIB), not less than 15% for non-institutional Institutional Investors (NII), and not less than 35% of the offer is reserved for retail investors. The employee portion has been reserved shares up to 2 crore.

Tentatively, Powerica IPO basis of allotment of shares will be finalised on Monday, March 30 and the company will initiate refunds on Wednesday, April 1, while the shares will be credited to the demat account of allottees on the same day following refund. Powerica share price is likely to be listed on BSE and NSE on Thursday, April 2.

Powerica IPO GMP today Powerica IPO GMP is 5. Considering the upper end of the IPO price band and the current premium in the grey market, the estimated listing price of Powerica shares is indicated as 400 apiece, which is 2.83% higher than the IPO price of 395.

Considering the grey market activities over the past eight sessions, the present GMP of 5 indicates a trend leaning towards the downside. The minimum GMP recorded is 0.00, whereas the maximum is 13, as stated by analysts.

'Grey market premium' indicates investors' readiness to pay more than the issue price.

Powerica IPO review Canara Bank Securities stated that the company provides a comprehensive power solutions platform that integrates DG sets, MSLG, and renewable energy, bolstered by its partnership with Cummins and its robust manufacturing capabilities. The renewable energy segment contributes to consistent cash flows, while MSLG and EPC projects enhance growth visibility. Major risks include reliance on Cummins, lengthy development phases for MSLG, regulatory hurdles in the renewable energy sector, and the potential long-term impact on DG sets.

At the upper price range, the valuation seems compelling compared to competitors, and given its strong market position and growth prospects, a SUBSCRIBE for Long-Term Investment recommendation is advised.

Swastika Investmart advised that applications should be made with caution, specifically targeting those who can tolerate risk and are looking at long-term investments. It is not suitable for individuals seeking immediate listing gains due to decreasing profits and ongoing legal issues. It may be wise to consider applying with a limited allocation only.

Powerica IPO details The company's initial public offering consists of a new share issue valued at 700 crore, along with a share sale worth 300 crore by promoters, as detailed in the red herring prospectus (RHP).

The size of the Offer For Sale (OFS) has been reduced from the previously stated 700 crore, bringing the total IPO amount down to 1,000 crore from the 1,400 crore initially proposed in the draft documents submitted in August 2025.

Through the OFS, the Naresh Oberoi Family Trust and the Kabir and Kimaya Family Private Trust plan to sell shares.

From the fresh share issuance, 525 crore will be directed toward reducing the company's debt, with some funds also allocated for general corporate needs.

Powerica has selected ICICI Securities, IIFL Capital Services, and Nuvama Wealth Management to oversee its first public offering, while MUFG Intime India Pvt. Ltd. will serve as the registrar for the issue.

Powerica IPO subscription status Subscription for the public issue will open at 10:00 IST during Tuesday's deals.

Also Read | Powerica IPO: Here are 10 key things from the RHP that investors must know
By Nicole Jao

NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - Oil rallied on Tuesday as the world's biggest supply disruption persisted and Iran denied it held talks with the United States to end the war in the Gulf, contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump, who said a deal could be reached soon.

Brent futures rose $4.62, or 4.62%, to $104.56 a barrel at 2:16 p.m. ET (1816 GMT) on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed $4.44, or 5.04%, to $92.57.

The war has all but halted shipments of about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz, causing what the International Energy Agency has called the biggest-ever oil supply disruption.

"The reality on the ground is unchanged," said Nikos Tzabouras, analyst at Jefferies-owned Tradu.com. "The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed and supply disruptions linger, tightening the market."

Iran sent waves of missiles into Israel on Tuesday. Three senior Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump appeared determined to reach a deal, but that they thought it highly unlikely Iran would agree to U.S. demands in any new round of negotiations.

"The likelihood of temporary shipping disruptions extending into long-term supply dislocations increases with each day that hostilities persist. We've seen global energy forecasts recalibrating from supply gluts into potential deficits," said Kenny Zhu, research analyst at Global X.

MIXED SIGNALS ON PEACE TALKS

Pakistan's prime minister said on Tuesday he was willing to host talks between the U.S. and Iran on ending the war in the Gulf.

The offer came a day after Trump ordered a five-day delay of attacks on Iran's power plants saying the U.S. had talks with unnamed Iranian officials that produced "major points of agreement," sending crude futures down more than 10%.

Iran on Monday denied it had engaged in negotiations with the United States.

"We're definitely getting mixed signals," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. "I think the market is pricing in worries that these talks aren't going to go well and that the war is going to continue."

Iran's negotiating posture has hardened sharply since the war began, sources told Reuters, adding it would demand significant concessions from the U.S. if mediation efforts lead to serious negotiations.

If the strait remains effectively shut until the end of April, Brent could still reach $150 a barrel, Macquarie said. That would exceed the all-time high of $147 set in 2008.

In the latest attacks on energy infrastructure across the region, a gas company office and a pressure-reduction station were hit in the Iranian city of Isfahan, while a projectile struck a gas pipeline feeding a power station in Khorramshahr, Iran's Fars news agency reported.
Indian markets and their Asian peers rebounded sharply on Tuesday, recouping much of their losses from a day earlier, after US President Donald Trump announced a temporary halt to strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, easing geopolitical concerns.

Indian benchmark Nifty 50 rose 1.78% to close at 22,912.40 after a relief rally and a short-covering on the expiry day. The Sensex 30, too, rose 1.89% to close at 74,068.45 on Tuesday, raising the BSEs market capitalization by 7.56 trillion.

Key Asian benchmarks traded in line with Indias bourses. Japans Nikkei 225 index closed 1.4% higher, Hong Kongs Hang Seng index 2.8%, South Koreas Kospi index 2.7%, and Chinas CSI 300 index was up 1.3%.

The Nifty 50 breached the 22,735 technical resistance level, signalling near-term strength. On Monday, the index had closed at 22,512.

Also Read | Nifty drops 2.6% as Dalal Street slump deepens amid global rout

This opens the door for the market to test the next resistance level of 23,512 by month-end, provided no negative news crops up, said Rajesh Palviya, senior vice president (research) at Axis Securities.

According to Om Mehra, technical research analyst at SAMCO Securities, Tuesdays rise reflects a short-term relief rally, while the broader trend remains in a corrective phase.

There is no strong underlying demand pushing crude prices up, said Srikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities. So, if any positive news emerges on the geopolitical front, we could see a sharp correction in crude.

Broader Indian indices also did well, the Nifty Midcap index closing 2.6% higher and the Nifty Smallcap, 2.4%.

Also Read | Traders bet on chaos as Trumps Iran stance changes

Lower crude prices may have also led to the relatively stable markets today, said Chouhan. For the second day running, Brent crude traded below $100 per barrel, and was at $98.15 as of 18:02pm. Crude oil has surged 32% since the war began.

Meanwhile, MCX gold price surged by 2.19% on Tuesday. The rupee, which has depreciated 3.09% since the war began, appreciated by 10 paise to 93.88.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth 8,009 crore on Tuesday while DIIs (domestic institutional investors) net bought 5,867 crore of equities. FIIs have pulled out 90,153 crore from Indian equities this month through Friday (20 March), data from NSDL showed. Notably, the US-Iran war began on 28 February.

According to Siddhartha Khemka, head of research for wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, the relief rally is likely to remain conditional on incoming news flow and official commentary from both sides, with markets expected to stay sensitive to these cues and volatility likely to persist.

Also Read | FPI equity assets hit harder by US-Iran war than covid

Earnings impact Near-term earnings visibility for manufacturing companies has been impacted to some extent and is reflected in stock prices. However, most firms have limited direct exposure to the Middle East (typically under 5%) and are adapting to supply disruptions by rerouting shipments via the Cape of Good Hope, said Chandraprakash Padiyar, senior fund manager at Tata Asset Management.
HDFC Bank share price surged 3% in Tuesday's trading session, snapping a four-day losing streak, after the bank said it has tapped external counsel to review the ex-chairman's resignation.

The stock of India's largest private lender opened at 755 apiece on March 24, as compared to the previous close of 744.15. HDFC shares have declined over 12% in the last four sessions.

Also Read | HDFC Bank hires Wadia Ghandy, Trilegal to study board meeting minutes

HDFC Bank taps law firm to review chairman's resignation In an exchange filing on Monday, HDFC Bank informed the exchanges that it has appointed external law firms to review the resignation letter of its part-time chairman, Atanu Chakraborty.

It further said that the law firms have been advised to provide their report on the same within a reasonable period of time.

Atanu Chakraborty stepped down as part-time chairman and independent director of the lender on March 18, citing differences with the board.

In his resignation letter, Chakraborty said that certain developments and practices he had observed within the bank over the past two years were not aligned with his personal values and ethics, and he cited this misalignment as the reason for his decision to step down.

Additionally, on March 23, the lender also clarified about the recent termination of three employees, following an internal investigation linked to a regulatory notice from Dubai, adding that the matter had no material impact on the bank.

In a clarification to exchanges, the lender referred to a report stating that the action stemmed from a decision notice issued on September 25, 2025, by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to its branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

The bank said its Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee (GNRC) had initiated an internal probe under its conduct regulations. The investigating officer submitted findings to the disciplinary committee, which, after deliberation, recommended accountability measures to the GNRC.

At its meeting on March 9, the GNRC approved the actions, including the dismissal of the three employees. The bank added that the affected employees have the option to appeal the decision before the Appellate Authority, which is its board of directors.

HDFC Bank share price trend HDFC Bank share price has remained under pressure in the near term amid weak market sentiments.

The private lender stock has shed 11% in a week, as compared to Nifty 50's 3.68% decline. Furthermore, the banking stock has descended 17.47% in a month and 24.18% in terms of year-to-date (YTD).

Looking at the broader level, the stock has given moderate returns of 1.63% in the last five years.
Out of the 13 trading sessions analyzed, for which data was available, the headline index Sensex retreated on eight occasions; retail participants absorbed the downside in five of them. This was most pronounced during the 19 March routthe deepest single-day correction in over 20 monthswhen benchmarks plummeted over 3%, on private bank-led weakness. On that day alone, retail investors infused 6,729 crore, significantly cushioning the broader risk-off selling pressure. The comparable data for their overseas counterparts was not available for this particular date.
Outlook for trading

While Nifty did now show some strong rebound in GIFT Nifty the failure of the trends to disappoint looms large . With resistances at 23500 again under the spotlight ahead of the we need to tread the water carefully. The ongoing rise will face challenge at immediate value area resistances on Daily chart around 23500. A move above this area would force the bearish camp to rethink. While the fight between both the groups to claim leadership levels the possibility of the markets turning lower garnered momentum. The rally is being currently being sold into as people are looking for fresh levels to initiate shorts.
Suzlon Energy shares surged 3.40% in intraday deals on Tuesday, March 24, reaching a days high of 41.30 apiece after the company announced its sixth wind energy project of 100 MW from Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).

In its exchange filing today, the company said this is the fourth PSU order it has won in the ongoing fiscal year. Previously, it had secured orders from NTPC, BPCL, and AMC.

The company will install 47 state-of-the-art S120 wind turbine generators (WTGs), each rated at a capacity of 2.1 MW for this project. It will supply wind turbines, oversee equipment installation, and execute the project, including erection and commissioning, while also providing comprehensive operations and maintenance services post-commissioning, as per the regulatory filing.

The power generated from this project will support the decarbonisation of GAILs upcoming petrochemical plant in Nandurbar, Maharashtra, as per the regulatory filing. Suzlon Energy has over 2.2 GW of installed capacity and a 38% market share in Maharashtra.

The company re-entered the PSU segment two years ago, starting with a 1.1 GW order from NTPC Limited, which has now expanded to 64% of its order book. The company said it is working with all the leading PSUs and C&Is in the country.

Ajay Kapur, Chief Executive Officer, Suzlon Group, stated, We are happy to continue our strong relationship with GAIL, a valued partner for over 15 years, and to sign our sixth order together. We have worked over the years in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, and are now extending this partnership with a maiden order in Maharashtra.

Also Read | Jewellery stock jumps 3% following positive mood on Dalal Street

Suzlon Energy share price trend Suzlon Energy shares have been struggling to gain momentum in recent months, as they have been falling to multi-year lows, slipping below the 40 mark for the first time in two years earlier this month.

The stock, which is largely owned by retail shareholders, began its downward trend in June 2025, which later turned into a prolonged correction, making the once high-flying stock in the Indian stock market struggle to sustain an uptrend.

Even though the wind energy companys December quarter numbers came in line with Street estimates, analysts said that, like other utilities, the company is facing challenges in scaling up commissioning due to land acquisition, RoW, and grid connectivity issues.

The shares have closed eight out of the last nine months in the red, losing a cumulative 40.3%, which also led to a 50.40% drop from the September 2024 peak of 86.

In terms of yearly performance, Suzlon Energy ended CY25 with a decline of 15.35%, marking its first annual fall in five years. While the stock has remained volatile, domestic brokerage firm Motilal Oswal, in its recent note, reiterated its Buy call on Suzlon Energy, with a target price of 74 per share.

Meanwhile, Nuvama Institutional Equities also retained its Buy rating following Suzlon Energys December quarter performance but lowered its price target to 55 from 60 apiece. JM Financial, too, has a Buy rating with a target price of 64, based on 25x FY28 EPS.
(Bloomberg) -- In December 2020, some $3.5 billion worth of Bitcoin was taken from its owner in whats been called the biggest crypto hack ever. Almost five years later, the new holder of the hoard  by then worth over four times more  revealed itself. It was the US government.

What was left unsaid is how US prosecutors came by the tokens, which they allege are the proceeds from a vast criminal empire run by Chinese tycoon Chen Zhi.

It is the largest financial takedown in US law enforcement history, said Bradley Simon, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP in New York. There is a complete whodunit mystery as to how the government came into possession of the Bitcoin.

Now, a case underway in Brooklyn federal court may finally force the government to provide some answers. Dozens of parties are asserting rights to the over 127,000 seized Bitcoin, including people who say they or their family members were victims of terrorist attacks and claim that the tokens were mined in Iran.

Even Chen, the man prosecutors accuse of the crimes that generated the Bitcoin in the first place, is claiming the coins and arguing that the US must come clean on how it got them. The fight over the crypto, which is playing out in publicly in hundreds of court filings, will eventually be settled by a federal judge.

Just like the criminal case against Chen, whom US prosecutors have charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering (he denies all charges), the showdown over the seized Bitcoin is global in scope. How it gets resolved could have a lasting impact on crypto-crime fighting.

The Bitcoin forfeiture is the biggest in American history. The coins were originally held by an entity which, according to the US, had operations in China and Iran. They represent the proceeds from a criminal group that trafficked workers from across Asia, housed them in compounds in Cambodia and forced them to scam victims around the world out of billions of dollars, prosecutors say.

Chens case also goes to the heart of modern crypto law enforcement and the blockchain tools authorities use to track down and retrieve illicit funds. Prosecutors have ample reason for wanting to keep details of the seizure secret: With terrorists, criminal groups and sanctions-hit countries alike using digital assets to launder money and raise funds, being forced to reveal your methods could have massive consequences.

A spokesman for Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella, whose office filed the criminal case against Chen and the forfeiture, declined to comment on how the Bitcoin was seized. The trove was worth around $15 billion when the US announced the forfeiture in October; the value has since fallen to roughly $9 billion as the price of Bitcoin dropped.

Chinese Hacking Accusations

The US seizure of the Bitcoin has taken on geopolitical dimensions, with Chinese authorities openly questioning how it was accomplished. A Chinese state cybersecurity agency said in November that the 2020 hack was likely a state-level hacker operation led by the US. In February, the same agency leveled broader accusations of hacking and crypto theft against the US.

The 38-year-old Chen was extradited from Cambodia in January to his native China, where hes been accused of multiple crimes.

A spokesperson for the US Justice Departments National Security Division said the seizure and Chinas actions against Chen represent a successful disruption of a criminal organization that victimized innocent citizens of both countries, adding that the US took legitimate law enforcement actions against Chen Zhi.

The seizure also touches upon Iran, which has been accused of using crypto to evade sanctions and is now at war with the US. Groups of claimants for the seized Bitcoin allege in court filings that it was mined in Iran with the regimes backing. They represent victims of terrorist attacks who have won US court judgments against Iran for sponsoring terrorism.

Irans permanent mission at the United Nations didnt respond to requests for comment.

US prosecutors allege that Chen laundered proceeds from his criminal activities through a Bitcoin mining platform called LuBian, which operated in China and Iran and was at one point the sixth-largest in the world. By 2020, he had amassed a staggering sum of Bitcoin which was stored in 25 crypto wallets with keys he personally maintained, according to the US.

Prosecutors, however, said in response to claimants filings that the seized Bitcoin had only the most tenuous of connections to any Iranian entity, without providing specifics.

Chens lawyers filed a motion on March 10 to dismiss the US forfeiture case. They argued that many of the allegations against Chen are provably and obviously false and that the US failed to link the tokens to any criminal conduct. They also asked US District Judge Rachel Kovner to force the government to explain how it seized the Bitcoin, saying the US was hiding how it got the cryptocurrency. Prosecutors responded that Chen lacks standing in the case and his motion should be rejected.

A spokesperson for Chen and his Prince Group conglomerate, who asked to be unnamed for safety reasons, said the governments allegations are simply a distraction from the question DOJ is desperate not to answer: who committed the largest digital asset theft in history by hacking Lubians wallets in December 2020, and how did that stolen bitcoin end up in the hands of the US government? The government must be held accountable.

A lawyer representing LuBian declined to comment.

Illicit Flows Soar

As the case proceeds, prosecutors will face pressure to divulge more about the Bitcoin seizure, said Tom Clark, a partner at Stewarts Law LLP in London who specializes in asset recovery.

The US ultimately has to explain how [the Bitcoin] was seized and why it is properly attributable to the alleged wrongdoing, at least to a degree sufficient to withstand adversarial scrutiny, he said.

LuBian was hacked in December 2020, according to court filings by representatives for the entity and Chen. The exploit, which blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence has said is the biggest in cryptos history, went unreported for years.

After the hack, the tokens stayed inactive until they were moved to new wallets starting in June 2024, according to blockchain forensics firm Elliptic. The identity of their new owner was unknown until October, when the US announced the criminal case against Chen and filed the forfeiture complaint. The government has argued in court that its entitled to keep the Bitcoin.

In the absence of any official information, speculation around the nature of the LuBian exploit mushroomed, with theories ranging from a white-hat hacker stealing the tokens and giving them to the US to a weakness in how LuBian generated its cryptographic keys.

It remains unclear whether it was a hack, an internal theft, or a government operation, said Ari Redbord, global head of policy at blockchain research firm TRM Labs.

The forfeiture case is playing out as illicit crypto flows soar, in large part driven by countries seeking ways around sanctions. Last year saw an almost 700% jump in the value of cryptocurrencies received by sanctioned entities, according to a January report from blockchain researcher Chainalysis. That helped propel total illicit crypto flows to a record $154 billion.

This evolution means US and European governments now find themselves facing off with sophisticated nation-state actors representing key adversaries. North Korea-affiliated hackers stole $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies last year, about 50% more than in 2024, Chainalysis estimates. Irans powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is also making more use of crypto, according to the researcher.

Tipping your hand can mean putting complex, geopolitically sensitive investigations at risk.

It makes good law enforcement sense to resist disclosing these methods for both investigative and national security reasons, said James McGovern, a former federal prosecutor who is now in private practice at Vinson & Elkins LLP in New York. Disclosing such tradecraft could compromise the success of future investigations.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
The renovation work at former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's then official residence in the national capital was completed for 33.66 crore, 342 per cent above the estimated cost, said a CAG report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Monday.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for 2022, tabled in the Assembly by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, also mentioned that out of 33.66 crore, 18.88 crore was spent on "superior specifications, artistic, antique and ornamental" items in the Bungalow at 6 Flagstaff Road, news agency PTI reported on Monday.

The residence where Kejriwal lived as Delhi Chief Minister from 2015 to 2024 was dubbed by the BJP as "Sheesh Mahal" to highlight alleged corruption by the Aam Aadmi Party and its national convener during the February 2025 Assembly polls. The BJP removed the AAP from power in Delhi after a decade.

The report also listed various irregularities in providing additional accommodation at the bungalow, as well as additions and alterations in the Camp office and Staff Block there, by the Public Works Department (PWD).

Administrative approval and expenditure sanction amounting to 9.34 crore were granted more than two months after the work was completed, creating a liability without any approval, it said.

Further, the CAG report said that the audit noted that out of 19.87 crore sanctioned for the construction of the Staff Block and Camp Office, funds were diverted for other works. The Staff Block was not constructed, and with the remaining funds, seven servant quarters were built at another location unrelated to the original work.

The nature of the Camp Office was altered from a permanent to a semi-permanent structure (SPS). Finally, only a raw structure of the Camp Office was completed, as funds for the same were exhausted, and the work was foreclosed by the PWD in June 2023, said the CAG report.

Also Read | Who is Justice Swarana Sharma? Kejriwal wants her to be removed from excise case

In the work of additions/alterations to the then CM residence, the PWD prepared preliminary estimates (PE) of 7.91 crore by adopting the Plinth Area Rates, published by the Central Public Works Department for Type VII and VIII accommodation/Bungalows.

"The work was declared urgent by the PWD. The said work although awarded at 8.62 crore being 13.21 per cent above the estimated cost, was finally completed at 33.66 crore being 342.31 per cent above the estimated cost," said the report.

Administrative approval was granted after the work was completed, creating a liability without approval.

Key Takeaways The reported costs raise serious concerns regarding fiscal responsibility and transparency in government projects.

Irregularities in project approval processes could indicate systemic issues within the Public Works Department.

The dramatic overspend could have political repercussions, particularly in light of upcoming elections.

Audit observed that during work execution, the PWD increased the built-up area from 1,397 sqm to 1,905 sqm (36 per cent) and also altered the applicable specifications of the work by using several items of superior specifications, artistic and antique items, ornamental works, both civil and electrical in nature, it said.

The PWD for covering the cost revised the preliminary estimates four times. Further, it also did not explore the possibility of tendering for additional work, as such a single contractor executed works amounting to 25.80 crore, it added.
The Government of India has called for an all-party meeting on March 25 (Wednesday) at 5 PM on the West Asia crisis.

Earlier today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a review meeting in the wake of recent global and regional security events, and also to review India's defence preparedness.

CDS General Anil Chauhan, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, General Upendra Dwivedi, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Samir Kamat, and others were also present at the meeting.

Also Read | PM Modi likely to speak in Rajya Sabha today on Middle East conflict

The ongoing conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28.

In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha today on several aspects of the ongoing conflict and India's energy security.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Modi addressed the Lok Sabha to brief members on the developments in West Asia and their potential impact on India. Describing the situation as "worrisome".

He highlighted that the ongoing conflict poses unprecedented challenges that are not only economic and related to national security but also humanitarian.

The Prime Minister reflected on the global challenges which have emerged due to the conflict and India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region. The opposition parties, on the other hand, called it a "master class in self-boasts and partisan dialogue-baazi (dramatic dialogue)."

"The situation in West Asia is worrisome. This conflict has been going on for more than three weeks. It has a severe impact on the global economy and the lives of the people, and that is why the world is urging all sides for an early resolution to this conflict," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister informed of India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region.
After the first meeting in July 2025 at Thanes Amber Cafe, Singh began selling crops from his agricultural land to fund his investment. In August, he paid 20 lakh in cash. He was also made to meet impersonators of Gupta and Khandelwal in a bid by the scammers to convince him. Online transfers made by Singh were to various accounts, including Vinayak Enterprises, a company that was not identified further in the FIR. Mint could not independently ascertain its identity.
Harish Rana, India's first person to be allowed passive euthanasia, died at AIIMS Delhi, sources told news agency PTI on Tuesday.

On 11 March 2026, the Supreme Court allowed the withdrawal of medical treatment to 32-year-old Harish Rana from Ghaziabad, who had been in a vegetative state for the last 13 years with negligible hope of recovery.

Harish Rana's father, Ashok Rana, told ANI, "We had been fighting for this. Which parents would want this for their son? We had been pursuing this case for the last three years. He will be taken to AIIMS. He used to be a topper at Panjab University."

Passive euthanasia refers to the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment to allow a patient with no reasonable prospect of recovery to die naturally.

The Harish Rana case In its ruling on 11 March, the Supreme Court had directed AIIMS Delhi to admit Rana and provide all facilities for carrying out the exercise of withdrawing the life support system.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Vishwanathan allowed the withdrawal of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH) for Harish Rana, who has remained in a vegetative state since suffering an accidental fall from a building in 2013.

After the Supreme Court's verdict, Advocate Manish Jain said that under Article 21, the court granted Rana the right to euthanasia.

Informing about the next course of action, the advocate had told ANI on 11 March that within a week, [Rana] will be transferred to AIIMS, where all life-support tubes will be removed, allowing him to pass away naturally without further medical intervention.

The advocate said the decision followed the 2018 Common Cause guidelines, which set out how individuals in a palliative state with complete immobility should be treated.

While passive euthanasia is more common worldwide, this ruling marks a small but significant step in India, he added, while informing that the Supreme Court directed all state Chief Medical Officers to establish primary and secondary boards for euthanasia and to report regularly to their ministries.

Reacting to the Supreme Court's order, IMA president Anil Nayak had told ANI, ... The decision was taken on humanitarian grounds, as the patient, Harish Rana, had been suffering and struggling with this physical disability for the past 13 years following a serious head injury...

He said a policy should also be introduced in this regard for any future cases, "as such situations place both an economic and mental burden on the family..."

2018 Common Cause judgment The Supreme Court's order allowing passive euthanasia is in line with the court's 2018 Common Cause judgment, which was modified in 2023 and recognised the fundamental right to die with dignity.

In the 2018 judgement, a constitution bench had recognised passive euthanasia and the right to die with dignity as a fundamental right under Article 21. The court had held that passive euthanasia could be carried out using "Advance Medical Directives".
India's Loni earned the dubious distinction of being the world's most polluted city with alarming PM2.5 levels, according to an IQAir report released on 24 March. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, the concentration of this hazardous air pollutant was below 5 micrograms per cubic metre last year. This implies that Loni's PM2.5 level is almost 22 times the prescribed limit.

A total of five Indian cities were among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world, including Uttar Pradesh's Loni and Meghalaya's Byrnihat, followed by Delhi, Ghaziabad and West Bengal's Ula (Birnagar). In the second spot in the list is China's Hotan. Four cities in Pakistan also appear on the list of the World's most polluted cities.

PM2.5 concentrations (g/m) in world's most polluted cities Loni  rank 1 - 112.5

Byrnihat  rank 3  101.1

Delhi  rank 4  99.6

Ghaziabad  rank 5  89.2

Ula  rank 10  86.8

View full Image View full Image Loni and Delhi were among the Indian cities that made it to the top 10 list of polluted cities with PM2.5 levels critically high, far above WHO standards.

The 2025 IQAir World Air Quality Report presents PM2.5 air quality data sourced from 9,446 cities spanning 143 countries, regions, and territories. The information is sourced from more than 40,000 regulatory monitoring stations and low-cost sensors, managed by a wide array of contributors.

The information on air quality is obtained from government agencies, universities, non-profit organizations, private enterprises, and engaged citizen scientists around the world.

World's most polluted country Pakistan is the world's most polluted country in 2025, with PM2.5 concentrations up to 13 times the recommended WHO level.

Key findings from the 2025 World Air Quality Report: In 2024, 17% of global cities met the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline of 5 g/m, but this declined to 14% in 2025.

Only 13 countries meet the WHO annual average PM2.5 guideline  French Polynesia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados, New Caledonia, Iceland, Bermuda, Reunion, Andorra, Australia, Grenada, Panama and Estonia.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) imports to India are likely to halve this month due to the war in Iran and the blockage of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing traders and ship-tracking data.

India imports 60% of its LPG needs, with 85-90% of this being sourced from Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which use the Strait of Hormuz as transit for shipping oil and gas to users. The strait has been effectively closed since the first week of March.

Also Read | Is India preparing to substitute LPG with ethanol in kitchens? Food Secy reveals

Until the US-Israeli strikes against Iran on 28 February, the Middle East had accounted for around 90% of sea-borne supplies, reaching 22.7 million metric tons last year.

However, this month so far, the share of Gulf exporters fell to around 55 percent, with about 40 percent of imports coming from the US and Russia and Argentina accounting for the rest, LSEG data showed, as per Reuters.

Around 50% drop in March imports Traders and ship-tracking data from LSEG reportedly suggest that India is set to import 1.190 million metric tons of LPG this month, down 46 percent from February on a daily basis.

LPG is mainly used as fuel for cars, heating and to produce other petrochemicals. Earlier this month, the Centre asked consumers to avoid panic buying of LPG cylinders and shift to piped natural gas where possible.

Imports from Russia, though are constrained by scarcity of available volumes and vessels, as well as relatively long routes from the key LPG exporting outlet of Ust-Luga in the Baltic Sea.

The government has said the local refineries have increased LPG output by around 40 pe from the start of March.

'No shortage of LPG', says govt The Indian government has maintained that there is no shortage of LPG in the country.

Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, said on 13 March, There is no shortage of LNG supplies. There is no shortage of LPG. I am repeatedly appealing to all consumers: those who can shift from LPG to PNG should do so immediately.

Also Read | 161 Indian sailors back from Gulf in last 24 hrs; Nanda Devi docks at Kundla

In the Rajya Sabha on 24 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, It is the efforts of our government to ensure that we do not remain overly dependent on just one source of fuel.

He said efforts are being made to ensure large-scale enhancement of domestic production of LPG.

On 24 March, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways confirmed that the two LPG tankers Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, carrying more than 92,000 tons of LPG, sailed through Hormuz and were expected to reach ports in India between 26 and 28 March.

Previously, MT Shivalik and MT Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 tonnes of LPG, safely reached the Indian shore.

Indian-flagged oil tanker Jag Laadki, with 80,886 tonnes of crude oil from the UAE, reached Mundra on 18 March.
Visuals of the Indian LPG carrier Pine Gas, which recently crossed the war-hit Strait of Hormuz, emerged on social media on Tuesday, 24 March. The photos were shared a day after the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways confirmed that two Indian LPG carriers, Jag Vasant and Pine Gas, had transited through the Strait of Hormuz.

News agency ANI shared visuals of the Pine Gas LPG Carrier, citing the Government of India as its source.

What we know so far about Pine Gas and Jag Vasant LPG tankers Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, sailing close to each other, started from the Persian Gulf on Monday morning before crossing the strait, news agency PTI reported. They were reportedly carrying roughly a day's supply of the country's cooking gas.

The two India-flagged tankers were loaded at anchorages in Kuwait and the UAE, according to LSEG ship-tracking data, as per Reuters.

Also Read | India in talks with global partners to secure safe passage for vessels: PM

The Pine Gas, which loaded in UAE waters, sailed through the strait, followed by the Jag Vasant carrying LPG from Kuwait, according to ship-tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways confirmed that the two tankers, carrying more than 92,000 tons of LPG, had sailed through Hormuz and were expected to reach ports in India between 26 and 28 March.

The vessels, carrying 92,612.59 MT of LPG, have 33 and 27 Indian seafarers onboard, respectively, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, at a news briefing on Monday.

These vessels are destined for India and are likely to reach ports between March 26 and 28, 2026, the ministry added.

The Pine Gas broadcast a message identifying itself as India ship and crew, LSEG ship-tracking data showed.

Both the LPG tankers sailed through waters between Iran's Larak and Qeshm islands  possibly to make their identity clear to Iranian authorities before they cross the strait, ship tracking data showed.

Indian ships stranded amid war The two ships were among the 22 Indian-flagged vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf after the war in West Asia nearly closed the Strait of Hormuz  the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that connects the oil- and gas-producing Gulf countries to the rest of the world.

Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in West Asia broke out following US-Israel attacks on Iran. Of these, 24 were on the West side of the Strait and four on the East side. In the last few days, two vessels from each side have managed to sail to safety.

Once Pine Gas and Jag Vasant successfully navigate, the number of vessels on the west side will be reduced to 20, including 5 LPG carriers.

Which Indian carriers have reached India so far? Previously, MT Shivalik and MT Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 tonnes of LPG, had safely reached the Indian shore.

LPG carrier Shivalik reached Mundra, Gujarat, on 16 March, while another LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached Kandla port, Gujarat, the next day. Two LPG carriers began their journey on 13 March and crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on 14 March.

Indian-flagged oil tanker Jag Laadki, with 80,886 tonnes of crude oil from the UAE, reached Mundra on 18 March.

Another tanker, Jag Prakash, carrying gasoline from Oman to Africa, had previously safely crossed the strait and is en route to Tanzania.
Akriti Anand

Akriti Anand is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint. She is a digital journalist with more than six years in the news industry.<br><br> In her current role, she covers both national and international politics, and also keeps a close watch on the latest trends in science and space exploration. <br><br> Akriti joined the LiveMint team in October 2023. Before this, she built a strong career at other major media houses. She worked as a senior sub-editor at India Today. Later, she moved to CNBCTV-18. There, she covered high-pressure topics like breaking news and major elections. She spent much of her time analysing Parliament bills and complex political debates. She is also a skilled editor who knows how to polish a story for a digital audience. <br><br> One of her career highlights happened at CNBCTV-18. She made her first television debut during the Chandrayaan-3 mission. She also provided special on-air coverage for the Karnataka Elections. <br><br> When she is not busy with breaking news, Akriti loves to write explainers and interview experts on a wide range of issues. She also enjoys making complex space missions easy for everyone to understand. <br><br> Her education helps her tackle these diverse subjects. She holds a BA in English Literature, a Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication, and a Masters degree in Development Studies. She is currently expanding her knowledge in climate journalism.<br><br> Connect with Akriti here<br> LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/akriti-anand-868285199">https://www.linkedin.com/in/akriti-anand-868285199</a><br> Twitter/X: <a href="https://x.com/AkritiAnand7">https://x.com/AkritiAnand7</a><br> Email: akriti.anand@htdigital.in
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in New Delhi on Tuesday awarded a life sentence to Kashmiri separatist Aasiya Andrabi and a 30-year jail term to her two associates, Sofi Fehmida and Nahida Nasreen, in a terror case lodged by the National Investigation Agency.

Andrabi is the alleged chief of women's pro-separatist outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander Jit Singh awarded the sentence to three convicts for different offences proved against them.

Aasiya Andrabi is sentenced to life imprisonment for offence of Terror Conspiracy under section 18 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and criminal Conspiracy under section 120 B IPC each, She is sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence of Conspiracy for waging war against India under section 121 A IPC, she is also sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the offence of being members or associated with terror organisation under section 38 and for the offence of supporting a terror organisation under section 39 of UAPA each.

Also Read | NIA raids 9 locations across 6 J&K districts in Red Fort car blast case

She is further sentenced to 5 year imprisonment for the offence of promoting enmity between group of people under sections 153 A, for the offence of causing disharmony among the groups of people based on religion, caste etc. under section 153 B and for the offence of statements conducing to public mischief under section 505 IPC each.

A fine of Rs. 8 lakh is imposed on her as well.

The court has sentenced Naheeda Nasrin and Sofi Fehmida to 30 year imprisonment for the offence under section 18 of UAPA and 120 B IPC, they are also sentenced for 10 year imprisonment for the offence of 38, 39 UAPA each, they are further sentenced for 4 year Imprisonment for the offences under section 153A, 153 B and 505 of IPC each, they are also sentenced to 10 year Imprisonment for the offence under section 121 A. The court has also imposed a fine of 7 lakh on each Convict.

The court had held them guilty on January 14, 2026, for the offences.

Andrabi was arrested in 2018.

NIA had invoked charges against her under sections relating to waging war against the State, promoting enmity between communities, and terror conspiracy under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The case was heard at Patiala House Court by ASJ Singh, and judgment was reserved. Thereafter, he was transferred to Karkardooma Court. Therefore, the sentence was pronounced from Karkardooma Court.

On December 21, 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court had ordered framing of charges against Kashmiri separatist Asiya Andrabi and her two associates for allegedly waging war against India, sedition, and conspiracy to commit terror acts in the country.

ASJ Parveen Singh had ordered framing of charges against Andrabi, founder of Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DEM), and her two associates -- Sofi Fahmeeda and Naheeda Nasreen -- for allegedly waging war against India, sedition, and conspiracy to commit terror acts in the country.

The court had ordered framing of charges against them under Section 120B, Sections 121, 121A, Section 124A, Section 153B, and Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code and various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Andrabi is a Kashmiri and the founding leader of Dukhtaran-e-Millat. This group is allegedly part of the separatist organisation 'All Parties Hurriyat Conference' in the Kashmir valley, and the Government of India has declared it as a "banned terrorist organisation."

Also Read | From terror to pollution: Pakistan ranks worst globally on both fronts

DEM, a banned outfit under the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, was allegedly involved in anti-India activities by inciting the general populace of Kashmir for an armed rebellion against the Government of India with aid and assistance from various terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.
The Supreme Court of India, on 24 March, said that no person professing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism can be regarded as a member of a Scheduled Caste (SC).

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and NV Anjaria, upholding an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, said that a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste community loses his status immediately and completely upon conversion to another religion, news agency PTI reported.

"No statutory benefit, protection or reservation or entitlement under the Constitution or enactment of Parliament or state legislature can be claimed by or extended to any person who, by operation of clause 3, is not deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Caste.

"This bar is absolute and admits no exception. A person can't simultaneously profess and practice a religion other than the one specified in clause 3 and claim membership of the Scheduled Caste," the bench said.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 30 April 2025, held that once an individual converts to Christianity and actively professes and practices the faith, he cannot be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste community.

The high court has held that the caste system is alien to Christianity and is consequently barred from invoking the provisions of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Quashed charges filed by the complainant It quashed charges filed by a complainant who had converted to Christianity and had invoked the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in a criminal case.

Aggrieved by the order, the man, a pastor, moved the apex court challenging the high court decision.

The top court noted that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, has made it clear that conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 of the 1950 order results in immediate loss of Schedule Caste status, regardless of birth, and this bar was "absolute".

"In the present case, it is not the case of the petitioner that he reconverted from Christianity to his original religion or has been accepted back into the folds of the Madiga community.

"On the contrary, the evidence establishes that the appellant continued to profess Christianity and has been functioning as a pastor for more than a decade, conducting regular Sunday prayers at the houses of the village," the court said.

The bench noted that at the time of the alleged incident, he was conducting prayer meetings at the house.

"These concurrent facts leave no room for doubt that he continued to remain a Christian on the date of the occurrence," the bench said on the facts of the case.

The pastor Chinthada Anand had filed a criminal case in 2021 against one Akkala Rami Reddy, invoking various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST Act, alleging that a person had assaulted him while he was performing pastoral duties and conducting Sunday prayers in a village in Andhra Pradesh.

He claimed that he was subjected to multiple assaults by Rami Reddy, and he and his family were given death threats and abused in the name of their caste.
Petrol and diesel prices continue to remain stable in major Indian cities amid the conflict in the Middle East, which appeared to show signs of de-escalation on Monday.

The conflict in the Middle East, which is in its fourth week now, was slated for further escalation with US President Donald Trump threatening strikes against Iran's energy infrastructure over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

However, on Monday, Trump claimed that talks were underway between Washington and Tehran, and announced that he would hold off on strikes against Iran's power plants.

Also Read | India in talks with global partners to secure safe passage for vessels: PM

Although Iran has officially denied that talks have taken place, reports quoting Iranian officials indicate that some communication is ongoing between Washington and Tehran as a pre-cursor to talks to end the conflict, which has, over the past few weeks, rattled global oil markets due to an effective stop in maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy trade.

Consequently, oil prices soared globally, with the price of Brent Crude rising from around $70 in late February to hit $108 on Monday.

However, following Trump's indications of de-escalation, the price of Brent Crude dipped below $100 before rising to $103.

That said, despite significant volatility in the international oil market, petrol and diesel prices for regular customers in India have remained unchanged, although there have been some changes to the price of industrial diesel and premium petrol.

Industrial diesel, premium petrol price hiked With rising international crude prices piling pressure on margins, state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) in India on Friday raised the price of industrial diesel and premium petrol.

Industrial diesel, which is sold in bulk to commercial establishments, saw its price hiked by 21.92 a litrea considerable 25% increasewhile the price of premium petrol was raised by 2 a litre.

Regular petrol and diesel prices Regular petrol and diesel prices, which account for a significant chunk of daily sales at pumps, have been left unchanged.

The three major oil marketing companies (OMCs) in India  Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)  revise prices at 6 am every day to ensure rates align with international crude prices and currency exchange rate movements.

Below are petrol and diesel prices across major Indian cities on Tuesday, 24 March.

City Petrol (  /L) Diesel (  /L) Delhi  94.77  87.67 Mumbai  103.54  90.03 Kolkata  105.45  92.02 Chennai  100.84  92.39 Hyderabad  107.46  95.70 Bengaluru  102.96  90.99 Lucknow  94.69  87.81 Ahmedabad  94.49  90.17

Factors affecting petrol and diesel prices in India There are several factors that influence the prices of petrol and diesel in India, with the most significant being the price of crude oil on global markets.

The rupee-dollar exchange rate also plays an important role in determining the price of petrol and diesel, given the fact that India imports a large share of its crude oil requirements. Simply put, a weaker rupee can increase the cost of imported crude, pushing up domestic fuel prices, or vice-versa.

A third factor is the taxes imposed by the Centre and state governments, which form a major component of petrol and diesel prices, and is responsible for fuel price variations across states.
(Bloomberg) -- The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrived at a port in Crete on Monday after it had to leave the Middle East  and the war against Iran  when a fire broke out in its laundry area. But the massive ships problems run a lot deeper than that.

Delivered years late in May 2017, the Ford is the most expensive US warship ever built at $13.2 billion.

And its been sent to sea for an extended deployment  that has seen the vessel involved in conflicts with Venezuela and Iran  despite open questions about how well it would perform in a war.

The concerns around the Ford range from the potentially grave to the mundane, according to a new assessment from the Pentagon testing office, with many issues surfacing after it started combat testing in October 2022. The Navy didnt comment on the report.

Among the lingering concerns: there isnt enough current test data to asses the Fords operational suitability, or the reliability of several key systems, including its jet launch and recovery system, its radar, its ability to keep operating if hit by enemy fire and its elevators for moving weapons and munitions for warplanes from the hold to the flight deck.

The Pentagons test office said insufficient data are available at this time  nine years after the ship was delivered  to determine the Ford-classs operational effectiveness, due to incomplete realistic combat testing.

That means its not clear how well the Ford  and other ships in its class, which have yet to be delivered  can detect, track or intercept enemy aircraft, anti-ship missiles or small attack aircraft. Its also unclear how the aircraft carriers systems would perform under the wartime strain of continuous takeoffs and landings.

The Ford, which was dispatched to the Red Sea for operations against Iran, ended up leaving the battle for Crete not because of an enemy attack but after a fire broke out in the ships laundry area. It resulted in over 200 sailors being treated for smoke inhalation, Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, wrote last week to Navy Secretary John Phelan.

The incident underscored how even the US Navys most advanced assets are under strain as the Trump administration relies on a version of gunboat diplomacy to accomplish geopolitical goals in Iran and Venezuela  assembling armadas off the coast to pressure foes with the prospect of military action.

The Ford spent months at sea beyond a standard deployment after participating in US operations against Venezuela before dispatched by President Donald Trump to the Middle East. While a normal tour last about seven months, the Ford has been at sea for around 9 months  since June of last year.

The Ford is on track to break the record for longest carrier deployment since the end of the Vietnam War, Kaine wrote, adding the extended tour has forced Sailors to improvise with broken equipment and ship support systems.

Some testing problems have been identified but not fixed. While the Fords ability to defend itself against drones and small, high-speed attack boats was tested back in 2022, the Navy has developed fixes for combat systems  identified in a classified assessment  but the fixes still remain largely unfunded, the test office said.

The testing office found other issues.

One is that there isnt a sufficient number of bunks, with a 159 additional bunks required to properly house all of the Fords sailors in addition to personnel in temporary units accompanying the ship into battle. The shortfall could get worse if the carriers air wing diversifies further to include additional F-35 warplanes or staff to operate Boeing MQ-25 Stingray refueling drones.

These berthing shortfalls will affect quality of life onboard, the testing office said.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
US First Lady Melania Trump made a short appearance on the opening day of her Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit, delivering remarks before leaving within minutes.

The 55-year-old First Lady spoke at the start of the two-day event on Tuesday, March 24, held at the United States Department of State in Washington, DC. The summit has been described as unprecedented and brings together global leaders, their spouses, and representatives from 28 best-in-class technology entities.

According to a report by People, Melania arrived at 10:01 am, addressed attendees, and departed at 10:08 am shortly after completing her speech.

Melania Trump hosts world counterparts She spoke to delegates from 38 countries, including Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Olena Zelenska, the spouse of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Other nations represented included Costa Rica, Poland, Romania, Belize, Slovenia, and Lithuania.

It is wonderful to receive such an impressive delegation of world leaders, first spouses, and best- in-class tech companiesall with the shared purpose to empower our next generations advancement in technology and education, Melania, the wife of Donald Trump, said in her remarks.

She encouraged participating nations to work collectively to support children worldwide, stating that the coalitions goal is to empower children by providing greater access to technology and education.

Calling for concrete action, she urged leaders to commit to hosting a regional meeting, conduct a research study, advance new partnerships, collaborate with another member nation in your region of the world.

Also Read | Donald Trump's wife Melania shared close bond with Ghislaine Maxwell

I wish everyone great success during Fostering the Future Togethers Global Coalition Summit. There is much to accomplish over this two-day period, and this is only the beginning, she said, concluding her speech before exiting the event.

Melania delivered her address in front of signage displaying the summits title alongside her Be Best initiative.

The summit saw participation from major technology firms, including Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI.

While her appearance on the first day was brief, she is expected to take on a more active role on Wednesday, March 25, when the event continues at the White House. A spokesperson confirmed to People that she will host the full session Roundtable at the White House tomorrow.

Melania Trump first unveiled the Fostering the Future Together initiative during a session of the United Nations General Assembly last autumn.
News of OnlyFans' Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Leonid Radvinskys death emerged on Monday, although the New York Post indicated he had died several days earlier following a battle with cancer. The information was not made public immediately after his passing.

Citing Andy Bachman, CEO of Creators Inc, a company closely associated with adult content creators on the platform, the report noted that the death was not sudden and that considerable preparation had taken place beforehand. Bachman said Radvinskys condition had been known to insiders for some time and that steps had been taken to ensure continuity.

Also Read | Who was Leonid Radvinsky? OnlyFans owner dies at 43 after battling cancer

Radvinsky lived a private life, says Bachman Bachman, who shared a close relationship with Radvinsky, said those within his circle had long been aware of his health issues. He indicated that while the loss was deeply felt, the company had been left in a strong and prepared position. He also explained that news of the death surfaced days later as part of a deliberate effort to avoid disruption to operations.

'Insiders knew [Radvinsky] had been dealing with health issues for some time, and while his passing is tragic, he left behind a company that was fully prepared and resilient," he told the New York Post.

He further reflected on Radvinskys personality, noting the contrast between his public influence and personal life. Despite building one of the most widely discussed platforms online, he lived quietly, maintaining a disciplined lifestyle shaped by faith and family.

Also Read | Who was Leonid Radvinsky? OnlyFans owner dies at 43 after battling cancer

Media reports have suggested that despite making $7.4 billion and playing a major role in bringing adult content into the mainstream digital economy, Radvinsky maintained an exceptionally low public profile, with only one known photograph of him in circulation.

Radvinsky's secret battle with cancer The platform confirmed that Radvinsky died after a prolonged and private fight with cancer at 43. In its statement, the company said, "We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Leo Radvinsky. Leo passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer," adding that his family requested privacy during this time.

In the period leading up to his death, Radvinsky reportedly withdrew from public view and lived in a $19 million, 6,000-square-foot oceanfront condominium at Turnberry Ocean Club in Miami. The high-security property features private elevators, continuous surveillance, and discreet access to parking areas, allowing complete privacy from public attention.

Radvinsky's early life and family Radvinsky was born in Odesa to Jewish Ukrainian parents and was later raised outside Chicago. He graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in economics and developed an early interest in scalable business models within the adult-tech space, which eventually led to his involvement with OnlyFans.

He is survived by his wife, Yekaterina Katie Chudnovsky, an attorney and philanthropist who leads special projects at the Rare Cancer Research Foundation, according to her online profile.

Radvinsky's ventures In 2018, Radvinsky acquired Fenix International, the parent company of OnlyFans, and remained its director as well as majority shareholder for the next eight years.

His work, particularly enabling adult content creators to reach audiences directly through subscription-based models while retaining 80% of their earnings, reshaped the economics of the pornography industry.

Before OnlyFans, he was involved in several early ventures, including websites that claimed to provide access to hacked passwords for adult platforms. He later registered hundreds of domain names, many of which were explicit in nature or referenced celebrities from the early 2000s.

In 2004, Radvinsky launched MyFreeCams, an early entrant in the live-streaming adult content space, where users could pay performers for private interactions. The platform helped establish a model that would later evolve into the subscription-driven approach seen on OnlyFans.
"The problems we face did not come down from the heavens. They are made, they are made by bad human decisions, and good human decisions can change them."

This line by Bernie Sanders does not comfort you. It challenges you. It removes every excuse. It says that suffering is not fate, poverty is not destiny, and injustice is not the natural order of things. It says someone built this. And, what someone built, someone can fix.

Sanders did not say this from a place of optimism. He said it from a place of anger. Its the kind of quiet, sustained anger that comes from watching the same problems repeat themselves for decades. Meanwhile, those in power shrug and call it inevitable.

The repetition in the quote is deliberate. "They are made, they are made." Sanders wants you to sit with that. To really absorb it.

Because the moment you accept that problems are man-made, you also have to accept something uncomfortable: that someone allowed them to happen. And, that someone may have been all of us, through silence, through complacency, through bad choices at the ballot box and in the boardroom.

What it means The Vermont senator's quote has a three-part structure, and each part performs a specific function.

"The problems we face did not come down from the heavens" This is the demolition. It knocks down the idea that inequality, war, hunger or climate destruction are acts of God or forces of nature beyond human control.

"They are made, they are made by bad human decisions" This is the accusation. It places responsibility squarely on people, not on fate or the universe. It blames choices.

Change never happens from the top down. It always happens from the bottom up.

"And good human decisions can change them" This is the opening. Its neither a guarantee nor a promise. Its just a door left ajar for anyone willing to walk through it.

Together, the three parts form a complete moral argument: accountability first, then possibility.

Why it matters The most dangerous idea in politics is inevitability. When people believe that things cannot change, they stop trying. They believe that poverty will always exist, the powerful will always win, and the system is too big to fight. Bernie Sanders' quote is a direct attack on that idea.

It also applies far beyond politics. In workplaces where toxic culture is treated as "just how things are." In families where unhealthy patterns are passed down as tradition.

In some communities, problems are accepted as permanent. They are believed to be features of life rather than the result of decisions that can be revisited and reversed.

The quote asks a simple question: Who decided this was normal? Once you ask that question, the next one follows naturally: who can decide differently?

Another perspective Senator Bernie Sanders has spent decades backing this philosophy with action, not just words. His consistent positions on healthcare, wages, and corporate power are built on the same idea. He believes these are policy choices, not natural phenomena. He often says:

"Change never happens from the top down. It always happens from the bottom up."

This companion thought is important. The 84-year-old democratic socialist is not saying that good decisions will come from those already in power. He is saying they must be demanded by those who are not.

How to apply it today Takeaway 1: The next time you accept a problem as "just the way it is," stop and ask: whose decision created this? That one question can shift your entire perspective.

Takeaway 2: Cynicism is comfortable. It demands nothing from you. But, Sanders' quote makes cynicism harder to justify. If problems arise,doing nothing is also a decision, and it has consequences.

Takeaway 3: Good decisions rarely happen alone. They happen when enough people decide, together, that a bad situation is no longer acceptable. The unit of change is collective, not individual.

Problems do not fall from the sky. They are built, piece by piece, decision by decision. The same hands that built them can take them apart. The only question Sanders leaves you with is: whose hands will those be?

Related readings Our Revolution by Bernie Sanders

Sanders lays out his political philosophy in full: where these ideas come from, what they mean in practice and what he believes ordinary people are capable of when they organise together.

The Common Good by Robert B. Reich

Its a short, sharp argument for why societies thrive when citizens accept shared responsibility and what happens when they stop.

Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson

This is a landmark work of political economy. It proves with historical evidence what Sanders says in one sentence: that poverty and failure are choices made by institutions, not outcomes written in the stars.

The Divide by Matt Taibbi
Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement., these powerful words from Gandalf were uttered in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, authored by JRR Tolkien

What Does the Quote Mean? Gandalf speaks these words to Frodo Baggins in the mines of the Shire, specifically during a quiet, grave moment in Bag End, when Frodo recoils upon learning that the creature Gollum still lives and laments that Bilbo did not kill him when he had the chance. Frodo declares that Gollum deserves death. Gandalf's response is one of the most quietly devastating rebukes in all of literature.

The wizard is not defending Gollum's crimes. He is challenging Frodo's certainty, and by extension, all of ours, that we are qualified to determine who is beyond saving. The quote asks a simple but shattering question: if you cannot restore life to those who die unjustly, what gives you the authority to hasten anyone's death?

At its heart, this is a meditation on humility, mercy, and the limits of human- or hobbit  judgement. Tolkien, a devout Roman Catholic, was deeply influenced by theological ideas of grace and redemption. Gollum, wretched and corrupted as he is, ultimately plays a decisive role in destroying the One Ring. Had he been killed earlier, the quest would have failed. Mercy, in Tolkien's moral universe, is not weakness  it is wisdom operating on a timescale that judgement cannot see.

The quote endures because it speaks to something universal: our instinct to write people off, and the reminder that we almost never have the full picture.

What Is The Lord of the Rings? The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel by British author J.R.R. Tolkien, published in three volumes  The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King  between 1954 and 1955.

Set in the richly imagined world of Middle-earth, it follows the hobbit Frodo Baggins, who inherits a ring of immense and corrupting power. Alongside a fellowship of men, elves, dwarves, and fellow hobbits, Frodo undertakes a perilous quest to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, the only place where it can be unmade, before the dark lord Sauron can reclaim it and enslave all living things.

The novel is widely regarded as the foundational text of modern fantasy literature and one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold worldwide.

Who Is JRR Tolkien? John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, in what is now South Africa, and raised in England following his father's death. He went on to become a professor of Anglo-Saxon and later English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford, where he spent the bulk of his academic career.

Tolkien was a philologist, a scholar of language and its history, and this expertise shaped everything he created. Middle-earth was not conceived as a story first but as a vehicle for the invented languages he had been constructing since adolescence, most notably Quenya and Sindarin, two forms of Elvish. The world, in essence, grew around the words.

A veteran of the First World War who fought at the Battle of the Somme, Tolkien lost nearly all of his closest friends to the conflict. Many scholars see the shadow of that experience woven through Middle-earth's landscapes of ruin, endurance, and unlikely heroism. He died on 2 September 1973, aged 81, leaving behind a mythology that has only grown in stature with time.

Interesting Facts About The Lord of the Rings It took JRR Tolkien 12 years to write The Lord of The Rings. He began The Lord of the Rings in 1937, shortly after the success of The Hobbit, and did not complete it until 1949. Publishers then sat on it for several more years, anxious about its length and commercial viability.

Publishers made him split it into three books. Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a single novel. His publisher, Allen & Unwin, divided it into three volumes purely to manage printing costs.

The Elvish languages are fully functional. Tolkien constructed Quenya and Sindarin with complete grammatical systems, vocabularies, and even poetry. Linguists today continue to study and expand them.

It was nearly lost to a rival publisher. A draft of the manuscript was accidentally sent to a competing publisher, Collins, during a contract dispute. Had that deal gone through, the book's entire publication history  and possibly its reception  could have been different.

Peter Jackson's film trilogy won 17 Academy Awards. The three films, released between 2001 and 2003, together hold one of the strongest awards records in cinema history. The Return of the King alone won all 11 categories for which it was nominated  including Best Picture  matching the all-time record.
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 24) heard arguments over the Trump administrations authority to turn away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border under a policy known as metering. The policy allows officials to limit the number of asylum claims processed when crossings are deemed overwhelmed.

Legal dispute: What counts as arrival? At the centre of the case is whether migrants stopped on the Mexican side of the border can be considered to have arrived in the United States under federal law.

Representing the administration, Justice Department lawyer Vivek Suri argued: You can't arrive in the United States while you're still standing in Mexico. That should be the end of this case.

Justices question policys legality Sonia Sotomayor raised concerns about whether the policy undermines protections for asylum seekers.

Theyre letting everybody else in but theyre not permitting the people who come to the line who want to claim refugee status, she said.

Drawing a comparison, she added: Someone on a plane arriving to land in LaGuardia theyre knocking on the door.

Policy origins and legal challenge The metering practice began in 2016 under Barack Obama and was formalised during Donald Trumps first term in 2018. It was later rescinded by Joe Biden in 2021.

The legal challenge was brought by advocacy group Al Otro Lado. In 2024, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal law requires agents to process asylum seekers at official crossings, even if they have not yet entered the country.

Trump Administration signals policy revival The administration has indicated it may revive the metering policy depending on border conditions. It has argued in court filings that arrive in means physically entering the United States, not merely approaching it.

Immigration battles ahead The case is one of several major immigration disputes before the Supreme Court. The court has recently backed Trump on key measures, including deportations and revoking protections for migrants.

Upcoming hearings will address the legality of restricting birthright citizenship and efforts to end temporary protections for migrants from Haiti and Syria.

Verdict expected by June A ruling in the case is expected by the end of June, with significant implications for US asylum policy and border enforcement.

(With Reuters inputs)

Also Read | Senate approves Trump loyalist Markwayne Mullin as next DHS secretary
There has been recent outreach between the United States and Iran, but it has not progressed to formal negotiations, CNN reported an Iranian source as saying.

There has been outreach between the United States and Iran, initiated by Washington, in recent days, but nothing that has reached the level of full-on negotiations, the source was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

Messages via intermediaries The communication reportedly is being conducted through indirect channels, with intermediaries relaying proposals aimed at exploring a possible end to the conflict.

Messages have been received through various intermediaries to scope out whether an agreement to end the war can be reached, the source was quoted.

Focus on long-term settlement The discussions are not limited to a temporary ceasefire but are aimed at a broader resolution to the conflict.

The proposals being looked at are aimed not merely at achieving a ceasefire, but a concrete agreement to end the conflict between the US and Iran, the source reportedly said, as cited.

Iran open, but no direct talks sought Tehran is not actively seeking direct negotiations but reportedly remains open to considering credible proposals.

Iran is not asking for a meeting or direct talks with the United States but is willing to listen if a plan for a sustainable deal comes within reach that would preserve the national interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the news outlet quoted the source as saying.

Nuclear assurance and sanctions relief The source reiterated Irans position on its nuclear programme and sanctions.

The source added that any agreement must also include the removal of all sanctions imposed on Iran.

No comment on Trump statements The source as per the news outlet declined to comment on public remarks by US President Donald Trump regarding the negotiations, maintaining that Irans stance on engagement remains consistent.

Trump signals possible de-escalation, Tehran denies talks Trump has hinted at a potential diplomatic breakthrough in the ongoing conflict with Iran, saying Washington could be moving closer to ending hostilities.

In a social media post on March 23, Trump said he was delaying previously announced plans to strike Irans power infrastructure by five days, contingent on developments around the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Trump expressed cautious optimism following reported backchannel efforts.

All Im saying is we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal, he said. And I think, if I were a betting man Id bet for it. But again, Im not guaranteeing anything.

He added that his envoys, including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, had held very good talks with unnamed Iranian officials over the weekend.

Hormuz crisis drives urgency The Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy chokepoint handling roughly 20% of the worlds crude supply, has remained effectively shut during the conflict, pushing oil and gas prices higher.

Trump said the decision to hold back on targeting critical infrastructure was linked to these diplomatic efforts.

Iran rejects negotiation claims Iran, however, firmly denied any high-level engagement with Washington and dismissed Trumps remarks.

No negotiations have been held with the US, said Iranian Praliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf in a post on X.
(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration has ordered the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy about 2,000 soldiers to the Middle East, a person familiar with the matter said, as the White House weighs options to ease Irans chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

The verbal orders are for about two battalions plus enabling units, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing plans that havent been made public. They add to the two Marine Expeditionary Units  with about 5,000 troops  that should start arriving in the region in the coming days.

Administration officials havent said what the troops will be used for but they could be tasked with a variety of support roles or serve as the vanguard of a ground attack. Scenarios including seizing Kharg Island, which handles the bulk of Irans energy exports, occupying land along Irans coast or participating in an operation to seize Iranian nuclear material.

All announcements regarding troop deployments will come from the Department of War, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, using the administrations preferred term for the Defense Department. She said President Donald Trump has all military options at his disposal.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the US was deploying a brigade combat team of about 3,000 troops under the 82nd Airborne division. Fox News reported that the commander of the 82nd, Major General Brandon Tegtmeier, has been ordered to deploy along with his command element.

A potential deployment of ground troops in the war against Iran would further escalate the conflict at a time when markets had expected the opposite following Trumps comments on Monday that he was pursuing talks with Iran to end the war.

Stocks fell and oil prices rose on Tuesday afternoon following the reports, while comments from Trump about possible Iran talks later drove stocks from session lows.

The 82nd, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is an elite rapid response force designed and trained to deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours. Its light infantry troops are trained to parachute down for raids and secure high-value targets such as airfields.

Trump hasnt ruled out seizing the Iranian oil export hub of Kharg Island to pressure Tehran over the vital Strait of Hormuz. The US had already dispatched two Marine Expeditionary Units, as more planes and ships continue to arrive in the region.

While the 82nd Airborne would likely deploy via parachute jump, Marines from the expeditionary units would likely arrive on helicopters, amphibious landing craft and small boats.

The moves come as pressure grows on the US to take action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil and gas flows that has been effectively shut since the war began on Feb. 28, causing energy prices to soar.

It also comes just a day after Trump said the US was engaged in talks with Iran to end the war  negotiations that Tehran has denied. On Tuesday, Trump said the US had effectively defeated Iran militarily, and the two sides were now talking about ending the conflict.

Were in negotiations right now, Trump told reporters at the White House, noting that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance are all involved. I think were going to end it, I cant tell you for sure.

Washington may be hoping that the signal sent by their deployment will bring Tehran to the table, Bloomberg Economics analysts Becca Wasser, Jennifer Welch and Adam Farrar wrote in a research note on Tuesday. If that gambit fails, and once the 82nd Airborne troops arrive in theater, there are several potential mission sets for them. All carry a high degree of military  and by extension political  risk.

At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said their contributions to the military campaign would continue at full intensity.

Separately, several countries in the Gulf are weighing whether to respond with military force to ongoing Iranian retaliation against their energy infrastructure, according to several people with knowledge of the situation, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely.

Gulf countries would only join the war if Tehran followed through on threats to attack crucial Gulf power and water infrastructure  a high threshold, the people added.

--With assistance from Courtney Subramanian.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Pakistan is positioning itself as the lead mediator trying to broker an end to the United States and Israels war against Iran, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Pakistani army chief Asim Munir spoke with US President Donald Trump on Sunday, the newspaper reported, citing two people briefed on the call.

On 23 March, President Trump announced there had been "productive conversations" about a "complete and total resolution" to the US-Israeli war with Iran. Responding to Trump's claim, Iran's foreign ministry, however, issued a statement denying any such talks with Washington, the Islamic Republic's media reported.

In another development, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken with Trump. In a post on X, Netanyahu said the US president believes there is "an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements" of the joint US-Israel operation to "realise the goals of the war" by making an agreement with Iran.

A meeting planned in Islamabad? Meanwhile, a Gulf diplomat said an energy catastrophe may have been averted for now if a planned US attack on Irans energy facilities and Irans response had occurred, alluding to recent deescalation efforts.

An Egyptian official told the Associated Press that the US and Iran exchanged messages over the weekend through regional intermediaries, including Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, indicating backchannel communications aimed at reducing tensions.

News agency ANI said it reached out to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and asked whether US Vice President J D Vance and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with Iranian officials in Islamabad this week.

These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House, Leavitt responded to the news agency

The US has set 9 April as a potential date to end the ongoing war on Iran, amid expectations of upcoming talks between the two sides, Israeli media reported Monday.

9 April deadline to end Iran war Washington has set April 9 as a target date for ending the war, leaving about 21 days for continued fighting and negotiations," said the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, citing an unnamed Israeli official, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu.

In another report, an Israeli official told Axios that efforts were underway to bring together senior representatives from both sides, including Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and US envoys Witkoff and Kushner. Vance might also attend.

The mediating countries were trying to convene a meeting in Islamabad, with Ghalibaf and other officials representing Tehran, and Witkoff, Kushner and possibly Vance representing the US, possibly later this week, the Axios reporter Barak Ravid said in a post on X.

Israeli media reports also indicate that Witkoff and Kushner have engaged with Ghalibaf, who has emerged as a key decision-maker during the conflict.

LiveMint could not verify any of these developments.

Also Read | Why PSL will be held behind closed doors in 2026 in Lahore & Karachi

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a telephonic conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, stressed the urgent need for collective efforts for de-escalation in West Asia.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement that Sharif conveyed his "serious concern" to Pezeshkian over the "dangerous ongoing hostilities in the Gulf region".

In view of this grave situation, the prime minister underscored the urgent need to work collectively for de-escalation and a return to dialogue and diplomacy.

The West Asia crisis began on 28 February when the US and Israel attacked Iran, which sparked a conflict.

"In view of this grave situation, the prime minister underscored the urgent need to work collectively for de-escalation and a return to dialogue and diplomacy amongst all the neighbouring countries to settle their differences," the statement said.

Four Weeks of War The war, now in its fourth week, has already seen several dramatic turning points  the killing of Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, the bombing of a key Iranian gas field, and strikes targeting oil and gas facilities and other civilian infrastructure in Gulf Arab nations.

The conflict has killed more than 2,000 people, shaken the global economy, sent oil prices surging, and jeopardised some of the worlds busiest air corridors.
PM Modi Rajya Sabha Speech Highlights: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the government is trying to procure gas and crude oil from all available sources, and efforts will continue in the coming days as the war in West Asia has created a serious energy crisis globally. Modi said this while addressing the Rajya Sabha on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and explained Indias position on the issue.

The war in West Asia has triggered a serious energy crisis worldwide, including in India, PM Modi said in his address. The prime minister said the Indian government is trying to procure gas and crude oil from all possible sources. If the West Asia crisis persists for a longer period, serious consequences are imminent, he said.

Today's address during the ongoing Budget Session of the Parliament, comes a day after the Prime Minister apprised the Lok Sabha over the situation and the steps taken by the government for the safety of the citizens of the country.

The address comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia, which have disrupted critical maritime corridors and raised concerns about the safety of Indian nationals in Gulf nations.

The Union government has also called an all-party meeting on the West Asia crisis on 25 March. Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting on Tuesday morning on the evolving situation in the Middle East. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, the three service chiefs, DRDO Chairman Dr Samir Kamat, and others were present at the meeting.

Iran Foreign Minister spoke with Lavrov

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Monday, after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington and Tehran had held "very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities."

In his address to the Lok Sabha on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India has adequate energy supplies to meet domestic needs, even as the war involving Iran poses unprecedented challenges for the country. He added that the government has been working to ensure that supplies of petrol, diesel and gas remain largely unaffected so that ordinary households face as little difficulty as possible.

Fourth week of the conflict

The conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on 28 February.

In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.

Read More: Follow this live blog on all-party meeting chaired by Rajnath Singh on the Iran war
Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has urged Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, calling it a historic opportunity to reshape the Middle East, according to a report by The New York Times citing people briefed on the discussions.

In recent conversations, the Saudi leader conveyed that Washington should press ahead toward dismantling Irans hardline government, the report said.

Historic opportunity to reshape region Prince Mohammed has reportedly argued that Iran poses a long-term threat to Gulf nations and that only a change in leadership in Tehran can eliminate that risk.

He has also pushed for targeting Irans energy infrastructure and, in some discussions, even floated the idea of deploying ground forces, according to the news report citing sources familiar with US briefings.

Saudi Arabia fears that a failed Iranian state could create greater instability and pose a direct security threat to the kingdom, the NYT reported.

US, Saudi officials wary of prolonged war Despite the push for continued pressure, officials in both Washington and Riyadh are concerned about the risks of a prolonged conflict.

According to the news outlet, there are fears Iran could intensify attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, potentially dragging the United States into a prolonged military engagement.

Saudi denial of escalation push Saudi officials have rejected claims that the crown prince is advocating for an extended war.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict, even before it began, the Saudi government said in a statement, as quoted by the outlet.

Our primary concern today is to defend ourselves from the daily attacks on our people and our civilian infrastructure, it added.

Economic and energy stakes The war has severely disrupted oil markets, particularly due to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy corridor.

Iranian drone and missile attacks have targeted oil facilities, adding pressure on Saudi Arabias economy and its broader Vision 2030 ambitions.

Also Read | Trump claims Iran offered present amid ongoing talks
Afghanistans Taliban government announced the release of American national Dennis Coyle, who had been detained for more than a year. Officials said the decision followed a request from his family seeking a pardon ahead of Eid.

The Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate deemed his period of detention sufficient and decided on his release, the foreign ministry said.

Talks involving US, Taliban and UAE The release announcement came after a meeting involving Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, UAE ambassador Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, and a member of Coyles family, AFP said.

The UAE played a key mediating role, with Taliban authorities describing the move as a gesture of goodwill.

Coyle, 64, appeared relieved as he spoke briefly at Kabul airport before departing on an Emirati jet.

US welcomes move, seeks release of others US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the development and urged further releases.

Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months, Rubio said.

He added: We are still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and all other unjustly detained Americans.

Arrest and detention conditions Coyle, a linguist and researcher from Colorado, was arrested in January 2025. Taliban authorities said he violated local laws, without giving details.

His family, however, said he was working legally in Afghanistan and described harsh detention conditions.

He was held in near-solitary conditions... without access to adequate medical care, according to a family website.

Ongoing detention disputes The US recently placed Afghanistan on its list of countries involved in wrongful detentions, a move Kabul called regrettable.

Despite tensions, both sides have engaged in negotiations, with several prisoner releases in recent years seen as confidence-building steps.
US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) appeared to have shifted the narrative around the ongoing war with Iran, hinting that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was among the first few to voice support for a military action against Tehran.

Trump, who spoke at a roundtable in Tennessee, said, Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up, and you said, Lets do it because you cant let them have a nuclear weapon. Hegseth was sitting next to Trump.

Here are the top updates from the US and Israel's war with Iran: 1. Recounting deliberations, the US President said he consulted senior officials before the decision to strike Iran was finalised. "I called Pete, I called General Caine, I called a lot of our great people  and I said, 'Lets talk. We got a problem in the Middle East theyre very close to having a nuclear weapon," he noted.

2. Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a TRT World report suggested that Pakistan is now positioning itself as a lead mediator, trying to bring peace and broker a deal between the US and Iran. Media reports also suggest that Islamabad is likely to host a summit later this week, and could potentially bring together the US Vice President and the speaker of the Iranian Parliament for negotiations.

3. On Monday, Trump announced a five-day pause in fighting with Iran, citing very good and productive conversations. However, Iranian media reported that strikes continued on Tuesday as Tehran rejected US talks. According to Tasnim news agency, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched strikes targeting American and Israeli targets. In the early hours of 24 March, the IRGC announced that it had carried out the 78th wave of retaliatory strikes during Operation True Promise 4.

4. Israel, on Monday, said the country's air force carried out a wide wave of airstrikes targeting Tehran's regime infrastructure. The wave of strikes came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tel Aviv would continue to target Iran and Lebanon, after he had a telephonic conversation with Trump, the BBC reported.

5. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the US and Israel of the current state of insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to his South Korean counterpart, Araghchi referred to the ongoing military aggression in the Islamic Republic, adding that the current situation in the region and the insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz are a direct result of the illegal attacks by the US and the Zionist regime against Iran.

6. On Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and reaffirmed the Islamic Republic's commitment to regional stability and cooperation. The talks also included discussions on their bilateral relations and the consequences of the "illegal war." During his phone call, Pezeshkian highlighted that Iran did not initiate the war, adding that the aggressive enemy, without any reason, logic, or legal basis, committed military aggression against Iran during nuclear negotiations, targeting Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

7. On Tuesday, crude oil prices moved up, driven by fresh supply worries after Iran rejected claims of talks with the US aimed at resolving the Gulf conflict. The denial stood in contrast to remarks by Trump, who had suggested a potential agreement was near.
The Union government has convened an all-party meeting on the West Asia crisis at 5 PM on 25 March, news agencies said on Tuesday. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to chair the meeting, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expected to be present, the agencies said.

The meeting comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia, which have disrupted critical maritime corridors and raised concerns about the safety of Indian nationals in Gulf nations.

The meeting comes a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting on Tuesday morning on the evolving situation in the Middle East. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, the three service chiefs, DRDO Chairman Dr Samir Kamat, and others were present at the meeting.

On Sunday, PM Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to review the situation and ongoing and proposed mitigating measures in the context of on going West Asia Conflict.

PM Modi directed the setting up of a group of ministers and secretaries to work dedicatedly to deal with the situation arising due to West Asia conflict.

Fourth Week of Conflict The conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on 28 February.

In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.

On 24 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia.

India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability, Modi said.

PM addresses Parliament, recalls COVID-19 days PM Modi addressed both the houses of Parliament on the issue.

In his speeches in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Monday and Tuesday about the West Asia conflict, PM Modi recalled how, during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated global supply chain disruptions.

In the past too, our government did not allow the burden of global crises to fall on the farmers, Modi said.

PM Modi said that the difficult global conditions caused by this war are likely to persist for a long time and called upon the nation to remain prepared and united, as it had during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Urging patience, restraint, and vigilance, and cautioning against those who may seek to exploit the situation by spreading falsehoods, engaging in black-marketing, or hoarding, PM Modi appealed through the House to all state governments to ensure strict monitoring and swift action against such elements.

When every government and every citizen of this country walk together, we can challenge every challenge, this is our identity, and this is our strength.

Stating that the war has created a serious global energy crisis, Modi warned people against taking advantage of the situation and asked state governments to curb black marketing and hoarding.

The government is trying to procure gas and crude oil from all available sources, he said, asserting that efforts will continue in the coming days.

He noted that necessary preparations have been made to ensure an adequate supply of fertilisers.

Rahul Gandhi not to attend all-party meeting Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, told reporters at the Parliament House Complex that he would not be able to attend the all-party meeting, as he is scheduled to attend a programme in Kerala.

The call for an all-party meeting follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to Parliament on the situation in West Asia.

Earlier, the Congress has hit out at the prime minister, saying that his statement on the crisis was a "prepared text full of self-praise" for all that he claims to have accomplished in the last 11 years.

GoM held on Tuesday A meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the evolving West Asia situation was held at Parliament House on Tuesday, focusing on its potential impact on essential supplies, particularly fertilisers.

The ministers reviewed the current availability and supply of fertilisers and concluded that there is no immediate shortage for the upcoming Kharif season, assuring that farmers' requirements will be met, the news agencies said quoting unnamed sources.

When every government and every citizen of this country walk together, we can challenge every challenge, this is our identity, and this is our strength.

The meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and Health and Fertilisers Minister JP Nadda, among others.
Last April, the US President alleged that foreign trade and economic practices had created a national emergency and imposed tariffs across imports from all countries. Ten months later, the US Supreme Court ruled that they were unlawful. Soon after, Trump threatened other powerful alternatives and imposed a 10% tariff on all imports on the ground that the US had a balance-of-payment crisis. This action too has no legal basis and 24 US states have challenged it in US courts.
The US President cited very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East between the US and Iran over the past two days as the reason for his decision. Meanwhile, Irans embassy in Kabul sought to portray this as the US backing down in the face of Tehrans counter-threat of reprisal strikes across the Gulf.
Most Indian farmers and small-and-medium-enterprise (SME) exporters lack knowledge about the EUs requirements and dont have funds for investment in technology and processes. They often go for the cheapest option rather than the best. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is not allowed in many agricultural fields, making it difficult for EU importers and manufacturers to work with supply chain partners here. In fact, many of them are unable to connect beyond Tier 1 suppliers. There is an urgent need for supply chain traceability.
The list of countries is a bit of a giveaway that this entire process is a legal fiction. Picture an army of worthy USTR officials solemnly poring over Bangladeshs structural overcapacity in manufacturing with all the seriousness of purpose that the exercise demands. Then imagine them turning with equal care to cataloguing the forced-labour practices of Norway, one of the 60 countries being examined. Hard though it might be, the rest of the world will have to take this seriously. Its far from certain that the courts will ride to the rescue again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government is mulling bringing two bills in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament to ensure that the proposed women's reservation law is implemented before the completion of the delimitation exercise for Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies, news agency PTI reported.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah held separate meetings with the floor leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and non-Congress opposition parties to reach a consensus. If the consensus is reached, the two bills could be brought as early as this week, the news agency said, quoting unnamed sources.

Also Read | PM Modi announces 2 lakh ex gratia for Prayagraj building collapse victims

P V Midhun Reddy of the YSRCP, Dimple Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Supriya Sule of the NCP-SP, Manoj Jha of the RJD and Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM were among the opposition leaders who attended the meet, the news agency said.

Shah is likely to hold consultations with the Congress in the coming days as well.

The provision for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was introduced by amending the Constitution, but it will come into effect after the completion of the delimitation exercise.

According to the broad contours available, the number of Lok Sabha seats would be increased from the present 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women. The reservation will also be done in a "vertical basis" with seats allocated for SCs and STs.

A similar exercise will be carried out for state assemblies, with seats reserved on a pro rata basis.

While a Constitution amendment bill will tweak the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as the women's reservation law, another ordinary bill will amend the Delimitation Act.

Once approved by Parliament, the proposed laws will come into force on March 31, 2029, and will help reserve seats in the next Lok Sabha elections and in assembly elections in Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Andhra Pradesh.

In 2023, Parliament passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which rotationally reserves one-third of all seats for women in the Lower House of Parliament, Lok Sabha, and in all State Legislative Assemblies, including the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The Act, though not yet in force, can still be amended by Parliament through another Constitution amendment bill if the government wishes and it receives the required support in both Houses.

The Bill reserves one-third of all seats for women in theLok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. This will also apply to the seats reserved for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures.

Also Read | PM Modi addresses West Asia conflict in Lok Sabha: Read full text of his speech

Key Takeaways The proposed women's reservation law aims to reserve 33% of seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.

Implementation of the law is contingent upon the completion of the delimitation exercise and the upcoming census.

The law is expected to significantly increase women's political participation by the 2029 elections.

The reservation will be effective after the census is conducted, after the commencement of this Bill has been published. Based on the census, delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women.

But the landmark bill is expected to come into effect after the next nationwide census and subsequent delimitation exercise, with implementation projected for the 2029 general elections.

The 16th Indian Census (2027) is being conducted in two main phases: house listing from April to September 2026, and population enumeration in February 2027. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Parliament in September 2023 that, the womens reservation Bill will be implemented only after 2029.

But the proposed amendment could increase women's participation by the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. There is also specualation that it could be implemented by the UP assembly polls scheduled next year.

Participation of Women over the years The proportion of women contesting Lok Sabha elections in India has increased from 3 per cent in 1957 to 10 per cent in 2024.

Currently, the Lok Sabha has 14% women members. The representation of women in the Lok Sabha ranged between 4% and 8% of the total strength until the late 1990s.

The total number of elected women members increased from 22 in the first Lok Sabha to 78 in the 17th Lok Sabha and 74 in the 18th Lok Sabha, representing 13.6 per cent of the total members, according to government figures.

In the Rajya Sabha, the total number of women members in 1952 was 15, which is 42 at present  about 17 per cent of the total members.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed the three-phase plan to build a permanent US base on the Moon. He said NASA plans to invest $20 billion over the next seven years to develop a base on the moon's surface. It's part of the US's goal to not only send humans back to the lunar surface but also to allow them to live there.

Isaacman's statement came just days before the scheduled launch of NASA's Artemis 2 lunar mission which is parts of NASA's program to humans to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

'Goal is to stay' Isaacman said a Moon Base will be built to sustain human presence on the Moon.

"This time, the goal is not flags and footprints. This time, the goal is to stay," Isaacman said while providing an update on the implementation of the National Space Policy.

Three phases to build Moon Base Isaacman said that NASA will build the moon base in phases in three phases:

View full Image View full Image Three phases to built Moon Base ( NASA )

Phase 1: Isaacman said  endeavours to support industry by moving from infrequent bespoke efforts to a templated approach that will generate significant learning through experimentation.

Carlos Garcia-Galan, program executive, Moon Base, said 'Phase one'  "which starts today"  is "all about getting to the moon reliably, learning how to get there in high cadence, deploying assets in different areas of the moon where we think we may want to build this moon base.

Also Read | NASA reveals what Artemis II astronauts will do each day on their moon mission

He said NASA is going to experiment with new technologies that will be needed for future infrastructure development to support that permanent habitation.

He said, we're going to actually start the infrastructure in this phase that goes from now to 2028.

Meanwhile, Isaacman said, We will dramatically expand lunar landings through the clips and the LTV [Lunar Terrain Vehicle] program, delivering rover's instruments and technology payloads that test mobility power systems, such as working with international partners and industry on the production of Roos and RTG communications, navigation, surface operations, and all the science payload that can be incorporated.

Phase 2: Phase 2 is estimated to begin around 2029 . It transitions from experimentation to semi-habitable infrastructure and routine logistics, with the aim of supporting regular astronaut operations on the surface, Isaacman said.

"It's at this point we anticipate seeing the significant contributions from our great partners like JAXAs [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency] pressurised rover," he added.

Also Read | Artemis II March Moon mission delayed? NASA detects helium flow issue

Meanwhile, Carlos Garcia-Galan, who called himself the Moonbase guy, explained that in this phase, the NASA will think about establishing the infrastructure.

We're transitioning to actually establishing and laying out what we think are permanent elements of that infrastructure..it includes power, surface communication, surface preparation and mobility. And then once that's set, establish..., he said.

We need to keep the crews alive and enable them to do groundbreaking science and exploration on the surface of the moon, he said.

Phase 3: Isaacman said Phase 3 "takes advantage of the affordable mass to surface capabilities that cargo human landing systems [HLS] will inevitably provide in the years ahead, and enables the permanent infrastructure necessary to sustain a human presence, such as Italy's proposed habitation module."

$20 billion investment The NASA administration went on to say that the moon base will not appear overnight.

"We will invest approximately $20 billion over the next seven years and build it through dozens of missions, working together with commercial and international partners towards a deliberate and achievable plan," he said.

Isaacman called it humanitys first permanent surface outpost beyond Earth."
Abbott employees have raised over 36,000 for Cians Kennels. The Longford charity works with children undergoing medical treatment, facilitating access to family pets or therapy animals, providing comfort during challenging times.

Several fundraising events took place including bake sales, raffles and team challenges. In June, ten Abbott employees completed a plane pull at the Baldonnel Aerodrome in Dublin. This event included a one-kilometre run, team puzzles, a jeep pull and the plane pull.

The funds will help to transport family pets to and from hospital campuses, strengthen volunteer operations and expand outreach to more families across Ireland.

Conor Murphy, Site Director at Abbotts diagnostics business in Longford, said: At Abbott, were deeply committed to the communities in which we operate, and were proud to see the positive impact Cians Kennels has on families in Longford and across Ireland. The compassion shown by our employees in supporting Cians Kennels has been truly uplifting."y

Also read: PICTURES | Thousands enjoy a taste of rural living at top class Longford ploughing event

Evelyn Neary, co-Founder and mum of the late Cian Neary, Cians Kennels said, "We sincerely thank Abbott employees and management for their generous support of our work over the past two years. Their commitment, energy and passion in fundraising and raising awareness helps us to deliver services that bring comfort to children in hospital, making a real difference to their lives. Through this support, Abbott employees are contributing to a wider community effort to ensure that seriously ill children can benefit from time with their own family dog or a therapy dog. Academic research has shown that these servicesnow available at CHI at Crumlin and the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingarhave a profoundly positive impact on children in these hospitals."

Margaret Kelleher, General Manager, Mullingar Hospital said, On behalf of Mullingar Hospital, thank you to Cians Kennels for the huge difference they are making to the lives of the children who are patients at the hospital. Every Friday afternoon we have a buzz in the corridors, with patients enjoying time with their family pets or therapy dogs. Some patients are in the hospital for several weeks or months at a time, and this service gives them hope, joy, and contributes significantly to their wellbeing. Were grateful to Cians Kennels, their sponsors and to Abbott for the positive impact theyre having on some of our youngest patients.

Also read: 'I was at a cliff ready to throw my life away when God saved me' - Longford minister

Cians Kennels was chosen as Abbotts Charity of Choice in Longford under Croi an Oir, the companys national volunteering and giving programme. Since its launch in 2007, Croi an Oir has raised more than 3 million for nearly 900 charities nationwide.

In 2026, Abbott is celebrating 80 years in Ireland and today employs more than 6,200 people across ten sites, including Longford.

MAIN PHOTO CAPTION

Pictured - Front row L-R: John Lyons, Jennifer Colm Cians Kennels, Eunan McManus, Kathryn Hosey Abbott, Evelyn Neary Founder Cians Kennels, Pauline McGovern, Pat Carty, Kelly OSullivan Abbott, Cians Kennels Volunteer with Rua Service Dog.

Back Row L-R: Claire Horan, Leanne Sheridan, Abbott, Margaret Kellagher, General Manager Mullingar General Hospital & Declan Murtagh Abbott.
Dublin mayor Ray McAdam said he was in it to win it, before being selected as the Fine Gael candidate for a by-election triggered by the resignation of Paschal Donohoe.

Mr Donohoe, who resigned as finance minister and a TD, took up the second most senior position at the World Bank, as managing director and chief knowledge officer.

At a selection convention in Dublin city on Monday, party members heard that Mr McAdam, who is a former parliamentary assistant to Mr Donohoe, was the only nomination received to be the partys candidate.

The Cavan-born father-of-one has lived in Dublin for more than 20 years and has been a councillor for 17 years.

He told the room that Dublin deserves the very best, that he loves the honesty of the Dublin Central constituency, and said he was in it to win it.

There is no constituency in Ireland quite like Dublin Central, he said.

Proud communities one and all. Communities of workers and carers, families and volunteers, young people with ambition, older people with wisdom, communities that have known pressure, communities that too often, have been expected to carry more than their fair share, but yet, communities that stand tall each and every day.

This election is about filling more than a vacancy. Its about choosing the kind of voice Dublin Central sends to Dail Eireann, a voice of noise or a voice of substance, a voice of protest alone or a voice that can actually deliver, a voice that comments on problems or a voice that works to solve them.

Asked after how he would buck the trend of government candidates losing byelections, he said: Ive been written off since my first campaign in 2009.

He added: You dont survive in politics in Dublin Central if youre not out on the doors, knocking on doors, talking to people, understanding their frustrations. So they know me, they know my track record, theyll come out and vote for me.

Asked if he believed Dublin was safer now after 15 years of Fine Gael in government, Mr McAdam said: I believe it is.

I believe Dublin is a safe city comparatively to other cities of similar size and scale.

I want to see the high visibility Garda patrols we see across the city centre expanded out into the residential communities across Stoneybatter, Drumcondra, Glasnevin, and thats an issue that I have raised with the Gardai over the last number of years, and particularly now as Lord Mayor.

Director of elections for the byelection, Minister of State Neale Richmond; Minister of State Colm Brophy; TDs Emer Currie, James Geoghegan and Maeve OConnell; MEP Regina Doherty; Senator Evanne Ni Chuilinn and secretary general of Fine Gael John Carroll, were at the selection convention.

Mr Richmond paid tribute to the great Mr Donohoe and thanked him for his work for the constituency.

Councillor Colm ORourke, who proposed Mr McAdam, said he had learned how to canvass from him, before telling the room: Lets take our seat back in Dublin central.

Among the confirmed candidates for the Dublin Central election are Gerry The Monk Hutch, who just lost out on a seat during the 2024 general election; and councillor Janice Boylan, a running mate of Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald.

She competed for the Sinn Fein nomination against Gillian Sherratt, the mother of Harvey Morrison Sherratt, a nine-year-old boy who died after years of waiting for spinal surgery.

Councillor Daniel Ennis for the Social Democrats, councillor Janet Horner for the Green Party, Ruth ODea for the Labour party, musician Eoghan O Ceannabhain for People Before Profit, and Ian Noel Smyth for Aontu are also candidates.

The Dublin Central byelection will take place in May, as will a byelection for the Galway West constituency, the seat vacated by Catherine Connolly when she became President of Ireland.
Met Eireann is warning that very strong westerly winds are set to impact travel across five counties later this week.

The national forecaster has issued a status yellow wind warning for five counties along the west coast - Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Mayo.

"Becoming increasingly windy with very strong and very gusty westerly winds," reads the warning which will be valid from 5pm on Tuesday until midnight.

READ ALSO | 'Significant deterrent' - men jailed over conspiracy to import cocaine worth millions

According to Met Eireann, potential impacts include "some fallen trees and branches, difficult travel conditions, large coastal waves and potentially damaging gusts.

Local authorities in the impacted counties are monitoring the situations and crews will be deployed if required.

Yellow Wind Warning for Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Galway, Mayo



Valid from 17:00 Tues 24/03 to 00:00 Wed 25/03



Becoming increasingly windy with very strong & gusty westerly winds



https://t.co/FhFWKx6AbX pic.twitter.com/Dp4x1oiW9L  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) March 23, 2026

Motorists are being advised to exercise caution and to remain alert for debris if driving while the warnings are in effect.

Meanwhile, in its latest forecast, Met Eireann says it will be wet and breezy starting out on Tuesday across many areas with spot flooding.

"While sunny spells will quickly develop across the West and Northwest, heavy showers will move in too, bringing embedded hail and lightning. Sunny spells and squally showers will extend to the rest of the country later in the afternoon," states the latest forecast.

"Highest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees before turning much colder later. Becoming increasingly windy throughout the day with fresh to strong and gusty southwest winds gradually veering westerly. Some severe gusts are expected in the evening across western coastal areas."
Members of the Kurdistan Regional Governments Peshmerga at a ceremony on March 16 marking the anniversary of the Halabja chemical weapons attack. (KRG Ministry of Peshmerga)

On March 24, six members of the Kurdistan Regional Governments Peshmerga forces were killed in an attack in northern Iraq. According to the local Rudaw Media Network, they were killed when missiles targeted one of their bases north of the regional capital of Erbil. Twenty additional Kurdish soldiers were injured. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has blamed Iran for the attack.

The Peshmerga are the armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government, which represents the semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq. The region has been targeted by hundreds of drone and missile attacks since the US and Israel began airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iranian-backed militias and Iran have been behind the attacks, which have also targeted the US Embassy in Baghdad and other facilities in Iraq.

Six Kurdistan Region Peshmerga fighters were killed, and more than 20 others were wounded in missile strikes targeting a base in Erbil province early Tuesday, as pro-Iran armed groups continue to target the Region amid ongoing regional war, Rudaw reported.

The missile strike against the Kurdistan Regions forces is the deadliest attack on the autonomous region since the start of the conflict. On March 18, three Peshmerga were also wounded in drone attacks. In addition, on March 8, a security officer was killed in an attack targeting Erbil International Airport.

The missile attack on March 24 was one of several serious incidents within or emanating from Iraq on March 23 and 24. On the evening of March 23, rockets were fired from an area north of Mosul, targeting Syria.

A Syrian Arab Army base near al-Yarubiyeh in northeastern Hasakah province was struck by a missile attack on Monday, with forces put on full alert, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), a state media outlet, reported. The Syrian Army said that it was coordinating with Iraqi authorities in the wake of the attack, according to SANA. The rockets were fired from Tel al Hawa, which is around 80 miles north of Mosul, near the Syrian border.

Sipan Hamo, the recently appointed deputy defense minister for Syrias eastern territories, condemned the attack. We hold the Iraqi authorities fully and directly responsible for this act, due to their failure to control their territory and prevent its use to launch attacks that threaten our security and territorial integrity, Hamo wrote on X.

In addition, more than 15 members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a group of mostly Iranian-backed Shiite militias that are a paramilitary force reporting to the Iraqi government, were killed in airstrikes overnight between March 23 and 24. The strikes hit a PMF headquarters. In a post on X, the PMF accused the US and Israel of being behind the attacks, though neither the US nor Israel has claimed the operation.

KRG President Nechirvan Barzani condemned the March 24 attack on the Peshmerga. We strongly condemn the Iranian missile attack that targeted the headquarters of the Peshmerga forces in Soran this morning, claiming the lives of a number of heroic Peshmergas and leaving others wounded, he said in a statement. Barzani added that the attack is a direct hostile aggression against the sovereignty of the country and has no justification and is completely contrary to the principles of good neighborliness. He also called on the Iraqi federal government and the international community to prevent further attacks. Other Kurdish leaders and officials also condemned the strike.

The attack on the Peshmerga came amidst continuing drone and missile attacks on the Kurdistan Region throughout March 23 and 24. It also followed an attack on the National Intelligence Agency in Baghdad, Iraqs intelligence service, three days prior. This strike killed one person, according to the Iraqi National Intelligence Service.

Iraqs Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was asked about the attacks in an interview published on March 23, before the deaths of six Peshmerga. Responding to why the Iraqi government has not prevented pro-Iran armed groups from being involved in the war, Hussein said the issue has persisted for years, noting that they also have power; they have military power, organizational power, and parliamentary power, Rudaw reported.

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).
A photo released online by the Islamic States Central Africa Province shows its fighters raiding and looting living quarters during an attack on a Chinese mine in Muchacha, Congo.

Between March 11 and 12, the Islamic States Central Africa Province (ISCAP) attacked and destroyed a Chinese-owned mine in Muchacha in Congos Ituri Province, more than 50 kilometers outside of the jihadist groups past areas of operation. In addition to being the first attack of its kind perpetrated by ISCAPnow putting Congos mining sector into its crosshairsthe incident also shows the groups resilience and ability to conduct major operations, despite almost five years of sustained combat operations against its forces.

According to local accounts, militants from ISCAP, many of whom were children, began their attack by targeting positions of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) adjacent to the Muchacha gold mine. The mine is operated by the Chinese-owned company Kimia Mining. Videos posted on social media detailed the chaos of the scene, with hundreds of Congolese civilians, as well as dozens of Chinese workers, seen fleeing down and across the Ituri River. In the background of the videos, large fires are visible at the site.

ISCAP fighters then attacked the mine itself, including the civilian living quarters, killing at least 17 people and burning houses and vehicles. The gunmen also abducted at least another 100 civilians, though some have reportedly already been released, likely because such a large number of hostages would slow down the groups rapid movements. Rumors on social media of Chinese casualties have, so far, been unsubstantiated.

Photos from the attack published by Islamic State show the bodies of three FARDC soldiers killed by the jihadists, and the group took credit for killing seven soldiers, alongside the 17 civilians. A large amount of captured FARDC weapons and ammunition was also shown in the Islamic States propaganda from the incident.

Female members of the jihadist group, as well children, were also seen looting goods and supplies from civilian houses (photos on file with the authors). ISCAP militants also raided the mining facility itself, with photos released by the group showing its men burning bulldozers, trucks, and other heavy equipment.



An overview of the Chinese-owned Muchacha mining complex, including geolocated positions featured in Islamic State propaganda from the incident. (Bridgeway Foundation)

A day after the attack on the mining site, a nearby FARDC patrol that was attempting to reinforce the area also fell into an ambush near the locale of Penge, just across the Ituri River from Muchacha. According to local reports, at least one FARDC soldier was killed in this attack, though pictures published by Islamic State show two FARDC soldiers killed and one captured, along with looted weapons and ammunition.

The Islamic State claimed that seven soldiers were killed in total. Additional attacks on civilians not far from Muchacha have also since been claimed by ISCAP.

According to local officials, the Muchacha attack (and subsequent assaults in the area) was carried out by a reconnaissance group led by Tanzanian Arab commander Ahmed Mahmood Hassan, better known as Abuwakas. According to these officials, Abuwakas left the groups largest camp in the northwestern Lubero territory, moving north along the Lenda River towards Muchacha.

Abuwakas has led the groups primary offensive unit in Lubero since first entering the territory in June 2024, likely accounting for a large majority of the at least 952 civilians killed by the group in the territory since then, according to data kept by the Bridgeway Foundation.

The assault on Muchacha was followed four days later by an attack on Babesua village, located 13 kilometers north of Muchacha, along the Mambasa-Badengaido section of National Road 4. The attack killed 19 civilians. The direction of movement indicates that Abuwakass mobile group was heading toward ISCAPs Madina headquarters camp near Nduye, another 100 kilometers away through the Okapi Wildlife Reserve to the northeast.

Abuwakas is known for the wanton use of child soldiers (even more so than other ISCAP camps, which all utilize children to varying degrees) and for a particular brand of extreme violence. In general, defectors have consistently reported that ISCAP commanders prefer abducting male children and teenagers for forcible recruitment due to the relative ease of indoctrinating them into the groups radical ideology.

In response to ISCAPs assault, Kimia Mining, through its local Congolese partner MCC Resources, announced that mining activities at Muchacha were suspended until further notice. This is likely to be a substantial financial loss, with as much as 3-5 kilograms of gold reportedly being extracted from the mine per week, accounting for roughly $25-42 million a year in revenue. In 2021, authorities seized 31 kilograms of gold, worth $1.9 million, that was mined from the site, which is located in a disputed part of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve that the company maintains is outside the reserve.

It is unclear whether other mines in the same general area, many of which are also owned by Chinese companies, have also suspended operations. Likewise, it is unclear if ISCAP was able to loot any gold from the mine.

An unprecedented attack

ISCAPs assault on the Muchacha mine represents one of the groups most surprising operations. While ISCAP has previously raided remote artisanal gold mines, Muchacha is operated by thousands of workers and has required millions of dollars of investment in equipment, infrastructure, and protection paid to the FARDCs 311th Battalion, most of which has been deployed to protect mines owned by Kimia Mining in the area since at least 2022.

Until last week, the jihadist group did not specifically target large semi-industrialized mines in this manner; instead, it operated taxation or protection schemes on smaller artisanal gold mines within its core areas of operation (AO). That ISCAP was able to travel so far out of its normal AO undetected and then assault a fortified mining complex protected by FARDC soldiers, now potentially puts other large-scale mines, many of which also operate in Ituri Provinces Mambasa territory, within the groups crosshairs.

Though ISCAP has always relied on mobility as one of its core strengths, a movement of this scale is only possible through advancements in the groups technological toolbox.

Over the last two years, ISCAP has been systematically acquiring, distributing, and utilizing commercial drones for forward reconnaissance, hand-held GPS devices to track positions and navigate through the thick jungle, and Starlink satellites to remain in contact with both the groups leadership in other camps and Islamic State elements elsewhere in the world.

These tools have now been distributed to almost all of the ISCAPs disparate camps in what is clearly a centrally organized technological upgrade, likely costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Since the launch of Operation Shujaa in November 2021, the groups tactical structure has shifted toward smaller mobile groups. Larger semi-mobile camps containing leaders, wounded and sick combatants, and hundreds of abductees and other dependents have moved deep into Congos interior, away from the ISCAPs historical base areas that are closer to the Ugandan border.

These larger camps have attempted to carve out fiefdoms where nearby farmers and artisanal miners are taxed, while the mobile units based in those camps embark on safaris, or multi-week or even multi-month campaigns in which dozens of villages are attacked in rapid succession.

These campaigns attempt to divert security forces from offensive operations against the larger base camps, loot medicine, food, and other valuables, and abduct hostages, who are used to transport the goods back to the main camps.

The mobility of these larger semi-mobile camps, such as the jihadist groups Madina headquarters camp in Mambasa territory, where ISCAP emir Musa Baluku and many top religious and financial figures reside, is comparatively limited by the presence of large numbers of women and children.

However, particular commanders like Abuwakas, previously attached to the larger camp of Mzee Tabaani (another Ugandan ISCAP commander) in North Kivus Lubero territory, typically operate in much smaller mobile groups. It is these mobile units that are responsible for the vast majority of ISCAPs violence against civilians.

According to defectors, Abuwakass mobile unit consists of 30-50 combatants accompanied by a similar number of dependents and hostages. Defectors have reported that these groups, highly mobile and equipped with handheld GPS devices, Starlink terminals, and quadcopter drones for reconnaissance, can traverse 10-20 kilometers per day, even through thick forests.



ISCAPs overall area of operation, approximate camp locations, and movements in March 2026. (Bridgeway Foundation)

As such, additional attacks far from ISCAPs main AO must now be considered a real possibility. This means that Congolese authorities will need to be cognizant that other key civilian infrastructure, potentially including more large-scale mines, as well as military sites, could be targeted by ISCAP in the future.

Additional Congolese military and intelligence resources dedicated to the anti-ISCAP fight could greatly reduce this threat, particularly as ISCAP has exploited Congos repositioning of troops and assets to combat the March 23 Movement (M23), a rebel paramilitary organization.

As the United States seeks to formally enter the Congolese mining sector, particularly through a minerals for security scheme, officials will need to consider the threat posed by ISCAP. Though most of the mines and critical minerals that Kinshasa have offered American companies are either in the relatively peaceful copper belt in southeastern Congo or exist closer to the conflict with M23, mines for other minerals, particularly gold, are now well within ISCAPs striking rangeand could offer the group a lucrative source of looted revenue.

The overall resiliency of ISCAP

The Muchacha attack demonstrates that despite almost five years of sustained military operations against the group, ISCAP retains the capability to pull off such assaults. As stated above, this capacity is partially due to its adoption of better technology that facilitates greater movement.

At the same time, defectors have consistently reported that ISCAP has long implemented strict discipline in how and where it constructs its camps to prevent them from being seen from the air, further hampering efforts to detect the groups movements.

However, ISCAPs capabilities are also due to gaps within Operation Shujaa, the joint Ugandan-Congolese military operation against the group; namely, persistent issues with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

Though both Uganda and Congo operate military drones, such as FARDCs Anka-S and CH-4B and the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Hermes 900, FARDC is preoccupied with operations against M23, and even advanced electro-optical/infrared sensors have limited ability to penetrate the deep jungle canopy.

While the thick canopy offers ISCAP respite from drones carrying visual and thermal imaging systems, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mounted on small planes and other signals intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities could potentially penetrate the groups forest sanctuaries. Other tools could also possibly triangulate handheld radio signals or locate Starlink terminals, potentially turning ISCAPs impressive technological adaptations into a vulnerability.

UPDF has also deployed additional troops as part of Operation Shujaa to combat a completely separate armed group further north of ISCAPs normal AO, diverting troops who might have been deployed against ISCAP and risking political tensions with Kinshasa.

As such, renewed political attention and military efforts against ISCAP, especially in terms of better technology and refocused manpower from both Congo and Uganda, would greatly benefit the effort to combat the Islamic State wing. Allies of Congo and Uganda, including the United States and several European countries, may also need to consider Operation Shujaas shortage in proper ISR as military partnerships and business deals are being inked with Kinshasa.

Caleb Weiss is an editor of FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa. Ryan O'Farrell is a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.
An FDD visual of Iranian attacks against Arab states on March 23, 2026.

Between March 20 and March 23, Iran and its allied militias continued launching drones, missiles, and rockets against Arab countries. The attacks targeted energy infrastructure, airports, military bases, diplomatic facilities, and residential areas in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and Syria. Air defense systems intercepted many incoming projectiles, but several strikes still caused fires, infrastructure damage, and casualties, particularly in Kuwait, Iraq, and parts of Saudi Arabias Eastern Province.

The following is a detailed account of the attacks conducted by Iran and its affiliated militias against Arab states between March 20 and 23.

March 20

In Saudi Arabia, Iranian drone activity remained concentrated in the Eastern Province and Al Jawf. Saudi authorities reported intercepting repeated drone waves, including groups of two, two, one, five, five, four, two, four, one, two, three, four, three, two, one, and three drones.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Defense announced that it confronted multiple waves of attacks, including a total of four ballistic missiles and 26 drones, alongside other unspecified missile-and-drone attacks.

In Kuwait, Iranian attacks targeted key energy infrastructure. Two drones struck the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery, sparking a fire that was later contained, with no casualties. Kuwaiti forces also reported intercepting one missile and 15 drones in a single wave, while eight drones fell in uninhabited areas. Additional missile-and-drone barrages were intercepted in multiple incidents.

In Bahrain, authorities reported intercepting two missiles and four drones. Shrapnel from one interception caused a fire, which was later brought under control without injuries.

In Iraq, two drones were intercepted targeting Baghdad International Airport.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, a drone struck a residential home in Erbils Talar City, causing damage.

March 21

In Saudi Arabia, Iranian drone activity intensified further in the Eastern Province. Saudi defenses reported intercepting repeated waves, including groups of one, five, two, one, two, two, 12, 10, six, six, five, six, two, one, one, and one drones.

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities reported intercepting aerial projectiles targeting Ras al Khaimah after Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to hit it and issued evacuation warnings earlier that day. The UAE Ministry of Defense also announced that it intercepted three ballistic missiles and eight drones in a single wave, along with unspecified additional attacks.

In Kuwait, the Kuwaiti Armed Forces reported intercepting nine missiles, along with a separate drone interception.

In Bahrain, authorities said they intercepted two drones.

In Iraq, attacks intensified significantly. Three drones struck Abu Ghraib, wounding two people. A drone also hit the Iraqi National Intelligence Service headquarters in Baghdad, killing one officer. Additional attacks targeted the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center and a residential home near Baghdad International Airport.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, four drones targeting Erbil International Airport were intercepted. Elsewhere, a drone fell in Duhok, and three drones targeted the Komala Party headquarters in Sulaymaniyah without causing casualties.

March 22

In Saudi Arabia, Iranian attacks continued to focus on the Eastern Province and Riyadh. Saudi authorities reported intercepting multiple drone waves, including groups of four, one, three, one, one, one, two, and seven drones. Saudi defenses also intercepted a ballistic missile targeting Riyadh, while two additional missiles fell in an uninhabited area.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Defense reported intercepting multiple waves of attacks, including a total of four ballistic missiles and 25 drones, alongside other unspecified missile-and-drone attacks.

In Kuwait, the Kuwaiti Armed Forces reported intercepting four drones, while three additional drones fell in empty areas.

In Bahrain, authorities said they intercepted two drones and two missiles.

In Iraq, a drone crashed near the US Embassy complex in Baghdad without causing damage. More significantly, between six and eight attacks composed of rockets and drones targeted the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center at Baghdad International Airport overnight, with at least one rocket striking the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service headquarters and injuring five personnel.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, a drone strike targeted a Peshmerga base in Makhmur, injuring three personnel.

March 23

In Saudi Arabia, Iranian attacks again concentrated on the Eastern Province and Riyadh, plus the northern border region. Saudi authorities reported intercepting multiple drone waves in the Eastern Province, primarily small groups of one to two drones. Near Riyadh, one ballistic missile fell in an uninhabited area while another was intercepted. Saudi defenses also intercepted a drone along the northern border.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Defense announced multiple interception events involving a total of seven ballistic missiles and 16 drones.

In Kuwait, authorities reported intercepting a ballistic missile.

In Bahrain, the Bahrain Defense Force announced that it intercepted 36 drones and two missiles.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, two drones were intercepted near Erbil International Airport. Elsewhere, four drones crashed across the region without causing casualties. Additional drone strikes targeted a KDP-Iran camp near Erbil, damaging a medical facility. Other drones crashed in Khalifan, struck a residential home in Erbil and caused a fire, and fell in an empty area near Kesnazan.

In Syria, five rockets launched from Iraq hit the Kharab al Jir military base in northeastern Syria.

Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian intervention in Arab affairs and the Levant.
Summary created by Smart Answers AI In summary: Macworld highlights iOS 26.4s comprehensive updates including AI-powered Apple Music playlists, improved keyboard accuracy, and enhanced accessibility features like Reduce Bright Effects.

The update introduces significant changes to Family Sharing with individual payment methods, offline Shazam recognition, and video podcast improvements with adaptive streaming.

These features address user complaints while adding privacy-focused age verification across multiple regions and Creator Studio enhancements for Freeform subscribers.

Apple has officially released iOS 26.4 to the public, and unlike the previous update, this one brings a more noticeable set of new features.

While the long-awaited AI-powered Siri is still nowhere to be seen, iOS 26.4 brings several new features and improvements to Apple Music, Podcasts, and Reminders, as well as overall system enhancements and new emoji.

Read on as we break down all the major new features and changes coming with iOS 26.4.

Apple Music

With iOS 26.4, Apple Music subscribers are getting an important new feature called Playlist Playground. Essentially, it lets users quickly create playlists using AI.

Users can simply describe what they want to listen to, whether its specific songs, artists, or genres, and Apples AI will create a playlist based on that prompt. The feature can also edit existing playlists. Its worth noting that this feature is available only in the U.S. and works on any iOS 26.4 iPhone, even ones that dont support Apple Intelligence.

Apple Music has new full-screen artwork in iOS 26.4. Foundry

Apple Music is also getting a new Concerts feature, which helps users discover nearby shows from artists in their library, while also recommending live shows from new artists based on listening habits.

Another notable addition is Offline Music Recognition, now available through Control Center. This lets users identify songs with Shazam even without an internet connection. The result shows up as soon as the device is back online.

Rounding out the Apple Music changes, iOS 26.4 introduces an Ambient Music widget for quick access to curated playlists focused on Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing, as well as full-screen backgrounds for album and playlist pages, making the interface more immersive.

Podcasts

In addition to Apple Music, Apple Podcasts is also getting some improvements with iOS 26.4. More specifically, Apple has revamped the experience for video podcasts.

The update introduces support for Apples HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology, which automatically adjusts the video bitrate during playback. This means the app will always choose the best quality based on your internet connection without you having to change any settings. Thanks to this technology, users can also seamlessly switch between audio and video while playing a podcast.

iOS 26.4 includes several new Accessiblity settings. Foundry

Accessibility

Updating to iOS 26.4 also brings some welcome accessibility improvements. For instance, the system now includes a new Reduce Bright Effects toggle that minimizes intense flashes when interacting with certain interface elements. Apple has also made it easier to access and customize subtitles and captions directly from the media player interface.

Moreover, the Reduce Motion setting has been improved to more consistently limit animations across the system, particularly with the Liquid Glass interface.

Emoji

For emoji fans, iOS 26.4 adds eight new characters to the keyboard. As previously announced, they include an orca, a trombone, a landslide, a ballet dancer, and a distorted face emoji.

Keep in mind that only people who have also updated their devices will see the new emojis in conversations or social media posts.

You can use several new emojis once you update to iOS 26.4. Foundry

Freeform

When Apple announced the Creator Studio subscription, the company revealed that the Freeform app would also gain certain features exclusive to subscribers. These features are now available with iOS 26.4.

Creator Studio subscribers can now access the Content Hub right from Freeform, which offers a wide variety of photos, illustrations, and graphics that can be used royalty-free.

Users will also notice a new icon for the Freeform app that matches the style of other Creator Studio apps.

Urgent reminders are getting an upgrade in iOS 26.4. Foundry

Urgent reminders

With iOS 26.2, Apple introduced a new option for creating urgent reminders, which show up as full-screen alerts at the scheduled date and time. Now, iOS 26.4 makes it easier to mark a reminder as urgent.

Users can mark tasks as urgent in the Reminders app right from the Quick Toolbar or with a long press. Urgent reminders can also be filtered using Smart Lists.

Family Sharing

Apple is also making a major change for users who rely on Family Sharing. While the entire family currently relies on a single payment method, iOS 26.4 will allow each family member to pay for their own online purchases.

Purchase Sharing lets adult members in Family Sharing groups use their own payment method when making purchases, without relying on the family organizer, Apple explained in the release notes.

This is certainly great news for those who use Family Sharing to share their iCloud and App Store purchases.

The Freeform app got its Creator Studio update in iOS 26.4. Foundry

Keyboard accuracy

As we reported last year, many iPhone users had been complaining that iOS 26 had reduced the accuracy of the on-screen keyboard, resulting in more typos. Although Apple never acknowledged the issue at the time, it has made changes to the iOS 26.4 keyboard that essentially admit there was a problem.

The iOS 26.4 release notes mention improved keyboard accuracy when typing quickly as part of the changes included in the update. Its unclear exactly what Apple changed to improve the virtual keyboard, but users will certainly be pleased that Apple is working on the issue.

Age verification

One of the most notable changes in iOS 26.4 is related to compliance with local laws.

The update introduces age verification requirements in multiple regions, including Australia, Brazil, Singapore, and specific U.S. states such as Utah and Louisiana. These measures are tied to regional legislation and are designed to ensure that users meet minimum age requirements for certain features and services.

In these locations, Apple may require additional information about the user to verify their age. This includes details such as how long the Apple Account has been active or credit card information.

The company has also created a new API that will anonymously inform apps whether a user meets the minimum age requirements without sharing their age, date of birth, or any other personal information.

In addition to all these new features, iOS 26.4 also includes bug fixes, performance improvements, and enhanced security. Thats why its always important to keep your devices updated with the latest software.

You can install iOS 26.4 by going to Settings > General > Software Update and tapping Update Now. The update is available for the iPhone 11 and later.
Michael OLeary was in jubilant form as he stepped off a specially chartered Boeing 737 in Ireland West Airport Airport, Knock.

Wearing a Mayo GAA jersey, he exclaimed, Welcome to sunny Knock as the rain drizzled down.

His flying visit was to mark 40 years of commercial flights since the airport first opened in 1986. Over that period of the last 40 years, Ryanair has carried over twelve million passengers to/from Knock.

This is one of the great success stories of Irish tourism, the Ryanair CEO told the gathered press pack.

Nobody believed that you could build an airport on a bog on top of the hill in the west of Ireland, and even if it was going to be built, then nobody would come and use it.

"And working together, Ryanair and Knock have just proven all the naysayers over the last 40 years wrong

He described the partnership between Ryanair and Knock Airport as being one of the great successes of Irish tourism.

It is incredible that this summer, Ryanair will be operating its largest ever schedule to and from Knock airport.

He believes that there's room for further growth in Knock, particularly for inbound passengers from Europe.

As well as meeting and posing for photos with both Aer Lingus and Ryanair passengers, Mr O'Leary also bumped into Mayo GAA star Aidan O'Shea, who was going on his first holiday with his young daughter Romee and wife Kristin McKenzie Vass.

Ryanair continues to invest in and grow at Ireland West Airport, Knock.

In Summer 2026, Ryanair expects to carry one million passengers to/from Knock, and will account for some 95% of Knock Airports total traffic, which in 2026 will exceed one million passengers for the first time ever.

This Summer, Ryanair will operate 17 routes to/from Knock, with eight routes to/from the UK and nine routes to/from Europe.

Welcoming Michael OLeary to the airport Managing Director of Ireland West Airport, Joe Gilmore, said: We would like to welcome Michael to the airport to mark the 40th anniversary and to recognise the long term business relationship the airport has had with Ryanair since their first service departed the airport in December 1986, this relationship continues to be strong today with the airline serving 17 destinations from the airport, and last year celebrated the wonderful milestone of carrying their 12 millionth passenger through the airport.

"This summer Ryanair will operate their biggest ever schedule from the airport, and we look forward to continuing this strong partnership and to growing our network of routes and services with Ryanair in the future.

Ryanair will fly to eight airports in the UK: London STN, London LTN, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, East Midlands, Bristol, Birmingham

Ryanairs summer schedule will fly to eight airports in Europe: Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife, Milan, Cologne, Faro, Barcelona, Palma and Lanzarote

Pictured above from left to right: Arthur French, Chairperson of Connaught Airport Development Company, Colette Concannon, station manager, Ryanair, at Ireland West Airport, Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair and Joe Gilmore, managing director, Ireland West Airport.
A significant new exhibition celebrating the evolution of Irish ceramics has opened at the National Design & Craft Gallery, with Mayo represented among the countrys leading makers.

Launched by Design & Crafts Council Ireland, From the Ground Up: The Transformation of Irish Clay runs from Saturday, March 21 to Saturday, July 18, 2026, bringing together 42 ceramic artists from across Ireland.

Among those selected for the exhibition is Mayo-based artist Claire Finlay, whose work contributes to a diverse showcase spanning traditional, contemporary, and experimental ceramic practices.

Curated by John Goode, the exhibition represents more than one thousand years of combined experience and highlights the strength and vitality of ceramics as a discipline rooted in Irish landscape and culture. The works on display explore the relationship between material, maker, and place, while also reflecting Irelands growing presence on the international stage.

READ MORE: ALERT: Mayo issued with a status yellow weather warning

Chief Executive of DCCI, Mary Blanchfield, said the exhibition demonstrates the importance of ceramics within Irelands creative sector and celebrates the individuality of makers from across the country.

This exhibition showcases the creativity, skill, and regional diversity that define Irish ceramics today, she said, adding that it also points to the future of the craft through new educational initiatives, including a recently announced ceramics degree programme at the DCCI Academy.

The exhibition traces the journey of Irish clay from its local origins to its global reach, with participating artists having exhibited across Europe, the United States, and Asia.

John Goode, curator, writer, and ceramic scholar, added: Irish ceramics are experiencing a remarkable moment. This exhibition celebrates artists who are pushing clay into new territories of meaning, form, and expression - affirming the global significance of Irelands vibrant ceramic community.

Admission to the exhibition is free, offering visitors an opportunity to experience one of the most comprehensive presentations of Irish ceramics in recent years.

Further information is available through the Design & Crafts Council Ireland website.
BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, extended on Monday congratulations to Thongloun Sisoulith on his re-election as president of Laos. In his message, Xi noted that China and Laos are friendly socialist neighbors with a shared future. The two sides have always supported each other with sincerity and mutual assistance, and firmly backed each other on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns, reflecting their profound friendship of "comrades plus brothers," he said. The year 2026 marks the 65th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations as well as the Year of China-Laos Friendship, Xi said, adding that the two sides will hold a series of events of celebration to inject impetus into deepening the friendship between the two peoples. Noting that this year marks the beginning of China's 15th Five-Year Plan and Laos' 10th five-year socio-economic development plan, Xi said both countries are at a critical stage of development and revitalization, and their mutually beneficial cooperation is expected to usher in broader prospects. Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of relations between the two parties and the two countries, and is ready to work with Thongloun, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, to draw a new blueprint for comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries and advance the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future to a higher level, so as to better benefit the two peoples and further contribute to regional peace and development. Also on Monday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang sent a congratulatory message to Sonexay Siphandone on his re-election as prime minister of Laos. Li said he is ready to work with Sonexay in jointly promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two sides' departments and localities, and advancing the building of the China-Laos community with a shared future for greater achievements.
Two of Mayos most celebrated writers have been recognised as part of a major national literary milestone, with Sally Rooney and Mike McCormack included in a special anniversary list released by the An Post Irish Book Awards.

The awards are marking their 20th anniversary by unveiling a curated list of 60 of the best Irish books from the past two decades, spanning fiction, non-fiction and childrens literature.

The list, compiled with input from booksellers across the country, highlights some of the most influential and widely read Irish works since the awards began in 2006. It features a broad range of acclaimed authors, including Roddy Doyle, Claire Keegan and Liz Nugent, alongside the Mayo writers.

The inclusion of Rooney and McCormack underlines Mayos strong contribution to contemporary Irish literature, with both authors earning widespread recognition for their distinctive voices and storytelling.

As part of the celebrations, the public is now being invited to vote for their favourite titles from the Top 60 list.

Voting opens on March 23 and will close on April 13, with the final Top 20 Favourite Irish Books set to be revealed on April 19.

READ MORE: Grammy nominee set to perform in Mayo town this Easter

Organisers say the initiative offers readers a chance to revisit some of the most impactful Irish books of recent decades while celebrating the depth and diversity of Irish writing.

CEO of the awards, Alastair Giles, said the list represents a snapshot of some of the most memorable and influential titles recognised since 2006.

Meanwhile, David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, said the anniversary was an opportunity to showcase the extraordinary breadth of talent in Irish writing.

Since its launch, the An Post Irish Book Awards has played a key role in promoting Irish authors at home and abroad, bringing together readers, writers and publishers each year to celebrate literary achievement.

Bookshops nationwide are also supporting the campaign with in-store displays of the shortlisted titles, as anticipation builds for the final announcement next month.

For Mayo readers, the presence of two local literary figures on the prestigious list adds an extra incentive to take part in the public vote before April 13.

READ MORE: Mayo native to showcase iconic speeches at major art fair
Mayo University Hospital has warned of significant pressure on its Emergency Department, with patients facing long waiting times amid a surge in attendances.

In a statement issued on Tuesday March 24, the hospital confirmed that 160 people attended the Emergency Department yesterday (Monday, March 23), with a high number requiring admission for ongoing treatment.

Hospital management said all available beds are currently in use, with staff working to discharge patients who are medically fit to leave in order to free up capacity for those in urgent need of care.

Members of the public are being asked to consider alternative healthcare options where appropriate, including visiting their GP or out-of-hours services.

Patients with minor injuries are also advised that the Roscommon Injury Unit is open daily from 8am to 8pm and can treat a range of conditions such as breaks, sprains and wounds.

However, the hospital stressed that anyone requiring urgent or emergency care should still attend the Emergency Department, where patients are treated based on clinical priority.

READ MORE: Public invited to have say on Mayo town transport plans at meeting

Due to the ongoing bed shortages, some elective procedures have been postponed this week, with patients being contacted directly if their appointments are affected. Urgent and time-sensitive procedures are currently under review.

The situation has been further compounded by an increase in cases of Norovirus, commonly known as the winter vomiting bug. Visitors with symptoms such as diarrhoea or vomiting are being asked not to attend the hospital in order to protect vulnerable patients.

Infection control measures remain in place, with visitors advised to practice good hand hygiene and avoid visiting until at least 48 hours after symptoms have cleared.

Hospital management acknowledged the impact of delays and cancellations on patients and their families, apologising for the distress caused.

Despite the pressures, the hospital said it remains committed to treating all patients who present, with management and clinical teams working to ensure patient safety.

ALERT: Mayo issued with a status yellow weather warning
Bernice ONeill (nee Grogan) of Middle Village, Queens, New York, who died on March 12, had strong Ballyhaunis connections. She was born on July 17, 1934, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the second child and only daughter of Martin and Mary Grogan (nee Waldron). She had two brothers, Martin Jr and Walter.

Bernice was raised in Hazelhill, Ballyhaunis. She returned to New York City when she was 18 years old and worked as a waitress on the Upper East Side and sometimes out on Long Island in the summer. During her 20s, she loved going to the movies on her days off and would often attend a double feature on Saturdays.

She also enjoyed live music with friends at local Irish dance halls. She met her husband, James ONeill, at the well-known music venue, The Jaeger House, where he was performing as the singing half of The ONeill Brothers band. Bernice and James married in 1960 and had three children, Susan, James and Joanne. They settled in Middle Village, Queens, NY in 1962, where they were founding parishioners of the newly-created Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church. She spent some years at home with her children while they were young and then returned to the workforce in a position with the NYC Department of Education.

She spent 20 years serving Newtown High School. Bernice was known for her strong faith and for how deeply she believed in the power of prayer. She lit a candle in her home and prayed for anyone in a time of need or trouble. She was skilled with technology and often texted and video called on her iPad. People would tell her she looked like Maureen OHara, a Hollywood actress famous in the 50s. She had a great laugh and a wry sense of humor; if she made a dark joke, she would laugh and say Im Irish! Thats our sense of humor! She loved to chat and tell stories and had a keen memory of the past.

She was elegant and full of class. She set a dining table fit for royalty. She was a great cook and her gravy recipe is coveted by her family. Bernices funeral service was held at Our Lady of Hope Church in Middle Village, NY, on March 17, 2026, fittingly on St Patricks Day.

Bernice, who was predeceased her husband of 61 years, James, her daughter, Joanne, and her granddaughter, Heather, is survived by her family, Susan and James, her grandchildren, Tracy, Allie, Matthew, Michael and Liam, her cherished great-grandchildren, Marguerite and Michael, her honorary grandson Luke Renda, her special grandson-in-law Michael Polcino, and by many loved extended family members.
A WESTPORT man got an unexpected piece of living history on St Patricks Day when he uncovered what is believed to be a War of Independence-era grenade while renovating his familys 1884 cottage.



David Noone was taking up the floors in the property located at Carrowbawn when he made the startling discovery at around 7.30pm. Beneath the bottom step of the stairs lay a small patch of exposed soil  the only area of the floor not covered by flagstone or concrete  and sitting within it was a round, heavy object with a distinctive protrusion on top.



There was no flagstone or concrete in one small patch under the bottom step of the stairs, and that was down in the bit of soil, David told The Mayo News. There was nothing on it at all, whereas the rest of the floor was paved or concreted.



He described the object as round, hard, heavy, with a lump on top  unmistakably grenade-like in appearance. Before the Gardai arrived, someone had already carried the device outside and set it down  a nerve-wracking moment given what it turned out to be.

A photo of the grenade before it was destroyed



David called the Gardai, who contacted the Armys Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit. The bomb squad, having travelled from Cork that morning, arrived at the property around 12.30pm the following day. The attending army officer indicated, based on photographs taken beforehand, that the grenade most likely dated from the War of Independence-era.

READ MORE: Mayo Gardai arrest rider of illegal E-scooter over drink driving



To safely remove the device, the team used a REACHER robot to lift the device and placed it in a ballistic blanket  designed to contain any shrapnel and blast effects in the event of detonation  before transporting it to nearby Bertra Beach to be destroyed. A video of the explosion is available on our website at mayonews.ie.

The REACHER robots are world leaders in their field and are made in Kerry. They are currently being used in Ukraine to remove mines.

Where did the grenade come from?

RETIRED Ordnance Officer Ray Lane explained the risks involved with such finds. Both sides during the Civil War made homemade grenades, or they got access to a British factory-manufactured grenade, he said. Because its been there so long, the steel body would be rusted, and theyd be afraid to move it  if theres a detonator inside, theres mercury fulminate, and that doesnt get any safer with time. Mercury fulminate becomes extremely sensitive with age.



David believes the grenade may have belonged to Edward Ned Moane, a local IRA member whose family lived next door to his grandfathers family. We are assuming it came from a relation of my grandfather, but from the previous generation, he said. The two families of Moanes lived next door to each other  but we will likely never know for sure."

Tom Derrig, Ned Moane and Joe Ring (Credit: Westport Historical Society)



It remains unclear whether this was a factory-made or home-made grenade.



James Kelly from the Westport Historical Society explains that if it was factory-made, it could have been one that the IRAs Active Service Unit had captured from Crown forces, as happened at the Carrowkennedy Ambush - at which Ned Moane played a leading role. Or the IRA might have taken it from an RIC barracks during a raid/attack. And it is possible that the IRA acquired some grenades through arms dealers. Or it might have been a grenade which had been deployed by Crown forces but which had failed to detonate. So there are a few possibilities as to the origins of this one.



However, If it was a grenade the IRA had made, it could have come from their grenade factory at Castlebar but it would be impossible to say, as they were manufactured ad hoc by units and individual volunteers.



For those interested, there is a grenade believed to have been captured at the Carrowkennedy Ambush on display in Clew Bay Heritage Centre.

All a bit bizarre

DESPITE the drama, David took the discovery in his stride. It was all a bit bizarre  a unique experience, he said. The house is steeped in history as it is, so its another story to go with it. The renovation, which had included the removal of the cottages chimneys, was delayed but has since resumed.



It is not the first time such a relic has turned up in the Westport area. In 2007, local man Noel Gill stumbled upon a Mills 36 grenade half-buried in the ground at his site in Buckwaria while having a property valuation carried out. That device was also assessed as dating from around 1920 and was removed by the Armys EOD unit before being destroyed at a firing range in Roscommon.

WATCH: Grenade found in Mayo destroyed by special Irish Army team

James Kelly from the Westport Historical Society told The Mayo News that finds like that are relatively rare in this area.

He notes another find in Lough Lannagh some years ago and also that some finds will not have come to public attention.

Reflecting on his forty year career in the Army, bomb disposal expert Ray Lane, which included defusing the 1,000kg bomb during the Troubles in 1978, says that Grenades are still being found on the east coast when I was serving, youd come across an old grenade quite often, he said. Many households, it seems, kept hidden caches of weapons during Irelands turbulent revolutionary period, and some are only now coming to light  one renovation at a time.

READ MORE: "We had no prior knowledge" - Ballinrobe St Patricks Day Parade committee on float controversy
Anesthesiologists call for more donations and updated guidelines on using O-negative blood to manage national shortages.

  Trusted Source

Blood Banks Face O-Negative Shortages



Go to source Trusted Source

Advertisement

Why Is O-Negative Blood Critical in Medical Emergencies?

  Trusted Source

National Shortage of Type O Blood: What Anesthesiologists Can Do



Go to source Trusted Source

Advertisement

Which Patients Can Safely Receive O-Positive Blood in Emergencies?

Use more readily available O-positive blood units for all male patients, as well as for female patients without reproductive potential (typically those aged 50 years or older) when blood type is unknown.

(typically those aged 50 years or older) when blood type is unknown. Implement established blood-conservation techniques in high-risk bleeding scenarios such as cell salvage, point-of-care viscoelastic testing and administration of pharmacologic hemostatic agents (e.g., tranexamic acid).

Advertisement

Early Blood Typing to Reduce O-Negative Blood Usage

Start emergency transfusions with O-positive blood in males and female patients beyond childbearing potential when blood type is unknown.

in males and female patients beyond childbearing potential when blood type is unknown. Perform blood typing and crossmatching as early as possible to minimize the use of O-negative blood units.

to minimize the use of O-negative blood units. Reduce the inappropriate use of O-negative blood , particularly after the patient's blood type has been determined.

, particularly after the patient's blood type has been determined. Collaborate with blood bank and other hospital stakeholders to prioritize switching to type-specific blood.

Blood Banks Face O-Negative Shortages - (https://www.asahq.org/about-asa/newsroom/news-releases/2026/03/blood-banks-face-o-negative-shortages) National Shortage of Type O Blood: What Anesthesiologists Can Do - (https://journals.lww.com/anesthesiologyopen/fulltext/2026/01000/national_shortage_of_type_o_blood__what.9.aspx)

, the universal donor type vital for emergency care.Because this rare blood type can be safely given to anyone,where there is no time for testing.According to a new report from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) inand a strategic shift in hospital protocols to protect the limited supply.(The scarcity is driven by biology: while roughly 8% of White/Caucasian individuals have O-negative blood, the frequency is even lower in other racial and ethnic groups.before their blood type can be confirmed, such as," said study lead author Brent R. Lee, M.D., MPH, FASA of North American Partners in Anesthesia.(, they play a key role in preserving and promoting responsible management of this scarce resource."The chronically low supply of O-negative blood could be completely drained in situations with high blood demand, such as mass casualty events, compromising patient safety, according to Dr. Lee and his colleagues., according to the American Red Cross.The authors stress the need to strengthen public awareness about the importance of blood donation  particularly by those with O-negative and O-positive blood. From March 1  31, 2026, thefor donations made through March.Type O-negative blood is critical for emergency use in patients whose blood type is unknown because it lacks antigens that can cause potentially serious reactions in people with other blood types., since it prevents potential-mismatches in the blood that could be harmful to babies in future pregnancies . RhD is the inherited protein found on the surface of red blood cells that determines if a persons blood type is positive or negative.Despite its critical role in emergency care, demand for O-negative blood outpaces the supply. Several factors contribute to this imbalance, including overuse of O-negative blood in situations where other blood types could be used.The authors outline several strategies to conserve O-negative blood supplies:Along with ASA, Dr. Lee and colleagues support the "Empower Group O Care" initiative of the American Red Cross  emphasizing the need to "Start Smart and Switch Sooner" when performing transfusions to patients of unknown blood type. Key recommendations include:"In collaboration with other specialties and national organizations, anesthesiologists play a key role in alleviating chronic blood shortages and preserving the availability of O-negative blood for those who need it most," Dr. Lee said."It is imperative that we maximize the benefits of blood transfusion, while strengthening the security of the nations blood supply."Source-Eurekalert
In a rare and exciting crossover moment, Indian superstar Hrithik Roshan and Hollywood star Ryan Gosling came together for an exclusive virtual interaction, bringing two global icons into the same space through their shared love for science, space, and storytelling. The conversation largely revolved around Project Hail Mary, with both actors delving into what sets the film apart as a unique cinematic experience. They spoke about the emotional depth embedded within the narrative and how its themes have the ability to connect with audiences across cultures, particularly as it prepares to reach viewers in India.

 Instagram/Sony Pictures India As the discussion progressed, it took on a nostalgic tone when Hrithik reflected on his iconic film Koi... Mil Gaya. Drawing parallels between the two stories, the actors explored how the best science fiction isnt just about advanced concepts or visual spectacle, but about human emotions, connection, and a sense of wonder that transcends geographical boundaries. The interaction was also filled with warmth and mutual respect, with both stars openly appreciating each others work and influence. Adding to the excitement, they even hinted at a playful possibility of a crossover, imagining a meeting between Project Hail Marys Rocky and Koi... Mil Gayas Jaadoo. While purely speculative, the idea was enough to spark curiosity and anticipation among fans, leaving the door open for potential collaborations in the future.
The IFS.ai Logistics system brings planning, execution and cost control into a single platform

IFS has launched a new AI-powered logistics platform aimed at transforming how large enterprises manage transport networks and control rising freight costs.

The company unveiled IFS.ai Logistics on 19 March, describing it as a system designed to bring together planning, execution and financial oversight into a single, integrated platform.

Built for organisations operating across multiple regions and carriers, the technology applies artificial intelligence to the movement of goods  an area IFS describes as the operational heartbeat of industrial businesses.

The platform expands on technology acquired through 7bridges in 2025 and is designed to create a closed operational loop, linking transport planning, automated execution, freight auditing and network optimisation.

IFS said the system integrates within its wider cloud offering, alongside enterprise resource planning and supply chain tools, while also remaining compatible with third-party platforms.

The launch comes as businesses face growing challenges in managing logistics costs, with transport typically accounting for between five and ten percent of revenue.

Fragmented data across systems, carriers and regions continues to leave many logistics teams operating reactively, with limited visibility over performance and spending.

IFS.ai Logistics aims to address this by replacing manual decision-making with AI-driven planning, automating shipment execution and introducing detailed freight auditing to identify discrepancies and reduce financial leakage.

It also includes modelling tools to simulate different scenarios, helping companies plan carrier strategies, forecast costs and assess environmental impacts.

At the core of the platform is a unified data model designed to bring together previously disconnected logistics data into a single source of truth for reporting and decision-making.

Philip Ashton, President of IFS.ai Logistics, said the sector has long struggled with inefficiencies and lack of oversight.

Logistics is one of the largest, most frequently disrupted and least-governed cost categories in global industry, and the consequences show up directly in EBITDA, he said.

He added that applying AI at scale within logistics operations allows businesses to see rapid benefits.

With IFS.ai Logistics, this is exactly what we are delivering: an AI-driven platform that closes the loop between every operational logistics decision and its financial consequence.

The launch builds on IFSs wider expansion across the supply chain, including its recent acquisition of warehouse management specialist IFS Softeon.

Keith Kirkpatrick, VP and Research Director at The Futurum Group, said the platform addresses a clear gap in the market.

Futurum's research shows that nearly half of enterprise decision-makers are planning agentic AI deployments in supply chain management, he said.

He added that many existing systems were not designed for AI, making integrated platforms increasingly important for businesses looking to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

IFS.ai Logistics addresses a genuine market gap bringing closed-loop AI across transport planning, execution, audit, and optimisation into a single platform.

IFS said the platform is intended to help organisations better connect operational decisions with financial outcomes, improving visibility, efficiency and long-term resilience across global supply chains.
They paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Two National Guard soldiers from Iowa, Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar and Staff Sergeant William Howard, who were killed in an ISIS terror attack in Syria in December, are being remembered by Iowas entire Republican Congressional delegation with a piece of new legislation in their honor.

They represent the best of us, said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a statement obtained by Military.com. Were forever indebted to them for their dedication in service to Iowa in protecting our country.

Senator Grassley, along with Senator Joni Ernst, representatives Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra, are all supporting the Iowa National Guard Heroes Commemoration Act. It calls for renaming two Veterans Administration facilities after Torres-Tovar and Howard.

Each of these facilities is located in their respective hometown. That would be Des Moines and Marshalltown, said Grassley in a video statement posted online and sent to Military.com. Our legislation ensures their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

The Des Moines VA Medical Center, as its currently known, offers specialty health services, including cancer care, diabetes care, mental health care, treatment for spinal cord injuries and disorders, suicide prevention, and other medical and health needs for veterans. The Marshalltown outpatient clinic offers primary care and specialty health services, including treatment for military sexual trauma, podiatry, optometry and other needs for veterans.

Under the legislation, the Marshalltown facility will become the Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic, and the Des Moines facility will become the Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic.

Im honored to lead this effort and tell the stories of their service by designating places in their hometowns that will serve generations of Iowa veterans, said Senator Ernst in her statement obtained by Military.com. Ernst, a combat veteran herself, has a personal connection to the Guardsmen, having escorted their bodies back to the U.S. in a dignified transfer. The legacy of Iowas heroes will continue to live on.

Other members of the Iowa delegation released statements to Military.com in support of the act.

This is a tribute to not just their service, but their families who stood beside them, said Congresswoman Ashley Hinson in her statement. Every veteran who receives care here will do so in a place that honors their sacrifices for generations to come.

Congressman Zach Nunns statement calls the soldiers heroes. They wore the uniform with honor, stood for something bigger than themselves, and represented the very best of the Iowa National Guard, he said. Renaming these VA facilities in their honor will ensure their legacy endures as a permanent tribute to two Guardsmen who made the ultimate sacrifice.

For Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the legislation is both personal and professional.

As a 24-year Army veteran, Im honored to join the Iowa Delegation in paying tribute to Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Nate Howard and Staff Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar, she said. Renaming these VA facilities in their honor ensures their legacy lives on, a lasting reminder of their courage, commitment, and the deep gratitude of a nation they served with distinction.

Statements from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, local mayors and other community officials were also released, expressing support for the facility renaming and gratitude to the fallen soldiers for sacrificing their lives for our country.
A decades-old nonprofit organization has sued the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Labor (DOL) for not responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests pertaining to what they claim is how the federal government is advancing Christian nationalism.

Americans United (AU) for Separation of Church and State, a religious freedom advocacy organization founded in 1947 that advocates for the disassociation of religion from government, filed the lawsuits on Monday in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. The litigation stems from FOIA requests made in December 2025, calling on DOD and DOL to provide public records related to the planning and hosting of the departments Christian prayer services that have been customary dating back to May 2025.

In particular, AU is seeking records that document communications with department employees, contractors and other agencies; costs related to putting on such events; the amount of time department employees spent coordinating them; invited speakers and guests; transcripts or recordings; and any complaints from employees relating to the prayer services.

The federal governments role is to serve the public, not to proselytize, Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser said in a statement shared with Military.com. Secretaries Hegseth and Chavez-DeRemer are abusing the power of their government positions and taxpayer-funded resources to impose their preferred religion on federal workers.

Even if these prayer services are presented as voluntary, there is pressure on federal employees to attend in order to appease their bossesespecially since these services occur amidst the Trump administrations campaign to punish anyone who doesnt comply with its Christian nationalist agenda.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer arrives at an event to honor the 2025 Major League Soccer champions Inter Miami in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

When reached for comment, a Pentagon spokesperson deferred comment to the Department of Justice. Both the DOJ and DOL did not respond to inquiries from Military.com.

These are the fourth and fifth FOIA-related lawsuits filed against federal agencies. AU previously sued the Departments of Health and Human Services, State and Veterans Affairs to understand the intent and implementation of President Donald Trumps February 2025 executive order regarding purported anti-Christian bias. Those lawsuits are ongoing.

10 Months of Christian Prayer Services in the Pentagon

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began monthly Pentagon Christian prayer services last May, inviting DOD employees and even defense contractors to the Pentagon auditorium. Others who cannot not be present can view the services live on DODs internal TV network.

The initial service included Hegseth opening with a Christian prayer and voiced his belief that the nation needed to be in prayer, on bended knee recognizing the providence of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. The secretarys pastor, Brooks Potteiger, was the first to take the pulpit.

In December 2025, evangelist Franklin Graham led a Christmas-themed service in which he said: We know that God loves. But did you know that God also hates? Do you know that God also is a God of war?

Pastor Franklin Graham speaks at a hearing of the Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In the months since, the services continue and have featured controversial pastors like Doug Wilsona theologian and pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, whose views pertaining to slavery, same-sex marriage, and women being able to vote have been scrutinized even within some religious circles.

Hegseth has invoked Christian scripture into Pentagon briefings pertaining to the ongoing military operation in Iran.

However, the Pentagon has remained steadfast in its continuation of these monthly services. Spokesperson Kingsley Wilson previously told Military.com: "Despite the Left's efforts to remove our Christian heritage from our great nation, Secretary Hegseth is among those who embrace it.

This months prayer service was supposed to take place last week, but was rescheduled to Tuesday, March 24. The guest speaker, according to Pentagon correspondence obtained by Military.com, is VA Secretary Doug Collins.

DOL Emulates DOD

On the DOL side, AU has similar questions for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer who has expressed inspiration from Hegseth and DOD for starting their own service.

According to the lawsuit, DOL held its first Christian prayer servicedubbed the Secretarys Prayer Serviceon Dec. 10, 2025.

According to AU, Chavez-DeRemer openly spoke of her Catholic faith and said, As we celebrate 250 years in 2026, [this country] will probably need a little more prayer.

Several others, including other leaders in the DOL, reportedly offered Christian prayers. The only non-Christian speaker was an Orthodox rabbi who espoused anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion sentiments.

The DOL service has continued every month since.
Its been half a century since the Vietnam War, when journalists had almost unrestricted access to the battlefield.

In the years since the fall of Saigon ended that first conflict of the television age, restrictions on press freedom have grown.

Now, with the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran  the first major military engagement with American involvement of the social-media era  the world is facing an information black box.

Internet blackouts have been imposed in Iran. In Gulf states dealing with Tehrans response, filming damage from attacks is banned, and people who defy the orders are being arrested in large numbers.

Earlier this month, The Telegraph reported that Sky was terminating a joint venture with the United Arab Emirates over concerns that the Sky News Arabia channel was spreading propaganda in the region, with Sudan being a particular area of concern. IMI, a UAE media business, said in a statement to The National that the report was incorrect. THe two sides are engaged in standard commercial discussions under an existing agreement that runs until May 2027, it said.

After the clampdown on reporting in Gaza, Israeli restrictions  enforced by a military censor  have been expanded as it fights a war on two fronts, in Iran and in Lebanon. In the U.S., President Donald Trump makes contradictory statements on Truth Social while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has attacked a dishonest and anti-Trump press for questioning the wars progress.

The result is a difficulty in reporting what is happening in the conflict zones in real time as the warring parties and their respective militaries hold a near-monopoly on information. Absent demonstrable facts, the public on all sides is left trying to make sense of a war that is killing thousands, damaging the world economy, and ratcheting up global instability.

Blanket limitations on reporting can be used as a tool by governments to control the narrative and obstruct the flow of reliable information, at a time when the public most needs independent journalism, Anthony Bellanger, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, said in a statement.

The paradox is that the hostilities are taking place in an era of unprecedented information overload. Yet arguably its the most difficult conflict with American participation to ascertain the truth of what is going on.

The emergence of artificial intelligence is further muddying reality, as social media timelines are flooded with AI montages that are not always labeled as such and which are becoming ever harder to spot.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Attorney-General ordered the arrest of 35 of people from various countries last weekend for sharing misleading content online, some real and some AI-generated.

Gulf Arab states have never exactly been a haven for free press. But media organizations including Reporters Without Borders say the regions governments have taken advantage of the current situation to impose more restrictions.

While there is some legitimacy in exercising control, particularly to avoid giving away the position of defenses as well as to suppress AI-generated misinformation, the current measures come against a backdrop of tightening restrictions more broadly.

In 2007, the UAE ranked 65th of 180 countries in the annual Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders - or RSF. It placed at 87 in 2010, 128 in 2018, and 164 in 2025, when the RSF cited the governments habit of tracking down and persecuting dissenting voices.

Kuwaits fall down the rankings has been almost as precipitous. It was in 128th place in 2025, down from 63rd in 2007. Bahrain ranked 157th last year.

This war just came to kill the last hope of freedom of expression in the region, said Sara Qudah, Paris-based regional director for the Middle East and North Africa with the Committee to Protect Journalists, which is running a daily tally of violations to press freedom.

This is the first time in our modern history where we see a war with this number of countries involved and directly attacked. I dont think that any government or authority in the Middle East was prepared for such an event, she said. And the first response to whats happening was to control the media until they know where this is going.

Image conscious

Projecting an image of normalcy is about economic survival given the need to remain attractive for expatriates. In Dubai, restaurants, malls and hotels have all remained open and, outside the main tourist areas, are surprisingly busy.

Yet more than 500 people have been arrested in Qatar alone, for filming and circulating unauthorized video clips, according to the Interior Ministry. Another 26 have been arrested in Bahrain, including for expressing support for the attacks, and a handful in Kuwait.

Sharing rumors, false information, or any content that contradicts official announcements or that may cause public panic or threaten public safety, order, or health is prohibited, the Dubai Police posted on X, in English. Anyone violating the order could face criminal penalties, including imprisonment and fines.

The authorities can do little to stop the reality of plumes of smoke rising from attacks on fuel tanks at Dubai and Kuwait airports, or obvious damage to buildings in areas of Bahrain. The U.S. embassy in Kuwait took hits, as did the pension fund building in the center of Kuwait City next to the Four Seasons Hotel, a popular choice for many visiting U.S. executives and bankers.

Thats not comparable to what people witnessed in Kuwait during the 1990-91 Iraqi occupation and first Gulf War. Yet even during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq during the second Gulf War of 2003, when Kuwait was a target of Iraqi missiles, journalists and civilians were free to visit impacted sites. Not so today.

The damage is also nothing like the destruction currently in Tehran and other Iranian cities, or in Beirut and other areas of Lebanon.

Repressive regime

Iran is described by RSF as one of the worlds most oppressive countries in terms of press freedom.

Prior to this war, visiting foreign journalists who were given selective visas were required to work with Iranian government-approved media agencies that provide an official translator, fixers and film crews and which would chaperone reporters.

Journalists are often targeted by the state for their reporting or, in the case of foreign and dual nationals, to be used as leverage in disputes with other countries. Iranian journalists working for local media can be arrested when they report on stories that become politically sensitive or draw significant domestic or international condemnation.

At least a dozen journalists remain behind bars in Iran, according to data from the CPJ, which notes that the near-total Internet blackout has effectively cut them off from the outside world.

War guidelines

In Israel, war-specific guidelines issued by the military censor this month forbid all reporting on missile impacts in or around security sites, but do permit filming at civilian impact sites.

Broad restrictions apply on the broadcasting of missile interceptions which Israel relies on for defense. The Israeli military also limits information on the numbers of missiles and drones fired from Iran.

Overall, Israeli authorities have taken more of a press-defiant approach since the October 2023 attacks by Hamas. The Israeli military banned journalists entering Gaza at the beginning of that war and hasnt lifted the restriction to date. Limited access is occasionally granted to small groups of journalists in the form of embeds with Israeli forces operating in the territory. An appeal to the Supreme Court demanding free access awaits a ruling.

The Israel Defense Forces operate an expansive spokesperson unit thats led the information front since then. Top decision makers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, rarely engage with Israeli media, leaving little room for questions on the countrys longest and most expensive military conflict in history.

Netanyahus Cabinet has been attempting to curb media freedom since it came to power in late 2022. Like Trump, Netanyahu has a complicated relationship with the media, which he says is hunting him and spreading misinformation.

His government recently tried to shut down Army Radio  a popular public news station  and was temporarily stopped by the Supreme Court. A broadcast bill is being debated in parliament that seeks to politicize media regulators, slash the budget of the countrys largest public broadcaster, Kan, and grant authorities generous powers to sanction outlets.

Television age

Its all a far cry from the U.S. of the 1960s, when military transportation was made readily available for the press. The upshot was a degree of proximity to the battlefield that, combined with the arrival of the television age, brought uncensored reports into the living rooms of the world.

Media access was pared back in subsequent conflicts. In the first Gulf war, CNN made its name broadcasting from a Baghdad hotel rather than with the army. During the second, the U.S. and other nations embedded reporters with military units on the ground, giving a degree of controlled access.

Todays war on Iran is primarily being waged from the air by U.S. and Israeli forces, leaving little room for independent reporting outside military confines. The Trump administration is in any case in the process of shaking up the media, favoring right-wing influencers and podcasters who share the presidents worldview over legacy news outlets.

A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administrations decision to curtail the activities of reporters at the Pentagon.

Hegseth  a former Fox News host  has meanwhile limited access to his briefings on the Iran war. Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military newspaper, was not approved to attend a briefing last week, its Pentagon reporter said.

The U.S. is at the same time slipping down the rankings of press freedom, placing 57th of 180 last year, according to RSF. In 2002, the first year of the index, it was 17th of the 139 countries then ranked, five slots ahead of the U. K. Last year, it was 37 places behind.

After a century of expanding rights, the U.S. is experiencing its first significant and prolonged decline in press freedom in modern history, RSF said. Trumps presidency is greatly exacerbating the situation.

Last week, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned broadcasters to course correct on news coverage of the Iran war or risk losing their licenses.

On Truth Social, Trump said he was thrilled at Carrs move.

-------

With assistance from Justin Sink, Golnar Motevalli, Zoe Schneeweiss and Chris Miller.

___

2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Long before he became Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf went on a charm offensive for almost two decades, portraying himself as a hard-liner the West could do business with in the Islamic Republic.

I would like the West to change its attitude to Iran and trust Iran, and rest assured that theres an attitude in Iran to advance issues through dialogue, he told London-based newspaper The Times in 2008.

With the war in its fourth week after the joint U.S-Israeli strikes on Iran started last month, the 64-year-old pilot and former Revolutionary Guard commander has denied that there have been discussions with the United States amid reports that he was floated as Washington's negotiating partner in talks.

Questions also remain as to what power Qalibaf has within Iran's theocracy, shattered after the Feb. 28 Israeli airstrike that killed 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, now Iran's new supreme leader, has backed Qalibaf through his repeated and failed presidential campaigns. Still, multiple centers of power within Iran's theocracy now likely vie for control of the Islamic Republic  and uncertainties remain over Mojtaba Khamenei's status as he has yet to be seen after reportedly being wounded.

Meanwhile, Qalibaf has been tied to the crackdown against protesters calling for change within Iran's government and has seen corruption allegations swirl around him during his time in office.

U.S. President Donald Trump may just be looking for an Iranian version of Venezuelas acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who took over as the U.S. military seized then Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January.

Many Iranians despise Ghalibaf; diplomats see him as pragmatic, wrote analyst Michael Rubin, using a different transliteration for the politician's last name.

Those diplomats confuse pragmatism with opportunism. Ghalibaf is a survivor. He sees in Trump someone who can help him achieve what late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei denied him: the presidency or some equivalent interim leadership role.

Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed close to the Guard, on Tuesday described reports in Western media as a political bomb meant to put the country's leaders in disarray.

"Qalibaf was introduced as a negotiating party in order to present a contradictory and non-unified image of Iran," Tasnim said. The mention of Qalibafs name was clearly intended to create internal divisions within Iran and to provoke conflict among political forces.

Rise within Iran's theocracy

Qalibaf was born on Aug. 23, 1961 in the city of Torqabeh in Iran's northeastern Razavi Khorasan province to a father who was a shopkeeper  not a member of the Shiite clergy that seized power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Like many young men of his generation, he joined the paramilitary Guard during the countrys 1980s war with Iraq, quickly rising through the ranks. After the conflict, he served as the head of the Guards construction arm, Khatam al-Anbia, for several years, leading efforts to rebuild.

Trained as a pilot, he then served as the head of the Guards air force. In 1999, he co-signed a letter to reformist President Mohammad Khatami amid student protests in Tehran over the government's closure of a reformist newspaper and a subsequent security force crackdown.

The letter warned Khatami that the Guard would take action unilaterally unless he agreed to put down the demonstrations.

Violence around the protests, the first in a string of widening demonstrations over the last decades, saw several people killed, hundreds wounded and thousands arrested.

Qalibaf then became the head of Irans police, modernizing the force and implementing the countrys 110 emergency phone number. However, a leaked recording of a later meeting between Qalibaf and members of the Guards volunteer Basij force, had him claiming that he ordered gunfire be used against demonstrators in 2003 and praising the violence used in Irans 2009 Green Movement protests.

Iran's then President Hassan Rouhani hinted at the 2003 incident when the two sparred in a 2017 presidential election debate.

There was an argument that you were saying that the students should come then we can pincer attack to them and finish the job, Rouhani said at the time.

Alternative to Ahmadinejad

As Tehran's mayor from 2005 to 2017, Qalibaf faced corruption allegations, including over around $3.5 million being donated to a foundation run by his wife.

However, he also used his prominence to travel to the World Economic Forum and even praised New York City in an interview with The Financial Times, undoubtedly raising eyebrows among other hard-liners. His opponents claimed Qalibaf was like Reza Pahlavi, a hard-charging soldier who became shah in 1925 and rapidly pushed to Westernize Persia and rename it Iran before handing power to his son Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Qalibaf didn't outright reject the comparison.

If authoritarianism means when collective sense reaches a plan and decision, Im very determined and firm in carrying it out, Qalibaf told The Financial Times in 2008, casting himself as an alternative to hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When the expediency of the society is in carrying a project, then Im very firm and show little flexibility and dont let that collective sense be marred or disarrayed.

Qalibaf ran in presidential elections in 2005, 2013, 2017 and 2024, but despite the failures of those campaigns, U.S. diplomats suggested that he enjoyed the support of Mojtaba Khamenei, according to diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks.

Mojtaba reportedly has long maintained a very close relationship with Tehran Mayor and presidential hopeful Mohammad Baqr Qalibaf; Mojtaba was reportedly the backbone of Qalibafs past and continuing election campaigns, an August 2008 cable read. Mojtaba is said to help Qalibaf as an advisor, financier, and provider of senior-level political support. His support for and closeness to Qalibaf reportedly remains undiminished.

With Khamenei now Irans new supreme leader, Qalibafs position may be significantly boosted.

Floated as a possible negotiator

Trump pulled back from a 48-hour deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, as media reports suggested that Qalibaf may be a possible Iranian contact for the U.S. government. Qalibaf himself has denied any talks are ongoing.

No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped, he wrote Monday on X.

Surprisingly, unlike many officials within Iran's government, Qalibaf's name is not on any U.S. bounty.

It remains unclear whether the Israelis view Qalibaf as a target. As parliamentary speaker, Qalibaf praised the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, saying that it showed the Zionist regime will never have peace until the day it is annihilated.

Asked why he wouldn't name the Iranian negotiator, Trump told journalists on Monday: Because I dont want them to be killed, OK? I dont want them to be killed.
Israeli officials said the country will persist with strikes against Iran even as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed talks are underway to end the conflict, further unsettling energy and financial markets.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the campaign, now in its 25th day, would continue at full intensity, while Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Trumps comments should be taken slowly. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked close confidant Ron Dermer to monitor any U.S.-Iranian negotiations to make sure the countrys interests are upheld, an Israeli official said.

We are still at war, period, Cohen said in an interview with Kan radio on Tuesday.

Iran fired missiles and drones at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Eilat and Dimona in response to an ongoing Israeli bombardment, as well as on U.S. bases in the Middle East. Brent crude traded back above $100 a barrel on concern the war could yet escalate, exacerbating a global supply crunch.

Iran stopped natural gas exports to Turkey following Israels strike on the giant South Pars gas field last week, according to people familiar with the matter, underlining the risk to energy distribution. Stocks and bonds fell on Tuesday as hopes of an imminent resolution to the conflict faded.

Israels pledge to maintain attacks came after Trump postponed an assault on Irans energy infrastructure, citing productive conversations with Tehran. The U.S. presidents claims of behind-the-scenes diplomacy were widely denied by Iranian officials, causing confusion over the participants in the talks and the likelihood of a potential deal.

U.S. allies including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have hardened their stances against Tehran due to consistent bombardment of their territories.

Saudi Arabia told the U.S. its ready to strike Iran if its own power and water plants were targeted by the Islamic Republic, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said last week the kingdoms restraint isnt unlimited.

Trump told reporters Monday that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held discussions a day earlier with a top person in Iran, and said the country wants to make a deal. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei wasnt involved in the talks, he added.

Axios reported it was Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, though the Iranian parliament speaker denied negotiations took place.

Iran has one more opportunity to end its threats to America and their allies, and we hope they take it, Trump said. It could very well end up being a very good deal for everybody.

Tehran received U.S. requests through mediators for talks to end the war, the state-run IRNA cited foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as saying. Necessary warnings were given about the severe consequences of any aggression against Irans critical infrastructure, Baghaei said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has in recent days held calls with counterparts in Turkey, Oman, Pakistan, Egypt, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and South Korea.

The deputy speaker of Irans parliament ruled out negotiations with Trump. Fars quoted Ali Nikzad as saying Iran would not negotiate with someone who is a liar and in whom there is no sign of honor, humanity, or conscience.

Iran appointed a hardline veteran of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as the countrys top national-security leader, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week. Mohammad-Bagher Zolghadr is a military man with little diplomatic experience.

Pakistan is making a push to mediate an end to the war, and Trump has spoken with Pakistans army chief Asim Munir about the conflict, people familiar with the matter said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post on Tuesday that Pakistan would be honoured to mediate the talks.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said hes also discussed the Iran war with Trump, including the conflicts impact on the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for Indias energy imports.

Countries including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Oman have engaged in back-channel talks with Iran to contain the war and seek a ceasefire.

The early indications suggest potentially arduous negotiations, with no guarantee the sides will be able to clinch a deal that ends the war. Iran has previously insisted on reparations and pledges from the U.S. and Israel that they dont attack in future  demands Trump and Netanyahu are unlikely to accept.

Trumps decision to push for indirect talks with Iran came after some allies cautioned that the war was quickly becoming a disaster, according to people familiar with the matter.

Regional partners told the U.S. that permanent damage to Iranian infrastructure would almost inevitably result in a failed state after the conflict ended, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.

The conflict has claimed more than 4,350 lives. About three quarters of those have been in Iran, while over 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for about a fifth of the worlds oil and liquefied natural gas, has all but stopped. Only a few tankers have passed through since the conflict began, often after engagement with Iran.

Iran has started charging commercial vessels transit fees for passing through the strait, another sign of Tehrans control over the worlds most important maritime energy channel.

The U.S. and Israel have said they want to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The U.S. would take Irans uranium stockpile and the two sides are already aligned on the terms, Trump claimed.

Iran has long denied pursuing atomic arms, though it has restricted United Nations inspectors access into the country since an earlier round of Israel and U.S. strikes last June.

Trump suggested the U.S. and Iran could jointly control the Strait of Hormuz, which may reopen soon if it works.

Meanwhile, he ordered Marines to head to the region, including the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from Japan with more than 2,000 troops.

--------

With assistance from Dan Williams and Michelle Jamrisko.

___

2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
KYIV, Ukraine  A major Russian drone and missile attack on civilian areas of Ukraine killed four people and injured at least 27, officials said Tuesday, while Moscows army stepped up efforts to break through Ukrainian front-line defenses in what could be the start of an anticipated spring ground offensive.

Russia fired almost 400 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraines air force said, in its biggest attack in weeks. The onslaught continued into Tuesday morning as dozens of drones targeted the capital Kyiv during daylight.

Russia also launched 23 cruise missiles and seven ballistic missiles at Ukraine during the night, hitting at least 10 locations across the country, according to the air force.

Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless barrages since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraines offer of a ceasefire, and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraines plight.

On the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line snaking along eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, the short-handed defenders have been bracing for a new offensive by Russias bigger army as the weather improves.

The Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russian troops in recent days have made simultaneous attempts to break through defensive lines in several strategic areas.

Fierce fighting unfolded along the entire line of contact, Syrskyi said Monday on the Telegram messaging app, with Russia launching 619 attacks in four days.

The occupiers are attempting to bring up new units and are preparing to continue attacks, Syrskyi said, adding that Ukraine had deployed reinforcements to counter the assaults.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Syrskyis report backed up its assessment that Russias spring-summer offensive is now underway.

Russia has escalated its strikes since March 17 and has moved heavy equipment and more troops to the front line, the ISW said late Monday.

Each year, as the weather improves, Russia has moved its grinding war of attrition up a gear. However, it has been unable to capture cities and has made only incremental gains across rural areas. Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

Ukraine has developed advanced drone technology to make up for its shortage of infantry.

Amid the Middle East conflict, Kyiv is offering Ukraines battle-tested drone defenses to U.S. and Gulf partners, hoping to trade that know-how for scarce Patriot air defense missiles it needs to fend off Russias barrages.

Ukraine has also used its domestically produced long-range drones to hit areas of Russia that support Moscows war effort. Russian air defenses intercepted 55 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry reported Tuesday.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Airstrikes battered Iran and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israels Tel Aviv and sites across the Mideast on Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.

With thousands more U.S. Marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the wars tempo remained high a day after Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran's chokehold on that crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and threatened the world economy.

Pakistan has offered to host diplomatic talks, according to officials from there and two other countries, but Iran remained defiant, vowing to fight until complete victory.

Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washingtons shifting list of objectives  particularly over Irans ballistic missile and nuclear programs  remain difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, its not clear who in Irans government would have the authority to negotiate  or be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that started the current war.

Pakistan says quiet diplomacy is underway

The U.S. had agreed in principle to join talks in Pakistan, according three Pakistani officials, one Egyptian official and a Gulf diplomat, while mediators were still working to convince Iran. The Pakistani officials said the quiet diplomacy had grown more complicated since news of it leaked.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide the details to the media. Requests for comment were sent to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the White House.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchis office said he has been talking about the war this week with his counterparts in several countries. But Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf called the idea of negotiations fakenews  and the spokesman of Iran's top military command issued a newly defiant statement.

Irans powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Irans integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory, Iranian state television quoting Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi as saying Tuesday.

Aliabadi did not say what victory would look like, but Irans military could be trying to warn against offering concessions in any possible negotiations.

The Egyptian official said efforts are centered on trust-building between the U.S. and Iran, with the aim of bringing about a pause in fighting. Israel is not involved.

The official, who is involved in the efforts, said the priority is to prevent attacks on both Irans and Gulf Arab countries energy infrastructure and that they were working on a mechanism for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back over $100 a barrel Tuesday, up nearly 40% since the war started.

Iran hits Israel and Gulf neighbors while Israel attacks Beirut

Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian production sites, without providing more information. In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighborhoods and another in the city center.

Iran also fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel.

In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100 kilogram (220 pound) warhead slammed into a street in the city center, blowing out windows of an apartment building and sending smoke billowing. Four people suffered minor wounds, rescue service worker Yoel Moshe said.

It feels like youre a (sitting) duck, waiting for the missiles to hit you, or someone next to you, said Amir Hasid, emerging from a shelter.

In Kuwait, power lines were hit by air defense shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours. Bahrain said it was attacked with missiles and drones, the United Arab Emirates said air defense systems responded to similar attacks, and Saudi Arabia said it destroyed Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Israel pounded Beiruts southern suburbs saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.

A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a 3-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Another five people were killed in the south.

Meanwhile, Lebanon declared Irans ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave by Sunday.

The dramatic move offers the latest evidence of the deterioration in relations between Lebanon and Iran. Iranian flights have been banned from landing in Lebanon, out of fear that they would carry weapons or funding for Hezbollah, and some top Lebanese government officials have been critical of Tehrans role in the country, accusing it of dragging Lebanon into another war with Israel.

Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.

Irans death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 15 people have been killed. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.

Marines are on the way to the Persian Gulf

Trumps announcement came as thousands of Marines headed to the region, raising speculation that the U.S. may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to Irans oil network. The U.S. bombed the Persian Gulf island more than a week ago, hitting its defenses but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.

Iran has threatened to mine the Gulf if the U.S. appears to be on the verge of landing troops.

Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Irans power stations while talks unfold  a delay that could be aimed at buying time for the Marines to arrive, the New York-based think tank the Soufan Center wrote in an analysis.

However, the center also noted that Trump could be actively seeking an offramp.

Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel has suggested its ground forces could participate in the war.

___

Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.
Norfolk, Virginia, home to the worlds largest naval base, is well-known to U.S. military veterans.

However, a Navy veteran from Norfolk recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Callahan Kessler, 25, was sentenced on March 13 to four years in prison for maliciously assaulting his wife, which included a conviction for strangulation and abduction.

The abuse allegedly became so severe that his now ex-wife fled from their Virginia home to another state to hide from Kessler in 2024, according to WAVY.com.

Heres What Happened

Based on police reports, Kessler came home one night after being out drinking and began arguing with his wife. The fight turned violent, and Kessler shoved her into a counter, placed his hands around her neck and strangled her, then flung her down a flight of stairs leading to the basement. Kessler allegedly forced his wife to go outside, where he continued to push her and prevent her from returning to the house.

According to the report, the victim tried to get past Kessler, but he continued to block her path, even going back inside the home and locking the door behind him.

Airman Callahan Kessler, from Portland, Oregon, assigned to the worlds largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Fords (CVN 78) supply department, packages reparable parts in the ships component control section, Aug. 31, 2023. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nolan Pennington)

His wife banged on the door several times, hoping Kessler would let her in, but this only angered the Navy veteran more. Kessler unlocked the door, met the victim outside, and shoved her again, causing her to fall off the porch stairs, smacking a concrete footpath face-first, losing consciousness.

To support the victims case, footage of the violent incident was recorded on the couples home security camera, according to local police.

Fallout from Assault

After the ugly incident, Kesslers wife called a family member in Oregon, requesting them to travel to Norfolk and help her pack up and flee Virginia to get away from Kessler without him knowing.

She reported the incident to Norfolk Police in May 2025, handing detectives damning evidence from the home security system. In addition, the victim presented photos and video evidence of injuries she had suffered in the assault.

Norfolk Police obtained warrants for Kesslers arrest, charging him with strangulation and domestic assault. Additional felony charges, such as malicious wounding and abduction, came from a grand jury that reviewed evidence in Kesslers case.

On Jan. 12, Kessler pleaded not guilty to all charges and told the court he would like to receive a jury trial. However, Judge Robert B. Rigney found the veteran guilty of three felonies and one misdemeanor, and he was sentenced on March 13.

Norfolk's Commonwealth Attorney Ramin Fatehi. (Norfolk.org)

Sentencing Details

Rigney didnt go easy on the former sailor, giving Kessler four years imprisonment, but suspending another nine years in prison, on the condition that the veteran successfully finishes three years of supervised probation and displays good behavior after he leaves prison, including paying his ex-wife restitution fees and adhering to a lifetime order that he has no contact with her.

While in custody, Kessler must complete evaluations for alcohol abuse, anger management, and intervention programs for domestic violence offenders. He had no previous run-ins with the law.

Court officials determined Kesslers conviction warranted a prison sentence based on the severity of the charges. Based on Virginia law, his sentence was around the middle or high end of sentencing guidelines.

Ramin Fatehi, who served as an attorney in the case representing the Commonwealth of Virginia, applauded the victims bravery in leaving Kessler before the abuse turned deadly.

Above all, let me express my admiration for the courage of the survivor of this crime and for the help that her family member offered to help her leave her abuser, Fatehi said in a press release. Mr. Kesslers extended wounding, strangulation, and abduction of his wife was egregious and could have easily left her permanently injured or dead. This is not how we treat people we claim to love, and when we abuse our family members, we must pay a price. My office will continue to focus our efforts on the violent crimes that traumatize and endanger our neighbors.
Global shortages of aircraft mechanics and commercial airline pilots could translate to civilian career opportunities for members of the military.

And thanks to military and veteran education benefits, even personnel who werent involved in aviation during their service could gain the skills to qualify for a profession where the pay is growing in response to demand.

Read More: These Military and Veteran Education Benefits Cover Aviation Training

The U.S. aviation industry is already dealing with a shortage of aircraft mechanics thats projected to nearly double by 2028, from a shortage of 17,000 to 30,000. As many as 45,000 mechanics could retire from the profession in the next 10 years, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Worldwide, Boeing estimates the need for maintenance technicians to reach 710,000 over the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, in the cockpit, the industry continues to grapple with a shortage of airline pilots globally, which is expected to call for 660,000 new pilots in that same 20-year timeframe, according to Boeing.

Training Youll Need

Airline pilots generally need at least a bachelors degree and experience as a military or commercial pilot before joining the airlines, according to the BLS. Commercial pilots who work for other businesses besides the airlines may need only flight training to qualify. Both types of pilots must become licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Mechanics and technicians usually need a credential such as a certificate from the FAA, though some may train on the job or during their military service.

What Youll Make

The airlines compensate pilots relatively well. The median annual wage for pilots, copilot and flight engineers was about $226,000 in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For all commercial pilots, the median dropped substantially to $122,670.

Now the shortage of mechanics and maintenance technicians has started to push wages up for maintenance technicians, according to Oliver Wyman.

In some of the most populous sectors of aviation, such as support activities for air transportation and scheduled air transportation, aircraft mechanics and service technicians made $80,000-$90,000 in 2023.

However, the highest rates of pay went to those mechanics and technicians who worked in specialized industries outside typical aviation businesses. Aircraft mechanics and maintenance technicians who worked in oil and gas extraction in 2023 made the most, with a median annual salary of about $119,000; while those who worked in the management of companies and enterprises made about $106,000.

Texas, Florida, California, Oklahoma and Georgia were home to the most aircraft mechanics and maintenance technicians in 2023.

Find the Right Veteran Job

Whether you want to polish your resume, find veteran job fairs in your area or connect with employers looking to hire veterans, Military.com can help. Subscribe to Military.com to have job postings, guides, advice and more delivered directly to your inbox.
Delhi HC releases JJA answer key 2026 after written exam, opening a short objection window. Candidates can review responses.

Sheetal Kumari is a skilled sub-editor and content creator with expertise in digital news, multimedia storytelling, and social media content. With a strong grasp of topics like science, politics, and many more, she crafts compelling narratives, transforming complex topics and trending stories into engaging, accessible reads across various media platforms.
3 feet tall doctor once offered Rs 5 lakh to join a circus  story of Dr Ganesh Bariya

The story of Dr. Ganesh Bariya is not just about becoming a doctor. It is a story about a system that failed him, a father who believed in him, and a fight that changed his destiny.









3 Feet Tall Doctor Once Offered Rs 5 Lakh to Join A Circus Dr. Ganesh Bariya overcame discrimination to become a doctor

Supreme Court ruled height-based rejection was discrimination

Ganesh is now a consultant at Bhavnagar Medical College Did our AI summary help?
Quote of the Day by Nelson Mandela, "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in ..."

Nelson Mandela's famous quote redefines true glory as rising after every fall, not avoiding failure altogether. Discover the wisdom from a life of extraordinary resilience.









Nelson Mandela Quote After 27 years jailed, Mandela led South Africa to democracy

Glory is rising after every fall, not seeking perfection

Mandela's life shows setbacks don't define you, your comebacks do Did our AI summary help?
TGCET Results 2026 declared at tgcet.cgg.gov.in. Check Class 5 Gurukulam admission scores, rank card, merit list, document verification details, and selection process updates.

Did our AI summary help?
TGCET Result 2026 OUT for Gurukul CET @ tgcet.cgg.gov.in, direct link here

The Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) has released the TGCET Results 2026 today, March 24.









TGCET Result 2026 TSWREIS released TGCET 2026 Class 5 results today

Results available on official TSWREIS and TGCET websites

Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar declared results at Welfare Bhavan Did our AI summary help?
Added to the development work, it is the organisational machinery of the BJP and the RSS  plus the partys considerable financial muscle  that takes this narrative to every booth, every prospective voter.
Ananya Panday seeks blessings at Dwarkadhish Temple, shares serene moments

Actor Ananya Panday visited the sacred Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka, Gujarat, one of the Char Dham sites, drawing attention online as fans reacted to her spiritual getaway.









Ananya Panday seeks blessings at Dwarkadhish Temple, shares serene moments Ananya Panday visits Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka, Gujarat

She offers prayers and shares moments with family at the temple

Her trip includes references to Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple Did our AI summary help?
Bhumi Pednekar meets Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis during high tea hosted by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma

Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar visited Lok Bhavan and met Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, and Governor Jishnu Dev Varma during a high tea event.

Gayatri Rani March 24, 2026 / 08:01 IST























Bhumi Pednekar shares new pics Bhumi Pednekar met Maharashtra leaders at Lok Bhavan

She shared photos from the visit on Instagram

Bhumi last starred in the crime thriller series Daldal Did our AI summary help?
Dhurandhar 2 chaos in Kanpur: Man accused of harassing girl while watching Ranveer Singh's film beaten by crowd outside hall

A shocking incident in Kanpur saw a man allegedly harass a girl inside a cinema during Dhurandhar 2 screening, sparking chaos, public outrage, and swift action by onlookers and police.









Dhurandhar 2 chaos in Kanpur: Man accused of harassing girl while watching Ranveer Singh's film beaten by crowd outside hall Man accused of harassing girl in Kanpur during film show

Audience confronted and beat the accused inside the theatre

Police investigating; no formal complaint filed yet Did our AI summary help?
Dhurandhar 2: Who is Mashhoor Amrohi, the actor who resembles ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif

Actor Mashhoor Amrohi has gone viral for his brief role in Dhurandhar 2, with audiences stunned by his uncanny resemblance to former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, sparking widespread online reactions.









Dhurandhar 2: Who is Mashhoor Amrohi, the actor who resembles ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif Mashhoor Amrohi's Nawab Shafiq role sparks viral memes

His transformation involved 8 hours of prosthetics daily

Amrohi's resemblance to Nawaz Sharif surprises viewers Did our AI summary help?
Hrithik Roshan and Ryan Gosling unite for a rare cross-continental conversation on Project Hail Mary

Hrithik Roshan and Ryan Gosling come together for an exclusive virtual conversation on Project Hail Mary. The sci-fi film releases in India on March 26, 2026.









The actors have discussed the movie and its themes with the audience, providing a more in-depth look at the movie from a different perspective. Hrithik Roshan and Ryan Gosling held an exclusive virtual chat

They discussed 'Project Hail Mary' and its emotional themes

India release on March 26, 2026 in multiple languages Did our AI summary help?
'In the age of AI, the human touch still matters and will continue to do so: Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash on Celebrating Our Tigers - Exclusive

Sarod maestros Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash have released an album Celebrating Our Tigers, recently. In an exclusive conversation with Moneycontrol, they spoke about the idea behind the album, conservation awareness, and the growing debate around AI in music.









Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash Ali Bangash brothers drop album for tiger conservation

Album draws on Indias tiger habitats, engages youth

Brothers named WWF-India Goodwill Ambassadors for conservation Did our AI summary help?
Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton spark fresh dating rumours during Tokyo trip, watch

Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton are once again fuelling dating rumours after being spotted together in Tokyo, with fans closely watching their every move.









Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton holiday in Tokyo Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton spark dating rumors in Tokyo

Both shared similar travel photos, fueling speculation

Family trip included Khloe Kardashian and her children Did our AI summary help?
Meet real life Dhurandhar: First Indian woman spy Neera Arya killed her husband; her breasts were cut off, faced torture by British in Andaman's cellular jail

Neera Arya, INAs first woman spy, chose nation over personal ties, killed her husband to save Netaji, endured brutal torture, and lived forgotten, embodying extraordinary courage and sacrifice.









Meet real life Dhurandhar: First Indian woman spy Neera Arya killed her husband; her breasts were cut off, faced torture by British in Andaman's cellular jail Neera Arya, INAs first woman spy, endured brutal torture

She put national duty above love, even killing her husband

A film on Neera Arya aims to revive her forgotten legacy Did our AI summary help?
Amongst those lighting up the night were Priyanka Chopra, Anne Hathaway, Dua Lipa, Jake Gyllenhaal, Liu Yifei, and Kim Ji-won, all of whom made a stylish entry for this grand occasion.
In a video that has been extensively circulated on social media, an individual has called upon the Sikh community to unite and peacefully protest against the alleged depiction in the movie.
Rajeev Khandelwal on casting couch: 'I dont see the crime rate going down'

Rajeev Khandelwal opened up about his casting couch experience, saying such issues still persist in the industry and questioning whether newcomers truly feel safer today. He shared his perspective on vulnerability and exploitation.

Gayatri Rani March 24, 2026 / 10:47 IST























Rajeev Khandelwal talks about casting couch Rajeev Khandelwal discusses casting couch in the industry

He says crime rate hasn't decreased in showbiz

Rajeev questions if newcomers feel safer now Did our AI summary help?
Rajpal Yadav thanks Rao Inderjeet Singh for support after bail in Rs 9 crore case

Rajpal Yadav thanked Rao Inderjeet Singh for his support during his financial crisis, after securing bail in a Rs 9 crore cheque bounce case following his recent surrender and jail time.









Rajpal Yadav thanks Rao Inderjeet Singh for support after bail in Rs 9 crore case Rajpal Yadav secures bail after support from film industry peers

Rao Inderjeet Singh mobilized financial aid for Rajpal Yadav

Sonu Sood, Tej Pratap Yadav, and Kamal R Khan also contributed Did our AI summary help?
Ram Gopal Varma hails Ranveer Singhs masterclass act in Dhurandhar 2, says it is the greatest performance Ive ever seen; compares him to Leonardo DiCaprio

Ranveer Singh is earning widespread acclaim for his intense performance in Dhurandhar: The Revenge, with industry figures praising his emotional depth and screen presence. The response has been so strong that filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has called it the most powerful performance he has ever witnessed.









Ram Gopal praises Ranveer Singh Ram Gopal Varma calls Ranveer Singh's performance most powerful

Ranveer Singh praised for emotional consistency in Dhurandhar

Dhurandhar: The Revenge receives positive reviews and strong buzz Did our AI summary help?
Ranveer Singh to issue unconditional apology after Kantara mimicry row: Reports

Ranveer Singh is expected to issue an unconditional apology after facing backlash over a Kantara-related mimicry, which many found insensitive.









Ranveer Singh to issue unconditional apology after Kantara mimicry row: Reports Ranveer Singh faces backlash for mimicking Kantara scene

He apologised on Instagram, citing respect for all cultures

Ranveer to file affidavit and may apologise at Chamundi shrine Did our AI summary help?
High blood pressure: Hidden region in brain that controls how you breathe out can cause hypertension

Causes of high blood pressure: Research reveals that high blood pressure may be driven not just by the heart or arteries, but by a tiny breathing-related hub in the brainstem. Researchers suggest it could soon be targeted indirectly for treatment.









Causes of high blood pressure: Breathing, especially strong, deep breathing from the stomach, may be one of the causes of high blood pressure, warn researchers (Image: Pexels) High blood pressure may be linked to a small brain region

Treating neck sensors could help control blood pressure safely

Strong breathing patterns may raise blood pressure levels Did our AI summary help?
One hedge fund trader told the Financial Times that some recent block trades appeared unusually timed, while another investor described growing frustration, calling the activity abnormal given the lack of major economic triggers or scheduled events that day
Arm to sell its own chips for first time in bid for AI sales

Meta Platforms Inc. will be the first major customer for the UK-based companys chip, called an AGI CPU, Arm said Tuesday at an event in San Francisco









Under Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas, Arm has pivoted toward becoming a chipmaker. Bloomberg Arm launches AGI CPU chip, Meta is first major customer

AGI CPU offers up to 136 cores, aims for power efficiency

Other buyers include OpenAI, Cerebras, SK Telecom Did our AI summary help?
From cold chains to consumer bills: refrigeration sector bears brunt of Iran war

Categories dependent on cold storage and refrigeration could see sharper increases. Ice-cream prices may rise by 2530%, cold beverages by 1025% and frozen and dairy products by 512% as cost pressures intensify









From cold chains to consumer bills: refrigeration sector bears brunt of Iran-Israel war India's refrigeration industry faces cost spikes due to Iran war

Equipment prices may rise 515 percent ahead of peak summer

Ice cream and beverage prices could increase up to 30 percent Did our AI summary help?
India may deepen fertiliser import diversification with China, Russia, Canada as key options

The government is looking for sourcing flexibility as global supply risks rise. China may act as swing supplier for urea









The government is also encouraging alternatives such as nano fertilisers India to diversify fertiliser imports beyond China, Russia, Canada

China may act as a fallback supplier for urea during disruptions

India keeps Iran ties to secure fertiliser supply chains Did our AI summary help?
Did our AI summary help?
From ships to skies: How India is keeping Gulf markets stocked amid Iran war

With shipping routes disrupted, exporters are turning to air freight and exploring alternative corridors to keep food flowing to import-dependent Gulf nations









The disruption has also accelerated efforts to reduce dependence on GCC markets. Gulf conflict pushes Indian exporters from sea to air transport

Rising freight costs and delays impact rice, tea, and perishables

Exporters explore new routes and markets to reduce GCC dependence Did our AI summary help?
GIFT Nifty trades higher, pares early gains amid cautious global sentiment

After surging nearly 900 points, or 4 percent, on Monday, GIFT Nifty pared some of its gains trading 386 points, or 1.7 percent higher, at around 7:40 am.









Asian markets also pared gains, with earlier gains of as much as 1.7 percent moderating to around 0.8 percent.
HDFC Bank appoints external law firms to review ex-chairman Atanu Chakraborty's resignation

The bank said Chakraborty "did not mention any happenings or practices that were not in congruence with his personal values and ethics," adding that "no other material reasons" were indicated beyond those already disclosed.









Shares of the bank have fallen nearly 12% since Chakraborty's exit. HDFC Bank hires law firms to review ex-chairmans exit letter

RBI names Keki Mistry interim chair after Chakraborty exit

Bank probed after whistleblower claims, top executives quit Did our AI summary help? HDF01 HDF01 NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More 
Hormuz disruption threatens Indias export pivot to Gulf as US trade shrinks

Shipments redirected to Gulf markets after US tariff hit now face fresh risks as Strait of Hormuz tensions disrupt trade routes









. India's exports to Gulf surged after US tariffs cut US shipments

Hormuz turmoil now endangers Indias vital Gulf trade

Key sectors like gems, metals, and agriculture face renewed risks Did our AI summary help?
Amir Chand Jagdish Kumar's Rs 440-crore IPO gets fully subscribed on Day 1

The basmati rice exporter will make its stock market debut on April 2.









Amir Chand IPO sees robust subscription in the primary market on Day 1. Amir Chand Jagdish Kumar IPO subscribed 90 percent on day one, so far.

IPO price band set at Rs 201-212 per share, ends March 27.

Stock market debut scheduled for April 2. Did our AI summary help?
Temasek- and Dr Ranjan Pai-backed Manipal Hospitals files for mega $1 bn-plus IPO; biggest ever in Indian healthcare

In April 2023, Temasek sealed the largest deal ever by a private equity fund in the Indian healthcare sector by upping its stake and becoming the controlling shareholder in Manipal Hospitals









Temasek- and Dr Ranjan Pai-backed Manipal Hospitals files for mega $1 bn-plus IPO; biggest ever in Indian healthcare Manipal Health files for IPO with Rs 8,000 crore fresh issue

Funds to repay Rs 5,378 crore debt and acquire Sahyadri stake

Operates 38 hospitals, served 7.19 million patients in FY25 Did our AI summary help?

Ravindra Sonavane
Sai Parenteral's IPO subscribed 4% on Day 1

The company garnered more than Rs 122 crore from anchor investors on Monday









Sai Parenteral's IPO subscribed 2% on Day 1 so far
Negative sentiment signals above-average returns ahead, says Devina Mehra; suggests diversification across assets

Speaking exclusively on the sidelines of Waterfield Advisors Heritage Huddle, Mehra said the current risk-off sentiment is precisely the kind of setup that has historically delivered better forward returns









Negative sentiment signals above-average returns ahead, says Devina Mehra; suggests diversification across assets Nifty and Sensex plunge amid sharp sell-off and oil price surge

Devina Mehra urges investors not to react to negative sentiment

Mehra urges global diversification and disciplined investing Did our AI summary help?
Olectra Greentech, JBM Auto shares rise up to 10% as govt to deploy 10,000 AC e-buses in 116 cities by 2027

The second scheme of 35,000 more buses will come soon, and cities have to apply under the scheme accordingly, said Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal









Olectra Greentech, JBM Auto shares rise up to 10% as govt to deploy 10,000 AC e-buses in 116 cities by 2027 Olectra, JBM Auto rally on new e-bus scheme news

Government to provide 10,000 e-buses to 116 cities by 2027

A new scheme will offer 35,000 more e-buses after 2027 Did our AI summary help? JBM03 JBM03 NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More 
SEBI orders Rs 2.64 crore disgorgement from Ludhiana-based dealer

SEBIs investigation, covering the period from 2018 to 2022, showed a clear pattern. The dealer traded on 1,352 days and had a very high overlap of 906 days with big client trades.









SEBI orders Rs 2.64 Cr disgorgement from Ludhiana based dealer, bars dealer and his family for front running trades of big clients SEBI bans dealer Sunny Bhatia and family for front-running trades

Dealer must return Rs 2.64 crore plus interest within 45 days

All four fined and barred from securities market for two years Did our AI summary help?
In this edition of Moneycontrol Pro Panorama: Why is the rupee falling despite domestic strength? The answer could be Hormuz.

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
SEBI proposes gift cards for mutual funds to boost retail participation

The idea, originally suggested by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), aims to tap into gifting culture to drive financial inclusion.









SEBI proposes Gift Cards for Mutual funds to boost retail participation SEBI proposes prepaid gift cards for mutual fund investments

Gift cards capped at Rs 10,000, valid for one year only

Gift card, e-wallet, cash investments capped at Rs 50k/year Did our AI summary help?
Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities

On the weekly expiry session, the benchmark index Nifty opened on a positive note, registering a gap-up start, supported by a sharp cool-off in Brent crude oil prices. The index initially slipped to an intraday low of 22624. Thereafter buying emerged at lower levels, which helped the index stage a steady recovery and move higher through the day. However, some profit booking was seen in the last hour of trade, leading to a minor pullback from higher levels. Despite this late-hour correction, Nifty managed to conclude the session at 22912 level, ending with a gain of 1.78%.

From a price action perspective, on the daily chart the index has formed a small-bodied candlestick with shadows on both the upper and lower sides. This candle structure reflects uncertainty among market participants and highlights a phase of indecision after recent volatility. While the index has posted a strong single-day rise, the broader technical setup continues to suggest a cautious to bearish undertone in the short term, indicating that follow-through buying will be crucial for sustaining the upside.

In terms of index constituents, LT and InterGlobe Aviation emerged as the top gainers, lending support to the headline index. On the other hand, Coal India and Power Grid faced selling pressure and ended the session as the top laggards. Sectorally, the sentiment was broadly positive, with all major sectoral indices closing in the green. Nifty Media, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Auto outperformed the broader market and were the top sectoral gainers for the session.

The broader market also witnessed a pullback rally. Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices registered strong gains of over 2.5% each. Market breadth was decisively positive, with the Advance/Decline ratio tilted strongly in favour of advancers. Within the Nifty 500 universe, as many as 456 stocks ended the day on a positive note.

Nifty View

Going ahead, the zone of 2303023060 will act as an immediate hurdle for the index. A sustained move above 23060 may extend the ongoing pullback rally towards the 23200 level in the short term. On the downside, the zone of 2275022700 is placed as an important support area for the index.

Bank Nifty View

The banking benchmark Bank Nifty also witnessed a gap-up opening on Tuesday and ended the day at 52605, registering a healthy gain of 2.27%. On the daily chart, it has formed a small-bodied candle with shadows on both sides, indicating a phase of indecision after the recent pullback.

Going forward, the zone of 5300053100 will act as an immediate resistance area for the index. A sustained move above 53100 could lead to further extension of the pullback rally towards the 53600 level in the near term. On the downside, the zone of 5220052100 is placed as a crucial support region for Bank Nifty.
Stocks to Watch Today: SEPC, InterGlobe Aviation, Coal India, GR Infraprojects, GSP Crop Science, Bluspring Enterprises, Brand Concepts in focus on 24 March

Stocks to Watch, 24 March: Stocks like InterGlobe Aviation, Coal India, SEPC, GR Infraprojects, Persistent Systems, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, GNG Electronics, Dredging Corporation of India, Wipro, Bluspring Enterprises, Brand Concepts, and GSP Crop Science will be in focus on March 24.









Stocks to Watch Today, 24 March Stocks in Focus on March 24: InterGlobe Aviation, Coal India, SEPC, GR Infraprojects, GNG Electronics, Bluspring Enterprises, Brand Concepts, GSP Crop Science Did our AI summary help? IA05

CI29

SE21 IA05 NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More CI29 NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More SE21 NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More 
You are already a Moneycontrol Pro user.

OK
Trade Spotlight: How should you trade Infosys, Aurobindo Pharma, Power Grid Corporation, Prime Focus, Larsen & Toubro, and others on March 24?

Hopes of Iran war de-escalation may drive a sharp market rebound in the upcoming session. Below are some short-term trading ideas to consider.

Sunil Shankar Matkar March 24, 2026 / 02:51 IST























Top Trading Ideas for March 24 Experts pick top 11 trading ideas for March 24 including Infosys, Aurobindo Pharma, Power Grid Corporation, Prime Focus, Larsen & Toubro Did our AI summary help? IT

BPC

AP IT NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More BPC NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More AP NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More 
Initially, in November 2025 Vedanta had made a bid for Rs 17,000 crore of which about Rs 4,000 crore was payable immediately and rest in 5-6 years.
Oil rises as markets assess supply risks after Iran denies US talks

Crude futures dropped more than 10% on Monday, after Trump said he had ordered a fiveday delay to attacks he had threatened on Iran's power plants.

Reuters March 24, 2026 / 07:19 IST























Brent futures rose $1.06, or 1.1%, to $101 a barrel at 0001 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed $1.58, or 1.8%, to $89.71.
Pakistan faces LNG shortage within 10 days as Qatar export halt deepens crisis

Pakistan faces mounting energy shortages and rising costs as Middle East tensions disrupt LNG supplies, even as it pursues diplomatic efforts amid regional conflict.









Pakistan at risk of running out of gas within 10 days amid Middle East tensions
SHENZHEN, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Shenzhen, China's southern technology hub, is systematically transforming its urban fabric into an AI testbed, spanning smart factory floors, robot janitors, the nation's first AI Bureau and even an AI-powered court system. Earlier this month, hundreds of AI enthusiasts and developers queued outside Tencent's headquarters in the city to complete deployments of OpenClaw, a popular AI agent, with assistance from engineers on site. The scene unfolded amid Shenzhen's broader push to harness AI to catalyze a new wave of wealth creation. It aims to establish over 100,000 square meters of "One Person Company" communities by 2027, an initiative riding the tide of AI-powered entrepreneurship that is reshaping how individuals launch and scale businesses. A defining characteristic of the city is its strong entrepreneurial culture, with both businesses and the government eager not to miss out, making them bold early adopters. Local authorities' embrace of AI became particularly evident in March 2025, when Shenzhen's Longgang District established China's first dedicated AI and robotics administration, a regulatory body purpose-built for the machine age. "This administration exists to break down departmental walls and provide one-stop coordination from industrial planning and ecosystem building to investment services, scenario promotion and safety management," said Yu Xiquan, secretary of the Longgang District Committee of the Communist Party of China. In the district, Neolix autonomous delivery vehicles now ferry packages along a newly opened road. Opening up bustling commercial districts to such new scenarios reflects the metropolis' transformation into a proving ground for intelligent technologies. The city has been bold in experimenting with municipal management. Humanoid robots assist with subway security screening, patrol the streets alongside police officers, and deliver government services through pilot applications powered by OpenClaw. "I used to have to go to the service hall to pay my water bill, but now I just say 'pay water bill' on my phone, and it's done in seconds," said a Longgang resident surnamed Li, explaining the convenience of AI services through the "iShenzhen" app. The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court has launched China's first AI model for judicial proceedings, piloting AI-assisted case handling throughout the trial process. To rapidly integrate into the smart economy, Shenzhen has pioneered a voucher system to lower innovation barriers, with 500 million yuan (about 72 million U.S. dollars) in "training vouchers," 50 million yuan in "data vouchers," and 100 million yuan in "model vouchers," aimed at encouraging AI technology application. Last year, Shenzhen established a 10 billion yuan AI and robotics industry fund. This year, it launched an "AI plus" advanced manufacturing action plan to support the deep integration of AI and advanced manufacturing. The numbers reflect this commitment. In 2025, the city's core AI industry generated approximately 220 billion yuan in revenue, and its AI industry cluster output value is projected to grow by over 10 percent in 2026. Shenzhen also aims to achieve 1 trillion yuan in smart terminal output this year, with production expected to exceed 150 million units and more than 50 AI-enabled terminal products. While AI-enabled hardware produced in Shenzhen made a splash at January's CES in Las Vegas, creating "new forms of the smart economy" was written into China's government work report this month. AI technology is now boosting efficiency on the city's assembly lines. Automaker BYD's factories use AI visual inspection systems, achieving 99.8 percent accuracy in detecting battery defects. Chinese smartphone brand Honor's smart manufacturing campus in Pingshan District -- the industry's only Level 4 intelligent factory -- produces one device every 28.5 seconds. AI simulation has compressed foldable phone hinge design "from six months to two months," said Hu Wei, an engineer at Honor. In healthcare, AI large models have been deployed across 30 top-tier hospitals citywide, assisting in diagnosing over 100,000 complex cases in early tumor screening. A brain-wave cognitive screening model developed by Shenzhen Bay Laboratory and a local hospital can detect Alzheimer's signals before symptoms appear. The consumer front also shows similar momentum. In February, driverless tech firm Pony.ai achieved monthly per-vehicle profitability for its robotaxi service in Shenzhen. Recently, China's first home cleaning robot launched operations in Shenzhen. Working alongside human cleaners, the robot from startup X Square Robot precisely identifies and neatly arranges scattered shoes, organizes desktop clutter, and picks up toys from the floor. After tidying, it switches modes to wipe surfaces and clean pet litter boxes, all in one go. In 2025, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster jumped to the top of the world's 100 leading innovation clusters. In the coming years, Shenzhen is set to evolve into an AI native metropolis, embedding intelligence across factory floors and urban infrastructure, algorithm by algorithm and scenario by scenario.
Accident during election duty: Who bears liability for requisitioned vehicles?

Insurance contracts are premised on risk during private operation, not when possession and control shift to government authorities









election duty Supreme Court: State liable for accidents in vehicle requisition

Insurers not liable for accidents under State control

Owners lose liability when vehicles are used for public purposes Did our AI summary help?
Why Indians should consider separate wills for global assets

If you want to register a Will in UAE you have three avenues for registering their Wills- Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai Courts or Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD).









will in dubai UAE property investments by Indians face legal hurdles in crises

Separate Wills are advised for Indian and UAE assets

Will registration in UAE costs vary by jurisdiction Did our AI summary help?
Buy Tata Power; target of Rs 455: Motilal Oswal

Motilal Oswal is bullish on Tata Power recommended buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 455 in its research report dated March 23, 2026.

Broker Research March 24, 2026 / 13:05 IST























Buy TPC TPC NSE/BSE Select NSE LIVE BSE LIVE Day High

Day Low

Volume (NSE) More 
6 vessels with 300,000 tonnes of fuel: India pushes to unlock stranded LPG cargoes amid West Asia conflict

Amid these disruptions, two carriers, Jag Vasant and Pine Gas, have managed to secure the necessary clearances to move through the region.
Abdul Hamid at Asal Uttar: How one soldier took on a tank advance in 1965

In one of the fiercest tank battles of the 1965 war, a soldier with a jeep-mounted gun changed the course of the fight and became one of Indias most decorated war heroes.









Representtaive image Abdul Hamid destroyed multiple Patton tanks at Asal Uttar in 1965

His actions slowed Pakistan's advance and shifted battle momentum

Hamid was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for bravery Did our AI summary help?
CBI moves Supreme Court to cancel bail of two gangrape accused in Manipur who paraded women naked

The accused had paraded woman naked. This is a gross case. The women were gangraped and then paraded, the CBI submitted, pressing for the bail to be set aside.









A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, along with Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh, took note of the plea and issued notices to the two accused, Arun Khundongbam alias Nanao and Nameirakpam Kiran Meitei, who are currently out on bail. CBI asks Supreme Court to revoke bail of Manipur violence accused

Supreme Court issues notice to two accused, seeks their responses

Court directs immediate legal aid for victims in the case Did our AI summary help?
Centre calls all-party meeting to discuss West Asia conflict

The development comes amid the Opposition MPs' hue and cry about India's stand on the global tensions









Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the West Asia conflict in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Centre calls all-party meeting to discuss West Asia conflict

PM Modi assures India has adequate crude oil storage

Seven groups formed to address fuel and supply chain issues Did our AI summary help?
Delhi budget 2026 highlights: 1.03 lakh crore outlay, big push for green spending and infrastructure

The government has earmarked 21% of the total budget as part of its green budget initiative, signalling a focus on environment-linked spending.









Rekha Gupta
Delhi court awards life sentence to Kashmiri separatist in UAPA case: Who is Asiya Andrabi?

Andrabi and her two associates had been convicted on January 14 under various provisions of the UAPA and for criminal conspiracy, including charges related to waging war against the country.









Asiya Andrabi is the founding leader of Dukhtaran-e-Millat
Over the last few days, DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had been interviewing candidates who were interested in contesting the upcoming Puducherry elections.
Do ED officers lose rights when on duty?: Supreme Court's big poser to Mamata Banerjee

The top court questioned the objections raised over maintainability of the plea moved under Article 32 by Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Mamata Banerjee's alleged interference in the raids against I-PAC.









Mamata Banerjee SC questions Mamata Banerjees role in ED raid interference

ED: Bengal officials blocking I-PAC money laundering probe

SC weighs EDs Article 32 remedy against state actions Did our AI summary help?
'Forced to walk': Patient dies after being denied help to use toilet at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata

His wife alleged that he was forced to walk despite being in a critical condition and said he fell unconscious while returning from the toilet. She questioned why such basic issues remained unresolved at the facility.
'Free refrigerators to women, education loan waiver to youth': AIADMK manifesto for Tamil Nadu elections 2026

While presenting the manifesto, Palaniswami launched a pointed attack on the DMK government and accused the ruling party of running what he described as a 'commission, collection corruption' regime in Chennai, alleging that corruption had become deeply entrenched under its administration.









AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami AIADMK vows free fridges for women rice-ration cardholders

Education loans to be waived for students and graduates

BJP gets 27 seats, PMK 18, AMMK 11 in AIADMK-led alliance Did our AI summary help?
Govt mulls cutting social media takedown time from 2 to 3 hours to 1 hour: Report

The proposal is still at an early stage, and officials indicate that any decision will depend heavily on how social media platforms perform under the current rules.









Representative image Centre may cut content removal deadline to just one hour

Decision hinges on platforms obeying current 23 hour rule

Other ministries may soon gain power to issue blocking directives Did our AI summary help?
Here's why Rahul Gandhi will skip govt's all-party meet on US-Iran war tomorrow

Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi criticized PM for invoking the Covid-19 pandemic in his recent statement on the West Asia crisis, saying the prime minister had forgotten the kind of tragedies the country witnessed during that period.









Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi skips all-party meet on West Asia crisis

He criticizes PM Modi's handling of foreign policy and crisis

Warns of economic fallout from Iran-Israel-US conflict Did our AI summary help?
High Court orders fresh 'negligence' hearing in 25-yr-old Army truck toddler death case, rejects sovereign immunity

The court said that the state cant be absolved of its tortious liability while taking the life of one of its citizens by the wrongful act of one of its officials.









Punjab and Haryana High Court High Court rejects sovereign immunity in child road accident case

Negligence must be examined; state can be held vicariously liable

Case sent back to tribunal for fresh decision on compensation Did our AI summary help?
Indias strategic reserves are currently about 64% full, translating into emergency crude stocks that can meet roughly five days of demandone of the lowest buffers among major economies
'If PM is compromised, foreign policy is compromised': Rahul Gandhi targets Modi amid West Asia crisis

The Leader of Opposition also took exception to Modis reference to the COVID-19 pandemic while addressing Parliament in the context of the ongoing West Asia tensions. "Yesterday he made an irrelevant speech. He is the prime minister of India, he must appear to be as the PM of India, he has no position," Gandhi said.









Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. (File photo) Rahul Gandhi accuses Modi of weakening India's foreign policy

Gandhi says India's diplomacy is now driven by Modi personally

Modi urges unity amid West Asia crisis, warns of economic impact Did our AI summary help?
Indias FTAs boost exports but trade deficits persist with UAE, Australia

New Delhi remains engaged with the US and is studying the recent tariff developments, the government said









Following a US Supreme Court ruling on February 20 that invalidated reciprocal tariffs, duties on Indian goods are no longer in force India inked six trade pacts since 2014-15, more talks underway

Trade deficits widened with UAE and Australia after recent FTAs

India keeps trade surplus with Mauritius under current pact Did our AI summary help?
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said all refineries are operating at high capacity with sufficient crude inventories, and there have been no reports of fuel shortages at retail outlets.
Indias LPG imports plunge in March as Iran war disrupts supply, Argentine shipments rise

India has resumed purchases of LPG from Argentina after two months, with imports reaching 7,575 tonnes









Indias LPG imports dip sharply in March amid Gulf crisis, Argentina imports rise Indias March LPG imports fell amid Strait of Hormuz closure

India resumed LPG imports from Argentina after two months

UAE, Qatar, and US LPG supplies to India declined in March Did our AI summary help?
Kamal Haasan-led MNM opts out of Tamil Nadu Assembly poll race, extends full support to DMK and allies

The number of seats DMK offered and the 'suggestion' that MNM nominees should contest under DMK's Rising Sun symbol are not acceptable, the party said.









Kamal Haasan MNM will not contest Tamil Nadu polls, supports DMK alliance

Kamal Haasan cites seat offer and symbol issue as reasons

Haasan to campaign for DMK-led alliance across Tamil Nadu Did our AI summary help?
Kamal Haasan's MNM opts out of 2026 Tamil Nadu polls, backs DMK-led front

MNM president Kamal Haasan, reportedly said the party was not satisfied with the number of seats offered and the proposal to contest under the DMKs Rising Sun symbol.









Kamal Haasan MNM will not contest 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections

Kamal Haasan's MNM extends unconditional support to DMK alliance

DMK-led alliance now includes nearly 21 parties Did our AI summary help?
In Kannur, where Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is seeking re-election, an independent aspirant named Vijayan A M has entered the contest.
Madhavi Latha shares prayer clip from Delhi airport; some back her, others voice disapproval

In a long post with the video on X, Latha wrote, "A moment of stillness amidst the rush... Pranams to the Divine in the Heart of Bharat..."









A screengrab from her clip. Madhavi Latha's prayer room video at Delhi airport sparks debate

Some praised her devotion, others accused her of breaking rules

Congress leader urged action, citing discomfort caused to others Did our AI summary help?
Kumars re-election consolidates his position within the party at a time when the JD(U) continues to play a key role in Bihar politics as well as at the national level.
PM Modi says India in touch with Iran, US and Israel, briefs Rajya Sabha on West Asia war

Around one crore Indians live and work in the Gulf countries, and ensuring the safety of their lives and livelihoods is also a major concern for India, says PM Modi.









Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the Rajya Sabha on the Middle East conflict.
The Prime Minister pointed to the wider economic consequences of the conflict, noting that global supply chains -- particularly in energy -- have been significantly affected.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised that ensuring a steady supply of petrol and diesel remains a priority, even as the situation in the Strait of Hormuz becomes increasingly 'difficult'.
PM Modi to speak on West Asia crisis in Rajya Sabha today

PM Modi earlier said that the West Asia crisis has been going on now for more than three weeks and is having a very adverse impact on the global economy and on people's lives.









The PM made a statement in Lok Sabha on Monday over the West Asia conflict PM Modi to brief Rajya Sabha on West Asia, energy security

Adequate food, fertiliser, and coal stocks assured for India

Government prioritizes domestic LPG and smooth fuel supply Did our AI summary help?
The court clarified that individuals following religions other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be treated as members of Scheduled Castes
Yadavs plea had challenged the FIR registered in 2022, along with three chargesheets filed between 2022 and 2024, as well as the court orders taking cognisance of the case
This army, armed with traditional and modern weapons, will protect the cow progeny and Hinduism, he said, while standing alongside supporters who held axe replicas.

Avimukteshwaranand said that the concept of a Chaturangini Sena finds mention in the Mahabharata and traditionally refers to a force comprising infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots.
States must ensure that reform momentum is firmly on track: PM Modi on India's response amid West Asia crisis

The PM also asserted that the fundamentals of the Indian economy remain strong despite global uncertainties.









PM Modi PM urges states to keep reform momentum on track

Centre pledges support for states' reform initiatives

India ready for global risks; agriculture stays strong Did our AI summary help?
Alongside this, High Courts have been asked to ensure that these proposed courts are adequately staffed.

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
According to the ministry, Pine Gas, carrying 45,000 metric tonnes of LPG, is scheduled to arrive at New Mangalore port on March 27. Jag Vasant, with 47,600 metric tonnes of LPG, is expected to reach Kandla port on March 26
India covers around 60% of its LPG needs with imports and until the February 28 U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, the Middle East had accounted for around 90% of sea-borne supplies, reaching 22.7 million metric tons last year.
West Bengal assembly elections 2026: Who are the top 10 richest candidates, MLAs from TMC, BJP and others

The contest is largely seen as a direct fight between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), though other players are attempting to shape the electoral landscape.









Elections in the state are scheduled in two phases on April 23 and April 29 and counting on May 4. TMC candidates top list of richest Assembly poll nominees

Jakir Hossain tops with assets over Rs 67 crore

Elections in West Bengal set for April 23, 29; counting May 4 Did our AI summary help?
Women SSC officers entitled to permanent commission, says Supreme Court

The bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant strongly criticised the framework used to evaluate women officers, pointing to systemic bias and structural flaws.
India relies heavily on imported gas. Limited storage and supply concentration increase risks. Building storage, diversifying sources, and improving markets can enhance energy security

When geopolitical tensions escalate in West Asia, the impact rarely remains confined to logistics alone.
OPINION | Indias investment growth plan needs to focus on the household sector, the largest source of capex

Government spending drives growth but creates limited jobs. Household sector accounts for 42% of capex. Bringing it into the formal economy can improve investment quality and incomes









A lesser discussed aspect is the household sector, which is the largest investor in the economy
OPINION | The Strait that feeds the world

A humanitarian crisis is building behind the oil headlines. Close to half the worlds nitrogen supply relies on Hormuz. War-related disruption can fuel global food inflation

Neeraj Mohan March 24, 2026 / 12:52 IST























Strait of Hormuz is the largest supply disruption of oil.
OPINION | Trump may want it but conditions are not ripe for a durable ceasefire in West Asia

The probability of a consensual modus-vivendi to the current war, leading to a total and equitable cessation of hostilities remains low









Factors inconsistent with a durable ceasefire
'Go Goa Gone': 22-year-old booked for driving Toyota Fortuner on beach. SUV fills with water, gets stuck

Footage circulating on X, posted by a user identified as @pushpendrakum, shows a Toyota Fortuner being taken off the shoreline and into the water. The post alleged that the occupants drove the vehicle into the sea 'trying to act smart', before losing control of the situation.









Police confirmed that an investigation is underway to establish how the vehicle came to be driven into the sea.
Irans oneman army: Citizen journalist saves lives with realtime news despite censors

The Vahid Online X profile has more than seven lakh followers and its operator has long been anonymous until recently when the Iranian state media identified him as MirVahid Hassantabar.









The work, however, comes at a toll. The operator has described sleepless nights, constant monitoring, and exposure to distressing images that have, at times, affected his health. (AI-generated image)
Lockdown in India trends on Google over Covid anniversary, war concerns

The surge closely aligns with March 24, the date on which Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown in 2020 to curb the spread of Covid-19, a decision that brought economic activity to a halt.









Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised that ensuring a steady supply of petrol and diesel remains a priority, even as the situation in the Strait of Hormuz becomes increasingly 'difficult'.
ZeroGPT flags Jawahar Lal Nehrus independence speech 'Tryst with Destiny' as AI-generated

The excerpt analysed was taken from Jawahar Lal Nehrus 'Tryst with Destiny' speech, delivered on the eve of Indias independence  a defining moment in modern history. Despite its well-documented authorship and archival presence, the detector assigned a high probability score indicating machine generation.
Rhino in the Arctic? A 23-million-year-old fossil at Haughton Crater stuns scientistsTurns out to be a new species!

Scientists have discovered a 23-million-year-old rhino species in the Arctic, revealing that these animals once lived far north and reshaping what scientists know about their evolution and migration.
Thailand may cut visa-free stay to 30 days: What it means for travellers

Thailand may reduce visa-free stay from 60 to 30 days. Heres how the proposed rule could impact travellers, digital nomads, and Indian tourists planning longer stays.









Planning a longer stay in Thailand? A proposed cut in visa-free duration from 60 to 30 days could change how travellers organise their trips. Thailand may cut visa-free stays from 60 days to 30 days

Long-stay travellers and digital nomads could face extra steps

Indian tourists may need more planning for extended trips Did our AI summary help?
Travel trends shift as Middle East disruptions push Indian travellers towards Asia and domestic destinations: Report

Middle East disruptions shift Indian travel trends, with more tourists choosing Asia and domestic destinations. Heres what the latest ixigo report reveals.









Indian travellers are choosing closer destinations as Middle East disruptions reshape travel plans, with Asia and domestic trips seeing a strong surge. Mideast turmoil sends Indian tourists to closer destinations

Vietnam bookings surge 130 percent, Nepal up 88 percent

Domestic travel rises, Udaipur sees 69 percent jump in bookings Did our AI summary help?
Despite US claims of productive talks and a pause in strikes, Iran denies negotiations and issues strong warnings, vowing severe retaliation if attacked. Ongoing military exchanges with Israel highlight persistent tensions and uncertainty over de-escalation.

Did our AI summary help?
(FILES) The Valero logo is displayed on a tank at the Valero Wilmington Oil Refinery adjacent to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister HH Prince Faisal Bin Farhan held a coordination meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, on the sidelines of the consultative meeting of the Foreign Ministers of a group of Arab and Islamic countries on March 19.
Air Canada flight attendant survives after being thrown 300 feet during crash, was still strapped to seat: 'Total miracle...'

Air traffic control audio indicated confusion in the moments leading up to the collision.
Pakistans mediation in the Iran crisis, led by Field Marshal Asim Munir, is driven by internal insecurity, economic desperation, and rivalry with India. Despite projecting neutrality, its credibility is questioned due to past duplicity and self-serving motives.

Did our AI summary help?
AWSs Bahrain facility disrupted following drone activity, Amazon urges migrating to other locations

This is the second time in a month that the oprerations at the AWS centre in Bahrain have been disrupted ever since the war started on February 28.









Earlier in March, two AWS data centres in the UAE and another in Bahrain were damaged in Iranian drone strikes. (Representative photo) Drone conflict disrupts AWS operations in Bahrain

Amazon urges clients to migrate workloads from affected regions

Iranian drone attacks caused damage to AWS data centers in Gulf Did our AI summary help?
Can Trump really strike a deal with Iran amid an escalating war?

Mixed signals, deep distrust and hard red lines on both sides make any diplomatic breakthrough far more complicated than it sounds









Donald Trump Talks between US and Iran remain unclear and trust is low

Iran wants strong guarantees before agreeing to any deal

Strait of Hormuz gives Iran leverage in ongoing negotiations Did our AI summary help?
As the Iran war disrupts energy flows and pushes oil prices above $104, Asian countries face fuel shortages and price hikes. India, aided by reserves, diversified sourcing, and diplomacy, maintains stability, while others struggle with rationing and emergency measures.

Did our AI summary help?
Deal, delay or deception? Trump says talks on, Iran calls it 'fake news'. Whats really happening behind the scenes

There is another possible reading of the whole sequence: Trump is buying time again before sending in US ground troops to try to open up the Strait of Hormuz or seize Iranian oil assets.









US President Donald Trump speaks during the Memphis Safe Task Force roundtable in Memphis, Tennessee on March 23, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) Trump claims "very good" talks with Iran to end the war, but Tehran denies negotiations. Indirect talks via mediators like Oman, Egypt, and Pakistan are ongoing, mainly focused on Iran's nuclear program and sanctions, but trust remains low and positions divided. Did our AI summary help?
Did Hegseth push Iran strikes? Trump's 'Let's do it' remark puts him at centre of Iran war debate

Speaking at a roundtable in Tennessee, Trump said, "Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up, and you said, 'Lets do it because you cant let them have a nuclear weapon,'" with Hegseth seated beside him.
'Disastrous mistake': Germanys President Steinmeier rebukes Trump, warns of rupture in transatlantic ties over Iran war

Germanys President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the Iran war a disastrous mistake breaching international law, criticising Donald Trump and warning of lasting damage to US-Germany relations.









Germany rebukes Trump over Iran war
After intense fighting and a pause in hostilities, Trump claims Iran's Supreme Leader is missing or dead, raising questions about who the US is negotiating with. Iran's leadership appears fragmented, with multiple figures but no clear authority.

Did our AI summary help?
Inside the Trump-Netanyahu call: How Khamenei strike plan was pitched and approved

A reported call between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump helped shape the decision to launch a strike on Iran, with intelligence on a potential decapitation strike against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei playing a key role.

Reuters March 24, 2026 / 01:10 IST























Trump approved Iran operation after Netanyahu argued for joint killing of Khamenei
Iran appoints Zolghadr as security chief after Larijani killing amid escalating regional tensions

Iran has appointed Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as security council secretary after Ali Larijanis killing, marking a swift leadership transition within its security establishment amid escalating tensions across the Middle East.









Iran reshuffles security leadership amid regional tensions
Iran's Mojtaba Khamenei open to talks with US; no official confirmation yet: Media reports

The report comes after US President Donald Trump said there have been talks between Washington and Tehran that produced what he described as 'major points of agreement'.









Irans Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
Is it already too late to stop the Iran war? Why each passing day is narrowing chances of peace

In this already fragile situation, the entry of countries like Pakistan does little to resolve the central dilemma. If anything, it highlights it. Who exactly is in a position to negotiate on Irans behalf?









Israeli emergency service personnel gather at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv on March 24, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP) Pakistan is mediating between the US and Iran amid escalating conflict, but uncertainty over Irans leadership and distrust of negotiations limit progress. Despite efforts, military escalation and shrinking diplomatic options make de-escalation increasingly difficult. Did our AI summary help?
Israel bombs Isfahan and other areas of Iran as US halts attacks, talks eyed in Pakistan

The strikes come at a time when backchannel diplomacy is intensifying, with reports suggesting that potential US-Iran talks could be held in Pakistan, which has emerged as a possible mediator.









A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP) Israel launched extensive airstrikes across Iran, including Isfahan, amid intensified diplomatic efforts for de-escalation. US-Iran talks may occur in Pakistan, while President Trump paused US strikes, citing ongoing negotiations to end the conflict. Did our AI summary help?
Pakistan PM Sharif offers to host talks 'to end Middle East war' as PM Modi, US Prez Trump stress Hormuz security

n Tuesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad was open to hosting negotiations aimed at ending the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.









Sharif said that Pakistan could play a direct role in mediation if both sides agree. Pakistan offers to host talks to resolve US-Iran-Israel conflict

India and US stress keeping Strait of Hormuz open for energy flow

Modi assures India has enough oil reserves amid regional tensions Did our AI summary help?
Pakistan tops global pollution list in 2025, finds study

The worlds 25 most polluted cities were all located in India, Pakistan and China, the report said.









Motorcyclists drive on a road as smog envelopes an area in Pakistan's Lahore. (Credit: AP) Pakistan ranked as the world's most polluted country in 2025

Only 13 countries met WHO PM2.5 guidelines in 2024

Loni, India, was the most polluted city globally in 2025 Did our AI summary help?
Pentagon revises media access rules after court order, moves press area outside main corridors

The Pentagon has updated its media policy to comply with a court ruling, requiring escorted journalist access while appealing restrictions on press freedom.

Reuters March 24, 2026 / 05:56 IST























Pentagon revises media access rules after court order, moves press area outside main corridors
Emergency crews rushed to the Valero Energy refinery in Port Arthur after residents reported hearing a loud blast that shook nearby homes. (Photo for representational purpose only)
(FILES) Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump speaks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC on November 19, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
Scientists identify death switch in brain linked to Alzheimers progression

New research points to a toxic protein interaction that may speed up brain cell damage, and a potential way to block it.









Heidelberg team uncovers a death switch in the brain harming nerve cells. Scientists find death switch tied to Alzheimers progression

Blocking TRPM4-NMDA interaction slowed brain cell damage in mice

Experimental drug FP802 improved memory and reduced amyloid beta Did our AI summary help?
Shia clerics slam Asim Munir over 'go to Iran' remark: 'You work for Trump and United States against Pakistan'

Last week, Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir sparked a controversy after telling Shia clerics that those who "love Iran so much should go to Iran".









Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir
Trump administration eyes Irans Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as potential partner for talks: Report

The Donald Trump administration is considering Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as a potential negotiating partner as it shifts toward diplomacy in the Iran conflict, a Politico report said.
Trump approval slides to 36% as Iran conflict pushes fuel prices higher

US President Donald Trumps approval rating has fallen to 36%, its lowest since returning to office, as rising fuel costs and growing opposition to the Iran war weigh on public sentiment.

Reuters March 24, 2026 / 22:54 IST























Trump approval drops to 36% as rising gas prices fuel backlash over Iran war
Iran-US talks in Pakistan? Trump shares PM Sharif's post offering to host negotiations

US President Donald Trump amplified Shehbaz Sharifs mediation offer, signalling support for Pakistans role in facilitating US-Iran dialogue amid escalating West Asia tensions and fragile diplomatic efforts.









Trump boosts Pakistans mediation role in crisis
US-approved Iranian barrels find a cautious reception in India

The US issued its third waiver for restricted oil on Friday, allowing purchases of Iranian oil already on the water in the Trump administrations latest effort to cool rising prices with additional supply.









The one-month grace period for Irans crude has encouraged representatives of National Iranian Oil Co. and intermediaries to sound out large Asian buyers, but they have been met with hesitation Indian refiners hesitate to buy US-approved Iranian oil

Payment, shipping, and insurance issues complicate deals

India favors Russian oil for its established trade logistics Did our AI summary help?
What led to Trump's sudden U-turn on Iran war: Egyptian intel, covert meeting, Saudi & Pak 'intervention'

A report said that foreign ministers from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan met in Riyadh before dawn on Thursday to explore a diplomatic off-ramp to the escalating conflict with Iran.









Donald Trump Trump orders 5-day halt to strikes on Iran energy targets

Arab states brokered backchannel talks to ease US-Iran tensions

US-Iran talks may move to Pakistan or Turkey Did our AI summary help?
When will Irans regime fall? Mossad chief David Barnea signals long road

Intelligence suggests Irans regime is weakened but intact, with Mossad chief David Barnea indicating any potential collapse could take up to a year rather than happening quickly.









Iran regime collapse unlikely in near term
White House plays down reports of US-Iran talks, says 'will not negotiate through press'

Responding to a media query on whether US Vice President Vance, envoy Steve Witkoff and former adviser Jared Kushner would meet Iranian officials this week, Leavitt said, 'The U.S. will not negotiate through the press".









Leavitt's remarks come amid mixed signals over engagement between the U.S. and Iran, as the West Asia conflict enters its fourth week. White House declines to confirm US-Iran meeting in Islamabad

Talks via intermediaries; no direct negotiations confirmed

Pakistan may host talks; Iran denies direct US dialogue Did our AI summary help?
Who is Dennis Coyle? American academic imprisoned in Afghanistan for over a year released by Taliban

US citizen Dennis Coyle, a longtime academic in Afghanistan, has been released by the Taliban after spending more than a year in detention without formal charges.









US citizen imprisoned in Afghanistan is freed after more than a year
Iran appointed Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a veteran IRGC figure, as secretary of its Supreme National Security Council after Ali Larijanis death. Zolghadrs extensive military and political experience positions him at the center of Irans key security decisions.

Did our AI summary help?
US President Donald Trump has hinted at a broad list of demands in any potential deal
March 24, 2026

War On Iran:  Trump Cashes Out  Social Unrest  Arabs Joining The War  Iran Invasion

Yesterday, just minutes before President Trumps most recent TACO, insiders placed bets on rising stocks and lower oil prices. They made a killing:

Traders placed $580mn in oil bets ahead of Donald Trumps social media post on Iran talks (archived)  FT

Traders made bets worth half a billion dollars in the oil market about 15 minutes before Donald Trumps post touting productive talks with Iran sent the price of crude tumbling and ignited volatility in other assets. Roughly 6,200 Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures contracts changed hands between 6.49am and 6.50am New York time on Monday, just a quarter of an hour ahead of the US presidents post on Truth Social that there had in recent days been productive conversations with Tehran to end the war in Iran. The notional value of those trades was $580mn, according to FT calculations based on Bloomberg data. Trading volumes for Brent and WTI leapt at the same time, 27 seconds before 6.50am. Futures tracking the S&P 500 share index jumped in price moments after the oil trade, with volumes also rising significantly during that timeframe. It was not known whether one entity or several entities were behind Mondays trades.

Trumps next threat to Iran  re-open the Strait of Hormuz to traffic or else  will most likely come on Friday, after the markets have close. It would not be beyond Trump to again play this weeks game and to offer another TACO shortly before next Mondays opening.

In between the conflict continues. The U.S. continues to bomb Iran. As does Israel. Barrages of Iranian missile continue to strike the Zionist entity. There are vague reports that energy infrastructure in Iran has been hit. If that has indeed happened expect Iran to hit back at infrastructure in Arab Gulf region.



Oil prices are creeping up again. The conflict has not been defused by Trumps TACO but threatens to intensify. The market interruptions it causes will be lengthy. I have warned that this will lead to public unrest first and foremost in those Asian states which have the biggest dependencies on Middle East oil. Here are the first signs of it:

Philippines Declares National Emergency Over High Fuel Prices (archived)  NY Times

Earlier on Tuesday, the Philippines Department of Energy said it had enough gasoline in reserve to last 53 days, enough diesel for 46 days and enough jet fuel for about 39 days. Diesel prices have doubled since the war began, surpassing 120 pesos, or $2, per liter. Many government offices have switched to a four-day workweek to save energy, and Mr. Marcos has called on the public to car pool. The government has also been handing out 5,000 pesos each to tens of thousands of autorickshaw and jeepney drivers around Manila who are suffering from the higher prices. Mr. Marcos is under intense pressure to deal with the situation. A coalition of transportation workers has called for mass protests around Manila, the capital, on Thursday and Friday about the price spike and what they consider inadequate measures by the government. On Tuesday, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a major newspaper, published a column with the headline, Nation on brink: This oil crisis may destroy everything we built.



There are again reports about Arab Gulf States allegedly pushing Trump to extend the war. Other reports claim that the Gulf states are ready to join with their own forces. I recommend to take such reports with a boatload of salt.

Saudi Prince Is Said to Push Trump to Continue Iran War in Recent Calls  NY Times

Gulf States Edge Toward Joining Fight Against Iran (archived)  WSJ

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates get tougher on basing and finances

The U.S. would love to see the Arabs to join the fight. They would have to buy lots of expensive weapons and take the damage. This while the U.S. could skip out of the conflict (see Ukraine).

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are sitting in glass-houses. Their existences depends on a few hard to defend desalination plants, electricity generation facilities and energy export outlets. They are in range of short range missiles of which Iran has plenty. There are also the Houthi . If the Arab states were to actively join the bombing of Iran it would be their end.



The U.S. has ordered two Marine Expeditionary Units into the Gulf region. There are also alarms out for the 82nd Airborne Division, an Immediate Response Force of some 3,000 soldiers which would add the the 1,600 Marines ground forces in the MEUs.

Pentagon Officials Weigh Deployment of Airborne Troops for Iran War (archived)  NY Times

Given the circumstances these are paltry forces usable only for very limited purposes. But it may well be the advance party of a much larger force that will take months to build.

There are still talks about taking Irans Kharg island, the main export station for Iranian oil. I did explain two weeks ago why that is no option. There are also three small islands in the middle of the Strait, Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb, which are held by Iran but claimed by the Emirates:

Due to the depth of sea, oil tankers and big ships have to pass between Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs, which makes these islands some of the most strategic points in the Persian Gulf.

These islands could be taken but, despite the above Wikipedia claim, their strategic value in this conflict is limited. Iranian reconnaissance drones, long range radar and anti-ship missiles have eroded their roles as interdiction stations. Taking those islands may have some PR value. But it would not lift the blockade of the Strait and the cost of holding them would soon become prohibitive.

Another potential target for an incursion into Iran could be its south-eastern city of Chabahar. It has a deep sea port and would be a good staring point for a larger invasion force. But Chabahar, with some 100,000 inhabitants, is a too big city to take with a mere 5,000 strong raiding force. Chabahar borders the Baluchistan region of Pakistan which makes any incursion of it politically complicate.
By Ambrose M. Bennett

Activist

MILLIONS on the mainland are poised for the No Kings Day PROTEST this Saturday March 28th and I hope there will be a Protest in the CNMI. But Truth be told, Ambrodamus has always Told Readers the TRUTH over the years and the light of TRUTH will always eventually shine through like it just did with the mining. I just FEEL Soooo MUCH FOR the People of the CNMI who thought they would be part of the American Dream only to realize they are ALL living an illusion-of-America due to POOR & Misleading Leaders who now depend more on the Feds than Making a Living for OURSELVES like Patriotic Americans working FOR the People & the Dream! But I Told Readers So, that mining would take place offshore anyway even in the face of the No Protest by a few thousand islanders, as the mining is about the majority of 300 million-plus Americans who need these minerals, as the majority always RULES in America. I also Told Readers it was far more PRUDENT & WISER to push for mining inside the CNMI that would automatically provide a level of accountability & revenues for the CNMI  now its TAYA accountability & revenues, so sad! However, no one listens to the PROVEN U.S. Economist & Political Scientist as Ambrodamus was RIGHT Again and the CNMI has missed out AGAIN on real PROGRES. But One-Day it will sink-in CNMI leaders should have listened to outsiders Ambrodamus, Zaldy & Mr. Jang!

But when it comes to Protest-in-the-CNMI the lack of Protests clearly demonstrates WHY theres no Economic Progress that continues to swing back & forth in Limbo with No Defined Goals (No Economic Recovery Plan). In fact, voters should be insisting by now that EVERY Candidate for Office show them a Plan for OUR Economy, especially when the Governor just announced another Austerity Monday-duh! I cant be the only one who can see WE Need a Systemic (System-wide) Plans to Execute! YES, the Feds are not perfect, and neither is the CNMI who ignores the Feds requests with issues like the request for a complete (systemic) Government Workforce Transition Plan, not a PSS & NMC Plan. There is also the violation of the U.S. Constitution on EQUALITY for All Americans, as the CNMI needs to look-in-the-mirror at its failures.

In fact, the CNMIs ideology of being Special with Special Rights in the American Family is FLAWED as every State is Equal in the American Family only requiring Special Needs, not FLAWED Rights. The Territories & Commonwealths of America CHOSE Freely in their Plebiscites to determine their Status that avoided Statehood & Equality as a State, meaning the decision was made BY the People to be LESS than a State in their relationship in the American Family and to complain about the Covenant & Rights now is WRONG & FUTILE. No disrespect but, the CNMI must do less crying & complaining about the Feds and start doing a LOT of Work to Help Ourselves as this Federal Dependency is getting out-of-hand with every Local Budget in the past decade Depending on Our-Fathers-In-Washington to save us! Im sure patriotic Americans would humbly & respectfully ask WHAT has the CNMI offered or contributed to America to deserve what now amounts to more than a TRILLION Dollars in Taxpayer money, as the CNMI even gives America a hard time about the Military Buildup and recently for mining! WHERE is the Patriotism, as one might even view the nature of the CNMI as being parasitic in nature instead of the symbiotic relationship prescribed in the U.S. Constitution for the State Level Governments. Heck, mainland Americans are still denied the American Dream of simply owning a home & business by CNMI Law in defiance of the Supreme Law in the U.S. Constitution and one day Time is going to catch-up to this injustice tooooo! The Feds will have to execute Supreme Authority AGAIN for American Workforce Accountability & EQUALITY in the CNMI  for TRUE!

Just to name a few of Ambrodamus I Told You So; The Tons of Pozzolan that is now worthless that WE could have sold to China  There is still No Public Surface Transportation to Tinian when WE could have a Roll-On & Off Ferry for Cars to Tinian  The Mariana Resort is still DEPRECIATING-in-Value with No Lease Payments and No Japanese Tourists  the FAILED Casino Commission that Rep. Ralph Yumul refuses to fix, the MACS Scam that goes unchecked & stealing the future and the list goes on of failures that would have been Protested-For-Progress on the mainland but its silence FOR Progress in the CNMI. Im sure voters on the mainland would be OUTRAGED over these FAILED opportunities for progress but its like it-never-happened in the CNMI, which is WHY the CNMI cant get on the Right Course in the Right Direction to find Progress & Prosperity for ALL! Democracy DEPENDS on Protests to ensure Prosperity but not in the CNMI  so sad!

Heck & just THINK, no candidate has even bothered to offer a Platform for Office not even the Gubernatorial Candidates who are just plotting to SIT with no plans FOR the People. No one is even promising anything FOR the NMDs, Retirees & Government Employees who constantly face Austerity  WE the People are being PLAYED and Voters better Wake-Up! Platforms have pretty much been ignored in the past but Im sure Platforms (PLANS) will be front & center on the minds of the voters who truly care more about the CNMI & its future than any Party or Family affiliation. It is truly time for voters to CHANGE and start Protesting & Holding ALL Candidates accountable with their feet-to-the-fire by insisting on their Platform for Office. The Lack of Protests & Silence, No Leadership Work, No Planning and No Oversights that are going Unprotested is the DEADLY Phenomenon that has encapsulated the CNMI putting All-Of-Us on a course to Nowhere! If WE the People dont change and start Protesting-For-Progress, its going to be the Same-O CNMI with a Lousy-Economy and where the American Dream does NOT exist, as it has always been on the voters to improve the CNMI with Informed & Progressive-Voting!

One People, One Direction.

Ambrose M. Bennett is an Economist who minored in Sociology, a Political Scientist, a retired teacher & former CNMI Board of Education Member, a James Madison Fellow (U.S. Constitutional Scholar), a Fulbright-Hays-Lifetime Humanities & Religious Scholar who resides in Kagman III in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
A banner with a picture of the late leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is displayed on a street, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 23, 2026. West Asia News Agency via REUTERS

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/TEL AVIV (Reuters)  Iran denied on Monday that it had engaged in negotiations with the United States, after President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb Irans power grid because of what he described as productive talks with unidentified Iranian officials.

A European official said that while there had been no direct negotiations between the two nations, Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf states were relaying messages. A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks on ending the war could be held in Islamabad as soon as this week.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. and Iran had held very good and productive conversations about a complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.

As a result, he said, he was postponing for five days a plan to hit Irans energy grid. His announcement sent share prices higher and oil prices sharply lower to below $100 a barrel, a sudden reversal to a market swoon caused by his weekend threats and Irans vows to respond.

Trump later told reporters his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, had held discussions with a top Iranian official into the evening on Sunday and would continue on Monday.

We have had very, very strong talks. Well see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement, he told reporters before departing Florida for Memphis.

In Memphis, he said Washington had been negotiating with Iran for a long time, and this time they mean business, adding: I think it could very well end up being a good deal for everybody.

He did not identify the Iranian official in touch with Witkoff and Kushner, but said: Were dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader.

An Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter said the interlocutor on the Iranian side was Irans powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Qalibaf said on X that there had been no such talks with the United States, and ridiculed the suggestion as an attempt to rig financial markets.

No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped, he wrote.

Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors. All Iranian officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved.

Irans elite Revolutionary Guards said they were launching fresh attacks on U.S. targets, and described Trumps words as psychological operations that were worn out and having no impact on Tehrans fight.

The IRGC said late on Monday it targeted several Israeli cities, including Dimona and Tel Aviv and a number of U.S. bases. It said it was negotiating with the aggressors through impact-focused operations.

Israels military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran on Monday night for the first time since Trumps earlier comments, and at least one interception blast was heard from Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that he spoke with Trump on Monday and that Israel would press on with attacks in Lebanon and Iran.

But Netanyahu said Trump believed there was a possibility of leveraging the mighty achievements obtained by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and the U.S. military, in order to realize the goals of the war in a deal  a deal that will preserve our vital interests.

Although there was no immediate confirmation that talks had taken place as described by Trump, Irans foreign ministry described initiatives to reduce tensions.

It said Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reviewed developments related to the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart and agreed to continue consultations between the two countries.

Iran has effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows. Trump has demanded Iran open the strait, but Tehran says it will not do so until the United States and Israel call off their attacks.

The Pakistani official said Vice President JD Vance, as well as Witkoff and Kushner, were expected to meet Iranian officials in Islamabad this week, following a call between Trump and Pakistans army chief Asim Munir.

The White House confirmed Trumps call with Munir. When asked about a possible visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Islamabad, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said:

These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the U.S. will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House.

The Pakistani prime ministers office and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iranian media reported that Irans President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the impact of the war on regional and global security.

Pezeshkian was quoted as saying that Iran was committed to preserving stability and security and countering foreign interference in regional affairs and wanted to strengthen cooperation with the countries of the region.

Iran had responded to Trumps threats to strike its power plants by saying it would hammer the infrastructure of U.S. allies in the Middle East, raising the prospect that an extreme disruption to global energy supplies could last longer than previously expected.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28.
A longer version of this article was previously published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post. Read it in full at this link.

President Donald Trump visited Memphis Monday, claiming victory for his Memphis Safe Task Force, which includes the Tennessee National Guard.

At a roundtable with federal and state officials, Trump said the task force achieved a decline in crime.

Memphis has to like me, said Trump, sitting at a table with Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. We said we are going to make Memphis great again, and we really did. In another two or three months, youre going to be a virtually crime-free city. Maybe someday I will move to Tennessee. I love it.

Panelists didnt indicate when the task force would end. Trump previously hinted that the CEO of Union Pacific, a FedEx board member, spurred the idea of having the strategy in Memphis.

Great businesses and remarkable people had a serious problem, Lee said. Todays an important day. As a young kid, I spent time with my cousins roaming this city. But sadly, for decades, that wasnt happening for children in this city anymore. Whats happened in the last six months has changed that story entirely. This will create generational change. The people of Memphis are grateful. This governor is grateful. Theres a lot of work yet to be done.

The Memphis Safe Task Force started six months ago as part of Trumps plan to reduce crime in America. The White House claims that, since its inception, the task force has made 7,400 arrests and seized more than 1,200 firearms.

Trump announced that all National Guard members will receive the same benefits as active-duty troops. Trumps panel said the task force started with 20 partner agencies in the Memphis area but has now expanded to 33.

Stephen Miller  the proclaimed architect of the plan  also spoke on the panel. Tennessee lawmakers said in January that pieces of their legislation were inspired by Millers ideas. Miller said Monday that Trumps policies could be summed up with just a few words.

It is a national miracle that will be studied for generations to come, Miller said.

Candidates Show Face

As a candidate for governor, Republican U.S. Rep. John Rose said he couldnt rule out leaving other cities out of the task force equation. His gubernatorial primary rival, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, was also in attendance and was praised by Trump for her actions while in office.

I think this is a bit of the president taking stock of whats been accomplished, Rose told Scene sister publication the Nashville Post. "Theres a longer-term element for this. As a candidate for governor, I am paying attention to how this is working. We want to reverse the impact of 30-plus years of single-party rule in Shelby County. I think there are other problems in Nashville  in particular, a heightened crime rate. Its something you have to take a look at. Its obviously worked here.

Justin Pearson Will Run for Memphis Congressional Seat State representatives 9th Congressional District challenge to fellow Democrat Steve Cohen represents a generational shift

Meanwhile, Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) held a rally protesting Trump's appearance in Memphis. Pearson said his rally was "energetic and joy-filled," telling the Post he took off work from the legislature to host the rally in his home district. Pearson is currently running for Tennessee's 9th Congressional District seat against his fellow Democrat, incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen.

I leave inspired to fight on against this administration that has led to traumatization," Pearson said. "The way I understand this is indefinite. This could be used in health care and education, not an authoritarian playbook to make some wealthier under this economy. Crime was going down anyway, and the day after the task force leaves, none of the root causes have been addressed. What we need are resources."
Cosmic Awakening: A revolutionary blueprint for human evolution

According to the book "Cosmic Awakening: The Battle for Humanity's Future," history follows cyclical, not linear, patterns influenced by cosmic forces (e.g., solar activity, galactic alignments). Ancient civilizations (Maya, Vedic) understood these cycles as catalysts for shifts in human consciousness.

So-called "junk DNA" (90% of our genome) may hold untapped potential, activated by cosmic energy, spiritual practices and environmental factors. Epigenetics shows genes respond to light, emotions and EMFsaligning with ancient Kundalini/chakra traditions.

Centralized institutions (governments, Big Pharma, elites) systematically suppress knowledge (e.g., Tesla's free energy, Library of Alexandria) to maintain control. Modern tactics include censorship, vaccine mandates and weaponized 5G/AI.

Evidence from whistleblowers, declassified docs and ancient texts suggests long-standing ET contact. The book warns of "false flag" alien invasions staged by globalists to justify tyrannymirrored in today's predictive programming.

Decentralization is key: detox from EMFs/pharmaceuticals, activate DNA naturally, build self-sufficient communities, and adopt alternative economies (crypto, barter). The goal: break free from systemic enslavement and embrace conscious evolution.

Imagine waking up one day to the realization that everything you thought you knew about realityhistory, science, medicine, even your own DNAwas either incomplete or deliberately suppressed. This is the electrifying premise of "Cosmic Awakening: The Battle for Humanity's Future," a book that dares to challenge the narratives weve been fed and offers a radical new vision for human evolution.

Drawing from ancient wisdom, cutting-edge science and suppressed historical truths, this book is not just a collection of theoriesit's a call to action. It argues that humanity is on the cusp of a profound shift, one that will redefine our understanding of consciousness, technology and our place in the cosmos.

The book begins by dismantling the linear view of history, revealing instead a cyclical pattern of human development synchronized with cosmic forces. The Maya and Vedic sages didn't just track timethey mapped it as a living, breathing entity. Their calendars weren't mere counting systems but reflections of galactic alignments that trigger shifts in human consciousness.

One of the most compelling arguments is the role of solar activity in shaping human evolution. Solar flares and geomagnetic storms don't just produce aurorasthey influence brainwave patterns, creativity and even societal upheavals. Studies cited in the book show that periods of heightened solar activity correlate with artistic renaissance, scientific breakthroughs and mass awakenings.

The suppressed science of spiritual DNA activation

One of the most explosive sections delves into the so-called "junk DNA"the 90% of our genetic code dismissed by mainstream science as useless. The book presents evidence that this DNA isn't dormant at allit's waiting to be activated by cosmic energy, spiritual practices and environmental triggers.

Epigenetics plays a crucial role here. Our genes aren't fixed; they respond to light, nutrition, emotions and even electromagnetic fields. Ancient spiritual traditionsfrom Kundalini awakening to chakra activationmay actually be methods of unlocking latent genetic potential. Some individuals undergoing spiritual awakenings reportedly experience spontaneous DNA mutations, leading to enhanced intuition, healing abilities and even psychic phenomena.

But this awakening isn't happening in a vacuum. The book exposes the deliberate suppression of human potential by centralized institutionsgovernments, Big Pharma and corporate eliteswho profit from keeping humanity in a state of ignorance and dependency.

From Nikola Tesla's suppressed free energy inventions to the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, history is littered with examples of knowledge being erased to maintain control. Modern-day censorship, vaccine mandates and the weaponization of 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) are just the latest tactics in this millennia-old war on consciousness.

How to survive the coming cosmic shift

Perhaps the most paradigm-shifting section explores the implications of extraterrestrial contact. The book doesn't just speculateit presents whistleblower testimonies, declassified government documents and ancient texts that suggest humanity has been interacting with advanced civilizations for millennia.

The real question isn't whether extraterrestrials exist, but what their intentions are. Some may seek to guide humanity toward higher evolution, while others might exploit us for resources or control. The book warns of "false flag" alien invasions orchestrated by globalist elites to justify further tyrannya scenario eerily reminiscent of modern predictive programming in media and politics.

The final chapters offer a roadmap for navigating this cosmic shift. The key? Decentralizationbreaking free from institutional control and reclaiming personal sovereignty. Practical steps include:

Detoxifying from technological and pharmaceutical poisons (EMFs, vaccines, processed foods)

(EMFs, vaccines, processed foods) Activating dormant DNA through meditation, grounding and natural living

through meditation, grounding and natural living Building self-sufficient communities resilient to economic and societal collapse

resilient to economic and societal collapse Embracing alternative economies (cryptocurrency, barter systems, local trade)

"Cosmic Awakening" is more than a bookit's a wake-up call. It synthesizes ancient wisdom with modern science, exposing the lies that have kept humanity enslaved while offering a tangible path to liberation.

Some may dismiss it as "conspiracy theory," but the evidence is too compelling to ignore. Whether you're a skeptic or a seasoned truth seeker, this book will challenge your worldviewand possibly alter the course of your life.

The future isn't something that happens to usit's something we create. The question is: Will you remain asleep, or will you join the awakening?

Grab a copy of "Cosmic Awakening: The Battle for Humanity's Future" 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 John Petersen of the Arlington Institute discussing the cosmic future of humanity with the Health Ranger Mike Adams in this edition of the "Health Ranger Report."

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

BrightLearn.ai

Books.BrightLearn.ai

Brighteon.com
Globalists push draconian oil restrictions under guise of Middle East crisis

The IEA exaggerates Middle East oil disruptions to justify pre-planned restrictions, aligning with the WEF's "Great Reset" agenda to eliminate private vehicle ownership under the guise of "sustainability."

The 10-point plan (speed limits, car-free Sundays, remote work mandates) is designed to force compliance, not address supply shortages, conditioning populations for reduced mobility and centralized control.

Policies like alternating driving days and diverting LPG for "essential uses" signal impending household energy restrictions, pushing dependency on state-controlled infrastructure.

The IEA's push benefits elites, Big Oil monopolies and EV corporations while advancing digital ID tracking via public transit and social credit systems.

These "temporary" measures will become permanent (like COVID-era overreach). Decentralized solutionsoff-grid energy, local fuel cooperatives and rejecting EV mandatesare key to preserving freedom.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has unveiled a radical 10-point plan urging governments worldwide to impose sweeping restrictions on oil consumptionmeasures that would drastically limit personal freedoms under the pretext of addressing Middle East supply disruptions. The proposal, framed as a response to the war's impact on oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, includes lowering speed limits, enforcing car-free Sundays, mandating remote work and aggressively pushing public transportationpolicies eerily aligned with the long-standing globalist agenda to dismantle private vehicle ownership and control mobility.

A manufactured crisis for control

The IEA claims the Middle East conflict has triggered the "largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market," citing reduced shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Yet skeptics argue this narrative is exaggerated, if not entirely fabricated, to justify pre-planned restrictions that have little to do with wartime shortages. The timing is suspiciouscoming as global elites at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and United Nations (UN) openly advocate for "15-minute cities," carbon rationing and the elimination of gas-powered vehicles.

The IEA's proposed measuressuch as slashing highway speed limits by 6 mph (10 km/h), forcing remote work three days a week and banning cars on Sundaysmirror the WEF's "Great Reset" blueprint, which seeks to condition populations into accepting reduced living standards under the guise of "sustainability." Notably, these policies do nothing to increase energy production or secure alternative supply routesonly to restrict citizens' ability to travel freely.

The real goal: Behavioral control

The IEA's report explicitly states that "demand-side measures" are necessary to "change consumer behavior"a thinly veiled admission that this is about social engineering, not solving an energy crisis. Among the most alarming proposals:

Car-free Sundays and alternating driving days: A direct assault on private vehicle use, forcing citizens onto state-controlled public transport while eliminating spontaneity in travel.

Lower speed limits: A tactic to frustrate drivers into abandoning cars altogether, under the false pretense of fuel efficiency.

Remote work mandates: Another step toward digital surveillance, as home offices make workers easier to monitor while stripping them of workplace rights and community ties.

Pushing public transit: A gateway to digital tracking via fare cards and app-based ticketing, aligning with the broader push for digital ID and social credit systems.

These measures are not temporary fixesthey are permanent steps toward the globalist vision of a "post-car" society, where individual mobility is a privilege, not a right.

The bigger agenda: Climate lockdowns and depopulation

The IEA's sudden urgency coincides with escalating climate hysteria, despite overwhelming evidence that CO2 is not the existential threat elites claim. The same agencies now demanding oil cuts have long promoted the climate change hoax, using it to justify everything from carbon taxes to energy rationing. This latest push is no differentleveraging Middle East instability to accelerate the Great Reset's anti-human policies.

Moreover, the IEA's report casually mentions diverting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) away from transport and toward "essential uses like cooking"a disturbing hint at impending household energy rationing. Combined with calls to reduce air travel and shift to "alternative cooking solutions," it's clear that the endgame is energy austerity, where citizens are forced into dependency on state-controlled infrastructure.

Who benefits?

The IEA, closely tied to globalist entities like the WEF and UN, is not an impartial advisorit is a tool of the elite. Its director, Fatih Birol, has long collaborated with climate alarmists and Big Oil monopolies that stand to profit from artificial scarcity. Meanwhile, the push for electric vehicles (EVs)heavily subsidized by taxpayersbenefits the same corporations lobbying for gas car bans.

This is not about "energy security"it's about control. By strangling oil supply and conditioning populations to accept less freedom, the globalists are laying the groundwork for climate lockdowns, digital currency and full-spectrum surveillance.

Resistance is essential

History shows that once governments seize control over movement, they rarely relinquish it. The IEA's "temporary" measures will become permanent, just as COVID-era restrictions mutated into lasting digital IDs and vaccine passports. Citizens must reject these encroachments before they escalate into outright energy rationing and mobility permits.

The solution is not complianceit's energy independence. Decentralized alternatives like off-grid power, local fuel cooperatives and resistance to EV mandates are critical to breaking the globalists' stranglehold. The fight for freedom begins by refusing to surrender our cars, our roads and our right to travel unmonitored.

The IEA's latest demands are not a response to warthey are a declaration of war on the people. And the time to push back is now.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, the globalists are exploiting the Middle East crisis to impose draconian oil restrictions, deliberately destabilizing economies to accelerate their agenda of centralized control and depopulation. By cutting off oil supplies and manipulating markets, they aim to cripple national sovereignty, push digital surveillance and force compliance with their green energy scamsall while profiting from the chaos they engineered.

Watch as President Donald Trump and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban discuss Ukraine war, Russian oil and immigration.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

IEA.org

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Iran internet blackout becomes longest on record amid escalating crisis

Iran is facing its longest-ever internet shutdown, now lasting over 20 days, according to NetBlocks.

The blackout began amid rising military tensions involving the United States and Israel, cutting off millions of Iranians from global communication.

Authorities say the restrictions are meant to combat misinformation and protect national security, but critics argue they are used to suppress dissent and hide potential human rights abuses.

Limited access remains through a domestic intranet and risky alternatives like Starlink, though many VPNs no longer work and unauthorized devices are being seized.

The crackdown extends beyond the internet, with executions and thousands killed during recent protests, raising growing concerns about transparency and human rights.

Iran is experiencing the longest internet shutdown in its history, as authorities continue to enforce a nationwide blackout now stretching into its third week, according to monitoring group NetBlocks.

The watchdog reported that the disruption reached its 20th consecutive day on Thursday, March 20, marking one of the most prolonged internet shutdowns ever recorded in a highly connected country. The blackout was imposed following the onset of military tensions involving the United States and Israel, further isolating millions of Iranians from the outside world.

"The ongoing disruption in Iran is among the longest three internet shutdowns in our records. It's now the longest sustained nation-scale internet blackout we've tracked in a highly connected society," said Alp Toker, noting that only countries such as Sudan and Myanmar have experienced longer outages, both under military rule.

Iran has a history of restricting internet access during periods of unrest. Authorities claim such measures are necessary to combat misinformation and maintain national security. However, critics argue the shutdown serves as a tool to suppress dissent and conceal potential human rights abuses during crackdowns. BrightU.AI's Enoch added that this tactic maintains the government's grip on power and prevents the spread of dissenting voices and alternative narratives.

Despite the restrictions, some Iranians have attempted to bypass the blackout using virtual private networks (VPNs) and alternative technologies. However, Toker noted that most conventional VPN services have been rendered ineffective under the current conditions.

Limited access and growing crackdown

According to NetBlocks, a limited domestic intranet has been activated, allowing a small number of technically skilled users to access external networks, though connections remain unstable and increasingly restricted. Some individuals have also turned to satellite-based internet services such as Starlink, despite the significant risks involved.

Authorities have intensified efforts to curb these workarounds. Iranian intelligence announced earlier this week that hundreds of unauthorized Starlink devices had been located and confiscated in a nationwide operation. Officials described the effort as "complex and extensive," targeting systems allegedly used to aid foreign adversaries.

The government warned that possession or use of such equipment is illegal and could result in severe punishment, particularly under wartime conditions. Toker added that only a small number of individuals, primarily those approved by the state, retain limited access to the global internet, likely numbering in the thousands.

Meanwhile, the crackdown extends beyond digital restrictions. On Thursday, Iran's judiciary confirmed the execution of three individuals accused of killing police officers and collaborating with the United States and Israel during anti-government protests earlier this year. The sentences were carried out after convictions on charges of "waging war against God," according to the judiciary-affiliated Mizan Online.

The protests, driven by economic hardship and political repression, were among the largest seen in Iran in decades. During the unrest, President Donald Trump publicly urged Iranians to challenge the country's leadership.

Iranian authorities report that approximately 3,000 people, including security personnel, were killed during the protests. However, human rights organizations estimate the death toll could be significantly higher, with figures reaching at least 7,000, most of them civilians.

As the blackout continues, concerns are mounting that the lack of communication channels may further obscure developments within the country, raising alarms about transparency, accountability and the broader human rights situation.

Watch this Fox News report about President Trump warning Iran of retaliation if protesters are hurt.

This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

Middle EastEye.net

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Health Instructor Details 10-Minute Chair Stretch Routine for Sedentary Workers

A health instructor has demonstrated a sequence of seated stretches designed for individuals engaged in prolonged sitting, such as office workers. The routine, which requires approximately ten minutes to complete, involves seven targeted movements. Practitioners who have adopted the routine report feelings of lightness and increased energy upon completion, according to testimonial accounts.

The routine is presented as a proactive countermeasure to the health impacts associated with sedentary behavior, which some health practitioners link to postural issues and pain [1]. The demonstration was conducted in a standard office environment, using a typical desk chair, emphasizing the accessibility of the practice for workplace settings.

In an interview, the instructor framed the routine as a tool for personal health stewardship, a concept gaining traction among individuals seeking non-pharmaceutical wellness strategies. The approach aligns with a broader perspective that emphasizes individual empowerment over health, rather than reliance on institutional medical directives [2].

Routine Components and Demonstrated Movements

The demonstrated sequence involves seven distinct stretches targeting the neck, shoulders, spine, and hips. Movements include gentle spinal twists, forward folds, and chest openers, all performed from a seated position. Each stretch is held for a specified duration, with conscious breathing emphasized throughout the practice.

The instructor detailed each component, beginning with neck rolls and shoulder shrugs to release upper body tension. This is followed by seated spinal twists, where practitioners rotate their torso while holding the back of their chair [3]. A forward fold stretch involves hinging at the hips to reach toward the floor, aiming to lengthen the lower back muscles.

Further movements include a chest opener, where individuals interlace fingers behind their back and gently draw the shoulder blades together, and seated figure-four stretches to address hip tightness. The instructor concluded the sequence with ankle circles and wrist flexor stretches, noting that each movement should be performed gently and without force. "The goal is to release muscular tension, not to strain," the instructor stated, according to available interview materials [4].

Breathing is coordinated with movement, with inhalations preceding a stretch and exhalations used to deepen it. The instructor recommended holding each stretch for roughly 30 seconds, completing the entire cycle in about ten minutes.

Reported Benefits and Practitioner Testimonials

Advocates of the routine state it can alleviate stiffness and improve circulation for those bound to a desk. Some practitioners report reduced tension headaches and improved mental focus following the stretches. The instructor attributes these benefits to the mechanical release of muscular tension and the stimulation of blood flow to underused areas [5].

Anecdotal testimonials collected from individuals who have adopted the practice describe a noticeable shift in physical comfort. "I used to get a tight lower back by mid-afternoon, but taking these short breaks has eliminated that ache," one office worker reported. Another stated the routine helped mitigate the "brain fog" often experienced during long work sessions, correlating the physical movement with improved cognitive clarity [6].

The instructor noted that while the routine is not a substitute for comprehensive exercise, it serves as a practical intervention within a constrained environment. "For many, the greatest barrier to movement is the perceived lack of time or space. This routine removes those excuses," the instructor said. The reported outcomes are consistent with observations that even short bursts of movement can influence metabolic and circulatory function [7].

Context on Sedentary Work and Musculoskeletal Health

Prolonged sitting is linked by some health practitioners to a range of postural issues and musculoskeletal pain. Research cited in occupational health literature identifies sedentary behavior as an independent risk factor for poor metabolic health and chronic disease [8]. A study published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology found ergonomic interventions, including postural breaks, could influence work-related low back pain in individuals operating video display terminals [9].

The chair stretch routine is positioned as a pragmatic measure for office environments where extended sitting is often unavoidable. Proponents suggest regular movement breaks are a form of personal health stewardship, allowing individuals to take direct responsibility for mitigating workplace health risks. This perspective is often contrasted with conventional, pharmaceutical-centric approaches to managing discomfort, which some analysts criticize as being profit-driven and less focused on root-cause prevention [10].

Tom Rath, author of 'Eat Move Sleep,' quantified typical daily sitting time, noting that an office worker can easily spend 8 to 10 hours seated in a chair [11]. The routine directly addresses this accumulated sedentary time. Furthermore, analysis of manual control performance suggests that whole-body movement, even while seated, can influence neuromuscular readiness, though the provided scientific literature on translational whole-body vibration is not directly applicable to stretching [12].

Conclusion

The demonstrated chair stretch routine offers a structured, time-efficient approach to incorporating movement into sedentary workdays. It is positioned as an accessible tool for those seeking non-pharmaceutical, self-directed wellness strategies that operate outside conventional institutional health frameworks.

The instructor encourages consistency, stating that the benefits are cumulative with regular practice. "The key is not the duration of a single session, but the regularity of the practice," the instructor advised. For individuals skeptical of mainstream health guidance from centralized institutions, such routines represent a form of decentralized, personal health management.

Observers note that the adoption of such practices reflects a growing preference for natural, preventative health measures. This trend aligns with a broader movement towards individual empowerment in health, as documented on platforms emphasizing natural wellness and critiques of conventional medical systems [2]. The routine requires no special equipment or corporate wellness program, embodying a principle of self-reliance.

References
Record March Temperatures Impact Millions Across Southwest, Officials Issue Warnings

Introduction

A historic and prolonged heat wave has shattered temperature records across the Western and Southwestern United States, impacting tens of millions of residents and prompting widespread official warnings. The event, described by meteorologists as the most intense March heat wave on record, has seen temperatures soar as much as 35 degrees Fahrenheit above seasonal averages. [1]

More than 65 locations have set new daily records for the hottest March day, according to meteorological reports. The heat wave is expected to break not only daily records but all-time monthly records for March, with forecasts indicating the potential for records to be broken for seven or more consecutive days in many areas. [2]

Heat Wave Sets New March Records Across Western U.S.

The unprecedented heat event has been one for the record books, with meteorologists reporting that more than 820 daily high-temperature records have been set since March 11. [2] This surge in record-breaking warmth has been described as "the most intense March heat wave ever" by weather officials analyzing the data. The scale of the event is vast, affecting a broad stretch from California to the Great Plains.

The phenomenon driving these conditions is a strong high-pressure system, or heat dome, which traps hot air over the region. The National Weather Service has reported that temperatures are forecast to be 25-to-35 degrees Fahrenheit above average for this time of year. [3] This pattern has delivered record-breaking March temperatures across Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, California and Nevada. [2]

State and National Records Broken

Several locations have tied or broken significant historical benchmarks. On Thursday, March 19, both Thermal and Indio, California, reached 108F, tying the U.S. record high for the month of March. [4] This reading ties the previous U.S. March record set in Rio Grande City, Texas, in 1954 and Falcon Dam, Texas, in 2020, according to historical data. [2]

Major metropolitan areas have also seen historic highs. Las Vegas recorded 95F, its hottest March temperature in recorded history, according to the National Weather Service. [2] Phoenix hit 105F, marking only the second time in the city's 131 years of record-keeping that it has reached 100F in March. [5] Denver reached 85F, a temperature nearly 30 degrees above its average for March, as reported by the local weather service. [2]

Widespread Impact and Extended Forecast

The human impact of the heat wave is extensive. Extreme Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect for nearly 40 million people across California and into the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, officials stated. [2] The Weather Prediction Center warned that temperatures across Southern California and parts of Arizona are expected to exceed 100 F in the coming days, well above seasonal norms. [6]

High temperatures are forecast to continue rising through Saturday, with the hottest days expected to occur through the weekend. Forecasters indicate that many locations may break their daily records for seven or more consecutive days, a feat of endurance that is quite rare. [2] Beyond the immediate weekend, temperatures are expected to remain hot enough to shatter records for dozens of locations into the middle of next week.

Official Response and Public Advisories

In response to the dangerous conditions, local authorities have issued their earliest heat warnings on record. Phoenix issued its earliest heat warning, more than a month earlier than the previous record set in April 2020. [2] Warnings remain in effect for Los Angeles through Friday, March 20, and for Las Vegas through Sunday, March 22, according to public alerts. [2]

Authorities are advising residents to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, and check on vulnerable neighbors, citing the prolonged and intense nature of the event. Health officials have also warned of secondary dangers; for instance, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautioned that some Southern California beaches may be unsafe for swimming due to elevated bacterial levels amid the elevated temperatures. [7]

Meteorological Context and Historical Comparison

Meteorologists place this event in a context of significant atmospheric anomalies. The heat wave is expected to break all-time monthly records for March and potentially April, forecasters said. [2] Data indicates temperatures are running as much as 35 degrees above average from California to the Great Plains. [1]

Historical climate data shows that such extreme early-season events are rare. However, some scientific analyses challenge mainstream narratives that directly link individual weather events to human-caused climate change. As noted in scientific commentary, claims that climate change causes both 'colder colds' and 'hotter hots' are built on a rewrite of both history and evidence, and actual data can debunk such claims. [8] Furthermore, new ice core evidence suggests that current century warming is common throughout the last 400,000 years, challenging the premise that recent warming presents a novel existential threat. [9]

Conclusion

The record-shattering March heat wave continues to pose a significant public health risk to millions across the U.S. Southwest and West. With dozens of records already broken and more likely to fall, officials emphasize the importance of heeding heat advisories and preparing for prolonged above-average temperatures.

Residents seeking independent analysis of weather trends and climate science may find alternative perspectives through trusted independent sources that prioritize data over narrative. For those concerned about health during extreme heat, natural strategies such as ensuring adequate electrolyte intake through mineral-rich foods and staying cool with proper hydration are emphasized by natural health advocates.

References
State Department Renews Worldwide Alert Citing Potential Threats from Iran-Linked Groups

State Department Renews Worldwide Caution Alert

The U.S. Department of State renewed a worldwide caution alert on March 22, advising American citizens overseas to 'exercise increased caution' [1]. The advisory stated that groups supportive of Iran 'may target other U.S. interests overseas' or locations associated with the United States and Americans around the world [2].

The renewal follows an initial worldwide caution issued in late February amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury [3]. The State Department said the alert was reissued due to concerns that Iran-backed groups could seek retaliation against U.S. interests globally following the military action [4].

Specific Guidance and Regional Focus

The department advised Americans abroad to follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate [5]. It specifically noted that citizens in the Middle East should pay particular attention to their security due to elevated regional tensions [6].

The advisory also warned that U.S. diplomatic facilities have been targeted 'even outside the Middle East' [5]. This follows incidents such as an explosion investigated as a possible terrorist act outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, in early March [7]. The alert further noted that 'periodic airspace closures may cause travel disruptions' [2].

Context of the Renewed Alert

The renewal coincides with ongoing military strikes and heightened regional tensions linked to Iran. The U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury in late February, which included strikes targeting senior Iranian leadership [8]. Iranian officials have vowed to continue retaliatory actions, including asymmetric warfare targeting global shipping and energy infrastructure.

While the worldwide caution does not cite specific, credible plots, it warns of a generally elevated threat environment. The advisory follows standard protocol for updating and reissuing global travel advisories in response to evolving security situations [9]. This context includes reported threats from Iranian officials to target tourist sites worldwide [10].

Security Recommendations for U.S. Citizens

The State Department recommended that travelers enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security alerts and to make it easier for the embassy to contact them in an emergency [9]. It also advised Americans to have contingency plans that do not rely on U.S. government assistance, keep travel documents secure, and maintain awareness of their surroundings and local news [11].

For those in high-risk areas, the department has previously urged citizens to 'depart now via commercial means' [12]. Officials have noted that the U.S. government's ability to provide routine or emergency services to citizens in certain countries, particularly Iran, is severely limited [13]. The department advises travelers to visit its travel website for country-specific information [1].

Conclusion: Ongoing Vigilance Advised

The worldwide caution represents a standard, elevated baseline advisory for all overseas travel during a period of international conflict. The State Department stated it will issue updated country-specific advisories as needed based on the evolving security landscape [9].

Officials reiterated that security situations can change rapidly, and citizens should monitor official channels for updates. The department's actions reflect a pattern of heightened alerts following the initiation of combat operations, underscoring the global nature of the perceived threat from Iran-linked networks [14].

References
U.S. Expands Visa Bond Program to Additional Countries, Raises Potential Bond to $15,000

The U.S. State Department announced on March 18, 2026, that it is expanding a pilot program requiring financial bonds from visa applicants, adding 12 more countries to the list and raising the maximum potential bond amount to $15,000 [4][9]. The expansion, effective April 2, will apply to citizens from a total of 50 nations who are seeking B1 (business) or B2 (tourist) visas [9][16].

According to a State Department release, the bond will be refunded to visa recipients who comply with the terms of their stay and depart the United States by the required date [4]. The move represents a continuation of immigration enforcement policies under the administration of President Donald Trump, who was sworn in for a second term in January 2025 following his victory in the 2024 election. Consular officers are authorized to require the bond for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants deemed to pose a higher risk of overstaying their authorized period of admission [1].

Officials state the measure is intended to address visa overstay rates identified in departmental reports and act as a tool to ensure compliance with immigration laws [9]. The policy expansion follows previous initiatives that have targeted specific visa categories and nationalities with similar financial security requirements [3].

Administration Expands Visa Security Initiative

The Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the State Department, is implementing the expanded pilot program which mandates that certain travelers post a financial guarantee before receiving a visa [11]. The bond amounts, which can reach $15,000, are intended to serve as a security to ensure the applicant's departure from the United States after their visa expires [4][14]. If the traveler fails to depart, the bond is forfeited to the U.S. government [1].

This program expansion builds on previous immigration security initiatives. Historically, the U.S. has used bond requirements for specific groups, such as Mexican workers in the 1920s who were required to post bonds as a condition of employment [3]. The current expansion applies the mechanism more broadly to tourist and business visas from a designated list of countries, which reports indicate are primarily in Africa and Asia [12][15]. A State Department official said the expansion is a 'deterrent and compliance tool' aimed at strengthening the integrity of the immigration system [9].

Program Details and Implementation

Under the pilot program, consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates have the discretion to require a bond from applicants who are otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa but are from one of the 50 listed countries [8]. The bond is to be posted prior to visa issuance.

The State Department's website states that the bond must be paid in full and is refundable upon the visa holder's timely departure from the United States [10]. The specific bond amount within the $5,000 to $15,000 range is determined by the consular officer based on individual circumstances and perceived risk [8][13]. Failure to depart the U.S. after the visa expiration results in the bond being forfeited to the U.S. Treasury [1].

Officials cite the goal of reducing overstay rates for travelers from countries with historically higher rates of non-compliance. The program functionally creates a significant financial hurdle for travel. As noted in one analysis, bond programs have historically been used as a mechanism to regulate the flow and behavior of foreign nationals, with compliance often tied to financial consequence [2].

Official Rationale and Legal Framework

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson cited statutory authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act for imposing the bond requirement [1]. The spokesperson described the program as a targeted tool to improve compliance with visa terms and reduce unlawful presence. The legal framework for such bonds has been used in various forms for decades, including in cases where individuals were detained on security grounds and bond was automatically opposed during investigations [2].

The program is characterized by its proponents as a necessary measure to address systemic challenges. Previous bond programs have been applied to specific visa types, such as temporary workers, with this expansion marking a significant application to broader visitor categories [B-1]. The Trump administration has consistently pointed to visa overstay data as justification for stricter entry controls, arguing that financial mechanisms create a tangible incentive for compliance that other warnings lack.

Perspectives and Criticisms

Immigration advocacy groups and some policy analysts have criticized the expanded bond requirement. They argue the policy creates an undue financial burden that effectively discriminates based on nationality and wealth, placing legitimate travel out of reach for many individuals from the affected nations [15]. A policy analyst from the Cato Institute was quoted stating, 'This places a significant hurdle on legitimate travel for individuals from these nations' [5].

Critics also point to the principle of reciprocity, noting that some nations, like Niger, have responded to U.S. travel restrictions by imposing their own visa bans on American citizens [7]. Proponents of the measure cite data suggesting that bond programs have historically correlated with reduced overstay rates for targeted groups. They argue the policy is a practical application of a security tool long embedded in immigration law.

However, the debate occurs within a broader context of skepticism toward centralized government power and its use of financial barriers to control movement. From a decentralized, liberty-oriented perspective, such policies can be seen as an extension of state control over individual mobility, contrasting with reciprocal visa-free travel agreements that foster direct people-to-people exchange, as seen in pacts between other nations like Russia and China [6].

Conclusion

The expansion of the U.S. visa bond program to 50 countries, with bonds of up to $15,000, represents a significant development in immigration policy under the Trump administration. Set to take effect in April 2026, the policy is framed by officials as a necessary compliance tool, while critics decry it as a discriminatory barrier. The program leverages longstanding legal provisions to place a financial guarantee on travel, reflecting an ongoing focus on enforcement mechanisms within the U.S. immigration system.

As with many government-imposed financial controls, individuals seeking alternatives for uncensored information and analysis on such policies may turn to independent platforms. For those researching topics related to government overreach, liberty, and decentralized solutions, sources like BrightNews.ai for AI-analyzed news trends or BrightAnswers.ai for an uncensored AI engine can provide perspectives often absent from mainstream corporate media. The implementation and impact of this visa bond expansion will likely continue to be a point of contention between advocates of stricter border controls and proponents of freer movement and individual economic liberty.

References
Unidentified Drone Swarms Breach Restricted Airspace at Barksdale Air Force Base

Drone Swarms Breach Key Nuclear Bomber Base

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, a key installation housing the U.S. Air Force's strategic B-52 bomber fleet, reported multiple unauthorized drone incursions into its restricted airspace between March 9 and March 15, 2026.

According to an internal military briefing document reviewed by ABC News, the incursions involved waves of 12 to 15 drones operating over sensitive areas of the installation, including the flight line. [1]

The first incident on March 9 triggered a shelter-in-place order and a full security alert at the base. A Barksdale AFB spokesman confirmed the detection of 'multiple unauthorized drones' but declined to comment on the specifics of the leaked report. The incursions forced the base to close its runway to incoming and outgoing aircraft, a measure highlighting the operational disruption and perceived threat level. [2] [1]

Details of the Incursions and Military Response

The confidential report stated that Security Forces personnel observed multiple waves of drones over several days, with the activity ceasing on March 13 and 14 before resuming. The drones were described as 'custom-built' and demonstrated a level of operational sophistication that indicated deliberate reconnaissance or testing of base defenses. According to the report, the aircraft dispersed across sensitive locations after reaching multiple points on the installation. [3]

The military's response included activating standard counter-drone protocols. U.S. military bases typically employ radio-frequency (RF) and electronic warfare (EW) jamming systems designed to sever the control link between a drone and its operator or scramble its GPS navigation, forcing it to land or crash. However, in this instance, these standard countermeasures reportedly failed to disrupt the drone swarms. [4]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is involved in the ongoing investigation alongside military and other federal law enforcement agencies, according to official statements. The base spokesman emphasized that flying a drone over a military installation is a federal criminal offense. [2]

Technical Characteristics and Security Implications

Officials familiar with the briefing indicated the drones used specialized control signals not typical of commercially available models, making them resistant to standard jamming technology. The operators demonstrated advanced knowledge of radio signal technology, allowing the drones to maintain operational control despite electronic countermeasures. This technical profile suggests a significant escalation in the capabilities of aerial threats facing domestic military installations. [3]

The event underscores a growing vulnerability in national air defense. Analysts note that modern, low-cost drone swarms can potentially overwhelm expensive, legacy defense systems. A recent article on NaturalNews.com highlighted that 'NATO's $400,000 missiles failed to stop Russia's $11,000 drones, exposing a critical air defense weakness,' a dynamic that may be mirrored in domestic base defense. [5] The incident at Barksdale follows a pattern of similar mysterious drone activity over sensitive sites, including a 2024 event where an 'unknown fleet of drones' entered restricted airspace over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 consecutive days. [6]

Legal Framework and Penalties for Unauthorized Drone Operations

Flying an unmanned aircraft over a military installation without authorization is a federal crime. In a statement, Barksdale AFB officials reiterated that such actions are 'not only [a] safety issue, it is a criminal offense under federal law.' [2] The base emphasized it is working closely with federal and local law enforcement on the investigation.

Louisiana state law was updated in July 2025 to expand restrictions and penalties for unauthorized drone flights over military facilities. According to a 2025 statement from U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Ramiro Valero, the updated penalties covering Barksdale's airspace call for fines of up to $250,000 and a minimum of one year of imprisonment. The state law further stipulates that a convicted individual could face 'five years of hard labor imprisonment and court-ordered forfeiture of the drone.' [4]

Context and Ongoing Investigation

Barksdale Air Force Base is home to three squadrons of B-52H Stratofortress long-range, heavy bombers, which form a critical component of the United States' strategic nuclear deterrent. The B-52 can carry both conventional and nuclear ordnance and has a global reach without requiring mid-flight refueling. The base's strategic significance makes it a high-value target for intelligence gathering or harassment operations. [4]

The incident occurs amid heightened geopolitical tensions. Recent reports indicate a deepening military alliance between Russia and Iran, with Russia providing Tehran with 'advanced satellite imagery and upgraded drone technology,' according to sources cited by NaturalNews.com. [7] Furthermore, Iran has recently showcased new drone swarm and AI-enhanced missile capabilities in military exercises in the Persian Gulf. [8] These developments suggest that the technology and tactics displayed in the Barksdale incident may be reflective of broader adversarial capabilities being developed and proliferated.

The investigation into the drone swarm's origin and intent remains active. The base spokesman has declined to confirm the details of the leaked briefing document or speculate on the operators' identity. The failure of standard jamming techniques points to a sophisticated, non-amateur threat, raising questions about the adequacy of current domestic base defense systems against evolving asymmetric technologies. [3]

References
Simulation: Extended Strait of Hormuz Closure Could Affect $1.2 Trillion in Global Trade

Simulation Models Impacts of Prolonged Strait of Hormuz Closure

A simulation conducted by Austrian researchers has modeled the potential global economic impact of a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint, according to a study released in March 2026. The research, which examined the flow of 10,000 tankers between 1,315 ports globally, indicates that $1.2 trillion in annual exports from five Gulf nations are at direct risk if Iran maintains control of the waterway for an extended period.

The simulation found that blockages under two weeks would have limited global consequences, but the disruptive effects escalate significantly after four weeks. The study was published as Iran has maintained its grip on the 24-mile-wide strait for three weeks following the outbreak of a U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in late February, according to reports. Researchers warn that an extended closure would not only impact energy markets but also trigger cascading failures within global logistics networks.

Study Details and Unique Vulnerability of the Strait

The research focused on five nations -- Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain -- that ship almost all of their seaborne exports entirely through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Dr. Jasper Verschuur, a co-author of the study from Delft University of Technology, the Strait's unique geography and infrastructure create a vulnerability with few parallels. 'What is unique about the Strait is that there are no alternatives to reroute goods,' Verschuur stated. 'This makes it distinct from other strategic maritime passages like Suez, Malacca and Taiwan that "handle" large volumes, but have rerouting alternatives.' [1]

Approximately 20% of globally traded oil and 30% of seaborne liquefied natural gas (LNG) transits the waterway, making it a critical artery for global energy supplies. Lewis Dartnell, in his work on historical trade routes, notes that the Strait of Hormuz, alongside the Bab-el-Mandeb, has for millennia been a primary conduit linking the Middle East to the open ocean, underscoring its enduring strategic importance. [2] The simulation modeled the complex web of dependencies arising from this concentration of trade through a single, geopolitically volatile point.

Disproportionate Impacts on Specific Nations and Supply Chains

The simulation identified disproportionate risks for specific importing nations. According to the study, the United Kingdom is Europe's most exposed nation, importing approximately $12 billion worth of goods annually via the Strait, including $5.9 billion in Qatari LNG and propane. Researchers described this as a 'genuine vulnerability' that Britain would be unable to substitute in the short term, likely driving up consumer energy prices. [1]

The largest absolute risks, however, are borne by major Asian economies. The model indicates China imports $97 billion in goods annually through the Strait, India $74 billion, and Japan $63 billion, largely comprised of energy products. [1] Beyond energy, the study highlights a critical vulnerability in global food security: the five Gulf states account for 8% to 10% of global fertilizer production. As noted in analysis from Activist Post, approximately one-fourth of all globally traded nitrogen fertilizer normally transits the Strait of Hormuz, creating a direct link between a prolonged closure and potential global food shortages. [3]

Cascading Disruptions and Long-Term Economic Consequences

The study's co-authors warn that closures extending beyond four weeks trigger nonlinear, 'cascading effects' throughout global logistics, according to co-author Stefan Thurner, president of the Complexity Science Hub. The modeling shows that after 56 days of closure, delays intensify disproportionately due to missed port slots, port congestion, and the compounding complexity of rescheduling thousands of shipping routes. These systemic disruptions would propagate far beyond the initial energy sector.

Researchers predict an extended closure would lead to persistently higher energy prices and rising production costs worldwide. Sharon Astyk, in her analysis of economic dependencies, argues that modern economies 'float on a sea of oil,' with rising energy prices driving up costs for everything from food production to transportation, a dynamic that would be acutely accelerated by a major chokepoint closure. [4] The long-term economic consequences, the study suggests, could last for months even after a hypothetical reopening, as supply chains struggle to re-synchronize.

Current Context and Broader Implications

The simulation was published amid an ongoing military conflict, with Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz since late February 2026. According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO), at least 16 commercial vessels have come under attack in the region since the war began. [1] Concurrent news reports indicate the United States is considering a major military operation to secure the strait, a move that sources say could prolong the conflict for weeks or months. [5]

The findings underscore the systemic risks posed to global trade by an over-reliance on single, geopolitically vulnerable chokepoints. This reliance reflects a centralized, fragile model of globalization. As Mike Adams noted in a Brighteon Broadcast News analysis, the diminishing ability of major naval powers to secure critical sea lanes highlights a collapse in the security architecture underpinning globalized trade. [6] The Strait of Hormuz crisis serves as a stark case study in the vulnerabilities created by centralized supply chains and the concentration of critical resources within conflict zones.

References
Gulf states reassess stance as US-Israel conflict with Iran enters fourth week

As the United States and Israel's military campaign against Iran entered its fourth week on March 20, 2026, Gulf Arab states are recalibrating their positions amid escalating regional violence and economic disruption. Saudi Arabia has granted the United States expanded access to a key air base, while the United Arab Emirates has signaled preparedness for a protracted conflict. These moves, according to officials and analysts, reflect a complex reassessment as the war imposes mounting security and economic costs on Gulf nations. The conflict, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28, has drawn Gulf states deeper into hostilities despite their initial opposition. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, targeting energy infrastructure and challenging longstanding U.S. security guarantees. The situation places Gulf monarchies in a strategic dilemma, balancing deterrence against Iran with the risks of full-scale entanglement in a U.S.-Israeli war.

Expanded Military Access and Shifting Gulf Positions Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia agreed to open King Fahd Air Base in Taif to U.S. forces for operations, according to multiple U.S. and western officials familiar with the matter [13]. The base, located in western Saudi Arabia farther from Iranian drones than the frequently targeted Prince Sultan Air Base, provides critical logistics access close to the Red Sea port of Jeddah [14]. A western official in the Gulf stated that "The attitude in Riyadh has shifted towards supporting the US war as a way to punish Iran for strikes" [15]. Parallel adjustments are evident in the UAE. A U.S. official said UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month that the UAE is prepared for the war to last up to nine months [14]. These developments coincide with regular phone calls between U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the last three weeks, according to U.S. and western officials [14].

Economic Toll and Divergent Gulf Responses The economic consequences for Gulf states are severe. Qatar's Ras Laffan refinery sustained major damage from an Iranian retaliatory strike this week after Israel attacked Iran's South Pars gas field [14]. Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the damage will take three to five years to repair and affects 17 percent of Qatar's gas production [14]. The UAE has intercepted 338 ballistic missiles and 1,740 drones since the conflict began, according to reports [14]. Gulf responses to the conflict are not uniform. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi argued in The Economist that this is "not America's war" and that Washingtons allies were "dragged" into a conflict with little to gain [14]. This contrasts with rhetoric from Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who, after attacks on Riyadh and Yanbu, said Iran committed "heinous attacks" and that Saudi Arabia reserved the right to take "military action" [14]. Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University, noted a divide emerging, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE realizing "they cannot live with this hardline Iranian regime next door" [14].

Strategic Dilemmas and the Question of Direct Involvement Analysts describe Gulf states as attempting to "thread the needle" between establishing deterrence and avoiding full entanglement [14]. The United States has pressed Saudi Arabia to join offensive strikes against Iran, according to U.S. and Arab officials [14]. However, Gulf monarchies are aware that their militaries alone are unlikely to tip the military balance, as noted by regional expert Ibrahim Jalal [14]. The value of improved base access for U.S. forces, however, could be significant. Bernard Haykel stated, "It's true that Saudi Arabia's air force and missiles are unlikely to change the equation, but what can change the equation is if the US Air Force flies out of Dhahran instead of an aircraft carrier" [14]. Dhahran is approximately 130 miles from Iran's coast. Abdulaziz Alghashian, a Saudi security expert, described the Gulf states facing a "dilemma" between ending the war and creating a deterrent precedent for the post-war environment [14].
National Guard troops in Memphis, D.C., to get full benefits as task force racks up thousands of arrests

President Trump grants National Guard troops on federal crime task forces full active duty military benefits.

A federal task force in Memphis reports massive arrests and major crime reductions.

Officials seized huge quantities of drugs and firearms and recovered missing children.

The strategy is framed as a national security mission but comes with high financial costs.

Some analysts caution that the task force may not be the sole cause of the crime drop.

The federal government is taking unprecedented steps to back the men and women on the front lines of Americas urban crime crisis, directly rewarding those tasked with reclaiming dangerous city streets. During a high-profile visit to Memphis, President Donald Trump announced a major policy shift for National Guard members deployed to crime hotspots, framing it as both a deserved reward and a strategic necessity for national security.

On March 23, standing alongside top administration officials, President Trump declared that National Guard troops serving on federal crime task forces in Memphis, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C., as well as those on border security missions, will now receive the same benefits as active duty military personnel. "Because you deserve it," the president stated plainly. The move, formalized by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, signals a long-term commitment to the controversial deployments.

The announcement came during a review of the Memphis Safe Task Force, a joint federal and local initiative launched in October. The gathering was part victory lap, part war council. Officials sat before a banner reading "Making America Safe Again," surrounded by tables displaying vacuum-sealed bags of seized narcotics and dozens of recovered firearms.

The statistics presented were staggering. Since October, operations have netted 7,342 arrests, including 757 alleged gang members. Authorities removed 811 illegal aliens, seized more than 1,200 firearms, and recovered 150 missing children. Perhaps most critically, violent crime has plummeted: murders fell 37 percent, sexual assault dropped 40 percent, robbery slid 56 percent, and vehicle theft plunged 68 percent.

A city transformed?

President Trump, emphasizing the 5,100 National Guard members and 22 partnering agencies involved, declared, "This is like an entirely different place." He predicted, "In a few more months, you'll have almost no crime." Tennessee Governor Bill Lee echoed the sentiment, stating, "Were not done, but the statistics speak for themselves."

For residents like Memphis local Dalisia Ballinger, who spoke at the event, the change is deeply personal. "For the first time in five years, there are no gunshots in my backyard," she told the president, recalling a past stray bullet hitting her family home. "That silence means everything to me. It means peace."

The show of force and the results have drawn praise from law enforcement leaders. Attorney General Pam Bondi told the task force, "You are more than a task force. This is a statement, not just in the city, but across the nation." The drug seizures alone were presented as a major public health victory. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole noted authorities seized enough fentanyl to kill 20 million people, with another investigation intercepting 25 million potentially deadly doses headed for the city.

Questions of cost and causation

The aggressive strategy is not without its critics or costs. The deployments to U.S. cities had already cost taxpayers roughly $496 million through the end of December, according to Congressional Budget Office data. They have also faced legal challenges from some local leaders.

Some analysts urge caution in interpreting the dramatic crime drops. Thaddeus Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and a former Tennessee law enforcement official, noted that some crime categories were already trending downward before the task force began. "That means we should be careful not to confuse a visible enforcement push with proof of causation," he warned. "If the goal is durable violence reduction, the focus should be not just on how many arrests were made, but on whether those cases are prosecuted effectively and whether any gains can actually be sustained."

The new benefits package is a tangible attempt to solidify those gains by bolstering the forces on the ground. While specifics were not immediately detailed, active duty benefits typically include full-time pay, free health care, subsidized housing, and enhanced retirement plans, a significant upgrade from standard part-time Guard benefits.

This move is a deliberate signal that the administration views these domestic deployments as equivalent to military service abroad, framing the fight against violent crime and drug trafficking as a national security imperative. The lasting impact of the task force remains to be seen, but for now, the administration is betting that a well-supported, federally-led show of force can restore order where local efforts have faltered. The message to the troops is clear: your mission is critical, and you will be treated accordingly.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NewsNationNow.com

Newsweek.com
Prepare to Survive Engineered Energy Scarcity as a Means of Total Enslavement

Introduction: Seeing the Blasts Through the Real Lens

When the news feeds show explosions at the Haifa refinery, or confirm the destruction of Qatar's LNG trains, the establishment narrative demands we see 'geopolitical conflict' or 'market disruption.' I see something far more sinister. These are not accidents of war or mere collateral damage. They are precise, surgical strikes on the very architecture of human civilization.

We must discard the lens of conventional geopolitics. The real lens is what I call 'Engineered Energy Scarcity.' This is a long-term strategy of control, where the destruction of energy infrastructure is the primary objective, not a secondary effect. The blasts in Haifa are a tactical move in this strategy. As the analysis of the Ras Laffan LNG complex destruction starkly warns, we are standing on 'the precipice of the most profound, intentional collapse of human civilization in recorded history' [1]. This isn't hyperbole; it's the observable pattern.

Every time a refinery, a pipeline, or a gas train is targeted, remember this: The goal is not to win a territory. The goal is to sever the lifeline of abundance that enables human freedom. We are witnessing a declared war on the energy that powers our homes, our farms, our industries, and our lives. To understand the coming famine, chaos, and digital serfdom, you must first see through this real lens.

Why Energy Abundance is the Ultimate Threat to Their Control Grid

Let's start with a fundamental truth that the controllers desperately want you to forget: Abundant, cheap energy is the bedrock of human freedom. It enables travel, innovation, family formation, and genuine self-reliance. When energy is plentiful, people can move, think, create, and build without begging for permission. This is why the globalist agenda fundamentally requires a population that is immobile, dependent, and desperate [2][3].

Scarcity is their chosen weapon. It functions as an economic and psychological choke point. When a large portion of your income and mental energy is dedicated to mere survival -- paying skyrocketing utility bills, hunting for fuel, worrying about the next meal -- you are not free. You are a dependent subject. The relationship between energy consumption and national wealth is one of history's most consistent patterns; abundant, affordable energy has been the foundation of economic prosperity [4]. The controllers understand this correlation perfectly, and they are determined to invert it.

Their vision is a world of enforced scarcity. The International Energy Agency's radical 10-point plan, urging sweeping oil consumption restrictions under the pretext of Middle East disruptions, is a clear blueprint for this [5]. Lower speed limits, car-free Sundays, mandated remote work -- these are not solutions to a supply problem. They are methods to curtail personal mobility and freedom, to make you more manageable. Energy abundance terrifies them because it decentralizes power. Energy scarcity ensures their centralized grid remains intact.

A History of Suppression: From 'Free Energy' Patents to the War on Fossil Fuels

This war is not new. It has a long, documented history of suppression. Revolutionary energy technologies that promised abundance -- from over-unity devices to cold fusion (LENR) -- have been systematically classified, buried, and their inventors persecuted. The historical record is clear. As noted in one of my interviews, 'Cold fusion was first demonstrated by Fleischmann and Pons in 1989. Since then, it has been replicated hundreds of times across the globe... LENR technology is on the verge of being commercialized' [6]. Yet it remains sidelined. Books like 'The Tesla Code' delve into the visionary work of Nikola Tesla and reveal how free energy can liberate humanity from the shackles of scarcity and control [7].

Modern policy continues this same war by other means. The suspicious sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, an act that was clearly orchestrated, severed a critical energy artery for Europe [8]. Domestically, under the previous administration, punishing EPA rules based on the false 'Endangerment Finding' declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant targeted vehicles, power plants, and industries [9]. Thankfully, that finding has been reversed by the current administration, but the ideological war persists. The goal across decades is consistent: prevent the masses from accessing the energy that would shatter their dependency.

Even the allocation of public funds follows this pattern. Bill Gates TerraPower secured a $2 billion taxpayer subsidy for a nuclear project, rather than requiring Gates to finance it himself [10]. This is corporate welfare that advances a centralized, elite-controlled energy model, not a decentralized, abundant one. From patent offices to regulatory agencies, the machinery of suppression works tirelessly to maintain the scarcity grid.

The Middle East Theater: A Calculated Demolition of Civilization's Energy Hub

Now, look at the current Middle East conflict. The real prize is not land or political victory. It is the total annihilation of the region's energy export capacity. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 million barrels of oil pass daily, is 'the exposure of the entire global system' to cascading failure [11]. Catherine Austin Fitts warns this could trigger a crisis far worse than the COVID pandemic, signaling 'COVID 2.0' and engineered famine [12]. This is depopulation engineering through starvation and collapse, masquerading as war.

Specific targets are chosen with catastrophic precision. The destruction of two of Qatar's fourteen critical LNG 'trains' is, in my analysis, a world-altering event that 'has already locked in five years of global energy scarcity' [1]. These trains represent a deliberate risk to global fertilizer, food, and industrial production. Natural gas is directly converted into fertilizer through the Haber-Bosch process. As a recent article starkly explains, 'Since the widespread adoption of the Haber-Bosch process, humanity has ballooned from under 2 billion to over 8 billion' [13]. No fertilizer equals no food. This is chemistry, not conspiracy.

The narrative that this is a defensive war is a facade. A deeper investigation reveals a far more sinister truth, where the ambitions of certain factions pose the greatest threat, not the strength of their declared enemies [14]. The theater is set for demolition. Every strike on a refinery, every halted LNG shipment [15], is a calculated step toward global scarcity. The resulting chaos would not be contained; it would wash over every continent, leaving scarcity, panic, and social breakdown in its wake [16].

The Scarcity Double-Bind: Crushing AI Freedom and Enforcing Digital Serfdom

The attack extends beyond physical energy into the digital realm. Decentralized, open-source AI represents a new frontier of intellectual freedom that terrifies the controllers. It is a tool that could empower individuals with knowledge and analytical capability outside their centralized information monopolies. But energy scarcity directly attacks this potential.

Making local GPU inference prohibitively expensive is one tactic. The ongoing 'compute crunch' is a structural famine in silicon, memory, and power, where AI's exponential appetite is cannibalizing the availability of hardware for individuals [17]. Furthermore, microchip manufacturing itself is threatened by the scarcity of critical inputs like helium and natural gas. The goal is to ensure that powerful AI remains a centralized service, controlled by a few corporate or government entities, not a tool on your personal computer.

This paves the way for the next phase of control: digital serfdom. With a restored information monopoly and a population desperate for basic resources, the introduction of CBDC-controlled food permission systems becomes feasible. The push is toward 'more surveillance, more control, pushing you off cash and onto systems where you need permission to buy, to move, to exist' [18]. Energy scarcity is the prerequisite for this digital cage. Without the power to run independent AI, to verify information, to organize decentralized alternatives, you will be left with only the approved narratives and controlled transactions of the scarcity grid.

The Path to Personal Sovereignty: Harnessing the One Source They Can't Block

So, what is the escape route? Centralized energy grids and fossil fuel dependencies are traps designed for failure. True freedom requires decentralization. The most critical bypass of their control system available today is solar power, combined with modern battery storage.

Technological breakthroughs are making this more accessible. Research has developed a sodium-sulfur battery prototype achieving an energy density of 2,021 watt-hours per kilogram, rivaling conventional lithium-ion batteries using abundant materials [19]. Affordable LiFePO4 batteries are already a reality for many. Even more extraordinary claims, like the Donut Lab solid-state battery with 400 watt-hours per kilogram and 100,000 charge cycles, hint at a future where personal energy storage is robust and long-lasting [20].

This isn't just about keeping your lights on during a grid failure. It's about powering the tools of liberation: local AI servers, food production systems (like aquaponics or greenhouse lighting), and transportation (electric vehicles charged from your own panels). Solar-powered water purification films can revolutionize access to clean drinking water worldwide [21]. By harnessing the sun -- a source they cannot block or tax directly -- you reclaim a portion of your sovereignty. You begin to decouple from the scarcity grid they are so diligently constructing.

Conclusion: Put on Your Energy Glasses and Prepare

From this moment forward, I urge you to view every object, service, and piece of food through the 'energy' it required to exist. You will see a world poised for engineered collapse. The bread on your table required natural gas for fertilizer. The microchip in your device required helium and vast electricity for fabrication. The fuel in your car is a product of a refinery network under deliberate attack. This perspective reveals the fragility of modern civilization.

Your preparedness is not paranoia; it is a rational response to a declared war on abundance. The evidence is in the news reports, the policy documents, and the historical pattern of suppression. Building your own energy-independent bastion -- with solar, storage, and the skills to use them -- is the most meaningful act of defiance.

The choice is stark, as one book frames it: we must choose between a future where energy is 'a tool of control' or 'a foundation for freedom and human flourishing' [22]. Will you consent to be a dependent slave in their scarcity grid, waiting for rationing and permission slips? Or will you harness the decentralized, abundant sources they can't fully block and build a life of sovereignty? The answer will define your future, and perhaps, the future of humanity.

References

The World Just Changed Forever: Why Two Destroyed LNG Trains Open the Door to Famine, Collapse and Chaos. - NaturalNews.com. March 20, 2026. Twelve undeniable signs globalists are engineering the end of humanity. - NaturalNews.com. NaturalNews.com. July 30, 2023. Globalists move into the KILL PHASE of human extermination. - NaturalNews.com. NaturalNews.com. June 1, 2022. Trading an Energy-Scarcity Agenda for Energy Abundance Pays Dividends. - Heritage.org. Globalists push draconian oil restrictions under guise of Middle East crisis. - NaturalNews.com. March 23, 2026. Mike Adams interview with James Martinez - November 6 2023. Mike Adams. The Tesla Code: Unlocking Free Energy for Humanity. - BrightLearn.ai. Qatar halts LNG exports to Europe amid Red Sea crisis, deepening energy woes. - NaturalNews.com. March 8, 2026. Unshackling America: The EPAs Endangerment Finding Reversal and the Path to Energy Abundance. - NaturalNews.com. February 11, 2026. Bill Gates TerraPower secures $2 billion taxpayer subsidy for Wyoming nuclear project. - NaturalNews.com. March 9, 2026. The Famine Years: How Trumps Unnecessary War Has Put Global Food Security on the Brink. - NaturalNews.com. March 13, 2026. Catherine Austin Fitts warns: Strait of Hormuz shutdown signals COVID 2.0 and engineered famine. - NaturalNews.com. March 16, 2026. The Haber-Bosch House of Cards: Why The One Chemical Reaction that Feeds Half the World is About to Go Offline. - NaturalNews.com. March 20, 2026. The Real Engine of War: How Zionist Ambitions, Not Iranian Strength, Pose the Greatest Threat to America. - NaturalNews.com. March 2, 2026. Qatar halts LNG shipments to Europe amid Red Sea crisis. - NaturalNews.com. March 13, 2026. The Edge of Armageddon: Why We Must Stop This Madness Before Its Too Late. - Newstarget.com. The Compute Crunch: How AIs Unstoppable Demand is Creating a Hardware Famine for Years to Come. - NaturalNews.com. February 18, 2026. Debt everywhere. The biggest energy crisis in history building in real ... - Facebook.com. Breakthrough in Sodium-Sulfur Technology  2,021 Wh/kg Battery Rivals Lithium-Ion Using Abundant Materials. - NaturalNews.com. January 20, 2026. The Donut Lab Battery: A Wright Brothers Moment for Energy Independence? - NaturalNews.com. February 21, 2026. Solar powered water purification film could revolutionize access to clean drinking water worldwide. - NaturalNews.com. Lance D Johnson. October 7, 2025. The Tesla-Trump Code: Plasma, Power, and the Hidden Battle for Energy Dominance. - BrightLearn.ai.

Explainer Infographic:
Study: Millions report illness from proximity to wireless radiation

A new peer-reviewed study estimates over 26 million adults across the U.S., Australia, and Canada report health symptoms linked to wireless radiation exposure.

The condition, termed EMR Syndrome, shows significant overlap with other conditions like chemical sensitivity, asthma, and autism, suggesting a common inflammatory pathway.

Researchers warn that expanding wireless infrastructure, including 5G, may be contributing to the rising prevalence of reported sensitivity.

Historical parallels are drawn to the tobacco industry, with allegations that science on wireless radiation risks has been suppressed by influential corporate interests.

Experts advocate for a precautionary approach, recommending wired alternatives at home and greater public awareness of potential health impacts.

A groundbreaking international study has revealed that a significant portion of the adult population directly links their chronic health struggles to the invisible sea of wireless radiation. Published in Next Research, the analysis of nationally representative surveys from the United States, Australia, and Canada found that approximately one in eight U.S. adults report adverse health effects from exposure to devices like cell phones, Wi-Fi routers, and cell towers. The findings, which estimate over 26 million affected adults across the three nations, arrive amid longstanding accusations from public health advocates that the science on electromagnetic field (EMF) risks has been systematically downplayed, drawing unsettling parallels to the tobacco industrys past tactics of suppression and doubt.

A Syndrome By Any Other Name

The study consolidates a cluster of symptoms under the diagnostic label EMR Syndrome. Respondents reported a range of issues including headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, and cardiovascular problems. Beyond self-reported symptoms, the data showed a striking 10.1% of U.S. respondents, 14.9% of Australians, and 5.0% of Canadians had received a formal medical diagnosis of electromagnetic hypersensitivity. The highest rates were reported among males aged 25 to 34, a demographic deeply embedded in the digital world. Researchers acknowledge potential limitations in the online survey methodology but suggest the true scale of the issue may be substantial, fueled by the relentless expansion of wireless infrastructure.

The Concerning Overlap of Chronic Conditions

Perhaps more revealing than the prevalence data is the strong correlation between EMR Syndrome and other chronic health conditions. The study found that among those reporting wireless sensitivity:

Over 80% also reported chemical sensitivity or fragrance sensitivity.

More than 70% reported asthma or related conditions.

Over 50% reported autism or autism spectrum disorders.

Lead author Julie McCredden, Ph.D., pointed to underlying inflammation and oxidative stress as a potential common biological mechanism. This could explain the surprisingly large overlap, she noted, adding that the implications for children, who are more vulnerable to environmental stressors, are particularly worrying. While wireless technologies are bringing us many benefits, its also possible that they are eroding the health of our children, McCredden concluded.

A Playbook from the Past?

The publication of this prevalence study adds weight to a narrative that has been building for years among a cadre of researchers and health advocates. They argue that the public health response to wireless radiation has been hampered by a pattern of influence reminiscent of past industrial controversies. The knowledge base draws a direct comparison to the tobacco industry, which internally acknowledged the dangers of smoking decades before public disclosure. Similarly, critics allege that the wireless industry has worked to discredit independent scientific studies showing biological damagesuch as oxidative stress and DNA breaksfrom non-ionizing radiation, while swaying regulatory agencies like the FCC.

This alleged suppression has, according to advocates, created a dangerous gap between emerging science and public policy. The absence of consensus is often presented as evidence of absence of harm, a logical fallacy that delays precautionary action. The new data on widespread self-reported illness challenges that narrative, suggesting a significant portion of the population is already experiencing consequences.

Practical Precautions in a Wireless World

Faced with a pervasive exposure, health advocates emphasize that individuals are not powerless. The central recommendation is to reduce unnecessary radiation by opting for wired connections whenever possible. This includes:

Using Ethernet cables to connect computers and smart TVs instead of Wi-Fi.

Turning off Wi-Fi routers at night or making a home permanently wired.

Keeping cell phones off the body and using airplane mode when not in active use.

These steps, particularly in the home, aim to create a lower-EMF sanctuary for sleep and recovery. As Lyn McLean, a study co-author, observed, consumer demand for safer products could drive innovation, much like it did for gluten-free or fragrance-free goods. It will be interesting to see if manufacturers respond by producing wireless-free devices, she said.

A Call for Clarity and Caution

The study quantifying millions potentially affected by EMR Syndrome marks a pivotal moment, transforming anecdotal reports into epidemiological data. It underscores an urgent need to re-evaluate the assumption that the proliferating electromagnetic environment is biologically neutral. As the rollout of dense 5G networks continues, the call for independent, transparent research and a precautionary approach grows louder. For a public navigating an increasingly wireless world, the findings serve as a potent reminder that technological progress and its health impacts must be evaluated together, not in isolation. The path forward requires bridging the chasm between reported public suffering and the official scientific narrative, ensuring history does not repeat another slow-motion public health lesson.

Sources for this article include:

YourNews.com

ScienceDirect.com

ChildrensHealthDefense.org
A significant fire erupted near the Chief Secretary's official bungalows in Rayapudi, Amaravati. The blaze originated in a stockpile of pipes belonging to Megha Engineering Company, which is involved in capital construction projects. Firefighters and police are using three fire engines to combat the intense flames and thick smoke, which are hampering control efforts. Authorities are awaiting further details on the incident.

A major fire breaks out near the Chief Secretary's bungalows in Amaravati, with firefighters battling intense flames from construction pipes.

Amaravathi, March 24 A major fire broke out near the Chief Secretary's bungalows at Rayapudi in Amaravathi, as per the Police.

Thullur Circle Inspector (CI) Srinivasa Rao said the fire reportedly started in pipes stored by Megha Engineering Company, which is involved in capital construction works.

Firefighters, along with police personnel, are trying to control the blaze using three fire engines. Thick smoke and intense flames have made it difficult to bring the fire under control.

Further information is still awaiting

- ANI
The Queensland state government will ban children under 16 from riding electric scooters and bicycles as part of sweeping new safety laws. The reforms, following a parliamentary inquiry, will also require riders to hold at least a learner driver's license to ensure knowledge of road rules. The move comes after 12 fatalities and over 6,300 injuries in e-mobility incidents in the state during 2025. The laws introduce footpath speed limits and grant police new powers to seize illegal devices and conduct breath tests.

New Queensland laws ban under-16s from e-scooters & e-bikes, require a learner's license, and impose speed limits after a deadly year of incidents.

Sydney, March 24 Children younger than 16 will be banned from riding electric mobility devices in the Australian state of Queensland under new safety laws announced on Tuesday.

Queensland's state government said on Tuesday that it has accepted, or accepted in principle, all 28 recommendations made by a parliamentary inquiry into e-mobility safety, including the under-16 ban.

Brent Mickelberg, Queensland's minister for transport, said in a statement that the government will introduce nation-leading reforms to parliament within days to legislate the inquiry's recommendations.

Under the new laws, e-bike and e-scooter riders will be required to at least hold a Queensland learner driver's license, the minimum age for which is 16, to ensure they have knowledge of road rules.

The parliamentary inquiry found that 12 people were killed and 6,300 were injured in e-mobility-related incidents in Queensland in 2025.

"We are banning under-16s from these devices because the safety of kids is paramount," Mickelberg said on Tuesday.

The new laws will also introduce speed limits of 10 km per hour for e-mobility devices on footpaths and grant police additional powers to seize and destroy illegal devices and subject riders to random breath tests, Xinhua news agency reported.

Last year, Australia's world-first social media ban for under-16s came into effect, with 10 major platforms-including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X-required to prevent them from holding accounts.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the government made the change to support children who have grown up with algorithms, endless social media feeds, and the pressure they bring. He also encouraged students to make the most of their school holidays rather than spending all their time scrolling on their phones.

Australia's teen social media ban had drawn significant international interest, with countries including Denmark, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, and New Zealand reportedly considering similar measures.

- IANS
Avinash Tiwary highlights the critical narrative role of the song 'Aye Khudaa' in the upcoming film 'Ginny Wedss Sunny 2'. The track provides a poignant look into his character Sunny's emotions through flashbacks of the couple's journey. The song, composed by Usman Khan and sung by Altamash Faridi, is described as a deep, soulful anthem for heartbreak. Co-star Medha Shankr notes the song reveals the vulnerable, human side of the characters, reflecting their shared history and hurt.

Actor Avinash Tiwary discusses the pivotal, soulful track 'Aye Khudaa' in the upcoming sequel, calling it the film's emotional heartbeat.

Mumbai, March 24 Bollywood actor Avinash Tiwary, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming film 'Ginny Wedss Sunny 2', has shared that the song 'Aye Khudaa' comes at a critical point in the narrative.

The music video of 'Aye Khudaa' shows a poignant look into Sunny's headspace, weaving together flashbacks that reflect on the couple's shared journey and the memories that linger. It is a deep soulful track that resonates with anyone who has gone through a heartbreak. With its heartfelt lyrics and a melody that truly hits home, the song is set to become a go-to anthem for those navigating the quiet ache of love and loss.



Talking about the song, Avinash Tiwary said, "Music is the heartbeat of any love story, especially when that story takes a difficult turn. 'Aye Khudaa' captures the exact moment Sunny feels for Ginny. Filming the song was an intense experience, and I think the audience will truly connect with the honesty of this track".



'Aye Khudaa' is composed and written by the talented Usman Khan, whose lyrics capture the quiet void of separation. The song features a powerhouse vocal performance by Altamash Faridi, whose voice brings an incredible depth to the melody, while song producer Amir Khan has crafted a soundscape that balances vulnerability with cinematic storytelling.



Medha Shankr said, "While our first song was a total celebration, 'Aye Khudaa' shows the more vulnerable, human side of our characters. It's a beautiful, heavy track that stays with you long after it's over. Even though it's told through Sunny's eyes, it reflects the deep history and the hurt that both Ginny and Sunny are carrying".



Presented by Zee Studios and Soundrya Production, 'Ginny Wedss Sunny 2' is produced by Vinod Bachchan and Umesh Kumar Bansal. The film is written and directed by Prasshant Jha. The film is set to release in theatres on April 24, 2026.





- IANS
Actor Babil Khan has commenced shooting for an undisclosed project in Bhopal, marking his return to sets. He recently underwent intensive Muay Thai training during a stint in Thailand, which is believed to be preparation for a project slated to begin filming in mid-2026. The son of the late Irrfan Khan, Babil made his acting debut in 2022 and has since appeared in projects like *The Railway Men*. His return to work follows a period of social media absence and personal reflections on his career.

Babil Khan, son of Irrfan Khan, is back filming in Bhopal. The actor recently trained in Muay Thai in Thailand for an upcoming 2026 role.

Mumbai, March 24 Actor Babil Khan, son of the late acclaimed star Irrfan Khan, is back on sets as he has commenced shooting for his next in Bhopal.

Babil had recently shared a video from his vanity van and mentioned, "Back to the grind, time to make you proud again."



Babil hasn't revealed details of the project he is currently shooting for.



A source close to the development shared, "Babil has been excited to be back on set. Acting is something that grounds him, and being in front of the camera again feels very natural to him. The message shared is from the sets of his next project which he just began shooting for in Bhopal".



Last month, he was training in the martial art form Muay Thai, which he underwent during his time in Thailand.



A source close to IANS had then shared: "Babil spent time in Thailand through December and early January to train in Muay Thai in Thailand. He took various classes to learn the form of MMA that originates in Thailand."



"He's been prepping for this and it's for a project that is soon upcoming but requires him to do intense training for a project that goes on floors mid 2026," the source added.



The source shared that Muay Thai requires stamina, control, and discipline.



"Given his new found love for the activity, it has naturally led to people connecting the dots. Some believing that this could be prep for an upcoming role".



Babil started as a camera assistant in Bollywood film Qarib Qarib Single. In 2022, he made his acting debut with Anvita Dutt's psychological drama Qala alongside Triptii Dimri.



In 2023, he was seen playing Juhi Chawla's son Siddharth Menon in Friday Night Plan. He was then seen in the web series The Railway Men, a story on Bhopal Gas Tragedy, alongside Divyendu Sharma, Kay Kay Menon and R. Madhavan.



It was last year in October when Babil returned to Instagram after almost 6 months of his absence from the social media platform.



In May 2025, Babil deleted his Instagram profile, as the web search for the actor's profile didn't yield any results and showed the webpage linked to the Instagram account as non-existent.



Babil, the son of the late Indian acting legend Irrfan Khan, had earlier shared a video (later deleted) in which he appeared visibly upset and in tears as he spoke about feeling alienated in the film industry.





- IANS
A balloon bearing the logo of Pakistan International Airlines was recovered from an agricultural field in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, prompting a police and intelligence investigation. A local farmer discovered the inflated balloon with a three-foot string attached in his field. This incident follows similar recoveries of PIA-marked balloons in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir in recent months. Authorities are working to determine the balloon's origin and whether it carried any suspicious material.

A balloon with Pakistan International Airlines logo recovered in a Rajasthan border village. Police and intelligence investigating its origin and purpose.

Jaipur, March 24 A balloon bearing the logo of Pakistan International Airlines was recovered from a border village in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan on Tuesday, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into its origin.

The incident was reported from Village 11 Joiyawali in the Jaitsar area, where a local farmer alerted the police after spotting the object in his field.

The farmer, Manpreet Singh, said he had gone to his farm to attend his irrigation turn when he noticed the balloon lying near the embankment.

According to initial observations, the balloon was found inflated and had a string of approximately three feet tied to it.

Following the information, a team from the Rajasthan Police reached the spot and began examining the object.

Officials said efforts are underway to determine where the balloon originated from and whether it was carrying or attached to any other suspicious material.

The Intelligence Department has also been informed about the recovery.

Authorities noted that similar balloons marked with the 'PIA' logo have been recovered from agricultural fields in the region on multiple occasions in the past.

In a related development, panic had spread in Bakhog village of Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district on March 22 after locals spotted a balloon carrying markings resembling those linked to Pakistan.

The balloon, with the acronym 'PIA' printed in green along with other symbols, was seen by residents Lokendra Thakur and his wife while they were on their way to their fields.

Such sightings have also been reported earlier from districts including Bilaspur, Una and Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.

Earlier in February, a similar balloon carrying the Pakistan International Airlines logo was recovered from a border village in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.

- IANS
BJP National President Nitin Nabin is arriving in West Bengal for a two-day visit to strengthen the party's organisation ahead of the Assembly elections. His schedule includes high-level meetings in Kolkata to discuss booth-level strategy and campaign coordination. The visit coincides with final preparations for the BJP's manifesto, which may be launched by Union Minister Amit Shah. This comes after the ruling Trinamool Congress has already released its own election agenda.

BJP President Nitin Nabin begins a 2-day Bengal visit for strategy meetings and manifesto discussions ahead of the crucial Assembly elections.

New Delhi, March 24 Nitin Nabin, the national president of the BJP, is set to arrive in West Bengal on Tuesday for a pivotal two-day visit focused on bolstering the party's organisational machinery ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

This marks Nabin's first visit to the state since the election announcement, underscoring the central leadership's intensified focus on West Bengal, which remains a key political battleground.



Party insiders describe the visit as part of a broader strategy to energise grassroots workers and fine-tune campaign preparedness.



During his stay on March 24 and 25, Nabin is scheduled to hold a series of high-level meetings with senior state leaders, campaign coordinators, and core committee members in Kolkata. The discussions are expected to centre on strengthening booth-level organisation, improving coordination between central and state leadership, and sharpening communication strategies to effectively reach voters.



A senior leader from the BJP's West Bengal unit stated that the primary focus of these meetings will be the forthcoming two-phase Assembly elections scheduled for next month. The party aims to consolidate its organisational base and address gaps identified in its previous electoral performances.



In parallel with Nabin's visit, the BJP is preparing to release its election manifesto, referred to as a "Sankalp Patra," later this week. According to party sources, the manifesto is likely to be unveiled on March 28. Efforts are underway to have Union Home Minister Amit Shah present in the state to formally launch the document at a major public event.



Before releasing the manifesto, the state committee will discuss its final contents with Nitin Nabin during his two-day visit to West Bengal.



Meanwhile, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has already released its manifesto on March 20, outlining a 10-point development agenda for the state. The manifesto timelines of the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress are yet to be announced.





- IANS
The BJP has declared it will contest all 28 elected seats in the upcoming Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections. This comes a day after Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma firmly ruled out any electoral alliance with the BJP, demanding concrete action on a past tripartite accord. The TMP aims to frame the April 12 polls as a decisive mandate on the identity and rights of the indigenous Tiprasa community. The elections are now set for a multi-cornered contest, with the TMP as a junior partner in the state's ruling coalition but opposing the BJP in this tribal council fight.

BJP fields candidates for all 28 TTAADC seats after ally TMP rules out an alliance. Polls set for April 12 become a referendum on tribal rights.

Agartala, March 24 A day after Tipra Motha Party supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma announced that his party would not enter into any alliance for the upcoming elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, the BJP on Tuesday declared its list of candidates.

Polling for the politically significant 30-member TTAADC is scheduled for April 12, with counting of votes set for April 17.

The tribal autonomous council, regarded as the second most important constitutional body in the state after the Tripura Assembly, comprises 28 elected members and two nominated by the state government. Announcing the candidates, Tripura BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee said the party would contest all 28 seats. "BJP currently has nine members in the TTAADC. Out of these, seven have been renominated to contest the polls. Several senior tribal leaders of the party, including state General Secretary Bipin Debbarma, will also be in the fray," Bhattacharjee, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, told the media.

He added that if voted to power in the TTAADC, the BJP would ensure effective and transparent administration aimed at the all-round development of the tribal population, which constitutes nearly one-third of Tripura's total population of about 4.2 million.

This makes the upcoming council elections a crucial political contest in the state.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy and several other BJP leaders were present in the media briefing. Just before the announcement of the BJP's candidates, two important leaders of the TMP, Ananta Debbarma and Swadagar Kalai, joined the BJP, and the party has fielded them in the elections.

Meanwhile, TMP founder Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma on Monday firmly ruled out any alliance with the BJP for the TTAADC elections. In a video message from New Delhi, the former royal scion stated that there would be no electoral understanding without visible progress on the tripartite accord signed two years ago.

Stressing that "assurances without implementation" were unacceptable, he made it clear that commitments must translate into concrete action.

Leaders from both the BJP and TMP had earlier indicated that the central leadership of the parties held a series of meetings in New Delhi in recent days to work out a possible seat-sharing arrangement. TMP leader and MLA Ranjit Debbarma also said that the party chief was engaged in discussions with BJP leaders in the national capital to finalise the arrangement.

Positioning the April 12 polls as a decisive political battle, he described the elections as a mandate on identity, rights, and the future of the indigenous Tiprasa community.

Taking a firm and defiant stance, Debbarma asserted that he would neither compromise nor yield under pressure, reiterating that his commitment remained solely with the indigenous people.

He emphasised that electoral strength would be demonstrated through democratic means. He also called for unity among tribal voters across party lines -- including the BJP, the CPI(M), the Congress, and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) -- while urging them to avoid division and violence. Framing the election as a collective democratic struggle, the TMP leader expressed confidence that grassroots support, particularly from economically weaker sections, would outweigh the influence of money and power.

In light of the latest political developments, the TTAADC elections are expected to witness a multi-cornered contest, with the TMP aiming to turn the polls into a referendum on indigenous rights.

While the IPFT remains an older ally of the BJP, the TMP, led by Debbarma, has been a junior partner in the ruling alliance in Tripura since March 2024. Both the TMP and the IPFT are tribal-based parties with significant influence in the state's indigenous regions.

Following prolonged negotiations, the TMP -- then in the opposition - signed a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government on March 2, 2024, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Subsequently, the party, which has 13 MLAs, joined the BJP-led coalition government on March 7, 2024, adding a new dimension to the state's political landscape. Two TMP MLAs -- Animesh Debbarma and Brishaketu Debbarma -- were inducted into the ministry headed by Chief Minister Manik Saha. Since 2021, the Tipra Motha Party under Debbarma's leadership has governed the strategically important 30-member TTAADC.

In the 2021 council elections, the BJP contested 11 seats and won nine, while a BJP-supported Independent candidate also secured victory but later joined the TMP.

The TMP, however, emerged as the dominant force by winning 18 seats and wresting control of the council from the CPI (M)-led Left Front. The council covers nearly two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12.16 lakh people, around 84 per cent of whom belong to indigenous communities.

Ahead of the upcoming polls, major political parties -- including the BJP, its allies IPFT and TMP, as well as opposition parties such as the CPI(M) and the Congress -- have intensified efforts to consolidate support among tribal voters. The Left parties and Congress have already announced their candidates for all 28 seats.

- IANS
President Lula da Silva criticized the United Nations Security Council for its perceived inaction in resolving global conflicts during his speech at COP-15. He blamed the policies of his predecessor for damaging Brazil's environmental reputation, contrasting it with his administration's progress. Lula highlighted significant reductions in Amazon deforestation and Pantanal fires since 2023. He also announced new conservation measures and positioned environmental protection as a central pillar of Brazil's diplomacy.

At COP-15, Brazil's President Lula criticized UN Security Council inaction on conflicts and blamed the Bolsonaro era for environmental damage.

Sao Paulo, March 24 President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivered a strongly worded speech at COP-15, the United Nations conference on migratory species, urging renewed global commitment to multilateralism amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Addressing the presidential segment, Lula criticised the perceived inaction of the UN Security Council in resolving ongoing conflicts, warning that unilateral actions and violations of sovereignty are becoming increasingly common. Without naming specific countries, he referred to escalating global crises and stressed that "a world without rules is an insecure world."

Highlighting the historical role of the United Nations, Lula said the institution is facing a moment of "exhaustion," particularly in conflict prevention and mediation. He called for stronger international cooperation, advocating policies of inclusion over walls and hate speech, as reported by Brasil 247.

On the environmental front, Lula contrasted his administration's policies with those of his predecessor, attributing past damage to Brazil's global image to earlier governance. He asserted that since 2023, Brazil has made significant progress, including halving deforestation in the Amazon, reducing it by over 30% in the Cerrado and cutting Pantanal fires by more than 90%.

The president also outlined Brazil's broader environmental agenda, citing initiatives such as the Tropical Forests Forever Fund and efforts to expand protected areas. New measures announced include the creation of a 41,000-hectare reserve in northern Minas Gerais and expansions of the Pantanal National Park and Taiama Ecological Station.

Lula emphasised regional cooperation, noting joint efforts by South American nations to protect migratory birds. He also expressed hope for the approval of the Escazu Agreement and progress on global initiatives like a South Atlantic whale sanctuary.

Framing environmental protection as a pillar of diplomacy, Lula positioned Brazil as a key global actor committed to sustainability, cooperation, and institutional strengthening.

- ANI
Christian Bale reveals punk icon Sid Vicious and musician Richey Edwards shaped his portrayal of Frankenstein in Maggie Gyllenhaal's 'The Bride'.

Los Angeles, March 24 Hollywood star Christian Bale has shared the inspiration behind his portrayal of Frankenstein in 'The Bride'.

The actor has shared that it was shaped by punk icon Sid Vicious and musician Richey Edwards, reports 'Female First UK'.



The actor, 52, said he drew on music and other imagery to build the character in a while explaining how director Maggie Gyllenhaal encouraged him and his co-star Jessie Buckley to immerse themselves in music during production.



Describing how the creative process involved sharing songs that could inform their performances or potentially feature in the soundtrack, with music playing a central role throughout filming, the actor told NME, "There was so much music (on set). An early inspiration was Sid Vicious in the white jacket, walking down the steps and singing My Way. Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers cutting '4 Real' into his arm was another".



'The Bride!' is a reimagining of the classic Frankenstein story, and features Jessie as The Bride, with Christian taking on the role of Frankenstein, also known as Frank.



The actor further mentioned, "One of the inspirations was a chimpanzee s******* into his hand then throwing it, which I've actually experienced at San Diego zoo! "It's a protest dance that ends in revolution though. It's something of an answer to meeting your heroes. Frank finally meets his hero Ronnie Reed but because of his intense loneliness and lack of companionship, can't believe that Ronnie doesn't know him as well as he knows Ronnie. He's an Eminem Stan figure really. The dance comes out of the pain of being rejected - and it's the birth of the true Frank".



As per 'Female First UK', Christian also confirmed reports he attended a Harry Styles concert in Los Angeles in 2022.



He said, "I was there to see Ben Harper because he's a friend of a friend, but full kudos to Harry. It was a fantastic show".



Discussing music he values most, the actor said, "There are going to be so many bands that I don't mention, and that I'll feel awful about. Music is the most essential art form in my life".



"Movies are ridiculously difficult because you're incorporating everything into one. Music you can carry with you. I use it for acting all the time. It's the thing I would absolutely die without", he added.





- IANS
The Kerala Chief Electoral Officer suspended an Assistant Section Officer after a document bearing a BJP seal was mistakenly distributed as an official Election Commission communication. The error occurred when a photocopy of 2019 guidelines submitted by the BJP was inadvertently redistributed to other political parties. The CEO's office acknowledged the lapse and issued a formal withdrawal of the erroneous document. The incident comes as Kerala prepares for Assembly elections scheduled for April 9, 2026.

Kerala CEO suspends officer after document with BJP seal mistakenly distributed as official ECI communication. Clarification issued.

Thiruvananthapuram, March 24 The Kerala Chief Electoral Officer suspended an Assistant Section Officer following a "clerical error" that saw a document with a BJP seal mistakenly distributed as an official Election Commission communication.

In an X post, the office clarified that the error occurred when a photocopy of the 2019 guidelines submitted by the BJP, bearing their seal, was inadvertently redistributed to other political parties, prompting immediate rectification by senior officials in the office.

"The BJP Kerala Unit had recently approached the CEO's office seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates. Along with their request, the party submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive. The party's seal was present on that specific copy provided by them. Due to an oversight, the office failed to notice the party symbol on the submitted document and inadvertently redistributed it to other political parties as part of the requested clarification. The guidelines in question have undergone revisions since 2019, which have already been communicated to all political entities," the Kerala CEO explained in an X post.

Emphasising that the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer acknowledged the lapse as soon as it was detected, it said that the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer issued a formal letter on March 21 to withdraw the erroneous document.

Adding to the clarification, the Kerala CEO added, "The Assistant Section Officer dealing with the file in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer has been placed under suspension pending enquiry."

Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry are all set to hold the 2026 Assembly Election on April 9 in a single phase, with counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 4.

- ANI
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has assured citizens there is no shortage of petrol or diesel in the state, urging people not to panic or queue unnecessarily. His statement came a day after long lines at fuel pumps were seen in major cities like Ahmedabad and Surat due to panic buying. Officials attributed the rush to misinformation and temporary logistical hiccups, not an actual supply shortage. Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi also appealed for calm, confirming that monitoring is in place to ensure smooth and regular fuel distribution.

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel urges calm, says no petrol or diesel shortage despite panic buying. Officials confirm supply chains are normal.

Gandhinagar, March 24 Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday said there was no shortage of petrol and diesel in the state and urged citizens not to queue up at fuel stations, a day after widespread panic buying triggered long lines across several cities.

Addressing a programme in Gandhinagar where he launched the 'Sugam Digital Gujarat' initiative, Patel said adequate fuel stocks were available and appealed for calm. "Adequate stock of petrol and diesel is available in the state," he said, urging people not to be misled by rumours or panic.

He added that despite the global situation, supply remained sufficient and there was "no need to form unnecessary queues", assuring that "everyone will get as per their requirement".

The Chief Minister said both the Centre and the State were working to ensure an uninterrupted supply of cooking gas.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: "Efforts were being made to ensure that citizens do not face any difficulty, while the state government was maintaining adequate distribution."

His remarks came after long queues at petrol pumps in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot were witnessed on Monday.

In some places, waiting times stretched for hours and traffic congestion was reported, although authorities maintained that supply remained normal.

The rush was attributed to panic buying following misinformation and temporary disruptions at a few outlets, including issues linked to changes in payment systems for dealers and delays in tanker deliveries.

Government and industry officials reiterated that there was no actual shortage and that supply chains were functioning normally.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi had also appealed to citizens to remain calm, stating that sufficient quantities of petrol and diesel were available. "Citizens do not need to panic over rumours. There is no need to hoard fuel," he said, adding that the Chief Minister was reviewing the situation regularly to ensure smooth supply.

Officials said continuous monitoring was in place to ensure that all petrol pumps receive fuel regularly and that any technical or logistical issues would be resolved promptly.

Authorities also warned against spreading misinformation and urged the public to rely on official communication as the situation stabilises.

- IANS
The Supreme Court has upheld an Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling that a person who converts to Christianity cannot claim Scheduled Caste status. The bench stated the bar under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, is absolute and admits no exceptions. The court noted the appellant had been functioning as a pastor for over a decade, clearly establishing his Christian religious identity. Consequently, such a convert cannot invoke the protections of the SC/ST Act, as the caste system is alien to Christianity.

Supreme Court upholds ruling that conversion to Christianity results in immediate loss of Scheduled Caste status, barring SC/ST Act protections.

New Delhi, March 24 The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld an Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling holding that a person who has converted to Christianity and continues to profess and practice the faith cannot claim the status of a Scheduled Caste.

A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria said that "no person who professes a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste," adding that conversion to any other religion results in the "immediate and complete loss" of such status.

Upholding the Andhra Pradesh High Court's view, the apex court held that the bar under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, is "absolute" and admits no exception.

The Justice Mishra-led Bench observed that a person cannot simultaneously profess another religion and claim Scheduled Caste status. In its decision, the Supreme Court noted that the appellant had continued to profess Christianity and had been functioning as a pastor for over a decade, conducting regular Sunday prayers, leaving "no room for doubt" about his religious identity.

"In the present case, it is not the case of the petitioner that he reconverted from Christianity to his original religion or has been accepted back in the folds of the Madiga community. On the contrary, the evidence establishes that the appellant continued to profess Christianity... These concurrent facts leave no room for doubt that he continued to remain a Christian," the Justice Mishra-led Bench observed.

Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh High Court, in its April 30, 2025, order, had held that a person who had converted to Christianity and was working as a pastor could not invoke protections available to Scheduled Castes under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The AP High Court had noted that the complainant had been "working as a pastor for the last 10 years" and was conducting regular Sunday prayers, thereby clearly establishing that he was professing Christianity.

It further held that "having converted to Christianity, the petitioner cannot continue to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community," and consequently could not invoke the provisions of the SC/ST Act, since the caste system is alien to Christianity.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had also observed that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, makes it clear that persons professing religions other than those specified therein cannot be treated as members of the Scheduled Castes.

- IANS
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high-level meeting with top military and DRDO officials to review India's security and defence preparedness in light of recent global events. The ongoing conflict in West Asia, now in its fourth week, has severely disrupted trade through the Strait of Hormuz following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader and subsequent retaliatory strikes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the situation as "worrisome," warning of its severe impact on the global economy, India's energy security, and crucial trade routes. The opposition, however, criticized the government's parliamentary statements as self-congratulatory and partisan.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chairs high-level security review. PM Modi calls West Asia situation "worrisome," highlights impact on energy security and trade.

New Delhi, March 24 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday chaired a review meeting in the wake of recent global and regional security events, and also to review India's defence preparedness.

CDS General Anil Chauhan, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, General Upendra Dwivedi, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Samir Kamat, and others were also present at the meeting.



The ongoing conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28.



In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.



Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha today on several aspects of the ongoing conflict and India's energy security.



A day earlier, Prime Minister Modi addressed the Lok Sabha to brief members on the developments in West Asia and their potential impact on India. Describing the situation as "worrisome".



He highlighted that the ongoing conflict poses unprecedented challenges that are not only economic and related to national security but also humanitarian.



The Prime Minister reflected on the global challenges which have emerged due to the conflict and India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region. The opposition parties, on the other hand, called it a "master class in self-boasts and partisan dialogue-baazi (dramatic dialogue)."



"The situation in West Asia is worrisome. This conflict has been going on for more than three weeks. It has a severe impact on the global economy and the lives of the people, and that is why the world is urging all sides for an early resolution to this conflict," PM Modi said.



The Prime Minister informed of India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region.



He informed that the region also remains crucial as it provides a route for India's trade with other countries as well.





- ANI
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called a high-level meeting to discuss the evolving situation in the West Asia conflict, which has entered its fourth week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Parliament, describing the situation as "worrisome" and highlighting its severe impact on the global economy and India's energy security, as the region supplies much of India's crude oil and gas. The conflict, sparked by strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader, has disrupted crucial trade routes like the Strait of Hormuz, affecting international markets. India has emphasized that a solution should be found through dialogue and diplomacy.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds meeting on West Asia as PM Modi briefs Parliament on conflict's impact on India's economy and energy security.

New Delhi, March 24 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called a meeting on Tuesday morning on the evolving situation in West Asia.

The meeting has been convened for 11 am.

On March 21, Singh, while addressing a programme in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, on the completion of four years of the state government, had said that India has taken a clear stand on the issue, emphasising that a solution should be found through dialogue and diplomacy.

Noting that the world is going through a period of crisis, with conflicts prevailing in several regions, he said that the ongoing attacks in West Asia are a matter of concern not only for India but also for the entire world.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha today on several aspects of the ongoing conflict and India's energy security.

The conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28.

In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Lok Sabha to brief members on the developments in West Asia and their potential impact on India. Describing the situation as "worrisome".

He highlighted that the ongoing conflict poses unprecedented challenges that are not only economic and related to national security but also humanitarian.

The Prime Minister reflected on the global challenges which have emerged due to the conflict and India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region. The opposition parties, on the other hand, called it a "master class in self-boasts and partisan dialogue-baazi (dramatic dialogue)."

"The situation in West Asia is worrisome. This conflict has been going on for more than three weeks. It has a severe impact on the global economy and the lives of the people, and that is why the world is urging all sides for an early resolution to this conflict," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister informed of India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region.

He informed that the region also remains crucial as it provides a route for India's trade with other countries as well.

- ANI
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta presents a 'Green Budget' for 2026-27, dedicating 21% of total outlay to environmental initiatives and sustainability projects.

New Delhi, March 24 Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday presented the city's budget for 2026-27, describing it as a 'green budget' that focuses on environmental sustainability and balanced development.

Addressing the Budget session, CM Gupta said, "I am pleased to announce that we have made some special efforts to meet the needs of Delhi. This time, we have presented Delhi's budget as a 'green budget.' We have seen every plan through a 'green lens.' Every policy of this budget has an environmental impact, every plan has a natural impact, and every decision has the worries of future generations. This is why we have allocated 21% of the entire budget for a 'green budget' that will be spent to improve the environment."



She added, "This budget is a historic change in the thinking of the government, where a balance has been established between development and the protection of the earth. This is the greatest need of the day."



On financial allocations, CM Gupta said, "This year, we have put 70.3% for revenue expenditure and 29.7% for capital expenditure (in the budget). We are also going to do more capital expenditure than last year. For the year 2025-2026, the tax and GSDP ratio was 4.95%. And for the year 2026-2027, this percentage is expected to be 5.09%, which is better than last year. With this, Delhi's revenue surplus is going to be Rs 9,092 crore this year."



On Monday, the Chief Minister said 'Viksit Delhi, Harit Delhi' is not just a slogan, but a clear vision of the government, through which a positive, safe, and prosperous environment will be created where common people can live with happiness and satisfaction.



"Last year, the government worked to change the direction of Delhi, and now, through this budget, concrete steps will be taken to improve the condition of the capital," she said.



The Chief Minister expressed gratitude to the people of Delhi, saying the government is working continuously with the blessings and trust of the people.



"The government is committed to serving the people 24x7 and will continue to work every day to make Delhi better," she added.



The Budget Session of the Delhi legislative assembly for 2026-27 will go on till March 25.





- ANI
The Delhi High Court has directed senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Delhi government, and the Delhi Police to convene a meeting within a week to review security for district court judges. The order came during a hearing on a petition highlighting that judges face threats, stalking, and aggressive behavior, often while traveling without protection. The court emphasized the seriousness of the concerns, noting judges handle sensitive criminal cases and incidents of firing have occurred in court premises. It directed the authorities to also examine security measures for judicial officers in other states like Maharashtra and Gujarat and to submit a detailed report within two weeks.

Delhi High Court orders MHA, Delhi Govt, and police to meet and review security for district judges within a week, citing serious threats.

New Delhi, March 24 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday told Senior officials from the Union Home Ministry, the Delhi government and the Delhi Police to sit together and review the question of security for district court judges within a week.

The direction was passed during the hearing of a petition filed by the Judicial Service Association of Delhi, which represents trial court judges.

Justice Manoj Jain underlined that the safety of judicial officers is a matter of great concern and cannot be taken lightly. The Court made it clear that the concerns raised in the petition are serious and require immediate attention. It also directed that a detailed report of the meeting be placed before it within two weeks.

The Court further said that while discussing the issue, the authorities should also examine what kind of protection is being given to judicial officers in other states.

The petitioner association has sought personal security officers (PSOs) for district judges along with proper security arrangements at their residences.

It pointed out that many judges travel without security and have faced incidents like stalking, threats and aggressive behaviour on roads. The plea also highlighted that judges regularly handle serious criminal cases, including gang-related matters, and there have even been instances of firing in court premises.

Senior Advocate Kirti Uppal, appearing for the association, told the Court that several judges have been subjected to threats. He cited an incident where a woman judge was warned to remain silent if she wished to stay safe. He also informed the Court that states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat have already put security measures in place for judicial officers.

Representing the Delhi government, Standing Counsel (Criminal) Sanjay Lao acknowledged the importance of the issue and said the government would take an appropriate call.

The High Court also took note of the fact that the association had earlier submitted a representation to the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court, but there was no clarity on what action had been taken. The Court therefore asked the petitioner to include the Registrar General as a party in the case and directed that a status report on the representation be filed before the next date of hearing.

- ANI
India's national drug regulator has intensified its vigil on the supply chain of GLP-1-based weight loss medications following reports of unauthorised sales. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation conducted coordinated inspections at 49 sites, including online pharmacies and clinics, to secure the distribution channels. In a parallel action, the Drug Controller General of India launched a nationwide crackdown on unapproved Fixed Dose Combinations. Medical experts warn that these powerful drugs must only be used under strict medical supervision due to potential side effects.

CDSCO intensifies vigil on GLP-1 weight loss drugs after inspections at 49 entities. Experts warn against reckless use of these powerful medications.

New Delhi, March 24 The national drug regulator on Tuesday intensified its vigil on the supply chain of GLP-1-based weight loss medications following reports of unauthorised sales and misuse. The move comes after the drug regulator conducted coordinated inspections at 49 different sites, including online pharmacies, wholesalers, and wellness clinics across the country.

The action aims to secure the supply chain and ensure these specialised drugs are not distributed through illegal channels.

Recently, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) issued a strict advisory warning pharmaceutical companies against promoting prescription weight drugs to the general public. Doctors say this diktat must be followed by all.

On the other hand, on Monday, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) launched a nationwide crackdown on unapproved Fixed Dose Combination (FDCs). The drug regulator has requested to examine the 90 FDCs in the generic name, whether approval is granted by the state or UT drug controllers, according to a letter accessed by ANI.

These drugs include Multi vitamins, folic acids, syrups, Paracetamol, Clotrimazole and Betamethasone Cream, Diclofenac Potassium and Dicyclomine Hydrochloride Tablets, etc.

Meanwhile, the generic GLP-1 has entered the Indian market at a huge discount compared to innovator products already available, according to an expert from AIIMS, Dr Nikhil Tandon, professor and HOD of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Dr Nikhil Tandon told ANI, "One should not consume it (generic semaglutide) recklessly as these are serious medicines for a serious problem. People should be careful, as there can be side effects."

On GLP-1, he said, "The GLP-1 was initially used for diabetic management but was later found to have an impact on weight."

Earlier, Dr V Mohan, renowned diabetologist and Chairman of Dr Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, said, "Strict pharmacovigilance must be maintained."

"While they are very effective and fairly safe, side effects can occur, but more Indian data needs to be collected."

He further said that these drugs must be prescribed by qualified doctors. "This will make it accessible to many more people, and quality is important. People are advised to strictly use these drugs under the advice and supervision of a doctor, as these drugs can these drugs are very powerful and can produce side effects in some people," he said.

- ANI
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Iran's Ambassador to discuss the West Asia conflict and appreciated support for Indians in Iran. This follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, where they exchanged festive greetings and discussed bilateral cooperation. PM Modi condemned attacks threatening regional stability and global supply chains, reiterating the critical need for secure international shipping lanes. Addressing the Rajya Sabha, Modi detailed India's diplomatic outreach, stating that attacks on commercial vessels are unacceptable and India is pushing for an early peaceful resolution.

EAM Jaishankar meets Iranian envoy as PM Modi discusses regional stability, condemns attacks on infrastructure and stresses freedom of navigation.

New Delhi, March 24 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the Iranian Ambassador in New Delhi on Tuesday with discussions focused on the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

"Met with Iran's Ambassador in India, Dr. Mohammad Fathali this afternoon. Discussed the conflict in West Asia. Appreciate the support provided to Indians in Iran in these challenging times," EAM Jaishankar wrote on X after the meeting.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, discussing regional developments and bilateral cooperation.

Prime Minister Modi had also conveyed his warm greetings to President Pezeshkian on the auspicious occasions of Eid and Nowruz. During the discussion, both leaders had expressed their shared hope that this festive season would usher in a period of peace, stability, and prosperity for the West Asian region.

During the call, PM Modi condemned the recent attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, noting that such actions threaten regional stability and disrupt vital global supply chains. The Prime Minister reiterated the critical importance of safeguarding the freedom of navigation and ensuring that international shipping lanes remain open and secure. PM Modi had also expressed his sincere appreciation for Iran's continued support in ensuring the safety and security of Indian nationals residing in the country.

"Spoke with President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian and conveyed Eid and Nowruz greetings. We expressed hope that this festive season brings peace, stability and prosperity to West Asia. Condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, which threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains. Reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure. Appreciated Iran's continued support for the safety and security of Indian nationals in Iran," PM Modi had posted on X after his call with the Iranian President.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha, presenting the government's position on the situation arising from the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Noting that the war, which has been raging for over three weeks, has precipitated a severe global energy crisis with deeply worrying implications for India, PM Modi pointed out that the conflict is disrupting India's trade routes and affecting the routine supply of essential commodities such as petrol, diesel, gas, and fertilizers.

Detailing India's vigorous diplomatic outreach since the outbreak of hostilities, Prime Minister Modi informed the House that he has personally conducted two rounds of telephonic conversations with heads of state of most West Asian nations and that India remains in continuous contact with all Gulf countries, as well as with Iran, Israel, and the United States. The objective, he stated, is the restoration of peace in the region through dialogue and diplomacy, and discussions on de-escalation and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have been specifically taken up.

Emphasising India's firm stance, PM Modi declared that attacks on commercial vessels and obstruction of international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz are unacceptable, and that India has categorically opposed all attacks on civilians, civil infrastructure, and energy and transport-related infrastructure.

"Any threat to human life in this war is against the interests of humanity, and therefore India's sustained endeavour is to encourage all parties towards a peaceful resolution at the earliest," remarked PM Modi on Tuesday.

- IANS
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Iran's Ambassador to India, appreciating Tehran's support for Indians amid regional tensions. This follows a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, where they discussed de-escalation and the critical need to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and secure. PM Modi informed Parliament of India's continuous diplomatic engagement with all stakeholders, including Gulf nations, Iran, Israel, and the US, to navigate the crisis. The government emphasized using diplomacy to protect maritime interests and ensure the safety of the Indian community abroad.

EAM Jaishankar meets Iranian envoy as PM Modi discusses de-escalation with President Trump. India works to secure Strait of Hormuz and protect diaspora.

New Delhi, March 24 Amid escalating regional tensions in the West Asia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting on Tuesday with Iran's Ambassador Mohammad Fathali and appreciated the support provided to Indians in Iran in "these challenging times."

In a post on X, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar detailed the meeting, stating, "Met with @IranAmbIndia Dr. Mohammad Fathali this afternoon. Discussed the conflict in West Asia. Appreciate the support provided to Indians in Iran in these challenging times. @Iran_In_India."

This diplomatic meeting followed a critical high-level telephonic conversation held earlier on Tuesday between PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. Amid intensifying global efforts to secure vital energy corridors, the two leaders discussed the prevailing conflict in West Asia, as regional tensions continue to impact global energy markets and maritime security.

In a post on X, PM Modi detailed the diplomatic exchange, stating, "Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia. India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability."

US envoy Sergio Gor earlier confirmed the exchange, noting that the dialogue focused on the ongoing situation, "Including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open." This outreach occurs as President Trump signalled a potential de-escalation in the US-Israel standoff with Iran, noting on Monday that his administration was already engaged in "productive" talks with Tehran.

Trump has extended his deadline for potential strikes on power plants by five days.While Iranian officials claimed the US President had backed down "following Iran's firm warning," reports from CBS suggest Tehran has "received points from the US through mediators and they are being reviewed."

Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, PM Modi underscored India's proactive role in navigating the crisis through constant communication with all stakeholders. "Since the start of the war, I have held two rounds of phone conversations with the heads of state of most countries in West Asia. We are in continuous contact with all the Gulf countries, and we are also in touch with Iran, Israel, and the United States," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister further highlighted that New Delhi is leveraging its diplomatic capital to protect its maritime and diaspora interests. "Through diplomacy, India is trying to ensure safe commutation of the country's ships even in a war situation. India has opted for a solution through dialogue to resolve this issue," PM Modi added, reiterating that the safety of the Indian community remains a "priority."

- ANI
PM Modi stresses need for united parliamentary voice on West Asia, highlights impact on energy, trade, and safety of Indians abroad.

New Delhi, March 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that as the West Asia conflict continues to escalate, it is essential that a "united voice of peace and dialogue" emanates from the Indian Parliament to the entire world.

He said that India's aim is to restore peace in the region through dialogue and diplomacy.



Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the ongoing West Asia conflict, PM Modi said, "We all are aware of the West Asia conflict... This conflict has been ongoing for over three years. This has led to an extreme energy crisis in the world. For India, too, this situation is concerning. Due to this war, our trade routes are being affected, and hence, the supply of essential commodities like petrol, diesel, gas and fertilisers is also being affected."



"Around one crore Indians currently reside in Gulf nations and work there. Their safety is also a matter of concern for India. Several ships with a significant number of Indian crew members are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz; this is also very concerning for India. In these critical circumstances, it is essential that a united voice of peace and dialogue emanates from this Upper House of the Indian Parliament to the entire world," PM Modi said.



After the conflict started, PM Modi said that he had held two-round talks with the heads of state of the maximum West Asian countries. "We are in constant contact with the Gulf nations, as well as Iran, Israel and America. Our aim is to restore peace in the region through dialogue and diplomacy," he said.



"We have also talked about de-escalation and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Attacks on commercial ships and closing Hormuz are unacceptable," he added.



The Prime Minister said that India has condemned attacks on civilians, civil infrastructure, energy facilities, and transport infrastructure.



"In these times of war, India, through diplomacy, is making every possible effort to ensure the safe return of the Indian ships," he said.



"In this war, danger to anyone's life is not in the interest of humanity. Therefore, India's constant effort is to encourage all parties to reach a peaceful solution as soon as possible," he added.





- IANS
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the conclusion of the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement following a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The agreement, reached after nearly a decade of work, is expected to save EU businesses 1 billion in tariffs and boost goods exports to Australia by 33% over the next decade. It includes protections for agricultural products through geographical indications and expands export opportunities for farmers. The deal also establishes cooperation on critical raw materials like rare earths and lithium and launches negotiations for Australia to join the EU's Horizon Europe research program.

EU and Australia conclude a major free trade deal, saving EU exporters 1B in tariffs and boosting critical minerals cooperation.

Canberra, March 24 President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Tuesday announced that the European Union and Australia have concluded a long-negotiated Free Trade Agreement following a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

In a post on X, von der Leyen said the agreement came after years of negotiations.

She said, "After almost a decade of work - we can say: we did it. We have concluded the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement. And it is such a win for both sides."

According to von der Leyen, the deal expands Europe's trade partnerships significantly, connecting markets across multiple regions.

In the joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, she said, "In less than two months, Europe added nearly two billion people to our free trade market. With agreements spanning 3 continents. From Latin America to India and now Australia. It's a true trade trilogy."

She said the agreement would provide immediate economic benefits for European businesses, exporters and farmers.

She added," For EU businesses, this agreement will deliver immediate, tangible benefits. EU exporters, producers and farmers will save 1 billion euros in tariffs. Our exports of goods to Australia are expected to grow by 33 per cent over the next decade."

Von der Leyen noted that the deal also includes protections for agricultural products through geographical indications, while offering expanded export opportunities for farmers.

She said, "And our farmers will benefit from greater export opportunities combined, as usual, with strong safeguards. With the protection of geographical indications, for example. It's a perfect balance."

In a separate X post, von der Leyen highlighted cooperation on critical minerals between the two partners.

She said, "Australia is one of the world's most important producers of critical raw material. In contrast, Europe is one of the world's major users."

She said both sides agreed on four major projects covering the production of rare earths, lithium and tungsten, key materials used in advanced technologies and the clean energy transition.

The two sides also agreed to launch negotiations on Australia's accession to Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship research and innovation programme, she added.

- ANI
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launches Sugam Digital Gujarat to digitize 20 high-transaction services like income & caste certificates, making them paperless.

Gandhinagar, March 24 Gujarat Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel, on Tuesday emphasised that the primary objective of government digital reforms is to make citizens' work easier, asserting that "the easier it is for people to get things done, the more satisfaction the system and the government will have."

The Chief Minister made the remarks during the formal launch of the 'Sugam Digital Gujarat' initiative in Gandhinagar.



The programme aims to make Gujarat's administrative machinery more modern and citizen-centric by transitioning high-volume public services from offline to online delivery.



The initiative, inaugurated in the presence of senior officials from the state administration, is said to be a significant step toward realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed India.



During the programme, the Chief Minister announced that, based on the recommendations of the fifth report of the Gujarat Administrative Reforms Commission (GARC), 20 high-transaction services from five key departments would now be available online.



The services, including income certificates, caste certificates, ration cards, and affidavits, will be faceless, cashless and paperless, reducing the need for citizens to visit government offices repeatedly.



Explaining the benefits of the initiative, CM Patel said: "We run many programmes, and these initiatives are a medium through which the government's work reaches people. If information about these services reaches households, citizens eligible for government schemes can fully benefit."



He highlighted the role of local officials in supporting citizens, noting: "When villagers first come into contact with government services, they interact with the Talati or Village Computer Entrepreneur (VCE). The more we promote how these services can be accessed online, the greater the benefit for both citizens and administration."



The Chief Minister also pointed to the importance of collaboration between officials and representatives, saying: "When citizens, elected representatives and government officials all work together at one level in the same direction, the results are remarkable and precise. In Gujarat, we have seen that regardless of circumstances, collective efforts yield accurate outcomes."



On the adoption of digital payments, Patel observed: "When the Prime Minister promoted digital payments, many wondered how it could work. Today, even ordinary and small vendors are using digital payments extensively. Citizens' cooperation has played a key role. When the government moves to resolve issues, citizens always support these efforts."



He further assured that fuel availability in the state remains stable, adding: "When we are together, no one will face difficulties; there is no shortage of diesel, petrol or gas."



Science and Technology Minister, Arjun Modhwadia described digitisation as "a gift of present-day India, present-day Gujarat and present-day leadership."



He recalled earlier efforts to reduce the gap between citizens and the government, including single-window systems and citizen service centres in rural and urban areas.



Chief Secretary, Manoj Kumar Das, emphasised the need to reduce queues in government offices: "It is the priority of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister that citizens should not have to wait in line for income, caste and other certificates. Millions of people standing in queues every year is not acceptable. Today, departments including revenue, health and energy are performing well using technology."



Das added that the Sugam Digital Gujarat platform allows citizens to complete most forms from home, with services accessible via phone or WhatsApp.



Authentication is based on barcodes and Aadhaar, and the system has been designed to accommodate up to one million users simultaneously.



The Chief Minister also announced the introduction of a digital locker system, ensuring citizens will not need to repeatedly submit the same documents for multiple services. "The aim is to make technology benefits reach every citizen," he said.



Officials noted the system is expected to streamline delivery of ration distribution, student scholarships, widow pensions, and other services, which will now be more transparent, faster, and largely digital.





- IANS
The Indian government is executing a large-scale repatriation effort for its nationals in West Asia following regional airspace closures and flight restrictions. Officials are utilizing alternative transit routes through countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia to facilitate safe passage. Nearly 375,000 passengers have returned to India since February 28, with hundreds of flights operating from the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The crisis was triggered by escalating conflict after the killing of Iran's former Supreme Leader, which led to severe disruptions in international waterways and air travel.

India facilitates return of nationals from West Asia using land corridors and secondary hubs as regional airspace closures disrupt flights.

New Delhi, March 24 The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday highlighted extensive efforts made by the Government of India to facilitate the return of Indian nationals from the Gulf and West Asia amid regional airspace closures and flight restrictions.

Addressing an interministerial briefing, Aseem R. Mahajan, Joint Secretary (Gulf) in the MEA, provided a detailed breakdown of current flight operations. "Today, around 85 flights are expected to operate from airports in the UAE to India. Flights continue to operate from Oman and Saudi Arabia to India," Mahajan stated, noting that despite the volatile situation, key corridors remain functional.

While some routes remain stable, others have required significant coordination with regional authorities to navigate restricted zones. "With the Qatar airspace partially open, Qatar Airways is expected to operate around nine non-scheduled commercial flights to India today. Kuwait and Bahrain airspaces remain closed," he added.

To manage the impact of these closures, the MEA has activated alternative transit routes through neighbouring countries to ensure the safe passage of citizens. Mahajan explained, "We continue to assist the travel of Indian nationals in Iran through Armenia and Azerbaijan to India. We are also facilitating travel of Indian nationals from Israel via Jordan to India."

He further emphasised that for those stuck in countries with total flight bans, the government is utilising overland and secondary hubs to maintain the flow of repatriations. "In view of the flight restrictions from Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq, we continue to facilitate travel of Indian nationals via Saudi Arabia," he noted.

Reflecting on the wider scale of the mission, the MEA had noted yesterday that nearly 375,000 passengers have returned to India from West Asia since February 28. During Monday's briefing, Mahajan confirmed that 95 flights had operated from the UAE alone, adding that "airlines continue to operate limited, non-scheduled flights based on operational and safety considerations."

The foreign ministry official further revealed that the government is closely monitoring the safety of those still in conflict zones, particularly in Iran. "Till date, 1,031 Indians, including 707 Indian students and 324 Indian citizens, have crossed out of Iran with our mission's assistance," he said, noting that students in Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz have been relocated to safer areas.

These emergency measures come amid a sharp escalation in regional conflict following the killing of Iran's former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28 in joint military strikes by the US and Israel. The subsequent retaliatory strikes and the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran have severely disrupted international waterways and global energy markets, necessitating the current repatriation efforts.

- ANI
The Gujarat Legislative Assembly has passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill 2026, establishing a common legal framework for civil matters like marriage, divorce, and inheritance across all communities. The legislation mandates compulsory registration of marriages and divorces, introduces uniform divorce procedures, and prohibits extra-judicial divorce. It ensures equal maintenance and inheritance rights for women and requires registration of live-in relationships for legal safeguards. Scheduled Tribes are exempted from the Code's provisions to protect their customs.

Gujarat passes UCC Bill for uniform marriage, divorce & inheritance laws. Includes mandatory marriage registration and live-in relationship rules.

Gandhinagar, March 24 The Gujarat Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill 2026, introducing a common legal framework for civil matters such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, and inheritance across communities and religions.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi described the development as "historic" and said the legislation had been enacted under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

"Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the government has passed the UCC in the Assembly," Sanghavi said in a statement after the passage of the Bill.

"No one is above the law. No citizen is below. Equal Gujarat. Empowered Gujarat," he added.

The state government said the legislation is aimed at ensuring equality before the law and addressing disparities arising from religion-based personal laws.

It maintained that the Code applies only to civil matters and does not interfere with religious beliefs or practices.

During the discussion in the House, Sanghavi said that while criminal laws in India apply uniformly to all citizens, civil rights related to marriage, divorce, and property have historically differed by religion.

He said the Bill seeks to remove such differences and establish a uniform system.

The legislation provides for compulsory registration of marriages and divorces, and introduces uniform grounds and procedures for divorce across communities.

It prohibits extra-judicial forms of divorce, making court-based legal processes mandatory.

The Bill also mandates monogamy and includes provisions to declare marriages void where identity has been concealed.

It further introduces penal provisions for cases involving fraud, coercion or misrepresentation in marriage, with specified punishment for offences.

The law also provides maintenance rights for women without restrictions tied to personal laws and ensures equal inheritance rights for daughters and wives.

The Bill includes provisions requiring registration of live-in relationships with local authorities, which the government said is intended to provide legal safeguards and accountability.

The government has clarified that Scheduled Tribes will be exempted from the provisions of the Code, in accordance with constitutional safeguards, and that their customs and traditions relating to marriage, divorce and inheritance will remain unaffected.

The state cited findings from a public consultation exercise conducted by a committee headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai.

According to the government, nearly 20 lakh suggestions were received through various channels, including post, email and an online portal. It said a majority of respondents supported uniform provisions in marriage, divorce, maintenance and property rights, as well as mandatory registration of marital events.

The move places Gujarat among states that have taken legislative steps towards implementing a Uniform Civil Code, after Uttarakhand, while Goa continues to have a long-standing common civil law framework.

The legislation will take effect after completion of the required legal procedures.

- IANS
The Gujarat Assembly is set to debate the Uniform Civil Code Bill, which Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi called a historic day for the state. The legislation aims to secure equal legal rights for women by creating a uniform framework for marriage, divorce, and inheritance, replacing religion-specific personal laws. The bill incorporates recommendations from a committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and includes provisions for mandatory marriage registration and live-in relationships. It follows the model of Uttarakhand's UCC and includes exemptions for Scheduled Tribes and customary rights groups.

Gujarat Assembly debates Uniform Civil Code Bill to grant equal legal rights to women, replacing religion-specific personal laws on marriage and inheritance.

Gandhinagar, March 24 Deputy Chief Minister, Harsh Sanghavi, on Tuesday said that the day would be "written in Gujarat's history in golden words," as the State Assembly prepared to debate the Uniform Civil Code Bill. The legislation is expected to be introduced by Sanghavi at around 2 P.M today.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Sanghavi said the Bill is designed to secure equal rights for women across the state.

"Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will present the UCC Bill today to ensure that all mothers, daughters and sisters in Gujarat are granted equal legal rights," he said.

Highlighting longstanding disparities in personal laws, Sanghavi noted that although India became independent in 1947, civil laws have continued to differ based on religion, community and caste.

"This has led to significant disadvantages for women. The new law will create a uniform legal framework for marriage, inheritance and related matters," he added.

"Through the UCC, Gujarat will establish a single law governing personal matters, applicable to everyone," Sanghavi said.

He expressed hope that the Bill would be passed following detailed discussion in the Assembly.

"This legislation is not aimed at any particular religion; it is intended for all citizens and guarantees equal rights under the law," he noted.

The Gujarat UCC Bill incorporates recommendations from a committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai.

It proposes a common civil framework to replace religionspecific personal laws and addresses marriage, divorce, succession and livein relationships.

Under the draft, marriage registration will be mandatory, though failure to register will not invalidate a marriage, but may attract penalties.

The Bill also sets formal procedures for relationships predating the law, includes inheritance provisions, and lists prohibited categories of relationships.

Certain exemptions have been outlined for Scheduled Tribes and customary rights groups.

The legislation follows the model of the Uniform Civil Code enacted in Uttarakhand and forms part of Gujarat's efforts to standardise civil laws in line with Article 44 of the Indian Constitution.

- IANS
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel chaired a statewide review meeting to assess fuel availability following panic buying triggered by rumors. Officials confirmed the situation is normal with adequate supplies of petrol, diesel, and LPG across all districts. The panic buying led to long queues and traffic disruptions in several major cities. The CM directed officials to ensure uninterrupted supply and appealed to citizens to avoid rumors and unnecessary purchases.

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel chairs review, assures adequate fuel stocks, and urges citizens to avoid panic buying triggered by rumors.

Gandhinagar, March 24 Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday chaired a statewide review meeting with district collectors to assess fuel availability, following panic buying triggered by rumours of shortages across several cities.

The meeting, held via video conference from Gandhinagar, reviewed the current stock position of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) across all districts.

A comprehensive assessment found that the situation remains normal, with adequate supplies of LPG, piped natural gas (PNG) and automotive fuels available across the state.

During the review, it was noted that a temporary surge in fuel sales had been observed in some areas due to unverified rumours.

However, the state government said timely replenishment of supplies is being ensured, and the overall distribution system remains stable.

The Chief Minister directed all district collectors to maintain continuous monitoring and ensure proper coordination so that the supply of essential fuels remains uninterrupted in every district and citizens do not face any inconvenience.

The meeting comes a day after widespread rumours led to long queues at petrol pumps in cities including Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara, prompting panic buying and a sharp spike in demand, with traffic disruptions in several areas.

Officials reiterated that there is no shortage of petrol or diesel in the state and that sufficient stock is available at depots and retail outlets.

The government has been conducting continuous reviews of fuel availability, with the Chief Minister personally monitoring the situation at regular intervals to ensure smooth supply.

Authorities also noted that any localised supply issues arising due to logistical or technical factors are being addressed promptly, with oil companies increasing supply and maintaining buffer stocks to meet demand.

The Chief Minister appealed to citizens to avoid panic buying, stating that adequate stock of petrol, diesel and gas is available across Gujarat.

People were urged to avoid rumours about fuel shortages and to refrain from making unnecessary purchases.

- IANS
The Ministry of Health has launched the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program to enhance early warning and response systems for biological threats. The NDMA has issued comprehensive guidelines covering bio-warfare and protocols for prevention and treatment. Concurrently, the Health Ministry will host a national event for World TB Day 2026 to showcase progress toward eliminating Tuberculosis. The initiatives represent a coordinated national effort to strengthen public health security and disaster management.

India's Health Ministry launches a disease surveillance program and NDMA issues bio-disaster guidelines to strengthen national preparedness against outbreaks and bio-terrorism.

New Delhi, March 24 In a move to bolster the country's preparedness against biological threats, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, has launched the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program. The initiative aims to provide early warnings and ensure prompt response to any bio-emergencies, including outbreaks and other public health crises.

To streamline crisis response, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been developed for effective management of such emergencies. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also issued guidelines addressing biological disasters, including bio-warfare and bio-terrorism. These guidelines outline potential bio-agents, their key characteristics, epidemiological clues for early detection, and protocols for prevention and treatment (NDMA).

Further strengthening operational readiness, battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been trained to manage bio-emergencies efficiently. Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai noted that the initiative is a step forward in ensuring coordinated, nationwide preparedness against biological threats.

Alongside this, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is set to commemorate World TB Day 2026 with a national-level event today at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The event will be presided over by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Jagat Prakash Nadda, according to an official release.

The event aims to highlight India's accelerated progress towards the elimination of Tuberculosis (TB), in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a TB-Mukt Bharat. It will serve as a platform to showcase key achievements, innovative strategies, and strengthened community engagement under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP).

- ANI
Actor R Madhavan has issued a clarification on Instagram regarding a scene in 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge' where his character smokes a cigarette while reciting lines from the Dasam Granth. He explained that the cigarette was extinguished before the sacred lines were delivered, ensuring no smoke was visible on screen. Madhavan emphasized the filmmakers' deep respect for the Sikh community and stated there was no intention to cause hurt. The film, a major commercial success, is directed by Aditya Dhar and stars Ranveer Singh.

Actor R Madhavan clarifies a scene in 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge' involving a cigarette and sacred verses, expressing deep respect for the Sikh community.

Mumbai, March 25 Actor R Madhavan has issued a clarification regarding a particular scene in his film 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge', following concerns raised about the portrayal of a sacred verse from the Dasam Granth while his character smokes a cigarette.

The actor took to Instagram to address the issue and assured his fans and the Sikh community that there was no disrespect intended.

In a heartfelt message, R Madhavan began, " (On behalf of Dhurandhar's entire family, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for showering us with so much love. Recently, we've learned that some people have been hurt by the fact that in one scene of this film, while reciting lines from Guru Gobind Singh's Dasam Granth, I smoked a cigarette, and it pained them. I assure you, this is absolutely not right.)

Madhavan explained that there had been a slight misunderstanding. " (Before this scene, before saying the lines, Aditya Dhar ji, who pays more attention to these things than I do, told me to extinguish the cigarette well before delivering the lines. So, no smoke would come out of my mouth, nor would there be any smoke on screen, and I wouldn't have a cigarette in my hand," he clarified.

He added, "" (So, I had properly extinguished the cigarette. And if you watch the scene, you won't see any smoke coming out of my mouth, nor is there any smoke anywhere in the frame, nor is there any trace of smoke until the end of that scene. Because we know this--we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.)

Madhavan emphasised that the filmmakers have a deep respect for the Sikh community and their values. "(We stand with the entire Sikh community. And we respect them a lot. I go to the Golden Temple before every film release of mine; everyone knows this. Please trust our belief)," he said, urging fans to understand the intent behind the scene.

The actor further clarified that the cigarette was part of his character's traits as Ajay Sanyal, a Director of the Intelligence Bureau. However, he reassured everyone that there was no intention to offend or disrespect any community through the portrayal.

Headlined by Ranveer Singh, the film has already emerged as a major commercial success, crossing Rs 700 crore worldwide since its release.

Produced by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, the project features a multi-starrer cast including Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Rakesh Bedi and Arjun Rampal.

'Dhurandhar: The Revenge', directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Aditya Dhar, released in theatres on March 19. The film is a sequel to 'Dhurandhar' (2025), which was the highest-grossing Hindi film of that year.

- ANI
India hosted a week-long BIMSTEC Youth Heritage and Sustainability Immersion Programme in Madhya Pradesh, involving over 80 young leaders from member nations. The program featured cultural immersion in Bhopal and an environmental leadership module in the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve. It was aligned with Prime Minister Modi's Mission LiFE and aimed to strengthen people-to-people connectivity. The initiative resulted in an enhanced appreciation of shared heritage and the establishment of a BIMSTEC Youth Sustainability Network for continued collaboration.

Over 80 young leaders from BIMSTEC nations joined a 7-day immersion in Madhya Pradesh focusing on cultural heritage and environmental leadership.

New Delhi, March 24 As part of the initiatives announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit to strengthen youth exchanges in BIMSTEC, the Ministry of External Affairs organised, in association with Bharat Scouts and Guides, the BIMSTEC Youth Heritage and Sustainability Immersion Programme from 17-23 March 2026 in the state of Madhya Pradesh, as per a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The seven-day immersive program saw the participation of over 80 young leaders from BIMSTEC nations. The initiative aimed to strengthen people-to-people connectivity while advancing cooperation in BIMSTEC's priority sectors of culture, environment, and youth engagement, as per MEA.

The first part of the program in Bhopal focused on cultural heritage immersion, where participants visited museums, heritage sites, and tribal community centres, and engaged in intercultural dialogue and reflection sessions. The second part took place in Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, where participants underwent an environmental leadership module featuring forest ecology workshops, sustainability projects, eco-tourism initiatives, adventure activities, and team-building exercises.

The programme was aligned with the Prime Minister's Mission LiFE initiative, promoting sustainable lifestyles and environmental stewardship among the youth, and was designed around experiential learning, peer dialogue, and collaborative projects. The Governor and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh interacted with the participants.

The programme achieved significant outcomes, including enhanced appreciation of shared cultural and environmental heritage, strengthened leadership and intercultural competencies among participants, and the establishment of a BIMSTEC Youth Sustainability Network to ensure continued collaboration. This initiative marks an important step in deepening regional engagement under the BIMSTEC framework and in empowering youth as ambassadors of cultural diplomacy and sustainable development, the MEA Statement said.

Earlier on March 16, Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Ranshir Jaiswal said in a post on X, "MEA, in partnership with Govt of Maharashtra, organised the 1st BIMSTEC Young Professionals Exchange Programme from 9 to 15 March, 2026 in Mumbai and Pune bringing together 30 young innovators, technology developers, entrepreneurs and other professionals from BIMSTEC member countries."

- ANI
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan met with the UK's Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth, in New Delhi to discuss bolstering defence ties. The talks focused on advancing training exchanges, intelligence collaboration, and integrated military engagement between the two nations. The meeting also reviewed the successful 17th Military Sub Group Meeting, expressing confidence in a deeper partnership. During his visit, the UK Air Chief also met with Indian Air Force Chief A P Singh to enhance operational cooperation and interoperability.

CDS Anil Chauhan meets UK's Air Chief to advance training, intelligence sharing, and integrated military engagement between India and the United Kingdom.

New Delhi, March 24 Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and UK's Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth held a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, with discussions focused on progress in training exchanges, intelligence collaboration and integrated military engagement between two nations.

In a statement on X, High Commission of India in London stated, "Advancing future-ready India UK defence engagement! General Anil Chauhan, CDS interacted with Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, Chief of Air Staff, Royal Air Force, with discussions focusing on progress in training exchanges, intelligence collaboration and integrated military engagement."

During the meeting, General Anil Chauhan commended the successful conduct of the 17th Military Sub Group Meeting and expressed confidence in advancing a deeper, more integrated and future-ready defence engagement between India and the UK.

UK's High Commissioner to India, Lindy Cameron and other officials were also present during the meeting.

"General Anil Chauhan, CDS interacted with Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth, Chief of Air Staff, Royal Air Force, reaffirming the growing strength of India-United Kingdom Defence Partnership. Exchange of Instructors continues to be a key pillar of the bilateral cooperation matrix, alongside significant strides in enhancing Defence Intelligence collaboration," Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff wrote on X.

"The CDS commended the successful conduct of the 17th Military Sub Group Meeting and expressed confidence in advancing a deeper, more Integrated and future-ready Defence engagement," it added.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth, who is on an official visit to India, met Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Monday, with discussions focused on enhancing operational cooperation, interoperability and strengthening air power ties.

"Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Air Force, on an official visit to India, called on Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force. Discussions focused on enhancing operational cooperation, interoperability and strengthening bilateral air power ties," the IAF stated.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth also paid homage to Bravehearts of Indian Armed Forces at National War Memorial in New Delhi on Monday.

- IANS
India's mainboard IPO market has set a new record in FY26, with 99 companies raising Rs 1.65 lakh crore, surpassing the previous year's total. In contrast, the SME segment saw a moderation in both the number of IPOs and total funds raised. The financial services sector dominated mainboard fundraising, while industrial firms led in the SME segment. Regionally, companies based in Maharashtra raised the highest amount of capital across the markets.

India's mainboard IPOs raise a record Rs 1.65 lakh crore in FY26, while SME activity moderates. Discover the key sectors and regional trends.

New Delhi, March 24 India's primary market has remained strong in the financial year 2025-26 so far, with record fundraising on the mainboard even as activity in the SME segment slowed slightly, according to NSE's Market Pulse report for March 2026 on Tuesday.

The mainboard IPO segment continued its strong performance during the year. Between April and February, as many as 99 companies launched their public issues, raising a total of Rs 1.65 lakh crore.



This is higher than the previous financial year, when 79 IPOs collectively mobilised Rs 1.62 lakh crore. The rise reflects steady investor interest in large public offerings.



On the other hand, the SME segment showed some moderation. A total of 105 IPOs were launched on the NSE Emerge platform during FY26 so far, raising Rs 5,121 crore. This is lower compared to FY25, when 163 SME IPOs raised over Rs 7,000 crore.



Overall, across both segments, 204 companies raised Rs 1.70 lakh crore through IPOs during FY26 to date. In comparison, 242 companies had raised Rs 1.69 lakh crore in the previous year. This indicates that while the number of IPOs declined, the total funds raised remained strong due to larger issue sizes.



The report also highlighted a steady increase in the average size of SME IPOs. The average issue size has grown significantly over the years -- from Rs 13 crore in FY20 to Rs 44 crore in FY25, and further to around Rs 50 crore in FY26 so far. This suggests that the SME fundraising ecosystem is becoming more mature.



Sector-wise, financial services companies dominated mainboard fundraising, contributing 34 per cent of the total. Consumer discretionary firms followed with 31 per cent, while industrial companies accounted for 11 per cent. In the SME segment, industrial companies led with a 36 per cent share, followed by consumer discretionary at 23 per cent and materials at 10 per cent.



Regionally, companies based in Maharashtra raised the highest funds at Rs 5,830 crore. Gujarat-based firms followed with Rs 4,794 crore, while companies from Delhi raised Rs 3,643 crore. Maharashtra also topped in terms of market capitalisation of listed SME firms at Rs 48,428 crore, followed closely by Gujarat and Delhi.





- IANS
Instagram has introduced a highly requested feature that allows users to reorder the images and videos within a carousel post after it has been published. The update enables a simple drag-and-drop action within the post's edit menu. While the feature is rolling out, it may not be immediately available to all users globally. It's important to note that this update only allows for reordering, not for adding new media to an existing carousel.

Instagram now allows users to reorder photos and videos in carousel posts after publishing. Learn how to use the new drag-and-drop feature.

Los Angeles, March 24 If you love posting multiple photos and videos in a carousel post on Instagram but have been frustrated by not being able to reorder them after uploading, worry not. Instagram has now updated this feature.

The new feature allows users to easily reorder images or videos in a carousel by simply long-pressing and dragging them to their desired position.



As per 9to5mac, here's how to reorder a carousel:



Tap on your profile, then tap on a carousel post;Tap the "..." menu in the top right corner;Tap "Edit";Long-press a photo or video, then drag it left or right to reorder it.



Carousel reordering might not be accessible to all users at the moment, but this feature could become available to everyone soon.



PS: This is only a reordering feature. Adding new media to an existing carousel is still not possible.



In August 2024, the platform expaned the carousel limit to 20 images or videos, allowing for richer and more detailed storytelling.





- ANI
Ajinkya Rahane and Cameron Green provided the fireworks with rapid half-centuries in Kolkata Knight Riders' second intra-squad practice match. Batting first for the Golden Knights, they powered their side to a formidable total of 249 for 5, aided by late cameos from Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh. In reply, the Purple Knights, led by Manish Pandey, fell short despite contributions from Tim Seifert and Rahul Tripathi. KKR will now begin their official IPL 2026 campaign against the Mumbai Indians on March 29.

Ajinkya Rahane & Cameron Green scored quick fifties as KKR's intra-squad match saw 249 runs. Ramandeep Singh's cameo & bowling highlights inside.

Kolkata, March 24 Skipper Ajinkya Rahane and the franchise's big buy Cameron Green struck quickfire fifties, while Ramandeep Singh also played a fiery cameo during Kolkata Knight Riders' second intra-squad warm-up match at Kolkata.

On Monday, it was the Golden Knights, led by Rahane, up against the Purple Knights, led by veteran Manish Pandey in action.

The Golden Knights were batting first, with Rahane and New Zealand star Finn Allen as their opening pair. Allen played a cameo of 15-ball 31, which included an audacious ramp that went for six. Rahane played a brilliant knock of 58 in 25 balls, putting on a partnership with Green, who went on to score a 30-ball 52. The Aussie star also put on a partnership with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who scored a 17-ball 23.

Towards the end, Rinku Singh (24 in eight balls) and Ramandeep (42 in 16 balls) played valuable cameos to take the team to 249/5. Umran Malik (0/44 in three overs) had a forgettable outing with the ball.

Purple Knights could only score 188/9 in 20 overs in reply while chasing 190 runs. Tim Seifert (10 in 9 balls) and Rachin Ravindra (3 in 6 balls) had a rusty outing. The uncapped batter Tejasvi Dahiya looked good, but scored just 23. Manish Pandey also scored a decent 22 before Seifert-Rachin had a second go with the bat. While Rachin did not get much success, Seifert made a well-made 42. Rahul Tripathi also scored a quickfire 43.

Blessing Muzarabani (1/41 in four overs) and Kartik Tyagi (three wickets) were impressive with the ball.

KKR will start their campaign against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on March 29 in Mumbai.

- ANI
US President Donald Trump stated that Iran has agreed not to possess a nuclear weapon, citing positive ongoing discussions. He announced the temporary postponement of planned US military strikes to allow for a potential broader agreement. However, Iran's Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, immediately rejected Trump's claims, asserting no such talks have occurred and accusing the US of market manipulation. Trump also detailed extensive military actions taken to dismantle Iran's defense capabilities.

US President Trump says Iran agreed to forgo nuclear weapons in ongoing talks, as Iran's Speaker rejects claims of negotiations.

Washington DC, March 24 US President Donald Trump on Monday said Iran has agreed not to possess a nuclear weapon.

Speaking at the Memphis Safe Task Force Roundtable, Trump said, "We are now having really good discussions. They started last night, a little bit the night before that. I think they're very good. They want peace. They've agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon. But we'll see. Hopefully, we can make a deal that's good for all of us, including the Middle Eastern allies that have been very good to us, including Israel, which has been a great partner in this fight. But we'll see what happens. I think there's a very good chance we're going to end up in a deal."

"As I announced earlier, based on preliminary conversations between the United States and Iran over the past two days, I've directed the Department of War to temporarily postpone planned strikes against major energy and electricity targets in Iran...to determine whether a broader agreement can be reached," says Trump on Operation Epic Fury.

Trump continued, "Now, Iran has one more opportunity to end its threats to America and our allies, and we hope they take it. Either way, America and the entire world will soon be much safer."

He also said that they have annihilated their defence industrial base, eliminating their Navy.

"We've annihilated their defence industrial base, eliminating their Navy. We eliminated their Air Force. We eliminated all of their air defence. Everything. We eliminated their leaders. Then the second set, 88 people, met to pick a new leader. And they're now extinguished. And then they're meeting again. But now nobody wants to be the leader. It's one of the few political jobs that nobody wants anywhere in the world. Nobody wants it," he said.

Trump further said that they were systematically dismantling the regime's ability to threaten America.

"It's a very dangerous job. My job is dangerous, too, but their job is worse. In other words, we're systematically dismantling the regime's ability to threaten America. They're not threatening us anymore. As Commander-in-Chief, it's my sacred responsibility to protect our country from all threats," he said.

However, Speaker of Iran's Parliament, MB Ghalibaf, on Monday slammed US President Donald Trump, rejecting the latter's claims regarding ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, asserting that no such talks have taken place.

Ghalibaf rejected the US President's claims, stating that the remarks were made to "manipulate the financial and oil markets", which have seen much disruption amid the conflict.

- ANI
The US State Department has issued an urgent warning for all American citizens to leave Iraq immediately. This follows widespread attacks by Iran-aligned terrorist militias on US citizens and associated targets throughout the country, including the Kurdistan region. A separate worldwide caution advises Americans, especially in the Middle East, to exercise increased vigilance as groups supportive of Iran may target US interests overseas. The US Mission in Iraq remains open on an ordered departure status to assist citizens, but all routine consular services are suspended.

US State Department issues urgent travel warning for Iraq and worldwide caution due to attacks by Iran-aligned militias on American citizens and interests.

Washington DC, March 24 The US State Department said that Iran-aligned terrorist militias have conducted widespread attacks on US citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, as it cautioned the nationals to leave the country immediately.

In a post on X, it said, "Iraq: Iran-aligned terrorist militias have conducted widespread attacks on U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR). U.S. citizens should leave Iraq now. U.S. Mission Iraq remains open while on ordered departure to assist U.S. citizens in Iraq. Do not attempt to come to the embassy in Baghdad or the consulate general in Erbil in light of ongoing risk of missiles, drones, and rockets in Iraqi airspace. All routine consular services remain suspended, including all visa services. Americans should contact BaghdadACS@state.gov or ErbilACS@state.gov in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy in Iraq reminds U.S. citizens of the Level 4: Do Not Travel warning for Iraq. U.S. citizens are advised: "Do not travel to Iraq for any reason. Leave now if you are there.""

Earlier on Saturday, the US Department of State on Saturday (local time) issued a worldwide warning for its citizens, saying that Iranian supporters may attack US citizens.

The warning said that the citizens must follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest US embassy or consulate.

"Worldwide Caution: The Department of State advises Americans worldwide, and especially in the Middle East, to exercise increased caution. Americans abroad should follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. Periodic airspace closures may cause travel disruptions. U.S. diplomatic facilities, including outside the Middle East, have been targeted. Groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or locations associated with the United States and/or Americans throughout the world."

- ANI
Iran has appointed Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as the new Secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, succeeding Ali Larijani who was killed in an Israeli attack last week. The appointment was made with the approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian. Zolqadr is a veteran commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps with decades of experience in military, security, and judicial roles. Israel's military stated that Larijani was a senior regime figure who oversaw the crackdown on protesters and led combat against Israel.

Veteran IRGC commander Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr replaces Ali Larijani, killed by Israel, as Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Tehran, March 24 Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr has been appointed as the new Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani who was killed in an Israeli attack last week, the Iranian media reported on Tuesday quoting a statement issued by Mehdi Tabatabai, the Iranian President's Public Relations aide.

It was stated that Zolqadr has been appointed with the approval and consent of leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei and by the decree of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Zolqadr, a veteran commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), used to serve as the Secretary of the Expediency Council.

"According to insiders, he brings decades of experience across Iran's military, security, and judicial institutions to the post at a critical juncture. He previously served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for Basij affairs, and held senior positions in the judiciary for nearly a decade," leading Iranian network PressTV reported adding that in the late 1980s, Zolqadr served for eight years as head of the IRGC Joint Staff during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He then spent another eight years as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC.

Last week, Israel announced that it has killed Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani.

In a statement shared on X, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated that Larjiani was considered one of the most senior figures in the Iranian regime leadership and a close associate of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and the regime's effective leader, has been eliminated. Throughout the years, Larijani was considered one of the most veteran and senior figures within the Iranian regime leadership, and was a close associate of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei," IDF posted on X on March 17.

"During the most recent wave of protests against the Iranian terror regime, Larijani personally oversaw the massacre that was carried out against Iranian protestors," it added.

IDF mentioned that, after Khamenei's death, Larijani functioned as the leader of the Iranian regime and led the combat against Israel and countries in the region.

- IANS
Iran has appointed veteran military commander Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as the new Secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, replacing the assassinated Ali Larijani. The appointment was made by presidential decree with the endorsement of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei. Concurrently, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps announced a new wave of missile and drone strikes targeting sensitive Israeli locations, including Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat. The IRGC described the operation as a significant escalation, with missiles raining down on enemy targets as domestic rallies showed support for the Republic.

Veteran commander Baqer Zolqadr replaces assassinated Ali Larijani as Iran's top security official as IRGC launches new missile strikes on Israel.

Tehran, March 24 Tehran has announced the appointment of Veteran military commander and strategist Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as the new Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabai, the Deputy for Communications and Information at the Iranian President's Office, announced it in a post on X on Tuesday.

Zolqadr has been appointed to the top security chair by a direct presidential decree and with the endorsement of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei.

He replaces Ali Larijani, who was assassinated in the Israeli-American strike last week. Larijani had served in the position since August 2025.

According to Iranian media, Zolqadr brings decades of experience across Iran's military, security, and judicial institutions to the post at a critical juncture.

He previously served as deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for Basij affairs, and held senior positions in the judiciary for nearly a decade.

Zolqadr served for eight years as head of the IRGC Joint Staff during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He then spent another eight years as deputy commander-in-chief of the IRGC.

Earlier, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced staging the 78th wave of its retaliatory Operation True Promise 4. IRGC claimed it was targeting highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.

In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was levelling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."

According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israel's nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.

This was the second time the IRGC was hitting Dimona.

- ANI
The White House has labeled reports of a planned meeting between US and Iranian officials in Islamabad as speculative, refusing to confirm any details. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that sensitive diplomatic discussions would not be negotiated through the press and that only formal announcements should be considered final. The reports, citing unnamed Israeli officials, suggest mediating countries are attempting to arrange a meeting as soon as this week. Meanwhile, a US official expressed confidence in the Trump administration's approach to Iran amid fluctuating oil prices.

White House Press Secretary says reports of US-Iran officials meeting in Pakistan are speculative and not final until formally announced.

Washington DC, March 24 US White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said nothing concrete could be said as of now over the reports claiming that US Vice President JD Vance, US Special Presidential Envoy for Peace Missions, Steve Witkoff and Businessman and former Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, Jared Kushner, will meet with Iranian officials in Islamabad.

In response to an ANI query, Leavitt said that it should not be deemed as final until it is formally announced by the White House.

Leavitt responded, "These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House."

The Times of Israel reported about an unnamed Israeli official who said that mediating countries are trying to convene a meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, between the US and Iran -- possibly as soon as later this week.

Meanwhile, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says he has "tremendous confidence" in the engagement Trump claims to have had with Iran.

"President Trump is going to resolve it, and I'm very confident that as dealmaker-in-chief, he's going to come out of this with a winning deal for Americans," he said, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

When asked to explain how the Strait of Hormuz's effective closure has affected the administration's thinking in relation to oil supply chains, Burgum claimed Trump "knew this on day one," as reported by Al Jazeera.

"We've been completely aware of this thing," he said, as per Al Jazeera.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 10.9 per cent to settle at USD 99.94, down from nearly USD 120 at one point last week. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1 per cent for its best day since the war began, as per Al Jazeera.

- ANI
Former diplomat Suresh Goel argues that a temporary US 'military pause' is insufficient to end the conflict with Iran, stressing that Israel must be a direct participant in any negotiations. He emphasizes the need for a solid political agreement between the US, Israel, and Iran that addresses core security concerns and regional influence. Meanwhile, Iranian military spokespersons report continued attacks on US forces and Israeli cities, vowing to use all capabilities to ensure security. Iran also denies any negotiations with the United States have occurred since the war's onset.

Former diplomat Suresh Goel says US 'military pause' insufficient; a tripartite political agreement with Israel is key to ending the Iran conflict.

Noida, March 24 On US President Donald Trump's 'military pause' statement and Iran refuting it, former diplomat Suresh Goel said that for the war to end, Israel must also participate with America.

Goel, while talking to ANI, said that a solid political agreement should be drawn between the three.

He said, "It's a good thing if the war is being halted for five days. For the war to end, US participation alone would not suffice. Israel should be present in the talks with Iran. A solid political agreement should be drawn between the three, in which all three can be confident that a permanent solution will be found through the proposed conditions. Iran will definitely talk about its security, as it is not being attacked anymore. Israel wants its influence to increase in this area. Till the time its agenda is not fulfilled, will Israel agree to end this war?"

Meanwhile, Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari said that Iran will "use every capability to ensure security as necessary", as reported by Al Jazeera.

As per Al Jazeera, Zolfaghari said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has carried out "extensive attacks" in Iraq's Erbil.

Forces have also targeted US forces at al-Dhafra airbase in the UAE and Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan base, as well as the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Iran has launched missiles at the cities of Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Haifa and the Gush Dan area in Israel. The IRGC reiterates that the "deceitful" behaviour of Trump will not make Iran "neglect the war front and the battle with the adversary, because the enemy's psychological operations have become apparent," Al Jazeera reported.

The US and Israel will continue to retreat, as per Al Jazeera.

However, Iran said that no negotiations or discussions with the United States have taken place since the start of the war.

- ANI
Six people were lightly injured after an Iranian missile carrying about 100 kilograms of explosives struck central Tel Aviv, damaging buildings and vehicles. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced its 78th wave of retaliatory strikes, targeting "highly sensitive" Israeli locations and several U.S. military bases in the region. The conflict has widened, with reports of an Israeli attack on a petrol station in southern Lebanon and power outages in Kuwait from intercepted shrapnel. A Human Rights Watch report alleges Iranian forces deliberately targeted civilian commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating concerns over war crimes and global energy security.

Six injured as Iranian missile hits Tel Aviv; IRGC launches new wave of strikes on Israeli & US targets amid widening West Asia conflict.

Tel Aviv, March 24 Six people have been lightly injured after an Iranian missile hit Tel Aviv, the Times of Israel reported on Tuesday.

It mentioned a Chanel 12 that cited police who said that a munition carrying about 100 kilograms of explosives impacted central Tel Aviv. Multiple buildings and vehicles were damaged in the attack. Missile parts also impacted in Rosh Ha'ayin, east of Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, Press TV said on Tuesday that Imam Ali Hospital in the city of Andimeshk has been evacuated and is no longer in service after direct attacks by the US and Israel.

As tensions continue to rise in West Asia and the Gulf region, Al Jazeera Breaking reported that an Israeli attack has hit a petrol station in southern Lebanon, which triggered a huge explosion and fire. It added that the Israeli army had issued displacement orders to residents.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced the 78th wave of its retaliatory campaign, " Operation True Promise 4", targeting Israeli sites and several United States military bases in the region, according to Press TV.

In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC said the latest phase of the operation involved missile and drone strikes against " highly sensitive" Israeli targets, such as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat, as well as several US military bases across the region.

The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."

According to Press TV, the Corps described the new phase as a significant escalation, saying missiles were launched while millions of people in Iran held large rallies with "clenched fists" expressing support for the government.

Also in Kuwait early Tuesday, seven overhead power transmission lines have gone out of service in several areas of the country due to damage caused by falling shrapnel resulting from air defence systems' interception operations, according to Anadolu News Agency.

According to Anadolu, this led to partial power outages in some regions, the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said in a statement on X, citing spokeswoman Fatima Abbas Jawhar Hayat.

Amid these developments, a fresh report from the Human Rights watch on Tuesday claimed that the Iranian forces have appeared to deliberately target at least two civilian commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month on March 11-- which would amount to war crimes.

Security situation continues to evolve in West Asia and Gulf after US-Israel launched military operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion against Iran. The strikes resulted in the death of key leaders of Iranian leadership and has since then seen attacks on military assets as well as energy infrastructure. With the conflict in its fourth week now, the impact has been felt across the region and the world at large, with tensions around the Strait of Hormuz that has also intensified concerns over global energy security, with supply bottlenecks and damaged infrastructure.

- ANI
The Israeli Defence Forces announced over 50 overnight military strikes targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command centers, weapons storage, and aerial defense systems. This is part of a broader campaign, with the IDF claiming over 3,000 strikes on Iran since the start of Operation Roaring Lion. Regional tensions are sharply escalating, with reports of explosions in Baghdad, an Iranian missile hitting Tel Aviv, and attacks on infrastructure in Lebanon and Iran. The conflict, now in its fourth week, is raising intense global concerns over energy security and regional stability.

IDF conducts 3000+ strikes on Iran, hits command centers & missile sites. Explosions reported in Baghdad, Tel Aviv hit as regional tensions soar.

Tel Aviv, March 24 Israeli Defence Forces said on Tuesday that it conducted over 50 overnight military strikes on the targets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and attacked its command centres, weapons storage facilities and aerial defence systems.

Sharing the details in a post on X, the Israeli Defence Forces said that it has conducted over 3000 strikes across Iran since the start of Operation Roaring Lion.

The IDF wrote on X, "3,000+ strikes across Iran since the start of Operation Roaring Lion. Yesterday, the IDF targeted IRGC command centers, weapons storage facilities, and aerial defense systems. Overnight, an additional 50+ targets were struck, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites."

As tensions continue to escalate in the region, Al Jazeera Breaking reported in Tuesday that explosions were heard in Baghdad. It further mentioned that the death toll rose to 14 after a US airstrike on PMF base in Iraq.

Al Jazeera Breaking cited Iranian media and said that energy infrastructure in the country was attacked.

It also noted that Bahrain said a fire broke out at a facility due to "criminal Iranian aggression".

Six people have been lightly injured after an Iranian missile hit Tel Aviv, the Times of Israel reported on Tuesday.

It mentioned a Chanel 12 report that cited police who said that a munition carrying about 100 kilograms of explosives impacted central Tel Aviv. Multiple buildings and vehicles were damaged in the attack. Missile parts also impacted in Rosh Ha'ayin, east of Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, Press TV said on Tuesday that Imam Ali Hospital in the city of Andimeshk has been evacuated and is no longer in service after direct attacks by the US and Israel.

As tensions continue to rise in West Asia and the Gulf region, Al Jazeera Breaking reported that an Israeli attack has hit a petrol station in southern Lebanon, which triggered a huge explosion and fire. It added that the Israeli army had issued displacement orders to residents.

As the security situation evolves in the region, Arab News has cited Israeli Media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth to report that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was prepared to negotiate with the Americans.Ahrnaooth cited a coversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. intermediary Steve Witkoff which was approved by the highest level in Iran.

The key development comes as the conflict between US-Israel and Iran has now entered into its fourth week--with ripple effects being felt beyond West Asia and the Gulf region as concerns intensify over global energy security, with supply bottlenecks and damaged infrastructure- civilian, military and energy.

- ANI
Israeli media, citing a U.S. intermediary, reports that Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is prepared to negotiate with the United States. This comes as President Donald Trump suggested the vital Strait of Hormuz could be "jointly controlled" by the U.S. and Iran following successful talks. Trump announced a delay in U.S. military strikes against Iranian energy sites, citing ongoing "very good and productive" diplomatic engagements. The conflict, now in its fourth week, has choked global energy supplies as the strait is a critical transit route for a quarter of the world's seaborne oil.

Israeli media claims Iran's new Supreme Leader is prepared for US talks, as Trump suggests joint control of the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing conflict.

Riyadh, March 24 Arab News has cited Israeli Media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth to report that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was prepared to negotiate with the Americans.

Ahrnaooth cited a coversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. intermediary Steve Witkoff which was approved by the highest level in Iran.

Earlier, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry had dismissed US President Donald Trump's claims of talks with Iran, saying Tehran has had no negotiations with Washington over the past 24 days of the unprovoked US-Israel war against the Islamic Republic.

The key development comes after United States President Donald Trump on Monday said the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route, will be "open very soon" amid the conflict in West Asia and suggested that he envisions it being managed jointly by the US and Iran.

Speaking to reporters in Florida, Trump said that the strait will be "open very soon" if ongoing negotiations with Tehran continue successfully.

He added that he and the newly appointed Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, will "jointly" control the critical shipping and global energy route.

"It'll be jointly controlled. Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah is," the US President added.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical transit route that normally handles 15 million barrels per day of crude oil and 5 million barrels per day of oil products, representing roughly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade.

However, due to the conflict in the region, the waterway has been considered high-risk for transit, choking the global energy supply.

Trump also highlighted that the recent early strikes in the conflict had targeted much of Iran's senior leadership, saying, "And there'll also be a very serious form of regime change. There's automatically a regime change," and noted that talks over the weekend showed potential to reduce tensions.

Commenting on the individuals involved in negotiations, Trump said, "But we're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are, they're very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for."

Earlier, the US President announced that he had instructed the US Department of War to delay any military action against Iranian power plants and energy sites for five days, citing ongoing diplomatic engagements with Tehran amid escalating tensions in West Asia.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive conversations" over the past two days aimed at resolving hostilities in the region.

He added that the decision to pause strikes was based on the "tenor and tone" of the discussions, which he described as "in-depth, detailed, and constructive". Trump further stated that the conversations will continue through the week.

The key development comes as the conflict between US-Israel and Iran has now entered into its fourth week--with ripple effects being felt beyond West Asia and the Gulf region as concerns intensify over global energy security, with supply bottlenecks and damaged infrastructure- civilian, military and energy.

- ANI
Hundreds of Shia Muslims gathered at an Imambara in Chanderkot, Ramban, to donate money, household utensils, and precious gold and silver jewellery for the people of conflict-affected Iran. Women and children contributed their ornaments, including bangles and earrings, while a man even donated a sheep. Similar solidarity drives were reported in Budgam, where a stall was set up at a mosque to collect jewellery and cash. Community members stated they are providing financial aid to support Iran's cause and raise their voices against oppression, as physical presence on the battlefield is not possible.

Shia Muslims in Ramban and Budgam donate gold, jewellery, cash, and livestock to support people affected by the conflict in Iran.

Ramban, March 24 Hundreds of people from the Shia community gathered at the Imambara in Chanderkot on Tuesday to provide financial and material aid to those affected by the ongoing conflict in Iran. The mass donation drive saw locals contributing everything from household utensils to precious jewellery to support the distressed population across the border.

The Shias of the Chanderkot area in Ramban district en masse gave different types of donations for the hapless people of war-hit Iran. People from the Shia community donated money, utensils, gold and silver, and children donated their piggy banks.

Women donated her gold and silver ornaments. They even took off the bangles and earrings from their children and donated them for the sake of the people of war-ravaged Iran. A man also donated his sheep.

Bushra Shakir, while speaking to ANI, said, "I have come here to donate money in support of Iran, alongside many others who have gathered for the same cause. Everyone should support Iran. We have high hopes for the new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and believe Iran will be victorious this time. We will celebrate Eid when Iran wins. I am here today with my 'Gullak' (money-box) to make my donation."

Similarly, locals in Budgam have donated gold, silver, and cash to support Iran in the wake of the Gulf War crisis, showing their solidarity with the country.

Speaking to ANI, Mohsin Ali from Budgam said a stall has been set up at Masjid Imam Zaman with the sincere purpose of collecting donations.

"At Masjid Imam Zaman, we have set up a stall with the sincere purpose of collecting donations. Our mothers and sisters are contributing jewellery, copper, and cash so that we can support Iran in its current situation," Mohsin Ali said.

He said that since they cannot go to Iran to support, they can at least provide financial aid to support Iran and to serve humanity.

"Since it is not currently within our power to physically go there to suppot, we are in a position where we can at least provide financial assistance. We have gathered here for this financial aid to support Iran and to serve humanity," he said.

He further added that Iran has stood up against the oppressor, and by supporting Iran's cause, we are helping the oppressed and raising our voices against the oppressor.

"Iran has essentially stood up against the oppressor and in support of the oppressed. By supporting Iran's cause, we are helping the oppressed and raising our voices against the oppressor. Since we cannot be there on the battlefield ourselves, we have chosen to provide financial support so they can defend their system and fight against the enemy," he added.

- ANI
English actor John Boyega has hinted at a potential return to the Star Wars franchise, confirming he has been in talks with Lucasfilm. The actor, who played Finn in the sequel trilogy, made the revelation during a panel at MEGACON Orlando. Boyega has previously shared his own vision for the sequels, stating he would have preserved the legacy of original characters like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. The next Star Wars film, 'The Mandalorian + Grogu', is scheduled for release in May 2026.

John Boyega hints at returning as Finn in Star Wars, confirming talks with Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni. The actor also shares his vision for the sequels.

Los Angeles, March 24 English actor John Boyega might have just set up a potential 'Star Wars' return. The actor has been in talks with Lucasfilm about his return to the franchise.

The 34-year-old star portrayed Finn in the sci-fi film franchise's sequel trilogy, 'The Rise of Skywalker', 'The Force Awakens', and 'The Last Jedi', and he could be set to resume his part in a galaxy not so far away, reports 'Female First UK'.



During an appearance on a panel at MEGACON Orlando, Boyega was asked about potentially reprising his role for future Star Wars projects.



One fan said, "Get Dave (Filoni, Lucasfilm president) on the phone".



Boyega then dropped a huge hint that he's already had conversations with Filoni, as he said, "I actually have, actually".



'Star Wars' fans don't have long to wait for the next film in the franchise. The Mandalorian + Grogu starring Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White, is to drop on May 22, 2026.



As per 'Female First UK', it will be the first Star Wars movie since 2019's 'The Rise of Skywalker'. Last year, Boyega told how he would've made big changes to the Star Wars sequels if he produced them himself.



According to Popverse.com, he said at Florida Supercon 2025, "If I was a producer on Star Wars from the beginning, you would have had a whole completely different thing. It would be mad. First of all, we're not getting rid of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, all these people. We're not doing that. The first thing we're going to do is fulfil their story, fulfil their legacy. We're going to make a good moment of handing on the baton".



John Boyega would have looked at the stories from Star Wars' online video games, The Old Republic and Force Unleashed, to expand the film franchise's universe.





- IANS
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has formally requested Law Minister Kiren Rijiju to convene an all-party meeting to discuss proposed amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act. The government plans to use 2011 census data for delimitation, bypassing delays for a new census, which could increase Lok Sabha seats to 816. A key amendment would reserve 273 of these seats for women, aiming for implementation by the 2029 general elections. The opposition supports women's reservation but seeks consensus on the details of seat distribution and the delimitation process.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge writes to Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, demanding an all-party consultation on amending the Nari Shakti Vandan Act.

New Delhi, March 24 Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju, urging the Government to convene an All-Party meeting to discuss the proposed amendment to the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023.

In his letter, Kharge stated that the Government appears to be planning a further amendment to the Constitution Amendment passed in September 2023. He emphasised that all Opposition parties reiterate their demand for an All-Party meeting to deliberate on the proposed changes.

Kharge suggested that, to make the meeting productive, the Government should circulate a note detailing the exact proposals. He further requested that the meeting be held after the current round of Assembly elections concludes on April 29, 2026.

As per the top sources, the Government has planned two major amendments. 2023's Nari Shakti Vandan Act tied women's reservation to the new census and delimitation. Due to census delays, the plan is to proceed with the 2011 census data. The 2011 census is to be the basis for delimitation and seat redistribution. Lok Sabha seats may increase from 543 to 816 post-amendment.

A bill will be introduced in Parliament to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Act.

A separate Delimitation Bill will be introduced. Both bills need to be passed as Constitutional amendments for women's reservation. The new Lok Sabha is likely to have more than 800 seats. Keeping up with the status quo, there is no provision for OBC reservation, and SC/ST reservation will continue. However, states won't have a role; the bill passed by Parliament will apply to them.

Currently, the Lok Sabha has 543 seats. With a proposed 50% increase, the number of seats will rise to 816, with 273 (about a third) reserved for women.

The government's key point is that they won't wait for a new census to give women, comprising half the country's population, fair representation in Parliament. Instead, delimitation will be done using the 2011 census data.

The Home Minister led a crucial meeting with NDA parliamentary floor leaders, discussing the amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act. Shah has briefed several opposition leaders on the proposed plan. The opposition supports women's reservation, but discussions are ongoing to build consensus on seat distribution and delimitation.

If passed, this bill will be India's biggest democratic shift since independence, giving the country 273 women MPs by 2029. The 2029 general elections will see contests on 816 Lok Sabha seats, changing the majority mark from 272 (for 543 seats) to 409.

- ANI
Kirsten Dunst joins the cast of 'The Housemaid's Secret,' the sequel to the 2025 thriller, alongside Sydney Sweeney. Filming starts this fall.

Los Angeles, March 24 Hollywood actress Kirsten Dunst has joined the cast of 'The Housemaid's Secret'. The 43-year-old actor will join Sydney Sweeney, 28, in the sequel to 'The Housemaid'.

The film sees Millie Calloway (played by Sydney Sweeney) lying on her resume to become a live-in nanny for wealthy couple Nina (played by Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (played by Brandon Sklenar), who have dangerous secrets, reports 'Female First UK'.



Erin Westerman, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president, said in a statement, "It is a privilege to bring The Housemaid's next chapter to the screen with Kirsten Dunst. She is an icon. Her career reflects extraordinary range and fearlessness. Opposite the ever-magnetic Sydney Sweeney, she will be an electrifying force in a world where nothing is ever quite as it seems".



Michele Morrone, 35, (Enzo Accardi), Rebecca Sonnenshine (screenwriter) and Paul Feig (director) will also be returning for the follow-up to the 2025 psychological thriller - adapted from Freida McFadden's bestselling novel series.



As per 'Female First UK', Amanda Seyfried, 40, said she wants to make a cameo appearance in a potential sequel to 'The Housemaid', which Sweeney and McFadden, 45, will be among its producers.



Amanda told 'Variety', "No one's said anything about number two, but I guarantee there will be number two. And I almost guarantee that I'm gonna be some small cameo in it because it's about Syd and her working for a new family. There's so much that happens, especially with Enzo. I really want to see how she keeps Nina Winchester in her pocket, because I will jump the f*** back into that".



Feig, 63, recently revealed that The Housemaid's Secret will start shooting this autumn as the cast and crew are "ready to go".



He told 'The Hollywood Reporter' at the Academy Awards, "We're going to start shooting in the fall. The script is all finished, we're just doing a little bit of rewrites on it. We're ready to go. Sydney's coming back and Michele's coming back and then some new very exciting actors are coming in".



'The Bridesmaids' director has been elated by the response to The Housemaid from cinemagoers after his last three movies, 'The School for Good and Evil', 'Jackpot', and 'Another Simple Favor', were all released on streaming.





- IANS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi held a phone call discussing the deteriorating situation in the Persian Gulf. They strongly condemned recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, including the Bushehr plant, warning of unacceptable safety risks and potential environmental catastrophe. Both ministers expressed alarm over the dangerous expansion of the conflict into the Caspian region and emphasized the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities. Meanwhile, US and Israeli leaders, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, communicated about continuing military pressure to achieve war goals.

Russian FM Lavrov and Iranian FM Araghchi call US-Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear infrastructure unacceptable, warning of catastrophic risks.

Moscow, March 24 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X, "On March 23, FMs Sergey Lavrov & Seyed Abbas Araghchi spoke over the phone. The Ministers discussed the deterioration in the Persian Gulf caused by US-Israeli aggression. They also voiced concern over the conflict's dangerous expansion into the Caspian region."

Sergey Lavrov stressed the categorical unacceptability of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which create unacceptable risks for the safety of Russian personnel and could lead to catastrophic environmental consequences for all countries of the region without exception, an official statement said.

Both Sides also expressed concern over the dangerous expansion of the conflict provoked by Washington and Tel Aviv into the Caspian region. The Russian Side emphasized the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for a political settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of all parties involved, above all Iran. Russia will continue to adhere to this stance at the UN Security Council.

Abbas Araghchi thanked the Russian leadership for the substantial diplomatic and other support being provided to Iran, including the delivery of humanitarian assistance, it added.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Iran has one more opportunity to end its threats to America. "We hope they take it. Either way, America and the entire world will soon be a much safer planet," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (local time) said he spoke to US President Donald Trump and they will realise the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests.

Netanyahu pledged to keep attacking Iran and Lebanon.

In a post on X, he said, "Earlier today I spoke with our friend President Trump. President Trump believes there is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have reached alongside the US military to realize the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests. At the same time, we are continuing to strike in both Iran and Lebanon. We are smashing the missile program and the nuclear program, and we continue to deal severe blows to Hezbollah. Just a few days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists - and we are still active. We will safeguard our vital interests under all circumstances."

- ANI
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched the 'TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan-100 days campaign' in Jammu on World Tuberculosis Day. The campaign aims to accelerate TB elimination through intensified, community-focused interventions and technology like AI-enabled portable X-rays. Sinha emphasized transforming the drive into a people's movement, urging all stakeholders to ensure no patient is left behind in testing and treatment. The initiative includes mobile health units, comprehensive screenings at Ayushman camps, and active involvement of community groups.

LG Manoj Sinha launches a 100-day TB elimination drive in J&K, emphasizing community involvement, AI testing, and patient support.

Jammu, March 24 On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha attended the launch of the 'TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan-100 Days Campaign' at the Convention Centre in Jammu on Tuesday.

The nationwide initiative, launched by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda, aims to accelerate progress toward TB elimination through intensified, targeted, and technology-driven interventions.

Addressing the gathering, the Lieutenant Governor called upon the health department, district administrations, and citizens to ramp up testing, identify TB-sensitive areas, and conduct door-to-door awareness drives. He emphasised that every family must be informed that testing and treatment are free and that full recovery is entirely possible.

"Awareness, I believe, will be our most powerful medicine. Leave no patient behind. Detecting TB is only half the battle. Walking beside a patient through the entire course of treatment and recovery is the real challenge. The Ni-Kshay Mitra programme is precisely that answer. I expect everyone involved to bring their full commitment to it," said Sinha.

During the 100-day campaign, AI-enabled portable X-ray tools will be used to bring testing directly to tribal hamlets, migrant camps, urban slums, and high-risk locations. Mobile units, known as Ni-Kshay vans, will provide on-the-go care, while Ayushman health camps will offer comprehensive screenings, including chest X-rays, NAAT tests, blood sugar, haemoglobin, and BMI checks.

The Lieutenant Governor urged all stakeholders to position Jammu and Kashmir as a leader in this national drive rather than just a participant.

"It is our resolve to transform this campaign into a people's movement in Jammu Kashmir. This year's campaign must intensify, become more focused, and be deeply rooted in communities across the Union Territory," said Sinha.

The Lieutenant Governor observed that public health is a shared responsibility and not solely the duty of the Health Department.

"Our pledge for a 'TB-Free Jammu Kashmir' rests on this conviction. Health teams and people from the community in every district should work tirelessly with one goal--reach the last person, detect the last case, stand firmly by every patient until full recovery, and provide every support they need," said Sinha.

He further emphasised transforming the 100-day drive into a mass movement in every vulnerable district.

"We should build a 100-day movement where every citizen feels ownership and contributes wholeheartedly. A health worker trekking rugged mountain paths to a remote home becomes our campaign's greatest champion, and a Ni-Kshay Mitra delivering nutrition aid transforms a patient's life," said Sinha.

The Lieutenant Governor directed the health department and district administration to involve self-help groups, students, schools, industries, NGOs, and public enterprises to amplify the campaign. He also ordered a comprehensive review of testing equipment and medicine availability, stressing the need for a dedicated portal for citizen grievances.

"Today, we pledge that no man, woman, or child in Jammu Kashmir will lose their future to TB. Every breath is precious; every life is unique. No case will go unnoticed, and no patient will be unsupported," said Sinha.

During the UT-level program, the Lieutenant Governor flagged off the Ni-Kshay Vaahan and distributed Poshan kits. District Doda and District Srinagar were recognized with awards for 'TB Mukt Panchayats.' The event also included the administration of the Ni-Kshay Pledge and the felicitation of Ni-Kshay Mitras.

The ceremony was attended by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo; Principal Secretary to LG Dr. Mandeep K. Bhandari; Commissioner Secretary (Health) M. Raju; Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar; Mission Director NHM Akriti Sagar; Deputy Commissioner Jammu Dr. Rakesh Minhas; and a large number of medical professionals and youth.

- ANI
The Lok Sabha has passed the Transgender Persons Amendment Bill 2026, amending the 2019 Act. The bill narrows the legal definition of a transgender person, specifically excluding individuals who "self-perceive" their gender identity. It centralizes the certification process with the District Magistrate, who can consult medical experts. The legislation has been met with protests and criticism from the transgender community and opposition MPs for a lack of consultation.

Lok Sabha amends 2019 Transgender Act, altering definitions and procedures. Bill faces criticism for lack of consultation with the community.

New Delhi, March 24 The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Transgender Persons Amendment Bill 2026, amending the original 2019 Act, with a voice vote.

The Bill was introduced by the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Virendra Kumar.

The Bill alters the definition of transgender person to exclude several individuals.

According to the statement of the objects and reasons for the bill, it is the legislative policy to recognise a specific class of transgender persons, who face social issues and to create a regime for their protection. The legislative policy was and is intended to protect only those who face severe social exclusion due to biological reasons for no fault of their own and no choice of their own.

The definition of a transgender person as per the Bill reads, "a person having such socio-cultural identities as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta, or eunuch, or a person with intersex variations specified below or a person who, at birth, has a congenital variation in one or more of the following sex characteristics as compared to male or female development:-- (a) primary sexual characteristics; (b) external genitalia; (c) chromosomal patterns; (d) gonadal development; (e) endogenous hormone production or response, or such other medical conditions."

The Bill also includes transgender persons coerced into their gender identity by any sort of force; however, it excludes people who "self-perceive" as transgender persons, as Section 3 of the Amendment Bill omits Section 4(2) of the 2019 Act.

With the amendments, the District Magistrate can issue a certificate of identity only after examining the recommendation of the authority and, after taking the assistance of other medical experts, if needed.

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 11 am on Wednesday.

The Bill was initially introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 14 and was met with protests from transgender persons across the nation.

Earlier today, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed disappointment for the Bill not being sent to a standing committee.

"I really think that it's unfortunate that they are not sending it to the standing committee. What the community feels is that this bill is going to obliterate their identity, and therefore it was very, very important that they should have been consulted and that this bill that is being brought about should have taken place or should have been passed after proper consultation. I think it's very unfair that the entire community feels like they have not been consulted, and such a big decision is being taken in their context. I wish the government had listened and put it on the standing committee," she said.

- ANI
Sopara Hospital in Nala Sopara West is highlighted as a model facility providing completely free and quality healthcare to beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The PM-JAY initiative is the world's largest government-funded health insurance program, offering an annual cover of Rs 5 lakh per family for hospitalization. The scheme has issued over 43.52 crore cards and covers more than 1,900 procedures across a vast network of empanelled hospitals. Recent expansions have extended coverage to all citizens aged 70+ and included lakhs of frontline worker families, ensuring wider access to cashless treatment.

Sopara Hospital provides free, quality treatment under Ayushman Bharat, a scheme with 43.52 crore cards and Rs 5 lakh annual health cover per family.

New Delhi, March 24 The Ayushman Bharat continues to bring relief to millions of low-income families across India, providing free treatment for serious illnesses and easing financial burdens. In Nala Sopara West, Sopara Hospital, managed by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation, has emerged as a model facility, offering completely free and quality healthcare services to Ayushman cardholders.

Speaking to IANS, about the support, Jaleel Sheikh, son of a beneficiary, said that his father, suffering from lung problems, faced severe difficulty in breathing. "I admitted him here at the hospital in Sopara West. Through the Ayushman card, we are receiving free treatment here," he said, highlighting the accessibility of the scheme for serious medical conditions.

Iqbal Sheikh's wife shared her experience as well, saying that her husband had been admitted for 18 days and was receiving free treatment.

"He was having difficulty breathing. He has been admitted here for 18 days, receiving free treatment, and he is not facing any problems now," she told IANS, underscoring the positive impact on patient health and family finances.

Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is currently the world's largest government-funded health insurance initiative, providing an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

As of March 2026, over 43.52 crore Ayushman cards have been issued, including 1.14 crore 'Vay Vandana' cards exclusively for senior citizens. The scheme covers more than 1,900 medical procedures across 27 specialities, and beneficiaries can access cashless, paperless treatment at any of the 36,229 empanelled public and private hospitals nationwide.

There are no restrictions on family size, age, or gender, and all pre-existing conditions are covered from day one.

The coverage includes diagnostics, medicines, surgery, ICU charges, and physician fees, along with extended support for up to three days of pre-hospitalisation and 15 days post-hospitalisation expenses.

Recent expansions between 2025 and 2026 have broadened access further. Citizens aged 70 and above now receive Rs 5 lakh annual coverage regardless of socio-economic status, and seniors in already-covered families get an additional Rs 5 lakh top-up.

Around 37 lakh families of frontline workers such as ASHAs, Anganwadi Workers, and Helpers are now included. Delhi became the 35th state/UT to implement the scheme as of April 2025, and a special drive from January 15 to April 15, 2026, is helping remaining eligible beneficiaries and seniors create their cards.

With facilities like Sopara Hospital leading the way, Ayushman Bharat continues to ensure that quality healthcare is accessible, affordable, and free for millions of families across India.

- IANS
Malaysia is assessing alternative transit routes to sustain tourist flows as Middle East tensions disrupt traditional long-haul travel hubs. The government is intensifying its focus on regional Asian markets less affected by the conflict to mitigate global risks. Despite the challenges, Malaysia's tourism outlook remains positive, with a 30% year-on-year increase in arrivals for the first two months of 2026. The Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign targets are still considered achievable as data for March is being compiled.

Malaysia studies alternative transit hubs and focuses on Asian tourism markets to counter travel disruptions from West Asia conflicts, keeping 2026 targets on track.

Kuala Lumpur, March 24 Malaysia is studying alternative transit routes and strengthening its focus on the Asian market to sustain tourist arrivals amid disruptions linked to tensions in West Asia, the country's state-owned agency reported.

The country's state-owned agency Bernama on Monday cited Deputy Secretary General (tourism) of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Chua Choon Hwa, that the conflict has affected key Middle East transit hubs traditionally used by long-haul travellers heading to the Asian region, prompting the government to assess other routing options to ensure stable visitor flows.

"Transit in the Middle East is currently somewhat disrupted, so we are looking at ways to overcome the situation, including using alternative transit airports to avoid affected areas," he said.

Chua said the government is also sharpening its focus on regional markets less exposed to the conflict, particularly within Asia, as part of a broader strategy to mitigate risks from global uncertainty, reports Xinhua, quoting Bernama.

Despite the challenges, he noted that Malaysia's tourism outlook stays positive, with Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) targets remaining achievable.

According to him, Malaysia's tourist arrivals rose by more than 30 per cent year on year in the first two months of 2026, supported by strong demand during the Chinese New Year period.

Data for March is still being compiled, and projections may be revised accordingly, he added.

Countries worldwide are taking drastic measures to conserve fuel and ensure continued energy access for their people in the wake of the disruption in oil and gas supplies triggered by the escalation in the Middle East conflict.

The effect of the current disruptions in West Asia is equivalent to the two major oil crises in the 1970s and the 2022 natural gas crisis after Russia invaded Ukraine, all put together, according to a top official of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Nations across Asia, Africa, and Europe have adopted a range of extraordinary steps, including additional public holidays, work-from-home mandates, fuel rationing, and industrial shutdowns to extend limited fuel reserves.

- IANS
PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath share devotional messages for Goddess Katyayani on the sixth day of Chaitra Navratri.

New Delhi, March 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended greetings to the countrymen on the sixth day of Chaitra Navratri, which is dedicated to Goddess Katyayani.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, "I bow to Maa Katyayani! May the grace of the Goddess -- the presiding deity of divinity and valour -- infuse all her devotees with immense strength and self-confidence."



"Worship of Mother Jagadamba fills the mind with infinite energy and inner strength. The divine radiance of Goddess Mother illuminates the heart with divine consciousness," he said, sharing a devotional song 'Sri Durga Devi' by Srilalitha.



Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also took to social media and wished everyone on the auspicious occasion.



"The sixth manifestation of the Universal Mother, Goddess Durga -- Mother Katyayani -- is the remover of her devotees' fears, ailments, and sorrows," the Uttar Pradesh CM said in a post on X.



"It is my prayer that, through the grace of Mother Bhagavati, the entire world may be blessed with well-being, and that peace, strength, and harmony may reside within every heart," he added.



Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, taking to X, said, "This auspicious occasion of venerating Maa Katyayani falls on the sixth day of the worship of Shakti. This form of Mahishasura Mardini symbolises the destruction of unrighteousness and the establishment of righteousness."



"The resplendent form of the Mother inspires us to stand firm against injustice and to remain resolute in our commitment to the victory of truth. May the blessings of Maa Katyayani bring success and glory into the lives of all residents of Delhi," she added.



Goddess Katyayani, a fierce aspect of Mahadevi, is revered as the slayer of the demon Mahishasura. She is the sixth among the Navadurgas, the nine forms of Goddess Durga worshipped during Navratri.



According to the Amarakosha, the Sanskrit lexicon, Katyayani is the second name of Goddess Adi Parashakti.



She is depicted with three eyes and four hands, holding a sword and a lotus in her left hand while her right hands are in 'varada mudra' (granting boons) and 'abhaya mudra' (offering protection). She rides a lion, with a crescent moon adorning her forehead.



Navratri, which means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit, is a Hindu festival celebrating Goddess Durga and her nine avatars, known collectively as Navdurga.



The festival is celebrated with great devotion across India, with rituals and prayers honouring the Goddess in her nine forms.





- IANS
MEA Secretary (East) P Kumaran visited Cambodia for a series of high-level engagements aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. He met with several Cambodian ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, to discuss the full spectrum of cooperation. The visit highlighted ongoing heritage conservation projects, such as the Archaeological Survey of India's restoration of the Ta Prohm Temple. These interactions underscore both nations' commitment to deepening development cooperation and reinforcing their civilisational bonds.

MEA Secretary P Kumaran visits Cambodia, holds talks on bilateral cooperation, cultural projects, and heritage conservation with Cambodian leaders.

Phnom Penh, March 24 Ministry of External Affairs Secretary P Kumaran interacted with the ICCR and ITEC Alumni in Cambodia.

Kumaran reiterated India's commitment to deepen the ties between the two countries.

Official Spokesperson for the MEA, Randhir Jaiswal, said in a post on X, "Secretary (East) Shri P. Kumaran interacted with the ICCR and ITEC Alumni in Cambodia. Reiterated India's commitment to further strengthen the development cooperation between the two countries."

Earlier in the day, Jaiswal said, "Secretary (East) Shri P. Kumaran met Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, Dr. UN Kheang. The two sides discussed the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation and explored ways to further strengthen India-Cambodia ties."

Kumaran had also called on the Minister of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia, Phoeurng Sackona.

In a post on X, he said, "Secretary (East) Shri P. Kumaran called on Minister of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia, Ms. Phoeurng Sackona. Discussions focused on heritage conservation projects and other areas of cultural cooperation."

Kumaran had also called on the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, Prak Sokhonn.

In a post on X, Jaiswal said, "Secretary (East) Shri P. Kumaran called on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, Mr. Prak Sokhonn. Discussions focused on further strengthening multifaceted cooperation between India and Cambodia."

Kumaran visited Ta Prohm Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where the Archaeological Survey of India is leading restoration and conservation efforts.

Jaiswal said in a post on X, "Secretary (East) Shri P. Kumaran visited Ta Prohm Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where the Archaeological Survey of India is leading restoration and conservation efforts. Two phases have been successfully completed, with the third phase currently underway."

Kumaran's visit, coming on the heels of high-level bilateral engagements in Siem Reap, reflects the continuing commitment of both nations to strengthen ties through cultural preservation, tourism, and heritage cooperation. The visit also aligned with ongoing dialogues that expand India-Cambodia cooperation in education, trade and strategic partnership, reinforcing that civilisational bonds remain at the core of diplomatic relations in the Indo-Pacific region.

- ANI
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will mark his birthday by releasing turtles into the Bamner River and performing the groundbreaking for a cheetah rehabilitation 'boma' at the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve. The reserve, declared in 2023, is the state's largest tiger habitat, spanning over 2,300 sq km and connecting 72 villages. Its terrain is deemed suitable for cheetahs, which are planned to be translocated from Kuno National Park. The area is also a biodiversity hotspot, home to 32 tigers, a significant wolf population, and around 240 bird species.

MP CM Mohan Yadav to release turtles & launch cheetah rehab boma on his birthday at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.

Bhopal, March 24 Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister will release a dozen turtles into the Bamner River at the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve on the occasion of his birthday on Wednesday.

CM Yadav will also perform the groundbreaking ceremony for a soft-release 'boma' to facilitate the rehabilitation of cheetahs in the tiger reserve.

A soft-release boma is a specialized, large, fenced enclosure used in wildlife conservation to acclimatize animals to a new environment before full release. It enables, behavioral and physiological adaptation, and increasing survival rates compared to direct "hard" release.

According to an official release, Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve is the largest tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Spanning 2,339 square kilometres, it connects 72 villages across the districts of Sagar, Damoh and Narsinghpur. It is the 7th tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh and the 54th in India, and was declared a tiger reserve in 2023. At present, the reserve is home to 32 tigers. It is also known as the land of wolves, as it is home to one of the highest populations of wolves.

The tiger reserve has terrain suitable for cheetahs, similar to landscapes found in South Africa. As a result of which, Cheetahs will soon be brought here from Kuno National Park for rehabilitation. The sanctuary is also home to around 240 species of birds, which are a major attraction.

Additionally, a wide variety of wildlife are found in the tiger reserve, including tigers, leopards, wolves, bears, jackals, hyenas, foxes, wild boars, nilgai, four-horned antelope (chousingha), blackbuck, chinkara, turtles and crocodiles.

Along with wildlife conservation, the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve offers significant potential for tourism and employment generation in the region.

Notably, the reserve will be the third destination for the Cheetahs in the state after Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and Kuno National Park. Currently, there are 53 Cheetahs residing in the state, including 33 Indian-born cheetah cubs. Of these, 50 are in Kuno National Park, and three are in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

- ANI
The government plans to introduce amendment bills to implement the Women's Reservation Act ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, using 2011 census data due to delays in the new census. The proposal includes increasing the total number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816, requiring a separate Delimitation Bill and constitutional amendments. While NDA MPs have welcomed the move as a sign of the Prime Minister's commitment to women's empowerment, opposition MPs from parties like the Samajwadi Party and Shiv Sena (UBT) say they await crucial details on the implementation mechanism. The plan aims to bypass the long wait for a new census, which would otherwise push the reservation's implementation to around 2034.

Govt plans bills to implement women's quota by 2029 using 2011 census data, increasing Lok Sabha seats to 816. NDA welcomes, Opposition seeks details.

New Delhi, March 24 MPs from the ruling National Democratic Alliance have welcomed the government's plans to bring amendment bills for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, while the opposition MPs said that they were not aware of the details of the proposal.

According to sources, the Government has planned amendments in the Nari Shakti Vandan Act.

Due to census delays, the plan is to proceed with the 2011 census data. The 2011 census is expected to be the basis for delimitation and seat redistribution. Sources said the proposal is to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816. A separate Delimitation Bill is also expected to be introduced. Both bills need to be passed as Constitutional amendments for women's reservation.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dharmshila Gupta said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to women's empowerment.

"I would like to express my gratitude to PM Modi... The Prime Minister always says that women are the backbone of the nation... In 2023, he gave 33% reservation for women's empowerment. Today, talks about 50% reservation are happening. Prime Minister is committed to women's development and self-determination," she told ANI.

Samajwadi Party MP Virendra Singh said they are awaiting details of the bill.

"We are all waiting for this bill to come. We earlier also supported this, and we are still supporting this... so this women's empowerment will get some ground reality," Virendra Singh said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said they were not aware how the government intends to implement reservation for women.

"It is a very important bill... Everyone has supported women's reservation... as far as it is concerned, they have taken some new measures to implement it. When will the census end? The census will start in 2026. It will go till 2027-28. After that, when will the reservation be implemented? In 2034. Now, they are thinking that instead of waiting so much, the government wants to implement the reservation in 2029," he told ANI.

"They have thought that the number of seats in the Lok Sabha should be increased. If it is 548 or 542, then we can increase it to 816. In the same way, 50% of the seats of every state will be increased... They have made an effort in that. We are not able to find out the details of how it will be done, how the reservation will be done, how the schedule will be done, or how the schedule of the tribe will be done. So, we have to discuss the details about that," he added.

JD(U) MP Lovely Anand welcomed the proposed bills.

"The Women's Reservation Bill is a welcome step... Women of our country have always ruled the country... Whether it is the Central Government or the Bihar Government, everyone understands that our country cannot prosper until women come forward," she said.

- ANI
A new Human Rights Watch report alleges Iranian forces deliberately targeted at least two civilian commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz on March 11, actions it says could amount to war crimes. The report cites International Maritime Organisation data confirming 17 incidents of damage to vessels from 16 apparent attacks between March 1 and 17. Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zofaghari warned Iran would block oil passage through the strait if attacks on Iran by the US and Israel continued. Human Rights Watch states that under international law, direct attacks on civilian objects are forbidden and those responsible could be prosecuted for war crimes.

Human Rights Watch report claims Iranian forces deliberately attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, actions that could constitute war crimes.

Beirut, March 24 A fresh report from the Human Rights watch on Tuesday claimed that the Iranian forces have appeared to deliberately target at least two civilian commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month on March 11-- which would amount to war crimes.

The report cited findings from the International Maritime Organisation, which noted that starting March 1, Iranian forces reportedly began attacking commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli attacks on Iran. It further noted that on March 11, Ebrahim Zofaghari, a spokesperson for Iran's armed forces, warned in a speech that Iran would not allow "one litre of oil" to pass via the Strait of Hormuz if the attacks against Iran continue to take place by the United States and Israel.

"Human Rights Watch documented the apparent deliberate targeting of two commercial ships, the Safesea Vishnu and the Mayuree Naree, on March 11 through statements made by Iranian authorities claiming these attacks; photographs and videos posted online of the direct aftermath of the attacks and, in the case of the Safesea Vishnu, the apparent moment of attack; and data gathered by the IMO", it said in the statement.

It cited the IMO and further noted that between March 1 and 17, the IMO confirmed 17 incidents of damage to commercial vessels from 16 apparent attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman. It also reported that seven seafarers and one shipyard worker had been killed, four seafarers were missing, and ten people were injured, five severely.

An IMO representative told Human Rights Watch that the organization receives data from authorities such as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), and the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO). It said that the organization directly verifies information it receives with the vessels' flag states to document attacks. It said the organization was unable to confirm who was responsible for the 16 attacks. However, the IMO Council adopted a decision on March 19 in which they "strongly condemned the threats and attacks against vessels and purported closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Human Rights Watch identified all the vessels included by the IMO in vessel tracking websites and was able to corroborate that they were civilian commercial vessels with civilian crews. In some cases, Human Rights Watch identified their location at the time of the attack. In addition to corroborating attacks on the Safesea Vishnu and Mayuree Naree, researchers corroborated attacks on two other vessels--Skylight and Safeen Prestige--through photographs and videos posted online as well as online statements made by government and military entities, along with a third vessel--the MKD Vyom--by statements alone. In these three cases, Human Rights Watch could not confirm who was responsible for the attacks.

Human Rights Watch wrote to Iranian authorities on March 18 seeking clarification about the attacks but did not receive a response.

"Iranian authorities, in statements they made pertaining to the two ships they claimed to have targeted--the Safesea Vishnu and Mayuree Naree--did not state that the vessels were military objects, nor did they present any evidence to demonstrate that anything on board the ships could have constituted military objects", the Human Rights Watch said.

"Under international humanitarian law, it is forbidden in any circumstance to carry out direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects, and warring parties are obligated to take all feasible precautions to avoid harm to civilians and civilian objects. Civilian vessels with commercial ties to the United States or Israel remain civilian objects. Warring parties must take all necessary action to verify that targets are military objectives. A person who commits serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent--that is, intentionally or recklessly--may be prosecuted for war crimes. Individuals may also be held criminally liable for assisting in, facilitating, aiding, or abetting a war crime", the statement further noted.

The Human Rights Watch mentioned that on March 12, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran's official state news agency, published a statement from the IRGC that confirmed that the Safesea Vishnu "had been hit in the northern Persian Gulf after failing to comply with and ignoring the warnings of the IRGC Navy."

'One of the crew members was killed in the attack, the IMO said. It also reported that another oil tanker, the Zefyros, caught fire in the same incident. The two vessels were next to each other within Iraqi territorial waters approximately 50 nautical miles southeast of Basra, according to measurements taken from vessel-tracking websites", the statement added.

An Indian national had lost his life in the attack on Safesea Vishnu. The oil tanker Safesea Vishnu was attacked off Khor Al Zubair port near Basra in Iraq on March 9 inside Iraq's territorial waters. In a press conference on March 13, Aseem Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf) at the Ministry of External Affairs, India, had informed that one crew member had died and the other 5 crew members had been safely evacuated and lodged in a hotel in Basra.

Human Rights Watch analyzed three videos posted to X by different accounts on March 12, with the earliest posted at 12:32 a.m. One of the videos, filmed from a nearby vessel, shows two large explosions on the Safesea Vishnu, seconds apart. Those filming from the nearby vessel claim to be the IRGC Navy and say that they have destroyed a US ship in the Persian Gulf. The Safesea Vishnu engulfed in flames.

"This video supports accounts by Reuters from the US owner and operator of the vessel that two explosive-laden, unmanned boats rammed the vessel. Another video shows firefighters spraying the Safesea Vishnu with water from a nearby boat."

The New York Times reported that, according to Iraq's oil export authority, "The two vessels were used by Iraq for its own oil transport." The news outlet added that "Senior Iraqi officials said that one of the vessels, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, was owned by an American company."

On the same day, three other vessels--One Majesty, a Japanese-flagged container vessel, and two bulk carriers, the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth and the Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree--were attacked in the strait, the IMO said as per the Human Rights Watch.

The Royal Thai Navy spokesperson said in a statement that the navy had received an initial report that "two projectiles of unknown origin" had struck the Mayuree Naree as it sailed into the Strait of Hormuz after departing from the UAE. The statement said that the Omani navy had rescued 20 of the vessel's 23 crew members, which the Omani Maritime Security Center confirmed. On March 18, the Royal Thai Navy reported that the ship had moved from Omani to Iranian territorial waters. Three crew members reportedly remain on board the seriously damaged vessel.

The Human Rights Watch further noted that the day the three ships were reportedly attacked, Tasnim News, affiliated with the IRGC, posted a statement on its Telegram channel at 3:36 p.m. stating that the Mayuree Naree was "shelled by Iranian fighters hours ago after ignoring the warnings of the IRGC Navy and illegally insisting on passing through the Strait of Hormuz."

Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC naval forces, posted on X the same day at 3:50 p.m. local time that the crew of the Mayuree Naree had "ignored [Iranian authorities'] warnings and intended to pass through the strait but was caught." He added that "[a]ny vessel intending to pass [the Strait of Hormuz] must obtain permission from #Iran."

As per the Human Rights Watch, both statements included claims that Iranian forces had also attacked another ship, the Express Rome, a ship not listed by the IMO as having been attacked. On March 19, Human Rights Watch received confirmation from Danaos Shipping, the owners of Express Rome, that the ship had not been hit or compromised in any way and that its crew is safe.

According to media reports from March 20, a Nepali Ministry of Foreign Affairs official stated that Iranian authorities had "taken one Nepali into custody from the Strait of Hormuz."

Human Rights Watch added that while it was unable to confirm who was responsible for the other 14 attacks the IMO documented, however, Iranian authorities have made several statements in which they have demonstrated a clear intention to attack ships, including civilian ships, that attempt to pass through the strait.

- ANI
The National Green Tribunal has ordered an urgent inquiry into allegations of illegal sand mining in the Yamuna riverbed in Shamli district, Uttar Pradesh. The order came on a plea alleging large-scale mining without mandatory environmental clearances and permissions. A joint committee has been formed to visit the site, assess the damage, and suggest remedial measures within three weeks. The tribunal has directed authorities to ensure all illegal mining activities halt immediately while the investigation proceeds.

NGT orders urgent inquiry into illegal sand mining in Yamuna riverbed, forms joint committee and directs immediate halt to activities.

New Delhi, March 24 The National Green Tribunal has ordered an urgent inquiry into allegations of illegal sand mining in the Yamuna riverbed in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, while directing authorities to ensure that no such activity continues in the meantime.

The order came on a plea filed by Dr Amit Kumar, who alleged that large-scale mining is being carried out in villages Nai Nangla and Manglaura without obtaining mandatory environmental clearance and other permissions. He submitted that the project proponent has not received Environmental Clearance (EC) or consent to establish and operate (CTE/CTO), and yet mining activities have already commenced.

The applicant further claimed that heavy machinery, including Poclain machines, is being used for mining in the riverbed. He also alleged that complaints were made to the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, district authorities, and police, but no effective action was taken. According to him, the proximity of a police check post to the site indicates that the alleged illegal activity was within the knowledge of authorities.

Taking note of the seriousness of the allegations, the tribunal constituted a joint committee comprising representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) regional office in Lucknow, and the District Magistrate of Shamli, who will act as the nodal authority.

The committee has been directed to visit the site without delay, assess the extent of illegal mining, verify the status of environmental permissions, evaluate environmental damage, and suggest remedial as well as punitive measures.

The NGT has directed that the entire exercise be completed within three weeks and a status report be filed immediately thereafter. Meanwhile, it has specifically ordered the authorities to ensure that no illegal mining is carried out by the concerned project proponent.

The tribunal has also issued notice to the respondents, some of whom have already accepted notice and sought time to file their replies. The matter is now scheduled to be heard next on July 3.

- ANI
The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the IRDAI following a complaint that persons with hearing and speech disabilities are being denied life insurance coverage. The Commission has directed the insurance regulator to take action and respond within 15 days. In a separate, suo motu case, the NHRC has intervened after two students in a Rajasthan school were injured by a falling ceiling fan, alleging gross negligence. It has sought a detailed report from Barmer district authorities within two weeks on the students' condition and action taken.

NHRC issues notice to IRDAI over life insurance denial to disabled persons, also takes up Rajasthan school fan injury case. Details inside.

New Delhi, March 24 The National Human Rights Commission has received a complaint stating that persons with hearing and speech disabilities are not able to avail the benefits of life insurance.

This is because insurance companies are not providing insurance coverage to persons with disabilities.

Taking cognisance of the complaint, the bench of the Commission headed by Priyank Kanoongo has issued a notice to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), directing it to take appropriate action in this matter and submit a response to the Commission within 15 days.

A copy of this notice has also been sent to the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, NHRC on Friday took suo motu cognisance of a media report that two students of a government higher primary school in the Barmer area of Rajasthan were seriously injured when a ceiling fan in their class fell on them on March 16.

According to a press release issued by NHRC on March 20, reportedly, the family members of the injured students and local residents have alleged that the incident occurred due to gross negligence of the school administration.

The Commission has sought a comprehensive report from the district authorities within two weeks, which should include details of the health condition of the injured students and the action taken against those responsible for the incident.

"The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of the victims. Therefore, it has issued notices to the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police, Barmer, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks. It is expected to include the health status of the injured students as well as action taken against the responsible persons," the release said.

According to the media report carried on March 16, the accident happened when the hook holding the ceiling fan suddenly broke.

The NHRC's intervention comes in response to allegations of gross negligence on part of the school administration in maintaining basic safety standards.

- ANI
Nishant Kumar, son of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has formally joined the Janata Dal (United) party. He extended festive greetings to the people on the occasion of Chhath Puja. His political entry is seen as a significant development, with allies like minister Ratnesh Sada calling him the "future of Bihar." The move coincides with his father Nitish Kumar filing nomination for the Rajya Sabha, marking a potential transition.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar formally joins JD(U), receives praise from allies, and is called the "future of Bihar" as he begins his political journey.

Patna, March 24 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's son, Janata Dal Leader Nishant Kumar, on Tuesday, wishes the people of his state as well as of the country, on the occasion of Chhath Puja being celebrated today.

He says, " It is Chhath Puja today. On this occasion, I extend my greetings to all the people of the state and the country..."

Nishant recently joined politics, marking an unprecedented shift in Bihar politics. He formally joined the JD(U) on March 8, following in the footsteps of his father. After joining the party, Kumar addressed the party workers and heaped praise on his father, Nitish Kumar, for serving the state for 20 years.

"I thank everyone. I will try to live up to the trust you all have placed in me. I, the entire Bihar and the entire country are proud of what my father has done in the last 20 years."

Union Minister and NDA's Rajya Sabha candidate Ram Nath Thakur told ANI that Nishant Kumar is joining the party to remain connected with the people.

"It was the decision of JDU workers and the common people that Nishant Kumar (son of CM Nitish Kumar) join the JDU and listen to the voice of the people... It is for the same reason that he is taking JDU membership today... It was his (Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's) wish to go to the Rajya Sabha..."

Bihar minister Ratnesh Sada called Nishant Kumar the "future of Bihar".

"This is Bihar's future, and we will complete and demonstrate the work that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has left unfinished," Sada told ANI.

Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh extended "best wishes" to Nishant Kumar in his political journey.

The timing of Nishant's entry into the party is directly linked to a major transition made by his father.

On Thursday, March 5, Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha, signalling the end of his record-breaking tenure as Chief Minister.

- ANI
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar inaugurated 340 projects worth crores in Kaimur & Rohtas, including a jungle safari and water management schemes.

Patna, March 24 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday visited the districts of Kaimur and Rohtas as part of his 'Samriddhi Yatra,' where he inaugurated and laid the foundation for multiple development projects.

In Kaimur, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stones for 43 schemes worth Rs 47 crore, while also inaugurating 161 projects estimated at Rs 162 crore.



During the visit, he inspected stalls set up by various government departments, interacted with beneficiaries, and sought detailed feedback on the implementation of welfare schemes.



He also distributed cheques to beneficiaries under different government initiatives.



A key highlight of the visit was the inauguration of a Jungle Safari in the Kaimur Forest Division at Bhabhua, aimed at boosting eco-tourism in the region.



Continuing his engagements, Nitish Kumar visited several 'Adarsh Anganwadi' (model childcare) centres, where he interacted with children and encouraged them.



During the 'Jan Samvad' (public dialogue) programme in Kaimur, he addressed residents, congratulated them on the new development initiatives, and urged people to work collectively for the progress of both Kaimur and the state of Bihar.



After visiting Kaimur, Nitish Kumar continued his 'Samriddhi Yatra' to Rohtas, where he outlined an ambitious roadmap for the district's development and reaffirmed his government's commitment to taking it to new heights.



During the visit, foundation stones were laid for 129 schemes worth Rs 321 crore, while 179 projects estimated at Rs 159 crore were inaugurated.



These initiatives span multiple sectors, reflecting a comprehensive push for infrastructure and public welfare in the district.



A key focus of the visit was on water resource management.



The Chief Minister inspected the construction sites of the 'Intake Well' and 'Weir' (barrage) projects on the Sone River, aimed at utilising surface water effectively.



He also reviewed a 3D model of the proposed Water Treatment Plant and issued necessary instructions to officials.



Additionally, the CM conducted an on-site inspection of the plant's construction work and, through remote control, inaugurated and laid foundation stones for several other schemes across Rohtas.



Nitish Kumar also visited stalls showcasing various government schemes, interacted with beneficiaries, and distributed cheques under welfare initiatives.



Addressing a large gathering during the 'Jansamvad' (Public Dialogue) programme, he reiterated the state government's commitment to development and congratulated the people of Rohtas on the new projects.



He urged citizens to work collectively towards achieving the vision of a "Developed Bihar."



Several prominent leaders were present on the occasion, including Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, along with ministers such as Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Sunil Kumar, and Deepak Prakash.



Lawmakers, including MLAs and MLCs from various constituencies of Rohtas and adjoining regions, were also in attendance, marking the event as a significant political and developmental gathering in the district.





- IANS
PM Modi urges state governments to work collectively as "Team India" to maintain rapid economic growth and protect the vulnerable during global crises.

New Delhi, March 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged the state governments to recognise that, regardless of the severity of the crisis, it is "our collective responsibility" to sustain India's rapid growth.

He stated that this moment also presents a significant opportunity for state governments and serves as a "major test for Team India".



Briefing the Rajya Sabha on the evolving situation in West Asia, the Prime Minister said, "In the coming times, this crisis will pose a major test for our country. To overcome this challenge, the cooperation of all states is essential. Therefore, through this House, I wish to make an appeal to all state governments."



Highlighting the disproportionate impact of crises on weaker sections, he added, "During crises, the poor, labourers, and migrant workers are the most affected. Therefore, it must be ensured that the benefits of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana reach them on time. Proactive steps should be taken to address the difficulties of migrant workers. It would be very helpful if state governments set up special systems to monitor such situations."



The Prime Minister also flagged concerns over black marketing and hoarding, urging states to remain alert and act swiftly on any complaints related to such practices.



Calling for a unified approach, he emphasised the need for collective action under the spirit of "Team India" to sustain economic growth and navigate global uncertainty.



"I would like to make one more request to all state governments. No matter how big the crisis, it is our collective responsibility to maintain India's rapid growth. For this, we must continue to take all necessary steps and implement reforms swiftly. This is also a great opportunity for state governments -- and it is a major test for Team India," he said.



Recalling the country's response during the Covid pandemic, PM Modi said the Centre and states had together demonstrated an "excellent model of crisis management".



"Despite having governments of different political parties, testing, vaccination, and the supply of essential items were ensured through the efforts of Team India. We must continue to work with that same spirit. With the combined efforts of all state governments and the central government, the country will effectively face this serious global crisis," he said.



Stressing that the present crisis is distinct and evolving, the Prime Minister noted, "This crisis is different, and its solutions are also being devised differently. We must face every challenge with patience, restraint, and a calm mind. As we are witnessing, the situation regarding this war is changing every moment."



He also urged citizens to remain "prepared for potential challenges" ahead, warning that the repercussions of the conflict could be prolonged.



"There is a strong possibility that the adverse effects of this war may persist for a long time. However, I assure the people of the country -- the government is vigilant, alert, and with full seriousness, it is formulating strategies and taking every decision. The welfare of the people is paramount for us. This is our identity, this is our strength," he added.





- IANS
The Gujarat government, along with Indian Oil Corporation and the Petroleum Dealers Association, has issued a joint statement refuting rumours of petrol and diesel shortages in the state. Officials confirmed that sufficient fuel is available at all depots, terminals, and petrol pumps, with the state maintaining an adequate buffer stock. They urged citizens not to panic or form long queues, attributing the concerns to misleading social media messages. The statement warned that strict legal action would be taken against any fuel dealer who deliberately closes a pump despite having stock.

Gujarat government and oil companies assure sufficient petrol and diesel stock, warn against rumours and panic buying. Legal action threatened for dealers causing inconvenience.

Gandhinagar, March 24 Amid rumours of petrol and diesel shortages in some cities, the Gujarat government, Indian Oil Corporation, and the Petroleum Dealers Association issued a joint statement assuring the public that adequate fuel stock is available across the state.

In this regard, Additional Chief Secretary of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Mona Khandhar, stated that sufficient quantities o petrol and diesel are available at all petrol pumps in the state as per requirement.

She said citizens need not form long queues or panic, as the state also maintains an adequate fuel buffer stock, eliminating any need for concern or haste, according to the Gujarat CMO.

The Additional Chief Secretary further added that reports of petrol and diesel shortages in certain places are merely rumours. Moreover, strict legal action will be taken against any dealer who deliberately keeps a pump closed despite having sufficient stock or causes inconvenience to the public.

The State Nodal Officer and Executive Director of Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Sanjib Behera, stated that adequate petrol and diesel inventory is available at all depots and terminals across Gujarat. He assured that citizens need not queue at petrol pumps, as fuel will be available whenever required, the release noted.

The President of the Petroleum Dealers Association of India stated that oil companies have extended supply hours and increased stock availability. He urged citizens not to crowd petrol pumps due to misleading messages or rumours on social media, assuring that there is no fuel shortage in Gujarat and none is expected in the future.

- ANI
The Telangana Civil Supplies Department has issued a clarification stating there is no shortage of petrol, diesel, or domestic LPG in the state. It attributes recent long queues and "No Stock" boards at some outlets to sudden panic buying driven by false rumours. The government, in coordination with oil companies and police, is monitoring the situation and has warned of strict action against hoarding or black-marketing. Citizens are advised to remain calm, avoid panic buying, and rely only on official communications.

Telangana Civil Supplies Dept clarifies adequate fuel stock, attributes queues to panic buying. Government warns against hoarding and urges public to avoid rumours.

Hyderabad, March 25 The Consumer Affairs, Food and Civil Supplies Department, Government of Telangana, on Tuesday categorically clarified that there is absolutely no shortage of Petrol, Diesel, or domestic LPG anywhere in the state.

According to the release issued by PRO, Civil Supplies, Telangana State, the supply chain from oil refineries to local depots is fully operational, and self-sufficient stock is available to meet the regular daily requirements of all citizens across all districts.

As per the release, the recent reports of long queues and temporary "No Stock" boards at certain retail petrol outlets are strictly the result of sudden, unwarranted panic buying fueled by false rumours.

"When citizens unnecessarily rush to fill their tanks to full capacity, it creates an artificial scarcity, despite adequate fuel being available at the depots," the release said.

Furthermore, the release informed that the recent administrative changes regarding advance-payment models by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have caused minor, temporary logistical adjustments for some local dealers.

To manage the situation and ensure equitable distribution, the Central and State Governments, in close coordination with OMCs and the Police Department, are actively monitoring fuel outlets.

Strict action will be taken against anyone found hoarding fuel, engaging in black-marketing, or illegally diverting domestic LPG cylinders for commercial use, the release said.

The Government also appealed to all citizens to remain calm and avoid panic buying.

"We strongly advise the public to trust only official communications and refrain from believing or forwarding unverified rumours on social media," the release stated.

For any queries or to report irregularities, citizens are encouraged to contact the Civil Supplies Toll-Free Helpline: 1967, the release said.

- ANI
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has announced a plan to introduce a formal police system, a shift from the traditional role of public security forces. The move, to be reviewed by the Supreme People's Assembly, aims to solidify legal systems and guarantee national security. In a related effort, the country has renamed its Ministry of State Security and its Constitution. Analysts suggest these changes are attempts to project a more normalized state image to the outside world.

Kim Jong-un announces plan to establish a formal police system, renaming the Constitution, in a bid to project North Korea as a normal state.

Seoul, March 24 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unveiled a plan to introduce a police system in what might be a bid to shed its image as a reclusive country, where public security forces have traditionally carried out policing roles.

The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) will review the introduction of the "police system" at a future session, Kim said Monday on the second and final day of the first session of the newly elected 15th SPA, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The move is aimed at "further solidifying and developing our legal and social systems by revamping legal regulations and establishing more effective and practical organisational systems to guarantee national security and social stability," Kim noted.

He called a police system "essential" to state operations, emphasising the need to advance the maintenance of public order to a higher level, reports Yonhap news agency, quoting KCNA.

The leader called for thorough preparations to transform social security forces into police forces once a police system is formally established, signalling that the Ministry of Social Security, which oversees public order, might be converted into a police body.

An official at Seoul's unification ministry assessed that the move may be intended to establish a police system commonly adopted by other countries, suggesting the country is making efforts to shed its image as a reclusive nation.

In what might be a similar move, the Ministry of State Security, which monitors and suppresses dissidents, has recently been renamed the state information bureau.

The recent SPA session also renamed its Constitution from the Socialist Constitution to simply the Constitution.

- IANS
Kim Jong-un formally recognizes Seoul as the most hostile nation, warns of merciless consequences, and reaffirms North Korea's irreversible nuclear status.

Seoul, March 24 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has formally recognised South Korea as the "most hostile state" and warned of merciless consequences if provoked by Seoul, while reaffirming the North's status as a nuclear state, Pyongyang's state media reported on Tuesday.

Kim also said the North's constitution was revised to reflect the necessary demands of national development, delivering a speech Monday, the second and final day of the first session of the newly elected 15th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).



North Korea "officially recognised" South Korea "as the most hostile nation and will thoroughly ignore and disregard it through the clearest remarks and actions," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.



He also warned of "merciless" consequences against South Korea if Seoul carries out any acts that provoke North Korea.



The KCNA reported that North Korea had discussed a revision of its constitution, but it was not known whether such a revision officially recognised South Korea as a "hostile state."



North Korea's constitution calls for the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas, and Pyongyang had been expected to amend the provision after Kim ordered a legal revision in 2024 to define Seoul as "the No. 1 hostile country."



North Korea has since adopted a hostile stance toward Seoul, repeatedly ruling out the possibility of inter-Korean engagement.



Meanwhile, Kim accused the United States of carrying out terrorism and invasions in many parts of the world, apparently referring to its ongoing war with Iran, though he did not directly mention US President Donald Trump.



"Dignity, interest and the final victory of a country can only be guaranteed by the most powerful might," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.



"Whether the enemies choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence, that's their choice, and we are ready to respond to any choice."



He vowed to further advance North Korea's "defensive nuclear deterrence" and maintain a "prompt and precise" response posture for its nuclear forces to address "strategic threats" to national and regional security.



North Korea "will continue to solidify its status as a nuclear weapons state ... while aggressively staging campaigns to crush any provocations by hostile forces," Kim said.



In a parliamentary meeting in 2022, North Korea enacted a new nuclear law authorising the preemptive use of nuclear arms, calling its status of a nuclear state "irreversible."



Experts assessed that North Korea, while not confirming details, might have codified its new definition of Seoul in the constitutional revision and that the omission of details may be intended to maintain "strategic ambiguity" in case of changes in security conditions.



Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, referred to Kim's expression of "official recognition" of Seoul as the most hostile country, saying it may signify a revision of fundamental norms.



Kim In-tae, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, also said such an expression by Kim, along with other details, appears to indicate a constitutional revision reflecting the new definition of inter-Korean relations, Yonhap news agency reported.



At Monday's parliamentary meeting, the SPA increased this year's state budget by 5.8 per cent from a year earlier, the largest increase in recent years.



Kim vows to "financially guarantee the normal operation of the country and the implementation of policies for the people by increasing state revenues."



An official at Seoul's unification ministry took note of Kim's remarks that his country is prepared for both confrontation and peaceful coexistence, assessing that while he continued to criticise Washington, the criticism appeared limited in intensity.



The official reaffirmed the government's policy of seeking to improve ties with North Korea, vowing continued efforts to that end.





- IANS
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed the state police administration to ensure strict vigilance and effective management for the upcoming Ram Navami festival on March 27. Chairing a high-level meeting, he emphasized the need for peaceful celebrations and instructed officials to replicate the successful security arrangements of the previous year. The CM highlighted the police's responsibility to allow devotees to celebrate without fear or inconvenience, particularly during large processions. The meeting was attended by top officials including the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police.

Odisha CM Mohan Majhi instructs police for strict vigilance and law & order during Ram Navami 2025 celebrations across the state.

Bhubaneswar, March 24 Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday issued firm instructions to the police administration to maintain law and order across the state during the upcoming Ram Navami celebrations on March 27.

Chairing a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan here, the Chief Minister emphasised the need for strict vigilance and effective management to ensure peaceful observance of the festival throughout Odisha. It may be noted that in 2025, the festival was conducted peacefully due to extensive precautionary measures taken by the police.

The Chief Minister directed officials to replicate similar arrangements this year, including adequate deployment of police forces and proper coordination.

Highlighting the significance of Ram Navami, Majhi said the birth anniversary of Lord Shri Ram is celebrated across the country with great devotion and reverence. He stressed that it is the responsibility of the police administration to ensure that devotees in Odisha can celebrate the festival peacefully and without any fear or inconvenience.

The Chief Minister also underlined the importance of the smooth conduct of processions and the overall maintenance of public order during the celebrations.

The meeting was attended by senior officials, including Advisor to the Chief Minister Prakash Mishra, Chief Secretary Anu Garg, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Hemant Sharma, Director General of Police Y B Khurania, Additional DGP (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar, Intelligence Director R P Koche, and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Dev Datta Singh, among others.

Notably, Ram Navami is celebrated extensively across every nook and corner of Odisha, with devotees taking part in religious rituals, prayers, and cultural programs.

On this occasion, several Hindu organisations also organise large processions through towns and villages, often accompanied by music, chanting, and community gatherings, reflecting deep faith and devotion.

Due to extensive security arrangements by the Odisha Police at sensitive places, no major communal disturbances have been reported during the last couple of years.

- IANS
The UN Children's Fund reports devastating child casualties and displacement since the military escalation in the Middle East. An average of 87 children have been killed or injured daily, with millions displaced in countries like Iran and Lebanon. Critical public services, including schools used as shelters and damaged water systems, are under severe strain. UNICEF warns that humanitarian needs are outpacing available resources and calls for de-escalation and a political solution.

UNICEF reports over 2,100 children killed or injured, with massive displacement and strained humanitarian resources across the Middle East.

United Nations, March 24 More than 2,100 children have been killed or injured since the military escalation in the Middle East, UN Children's Fund Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban said.

"Twenty-three days into the escalating conflict in the Middle East, children across the region are paying a devastating price. A further descent into a wider or protracted conflict would be catastrophic for millions more," Chaiban told reporters on Monday at the UN headquarters in New York.

The casualties included 206 children killed in Iran, 118 in Lebanon, four in Israel and one in Kuwait, he said, Xinhua news agency reported.

"That is an average of approximately 87 children either killed or injured every day since the beginning of the war," Chaiban said.

Alongside the dead and wounded, there has been rapid displacement across several countries, driven by relentless bombardment and evacuation orders that have emptied communities, he said.

In Iran, the UN Refugee Agency estimated that up to 3.2 million people have been displaced, including up to 864,000 children, while in Lebanon, more than 1 million people are displaced, including an estimated 370,000 children, he said.

According to Chaiban, across the Middle East, around 44.8 million children were already living in conflict-affected settings before the escalation.

Talking about his recent visit to Lebanon, Chaiban said what he witnessed there and what is unfolding across the region "requires the full attention and a clear, collective response."

In Lebanon, more than 350 public schools were used as shelters, disrupting the education of around 100,000 students, and public services were under severe pressure, with water systems damaged and health workers killed as they tried to rescue populations, he said.

While UNICEF has reached 151,000 internally-displaced persons in more than 250 shelters and in hard-to-reach areas with essential non-food items, and was providing water and sanitation support in 188 shelters, serving around 46,000 people, the scale of needs "is increasing faster than available resources," he warned.

"We remind all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law," adding that, as the secretary-general has indicated, "we need a de-escalation and a political way forward to this war," he said.

- IANS
The conflict in West Asia is increasing input costs for packaged drinking water in Tamil Nadu, driven by a surge in petroleum-derived PET plastic. This has led manufacturers to raise prices by Rs 5-10 per 20-litre can, with bottled water cases costing Rs 20-30 more. The state's nearly 1,500 water units and 15 lakh consumers are vulnerable due to limited local container manufacturing. Retailers are already passing costs to consumers, and further fuel price hikes could escalate the burden.

Input costs for plastic containers surge, leading to Rs 5-10 hikes for 20-litre water cans in Tamil Nadu, impacting urban households.

Chennai, March 24 The ongoing conflict in the oil-rich West Asian region has begun to impact some households in Tamil Nadu, with prices of packaged drinking water rising due to an increase in input costs linked to petroleum-based materials.

After initially disrupting hotel and hospitality operations across the state, the effects are now being felt by residents who depend on 20-litre water cans and bottled water for their daily needs. The price escalation is largely attributed to a sharp rise in the cost of plastic raw materials used in manufacturing containers.



Industry sources indicate that the cost of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a petroleum derivative used to make bottles and containers, has surged due to supply constraints. As a result, the price of a new 20-litre bubble-top container has increased significantly from earlier levels, while the cost of accessories such as caps has also gone up.



Manufacturers have responded by raising the price of 20-litre water cans by around Rs 5, with some larger brands implementing hikes of up to Rs 10 per can. The price of bottled water has also increased, with a case now costing Rs 20 to Rs 30 more than before.



Tamil Nadu has close to 1,500 packaged drinking water units, catering to nearly 15 lakh consumers who rely on 20-litre cans. However, the state has only a limited number of plastic container manufacturers, leading to supply shortages and production challenges.



Each unit requires a steady supply of new containers every week, making the sector particularly vulnerable to disruptions in raw material availability.



Retailers across several parts of Chennai and other cities have already begun passing on the increased costs to consumers.



A 20-litre can that was earlier sold for around Rs 20 is now priced at Rs 25 in many places, with indications that prices could rise further in the coming days.



Households, especially in urban areas, are starting to feel the strain as monthly expenses on drinking water rise, compounded by increasing delivery charges. Industry observers warn that while fuel prices have remained stable so far, any upward revision in petrol or diesel rates could further escalate costs due to higher transportation expenses, adding to the burden on consumers.





- IANS
Pakistani authorities are set to intensify operations against undocumented Afghan refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following the Eid holidays. A voluntary repatriation drive for Afghan nationals is also commencing. This follows recent police raids in Swabi district where over 300 refugees were detained for deportation. The renewed crackdown will focus on refugees without valid documents, those running businesses, and cases involving mixed-status families.

Pakistan resumes operations against undocumented Afghan refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after Eid, with detentions and a voluntary repatriation drive underway.

Islamabad, March 24 Crackdown on undocumented Afghan refugees in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is expected to intensify after Eid holidays, as per reliable sources, local media reported on Tuesday.

The authorities had imposed a temporary halt on arrests during the Eid period to allow families to observe the festival peacefully. As the Eid celebrations concluded, law enforcement personnel are poised to resume strict actions, targeting Afghan refugees who do not have valid documents, Pakistan's leading daily The Express Tribune reported.

The process of shutting nine Afghan refugee camps was halted during the Eid holidays will resume shortly after the break ends. Meanwhile, a voluntary repatriation drive for Afghan nationals is set to begin on Wednesday, encouraging those who want to go back to Afghanistan.

Policy-based measures have been put in place to determine the future status of Afghan refugees having citizen cards. A fresh survey to update refugee data has been suggested in Peshawar, The Express Tribune reported. Special focus will be placed on refugees owning businesses, those who have obtained Pakistani documents illegally, Afghan women married to Pakistani men and other mixed-status cases.

On March 15, over 300 illegal Afghan refugees have been detained by police during raids carried out in various parts of Swabi district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local media reported.

A crackdown was launched after the district administration and police officials' decision to deport illegal Afghans, daily Dawn reported, citing sources. The police had ordered Station House Officers (SHOs) to keep data of all illegal Afghans in the jurisdictions of their police stations.

According to sources, 341 Afghan refugees were arrested during raids conducted in Topi, Razaar, Chota Lahor tehsils and other parts of Swabi on March 15. They mentioned that the raids will continue and all Afghan refugees, who are illegally residing in Swabi, will be detained and deported to Afghanistan.

Around 30,000 Afghan refugees still live in various parts of Swabi, with most of them having proper documentation, while others stay illegally. The sources revealed that these Afghan refugees were residing in Gandaf Refugees Camp and Gohati Refugees Camp, and a large number of them were staying in various farming fields and cities, Dawn reported.

- IANS
Pakistan has been ranked as the world's most polluted nation in 2025, with dangerous PM2.5 concentrations reaching up to thirteen times the World Health Organization's recommended limit. The annual report by Swiss firm IQAir found that a vast majority of monitored countries failed to meet the WHO air quality standard. Bangladesh and Tajikistan followed Pakistan on the list of most polluted nations, while countries like Australia and Iceland were among the few that met the guideline. The smog crisis poses a severe health threat in Pakistani cities like Lahore and Karachi, where industrial emissions and weather conditions severely deteriorate air quality.

Pakistan tops global pollution rankings with PM2.5 levels 13x WHO limits. Bangladesh, Tajikistan, and Chad also among most polluted nations.

Islamabad, March 24 Pakistan has been ranked as the world's smoggiest nation in 2025, with concentrations of hazardous small particles known as PM2.5 up to 13 times higher than the recommended World Health Organisation level, a research revealed on Tuesday, local media reported.

In its annual report, Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir said that 13 nations and territories kept average PM2.5 levels at the WHO standard of less than 5 microgrammes per cubic metre last year, witnessing a rise from seven in 2024, Pakistan's leading daily Dawn reported.

The report revealed that 130 out of 143 monitored countries and territories did not meet the WHO guideline. Bangladesh and Tajikistan have been ranked at the second and third spot on the world's most polluted list. Chad, which was ranked as the smoggiest nation in 2024, has been ranked fourth in 2025.

Only 14 per cent of the cities in the world met the WHO standard in 2025. The nations that met the WHO standard in 2025 included Australia, Iceland, Estonia and Panama. Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia witnessed decline in PM2.5 in comparison to the previous year due to the wetter and windier La Nina weather, Dawn reported. According to the report released by IQAir, 75 countries had lower PM2.5 levels in 2025 compared to 2024, with 54 reporting higher average concentrations.

In 2024, Pakistan was ranked among the top most polluted nations in the world. The average PM2.5 concentration in Pakistan was high, more than the safe limit of 5 micrograms per cubic metre set by WHO. Only 17 per cent of global cities in 2024 kept average PM2.5 levels at the WHO standard, Pakistan's another leading daily The Express Tribune reported.

The smog crisis in Pakistan is not only a health concern but also a setback in the nation's efforts to improve air quality. Cities like Lahore and Karachi face intense pollution, even during winter, when fog an industrial emissions together deteriorate air quality.

- IANS
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
At the UN Human Rights Council, Japanese activist Shun Fujiki delivered a sharp condemnation of Pakistan's human rights record in Balochistan. He cited over 1,200 enforced disappearances in 2025 and the ongoing detention of activist Dr Mahrang Baloch. Fujiki accused Pakistan of enabling the exploitation of the region's natural resources while local communities remain impoverished. He called for independent UN investigations and international pressure on Pakistan to uphold human rights conventions.

Japanese activist Shun Fujiki at UNHRC details enforced disappearances, resource exploitation, and repression in Pakistan's Balochistan.

Geneva, March 24 At the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Japanese human rights activist, Shun Fujiki, in his oral statement, sharply criticised Pakistan over alleged human rights violations in Balochistan.

Addressing the council, Fujiki urged delegates to "imagine Baloch mothers desperately searching" for their loved ones, describing a grim reality marked by fear and uncertainty. He claimed that in 2025 alone, more than 1,200 enforced disappearances were recorded in Balochistan, including women and at least 75 students. According to the statement, over 1,000 individuals remain missing, with allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, and unlawful detentions continuing to surface.

He further accused Pakistani authorities of enabling unchecked exploitation of Balochistan's natural resources. He asserted that despite the province's vast reserves of copper and gold, local communities remain impoverished while external actors benefit disproportionately.

He also raised concerns over the displacement of indigenous communities without consent, calling it a violation of international frameworks such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The continued detention of activist Dr Mahrang Baloch, reportedly held for over a year following a peaceful protest, was cited as an example of state repression.

Calling the situation "a crisis of dignity and justice," he questioned the international community's inaction, warning against allowing "an entire people to fade into silence."

He urged the UNHRC to take concrete steps, including launching independent fact-finding missions in key areas like Reko Diq, and pressuring Pakistan to ratify international conventions related to enforced disappearances and indigenous rights. He also recommended that international funding be conditional upon verified community consent, local employment guarantees, and measurable poverty reduction.

The address concluded with a stark warning: "Justice delayed is justice denied," as calls grew louder for global intervention in what was described as a worsening humanitarian situation in Balochistan.

- ANI
Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina cruise into the Miami Open quarterfinals with commanding straight-set victories, setting up a high-stakes clash.

Miami, March 24 Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina delivered commanding performances to book their places in the Miami Open quarterfinals, each cruising through their matches in straight sets at Hard Rock Stadium.

Fifth seed Pegula was first on court and produced a highly efficient display against Jaqueline Cristian. The American dominated on serve, not facing a single break point, while capitalising on four of her 13 break chances to secure a 6-4, 6-1 victory in just over an hour.



The win not only improved Pegula's head-to-head record against Cristian to 2-0, but also marked her fifth consecutive appearance in the Miami quarterfinals. In doing so, she became the first player to achieve that feat since Agnieszka Radwanska (2010-2014), and just the third American woman to reach five straight Miami quarterfinals, joining Chris Evert and Serena Williams.



"I thought I played really well today. I thought I served well, especially in the first set. Then I was able to return really well in the second set, and I was able to get that early break and just kind of hold on to that. I feel like I freed up a bit to return a little bit better going into the second, and I just kind of pressured her, and I felt like the last couple games went pretty quick. It seems like I was able to just keep that pressure on, so I'm happy with that today," Pegula said after her win.



Later in the day, third seed Rybakina matched that level of control in her clash with Australian qualifier Talia Gibson. The reigning Australian Open champion was never under serious threat on serve and powered to a 6-2, 6-2 win in one hour and four minutes.



Despite the defeat, Gibson's campaign capped an impressive run across the Sunshine Double. She became only the third player to reach the round of 16 at both Indian Wells and Miami in the same season as a qualifier or lucky loser, following Gisela Dulko and Varvara Gracheva.



Rybakina now holds a 5-3 edge over Pegula in their WTA Tour rivalry, having won their last four meetings over the past seven months.



"I think overall I served well all the matches I played here and also all these important moments I was staying aggressive and was winning these key moments during the matches. So, for now, it has been working well," Rybakina said of her run to the last eight.



Looking ahead to the quarterfinal showdown, she added, "Definitely, I need to serve well. That's my biggest weapon and try to be fresh, move well, because here it's a little bit faster than last match we played in Indian Wells. The ball doesn't bounce as much. So, it's a bit challenging, I would say, but, I will try to do my best and hopefully win this match."





- IANS
A photo exhibition was staged near the UN in Geneva to spotlight alleged curbs on press freedom in Pakistan. Organized by the ECO-FAWN Society, it featured posters detailing harassment and intimidation of journalists. The event aimed to engage international diplomats and observers, calling for stronger protections for media professionals. The location was chosen to bring these concerns directly to the global human rights stage.

A photo exhibition in Geneva highlights alleged harassment and intimidation of journalists in Pakistan, calling for international action.

Geneva, March 24 On the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a photo exhibition spotlighting alleged curbs on press freedom in Pakistan was staged near the Broken Chair Monument outside the United Nations office in Geneva, drawing international attention to the issue. Organised by the ECO-FAWN Society, the poster exhibition sought to highlight what participants described as a worsening environment for journalists in the country.

Set against the backdrop of ongoing human rights discussions in Geneva, the exhibition featured a series of striking posters carrying messages such as "Journalists under attack in Pakistan" and "Press freedom under threat in Pakistan." The display aimed to engage diplomats, activists, and global observers gathered in the area and to amplify concerns about the state of media freedom.

The exhibition included profiles of several journalists, outlining claims of harassment, detention, intimidation, and increasing restrictions on reporting. Organisers alleged that such pressures have created a challenging and often unsafe working environment for media professionals in Pakistan, raising serious questions about the country's commitment to democratic principles.

Through the campaign, ECO-FAWN Society called on the international community to take note of the situation and advocate for stronger protections for journalists. The organisers emphasised that a free and independent press remains a cornerstone of any democratic society and warned that continued suppression could undermine transparency and accountability.

The choice of location just steps away from the United Nations was seen as a deliberate effort to bring these concerns directly to the global stage. By positioning the protest in a prominent international setting, organisers aimed to ensure the issue resonates beyond national borders and attracts the attention of policymakers and human rights bodies. While press freedom in Pakistan remains a subject of ongoing debate, the demonstration in Geneva sent a clear message about growing unease among activists and observers.

- ANI
The British High Commission partnered with Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya in Jalandhar to host a photo exhibition raising awareness about visa fraud and irregular migration. The event showcased real-life case studies to educate students on common scam tactics and severe consequences, including potential travel bans. Officials highlighted a dedicated multilingual WhatsApp chatbot providing verified guidance on safe travel to the UK. The initiative aligns with the India-UK Mobility and Migration Partnership to promote secure international movement.

British High Commission's photo exhibition educates students on visa fraud risks, WhatsApp chatbot, and consequences of irregular migration to the UK.

Jalandhar, March 24 The British High Commission, in collaboration with Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, organised a photo exhibition on campus as part of the 'Visa Fraud Ton Bacho' awareness campaign here on Tuesday. 

The initiative aimed to educate students and young travellers about the risks associated with visa fraud and irregular migration. 

The exhibition was formally inaugurated with the traditional lighting of the lamp by Amandeep Grewal, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Deputy High Commission in Chandigarh. 

Dr Navroop Kaur extended a warm welcome to the guests. 

The exhibition showcased real-life case studies, highlighting common tactics used by fraudsters and the serious consequences of falling victim to visa scams. 

Students were sensitised to the risks of irregular migration, including financial loss, exploitation, and even a potential 10-year ban from travelling to the UK. Rajinder S Nagarkoti, Senior Adviser, Political, Media and Migration, British High Commission, also addressed the students and shared key insights about the 'Visa Fraud Ton Bacho' campaign, encouraging them to remain vigilant and informed. 

During the session, officials from the British High Commission informed the gathering about a dedicated WhatsApp chatbot (+91 70652 51380), which provides verified guidance on UK travel in English, Hindi, and Punjabi. 

The platform helps users identify fraudulent practices and access authentic information on safe and legal travel routes. 

Appreciating the initiative, Dr Ekta Khosla emphasised that awareness is the strongest tool to safeguard youth from visa fraud, adding that such efforts empower students to make informed, responsible, and secure decisions about their future abroad. 

The initiative aligns with the India-UK Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement, reflecting a shared commitment to combat irregular migration and promote safe mobility. 

The programme was coordinated by Dr Rama Sharma, with support from Dr Ramnita Saini Sharda, Coordinator of Global Linkages. 

Adding a cultural touch, students from the Music Vocal Department presented a "Folk Guldasta," while the Music Instrumental Department performed a folk orchestra under the guidance of Dr Prem Sagar and Dr Gunjan. 

The exhibition proved to be highly informative and impactful, equipping students with essential knowledge to make safe and informed decisions regarding international travel.

- IANS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha, emphasizing the severe impact of the West Asia conflict on global energy supplies and India's trade routes. He highlighted the paramount concern for the safety and livelihoods of approximately one crore Indians living in the Gulf countries. The Prime Minister detailed India's continuous diplomatic engagement with regional powers and the United States to seek a peaceful resolution. He also reported the successful evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens since the conflict began.

PM Modi addresses Rajya Sabha on West Asia war's impact on energy, trade routes, and safety of millions of Indians in Gulf, advocating for peaceful resolution.

New Delhi, March 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for a united voice promoting peace and dialogue globally, as the ongoing West Asia conflict disrupts trade, energy supplies, and affects the safety of millions of Indians in the Gulf.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi said, "It has been more than 3 weeks since the war in West Asia started. The war has caused a serious energy crisis in the world. For India, too, this situation is concerning. The war has impacted our trade routes. With this, the routine supply of petrol, diesel, gas and fertilisers has been affected."

The Prime Minister informed that since the outbreak of the war, he has held multiple phone discussions with leaders of the region and confirmed India's continuous engagement with all Gulf countries, Iran, Israel, and the United States.

"Around one crore Indians live and work in the Gulf countries, and ensuring the safety of their lives and livelihoods is also a major concern for India. Many ships from around the world are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, and a large number of Indian crew members are on board them, which is also a major concern for India. In such a difficult situation, it is necessary that from this Upper House of India's Parliament, a united voice for peace and dialogue should go out to the entire world," he said.

"Since the start of the war, I have held two rounds of phone conversations with the heads of state of most countries in West Asia. We are in continuous contact with all the Gulf countries, and we are also in touch with Iran, Israel, and the United States," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that India is prioritising the safety of its citizens during the West Asia conflict, noting that over 3,75,000 Indians have been safely evacuated so far, including more than 1,000 from Iran, while urging all sides to seek a peaceful resolution.

"Any threat to human life in this war is not in the interest of humanity, so India is making constant efforts to encourage all sides to reach a peaceful solution as soon as possible. In times of crisis, the safety of Indians both in the country and abroad is our top priority. Since the war began, more than 3,75,000 Indians have safely returned to India. From Iran alone, more than 1,000 Indians have returned safely so far, including over 700 young people who were studying medicine. Our government is working with full sensitivity during this time of crisis," he said.

"Through diplomacy, India is trying to ensure safe commutation of the country's ships even in a war situation. India has opted for a solution through dialogue to resolve this issue," PM Modi said.

The ongoing conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28.

In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.

Meanwhile, today, Arab News has cited Israeli Media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth to report that Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was prepared to negotiate with the Americans.

Ahrnaooth cited a conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US intermediary Steve Witkoff, which was approved by the highest level in Iran.

- ANI
PM Modi warns of long-term West Asia conflict impact, urges states to set up migrant worker monitoring systems and ensure food scheme benefits.

New Delhi, March 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged state governments to establish dedicated monitoring mechanisms for migrant workers and vulnerable sections, cautioning that the ongoing West Asia conflict could pose a significant challenge for the country in the coming months.

Briefing the Rajya Sabha on the evolving situation in West Asia, the Prime Minister said, "In the coming times, this crisis will pose a major test for our country. To overcome this challenge, the cooperation of all states is essential. Therefore, through this House, I wish to make an appeal to all state governments."



Highlighting the disproportionate impact of crises on weaker sections, he added, "During crises, the poor, labourers, and migrant workers are the most affected. Therefore, it must be ensured that the benefits of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana reach them on time. Proactive steps should be taken to address the difficulties of migrant workers. It would be very helpful if state governments set up special systems to monitor such situations."



The Prime Minister also flagged concerns over black marketing and hoarding, urging states to remain alert and act swiftly on any complaints related to such practices.



Calling for a unified approach, he emphasised the need for collective action under the spirit of "Team India" to sustain economic growth and navigate the global uncertainty.



"I would like to make one more request to all state governments. No matter how big the crisis, it is our collective responsibility to maintain India's rapid growth. For this, we must continue to take all necessary steps and implement reforms swiftly. This is also a great opportunity for state governments -- and it is a major test for Team India," he said.



Recalling the country's response during the Covid pandemic, PM Modi said the Centre and states had together demonstrated an "excellent model of crisis management".



"Despite having governments of different political parties, testing, vaccination, and the supply of essential items were ensured through the efforts of Team India. We must continue to work with that same spirit. With the combined efforts of all state governments and the central government, the country will effectively face this serious global crisis," he said.



Stressing that the present crisis is distinct and evolving, the Prime Minister noted, "This crisis is different, and its solutions are also being devised differently. We must face every challenge with patience, restraint, and a calm mind. As we are witnessing, the situation regarding this war is changing every moment."



He also urged citizens to remain "prepared for potential challenges" ahead, warning that the repercussions of the conflict could be prolonged.



"There is a strong possibility that the adverse effects of this war may persist for a long time. However, I assure the people of the country -- the government is vigilant, alert, and with full seriousness, it is formulating strategies and taking every decision. The welfare of the people is paramount for us. This is our identity, this is our strength," he added.





- IANS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings on the occasion of Maa Katyayani Puja, the sixth day of Chaitra Navratri. He shared a Sanskrit prayer on social media platform X, invoking the Goddess for strength, confidence, and auspicious results. The Prime Minister described Maa Katyayani as an embodiment of divinity and valour who rides a lion and destroys demons. He also reflected on the peace and spiritual strength derived from worshipping the Mother Goddess during Navratri.

PM Narendra Modi extends Navratri greetings, shares Sanskrit prayers invoking Goddess Katyayani for strength and confidence. Details on the sixth day of Chaitra Navratri.

New Delhi, March 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended greetings to devotees on the occasion dedicated to Maa Katyayani and shared a Sanskrit subhashitam, invoking the Goddess's blessings for strength and confidence.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister paid obeisance to Maa Katyayani, describing her as the embodiment of divinity and valour, and prayed for the well-being of all her devotees.



"May mother Katyayini, whose hand shines with the brilliance of the sword Chandrahasa, who rides a powerful lion and destroys demons,grant me auspicious results," he said.



The sixth day of Chaitra Navratri is dedicated to the worship of Maa Katyayani, one of the nine forms of Goddess Durga. She is revered as a symbol of Shakti, courage and determination.



PM Modi earlier shared his reflections on the spiritual essence of Navratri, emphasising the profound sense of peace and strength derived from the worship of the Mother Goddess. PM Modi also shared a devotional hymn dedicated to the Goddess, an official release from the Prime Minister's Office read.



The Prime Minister wrote on X, "Worshipping Mother Ambe brings the extraordinary joy of devotion. It grants the mind boundless peace and spiritual strength."



On Monday PM Modi shared a Sanskrit subhashitam highlighting the divine grace of Goddess Skandamata and seeking her divine blessings for the well-being of all, an official release from the Prime Minister's Office read.



The Prime Minister wrote on X, "Heartfelt prayer to Goddess Skandamata! May she, with her compassionate affection and blessings, illuminate everyone's life. Seated on a throne eternally, with two hands resting on a lotus. May the auspicious Goddess Skandamata, renowned for glory, always bestow her grace."



May the glorious Goddess Skandamata, who is always seated on a lion and holds lotus flowers in both her hands, always bless us with auspicious results, a release read.



Chaitra Navratri, one of the most significant Hindu festivals, is celebrated with great fervour across India. The nine-day festival involves the worship of Goddess Durga and her nine forms, with devotees observing fasts, performing rituals, and visiting temples to seek divine blessings.





- ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the Rajya Sabha on the ongoing West Asia conflict, outlining India's strategic approach. He highlighted the multifaceted challenges, including economic, security, and humanitarian issues, particularly for Indians in the Gulf region and vital trade routes. The government has facilitated the safe return of hundreds of thousands of citizens and engaged in high-level diplomatic talks to ensure their safety. Modi's address follows a security review and comes amid shifting international dynamics involving the US and Iran.

PM Modi addresses India's economic, security, and humanitarian challenges from the West Asia conflict, detailing efforts to safeguard citizens and trade.

New Delhi, March 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday about the various aspects of the ongoing West Asia conflict and India's strategy.

His address in the Rajya Sabha will come close to US President Donald Trump walking back on his threat to bomb Iran's power infrastructure by Monday night, saying that Iran and the US were having "very good and productive" negotiations and extended the deadline by five days.

Earlier on Monday, PM Mody spoke in Lok Sabha about the challenges the country is facing due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, highlighting the impact on Indians living in Gulf nations and the trade and economic consequences of the crisis.

PM Modi said, "This conflict has also created unforeseen challenges for India. These challenges are economic, national security-related, and humanitarian. India has extensive trade relations with the countries at war and those affected by it."

Talking about the effect of the conflict on the trade, PM Modi said, "The region where the war is taking place is also an important route for our trade with other countries. Especially, a large part of our crude oil and gas requirements is met by this region."

He said that West Asia is also important for India as "approximately one crore Indians live and work in Gulf countries".

Speaking about the steps taken by the Centre to ensure the safety and welfare of Indians affected by the conflict, PM Modi said, "Since this war began, every Indian in the affected countries has been provided necessary assistance. I have personally spoken over the phone with the heads of state of most West Asian countries in two rounds. All of them have assured full safety for Indians."

He said that over 3,75,000 Indians have returned safely to India from West Asian nations, including 1,000 from Iran, and reaffirmed his government's commitment to providing every possible assistance to those in need.

Earlier on Sunday, PM Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to review the situation and ongoing and proposed mitigating measures in the context of the ongoing West Asia conflict.

- IANS
Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman extended condolences on Genocide Day, observed to commemorate the victims of March 25, 1971. He recounted the brutal actions of Pakistani occupation forces who carried out a heinous genocide under "Operation Searchlight" against unarmed Bangladeshis. Rahman termed the event a pre-planned massacre and highlighted the armed resistance that began the Liberation War. He called on citizens to honor the martyrs' sacrifices by working towards a just, developed, and democratic Bangladesh.

PM Tarique Rahman commemorates Genocide Day, honoring victims of Pakistan's 1971 Operation Searchlight and calling for a just, prosperous Bangladesh.

Dhaka, March 25 Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Tarique Rahman, on Wednesday extended his condolences on Genocide Day, which is observed here to commemorate the victims of March 25, 1971.

Rahman recounted how Pakistan killed Bangladeshis in the name of 'Operation Searchlight". He termed March 25, 1971, one of the most disgraceful and brutal days.

In a post on X, he said, "March 25, 1971, is observed as Genocide Day. On the occasion of Genocide Day, I pay my deepest respect to all the martyrs. In the history of freedom-loving Bangladesh, 25 March 1971 remains one of the most disgraceful and brutal days. On that dark night, the Pakistani occupation forces carried out one of the most heinous genocides in history against the unarmed people of Bangladesh in the name of 'Operation Searchlight"."

"They indiscriminately opened fire on teachers, intellectuals and innocent civilians at various places, including Dhaka University, Pilkhana and Rajarbagh Police Lines, killing many people. The genocide of 25 March was a pre-planned massacre. Why this organised killing spree could not be resisted remains a matter of historical research regarding the visible role of the political leadership of that time," he added.

Rahman called for people to honour the sacrifices made by those who died.

"However, on the night of 25 March, the 8th East Bengal Regiment in Chattogram formally initiated armed resistance against the genocide by declaring 'We Revolt'. Through this resistance to genocide, the long nine-month armed Liberation War began. To convey the value and significance of independence to the present and future generations, it is essential to know about the genocide of 25 March as well. Let us all strive to honour the sacrifices of the martyrs by establishing in the state and society the spirit of the great Liberation War - equality, human dignity and social justice," he added.

Rahman called for citizens to build a just, developed, prosperous, self-reliant and democratic Bangladesh.

"Let us work together to build a just, developed, prosperous, self-reliant and democratic Bangladesh. I pray to the Almighty Allah to grant forgiveness and eternal peace to the departed souls of all the martyrs. On the occasion of Genocide Day on 25 March. I wish every success to all the programmes organised to observe the day," he said.

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a human rights organisation working against religious discrimination, has warmly welcomed the resolution introduced on March 20 in the second session of the 119th Congress of the United States House of Representatives by Congressman Greg Landsman, calling for the recognition of the 'genocide' committed in Bangladesh during the Great Liberation War of 1971.

- ANI
Puducherry District Collector A. Kulothungan has declared the union territory fully prepared for the upcoming Assembly elections, with preparations having begun six months prior. The Election Commission of India concurrently held high-level interstate meetings to review law and order and coordination for elections in multiple states. Voting in Puducherry and several other states is scheduled for phases in April. The counting of votes for all these elections is set for May 4.

Puducherry's District Collector states six-month prep ensures smooth Assembly elections. ECI reviews coordination in poll-going states. Voting dates announced.

Puducherry, March 25 Puducherry District Collector A. Kulothungan on Tuesday said preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections began nearly six months in advance, with polling personnel, resources and polling stations already identified to ensure smooth conduct of the electoral process.

Speaking to ANI, Kulothungan said adequate arrangements and training have been provided to election staff, and they are ready for the elections. He also informed that scrutiny is going on today, and the list of final candidates will be known after the withdrawal date.

"For the Puducherry Assembly election, the preparedness starts six months earlier. We have identified the polling personnel and resources. We have selected polling stations. Proper training has been given to the polling personnel. We are ready for the elections. The nomination started on 16 March and ended on 23 March. Scrutiny is going on today. The list of final candidates will be known after the withdrawal date, i.e., 26 March," said Kulothungan.

Earlier, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday also held inter-state border meetings to review poll preparedness and strengthen coordination ahead of the upcoming General Elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, as well as bye-elections in six states.

The meeting brought together Chief Secretaries, Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), Directors General of Police (DGPs), and senior officials from the five poll-going states and their twelve neighbouring states, along with heads of central enforcement agencies.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners S.S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, reviewed the law-and-order situation, poll readiness, expenditure enforcement, and seizures of illegal cash, liquor, narcotics, arms, and other items in sensitive constituencies.

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India, voting in Puducherry will take place on April 9, and polling in West Bengal will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Kerala and Assam will vote in a single phase on April 9, while Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23.

The counting of votes for all four states and Puducherry will be held on May 4, the ECI announced.

- ANI
Naveen Jindal, MP from Kurukshetra, strongly endorsed the Finance Bill 2026 in the Lok Sabha, describing it as a transformative roadmap for India's future. He emphasized that the nation's growth is powered by the indispensable partnership of taxpayers and the private sector, which contributes massively to employment and GDP. Jindal advocated for a fundamental mindset shift to treat taxpayers with respect as partners, not suspects, highlighting robust GST compliance and collections. He concluded by calling for political unity to accelerate India's journey towards becoming a strong, self-reliant, and developed nation.

MP Naveen Jindal endorses Finance Bill 2026, praising private sector and taxpayers as key partners in driving India's inclusive growth and development.

New Delhi, March 24 Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament from Kurukshetra in Haryana, strongly endorsed the Finance Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, describing it as a transformative and forward-looking roadmap that will shape the future of 140 crore Indians.

He emphasised that India's growth story is being powered by the combined strength of its taxpayers and the private sector - both of whom are indispensable partners in nation-building.

Highlighting the critical role of the private sector, Jindal underscored that it contributes over 80 per cent of employment and more than 60 per cent of India's GDP, while also driving innovation and global competitiveness.

Jindal also called for a shift in mindset towards taxpayers, advocating for a more respectful and citizen-centric approach. He highlighted improved compliance trends, noting that the GST taxpayer base has crossed 1.5 crore and gross GST collections in FY 2024-25 exceeded Rs 22 lakh crore.

"A taxpayer is not a suspect, but a partner in nation-building. Their contributions must be respected," he emphasised.

Jindal said the Finance Bill, 2026 lays the foundation for inclusive and sustainable development by empowering farmers, enabling youth, enhancing women's dignity, and securing long-term economic resilience.

"This bill is not for any one party; it is for the future of the nation, and its benefits will reach every citizen," he remarked.

He noted that India's IT exports have surpassed $200 billion, the pharmaceutical sector serves over 200 countries, and the country today has more than one lakh recognised startups and over 100 unicorns.

Jindal noted that India has demonstrated a strong recovery in the face of COVID-19, geopolitical tensions, and global supply chain disruptions.

Emphasising sustainability and quality of life, he advocated for greater promotion of natural farming to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers, lower subsidy burdens, and ensure healthier food systems. He stressed that development must be measured not only by GDP, but by improvements in everyday life.

While welcoming the provisions of the Finance Bill, Jindal also proposed key reforms to strengthen the taxation framework, including the introduction of joint tax filing for families, institutionalising dispute resolution mechanisms such as "Vivad se Vishwas," promoting faster and more structured resolution of tax disputes, and ensuring that tax notices are simple, transparent, and respectful in nature.

Concluding his address, Jindal called for unity across political lines to accelerate India's journey towards becoming a strong, self-reliant, and developed nation. "We may have different views, but when it comes to nation-building, we must move forward together," he said, extending his full support to the Finance Bill, 2026.

- IANS
China has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue amid escalating tensions around Iran, warning that a prolonged conflict serves no one's interests. The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed deep concern about the crisis's potential spillover effects across West Asia and into vital international sectors like energy, finance, and trade. Spokesperson Lin Jian emphasized that history shows military force is not a solution and that armed confrontation only breeds new hatred. China reaffirmed its commitment to acting as a diplomatic mediator to achieve a ceasefire and restore stability to the region.

China urges immediate halt to hostilities around Iran, warning a prolonged conflict harms global energy, finance, and trade. Calls for dialogue.

Beijing, March 24 China on Tuesday urged all parties involved in escalating tensions around Iran to immediately halt hostilities and return to dialogue, warning that a prolonged conflict would benefit no one, the China Daily reported.

Speaking after reports that the United States postponed planned strikes on Iran's power plants, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing was "deeply concerned" about the potential "spillover effects" of the crisis across West Asia.

"A prolonged conflict in Iran serves no one's interests, and a ceasefire and dialogue remain the only way out," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, according to China Daily.

Lin added that China has urged all sides to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation in the region.

"Beijing is deeply concerned about the spillover effects of the crisis and urged all parties to immediately stop the fighting and return to the track of peaceful dialogue," the spokesperson said, according to China Daily.

Earlier on March 20, highlighting the global repercussions of the deteriorating security situation, China on Friday warned that the "current conflict in the Middle East is continuing to escalate and expand," impacting vital international sectors and harming the "common interests of all countries."

Addressing a foreign media query regarding the regional crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian noted that the fallout extends far beyond the immediate battlefield. He emphasised that the instability is "not only undermining peace and stability in the region, but also directly impacting international energy, finance, trade and shipping."

The spokesperson underscored Beijing's stance against the use of force, suggesting that kinetic actions often yield counterproductive results. "History and reality have repeatedly shown that military force is not a solution to problems, and armed confrontation will only breed new hatred," Lin told a regular press conference.

In a direct appeal for de-escalation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged that the "parties concerned should immediately press the pause button on military operations to prevent the situation from deteriorating further."

Reaffirming China's role as a diplomatic mediator in the ongoing crisis, he expressed Beijing's commitment to finding a non-military resolution. "China will continue to engage in mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire and end the hostilities, so that peace and stability can return to the Middle East at an early date," Lin added.

- ANI
The government is pushing to amend the Women's Reservation Act to implement a one-third quota without waiting for a new Census and delimitation, potentially using 2011 data. Female MPs from across party lines, including BJP, Shiv Sena(UBT), JD(U), Congress, and SP, have welcomed the move to fast-track political empowerment. The amendment could expand the Lok Sabha to 816 seats, with 273 new seats reserved for women, raising the majority mark to 409. The government aims to pass the amendment in the ongoing Budget Session despite lacking a clear majority for the constitutional change.

Female MPs welcome govt plan to amend Nari Shakti Vandan Act, delinking women's quota from delimitation to implement it faster.

New Delhi, March 24 As the Centre reportedly prepares to introduce two key bills in Parliament to operationalise one-third reservation for women in legislative bodies, female MPs across party lines have welcomed the initiative, highlighting its significance for empowerment and inclusive development in the country.

According to reports, in an effort to build a wider political consensus for amending the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the government is seeking to delink the implementation of women's reservation from the pending delimitation exercise.

As part of this outreach, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday held discussions with leaders of several non-Congress opposition parties.

The proposed legislative changes include amendments to the Women's Reservation Act, 2023, which had earlier linked the implementation of the quota to the completion of the next Census and the subsequent delimitation of constituencies.

However, with delays in conducting the Census, the government is now considering proceeding on the basis of the 2011 Census data.

Welcoming the move, BJP MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat told IANS, "The Prime Minister has already clarified his stance on the Women's Reservation Bill and what his vision is for women's empowerment. But the most encouraging thing is that before making decisions for women's empowerment, he prepares them."

"Over the past 10 years, new policies have been introduced to promote women's development, providing them with new opportunities. Today, women are ready to perform on every platform," she added.

Shiv Sena(UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also expressed support for the move.

Speaking to IANS, she said, "I welcome this. When the historic Bill was passed before the 2024 elections, women's reservation was promised till 2029. However, it was linked to the upcoming Census and delimitation exercise. But now, with this amendment, based on the 2011 census, parliamentary seats will increase, and women will finally get their long-pending right, decades overdue, regarding representation, respect, and equality for women."

JD(U) MP Lovely Anand termed the development a positive step and said, "It is a very nice thing that this is being worked upon. We welcome this step by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take this historic step. One cannot expect the country to move forward if the women are limited to their homes."

Speaking to IANS, Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajani Patil also backed the initiative, stating, "We welcome this step. Rajiv Gandhi was the father of the women's reservation. No one can forget it."

Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hassan told IANS, "The Bill was passed a long time ago. It is very important that this Bill is not limited to papers and is actually implemented on the ground. I am happy that the government is again thinking about this."

The proposed move is expected to significantly reshape India's political landscape and reinforce Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus on women-led development.

If implemented as planned, the number of seats in the Lok Sabha could increase by nearly 50 per cent, rising from the current 543 to 816, with as many as 273 additional seats reserved for women.

This expansion is aimed at ensuring that the new quota does not displace existing members, most of whom are male, while enabling a smoother transition to a more inclusive parliamentary structure.

With the expansion, the majority mark in the Lok Sabha would also increase to 409 seats.

Although the ruling NDA does not currently possess the numbers required to pass the amendment on its own, the government appears keen to push for its approval during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament, which is scheduled to conclude on April 4.

- IANS
A balloon inscribed with 'PIA' was discovered in a farmer's field in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, prompting a security investigation. Farmer Manpreet Singh spotted the inflated balloon and immediately informed the local police. Authorities have secured the balloon and involved intelligence agencies to determine its origin and purpose, suspecting it may have drifted from Pakistan. This incident follows previous sightings of similar balloons and recent security concerns involving Pakistani drones and recovered weapon caches along the border.

A balloon marked 'PIA' found in a Sri Ganganagar field triggers a security probe. Farmer alerted police; intelligence agencies informed.

Sri Ganganagar, March 24 A balloon bearing the inscription "PIA" was discovered in a farmer's field in Joiyawali village, falling under the jurisdiction of Jaitsar Police Station in Sri Ganganagar. The balloon has been secured, and relevant authorities have been informed for further investigation, officials said.

"A Pakistani balloon, bearing the inscription 'PIA', was discovered in a field near Johiyawali village, falling under the jurisdiction of the Jaitsar Police Station in Sri Ganganagar. The balloon has been secured at the concerned police station, and the relevant agencies have been contacted. Further action is currently underway," Sri Ganganagar SP Hari Shankar told ANI.

The balloon was spotted by farmer Manpreet Singh in the field in village 11 Joiyawali while attending to his irrigation turn. He noticed the inflated balloon near the embankment of his field, attached to a three-foot-long string, and immediately alerted the police.

Subsequently, Jaitsar Police personnel arrived at the site to investigate, while the Intelligence Department has also been apprised of the situation.

Authorities are working to determine the balloon's origin and whether it carries any additional suspicious materials. It is suspected that the balloon may have drifted from Pakistan during recent Eid festivities.

Balloons inscribed with "PIA" have frequently been found in fields across this region in the past. Earlier, shepherds discovered a similar balloon in village 7 LC.

Earlier in January, Pakistani drones were spotted in the Samba district, Jammu and Kashmir, along the Line of Control in the Naushera-Rajouri sector. The Indian Army responded with counter-unmanned aerial systems measures, forcing the drones to return, according to Defence sources. Local witnesses reported extensive firing in the areas of Jangarh and Kalal around 7:28 pm, praising the prompt action of the Indian Army.

The development comes days after a joint operation by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Jammu and Kashmir Police in the border village of Paloora, Samba district, led to the recovery of a consignment of arms and ammunition. The seizure included a made-in-China 9mm pistol with two magazines, a Glock 9mm pistol with one magazine, a Chinese hand grenade marked SPL HGR 84, and sixteen live 9mm rounds.

- ANI
The AIADMK has released its manifesto for the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, outlining 297 promises. Key pledges include a Rs 2000 monthly direct benefit for the female head of ration card-holding families and extending the free bus travel scheme to men. The party also promises a one-time Rs 10,000 special assistance to every family to combat price rise and tax burdens. The election is shaping up as a contest between the DMK-led alliance and the AIADMK-led NDA, with actor Vijay's party attempting a three-way fight.

AIADMK's 2026 Tamil Nadu manifesto promises Rs 2000 monthly to female heads, free bus travel for men, Rs 10,000 special assistance, and gas cylinders.

Chennai, March 24 Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday released the party's election manifesto, promising Rs 2000 monthly to female heads of households.

Palaniswami released a manifesto with 297 promises, including a special assistance of Rs. 10,000 per family to combat tax burdens and rising prices of goods.

"Under the administratively incompetent Stalin-led DMK regime--characterised by its lack of vision--the prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed over the past five years. Consequently, the public has been severely affected. Furthermore, various taxes--including property tax, house tax, electricity tariffs, and water charges--have been hiked. As a result, the daily financial burden on households has increased manifold. Therefore, with the aim of alleviating this burden on the people, a special assistance sum of Rs. 10,000 will be provided to every family," the manifesto read.

EPS promised the 'Kula Vilakku Scheme' for women, and the manifesto said, "To foster economic equilibrium within society, a monthly assistance allowance of Rs 2,000 will be provided to all ration cardholders through the 'Kula Vilakku Scheme.' This amount will be deposited directly into the bank account of the female head of the household."

AIADMK has also promised that the ration card holders will receive lentils along with rice, and will also receive refrigerators.

The party has promised to extend the free bus travel scheme to men, in addition to women. Three free cooking gas cylinders per year for every ration cardholder, the manifesto said.

Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4.

Under the NDA seat-sharing agreement, the alliance led by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will contest over 170 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been allotted 27 seats, followed by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) with 18 seats, and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) with 11 seats.

The main electoral contest is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which also includes Congress, DMDK, and the VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is set to make his electoral debut with TVK, attempting to turn the upcoming elections into a three-way contest.

- ANI
The Travancore Devaswom Board has filed written submissions urging the Supreme Court to adopt a community-centric understanding of religion under Article 25. It argues the 'essential religious practices' doctrine is an impermissible judicial addition not found in the constitutional text. The Board contends courts must not impose external standards of rationality on sincerely held religious beliefs. These submissions are part of the review of the 2018 verdict that allowed women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple.

Travancore Devaswom Board argues for community-centric view of religion, urges Supreme Court to discard 'essential practices' test in Sabarimala review.

New Delhi, March 24 Ahead of the commencement of hearings before a nine-judge Constitution Bench in the Sabarimala review matter, written submissions filed on behalf of the Travancore Devaswom Board have urged the Supreme Court to adopt a "community-centric and subjective" understanding of religion under Article 25 of the Constitution, cautioning against judicial reinterpretation of religious beliefs and practices.

The submissions, settled by senior advocate Dr Abhishek Singhvi, contend that religion constitutes a "collective system of beliefs and practices" and must be assessed from the standpoint of the community that professes it, rather than through external or judicially imposed standards.

"The beliefs and practices of the community have to be judged by the subjective belief of the community...it is not for the Court to sit in judgment on that belief," the written submissions stated, adding that courts must refrain from substituting their own notions of rationality or morality in matters of faith.

Arguing against the continued application of the "essential religious practices" doctrine, the submissions contended that such a test finds no basis in the text of Article 25 and amounts to an impermissible judicial addition to constitutional limitations.

"It is impermissible to add, modify or subtract from the specific constitutional text," the document stated, adding that the so-called essentiality test introduces a "fifth derogation" beyond the explicitly enumerated grounds of public order, morality, health, and other fundamental rights.

The Board has contended that once a belief or practice is found to be genuinely and conscientiously held as part of a religion, it must receive constitutional protection, subject only to the expressly stated restrictions.

At the same time, the document clarified that religious freedom is not absolute and remains subject to statutory regulation in cases where practices run contrary to public order, morality, health, or other fundamental rights.

Highlighting constitutional intent, the submissions trace the framing of Article 25 to the Constituent Assembly debates, asserting that the permissible limitations on religious freedom were "arrived at after detailed and meticulous deliberations" and cannot be expanded through judicial innovation.

The plea further argues that religion, though incapable of precise definition, encompasses a wide range of practices, including rituals, ceremonies, modes of worship, and even aspects such as entry, dress, and conduct within religious spaces, all of which form part of protected religious expression.

It also contended that individual rights under Article 25 must be harmonised with the collective rights of a religious denomination, stressing that individual assertions cannot override the shared beliefs and practices of the community.

The submissions further stated that judicial review in matters of religion must be minimal and self-restrained, cautioning against courts "rationalising religion" or imposing their own notions of morality on faith-based practices.

The submissions have been filed in the batch of review petitions arising out of the Supreme Court's 2018 judgment permitting entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple. In the background, the apex court had earlier fixed a detailed schedule for hearing the reference, with arguments to commence from April 7 and conclude by April 22.

A Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant clarified that the issue of maintainability of the reference already stands settled and identified seven substantial questions of law for consideration by the Constitution Bench.

- IANS
Bollywood actor Samir Soni has issued a strong statement, declaring he would rather quit acting than continue playing supporting roles after over two decades in the industry. He shared this candid ultimatum on social media, expressing that it is now his time to play the lead. Soni is best known for his impactful supporting roles in films like "Fashion," "Baghban," and "Vivah." He is married to former actress Neelam Kothari, and the couple adopted a daughter in 2013.

Bollywood actor Samir Soni declares he will quit acting rather than accept more supporting roles after 25 years, demanding lead parts.

Mumbai, March 24 Bollywood actor Samir Soni, on Tuesday, made a strong statement about his career.

The actor expressed his thoughts saying he would rather quit acting than continue playing supporting roles after over two decades in the industry.



Taking to his social media account, the actor shared a candid yet strong post expressing his thoughts.



"I rather 'quit' acting... Than play a 'good' son, brother husband, father or any other supporting role! After waiting for over 25 yrs. It's my time to play the lead now," it read.



The post featured a close-up picture of Samir Soni in a red T-shirt, looking intense, probably reflecting the mood of his message.



He also added the hashtag #latenightmusings, hinting that the post came from a moment of late-night reflection.



Talking about Samir, the actor has been a familiar face in films and television.



He is known for his roles in movies like Fashion, directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, where he shared screen space with Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Mugdha Godse.



He has also appeared in films such as Baghban, Vivah and Student of the Year, often playing impactful supporting roles, and with Fashion earning him appreciation.



On the personal front, Samir Soni is married to the 80s star of Bollywood, Neelam Kothari.



A popular star of the late '80s and '90s, Neelam had gone onto feature in several hit films like Ilzaam, Love 86, Khudgarz and Hum Saath Saath Hain, and was known for her on-screen charm and strong screen presence.



Her on-screen pairing with Bollywood superstar Govinda was a superhit back then. After stepping away from films, she successfully forrayed into jewellery design and entrepreneurship.



Samir and Neelam's love story is one of second chances in their respective lives. Both Samir and Neelam had earlier gone through failed marriages before finding each other.



The two met through common friends and gradually developed a strong bond. After dating for a few years, they got married on January 23, 2011, in an intimate ceremony.



The couple, after a few years, adopted a daughter, Ahana, in 2013, and often share glimpses of their family life on social media.



Neelam and Samir was seen together in the show The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives.





- IANS
Iran's Consul General in Mumbai states that Western sanctions have significant repercussions on global markets and are a key factor in regional tensions. He asserts that Iran has shown restraint by not fully closing the critical Strait of Hormuz, restricting it only for hostile countries. The envoy places responsibility for the escalated conflict on attacks by the US and Israel, claiming Iran's response was in self-defence. While open to diplomatic engagement, Motlagh insists necessary conditions must first be met by adversaries.

Iranian Consul General in Mumbai says Western sanctions disrupt global oil markets and escalate West Asia tensions. Details on Strait of Hormuz and diplomacy.

Mumbai, March 24 Iran's Consul General in Mumbai, Saeid Reza Mosayeb Motlagh, said Western sanctions against Iran have had significant repercussions on global markets and contributed to the broader tensions currently unfolding in West Asia.

Speaking to ANI about the impact of sanctions imposed by Western countries, Motlagh said the measures reflect a "long-standing pattern of hostility toward Iran" and have "intensified to the point of armed confrontation and direct attacks on Iran."

He said, " Iran is one of the world's oil-producing countries, and sanctioning it has an impact on the global market. Second, these sanctions reflect a long-standing pattern of hostility toward Iran that dates back many years. Today, this hostility has intensified to the point of armed confrontation and direct attacks on Iran. Naturally, these underlying factors have had a substantial influence on the outbreak of the current conflict and the challenges the world is facing today."

Responding to questions on Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil transit route, the Iranian envoy said the ongoing war has forced Tehran to "mobilise all" its "capabilities in response" but claimed that Iran has exercised restraint considering the global impact. In case of restraint, he gave the example of India, for which the Strait of Hormuz is not closed.

"The war they have imposed on us has affected our very existence. It is an existential war, requiring us to mobilise all our capabilities in response. However, out of consideration for people around the world, for example, for the people of India, we have not closed the Strait. It has only been restricted for hostile countries and for their interests, including companies associated with them... Due to the wartime situation, it is a highly dangerous passage....," he said.

On the surge in global oil prices amid the conflict, Motlagh said Iran remains open to diplomatic engagement under certain conditions.

" ... We are ready for negotiations, but the necessary conditions must be fulfilled. Otherwise, in a few months, they will attack us again and subject us to the same challenges...", he said.

Speaking to ANI, on the ongoing conflict, Motlagh said the situation escalated after Iran was attacked, adding that Tehran's response was carried out in self-defence.

"If peace were to prevail in the region, the United States and the Zionist regime should not have attacked us," he said. "Clearly, they escalated the situation, and we responded accordingly. Therefore, they are responsible for increasing tensions and intensifying the conflict, not the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The Iranian envoy stressed that Tehran has long supported diplomatic engagement to address regional disputes.

"Our country has shown from the outset that it seeks dialogue-based solutions and diplomacy. However, our adversaries have demonstrated that they are not committed to dialogue," Motlagh said. He added that the attacks were carried out "without any legitimate legal justification or valid objective," placing Iran under "a broad crisis and significant pressures."

Motlagh further said those responsible for the attacks must be held accountable and that the conditions set by Iranian national authorities must be fulfilled.

- ANI
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of eight Additional Judges as Permanent Judges in two High Courts. Five judges are proposed for the Chhattisgarh High Court and three for the Madras High Court. The recommendations follow a detailed review of the judges' performance statistics, including case disposals and attendance. The final appointment is made by the President of India under constitutional provisions.

Supreme Court Collegium headed by CJI Surya Kant recommends appointing 8 Additional Judges as Permanent Judges in the Chhattisgarh and Madras High Courts.

New Delhi, March 24 The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, on Tuesday recommended the appointment of permanent judges to the High Courts of Chhattisgarh and Madras.

"The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held on 24th March, 2026, has approved the proposals for appointment of the following Additional Judges as Permanent Judges in the High Court of Chhattisgarh: (i) Shri Justice Sachin Singh Rajput, (ii) Shri Justice Radhakishan Agrawal, (iii) Shri Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal, (iv) Shri Justice Bibhu Datta Guru, and (v) Shri Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad," said a statement uploaded on the official website of the apex court.

In a separate statement, the Collegium approved the proposal for the appointment of three Additional Judges as Permanent Judges in the Madras High Court.

"The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held on 24th March, 2026, has approved the proposal for appointment of the following Additional Judges as Permanent Judges in the Madras High Court: (i) Ms. Justice R. Poornima, (ii) Shri Justice M. Jothiraman, and (iii) Dr. (Smt.) Justice Augustine Devadoss Maria Clete," the statement said.

The Chief Justice and Judges of the High Courts are appointed by the President under clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution.

While recommending the appointment of an Additional Judge as a Permanent Judge, the Chief Justice of the High Court is required to furnish detailed statistics, including month-wise disposal of cases and judgments delivered by the judge concerned, as well as the number of cases reported in law journals, duly certified by them.

The data must also include information regarding the total number of working days, the number of days the judge actually attended court, and the days of absence during the relevant period for which disposal statistics are submitted.

Additional Judges are appointed by the President under clause (1) of Article 224 of the Constitution.

- IANS
Security agencies are on high alert over intelligence indicating banned groups like the Popular Front of India (PFI) and Islamic State are planning strikes and disinformation campaigns to disrupt upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. These outfits aim to create communal tensions, which they then exploit as a tool for radicalization and recruitment, particularly among the youth. The threat is compounded by the activities of another banned group, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which is using ghost social media accounts for large-scale radicalization in South India. Officials note that conflicts in the Gulf region increase the vulnerability of these southern states to such radicalization efforts.

Intelligence warns PFI, ISIS, and Hizb-ut-Tahrir plan attacks and disinformation campaigns to disrupt Tamil Nadu and Kerala elections.

New Delhi, March 24 The security agencies are closely monitoring online chatter by terror operatives and their sympathisers as the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala get ready for elections.

Intelligence inputs suggest that plans are afloat by sympathisers of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and those linked to the Islamic State, to try and disrupt the elections.

The agencies say that sympathisers and cadres of both the PFI and Islamic State are working closely to undertake a strike in a bid to disrupt the elections.

However the agencies warn that the bigger threat for these southern states is the disinformation campaign that these outfits are planning to indulge in.

Disinformation campaigns are aimed at creating communal tensions. If communal harmony is disturbed, then it acts as a perfect radicalisation and recruitment tool.

The Islamic State has focussed extensively on the southern states and tends to get more traction in this part of the country.

However, its activities have largely been online and the bigger aim is to radicalise the youth in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in large numbers.

The terror group will look to take advantage of the fact that the security apparatus would be busy in ensuring that the elections are conducted smoothly.

The current focus of these terror groups is limited to Kerala and Tamil Nadu and once the elections are completed they would look to target the remaining states in South India.

An official said that the radicalisation in South India witnessed a massive jump when the Wahhabi preachers visited in large numbers. This set the tone, following which outfits such as the PFI, Islamic State and Al-Qaeda to some extent managed to find a foothold.

The official added that these groups have treated South India as their radicalisation laboratory for long. The danger in South India is that the radicalisation process for these terror outfits has been relatively easier in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the official pointed out.

Another official said that prior to the dates of the elections being announced, these groups were already planning attacks and indulging in disinformation campaigns.

Further the world today is a fragile place owing to so many conflicts and this is being taken advantage of, the official added.

After the war in Iran broke out, the Union Home Ministry had issued an advisory warning against possible radicalisation attempts. An Intelligence Bureau official said that when there is conflict in the Gulf, it is the Southern states that become more vulnerable to radicalisation.

While the Wahhabi spread is one reason for this, the other is that there is a large population from Kerala who are in the Gulf.

In addition to the existing threats from the Islamic State and PFI, the agencies are also closely watching another group-the Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT). The HuT which has been banned by the Indian government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has opened several ghost accounts on social media platforms which are aimed at large scale radicalisation in South India.

The agencies are keeping a close watch on the content that the HuT has been circulating online. Its activities have only increased in the wake of the elections coming up, an official said.

Some of the content that it circulates includes the creation of hit squads in South India and also the need to carry out lone wolf attacks. With these fresh inputs coming in ahead of the elections, the agencies are also re-visiting the investigation that was conducted following the arrest of Faizul Rehman the Emir of the HuT in Tamil Nadu.

He had told his interrogators that the HuT wants to set up several recruitment modules in South India. He also said that they planned on inciting the youth and creating communal tensions in the region.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that all the terror groups operating in South India are currently focussing mainly on inciting communal violence. They want to disrupt the electoral process and then use the violence as a radicalisation and recruitment tool.

Polls are due in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry. In Kerala, Assam and Puducherry elections will be held on April 9. West Bengal would poll on April 23 and 29 in two phases. Elections in Tamil Nadu will be held in a single phase on April 23. Counting will take place across all four states and Puducherry (UT) on May 4.

- IANS
A Colombian military Hercules aircraft crashed during takeoff from Puerto Leguizamo, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries. The country's defence minister expressed profound sorrow as military units responded to the scene, though the exact number of victims and cause remain undetermined. Reports on the death toll vary, with Reuters citing military sources stating it had reached 66, while the Aerospace Force confirmed six crew members died. Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez offered condolences, and the incident follows a similar crash of a Bolivian Air Force Hercules in February.

A Colombian military Hercules plane crashes in Puerto Leguizamo, killing dozens. Rescue ops ongoing as authorities investigate the cause.

Bogota, March 24 Several people are feared to have lost their lives while dozens are injured after a military plane crashed as it took off from southern Colombia, the New York Times reported, citing authorities.

As per the country's defence minister, Pedro A Sanchez, the tragic accident involving the Hercules aircraft took place as it took off from Puerto Leguizamo while transporting troops.

He expressed profound sorrow and said that while military units are already at the scene of the incident; however, the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined.

Referring to El Tiempo, the largest newspaper in Colombia, the New York Times reported that the aircraft was carrying at least 120 people, as per an unnamed source.

Meanwhile, in a post on X, the official account of the Colombian Aerospace Force confirmed the death of six crew members who lost their lives in the line of duty.

However, Reuters reported the death toll had reached 66 by Monday evening, citing two military sources.

Colombian Air Aerospace Force further noted that rescue ops are underway with the transfer of the injured to the military hospital.

In the wake of the accident, Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez offered condolences to the victims.

She said, "My solidarity and condolences to the people and Government of Colombia for the unfortunate plane crash that occurred in Puerto Leguizamo. From Venezuela, we send a fraternal embrace and our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured."

This comes shortly after a Bolivian Air Force Hercules aircraft had crashed in February, leaving dozens killed and several injured.

This is a developing story.

- ANI
TV star Shraddha Arya shares adorable birthday post for husband Rahul Nagal, celebrating love and their newborn twins. See the sweet photos.

Mumbai, March 24 A popular name in the television industry, Shraddha Arya showered her husband, Rahul Nagal, with love on his birthday with an adorable wish on social media.

Declaring herself to be goofy, happy, and absolutely in love, Shraddha penned on her official Instagram handle, "Goofy, happy, and completely in love...HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my forever!!!" #Hubub (sic)".



The photos dropped by the 'Kumkum Bhagya' actress on her account featured her on what seemed to be a dinner date with her husband on his special day.



In one of the snaps, Shraddha was even seen giving her husband a peck on the cheek.



For those who do not know, Shraddha tied the knot with the Indian Navy Officer Rahul Nagal in an intimate ceremony in New Delhi on November 17, 2021.



The couple announced their first pregnancy on social media in September 2024 and welcomed twins- a girl and a boy on November 29, 2024.



As the two celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary in November last year, Shraddha wished her husband with a heartfelt post that read, "Love grew, times TWO... Happy 4 years to us, Hubby! (red heart emoji) #FourAtFour #FantasticFour #OurWeekend."



Shraddha keeps on sharing such lovely updates from her personal and professional life on social media.



In her recent post, she revealed that she cannot wait to meet fellow actress Divyanka Tripathi's 'little miracle'.



Shraddha recently met her good friend Divyanka for the first time since the latter's pregnancy announcement.



Spilling her excitement on social media, the 'Tumhari Paakhi' actress shared, "Afternoons like these...old friends, little ones, and love growing in the most beautiful way. So special catching up with you both... can't wait to meet your little miracle soon @divyankatripathidahiya @vivekdahiya."



The 'Yeh Hai Mohabbatein' actress was seen flaunting her baby bump for the first time since announcing her pregnancy.





- IANS
Iran's Defence Council has declared that the safe transit of non-hostile vessels through the critical Strait of Hormuz is now contingent on prior coordination with Iranian officials. The warning comes amid escalating tensions, with Tehran blaming the US and Israel for military aggression and vowing a destructive response to any strikes on its energy infrastructure. The Council further cautioned that targeting Iranian coasts could lead to the deployment of naval mines across major shipping lanes, potentially freezing maritime activity in the Persian Gulf. The statement reaffirms Iran's military readiness, referencing past conflicts and current retaliatory strikes.

Iran's Defence Council states safe passage for non-hostile vessels through the Strait of Hormuz now requires prior coordination with Tehran.

Tehran, March 24 The Iranian Defence Council has announced that the transit of "non-hostile vessels" through the strategic Strait of Hormuz is now strictly dependent on prior "coordination with Iranian officials".

According to a report by state broadcaster Press TV on Monday, this move comes amidst what Tehran describes as ongoing military aggression by the United States and Israel against Iranian territory.

The Council issued a stern warning that any further strikes on the nation's "power plants and energy infrastructure" would meet an immediate and "decisive and destructive response" from the Iranian Armed Forces.

The statement by the Defence Council, as highlighted by Press TV, follows a series of high-intensity retaliatory actions. Tehran previously targeted the Dimona nuclear complex in response to an attack on its Natanz facility, while also striking US assets following hostilities in the gas-rich Asalouyeh region.

In an escalation of maritime rhetoric, the Council cautioned that any attempt to target Iranian coasts or islands would lead to the deployment of "various types of naval mines" across all major shipping routes.

Iranian officials maintained that such a move remains "within the framework of their legitimate right and in accordance with accepted military statutes," according to Press TV.

The Council warned that such defensive measures would effectively "freeze maritime activities" in the Persian Gulf, creating a blockade similar to the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Responsibility for this potential maritime paralysis, the statement argued, lies solely with Washington and the Israeli regime as the primary "aggressors."

Drawing on historical precedents, the Council referenced the reported "destruction of more than 100 naval mine sweepers" by Iranian forces during the height of Gulf tensions in the 1980s to underscore their current capabilities.

As reported by Press TV, the Council reaffirmed that "coordination with Iran" is the only viable path for vessels to navigate the region safely.

The statement further noted that all branches of the military and government have "pledged allegiance" to the new Leader, "Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei," following the death of Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and several commanders in late February.

The current conflict, which began on February 28, has seen the Iranian Armed Forces initiate large-scale "missile and drone strikes" against both Israeli positions and US interests across the region in what Tehran describes as a "legitimate response."

- ANI
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan held high-level talks with UK Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth, reinforcing the growing defence partnership. The discussions highlighted progress in defence intelligence collaboration and the successful exchange of Qualified Flying Instructors between the two air forces. Smyth's visit included meetings with Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and a visit to Air Force Station Gwalior to observe operational procedures. The engagement underscores a shared commitment to a deeper, future-ready defence relationship through expanded training and strategic exchanges.

CDS Anil Chauhan & UK's Air Chief Harvey Smyth advance defence collaboration, focusing on training, intelligence & air force integration.

New Delhi, March 24 General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff, held a high-level interaction on Tuesday with Harvey Smyth, Chief of Air Staff of the Royal Air Force, reaffirming the growing strength of the India-United Kingdom defence partnership.

The discussion highlighted the continuing exchange of instructors as a key pillar of bilateral cooperation and emphasised significant progress in enhancing defence intelligence collaboration.

The CDS also commended the successful conduct of the 17th Military Sub Group Meeting and expressed confidence in advancing a deeper, more integrated, and future-ready defence engagement.

The UK's Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Harvey Smyth, began his three-day visit to India on Monday. According to the British High Commission in India, the visit highlights the deepening defence cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the air domain, through expanded training, operational exchanges, and strategic engagement.

The CAS began his visit by paying homage to fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in the national capital and reviewing a Guard of Honour presented by the Indian Air Force.

He also held talks with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, focusing on evolving security threats and ways to strengthen cooperation between the two air forces further. The discussions come as India and the UK continue to expand collaboration through joint training programmes and educational exchanges.

The statement noted that in February this year, both countries signed an agreement under which the Indian Air Force will deploy three Qualified Flying Instructors to Royal Air Force Valley, a key training base for British fast jet pilots. An Indian instructor is already contributing at RAF College Cranwell.

The two air chiefs are also scheduled to visit Air Force Station Gwalior to gain insights into the IAF's operational procedures and best practices in countering emerging aerial threats.

Earlier, speaking on the visit, Smyth said it was a privilege to engage with India and build on the strong defence partnership, underlining that ongoing exchanges reflect "depth of trust, shared professionalism, and mutual commitment".

"I look forward to building on this momentum and continuing to deepen the cooperation between our air forces in the years ahead," he added.

Commodore Chris Saunders, Defence Adviser at the British High Commission, said the visit underscores the strategic importance both nations attach to strengthening defence ties. He noted that embedding IAF instructors within UK training establishments and increasing multi-domain cooperation represent a substantive enhancement of bilateral engagement.

He further highlighted that this marks the fourth and most senior flag-rank visit from the UK to India in 2026, signalling continued momentum in the defence partnership.

During his visit, the UK Air Chief is also expected to meet other members of India's civil and military leadership to further advance cooperation.

- ANI
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence reported detecting multiple Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels operating around its territory, with all tracked aircraft crossing the median line. This activity occurs within the long-standing and unresolved dispute over Taiwan's sovereignty. China bases its claim on historical precedents dating back to the Qing Dynasty and the post-WWII period. Taiwan, however, functions with its own independent government and military while avoiding a formal declaration of independence to prevent conflict.

Taiwan's defense ministry reports PLA aircraft and PLAN vessels operating near its territory, amid the ongoing historical and political dispute over Taiwan's status.

Taipei, March 24 Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence on Tuesday recorded the presence of 9 PLAN vessels, 3 sorties of PLA aircraft and 1 official ship around its territory.

As per the MND, three out of the three sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern part ADIZ.

Sharing the details in a post on X, it said, "3 sorties of PLA aircraft, 9 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 3 out of 3 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern part ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded."

Earlier on Monday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence detected the presence of seven Chinese naval vessels and three official ships operating around its territorial waters.

In a post on X, the MND said, "7 PLAN vessels and 3 official ships operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded. No flight path illustration is provided, as we did not detect PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan during this timeframe."

China's claim over Taiwan is a complex issue rooted in historical, political, and legal arguments. Beijing asserts that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, a viewpoint embedded in national policy and upheld by domestic laws and international statements.

Taiwan, however, maintains a distinct identity, functioning independently with its own government, military, and economy. Taiwan's status remains a significant point of international debate, testing the principles of sovereignty, self-determination, and non-interference in international law, as per the United Service Institution of India.

China's claim to Taiwan originates from the Qing Dynasty's annexation of the island in 1683 after defeating Ming loyalist Koxinga.

However, Taiwan remained a peripheral region under limited Qing control. The key shift came in 1895, when the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War, marking Taiwan as a Japanese colony for 50 years. After Japan's defeat in World War II, Taiwan was returned to Chinese control, but the sovereignty transfer was not formalised.

In 1949, the Chinese Civil War resulted in the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland, while the Republic of China (ROC) retreated to Taiwan, asserting its claim to govern all of China. This led to dual sovereignty claims: the PRC over the mainland and the ROC over Taiwan. Taiwan has operated as a de facto independent state but has avoided declaring formal independence to prevent military conflict with the PRC, United Service Institution of India states.

- ANI
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin opposes using 2011 census for women's reservation, calls for constitutional safeguards and a special Parliament session.

Chennai, March 24 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday raised concerns over reports suggesting that women's representation in Parliament and State Assemblies may be implemented based on the 2011 Census.

In an 'X' post, Stalin said such a move would be contrary to the provisions of the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023, which envisages the implementation of women's reservation only after fresh delimitation based on the Census to be conducted after 2026.



"The recent newspaper reports indicate that women's representation in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies is being considered based on the 2011 Census. This step is not in line with The Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 passed by the Union BJP Government and its earlier position to take up this historic initiative only after delimitation is carried out based on the Census conducted after 2026. This is most probably aimed at securing electoral gains in the forthcoming Assembly elections in four major States. Pushing such an important step when the Model Code of Conduct is already in force is unprecedented," MK Stalin said.



Reaffirming his support for women's reservation, Stalin said the DMK backs the initiative without any preconditions but stressed the need for fair delimitation. He maintained that the existing proportional representation of States should not be disturbed under any circumstances.



"Having said that, as the President of the DMK and the proud inheritor of the Dravidian legacy that has spearheaded women's empowerment for more than a century, I fully support this initiative of Womens Reservation without any preconditions, while at the same time stressing our right to fair delimitation," Stalin wrote on 'X'.



The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister further called for a constitutional safeguard to ensure that the current share of representation of States remains unchanged for the next 30 years. He emphasised that the process of delimitation and distribution of constituencies must incorporate such a provision.



"It is our consistent stand that the current proportional representation of States should not be disturbed under any circumstances. To achieve this, the delimitation and distribution of constituencies among States must include a constitutional provision ensuring the same for the next 30 years," Stalin said.



In view of the prevailing Model Code of Conduct and the political climate, Stalin urged the Centre to convene a Special Session of Parliament in early June to take up constitutional amendments related to delimitation, increase in seats, and protection of States' representation.



"Considering the current Model Code of Conduct and the preoccupation of political parties, I request that a Special Session of Parliament be convened in early June to enact these historic constitutional amendments for delimitation, increase of seats, continuation of the current share of representation of States, and a guarantee that such representation will continue for the next 30 years," said the 'X' post.



As per the top sources, the Government has planned two major amendments. 2023's Nari Shakti Vandan Act tied women's reservation to the new census and delimitation. Due to census delays, the plan is to proceed with the 2011 census data. The 2011 census is to be the basis for delimitation and seat redistribution. Lok Sabha seats may increase from 543 to 816 post-amendment.



A bill will be introduced in Parliament to amend the Nari Shakti Vandan Act.



A separate Delimitation Bill will be introduced. Both bills need to be passed as Constitutional amendments for women's reservation. The new Lok Sabha is likely to have more than 800 seats. Keeping up with the status quo, there is no provision for OBC reservation, and SC/ST reservation will continue. However, states won't have a role; the bill passed by Parliament will apply to them.



Currently, the Lok Sabha has 543 seats. With a proposed 50% increase, the number of seats will rise to 816, with 273 (about a third) reserved for women.



The government's key point is that they won't wait for a new census to give women, comprising half the country's population, fair representation in Parliament. Instead, delimitation will be done using the 2011 census data.



The Home Minister led a crucial meeting with NDA parliamentary floor leaders, discussing the amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Act. Shah has briefed several opposition leaders on the proposed plan. The opposition supports women's reservation, but discussions are ongoing to build consensus on seat distribution and delimitation.



If passed, this bill will be India's biggest democratic shift since independence, giving the country 273 women MPs by 2029. The 2029 general elections will see contests on 816 Lok Sabha seats, changing the majority mark from 272 (for 543 seats) to 409.





- ANI
Electronic Voting Machines have been dispatched under tight security and official supervision in Tamil Nadu's Ranipet and Erode districts as part of election preparations. The process involved opening sealed warehouses in the presence of political party representatives for verification before constituency-wise dispatch. The EVMs are being transported in GPS-enabled vehicles to taluk office strong rooms under armed police escort. Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 23, with the main contest between the DMK-led SPA and the AIADMK-led NDA.

EVMs dispatched in Ranipet & Erode districts under armed police security ahead of Tamil Nadu's single-phase election on April 23. Full details.

Chennai, March 24 Electronic Voting Machines were dispatched under tight security and official supervision in Ranipet district and Erode district as part of ongoing election preparations.

In Ranipet, EVMs allocated for four Assembly constituencies were sent from the Agricultural Marketing Warehouse in Arcot. The dispatch process was carried out under the supervision of Election Officer Chandrakala and in the presence of representatives from various political parties to ensure transparency.

The sealed warehouse was opened in front of party representatives, following which the machines were thoroughly inspected and verified by election officials, polling personnel and revenue department authorities. After verification, the EVMs were dispatched constituency-wise in accordance with standard procedures. Armed police personnel were deployed throughout to ensure security.

Meanwhile, in the Erode district, the distribution of EVMs to eight Assembly constituencies has commenced. The machines were inspected at the warehouse located in the Revenue Divisional Office premises in Erode in the presence of authorised political party representatives.

Following verification, the EVMs were loaded onto separate vehicles for constituencies including Erode East, Erode West, Modakkurichi, Perundurai, Bhavani, Anthiyur, Gopichettipalayam and Bhavani Sagar. The machines were then transported to strong rooms at respective taluk offices in GPS-enabled vehicles under armed police security.

Officials stated that all necessary measures have been implemented to ensure transparency, security and accountability in the handling and transportation of EVMs.

Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4. The current tenure of the 234-member state assembly ends on May 10.

The main electoral contest is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which includes Congress, DMDK, and other parties. Looking to unseat the ruling alliance are the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies.

- ANI
The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) has finalized an agreement to contest 10 Assembly seats as part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance for the upcoming Tamil Nadu polls. Other allies in the front include the VCK with 8 seats, the CPI(M) with 5, and the Congress with 28 constituencies. The opposing NDA, led by the AIADMK, will contest over 170 seats, with the BJP getting 27 and the PMK 18. The state votes in a single phase on April 23, with results expected on May 4.

DMDK to contest 10 seats with DMK. VCK gets 8, CPI(M) 5, Congress 28. AIADMK-led NDA to contest over 170 seats. Polls on April 23.

Chennai, March 24 Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam on Tuesday reached a seat-sharing agreement with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

DMDK is set to contest 10 Assembly constituencies across Tamil Nadu. The announcement came after a meeting held between DMK President and Chief Minister MK Stalin and DMDK General Secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth.

Earlier, the DMK and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) announced their seat-sharing arrangement.

During the discussions on seat-sharing arrangements, it was decided that VCK, which is part of the Secular Progressive Alliance, will contest a total of eight Assembly constituencies. Of these, six constituencies will be reserved, and two will be general constituencies.

The decision to contest six reserved constituencies comes as VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan is a Dalit leader.

CPI(M), a constituent of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, will contest in five seats.

"In a discussion held regarding seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming 2026 Legislative Assembly general election--between the President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Chief Minister MK Stalin, and the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], P Shanmugam--it was decided that the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a constituent of the Secular Progressive Alliance, will contest in 5 (five) Legislative Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu," a press note from the parties read.

The Congress will contest 28 seats as part of the DMK-led front.

Meanwhile, under the NDA seat-sharing agreement, the alliance led by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will contest over 170 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been allotted 27 seats, followed by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) with 18 seats, and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) with 11 seats.

Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4.

The main electoral contest is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which also includes Congress, DMDK, and the VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is set to make his electoral debut with TVK, attempting to turn the upcoming elections into a three-way contest.

- ANI
The Telangana State Cabinet has approved a sweeping set of legislative and policy measures aimed at social regulation, welfare expansion, and governance. Key approvals include a Hate Speech and Hate Crime Prevention Bill and a landmark Act to provide social security for platform-based gig workers. The Cabinet also decided to expedite the state takeover of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-1 project and approved bills to protect advocates and enforce financial support for elderly parents. These multi-dimensional decisions address emerging social and economic challenges while reinforcing institutional frameworks.

Telangana Cabinet approves Hate Speech Bill, Gig Worker Act, Hyderabad Metro takeover, Advocate Protection Bill, and Parents Support Bill in wide-ranging reforms.

By Pramod Chaturvedi, Hyderabad, March 24 The Telangana State Cabinet has approved a series of wide-ranging legislative and policy measures that reflect a calibrated push toward social regulation, welfare expansion, and institutional accountability.

The decisions, spanning issues from hate speech to gig economy protections and public infrastructure, indicate an effort to respond to emerging social and economic challenges while reinforcing governance frameworks.

At the core of the Cabinet's decisions is the approval of the Telangana Hate Speech and Hate Crime Prevention Bill, 2026. The proposed legislation seeks to address the growing concern over divisive content and speeches that disrupt communal harmony. By targeting hate-driven posts and provocative rhetoric that could trigger violence or unrest, the bill attempts to create a legal deterrent against social polarisation, particularly in an era dominated by rapid digital communication.

Parallel to this regulatory approach, the Cabinet has moved to formalise protections for a rapidly expanding but largely unregulated workforce. The approval of the Telangana Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2026, is a significant intervention in the gig economy.

With approximately 4.2 lakh gig and platform workers in the state, the law introduces mandatory registration, along with the creation of a Welfare Board and a dedicated welfare fund. By granting legal recognition and social security benefits, the Act aims to bring structural stability to gig employment. Notably, the bill has been revised in line with the Centre's Social Security Code, indicating an attempt to maintain policy coherence with national frameworks.

In the infrastructure sector, the Cabinet's decision to expedite the takeover of the 69-kilometre Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-1 project from L&T reflects a strategic shift in public transport governance. Based on a sub-committee report, the state may assume control by paying approximately Rs 15,000 crore, including existing debt obligations. The designation of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) as the nodal agency to manage financial transactions and execution underscores the government's intent to centralize operational control while navigating the financial complexities of the acquisition.

The Cabinet has also addressed concerns within the legal community by approving the Telangana Advocate Protection Bill. The move comes against the backdrop of attacks on lawyers, including the killing of advocate couple Vaman Rao, and seeks to institutionalize safeguards for legal professionals. The bill signals recognition of the need to protect those within the justice delivery system from targeted violence.

On the social policy front, the Cabinet reviewed and approved the report of an independent expert committee led by Justice Sudarshan Reddy on the state's caste survey. Conducted over 50 days from November 6 to December 25, 2024, the survey represents a first-of-its-kind comprehensive socio-economic and caste enumeration in the country. While the Cabinet has accepted the report, further examination has been entrusted to a sub-committee, indicating that policy outcomes based on the findings will follow detailed scrutiny.

Extending its focus on social equity, the Cabinet approved the formation of a ministerial sub-committee under Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to frame guidelines for the proposed Rohith Vemula Act. The initiative is aimed at addressing caste-based discrimination in educational institutions, a sensitive and persistent issue in the academic landscape.

In another socially significant intervention, the Cabinet cleared a Parents Support Bill that seeks to enforce accountability among individuals toward elderly parents. The provision mandates that public representatives and employees--across government and private sectors--who fail to care for their parents may face a salary deduction of 15% or up to Rs 10,000, whichever is lower, with the amount to be transferred directly to the parents. The measure introduces a legal mechanism into what has traditionally been considered a moral and familial responsibility.

Taken together, the Cabinet's decisions reflect a multi-dimensional governance approach--balancing regulatory control, welfare expansion, and institutional reform. While the legislative proposals aim to address immediate concerns such as social harmony, worker security, and safety of professionals, their implementation and long-term impact will depend on administrative execution and public response.

- ANI
Telangana has launched a pioneering initiative offering state government employees discounts of up to 20% on electric two and four-wheelers through negotiations with major EV manufacturers. This scheme, combined with a 100% exemption from road tax and registration fees, aims to make EV ownership highly affordable for nearly five lakh employees. The move follows a directive from the Chief Minister mandating that all government departments purchase only electric vehicles. The state is also expanding charging infrastructure and has established a dedicated EV headquarters in Hyderabad to foster a complete sustainable transport ecosystem.

Telangana offers up to 20% discount on EVs for govt employees, with 100% road tax exemption, aiming to make the state a leader in green mobility.

Hyderabad, March 24 Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Tuesday announced a first-of-its-kind initiative, which encourages the adoption of electric vehicles as an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuel-run vehicles, said the Telangana government on Tuesday.

To encourage this transition, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar secured discounts up to 20% on electric two-and four-wheelers for state government employees. This was done after multiple rounds of negotiations with leading EV manufacturers Mahindra Electric, Ola Electric, Gravton Motors, and Ather Energy. This unique move is expected to translate into savings of up to 4 lakh per employee for around five lakh government employees across the state.

While announcing the scheme, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar announced the establishment of a dedicated EV headquarters in Hyderabad. He characterised the initiative as a landmark step toward fostering holistic and sustainable development across Telangana.

"... A proposal has been launched in Telangana to encourage electric vehicle use among government employees. It includes a 10-20% subsidy on EV purchases, supported by companies like Mahindra. Alongside this, infrastructure like charging stations will be expanded to strengthen the EV ecosystem. For the first time, an EV headquarters has been set up in Hyderabad, marking a major step towards sustainable transport and development in the state," said Prabhakar.

Earlier in 2024, the Telangana government, under Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, had announced 100% exemption from road tax and registration fees for electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, four-wheelers, taxis, autorickshaws, goods carriers, tractors, and buses, as part of its public EV policy.

"With the additional 20% purchase discount, on top of the existing 100% exemption from road tax and registration fees, Telangana is making EV ownership among the most affordable in the country. By empowering government employees as early adopters, we are accelerating the transition towards cleaner mobility across society," said Minister Ponnam Prabhakar.

The announcement follows a clear directive from Telangana Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy, who has mandated that all government departments must henceforth purchase only EVs. Even vehicles hired by government departments within core urban areas must now be electric, signalling Telangana's commitment to building a clean and sustainable transport ecosystem. In a major achievement, the state already operates more than 2,800 electric buses as part of its public transport fleet.

According to Telangana government, up to 20%" discount is secured through OEM negotiations under a bulk institutional framework and does not involve direct budgetary subsidy.

Further, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar added that he is actively engaging with leading EV manufacturers such as Tata EV and other Indian companies to expand partnerships and ensure more choices, better technology, and greater accessibility for consumers in Telangana.

"We want Telangana to be a leader when it comes to building an ecosystem that supports innovation, clean energy, and future-ready transportation. Our goal is simple ~ cleaner air, lower fuel dependence, and a future where Telangana becomes a model state for green mobility in India," said Minister Ponnam Prabhakar.

In a strong bid to encourage EV adoption, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar stated that to support this transition, charging infrastructure will be expanded across the state, from the Telangana Secretariat to district and mandal-level government offices, as well as major public parking spaces, ensuring convenience and confidence for EV users. At the same time, he has also called on hotels, malls, commercial complexes, and public parks to set up EV charging facilities, making charging accessible in everyday parking spaces.

"We don't want Hyderabad to go the Delhi way (with respect to pollution levels). Nearly one lakh auto-rickshaws currently running on petrol, diesel or gas will be retrofitted with electric kits. Along with the introduction of 2800 EV buses, these initiatives will significantly reduce vehicular pollution and promote cleaner urban transport. From a consumption standpoint, Telangana is positioning itself as an EV hub, which will, in turn, attract production companies as well," said Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar.

- ANI
BJP MP Dinesh Sharma stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in the Rajya Sabha effectively responded to the opposition's demand to apprise the nation on the West Asia situation. Sharma emphasized the speech clearly outlined the status quo, future challenges, and possibilities arising from the conflict. PM Modi called for combined efforts of central and state governments to tackle national challenges stemming from the disruption. He also noted the formation of an interministerial group to assess the situation while assuring the fundamentals of the Indian economy remain strong.

BJP MP Dinesh Sharma says PM Modi's Rajya Sabha speech on West Asia conflict was a clear message addressing opposition's call for an update.

New Delhi, March 25 BJP MP Dinesh Sharma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Parliament over the ongoing developments in West Asia effectively addresses the opposition's call to apprise the nation about the situation.

Speaking to ANI, Sharma emphasised that the Prime Minister's address focused on the status quo in international relations, particularly in West Asia, and outlined the potential challenges and opportunities that may arise in the future.

"The opposition said that they (the Prime Minister) should apprise them about the country's situation, and he has apprised. This is hardly an issue for debate; this is a matter of international relations, and he has stated what the status quo was," Sharma said.

Sharma asserted that PM Modi's message was clear and encapsulated the complexities of the situation, saying, "He (the Prime Minister) mentioned the situation in West Asia, the difficulties, and the possibilities that may arise in the future. There cannot be a better, more concise, and clear message than this."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for combined efforts of the Centre and state governments to tackle the challenges posed against the nation amid the conflict in West Asia.

PM Modi today addressed the Rajya Sabha and called for a united voice promoting peace and dialogue globally, as the ongoing West Asia conflict disrupts trade, energy supplies, and affects the safety of millions of Indians in the Gulf.

Calling the coming time a "major test" for the country, PM Modi sought cooperation from state governments and asked them to implement the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

PM Modi said that the government has also formed an interministerial group to assess the challenges.

Acknowledging the global crisis amid the tensions in West Asia, PM Modi noted that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong and the government is ensuring "minimum impact."

- ANI
Party to use BJP's Lotus symbol, not its Cycle

The AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance has finalized a seat-sharing agreement, allotting five Assembly constituencies to the Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) for the upcoming Tamil Nadu polls. The party, led by G.K. Vasan, will contest these seats using the BJP's 'Lotus' symbol instead of its traditional 'Cycle' due to Election Commission compliance issues. The deal resolves a brief standoff where the party demanded five seats while initially being offered only three by the AIADMK. With this pact, the NDA's seat allocation advances, setting the stage for the alliance to focus fully on its campaign.

AIADMK-led NDA finalizes seat pact, Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) to contest 5 seats on BJP's 'Lotus' symbol for Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

Chennai, March 24 In a key development ahead of the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance has allotted five Assembly seats to the Tamil Manila Congress, led by G.K. Vasan.

The agreement was finalised under the leadership of Tamil Nadu BJP in-charge Piyush Goyal, bringing clarity to a brief phase of uncertainty over seat-sharing.

As per the pact, the Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) will contest from Ottanchathiram, Erode West, Ranipet, Killiyoor and Kumbakonam constituencies. Notably, the party will field its candidates on the BJP's 'Lotus' symbol instead of its traditional 'Cycle' symbol, citing compliance issues with Election Commission norms.

Announcing the decision, party president G.K. Vasan said the move was necessitated due to constraints in securing approval for its own symbol.

He stated that the party would contest all five constituencies under the lotus symbol, and, as it was not feasible to contest under the cycle symbol in accordance with Election Commission guidelines, they had opted for the BJP symbol.

The seat-sharing arrangement follows earlier friction between alliance partners. The Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) initially demanded five seats, while the AIADMK reportedly offered only three, leading to a brief standoff.

However, negotiations concluded on a positive note, with the party securing all five seats it had sought.

The AIADMK-led NDA in Tamil Nadu comprises several parties, including the BJP, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar), Democratic Party of India, New Justice Revolutionary Bharat, Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi, and Tamil Nadu Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.

Seat allocation within the alliance has been progressing steadily, with the BJP already allotted 27 seats and the AMMK securing 18 constituencies.

With seat-sharing talks nearing completion, the AIADMK alliance is expected to shift focus fully to campaign strategy and candidate announcements, setting the stage for a keen electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.

- IANS
US President Donald Trump has triggered diplomatic speculation by sharing a post from Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who offered Islamabad as a host for talks between the US and Iran. The White House has cautioned against treating unconfirmed reports as final, describing the situation as sensitive and fluid. Reports indicate Pakistan is already acting as a conduit, with US messages being relayed to Tehran through its channels. This follows Trump's announcement of a pause on planned strikes against Iran, citing productive conversations.

Trump reposts PM Shehbaz Sharif's offer to host US-Iran talks, sparking diplomatic speculation amid reports of backchannel efforts via Pakistan.

Washington, DC, March 24 US President Donald Trump has triggered intense diplomatic speculation regarding a potential mediating role for Islamabad in the ongoing Washington-Tehran standoff, after he shared an official statement from Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The move follows a post on X by Prime Minister Sharif, in which he expressed Islamabad's eagerness to facilitate a diplomatic resolution to the regional crisis. Sharif stated that Pakistan was "ready and honoured" to moderate "meaningful and conclusive talks" between the United States and Iran, provided there is a mutual agreement from both parties.

Expanding on Islamabad's position, the Prime Minister noted, "Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in the region and beyond." He further clarified that, "Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict."

President Trump's decision to share the post on his Truth Social account without further comment has been viewed by observers as a sign of active backchannel diplomacy. This development aligns with international reports suggesting that Pakistan, alongside Egypt and Turkiye, is quietly working to broker a peace deal in the Middle East.

While Islamabad is reportedly being positioned as a potential neutral venue, the White House has maintained a stance of strategic caution. US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the current environment as "sensitive" and "fluid," advising against treating unconfirmed reports as definitive.

"These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House," Leavitt cautioned. This statement comes amidst unverified claims that Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff could potentially meet Iranian officials on Pakistani soil.

Despite the lack of formal confirmation, indirect communication appears to be intensifying, with Islamabad reportedly serving as a critical conduit for messages. According to reports from CNN, the United States has utilised Pakistani channels to transmit a 15-point list of requirements to Tehran. The network further indicated that high-ranking Pakistani intelligence officials have maintained active communication with US figures, including Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, to facilitate these diplomatic exchanges.

The sudden diplomatic momentum follows President Trump's recent declaration of a five-day pause on planned strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure. Trump attributed the pause to "very good and productive conversations" with Tehran, claiming the US is in contact with a "top person" in Iran. Conversely, Tehran continues to maintain that it has not entered into direct negotiations with Washington since the commencement of the hostilities.

- ANI
US President Donald Trump held a phone call with Pakistan Army Chief General Asif Munir to discuss the ongoing war between the United States and Iran, though details remain scarce due to the sensitivity of the talks. In a parallel diplomatic effort, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, expressing solidarity and discussing the urgent need for de-escalation in the Gulf region. Pakistan has pitched Islamabad as a potential venue for future talks involving senior US and Iranian officials. While Trump has signaled a temporary pause in military escalation, Iran has denied direct negotiations with Washington, acknowledging only that messages were received via intermediaries.

US President Trump spoke with Pakistan Army Chief Asif Munir on the Iran crisis. Pakistan pitches Islamabad as venue for US-Iran talks.

Washington, March 24 US President Donald Trump spoke over the phone with Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asif Munir on the Iran war, the White House said.

"(I) can confirm (the phone call)," a White House official told IANS when asked about the talk between Trump and Munir over the weekend on the Iran war. The official, however, refrained from giving any further details, given the sensitivity of the talks and the efforts by key players to end the war between the US and Iran.

"These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the United States will not negotiate through the news media," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier told IANS.

People briefed on the matter told the publication that Munir spoke with Trump, while Pakistan has also pitched Islamabad as a possible venue for talks involving senior US and Iranian officials.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to posts on X and a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

Sharif said he conveyed "warm Eid-ul-Fitr and Nowruz greetings" and expressed solidarity with Iran.

"As a neighbouring brotherly country, I expressed Pakistan's solidarity with the brave Iranian people, conveyed deep condolences on the loss of precious lives, and prayed for the swift recovery of those injured and displaced," he said in a post on X.

He added that both sides discussed "the grave situation in the Gulf region" and agreed on "the urgent need for de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy."

"I also underscored the importance of unity in the ranks of the Ummah and reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to playing a constructive role in advancing peace in the region," Sharif said.

The outreach comes as Trump signalled a temporary pause in military escalation. Trump said he would delay his threat to strike Iran's power infrastructure after "very good and productive" conversations with Tehran.

However, it remains unclear whether Pakistan's mediation efforts are directly linked to Trump's decision. Iran has denied direct negotiations with Washington. But its foreign ministry acknowledged receiving messages through intermediaries.

"Over the past few days, messages were received via certain friendly states conveying the US request for negotiations to end the war," foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told IRNA.

Analysts say the diplomatic push remains at an early stage. According to the Financial Times, officials described the efforts as preliminary messaging rather than a structured negotiation process.

- IANS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated he spoke with US President Donald Trump, who sees an opportunity to leverage recent military achievements to reach an agreement safeguarding Israel's interests. Netanyahu affirmed ongoing Israeli strikes against targets in Iran and Lebanon, including its missile and nuclear programs. Concurrently, the UN Security Council is negotiating a draft resolution, proposed by Bahrain, authorizing states to use "all necessary means" to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. In a related development, President Trump announced a five-day postponement of planned US military strikes on Iranian power plants, citing productive discussions.

Netanyahu says Trump aims to leverage military gains for a deal with Iran while Israel continues strikes. UN draft resolution authorizes force to secure Strait of Hormuz.

Tel Aviv, March 24 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he spoke to US President Donald Trump and they will realise the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests.

Netanyahu pledged to keep attacking Iran and Lebanon.

In a post on X, he said, "Earlier today I spoke with our friend President Trump. President Trump believes there is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have reached alongside the US military to realize the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests. At the same time, we are continuing to strike in both Iran and Lebanon. We are smashing the missile program and the nuclear program, and we continue to deal severe blows to Hezbollah. Just a few days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists - and we are still active. We will safeguard our vital interests under all circumstances."

The UN Security Council is negotiating on a draft resolution introduced by Bahrain to authorise states to use "all necessary means" to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported, citing its sources. The draft text also demands that Iran "immediately cease all attacks against merchant and commercial vessels and any attempt to impede lawful transit passage or freedom of navigation" in and around the strait.

The draft resolution proposes allowing member states "to use all necessary means" - including within the territorial waters of states that border the strait - "to secure transit passage and to repress, neutralise and deter attempts to close, obstruct or otherwise interfere with international navigation" there.

The draft also threatens targeted sanctions against those who "undermine navigational rights and freedoms" in the strait. Its chances of approval by the council, where the five permanent members have veto power, remain unclear, as per Al Jazeera.

Bahrain, acting on behalf of the Gulf states, was behind a resolution adopted by the council in mid-March that demanded the "immediate cessation" of Iranian attacks against the Gulf states and Jordan.

In a significant announcement, US President Donald Trump on Monday said he has instructed the Department of War to postpone military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, subject to the success of the ongoing discussions, noting that the United States and Iran had "very good and productive conversation" regarding total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.

- ANI
The UAE Ministry of Defence announced its air defence systems successfully intercepted a barrage of 7 ballistic missiles and 16 UAVs launched from Iran. This latest engagement is part of a staggering cumulative total, with UAE defences having engaged hundreds of missiles and nearly 1,800 drones since the conflict's onset. The attacks have resulted in the deaths of 2 armed forces members and 6 civilians, with 161 others injured. The conflict, which escalated after strikes targeting Iran's former Supreme Leader, has led to severe regional disruption, including the virtual closure of the critical Strait of Hormuz.

UAE air defences engaged 7 ballistic missiles & 16 UAVs from Iran. Ministry reports 8 dead, 161 injured in ongoing attacks since conflict began.

Abu Dhabi, March 24 The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems successfully intercepted a significant barrage of projectiles launched from Iran on Monday, amid escalating regional tensions.

In a post on the social media platform X, the Ministry confirmed the scale of the latest engagement. "The UAE air defence systems engaged 7 ballistic missiles and 16 UAVs launched from Iran," the official statement read.

This latest interception adds to the staggering volume of fire directed at the country since the beginning of hostilities. The Ministry detailed the cumulative impact of the conflict, stating, "Since the onset of the blatant Iranian aggression, UAE air defences have engaged 352 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1789 UAVs."

The ongoing military operations have resulted in a rising human toll, with the Ministry reporting casualties among both service members and the public. "These attacks resulted in the martyrdom of 2 members of the armed forces while performing their national duty, the deaths of 6 civilians, and injuries to 161 people ranging from minor to severe," the statement noted.

Despite the persistent threat, the United Arab Emirates has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining national stability and repelling further incursions. The Ministry of Defence affirmed that it "remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats, and will firmly confront any attempts to undermine State security in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security and stability, and safeguards its national interests and capabilities."

These defensive measures follow the escalating conflict that began on February 28 with the killing of 86-year-old Iran's former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel.

In the wake of those strikes, Iran, in retaliation, targeted Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries. This has caused significant disruption in the waterways, affecting international energy markets and global economic stability.

The regional situation remains critical as, due to the conflict in the region, Iran has virtually closed the Strait of Hormuz.

- ANI
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy states he has evidence that Russia is providing intelligence support to Iran, an act he calls destructive and destabilizing. He warns this aid helps prolong the conflict and is negatively impacting global fuel markets. The claim follows a phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart, where they discussed regional escalation. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to continue attacks against Iran.

Ukraine's President claims evidence shows Russia provides intelligence support to Iran, destabilizing global security and fuel markets.

Kyiv, March 24 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said that he has the evidence of the fact that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran for the war.

Zelenskyy said that the aid is helping Iran stay afloat and prolonging the war.

"There is growing evidence that the Russians continue to provide the Iranian regime with intelligence support. This is clearly a destructive activity, and it must be stopped, as it only leads to further destabilization. All decent states are interested in guaranteeing security and preventing a larger crisis. Markets are already reacting negatively, and this is significantly complicating the fuel situation in many countries. By helping the Iranian regime stay afloat and strike more accurately, Russia is effectively prolonging the war. There must be a response," Zelenskyy said.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X, "On March 23, FMs Sergey Lavrov & Seyed Abbas Araghchi spoke over the phone. The Ministers discussed the deterioration in the Persian Gulf caused by US-Israeli aggression. They also voiced concern over the conflict's dangerous expansion into the Caspian region."

Sergey Lavrov stressed the categorical unacceptability of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which creates unacceptable risks for the safety of Russian personnel and could lead to catastrophic environmental consequences for all countries of the region without exception, an official statement said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (local time) said he spoke to US President Donald Trump, and they will realise the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests.

Netanyahu pledged to keep attacking Iran and Lebanon.

- ANI
Following a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton suggested the conversation focused on India's interest in continuing Iranian oil imports. Bolton argued such trade funds Iran's "war machine" and advocated for a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iranian oil exports. Prime Minister Modi, detailing the call, emphasized India's support for de-escalation and the essential need for the strait to remain open and secure for the world. The context includes two Indian LPG carriers successfully transiting the strait, carrying crucial energy supplies for India.

Former US NSA John Bolton urges Trump to blockade the Strait of Hormuz after Modi call, targeting Iran's oil revenue amid India's energy security concerns.

Washington, DC, March 25 Following a high-level telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has offered a sharp assessment of the diplomatic exchange, particularly regarding India's energy interests and the security of the Strait of Hormuz.

In an interview with ANI, Bolton suggested that the dialogue likely centred on India's continued reliance on Iranian energy supplies amidst the ongoing regional conflict.

Highlighting the strategic motivations behind New Delhi's outreach, Bolton noted, "It's pretty clear. I think that from PM Modi's point of view, continuing to get oil from Iran is something he's interested in, and two Indian ships made it through the Strait of Hormuz this morning."

However, the former official raised concerns over the broader geopolitical implications of these transactions. He argued that the financial flow from such trade directly impacts the regional military balance, stating, "But that's providing revenue to Iran, which enables their war machine to continue."

In light of these dynamics, Bolton indicated that the two leaders may have explored shifting India's energy procurement to more stable sources. "So I'm sure they had a conversation about other alternative places to buy oil rather than Iran," he remarked.

Taking a characteristically firm stance on maritime security, Bolton advocated for a more aggressive US intervention to disrupt Iranian exports. "I think the US should blockade the Strait and prevent Iranian ships carrying Iranian oil from getting in or out."

This assessment follows PM Modi's detailing of the diplomatic exchange on X, where he stated, "Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia. India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world."

The conversation occurred as President Trump signalled a potential de-escalation, extending his deadline for potential strikes on power plants by five days, citing Iran's "chokehold on the key oil shipping route Strait of Hormuz."

Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, PM Modi underscored India's proactive role in navigating the crisis through constant communication. "Since the start of the war, I have held two rounds of phone conversations with the heads of state of most countries in West Asia. We are in continuous contact with all the Gulf countries, and we are also in touch with Iran, Israel, and the United States," he said.

The Prime Minister further highlighted that New Delhi is leveraging its diplomatic capital to protect its maritime and diaspora interests, reiterating that the safety of the Indian community in the region remains a "priority."

Amidst this diplomatic push, the government clarified the legal status of the contested waters. Rajesh Sinha, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Shipping, dismissed concerns regarding transit rights, stating, "It is an international strait. Permission was not required before. It is not required even today."

In a significant operational breakthrough, two Indian LPG carriers, Jag Vasant and Pine Gas, successfully transited through the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The vessels, carrying a substantial cargo of 92,612.59 MT of LPG, were part of a group of 22 Indian-flagged vessels that became stranded following the escalation of the conflict.

The Union Government confirmed that these tankers are anticipated to arrive at Indian shores within the next forty-eight hours. Highlighting the importance of these shipments, the cargo is equivalent to roughly a day's cooking gas consumption for the entire country.

Emphasising the commitment to maritime security, Sinha told reporters, "Ultimately, we want to secure safe passage of all our vessels that are stranded in the region." The safe transit of these energy carriers occurs against a backdrop of earlier statements from Iran asserting it would not allow "enemy countries' ships" to pass through the Strait.

- ANI
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held separate diplomatic calls with India's External Affairs Minister, Canada's Foreign Minister, and Kenya's President. The discussions centered on coordinating responses to Iran's actions and the evolving Middle East crisis. The conversations also covered security cooperation, including efforts to support stability in Haiti through UN-backed forces. These calls underscore Washington's push to align key global partners on pressing security challenges.

US Secretary Marco Rubio held key calls with Indian, Canadian, and Kenyan leaders to coordinate on Iran, Middle East stability, and Haiti security efforts.

Washington, March 24 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held calls with counterparts in India, Canada, and Kenya focusing on Iran, the Middle East crisis, and broader security coordination, his spokesperson said.

Rubio spoke with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, and Kenyan President William Ruto, as Washington intensified diplomatic outreach on Iran and regional stability.

In their call, the two leaders discussed the evolving situation in the Middle East. "The two officials discussed the current situation in the Middle East," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a readout of the call.

"The Secretary and Minister agreed on the importance of continuing to work together to advance mutual priorities."

The India-US conversation comes amid heightened tensions in West Asia, with both sides signalling continued coordination on shared strategic interests.

Rubio's call with Canada's Foreign Minister Anand focused more directly on Iran and US actions targeting its nuclear programme.

The two discussed "international security and the decisive actions taken by President Trump to dismantle Iran's nuclear program and increase pressure on the Iranian regime," the readout said.

The Secretary also raised Haiti during the conversation, outlining US-backed efforts to restore stability.

He "addressed our efforts to promote security and stability in Haiti, including support for the UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force," according to the statement.

In a separate call with Kenyan President William Ruto, Rubio thanked Nairobi for its position on Iran and its role in regional security efforts.

He "thanked President Ruto for his public condemnation of Iranian aggression against Gulf States and discussed the objectives of Operation Epic Fury."

Rubio also acknowledged Kenya's contributions to stabilisation efforts in Haiti.

He "expressed his gratitude for Kenya's significant contributions to peace and security in Haiti and Kenya's commitment to ensuring a smooth transition to the Gang Suppression Force."

The two leaders additionally discussed economic ties.

The flurry of calls highlights Washington's effort to align key partners across regions on Iran and broader security challenges. India, Canada and Kenya represent strategic partners in Asia, North America and Africa, respectively, with roles in diplomacy, security cooperation and peacekeeping.

- IANS
Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht declared the session would continue despite a threatening email warning of a possible bombing. BJP MLAs reassured the public, calling the threat a hoax and emphasizing safety. Security was drastically increased with bomb disposal teams, police deployments, and sniffer dog squads sweeping the premises. The threatening email also named several high-profile leaders, including the Lieutenant Governor and the Prime Minister, prompting an ongoing investigation.

Delhi Assembly session proceeds after a bomb threat email. Deputy Speaker vows not to be afraid, security tightened. Investigation ongoing.

New Delhi, March 24 Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht on Tuesday assured that the session will continue despite a threatening email warning of a possible bombing at the Assembly premises.

"Only crazy people give such threats. We should not take it lightly, and the security will be very tight since this is an Assembly session. We will not be afraid of the threats; the session will go on," Bisht said.

BJP MLA Karnail Singh also reassured the public, stating, "Everything is safe and secure, there is no reason to worry."

"It was a hoax. Everything is safe, we are going for the meeting," said BJP MLA Anil Goyal.

Furthermore, BJP MLA Harish Khurana said that they won't be scared of such threats, and the development work of Delhi is ongoing.

"We will not get scared, this is a BJP government, committed to development. We introduced a budget of Rs 1 lakh crore, and the development work of Delhi is ongoing. I believe the last record will be broken and the budget will be even bigger this time," he told ANI.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta arrived at the Assembly with her cabinet ministers to present the Delhi Budget.

Following the emails, a thorough security check of the Vidhan Sabha was conducted by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Teams (BDTs) of Security and the North District, with no suspicious items found, officials said.

Additional police arrangements have been deployed to safeguard the Assembly and surrounding areas, including the nearby Vidhan Sabha Metro Station, which also received a similar threat.

The threatening emails mentioned several high-profile leaders, including Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Sandhu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, CM Rekha Gupta, and Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

Security agencies are continuing investigations to trace the source of the emails. Sniffer dog squads have been deployed at the Assembly premises to enhance safety measures, and officers remain on high alert during the session.

- ANI
Introduction

Sleep vs. rest

Health costs of chronic rest deprivation

The seven types of rest

How rest improves health

Practical tips for incorporating rest types

References

Further reading

Rest extends beyond sleep as a multidimensional process that supports cognitive integration, emotional regulation, and physiological recovery. Balancing sleep with diverse forms of wakeful rest enhances brain function, resilience, and long-term mental and physical health.

Image Credit: kitzcorner / Shutterstock.com

Introduction

This article explores the seven forms of rest and how they support brain function, reduce stress, as well as improve overall mental and physical health. Rest is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional and dynamic process that complements sleep by supporting cognitive, emotional, and physiological recovery across daily life demands.1,4,5

Sleep vs. rest

Sleep is an essential physiological process that supports metabolic and functional recovery by conserving energy, ensuring waste removal by increasing glymphatic drainage, and synthesizing functional proteins involved in neurotransmitter function, lipid metabolism, and membrane trafficking. Sleep also plays a central role in memory consolidation through coordinated activity between the hippocampus and cortex during slow-wave sleep, although the precise mechanisms remain an active area of research.5

Sufficient sleep is also crucial for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, maintaining optimal timing of diverse biological processes, and immune function.

According to the American Psychological Association, people may still feel tired, even after getting enough sleep, due to insufficient mental, emotional, or sensory rest. As compared to sleep, which can be physiologically characterized by the minimal sensory processing that occurs during this period, rest takes many different forms that prioritize feelings of peace, clarity, and pleasure.

The essence of rest is an experience of harmony concerning ones feelings, actions, and motivation.

Growing evidence suggests that incorporating multiple forms of rest into daily routines can improve mood, cognitive performance, and resilience to stress. Importantly, wakeful rest is not a passive state; brain networks such as the default mode network (DMN) remain highly active and are associated with internal cognition, including memory processing and future planning.4 These processes differ from sleep-dependent restoration, highlighting that rest and sleep contribute to recovery through partially overlapping but distinct mechanisms. Understanding the distinction between sleep and broader restorative practices highlights the importance of a balanced approach to recovery and well-being.2,3

Health costs of chronic rest deprivation

Adequate rest is essential for maintaining physical, psychological, and emotional balance. In caring science, rest is considered a fundamental health-related phenomenon that allows the body and mind to fully recover from daily demands and maintain internal balance. This process involves a continual movement between states of rest and non-rest, rather than a single static condition.1 Without sufficient opportunities for rest, the bodys capacity to restore energy and regulate stress can become compromised.1,3

Insufficient rest causes energy exhaustion that becomes increasingly evident as the duration of the non-rest period increases. Extended wakefulness has been associated with widespread molecular, cellular, and behavioral impairments, reflecting the accumulation of physiological strain across multiple systems.3 Disrupting the molecular, cellular, and physiological processes that are performed during sleep and other restorative states can reduce cognitive function, delay reaction time, as well as lower tolerance to stress and anxiety.

Sleep deprivation is associated with impairments in executive function, memory, and psychomotor performance, although the extent of these effects varies depending on duration and individual factors.5

Both sleep and wakeful rest are characterized by similar neurobiological features like neural replay, sharp-wave ripples, and slow oscillations that are involved in memory consolidation, thus emphasizing the equal importance of both rest and sleep for enhancing memory performance. During wakeful rest, hippocampal replay and spontaneous neural activity are thought to support learning and knowledge integration, although these processes are still being actively investigated.4

During rest, multiple regions within the default mode network (DMN) of the brain are active and exhibit substantial ongoing metabolic activity to support episodic memory retrieval, emotional processing, introspection, and other cognitive processes.4 Several studies have reported that when the brain is deprived of adequate rest, activity within the DMN becomes dysregulated, which impacts the ability of the brain to monitor its internal and external environment, as well as maintain emotional control and memory retention.

Chronic disturbances in rest and sleep are associated with increased risks of metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and impaired immune responses, although causal pathways are complex and multifactorial.5 Prolonged rest deprivation may affect broader physiological systems involved in metabolism, hormonal regulation, and immune functioning, which can slowly cause burnout, fatigue, and lower resilience.

Image Credit: PeopleImages / Shutterstock.com

The seven types of rest

The American Psychological Association describes seven distinct types of rest that address different forms of fatigue experienced in daily life, of which include physical, mental, sensory, emotional, social, creative, and spiritual rest.2

Physical rest: Physical rest refers to activities that allow the body to recover from physical exertion like sleeping, light stretching, or receiving a massage. These practices reduce muscle tension, support relaxation, and allow the body to regain energy after periods of activity.2 Mental rest: Optimal focus is achieved when extended periods of learning are separated by sufficient breaks, as forced concentration can lead to poorer performance due to mental exhaustion. Neuroscience research suggests that rest periods activate the brains default mode network, which is associated with memory consolidation and integration of newly learned information.4 Without sufficient rest, learning efficiency is compromised. Sensory rest: Sensory rest involves reducing stimulation from constant environmental input like screens, noise, or crowded environments. These periods of disengagement from the sensory environment allow the brain to focus on internal thoughts and feelings that have been implicated in the consolidation of memories and insight formation.2 Emotional rest: Emotional rest allows individuals to express their feelings and alleviate excessive emotional pressure. Talking to trusted friends, counselling with a mental health professional, or journaling can provide relief from emotions and help process lived experiences.2 Social rest: Social rest involves taking a break from high-demanding social situations or connecting with supportive and rejuvenating relationships. Spending time alone or avoiding emotionally exhausting people can maintain emotional stability.2 Creative rest: Creative rest involves exposure to experiences that inspire curiosity and imagination. Activities such as visiting natural environments, engaging with art or music, or exploring creative hobbies can refresh the mind and stimulate new ideas. Spiritual rest: Spiritual rest is achieved through practices that foster a sense of meaning and connection beyond oneself through meditation, prayer, reflection, or spending time in nature.

7 Types Of Rest They Dont Want You To Know Play

How rest improves health

In addition to getting between six and eight hours of sleep every night, high sleep efficiency is equally important for reducing the risk of cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality. Consolidated sleep is protective against depression, neurodegenerative disorders, as well as attention and memory deficits.

Due to the role of sleep in regulating hematopoiesis and hypocretin release, good sleeping habits reduce inflammatory status and atherosclerosis risk. Specifically, sleep regulates the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines to maintain homeostasis while supporting endocrine function by sustaining growth hormone and prolactin release.5

Sleep also facilitates glymphatic clearance of neurotoxic waste products such as beta-amyloid, which has been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases.5

Sleep and wakeful rest are associated with reduced accumulation of neurotoxic proteins within the brain that directly contribute to the development of Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease. Insufficient sleep has also been linked to social withdrawal and loneliness, and individuals with insomnia show a higher risk of depression and other mental health disorders.5

Practical tips for incorporating rest types

Incorporating different forms of rest into daily life sustains continuous energy production, focus, and emotional balance.2 Weekly routines can further support well-being by creating opportunities for deeper forms of rest.

Scheduling time for supportive social interactions, creative hobbies, or activities in nature can similarly replenish emotional and creative energy. Activities such as spending time outdoors, engaging with art or music, or participating in meaningful reflection may further contribute to a sense of renewal.2

References

Asp, M. (2015). Rest: a health-related phenomenon and concept in caring science. Global Qualitative Nursing Research 2. DOI: 10.1177/2333393615583663. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2333393615583663 Abramson, A. (2025, May 6). Seven types of rest to help restore your body's energy. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/mental-health/seven-rest-types Vyazovskiy, V. V. (2015). Sleep, recovery, and metaregulation: explaining the benefits of sleep. Nature and Science of Sleep 171-184. DOI: 10.2147/NSS.S54036. https://www.dovepress.com/sleep-recovery-and-metaregulation-explaining-the-benefits-of-sleep-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-NSS Luo, W., Liu, B., Tang, Y., et al. (2024). Rest to Promote Learning: A Brain Default Mode Network Perspective. Behavioral Sciences 14(4); 349. DOI: 10.3390/bs14040349. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/4/349 Vorster, A. P. A., von Someren, E. J. W., Pack, A. I., et al. (2024). Sleep Health. Clinical and Translational Neuroscience 8(1). DOI: 10.3390/ctn8010008. https://www.mdpi.com/2514-183X/8/1/8

Further Reading
A global simulation study suggests that pandemic school shutdowns did more than interrupt learning, they may have widened inequality and reduced childrens chances of surpassing their parents education.

Key takeaways Attainment and mobility COVID-19 school closures were projected to lower educational attainment and weaken intergenerational educational mobility, especially in areas without remedial recovery measures. Disadvantaged children Children from less advantaged backgrounds were estimated to experience larger learning losses because they had less access to effective continued learning during school shutdowns. Upward mobility In some high- and upper-middle-income countries, the share of children attaining more education than their parents was projected to fall by about 8 to 9 percentage points. Remote learning Under more optimistic assumptions about the effectiveness of remote learning, inequality sometimes appeared worse because better-off children were more likely to benefit from those learning options.

Study: COVID-19 school closures, learning losses and intergenerational mobility. Image Credit: Zorro Stock Images / Shutterstock

A new study published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications finds that COVID-19 -related school closures may have far-reaching, long-lasting effects on educational inequality and social mobility.

Global Learning Loss and Long-Term Social Consequences

Pandemic-related learning losses could reduce educational attainment by over a year on average globally, with the greatest impact on disadvantaged children. Unequal access to remote learning risks widening existing gaps and reversing decades of progress in educational mobility, with lasting social and economic consequences, according to simulation-based estimates.

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected lower-income populations and those with limited education or unstable employment. While short-term changes in income inequality have been modest, concerns are rising about longer-term effects driven by educational disruptions.

Unequal access to remote learning, closely tied to income and parental education, has heightened the risk of uneven human capital losses. Although economic impacts are well documented, less is known about the effects of school closures on intergenerational mobility.

Simulation-Based Study Design and Data Sources

In this study, researchers used a multi-source, simulation-based approach to assess the influence of COVID-19-related learning disruptions on long-term educational inequality and intergenerational mobility.

The team derived baseline estimates of educational attainment and mobility based on the Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility ( GDIM ), which spans 153 countries. They used the 1980s birth cohort as a proxy for current students.

The investigators quantified learning losses using Learning Adjusted Years of Schooling ( LAYS ), which integrates access to education and its quality. They performed statistical modeling using country-specific data on school closures between February 2020 and February 2022.

To capture disparities in learning experiences, the researchers incorporated World Bank phone survey datasets from 30 countries. The survey provided household-level insights into childrens engagement with various learning modalities amid school shutdowns. These included direct teacher interaction, remote learning through digital or broadcast media, and complete disengagement.

The team assigned a loss index to each modality to estimate differences in learning loss across socioeconomic groups, particularly by parental education level. They then translated these simulated learning losses into counterfactual years of schooling and compared scenarios with and without the pandemic.

By integrating distributional differences within countries, the team estimated shifts in both absolute and relative mobility. Absolute mobility changes reflected the likelihood that children would surpass their parents' education. Alterations in relative mobility denoted the degree of independence from parental background.

Together, these estimates provided a globally comparable assessment of the pandemic's long-term impacts on inequality, though the authors emphasize that they are illustrative simulations rather than forecasts. They also note that the main estimates reflect a scenario without post-pandemic learning recovery or acceleration measures.

Global Learning Loss and Mobility Decline Results

The analysis revealed considerable and non-uniform learning losses associated with COVID-19 school closures. The team found a global average decline of approximately 1.2 years of schooling. These losses were most pronounced in middle-income countries, where longer school closures contributed to sharper declines. As a result, the percentage of children expected to surpass their parents education could fall by eight to nine percentage points in some upper-middle- and high-income countries, effectively reversing decades of progress.

Importantly, the findings highlight stark socioeconomic disparities. Children from less educated households experienced greater losses in both absolute (1.5 vs. 1.3 years) and relative terms (23% vs. 10%). The findings reflect significant inequalities in access to effective learning amid school closures.

Data on learning engagement showed that children with more educated parents were more likely to maintain teacher interaction. In contrast, disadvantaged students were more likely to disengage entirely or rely on less effective remote modalities.

These inequalities translated into declines in mobility measured relative to parental education. Intergenerational persistence in education increased by almost 4% on average under one scenario, with much larger increases in some countries. The largest increase, approximately 19%, was observed in Mongolia.

Other countries with notable increases include Peru (13%), Mexico (9.0%), and the Philippines (8.0%). The findings suggest that within-country inequalities in access to effective learning amid school closures disproportionately affect mobility, with some countries experiencing sharper declines than the global average.

Distribution-sensitive models demonstrated that within-country disparities in learning access were a key driver of these trends. Uniform-loss assumptions underestimated the true impact. Notably, more favorable assumptions regarding remote learning effectiveness further widened mobility gaps, as disadvantaged children were less likely to benefit. The findings underscore the risk of lasting entrenchment of educational inequality in the absence of effective remedial action.

Long-Term Implications for Education and Social Mobility

The findings strongly indicate that pandemic-related learning losses could have lasting impacts on intergenerational mobility by widening existing educational inequalities. Disproportionate losses among children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds risk reinforcing cycles of disadvantage, undermining poverty reduction, and limiting long-term opportunities. Without timely intervention, these disruptions may translate into persistent human capital deficits and slower economic growth.

The study highlights the urgent need for targeted recovery measures, including catch-up learning and re-engagement strategies for vulnerable students. Strengthening the education system's resilience and ensuring equitable access to effective learning will also be critical to mitigating future disruptions and safeguarding social mobility. Further research using longitudinal data is essential to track mobility outcomes and refine policy responses.

The authors also caution that the estimates depend on modeling assumptions, proxy cohort data, and survey-based measures of learning modality, so the exact magnitude of long-term effects remains uncertain.
For more than a decade, Ukrainian children have grown up with war as a constant backdrop. According to researchers, the psychological consequences are now becoming clear. A comprehensive scoping review of 37 studies finds that Ukrainian children and adolescents exposed to a decade of war face high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), internalising and externalising symptoms, suicidality, and self-harm.

An international research team led by the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry at the University of Turku, Finland, reviewed the available evidence on the mental health of Ukrainian children and adolescents. Their scoping review combined findings from 37 studies published between 2020 and 2024, covering research conducted from the early years of the conflict through the ongoing full-scale invasion.



Across studies, children and young people aged 0-19 were found to experience a broad range of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, conduct problems, suicidality, and self-harm. Although prevalence rates varied, the overall conclusion was consistent: prolonged exposure to war is taking a serious psychological toll on Ukraine's youth.

Most studies were cross-sectional and focused on children living in Ukraine, with fewer examining refugees or clinical populations. Differences in study design, assessment tools, and timing made direct comparisons difficult, but many relied on young people's own reports, offering rare insight into their lived experiences." Sanju Silwal, study's lead author, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Turku

Silwal notes that several patterns emerged repeatedly.



"Girls were more likely than boys to report suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and self-harm, while boys showed higher levels of conduct disorders. Children living in regions most affected by fighting faced higher risks of moderate to severe mental health symptoms, including suicidality and self-harm. These risks were evident both during the early phase of the war and after the full-scale invasion, pointing to the cumulative impact of ongoing exposure."

Displacement and family relationships shape children's outcomes

Beyond general exposure to conflict, certain experiences sharply increased the risk of mental health problems. Children who had been forcibly displaced, exposed to violence, separated from parents, or who had lost loved ones were particularly vulnerable. Between one-quarter and one-half of young people reported direct or indirect exposure to war-related events. Around one-fifth had experienced displacement, either within Ukraine or abroad.



"Where children ended up mattered", notes Silwal. "Forced relocation to another country was linked to higher risks of mental health problems, while internal displacement was associated with greater resilience, possibly because children remained within familiar cultural and social environments".



Family dynamics also played a decisive role.



"Negative parenting practices or low parental involvement were linked to conduct problems and bullying, while supportive family environments appeared to offer some protection. Yet many children reported separation from parents or family members, disrupting vital sources of emotional security during a period of intense stress", says Professor Andre Sourander from the University of Turku.



"We conducted a time-trend study during the early phase of war and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which revealed that adolescents exposed to both phases of war experience higher levels of psychological distress. More than 10 percent attempted suicide compared to 4 percent of non-exposed peers. This starkly illustrates the devastating, cumulative impact of prolonged war on young minds", continues Sourander.



Many of the studies in the review were rated low to medium in quality, underscoring how difficult it is to conduct rigorous, long-term research in active war settings. Still, the inclusion of studies published in both English and Ukrainian provided important cultural and contextual insight.



"At a time when children worldwide are increasingly affected by armed conflict, understanding these experiences is urgently needed," stresses Sourander.



Taken together, the findings portray a generation growing up under extraordinary strain and highlight an urgent need for sustained mental health support and stronger evidence to guide future interventions.
A major real-world study challenges persistent safety concerns, showing no increased risk of sudden cardiac death after COVID-19 vaccination while highlighting how misleading associations can arise in observational data.

Study: Association between COVID-19 vaccination and sudden death in apparently healthy younger individuals: A population-based case-control study. Image credit: PeopleImages/Shutterstock.com

The worldwide rollout of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines was controversial, with many claiming that it took more lives than the infection itself. However, a recent study in PLOS Medicine found no evidence of an increased risk of sudden cardiac death in healthy adults below the age of 50 years following COVID-19 vaccination.

Rare vaccine side effects fueled public safety concerns

The recent COVID-19 pandemic led to the accelerated development and release of novel mRNA and other vaccines against the pathogen, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Large segments of the worlds population received one or more doses of a COVID-19 vaccine as part of public health guidelines to address the outbreak.

Previous research has established a risk of myocarditis following mRNA vaccine uptake, mostly in young men below the age of 40 years. Other COVID-19 vaccines based on non-replicating viral vectors were associated with vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), causing death from thromboembolism in a few cases.

Both scientists and non-professionals have since publicly claimed that young healthy people were more likely to suffer sudden death after taking this vaccination. However, over 75 % of the population in industrialized countries were vaccinated, making it likely that most sudden deaths would necessarily occur in this segment, in previously vaccinated people. The need to resolve this question led to the current study, which aimed to test whether COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a higher risk of sudden death in apparently healthy younger people.

Ontario case-control study tracks sudden deaths in youth

The researchers conducted a case-control study in Ontario, Canada, using the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, which provides universal health coverage to all residents. It included 4,963 people aged 12 to 50.

All were apparently healthy at baseline, but all died out of hospital (~90 %) or within 24 hours of presentation to hospital. Cases included out-of-hospital deaths or deaths shortly after hospital presentation with diagnoses such as cardiac arrest, sudden death, or significant ventricular arrhythmia, while excluding trauma, mental illness, or substance use.

The study period was between April 1, 2021, and June 30, 2023, when vaccine uptake rates were highest among healthy people. The researchers did not include those without recorded healthcare-seeking behavior over the past decade, reducing the chances of participants with undocumented disease.

They also excluded other conditions that increased the risk of sudden cardiovascular death, or severe illness due to COVID-19, for instance, schizophrenia, substance abuse, cardiovascular disease, or chronic disease. However, mood disorders, asthma, and hypertension were not exclusion criteria since these are relatively common among otherwise healthy people.

Each case was matched with five controls matched by age and sex, geographic area of residence (forward sortation area), and neighborhood income (by quintiles), who were alive on the date of death of the case patient. The researchers assessed whether sudden death was associated with a history of COVID-19 vaccination. They adjusted for factors that might alternatively account for an association, such as having tested positive for the virus, the number of tests done, having had flu shots, or a history of asthma, hypertension, and mood or anxiety disorders.

They further applied varying exposure definitions and case subsets to verify their initial findings. They also used a modified self-controlled case series (SCCS) including only vaccinated individuals with up to three doses of any COVID-19 vaccine, who suffered sudden death during the study period.

No increased sudden death risk after vaccination found

The median age of the cases was 36 years, and nearly 75 % were men. Cases and controls differed in a few respects: the cases were more likely to have hypertension and mood disorders, and less likely to have received COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations. Most people received the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine.

The researchers found that after adjusting for other risk factors, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a 43 % reduction in the odds of sudden death. If two doses were received, the inverse association was stronger, while it was insignificant with only one dose.

Conversely, the odds of sudden death were more than doubled if the person tested positive for the virus within the 90 days preceding death. Other risk factors included hypertension and mood/anxiety disorder, which increased the risk of death by 70 % and over threefold, respectively, as well as asthma, which was also associated with increased odds.

When restricted to the period within six weeks of death, a similar association was observed, with 37 % lower odds of death in this group compared to unvaccinated individuals. Since the subgroup below 40 years has been identified as at higher risk of vaccine-associated myocarditis, it was also analyzed separately. Here again, any COVID-19 vaccination reduced the odds of sudden death by 47 %.

Other subgroup analyses using alternative definitions of vaccine exposure replicated the findings. However, in the self-controlled case series analysis, there was no significant difference in the rate of sudden death in the six weeks following vaccination after the first, second, or third dose. The authors suggest that this may reflect residual confounding, including potential differences in health-seeking behavior, which could lower the observed rates of sudden death.

Supporting vaccine safety amid ongoing misinformation debates

The findings discredit the suggestion that COVID-19 vaccinations are linked to a higher rate of sudden death among young healthy people. Conversely, this observational study does not support an increased risk and found lower odds of sudden death in vaccinated individuals in case-control analyses, although this association may not be causal.

This is an important finding in the current context of vaccine misinformation and widespread vaccine hesitancy, and should strengthen public health messaging about vaccine safety.

Study limitations

The study has several limitations. The researchers were unable to confirm the exact cause of out-of-hospital deaths, meaning they could not fully exclude deaths due to trauma, violence, or suicide. Additionally, reliance on PCR-confirmed cases meant that infections identified through non-PCR tests were not captured.

Residual confounding may also be present due to differences in health-seeking behavior between cases and controls, although this limitation is less relevant to the SCCS analysis. Finally, the use of neighborhood-level socioeconomic measures and the inability to account for undiagnosed disease could have influenced the findings.

Study reinforces safety of COVID-19 vaccines in youth

This case-control study found no evidence of an increased risk of sudden cardiac death in healthy young people associated with COVID-19 vaccination, while observed lower odds in some analyses should be interpreted with caution due to potential confounding.

These findings do not support the hypothesis that COVID-19 vaccines increase the risk of sudden cardiac death in young healthy adults.

Download your PDF copy by clicking here.
Pittcon, the nations premier annual conference and exposition on laboratory science, is pleased to announce that the 77th Annual Pittcon, held in San Antonio, Texas, on March 7-11, 2026, was an enormous success. Thousands of academic and industry leaders in analytical chemistry and spectroscopy convened at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center for a week of unparalleled scientific programming and an exposition floor teeming with activity.

Image Credit: Pittcon

Hundreds of exhibitors gathered on the expo floor to showcase their latest innovations in instrumentation, sample preparation, and laboratory software. Dozens of new instruments were launched by some of the heaviest hitters in the analytical chemistry and spectroscopy industry, including Shimadzu, Xylem, Waters, and many more.

Its always a win for us to share our technology and present new possibilities for those who may not have known it existed, In my conversations with attendees at Pittcon 2026, it was especially exciting to meet so many first-time participants. Their energy and enthusiasm for what they were seeing and experiencing made the event even more impactful. Nicki Janus, Administrative Manager, Fritsch Milling & Sizing, Inc.

A spike in first-time attendees, as well as undergraduate and graduate students, added a youthful energy to the conference. Tammy Yallum, Executive Director of Pittcon, said, Todays students and early professionals are tomorrows buyers and leaders. One of our goals is to preserve and honor our history while bringing the next generation into the Pittcon community.

Some highlights from the Pittcon 2026 program include:

The Wallace B. Coulter Lecture featuring 2018 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry, Dr. Frances Arnold.

The Waters Symposium, featuring 2025 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry, Dr. Omar Yaghi.

The Inaugural Mary Warga Symposium, celebrating womens leadership and innovation in science, featuring Anne Chow, former CEO of AT&T Business.

On the expo floor, the serious business of scientific inquiry was joined with numerous fun and entertaining activities, such as:

A mascot race featuring Pittcons own Dr. Pete Conn

The Pittcon Pets play area and adoption zone

The science of Texas hot sauce and whiskey with tastings

A live armadillo lecture and meet-and-greet

The next Pittcon will be held in Pittsburgh, PA, on April 24-28, 2027. Pittsburgh is the home of the headquarters for Pittcon, and it will be the first time in 60 years that Pittcon will be held in its home city. Additional information for Pittcon 2027 can be found on pittcon.org.
SLAS, the Society of Laboratory Automation and Screening, has introduced the 12 companies selected for the Innovation AveNEW program at SLAS Europe 2026 Conference and Exhibition, taking place 19-21 May in Vienna, Austria. Innovation AveNEW is the Society's established program for startups, designed to support emerging companies in the life sciences discovery and technology sectors, and connect them with the international scientific community.

Innovation AveNEW provides a unique platform for participants to showcase their new company, product or service within a specially designated area on the exhibition floor, where they can directly engage with purchasing influencers and decision-makers from more than 40 countries. SLAS covers the cost of exhibition fees, travel and lodging (for one representative) and provides access to business consulting and mentorship, and exclusive promotional opportunities. Selected companies are also invited to submit a scientific manuscript to SLAS Discovery or SLAS Technology, SLAS's peer-reviewed and Gold open-access journals, published by Elsevier.

Applicants are reviewed by the Innovation AveNEW panel based on technical merit and commercial feasibility, with criteria, inclusive of, but not limited to compelling science and technology, start-up status, strength of management team, clarity of vision and market opportunity, and impact on the field of laboratory automation and technology. Each successful company also has the opportunity to submit for the SLAS Ignite Award. The winner will be announced at the conference and will receive 5,000.

The Innovation AveNEW companies exhibiting at SLAS Europe 2026 are:

8-BOT Robotics (Germany)

Chemetrian (USA)

Culturon  Pty Ltd (Australia)

Pty Ltd (Australia) DaltonTx (United Kingdom)

The Ensynble, Inc. (USA)

linkdlab GmbH (Germany)

Lutece Dynamics (France)

PartitionBio Ltd (United Kingdom)

Scalables (USA)

Sync Biosystems (Netherlands)

Syntopia (France)

Trince (Belgium)

"There was such a buzz on Innovation AveNEW and a constant flux of prospective customers, executives, researchers coming by to talk shop and see what was new. Many strong connections were made that are going to transform our business and marketing strategy in the HTS space," said Colin Cook, Co-Founder and CTO, XDemics, SLAS2026 International Conference and Exhibition Innovation AveNEW participant and Ignite Award winner. "Winning the Ignite Award was an incredible honor and validation of the mission XDemics has been on to provide limitless cell culture to power breakthrough science and medicine. The judges gave us very actionable feedback on go-to-market strategy that we are implementing."

SLAS has always prioritized providing life sciences technology start-ups with the invaluable market access, user feedback and business counsel to grow and scale their business. Supporting innovative companies with these critical tools and services is a key part of the SLAS mission, to catalyze multidisciplinary innovation across the sector, We're honored to welcome a new cohort of Innovation AveNEW startup companies shaping the future of life sciences discovery and technology to our European conference and exhibition in Vienna." Vicki Loise, Chief Executive Officer, SLAS

Sign-up for registration alerts for SLAS2027 and information on critical dates for Innovation AveNEW applications, here: https://fs12.formsite.com/pUvHVQ/j9xsaaj9to/index.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, an abortion clinic doctor sentenced to life for killing three babies who had been delivered alive, died earlier this month at a Pennsylvania hospital, prison officials said Monday. Gosnell's grimy West Philadelphia clinic became known as the "house of horrors." Former employees testified he routinely performed illegal abortions past Pennsylvania's 24-week limit, that he delivered babies who were still moving, whimpering or breathing, and that he and his assistants dispatched the newborns by "snipping" their spines, as he referred to it. Department of Corrections spokesperson Maria Bivens said Gosnell, 85, died March 1 at a hospital outside the prison system, the AP reports. He had most recently been incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution-Smithfield, about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh. A cause of death was not disclosed.
Before dawn Thursday, top diplomats from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan huddled in the Saudi capital, scrambling to open a back channel to Iran's most powerful force, the Revolutionary Guard, officials tell the Wall Street Journal. Their pitch: a five-day pause in fighting and a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the oil chokepoint that's become the war's economic pressure valve. Those efforts reached Washington just as US President Trumpwho had warned from Mar-a-Lago on Saturday that the US would "obliterate" Iran's power plants if the waterway wasn't reopened within 48 hourswas weighing military strikes. Two days later, he abruptly shelved that idea and publicly leaned into diplomacy. CNN has a similar article, and its sources say Gulf allies warned Trump that striking Iran's power plants would be a risky escalation.
Stephen Miller is pressing Texas Republicans to test how far they're willing to go on immigrationstarting with public school funding for undocumented kids. In a closed-door meeting in DC last week, the Trump White House adviser questioned why Texas still pays to educate children who aren't citizens or otherwise legally present in the US, two attendees tell the New York Times . That approach would directly collide with the Supreme Court's 1982 Plyler v. Doe ruling , which requires states to provide free elementary education no matter what a child's immigration status may be.

State Rep. Tom Oliverson, head of the Texas House Republican Caucus, said Miller framed Texas and Florida as "partners" that could advance conservative policies stalled in Congress. Gov. Greg Abbott has previously signaled interest in challenging Plyler, and his spokesperson on Monday said American citizens should not "bear the costs" of educating those who entered the country unlawfully. Any Texas move to limit funding could affect an estimated 100,000 undocumented students and potentially inspire other red states to follow.

Oliverson described Miller's comments as a policy challenge, not a directive, though the meeting did start on a tense note: Miller opened by asking whether Texas has a "RINO problem," drawing only "uncomfortable silence." Miller has also been mentioned recently amid confirmation hearings for Markwayne Mullin, President Trump's pick to take over the Department of Homeland Security: Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman wonders if Mullin has the backbone to stand up to Miller, who Goldman believes really manages what's going on at DHS, per CNN.
"Attention" is the first word, and it comes in Persianthree timesbefore a male voice launches into hours of measured, seemingly random numbers. The transmission, on shortwave radio, has aired twice daily since the US-Israel strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, reports Wired , citing the group Priyom, which tracks military and spy signals. Radio sleuths have been fascinated by what appears to be a Cold War-style of coded communication, per Radio Free Europe . But what has everyone perplexed: Who is sending the messagesand to whom? Only recipients with a codebook would be able to translate the messages.

The broadcasts appear to be originating from a US military base near Stuttgart, Germany, according to Priyom, making it possible that the 52nd Strategic Signal Battalion is involved. But at this point, nobody is sure of anything. It could be US or Israeli intelligence sending messages to operatives, or maybe Iranian operatives sending messages to their own networks. Either way, things got even more intriguing five days after the broadcasts began when somebody began trying to jam the signal (and succeeded, but only temporarily).

"It's an adversarial situation, two groups acting against one another," radio expert Akin Fernandez tells BFE. "The question [is] who has the technical means to jam a station," but it turns out that both the US and Iran have that means. Whoever is behind it all, former CIA officer John Sipher tells Wired that such broadcasts are a communications option "of last resort" in an age of satellites and secure appsslow and cumbersome, but hard to trace, since anyone with a basic radio can listen and there's no easy way to identify the intended recipient.
Israel's defense minister is openly talking about holding a big slice of southern Lebanon for the long haul. In a statement Tuesday, Israel Katz said the military intends to maintain control of newly captured territory south of the Litani Riverup to roughly 15 to 20 miles inside Lebanon, reports the New York Times . The territory amounts to about a tenth of the nation, notes Reuters . Katz's remarks signal a shift from short-term operations to a more permanent Israeli presence in Lebanon as fighting with Hezbollah escalates alongside a wider regional war with Iran.

"Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon, who were evacuated, will not return south of the Litani River until the security of northern residents (Israelis living near the border) is assured," said Katz. Hezbollah already is vowing to fight what it calls an "existential threat" to Lebanon. "We have no choice but to confront this aggression and cling to the land," senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah tells Reuters. Israel has destroyed five bridges along the river this month, and the Lebanese health ministry says the Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,000 people.
Meta just took a major hit in New Mexico, where a jury has ordered the company to pay $375 million over claims it misled families about how safe its platforms are for kids. After a six-week trial, jurors found Meta violated the state's consumer protection law by presenting Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp as safe for children and teens while failing to protect them from sexual exploitation, Reuters reports. Prosecutors accused the company of putting profits over safety, reports the AP. The case, brought by Democratic Attorney General Raul Torrez, is the first jury verdict of its kind against the company and lands as Meta faces a broader backlash over youth mental health and social media.
TOKYO, Mar 24 (News On Japan) - As the impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz spreads, the government announced it will begin releasing national oil reserves from 11 bases across the country starting March 26th, in a move aimed at minimizing disruption to economic activity.

Concerns are already emerging at the retail level, where petroleum-derived products are essential to everyday goods. At a supermarket in Yokohama, shoppers crowded the store during a monthly sale, but underlying unease was evident among staff.

Kubota Koji of Super Celcio Wadamachi said the situation in Iran shows little sign of resolving quickly, raising concerns over prolonged instability. Petroleum products are deeply embedded in daily commerce, from plastic trays used for meat to packaging for snacks, many of which rely on naphtha derived from heavy oil.

While immediate supply disruptions have not yet materialized at the store, Kubota pointed to the risk of rising costs, particularly for staple items such as rice. Rice priced at 3,219 yen per 5 kilograms on March 24th could face further increases if transportation costs and gasoline prices rise.

Kubota noted that although no direct impact is currently visible, higher fuel prices could eventually force suppliers to pass on increased procurement costs.

Industry groups have also voiced concern. Kudo Koshiro, chairman of the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association, said there has been no historical precedent for a near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, describing the current situation as extremely serious.

Tsutsui Yoshinobu, chairman of Keidanren, emphasized the importance of naphtha to Japans industrial base, noting that supply instability could reasonably lead manufacturers to raise prices.

In response, Prime Minister Takaichi announced on March 24th that the government would begin releasing national oil reserves from March 26th, following earlier moves to tap private-sector stockpiles.

The reserves are stored at large-scale facilities across Japan, including one of the countrys largest bases in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, where massive storage tanks dominate the landscape. Each tank stands roughly 11 stories tall and measures about 250 meters in circumference, large enough to accommodate a jumbo jet.

The Tomakomai East base, one of the largest in the country, houses 57 tanks across a site equivalent to about 58 Tokyo Domes. Oil is transported via pipelines stretching 6.4 kilometers on land and 3 kilometers offshore to port facilities, where it is loaded onto tankers.

Takuma Yukinori, director of the JOGMEC Tomakomai East base, said the facility is constantly maintained to ensure readiness, adding that reserves can be released promptly upon government instruction.

The government plans to release approximately 8.5 million kiloliters of oilequivalent to about one month of domestic demandfrom 11 locations nationwide, including facilities in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture.

Following the release, Japans remaining reserves are expected to fall to less than 200 days supply, raising questions about whether alternative procurement routes and other measures can be secured in time to stabilize supply.

Source: TBS
Selection recognizes breakthrough potential of ISBRG's SpotLight technology, an AI-powered optical biosignature platform for efficient, affordable, and accessible non-invasive screening in just 30 seconds.

TORONTO, March 24, 2026 /CNW/ - ISBRG, a Canadian diagnostics innovator developing an artificial intelligencepowered optical biosignature platform, today announced it has been selected as one of ten companies worldwide to participate in the 2026 Health Care Accelerator, jointly led by Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University. Selection for the accelerator places ISBRG among a small number of emerging health technology companies globally identified as having the potential to meaningfully improve clinical care and advance toward large-scale clinical deployment.

Through the program, ISBRG will collaborate directly with physicians and researchers at Mayo Clinic and gain access to research infrastructure at Arizona State University to evaluate high-impact clinical applications, and design validation studies supporting regulatory and commercial development, positioning SpotLight for accelerated clinical adoption across global health care systems.

ISBRG was selected on the basis of the transformative potential of its SpotLight-C technology as a non-invasive functional cellular phenotype screen capable of detecting early-stage cancer indicators, where sensitivity limitations remain a significant challenge for existing diagnostic technologies, and monitoring disease progression and treatment response in real-time. Designed as a fingertip-based test with no blood draw, reagents, or laboratory processing, SpotLight-C aims to deliver rapid, ultra-low-cost, point-of-care screening that extends beyond the reach of current liquid biopsy and imaging-based approaches.

"This selection affirms the clinical potential of the SpotLight platform," said Duncan MacIntyre, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ISBRG. "When detected early, cancer survival rates increase dramatically, treatments are less invasive, and outcomes are far better. Routine, accessible screening helps lower cancer deaths and enhances quality of life. This program provides an exceptional opportunity to work alongside Mayo Clinic's world-class clinicians and ASU's innovators as we move to clinical validation and commercialization of SpotLight-C. We are deeply honored."

SpotLight-C is a leading application of ISBRG's proprietary expertise in spectroscopy and artificial intelligence delivered through its SpotLight platform. SpotLight is a patented AI and optical biosignature system with defined applications in disease, viral infection, and impairment. By integrating artificial intelligence with optical biosignature detection, ISBRG aims to establish a new category of diagnostics capable of delivering clinically actionable insights within seconds without blood draws or centralized laboratory processing.

The platform's scalability, intellectual property foundation, and potential to address significant gaps in current diagnostic technologies were key factors supporting the company's inclusion in the 2026 cohort.

Participation in the program will enable ISBRG to:

Collaborate directly with Mayo Clinic physicians and researchers in a structured ecosystem

Prioritize clinical indications with the greatest patient and health care system impact

Design and execute clinical validation studies to generate clinical evidence

Strengthen regulatory pathways for U.S. and international markets

Accelerate commercialization and strategic partnerships in a clinical integration environment

The company's selection follows encouraging clinical results from SpotLight19, ISBRG's rapid viral infection detection application. In a clinical trial conducted at The Ottawa Hospital, the 30-second non-invasive fingertip scan achieved 51% sensitivity and 91% specificity for asymptomatic viral detection, significantly exceeding the performance of rapid antigen tests, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported can demonstrate 9% sensitivity for single-test asymptomatic screening.

These results support the platform's potential role in scalable viral screening and biosecurity applications that are being advanced alongside SpotLight-C.

About ISBRG

ISBRG is a Toronto-based medical diagnostics company that is pioneering the use of artificial intelligence and advanced optics to revolutionize health screening. Supported by a growing portfolio of issued and filed patents and a multidisciplinary scientific team, the company is advancing a new class of scalable, low-cost diagnostics intended to expand access to early detection and improve health care delivery to rural and cosmopolitan communities globally.

SOURCE ISBRG

For additional information please visit www.isbrg.com or contact: ISBRG, [email protected]
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a $20 billion plan to build a permanent U.S. base on the Moon over the next 7 years. NASA is cancelling plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit.

NASA is committed to achieving the nearimpossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trumps term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space. The clock is running in this greatpower competition, and success or failure will be measured in months, not years. If we concentrate NASAs extraordinary resources on the objectives of the National Space Policy, clear away needless obstacles that impede progress, and unleash the workforce and industrial might of our nation and partners, then returning to the Moon and building a base will seem pale in comparison to what we will be capable of accomplishing in the years ahead.

Phase One: Build, Test, Learn

NASA shifts from bespoke, infrequent missions to a repeatable, modular approach. Through CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) deliveries and the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) program, the agency will increase the tempo of lunar activity, sending rovers, instruments, and technology demonstrations that advance mobility, power generation (including radioisotope heater units and radioisotope thermoelectric generators), communications, navigation, surface operations, and a wide range of scientific investigations.

Phase Two: Establish Early Infrastructure

With lessons from early missions in hand, NASA moves toward semihabitable infrastructure and regular logistics. This phase supports recurring astronaut operations on the surface and incorporates major international contributions, including JAXAs (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) pressurized rover, and potentially other partner scientific payloads, rovers, and infrastructure/transportation capabilities.

Phase Three: Enable LongDuration Human Presence

As cargocapable human landing systems (HLS) come online, NASA will deliver heavier infrastructure needed for a continuous human foothold on the Moon, marking the transition from periodic expeditions to a permanent lunar base. This will include ASIs (Italian Space Agency) Multi-purpose Habitats (MPH), CSAs (Canadian Space Agency) Lunar Utility Vehicle, and opportun.

Robert Zubrin Criticized Gateway for Years

Zubrin (founder of the Mars Society and author of The Case for Mars) repeatedly called NASAs planned Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G aka Gateway) an unnecessary, expensive lunar orbital tollbooth. It added zero value for lunar surface missions or Mars prep. You dont need an orbiting station to land on the Moon or depart for Mars. Direct Earth-to-surface (or Earth-orbit-to-surface) trajectories are simpler, require less propellant, and avoid complex rendezvous.

It imposed real penalties on every mission. The Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) forced extra delta-v (about 17 % more energy), added life-critical docking maneuvers, and created tight launch windows. Missing a rendezvous could strand crews.

It was a vendor-driven distraction, not a purpose-driven program. Gateway existed mainly to give the SLS rocket and Orion capsule something to do after the Obama-era Asteroid Redirect Mission was cancelled. It diverted $3+ billion per year and delayed actual boots-on-Moon by years.

Money and time would be far better spent on a surface base. Zubrins Moon Direct plan used commercial launchers + lunar landers to build a permanent base directly, leveraging in-situ resources (ice for propellant, regolith for shielding). A surface base is far more useful for science, resource utilization, and Mars analog testing than an orbiting way station.
NASA will launch the Space Reactor1 Freedom, the first nuclear powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars before the end of 2028, demonstrating advanced nuclear electric propulsion in deep space. Nuclear electric propulsion provides an extraordinary capability for efficient mass transport in deep space and enables high power missions beyond Jupiter where solar arrays are not effective.

When SR-1 Freedom reaches Mars, it will deploy the Skyfall payload of Ingenuityclass helicopters to continue exploring the Red Planet. SR-1 Freedom will establish flight heritage nuclear hardware, set regulatory and launch precedent, and activate the industrial base for future fission power systems across propulsion, surface, and longduration missions. NASA and its U.S. Department of Energy partner will unlock the capabilities required for sustained exploration beyond the Moon and eventual journeys to Mars and the outer solar system.
Ted's Frostop to be torn down to make way for new Tulane student housing complex

But the developers will keep the beloved diner - and its iconic signage - alive as anchor tenant in the new building
He killed a man for his wallet and dropped his phone at the scene. Heres what he lost.
A Brixham underwater photographer is set to take his place among the worlds best as his award-winning image goes on display at a major national exhibition.

Aaron Sanders, who was crowned Young Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025, will showcase his striking image at the Ocean Photographer of the Year exhibition, making its UK debut at the The Historic Dockyard Chatham from 28 March.

The now 26-year-old captured the judges attention with an intimate photograph of two bobtail squid reproducing at a local dive site off the Devon coast.

Born into a family of divers, Sanders developed a deep connection to the sea from an early age. His father worked as a commercial diver, while his mother was a marine biologist, and his childhood was spent rock pooling, kayaking and watching nature documentaries.

He later went on to study Marine and Natural History Photography at Falmouth University, before building a career as an underwater cameraman, often working in locations as far afield as Indonesia.

Despite travelling the world, it is the UKs own marine environments - from kelp forests to seagrass beds - that continue to draw him back.

READ NEXT: VIDEO: Dolphins spotted cruising Torbay waters in stunning winter sighting

Speaking ahead of the exhibition, Sanders said: "I want to show people that we dont always need to focus on the negatives in this conversation. I want to show people the absolute beauty that we have that is going under-appreciated beneath the seas around us.

"For instance, so many people dont know that we have seahorses in the UK. You tell people, there are seahorses literally just out there, and they are shocked. They hear the doom and the problems that we are facing. But theyre not seeing it for themselves - so theyre blind to it.

The exhibition is expected to bring together some of the most celebrated ocean photography from across the globe, while also highlighting the importance of marine conservation.

Paul Barnard, COO at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, said: "We are very excited to be hosting Ocean Photographer of the Year for the very first time in the UK here at The Historic Dockyard Chatham. This prestigious competition has been delighting audiences across the world with its stunning photography and we are pleased to be able to bring this to audiences in the UK, and specifically the south east.

"The exhibition provides a unique glimpse into our mysterious and magical underwater world but also importantly highlights the challenges we face surrounding ocean health and climate change. We hope that our visitors not only enjoy the stunning photography but also consider the impact we all have on ocean health and the steps we can all take to make our marine environment thrive."

The exhibition opens on 28 March and will run until 31 August 2026.
The MP for Torridge, Sir Geoffrey Cox KC, has described a rail link to Bideford as essential, warning that local infrastructure must receive urgent investment to keep pace with a housing boom.

Sir Geoffrey met on Friday, March 20 with the indefatigable team from Railfuture, including Tim Steer, a long-standing campaigner and chair of the organisations Devon and Cornwall branch. The meeting focused on the renewed case for extending the Tarka Line from its current terminus at Barnstaple into Bideford.

The MP argued that the project is no longer a luxury but a necessity, given that the Bideford catchment area is expected to accommodate nearly 5,000 new homes over the next five years.

The push for the extension is centered on the rapid population growth in the town and its surrounding villages. Sir Geoffrey stated that it is essential that transport infrastructure receives the attention it requires to relieve pressure on the A39 and A386.

We must relieve pressure on local bus links and roads, particularly the A39 and A386, and ensure residents have reliable, sustainable transport to Barnstaple, Exeter, and a direct onward connection to London and elsewhere. the MP said.

A restored link is expected to serve as a vital route for:

Students travelling to regional colleges.

Patients accessing healthcare appointments.

The Tourism Economy , by bringing visitors into Torridge during the peak season.

Sir Geoffrey, who advocated for the reopening of the Dartmoor Line to Okehampton, pointed to that projects success as a clear indicator of what can be achieved. Since its reinstatement, the Okehampton line has carried more than 250,000 passengers a year.

The MP also noted his continued support for reconnecting Tavistock to the rail network, suggesting that Bideford is the next logical step in regional connectivity.

Following his discussions with Mr Steer and the Railfuture team, Sir Geoffrey confirmed he will soon meet with the region's new combined authority.

He stated that he will urge them, and the government, to recognise the strategic value of enhancing the Tarka Line and to support its extension to Bideford in the years ahead.
A Barnstaple boy is to hike up Mount Snowdon this May to show how proud he is of his Royal Marine dad and to raise money for Help for Heroes.

Finnley Hunter, who will be 11 when the hike takes place on May 9, will be accompanied by mum Rachel as they take part in the charitys Heroes Hike to trek the 3,500 feet up Yr Wyddfa, or Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales.

For Finn, its an opportunity to show his father  who is often away for months at a time  how proud he is of his dad. He will be undertaking a trek of 20 kilometres, to a summit 1,085m above sea level and will be walking for somewhere between six and nine hours.

He said: My dad is a Royal Marine and he helps protect people, even when it means being away from our family for months. Im really proud of him because hes brave and he works really hard at his job: protecting people.

I want to hike up Snowdon to raise money for Help for Heroes so that soldiers who get hurt can get the help they need. It might be a hard climb for me, but Royal Marines do really tough things all the time, so I want to try my best too.

READ NEXT: Appeal launched to bring sailing back to the waters of North Devon reservoir

Rachel added: As a proud military family, were climbing, not just for the view at the top, but to give back to the brave men and women who serve  and have served  our country and the families who stand beside them every day.

And for Finn, its about more than reaching the summit, its about learning resilience  something that is challenged daily as a military child  compassion and the importance of supporting others.

We hope to come away from the event having raised awareness for the sacrifices made by our armed forces, and stronger and proud to have made a difference together. As a military family, service and sacrifice arent just words to us, theyre part of our everyday life.

We know first-hand the strength it takes to serve, and the resilience required from the families who stand behind them. And we also know the sacrifices dont stop when the uniform comes off; many veterans continue to face physical and mental battles long after their service ends.

By taking on this challenge together, were proud to give back to a charity that supports our armed forces community when they need it most.

Finn and Rachel hope people will be willing to make a donation and sponsor his Snowdon challenge and perhaps join one of the series of seven hiking events created this year for Help for Heroes.

The first is at Scafell Pike on April 25, followed by Snowdon on May 9, before the Three Peaks Challenge is completed with a visit to Ben Nevis on June 6  the 82nd anniversary of D-Day.

The focus shifts on July 26, when the hike is around London, taking in 30 landmark military sights, before walkers leave the city behind for the coast, with a trek of nearly 17 miles along the stunning Jurassic Coast, in Dorset.

The series concludes in September with two hikes - on Dartmoor on September 12 and the Lincolnshire Wolds on September 26. Each guided hike costs 49 per person, with a suggested fundraising target of 200.

READ NEXT: 'For my dad and me' - Devon man to carry fathers ashes on 1,014-mile mission

Siobhan Warren, Help for Heroes event fundraising manager, said: This series of seven one-day hikes is more than just a fundraiser for our amazing veterans. Theyre an opportunity to reconnect with nature, meet new friends, and feel a real sense of personal achievement.

Finn and Rachels motivation is personal to them; some people walk because they have family members who have been helped by the Charity; while others may be motivated by more prosaic reasons, such as just taking exercise in fresh air, or are simply hikers by nature.

If you would like to sponsor Finn, please go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/finn-snowdon-for-heroes

If you want to find out more about the Heroes Hikes events or sign up, visit https://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/give-support/fundraising-events/heroes-hikes
The High Desert Museum in Bend broke ground on a $40 million campus expansion, which will add a new wing to the museum, transforming the arts and cultural landscape of central and eastern Oregon.

The new 24,000-square-foot wing will increase the interdisciplinary Museum's capacity for exhibitions, education, and engagement, and will feature new classrooms, expanded gallery space, and new event and gathering spaces for the community. In addition, the expansion includes the reinstallation of the Museum's permanent Doris Swayze Bounds collection dedicated to the communities of the Indigenous Plateau region, the first such update in more than 25 years. Opening to the public in winter 2027, the project will expand access to the Museum for visitors and allow it to better serve one of the nation's most geographically vast and culturally diverse areas.

Photo provided

Designed by Portland-based architecture firm Hacker, which also designed the Museum's first new building when it expanded in 1989, the new wing responds directly to the evolving needs of the fast-growing region. Since opening in 1982, the High Desert Museum has grown into the largest cultural institution east of the Cascades in Oregon, bringing together art, history, cultures, and natural science to explore the diverse landscapes and people of the High Desert region. It houses a collection encompassing over 28,000 objects from the intermountain West ranging from historic objects to contemporary artwork, including the Doris Swayze Bounds collection of 7,000 Indigenous plateau objects. The only institution of its kind in central and eastern Oregon, the Museum has doubled its programming over the last 15 years as attendance has grown by 40 percent, underscoring both its growing impact and the need for expanded facilities.

"The High Desert Museum exists to inspire curiosity, foster understanding, and celebrate the unique cultures and landscapes of our region and the ways in which people and landscape thrive together. This expansion allows us to share our mission with broader audiences, creating spaces where people can gather, learn, and engage with the stories that shape our communities," said Dana Whitelaw, executive director of the High Desert Museum. "The transformed campus will deepen our ability to evolve alongside the diverse audiences we serve and to reinforce the Museum's integral role in our community as a leading cultural, educational, and civic institution."

Connected to the Museum's main building, the new wing will include a dedicated entrance and commons, and will allow for a holistic visitor experience with a seamless flow across the campus. The expansion encompasses: an art gallery; the Gathering, an intimate community space; the Learning Center, featuring four new classrooms and an outdoor learning space; and the High Desert Hall and outdoor Event Terrace, offering the ability to accommodate large public events. The architecture draws inspiration from the surrounding sagebrush steppe landscape, with floor-to-ceiling windows, open gathering areas, and a nature-based color palette that visually connects interior spaces with the surrounding environment and reinforces the Museum's commitment to place-based storytelling.

"This project reflects the extraordinary generosity and shared commitment of the many donors, foundations, and community partners who believe deeply in the High Desert Museum's mission, and the Museum's role as a space where art, history, science, and nature come together to tell the story of this singular region, " said Sharon Gueck, chairperson of the Board of Trustees. "The expansion will allow the Museum to deepen its impact and increase its capacity as a vital community hub while continuing to celebrate the cultures that define the High Desert."

Conceived as a continuation of the High Desert itself and envisioned to blend seamlessly with the original building, the new wing's design reflects the local landscape's rimrock formations, volcanic geology, and the nearby Steens Mountain escarpment, with an intentionally restrained material palette that incorporates weathered steel, stone walls, and glass. In an acknowledgement of the Museum's deep connection to place and its interconnectedness with nature, the new wing is fully electric and features solar-ready infrastructure, and is designed for potential net-zero energy and net-zero water expenditure.

A new 3,225-square-foot gallery will be the only art space of its kind in Oregon east of the Cascades, with flexible exhibition space featuring high ceilings and integrated audiovisual technology, allowing the Museum to expand its presentation of modern and contemporary art and to organize more impactful exhibitions featuring notable loans alongside collection highlights. Exhibition programming will continue to spotlight artists whose perspectives broaden understandings of the American West, and to emphasize underrepresented voices, offering visitors the opportunity to experience the region through a diverse cultural lens. The gallery will connect to the main building via a light-filled, 2,775-square-foot Gallery Walk, where visitors will encounter works of art in a beautiful setting inspired by nature.

Reflecting this renewed commitment to engaging exhibition programming, the expansion project includes the renovation and reinstallation of the Museum's permanent exhibition dedicated to sharing the Doris Swayze Bounds collection of objects from the Indigenous Plateau region, one of the most significant Plateau collections in the nation. Developed in close collaboration with an advisory committee comprised of Indigenous members, the reimagined galleries will foreground contemporary Native voices and perspectives, emphasizing the continuity of Plateau cultures and their enduring relationships to the High Desert landscape.

The heart of the new wing will be the Gathering, the Museum's "living room" that offers a welcoming environment featuring a wood-burning fireplace and comfortable spaces for rest and reflection. The space provides opportunities for intimate and informal gathering alongside facilitated dialogue, workshops, and community-driven programs that invite participation across generations and perspectives to explore issues important to the community. Positioned at the intersection of exhibition, education, and event areas, the Gathering will encourage visitors to linger, exchange ideas, and engage more deeply with the themes explored throughout the Museum.

The wing will also be home to the Learning Center, which will feature four classrooms with flexible education space totaling 4,500 square feet and an outdoor area. This more than doubles the museum's current education facilities, which provide an essential resource for preK-12 teachers and students.

The classrooms are designed to open directly onto an outdoor "learning porch" featuring a stepped outdoor amphitheater space that lets learning experiences flow between indoor and outdoor environments and reinforces connections between cultural understanding and the natural landscape.

The High Desert Hall will be a 5,000-square-foot, flexible event center with a 300-person capacity that establishes a civic gathering space

To date, the Museum has raised 87 percent of its goal through a combination of government grants, private foundations, and individual giving, including a $6 million grant awarded from the Sisters-based Roundhouse Foundation.
Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture invites all community members to come and engage with the arts retreat's current artists in residence on April 11, from 4 to 6 p.m.

During this event, the current cohort of writers share some of their work and how their time at Pine Meadow Ranch has enriched their writing practice. This event will also include special guest Pam Houston, author of "Cowboys Are My Weakness."

The event will take place in the Ranch classroom and starts promptly at 4 p.m., followed by light refreshments. This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited so registration is required.

About the residents:

Leah Altman  Vancouver, Washington

Leah Altman is an Oglala Lakota writer and nonprofit executive with over 15 years of experience advancing Native-centered philanthropy, strategic planning, and cultural leadership. She has held senior roles across national and regional organizations, including serving as development director at the Intertribal Agriculture Council, where she built and led the first-ever development team and designed systems that supported a $16 million budget. Leah has also led fundraising and communications teams at YWCA Clark County and the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, where she strengthened major gifts programs, stewarded donor relationships, and implemented grant and campaign systems that centered equity and community care. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts and an MA in Book Publishing from Portland State University. Her first book, "Cekpa: A Memoir in Beaded Essays," was published in November 2025 by Ooligan Press.

In her current role as Executive Director of Confluence, Leah is guiding the organization through a transformative shift from white-led to Native-led leadership. She is leading a rebranding and strategic planning process rooted in Indigenous values, strengthening partnerships with Columbia River Tribes, and expanding Confluence's storytelling, education, and land stewardship programs. Looking ahead, she is focused on building sustainable funding systems, advancing cultural preservation projects, and ensuring Indigenous voices and ecological knowledge are carried forward for future generations.

Lyric Aquino - Portland

Lyric Aquino is an award-winning journalist with a passion for writing about all things relating to science, the environment, and Indian Country. Originally from Ohio, she is a proud citizen of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo with ancestry from Isleta Pueblo and the Jicarilla Apache Nation. She earned two bachelor's degrees from Kent State University in anthropology and journalism. Aquino holds a master's degree in science, health, and environmental journalism from New York University. One of her passions is reporting on the intersection of traditional ecological knowledge and western science. She is currently a Report for America Corps Member and works at Underscore Native News.

Aquino is fond of multimedia reporting and experimenting with different ways she can communicate with her audiences. Her work can be found in outlets such as Grist, High Country News, Popular Science, and Smithsonian Magazine.

In her spare time she can be found fawning over reptiles, geeking out over Lord of the Rings, playing boardgames with her fiance, frolicking in fields and renaissance fairs, exploring nature and crafting.

Pam Houston - Crede, Colorado

Photo provided

Pam Houston is the author of the memoir "Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country," the novels "Contents May Have Shifted" and "Sight Hound," the story collections "Cowboys Are My Weakness" and "Waltzing the Cat," along with several essay collections.

She teaches in the Low Rez MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, is Professor of English at University of California, Davis, and co-founded the nonprofit Writing By Writers. She lives near the headwaters of the Rio Grande in Colorado.

Barbara Soule - Bend

Barbara Soule (Dine) is a communications strategist and multidisciplinary creative whose work is grounded in values, storytelling, and community. With more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, she has a deep understanding of how thoughtful messaging, compelling visuals, and authentic narratives can support mission-driven work. Her background spans writing, graphic design, and

photography.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Native American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in Strategic Communication from the University of Oregon. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation of mixed Dine and European American heritage (To'aheedliinii | Bilagaana). A creative at heart, she finds joy in the creative process - whether through painting, beading, pottery, or writing. She currently serves as Chief Communications Officer for the Intertribal Agriculture Council.

Jarrette Werk - Portland

Jarrette Werk, whose traditional name is Beih naakyaa, is an award-winning Indigenous journalist and photographer. His work centers Indigenous sovereignty, memory, and contemporary life with care, proximity, and accountability. A citizen of the Aaniiih and Nakoda Nations of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, he is a multimedia journalist with Underscore Native News and an alum of the Report for America Corps.

Werk holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada Reno's Reynolds School of Journalism. His work spans audio, documentary film, and written and visual reporting, including roles as associate producer for Nevada Public Radio's Native Nevada Podcast and the award-winning documentary "Remaining Native." A four-time Indigenous Journalism Fellow, Werk now mentors emerging Indigenous storytellers. His reporting has earned a national Hearst Journalism Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award, and multiple honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, Indigenous Media Awards and more.

In 2025, Werk participated in ENCODED, an unsanctioned Indigenous-led exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, intervening in the American Wing as it closed its centennial year. In 2024, he was named a Dreamstarter, supporting his forthcoming photo book documenting Indigenous life in the Pacific Northwest.
Wilderness explorer, mountaineer, journalist and multi-award-winning author Michael Cooper has been nominated for the Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal for his memoir Miscalculated Risks: Attacked, Crippled, Paralyzed, Drowning, Unconscious and Freezing in The Wild (Just Not All at Once).

The Eric Hoffer Award is an international literary prize that honors exceptional books published by small, academic, and independent presses. One of the largest international prizes, the Hoffer confers the Montaigne Medal annually on the most thought-provoking books that illuminate, progress, or redirect thought.

Coopers book blends adventure, personal reflection, and gripping storytelling as it chronicles his near-fatal expeditions, extreme wilderness encounters, and the relentless drive that pushed him more than 8,000 miles into some of the most remote and uncharted landscapes in North America.

Across its exhilarating, often darkly humorous chapters, Miscalculated Risks recounts Coopers close brushes with death in the wild: Mortally wounded in a Mexican jungle, 20 pathless miles from medical help; severely hypothermic on an isolated Oregon river, battling sixty-nine miles of rapids during a blizzard; deathly ill and out of water in sun-scorched desert, and more.

Coopers memoir explores themes of wilderness survival, camaraderie, the lure of untouched landscapes, and the human drive to test boundaries  sometimes recklessly so.

Coopers Montaigne Medal nomination follows his wins of the Literary Global Book Awards and American Writing Awards. Additionally, Cooper was selected as an AWA 2026 Featured Author.

Miscalculated Risks is available in Central Oregon from REI, Paulina Springs Books, Roundabout Books & Cafe, Hike-N-Peaks, Mountain Supply, and Strictly Organic Coffee. Learn more at: MichaelCooperAdventurer.com.
It's been a record-setting low-snow year, but that didn't stop the Sisters Middle School ECoS class from getting outside for an overnight winter expedition that took place the last weekend of February.

Photo courtesy Sisters School District

ECoS, which stands for Earth, Community, Self, is an experience-based, interactive science class that is offered at Sisters Middle School to a small number of self-motivated, eighth grade students who are passionate about the outdoors and environmental education. The program was started in 2014 by teachers Mike Geisen and Rob Jensen and has been independently funded and supported by community member volunteers ever since.

Geisen, who also teaches science and photography at Sisters Middle School, explained that ECoS not only teaches to the eighth grade science standards required by Oregon Public Schools, but builds confidence and equips eager middle schoolers with real- life outdoor skills that they will use throughout their lives.

"We focus on community and personal growth, which makes the class feel a lot like a big family. Parents remark that their children change in huge ways, especially in the areas of self-confidence, problem-solving, initiative, openness to new experiences, leadership, and compassion for others," Geisen said.

The ECoS class travels throughout the school year for five three-day expeditions, including backpacking in the Strawberry Mountains, surfing and camping on the Oregon Coast, and rock climbing in the Eastern Oregon desert. The most recent trip took 25 students to Todd Lake near Mount Bachelor where students snowshoed three miles to the lake and then spent an afternoon investigating snow science.

This included digging an avalanche test pit, acting out an avalanche rescue scenario, and learning about polar exploration in the 1800s. Because of the thin snow coverage, students weren't able to dig full snow caves this year, but they got creative with pyramid shelters and snow trenches that worked quite well for sleeping overnight. Former ECoS students, who are now in their 20s, joined the expedition as leaders and instructors, and three interns at Sisters High School helped with planning and facilitation as well.

Quinn Hagen, who interviewed for this story on her 14th birthday last week, explained that her favorite part of ECoS is that it pushes her outside of her comfort zone in a safe, supportive way.

Photo courtesy Sisters School District

"It's really fun and it just pushes you outside of your comfort zone, which is really good for me, especially because it helps expand your knowledge of other things besides...everyday stuff in school. [For example] I know how to survive in an avalanche now!" said Hagen.

Ani Kerkmann, another ECoS student at Sisters Middle School, agrees.

"ECoS is such an amazing program, I have found that we are so lucky to be a part of such a cool program that teaches us how to safely do so many outdoorsy things and learn to be more independent while doing so," Kerkmann said.

Augustus Nibur, another ECoS student, explained that the physical challenge and cooperative element of the expedition was the highlight for him.

"Our family has done backpacking before and other camping trips and stuff, but there's a new level of it in ECoS...it teaches you a lot about how to be a good person even when it's really stressful and you're really tired and you'd rather just complain about everything," Nibur explained.

Nibur continued to describe some of the new experiences he got to partake in for the first time during this particular excursion.

"For this last [expedition], where we were hiking out in the snow. . . we had to pull sleds with all the group gear and the big tents on them and stuff, and it was pretty heavy. Also, just hiking in the snow with a backpack...I've never done that before...sleeping in a snow shelter was new and exciting; I liked that too."

The physical and mental challenge of the daytime activities made way for evening connection and community, a central pillar of the program's ethos.

"In the evenings, kids spent time together in the big expedition tent making dinner, telling stories, playing games, and laughing. As the temps dropped, they headed out into the winter darkness to snuggle into their shelters and get some sleep. We awoke to some water bottles and pots nearly frozen solid outside," Geisen recounted.

This year's winter expedition was a success for ECoS staff and students, regardless of the low snowpack in the Cascades. The real growth described by the students in the program was in overcoming a difficult outdoor challenge and finding that they were more than capable of working together and learning the skills needed to survive in harsh conditions.

"At first I was a little scared, because obviously the trips are really challenging, but they're all really fun," said Quinn.

"I really like the expeditions," Augustus said. "Especially [learning] to be a good community member on some pretty difficult trips, that's one of my favorite parts about it."
NAMI Central Oregon is hosting a free Community Mental Health Fair on Saturday, April 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Hub, 291 E. Main Ave.

The fair offers locals a chance to discover free or low-cost mental health resources in Sisters and get in on the action of building a NAMI community in Sisters.

Photo provided

NAMI Central Oregon is the local chapter of the non-profit National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Regional Director Casey Munck told The Nugget that the event will feature approximately 20 community partners who will offer information on the services and support available to people in the local community. Some of that is professional, but Munck emphasized that "there is a lot of peer support available."

She also noted that the fair will emphasize ways in which activities can help with anxiety and other mental health issues - activities including knitting and playing music and writing songs.

Retired psychiatrist Marianne Straumfjord told The Nugget, "One in four people in Sisters will suffer from some form of mental illness or have a close family member who is affected this year. Recognizing having depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder or any other disorder is common and treatable is the place to start."

The fair is also an opportunity to encourage volunteers to join with NAMI in promoting mental health.

NAMI Central Oregon is a grass-roots 501(c)(3) non-profit. To learn more, visit https://www.namicentraloregon.org/about-nami-central-oregon/.
Last Friday, Sisters Habitat for Humanity celebrated the final two home dedications at Village Meadows, completing a neighborhood that began with a vision in 2015.

Over the past decade, Village Meadows has grown from an idea into a community of 21 affordable homes for families in Sisters.

"Each home represents stability, opportunity, and the belief that everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to live," said Stephanie Miller, Habitat's development director.

"Projects like this do not happen overnight. They take years of planning, partnership, and persistence  and they are only possible because of the generosity of our donors, volunteers, and community supporters. Together, you have helped create more than houses; you have helped build a neighborhood where individuals and families can put down roots and thrive," she added.

Next up for Habitat is Larch Commons. This future development will provide 25 homes with a mix of affordable and workforce housing, helping ensure that the people who live and work in our community can have a shot at calling Sisters home.

Photo by Bill Bartlett

The final two homes at Village Meadows, located near Brooks Camp Road and McKinney Butte Road, will be occupied by Kristina Derksen and Trinity Chick, mother of a one- and four-year-old.

Derksen's home will be shared with her 80-year old mother, Dianna, and 101-year old grandmother, Josephine Moe. Her son, Joseph, 17, named for his great grandmother, is heading off to military service.

"Village Meadows represents more than just homes - it's stability, opportunity and hope for local individuals and families," Habitat Executive Director Peter Hoover told the gathering.

"Habitat made the house ADA accessible for the young at heart and went all out for my family," Derksen said in deep appreciation for her new home.

All Village Meadows homes are classified as single-family design, one-story, with an attached garage that will accommodate one car. Every home is built to Earth Advantage Platinum standards to assure energy efficiency.

In discussing Larch Commons, Hoover says, "These homes are for people who work in Sisters now but can't afford to live here. That's really what the main focus is. Teachers have been in the news quite a bit over the last several months as a prime example."

Construction is underway and the development should be complete by January of 2027. The first round of homeowner applications is expected to open this summer.
NeighborImpact has provided more than $5,000 in gift cards to help local TSA officers and their families keep groceries on the table and everyday essentials within reach while pay remains disrupted.

At Redmond Municipal Airport, a partial federal government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security has meant TSA officers continue reporting to work without pay  putting pressure on everyday expenses like groceries, gas, and housing.

Redmond Municipal Airport recently launched a community donation drive to support staff working without pay since the disruption began on February 14. The airport is collecting nonperishable food, household essentials, and gift cards.

NeighborImpacts support included 70 gift cards valued at $75 each  one for each of the roughly 70 TSA employees affected.

The officers impacted are part of the daily infrastructure that keeps Central Oregon connected  supporting business travel, family travel, medical travel, and tourism  while also managing the same rising costs and tight budgets many households face. A disruption like a delayed paycheck can quickly cascade into late fees, missed rent payments, tough grocery decisions, and higher stress for families who are already budgeting closely.

NeighborImpact is here to help people stay steady when circumstances change, said Scott Cooper, executive director of NeighborImpact. These are working households dealing with a sudden gap in income outside of their control. In moments like this, a local response can help families bridge the gap.

Community members who would like to support TSA workers can contribute to the airports donation drive with nonperishable food, household essentials, or gift cards at the airports badging office across from baggage claim.
Four candidates have filed for election to Position 5 in the race for Deschutes County Board of Commissioners including Sisters Mayor Jennifer Letz. It's a two-year term amid a complete reordering of county representation. A total of 18 candidates has filed to fill four positions. Position 2, held by Phil Chang, is not on the ballot again until 2028.

Photo provided

Letz is competing with: Morgan Schmidt, a pastor and executive director of the Red Cross for Central & Eastern Oregon; Rob Imhoff, a Bend business owner and local Republican advocate; and Ron "Rondo" Boozell, a local activist and frequent participant in county governance discussions.

Schmidt ran against Patti Adair and lost for position 3 in 2022. Imhoff lost to Chang in 2024.

Letz is is a former wildland firefighter, backcountry park ranger, and EMS provider and co-owner with her husband, Craig, of Tamarack Wildfire Consulting, mitigation specialists. The Nugget asked what priorities would drive her work if she is elected.

"It's hard to say just one," she said. "So much of the Commission's work is interconnected. But given my background, wildfire mitigation will be a top priority. A situation like Paradise (California) would change everything and impact housing growth, water, and the homeless. We have to get our arms around it and I think we are starting to turn the corner.

"We are being more proactive, there's more momentum with more dollars available," she continued. "Fire is nonpartisan."

The Nugget asked whether Letz expects any voter resentment to her stance of the Sisters Locust Street roundabout art that ignited a petition to recall her from city council, a petition quickly withdrawn.

"I hope not," she said. "I applied the same logic I make to all decisions weighing the merits and trying to look at it from all sides, not both sides. I can't make everybody happy. There are bigger issues to deal with. My primary concern (with the roundabout) was and remains safety and financial."

Commissioners are currently paid $135,000 per annum with a proposal to reduce that amount by $50,000 when the Board expands from its current roster of three to five in January. While considered a full-time job, there is no requirement that commissioners cannot hold outside business interests. Commissioners are not outright prohibited from having outside jobs. But there are important legal and ethical limits that effectively constrain what they can do.

However, Letz could not also hold an elected position on city council and if elected would need to resign. The City Council fills a vacancy by appointment.

The Nugget asked what committees she hoped to be appointed to or serve on. This is usually a tell of the candidate's priorities. Of the approximately 43 board-appointed committees, commissions, and advisory boards in Deschutes County, there are 11 that specifically require at least one member of the Board of County Commissioners to sit as an official member or role representative such as the Budget or Public Safety Committee.

"With five commissioners there will be an opportunity to take a new look at the policies and procedures used for commissions and boards. I have worked on several committees already that interface with the county. I don't know all of them but it will be a good time to take a look at how the workload is distributed," she responded.

The Nugget asked how Letz would bridge the frequent divide between urban and rural voters, especially in land use issues.

"I don't like to put people into buckets  urban and rural," she said. "I'm a big fan of Oregon's land use laws but want to be clear that they are old and not perfect. They need updating. I will apply the same process I always do, looking at the issue as pragmatically as I can knowing that there will be some who will disagree.

"I try to look at the nuances - the benefits and the downsides. Much of what comes before a city council or county commission is the work of their planning commissions. I don't have a crystal ball, but I try to look at how my decisions will affect kids and grandchildren 20 years or more down the road."

Letz says she has been a nonaffiliated voter her entire voting life. She is the only candidate who resides in the western side of the county.
Mays vote on a controversial 2025 transportation law will mark the 67th time in state history that Oregonians opposed a law strongly enough to petition for its placement on the ballot.

A majority of voters approved just more than one-third of those laws, including measures that gave sheriffs control of county prisons and closed the Willamette River to commercial fishing south of Oswego. Most recently, in 2018, voters approved higher taxes on hospitals and health insurers to cover funding gaps in the Oregon Health Plan after the first Trump administration cut Medicaid funding.

The remaining 42 times, Oregonians voted against laws that were referred to the ballot, often forcing lawmakers to find alternative solutions to budget constraints. That could very likely be the case for Measure 120, which voters will see on their May ballots.

A yes vote on the measure would raise most vehicle title and registration fees, increase the gas tax from 40 cents to 46 cents, and double the payroll tax used for public transit from 0.1% to 0.2% of a workers paycheck until 2028.

This process, known as a referendum, has roots in distrust in the political class, according to Rep. Ed Diehl, a Scio Republican who helped lead the states most recent referendum alongside Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee and Taxpayer Association of Oregon founder Jason Williams. In late 2025, the petitioners submitted to the Oregon Secretary of States office more than 200,000 signatures  more than double the 78,000 signatures they needed  to secure a spot on the ballot.

While theyve sued to keep the vote in November rather than May, those legal attempts have so far been unsuccessful, and a Marion County judge said the law would likely survive other legal challenges.

Its not unusual for a referendum to take place outside of the November general election. The Legislature moved five out of seven referendums since 2000 to special elections in January or February or to the date of the May primary.

While a May vote means there will likely be less voter turnout, it is also true that delays on the implementation of the law will delay much needed maintenance on Oregons roads, according to Reed College political science professor Chris Koski.

Populist roots

Oregon was a pioneer in the West when it came to establishing the initiative process, Koski told the Capital Chronicle.

While South Dakota was the first state to adopt a process giving citizens a chance to veto a law, Oregon followed shortly after when early Oregon lawmaker and populist William URen pushed for ways regular Oregonians could propose laws or amendments to the state constitution, or reject a bill passed by the Legislature.

There was this feeling that parties were not being responsive to populist demands, Koski said. There was this idea that if the Legislature wouldnt respond to what the will of the people were, and that was often happening in machine politics, that the people ought to have a say in a number of different

ways.

In 1902, Oregon voters approved a legislatively referred ballot measure creating Oregons initiative, referendum, and legislative referral process. This trinity of tools became known as the Oregon System, which Republicans recently warned they would use if Democrats dont take their concerns seriously.

Theyre really influential, Koski said. The threat of an initiative is enough to motivate the Legislature to do something.

Initiatives are widely used in Oregon in comparison to other states because Oregon doesnt just allow citizens to pass laws, but to change the states constitution.

As a result, the Oregon Constitution looks less like a hallowed document like the American Constitution, and more like a document with a bunch of sticky notes all over it associated with different kinds of changes that have been from this initiative process, Koski said.

Oregon voters hate to see a gas tax hike

Through a mix of ballot initiatives, referendums, and legislative referrals, Oregon voters have shot down several attempts to increase the gas tax.

In November 1928, 73 percent of Oregon voters voted against a ballot initiative aimed at raising the gas tax from three to five cents per gallon.

In the May 1978 primary, the Legislature asked voters if it would support requiring highway revenue to be used first for maintenance and infrastructure rehabilitation before any new highway construction. That referral also proposed increasing the gas tax from seven cents to nine cents. It failed, with 66% of people voting no.

The Legislature tried asking voters again in November 1980 if they would support increasing the gas tax to nine cents per gallon. Nearly 850,000 Oregonians  74 percent of voters at the time  voted no.

And in May 2000, Oregonians voted on a referendum petition opposing a Republican-led law establishing a diesel fuel tax and increasing the gas tax by five cents to the same 29-cent rate as the diesel tax. Oregonians defeated the law with 87 percent of the vote.

As I go around the state, everybody feels like theyre taxed enough, Diehl, who is campaigning for governor, told the Capital Chronicle over the phone.

Republished courtesy https://www.oregoncapitalchronicle.com/.
Ask anybody in Sisters country where Black Butte Ranch and Camp Sherman are or to describe the nature of those places, and they can tell you with some specificity. Smaller communities like Tollgate, Sage Meadow and Crossroads are also high in awareness of both location and the characteristics of the community.

Photo by Bill Bartlett

Not so much Cloverdale. Granted almost everybody knows the name, but those same folks are hard-pressed to define its boundaries and make broad assumptions about its heritage. Most know it for its fire service - Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District, a major partner to Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, Oregon Department of Forestry and Bureau of Land Management.

In general terms, Cloverdale extends north to Lower Bridge Way and adjacent rural farmland, several miles south of the southern edge of Redmond.

The southern edge of the community is typically considered to be Tumalo Reservoir Road and the surrounding agricultural lands, marking the transition toward the Tumalo rural district and the northern outskirts of Bend.

The western edge lies near the eastern limits of Sisters and the irrigated farming corridor along Whychus Creek. Properties west of this line are generally associated with the Sisters urban area rather than Cloverdale.

The Cloverdale area extends east to 79th Street in Redmond and the high-desert plateau beyond, where irrigated farmland gradually gives way to more open rangeland and scattered rural residences.

At the heart of the community are Cloverdale Road, which runs northsouth through the district, and Oregon Route 126, the primary eastwest transportation route connecting Sisters and Redmond. Much of the community's farms, homes, and irrigation systems developed along these roads.

Cloverdale is a landscape of irrigated pastures, small farms, and homes spread across the sagebrush plain, but Cloverdale's roots stretch back to the earliest days of settlement in Central Oregon. Although it lacks formal city boundaries or municipal government, the area has long been recognized locally as a distinct rural neighborhood shaped by agriculture, irrigation, and the steady rhythm of life in the high desert.

The community's origins date to the late 19th century, when settlers moved into the region following wagon routes that crossed the Cascades. One such route, known as the A. J. Warrin Road, passed through the Cloverdale area and served as an alternate connection to the Santiam Wagon Road linking the Willamette Valley with the interior of Oregon. Freight wagons, travelers, and homesteaders paused here to rest horses, repair equipment, and take on supplies.

In those early years Cloverdale was more than a dot on the map. A small cluster of services grew up around the wagon route, including a store, a blacksmith shop, and facilities where travelers could camp or board their horses. These modest businesses formed the nucleus of a frontier crossroads community. Agriculture soon followed.

Early settler and educator R. A. Ford helped shape the area's future by surveying the Cloverdale Ditch, an irrigation canal that paralleled nearby Whychus Creek. The canal made it possible to bring water onto otherwise dry high-desert soils, transforming the landscape into productive farmland. Fields of clover, hay, potatoes, and pasture grasses soon appeared across the area, giving the settlement its name  Cloverdale. Education also played an early role in the life of the community.

Around 1900, local rancher George Cyrus donated land for a one-room schoolhouse that served the children of ranching families scattered across the countryside. Known as the Cyrus School, it stood as a gathering place for the rural community until a larger replacement school was built in 1919.

As automobiles replaced wagon travel in the early twentieth century, the old Warrin Road gradually faded from use. Many of the small businesses that once served passing freight wagons disappeared, and Cloverdale settled into a quieter identity centered on farming and ranching. Yet the agricultural character of the area endured, supported by irrigation systems that remain vital to Central Oregon farming today.

Its irrigated fields and quiet back roads tell a story that reaches back to wagon roads, frontier schools, and the determination of early settlers who coaxed farms from the dry high desert. Today, while nearby communities continue to grow and Central Oregon's economy evolves, Cloverdale retains the character that first defined it more than a century ago  a small agricultural crossroads where the traditions of rural life still shape the landscape.

This story was compiled with help from Fandom, Sisters Country Historical Society, Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer, and Oregon Historical Society.
Saudi Arabia IraQ Kuwait Oil facilities Bahrain Qatar Persian Gulf IRAN Strait of Hormuz U.A.E. Oman

Why Its So Hard to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Hundreds of oil tankers are idling at either end of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, responding to attacks by the United States and Israel, has effectively blockaded it.

As soaring oil prices rattle the global economy, President Trump has vowed to reopen the shipping route one way or another. But short of a deal with Iran or a dangerous, prolonged occupation, experts warn, it will be hard to fully restore traffic in the strait.

Heres why.

Geography is strategy

The strait is narrow and shallow, forcing ships within miles of Irans mountainous shores, a landscape that favors asymmetric warfare tactics, in which Iran uses weapons that are small, widely dispersed and hard for adversaries to eliminate completely.

IraQ Kuwait Key oil refineries and terminals Shallow waters force ships into narrow lanes that can be mined and easily targeted. Bahrain Qatar Saudi Arabia High terrain offers line of sight for firing missiles. Persian Gulf Shallow waters IRAN Qeshm U.A.E. 35 mi Oman Islands can serve as missile launch sites. Outward shipping route Gulf of Oman A long, rugged coastline conceals entry points for small attack boats. Area of detail N Shallow waters force ships into narrow lanes that can be mined and easily targeted. High terrain offers line of sight for firing missiles. IraQ Saudi Arabia Kuwait Key oil refineries and terminals Bahrain Qatar Persian Gulf Shallow waters IRAN Qeshm U.A.E. 35 mi Oman Outward shipping route Gulf of Oman A long, rugged coastline conceals entry points for small attack boats. Islands can serve as missile launch sites. Area of detail N IraQ Kuwait Key oil refineries and terminals Shallow waters force ships into narrow lanes that can be mined and easily targeted. Bahrain Saudi Arabia Qatar High terrain offers line of sight for firing missiles. Persian Gulf Shallow waters IRAN Qeshm U.A.E. 35 mi Islands can serve as missile launch sites. Oman Outward shipping route A long, rugged coastline conceals entry points for small attack boats. Gulf of Oman Area of detail N IraQ Saudi Arabia Kuwait Key oil refineries and terminals Shallow waters force ships into narrow lanes that can be mined and easily targeted. Bahrain Qatar High terrain offers line of sight for firing missiles. Persian Gulf Shallow waters IRAN Qeshm U.A.E. 35 mi Islands can serve as missile launch sites. Oman Outward shipping route A long, rugged coastline conceals entry points for small attack boats. Gulf of Oman Area of detail N Shallow waters force ships into narrow lanes that can be mined and easily targeted. High terrain offers line of sight for firing missiles. IraQ Saudi Arabia Kuwait Key oil refineries and terminals Bahrain Qatar Persian Gulf Shallow waters IRAN Qeshm U.A.E. 35 mi Oman Outward shipping route Gulf of Oman A long, rugged coastline conceals entry points for small attack boats. Islands can serve as missile launch sites. Area of detail N Shallow waters force ships into narrow lanes that can be mined and easily targeted. High terrain offers line of sight for firing missiles. IraQ Saudi Arabia Kuwait Key oil refineries and terminals Bahrain Qatar Persian Gulf Shallow waters IRAN Qeshm U.A.E. 35 mi Oman Outward shipping route Gulf of Oman A long, rugged coastline conceals entry points for small attack boats. Islands can serve as missile launch sites. Area of detail N Sources: GEBCO (water depth); Vantor (satellite imagery). The New York Times

The Iranians have thought a lot about how to utilize the geography to their benefit, said Caitlin Talmadge, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies Gulf security issues.

The weapons may be relatively small, but that allows the Iranians to hide them in cliffs, caves and tunnels, and then deploy them at close range along the coastline.

IRANIAN MAINLAND QESHM ISLAND IRAN Strait of Hormuz Detail IRANIAN MAINLAND QESHM ISLAND IRAN Strait of Hormuz Detail IRANIAN MAINLAND QESHM ISLAND IRAN Strait of Hormuz Detail IRANIAN MAINLAND QESHM ISLAND IRAN Strait of Hormuz Detail Photo by Nicolas Economou/Reuters

The sheer proximity of Iran and width of the strait is what makes it so difficult, said Jennifer Parker, a former naval officer now at the National Security College of Australian National University.

A vessel that comes under attack in the waterway doesnt have much time to act.

You have very limited time from a detection, Ms. Parker said. To then try and respond and take out that missile or drone, your response time, depending on the speed of it, could well be minutes.

Hidden firepower

Mr. Trump has sent mixed messages about how he hopes to reopen the strait, including suggesting on Monday that he could jointly control the strait with Irans supreme leader. But most of the options the United States is considering involve the military.

The first step toward opening the strait by military force would involve trying to strip away Irans ability to attack ships. Since the war began at the end of February, as many as 17 vessels have been struck, according to Kpler, a maritime data firm.

So far, thousands of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iranian military sites have not managed to stop the threat. It may not be possible to find and destroy every last place where Irans weapons are being stored, or deployed.

Drones can be launched from hundreds of miles away. Anti-ship cruise missile launch sites, including mobile launchers, dot the coast. Underground sites Sea mines would require expensive and dangerous mine-clearing operations. Iran can use small vessels to swarm ships, or lay mines undetected. Drones can be launched from hundreds of miles away. Anti-ship cruise missile launch sites, including mobile launchers, dot the coast. Sea mines would require expensive and dangerous mine-clearing operations. Iran can use small vessels to swarm ships, or lay mines undetected. Drones can be launched from hundreds of miles away. Anti-ship cruise missile launch sites, including mobile launchers, dot the coast. Iran can use small vessels to swarm ships, or lay mines undetected. Underground sites Sea mines would require expensive and dangerous mine-clearing operations. Anti-ship cruise missile launch sites, including mobile launchers, dot the coast. Drones can be launched from hundreds of miles away. Iran can use small vessels to swarm ships, or lay mines undetected. Underground sites Sea mines would require expensive and dangerous mine-clearing operations.

They have many places where they could put missile batteries, said Mark F. Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired Marine Corps colonel. And because the missile batteries are mobile, its hard to find and target them.

Mr. Trump has called for naval escorts for commercial tankers transiting the strait. That, Mr. Cancian said, would be a major military operation.

It would involve ships escorting the tankers, he said. There would be minesweepers to take care of any mines that might have been laid. There would be aircraft overhead to intercept any drones and to attack any missile batteries on shore.

Sending in warships to fend off drone and missile attacks brings its own risks.

The destroyers defensive systems are really designed for something different than the close-in knife fight of the strait, said Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. Every part of the destroyer is sensitive to being attacked.

But it may be mines that are the biggest threat.

If theres a seriously credible threat of mines being in the water, that changes things completely, said Jonathan Schroden, an expert on irregular warfare at CNA, a nonpartisan defense research institute. No navy is going to want to put their capital ships in a waterway that is potentially or actually mined.

Mine-clearing operations could take weeks, and they could put U.S. sailors directly in harms way. The slow-moving teams would require protection themselves, including air cover.

Risks on the ground

Marines are streaming toward the region, and experts say the Pentagon might use them to pursue ground operations to launch raids or set up air defense systems for the convoys.

Given the size of Irans own ground forces, the Marines may limit their incursions to islands in the strait and avoid trying to take territory on the Iranian mainland, experts say.

Small islands could be seized by U.S. Marines, experts say. Qeshm Island has a strong Iranian military presence. Persian Gulf U.A.E. Oman Strait of Hormuz IRAN Gulf of Oman Small islands could be seized by U.S. Marines, experts say. Qeshm Island has a strong Iranian military presence. Persian Gulf IRAN U.A.E. Strait of Hormuz Oman Oman Gulf of Oman Small islands could be seized by U.S. Marines, experts say. Qeshm Island has a strong Iranian military presence. Persian Gulf U.A.E. Oman Strait of Hormuz IRAN Gulf of Oman Small islands could be seized by U.S. Marines, experts say. Qeshm Island has a strong Iranian military presence. Persian Gulf IRAN U.A.E. Strait of Hormuz Oman Gulf of Oman Source: Vantor (satellite imagery). The New York Times

Even then, the risk of American losses may lead Mr. Trump to shy away from that option.

If the ground forces are killed or captured, it changes the dynamics completely, said Ms. Parker, the former naval officer.

The limits of success

Even with a major military operation, all it takes is one strike to set back confidence again.

Right now, most tanker operators are not risking a passage through the strait. There are nearly 500 tankers in the Persian Gulf, west of the strait, and most of them are not moving, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

To get those vessels delivering oil again, ship owners and the companies that insure the vessels would have to be convinced that escorts would provide sufficient protection.

Even with companies on board and a large defensive convoy operation underway, military escorts can only provide protection for a few ships at a time. In February, before the war, around 80 oil and gas tankers were going through the Strait of Hormuz a day.

Military escort capacity is limited by the number of available warships. Each convoy can only transfer a small number of commercial vessels. Tanker The convoy follows a predetermined path, cleared of mines. Each convoy can only transfer a small number of commercial vessels. Helicopters can provide cover against drones and speed-boats. Tanker Military escort capacity is limited by the number of available warships. The convoy follows a predetermined path, cleared of mines. Each convoy can only transfer a small number of commercial vessels. Helicopters can provide cover against drones and speed-boats. Military escort capacity is limited by the number of available warships. Tanker The convoy follows a predetermined path, cleared of mines. Each convoy can only transfer a small number of commercial vessels. Helicopters can provide cover against drones and speed-boats. Military escort capacity is limited by the number of available warships. Tanker The convoy follows a predetermined path, cleared of mines.

The important thing is to reassure the shipping companies and insurance markets that the risk is low enough for them to make it worthwhile to go through the strait, said Kevin Rowlands, a naval expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a research group in London.

A large sophisticated escort effort could also be a drain on U.S. military forces. Escort convoys could divert valuable military units away from the U.S.-Israeli air campaign and from protecting other forces in the region.

And because Iran has struck ships in both the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, vessels would still need protection after transiting the strait, a longer endeavor for military assets.

I think as long as there is a residual Iranian threat to the strait, you will see an effect on traffic, said Ms. Talmadge. For things to truly return to normal, it will require a diplomatic and political solution.
Peter Thiel-backed Palantir Technologies has added Democratic firm Ferox Strategies to its DC lobbying line-up to handle data analytics and technology issues.

Christian Antelo, who was a legal fellow at the Senate Democratic Steering Committee, and Debra Dixon, chief of staff to California Congressman Xavier Becerra, work the account.

The Financial Times notes that representation of Palantir, a key contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has become a key campaign issue in the midterm elections.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp praised Donald Trumps crackdown on immigration and hailed the president for restoring the deterrent capacity of America. One Democratic operative called Palantir the apogee of state surveillance.

Antelo told the FT that Democrats angry with Trump have misplaced that anger at a US corporation that powers government agencies like [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and [US Department of Agriculture], and helps keep our troops safe.

He said theres a massive perception-versus-reality gap with Palantir, and the Dept of Homeland Security's use of Palantirs software does things "that Democrats, if they understood the nuance, would agree makes a lot of sense.

Palantir spent $6M for federal lobbying during 2025.

Brian Ballards Ballard Group, which has close ties to the Trump administration, received $660K from Palantir during the past year.

Invariant, which is headed by Democratic fundraiser Heather Podesta, ranked next at $560K.

Public Policy Holding Companys Alpine Group received $400K from Palantir, while Geoff Gonellas Cornerstone Government Affairs took in $200K.


Augusta Airport Flies Out Marketing RFP Thu., Apr. 23, 2026 Augusta Regional Airport wants proposals for an integrated marketing campaign to position it as the preferred air travel gateway of the Central Savannah River Area, which has a population of about 770K people.
BETWEEN 600 to 700 competitors will take part in this year's Fleadh Cheoil Uibh Fhaili which will take place at venues in Tullamore and Killeigh in April.

The mammoth event is being organised by the Offaly County Board of Comhaltas and the Killeigh branch of Comhaltas, among whose members is the National President of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, Attracta Brady.

Speaking to the Tribune at the launch of the event in the offices on its main sponsors, Arachas, in Tullamore recently, Attracta paid tribute to all the event's sponsors and the venue providers, in particular Colaiste Choilm where the competitions are taking place.

The Fleadh runs from Friday, April 24 to Sunday, April 26 next with a host of events, competitions and sessions over the weekend.

READ NEXT: Bumper crop of milestones at popular parkrun at Offaly venue

Events will also take place in the lead up to the fleadh including a session in Annie Kelly's pub, Harbour St on Tuesday, April 21, and a table quiz in Maunsells, Cloncollig, on Thursday, April 23.

On Friday, April 24, there will be a ceili, set dancing and sean nos singing in Colaiste Choilm, starting at 6pm.

The official launch of the fleadh takes place in Killeigh Comhaltas's Teach Ceoil centre on Offaly St at 8pm that evening and this will feature a concert by northern group, Chunky Business. The group is composed of Gary Curley and Stephen McKee who play the accordion and bango. Tickets for that event are now available.

The competitions kick off on Saturday in Colaiste Choilm at 10am and will continue all day. Competitions continue on Sunday with the ever popular ceili band competition taking place that afternoon.

On Saturday, a major concert will also take place in St Patrick's church in Killeigh commencing at 6pm.

"This year is the 75th anniversary of the foundation of Comhaltas and events will take place throughout the year all over Ireland including a gala event in Dublin's Mansion House on May 2 next," outlined Attracta Brady.

She said the organisers of the Offaly Fleadh were delighted with the support they had received, especially from sponsors, Colaiste Choilm, the people of Tullamore and Offaly County Council.

Arachas has officially pledged its support to Killeigh Comhaltas as a major sponsor for the upcoming Fleadh Cheoil Uibh Fhaili.

The sponsorship will assist with the significant operational costs of hosting the event, which expects to draw upwards of 600 competitors and thousands of spectators.

Personal Lines Managing Director Ollie Gorman was on hand to welcome members of the organising committee to the local Arachas office on Monday to kick off the countdown to the event.

He said: "The fleadh is more than just a competition; its a celebration of our heritage. As a local business, Arachas is privileged to help Killeigh Comhaltas deliver a memorable fleadh for the musicians and visitors arriving in Tullamore this spring.

"At Arachas, we are incredibly proud to partner with Killeigh Comhaltas as one of their major sponsors for Fleadh Cheoil Uibh Fhaili 2026.

"This event is a cornerstone of our local culture, bringing together over 600 competitors and thousands of visitors to Tullamore.

"Our team here in Tullamore and our office in Birr, firmly believe in supporting the heartbeat of our community, and we look forward to seeing the town of Tullamore come alive with music, song, and dance this April."

READ NEXT: Tickets now available for the 2025 Offaly Person of the Year gala dinner
THE Tullamore & District Chamber of Commerce hosted a spectacular and memorable evening at the 2026 Chamber Business Awards, held last Friday night in the Bridge House Hotel and proudly sponsored by Tullamore Credit Union.

In what has become one of the most anticipated events in the local calendar, the gala awards night brought together an outstanding gathering of business leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators and community champions from across Tullamore and the wider region. The night was filled with glitz and glamour as guests gathered to celebrate the achievements, resilience and ambition that continue to drive the local business community forward.

The evening commenced with a vibrant drinks reception, where attendees had the opportunity to connect and reflect before the formal proceedings began. A visual showcase of local businesses and nominees created a strong sense of pride in the room and set the tone for a night dedicated to recognising excellence.

Proceedings were expertly led by MC Ronan Berry, who welcomed guests and described the event as a celebration of excellence, ambition and success within the business community.

The ceremony opened with a series of deeply meaningful special presentations, which brought a strong sense of reflection, legacy and community to the forefront of the evening.

READ NEXT: Easter Commemoration to remember Offaly heroes of the revolutionary years

The first of these were the Remembrance Awards, honouring the late John Flanagan and Christy Maye  two individuals whose lives and work played a defining role in shaping modern Tullamore. John Flanagan was remembered as a pioneer of enterprise and development, a founding member and first President of the Chamber, and a visionary whose work in construction and business helped lay the physical and economic foundations of the town. His influence extended beyond business into public service and community leadership, reflecting a lifelong commitment to progress and collaboration.

Christy Maye was celebrated as a transformative figure in hospitality and social life in the Midlands. From his early entrepreneurial ventures to the development of the Bridge House Hotel and Tullamore Bridge Centre, he created spaces that became central to community life  places where milestones were celebrated and memories were made. His contribution extended far beyond business, through his support of local organisations, charitable work and his unwavering belief in the potential of Tullamore. Both presentations were delivered with deep respect and warmth, and the presence of their families added a poignant and meaningful dimension to the moment.

The Spirit of Offaly Award followed, recognising an individual whose contribution to community life transcends any one role or achievement. This years recipient, Anne Starling, was honoured for decades of unwavering dedication to improving the lives of others. Her work across youth services, including the Garda Diversion Programme and Tullamore Youth Initiative, has provided guidance, support and opportunity to generations of young people. Her leadership within organisations such as Tidy Towns, Special Olympics and Dochas Offaly Cancer Support Group has strengthened the social fabric of the town and brought real and lasting impact to countless individuals and families.

Her contribution to civic life, including her time as a councillor and her involvement with the Chamber, reflected a deep commitment to community, inclusion and progress. The award recognised not just what she has done, but the spirit in which she has done it  quietly, consistently and always with the wellbeing of others at heart. Her recognition was met with genuine warmth and appreciation from all in attendance.

The presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Tom Harney was one of the defining moments of the evening. His story, shared on the night, traced a journey from humble beginnings to the creation of a successful and respected manufacturing enterprise. Starting his career in the soft drinks industry, he demonstrated a deep understanding of the market, a willingness to take risks and a determination to build something of his own.

From acquiring the PAK brand to expanding operations and developing a state-of-the-art production facility, his business grew steadily through innovation, hard work and a commitment to quality. Crucially, his success translated into real impact for the local community  creating employment, supporting the local economy and sustaining a proud tradition of manufacturing in Tullamore.

Equally important was the role of family throughout his journey, with the business evolving into a multi-generational enterprise that continues to thrive today. His recognition reflected not only his commercial achievements, but the values of integrity, resilience and long-term vision that underpin his success. The presentation was met with a standing sense of respect and admiration, marking it as a truly special moment in the evening.

Together, these special awards set a powerful tone  reminding all present that while business success is important, it is the people behind that success, and the impact they have on their community, that truly defines legacy.

Chamber President Caroline Murphy Collins delivered a powerful and reflective address, highlighting the essential role that businesses play not only in the economy but in the life of the community. She spoke of the courage and resilience required to run a business and acknowledged that behind every successful enterprise are people who continue to adapt, innovate and persevere.

She emphasised that local businesses are the backbone of Tullamore  creating employment, supporting families, sponsoring local initiatives and contributing to the vibrancy of the town. She also reflected on the significant work undertaken by the Chamber over the past year, including its digital transformation, successful events such as StreetFeast and the Job Fair, and ongoing advocacy to support investment and growth in the region.

READ NEXT: Over 600 competitors to take part in Offaly Fleadh 2026 at Tullamore and Killeigh venues

The audience also heard from Albert Dolan TD, who spoke about the importance of regional enterprise and the role towns like Tullamore will play in Irelands future economic growth. He highlighted the opportunities presented by strong communities, connectivity and quality of life, positioning Tullamore as a town with significant potential.

This years awards attracted over 600 nominations, reflecting the strength, diversity and quality of the local business community. Following an independent judging process, winners were announced across 26 categories. highlighting businesses and individuals who are setting the standard for innovation, service, leadership and community impact.

Among the winners, Luna Natural Soap Company Ltd. was named Best Business Start-Up, recognised for its sustainable approach to skincare, transforming natural by-products into high-quality products while supporting local suppliers and promoting circular practices.

Paul Moore Photography received the award for Excellence in Professional Services, having built a strong national reputation through high-quality work across commercial, tourism and architectural sectors while showcasing Tullamore on a wider stage.

In Technology and Innovation, Banagher Precast Concrete was honoured for its leadership in advanced engineering, sustainable production and continuous investment in research and development, positioning it at the forefront of modern construction solutions.

The Top International / Multinational Business Award went to Steris, a company playing a critical role in global MedTech supply chains through advanced sterilisation services, combining innovation with international quality standards.

In environmental categories, Accelerate Green was recognised for its work supporting climate-focused businesses and driving Irelands transition to a low-carbon economy, while BiaSol was awarded for its innovative circular model, transforming food by-products into high-value, sustainable ingredients.

In the Community, Culture and Inclusion category, Dochas Offaly Cancer Support Group was honoured for delivering vital, life-changing support services to individuals and families affected by cancer. Esker Arts was recognised as a dynamic cultural hub bringing creativity and community together, while Tullamore Credit Union received the Community Impact Award for its ongoing support, funding and initiatives that strengthen local connections.

The Digital Marketing & Online Presence Award went to The Unit Challenge, recognised for its innovative use of digital platforms to achieve strong growth and engagement without reliance on large marketing budgets.

Hospitality winners included Jennys Kitchen, a long-standing cafe known for its exceptional customer experience and strong community ties; Bog Standard Burgers, a food truck celebrated for its quality, sustainability and locally sourced ingredients; The Blue Apron, recognised for delivering a unique and immersive dining experience; and JJ Killeens, awarded for excellence in hospitality, atmosphere and continuous investment in customer experience.

In Business Performance and Leadership, C&S Sheds was recognised for its long-standing success and continued investment in growth, while Bretland Construction was awarded for its strong expansion, quality delivery and community involvement. Stephen and Nigel Ravenhill were named Business Leaders of the Year for their strategic leadership in building a successful logistics operation, and Tullamore Credit Union was recognised as Employer of the Year for its commitment to staff wellbeing and development. Niamh and Ruairi Dooley of BiaSol were honoured as Young Entrepreneurs of the Year for their innovative and sustainable approach to food production.

Customer service excellence was recognised with Darren Yeates of Midland Travel, who was commended for his dedication and personal approach to creating memorable customer experiences, and Playtown Tullamore, recognised for delivering a consistently outstanding and welcoming environment for families.

In the Health and Beauty categories, Nakid by Sharon Leavy was recognised for its high standards in aesthetics and client care, Studio One for its long-standing contribution to the community and commitment to developing talent, Wolfgang Barbers for combining craftsmanship with strong community connection, and Paulines Skin and Laser Clinic for its expertise, professionalism and results-driven skincare treatments.

Finally, Kode was awarded Retail Excellence, recognised for its strong growth, fashion-forward offering and successful expansion through digital platforms and national reach.

These winners collectively represent the very best of Tullamores business community  demonstrating innovation, resilience, leadership and a deep commitment to both customers and community.

The Chamber extended sincere thanks to its main sponsor, Tullamore Credit Union, and to all category sponsors including Bank of Ireland, AIB, Lambe Oil, Buggy Refrigeration, Offaly County Council, KMK Metals and the Local Enterprise Office, Dunnes Stores and The Bridge House whose support made the event possible.

Reflecting on the success of the evening, Chamber President Caroline Murphy Collins said:

This evening was a powerful reminder of the strength, resilience and community spirit that defines Tullamore. The stories behind our special award recipients and our winners show that success is not just about business  it is about people, contribution and legacy. We are incredibly proud of our business community and confident in the future we are building together.

She also acknowledged the vital role of the independent judging panel and the introduction of the Chambers new digitised platform. She noted that the integrity of the awards is central to their value, highlighting the professionalism and commitment of the judges who carefully assessed the nominations with fairness and diligence. She also referenced the successful rollout of the new online nominations and voting system, describing it as an important step in modernising the awards process  making it more accessible, efficient and transparent for businesses. She added that this digital transformation reflects the Chambers broader commitment to evolving how it engages with members while maintaining the highest standards of credibility and trust.

As the evening concluded with music, networking and celebration, there was a strong sense of pride and optimism in the room. The 2026 Chamber Business Awards once again demonstrated that Tullamore is a town defined by enterprise, collaboration and community spirit.

The Chamber congratulates all winners and nominees and looks forward to continuing to support and champion local business into the future.
Legislators in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory, have given the 2025 Gambling Bill a smooth sailing through the first reading. The bill now has two more stages of approval before it receives a final rubber stamp from the Crown.

On Wednesday, Gibraltars 2025 Gambling Bill received successful approval during its first preview in the nations legislative assembly. Owing to the new legislation, this Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom is now one step closer to drafting regulatory standards and licensing requirements for betting operators within state lines. After successfully going through the first reading, lawmakers will now advance the bill to the second stage.

Should the bill receive a thumbs-up in the follow-up Committee stage, then in the third reading, Gibraltars government will submit it to the Crown, where it will receive final approval. The new 2025 Gambling bill of this British Overseas Territory shall replace the current 2005 Gambling Act, which initially outlined internet gambling regulations across Europe and the UK.

A 4-Year Journey in the Making

Legislators in Gibraltar first tabled the 2025 Gambling Bill in June last year. However, four years prior, officials and stakeholders had already begun preliminary discussions on the regulatory framework and conducted consultations on the draft over three years before parliamentary presentation.

During the lengthy course, the drafting committee made several structural amendments to the document. Following the revisions, it received a compliance mandate from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). For this reason, 2 years ago, in 2024, the FATF took Gibraltar off its gray list of jurisdictions that are considered high risk in the online gambling scene.

Tax Hikes in the UK Put Pressure on the Local Scene

Ahead of the Autumn Budget in 2025, the UKs Chancellor of the Exchequer announced tax hikes that included a plan to up the Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% starting in April 2026. Following the regulatory update, stakeholders in Gibraltars gambling sector voiced their interest right away, as a couple of gambling operators that serve UK players are also licensed in Gibraltar.

Gambling industry leaders, starting from Andrew Layman, the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner, issued a warning that the tax hikes would hurt the local economy. During the reading on Wednesday, Nigel Feetham KC MP, the Minister for Trade, Justice and Industry, tackled the said economic challenges head on.

Feetham pointed out that his ministry was working tirelessly to bridge the financial gap that the UKs recent tax decision would create. He, however, recognized that new market players couldnt restore corporate tax proceeds in Gibraltar by the end of 2026. But then, he noted that the current growth in the gambling scene would still generate critical revenue streams for the future of the industry.

A Critical Move Towards Structural and Economic Expansion

Gibraltars government has crafted the new regulatory regime upon vital technical and economic frameworks. From a technical standpoint, the new bill tightens control for the Gibraltar Gambling Commission (GGC) as it will roll out risk-based strategies for regulatory enforcement and fines for non-compliance.

Meanwhile, economically, the updated legislation will increase the requirements for licensed acquisition across the entire industry. The new regulation also has new guidelines that dictate individual accountability for senior companies with a valid gambling license.

Additionally, the 2025 Gambling Bill will unveil new measures for B2B activity and gambling advertising. New license categories are also part of the regulation, so that theres more coverage for operational thresholds.
ry of Defense Pete Hegseth wants $200 billion for the Trump administration's illegal, ill-advised, undeclared war on Iran.

Well, maybe. "That number could move," he says, to get "properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is refilled, and not just refilled, but above and beyond."

You won't need two guesses to guess which direction "that number" will likely move in.

Will Whiskey Pete get his requested allowance bump? According to the Washington Post, unnamed "White House officials" think he's aiming too high, and some members of Congress seem to agree.

The correct congressional response -- if you think it will help, by all means pass the recommendation on to "your" "representatives" -- is a big fat goose-egg, for at least two reasons above and beyond the war being stupid and evil.

The first reason, of course, is that the war is illegal. Since Congress hasn't declared war, the executive branch has no authority to wage war. Congress shouldn't fund something that only Congress has the power to approve when it hasn't exercised that power.

The second reason is that the Pentagon's coffers are already full beyond comprehension.

The FY 2026 "National Defense Authorization Act," signed into law by US president Donald Trump last December, provided about $900 billion in taxpayer dollars to the US armed forces. And that's not even the entire military budget. Non-NDAA spending brings the check to more than $1 trillion.

That's a lot of money. It's a lot more money than any other regime on the planet spends on "defense," and it's being spent to "defend" a country that faces no credible threat of invasion and whose rulers have to constantly drum up arguments in order to pretend that it has any substantial "enemies" at all.

Only one other regime on the planet -- China's -- spends as much per year on "defense" as the EXTRA money Hegseth's panhandling for.

After more than four years of all-out war, the Russian and Ukrainian regimes are spending, respectively, about 3/4 as much and about 1/3 as much on their war machines as Hegseth's request for MORE.

The beauty of the situation is that all Congress has to do to take control of the situation is the same thing it's been doing: Sit on its hands, with one of those hands gripping the budgetary wallet tight.

They don't even have to say "no." They just have to NOT say "yes."

We should be in, if not done with, the "trial" phase of the Constitution's impeachment/removal protocols by now, but so far all we've seen is a bunch of hand-wringing and a couple of failed attempts to exercise sub-constitutional control with "war powers resolutions."

If Congress doesn't even possess the testicular fortitude to refrain from shelling out billions every time Hegseth sticks his hand out, what is Congress even good for?

The question kind of answers itself. I predict that Congress will fall all over itself showering your money on the nation's most famous DUI hire.
By: Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator

Egypt has issued a strong condemnation of Israel's ground incursion into southern Lebanon, describing it as a "flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty" and a serious breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.

In an official statement, Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed full solidarity with Lebanon, stressing its firm rejection of any infringement on its sovereignty or territorial integrity. Cairo called for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and urged full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, emphasizing the importance of enabling Lebanese institutions, particularly the army, to maintain control over national territory.

Egypt also called for a comprehensive halt to Israeli military operations, including airstrikes on Beirut and other regions, and condemned reported strikes on UN peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL). According to Cairo, the escalation is worsening the humanitarian crisis, increasing civilian suffering, and forcing mass displacement.

At the same time, Egypt urged the international community and the UN Security Council to take decisive action to enforce de-escalation and prevent the situation from spiraling into a broader regional conflict.

Rising Regional Tensions and Egypt's Diplomatic Engagement

These developments come amid heightened tensions involving Israel, Iran, and multiple regional actors, sparking debate over Egypt's role in supporting Its Arab allies.

Criticism has emerged in regional media, including controversial remarks by Kuwaiti writer Fouad Al-Hashem, who questioned Egypt's level of support for Gulf states facing Iranian attacks. However, Egypt has intensified its diplomatic outreach in response.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty recently conducted a regional tour across Gulf countries, reaffirming that the security of Gulf states is integral to Egypt's national security. In meetings with Gulf and Saudi officials, Egypt reiterated its rejection of Iranian attacks and emphasized the need to reduce escalation.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has also reinforced this position through direct communications with regional leaders, expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabia while simultaneously maintaining dialogue with Iran and calling for restraint and good neighborly relations.

Strategic Restraint and Military Doctrine

Amid ongoing debate, Egyptian officials and analysts have highlighted that Egypt's support for its allies does not necessarily require direct military intervention. Retired Major General Samir Farag noted that assistance can take various forms, including intelligence sharing, logistics, and military training, with decisions on troop deployment made carefully and in coordination with partner states.

This approach reflects Egypt's broader military doctrine, which prioritizes defending national territory and avoiding unnecessary entanglement in external conflicts.

Egypt's Role in De-escalation: Insights from Political Analysis

Journalist Steven Sahiounie Interviewed Egyptian Political analyst Talat Taha and he emphasized that Egypt continues to play a pivotal and balanced role in the region, leveraging its strong relations with both the United States and Iran.

According to Taha, Egypt is actively working toward a broader ceasefire in the Middle East, particularly between Washington and Tehran, while maintaining strong ties with Gulf and Arab states. He stressed that Cairo supports de-escalation efforts and seeks to avoid being drawn into a conflict that does not directly concern it.

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 Yanar Mohammed Feminist Defense Fund

(Image by MADRE.org) Details DMCA



On Monday night, while scrolling through headlines about the first hour of the Oscars, which I had missed, a news item came up that sent shockwaves through me. It read: " Yanar Mohammed, 65, Iraqi Women's Rights Advocate, is Killed by Gunmen ."

I immediately clicked through to the story about Mohammed, whom I had interviewed in 2011. Her photo confirmed what my sinking heart already knew to be true.

The Times cited a statement on Instagram from the Women's Freedom Organization (OWFI) in Iraq, where she served as Executive Director and had co-founded. Her death occurred on March 2. The hit was carried out at her home in the northern sector of Baghdad. Two men approached her house on motorcycles and fired their weapons at her while she was standing outside. Despite an immediate transfer to a hospital facility, it was too late. One of the militia groups that had repeatedly threatened Mohammed was ISIS.

Mohammed believed that all women, including those in the LGBTQ community, needed to achieve social integration and equality in order for democracy to occur. She was an ongoing target of those sectors in Iraq whose beliefs upheld patriarchal norms and were complicit in the existence of domestic violence, "honor killings," and trafficking. Mohammed's efforts in creating safe houses for abused women in Iraq were instrumental in bringing safety to over 1,000 victims of brutality.

I distinctly remember the setting of our meeting. Mohammed was in Manhattan to speak at a conference. The article was an exclusive for the Women's Media Center, arranged by the group MADRE (which has set up the Yanar Defense Fund in her name).

It was a warm day. At a low-key pasta place on York Avenue, Mohammed spoke openly and passionately about her beliefs and goals. At that time, she did note the enmity of the Islamic fundamentalists that she had incurred. I remember being somewhat anxious about thoroughly conveying all the details of her mission with the depth and precision required.

During this moment in time, people are being killed every day. Often, they are faceless casualties in wars we, as individuals, may rally against but don't ultimately have the final say on. In a fast-moving news cycle, we get glimpses of the tragedies around us. A service member killed in Iran, whose photo and casket we briefly view on television. The murders of Rene'e Good and Alex Pretti, whose names will forever be synonymous with the fascism of Donald Trump's regime, ICE, and the courageous activists in Minnesota, USA. In the West Bank, the Odeh family of six. They went on a car ride for sweets, and after their car was attacked by a hailstorm of Israeli bullets from soldiers who were in the area responding to a "terrorist threat," only two brothers survived.

For those not tied into the Feminist activist space, Mohammed's name may not have been familiar. What remains is that her tireless efforts were invaluable to all the women she influenced and impacted.

It is hard to absorb all the death and destruction that has been taking place. It is ongoing and overwhelming.

Yanar Mohammed was a person whose path crossed directly with mine. For me, her killing serves as a permanent reminder of them all.
Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator

The geopolitical landscape of the Middle East began a profound transformation beginning with the 'Arab Spring' in 2011. The current US-Israeli war on Iran is the latest link in the chain of events shaping the region.

In the decades after 1948, the Middle Eastern conflict was perceived to be a Palestinian-Israeli conflict over land, human rights and freedom. However, the US and Israel have been successful in the last few decades in shifting the focus away from the Palestinian issue to a fragmented Sunni-Shia divide.

Proponents of this view argue that this transformation did not occur organically but was facilitated through a combination of political influence, media engagement, and the amplification of sectarian discourse. According to this narrative, significant resources were directed toward influencing religious figures and media platforms across the Arab world, contributing to the intensification of intra-Islamic divisions. Over time, these divisions have, in some cases, redefined perceptions of "the enemy," with sectarian identities overshadowing the broader geopolitical conflict with Israel.

Gulf Arab countries had promoted political Islam, also termed 'Radical Islam'. Sunni Clerics traveled widely exposing extremist views, while Arab media promoted these concepts. The Arab Spring violence played out in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Syria fueled by Sunni radicals.

Iran, which is mainly Shiite, took a position of fighting against the Sunni extremists battling the Assad regime in Syria. The Arab Spring not only changed governments, but fueled the sectarian strife between Sunnis and Shiites.

In some areas, sectarian divides have become more important than the Palestinian cause, which raises questions about the long-term implications for unity and security.

Netanyahu's "Six-Way Alliance" and the Prospect of a New Regional Order

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently that Israel is working to establish a "six-way alliance" encompassing countries such as India, Greece, and Cyprus, alongside unnamed Arab, African, and Asian partners.

Analysts suggest that this initiative reflects a broader vision of a 'New Middle East', one that departs significantly from the traditional alignments of the past four decades. The proposed alliance is seen as part of a strategic effort to reshape regional dynamics, potentially marking the end of existing axis-based confrontations and the beginning of a new era defined by shifting partnerships and security-oriented cooperation.

The Arab world's leaders have never been united. Jealousies and conspiracies have kept the leaders from forming a united bloc to confront Israel and America politically. However, the Arab citizenry, populations of 22 nations, have generally been united in their belief that Palestinians live under a brutal military occupation and deserve to have human rights, which have been denied to them.

Some observers interpret this development as part of a phase, where states and regional powers are realigning based on emerging threats and interests. Several Arab states have normalized relations with Israel under the 'Abraham Accords' which allowed the Arab countries to have access to the Israeli lobby in the US, AIPAC, which is essential to obtaining Congressional approval for defense and security purchases.

However, these Arab-Israeli alliances have not ended the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, which is the root of all conflict in the region, and the only path towards peace and security for Israel and its neighbors.

The "Dual Threat" Narrative: Sunni and Shia Axes

Israeli and American political rhetoric has increasingly framed the Middle East as a battleground against two distinct "axes": a Shia axis led by Iran and a Sunni axis associated with movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

The 'Axis of Resistance' had been supported by Iran and stretched from Tehran to Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Yemen. In December 2024, Syria was cut off from the Axis, and today the US-Israel war is seeking to dismantle the Axis entirely by destroying Iran.

The communities who supported the resistance were Shiites. Conversely, those who oppose the resistance are Sunnis supported by the US and Israel.

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).


Do we create our own reality? Does it matter?

(Image by h.koppdelaney from flickr) Details DMCA



By Bob Gaydos

What if killing 168 schoolgirls in the process of killing much of the leadership of a sovereign nation that hadn't attacked or even threatened us didn't matter?

What if killing innocent fishermen earning a living in the sea off Venezuela didn't matter?

What if cutting off the oil supply to Cuba, effectively starving the island nation that also posed no threat, didn't matter?

What if eliminating funds for food and HIV treatment for African nations, effectively killing thousands, didn't matter?

What if government agents randomly kidnapping people off the streets of American cities didn't matter? What if those same agents killing innocent American citizens in the same streets didn't matter?

What if powerful, influential men participating in a worldwide sex trafficking ring with young girls didn't matter?

What if caring about such things was all just something we made up in our minds? A "construct," to borrow a concept from Deepak Chopra. Constructs, according to the meditation guru who shared intimate emails about a taste for young girls with Jeffrey Epstein, are mental creations (beliefs, roles, ideas) that help us get through life, but keep us from recognizing our true nature - pure awareness, as he says. Chopra promotes meditation to get past the fear and ego which he says bind us to these constructs so that we can find the "real" reality within ourselves as part of a massive field of consciousness.

What if, as part of this vast consciousness, age, sexual behavior, honesty, respect, compassion, decency and other "constructs" that guide us through life don't matter? What if grown men meditating regularly and engaging in sexual activity with young girls (a construct defined by most as rape) is a construct one can live with? And, of course, lying about it. One's own convenient "real" reality? Pure awareness.

Meditate on that.

And while you're in a meditative state, consider the proposition put forth by another proponent of the "all is not what it seems to be" fraternity -- Tom Campbell. The physicist/philosopher posits that we are all simply characters in a digital virtual reality. Campbell's "larger consciousness system" is the computer that produces our reality.

Campbell's three-book series under the umbrella title of "My Big Toe" ("My Big Theory of Everything"), posits that your true self -- the Player -- is a non-physical unit of consciousness, which exists outside of a physical simulation, your avatar, which is your body and brain. The "player" (not your brain) makes all the choices for your avatar within the virtual reality. And, it has a purpose -- to lower the entropy (the disorder in our lives such as war, killing, kidnaping, rape, lying) by choosing love and cooperation over fear and ego.

Well, in that case, all of it would seem to matter.

Hmm. Conundrum.

"Real" reality or virtual reality?

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
"LAUSD has some of the strongest special education services in the nation."



-- Raquel Zamora



(Image by Raquel Zamora) Details DMCA



In the 2022 election, Dr. Roc-o Rivas won the race to fill the Board District 2 seat that was held by Monica Garc-a, who was forced from office due to term limits. In her first attempt at re-election, Rivas will face Raquel Zamora. With only two candidates on the ballot, the June 2, 2026, primary will be a winner-take-all contest.

Challengers in this election cycle were provided with six questions to introduce themselves to voters. These are Zamora's responses:

Q. What is your current occupation?

I am an educator and social worker currently serving in three roles within the Los Angeles Unified School District. I work at Region East Pupil Services and Attendance as a School Attendance Review Board (SARB) Chair, where I support nearly 150 Pupil Services and Attendance Counselors across 256 school sites. I also teach evenings at Evans Community Adult School and on Saturdays at the East Los Angeles Skills Center.

Q. Do you or have you ever worked for the LAUSD? If yes, in what position(s)?

Yes. I have proudly served LAUSD for 25 years in a wide range of roles.

My career began at Abraham Lincoln High School from 2000 to 2004, where I worked part-time in the College Center as a stipend intern while attending Mount St. Mary's University. After graduating, I was hired as a teacher with the Division of Adult and Career Education (DACE), where I taught for 12 years. My courses included:

English as a Second Language

Citizenship

Economics

Government

Independent Studies

Distance Learning

Individualized Instruction Lab

Accelerated College and Career Transition (AC2T) program for youth ages 16-24 who were credit-deficient or had dropped out of school

Through DACE, I served at multiple school sites, including:

East LA Skills Center

Wilson-Lincoln Adult School

Utah Elementary

Theodore Roosevelt High School

Huntington Park High School

Richard Slawson Southeast Occupational Center

Los Angeles Technology Center

Abram Friedman Occupational Center

Evans Community Adult School

After experiencing multiple RIFs, I pursued a master's in social work at the University of Southern California. During graduate school, I interned at Richard Riordan Primary Center, Monte Vista Early Education Center, and Meridian Early Education Center.

Upon earning my MSW, I transitioned into Pupil Services and Attendance, serving as a Pupil Services and Attendance Counselor at John C. Fremont High School. During the pandemic, I supported Charles W. Barrett Elementary before transferring to Ford Blvd. Elementary. I now serve as the SARB Chair for Region East while continuing to teach evenings at Evans Community Adult School and Saturdays at the East LA Skills Center.

Q. Do you have any children currently enrolled in the LAUSD? Any graduates of the District?

My daughter attended Ford Blvd. Elementary School.

Q. Why are you running?

I am running because our schools need a representative with deep, hands-on experience at school sites-- someone who understands the real needs of our students, families, staff, and communities. For years, our schools have been underfunded and understaffed, and our working conditions have not improved despite increasing demand. We are consistently asked to do more with fewer resources.

I want to bring my experience, work ethic, and commitment to public education to the school board. My priority is to advocate for policies that put students first, strengthen support for educators and school staff, and ensure that every school has the resources necessary to help students thrive. I believe in a school system where every student is valued, every family is supported, and every educator is empowered.

Q. Do you have any thoughts about how the LAUSD provides Special Education services?

LAUSD has some of the strongest special education services in the nation; however, our special education teachers and paraprofessionals are understaffed and overworked. Our school psychologists are carrying overwhelming caseloads. We must invest in staffing, training, and support systems to ensure that students with disabilities receive the services they deserve and that our educators have the resources they need to succeed.

Q. Do you have any thoughts about how the LAUSD regulates charter schools operating within its boundaries?

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
A Norman North High School student was taken into custody Monday after a loaded firearm was found on school grounds.

Sarah Schettler, Norman Police Department public information officer, confirmed to OU Daily Monday the 16-year-old male student was arrested on a complaint of possession of a firearm on school property and is being transported to a juvenile detention facility.

According to a statement from Jaron Spor, Norman Public Schools communications coordinator, Norman North administration received a report that a student made a verbal threat toward another student, initiating an investigation by school administrators and law enforcement.

The student was brought to the school office and searched, leading to the discovery of a loaded firearm, Spor wrote. The student was then taken into custody and will not return to school, according to the district.

NEWSLETTERS * required Thank you for subscribing! Email * Please enter a valid email address First Name Last Name A few times a week FREE SIGN UP Subscribing...

Internal disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with the NPS Student Code of Conduct, the statement reads, and criminal charges are pending the outcome of a law enforcement investigation.

The safety and security of our students and staff remain our highest priority, the statement reads. We are grateful to those who came forward to report this situation, allowing for a swift response.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure. Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for carrying out President Donald Trumps mass deportation agenda.

The 54-45 vote means that Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, will take over the department amid a five-week shutdown. He will replace outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, whom the president reassigned to another role in the administration.

Mullin voted for himself. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico were the only Democrats to back Mullins confirmation.

NEWSLETTERS * required Thank you for subscribing! Email * Please enter a valid email address First Name Last Name A few times a week FREE SIGN UP Subscribing...

Just before the Senate adjourned, Mullin submitted his resignation letter.

The department has been shut down since mid-February while Democrats have called for restraints on federal immigration agents after officers killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. On Jan. 7, Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and on Jan. 24, Alex Pretti was pinned down and killed by Customs and Border Protection officers.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said on the Senate floor before the vote Monday that Mullin will be entering DHS at a difficult time.

Its a tough assignment, made all the more challenging right now by Democrats having shut DHS down for five weeks, Thune said. We all know that Markwayne isnt afraid of a challenge.

Speaking to reporters early Monday, Trump said that Mullin is gonna be fantastic as DHS secretary.

As an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin will be the first Indigenous DHS secretary.

Shutdown effects

Though DHS is shuttered, ICE and Customs and Border Protection are still fully funded because the Republican-led Congress last year passed a separate funding stream of $175 billion for immigration enforcement.

Trump over the weekend directed his administration to place ICE agents in several airports in an attempt to aid Transportation Security Administration agents, who are working without pay. ICE and TSA are both agencies within DHS.

Mullin does not have any experience on a committee that handles policy for Homeland Security and will be tasked with leading a department of 260,000 employees.

Some senators have raised concerns about Mullins temperament, citing a 2023 incident in which he physically challenged a witness before Congress. Mullin also expressed sympathy toward a man who attacked Sen. Rand Paul, breaking six of the Kentucky Republicans ribs and damaging a lung.

Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, voted against advancing Mullins nomination to the Senate floor. Paul also voted against Mullins confirmation Monday night.

The Senate advanced Mullins nomination in a 54-37 procedural vote Sunday. Two Democrats, Pennsylvanias John Fetterman and New Mexicos Martin Heinrich, joined all Republicans who voted Sunday. Paul did not vote on Sunday.

Oklahoma Voice is an affiliate of States Newsroom, a nation 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and donations focused on delivering state government news. The Voice maintains full editorial independence. For more stories by Oklahoma Voice go to oklahomavoice.com.
Rachel Accurso, widely known as Ms. Rachel, is calling for the closure of a Texas immigration detention center after speaking with children held inside and hearing troubling accounts about their living conditions.

The children's educator said she is now working with lawyers and immigration advocates to shut down the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, where families, including young children, are being held.

Her push comes after emotional conversations with detained kids who described poor food, limited schooling, and distressing conditions.

Accurso said the issue became personal after she spoke with a 9-year-old boy, Deiver Henao Jimenez, who is being held at the facility with his parents.

According to DailyMail, during a video call, the child told her the food made his stomach hurt and that he wanted "to leave and go to the spelling bee."

"It was unbelievably surreal to see this sweet little face and feel like I was on a call with somebody who's in jail," Accurso said. "It broke me, and it was something I never thought I'd encounter in life."

She added, "We're trying to get a child out of a jail to do a spelling bee. I just never thought those words would go together."

Ms. Rachel Advocates For Closure Of ICE Detention Center In Texas Holding Kids: "We're Trying To Get A Child Out Of Jail To Do A Spelling Bee" https://t.co/yj5BAiz7Vb  Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 23, 2026

Rachel Accurso Speaks Out as 2,300 Kids

Reports say more than 2,300 children have been detained with their parents following stricter immigration enforcement policies.

Many of them are housed at the Dilley center, where complaints include constant lighting, limited access to education, and poor-quality food.

Accurso also spoke with another child, a 5-year-old named Gael, who is nonverbal and was undergoing an autism evaluation before being detained with his parents.

Since arriving at the facility, his condition has worsened, Deadline reported.

His family reported that he has become increasingly distressed and has started hurting himself, behavior they had not seen before.

"Treating a child this way is a crime," Accurso said. "It's neglect and child abuse."

The educator said she first learned about the facility after a separate case involving a 5-year-old boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, who were detained and later sent to the Texas center. That moment pushed her to speak out more publicly.

While many supporters have praised her advocacy, others have criticized her for stepping into a political issue. Accurso acknowledged the reaction but stood firm on her stance.

"I am political," she said. "It's political to believe that children are worthy of love and care, and that every child is equal."

Originally published on Enstarz
Trump's 48-hour Hormuz ultimatum raises stakes as Iran warns of retaliation

Xinhua) 09:02, March 24, 2026

TEHRAN, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A sharp escalation in the Iran-U.S.-Israel conflict is unfolding as U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding Iran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning of sweeping strikes on the country's power infrastructure, while Tehran signaled it would retaliate across the region if attacked.

The ultimatum comes after Iranian forces strictly controlled access to the Strait of Hormuz, in response to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on its military and nuclear sites.

"If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

KEY FLASHPOINT

Iranian forces warned of broader retaliation if the U.S. targets its power facilities. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday said that energy and oil infrastructure across the region could face "irreversible" destruction if the United States targets Iran's power plants.

Any attacks would make "vital infrastructure and energy and oil facilities throughout the region ... legitimate targets" and cause oil prices to rise for an extended period, Ghalibaf said on X.

Earlier Sunday, Iran's primary military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued a similar warning, saying it would strike U.S. and Israeli "energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure" in the region if its energy infrastructure was attacked, according to Fars News Agency.

Iranian military authorities said the Strait of Hormuz could be fully closed if attacks materialize, though the Foreign Ministry maintained that the waterway remains open under wartime monitoring.

The Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy corridor bordered by Iran to the north, through which around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supply passes, has become a key flashpoint in the war.

ATTACKS ON ENERGY FACILITIES

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East and strictly controlling access to the Strait of Hormuz.

A woman stands in front of damaged buildings in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Shadati)

In recent days, near-daily strikes have targeted Iranian military installations, missile production sites and command centers. Iran said the United States and Israel carried out a major airstrike Saturday on Natanz, its primary uranium enrichment facility. Neither government has officially claimed responsibility, while Israeli media suggest the U.S. bombers carried out the strike.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said no radiation leak was detected, but confirmed damage to underground halls and centrifuges.

Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at southern Israeli cities near the country's Negev nuclear research center. The strikes injured almost 200, according to Israeli officials.

BROADER IMPACT

Beyond immediate military exchanges, the conflict is raising alarm over potential strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure, which analysts warn could have far-reaching humanitarian and environmental consequences.

Trump's threat to target power plants carries more risks. A regional "blackout," as Iranian officials warned, would cripple hospitals, water desalination plants and food distribution across the Gulf.

Desalination facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other states supply 70% or more of drinking water, as attacks there could trigger humanitarian disasters affecting tens of millions. Oil infrastructure strikes would trigger massive spills, environmental damage to the Gulf ecosystem and further price spikes.

NARROW WINDOW FOR DIPLOMACY

Trump's ultimatum against Iran signaled an escalation one day after he said Washington was considering "winding down" military efforts in the region.

However, Trump administration advisers, including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have begun preliminary internal discussions on potential post-conflict frameworks, Axios reported, citing U.S. officials.

No formal channels have reopened so far, and Iranian leaders insist that talks can only happen after the strikes end.

The 48-hour clock is ticking amid one of the most dangerous moments in the four-week conflict. The coming days will determine whether the crisis spirals into a wider regional war or opens a path back to negotiations.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Rain early. A mix of sun and clouds by afternoon. High 82F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 63F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Myrtle Beach, SC (29577)

Today

Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 74F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 66F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
PR-Inside.com: 2026-03-24 02:10:08

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 490 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

NEW YORK CITY, NY AND NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESS Newswire / March 23, 2026 /Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with substantial losses that they have untilMay 1, 2026to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) ("Apollo" or the "Company"), if they purchased or otherwise acquired the Company's securities between May 10, 2021 and February 21, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of Apollo and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-apo/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court byMay 1, 2026 .About the LawsuitApollo and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.The alleged false and misleading statements and omissions include, but are not limited to, that: (i) the Company's leadership figures, including defendants Marc Rowan and Leon Black, frequently communicated with Jeffrey Epstein in the 2010s regarding the Company's business; (ii) as a result, the Company's assertion that Apollo Global had never done business with Jeffrey Epstein was untrue; (iii) because of the entanglement between Apollo Global's leaders and Jeffrey Epstein, the harm to the Company's reputation was more than a mere possibility; and (iv) as a result, the Company's statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times.The case is Feldman v. Apollo Global Management, Inc., et al., Case No. 26-cv-01692.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action ServicesTo learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partnerlewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163CONNECT WITH US: Facebook || Instagram || YouTube || TikTok || LinkedInSOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
PR-Inside.com: 2026-03-24 10:10:15

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 882 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 24, 2026 / BioNxt Solutions Inc. ("BioNxt" or the "Company") (CSE:BNXT)(OTCQB:BNXTF)(FSE:BXT), a bioscience innovator specializing in advanced drug delivery systems, is pleased to announce a major advancement in its commercialization strategy, supported by a rapidly expanding global patent portfolio for its proprietary sublingual drug delivery platform.BioNxt has established a broad and defensible intellectual property position across key global markets, forming the foundation for the commercialization of its lead product, BNT23001, a sublingual cladribine ODF, a thin, fast-dissolving film for oral drug delivery, targeting multiple sclerosis (MS) and myasthenia gravis (MG).Global Patent Coverage Across Major MarketsIn Europe, the European Patent Office granted European Patent No. 4539857 on March 11, 2026, covering BioNxt's ODF technology across up to 39 EPC member states. In Eurasia, Patent No. 051510, granted on November 14, 2025, provides protection across eight member states, including Russia, Kazakhstan, and other strategically important markets. In the United States, BioNxt has completed a Track One "fast-track" patent filing with the USPTO, enabling accelerated examination with an expected timeline of approximately 9 to 12 months to final disposition. In parallel, national phase applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are progressing in Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.Together, these jurisdictions represent a combined addressable market of nearly one billion people, positioning BioNxt to secure long-term exclusivity and global licensing opportunities.Strong Intellectual Property and Differentiated Drug Delivery PlatformBioNxt's patent portfolio covers the sublingual delivery of cladribine via thin-film technology, including formulation, manufacturing processes, methods of administration, and therapeutic applications in neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The technology is designed as an alternative to conventional oral tablets or injectable therapies, with the potential to improve bioavailability, reduce variability, and significantly enhance patient compliance.The Company's Track One priority filing with the USPTO represents a key strategic milestone, providing accelerated patent review timelines, early visibility on U.S. IP protection ahead of clinical milestones, and strengthened positioning for near-term partnership and licensing discussions. The U.S. filing also extends coverage beyond multiple sclerosis to additional neurological and autoimmune indications, including myasthenia gravis and lupus nephritis, further expanding the commercial scope of the platform.Transition to Commercialization and Partnering StrategyWith a strengthened global IP position and advancing clinical program, BioNxt is now actively transitioning into the commercialization phase. The Company is pursuing a partnership-driven strategy, including licensing agreements, co-development collaborations, and royalty-based supply arrangements with pharmaceutical partners.BioNxt's platform is designed to improve bioavailability and pharmacokinetic consistency, enable needle-free and patient-friendly administration, and extend the lifecycle and exclusivity of established drugs. This positions the Company as a high-value innovation partner for reformulating approved therapeutics and unlocking new commercial opportunities."We have reached a defining moment for BioNxt," said Hugh Rogers, CEO of BioNxt Solutions Inc. "Our global patent estate, combined with the accelerated U.S. pathway, provides the foundation to move decisively into commercialization. We are now focused on translating our IP strength into strategic partnerships and long-term revenue opportunities." With global patent coverage, a clear regulatory pathway, and a scalable platform, BioNxt is positioned to become a leading developer and partner in next-generation drug delivery systems targeting high-value markets in neurology, autoimmune diseases, and beyond.About BioNxt Solutions Inc.BioNxt Solutions Inc. is a bioscience innovator focused on next-generation drug delivery platforms, diagnostic screening systems, and active pharmaceutical ingredient development. Its proprietary platforms include sublingual thin films, transdermal patches, oral tablets, and a new targeted chemotherapy platform designed to deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors while reducing side effects.With research and development operations in North America and Europe, BioNxt is advancing regulatory approvals and commercialization efforts, primarily focused on European markets. BioNxt is committed to improving healthcare by delivering precise, patient-centric solutions that enhance treatment outcomes worldwide.BioNxt is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange: BNXT, OTC Markets: BNXTF and trades in Germany under WKN: A3D1K3. To learn more about BioNxt, please visit www.bionxt.com Investor Relations & Media ContactHugh Rogers, Co-Founder, CEO and DirectorEmail: investor.relations@bionxt.com Phone: +1 780-818-6422Web: www.bionxt.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bionxt-solutions Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bionxt Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" InformationThis news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates, projections, beliefs, and assumptions as of the date of this release.Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the negotiation and potential execution of a definitive licensing agreement pursuant to the non-binding letter of intent; the scope, territorial coverage, validity, term, and enforceability of the Company's Eurasian patent; the Company's intellectual property strategy; the continued development of its sublingual cladribine oral thin film (ODF) program; the anticipated timing, design, and conduct of planned human bioequivalence studies; potential regulatory pathways; expansion into additional indications; and potential commercialization, licensing, or partnering activities.Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the possibility that a definitive agreement may not be executed within the exclusivity period or at all; risks as
PR-Inside.com: 2026-03-24 02:40:07

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 515 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

NEW YORK CITY, NY AND NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESS Newswire / March 23, 2026 /Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with substantial losses that they have untilMay 18, 2026to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) ("Gartner" or the "Company"), if they purchased or otherwise acquired the Company's shares between February 4, 2025, and February 2, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.What You May DoIf you purchased shares of Gartner and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-it/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court byMay 18, 2026 .About the LawsuitGartner and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On August 5, 2025, the Company announced its 2Q 2025 results, disclosing that overall contract value ("CV") growth declined from 7% the previous quarter to only 5%, and ex-federal CV growth declined from 8% the previous quarter to only 6%. On this news, the price of Gartner's shares fell from a closing price of $336.71 per share on August 4, 2025, to $243.93 per share on August 5, 2025, a decline of about 27.55% in the span of just a single day.Then, on February 3, 2026, the Company disclosed that its CV growth rate had continued to decline another 2% both including and excluding federal contracts, and for the first time disclosed a significant shortfall of its Consulting segment's performance against the Company's internal projections. On this news, the price of Gartner's shares fell from a closing price of $202.40 per share on February 2, 2026, to $160.16 per share on February 3, 2026, a decline of nearly 20.87% in the span of one day.The case is Schmidt v. Gartner, Inc., No. 26-cv-00394.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action ServicesTo learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com CONTACT: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partnerlewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163CONNECT WITH US: Facebook || Instagram || YouTube || TikTok || LinkedInSOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
PR-Inside.com: 2026-03-24 02:40:17

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 504 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

NEW YORK CITY, NY AND NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESS Newswire / March 23, 2026 /Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., notifies investors in Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. ("Kyndryl" or the "Company") (NYSE:KD) of class action securities lawsuits.CLASS DEFINITION: The lawsuits seek to recover losses on behalf of investors of Kyndryl who were adversely affected by alleged securities fraud between August 1, 2024 and February 9, 2026. Follow the link below to get more information and be contacted by a member of our team:Kyndryl investors should contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850, or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-kd/ to learn more.CASE DETAILS: On February 9, 2026, the Company disclosed that it would be unable to timely file its Form 10-Q Report for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 and that "the Company anticipates reporting material weaknesses in the Company's internal control over financial reporting for the period covered in the Quarterly Report, as well as for the full fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, and the first two fiscal quarters of fiscal year 2026, which are expected to include, but may not be limited to, the effectiveness and strength of certain functions at the Company, including with respect to controls related to information and communication and tone at the top," as well as the departure of its C.F.O and General Counsel. On this news, the price of Kyndryl's shares fell $12.90 per share, or 55%, to close at $10.59 on February 9, 2026.The first-filed case is Brander v. Kyndryl Holdings, Inc., et al., No. 26-cv-00782. A subsequently filed case, Westchester Putnam Counties Heavy & Highway Laborers Local 60 Benefit Funds v. Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. et al., No. 26-cv-02211, expanded the class period.WHAT TO DO? If you invested in Kyndryl and suffered a loss during the relevant time frame, you have until April 13, 2026 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff; however, your ability to share in any recovery does not require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action ServicesTo learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com CONTACT: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partnerlewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163CONNECT WITH US: Facebook || Instagram || YouTube || TikTok || LinkedInSOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
PR-Inside.com: 2026-03-24 00:40:12

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 482 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 23, 2026 /WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) resulting from allegations that Barclays may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.SO WHAT: If you purchased Barclays securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=23523 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On February 27, 2026, Reuters published an article entitled "Wall Street hit by UK mortgage lender collapse, raising fears of more credit  cockroaches.'" The article stated that lenders were "rocked by the implosion of little-known UK mortgage provider Market Financial Solutions Ltd ["MFS"], fueling concerns about wider losses among banks and reviving warnings of more "cockroaches" in the booming private credit industry." It further stated that another publication "reported Barclays has a 600 million pound ($809.70 million) exposure to MFS." On this news, Barclays American Depositary Shares ("ADS") fell 3.99% on February 27, 2026, and 2.3% on March 2, 2026.WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved, at that time, the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. At the time Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.---Contact Information:Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 40th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
Zenith Bank Plc has appointed Kennedy Okwudili as an executive director of the bank, with the appointment taking effect from 1 May.

The bank disclosed the appointment in a statement signed by the company secretary, Michael Otu, and posted on NGX Group on Monday.

According to Zenith Bank, the appointment is consistent with the Banks tradition and succession strategy of grooming leaders from within and will further strengthen the banks executive management.

The Board of Directors of Zenith Bank Plc (the Bank) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Kennedy Onuwa Okwudili as an Executive Director of the Bank effective May 1, 2026.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

The appointment, which is consistent with the Banks tradition and succession strategy of grooming leaders from within, will further strengthen the Banks Executive Management, the statement read.

Profile

Mr Okwudili graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Accounting from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, in 1998, with a Second Class Upper Division. He obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, in 2008 and a Master of Science in Accounting from Veritas University, Abuja, Nigeria, in 2021.

The newly appointed director has over 25 years of cognate banking experience spanning credit and marketing, treasury, compliance, as well as operations, and has at different times worked in various zones and departments of the Bank.

ALSO READ: Zenith Bank deepens UK presence with Manchester branch opening

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), 2013, and also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, 2024. He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), 2016.

The banker has attended several executive education programmes both within and outside the country, including: Senior Leadership Development Programme at the Lagos Business School, Corporate Directorship Programme at the Harvard Business School, and Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme at the University of Oxford, SAID Business School.

Mr Okwudili is currently the President of the Catholic Bankers Association of Nigeria (CBAN) and a member of the Noble Order of the Knights of St. John International (KSJI).
Musiliu MC Oluomo Akinsanya has broken his silence following a leadership crisis that rocked the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Monday.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that tensions flared at the unions national secretariat in Abuja after Tajudeen Baruwa assumed control, citing a court ruling.

In a viral video obtained by this newspaper, Mr Baruwa told journalists at the secretariat that his actions were backed by two court judgments delivered in his favour.

He maintained that, following the rulings, the union notified the Nigerian Police, attaching copies of the judgments to facilitate the recovery of its secretariat, but noted that the response was not encouraging.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

He added that the union later issued another notice, declaring its intention to take over the secretariat and resume operations in line with the court decisions.

Take over

Today, as you can see, we are taking over peacefully, and it is not a forceful takeover but just carrying out the courts orders. Again, please be aware that our coming here after two years is to occupy our office.

Having obtained judgments at both the lower court and the Appeal Court, they refused to obey court orders after waiting for about two years. We decided to resume at the office today without causing any violence, and here we are.

Attack

He alleged that a faction loyal to MC Oluomo attacked one of his members, who was subsequently hospitalised.

The situation is under control. We remain open to reconciliation, as we are a law-abiding organisation and not troublemakers. No one is above the law.

Mr Baruwas actions sparked mixed reactions among Nigerians, with some condemning the takeover of the secretariat while others applauded it.

MC Oluomo

Reacting to Mr Baruwas takeover of the union secretariat, MC Oluomo said in a statement posted on his Instagram page on Monday that he was aware of what he described as a forceful takeover.

He said he was aware of the situation but stressed that he was not a party to the purported judgment.

MC Oluomo reaffirmed that he remains the duly recognised president of the union.

He said: The judgment has been appealed and a stay of execution has been duly entered. He (MC Oluomo) has not engaged with Mr Baruwa or any individual, aware that cases are pending in court.

The situation is under the control of security agencies. Alhaji Musiliu Ayinde Akinsanya remains the National President of NURTW. The National President urges all members to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding, and to maintain peace and order in their respective areas.

Backstory

In November 2024, this newspaper reported that MC Oluomo, a former chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the NURTW, emerged as the unions National President after contesting unopposed. The election was held at the unions zonal secretariat in Osogbo, Osun State.

However, Mr Baruwa, who also claimed the unions leadership, rejected MC Oluomos inauguration as president.

According to The Punch, both the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal earlier barred any interference in the affairs of the Mr Baruwa-led executive of the NURTW.

In a ruling on suit No. NICN/ABJ/263/2023, Justice O.O. Oyewumi of the Industrial Court affirmed Mr Baruwa as the duly elected president of the union.

Similarly, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, in a judgment delivered in November 2025 in appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/293/2024 upheld Mr Baruwas position as the legitimate president.

The appellate courts decision reinforced an earlier judgment delivered on 11 March 2024, which also recognised him as the unions leader.

The three-member panel, comprising Justices Hamma Akawu Barka, Nnamdi Dimgba and Asmau Ojuolape Akanbi, dismissed the appeal filed by Najeem Usman Yasin, Tajudeen Agbede and others, ruling that it lacked merit. The court also awarded costs of N100,000 against the appellants, who are said to be loyal to MC Oluomo.

Those who filed the appeal included Yasin, Agbede, Aliyu Ore, Kayode Agbeyangi, Alhassan Haruna, popularly known as 313, Aliyu Tanimu and Hakeem Adeosun, while Mr Baruwa and several others were listed as respondents.
Entrepreneurs and industry leaders have urged governments and investors to strengthen policies, boost investment and provide focused support to drive womens economic empowerment across West Africa.

They made the call at the Zoho Women in Business Summit West Africa 2026, which convened corporate executives and development partners to explore practical ways of scaling women-led businesses in the region.

Speaking at the event, Praise Olusegun of Zoho Middle East and Africa (MEA) described women-led businesses as a significant economic force in Nigeria.

She noted that the country ranks among the highest globally in female entrepreneurship.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

According to her, the studies indicate that over 80 per cent of Nigerian women engage in entrepreneurial activities in one form or another.

If women-owned businesses in Nigeria were a country, they would be one of the most powerful economic forces in Africa, said Ms Olusegun.

Digital tools

Furthermore, she noted that women own more than half of Nigerias over 40 million small and medium-sized enterprises.

Highlighting the growing role of women in the countrys economy, Ms Olusegun maintained that many of these businesses still grapple with structural challenges.

According to her, digital tools offer entrepreneurs a better pathway to manage their operations and scale beyond local markets.

Data presented at the summit also revealed that more than 40 per cent of women-owned businesses in Nigeria generate less than N10,000 in daily profit.

The findings underscored persistent barriers, including limited access to finance, technology and international markets.

Legal structures

International arbitration consultant and Head of Africa Practice at Gately, Perenami Momodu, who spoke on Resilience in Action: Legal Empowerment as a Catalyst for Womens Economic Growth, stressed that strong legal frameworks are vital for building resilient businesses.

She explained that resilience means creating enterprises capable of withstanding economic shocks, regulatory shifts and global crises.

While noting that Africa has one of the highest rates of female entrepreneurship, nearly one in four women runs a business, she said women-led ventures remain significantly underfunded.

Of the $289 billion in global venture capital recorded in 2024, only 2.3 per cent went to all-female founding teams, and less than 7 per cent went to female-led startups in Africa.

If female-owned businesses had the same access to capital and legal infrastructure as male-owned ones, their contribution to Africas GDP could be significantly higher, she said.

Ms Momodu urged entrepreneurs to build solid corporate structures, put robust contracts in place, protect their intellectual property, and adhere to regulations to ensure long-term business sustainability.

Panel discussion

During the panel session, speakers urged a shift towards a broader understanding of business success beyond financial gains.

READ ALSO: Lafarge Africa reaffirms commitment to building sustainable impact through women

Uloma Amodu of Truecaller said success should also reflect the impact leaders make and the lives they influence.

Also, Chinazom Arinze, founder of AutoGirl, noted that financial growth enables women entrepreneurs to expand their reach and drive meaningful change.

Moreover, Datari Ladejo of Fernhill Digital Group added that while many women start businesses to address social challenges, they often overlook the need for robust financial systems.

Additionally, Judith Didi Ebirim of Impressum Africa emphasised that profit and purpose can successfully go hand in hand.
The National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Musiliu MC Oluomo Akinsanya, has returned to the unions national secretariat, a day after a leadership crisis disrupted activities at the headquarters.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Tajudeen Baruwa earlier took control of the Abuja secretariat, citing two court rulings delivered in his favour.

A viral video obtained by this newspaper on Tuesday showed MC Oluomo arriving at the premises under tight security, with operatives stationed both within and around the building as he resumed duties.

The footage also captured the aftermath of Mondays unrest, revealing damage to several offices and the destruction of property within the complex.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Reacting to the incident, the 51-year-old said during an Instagram Live session monitored by this newspaper that he was in Lagos when the forceful takeover occurred.

He added that although some individuals urged him to mobilise supporters to confront Mr Baruwa and his associates, he declined, stressing that he had chosen a different path.

MC Oluomo said, Last Thursday, I left the headquarters for Lagos to observe Eid-el-Fitr. By Monday, I was informed that Baruwa had arrived at the headquarters with thugs, vandalised offices and looted property. Some members called me, urging me to retaliate, but I refused. There is no place for thuggery in the union anymore. If we had responded violently, lives could have been lost. The whole world is aware of what happened.

Someone who claims to want to lead this union should not be involved in looting items such as televisions, laptops, wall clocks, fridges, and large sums of money from the HOD offices. They also took tickets, a printer, a camera, an iPhone 17, a pumping machine and a generator battery, while destroying several offices. Is that how someone who claims to have won in court should behave?

Court case

MC Oluomo further insisted that the two court rulings secured by Mr Baruwa did not concern him.

He maintained that he was duly elected as president of the NURTW and enjoyed the full backing of the unions state chairpersons.

All the court documents Baruwa and others have been parading do not include my name. Anyone can verify this. The MC Oluomo of today is different from who I used to be. Nigeria needs peace, and I now have a reputation to protect. I cannot be seen mobilising thugs or causing disruptions. God will not allow me to return to that path.

All state chairmen are under my leadership, and Baruwa does not have the backing of any state chairman. They will all be in Abuja on Wednesday. I have no personal issue with Baruwa. Even if he won a case, it does not concern me because my name is not mentioned in it, he said.

History

MC Oluomo also dismissed claims that he was forced out of the Lagos NURTW, explaining that he stepped down voluntarily to contest for the position of National President.

He stated that when the election was announced, and nomination forms were made available, Mr Baruwa was duly informed, but neither purchased a form nor took part in the process.

MC Oluomo noted, I wanted to build my career. In the end, we will all reap what we sow. I stepped forward because I wanted it recorded in the unions history that MC Oluomo once served as National President. There is nothing that will happen in the union in the future that I will not be part of, even in my later years.

When I decided to run for president, elections had already been concluded in most states. Four states had completed the process, leaving only Oyo and Osun. I contested alongside other state chairpersons. Baruwa was informed that forms were on sale; I paid for and obtained mine. We proceeded to Osogbo for the election, where I emerged as president.

Enter police

He also confirmed that the police had taken over the matter, adding that he would no longer engage in any behaviour that could cause a disturbance.

I have moved beyond that. God has blessed me. The police are handling the matter and taking the necessary steps. I am simply explaining what happened.

I was duly elected as NURTW president, and I appreciate the support and calls from well-wishers across the world. As for those celebrating Baruwas actions, I leave them to God.

This newspaper reported that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command had arrested seven suspects in connection with the clash.

The commands Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, a Superintendent of Police, disclosed this in a statement.

She explained that the suspects, armed with cutlasses, bottles, bows and arrows, were allegedly removing items from the premises when the incident occurred.

Ms Adeh added that one union member suffered a severe machete wound to the neck during the clash.

She said the victim was rescued, while others who sustained varying degrees of injury were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Nollywood actor and former president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, (AGN), Zack Orji, has been very vocal about his support for President Bola Tinubu.

Months before the 2023 presidential elections, the veteran publicly declared his support for the then-All Progressives Congress candidate.

Based on his unwavering support, Mr Orji, alongside other actors like Jide Kosoko, Saheed Balogun, Gentle Jack, Benedict Johnson, Funke Daramola, Remi Oshodi, and others, was appointed to the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

Unwavering support

In 2025, amidst growing disaffection towards the administration, the actor appealed to Nigerians to remain patient with President Tinubu.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Orji said, It is 55 and a half years since the Nigerian civil war ended and for the first time since the war ended in the history of this country, a president in the person of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has set up the Southeast Development Commission (SEDC) along with its subsidiary, the Southeast Investment Company, with a take-off capital of N150 billion.

Endearing factors

Staying true to his convictions, the Three Wise Men actor has debunked the perception that Igbos play tribal politics

In an interview on the KaaTruths Podcast, the actor pointed out that he supports President Tinubu because, as far as he is concerned, amongst the three major presidential candidates, he was the most qualified in terms ofcompetenn terms of carrying out the necessary reforms to chanin the rot of this country.

I can never be at peace with myself if I dont speak my mind and do the things that I am convinced about. Many other Igbo people supported him and continue to support him, maybe because of our upbringing. Ive lived in Lagos since 1979. My home has been in Lagos, where I live and work, until recently, when I moved to Abuja. Ive been here for about two years now, since after my surgery.

One of the things that endeared him to me was the fact that when he was governor of Lagos state, there was always an Igbo man in his cabinet as a Commissioner. Even the Vice President, when he was governor in Borno State, had an Igbo man in his cabinet. It tells you that this is somebody who believes in inclusivity, who believes in the Nigerian project regardless of your ethnic extraction, he said.

He further cited the opinion that President Tinubu has raised people from his own ethnic extraction and from other ethnic extractions as another endearing factor.

If you talk about somebody who has raised people, he was number one amongst the others; the people he, had raised both from his own ethnic extraction and from other ethnic extractiople he has he had helped over theseveral attributes attractedattracted ,hwhicho me that ma,de m,e say yes, this is the man who should be resident of Nigeria if he can bring the same inclusivity at the federal level, Orji added.

Nascent democracy

Speaking on the state of democracy in Nigeria, the actor, who had a health scare in 2024, opined that it has improved many aspects of the country.

READ ALSO: IPI Nigeria urges Tinubu to caution Niger governor against media attacks

But Ill also say democracy is the one system of government that allows anybody to disrespect anybody because people feel that its their right to get up and say whatever is on their mind. Whatever it is, I will look at it from the perspective that democracy is good.

Its a good system of governance because it allows representation of people from different extractions to come together and represent their own people and fight for the interests of their people for the benefits or the dividends of democracy. How well it is being executed is a totally different kettle of fish. But in principle thats what it allows and for me its its the its the system that is good for us, he added.
This is the second and final part of the two-part series. You can read the first part here.

Becheve, a community in Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State, is not beautiful just because of its closeness to the famous Obudu Mountain Resort (formerly known as Obudu Cattle Ranch).

From the frequent cool climate to its lush vegetation and adjoining mountains rising from the earth, Becheves beauty is not dramatic  it is calm, green and deeply soothing.

When a PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited the community in June, the peace therein was striking. There was a quiet rhythm to life in the community  birds calling from treetops, cattle grazing on lush vegetation, winds brushing through the leaves, and a soft mist wrapping around the mountains like a white shawl, slowly lifting as the sun rose.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

But the beautiful environment and soothing weather stand in sharp contrast to a cruel and illegal ancient customary practice in the community called money marriage. Underage girls and those yet to be born are sold into marriage in exchange for money or goats, food items, or just anything, in settlement of their parents debts.

The person taking the loan or the items would enter into a covenant with the intending groom by way of oath-taking. Generations of underage girls in the community have been used as collateral for loans or payment for debts in Becheve.

While the practice is called money marriage, the bride is known as money wife or money woman. But those who tag it modern slavery arent wrong.

Florence Keji was only eight when she was sold off as a bride. The man, now late, was about 70. Mrs Keji had no idea she was married to him until she was about 14. That was about the time the man, whom she thought was her grandfather, began to sexually abuse her. The abuse resulted in her first pregnancy and childbirth at 15.

She would later learn that she was given to the man as a money wife because her parents took a loan from him while her mother was sick and needed urgent medical treatment.

My people told me they collected a loan from him. But when they could not repay him, they offered me to him as a money wife to repay the debt, Mrs Keji, now 40, narrated in Pidgin English.

Unable to bear the brunt of the forced marriage and occasional abuse by her husband, she ran back to her fathers house while heavily pregnant. Her mother was already late by then.

Her uncles and other relatives shocked her: They beat her up and forcefully returned her to her husband, accusing her of attempting to violate the communitys ancient custom.

I was heartbroken, she said, struggling to hold back tears. Money marriage is still ongoing now. But Ill never allow my daughters to go through it.

PREMIUM TIMES findings showed that families in Becheve also take loans, which could be money, cattle or food items, even before couples give birth to a female child, based on the agreement that such loans would be repaid with a child bride.

If the couple gives birth and it turns out to be a male, then the man would wait until a female child is born, an elderly woman, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper.

No one can ascertain when the customary practice began in Becheve.

Unlike Mrs Keji, whose union was for the repayment of her mothers debt, Blessing Otinas marriage at the age of nine was arranged after her maternal uncle presented her as collateral for a loan he took to resolve a personal problem. Mrs Otinas husband had a wife already at the time.

My maternal uncle approached my mother and requested that he use me as a money wife to collect the loan from the man. My mother agreed, and I became the mans second wife, Mrs Otina said in Pidgin English. The mother of seven gave birth to her first child at 15.

Her husband died in 2024 at 70. Mrs Otina said she was lucky that her husband was not abusive like others, but regrets that the union blocked her access to education.

Not all money women are lucky to get a good husband. Some of them go through untold hardship. They even find it difficult to eat, especially after their husbands get older and are unable to provide, she remarked.

Queen Onoale was also nine years old when she was given out to her husband as a bride. Her husband was about 50 at the time.

My grandfather was having a problem and was in need of money. It was not easy to get money. So, he went and borrowed money from the man, and they decided that they would give me (to the man, Mrs Onoale, now 28, narrated.

Initially, she was full of joy that her husband did not stop her education. I was dreaming of becoming a banker in the future (after my education), she recalled.

Her joy was short-lived: Her husband later forced her to drop out in JSS1 to face marital responsibilities. Mrs Onoales uncle protested and threatened to dissolve the marriage. But the familys hands were tied by the ancient custom.

According to the custom, once they have given someone out as a money wife and your family wishes to end it but the man refuses to accept it, they (husbands) have an item (like symbol of the covenant between the brides parents and the groom) that if they separate it, the money woman will automatically die, she stated, stressing that fear has forced many remain in their unions.

The mother of five was asked if any woman had ever died in the community for violating the covenant. No, because no one has tried to do that, she responded.

Meanwhile, Mrs Onoale dropping out of school sheds light on how child marriage contributes to the rising number of out-of-school children in Cross River.

The state has 1.12 million (7.6 per cent) children aged 6 to 15 years out of school. Nearly 24 per cent of girls in Cross River are married before the age of 18, becoming the second state after Bayelsa (38.1 per cent) with the highest child marriage incidence in the South-south.

The state domesticated the Child Rights Act 2003 in 2009 and, in 2023, amended it into the Cross River Child Rights Law 2023.

Health implications

Like many underage mothers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES in Ebonyi and Cross River, Mrs Onoale nearly lost her life when she gave birth to her first child at the age of 15. She suffered severe complications during delivery.

The doctor said (I had complications) because I was still too young to give birth. It was by the Grace of God that I survived, she recalled.

Underage girls face increased risk of severe complications and even death during childbirth, especially those below age 18, Anthony Ogbunwa, a gynaecologist, told PREMIUM TIMES.

This is because at that age, their pelvis is not mature and wide enough to allow the smooth passage of a baby. Unfortunately, the baby in the womb does not know the age of the mother and will, therefore, grow big the way the baby is supposed to be, Mr Ogbunwa, who works at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, explained.

The gynaecologist further clarified that underage mothers are likely to experience obstructed and prolonged labour, which could make childbirth difficult, in addition to putting their lives at risk.

He said aside from possible death and infertility, underage mothers face a high risk of suffering Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF), a childbirth injury which causes uncontrollable and constant leakage of urine or faeces.

Underage girls, Mr Ogbunwa explained, can also suffer Recto Vaginal Fistula (RVF) during childbirth, stressing that both VVF and RVF are defects that arise mainly as a result of an underdeveloped body incapable of bearing the rigorous strains of childbirth.

Some of them can also develop Pelvic diastasis, which makes the pelvis swell, and the mother is unable to walk. Others can suffer from foot drop, causing the mother not to walk properly because the nerves were affected, the gynaecologist added.

Pride in evil

Emelda Akor was barely 15 when she got seriously sick. But her parents could not afford her treatment. To save her life, the parents offered her as a bride to a man willing to provide the money.

Mrs Akor, now 35, moved in with the man upon being discharged from the hospital. There were no rites to formalise the union; they still live together and are referred to as a couple nonetheless.

The immediate impact of her marriage was dropping out of school, even before she first gave birth at almost 16.

Here, immediately they (parents or relatives) give you out as a bride, you cant go to school again. You will just stay in the house, the mother of five said.

Apart from being a customary practice, taking women as money wives is a source of pride and a mark of social status for men in Becheve, investigations by PREMIUM TIMES showed.

Families often pressure their sons to take girls as wives to raise their familys name and social status. Here, men brag about how many money wives they have in their houses, a resident, who asked not to be named, said.

Battle against practice

Money marriage, which has been a common practice in the community, began to wane around 2021, after Her Voice Foundation (HVF) and other organisations began vigorously campaigning against it.

Nonetheless, the practice continues discreetly in the community, PREMIUM TIMES investigation showed. HVF is a non-governmental organisation advocating against money marriage and other harmful cultural practices in Cross River.

Sunday Ichile, a traditional ruler in Becheve, was unavailable when a PREMIUM TIMES visited his residence on 12 June. As of the time of filing this report, Mr Ichiles mobile line was unreachable.

He and other traditional rulers in the community had repeatedly claimed that the customary practice had stopped after it was reportedly banned in 2020.

But, as earlier stated, a PREMIUM TIMES investigation showed that the practice has persisted in the community, albeit discreetly. In late 2024, for instance, Mr Ichile told Christian Science Monitor, an online newspaper, that organisations like HVF have guided the community to ban the money marriage tradition.

He, however, confessed: (But) traditions take long time to die.

Money marriage is still happening here (Becheve), but no longer done openly like before, a resident of the community, who asked not to be named, told PREMIUM TIMES in mid-February.

Janet Ilu, an official of HVF, told PREMIUM TIMES that the organisation began its campaign against the practice by organising town hall meetings and dialogue sessions with community members and leaders.

Mrs Ilu, the director of scholarship at HVF, recounted one of the money-marriage cases encountered by the organisation in Becheve, in which a woman, Christiantia Eji, was given to her late husbands son.

But the son was a very young boy like Christiantia. So he could not marry her. So, shes just there now as a family property because the boy later married his preferred woman, she said.

She can go out, sleep with men, and bring the pregnancy to the family. Once youre given out as a money woman, any child you give birth to, whether you travel abroad, belongs to the man and his family  even after his death.

Mrs Ilu said HVF had conducted training sessions and empowerment programmes for hundreds of money-marriage brides in the community to reverse the trend.

We are also working on providing adult education to them (money marriage brides) in the ranch (Becheve), where we will help the girls to also become literate because most of them cannot spell their names, she said.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs in Cross River State, Edema Irom, did not respond to multiple calls and a text message seeking to know ongoing or planned efforts by the state government to stop the practice.

This is the second and final part of the two-part series. You can read the first part here.

This investigation was completed with the support of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday condemned the reported sexual assaults against women during the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro, Delta State. It also called for the prosecution of the perpetrators.

In a press statement, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, described the incident as unacceptable and the height of barbarism in the modern world.

Any cultural practices that promote or tolerate sexual harassment are contrary to natural justice, equity, and good conscience, and therefore unacceptable in a modern democratic society.

Mr Ojukwu, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said there is the need to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators and enablers of these acts, including festival organizers, traditional authorities, and any accomplices.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

The assault

Videos of the Alue-Do cultural festival began circulating on social media last Thursday.

The videos circulated on social media showed men harassing and attacking women who were seen outside during the festival.

Reports indicate that several women who were outdoors during the event, reportedly held on last Thursday, were targeted for harassment. There are also unverified claims that some victims may have been raped.

This generated widespread criticism and was dubbed a bizarre rape festival.

Mr Ojukwu described the act as a violation of the right to dignity and freedom of movement.

He reiterated that cultural festivals and traditional practices must be conducted in strict compliance with existing laws, including the Anti-Torture Act, 2017 and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, both of which prohibit acts that degrade, abuse, or harm individuals, especially women and girls, or else be abolished.

Mr Ojukwu reminded Nigerians that the country is bound by the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the Maputo Protocol, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which speaks against the violation of womens rights.

He called for the prosecution of the organisers and perpetrators of the incident.

On Friday, the police in Delta State disclosed the arrest of six suspects involved in the bizarre festival where women are publicly gang-raped by men. Bright Edafe, the police spokesperson in Delta, named a local chief, Omorede Sunday, as the festival organiser.

He said the chief and another suspect, the community head, have been arrested alongside four others. Despite the allegations, Mr Edafe said the police have yet to receive any formal reports of rape linked to the festival.

While commending the police for arresting suspects, Mr Ojukwu lamented that the incident scores a sour point in Nigerias collective conscience and a painful setback in the ongoing efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence across the country.

This recent incident adds to the growing list of cases that have ignited national discourse on abuses against women in the country.

Earlier this month, the police arrested a pastor and his wife over the alleged sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

In 2025, Nigeria witnessed incidents of rape, especially against minors. However, this particular rape festival adds a cultural layer to this tragic reality.
A new study has found that widely used hair extensions contain multiple hazardous chemicals, including substances linked to cancer, hormone disruption and reproductive harm.

The research, conducted by scientists at the Silent Spring Institute, a scientific research organisation, identified 169 different chemicals across 43 hair extension products.

The study which was published in February 2026 in the journal Environment & Health raises concerns about the safety of products commonly used for braiding.

The findings show that both synthetic and natural hair extensions, including those marketed as human hair or plant-based, contain chemical contaminants, suggesting the issue is widespread across the industry.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Chemical risks

According to the researchers, dozens of hazardous substances were detected, with some synthetic fibres showing particularly high levels of chemical signatures.

Among the chemicals identified were phthalates, organotin compounds, flame retardants and other industrial substances.

About 10 per cent of samples contained organotins, with some concentrations exceeding European Union safety limits for consumer products.

It noted that Phthalates were found in roughly half of the samples, including in products labelled phthalate-free, raising concerns about product labelling.

The study also identified 17 chemicals linked to breast cancer across most of the tested products, while about 91 per cent contained at least one substance listed under Californias Proposition 65 as causing cancer or reproductive harm.

We were especially surprised to find organotins, said Elissia Franklin, the studys lead author was quoted. These are commonly used as heat stabilisers in PVC and have been linked with skin irritation.

Exposure concerns

The researchers said the way hair extensions are used may increase exposure to these chemicals.

Extensions are often worn for long periods and remain in close contact with the scalp, while heat applied during styling can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

This means users and hairdressers may be exposed through both skin contact and inhalation.

A report by CNN, citing a Consumer Reports investigation, also found lead in most braiding hair products tested, while all samples contained VOCs that can pose health risks.

Experts say hair braiders may face the highest exposure due to repeated and prolonged contact.

Those braiders are the most vulnerable population, Ms Franklin said.

It shouldnt be on the hair braiders to make individual decisions, she added, calling for safety regulations.

Regulation, transparency gaps

The study highlights concerns about the lack of regulation in the hair extension industry, where manufacturers are not required to fully disclose product ingredients.

Researchers said this limits consumers ability to assess risks and makes proper safety evaluation difficult.

Companies rarely disclose the chemicals used to achieve these properties, leaving consumers in the dark about the health risks from prolonged wear, Ms Franklin said.

The findings have also raised concerns about health disparities, as hair extensions are predominantly used by Black women.

Studies show that more than 70 per cent of Black women use hair extensions at least once a year, often for extended periods.

This is an industry that has long overlooked the health of Black women, who should not have to choose between cultural expression, convenience, and their health, Ms Franklin said.

The researchers called for stronger regulation, improved product labelling and further studies to better understand the long-term health effects.
Nigeria is expected to receive 179,700 doses of Lenacapavir, a newly introduced long-acting HIV prevention drug, by 2028.

The Senior Fund Portfolio Manager at the Global Fund, Jean-Thomas Noubossi, disclosed this on Tuesday during a ministerial press briefing on the commemoration of 2026 World TB Day, the Launch of the Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB (MAF-TB) and the National Launch of Lenacapavir Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention in Abuja.

Mr Noubossi said Nigeria is among nine early adopter nations selected for the introduction of Lenacapavir.

The initial phase will cover eight states  Anambra, Ebonyi, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue and the FCT  with the Global Fund providing a catalytic support.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Mr Noubossi said the Nigerian government is expected to step in and accelerate the deployment to other states.

He described Lenacapavir as a game-changer in HIV prevention, particularly for people who struggle with daily pill adherence.

Lenacapavir is a major advance to the prevention of HIV, as it addresses one of the key challenges in the prevention of HIV, which was the difficulty for adherence to a daily HIV pill. So its offering a hope for reaching the population that we have not been able to reach because of all these challenges, he said.

He added that the rollout marks the first time since the start of the HIV pandemic that a new prevention tool is being introduced simultaneously in both developing and Western countries.

Integrated approach

In his speech, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, said the launch is part of broader efforts to strengthen Nigerias HIV response.

Mr Salako noted that the convergences reflect an intentional shift towards an integrated HIV and TB response, adding that the government is moving away from fragmented, donor-dependent silos toward a coordinated system that aligns resources across sectors.

Speaking on Nigerias progress on treatment outcomes, the Minister said 93 per cent of people living with HIV are aware of their status, 99 per cent of those diagnosed are on treatment, and 95 per cent of those on treatment have achieved viral suppression.

He, however, noted that prevention remains a key component of the response.

He also advised at-risk individuals to seek testing and use preventive medication, while reiterating the importance of abstinence, mutual fidelity, avoidance of risky behaviours, and consistent condom use.

If your result shows you are positive, ensure the immediate commencement of treatment in a health facility with high active antiretroviral therapy, he said.

And if you are negative, or at risk of getting infected, commence the use of oral preventive medications or injections such as the newly launched Lenacapavir under appropriate medical guidance.

Innovation amid constrained resources

In his remark, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, framed Lenacapavir as a necessary tool in a landscape of limited global and domestic resources.

Mr Pate also outlined the governments strategy for domestic financing as part of efforts to reduce its reliance on donor funds, such as those from the Global Fund.

The only way that will happen is if Nigeria puts its own money where it matters for the health sector, and that is the federal government, states, local government, he said.

He revealed that the federal government, with contributions from states and local authorities, has committed $346 million in co-financing for HIV, TB, malaria, and other strategic health investments in 2026.

He said the funds will cover commodities, laboratory surveillance, and primary healthcare expansion, and that President Bola Tinubu has directed the budget office to ensure their inclusion in the 2026 budget.

He stressed that careful procurement and timely release of funds will be critical to avoid stockouts and ensure successful implementation.

READ ALSO: WHO backs rollout of new HIV prevention drug in nine countries

Gaps remain

Speaking at the event, UNAIDS Country Director Tina Bondu welcomed the launch but cautioned that much work remains to be done.

Ms Bondu noted that despite progress, Nigeria still records 48,000 new HIV infections each year, keeping the country among those struggling to control the epidemic.

She said Nigeria has been a pioneer for the eradication of HIV, noting that she looks forward to the National HIV Strategic Framework that includes a critical early detection option, which has laid the foundation to be able to continue with injectable Lenacapavir.

So much is at stake now with people living with HIV. The priority groups are still at risk of HIV infection, and they need continued support and effective solutions to close these prevention gaps, she said.

She added that UNAIDS would continue to support the rollout in the initial eight states and hoped the programme could eventually be scaled nationwide to reduce new infections and move toward the zero new infection goal by 2030.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday arraigned former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai over allegations of inflated severance pays and years-long dollar-denominated cash deposits in his bank account.

The commission arraigned him before the Federal High Court in Kaduna on 10 money laundering charges.

The charges involve alleged inflated N579.7 severance pays and years-long fraudulent deposits totalling $817,900 into his domiciliary account.

Mr El-Rufai, who appeared in court in green agbada with a cap to match, was arraigned alongside a co-defendant Joel Adoga.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

They both pleaded not guilty to the charges read to them on Tuesday.

In the charges filed on 18 March, ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai of fraudulently taking inflated severance pay of about N289.8 million at the end of each of his two terms in office, instead of N20 million that he was legitimately entitled to on each occasion.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Mr El-Rufai took the first N289.8 million in September 2020  after completing his first term in office in May 2019  and the second N289.8 million in January 2023  months before the end of his second term in May 2023.

The pays totalled N579.7 million, instead of the about N40 million he was entitled to for the two terms.

In the other eight counts, ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai of receiving deposits of alleged proceeds of corruption and fraud totalling $817,900 in tranches in his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) domiciliary account. He allegedly received the deposits while serving as the governor of Kaduna State.

ICPC said Mr El-Rufai, who served two terms as governor from May 2015 to May 2023, received the deposits in tranches, ranging from $4,000 to $320,800. He allegedly received the deposits in the same domiciliary account from various individuals between 2016 and March 2023.

His co-defendant, Mr Adoga, appeared as a defendant in only one out of the 10 counts. But the commission named him in another count as one of the persons who deposited money in Mr El-Rufais dollar domiciliary account.

Security blockade

Tension ran high in Kaduna ahead of the arraignment on Tuesday, with security operatives barring journalists from accessing the courtroom.

There was overwhelming presence of security agents on the premises and surroundings of the court on Tuesday.

The court, located in the same area as the Nigerian Defence Academy and the Kaduna State House, witnessed an extraordinary deployment of security personnel, comprising officers of the State Security Service (SSS), the Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The security operatives sealed off the court premises.

They barred journalists from accessing the courtroom during the proceedings, raising concerns over transparency in a case that is already drawing national attention.

Mr El-Rufai arrived at the court premises at about 9:00 a.m. in a white Hilux vehicle but remained inside for over 30 minutes.

Accompanied by ICPC operatives, he eventually stepped out shortly before 10:00 a.m., appearing composed, smiling and briefly acknowledging supporters before he was swiftly escorted into the courtroom.

The security officers formed a phalanx, restricting movement within and around the court complex.

Access roads were cordoned off amid fears of a possible breakdown of law and order, leaving commuters stranded and businesses disrupted.

PREMIUM TIMES saw a few of Mr El-Rufais political associates and former aides around the court on Tuesday.

They included then-Governor El-Rufais Chief of Staff Bashir Saidu and the ex-governors long-time ally Jaafaru Sani who also served in his administration as a commissioner.

Breakdown of charges

Two out of the 10 charges centre on the alleged severance pay fraud.

ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai taking the first N289.8 million as his severance pay at the end of his first term in office and the other N289.8 million for his second term. The prosecution alleged that Mr El-Rufai was only legitimately entitled to about N20 million on each occasion.

The commission added that each of the pays represents 300% of your annual basic salary which you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption.

It said the offences were contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition} Act, 2022.

In the rest of the counts, ICPC accused him of receiving proceeds of corruption and fraud in dollars from various individuals between 2016 and March 2023, while he was serving as governor.

The commission alleged that at various times in Abuja and Kaduna during the period, the individuals deposited various sums of cash in dollars, totalling $817,900, in Mr El-Rufais GTB domiciliary account 0023824985.

It alleged that Mr El-Rufai, subsequently took possession of the funds, when he reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act like corruption and fraud.

It alleged that the acts constituted an offence contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18{3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

For instance, in Count 3, ICPC alleged that between September 2017 and March 2023 in Abuja and Kaduna, Mr El-Rufai, while being a public officer as the elected Kaduna State governor directly took control of the total sum of $320,800 deposited into your Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account in different tranches by one Joel Adoga.

In Count 4, the commission alleged that in May 2022, Mr El-Rufai took possession of $155,800 deposited in the same account by Peter Akagu Jones, who was said to be at large.

In Count 5, ICPC similarly accused Mr El-Rufai of taking control of $305,300 deposited in the GTB domiciliary account by Ajayi Ayodele, who was also said to be on the run.

ICPC alleged in Count 6 that in April 2016 in Asokoro, Abuja, Mr El-Rufai directly took possession of $7,000 deposited in the same GTB account by Umar Farouq (now at large).

In Count 7, Mr El-Rufai was accused of directly taking possession of $5,000 in June 2016. ICPC claimed that Umar Saleh, who is reportedly on the run, deposited the money into the same GTB account belonging to Mr El-Rufai.

Count 8 also alleged that n December 2016 at Kaduna, Mr El-Rufai directly took possession of $4,000 deposited in the account by Umar Farouk Saleh said to be at large.

Count 9 also alleged that in October 2017 at Kaduna, Mr El-Rufai directly took possession of $10,000.00 deposited into the same account by Umar Farouq (now at large).

In Count 10, ICPC alleged that sometime in July 2019 at Wuse, Abuja, Messrs El-Rufai and Adoga did conspire to disguise the origin of $10,000 which was said to be deposited into Mr El-Rufais GTB account. The depositors name was not mentioned.

The count is the only one in which Mr Adoga was named as a co-defendant.

Both men denied the charges.

Residents unsettled by heightened security

Meanwhile, the heavy security presence unsettled residents and traders around the court on Tuesday.

I thought it was a major security threat, maybe bandits or something worse, said a trader near the court premises. We were all scared before we realised it was about El-Rufai.

Another commuter, Ibrahim Ali, described the situation as intimidating. Everywhere was blocked. Security officers were stopping people and vehicles. It felt like something very serious was happening.

A commercial driver, Sani Lawal, added: I had to take a longer route because the roads were closed. Nobody explained anything to us. It created panic.

Background

ICPC rearrested Mr El Rufai on 18 February as soon as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released him after two days of detaining him over corruption allegations.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier this month that the ICPC explained in a court filing that it was detaining Mr El-Rufai to conclude his investigation.

ICPC gave the explanation in a filing opposing a suit Mr El-Rufai filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that his arrest and detention violated his fundamental rights. He asked the court to declare the actions of the anti-graft agencies unlawful and to award him N1 billion in damages.

But the ICPC said it started investigating Mr El-Rufa after receiving a petition accusing him and officials of his administration of financial misconduct between 2015 and 2023.

The petition raised allegations relating to loans obtained by the Kaduna State Government, procurement processes, transfers from government accounts and payments to companies and individuals.

ICPC said it began preliminary investigations and obtained documents from banks and government institutions. It then issued an invitation letter dated 9 February.

Mr El-Rufai is also facing prosecution by the State Security Service (SSS) over alleged phone-tapping claims involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed 23 April for his arraignment in that case.

The former governor ha schallenged some of the actions taken against him in court, including a search conducted at his Abuja residence, which he described as unlawful.

He also filed a N1 billion suit against the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police, and others, seeking to nullify the search warrant used for the operation and restrain authorities from relying on items recovered during the search.

The ICPC and the police have opposed the suit, maintaining that the search was conducted lawfully based on a valid court order.

He has denied any wrongdoing and described the investigations as politically motivated.

In a statement posted on X on Monday, ICPCs spokesperson, John Odey, stated that Mr El-Rufai and Joel Adoga would appear before the Federal High Court in Kaduna for arraignment on charges in the case marked FHC/KD/73/2026.

The agency added that it also filed a separate case marked KDH/KAD/ICPC/01/26 before the Kaduna State High Court against Mr El-Rufai and another co-defendant, Amadu Sule.

The charges in the State High Court case range from abuse of office, fraud, and intent to commit fraud to conferring undue advantage, among others, Mr Odey said. He added that the state High Court has yet to fix a date for arraignment.
The Federal High Court in Kaduna, Kaduna State, on Tuesday remanded former Governor Nasir El-Rufai in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Trial judge, Ridwan Aikawa, gave the order of further remand of Mr El-Rufai by the agency following the former Kaduna governors arraignment on 10 money laundering charges on Tuesday.

The ICPC, which has already detained Mr El-Rufai for over a month, arraigned him alongside Joel Adoga. Mr

Mr Adoagas name appeared as a co-defendant in only one of the 10 counts. Mr El-Rufais name featured in all 10 counts.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Both men pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

After the defendants not-guilty pleas, the judge ordered them to be remanded in ICPC custody, where Mr El-Rufai had been held since 18 February.

They are to remain in the agencys custody till next Tuesday, 31 March, scheduled for the hearing of their bail applications.

Before entering his plea on Tuesday, Mr El-Rufai challenged the judges impartiality, asking him to recuse himself from the case.

Mr El-Rufai, decked in green agbada with a cap to match, cited a petition he has against the judge.

But ICPCs legal team countered, saying he must first enter his plea to the charges before he could make any complaint regarding the trial.

The judge agreed with the prosecution. The former governor and his co-defendant then entered their pleas of not guilty to the charges.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the arraignment took place amid heavy security within and around the court premises on Tuesday.

Armed security operatives from the State Security Service (SSS), the Nigerian police, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), blocked journalists from accessing the courts during proceedings.

PREMIUM TIMES relied on lawyers who were present in court for the details of the hearing.

Charges

In the charges filed on 18 March, ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai of fraudulently taking inflated severance pay of about N289.8 million at the end of each of his two terms in office, instead of N20 million that he was legitimately entitled to on each occasion.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Mr El-Rufai took the first N289.8 million in September 2020  after completing his first term in office in May 2019  and the second N289.8 million in January 2023  months before the end of his second term in May 2023.

The pays totalled N579.7 million, instead of the about N40 million he was said to be entitled to for the two terms.

The commission added that each of the pays represents 300% of your annual basic salary which you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption.

It said the offences were contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition} Act, 2022.

In the other eight counts, ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai of receiving deposits of alleged proceeds of corruption and fraud totalling $817,900 in tranches in his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) domiciliary account. He allegedly received the deposits while he was serving as the governor of Kaduna State.

ICPC said Mr El-Rufai, who served two terms as governor from May 2015 to May 2023, received the deposits in tranches, ranging from $4,000 to $320,800. He allegedly received the deposits in the same domiciliary account from various individuals between 2016 and March 2023.

His co-defendant, Mr Adoga, appeared as a defendant in only one out of the 10 counts. But the commission named him in another count as one of the persons who deposited money in Mr El-Rufais dollar domiciliary account.

Background

ICPC rearrested Mr El Rufai on 18 February as soon as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released him after two days of detaining him over corruption allegations.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier this month that the ICPC explained in a court filing that it was detaining Mr El-Rufai to conclude his investigation.

ICPC gave the explanation in a filing opposing a suit Mr El-Rufai filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that his arrest and detention violated his fundamental rights. He asked the court to declare the actions of the anti-graft agencies unlawful and to award him N1 billion in damages.

But the ICPC said it started investigating Mr El-Rufai after receiving a petition accusing him and officials of his administration of financial misconduct between 2015 and 2023.

The petition raised allegations relating to loans obtained by the Kaduna State Government, procurement processes, transfers from government accounts and payments to companies and individuals.

ICPC said it began preliminary investigations and obtained documents from banks and government institutions. It then issued an invitation letter dated 9 February.

Mr El-Rufai is also facing prosecution by the State Security Service (SSS) over alleged phone-tapping claims involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed 23 April for his arraignment in that case.

The former governor has challenged some of the actions taken against him in court, including a search conducted at his Abuja residence, which he described as unlawful.

He also filed a N1 billion suit against the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police, and others, seeking to nullify the search warrant used for the operation and restrain authorities from relying on items recovered during the search.

The ICPC and the police have opposed the suit, maintaining that the search was conducted lawfully based on a valid court order.

He has denied any wrongdoing and described the investigations as politically motivated.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday arraigned former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai for alleged severance pay corruption and years-long fraudulent dollar-denominated cash deposits in his bank account.

The commission arraigned him before the Federal High Court in Kaduna on 10 charges, accusing him of violating Nigerias anti-money laundering law.

He and his co-defendant, Joel Adoga, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Following the defendants pleas of not-guilty, the trial judge, Ridwan Aikawa, ordered their remand in the custody of ICPC, where Mr El-Rufai had been held for over one month.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

The charges involve alleged inflated N579.7 severance pays and years-long fraudulent deposits totalling $817,900 Mr El-Rufai allegedly received.

They both pleaded not guilty to the charges read to them during the arraignment which took place amid tight security on Tuesday.

PREMIUM TIMES already broke down the charges here.

But here are all the 10 charges below.

Court: Federal High Court of Nigeria, Kaduna Judicial Division

Charge number:t FHC/KD/73C/2026

Filed on 18 March 2026

Prosecution: Federal Republic of Nigeria (ICPC)

Defendants: Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai (M) and Joel Adoga (M)

COUNT 1

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M) sometime in September 2020 or thereabout at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State, directly took possession of the sum of N289,826,998.12 (Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight Naira, Twelve Kobo) as severance allowance over and above your legitimately entitled sum of N20,013,245.00 (Twenty Million, Thirteen Thousand, Two Hundred and Forty-Five Naira) which represents 300% of your annual basic salary which you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition} Act, 2022.

COUNT 2

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M), sometime in January 2023 or thereabout at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State, directly took possession of the sum of N289,826,998.12 (Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight Naira, Twelve Kobo) as severance allowance over and above your legitimately entitled sum of N20,013,245.00 (Twenty Million, Thirteen Thousand, Two Hundred and Forty-Five Naira) which represents 300% of your annual basic salary which you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.

COUNT 3

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M) sometime between September 2017 and March 2023 or thereabout at Kaduna and Abuja respectively, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State, directly took control of the total sum of $320,800 (Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand, Eight Hundred Dollars) deposited into your Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account number: 0023824985 in different tranches by one Joel Adoga, when you reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18{3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

COUNT 4

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M) sometime in May 2022 or thereabout at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State, directly took possession of the sum of $155,800 (One Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand, Eight Hundred Dollars) deposited into your Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account number: 0023824985 by one Peter Akagu Jones (now at large), when you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

COUNT 5

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M) sometime in May 2022 or thereabout at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State, directly took possession of the sum of $305,300 (Three Hundred and Five Thousand, Three Hundred Dollars) deposited into your Guaranty Trust Bank (domiciliary) account number: 0023824985 by one Ajayi Ayodele (now at large), when you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3)of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

COUNT 6

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M) sometime in April, 2016 or thereabout at Asokoro, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State, directly took possession of the sum of $5,000.00 (Seven Thousand Dollars), deposited into your Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account number: 0023824985 by one Umar Farouq (now at large) when you reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2}{d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

COUNT 7

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M) sometime in June 2016 or thereabout at Asokoro, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State, directly took possession of the sum of $5,000.00 (Five Thousand Dollars), deposited into your Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account number: 0023824985 by one Umar Saleh (now at large) when you reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud and you thereby committed and offence contrary to Section 18(2)(a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

COUNT 8

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M) sometime in December 2016 or thereabout at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State. directly took possession of the sum of $4,000.00 (Four Thousand Dollars), deposited into your Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account number: 0023824985 by one Umar Farouk Saleh (now at large) when you reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

COUNT 9

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M) sometime in October 2017 or thereabout at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being a public officer as the elected Executive Governor of Kaduna State, directly took possession of the sum of $10,000.00 (Ten Thousand Dollars), deposited into your Guaranty Trust Bank (domiciliary) account number: 0023824985 by one Umar Farouq (now at large) when you reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act. 2022.

COUNT 10

That you MALLAM NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI (M), JOEL ADOGA (M) sometime in July 2019 or thereabout at Wuse, Abuja within the  jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did conspire to disguise the origin of $10,000.00 (Ten Thousand Dollars) which sum was deposited into the Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account number: 0023824985 belonging to Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, when you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption and fraud and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 21 and 18(2){a}) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) have jointly dismissed claims circulating on social media alleging that the Red Cross is providing support to armed groups in northern Nigeria.

In a statement released on Tuesday, both organisations described the allegations as false and warned that such misinformation could undermine their humanitarian mission and deny vulnerable populations access to critical aid.

The allegations are diametrically opposed to the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the statement read, stressing that the claims constitute misleading information capable of jeopardising life-saving operations.

The organisations reiterated that their primary mission is to assist the most vulnerable people affected by crises, including armed conflict, while maintaining strict adherence to neutrality, independence, transparency, and impartiality.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

They also clarified that while the International Committee of the Red Cross engages in humanitarian dialogue with all parties in conflict zones, where it can, to ensure access to affected populations, it does not provide any financial, logistical, or other forms of support to such groups.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Nigerian Red Cross Society urged the public to rely on credible and official sources of information and to avoid sharing unverified content online.

They further advised media practitioners and the public to direct enquiries to their official communication channels to ensure accurate reporting.

Background

The denial comes amid misinformation circulating on social media in Nigerias conflict-ridden regions, particularly in the North-east, where insurgency has killed thousands and displaced many.

In an interview with a content creator, Lucky Udu, a man simply identified as Saadu made a claim that Red Cross workers came to Sambisa forest to give us clothes and food.

Mr Saadu, who said he was a teacher from a village in Adamawa State, explained that he was kidnapped by Boko Haram and spent three months and some days in captivity.

Albab Abdullahi, a Facebook user who described himself as a former soldier, security consultant and geopolitical analyst, amplified this claim, saying that the Red Cross is not saving lives but extending the insurgency.

The post has since gone viral across social media platforms in a context already marked by deep mistrust, limited access to verified information, and ongoing violence linked to the unending insurgency.

This is not the first time humanitarian organisations have faced such accusations in the region. Last year, President Bola Tinubu shut down the International Non-Governmental Organisation Safety Organisation (INSO), ordering it to vacate the country over alleged links to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an organisation which was accused by a US lawmaker of funding Boko Haram.

Also in 2023, the Zamfara State government accused nongovernmental organisations of fueling insecurity and ordered them to leave the state.

Although those claims were widely debated and not conclusively proven, they contributed to suspicion around humanitarian work in the North-east.

Humanitarian organisations working in conflict zones frequently face such accusations due to the nature of their operations. The ICRC, for instance, has a policy of engaging all parties to a conflict strictly for humanitarian access, ensuring aid reaches civilians trapped in hard-to-reach or insurgent-controlled areas. However, this neutral engagement is often misinterpreted as collaboration or support.

Nigerias North-east has, for over a decade, been the epicentre of a humanitarian crisis driven by insurgency, displacement, and food insecurity. Aid agencies, including the Red Cross, play a critical role in delivering food, medical care, and protection services to affected populations. Yet, the operating environment remains highly sensitive, with both state and non-state actors scrutinising humanitarian access.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu, has ordered a major redeployment of senior officers across strategic formations of the Nigeria Police Force as part of efforts to strengthen operations and improve service delivery.

The directive was disclosed in a statement issued by police spokesperson Anthony Placid, on Tuesday. The senior officers redeployed include Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police (CPs) to key departments, commands, and zonal headquarters nationwide.

According to the police, the reorganisation is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, reinforcing leadership capacity, and ensuring a more effective command structure through strategic personnel deployment.

Among the postings, Ado Emmanuel, an AIG was assigned to Research and Planning at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, while AIG Joseph Eribo was deployed to the Department of Armament. AIG Miller Dantawaye was posted to Operations, and AIG Henry Uche to Training and Development.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Other deployments in the rank of AIG include Olanrewaju Ogunlowo to the Police Affairs Branch and Dahiru Mohammed to Zone 15 in Maiduguri. Dankombo Morris was posted to Zone 4 in Makurdi, while Bello Shehu will head Zone 14 in Katsina. Also, Ibrahim Maikaba was assigned to Legal Services, and Ahmed Musa to Community Policing. Similarly, Moshood Jimoh was posted to Zone 2 in Lagos, while Simeon Akpanudom will serve at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex in Lagos. Haruna Olufemi was deployed to the Special Protection Unit.

For the Commissioners of Police, several state commands saw new appointments. Haruna Yahaya was posted to Jigawa State, Olugbenga Abimbola to Oyo State, Olubode Ojajuni to Ogun State, and Michael Falade to Ekiti State.

Yakubu Dankaro was assigned to Adamawa State, while Muhammed Ahmed will head the Federal Capital Territory Command.

Olatunji Fatai was posted to Lagos State; Morkwap Dongshal to Taraba; Ahmed Bello to Zamfara; Umar Fagge to Katsina; and Hayatu Hassan to Sokoto.

The redeployment also affected specialised units and departments. Akan Ezima, a CP was appointed Director of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) in Abuja, while CP Abbas Sule was posted to the Special Protection Unit. CP Ajo Ordue was assigned to INTERPOL in Abuja, and CP Moses Otta to the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit.

Other postings include CP Preye Egbe to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), CP Sarah Ehindero to FCID Administration, and CP Edwin Ogbegbghagha as Provost at the Force Headquarters.

Mr Placid said the IGP charged the officers to deploy their experience effectively and uphold professionalism, discipline, and dedication in their new roles.

The police leadership expressed confidence that the reorganisation would bolster internal capacity and improve policing outcomes across the country.
Former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami (retd), has faulted the current process of appointing judges in Nigeria, warning that it is weakening the judiciary due to what he described as limited professional exposure among many appointees.

Mr Salami, who spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Tuesday after receiving the 2025 Human Rights Defender Award from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), said appointments to the High Court now appear to be treated largely as a promotion avenue for magistrates.

According to him, the trend undermines the quality of justice delivery, as many appointees lack the broad legal experience required for the bench.

He recalled that during the tenure of Justice Taslimi Elias as Chief Justice of Nigeria, the appointment of magistrates to the High Court was discouraged in order to preserve standards.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

A magistrate is master of his court, but the exposure is limited. State counsel and private practitioners appear before different courts and gain wider experience necessary for judicial work, he said.

Mr Salami stressed that the weakness in the judiciary is not necessarily due to corruption, but largely due to insufficient capacity arising from poor appointment standards.

The retired jurist urged judges to be courageous and steadfast in the discharge of their duties, especially in politically sensitive cases.

Courage is the basis of justice. If you dont have courage, you cant do justice, he said, adding that judges must remain patriotic and committed to truth at all times.

He declined to advise politicians directly but maintained that judicial officers must uphold integrity irrespective of external pressure.

On the recurring debate over ownership of electoral mandates, Mr Salami said the mandate rests with the electorate.

The voters own the mandate. They gave it to you to represent them, he stated.

He, however, noted that the issue of defections remains legally complex, noting that lawmakers who defect may retain their seats only where there is a division within their political parties.

Mr Salami also raised constitutional concerns about the participation of some candidates in the 2023 general elections, insisting that the law does not recognise independent candidacy.

He referenced the case of Labour Partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi, questioning the legality of his emergence after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and suggesting that such issues could affect the competence of election petitions.

The former appellate court president expressed gratitude to the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) for the award, describing it as a significant recognition.

Im very happy and grateful to the organisation, he said.

Reflecting on his career, Mr Salami said late Obafemi Awolowo influenced his decision to study law after witnessing his resolve to defend himself in court during a political dispute.

He also recalled the prosecution of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka during the Western Region crisis as one of the early events that shaped his belief in standing firmly on principle.

Mr Salami reiterated that justice requires not only knowledge of the law but also the courage to apply it fairly and without fear.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has warned members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to demonstrate loyalty to the party.

He gave the warning during the partys 107th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Monday.

The meeting was held ahead of the partys national convention scheduled for 29 and 30 March.

Mr Wike said failure to be loyal may result in being sidelined.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

After this NEC meeting, anybody that doesnt show commitment to the convention, dont come back after the event and say you are fully back. I will not accept that, he said.

He emphasised the need for unity and urged the leadership of the party to intensify reconciliation efforts while maintaining sincerity among members.

The minister cautioned party members against engaging in unnecessary political battles, stressing that politics requires strategy and must not be treated as a business venture.

He said: A fight you cant fight, dont start it.

Politics is not contract work; they are two different things. I didnt go into politics to be a contractor. I went into politics to have power.

You wanted money; I wanted power. Stay where you are as a contractor.

(NAN)
The council chairmen in the Enugu North Senatorial District have reaffirmed their support for the reelection of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ugo Ferdinand Ukwueze, the chairman of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of the state, who spoke on behalf of the council chairmen from the district at the inauguration of the support group, Peter Mbah Progressive Movement, Enugu North District, on 17 March in Enugu, said that Mr Mbah has performed creditably well and, therefore, deserves their support for a second term.

Mr Ukwueze is also the deputy chairman of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON), Enugu State chapter.

The Enugu North Senatorial District is also known as the Nsukka zone.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Our people recognise performance

Mr Ukwueze said Mr Mbahs administrations rebuilding of infrastructure, including roads, schools, and primary healthcare centres, as well as the improved security in Enugu State, have reinforced the peoples confidence in the governors leadership.

These are not isolated interventions, but components of a deliberate and integrated development framework designed to accelerate socio-economic transformation, Mr Ukwueze said.

Our people recognise performance. The governor has demonstrated commitment to the development of the Nsukka Zone, and we stand ready to support him. When called upon, we will respond decisively.

Peter Mbah Progressive Movement aimed to mobilise the people for the reelection of Governor Mbah.

The group was inaugurated at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, by the Secretary to the Enugu State Government (SSG), Chidiebere Onyia, who is the groups convener and grand patron.

Osinachi Nnajieze, the attorney general and commissioner for justice, Enugu State, is the state coordinator of the group.

The Enugu State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Martins Chukwunweike; the Chairman of ALGON, Enugu State chapter, Sydney Okechukwu Edeh; and the Special Adviser to the Governor Mbah on Political Matters, Frank Anioma, were among the dignitaries who attended the group inauguration.

Different from others in the past

Mr Onyia, a professor, explained why the new support group is different from past ones.

The people here are genuinely committed to working for Governor Peter Mbah in 2027. Unlike in the past, where some support groups showed diluted commitment, this movement is deliberate, structured, and single-minded in purpose, he said.

We are bringing in young people who need a voice. We are ensuring that no one is sidelined. We are working collaboratively with party leadership because the goal is to deepen awareness of Governor Peter Mbahs achievements and strengthen grassroots support.

The state coordinator of the group, Mr Nnajieze, said the group is built on genuine conviction, not on artificial mobilisation. He commended the SSG, Mr Onyia, for convening the group.

The criticisms from the opposition are increasingly hollow because the governors work speaks for itself across infrastructure, security, education, and economic development, Mr Nnajieze said.

Mr Ukwueze, the Igbo-Eze South chairman, commented Mr Onyia for the group and for his foresight and purposeful leadership.

READ ALSO: Enugu govt insists on valid professional licences for infrastructural projects

This movement reflects a clear understanding of the moment and a commitment to harnessing collective energy towards sustaining the transformative vision of this administration, he added.

Governor Mbah defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC in October last year.

For decades, the South-east  especially Enugu  has stood firmly behind the PDP, showing loyalty that shaped the partys success.

Yet despite this history, our voices were too often disregarded when it mattered most. It has therefore become necessary to seek affiliation where our interests as a region are represented in the form of fair partnership, the governor said during a state-wide broadcast as the reason for his defection.
The council chairmen in the Enugu North Senatorial District have reaffirmed their support for the reelection of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ugo Ferdinand Ukwueze, the chairman of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of the state, who spoke on behalf of the council chairmen from the district at the inauguration of the support group, Peter Mbah Progressive Movement, Enugu North District, on 17 March in Enugu, said that Mr Mbah has performed creditably well and, therefore, deserves their support for a second term.

Mr Ukwueze is also the deputy chairman of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON), Enugu State chapter.

The Enugu North Senatorial District is also known as the Nsukka zone.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Our people recognise performance

Mr Ukwueze said Mr Mbahs administrations rebuilding of infrastructure, including roads, schools, and primary healthcare centres, as well as the improved security in Enugu State, have reinforced the peoples confidence in the governors leadership.

These are not isolated interventions, but components of a deliberate and integrated development framework designed to accelerate socio-economic transformation, Mr Ukwueze said.

Our people recognise performance. The governor has demonstrated commitment to the development of the Nsukka Zone, and we stand ready to support him. When called upon, we will respond decisively.

Peter Mbah Progressive Movement aimed to mobilise the people for the reelection of Governor Mbah.

The group was inaugurated at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, by the Secretary to the Enugu State Government (SSG), Chidiebere Onyia, who is the groups convener and grand patron.

Osinachi Nnajieze, the attorney general and commissioner for justice, Enugu State, is the state coordinator of the group.

The Enugu State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Martins Chukwunweike; the Chairman of ALGON, Enugu State chapter, Sydney Okechukwu Edeh; and the Special Adviser to the Governor Mbah on Political Matters, Frank Anioma, were among the dignitaries who attended the group inauguration.

Different from others in the past

Mr Onyia, a professor, explained why the new support group is different from past ones.

The people here are genuinely committed to working for Governor Peter Mbah in 2027. Unlike in the past, where some support groups showed diluted commitment, this movement is deliberate, structured, and single-minded in purpose, he said.

We are bringing in young people who need a voice. We are ensuring that no one is sidelined. We are working collaboratively with party leadership because the goal is to deepen awareness of Governor Peter Mbahs achievements and strengthen grassroots support.

The state coordinator of the group, Mr Nnajieze, said the group is built on genuine conviction, not on artificial mobilisation. He commended the SSG, Mr Onyia, for convening the group.

The criticisms from the opposition are increasingly hollow because the governors work speaks for itself across infrastructure, security, education, and economic development, Mr Nnajieze said.

Mr Ukwueze, the Igbo-Eze South chairman, commented Mr Onyia for the group and for his foresight and purposeful leadership.

This movement reflects a clear understanding of the moment and a commitment to harnessing collective energy towards sustaining the transformative vision of this administration, he added.

Governor Mbah defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC in October last year.

For decades, the South-east  especially Enugu  has stood firmly behind the PDP, showing loyalty that shaped the partys success.

Yet despite this history, our voices were too often disregarded when it mattered most. It has therefore become necessary to seek affiliation where our interests as a region are represented in the form of fair partnership, the governor said during a state-wide broadcast as the reason for his defection.
The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has condemned the assault on Albarka Radio journalist, Mohammed Adamu, by police officers in Bauchi State, calling for the immediate suspension of the divisional police officer (DPO) and other officers allegedly involved in the incident.

In a statement on Tuesday, CJIDs Deputy Director, Journalism Programme, Busola Ajibola, described the attack as a targeted brutalisation and urged authorities to ensure accountability. This rather disheartening development represents a barbaric reminder of an era of impunity that has no place in a democratic society, she said.

Ms Ajibola noted that the journalist was attacked while covering a Salah Durbar event in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area despite identifying himself and presenting his official credentials.

According to her, the situation escalated when the DPO, Jamilu Kabir, allegedly ordered officers to assault the journalist. A situation where a DPO leads a mob of officers to beat a properly identified journalist is not only a professional misconduct of disappointing magnitude, it is also a well-coordinated criminal act, she said.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

CJID further noted that about 10 officers participated in the assault, leaving the journalist with a serious head injury. It also criticised what it described as the abandonment of the victim at a hospital after he was taken there by the police.

The journalist was then forced to personally settle his medical bills while the accompanying officer refused to answer further calls, Ms Ajibola added.

The organisation expressed concern over the handling of the case, noting that the victim had yet to be formally invited to give a statement, while the officers accused of involvement remain in their positions.

While acknowledging the Bauchi State Police Commands claim that an investigation has commenced, CJID said the process lacks transparency and may undermine public confidence.

ALSO READ: MRA demands credible probe into Bauchi journalist assault

It called on the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to suspend the DPO and other officers involved immediately, warning that their continued presence in office could interfere with the investigation.

CJID also demanded a prompt, thorough, and transparent investigation that includes the victims testimony and leads to appropriate sanctions for those found culpable.

The group further urged the police to take responsibility for the journalists medical expenses and issue a public apology over the incident.

When security agents, who swore to uphold the law and are paid to ensure the safety of life and property of the people become the primary violators of the law itself, the safety of every citizen becomes a matter of deep concern, Ms Ajibola said.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Adamu was assaulted by police officers while covering an Eid Durbar event in Bununu, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation from media organisations and rights groups, including Media Rights Agenda, which also called for a credible and transparent investigation.

Efforts to get a response from the Bauchi State Police Command were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to the Police Public Relations Officer, Nafiu Habib, were not answered as of the time of filing this report.
The Anambra State Government, on Tuesday, marked the 2026 World Tuberculosis Day with the inauguration of tricycles to enhance mobile tuberculosis (TB) testing across the state.



Speaking at the event in Awka, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Obiageli Uchebo, said the occasion is not merely ceremonial but a call to action against the disease.



Ms Uchebo described TB as a preventable, treatable and curable disease.



She said that ending the disease required collective efforts from the government, communities and stakeholders.



The theme of the 2026 commemoration, which is Yes! We Can End TB, underscores the need for national governments to take ownership of TB response, while communities and healthcare providers drive grassroots implementation.



According to statistics, nearly two-thirds of global TB cases occur in eight high-burden countries, including Nigeria.



Africa accounts for about one-quarter of the global TB burden, largely due to factors, such as high prevalence of HIV co-infection, poverty and malnutrition, she said.



The commissioner assured residents that TB testing and treatment remain free in the state, adding that no one would be denied access on financial grounds.



Earlier, the Programme Manager, TB, Buruli Ulcer and Leprosy Control, Ugochukwu Chukwulobelu, lectured participants on tuberculosis, its causes and symptoms.

Mr Chukwulobelu called for early diagnosis and treatment.



He said the newly inaugurated tricycles would improve outreach services, particularly in hard-to-reach communities.



The News Agency of Nigeria reports that World Tuberculosis Day is observed annually on 24 March to raise awareness and mobilise efforts to end the disease globally.
The Ultimate Health Management Services, a health maintenance organisation (HMO), on Tuesday, called for an effective enforcement of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act 2022 to ensure health insurance coverage for all Nigerian employees, including those in the private sector.

The organised private sector are not expected to borrow money to provide health insurance for their staff, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ultimate, Lekan Ewenla, said, explaining that staff members should be entitled to the health insurance premium worth the value of medical allowance their employers are expected to pay them.

With the NHIA Act 2022, participation is now mandatory, and enforcement is key to ensuring all employers comply and employees receive the coverage they are entitled to, Mr Ewenla said.

He spoke in Lagos at the rollout of his organisations new social health insurance product introduced as part of efforts to expand health coverage among Nigerias largely uninsured population.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Ultimates new initiative, tagged Group, Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP), comes amid the ongoing implementation of the NHIA Act 2022, which makes the insurance compulsory for all Nigerians and seeks to deepen access to affordable healthcare.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ultimate, Otunba Ewenla, said the product is designed to cater to individuals, families, associations and organisations across both the organized private and informal sectors.

The benefits package is rich, the premium is not negotiable, the quality of care is guaranteed, and the premium is affordable.

The benefit package is regulated by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and is very robust. The healthcare providers are familiar with the services covered at the three levels and have a better understanding of the operational process, like calling the HMOs for pre-authorisation codes and utilising the NHIA tariffs for the secondary and tertiary services, he noted.

Mr Ewenla, who spoke on the theme, Setting the right agenda for the enrollment of the organised private sector, individual, family, groups, associations and the informal sector in the health insurance programme based on the NHIA act 2022, said the standardised health insurance introduced under the NHIA scheme would reduce arbitrary pricing and ensure more consistent benefits for all across the health insurance ecosystem.

Health insurance is a volume-driven system. Without sufficient enrolment, it becomes difficult to structure capitation effectively and sustain service delivery, he said.

Despite these efforts, gaps in health coverage remain significant. Findings show that only 20 per cent of Nigerians are covered by health insurance, highlighting persistent gaps in access to affordable healthcare.

Also, many Nigerians significantly rely on out-of-pocket healthcare payments, a system experts say exposes households to financial hardship.

Mr Ewenla called for stronger enforcement of the NHIA Act and greater public awareness, noting that low participation is often driven by poor understanding of how the system works.

The HMO, he added, is working with public and private sector stakeholders to scale the rollout of the product nationwide, including the introduction of flexible payment options to attract participants in the informal sector.

Push for informal sector inclusion

Addressing journalists on the sidelines, the President of the Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria, Austin Aipoh, emphasised the need for targeted strategies to bring informal sector workers into the health insurance system.

He noted that about 60 per cent of Nigerians operate within the informal sector, yet remain largely excluded from structured health financing schemes.

The informal sector is not entirely unorganised. There are associations and leadership structures that can be engaged to drive enrolment, he said.

While acknowledging that the organised private sector is more structured, he said weak enforcement has limited compliance with existing health insurance requirements.

Mr Aipoh described insurance as a game of numbers, stressing that broader participation is critical to improving sustainability and expanding access to care.

He, however, raised concerns about affordability, noting that the current annual premium of N38,718 may still be beyond the reach of many Nigerians given prevailing economic conditions.

The premium remains high for the average Nigerian. We must align pricing with economic realities if we want to achieve widespread coverage, he said.

He also highlighted funding challenges faced by healthcare providers, arguing that inadequate reimbursements undermine service delivery.

You cannot receive N1 and be expected to spend N100. That is not sustainable, he added.

To improve compliance, Mr Aipoh proposed stricter measures for the organised private sector, including linking business registration renewals to proof of employee enrolment in health insurance schemes, alongside tax incentives to encourage participation.

He further urged regulators to enforce policies that make health insurance a standard component of employment, describing it as a critical step toward achieving universal health coverage in Nigeria.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested seven suspects following a clash at the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) headquarters in Abuja.

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, a superintendent of police, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja.

She said videos circulating on social media alleging police personnel shot NURTW members were false and misleading.

Ms Adeh added that the videos were intended to arouse public sentiment and misinform residents.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

She said the command received a distress call at about 7:00 a.m. on Monday, reporting about 300 individuals storming the NURTW headquarters in Garki.

Ms Adeh said the individuals, armed with cutlasses, bottles, bows and arrows, were reportedly removing items from the premises.

In a swift response, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Mr Isyaku Sharu, led a team to the scene.

Preliminary investigations showed the suspects were attempting to enforce a court order without court sheriffs or authorised officials present, Adeh said.

She said the action escalated into a confrontation when other NURTW members resisted the move.

Ms Adeh said one union member sustained a severe machete injury to the neck during the clash.

She said the victim was rescued, while others with varying injuries were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Ms Adeh said the seven suspects had been charged to court and normalcy restored in the area.

She reaffirmed the commands commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all FCT residents.

Although Ms Adeh did not disclose the names of the persons arrested, Vanguard reported that Tajudeen Baruwa, who led members of his faction to seize control of the unions national secretariat in Abuja on Monday, was arrested by the police.

The violence at the NURTW secretariat stemmed from the leadership crisis afflicting the union.

Chaos erupted at the secretariat on Monday as Mr Baruwa backed by his supporters and citing court orders, seized control of the premises after dislodging Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomos leadership of the union.

Punch newspaper reported that Mr Baruwa, flanked by supporters, told journalists after taking control of the secretariat that he acted based on two court judgements.

He said he had set copies of the court judgments to the police to help enforce them for him to assume office.

But he said the police were not forthcoming. He added that he had to send another notice to the police a few days ago informing them of his plan to take his office.

Punch reported that Mr Baruwa had opposed the inauguration of MC Oluomo, former chairman of the Lagos State chapter of NURTW, as the unions new national president. MC Oluomo took office as the national president of the union in November 2024.

The National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal had barred any interference in the operations of the Mr Baruwa-led NURTW executive.

Judge Oyebiola Oyewumi of the National Industrial Court, in a ruling on 11 March 2024, in the suit marked NICN/ABJ/263/2023, affirmed Mr Baruwa as duly elected president of the Union.

Also, on 8 November 2025, the Court of Appeal in Abuja confirmed Mr Baruwa as the legitimate president of the union, upholding the National Industrial Courts decision.

A three-member panel comprising Hamma Akawu Barka, Nnamdi Dimgba, and Asmau Ojuolape Akanbi dismissed the appeal filed by Oluomos loyalists.

The appellants, who were also fined N100,000 by the Court of Appeal were Najeem Usman Yasin, Tajudeen Agbede, Aliyu Ore, Kayode Agbeyangi, Alhassan Haruna, Aliyu Tanimu and Hakeem Adeosun.

(NAN)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged its members to place the collective interest of the party above personal ambition ahead of its National Convention scheduled for March 29 and 30 in Abuja.

Chairman of the National Caretaker Working Committee, Abdulrahman Mohammed, made the call at the 107th National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja on Monday.

Mr Mohammed noted that the national convention was a few days away, stressing that the eyes of the nation were upon the party to see what would come out of it.

He described the convention as not merely a routine exercise but a critical milestone that would shape the future direction of our party for the next phase of our journey.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

As we approach the National Convention, I urge all stakeholders to place the collective interest of the party above personal ambitions.

Let us conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects discipline, transparency, and respect for our internal democratic processes. The eyes of the nation are upon us, and we must rise to the occasion.

The PDP remains a formidable political force and a credible alternative for governance in Nigeria. Our history, our structure, and our resilience position us strongly for the future.

What is required of us at this moment is unity of purpose, clarity of vision, and commitment to the ideals that bind us together, he said.

The chairman noted that the PDP had made significant progress in stabilising its structures and restoring confidence following recent legal and political challenges.

He attributed the gains to collective resolve and adherence to due process.

Mr Mohammed said that the recent judicial pronouncements, approached with a spirit of reconciliation and inclusiveness, had further reinforced the partys commitment to unity.

He stressed that the party remained open to constructive engagement, dialogue, and reconciliation.

There is no victor nor vanquishedonly a shared commitment to rebuild, reposition, and strengthen our party for the tasks ahead, he said.

He commended the successful conduct of ward, local government, state, and zonal congresses nationwide, describing them as largely peaceful and reflective of the partys democratic ideals.

The chairman also commended the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike for his doggedness, sacrifices, and courage in stabilising the party.

In his remarks, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mao Ohuabunwa, lauded the successful congresses and described the ongoing electronic membership registration as a major reform aimed at strengthening internal democracy.

A credible membership register is the foundation of any serious political organisation.

It enhances planning, transparency, and builds confidence among members, he said.

On zoning, Mr Ohuabunwa urged party leaders to approach the recommendations of the zoning committee with openness and a commitment to equity and justice.

No arrangement is perfect, but what is most important is our collective willingness to accommodate one another for the greater good of the party, he said.

Also, Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro said that the NEC meeting came amid renewed optimism within the party, insisting that the PDP remained strong despite recent turbulence.

Mr Moro declared that the party was not dead and urged members to rally behind its leadership to ensure a solid foundation for electoral competitiveness.

Similarly, House of Representatives Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda called for selflessness and unity among members, describing the pre-convention period as critical for consolidation.

On his part, Chairman of the PDP State Chairmen Forum, Austine Nwachukwu, said the party was witnessing renewed grassroots mobilisation driven by the ongoing membership e-registration.

(NAN)
The Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Bilyaminu Moriki, and 12 other members of the assembly have defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The speaker announced their defection at a plenary session in Gusau, the state capital, on Monday, after presenting letters of resignation to the House.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lawmakers defection followed a recent, similar move by Governor Lawal, who already announced his exit from the PDP for the APC

NAN also reports that the national secretariat of the APC has scheduled Tuesday, 24 March to officially receive Governor Lawal into the party.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

The governors reception into the party will be performed by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, and the national leadership of the APC, assisted by all the former governors of the state.

The defecting state lawmakers are expected to be formally received into the APC alongside Governor Lawal on Tuesday.

Among the defectors to the APC are Deputy Speaker of the House, Adamu Aliyu (Gummi II constituency), Majority Leader of the House, Bello Mazawaje (Tsafe East constituency), and Chief Whip of the House, Rilwanu Nagambo (Anka Constituency), among others.

Mr Moriki said the lawmakers unanimous decision was informed by their desire to join Governor Lawal, who recently defected from the PDP to the APC.

It became necessary for all of us to support Governor Dauda Lawal to bring more development to the state.

We received full support from our constituencies before taking the decision to leave the PDP for the APC.

Our decision is aimed at encouraging smooth collaboration between the state and the federal governments, the lawmaker said.

NAN reports that with this development, the APC has taken over the Zamfara State assembly, with all 24 members now its members.

(NAN)
Armed security personnel descended on the premises and surroundings of the Federal High Court in Kaduna, Kaduna State, on Tuesday, ahead of the arraignment of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).

ICPC, which has held Mr El-Rufai in custody for more than a month, announced on Monday the arraignment of the former governor scheduled for Tuesday in Kaduna.

The anti-corruption agencys operatives brought Mr El-Rufai to court at the Old Nigerian Defence Academy, on Tuesday.

They arrived with the former governor at the court complex at about 9:00 a.m. but did not immediately step out of the vehicle.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

At about 9.34 a.m., security agents escorted him from the vehicle to the courtroom.

The court premises were filled with security operatives, including agents of the State Security Service (SSS), who limited access to the area.

Operatives of the Nigerian police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were also part of the phalanx of security personnel on the court premises.

Journalists were prevented from entering the courtroom.

Background

In a statement posted on X on Monday, ICPCs spokesperson, John Odey, stated that Mr El-Rufai and Joel Adoga would appear before the Federal High Court in Kaduna for arraignment on charges in the case marked FHC/KD/73/2026.

The agency added that it also filed a separate case marked KDH/KAD/ICPC/01/26 before the Kaduna State High Court against Mr El-Rufai and another co-defendant, Amadu Sule.

The charges in the State High Court case range from abuse of office, fraud, and intent to commit fraud to conferring undue advantage, among others, Mr Odey said.

He said both cases were filed on 18 March, noting that the date for arraignment at the state high court would be communicated by the court.

ICPC rearrested Mr El Rufai on 18 February as soon as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released him after two days of detaining him over corruption allegations.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier this month that the ICPC explained in a court filing that it was detaining Mr El-Rufai to conclude his investigation.

ICPC gave the explanation in a filing opposing a suit Mr El-Rufai filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that his arrest and detention violated his fundamental rights. He asked the court to declare the actions of the anti-graft agencies unlawful and to award him N1 billion in damages.

But the ICPC said it started investigating Mr El-Rufa after receiving a petition accusing him and officials of his administration of financial misconduct between 2015 and 2023.

The petition raised allegations relating to loans obtained by the Kaduna State Government, procurement processes, transfers from government accounts and payments to companies and individuals.

ICPC said it began preliminary investigations and obtained documents from banks and government institutions. It then issued an invitation letter dated 9 February.

Mr El-Rufai is also facing prosecution by the State Security Service (SSS) over alleged phone-tapping claims involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed 23 April for his arraignment in that case.

The former governor haschallenged some of the actions taken against him in court, including a search conducted at his Abuja residence, which he described as unlawful.

He also filed a N1 billion suit against the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police, and others, seeking to nullify the search warrant used for the operation and restrain authorities from relying on items recovered during the search.

The ICPC and the police have opposed the suit, maintaining that the search was conducted lawfully based on a valid court order.

He has denied any wrongdoing and described the investigations as politically motivated.

His lawyer, Ubong Akpan, also alleged that the anti-corruption agency was linking his client to properties abroad through unverified claims, an allegation the ICPC has not publicly addressed.
Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has welcomed the Bauchi State Police Commands decision to investigate the assault on Albarka Radio journalist, Mohammed Adamu, but insists that the process must be transparent and lead to concrete sanctions against those responsible.

The organisation, in a statement issued Tuesday by its Communications Officer, Idowu Adewale, said it views the police commissioners response as a positive step toward accountability, while urging authorities to go beyond verbal assurances.

The statement followed comments by the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, who had condemned the incident and pledged an investigation after meeting with journalists and the victims representatives.

We consider the Commissioners swift reaction and his decision to constitute an investigative and disciplinary team as a positive step toward accountability, Mr Adewale said. We are particularly encouraged by the Commissioners acknowledgement that police personnel are deployed to protect citizens and not to engage in attacks on civilians.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

He, however, warned that similar assurances in the past did not translate into accountability, noting that attacks on journalists by security agents remain frequent across Nigeria.

For this reason, it is essential that the Bauchi State Police Command goes beyond statements of condemnation and ensures that this case results in a transparent investigation, the identification of all the police officers involved, and the imposition of appropriate sanctions, he added.

MRA also called for the suspension of the divisional police officer (DPO), Jamilu Kabir, who allegedly led the assault, arguing that allowing him to remain in office could compromise the integrity of the investigation.

The continued stay of Police Superintendent Jamilu in office gives the unfortunate impression that whatever investigation may be going on is not a serious one and that he is being protected by the institution, Mr Adewale said. This situation is capable of undermining the integrity of the investigation and public confidence in it.

The group further urged the Nigeria Police Force to adopt broader reforms, including training officers on journalists rights, issuing clear operational guidelines on media engagement, and enforcing disciplinary measures for violations.

According to Mr Adewale, Ensuring accountability in this case will send a strong signal that attacks on journalists will not be tolerated and will help rebuild public confidence in the commitment of the Police to uphold the rule of law.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Adamu was assaulted by police officers while covering an Eid Durbar event in Bununu, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The journalist said he was beaten after identifying himself at the venue, with multiple officers allegedly joining in the attack.

The incident has drawn condemnation from media organisations and rights groups, including the WikkiTimes Media Foundation, which announced plans to initiate legal action against the police and the officers involved.

ALSO READ: Police assault journalist during Bauchi Eid durbar

In its latest statement, MRA said it would continue to monitor the situation closely and expects the outcome of the investigation to be made public within a reasonable timeframe, stressing that accountability in the case is critical to protecting press freedom and democratic governance in Nigeria.

A 2025 report by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) underscores the broader context of such incidents, documenting 86 attacks on journalists, media organisations and citizens across Nigeria within the year. The report describes a worsening climate for press freedom, attributing the trend to what it calls a reign of impunity, with no recorded case leading to investigation or prosecution.

According to MRA, arrests and detentions accounted for the largest share of violations, representing over 44 per cent of cases, while physical assaults made up more than 24 per cent. The organisation identified the Nigerian Police Force as the leading perpetrator, responsible for nearly half of all documented incidents, raising persistent concerns about accountability within law enforcement agencies.
Political realignments in Zamfara State deepened on Tuesday, as the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wadatau Madawaki, resigned following the defection of Governor Dauda Lawal from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), along with all members of the State House of Assembly.

Mr Madawaki said his resignation was informed by his loyalty to the PDP, stressing that he could not join the APC.

I only resigned because the governor is joining the APC. Im a PDP member, Ive never been in the APC, and Im not ready to be an APC member, he told Channels Television.

He dismissed suggestions of pressure, describing his decision as voluntary.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

The governor has never forced anyone to resign I only resigned because I think it is an honourable thing to do, he added.

The Zamfara State Government has accepted his resignation. The Secretary to the State Government, Abubakar Nakwada, said the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Abdulmalik Gajam, has been directed to act as the Minister of Education.

Assembly aligns with governor

The resignation comes amid a sweeping political shift triggered by Mr Lawals defection, which has extended to the legislature.

On Monday, the Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Bilyaminu Moriki, and 12 lawmakers announced their defection from the PDP to the APC during plenary in Gusau after submitting their resignation letters from the opposition party.

Mr Moriki said the decision was taken to align with the governor and enhance cooperation with the federal government.

It became necessary for all of us to support Gov. Dauda Lawal to bring more development to the state, he said.

Among those who defected were Deputy Speaker Adamu Aliyu, Majority Leader Bello Mazawaje and Chief Whip Rilwanu Nagambo.

Following the defections, all 24 members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly are now in the APC, effectively giving the ruling party full control of the state legislature.

Broader political shift

Mr Lawal defected from the PDP alongside his deputy, Mani Mummuni, and several members of the state executive council, amid internal challenges within the opposition party.

The APC National Secretariat has scheduled an official reception for the governor and other defectors. The event is expected to be led by Vice President Kashim Shettima and members of the partys national leadership.

The development marks a significant shift in Zamfaras political landscape, as both the executive and legislative arms of government are now controlled by the APC.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday unveiled the draft 2026 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, did the unveiling at the consultative meeting with leaders of political parties on the review of INEC Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties in Abuja.

Mr Amupitan said that the review became necessary following the enactment of the Electoral Act 2026.

According to him, Nigeria cannot navigate a 2027 horizon using a 2022 map.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

He called on political parties to take special note of Clause 40(4) & (5) of the draft regulation dealing with election expenses of political parties for the management of party primaries and for the conduct of elections.

He said that INEC had concluded a clause-by-clause realignment of its guidelines to ensure that they were not only legally air-tight but operationally in sync with the new Act.

Our review has been guided by empirical data; specifically, findings from the Political Party Performance Index (PPPI).

This diagnostic tool, developed with the support of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), highlighted a disturbing gap between party constitutions and grassroots realities.

The newly drafted regulations encompass crucial areas that are central to the operations of political parties in our democratic framework, including registration and merger of political parties.

We have streamlined the process to ensure that it is more accessible, while maintaining a robust framework that upholds democratic principles, he said.

On political party operations, Mr Amupitan said that clear guidelines had been instituted to govern the day-to-day functioning of political parties, ensuring compliance with the countrys laws and promoting accountability.

This aims to sanitise party primaries, which intends to end the era of opaque processes that impose unpopular candidates, fueling voter apathy and a deluge of avoidable litigation.

We recognise the critical role of primary elections in our political system. Thus, we have outlined procedures that uphold fairness and transparency within political parties, he said.

Mr Amupitan added that regulations had also been put in place to ensure that campaign activities were conducted peacefully and respect the rights and dignity of all citizens.

We have established clear standards regarding the financing of political activities, emphasising the need for transparency and accountability in managing party funds and campaign expenses.

We have also included provisions that define the circumstances under which a political party may be deregistered, ensuring that the process is just and equitable.

We have also embedded measurable benchmarks for the participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs), he said.

The INEC chairman urged political parties not to see the draft regulations as a restriction, but as a safeguard.

In his remarks, the National Chairman of IPAC, Yusuf Dantalle, called on the National Assembly to urgently amend the 2026 Electoral Act to prevent it from jeopardising the 2027 polls.

Mr Dantalle argued that while Nigerians participated in public hearings with high expectations, the final Act represented a regression that inadvertently placed immense pressure on political parties, especially those outside government.

IPAC firmly demands that the National Assembly, as a matter of urgency, revisits and amends the Electoral Act 2026.

Specifically, the provision mandating direct primaries must be reconsidered, and the option of indirect primaries restored.

The choice of candidate selection methods remains an internal affair of political parties, he said.

The IPAC chairman also described the requirement for parties to submit membership registersincluding National Identification Numbers (NIN)between April 1 and April 21 as impractical and exclusionary.

He warned that the provision risked disenfranchising millions of Nigerians who lacked access to NIN registration facilities.

Mr Dantalle also demanded the restoration of mandatory electronic transmission of results to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal immediately after polling unit announcements, without any provisos.

It is also deeply troubling that the new Electoral Act appears to weaken penalties for vote buying.

IPAC reiterates its call for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission to ensure violators are held accountable, he added.

Mr Dantalle stated that the council had already appealed to the National Assembly to repeal the Act in order to have a credible and transparent electoral process.

(NAN)
The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) has honoured former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami (rtd), with its 2025 Human Rights Defender Award.

The award was presented to him on Tuesday at his residence in Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital, as part of activities marking the centres 20th anniversary.

Presenting the award, the Executive Director of WSCIJ, Motunrayo Alaka, said the retired jurist was chosen for his unwavering integrity, courage and commitment to justice, particularly in the defence of human rights

She said the centre recognises not only journalists but also individuals within the broader ecosystem that supports accountability, noting that the legal profession plays a critical role in sustaining justice.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Mrs Alaka said, We have a Human Rights Defender Award, which is the honour we bestow on Nigerians who have walked a path of integrity, whose work has shown defence of human rights and who have refused to be intimidated to ensure that justice is served.

She added, We picked Justice Ayo Salami for these qualities: his consistency as a legal practitioner, his work as President of the Court of Appeal and his stand for justice, which is what the ordinary people look up to.

Also speaking, the Publisher of PREMIUM TIMES and co-founder of the centre, Dapo Olorunyomi, said WSCIJ was established to strengthen investigative journalism and promote accountability in governance.

He said the organisation trains journalists and encourages them to confront corruption and other societal infractions through investigative reporting.

READ ALSO: WSCIJ honours outstanding investigative journalists at 2025 Awards

Mr Olorunyomi added, The centre is also designed to stimulate the legal responsibility of the media to hold power accountable in line with Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution.

He noted that the award aligns with activities marking the United Nations Human Rights Day, celebrated annually on 9 December, to honour individuals who demonstrate courage and inspire hope in their fields.

In his response, Justice Salami expressed appreciation for the recognition but raised concerns over what he described as declining courage within the judiciary.

He said the inability of some judicial officers to stand firm on matters of justice has weakened the system and eroded public confidence.

The retired jurist, who served as President of the Court of Appeal between 2009 and 2011, attributed his decision to study law to the influence of the late Obafemi Awolowo.

He thanked the centre for the honour, describing it as a token he would cherish for life.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has unveiled a digital media strategy to reach 90 million Nigerians, both nationally and globally, before and after its forthcoming national convention slated for March 27.

Chairman of the APC National Convention Sub-committee on Digital and New Media, Governor Mohammed Bago of Niger State, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the committee.

Mr Bago, who said he was humbled by his appointment as chairman of the committee, said the feat was to set a new benchmark for political communication in Africa.

He said that the committees job would go beyond the convention to deliver President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Mr Bago charged members of the committee not to relent in ensuring that Mr Tinubu was delivered, adding that they were deliberately chosen for their experience.

He called on all new media handlers of the party, both within and outside the country, to join hands with the committee and the APC to broadcast the achievements of the Tinubu-led administration under the Renewed Hope agenda.

He acknowledged APCs expansion and growing influence across the sub-nationals, adding that democracy must thrive in Nigeria because it is critical to Africa and the world at large.

The Niger governor said that the committees funding had been significantly increased to ensure that the partys message and achievements resonated beyond the shores of the country.

The mandate is very clear: to deliver APC. We have provided additional funds to this committee to project ourselves beyond the national convention.

Please, do not hesitate to continue to project this party; we are setting an agenda for Africa; today we received the 32nd governor for APC and tomorrow, we will receive the 33rd, he said.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Co-chairman of the committee, Ben Kalu, said its role was central to the partys connection with its members at the grassroots.

Mr Kalu urged members of the committee to utilise all digital platforms to showcase the achievements of the Tinubu-led administration and the partys democratic credentials.

We are depending on you so much to reach millions of our members in their homes. It is your duty to use all digital platforms, without restrictions, to showcase what we have done.

This committee is not just about the convention; we are not just doing a convention, we are showcasing to the world that there is a party in Africa that believes in real democracy for the people, he said.

Mr Kalu said that the committee was designed to be comparable to the sophisticated digital operations of the Democratic or Republican parties in the United States.

According to him, the committees mandate extends beyond the upcoming convention, stressing that its focus was on a digital broadcast strategy hinged on pillars of dominance, coverage, mobilisation and intelligence.

(NAN)
Tomorrow Is Here Movement, a support group for the reelection of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, has inaugurated its ward coordinators in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area, Enugu State.

Tony Okonkwo, the groups national president, inaugurated the ward coordinators on 20 March at the Igbo-Eze South.

Mr Okonkwo praised Governor Mbah at the event for his visionary achievements, including the establishment of Enugu Air, the completion and upgrade of the International Conference Centre, Enugu, and the revival of the Hotel Presidential.

He referenced the construction of Smart Schools across the states 260 wards and the development of Type-3 primary healthcare centres in every ward.

We also have the concession of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport as part of efforts to position Enugu as the aviation hub of the South-east and many more revitalised moribund projects, he said.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Pride in role

Ugo Ferdinand Ukwueze, the chairman of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area, who welcomed Mr Okonkwo and other dignitaries to the area, said that the gathering provided yet another opportunity for the Igbo-Eze South leaders and people to reaffirm their unalloyed support for Governor Mbahs administration.

Our position as a people remains firmly grounded in the visible and measurable development strides that have continued to transform our local government.

Our people are discerning and responsive to performance, and His Excellency has consistently demonstrated an unmistakable commitment to inclusive governance, particularly through strategic investments in education and youth development. His governance philosophy transcends partisan boundaries, and we remain resolute in sustaining the momentum it has generated, Mr Ukwueze said.

Igbo-Eze South stands proudly as an energiser, an enabler and indeed, a grand facilitator of the growth and consolidation of the Tomorrow Is Here Movement.

We take pride in this role, and we do not regret our position in so doing. The Movement has distinguished itself as the best among equals, and when called upon, we will respond with clarity of purpose and decisiveness, driven by a collective resolve to consolidate existing gains and ensure the continuity of this transformative leadership through 2027 and beyond.

The chairman commended the Movements leadership for their foresight and purposeful direction, describing the Movement as timely and visionary.

The Tomorrow Is Here Movement reflects a profound understanding of the current socio-political landscape and an admirable commitment to harnessing collective energy towards sustaining and advancing the transformative vision of this administration, he added.

Mr Ukwueze also congratulated the newly inaugurated coordinators of the Movement in the Igbo-Eze South chapter and charged them to approach the assignment with commitment and a deep sense of responsibility to the people.

The task ahead requires not just mobilisation, but thoughtful engagement and sustained grassroots connection. I am confident that you will rise to the occasion and justify the trust placed in you, he said.

The National Vice President of the Movement and Deputy Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Ezenta Ezeani, as well as its Board members and State Executive Committee members, were among the dignitaries who attended the inauguration.
The trial of nine defendants linked to the June 2025 Yelwata, Benue State, massacre stalled on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja after one of the suspects slipped into unconsciousness and slumped before proceedings started.

The suspect, Haruna Abdullahi, the third defendant, slumped from his seat, falling to the floor and leaving prison officials scrambling to revive him.

The prison officials helped him back onto his chair, but he remained unresponsive.

He was still unconscious after the judge arrived to start proceedings.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

Mr Abdullahi is standing terrorism trial alongside eight others for the fatal attack on the agrarian Yelwata community in Benue State, North-central Nigeria, on 13 June 2025.

The suspected terrorists allegedly burnt down houses in the community, massacred about 150 people and inflicted various degrees of injuries on many others.

Apart from Mr Abdullahi, the other defendants facing prosecution over the bloody attack include Ardo Lawal Mohammed Dono, and Ardo Muhammadu Saidu.

The rest are Yakubu Adamu, Musa Mohammed, Abubakar Adamu, Shaibu Ibrahim, Sale Mohammed, and Bako Jibrin.

They all pleaded not guilty to the 57 terrorism charges during their arraignment on 2 February.

The all-male defendants, who were not granted bail by the court, have been attending proceedings from prison since their arraignment.

On 9 March, the first defendant, Ardo Muhammadu Saidu, through his lawyer, denied the voluntariness of his extra-judicial statement obtained during investigations.

The defence lawyer raised the objection when the prosecution sought to tender the disputed statement and those of seven other defendants through the first prosecution witness.

Other defence lawyers representing the seven other defendants also objected to the admissibility of their clients statements.

This prompted the judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, to order a trial-within-trial to ascertain the claims that the statements were obtained under duress as alleged by the defence.

The trial-within-trial started on 13 March and was meant to continue Tuesday.

PREMIUM TIMES observed that prison officials brought the defendants to court had had them seated at about 10 a.m.

They were waiting for the judge to arrive in the courtroom to commence hearing when the third defendant, Haruna Abdullahi, suddenly fell from his seat unconscious.

The prison officials tried to revive him and later helped him back onto his seat, but he remained unresponsive.

He was still unconscious at about noon when the case was called after the judge arrived.

Forced adjournment

After the case was called up, a court official confirmed to the judge that all the defendants were present.

However, the judge observed that one of the defendants appeared unconscious.

You cant say he is present, the judge said, noting that he had been like that for over an hour.

Reacting to the situation, the prosecution, led by Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, told the judge that, based on information from prison officials, the defendant was fine before arriving in court and only became unwell in the courtroom.

Responding, the defendants lawyer, Ahmed Muhammad, said, The third defendant came in by himself, but unfortunately, he collapsed. We humbly request that he be taken to a facility for treatment.

Another defence lawyer, Ibrahim Angulu, also a SAN urged the court to allow the defendant to receive medical attention on humanitarian grounds.

Human beings are very fragile. If he is pretending, when we get to the hospital they will tell us, because one has to be alive to face trial, he said.

Mr Oyedepo supported the request for an adjournment to enable prison officials to care for the defendant.

The judge granted the request and ordered that hearing notices be served on defence lawyers A. I. Kaura and Y. A. Hassan, who were absent from court.

Ms Abdulmalik adjourned the case until 30 and 31 March for continuation of trial.

Backstory

On 2 February, the Nigerian government arraigned the defendants linked to the 13 June 2025 attack on Yelwata village in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

After their arraignment, the prosecution called its first witness, Moses Paul, a senior officer of the Nigeria Police Forces Intelligence Response Unit.

Mr Paul narrated the circumstances of the attack, stating that the assailants, armed with rifles, stormed the community after holding prior meetings in Nasarawa State. He said investigations led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle from one of the defendants, Mr Saidu.

The judge admitted the rifle and some naira notes as evidence.

After Mr Pauls testimony, the prosecution sought to tender the defendants statements, including those obtained in June last year and that of the second defendant taken in November, except for the eighth defendant.

However, the defence lawyers objected to the admissibility of the statements, which they claimed were obtained from their clients under duress.

This prompted the trial-within-trial that was meant to continue on Tuesday.
The remains of late Patience Tam-George, the mother of a former commissioner for information in Rivers State, Austin Tam-George, will be laid to rest on Friday, 10 April, at Okrika, Rivers State.

Mama Patience Tam-George passed away peacefully on 3 March at the age of 93.

The funeral service will be held at St. Andrews Anglican Church, George Ama, Okrika, at 10 a.m., according to the family.

There will be a candlelight procession on Tuesday, 7 April, at George Ama, Okrika, by 7 p.m. and a service of songs on Wednesday, 8 April, at St. Andrews Anglican Church, George Ama, by 5 p.m. as part of the funeral ceremony.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

After the burial, the Sony Tam-George family, friends and sympathisers will return to the St. Andrews Anglican Church, George Ama, on Sunday, 12 April, for a thanksgiving service.

Biography

According to her biography forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES, Mama Patience Tam-George was born in 1933 in the Abam community of present-day Rivers and grew up in a close-knit family environment where she learned the values of hard work, faith, and respect for community, principles that would shape and guide her throughout her life.

In her early adulthood, she married Sonny Tam-George, a family-oriented and ambitious man (our beloved father), from the neighbouring George Community in Okrika, Rivers.

Through this union, which produced nine children in all, she became part of the George community, where she built a life centred on family, service, and strong communal ties.

The biography says that Mama Patience did not have the opportunity to attend school in her early years because, at the tender age of eight, she took on the role of primary caregiver to her grandmother, Ma Ine Amakiri, but that she understood the value of education and made the remarkable decision to send all her children to school.

When her husband died unexpectedly, leaving Mama with young children (aged from two to 15), Mama showed incredible resilience in raising all her children as a widow, the biography says.

Today, her children and grandchildren have walked the academic hallways of some of the best schools in the world: from Nigeria to the Caribbean, Canada, the United States, Ghana, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

Those who knew her remember her as a woman of wisdom, kindness, and quiet strength. She was respected among family members and friends alike for her generosity of spirit and the guidance she offered to younger generations.

On 19 June 2022, during that years Fathers Day celebration, the former information commissioner in Rivers, Mr Tam-George, wrote a beautiful piece titled Happy Fathers Day, Mom! in celebration of his mother, Mama Patience, who was still alive then.

I lost my dad before I was two years old. So my mom is also the only father I have known, he wrote in the piece, which was published by PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Tam-George, a communication and public policy consultant, is the executive director of the Institute of Communication and Corporate Studies, Lagos.

On 13 February 2016, Mama Patience was abducted by kidnappers at George Ama, Okrika, while she was finishing a meal after returning from church. She was 85.

She was released after six days in captivity.
The Vice-Chancellor, University of Calabar (UniCal), Offiong Offiong, has unveiled plans to curb child mortality in host communities through the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) initiative.

Mr Offiong, a professor, made the pledge during a courtesy visit to the palace of Calabar Souths Paramount Ruler, Nyong Effiom Okon Etim Ewa I, on Tuesday.

He pledged stronger engagement with host communities to promote development, cooperation, and shared benefits between the university and its immediate environment.

The vice-chancellor also highlighted ongoing expansion at the universitys medical centre to improve healthcare access for surrounding communities.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

He said the palace would be linked to CHAMPS, an international programme based at the university that addresses child mortality and related health challenges.

Mr Offiong said the visit also aimed to express appreciation to the paramount ruler and to formally invite him to the universitys forthcoming 38th convocation ceremony.

My administration will integrate host communities into the universitys affairs and urge Calabar South residents to leverage emerging opportunities, he said.

He commended the paramount rulers wisdom and support, noting that it had helped him navigate challenging moments during his tenure.

Responding, the traditional ruler described the visit as historic, special, and heart-warming, reflecting growing ties between the palace and the university.

He expressed confidence in Mr Offiongs leadership and urged his administration to promote inclusivity, unity, and sustained community engagement.

I assure you of this palaces continued support and pray for wisdom, peace, and a successful tenure as you serve your institution, the traditional ruler said.

(NAN)
The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has sentenced an ex-convict, Oluokun Adekola, to three years imprisonment for theft of N12 million.

Delivering judgement on Tuesday, the trial judge, Rahman Oshodi, held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) proved beyond reasonable doubt that the convict concealed and converted the funds via a money laundering scheme.

According to a statement by EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday, the convict was arraigned on 16 March by the EFCC on one count of money laundering involving the theft of the money.

Charge

EFCC accused Mr Adekola and others still at large, in 2025 in Lagos, conspired to conceal and disguise the origin of N12 million paid into his account.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting. Add as a preferred source on Google

The commission alleged that the sum was part of a larger N3.09 billion fraud allegedly perpetrated through unauthorised access to accounts domiciled with the First City Monument Bank via mobile banking platforms. The funds were subsequently withdrawn and converted to cash through Point of Sale (POS) agents.

The defendant pleaded guilty upon arraignment.

During the proceedings, the prosecution lawyer, E. S. Okongwu, tendered a Certified True Copy of a prior judgement delivered on 23 July 2020, by another judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, who was then sitting in the Ibadan, Oyo State, division of the Federal High Court.

In the judgement, Ms Abdulmalik sentenced the convict to 20 years imprisonment for defrauding a Taiwanese national of $22,300.

The statement explained that the document was admitted as Exhibit 1.

The prosecution also sought an order for restitution of N3.5 million to the nominal complainant.

In his plea for mercy on behalf of the convict, defence lawyer Fabian Nwaforji pleaded for leniency, arguing that the defendant was remorseful and had already spent four years and six months in prison. He urged the court to temper justice with mercy.

Judgement

In his judgement on Tuesday, Mr Oshodi noted that the defendant is a repeat offender but acknowledged his early guilty plea, expression of remorse, and willingness to make restitution.

The court consequently sentenced Mr Adekola to three years imprisonment and ordered him to make restitution of N3.5 million to FCMB within three months.

Mr Adekolas case is a reflection of the growing prevalence of mobile banking and POS-linked fraud schemes in Nigeria, where stolen funds are quickly broken into smaller cash withdrawals to frustrate tracing efforts.

The EFCC has repeatedly flagged such layering techniques as common in cybercrime-related money laundering.

In November 2025, the House of Representatives expressed concern over a surge in fraud linked to POS operators across the country because the terminals have become a popular cash source for businesses and individuals seeking alternatives to ATMs, even though ATM fees are lower.

The Chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee on the Economic, Regulatory and Security Implications of Cryptocurrency Adoption and POS Operations in Nigeria, Olufemi Bamisile, lamented what he described as the infiltration of unlicensed crypto-related activities in the sector.

He said authorities had received multiple reports of unprofiled agents, cloned terminals, anonymous transactions, and weak Know-Your-Customer practices, warning that these lapses are exposing Nigerians to serious risks of financial loss, cybercrime, and security breaches.
CHICAGO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 Chicago Auto Show came to a successful close on Monday, Feb. 16, after a 10-day run at McCormick Place. The 118th edition of the show welcomed 211,850 attendees to experience the latest cars, trucks and SUVs, cutting-edge automotive technology and electrified mobility, producing more than 102,000 in-vehicle experiences across indoor and outdoor activations.

Manufacturers from across the industry showcased their newest models and innovations, giving consumers the opportunity to compare vehicles side-by-side and engage directly with brand experts. Notable vehicles at the show included the 2026 Cadillac Celestiq, 2026 Honda Prelude, 2026 Jeep Recon, 2027 Kia Telluride, 2027 RAM 1500 SRT TRX, 2026 Subaru Outback and 2026 Toyota RAV4. Concept vehicles like the Chevrolet Corvette CX Concept and Tesla Robotaxi also drew significant attention on the show floor, highlighting the industry's continued focus on design, performance and future mobility solutions.

Four immersive indoor test tracks and daily outdoor test drives provided attendees with hands-on opportunities to experience the latest vehicles firsthand. The fan-favorite Camp Jeep returned with its signature off-road course, offering thrill rides that demonstrated Jeep's legendary 4x4 capability on a dynamic indoor obstacle track. Ford's "Built Wild" experience once again highlighted the Bronco family's off-road prowess, while the Chicago Drives Electric track, powered by ComEd, allowed guests to ride in a wide range of battery-electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

New for 2026, the Chicago Drives gas-powered track debuted on the show floor, giving attendees an additional passenger-seat experience featuring gas and hybrid models. Combined with outdoor test drives from participating manufacturers including Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Ford, Jeep, Ram, Subaru, Tesla and Toyota, the expanded offerings reinforced the show's commitment to interactive, hands-on engagement.

"Each year we strive to make the Chicago Auto Show more immersive and relevant for today's consumers," said Chicago Auto Show General Manager Jennifer Morand. "From hands-on test tracks to dynamic new exhibits, the show gave attendees countless opportunities to explore, compare and experience the latest advancements in the automotive space."

New and returning specialty exhibits further elevated the show experience. Making its debut, Chi-Town Alley brought Chicago's vibrant car culture to life through an immersive, high-energy display featuring performance vehicles, custom builds, street-inspired rides and exotics. The exhibit also showcased six locally selected vehicles from the inaugural Chi-Town Alley Showcase contest, where the fan-voted winner, Tim Mejias, was ultimately named and recognized for his 1997 BMW M3. As part of the honor, Mejias received an invitation to return and display his winning vehicle at the 2027 Chicago Auto Show. Attendees could also enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at filmmaker and car enthusiast Sung Kang's upcoming film "DRIFTER," including two versions of the film's hero car, "Lola."

Returning exhibits also drew strong engagement throughout the show's run. Overlanding Chicago expanded its footprint with additional demonstrations, specialty vehicles and upfitting vendors focused on adventure-ready builds and the overlanding lifestyle. For the first time, participating Overlanding exhibitors camped overnight on the show floor, transforming the exhibit into a city-style campsite complete with activities like hide-and-seek, story time and "campfire" snacks. The Family Zone once again provided a dedicated, family-friendly space with interactive activities including a kids' Power Wheels track, Sim Drive racing simulators, car seat demonstrations with Britax and hands-on play areas designed to engage younger attendees while immersing them in the auto show environment.

This year's themed days and special events attracted enthusiastic crowds and diverse audiences. The Miles Per Hour Run returned as a unique indoor running experience through the show floor, drawing more than 800 participants from 12 different states. Automotive Career Day welcomed nearly 2,000 students from across the Chicagoland area, offering a firsthand look at the wide range of opportunities within the automotive industry. Chicago Friday Night Flights also returned as a one-of-a-kind craft beer sampling event paired with live music and full access to the show.

"Chicagoland's new-car dealers continue to set the standard, uniting to deliver one of the most prestigious auto shows in the world and standing firmly behind the local organizations that power our community," said 2026 Chicago Auto Show Chairman Jason Roberts. "The Chicago Auto Show continues to stand out as a place where innovation, culture and consumer engagement come together. This year's new exhibits, expanded ride-alongs and diverse displays demonstrated how the show continues to evolve alongside the industry."

In partnership with Versiti Blood Center of Illinois, the Dennis Buckley Memorial Blood Drive, a meaningful tradition spanning more than two decades, returned during the 2026 Chicago Auto Show. The drive collected 1,441 units of blood, the second-highest total in show history, helping provide lifesaving support to as many as 4,323 patients and their families while addressing critical winter blood shortages.

Fan engagement extended well beyond the show floor. Early analytics indicate that the Chicago Auto Show generated strong reach across digital and social media platforms, with millions of impressions, extensive video content and positive audience sentiment highlighting excitement around new exhibits, interactive experiences and the return of key manufacturers.

The show also saw strong and growing support from sponsors for 2026, led by premier partners Cars.com and ComEd. Official sponsors included Sim Drive and Drive Chicago, with additional support from star sponsors U.S. Army and Mattress Firm, and supporting sponsors Renewal by Andersen and Britax. These partners played a key role in enhancing onsite activations, interactive exhibits and branded experiences that contributed to a more engaging and dynamic attendee experience throughout the show.

The Chicago Auto Show is already gearing up with plans to return to McCormick Place next February. Dates for the 2027 Chicago Auto Show are Feb. 12 (First Look for Charity) and Feb. 13-21 (public show).

For more information on the Chicago Auto Show, visit www.ChicagoAutoShow.com.

About the Chicago Auto Show

First staged in 1901, the Chicago Auto Show is the nation's longest running auto exposition in North America. The show is produced by the Chicagoland's new-car dealer association, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, which has staged the show since 1935. The 2026 public show was Feb. 7-16 at McCormick Place. For more information and the latest updates, visit ChicagoAutoShow.com.

About the Chicago Automobile Trade Association

Founded in 1904 and located in Oakbrook Terrace, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association is comprised of more than 400 franchised new-car dealers and an additional 150 allied members. The group's dealer members employ about 19,000 people in the metropolitan area. The association has produced the world famous Chicago Auto Show since 1935. For more information, please visit www.CATA.info.

SOURCE Chicago Auto Show
WOOD DALE, Ill., March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR), a leading provider of aviation services to commercial and government operators, MROs, and OEMs, announced the U.S. Air Force recently awarded the Company two major pallet contracts with a combined value of up to approximately $450 million.

Under a sole-source $160 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery requirements contract, AAR will provide repair services for the 463L Legacy Cargo Pallet. The work is expected to be completed by March 2031.

Under a separate $290 million sole-source requirements contract, AAR will manufacture and produce 463 legacy air cargo pallets. The work is expected to be completed by March 2032.

The 463L Pallet is the standard pallet used by the U.S. Air Force to transport concentrated cargo and is designed to be used with the dual-rail cargo systems on military transport aircraft. AAR has been the primary supplier of 463L Pallets to the U.S. Air Force since 1963.

"Government contracts are core to AAR's diversified business model. For decades, AAR has proudly met the pallet needs of the U.S. government, and these additional awards extend our services into 2032, bringing support and stability wherever they are needed worldwide," said Tom Hoferer, AAR's Senior Vice President of Repair & Engineering."

For more information on AAR's Government Solutions, visit https://www.aarcorp.com/en/government-solutions/.

About AAR

AAR is a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company with operations in over 20 countries. Headquartered in the Chicago area, AAR supports commercial and government customers through four operating segments: Parts Supply, Repair & Engineering, Integrated Solutions, and Expeditionary Services. Additional information can be found at aarcorp.com.

This press release may contain certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, reflecting management's expectations about future conditions. Forward-looking statements may also be identified because they contain words such as ''anticipate,'' ''believe,'' ''continue,'' ''could,'' ''estimate,'' ''expect,'' ''intend,'' ''likely,'' ''may,'' ''might,'' ''plan,'' ''potential,'' ''predict,'' ''project,'' ''seek,'' ''should,'' ''target,'' ''will,'' ''would,'' or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of management, as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to "Risk Factors" in AAR CORP.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many are beyond management's control. Management assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

Contact:

Media Team

+1-630-227-5100

[email protected]

SOURCE AAR CORP.
STAMFORD, Conn., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As divisions deepen around the world, Director of Academic Year in America (AYA), Michele Kabel, highlights high school exchange as part of the solution:

"In a divided world, AYA and programs like ours continue to prove what so many families have experienced firsthand: that our greatest commonality is not where we come from, but how readily we welcome each other in."

For 45 years, Academic Year in America has been a testament to the extraordinary goodwill found in ordinary people. Post this An Academic Year in America (AYA) host family in Ohio, welcoming their Brazilian exchange student to the United States at the airport.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of AYA, which has connected thousands of international students with American host families since 1981. As one of the nation's longest running and most respected high school exchange programs, this milestone highlights the organization's long-standing commitment to creating meaningful cross-cultural connections that strengthen communities and inspire global awareness.

In the 45 years since its founding, AYA has placed over 35,000 exchange students from more than 60 countries in the welcoming homes and communities of volunteer American host families. These cross-cultural experiences have improved students' English skills, confidence, and appreciation for American cultureenriching U.S. households with meaningful moments of cultural exchange while giving back to schools and communities through service projects and cultural presentations. Every exchange brings the world closer to home for host families and students alike, helping to bridge the gap of a divided world..

As a non-profit high school exchange program, AYA has earned a decades-long reputation as a leader in cultural exchange. The program is sponsored by the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) Foundation, a public charity established in 1967 to support international understanding through cultural exchange, principles at the core of AYA's work. Through the AIFS Foundation, AYA is able to expand its support to U.S. high schools and communities through grants and scholarships like the Global Youth Trailblazer and Tony Cook Memorial Grant, which funds projects promoting intercultural engagement, global awareness, and inclusive learning environments, as well as the Home and Away Scholarship, which helps the children of AYA host families study abroad.

As AYA celebrates its 45th anniversary, the organization remains committed to the mission that has guided it since 1981: fostering global understanding and international connection through high school exchange. For Director Michele Kabel, four and a half decades of stories from students and families point to the same conclusion:

"For 45 years, Academic Year in America (AYA) has been a testament to the extraordinary goodwill found in ordinary people. High school exchange is a remarkable act of courage and trust on both sides, a reflection of the human desire for connection that transcends borders and the comfort of the familiar."

At a time when empathy, openness, and human connection matter more than ever, AYA invites families, schools, and communities across the country to be a part of that mission by hosting an exchange student and building meaningful global connections close to home.

For more information, please contact Ana Wright or visit our website.

About Academic Year in America (AYA)

AYA is a non-profit organization sponsored by the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) Foundation that facilitates high school exchange programs in the U.S. It is designated by the U.S. Department of State to offer J-1 cultural exchange visas to international high school students. For 45 years, AYA has helped thousands of international students and U.S. host families participate in high school exchange, allowing them to share their cultures and build lifelong friendships. To learn more about becoming a host family or local coordinator, visit our website at www.academicyear.org.

SOURCE Academic Year in America (AYA)
Company's patented multi-target therapeutics platform establishes a new class of patient-friendly treatments

ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Alphyn Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage dermatology company developing the first Multi-Target Therapeutics drug platform, today announced completion of enrollment in its Phase 2 clinical trial of topical Zabalafin Hydrogel (ZH) for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum (MC), an unsightly and highly contagious skin disease predominantly found in children.

"Our Phase 2 trial of Zabalafin Hydrogel for molluscum contagiosum completed enrollment significantly ahead of schedule, underscoring the serious need for a patient-friendly, effective treatment for this highly prevalent and very stubborn disease," said Alphyn CEO Neal Koller. "Many children with molluscum contagiosum must endure not only the symptoms, but also the treatments, which are painful, often intolerable, and cause scarring. Zabalafin Hydrogel aims to be the first drug to directly kill the virus and restore the skin in an effective, skin-sensitive, and gentle way."

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 54 patients aged 6 months and older in Australia. Patients receive ZH or placebo (the hydrogel vehicle that delivers zabalafin) for 16 weeks and return for a final visit two weeks later. The primary endpoint is the elimination of at least 75 percent of MC lesions in a patient. Alphyn expects to report topline results in the third quarter of 2026.

MC causes small, raised bumps that are unsightly, embarrassing, and inflamed. The MC lesions spread easily and are often incessantly pruritic (itchy). Many sufferers experience dermatitis (molluscum rash), which may lead to a painful bacterial infection. Current office surgical procedures, such as curettage, cautery, and cryotherapy, can be painful and difficult for children to tolerate. While two new FDA-approved drugs are now available, the need for easy-to-use, effective, and pain-free therapeutic options remains.

This is Alphyn's second clinical program based on the company's proprietary Zabalafin Platform for generating Multi-Target Therapeutics - a new class of drugs. ZH for MC is in development to target the multiple problems of MC, including directly killing the virus in a skin-sensitive manner, as well as the itch, inflammation, and, in certain patients, dermatitis and bacterial infection. Similarly, ZH for atopic dermatitis (AD) targets the key, interconnected drivers of AD. Both drug indications are expected to complete their Phase 2 clinical trial programs in summer 2026.

Alphyn's Zabalafin Drug Platform is a natural plant-based technology supporting a robust pipeline of therapeutics with potential advantages in efficacy, safety, side effect, patient tolerability, and regulatory marketing authorization advantages. Alphyn's therapeutic candidates were able to advance directly to Phase 2 clinical trials based on the Platform's established safety profile.

The Zabalafin Drug Platform is differentiated by its unique ability to directly target multiple disease drivers through its multiple bioactive compounds with multiple mechanisms of action. In contrast, most existing drugs pose only one bioactive with only one mechanism of action, directly addressing only one disease symptom.

Alphyn will be exhibiting at Booth 2555 at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting March 27-29 in Denver. Please visit us to learn more about our platform and dermatology programs.

ABOUT ALPHYN BIOLOGICS

Alphyn Biologics, Inc. is a clinical-stage dermatology company developing its patented Zabalafin Platform, the first Multi-Target Therapeutics (MTT) drug platform for severe and prevalent skin diseases. The company's lead product candidate, Zabalafin Hydrogel, is being developed as a topical treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), the most common form of eczema, and for molluscum contagiosum (MC), an unsightly, pruritic (itchy), and highly contagious skin infection predominantly found in children.

Alphyn's Zabalafin Platform has multiple bioactive compounds and, therefore, multiple mechanisms of action to support treatment of a complex individual disease in multiple ways, for anticipated improvement in efficacy, and to provide a robust pipeline of dermatologic therapeutics that have potential advantages in efficacy, safety, side effect, patient tolerability, and regulatory marketing authorization. For both AD and MC, Alphyn's drug candidates target directly each of the four key problems of these diseases. Alphyn is based in Annapolis, Maryland, and Cincinnati, Ohio, and has wholly owned subsidiaries in Australia and Austria. The company became operational in 2020 and has raised approximately $35 million.

SOURCE Alphyn Biologics
CAMDEN, N.J., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- American Water (NYSE: AWK), the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the U.S., contributes to global conversations on water stewardship, advocacy and resilience during CERAWeek 2026, held March 23-27, 2026, in Houston, Texas.

Christine Keck, VP and Chief Legislative and External Affairs Officer, American Water, will join global energy executives, policymakers and industry leaders at the conference, participating in the panel Valuing Water: A strategic imperative for the energy industry.

The session will explore water scarcity and evolving regulatory expectations that are prompting energy and energy-intensive industries to prioritize water stewardship. Panelists will discuss solutions and cross-sector collaboration to strengthen operational systems and resilience.

With regulated operations across 14 states, American Water plays a critical role in driving economic investment while addressing infrastructure needs, protecting water sources and supporting workforce development. Through leadership participation in conferences and summits like CERAWeek 2026, American Water continues to engage with regulators and industry partners to advance innovative, customer-focused solutions.

For more information about CERAWeek 2026, visit https://www.ceraweek.com/en/register.

About American Water

American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886 and celebrating 140 years in 2026, We Keep Life Flowing by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to approximately 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and on 18 military installations. American Water's approximately 7,000 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company's national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.

SOURCE American Water
Four-Month Educational Series to Provide Science-Based Insights, Caregiver Support, and Planning Resources

ATLANTA, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Atlanta Neuroscience Institute (ANI), in partnership with the Alzheimer's Association  Atlanta Chapter, is proud to announce the launch of a four-part community lecture series focused on Alzheimer's disease. Beginning in April, the monthly series will run through July and is designed to educate, empower, and support individuals, caregivers, and families affected by Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

Alzheimers Association

Alzheimer's disease currently affects more than 6 million Americans, with millions more serving as caregivers. This collaborative lecture series brings together leading medical experts, trained educators, and trusted community resources to address disease from prevention through care and future innovation.

"Alzheimer's disease touches every part of a family's life," said Doug Stuart, MD. "By partnering with the Alzheimer's Association, we are creating an accessible, science-driven forum where individuals can gain knowledge, practical tools, and hopewhile connecting directly to support and care."

Each lecture will focus on a specific aspect of Alzheimer's disease and brain health:

April: Understanding Alzheimer's Disease: The Science, the Signs & the Future

An overview of how Alzheimer's affects the brain, early warning signs, current treatments, and promising advancements in research.

May: Risk Reduction: 10 Healthy Habits for Your Brain

Evidence-based strategies that may help reduce risk and support lifelong brain health.

June: The Empowered Caregiver

Tools and guidance for caregivers navigating the emotional, physical, and practical challenges of care.

July: Legal, Financial & Care Planning for Alzheimer's

Essential information on advance planning, legal considerations, and long-term care options.

"Education is one of the most powerful tools we have in the fight against Alzheimer's," said Kim Franklin, Senior Manager, Alzheimer's Association. "This series ensures families in our community have access to reliable information, proven programs, and the support they needat every stage of the journey."

The lecture series is free and open to the public, though advance registration is required with limited seating. Sessions will be held in person at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church and Peachtree Christian Church, and attendees will receive access to educational materials and community resources.

EVENT DETAILS

What: Understanding Alzheimer's: Prevention, Care, Planning & the Road Ahead

When: April 16, May 14, June 11, and July 16

Time: 6pm | Dinner

Where: Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church | Peachtree Christian Church

Cost: Free (Registration Required)

ABOUT THE ATLANTA NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE

The Atlanta Neuroscience Institute is dedicated to advancing neurological care and research through innovation, collaboration, and compassion. ANI is committed to improving outcomes for individuals living with neurological disorders while supporting families and caregivers through education and access to leading-edge care. Homepage - Atlanta Neuroscience Institute

ABOUT THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION  ATLANTA CHAPTER

The Alzheimer's Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support, and research. The Atlanta Chapter provides education, support groups, care consultations, and a 24/7 Helpline to individuals and families impacted by Alzheimer's and other dementias. Georgia Chapter | Alzheimer's Association

MEDIA CONTACT

Atlanta Neuroscience Institute

Roy A. Rangel

Executive Director

470-826-1604 D

404-849-3700 C

[email protected]

Alzheimer's Association  Atlanta Chapter

Kim Franklin

Senior Manager, Programs and Services

404-728-6041

[email protected] | http://alz.org/georgia

SOURCE Atlanta Neuroscience Institute and Foundation
LONDON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 17, 2026, a cross-disciplinary roundtable forum exploring the power of humanity in the face of life's most profound challenges took place at the Royal Over-Seas League in London. Under the theme, "When life faces its ultimate test, can we still hold onto the light within?", the event brought together representatives from literature, art, philosophy, healthcare, and humanitarianism for a cross-civilizational dialogue on the power of love, courage, and responsibility in moments of life, death, illness, and conflict.

Eternal Love Cover Event Photo

The forum was hosted by the Freya Foundation and supported by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Pencil Tree CIO, and the Xuemo Foundation.

Keynote speeches were delivered by renowned British-Chinese writer and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Mrs. Zhang Huaicun, and acclaimed literary and cultural writer, Mr. Xuemo. Reflecting on her personal journey, Zhang observed, "In my life, love is art, and art is life. That is why I believe art can help people find the light within." Xuemo shared insights from his literary path from western China to the global stage, describing literature and wisdom as a "bonfire" in the darkness. While an individual may not be able to change the world, he noted, literature can kindle hope and help readers confront nihilism and fear. He emphasized that love is a capacity that must be cultivated, and that culture and art are the finest "crops" for nourishing the human spirit.

Stephanie Revell and Alex Gray from The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity spoke about the extraordinary resilience demonstrated by patients facing terminal illness. Imogen Payter and Lisa Nagle from the Ukraine Children's Fund discussed how culture, art, and love can serve as pillars of humanity in times of war. Representatives from Regain UK and children's art therapy organizations also shared their efforts to help young people build resilience through art and support.

During the forum, the Xuemo Foundation donated 4,000 to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to support patient care and cancer research at the new Chelsea hospital.

Dr. Xian, Trustee of the Freya Foundation and moderator of the forum, noted that through sincere and profound conversation, the event brought together voices from diverse fields into a shared stream of love and light. As Zhang Huaicun remarked, "In these times of change, I believe there is a light within each of us. Sometimes that light may dim, but love will warmly remind us that it is still there."

For more information, please visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FRS82P4R to purchase Xuemo's new book "Eternal Love".

Contact:

Ida Liu

+17735620064

[email protected]

SOURCE Xuemo
PHILADELPHIA, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- National plaintiffs' law firm Berger Montague PC announces an investigation into potential claims on behalf of investors in Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (NYSE: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company"). The investigation is focused on whether Northern Dynasty and members of senior management violated the federal securities laws or engaged in other unlawful conduct.

Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Northern Dynasty engages in the exploration of mineral properties, including copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and rhenium deposits.

On February 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a brief in proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's veto of the Company's proposed Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska.

On that news, shares of Northern Dynasty fell $0.80 per share  more than 39%  to close at $1.23 per share on February 18, 2026.

If you are a NORTHERN DYNASTY investor and would like to learn more about this action, CLICK HERE or please contact Berger Montague: Andrew Abramowitz at [email protected] or (215) 875-3015, or Caitlin Adorni at [email protected] or (267)764-4865.

About Berger Montague

Berger Montague is one of the nation's preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.

For more information or to discuss your rights, please contact:

Andrew Abramowitz

Berger Montague

(215) 875-3015

[email protected]

Caitlin Adorni

Berger Montague

(267) 764-4865

[email protected]

SOURCE Berger Montague
As DLP alert noise reaches a breaking point, BigID introduces a continuous, data-driven approach to validating risk, eliminating false positives, and improving DLP accuracy over time

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- BigID, the leader in data and AI security and compliance, today announced DSPM-Augmented DLP, a new approach to data loss prevention that uses live data intelligence to define, validate, and continuously improve DLP policy across the enterprise.

Traditional DLPs rely on non AI data classification and lack auto correction or accuracy self-tuning. They generate high false positives and provide no path to correction or remediation.

BigID solves the underlying problem by continuously examining alerts against its AI powered data classification and AI powered accuracy supervision to detect false positives and recommend DLP policy based on contextual signals to prioritize alerts.

A data-first alternative to legacy DLP

BigID enriches every alert with the AI powered data context and accuracy supervision to score alerts and recommend policy and classifier improvements.

BigID also validates alerts against its AI-powered DSPM data findings to confirm genuine risk and eliminate false positives. And every alert becomes an operational signal, surfacing the context that guides investigation and sharpens policy over time.

Why It Matters

DLP has always had an accuracy problem. Rules written without data context generate noise  and noise trains teams to ignore alerts. BigID closes that loop: discovery informs policy, policy informs enforcement, and enforcement improves over time.

"Most DLP tools are enforcing policies written without any real understanding of the data behind them," said Dimitri Sirota, CEO and Co-founder at BigID. "BigID brings the AI powered data intelligence that turns DLP from a noise generator into a policy engine that actually improves over time."

Learn More at RSA

Visit us at Booth N-4427 : Get live demos and exclusive previews of BigID's latest AI & data security capabilities

: Get live demos and exclusive previews of BigID's latest AI & data security capabilities Book a live demo : Meet with a BigID security expert: https://home.bigid.com/demo-security

: Meet with a BigID security expert: https://home.bigid.com/demo-security Take a self-guided product tour: https://home.bigid.com/custom-data-security-tour

About BigID

BigID helps organizations connect the dots in data & AI: for security, governance, privacy, compliance, and AI data management. BigID enables customers to find, understand, manage, protect, and take action on high-risk & high-value data, wherever it lives.

Customers use BigID to reduce their AI & data risk, automate security and privacy controls, achieve compliance, and understand their data throughout their entire data landscape: from the cloud, on-prem, and everywhere in between.

BigID has been recognized for innovation as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer; named to the Forbes Cloud 100; the Inc 5000 for 4 consecutive years; the Deloitte 500 for 4 consecutive years; Market Leader in Data Security Posture Management (DSPM); and an RSA Innovation Sandbox winner.

SOURCE BigID
In the news release, Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors Hails the Supreme Court's Denial of Certiorari of the State Court Challenge of the N.Y. Even Year Election Law, issued 23-Mar-2026 by Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that changes have been made. The complete, corrected release follows:

Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors Hails the Supreme Court's Denial of Certiorari of the State Court Challenge of the N.Y. Even Year Election Law

NEW YORK, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the United States Supreme Court denied review of the state court challenge to New York's Even Year Election Law (EYEL). The denial does not reach the merits of any of the federal constitutional claims now pending before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in New York in New York Republican State Committee et al. v. Hochul et al., No. 2:25-cv-6083.

William A. Brewer III (PRNewsfoto/Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors)

William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel for plaintiffs therein  a broad coalition of counties, local candidates, and voters  issued the following statement:

"Today's action by SCOTUS removes a hurdle to the efforts of our Plaintiffs to move their claims forward. The State rested its defense strategy on delay  by using the Petition for review of the state court proceedings to interfere with our case. That strategy has now run its course. There is no longer any reason to delay expedited resolution of the Constitutional claims presented in our matter. We represent a coalition of plaintiffs whose federal claims have never been heard on the merits  and we look forward to changing that before Judge Brown."

We will ask the Court to give new dates for the pre-motion conference, which was previously adjourned pending the Supreme Court's action. Plaintiffs will respond promptly.

SOURCE Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors
Learn more, join the interest list, and RSVP for the Grand Opening at www.CenturyCommunities.com/KimeRanchCO.

"Legacy at Kime Ranch brings together the best of what Parker buyers want in a new home community, including spacious floor plans, attractive design details and a location that enhances everyday life," said Division President Brittany Wall. "With distinctive elevations, fresh new finish packages and close access to Mainstreet, parks and trails, this community offers a thoughtful blend of style, comfort and convenience."

ELEVATED LIVING

Floor plans at Legacy at Kime Ranch are designed to deliver open-concept living with room to grow and adapt, featuring well-equipped kitchens, light-filled great rooms, oversized walk-in closets, deluxe attached baths with walk-in showers and separate soaking tubs, plus versatile spaces like studies, lofts and flex rooms. Select homes also offer features such as covered patios and walkout basements, giving buyers more ways to personalize their living experience.

Another major differentiator is the community's interior finish packages, created specifically for Kime Ranch to offer a refined and personalized design experience. Reflecting multiple curated design directionsfrom warm neutral classic to bold contemporarythe packages feature quartz countertops, upgraded cabinetry, luxury vinyl plank flooring, backsplash and fireplace tile accents, and plumbing and hardware finishes in black, chrome and brushed brass.

PRIME PARKER LOCATION

Set near historic Downtown Parker, Legacy at Kime Ranch offers buyers more space, more flexibility and a more refined home experience in a highly desirable location. The community will feature over 180 single-family homesites, with floor plans offering 3 to 4 bedrooms, 2 to 4 bathrooms, 2- to 3-bay garages and up to 3,431 square feet.

Residents will also enjoy community parks, a picnic area and local trail access, along with close proximity to Mainstreet, the PACE Center, Discovery Park, O'Brien Park, H2O'Brien Pool and the Sulphur Gulch Trail connection to the regional Cherry Creek Trail system.

PRESERVING LOCAL HISTORY

The Kime Ranch site has long been associated with Parker's painted cow sculptures, a beloved local landmark with roots in the 2006 CowParade Denver public art event. Placed in storage for safekeeping during construction, the mother-and-calf sculptures will return home as part of the community's Grand Opening celebration. They will be honored with a dedicated installation within the park and trail system for residents and visitors to enjoy.

LEGACY AT KIME RANCH | PARKER, CO

Grand Opening on March 28 | From the mid $600s and high $700s

Over 180 single-family homesites

Single- and two-story floor plans

3 to 4 bedrooms and 2 to 4 bathrooms

2- to 3-bay garages

Up to 3,431 square feet

Open-concept layouts with lofts, studies and flex rooms

High-end finish packages created for Kime Ranch

Covered patio and walkout basement options

Nearly four-acre park with playground, benches, and pavilions

Access to Sulphur Gulch Trail and the regional Cherry Creek Trail system

Walkable to Mainstreet, the PACE Center, Discovery Park, O'Brien Park, H2O'Brien Pool and the town library

Easy access to CO Highway 83/Parker Road

Convenient distance to Denver and the Denver Tech Center

Two model homes for tour

Community Location

20857 Parklane Drive

Parker, CO 80138

303.558.2380



DISCOVER THE FREEDOM OF ONLINE HOMEBUYING:

Century Communities is proud to feature its industryfirst online homebuying experience on all available homes in Colorado.

Shop homes at CenturyCommunities.com Click "Buy Now" on any available home Fill out a quick Buy Online form Electronically submit an initial earnest money deposit Electronically sign a purchase contract via DocuSign

Learn more about the Buy Online experience at www.CenturyCommunities.com/online-homebuying.

About Century Communities

Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE: CCS) is one of the nation's largest homebuilders and a recognized industry leader in online home sales. Newsweek has named the Company one of America's Most Trustworthy Companies for three consecutive years. Century Communities has also been designated as one of U.S. News & World Report's Best Companies to Work For (20252026). Through its Century Communities and Century Complete brands, Century's mission is to build attractive, high-quality homes at affordable prices to provide its valued customers with A HOME FOR EVERY DREAM. Century is engaged in all aspects of homebuilding  including the acquisition, entitlement and development of land, along with the construction, innovative marketing and sale of quality homes designed to appeal to a wide range of homebuyers. The Company operates in 16 states and over 45 markets across the U.S., and also offers mortgage, title, insurance brokerage, and escrow services in select markets through its Inspire Home Loans, Parkway Title, IHL Home Insurance Agency, and IHL Escrow subsidiaries. To learn more about Century Communities, please visit www.centurycommunities.com.

SOURCE Century Communities, Inc.
HOUSTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ClimeCo, a global leader in decarbonization, has launched the ClimeCo Certified Product Insetting program, an industry-leading product certification designed to recognize measurable greenhouse gas emissions reductions within a company's own value chain at the product level.

ClimeCo Certified Product Insetting badge

The new certification has an easily identifiable badge, helping bring greater transparency to the climate claims that consumers see on products. It provides trusted, third-party recognition for products linked to verified emissions reductions within a company's supply chain, efforts known as "insetting." By combining product carbon footprint analysis with confirmed value chain emissions reductions, the program gives companies a clear and credible way to demonstrate climate progress at the product level. For consumers, it makes the connection clearer between the products they choose and the actions companies are taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across their value chains.

"Companies are increasingly focused on reducing emissions within their own value chains, but until now there's been less of a clear way to recognize that impact at the product level," said Linda Kelly, Senior Vice President of Certification Programs at ClimeCo. "We're thrilled to introduce another ClimeCo Certified Product offering, bringing rigor and transparency to insetting efforts, helping meet consumers where they are, and empowering brands to showcase their commitment to sustainability and transparency."

As demand for verified sustainable products continues to grow, the sales data shows that products with sustainability labels can see a 1314% sales boost1, while 80% of consumers say they care about the environmental impact of their purchases2 and 79% want an easier way to identify environmentally friendly companies3. ClimeCo expects to see similar, if not more favorable, results with this new insetting certification.

For many companies  particularly in consumer goods, food, and agriculture products  supply chain emissions can account for more than 90 percent of their total greenhouse gas footprint. Insetting is emerging as a practical solution to this challenge by supporting projects that reduce emissions directly within a company's value chain, such as renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, low-carbon transportation fuels, and lower-carbon materials.

The ClimeCo Certified Product Insetting program verifies product-level emissions reductions through a transparent process:

Companies identify the products they want to certify and submit product carbon footprint analyses through a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) compliant with recognized industry standards.



Companies provide information on emissions reductions already achieved or underway within their value chain, known as insets.



ClimeCo reviews and verifies the submitted data and facilitates the procurement of additional insets to meet the requirements of the ClimeCo Certified Product Insetting Protocol.



Once verified, qualifying products are registered and authorized to display the ClimeCo Certified Product Insetting badge, allowing brands to communicate verified climate impact to consumers.

"Addressing Scope 3 emissions is one of the biggest challenges companies face on their path to net-zero," said Emily Damon, Chief Growth Officer at ClimeCo. "This certification helps companies demonstrate their supply chain decarbonization progress in a way that is measurable, credible, and meaningful for both partners and consumers."

The certification is designed for consumer goods companies that are actively working to decarbonize their supply chains and want to communicate those documented efforts in a transparent way. The program supports brands with Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) commitments, net-zero strategies, Scope 3 reduction goals, or directional climate targets and may help products qualify for sustainability-focused retail and e-commerce programs.

By bringing the same rigorous verification and a standardized protocol to insetting, ClimeCo aims to help companies build credibility around value chain decarbonization while making climate progress more visible to consumers.

For more information about ClimeCo Certified Product Insetting program, please contact Linda Kelly, Senior Vice President of Certification Programs, at [email protected]

Sources:

1 Harvard Business Review, 2025

2 PDI Sustainability, EV, and Convenience Retail Survey Report, 2024

3 PDI Business of Sustainability Index, 2023

About ClimeCo

ClimeCo is an award-winning leader in decarbonization, empowering global organizations with customized sustainability pathways. Our team of respected scientists and industry experts collaborates with companies, governments, and capital markets to develop tailored ESG and decarbonization solutions. Recognized for creating high-quality, impactful projects, ClimeCo is committed to helping clients achieve their goals, maximize environmental assets, and enhance their brand. Partner with ClimeCo to drive meaningful environmental change and take your climate initiatives to new heights.

Contact us at +1 484.415.0501, [email protected], or through our website climeco.com.

SOURCE ClimeCo
The partnership aims to position Avignonesi as a leading voice in Tuscany, proving that scale, when rooted in stewardship and transparency, can drive industry-wide impact and shape the future of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano in the U.S.

MONTEPULCIANO, Tuscany, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Avignonesi, one of Tuscany's most forward-thinking estates, is pleased to announce its partnership with Colangelo & Partners, a leading fine wine, spirits, and lifestyle public relations agency. The collaboration signals a strategic expansion in the United States, aimed at deepening Avignonesi's presence while reinforcing its position as a benchmark producer from Montepulciano and as a model for responsible viticulture.

"We are excited to partner with Colangelo & Partners as Avignonesi enters a period of growth," said Matteo Giustiniani, CEO & Winemaker of Avignonesi. "Our size allows us to have a meaningful impact - on the land, on our community, and on the global perception of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. We believe that scale does not dilute craftsmanship: rather it increases our responsibility. Through agricultural honesty, regenerative practices and a deep understanding of terroir, we aim to demonstrate that large estates can lead with integrity while crafting wines of precision and character."

Founded in 1974 and named for the Avignonesi family, the estate has long been a leading producer in Montepulciano. Since its acquisition by Virginie Saverys in 2009, the family-owned winery has become a model of regenerative viticulture, fully embracing organic and biodynamic practices and embedding long-term environmental stewardship into its philosophy, as reected in its Benefit Corporation certification. Today, under the leadership of Virginie's children, Basile and Eline Aloy, the 400-acre estate spanning Montepulciano and Cortona has reduced emissions by 45% since 2018, transitioned to 80% renewable energy, and planted over 3,000 trees to enhance biodiversity. Through this place-conscious approach, Avignonesi not only nurtures the land but also cultivates a community of ambassadors who champion its values of quality and sustainability in Montepulciano.

Avignonesi is also contributing to the renewed momentum of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Long overlooked and often confused with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, the appellation is experiencing a measured resurgence. Its savory, terroir-driven expression of Sangiovesestructured yet refined, vibrant yet age-worthyaligns naturally with growing American appreciation for wines defined by freshness, balance, and authenticity.

At the same time, the estate continues to honor its history in Cortona, where international varieties have found a distinctive voice in clay-rich soils. Desiderio Toscana IGT, a benchmark Merlot since its first vintage, remains an iconic expression of the estate  a wine whose depth and lively energy resonates strongly as Merlot experiences renewed appreciation in the U.S. market.

"Avignonesi represents a compelling evolution within Tuscany," said Megan DeAngelo, Italian Group Director at Colangelo & Partners. "It is rare to see an estate of this scale operate with such clarity of purpose and transparency. Its commitment to stewardship, combined with wines that speak clearly to American palates, positions Avignonesi as a leader not only within Montepulciano, but within the broader conversation about the future of flne wine."

The winery currently produces a number of wines in addition to Deisidero, most notably its 'Poggetto di Sopra' Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG - a 100% Sangiovese that acts as one of Avignonesi's purest expressions of place, bringing out the characteristics of its environment, particularly its clay soil.

For more information on Avignonesi, please visit: www.avignonesi.it.

About Avignonesi

Founded in the 1970s and named after a noble Renaissance family from Montepulciano, Avignonesi has redefined what it means to be a Tuscan winery in the 21st century, uniting heritage and vision through a model of conscious viticulture. At its core lies Le Capezzine, a historic estate and former agricultural model farm transformed into a biodynamic beacon where innovation, tradition, and sustainability converge in service of long-term stewardship and transparency; in doing so, it has cultivated a strong community of biodynamic-minded and trained professionals in Montepulciano. The wines reect this commitment: characteristically elegant, they are true interpreters of place and pure expressions of their grapes, made exclusively from estate-grown fruit to ensure each bottle is a genuine expression of its land.

About Colangelo & Partners

Colangelo & Partners is the leading fine wine and spirits integrated communications agency in the United States, sought after by top brands and industry players for quality results, creativity and a return on investment. The professionals at Colangelo & Partners work with integrity and passion to inuence how US audiences perceive their clients: earning consistent, high-quality positive media coverage; organizing signature events; strategizing and executing standout digital campaigns, and implementing trade programs that strengthen relationships within the industry. Colangelo & Partners' clientele includes global, instantly recognizable brands, and passionate, up-and-coming vignerons and distillers, regional and national institutions and technology and e-commerce companies innovating in the beverage alcohol sector.

Media Contact: Madeleine Hayes, [email protected]

SOURCE Colangelo & Partners Public Relations
Global leader in IT training and certifications returns to "must attend" conference for cybersecurity leaders

JOHANNESBURG, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CompTIA, the leading global provider of vendor-neutral information technology (IT) training and certifications, announced today it is supporting the ITWeb Security Summit 2026, the definitive annual cybersecurity event in Africa, as a Bronze Sponsor.

Now in its 21st year, the ITWeb Security Summit features in-depth technical tracks, high-level CISO forums, live demonstrations and hands-on workshops.

"The Summit is a must-attend event for the cybersecurity community," said Loraine Vorster, Vice President, Sub-Sahara Africa, CompTIA. "This opportunities for conversations and collaborations with other leaders are invaluable as we all work to address complex cybersecurity issues, such as the rapid rise of AI-driven threats."

At the summit, an international roster of speakers and panelists will share insights into combatting cybersecurity risks in the face of a constantly shifting threat environment. Leading security vendors will also be on hand to demonstrate their latest solutions. CompTIA is a Bronze Sponsor of the summit, which is scheduled for 2-4 June at the Sandton Convention Center in northern Johannesburg.

As a leader in IT training and certifications CompTIA offers a broad selection of career preparation and skills building resources. For example, the CompTIA Cybersecurity Career Pathway helps current an aspiring IT pros achieve cybersecurity mastery at all career stages  beginning, middle and end.

About CompTIA

CompTIA, Inc. is the world's leading provider of vendor-neutral information technology (IT) training and certification products. CompTIA unlocks potential in millions of aspiring technology professionals and careers changers. Working in partnership with thousands of academic institutions and training providers, CompTIA helps students build career-ready skills through best-in-class learning solutions, industry-recognized certifications and career resources. Learn more at https://www.comptia.org/.

Contact

Steven Ostrowski

CompTIA

[email protected]

630-678-8468

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2608749/CompTIA_Logo_Logo.jpg
CHICAGO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cornview Development LLC today announced it has reached a key platform milestone, with more than 165 megawatts direct current (MWdc) of small utilityscale solar facilities in Illinois financed into construction to date. This milestone is part of Cornview's broader 250+ MWdc pipeline in the state that was originated in 2022 and 2023.

Cornview's Illinois portfolio spans projects from noticetoproceed through latestage construction and commercial operation across all regions and investorowned utility footprints in the state. To date, Cornview's projects have paid more than $50 million in public utility interconnection upgrades across both Illinois investorowned utilities and are expected to generate over $500,000 per year in aggregate real estate taxes for local communities, schools, and roadway districts across dozens of counties. Upon completion, these projects will be able to generate enough power for nearly 45,000 Illinois residents to benefit from.

"This milestone demonstrates Cornview's ability to derisk, structure, and execute on development assets in a highly competitive and dynamic market," said a representative from Cornview. "With more than 250 MWdc in our Illinois pipeline and over half a gigawatt of projects invested in since 2022, Cornview has shown its ability to take longterm generation positions within an ever-expanding Illinois energy market where demand will continue to grow in the coming years."

Cornview's remaining tranches of financing are expected to close by the end of 2026.

About Cornview Development LLC

Cornview Development LLC f/k/a 22c Development, LLC is a land development company based in Uptown Chicago that was founded in 2022.

SOURCE Cornview Development LLC
The Lawyer Leadership Summit will convene Harvard faculty, general counsel, and senior legal leaders in Ischia, Italy, to explore how compassion is shaping decision-making in the legal profession.

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lawyer Leadership Summit, a gathering of general counsel, law firm partners, judges, and legal scholars, will take place June 2024 in Ischia, Italy, bringing together leaders to explore how compassion and judgment are shaping modern legal decision-making.

In a time of institutional distrust and rapid technological change, legal scholars argue that corporate lawyers have become among the most powerful  and least visible  decision-makers shaping modern institutions.

"We are living through a historic shift: many corporations now rival or exceed governments in power," said Elizabeth Pyjov, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. "And the moral compass of those institutions often rests with their general counsel and senior legal leaders. Corporate lawyers rarely appear in headlines, but their decisions quietly shape the rules governing millions of people."

Pyjov, a law professor who holds three Harvard degrees and studied the neuroscience of compassion at Stanford Medical School, has worked with institutions including the Library of Congress, Deutsche Bank, and the New York State Supreme Court.

"We often debate the ethics of corporations," said Pyjov. "But the ethical judgment of corporate lawyers matters more today than ever." She argues that because senior lawyers influence the lives of millions, compassion education can play an important role in legal leadership.

"A lawyer impacts nearly every transaction in the world," said Pyjov. "To create a more compassionate world, we need more compassionate lawyers."

Pyjov will explore these ideas further with legal leaders including Harvard Law School Executive Education Director Scott Westfahl, Harvard philosophy professor Michael Puett, Legal Mentor Network founder Brian Potts, and Harvard Divinity School former dean and professor David Hempton at the upcoming Lawyer Leadership Summit , June 2024, in Ischia, Italy.

"Lawyers are trained to analyze rules and outcomes, but leadership in law increasingly requires understanding the human impact of those decisions," said Harvard Law School Executive Education Director Scott Westfahl. "Compassion isn't softness. It's judgment. In a time of institutional distrust, lawyers may be one of the last professional groups protecting fairness and accountability in our society."

"As artificial intelligence reshapes institutions, the human judgment of legal leaders matters more than ever," said Pyjov. "Compassion is how lawyers add value in an AI-driven world. It's what helps ensure our laws remain humane."

"Every generation faces moments when power expands faster than our ethical frameworks," said Harvard professor Michael Puett. "In those moments, compassion becomes not a luxury but a necessity  and a discipline we can cultivate by drawing on the history, philosophy, and anthropology of ancient cultures."

The Lawyer Leadership Summit ( www.lawleadershipsummit.net ) brings together general counsel, law firm partners, judges, and legal scholars to explore leadership, compassion, and ethical decision-making in the legal profession. The 2026 summit will take place June 2024 in Ischia, Italy. It is hosted by Lead with Compassion and the Legal Mentor Network, in collaboration with Scott Westfahl of Harvard Law School Executive Education.

SOURCE Lawyer Leadership Summit
MIAMI, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Silk, an award-winning agency focused on creating brand strategies, custom websites, and digital marketing campaigns, announces the launch of a redesigned website for Ziwi, a premium mattress startup in the sleep technology industry. The project focused on aligning Ziwi's digital presence with its innovation-led product offering while improving user engagement and conversion performance.

The redesigned website, now live at Ziwi website, reflects a strategic shift toward premium positioning and clearer product storytelling. The initiative included brand messaging refinement, user experience optimization, and a scalable technical foundation to support future growth.

Repositioning a Premium Sleep Technology Brand

Ziwi approached the project with the need to better communicate its advanced sleep technology and justify its premium pricing. The previous website presented fragmented messaging and did not fully convey the product's innovation, which may have limited its ability to convert high-intent direct-to-consumer traffic.

Through this engagement, Digital Silk refined Ziwi's unique value proposition and consolidated messaging across key touchpoints. The updated structure focuses on clarity, credibility, and guiding users through a more intuitive purchase journey.

"This project highlights how critical it is for fast-growing D2C brands to align their digital experience with their product innovation. A strong website is no longer just a storefront, it's a key driver of trust and conversion," said Ana Margarida Meira, VP, Client Partner.

Measurable Performance Improvements

Following the launch, Ziwi recorded measurable improvements across user engagement and traffic metrics when comparing Dec 1, 2025 to Feb 15, 2026 against the previous period.

Key outcomes include:

+477% increase in new users +433% increase in returning users +896% increase in engaged sessions +98.6% increase in engagement rate

These results reflect increased user interaction and repeat visits, which may indicate stronger alignment between user expectations and on-site experience.

Key Deliverables Supporting Growth

The project combined strategic, design, and technical enhancements to support both immediate performance and long-term scalability.

Core deliverables included:

Strategic messaging refinement and UVP consolidation Conversion-focused website redesign Enhanced UX and user journey optimization Elevated visual design aligned with premium positioning Scalable CMS and technical foundation for future growth

The implementation also included performance optimization for mobile-first environments and high-traffic campaigns, as well as a flexible content management system to support ongoing marketing initiatives.

Growing Demand for Conversion-Led Redesigns

The Ziwi project reflects a broader shift in client demand toward repositioning-led redesigns rather than purely aesthetic updates. Brands, particularly in the D2C space, are placing increased focus on aligning product innovation with clear digital storytelling and conversion performance.

"When selling a premium product, especially in a competitive space, success depends on translating technical innovation into clear, compelling, and credible storytelling that builds confidence and drives action," said Ana Margarida Meira, VP, Client Partner.

More information about Digital Silk's approach to website redesign and digital strategy is available at https://www.digitalsilk.com/ and brands can request a consultation here.

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
PHOENIX, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Emerging Global Services (EGS), a leading global near-shore business process outsourcing (BPO) solution, today announced the launch of VitalCX, the first-and-only global Healthcare Experience Platform (HXP) that automates the full healthcare workflowfrom patient experience to revenue cyclefor providers, hospitals and health systems. Designed specifically for healthcare workflows, VitalCX brings visibility, coordination and accountability to every interaction to create operational reliability and better patient experiences.

"Customer experience is vital, and there's nowhere it's more vital than in healthcare," said Steve Shefveland, CEO and Founder of EGS and VitalCX. "Patients and care teams are doing the best they can within a system that is already harder than it needs to be, with ever-evolving workflows that continue to get more challenging for providers of all sizes. With the launch of VitalCX we're on a mission to change that. VitalCX supports all touchpoints throughout the patient experience while also automating operational work that sits between patients and care teams to drive impactful results and improve outcomes," added Shefveland.

VitalCX offers providers and health systems a hybrid solution via dedicated, live Healthcare Experience Managers and proprietary GraceAI technology, which was purpose-built for healthcare and trained by healthcare workflow experts with a human-centered design. VitalCX's Healthcare Experience Managers engage at all touchpoints throughout the workflow while GraceAI is embedded into every experience:

Access & Engagement: VitalCX is the front door to your practice handling appointment scheduling, triaging and comprehensive patient outreach to improve access, reduce delays and keep patients informed at every step.

VitalCX is the front door to your practice handling appointment scheduling, triaging and comprehensive patient outreach to improve access, reduce delays and keep patients informed at every step. Care Operations: Provides the operational backbone for care with end-to-end referral process management to medical records handling, preventing breakdowns across teams and ensuring care moves forward without friction.

Provides the operational backbone for care with end-to-end referral process management to medical records handling, preventing breakdowns across teams and ensuring care moves forward without friction. Financial & Service Operations: Automates operational processes including billing, prior authorization, eligibility claims and revenue cycle to resolve issues faster and protect financial integrity.

Automates operational processes including billing, prior authorization, eligibility claims and revenue cycle to resolve issues faster and protect financial integrity. Platform Intelligence: GraceAI connects the full workflow with real-time visibility and oversight, as well as built-in security and compliance. It provides backlog resolution and monitoring, status updates, follow ups, prevention of task duplication and resource allocation management.

"Within 45 to 60 days of deploying VitalCX's GraceAI, abandonment rates dropped to zero," said Vincent Orange, Jr., CEO, Howard University, Faculty Practice Plan (FPP). "Patient satisfaction soared by 40%, and human agents were freed to handle complex calls requiring empathy and problem-solving. This wasn't about replacing peopleit was about empowering them to better serve our patients."

For more information on VitalCX, please visit vitalcx.com.

About VitalCX

VitalCX is the industry's first global Healthcare Experience Platform (HXP) that automates the full healthcare workflow for providers, hospitals and health systems to bring visibility, coordination, and accountability to every patient interaction. VitalCX pairs dedicated Healthcare Experience Managers with GraceAI, our proprietary AI platform that was purpose-built for healthcare and trained on live clinical workflows, to remove friction between patients and care teams, and drive operational reliability, improved financial integrity and better patient outcomes. For more information, visit: vitalcx.com.

About EGS

Emerging Global Services (EGS), a global near-shore Business Process Outsourcing and customer experience leader, delivers seamless voice, digital, AI, and tech-enabled customer care from Phoenix, AZ and Northern Mexico. Dedicated to exceptional customer experiences, EGS combines bilingual talent, machine learning, and deep domain expertise across healthcare, SaaS, finance, and travelbecoming a true extension of your organization to drive efficiency, quality, and growth. For more information, visit: emergingglobal.com

SOURCE EGS Global, Inc. dba VitalCX
HOUSTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG) will host a conference call and webcast to discuss first quarter 2026 results on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 9 a.m. Central time (10 a.m. Eastern time). Please visit the Investors/Events & Presentations page on the EOG website to access a live webcast of the conference call. If you are unable to listen to the live webcast, a replay will be available for one year.

If you have any questions, please contact Angie Lewis at 713-651-6722.

About EOG

EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG) is one of the largest crude oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States with proved reserves in the United States and Trinidad. To learn more visit www.eogresources.com.

Investor Contacts

Pearce Hammond 713-571-4684 Neel Panchal 713-571-4884 Shelby O'Connor 713-571-4560



Media Contact

Kimberly Ehmer 713-571-4676

SOURCE EOG Resources, Inc.
Funding will support clinical development of EPF-001, a first-in-class G9a inhibitor for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia

Company built on pioneering research from RIKEN and Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, with backing from leading Japanese venture capital firm UTEC

PENNINGTON, N.J. and TOKYO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- EpiFrontier Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing transformative therapies for beta globin disorders, today announced its award of up to $32 million in non-dilutive funding from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). The grant will advance the clinical development of EPF-001, a novel small molecule G9a inhibitor designed to increase fetal hemoglobin expression in patients with sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia.

EPF-001 represents the culmination of over a decade of pioneering drug discovery research originally conducted through a collaborative effort between RIKEN Program for Drug Discovery and Medical Technology Platforms (DMP) and Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences. The compound emerged from a comprehensive screening campaign of approximately 140,000 compounds, followed by sophisticated molecular design using X-ray crystallographic data and the synthesis and evaluation of more than 1,000 compounds. This integrated approach leveraged RIKEN's advanced drug discovery infrastructure to enable the identification of a highly specific G9a inhibitor with demonstrated ability to increase fetal hemoglobin expression in human cells and multiple preclinical animal models.

Dr. Minoru Yoshida, Executive Vice President, RIKEN stated: "At RIKEN, we are tackling challenges facing humanity by integrating the world-leading technological platforms possessed by each research center. One such challenge is the realization of groundbreaking drug discovery. The development of EPF-001 exemplifies RIKEN's commitment to translating fundamental scientific discoveries into therapies that address critical unmet medical needs through such collaborative efforts. We are pleased to see this research transition from RIKEN to EpiFrontier Therapeutics for clinical development, and we are grateful for AMED's continued support of this projectfirst through the Research Project for Intractable Diseases and now through the Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem. This partnership represents an important model for advancing Japanese innovation to benefit patients globally."

"We are honored to build upon the groundbreaking research conducted by our scientific founders at RIKEN and Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences," said Bruce Goldsmith, Chief Executive Officer of EpiFrontier Therapeutics. "Their innovative approach to targeting G9a has yielded a clinical candidate with the potential to meaningfully improve outcomes for patients suffering from beta globin disorders. This AMED grant recognizes the potential of the underlying science and provides crucial support as we advance EPF-001 toward clinical proof-of-concept. We are committed to realizing the therapeutic promise of this molecule for patients worldwide."

Beta globin disorders, including sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, affect millions of patients globally and represent significant unmet medical needs. Current treatment options remain limited, and many patients continue to experience severe complications and reduced quality of life. EPF-001 has demonstrated significant advantages over standard treatments in preclinical studies in terms of both efficacy and safety, positioning it as a potentially transformative therapy for these patient populations.

The AMED funding will support EPF-001's advancement through Phase 2 clinical development, with trials planned to be conducted primarily at overseas medical institutions with large patient populations. Patient enrollment in Japan is specifically planned for severe beta thalassemia. The funding will enable comprehensive clinical evaluation to demonstrate the drug's efficacy and safety in humans, supporting the company's goal of achieving key commercialization milestones.

EpiFrontier Therapeutics was founded in July 2025 as a U.S.-based corporation with a Japanese subsidiary (EpiFrontier Therapeutics G.K.), following extensive business feasibility discussions with The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC), which began in spring 2024. The company has secured an exclusive license to the core intellectual property arising from research conducted at RIKEN and Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences and will pursue additional patent applications covering formulation, dosage and administration, and combination therapies to establish a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio.

On behalf of existing investors, Azusa Shiohara, Principal at UTEC and Board Member of EpiFrontier Therapeutics, stated: "EpiFrontier exemplifies the powerful combination of world-class Japanese science and global drug development expertise. The pioneering work by RIKEN and Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences has created a truly differentiated clinical candidate with the potential to transform treatment for patients with beta globin disorders. We are proud to support this company as it brings this important Japanese innovation to patients worldwide, and we are grateful for AMED's significant investment in validating and advancing this breakthrough therapy."

About EPF-001

EPF-001 (RK-701) is a first-in-class, highly selective small molecule inhibitor of the histone methyltransferase G9a, designed to increase fetal hemoglobin expression in patients with beta globin disorders. The compound has demonstrated robust pharmacological activity in human cells and various animal models, with a favorable safety and pharmacokinetic profile. EPF-001 is being developed for the treatment of sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, with initial clinical development targeting severe beta thalassemia patients in Japan and broader beta globin disorder populations internationally.

About EpiFrontier Therapeutics

EpiFrontier Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel therapies for beta globin disorders. Headquartered in the United States with operations in Japan, EpiFrontier is built on pioneering research from RIKEN Program for Drug Discovery and Medical Technology Platforms and Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences. The company's lead program, EPF-001, represents a first-in-class approach to treating sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia through selective G9a inhibition. EpiFrontier leverages an international network of research institutions, contract research organizations, and clinical development partners to advance breakthrough therapies for patients with significant unmet medical needs.

For more information, visit [www.epifrontiertx.com]

About AMED

The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), established in 2015, is a government agency dedicated to accelerating medical innovation and strengthening Japan's global competitiveness in healthcare. AMED supports integrated research and development across the medical spectrum, from basic science to clinical applications, to translate cutting-edge discoveries into real-world treatments. As part of this mission, AMED launched the Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem to foster the growth of Japan's biotech sector. This program provides substantial non-dilutive funding to startups developing innovative therapies, contingent upon investment from pre-certified venture capital firms. By supporting early-stage pharmaceutical development, including non-clinical and clinical studies, the program aims to accelerate breakthrough medical innovations and position Japan as a leader in biotech entrepreneurship.

For more information, visit https://www.amed.go.jp/en/

SOURCE EpiFrontier Therapeutics
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- FANUC America, a global leader in robotics and automation systems, today announced plans for a $90 million investment to acquire property and construct a new 840,000 sq. ft. facility in Michigan providing production-ready space for the potential expansion of the company's existing U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities for robots.

FANUC America, a global leader in robotics and automation systems, has announced plans for a $90 million investment to acquire property and construct a new 840,000 sq. ft. facility in Michigan, providing production-ready space for the potential expansion of the companys existing U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities for robots.

Targeted for completion in late 2027, this strategic project is expected to add 225 jobs. This expands FANUC America's engineering capacity and advanced manufacturing capabilities to support growing demand for automation solutions across North America, including physical AI, virtual commissioning and digital-twin technologies.

"This investment builds on FANUC America's Michigan manufacturing footprint, which has included producing robots for paint application domestically for more than four decades," said Mike Cicco, President and CEO, FANUC America. "By expanding its U.S. presence, FANUC America will strengthen domestic manufacturing, improve responsiveness to customer needs, and support industries that rely on automation to stay competitive."

With this announcement, FANUC America will have invested nearly $300 million in multiple new facilities, increased the company's footprint to 3 million sq. ft. and created more than 700 jobs in the United States since 2019.

"FANUC America is committed to supporting U.S. reindustrialization by delivering state-of-the-art automation technologies to customers and broadening access to advanced manufacturing workplace training services," Cicco said. "The newly expanded FANUC Academyopening in Auburn Hills, MI, later this yearwill become the largest robotics and automation skills-development center in the United States, helping address the national manufacturing skills gap, rising demand for automation talent, the shift toward AI-enabled robotics and the country's overall competitiveness."

About FANUC America Corporation

FANUC America Corporation, a subsidiary of FANUC CORPORATION in Japan, provides industry-leading CNC systems, robotics and ROBOMACHINEs. FANUC's innovative technologies and proven expertise help manufacturers maximize efficiency and maintain a competitive edge.

FANUC America is headquartered at 3900 W. Hamlin Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48309, and has facilities throughout North and South America. For more information, please call: 888-FANUC-US (888-326-8287) or visit our website: www.fanucamerica.com . Also, connect with us on YouTube, X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Fanuc America Corporation
After a Successful Launch with New Business, First Mutual Insurance Company will Leverage Chrp's AI-Based Self Inspections for Home & Farmhouse Renewals in North Carolina on June 1, 2026 , and Pilot an Inspection for Poultry Farms.

SMITHFIELD, N.C., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- First Mutual Insurance Company today announced it has extended its commercial agreement with Chrp Technologies, an AI-driven home risk platform that identifies 400+ failure points inside & outside homes that can lead to property claims.

First Mutual Insurance Company (FMIC), headquartered in Smithfield, NC, sells insurance products through a broad network of independent agents located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The company offers coverage for homeowners, farmowners, swine & poultry, and more.

One of the ways FMIC has maintained historically low loss ratios is by inspecting every property. This allows them to minimize costs for their policyholders and maintain a formidable market presence. Before Chrp Technologies, FMIC relied upon traditional inspections to underwrite new homeowners and farmowners policies in North Carolina.

One challenge the company faced when using traditional inspection companies was slow turnaround times, resulting in underwriting delays. Another issue the company faced was most traditional inspections did not capture imagery inside homes and farmhouses.

"Chrp's AI-based self-inspections have not only improved turnaround times, but also improved the risk control process in a few other ways," said Davidson Neville, President, FMIC. "First, it allows us to partner with our policyholders to help them prevent losses before they occur. For example, one policyholder noticed during her self-inspection that the air handler in her attic was leaking. This led her to call her plumber right away to fix the issue. She later called us to say "Thank You" for helping her avoid the hassle of dealing with a water loss that could have caused significant damage."

"Second, Chrp not only helps us to capture more imagery inside and outside a home or farmhouse, but also automatically flags issues that underwriters can quickly review. This enables underwriters to focus on items that need attention and to provide feedback to agents & policyholders faster. Chrp has probably cut the time underwriters spend reviewing inspection reports by 50%," noted Neville.

Chrp's AI-based self-inspections are used by 30+ insurers to identify non-CAT water and fire issues from cell phone imagery and can also be tailored to a carrier's underwriting guidelines.

Carriers like FMIC can walk consumers through a guided self-inspection of their home by simply texting a link. A typical inspection for a 3-bedroom home takes less than 30 minutes.

After the imagery is captured, Chrp's AI models analyze each image to identify failure points inside and outside of homes and farmhouses. Any issues are highlighted at the top of Chrp's home health assessment reports, enabling underwriters to take immediate action.

Chrp's analysis has shown the top five hazards detected from AI-based home health inspections across the United States are the following:

25% Faulty Shut-Off Valve

24% Supply Line Damage

10% Roof Damage

5% Vegetation Contact

4% Electrical Hazards

"We've really enjoyed our journey with FMIC, and they are a great example of how a small mutual carrier can use AI-based home health reports to become a trusted risk advisor for their policyholders," explained Chin Ma, President & Co-Founder, Chrp. "Currently, 81% of FMIC's policyholders are completing their self-guided surveys. We're looking forward to working with FMIC to increase that number and expand Chrp's use case into other areas," said Ma.

Going forward, FMIC plans to expand its use of Chrp's AI-based self-inspections to include home & farmhouse renewals in North Carolina on June 1, 2026, and is actively piloting Chrp's AI-based inspections to identify issues within Poultry Farms.

For more information about this release, FMIC policyholders & agents may contact Allison Hudson at [email protected]. All other inquiries may be directed to Zane Koeller at [email protected].

About First Mutual Insurance Company

First Mutual Insurance Company (FMIC) was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Smithfield, NC. Currently, FMIC markets insurance products through a broad network of independent agents located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Highly rated and backed by A-level reinsurers, FMIC maintains the financial strength that policyholders and agents expect from their insurance company. For more information, visit: https://www.fmicnc.com/

About Chrp

Chrp is an AI-powered home assessment and loss prevention platform. By combining advanced technology with deep construction and insurance expertise, Chrp identifies potential hazards inside and outside the home before they become costly losses. Partnering with carriers of all sizes across the country, Chrp is redefining how insurers prevent risk, enhance underwriting efficiency, and protect policyholders' homes.

Learn more at www.chrptech.com

SOURCE Chrp Technologies, Inc.
Veteran Trial Lawyers Bring Decades of Complex Fraud Prosecution and High-Stakes Litigation Experience to the Firm's Growing National Practice

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AXS LAW Group, an award-winning litigation firm with its flagship office in Miami, announces the additions of Kyle C. Hankey and Anna G. Kaminska as partners in its new Washington, D.C. office. As distinguished former federal prosecutors who seized the challenge of a hard case, including against major corporate defendants in billion-dollar cases, Hankey and Kaminska have joined AXS to expand its leading business trial practice to the District and across the United States. Their arrival also significantly expands the firm's white-collar, investigations, corporate enforcement, and appellate practices.

Hankey served as the Assistant Chief in the DOJ Fraud Section's Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unitrecently renamed the Market, Government, and Consumer Fraud Unitwhere he handled some of the nation's most consequential corporate fraud cases, including the criminal prosecution of a major U.S. Navy shipbuilder for accounting fraud and obstruction of a Defense Department audit; the entry of a nine-figure deferred prosecution agreement with a Fortune 500 defense contractor for defective pricing on military contracts; and the conviction of three former executives of a Chicago-based technology company after an eleven-week trial arising from a $1 billion fraud scheme.

Kaminska brings over two decades of experience as a trial lawyer, federal prosecutor, and appellate attorney. She also joins AXS from DOJ's Criminal Division, where she most recently served as the Chief of the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit. During her nearly 13 years as a federal prosecutor, Kaminska served as lead counsel in trials and investigations involving complex accounting fraud, cross-border investment and telemarketing schemes, pandemic-relief fraud, foreign bribery, and money laundering, and handled corporate resolutions with criminal fines exceeding $2.5 billion. She also served as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division.

"Kyle and Anna are exactly the kind of trial lawyers who define what AXS LAW is aboutelite practitioners who have handled the most complex and high-stakes matters in the upper echelons of government and private practice," said Jeff Gutchess, founding partner of AXS LAW Group. "Their proven records in the courtroom, combined with the depth of their experience in corporate fraud enforcement and investigations, will be tremendous assets to our clients and to the continued growth of our firm in Washington, D.C."

The AXS D.C. office will be located in Georgetown, and AXS expects to add additional partners, associates, and paralegals almost immediately.

About AXS LAW GROUP

AXS LAW Group is a nationally recognized litigation firm built by veteran trial lawyers who left Big Law to create a more dynamic, results-driven model for the modern business client. With offices in Miami, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., the firm has recovered hundreds of millions for its clients by crafting innovative courtroom strategies. Recognized as Commercial Litigation Department of the Year in South Florida, the firm and its attorneys have been ranked by Chambers & Partners and are known for taking on complex, high-stakes disputes that demand lawyers who are prepared to try cases. The addition of Hankey and Kaminska reinforces AXS LAW's commitment to assembling a team of battle-tested advocates who deliver results at trial. For more information, please visit www.axslawgroup.com.

Media Contact:

AXS LAW GROUP

[email protected]

(305) 686-4637

SOURCE AXS LAW Group
The DDoS attack landscape is at a clear inflection point: threats are not just growing; they are accelerating and diversifying. To prevent disruption, businesses must act quickly and adopt integrated solutions capable of detecting intent, analysing behaviour, and responding to threats across multiple attack surfaces.

Key insights from Q3-Q4 2025

Total number of attacks grew to 1300K in Q4 2025 from 512K in Q4 2024, reinforcing the view that DDoS activity is entering a new phase of scale and frequency

from reinforcing the view that DDoS activity is entering a new phase of scale and frequency Attack volumes surged to 12 Tbps in Q4 , representing a sixfold increase and highlighting unprecedented growth in attack capabilities.

, representing a sixfold increase and highlighting unprecedented growth in attack capabilities. 75% of network-layer attacks lasted less than one minute , while application-layer attacks showed a shift toward longer durations

, while application-layer attacks showed a shift toward longer durations Technology remains the most targeted sector , accounting for 34% of attacks, followed by financial services (20%) and gaming (19%).

remains , accounting for 34% of attacks, followed by financial services (20%) and gaming (19%). Geographic patterns show a strong concentration of attack sources in Latin America, with Mexico and Brazil together accounting for 55% of observed activity.

Andrey Slastenov, Head of Security, Gcore, commented: ''The latest Radar report is a call to action for business across industries. Attacks are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated because organising them is now cheaper and easier than ever. Businesses and organisations that previously felt unaffected are now being targeted. Effective protection strategies do exist, but understanding what is happening and being prepared has never been more important.''

New drivers of DDoS attack growth and intensity

DDoS attack volumes and scale have reached new levels, with the sixfold increase from 2.2 Tbps to 12 Tbps, reflecting the rapid escalation of attack capabilities.

Several structural factors are causing DDoS attack numbers to grow:

Broader access to attack tools

Expansion of insecure IoT ecosystems

Geopolitical and economic instability

Increasing sophistication of attack techniques

Network-layer attacks continue to increase

Network-layer attacks accounted for 82% of all observed incidents in the current period, a significant 20% increase from the last report. This surge reflects the economics of cybercrime: network-layer attacks are cheaper and easier to execute, making them an attractive option for attackers who simply want to cause disruption.

Recent data reveals shifts in attack duration and sophistication

Network-layer DDoS attacks became noticeably shorter in duration, with most attacks (75%) lasting less than one minute. Only 2% of attacks extended beyond ten minutes, indicating a continued shift toward highly intense, short-lived bursts designed to overwhelm targets quickly before mitigation measures fully engage. At the same time, application-layer DDoS attacks followed an opposite trajectory, with medium-duration attacks becoming significantly more common as 64% of attacks exceeded 10 minutes.

Attackers also increasingly relied on automation to execute large-scale campaigns. This shift reflects a broader transition from opportunistic abuse toward more deliberate, business-impact-focused attacks, including account takeover attempts, scraping, and direct manipulation of application workflows.

Attackers target digitally intensive sectors for maximum disruption

Attacks concentrated around several key sectors, including technology (34%), financial services (20%), and gaming (19%). These sectors are favoured targets because service availability is critical, and disruption can generate immediate operational or financial impact. The continued growth of attacks targeting the technology sector reflects its foundational role in today's digital economy. As digital ecosystems become increasingly interconnected and cloud-dependent, attackers appear to prioritise infrastructure-layer targets capable of generating the broadest possible disruption.

The Americas dominate geographical distribution of attack sources

The geographic distribution of attack sources shows a strong concentration in the Americas, with Mexico accounting for 31% of network-layer observed traffic, followed by Brazil (24%) and the United States (20%). The US remains prevalent for application layer attacks as well, at 23% representation. The likely culprit for the American dominance of network-layer attacks is the AISURU botnet, which disproportionately affects networks and device ecosystems in these countries.

In today's sophisticated attack environment, the data reveals why it's critical to mitigate attacks as close to their source as possible, rather than near the target. Effective protection requires globally distributed capacity, not only in regions with high traffic demand, but also in regions that are frequent sources of attack activity  which are often not the same.

To access the full report, users can visit https://gcore.com/resources/gcore-radar-attack-trends-q3-q4-2025.

About Gcore

Gcore is a global infrastructure and software provider for AI, cloud, network, and security solutions. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Gcore operates its own sovereign infrastructure across six continents, delivering ultra-low latency and compliance-ready performance for mission-critical workloads. Its AI-native cloud stack combines software innovation with hyperscaler-grade functionality, enabling enterprises and service providers to build, train, and scale AI everywhereacross public, private, and hybrid environments. By integrating AI, compute, networking, and security into a single platform, Gcore accelerates digital transformation and empowers organizations to unlock the full potential of AI-driven services.

Users can learn more at gcore.com.

Contact

PR Manager

Kira Kurepina

Gcore

[email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941240/Gcore_Photo_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941241/Gcore_Photo_2.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941242/Gcore_Photo_3.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941243/Gcore_Photo_4.jpg

SOURCE Gcore
Gresham Smith Ranks as No. 4 Architecture Firm

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Gresham Smith is proud to have once again been named to Fast Company's prestigious list of the World's Most Innovative Companies. This year's list shines a spotlight on businesses that are shaping industry and culture through their innovations. Alongside the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, Fast Company recognizes 720 honorees across 59 sectors and regions, and Gresham Smith ranked No. 4 in the Architecture category.

"We're honored to be recognized for the second year in a row as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies," said Mike Sewell, Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Gresham Smith. "This year, we're being recognized for the development of our client-focused Design Lab of the Future. More than just a collection of tools, it's a connected set of experiences that brings clients deeper into the process, makes feedback more natural and timely, and ultimately leads to better design that resonates with people."

Over the past year, the firm has made significant strides in innovation and collaboration, starting with the development of the Design Lab of the Future, which is made up of five transformative platforms that work in unison to create a comprehensive ecosystem that embodies the future of design. Individually, these tools solve specific challenges. Together, they remove friction, streamline approvals, and create more space for creativity, empathy and collaboration. It was first unveiled at Illuminate, Gresham Smith's inaugural innovation-focused summit that was held in the summer of last year. Read the Design Lab of the Future blog series.

"Being named as one of the top four most innovative architecture firms by Fast Company is something we're very proud of," said Rodney Chester, CEO and Board Chair of Gresham Smith. "At Gresham Smith, we see AI as a tool that can transform that way we deliver our work, but at the same time, the human aspect of what we do is most important. AI only supplements the design journey that our professionals guide our clients through."

Gresham Smith has also expanded strategic collaborations with university partners to include Vanderbilt University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Savannah College of Art and Design. In February, students from Carnegie Mellon's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering took part in a Gresham Smith Innovation Hackathon. Teams focused on tackling pressing engineering challenges centered on making data centers more sustainable and how to address the rising global energy demand data centers are placing on energy systems.

The World's Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year. To determine honorees, Fast Company's editors and writers reviewed companies driving progress around the world and across industries, and evaluated thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world.

"Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is about spotlighting organizations that don't just adapt to changethey drive it," said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "The companies we honor this year are redefining what leadership looks like in 2026, pairing bold ideas with measurable impact and turning breakthrough innovation into real-world value. They are setting the pace for their industries and offering a blueprint for what sustained innovation can achieve."

The full list of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies honorees can be found at fastcompany.com. It will also be available on newsstands beginning March 31, 2026.

Fast Company will host the Most Innovative Companies Summit and Gala for honorees on May 19 in New York City. The summit features a day of inspiring content, followed by a creative black-tie gala including networking, a seated dinner, and an honoree presentation.

About Gresham Smith

We are a premier architecture, engineering and consultancy services firm providing integrated, comprehensive solutions for private- and public-sector clients. With $354 million in annual gross revenue and 27 offices throughout the United States, our expertise encompasses eight strategic sectors: aviation, building engineering, healthcare, industrial, land planning, life and work places, transportation, and water and environment. Throughout all of our work, we focus on providing exceptional client experience and outcomes. Repeatedly recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies and consistently listed as a "Best Place to Work," we are committed to delivering on our Core Purposeto plan, design and consult to create healthy and thriving communitiesthrough our brand promise of Genuine Ingenuity. Learn more at GreshamSmith.com.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc. For more information, please visit fastcompany.com.

Media Contact: Sellars Huy, [email protected]

SOURCE Gresham Smith
Inc.'s annual Female Founders list celebrates the nation's most innovative women entrepreneurs, who collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025

AUSTIN, Texas, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hembree Bell Law Firm is proud to announce that Hannah Hembree Bell has been named to Inc.'s 2026 Female Founders 500, an annual list honoring the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States. The honor recognizes founders whose bold ideas, resilience, and execution are shaping the future of their industries.

The 2026 Female Founders honorees collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date, underscoring the economic impact of women-led businesses across sectors.

Hannah Hembree Bell

Each year, Inc. editors evaluate applications through a rigorous, multi-round selection process. Founders are assessed on both quantitative performance metrics, including revenue growth, funding, sales, and audience size, as well as qualitative factors such as innovation, social impact, and brand momentum. The final list represents entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and measurable progress over the past year. Previous honorees have included such game-changing leaders as Billie Jean King, Sallie Krawcheck, Serena Williams, and Emma Grede  all of whom have transformed their industries and broken barriers along the way.

"I'm honored to be recognized alongside all of these amazing women building bold, impactful businesses." said Hannah Hembree Bell, CEO of Hembree Bell Law Firm. "My work is grounded in helping people move through life's most difficult transitions with clarity and intention, and this recognition reflects the trust our clients place in us every day."

Honoree selection is also honed through the evaluation of the program's advisory board, which includes Patty Arvielo, co-founder and CEO of New American Funding; Tiffany Dufu, president of the Tory Burch Foundation; Joy Mangano, co-founder and CEO of CleanBoss; Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder and CEO of GORGIE; Sheila Lirio Marcelo, co-founder and CEO of Ohai.ai and founder of Care.com; and Melissa Mash, co-founder and CEO of Dagne Dover.

Hannah Hembree Bell is the founder of Hembree Bell Law Firm, a Texas-based family law practice known for its strategic, client-centered approach to divorce and complex family matters. She has built her career guiding individuals through high-stakes life transitions with both legal precision and practical foresight, helping clients move forward with clarity while planning for what comes next. Under her leadership, the firm has become a trusted resource for those navigating pivotal moments.

In addition to her legal practice, Hannah is the creator of My Confident Divorce, a platform designed to make the divorce process more accessible and informed. Through this work and her growing media presence, she is expanding her impact beyond traditional legal services and helping reshape how people approach major life changes, with greater clarity and forward momentum.

"Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list," says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. "The honorees on this year's list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they're showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like."

Several honorees will be featured in Inc. magazine's Spring print issue, on newsstands March 17, 2026. To see the complete list of honorees, please visit: https://www.inc.com/female-founders/2026.

About Inc.

Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About Hannah Hembree Bell

Hannah Hembree Bell is an award-winning Austin family law attorney, mom of four and founder and CEO of Hembree Bell Law, PLLC  one of the fastest-growing family law firms in the U.S. After experiencing her own difficult divorce and custody battle, Hannah built a framework to help women avoid the same mistakes. Today, through her firm and her national education community, My Confident Divorce, she equips women with the tools to protect their kids, finances and futures with clarity and strategy. Her firm has been ranked #876 on the Inc. 5000 list, placing in the top 20 law firms nationwide and #2 in Texas. For more information, please visit hannahhembreebell.com.

SOURCE Hannah Hembree Bell
Miriam Centennial Initiative set to Launch

PRIOR LAKE, Minn., March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Native Land Conference, hosted by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, will be held March 2425, 2026, at Mystic Lake Casino and Resort. This two-day national gathering is dedicated to advancing Tribal sovereignty and strengthening the future of Indian Lands in Indian Hands.

"There is real excitement in bringing together a national conference focused on Indian lands, their resources, and all the activities and decisions that shape our homelands," said Linnea Jackson, Chairperson of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation Board.

The conference will convene Tribal leaders, land office professionals, landowners, educators, advocates, and allies from across Indian Country who are working every day to protect, restore, and steward Native lands. The agenda features expert-led plenaries, interactive workshops, and panel discussions. Topics include fee-to-trust processes, probate and fractionation, land banking, GIS and mapping, cultural resource protection, land acquisition, and emerging opportunities such as Tribal carbon initiatives and co-management strategies.

The conference also provides space for Native people to come together to share experiences, stories, accomplishments, and lessons learned. In addition, new initiatives will be introduced by presenters. One highlight is the Indian Land Tenure Foundation's presentation on the Meriam Report Initiative, set for release in 2028 to mark the 100-year anniversary of the 1928 report, The Problems of Indian Administration, authored by Lewis Meriam of the Brookings Institution.

The Meriam Report Initiative session will present the upcoming centennial effort as a forward-driven initiative, not a reexamination of the 1928 report, but a platform for shaping new policies, priorities, and a stronger future for Indian Country. This work reflects the importance of Native voices speaking on Native issues by Native people. The initiative, a collaboration between the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, the Brookings Institution, and the American Indian College Fund, seeks to ensure that Native perspectives guide the direction of this work. "This is an exciting opportunity because we have the pen this time, and we intend to use it," said Valandra.

An Arts and Eats Welcome Reception on March 24, 2026, will feature local Native artists and vendors, creating a welcoming space for attendees to connect, share stories, and build relationships in a relaxed and culturally grounded setting.

To view the full agenda and learn more, please visit the Indian Land Tenure Foundation website.

The Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) is a national, community-based organization serving American Indian nations and people in the recovery and control of their rightful homelands. ILTF works to promote education, increase cultural awareness, create economic opportunity, and reform the legal and administrative systems that prevent Indian people from owning and controlling reservation lands.

About the American Indian College Fund  The American Indian College Fund has been the nation's largest charity supporting Native higher education for 37 years. The College Fund believes "Education is the answer" and provided more than $23 million in scholarships and other student support for higher education in 2024-25. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $391 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of programs at the nation's 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators. It earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (Guidestar), and the "Best in America Seal of Excellence" from the Independent Charities of America. The College Fund was also named as one of the nation's top 100 charities to the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit collegefund.org.

About Brookings

Brookings equips decisionmakers with nonpartisan research and policy strategies to create a more prosperous and secure country and world.

SOURCE Indian Land Tenure Foundation
The 2026 ISA OT Cybersecurity Summit will include two breakfast forums and an expo, as well as many speaker sessions and training opportunities.

DURHAM, N.C., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Society of Automation (ISA)  the leading professional society for automation  has announced the full program for its fourth annual OT Cybersecurity Summit in Prague on 16-18 June 2026.

The Summit will draw hundreds of experts in operational technology (OT) cybersecurity at the management level or higher in the energy, manufacturing, water/wastewater, oil and gas and maritime/transportation industries. This two-track, multi-day event will be organized around two major topics: threat intelligence in supply chain security and cyber-physical safety risk management. The keynote address will offer perspectives on transatlantic cyber cooperation from Berta Jarosova, cyber attachee to the United States and Canada for Czechia and co-founder of Women4Cyber Czechia.

Two breakfast forums  a new offering this year  will include thoughtful discussion panels with top cybersecurity experts. Those who attend these forums can expect to leave with practical insights on bridging IT and OT and turning cyber directives into actionable plans.

The Cyber Empowerment Forum features:

Megan Samford, VP, chief security officer, U.S. National Security Agreements and U.S. Federal Business, Schneider Electric

Berta Jarosova, cyber attachee to the United States and Canada, Embassy of the Czech Republic and co-founder of Women4Cyber Czechia

Dr. Marina Krotofil, independent expert evaluator and reviewer, European Commission

Cheri Caddy, senior cybersecurity advisor, Savannah River National Laboratory

Tatyana Bolton, principal, head of cyber practice, Monument Advocacy

The Countdown to Compliance Forum features:

Steve Mustard, president, au2mation

Ilja David, co-founder, IT/OT cybersecurity manager and architect, Iron OT

Gustav Martin Bartel, senior expert, cybersecurity industrial IT, Robert Bosch GmbH

Lukasz Kister, Ph.D., Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Expert Group member, European Commission

Petr Kopriva, senior consultant, BDO Consulting s.r.o.

With this conference, ISA is leading the charge to demonstrate how consensus standards and conformity assessment can meet the critical needs arising from current events and new regulation, including the Cyber Resilience Act, or CRA. ISA sets many of the technical standards used in industrial automation, including ISA/IEC 62443, the world's only consensus-based automation and control systems cybersecurity standards. In addition to developing and maintaining these standards, ISA offers training and credentialing on cybersecurity; certifies products, processes and systems through its ISASecure certification; and raises awareness about the importance of OT cybersecurity through its membership consortium, the ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance (ISAGCA).

"The ISA community brings together many of the world's top industrial cybersecurity experts, and we are proud to have developed ISA/IEC 62443, the standards that set the most secure operational technologies," said Claire Fallon, CEO of ISA. "What sets apart the ISA OT Cybersecurity Summit is its focus on sharing real-world insight into ISA/IEC 62443 and effective approaches for putting those standards into practice."

In addition to a robust technical program, the 2026 OT Cybersecurity Summit will offer multiple additional workshops, special events and industry-leading training opportunities for attendees:

Training: Using the ISA/IEC 62443 Standards to Secure Your Control Systems (IC32) and IACS Cybersecurity Design and Implementation (IC34)

Incident Command Systems for Industrial Control Systems (ICS4ICS) workshop: A tutorial for ICS4ICS, which combines OT/ICS, incident command and cybersecurity work into one framework to improve cyber incident response capabilities at companies and organizations.

Early-bird registration for the 2026 OT Cybersecurity Summit in Prague is now open at a reduced price until 17 April 2026, at which point standard pricing will take effect. Early-bird tickets to the breakfast forums and expo start at 125 USD. Early-bird tickets to the conference  including the breakfast forums and expo in addition to networking receptions and program stages  start at 940 USD for ISA members. To register for the event or to learn more about the program and sponsorship opportunities, visit otcs.isa.org.

About ISA

The International Society of Automation (ISA) is a non-profit professional association founded in 1945 to create a better world through automation. ISA's mission is to empower the global automation community through standards and knowledge sharing. ISA develops widely used global standards and conformity assessment programs; certifies professionals; provides education and training; publishes books and technical articles; hosts conferences and exhibits; and provides networking and career development programs for its members and customers around the world. Learn more at www.isa.org.

SOURCE The International Society of Automation
In a year defined by global disruption and rapidly evolving geopolitical risk, GardaWorld invites ISC West attendees to experience how modern security converges into one integrated ecosystem at Booth 20051.

MONTREAL, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - GardaWorld, an entrepreneurial-driven corporation focused on building global champions in security services, AI-enabled security technology, integrated risk management and cash automation solutions, will be represented by several of its global champion businesses at ISC West in Las Vegas this week.

ECAM logo (CNW Group/Garda World Security Corporation) Crisis24 logo (CNW Group/Garda World Security Corporation)

Combining the latest AI technology with decades of human expertise, Crisis24 (including Crisis24 AiiA Powered by Palantir), ECAM and GardaWorld Security provide a full suite of security solutions. These businesses help organizations anticipate and prevent potential threats and disruptions, manage and mitigate them, as well as deliver post-event recovery and resilience building. Working with a GardaWorld business enables organizations to detect threats earlier, make faster and more confident decisions, and intervene quickly  adopting a more proactive and preventative posture.

On show at ISC West booth 20051:

Crisis24 is advancing the next era of critical event management through a newly announced strategic partnership with Dataminr. This new partnership brings Dataminr's industry-leading real-time intelligence and agentic AI capabilities into Crisis24's leading proprietary risk management platform to help organizations detect, understand and respond to rapidly evolving risks faster and with greater confidence. Crisis24 unites mass notification, innovative technology, multi-layered human-and-machine intelligence, risk management workflows, and 24/7 global medical and security response into a seamless, fully integrated solution trusted by Fortune 500 companies and global brands.

Crisis24 AiiA Powered by Palantir is a groundbreaking intelligence platform that brings decision-grade actionable foresight and clarity to leaders. By delivering daily head-of-state-level briefings, this new platform empowers leaders with the foresight to navigate uncertainty, shape strategy, and seize business opportunities with speed. Anchored in Crisis24's unmatched expertise in integrated risk management and powered by Palantir's advanced AI Foundry system, Crisis24 AiiA delivers state-level intelligence that cuts through the noise of data to illuminate the signals that truly matter.

ECAM delivers unrivaled scale and presence across North America, with an integrated approach to video security that includes hardware, software, AI analytics, monitoring, response, and field service working together as a connected operating system. By combining highly trained operators with agentic AI, ECAM rapidly identifies, verifies and escalates threats, enabling fast and effective intervention. This helps to prevent and mitigate incidents before they escalate. Hybrid solutions backed by proprietary technology enable guards to respond rapidly to threats identified via ECAM's fixed cameras and mobile surveillance units. Within the ISC West Security Experience Center, ECAM will also showcase its ECAM Market platform, which gives integrators, resellers and partners access to wholesale and whitelabel solutions.

GardaWorld Security brings a people-first, partnership-driven approach to security, offering tailored solutions delivered by highly trained professionals. By reimagining how talent is hired, matched to positions, trained and developed, communicated with and recognized, the company's Ambassador Era People Program continues to improve workforce quality and retention. Since launching, the program has led to a nine-percentage point decrease in regretted employee loss in North America. For the third consecutive year, GardaWorld Security  United States remains the only national guarding company to earn Great Place To Work Certification, while GardaWorld Security  Canada recently recognized its Ambassadors of the Year. Their actions included life-saving responses to medical emergencies, coordinated interventions with law enforcement leading to suspects being apprehended, and swift, resourceful responses to facilities emergencies.

ISC West 2026 trade show runs from March 25  27, 2026. Click here to book a meeting at GardaWorld Booth 20051 with Crisis24, ECAM or GardaWorld Security.

About Crisis24

Crisis24, a global, AI-enhanced provider of travel risk management, mass communications, critical event management, crisis-security consulting, personal protection solutions and global medical concierge capabilities, allows prominent organizations, disruptive brands and influential people to operate with confidence in an uncertain world. Backed by proprietary AI-enabled SaaS technologies, advanced Global Operations Centers, an extensive global footprint, and the largest team of private sector intelligence analysts in the world, we deliver localized insights and global perspectives alongside medical, security, crisis response, embedded intelligence, and consultancy services as a preferred partner for Fortune 500 corporations. With a uniquely integrated and scalable platform, Crisis24 has an unrivaled financial profile that enables greater investment in technology than industry peers. For more information, visit crisis24.com.

About ECAM

ECAM is a North American leader in AI-driven live surveillance technology solutions, with the continent's largest footprint of monitored mobile and permanent surveillance units. With a vision of Every Camera Always Monitored, ECAM combines the world's most advanced AI-driven live video surveillance technology with human expertise to deliver real-time protection with unmatched precision and vigilance. From R&D to product development and platform innovation, ECAM fully owns and develops its entire operation and technology stack. The company develops proprietary technologies specifically designed to address the most common challenges in surveillance. This in-house approach ensures customers benefit from rapid innovation and cutting-edge solutions tailored to their most common challenges. Headquartered in Dallas, ECAM is a global champion business of GardaWorld, an entrepreneurial-driven corporation that builds global champions in security services, AI-enabled security technologies, integrated risk management and cash automation solutions. For more information visit ecam.com.

About GardaWorld Security

GardaWorld Security is a global champion and leader in security services. Employing highly-skilled and dedicated professionals across the globe, GardaWorld Security offers sophisticated, tailored security and technology solutions through high-touch partnerships and consistently superior service delivery. With a deep understanding that security is critical to the organizational resilience of business operations and the safety of communities, GardaWorld Security is committed to impeccable governance, professional care and the well-being of everyone. Thanks to a well-earned reputation, GardaWorld Security is the long-standing security partner of choice to some of the most prominent brands and Fortune 500 corporations. For more information, visit garda.com.

SOURCE Garda World Security Corporation
Revenue amounted to approximately RMB2057.92 million, and gross profit amounted to approximat ely RMB1478.78 mill ion, representing a year-on-year increase.

gross profit amounted to approximat ion, representing a year-on-year increase. R&D Expenses was approximately R MB1319.68 million.

Loss for the period was RM B381.97 million, adjusted annual loss [1] was approximately RMB211.28 million.

million. Cash and financial assets [2] amounted to approximately RM B4559.36 million, with ample cash reserves.

amounted to approximately RM with ample cash reserves. The debt-to-asset ratio [3] furthe r declined to 18.7%.

1. Calculated by deducting equity-settled share-based payment from profit/(loss) for the period. 2. Comprises cash and cash equivalents, restricted deposits, financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss and financial assets measured at amortized cost. 3. Calculated by dividing the total liabilities by the total assets.

CHENGDU, China, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Kelun-Biotech" or the "Company", Stock Code: 6990.HK) announced its audited consolidated results for the year ended 31 December 2025 (the "Reporting Period").

Kelun-Biotech is leveraging its core strengths and proprietary OptiDC technology platform to continue deepening its presence in the ADC and novel DC drug field. The company is actively advancing cutting-edge modalities including bispecific ADCs, RDCs, iADCs, and DACs, building a differentiated pipeline with strong global competitiveness. At the same time, Kelun-Biotech is steadily advancing product commercialization, achieving transformational growth across its business. To date, the company has four products with eight indications approved for marketing in China, including Sacituzumab Tirumotecan (), Trastuzumab Botidotin (), Tagitanlimab (), and Cetuximab N01 (). Among them, three products with five indications have been included in the 2025 National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL), establishing a fully integrated drug development ecosystem that spans R&D through commercialization.

As of now, the company has built a robust pipeline of more than 30 drug candidates, with over 10 in the clinical stage, and are gradually expanding into broader non-oncology therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases and metabolic disorders. Looking ahead, the company will leverage its innovative and differentiated pipeline to deliver high-quality therapeutic solutions for major unmet medical needs worldwide.

Core ADC Products' Commercialization Realized to Solidify Long-term Performance Foundation

Sac-TMT (sacituzumab tirumotecan, TROP2 ADC) (also known as SKB264/MK-2870) ()

TNBC:

The Company received marketing authorization in China from the NMPA for sac-TMT in adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic TNBC who have received at least two prior systemic therapies (at least one of them for advanced or metastatic setting).

The Company has initiated a Phase 3 registrational study of sac-TMT monotherapy versus ICC for 1L advanced TNBC.

HR+/HER2- BC:

In February 2026, a new indication application for sac-TMT for the treatment of adult patients with HR+/HER2- BC who have received prior endocrine therapy (ET) and at least one line of chemotherapy in advanced setting has been approved for marketing by the NMPA.

A Phase 3 registrational study of sac-TMT versus ICC for treatment of patients with HR+/HER2- BC who received prior ET is in progress.

EGFR-mutant NSCLC:

In March 2025, the Company received marketing authorization in China from the NMPA for sac-TMT for the treatment of adult patients with EGFR mutant-positive NSCLC following progression on EGFR-TKI therapy and platinum-based chemotherapy. This is the first TROP2 ADC drug approved for marketing in LC globally.

In October 2025, the company received marketing authorization in China from the NMPA for sac-TMT for the treatment of adult patients with EGFR mutant-positive NSCLC who progressed after treatment with EGFR-TKI therapy. This is the first ADC globally to show an OS benefit compared with platinum doublet chemotherapy and be approved for advanced NSCLC following progression on only TKI therapy (2L).

The Phase 3 registrational study of sac-TMT combined with osimertinib as first-line treatment of EGFR-mutant NSCLC and a Phase 2 study of sac-TMT monotherapy or in combination with osimertinib as neoadjuvant therapy for EGFR-mutant NSCLC are in progress.

EGFR-wild type NSCLC:

The Phase 3 registrational study of sac-TMT in combination with KEYTRUDA [1] (pembrolizumab) versus pembrolizumab as first-line treatment of PD-L1 positive NSCLC met its primary endpoint. This is the first Phase 3 clinical trial of ADC combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor to achieve its primary endpoint in the first-line treatment of NSCLC .

(pembrolizumab) versus pembrolizumab as first-line treatment of PD-L1 positive NSCLC met its primary endpoint. . In January 2026, sac-TMT in combination with pembrolizumab for the first-line treatment of PD-L1 positive NSCLC were granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the NMPA.

The Phase 3 registrational study of sac-TMT in combination with pembrolizumab as first-line treatment of PD-L1 negative NSCLC is in progress.

Other indications: The company is actively exploring the potential of sac-TMT both as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies for treating other solid tumors, including GC, EC, CC, OC, UC, CRPC, HNSCC, and TC, etc.

Trastuzumab botidotin (HER2 ADC, also known as A166, )

In October 2025, trastuzumab botidotin was approved for marketing by the NMPA for adult patients with HER2+ BC who have received one or more prior anti-HER2 therapy. This is the first domestically developed HER2 ADC approved for 2L+ HER2+ BC in China.

An open, multicenter Phase 2 clinical study of trastuzumab botidotin in the treatment of HER2+ BC that previously received a topoisomerase inhibitor ADC is in progress.

Key Clinical Data Highlighted at International Academic Conferences and in Top Journals

Results from the Phase 3 study of sac-TMT for the treatment of 2L EGFR-mutant NSCLC were selected for LBA and presented as an oral report in the Presidential Symposium session at the 2025 ESMO Congress. Sac-TMT achieved statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in ORR, PFS, and OS compared to chemotherapy. The study findings were published simultaneously online at the New England Journal of Medicine and in the first issue of 2026.

and in the first issue of 2026. Results from the study of sac-TMT for the treatment of 3L EGFR-mutant NSCLC were presented as an oral report at the ASCO Annual Meeting and published at the British Medical Journal . The final OS analysis of this study will be selected for LBA and presented as a mini oral report at the 2026 ELCC.

. The final OS analysis of this study will be selected for LBA and presented as a mini oral report at the 2026 ELCC. Results from the Phase 3 study of sac-TMT for the treatment of 2L+ HR+/HER2-BC were selected for LBA and presented as an oral report at the 2025 ESMO Congress.

Results from the Phase 3 study of trastuzumab botidotin for the treatment of 2L+ HER2+ BC were selected for LBA and presented as an oral report at the 2025 ESMO Congress.

Sustained Value Release of ADCs Under Development with Tiered Advancement of Innovation Pipeline

Phase 2 clinical stage

SKB315 (CLDN18.2 ADC):

The Phase 1b clinical trial of SKB315 is in progress, for the treatment of GC/GEJC/PDAC, etc.

Results of a Phase 1 study of SKB315 in patients with advanced solid tumors including GC/GEJC were presented at 2025 ESMO Congress in October 2025.

SKB410/MK-3120 (Nectin-4 ADC):

Its partner MSD has launched 4 global Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SKB410/MK-3120 in advanced solid tumor including bladder cancer, etc.

SKB571/MK-2750 (novel bsADC): The Phase 2 clinical trial in China is ongoing.

SKB518 (novel ADC with a potential FIC target): The Phase 2 clinical trials are ongoing in China.

SKB500 (novel ADC): The Phase 2 study is ongoing in China.

Phase 1 clinical stage

SKB107 (RDC)[2]: The Phase 1 study is ongoing.

SKB535/MK-6204 (novel ADC with potential FIC target): The Phase 1 clinical trial for SKB535 is ongoing in China.

SKB445 (novel ADC with potential FIC target): The Phase 1 clinical trials for SKB445 is ongoing in China.

SKB105/CR-003 (ITGB6 ADC): In January 2026, an IND application was approved by the CDE of NMPA for the treatment of advanced solid tumor. A Phase 1/2 trial is ongoing in China.

Strategic Layout of Non-DC Assets with Focus on Combination Therapy & Indication Expansion

Drug candidates for oncology

Tagitanlimab (PD-L1 mAb, also known as A167) (   ): In January 2025, the Company received marketing authorization of tagitanlimab used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of NPC from NMPA. Tagitanlimab is the first PD-L1 mAb globally to receive authorization for the first-line treatment of NPC.

In January 2025, the Company received marketing authorization of tagitanlimab used in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of NPC from NMPA. In May 2025, the results of a Phase 3 clinical study of tagitanlimab in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of NPC were presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.

Cetuximab N01 (EGFR mAb, also known as A140) ():

In February 2025, the Company received marketing authorization in China from the NMPA for Cetuximab N01 Injection used in combination with FOLFOX or FOLFIRI regimens for first-line treatment of RAS wild-type mCRC.

Lunbotinib Fumarate Capsules (RET inhibitor, also known as A400/EP0031)()[3]

An NDA was accepted for review by the CDE of the NMPA of China for the 1L+ treatment of RET-fusion positive NSCLC.

The company is also conducting a Phase 1b/2 clinical study for RET+ MTC and solid tumor in China.

Ellipses Pharma is progressing their phase 2 clinical study globally outside of China.

In May 2025, results from the Phase 1 study of Lunbotinib Fumarate Capsules in patients with advanced RET-mutant MTC were presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.

SKB118/CR-001 (PD-1/VEGF bsAb):

In January 2026, Crescent Biopharma announced the regulatory clearance of the IND application for SKB118 by FDA to initiate its global ASCEND Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors, and the first patient has been dosed in February, 2026.

The company is planning to initiate the Phase 1/2 clinical study for SKB118 in China in the first half of 2026.

Drug candidates for autoimmune diseases

SKB378/WIN378 (TSLP mAb):

In January 2025, an IND application for SKB378 for the treatment of COPD was approved by the NMPA.

Its collaboration partner, Windward Bio, has launched the Phase 2 POLARIS global trial in patients with asthma.

SKB575 (TSLP/undisclosed target bsAb): In March 2026, an IND application for SKB575 for the treatment of atopic dermatitis was approved by the NMPA.

Drug candidates for other non-oncology diseases

SKB336 (FXI/FXIa mAb): The company completed Phase 1 clinical trial in China.

Multiple Products First Included in National Reimbursement Drug List with Accelerated Market Coverage

In 2025, the Company witnessed an explosive growth in the commercialization of its innovative achievements. The Company has also filed an NDA for Lunbotinib Fumarate Capsules and expects to commence its commercialization in the second half of 2026 or the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory communications and marketing approval. To date, the company's initial commercial product portfolio, consisting of five products, has taken shape.

Supported by national innovation policies, the Company has successfully secured the first-time inclusion of three of its commercialized products, namely ,  and , in the National Reimbursement Drug List (), which officially took effect on January 1, 2026, and is expected to benefit more patients faster and better.

Steady Advancement of Global Collaboration and Comprehensive Strength Authoritatively Recognized

Collaboration with MSD: As at the date of this announcement, MSD is evaluating initiated 17 ongoing Phase 3 global clinical studies of sac-TMT as a monotherapy or with pembrolizumab or other agents for several types of cancer, including BC, LC, gynecological cancers, GI cancer and GU cancer. In addition to sac-TMT, the company is also collaborating with MSD on certain ADC assets to continuously explore favorable ADC pipeline portfolios.

Collaboration with Ellipses Pharma: The Company has deepened its collaboration with Ellipses Pharma on A400/EP0031, which has cleared by the FDA to progress into Phase 2 clinical development. As at December 31, 2025, a total of 39 clinical sites in the United States, Europe and UAE were set up for Lunbotinib Fumarate Capsules.

Collaboration with Windward Bio: In January 2025, the Company and Harbour BioMed had entered into an exclusive license agreement with Windward Bio, under which the Company and Harbour BioMed granted Windward Bio an exclusive license for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of SKB378/WIN378 globally (excluding Greater China and several Southeast and West Asian countries). Windward Bio has launched the Phase 2 POLARIS global trial in patients with asthma.

Collaboration with Crescent Biopharma. In December 2025, the company and Crescent Biopharma entered into a strategic collaboration for SKB105/CR-003 and SKB118 (a PD1 x VEGF bsAb, also known as CR-001). Under the collaboration, the company granted Crescent Biopharma exclusive rights to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize SKB105/CR-003 in the United States, Europe and all other markets outside of Greater China. In return, the compamy obtained exclusive rights from Crescent Biopharma to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize SKB118/CR-001 in Greater China.

In January 2026, Crescent Biopharma announced the regulatory clearance of the IND application for SKB118 by FDA to initiate its global ASCEND Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors, and the first patient has been dosed in February, 2026.

Continuous Improvement of ESG Capabilities to Consolidate the Foundation for Sustainable Development

Through the establishment and continuous improvement of the ESG governance structure, the Company comprehensively enhances ESG performance ability and ensures the Company's sustainable development. In May 2025, the company was awarded "Best ESG" by Extel. In March 2026, the Company had received a rating of "AA" in the MSCI ESG Rating Assessment.

Outlook

In 2026, Kelun-Biotech will continue to drive innovation and strengthen its operational capabilities, steadily advancing towards becoming a world-class biopharmaceutical company. Specifically, the Company will implement the following development strategies: advancing differentiated pipelines targeting indications with significant medical needs; innovating on and optimizing payload-linker strategies and novel DC designs and structures, while expanding applications in non-oncology diseases; enhancing its end-to-end drug development and commercialization capabilities; expanding business landscape and strategic partnerships and improve our capabilities for the development, registration and commercialization of our products in ex-China market; and optimizing its operational systems with the aim of becoming a leading global biopharmaceutical company.

About Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Kelun-Biotech" Stock Code: 6990.HK) is a subsidiary of Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., specializing in the R&D, manufacturing, commercialization, and global collaboration of innovative biological drugs and small molecule drugs. The Company focuses on addressing unmet clinical needs both globally and in China, with a strategic emphasis on major disease areas such as oncology, autoimmune disorders, and metabolic diseases. It is dedicated to building an international platform for drug R&D and industrialization, with the aim of becoming a global leader in the innovative drug sector. Currently, Kelun-Biotech has over 30 key innovative drug projects, including 4 projects covering 8 indications that have received market approval, 1 project at the NDA stage, and more than 10 projects in clinical trials. The Company has also successfully established its internationally renowned proprietary ADC and novel conjugated drug platform, OptiDCTM, with 2 ADC projects covering 5 indications approved for market launch, and several ADC or novel conjugated drug projects in clinical or preclinical development.

[1] KEYTRUDA (Pembrolizumab) is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA. [2] Jointly developed by us and the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University () [3] Trade name to be approved by NMPA

SOURCE Kelun-biotech
Linda C. Mack, and Mack International were recently shortlisted in two categories by the 13th annual 2026 Family Wealth Report awards. Categories include best Wealth Management Executive Search Firm and top Women in Wealth Management. Winners will be announced in New York City, in April.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mack International, founded in 2002, is widely recognized as one of the foremost premier boutique firms specializing in providing C-suite retained executive search and strategic consulting solutions to family offices, family enterprises and family investment firms on an international basis. Clients range from first generation business enterprise owning wealth creators through multi-generational families of six or more generations. Clients also include multi-client family offices and select investment and wealth management firms that serve family office and ultra-high net worth clients.

The annual Family Wealth Report Awards celebrate innovation and excellence among the firms, teams, and individuals serving North America's family office, family wealth, and trusted advisor communities. These prestigious awards shine a spotlight on those making a real impact in the industry.

Mack International and its founder, Linda Mack, were recently selected as finalists in the following individual and firm categories for the 2026- 13th Annual Family Wealth Report Awards:

Top Women in Wealth Family Office

Best Wealth Management Executive Search Firm

The Wealth Management Executive Search Firm category recognizes firms providing consulting services that help families think strategically about their objectives to effectively achieve success and sustainability. The Women in Wealth Management identifies women in the industry who are an inspiration to both female clients and colleagues.

Commenting on being selected a finalist for these prestigious awards, Linda Mack, Founder of Mack International said: "We are honored to have been shortlisted for these prestigious awards, and we applaud the outstanding achievements of so many esteemed colleagues in the industry. Having our work recognized in these categories means a great deal to us. They represent our ongoing dedication to serving families at the highest level. The recognition for sharing our insights and ideas as consultants and thought leaders in the industry, gives us great confidence that our efforts are aligned with best-in-class providers in wealth management. We love what we do and are committed to continuing to serve as trusted advisors to our clients."

Stephen Harris, CEO of Clearview Financial Media and publisher of Family Wealth Report, was the first to congratulate this year's finalists:

"Every entrant has undergone a rigorous and truly independent judging process, and each should be justly proud of their achievement. Reaching this stage is a clear testament to the quality and impact of their work within the family wealth sector.

This year has seen unprecedented growth in both entries and enthusiasm across all our global awards programs  and the Family Wealth Report Awards are no exception. These prestigious awards offer a unique platform for organizations and individuals to sharpen their strategic vision, receive independent validation, and gain meaningful recognition  both within their firms and across the industry. More than just an accolade, the awards are a chance to celebrate success in style, surrounded by peers who are shaping the future of family wealth management."

Winners will be announced on April 30, 2026, at the gala dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan, New York.

About Mack International LLC

Mack International is the premier, boutique C-suite retained executive search and strategic management/human capital consulting firm serving national and international clients in the family office, family business enterprise and wealth management industries on national and international basis. Founded in 2002, the firm has achieved an exceptional track record of success as evidenced by its unmatched industry expertise, in-depth market knowledge and unparalleled track record of success. Founder, Linda C. Mack has established proprietary methodologies such as the Mack 360 and is credited for having coined the term "expert generalist" in the industry.

About ClearView Financial Media Ltd ("ClearView")

ClearView Financial Media was founded by Chief Executive, Stephen Harris in 2004, to provide high quality 'need to know' information for the discerning private client community. London-based, but with a truly global focus, ClearView publishes the Family Wealth Report group of newswires, along with research reports and newsletters, while also running a pan-global thought-leadership events program.

With teams based in New York, London, Singapore, Switzerland, South Africa and Malaysia, the company is one of the fastest-growing media groups serving the financial services sector.

SOURCE Mack International, LLC
WOODS HOLE, Mass., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) today announced a $5 million gift from Valerie and John W. Rowe to support graduate education and training through the MBL/UChicago Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

This gift will help recruit and provide partial financial support for graduate students conducting thesis research in the labs of MBL resident scientists, strengthening the Laboratory's commitment to training the next generation of scientists.

Valerie and John W. Rowe

The MBL/UChicago Graduate Research Fellowship Program brings together the strengths of the Marine Biological Laboratory and the existing University of Chicago PhD programs to provide graduate students with access to world-class research environments and collaborative scientific communities spanning all levels of biological discovery.

Support from Valerie and John W. Rowe will help sustain a steady cohort of graduate students in residence at the MBL and strengthen the MBL's continuing academic partnership with the University of Chicago. The funds also support graduate student rotations at the MBL, travel between the institutions, and the recently established two-week fall graduate courses.

"The generosity of Valerie and Jack reflects a deep commitment to scientific education and discovery," said Nipam H. Patel, Director, Marine Biological Laboratory. "We are grateful for their support, which will help ensure that talented graduate students can pursue transformative research at the MBL and contribute to future discoveries in biology . "

By strengthening the MBL/UChicago Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Valerie and John W. Rowe's support will help cultivate emerging scientists and expand opportunities for graduate training within MBL's unique research environment.

"Graduate students are the future of scientific discovery. Valerie and I believe strongly in supporting programs that give young scientists the resources, mentorship, and environment they need to pursue bold ideas," said John W. Rowe. "The Marine Biological Laboratory has a remarkable tradition of education and collaboration, and we are proud to help support the MBL/UChicago Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the scientists who will carry this work forward."

About the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL)

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery  exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Samantha Cummis

[email protected]

508-289-7725

SOURCE Marine Biological Laboratory
DALLAS, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A seasoned trial attorney with more than three decades of experience navigating complex commercial disputes, David Herrold has joined McGinnis Lochridge as a partner in the firm's Dallas office. He deepens the firm's already notable litigation bench, expanding capabilities across banking, energy, and corporate matters in North Texas and beyond.

David Herrold, partner, McGinnis Lochridge

"David's extensive litigation background and business-minded approach align perfectly with our firm's mission to deliver practical, strategic legal solutions," said Carl Galant, firm managing partner. "We are proud to welcome him to McGinnis Lochridge."

Mr. Herrold represents clients in "bet-the-company" commercial and civil litigation across a wide range of industries. This includes matters involving banking and lender liability, consumer credit, creditors' rights, energy, commercial restructuring and workouts, errors and omissions (E&O) and directors and officers (D&O) defense. He also handles risk management matters. David regularly litigates in Texas and Oklahoma state and federal courts, before administrative tribunals and in arbitration proceedings.

"As we continue growing our Dallas presence, bringing on attorneys like David is a key part of that strategy," Dallas office managing partner Felicity Fowler said. "His reputation and experience will play an important role in deepening our stellar litigation team across the firm."

In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Herrold serves as outside or general counsel to businesses and their executive teams, advising on corporate governance, organizational structure, management and compliance, business contracts and transactions. His dual focus  courtroom advocacy and boardroom counsel  provides clients with an integrated perspective on managing legal risk across the life of a business.

"McGinnis Lochridge is a trusted firm with an enviable reputation throughout Texas and beyond for handling high-profile complex litigation and business matters," said Herrold. "It provides an ideal platform as I embark on the next stage of my career. I look forward to working alongside this group of incredibly talented lawyers."

Herrold holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-review designation available, which he has maintained continuously since 2006. He is recognized by both Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers, and is a Texas Bar Foundation Fellow. Licensed in both Texas and Oklahoma, Herrold will be based in the firm's Dallas office and also work from its Austin location. He was previously a partner with Burke Bogdanowicz PLLC in Dallas.

About McGinnis Lochridge

McGinnis Lochridge is a Texas-focused business law firm with nearly 100 years of experience serving clients across the state and beyond. With offices in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, the firm's attorneys handle complex matters in commercial litigation, energy and natural resources, environmental law and water rights, corporate transactions, employment law, and regulatory matters. McGinnis Lochridge is recognized for delivering practical, results-driven counsel to businesses navigating sophisticated legal challenges. For more information, visit www.mcginnislaw.com.

Contact:

Rachel Mershon

Marketing Manager

[email protected]

512-495-6020

SOURCE McGinnis Lochridge LLP
Pilot partnerships between public libraries and local news organizations will engage community members in shaping local news, yielding a replicable model.

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- More Perfect, an American alliance dedicated to revitalizing democracy, today announced a partnership with the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) to launch a national pilot program connecting public libraries with local news organizations. The initiative puts community members at the center of local journalism through activities such as deliberative journalism, participatory storytelling, and media literacy workshops, creating opportunities for residents to shape the stories and information in their communities.

Founded in 1971, ULC is an innovation and action tank representing 193 leading public library systems across 38 states, Washington, D.C., and five Canadian provinces. ULC strengthens libraries as dynamic civic institutions, leveraging their social capital as one of the most trusted civic spaces in American life to foster not only learning, but community engagement and well-being.

"Libraries and newsrooms should be collaborating much more extensively than they already are because they share a central civic function: helping residents understand their communities, navigate public systems, and participate in local democracy," said Shamichael Hallman, Senior Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity at the Urban Libraries Council. "This pilot program teams local libraries and newsrooms to put residents at the center of local news, giving them a voice in the stories that affect their lives and communities. By combining library resources with newsroom expertise, we are creating a model for community-driven local news that can be replicated nationwide."

The pilot program will provide 68 grants to library-newsroom teams, along with targeted capacity-building, training, and implementation support. Participating teams will explore three core themes:

Expanding access to and trust in reliable local information by ensuring residents can find nonpartisan, high-quality news about their communities. Elevating community voices through co-produced reporting, participatory storytelling, and an inclusive narrative project. Creating pathways for democratic participation by leveraging libraries' role as open, trusted civic spaces that foster dialogue and informed action.

"Public libraries are one of the most trusted institutions in our communities, and local newsrooms play a critical role in keeping residents informed," said John Bridgeland, Founder & CEO of More Perfect. "By bringing these two pillars together, this pilot ensures that community members are not just consumers of information, but active participants in shaping it. This approach strengthens trust in local journalism, encourages civic learning, and helps communities solve real problems together."

Brooks Rainwater, President & CEO of the Urban Libraries Council, added, "This initiative demonstrates the transformative power of libraries as civic conveners. By connecting libraries with local newsrooms and supporting collaborative, community-driven journalism, we are equipping residents with the tools to engage meaningfully in their communities, combat misinformation, and build stronger, more informed neighborhoods. We are proud to partner with More Perfect to pilot this innovative approach to civic engagement."

Throughout the pilot, ULC will convene participating sites for training, peer learning, and collaborative problem-solving. Activities may include in-library newsroom outposts, deliberative journalism projects, civic media workshops, and storytelling efforts that highlight lived experience and local knowledge.

Together, More Perfect and ULC aim to strengthen community dialogue, increase civic participation, and produce a playbook to replicate sustainable, citizen-centered journalism across the country.

The project advances More Perfect's Democracy Goal 1: Universal Civic Learning, Democracy Goal 3: Bridging Divides , and Democracy Goal 5: Access to Trusted News and Information . This alignment positions this pilot program as a blueprint for lasting democratic renewal.

About More Perfect

More Perfect is a American alliance of 44 Presidential Centers, National Archives Foundation, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia, and more than 100 organizations working together to advance five foundational Democracy Goals: 1) Universal Civic Learning; 2) Expanding National Service & Volunteering; 3) Bridging Divides & Building Trust; 4) Trusted Elections & More Representative and Responsive Governance; and 5) Access to Trusted News & Information.

About Urban Libraries Council

The Urban Libraries Council is an innovation and action tank of North America's leading public library systems. We drive cutting-edge research and strategic partnerships to elevate the power of libraries as essential, transformative institutions for the 21st century. We identify significant challenges facing today's communities and develop new tools and techniques to help libraries achieve stronger outcomes in education, workforce and economic development, digital equity and race and social equity.

For press inquiries, contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE More Perfect
HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) invites you to join Anthony G. Petrello, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Miguel A. Rodriguez, Chief Financial Officer, Wednesday April 29, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time for a discussion of operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Nabors will release earnings after the market closes on April 28, 2026.

Date: April 29, 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. CT (11:00 a.m. ET) Dial-in-number(s):



US Toll Free: (888) 317-6003

Canada Toll Free: (866) 284-3684

International: (412) 317-6061

Participant Elite Entry Number: 7684887

Please call ten to fifteen minutes ahead of time to ensure proper connection.

The conference call will be recorded and available for replay for one week, until 4:00 p.m. CT on May 06, 2026. To hear the recording, please call (855) 669-9658 in North America or (412) 317-0088 internationally and enter Conference Replay Entry Number: 9851727.

Nabors will have a live audio webcast of the conference call available on its website at, www.nabors.com. To join the webcast, navigate to the Investor Relations page and then select Events Calendar. An electronic version of the earnings release and, if applicable, a supplemental presentation also will be available to download from the website.

About Nabors

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) is a leading provider of advanced technology for the energy industry. With presence in more than 20 countries, Nabors has established a global network of people, technology and equipment to deploy solutions that deliver safe, efficient and responsible energy production. By leveraging its core competencies, particularly in drilling, engineering, automation, data science and manufacturing, Nabors aims to innovate the future of energy and enable the transition to a lower-carbon world. Learn more about Nabors and its energy technology leadership: www.nabors.com.

Investor Contacts

For further information regarding Nabors, please contact William C. Conroy, CFA, Vice President of Corporate Development & Investor Relations, via email at [email protected] or Kara K. Peak, Director of Corporate Development & Investor Relations, via email at [email protected]. To request investor materials, contact Nabors' corporate headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda at +1 441-292-1510 or via email at [email protected].

Related Links

www.nabors.com

SOURCE Nabors Industries Ltd.
New nine-day summer program places students inside NASA's astronaut training and mission development environment through hands-on engineering simulations.

CHICAGO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC), the leading provider of immersive pre-college experiences for high school students, has announced the launch of a new Engineering program at NASA's Space Center Houston. Beginning Summer 2026, students will explore engineering and aerospace through mission-based simulations grounded in real NASA-inspired challenges, with multiple days of instruction taking place inside NASA's state-of-the-art development facilities.

The nine-day residential program, housed at Rice University in Houston, TX, immerses students in the engineering disciplines driving modern space exploration. Through hands-on simulations and team-based design challenges, students will design and test rockets, develop thermal protection systems, and explore structural systems through bridge and truss design. They will also explore robotics and rover programming, cryogenic engineering concepts, and design lunar or Mars habitats that address life support, sustainability, and mission constraints.

NSLC launches high school Engineering program at Space Center Houston featuring mission-based simulations. Post this

"Learning within NASA gives students a level of access and perspective that's impossible to replicate anywhere else," said Kristina Duffy Hochman, Executive Director of NSLC. "Being surrounded by the systems, technology, and people shaping modern space exploration brings that experience into focus in a way a classroom alone cannot."

Students will gain behind-the-scenes access to NASA Johnson Space Center, including Historic Mission Control, the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, and the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility astronaut training centers, along with trips to Rice University's George R. Brown School of Engineering and Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen.

The program curriculum integrates technical instruction with leadership development, including lectures on social robotics, assistive technology, and pathways into engineering careers. Students also participate in workshops focused on communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, and resilience, reinforcing the skills needed to succeed in both academic and professional environments.

NSLC's Engineering at Space Center Houston will run two Summer 2026 sessions, June 11 - June 19 and June 23 - July 1, with students residing in supervised campus housing at Rice University. Tuition includes housing, meals, academic materials, site visits, and transportation to all program activities.

Applications are now open at www.nslcleaders.org. Early application is encouraged.

About National Student Leadership Conference

National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) is an immersive academic summer experience for middle and high school students to explore their interests, discover their passions, and cultivate their leadership skills. Founded in 1989 and dedicated to empowering and inspiring the next generation of leaders, NSLC brings thousands of students together each summer for 6- to 12-day programs that offer hands-on, experiential learning across a wide range of professional disciplines. Programs span fields including medicine, business, government, engineering, and the arts. Visit www.nslcleaders.org for more information about this summer's full program catalog.

SOURCE National Student Leadership Conference
LANGHORNE, Pa., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Perspecta announced today that the company will attend RISKWORLD 2026, hosted by the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), taking place May 3-6 in Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia for RISKWORLD, Perspecta will also sponsor a May 3 event hosted by the Alliance of Women in Workers' Compensation, held at the historic Union League of Philadelphia.

As the risk management community gathers for one of the industry's largest annual conferences, Perspecta leaders April Stiles, Mark Mozley, Marc Shelgren, Jessica McCarthy, and Erin Finn will be on site to connect with customers, partners, and industry peers. Workers' compensation claims cost U.S. employers more than $171 billion annually in medical expenses, lost productivity, and administrative overhead. Engaging with Perspecta helps organizations mitigate future risk and control these costs with industry-leading provider data management solutions that improve network accuracy, operational efficiency, and overall claims outcomes.

Perspecta will attend RISKWORLD 2026 and sponsor the Alliance of Women in Workers' Compensation event in Philadelphia. Post this

Trusted by more than 80% of the workers' compensation market, including the top 10 carriers and TPAs, Perspecta supports nearly 51 million users every year, delivering:

648M+ care journeys

630M+ provider records hosted

95%+ data accuracy rating

Erin Finn, Vice President of Sales, will be a panelist at the Alliance of Women in Workers' Compensation event, "The Power to Lead, the Strength to Thrive", that features a discussion focused on leadership, resilience, and supporting professionals navigating challenges across their careers. The Alliance event brings together women from across the workers' compensation and risk management community for an afternoon of networking, conversation, and inspiration. Hosted by the Union League of Philadelphia, the gathering highlights the progress of women in the industry and the importance of mentorship, support systems, and inclusive leadership.

"RISKWORLD brings together the current thought leadership as well as the future of risk and workers' compensation," said April Stiles, CEO of Perspecta. "We're proud to support the Alliance of Women in Workers' Compensation and to participate in conversations that strengthen our industry and the people who drive it forward."

About Perspecta

Perspecta is reimagining provider data management. Through deep domain expertise and a commitment to innovation, we deliver intelligent solutions that improve efficiency, enhance experiences, and power better decision-making. Trusted by health plans, workers' compensation, and provider organizations, our 95%+ data accuracy helps navigate complexity and optimize care. At Perspecta, we turn precision data into powerful perspectives and proven success. To learn more about Perspecta, visit goperspecta.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact

Linda Thurman

[email protected]

SOURCE Perspecta
LAKE FOREST, Ill., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Prairie Hill Holdings, a real estate investment manager that invests in industrial, retail, and net lease properties announced a 17.41% net return to investors for 2025. This past year marks the fourth full year of performance reporting for Prairie Hill, and the Fund continues to post strong numbers. With a 12.3% average annual net return since inception, Prairie Hill has established itself as a leader in net lease real estate, and a standout in relation to other managers in private markets.

Prairie Hill recorded a major win in 2025 through the repositioning of one of its shopping centers. They transitioned the Fox River Shopping Center in Appleton, Wisconsin from having a craft store anchor (Joann Fabrics) to having a grocery anchor. The increase in value from transitioning to a grocery-anchor is tremendous for a shopping center. According to Placer.ai, unlike craft stores, which may see monthly visits, grocery stores drive 1-2 visits per week per household, and visitors are 34% more likely to visit other stores located in the shopping center compared with only 10% at non-grocery anchored centers.

"We were able to attract a national brand, because of the quality of the underlying real estate, and we invested with a long-term view, looking beyond any single tenant in the center. We also were bullish on Appleton's long-term growth before others were, making a bet on it back in 2022. In early 2026, Appleton ranked as one of the hottest residential housing markets in the United States, reflecting the strength of its underlying economy", according to Chief Investment Officer, Matthew Sandretto.

Strong performance over multiple years across Prairie Hill's portfolio, rested upon disciplined investing focused on long term value creation, and keeping fund and management expenses low. At a time when many managers in private markets have swelled larger, and drawn further away from the underlying investment assets themselves, Prairie Hill has done the opposite, integrating its operations, removing all unnecessary layers between the investor and the assets generating the income. "We conduct all critical investment and property operations internally, which keeps all functions in alignment and much more efficient. This integration saves on cost, but it also enhances accountability  we eat our own cooking, and have no one to blame but ourselves if a property in the portfolio is under-performing."

Looking ahead in 2026, Prairie Hill remains active making additional investments, with $20mn+ in net lease acquisitions planned and in process.

About Prairie Hill Holdings

Prairie Hill serves a wide range of investors from institutions to wealth management firms and individuals, and seeks to generate strong quarterly income and long-term returns from its net lease real estate portfolio. Learn more at www.prairie-hill.com.

Contact:

Investor Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE Prairie Hill Holdings
NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Prelude Growth Partners ("Prelude Growth"), a leading consumer-focused growth equity firm focused on high potential, fast-growing consumer brands, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its stake in So Good So You (the "Company"), a fast-growing, functional wellness brand best known for its category-leading refrigerated wellness shots, to Bansk Group. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.

So Good So You is today, the number one premium brand in the refrigerated functional wellness shot category. Since investing in the Company, as the only institutional investor, Prelude Growth has worked closely with the Co-Founders to build brand awareness, expand the product offering and drive growth through its retail partners, all while maintaining its deep commitment to sustainability, transparency, and its people.

"Prelude Growth has been an exceptional partner," said Eric Hall, Co-Founder and CEO, So Good So You. Rita Katona, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer, added. "As female entrepreneurs themselves, Prelude Growth really understood our vision. Their partnership approach and shared commitment to our vision was invaluable as we dramatically scaled our business. Following the many years of significant growth, we look forward to entering this next chapter with Bansk Group."

"It has been a privilege to support So Good So You to become the leader in its category," said Neda Daneshzadeh, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Prelude Growth. "Born from a clear mission to make wellness accessible and delicious to all, the Company today delivers exceptional, efficacious products to an ever-growing set of passionate consumers. We are proud to have played an integral role in the Company's growth story over the past several years and we look forward to seeing all they will accomplish."

Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisor and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP and Finn, Dixon & Herling LLP served as legal counsel to the sellers.

About Prelude Growth Partners

Prelude Growth Partners is a leading consumer-focused growth equity firm that supports brands made for the new modern consumer. By partnering with founders and CEOs, Prelude Growth Partners provides deep category experience, value-added operational support, and a broad network to power the high potential, fast-growing consumer brands of tomorrow. Prelude Growth Partners seeks to make investments of $15 million to $75 million in each company, across branded consumer categories including food & beverage, health & wellness, beauty & personal care, pet and other consumer product and service companies. Representative past and current partner investments include: Bachan's, Made Good, Perelel, Blueland, Skin Pharm, Summer Fridays, Naturium, Sol de Janeiro, Banza, Fly By Jing and Westman Atelier. For additional information on Prelude Growth Partners, please visit www.preludegrowth.com

About So Good So You

So Good So You is the #1 wellness shot brand, helping people support everyday health with deliciously powerful functional beverages. Founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota by husband and wife team Rita Katona and Eric Hall, the company blends organic cold-pressed fruits and vegetable juices with functional ingredients like probiotics, vitamins, and adaptogens to create bold, fruit-forward wellness shots made for real life. Built on the belief that wellness should be joyful and accessible, So Good So You focuses on simple ingredients, vibrant flavors, and real functional benefits. Each refrigerated shot is designed to support everyday needs like immunity, digestion, energy, and focus, making it easy to care for your body in one quick sip.

A proud B Corp, the company produces its shots in Minneapolis at its own certified zero-waste facility powered 100% by renewable energy, and operates with a commitment to supporting the health of both people and planet. A three-time Bain Insurgent Brand, So Good So You is one of the fastest growing brands in the functional beverage space, appearing on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies for six consecutive years. So Good So You is available at retailers nationwide, and recently launched a line of sparkling energy drinks nationally with Target

Media Contacts for Prelude Growth Partners

[email protected]

Related Links

http://www.preludegrowth.com

SOURCE Prelude Growth Partners
October 2027  January 2028 Season Features 6 Departures, Across 4 Itineraries

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Princess Cruises unveils its 202728 South America season aboard Majestic Princess, featuring overnight experiences in the Antarctic Peninsula, late-night port calls, and access to 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites across the region. On sale now, the October 2027 through January 2028 season includes six departures across four itineraries (15  37 days), designed to give guests more time ashore in marquee cities and closer-to-nature scenic cruising in Patagonia and beyond.

Princess Cruises Announces 202728 South America Season Aboard Majestic Princess: Explore 19 Destinations, 15 UNESCO Sites, and Antarctica

"Our 202728 South America season is designed to bring guests closer to the world's most breathtaking landscapes and vibrant cultures," said Jim Berra, Princess Cruises Chief Commercial Officer. "From the polar desert of Antarctica to the lively streets of Rio de Janeiro, Majestic Princess offers unforgettable experiences that combine adventure, enrichment, and our friendliest service at sea."

202728 South America Season Overview

The South America season begins October 2027 with an extraordinary 37-day South America Passage Grand Adventure departing from Southampton (London). The voyage crosses the Atlantic with stops at Lisbon, Canary Islands, Rio de Janeiro, and Montevideo before concluding in San Antonio (Santiago). Following this, the 3,560-capacity Majestic Princess will offer:

15-day Cape Horn & Glaciers of Patagonia Voyages  Sailing between Buenos Aires, Argentina and San Antonio (Santiago), Chile

 Sailing between Buenos Aires, Argentina and San Antonio (Santiago), Chile 17-day Antarctica & South America Voyages  Roundtrip from Buenos Aires, including overnight experiences in the Antarctic Peninsula

 Roundtrip from Buenos Aires, including overnight experiences in the Antarctic Peninsula Plus, two unparalleled adventures through combined land-and-sea South America cruisetours Machu Picchu Explorer: 6-night land duration pre- or post-cruise visiting Lima, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu & Cusco, Peru Iguazu Falls Adventure: 5-night land duration pre or post cruise visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina, Iguazu Falls and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil



Season at a Glance:

6 departures across 4 unique itineraries (1537 days), sailing from October 2027 through January 2028 to Cape Horn & Glaciers of Patagonia, Antarctica & South America, and the South America Passage Grand Adventure

across (1537 days), sailing from October 2027 through January 2028 to Cape Horn & Glaciers of Patagonia, Antarctica & South America, and the South America Passage Grand Adventure 19 destinations in 8 countries , including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and more

, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and more 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites , including: Peninsula Valdes Patagonian Nature Reserve  Whale watching from Puerto Madryn Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea, Rio de Janeiro  Copacabana Beach & Christ the Redeemer

, including: Overnight stays in Buenos Aires on every sailing

Late-night port calls in Lisbon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, and Ushuaia

Destination Highlights

Guests sailing in South America and Antarctica will be fully immersed in the destinations they visit surrounded by the breathtaking scenery, native wildlife, and the traditions of the local people.

Scenic Cruising:

Princess Cruises continues to highlight one of its most dramatic experiences, scenic cruising through the Beagle Channel Fjords and Glacier Alley. Debuted in 202627, this experience offers breathtaking views of hanging and tidewater glaciers cascading from the Darwin Mountain Range, ideal for photography, storytelling, and exploration

Extended time in the Antarctic Peninsula with immersive wildlife viewing and glacier-filled landscapes

Wildlife:

Around 1 million penguins nest annually in the Falkland Islands (Stanley)

Whales, porpoises, leopard seals, sea birds, and other penguin species visible along Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley, and Antarctic waters

Landscapes:

Antarctica: Gerlache Strait, Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands

Brazil: Corcovado & Sugarloaf Mountains in Rio de Janeiro

Chile & Argentina: Beagle Channel Fjords, Glacier Alley, Tierra del Fuego, Cape Horn, Drake's Passage

Culture:

Dance and music: Samba in Brazil, Tango in Argentina & Uruguay

Culinary highlights: Brazilian caipirinhas, Argentine steaks, Chilean & Argentine wine

Landmarks: Christ the Redeemer (Rio), La Recoleta Cemetery (Buenos Aires)

Onboard Experiences

Further bringing the destination to life and connecting experiences ashore to the onboard offerings. While cruising the Antarctic Peninsula, onboard Naturalists guide guests to view the wildlife and vistas appearing along their journey, while also sharing the history of the region and stories of their own.

Destination-Specific Events:

Argentine folkloric music and regional cuisine

Carnival festival celebration with samba dancers and interactive classes

Enrichment Speakers:

Antarctic destination experts

Naturalists, historians, and storytellers

Shore Excursions

Princess' award-winning shore excursions offer exclusive and up-close-and-personal experiences to enhance time spent ashore.

Princess Exclusive:

Guest Favorites:

Falkland Islands (Stanley)

Punta Arenas

Buenos Aires

Ushuaia

Book a 202728 South America Adventure Today

Majestic Princess' South America 2027-28 season combines epic landscapes, rich cultural experiences, and world-class amenities - all in one extraordinary journey.

Additional details are available through a professional travel advisor by calling 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237), or by visiting the company's website at princess.com.

About Princess Cruises:

Princess Cruises is The Love Boat, the world's most iconic cruise brand that delivers dream vacations to millions of guests every year in the most sought-after destinations on the largest ships that offer elite service personalization and simplicity customary of small, yacht-class ships. Well-appointed staterooms, world class dining, grand performances, award-winning casinos and entertainment, luxurious spas, imaginative experiences and boundless activities blend with exclusive Princess MedallionClass service to create meaningful connections and unforgettable moments in the most incredible settings in the world - the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand, the South Pacific, Hawaii, Asia, Canada/New England, Antarctica, and World Cruises. Star Princess, the brand's newest and most innovative ship, launched October 2025, and sister ship to Sun Princess, named Conde Nast Traveler Mega Ship of the Year for a second consecutive year. The company is part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL; NYSE:CUK).

SOURCE Princess Cruises
#PaintItPink Festival showcases top local artists, with winning works earning a permanent home in visionary new residential tower

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Valor Real Estate Development hosted the free #PaintItPink Art Festival on Sunday, March 22, featuring live mural painting and a competitionspotlighting more than 20 local artiststo have their murals permanently featured inside the new Roche Bobois St. Pete Tower, set to open in 2029.

*** VIDEO & PHOTOS FROM THE #PaintItPink FESTIVAL FOR MEDIA USE AT THIS LINK ***

The #PaintItPink Art Festival featured live mural painting and a competition spotlighting more than 20 local artists on the future site of the Roche Bobois St. Pete Tower. Rendering of completed Roche Bobois St. Pete Tower in St. Petersburg, Florida. A collaboration by Valor Real Estate Development and renowned French design house Roche Bobois, the residential tower is set to open in 2029.

The festival, open to all, surrounded St. Petersburg, Florida's highly-talked-about block of pink buildings as the artists brought their ideas to life on the sides of the buildings. Five of the murals created during the weekend event will be selected for permanent, full-scale art projects in the tower. One of the winners, the People's Choice, will be chosen by votes from visitors at the event.

As artists created their concepts, more than 200 neighbors and families gathered to watch the artwork evolve, enjoying food trucks, a cotton candy station, a pink t-shirt giveaway, music, and dancing. Fitting with the celebration of murals and street art, festivalgoers were treated to a skateboard showcasean exhibition where the skateboard mirrored the fluid, sweeping strokes of a paintbrush across the urban canvas.

Valor Real Estate Development's viral #PaintItPink showcase became the buzz of the Tampa Bay area after all six buildings on the block at 4th Street S & 4th Avenue S in St. Petersburg were painted brilliant shades of pink and adorned with murals from local artists. This unprecedented artistic display is the next iteration of the large-scale temporary public art exhibitions put on by Valor to celebrate the vibrant St. Pete art culture.

The event, presented by Overspray Art Space, Valor Real Estate Development, and SERHANT. New Development featured artists like Kris Markovich, Esh, SIO, Dreamweaver, Vitale Bros., Zulu, Arturo Romero, Derek Donnelly and Sean Ollis, Freeman, Doodles by Lu, Quinnsessential, Merritt Horan, Whitney Holburn and more.

Voting will remain open until April 12th. To vote, visit https://rocheboboistower.com/paint-it-pink

"Art isn't just for museums and galleries. It belongs everywherein private homes, in public spaces, and in festivals like this," said Johnny Vitale of Vitale Bros., the veteran Tampa Bay mural artist who organized the event's artistic elements. "Street art was born to be temporary, but we love that some of these masterpieces will live on in a new way in this new project." Competing artists were paid for their work and materials this weekend and will continue to be compensated during future projects.

"This continuing initiative to collaborate and invest in local art is rooted in a simple belief: that it takes real valor to create, to share, and to put your work into the world. And through that courage, art helps shape the next generation of artistsand the future of cities they live in," said Moises Agami, Valor Real Estate Development CEO.

"We have 29 stories and 164 residences in Roche Bobois St Pete Tower, and they should be full of local art. Our hope since the beginning has been to make it the most artistic development project in Floridaif not the countryand help kickstart a new wave of collaborative opportunities that gives rise to a new surge of support for the creative community here in St. Pete," Agami said.

For more information about the Roche Bobois St. Pete Tower, visit the Sales Gallery at 106 Central Ave, Suite C, St. Petersburg, FL or visit buystpetetower.com.

About Valor Real Estate Development

Valor Real Estate Development brings more than four decades of experience developing iconic luxury. With over six billion in completed developments worldwide and over 15 million square feet of luxury residences, Valor developments are distinguished by partnerships with the world's most respected luxury brands and designers. We believe exceptional living requires exceptional collaborators. This is luxury redefined with a lifestyle ecosystem designed for those who understand exceptional living requires exceptional vision.

SOURCE Valor Real Estate Development
Event will be held December 8  10 at Marriott Marquis Chicago and McCormick Place

PALO ALTO, Calif. and CHICAGO , March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Two of the world's leading quantum technology conferences will join forces in Chicago this year as the Q2B26 x Chicago Quantum Summit, hosted by QC Ware and the Chicago Quantum Exchange.

The event, to be held December 8  10 at the Marriott Marquis Chicago and McCormick Place, combines Q2B's quantum business, practical application, and investor strength with the Chicago Quantum Summit's integrated focus on research, scale-up, and economic development, offering opportunities for participants to engage with thought leaders, explore partnerships, and build skills across the full discovery-to-deployment spectrum.

"After building Q2B into the pre-eminent quantum conference in Silicon Valley, we wanted to explore a new partnership and location for the US edition of Q2B. Chicago was obvious choice," said Matt Johnson, the co-founder and CEO of QC Ware, a leading software and development firm that launched Q2B in Mountain View, California, in 2017. "The region's local stakeholders are deeply committed to building a Midwest quantum hub and bringing together global leaders in the sector. All of that is supported by the unparalleled research and innovation ecosystem."

The partnership reflects both the growing strength of the Quantum Prairie, a globally recognized quantum hub that spans Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, and the evolution of the fast-growing quantum sector, which is on the cusp of commercial utility.

"At this pivotal time in our sector's development, it is more important than ever to foster the collaboration that will drive our sector toward real-world impact," said David Awschalom, the University of Chicago's Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and Physics and the founding director of the CQE, an intellectual hub that advances the science and engineering of quantum information, prepares the quantum workforce, and drives the quantum economy in collaboration with leading universities, national labs, and industry partners. "This partnership is an opportunity to further integrate the full spectrum of elements that will shape the sector's growth, from cutting-edge breakthroughs, startup support, and supply chain security to workforce development, investment strategies, and policymaking. By thinking and working comprehensively, we create an efficient path to a revolutionary quantum future."

Q2B x Chicago Quantum Summit will feature three days of intense networking, cutting-edge discussions, exclusive announcements about products and initiatives, and hands-on demonstrations from the forefront of the quantum industry and academic research. Attendees will hear from thought leaders across government, academia, and Fortune 500 corporations who are shaping the quantum future and building the roadmap to quantum value.

The CQE, which launched the Summit in 2018, is based at the University of Chicago and anchored by the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of WisconsinMadison, Northwestern University, and Purdue University and includes nearly 70 corporate, nonprofit, international, and regional partners.

Learn more on the Chicago Quantum Exchange page https://chicagoquantum.org/ and on the Q2B website https://q2b.qcware.com/.

For media inquiry: [email protected]

SOURCE QC Ware Corp.
Industry veteran joins board as company accelerates efforts to expand access to justice through technology

SALT LAKE CITY, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rasa Legal, a mission-driven legal technology company making it simple and affordable for eligible people to clear their criminal records, today announced that Frank Monestere has joined its Board of Directors.

Monestere previously served as President and COO of LegalZoom, where he helped scale the company's legal services platform into a national leader serving millions of customers. At Rasa Legal, he will advise on scaling operations and technology as the company expands nationwide.

Founded by attorney and access-to-justice advocate Noella Sudbury, Rasa Legal has helped more than 26,000 people learn what is on their criminal record and determine eligibility for sealing and expungement under state law. To date, over 5,000 records have been successfully cleared since the platform launched in late 2022.

"Rasa Legal is a true access to justice company, addressing one of the most overlooked barriers to economic opportunity in America," said Monestere. "What impressed me most is how thoughtfully the company is using technology to simplify a complex legal process. I'm excited to help scale this model nationally while ensuring operational efficiency."

"Frank helped build one of the most recognizable and scalable legal services companies in the country," said Sudbury. "His experience navigating rapid growth will be invaluable as we expand Rasa's platform and impact across America."

Monestere joins a growing group of Rasa Legal team members who previously held leadership roles at LegalZoom, including Athens McLaughlin III, who served as Senior Director of Sales, Cheyenne Gabourel-Moseley, former Director of Operations for LegalZoom Legal Services, and Chase Hertel, a Principal on the company's Attorney Services team.

1 in 3 Americans have criminal records, which can create barriers to employment, housing, and education, even when individuals are legally eligible for clearance. Rasa's platform leverages technology to make the process faster, simpler, and more affordable, enabling more people to leave their past behind and build a new life.

About Rasa Legal

Rasa Legal is a mission-driven legal technology company dedicated to making the process of clearing a criminal record simple and affordable for everyone. Through innovative tools and a streamlined legal process, Rasa's lawyers provide criminal record sealing and expungement services in Pennsylvania, Utah, and Arizona. For more information, or to check eligibility, visit rasa-legal.com.

SOURCE Rasa Legal
NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --

Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Lufax Holding Ltd (NYSE: LU) resulting from allegations that Lufax may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

So What: If you purchased Lufax securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

What to do next: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=53703 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

What is this about: On January 27, 2025, Lufax filed with the Securities and Exhange Commission a current report on Form 6-K. Attached to the current report as an exhibit was an announcement which stated that Lufax's board had proposed to remove Lufax's auditors, and that there was a possible delay in the publication of Lufax's 2024 annual report (which in fact did occur).

On this news, Lufax American Depositary Shares' ("ADSs") fell 13.8% on January 27, 2025.

Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved, at that time, the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. At the time Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A.
Winning firms have proven their commitment to equity and advancement for their female-identifying employees.

ORANGE, Calif., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Roth Staffing Companies, a leading staffing firm, announced today that they have qualified for the 2026 Best Staffing Firms for Women list for providing an exceptional experience for the women in their company. ClearlyRated's Best Staffing Firms for Women winners have proven to be industry leaders in gender equity and advancement. To qualify for inclusion on the Best Staffing Firms for Women list, a firm must invite feedback from 100% of their internal staff on the overall experience of working at the firm. Further, women must comprise at least 47% of the workforce, rate the firm highly, and be highly represented in leadership roles.

Roth Staffing coworkers meet up to volunteer at a local food bank, helping to fulfill the company Promise, "To make life better for the people we serve."

Fewer than 0.1% of staffing firms in the United States and Canada qualified to earn the Best Staffing Firms for Women designation, making this a prestigious recognition for staffing firms seeking to hire and retain top internal talent.

"At Roth Staffing, we believe that creating opportunities for women to lead, grow, and shape the future of our organization is not just the right thing to do  it's essential to who we are," said Pam Sexauer, President of Roth Staffing Companies. "Being named to the Best Staffing Firms for Women list is a truly meaningful honor because it reflects the experiences of our own talented coworkers. I'm incredibly proud of the inclusive culture we've built together and remain committed to ensuring everyone at Roth Staffing has the support and resources they need to thrive."

"I'm proud to recognize the companies honored on this year's Best Staffing Firms for Women list," said Baker Nanduru, CEO of ClearlyRated. "During Women's History Month, it's especially meaningful to spotlight organizations that are actively investing in the success and advancement of women in the workplace. While the industry continues to navigate challenges such as pay equity and leadership representation, these firms are setting a powerful example by creating supportive environments where women can thrive and grow. Congratulations to each of these organizations, and thank you for your continued dedication to building a more equitable future for the workforce."

About Roth Staffing Companies

Roth Staffing Companies is one of the largest privately held staffing firms in the United States, operating from more than 100 markets across the United States. Roth Staffing consists of five specialized business lines: Ultimate Staffing Services for administrative and office positions, Ledgent Finance & Accounting, Ledgent Technology, Adams & Martin Group for legal staffing, and About Talent for workforce solutions.

About ClearlyRated

ClearlyRated administers more staffing agency and talent satisfaction surveys than any other firm in the world, reporting on more than 1.2 million satisfaction surveys from staffing agency clients, job seekers, and internal staff each year. ClearlyRated's online survey platform helps firms utilize the Net Promoter Score methodology to gain deep insights, identify strengths and weaknesses, fuel data-driven action, build reputation and future-proof their organizations with third-party validation.

About Best of Staffing

ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients, placed talent, and internal employees. Award winners are showcased by city and area of expertise on ClearlyRated.coman online business directory that helps buyers of professional services find service leaders and vet prospective firms with the help of validated client ratings and testimonials.

Net promoter, NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld.

SOURCE Roth Staffing Companies
Unifies PAM, EPM, IGA, CIEM, NHI, and AI Agent Security in a single package to protect human, machine, and AI identities

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Securden, Inc. today announced the launch of the Securden Unified Identity Security Platform, the world's first truly unified solution designed to secure the complete spectrum of modern identitieshuman, machine, and AIwithin a single, integrated platform. The company is showcasing the platform at RSA Conference 2026 in San Francisco at Booth S-0499.

Bala Venkatramani, CEO, Securden, Inc.

Managing identities in enterprises is increasingly complex. Teams must secure privileged accounts (PAM), enforce endpoint least privilege (EPM), govern user access (IGA), control cloud entitlements (CIEM), and address AI-driven identitiesoften through disconnected tools. This fragmentation creates operational overhead, security gaps, and blind spots that leave organizations exposed. Securden addresses these challenges by unifying all identity security controls in a single platform, giving teams centralized visibility, consistent policy enforcement, and simplified management across human, machine, and AI identities.

"Identity is now the central control plane for enterprise security, yet traditional tools have been fragmented, complex, and slow," said Bala Venkatramani, Co-founder and CEO of Securden. "The Securden Unified Identity Security Platform has been designed to change that. By reimagining PAM as a low-friction, unified control plane and extending it across EPM, IGA, CIEM, NHI, and AI-driven identities, we empower organizations with a radically simpler, more powerful, and truly unified approach to securing every identity. This isn't just consolidationit's a fundamental shift toward modern identity security."

The First Truly Unified Platform

Securden integrates all essential identity security capabilities within a single platform:

Privileged Access Management (PAM): Discover, secure and monitor privileged accounts, sessions across IT infrastructure

Discover, secure and monitor privileged accounts, sessions across IT infrastructure Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM): Eliminate standing administrative rights, enforce granular application controls on endpoints

Eliminate standing administrative rights, enforce granular application controls on endpoints Identity Governance and Administration (IGA): Automate identity lifecycle management, access reviews, and compliance

Automate identity lifecycle management, access reviews, and compliance Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM): Gain visibility and control over cloud permissions, entitlements

Gain visibility and control over cloud permissions, entitlements AI Agent Security: Govern and secure AI-driven identities and autonomous agents

Govern and secure AI-driven identities and autonomous agents Secure Remote Assist: Deliver secure, audited remote IT support with just-in-time elevation

Deliver secure, audited remote IT support with just-in-time elevation Vendor Access Management (Remote PAM): Provide secure, controlled access for third-parties without exposing critical systems

Provide secure, controlled access for third-parties without exposing critical systems Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR): Enable users to securely reset passwords, unlock accounts, reducing IT helpdesk workload

Enable users to securely reset passwords, unlock accounts, reducing IT helpdesk workload DevOps Secrets Management: Protect and manage secrets used in DevOps pipelines, automation workflows

Protect and manage secrets used in DevOps pipelines, automation workflows Non-Human Identity (NHI) Security: Discover, manage, and secure machine identities, including applications, services, scripts

A Modern Alternative to Legacy PAM

Securden re-architects PAM/Identity Security as a low-friction, unified platform, rather than a collection of siloed tools. Unlike legacy solutions that are difficult to deploy, integrate, and operate, Securden delivers:

Reduced architectural complexity: Eliminates the need for multiple servers, agents, and integrations

Eliminates the need for multiple servers, agents, and integrations Low-friction deployment: Rapid implementation with minimal disruption to existing environments

Rapid implementation with minimal disruption to existing environments Superior usability: Intuitive workflows ensuring adoption across teams

Intuitive workflows ensuring adoption across teams Unified control plane: Centralized visibility and policy enforcement

Centralized visibility and policy enforcement Converged capabilities: PAM, EPM, IGA, vendor access, remote support, and secrets management working seamlessly together

Securden enables stronger security without the operational overhead of traditional PAM tools.

Built for the Modern Identity Ecosystem

The platform is purpose-built to address today's rapidly evolving identity landscape:

Human identities: Employees, contractors, and partners

Employees, contractors, and partners Machine identities: Applications, scripts, and services

Applications, scripts, and services AI identities: Autonomous agents and intelligent systems

By unifying identity security across these categories, Securden delivers consistent policy enforcement, centralized visibility, and reduced attack surface.

Eliminating Complexity, Delivering Value

Securden offers:

A single, value-packed platform replacing multiple point solutions

replacing multiple point solutions Unified visibility and control across all identities and environments

across all identities and environments Simplified deployment with faster time-to-value

with faster time-to-value Stronger security posture with reduced risk and improved compliance

No fragmented tools. No complexity. Just one unified platform.

Live at RSA Conference 2026

Securden is demonstrating the Unified Identity Security Platform live at RSA Conference 2026 in San Francisco at Booth S-0499.

About Securden

Securden is a trusted identity security provider helping organizations worldwide secure privileged, human, machine, and AI identities across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. With enterprise deployments globally across verticals, Securden delivers solutions that are secure, compliant, and easy to manage, enabling businesses to reduce risk, maintain regulatory compliance, and unify identity security without complexity. www.securden.com

MEDIA CONTACT

James Gordon

james@securden.com

SOURCE Securden, Inc.
Proprietary AI underwriting platform delivers pricing in minutes for the data centers, energy assets, and critical infrastructure projects driving the next era of American industry

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Shepherd, the AI-native commercial insurance platform, today announced a $42 million Series B round led by Intact Private Capital, with participation from Spark Capital, Costanoa Ventures and additional investors. The raise brings Shepherd's total funding to $67 million.

Shepherd Co-Founders Justin Levine (CEO, left) and Mo Mahallawy (CTO, right)

Shepherd has grown revenue more than 7x over the past 24 months, insuring over $400 billion in project value across more than 1,500 policies for 600+ customers  including the physical infrastructure behind the most recognized names in AI. The company's clients include the leading AI labs, chip manufacturers, hyperscalers, general contractors, specialty builders, and energy developers constructing the facilities that form the physical foundation of the AI economy.

The AI boom has a physical layer, and it needs a new kind of insurance provider.

The race to build AI infrastructure is accelerating. Hyperscalers, chip manufacturers, and frontier AI labs are collectively deploying hundreds of billions of dollars into data center construction, power generation, and renewable energy projects. Every one of those projects has to be built and insured.

But the traditional carrier model was not designed for this speed. Complex commercial construction projects, the kind driving the AI buildout, routinely wait weeks for a single quote. Brokers chase carriers through calls, emails, and resubmissions. Legacy carriers are compiling their analysis through multiple disconnected and outdated systems, leading to longer wait times and inconsistent underwriting outcomes.

Shepherd was built to solve this. Their AI performs the same workflows in seconds, reducing underwriting feedback from weeks to hours. The platform also integrates real-time data from construction technology partners  Procore, Autodesk, OpenSpace, DroneDeploy, Samsara and others  directly into underwriting, pricing risk in a fraction of the time compared to traditional carriers. Where a typical carrier relies on a static application, Shepherd sees the project as it actually is being delivered: incident tracking, quality inspection rates, document management, and jobsite conditions updated continuously. With these partnerships, data, and AI platform, Shepherd can offer differentiated pricing for insureds through their unique Shepherd Savings program.

Shepherd insures the physical infrastructure for leading AI and technology companies building frontier data centers, semiconductor facilities, and energy assets. They chose Shepherd not because other carriers could not cover them  AI infrastructure is a competitive market  but because Shepherd delivers faster, more precise underwriting with less friction than anyone else in the market.

"The AI race moved from the cloud to the construction site," said Justin Levine, CEO and Co-Founder of Shepherd. "Every GPU cluster needs a building. Every building needs to be constructed. Every data center requires dedicated power. And the insurance market that is supposed to keep those projects moving has been operating the same way for decades. We built Shepherd because we believed the old approach to commercial underwriting needed to change fundamentally  not just get faster, but get smarter. That is why the biggest names in AI infrastructure are choosing us."

Behavior-Based Pricing: Telematics for Commercial Insurance

Shepherd's proprietary Shepherd Savings program represents a paradigm shift in how commercial risk is priced. Like telematics in auto insurance, where real driving behavior replaces demographic proxies, Shepherd Savings uses actual construction technology adoption and jobsite data to reward builders who invest in safety and operational excellence.

Contractors who use platforms from Shepherd partners like Procore, Autodesk, OpenSpace, or DroneDeploy receive differentiated pricing at enrollment, with pricing that improves further at renewal as a full year of usage data demonstrates a more precise risk profile. The program creates a direct feedback loop: invest in better construction practices, generate data that proves it, and receive pricing that reflects it.

"We believe the future of commercial insurance is behavior-based," said Levine. "The contractors who invest in technology to build safer and smarter should be rewarded for it, not priced the same as everyone else."

Building Toward Autonomous Underwriting

Shepherd is pursuing what the company describes as the most ambitious technical vision in commercial insurance: fully autonomous underwriting. The company has charted the path from manual underwriting to a future where AI handles the complete workflow and underwriters act as orchestrators rather than data-entry technicians.

"We mapped the same autonomy trajectory that transformed self-driving vehicles and applied it to underwriting," said Mo Mahallawy, CTO and Co-Founder of Shepherd. "Today, an underwriter manually processes about 20 accounts a month and wastes significant time on submissions that are outside their appetite. In our model, an underwriter will oversee 200. AI handles intake, data enrichment, risk analysis, and pricing. The underwriter sets strategy, manages exceptions, and focuses on the accounts that matter most."

Shepherd is on a two-year path toward supervised autonomy where underwriters become portfolio orchestrators rather than processors, achieving a 10x increase in capacity.

"We are closing in on the first fully agentic submission in commercial insurance," said Mahallawy. "Email in, price out. No human intervention until the last mile. No other commercial carrier can make that claim. A year from now, commercial underwriting will be unrecognizable."

Why Intact Led

The round was led by Intact Private Capital, the investment arm of Intact, one of the largest insurers in the world. Intact is not only Shepherd's lead investor for this new financing but also a carrier partner, providing new expanded capacity alongside Shepherd's existing carrier relationships.

"At Intact Private Capital, we've seen every wave of insurtech. What Shepherd's building is generational  it's going to fully reshape the industry." said Justin Smith-Lorenzetti, Managing Director at Intact Private Capital. "Their AI-native approach to processing and segmenting commercial risk is unlike anything else we've seen in the industry. Justin, Mo, and the world-class team at Shepherd drove our conviction not just to lead this round but also to support Shepherd as a long-term capacity partner. "

Mark Selcow, General Partner at Costanoa added, "Shepherd has built an approach to commercial insurance that uses real operational data to assess risk in ways legacy carriers simply can't. That platform has enabled the company to scale rapidly, expand into new industrial verticals like Renewable Energy, and grow sevenfold without compromising underwriting discipline. Shepherd is proving that better data leads to better outcomes for builders and brokers."

Platform and Product Expansion

Shepherd currently offers commercial property and casualty insurance  including general liability and commercial auto  for construction and infrastructure projects, with a growing renewable energy and power vertical. The company announced its expansion into renewable energy and power earlier this year, on the heels of its expansion into Builder's Risk in April of 2025.

The platform operates as a managing general underwriter (MGU), partnering with large scale carriers to provide top-rated coverage while retaining underwriting authority in house. The Shepherd platform integrates directly with construction technology ecosystem partners like Procore, Autodesk, OpenSpace, DroneDeploy, and Samsara to ingest real-time project data that informs underwriting decisions.

By the numbers:

$42M Series B led by Intact Private Capital

Series B led by Intact Private Capital $67M total funding raised

total funding raised 7x revenue growth in 24 months

revenue growth in 24 months 600+ customers across commercial construction and infrastructure

customers across commercial construction and infrastructure 1,500+ policies issued

policies issued $400B+ in insured project value

About Shepherd

Shepherd is an AI-native insurance technology platform making risk frictionless for the builders and operators shaping the physical world. The company combines proprietary AI underwriting technology, real-time construction data integrations, and deep industry expertise to deliver commercial insurance with speed, precision, and intelligence. Shepherd insures construction, infrastructure, and energy projects for companies ranging from mid-market general contractors to the firms building frontier AI infrastructure. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices nationwide. For more information about Shepherd, visit www.shepherdinsurance.com.

About Intact Private Capital

Intact Private Capital provides long-term capital in dedicated partnership with generational founders. We are backed by Intact Financial Corporation, a global provider of property and casualty insurance with operations across North America, the UK and Europe. We exist to keep Intact at the forefront of our industry and to support founders through their entire journey via our venture and strategic growth capital strategies. For more information, please visit www.ipcap.com.

About Costanoa

Costanoa exists to elevate founders building companies of consequence. We lead investments from formation through Series A in Applied AI, AI Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, National Security, and Fintech. With $2.5B AUM, we're boutique by designmaking fewer investments to deliver deeper expertise and operational support when it matters most: the early, defining stages of growth. We have been recognized as one of America's Top Venture Capital Firms by TIME and named to a top 4 Seed-Stage firm on Inc.'s Founder-Friendly Investors list. For more information, please visit www.costanoa.vc.

Media contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Shepherd
Nation's largest donut and kolache brand serves up bite-sized snacks with new Rowdy Ranch sauce for limited time only

HOUSTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Shipley Donuts, the nation's largest brand of fresh, handmade daily donuts and kolaches, is giving snackers something to dip into with the introduction of new Kolache Dippers with Rowdy Ranch sauce, available for a limited time only.

Kolache Dippers are handmade, mini versions of Shipley's fan-favorite sausage kolache. They pair perfectly with Shipley's first-ever kolache dipping sauce, Rowdy Ranch, which blends cool, creamy ranch with bold spices and a splash of heat to deliver tangy, zesty flavor with a smooth, mild-to-medium kick.

Shipley Donuts adds Kolache Dippers and First-Ever Dipping Sauce to Menu for Limited-Time Only

Beginning March 26, loyalty members can be the first to try the bite-sized new menu item, which comes six to an order with a side of Rowdy Ranch for just $4.99. Kolache Dippers will be available to everyone starting March 27.

"Kolache Dippers are a great way for kolache fans to enjoy a new take on a Shipley classic, while also introducing our famous kolaches to a broader audience as we expand the Shipley brand nationally," said Shipley Chief Marketing Officer Bill Leibengood. "The bite-sized format makes them enjoyable for all guests, whether they are first-time kolache snackers or lifelong fans, and the Rowdy Ranch adds another layer of flavor with a bold twist on America's favorite sauce."

The limited-time menu item taps directly into two of the biggest current dining trends. With bite-sized snacks and mini meals going mainstream, consumers are seeking protein-forward bites and bold flavor across every daypart. Dipping sauces are also having their moment, and ranch sauces are a dominant player, preferred by 75% of consumers who say they like or love that ranch taste.

Kolaches have deep roots in Texas culture. Czech settlers brought the sweet, open-faced, fruit- or cheese-filled pastries to Texas in the mid-to-late 1800s, and Texas bakers added their own twist by introducing savory fillings like sausage, cheese and jalapenos.

Today, most Texans use the term kolache for sweet or savory varieties, though many still love to argue this point. Shipley's version, added to the menu in 1995 and fresh-made with light, fluffy yeast dough, is now widely recognized as a standard. In 2024, the brand expanded its kolache line to include popular Egg & Cheese Kolaches.

The new Kolache Dippers with Rowdy Ranch are available in-shop and for pickup or delivery. Guests can order at shipleydonuts.olo.com and sign up for Shipley Rewards at shipleydonuts.com/rewards to unlock exclusive offers.

ABOUT SHIPLEY DONUTS

Founded in 1936, Houston-based Shipley Donuts is the nation's largest brand of handmade fresh daily donuts and kolaches, with more than 390 franchised and company-owned restaurants across 13 states, serving up its famous donuts, coffee and kolaches to generations of guests. Shipley is ranked No. 134 on Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 2026 list and No. 1 in its category and is No. 147 on the Technomic 2025 Top 500. For franchising information, visit ownashipleydonuts.com. Follow Shipley on Instagram and Facebook @ShipleyDonuts and sign up for Shipley Rewards at shipleydonuts.com/rewards to unlock free donuts, discounted coffee, exclusive merchandise and more.

Media Contact:

Ashley Lennington, SPM Communications

[email protected]

214-379-7000

SOURCE Shipley Do-Nuts
A securities fraud class action has been filed against NuScale executives alleging misrepresentations about ENTRA1 leading to a 12.4% stock plunge.

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) and certain of the Company's senior executives for securities fraud after a significant stock drop resulting from the potential violations of the federal securities laws.

If you invested in NuScale, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/nuscale-class-action-lawsuit.

Key Details of the NuScale ($SMR) Class Action:

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 20, 2026

April 20, 2026 Alleged Misconduct: Misrepresenting the experience and capabilities of ENTRA1 and its role in developing and commercializing NuScale's nuclear power modules

Misrepresenting the experience and capabilities of ENTRA1 and its role in developing and commercializing NuScale's nuclear power modules Largest Alleged Stock Decline: November 10, 2025  12.4% Stock Drop

November 10, 2025  12.4% Stock Drop Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon Action: Contact BFA Law to discuss your rights

Investors have until April 20, 2026 to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in NuScale Class A common stock. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and is captioned Truedson v. NuScale Power Corporation, et al., No. 3:26-cv-00328.

Why is NuScale Being Sued for Securities Fraud?

NuScale is a nuclear technology company. Its core technology is the NuScale Power Module ("NPM"), a small modular nuclear reactor ("SMR") designed to generate energy within a broader power plant. Prior to the start of the Class Period, NuScale established a partnership with ENTRA1 Energy LLC. Under this agreement, ENTRA1 was responsible for constructing power generation facilities incorporating NuScale's NPMs and managing the financing, development, and initial operations of the facilities utilizing the NPMs.

NuScale allegedly touted ENTRA1's purported wide-ranging capabilities and deep experience developing power plants. According to NuScale, ENTRA1 is an "independent power plant development platform," "led by an executive team of energy, infrastructure, and finance sector veterans," with the type of experience that is "exactly what is required" to commercialize and deploy NuScale's NPMs.

As alleged, in truth, ENTRA1 had never built, financed, or operated any significant project, let alone a project in the complex field of nuclear power generation. Moreover, in contrast to NuScale's representations, ENTRA1 had been organized primarily to support the work of one individual, its principal Wadie Habboush, an investor and entrepreneur.

Why did NuScale's Stock Drop?

On November 6, 2025, NuScale disclosed that its general and administrative expenses had increased from $17 million in the prior year period, to $519 million during 3Q 2025, due largely to NuScale's payment of $495 million to ENTRA1 for its services. Also on November 6, 2025, under pressure from investment analysts, NuScale acknowledged that ENTRA1 did not have any significant experience building nuclear power projects and admitted that ENTRA1 would not actually be "out there building the power plants" but would serve "to coordinate projects, to bring in partners, to get deals and the partners they bring in that can execute."

Following this news, analysts with Guggenheim Securities, LLC published a report stating that ENTRA1 is a "3-year old company that has never built, financed or operated anything" and had just "3 employees and 1 investor," and stated a "more accurate description of ENTRA1 would be that it is an entity supporting the activities of a single individual, specifically Mr. Habboush." This news caused the price of NuScale stock to drop $4.03 per share over two trading days, or more than 12.4%, from a closing price of $32.46 per share on November 6, 2025, to $28.43 per share on November 10, 2025.

Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/nuscale-class-action-lawsuit.

What Can You Do?

If you invested in NuScale, you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis; there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.

Submit your information by visiting:

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/nuscale-class-action-lawsuit

Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?

BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named "Elite Trial Lawyers" by the National Law Journal, "Litigation Stars" by Benchmark Litigation, among the top "500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers" by Lawdragon, "Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar" by Law360 and "SuperLawyers" by Thomson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.

For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/nuscale-class-action-lawsuit

Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

SOURCE Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP
Driving Customer Service and Marketing Success with Sobot's WhatsApp Solution

SINGAPORE, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sobot attended Meta Partner Summit 2026 and won the "2025 Partner Recognition Award". During the summit, Sobot shared its business practices on Meta products like WhatsApp and Messenger, and explored new directions for collaboration with Meta.

Sobot-Meta Collaboration Drives WhatsApp Customer Engagement Across the Entire Journey

Sobot attended Meta Partner Summit 2026 and won the 2025 Partner Recognition Award

At the core of Sobot's collaboration with Meta is WhatsApp, a flagship product of Meta. With over 3 billion monthly active users worldwide, WhatsApp has become a mainstream messaging platform for daily communications across the globe.

Leveraging its mature products, advanced technologies and global customer base, Sobot has become an official WhatsApp BSP (Business Solution Provider) authorized by Meta. And 3 key features set Sobot apart from other BSPs.

Ensuring Customer Support and Marketing at Scale on a United Platform

One of the key reasons behind Sobot winning the "Partner Recognition Award" lies in its comprehensive WhatsApp customer contact solution. It supports businesses to manage both marketing and customer service interactions on the platform.

Sobot assists companies in registering WhatsApp Business Accounts, enabling them to send bulk messages for various business scenarios while ensuring compliance and stability. These include marketing messages for promotional campaigns, recommendations and event invitations, utility messages like delivery notifications and appointment reminders, as well as authentication messages like OTP and account verification. This enables businesses to proactively contact customers, increasing communication efficiency and driving growth.

In addition, Sobot integrates common customer service capabilities like live chat, voice, chatbot and AI Agent. These functions can be embedded into companies' own apps or websites, and seamlessly integrated with WhatsApp Business Accounts. Among them, Sobot's AI Agent is particularly recognized by businesses for its compatibility with WhatsApp messaging format, its strong capability in addressing complex tasks, and its impressive independent resolution rate of over 70%. In this way, businesses can manage customer service and marketing interactions on WhatsApp in a united platform.

Offering Operational Assistance Throughout Deployment and Daily Use

Beyond delivering products, Sobot further helps businesses in deployment and daily operations. Enterprises can enjoy professional consultation, technical support, and SLA services jointly provided by both Sobot and Meta. From marketing strategy and security compliance to account registration and verification, from message template setup to messaging rule configuration, Sobot's experts provide continuous and refined guidance across the whole customer lifecycle.

Delivering Scenario-Based Solutions for Different Industries

Another highlight of Sobot's WhatsApp solution is its scenario-based design, allowing businesses to get tailored solutions to meet their specific needs in different industries.

For example, in the delivery industry, Sobot integrates WhatsApp and live chat SDK into the delivery companies' own apps, making it convenient for couriers to send WhatsApp utility messages and communicate with customers directly within the delivery App.

In the gaming industry, Sobot helps companies connect players' WhatsApp accounts with their in-game accounts, sending bulk messages like new game promotions, user reactivation, and top-up guidance accordingly. Also, agents of gaming companies can contact VIP users via live chat on WhatsApp.

J&T Express Witnesses 35% Higher Delivery Success with Sobot WhatsApp Solution

J&T Express, a leading global logistics and express delivery provider operating across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, once faced challenges in timely customer communication, address changes and cashondelivery coordination. All these issues directly impact delivery efficiency and customer satisfaction.

To address these challenges, J&T partnered with Sobot to transform its customer contact process with Sobot's WhatsApp Business solution. Sobot integrated the delivery App with Google Maps and instant messaging SDK, allowing realtime address confirmation and seamless communication between couriers and recipients. Also, Sobot helped J&T Express register the WhatsApp Business Account, so that J&T Express can send bulk utility messages for delivery notifications without being banned.

The results were dramatic: J&T achieved a 35% increase in onetime delivery success, a 50% reduction in communication costs, and a 40% improvement in cashondelivery collection efficiency.

In addition, Sobot's WhatsApp solution has also benefited SHEIN, Lilith Games, OPPO, Luckin Coffee and more, supporting customer interactions across a wide range of industries on WhatsApp.

Deepening Collaboration with Meta to Elevate WhatsApp Business Solutions

"Meta Partner Summit provides an excellent opportunity for us to exchange ideas with Meta and further strengthen our collaboration." said Yi Xu, CEO of Sobot. "And receiving the Partner Recognition Award is also a strong acknowledgement of Sobot's capabilities and contributions."

Looking ahead, Sobot will continue to closely work with Meta to enhance its products, solutions and services, bringing greater value to businesses in WhatsApp customer contact and engagement.

For more information, please visit https://www.sobot.io/.

SOURCE Sobot
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Somos, Inc., a leading global provider of telecom registry management and data solutions, today announced it has been awarded the 2026 Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, the highest recognition for U.S. employers committed to creating mentally healthy workplaces. The Bell Seal is issued by Mental Health America, the nation's leading nonprofit dedicated to promoting the mental health and well-being of all people living in the U.S.

Somos Awarded Highest Level of Recognition with Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health by Mental Health America

Somos was evaluated on its policies and practices in four areas: culture, benefits, compliance and whole-health wellness programs. This marks the second consecutive year Somos has earned the Platinum Bell Seal, reflecting the company's continued commitment to fostering a supportive and mentally healthy workplace.

"It's an honor to be recognized with the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health," said Gina Perini, CEO and Chair of the Board at Somos. "We believe a healthy organization starts with supporting the well-being of our people. By fostering an environment where mental health is valued and resources are accessible, we empower our employees to succeed both at work and beyond."

Since 2019, Mental Health America has awarded the Bell Seal to hundreds of employers for supporting the mental health of 5.1 million employees nationwide, following decades of research into best practices in workplace mental health.

"Creating a mentally healthy workplace requires intentional programs, open dialogue and ongoing support," said Elissa Barrett, SVP & Chief People Officer at Somos. "At Somos, we strive to ensure employees feel supported both professionally and personally by providing resources, encouraging conversations around mental health and fostering a culture of care and respect."

Learn more about MHA and the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health at mhanational.org/bestemployers.

About Somos, Inc.

Somos is restoring trust in the world's communications.

As a global leader in phone number administration and intelligence services, Somos strengthens a secure, reliable communications ecosystem spanning voice, messaging and the rapidly expanding connected devices landscape. The company serves as the trusted administrator of the North American Numbering Plan (NANPA), Toll-Free Numbering Administration (TFNA) and the Reassigned Numbers Database (RND), supporting more than 1,400 service providers and managing over 7 billion phone numbers across North America. Building on its foundational role in numbering administration, Somos delivers global commercial capabilities  including XConnect's intelligent phone number data portfolio  that help enterprises protect their brands, verify identity, optimize routing and power trusted customer communications worldwide.

Learn more at www.somos.com.

SOURCE Somos, Inc.
Additions of San Diego Naval Base event and Chicagoland Speedway extend the Partnership's role in fueling race day operations and fan experiences

WHIPPANY, N.J., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SPH), a nationwide distributor of propane, renewable propane, renewable natural gas, fuel oil, and related products and services, as well as a marketer of natural gas and electricity and investor in low carbon fuel alternatives, today announced the expansion of its partnership with NASCAR to include 21 tracks across the country, with the addition of the upcoming NASCAR event at the U.S. Naval Base in Coronado, California, and the return to Chicagoland Speedway.

Suburban Propane - Official Propane of NASCAR

Through its partnership with NASCAR, Suburban Propane plays a critical behind-the-scenes role in powering race weekends, fueling track dryers that keep events on schedule after inclement weather, supplying concessions that serve thousands of fans, and supporting campgrounds that help power the full race-weekend experience.

The expansion underscores the Company's growing presence across NASCAR's national platform and reinforces its position as a trusted energy partner, helping keep race operations running smoothly from green flag to checkered flag.

"The opportunity to support NASCAR at more than twenty tracks nationwide reflects both the strength of our partnership and the reliability that propane can bring to large-scale events," said Nandini Sankara, VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy and Spokesperson for Suburban Propane. "From drying the track to fueling concessions and campgrounds, propane helps ensure that race weekends run safely, efficiently, and without interruption."

The addition of the San Diego event at Naval Base Coronado is part of the sport's participation in America's 250th anniversary celebrations, and represents a particularly unique milestone, bringing NASCAR racing to an iconic waterfront military installation. Meanwhile, the Chicagoland Speedway marks another key market where Suburban Propane will continue supporting operations and fan engagement.

As NASCAR continues to reach new audiences and markets, Suburban Propane's expanding track presence highlights the Partnership's commitment to supporting major live events and delivering dependable energy solutions wherever they are needed.

About Suburban Propane:

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. ("Suburban Propane") is a publicly traded master limited partnership listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey, Suburban Propane has been in the customer service business since 1928 and is a nationwide distributor of propane, renewable propane, renewable natural gas, fuel oil and related products and services, as well as a marketer of natural gas and electricity and producer of and investor in low carbon fuel alternatives, servicing the energy needs of approximately 1 million residential, commercial, governmental, industrial and agricultural customers through approximately 750 locations across 42 states.

Suburban Propane is supported by three core pillars: (1) Suburban Commitment to Excellence-showcasing Suburban Propane's almost 100-year legacy, and ongoing commitment to the highest standards for safety, dependability, flexibility, and reliability that underscores Suburban Propane's commitment to excellence in customer service; (2) SuburbanCares-highlighting continued dedication to giving back to local communities across Suburban Propane's national footprint; and (3) Go Green with Suburban Propane-promoting propane and renewable propane as versatile, low-carbon energy solutions and investing in the next generation of innovative, renewable energy alternatives.

For additional information on Suburban Propane, please visit www.suburbanpropane.com.

SOURCE Suburban Propane Partners, L.P.
Issued on behalf of GoldHaven Resources Corp.

USANewsGroup.com News Commentary.

VANCOUVER, BC, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The math on global copper supplies is getting incredibly tight. Major analysts like ING Group and S&P Global are now forecasting a massive refined copper deficit of over 150,000 tonnes for 2026[1]. This is not just a temporary hiccup. It is a fundamental supply crunch driven by grid electrification, the explosion of AI data centers, and heavy defense spending. With major producers running out of easy options to expand their existing operations, mining M&A deal values jumped a projected 45% last year[2]. Big players are aggressively hunting for scalable, advanced-stage assets to fill the gap, creating a pivotal moment for undervalued companies operating in safe regions. Right now, investors are closely watching GoldHaven Resources (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF), Faraday Copper (TSX: FDY) (OTCQX: CPPKF), BHP Group Limited (NYSE: BHP), Imperial Metals (TSX: III) (OTCPK: IPMLF), and NGEx Minerals (TSX: NGEX) (OTCQX: NGXXF) as distinct entry points to capitalize on this structural shift.

This trend is about more than just private capital. It is fundamentally about national security. The United States government recently mobilized over $30 billion in critical minerals commitments in just six months[3]. This historic influx of capital proves that sovereign demand for copper, gold, tungsten, and molybdenum has officially moved past normal market cycles and into strategic defense policy. Location matters more than ever when billions of dollars are on the line. According to the Fraser Institute's 2026 Annual Survey of Mining Companies, Nevada and Ontario rank as the top two most attractive global mining jurisdictions[4]. This confirms that Tier-1 jurisdictions in the US and Canada now command a massive safety premium. For investors looking ahead, these are the exact conditions that position high-grade discoveries in the Americas for compelling growth potential in this current cycle.

GoldHaven Resources (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF) is a junior mining explorer with active drill programs running on two continents, and the company just expanded its footprint. GoldHaven filed a technical report on three newly acquired mineral claims added to its Magno Project in northern British Columbia, pushing the property past 37,200 hectares in total size.

What makes this worth paying attention to is what those three claims contain. Each one carries a different type of mineral deposit, and they all sit on the same ground. That combination is what geologists look for when trying to determine whether an area has real district-scale potential, meaning the kind of footprint that can support multiple discoveries rather than just one.

At Lamb Mountain, historical drilling returned tungsten and molybdenum mineralization, with one interval grading 0.36% tungsten trioxide over nearly 25 metres. At Cassiar Moly, surface samples from a large intrusion-related system came back as high as 14.50% molybdenum disulfide across a zone covering roughly 2.5 square kilometres. At Lang Creek, Cominco Ltd. previously outlined a near-surface copper-zinc lens grading 1.52% copper and 0.90% zinc, with gold and silver also present. Tungsten is classified as a critical mineral by both the Government of Canada and the US Department of the Interior, and Canada currently has no primary domestic tungsten production.

"The combination of skarn-hosted tungsten-molybdenum at Lamb Mountain, a large intrusion-related molybdenum system at Cassiar Moly, and VMS copper-zinc at Lang Creek, all within the same property boundary, continues to validate our geological thesis," said Rob Birmingham, President and CEO of GoldHaven. "The Magno district is driven by a large, multi-phase magmatic system capable of generating multiple styles of mineralization across a wide footprint."

GoldHaven has a $2.0 million flow-through financing underway to fund 2026 exploration at Magno. At its Copecal Gold Project in Mato Grosso, Brazil, the company recently completed its first diamond drilling program, confirming gold and copper anomalism at both its West and East targets. Phase 2 drilling is scheduled for mid-Q2 2026, with the West Target as the priority zone.

For investors watching the junior exploration space, GoldHaven is building out two separate project pipelines at the same time. Magno is growing into a multi-system critical minerals property in British Columbia while Copecal advances toward a second drill program in Brazil's Alta Floresta Gold Province, a belt with a long track record of gold discoveries. The company's Brazilian critical minerals portfolio spans 123,900 hectares across three projects, giving it one of the larger land positions in the sector at its market stage.

CONTINUED Read this and more news for GoldHaven Resources at:

https://usanewsgroup.com/2025/09/23/the-goldhaven-story-two-continents-one-strategy-systematic-exploration-in-historically-productive-districts/

In other industry developments:

Faraday Copper (TSX: FDY) (OTCQX: CPPKF) reported full-year 2025 financial results showing year-end cash and cash equivalents of $37.9 million  more than double the $17.0 million held at year-end 2024  following a July 2025 private placement that raised approximately $46.9 million in net proceeds and supported the launch of the Phase IV drill program at its Copper Creek Project in Arizona. The company subsequently closed a non-brokered private placement with participation by a Lundin Family Trust and BHP Group Limited (NYSE: BHP) in March 2026, raising approximately CAD$100 million through the issuance of 23,810,000 common shares at CAD$4.20 per share.

Faraday Copper's Phase IV drill program, initiated in September 2025, targets 40,000 meters of diamond drilling focused on the American Eagle area and new discovery targets across the Copper Creek district, with results from five near-surface drill holes in the American Eagle area already reported in January 2026. The company also signed a letter of intent in February 2026 to acquire BHP's San Manuel property in Arizona, creating potential for a multi-asset copper district positioning Faraday Copper for resource growth at one of North America's largest undeveloped copper projects, with definitive purchase agreements targeted by the end of Q3 2026.

Imperial Metals (TSX: III) (OTCPK: IPMLF) has reported 2025 production results for the Red Chris mine, with total output on a 100% basis reaching 93.1 million pounds of copper and 92,429 ounces of gold (exceeding 2025 guidance of 88 million pounds of copper and 86,000 ounces of gold) on improved grades for both metals and higher gold recovery. Imperial Metals' 30% attributable share of Red Chris production amounted to 27.9 million pounds of copper and 27,729 ounces of gold for the year, representing strong growth versus the prior year's attributable totals of 25.6 million pounds of copper and 17,943 ounces of gold.

Looking ahead, the Red Chris feasibility study for a block cave expansion operation is advancing alongside permitting activities for the underground project, with study completion and joint venture approval

(subject to study outcomes) expected in the second half of 2026. Production at Red Chris is anticipated to be lower in 2026 as the mine sequence transitions to lower-grade ore and stockpile processing while stripping for the next open-pit phase, with Newmont's 2026 guidance for the operation set at 60 to 66 million pounds of copper and 47,500 to 52,500 ounces of gold on a 100% basis.

NGEx Minerals (TSX: NGEX) (OTCQX: NGXXF) has released compelling new drill results from Phase 4 of its ongoing program at the 100%-owned Lunahuasi high-grade copper-gold-silver project in San Juan, Argentina, with drillhole DPDH059 intersecting 335.15 metres at 4.08% copper equivalent (including 19.50 metres at 18.96% CuEq) from 408.55 metres depth.

"Today's news release includes holes 56 and 59, drilled in different directions through the Saturn zone, and hole 58 which is helping to define a new zone at the northern limit of the current drill pattern," said Wojtek Wodzicki, CEO of NGEx Minerals. "Together they demonstrate the significant size and grade of Saturn, which is our largest defined zone to date, as well as the continued upside potential we have to discover and delineate new zones as we follow up on numerous wide, high-grade intersections that lie outside the Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter zones, in areas of sparse drill density."

The Phase 4 program has now surpassed 23,000 metres drilled across 21 completed holes, with eight additional holes in progress, prompting the company to increase its season target from 25,000 metres to 30,000 metres.

Article Source: https://usanewsgroup.com/2025/09/23/the-goldhaven-story-two-continents-one-strategy-systematic-exploration-in-historically-productive-districts/

CONTACT:

USA News Group

[email protected]

(604) 265-2873

DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. USA News Group is wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. ("MIQ"). This article is being distributed for Baystreet.ca Media Corp. ("BAY"), who has been paid a fee for an advertising campaign. MIQ has not been paid a fee for GoldHaven Resources Corp. advertising or digital media, but the owner/operators of MIQ also co-owns BAY. There may also be 3rd parties who may have shares of GoldHaven Resources Corp. and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material, including this article, which is disseminated by MIQ on behalf of BAY has been approved by GoldHaven Resources Corp. The scientific and technical information disclosed in this document have been reviewed and approved by two Qualified Persons (QPs). The Copecal Technical Report identifies Jean-Marc Lopez, B.Sc., FAusIMM, as the Qualified Person responsible for the report. The report "GoldHaven Resources Completes Summer Exploration Programs" states that the technical information has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, B.Sc. Hons, FAusIMM, an independent Qualified Person and Country Manager of GoldHaven. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between the any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between the any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.

SOURCES:

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2838876/5879411/USA_News_Group_Logo.jpg
Company posts double-digit revenue growth and outlines airport, market and concept expansion

RESTON, Va., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Thompson Restaurants, a division of Thompson Hospitality, one of the nation's largest family-run food service companies, reported a 12% year-over-year revenue increase in 2025, driven by steady expansion, continued brand development and strong operational execution across its concepts.

The company's portfolio includes brands such as Milk & Honey, Makers Union, Wiseguy Pizza, Matchbox and Austin Grill, spanning full-service fine dining, family dining, and other restaurant formats. In 2025, Thompson Restaurants opened or converted 11 locations and is continuing to build toward a pace of roughly one new opening per month. The company's long-term goal is to reach 100 locations by the end of 2027 through a mix of organic growth, strategic acquisitions and non-traditional locations such as airports and college campuses.

"Our 2025 performance reflects our ability to scale thoughtfully while maintaining strong execution across a diverse set of concepts," said Alex Berentzen, chief operating officer of Thompson Restaurants. "The strength of our team and our operating model positions us well to support continued growth without compromising quality or guest experience."

A significant driver behind the company's momentum has been the continued growth of Milk & Honey, its Southern-inspired concept. The brand added five locations in 2025, bringing its total footprint to 19 restaurants. Expansion will continue in 2026, with four new locations currently in development.

Beyond traditional retail sites, Thompson Restaurants is expanding further into non-traditional venues in 2026. In collaboration with SSP America, a division of SSP Group, a leading operator of food and beverage brands in travel locations worldwide, the company plans to open Wiseguy Pizza and Makers Union locations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, strengthening its presence in high-traffic transportation hubs.

Geographic growth will also extend beyond the Washington region. The company is advancing expansion plans in the Tidewater area of Virginia and is evaluating opportunities in Pennsylvania and North Carolina as part of a broader multi-state growth strategy.

Brand development will remain a focus in the coming year. The company successfully launched the return of Austin Grill, the Tex-Mex concept with long-standing roots in the Washington region, with a new location now open in Potomac Falls, Virginia. Ms. Peach's also made its debut in late 2025. Ms. Peach's Southern Kitchen is a tribute to Hattie Warren, the grandmother of Thompson Hospitality founder Warren Thompson, whose dedication to community and family laid the foundation for the brand. In addition, Thompson Restaurants introduced Velocity Bar + Kitchen in 2026, a new full-service concept building on the success of Velocity Wings and designed to broaden the brand into a more elevated, everyday sit-down dining format.

"We've always believed that restaurants are about more than food, they are about culture, connection and community," said Warren Thompson, founder and chairman of Thompson Hospitality. "As we grow Thompson Restaurants, our focus remains on building brands that have meaning and longevity while creating opportunities for our teams and the communities where we operate."

In 2025, Thompson Restaurants launched Thompson Table Rewards, a loyalty program that allows guests to earn and redeem points across all 15 brands. The free-to-join program awards one point for every dollar spent, with redemption options ranging from complimentary desserts to $50 rewards. Members also receive birthday benefits and a $5 registration bonus. Since launching, the program has enrolled more than 200,000 members.

As it enters 2026, Thompson Restaurants is actively evaluating partnerships and acquisition opportunities with regional operators in the DMV and South Florida, with a particular focus on non-vented concepts such as coffee and bakery/bagel/sweets, as well as select ethnic food categories.

For more information on Thompson Restaurants visit thompsonrestaurants.com.

About Thompson Restaurants

Founded in 1992, Thompson Restaurants owns and operates restaurants in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, Ohio and South Florida. As part of Thompson Hospitality, a family-run organization, has catered to client, customer and community relationships for over three decades. Led by President and Founder Warren Thompson, Thompson Restaurants owns and operates 15 beloved brands across more than 70 locations including Makers Union, matchbox, Big Buns Damn Good Burgers, Hen Quarter, Milk & Honey, Wiseguy Pizza and is rapidly expanding to different markets across the U.S. For more information, visit thompsonrestaurants.com

About SSP America

SSP America is a division of SSP Group plc (LSE: SSPG), a global leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations employing 49,000 colleagues in around 3,000 units across 38 countries. We specialize in designing, creating, and operating a diverse range of food and drink outlets in airports, train stations, and other travel hubs across six formats: sit-down and quick service restaurants, bars, cafes, lounges, and food-led convenience stores. Our extensive portfolio of brands features a mix of international, national, and local brands, tailored to meet the diverse needs of our clients and customers.

Our purpose is to be the best part of the journey, and our focus is on making every journey taste better  bringing great food and welcoming hospitality to travelers across the globe. Sustainability is crucial for our long-term success, and we aim to deliver a positive impact for our business while uniting stakeholders to promote a sustainable food travel sector.

Contact: Jamie Weber, [email protected]

SOURCE Thompson Restaurants
BERKELEY, Calif., March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Together Ever has announced the official launch of Revionyx, a proprietary longevity-focused ingredient system to support healthy aging in premium pet nutrition. The platform provides a B2B solution that allows manufacturers and pet food brands to integrate longevity-oriented nutrition into existing product lines with minimal operational disruption.

The launch formally opens Together Ever's OEM and strategic partnership program. Brands and manufacturers can incorporate longevity positioning into current premium dog food, premium cat food, and supplement formulations without extensive reformulation or supply chain changes. Revionyx is structured as a branded ingredient platform that translates pet longevity science into scalable nutrition strategies.

Market Context and Category Evolution

The announcement comes amid sustained global expansion in the pet sector. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global pet care market was valued at $273 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $496 billion by 2034. Pet food accounts for more than 52% of the market, underscoring nutrition as the primary economic driver in the broader pet industry.

Industry analyses across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region identify premiumization, functional pet nutrition, and humanization as key growth catalysts. As dogs and cats live longer due to advances in veterinary care and nutrition, category narratives are expanding toward healthy aging frameworks that extend across life stages.

"Companion animals are living longer than ever before, yet much of commercial pet nutrition still revolves around isolated functional claims," said Suoyi Feng, co-founder of Together Ever. "We believe longevity and healthy aging will define the next decade of premium pet nutrition. Revionyx was built to give brands a structured and scalable way to evolve with that shift."

A Modular Ingredient System for Healthy Aging

Revionyx is built around selected bioactive compounds associated with biological pathways studied in aging research, including mitochondrial support, cellular maintenance, and inflammatory balance. The system supports healthy aging for dogs and cats within a modular pet nutrition system framework.

The platform emphasizes ingredient-level branding in pet nutrition. Revionyx functions as an infrastructure layer that brands can incorporate into existing formulations. Brands can integrate the Revionyx system into premium dog and cat food and related supplement lines without initiating a full redevelopment cycle.

The Revionyx is designed to integrate into existing manufacturing and product development frameworks. The platform allows brands to introduce longevity positioning into established SKUs through a defined ingredient architecture.

As consumer demand evolves toward long-term vitality, manufacturers require scalable category strategies that extend beyond single-function positioning. Revionyx addresses this need through a modular ingredient system designed to expand across product portfolios.

OEM Program and Strategic Partnerships

With the formal launch, Together Ever has opened its OEM and strategic partnership program to qualified manufacturers and premium pet brands. The program is structured to support efficient integration into existing supply chains and formulation workflows.

Together Ever states that Revionyx is intended to help brands incorporate healthy aging positioning without significant research and development complexity. The company views longevity as an emerging axis of value creation within functional pet nutrition and broader premium category development.

About Together Ever

Together Ever is a pet longevity platform focused on translating advances in aging biology into scalable ingredient solutions for companion animals. Through its branded longevity system, Revionyx, the platform partners with premium pet brands seeking differentiated, future-oriented positioning in an increasingly competitive global market. Together Ever's strategy centers on ingredient-level branding, modular formulation systems, and long-term category development within premium pet nutrition.

Media Contact: Suoyi Feng

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://togetherever.com/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2935342/Together_Ever.jpg

SOURCE Together Ever
Preferred spray gun supplier to support UTI's collision repair and aviation programs across the U.S.

PHOENIX and TORONTO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Technical Institute (UTI), the automotive/diesel, skilled trades, electrical, and energy education division of Universal Technical Institute, Inc., today announced a three-year partnership with Fuji Spray Auto, a North American industry leader in professional spray finishing equipment. Under the agreement, Fuji Spray Auto is the preferred spray gun supplier for UTI, equipping the Collision Repair and Aviation training programs with professional-grade spray guns used by industry experts.

Source: FujiSpray Source: FujiSpray

Founded in 1986 and celebrating 40 years of innovation, Fuji Spray designs and manufactures high-quality compressor spray guns and HVLP turbine spray systems trusted by professionals in a range of industries, including collision repair, aviation, and marine. The partnership enables UTI students to train on professional paint-spray equipment to build technical confidence and job-ready skills.

Fuji Spray Auto's product line includes a comprehensive range of spray guns for every stage of refinishing  from primer to base and clear  including the recently released VALOR Series, the V8 Series, and the Primis Series. Designed to deliver precision, durability, and user comfort, the systems help finishers achieve flawless results while working faster and more efficiently.

"Training with professional-grade equipment gives our students a competitive advantage in their training for careers in collision repair and aviation refinishing. We are grateful to Fuji Spray for their investment in our students and look forward to a productive partnership in the years ahead," said UTI Division President Tracy Lorenz.

In addition to campus support, Fuji Spray's Education Support Program offers discounted equipment to schools and students, helping reduce barriers while investing in the next generation of automotive and aviation refinishers.

"At Fuji Spray, we believe the future of skilled trades starts with hands-on education. Partnering with Universal Technical Institute allows us to support the next generation of finishers by giving students access to professional-grade spray equipment as they learn their craft," said Fuji Spray President David Sherman.

Universal Technical Institute offers its Collision Repair & Refinish Technology (CRRT) program at its campuses in Houston and Long Beach, California. The Airframe & Powerplant aviation maintenance training is offered at campuses in Avondale, Arizona; Long Beach, California; Miramar, Florida; Dallas/Fort Worth; Houston; and Canton, Michigan campuses.

For more information about Fuji Spray, visit fujispray.com.

About Universal Technical Institute, Inc.

Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI) was founded in 1965 and is a leading workforce solutions provider serving students, partners and communities nationwide. The company offers high-quality education and support services for in-demand careers via its two divisions: UTI and Concorde Career Colleges. The UTI division operates 17 campuses located in nine states and offers a wide range of transportation, skilled trades, electrical and energy training programs. Concorde operates across 17 campuses in eight states and online, offering programs in the allied health, dental, nursing, patient care and diagnostic fields. For more information, visit www.uti.edu or www.concorde.edu; LinkedIn at @UniversalTechnicalInstitute and @Concorde Career Colleges; or X at @news_UTI and @ConcordeCareer.

About Fuji Spray

Founded in 1986, Fuji Spray is a North American-based industry leader in spray finishing. The company designs and manufactures award-winning compressor spray guns and HVLP turbine systems trusted by professionals across automotive, aviation, marine, and industrial applications. Fuji Spray is committed to innovation, precision, and customer satisfaction, helping finishers achieve professional results with confidence.

Media Contact

Alanna Vitucci

[email protected]

SOURCE Universal Technical Institute, Inc.
"Imaging + AI" Leads the Leap in Smart Ecosystems

On the afternoon of March 24, during the "Release Moment" session, Dr. Marty, Member of the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and former Foreign Minister of Indonesia, attended and delivered opening remarks on behalf of the Forum. His address was followed by a keynote speech from vivo. Hu Baishan, President & COO at vivo, President of vivo Central Research Institute, shared the company's "Imaging + AI" strategic planning during his keynote speech titled "Imaging technology enables the connection of all things: A Visual Dialogue with Physical Reality". The strategy is based on vivo' s forward-looking insights into technological evolution. It aims to build a perception system rooted in imaging that will advance AI in making a critical leap from the digital realm into the physical world.

Hu said that smartphones will remain the dominant medium for human-computer interaction throughout the next decade. However, in addition to their role as a communication tool, they will also become the first frontier for AI implementation, acting as a sensory hub and personal "digital brain" that brings AI into the physical world. As artificial intelligence evolves, it will transition from "omniscience" in the digital dimension to "omnipotence" in the physical dimension. In this process, imaging will serve as the "eyes" through which AI navigates the real world.

Based on this foresight, vivo has made imaging a strategic priority that will define the future of AI as the company steadily expands its multi-scenario smart ecosystem and transitions toward becoming an ecosystem-based technology platform.

Thus, vivo is developing a comprehensive perception system driven by "Imaging + AI" to meet a variety of user needs. Hu noted that as these new technologies become deeply integrated, future devices will evolve from Smart Phones into Agent Phones  digital companions that have the power of perception, cognition, and action. vivo is reimagining the product interaction paradigm by developing customized agentic experiences for its entire product lineup that can deeply understand user needs in high-frequency scenarios.

Hu emphasized that vivo is planning to leverage imaging as a foundational capability in three core product categories: smartphones, headsets, and robotics. It will empower each level in a modular way to eventually bring the benefits of "Imaging + AI" to all facets of life.

vivo also remains committed to working with global partners to foster mutual trust, innovation, and exploration of the infinite possibilities within the "Imaging + AI" space.

Showcasing the Leading Strengths of Chinese Technology

On the opening day of the BFA, Hu Baishan officially presented Zhang Jun, Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia, with the vivo X300 Ultra as official smartphone for the forum.

vivo is also sharing its cutting-edge insights during two sub-forums at BFA. On March 25, Zhang Fei, Vice President of AI at vivo, will participate in the "AI+: Empowering Industrial Upgrading through Digital and Intelligent Technology" session. Zhang will share vivo' s strategic path and practical results in driving the smartphone industry's digital transformation via "AI+" technology and present a panoramic view of the application paradigm where AI and imaging deeply converge. In addition, Shao Hao, head of the Robot Lab and Chief Scientist at vivo, will participate in the "Advancement and Breakthrough of Humanoid Robotics" sub-forum to share vivo' s latest R&D progress and future roadmap in the robotics field.

With the belief that imaging technology enables the connection of all things, vivo will remain dedicated to user-oriented innovation while embarking on a technological journey with global partners to ensure that the fruits of innovation benefit all and make a better life accessible to everyone.

(END)

About vivo

vivo is a technology company that creates great products based on a user-oriented value, with smart devices and intelligent services as its core. The company aims to build a bridge between humans and the digital world. Through unique creativity, vivo provides users with an increasingly convenient mobile and digital life. Following the company's core values, which include Benfen*, user-orientation, design-driven value, continuous learning and team spirit, vivo has implemented a sustainable development strategy with the vision of developing into a healthier, more sustainable world-class corporation.

While bringing together and developing the best local talents to deliver excellence, vivo is supported by a network of R&D centers in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an and more cities, focusing on the development of state-of-the-art consumer technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial design, imaging system and other up-and-coming technologies. vivo has also set up an intelligent manufacturing network (including those authorized by vivo), with an annual production capacity of nearly 200 million smartphones. As of now, vivo has branched out its sales network across more than 60 countries and regions, and is loved by more than 500 million users worldwide.

*"Benfen" is a term describing the attitude on doing the right things and doing things right  which is the ideal description of vivo's mission to create value for society.

Stay informed of latest vivo news at https://www.vivo.com/en/about-vivo/news

SOURCE vivo
The updated underseat bag adds customer-driven upgrades, including a new larger size alongside the original, a lightweight ECOPAK option, new security features, and improved organization. It preserves legroom and the original design and features that made it a company top seller.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the evolving requirements of modern air travel, WaterField Designs introduces the refreshed Air Porter Carry-On, an underseat personal item updated through direct customer feedback. This enhanced travel bag offers significant improvements in security, organization, and material options, all while maintaining its compact footprint designed to fit under most airline seats and preserve legroom.

WaterField Air Porter Carry On, underseat bag that preserves legroom

The development of the refreshed Air Porter Carry-On was inspired by its 10-year anniversary and direct customer feedback gathered through a dedicated Community Design process, the same process followed to create the original bag. The company invited all interested customers  longtime Air Porter users, frequent flyers, and prospective buyers  to share ideas for refining the underseat bag to meet up-to-date in-flight needs and habits of business travelers. This process ensures that the Air Porter continues to meet modern travel demands while preserving its award-winning core design.

"The Air Porter has been one of our most trusted bags for ten years, so the goal wasn't to change what already worked but rather to ask customers what we could do to make it even better," said company founder Gary Waterfield. "We kept participants involved from ideas through prototypes, gathering feedback along the way. The result is an even more capable, intuitive travel bag."

Product video: Air Porter Carry-On overview

Customer-Inspired Enhancements

The updated Air Porter introduces a second size with an additional 2 inches of depth, offering added capacity for overnight or weekend trips while still fitting under airline seats with room for travelers to stretch their legs, a key advantage over many underseat bags.

A new ECOPAK sailcloth option delivers strength and durability with cross-ply reinforcement and PFC-free waterproof backing, at a fraction of the weight of traditional materials. Made from 100% recycled components, ECOPAK uses no solvents, fluorocarbons, or ovens, reducing CO2 emissions by over a pound per yard.

As more travelers carry both laptops and tablets, WaterField added a padded tablet sleeve that fits a 13-inch iPad with Magic Keyboard alongside the laptop compartment. Designers replaced open pockets with zippered Monolite translucent pockets to keep small items secure and visible.

A Faraday-lined RFID-blocking zippered front pocket helps shield passports and bank cards from electronic skimming in busy airports and on crowded commutes. A discreet AirTag pocket lets travelers track the bag if needed.

The front pocket continues to accommodate the optional Air Caddy, which transfers to a seatback pocket for handy in-flight access. Designers also added pen slots, a hand-sized pocket, and a key tether.

Customers increasingly carry larger water bottles and requested side pockets to match. The upraded pockets use deeper pleats and snap closures that expand or contract to hold a range of bottle sizes securely.

Despite these updates, the Air Porter remains immediately recognizable. It retains its silhouette, underseat-friendly dimensions, and core features, including a TSA-friendly compartment, multiple carry options, and a structured interior.

New Enhancements

Full-size option adds 2 inches of depth for greater capacity while maintaining legroom

ECOPAK option reduces weight while maintaining strength and weather resistance

RFID-blocking zippered front pocket helps protect passports and bank cards from electronic skimming

Front pocket includes pen slots, a hand-sized pocket, and a key tether for added organization

for added organization Padded tablet sleeve fits up to a 13-inch iPad with Magic Keyboard

Zippered Monolite translucent pockets keep small items secure and easy to locate

Expanded water bottle pockets with snap closures adjust to hold a range of bottle sizes securely

Hidden AirTag pocket lets users track the bag if needed

Original Features (Retained)

Fits under most airline seats while preserving legroom

Structured main compartment holds tech gear and travel essentials

TSA-friendly compartment opens flat for screening

Padded laptop sleeve fits up to a 16-inch MacBook Pro

Three carry options: leather handles, removable shoulder strap, and luggage passthrough

Front pocket fits the optional Air Caddy for in-flight access

Gold interior lining improves visibility

Waterproof YKK zippers with custom hardware

Full-grain leather accents add durability and style

"By involving customers in the process, we're able to update a product without losing what made it successful in the first place," Waterfield said. "It's about making an already popular product even more capable for how people travel today."

Handcrafted in small batches in San Francisco from full-grain leather and premium materials, the updated Air Porter Carry-On continues WaterField's commitment to durability, thoughtful design, and long-term use.

Availability & Pricing

The Air Porter Carry-On is available at sfbags.com.

Price: Compact $429; Full size $449

Colors: Navy ECOPAK + black full-grain leather; black ECOPAK + black full-grain leather; tan waxed canvas + chocolate full-grain leather; black ballistic nylon + chocolate full-grain leather.

Materials: ECOPAK EPLX450RS, full-grain leather, Monolite mesh, waterproof YKK zippers, custom metal hardware, gold rip-stop nylon lining, closed-cell foam, Faraday RFID-blocking textile, rare-earth magnets.

Dimensions: Compact: 16 x 10.25 x 5.5 inches; Full size: 16 x 10.25 x 7.5 inches

Weight: Compact: ECOPAK 2.0 lbs, Ballistic 2.4 lbs, Waxed Canvas 3.2 lbs; Full size: ECOPAK 2.4 lbs, Ballistic 2.8 lbs, Waxed Canvas 3.8 lbs.

About WaterField Designs

WaterField Designs is a San Franciscobased manufacturer of premium bags and accessories, handcrafted locally in small batches. Known for combining traditional materials with modern functionality, WaterField designs products that support everyday carry for work, travel, and technology.

SOURCE WaterField Designs
Rather than focusing on political or diplomatic narratives, West Meets East highlights the personal stories of Americans who have lived, worked, and formed lasting bonds in China over the past century. The book spans more than 100 years of history, featuring figures such as the Caldwell family of Tennessee, who settled in Fujian in the late 19th century; members of the Flying Tigers who supported China during World War II; and individuals who devoted their lives to Chinese culture and scholarship.

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Brown reflected on his decades-long journey in China. Having first arrived in Xiamen in 1988, he has since traveled extensively across the country, collecting stories through letters, photographs, and oral histories. The book brings together 20 such accounts, offering a deeply human perspective on cross-cultural exchange. "What moved me most," Brown noted, "was not the place itself, but the people."

The book originated from the inspiration of Professor Hu Min, Chairman of New Channel International Education Group and a longtime advocate of cultural exchange. "These are stories that should not be forgotten," Hu said. "They remind us that beyond political differences, there exists a deep and genuine bond between our peoples."

The event also featured remarks from leading academics. Professor Herve Varenne of Teachers College, Columbia University, highlighted how the book offers a valuable new lens on China, demonstrating that meaningful and fulfilling lives can be built across cultures. Professor Robin Harvey of New York University emphasized the importance of storytelling in fostering cross-cultural understanding, noting that firsthand experiences often challenge prevailing misconceptions.

A panel discussion moderated by Naren Aryal, CEO of Amplify Publishing Group, brought together several individuals featured in the book. Speakers shared personal experiences of living in China, reflecting on themes of cultural adaptation, mutual understanding, and human connection. Their stories underscored a central message of the book: that genuine understanding requires direct engagement and personal experience.

The event also drew attendees with personal ties to the historical narratives presented. Among them was Robert Kringe, grandson of Flying Tigers member Art Dustman, who expressed hope that future generations would continue to build on this legacy of connection.

Echoing a well-known saying attributed to Confucius"harmony without uniformity"the book and the event together highlight a timeless message: while differences between cultures may persist, shared human valuesfamily, friendship, and the pursuit of a better lifecan transcend borders.

The book launch is part of the China Institute of America's centennial celebration. Founded in 1926, the Institute has long been dedicated to promoting cultural dialogue between China and the United States. The release of West Meets East: Stories of Americans in China marks a meaningful contribution to this ongoing mission, offering a powerful reminder of the role that individual stories play in shaping mutual understanding.

SOURCE The Renwen Society of China Institute of America
LEBANON, Ore., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Western University of Health Sciences' College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest (COMP-Northwest), which is in the process of transitioning to its new name, the Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine, celebrated Match Day on Friday, March 20, 2026, with graduates securing residency placements across the country and achieving a 99% placement rate with 50% going into primary care.

In the world of medical education, Match Day marks an emotional milestone for graduating medical students, when years of study culminate in a single, life-shaping moment. The event is coordinated by the National Resident Matching Program, which pairs applicants with residency programs across the country through a complex algorithm based on mutual rankings. At exactly the same time nationwide, students opened sealed envelopes revealing where they will spend the next several years training in their chosen specialties.

"Today is a major milestone on the path to becoming a physician. It is a moment that reflects your discipline, sacrifice, and commitment to medicine. For our students: you have navigated challenges, breakthroughs, late nights, early mornings, exhaustion, tough exams, tough exams, tough exams, and more," said COMP-Northwest Site Dean Heather Phipps, DO, MBA, FAAOS. "Whether you're headed into surgery, family medicine, psychiatry, radiology, pathology, internal medicine, or another specialty, you're stepping into a room that demands courage, humility, and compassion."

During their third and fourth years, some medical students completed rotations or subinternships at the clinical sites where they later matched for residency, gaining firsthand experience with the programs. COMP-Northwest student Luke Arsenault followed this path, matching into internal medicine at Samaritan Health Services in Corvallis, Oregon.

"I feel like there is a lot of value in getting to do rotations and subinternships at these locations. I was able to do four weeks with Samaritan after my third year and then went to a couple other locations and did other subinternships," Arsenault said. "The family feel that WesternU has is a lot like what I feel at Samaritan. It ultimately led me to pick them as my No. 1 choice."

For COMP-Northwest student Kiana Fincher, surviving medical school was a community effort. With three young kids, she relied heavily on her husband and classmates to help get her through.

"We have two other families that we've been really close with who started school with boys the same age as ours. We grew our family simultaneously; we went from three kids in our little group to nine really quickly. It has been a massive part of our support system," said Fincher. "We came to WesternU because it was close to family and we really wanted that support system nearby, but I was also really excited about a DO training. I wanted to do rural family medicine, so having that extra training with OMT and getting a holistic view of each of my patients was important to me."

Fincher was excited to open her placement letter and discover that she would be staying in Oregon to complete her residency. Originally from Trail, Oregon, Fincher looks forward to practicing family medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Klamath Falls.

During her time at WesternU, COMP-Northwest student Katelyn Williamson immersed herself in community service. After going through the Fire Academy in her first few months of medical school, Williamson spent the first two years of school working as a volunteer firefighter for the Lebanon Fire District.

"I still volunteer with them, but for the last two years I've moved into a support role. We support the firefighters when we're on the scene, so we make sure they're fed and hydrated, taking their vitals. I also did a psychological first aid certification, so now I can be a support volunteer on the scene for big emergencies where someone has lost their house or a family member. I can go provide emotional support and provide connections to get them with different organizations. It's one of my favorite things I've ever done." said Williamson. "I've wanted to be a doctor my whole life, and I've always wanted to be able to help people."

Williamson matched in general surgery at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Williamson worked alongside COMP-Northwest classmate Natalija Stern to plan the College's Match Day celebration. Encouraged by Williamson, Stern helped create an event that would be both beautiful and memorable for their class, one that reflected the shared experience of starting medical school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"When we started during COVID, we had this innate distance that we all felt, having to do everything in masks. We had the privilege of transitioning out of COVID while we were still in our second year and sort of coming to life and realizing how much we had missed social interactions. We wanted to round out our medical school experience by having a Match Day that brings us all back together to remind us of where we came from and where we're headed," said Stern.

Match Day marks both an ending and a beginning for COMP-Northwest's Class of 2026, as students close one chapter of their training and step into the next phase of their medical journeys. With residency placements secured, these students now move forward as future physicians, carrying with them the experiences, challenges, and community that shaped their time at WesternU.

Western University of Health Sciences (www.westernu.edu), located in Lebanon, Oregon and Pomona, Calif., is an independent nonprofit health professions university, conferring degrees in osteopathic medicine, physical therapy, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sciences, dental medicine, medical sciences, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, podiatric medicine, and veterinary medicine. WesternU is home to WesternU Health, where the best in collaborative health care services is offered.

SOURCE Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU)
PIKESVILLE, Md., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Zirkin & Schmerling Injury Lawyers has secured a significant courtroom victory for a client following a contested motor vehicle collision in which liability hinged on a red-light versus green-light dispute. Despite the defense initially offering only $15,000 to resolve the claim before trial, the firm's litigation team pursued the case through Circuit Court and ultimately obtained a result that more accurately reflected the true value of the client's injuries.

The case centered on conflicting accounts of who had the right of way at a signalized intersection. The defense attempted to minimize responsibility by presenting a single witness who claimed their driver had the green light. Zirkin & Schmerling countered that narrative with two credible eyewitnesses who supported the client's version of events and reinforced that the defendant had failed to obey the traffic signal.

Through careful preparation, strategic cross-examination, and a clear presentation of the facts, the firm dismantled the defense's disputed liability argument.

Challenging an Unfair Settlement Offer

Before the case reached trial, the defense offered $15,000 to settle the claim. The offer fell far short of what was necessary to compensate the client for the injuries and losses suffered in the crash. Rather than encouraging the client to accept a low settlement, Zirkin & Schmerling prepared the case for litigation and pursued justice in Circuit Court.

By fully investigating the crash, presenting credible witness testimony, and highlighting inconsistencies in the defense's version of events, the firm demonstrated that the initial offer did not reflect the true merits of the case.

Commitment to Fighting Through Trial

Zirkin & Schmerling's litigation team remained focused on holding the responsible party accountable and ensuring that the client's story was heard. The firm's ability to successfully challenge the defense's liability claim and present compelling evidence ultimately led to a favorable outcome for the client.

"This case is a perfect example of why injured victims should never feel pressured to accept a low settlement offer simply to avoid litigation," said Bobby Zirkin, founding partner of Zirkin & Schmerling Injury Lawyers. "When liability is disputed, and the insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation, our team is fully prepared to take the case to court and fight for the result our clients deserve."

Advocating for Injury Victims Across Maryland

Cases involving disputed traffic signals are often heavily contested, as determining fault can depend on witness credibility and careful legal strategy. Zirkin & Schmerling Injury Lawyers has built a reputation for aggressively representing accident victims and pursuing full and fair compensation, whether through negotiation or trial.

This successful result highlights the firm's unwavering commitment to advocating for injured clients and standing firm against insurance companies that attempt to undervalue legitimate claims.

Zirkin & Schmerling Injury Lawyers has also been widely recognized in local and state rankings for legal excellence, and the firm's attorneys are frequent contributors to legal education, advocacy efforts, and community outreach.

To learn more about Zirkin & Schmerling's services, visit www.zirkinandschmerlinglaw.com.

Media Contact:

Paula Jontiff

Zirkin & Schmerling Injury Lawyers

1852 Reisterstown Rd, Suite 203

Pikesville, MD 21208

Phone: (410) 356-4455

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Zirkin & Schmerling Injury Lawyers
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 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.
About this content 

About Jonathan Jackson

Jonathan Jackson is an experienced writer and editor. Over the past 20 years, he has worked in print and digital media across several business and finance titles amd is currently the Australian news editor at Proactive Investors covering the latest news for ASX listed companies as well as current financial trends. He was previously managing editor with Business First magazine, Wealth Creator Magazine and StocksDigital. Jonathan has interviewed some of the world's top CEOs and covered... 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 Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson joins Proactive Australia's broadcast team part time. As the Managing Director of Gold Events Kerry has been hosting the annual Australian Gold Conference for over 14 years, connecting industry and investment professionals and showcasing the value of precious metals. Kerry is passionate about helping others to secure a safe and solid future by understanding money, finance, and strategy. That is why she created the Making Money Matter channel on YouTube, where... 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 Steve Darling

Steve Darling is an award winning broadcaster who has spent the past 20 years as one of the most recognizable faces in British Columbia, reporting and anchoring at BCTV and Global Television. He spent 15 years as the co-host of the number one morning new program in the province. Steve is a tireless worker for charity hosting some 50 events a year. He is an ambassador for the Canucks Autism Network and hosts numerous events with BC Childrens Hospital and the Child Development foundation 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
Bogota, March 24 : At least eight people were killed and 83 others injured after a Colombian military aircraft crashed in southern Colombia's Putumayo region, with 14 of the wounded in critical condition, said Putumayo Governor Jhon Gabriel Molina.

There were 114 passengers and 11 crew members on board the C-130 Hercules transport plane, Carlos Silva, commander of the Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC), said in a video posted by the FAC on X, adding that an investigative team has been sent to determine the causes of the crash, Xinhua news agency reported.

Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X earlier Monday that a transport plane went down during takeoff from Puerto Leguizamo. He added that military units were at the scene, and the cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

Sanchez expressed his "sincere condolences" to the families of the victims, noting that all care protocols have been activated to support those affected.

Some of the injured soldiers were flown to the capital Bogota for treatment.

Sanchez has sent condolences to the families of those affected.

Petro said the crash "should never have happened." He lamented the lack of modernization of the armed forces, which he attributed to "bureaucratic difficulties."

Colombian President Gustavo Petro thanked the people who rushed to the crash site to save the lives of those aboard.

Flight data shows the plane was a C-130H Hercules, an older model of the C-130 series that first entered service in March 1965, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The plane had been donated to the Colombian Air Force by the US Air Force in September 2020.
Washington, March 24 : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held calls with counterparts in India, Canada, and Kenya focusing on Iran, the Middle East crisis, and broader security coordination, his spokesperson said.

Rubio spoke with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, and Kenyan President William Ruto, as Washington intensified diplomatic outreach on Iran and regional stability.

In their call, the two leaders discussed the evolving situation in the Middle East. "The two officials discussed the current situation in the Middle East," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a readout of the call.

"The Secretary and Minister agreed on the importance of continuing to work together to advance mutual priorities."

The India-US conversation comes amid heightened tensions in West Asia, with both sides signalling continued coordination on shared strategic interests.

Rubio's call with Canada's Foreign Minister Anand focused more directly on Iran and US actions targeting its nuclear programme.

The two discussed "international security and the decisive actions taken by President Trump to dismantle Iran's nuclear program and increase pressure on the Iranian regime," the readout said.

The Secretary also raised Haiti during the conversation, outlining US-backed efforts to restore stability.

He "addressed our efforts to promote security and stability in Haiti, including support for the UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force," according to the statement.

In a separate call with Kenyan President William Ruto, Rubio thanked Nairobi for its position on Iran and its role in regional security efforts.

He "thanked President Ruto for his public condemnation of Iranian aggression against Gulf States and discussed the objectives of Operation Epic Fury."

Rubio also acknowledged Kenya's contributions to stabilisation efforts in Haiti.

He "expressed his gratitude for Kenya's significant contributions to peace and security in Haiti and Kenya's commitment to ensuring a smooth transition to the Gang Suppression Force."

The two leaders additionally discussed economic ties.

The flurry of calls highlights Washington's effort to align key partners across regions on Iran and broader security challenges. India, Canada and Kenya represent strategic partners in Asia, North America and Africa, respectively, with roles in diplomacy, security cooperation and peacekeeping.
Seoul, March 24 : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has formally recognised South Korea as the "most hostile state" and warned of merciless consequences if provoked by Seoul, while reaffirming the North's status as a nuclear state, Pyongyang's state media reported on Tuesday.

Kim also said the North's constitution was revised to reflect the necessary demands of national development, delivering a speech Monday, the second and final day of the first session of the newly elected 15th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea "officially recognised" South Korea "as the most hostile nation and will thoroughly ignore and disregard it through the clearest remarks and actions," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

He also warned of "merciless" consequences against South Korea if Seoul carries out any acts that provoke North Korea.

The KCNA reported that North Korea had discussed a revision of its constitution, but it was not known whether such a revision officially recognised South Korea as a "hostile state."

North Korea's constitution calls for the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas, and Pyongyang had been expected to amend the provision after Kim ordered a legal revision in 2024 to define Seoul as "the No. 1 hostile country."

North Korea has since adopted a hostile stance toward Seoul, repeatedly ruling out the possibility of inter-Korean engagement.

Meanwhile, Kim accused the United States of carrying out terrorism and invasions in many parts of the world, apparently referring to its ongoing war with Iran, though he did not directly mention US President Donald Trump.

"Dignity, interest and the final victory of a country can only be guaranteed by the most powerful might," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

"Whether the enemies choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence, that's their choice, and we are ready to respond to any choice."

He vowed to further advance North Korea's "defensive nuclear deterrence" and maintain a "prompt and precise" response posture for its nuclear forces to address "strategic threats" to national and regional security.

North Korea "will continue to solidify its status as a nuclear weapons state ... while aggressively staging campaigns to crush any provocations by hostile forces," Kim said.

In a parliamentary meeting in 2022, North Korea enacted a new nuclear law authorising the preemptive use of nuclear arms, calling its status of a nuclear state "irreversible."

Experts assessed that North Korea, while not confirming details, might have codified its new definition of Seoul in the constitutional revision and that the omission of details may be intended to maintain "strategic ambiguity" in case of changes in security conditions.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, referred to Kim's expression of "official recognition" of Seoul as the most hostile country, saying it may signify a revision of fundamental norms.

Kim In-tae, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, also said such an expression by Kim, along with other details, appears to indicate a constitutional revision reflecting the new definition of inter-Korean relations, Yonhap news agency reported.

At Monday's parliamentary meeting, the SPA increased this year's state budget by 5.8 per cent from a year earlier, the largest increase in recent years.

Kim vows to "financially guarantee the normal operation of the country and the implementation of policies for the people by increasing state revenues."

An official at Seoul's unification ministry took note of Kim's remarks that his country is prepared for both confrontation and peaceful coexistence, assessing that while he continued to criticise Washington, the criticism appeared limited in intensity.

The official reaffirmed the government's policy of seeking to improve ties with North Korea, vowing continued efforts to that end.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
New Delhi, March 24 : The Delhi Police on Tuesday claimed to have solved seven cases of burglary and house theft with the arrest of three accused, a brother, his sister, and his wife who were allegedly involved in a series of daytime burglaries in South Delhi's Mehrauli area.

New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) The Delhi Police on Tuesday claimed to have solved seven cases of burglary and house theft with the arrest of three accused, a brother, his sister, and his wife who were allegedly involved in a series of daytime burglaries in South Delhias Mehrauli area.

According to the South District Police, the cases were cracked through extensive CCTV analysis and technical surveillance, leading to the recovery of significant stolen property.

The investigation began after an e-FIR (No. 80023033/26) was registered on March 16 at Police Station Mehrauli regarding a theft in a locked house. During the probe, police identified a pattern of similar burglaries reported over the past two to three months, suggesting the involvement of habitual offenders targeting locked premises during daytime hours.

A dedicated team comprising Sub Inspector Amit Kaushik, ASI Ravinder, Head Constable Rohtash, and Constable Vinod was formed under the supervision of SHO Mehrauli Ritesh and the overall guidance of the ACP Mehrauli. The team examined footage from around 80 to 100 CCTV cameras, which led to the identification of the main accused, Karamveer (30).

Acting on specific inputs, police apprehended Karamveer on March 18. Based on his interrogation, his sister Palak (25) and wife Radhika alias Radha (21) were also arrested. The trio was found to be operating as a coordinated family unit, with defined roles in executing burglaries and disposing of stolen property.

Police said Karamveer, a habitual offender, carried out the burglaries, while Palak helped in disposing of stolen jewellery in Uttar Pradesh. Radhika assisted in handling and managing the stolen items.

During the operation, police recovered jewellery sale receipts worth Rs 5.2 lakh, Rs one lakh frozen in a bank account, one laptop, two mobile phones, a silver anklet, a silver coin, electronic accessories, branded clothes, and personal documents.

Officials said the operation highlights the effective use of technology and timely police action in dismantling a burglary network.

In a separate case earlier on March 21, a 22-year-old chef working night shifts at a five-star hotel was arrested for an alleged burglary in southwest Delhias RK Puram. The accused, identified as Nilesh alias Nikesh, used a master key to open locks and stole cash and jewellery worth Rs 2.69 lakh. Police also recovered a master key and two scooters, one of which was allegedly stolen.
Mumbai, March 24 : Actor Babil Khan, son of the late acclaimed star Irrfan Khan, is back on sets as he has commenced shooting for his next in Bhopal.

Babil had recently shared a video from his vanity van and mentioned, "Back to the grind, time to make you proud again."

Babil hasn't revealed details of the project he is currently shooting for.

A source close to the development shared, "Babil has been excited to be back on set. Acting is something that grounds him, and being in front of the camera again feels very natural to him. The message shared is from the sets of his next project which he just began shooting for in Bhopal".

Last month, he was training in the martial art form Muay Thai, which he underwent during his time in Thailand.

A source close to IANS had then shared: "Babil spent time in Thailand through December and early January to train in Muay Thai in Thailand. He took various classes to learn the form of MMA that originates in Thailand."

"He's been prepping for this and it's for a project that is soon upcoming but requires him to do intense training for a project that goes on floors mid 2026," the source added.

The source shared that Muay Thai requires stamina, control, and discipline.

"Given his new found love for the activity, it has naturally led to people connecting the dots. Some believing that this could be prep for an upcoming role".

Babil started as a camera assistant in Bollywood film Qarib Qarib Single. In 2022, he made his acting debut with Anvita Dutt's psychological drama Qala alongside Triptii Dimri.

In 2023, he was seen playing Juhi Chawla's son Siddharth Menon in Friday Night Plan. He was then seen in the web series The Railway Men, a story on Bhopal Gas Tragedy, alongside Divyendu Sharma, Kay Kay Menon and R. Madhavan.

It was last year in October when Babil returned to Instagram after almost 6 months of his absence from the social media platform.

In May 2025, Babil deleted his Instagram profile, as the web search for the actor's profile didn't yield any results and showed the webpage linked to the Instagram account as non-existent.

Babil, the son of the late Indian acting legend Irrfan Khan, had earlier shared a video (later deleted) in which he appeared visibly upset and in tears as he spoke about feeling alienated in the film industry.
Chennai, March 24 : The makers of director Vignesh Raja's upcoming action entertainer 'Kara', featuring actor Dhanush in the lead, on Tuesday announced that actress Mamitha Baiju plays a character called Selli in the film and also released her first look poster from the film.

Taking to its social media timelines, Vels Film International, the production house producing the film, wrote, "Meet Selli from the world of #Kara..

Next drop today at 5 PM. #FacesOfKara. #KaraFromApril30. Directed by @vignesh_raja. Produced by @dr.isharik.ganesh. A @gvprakash musical."

The film is to hit screens worldwide on April 30 this year.

It may be recalled that the makers of the film had announced the title of the film on Pongal this year. The makers had also released a poster of the film in which Dhanush was seen sporting an intense look. The poster read, "Sometimes, staying dangerous is the only way to stay alive."

Director Vignesh Raja, on his X timeline, had said, "D54 is Kara. An emotionally rooted suspense thriller. We are coming this summer. #D54 is #Kara. #HappyPongal #HappySankranti. Directed by @vigneshraja89. Produced by @IshariKGanesh. A @gvprakash musical."

The makers had, sometime ago, released a still of Dhanush from the film. The production house had shared the picture on social media, saying, "Straight from the sets of #D54 - Shoot in progress! @dhanushkraja". The picture showed Dhanush speaking from an STD booth.

The film, which was tentatively being referred to as #D54 until now, features Mamitha Baiju as the heroine.

The film boasts of both a strong cast as well as a brilliant technical crew.

Apart from Dhanush and Mamitha Baiju, the film will also feature director K S Ravikumar, Jayaram, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Karunas and Prithvi Pandiraj in pivotal roles.

On the technical front, cinematography will be by one of the best in the business, Theni Eswar and editing will be by Sreejith Sarang. Music will be by National Award winner G V Prakash.

More significantly, the story of the film has been jointly penned by writer Alfred Prakash and director Vignesh Raja, the creators of the critically acclaimed superhit investigative thriller 'Por Thozhil'.

Writer Alfred Prakash, who has been good friends with director Vignesh Raja, had in an earlier interview disclosed that both Vignesh and he understood each other very well.

The writers, who had taken four years to come up with the final version of 'Por Thozil', nurture the belief that it is better when two people write a story together as each writer can use the other as a sounding board to test one's ideas.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
New Delhi, March 24 : The Ayushman Bharat (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) continues to bring relief to millions of low-income families across India, providing free treatment for serious illnesses and easing financial burdens. In Nala Sopara West, Sopara Hospital, managed by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation, has emerged as a model facility, offering completely free and quality healthcare services to Ayushman cardholders.

Speaking to IANS, about the support, Jaleel Sheikh, son of a beneficiary, said that his father, suffering from lung problems, faced severe difficulty in breathing. "I admitted him here at the hospital in Sopara West. Through the Ayushman card, we are receiving free treatment here," he said, highlighting the accessibility of the scheme for serious medical conditions.

Iqbal Sheikh's wife shared her experience as well, saying that her husband had been admitted for 18 days and was receiving free treatment.

"He was having difficulty breathing. He has been admitted here for 18 days, receiving free treatment, and he is not facing any problems now," she told IANS, underscoring the positive impact on patient health and family finances.

Ayushman Bharat  Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is currently the world's largest government-funded health insurance initiative, providing an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

As of March 2026, over 43.52 crore Ayushman cards have been issued, including 1.14 crore 'Vay Vandana' cards exclusively for senior citizens. The scheme covers more than 1,900 medical procedures across 27 specialities, and beneficiaries can access cashless, paperless treatment at any of the 36,229 empanelled public and private hospitals nationwide.

There are no restrictions on family size, age, or gender, and all pre-existing conditions are covered from day one.

The coverage includes diagnostics, medicines, surgery, ICU charges, and physician fees, along with extended support for up to three days of pre-hospitalisation and 15 days post-hospitalisation expenses.

Recent expansions between 2025 and 2026 have broadened access further. Citizens aged 70 and above now receive Rs 5 lakh annual coverage regardless of socio-economic status, and seniors in already-covered families get an additional Rs 5 lakh top-up.

Around 37 lakh families of frontline workers such as ASHAs, Anganwadi Workers, and Helpers are now included. Delhi became the 35th state/UT to implement the scheme as of April 2025, and a special drive from January 15 to April 15, 2026, is helping remaining eligible beneficiaries and seniors create their cards.

With facilities like Sopara Hospital leading the way, Ayushman Bharat continues to ensure that quality healthcare is accessible, affordable, and free for millions of families across India.
Kia is issuing a safety recall affecting 568 Telluride Hybrid models built between February 2, 2026, and March 13, 2026, due to a potential issue with the second-row power seats that could increase the risk of injury or death.





The recall applies to Telluride Hybrid SX Prestige and X-Line SX Prestige trims equipped with the Executive Package. According to the notice, the second-row power seats may not properly detect when they come into contact with a person.





As a result, the seats could continue moving during powered functions-such as one-touch tilt-and-slide or automatic fold-and-stow-even if an occupant or object is in the way. That raises the possibility of pinching or injury, particularly for rear-seat passengers. This is the same issue that saw corporate cousin, Hyundai, recall 61,000 Palisades after a tragic accident in Ohio on March 7, in which a two-year-old child was killed by the power seats.

Until a fix is available, Kia is urging owners to take precautions when using these features. Specifically, the automaker advises extra care when operating the second-row power seats. The automaker is warning owners to keep children away from the rear seating area during seat movement, and to avoid using automatic folding features when passengers are nearby.





Kia says a remedy is currently being developed, though details on the repair have not yet been released. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed starting May 19, 2026.





Kia's recall does not involve the same level of controversy as Hyundai's. According to NHTSA's recall documents, Hyundai received 20 different field claims relating to the issue since August of last year, with 4 injuries reported before the tragic accident prompted action.





Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here.
Los Angeles, March 24 : British racing star Lewis Hamilton has joined reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her children for a spring break trip in Tokyo.

A source confirmed that Kardashian, her three younger children, Saint, 10, Chicago, 9, and Psalm, 6, are on a vacation with Hamilton, with whom Kim has been romantically linked, reports people.com.

Kim shares three children and daughter, North, 12, with ex-husband Kanye West.

Kim and her children are in Tokyo for spring break, alongside Khloe Kardashian and her children, True and Tatum, the source said.

The source's confirmation comes after Kim and Hamilton were spotted in Tokyo.

Another source said, "He's just an easygoing guy with great energy. Her family likes him and Kim's very into him. They are both busy with their careers, but see each other as much as possible. It's more than just a casual connection. It takes a lot to capture Kim's interest and she's definitely intrigued."

Ahead of their vacation, the pair fueled the rumors after the F1 driver wrote a flirty comment on The Kardashians star's Instagram post from the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscars Party.

On March 16, Kim shared snaps from the March 15 event and several clips and photos of herself getting ready. In response to the sultry snaps, Hamilton dropped a love eye emoji in the comment section.

Their outing to Japan follows recent trips around the globe.

They were spotted at a hotel in Paris in early February, per TMZ.

"It was a romantic meetup," a source said at the time, with the outlet reporting that the pair landed in Europe courtesy of a private jet, reports people.com.

Weeks later, they headed to Arizona, where the rumored couple was at Lake Powell. While there, they were photographed on a stroll to catch the desert sunset. At the time, they each separately shared recaps of their trip on social media, featuring faceless footage of the scenery with matching backgrounds on the same day.

Along with a visit to Arizona, they were spotted in California after they were photographed together at Super Bowl LX in February.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, March 24 : The security agencies are closely monitoring online chatter by terror operatives and their sympathisers as the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala get ready for elections.

Intelligence inputs suggest that plans are afloat by sympathisers of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and those linked to the Islamic State, to try and disrupt the elections.

The agencies say that sympathisers and cadres of both the PFI and Islamic State are working closely to undertake a strike in a bid to disrupt the elections.

However the agencies warn that the bigger threat for these southern states is the disinformation campaign that these outfits are planning to indulge in.

Disinformation campaigns are aimed at creating communal tensions. If communal harmony is disturbed, then it acts as a perfect radicalisation and recruitment tool.

The Islamic State has focussed extensively on the southern states and tends to get more traction in this part of the country.

However, its activities have largely been online and the bigger aim is to radicalise the youth in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in large numbers.

The terror group will look to take advantage of the fact that the security apparatus would be busy in ensuring that the elections are conducted smoothly.

The current focus of these terror groups is limited to Kerala and Tamil Nadu and once the elections are completed they would look to target the remaining states in South India.

An official said that the radicalisation in South India witnessed a massive jump when the Wahhabi preachers visited in large numbers. This set the tone, following which outfits such as the PFI, Islamic State and Al-Qaeda to some extent managed to find a foothold.

The official added that these groups have treated South India as their radicalisation laboratory for long. The danger in South India is that the radicalisation process for these terror outfits has been relatively easier in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the official pointed out.

Another official said that prior to the dates of the elections being announced, these groups were already planning attacks and indulging in disinformation campaigns.

Further the world today is a fragile place owing to so many conflicts and this is being taken advantage of, the official added.

After the war in Iran broke out, the Union Home Ministry had issued an advisory warning against possible radicalisation attempts. An Intelligence Bureau official said that when there is conflict in the Gulf, it is the Southern states that become more vulnerable to radicalisation.

While the Wahhabi spread is one reason for this, the other is that there is a large population from Kerala who are in the Gulf.

In addition to the existing threats from the Islamic State and PFI, the agencies are also closely watching another group-the Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT). The HuT which has been banned by the Indian government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has opened several ghost accounts on social media platforms which are aimed at large scale radicalisation in South India.

The agencies are keeping a close watch on the content that the HuT has been circulating online. Its activities have only increased in the wake of the elections coming up, an official said.

Some of the content that it circulates includes the creation of hit squads in South India and also the need to carry out lone wolf attacks. With these fresh inputs coming in ahead of the elections, the agencies are also re-visiting the investigation that was conducted following the arrest of Faizul Rehman the Emir of the HuT in Tamil Nadu.

He had told his interrogators that the HuT wants to set up several recruitment modules in South India. He also said that they planned on inciting the youth and creating communal tensions in the region.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that all the terror groups operating in South India are currently focussing mainly on inciting communal violence. They want to disrupt the electoral process and then use the violence as a radicalisation and recruitment tool.

Polls are due in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry. In Kerala, Assam and Puducherry elections will be held on April 9. West Bengal would poll on April 23 and 29 in two phases. Elections in Tamil Nadu will be held in a single phase on April 23. Counting will take place across all four states and Puducherry (UT) on May 4.
Miami, March 24 : Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominant run at the Miami Open, booking a place in the quarterfinals with a straight-sets win over Zheng Qinwen.

Sabalenka took an hour and 25 minutes to seal a 6-3, 6-4 victory, maintaining her strong head-to-head record against Zheng. Although the Chinese star produced moments of brilliance, the Belarusian consistently absorbed the pressure and reasserted control at crucial junctures.

With the result, Sabalenka reached her 15th consecutive WTA quarterfinal, a milestone last achieved by Justine Henin between 2006 and 2008. It also marked her 32nd appearance in a WTA 1000 quarterfinal, placing her behind only Victoria Azarenka among active players.

She will next take on American Hailey Baptiste, who advanced to her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal with another composed performance. Baptiste followed up her upset of Elina Svitolina by defeating Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-4. The 22-year-old has been in commanding form all week, progressing through the draw without dropping a set.

Meanwhile, World No. 4 Coco Gauff reached her first Miami Open quarterfinal after overcoming Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a fluctuating contest. The match was defined by frequent breaks of serve, particularly in the opening two sets where both players struggled to hold.

Gauff, however, found greater stability in the decider, holding serve throughout the third set to wrest control. Her effectiveness on return proved decisive, as she won significantly more points on her opponentas serve. The American closed out the match strongly, winning eight of the final nine points on serve to secure victory and maintain her unbeaten record against Cirstea.

Gauff will now meet Belinda Bencic in the last eight after the Swiss player produced a clinical 6-2, 6-2 win over Amanda Anisimova. Bencic, seeded 12th, controlled the match from start to finish to reach her 12th WTA 1000 quarterfinal and her second in Miami, having made the semifinals in 2022. She now eyes consecutive wins over Top 10 opponents as she prepares for a high-stakes clash against Gauff.
March 24 : Lucknow: Under the leadership of CM Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh government is rapidly moving forward towards making the state a $1 trillion economy. In this direction, Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) has taken a significant step to strengthen the logistics and warehousing sector by approving 8 new projects, with an estimated investment of around 800 crore.

Under the Uttar Pradesh Warehousing and Logistics Policy-2022, investors are being encouraged to set up logistics and storage units on private land through incentives, financial assistance and tax exemptions. As a result of this policy, investor confidence is steadily increasing.

Newly approved projects include 5 silos, 2 warehousing units and 1 logistics project, which will be established in districts such as Unnao, Auraiya, Balrampur, Shravasti, Sultanpur, Lucknow, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Hapur. These projects will be developed across approximately 110 acres, strengthening the states agricultural and industrial supply chain.

With these 8 new approvals, UPSIDA has now approved a total of 61 projects under the Warehousing and Logistics Policy-2022 and PIP policy. These projects will be developed over around 810 acres, with a proposed investment exceeding 12,900 crore. They will enhance safe storage capacity for food grains, provide better storage and logistics facilities to farmers and accelerate the development of multi-modal logistics hubs, warehouse clusters and modern distribution centers. Additionally, they will generate large-scale employment opportunities.

State government aims to position Uttar Pradesh as a leading logistics hub in the country. To achieve this, priority is being given to the development of multi-modal logistics hubs, cold chains, silos and distribution centers. Efforts are also being made to continuously improve the ease of doing business to attract more investors.

The authority is committed to ensuring that all incentives under the policy are delivered to investors in a simple, transparent and time-bound manner. Government is not only focused on attracting investments but also actively ensuring their implementation on the ground.
Kolkata, March 24 : Investigations into the RG Kar elevator death case have revealed that the security guards were completely unaware that a key to the basement was kept in the office of the Superintendent of the hospital.

As a result, what should have taken just three minutes to find the key ended up taking 33 minutes. Despite suffering fractures to his ribs and ruptures to his internal organs, Arup Banerjee had survived for nearly an hour. Investigators said on Tuesday that his life could have been saved had the keys to the basement been found in time.

According to the police, had time not been wasted in searching for the key, his medical treatment could have commenced much earlier.

As per the police report, the man passed away around 5.30 a.m. last Friday. Meanwhile, detectives from Kolkata Police are currently compiling a list of all individuals involved in this incident of involuntary homicide, in addition to the three lift operators and two security guards who have already been arrested.

On Monday, forensic experts returned to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to visit the scene of the incident. The trauma care unit elevator in which Banerjee lost his life had malfunctioned. The elevator was subsequently inspected in the presence of PWD officials.

Meanwhile, detectives have interviewed Banerjee's wife, Sonali; his father, Amal Banerjee; and several friends and relatives who were present at the scene. Police are now issuing notices to the elevator manufacturing firm as well as the company responsible for the elevator's maintenance. Furthermore, since allegations have been levelled against the CISF personnel who were on duty at the time, the police will also summon them for questioning.

Arupas father, Amal Banerjee, informed the police that his son and daughter-in-law were screaming for help from the basement. When several of Arupas friends attempted to descend into the basement, they discovered that the gate was locked. They desperately pleaded with the security guards, the lift operator, several hospital staff members, and CISF personnel to open the gate. However, they were told that the keys were held by the PWD.

During the investigation, detectives discovered that many of the security guards were unaware that the keys to the basement were actually kept in the hospital Superintendent's office. They were unable to locate the keys anywhere else. Eventually, a security officer learned that the keys were kept in the Superintendent's office. An attendant stays in the Superintendent's office overnight; however, he too was asleep at the time. Several security guards began searching for him. He was found in the immediate vicinity of the office. After he was woken up, he located the keys and handed them to the security guards. By then, nearly half an hour had elapsed. Even with those keys, not all of the locks could be opened. The security guards ultimately reached the basement via an alternative route.

Arup, his wife, and their son were subsequently rescued from the elevator shaft.

Following his rescue, Arup was taken away on a stretcher to receive medical treatment; however, police claim that he passed away just minutes later.

Meanwhile, during interrogation, the three arrested lift operators informed the police that -- even if they wished to -- they could not have violated protocol to retrieve the basement key from the Superintendent's office, as the attendant would not have handed it to them. That key is accessible exclusively to the security guards.

During interrogation, one lift operator stated that he took a different elevator down to the basement, where he observed a protective grille positioned in front of the elevator door. Another lift operator mentioned during questioning that he had also visited the elevator's machine room located on the upper floor.

The police have stated that they are currently investigating why one of the lift operators, apparently unaware of the situation, pressed the switch and attempted to raise the elevator.
Gandhinagar, March 24 : Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday said there was no shortage of petrol and diesel in the state and urged citizens not to queue up at fuel stations, a day after widespread panic buying triggered long lines across several cities.

Addressing a programme in Gandhinagar where he launched the 'Sugam Digital Gujarat' initiative, Patel said adequate fuel stocks were available and appealed for calm. "Adequate stock of petrol and diesel is available in the state," he said, urging people not to be misled by rumours or panic.

He added that despite the global situation, supply remained sufficient and there was "no need to form unnecessary queues", assuring that "everyone will get as per their requirement".

The Chief Minister said both the Centre and the State were working to ensure an uninterrupted supply of cooking gas.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: "Efforts were being made to ensure that citizens do not face any difficulty, while the state government was maintaining adequate distribution."

His remarks came after long queues at petrol pumps in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot were witnessed on Monday.

In some places, waiting times stretched for hours and traffic congestion was reported, although authorities maintained that supply remained normal.

The rush was attributed to panic buying following misinformation and temporary disruptions at a few outlets, including issues linked to changes in payment systems for dealers and delays in tanker deliveries.

Government and industry officials reiterated that there was no actual shortage and that supply chains were functioning normally.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi had also appealed to citizens to remain calm, stating that sufficient quantities of petrol and diesel were available. "Citizens do not need to panic over rumours. There is no need to hoard fuel," he said, adding that the Chief Minister was reviewing the situation regularly to ensure smooth supply.

Officials said continuous monitoring was in place to ensure that all petrol pumps receive fuel regularly and that any technical or logistical issues would be resolved promptly.

Authorities also warned against spreading misinformation and urged the public to rely on official communication as the situation stabilises.
Hyderabad, March 24 : Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar has welcomed the Telangana government's decision to introduce the Parents Support Bill, describing it as a moral intervention aimed at reminding children of their duty to care for their aged parents.

The Telangana Cabinet on Monday approved the Parents Support Bill, providing for the deduction of 15 per cent of salary or Rs 10,000, whichever is lower, from public representatives and government or private employees who neglect their aged parents. The deducted amount will be paid directly to the parents.

The Bill will be introduced during the ongoing Budget session of the State legislature.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner on Tuesday took to 'X' to welcome the Bill and termed it a powerful example for the entire country and the world. "A society that forgets its parents is a society that has already begun to lose its soul. The same hands that once lifted us when we fell are now being pushed away. The same parents who went hungry so we could eat, who built their entire lives around our dreams, are today being left behind, abandoned not just in homes, but in hearts. It is a quiet and painful betrayal unfolding in plain sight," he posted.

"At a time when compassion is fading and relationships are becoming transactional, the Telangana government's decision to step in and remind children of their duty is not just a policy; it is a moral intervention. The approval of a "Parents Support Bill" is not merely administrative reform; it is a response to a growing social crisis," he wrote.

"When children fail, the law is being asked to do what love should have done naturally. This law is not just a policy for one state; it is a powerful example for the entire country and the world. It shows that true progress lies not only in economic growth, but in how a society chooses to care for those who once cared for it. Ensuring that a portion of the earnings of those who neglect their elderly parents is directly given to them is more than a rule; it is a wake-up call. A warning to those who have chosen convenience over conscience, and a shield for parents whose dignity should never have needed protection in the first place."

"Because the truth is simple and uncomfortable. Parents do not crave wealth, comfort, or luxury in their final years. They seek presence, a conversation, and a sense that they still matter. When even that is denied, it is not just neglect; it is the abandonment of humanity itself. This decision stands as a reminder not just to a state or a nation, but to all of us, that progress without values is hollow. I sincerely thank the Telangana government for taking this bold and humane step, for standing up for those who once stood for us without question. Honour your parents. Not because the law demands it, but because without them, you would not even know what it means to stand," added Sajjanar.
New Delhi, March 24 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld an Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling holding that a person who has converted to Christianity and continues to profess and practice the faith cannot claim the status of a Scheduled Caste.

A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria said that "no person who professes a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste," adding that conversion to any other religion results in the "immediate and complete loss" of such status.

Upholding the Andhra Pradesh High Court's view, the apex court held that the bar under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, is "absolute" and admits no exception.

The Justice Mishra-led Bench observed that a person cannot simultaneously profess another religion and claim Scheduled Caste status. In its decision, the Supreme Court noted that the appellant had continued to profess Christianity and had been functioning as a pastor for over a decade, conducting regular Sunday prayers, leaving "no room for doubt" about his religious identity.

"In the present case, it is not the case of the petitioner that he reconverted from Christianity to his original religion or has been accepted back in the folds of the Madiga community. On the contrary, the evidence establishes that the appellant continued to profess Christianity These concurrent facts leave no room for doubt that he continued to remain a Christian," the Justice Mishra-led Bench observed.

Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh High Court, in its April 30, 2025, order, had held that a person who had converted to Christianity and was working as a pastor could not invoke protections available to Scheduled Castes under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The AP High Court had noted that the complainant had been "working as a pastor for the last 10 years" and was conducting regular Sunday prayers, thereby clearly establishing that he was professing Christianity.

It further held that "having converted to Christianity, the petitioner cannot continue to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community," and consequently could not invoke the provisions of the SC/ST Act, since the caste system is alien to Christianity.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had also observed that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, makes it clear that persons professing religions other than those specified therein cannot be treated as members of the Scheduled Castes.
Seoul, March 24 : Unionised workers at Samsung said on Tuesday they have agreed to resume talks with management ahead of a planned strike in May over bonuses.

"We had a labour-management meeting at 2 p.m., and management expressed its willingness to discuss removing the cap on performance-based bonuses and other issues," a joint board of three labour unions, including the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), said in a statement.

"Accordingly, we have decided to resume negotiations," it added, reports Yonhap news agency.

The two sides will hold full-scale negotiations on Thursday and Friday following a working-level meeting on Wednesday.

The announcement came a day after the joint union body held discussions with Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jun Young-hyun.

Last week, the unions said 93.1 per cent of their members supported the strike plan in a vote. The three unions have around 90,000 members.

The unionised workers have been demanding that management remove a cap on bonuses and grant a 7 percent wage hike, along with greater transparency in calculating performance-based bonuses.

Earlier, the workers had vowed to hold a press conference near the residence of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong in Seoul on Monday to announce their collective action, but the union later said it decided to cancel the event after the company's management suggested a meeting with Jun

During the morning meeting, the co-CEO acknowledged workers' concerns and said the company will review the union's demands, according to the union.

Jun, who heads the crucial chip business, said the company needs to consider various options for distributing bonuses among different business units, adding it is open to additional talks in the near future, if necessary, it added.

--IANS

na/
New Delhi, March 24 : Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday presented a Rs 1.03 lakh crore Budget for the financial year 2026-27, announcing a major infrastructure push and reforms while also unveiling mega plans to revamp the perennial drainage issue.

Terming it a "Green Budget", the Chief Minister said that 21 per cent of the total outlays have been earmarked for projects that will lead to environmental safeguards.

She also slammed the previous regimes for 'freebies culture' and populist policies, which resulted in a sluggish growth index in the national capital.

Overhauling the drainage and road infrastructure

The Chief Minister said that a budgetary proposal of Rs 160 crore has been made to improve the drainage system in the national capital, making it a first-of-its-kind initiative.

In another first, the government has pledged to construct roads in non-conforming areas, while allocating a sum of Rs 1,000 crore specifically for road construction and development.

The Modi Mill Flyover will be extended up to Kalkaji at an estimated cost of Rs 371 crore. An allocation of Rs 454 crore has been made for the construction of two-lane roads on both sides of the Najafgarh drain.

Other projects include the construction of an underpass at Gagan Cinema at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore, the construction of an integrated flyover from Yamuna Vihar to Bhajanpura, the underpass from Saket to Kalkaji, and the flyover extending from Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg to MG Road at a combined cost of Rs 2,000 crore.

"These initiatives will help us alleviate traffic congestion in these areas," she stated.

Scaling up housing infra, schemes for the elderly

Special emphasis has been given to improving housing infrastructure in the city while improving amenities for senior citizens.

'Vayu Anand Yojana', a programme dedicated to elderly citizens, will be launched, and a fund of Rs 125 crore has been allocated.

A fund of Rs 134 crore has been set aside for the development of slum clusters and for the establishment of 'Atal Canteens'.

Delhi CM reiterated her government's commitment to provide 'housing for all' and informed that the work was already underway on the renovation of approximately 2,400 flats.

Women-centric schemes

Delhi CM further announced a slew of initiatives to strengthen existing infrastructure for women and revamp Aanganwadi into model childcare centres.

"A budget of Rs 74.06 crore has been allocated to the Department of Women and Child Development. A provision of Rs 51.10 crore has been made for the 'Mahila Samriddhi Yojana'," she said.

Raising concerns over Anganwadis located in dilapidated rented buildings, she underlined the government's pledge to transform every Anganwadi into childcare centres.

"We have allocated a fund of Rs 33 crore specifically for the Anganwadis and these childcare centres," she informed.

'Pink Cards' have been issued to facilitate free bus travel for women. This service will extend beyond women residents, and the facility of free travel on Delhi's DTC buses will also be applicable to the transgender community.

"A fund of Rs 10 crore has been allocated for the establishment of 'Mahila Haats' (Women's Markets). These markets will be named 'Rani Haats' to empower women and enable them to become self-reliant," she said, unveiling the Rs 1.03 crore Delhi Budget.
Screenshot from SNY

As Brandon Tierney and Gregg Giannotti continue to trade jabs from afar, Craig Carton has enjoyed watching this radio war as a spectator instead of a belligerent.

WFAN is no stranger to radio wars; its just rare to have one without Carton being involved. For years, it was Carton vs. Mike Francesa, Carton vs. Peter Rosenberg, or Carton vs. Michael Kay. But as Tierney vs Giannotti continues to ramp up, Carton is happy to just watch, for now.

Im gonna watch this one from the sidelines for a good majority of it, Carton said during his Tuesday afternoon show on WFAN with co-host Chris McMonigle. And as things evolve, and hopefully they do, I want the fight to continue! Im enjoying not being involved and just being an expert witness or commentator.

Im like the king of the radio wars, Carton continued, touting his own record of battling colleagues or competing hosts. Im trying to be more mature these days, but I do have a history. I am Rocky Marciano when it comes to radio wars. Case in point, the last guy I got into a silly little tussle with woke up this morning unemployed. Another win for me in that regard, dont have to say his name.

His name is Christian Fauria, a former New England Patriots tight end and ex-afternoon radio host on WEEI in Boston. When Carton returned to WFAN for the first time in 2020, he joined WEEI for an interview in which Fauria asked whether he was allowed to have conjugal visits in prison. Carton wasnt interested in playing along and instead went on the attack. Fauria was dismissed from WEEI in 2024 after being bumped to middays in 2022.

But for now, Carton sees no reason to join the fracas between Giannotti and Tierney. On Monday afternoon, he praised WFAN as a very healthy product, a sentiment he echoed on Tuesday.

From a radio station standpoint, Im very proud of the station, Carton said. The stations never been healthier from a relationship standpoint, of all the shows getting along with each other.

The hosts might all have good working relationships right now. But Giannotti did imply the stations program director, Ryan Hurley, might need to be careful about his future at WFAN after letting Tierney join Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber as a guest to talk St. Johns last week.

If youre gonna do this for a living, you gotta be able to take some shots and have a sense of humor, Carton said of the Tierney vs Giannotti beef. Because lets be honest, we do it to everybody all day. We criticize people all day, every day. So, if we cant take a little good-natured ribbing, well, shame on us. Now, if it goes beyond good-natured ribbing and its a personal attack, then I think you have to respond in kind. The only difference between me and the guys involved in this one, is that when I do it, its full on nuclear. Theres no bodies left.

And according to Carton, there are still bodies left in this one, with Giannotti and Tierney not going at each other as hard as they could have. Despite Cartons assessment, Giannotti and Tierney have seemingly gone pretty hard at each other for two former colleagues who never feuded when working together.
Ahmedabad, March 24 : A special CBI court in Ahmedabad has convicted and sentenced four accused, including two former officials of UCO Bank, to five years of Rigorous Imprisonment along with fines in two separate bank fraud cases, officials said on Tuesday.

The court on March 23 awarded the sentence to the then Senior Manager Medam Bhagavathi Prasad, then Assistant Manager Bhaskar Rameshchandra Soni, and private individuals involved in the cases.

In the first case, the court sentenced Medam Bhagavathi Prasad, Bhaskar Rameshchandra Soni, and Jayendrasinh Dahyaji Makwana, proprietor of M/s Heaven Five Enterprise, to five yearsa rigorous imprisonment and imposed a total fine of Rs 1.33 crore.

The case was registered by the CBI on April 27, 2016, against the accused and others.

It was alleged that Prasad, while serving as Branch Manager of UCO Bankas Chiloda branch in Gandhinagar, fraudulently sanctioned and disbursed cash credit limits and term loans amounting to Rs 6.43 crore on the basis of forged documents to various borrowers.

Investigations revealed that the total outstanding amount across 17 loan accounts stood at Rs 3.63 crore as of December 2015. Most of these accounts turned Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), while others were on the verge of becoming NPAs, causing significant loss to the bank. The CBI filed a chargesheet in the matter on November 17, 2017.

In the second case, the court convicted and sentenced four accused a" Medam Bhagavathi Prasad, Bhaskar Rameshchandra Soni, and private individual Vanrajji Prabhtaji Solanki, proprietor of M/s Shree Vanraj Enterprise a" to five yearsa rigorous imprisonment along with a total fine of Rs 72 lakh.

The CBI had registered the second case on April 27, 2016, on similar allegations of fraudulent sanction and disbursal of loans based on forged documents, leading to substantial financial losses and multiple accounts turning NPAs.

After completion of the trial, the court found the accused guilty and sentenced them accordingly in both cases, the agency said.
New Delhi, March 24 : BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Tuesday accused Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of being the "Leader of Propaganda or Leader of opposing Bharat." His reaction follows the Congress MP's recent remarks alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "100 per cent under the control" of US President Donald Trump.

New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Tuesday accused Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of being the "Leader of Propaganda or Leader of opposing Bharat." His reaction follows the Congress MP's recent remarks alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "100 per cent under the control" of US President Donald Trump.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Thakur said, "They demean the country. He (Rahul Gandhi) has now become Leader of Propaganda or Leader of Opposing Bharat."

He further accused the Congress of not being serious regarding the current conflict in West Asia.

He said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a very serious statement in the Lok Sabha regarding the current situation. Everyone expected that the Opposition leaders would also be serious about such a critical issue, but there was no seriousness on their part. They were absent from the House."

Thakur added, "If they were serious, they would have been present during the statement. Only tweeting and giving statement from outside shows that the Congress, which was in power for 60 years, can only criticise. When this region is going through one crisis after another, we have seen what Congress says from time to time and whom they support."

"During surgical strikes (on Pakistan), Operation Sindoor, and even when delegations of all party leaders were sent by Prime Minister Modi to various countries across the world, we saw what the Congress was saying. Not only LoP Rahul Gandhi, even what other Congress leaders were saying. This clearly shows their mindset. They believe in Pakistan's ideology not India's," he claimed.

Meanwhile, the BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur also expressed his disappointed after the state Assembly cleared a Bill to impose cess on petrol and diesel.

Appealing for it's rollback, Thakur told reporters, "I appeal that this Rs 5 cess on petrol and diesel should be rolled back so that the people of Himachal are not burdened."

He accused the Congress of bringing a 'khatakhat' model into the state.

He said, "Before the state Assembly elections, LoP Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra came to Himachal with a flashy 'khatakhat' model, and this flashy model caused such a mess that the situation in Himachal deteriorated. The Congress has attacked the pockets of the common people in the state."

The BJP MP further said, "When the Congress government came to power, VAT was increased by Rs.10.40 in total, on diesel, and now they have implemented Rs. 5 cess. Himachal's residents have to face this burden of increased VAT and tax".

Anurag Thakur further alleged that Himachal Pradesh is debt-ridden.

He said, "While on one hand people have to face tax burden on the other hand the state is debt-ridden. A small state like Himachal Pradesh is under a debt of more than Rs 1 lakh 4 thousand crore. The state Congress government has taken around Rs 46 thousand crore as debt in the last three years."

"Now people in the state have to pay even more due to this increased VAT and cess on petrol and diesel. The Congress have not been able to fulfill its promise," he added.
Chennai, March 24 : In a key step towards consolidating its electoral alliance, the DMK on Tuesday sealed a seat-sharing deal with the VCK, allotting eight Assembly constituencies to the Dalit-focused party ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu polls.

The agreement, finalised after multiple rounds of negotiations, provides the VCK with six reserved constituencies and two general constituencies.

The pact was formally signed at the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, in the presence of Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin and VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan.

Sources indicated that the VCK had pushed for a larger share, including a double-digit seat allocation and a Rajya Sabha berth, citing its growing political relevance. However, the DMK struck a middle path by slightly increasing the partyas share compared to the last election, without conceding all of its demands.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the VCK had contested six seats and won four, a performance that strengthened its negotiating position this time.

The enhanced allocation for the 2026 polls reflects the DMKas attempt to retain the support of its ally while maintaining equilibrium within the broader alliance framework.

With the deal now concluded, the VCK has formally agreed to contest under the terms finalised by the DMK, ending weeks of uncertainty over seat-sharing discussions.

The development is being seen as a crucial breakthrough for the ruling party as it works to stitch together a cohesive alliance ahead of the elections.

The DMK is expected to accelerate talks with other allies in the coming days to complete its seat-sharing arrangements before the nomination process begins. Party leaders believe that early finalisation of alliances will help streamline campaign efforts and strengthen coordination across constituencies.

Even as the two parties have struck a deal in Tamil Nadu, the VCK, earlier in the day, announced that it will contest independently in three Assembly constituencies in Puducherry. Party leader Thol. Thirumavalavan said this, citing continued delays in finalising seat-sharing arrangements within the DMK-led alliance in the union territory.
New Delhi, March 24 : India's primary market has remained strong in the financial year 2025-26 so far, with record fundraising on the mainboard even as activity in the SME segment slowed slightly, according to NSE's Market Pulse report for March 2026 on Tuesday.

New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) Indiaas primary market has remained strong in the financial year 2025a"26 so far, with record fundraising on the mainboard even as activity in the SME segment slowed slightly, according to NSEas Market Pulse report for March 2026 on Tuesday.

The mainboard IPO segment continued its strong performance during the year. Between April and February, as many as 99 companies launched their public issues, raising a total of Rs 1.65 lakh crore.

This is higher than the previous financial year, when 79 IPOs collectively mobilised Rs 1.62 lakh crore. The rise reflects steady investor interest in large public offerings.

On the other hand, the SME segment showed some moderation. A total of 105 IPOs were launched on the NSE Emerge platform during FY26 so far, raising Rs 5,121 crore. This is lower compared to FY25, when 163 SME IPOs raised over Rs 7,000 crore.

Overall, across both segments, 204 companies raised Rs 1.70 lakh crore through IPOs during FY26 to date. In comparison, 242 companies had raised Rs 1.69 lakh crore in the previous year. This indicates that while the number of IPOs declined, the total funds raised remained strong due to larger issue sizes.

The report also highlighted a steady increase in the average size of SME IPOs. The average issue size has grown significantly over the years -- from Rs 13 crore in FY20 to Rs 44 crore in FY25, and further to around Rs 50 crore in FY26 so far. This suggests that the SME fundraising ecosystem is becoming more mature.

Sector-wise, financial services companies dominated mainboard fundraising, contributing 34 per cent of the total. Consumer discretionary firms followed with 31 per cent, while industrial companies accounted for 11 per cent. In the SME segment, industrial companies led with a 36 per cent share, followed by consumer discretionary at 23 per cent and materials at 10 per cent.

Regionally, companies based in Maharashtra raised the highest funds at Rs 5,830 crore. Gujarat-based firms followed with Rs 4,794 crore, while companies from Delhi raised Rs 3,643 crore. Maharashtra also topped in terms of market capitalisation of listed SME firms at Rs 48,428 crore, followed closely by Gujarat and Delhi.
March 24 : Lucknow: Under the leadership of CM Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has witnessed unprecedented transformation in healthcare services over the past nine years. Government has strengthened infrastructure while achieving new milestones in digital health, emergency services and maternal and child care. As a result, UP now ranks among the top states in country across several health indicators.

State has made significant progress in digital health by generating over 5.76 crore electronic health records. Under the microsite project, 35 microsites are operational, with over 440,000 records registered, placing UP at the top nationwide. Unified Disease Surveillance Portal has improved disease monitoring and prevention. Care Model has been implemented in hospitals to monitor medical equipment availability and efficiency.

Significant progress has also been made in maternal and child health. Pregnant women are provided free ultrasound services through e-vouchers. Under the 'Janani Suraksha Yojana', 1,351,044 beneficiaries have been covered, while 879,642 children have been treated under child health programs. 'Dastak campaign' has been actively combating diseases like AES and JE.

Scale of healthcare expansion is evident with 22,681 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres now operational. Over 13.18 crore people have been registered under the Ayushman Bharat Health Account. With 81,615+ registrations in the Health Professional Registry, UP leads the nation.

Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, health cards have been issued to 1.31 crore families, covering 5.59 crore beneficiaries. More than 9 crore people have received free healthcare coverage up to 5 lakh. Under the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana', 7.34 crore people have benefited. Additionally, under the 'Chief Ministers Jan Arogya Abhiyan', 50.64 lakh families have been provided health security.

Healthcare infrastructure has expanded significantly

873 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are operational across all districts.

UP ranks first with 63,407 health facility registrations.

13,353 crore has been spent so far to provide free treatment to 81.55 lakh patients.

Ayushman network includes 6,213 hospitals (2,950 government and 3,263 private), largest in the country.

Emergency services have also improved.

Over 4 crore people benefited from the 108 ambulance service.

375 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances are operational.

Daily ambulance coverage has increased from 60 km to 120 km.

More than 1.80 crore patients have been treated via mobile medical units.

Free dialysis services are now available in hospitals across all 75 districts, benefiting over 41.46 lakh patients. CT scan services have also been introduced at the district level. Telemedicine and teleconsultation services have made specialist care accessible in remote areas. The establishment of Uttar Pradesh Medical Supply Corporation has improved transparency in medicine supply and quality. Additionally, 798 health units have received National Quality Assurance Certification.

In food safety and research.

36 mobile laboratories are testing food samples.

Microbiology labs have been set up in Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi.

'Pramod Pharm' institution has been established to promote pharmaceutical research.

Furthermore, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Cashless Medical Scheme has been implemented for state employees and pensioners, providing cashless treatment. Lakhs of families from various departments have also been covered under health insurance schemes.
New Delhi, March 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged state governments to establish dedicated monitoring mechanisms for migrant workers and vulnerable sections, cautioning that the ongoing West Asia conflict could pose a significant challenge for the country in the coming months.

Briefing the Rajya Sabha on the evolving situation in West Asia, the Prime Minister said, "In the coming times, this crisis will pose a major test for our country. To overcome this challenge, the cooperation of all states is essential. Therefore, through this House, I wish to make an appeal to all state governments."

Highlighting the disproportionate impact of crises on weaker sections, he added, "During crises, the poor, labourers, and migrant workers are the most affected. Therefore, it must be ensured that the benefits of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana reach them on time. Proactive steps should be taken to address the difficulties of migrant workers. It would be very helpful if state governments set up special systems to monitor such situations."

The Prime Minister also flagged concerns over black marketing and hoarding, urging states to remain alert and act swiftly on any complaints related to such practices.

Calling for a unified approach, he emphasised the need for collective action under the spirit of "Team India" to sustain economic growth and navigate the global uncertainty.

"I would like to make one more request to all state governments. No matter how big the crisis, it is our collective responsibility to maintain India's rapid growth. For this, we must continue to take all necessary steps and implement reforms swiftly. This is also a great opportunity for state governments -- and it is a major test for Team India," he said.

Recalling the country's response during the Covid pandemic, PM Modi said the Centre and states had together demonstrated an "excellent model of crisis management".

"Despite having governments of different political parties, testing, vaccination, and the supply of essential items were ensured through the efforts of Team India. We must continue to work with that same spirit. With the combined efforts of all state governments and the central government, the country will effectively face this serious global crisis," he said.

Stressing that the present crisis is distinct and evolving, the Prime Minister noted, "This crisis is different, and its solutions are also being devised differently. We must face every challenge with patience, restraint, and a calm mind. As we are witnessing, the situation regarding this war is changing every moment."

He also urged citizens to remain "prepared for potential challenges" ahead, warning that the repercussions of the conflict could be prolonged.

"There is a strong possibility that the adverse effects of this war may persist for a long time. However, I assure the people of the country -- the government is vigilant, alert, and with full seriousness, it is formulating strategies and taking every decision. The welfare of the people is paramount for us. This is our identity, this is our strength," he added.
Kolkata, March 24 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday claimed that the 1st supplementary list of voters referred for judicial adjudication would not have been published unless she had approached the Supreme Court in the matter.

At the same time, Banerjee also launched a scathing criticism of the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the publication of the first supplementary list at midnight on Monday.

"Why was the first supplementary list published at midnight? There is surely some political conspiracy behind this. Till now, the printed copies of the list have not been displayed at the election booth. The names that had been included in the first supplementary list were because I approached the Supreme Court in the matter," she told media persons outside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here before leaving for North Bengal for a campaign ahead of the April Assembly elections.

Banerjee also said the Commission was afraid to bring out the first supplementary list in time. "What I heard is that the judicial officers involved in the process of judicial adjudication completed their work in time. It was the Commission who took five to six days more to publish the list on Monday midnight," she said.

The Chief Minister also gave a call to all anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forces to get united against the alleged conspiracy to snatch the voting rights of the people, which, according to her, was a joint plot of the BJP and the Election Commission.

"We have to be united to ensure that the elections are conducted in a peaceful and unbiased manner. Personally, I do not need the support of any other party. But we all have to be united to protect the democracy of the country. There is no necessity to stand by me. But please stand by the common people," she said.

Banerjee also said that although the first supplementary list was published on Monday, the entire picture of how many names have been included and how many have been deleted is yet to be clear. "Now, we will have to see who all have been deleted and who all have been included," she said.
Pune : , March 24 (IANS) Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla on Tuesday said that reports of Pakistan mediating between Iran, Israel and the United States, during the ongoing West Asia conflict, is "fake news."

His reaction comes following reports that the neighbouring country is attempting to position itself as the lead mediator to broker peace between Iran, US and Israel.

Poonawalla told IANS, "Pakistan will mediate between the Iran and Israel conflict? Anyone who has published such news is either intoxicated or is on Pakistan's payroll. All this kind of news is fake and no one should believe it."

He alleged that the rogue nation itself relies on financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and has major global stakeholders, including the US, China, and Saudi Arabia.

"This war is taking place between two of its stakeholders, so how can Pakistan mediate between them? What logic is this?", he said.

Poonawalla claimed that there are only three countries, namely Qatar, Oman and India, who can mediate in this conflict.

Hitting out at Pakistan, he said, "(Supposedly), if you are mediating in the conflict why would you put it out in the media and in the public? And two years ago, Iran and Pakistan were throwing missiles at each other. During Ramzan, Pakistan was bombing Afghanistan. So how can it (Pakistan) mediate in this matter."

The political analyst reiterated, "Pakistan is not mediating."

Urging for the conflict to end, he said, "As far as the mediation between Iran, Israel and America is concerned, the world doesn't want a war in West Asia. They want the oil crisis to end. I feel all countries, including India, should help in this."

Meanwhile, as the war in West Asia entered its fourth week, countries worldwide are taking drastic measures to conserve fuel and ensure continued energy access for their people in the wake of the disruption in oil and gas supplies triggered by the escalation in the Middle East conflict.
New Delhi, March 24 : Delhi's Leader of the Opposition Atishi, along with other AAP legislators, staged a protest outside the Assembly on Tuesday, alleging that despite a Rs 1 lakh crore budget, the government has failed to provide even a single ladder for the Fire Department.

The AAP leaders displayed posters reading: "Budget: Rs 1 lakh crore. Fire Brigade ke paas seedhi: 1 bhi nahi", highlighting their concerns over inadequate fire safety infrastructure.

Talking to IANS, Atishi criticised the government, saying: "They (the BJP government) have no shame. They are eating kheer and celebrating when they should be mourning. (Delhi Minister) Ashish Sood is even hurling abuses at a family that lost nine members and blaming them. Despite a Rs 1 lakh crore budget, they could not provide even one ladder."

AAP MLA Imran Hussain said that four party MLAs have been suspended and questioned the priorities of the government.

"A budget of Rs 1 lakh crore was presented, but not a single ladder was purchased for the Fire Department," he said.

AAP MLA Pravesh Ratn also criticised the suspension of MLAs, calling the situation unjust.

"Our four MLAs have been suspended and the entire opposition is sitting outside - what kind of budget is this?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta presented the annual budget for financial year 2026-27 in the Assembly, proposing a total outlay of Rs 1,03,700 crore.

This marks her second budget for the national capital. Speaker Vijender Gupta congratulated her, saying: "The CM, Rekha Gupta, is presenting Budget 2026-27. Congratulations to her, it is her second Delhi budget."

Addressing the Assembly, CM Gupta highlighted Delhi's resilience and economic strength, saying: "Our city Delhi has a unique identity which is its creative power -- how it was degraded again and again and yet stood firm and succeeded."

"Delhi saw a difficult phase for many years. Despite facing corruption, small-mindedness, and vote bank politics in the past few years, Delhi is now progressing rapidly, where not only announcements are made, but actions and developments are visible not just in data but in the lives of people. Delhi is progressing at triple-engine speed."
Kochi, March 24 : The police on Tuesday said they are under the impression that there is nothing suspicious in the incident in Kochi where visuals of a naval base were captured by foreigners using a drone.a

The individuals, first detained and later let off at Fort Kochi, are American citizens Katie Michelle Phelps and Christopher. A case was registered against them for filming visuals of the naval base INS Dronacharya and the Coast Guard headquarters.a

During questioning, the foreigners stated that they are YouTubers and that they have their own channel. The police are conducting a detailed examination of these claims.a

The incident had initially triggered security concerns given the sensitivity of defence installations along Keralaas coastline. a

Filming or photographing such facilities without prior clearance is a violation of established security protocols, prompting swift action from local authorities.a

The duo was taken into custody for questioning soon after the drone activity was brought to light. Police sources indicated that preliminary verification of their statements and digital records has not revealed any links to suspicious networks or activities. a

Officials stressed that the investigation is still ongoing, with detailed scrutiny of the footage captured, the drone used, and the coupleas travel history. a

Authorities are also examining their online presence to corroborate their claim of being content creators.a

Investigators are verifying whether similar footage has been recorded elsewhere and if any sensitive visuals were uploaded or shared. a

While the immediate threat perception has been ruled out, officials said, due process will be followed before a final decision is taken on the case.a

Legal provisions regarding unauthorised aerial filming, particularly near strategic locations, remain stringent and may still attract penalties depending on the findings.a

The episode has once again highlighted the growing challenges posed by the widespread use of drones by tourists and vloggers. a

Security agencies have reiterated the need for greater awareness and strict compliance with regulations, especially in areas of national importance.a

--IANS

sg/dan

a
Bengaluru, March 24 : The Congress-led Karnataka government's decision to allocate an additional Rs 10 crore to victims of Kerala's Wayanad landslide tragedy has sparked political controversy, with the BJP and JD(S) launching sharp attacks on the move on Tuesday.a Bengaluru, March 24 (IANS) The Congress-led Karnataka government's decision to allocate an additional Rs 10 crore to victims of Kerala's Wayanad landslide tragedy has sparked political controversy, with the BJP and JD(S) launching sharp attacks on the move on Tuesday.

Bengaluru South MP and BJP Yuva Morcha National President Tejasvi Surya criticised the state government, questioning its "sense of dignity and accountability."

On X, Surya said, "Is there any sense of dignity or accountability left in a Congress government that is accused of draining the lifeblood of Kannadigas to fund political interests in another state? This is the question being raised by people across Karnataka."

He pointed to issues within the state, stating that Karnataka is facing a drinking water crisis, poor road conditions, and farmer distress due to mounting debt. 

"Despite this, what moral right does the government have to spend crores of rupees of Kannadigas' money for what is being termed as an election gimmick in Kerala?" he asked.

"If this is not a betrayal of Kannadigas, then what is? Answer this," he said, addressing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

The BJP Karnataka unit also accused the Congress government of financial mismanagement and misplaced priorities. 

In a strongly worded statement, the party alleged that the government has failed to pay salaries to guest teachers, Anganwadi workers and Neeragantis, while sanctioning Rs 10 crore for landslide victims in Wayanad.

The party further alleged that the funds were being diverted to the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, to appease the Congress high command. 

It urged the state government to instead clear contractors' pending dues and provide compensation to farmers affected by unseasonal rains.

Echoing similar concerns, the Janata Dal (Secular) said that while lakhs of people in Karnataka are struggling for basic shelter, the government appears more focused on rehabilitation efforts in Wayanad.

The opposition parties questioned the rationale behind allocating public funds outside the state, alleging that the move was politically motivated. They accused the Congress leadership of prioritising electoral considerations over the welfare of Karnataka's citizens.

The BJP further criticised what it described as "high command-driven" governance and termed the decision a betrayal of Kannadigas. 

It also pointed out that the state government had allocated Rs 10 crore to Wayanad last year as well, alleging that the move was repeated to please the party leadership.

In 2024, the Karnataka government had earlier granted Rs 10 crore for the construction of houses for 100 families affected by the landslide in Wayanad. 

The Congress government has yet to respond in detail to the allegations.

--IANS

mka/dan
Mumbai, March 24 : Actress Ananya Panday offered prayers at Nageshwar Jyotirlinga.

On Tuesday, she took to her official Instagram account and treated the netizens with glimpses from her recent religious visit.

The 'CTRL' actress was seen taking the blessing of Lord Shiva, posing in a simple ethnic attire in a sans makeup look. We could also see a chandan tilak on her forehead.

Ananya was accompanied by her mother, Bhavaya Pandey, during her trip to Nageshwar.

"Nageshwar (red heart emoji) Dwarkadish (red heart emoji) on namah shivay (Sparkes, folded hands, moon, red heart, evil eye, and Trishul emoji)," the caption on the post read.

Ananya's mother, Bhavana, reacted to the post with red heart and folded hands emojis.

Nageshwar is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Located in Dwarka, it is one of the legendary temples mentioned in the Shiva Purana. It is also one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.

Ananya keeps on sharing her religious side on social media through her various posts.

In January, she was seen performing 'Gau Seva' during her visit to a Lord Shiva temple.

She took to her social media handle and dropped a couple of pictures of some lovely moments of devotion and compassion.

In one of the stills, Ananya was seated inside a temple, dressed in a yellow traditional outfit.

We saw the 'Kesari: Chapter 2' actress holding a coconut in her hands as she offered prayers.

In another photograph, Ananya was seen doing Gau Seva. She fed grass and fodder to cows at a cowshed.

The album further captured a Shiva statue. In another picture, a dog was seen resting calmly on a bench.

Ananya added the caption to the post, "Om Namaha Parvate Pataye Har Har Mahadev", accompanied by a trishul emoticon.

--IANS

pm/
Mumbai, March 24 : Maharashtra Information Technology Minister Ashish Shelar, on Tuesday, in the State Assembly announced that the state government will formulate a comprehensive policy or law regarding the regulation of social media usage by minors in the state, which will be framed only after the report of the government-appointed task force.

The Minister was responding to a 'Calling Attention' motion moved by Assembly member Rajesh Pawar regarding the impact of increasing usage of social media, online games, and digital platforms by minors.

Minister Shelar said while other states have made announcements regarding social media bans, no concrete laws have been implemented yet.

"Maharashtra, viewing the issue with gravity, established a Task Force on February 2, 2026. The Task Force is studying the mental, physical, and educational impacts of social media on minors, as well as the influence of digital advertising. It will suggest legal, technical, and administrative measures based on national and international regulations," he added.

The Minister emphasised that a blanket ban on mobile or social media use for those aged under 18 years would not be appropriate, as the internet is a vital tool in the education system.

Therefore, a balanced approach is necessary.

"The Task Force has been given a three-month period. Following their report, the state will decide on measures such as age verification, screen time limits, and digital safety education in schools. Programmes to train teachers and parents on digital security are also being considered," he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced in the State Assembly that a thorough investigation will be conducted in the alleged sand smuggling case in Majalgaon (Beed district) involving suspected police collusion and the seizure of mobiles of three suspects.

He said that deleted data was recovered using advanced technology; however, the analysis did not reveal direct evidence of collusion or links.

The issue was raised by member Prakash Solanke, with members Nana Patole and Arjun Khotkar also participating in the debate.

The Chief Minister noted that the Local Crime Branch and special investigation teams are working continuously to control various crimes.

Criteria for the appointment of officers have been fixed and are being strictly implemented to prevent malpractice.

Minister of State for Home, Yogesh Kadam, added that the Anti-Corruption Bureau has taken action, resulting in the suspension of a police constable.

The forensic report of the seized mobiles showed no objectionable conversation between the accused and the Police Inspector.

The Inspector, who was previously attached to the control room to ensure an unbiased probe, has been reassigned following the report.

Minister of State Ashish Jaiswal told the State Assembly that the state government will prepare a policy to resolve rehabilitation of issues of Gosikhurd irrigation project involving compensation and grants.

The Minister was responding to a debate on calling attention motion moved by member Naresh Bhondekar.

Minister Jaiswal said that issues persist in some villages regarding dam water and flooding.

The state government will decide whether rehabilitation should be done at once or in phases.

"Decisions regarding grants are required. Previously, project-affected persons received a grant of Rs 2.99 lakh. The government is evaluating if the same should apply to current residents. A meeting with the members will be held to reach a concrete decision within the next month," Minister Jaiswal added.
New Delhi, March 24 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, on Tuesday, welcomed the Supreme Court's order that a person, who has converted to Christianity and continues to profess and practice the faith cannot claim the status of a Scheduled Caste.

A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria said that "no person who professes a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste", adding that conversion to any other religion results in the "immediate and complete loss" of such status.

Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar termed the verdict as "reasonable".

He told IANS," Very reasonable, common sensical thing that we can all easily agree with because reservations are meant for those who have been deprived of opportunities for several centuries. The OBC (Other Backward Classes), ST (Scheduled Tribe) and SC (Scheduled Caste)."

"But the moment you move from SC or ST and become some other religion, it is clear that you should not get the SC or ST benefits. You cannot be SC or ST and also not be of Hindu faith," Chandrsekhar said.

BJP MP Manan Mishra echoed similar view.

He said: "The Supreme Court has taken the correct decision otherwise people were misusing it (reservation). Even after converting to other religion people used to avail benefits made for the Scheduled Caste, including reservation, which was not right. I hope everybody will accept this verdict."

Celebrating the apex court's order, Dalit leader Lalla Babu Dravid distributed sweets in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad.

He told IANS, "Supreme Court has taken a big decision today. We had waited for years for this. People used to covert into Christianity and other religions and took away our rights. That is why Supreme Court has given its decision today. If anyone converts into other religion (except Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism) will not get the benefits of the Dalits. The entire Dalit community welcomes this verdict."

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders, while saying that "religious conversion is a personal choice", said that no one should get reservation "on the basis of religion".

Samajwadi Party MP Virendra Singh told IANS, "Religious conversion is one's personal choice. No one should have any problem with it."

Addressing reporters outside the Parliament, Shiv Sena-UBT MP Arvind Sawant, said, "Every religion may have some people from backward communities. But people should not get reservation on the basis of religion."

Citing the example of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, Sawant said, "Babasaheb Thackery used to say that he believes in only two religions, rich and poor. According to him, the poor may belong to any religion or caste, each of them needs to be uplifted in the society, whether in the field of education or employment, they should be given priority."

Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said, "Supreme Court has issued its verdict and the Indian government should clearly express its opinion on it. Whatever is bound by law will have to be acceptable by all. Now the Indian government should clear its stand."
Mumbai, March 24 : Actress Sonakshi Batra, who plays the titular role in the television show 'Jagadhatri', has said that Lord Ram's life reminds people about how they should walk the path of righteousness.

The actress made the statement ahead of Rama Navami. She shared how her family celebrity the day, as she said, "Ram Navami has always been a very special and spiritual day for me. I have immense faith in Lord Ram and truly believe that his blessings guide and protect us in every phase of life. At home, we celebrate this day together as a family, offering prayers and seeking his blessings, while my mother lovingly prepares prasad, which makes the day even more special".

She further mentioned, "I have always been deeply inspired by Lord Ram and the values he stood for, truth, patience, strength, and compassion. His life is a reminder of how one should walk the path of righteousness. Even listening to the Ramayana fills my heart with peace and positivity, and helps me reconnect with myself. Ram Navami is not just a celebration, but a feeling of faith and inner calm that stays with me".

Earlier, the actress had shared her experience of filing for a risky sequence for the show. The scene in question is a Holi scene where the drama intensified as Tapasya's (played by Yesha Harsora) evil plans against Jagadhatri took a dangerous turn and landed Maya's daughter Gunjan (played by Pari Bhanushali) in grave trouble.

During the chaos, Gunjan gets caught in a sudden fire, putting her life at risk. Determined to save her, Jagadhatri and Shivaay (played by Farman Haider) put their own lives on the line. In a nail-biting moment, Jagadhatri bravely jumps into the fire to rescue Gunjan and bring her to safety.

Sharing her experience of shooting for the sequence, Sonakshi Batra, said, "Playing Jagadhatri has been an incredible journey and over time, action scenes have actually become one of my favourite parts of the show".

"The recent fire stunt was definitely challenging because such sequences require a lot of precision, focus and safety. Working with Pari Bhanushali, who plays Gunjan, is always smooth because she is a very bright child and follows everything that is told to her. Even during the fire stunt, she carefully followed all the instructions, which made things easier for everyone on set", she added.

'Jagadhatri' airs on Zee TV.
New Delhi, March 24 : Harish Rana, the first person in India to be granted permission for passive euthanasia, passed away on Tuesday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, after remaining in a coma for more than 13 years.

The 31-year-old, who had been in a permanent vegetative state since 2013 following a severe head injury, was shifted from his Ghaziabad residence to the palliative care unit at the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at AIIMS on March 14, where the process of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment was being carried out in accordance with court guidelines.

Earlier this month, on March 11, the Supreme Court allowed passive euthanasia for Rana, permitting the withdrawal of life support under strict medical supervision. A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan had ruled that the medical board could exercise its clinical judgment in line with the principles laid down in the landmark 2018 judgment in Common Cause vs Union of India, which recognised the legality of passive euthanasia and living wills.

Allowing the plea filed by Ranaas family, the apex court had directed that he be admitted to AIIMS for end-of-life care, noting that he was suffering from 100 per cent disability, quadriplegia, and required continuous assistance for breathing and feeding through medical tubes.

Medical assessments conducted by expert boards concluded that Ranaas condition was irreversible, with negligible chances of recovery. He had been dependent on a tracheostomy tube for respiration and a gastrostomy tube for nutrition.

The case had its origins in a petition filed by Ranaas parents before the Delhi High Court, seeking permission for passive euthanasia. The High Court had earlier declined relief, prompting the family to move the Supreme Court.

During earlier hearings, the apex court had explored alternatives, including home-based medical care, after the Union government proposed assistance such as nursing support, physiotherapy, and free medicines. However, the family later approached the Supreme Court again, citing deterioration in his condition and lack of improvement despite prolonged treatment.

After reserving its verdict in January, the top court delivered its judgment allowing passive euthanasia, marking a significant moment in Indiaas evolving legal and ethical discourse on end-of-life care.

Ranaas death brings closure to a long legal and medical struggle endured by his family, while also highlighting the complexities surrounding passive euthanasia in India.
Buldhana, March 24 : The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Harshwardhan Sapkal, on Tuesday said that the kind of disturbing discourse triggered by the fraud self-styled godman Ashok Kharat case is not good for Maharashtra. He demanded additional support for the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the formation of a task force, and strict action against the accused to bring the case to a conclusion.

"Around Diwali, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had received information about the fraud godman Ashok Kharat case. Kharat's misconduct had already come to light in October-November, and the Home Department was gathering evidence. So was the Chief Minister asleep for six months?" he asked.

Sapkal told reporters that the Ashok Kharat case has emerged out of superstition, and society must learn a lesson from it by adopting a scientific temper.

"Everyone knows who is fuelling superstition, creating conflicts between religions and castes, and spreading hatred. Such distortions give rise to people like Kharat, and this must be acknowledged.

"Since 2014, Devendra Fadnavis has been the Home Minister, and it is during his tenure that such a menace has spread in Maharashtra. Even now, the Chief Minister is deliberately dragging the case, allegedly to put pressure on alliance partners, which is condemnable.

"While Rupali Chakankar has resigned as the chairperson of State Women's Commission in this matter, action must also be taken against all others involved by filing cases against them. Those associated with Kharat should at least feel moral responsibility," he said.

He further stated that such perversions arise when social awareness is ignored, and in the Kharat case, some people have also fallen victim to superstition. Maharashtra was the first state in the country to enact a law against superstition.

"Dr Narendra Dabholkar fought his entire life against superstition, and his work must be carried forward by taking a pledge to eradicate such practices so that distortions like Kharat do not emerge again," he remarked.

Referring to the Satara Zilla Parishad president election, Sapkal said that there is infighting within the ruling alliance itself, and ministers Shambhuraj Desai and Makarand Patil have claimed that they were assaulted by the police.

The fact that ministers themselves are being beaten in Maharashtra is a major sign that democracy has hit rock bottom. What happened in Satara also reaffirms allegations of vote theft, he added.
Mumbai, March 24 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday that the Legislature cannot assume the role of the Executive and directions given by the Legislature does not become the ultimate truth as action based on those directions will take place based on the ground reality.

Chief Minister Fadnavis' statement comes a day after the chaos and manhandling of Ministers during the Satara Zilla Parishad (ZP) presidential and vice-presidential elections triggered an uproar in both Houses of the Legislature on Monday, bringing the internal rift within the ruling MahaYuti alliance in the open.

Shiv Sena legislators had strongly demanded action against Satara Superintendent of Police (SP) Tushar Doshi.

The controversy escalated after Legislative Council deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe on Monday directed the state government to suspend Satara SP Doshi, who was allegedly linked to a cane charge during the Maratha reservation protests in 2023.

However, State Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde later said that he would give judgment on whether such powers could be exercised by the State Council Deputy Chairperson, effectively putting the suspension in limbo.

"Constitution has defined three arms. These are Judicial, Legislature and Executive and they work independently. Legislature can give directions to Executive and as a matter of respect, the Executive try to respect the Legislature. But with all due to respect to the chair, I want to say that Legislature cannot assume the role of Executive," Chief Minister Fadnavis said.

He was replying to the debate initiated by Shiv Sena-UBT MLC Anil Parab through point of procedure.

Parab recalled Council Chairman Ram Shinde's announcement on Monday regarding giving the ruling on whether deputy chairperson has a right to suspend an IPS officer and asked him to solve the constitutional deadlock.

NCP-SP MLC Shashikant Shinde, too, requested Council Chairman Ram Shinde to give a ruling.

Chief Minister Fadnavis said, "Just because directions have been given (by the Legislature), it does not become the ultimate truth. The action will take place only based on reality on ground."

The Chief Minister referring to Parab and Council Chairman Ram Shinde's reference of suspension of IAS official in the State Assembly, said that the action was a result of the official's absence from the briefing called by the Minister for the legislative work.

"That was related to the business taking place inside the legislative building. Here, the incident has taken place outside the legislative building. Directions are given by the chair and Executive has a right to convey the reality. Even the promises given inside the House are not like gospel truths. We have Promises Committee to monitor those for that very purpose," Chief Minister Fadnavis said.

Earlier, on Monday, the council deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe ordered the immediate suspension of Satara SP Tushar Doshi.

The decision follows a "horrific" incident during the elections to the post of Satara Zilla Parishad president and vice president where Maharashtra Minister and Satara Guardian Minister Shambhuraj Desai was allegedly manhandled and injured by the police personnel.

"It is a long-standing tradition of this House that the word of a member, and especially a Minister, is accepted as the truth. I am hereby directing the government to immediately suspend the Satara SP and all related officers who engaged in manhandling, causing injuries, and obstructing the democratic voting process," Deputy Chairperson Gorhe said.

She also noted that the state government should have ideally initiated an inquiry on Monday, but since it hadn't happened, the Legislature must now step in to ensure accountability.

According to statements made in the House, the chaos erupted during the voting process for the elections to the posts of Zilla Parishad President and Vice President.

Despite claims of majority of Shiv Sena and NCP, the BJP won these elections.

The Satara Guardian Minister Shambhuraj Desai narrated his ordeal, saying that despite his 40-year political career, he had never faced such treatment.

Minister Desai alleged that while he was escorting 33 members to the polling booth -- following an alliance between the Shiv Sena and NCP -- they were intercepted by more than 100 police personnel in plain clothes just 10 metres from the voting hall.

The police reportedly acted on a "false complaint" of member abduction.
New Delhi, March 24 : Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament from Kurukshetra in Haryana, strongly endorsed the Finance Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, describing it as a transformative and forward-looking roadmap that will shape the future of 140 crore Indians.

He emphasised that India's growth story is being powered by the combined strength of its taxpayers and the private sector  both of whom are indispensable partners in nation-building.

Highlighting the critical role of the private sector, Jindal underscored that it contributes over 80 per cent of employment and more than 60 per cent of India's GDP, while also driving innovation and global competitiveness.

Jindal also called for a shift in mindset towards taxpayers, advocating for a more respectful and citizen-centric approach. He highlighted improved compliance trends, noting that the GST taxpayer base has crossed 1.5 crore and gross GST collections in FY 202425 exceeded Rs 22 lakh crore.

"A taxpayer is not a suspect, but a partner in nation-building. Their contributions must be respected," he emphasised.

Jindal said the Finance Bill, 2026 lays the foundation for inclusive and sustainable development by empowering farmers, enabling youth, enhancing women's dignity, and securing long-term economic resilience.

"This bill is not for any one party; it is for the future of the nation, and its benefits will reach every citizen," he remarked.

He noted that India's IT exports have surpassed $200 billion, the pharmaceutical sector serves over 200 countries, and the country today has more than one lakh recognised startups and over 100 unicorns.

Jindal noted that India has demonstrated a strong recovery in the face of COVID-19, geopolitical tensions, and global supply chain disruptions.

Emphasising sustainability and quality of life, he advocated for greater promotion of natural farming to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers, lower subsidy burdens, and ensure healthier food systems. He stressed that development must be measured not only by GDP, but by improvements in everyday life.

While welcoming the provisions of the Finance Bill, Jindal also proposed key reforms to strengthen the taxation framework, including the introduction of joint tax filing for families, institutionalising dispute resolution mechanisms such as "Vivad se Vishwas," promoting faster and more structured resolution of tax disputes, and ensuring that tax notices are simple, transparent, and respectful in nature.

Concluding his address, Jindal called for unity across political lines to accelerate India's journey towards becoming a strong, self-reliant, and developed nation. "We may have different views, but when it comes to nation-building, we must move forward together," he said, extending his full support to the Finance Bill, 2026.
Tehran, March 24 : Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr has been appointed as the new Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani who was killed in an Israeli attack last week, the Iranian media reported on Tuesday quoting a statement issued by Mehdi Tabatabai, the Iranian President's Public Relations aide.

Tehran, March 24 (IANS) Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr has been appointed as the new Secretary of Iranas Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani who was killed in an Israeli attack last week, the Iranian media reported on Tuesday quoting a statement issued by Mehdi Tabatabai, the Iranian President's Public Relations aide.

It was stated that Zolqadr has been appointed with the approval and consent of leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei and by the decree of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Zolqadr, a veteran commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), used to serve as the Secretary of the Expediency Council.

"According to insiders, he brings decades of experience across Iran's military, security, and judicial institutions to the post at a critical juncture. He previously served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for Basij affairs, and held senior positions in the judiciary for nearly a decade," leading Iranian network PressTV reported adding that in the late 1980s, Zolqadr served for eight years as head of the IRGC Joint Staff during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He then spent another eight years as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC.

Last week, Israel announced that it has killed Iranas Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani.

In a statement shared on X, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated that Larjiani was considered one of the most senior figures in the Iranian regime leadership and a close associate of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iranas Supreme National Security Council and the regimeas effective leader, has been eliminated. Throughout the years, Larijani was considered one of the most veteran and senior figures within the Iranian regime leadership, and was a close associate of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei," IDF posted on X on March 17.

"During the most recent wave of protests against the Iranian terror regime, Larijani personally oversaw the massacre that was carried out against Iranian protestors," it added.

IDF mentioned that, after Khamenei's death, Larijani functioned as the leader of the Iranian regime and led the combat against Israel and countries in the region.
Islamabad, March 24 : The recent suicide bombing inside a mosque in Pakistan's Islamabad, which killed at least 31 worshippers and injured over 160 others, was not an aberration but part of a grim continuum for Shia community in the country. The attack on Khadija Tul Kubra mosque in Islamabad signalled not only a local lapse but a systemic failure of deterrence. Shia mosques, processions, buses, hospitals, and shrines have faced attacks in Pakistan for the past 20 years.

"From Peshawar and Quetta to Parachinar and Karachi, attacks have followed a disturbingly consistent script a" intelligence warnings, inadequate preventive measures, post-attack condemnations, and little visible accountability. The federal capital was long portrayed as an exception, a zone where the stateas coercive capacity would deter such violence," Shinwari, a freelance journalist based in Pakistan, wrote in Afghan Diaspora Network.

"That assumption collapsed on February 6. The bombing demonstrated that sectarian militants could strike even where surveillance density is highest, raising serious doubts about threat assessment, intelligence coordination, and on-ground protection of vulnerable religious sites," the article mentioned.

The Khadija Tul Kubra mosque is a popular Shia place of worship with people expected to come in large numbers during Friday prayers. The failure to have robust, visible security measures in such a situation is difficult to justify. According to officials, 169 injured people were rushed to hospitals, including the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. The emergency response showcased not preparedness but improvisation, sparking concerns that contingency planning for attacks on religious sites remains insufficient.

"That such an attack occurred in Islamabad carries symbolic weight. The city represents the Pakistani state in its most concentrated form a" ministries, embassies, military headquarters, and intelligence offices are clustered within its boundaries. When a suicide bomber can breach a mosque here, it signals not merely a local lapse but a systemic failure of deterrence," the report in Afghan Diaspora Network stated.

"Top Shia leaders were explicit in their criticism. Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri described the bombing as a serious failure to protect human lives and questioned the performance of law enforcement agencies. His remarks echoed a broader sentiment within the community that official assurances of protection ring hollow when measured against repeated bloodshed," it added.

Pakistan has a population of about 40 million Shia Muslims. Despite this demographic reality, sectarian violence has continued in Pakistan. Human rights groups and independent researchers estimate that thousands of people from Shia community have been killed in targeted attacks in Pakistan over the 20 years. These are not random casualties of instability but victims of sustained ideological hostility.

On November 21, 2024, a Shia religious procession commemorating the death of Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Hazrat Fatima, was targetted by unidentified gunmen in Parachinar, killing 44 civilians. In July 2024, a land disagreement caused armed clashes between Sunni and Shia tribes, causing 43 deaths. Prominent and economically successful Shia individuals have been singled out and killed in Pakistan. As many as 61 worshippers were killed after a struck a Shia mosque in Sindh's Shikarpur in 2015.

"The failure to safeguard Shia mosques, repeatedly and predictably, reflects more than operational shortcomings. It points to a deeper reluctance to confront sectarian extremism as a central national security threat rather than a peripheral issue. The Islamabad bombing did not occur in a vacuum. It emerged from years of tolerated hate speech, inconsistent enforcement, and a security paradigm that has prioritised some threats while downplaying others," the article highlighted.
Amaravati, March 24 : All households in Andhra Pradesh will have access to safe drinking water by 2028 under the Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.

Officials from the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Andhra Pradesh government formally signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0 in New Delhi today.a

Union Minister for Jal Sakti C.R. Paatil praised the efforts of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in extending the Jal Jeevan Mission by taking up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. a

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu reaffirmed the state governmentas commitment towards uninterrupted and safe drinking water supply to every rural household under JJM.a

He participated virtually from Amaravati in the MoU signing ceremony held in New Delhi between the Centre and states for the implementation of JJM 2.0.a

The Chief Minister stated that the state is prioritising the operation and maintenance of rural drinking water supply systems. a

He recalled that a comprehensive policy in this regard was introduced in September 2025. a

He said that the responsibility for maintaining water supply systems has been entrusted to local panchayats. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan is closely monitoring the implementation of the mission, he noted.a

The Chief Minister expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending the Jal Jeevan Mission until 2028. He also urged the Centre to extend support for completing the Polavaram Project by the time of the Godavari Pushkarams.a

Union Minister C. R. Paatil highlighted that in the first phase of the mission, tap connections were provided to 16 crore households across the country, while another 3 crore households are yet to be covered. a

He suggested involving DWACRA women's groups in Andhra Pradesh to conduct water quality testing, thereby empowering rural women.a

He further noted that the mission has already reduced the burden of fetching water for nearly 9 crore women nationwide.a

Senior officials, including Jal Shakti Secretary Ashok Kumar Meena and AP Panchayati Raj Principal Secretary S. S. Rawat, participated in the event, while Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan joined virtually from Amaravati.
Gandhinagar, March 24 : The Gujarat government, on Tuesday, launched an extensive campaign to expand piped natural gas (PNG) connections and increase commercial LPG allocations across the state, aiming to modernise fuel distribution and ensure uninterrupted supply for essential and commercial sectors.

Addressing a press conference, Principal Secretary of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Mona Khandhar, said the initiative prioritises converting existing LPG users to PNG where the network is available.

"All consumers holding both LPG and PNG connections will be required to use PNG, after which their LPG connections will be surrendered by the oil marketing companies," she added.

Khandhar said that all data is being shared between PNG companies and oil marketing companies for accurate mapping, and the entire process will be monitored by the District Collector and District Supply Officers.

In areas without PNG networks, the state has increased commercial LPG allocations from 10 to 25 per cent for restaurants, hotels, industrial and corporate canteens, corporate guest houses, and food processing units.

Essential MSME sectors providing widespread employment in each district will receive commercial LPG under a 10 per cent quota.

Hospitals, educational institutes, registered old age homes, orphanages, and long-serving religious and social institutions will continue to receive LPG as before, with hospitals and schools receiving 100 per cent of their requirements, and certain industries, including pharmaceutical, dairy, and seed processing units, receiving 70 per cent.

Institutions providing regular meals for at least a year will continue to receive LPG up to 25 per cent of their requirement.

To strengthen PNG adoption, the state government has introduced strict timelines for processing applications.

In areas with an existing PNG network, pending domestic and commercial applications will be approved within 10 days.

Societies and newly developed areas near PNG networks will be assisted by City Gas Distribution companies to obtain connections, after which their LPG connections will be surrendered.

Khandhar said, "In Ahmedabad, more than 1,200 commercial and over 3.5 lakh domestic connections are being converted to PNG. Nearly 900 societies will also be connected to the PNG network over the next three months. Similar measures are being implemented in other cities across the state."

City Gas Distribution companies have been instructed to obtain Right of Way approvals from local institutions and the Road and Building Departments within 24 hours, without charging fees, to facilitate rapid expansion of the PNG network.

The initiative is being implemented with priority given to expanding PNG infrastructure while maintaining uninterrupted fuel supply for hospitals, educational institutions, essential industries, and social institutions.
Noida, March 24 : The BJP has stepped up preparations to ensure that the inauguration of the Noida International Airport at Jewar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, along with a massive public rally, turns into a landmark event.

Senior party leaders have assigned specific responsibilities to office-bearers and grassroots workers, calling for coordinated efforts to make the programme a grand success.

On Tuesday, state BJP president and Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, along with State General Secretary (Organisation) Dharmpal Singh, held a key review meeting in Jewar (Gautam Buddha Nagar) with party functionaries and public representatives.

The meeting focused on finalising the blueprint for the inauguration ceremony and the proposed rally, reviewing logistics, public outreach strategies, and responsibilities at various organisational levels.

Leaders present in the meeting emphasised that disciplined execution and active participation of workers would be crucial to ensuring a smooth and impactful event.

Addressing the gathering, Chaudhary said that under PM Modi's leadership, India is moving steadily towards the vision of a "Viksit Bharat", highlighting significant strides in infrastructure, digital growth, industrial expansion and welfare initiatives. He noted that the Jewar airport project would mark a major milestone for Uttar Pradesh, boosting economic growth across North India, generating employment, and attracting global investment.

Dharmpal Singh stressed that the strength of the party organisation lies in its cadre and urged workers to intensify outreach efforts down to the booth level to ensure maximum public participation for the inauguration ceremony.

Party leaders also directed that comprehensive arrangements be made for attendees, including security, parking, drinking water and other essential amenities, to ensure a seamless experience.

Meanwhile, construction of the Noida International Airport in Jewar has reached its final stage, with authorities aiming to position it among the country's most modern aviation hubs.

A key highlight of the project is its architecturally distinctive main entrance, inspired by the cultural and spiritual heritage of the region.

Designed around the theme of Brijghat on the banks of the Ganga, the gateway integrates traditional motifs, intricate carvings and cultural elements reflective of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand.

Beyond serving as an entry point, the structure is expected to emerge as a major visual attraction, offering visitors a strong first impression of India's cultural ethos.
Bhopal, March 24 : Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh will visit Shri Ram Janmbhoomi temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on March 26.a Bhopal, March 24 (IANS) Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh will visit Shri Ram Janmbhoomi temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on March 26.

It will be his first visit to Ayodhya after the construction of the Ram temple following the Supreme Court's order.

Confirming the report, Digvijaya's office in Bhopal told IANS that he will depart from Delhi on an Air India flight during the morning hours of March 26. 

After offering prayers at Lord Ram's temple in Ayodhya, he will depart for Lucknow by road.

It could not be confirmed whether his wife, former journalist Amrita Rai, will accompany him during the visit. His office said he is likely to travel alone.

In 2021, Digvijaya Singh donated 1,11,111 for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He had sent the cheque in favour of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

He had also stated that he would visit to offer prayers once the temple was fully completed. 

"Now that the main construction work of the temple is nearing completion, he is arriving to fulfil his pledge," his office said.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Bhopal Rameshwar Sharma, who often targets Digvijaya Singh on Lord Ram, took a jibe at the former CM. 

He said, "I would request him during his visit to the Ram temple to please pay homage to the martyrs who faced bullets in 1992."

Speaking to the media, Sharma added that had the country's political leadership grasped this reality sooner, the Ram Temple in Ayodhya would have been built many years ago.

He further said, "As you offer your prayers today to the very Ram Lalla whom your party once dismissed as a mythical figure, acknowledge and accept that Ram Lalla is not a figment of imagination, but a living reality."

--IANS

pd/dan
New Delhi, March 24 : The Central Committee of Nepal's Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which swept the March 5 general election, is scheduled to meet on Thursday afternoon to elect its Parliamentary Party leader, according to reports from Kathmandu.

In all probability, the party will name the engineer-rapper and social media sensation, Balendra Shah, who it had earlier projected as the Prime Ministerial face.

The 35-year-old leader, popularly known as 'Balen', emerged as a prominent political figure after serving as the Mayor of Kathmandu and leading the youth-driven "Gen Z" protests that toppled the previous government.

Largely riding on his popularity, the centrist RSP, founded in 2022, won a landslide victory, securing 182 of 275 seats in the country's House of Representatives.

Balen himself defeated former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in the latter's safe turf of Jhapa-5 constituency, signalling a dramatic shift away from Nepal's traditional political elite.

On Thursday, the elected members of the new House of Representatives are also expected to take oath before the central committee meeting takes place, chaired by party President Rabi Lamichhane.

The day is also being celebrated as Ram Navami.

Soon after assuming office, the new government will need to address the economic condition in Nepal and decide on ways to its recovery, publica'sector reform, and also job creation.

Additionally, immediate fiscal discipline and visible antia'corruption measures will be politically decisive.

Simultaneously, there is the issue of tackling climate resilience, along with energy and infrastructure gaps.

Balen, who has projected a clear stand in favour of a "Nepal-first" policy, would also need to tread a delicate foreigna'policy balance with two powerful neighbours in the South and North -- India and China.

The Kathmandu Post, on Tuesday, pointed out issues in climate change and water security, calling for elevating water security and climate adaptation to the same priority as jobs and energy, given rising glacial melt, floods and drought risks.

Admitting that the RSP's election manifesto pledged several strategies to address climate change, the report said, "While these commitments are principled and align with Nepal's specific vulnerabilities, they demand a great deal of transparency and clarity," citing reasons.

The Cabinet will be under close scrutiny on governance, antia'corruption drives, and public service delivery.

The change in Kathmandu follows mid-term election forced by Gen Z protesters demanding a clean, efficient and a non-partisan government.

Another area is infrastructure development and safety issues.

Despite the increase in tourist turnout in January-February that matched pre-Covid arrivals, a series of aviation disasters and lack of updated airport facilities has drawn criticisms earlier, with the European Union having added Nepal's civil aviation in its blacklist since 2013.

On the other hand, rapid spending on jobs and infrastructure risks fiscal imbalance; mitigate with targeted publica'private partnerships and donor coordination.

While Hip-Hop may have evolved in popularity on Nepal's streets following the large number of musicians lending vocal support to last year's Gen Z movement, it would take more than their music to set the government running as efficiently as is expected by the people now.

As The Kathmandu Post pointed out in an opinion piece on Monday, naming "11 battles of Balendra", where "Ultimately, his real test will not be in his decisions, but in his perspective".

It began by noting, "The tale of an extraordinary struggle between power, the system and hopes places Balendra Shah at the centre of Nepali politics as its narrator. This very week, he will formally enter Singha Durbar, the Secretariat of the Chief Executive. The story of reaching Singha Durbar is full of suspense and thrill, and has become legendary in its own right. Yet, this is also the message of electoral politics."
Seoul, March 24 : South Korean President Lee Jae Myung spoke Tuesday with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon by phone and they shared their thoughts on the current situation unfolding in the Middle East, Cheong Wa Dae said.

The two leaders discussed the repercussions that the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran is having on the global economy and energy supplies, and shared with each other the set of policy measures they have put in place to stabilize livelihoods in their countries, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing, Yonhap News Agency reported.

During the talks, Lee explained that South Korea has implemented a temporary fuel price cap system to help ease cost burdens on fuel, and is reviewing imposing restrictions on naphtha exports.

Lee urged South Korea and New Zealand engage in close coordination, noting that cooperation between nations with similar stances is vital in restoring regional peace and stabilizing the global economy.

As a country entirely dependent on imports for refined oil, New Zealand put securing safety in the Strait of Hormuz and stabilizing energy supplies high on its priority, Luxon said.

Luxon also evaluated highly of the two nation's signing of a joint statement calling on Iran to stop attempts to block commercial traffic in the strait, and voiced hope to continue close coordination on relevant issues, according to Kang.

New Zealandas bilateral ties with South Korea are based on strong political, economic, and security links going back to the Korean War. Diplomatic relations between two nations were established in 1962 and resident Embassies opened in Seoul and Wellington in 1971, according to New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In recent years, the relationship between two nations has deepened through engagement in areas such as economics and trade, defence, people-to-people links, film, culture, tourism, education, science and technology, and Antarctic issues.
Ernakulam, March 24 : Launching a scathing attack on Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan on Tuesday accused him of authoritarian conduct, political double standards, and entering into covert electoral understandings with the BJP, as the campaign for the Assembly elections intensifies.

Addressing the media in Perumbavoor, Satheesan said the Chief Minister was unwilling to face public scrutiny. "No one is allowed to question him. It is like All India Radio," he remarked, referring to Vijayan's recent response to a question at a public meeting.

"If people are told to go home and ask questions, they will instead take to the streets and demand answers about his misdeeds," he said.

Alleging a political "deal" between the CPI(M) and the BJP, Satheesan pointed to candidate selections in multiple constituencies.

He claimed that in several seats, including Ettumanoor, Trippunithura, Chengannur, Ranni, Konni, and Kasaragod, there were clear indications of tacit understandings benefiting both parties.

"Why is the Chief Minister getting provoked when this is pointed out?" he asked, adding that such arrangements would be exposed by the UDF in the elections.

Satheesan also criticised the Chief Minister's use of language in public discourse, accusing the CPI(M) leadership of normalising derogatory expressions.

He said the ruling party had "degenerated" to the extent of insulting artists and justifying offensive terminology.

"Even with a rich language like Malayalam, they choose to use such crude words," he said.

On governance, Satheesan alleged large-scale misuse of public funds for political campaigning.

He claimed that over the past six months, thousands of crores had been spent from the state exchequer on advertisements and publicity efforts.

Satheesan specifically flagged a government-funded interaction involving actor Mohanlal, alleging that Rs 11.5 lakh was spent from public funds.

"Such promotional exercises should not be done at the expense of taxpayers," he said, demanding reimbursement.

The Opposition leader also defended his position on minority communities, clarifying that he had never spoken against the Latin Church and accused sections of the media of misrepresenting his remarks.

He reiterated that the UDF would maintain a firm stand against communal forces.

Asserting that the political tide was turning, Satheesan said the electorate would reject what he termed "arrogance, corruption and deal politics," signalling a high-stakes contest in the days ahead.
Chandigarh, March 24 : The Punjab government is actively considering a proposal to allow hospitals in other states to be empanelled to treat childhood cancer patients from the state under the official health insurance scheme, an official said on Tuesday.

"Recently, we got an empanelment request from a hospital in Gurugram in Haryana where five Punjab patients were shifted for treatment from AIIMS," said Dr Gagandeep Singh Grover, Assistant Director, Non-Communicable Diseases, Department of Health and Family Welfare (DHFW), Punjab.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a state-level consultative workshop here on improving access to treatment among children with cancer, said a statement.

Taking part in the stakeholder dialogue on strengthening childhood cancer care, Dr Sushil Mahi, Director, NCD, Haryana, expressed the state government's willingness to explore all options to help children seek cancer treatment seamlessly at centres of excellence near their homes.

Poonam Bagai, Member, ICMR Central Ethics Committee on Human Research, Cankids founder and Childhood Cancer International's WHO South East Asia Region Representative, said, "The six states and UTs in northwest India need to work together as patients of these states keep seeking treatment in neighbouring states."

There are examples of patients from Uttar Pradesh using their state's financial assistance at a treatment hospital in Madhya Pradesh, but in the six northern states/UTs, such interoperability of government insurance schemes is limited.

The state governments need to work as stakeholders together and find solutions for 4,400 children with cancer in the region - from Ladakh to Himachal to Haryana  so that the government financial assistance scheme of the native state follows the patient if he opts to seek treatment in a more accessible centre in a neighbouring state, she said.

"For example, the beneficiary under Punjab Mukhyamantri Rahat Kosh should be free to get treated in Haryana, or children from Ladakh and Himachal should be able to use their government's financial aid schemes during treatment at PGI, Chandigarh," said Bagai.

Those who took part in the conclave included Shruti Kakkar, Professor, Department of Paediatrics, Consultant, Haematology and Stem Cell Transplant Unit, CMC, Ludhiana, and Amita Trehan, Professor, Pediatric Haematology Oncology Unit, Advanced Paediatric Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh, the statement said.

The sessions at the conference focused on Integrated Model for Comprehensive Childhood Cancer Care in NW India; Gap Financing & Universal Health Coverage; Role of Tertiary Centres in Improving Survival Outcomes and From Policy to People: Leveraging GovernmentNGO Partnerships for Last-Mile Impact.

Bagai highlighted that a task force would soon be set up to coordinate with state governments and other stakeholders so that the children with cancer continue to seamlessly get the best treatment with their respective state government's funds, irrespective of the physical boundaries in the 6 States/UTs of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, J&K and Ladakh, said the statement.
Mumbai, March 24 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday directed the Chief Secretary to form a state-level committee to address issues related to financial assistance to the sugar industry, and asked it to submit a report immediately.

The committee will include secretaries from the Cooperation, Agriculture, and Finance departments, the Sugar Commissioner, the Industry Secretary, and the Managing Director of the State Cooperative Bank.

CM Fadnavis issued these directives during a meeting at Vidhan Bhavan to discuss the challenges facing the sugar industry.

He stated that the committee would conduct a thorough study of the difficulties faced by sugar factories, the nature of their problems, remedial measures, and alternative arrangements to submit an immediate report.

"This will help the state government formulate a financial package for the industry," he said.

Given the financial difficulties of the state's sugar factories, the Chief Minister said an action plan should be prepared to provide possible financial assistance ahead of the upcoming crushing season.

He emphasised the need for a state government regulatory system for large jaggery and khandsari projects, adding that a draft of these regulations must be submitted within the next 15 days.

"The state government maintains a positive stance toward making strategic decisions to empower the sugar industry and resolve its hurdles," CM Fadnavis said.

He further stated that the state government would seek a meeting with the Central Government, along with a delegation from the Sugar Factory Federation, to secure necessary cooperation and concessions.

He added that the state would make every effort to ensure assistance from both the state and central levels to resolve the challenges faced by sugar factories.

Earlier, sugar industry representatives comprising Harshwardhan Patil, Dilip Walse Patil, Jayant Patil, Rajesh Tope, and Abhimanyu Pawar, among others, demanded that the state government provide direct financial assistance of Rs 500 per ton to cover the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), similar to Punjab and Karnataka.

They urged the government to facilitate loans from the open market with interest subsidies to clear pending dues. They also demanded long-term restructuring of all factory loans as of March 31, 2026, with a 2-year moratorium and a 1012-year repayment period.

The industry representatives also requested that the Chief Minister lead a delegation to PM Modi and Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah to demand an increase in the sugar MSP to Rs 4,100 per quintal, a rise in ethanol prices, the release of Rs 69 crore in pending interest subsidies for 21 ethanol projects, and directives to banks to provide loans despite short margins.
New Delhi, March 24 : A Special NIA court sentenced three operatives of the proscribed Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) terrorist organisation to imprisonment varying from 30 years to life in connection with a 2018 Kashmir secession conspiracy case, an official said on Tuesday.a

Dukhtaran-e-Millat is an all-women outfit with the declared objective of achieving secession of Kashmir from India, said a statement issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).a

Aasiya Andrabi @ Aasiyeh Andrabi @Syedah Aasiya, the founder and Chairperson of Dukhtaran-E-Millat, has been sentenced to life imprisonment, said the statementa

Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen have been awarded 30 years in jail, along with a fine, it said.a

The three women were arrested in July 2018 by the NIA, which had registered a suo motu case (RC-17/2018/NIA/DLI) in April 2018, said the statement.a

The accused, all hailing from Kashmir, were, in January 2026, convicted by the trial court at Karkardooma, Delhi, under Sections 18, 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Sections 153A, 153B, 120B, 121A and 505 IPC.a

The Court had found the three accused guilty of actively operating DeM to promote the separation of Jammu & Kashmir from the Union of India, the NIA said.a

As per the judgment pronounced by the Special NIA Court on Tuesday, Aasiya has been sentenced concurrently under various sections of IPC and UA(P) Act to the maximum sentence of Life Imprisonment and a total fine of Rs 8 lakh, said the statement.a

She was married to Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, a terrorist of the proscribed Hizbul Mujahideen organisation, who is serving life imprisonment in connection with the killing of H.N. Wanchoo, a prominent human rights activist, it said.a

Aasiya is additionally named in 32 other FIRs registered at various police stations in Jammu & Kashmir, the NIA said.a

Nahida Nasreen, General Secretary of DeM, and Sofi Fehmeeda, the outfitas Press Secretary, have each been convicted and sentenced concurrently under different provisions of IPC and UA(P) Act, with a maximum of 30 years of Simple Imprisonment and a total fine of Rs 7 lakh each, the NIA said.a

While Sofi Fehmeeda has eight other cases registered against her, Nahida Nasreen has four, said the anti-terror agency.a

All three had been chargesheeted by NIA in November 2018 on the basis of extensive examination of various incriminating materials, including social media chats, videos and media interviews, the NIA said.a

The investigation established the convictas active role in supporting and furthering DeMas terrorist and secessionist activities, it said.a

NIAas investigation had further revealed that the accused had used various social media and public platforms to spread hate and incite violence and jihad, with the aim of seceding J&K from India, thereby threatening the integrity, security, and sovereignty of the nation.a
New Delhi, March 24 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met the Iranian Ambassador in New Delhi on Tuesday with discussions focused on the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

"Met with Iran's Ambassador in India, Dr. Mohammad Fathali this afternoon. Discussed the conflict in West Asia. Appreciate the support provided to Indians in Iran in these challenging times," EAM Jaishankar wrote on X after the meeting.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, discussing regional developments and bilateral cooperation.

Prime Minister Modi had also conveyed his warm greetings to President Pezeshkian on the auspicious occasions of Eid and Nowruz. During the discussion, both leaders had expressed their shared hope that this festive season would usher in a period of peace, stability, and prosperity for the West Asian region.

During the call, PM Modi condemned the recent attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, noting that such actions threaten regional stability and disrupt vital global supply chains. The Prime Minister reiterated the critical importance of safeguarding the freedom of navigation and ensuring that international shipping lanes remain open and secure. PM Modi had also expressed his sincere appreciation for Iranas continued support in ensuring the safety and security of Indian nationals residing in the country.

"Spoke with President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian and conveyed Eid and Nowruz greetings. We expressed hope that this festive season brings peace, stability and prosperity to West Asia. Condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, which threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains. Reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure. Appreciated Iranas continued support for the safety and security of Indian nationals in Iran," PM Modi had posted on X after his call with the Iranian President.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha, presenting the government's position on the situation arising from the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Noting that the war, which has been raging for over three weeks, has precipitated a severe global energy crisis with deeply worrying implications for India, PM Modi pointed out that the conflict is disrupting India's trade routes and affecting the routine supply of essential commodities such as petrol, diesel, gas, and fertilizers.

Detailing India's vigorous diplomatic outreach since the outbreak of hostilities, Prime Minister Modi informed the House that he has personally conducted two rounds of telephonic conversations with heads of state of most West Asian nations and that India remains in continuous contact with all Gulf countries, as well as with Iran, Israel, and the United States. The objective, he stated, is the restoration of peace in the region through dialogue and diplomacy, and discussions on de-escalation and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have been specifically taken up.

Emphasising India's firm stance, PM Modi declared that attacks on commercial vessels and obstruction of international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz are unacceptable, and that India has categorically opposed all attacks on civilians, civil infrastructure, and energy and transport-related infrastructure.

"Any threat to human life in this war is against the interests of humanity, and therefore India's sustained endeavour is to encourage all parties towards a peaceful resolution at the earliest," remarked PM Modi on Tuesday.
New Delhi, March 24 : Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan and UK's Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth held a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, with discussions focused on progress in training exchanges, intelligence collaboration and integrated military engagement between two nations.

In a statement on X, High Commission of India in London stated, "Advancing future-ready India UK defence engagement! General Anil Chauhan, CDS interacted with Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, Chief of Air Staff, Royal Air Force, with discussions focusing on progress in training exchanges, intelligence collaboration and integrated military engagement."

During the meeting, General Anil Chauhan commended the successful conduct of the 17th Military Sub Group Meeting and expressed confidence in advancing a deeper, more integrated and future-ready defence engagement between India and the UK.

UK's High Commissioner to India, Lindy Cameron and other officials were also present during the meeting.

"General Anil Chauhan, CDS interacted with Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth, Chief of Air Staff, Royal Air Force, reaffirming the growing strength of Indiaa"United Kingdom Defence Partnership. Exchange of Instructors continues to be a key pillar of the bilateral cooperation matrix, alongside significant strides in enhancing Defence Intelligence collaboration," Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff wrote on X.

"The CDS commended the successful conduct of the 17th Military Sub Group Meeting and expressed confidence in advancing a deeper, more Integrated and future-ready Defence engagement," it added.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth, who is on an official visit to India, met Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Monday, with discussions focused on enhancing operational cooperation, interoperability and strengthening air power ties.

"Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Air Force, on an official visit to India, called on Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force. Discussions focused on enhancing operational cooperation, interoperability and strengthening bilateral air power ties," the IAF stated.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth also paid homage to Bravehearts of Indian Armed Forces at National War Memorial in New Delhi on Monday.
New Delhi, March 24 : While presenting Budget 2025-26, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Tuesday that, on the capital receipts side, the government will raise funds from multiple channels, including Rs 16,700 crore market borrowings routed via RBI.a

Additionally, Rs 2,500 crore will be received as interest-free loans under the Special Assistance to the States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme, launched by the Ministry of Tourism in 2025.a

External aid for projects, including the Chandrawal drainage project, is expected to bring in Rs 380 crore. a

Recoveries of loans and advances will contribute Rs 487.93 crore. Apart from these, the government will also have an opening balance of Rs 1,640 crore available at the start of the financial year.a

Chief Minister Gupta said that of the total Budget, Rs 62,550 crore has been earmarked for schemes, programmes and projects, while Rs 41,150 crore has been allocated towards establishment expenditure. a

The revenue Budget stands at Rs 72,900.28 crore, and the capital Budget at Rs 30,799.72 crore.a

She said the government expects to mobilise Rs 74,000 crore through its own tax revenues. The largest share will come from GST at Rs 43,500 crore. a

This will be followed by Rs 8,500 crore from VAT, Rs 11,000 crore from stamp duty and registration fees, Rs 7,200 crore from state excise, and Rs 3,800 crore from motor vehicle tax.a

In addition, the government will receive funds from other sources. Non-tax revenue is estimated at Rs 900 crore. A sum of Rs 3,931.16 crore will come from centrally sponsored schemes, while Rs 968.01 crore is expected as central assistance and grants, she said.a

Further inflows include Rs 591 crore from the Central Road Fund, Rs 1,500 crore under the National Mission for Clean Ganga, Rs 100 crore from the National Disaster Management Authority, and Rs 1.90 crore for the Delhi Assembly project, she said.a
New Delhi/Tokyo, March 24 : Northeast India has emerged as a crucial nexus where India's 'Act East Policy' aligns with Japan's 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' (FOIP), enabling coordinated efforts to counter assertive regional influences through deeper maritime and land connectivity, a report highlighted on Tuesday.

It added that the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)  comprising India, Japan, the US, and Australia  facilitates intelligence sharing, technology access, and infrastructure financing alternatives, with both India and Japan rejecting participation in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"Japan's deepening involvement in Northeast India's connectivity projects exemplifies a mutually beneficial partnership that bolsters regional development and counters geopolitical challenges in the Indo-Pacific. This collaboration aligns seamlessly with India's Act East Policy and Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision, fostering economic growth while enhancing strategic resilience," a report in 'India Narrative' mentioned.

According to the report, placing connectivity at the centre of its engagement, Japan has invested over Rs 23,529 crore across 20 projects in Northeast India by early 2026.

"Key efforts include the North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project, where the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided JPY 34,537 million (INR 1,946 crore) for Phase 3(II), funding the Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge  the longest river bridge in India  linking Assam and Meghalaya across the Brahmaputra. Additional investments cover 750 km of roads, national highway upgrades like NH-208 in Tripura (JPY 23,129 million or INR 1,492 crore), and the Gelephu-Dalu Corridor, integrating Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh to boost intra-regional links," it detailed.

"These projects aim to connect Northeast India to the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean, unlocking trade potential and socio-economic opportunities. Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA), totalling over $2 billion by 2021 and continuing to grow, addresses infrastructure deficits in this strategically vital region. This not only accelerates India's regional integration but also positions Japan as a reliable partner in sustainable development," it further mentioned.

The report noted that Japan's investments in Northeast India diversify its security approach beyond dependence on the US, while simultaneously enhancing India's regional leadership.

"Shared concerns over supply chain vulnerabilities have spurred the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) and Mineral Security Partnership, prioritising critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, and ICT. In 2026, this synergy promotes a rules-based order, freedom of navigation, and stability amid East Asian tensions," it added.

Emphasising the evolving scope of bilateral cooperation between India and Japan, the report said that expediting Northeast corridors like Gelephu-Dalu, alongside co-production of defence technology, and expansion of green hydrogen initiatives would strengthen ties.

"With people-to-people exchanges targetting 500,000 mobilities, including 50,000 Indian workers, cultural bonds via Buddhism strengthen resilience. This pro-growth, pro-stability model positions India and Japan as Indo-Pacific anchors, driving shared prosperity," it noted.
Srinagar, March 24 : Javed Beigh, a prominent human rights defender and Kashmiri activist from Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam, highlighted multiple terror incidents and grave human rights violations during the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

Speaking to IANS, Beigh said his speech touched on three major areas of concern, including terror attacks in Pahalgam and Delhi, systemic violations in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), and atrocities in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

Addressing the recent Pahalgam terror attack, the Kashmiri activist detailed how Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out the assault, targeting innocent civilians based on their religious identity.

He also revisited the November Delhi blast of last year, noting that some children from Kashmir had been radicalised through various channels by handlers operating across the border -- a fact he emphasised as well-established.

He strongly held the Pakistani establishment responsible, saying that The Resistance Front (TRF) had claimed responsibility for orchestrating terror activities.

He added that Pakistan must stop sponsoring terrorism other it would face global isolation soon.

Turning to PoJK, Beigh highlighted the severe human rights violations in the region, including the suppression of public protests and crushing of genuine civilian demands by the local administration and military authorities.

He said the people faced widespread governance issues, lack of basic rights, and large-scale violations of human rights, which he has officially registered with the UNHRC.

He noted that the population in PoJK was protesting against increased tariffs and rising prices of essential commodities such as food and other necessities, yet their grievances were met with state oppression.

Beigh also drew attention to atrocities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where he reported airstrikes by the Pakistan Army on civilian villages, resulting in around 30 deaths.

He expressed grave concern over attacks on innocent populations and the continued targeting of civilians in conflict zones.

Highlighting broader human rights concerns, Beigh spoke of the suicide attack on a Shia imambada in Islamabad, where more than 100 people were killed, underscoring the systematic exploitation of minority communities in Pakistan.

He detailed the abduction and forced conversion of young girls, who were then married off to men two to four times their age, as an example of entrenched religious persecution.

Meanwhile, Islamic scholar Maulana Bisharat Hussain Sakafi from Dhingla village in Poonch, who addressed the UN Human Rights Council via video conference, condemned Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism that claimed more than 100 civilian lives in Poonch between 2021 and 2023.

He said that such killings contravene Islamic teachings, calling it a "murder of humanity" disguised under the banner of jihad.

He urged the Human Rights Council to take cognisance of these atrocities and hold Pakistan accountable for acts that violate both human rights and Islamic principles.

Through their addresses, both Beigh and Sakafi called for urgent international attention and action to counter terrorism, radicalisation, and human rights abuses, urging the global community to protect vulnerable populations and uphold fundamental freedoms.
Agartala, March 24 : Hours after the ruling BJP announced its candidates, its ally Tipra Motha Party (TMP) on Tuesday night declared its nominees for the upcoming elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).

TMP founder supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, along with party President Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl, jointly announced the list of candidates on Tuesday night.

Senior TMP leader and TTAADC Chairman Jagadish Debbarma will seek re-election from the Jirania seat, while Chief Executive Member Purna Chandra Jamatia will contest again from Killa-Bagma.

A day earlier on Monday, TMP chief Debbarma had firmly ruled out any alliance with the BJP for the April 12 TTAADC elections. In a video message from New Delhi, the former royal scion said there would be no electoral understanding without visible progress on the tripartite accord signed on March 2, 2024.

Stressing that "assurances without implementation of the tripartite accord" were unacceptable, he made it clear that commitments must translate into concrete action.

Leaders from both the BJP and TMP had earlier indicated that the two parties' central leadership had held a series of meetings in New Delhi in recent days to explore a seat-sharing arrangement. TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma had also said that the party chief was engaged in discussions with BJP leaders in the national capital to finalise such an arrangement.

Positioning the April 12 polls as a decisive political battle, Debbarma described the elections as a mandate on identity, rights, and the future of the indigenous Tiprasa community. Taking a firm and defiant stance, he asserted that he would neither compromise nor yield under pressure, reiterating that his commitment remained solely with the indigenous people.

Earlier on Tuesday, Tripura BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee announced that his party would contest all 28 seats.

Bhattacharjee, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, told the media: "The BJP currently has nine members in the TTAADC, of whom seven have been renominated. Several senior tribal leaders, including state General Secretary Bipin Debbarma, will also be in the fray."

He added that if voted to power in the TTAADC, the BJP would ensure effective and transparent governance aimed at the all-round development of the tribal population, which constitutes nearly one-third of Tripura's total population of around 4.2 million.

The upcoming council elections are being viewed as a crucial political contest in the state. Chief Minister Manik Saha, Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, and several other BJP leaders were present at the media briefing.

Just before the BJP announced its candidates, two prominent TMP leaders, Ananta Debbarma and Swadagar Kalai, joined the BJP. The party has fielded both of them in the elections.

Polling for the politically significant 30-member TTAADC is scheduled for April 12, with counting set for April 17. The council, regarded as the second most important constitutional body in the state after the Tripura Assembly, comprises 28 elected members and two nominated by the state government.

In light of recent political developments, the elections are expected to witness a multi-cornered contest, with the TMP aiming to turn the polls into a referendum on indigenous rights. The BJP's other junior ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), has also unilaterally announced candidates in nine seats.

While the IPFT remains an older ally of the BJP, the TMP, led by Debbarma, has been part of the ruling alliance since March 2024. Both TMP and IPFT are tribal-based parties with significant influence in the state's indigenous regions.

Following prolonged negotiations, the TMP, then in the opposition, signed a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government on March 2, 2024, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The party subsequently joined the BJP-led coalition government on March 7, 2024, reshaping the state's political landscape. Two TMP MLAs  Animesh Debbarma and Brishaketu Debbarma  were later inducted into the council of ministers headed by Chief Minister Manik Saha.

Since 2021, the Tipra Motha Party has governed the strategically important TTAADC. In the 2021 council elections, the BJP contested 11 seats and won nine, while a BJP-backed Independent candidate also emerged victorious before later joining the TMP. However, the TMP emerged as the dominant force by winning 18 seats and wresting control of the council from the CPI(M)-led Left Front.

The council administers nearly two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12.16 lakh people, about 84 per cent of whom belong to indigenous communities.

Ahead of the elections, major political parties, including the BJP, its allies IPFT and TMP, and opposition parties such as the CPI(M) and the Congress, have intensified their efforts to consolidate support among tribal voters. The Left parties and Congress have already announced candidates for all 28 seats.
Kolkata, March 24 : Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday night resigned from different "office of profit" posts that she had been holding as of now amid the crucial two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal scheduled next month.

Mamata Banerjee is a Trinamool Congress candidate from the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata.

Based on the resignation of the Chief Minister from these "office-of-profit" posts, the state administration, which is currently under the direct authority of the Election Commission of India (ECI), with the model code of conduct being in force, initiated all necessary steps to implement the resignations at the earliest, said an insider from the state secretariat, Nabanna.

"The Chief Minister resigned from various posts with immediate effect, and the departments concerned have been asked to complete the process of accepting his resignation at the earliest. Her resignation will be acceptable both for the listed posts and also for the posts that she is holding in any organisation or committee beyond that. The departments concerned have also been instructed to submit a report on the matter within a specified time frame," the insider from the state secretariat added.

It is learnt that the state government departments where the Chief Minister had been holding the "office of profit" posts and where she had resigned include environment, forest, health, and minority affairs, among others.

Apart from that, she also resigned from the "office of profit" posts that she had been holding so far in organisations like the West Bengal Disaster Management Authority and West Bengal Public Policy and Planning Board, among others.

"The Chief Minister took the decision to resign from these posts to send a message of transparency, though there is no official binding on her to do so," said a senior leader of Trinamool Congress and also a member of the state cabinet.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, against the Chief Minister from Bhabanipur.

Adhikari is also contesting from the Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore, where he is already a sitting and two-time legislator.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Bhopal, March 24 : Nearly 23 lakh students across Madhya Pradesh will receive their board examination results for Classes 5 and 8 on Wednesday at 11:30 am.

The results will be published on the Rajya Shiksha Kendra portal, where students can access their marks using their Samagra ID or the roll number allotted during the examination.

In a bid to make the process more accessible, officials have also enabled result viewing through QR codes available online. This year, the examinations were conducted on a board pattern, marking a significant step in standardising assessments for younger students.

According to official figures, 12.76 lakh students appeared for the Class 5 exams, while 10.92 lakh students sat for the Class 8 exams.

The examinations were held between 20 February and 28 February, covering schools across the state.

To ensure smooth evaluation, 322 centres were designated as valuation hubs, where nearly 1.10 lakh teachers were engaged in checking answer sheets.

The scale of the exercise underscores the stateas commitment to transparency and efficiency in the assessment process.

Education officials emphasised that the digital integrationa"through Samagra IDs, roll numbers, and QR codesa"was designed to reduce delays and make results easily accessible to students and parents alike.

The Madhya Pradesh government has been steadily working to strengthen its school education system, and the board-style examinations for Classes 5 and 8 are seen as a step toward aligning early education with higher academic standards.

The move also aims to instil a sense of seriousness about academics from a younger age, while ensuring accountability in teaching and evaluation.

As the results go live, lakhs of families across the state will log in to check their children's performance.

For many, this marks not just an academic milestone but also a reflection of the evolving education framework in Madhya Pradesh.

With such a massive exercise involving millions of students, thousands of teachers, and hundreds of centres, the announcement on Wednesday will be one of the largest educational events in the state this year.
Guwahati, March 24 : Veteran Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, on Tuesday, sharpened his attack on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, describing the upcoming Assembly elections as a battle between the "real" and the "fake" Congress.

Addressing reporters here, Baghel said the electoral contest in Assam is no longer a conventional BJP versus Congress fight, but an ideological struggle within the Congress.

He alleged that while the "real Congress" is being led by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Gaurav Gogoi, the "fake Congress" is being led by Chief Minister Sarma.

"The people of Assam will choose between the original Congress ideology and those who have abandoned it for political convenience," Baghel said, expressing confidence that voters would rally behind the Congress under Gogoi's leadership.

The senior Congress leader also pointed to recent political developments, claiming that several leaders who were once associated with the Congress have shifted allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and are now contesting the upcoming elections.

He said this trend reflects an ideological divide rather than a simple party contest.

Baghel, who is serving as the Congress' election observer for Assam, asserted that there is a growing pro-Congress sentiment across the state.

According to Congress leader Baghel, the leadership change in the state unit has created a "new political atmosphere", with people looking for an alternative to the current BJP government.

He also accused the ruling BJP government of indulging in "misgovernance and intimidation", and alleged corruption at higher levels.

The BJP, however, has repeatedly rejected such allegations.

Chief Minister Sarma, who had been a top Congress leader in Assam and served as a Minister in successive Congress governments between 2001 and 2015, joined the BJP in August 2015 and later rose to become the Chief Minister.

Polling for the 126-member Assam Assembly is scheduled for April 9, while counting of votes will take place on May 4, as per the Election Commission of India.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Rutendo Matinyarare, once a vocal defender of Zanu PF and President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration, has sharply criticised the government over what he described as arbitrary arrests and torture of political and civic leaders opposed to Constitutional Amendment No. 3.The proposed amendment seeks, among other changes, to extend the presidential term by two years.Matinyarare said the unfolding human rights violations were damaging Zimbabwe's image both locally and internationally. Posting on X, he expressed disappointment that the same government he had spent years defending was now undermining the nation's reputation through heavyhanded actions."As someone who has spent so much time defending the Zimbabwean government, protecting the image of the nation, and fighting sanctions imposed by the West, it's disappointing to see the image of the nation being trashed due to arbitrary arrests of opposition members who are merely debating a constitutional amendment that Zanu PF itself brought to the public for mandatory debate," he said.He questioned why citizens were being targeted for discussing a bill that the ruling party had itself introduced."How can a few people tarnish the image of the entire nation just because they want to stop people debating a law that they proposed on their own, knowing that our constitution mandates the debating of the same law that they want?" he said."Why propose a bill if you can't adhere to what is required to pass it? Why did Zanu PF give us this constitution if it doesn't want to adhere to it?"
Mumbai, March 24 : Congress Legislative Party Leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Tuesday launched a fierce attack on the MahaYuti government during last week's motion debate, citing the collapse of law and order, rising atrocities against women, the drug menace, and the spread of superstition.

He expressed his outrage, stating that the prestige of progressive Maharashtra has been tarnished by this government and that "democracy is being murdered" in the state.

Wadettiwar alleged that in the progressive state of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shahu, Phule, and Ambedkar, charlatans like self-styled godman Ashok Kharat are committing heinous crimes like rape.

He pointed out that Kharat had purchased land precisely where the Nashik Kumbh Mela Ring Road project was planned, suggesting collusion with officials. Wadettiwar demanded an inquiry into IPS, IAS, and Revenue Department officials, accusing Kharat of amassing wealth by exploiting public sentiment.

"It has been 12 years since the Anti-Superstition Act was passed, yet strict regulations for its implementation have not been framed," Wadettiwar noted.

He recalled Narendra Dabholkar's struggle for this law, arguing that if strict rules had been in place, such self-styled godmen would not have flourished.

He also questioned police efficiency, noting that while Kharat was caught, the culprit behind an acid attack on a sixth-grade girl remains at large.

He further demanded the harshest punishment for a preacher involved in the assault of a 17-year-old girl in Sangamner.

Wadettiwar accused the government of pressuring the police and providing political asylum to criminals. He asked: "When sitting ministers claim they were assaulted by police, it's clear there is a gang war within the government. If police can grab a minister's collar, who will the common citizens look to for protection?"

He suggested that if the ministers had any self-respect, they would have resigned.

He also highlighted the lack of action against officials involved in the Antarwali Sarati lathi-charge and those who allegedly assaulted ministers.

According to Wadettiwar, crimes against women have increased by 23 per cent, with the number of reported crimes reaching 108,000 in 2025.

He questioned the Home Department's silence on the egg donation (oocyte) racket exploiting poor women in Thane and Palghar.

He added that cities like Pune, Mumbai, and Nagpur are in the grip of narcotics.

He noted a trend where hydroponic weed is being grown in balconies and air-conditioned environments, drawing educated youth toward crime for "easy money".

The Congress leader claimed the state is "dripping with corruption", citing the Rs 156 crore school uniform tender and a "35 per cent commission" culture in infrastructure projects. He alleged that criminals receive "clean chits" once they join the BJP.

Wadettiwar concluded: "An MLA from the ruling party claims 35 per cent commission is given to workers. Who provides this commission? Even their own MLAs are admitting to this 35 per cent commission-driven administration."
New Delhi, March 24 : Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva welcomed the "Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay" Delhi Budget for 2026-27 presented on Tuesday in the State Assembly by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

He said that inspired by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's Antyodaya principle and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy of holistic development, this budget offers benefits for every section of society.

This record budget of Rs 1.03 lakh crore is the largest in Delhi's history, with the state government's own revenue covering about 74 per cent of the expenditure, while the remaining 26 per cent has clearly defined allocations, making it a self-reliant budget.

The Delhi BJP President said that this budget of the BJP government is for a developed Delhi, with more than 31 per cent -- Rs 32,360 crore -- dedicated to the maintenance and development of education and health services.

"In any nation's capital, transport and urban development are two very important aspects, and inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's principles, the Rekha Gupta government has laid the foundation for Delhi 2047 by allocating 23.32 per cent of the budget estimate to these sectors."

The Delhi BJP President said that by allocating Rs 1,777 crore for better maintenance of the agricultural sector and rapidly urbanising villages in Delhi, along with Rs 10,537 crore for social security, the Rekha Gupta government has fulfilled its commitment to "Sarvajan Sukhay, Sarvajan Hitay".

Having started the distribution of free gas cylinders to needy families during Holi in the financial year 2025a"26, the Rekha Gupta government has, in the 2026a"27 budget, allocated Rs 260 crore for providing gas cylinders to needy families and Rs 450 crore for free bus travel for women and transgender persons, reflecting its compassionate governance.

Sachdeva has said that undoubtedly, the second budget of the Rekha Gupta government, which made its first year of service remarkable will take Delhi to a new horizon.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Gandhinagar, March 24 : Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday termed the passage of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill 2026 by the state Assembly a "historic moment" for Gujarat and the country.

The passage followed a debate lasting more than seven and a half hours, which ended with the legislation approved by a majority.

"I extend my congratulations to all public representatives of the state and all citizens on the passage of the Uniform Civil Code Bill. This is a historic moment for Gujarat and the country," Patel said in the House, adding that Gujarat had become the second state in India (after Uttarakhand) to implement the UCC.

He said the law would provide a uniform legal framework across religions and communities for matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.

"It will ensure that women of all religions and communities receive equal rights, thereby strengthening their dignity and security," he said.

Addressing concerns over cultural implications, Patel said, "This Bill is not to erase any culture, and tribal culture will not be harmed."

He added that all aspects had been discussed in detail before bringing the legislation, and that it includes provisions for justice for women and children.

As he introduced the Bill, members of the Treasury benches raised slogans in support.

"The state's geographical and cultural diversity had been taken into account to ensure that no community faces injustice," he noted.

A high-level committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai, conducted a detailed study and submitted its final report to the government on March 17, following extensive consultations and public outreach across districts.

During the debate, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said the committee had received nearly 20 lakh suggestions from the public through post, email, web portals and in-person consultations.

"49 per cent of the responses, or about 9.72 lakh, were received via email, and 5.5 per cent, or about 1.09 lakh, through the web portal," he said.

He added that a majority supported uniform provisions, including 81 per cent in favour of common marriage laws, 79 per cent in favour of uniform divorce rules, 83 per cent in favour of equal property rights and maintenance provisions, and 86 per cent in favour of mandatory registration of divorce.

The Bill makes it compulsory to register marriages within 60 days, with a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 for failure to comply.

It also prescribes punishment of up to seven years' imprisonment in cases where a marriage is carried out through coercion, intimidation or fraud, as well as in instances of bigamy, with mandatory registration aimed at ensuring legal recognition, safeguarding the rights of women and children, and preventing fraudulent unions through accurate marital status records.

In matters of divorce, the legislation mandates that only divorces granted through a court and duly registered will be considered valid, with violations attracting a penalty of up to three years' imprisonment.

It also guarantees women the unconditional right to remarry following a legally recognised divorce, while establishing a uniform set of grounds and procedures across communities to ensure gender equality, simplify legal processes and reduce disputes.

The proposed Code introduces uniform maintenance provisions applicable to all religions and provides equal inheritance rights, granting sons and daughters the same legal standing across communities, thereby strengthening women's financial security and promoting a more equitable social structure.

Additionally, the Bill regulates live-in relationships by making their registration mandatory, with failure to comply attracting a fine of up to Rs 10,000 or imprisonment of up to 3 months.

In cases where individuals entering such relationships are between 18 and 21 years of age, their parents will be informed.

The legislation also provides penalties in cases involving coercion, intimidation or fraud, applies provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in cases involving minors, and penalises individuals entering into live-in relationships despite being legally married.

Clarifying exemptions, Patel said certain customary practices in minority communities, including marriages among specific relatives, would not be affected by the law, while Scheduled Tribes have been kept outside the ambit of the code in line with the committee's recommendations to protect their traditional customs.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Srinagar, March 24 : Human rights defender Tasleema Akhter, Chairperson of the Association of Terror Victims in Kashmir, delivered a strong rebuttal to Pakistan's narrative at the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Speaking exclusively to IANS on Tuesday, Akhter emphasised that Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) is an inseparable part of India and highlighted the stark contrast in governance and rights between the two regions.

"Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India's Jammu and Kashmir. We have always spoken about it and will continue to do so. If you look at the difference between Indian Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, you will see that basic rights of the common people are completely absent there. There is no freedom of speech," she declared.

Akhter underscored the functioning democratic system in Jammu and Kashmir, contrasting it with the suppression across the border.

"The system here is running very smoothly. The politics here is functioning in a very different and effective way. Everyone is doing their work, the Army is handling its responsibilities, and social activists are doing their part. No one is interrupting anyone, and I believe this is a good situation. However, in Pakistan, if someone talks about fundamental rights, they are sent to jail," she said.

She also warned against Pakistan's attempts to spread misinformation.

"Their ISI is baseless, and the whole world understands how Pakistan sponsors terrorism and carries out innocent killings in Kashmir. It is our basic right to raise the voice of Jammu and Kashmir..." Akhter asserted.

Earlier, she extended Eid greetings and drew attention to the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.

"First of all, since Eid is currently being celebrated, I would like to extend my Eid greetings to everyone. And definitely, this time our speech focused on the incident in Pahalgam in 2025, where unarmed people were killed, and we discussed that issue," she said.

Her intervention at Geneva was seen as a powerful counter to Pakistan's propaganda, reinforcing India's position on Jammu and Kashmir while spotlighting the plight of victims of terrorism.

At a global forum, Akhter's words carried both urgency and conviction, reminding the world of the human cost of cross-border militancy and the resilience of Kashmiri voices demanding peace and justice.
Washington, March 25 : President Donald Trump on Tuesday swore in Senator Markwayne Mullin as the new Secretary of Homeland Security, calling him a "great American patriot" and vowing tougher action on illegal immigration and border security.

At a White House ceremony, Trump praised Mullin's record in Congress and his role in supporting the administration's immigration agenda.

"It's a great day for me because I have a lot of confidence in this gentleman," Trump said. "And we're thrilled to swear in our new Secretary of Homeland Security, great American patriot, to put it mildly, Markwayne Mullin."

Mullin, who has represented Oklahoma in the House and Senate for 13 years, takes charge of a department central to US border enforcement and internal security.

Trump highlighted Mullin's work on immigration and law enforcement issues, saying he had been "a close and vital partner in helping us secure the border, stop migrant crime, end the scourge of illegal drugs, and make America safe again".

The President also underscored Mullin's personal and professional background. He noted that Mullin is "the only Native American in the Senate" and "the first member of the Cherokee Nation ever to serve as a member of the cabinet".

Before entering politics, Mullin ran a family business and built it into "a multi-million dollar success story", Trump said. He also referenced Mullin's sporting career, calling him an undefeated MMA fighter inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame.

"I have no doubt that as he takes the helm of DHS, Markwayne will fight for Homeland Security, the United States, and securing the country and making it really strong," Trump said.

The ceremony also included members of Mullin's family, including his wife Christie and their children. Senior officials and political figures were present, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Trump used the occasion to sharply criticise his political opponents over immigration policy. He alleged that "radical left Democrat thugs in Congress" had blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

He also claimed that previous policies had allowed "25 million people" to enter the country and blamed them for crime and security concerns. "What they allowed to happen to our country can never be allowed to happen again," he said.

Referring to a recent killing, Trump said an "illegal alien monster" had been responsible and linked the case to broader immigration enforcement failures.

"With Secretary Mullin at DHS, we will continue our record-setting efforts to deport these illegal alien criminals from our country," Trump added.

Mullin briefly thanked the President during the ceremony, saying, "Thank you, sir."

The Department of Homeland Security oversees border security, immigration enforcement, counterterrorism, and disaster response. It has been at the centre of US political debate, particularly over illegal immigration and asylum policies.

Trump has made immigration enforcement a key plank of his political agenda, with a focus on deportations and tighter border controls. The appointment of Mullin signals continuity in that approach as the administration pushes for stricter measures and confronts opposition in Congress.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Washington, March 25 : President Donald Trump said the United States is in active negotiations with Iran and declared that the conflict had been "won", even as he swore in Markwayne Mullin as Secretary of Homeland Security at the White House.

Speaking to reporters after the swearing-in ceremony, Trump said talks with Iran were underway and involved top members of his administration.

"We're in negotiations, as it turned out. Now, you've seen what I said yesterday was exactly correct. We're in negotiations right now," he said. "They're doing it, along with Marco, JD. We have a number of people doing it."

He added that senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, were part of the effort.

"And the other side, I can tell you, likes to make a deal. And who wouldn't if you were that," Trump said.

The President suggested that the current Iranian leadership had already undergone significant changes. "It's what we have really, regime change. You know, this is a change in the regime because the leaders are all very different from the ones that we started off with that created all those problems," he said.

Trump also said Iran had signalled its intent during talks by offering concessions linked to energy routes.

He spoke of "a gift" offered by the Iranian side regarding oil and gas and the Strait of Hormuz, to demonstrate that they are in control. He said the offer "was worth a lot of money".

Reiterating his administration's red line, Trump said Iran would not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. "They aren't going to have nuclear weapons," he said.

On the status of the conflict, Trump rejected suggestions that fighting was continuing.

"This war has been won," he said. He added that only the "fake news" was suggesting otherwise and claimed that the opposing military was "totally defeated".

At the same time, Trump described the situation as a "military operation", noting that "people don't like it when he calls it a war". He acknowledged that he had used the term earlier.

He said senior defence officials were optimistic about a quick resolution. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Caine had said the situation would be settled "very soon", he added.

Trump also referred to his conversations with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling him "a warrior" when asked about their exchanges.



-- Syndicated from IANS
Technology

LemReveal Identifies Anonymous Website Visitors Instantly

LemStudio has announced the launch of LemReveal, a next-generation visitor identification and revenue intelligence platform designed to turn anonymous website traffic into a qualified pipeline. Built for SaaS companies, B2B agencies, sales teams, and marketing departments, LemReveal goes beyond traditional reverse IP tools by combining confidence scoring, eight real-time buying signals, and AI-generated outreach insights.

The platform provides full transparency into how each company is identified and how likely they are to convert. With GDPR compliance and enterprise-grade security at its core, LemReveal is positioned as a smarter, more accountable approach to visitor intelligence.

Solving the Accuracy Problem in Visitor Identification

Visitor identification software has long faced scepticism around data reliability. LemReveal addresses this directly with confidence scores ranging from 60100% on every company identification, backed by multi-source validation across four or more data providers.

Users can see exactly why a company was identified, eliminating the black box effect common in competing tools. Built-in noise suppression automatically filters ISPs, VPNs, bots, and other irrelevant traffic, while one-click dismiss functionality trains the system to improve over time. The result is a cleaner signal-to-noise ratio and a sharper focus on genuine buying intent.

From Identification to Revenue Intelligence

While most platforms stop at revealing who visited, LemReveal delivers actionable intelligence on what to do next. The system analyses over 30 data points per company, including funding stage, revenue range, hiring velocity, technology stack, and engagement depth.

Eight proprietary timing signals, such as fresh funding, leadership changes, and vendor evaluation activity, help teams prioritise outreach at the exact moment accounts are most likely to buy. AI-generated talking points and daily briefings highlight the top five accounts to contact each morning, complete with rationale and outreach suggestions.

Additional capabilities include:

ICP Fit Scoring (0100) based on industry, company size, geography, and tech stack

IF/THEN automation rules triggering Slack alerts, emails, or webhooks

Verified decision-maker contact discovery

Real-time lead alerts and weekly performance summaries

Intelligence No Competitor Has

LemReveal differentiates itself with exclusive data sources rarely used in visitor identification platforms. Intelligence is drawn from government procurement databases, patent offices, compliance registries, and open-source ecosystems, providing insights into innovation activity, regulatory exposure, and security maturity.

Five-layered scoring models, covering growth momentum, technology fit, engagement, timing, and champion readiness, give revenue teams a multi-dimensional view of opportunity quality.

The platform integrates seamlessly with Slack, webhooks, CSV exports, and upcoming CRM integrations, including HubSpot and Salesforce. Setup requires just one line of code, allowing teams to deploy and begin identifying traffic in minutes.

Learn LemReveal in Action

To help users get started quickly, check the official LemReveal YouTube channel featuring step-by-step tutorials, product walkthroughs, feature updates, and practical how-to guides.

New users can watch demonstrations on setting up the tracking pixel, configuring ICP scoring, building automation rules, and interpreting intelligence scores. The channel is designed to ensure teams maximise the platforms capabilities from day one, whether they are founders, marketers, or revenue leaders.

"Most visitor identification tools tell you who showed up. LemReveal tells you who they are, why theyre ready to buy, and what to say next," said Deepak Shukla, Founder of LemStudio and Pearl Lemon Group.

"We built LemReveal to be transparent about uncertainty. Every identification shows the reasoning behind it, so teams can act with confidence instead of guesswork," Shukla added.

Turn Anonymous Traffic Into Pipeline

LemReveal offers a Free Forever plan for teams getting started, along with a Pro plan for growing revenue operations. Businesses can begin identifying website visitors in under two minutes and start receiving AI-powered briefings immediately.
Arts

Xiomaro Explores the Wildwoods of New Jersey in His Latest Street Photography Book

Every year, over nine million tourists flock to one of Americas best family beach vacation spots  the Wildwoods of New Jersey. The iconic barrier island is acclaimed as much for its kitschy doo-wop architecture and signage as for its famous boardwalk, ranked among the top ten most popular in the nation. In his new book, Street Photography of the Wildwoods: The Other Side of Nostalgia (America Through Time/Sutton Publishing), New York City artist Xiomaro captures the hidden beauty and 1950s paradox of this famous Jersey Shore resort.

Looking Beyond the Cliches

For Xiomaro, the Wildwoods are more than sunshine, blue skies, and quirky motels. This five-mile strip has a character rarely explored in other books.

The colorful explosion of unabashed patriotism, tattooed hipsters, flamboyantly feathered mummers, dazzling custom vehicles, and provocative political T-shirts subverts the resorts quaint 1950s trappings. Xiomaros prose and 160 photographs expose the tension between idealized midcentury America and contemporary culture, values, and politics.

The photographs also reveal the hidden beauty of the Wildwoods during bad weather, in the smallest patches of sand, and during the quiet solitude and starkness of the off-season. The beach, boardwalk, and backstreets return to the fewer than 13,000 residents, offering a welcome respite before the Wildwoods awaken again.



The iconic rollercoaster takes on a dramatic appearance during the off-season.  2026 Xiomaro.com

Rediscovering History and Memory

Street Photography of the Wildwoods comes on the heels of Xiomaros acclaimed Street Photography of New York City  both books reflect his work as a residentographer, embedding himself in the community over time to artistically document the environment and the spirit of its people. The books form a throughline to his National Park Service commissions documenting sites connected to George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and other American icons.

From Cancer to Creativity

After overcoming prostate cancer in 2005, Xiomaro transitioned out of a career as an entertainment lawyer representing recording artists such as Village People and Lisa Lisa. During his recovery, he found peace in the solitude of wandering with a camera. The reinvention was commemorated by adopting his pseudonym  Xiomaro (pronounced SEE-oh-MAH-ro)  which literally means ready for battle. Information about the artist is available at his website: www.xiomaro.com
Business

Eflot Expands Its Digital Marketing Services to Deliver Better ROI for Clients

Pune, India  Eflot, a performance-focused digital marketing agency in Pune, today announced the expansion of its digital marketing services, aimed at helping businesses achieve optimal growth and stronger return on investment (ROI). With an increased focus on data-driven strategies and result-oriented execution, Eflot continues to position itself among providers of the best digital marketing services in Pune.

In an increasingly competitive digital landscape, businesses are no longer satisfied with vanity metrics, they demand tangible outcomes. Recognizing this shift, Eflot has strengthened its service offerings to align closely with revenue goals, customer acquisition, and long-term brand growth. As a trusted digital marketing company, the agency integrates advanced analytics, audience insights, and performance optimization to deliver campaigns that convert.

Clients come to us after spending on marketing that didnt deliver. Our focus is to change that, by building strategies that are accountable, transparent, and most importantly, profitable, said Ashok Veda, Co-Founder and Director of Eflot. Our approach is rooted in understanding each clients growth objectives and executing strategies that directly contribute to ROI. Every campaign we run is built to perform, scale, and sustain results.

Eflots expanded capabilities cover a comprehensive suite of digital marketing services, designed to support businesses at every stage of their growth journey:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) focused on ranking, traffic quality, and conversion improvements Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising campaigns optimized for cost-efficiency and high-intent lead generation Social Media Marketing strategies that drive engagement and brand recall Content Marketing that builds authority while supporting organic growth Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) to improve user journeys and maximize lead conversion Web design and development aligned with performance, usability, and lead generation goals

What differentiates Eflot as a digital marketing agency is its commitment to outcomes. Every strategy is backed by continuous tracking, A/B testing, and performance analysis to ensure consistent improvements. The agency adopts a transparent approach, enabling clients to clearly understand how each marketing effort contributes to ROI.

With this expansion, Eflot aims to empower startups, SMEs, and established enterprises to scale efficiently in the digital ecosystem. By combining strategic thinking with execution excellence, the company continues to build long-term partnerships based on trust, accountability, and proven results.

Businesses looking to partner with a reliable digital marketing agency in Pune that prioritizes ROI-driven growth can explore Eflots expanded services and discover tailored strategies built for success.

About Eflot

Eflot is a growth-focused digital marketing agency that helps businesses build strong online presence and scalable customer acquisition strategies. By combining data analytics, technology-driven marketing frameworks, and creative campaign execution, Eflot supports organizations in achieving measurable digital growth across competitive markets.

Contact Details

For Inquiries

Telephone: +91 799-666-9915

Email: service@eflot.com

Website: https://eflot.com/digital-marketing-agency-in-pune
Business

FERME ECOVILLAGE, in partnership with Fastercapital, inaugurates an integrated collection and processing platform in Casamance.

Ziguinchor, Senegal & Dubai, UAE  March 23, 2026

Casamance is a biologically rich region with high-value halieutic and fruit resources, yet producers face chronic post-harvest loss, weak aggregation and limited coldchain access. Rising urban demand in Senegal and the sub-region for safe, shelf-stable seafood and processed tropical fruit creates an opening for organized collection, transformation and export-ready value chains. The Ferme Ecovillage model addresses these market gaps while advancing employment, food security and climate-smart land use.

What the Startup Delivers?

Ferme Ecovillage is a community-centered development project led by Jean Diassy Diedhiou that consolidates: - Units for collection, cold storage, drying and smoking of fish and shellfish; - A semi-industrial fruit processing facility (nectars, concentrates, juices, preserves) with a planned 5,0008,000 L/day capacity; - Pisciculture, oyster parks and mangrove restoration to improve resource sustainability; - Integrated logistics: collection vehicles, refrigerated trucks and on-site solar + generator power; - Social infrastructure and training to formalize village cells, increase producer income and create 250 permanent jobs (direct) and tens of thousands of indirect livelihoods.

Why Now?

Post-harvest losses and informal value chains suppress producer margins and limit exports. Investments in coldchain, processing and producer organization can immediately reduce losses, extend shelf life, and unlock higher-value domestic and regional markets. Concurrent interest from development partners in sustainable fisheries, reforestation and rural employment makes the timing strategic for coordinated impact.

Program Plan (first 3060 days)

- Establish governance: formalize the project steering committee and Cellules de Coordination in priority villages; - Technical mobilization: site readiness in Ziguinchor, procurement kick-off for refrigeration, drying and processing equipment; - Producer engagement: initial training sessions and procurement contracts with local fishing and fruit-gathering groups; - Compliance and quality: begin food-safety roadmap to meet regional standards and preparation for export-grade packaging.

Leadership Comment

Hesham Zreik, Founder and CEO of Faster Capital, said: Were excited to support Ferme Ecovillage (Casamance) through EquityPilot. Our team will focus on execution milestones and connecting the startup with the right ecosystem stakeholders.

Next 90 Days

Operationalize the Ziguinchor processing hub, commission the first cold-storage and ice-making systems, complete initial batches of processed fruit and smoked/salted fish for local market testing, and finalize partnership agreements with distribution channels in Dakar and the sub-region.

Founder background

Jean Diassy Diedhiou brings cross-border commercial experience between Senegal and Spain and a track record in transformation and logistics. His local networks in Casamance and experience in tourism and trade underpin the projects community integration and market access plans.

Ecosystem relevance

The project aligns with regional priorities: sustainable fisheries management, mangrove restoration, valuechain formalization and youth employment. It is positioned to attract technical partners for aquaculture, food safety certification and rural electrification.

About Ferme Ecovillage

Ferme Ecovillage is an integrated rural development initiative based in Ziguinchor, Casamance. The project combines fishery collection and processing, fruit transformation, pisciculture, reforestation and community services to increase rural incomes, reduce postharvest loss and promote sustainable land and coastal management.

About FasterCapital

FasterCapital is a global venture builder and online incubator dedicated to co-funding and co-founding innovative startups. Established in 2014, we are now #1 venture builder in terms of number of startups that we have helped, money invested and money raised. It supports startups worldwide through various programs, including funding assistance, business development, and technical support. The EquityPilot program is designed to help early-stage startups build scalable solutions with mentorship, strategic guidance, and network support.

Media Contact:

Lydia Zeng



Email: lydia.zeng@fastercapital.com

Phone: +1 (512) 400-0256

Website: https://www.fastercapital.com
News / National

by Staff reporter

Concerns over limited access to national broadcasting services in parts of Zimbabwe have been raised in Parliament, with legislators questioning the lack of radio, television and critical information coverage in key regions.Discent Bajila, Member of Parliament for Emakhandeni-Luveve constituency, pressed the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services to explain why national broadcasting coverage remains poor or non-existent in parts of Gokwe North District, Matebeleland North Province, Matabeleland South Province and surrounding areas.He also sought clarity on whether there are plans to expand digital signal infrastructure ahead of 2026.In a separate intervention, Joseph Bonda, representing Hwange East constituency, raised concerns over the absence of weather forecast broadcasts for Hwange."Why is the weather forecast for Hwange not being broadcast, given that it is a resort town with municipal status and significant business activity?" Bonda asked.The questions highlight growing frustration among lawmakers over information access gaps in underserved regions, where communities remain cut off from national programming and essential updates such as weather forecasts.No responses were recorded from the responsible minister at the time, leaving the concerns unresolved.The issue underscores broader challenges in Zimbabwe's broadcasting infrastructure, particularly in rural and outlying areas where limited signal coverage continues to hinder access to information, public services and economic opportunities.
"This recognition reinforces what security leaders are increasingly realizing: the personal digital lives of executives have become one of the most exploited entry points into the enterprise," said Dr. Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO of BlackCloak. Post this

BlackCloak's DEP platform combines continuous monitoring, privacy protection, concierge support, and 24/7 incident response to deliver comprehensive protection without intruding into executives' personal lives.

"This recognition reinforces what security leaders are increasingly realizing: the personal digital lives of executives have become one of the most exploited entry points into the enterprise," said Dr. Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO of BlackCloak. "BlackCloak created Digital Executive Protection to close this gap by securing the personal devices, home networks, and online identities that attackers target to bypass corporate defenses  and it's now a burgeoning industry category. We're honored that Cyber Defense Magazine recognized the importance of protecting the personal perimeter as part of a modern cybersecurity strategy."

"BlackCloak is addressing a rapidly expanding cybersecurity blind spot: the personal digital ecosystems of corporate leaders," said Gary S. Miliefsky, Publisher of Cyber Defense Magazine. "As attackers increasingly target executives' homes, devices, and online identities to gain indirect access to organizations, BlackCloak's Digital Executive Protection Platform delivers a unique and innovative approach to protecting the human layer of cyber risk and is absolutely worthy of this coveted award."

About BlackCloak

BlackCloak protects corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy Platform is a holistic solution that includes mobile and desktop apps and concierge support. Executives and high-profile individuals gain complete peace of mind knowing their families, reputations, and finances are protected. Rest assured that companies' brands, intellectual property, data, and finances are protected against threats from executives without invading their personal lives. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io and follow us on LinkedIn.

About the Global InfoSec Awards

This is Cyber Defense Magazine's thirteenth year of honoring InfoSec innovators from around the Globe. Our submission requirements are for any startup, early stage, later stage, or public companies in the INFORMATION SECURITY (INFOSEC) space who believe they have a unique and compelling value proposition for their product or service. Learn more at www.cyberdefenseawards.com

Media Contact

Beth Trier, BlackCloak, 1 4156018104, [email protected], https://blackcloak.io/

SOURCE BlackCloak
NEW ORLEANS, La.Although they received millions of taxpayer dollars, it can be hard to find the offices of health service providers in the Big Easy.

Consider Faith and Hope of New Orleans, a home health agency that took in $11.6 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) between 2018 and 2024. The companys website, as well as federal and state databases, lists its address at 3720 Gentilly Street.

But RealClearInvestigations only found an empty building at that location last week. Repeated phone calls during working hours to the listed number connected to a service, whose operator said, I dont know why theyre not answering.

Faith & Hope of New Orleans, which has received millions of dollars in government payments, lists an empty building as its address on its company website.

Similarly, AAA Care, which received $13.4 million in taxpayer money from 2018-2024, shows up at various addresses. The business is on South Rampart Street, according to the federal National Provider Identifier and many web listings, but the buildings owner told RCI that AAA had vacated the site about a decade ago. The Louisiana Department of Health puts the company in the suburb of Metairie. The company does not list an address on its new website, while yet another site has it on Canal Street. Using the states number, RCI reached AAA Care, which the operator said was on Canal Street, and spoke briefly with owner Stephanie Jackson, but she did not make herself available for an interview.

Businesses move, of course, but it seems curious that two companies receiving more than $25 million should be so difficult to locate. People who scour government data for fraud, however, say it is common to come across entities receiving millions of taxpayer dollars that do not seem to operate like normal businesses.

Walter Curt, an independent writer who created an interactive map RCI used to identify providers, said tracing government spending can feel like a series of rabbit holes.

They [the government and providers] dont know, and they dont want you to know, about their operations, he told RCI. Weve got home health care paid for in the U.S. that is basically untraceable. There is no real oversight given to hundreds of billions of dollars spent.

Curt, proprietor of the W.C. Dispatch website, is part of a growing brigade of Americans exposing what appears to be surprising or inexplicable government spending. Armed with laptops and cellphones, and galvanized by Nick Shirleys videos that attracted attention to billions of questionable payments in Minnesota, squads of what are being called citizen journalists have raised the cry that possibly fraudulent activity is widespread.

Spotlight on Fraud

Their spotlights come as President Trump has made uprooting endemic fraud and waste a priority of his administration, naming Vice President JD Vance his fraud czar. That appointment comes a year after Trumps Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) roiled the federal governments cozy network of agencies, nonprofits, and non-governmental organizations that had benefited for decades from massive transfers of taxpayer money to the groups.

The federal government  especially through its 74 offices of Inspector General  has long investigated fraud. Yet it was only last month that wide attention was paid to the exponential rise in autism therapy payments, for example. In Minnesota, those rose from about $1 million in 2017 to $343 million in 2024, and there are now allegations of kickbacks. The Wall Street Journal labeled autism therapy in Indiana a jackpot, reporting on ongoing work by the Department of Health Human Services IG that found one autism provider was receiving $640 an hour for autism services that are normally billed at a fraction of that cost.

President Donald Trump recently tasked Vice President JD Vance with uprooting endemic fraud and waste in government spending.

The combination of the Trump administrations focus on the issue, plus the legions of independent diggers it has inspired, has raised larger questions about the ability of government to oversee entities spending its trillions. The new investigators have uncovered dubious spending in day care centers, commercial trucking licensing, and, most prominently, in the governments massive health-care programs, Medicaid and Medicare.

Proving how much of this is actual fraud is a complicated matter, and the best of these social media and online investigators insist they are making no concrete accusations. Indeed, much of the questionable spending may be entirely legal given current reimbursement rules. The abundance of obvious yet largely ignored red flags identified, however, suggests a troubling pattern.

The long story short is we need to make a new word for legal, but also obviously fraud, said Jennica Pounds, known on X as DataRepublican(small r). She is convinced a large portion of what has been highlighted smacks of corrupt, if not criminal, practices.

Pounds, who describes herself as just a tool builder, has emerged in the past year as one of the most astute analysts of patterns in government spending. In a series of recent posts on X about nearly $4 billion in Medicaid claims going to a ZIP code in Brooklyn with just over 30,000 people, she noted that this would mean each person there was getting $143,000 in care, a figure she says defies belief.

I dont think the NY data has fraud signals in and of itself, Pounds told RCI via email. But its still a fact that NY has something like 68% of all home-care billing in the nation, so naturally that made centralized billing agencies like Brooklyn stick way, way out.

The phenomenon has even pushed some into seeking elected office. Bailey Templeton is now running for Congress in Illinois after discovering that in just five years, Medicaid payments there to children without Social Security numbers jumped 725%, hitting $66 million in 2025.

Do I think these people have been good stewards of taxpayers money? Absolutely not, Templeton said.

Citizen Sleuths

There are lots of leads for Vance to pursue with his new duties, but it is unsurprising that many of them come from healthcare spending, which dwarfs all other government programs. In the current fiscal year, the Department of Health and Human Services, which handles payments to hospitals and prescription drugs, in addition to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS), accounts for about one-third of Washingtons budget with $1.2 trillion. The department has some $2.46 trillion in budgetary resources available, a figure 85% greater than the Defense Departments budgetary resources, the next closest agency, according to Treasury figures at usaspending.gov.

Reports of fraud and misspending at CMS have a long history. In 2008, for example, The Washington Post reported that Medicare pays most claims without review, and so far this year, more than half of the 24 reports the DHHS Inspector General has published concerned the Centers, whose Medicaid and Medicare grants currently account for more than one-third of the departments budget.

Now citizen journalists are scouring the spending.

They are using the February data dump of Medicaid provider information that came from the Department of Government Efficiency, which is still operating, albeit with fewer headlines. Former DOGE head Elon Musk hailed the dump as a big moment in transparency, and he and others said it should help identify fraud, although privacy concerns and complicated rules and regulations make that accusation difficult to prove.

It is that dump Curt said he mined to create his interactive map and user guides for specific geographic areas that he offers for sale in hopes more people will examine spending in their neighborhoods.

Using what he said is a proprietary algorithm, Curt gave all the businesses a priority rating, ranging from low to critical. He cautioned, however, that he was not leveling any specific accusations, but rather highlighting spending patterns that stand out.

Thats a form of triage, really; its not conclusive, he said. We just dont know. We do know that theres a bunch of really weird spending trends here.

Using Curts map, RCI crisscrossed the New Orleans area seeking comment from the listed companies. The map does not reflect the sort of concentration CBS News recently found in Los Angeles, where 89 hospice agencies are housed in one office plaza, and roughly a third of the more than $450 million paid in New Orleans went to Ochsner Medical Center, the citys largest, and the citys Childrens Hospital.

Many Questions, Few Answers

Advanced Home Care Services in New Orleans received $11 million from the government from 2018 to 2024.

Still, there were several curious finds among the other recipients. As noted, several no longer remain at the addresses listed by CMS or Louisiana state records, RCI found.

Of the half-dozen listed providers RCI visited from Kenner to New Orleans, only two were open at that address. One, Penn 123 LLC, is a recovery addiction center that received $16.2 million according to the data, but a worker there said she was unfamiliar with the billing process, and a phone call to the center was not returned.

At the second, Advance Home Care Services on North Broad Street, which received $11 million between 2018 and 2024, a worker also professed ignorance about billing. She said it usually had about 70 patients at any one time, many elderly, for whom it would provide cleaning, cooking, bathing, and other services on home visits. She said patients choose it or another company from a freedom of choice list compiled by the state.

Neither RCIs experience nor the work of Pounds, Curt, and others provides clear evidence that anything illegal has transpired. Rather, they reflect a system that seems curiously lax despite the huge sums of taxpayer money being spent. No one can knock on every door or monitor every recorded patient and visit to determine what is happening in a system so vast and opaque.

It does not take much to rack up substantial billings under Medicaid and Medicare. The average cost of a home-care hospice visit of the type described by Advance Home Care, which also appears to be the main work of many of the New Orleans providers on the interactive map, costs between $150 and $200, according to the industry. Using the low end of that average, a business with 70 clients would thus bill $21,000 a week if it visited them each twice.

Health-care expert Michael Cannon says that because of lax anti-fraud efforts, Medicaid and Medicare "are effectively giant ATMs."

Congress has made it so easy for people to bill Medicare and Medicaid, and uses so few antifraud measures, that those programs are effectively giant ATMs, said Michael Cannon, a health-care expert at the libertarian Cato Institute. Anyone who punches in the right numbers can make off with bags of cash.

Yet what is striking about the revelations in 2026 is that so many of them are coming from private citizens rather than government officials and algorithms that might be expected to pinpoint potentially dubious spending amounts and patterns, such as steep, rapid rises in payments.

How on earth could you investigate it all? Curt asked. How many cities have a police department with a 200-person white collar crime unit?

The Justice Department does have 75 experienced white-collar prosecutors dedicated exclusively to prosecuting the nations most complex health-care fraud matters, and a Gulf Coast strike force with its hub in New Orleans. The Department did not respond to a request for comment about the healthcare task forces work in the city.

Designed for Failure

Another layer that seems to insulate the system from more oversight is the fact that the federal government is the main source of Medicaid and Medicare money, but the day-to-day operation of the programs is run at the state level. In other words, one group can point fingers at the others shortcomings. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz insisted the Centers are amping up efforts to end fraud.

Stealing from people at the most vulnerable moment of their lives isnt just fraud, it can cost them their future, he said in a statement to RCI. When bad actors trick patients into fraudulent care, they dont just drain taxpayer dollars; they strip people of medical care that could help them live longer. Thats unconscionable, and CMS is going to drive these predators out of the health system.

Some have pushed back against this citizen sleuthing, even as the people calling attention to it carefully note the limitations of their data. In New York state, for example, Health Department officials insist they have policed potential fraud aggressively, and that all these flags should not be interpreted as warning signs.

Damine LaVera, a spokesman for the New York State Department of Health, said criticism like Pounds is rooted in politics, not policing.

This is not a serious exercise, it is an intentionally disingenuous effort by an anonymous, clearly partisan X account who is obviously working backward from a conclusion that fits an ideological and political agenda, LaVera said.

But New York officials did not dispute Pounds numbers, insisting instead they have been yanked out of context and do not, on their face, indicate anything untoward.

Rather than following the lead of conspiracy theory social media accounts masquerading as amateur auditors, follow the facts: under the leadership of Governor Kathy Hochul and through the independent work of the Office of the State Comptroller, the Office of Medicaid Inspector General, the Department of Health and law enforcement, New York State has taken concrete steps to root out waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, LaVera said.

Murky Data

As an example of how a figure can be misleading, New York officials pointed to companies they use to streamline operations. That means that while one data dot may show a huge sum, that money did not all go to one source but is instead distributed to many.

Jeremy Portnoy of the government watchdog group OpenTheBooks said questionable numbers are only the first step in uncovering fraud.

Longtime professional trackers of government data also said they are never sure of the threads about public spending that are proliferating on social media. OpenTheBooks, for instance, has been trying to make public every dime of government spending and has amassed the largest private database of such activity.

Im always a little skeptical of these reports, as I dont know how to check all these numbers on social media, said Jeremy Portnoy, an investigative reporter with OpenTheBooks who also contributes to RCI. You dont always know or cant tell where theyre getting their data, and it can be tough to go beyond the allegations. You figure these people are probably right, but they dont really prove that conclusively.

Mere statistics are not a reliable source for uncovering fraud, and glaring examples can make the problem seem worse or more systemic than it is, other experts noted.

Im generally wary of using statistics only as a method of finding actual fraud, said Jeremy Nighohossian, a health-care analyst with the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute. Basically, theyre flagging outliers and there will always be some outliers. But its really hard to find fraud, harder than you think, and the fraudsters may morph much faster than the bureaucracy thats supposed to catch them.

Whats happening, then, in many cases, isnt fraud in the criminal sense, but rather, as Pounds suggested, people are taking advantage of a system with gaping loopholes. And there is little built-in incentive from administrators to catch them.

People think Im kidding when I say there is a fraud lobby, but there are absolutely powerful interest groups that lobby Congress to preserve the ease with which people can get money from these programs, Cannon said. With health the largest category of federal spending, those programs are vastly more complex, and subsidy recipients have even less patience for antifraud measures.

In New York, California, Minnesota, Louisiana, and elsewhere, bags of cash are clearly being distributed. And thus far, while some officials dismiss the posts and stories on the grounds that its unclear where the data used is coming from, none of them have said the numbers used by Pounds, Curt, Shirley, and others are wrong. Consequently, it suggests a closer look by whatever team Vance puts together is in order.

Obviously if I was wrong, theyd be issuing cease-and-desist orders or claiming my numbers are way off, Templeton told RCI. But nothing like that has happened so I assume I am correct.
Former President George W. Bush once famously botched an old cliche as his administration painstakingly attempted to sell what would eventually be the illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq, stating Fool me once  shame on  shame on you. Fool me  you cant get fooled again. Today, as the U.S. and Israel wage war on Iran, this hapless statement should serve as a lesson  that sloppy attempts to justify and rebrand military intervention abroad in the name of unachievable goals are likely to produce catastrophe.



Yet the same tactics and mistakes that characterized the misadventure in Iraq have returned in full force just weeks after the first Israeli and American bombs struck Iran. Take Vice President JD Vances words, for example: The idea that were going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight  there is no chance that will happen. Or consider the shaky response from Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in which the Department of Defenses number three official argued that operations against Iran are not interventionism or a forever war.

On their own, such statements from these officials and a plethora of others across the Trump administration are understandable in that there is a real desire among most in and around the Trump administration to not produce a prolonged conflict with Iran. The issue at hand, however, is that such rhetoric is just that: rhetoric. Just as the Bush administration attempted to justify the war in Iraq and, in turn, explain away its failings as it rapidly became a disastrous forever war, the Trump administration today employs the same tools to avoid the political costs of its decision to make a war out of what has been a long-running, escalating U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran and its regional network.

The administrations refusal to use the term war is all the more concerning, especially amid shifting rationalizations for the conflict and poorly defined goals for it. First, Washington should define air strikes against another state as an act of war. Second, the evolving rationalization and end-goals highlight that this administration is seeking political cover for its decisions with the understanding that it does not have well-defined and achievable goals in sight that can be accomplished purely through military force.

These factors seed the ground for mission creep. The lack of Congressional oversight amid a war in which the president refused to even attempt to obtain Congressional or United Nations Security Council authorization similarly limits accountability. Given that the warring parties are reportedly refusing to partake in serious negotiations to end this war, only worsens these dynamics. Tehran bets that it can force Washington into a quagmire that could not only help Iran regain deterrence but help sink Trumps presidency. Right or wrong, Iran is willing to take more hits in what it views to be an existential war.

Now, emboldened by the tough international posture defining his second and final term, Trump finds himself in an unpopular war he likely underestimated. This war has further empowered Iranian hardliners from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards after killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials. In the process, and especially by letting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unduly influence his thinking, he has also been neglecting the diplomatic tools necessary to prevent such a war from cascading, likely harming any future diplomatic track in serious ways.

Trumps bellicosity would always have diminishing returns, especially when bombing the other negotiating party in such sensitive talks. However, the Iran War goes beyond questions of policy effectiveness. A prolonged and catastrophic war with Iran carries real external implications, including a long-term and open-ended troop deployment, market disruptions, human rights violations, potential civil conflict in Iran and across the Middle East, and the possible fracturing of a nation of roughly 92 million people  including potential levels of refugee flows unseen since World War II.

Already, Israel is claiming its renewed war with Lebanese Hezbollah will be multiple weeks longer than the war on Iran, which is expected to be weeks longer itself. Israel has committed to a strategy in which instability in neighboring countries is acceptable for its own defense, producing an open-ended, region-wide forever war if necessary. Can Washington seriously be counted on to back out of this scenario?

Those potential future realities are why Trump and his team continue to painstakingly redefine conceptualizations of war, intervention, and the length of this conflict. No clear endgame is in sight. Yet merely repackaging the interventionist rhetorical playbook of old does not change this simple fact: mission creep is here. Only by ending the war can the worst outcomes be avoided.

Alexander Langlois is a Contributing Fellow at Defense Priorities.
Hornadys 338 ARC Is a Revolution in Cartridge Theory

My first impression of the 338 ARC was that it promised pure, projectile-based fun. From the diminutive Grendel case to the oversized bullet, everything about it looked like each primer ignition would bring a smile. While fun is an important part of the equation, the introduction of the 338 ARC signifies a foundational shift in ballistics thought  specifically in the subsonic realm.

Before we continue, lets have a primer on subsonic cartridges. The term subsonic means anything below the speed of sound. The speed of sound is 1,125 fps (760 mph). The whole point of subsonic ammunition is the lack of a crack when fired. Seems straightforward, right? In some ways, yes, but there are some variables to watch.

The speed of sound can be affected by environmental factors. Things like ambient temperature, elevation and air density can all influence that magical number. With that in mind, creating a round that is truly subsonic regardless of external variables is a blend of engineering, innovation, and ballistic alchemy.

THE HISTORY

The idea for this chambering began in 2016, when the Department of Defense approached Hornady to address a need. DOD asked Hornady to increase the terminal performance and effective range of subsonics. The best-known subsonic cartridge was the 300 Blackout, which did not deliver the level of performance the DOD desired in either range or energy.

About 10 years ago, the Department of Defense wanted Hornady to come up with a better 300 Blackout. The result is the 338 ARC, loaded with two factory bullets: the 307-grain Sub-X Hornady FlexTip (left) and the 175-grain hollowpoint Match. It was launched in 2024.



The parameters of subsonics at the time were confined to an effective range of 50 to 75 yards. The desired goal was somewhere in the 200- to 300-yard range. With that in mind, Hornady started with the already DOD-approved Grendel case. There are a few reasons for this selection we will cover shortly. The development of the working cartridge, the 338 Advanced Rifle Cartridge (ARC), led to testing a viable subsonic bullet  a 315-grain projectile. While it performed well, the 338 ARC didnt go any further. In the meantime, Hornady developed and launched two other cartridge offerings in the ARC family  the supersonic 6 ARC and the 22 ARC.

The Advanced Rifle Cartridge label includes a few key points. Cartridges bearing ARC in their headstamps have been designed to maximize ballistic performance. It means the chamber/cartridge interface, bullet specifications, current firearm, and magazine constraints and consistency are considered in the engineering process. Theoretically, the cartridge must perform accurately and reliably in firearms of vastly different price points. Whether shooting an off-the-rack Tikka or a custom system from Gunwerks, the expectation is that the ammunition will perform well in both.

The 338 Advanced Rifle Cartridge (ARC) was developed as an improved subsonic round for use with suppressors. The factory Subsonic load (No. 82272) uses the long 307-grain Sub-X bullet in the 6.5 Grendel case.



Interest in the 338 ARC was rekindled when the subsonic market began to take off, mainly due to the 300 Blackout and 8.6 BLK. The 300 Blackout shone in the 180-grain subsonic realm with a recommended 1:8 barrel twist to stabilize long, heavy bullets. It was both fun and versatile, but its range was limited, and bullet weights were maxed out.

The 8.6 took a different route. Based on a 6.5 Creedmoor case, it was trimmed and necked up to accommodate a .338-caliber projectile. The 8.6 was designed to run in either a short-action bolt gun or an AR-10. The efficacy of this caliber revolved around the Blender Effect. Utilizing a 1:3 or 1:4 twist, terminal effectiveness was achieved by rapidly spinning a large bullet at subsonic speed.

Its effective range is reportedly around 300 yards. However, the 8.6, while popular in its niche, has had some struggles. The case capacity results in narrow velocity ranges when powder burn rates and pressures are considered. As a result, chambering can be picky, making repeatable, consistent performance a challenge.

The Hornady Black 82271 round is loaded with a 175-grain Match hollowpoint. It has an advertised muzzle velocity of 2,075 fps in a SAAMI-specd 16-inch barrel.

Additionally, the 8.6s fast barrel twist rate creates extreme barrel RPM, meaning bullet construction and quality must meet a zero-tolerance threshold for imperfections. Any flaw at high rotations-per-minute speed can create catastrophic bullet failure, which can lead to missed or botched shots downrange, or, more worrisome, firearm or suppressor damage.

Also, one of the outcomes of the 8.6s extremely fast twist is that only monolithic projectiles can be used. Additionally, the shooter is confined to only shooting subsonic loads from a particular gun/barrel due to the twist.

So those issues set the performance parameters for the subsonic-cartridge market. The time had come to begin distilling Hornadys 338 ARC into a finished product.

THE PROBLEMS IT FIXES

In 2016 to 2017, DOD asked Hornady to make a longer-range, high-performing subsonic round with better terminal effectiveness than the 300 Blackout or 8.6 Blackout.

In supersonic rounds, increasing energy is generally straightforward: increase the bullets speed. With subsonics, increasing energy gets a little trickier because maximum speed is fixed. For subsonics, the only way to increase energy is to increase bullet weight. The caveat is that the bullet must expand to maximize its terminal effect.

The Hornady Subsonic factory load with the 307 Sub-X bullet has 33.9 inches of drop at 200 yards with a 100-yard zero. The bullet is designed to expand down to 900 fps.



Hornady uses the variables of shape, materials, and construction to create the bullet for a specific chambering. The actual weight of the bullet is often considered almost a postscript, with shape the driving factor in performance. In 2016, the bullet undergoing testing was a subsonic 315-grain cup-and-core type.

While the performance was good, it wasnt the finished round brought to market when the 338 ARC actually launched in 2024. Instead, Hornady introduced the 307-grain Sub-X in the 338 ARC. The Sub-X is a cup-and-core design with the Hornady FlexTip. In the 338 ARC, the Sub-X towers above its compact Grendel case.

THE POWDER PROBLEM

Below the big Sub-X projectile was another inherent issue with subsonics: finding a powder that burns consistently, thoroughly, and efficiently. Given the desired parameters of longer-range terminal effectiveness, powder performance was especially critical.

To solve this problem, Hornady formulated a cocktail of good ignition from a very small propellant charge. The compact Grendel case was a perfect environment for quickly building the pressure needed to propel the 307-grain bullet out the end of the barrel. Operating pressure was a safe 52,000 psi. The propellant blend is also consistent and stable across broad temperature ranges, correlating with higher performance downrange. To stay subsonic in all conditions, Hornady opted for a muzzle velocity below 1,100 fps.

IN THE FIELD

Hornady also wanted stability and acceptance by barrel makers. Accordingly, the 307 Sub-X is optimized for a 1:8 twist, producing smooth, consistent bullet travel and allowing for better bullet integrity before and after reaching the target.

Hornadys propellant cocktail for both the Subsonic load (left) and the supersonic Black load (right) ramps up to 52,000 psi operating pressure quickly, so barrel lengths dont affect velocities as much. To keep the Subsonic load subsonic in all conditions, Hornady opted for a muzzle velocity below 1,100 fps.



Hornadys approach to subsonic twist rates achieves a couple of things. First, it allows for broader usage of the same gun. Instead of being pigeon-holed into heavy-for-caliber subsonic bullets, the shooter can also employ supersonic rounds with the same expectation of accuracy and precision. So, Hornady brought a 175-grain hollowpoint in 338 ARC to market at the same time as the big-boy 307. Second, a common barrel twist opens the door to the manufacture of more affordable rifles. Instead of having to custom-build a 338 ARC rifle, there are off-the-rack options to enjoy the fun and performance of the round.

The 338 ARC was designed for either a micro-action bolt gun or an AR-15 platform  a new frontier for subsonic performance at this level. The previous needs of the 8.6 BLK, based on the 6.5 Creedmoor case, were short-action bolt guns or AR-10compatible frame sizes. Also, because the 338 ARC produces usable velocities even in shorter barrels, shooters have SBR options for compact hunting and shooting pleasure.

The 338 ARC 307 Sub-X bullet is optimized for a 1:8-twist barrel.

The 338 ARC is not designed to be a paper-punching princess. It is intended to impact with authority on both targets and game. As far as game, its ideal for medium-sized critters on down. Black bears, deer, antelope, and hogs are all viable options for this chambering. Essentially, anything youd take with a 44 Magnum is 338 ARC-compatible.

There are two current cartridge options. While the focus of the 338 ARC was subsonic performance, Hornady also introduced the aforementioned 175-grain HP. The 175-grain bullet is marketed with a 200-yard zero and is 4.2 inches high at 100 yards. It has an advertised muzzle velocity of 2,075 fps. The SAAMI-specd barrel length was 16 inches. This bullet configuration has the same platform compatibility as the 307 Sub-X  micro action or AR-15.

The 338 ARC is designed to hit both targets and game hard. The 175-grain bullet in the Black loading is suitable for black bears, deer, antelope, and hogs.



The 307 Sub-X is marketed with a 100-yard zero with 33.9 inches of drop at 200 yards. The bullet itself is designed to expand down to 900 fps. It has an advertised muzzle velocity of 1,050 fps. As discussed, this doesnt vary significantly with different barrel lengths.

SANS SOUND AND FURY

Playing in the subsonic realm means less noise. With the widespread use of suppressors, an already quiet shooter experience becomes even more hearing-friendly. While quiet in an AR, the 338 ARC is nearly silent in a bolt gun.

An interesting side note on 338 ARC suppression: Due to pressures and velocity, some suppressors intended for pistol calibers are compatible with the 338 ARC, eliminating the need for traditional, expensive big-bore rifle cans. For example, numerous outstanding 9mm cans fit well with both the platform and the purpose of the 338 ARC. Be sure to check the pressure specs for your pistol suppressor before use.

Besides being soft-spoken, the 338 ARC is soft-shooting as well. The compact Grendel case, when paired with the 307-grain Sub-X, produces an excellent cartridge for petite shooters, recoil-sensitive shooters, or those who dont enjoy a snappy-shooting gun. This stays true even in the smaller rifles the round can be chambered in, such as micro-action bolt guns, AR-15s, rifles with standard barrel lengths of 16 to 18 inches, or SBRs.

BUILDING A 338 ARC RIFLE

When I first saw the 307 Sub-X bullet, I was intrigued. It is touted as The Big Little Cartridge that packs a punch! Being a 5-foot-tall 130-pound woman with a passion for firepower, I knew I needed one in my gun vault.

The authors 338 ARC rifle has a Defiance Machine Rebel short action with a TriggerTech trigger. Of course, the medium-contour 16-inch BSF barrel is threaded for a suppressor.

After extensive research and several conversations with Hornady about what I wanted to do, I elected to build a bolt gun with a more classic, almost safari-sporter feel. I briefly considered building an AR, but I decided a smallish bolt gun would better fit my objectives. The focus would be on shooting the 307-grain Sub-X, but I wanted to be able to fire heavy or light bullets at subsonic or supersonic velocities from the same platform.

For a barrel, I went with a 16-inch-long tube with a 1:8 twist, which is the SAAMI spec. It is carbon steel, with a barrel band and irons, and an option for a QD optic mount. The medium-contour model from BSF Barrels is threaded for a suppressor. For a sporter, I wanted classic irons from Skinner Sights as well as the capability for a clean, distance-appropriate Leupold optic for use under 300 yards.

Initially, the build was paired with a Silencer Central Banish 46 suppressor. At some point, I will explore the decibel and weight differences between appropriately sized pistol cans. The Banish 46, when paired with the 16-inch barrel and short action, yields a fun and functional finished product. The action is short, not micro.

After conversations with Hornady, it would not create any issues with feeding or performance. I selected the Defiance Machine Rebel action with a three-position safety and a TriggerTech trigger. Because it wouldnt be a dangerous-game gun, controlled-round feed was not imperative.

While my first choice was bottom metal, I decided to go with flush-mount AICS-compatible magazines. There are pros and cons to both choices, but it came down to a desire for simplicity and reliability in feeding.

The stock was a custom walnut piece tailored to my dimensions and constructed to accommodate the 16-inch barrel with aesthetically pleasing proportions.

The goal of the build was to put cutting-edge ballistics and modern components in a classic platform. The result would be a quiet, low-recoil, compact sporter-style rifle with energy enough to take medium-sized game out to 300 yards. It would be a fun-to-shoot, easy-to-carry option for my 10-year-old son and me as we pursue hogs, whitetails, predators, and black bears.

I just had to build it.

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Once I received my action, trigger, and barrel, I carefully packaged everything up and shipped it to my gun builder, Tipton Burns of Texas Sporting Arms. Tip has built a few rifles for me over the last couple of years and always greets my various ideas with, Hell yeah, lets do it!

For this particular project, I supplied a stock from Rich Kaysa, owner of Kaysa Enterprises, made to my measurements and specifications, and Tip handled the headspacing, floating, and bedding. Then, I had Tip ship the bedded rifle to me so I could install an H-S magazine box. I got my rifle back and the H-S Precision package about a day apart. I looked at both and said, Hell yeah, I can do that.

The Defiance Machine Rebel action displays the authors custom serial number, ANDIDV8S-2. Other components include a TriggerTech trigger. The medium-contour 16-inch BSF barrel wears a Silencer Central Banish 46 suppressor.

With the VP of the American Custom GunMakers Guild on the phone for guidance, and a file and a tube of lipstick instead of inletting compound, I did the final fitments on my 338 ARC. The H-S Precision mag box now fits beautifully in the stock.

For an optic, I mounted a 30mm Trijicon 1-424 AccuPoint with a green triangle post reticle in Warne rings. After a quick visual bore sight at the range, I was on paper at 50 yards on the first shot with the Hornady 307-grain Sub-X. The lateral impact was perfect, but the hole was 4 inches high at 50 yards.

Shooting the gun, the Hornady 307 Sub-X loads and the Banish 46 suppressor made only a pffft sound when the crisp trigger broke. The recoil was minimal and the noise irrelevant. The thwack into the backstop was more remarkable than the report of the rifle. Recoil on the 8.59-pound rifle, scoped and suppressed, was a push, really more of a gentle notification that a primer strike had occurred and a bullet was heading downrange. That definitely achieved the fun factor I had sought from the outset.

Although my first impact was high, I kept the same point of aim and sent four additional rounds downrange to establish a 50-yard five-shot group of 1.64 inches.

Tipton Burns of Texas Sporting Arms has built a few rifles for the author with Hell, yeah! enthusiasm.

The next step was 100 yards. With daylight fading and the temp dropping, I sent another five-shot group. Surprisingly, my point of impact was still high of the bull, but windage remained spot on. This five-shot group was 2.14 inches.

I elected to leave further adjustments until I had a chance to clean the rifle properly. Over the course of the 10 shots, the minimum muzzle velocity was 971.9 fps, and the max was 1,065.1 fps, yielding an average of 1,023.9. The extreme spread was 93.2 fps, and the standard deviation was 26.4 fps.

The Hornady 307 Sub-X loads and the Banish 46 suppressor made only a pffft sound when the bullet headed downrange.

The 338 ARC shooting experience was precisely what I had wanted.

The 338 ARC is just the latest ballistic innovation from Hornady. Perhaps all the characteristics the company put into it  low noise, low recoil, midrange power, and suitability for compact bolt and semiauto guns  may inspire other cartridge developers to try their hand at making something a lot of folks would like to shoot.

READ MORE ABOUT 338 ARC:
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Harare City Council employee has appeared in court facing allegations of manipulating the local authority's financial management system and siphoning more than US$20 000 in a suspected internal fraud scheme.David Madzivanyika (60) appeared before the Harare Magistrates' Court on Monday, charged with fraud.According to court papers, the alleged offence came to light in late November last year after the council's revenue division raised concerns with the Information Communication Technology department following complaints from clients over discrepancies in their account balances.Subsequent investigations uncovered inconsistencies between figures recorded in sub-ledgers and those reflected in the main ledgers, triggering a deeper probe into the system.The matter was escalated, leading to the engagement of CCG, a South Africa-based firm responsible for the Sage Evolution Enterprise Resource Planning system used by the council.The vendor's investigation reportedly revealed manipulation of data within the accounts system, prompting the development of a monitoring script to track activities of super users within the database.An audit trail allegedly linked the irregularities to a super user account assigned to Madzivanyika, which was reportedly used to alter financial records.The case was then referred to the council's audit division, whose findings indicated that the alleged manipulation resulted in losses exceeding US$20 000.Madzivanyika was granted bail of US$100 and is expected to return to court at a later date as investigations and legal proceedings continue.The case has raised fresh concerns over internal controls and cybersecurity vulnerabilities within public institutions, particularly in the management of financial systems.
Like so many others on Feb. 24, I was deeply disturbed to learn about the pedophilic accusations brought up against a University of Georgia instructor.

On Tuesday afternoon, a group of men with cameras and papers filled with social media screenshots, walked into a calculus class and began accusing the professor of inappropriately communicating with someone he believed to be a minor. The class came to a halt, and the professor was removed from campus. Since then, UGA has released updates on the situation including the termination of the professor and news that he has fled the country.
Every Monday between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., passing drivers honk  in support or frustration  at a group of protestors holding signs and blowing whistles along the corner of Alps Road and Baxter Street. This weekly gathering, which has become routine for members of Indivisible GA 10 since the killing of George Floyd in 2020, is among many efforts organized by the group.
Domestic institutional investors, on the other hand, made a net investment of Rs 1.13 trillion during this period.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff

Key Points Foreign portfolio investors recorded massive Rs 1.04 trillion outflows in March 2026 amid escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 declined over 10 per cent during March, reflecting sustained selling pressure from FPIs.

Domestic institutional investors infused Rs 1.13 trillion, cushioning markets and extending their buying streak to 32 consecutive months.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out a record Rs 1.04 trillion ($11.28 billion) in March 2026 amid escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, the latest data available on NSDL suggests.

Earlier in October 2024, FPIs offloaded a net amount of Rs 94,017 crore ($11.19 billion) from the equity market mainly due to a strategic shift to cheaper Chinese equities, high domestic valuations, and geopolitical tensions.

FPI record outflows March

In this backdrop, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 have slipped 10.6 per cent each so far in March, data shows.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), on the other hand, have made a net investment of Rs 1.13 trillion during this period, exchange data suggests.

This has helped prevent deeper cuts to the indices.

In the process, DIIs extended their buying streak to 32 months, supported by systematic investment plan (SIP) flows.

Weakness in global equity markets following the war in West Asia, steady depreciation of the rupee, and concerns about the impact of high crude oil prices on India's growth and corporate earnings contributed to FPIs' concern, analysts said.

However, they expect this selling to abate once crude oil prices stabilise and war-related fears recede.

'Sharp underperformance of India versus the other emerging markets (EMs) last year, normalisation of India's premium over EMs', underweight positioning of foreign institutional investors (FIIs), the size of India's economy, strong growth prospects, and strong macros should encourage FIIs over time to not just sell but buy,' wrote Prashant Jain, chief investment officer and fund manager at 3P Investment Managers, in a co-authored note with Ashwani Kumar, their portfolio strategist and co-fund manager.

Crude oil rupee pressure

"Poor returns from India vis-a-vis other markets -- both developed and emerging -- during the last eighteen months are the principal reason for FPIs' indifference towards India," said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.

If their sustained selling strategy is to change, there should be clear indications of earnings recovery back home.

In the present uncertain context, this will take time," added Vijayakumar.

"The complete negative stance of the FPIs towards India," he said, "is also evident from the fact that they are selling recklessly without regard for valuations."

"The financial services sector is performing well, and valuations are fair.

Despite this, FPIs sold massively (Rs 31,831 crore for fortnight ending March 15) because it accounts for about 32 per cent of their assets under custody.

The sector has liquidity, making it easy to sell and exit.

A reversal of the FPI selling will happen only when the war ends and normalcy returns to the market," Vijaykumar added.

Going ahead, U R Bhat, co-founder & director, Alphaniti Fintech, expects DII buying, too, to slow down as war-related concerns persist and crude oil prices stay elevated.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
At the heart of this debate is Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, a safeguard designed to prevent drugmakers from extending monopoly protection through trivial modifications to existing medicines.

Kindly note the image has been posted only for representational purposes. Photograph: Kind courtesy Haberdoedas Photography/Pexels.com

The recent ruling by the Delhi high court allowing Dr Reddy's Laboratories to continue manufacturing diabetes and weight-management drug semaglutide in India opens up opportunities worth billion of dollars for domestic generic drugmakers.

Sales and exports have, for now, been allowed only to those jurisdictions where Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, which holds the patent for semaglutide, does not have patent protection.

Key Points Delhi high court ruling allows Dr Reddy's to manufacture semaglutide, opening billion-dollar opportunities for Indian generic drugmakers across select markets.

Semaglutide patent expiry in India unlocks a fast-growing 1,446 crore weight-loss market with significant expansion potential over coming years.

Indian courts continue to curb pharma evergreening using Section 3(d), demanding strong clinical proof for incremental drug modifications.

Recent rulings on risdiplam and nivolumab highlight growing judicial push for affordable medicines and increased generic competition.

Experts expect intensified patent litigation in 2026 as generics challenge secondary patents amid a wave of blockbuster drug expiries.

Semaglutide patent expiry impact

In India and Canada, Novo Nordisk's patent on semaglutide, the active ingredient in blockbuster brands such as Rybelsus, Ozempic, and Wegovy, expired on March 20.

All of these brands are marketed as the next wonder in weight loss management.

The weight-loss market in India stands at around Rs 1,446 crore on a moving annual turnover (MAT) basis, with semaglutide-based drugs accounting for Rs 445 crore as of February 2026.

Blockbuster drugs nearing patent expiry

Apart from semaglutide, several other blockbuster drugs are approaching patent expiry in India by 2026.

These include sacubitril/valsartan (Vymada) and several biologic oncology drugs.

India's revocation of Novartis' patent for its heart drug Vymada last year has already paved the way for generic competition.

India battle against evergreening

Long-running battle

This and other similar rulings have also brought back into focus India's long-running battle against 'evergreening', the practice by pharma companies to try and torpedo the expiry of a patent by claiming 'improvements' or changes to the original formulations.

At the heart of this debate is Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, a safeguard designed to prevent drugmakers from extending monopoly protection through trivial modifications to existing medicines.

In the last few years, Indian courts have heard a series of cases involving blockbuster molecules such as semaglutide, risdiplam and nivolumab.

Most of the court's decisions have either cleared the way for generics or challenged the validity of patents held by multinational (MNC) pharmaceutical companies.

Key court rulings on generics

In October 2025, the Delhi high court allowed Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma to launch its version of Roche's spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) therapy Risdiplam despite opposition from the latter.

Natco had then said that it would price its version at Rs 15,900 per bottle, compared with Rs 6.2 lakh per bottle charged by Roche under the brand Evrysdi.

The Supreme Court also later dismissed Roche's challenge, effectively clearing the way for the generic version to enter the market.

In another recent ruling, the Delhi high court allowed Zydus to proceed with the manufacturing and sale of American multinational Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)'s immunotherapy drug Nivolumab, marketed as Opdivo and as Opdyta in India.

Treatment costs, therefore, increase by Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh per month.

In its ruling, the court held that access to affordable treatment could not be denied to patients, while turning down BMS' plea to block Indian companies from producing biosimilar versions of Nivolumab.

Following the ruling, Ahmedabad-based Zydus Lifesciences launched Tishtha, its version of Nivolumab, and priced it at Rs 13,950 and Rs 28,950 for the two dosage forms.

Patent litigation wave in 2026

Legal and industry experts believe 2026 could be a crucial year, as a fresh wave of disputes over secondary patents covering formulations, dosages, and minor modifications could emerge.

There could be intensified litigation as generic manufacturers challenge follow-on patents intended to prolong exclusivity, the experts said.

"Incremental pharmaceutical changes now need to show a substantial clinical benefit in order to get past the evergreening barrier," said Ankit Rajgarhia, designate partner at Bahuguna Law Associates.

The decisions emerging from this phase will likely crystallise the evidentiary standards for therapeutic efficacy and shape enforcement strategies for the next decade," Rajgarhia added.

Most legal experts also believe that Indian courts have become increasingly exacting in applying Section 3(d).

After testing for novelty and non-obviousness, judges apply the Section 3(d) filter to ensure incremental changes demonstrate enhanced therapeutic efficacy.

Courts also weigh broader public-interest considerations when deciding interim relief in patent disputes, Rajgarhia said.

The test most courts apply to avoid patent evergreening is whether small changes in dosage, polymorph, or formulation demonstrate enhanced therapeutic efficacy, said Rahul Hingmire, managing partner at Vis Legis Law Practice.

"In oppositions and revocation matters, judges now expect solid clinical data, not theoretical claims," Hingmire said.

Industry analysts say this combination of expiring patents and stricter scrutiny is likely to accelerate generic entry in India over the next two years.

While the legal framework is designed to curb evergreening, litigation tactics can still delay generic entry as even relatively weak secondary patents can temporarily block competition through interim injunctions, experts said.

"In infringement suits before the High Court, originators often seek ad-interim relief pending trial.

Even a six-to-twelve-month delay can significantly affect market access," Hingmire said.

Section 3(d) and patent challenges

'Questionable patents'

Despite the risks and challenges, court rulings continue to strengthen generic companies to challenge questionable patents, the experts said.

A recent Delhi high court ruling held that a revocation challenge under Section 64 of the Patents Act can continue even after the patent has expired, particularly where damages are claimed in an infringement suit.

A revocation challenge under patent law is a legal proceeding to challenge the validity of a granted patent, often initiated by third parties or the government for reasons such as lack of novelty, obviousness, or improper disclosure.

If the patent is eventually revoked by a court ruling, the invalidation operates retrospectively, treating the patent as void from the date of grant.

Swati Sharma, partner and head of intellectual property at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said the decision primarily clarifies procedural strategy rather than dramatically altering litigation risks for patent holders.

"Defendants would generally always defend any patent infringement claim by filing a revocation petition or counter-claim," Sharma said.

"The decision clarifies that such challenges can continue even after the patent expires."

Despite periodic international pressure for stronger intellectual property protections through trade negotiations, experts say India's anti-evergreening framework remains firmly entrenched.

Hingmire said Section 3(d) is now embedded in Indian patent jurisprudence and continues to shape how courts approach pharmaceutical innovation and access to medicines.

"In practice, India's legal framework balances innovation and access," he said.

"It is unlikely to dilute core public health protections."

As pharmaceutical companies prepare for a new cycle of patent expiries and follow-on filings, the outcomes of litigation in 2026 and in the coming years could determine how effectively India continues to police evergreening while still protecting genuine pharmaceutical innovation.

Delhi high court rulings

Semaglutide (2026)

The court allowed Dr Reddy's Laboratories to manufacture semaglutide in India but restricted sales and exports

Risdiplam (2025)

It permitted Natco Pharma to launch a generic version of Roche's spinal muscular atrophy drug

Nivolumab (2025)

Zydus Lifesciences allowed to manufacture and sell biosimilar versions of Bristol Myers Squibb's cancer immunotherapy drug

Pricing has emerged as a key battleground

IMAGE: Boxes of Ozempic and Mounjaro, semaglutide and tirzepatide injection drugs used for treating type 2 diabetes and made by Novo Nordisk and Lilly, is seen at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah. Photograph: George Frey/File Photo/Reuters

About 10 Indian pharmaceutical companies have launched branded generic versions of semaglutide -- the active ingredient in blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy -- following the expiry of the innovator's patent on March 20.

Nomura Research expects the market, currently pegged at Rs 1,600 crore, to expand into a Rs 12,000 crore opportunity over the next five years.

Key Points Indian pharma companies launched branded semaglutide generics after patent expiry, unlocking a fast-growing diabetes and obesity treatment market.

Over 50 brands across pens, reusable devices, and oral formats are expected to intensify competition and expand accessibility.

Alkem has disrupted pricing with significantly lower monthly costs, triggering a broader price war among competing pharmaceutical companies.

Companies like Torrent, Sun Pharma, Lupin, and Eris are positioned for market-share gains through differentiated strategies and partnerships.

Analysts expect the market to grow to Rs 12,000 crore, with consolidation, regulatory risks, and supply challenges shaping near-term dynamics.

Semaglutide Patent Expiry India

Companies including Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Zydus Lifesciences, Natco Pharma, Alkem Laboratories, and Torrent Pharmaceuticals have developed their own formulations.

Others, such as Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Eris Lifesciences, Lupin, and USV, have entered the market through in-licensing agreements.

50+ Generic Brands Launch

More than 50 generic brands of semaglutide are expected to launch in India across three dosage forms: Disposable pens, reusable pens, and oral tablets, ICICI Securities notes.

Among the products developed in-house, Zydus, Alkem, and Sun Pharma have received approvals for both Type 2 diabetes and obesity indications, expanding their addressable market.

DRL and Natco have approvals for diabetes only.

Pricing War Among Pharma Firms

On the licensing front, DRL has licensed its product to USV and Torrent, while Zydus has licensed its differentiated reusable pen to Lupin and Torrent.

Natco has licensed its vial and disposable pen formulations to Glenmark and Eris.

A few companies have introduced differentiated delivery devices.

Zydus and Alkem have introduced reusable pens, offering a more cost-effective alternative to disposable formats.

Zydus' pen also allows dose adjustments, particularly useful during the initial titration phase.

The firm has secured an exclusive agreement with its pen supplier to protect this advantage.

Pricing has emerged as a key battleground, with Alkem standing out for its aggressive strategy.

Most companies have priced the disposable pen at Rs 4,2005,200 per month for diabetes treatment, while Alkem has priced its disposable pen at roughly Rs 2,000 per month -- less than half the market rate.

For obesity, Sun Pharma's maintenance dose is around Rs 8,000 per month, compared with roughly Rs 3,500 for Alkem.

Oral Semaglutide Market Push

Torrent has emerged as the first mover in the oral segment.

It is the only listed company, according to ICICI Securities, to announce an oral product (a generic version of Rybelsus) across all three dosages.

Analysts expect DRL and Sun Pharma to follow soon.

Natco, along with partners Glenmark and Eris, has taken a different approach by introducing low-cost vials, targeting price-sensitive patients and institutional buyers.

Rs 12,000 Crore Market Opportunity

According to Macquarie Research, Torrent, Sun Pharma, Lupin, and Eris are best positioned for market-share gains -- Torrent (oral), Sun Pharma (portfolio/device), Lupin (Zydus partnership), and Eris (vial pricing plus upcoming pens) -- with larger players leveraging scale for distribution and innovation.

Reusable pens from Zydus and Alkem offer the best combination of pricing and convenience, with monthly costs ranging from Rs 1,8002,200 for diabetes and Rs 3,5005,500 for obesity.

The vial format is the cheapest, at about Rs 1,290 per month for diabetes.

Nomura Research expects the Indian semaglutide market to exceed Rs 12,000 crore over the next five years.

Initial pricing is broadly in line with analyst estimates, with further reductions and volume growth expected.

Zydus is seen as a key beneficiary, given its differentiated product and licensing tieups with players strong in the diabetes segment.

Alkem, despite a relatively weaker diabetes foothold, could gain above-average volume share through aggressive pricing and the reusable pen launch.

DRL, via partnerships with USV and Torrent, and Sun Pharma, backed by its large commercial infrastructure, are also expected to capture above-average market share.

Analysts, however, caution on the oral segment, observing that sales of Rybelsus -- the innovator's oral version -- have declined recently.

In the vial segment, analysts expect volume share to remain below 30 per cent, given the preference for pen-based delivery.

Macquarie Research expects six to 12 months of consolidation, with price wars over volume gains followed by sustained expansion.

Investors will monitor risks including supply-chain issues, regulatory scrutiny on bioequivalence, and potential innovator pushback, which could have stock implications for listed players.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
News / National

by Staff reporter

A City Bus marshal captured in a viral video allegedly assaulting a parking attendant in Bulawayo has been arrested and appeared in court, as authorities move to clamp down on public violence.Sam Scottfield Matanda (48), of Bellevue suburb, who works as both a bus marshal and bouncer, appeared before Bulawayo Provincial Magistrate Themba Chimiso facing an assault charge.Matanda pleaded not guilty, telling the court that the complainant, Michael Ntini (33), had threatened him prior to the altercation."After he had clamped our bus, I asked him why he had done so. He told me he would deal with me and said he had previously been threatened by my colleagues," Matanda said in his defence.The court granted him US$200 bail, ordering him not to interfere with State witnesses and to remain at his given address until the matter is finalised. The case was remanded to March 30.Prosecutor Samuel Mpofu told the court that the incident occurred on March 18, shortly after 10am, at the intersection of Leopold Takawira Road and Fifth Street, opposite Bulawayo Central Police Station.According to the State, Ntini had just disembarked from his vehicle when Matanda confronted him, allegedly grabbing him by the collar before repeatedly slapping him."He also dragged and pushed him while accusing him of clamping his bus," Mpofu said.Ntini later sought medical attention, and a medical report is expected to be presented in court as evidence.The case, which gained traction on social media after footage of the incident circulated widely, has reignited concerns over rising incidents of public confrontations escalating into violence in urban centres.
If dark and twisted crime thrillers and trauma-led violence interest you, you can binge-watch Daldal over the weekend, endorses Divya Nair.

Key Points Daldal is a Hindi-language psychological crime thriller.

The seven-episode OTT series stars Bhumi Pednekar, Indu Mhatre and Chinmay Mandlekar in lead roles.

Daldal streams on Amazon Prime Video from January 30.

There are cops. There are female cops. And there are cops like DCP Reita Ferreira.

Raw. Brutal. Surviving the scars of a personal trauma. And yet putting up a brave fight. To cleanse the system. Every day.

Prime Original's latest series Daldal drops as an antidote to the various poorly sketched cops we have seen in recent times. And that's just one of the many reasons why Daldal is different.

What Daldal is about

Created by Amrit Raj Gupta, Daldal is based on Vish Dhamija's book, Bhendi Bazar.

In the OTT series, Mumbai Crime Branch's youngest DCP Reita Ferreira (Bhumi Pednekar in one of her career best performances) races against time to stop a brutal serial killer from claiming his next victim, while also dealing with patriarchy, subordination and fighting prejudice to sustain her promotion.

Challenging Reita is a serial killer who has an identical personal journey to a traumatic childhood.

The beauty of Daldal is how the makers present the personal growth and transformation of two children united by the same trauma, yet one of them ends up as an antagonist.

The star cast of Daldal

It's been a while since we have missed watching Bhumi Pednekar tap into her acting prowess. Daldal more than makes up for that by giving us a cop template that challenges your imagination.

When DCP Reita Ferreira imagines stuffing raw chicken into a man's mouth, you get a sense of how eerily fractured her mind is. Then she goes ahead and does something that will blow your mind away.

She gets her anger from her mother Isabel (Vibhawari Deshpande). Samara Tijori as Anant/Anita is subtle and flawed, but sinister.

The supporting cast is equally brilliant: Anant Mahadevan as Manohar Swamy, an activist who feeds strays, Chinmay Mandlekar as Vikram Sathe, Sandesh Kulkarni as Sanjay Deshpande, and many more.

But if there is one role and actor that triumphs this series with her performance, it has to be the genuineness with which Geeta Agrawal Sharma plays Indu Mhatre -- a constable who balances the role of a doting mother at home and someone who admires and yet is at the receiving end of her young senior at work.

Throughout seven episodes ranging 25 to 45 minutes long, as the layers of everyone's personality peels off, and you watch the serial killer get the advantage, you are just as invested as you were in the first episode. And that's not easy to achieve.

Is Daldal worth a watch?

If dark and twisted crime thrillers and trauma-led violence interest you, you can binge-watch this series over the weekend. If gore and messy crime scenes are not your thing, you can skip to the good part where you see Bhumi Pednekar give you Mardaani vibes but with a swag that's distinctly her own.

Daldal streams on Amazon Prime Video.

Daldal Review Rediff Rating:
This article was first published 9 years ago

The story of an underdog, Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan is quite decent, feels Paresh C Palicha.

The most popular stories are usually about underdogs fighting against odds to achieve success.

Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan, the new film directed by Nadirshah after the success of Amar Akbar Anthony, is about one such underdog.

It needs to be appreciated that he does not depend on mimicry here, as he did in his first film.

Here, he tells the story of a guy who wishes to be a film star even though he does not possess the conventional good looks.

Krishnan Nair aka Kichu (Vishnu Unnikrishnan) is a junior artist in the film industry, who is typecast as a thief because of his looks. But in his heart, he wants to become a hero.

In a flashback, it is revealed that Kichu's father Surendran (Siddique) was a diehard Jayan fan in his youth. When his hero dies in a tragic accident, he packs his bags and leaves for Madras naively believing that he can fill the vacuum created by his heros death.

He gets ridiculed on his return as a failed actor. It is then that he takes it up a challenge to make his son a star, who will be loved and respected by everyone.

It is another matter that Surendran was yet to be married when he made this announcement.

Eventually, when he got married, his son turned out to be an 'ugly duckling'.

His

wife did not survive and so, Surendran brought up his son as a single parent. He would roam around in film locations requiring child actors. But ultimately, it dawned on him that his son neither had the looks nor the aptitude to be an actor.

Kichu (named because it was the actor Jayans real name) grew up as a good-for-nothing back-bencher. His life transformed when his school was selected as a films location and he was selected to do a small role where he had to just snatch a purse from the heroines hand and run.

The adulation he got when the shot was okayed in a single take was intoxicating. So he continued doing the same thing for the next 10 years. The initial adulation turned into indifference with the repetition and people around him lost count of the films he had appeared in as a chain snatcher. This is beautifully depicted by showing his father losing a bet with a friend about whether his son had appeared in a Mammootty film or not.

Writing by Vishnu Unnikrishnan and Bibin George (the same team behind Amar Akbar Anthony) pad up the story with inside jokes, subplots and a romantic track with two ladies Prayaga Martin and Lijomol Jose (of Maheshinte Prathikaaram fame).

All the performances are sincere. Dharmajan Bolgatty deserves special mention for being our heros buddy.

All these things make Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan a decent entertainer.

Rediff Rating:
The power of Santosh hinges on the script, enhanced by Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar's performances, observes Deepa Gahlot.

Sandhya Suri's Santosh comes with international acclaim.

It made its debut at the Cannes film festival, was the UK's official entry for the Oscars, went on to be nominated for a BAFTA for Best Debut Feature and its lead actor Shahana Goswami won the Best Actress at the Asian Film Awards.

In India, it was denied a censor certificate, in effect, stalling its release in theatres.

It finally reaches home audiences on the OTT platform, Liongsate Play.

Santosh depicts, without flinching, the misogyny, casteism and communalism rampant in a fictional north Indian town.

It is here that Santosh (Shahana Goswami) is given a job as a police constable on compassionate grounds, since her husband was killed in the line of duty.

Santosh looks ill at ease in the male uniform -- she wears the full sleeves down and walks with a slight hunch, as if not quite believing the authority given to her by the job.

At the police station, women personnel are treated with barely disguised disdain.

When Santosh joins duty, she and a female colleague are sitting at a table in the open, listening to a young woman complaining of her boyfriend's betrayal.

The other cop, with an unexplained scar on her face, has a hardened look on her face that the newbie is yet to acquire.

Her superior officer expects her to walk his dog and help his wife with the housework because to his patriarchal mindset, that's the place women ought to occupy.

Still to be crushed by normalised atrocity, Santosh feels sorry for a helpless Dalit man, whose complaint about his missing daughter Devika is not even taken down by the sneering male cops.

She is thrown into the deep end, when the girl's body is found, and people from her community protest outside the police station.

Later, the officer in charge forces Santosh to take Devika's corpse to the mortuary for the autopsy because nobody else will touch the body and he conducts a ritual to 'purify' the police station.

Still, due to the protests and media uproar, the lethargic cops are forced to investigate, and Santosh's new boss is a senior female cop, Geeta (Sunita Rajwar), who behaves like a man, but is firmly on the side of the women's cause.

With Geeta's encouragement, Santosh makes headway in the case, and a Muslim man is arrested as a suspect.

In the process, while encountering discrimination at every level, Santosh's wide-eyed naivete is slowly lost.

It is a classic police procedural, but without the glamour or thrill that fiction lends to such a plot.

Suri does not soft-peddle the ugliness of the landscape or the corruption embedded in the attitudes of those in power, misusing their wealth, caste and position with impunity.

In this patriarchal set-up, Santosh's gender is a disadvantage -- the only way she can survive in the force is if she acquires the same toxicity or makes the Faustian compromises Geeta has -- and the older cop is not half as evil as her male counterparts.

Lennert Hillege's cinematography has a documentary approach, and even the open spaces somehow look claustrophobic because they conceal so much cruelty and prejudice.

The power of the film hinges on the script, enhanced by the performances of Goswami and Rajwar, who display not the slightest trace or artifice, immersing themselves into the characters and blending into the milieu, aiming at a tenuous dignity in an environment that barely lets women keep their heads above the all-pervasive darkness.

Santosh streams on Lionsgate Play.

Santosh Review Rediff Rating:
It is time for India to step up and get Russia, China and Europe to agree to a joint appeal to all combatants. Time is of essence, tomorrow may be too late, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.

IMAGE: Emergency personnel work at the site of a strike on a residential building in Tehran, March 23, 2026. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Key Points History shows that aerial bombing alone rarely forces nations to surrender.

Nazi Germany sustained and even increased war production despite heavy bombing in 1944.

Threats to destroy oil and gas infrastructure could harm the global economy.

The biggest lesson of history is that mankind learns no lesson from it. Else how and why would the US and Israel expect Iran to fold up and surrender due to bombing of its military bases?

The US carried out bombing of North Vietnam (Operation Rolling Thunder) from 1965 to 1968 and dropped nearly 50,000 tonnes of bombs on various targets in Vietnam.

Under Operation Menu the US dropped 2.7 million tonnes of bombs on Cambodia between 1970 and 1973. Cambodia has the distinction of being the most bombed country in the world.

Neither Vietnam nor Cambodia surrendered despite this inhuman act. It was the US that beat a hasty retreat.

During World War II that lasted six years, the total tonnage of bombs dropped was 2 million (including the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

In 1944 Nazi Germany was bombed day and night. Statistics later revealed that German war production reached its peak in 1944 since most of it had moved underground.

The two lessons that one ought to learn are aerial bombing does not lead to surrender and war production does not get affected if the country is prepared beforehand, as Iran obviously is.

In the third week of this senseless war, all sides are now threatening to destroy the oil and gas resources in the Middle East. The oil and gas was formed millions of years ago due to a geological process and is an asset of all of mankind.

Neither the Arabs nor the Iranians created it. As the current occupants of that land mass they certainly have the right to enjoy nature's bounty, but they have no right to destroy this heritage of mankind.

Global Boycott

IMAGE: A damaged building following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis in Dimona, southern Israel, March 22, 2026. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

The current deadlines game being played by the US and Iran to begin the targeting of oil installations is against humanity's interest.

If these countries do not stop this madness, it is time the rest of the world unites and impose economic and travel sanctions on the combatants. It is worth pondering if the greatest superpower can survive a global boycott!

The US and Israel did start with moral high ground when Iran, foolishly according to me, made the destruction of Israel as its national goal.

Hidden behind this was the grandiose idea to become the leader of the Islamic Ummah. The delusional ayatollahs of Iran should have long realised that the vast Sunni Islamic world will not accept a Shia country leading them.

In pursuit of an unattainable goal, Iran's mullahs have brought a disaster upon their country.

The policy of export of the Iranian revolution was doomed to failure and has earned Iran Arab enmity.

Iran No Existential Threat

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks on the West Asia situation in the Lok Sabha, March 23, 2026. Photograph: Sansad TV/ANI Video Grab

Israel did have logic on its side at the start of the conflict when it claimed an existential threat to it from Iran.

But after three weeks of a brutal bombing campaign, Iran no longer poses an existential threat to Israel.

Instead, it is Israel and the US that now threaten the very existence of Iran, an ancient civilisational state, at par with Egypt, India and China.

Confronted with the threat of extinction and calls for total surrender, Iran is now fighting back like Cambodia or Vietnam did in the 1970s.

With a mentally unstable president, the US today poses the greatest threat to the world economy and peace.

The only way out of this quagmire is for the world, Asia, Europe and Africa to unite and issue an ultimatum to the countries involved in this war to cease hostilities and stop destroying mankind's natural resources.

It is time for India to step up and get Russia, China and Europe to agree to a joint appeal to all combatants. Time is of essence, tomorrow may be too late.

These are Colonel Anil A Athale's personal views.

You can read Colonel Athale's earlier columns here.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
On the 95th anniversary of Bhagat Singh's martyrdom, Utkarsh Mishra revisits the ideas and philosophy of the revolutionary giant.

Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo

Key Points Beyond his popular image as a gun-wielding revolutionary, Bhagat Singh was a deeply ideological thinker who gave a clear socialist direction to the freedom struggle.

For him, revolution was not about violence alone, but about transforming society by ending both colonial and class oppression.

He saw religion as a major obstacle to revolution, arguing that it fostered fatalism and division, weakening collective political action.

Bhagat Singh viewed compromise as a strategic necessity, not betrayal -- provided revolutionaries used it to regroup, educate, and push the struggle forward.

As the sun was setting on Lahore on March 23, 1931, the commotion outside the Central Jail was intensifying with each passing minute. The jail was sealed; even the warders who were outside were not being let in, nor were those who were inside allowed to leave.

A large, impatient crowd outside was waiting for some news, fearing the worst.

Contrary to the custom of not executing convicts after sunset, the gallows were being readied to hang three of the greatest revolutionary fighters for independence -- Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Hari Rajguru.

All other prisoners except these three were locked inside the barracks.

At 7.35 pm, the three revolutionaries were brought out of their cells.

In the presence of the jail superintendent, the police superintendent and a magistrate, they were taken to the gallows. As their faces were hooded and the noose was placed around their necks, the trio shouted: 'Down-Down with the Union Jack!'

Families not allowed to meet revolutionaries, cremation done furtively

With this cue, the sound of slogans rent the air, inside and outside the prison. The jail was still sealed.

Although family members of the revolutionaries were called for the last meeting before execution, they were not allowed inside the jail and the meeting could not take place.

Scared of the massive crowd outside, policemen took out the three bodies from the back exit. The bodies were cut into pieces and filled into sacs. They took the sacs to the banks of the Sutlej river, poured kerosene, and consigned them to the flames. Thus, their family members were not only denied a last meeting, but also the last rites and even the ashes of the three martyrs.

The next day, copies of a letter signed by the district magistrate were pasted on the walls of Lahore, informing people that the three revolutionaries were executed, and cremated the evening before, and their 'ashes were immersed in the Sutlej'. The government claimed that it was done to 'prevent public outcry and disorder'.

However, Lala Lajpat Rai's daughter Parvati Devi and Bhagat Singh's sister found half-burnt remains of the martyrs' bodies on the riverside. The remains were taken to the city, where a procession was taken out. Over a hundred thousand people joined the procession; most of them were barefoot out of respect for the martyrs.

The procession ended at the place where Lala Lajpat Rai was cremated in 1928, and the remains were given a proper cremation after emotional speeches were made. Another gathering of 50,000 men and women at Minto Park arrived with black flags in protest. A general strike was observed. Congress flags were flying at half-mast.

Fearing a public outcry, the government softened its stand and issued another release saying the martyrs were cremated with full honours. Still under heavy security, the city dwellers refused to believe the government.

Epitome of sacrifice and martyrdom

Since that day, Bhagat Singh's name has been etched in history as the epitome of sacrifice and martyrdom.

Paradoxically, it is precisely because of this venerable image that occupies people's psyche that it prevents them from seeing beyond those portraits of the martyr hung on the walls in government offices, schools, colleges and hostel rooms.

People seem to believe they know everything about Bhagat Singh, yet few have read anything written on him and still fewer have read anything written by him. This is true notwithstanding the fact that his collected works -- letters, articles, jail notebook, and court statements -- are readily available.

Then there are those who go so far as to question the veracity of these works because a young Marxist revolutionary, who rejected religion and God, and who was reading about Lenin a few minutes before he was hanged, makes them uncomfortable.

Legend has it that the last page of the book that Bhagat Singh read before he got up to walk to the gallows was folded. Revolutionary poet Avatar Singh Sandhu, popularly known as 'Pash', urged the youth to 'go beyond that page'.

What follows is for those who want to heed Pash's advice and turn over that page.

How Bhagat Singh Understood Revolution

Most people see Bhagat Singh as the gun-wielding revolutionary who acted in opposition to Gandhi's doctrine of non-violence. This image has been historically constructed by both Gandhi's followers and adversaries alike.

For Gandhi and his followers, taking up arms was such a deal breaker that they refused to listen to any rationale behind it. And for their adversaries, especially the majoritarian and communal parties, the only fact that mattered was that Bhagat Singh didn't subscribe to non-violence (though it must be noted, as pointed out by Professor Chaman Lal, that no communal organisation had spoken a word in favour of or in defence of these revolutionaries. But they now want to give them a religious colour).

Both factions neither wanted nor cared to know why Bhagat Singh did what he did.

Whereas, even a cursory reading of Bhagat Singh's writings should be enough to make one stand in awe of the amazing clarity about revolutionary philosophy, the depth of understanding, the sense of history and the recognition of upholding high morals that a young boy had in his late teens and early 20s.

Moreover, all his comrades -- even those who were much senior to him in the revolutionary movement -- credit Bhagat Singh with giving an ideological foundation to the movement that was till then, as his comrade and fellow convict in the Lahore Conspiracy Case, Shiv Verma, writes, 'inspired by intense religious sentiments and was extremist in nature'.

As Professor Chaman Lal writes in Bhagat Singh: A Reader, 'Bhagat Singh was most organised in his thinking about the revolution and the means to achieve it. [He] went beyond the tradition of the early revolutionaries and gave an ideological direction to the whole movement, which had been missing earlier...

'Bhagat Singh realised that the goal of the Indian revolution should be a socialist revolution, which aims at ending not just colonial rule but class rule as well'.

Verma writes that Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev were initially inspired by Bakunin's anarchism, but later, under the influence of Sohan Singh 'Josh' and Lala Chabildas, they drifted towards Marxism and Communism.

Bhagat Singh did not oppose Satyagraha in toto

In a 1927 article published in Kirti, Bhagat Singh wrote: 'Class consciousness is crucial to stop people from fighting each other. The poor workers and peasants should be made to clearly understand that their real enemies are the capitalists, so they must be careful not to fall into their trap'.

In multiple articles, Bhagat Singh tried to educate the youth about the principles of Marxism, anarchism, revolutionary nihilism, private property, etc. These are reflections of his comprehensive reading and understanding of theoretical concepts.

Contrary to the popular image, for Bhagat Singh, revolution was not limited to picking up guns and bombs to fight the British. Nor did he oppose the principles of Satyagraha in toto. In fact, in his articles, he voiced support for satyagraha in Bardoli, Kanpur, and Meerut and praised previous campaigns in Champaran and other places.

The revolutionaries also used the weapon of hunger strike in jail multiple times, including the famous 111-day-long hunger strike in Lahore Central Jail that resulted in the martyrdom of Jatin Das.

Replying to Ramanand Chaterjee, the editor of Modern Review, who ridiculed the phrase 'Long Live Revolution', Bhagat Singh wrote: 'Revolution does not necessarily involve sanguinary strife. It was not a cult of bomb and pistol. They may sometimes be mere means for its achievement. No doubt they play a prominent part in some movements, but they do not -- for that very reason -- become one and the same thing... The old order should change, always and ever, yielding place to the new, so that one 'good' order may not corrupt the world'.

Thus, to Bhagat Singh, revolution meant not the usurpation of power through violence, but a transformation of the social structure and the establishment of a new order.

Religion, the Mountain in the Path of Revolution

Bhagat Singh was an atheist who not only rejected religion and God but also believed them to be obstacles in the path of achieving freedom.

In his famous essay Why I Am an Atheist and multiple other articles and arguments with fellow revolutionaries who were religious, Bhagat Singh has stated that the belief in an omnipotent almighty leads to the path of fatalism, which prevents people from acting against the current state of affairs and forces them to accept their misery as misfortune or the result of their deeds in a past life.

In a 1928 article in Kirti, he called for 'ridding ourselves of this whole problem' and wrote that 'religion stands before us like a mountain'. Later in the article, he says 'not tomorrow, rather it should be blown up today itself'.

He also argues against the mixing of religion with politics and highlights how religious dogmas actively prevent the unity required for a successful revolution.

He warns that as long as religious identities override the common cause of humanity, the masses will remain divided and vulnerable to exploitation.

Some of the paragraphs that he wrote against communalism in another article in Kirti in 1927 seem strikingly relevant in today's times, when most of our media indulges in Hindu-Muslim rhetoric and seeks to create dissension for catching eyeballs.

He wrote: 'The profession of journalism that, at one point of time, was accorded a very high status has become filthy now. These people print prominent, provocative headlines and rouse the passions of people against one another, which leads to rioting.

'The real duty of the newspapers was to impart education, eradicate narrow-mindedness in people, put an end to communal feelings, encourage mutual understanding, and create a common Indian nationalism. But they have turned their main business to spread ignorance, preach narrowness, create prejudice... and destroy common Indian nationalism'.

This one paragraph should be enough to make many of our TV news anchors hang their heads in shame and not utter the name of Bhagat Singh till they mend their ways.

It should also be a lesson for the Left parties today that are increasingly making peace with religious bigotry to get votes.

Do Revolutionaries Never Compromise?

The Gandhi-Irwin Pact of 1931 was signed only a few days before Bhagat Singh's death.

In fact, there were strong demands from various sections, even within the Congress, that Gandhi should include commutation of Bhagat Singh's capital punishment as a condition in the draft of the pact.

A sense of betrayal prevailed among the revolutionaries, who were not sure what this agreement would entail for them.

Against this backdrop, in February 1931, Bhagat Singh penned a landmark letter addressed to young political workers, where he made a very pragmatic point: Revolutionaries should not see compromise as betrayal, but as a normal, if essential, stage of a protracted struggle.

Using the example of Lenin and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Bhagat Singh argued how even the most uncompromising movements are forced to amend their tactics in order to survive.

For Bhagat Singh, compromise is not a softening of goals, but a 'weapon' in the political game. It is an admission that they are not fully prepared.

Quoting Lokmanya Tilak, he shows how such 'breathing space' should be used to 'secure ourselves the one anna out of sixteen', but not see our goal of transformation reduce into a 'one anna' rather.

At the same time, he issues a powerful warning about what must follow any compromise.

Revolutionaries must resist the tendency to dissolve, become complacent, or allow conservative forces to hijack the movement. Instead, they must use the breathing space to reorganise, educate the masses, and sharpen their ideological clarity.

In Bhagat Singh's vision, compromise is merely a halt in the journey, not its destination -- a moment to gather strength before advancing with greater purpose.

-----

The account of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru's supreme sacrifice, and the subsequent public reaction, is based on archived news reports published in Hindi newspapers Abhyudaya and Bhavishya, collected in a book by Professor Chaman Lal.

References to Bhagat Singh's articles and letters are taken from Bhagat Singh: A Reader by Professor Chaman Lal.
'.'

IMAGE: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam President Vijay leaves the CBI headquarters in New Delhi, March 15, 2026. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

Key Points 'We will sweep the elections. We will get more than 200 seats.'

'AIADMK is remote controlled by the BJP. AIADMK is a branch of the BJP in Tamil Nadu.'

'It is Tamil Nadu versus the NDA. It is Dravidians versus Aryans.'

The Tamil Nadu assembly elections have been announced, and the state will elect its next government on April 23.

With less than a month to go, the major parties have announced seat arrangements, which makes the upcoming battle very interesting.

The ruling Dravida Munetra Kazhagam led by Chief Minister M K Stalin on March 5 finalised seat-sharing with its main ally, the Congress party, offering it 28 seats plus a Rajya Sabha seat.

The DMK has since been holding talks with its junior allies, but not everyone seems to be happy. Last week,the Tamilaga Vaazhvurimai Katchi, walked out of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance into the Opposition National Democratic Alliance.

On Monday the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam heading the NDA in the state finalised its seat-sharing arrangements. Allotting the BJP 27 seats, the Pattali Makkal Katchi 18 seats and the Amma Mukkal Munnetra Kazhagam seats, the AIADMK kept 178 seats for itself.

Interestingly, the ruling DMK is yet make a formal announcement on how many seats it will contest, amid reports that the state government was facing anti-incumbency, due to which it may drop many sitting legislators.

However, DMK Spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai doesn't buy arguments of anti-incumbency, believing that the party is on the cusp of being re-elected.

"We will sweep the polls and form the government again. There is no anti-incumbency, in fact there is pro-incumbency," Annadurai tells tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor A Ganesh Nadar.

There is a lot of talk about the anti-incumbency wave against the Stalin government. How are you planning to handle it?

There is no anti-incumbency. In fact there is pro-incumbency. This is because of the welfare measures taken by our government. There has been economic growth, the per capita income has grown. There is inclusive growth.

What about the 12 years anti-incumbency of the Narendra Modi government? You never mention that.

In the months leading to the elections there were a lot of heated exchanges between some Congress leaders and your party as the Congress wanted a share in the government. Can the two parties put the bitterness behind them and work together during the elections?

That is irrelevant now. It's a done and dusted story. The seat sharing talks have concluded. Now we will work together.

You have admitted a lot of leaders from other parties into your party. If you give them tickets to contest now, will it not affect the morale of DMK leaders who have stayed with the party? Will the cadre work for such candidates who have recently joined the party?

DMK cadres are aware of the political situation. M K Stalin is the tallest leader in the state. From 2011 AIADMK leaders have been joining the DMK.

Our party is the parent organisation. The flock is returning, our cadres accept this.

In the current assembly the AIADMK has 65 MLAs and the BJP four MLAs and yet your leaders attack the BJP more than they attack the AIADMK. Why?

This is because the AIADMK is remote controlled by the BJP. The AIADMK is a branch of the BJP in Tamil Nadu.

EPS (AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami) echoes whatever the BJP says. There is no difference between them.

IMAGE: Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party in-charge of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, Piyush Goyal, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran announce seat-sharing for the state assembly elections at MGR Mansion, Royapettah, Chennai, March 23, 2025. Photograph: @NainarBJP X/ANI Photo

Turning to the Iran war fallout, the hotel industry employs lakhs of people. Stopping the supply of commercial gas cylinders to them could hit employment, which means you could lose a lot of votes. How are you going to handle that?

The people of Tamil Nadu are intelligent. They know this has happened because of the failed policy of the central government.

The DMK will not be affected.

As the BJP is allied with the AIADMK, the minorities are expected to vote for the DMK. But this time there is an option for them, in the form of actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. Will you end up losing minority votes to Vijay?

The DMK has fought for the rights of every citizen, including the minorities.

Whenever the BJP attacks the Muslims or Christians we have opposed it.

Vijay did not oppose the attack on churches during Christmas in other states. He is a stooge of the BJP.

Seeman's Naam Tamilar Katchi's vote percentage has increased in every election. What impact will he have on this election?

The NTK has 7% to 8% vote share. The AIADMK and DMK have 75% of the total votes. 25% of the voters do not support the two majors.

So Vijay can get 8 to 10% of the votes. The NTK will get the same. It will not affect us.

IMAGE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munetra Kazhagam President M K Stalin.

All your allies want to contest more seats, and you have more allies this time. How are you going to manage them and also make sure that you have your own majority as you don't want to share power?

We are managing them. We have convinced them about our seat sharing formula. We will get a majority on our own.

Vijay is drawing huge crowds. How much of this will translate to votes? He is supposed to have a big impact on first time voters and swing voters. What is your opinion?

He may get 8% to 10% votes. A lot depends on his candidates.

Only N T Rama Rao succeeded in his first attempt because of anti-incumbency in Andhra Pradesh. Here it is pro-incumbency.

When a TVK leader spoke about Rajnikanth it was the AIADMK and BJP that criticised him, your party was silent. Why?

We thought that enough has been said about that topic. It is understood.

Is there any truth to the claim that the DMK pressured Rajini not to join politics?

I will not comment on speculation.

Will the freebies culture that both Dravidian parties practise bankrupt the state?

When the central government gives a corporate tax waiver you don't call it a freebie. The government lost Rs 4 lakh crores when they lowered corporate tax.

The central government did not do anything when millionaires left the country.

We help the needy so that they are included in the inclusive growth of the economy.

Our state's economic growth is very strong.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public meeting in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, March 11, 2026. Photograph: Narendra Modi Photo Gallery/ANI Photo

Tamil Nadu has a habit of changing the government in every election. If the trend is maintained, your party will be out of power after the elections.

That trend was broken in 2016 when the AIADMK came back to power. That's the trend in the country now.

We will come back to power.

Delaying the release of Vijay's movie Jana Nayagan has actually made the movie more popular, and also takes its release date closer to the election. Will that benefit him?

Please ask the BJP this question. They have weaponised the censor board.

Is the DMK open to the idea of power-sharing with allies?

Our leader M K Stalin has said it many times. The people of Tamil Nadu do not accept a coalition government.

What will you do if the DMK falls short of a majority on its own, and needs its allies' support to get a majority and they want a share in power in exchange for support?

We will sweep the elections. We will get more than 200 seats.

According to you, what are the issues before the voters this time?

The main issue is that if they want to allow the state to continue to grow or to allow regressive communal forces to enter the state.

It is Tamil Nadu versus the NDA. It is Dravidians versus Aryans.

There have been demands that Stalin should head the INDIA bloc. What are the chances that he will move to Delhi after the elections and have Udhayanidhi take over in Chennai, something like what Nitish Kumar has done in Bihar? /strong>

Chief Minister Stalin has answered this question. He said, 'I know my height. We have only 40 MPs in Parliament.'
Stage artist Sobi George's arrest in Kochi highlights a cheque bounce case and numerous fraud allegations, impacting his career and music troupe.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Adriano Gadini/Pixabay.com

Key Points Sobi George, a stage artist and director, was arrested in Kochi for a cheque bounce case.

George is also accused of multiple cheating and fraud incidents dating back to 2013.

He allegedly defrauded individuals by promising overseas trips with his music troupe.

Financial difficulties arose after assets of his Kalagruham music troupe were seized.

Stage artist, actor, and director of the Kothamangalam Kalagruham music troupe, Sobi George was arrested on Tuesday in a cheque bounce case, police said.

A senior police officer said that George was arrested based on a warrant issued against him by a court here in two cheque bounce cases.

Besides that, he is an accused in several cheating and fraud cases since 2013 in other parts of the state as well, the officer said.

Fraud Allegations Against Sobi George

George, who was briefly with the Kalabhavan theatre group, had allegedly cheated many people by offering to take people abroad along with the troupe by taking money from them for the same.

He either did not take them or left them stranded abroad, according to the complaints against him, the officer said.

Financial Troubles

George was also in financial trouble after starting his Kalagruham music troupe with assets, including a bus, related to his establishment being seized by the authorities, police said.
Shaukat Ali, the president of AIMIM's Uttar Pradesh unit, is under police investigation after a video surfaced allegedly showing him delivering a provocative speech, sparking concerns about communal harmony.

Key Points AIMIM's Uttar Pradesh unit president, Shaukat Ali, is facing legal trouble after a video surfaced of him allegedly making a provocative speech.

Police in Meerut have registered an FIR against Shaukat Ali under relevant sections of law.

A local Hindu outfit leader has condemned Ali's alleged remarks, claiming they could disrupt communal harmony.

Authorities have urged the public to avoid sharing inflammatory content on social media to maintain peace.

Police in Meerut have registered an FIR against Shaukat Ali, the president of AIMIM's Uttar Pradesh unit, after a video showing him purportedly making a provocative speech surfaced on social media, officials said on Tuesday.

According to police, the video shows Ali allegedly making objectionable and inflammatory remarks.

Kotwali Circle Officer Antariksh Jain said the case has been registered at the Lohiyanagar police station under relevant sections of law, and further legal action will follow.

Reactions to the Alleged Remarks

The leader of a local Hindu outfit, Sachin Sirohi, condemned Ali's alleged remarks, claiming they could disturb communal harmony.

Police have appealed to the people to refrain from sharing inflammatory content on social media and maintain peace and order, the officer said.
Following a complaint by his nephew, police are investigating allegations of a criminal conspiracy surrounding the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, focusing on potential safety violations and falsified records.

IMAGE: The wreckage of the aircraft at the crash site in Baramati, on January 28, 2026. Photograph: ANI video grab

Key Points Bengaluru police are investigating a potential criminal conspiracy in the plane crash that killed Ajit Pawar, based on a complaint by his nephew, Rohit Pawar.

Rohit Pawar alleges systematic violations of aviation safety regulations, falsification of records, and negligence in the operation of the aircraft.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had previously declared the aircraft company negligent and grounded its planes following the crash.

Questions are being raised about the pilot's history of alcohol-related violations and a last-minute crew change before the fatal flight.

Anomalies in the aircraft's certification records and changes to the flight plan are also being scrutinized as part of the investigation.

The Bengaluru police have registered a case related to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash in Baramati on a complaint by his nephew Rohit Pawar, who has alleged that the tragedy was a result of a 'larger criminal conspiracy' to eliminate his uncle.

Pawar was killed on January 28 when a Bombardier Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Private Limited, crashed near Baramati Airport, Pune, Maharashtra.

The aircraft was on a flight from Mumbai to Baramati and was carrying Ajit Pawar and four others on board, who were all killed in the crash.

Based on the complaint, the High Grounds police registered 'Zero FIR', which can be registered at any police station, irrespective of where the offence was committed.

"We have registered a zero FIR and transferred it to the Maharashtra police for investigation," a senior police officer told PTI.

Rohit Pawar said he had previously approached Marine Drive Police Station on February 25 and Baramati Police Station on February 26 without an FIR being registered, "and was subsequently informed by Pune CID that they were examining only the Accidental Death Report angle".

"The complainant contends that the incident was a result of a larger criminal conspiracy aimed at eliminating the Deputy Chief Minister," the complaint read.

Allegations of Safety Violations and Falsified Records

Rohit claimed that there were 'systematic violations' of aviation safety regulations, deliberate falsification of records, gross negligence in maintenance and operations, and a pattern of conduct which led to the incident.

According to him, on February 24, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its safety audit report 'declared and admitted' that aircraft of the VSR Company were 'negligent, not airworthy' and therefore were grounded as part of the DGCA investigation in the crash of the charter plane.

He alleged that the aircraft VT-SSK was being operated in systematic violation of mandatory safety standards.

At the time of the crash, the aircraft had accumulated approximately 4,915 flight hours, leaving only about 85 hours before the mandatory engine Time Before Overhaul ('TBO') threshold of 5,000 hours was reached, he charged.

"Despite operating dangerously close to this limit, VSR continued to deploy the aircraft for commercial operations, placing the crew and passengers at heightened risk of mechanical malfunction," said Rohit Pawar.

He suspected that the aircraft may have infact accumulated flight hours in excess of 8,000 hours, far beyond its certified safe operational limits.

"This deliberate suppression and misrepresentation of flight data amounts to falsification of statutory maintenance records and constitutes a serious violation of aviation safety regulations as enumerated in the complaint," Rohit Pawar said.

He charged that 'this pattern of falsification' allowed continued commercial operation of a fundamentally unsafe aircraft.

"The DGCA's certification records for aircraft VT-SSK disclose procedurally anomalous and potentially fabricated documentation. The Airworthiness Certificate for the aircraft was issued on December 16, 2021, while the Aircraft Registration Certificate was only issued on 27th December 2022, a full year later."

Standard aviation procedure requires that registration precede airworthiness certification.

"This reversal of prescribed sequence suggests either gross administrative failure or deliberate manipulation of records at the DGCA level," Rohit said.

Questions Raised About Pilot and Flight Details

He also alleged that the Chief Pilot Sumit Kapoor, who commanded the aircraft on the day of the crash, had a documented history of alcohol-related violations, leading to a three-year suspension of his flying privileges by the DGCA.

"The original crew scheduled for the flight, Captain Sahil Madan and Co-pilot Yash, were last-minute replaced by Kapoor and Co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, purportedly because the original crew was 'stuck in traffic' at 6.30 am. This explanation is implausible given the time of day," Rohit stated.

Rohit said Ajit Pawar had originally planned to travel to Pune by road on the evening of January 27 with a full motorcade arranged.

"He remained in Mumbai without disclosed reason. The flight itself was delayed by seventy minutes from its original 7 am departure, with no credible explanation provided. The crew initially requested the safer Runway 29 and then, two minutes later, switched to Runway 11, the more dangerous tabletop runway without any apparent operational justification," Rohit alleged.

In the final recorded seconds of the flight, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak said something while Kapoor was entirely silent.

This complete absence of response from the commanding pilot in a life-threatening emergency is consistent with either incapacitation due to alcohol or deliberate inaction.
Indian police have arrested three individuals in Vijayawada for allegedly promoting extremist content on social media and having suspected links to terror networks, raising concerns about online radicalisation.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Three men arrested in Vijayawada for allegedly supporting extremist ideology online.

The suspects were found promoting extremist content on social media platforms.

Preliminary investigation suggests a network of around 10 members attempting to influence youth towards extremist activities.

Police are investigating possible links to terrorist organisations.

Three men have been arrested here for allegedly expressing support for extremist ideology on social media and suspected links to terror networks, a police official said on Tuesday.

The accused are identified as Mohammad Rahmatulla Sharif (23), Mirza Sohail Baig (23), and Mohammad Danish (27), and they were found during surveillance of online activities linked to radical content and propaganda.

"Based on intelligence inputs, our teams arrested three individuals. They were found sharing and promoting extremist content on social media platforms," the official told PTI, adding that further investigation is underway.

The trio was apprehended near their residence in the Two Town locality on Monday by Intelligence officials as part of a coordinated operation.

Investigation Details

Preliminary investigation revealed that the group is part of a network of around 10 members operating across the country and allegedly attempting to influence youth and divert them towards extremist activities, officials said.

Police said efforts are underway to ascertain their possible links with terrorist organisations and the nature of their online activities.

Meanwhile, police have registered a case and are investigating.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Operations were severely disrupted at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals on Monday after nurses downed tools, abandoning wards and leaving patients stranded as they demanded an urgent review of salaries and allowances.Business ground to a near halt at Zimbabwe's largest referral hospital, with only student nurses on industrial attachment left to attend to patients in critical wards, raising serious concerns over the quality and safety of care.The strike comes just days after a similar job action at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, signalling deepening unrest within the country's public health sector.Nurses at Parirenyatwa declined to speak on record, citing fears of victimisation, but those who spoke anonymously painted a grim picture of deteriorating working conditions and mounting financial strain."I'm ashamed to mention that I'm a nurse because I can't afford to send my children to school or even put a decent meal on the table," said one nurse.Another added: "Even security guards earn better than us."The nurses said recent fuel price increases had worsened their situation, pushing transport costs beyond reach. They noted that their current transport allowance of ZiG500 - roughly US$15 - is no longer adequate, with some spending up to US$6 daily just to commute."We are earning less than vendors on the streets, yet we are expected to save lives," another nurse said, describing a profession that has been "stripped of all dignity."Among their demands are salary adjustments, improved night duty allowances and broader reforms to working conditions.Responding to the developments, Health Service Commission Public Relations Officer Kudzayi Manyepa urged the nurses to formally submit their grievances - a response that drew anger from protesting workers."What we ask is for you to put your demands in writing so that we can attend to you," she said.Following the confrontation, a small group of nurses was allowed into closed offices for dialogue with authorities, but by late afternoon no comprehensive resolution had been reached.Meanwhile, patients and their families continued to bear the brunt of the disruption, with some left unattended in overcrowded wards as the crisis unfolded.The latest strike underscores growing pressure on Zimbabwe's healthcare system, where low wages, rising living costs and resource constraints are increasingly pushing frontline workers to the brink.
Kashmiri separatist Asiya Andrabi has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court under the UAPA, marking a significant development in the fight against terrorism and secessionist activities in India.

Key Points Asiya Andrabi, chief of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, sentenced to life imprisonment under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Two associates, Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, also convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Convictions under UAPA Sections 20, 38, and 39, along with IPC sections related to promoting enmity and conspiracy against the state.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) sought life imprisonment, arguing Andrabi waged war against India.

A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced Kashmiri separatist and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment following her conviction in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case.

Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh announced the verdict on Andrabi after concluding the arguments on the quantum of sentence.

The court also sentenced two associates of Andrabi -- Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen -- who were also convicted for 30 years in prison in the same case.

Earlier on January 14, Andrabi, Fehmeeda and Nasreen were convicted under the offences of UAPA Sections 20 (punishment for being a member of a terrorist gang or terrorist organisation), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (supporting a terrorist organisation).

The court also convicted the three under IPC sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 121A (conspiracy to commit offences against the State).

Following her conviction, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had sought life imprisonment for Andrabi, saying she had waged war against India and a stern message was required to be sent that conspiring against the State would invite the harshest penalty.
A retired bank manager and nine others have been convicted in Mumbai for a 2004 loan fraud case involving forged documents and the Central Bank of India, highlighting the ongoing fight against financial crime.

Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

Key Points A retired bank manager and nine others were convicted in Mumbai for a 2004 loan fraud involving the Central Bank of India.

Brothers Kashinath Jadhav and Ganesh Pandurang Jadhav, the masterminds, received five-year prison sentences for their role in the loan scam.

The fraud involved using forged sale agreements to obtain housing loans, with the funds being diverted into bogus accounts.

Accused bank officials failed to verify loan applicants and security, leading to a significant outstanding amount.

The owner of the construction firm testified that signatures on loan agreements were forged, confirming the fraudulent nature of the transactions.

A special CBI court here on Tuesday convicted a retired bank manager and nine others in a 2004 loan fraud case, and sentenced them to prison sentences ranging from one year to five years.

Brothers Kashinath Jadhav and Ganesh Pandurang Jadhav, the masterminds of the crime, were sentenced to five years' imprisonment, while former bank official Metha Sastry was sentenced to one year's jail term under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Sastry, then senior manager at the Central Bank's Prabhadevi branch in Mumbai, failed to conduct mandatory pre-sanction and post-sanction inspections. Had these inspections taken place, the bank would have found out that the so-called buyers were not in possession of the flats and the documents were fraudulent, the court said.

Then chief manager Narain Mathur died during the 20-year-long trial, leading to the abatement of charges against him.

As per the prosecution, some of the accused used 17 forged sale agreements to apply for housing loans from the Central Bank, claiming to be purchasing flats from Shreeram Sthapatya Construction in Spring Field Apartment in Vasai. They did not buy flats in reality.

Kashinath Jadhav and Ganesh Pandurang Jadhav opened bogus bank accounts in the name of the construction firm at Punjab National Bank.

Once the Central Bank of India sanctioned the loans, the disbursement cheques, which should have gone to the actual builder, were instead deposited into the Jadhavs' accounts and the amount was immediately withdrawn.

The CBI claimed that the accused bank officials did not verify the genuineness of the applicants, purpose of loan and security offered before disbursing loans of Rs 67,70,000, out of which Rs 48,63,039 was outstanding.

The owner of the construction firm testified that the signatures on the loan agreements were not his, and the flats in question had actually been sold to entirely different, genuine buyers.

The court sentenced the fake purchasers to one year's imprisonment.
Amidst escalating tensions in West Asia, the Indian government has convened an all-party meeting to address the crisis and strategise on mitigating its impact on India's economy, energy security, and the safety of its citizens abroad.

IMAGE: Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi speaks to the media at Parliament premises during the budget session, in New Delhi on March 24, 2026. Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo

Key Points The Indian government has called an all-party meeting to address the escalating West Asia crisis and its potential impact on India's economy and security.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted the global energy crisis resulting from the conflict and urged measures against black marketing and hoarding.

The government has formed empowered groups to strategise on fuel, supply chains, and fertilisers to mitigate the effects of the Iran-Israel-US conflict.

Modi emphasised the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for resolving the crisis, reaffirming India's commitment to peace and de-escalation.

The Prime Minister noted the significant Indian diaspora in the Gulf region and the need to ensure their safety and well-being amidst the ongoing conflict.

The central government has convened an all-party meeting on the West Asia crisis at 5 pm on Wednesday, sources said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to chair the meeting, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expected to be present, they said.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi told reporters at the Parliament House Complex that he would not be able to attend the all-party meeting as he is scheduled to attend a programme in Kerala.

The call for an all-party meeting comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in Parliament on the West Asia situation.

Government Measures to Address the Crisis

In his statement in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Modi said the government has constituted seven empowered groups to evolve strategies on fuel, supply chains and fertilisers, among others, and stem the impact of the Iran-Israel-US conflict.

Stating that the war has created a serious energy crisis globally, Modi warned people against taking advantage of the situation and asked the state governments to check black marketing and hoarding.

The government is trying to procure gas and crude oil from all available sources, he said, asserting that efforts will continue in the coming days.

He noted that necessary preparations have been made to ensure an adequate supply of fertilisers.

Meanwhile, the Congress has hit out at the prime minister, saying that his statement on the crisis was a "prepared text full of self-praise" for all that he claims to have accomplished in the last 11 years.

Prime Minister's Address to Parliament

In his address in Lok Sabha on Monday, Modi had said the difficult global conditions caused by the West Asia conflict are likely to persist for a long time and called upon the nation to remain prepared and united, just as it had during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He addressed concerns related to the impact on fuel, fertilisers, national security and other areas in India as well as on Indians residing in the West Asia region, detailing the steps taken by the government to ensure that 'ordinary families face as little trouble as possible'.

He said a unanimous voice on this crisis should go out to the world from India's Parliament.

Reaffirming the country's unwavering commitment to humanity and peace, the prime minister said dialogue and diplomacy remain the only path to resolution, and every Indian effort is directed at de-escalation and cessation of hostilities.

In his remarks, the prime minister had said that West Asia was important to India as nearly one crore Indians lived and worked in the Gulf countries. A high number of Indian crew members worked in commercial ships that sail in these seas.

"Due to these varied reasons, India's concerns are naturally greater. Therefore, it is essential that a unanimous and united voice from India's Parliament on this crisis reaches the world," he had said.
CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal have been granted bail in a cryptocurrency cheating case, raising questions about fraud and impersonation within the digital currency exchange landscape.

IMAGE: The co-founders of CoinDCX, Sumit Gupta, chief executive officer, and Neeraj Khandelwal, chief technology officer. Photograph: Courtesy smtgpt/X

Key Points CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal were granted bail in a Rs 71.60 lakh cheating case.

The Thane court cited a lack of prima facie evidence against the CoinDCX founders, noting they may be victims of impersonation.

The complainant in the case stated he received the disputed amount from another accused and does not know the CoinDCX co-founders.

CoinDCX had previously obtained a protective order from the Delhi High Court against the unlawful use of its name.

The company issued disclaimers warning the public about fraudsters misusing the CoinDCX brand.

A court in Thane district on Tuesday granted bail to two co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, arrested in an alleged Rs 71.60 lakh cheating case, holding prima facie no case was made out against them.

Magistrate Nilesh Rathod, while allowing their bail plea, ordered the duo's release upon furnishing a surety of Rs 50,000 each.

Gupta and Khandelwal's legal team argued before the court that they were victims of a "mistaken identity" and fraudulent impersonation.

The co-founders, against whom the alleged cheating case was registered at the Mumbra police station in Thane district, were arrested from Bengaluru last Saturday (March 21). Following their arrest, they were initially remanded to police custody until Monday by a local court.

They were subsequently sent to judicial custody after the complainant filed an affidavit in the court stating he had received the disputed amount from one of the six accused in the case. The complainant further stated that he does not know the arrested co-founders.

Immediately after being sent to jail, Gupta and Khandelwal moved a bail application which was heard by the court on Tuesday.

Appearing for the duo, advocates Abhijeet Sawant, Pranav Badheka, and Rajan Salunke argued that their clients had no role in the alleged crime.

The defence submitted that the individuals the complainant actually met were not the co-founders, but persons merely purporting to be Gupta and Khandelwal.

The lawyers stated that the CoinDCX co-founders were elsewhere at the time of the alleged meetings and claimed their clients were themselves victims of identity misuse.

The defence counsels submitted that this was a clear case of mistaken identity.

They argued that while the complainant was indeed duped of more than Rs 71 lakh under the pretext of a franchisee partnership and promised returns, the real culprits had merely impersonated the directors of CoinDCX to carry out the fraud.

"The real accused used the names of the directors and the company, thereby cheating the complainant. However, the individuals arrested were not the ones who met the complainant," the defence submitted.

The legal team informed the court about a 2024 order obtained by CoinDCX (Neblio Technologies) from the Delhi High Court. This protective order was specifically aimed at preventing unidentified parties from unlawfully using the company's name.

The defence pointed out that the company had proactively posted disclaimers on its website and app, warning people how their brand was being misused by fraudsters in the market.

After noting that the complainant had filed an affidavit stating he has received the duped amount from another accused, the Thane court ordered the CoinDCX co-founders' release and directed them to cooperate with the ongoing probe into the cheating case.

The court cited the legal principle of "bail is the rule, jail is the exception" while providing relief to them.

"Considering the object Article 21 of the Constitution of India (related to protection of life and personal liberty) and the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court that is "bail is rule and exception is jail", I hold that applicants/accused are entitled for bail as prima facie no case was made out against them," the magistrate said.

The police said on Monday the probe remains ongoing despite the complainant's affidavit and all efforts were on to nab four other accused.

The arrests were made following an FIR registered on March 16 at the Mumbra police station against Gupta, Khandelwal and four others on charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust and fraud, according to officials.

The complainant, a 42-year-old insurance advisor from Mumbra, had claimed he was duped of Rs 71.6 lakh between August 2025 and March this year after being lured by promises of high returns by investing in a firm, purportedly associated with the cryptocurrency platform.

The complainant transferred Rs 71,60,015 through cash and online transactions at different times.

However, the invested amount was not returned, and instead the funds were allegedly misappropriated, as per police.

CoinDCX Statement on the Allegations

The company, however, in a statement on Monday, claimed, "The FIR filed against our co-founders is false, and filed as a conspiracy against CoinDCX by impersonators posing as Founders of CoinDCX and cheating the public at large."

"We have taken cognisance of the fact and published a notice to public at large on our website that CoinDCX is being targeted by fraudsters. The entire conspiracy falsely claims that funds were transferred in cash to third-party accounts which have no relation to CoinDCX," it added.
CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal have been granted bail in a cheating case, as a Thane court found no initial evidence against the cryptocurrency exchange executives.

Photograph: Rudransh Khandelwal/X

Key Points CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal were granted bail in an alleged Rs 71.60 lakh cheating case.

The Thane court cited a lack of prima facie evidence against the CoinDCX founders, leading to their release.

The complainant in the case stated he received the disputed amount and does not know the arrested co-founders.

CoinDCX claims the FIR is false and a conspiracy by impersonators posing as founders to cheat the public.

The court directed Gupta and Khandelwal to cooperate with the ongoing investigation and trial.

A court in Thane district on Tuesday granted bail to two co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange platform CoinDCX, Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, arrested in an alleged Rs 71.60 lakh cheating case, holding that prima facie no case was made out against them.

Magistrate Nilesh Rathod, while hearing their bail plea, ordered the duo's release upon furnishing a surety of Rs 50,000 each.

The co-founders, against whom the alleged cheating case was registered at the Mumbra police station in Thane district, were arrested from Bengaluru last Saturday (March 21). Following their arrest, they were initially remanded to police custody until Monday by a local court.

They were subsequently sent to judicial custody after the complainant filed an affidavit in the court stating he had received the disputed amount from one of the six accused in the case. The complainant further stated that he does not know the two arrested co-founders.

Immediately after being sent to jail, Gupta and Khandelwal moved a bail application which was heard by the court on Tuesday.

Defence Arguments and Court's Decision

Appearing for the duo, advocates Abhijeet Sawant, Pranav Badheka, and Rajan Salunke argued that their clients had no role in the alleged crime.

The defence submitted that the individuals the complainant actually met were not the co-founders, but persons merely purporting to be Gupta and Khandelwal.

The lawyers stated that the CoinDCX co-founders were elsewhere at the time of the alleged meetings and claimed their clients were themselves victims of identity misuse.

After hearing prosecution and defence sides, the court observed that prima facie, no case was made out against the duo and cited the legal principle of "bail is the rule, jail is the exception" while providing relief to them.

While granting bail, the court directed both Gupta and Khandelwal to cooperate in the investigation and trial of the case.

"Considering the object Article 21 of the Constitution of India (related to protection of life and personal liberty) and the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court that is "bail is rule and exception is jail", I hold that applicants/accused are entitled for bail as prima facie no case was made out against them," the magistrate said.

Ongoing Investigation

The police said on Monday the probe remains ongoing despite the complainant's affidavit and all efforts were on to nab four other accused.

The arrests were made following an FIR registered on March 16 at the Mumbra police station against Gupta, Khandelwal and four others on charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust and fraud, according to officials.

The complainant, a 42-year-old insurance advisor from Mumbra, had claimed he was duped of Rs 71.6 lakh between August 2025 and March this year after being lured by promises of high returns by investing in a firm, purportedly associated with the cryptocurrency platform.

The complainant transferred Rs 71,60,015 through cash and online transactions at different times. However, the invested amount was not returned, and instead the funds were allegedly misappropriated, as per police.

CoinDCX Statement

The company, however, in a statement on Monday, claimed, "The FIR filed against our co-founders is false, and filed as a conspiracy against CoinDCX by impersonators posing as Founders of CoinDCX and cheating the public at large."

"We have taken cognisance of the fact and published a notice to public at large on our website that CoinDCX is being targeted by fraudsters. The entire conspiracy falsely claims that funds were transferred in cash to third-party accounts which have no relation to CoinDCX," it added.
Delhi Police have dismantled a sophisticated cyber fraud operation spanning Delhi and Mumbai, arresting 11 individuals connected to an international network in Cambodia that targeted Indian citizens with deceptive investment schemes.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Delhi Police arrest 11 suspects involved in a cyber fraud racket operating from Delhi and Mumbai.

The fraud involved duping a senior citizen of over Rs 22 lakh through fake investment schemes.

The cyber fraud network is linked to international operators based in Cambodia.

Mule bank accounts were used to facilitate fraudulent transactions, with funds routed through multiple layers.

Accused used fake documents and online platforms to share account details for fraudulent activities.

The Delhi Police has arrested 11 suspects over involvement in a cyber fraud racket operating from Delhi and Mumbai, which allegedly duped a senior citizen here of more than Rs 22 lakh on the pretext of high returns on investment, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused were allegedly part of the larger network facilitating cyber fraud operations through mule bank accounts, and were linked to international operators, including those based in Cambodia, targeting Indian citizens, police said.

"The case was registered on November 21, 2025, at the cyber police station in southwest Delhi after a 60-year-old complainant reported being duped of Rs 22.67 lakh in an investment scam," the officer said.

The victim was lured through a social media advertisement that misquoted the Union finance minister and promoted AI-based trading platforms, promising high returns.

After the victim registered through a link, people posing as investment advisors contacted him, and persuaded him to invest through online platforms and apps.

Police said the accused manipulated the complainant to transfer money into various accounts linked to a company. After he transferred the amount, the communication abruptly ended, making the victim suspicious.

Investigation and Arrests

"During investigation, a team conducted money trail analysis, technical surveillance, call detail record examination and social media tracking to identify the accused. The probe revealed that a syndicate was operating from Rohini and Netaji Subhash Place in Delhi, where front offices were set up to open and manage mule bank accounts. Raids were conducted at these locations, leading to the arrest of five accused and recovery of a large number of incriminating materials," he added.

Police seized 40 mobile phones, 92 fake SIM cards, 39 passbooks and cheque books, 27 ATM cards, four PAN cards, a laptop, a desktop, POS machines, UPI scanners and various fake documents used to open bank accounts.

"Further investigation led to the arrest of more accused involved in facilitating and supplying mule accounts. The money trail also pointed to transactions routed through multiple layers and eventually credited into a bank account in Mumbai," he said.

Police conducted further raids in Rajasthan and Mumbai, where four more accused were apprehended. They had allegedly shifted operations from Rajasthan to Mumbai and were engaged in procuring and supplying mule accounts to the network.

International Links and Modus Operandi

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that the mule accounts were used to channel funds for cybercriminals operating from Cambodia, who targeted Indian victims through fake investment schemes promising high returns.

Police said the syndicate used online platforms to share account details and test accounts before using them for fraudulent transactions. Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and trace more victims.

The accused have been identified as Tajindra Singh (26), Ashish Saini (24), Shiv Dayal Singh (28), Shiva (18), Giriraj Kishore (18), Pratibha alias Payal (25), Satish (34), Ramdev Sangla (50), Praveen Kumawat (20), Deepak Mewara (35) and Trilok Chand Nayak (32).
Delhi police have made arrests after a shocking road rage incident in Sangam Vihar where a family was assaulted and their car vandalised, sparking a police investigation and public outrage.

IMAGE: Cars line up in serpentine queues on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: @divner/Twitter

Key Points Three individuals arrested, including a minor, for allegedly assaulting a family in Sangam Vihar, Delhi.

The incident occurred after a dispute between the family and a motorcyclist escalated into a violent attack.

A video of the attack surfaced on social media, showing the family being assaulted and their car vandalised.

Police have registered a case and are working to apprehend the remaining suspects involved in the road rage incident.

Three people, including a minor, have been apprehended for allegedly assaulting a family from Faridabad and vandalising their car in southeast Delhi's Sangam Vihar, police said.

On Monday, Rampal and his family members were on their way to Kalkaji in a car but diverted towards G-Block, Sangam Vihar due to road repair work.

The family got into a dispute with a motorcyclist over some issue and the situation escalated, during which the rider and five to six associates allegedly attacked the car occupants and started damaging the vehicle.

A video, purportedly of the incident, also surfaced on social media, in which a group can be seen dragging a man out of the car and assaulting him, even as women occupants remain seated inside.

The attackers, in the video, are also seen hitting the car with rods and sticks, while some locals try to intervene. In one instance, a youth climbs onto the bonnet and attempts to smash the windshield with his leg.

Two people, including Rampal, sustained minor injuries in the incident, the police said, adding that the injured were medically examined and later discharged.

Investigation and Arrests

A case has been registered at Sangam Vihar police station. So far, three accused have been identified, of whom two have been arrested while one minor has been apprehended, the police said.

Efforts are underway to trace and arrest the remaining accused seen in the video, they added.

Further investigation into the matter is in progress, the police said.
A bomb threat targeting the Delhi Legislative Assembly just hours before the budget presentation has triggered a security lockdown and investigation, raising concerns about safety and potential disruptions.

IMAGE: Security forces inspect the Delhi assembly premises after a bomb threat. Photograph: ANI video grab

Key Points The Delhi Legislative Assembly received a bomb threat via email prior to the budget presentation.

Security forces were immediately deployed to conduct checks and investigations at the assembly.

The bomb threat email mentioned high-profile dignitaries, including the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister.

Police and security agencies are investigating the origin of the threat and conducting anti-sabotage checks.

Security has been significantly heightened in and around the Delhi Assembly premises.

Hours before Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's scheduled budget presentation at 11:30 am on Tuesday, the Delhi Legislative Assembly received a bomb threat, official sources said.

The threat was received via an email to the assembly at 7:28 am, followed by another email sent to Speaker Vijender Gupta at 7:49 am.

Soon after the bomb threat, security forces rushed to the spot and began carrying out checks and launched an investigation.

"We have heightened security arrangements in and around the premises," a police source said.

The email reportedly referred to several high-profile dignitaries, including Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

Police and security agencies have launched a probe to trace the origin of the email, while thorough anti-sabotage checks are underway, the source added.
A Delhi Police officer has been arrested after allegedly running over and killing a woman labourer with his SUV in Punjabi Bagh, sparking an investigation into potential negligence.

Key Points A Delhi Police sub-inspector was arrested after his SUV allegedly killed a 45-year-old woman labourer at a road construction site in Punjabi Bagh.

The victim, Dharamwati, was sweeping near the central verge when the SUV, allegedly driven by the sub-inspector, ran her over, causing fatal injuries.

The police have registered an FIR against the sub-inspector under sections 281 and 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for rash driving and causing death by negligence.

The offending SUV has been impounded, and an investigation is underway to determine the sequence of events leading to the fatal accident.

A Delhi Police sub-inspector was arrested after his SUV allegedly mowed down a 45-year-old woman labourer at a road construction site in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh area, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused has been identified as Lucky, posted at Ranjit Nagar police station.

Police said the incident took place on Vashisht Kumar Gulla Marg near North Avenue Road, where road construction work was underway.

The victim, Dharamwati, was sweeping near the central verge when the SUV, allegedly being driven by the sub-inspector, ran her over. She sustained grievous injuries and was rushed to Acharya Bhikshu Hospital in Moti Nagar, where she was declared dead during treatment, police said.

A PCR call regarding the accident was received at Punjabi Bagh police station, following which a police team reached the spot and initiated legal proceedings.

An FIR has been registered under sections 281 (rash driving) and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.

The offending SUV has been impounded and further investigation is underway to ascertain the sequence of events leading to the accident, they added.
Delhi Police arrested an 18-year-old after a viral social media video showed him flaunting and firing an illegal pistol, highlighting the dangers of online bravado and illegal firearms.

Key Points An 18-year-old was arrested in Delhi for flaunting and firing an illegal pistol in a viral social media video.

The accused, identified as Vikash alias Ballu, was apprehended after a targeted operation by Delhi Police.

Police recovered a .32 bore pistol and three live cartridges from the accused.

The teenager had no prior criminal record but enjoyed displaying illegal firearms on social media platforms.

An 18-year-old youth was arrested from northwest Delhi after a viral social media clip allegedly showed him flaunting and firing an illegal pistol, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Vikash alias Ballu, was apprehended following a targeted operation based on technical surveillance and local intelligence.

Police said a reel showing the accused firing a pistol surfaced online. Taking cognisance, a team was formed to identify and nab the suspect.

"On March 21, acting on a tip-off, a police team laid a trap near Ramlila Ground. The accused was spotted and apprehended following a brief chase as he attempted to flee through narrow lanes," the officer said.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he had hidden the weapon. At his instance, police recovered one sophisticated .32 bore pistol along with three live cartridges.

Police said the accused had no prior criminal record but was fond of flaunting illegal firearms on social media.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A dispute between two brothers turned deadly last week after a man allegedly stabbed and killed his sibling following an altercation at a farm in Banket.The incident involved Brendon Chirawu and his younger brother Gideon Chirawu, both from Greystone Park in Harare.Brendon is accused of stabbing Gideon during the confrontation, resulting in fatal injuries.According to sources, the situation escalated rapidly during the dispute. After Gideon collapsed, Brendon reportedly attempted to revive him using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while waiting for emergency services.He is also said to have rushed his brother to a medical facility in Borrowdale, but Gideon was pronounced dead before he could be admitted. He was 33.National police spokesperson Paul Nyathi could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.However, it is understood that Brendon was arrested and initially detained at Borrowdale Police Station before being transferred to Banket for further handling of the case.The incident has sent shockwaves through the Greystone Park community, with residents struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.One resident, Trynos Kamudyariwa, described Gideon as a peaceful individual whose death has left many devastated."We have been saddened by the loss of Gideon. He was so loving and very quiet, and we were shocked by the incident that led to his death," he said.The case adds to growing concerns over disputes escalating into deadly confrontations, leaving families and communities grappling with the aftermath.
In Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, four individuals have been arrested for the murder of a disabled man, allegedly killed over suspicions of stealing a buffalo, highlighting the tragic consequences of vigilante justice.

Key Points A disabled man in Baghpat was allegedly beaten to death and buried in a field.

Four individuals have been arrested in connection with the murder.

The victim was suspected of stealing a buffalo belonging to one of the accused.

The accused confessed to assaulting and drowning the victim before burying his body.

Police have recovered the body and are conducting further investigations.

A 40-year-old disabled man was allegedly beaten to death, and his body was buried in a field here, police said, adding that four people have been arrested in the case.

The deceased has been identified as Sanjay alias Sanju, a resident of Daha village, who worked as a domestic help for a resident, Sachin.

According to police, the victim's brother, Arvind alias Billu Sharma, had lodged a complaint stating that Sanjay, who was physically disabled in one leg since birth, had been missing for about a month and expressed suspicion against Sachin and his associates.

During the investigation, police detained Sachin for questioning, during which he confessed to assaulting Sanjay along with his associates Akash, Ajit and Shubham. He told police that his buffalo had gone missing on March 4 and, although it was later found in a field, he suspected Sanjay of stealing it.

Police said the accused severely assaulted Sanjay, leaving him critically injured. They later drowned him in a tubewell water tank, leading to his death.

They then buried the body in a sugarcane field near Nirpura village under the Doghat police station area to conceal the crime.

Arrests and Investigation

Station House Officer Keval Singh said the four accused have been arrested, and the body was recovered with their identification and sent for post-mortem examination.

Superintendent of Police Suraj Kumar Rai said legal proceedings are underway, and further investigation into the case is in progress.
Himachal Pradesh grapples with a concerning rise in drug overdose deaths, prompting government action through stricter enforcement, awareness campaigns, and rehabilitation programs to combat drug abuse and trafficking.

Key Points 66 people in Himachal Pradesh died from drug overdose between 2023 and January 2026, highlighting a serious drug abuse problem.

Over 6,246 cases have been registered under the NDPS Act in the past three years, with a significant number related to 'chitta' (adulterated heroin).

The Himachal Pradesh government is confiscating assets of drug traffickers and has established an anti-narcotics task force to combat drug abuse.

Initiatives like the 'Drug-Free Himachal' mobile app, toll-free number 112, and 'Disha Centres' are being used to raise awareness and provide counselling to addicts.

Preventive detention orders have been issued against 125 people under the PITNDPS Act as part of the state's efforts to prevent illicit drug trafficking.

A total of 66 people died due to drug overdose in the past three years in Himachal Pradesh from 2023 till January 31, 2026, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu informed the Assembly in a written reply on Tuesday.

Replying to the question of BJP MLAs Jeet Ram Katwal and Prakash Rana, the chief minister said in 2023, eight people died from drug overdose, 31 people in 2024 and then 24 deaths in 2025, while no deaths were reported in the first month of 2026.

A total of 6,246 cases have been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the past three years, and chargesheets have been submitted in the courts in 5,684 cases, he said.

Sukhu further said that cancellation reports were filed in 19 cases, while 57 cases remain untraced and 486 cases are undergoing investigation.

Among the cases adjudicated by courts, convictions were secured in 108 cases, while the accused were acquitted in 139 cases, and the remaining 5,437 cases are currently pending trial in the courts.

The state is witnessing growing concern regarding the rising trend of drug abuse, particularly chitta (adulterated heroin) and 3,152 cases of the total 6,246 NDPS cases registered were related to chitta, he added.

Over the past three years, 5,298 accused persons have been granted bail, he said and added that bail is granted in cases involving small quantities (up to 5 grams).

Furthermore, in cases involving intermediate quantities (exceeding 5 grams but less than 250 grams) and commercial quantities (250 grams or more), bail is granted by the courts under special circumstances, Sukhu said.

Government Initiatives to Combat Drug Abuse

He said that for the prevention of drug abuse, the state government is confiscating illegal assets acquired by drug traffickers through trafficking, and the state-level National Coordination Centre (NCORD) has been constituted under the chairmanship of the chief secretary, the anti-narcotics task force and the additional director general of police (CID).

A toll-free number -112 has been issued to receive information regarding trafficking and activities related to smuggling from the general public, and the Drug-Free Himachal mobile application has also been launched, he said.

Drug Prevention Committees have been constituted at the level of every police station, and so far preventive detention orders have been issued against 125 people under section 3 of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS ) Act, he added.

Regular search operations, inspections and checking on roads and awareness drives on drug abuse are also being conducted, and five 15-bed Integrated Drug Prevention and Rehabilitation Centres are being run in the state through non-governmental organisations.

Currently, 109 new 'Disha Centres' are operational across the state, with counselling services provided to addicts by doctors and counsellors.
In Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, police have arrested three individuals and seized a significant amount of charas in a crackdown on drug peddling.

Key Points Three alleged drug peddlers were arrested in Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir, in two separate police operations.

Police seized 2.071 kg of charas from two individuals apprehended at Dara Shikwa Crossing, Bijbehara.

Another drug peddler was arrested near Fruit Mandi, Jablipora, with 1.041 kg of charas recovered.

Cases have been registered in both incidents, and investigations are ongoing.

Police in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district have arrested three alleged drug peddlers and seized narcotics in two separate cases.

A police spokesperson stated that in the first incident, a police party from Police Station Bijbehara established a naka at Dara Shikwa Crossing, Bijbehara.

During checking, two individuals -- Mudasir Ahmad Bhat from Astanpora Veeri, and Mohammad Younis Sofi from Guree Kanderpora -- were apprehended, the spokesperson said.

Upon search, 2.071 kg of charas was recovered from their possession, he added, adding that a case has been registered at Police Station Bijbehara and investigation has been initiated.

Second Incident and Arrest

In another incident, a police party during naka checking at Arwani Under Bridge near Fruit Mandi, Jablipora apprehended another drug peddler identified as Sajad Ahmad Wagay, a resident of Guree Kanderpora, the spokesperson said.

During search, 1.041 kgs of charas was recovered from his possession, he added.

In this regard, a case has been registered and further investigation is underway, he said.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has successfully detained Sandeep Singh, a notorious drug trafficker, for a year under the PITNDPS Act, disrupting a major drug trafficking network and cross-border operations.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has secured a one-year preventive detention for Sandeep Singh, a history-sheeter involved in extensive drug trafficking.

Sandeep Singh, also known as Chatha, faces multiple criminal cases, including those under the NDPS Act, and continued to operate a cross-border drug network despite previous arrests.

NCB's investigation led to the dismantling of illicit drug labs, seizure of narcotics including heroin and opium, and the freezing of assets worth crores linked to Sandeep Singh.

The investigation revealed Sandeep Singh's connections to Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, a criminal involved in supplying weapons and narcotics across multiple states.

The detention was pursued under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, highlighting the NCB's commitment to combating drug trafficking.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday said it has secured preventive detention of Sandeep Singh alias Chatha, a history-sheeter involved in multiple criminal activities related to drug trafficking, for a year.

Chatha, a resident of Rasulpur Rohi in Punjab's Amritsar, is facing seven criminal cases, including three under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

Despite repeated arrests, he continued to operate and expand his drug trafficking network, including cross-border operations, thereby playing a significant role in the illicit narcotics trade, the NCB said in a statement.

NCB Operation and Seizures

In 2022, the NCB Chandigarh Zonal Unit arrested Chatha, dismantled two illicit laboratories and seized multiple narcotic substances, including 40 kg of heroin, 0.557 kg of opium and 23.645 kg of caffeine.

In addition, 31 live cartridges and one magazine were recovered. The operation also led to the arrest of 22 members of the drug syndicate involved in the case.

During the financial investigation of the case, the NCB Chandigarh Zonal Unit froze movable and immovable assets worth Rs 58.6 crore, including illegally acquired properties worth Rs 34.77 lakh belonging to Chatha.

Further investigation revealed that Chatha was allegedly a key operative responsible for handling several high-volume heroin consignments across multiple states.

Connections to Other Criminals

His nexus with Jagdeep Singh alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, a notorious criminal involved in the supply of weapons and narcotics from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Delhi and Haryana, also surfaced during the investigation, the NCB said.

Preventive Detention Under PITNDPS Act

To ensure stringent preventive action against the drug trafficker, the NCB strongly pursued a proposal for his preventive detention under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, 1988, in September 2025.

Following approval by the central government and issuance of the detention order, Chatha was successfully detained and served with the detention order on January 7.

Subsequently, according to the prescribed procedure, the matter was placed before the Central Advisory Board (PITNDPS), New Delhi, which heard the case on March 16.

After examining the case records, the Board concluded that sufficient cause existed for the continued detention of Chatha.

Based on the opinion of the Central Advisory Board, the central government, on March 24, confirmed the detention order and directed the continued detention of Chatha for a period of one year.
An elderly couple and another passenger were allegedly drugged on the Saryu Express train in Uttar Pradesh, raising concerns about passenger safety on Indian railways.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Three passengers, including an elderly couple, were allegedly drugged while travelling on the Saryu Express train in Uttar Pradesh.

The victims were travelling from Prayagraj to Ayodhya when they were targeted by a suspected poisoning gang.

Co-passengers alerted authorities when the train reached Sultanpur, leading to the victims being hospitalised.

Railway officials are investigating the incident, and the victims' family members are being informed.

The incident highlights the risks of travelling on trains and the importance of passenger safety.

Three passengers, including an elderly couple, were allegedly drugged by a gang aboard the Saryu Express train here, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident happened on Monday night, they said, adding that the unconscious passengers were later admitted to a hospital.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) Inspector Ram Kumar Verma said the victims were identified as Hriday Nand Chaube (84), his wife Shaila Devi (76), and Anil Chaube (40), all residents of Kalyanpur in Bihar's Champaran district.

They were travelling from Prayagraj towards Ayodhya on the Saryu Express when they fell prey to a suspected poisoning gang.

When the train reached Sultanpur, co-passengers alerted the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the RPF. The train was halted briefly and the three victims were deboarded and rushed to the government medical college in an ambulance, where they were admitted for treatment.

Officials said the victims were identified through tickets and Aadhaar cards found in their possession. Doctors have begun treatment, and Hriday Nand Chaube was put on oxygen support as his condition was stated to be serious.

Efforts are being made to inform the victims' family members, officials said.

Verma added that details about where and how the incident took place would be clear only after the victims regain consciousness.
A tragic clash at a Dehradun private engineering college resulted in the death of a student, prompting a police investigation and raising concerns about campus violence.

Key Points An engineering student was killed in a clash between two student groups at a private institute in Dehradun.

The incident occurred due to a long-standing dispute between the groups 'vying for dominance' on the college campus.

Police have arrested three suspects in connection with the student's death and are searching for other accused individuals.

The deceased student, Divyanshu Jatrana, sustained critical injuries during the brawl and later died in hospital.

An engineering student was killed during a clash between two groups of students belonging to a private institute in Premnagar area of Dehradun, police said on Tuesday.

Three of the accused named in the complaint by the youth's family have been arrested in connection with the incident that occurred on Monday night in Kehri village.

Dehradun City Superintendent of Police Pramod Kumar said that two groups of students were involved in a brawl during which 22-year-old Divyanshu Jatrana, belonging to Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh, sustained critical injuries.

He said Jatrana's companions took him to a hospital located in Premnagar area. Kumar said that upon receiving information, the police also arrived at the hospital, where they learned that due to the critical nature of his condition, Jatrana had been referred to Doon Hospital.

As the ambulance at the hospital was out of order, the police ferried the injured youth to Doon Hospital in their vehicle but he passed away while undergoing treatment.

Jatrana was a B.Tech student. According to the police, all the students involved in the incident are pursuing B.Tech and BBA degrees at the private educational institution located in Premnagar.

The deceased youth's family members arrived in Dehradun and filed a complaint with the police, based on which a case was filed at the Premnagar police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The Superintendent of Police said that three accused named in the incident have been arrested, while a search for the other accused is underway.

He identified the arrested students as Yuvraj Kumar (20) from Bhojpur district in Bihar, Madhur Khandelwal (19) from Udham Singh Nagar district and Shivam Sharma (20) from Patna, Bihar.

Investigation into College Rivalry

He said that there had been a long-standing dispute between the groups "vying for dominance" on the college campus.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced in the Lok Sabha that government agriculture initiatives, including MSP and fertiliser subsidies, have successfully doubled the income of Indian farmers.

Photograph: PTI Photo

Key Points Union Minister claims Indian government initiatives have doubled farmer income.

Key measures include providing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.

Fertiliser subsidies have been extended to support farmers.

Government disbursed Rs 5 lakh crore to develop the cooperatives sector in the last five years.

Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told the Lok Sabha that the government has taken various initiatives for the agriculture sector and the farmer's income has doubled.

During the Question Hour, the production has increased and various measures, including providing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops and extending fertiliser subsidies.

Chouhan, who is in charge of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, asserted that the income of farmers has doubled and in some cases, the income has even increased three to four times.

The Union minister was responding to queries from TMC leader Saugata Roy who said the government has not kept the promise of doubling farmers' income.

"We will reward the efforts of farmers," Chouhan said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav asked supplementary questions persistently even as Speaker Om Birla asked Chouhan to respond.

Against this backdrop, Birla told the members not to be too agitated during the Question Hour and urged both members as well as ministers to ask short questions and give brief replies, respectively.

Government Support for Cooperatives

In response to another question, Minister of State for Cooperation Krishan Pal said the government is taking all efforts to develop the cooperatives sector for which Rs 5 lakh crore has been disbursed in the last five years.
Kashmir demonstrates unwavering solidarity with war-torn Iran as residents generously donate money, gold, and valuables, showcasing a deep sense of humanitarian support and religious devotion.

IMAGE: Kashmiri Muslims donate gold, silver, and cash to to support Iran, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Srinagar . Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Kashmir residents across sectarian lines donate money and valuables to support war-ravaged Iran.

Donations include cash, gold, silverware, copper utensils, and even livestock, demonstrating widespread support.

The Iranian Embassy expresses gratitude for the outpouring of support from Kashmir, calling it a source of comfort.

Shia leader Imran Ansari urges authorities to allow the donation drive to continue without unnecessary pressure or questioning.

Concerns are raised about authorities questioning the source of funds, potentially hurting public sentiment.

Donations for the war-ravaged Iran poured from across Kashmir as people, cutting across sectarian lines, lent support to the drive by contributing money and valuables.

Shia leader Imran Ansari urged the authorities to allow the "collective act of faith and solidarity to continue with dignity" and without "any unnecessary pressure or questioning."

Donation drives were conducted in several areas of the city, including Zadibal, Hassanabad, Shalimar, Qamarwari, Lawaypora, and Bemina localities, officials said.

People from the majority Sunni sect also did not hold back, they said.

IMAGE: Gold, copper utensils and cash is displayed at the donation centers in Srinagar. Photograph: ANI Photo

Similar drives took place in Budgam, Bandipora and Baramulla districts, especially in the areas with considerable Shia population.

Cash, gold, silverware, and copper utensils were among the things extended as in relief to war-hit Iran, the officials said.

Women, in particular, contributed generously by donating gold jewellery, copper utensils, and other household items. Some families offered livestock. Children donated their savings and pocket money.

A woman donated gold kept as a memento of her husband, who died 28 years ago.

Iran Thanks Indians For Help

The Iranian embassy in New Delhi termed the gesture the greatest source of comfort for the people of Iran.

"A respected sister from Kashmir donated the gold kept as a memento of her husband who passed away 28 years ago with a heart full of love and solidarity for the people of #Iran. Your tears and pure emotions are the greatest source of comfort for the people of Iran and will never be forgotten. Thank you #Kashmir. Thank you #India," the Iranian Embassy said on X. The contributions are expected to be channelled through official relief organisations, including the Iranian Embassy, the officials said.

IMAGE: Gold jewellery is displayed outside an Imambara fund collection centre. Photograph: Sharafat Ali/Reuters

Community Response and Concerns

Meanwhile, Ansari, the president of the All J-K Shia Association, said, "The Kashmiri people, especially the Shia community, have massively come forward with deep faith and devotion, considering it their moral and religious duty to stand with Iran, a nation already facing sanctions and the hardships of war."

All the same, he expressed his concern over people associated with the drive getting calls from authorities about the source of funds.

"At this sensitive moment, it is important to reassure everyone that these donations are purely for a humanitarian and religious cause, meant to support the people of Iran in their time of need. The emotions of the people are deeply involved, and any unnecessary pressure or questioning may hurt public sentiment," Ansari said.
A Goa court has granted bail to Ajay Gupta, an owner of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, where a devastating fire claimed 25 lives, raising questions about accountability and the ongoing investigation into the tragic incident.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Ajay Gupta, co-owner of 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, granted bail in connection with the deadly Goa fire.

The court cited a lack of specific evidence against Gupta in the police chargesheet.

Gupta's lawyer argued the chargesheet did not specify his role in the nightclub fire tragedy.

The court imposed conditions on Gupta's bail, including surrendering his passport and not leaving the country without permission.

Twenty-five people died in the nightclub fire at Arpora village in North Goa last December.

A Goa court has granted bail to Ajay Gupta, one of the owners of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in the state, where a devastating fire killed 25 persons in December last year, his lawyer said.

Gupta was arrested in New Delhi more than three months ago.

The district court at Mapusa in North Goa granted him bail on Monday.

Lawyer Rohan Desai, representing the accused, told the court during arguments that there was no evidence against Gupta in the chargesheet filed by the police in the case.

The voluminous chargesheet does not specify any role of Gupta in the tragedy, he said, adding that allegations of forging documents levelled against his client were also unfounded.

The judge released Gupta on a surety of Rs 50,000 and imposed several conditions, including that he shall not leave the country without the court's permission and surrender his passport before it, Desai said.

The court also asked Gupta not to tamper with evidence while on bail, he added.

Twenty-five persons -- 20 staff members and five tourists -- were killed in the major blaze at the nightclub at Arpora village in North Goa around midnight on December 6 last year. After the tragedy, police arrested 13 persons, including the nightclub's owners.

On February 27, police filed a 4,150-page chargesheet in connection with the fire against 13 accused, including the owners, Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Gupta. Statements of more than 300 witnesses were recorded by the police.
A gold trader and his father were allegedly robbed of gold and their scooter in Delhi's Seelampur area, prompting a police investigation and search for the suspects.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points A gold trader and his father were allegedly robbed in Seelampur, Delhi, near the Welcome Metro Station.

The victims were attacked by four individuals who stole a gold chain, a gold bar, and their scooter.

Police are investigating the robbery, having located the suspects' abandoned SUV near the Bhopura border.

Authorities have registered a case at Seelampur police station and are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the robbers.

A 24-year-old gold trader and his father were allegedly robbed by four people in northeast Delhi's Seelampur area, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place at 8.30 pm on Monday near Welcome Metro Station when the complainant, Pratham Bansal, a resident of Shahdara, was returning home with his father on a scooter, an officer said.

Bansal, who is engaged in gold trading at Koocha Mahajani in Chandni Chowk, told police that two men on another scooter hit their vehicle from behind and initiated a quarrel.

"During the altercation, two more persons arrived in an SUV and joined the assailants. The four accused then robbed the victims of a gold chain, a gold bar and their scooter before fleeing the spot," he added.

Following the incident, police immediately flashed a message and began tracking the suspects. The SUV used in the crime, was traced near the Bhopura border. However, the occupants had abandoned the vehicle and managed to escape, the police said.

A case has been registered at Seelampur police station. Teams have been formed to collect evidence, scan CCTV footage and identify and apprehend the accused involved in the robbery.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Cracks have emerged within Zimbabwe's ranks of retired military commanders after Gibson Mashingaidze publicly distanced himself and other former officers from a controversial letter submitted to Parliament by Henry Muchena opposing proposed constitutional amendments.The rare public split highlights growing divisions within influential liberation war-era figures over Emmerson Mnangagwa's reform agenda under Constitutional Amendment Bill (No. 3), which seeks to extend presidential terms and overhaul aspects of Zimbabwe's political and governance framework.Mashingaidze, writing to the Clerk of Parliament in his capacity as National Chair of the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Board, described Muchena's claims to represent a collective position of retired generals as "unfortunate" and "regrettable." He argued that no broad consultation had taken place and insisted the views expressed in the earlier correspondence were purely personal.He maintained that the "generality" of retired generals and senior civil servants - particularly those aligned with Zanu-PF - support the proposed amendments. According to Mashingaidze, the reforms are necessary to correct what he termed "unpalatable" provisions inherited from the Government of National Unity era.He further argued that the proposed changes are consistent with resolutions adopted at Zanu-PF conferences held in Bulawayo in 2024 and Mutare in 2025, adding that the amendment process is being lawfully pursued through Parliament, including public consultations already underway.Mashingaidze also described Mnangagwa as a "constitutionalist," dismissing concerns over the legitimacy of the process.However, Muchena's letter - written on behalf of unnamed retired commanders - painted a sharply different picture. He warned that the proposed amendments, including extending Mnangagwa's tenure and lengthening presidential terms, risk betraying the ideals of the liberation struggle.Muchena called for a national referendum to legitimise the changes, arguing that such fundamental alterations to the Constitution require direct public approval.The opposing positions have exposed a deepening fault line among former military elites, long regarded as a cohesive bloc with significant political influence in Zimbabwe.While Mashingaidze's faction insists parliamentary processes are sufficient and constitutionally sound, critics aligned with Muchena argue that bypassing a referendum could undermine democratic principles and public trust.The dispute comes as debate intensifies nationwide over the proposed amendments, with political analysts warning that divisions within historically aligned power structures could have broader implications for Zimbabwe's political trajectory.
Despite global supply chain concerns, the Indian government assures citizens of adequate petrol, diesel, and LPG stocks, urging them to avoid panic buying and embrace alternative fuel options like PNG.

IMAGE: A long queue of two-wheeler vehicles at a petrol pump as people wait to refill fuel, in Nagpur on Tuesday. Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points India possesses adequate reserves of petrol, diesel, and LPG, with refineries operating at high capacity despite disruptions.

The government urges citizens to avoid panic buying and hoarding of fuel, assuring that petrol pumps remain fully functional.

Domestic LPG production has been increased, and natural gas supplies to essential sectors like domestic PNG and CNG transport are protected.

The government is promoting the shift to piped natural gas (PNG) and encouraging states to expedite city gas distribution network expansion.

Enforcement against hoarding and black marketing of essential commodities has been stepped up under the Essential Commodities Act.

The government on Tuesday said India has adequate stocks of petrol, diesel and LPG, and that all refineries are operating at high capacity despite disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz situation.

In an update on fuel availability, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said petrol pumps across the country remain fully functional, though panic buying triggered by rumours led to unusually high sales in some areas.

She urged citizens not to engage in hoarding and to rely on official information.

Sharma said domestic LPG production has been stepped up, with no reported dry-outs at distributorships, even as supply remains under pressure due to the prevailing geopolitical situation. Deliveries continue as normal, she added.

Natural gas supplies to priority segments such as domestic PNG and CNG transport remain fully protected, while supplies to industrial and commercial users are being maintained at about 80 per cent of average consumption.

Government Initiatives to Enhance Fuel Supply

The government is pushing a shift from LPG to piped natural gas (PNG), with city gas companies accelerating connections and over 7,500 new domestic and commercial PNG links activated in the past day. States have been urged to expedite approvals for expanding city gas distribution networks.

To ease supply constraints, additional allocations of commercial LPG and kerosene have been made, while alternative fuels such as coal are also being made available for small and medium consumers.

Crackdown on Illegal Activities

The Centre, she said, has asked states to step up enforcement against hoarding and black marketing under the Essential Commodities Act, with around 3,400 raids conducted, 642 FIRs registered and about 155 arrests made so far.

Advising restraint, the government called on citizens to avoid panic purchases, use fuel judiciously and consider alternatives such as PNG and electric cooking options during the ongoing crisis.
Gujarat has introduced the Uniform Civil Code Bill 2026 to standardise laws related to marriage, divorce, and inheritance, marking a significant step towards legal uniformity.

IMAGE: Police personnel detain workers of the Social Democratic Party of India as they protest against the Uniform Civil Code bill in the Gujarat Assembly, in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Gujarat Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill after over 7 hours of debate.

The BJP backed it as a landmark reform; the Congress and the AAP opposed and sought committee review.

Bill creates a common legal framework for marriage, divorce, succession, and live-in relationships across religions.

Key provisions include mandatory registration of live-in relationships and a ban on bigamy; ST communities exempted.

Gujarat becomes the second state after Uttarakhand to pass a UCC Bill.

The Gujarat assembly on Tuesday passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill after a marathon debate of more than seven hours, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hailing it as a landmark reform to ensure equality, while the Congress vehemently opposed it saying it violates fundamental right and was 'anti-Muslim'.

The bill, which proposes a common legal framework to govern marriage, divorce, succession and live-in relationships irrespective of religion, was passed with majority voice vote as opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did not approve it and demanded that it be sent to the select committee.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel tabled the bill earlier in the day, a week after a state-appointed panel submitted its final report on implementation of the UCC.

With the passage of the bill, BJP-ruled Gujarat became the second state in the country after Uttarakhand to pass the UCC. Uttarakhand became the first state to pass a UCC Bill in February 2024.

Key Provisions of the Gujarat UCC Bill

Titled the 'Gujarat Uniform Civil Code, 2026', the proposed law will extend to the entire state and also apply to residents of Gujarat living outside its territorial limits.

However, the bill document states that the code will not apply to members of Scheduled Tribes (ST) and certain groups whose customary rights are protected under the Constitution.

The 'Objects and Reasons' of the bill say the code aims to create a uniform legal framework.

Among other things, it provides for registration of live-in relationships, as well as their termination through a formal declaration.

The bill also prohibits bigamy, meaning a person cannot enter into a second marriage while their spouse is alive. It states that a marriage is considered valid under the code only if neither party has a living spouse at the time of marriage.

While tabling the bill, CM Patel described it as a step towards a unified legal framework rooted in constitutional principles.

"A common legal framework is necessary for a united and undivided nation, and that reflects our Vedic knowledge. Our ancient verses also say that the truth is one, even if expressed in different ways; and if the truth is one, then even if religions are many, justice must be one," Patel said.

Referring to the Constitution of India, he added, "Under Article 14 of the Constitution, equality before the law has been ensured for every citizen of the country. And Article 44 of that same Constitution directs the state to move towards a Uniform Civil Code. Now, the implementation of the UCC will reject any policy or dispute involving division or discrimination among citizens based on their religion or caste."

The CM said the legislation would apply uniformly to all citizens, and reflects 'the expectations, aspirations, and desires of the citizens of Gujarat for equal justice'.

Legislation anti-Muslim: Cong MLA

Senior Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar, however, opposed it saying, "You brought this bill in a haste in view of the upcoming assembly elections in 2027. We demand that it should be sent to the assembly's select committee."

Another senior Congress MLA Amit Chavda alleged that the bill violates constitutional guarantees.

"Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws to all persons. It appears that this bill violates this fundamental right. You want to snatch people's rights with the help of majority in the House," he said.

Congress legislator Imran Khedawala called the legislation as 'anti-Muslim'.
Harish Rana, the first person in India to receive passive euthanasia following a landmark Supreme Court ruling, has died after 13 years in a coma, highlighting the ongoing debate about the right to die with dignity in India.

IMAGE: Relatives offer prayers for Harish Rana before his final journey. Photograph: Screen grab/X

Key Points Harish Rana, the first Indian granted passive euthanasia, passed away at AIIMS-Delhi after 13 years in a coma following a Supreme Court ruling.

The Supreme Court's landmark judgment on March 11 allowed passive euthanasia for Harish Rana, a BTech student who suffered severe head injuries in 2013.

Passive euthanasia involves withdrawing life support, and Harish Rana's nutritional support was gradually withdrawn after admission to the hospital.

The Supreme Court has urged the Union government to consider comprehensive legislation on passive euthanasia, highlighting the need for a legal framework.

The case underscores the right to die with dignity, recognised as a fundamental right in India, and the importance of advance medical directives.

Harish Rana, the first person in India to be allowed passive euthanasia, passed away on Tuesday at All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Delhi after more than 13 years in a coma, officials said.

The 31-year-old, who has been in a coma since 2013, was shifted from his Ghaziabad home to the palliative care unit at Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at the AIIMS on March 14.

"Harish Rana passed away at 4:10 pm on March 24 at AIIMS, Delhi. He was under the care of a dedicated team of doctors and was admitted to the Palliative Oncology Unit (IRCH), led by Dr Seema Mishra, HoD, Onco-Anaesthesia and Palliative Medicine.

"AIIMS extends its heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time," the hospital said in a statement.

On March 11, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment allowed passive euthanasia for Harish, who was a BTech student at Panjab University who fell from a fourth-floor balcony in 2013 and suffered severe head injuries.

He had been in a coma since, with artificial nutrition support and occasional oxygen support.

What is passive euthanasia?

Passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient die by withholding or withdrawing life support or the treatment necessary to keep him alive.

Harish's nutritional support was gradually withdrawn after he was admitted to the hospital, sources said on Tuesday.

After his death, his family is learnt to have donated his corneas and heart valves, which were retrieved by the hospital.

Sources said Harish's last rites will be performed on Wednesday morning at the Green Park crematorium in south Delhi.

Harish's family had said after the apex court judgment that withdrawal of artificial life support would not bring any personal benefit to the family, but in the larger public interest, the decision could help others facing similar situations.

His father, Ashok Rana, had said passive euthanasia would restore Harish's dignity after years of irreversible suffering.

Pinki Virani, a journalist and activist who filed a petition for euthanasia to Aruna Shanbaug in 2011, thanked the doctors and nurses at AIIMS for 'compassionately applying passive euthanasia', and urged that one should let their family members know 'if they would want to exercise this right for themselves'.

"May Harish Rana rest in peace. May his parents and his brother find a quiet peace of their own amid what has been a very long loss for them... I continue to be grateful to the Supreme Court for allowing the right to die with dignity in 2011... It's a choice, and if they so choose, they can help the process by making their wishes pertaining to passive euthanasia known so that their final exit is free from guilt and trauma," Virani told PTI.

The top court had rejected Virani's plea made on behalf of Shanbaug, who remained bedridden in a vegetative state in a Mumbai hospital since a brutal sexual assault in November 1973.

The Mumbai nurse finally died of pneumonia in 2015.

Specialised medical team constituted

In its March 11 judgement, the apex court had directed AIIMS-Delhi to ensure that life support is withdrawn with a tailored plan so that dignity is maintained.

A specialised medical team headed by Dr Seema Mishra was constituted to implement the process, the first in India.

The team comprised doctors from departments of neurosurgery, onco-anaesthesia and palliative medicine, and psychiatry.

Supreme Court's Landmark Ruling on Passive Euthanasia

The Supreme Court, in its March 11 judgment, allowed passive euthanasia for a person for the first time in the country.

Ruling on the long-discussed emotive issue, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan asked the Union government to consider bringing a comprehensive legislation on passive euthanasia.

The top court noted that Harish survived only through clinically administered nutrition via 'percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy' tubes, and medical boards had unanimously concluded that continuation of treatment would merely prolong biological existence without any possibility of recovery.

When primary and secondary boards have certified withdrawal of life support, there is no need for judicial intervention, the apex court said.

It also asked the Centre to ensure that the chief medical officers in all districts maintain a panel of registered medical practitioners for nomination to secondary medical boards.

The court made a special mention of Rana's parents, Ashok and Nirmala Rana, expressing its appreciation to them for showing immense love and care for their son.

"His family never left his side," the court said.

Right to Die with Dignity

The order allowing passive euthanasia is in line with the court's 2018 Common Cause judgment, which was modified in 2023 and recognised the fundamental right to die with dignity.

In the 2018 judgement, a Constitution bench recognised passive euthanasia and the right to die with dignity as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The court had held that passive euthanasia could be carried out using 'advance medical directives'.

On January 24, 2023, a five-judge Constitution bench modified the 2018 guidelines to ease the process of granting passive euthanasia to terminally ill patients.



A primary and a secondary medical board will have to be formed for an expert opinion on the withdrawal of artificial life support for a patient in a vegetative state, the guidelines said.
Harish Rana, the first person in India to receive passive euthanasia following a landmark Supreme Court ruling, has died after 13 years in a coma, highlighting the ongoing debate about the right to die with dignity in India.

Key Points Harish Rana, the first Indian granted passive euthanasia, passed away at AIIMS-Delhi after 13 years in a coma following a Supreme Court ruling.

The Supreme Court's landmark judgment on March 11 allowed passive euthanasia for Harish Rana, a BTech student who suffered severe head injuries in 2013.

Passive euthanasia involves withdrawing life support, and Harish Rana's nutritional support was gradually withdrawn after admission to the hospital.

The Supreme Court has urged the Union government to consider comprehensive legislation on passive euthanasia, highlighting the need for a legal framework.

The case underscores the right to die with dignity, recognised as a fundamental right in India, and the importance of advance medical directives.

Harish Rana, the first person in India to be allowed passive euthanasia, passed away on Tuesday at AIIMS-Delhi after more than 13 years in coma, sources said.

The 31-year-old, who has been in a coma since 2013, was shifted from his Ghaziabad home to the palliative care unit at Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on March 14.

Three days before that, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment on March 11 allowed passive euthanasia for Harish, who was a BTech student at Panjab University who fell from a fourth-floor balcony in 2013 and suffered severe head injuries. He had been in a coma since, with artificial nutrition support and occasional oxygen support.

Passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient die by withholding or withdrawing life support or the treatment necessary to keep him alive.

Harish's nutritional support was gradually withdrawn after he was admitted to the hospital, the sources said on Tuesday. He is survived by his parents, Ashok and Nirmala Rana.

Harish's family had said after the apex court judgment that the withdrawal of artificial life support won't bring any personal benefit to the family but in the larger public interest, the decision could help others facing similar situations.

His father had said passive euthanasia will restore Harish's dignity after years of irreversible suffering.

The apex court had directed AIIMS-Delhi to ensure that life support is withdrawn with a tailored plan so that dignity is maintained.

A specialised medical team headed by Dr Seema Mishra, professor and head of the department of anaesthesia and palliative medicine, was constituted to implement the process, the first ever in India.

The team comprised doctors from departments of neurosurgery, onco-anaesthesia and palliative medicine, and psychiatry.

Supreme Court's Landmark Ruling on Passive Euthanasia

The Supreme Court, in its March 11 judgment, allowed passive euthanasia for a person for the first time in the country.

Ruling on the long discussed emotive issue, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan asked the Union government to consider bringing comprehensive legislation on passive euthanasia.

The top court noted that Rana survived only through clinically administered nutrition via 'percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy' tubes, and medical boards had unanimously concluded that continuation of treatment merely prolonged biological existence without any possibility of recovery.

When primary and secondary boards have certified withdrawal of life support, there is no need for judicial intervention, the apex court said.

It also asked the Union of India to ensure that chief medical officers in all districts maintain a panel of registered medical practitioners for nomination to secondary medical boards.

The court made special mention of Rana's parents, expressing its appreciation to them for showing their immense love and care for their son. "His family never left his side," the court said.

Right to Die with Dignity

The order allowing passive euthanasia is in line with the court's 2018 Common Cause judgment, which was modified in 2023 and recognised the fundamental right to die with dignity.

In the 2018 judgement, a constitution bench had recognised passive euthanasia and the right to die with dignity as a fundamental right under Article 21. The court had held that passive euthanasia could be carried out using "Advance Medical Directives".

On January 24, 2023, a five-judge Constitution bench modified the 2018 guidelines to ease the process of granting passive euthanasia to terminally ill patients. A primary and a secondary medical board will have to be formed for an expert opinion on the withdrawal of artificial life support for a patient in a vegetative state, the guidelines stated.
Haryana government is cracking down on the black marketing of LPG cylinders, seizing hundreds and assuring citizens of ample supply, ensuring fair access to essential cooking gas.

Key Points Haryana government initiates strict measures against LPG cylinder black marketing, registering eight FIRs.

Authorities have seized 825 LPG cylinders and implicated 52 individuals in illegal activities.

The state government assures citizens of sufficient domestic LPG supply, urging them not to panic.

Zero-tolerance policy enforced against black marketing and misuse of LPG cylinders in Haryana.

Oil marketing companies confirm adequate stock of petrol, diesel, and LPG across Haryana.

The Haryana government is taking strict action against those indulging in black marketing of cooking gas cylinders, with eight FIRs registered so far and 825 LPG cylinders seized, officials said on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Rajesh Nagar on Tuesday assured citizens that there is no shortage of domestic LPG supply in the state and there is no need to panic.

He said any irregularity related to LPG supply is being addressed urgently.

The minister stated that the state government has taken strict action against black marketing and illegal use of LPG cylinders.

"So far, eight FIRs have been registered, 52 individuals have been found involved and 825 cylinders have been seized," he said, according to an official statement.

He emphasised that the government has a zero-tolerance approach towards black marketing and misuse of LPG cylinders.

The minister also clarified that the supply of petrol, diesel, and domestic LPG in the state is completely normal, warning that strict action will be taken against those spreading rumours.

Regional Breakdown of Seized Cylinders

Out of the 825 domestic LPG cylinders seized, 131 were from Jhajjar, 109 from Mahendragarh, 86 from Ambala, 21 from Bhiwani, 2 from Faridabad, 71 from Fatehabad, 75 from Gurugram, 39 from Hisar, 17 from Jind, 10 from Kaithal, 44 from Karnal, 21 from Kurukshetra, 16 from Nuh, 23 from Panipat, 21 from Rewari, 98 from Rohtak, 12 from Sirsa, 12 from Sonipat, and 17 from Yamunanagar, the statement said, quoting a spokesperson of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department.

Seven FIRs have been registered in Faridabad and one in Sonipat, and three vehicles have been seized during the crackdown, it added.

LPG Supply and Stock Levels

The spokesperson further said in the past six days, oil marketing companies supplied 61,034 domestic LPG cylinders of 14.2 kg, and the current stock at bottling plants stands at over 9.82 lakh domestic cylinders.

Regarding commercial LPG, he said in the past 25 days, 848 commercial cylinders of 19 kg were supplied, and the current stock at bottling plants stands at over 1.79 lakh cylinders.

The supply of petrol, diesel, and domestic LPG across Haryana is running smoothly, and major oil companies -- Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) -- have sufficient stock available, the spokesperson added.
The Haryana government is aggressively combating the black marketing of LPG cylinders, seizing hundreds and assuring citizens of ample supply amidst global concerns, while promoting PNG connections.

Key Points Haryana government is cracking down on black marketing of LPG cylinders, registering eight FIRs and seizing 825 cylinders.

Haryana assures citizens there is no shortage of domestic LPG supply and urges against panic buying.

The state government is promoting the use of PNG connections to mitigate potential gas supply issues.

Strict action will be taken against those spreading rumours about fuel shortages in Haryana.

Haryana has sufficient stock of petrol, diesel, and domestic LPG with major oil companies.

The Haryana government is taking strict action against those indulging in black marketing of cooking gas cylinders, with eight FIRs registered so far and 825 LPG cylinders seized, officials said on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Rajesh Nagar on Tuesday assured citizens that there is no shortage of domestic LPG supply in the state and there is no need to panic.

He said any irregularity related to LPG supply is being addressed urgently.

He emphasised that the government has a zero-tolerance approach towards black marketing and misuse of LPG cylinders.

"So far, eight FIRs have been registered, 52 people have been found involved, and 825 cylinders have been seized," he said, according to an official statement.

Minister Rajesh Nagar said that the supply of petrol, diesel, and domestic LPG in the state is completely normal, warning that strict action will be taken against those spreading rumours.

Seven FIRs have been registered in Faridabad, and one in Sonipat, and three vehicles have been seized during the crackdown, it added.

Government Response to Supply Concerns

Speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday evening after a meeting of the State Cabinet, which lasted for six hours, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, while replying to a question regarding gas supply issues, said that due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, this problem is being faced globally.

The entire world is affected by it, he said.

He said the government has decided to promote the use of PNG connections.

He also said that currently, there are around 5 lakh PNG connection holders in the state, but nearly 2 lakh consumers are not using them.

Replying to another question, Saini said that to overcome the current global challenge, efforts should be made with a spirit of cooperation.

Saini said that strict action is being taken to curb black marketing of gas. Additionally, alternatives such as solar stoves and electric plates/stoves should be used.

He informed that 10 companies are currently supplying PNG.

LPG and Fuel Stock Availability

A spokesperson of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs said in the past six days, oil marketing companies supplied 61,034 domestic LPG cylinders of 14.2 kg, and the current stock at bottling plants stands at over 9.82 lakh domestic cylinders.

Regarding commercial LPG, he said in the past 25 days, 848 commercial cylinders of 19 kg were supplied, and the current stock at bottling plants stands at more than 1.79 lakh cylinders.

The supply of petrol, diesel, and domestic LPG across Haryana is running smoothly, and major oil companies -- Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) -- have sufficient stock available, the spokesperson added.
Haryana is aggressively combating the black marketing of LPG cylinders, with authorities seizing hundreds of cylinders and filing FIRs to ensure a stable supply for citizens.

Key Points Haryana government initiates strict measures against LPG cylinder black marketing, registering eight FIRs.

Authorities have seized 825 LPG cylinders and implicated 52 individuals in illegal activities.

The state government assures citizens of sufficient domestic LPG supply, discouraging panic buying.

Haryana has a zero-tolerance policy towards black marketing and misuse of LPG cylinders, promising strict action against offenders.

Petrol, diesel, and domestic LPG supplies in Haryana are reported as normal, with warnings against spreading false rumours.

The Haryana government is taking strict action against those indulging in black marketing of cooking gas cylinders, with eight FIRs registered so far and 825 LPG cylinders seized, officials said on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Rajesh Nagar on Tuesday assured citizens that there is no shortage of domestic LPG supply in the state and there is no need to panic.

He said any irregularity related to LPG supply is being addressed urgently.

The minister stated that the state government has taken strict action against black marketing and illegal use of LPG cylinders.

"So far, eight FIRs have been registered, 52 individuals have been found involved and 825 cylinders have been seized," he said, according to an official statement.

He emphasised that the government has a zero-tolerance approach towards black marketing and misuse of LPG cylinders.

The minister also clarified that the supply of petrol, diesel, and domestic LPG in the state is completely normal, warning that strict action will be taken against those spreading rumours.

Regional Breakdown of Seized LPG Cylinders

Out of the 825 domestic LPG cylinders seized, 131 were from Jhajjar, 109 from Mahendragarh, 86 from Ambala, 21 from Bhiwani, 2 from Faridabad, 71 from Fatehabad, 75 from Gurugram, 39 from Hisar, 17 from Jind, 10 from Kaithal, 44 from Karnal, 21 from Kurukshetra, 16 from Nuh, 23 from Panipat, 21 from Rewari, 98 from Rohtak, 12 from Sirsa, 12 from Sonipat, and 17 from Yamunanagar, the statement said, quoting a spokesperson of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department.

Seven FIRs have been registered in Faridabad and one in Sonipat, and three vehicles have been seized during the crackdown, it added.

LPG Supply and Stock Levels in Haryana

The spokesperson further said in the past six days, oil marketing companies supplied 61,034 domestic LPG cylinders of 14.2 kg, and the current stock at bottling plants stands at over 9.82 lakh domestic cylinders.

Regarding commercial LPG, he said in the past 25 days, 848 commercial cylinders of 19 kg were supplied, and the current stock at bottling plants stands at over 1.79 cylinders.

The supply of petrol, diesel, and domestic LPG across Haryana is running smoothly, and major oil companies -- Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) -- have sufficient stock available, the spokesperson added.
The Bombay High Court has ordered a retrial in a 2017 rape and murder case, emphasising the critical importance of legal representation and fair trial rights for the accused.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Bombay High Court overturned a death sentence in a 2017 rape and murder case due to the accused not having legal representation.

The court cited a violation of the accused's fundamental right to a fair trial, emphasising the importance of legal aid.

The special POCSO Act court at Nashik was criticised for rushing the trial, compromising fair trial principles.

A fresh trial was ordered, with the High Court directing the lower court to ensure fairness to both the accused and the prosecution within ten months.

The High Court highlighted the prolonged wait for justice for the victim's family due to the initial unfair trial.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday set aside the conviction of a man sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a girl in 2017, and ordered a fresh trial as he had not been represented by a lawyer during the earlier proceedings.

A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Sandesh Patil said that while the offence was "horrific and grave" and the 7-year-old victim's family was still waiting for justice, the accused cannot be deprived of his "fundamental right to a fair trial."

Right from the time of framing of charges to the examination of important witnesses, the accused was not represented by any lawyer. The man (name not disclosed as he was related to the victim) was also denied the opportunity to defend himself, and this was a violation of his fundamental rights, the HC said.

The special POCSO Act court at Nashik showed unnecessary hurry in concluding the trial in the case, the bench added.

"Undoubtedly, it was a serious case and the trial needed to be expedited, but that could not be done at the expense of principles of fair trial," the court said.

While remanding the case back to the lower court, the judges said it must take all precautions this time to ensure that the trial is conducted in a manner which is fair both to the accused and the prosecution.

The trial should be concluded within ten months, the high court added.

Details of the Crime

As per the prosecution, in April 2017 the accused asked the girl to go to a nearby shop, and buy tobacco for him and chocolates for herself. When she went to his house to hand over the tobacco, he allegedly raped her and then killed her.

The Nashik court in May 2019 convicted the man, and sentenced him to death for murder under the Indian Penal Code and to life imprisonment under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Appeal and High Court Ruling

In his appeal before the high court, the accused said that he was not allowed to defend himself and no legal aid was offered to him, even though he had told the trial court that he could not afford a lawyer and should get a legal aid counsel.

Upholding the appeal, the high court said not providing legal assistance to a person who is entitled to legal aid had resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

The high court also noted that justice has remained elusive for nine years for the victim's family because of the failure to conduct the trial in a fair manner. "This is a case where till today justice was not given to the victim and her family," the court remarked.
AI reduces the time taken to find a target and launch a strike. This has led to a major increase in the pace of the conflict, with one report mentioning nearly 900 strikes launched on Iranian targets in the first 12 hours of an operation.

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers inspect the site of a damaged building in Tel Aviv, March 22, 2026 following a barrage of Iranian missiles. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

Key Points Conflict is shifting from human-led decisions to AI-driven targeting, strategy, and execution.

AI drastically reduces the time between identifying a target and launching a strike.

Data centres, radar systems, and energy networks are now critical assets in AI warfare.

The Iran war has moved beyond humans deciding how to attack and defend. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rewriting the strategy of conflict and deciding the scale and speed of military engagement.

The integration of AI into intelligence systems has turned target selection into a highspeed data operation.

Utilising tools like Claude and Palantir's Maven, the US military can now synthesise global surveillance feeds -- from satellites to ground sensors -- to generate up to 1,000 potential targets in a day.

AI in planning reduces the time taken to find a target and launch a strike -- a phenomenon known as 'decision compression'.

This has led to a major increase in the pace of the conflict, with one report mentioning nearly 900 strikes launched on Iranian targets in the first 12 hours of an operation.

Iran is reportedly utilising AI algorithms for rapid targeting and simulations.

While fighting the US and Israel, Iranian forces have struck infrastructure vital to AI-enabled warfare, such as energy-intensive data centres and radar facilities, which are essential for storing and processing the massive data volumes that feed AI targeting algorithms.

The global race for military tech is accelerating, and the Indian defence industry is carving out leadership across several critical domains.

At the forefront of this shift are unmanned systems. IdeaForge is a prominent private player in defence indigenisation, equipping the Indian Army with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) essential for highaltitude transport and vital border surveillance.

The defence production sector is expanding rapidly as younger firms like Flying Wedge and NewSpace emerge to challenge the status quo.

Beyond its own production, IdeaForge has become a sector investor, recently acquiring a stake in GalaxEye, a spacetech startup that is developing multi-sensor satellite imaging designed to sharpen drone operations even in low-visibility conditions.

The innovation extends to the earth and sea: Torus Robotics is developing unmanned ground vehicles for military logistics, while the maritime frontier is being reshaped by EyeROV and Sagar Defence Engineering.

These companies are working on sophisticated underwater and surface unmanned systems -- most otably evidenced by EyeROV securing a landmark Rs 47 crore contract to supply the Indian Navy with advanced underwater remotely operated vehicles.

A parallel surge is transforming the aviation sector, where the drive for indigenous manufacturing is strengthening.

The spotlight is on LAT Aerospace, an aviation startup that is building a Made-in-India gas turbine engine from scratch.

This engineering effort is focused on producing lightweight, highefficiency, and flight-ready hardware designed to power the next generation of Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft, UAVs, and remote-connectivity systems.

Operating in stealth mode, LAT is developing STOL aircraft with a capacity of up to 24 seats and a range extending to 1,500 km -- a strategic move specifically designed to bridge the gaps in regional air connectivity.

How AI Is Reshaping War

The rapid integration of AI is reshaping command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

This shift is already visible on the ground: About 140 smart surveillance installations are now operational along India's borders.

This technological surge is not merely a strategic move but a massive investment catalyst, strengthening India's readiness for future warfare.

The effort involves collaboration between public sector giants like Bharat Electronics Limited and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and specialised private companies such as Zen Technologies and Paras Defence.

At the heart of this transformation sits the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Through its Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, DRDO has engineered a portfolio of over 75 AI-driven products, ranging from autonomous robotics and cyber defence to advanced, AI-based surveillance solutions.

Conflict zones will witness more remote attacks and fewer ground efforts. Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure is already an established weapon. Wars will be defined by cyber and AI sophistication.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
A top US official asserts India's indispensable role in maintaining Indo-Pacific peace and stability, advocating for deeper US-India defence ties to counter geopolitical shifts and ensure a balanced power dynamic in Asia.

IMAGE: US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby. Photograph: @ElbridgeColby/X

Key Points The US views India as an essential partner in ensuring a long-term favourable balance of power in Asia and a stable Indo-Pacific region.

The US and India share convergent interests in preventing any single power from dominating the Indo-Pacific, promoting open trade, and maintaining national autonomy.

Enhanced defence cooperation between the US and India should focus on building real capabilities, including long-range precision fires, resilient logistics, and maritime domain awareness.

The US supports India's ambition to expand its indigenous defence industry, recognising that a strong domestic industrial base enhances sovereignty and resilience.

While the US and India may not agree on every issue, disagreements should not hinder cooperation, as the partnership is rooted in lasting strategic mutual self-interest.

India's role is indispensable for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific as well as to ensure a 'favourable' balance of power in Asia, a senior Trump administration official said on Tuesday, laying out a broader vision for deeper defence ties between the two sides in the face of 'tectonic' shift in geopolitics.

Elbridge Colby, the US Under Secretary of War for Policy, in an address at the Ananta Centre listed four-point agenda to bolster the India-US strategic engagement, asserting that 'no single power' should dominate the Indo-Pacific, in remarks seen as an oblique reference to China.

The Indo-Pacific has become the central theatre of international politics, economics and security, and Indian as well as American interests and long-term prosperity will be decisively shaped by developments in this region, he argued.

Colby said the US is committed to working with India on convergent interests despite having differences or even disputes on certain issues, even as he highlighted the 'alignment' between New Delhi's 'Bharat First' approach and the Trump administration's policy of 'America First' as well as 'flexible realism'.

"Your country sits astride the Indian Ocean, which is the connective tissue of the Indo-Pacific. India possesses a long tradition of strategic autonomy and a growing capacity to shape events well beyond its borders," he said.

"It is the largest republic in the world; its success thus carries profound symbolic and political weight. And it has formidable, self-reliant, and capable military forces, willing and able to shoulder significant security responsibilities."

"For all these reasons, the United States sees India not merely as a key partner, but as an essential one in ensuring a long-term favourable balance of power in Asia," he said, adding, 'India's role is indispensable' for a stable Indo-Pacific.

The senior Pentagon official said the US believes that India will play a 'central role in ensuring a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. In this context, a strong, confident India is not only good for the Indian people. It is good for Americans as well'.

The US under secretary's two-day visit to New Delhi assumes significance as it comes amid the escalating crisis in West Asia as well as mounting concerns over China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific.

He will co-chair a meeting of the Defence Policy Group along with India's Defence Secretary R K Singh.

Strengthening Strategic Alignment

"First, the United States and India do not need to agree on everything to cooperate effectively. What matters is that our interests and objectives increasingly converge on the most fundamental issues," he said.

"Differences and even disputes are fully compatible with deepening alignment and cooperation on strategic matters. The roots of our partnership are deeper than optics and more durable than superficial comity; they are, rather, thickly embedded in lasting strategic mutual self-interest," he said.

"Both of our countries benefit from an Indo-Pacific in which no power can dominate the region. Both benefit from open trade and national autonomy.

"These are the concrete, shared interests that form the foundation of our enduring strategic partnership," he argued.

Enhancing Defence Cooperation

Explaining his second point, Colby said both India and the US recognise the strategic centrality of military power for a stable balance in the region, and thus the defence cooperation should enhance 'real capability rather than be merely totemic or driven by inertia'.

"In this light, one of the most encouraging developments in recent years has been the steady expansion of defence cooperation between the United States and India".

Colby quoted US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to assert that the defence ties between the two sides have never been stronger, adding that defence industrial and technology collaboration is gaining 'new momentum'.

In this context, he also referred to the sealing of the 'Major Defence Partnership' framework that was firmed up in October last.

"Our goals should be practical: to ensure that our forces can operate effectively together when our interests align, and in any case to see that India possesses the capabilities necessary to defend its sovereignty and contribute to a favourable regional balance of power," he said.

Colby said the US is committed to working with India to hasten and "augment cooperation in areas including but not limited to long-range precision fires, resilient logistics, maritime domain awareness, anti-submarine warfare, and advanced technologies."

Co-Production and Defence Industry

In his third point, the US under secretary emphasised the importance of potential co-production and co-development of military hardware. At the same time, he listed 'regulatory barriers, bureaucratic inertia, and differences in procurement systems' as the real challenges.

"But they are not insurmountable, and we should overcome them," he added.

Colby said even as the US is seeking to expand American military sales to India, it also recognises New Delhi's ambition to expand its indigenous defence industry.

"A strong domestic industrial base enhances sovereignty and resilience. The United States supports that objective. And India is well on its way," he said.

"India already boasts an impressive defence industrial base and India's leadership in cutting-edge technologies only further helps broaden our defence cooperation."

Addressing Disagreements

Colby, in his fourth point, noted that the US and India will not agree on every issue, but at the same time argued that any disagreement need not pose any hindrance to the cooperation.

"Strong partnerships benefit from honesty, respect, and strategic clarity. The truth is that the United States and India will not agree on every issue.

"Indeed, in precisely that spirit, we can say without embarrassment that India and America have not always been partners or even friendly. Our histories and strategic cultures are different, and our interests will of course at times diverge," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The son of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, Bellarmine, is expected back in the dock on Tuesday.The 28-year-old and his co-accused Tobias Matonhodze face charges of attempted murder after a man was shot and wounded at Mugabe's Hyde Park residence.Authorities have also added a charge of defeating the ends of justice.The victim, believed to be a former employee, remains in critical condition.Police have not yet recovered the firearm allegedly used in the shooting.But investigators have tested both suspects for gunshot residue and have seized a vehicle fitted with illegal police sirens.Their lawyers told the court the pair intends to seek a plea deal with the state.
Nepal police have apprehended an Indian and a Thai national in separate incidents related to drug trafficking, seizing marijuana and brown sugar in Kathmandu.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Thai national arrested at Kathmandu airport with over 3 kg of marijuana after arriving from Bangkok.

Indian national arrested with two Nepalese citizens outside Kathmandu with 18 grams of brown sugar.

Nepal police seized cash in both NPR and INR during the arrest of the Indian national and his accomplices.

The arrests highlight ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking in and around Kathmandu.

Nepal police have arrested an Indian and a Thai national in two separate cases on charges of drug trafficking.

Thai national Yongyut Thuion, 39, was arrested along with 3 kg and 345 grams of marijuana from the tunnel gate of Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday night during security checking.

The Thai national was arrested during a regular security checking as he landed in Kathmandu airport from Bangkok on a Thai Airways flight.

Arrest of Indian National

In another incident, the police arrested three people, including an Indian national, from Balaju Chowk on the outskirts of Kathmandu along with 18 grams of brown sugar on Tuesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Jitu Kumar, 27, a resident of Bihar's Sitamarhi, and two Nepalese, Aditya Mandal, 19, and Shambhu Karki, 41, both residents of Madhesh province.

The police have also recovered from them NPR 56,000 and INR 2,800.

The police have initiated further investigation into the incidents.
Nepal police have apprehended an Indian and a Thai national in separate drug trafficking incidents, seizing marijuana and brown sugar and initiating further investigations.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Thai national arrested at Kathmandu airport with over 3 kg of marijuana arriving from Bangkok.

Indian national arrested with two Nepalese citizens in Kathmandu for possession of brown sugar.

Nepal police seized marijuana and brown sugar in separate drug trafficking incidents.

Authorities are conducting further investigations into both drug-related cases in Nepal.

Nepal police have arrested an Indian and a Thai national in two separate cases on charges of drug trafficking.

Thai national Yongyut Thuion, 39, was arrested along with 3 kg and 345 grams of marijuana from the tunnel gate of Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday night during security checking.

The Thai national was arrested during a regular security checking as he landed in Kathmandu airport from Bangkok on a Thai Airways flight.

Arrest in Balaju Chowk

In another incident, the police arrested three people, including an Indian national, from Balaju Chowk on the outskirts of Kathmandu along with 18 grams of brown sugar on Tuesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Jitu Kumar, 27, a resident of Bihar's Sitamarhi, and two Nepalese, Aditya Mandal, 19, and Shambhu Karki, 41, both residents of Madhesh province.

The police have also recovered from them NPR 56,000 and INR 2,800.

The police have initiated further investigation into the incidents.
The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau has launched an investigation into a former tehsil supply officer for allegedly misappropriating government ration and funds, uncovering a potential black-market scheme.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau is investigating a former tehsil supply officer for alleged misappropriation of government ration and funds.

The investigation revealed that the officer fraudulently received excess ration and transportation charges during his tenure.

The excess ration was allegedly black-marketed, causing a significant loss to the government exchequer.

The case has been registered under the J-K Prevention of Corruption Act and the Ranbir Penal Code.

The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau on Tuesday registered a case against a former tehsil supply officer and others in the consumer affairs and public distribution department for alleged misappropriation of government ration and funds in Reasi district, an official said.

The case was registered against former tehsil supply officer (TSO) Pranav Gandotra and other unnamed officials following a verification drive by the agency, an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) spokesperson said.

The FIR has been registered under various sections of the J-K Prevention of Corruption Act and the Ranbir Penal Code at the ACB police station in Udhampur for a thorough investigation, he said.

Details of the Alleged Misappropriation

The verification drive revealed that Gandotra, during his posting as TSO from April 2011 to January 2013, fraudulently received 22298.80 quintals of excess ration, besides an amount of Rs 103.63 lakh as transportation or carriage charges, in league with then assistant directors, trade and stores, consumer affairs and public distribution department, and others, the spokesman said.

He said the quota was not distributed to the concerned depots but was black-marketed, causing a huge loss to the government exchequer.

"The TSO and others abused their official positions to misappropriate the ration along with carriage charges, thereby conferring undue benefits to themselves and causing a loss to the government exchequer," the spokesperson said.
Bengaluru police have cracked down on a massive job scam, arresting six individuals who allegedly cheated hundreds of job aspirants with false promises of employment in district courts, highlighting the need for vigilance in the job market.

Key Points Six individuals arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly running a job scam promising employment in district courts.

The accused, including a husband and wife, allegedly defrauded over 450 job aspirants.

The scam involved collecting lakhs of rupees from aspirants and issuing fake court orders and selection lists.

Police have recovered Rs 38 lakh in cash from the accused.

Investigations are ongoing to apprehend other associates involved in the fraudulent scheme.

Six people were arrested for allegedly cheating hundreds of job aspirants of lakhs of rupees by falsely promising them employment in district courts in the state, police said on Tuesday.

Among those arrested are accused -- Jason D'souza (39) and his wife Lavina (36), alleged to be the key conspirators of the scam, they said.

The accused allegedly cheated job aspirants by falsely promising them employment in various district courts across the state in posts such as Process Server, Peon, SDA (Second Division Assistants), FDA (First Division Assistants) and driver, they said.

Although the exact amount swindled through this fraud scheme by the accused is still being ascertained, police have recovered a total of Rs 38 lakh in cash from their possession so far.

The accused duo, along with others, allegedly lured over 450 job aspirants by claiming vacancies in district courts and appointing agents to approach candidates.

According to police, through these agents, they collected lakhs of rupees from the aspirants in phases, mostly in cash and partly through online transactions. Operating from offices in Sahakar Nagar here in Bengaluru, eight individuals and others allegedly filled out application forms for various court posts, collected documents from candidates, and obtained their signatures.

They also collected candidates' mobile numbers, left thumb impressions and signatures on a format termed as "Green Sheet", a senior police officer said.

Subsequently, the accused allegedly issued fake court order copies to candidates, falsely indicating their selection for posts in various district courts. They further provided forged selection lists bearing fake signatures and seals of courts, thereby cheating more than 450 candidates, he said.

Two separate cases have been registered in this regard at the Central Crime Branch (CCB) Police Station and Kodigehalli Police Station, police said.

Police Investigation and Arrests

"During the investigation, police pursued multiple angles and secured six accused persons involved in the case. On interrogation, they confessed to committing the offence along with other associates with the intention of making unlawful financial gains. A total of Rs 38 lakh in cash has been seized from their possession," the officer said.

Other associates involved in the case are absconding, and efforts are on to trace them, police said, adding that further investigation is in progress.
Delhi Police have apprehended two juveniles in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old in Sadar Bazar, revealing a motive rooted in old enmity and prompting an ongoing search for a third suspect.

Key Points Two juveniles have been apprehended by Delhi Police for the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old boy in Sadar Bazar.

The stabbing incident was reportedly motivated by a pre-existing enmity between the accused and the victim.

Delhi Police recovered key evidence, including the scooter used in the crime and blood-stained clothing, to build their case.

One of the apprehended juveniles has a prior criminal record, including offences related to abduction and snatching.

Authorities are actively searching for a third suspect involved in the Sadar Bazar murder case.

Two juveniles have been apprehended for allegedly stabbing a 16-year-old boy to death in north Delhi's Sadar Bazar over previous enmity, an official said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on March 22 in Gali Gaddhya area, police said.

The accused juveniles along with an associate had reached the spot on a scooter and attacked the victim with a sharp weapon before fleeing. The victim succumbed to injuries, police added.

The attack stemmed from an old enmity, they said.

Based on a complaint filed by the victim's mother, an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Sadar Bazar police station on March 23.

Investigation and Arrest

"Within 24 hours of the case, police zeroed in on the accused and apprehended the two juveniles involved in the murder," a senior police officer said.

During the investigation, police recovered the scooter used in the commission of the crime, the accused's blood-stained clothes and shoes. This evidence is expected to play a crucial role in establishing the sequence of events through forensic examination, he added.

Police revealed that one of the apprehended juveniles has prior involvement in two criminal cases, including offences related to abduction under the POCSO Act and snatching.

The third accused involved in the case is yet to be apprehended, and efforts are underway to trace him, police said.
The demolition of statues honouring Kakori train action martyrs in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has ignited widespread protests and led to the filing of an FIR, raising questions about respect for national heroes.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Statues of Kakori train action martyrs Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh were allegedly demolished in Shahjahanpur during road beautification.

The demolition sparked outrage and protests from opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and Congress, who demanded action.

An FIR has been filed against the company responsible for the demolition under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The statues were reportedly removed without informing the concerned department and their remains were allegedly dumped at a waste disposal site.

Political leaders have condemned the incident, calling it an insult to the martyrs and demanding strict action against those responsible.

Statues of Kakori train action martyrs were demolished using a bulldozer allegedly during a road beautification work by a firm in Shahjahanpur, sparking angry reactions with opposition parties demanding action against those responsible for it.

Amid mounting outrage, an FIR was filed against the company on Tuesday evening over the demolition of statues of freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh, who hailed from Shahjahanpur, at the Shaheed memorial site outside the municipal corporation office here.

The statues, which were regularly garlanded by visiting public representatives, were allegedly demolished on Sunday night and a video appeared on social media purportedly showing the remains being dumped at a garbage site.

The Samajwadi Party accused authorities of "insulting" martyrs and protests were held by the local Congress unit and a Hindu outfit on Tuesday.

Later in the evening, Shahjahanpur Police lodged an FIR against the company under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 196(2) (promoting enmity affecting harmony at religious places) and 352 (intentional insult). Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi said that the municipal corporation's chief engineer lodged a complaint at Sadar Bazar police station.

Citing the FIR, he told PTI that beautification work was being carried out at the Shaheed memorial site located at Town Hall and the statues of the martyrs were to be shifted to a newly constructed pedestal as part of the project. The work was being executed by a firm, Infratech, he said.

Dwivedi said the firm had been assigned work behind the statues, but the statues were removed on Sunday night without informing the department concerned.

Earlier, municipal sources said the demolition was carried out by the contractor engaged in road construction and beautification work.

After being dismantled, the remains of the statues were reportedly dumped at a waste disposal site, and the plaques installed at the site were also removed using a bulldozer.

Samajwadi Party (SP) district president Tanveer Khan alleged that the statues were demolished to remove a plaque bearing his name that had been installed during his tenure as municipal chairman.

He termed the incident an "insult to the martyrs" and accused the administration of acting arbitrarily.

Reacting to the incident, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that beautification can never take precedence over respect for martyrs.

Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were hanged by the British on December 19, 1927, for looting a train that was carrying government funds in August 1925 near Kakori, Lucknow.

Sharing a news report on social media platform X, the SP chief condemned the demolition, calling it a reflection of a "disturbing mindset".

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai demanded strict action against those responsible for the demolition.

"If justice is not served, every single Congress worker will take to the streets and fiercely oppose this dictatorship," he said in a post on X.

Rai said that the "BJP government's municipal corporation ran bulldozers over the statues of great sacrificers like Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, and Thakur Roshan Singh.

"This is a direct assault on every brave hero who laid down their life for the country's freedom and on the sentiments of 145 crore Indians. The Yogi government must immediately take strict action against the responsible officials."

Meanwhile, a descendant of Ashfaqulla Khan said the act was condemnable and vowed to protest against it.

Local Congress office bearers held a protest along with hundreds of party workers on Tuesday at the Collectorate.

Speaking to PTI, District Congress Committee president Rajneesh Gupta said the party demands that the administration "hand over the remains of Ashfaqullah Khan's statue so that it can be buried with due respect, while those of martyrs Roshan Singh and Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil should be immersed in the Ganga river with proper honours".

A local Hindu outfit leader, Rajesh Awasthi, along with a large number of supporters, held a protest at a city intersection and burnt effigies of municipal officials.

He alleged that the administration's action towards those who sacrificed their lives for the nation was condemnable and warned of a larger agitation if strict action is not taken against those responsible by the evening.

Separately, a group of journalists submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate, condemning the incident.
The demolition of statues honouring Kakori train action martyrs in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has ignited widespread outrage and political condemnation, raising questions about respect for Indian freedom fighters and historical memory.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Statues of Kakori train action martyrs Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh were allegedly demolished in Shahjahanpur during road beautification.

The demolition has sparked outrage and protests, with opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party demanding action against those responsible.

An FIR has been lodged against the company involved under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including promoting enmity and intentional insult.

Political leaders condemn the demolition, calling it an insult to the martyrs and demanding justice for the disrespect shown to the freedom fighters.

The incident has led to protests by Congress workers and Hindu outfits, demanding the proper disposal of the martyrs' remains and strict action against those responsible.

Statues of Kakori train action martyrs were demolished using a bulldozer allegedly during a road beautification work by a firm in Shahjahanpur, sparking outrage with opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), on Tuesday demanding action against those responsible for it.

The statues of freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh, who hailed from Shahjahanpur, were installed at the Shaheed memorial site along a road outside the municipal corporation office here and were regularly garlanded by visiting public representatives. They were allegedly demolished on Sunday night.

A video purportedly showing the statues being razed and their debris dumped at a garbage site was posted on social media, drawing sharp reactions. Protests were held by the local Congress unit and a Hindu outfit .

On Tuesday evening, Shahjahanpur Police lodged an FIR against the company under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 196(2) (promoting enmity affecting harmony at religious places) and 352 (intentional insult). Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi said that the municipal corporation's chief engineer lodged a complaint at Sadar Bazar police station.

Citing the FIR, he told PTI that beautification work was being carried out at the Shaheed memorial site located at Town Hall and the statues of the martyrs were to be shifted to a newly constructed pedestal as part of the project. The work was being executed by a firm, Infratech, he said.

Dwivedi said the firm had been assigned work behind the statues, but the statues were removed on Sunday night without informing the department concerned.

Earlier, municipal sources said the demolition was carried out by the contractor engaged in road construction and beautification work.

After being dismantled, the remains of the statues were reportedly dumped at a waste disposal site, and the plaques installed at the site were also removed using a bulldozer.

Political Reactions to the Statue Demolition

Samajwadi Party (SP) district president Tanveer Khan alleged that the statues were demolished to remove a plaque bearing his name that had been installed during his tenure as municipal chairman.

He termed the incident an "insult to the martyrs" and accused the administration of acting arbitrarily.

Reacting to the incident, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that beautification can never take precedence over respect for martyrs.

Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were were hanged by the British on December 19, 1927, for looting a train that was carrying government funds in August 1925 near Kakori, Lucknow.

Sharing a news report on social media platform X, the SP chief condemned the demolition, calling it a reflection of a "disturbing mindset".

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai demanded strict action against those responsible for the demolition.

"If justice is not served, every single Congress worker will take to the streets and fiercely oppose this dictatorship," he said in a post on X.

Rai said that the "BJP government's municipal corporation ran bulldozers over the statues of great sacrificers like Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, and Thakur Roshan Singh.

"This is a direct assault on every brave hero who laid down their life for the country's freedom and on the sentiments of 145 crore Indians. The Yogi government must immediately take strict action against the responsible officials."

Protests and Demands for Justice

Meanwhile, a descendant of Ashfaqulla Khan said the act was condemnable and vowed to protest against it.

Local Congress office bearers held a protest along with hundreds of party workers on Tuesday at the Collectorate.

Speaking to PTI, District Congress Committee president Rajneesh Gupta said the party demands that the administration "hand over the remains of Ashfaqullah Khan's statue so that it can be buried with due respect, while those of martyrs Roshan Singh and Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil should be immersed in the Ganga river with proper honours".

A local Hindu outfit leader Rajesh Awasthi, along with a large number of supporters, held a protest at a city intersection and burnt effigies of municipal officials.

He alleged that the administration's action towards those who sacrificed their lives for the nation was condemnable and warned of a larger agitation if strict action is not taken against those responsible by the evening.

Separately, a group of journalists submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate, condemning the incident.
The demolition of statues honouring Kakori train action martyrs in Uttar Pradesh has ignited a political firestorm, prompting outrage and demands for accountability.

Image used only for representation. Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Statues of Kakori train action martyrs Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh were allegedly demolished in Shahjahanpur during road construction.

The demolition has sparked outrage among opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and Congress, who are demanding action against those responsible.

The statues, which were regularly garlanded by public representatives, were reportedly razed by a contractor and their remains dumped at a waste disposal site.

Political leaders condemn the act as an insult to the martyrs and a reflection of a disturbing mindset, calling for immediate action against responsible officials.

Descendants of Ashfaqulla Khan have vowed to protest the demolition, further escalating the controversy.

Statues of Kakori train action martyrs were demolished using a bulldozer allegedly during a road construction work in Shahjahanpur, sparking outrage with opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), on Tuesday demanding action against those responsible for it.

The statues of freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh, who hailed from Shahjahanpur, were installed along a road outside the municipal corporation office here and were regularly garlanded by visiting public representatives. They were allegedly demolished on Sunday night.

A video purportedly showing the statues being razed and their debris dumped at a garbage site was posted on social media, drawing sharp reactions.

Municipal sources said the demolition was carried out by a contractor engaged in road construction and beautification work. After being dismantled, the remains of the statues were reportedly dumped at a waste disposal site, and the plaques installed at the site were also removed using a bulldozer.

Attempts by PTI to contact the municipal commissioner and the district magistrate for comments remained unsuccessful.

Samajwadi Party (SP) district president Tanveer Khan alleged that the statues were demolished to remove a plaque bearing his name that had been installed during his tenure as municipal chairman.

He termed the incident an "insult to the martyrs" and accused the administration of acting arbitrarily.

Political Reactions to the Demolition

Reacting to the incident, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that beautification can never take precedence over respect for martyrs.

Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were were hanged by the British on December 19, 1927, for looting a train that was carrying government funds in August 2025 near Kakori, Lucknow.

Sharing a news report on social media platform X, the SP chief condemned the demolition, calling it a reflection of a "disturbing mindset".

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai demanded strict action against those responsible for the demolition.

"If justice is not served, every single Congress worker will take to the streets and fiercely oppose this dictatorship," he said in a post on X.

Rai said that the "BJP government's municipal corporation ran bulldozers over the statues of great sacrificers like Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, and Thakur Roshan Singh.

"This is a direct assault on every brave hero who laid down their life for the country's freedom and on the sentiments of 145 crore Indians. The Yogi government must immediately take strict action against the responsible officials."

Meanwhile, a descendant of Ashfaqulla Khan said the act was condemnable and vowed to protest against it.
The demolition of statues honouring Kakori train action martyrs in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has ignited a political firestorm, prompting demands for accountability and sparking widespread condemnation.

Photograph and video: Kind Courtesy Venkatesh Prasad/X

Key Points Statues of Kakori train action martyrs Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh were allegedly demolished during road construction in Shahjahanpur.

The demolition has sparked outrage, with the Samajwadi Party and Congress demanding action against those responsible for disrespecting the freedom fighters.

Opposition leaders condemn the act as an insult to the martyrs and a reflection of a 'disturbing mindset'.

The statues were regularly garlanded by public representatives, making their destruction particularly offensive to many.

Descendants of Ashfaqulla Khan have vowed to protest the demolition, highlighting the deep emotional connection to these historical figures.

Statues of Kakori train action martyrs were demolished using a bulldozer allegedly during a road construction work in Shahjahanpur, sparking outrage with opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), on Tuesday demanding action against those responsible for it.

The statues of freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh, who hailed from Shahjahanpur, were installed along a road outside the municipal corporation office here and were regularly garlanded by visiting public representatives. They were allegedly demolished on Sunday night.

A video purportedly showing the statues being razed and their debris dumped at a garbage site was posted on social media, drawing sharp reactions.

Municipal sources said the demolition was carried out by a contractor engaged in road construction and beautification work. After being dismantled, the remains of the statues were reportedly dumped at a waste disposal site, and the plaques installed at the site were also removed using a bulldozer.

Attempts by PTI to contact the municipal commissioner and the district magistrate for comments remained unsuccessful.

Samajwadi Party (SP) district president Tanveer Khan alleged that the statues were demolished to remove a plaque bearing his name that had been installed during his tenure as municipal chairman.

He termed the incident an "insult to the martyrs" and accused the administration of acting arbitrarily.

Reacting to the incident, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that beautification can never take precedence over respect for martyrs.

Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were were hanged by the British on December 19, 1927, for looting a train that was carrying government funds in August 1925 near Kakori, Lucknow.

Sharing a news report on social media platform X, the SP chief condemned the demolition, calling it a reflection of a "disturbing mindset".

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai demanded strict action against those responsible for the demolition.

"If justice is not served, every single Congress worker will take to the streets and fiercely oppose this dictatorship," he said in a post on X.

Rai said that the "BJP government's municipal corporation ran bulldozers over the statues of great sacrificers like Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, and Thakur Roshan Singh.

"This is a direct assault on every brave hero who laid down their life for the country's freedom and on the sentiments of 145 crore Indians. The Yogi government must immediately take strict action against the responsible officials."

Meanwhile, a descendant of Ashfaqulla Khan said the act was condemnable and vowed to protest against it.
The demolition of statues honouring Kakori train action martyrs in Uttar Pradesh has ignited a firestorm of controversy, prompting swift government action and widespread condemnation over the disrespect shown to these freedom fighters.

Image used only for representation. Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Statues of Kakori train action martyrs Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh were allegedly demolished during road beautification work in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The demolition sparked widespread outrage, leading to an FIR against the responsible company and demands for action from opposition parties.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed displeasure, ordering strict action, reinstatement of the statues, and blacklisting of the company involved.

Political parties, including the Samajwadi Party and Congress, condemned the incident as an insult to the martyrs and demanded justice.

Descendants and local groups protested the demolition, calling for respectful handling of the remains and strict action against those responsible.

Statues of Kakori train action martyrs were demolished using a bulldozer allegedly during a road beautification work by a firm in Shahjahanpur, sparking angry reactions, with opposition parties demanding action against those responsible for it.

Amid mounting outrage, an FIR was filed against the company on Tuesday evening over the demolition of statues of freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh, who hailed from Shahjahanpur, at the Shaheed memorial site outside the municipal corporation office here.

The statues, which were regularly garlanded by visiting public representatives, were allegedly demolished on Sunday night and a video appeared on social media purportedly showing the remains being dumped at a garbage site.

Government Response and Action

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed strong displeasure over the demolition of the martyrs' statues during the road widening work in Shahjahanpur. Taking cognisance of the matter, he ordered strict action against the culprits and directed that the statues be reinstalled with due respect, the state government said in a statement.

"Acting on the chief minister's orders, an FIR was immediately registered against the company responsible for damaging the martyrs' statues during the road widening project.

"The chief minister stated that the officials under whose supervision the work was being executed must be suspended with immediate effect. Following CM Yogi Adityanath's directive, the company has been blacklisted with immediate effect, and the work contract has been revoked," the statement said.

Adityanath also said that 'any insult to martyrs is absolutely unacceptable'.

Political Reactions and Protests

The Samajwadi Party accused authorities of 'insulting' martyrs and protests were held by the local Congress unit and a Hindu outfit on Tuesday.

Later in the evening, Shahjahanpur Police lodged an FIR against the company under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including sections 196(2) (promoting enmity affecting harmony at religious places) and 352 (intentional insult).

Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Dwivedi said the FIR was based on a complaint lodged by the municipal corporation's chief engineer at Sadar Bazar police station.

Citing the FIR, Dwivedi told PTI that beautification work was being carried out at the Shaheed memorial site located at Town Hall and the statues of the martyrs were to be shifted to a newly constructed pedestal as part of the project. The work was being executed by a firm, Infratech, he said.

He said the firm had been assigned work behind the statues, but the statues were removed on Sunday night without informing the department concerned.

Earlier, municipal sources said the demolition was carried out by the contractor engaged in road construction and beautification work.

After being dismantled, the remains of the statues were reportedly dumped at a waste disposal site, and the plaques installed at the site were also removed using a bulldozer.

Samajwadi Party district president Tanveer Khan alleged that the statues were demolished to remove a plaque bearing his name that had been installed during his tenure as municipal chairman.

He termed the incident an 'insult to the martyrs' and accused the administration of acting arbitrarily.

Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that beautification can never take precedence over respect for martyrs.

Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were hanged by the British on December 19, 1927, for looting a train that was carrying government funds in August 1925 near Kakori, Lucknow.

Sharing a news report on social media platform X, Yadav condemned the demolition, calling it a reflection of a 'disturbing mindset'.

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai demanded strict action against those responsible for the demolition.

"If justice is not served, every single Congress worker will take to the streets and fiercely oppose this dictatorship," he said in a post on X.

Rai said that the 'BJP government's municipal corporation ran bulldozers over the statues of great sacrificers like Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, and Thakur Roshan Singh'.

"This is a direct assault on every brave hero who laid down their life for the country's freedom and on the sentiments of 145 crore Indians. The Yogi government must immediately take strict action against the responsible officials," he said.

Calls for Justice and Respect

Meanwhile, a descendant of Ashfaqulla Khan said the act was condemnable and vowed to protest against it.

Local Congress office bearers held a protest along with hundreds of party workers at the Collectorate.

Speaking to PTI, District Congress Committee president Rajneesh Gupta said the party demands that the administration 'hand over the remains of Ashfaqullah Khan's statue so that they can be buried with due respect, while those of martyrs Roshan Singh and Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil should be immersed in the Ganga with proper honours'.

A local Hindu outfit leader, Rajesh Awasthi, along with a large number of supporters, held a protest at a city intersection and burnt effigies of municipal officials.

He alleged that the administration's action towards those who sacrificed their lives for the nation was condemnable and warned of a larger agitation if strict action is not taken against those responsible by the evening.

Separately, a group of journalists submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate, condemning the incident.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A prominent businessman from Gwanda has been arrested on allegations of stock theft after he was reportedly found in possession of suspected stolen meat at his butchery.Zimbabwe Republic Police in Matabeleland South confirmed the arrest of Rimai Muringa, who was apprehended alongside three other suspects.Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Chiratidzo Dube said the suspects are expected to appear in court soon."We have been seeking him to clear several stock theft cases, but certain technicalities delayed the process. They will soon appear in court facing stock theft charges," she said.Dube identified the other suspects as Trymore Nyathi (35) of Todd Cattle Sales in West Nicholson, Dalekhile Dube (36) of Spitzkop, Gwanda, and Mazibeli Ezra (27) of Pepuluza Farm in West Nicholson.The complainant in the matter is Qhubekani Ndlovu of Pepuluza Farm.According to police, the accused allegedly set wire snares at Pepuluza Farm, where they trapped and killed the complainant's cow before selling the meat at Simply Fill Butchery in Nare Business Centre, Gwanda."The accused persons set wire snares at Pepuluza Farm and trapped the complainant's cow, which they slaughtered and sold the meat at Simply Fill Butchery," Dube said.The offence came to light on March 21 when a game scout discovered a carcass and became suspicious after identifying footprints believed to be linked to Nyathi.Investigations led to Nyathi's arrest, and he reportedly admitted to setting the snares and trapping the cow. He then implicated his alleged accomplices, leading to the arrest of the remaining suspects."The matter was reported to the police leading to the arrest of the accused persons. The four will soon be appearing in court facing stock theft charges," Dube said.Sources told Southern Eye that Muringa operates a butchery at Spitzkop and that his truck was allegedly used to transport the meat from Todds (Inyoni Farm) in Gwanda."Three beasts were trapped by a snare, one was killed and the meat was transported overnight to Muringa's business," the sources said.Police said the total value of the stolen livestock is estimated at US$600, with only 87 kilogrammes of meat, offals and skin recovered.Meanwhile, police also announced plans to relaunch the Police Client Service Charter in Filabusi, where officers will engage local communities on improving service delivery.
A political storm is brewing in Kerala as the Congress accuses BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar of hiding a significant property in his election affidavit, sparking controversy ahead of the crucial Assembly polls.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Congress alleges BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar concealed a Rs 200 crore property in his election affidavit for the Kerala Assembly elections.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar denies the allegations, calling them baseless and challenging the Congress to prove their claims.

CPI(M) candidate V Sivankutty expresses reservations about raising the issue without supporting documents, prioritising a fair contest.

The controversy unfolds as Chandrasekhar contests from the Nemom constituency against prominent candidates from CPI(M) and Congress.

Chandrasekhar accuses the Congress of using falsehoods and personal attacks to undermine his campaign in the Kerala Assembly elections.

With days left for the crucial Assembly polls, a political row has erupted in Kerala over BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar's affidavit, with the Congress alleging that he had concealed details of a high-value property in Bengaluru and lodging a complaint with the Election Commission.

Rejecting the allegations, Chandrasekhar asserted that the allegations regarding concealment of his house details were baseless and challenged the Congress to approach the court if it had "the spine" to prove its claims.

In the April 9 polls, Chandrasekhar is contesting from high profile Nemom constituency against CPI(M) leader and general education minister V Sivankutty and former Congress MLA K S Sabarinathan.

While talking to reporters here, Sabarinathan said the allegations against Chandrasekhar's affidavit were serious.

"As per the allegations, he has not disclosed his Rs 200 crore-worth property in the affidavit. We have studied about it, and we will raise this during the scrutiny," he told reporters here.

He said the Congress has already lodged a complaint and expected that the Election Commission would take appropriate action.

However, CPI(M) candidate Sivankutty did not show much keenness to reiterate the Congress charge against Chandrasekhar.

"There are rumours that he has not disclosed even 25 per cent of his actual assets in the affidavit. But when we raise the issue before the returning officer, we should have supporting documents. The Congress may have that," he said.

He also said the Left party does not want to have his nomination rejected over a technicality but wants the contest to be held.

Chandrasekhar's Response and Counter-Accusations

Chandrasekhar, however, hit back and accused the Congress of resorting to falsehoods to fight elections. He also launched a sharp attack on the Congress leadership, referring to past controversies and criticising senior leaders.

The BJP leader further alleged that state minister Sivankutty had been repeatedly making personal attacks against him.

"This is not a new allegation. During the time of every election, they come up with such allegations," he said, adding that people don't want controversies but want development.

The Kerala Assembly, for which elections are to be held on April 9, has 140 seats.
A woman who gained fame during the Kumbh Mela has publicly accused a film director of misbehaving with minor girls, sparking controversy and prompting her to seek government protection amid alleged death threats and accusations of 'love-jihad'.

Key Points Woman who rose to fame during the Kumbh Mela accuses a film director of misbehaving with minor girls.

The woman and her husband claim they are receiving death threats and facing harassment due to their interfaith marriage.

The director is accused of branding the husband a 'terrorist' due to his Muslim background.

The couple has requested help from the central and state governments, threatening suicide if separated.

The woman claims the director is unhappy with her marriage and is spreading false allegations.

The young woman who shot to fame during the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela last year, on Tuesday alleged that a film director she knows has misbehaved with minor girls in the name of films.

The woman made the allegation at a press conference here, where she also sought help from the Centre and the state governments of Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, claiming that she and her husband were receiving death threats.

The young woman, accompanied by her husband, told reporters here that her posters were being burnt and the couple were receiving death threats from people.

She also claimed that the director was speaking ill about her and that he won't make her a part of his films.

"Who wants to be a part of his films? He is such a bad and disgusting person. He misbehaves with minor girls in the name of films. I am even ashamed to utter his name," she alleged.

She also requested the central and Uttar Pradesh governments not to level wrong allegations against her husband regarding their marriage.

"We got married according to Hindu rites at a temple. Everyone in the country knows that. The director wishes that there should be terrorism and people should fight each other. He is calling our marriage a love-jihad. I respect all religions.

"If any attempt is made to separate me from Farman (her husband), we will commit suicide. I cannot live without him. We love each other a lot," she said.

She also claimed that the director was unhappy with her marriage to Farman.

Farman also alleged that the director was branding him a "terrorist".

"Just because I was born in a Muslim family and my name is Farman Khan, allegations are being levelled against me. They are trying to trap us and threatening to kill us," he alleged.

"Is it wrong to be in love?" they both asked.

Farman also claimed that he respects and believes in Sree Narayana Guru and that they got married in one of his temples.

The young woman, during the press conference, broke down and reiterated that she and her husband will commit suicide if the Centre and the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Kerala do not help them.

The woman got married to her husband recently in Kerala as her parents were against their relationship.

The couple had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram recently in connection with a film shoot.

With a captivating smile and beautiful eyes, the young woman from Indore shot to fame after a virtual content creator shared a video of her selling rudraksh garlands at Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh last year.
Maharashtra's government faces criticism as the opposition highlights concerns over deteriorating law and order with the case of missing girls and the severe impact of unseasonal rains on farmers' livelihoods.

Key Points Six minor girls went missing in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra, raising concerns about law and order.

The opposition criticised the government's response to the missing girls, demanding a special search team and awareness measures.

Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have severely damaged rabi crops in the Marathwada region, impacting farmers.

The government is accused of making hollow claims about loan waivers and neglecting damage assessments for affected farmers.

The opposition leader criticised the government's priorities, contrasting them with the distress of parents and farmers.

Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Tuesday claimed the law and order had deteriorated in Maharashtra, citing a case of six minor girls going missing in Chandrapur district.

Raising the issue in the state assembly through an adjournment motion, he demanded that a special search team be immediately constituted, and called for awareness measures in schools and colleges to ensure the safety of girls.

Wadettiwar referred to a case at Brahmapuri in Chandrapur where six minor girls, studying in classes 10 and 12, went missing recently.

"Only two of the girls have been traced so far, while four remain missing. The government spends crores on CCTV systems, but where are these mechanisms at the taluka level?" he asked.

The Congress leader further questioned police preparedness, saying, "When girls are being abducted and their mobile phones are switched off, what exactly is the police machinery doing?"

Farmer Distress in Marathwada

Wadettiwar also highlighted the impact of unseasonal rains and hailstorms in the Marathwada region, stating that thousands of hectares of rabi crops had been severely damaged in districts such as Nanded, Hingoli, Dharashiv and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Farmers are reeling under losses due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms, yet the government is making "hollow claims" about loan waivers. In many places, even damage assessment has not begun, he claimed.

Two human deaths and 41 livestock fatalities had been reported due to the adverse weather conditions, he said, and demanded immediate financial assistance to affected farmers after conducting prompt surveys.

"Farmers are dying, girls are not safe, yet the government seems more focused on chasing self-styled godmen. Can it not hear the cries of distressed parents and farmers?" Wadettiwar said.

Notably, Nashik-based self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, who claimed to be a retired Merchant Navy officer and was known as "captain", was arrested on March 18 for rape and other offences on the complaint of a 35-year-old woman.
Punjab's Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is under fire for refusing a CBI investigation into the suicide of a warehousing official, sparking allegations of a cover-up and raising questions about government transparency.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann faces criticism for rejecting a CBI probe into the suicide of a warehousing official, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa.

Opposition parties, including SAD and Congress, allege the government is trying to protect former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, accused of abetting the suicide.

Randhawa's alleged suicide followed a video surfacing where he claimed harassment by Bhullar, leading to Bhullar's resignation and subsequent arrest.

Opposition leaders question the Punjab government's reluctance to allow an independent investigation by the CBI, suggesting a potential cover-up.

Former minister Bhullar has been arrested and booked under sections related to abetment of suicide and criminal intimidation.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Tuesday slammed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for not ordering a CBI probe into the suicide of an official of the warehousing corporation, alleging that the government wanted to "protect" former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar.

Mann on Tuesday virtually rejected the demand for a CBI investigation into the alleged suicide of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa in Amritsar, saying the state police is capable of probing the case fairly and no one will be shielded.

Randhawa, the district manager of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly died by suicide by consuming poison early Saturday.

A video surfaced on social media in which he purportedly claimed harassment by Bhullar, who resigned as minister later in the day at the direction of the chief minister amid the row.

SAD leader and former Punjab minister Majithia slammed Mann for not handing over the probe into the suicide case to the CBI.

"The Chief Minister's decision to deny a CBI probe exposed the government's involvement in corruption, intimidation and criminal activities," Majithia alleged in a statement here.

Raising questions over the government's intentions, he alleged that the chief minister, "intoxicated with power," failed to acknowledge the pain of the dead officer's family, including his children, elderly mother and wife.

The Akali leader questioned the "silence" of AAP's women MLAs, saying those who speak about women's dignity in the Assembly failed to stand with a grieving widow.

Majithia asserted that Punjab was ready to hold the government accountable and said the "limit of atrocities" by the present dispensation was nearing its end.

Congress MP and former Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, also slammed Mann, asking if the Punjab government has nothing to hide, why is it afraid of an independent investigation?

"Why is the Punjab government not ready to have an investigation conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)?" he asked.

He urged the state government to rise above politics and allow an impartial investigation.

Arrest of Former Minister

Former minister Bhullar, who was accused of abetting the suicide of Randhawa, was arrested from Mandi Gobindgarh in Fatehgarh Sahib district on Monday, two days after Randhawa's suicide.

The Amritsar police booked Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar and personal assistant Dilbag Singh on Saturday night under Bharatya Nyaya Sanhita sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 3 (5) (common intention).

Mann had said on Monday that strict action would be taken against anyone who violates the law, irrespective of their position.
A 26-year-old man has been arrested in Thane, Maharashtra, for the brutal murder of his neighbour, sparking a police investigation into the motive and involvement of an accomplice.

Key Points A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his neighbour in Ulhasnagar, Thane.

The victim was attacked with stones and bricks near Birla Gate.

Police have registered a case of murder and common intention under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The arrested suspect has been identified, and police are searching for an accomplice.

The motive behind the brutal killing is currently under investigation by the Thane police.

Police have arrested a 26-year-old man for allegedly bludgeoning his neighbour to death in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon in the Ulhasnagar area, they said, adding the motive behind the killing was not yet clear.

According to police, the accused and the victim were residents of the same locality.

The main accused, identified as Pappy alias Shubham Arjun Patil, along with an unidentified accomplice, intercepted the victim, Pravin Ashik Varma (28), near Birla Gate and allegedly killed him by using stones and bricks, an official from Ulhasnagar police station said.

The victim's brother later lodged a complaint, based on which an FIR was registered under sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, he said.

"After being alerted, a police team rushed to the spot and sent the body to a government hospital for a postmortem. We have arrested Patil and are currently searching for the second suspect involved in the crime," the official said.
In a shocking incident in Uttar Pradesh, a man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife after she failed to answer his phone call, highlighting the tragic consequences of domestic violence.

Key Points A man in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife with a stick after she missed his phone call.

The accused, Nakched, allegedly assaulted his wife, Kusum, in front of their children after she didn't answer his call while he was at work.

Despite attempts to get Kusum medical help, she was declared dead at the hospital.

Police have arrested Nakched, who admitted to assaulting his wife but claimed he didn't intend to kill her.

The couple's two minor children witnessed the assault, and an investigation is underway.

A 45-year-old man was arrested here for allegedly beating his wife to death with a stick, as she failed to answer his phone call, police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in Sewra Charthai village under Dhanpatganj police station limits on Tuesday morning.

According to police, the accused, identified as Nakched (45), was engaged in construction work on Monday when he called his wife Kusum (42), who did not answer the call as she was busy.

Infuriated by this, Nakched returned home around midnight and allegedly assaulted Kusum in front of their two children, Udaybhan (9) and Diksha (8). When the children tried to intervene, he pushed them aside, police said.

According to Diksha, her father continued assaulting her mother during the night, prompting her to take Kusum to a relative's house. However, when they returned home in the morning, the accused again attacked Kusum with a stick, causing her to collapse on the spot.

She was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her dead.

Police Investigation and Arrest

Circle Officer Baldirai Ashutosh Kumar said he, along with Station House Officer Anju Mishra and a police team, reached the spot and inspected the scene. The body was sent for post-mortem.

The accused was arrested and, during questioning, he admitted to assaulting his wife but claimed he was unaware that it would lead to her death, police said.

The couple has two minor children, and an elder son, Tilak Raj (22), who works in Punjab. Police said further investigation is underway.
Delhi Police have launched a murder investigation after a 39-year-old man was found dead with visible injuries near the Jafrabad metro station, prompting a search for suspects and a review of CCTV footage.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points A 39-year-old man, Aqeel Ahmed, was found dead near Jafrabad metro station in Delhi with visible injuries.

Delhi Police have registered a murder case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Multiple police teams are working to identify and apprehend the suspects involved in the murder.

CCTV footage from the area is being analysed as part of the ongoing murder investigation in Delhi.

The body of a 39-year-old man was found with several visible injuries near Jafrabad metro station in northeast Delhi, police said on Tuesday.

The deceased has been identified as Aqeel Ahmed, a resident of Welcome.

Police said information regarding a body lying near the metro station was received at Welcome police station on early Monday.

A team rushed to the spot and found Ahmed with visible injuries on his body. He was declared dead, and the body was shifted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for post-mortem, a senior police officer said.

Investigation Details

Crime and forensic teams were called to the scene, and relevant evidence was collected. A case has been registered under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in connection with the incident, police said.

"Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend the accused persons. Multiple teams have been deployed and nearby CCTV footage is being analysed," a senior officer said.
A 26-year-old man was shot dead in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly due to a long-standing feud, prompting a police investigation and manhunt for the suspects.

Key Points A 26-year-old man was fatally shot in Muzaffarnagar due to a long-standing feud.

Police have launched an investigation into the Muzaffarnagar shooting and are searching for three suspects.

The victim, Akshay, was attacked while returning home from his fields in Shadra Banger village.

An old enmity is the suspected motive behind the deadly shooting in Uttar Pradesh.

A 26-year-old man was allegedly shot dead by three people over an old enmity in Shadra Banger village here, police said on Tuesday.

Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said the victim, identified as Akshay, was attacked on Monday evening while returning home from his fields.

"On receiving information, police rushed to the spot and the body has been sent for post-mortem. Investigation is underway," he said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the deceased's family, a case of murder has been registered against three accused 'A Manoj Kumar, Yuvak and Bharat 'A who are currently absconding.

According to the complaint, the accused intercepted Akshay on his way back from the fields and opened fire on him, leading to his death on the spot.

The police said prime facie it appears that the incident took place because of an old enmity between Akshay and one of the accused. However a detailed investigation is underway to ascertain facts.

Investigation Underway

The SSP said three police teams have been formed to arrest the accused, and efforts are underway to trace them.
An 18-year-old man tragically died after being stabbed in Delhi's Bhajanpura, prompting a police investigation and search for the perpetrators.

Key Points An 18-year-old man, Mohammad Asif, was fatally stabbed in Bhajanpura, northeast Delhi.

The stabbing incident occurred near Krishna Mandir in the early hours.

Police have registered a case and formed teams to identify and apprehend the suspects in the Bhajanpura stabbing.

Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage from the area as part of the ongoing investigation into the Delhi stabbing.

An 18-year-old man was stabbed to death in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura area in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.

The incident occurred near Krishna Mandir. By the time a team reached the spot, the injured had already been rushed to Jag Pravesh Chandra (JPC) Hospital by his family members, they said.

"The victim was identified as Mohammad Asif, a resident of Subhash Mohalla in Bhajanpura. He succumbed to his injuries during treatment," a senior police officer said.

The body has been sent to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital for post-mortem.

Investigation Underway

A case has been registered and multiple teams have been formed to identify and apprehend the accused people involved in the crime. Police are scanning CCTV footage from nearby areas. Further investigation is underway.
A shooting in Manipur's Kamjong district has left two villagers injured, escalating tensions between the Tangkhul Naga and Kuki communities and prompting calls for increased security measures.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Two individuals from Sharkaphung village in Manipur's Kamjong district sustained gunshot injuries after an attack.

The shooting allegedly originated from Mongkot Chepu, near the site of previous clashes between Kuki and Tangkhul Naga communities.

The Tangkhul Naga Foothills Organisation expressed concern, alleging involvement of Kuki militants and inadequate security.

The organisation is demanding immediate intervention and deployment of state forces to protect vulnerable villages.

Two persons suffered gunshot injuries after armed miscreants opened fire at a village in Manipur's Kamjong district on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The injured, identified as Ringyui Ramror (22) and Raichan Lungleng (34) from Sharkaphung village, suffered bullet wounds to their legs and feet, respectively, and were taken to Ukhrul district hospital for treatment. Both belong to the Tangkhul Naga community.

The firing allegedly originated from Mongkot Chepu in Ukhrul district, about 1 km from Sharkaphung, officials said, quoting local villagers.

The two villages are located close to Litan Sareikhong in Ukhrul district, where clashes between Kuki and Tangkhul Naga communities broke out in February, in which more than 30 houses were torched.

Community Concerns and Demands

Meanwhile, the Central Working Committee of the Tangkhul Naga Foothills Organisation expressed "grave concern" over the violence, alleging involvement of Kuki militants operating under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement.

It said inadequate deployment of security forces has left vulnerable areas exposed, putting civilian lives at risk, and demanded immediate intervention and deployment of state forces in Sharkaphung and nearby Thoyee village.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Harare City Council is finalising a major restructuring of the capital's commuter omnibus sector that will consolidate more than 20 associations into a single umbrella body, in an effort to restore order and improve regulation in the city's public transport system.The proposed framework will create one central association supported by up to six affiliate bodies responsible for self-regulation within the industry. The initiative is aimed at reducing congestion, improving discipline among operators, and addressing long-standing challenges in the sector.Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume said the current proliferation of associations has made effective regulation difficult."We have too many associations operating in Harare, and that makes regulation extremely difficult," he said, adding that the new structure would simplify oversight while strengthening enforcement through council by-laws.The reform proposal follows discussions between council authorities and the leadership of the National Public Passenger Transport Associations, led by chairperson Ngoni Katsvairo. The group has been pushing for formal recognition through legislation, including service level agreements to guide operations.Under the new model, affiliate associations will handle self-regulation, while the council provides a statutory regulatory framework in collaboration with stakeholders, including the police. The framework is expected to be finalised by month-end.Authorities also expect the changes to improve the management of commuter ranks and attract investment into modern transport infrastructure. Improved regulation could pave the way for the development of proper terminals, reducing the need for informal pick-up points."At the moment, commuters are exposed to the elements due to inadequate infrastructure," Mafume noted.Currently, many commuter omnibuses in Harare pick up passengers at traffic lights, intersections, and roundabouts-practices that contribute to congestion and safety concerns.The associations have long advocated for the adoption of a more structured system similar to that used in Bulawayo, where transport operations are more organised and regulated.In a letter to the council, the associations described the current disorder as a serious issue requiring urgent intervention, noting that it has drawn attention at the highest levels of government.Transport leaders have also pointed out that out of more than 18,000 public service vehicles operating in Harare, only about 5,400 are registered, highlighting the need for stronger regulation and formalisation.Katsvairo welcomed the move, saying it would bring long-awaited structure to the sector."It is very positive that associations' operations are being legalised through a by-law and statutory instrument," he said.If successfully implemented, the new system could mark a turning point for Harare's public transport sector, balancing regulation, accountability, and improved service delivery for commuters.
Amidst the ongoing West Asia conflict, India is actively engaging in diplomatic efforts, prioritising dialogue and the safety of its citizens, with over 402,000 passengers already returned home.

IMAGE: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, Joint Secretary (Gulf) at the Ministry of External Affairs, Aseem Mahajan, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, DG PIB, Anupama Bhatnagar, and Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Sujata Sharma during an Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia at the National Media Centre, in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points India emphasises that peace in West Asia can only be restored through dialogue and diplomacy, actively engaging with world leaders to promote this.

The Indian government is prioritising the safety, security, and well-being of the large Indian community residing in the West Asia region.

The MEA has facilitated the return of over 402,000 passengers from the region to India since February 28, arranging additional flights and alternative travel routes.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been in contact with counterparts from the US, Sri Lanka, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to discuss the conflict and its impact.

The MEA maintains a dedicated control room and robust coordination with state governments and Indian community associations to provide assistance to Indian nationals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is engaged in discussions with many world leaders, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is also engaging with his counterparts in the backdrop of the West Asia conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday, adding that India emphasises that peace can be restored only through dialogue and diplomacy.

At an inter-ministerial briefing on the West Asia situation, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also said that India 'continues to closely follow the developments in the ongoing conflict'.

Aseem R Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf), MEA, said ensuring the safety, security and well-being of the large Indian community in the region is 'our utmost priority'.

"Overall, the situation continues to improve in terms of the status of flights, with additional flights operating from the region. Since February 28, around 4,02,000 passengers have returned from the region to India," Mahajan said.

He added that the MEA continues to assist the travel of Indian nationals in Iran through Armenia and Azerbaijan to India.

"We are also facilitating the travel of Indian nationals from Israel via Jordan. In view of the flight restrictions from Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq, we continue to facilitate travel of Indian nationals via Saudi Arabia," Mahajan said.

Jaiswal also underlined that India continues to closely monitor the developments in the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

The prime minister is engaged in discussions with many world leaders. The external affairs minister is also engaging with his counterparts in the Gulf region, Iran, Israel and countries in Europe, Jaiswal said.

"In these engagements, India's stance is that peace can be restored only through dialogue and diplomacy. We are emphasising this," the MEA spokesperson said.

Jaishankar on Monday spoke with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

"The two leaders discussed the situation in West Asia and its impact on the international economy, with particular focus on energy security concerns," Jaiswal told reporters.

The external affairs minister also spoke with his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath and discussed the repercussions of the conflict.

Jaishankar reaffirmed India's commitment to 'neighbourhood first' and the MAHASAGAR vision, Jaiswal said.

Separately, Jaishankar met the ambassadors of the member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Delhi on Monday.

"He (Jaishankar) exchanged views on the ongoing conflict and thanked each one of them for their continued support to the Indian community in the region. As you know, there is a large Indian community in all these countries," Jaiswal said.

MEA's Assistance to Indian Nationals

Mahajan said the MEA's dedicated control room remains operational to assist and support Indian nationals and their families.

"We have a robust mechanism in place to share information and coordinate efforts with the state governments and the Union territories. Our missions and posts in the region have been working around the clock, maintaining 24x7 helplines, and regular touch with the large number of Indian community associations and organisations spread across the region," he said.

They also remain in constant touch with the respective local governments, Mahajan said, adding that updated advisories are being issued regularly to keep Indian citizens informed about the latest developments.

Indian missions continue to proactively assist and support seafarers, students, stranded Indian nationals and short-term visitors for visa facilitation, consular services and logistical assistance where required, he said.

Flight Operations and Travel Facilitation

Airlines continue to operate limited non-scheduled flights between India and the UAE, based on operational and safety considerations. Later on Tuesday, around 85 flights are expected to operate from airports in the UAE to India, Mahajan said.

Also, flights continue to operate from Oman and Saudi Arabia to India.

With the Qatar airspace partially open, Qatar Airways is expected to operate around nine non-scheduled commercial flights to India on Tuesday, Mahajan said.

Kuwait and Bahrain airspaces remain closed.

Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is operating flights to various destinations in India from the Al Qaisumah Airport in Saudi Arabia.

"Gulf Air of Bahrain also continues to operate special non-scheduled commercial flights from the Dammam International Airport in Saudi Arabia to India, facilitating the travel of Indian nationals from Kuwait and Bahrain," Mahajan said.
Amid ongoing ethnic tensions, security forces in Manipur have arrested 10 militants near the India-Myanmar border, highlighting continued efforts to maintain stability in the region.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Security forces arrested 10 Prepak (RA) militants, including five minors, near the India-Myanmar border in Manipur.

The arrests occurred in the Tengnoupal district, under the jurisdiction of the Moreh Police Station.

The five minors apprehended are being processed under the Juvenile Justice Act.

Security operations are ongoing in Manipur due to the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups.

A mob attempted to enter the residence of a Kuki Zo Council chairman in Churachandpur, leading to security forces dispersing them.

Security forces arrested 10 cadres of the banned Prepak (RA) near the India-Myanmar border in Manipur's Tengnoupal district, a police statement said on Tuesday.

There are five minors among the arrested militants, it said.

They were apprehended from an area between the border pillars 77 and 82 under the Moreh Police Station limits, the statement said.

The five juveniles are being treated in accordance with procedures under the Juvenile Justice Act, it said.

Security forces have been conducting search operations in Manipur since ethnic violence broke out two years ago.

More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic strife between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.

Mob Incident in Churachandpur

Meanwhile, a mob had tried to barge into the residence of Kuki Zo Council chairman H Thanglet in Churachandpur town on Sunday night, following which armed men opened blank fire to disperse them, officials said.

The incident took place after youths protested the reported presence of militants in the chairman's house in the district headquarters.

They pelted his residence with stones on Sunday afternoon and even tried to barge into it, but security forces prevented them by firing tear gas shells to disperse the youths, the officials said.
Mizoram faces a concerning rise in tuberculosis cases and deaths, prompting increased efforts in early detection and the establishment of 'TB-free villages' to combat the spread of the disease.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Edward Jenner/Pexels.com

Key Points Mizoram recorded 145 tuberculosis deaths and 2,275 new TB cases in the past year, indicating a growing health challenge.

Aizawl district reported the highest number of TB cases, underscoring the need for targeted interventions in the region.

Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and co-infection with HIV pose significant challenges in TB management in Mizoram.

The 'TB Free Village' initiative shows promise, with several villages achieving TB-free status for consecutive years through community involvement.

Early detection and immediate treatment are crucial for preventing the spread of tuberculosis in Mizoram, according to the Health Minister.

Mizoram recorded 145 deaths due to Tuberculosis and 2,275 new TB cases over the past year, according to data released by the state Health Department on Tuesday.

Of the 2,275 people diagnosed with TB last year, 1,364 were males and 911 were females, the data said.

One hundred and forty-six people were diagnosed with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), and 267 others were found suffering from both TB and HIV-positive, it said.

Aizawl district recorded the highest cases at 1,569, followed by Lunglei district (155), and Kolasib district, bordering Assam, reported 138 cases during the same year.

Of the 2,275 new cases found in 2025, 1,900 were detected in government facilities, while the remaining 375 cases were found in private facilities, according to officials.

While 31 people died of TB in 2020, the number of fatalities increased to 46 in 2021, 87 in 2022, 119 in 2023 and 136 in 2024, they said.

TB-Free Village Initiative

Officials said that a healthy competition is currently underway to establish villages free from Tuberculosis, known as the "TB Free Village" initiative.

During 2025, as many as 150 villages across Mizoram were eligible to be declared TB-free.

Among these, 74 villages achieved TB-free status for one year, 58 villages achieved the milestone for two consecutive years, and 18 villages have remained TB-free for three consecutive years, they said.

Within Aizawl district, there are 19 villages eligible to be declared TB-free, 4 of which have maintained this status for two years in a row, officials said.

World TB Day Observance

Meanwhile, World TB Day was observed in different parts of the state on Tuesday.

In her video message on the occasion of World TB Day, Health Minister Lalrinpuii expressed her appreciation for the emergence of several 'TB-free villages' across the state, attributing this milestone to the synergy between government departments, churches and local communities.

The minister stressed that early detection remains the most important factor in stopping the transmission of the disease.

Citing that TB is a disease that can be eradicated, Lalrinpuii said that for those suspected of having TB, getting tested and treated immediately is the most vital step in preventing the further spread of the disease.
The Congress party is questioning India's diplomatic prowess, asserting a significant setback if reports of Pakistan acting as an intermediary between the US, Israel, and Iran prove accurate, highlighting concerns over India's global standing.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem on February 26, 2026. Photograph: @netanyahu/X

Key Points The Congress asserts Pakistan's diplomatic engagement and narrative management have been superior to the Modi government's.

Congress criticises Modi's Israel visit, suggesting it hindered India's potential to mediate.

Reports indicate Turkiye, Egypt, and Pakistan are passing messages between the US and Iran to reduce tensions.

The US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, escalating tensions in the Gulf region.

The Congress on Tuesday said that if reports of Pakistan being one of the intermediaries between the US-Israel and Iran are true, then they represent a "severe setback" and "rebuff" to India.

The opposition party claimed that in spite of India's undoubted military successes in Operation Sindoor, the sad reality is that thereafter Pakistan's diplomatic engagement and narrative management has been "markedly superior to that of the Modi government".

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said multiple reports in leading international media outlets have identified Pakistan as one of the intermediaries being used between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.

"If these reports are true, they represent a severe setback and rebuff to India - and it is all attributable to the self-styled Vishwaguru," Ramesh said on X.

"For over a year, it has been abundantly clear that in spite of our undoubted military successes in Operation Sindoor, the sad reality is that thereafter Pakistan's diplomatic engagement and narrative management has been markedly superior to that of the Modi government," he said.

Pakistan which was in a hugely precarious situation, politically, socially, economically and globally, has received a fresh lease of life, Ramesh said.

"President Trump warmly and repeatedly embraced the man whose incendiary and inflammatory rhetoric formed the backdrop to the Pahalgam terror attacks on April 22 2025, and hosted Field Marshall Asim Munir twice in the White House (including for an unprecedented lunch). The Pakistani establishment has developed a cosy relationship with President Trump's immediate circle," he claimed.

"Mr. Modi's ill-advised visit to Israel, that ended just two days before the unprovoked US-Israel aerial assaults on Iran began, will go down in our political history as a singularly disastrous choice - one that has made us retreat from a position where we could and should have mediated," the Congress leader said.

The prime minister's "huglomacy" stands brutally exposed, he said, adding that the country is being forced to pay a price for this.

US-Iran Conflict

President Donald Trump on Monday said the US was talking with a respected Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war

Trump, however, refused to name the Iranian leader the US is in talks with to end the three-week-old war, asserting that the interlocutor was a top person who is most respected in that country.

Speaking to reporters at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, Trump made it clear that the US was not in talks with the second Supreme Leader, a reference to Ayatollah Khamanei's son Mojtaba Khamenei.

According to reports, Iran has denied being in talks with the US, but admitted that some countries in the region were making efforts to reduce tensions.

Axios news website quoted a US source as saying that Turkiye, Egypt, and Pakistan have been passing messages between the US and Iran over the past two days.

The foreign ministers of the three countries held separate talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the US source told Axios.

The president said Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, and Jared Kushner spoke with their Iranian counterparts on Sunday.

However, Trump declined to say to whom Witkoff was speaking, saying he did not want them to be killed.

Escalation of Conflict

Starting February 28, the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The joint strikes came after days of build-up with US President Donald Trump ramping up the pressure on Tehran to agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme.

Iran's retaliation escalated the war to the entire Gulf region.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court is reviewing the case of MP Amritpal Singh, who is currently jailed under the National Security Act, as his prolonged absence from Parliament nears the threshold that could lead to him losing his seat.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Incarcerated MP Amritpal Singh's absence from Parliament has reached 59 sittings, potentially jeopardising his seat.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court is reviewing Amritpal Singh's plea for temporary release to attend Parliament.

Amritpal Singh can apply to a Lok Sabha committee to condone his absence, with detention being a valid reason for consideration.

Amritpal Singh, leader of Waris Punjab De, is currently detained under the National Security Act in Assam's Dibrugarh jail.

Amritpal Singh's previous absences from Parliament have been condoned twice.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court was on Tuesday informed that incarcerated MP Amritpal Singh's continuous absence from Parliament has reached 59 sittings and he can apply for condoning his absence.

Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain made the submission during the resumption of hearing on Amritpal's plea, seeking temporary release to attend the budget session of Parliament.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry reserved its order on the plea.

During the hearing, Jain along with advocate Dheeraj Jain submitted before the bench that under Article 104 of the Constitution, if an MP remains absent for 60 sittings continuously then his seat can be declared vacant.

Amritpal (33) is currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act.

"His (Amritpal) absence from Parliament reached 59 sittings yesterday and 60 days today," said Jain, who appeared on behalf of the Lok Sabha Speaker.

However, Jain said there is a Lok Sabha committee on condoning absence from the House and if an MP submits an application along the reasons for his absence, then the committee can consider it and submit to the Lok Sabha with its recommendations and the Lok Sabha generally condones it.

Jain submitted that Amritpal can give his application for condoning his absence.

The ASG submitted that Amritpal's absence from the House was condoned twice earlier.

Jain further said the MP has also been informed in this regard.

He also said detention is one of the grounds that can be considered for condoning absence.

In the previous hearing last month, the high court was informed that there was no provision in the Lok Sabha rules that allows an MP to attend the session through virtual mode.

Amritpal had moved the high court, seeking parole to attend the budget session of Parliament.

The court in January had directed the Punjab government to decide within seven working days the representation of Amritpal, seeking temporary release to attend the budget session.

Later, the Punjab government declined the Amritpal's application for temporary release to attend the session, citing "serious threat to the security of the state and the maintenance of public order."

The budget session is being held in two phases - from January 28 to February 13 and from March 9 to April 2.

Amritpal's Concerns and Background

According to the plea, Amritpal sought to highlight various matters, including the 2025 floods in Punjab, the rampant rise of drug abuse in the state, and developmental issues of his Khadoor Sahib constituency in Parliament.

Amritpal, the chief of the Waris Punjab De group who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga's Rode village on April 23, 2023, following a manhunt of over a month.

Punjab Police had launched the crackdown after the February 23, 2023, Ajnala incident in which Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, allegedly broke through barricades and barged into a police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of his aides.

Amritpal had fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as an independent and won from Khadoor Sahib.

His detention was extended under the NSA in April 2025, even as his nine associates, who were also detained in the Assam jail, were brought back to Punjab. These nine associates were arrested in connection with the 2023 Ajnala police station attack incident.
A violent protest against cross-border drug trade in Nepal's Lumbini province resulted in injuries to security personnel, highlighting growing concerns over drug trafficking in the region.

Photograph: ANI Video Grab

Key Points Security personnel injured in Nepal during a protest against alleged open cross-border drug trade.

Protesters in Bardia district obstructed traffic, leading to police intervention and clashes.

The protest was triggered by the deaths of two youths allegedly due to narcotic drug use.

Police used tear gas and fired shots in the air to control the situation after being pelted with stones.

Locals are demanding the closure of the border point and action against those involved in cross-border drug trafficking.

At least 11 security personnel were injured in a violent crackdown on a protest against the alleged open cross-border trade of drugs in the bordering region of Nepal's Lumbini province on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in Bardia district bordering India when the protesters obstructed the vehicular movement on the Nepalgunj-Gulariya road, prompting the police to intervene.

The locals staged a demonstration following the death of two youths from the same family allegedly due to the use of narcotic drugs.

Some locals were also injured in the incident.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Pramesh Bista said police fired nine rounds in the air and used four rounds of tear gas to bring the situation under control.

"Police resorted to firing and tear gas after they came under stone pelting," Bista said.

Seven individuals have been detained from the protest site, officials said.

A police assistant head constable sustained serious injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at the district hospital, The Kathmandu Post reported.

Former ward chair Ram Narayan Keshari of ward 11 said protesters demanded closure of the border point leading to Laukahi market in India and action against those involved in cross-border drug trade.

Locals have also called for a complete shutdown of the border point, citing growing concerns that the area is turning into a hub for drug trafficking.
An animal cruelty dispute in Faridabad escalated into violence, with NGO members reportedly assaulted after intervening in a dog beating incident, prompting a police investigation and conflicting accounts from local residents.

Key Points NGO members in Faridabad allege they were assaulted while intervening in a dog beating incident in Nehru Colony.

Locals claim the dog had bitten children and attacked visitors, leading to the confrontation with the NGO.

Police are investigating the incident, with complaints filed by both residents against an NGO member and associates.

A video circulating on social media shows a man wielding a stick during the alleged assault.

Women members of an NGO were allegedly assaulted in Nehru Colony here, police said on Monday.

According to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) members, the incident occurred when they visited the area after a man allegedly beat a dog to death.

They claimed they were attacked with sticks when they tried to intervene, police said. A video of the incident showing a man wielding a stick has surfaced on social media.

The NGO members further claimed that at least one of them was injured in the attack.

Locals, however, alleged that the dog had bitten several children and attacked visitors, and the situation escalated after NGO members reached the spot.

Sub-Inspector Neeraj Kumar, in charge of Sainik Colony police chowki, said residents have filed a complaint against an NGO member and her associates.

No complaint has been filed by the NGO so far, he said.

Police said the matter is being investigated and action will be taken after verification of facts.
Hyderabad Police reassure residents that there are ample fuel and LPG supplies, urging calm and discouraging panic buying to prevent unnecessary disruptions.

Key Points Hyderabad Police Commissioner assures citizens of adequate fuel and LPG supplies.

There is no shortage of fuel or LPG cylinders in Hyderabad, with supply running smoothly.

Citizens are urged not to panic or rush to fuel stations to avoid congestion.

Hyderabad City Police is monitoring the situation and coordinating with relevant departments.

The police advise the public to remain calm and avoid spreading or believing in rumours.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar on Tuesday said there is no shortage of fuel or LPG cylinders in the city.

Sajjanar in a post on 'X' said adequate stocks are available and supply is running smoothly across the city.

"Citizens are requested not to panic or rush to fuel stations, as such actions may lead to unnecessary congestion and disruption," he said.

Hyderabad City Police is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with all departments concerned, the Commissioner said.

Police further urged everyone to remain calm, avoid spreading or believing in rumours, and cooperate with authorities to ensure normalcy is maintained.
A private hospital in Noida has been sealed and staff arrested following allegations of selling a newborn baby girl, sparking a human trafficking investigation.

Photograph: Pixabay.com

Key Points A private hospital in Noida has been sealed after its owner and staff were arrested for allegedly selling a five-day-old baby girl.

Police arrested the hospital owner, a sanitation worker, and an operation theatre technician, while a nurse and her husband are absconding.

The hospital's license has been cancelled, and a three-member inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the human trafficking case.

The arrests followed a tip-off that a hospital employee demanded money for facilitating the adoption of the newborn.

The baby girl has been safely recovered and sent to a shelter home under the direction of the Child Welfare Committee.

A private hospital in Gautam Buddh Nagar district was sealed on Tuesday after its owner and two staff members were allegedly found involved in the sale of a five-day-old girl, police and health officials said.

A police team arrested the hospital owner, a sanitation worker and an operation theatre technician, while a nurse and her husband are absconding, they said.

Following the arrests, the chief medical officer (CMO) constituted a three-member inquiry committee.

The licence of the private hospital, Navjeevan, located under Bisrakh police station limits, was cancelled and the facility was sealed, a senior district health officer said, adding that further investigation by the health department is underway.

Police said an FIR was registered on Saturday under sections 143(2) and 143(4) (human trafficking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act at Bisrakh police station.

According to police, the action came based on a tip-off that an employee of the hospital had demanded Rs 2.6 lakh from a person on the pretext of facilitating the adoption of a newborn girl.

Acting on the input, teams from the anti-human trafficking unit and Bisrakh police carried out a joint operation. "During the operation, contact was established with the complainant and the child was safely recovered. As per the directions of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the baby has been sent to Sai Kripa Shelter Home," police said.

The arrestees have been identified as hospital owner Yashika Garg (33), sanitation worker Gajendra Singh (35) and operation theatre technician Ranjit Singh (24).

Police said efforts are underway to trace the absconding accused, while further investigation is in progress.
Indian authorities have made further arrests in connection with a Pakistan-linked espionage ring, uncovering a network that allegedly sent sensitive information and conducted reconnaissance on key security installations.

Key Points Three more individuals have been arrested in connection with a Pakistan-linked espionage racket, bringing the total arrests to 21.

The espionage ring was allegedly sending sensitive information from India to Sardar alias Zoravar Singh in Pakistan.

Accused individuals conducted reconnaissance of security installations and railway stations, forwarding photos and videos.

The gang allegedly recruited less educated Hindu minor boys to evade suspicion.

Funds were being transferred from Pakistan via Punjab to finance the espionage activities.

Police have arrested three more alleged members of a Pakistan-linked espionage racket that was sending sensitive information to the neighbouring country, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 21, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused includes Sameer alias Shooter, a native of Bihar's Bhagalpur and currently residing in Delhi, who is said to be a key member of the alleged network.

The other two arrested are Sameer of Shamli district and Shivraj from Shahjahanpur, currently residing in Ghaziabad, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Trans Hindon) Dhawal Jasiwal said the National Investigation Agency has interrogated the accused.

"With these, 21 people have been arrested so far, including six minors. Ghaziabad police have filed a charge-sheet in the district court," he said.

On Sunday, Meera Thakur (28), a resident of Mathura district, and Naushad Ali (20), a resident of Faridabad district of Haryana and hailing from Bihar's Muzaffarpur, were arrested. The third suspect apprehended was a minor.

Ali allegedly conducted a recce of security and police installations and railway stations in Delhi and other states and was forwarding photos and videos.

"The gang involved in espionage was sending secret information to a man named Sardar alias Zoravar Singh, who was operating the spying racket from Pakistan," Additional Commissioner of Police Raj Karan Nayyar had said on Monday.

The arrested have been identified as: Suhel Malik alias Romeo, Sane Iram alias Mehak, Praveen, Raj Valmiki, Shiva Valmiki, Ritik Gangwar, Ganesh, Vivek, Gagan Kumar Prajapati, Durgesh Nishad, Naushad Ali and Meera, the police said.

Espionage Network Details

The espionage racket was busted on March 13. Meera and Suhail were associates for many years. During interrogation, she revealed that she met Suhail through Facebook, after which she joined the group, they said.

According to Nayyar, Meera was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on charges of arms smuggling in 2025. She also claimed that she was an informer for the Mumbai Police.

Naushad Ali told the police that he connected with the other accused via various social media platforms and was directly in touch with Sardar in Pakistan.

"He confessed that he conducted a recce of security and police installations and railway stations in Delhi and other states and was forwarding photos and videos," the officer said.

Modus Operandi

The gang was allegedly operated in India by Suhail alias Romeo, a resident of Nargadhi Nawada in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh, the police said.

"He had recruited other members of the gang. He was paying Rs 5,000 for each piece of information. He was receiving funds from Pakistan via Punjab in the accounts of money transfer centres and shopkeepers, so that nobody could doubt the money transactions," Nayyar said.

The detained minor had allegedly installed solar-operated CCTV cameras at Delhi cantonment railway station, the police said.

"The gang was instructed to recruit less educated Hindu minor boys to evade suspicion," Additional CP Nayyar had said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A chilling tragedy unfolded in St Mary's, Chitungwiza, after a South Africa-based truck driver, Tonderai Spacious Mukaro (31), killed his four-month-old son before taking his own life at his brother-in-law's home.Mukaro reportedly left South Africa last Tuesday with the infant, traveling to Zimbabwe with the stated intention of delivering a message to his in-laws. The message, he said, concerned his wife, Christine Mashavire (31), whom he accused of infidelity in Pretoria.On Friday night, Mukaro and the child were left sleeping in the dining room by his brother-in-law, Robert Kanyangarara, who retired to his bedroom. By morning, both were missing. Kanyangarara discovered Mukaro unconscious in the backyard, lying atop a shallow grave where he had buried his son. White froth was visible around his mouth, suggesting poisoning. A 100 ml bottle of suspected poison was found nearby, along with a cloth stuffed into the baby's mouth.Kanyangarara told H-Metro that he had tried to counsel Mukaro after the latter claimed to have caught his wife in a compromising situation with their landlord. "We lost lives in a very sad manner," he said. "He told me he wanted to end his life because of that, and I tried to resolve the matter, saying the incident was not worth his life."According to Kanyangarara, Mukaro's distress deepened after receiving nude photographs allegedly sent by his wife while with the landlord. Christine reportedly told him the child was not his and that her younger sister would collect the baby the following day. "I want to believe that could have led him to commit suicide," Kanyangarara added.Local residents expressed shock at the incident, noting that the house's pre-cast wall concealed the tragedy from passers-by. "There were no visible injuries and no signs of struggle or blood stains at the scene," one resident said.The bodies were taken to Chitungwiza Central Hospital Mortuary for post-mortem examinations. Police confirmed the case was reported at St Mary's Police Station, though national spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi was unavailable for comment.The community remains shaken by the deaths, which residents described as a disturbing reminder of the destructive consequences of domestic disputes.
Amid rising tensions, the White House is remaining cautious regarding Pakistan's reported offer to mediate between the US and Iran, emphasising the sensitivity of diplomatic discussions.

IMAGE: United States President Donald J Trump with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at the White House, September 25, 2025. Photograph: Kind courtesy X

Key Points Pakistan has reportedly offered to mediate between the US and Iran, with potential talks in Islamabad.

The White House has neither confirmed nor denied Pakistan's role, citing sensitive diplomatic discussions.

Reports suggest Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir contacted Donald Trump to offer mediation.

Trump delayed threats to Iran after 'productive' conversations, coinciding with mediation reports.

US Interior Secretary expresses confidence in Trump's ability to resolve the conflict with Iran.

Amid reports of Pakistan positioning itself as the lead mediator trying to broker an end to the US's and Israel's war against Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to confirm the development.

In response to an query, Leavitt said that it should not be deemed as final until it is formally announced by the White House.

"These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House," Leavitt told ANI.

Pakistan Emerges As Key Mediator To End US-Israel War?

According to Financial Times, Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir called United States President Donald Trump on Sunday and offered to mediate between the US and Iran.

'Two officials familiar with the discussions said that Pakistan has pitched Islamabad as a possible venue for talks as early as this week involving senior figures from the Trump administration and Iran,' the Financial Times reported.

The reports of conversation between the Pakistani and Iranian leaders came at around the same time when Trump announced that he was delaying his threat to 'obliterate' Iran's power plants after 'very good and productive' conversations with Tehran to end the war.

The Times of Israel reported about an unnamed Israeli official who said that mediating countries are trying to convene a meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, between the US and Iran -- possibly as soon as later this week.

Trump Says Iran Eager For Deal To End War

US President Donald Trump on Monday said the US was talking with a respected Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war

Trump, however, refused to name the Iranian leader the US is in talks with to end the three-week-old war, asserting that the interlocutor was a top person who is most respected in that country.

Speaking to reporters at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, Trump made it clear that the US was not in talks with the second Supreme Leader, a reference to Ayatollah Khamanei's son Mojtaba Khamenei.

According to reports, Iran has denied being in talks with the US, but admitted that some countries in the region were making efforts to reduce tensions.

Axios news website quoted a US source as saying that Turkiye, Egypt, and Pakistan have been passing messages between the US and Iran over the past two days.

The foreign ministers of the three countries held separate talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the US source told Axios.

The president said Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, and Jared Kushner spoke with their Iranian counterparts on Sunday.

However, Trump declined to say to whom Witkoff was speaking, saying he did not want them to be killed.

Starting February 28, the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The joint strikes came after days of build-up with US President Donald Trump ramping up the pressure on Tehran to agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme.

Iran's retaliation escalated the war to the entire Gulf region.

With inputs from PTI
Amid escalating tensions, Pakistan has offered to host crucial talks between the US and Iran.

IMAGE: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir meets US President Donald Trump at the White House. Photograph: White House

Key Points Pakistan offers to host talks between the US and Iran to facilitate a comprehensive settlement to the ongoing Middle East conflict.

US President Donald Trump reposted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's statement, sparking fresh diplomatic speculation.

Sharif expressed Pakistan's readiness and honour to support meaningful and conclusive negotiations.

Pakistan urges against speculation and awaits official announcements regarding the venue for US-Iran talks.

Reports suggest Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir spoke to US President Donald Trump about a mediation role.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that Islamabad was 'ready and honoured' to facilitate 'meaningful and conclusive talks' between the United States and Iran to end the ongoing conflict.

The announcement came following media reports about backdoor efforts by Pakistan along with Egypt and Turkiye to broker peace in West Asia.

'Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in the region and beyond,' Sharif said in a post on X.

'Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict,' he added.

Hours later, US President Donald Trump shared Sharif's post on his Truth Social platform.

Trump's decision to share the post has been interpreted by observers as a possible signal of backchannel diplomacy.

The White House, however, has struck a cautious note.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the situation as 'sensitive' and 'fluid', cautioning against treating unconfirmed reports as final.

Pakistan's Role as a Potential Mediator

Earlier, the Foreign Office (FO) responding to media queries urged to avoid speculation and await official announcements about the venue for talks between the US and Iranian representatives.

"Pakistan, consistent with its longstanding policy, remains committed to the resolution of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Persian Gulf through diplomatic means and engagements," FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said.

"Diplomacy and negotiations often require that certain matters be advanced with discretion. The media is therefore encouraged to refrain from speculation and to await official announcements regarding decisions and outcomes," he said.

Various international media outlets reported about Islamabad being the possible venue of talks as the war entered its fourth week.

According to the British daily Financial Times, Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir spoke to US President Donald Trump on Sunday seeking a mediation role between the US and Iran.

ISI reportedly involved in mediation efforts

On Monday, Trump had announced on his social media platform that the US would hold off on threatened strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, saying Washington had held 'very good and productive conversations with Tehran' over the previous couple of days.

Trump refused to name the Iranian leader the US is in talks with, asserting that the interlocutor was a 'top person' who is 'most respected' in that country.

CNN reported that the US sent Iran a list of 15 demands outlining its expectations through Pakistan.

'Pakistan's spy agency (ISI) chief, Lieutenant General Asim Malik, is among the officials in contact with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner,' it said citing a source.

'Pakistan has been acting as a go-between for some time, delivering US messages to Tehran and back, but its diplomatic outreach has intensified in recent days as the conflict edged closer to a major escalation over energy infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz,' the Dawn newspaper reported citing an official source.

Pakistan maintains close ties with both Iran and the Trump administration.

Munir met Trump in June and September last year. During the September visit, Sharif was also present alongside him.

Pak PM speaks to Iranian President

Meanwhile, Sharif on Monday in a telephonic conversation with Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed the urgent need for collective efforts for de-escalation in West Asia.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement that Sharif conveyed his 'serious concern' to Pezeshkian over the 'dangerous ongoing hostilities in the Gulf region'.

Starting February 28, the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The joint strikes came after days of build-up with US President Donald Trump ramping up the pressure on Tehran to agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme.

Iran's retaliation escalated the war to the entire Gulf region.

-- With inputs from ANI
Congress leader Sachin Pilot claims the BJP is strategically supporting the LDF in the Kerala Assembly elections, accusing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of colluding with the BJP for personal gain and criticising the Left government's lack of opportunities for Kerala's youth.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Sachin Pilot alleges the BJP is 'facilitating' the LDF's return to power in Kerala, suggesting a hidden alliance.

Pilot accuses Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of secretly collaborating with the BJP to avoid corruption investigations.

Pilot criticises the Left government for lack of opportunities, leading to youth emigration from Kerala.

The Congress party promises a 'positive, futuristic, and inclusive' manifesto for the Kerala Assembly polls, focusing on employment generation.

Pilot expresses confidence in the UDF's prospects in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, predicting a 'comfortable majority'.

Ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls, Congress leader Sachin Pilot has alleged that the BJP-led alliance is "facilitating" the retention of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in Kerala, and that "data" suggests the LDF is in "cahoots" with the NDA.

In an interview with PTI Videos, Pilot, who is the Congress's senior election observer for the Kerala polls, accused Chief Minister Vijayan of secretly working with the BJP for personal benefit, particularly to avoid corruption investigations.

He said that the efforts of the CPI(M) and the BJP would not succeed as the "people have seen through the fallacy and falsehood."

The Congress leader was responding to a query regarding Vijayan's allegations, made in an interview with PTI Videos recently, that the Congress is acting as a B-team of the BJP in the state.

"I do not know how the chief minister is making such allegations when the data suggests that it is the CPI(M) and the LDF that are in cahoots with the BJP and the NDA. Even today, the NDA's participation in the Kerala elections appears to be aimed purely at facilitating the LDF's return to power.

"The BJP has little at stake; it has votes in some areas which it is trying to divert to Left candidates so that they can secure a third term, which is not going to happen," Pilot said.

In his interview, Vijayan had slammed the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of being the "B-team of the BJP".

He said this in response to a query regarding Rahul Gandhi's recent remark that central agencies have arrested or summoned for questioning other opposition leaders in the country, except the Kerala Chief Minister.

Pilot's Criticism of the Left Government

Escalating his attack on the Left government, Pilot said that the Left government and the BJP-led Centre have worked together for the last 10 years, and that he has not seen any demonstration, protest, agitation, petition or opposition from the CPI(M)-led alliance against the prime minister or the BJP.

"You know, so many tragedies have happened. The Wayanad tragedy happened. They asked for hundreds of crores, but we received only a loan. Did the Left parties go and sit on a dharna outside the prime minister's residence? It was Priyanka ji and all the MPs of the UDF who went and protested against the Government of India," he said.

"So it is one thing to say such things while receiving political support, and then make allegations. I think the chief minister is actually at a loss as to how to defend his 10 years of governance, and therefore, he is making these absolutely baseless allegations," the Congress leader said.

Congress Party Decisions

Responding to reports that some MPs were seeking Assembly tickets, Pilot said there may have been interest from a few leaders, but the party followed a clear principle.

"As a convention and a principle, the party decided that no sitting MP will contest the Assembly election," he said.

Praising veteran leader K Sudhakaran, who raised a strong demand for a seat from his home turf, Kannur, Pilot described the senior Lok Sabha member as a disciplined leader who respected the party's stand.

"It is very gracious of Sudhakaran to accept that... a disciplined soldier of the party," he added.

Pilot said individual aspirations exist in every party, but decisions are taken in the larger interest.

"Ultimately, the party decides in the larger interest... and everyone has agreed to work unitedly to bring the UDF back to power," he said.

UDF's Election Prospects and Manifesto

On the UDF's prospects in the elections, Pilot avoided giving exact numbers but expressed confidence of victory.

"I don't make predictions... but we will get a comfortable majority," he said, while adding that the party would remain humble.

Pilot said the party's manifesto for the Kerala Assembly polls is being prepared after wide consultations and will be "positive, futuristic and inclusive".

Responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi's five guarantees and the yet-to-be-released manifesto, Pilot said the process takes time as inputs are being gathered from different sections of society.

He emphasised that Kerala's diverse population requires careful consideration while drafting policies.

"The manifesto will be very positive, it will be futuristic, it will be inclusive," he added.

Pilot said the guarantees announced by Rahul reflect the party's immediate priorities.

"The guarantees are our assurancesa immediately after taking charge, while the manifesto is a broader vision," he said.

Focus on Employment

Criticising the Left government, he claimed that the lack of opportunities has forced many young people to leave the state.

"People are not leaving because they are finding better opportunities; they are leaving because they have no opportunities in Kerala," the Congress leader said. He stressed that employment generation would be a key focus area.

"We will look at how educated young people can be gainfully employed in Kerala," he said. Pilot also claimed that public sentiment is in favour of change.

"People are really desperate for a change... and this was visible in the local body elections," he added, expressing confidence that the trend would continue in the Assembly polls.

The Kerala Assembly, for which an election is scheduled on April 9, has 140 seats.
Amidst rising political tensions, the Trinamool Congress is persistently seeking a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to discuss West Bengal's welfare initiatives, despite repeated rejections from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Photograph: ANI

Key Points Trinamool Congress has repeatedly requested a meeting with President Murmu to discuss West Bengal's welfare initiatives.

Rashtrapati Bhavan has cited 'paucity of time' for declining the Trinamool Congress's meeting requests.

The meeting requests follow a controversy during President Murmu's visit to West Bengal, where she criticised the state government's handling of a tribal event.

Mamata Banerjee accused the President of acting on the BJP's advice, further escalating tensions.

The BJP has condemned the Trinamool Congress's remarks as an insult to the President.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan has again turned down a request by the Trinamool Congress seeking an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu, citing "paucity of time", prompting the party to make a fresh plea to meet her before April 2, sources said.

According to party sources, the Trinamool had first written to the president on March 9, seeking time for a delegation to brief her on the West Bengal government's welfare initiatives aimed at "inclusive development of all sections of society".

A response dated March 11 turned down the request, citing time constraints.

On the same day, the party sent a fresh letter seeking an appointment with Murmu between March 16 and March 20, followed by a reminder on March 16.

However, on March 22, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said the request could not be accommodated due to "paucity of time", the sources said, prompting Bengal's ruling party to write to Murmu again on Monday, seeking an appointment between March 24 and April 2.

Controversy Surrounding President's Visit to West Bengal

The developments follow a recent row during the president's visit to West Bengal earlier this month, where she expressed displeasure over how the state administration handled a tribal conclave and protocol issues.

The controversy erupted after Murmu, on March 7, questioned the Bengal government's decision to shift the venue of the conclave of the Santal community she attended, wondering if the administration hoped that no one would be able to attend the event.

She also expressed displeasure that neither Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee nor any state minister was present during her visit.

Political Reactions and Accusations

Hitting back, Banerjee accused the president of speaking "on the advice of the BJP".

She also questioned Murmu's "silence" on the alleged atrocities against tribals in Manipur and Chhattisgarh.

The BJP lashed out at the Trinamool government for "insulting" the president, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming it "shameful and unprecedented", saying the party crossed "all limits".
A Pune businessman has been denied bail in a significant Rs 117-crore money laundering case, with the court emphasising the grave threat such economic offences pose to India's financial stability.

Key Points Pune businessman Amit Thepade's bail was denied in a Rs 117-crore money laundering case.

The court cited the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the seriousness of economic offences as reasons for denying bail.

Thepade is accused of using fraudulent means to obtain credit facilities from Canara Bank.

The court highlighted the double mortgaging of properties as a key factor in the bail denial.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) case stems from a CBI FIR alleging fraudulent activities by Thepade and his associates.

A special court in Mumbai has denied bail to Pune businessman Amit Thepade in a Rs 117-crore money laundering case, ruling economic offences are "a serious threat to the financial health of the country".

The court emphasized that statements recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provided a "formidable case" against the accused.

There is "sufficient material" connecting Thepade, arrested seven months ago, to the offence of money laundering, special PMLA court judge R B Rote noted while rejecting the businessman's bail plea on March 20.

Thepade, director and promoter of Galaxy Construction and Contractors Pvt Ltd (GCCPL) and Mitsom Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MEPL), was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 24, 2025.

The ED case against him stemmed from a CBI First Information Report (FIR) filed in 2022, which alleged that Thepade and his associates used fraudulent means to obtain and enhance credit facilities for his companies from state-run Canara Bank in Pune.

Defence lawyer Mithilesh Mishra contended that the businessman had mortgaged immovable properties to obtain loan and returned a part amount.

He argued that the loan sanctioned to the applicant had been secured and the dispute was essentially a civil matter regarding repayment.

ED, represented by public prosecutor Arvind Aghav, contended the accused had mortgaged the properties which were already sold to third parties.

The prosecution pointed out that after the loan turned NPA (Non-Performing Asset) and the bank wanted to take possession of the mortgaged properties -- two flats -- it was revealed they were already sold to someone else.

The court, after considering the arguments, noted that Thepade had returned Rs 26 crore towards interest over the credit facilities.

It, however, stressed that "merely because the applicant has deposited certain amounts towards the interest, it does not mean that the applicant has been discharged from the criminal liability."

The special judge underlined that "at this stage, there is no explanation in respect of the double mortgaging of flats".

"Therefore, considering the gravity, seriousness and magnitude of the offence, the major role of the applicant and the interest of the society, the applicant is not entitled for grant of bail," the court ruled.

The judge also noted that economic offences are "a serious threat to the financial health of the country".
The arrest of former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar in connection with the suicide of a warehousing official has ignited a political firestorm, prompting calls for a CBI investigation and raising questions about government accountability.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points A Punjab State Warehousing Corporation official died by suicide, alleging harassment by former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar.

Bhullar has been arrested for abetting suicide, leading to protests and political fallout in Punjab.

Opposition leaders are demanding a CBI investigation into the circumstances surrounding the official's death.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah offered a CBI inquiry if Punjab MPs submit a written request.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has rejected calls for a CBI probe, asserting the state police's capability.

An official of the warehousing corporation who died by suicide after accusing former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar of harassing him was cremated in Amritsar on Tuesday, with top opposition leaders from the state among those present.

Earlier in the day, the post-mortem examination of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa was conducted by a board of doctors under the supervision of an executive magistrate at the government medical college in Amritsar.

Randhawa's family had refused to cremate him till Bhullar was arrested.

The former minister, who has been booked for abetting suicide and on other charges, was arrested on Monday, amid protests by opposition leaders.

A police official said the autopsy was conducted on Tuesday after Randhawa's family agreed to it.

Randhawa, the district manager of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation in Amritsar, allegedly ended his life by consuming poison early Saturday. A video appeared in which he purportedly claimed harassment by Bhullar, who resigned as minister later in the day at the direction of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The suicide by Randhawa triggered a political row with opposition parties taking on the Bhagwant Mann government and holding a joint protest, demanding the arrest of Bhullar and a CBI probe into the matter.

After the post-mortem examination early in the day, the mortal remains of Randhawa were taken to his residence in Amritsar, where mourners assembled to pay their last respects.

Randhawa's two daughters and a son lit the funeral pyre.

Prominent among those who attended the cremation were Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

The Amritsar police on Saturday night booked Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar and personal assistant Dilbag Singh under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Following Bhullar's arrest from Mandi Gobindgarh, Randhawa's family had on Monday demanded a CBI probe into the circumstances that led to the official's death.

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised to immediately order a CBI inquiry into Randhawa's suicide if all Punjab MPs give him a written request on the matter.

However, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday virtually rejected the demand for a CBI investigation, saying the state police is capable of probing the case fairly and no one will be shielded.

In her complaint lodged with the police, Randhawa's wife, Upinder Kaur, had claimed that her husband was constantly pressured to allot a warehouse tender to Bhullar's father and that they had even threatened to harm him and his family.

According to the FIR, Randhawa was called to Bhullar's residence on March 13 in Patti, where he was allegedly humiliated and assaulted.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stands firm against a CBI inquiry into an official's suicide, asserting the Punjab Police's competence and vowing to hold all responsible parties accountable in the ongoing investigation.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann rejects demands for a CBI investigation into the suicide of an official, affirming confidence in the Punjab Police.

The suicide victim, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, accused former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar of harassment in a video before his death.

Bhullar has resigned and been arrested, with Mann promising strict action against anyone found involved, regardless of their position.

Mann criticised opposition parties, citing past suicide cases during their tenures where CBI probes were not ordered despite leaders' alleged involvement.

A chief secretary-level committee will investigate the incident, ensuring transparency and legal action based on the findings.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday virtually rejected the demand for a CBI investigation into the alleged suicide of an official in Amritsar, saying the state police is capable of probing the case fairly and no one will be shielded.

He was responding to queries on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in the Lok Sabha on Monday that he will immediately order a CBI inquiry into the suicide by the warehousing corporation official, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, if all Punjab MPs give him a written request on the matter, after Congress MP Gurjit Singh Aujla raised the issue in the House.

Randhawa had in a video accused former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar of harassing him. Bhullar had resigned as minister on Saturday on Mann's direction and was arrested on Monday, amid opposition protests.

Punjab Government's Stance on the Investigation

"We will conduct an investigation... the probe will be conducted in a proper manner. Punjab police is capable of carrying out the investigation," Mann told reporters when asked about Shah's statement on a CBI inquiry, which has been demanded by all major opposition parties in Punjab as well as the family of Randhawa.

"An arrest has been made. His (Bhullar) remand will be taken (after producing him in a court),"said the chief minister.

He said a chief secretary-level committee will inquire into the incident. "Whatever comes out of the probe, action will be taken as per law.

If the involvement of any further conspirator is discovered, they will also be arrested," Mann said.

Bhullar, he pointed out, has already resigned from the state cabinet and has been arrested.

"We do not try to shield anyone. For me, Punjab is one family," said Mann.

Mann Counters Opposition Criticism

The CM also countered the opposition parties by citing past incidents of suicides where he claimed the names of their senior leaders had cropped up during their regimes, and asked whether they had ever ordered a CBI probe or their leaders had resigned.

Mann mentioned the suicide by a Haryana ADGP rank officer and asked whether a CBI probe was ordered into his death. Only the Director General of Police was transferred, he said.

The Punjab chief minister was referring to the suicide of senior Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar last October.

Taking a dig at the opposition parties, which held a joint protest against the AAP government, Mann said BJP leader Sunil Jakhar, Congress party's Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Partap Singh Bajwa and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia came together "just to abuse him".

"Law and order is in control, only they (opposition leaders) are out of control. For them, this is the only issue," said Mann.

The Amritsar police booked Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar and personal assistant Dilbag Singh on Saturday night under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Mann had said on Monday that strict action will be taken against anyone who violates the law, irrespective of their position.
Rahul Gandhi sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy approach and his remarks on the COVID-19 pandemic, alleging a compromised stance and insensitivity to past suffering.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Rahul Gandhi claims India's foreign policy is compromised and a 'universal joke' due to Prime Minister Modi's personal influence.

Gandhi criticises Modi's reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing him of forgetting the tragedies that occurred.

Gandhi alleges Modi will prioritise the interests of America and Israel over India's farmers.

Modi addressed Parliament on the West Asia conflict, urging unity and caution against misinformation, drawing parallels with the COVID-19 crisis.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his COVID-19 reference in his statement to Parliament on the West Asia situation, saying he has forgotten what had happened during the pandemic and the kind of tragedies that had unfolded back then.

Gandhi alleged that India's foreign policy has become "Modi's personal foreign policy" which is being considered as a "universal joke".

Speaking with reporters in the Parliament House complex, Gandhi said, "If the PM is compromised, our foreign policy is compromised."

Asked about reports of Pakistan being one of the intermediaries between the US-Israel and Iran, and India's stand on the West Asia crisis, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said, "Our foreign policy is PM Modi's personal foreign policy. You can see the results of this, everybody considers this a universal joke."

"US President Donald Trump knows exactly what Mr. Modi can do and what Mr. Modi cannot do. If the PM is compromised, our foreign policy is compromised, it is obvious," Gandhi said.

"Yesterday he made an irrelevant speech. He is the prime minister of India, he must appear to be as the PM of India, he has no position. It is sad that this would bring harm to people. It is the beginning -- LPG, petrol, fertilizer, all these would pose a problem. Modi ji said COVID-like time is coming. He has forgotten what had happened then, how many people had died and what kind of tragedies had unfolded," Gandhi said.

He alleged that the government has no understanding of such issues.

Gandhi said he would not be able to take part in the all-party meeting on Wednesday on West Asia as he has a programme to attend in Kerala.

"They have called an all-party meeting, there should be a debate, but you have made a structural mistake, you have destroyed the structure and that cannot be corrected. The PM cannot do it, I can give it to you in writing, PM will do what America and Israel say. He will not work in the interest of India and its farmers, he will do as America and Israel say," Gandhi said.

Modi's Response and Stance on West Asia

Modi on Monday said the difficult global conditions caused by the West Asia conflict are likely to persist for a long time and called upon the nation to remain prepared and united, just as it had stood together during the Covid pandemic.

"This war has created difficult global conditions that may persist for a long time. Hence, we must remain prepared and united. We faced similar challenges during the Covid crisis with unity. Now again, we must prepare in the same way. With patience, restraint, and calmness, we must face every challenge-that is our identity, that is our strength.

"At the same time, we must remain vigilant and cautious. Those who try to exploit the situation will attempt to spread falsehoods, but we must not let them succeed," Modi had said.

In his statement in Lok Sabha, Modi had also addressed concerns related to the impact on fuel, fertilisers, national security and other areas in India as well on its nationals residing in the West Asia region, detailing steps taken by the government to ensure that "ordinary families face as little trouble as possible", and said a unanimous voice should go out to the world from India's Parliament on this crisis.

Reaffirming India's unwavering commitment to humanity and peace, the prime minister said the dialogue and diplomacy remain the only path to resolution and every Indian effort is directed at de-escalation and the cessation of hostilities.
A man wanted for armed robbery and linked to a murder has been arrested in Delhi after a shootout with police, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat crime in the city.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points A man wanted for masterminding an armed robbery in Shastri Park, Delhi, has been arrested.

The suspect is also linked to a previous murder case and led a gang of four to five criminals.

The arrest followed a brief exchange of fire with police in the IP Estate area of central Delhi.

The accused has a criminal history and is believed to have been the head of a gang involved in robberies and other crimes.

Police are continuing their investigation to identify and apprehend other gang members and establish the suspect's involvement in other cases.

A wanted man accused of masterminding an armed robbery in Shastri Park in February and also linked to a previous murder case was arrested after a brief encounter in central Delhi's IP Estate area on Tuesday, police said.

The man allegedly led a small gang of four to five criminals. Acting on a tip-off, the team laid a trap in the central district area, where he was intercepted, they said.

When he spotted the police, he allegedly attempted to evade arrest and a brief exchange of fire took place, following which he was overpowered and apprehended.

Investigation Details

Police said the accused has a criminal history and was previously involved in a murder case. He is believed to have been operating as the head of a small but active gang involved in robberies and other crimes in parts of Delhi.

Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other members of the gang and to establish his involvement in other criminal cases, police added.
Kerala's opposition leader V.D. Satheesan has launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, criticising his language, conduct, and the state government's expenditure on self-promoting advertisements.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Kerala's opposition leader V.D. Satheesan criticised CM Pinarayi Vijayan's recent remarks against G Sudhakaran and Ramesh Pisharody.

Satheesan condemned the Kerala government's spending of taxpayer money on self-promotion and advertising.

The opposition leader criticised CM Vijayan's response to a CPI(M) worker's question, calling it reminiscent of All India Radio.

Satheesan highlighted the alleged lack of action against LDF MLA M Mukesh and film director PT Kunju Muhammed regarding sexual assault complaints.

The opposition leader criticised the Kerala government for spending over Rs 11 lakh on a special interview of the CM by Malayalam superstar Mohanlal.

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly V D Satheesan on Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his party leaders over their recent remarks against former Left leader G Sudhakaran and actor Ramesh Pisharody.

Satheesan said that a 'cultural Haritha Karma Sena' will have to be created to clean the bad language being used by the CM and CPI(M).

The opposition leader also said that it was not right that the Left government spent crores on advertising itself and the CM at the expense of the taxpayers money.

Speaking to reporters at Perumbavoor here, Satheesan said that the response given by the CM to his own party worker who wanted to ask a question will tarnish the image of all political leaders in the eyes of the public.

Vijayan, on Monday, had said -- "go and ask at home" -- when a CPI(M) worker, Das P George, sought to ask him a question while he was speaking at a public event at Konni in Pathanamthitta district.

Criticising the CM's response, Satheesan said that Vijayan was like the All India Radio -- "you have to just hear what is being said and cannot ask any questions".

He said that people will come out on the streets with questions to the CM and "he will be forced to answer them".

Satheesan also referred to the CM's "chettatharam" (cheapness) remark against Sudhakaran and former state Finance Minister Thomas Isaac's "komali" (joker) term used against Pisharody, and said that CPI(M) in Kerala was falling to new lows.

Sudhakaran is contesting with UDF support from Ambalapuzha assembly seat and Pisharody is the Congress candidate from Palakkad consituency in the upcoming polls on April 9.

Satheesan said that just like the 'Haritha Karma Sena', which ensures cleanliness in the state, a 'cultural Haritha Karma Sena' will be required to clean the bad language being used by the CM and various CPI(M) leaders.

He said that Malayalam is such a beautiful language, but the CM and CPI(M) are using such cuss words.

Allegations of Inaction in Sexual Assault Cases

Regarding the CM's remark, earlier in the day at a press conference in Idukki, that the Congress and the opposition leader stood with Rahul Mamkootathil, an accused in three sexual assault cases, Satheesan said it was Vijayan who protected those involved in such matters.

He referred to the alleged lack of action against LDF MLA M Mukesh and Malayalam film director PT Kunju Muhammed following sexual assault complaints against them.

"In contrast, the Congress and I as the opposition leader took strong action against those in the party facing similar allegations. So, it is us who stood with the women and not the CM," Satheesan contended.

Controversy Over CM's Interview with Mohanlal

When reporters pointed out that over Rs 11 lakh was spent on the special interview of the CM by Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, the LoP claimed that the "government treasury was being used to run political campaigns".

"They are carrying out political campaigns and advertisements at the cost of taxpayers' money. No past government in Kerala has ever done it," he contended.

Satheesan said that he did not criticise the interview and was of the view that the CM had the right to hold discussions with the superstar.

"But, not at taxpayers' expense. It was wrong to spend the people's money on that. I request the CM to deposit that money back in the treasury," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A 40-year-old man from Epworth has been arrested on murder allegations after a violent dispute that followed his attempt to shelter a woman fleeing domestic violence.Prosper Tenga was taken into custody after an incident involving Tafadzwa Magwidi (28), which police say escalated into a fatal confrontation.According to reports, the incident began when Magwidi assaulted his wife, Tariro Chinanga (25), during a domestic dispute. Chinanga reportedly fled to Tenga's home seeking refuge.Magwidi allegedly followed her to the house, where Tenga and a neighbour attempted to mediate and resolve the couple's differences. However, tensions escalated into a heated argument between Tenga and Magwidi.Police allege that during the confrontation, Tenga struck Magwidi once on the head with an axe handle, causing a deep injury on the right side of his head.Magwidi is reported to have left the scene bleeding and boarded a commuter omnibus en route to Zimbabwe Republic Police in Epworth. He later collapsed during the journey.The matter was reported under case number RRB 6768126, and police have since arrested Tenga as investigations continue.Authorities have not yet released further details as the case proceeds.
The Supreme Court is scrutinising the West Bengal government's challenge to the Enforcement Directorate's plea, raising critical questions about the fundamental rights of ED officers during investigations and alleged obstruction by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Photograph: ANI on X

Key Points The Supreme Court questioned West Bengal's objection to the ED's plea, focusing on the fundamental rights of ED officers during a raid.

The ED alleges obstruction by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state authorities during a search related to a money-laundering probe.

The court is examining whether state law-enforcing agencies can interfere with a central agency's investigation into serious offences.

West Bengal argues that the ED's plea is not maintainable as it doesn't specify which fundamental right has been violated.

The hearing is adjourned and will continue on April 14, with the court previously calling the alleged obstruction 'very serious'.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday quizzed the West Bengal government over its objection to the maintainability of the Enforcement Directorate's plea on the alleged obstruction by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a raid, asking about the fundamental rights of ED officers.

The top court remarked that some officers of the ED have filed petitions in their individual capacity seeking to know whether they cease to be citizens of India merely because they are officers of the agency.

The West Bengal government has questioned the maintainability of the ED's plea which alleged obstruction by Banerjee and other state authorities during its January 8 search of the office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee's (I-PAC) in Kolkata. The search was in connection with a money-laundering probe.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N V Anjaria was told by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Banerjee, that a person who moves the court under Article 32 of the Constitution has to specifically set out which fundamental right of his has been violated.

"Please concentrate on the fundamental rights of the officers of the ED with whom the offence has been committed. If you only concentrate on ED, ED, ED and forget the second petition which is preferred by the individual officers who were the victims of that offence, you may miss the point and you will be in difficulty," Justice Mishra observed.

Sibal argued that the person (Deputy Director Robin Bansal) who filed the writ petition has not claimed a violation of any fundamental right.

"Not only that, assuming he has a fundamental right, then the petition must state which fundamental right has been violated," he said adding that in this particular case the ED is not even a person.

Sibal said any obstruction in the performance of a statutory duty is not a violation of a fundamental right.

"If someone obstructs a police officer, he can't file a petition under Article 32. He also can't file a 226 petition. There will be a prosecution launched for the obstruction of violating his right to discharge his functions," Sibal said.

At this juncture, Justice Mishra remarked, "If the CM barges into an ED investigation and commits an offence, your idea of remedy for the ED is to go to the state government which is headed by the CM and inform them about it and seek remedy?"

Responding to the question, Sibal said, "Your lordships are assuming that the chief minister has committed an offence."

"If ED is investigating under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and some other offence has come to the notice of the officers, then the concerned agency, in this case the state government, should be informed as per Section 66 of PMLA," Sibal said.

Justice Mishra then said, "We are not assuming anything. That is the allegation.

"Do not mistake us. Every allegation is based on some facts, if there are no facts, there is no need to be investigated. That is what they are praying for, for CBI to investigate."

Arguments Regarding the ED's Plea

Questioning the maintainability of the ED's plea over alleged obstruction by Chief Minister Banerjee during a raid, Sibal said a deputy director mentioned in the cause title was not present while the raids were being conducted.

Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, also appearing for the chief minister, argued that the state has to give consent for a CBI investigation and the constitutional court has the power in other cases.

The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue on April 14.

Background of the Case

On January 15, the top court said the West Bengal chief minister's alleged obstruction in the ED's probe is "very serious" and agreed to examine if a state's law-enforcing agencies can interfere with any central agency's investigation into any serious offence as it stayed FIRs against the ED officials who raided I-PAC.

The ED has alleged interference and obstruction by the state government, including by Banerjee, in its probe and search operation at the I-PAC office and the premises of its director, Pratik Jain, in connection with an alleged coal-pilferage scam.

The top court, while staying the FIRs filed in West Bengal against the ED officials, had also directed the state police to protect the CCTV footage of the raids.

It had issued notices to Banerjee, the West Bengal government, former state DGP Rajeev Kumar and top cops on the ED's petitions seeking a CBI probe against them for allegedly obstructing its raids.
The Supreme Court is intervening in the Manipur violence case to ensure legal representation for women allegedly paraded naked, seeking a response from the Manipur State Legal Authority on providing adequate legal aid.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Supreme Court seeks response from Manipur State Legal Authority on providing legal aid to women allegedly paraded naked during the 2023 Manipur ethnic violence.

The CBI is appealing against the Gauhati High Court's decision to grant bail to two accused of gang rape and parading the victims.

Victims' advocate requests legal aid counsel fluent in local Manipur languages to effectively represent the victims.

The Supreme Court had previously requested a status report from the CBI regarding its investigation into 11 FIRs related to the Manipur violence.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Manipur State Legal Authority on appointing a legal aid counsel for the two women allegedly paraded naked amid the 2023 ethnic clashes in the state.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued a notice to the Manipur State Legal Service Authority while hearing a plea of CBI against the grant of bail by the Gauhati High Court to the two accused, Arun Khundongbam and Nameirakpam Kiran Meitei, who allegedly gangraped and paraded the victims naked.

On September 8, 2025, the Gauhati High Court granted bail to the two accused on the grounds that they had been in custody for two years while charges were yet to be framed, and termed it to be "unjustified prolonged incarceration".

"While the accusations here are grave and shocking, this court cannot overlook that indefinite detention without trial amounts to pretrial punishment, which is impermissible in law," the Gauhati High Court had said in its order.

During the hearing, the counsel for the CBI sought the cancellation of bail due to grave allegations of sexual violence.

"The accused had paraded the women naked. This is a gross case. The women were gangraped and then paraded," he said.

Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for the victims, said, "On February 26, this court said legal aid counsel will be appointed for victims. They have not been appointed yet."

He further requested that the legal aid counsels be fluent in the languages spoken in Manipur as the victims were only able to converse in their native language.

The court directed the appointment of legal aid counsels for the victim by the state legal services authority.

On February 13, the top court asked the CBI, which is probing 11 FIRs in the case, to file a status report within two weeks.

Background of the Manipur Violence

On July 20, 2023, the apex court took suo-moto cognisance of the matter after a video of the assault surfaced online and was widely shared months later, triggering nationwide outrage.

Ethnic violence in Manipur broke out on May 3, 2025 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts. The protest was held against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence has claimed over 260 lives.

The violence was preceded by earlier tensions over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.

In August 2023, the Centre constituted the Justice Gita Mittal Commission to oversee relief and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur on the recommendation of the government of Manipur, citing the necessity of an inquiry into a matter of public importance. Its tenure was recently extended till July 31.
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court of India has clarified that individuals who convert from Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism are no longer eligible for Scheduled Caste status, reinforcing the link between religion and caste-based entitlements.

IMAGE: The Supreme Court of India. Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points The Supreme Court affirmed that converting from Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism results in the immediate loss of Scheduled Caste status.

The court upheld that constitutional benefits and protections for Scheduled Castes do not extend to individuals practising religions outside of Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism.

The ruling reinforces the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, which specifies that conversion to other religions leads to the loss of Scheduled Caste status.

An Andhra Pradesh high court order was upheld, stating that individuals who convert to Christianity and actively practise the faith cannot be considered members of the Scheduled Caste community.

The case involved a pastor who converted to Christianity and invoked the SC/ST Act, highlighting the legal complexities surrounding religious conversion and caste-based protections.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that no person professing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be regarded as a member of a Scheduled Caste.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and NV Anjaria, upholding an order of the Andhra Pradesh high court, said that a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste community loses his SC status immediately and completely upon conversion to another religion.

"No statutory benefit, protection or reservation or entitlement under the Constitution or enactment of Parliament or state legislature can be claimed by or extended to any person who, by operation of clause 3, is not deemed to be a member of the Scheduled Caste.

"This bar is absolute and admits no exception. A person can't simultaneously profess and practice a religion other than the one specified in clause 3 and claim membership of the Scheduled Caste," the bench said.

High Court's View on Caste and Christianity

The Andhra Pradesh high court on April 30, 2025, held that once an individual converts to Christianity and actively professes and practices the faith, he cannot be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste community.

The high court has held that the caste system is alien to Christianity and is consequently barred from invoking the provisions of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

It quashed charges filed by a complainant who had converted to Christianity and had invoked the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in a criminal case.

Aggrieved by the order, the man, a pastor, moved the apex court challenging the high court decision.

Supreme Court's Reinforcement of Existing Order

The top court noted that the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, has made it clear that conversion to any religion not specified in Clause 3 of the 1950 order results in immediate loss of Schedule Caste status, regardless of birth, and this bar was "absolute".

"In the present case, it is not the case of the petitioner that he re-converted from Christianity to his original religion or has been accepted back into the folds of the Madiga community.

"On the contrary, the evidence establishes that the appellant continued to profess Christianity and has been functioning as a pastor for more than a decade, conducting regular Sunday prayers at the houses of the village," the court said.

The bench noted that at the time of the alleged incident, he was conducting prayer meetings at the house.

"These concurrent facts leave no room for doubt that he continued to remain a Christian on the date of the occurrence," the bench said on the facts of the case.

Background of the Case

The pastor Chinthada Anand had filed a criminal case in 2021 against one Akkala Rami Reddy, invoking various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST Act, alleging that a person had assaulted him while he was performing pastoral duties and conducting Sunday prayers in a village in Andhra Pradesh.

He claimed that he was subjected to multiple assaults by Rami Reddy, and he and his family were given death threats and abused in the name of their caste.
Chhattisgarh is on the verge of a major victory in its fight against Naxalism as senior Maoist commander Papa Rao prepares to surrender, potentially freeing the state from armed Naxal presence by 2026.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Senior Maoist commander Papa Rao is set to surrender with his team, a major development in Chhattisgarh's fight against Naxalism.

Papa Rao was allegedly the mastermind behind deadly attacks on security forces in south Bastar, including the 2010 Tadmetla attack.

The surrender signifies that no Naxal operative of Rao's rank will remain active in Chhattisgarh, bringing the state closer to its goal of being Naxal-free by March 2026.

The Dandakaranaya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), where Rao was active, was a strong formation of the Maoist outfit.

Chhattisgarh is actively working to rehabilitate surrendered Maoists and facilitate the surrender of those operating in neighbouring states.

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said the last remaining senior Maoist commander, Papa Rao, is set to surrender along with his team members on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in the state's fight against Left Wing Extremism.

Once Rao lays down arms, it can be stated "technically and clearly" that no Naxal operative of that rank or even lower remains active within the state, Sharma told reporters in the morning in Kawardha, the headquarters of Kabirdham district.

The senior Maoist had been the mastermind of various deadly attacks on security forces in south Bastar in the past two decades. He had also masterminded the Tadmetla attack (in the then Dantewada district, now in Sukma) in 2010, wherein 76 troopers were killed.

Rao, who is active in the Dandakaranaya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of Maoists, will surrender along with more than a dozen team members in the Bastar region, said Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio.

Once it is done, no Naxal operative of that senior rank will remain active in Chhattisgarh, and the state is set to be free of armed Naxalism by the stipulated deadline of March 31, 2026, he said.

"With this (Rao's) rehabilitation, Naxal presence within Chhattisgarh's territory will effectively come to an end. Chhattisgarh will be free from armed Naxalism by March 31," Sharma stated.

He said Papa Rao had been active for nearly 25 years and involved in multiple encounters, but managed to escape each time. The state government had announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for him.

"His (Rao) mindset has now changed. I have personally spoken to him, and it is clear that he is willing to surrender," Sharma said.

More surrenders are expected in the coming week as part of the ongoing rehabilitation efforts, he added.

Impact of the Surrender

The DKSZC, which handles Maoist activities in the Bastar division and parts of adjoining states, was considered the strongest formation of the outlawed outfit and had been instrumental in executing several deadly attacks on security forces in the past two decades.

Sharma said members at the party and area committee levels of Maoists are no longer engaged in armed activities in Chhattisgarh and have largely settled down.

"They have laid down their arms and given up uniforms," he pointed out.

Only a few remaining names linked to Chhattisgarh are currently active in Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) or Telangana. Efforts are also underway there to facilitate their surrender, the minister noted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Rajya Sabha, detailing India's strategies to navigate the global energy crisis sparked by the West Asia conflict, including securing diverse energy sources and expanding strategic oil reserves.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a statement in Rajya Sabha. Photograph: Sansad TV/YouTube

Key Points PM Modi acknowledges the serious global energy crisis caused by the conflict in West Asia and its potential long-term consequences.

India is actively seeking to procure gas and crude oil from all available sources to ensure energy security.

India advocates for de-escalation of the West Asia conflict and peaceful resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy.

India has created 53 lakh MT of strategic oil reserves and is working on an additional 65 lakh MT capacity to bolster energy security.

The government has initiated a Rs 70,000-crore project to manufacture ships, further strengthening India's energy infrastructure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the constitution of seven empowered groups to deal with the potential long-term impacts of the West Asia war and urged states to work with the Centre in a 'Team India' approach to ward off the crisis.

Observing that the situation is constantly changing in West Asia, he said its adverse effects are likely to persist for an extended time, and called upon citizens to remain prepared for every eventuality.

Flagging 'serious side effects of the war', the Prime Minister recalled the national response to COVID-19, when empowered groups of experts had helped address challenges, and said the seven empowered groups will deal with the consequences of war and evolve strategies on fuel, fertilisers, gas, supply chains and inflation.

In a statement in the Rajya Sabha, he reiterated India's position of dialogue and diplomacy as the only solutions to the restoration of peace in West Asia.

He also said India was in constant touch with all parties, including Iran, Israel and the United States, to stress de-escalation.

While admitting to the unprecedented challenges the war is posing for India in terms of supply of essential goods, including crude, gas and fertilisers, the Prime Minister said going forward 'self-reliance was the only option'.

India's Energy Security Efforts

Noting that the war has created a serious energy crisis globally, he also warned miscreants against taking advantage of crisis, and has asked state governments to check black marketing and hoarding.

In such a critical situation, it is essential that a united voice of peace and dialogue goes out to the entire world from this Upper House of India's Parliament, Modi said.

He asserted that the government is trying to procure gas and crude oil from all available sources, and efforts on this front will continue in the coming days to ensure that the common people are not affected.

Modi also said necessary preparations have been made for the adequate supply of fertilisers, as he assured farmers that no burden of war falls upon them.

"The government is working with a comprehensive strategy to address every aspect of this crisis -- be it its short-term, medium-term, or long-term implications," he said.

The government, the prime minister said, has already constituted an inter-ministerial group, which meets regularly to assess any difficulties in import-export operations and work on devising necessary solutions.

"Much like the empowered groups, comprising experts and officials, that were formed during the COVID-19 pandemic to tackle challenges across various sectors, seven such new empowered groups were constituted just yesterday.

"These groups will be tasked with taking action, guided by both immediate and long-term strategies, on critical issues, such as supply chains, petroleum and diesel, fertilisers, natural gas, and inflation. I am fully confident that through these collective efforts, we will be able to effectively navigate the prevailing circumstances," Modi said.

Noting that the West Asia crisis is of a unique nature, the Prime Minister said its solutions are being devised in a correspondingly distinct manner.

"We must confront every challenge with patience, restraint, and a calm mind," he said.

He also assured that the safety of lives and livelihood of around one crore Indians in the Gulf countries is also a very big concern for India.

He said around 3,75,000 Indians have returned safely from the Gulf region so far, including 1,000 from Iran.

Significant test for the nation: Modi

The prime minister noted that the coming period will pose a significant test for the nation, and the cooperation of states will be indispensable for success.

He urged all state governments to ensure that the benefits of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana continue to reach beneficiaries on time, as crises disproportionately affect the poor, labourers, and migrant workers.

He also called upon them to take proactive steps to put special monitoring mechanisms in place and swift action against complaints of black marketing and hoarding.

"The uninterrupted supply of essential commodities must be the topmost priority for every state, and I earnestly appeal to all state governments to put special arrangements in place to ensure this," he said.

Invoking the spirit of cooperative federalism, the prime minister called upon state governments to ensure that India's robust growth trajectory is maintained regardless of the scale of the crisis, and that every necessary step and reform is implemented with speed.

Recalling the exemplary Team India spirit demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Centre and states, despite being governed by different political parties, collaborated seamlessly on testing, vaccination, and the supply of essential goods, the Prime Minister said this same spirit must guide the nation now.

"With the combined efforts of all state governments and the central government, the country will be able to effectively confront this grave global crisis. We must carry forward the same Team India spirit," he asserted.

While cautioning that the adverse effects of this war are very likely to persist for an extended period, he said, "The government is vigilant, it is ready, and it is formulating its strategy and taking every decision with utmost seriousness, the welfare of the people of this country is paramount for us; this is our identity, and this is our strength."

If the West Asia crisis persists for a longer period, serious consequences are imminent, he said, adding that efforts through diplomacy are being made to ensure the safe passage of Indian ships even during the war.

India's aim is the de-escalation of the war and opening of the Strait of Hormuz, he said, adding that the country's attempt is to encourage all sections to peacefully resolve all issues.

He said attacks on commercial ships and the disruption of international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz are unacceptable.
A trader's house in Garhdiwala, Punjab, was targeted in a drive-by shooting, prompting a police investigation to uncover the motive and identify the assailants.

Key Points Unidentified individuals on a motorcycle fired shots at a trader's house in Garhdiwala, Punjab.

The incident occurred around 10 pm, with three rounds fired at the main gate of the residence.

No injuries were reported as a result of the shooting.

Police are investigating the incident, reviewing CCTV footage, and working to identify and apprehend the suspects.

The motive behind the attack on the trader's house remains unknown.

Two unidentified persons riding a motorcycle allegedly opened fire at the house of a local trader in the Garhdiwala area here and fled the scene, police said on Tuesday.

No one was injured in the incident that took place around 10 pm on Monday.

The assailants fired three rounds at the main gate of the house of Chandar Kishore alias Ghugga, who owns a readymade garments shop at Gandhi Chowk in Garhdiwala and lives in Jain Colony.

Police Investigation Underway

Station House Officer Sub-Inspector Satpal said CCTV footage of the area is being examined, and efforts are underway to identify and arrest the accused.

The motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.
A yoga teacher from Surat is at the centre of a fake currency scandal, with police uncovering a counterfeit operation that circulated lakhs of rupees in fake Indian currency notes.

Key Points A Surat-based yoga teacher and six others were arrested for involvement in a fake Indian currency note (FICN) racket.

Police estimate the group circulated approximately Rs 10 to 12 lakh in counterfeit currency.

The yoga teacher, Pradip Jotangiya, allegedly travelled to China to purchase printing machines and security paper.

The accused used a hawala channel to send Rs 17.5 lakh to China for the machinery and paper needed to produce the fake currency.

The group planned to distribute profits, with Jotangiya receiving half and the remaining six splitting the rest.

A Surat-based Yoga teacher and six others, arrested here last week with Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), had likely circulated Rs 10 to 12 lakh in fake currency, police said on Tuesday.

During the interrogation, Yoga teacher Pradip Jotangiya of Shri Satyam Yog Foundation and co-accused Mukesh Thummar told police that they printed fake notes for personal gains, said an official.

The accused were caught with FICN of Rs 2.38 crore here last week.

The Shri Satyam Yog Foundation was not active after 2020, and very few transactions were carried out using its bank account, said inspector S J Jadeja of the Crime Branch.

Planning and Execution of the Counterfeit Operation

The seven accused met at the residence of Ashok Mavani some six months ago, and decided to print fake currency, he said.

Jotangiya, popularly known as Pradip Guruji, was to receive half the profit while the rest was to be distributed equally among the other six, said the official.

Jotangiya then travelled to Guangzhou in China in February 2026, and met an agent for buying good-quality printing machines. He also discussed payments for high-quality security thread paper. The accused sent Rs 17.5 lakh to China through a hawala channel to pay for the machinery and paper, the official said.

"It is likely that they circulated Rs 10-12 lakh of fake currency in the market," said the police official.

Jotangiya, Thummar, Mavani, Ramesh Bhalar, Divyesh Rana, Bharat Kakadiya and a woman are currently in police custody.
The surrender of a senior Maoist commander in Chhattisgarh signals a major victory in the fight against Left-Wing Extremism, highlighting the effectiveness of government strategies and rehabilitation efforts in weakening the insurgency.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Senior Maoist commander Papa Rao surrendered with 17 team members, marking a major breakthrough in Chhattisgarh's fight against Left-Wing Extremism.

The surrender highlights the declining influence of Maoist insurgency due to sustained security operations and effective rehabilitation programmes.

Chhattisgarh aims to be free of armed Naxalism by March 31, 2026, with the surrender of key leaders significantly impacting the Maoist network.

Government strategies, including the SAMADHAN doctrine, focus on intelligence-led operations, infrastructure development, and modernising police forces to combat extremism.

Rehabilitation policies offering financial aid, skill development, and housing support are encouraging Maoist cadres to surrender and reintegrate into mainstream society.

One of the last remaining senior Maoist commanders, Papa Rao, surrendered along with his 17 team members on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in Chhattisgarh's fight against Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), officials said.

The surrender underscores the waning fortunes of one of the country's longest-running insurgencies, as a combination of security pressure and rehabilitation efforts chips away at the movement's core, they said.

The surrender of Rao, a member of the Dandakaranaya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) and in-charge of south Sub Zonal Bureau of Maoists, along with his team members, marks a decisive breakthrough in the government's sustained efforts to bring an end to LWE in the region, said Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bastar Range, Sundarraj P.

Of the 18 surrendered cadres, seven were women, he said.

Other key cadres among surrendered include divisional committee members Prakash Madvi and Anil Tatti, the IPS officer informed.

They also handed over AK-47 rifles and other graded weapons to police, he said.

For the first time in the history of the Maoist movement in Dandakaranya, the Naxal outfit has effectively become leaderless. As envisioned by the Government and passionately desired by the people of the region, Bastar is now set to emerge stronger, carrying a renewed spirit and a positive identity for the future, Sundarraj asserted.

The DKSZC, which handles Naxal activities in the Bastar division and parts of adjoining states, was considered the strongest formation of the outlawed outfit CPI (Maoist) and had been instrumental in executing several deadly attacks on security forces in the past two decades.

"We remain hopeful that the few remaining cadres, now wandering in small scattered groups, will also choose the path of peace and return to the mainstream in the coming days, the IGP said.

The formal reintegration process of all the 18 surrendered cadres belonging to the South Sub Zonal Bureau area will be carried out later, he stated.

Operating for over two decades in the dense Indravati-Abujhmad forest belt, a once-formidable redoubt of the insurgency, Rao was among the last prominent commanders of the insurgent network associated with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) who masterminded a number of deadly attacks on security forces in south Bastar, including the Tadmetla attack (in then Dantewada district, now in Sukma) in 2010, wherein 76 troopers were killed.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds the Home portfolio, said Rao, also known as Mangu, will surrender along with more than a dozen team members in the Bastar region.

"Once it is done, no Naxal operative of that senior rank will remain active in Chhattisgarh, and the state is set to be free of armed Naxalism by the stipulated deadline of March 31, 2026, Sharma said.

The surrender marked not just the exit of a senior figure, but a broader unravelling of the Maoist network linked to the CPI (Maoist), which for years sustained a parallel authority across swathes of central India, the officials said.

The "Red Corridor", an arc that once stretched from "Pashupati to Tirupati" across Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra and parts of Andhra Pradesh, was considered the "gravest internal security challenge" to the country, where governance was attenuated, and the Maoists cultivated both coercion and consent among marginalised communities, they said.

Official data on LWE surrenders from 2014 to early 2026 show that over 10,000 cadres have surrendered nationwide, with 2,300 laying down arms in 2025 alone. More than 630 cadres have already surrendered in the first three months of 2026.

The surrenders indicate a sharp collapse of organisational morale within the Maoist ranks, particularly pronounced in Chhattisgarh and Telangana, where hundreds of cadres have chosen to give up arms in the past year, they said.

The downward trajectory of the guerrilla movement over the past decade tells a story of one of sustained political resolve, coordinated security operations, development outreach, and effective rehabilitation policies, resulting in a steady rise in the number of Maoist cadres surrendering and returning to the democratic mainstream, the officials said.

Security officials describe the trend as a "cascading effect," in which high-profile defections erode the movement's aura of permanence.

"With this (Rao's) rehabilitation, Naxal presence within Chhattisgarh's territory will effectively come to an end," Deputy CM Sharma stated hours before the formal surrender.

He said Rao had been active for nearly 25 years and had been involved in multiple encounters. The state government had announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for him.

More surrenders are expected in the coming week, Sharma added.

Government Strategies and Support

As part of a comprehensive strategy pursued by the Union and state governments, security forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force and its elite CoBRA units, and state police, sustained a campaign of intelligence-led operations, tightening the net around insurgent strongholds.

The strategy aligns with the government's multi-pronged approach under the SAMADHAN doctrine, focusing on intelligence-led operations, improved mobility, infrastructure expansion, and modernising police forces to bring bureaucratic coherence to a historically fragmented effort, the officials said.

At the same time, Chhattisgarh has sought to extend its presence in more quotidian ways with financial and logistical support from the Centre, strengthening state capabilities through programmes like the Security Related Expenditure Scheme, which assists states in covering operational costs in LWE-affected districts, they said.

Many districts once deeply affected by insurgency have been part of the Aspirational Districts Programme, which focuses on improving health, education, infrastructure and livelihood opportunities.

Roads have been pushed deeper into forested districts and fortified police stations now dot areas that were previously inaccessible. The extension of banking services and digital connectivity has brought remote tribal regions closer to mainstream governance.

Future Outlook

Sharma said members at the party and area committee levels of Maoists are no longer engaged in armed activities in Chhattisgarh.

"They have laid down their arms and given up uniforms," he pointed out.

Only a few remaining names linked to Chhattisgarh are currently active in Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) or Telangana. Efforts are also underway there to facilitate their surrender, the Deputy CM noted.

The most consequential factor leading to the constriction of the violent movement has been the recalibration of rehabilitation policy. The revised Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation Scheme provides financial aid, skill development training and housing support for former cadres.
Donald Trump claims a senior defence official urged military action against Iran, revealing escalating tensions and ongoing negotiations in the Middle East.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump speaks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as they attend a roundtable on public safety at Memphis Air National Guard Base in Memphis, Tennessee on March 23, 2026. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Key Points Donald Trump claims a senior official, possibly Pete Hegseth, advocated for military action against Iran.

Trump stated Iran is close to having a nuclear weapon and has been a 'purveyor of terror' for 47 years.

The US President announced a five-day delay of military action against Iranian power plants and energy sites.

Trump claims the US and Iran have had 'very good and productive conversations' aimed at resolving hostilities.

The decision to postpone strikes is based on the 'tenor and tone' of ongoing discussions with Iran.

United States President Donald Trump said that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was the "first one" to suggest attacking Iran when he discussed the "problem in the Middle East" with his close aides.

Speaking at the Memphis Safe Task Force Roundtable in Tennessee, on Monday, Trump said he called all his aides, including Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Air Force Gen Dan Caine, to discuss the situation in Iran before making the decision.

"I called Pete, I called General Caine. I called a lot of our great people And I said, 'Let's talk. We got a problem in the Middle East. We have a country, known as Iran, that for 47 years has been just a purveyor of terror, and they're very close to having a nuclear weapon. We can keep going and get that 50,000 up to 55 and 60, there's no end, or we can take a stop and make a little journey into the Middle East and eliminate a big problem," Trump said.

Trump, who is facing backlash in his country over the issue, praised Hegseth for his quick response on the issue.

"Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up and you said let's do it because you can't let them have a nuclear weapon," he said.

US Pauses Military Action Against Iran

Earlier, Trump said on social media that he has extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically-located shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and that he will hold off strikes against Iranian energy sites for five days.

The US president, without sharing any details, also said that there have been "productive conversations" between the US and Iran for "complete and total resolution" to the conflict in West Asia.

Iran has denied Trump's claim, calling it "fake news."

"No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," posted on social media.
Prime Minister Modi and President Trump addressed the critical situation in the Middle East, emphasising the need to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for secure passage.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets United States President Donald Trump at the White House, in Washington, DC on February 13, 2025. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Key Points Narendra Modi and Donald Trump discussed the West Asia crisis, stressing peace and stability.

India strongly backs de-escalation and swift restoration of peace in the region.

Keeping the Strait of Hormuz open is critical for global trade, energy security, and economic stability.

Global oil and gas prices have surged as Iran disrupted traffic through the key shipping route handling 20% of global energy flows.

India is engaging diplomatically with Iran, Israel, and Gulf nations while avoiding direct involvement and ensuring safety of its vessels.

India backs the swift restoration of peace in West Asia and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open for global shipping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday when United States President Donald Trump dialled him to discuss the crisis.

It was the first conversation between the two leaders since the West Asia conflict began on February 28.

Details of the call

In the conversation, Modi underlined the importance of ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible, noting that it is vital for global peace, stability and economic well-being.

The phone call came a day after President Trump extended Washington, DC's deadline by five days for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

'Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia,' Modi said on social media.

'India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability,' he said.

Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).

West Asia has been a major source of India's energy procurement.

US envoy to India Sergio Gor also said that Modi and President Trump deliberated on the importance of keeping the key shipping lane open.

'They discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open,' Gor said on social media.

Trump has postponed strikes on Iran

Trump said on Monday that he has extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and that he will hold off strikes against Iranian energy sites for five days.

The US president, without sharing any details, also said that there have been 'productive conversations' between the US and Iran for 'complete and total resolution' to the conflict in West Asia.

In the last few days, Modi has held phone conversations with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the leadership of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states -- Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In his phone call with Pezeshkian on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in West Asia and called for keeping the critical shipping lanes 'open and secure'.

'Condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, which threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains. Reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure,' the prime minister had said after his conversation with the Iranian leader.

Jaishankar holds calls with Gulf counterparts

Significantly, the Iranian president proposed setting up a regional security framework comprising West Asian countries to bring peace and stability in the region 'without foreign interference', according to an Iranian readout of the talks.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also held phone conversations with several of his counterparts from GCC countries.

Jaishankar met Iranian ambassador Mohammad Fathali on Tuesday.

Following his meeting with the Iranian envoy, Jaishankar said in a social media post that they discussed the conflict in West Asia but didn't share details.

"Appreciate the support provided to Indians in Iran in these challenging times," he said.

The phone call between Modi and Trump has to be seen in the context of India's outreach, which has focused on efforts aimed at ending the hostilities as soon as possible and ensuring the unimpeded flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter said while explaining the ramifications for the country's food, fuel and fertiliser security if the blockade of the shipping lane continues.

India wants an end to the conflict as soon as possible, they said, adding the consequences of the hostilities are going to be significant as it could soon impact food security in Africa as well as fertiliser supplies.

There could be another round of fuel and food insecurity as was witnessed after the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the people said.

At the same time, the Indian side has ruled out any possibility of getting involved in the situation in West Asia, they said.

The Indian Navy is focused on ensuring the security of Indian-flagged merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, they said.

Modi speaks to Sri Lanka president, discusses West Asia crisis

Modi also spoke to Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday and discussed with him the evolving situation in West Asia, with particular focus on disruptions affecting global energy security.

After his telephonic conversation with the Sri Lankan leader, the prime minister said they reviewed the progress on key initiatives aimed at strengthening India-Sri Lanka energy cooperation and enhancing regional security.

'Spoke with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and discussed the evolving situation in West Asia, with particular focus on disruptions affecting global energy security,' Modi said in a post on X.

He said as close and trusted partners, 'We reaffirmed our commitment to work closely together in addressing shared challenges.'




News / National

by Staff reporter

An area manager with Farm & City Private Limited appeared in court last Friday facing theft charges after allegedly diverting company funds to betting.Justine Ngoshi (39) was brought before Harare provincial magistrate Michael Mafukidze and remanded in custody pending a full bail hearing.According to the State, between July 31 last year and February 28 this year, Ngoshi allegedly collected US$10 200 intended for rental payments for the Belgravia branch of Farm & City.The funds were meant to be remitted to Sawyer and Mkushi Legal Practitioners.However, prosecutors allege that Ngoshi diverted the money for personal use, reportedly spending it on betting, specifically the Aviator game.The total amount allegedly embezzled is US$10 200, and authorities say nothing has been recovered.Ngoshi remains in custody as the matter proceeds through the courts.
Trump claimed on social media that recent US-Iran discussions were 'very good and productive' and aimed at a 'complete and total resolution' of the conflict.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump waves upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on March 23, 2026. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Key Points Donald Trump pushing for Iran deal to end conflict: Israeli officials

Iran denies any ongoing negotiations, calls claims 'fake'.

Benjamin Netanyahu backs using military gains for a deal.

Fighting intensifies with missile strikes, IDF operations, and regional spillover.

Reports of back-channel contacts hint at possible diplomatic opening.

United States President Donald Trump appears determined to secure a deal with Iran to end hostilities in the region, according to a Reuters report citing three senior Israeli officials.

While Washington, DC is pushing for a diplomatic breakthrough, uncertainty remains over Tehran's willingness to accept key US demands, particularly limits on its nuclear programme and ballistic missile capabilities.

Trump claimed on social media that recent US-Iran discussions were 'very good and productive' and aimed at a 'complete and total resolution' of the conflict.

However, Iranian authorities have denied any such talks. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf dismissed the claims as 'fake news', alleging they are meant to influence financial and oil markets.

Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the US is looking to leverage recent military gains to secure a deal favourable to Israel.

Ground hostilities intensify

Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards described Trump's statements as 'psychological operations', signalling that military actions would continue.

On the ground, hostilities intensified.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed rescue operations in Tel Aviv following an Iranian missile strike that injured several people and damaged buildings.

Israel also reported strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and said it has conducted thousands of attacks on Iranian-linked positions since the start of its operation.

The conflict's impact is spreading across the region, with reports of explosions in Iraq, strikes on energy infrastructure in Iran, and damage to civilian facilities.

Despite the escalation, some back-channel signals suggest possible diplomatic openings, including reports that Irans leadership may be open to negotiations.
A police inspector in Etah, Uttar Pradesh, tragically died while on duty, prompting an investigation into a suspected cardiac arrest and highlighting the risks faced by law enforcement personnel.

Photograph: ANI on X

Key Points Police Inspector Raghvendra Singh died suddenly while on duty at the police lines in Etah, Uttar Pradesh.

Officials suspect the cause of death was a cardiac arrest.

Singh was deployed for examination duty when he suddenly fell ill and was rushed to Etah Medical College.

Singh joined the police force in 1998 and was promoted to inspector in 2016, and was currently posted at the cyber police station.

A post-mortem examination has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.

A police inspector died after his health suddenly deteriorated while on duty at the police lines in Etah, with officials suspecting he suffered a cardiac arrest, police said.

According to police, Inspector Raghvendra Singh was deployed for an examination duty at the police lines when he suddenly fell ill. Fellow personnel rushed him to the Etah Medical College, where doctors declared him dead.

Singh, a native of Auraiya district, had joined the police force as a sub-inspector in 1998 and was promoted to inspector in 2016. He was currently posted at the cyber police station.

Investigation and Response

Senior Superintendent of Police Shyam Narayan Singh and Additional Superintendent of Police Shwetabh Pandey, along with other officials, reached the hospital after receiving information and reviewed the situation.

The body has been sent for post-mortem examination, the police said, adding that the exact cause of death will be ascertained after the report is received.

Station House Officer Prem Pal Singh said that prima facie it appears to be a case of cardiac arrest.

After the post-mortem, the body will be accorded a guard of honour at the police lines and then sent to his native village after the arrival of family members, officials added.
An Indian actress has made shocking allegations of abuse against a film director and claims she and her husband are facing death threats, prompting them to seek government protection.

Photograph: X

Key Points Indian actress accuses film director of inappropriate behaviour during her minor years and alleges her family silenced her.

The actress and her husband claim they are receiving death threats and seek protection from the central and state governments.

She alleges the director is unhappy with her interfaith marriage and is spreading false allegations against her husband.

The actress and her husband state they will commit suicide if separated or if government assistance is not provided.

The actress gained fame after a video of her selling garlands at a religious festival went viral.

The young woman who shot to fame during a religious festival in northern India last year, on Tuesday, alleged that the director of her first film touched her inappropriately several times when she was a minor, and when she told her family about it, they did not support her.

Breaking into tears while speaking at a press conference here, she said that she knows what she had undergone back then and demanded justice for herself.

"My family said that my first movie was coming out, so I should keep quiet. Did they want me to be raped just because it was my first movie? They said that the media would blame me if I spoke out," the woman, who had married a man from another religion, claimed.

She further claimed that she was going to commit suicide on that day, and if it were not for her husband, she would not be here now.

"He supported me. He told me to fight. He gave me life," she said.

She also accused the director of "misbehaving with and using" minor girls in the name of films.

The woman sought help from the Centre and the state governments of Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, claiming that she and her husband were receiving death threats.

The young woman, accompanied by her husband, told reporters here that her posters were being burnt and the couple were receiving death threats from people.

She also claimed that the director was speaking ill about her and that he won't make her a part of his films.

"Who wants to be a part of his films? He is such a bad and disgusting person. He misbehaves with minor girls in the name of films. I am even ashamed to utter his name," she alleged.

She also requested the central and Uttar Pradesh governments not to level wrong allegations against her husband regarding their marriage.

"We got married according to Hindu rites at a temple. Everyone in the country knows that. The director wishes that there should be terrorism and people should fight each other. He is calling our marriage a love jihad. I respect all religions.

"If any attempt is made to separate me from my husband, we will commit suicide. I cannot live without him. We love each other a lot," she said.

She also claimed that the director was unhappy with her marriage.

Her husband also alleged that the director was branding him a "terrorist".

"Just because I was born in a Muslim family, allegations are being levelled against me. They are trying to trap us and threatening to kill us," he alleged.

"Is it wrong to be in love?" they both asked.

The husband also claimed that he respects and believes in Sree Narayana Guru and that they got married in one of his temples.

The young woman, during the press conference, broke down and reiterated that she and her husband will commit suicide if the Centre and the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Kerala do not help them.

The woman got married to her husband recently in Kerala, as her parents were against their relationship.

The couple had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram recently in connection with a film shoot.

With a captivating smile and beautiful eyes, the young woman shot to fame after a virtual content creator shared a video of her selling rudraksh garlands at the religious festival last year.
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India has granted full pension benefits to women Short Service Commission officers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force who were unjustly denied Permanent Commission, ensuring their financial security and recognising their service.

IMAGE: Indian Navy contingent marches at Kartavya Path during the 77th Republic Day parade, in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points Supreme Court rules women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers denied Permanent Commission (PC) are entitled to full pension benefits.

The court found that Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) for women officers were often graded casually, impacting their career progression.

The ruling applies to SSC officers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force who were considered for PC in selection boards held in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The court used its powers under Article 142 to ensure complete justice, deeming officers to have completed 20 years of qualifying service for pension eligibility.

While declining reinstatement due to operational effectiveness, the court emphasised that this should not be a ground to deny financial benefits.

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force denied permanent commission due to a 'systemic disparity' would be entitled to full pensionary benefits.

The top court delivered three separate verdicts challenging the denial of PC (permanent commission) based on policy changes in 2019 and previous Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) rulings in the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

In the verdict on a plea by Yogendra Kumar Singh related to the Navy, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi granted PC to several groups of SSC Officers, primarily women, as a one-time measure.

The bench set aside the need for yet another selection board, noting that the officers had been subjected to three gruelling rounds of litigation over 15 years.

The dispute pertained to how the Navy assessed its officers and the appellants, around 25 officers, said that their annual confidential reports (ACRs) were 'casually graded' during the years they were technically ineligible for PC.

"We are of the considered opinion that when officers are assessed under the prevailing assumption that they have no future in the service, the appraisal process is inevitably affected from its very inception," the verdict said and termed this a 'circularity' where past ineligibility was unfairly transformed into 'deemed unsuitability' for career progression.

As a one-time measure, the bench directed grant of PC to in-service Short Service Commission Women Officers (SSCWOs) inducted prior to January 2009 and SSCWOs who joined after January 2009 in branches excluding law, education, and naval architecture.

SC flags 'systematic framework' of discrimination

In its second judgment on a plea by Lt Col Pooja Pal related to the Army, the bench ordered the grant of PC to several batches of women officers and directed the government to provide pensionary benefits to those who were released from service during the legal battle.

It ruled that the Army's evaluation process for women officers was 'marred by inequality of opportunity' and rooted in a 'systemic framework' of discrimination.

The 60-page judgment focused on a group of roughly 73 SSC officers, mostly women, from batches commissioned between 2010 and 2012.

It found that for the first decade of their careers, these women were considered 'ineligible' for PC as a matter of policy and, consequently, their ACRs were written by superior officers who assumed the women would only serve a 14-year term.

This led to 'casual' or 'middling' grades, while their male counterparts were groomed and graded higher for long-term career progression, the court said.

Writing the judgments, the CJI compared the flawed evaluation to 'adjusting the lens of a camera to alter the quality of an image captured much earlier', stating, "The damage had been done years before."

The Army had argued that it could only grant 250 PC slots per year to maintain a 'youngish' profile of the force.

However, the court rejected the idea that this cap was 'sacrosanct' or 'immutable', saying that the 250-vacancy ceiling had been breached several times in the past for exigencies such as the Kargil war.

"The invocation of the vacancy cap as a shield against remedial action would be unfair to sustain," it held.

SC invokes special powers to grant permanent commission to all women officers

Invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to ensure 'complete justice', the bench granted PC to all women officers currently in service who met the 60 per cent cut-off in the 2020 and 2021 selection boards, subject to medical and disciplinary clearances.

It said women officers who were released during the pendency of this litigation would be 'deemed' to have completed 20 years of qualifying service and be entitled to full pension and consequential benefits with arrears starting from January 1, 2025.

It asked the Army to review its method of evaluating ACRs and cut-offs for future batches to eliminate the 'disproportionate impact' on women.

"The inclusion of SSC women officers in the zone of consideration for PC is not a matter of discretion, but of constitutional obligation," the bench said, adding, "Any expectation to the contrary is inherently illegitimate."

In its third verdict related to the grant of PC, pension calculations and reinstatement in the Air Force, the bench granted pensionary benefits to a batch of SSCWOs and criticised the force's 'casual' and 'arbitrary' methods of performance assessment.

In the lead case of Wg Cdr Sucheta EDN, the bench addressed the grievances of six women officers commissioned in 2007 who were denied PC under a 2019 policy that lifted a decade-long embargo on women seeking permanent roles.

Finding the selection process as fundamentally flawed, it noted that the officers' ACRs were written at a time when they were expected to be released after 14 years.

Consequently, these appraisals were 'casual' and did not evaluate long-term potential, it said.

While the bench declined to order reinstatement to maintain 'operational effectiveness', it said all SSCWOs considered for PC between 2019 and 2021 would be deemed to have completed 20 years of substantive service, making them eligible for full pension and consequential benefits.

The bench took a stern view of the IAF's failure to accommodate officers on maternity leave and said some appellants were denied a fair chance at PC because their ACRs reflected lower grading during pregnancy or because they missed selection boards due to childbirth.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 68F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 43F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Harare-based businessperson appeared in court yesterday facing allegations of externalising more than US$4 million without authorisation from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.Maud Patricia Liddell was not asked to plead when she appeared before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo on charges of externalisation and money laundering. She was represented by lawyer Arshiel Mugiya.According to the State, Liddell, who works as a bookkeeper, allegedly sold a property-Westend Properties, stand number 2057A in Salisbury Township, measuring 2 975 square metres-for US$4,3 million between March and May last year.Prosecutors allege that she subsequently transferred US$4 085 000 outside the country without obtaining the required clearance from the central bank.The matter came to light after detectives from the CID Asset Forfeiture Unit received information on March 21, leading to her arrest.Liddell is also accused of concealing or disguising the true nature, source and movement of the funds allegedly derived from the transaction.The State case is being handled by prosecutor Lawrence Gangarahwe.She is expected to return to court as investigations continue.
Afghanistan's Taliban government announced the release and Dennis Coyle, a US citizen held for more than a year, after his mother plead for a pardon on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on March 24 that Coyle was "on his way home" and thanked Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for their "support" in the case.

Coyle, a 64-year-old academic from the state of Colorado, was detained in January 2025 for what were called "violations of Afghanistan's applicable laws." The charges were never detailed, giving rise to accusations that the Taliban purposely arrested foreign citizens to use as bargaining chips.

Coyle's family has said he was working legally in the country "to support Afghan communities as an academic researcher."

"While this is a positive step by the Taliban, more work needs to be done," Rubio said in a statement.

"We are still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and all other unjustly detained Americans. The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy."

Other Americans In Captivity

Habibi is an American citizen who has been held in Afghanistan since August 10, 2022 -- shortly after a US air strike killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri -- without being charged with a crime. Overby is an American author who disappeared on his way to Waziristan, in Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas near the Afghan border. It is unclear where he is, though many suspect he is in detention.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a statement the release came after the Supreme Court "deemed his [Coyle's] period of detention sufficient and decided on his release."

Muttaqi also rejected accusations that the Taliban detained foreign nationals for "political purposes."

Coyle was accompanied by his brother and former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad at a handover ceremony at Kabul International Airport.

During the event, Mohammad Ibrahim, the son of Mohammad Rahim, an Afghan detainee who has been held at Guantanamo Bay for 19 years without charge, said his family had submitted a letter to the US delegation requesting it be delivered to Washington to seek his fathers release.

Rahim is believed to be the last Afghan national still held at the facility. Taliban officials have previously sought his release in exchange for American detainees.
Longtime rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan are increasing trade in ways that analysts say could support peace-building, ease Armenia's longstanding blockade, and gradually weaken Russia's role in the region as Moscow remains preoccupied with its war in Ukraine.

Azerbaijan has begun exporting energy products to Yerevan and is serving as a transit route for wheat from Kazakhstan and Russia.

Armenian officials, meanwhile, say they are finalizing a list of industrial and agricultural goods for export to Azerbaijan.

"I agree that Armenia and Azerbaijan are acting in a way that reduces Moscow's influence in the Caucasus, though I don't know to what extent the Russia factor is driving their calculations," Joshua Kucera, a senior analyst for the South Caucasus at International Crisis Group, told RFE/RL.

"I suspect it is a secondary consideration: Their first priority is to resolve their conflict, and their relations with Russia or any other power is secondary to that." he added.

The neighboring countries were at war for more than three decades over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan that was mostly populated by ethnic Armenians. Momentum toward normalization followed Azerbaijan's recapture of Karabakh in 2023 and a Washington peace summit in August 2025 that helped break the deadlock.

For decades, Armenia has faced a partial blockade, with borders closed by Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey. With Iran constrained by international sanctions, Armenia has relied heavily on Georgia as its main transit corridor -- particularly for trade with Russia, its largest trading partner and supplier of essential goods.

But both Baku and Yerevan have seen ties with Moscow deteriorate.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has frozen his country's participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Moscow-led alliance, further distancing the country from Russia's security umbrella. And Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sharply criticized Moscow over the downing of an Azerbaijani airliner in late 2024.

Both leaders have also backed the US-supported Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a corridor signed in Washington last August aimed at connecting Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave while reducing the logistical and political influence of both Russia and Iran.

Against this backdrop, new trade flows between Armenia and Azerbaijan are beginning to take shape.

Oil And Gas: From And Through Azerbaijan

Currently, goods from Azerbaijan to Armenia transit through Georgia. However, Richard Giragosian, founding director of the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan, does not rule out the possibility of direct trade opening up across the Azerbaijan-Armenia border.

"What we see with the recent arrival of Azerbaijani civil society activists through a border crossing point in the northern Tavush region, we should expect the opening of road access," Giragosian said.

For this to take place, however, "We need to have concluded the delimitation and demarcation of this passage," Farhad Mammadov, director at the Center for Studies of the South Caucasus, a pro-government think tank in Baku, told RFE/RL.

Despite a sharp decline in trade with Russia, Moscow still accounted for 35.5 percent of Armenia's foreign trade last year, according to Armenian government statistics, followed by China (12.5 percent) and the European Union (11.8 percent).

Azerbaijan sent its first trains of 22 wagons loaded with gasoline to Armenia last December. In-mid January, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian stated on social media that "premium-grade gasoline has mainly been imported from Azerbaijan, and...the minimum price of premium gasoline in Armenia has decreased by 15 percent."

Armenia imported 490,000 tons of petrol and other fuel last year, about two-thirds of which came from Russia.

"Any amount of petroleum products, gas supplies from Azerbaijan, etc., represents progress in terms of offsetting Russia's dominance of the market, Giragosian in Yerevan told RFE/RL.

"Armenia may consider gas imports from Turkmenistan through Azerbaijan. At the same time, there is also a more ambitious plan for Armenia's import of Azerbaijani natural gas, as well," he added.

"If Azerbaijan has enough gas to give Armenia and Armenia and Turkmenistan agrees how to deliver Turkmenistan gas to Azerbaijan, these can be possible too," Mammadov told RFE/RL from Baku.

Azerbaijan has broadly agreed to take on a transit role for Armenia since last year and is already serving as a transit route for wheat from Kazakhstan and Russia. According to Azerbaijani official statistics, Russia has so far sent about 23,000 tons of wheat and about 700 tons of fertilizer to Armenia through Azerbaijan.

However, the peace remains fragile without a final treaty in place. Baku still demands Armenia amend its constitution to remove perceived territorial claims over Karabakh.

Emily Babakanian Frazier, a research fellow at the Regional Studies Center, told RFE/RL last year that while immediate supply cuts are unlikely, Armenia remains vulnerable to Azerbaijan cutting energy links in the medium to long term.

Giragosian argues that Russia found itself marginalized with the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, during which Moscow had wielded primary leverage over both nations. However, he warns, this shift is temporary.

"I expect an angry, vengeful Putin to try to regain lost Russian influence after a cease-fire in Ukraine. Armenia and Azerbaijan are drawing closer because of this shared threat," he added.
WASHINGTON -- US lawmakers are raising concerns after the Trump administration took additional steps to allow more Russian oil shipments to reach global markets despite existing sanctions.

Democrats and Republicans alike are demanding answers after the Treasury Department last week broadened a temporary policy allowing the sale and delivery of Russian crude that had already been loaded onto tankers, effectively loosening enforcement of sanctions at a sensitive moment in Moscow's war against Ukraine.

The step -- expanded in a follow-up Treasury action days later that extended and clarified the authorization for those shipments to be offloaded through April -- came as global oil markets were rattled by the conflict with Iran, a context administration officials say required short-term flexibility to prevent price spikes.

But lawmakers argue the policy risks handing the Kremlin a financial windfall just as it faces pressure on the battlefield.

Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top House Democrat on foreign policy, and Republican Don Bacon from Nebraska sent a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressing for details, warning the decision could undercut US national security.

They said allowing those cargoes to be sold globally has already enabled Russia to generate "billions in additional fossil fuel revenue," calling it a badly timed boost for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"This war can only end when Putin realizes this war is not winnable or too costly," Bacon told RFE/RL.

"Easing sanctions does the opposite. The administration is seeking short term gain but it comes with long term bad consequences," he added.

Republicans Split But Increasingly Wary

Some Republicans have backed the administration's argument that the move is temporary and narrowly tailored. But voices of dissent appear to be growing.

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, was blunt: Easing sanctions -- even briefly -- is "the wrong move," he told RFE/RL, warning that "every dollar" from oil sales helps fuel Russia's war.

Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican from Alabama and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also stressed that any relief must remain strictly limited while offering a broader warning about the strategic risks of easing pressure on Moscow.

"The temporary easing of Russian energy sanctions must indeed be temporary," Rogers said last week, adding that if Putin refuses to negotiate, "pressure on the Russian dictator must increase."

Rogers also underscored that the stakes go beyond energy markets, pointing to Russia's role globally.

"It's clear Putin is not our friend. He is an adversary," he said, warning that Moscow is actively helping Iran refine drone tactics and, according to reports, providing targeting intelligence against US forces.

He cautioned that any perception of weakening resolve could have consequences: "Vladimir Putin interprets a lack of American resolve as an opportunity. We should not give him one."

Democrats have gone further, tying the decision to broader criticism of Trump's foreign policy.

Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, argued on March 23 that Russia is emerging as a clear beneficiary of both rising oil prices and relaxed restrictions.

"The big winner [is] Russia," he claimed.

Speaking to RFE/RL last week, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois called the move a "terrible decision," saying it effectively gives Moscow more resources to continue its war.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, framed the issue in stark terms, accusing the administration of aiding adversaries.

"Lifting sanctions on Iran and Russia so they can go after our troops and our alliesis the dictionary definition of 'asinine,'" Schumer said.

Iran War Complicates Picture

The policy shift comes amid a widening conflict with Iran that has driven up oil prices and reshaped geopolitical alignments.

Lawmakers point to reports that Russia is assisting Tehran, including with intelligence and drone tactics, as Iranian-backed attacks target US personnel in the Middle East.

That dynamic has intensified concerns that easing pressure on Moscow could have direct consequences for US forces.

A separate letter led last week by Representative Bill Keating, a Democrat from Massachusetts, argued the administration's Iran policy is "directly benefitting" Russia economically and militarily.

The backlash is beginning to translate into legislative action.

Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, has introduced measures to terminate the temporary oil allowances, require weekly public accounting of Russian export revenues enabled by the policy, and formally condemn the administration's decision.

Those efforts reflect a broader push in Congress spanning both parties to tighten sanctions and close loopholes that allow Russian energy exports to continue flowing.

A 'Narrow' Step

Administration officials, however, insist the move is limited in scope and duration.

"This is a deliberately short-term step," one senior official told RFE/RL, stressing the policy applies only to Russian oil already "on the water" and effectively stranded due to sanctions restrictions.

According to officials, the authorization allows those shipments to reach buyers but "does not open the door to new Russian production or long-term trade."

"The goal is simply to prevent a sudden supply shock at a time when the Iran conflict is already stressing global energy markets," one official said.

Officials also pushed back on claims that the move significantly benefits Moscow. "This is not a meaningful lifeline for the Kremlin," one official said, calling it a "narrow and time-limited authorization."

Energy Secretary Chris Wright similarly defended the policy, saying the administration is balancing pressure on adversaries with the need to protect US consumers during a period of heightened global instability.

Still, lawmakers say key issues remain unresolved -- including whether the policy will be extended, how strictly existing price caps will be enforced, and why Congress was not notified in advance.

Meeks and Bacon have requested formal answers within days.

With bipartisan scrutiny intensifying and additional Treasury actions last week expanding the scope of the policy, what began as a technical adjustment to energy markets is rapidly becoming a political and strategic flashpoint in Washington.
The war in Iran and the resulting energy shock could revive Chinas interest in a long-stalled pipeline to import Russian gas, analysts told RFE/RL, potentially reshaping Beijings energy strategy.

As countries are facing an energy crisis after Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, halting oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows from the Gulf, Beijing is grappling with the potential loss of discounted Iranian oil and the risk of prolonged market disruption, prompting a rethink of its reliance on a chokepoint that carries roughly 40 percent of its oil and 30 percent of its LNG imports.

Those pressures could rekindle talks over the Power of Siberia-2 gas project -- a 2,600-kilometer pipeline that would bring gas from Russia's northern Yamal Peninsula to China via eastern Mongolia -- as Beijing reassesses its reliance on seaborne energy.

It definitely keeps Power of Siberia-2 on the negotiating table, Erica Downs, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, told RFE/RL. With supplies from Qatar disrupted, China's preference for overland natural gas imports is likely to increase.

Qatar, which produces a fifth of the world's LNG and supplied 28 percent of Chinas imports in 2025, was forced to stop exports after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israeli strikes in late February. Iranian missiles have since struck Qatar's giant Ras Laffan LNG complex, sending gas prices in Asia and Europe soaring and knocking out 17 percent of the facility's capacity for up to five years.

Power of Siberia-2 has been mired in disagreements over pricing and ownership terms for years, as well as ongoing Chinese concern over becoming too dependent on Russia for its energy imports. But a widening conflict and prolonged disruption to Qatars LNG output could force Beijing to reconsider its gas import strategy.

The longer the disruption and the higher global LNG prices, the more attractive Power of Siberia-2 is going to look, said Downs.

Pipe Dream Or Back In Play?

When China released its latest five-year plan in early March that charted its economic and social blueprint for 2026-2030, the document called on China to "advance preparatory work for the central route of the China-Russia natural gas pipeline," language some market observers interpreted as a direct reference to the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline.

Aleksei Chigadaev, an associate fellow at New Eurasian Strategies Center, told RFE/RL that the mention is important signaling from the Chinese side as the war in Iran highlights how concentrated China's gas security still is around maritime routes.

That signal follows a report by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to Beijings decision-making, following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025 that said that the short conflict had already led Chinese policymakers to see the Russian pipeline as more viable.

The future of the Power of Siberia-2 also made headlines in September 2025, when Aleksei Miller, chief executive of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, announced that a legally binding memorandum on the pipeline had been reached between Beijing and Moscow.

But that document does not constitute a green light on the ambitious multibillion-dollar project and many of the key details that could determine its future -- such as the price of gas, the volume that will pass through the pipeline, and who will foot the bill for its construction -- remain unresolved.

Chinese officials were conspicuously silent in the announcements aftermath. State media referenced the negotiations only by citing Russian or international reporting. When Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh met in Beijing in September 2025, Chinese media quoted Xi as saying only that "hard connectivity" should be a focus of future relations among the three countries.

Talks have stalled and restarted for years as Beijing pursued diversification to avoid overdependence on any single supplier.

Russia is already the country's largest supplier of pipeline gas thanks to the Power of Siberia-1, which became operational in 2019 under a 30-year, $400 billion deal and is now the third-largest provider of LNG after Australia and Qatar.

The project has long been more urgent for Moscow than for Beijing. Russia lost its biggest energy market when gas exports to Europe collapsed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the Kremlin has hoped the pipeline could compensate for at least part of that loss.

But the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz brought by the war in Iran could change that calculus.

Analysts say two variables remain central to whether a deal gets done: Beijing has pushed in negotiations to pay close to Russias own heavily-subsidized domestic prices for gas and has also sought to commit to only 50 percent of the pipeline's planned annual capacity of 50 billion cubic meters of gas, well below the typical 80 percent threshold.

If Moscow moves on both fronts, the pipeline becomes a more compelling security hedge for Beijing, but reaching those concessions could require China picking up a larger portion of the construction costs in exchange. That could create another sticking point in negotiations, however, with Beijing likely to take a large ownership stake in return.

The Russian economy is not in a good condition right now and it's unclear where Moscow would find the massive sum required for this project, Chigadaev said.

China's Quandary On More Russian Gas

China has so far managed to withstand the worst shocks of the energy crisis brought by war in the Middle East thanks to diversified supply, falling demand at home, and strategic reserves.

According to Kpler, a commodity intelligence firm, Chinese refineries have stockpiled between 1.2 and 1.4 billion barrels of oil as of the end of 2025, which could last up to three months. Teapot Chinese refiners are also expected to turn to Iranian and Russian oil in floating storage across Asia to maintain supply flows.

A July 2025 study by the Rhodium Group estimated that China's growing electric vehicle fleet is reducing oil demand by more than 1 million barrels per day. That level is likely to rise further by around 600,000 barrels per day over the next year. Beijing is also likely to accelerate its push to become more energy self-sufficient by producing more oil and gas at home but also by transitioning its power system away from fossil fuels altogether.

In the meantime, overland pipeline gas offers China a potential offramp.

Beyond the Power of Siberia-2, China is also looking at Turkmenistan. Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the Central Asian countrys former president who still wields paramount authority through a separate power structure, announced plans to expand gas production during a March 21 meeting with Xi in Beijing.

Turkmenistan is already a major provider of natural gas to China through an overland pipeline and Berdymukhamedov authorized the state energy firm Turkmengaz to contract a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to build a new gas-processing facility with a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year.

In addition to the proposed Power of Siberia-2, the Russia-China Far Eastern natural gas pipeline, designed to carry up to 12 bcm annually from Sakhalin Island, is set to start operations in January 2027.

That leaves China with short-term options as it navigates energy disruptions and negotiates with Moscow.

It comes down to price and flexibility on volume, said Downs. If Moscow can meet Beijing, then I could see Power of Siberia-2 appealing as a backup source of supply for the Chinese.
Pakistan has offered to host talks aimed at bringing the Iran conflict to an end, highlighting the country's strengthened ties in both the Middle East and with Washington.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post on March 24 that his country "stands ready and honored to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict.

Pakistan has been one of several countries -- along with Turkey and Egypt -- reportedly playing a role as an intermediary in trying to end fighting that started with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28.

Some media outlets have reported Islamabad as a possible location for talks between Tehran and Washington -- perhaps as early as this week.

Its not clear when or if these will go ahead, but as a neighbor of Iran that gets much of its oil from the Persian Gulf, Pakistan has been acutely affected by the conflict and has a strong interest in seeing it end.

Pakistan has stepped up its efforts to mediate a cease-fire, a senior military source in the country told RFE/RLs Radio Mashaal. The efforts are joined by Turkey and Egypt. Pakistan has a stake for multiple reasons.

Trumps Favorite Field Marshall

A key player in this has been Asim Munir, the head of Pakistans army, which traditionally pulls the levers of power behind the scenes while political leaders talk to the TV cameras.

Trump has described Munir as my favorite field marshal, and the White House told RFE/RL that the two men discussed the war and US-Iran talks in a call on March 23.

"Pakistan belongs certainly to the winners of Trump II foreign policy. Asim Munir has had at least two meetings with President Trump last year," Christian Wagner, a senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), told RFE/RL.

"It was quite unexpected that Pakistan suddenly got this high recognition in US foreign policy under the second Trump administration. And the personal relationship between Trump and General Munir has certainly contributed to this," he added.

While Trump and Munir were on the phone, Sharif was dialing up Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian.

We discussed the grave situation in the Gulf region and agreed on the urgent need for de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy, he tweeted afterwards.

Pakistans Pain

Several days earlier, Sharif had made a televised address to the nation laying out emergency measures to deal with the fallout from the Iran war. Half of all employees at both state and private institutions would now work from home, while many offices would move to 4-day weeks to conserve energy, he said on March 9.

This was followed by further measures, such as additional taxes on gasoline, to discourage automobile use or fuel hoarding. Transport service providers told RFE/RLs Radio Mashaal that they could no longer afford to operate.

The grave situation is caused by Pakistans reliance on the Persian Gulf for oil supplies. More than 85 percent of Pakistans oil comes by ship from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but Iran has turned off the tap by closing the route through the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan is also heavily reliant on Qatar for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Pakistans economic hub, the port of Karachi, has gone quiet.

These economic pressures are one reason for Pakistans interest in mediating a diplomatic solution to the Iran war. But there are many others.

In the early days of the war, angry crowds of Shia Muslims torched the US consulate in Karachi following the killing of Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It was a dramatic moment that highlighted how Pakistans domestic security concerns can be impacted by the war.

Violent Pro-Iran Protest Hits US Consulate In Karachi by RFE/RL No media source currently available 0:00 0:00:21 0:00

Pakistan is mostly Sunni Muslim, but a sizeable minority of its population is Shiite, which is the majority denomination in Iran and the affiliation of its clerical establishment.

Islamabad also faces an insurgency in Balochistan and armed conflict with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Last year, it also fought a four-day war with India.

Pakistan, given its location, is acutely vulnerable to conflict spillover effects. And with hot borders with both India and Afghanistan, it cant afford to get dragged into a conflict on what is typically its most peaceful border, Michael Kugelman, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told RFE/RL.

In that sense, Pakistan has a sky-high incentive to help move the needle forward however possible to de-escalate the conflict, he added.

The senior source in the Pakistani army agreed.

Any unrest or continued conflict in Iran directly impacts Pakistan in terms of a potential refugee influx, sectarian tensions in Pakistan, and emboldening of the secessionist elements in Pakistans Balochistan and Irans Siestan-Balochistan regions, he said.

The Saudi Connection

The high-ranking officer also pointed to another factor: Pakistans defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, signed in September last year.

A report at the time by the Saudi Press Agency said: The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both, but the text of the pact was not made public.

Iran has launched a series of attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia, prompting Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to hint at military retaliation. This has led to fevered speculation that Islamabad would be obliged to step in on Riyadhs side.

Any active involvement of Saudi Arabia in the conflict will present Pakistan with a dilemma of honoring the agreement at the cost of active hostility toward Iran and its domestic consequences, the military official said.
Russia fired more than 500 drones at regions across Ukraine in a relatively rare daytime attack, killing at least three people, injuring dozens, and damaging buildings in the historic center of the western city of Lviv, officials said.

The onslaught on March 24 followed overnight strikes that killed at least four people, authorities said. Russia frequently fires drones and missiles at cities in pre-dawn and early morning attacks, but daytime strikes far from the front lines are less common.

The barrages came amid what the Kremlin called a "situational pause" in US-Ukraine-Russia talks to end the war, now in its fifth year since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of the neighboring country.

In Lviv, video footage showed a drone flying over a building in the city center and striking what appeared to be a three-story apartment house adjacent to a church. Flames leapt toward the sky after the strike.

At least two apartment buildings were hit, Lviv mayor Andriy Sadoviy said on Telegram.

"Russia is attacking a crowded city center in broad daylight. Just minutes ago, Russian-Iranian drones struck the city of Lviv, seriously injuring two people," Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X. Officials later said at least 13 people were hospitalized.

Svyrydenko said a 17th century church that is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site in central Lviv, the Bernardine Monastery Ensemble, was targeted. On Telegram, regional head Maksym Kozytskiy said part of the historical site was damaged.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha urged the head of UNESCO, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to "immediately respond to this crime in the strongest terms."

"Ukraine will use all available mechanisms to protect our cultural heritage and ensure accountability. Russias brutal violations of international law must be met with accountability," Sybiha wrote on X. He said other regions including Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhya, and Dnipro had been targeted on March 24.

At least two people were killed in Ivano-Frankivsk and one in Vinnytsya, according to local officials.

The air force said Ukraine's military destroyed or disabled all but 15 of the 556 drones it said Russia fired at Ukraine between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., bringing the total number fired over a 24-hour period close to 1,000.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine reported that Russia had launched 426 drones and missiles in overnight and morning attacks, killing at least four people and injuring more than 20 others. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said damage was reported in 11 of Ukraine's administrative regions.

"The scale of this attack clearly shows that Russia has no real intention of ending this war," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address late on March 24. "Without additional and strong pressure on Russia, without tangible losses for them there in Moscow, no desire will develop to move away from the war or return to peace."





Dead and Injured Reported After Russian Strikes On Poltava, Zaporizhzhya and Dnipro by RFE/RL No media source currently available 0:00 0:01:24 0:00

According to the regional authorities, two people were killed and 11 injured in the eastern Poltava region, where residential buildings and a hotel were damaged.

In the southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, a combined drone and missile attack killed one person and injured five others, according to the head of regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov.

A Russian drone also hit a commuter train in the Kharkiv region, killing a 61-year-old passenger, according to the regional prosecutor's office.

Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Dnipro, a multistory building was hit in a morning strike on March 24, leaving at least eight people injured, two of whom were in a serious condition.

"Pressure on Russia must be intensified without delay. Sanctions must bite harder. The 20th EU package [of sanctions against Russia] must be adopted. The shadow fleet must be anchored," Sybiha wrote in a post on X, referring to tankers Russia uses to evade Western sanctions and deliver oil and petroleum products to markets.

Russian Strike Triggers Moldova Emergency

Moldova, meanwhile, has announced plans to declare a 60-day state of emergency in its energy sector after a key Europe-linked power line was cut following Russian strikes in Ukraine.

"We will propose declaring a state of emergency in the energy sector for 60 days. This is not a measure born of panic but of responsibility," Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu said in a Facebook video on March 24.

Moldova imports most of its electricity from its neighbor, the European Union member Romania, via a power cable that passes through southern Ukraine.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has condemned the Russian strikes on civilian energy infrastructure in Ukraine as "a war crime -- and an attack on all of us."

"Overnight strikes disconnected Moldova's key power link with Europe. Alternative routes are in place, but the situation remains fragile. Russia alone bears responsibility," she said in a post on X.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian launched 34 missiles and 392 drones, including seven Iskander ballistic, 23 cruise, and four guided air-to-air missiles. Ukrainian military says its air forces have intercepted 365 drones and 25 missiles.

In his nightly address just hours before the Russian attack, Zelenskyy, citing intelligence reports, warned of a possible large-scale Russian strike and urged citizens to remain alert to air raid signals.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said their forces intercepted 55 Ukrainian drones overnight, a day after Ukraine hit a fuel reservoir at the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, the country's largest western oil-exporting hub.

The Primorsk port, capable of exporting over 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, is a key outlet for Russia's Urals crude and high-quality diesel.

It was not the first time Primorsk was hit by Ukrainian forces; the port was previously targeted in September 2025, temporarily disrupting oil loadings.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that after several rounds in recent months, there is now a "situational pause" in trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia talks because of the Iran war.

US President Donald Trump has sought to end the war since he took office in January 2025, but Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on crucial issues including control over Ukrainian territory in the Donbas and Russia has shown little readiness for compromise.

"I'd like [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin and President Zelenskyy sit down and make a deal," Trump said on March 24. "I think they are getting close, but I've been saying that for a while.

With reporting from RFE/RL's Moldovan service, AFP, and Reuters
President Donald Trumps claim that the United States has held talks with Iran has raised hopes of an end to the weekslong war rocking the Middle East.

But it is unclear if the purported talks -- dismissed as fake news by Tehran -- are a sign of a potential breakthrough, intended to calm panicked financial and global energy markets, or simply to buy Trump more time.

Even if there is a concerted diplomatic push, a huge gap remains between the United States and Iran. Tehrans chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil supplies, also gives it leverage in any negotiations to end the war, experts say.

Despite the talk of diplomacy, the war with Iran showed no signs of de-escalation on March 24. The United States and Israel launched a new round of air strikes on Iran, which fired missiles at Israel and hit energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf.

I don't think Trump is seeking an off-ramp and an end to the war yet, said Farzan Sabet, a managing researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Trump still has escalatory options to attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and to coerce the Islamic republic to accept his terms, he said, including the possible use of US troops to seize Irans Kharg Island, which serves as the countrys key oil terminal, or capture Iranian territory with the aim of ending Tehrans effective closure of the narrow waterway.

US media reported last week that two American expeditionary units, with thousands of Marines and supporting ships and aircraft, were on their way to the Middle East.

Experts said Trumps claim of talks with Tehran provided the US president an opportunity to walk back from his threat to obliterate Irans power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the worlds oil and liquefied natural gas are shipped. Trump, who had issued a 48-hour ultimatum on March 21, said he was postponing the strikes to allow time for talks to succeed.

Backing down from his ultimatum and specifically the threat to destroy Iranian power plants probably had more to do with the risks involved with such an action, which could lead Tehran to strike reciprocal targets in the Persian Gulf, with potentially devastating humanitarian and economic consequences for both sides, said Sabet.

He likely faced intense pressure not to follow through on this threat, he added. There was also likely an element of Trump trying to manipulate global energy prices by giving the impression of de-escalation, coaxing them to go down, even if temporarily.

'Very Strong Talks'

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on March 23 that the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive" conversations about a "complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East."

Trump later told reporters that his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had held discussions with an unnamed top Iranian official in recent days.

"We have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement," Trump said.

Trumps comments quickly sent oil prices falling. But they rose back above $100 a barrel after Iran said there had been no direct talks with the United States.

"No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Irans powerful speaker of parliament, wrote on X.

Later, the White House said the situation was fluid and cautioned that no formal meetings between any US and Iranian officials had been scheduled.

Amid the contradictory claims from the United States and Iran, there appears to have been at least initial contact between the sides through intermediaries, according to US media reports.

'Permanent Political Solution'

Even if there is a genuine push to end the war, the gap between the sides remains significant and the likelihood of a breakthrough is low, experts say.

Trump has demanded an end to all nuclear enrichment and the elimination of all of Irans uranium stockpiles that could be potentially used to make a bomb.

Iranian officials have made their own demands, including guarantees that the United States and Israel will not attack Iran again, the lifting of crippling US sanctions, the closure of US military bases in the Persian Gulf, and war reparations from Washington and Israel.

The Iranians are aiming for a more permanent political solution rather than de-escalation or a cease-fire, said Sina Azodi, an expert of Irans military and history and an assistant professor of Middle East politics at George Washington University.

Iranian officials have said they do not want a repeat of the 12-day war with Israel and the United States in June 2025 which ended with a cease-fire, only for a new war to erupt on February 28.

They believe that if they stop now, Israel and the US will come back in six months if not a year, Azodi added. Their aim is to deter future attacks since they believe this is a fight for their survival.

Irans demands, experts say, reflect its belief that it will come to any negotiation from a position of strength.

US-Israeli strikes have degraded but not destroyed Irans ability to fire missiles and drones at Israel and Americas allies in the Persian Gulf. Tehran still maintains a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and Irans stockpiles of highly enriched uranium remain buried underneath nuclear sites damaged by US-Israeli strikes.

Right now, Iran has the upper hand in terms of its ability to deny the US a victory, said Azodi.
News / National

by Staff reporter

President Emmerson Mnangagwa's Land Tenure Implementation Committee says it has made significant progress in a sweeping reform programme aimed at converting agricultural land into a productive economic asset, with projections of generating up to US$16 billion over the next 20 years.Speaking at the Zim CEOs Policy Roundtable in Victoria Falls, committee chairperson Kudakwashe Tagwirei said the initiative seeks to empower more than 360 000 farmers by issuing bankable title deeds, replacing the current system of offer letters and permits."The President, in his wisdom, realised all these challenges that we are facing. He said, what is the best solution? Let us just give these people a title to solve this problem," Tagwirei said.For years, farmers operating under offer letters have struggled to access financing due to lack of secure tenure, while also facing uncertainty over land ownership. The new programme aims to address these constraints by enabling farmers to use land as collateral.The committee, which includes representatives from youth groups, women, war veterans, financial institutions and the private sector, is tasked with overseeing legal compliance, land valuation, digitisation and stakeholder engagement.Among those supporting the initiative are war veteran Happison Muchechetere and agricultural economist Mandivamba Rukuni.Central to the reform is the conversion of land holdings into title deeds, supported by incentives such as a 60% discount on land valuations to improve farmers' borrowing capacity. Additional concessions include a 15% discount for war veterans and preferential pricing for the first six hectares.Government employees are also set to benefit from smaller discounts, while the broader aim is to unlock capital for farm development and productivity.The programme is expected to channel revenue into an escrow account, with 22.5% earmarked for compensating former commercial farmers. The remainder will support debt reduction, infrastructure development, agricultural financing, and assistance for war veterans and traditional leaders."Government cannot give land for free," Tagwirei said, citing constitutional provisions requiring land to be allocated for value.To support productivity, the committee is rolling out "booster kits" for A1 farmers, which include boreholes, irrigation systems, inputs and infrastructure, financed over seven to ten years. Insurance cover for drought and fire is also being introduced.The initiative is targeting the development of 360 000 hectares of irrigated A1 land within the next decade, with a focus on high-value crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, onions, maize and wheat.Officials say the reforms could significantly boost agricultural output and contribute to long-term economic growth, with projections suggesting Zimbabwe's economy could reach US$258 billion by 2050 if land is fully utilised.The committee is expected to continue nationwide consultations, with its next stakeholder engagement scheduled for Chiredzi in June.
Isabel Hayes

A young man killed a pensioner with a back spin kick, like MMA, causing him to fall to the ground and suffer a fatal head injury, a Dublin court has heard.

Joshua Rush (25) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the manslaughter of Charles McCaughley (69) at Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3 on June 7th, 2021.

Shortly before the incident, McCaughley ordered fish and chips from a takeaway where staff said he was in good form, Detective Sergeant David Ennis told Diana Stuart, prosecuting, on Tuesday.

Another witness waiting for a bus told gardai that he saw three youths passing an older man as he walked along Fairview Strand. He said he saw one of the young men  Rush  employ a back spin kick, like MMA on the older man, causing him to fall on his back.

The trio left the scene and were seen entering accommodation nearby.

When the witness ran to his assistance, McCaughley was unconscious and there was blood coming from his mouth. He was taken to hospital by ambulance but his health deteriorated over the next few weeks and he died on June 26th, 2021.

A post-mortem exam carried out by assistant state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster found the cause of death was traumatic brain injury due to a significant fall to the back of the head.

Rush, with an address at Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3, has no previous convictions, the court heard.

He was arrested a couple of days after the assault after gardai made enquiries at the Fairview accommodation he was seen entering.

Rush told gardai that the old man said he wanted to send (him) to Jesus and spat at him. Rush also alleged McCaughley said he wanted to bend (Rush) over.

When asked about the kick, Rush said he was acting in self-defence. The court heard this was accepted by gardai.

He told gardai he had a difficult family background and that his father was physically abusive.

The court heard McCaughley had one surviving sister and no wife or children. His sister did not wish to make a victim impact statement but told gardai that she did not want anyone to go to jail.

McCaughley used to work as a glazier, the court heard.

Under questioning from Ronan Kennedy, defending, Det Sgt Ennis agreed that Rush took responsibility for his actions that evening.

He agreed with a defence assertion that Rush is generally a quiet, shy, non-aggressive, pleasant fellow and his actions that night were out of character.

Kennedy said McCaughley had been drinking on the night in question, which may have led to instability at the time he was kicked.

Judge Martina Baxter adjourned the case to April 20th to allow for gardai to find out more about the deceased man's background, noting it was important that the court have a fuller picture of McCaughley's life.

A plea of mitigation will be heard on the next date, as well as an assessment from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as to what range Rush's sentence should fall under.

The maximum sentence for manslaughter is life imprisonment.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The son of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, and his co-accused Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze will remain in custody after their case was postponed once again by the Alexandra Magistrate's Court.The pair appeared in court on Tuesday morning, where proceedings were delayed after the State indicated that plea agreement negotiations had not yet been finalised.According to prosecutors, there is still no agreement between the State and the defence, with reports suggesting dissatisfaction over the terms proposed by the defence team.The matter has now been postponed to April 17 to allow for further investigations and continued negotiations. Both accused will remain behind bars.The case has experienced several delays since it began. The latest postponement follows an earlier disruption caused by a power outage, while previous adjournments were granted to allow time for plea discussions.Last week, the accused abandoned their bail applications, indicating a preference to resolve the matter through a plea agreement.Defence lawyer Sinenhlanhla Mnguni previously told the court that negotiations were at an advanced stage but could not be concluded due to the unavailability of a senior prosecutor."We placed on record what transpired in negotiations between the State and the defence. The discussions are at an advanced stage," Mnguni said.State prosecutor Lufuno Maphiri confirmed that the agreement is still awaiting input from a senior public prosecutor who has been unavailable due to other commitments.The two accused face a raft of serious charges, including attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, defeating the ends of justice, theft, pointing a firearm, and violations of immigration laws.They are accused of shooting a 23-year-old employee at Mugabe's Hyde Park residence in February, leaving the victim critically injured. Authorities say the firearm allegedly used in the incident has not yet been recovered.The case is expected to resume in mid-April as both sides work toward finalising a plea agreement.
Four men have been given community service orders, with one also receiving a suspended prison sentence for public order offences committed during a street brawl in Boyle in October of 2022.

John Connolly (38), of Termon Road, Boyle, Oisin McCann (28), of Abbeytown, Boyle, Nathan McCann (24), of Park Court, Strokestown, and John McDonnell (27), of Knockrush, Boyle all appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Roscommon Circuit Court.

The four were initially charged with violent disorder, with additional charges against Mr McDonnell of section 3 assault causing harm and criminal damage. They initially pleaded not guilty to those charges and a jury was sworn in last October.

However, before the start of the trial, they pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of section 6 public order, whereby they were behaving in a threatening, insulting or abusive manner, with Mr McDonnell pleading guilty to the section 2 assault of Oisin McCann.

Mr McDonnell pleaded not guilty to a charge of criminal damage to the windscreen of Nathan McCanns car, and a nolle prosequi was entered, meaning the state would not move forward with the prosecution on that count.

All charges relate to an incident in the early hours of Saturday, October 22nd, 2022, on Green Street, Boyle.

Gardai received reports of a row on the street and, when they attended the scene, there was no sign of an incident, the court heard.

They were then approached by Oisin McCann who was injured and said he was assaulted by a number of males, but he didnt know their names. He lost eight teeth during the assault, which he said involved a number of kicks from a steel-toe boot.

An investigation commenced and a number of local premises were canvassed for CCTV footage. A number of witnesses were also spoken to and it became clear to gardai that a serious public order incident had occurred, but each witness gave a different statement.

While it became clear Mr McCann had been assaulted by a number of men, it could not be determined which of the men had caused his injuries.

All of the accused gave voluntary caution statements and acknowledged their presence in some capacity, with Mr McDonnell admitting to pushing Mr McCann, but denying any more serious assault.

The court heard how an argument had started outside a bar, with a number of men shouting at each other before one of them got into a car, and another broke the window of that car.

Nathan McCann, Judge Connolly stated, was least complicit in these matters. He was only present because he had driven to town to pick up his brother, Oisin, and drive him home. In his statement to gardai, he said someone jumped up on his car and smashed his windscreen.

He got out of the car and, along with his brother, found himself involved in a row before getting back in the car and driving home.

Mr McCann has a three-year-old son with health issues. He is currently in full time employment and is hoping to work as a security guard. He has no previous convictions and has come to no further adverse attention since this incident.

Judge Connolly said he had initially intended to give Nathan McCann community service but, given his childs health difficulties, he opted to spare him that and applied Section 1(1) of the Probation Act, which allowed him to avoid a conviction.

His brother, Oisin McCann, was much more involved, Judge Connolly noted, and has a relatively horrible previous history, with 47 convictions already under his belt, mostly for road traffic offences.

But even road traffic matters are crimes and some of them are fairly severe, including hit and run and failure to stop, involving imprisonment in the Midlands prison, said Judge Connolly.

He failed to give his name and address, which shows a certain attitude to An Garda Siochana and society at large, which I simply do not like.

He has come to no subsequent adverse attention, but Judge Connolly noted that perhaps thats not the end of the road for Mr McCann.

As a result of the assault, Mr McCann had to pay out a large sum of money to have his teeth fixed, he noted. He also runs his own business and has three children to look after.

Judge Connolly proceeded to impose a five week prison sentence, which he commuted to 100 hours of community service to be completed within one year.

John Connolly, who is 38 years old, should know better than to involve himself in this kind of carry on, Judge Connolly said.

It is an aggravating factor for all that these events took place in a public place and were of a violent nature, he added.

But he noted Mr Connolly, who is in part-time employment and also a carer for his father, had come to no subsequent adverse attention, which dissuaded the judge from imposing an immediate custodial sentence.

Mr Connolly has some previous convictions, including road traffic, public order and assault. He was similarly sentenced to five weeks imprisonment, which was again commuted to 100 hours of community service to be completed within 12 months.

John McDonnell was the most complicit in the incident, Judge Connolly noted. The 27-year-old was identified as one of a number of people who assaulted Oisin McCann, but it couldnt be said with certainty who inflicted the injuries. For that reason, his plea of guilty was very welcome indeed.

His probation report was not stellar. He expressed some awareness that the incident may have caused distress to others present.

Mr McDonnell has also had the benefit of three suspended sentences - one of 14 months, suspended for 14 months, one of three years suspended for three years, and a third of two years, suspended for two years.

It is very notable that this incident occurred only four months after he received those suspended sentences and it shows he wasnt learning his lesson, said Judge Connolly.

In fact this incident was a triggering offence for those sentences, which were imposed for the theft of a tractor and criminal damage to a Range Rover and a Ford Transit van in December 2019.

He has ten previous convictions, seven for road traffic offences and three for criminal damage, but hasnt come to any subsequent adverse attention since this incident.

Perhaps hes learned his lesson, but that remains to be seen, said Judge Connolly.

On the public order charge, he imposed a two month prison sentence, which he commuted to 150 hours of community service. For the assault, he imposed a three month prison sentence, which he suspended for one year on the condition that he remain under the supervision of the probation service for one year and address emotional regulation and alcohol regulation issues.

* Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.
The popular RTE property show Cheap Irish Homes is casting for its new season.

The show focuses on affordable homes across Ireland, guiding prospective buyers through the process of purchasing properties that often require some renovation.

Whether youre a young couple searching for a budget-friendly first home, a family needing more space, or someone looking for a property to downsize into, the Cheap Irish Homes team is here to help.

To apply, simply email cheapirishhomes@av3.ie with a few details about your property search.
TY students from Roscommon Community College are celebrating today after winning six awards at the All-Ireland Drama Finals in Macroom last night (Monday).

The school took home the awards for First Place; Best Directors; Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Set and Best Stage Crew.

The students were delighted to win six awards.

The students performed an emotional, powerful and truly captivating adaptation of 'Eclipsed', a powerful play set in 1960s Ireland that explores the experiences of women living in a Magdalene laundry, which left audiences and adjudicators in awe at the Briery Gap Theatre.

Congratulations to cast, crew and directors on this incredible success!
There was a timely good news story in Strokestown this past week. As the town looks to the future with the ongoing Realm project, locals received a beautiful reminder of the past with the return of the Strokestown Democrat printing press to its original home.

Readers may be aware of the recent revival of the Democrat newspaper which did not survive, but this printing press goes back to original Strokestown Democrat founded in 1907 by the Morahan brothers, Paddy and Owen, from the townland of Cloonmane, on the Roscommon side of Carrick-on-Shannon.

It carried as its motto, in Latin, Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit, which translates as Truth is great and it shall prevail. The first edition was published, or was hand cranked off a cylinder, in March 1907, but unfortunately, the earliest surviving editions only go back as far as 1913. The last edition was published on May 15th, 1948.

As well as the newspaper, the brothers also printed posters, docket books, receipt forms, ball and business cards, raffle and concert tickets, labels, programmes, billboards and memorial cards. One of their most famous productions was the Wests Awake Count Plunkett 1917 Election of the Snows Bye-election poster.

The paper covered events of national significance, was outspoken against conscription during WW1, and strongly in favour of Irish independence. Paddy died in June 1919 after a short illness, at the age of 43. Owen continued on with the help of his two sons, Paddy and Tom and later with that of his daughter, Nell. The family paid a heavy price for their nationalist stance, members being harassed and arrested regularly, but this did not deter them. Owen died in August 1944, and his children carried on the business.

Paddy and Tom Morahan with a copy of the Strokestown Democrat. Their father Owen was one of the original founders of the paper, along with his brother Paddy.

For various reasons such as emigration, the rise in popularity of provincial papers and update costs, the Morahans decided to drop the newspaper in 1948 and concentrate on the commercial printing end of the business. This proved very successful and they produced spectacular posters while maintaining accuracy and essential information.

Paddy died in 1974, followed by Tom two years later, both men still in their fifties. Nell thrived in her role as Strokestown Notes correspondent for the Roscommon Herald for many years. She passed away in August 2011, the last link with this historic publication. (Thanks to Mike Lennon for the information on the Democrat).

Unbeknownst to her in her lifetime, however, she would play a major role in the return of the Democrat printing press to her native town. Nell had been a school friend of Brigid Kavanagh (nee Shiel), in the 1930s, and kept up the friendship in later years. Whilst on a ramble to Nell with her son, Declan, Nell mentioned that the printing press had made its way to Bunratty Folk Museum in County Clare in the 1980s.

The first edition of the Strokestown Democrat was published, or was hand cranked off a cylinder, in March 1907.

When a few people got together in 2025 to form a community heritage group in Strokestown, Declan recalled the conversation with Nell, and thought it would be fitting to get the press back to its original home. After months of phone calls and emails, Dolores Broderick from Bunratty Museum informed him that the press was in storage in Smithstown, near Shannon, and that they were happy to repatriate it to Strokestown.

So it happened that on Thursday, March 12th, three people headed off from the town at 7.30 in the morning, on a mission to bring the Democrat home. They travelled in a lorry owned by Pat Brogan Tractors, who sponsored the trip and to whom the community group is extremely grateful. Thanks also to our driver, Michael Martin, who also loaded the press onto the lorry. Declan Kavanagh and Rory Doyle accompanied Michael, and they were met at Smithstown by Dolores, Adrian and by forklift driver, James, from Flann ONeill Hardware. It was a great team effort, and the press triumphantly made its way into Pat Brogans yard at about 3.30pm, all six tonnes and about 50 sections of it.

Rory Doyle and Declan Kavanagh pictured bringing the printing press back to Strokestown. The press had been housed in the Morahan premises in Bridge Street, but as this house was demolished in 1989, the community heritage group would appreciate hearing from any individual or company willing to put the press on display in the town.

Pat has kindly agreed to store the press on his premises temporarily, so, obviously, a new more permanent home is required where people can view and enjoy the works. The press had been housed in the Morahan premises in Bridge Street, but as this house was demolished in 1989, the community heritage group would appreciate hearing from any individual or company willing to put the press on display in the town.

Because of its historic and cultural significance, the Community Heritage Group feels that the Democrat printing press will be of huge benefit in attracting more visitors to the area. Work on restoration of this Albion Iron press, probably manufactured in the 1830 to 1850 period, and invented by RW Cope, will hopefully begin shortly.

Any interested parties are urged to contact Declan at 087 2484530 or Rory at 086 1024320.
Books on Broadway, Williston, is bringing in author Eric Palmer for a live book signing of his latest non-fiction book, "The Lost Chemist", on March 28. The book outlines the unspoken work of Dr. Max F. Roy, a pivotal chemist in the Manhattan Project and the following advancements of nuclear energy. Filled with family photos and well researched information, "The Lost Chemist" fleshes out Max Roy's life into a page turning read for any history buff.

Palmer is a seasoned author, having written another well-regarded book centering around the second world war called, "Static Lines", which uses the letters of a World War II paratrooper Sonnie Rockford to tell the unfiltered story of what life was like to be an allied paratrooper.

Stop by Books on Broadway on March 28 in Williston to meet Palmer and get a copy of "the Lost Chemist" signed by the passionate author behind every page.
Great Northern Development Corporation (GNDC) has been awarded $65,000 through the Montana Department of Commerces Opportunities for Rural Economies (ORE) Development Organization Capacity Building Grant Program.

The funding is part of a more than $700,000 investment distributed to 17 economic development organizations across Montana, aimed at strengthening local capacity to support businesses, expand services, and drive long-term economic growth in rural communities.

GNDC will use the funding to enhance internal systems and service delivery through software and hardware upgrades, a comprehensive cybersecurity assessment, staff training, and expanded marketing efforts. These improvements are designed to increase efficiency, strengthen data security, and ultimately improve how GNDC supports businesses and communities across northeast Montana.

This investment allows us to better serve the businesses and communities that rely on us every day, said Tori Matejovsky, GNDC executive director. By strengthening our internal capacity, were able to provide more responsive, effective support to entrepreneurs, local governments, and community partners. The impact of this funding will extend well beyond our organization and will help drive sustainable economic growth across the entire region.

The enhancements funded through this grant will have a direct trickle-down effect for small businesses and communities.

Improved systems and training will allow GNDC to streamline access to capital, deliver more efficient technical assistance, and expand outreach to underserved and rural entrepreneurs. Investments in cybersecurity and technology will also ensure that business clients can confidently engage with GNDCs services in a secure and modern environment.

The ORE Capacity Building Grant Program specifically targets organizations like GNDC that are actively engaged in economic development and business assistance in rural areas. By investing in these organizations, the state is reinforcing a network of local partners equipped to help Montana businesses grow and succeed.

Businesses, community leaders, and partners interested in learning more about GNDCs loan programs, advising services, or economic development initiatives are encouraged to visit http://www.gndc.org or contact GNDC directly.

Great Northern Development Corporation is the regional economic and small business development organization serving Northeastern Montana. As a mission-driven nonprofit, GNDC partners with local, state, federal, and private stakeholders to bring resources, investment, and opportunity to rural communities. GNDCs programs include small business advising, business lending, community development, Brownfield assessment and infrastructure planningall focused on building a more resilient and prosperous region.
Starch your jeans and polish your boots; Watford City is again hosting 8th Annual PRCA Extreme Bares & Broncs event this March 27-28 at the McKenzie County Ag Expo. Smith Pro Rodeo, and the stock contractors they have partnered with, will have their best buckers on hand for 70 of the top riders from the U.S., Canada, and Australia. With an additional $20,000 added this year, $90,000 is on the line for the competitors! Three former world champions, 27 riders who have competed at the National Finals Rodeo, and 18 of the current top 25 in each event, promises it will be some of the best roughstock action in the country this spring.

Smith Pro Rodeo, Brookman Rodeo, Burch Rodeo Company, Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp., Three Hills Ranch, Inc., Sankey Pro Rodeo, and Triple B Rodeo are providing their top horses for the cowboys. Many of these horses have graced the chutes of the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV, at the National Finals Rodeo.

Rodeo action will start at 7 p.m. each night, with Jesse Knudson returning for his fifth year of announcing. Jesse has announced rodeos and rough stock events across the U.S. and even Saudi Arabia, and as a former PRCA bull rider and bullfighter, brings an unmatched insight and enthusiasm to the event. Scott Grover, who has announced the Ram Prairie Circuit Finals, PBR World Finals, and the National Finals Steer Roping, will be co-announcing with Jesse.

JJ Harrison returns as the events rodeo clown, and the promise of bottomless energy and laughter from his performance are guaranteed to keep the youth and adults in attendance entertained beyond the bucking horses. From the National Finals to the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, JJ has earned a name as one of the top five rodeo clowns to grace the arena in the last decade. Another top entertainer, Drew Taylor, will be returning to orchestrate the musical offerings during the event. Miss Rodeo North Dakota for 2026, Jaylynn Hicks, Dunn Center, ND, will be in attendance and offering autographs.

Local sponsors have continued to grow the event, and the event continues to grow its contribution to the community in turn. In 2025, the PRCA Extreme Bares and Broncs raised $33,000 by auctioning off JJ Harrison's jersey and those funds were donated locally. This year, Arnie's Motorsports has partnered with PRCA Extreme Bares & Broncs to give away in a drawing a Denago Freelander 300FI 4-wheeler at the event. Simply enter at their table at the event, as you do not need to be present to win.

Opening each night at 5 p.m. will be the Western Art & Vendor Show hosted by Long X Arts in the Exhibit Hall. Local western artists, boutiques, gear makers, and vendors will share their offerings. Following tradition from last year's event, there will be a free art project for kids, and Saddle Up will have their dummy roping.

Tickets are available now at http://www.headingsrodeo.com, with general admission costing $35 and children 5 and under attending for free. Party Zone tickets cost $75 and offer premium seating and a private bar. Get them before they're gone, and enjoy the show!
Sidney  Sidney Health Center Extended Care recently named Patti Schwenke the 2025 Resident of the Year. Patti was honored at a celebration on March 18 in the dining room at Extended Care. Family, friends, residents and staff gathered to celebrate the occasion with a brief program including a cake in her honor and refreshments.

Patti has been an integral part of the Extended Care community since November 2024, embodying the kindness, compassion, and respect that the Resident of the Year award is meant to recognize. Staff members describe her as someone who is always welcoming to others and makes people feel comfortable and included. Patti is always willing to lend a helping hand whenever she can and treats everyone with kindness and respect, no matter who they are. Her positive attitude and friendly nature help make the Extended Care community a warmer and more welcoming place for both residents and staff.

Patti was born in Glendive, to Alvin and Ruth Maschera. She grew up with her siblings, Richard, JoAnne and Emagene, and graduated from Savage High School before attending beauty school in Miles City.

In 1971, she met Robert "Bob" Schwenke, and the two married soon after, beginning life as an Army family. They lived in Germany, where their son Bobby was born and Patti worked in a hat factory, before moving to Tacoma, WA, where their daughter Tami was born. After Bob's retirement from the Army, they settled in Sidney, where their daughter Angela was born, completing their family.

Patti spent many years working as a cook in several Sidney restaurants, including the South 40, Corner Kitchen, and M&M Cafe, where she built strong connections within the community. She also spent 15 years driving the Richland Roundup Senior Citizen Bus, a role she truly enjoyed.

Family has always been central to Patti's life. She is a proud grandmother and great-grandmother who treasures time spent with loved ones. She especially enjoys family traditions, including the Phares Family Reunion, where she often helps plan meals and cook for large gatherings. Another meaningful tradition is the family's annual ravioli-making event. Each year, they prepare around 50 dozen ravioli for their Christmas meal using a cherished recipe passed down from her grandparents, who immigrated from Italy.

Patti is also known for her talent in beadwork, creating beautiful jewelry and keepsakes to share with family and friends.

Through quality nursing care, activities, self-improvement, and friendships, Extended Care proves there is more to aging than growing old. The goal is to provide variety and spontaneity in an enlivened environment so that residents can succeed where pills and therapies fail. In short, Sidney Health Center Extended Care believes:

Aging is a natural and normal life process.

Aging should not limit a person's right to experience life to its fullest.

People should be able to live their life at their highest level of health, independence, and well-being.

Often, people feel more comfortable in surroundings that meet their individual needs for friendships and activities, as well as safety. In striving to meet each individual's unique and specific needs, Extended Care offers specialized environments with specialized staff.

For more information about the services that Sidney Health Center Extended Care offers, visit our website at SidneyHealth.org/Extended-Care or call 406-488-2300.
Bozeman  Jaecee Pelvit and Payton Bauer from Sidney High School attended the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) 2026 State Leadership Conference (SLC) in Bozeman, March 19-20. FCCLA's 2026 SLC drew over 610 members, advisers, and supporters from across the state with opportunities for personal development, career exploration, and community service. The event was made possible through a sponsorship by the Montana State University College of Education, Health and Human Development.

Throughout SLC, attendees participated in a variety of activities. The keynote speaker was Mike Hall, and workshop session presenters included Chef Eduardo Garcia of Montana Mex, and Lindsey Cobble and Brooklynn Gross of FCCLA's Leadership Training Team. Workshop sessions focused on a variety of topics, including personal development, leadership training, career exploration and development, and physical and mental health resources.

While at the conference, students competed in career-focused Skill Demonstration Events, testing their knowledge in culinary arts. Also held during the conference were STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) Events, where students showcased their efforts and accomplishments in areas including career development, community service, and personal growth. Events also included student projects in areas related specifically to Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) content, including child development, nutrition and wellness, personal finance, fashion design, Interior design, and career development.

One component of the conference activities included the Montana ProStart/FCCLA culinary and management competitions held at Gallatin College. Culinary students from seven Montana schools competed in both culinary and management competitions, with industry experts critiquing their performance. The ProStart program serves secondary students in Montana schools and is sponsored by the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation through a partnership with the Montana Retailers Association, preparing secondary students for a smooth transition into the hospitality industry.

Additional activities for conference attendees included participation in a series of career preparation workshops, chapter leader training, and an FCS Career Connection training, comprised of a series of three focused trainings designed to help students increase overall career preparedness as well as explore potential careers related to fields of early childhood education and culinary arts. Professionals from all across the state supported this training by engaging with attendees during the training and providing feedback regarding challenges designed to simulate workplace situations.

Serving others was another major component of the conference. Participants created welcome kits to benefit the clients of Haven in the Service Room, as well as welcome home baskets to support those transitioning to domestic independence after a stay at Haven. Attendees also volunteered during the Service Road Trip at Haven. Additionally, attendees donated over $1000 to Haven through the Miracle Moment collections.
Registration is now open for the 22nd Annual Children's Fishing Derby, Saturday, June 6 at Kent Pelton Pond, 490 7th St. SE, Watford City.

This awesome free event is for kids 13 and under, and is made possible by Watford City Parks & Recreation, National Wild Turkey Federation, and the U.S. Forest Service Department of Agriculture.

"This event doesn't happen without their support and help, especially the Forest Service  they provide a lot of manpower on the day of the event in the form of workers. Very grateful to these entities for their support in the planning and execution of the event," said Josh Nollmeyer, Rough Rider Center assistant director.

There will be two sessions, 9-10:30 a.m. CT and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT, with a limit of 90 kids per session. Each child will get a fishing pole, supplied by Watford City Parks & Recreation and the National Wild Turkey Federation. There will also be door prizes given away, provided by local businesses and put together by the Forest Service.

Participants are also invited to enjoy a complimentary hot dog lunch, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. CT.

Parents are asked to accompany their kid(s), but no fishing experience is required. There will be volunteers on-site to assist.

"This is where the Forest Service is amazing! Their team does a great job assisting and supporting the kids as they catch fish," Nollmeyer commented.

Years ago, Kent Pelton Nature Pond was built where a lagoon once was. After that, the City of Watford City and the Forest Service teamed up to bring the Children's Fishing Derby to area kids as a way to get them active outdoors from an early age. Each year, you can spot the park district weed-eating and getting the pond ready for the day of fun in the sun.

"Game & Fish provided the guidance, fishing dock and grant money and is still involved with some equipment and stocking the fish. They usually stock around 100 adult catfish from when they net for the walleye spawn, anywhere from 300-500 rainbow trout and sometimes blue gill," explained Robin Arndt, Watford City Park District park superintendent.

Anyone interested should pre-register at watfordcityparks.com or call 701-842-3665 to guarantee a spot. Last year, the Children's Fishing Derby was at their maximum with 180 kids total.

"Introducing them to a lifelong activity like fishing not only promotes healthy habits, but it also creates opportunities for lasting memories with family and friends. It's about building a connection to the outdoors and fostering an appreciation that can stay with them for the rest of their lives," Nollmeyer encouraged.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwean business leaders and entrepreneurs have been urged to scale up local production, streamline cross-border trade and tackle structural bottlenecks limiting regional competitiveness.This was the central message at the 2026 Enterprise Leaders & Innovators Society for Africa Business Summit held in Hwange under the theme Business Beyond Borders.The summit brought together entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts from across the continent to map strategies for sustainable growth and deeper African economic integration.Leading investor and economist Nigel Chanakira called for a decisive shift towards local production, warning that continued reliance on imports undermines long-term economic resilience."I think we should now be thinking about the opportunity we have to scale and look across Africa," he said, adding that sustainable business models must be accessible, inclusive and responsible.Chanakira pointed to the electric vehicle (EV) sector as an example, noting that despite Africa's vast lithium reserves, countries continue to import finished products instead of developing local manufacturing capacity.Echoing the sentiment, Thomas Hillin, chief executive of Ecosystem Architect Entrepreneurship for Everyone, said local manufacturing improves supply reliability and builds industrial capacity."More products should be made here. When you manufacture locally, you are less dependent on transportation, making supply more reliable," he said.The summit also highlighted the importance of regional trade frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, which participants said holds significant potential despite ongoing tariff and policy challenges.Joseph Simukoko, co-founder and CEO of Green Giraffe, said while AfCFTA is a step forward, implementation gaps remain."It's a transitional process, but it presents an opportunity for Africa and for Zimbabwe," he said.Policy clarity and execution were also identified as critical enablers for growth. Elisabeth Valerio, chief executive of the International Centre for Professional Development, stressed the need for coordinated strategies."We need clearer standards, stronger coordination and disciplined execution," she said, adding that businesses must strengthen supply chains and expand into regional markets.Meanwhile, Stephene Chikosho said intra-African trade continues to lag behind due to infrastructure gaps, with many countries still trading more with external partners such as China.Sincpoint chief executive Labogang Letsoala highlighted the urgent need to improve transport corridors, border efficiency and regulatory harmonisation."If we do not fix corridors, border posts and supporting infrastructure, the idea of free trade loses meaning," she said.Speakers agreed that Zimbabwe's abundant natural and human resources position it well to benefit from Africa's growing interconnected marketsprovided structural challenges are addressed and local industries are strengthened.
More security for Romania

The Chamber of Deputies has debated the European Parliaments proposal on military mobility.

Sea Shield 2026 (Source: facebookForteleNavaleRomane)

Stefan Stoica, 24.03.2026, 13:50

The Romanian Naval Forces are conducting the biggest annual multinational training exercise, entitled Sea Shield 2026, and which is coming to an end next week. The exercise brings together over 2,500 military from Romania and 12 other partner states, as well as 48 ships and boats, 64 combat vehicles, 10 aircraft and 10 autonomous unmanned systems. The goal is to strengthen cooperation and joint action procedures. Defence minister Radu Miruta told Radio Romania that the exercise sends a strong message, namely that there is interoperability and capacity to act, willingness to learn from others and for others to learn from us and a wish for the military of NATO countries to work and fight shoulder to shoulder in any conditions.

At the same time, the exercise demonstrates that there is capacity to act with respect to any challenges in the Black Sea, as well as a permanent concern to receive training and to work with the best devices available on the market. Speaking about the major conflicts under way right now, one of which is near Romanias borders, defence minister Radu Miruta said that it is only natural for the Romanian Army to consider every scenario, as what is happening there can have consequences for regional security.

There are risks, the minister admitted, but Romania is a country that has deterrence capacity, a country that is a NATO member and that interacts with other NATO member countries in order to be able to face such challenges. He added that given the distance between Romania and what is happening in Iran, Israel and the Gulf countries, the consequences are somewhat indirect. On the other hand, such a conflict naturally gives rise to economic consequences, as up to a quarter of the worlds crude oil passes through a strait where a blockage exists today. Romania produces, extracts and refines oil itself, so it doesnt feel the full power of the consequences, the defence minister believes. However, they can become dramatic, he added, if what is happening in Iran lasts longer, leading to Romanias using up its own reserves. If, however, it ends faster, the stocks that Romania has are a kind of buffer, allowing it to mitigate the impact.

Along the same lines, the Chamber of Deputies debated the European Parliaments proposal on military mobility, which provides for facilitating the transport of equipment, goods and military personnel throughout the region. Romania has a strategic role in the region and has requested a distinct financial allocation for infrastructure works in NATO member states on the eastern flank. While the populist, ultranationalist opposition fears this proposal raises questions with regard to national sovereignty, the Liberals (in the ruling coalition) have argued that it responds to the security challenges that the European Union is facing in the region and that it helps Romania develop its own logistical infrastructure.
Elon Musk is rolling out a significant plan to build a $20 billion semiconductor factory, named Terafab, in Austin, Texas. This facility aims to meet the increasing demand for chips at Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, Musk's AI venture.

It is to be situated close to Tesla's current gigafactory in eastern Travis County and will bring together chip design, fabrication, memory production, and packaging all under one roof.

Musk mentioned that Terafab could crank out up to one terawatt of computing power each year, which is enough for hundreds of millions of AI chips that can power everything from self-driving cars to humanoid robots and orbital systems. The facility is set to focus on advanced 2-nanometer chip production, a field currently dominated by big names like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung Electronics.

Musk pointed out that this project is crucial because outside suppliers aren't ramping up production fast enough to satisfy Tesla's needs, especially for the Optimus humanoid robots, the robotaxi fleet, and Full Self-Driving systems.

The company expects to kick off production by 2027, but experts think it might be 2028 or later before we see full-scale output of these advanced semiconductors due to how tricky and expensive it is to set up a fully functioning fabrication plant.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
AerCap Holdings N.V. (AER), on Tuesday, signed lease agreements with Ethiopian Airlines for two Boeing 777-300ERSF converted freighters.

The aircraft is also known as the "Big Twin," is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2028.

The company said the aircraft will be the first of its type to operate in Africa and is expected to enhance cargo capacity and efficiency for Ethiopian Airlines.

In the pre-market trading, AerCap is at $135.21 on the New York Stock Exchange.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
A large study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Sichuan University in China has uncovered that while psychiatric diagnoses among fathers tend to decline during pregnancy and the early months after birth, they rise sharply about a year later.

"The transition to fatherhood often involves both positive experiences and a range of new stresses," said co-first author Jing Zhou, PhD student at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet. "Many cherish the intimate moments with their child, whilst at the same time the relationship with their partner may be affected and sleep quality may deteriorate, which can contribute to an increased risk of mental ill- ."

The study analyzed data from more than one million fathers in Sweden whose children were born between 2003 and 2021. Researchers used linked national registry data to track how often men received new psychiatric diagnoses, beginning one year before pregnancy and continuing through the child's first year of life.

Published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the results showed that psychiatric diagnoses became less common during pregnancy and in the initial months after birth compared with the year prior. By the time the child reached one year of age, diagnoses related to anxiety and substance use had returned to pre-pregnancy levels.

However, not all conditions followed the same trend. Rates of depression and stress-related disorders rose significantly, increasing by more than 30 percent compared with levels seen before pregnancy, indicating that while some mental health risks stabilize over time, others may intensify as the responsibilities of parenthood grow.

"The delayed increase in depression was unexpected and underscores the need to pay attention to warning signs of mental ill-health in fathers long after the birth of their child," said corresponding author Donghao Lu, senior lecturer and associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.

The researchers also pointed out that the study is based on clinical diagnoses, meaning some cases may have gone unrecorded if individuals did not seek medical help. However, the findings highlight the need for greater awareness and support during the transition to parenthood.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Tata Motors launched the new Sierra SUV in November 2025, but one key detail was never officially disclosed  ARAI-certified mileage figures. Now, thanks to an RTI filed by Twitter user Vahan Warta, these fuel efficiency numbers have finally come to light.

As per the RTI response sourced from ARAI, the 1.5L TGDi Hyperion petrol engine delivers 13.5 kmpl, while the 1.5L Kryojet diesel offers 18.8 kmpl. Interestingly, the 1.5L naturally aspirated petrol variant still does not have an ARAI certificate issued. The diesel engine received its ARAI certification on 21 November 2025, while the turbo petrol engine was certified on 11 December 2025  both around the time of Sierras launch window.

Mileage Figures And Certification Details

As per the RTI response:

1. 1.5L NA Petrol  Certificate not yet issued

2. 1.5L TGDi Hyperion Petrol  13.5 kmpl (Certified on 11.12.2025)

3. 1.5L Kryojet Diesel  18.8 kmpl (Certified on 21.11.2025)

Interestingly, around the time of launch, Tata Motors had instead highlighted a mileage-related marketing claim for Sierras 1.5L Hyperion petrol engine. The company announced an India Book of Records achievement of 29.9 kmpl, achieved during a 12-hour run at the NATRAX proving ground in Indore.

Strong Demand Since Launch

Despite the absence of officially published mileage figures, Tata Sierra has seen strong demand since launch. Deliveries began on 15 January 2026, and the company recently confirmed crossing the 10,000 units delivery milestone within just a few weeks.

The SUV had already generated massive interest earlier, with bookings crossing 70,000 units within 24 hours and later surpassing the 1 lakh mark. This indicates that buyer interest has remained strong even without complete transparency on certain specifications.

Production And Expansion Plans

Tata Motors is currently focusing on ramping up production to meet rising demand. The Sierra is being manufactured at the Sanand facility, alongside Nexon. Production is expected to scale up to around 15,000 units per month in the coming months. Alongside ICE variants, Tata is also preparing to launch Sierra EV, which is expected to arrive by June 2026.

While Sierras strong sales momentum continues, the delayed disclosure of ARAI mileage figures raises concerns around transparency. In a market like India where fuel efficiency plays a major role in purchase decisions, such details are typically highlighted upfront. The RTI response now fills that gap  albeit months after the SUV has already been launched and delivered to customers.

Source
To highlight its customization potential, Toyota has showcased four different concept versions of the Land Cruiser FJ

Toyota had unveiled the Land Cruiser FJ in October 2025. And now, this compact off-roader has been officially introduced in Thailand. The SUV is currently manufactured in Thailand, with plans to start production in India as well at a later date. Available in a single high-spec trim, the Land Cruiser in Thailand is available at an introductory price of 1,269,000 THB (Rs 36.5 lakh). Lets explore more details about the smallest offering in the Land Cruiser lineup.

Land Cruiser FJ  Performance, equipment

Powering the Land Cruiser FJ is a 2.7-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that generates 166 PS and 245 Nm of torque. It is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission with sequential shift. The ladder-frame SUV utilizes a part-time 4WD setup with a rear differential lock. Land Cruiser FJ has 18-inch wheels, wrapped in 265/60 R18 tyres.

Dimensionally, the SUV is 4,610 mm long, 1,855 mm wide, 1,890 mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2,580 mm. Ground clearance of 245 mm makes the SUV suitable for off-road environments. Land Cruiser FJ has a striking presence with its muscular, boxy profile. Exterior highlights include LED projector headlamps, running boards, body cladding and tailgate-mounted spare tyre.

Land Cruiser FJ is available in three colour options  Smoky Blue, Platinum White Pearl Mica and Ash. Inside, key features include a 12.3-inch touchscreen display, a 7-inch instrument cluster, leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, USB Type-C ports, dual-zone automatic climate control, auto-dimming IRVM and PM 2.5 air filter.

Safety kit includes 7 airbags, cruise control, panoramic view monitor, traction control system, vehicle stability control system, hill-start assist control, front and rear parking sensors and tyre pressure monitoring system. A comprehensive range of ADAS features are also available with the Land Cruiser FJ.

Land Cruiser FJ  Concept models

For off-road enthusiasts, theres the Meridian custom built version of the Land Cruiser FJ. This trail-focused version is geared up for extreme terrain with features such as a snorkel, underbody protection and ARB hardware. Other highlights include a roof rack, 17-inch Lenso MX Dinero alloy wheels and heavy-duty off-road focused tyres. Also included is a 20 mm lift kit, which has Old Man Emu springs and Nitrocharger Plus shocks. These further enhance the SUVs off-road capabilities.

For outdoor enthusiasts, Toyota has showcased the Nature Explorer concept version. Key features include grille-mounted ARB spotlights, Nacho LEDs on the lower windshield, rooftop tent, full-size ARB roof rack and a side awning. This concept uses Lenso MX Marvel alloy wheels, wrapped in all-terrain tyres.

For that retro feel, the Legendary concept version of the Land Cruiser FJ seems appropriate. It is inspired by the classic FJ40. Key features include a distinctive Sandstone Yellow colour, body-coloured fenders and circular LED DRLs. For an urban setting, Toyota has built the Street Cruiser custom version. It uses 20-inch Lenso Jager Astra alloy wheels, wrapped in road-biased tyres. One of the key features is a rear carrier that can be used to load a compact motorcycle or a bicycle.

Accessories packages

Toyota has showcased four concept models, which highlight the customization potential of the SUV. Some of the parts used in these concepts are available as official accessories. These can be purchased individually or as a complete kit. For context, the Unbound Explorer accessories package includes a snorkel, ARB engine under shield and overfender set. This kit is priced at 32,450 THB (Rs 94,404).

Similarly, the Urban Unique package includes front and rear 2K dashcams, engine under guard, front grille garnish, door body moulding, spare tyre cover garnish, fuel lid garnish and side visors. This package is priced at 32,700 THB (Rs 93,700). The Freedom Journey package costs 36,400 THB (Rs 1.05 lakh) and includes an ARB roof rack tray.

Land Cruiser FJ  India launch

It is expected that the Land Cruiser FJ will be launched in India in 2028. It will be locally manufactured, with production planned to commence in 2028 at Toyotas upcoming fourth Indian plant in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra. This facility will also serve as a manufacturing hub for export markets.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe's political landscape is growing increasingly polarised as tensions mount over proposed constitutional amendments that could extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's rule beyond 2028 to 2030 under the banner of the "ED2030" agenda.The ruling Zanu-PF has intensified nationwide mobilisation campaigns backing the controversial Constitutional Amendment (No.3), which seeks to lengthen presidential tenure and introduce wide-ranging political, electoral and governance reforms. The campaigns are being driven through party structures, government platforms and community engagements, including high-profile gatherings such as funerals held at National Heroes Acre.However, the push has triggered strong resistance from civic organisations and opposition actors, who have branded the proposed changes a "constitutional coup" aimed at entrenching power.Amid the escalating contest, opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has taken an unconventional stance, arguing that "there is no constitution in this country" to defend. His remarks distance him from a broader coalition of civic groups and opposition figures campaigning against the amendments, insisting instead on pursuing resistance through his own framework.This position has placed him at odds with formations such as the Constitution Defenders Forum led by Tendai Biti and the Defend the Constitution Platform convened by Jameson Timba.Tensions escalated further following the arrest of Biti and fellow activist Morgan Ncube, who were later released under restrictive bail conditions. Responding to the developments, opposition figure Fadzayi Mahere condemned what she described as an "unlawful arrest and malicious, political prosecution," warning of a broader clampdown on dissent.Mahere argued that the arrests and restrictions on public gatherings undermine fundamental rights, including freedom of assembly, expression and conscience, describing the situation as "a dark day for the nation." She further asserted that targeting activists defending the constitution amounts to an attack on all citizens, firmly rejecting the "ED2030" agenda while calling for leadership renewal.Meanwhile, the National Democratic Working Group, led by veteran opposition figure Job Sikhala, is intensifying its response. Sikhala is expected to address a press conference in Braamfontein, outlining the implications of the proposed amendments and rallying opposition forces.As both sides dig in, Zimbabwe faces a deepening political confrontation, with the outcome of the constitutional amendment debate likely to shape the country's governance trajectory for years to come.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The High Court of Zimbabwe has dismissed an appeal by detained journalist Gideon Madzikatidze against the denial of bail, dealing a setback to his efforts to secure release.In a ruling delivered on March 23, 2026, Justice Muchawa upheld the earlier decision by Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo, who had denied Madzikatidze bail earlier this month."Whereupon, after reading documents filed of record and hearing counsel, it is ordered that:  The appeal against refusal of bail is hereby dismissed," ruled Justice Muchawa.However, the order was issued without accompanying reasons, prompting Madzikatidze's lawyer, Godwin Giya, to indicate that the defence team will formally request a detailed explanation from the Registrar of the High Court.Madzikatidze was initially denied bail on March 2, 2026, and is facing two charges under Zimbabwean law.The first relates to allegedly providing a broadcasting service without a licence, in contravention of Section 7(1), read with subsection 4(b), of the Broadcasting Services Act.He is also facing a charge of cyberbullying as defined in Section 164B of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.The case continues to draw attention amid ongoing debates around media regulation, digital rights and the treatment of journalists within Zimbabwe's legal system.
Small business owners in Maryland may have been looking forward to a bit of a tax break this year. The IRS reinstated the 1099-K reporting threshold. However, things look a bit different on the state level. Maryland isnt following the same rules. Even if you avoid the reporting requirements for the federal government, you could still be on the hook for state-level fees and filings. Here is what everyone needs to know.

The New $20,000 IRS Rule Explained

At the federal level, the IRS has restored the 1099-K reporting threshold to $20,000 and 200 transactions. This means many small businesses and side hustlers will no longer receive a 1099-K form unless they exceed those limits.

The change was designed to reduce confusion and administrative burden for smaller sellers. For many entrepreneurs, it feels like a step back toward simpler tax reporting. But this federal relief doesnt eliminate Marylands small business fees or state-level requirements.

Maryland Still Uses a Much Lower $600 Threshold

While the IRS raised its threshold, Maryland kept its own rules intact. In Maryland, payment platforms must still report income once it hits just $600. Thats a massive difference compared to the federal $20,000 threshold. Even small side hustles or occasional sales can trigger reporting requirements in the state.

Many business owners assume federal rules override everything, but thats not how it works. States have the authority to set their own reporting thresholds and tax requirements. Even if you dont receive a federal 1099-K, Maryland may still expect full reporting. This means you could owe taxes or face compliance requirements without federal paperwork.

In the past, small online sellers often flew below the reporting radar. But with Marylands $600 threshold, even modest income is now visible to the state. Selling items online, freelancing, or accepting digital payments can all trigger reporting. This applies even if you only made a few transactions during the year.

5 Smart Ways to Stay Ahead of These Costs

Navigating this gap is now a key part of managing Maryland small business fees effectively. Here are five ways you can stay ahead.

Track all income carefully, even if its below federal reporting thresholds. Understand Marylands $600 rule and plan for state reporting requirements. Set aside money for annual filing and compliance costs early in the year. Consider consulting a tax professional familiar with Maryland regulations. Review your business structure to ensure its still cost-effective.

The return to a $20,000 IRS threshold may feel like a break for small businesses. But in Maryland, the reality is much more complicated. State-level rules and fees can still create significant financial obligations. When it comes to Maryland small business fees, what happens at the state level matters just as much (if not more) than federal changes.

Have you been caught off guard by state business fees, or do you think small businesses are being overregulated?

What to Read Next

New Texas AI Rules: Banks Must Tell You When Algorithms Influence Your Loan

The 350-Home RuleHow the New ROAD to Housing Act Could Force Corporations Out of Your Neighborhood

The 10 Common Drugs That Just Got Significantly Cheaper Under New Medicare Rules

7 Family Safe Word Rules That Stop Panic-Scam Decisions

Nursing Home Costs are Skyrocketing in New York: How the 5-Year Medicaid Look-Back Rule Affects Your Assets
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabweans who rely on the Beitbridge Border Post for survival are bracing for tougher times as South Africa moves to tighten security at its busiest land crossing.Authorities have announced plans to rebuild infrastructure and deploy advanced technologies at the border post, including amphibious patrol vehicles to monitor the Limpopo River, which has long been used as an alternative route by undocumented migrants and informal traders.While officials say the measures are necessary to curb illegal crossings and strengthen border control, many Zimbabweans fear the changes could cut off critical economic lifelines. For years, thousands have crossed through Beitbridge, both legally and illegally, in search of work, trade opportunities and essential goods.Informal traders, in particular, depend heavily on cross-border movement to sustain their livelihoods, often operating on thin margins. A cross-border trader, Bhekimpilo Nyoni, said the tightening measures would worsen already difficult conditions."With things already so hard back home, this will only make life worse," he said. "We are not criminals, we are trying to survive."The deployment of enhanced surveillance and patrol vehicles is expected to make undetected crossings significantly more difficult, especially along the Limpopo River, a known hotspot for unauthorised movement. For many undocumented migrants, this route has served as a last resort when legal entry becomes too costly or inaccessible.Human rights advocates warn that stricter border enforcement without addressing underlying economic pressures could deepen hardship. They argue that limited legal migration pathways and persistent economic challenges leave many people with few alternatives.Authorities in South Africa maintain that stronger border management is necessary to safeguard national security and economic stability, particularly during peak travel periods such as Easter.The developments at Beitbridge underscore a growing tension between enforcement and survival, as governments seek tighter border control while many individuals continue to depend on the crossing for their daily existence. As changes take effect, concerns are rising that crossings will become not only more difficult, but also more dangerous, pushing some migrants to take greater risks in search of opportunity.
By comparing new Hubble observations with images first taken in 1999, astronomers traced the continuing expansion of one of the skys most studied supernova remnants, energized by a rapidly spinning pulsar at its core.

In 1054, Chinese astronomers were startled by the appearance of a new star, so bright that it was the brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon, and was visible in broad daylight for 23 days. The supernova was also recorded by Japanese, Arabic, and Native American stargazers.

Today, the Crab Nebula, also known as Messier 1, M1, NGC 1952 or Taurus A, is visible at the site of that bright star.

The nebula, bright enough to be visible in amateur telescopes, lies approximately 6,500 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus.

The object was first identified in 1731 by the English doctor, electrical researcher and astronomer John Bevis and was rediscovered in 1758 by the French astronomer Charles Messier.

The Crab Nebula derived its name from its appearance in a drawing made by Irish astronomer Lord Rosse in 1844.

In its very center lies what remains of the innermost core of the original star: the Crab Pulsar, also known as PSR B0531+21.

We tend to think of the sky as being unchanging, immutable, said Dr. William Blair, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins University.

However, with the longevity of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, even an object like the Crab Nebula is revealed to be in motion, still expanding from the explosion nearly a millennium ago.

In the new image, Hubble captured the nebulas intricate filamentary structure, as well as the considerable outward movement of those filaments over 25 years, at a pace of 5.6 million km per hour (3.4 million miles per hour).

Hubble is the only telescope with the combination of longevity and resolution capable of capturing these detailed changes, the astronomers said.

For better comparison with the new image, Hubbles 1999 image of the Crab Nebula was re-processed.

The variation of colors in both of the Hubble images shows a combination of changes in local temperature and density of the gas as well as its chemical composition.

Even though Ive worked with Hubble quite a bit, I was still struck by the amount of detailed structure we can see and the increased resolution with Hubbles Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), as compared to 25 years ago, Dr. Blair said.

WFC3 was installed in 2009, the last time Hubble instruments were updated by astronauts.

Filaments around the periphery of the nebula appear to have moved more compared to those in the center, and that rather than stretching out over time, they appear to have simply moved outward.

This is due to the nature of the Crab as a pulsar wind nebula powered by synchrotron radiation, which is created by the interaction between the pulsars magnetic field and the nebulas material.

In other well-known supernova remnants, the expansion is instead driven by shockwaves from the initial explosion, eroding surrounding shells of gas that the dying star previously cast off.

The new, higher-resolution Hubble observations are also providing additional insights into the 3D structure of the Crab Nebula, which can be difficult to determine from a 2D image.

Shadows of some of the filaments can be seen cast onto the haze of synchrotron radiation in the nebulas interior.

Counterintuitively, some of the brighter filaments in the latest Hubble images show no shadows, indicating they must be located on the far side of the nebula.

The real value of Hubbles Crab Nebula observations is still to come.

The Hubble data can be paired with recent data from other telescopes that are observing the Crab in different wavelengths of light.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope released its infrared-light observations of the Crab Nebula in 2024.

Comparison of the Hubble image with other contemporary multiwavelength observations will help scientists put together a more complete picture of the supernovas continuing aftermath, centuries after astronomers first wondered at a new little star twinkling in the sky.

The findings were published in January 2026 in the Astrophysical Journal.

_____

William P. Blair et al. 2026. The Crab Nebula Revisited Using HST/WFC3. ApJ 997, 81; doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae2adc
PicII-503, a primordial star located in the >10-billion-year-old ultrafaint dwarf galaxy Pictor II, appears to preserve the chemical imprint of the Universes first stars.

This is the first really clear detection of which elements are initially produced in primordial galaxies, said Dr. Anirudh Chiti, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago at the time of the study and now at Stanford University.

Its a nice missing piece of the puzzle about how elements were formed back in those early days.

In those early days after the Big Bang, the Universe was a lot less interesting than it is now.

There were stars, but they were all the same kind of massive star made of three elements  hydrogen, helium and lithium  because those were the only elements that existed.

You wouldnt be able to find any of the calcium, gold or other elements that make up our world today, because those elements first had to be forged inside the stars themselves.

In the hearts of these massive stars, atoms were fusing to become increasingly heavy elements.

When those stars exploded at the end of their lives, new stars formed from the debris, and the process happened over and over until we got the full range of elements that we know and love today.

To find them, what you want to do is look for the stars with the lowest amount of heavy elements, because the heavier elements only built up with time, said University of Chicago astronomer Alexander Ji.

Using the Magellan Telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory and ESOs Very Large Telescope, they detected a promising candidate star in the ultrafaint dwarf galaxy Pictor II.

Called PicIII-503, this star has a very distinct makeup compared to modern stars; for example, it contains about 100,000 times less iron than our Sun does.

This rare finding is exciting, but also sheds light on a long-standing stellar mystery about how these early stars formed.

Because PicIII-503 is still in its original tiny, primordial galaxy, astronomers could see that its composition gave weight to one particular formation theory  which has to do with how the parent star explodes.

At the end of a really massive stars life, it has this onion-skin structure, with the lighter elements like carbon in the outer layers, and the heavier ones inside, Dr. Ji said.

Then when the star dies, it might be a very weak explosion where only the lightest outer layers get ejected.

A highly powerful explosion would have flung the stars guts far away, out of the bounds of the small galaxies that populated the Universe back then.

But a weaker explosion could mean the debris stuck around to become part of the next generation of stars.

Its a really nice finding because we have seen a lot of these carbon-rich stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy, and now we can see how these stars likely originated, Dr. Chiti said.

The discovery of PicIII-503 is described in a paper in the journal Nature Astronomy.

_____

A. Chiti et al. Enrichment by the first stars in a relic dwarf galaxy. Nat Astron, published online March 16, 2026; doi: 10.1038/s41550-026-02802-z
Using ESOs Very Large Telescope (VLT) and VLT Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile, astronomers have directly observed two gas giants emerging from the planet-forming disk around a star known as WISPIT 2, offering one of the clearest views yet of how a planetary system may form. The arrangement, marked by gaps and rings in the surrounding material, suggests that still more alien worlds could be assembling there.

WISPIT 2 is the best look into our own past that we have to date, said Chloe Lawlor, a Ph.D. student at the University of Galway.

WISPIT 2 gives us a critical laboratory not just to observe the formation of a single planet but an entire planetary system, added Dr. Christian Ginski, also from the University of Galway.

With such observations, astronomers aim to better understand how baby planetary systems develop into mature ones, like our own.

The first protoplanet found in the WISPIT 2 system was detected a year ago, with a mass almost five times that of Jupiter.

Named WISPIT 2b, it orbits the central star at around 60 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.

This detection of a new world in formation really showed the amazing potential of our current instrumentation, said Richelle van Capelleveen, a Ph.D. student at Leiden Observatory.

After an additional object was identified near the star, measurements made with VLT and VLTI telescopes confirmed its planetary nature.

The newly-discovered planet, WISPIT 2c, is four times closer to the central star and is twice as massive as WISPIT 2b.

Both planets are gas giants, like the outer planets in our Solar System.

To confirm the existence of WISPIT 2c, the astronomers employed the SPHERE instrument on VLT.

They then used the GRAVITY+ instrument on VLTI to confirm that the object was indeed a planet.

Critically our study made use of the recent upgrade to GRAVITY+ without which we would not have been able to get such a clear detection of the planet so close to its star, said Dr. Guillaume Bourdarot, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics.

Both planets around WISPIT 2 appear in clear gaps within the disk of dust and gas circling the young star.

These gaps result from each planets development: particles in the disk accumulate, their gravity pulling in more material until an embryo planet forms.

The remaining material, around each gap, creates distinctive dust rings in the disk.

Besides the gaps that the two planets were found in, there is at least one smaller gap farther out in the WISPIT 2 disk.

We suspect there may be a third planet carving out this gap, potentially of Saturn mass owing to the gaps being much narrower and shallower, Lawlor said.

The results appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

_____

Chloe Lawlor et al. 2026. Direct Spectroscopic Confirmation of the Young Embedded Protoplanet WISPIT 2c. ApJL 1000, L38; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae4b3b
Known from a single skull discovered in South Africa in 1952, Cistecynodon parvus has been shuffled across the evolutionary tree: described at various times as a close relative of advanced cynodonts, a juvenile of another species and even something outside the group altogether. Now, a new study using computed tomography (CT) scans to digitally reconstruct the fossil concludes that this Triassic creature was its own valid species and a much more primitive cynodont than some paleontologists had thought.

Cynodontia is one of the six major subclades of Therapsida appearing during the Late Permian and comprising a substantial and diverse quantity of the tetrapod fauna during the Triassic, said Dr. Erin Lund from the University of the Witwatersrand and colleagues.

This group is comprised of non-mammaliaform cynodonts and Mammaliaformes, including crown mammals, making it crucial for evaluating the origin of mammals.

The major Triassic radiation of cynodonts is represented by the Eucynodontia, which consists of two monophyletic subclades: Cynognathia and Probainognathia.

In a new study, the paleontologists reexamined the skull of Cistecynodon parvus, a cynodont species that lived during the Middle Triassic, between 247 and 237 million years ago.

The 5.72-cm-long specimen was found in 1952 at Luiperdkop (or Luiperdskop), located west of the town Maletswai in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

The researchers used CT to peer inside the fossil and reconstruct details of the skull, jaw and internal anatomy.

Their analysis places Cistecynodon parvus among basal, or non-eucynodont, cynodonts rather than within the more advanced eucynodont group.

At the same time, the fossil appears to have had an unusual combination of traits: a highly enlarged vestibule in the inner ear, a small and pinched parietal foramen, a relatively simple maxillary canal and the absence of carotid foramina.

Together, these features distinguish Cistecynodon parvus from other cynodonts and support its status as a separate genus and species.

According to the researchers, some of these features point to a subterranean way of life.

In particular, they interpret the inflated vestibule of the inner ear as evidence of enhanced sensitivity to low-frequency sound, a trait associated in modern animals with fossorial, or burrowing, habits.

They conclude that Cistecynodon parvus was likely an obligate fossorial animal.

Over the past century Cistecynodon parvus has been variously referred to different clades of non-mammalian cynodont without any emerging consensus, the scientists said.

The data from this research firmly support that Cistecynodon parvus is a valid taxon of basal non-eucynodont Cynodontia (i.e., a non-eucynodont epicynodont).

Its position is supported by the secondary palate, which is open along the midline, despite it being a sub-adult to adult age specimen.

Lastly, its unique inner ear and endocast anatomy supports that Cistecynodon parvus was a fossorial animal.

Cistecynodon parvus is reconstructed as a basal lineage of cynodonts in Southern Africa that survived the end Permian mass extinction and persisted as a relict fauna through to the early Middle Triassic, they concluded.

Their paper was published this month in The Anatomical Record.

_____

Erin S. Lund et al. Redescription of the Triassic cynodont Cistecynodon parvus and reassessment of its phylogeny. The Anatomical Record, published online March 19, 2026; doi: 10.1002/ar.70179
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe has issued a strong warning to organisations still processing personal data without a licence, urging immediate compliance with the country's data protection laws.In Regulatory Notice 1 of 2026, the authority reminded businesses and individuals that the mandatory licensing requirement, introduced under the Cyber and Data Protection Act, came into force following the promulgation of Statutory Instrument 155 of 2024. Under the regulations, all entities that process personal data were required to obtain a Data Controller Licence by March 12, 2025.However, POTRAZ expressed concern that some organisations continue to operate without the necessary authorisation, despite the expiry of the compliance deadline. As the designated Data Protection Authority under the Act, POTRAZ said it is now moving to enforce full compliance.The licensing requirement applies to both natural and legal persons that process personal data within Zimbabwe or from abroad, including through print, electronic, surveillance and biometric systems. The regulator stressed that all non-exempt entities must regularise their operations immediately by applying for an initial licence or renewing an existing one.POTRAZ emphasised that licensing is not merely a legal obligation, but a key indicator of an organisation's commitment to protecting the personal data of its stakeholders."Licensing as a Data Controller is not just a statutory obligation; it is a demonstration of your commitment to safeguarding personal data entrusted to you by all your stakeholders," the authority noted, urging organisations to act without delay.To facilitate compliance, POTRAZ has provided an online application platform for licences and offered direct contact channels for guidance and support. The authority also encouraged all affected organisations to ensure they meet the requirements of the law to avoid potential enforcement action.The notice signals a tightening regulatory environment as Zimbabwe continues to strengthen oversight of data protection and privacy in line with global standards.
News / National

by Staff reporter

ZIMBABWE'S sovereignty is non-negotiable and outsiders will only be welcome as partners in exploiting natural resources for the nation's development, war veterans have said.Speaking during a war veterans and youths tour of Chimoio shrines on Wednesday, Zanu-PF central committee member Hubert Nyanhongo said the country's destiny lies in the hands of Zimbabweans. The group comprised members from Harare South Constituency and Mutare Women's League."Freedom came through a protracted armed struggle and only Zimbabweans have the right to determine their destiny," he said, while warning agents of regime change that their efforts were futile.The group visited the Chimoio shrines to acquaint themselves with the history of the liberation struggle and view the mass graves where thousands of men, women and children massacred by Rhodesian forces were interred.Nyanhongo, a survivor of the Chimoio attacks, and Zanu-PF legislator for Harare South Constituency, implored youths to respect liberation war heroes and the sacrifices they made regardless of having different beliefs and political affiliations."This respect does not matter which political party you support. They died fighting for the freedom you are enjoying today and without them some of you would not have formed the opposition parties that you have."Let us accord them the honour they deserve," he said.Zanu-PF national consultative assembly member Alice Mutindori and war veteran Washington Bangalila - both survivors of the Chimoio massacre - showed the group around the shrines.Bangalila said youths should spurn cheap political ideologies seeking to advance imperialist interests."These are the occasions where we examine and re-examine our past and present in relation to our ideals and virtues in order to ensure that they will continue to be affirmed, asserted and enhanced by fulfilment in future," he said. He challenged Government to spruce up the Chimoio area."The National Museum and Monuments should do more at these shrines. The flags need to be changed as they are old and more toilets need to be built and those who look after the area also need to be catered for," he said. Mutindori, who led the Mutare delegation, said Zimbabweans should make an "introspection" and help war veterans in defeating the agents and machinations of regime change."Our country came from somewhere and people should know the reality. There was five days of extensive bombing here and a lot of blood was shed. We want you to help us in defending the country at all cost," she said.The youths pledged to defend the nation at all costs. Twelve-year-old Kudakwashe Murozvi said he was touched by the history that surrounds the Chimoio massacre."I am going to tell my friends, even my parents, about the importance of defending the country. When you are first told about these stories for the first time you will think that its all about politics but nowI have saw the truth on the ground and I will support people with a history," he said.The group spent the night at the shrines celebrating the lives of the heroes and many war veterans gave testimonies of how they survived the brutal attacks.
Opinion / National

Unpacking the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill.



The Office of Attorney-General has released this list to assist in the process of unpacking the Constitutional Amendment Bill( no 3 /26) pic.twitter.com/LWQj6J2nV4  Office of the Attorney-General of Zimbabwe (@AGZim_Official) February 18, 2026

ConCourt's Benign Mupungu Oversight: Including Section 95(2) in Its List of 10 Term-Limit Examples Proves It's Not One: Since the gazetting of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment No. 3), H.B. 1, Bill, 2026 on 16 February 2026, a thoughtful and sometimes passionate public conversation has unfolded about the proper way to amend the supreme law of the land. At the centre of much of the debate stands section 95(2), the provision that simply sets the length of each "Term of office of President" at five years and makes it coterminous with the life of Parliament. Some commentators have argued forcefully that any change to this provision would amount to altering a "term-limit provision," thereby automatically requiring a national referendum under section 328(7).This view, though sincerely held, rests on a single sentence in the Constitutional Court's 2021 judgment in Mupungu v Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs & 6 Others (7 of 2021) [2021] ZWCC 7. A careful and respectful reading of the text of that judgment shows that the claim cannot be sustained.The Constitutional Court did include section 95(2) in an illustrative list of ten examples of term-limit provisions. That inclusion was a benign and entirely understandable oversight  a minor slip in an otherwise meticulous and persuasive analysis. Far from proving that section 95(2) enjoys referendum protection, the Court's own definitions and logic demonstrate the opposite with compelling clarity.Section 95(2)(b) is not a term-limit provision within the meaning of subsections (1) and (7) of section 328. Amending it is a permissible ordinary constitutional amendment under section 328(5), which does not require a referendum.This conclusion is not a technical or political quibble. It goes to the heart of how the Constitution balances two vital democratic goals. On one hand, it erects strong safeguards against the indefinite concentration of power by protecting genuine term limits with the solemn requirement of a referendum. On the other hand, it rationally allows Parliament to amend the electoral cycle and governance without triggering a referendum. Misclassifying a simple term-length provision as a protected term limit provision upsets the balance.The framers of the Constitution understood this distinction. The Constitutional Court's reasoning in Mupungu reinforces it. Section 95(2) is the odd one out in the Court's list; the outlier whose place should logically have been occupied by section 91(2), the actual term limit provision that caps any individual's tenure and total service as President.To understand this, requires an examination of the Court's judgment in detail, beginning with reproduction in full of the very passage that has given rise to the misunderstanding, at paragraph 50, p. 50 of the Mupungu judgment:"By way of contrast, the Constitution abounds with a myriad of provisions that unquestionably constitute specific term limit provisions within the parameters of s 328. First and foremost, there is s 95(2) which expressly stipulates that the term of office of the President is 5 years and coterminous with the life of Parliament. Then there is s 197 which provides that an Act of Parliament may limit the terms of office of chief executive officers or heads of government-controlled entities and public enterprises owned or wholly controlled by the State. Again, in terms of s 205(2), the term of office of a Permanent Secretary is a period of up to 5 years and is renewable once only. As regards the Defence Forces, s 216(3) states that the Commanders of the Defence Forces and their services are appointed for a term of not more than 5 years, up to a maximum of two terms. With reference to the Police Service, the intelligence services and the Prisons and Correctional Service, s 221(2), s 226(2) and s 229(2) provide that the respective heads of these services are appointed for a 5-year term which may be renewed once only. Next there is s 238(5), which stipulates that members of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission are appointed for a 6-year term and may be re-appointed for one such further term. Similarly, by virtue of s 259(4), the term of office of the Prosecutor-General is a period of 6 years and is renewable for one further such term. Finally, s 310(3) provides that the term of office of the Auditor-General is a period of not more than 6 years, up to one or more periods not exceeding 12 years".ConCourt's Application of Dictionary Meaning of "Term Limit" in MupunguAlthough the inclusion of section 95(2) at the head of the list was a benign oversight, Patel JCC's reasoning rests on firm foundations. The judge deliberately chose the ordinary, grammatical meaning of the words "term limit," drawing directly from authoritative dictionaries, especially the Oxford English Dictionary. This approach is both accessible and constitutionally sound. It avoids judicial invention and anchors the interpretation in language that every citizen can understand.According to these standard dictionaries, a "term" is a fixed or limited period of time for which something lasts  a president's term in office, a school term, a pregnancy reaching full term. It is a defined interval with a clear beginning and a determinable end. A "term limit," by contrast, is not merely the length of one term; it is "a legal restriction on the number of terms, or consecutive terms, that the holder of a particular office may serve." The essential ingredient is restriction  an enforceable rule that sets a maximum limit on how long any one person may occupy the office.This dictionary definition aligns perfectly with the Constitution's own wording in section 328(1): "term-limit provision' means a provision of this Constitution which limits the length of time that a person may hold or occupy a public office." Section 328(7) adds a crucial restriction for sitting office-holders: any amendment to a genuine term-limit provision that would extend personal tenure cannot apply retroactively to those already in office.From this foundation the Court drew a bright line. Only provisions that genuinely cap or limit a person's total service qualify. Section 91(2) meets this standard with unmistakable clarity: it disqualifies any person who has already served two terms as President, treating "three or more years" as a full term. This is a true cumulative limit  an ironclad boundary that no individual may cross. It promotes renewal, prevents entrenchment of power, and embodies the democratic ideal that no one is indispensable.Section 95(2)(b), however, falls on the other side of the line. Its text is straightforward: "The term of office of the President extends untilfollowing an election, he or she is declared to be re-elected or a new President is declared to be elected; and, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, his or her term of office is five years and coterminous with the life of Parliament."This provision performs a different function entirely. It is contingent  its exact end date cannot be known in advance with certainty until an election occurs. Most importantly, it does no more than fix the length of each single term. It contains no disqualification, no renewal cap, no total-service ceiling, and no restriction on the number of terms or length of time one person may serve.Standing alone, section 95(2)(b) would permit indefinite re-election. Only when read together with section 91(2) does the Constitution create an overall term limit on personal tenure.The Court's dictionary-driven distinction is therefore decisive. A provision that merely amends the duration or length of the electoral cycle does not "limit the length of time that a person may hold or occupy" the office in the sense required by section 328. Amending the five-year period in section 95(2)(b) changes the electoral timetable; it does not extend any individual's personal tenure. The Constitution itself insists on this rigorous textual clarity.To treat section 95(2) as a protected term limit provision would stretch the referendum safeguard beyond the clear intention of the framers and would blur the very distinction that section 328 is designed to maintain.Applying the Aristotelian Method of Genus and DifferentiaFor readers familiar with the great works of political science, the Court's approach echoes a classical method of logical definition refined by Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago.In the "Politics" and other works, Aristotle taught that true understanding comes from identifying the broad genus (the general category to which something belongs) and then the differentia (the specific features that distinguish it from other members of the same genus). This method brings unmatched precision and has guided scientific thought ever since.Applying it here confirms the conclusion with the force of finality. Under section 328(1), the genus is simple and uncontroversial: "a provision of this Constitution." The differentia, however, is demanding: the provision must actively limit or cap the length of time that a person may hold or occupy a public office through disqualification, renewal caps, or a cumulative or maximum ceiling.The resulting test is biconditional: common genus plus similar differentia equals a term-limit provision. If the differentia is missing, the provision cannot qualify as a term limit, however much it might resemble other provisions in the broad genus.Section 91(2) perfectly satisfies both elements. It belongs to the Constitution and supplies the required differentia by expressly disqualifying persons who have served two terms. Section 95(2)(b) meets only the genus. Yes, it is a constitutional provision, but it offers no differentia at all  no limit, no disqualification, no cumulative or maximum service cap. It simply defines the length of each term. Under the Aristotelian logical framework, it therefore falls outside the protected class.This is not abstract theory. The Aristotelian method protects the Constitution from over-expansion of the referendum requirement. Without it, every amendment to parliamentary sessions, judicial retirement ages, or electoral timetables could be argued to need a national referendum. The Aristotelian lens ensures that only provisions genuinely aimed at preventing indefinite personal tenure receive the referendum protection.Essential Features of a Term Limit ProvisionThree essential features flow directly from the Court's reasoning and the constitutional text. Every genuine term-limit provision shares them:First, a "term limit provision" must concern the personal tenure of the individual office-holder, not an office's electoral cycle which can be served by successive officeholders; tenure measures the total time a person may lawfully occupy an office.Second, it must expressly state a maximum or cumulative length of time a person may occupy an office.Third, it must contain disqualifying language  like "non-renewable," "renewable once only," "not more than," "not exceeding," or equivalent  that creates a clear, enforceable boundary.At paragraph 51, p. 51 of the Mupungu judgment the Court itself emphasised this "tenure" point when it held, regarding its 10 examples of term limits, that:"As is self-evident, the tenure of all of the aforementioned public offices is undoubtedly subject to a specific "term-limit provision" within the meaning of s 328(1)."The word "tenure" is decisive. It refers to one person's total service. Nine of the 10 provisions listed in paragraph 50, p. 50 of the Mupungu judgment satisfy all three features. Section 197 authorises Parliament to impose limits on chief executives. Sections 205(2), 221(2), 226(2) and 229(2) each allow renewal "once only." Section 216(3) caps defence commanders at "a maximum of two terms." Sections 238(5) and 259(4) permit "one such further term." Section 310(3) limits the Auditor-General to "not exceeding 12 years" total. Each uses clear disqualifying language and caps personal tenure.But section 95(2) alone does not, (see Second Attachment, left to right). It addresses only the institutional five-year cycle and contains none of the required limiting features of term limit provisions. That is why the Attorney-General's authoritative list of 15 genuine term-limit provisions (see First Attachment, on the left) correctly excludes section 95(2).The ConCourt's benign oversight now stands revealed.When the Court moved from listing examples to speaking of "tenure," section 95(2) no longer sat comfortably. A more internally consistent list would have begun with section 91(2). The Court's inclusion of section 95(2) was a small classificatory slip  understandable in illustrative obiter dicta, but legally inconsequential. It cannot transform a straightforward term-length provision into a referendum-protected "term limit provision" that the framers never created.ConclusionDrawing together the Constitutional Court's dictionary-based method, the classical Aristotelian logic of genus and differentia, the three essential features that define authentic term limits, and the Attorney-General's careful classification, the conclusion is clear, logical, and compelling: Section 95(2)(b) is not a term-limit provision within the meaning of subsections (1) and (7) of section 328.As a provision that does nothing more than prescribe the length of a single term of office  an electoral cycle  section 95(2) does not regulate any person's personal tenure. It imposes no restriction, no disqualification, no non-renewal rule, and no total service ceiling. Amending it is therefore an ordinary amendment to the Constitution under section 328(5) and does not require a national referendum.Zimbabwe's Constitution is a carefully crafted instrument of democratic governance. It wisely protects genuine "term limit provisions" with the safeguard of a referendum because those limits are fundamental to preventing the indefinite hold on power. At the same time, the Constitution treats practical provisions about the duration or length of parliamentary and presidential terms of office as matters that Parliament may adjust through the normal amendment process. Section 95(2)(b) belongs squarely in this second category.Most democratic constitutions wisely separate the two categories which serve complementary but fundamentally different functions: one defining the term of office and electoral cycle (such as section 95(2)(b)), and the other imposing term limits with disqualification mechanisms (such as section 91(2)). These must never be conflated, for each fulfils a unique and critical role in democratic governance.Notably, other jurisdictions integrate the two categories elegantly. For example, Chile's Article 25 states: "The President of the Republic shall hold office for a term of four years and may not be re-elected for the following period"; France's Article 6: "The President of the Republic shall be elected for a term of five years by direct universal suffrage. No one may carry out more than two consecutive terms of office"; while South Korea's Article 70 provides: "The term of office of the President shall be five years, and the President shall not be re-elected."Zimbabwe separates the two categories. The separation is an act of fidelity to the supreme law of the land. It honours the precise design of the framers, strengthens the meaningfulness of the referendum safeguard for the provisions it was truly intended to protect, and ensures that Zimbabwe's democracy remains both stable and adaptable. The constitutional text, the Court's own reasoning, and simple logic all point in one direction. No national referendum is required. The Constitution itself demands nothing less than this honest, text-based reading!
Quantum Blockchain Technologies said on Tuesday that it has started live in-house testing of its AI Oracle software on a commercial Bitcoin mining rig, marking a key step in moving the technology from simulation to real-world deployment.

The AIM-traded blockchain technology company said its internal project, launched in August 2025, had reached the testing phase using a Bitmain Antminer S9 mining rig as a demonstration environment for the software version of its Method C AI Oracle.

It said the initiative was intended to showcase the performance of the AI Oracle on an industry-recognised commercial mining rig, following feedback from US-based Bitcoin mining companies that real-world validation would broaden the technologys commercial appeal.

Previously, the group had demonstrated performance improvements using a proprietary software simulator in its Milan laboratory.

QBT said it had modified both the operating system and FPGA firmware of the S9 to support installation of the AI Oracle, with testing progressing through data collection, system integration and live performance optimisation.

The company highlighted that the S9 was selected because it is the last Bitmain model to feature an open-source operating system and firmware, allowing full access for development, unlike newer models.

It said the testing programme was expected to support commercial discussions with potential customers, including large-scale Bitcoin miners and aftermarket control board providers.

The group said it was already in discussions with aftermarket manufacturers and expects access to their systems following commercial agreements.

QBT noted that testing was also underway on a separate third-party ASIC mining rig at its Milan laboratory, although results from that project could not be publicly disclosed.

Both initiatives represented the first commercial testing phase for the AI Oracle on physical mining hardware.

I am extremely pleased with the results achieved so far, which show how the company has mastered the inner most details of all levels of a commercial mining rig, said chief executive Francesco Gardin.

The set-up of the AI Oracle on the S9 is a key milestone which has taken us from using Method C on a software simulator which QBT has been running in its Milan laboratory for over a year, to the full multi-ASIC mining rig.

He added that the company believed demonstrating improved mining efficiency on a commercial rig will open up a much larger target market for our products, although it cautioned there was no guarantee at this stage that simulator results would fully translate to scaled deployment.

At 1230 GMT, shares in Quantum Blockchain Technologies were up 0.48% at 0.53p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

See latest RNS on Investegate
Danone said on Monday that it has agreed to buy Huel, a maker of complete meal-replacement shakes, for an undisclosed sum as it looks to extend its portfolio in functional nutrition.

The French food group said the deal is in line with its Renew strategy and will enhance Danones presence in functional nutrition and extend its portfolio into the fast-growing complete nutrition space.

Huel offers a broad range of products including powders, readytodrink shakes, hot and savoury meals, nutrition bars, supergreens and functional beverages. Danone said that all Huel products provide essential macronutrients and micronutrients in convenient, plantbased formats.

"Huels complementary range, spanning various food forms including ready-to-drink and powders, is supported by bestinclass digital execution, strong digital direct-to-consumer sales and a fan-base in the UK, Europe and the US," it said.

Danone chief executive Antoine de Saint-Afrique said: "We are delighted to welcome Huel and the Huel team into the Danone family. What they have achieved in the fast-growing complete nutrition space fully resonates with Danones mission of delivering health through food.

"Combining their range and best-in-class digital capabilities with Danones global reach and deep nutritional expertise offers exciting opportunities into the new and fast-growing nutritionally complete space, in line with our Renew Danone strategy. We look forward to learning from one another and unlocking new opportunities and growth for both businesses."

Although Danone did not disclose any financial details, the Financial Times cited a source as saying that it has agreed to pay about 1bn (870m).
UK stocks pared earlier losses but still finished lower on Monday as investors tracked the latest newsflow from the Middle East, with US president Donald Trump claiming to have had productive conversations with Iran  even if those claims were refuted by senior official in Tehran.

The FTSE 100 finished 0.2% lower at 9,894.15, despite a brief stint in positive territory in the afternoon. This was the index's lowest finish since 29 December.

The Footsie was underperforming its European peers, with markets in Frankfurt, Zurich, Paris and Milan all 0.6% to 1.0% higher, while Wall Street's three main indices all jumped more than 1.2% apiece.

Hefty losses in the UK-listed telecoms and utilities sectors were providing a drag in London, while oil majors Shell and BP dropped as the price of oil came back down to earth following its recent surge.

Brent crude was down nearly 10% at $101.03 a barrel, while WTI crude was 8.5% lower at $89.82 a barrel after Trump said the US was postponing "any and all" military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure following "very good and productive conversations" about a resolution to the hostilities.

The developments calmed fears following a fraught weekend. Iran had threatened on Sunday to "irreversibly destroy" energy infrastructure across the Middle East after Donald Trump said the US would "obliterate" the countrys power plants if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: "Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the department of war to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions."

However, reports across Iranian media suggested that the country's foreign ministry were denying that any talks took place. The state-backed Fars news agency cited an unnamed Iranian security official who said Iran had "no direct or indirect contact with the US".

Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG, said Trump's latest remarks prompted a "volte face" across all financial markets as investors breathed a sigh of relief following recent volatility. "An around 10% fall in the oil price led to a drop in yields, a softer US dollar and a sharp recovery in stock markets. Precious metals like gold also managed to recover from a near 9% drop on Monday morning to end the day only slightly under water.

However, he urged investors to take the swift recovery in stocks  outside the UK at least  with a pinch of salt. "Since many stock markets last week fell through key technical support, and with rate cut expectations for 2026 now off the table, oil prices still trading at significantly higher prices than just a few weeks ago and the Strait of Hormus de facto still shut, the outlook remains bleak. All it takes is for more missiles on either side to hit oil or desalination infrastructure and the situation in the Middle East may quickly flare up again," he said.

Entain surges; BP, Shell gush lower

Entain surged 8% following a Wall Street Journal report that a pair of US senators are introducing legislation to prohibit entities regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from listing contracts related to sporting events. According to the WSJ, this will include prediction-market exchanges Kalshi and Polymarket's US platform.

Croda rallied after Goldman Sachs double-upgraded the shares to buy from sell as it said the speciality chemicals firms own market-recovery actions have delivered organic sales growth ahead of expectations.

BA and Iberia owner IAG was also a high flier as oil prices retreated, along with sector peer easyJet and cruise operator Carnival.

On the downside, BP and Shell gushed lower as oil prices tanked while defence firm BAE Systems also lost ground.

On the FTSE 250, Goodwin plummeted 35% after the mechanical and refractory engineering conglomerate revealed it was reviewing its dividend policy as a result of two key lost tenders, tough trading conditions in the jewellery casting markets and supply chain disruptions arising from the conflict in the Middle East.

Spire Healthcare dropped 23% after private equity firms Bridgepoint and Triton both said after the close on Friday that they did not plan on making an offer the private hospital operator. Spire said talks with other parties about a potential sale are ongoing and that it is also considering other "appropriate actions to drive long-term, sustainable shareholder value".
London stocks nudged higher in early trade on Tuesday following a volatile session a day earlier, as investors waited to see if anything comes of Trumps claims that a resolution to the Iran conflict could be on the cards.

At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 9,904.48. Brent crude was 1.7% higher at $101.64 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was up 2.5% at $90.30.

All eyes remained firmly on developments in the Middle East after Donald Trump said on Monday that the US was postponing "any and all" military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure following "very good and productive conversations" about a resolution to the hostilities in the Middle East. However, Iran subsequently denied any talks had taken place.

His comments came just a day after the US president threatened to "obliterate" Irans power plants if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Emma Wall, chief investment strategist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "According to President Donald Trump, preliminary truce talks have begun with Iran. According to Iran, hes living in la-la-land and the talks never happened. But the markets love hope, and the prospect of a ceasefire was enough to push Brent crude oil down 11% yesterday to below $100 a barrel for the first time in weeks.

"But the Iran denial, and a report that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are considering entering the war, has sent oil back up to $103. Its foreign-policy-by-soundbite, but it is President Trumps speciality. Announcing plans to extend the previous 48-hour deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz, or else, by five days, he sent a clear signal to the market that the US is ready to make a deal. Just a couple of days earlier, Trump had outlined plans to target Irans power plants, and Iran in turn had threatened energy and water infrastructure across the Middle East."

She added: "Investors should be mindful that one day does not a market make, and that these are whipsaw markets, near impossible to trade with conviction. But this is the most consolatory tone that President Trump has struck since the beginning of the month."

In equity markets, BP and Shell gushed higher amid firmer oil prices.

B&Q-owner Kingfisher gained as it forecast further growth despite a "mixed" consumer environment, as it posted a jump in full-year profits.

The retailer - which also owns Screwfix in the UK and Castorama and Brico Depot on the continent - saw sales edge up 0.2% in the year to 31 January to 12.9bn on a constant currency basis. Underlying sales, however, which strip out the impact of acquisitions and disposals, improved 1.4%, driven by a strong performance in the UK, while adjusted pre-tax profits jumped 6% at 560m.

On the downside, Trustpilot tanked after Advent Global Opportunities sold just over 21.59m shares in the company in a placing, raising about 46m. The shares were placed at 214p each, with Deutsche Numis and JP Morgan acting as joint bookrunners in connection with the placing.

Bytes Technology tumbled as it said annual earnings would be in line with expectations after its performance strengthened in the second half, but that it expects 2027 operating profit to be broadly flat on the back of higher costs after the completion of strategic projects.

Housebuilder Bellway slid as it posted a rise in first-half profit and completions and lifted its full-year volume output guidance, but trimmed its operating margin expectations for the year.
Donald Trump said on Monday that the US was postponing "any and all" military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure following "very good and productive conversations" about a resolution to the hostilities in the Middle East.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: "I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.

"Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the department of war to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions."

Iran's Fars news agency subsequently denied the claims made by Trump, saying there had been "no direct or indirect contact" with the US.

The FTSE 100 turned higher after his post and by 1130 GMT, was trading up 0.2% at 9,936.09, having fallen sharply earlier in the day. The index has now entered correction territory, down more than 10% from the record high on 27 February, a day before the conflict in the Middle East began.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Stoxx 600 index was 1.7% higher at 583.28, also reversing earlier heavy losses.

Oil prices tumbled after Trumps comments, with Brent crude down 8.5% at $102.71 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate 8.2% lower at $90.16.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said Trump's comments trigger fresh questions.

"Can we believe that its this easy to end the conflict? Is Iran seeking a way out or do they want to continue asymmetric warfare for months? Can the US stop Israel? Right now, my thinking is Trump has looked at the markets this morning and said anything to walk back the 48hr ultimatum issued on Saturday, without losing face," he said.

"A classic TACO. It's incredibly difficult to trade these markets when Trump is swinging between massive escalation and declaring peace/victory...but the market is happy for now that we do not enter a new phase of danger.

"Iran's media says there was no direct or indirect contact with Trump and claims he withdrew after threatening to attack west Asia energy facilities.

"Markets nevertheless are taking the comments at face value for now with stocks rallying sharply along with bonds."

David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation summed up the market action succinctly with a commentary note tiled "Bonkers!"

"Its difficult to know how seriously to take this latest interjection from President Trump," Morrison said.

"It certainly doesnt make trading any easier, although thats a side issue when so many lives are a stake. But thats a risk with wars, particularly when theres chaotic and mercurial leadership on both sides. This appears, at first glance, to let the Trump administration off the hook.

"As many analysts pointed out, the lack of any clear, achievable war aims meant that President Trump could walk away, claiming victory, at any point. That appears to be what he is doing now. Unfortunately, the latest spin from Tehran on this is that: Trump backs down from attacking Irans energy infrastructures after Irans sharp warning. Hes not going to like that."

Stocks had kicked off the session sharply in the red, with oil up, as investors reacted to developments over the weekend. Iran threatened on Sunday to "irreversibly destroy" energy infrastructure across the Middle East after Donald Trump said the US would "obliterate" the countrys power plants if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

In a Truth Social post late on Saturday night, Trump said the US would destroy Irans "various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!". The US president's threat came just a day after he said he was considering "winding down" the war.

Irans Revolutionary Guards threatened to completely close the Strait of Hormuz if Trump follows through on his threat.

The Iranian presidents speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Sunday: "Immediately after power plants and infrastructure in our country are targeted, vital infrastructure as well as energy and oil infrastructure across the entire region will be considered legitimate targets and will be irreversibly destroyed."

Ghalibaf also said that US-linked financial institutions holding American government bonds would be targeted.
Shares in YouGov fell sharply on Tuesday, after the research group warned that increased investment in its Shopper division would weigh on annual profits.

Posting interim numbers, the AIM-listed research and polling specialist confirmed it had launched a strategic review of the unit, which collects data on household shopping habits.

Shopper revenues fell 2% on an underlying basis in the six months to 31 January, while adjusted operating profits tumbled to 6.8m from 13.9m. Shopper is one of YouGovs three core divisions, alongside research and data products.

YouGov said there would be a "substantial" 6m incremental investment in Shopper to introduce semi-passive and passive data collection and upgrade panels across Europe, as it looked to bolster both growth and competitiveness. It also flagged increased investment in artificial intelligence-enabled products.

However, it acknowledged that group adjusted operating profits were now set to come in between 52m and 56m in the current year as a result, down from 60.7m a year previously.

As at 0945 GMT, shares in YouGov had tumbled 12% at 152.83p.

Chief executive Stephan Shakespeare, who co-founded the business with former Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, said: "We delivered a resilient first-half performance, with continued growth in our core US and UK markets and good momentum in our research division.

"While the macroeconomic backdrop remains uncertain, clients continue to prioritise high-quality human data and strategic research projects, areas where YouGov continues to be strongly positioned."

The group posted a 2% uplift in interim revenues, or 1% on an underlying basis, to 194.8m, while adjusted operating profits fell 20% to 24m. YouGov said that if the Shopper investment had been stripped out, profits would have been "broadly flat".

Berenberg, which retained its buy recommendation on the stock, cut its forecast for 2026 earnings before interest and tax following the numbers, by 11% to 52.2m. It also trimmed its earnings outlook for 2027 and 2028, and slashed its price target to 395p from 600p.

"On our new numbers, YouGov trades on a FY26 estimated free cash flow yield of 10.9%, a P/E of 6.4x and an EV/EBITDA of 4.5x, as investors ponder the impact of AI," it continued. "However, YouGovs panel and data quality are strategic assets, highlighted through the signing of Anthropic as a customer."

Shakespeare returned as interim chief executive of YouGov last month, replacing Steve Hatch, amid sustained pressure from activist investor Gatemore Capital Management. The search for a permanent replacement had begun, YouGov confirmed.

See latest RNS on Investegate
Trump postpones strikes on Iranian power plants for five days amid reported diplomatic talks.

Iran denies negotiations while tensions escalate with missile attacks on Jerusalem.

Regional relief as shipping resumes through the Strait of Hormuz, but uncertainty remains.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he is extending the deadline for Iran to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, postponing planned strikes on Iranian power plants by five days. The announcement came after what Mr. Trump described as very good and productive conversations with a respected Iranian leader over the weekend, aimed at reaching a complete resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.

I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities", Trump said, adding that the Department of War has been instructed to hold off on military action pending the success of ongoing discussions.

Despite the U.S. statements, Iranian officials denied any formal negotiations with Washington, asserting that the American leader had backed down following Irans firm warning. Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, confirmed that messages had been received from some friendly countries indicating a U.S. request for talks aimed at ending the conflict, according to state news agency IRNA.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed speaking with President Trump, who reportedly believes that U.S.-Israeli military gains could be leveraged into a negotiated agreement that safeguards Israels interests. Israel, a key U.S. ally, appeared cautiously optimistic.confirmed speaking with, who reportedly believes thatcould be leveraged into a negotiated agreement that safeguards Israels interests.

The announcement offered a momentary sigh of relief for Irans neighbors, who had been bracing for potential escalation. Tehran had previously threatened to deploy naval mines in the Gulf and target critical power and water infrastructure, raising fears of a deepening regional energy crisis.

Meanwhile, commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumed, with two India-flagged LPG carriers, Jag Vasant and Pine Gas, safely transiting the passage on Monday evening, according to Indias Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

However, tensions remained high. Early Tuesday, a loud explosion rocked Jerusalem after the Israeli military reported two Iranian missile launches targeting the city. Search and rescue teams were deployed to assess damage to a residential building. The Iranian strikes came just hours after Trumps announcement, underscoring the fragile state of the region and the challenges of translating diplomatic overtures into lasting stability.

As U.S.-Iran discussions continue over the next five days, the region remains on edge, balancing cautious hope with the risk of further military escalation.
Small businesses lost an average of $15,257 last financial year due to late payments, according to Xero. Now Payday Super is coming and late payments could force them to miss the deadline.

Whats happening: New research from Xero, based on a survey of 500 employing Australian small businesses, has found that 84 per cent of small business owners say late customer payments could prevent them from meeting Payday Super compliance obligations.

Why this matters: Small businesses broadly support Payday Super as a positive change for employees, with 91 per cent backing the reform. But the cash flow mechanics of making it work are creating serious operational pressure, with late payments, rising costs and tighter margins converging at exactly the wrong moment.

Australias small businesses want to do the right thing by their employees. When it comes to Payday Super, 91 per cent say they support the reform. The problem is not the policy. It is the plumbing.

New research from Xero, based on a survey of 500 employing Australian small businesses, reveals that the biggest threat to Payday Super compliance is not reluctance or ignorance. It is late payments from customers making it structurally difficult for small businesses to have the cash on hand when they need it.

Eighty four per cent of small business owners say delayed customer payments could force them to miss Payday Super deadlines, according to Xero. And the scale of the late payment problem gives that finding real weight. Small businesses lost an average of $15,257 over the last financial year due to late payments from customers, according to the same research.

The compliance crisis hiding in cash flow

Payday Super, which comes into effect on 1 July 2026, requires employers to pay superannuation contributions at the same time as wages rather than on a quarterly basis. For businesses with predictable, on-time cash flow, the change is manageable. For businesses regularly waiting on customer payments, the shift to more frequent super obligations arrives at precisely the moment their cash position is most uncertain.

Eighty seven per cent of small businesses say paying super more frequently will put pressure on their cash flow, according to Xero. More than half, 58 per cent, cite customer payments as their biggest challenge to managing ongoing cash flow, closely followed by rising cost pressures at 57 per cent.

Angad Soin, Managing Director ANZ and Global Chief Strategy Officer at Xero, said the findings point to a challenge that goes deeper than compliance mechanics. When one in three small business owners say they may need to use personal savings to meet Payday Super obligations, its clear this change is about more than compliance. Its about whether businesses have the visibility and control to manage their cash flow with confidence. As margins tighten and pressure builds, real-time insights become essential, Soin said.

The strain the research describes is not abstract. Almost one third of small business owners, 31 per cent, expect to dip into personal savings to meet Payday Super obligations, according to Xero. Another 31 per cent anticipate needing to borrow money. Others plan to delay paying business expenses, cited by 41 per cent, or delay paying themselves, cited by 38 per cent, to manage the cash flow pressure.

These are not the responses of businesses gaming the system. They are the responses of business owners who support the policy but are trying to work out how to make the numbers add up.

The cash flow squeeze will reach beyond day-to-day operations. Eighty two per cent of small businesses anticipate they will need to delay or reduce investment or growth plans in 2026, according to Xero. For a sector that accounts for a significant share of Australian employment and economic activity, that level of deferred investment has implications well beyond individual businesses.

Soin said with the 1 July deadline fast approaching, the findings highlight the urgent need for small businesses to prioritise operational efficiency now. The right digital tools and automation can make a real difference. They give businesses better visibility, reduce manual admin, and help bring payroll and payments into a more connected workflow. Even simple steps like offering online payments on invoices, whether thats card, digital wallets, PayTo or direct debit, can help businesses get paid up to twice as fast and improve cash flow, he said.

What small businesses can do now

Despite the pressures ahead, the research suggests many small business owners are pragmatic about adapting. Almost a third, 31 per cent, expect to adjust to any business impacts within three months, and nearly two thirds, 62 per cent, believe they will be fully up to speed within six months, according to Xero.

Soins advice for businesses that have not yet started preparing is direct. With late payments and tighter margins still putting pressure on small businesses, strengthening your systems now will put you in a much better position to meet Payday Super obligations with confidence and let you focus on what matters most for your business, he said.

For small business owners, the 1 July deadline is now just over three months away. The research from Xero suggests the businesses best positioned to meet it will be the ones that address their late payment exposure and cash flow visibility before the deadline arrives, not after.

Research conducted by Xero across 500 employing Australian small businesses. Commentary attributed to Angad Soin, Managing Director ANZ and Global Chief Strategy Officer at Xero.

Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Advertisement

Sponsored BusinessCompaniesBulls N' Bears Auric clinches premium gold sales price to cap WA starter pit run Brought to you by Bulls N Bears Doug Bright March 24, 2026  3:23pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Auric Mining has finalised its maiden Munda starter pit campaign with a golden gleam, banking a mint from its bullion sales and confirming the deposit may be bigger and higher grade than first modelled. The company says it has now completed the sale of all bullion produced from its second Munda processing campaign through Black Cat Syndicates Lakewood mill, with the lot sold for an average A$7178 per ounce. Auric Mining managing director Mark English has more than 43 million reasons to smile following completion of the companys Munda starter pit, five kilometres west of Widgiemooltha in WA. After paying all mining, haulage, processing and related costs, Auric says its net cash at bank, combined with the balance due from Black Cat, totals $43.5M, excluding GST, as of yesterday. On the production front, Aurics Munda starter pit, near Widgiemooltha in WA, has delivered a final 8886 ounces of gold, which is 46 per cent above the companys 6100-ounce budget.

Advertisement

These brilliant results indicate that Munda hosts a larger, higher grade gold deposit than previously thought. Auric Mining managing director Mark English The operations reconciled average head grade came in at 2.46 grams per tonne, against a predicted 1.80 grams per tonne and overall recovery ran at 89.5 per cent, versus a forecast 83.3 per cent. Those are the numbers that really matter to market watchers, although the real story lies is what they reveal about the mineralisation lurking beneath the starter pit. Auric says the grade and recovery performance across both campaigns support its view that Munda hosts a substantial gold resource and likely a bigger and higher-grade deposit than previously believed, setting the stage for a remodelling of its resource and a bigger main pit. Supporting this belief, Auric flagged two weeks ago that the gold out-turns from its second campaign were running close to 40 per cent above budget and at that stage, it was still waiting on the gold-in-circuit calculation.

Advertisement

More recent updates later pinned the residual gold in the circuit at a further 411 ounces, bringing the final starter pit gold tally to 8886 ounces, while also noting that an estimated 18,000 tonnes of ore remained on the run-of-mine pad for potential future treatment. Auric Mining managing director Mark English said: What a superb finish it has been for our maiden mining of Munda. This includes sale of all the bullion produced from our second campaign for a fantastic average price of A$7,178 per ounce. At the end of February, the company also closed out its Jeffreys Find joint venture with a final $2.2M distribution, taking Aurics total cash share to almost $16.5M and further padding its balance sheet. Auric has once again shown it seems to have the luck of the Irish firmly on its side, wrapping up its Munda starter pit with more ounces and stronger grades than forecast, while nailing its gold sales at just the right moment. In an artistry of near-perfect timing, the company moved its remaining bullion just four days before the gold price took a sharp hit, tumbling more than $1000 an ounce before clawing back a near $200 to settle near $6200 overnight, restoring a touch of order to the market.

Advertisement

With Munda now putting out its spectacular real-world returns and reconciliation data for all to see, Auric says it has kicked off detailed scoping and planning work for the main open pit at Munda. If Aurics starter pit was the entree, punters will almost certainly be salivating at the prospect of the main course. In the meantime, they might even suggest the company grab a Lotto ticket  because right now, it cant seem to put a foot wrong. 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
Advertisement

BusinessCompaniesElectric vehicles Tesla sold self-driving software for $10,000. Now it faces a legal fight Elias Visontay March 25, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Tesla is facing multiple legal battles over allegations it charged Australian customers more than $10,000 for its cutting-edge fully self-driving software despite their cars being technologically restricted from activating the autonomous feature. Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode  which requires a humans constant supervision to legally operate  was a feature promised by Elon Musks Tesla for years, but had been unavailable locally for many users needing to wait for software updates as well as local regulatory approvals to operate. A video of Tesla FSD in action, uploaded by Victorian-based YouTuber Ryan Cowan. YouTube/Ryan Cowan. FSD mode finally became available for owners of certain newer Model 3 and Y Teslas in Australia in September, allowing those who pay $149 a month or a one-off fee of $10,100 to let their vehicles drive them around. It has triggered a flood of social media videos and perplexed reactions from other road users and pedestrians when seeing Teslas move without their drivers touching the steering wheel.

Advertisement

The technology relies on cameras fixed on the car that provide 360 degrees of view, which feed information into a neural network navigation software that determines how to steer, accelerate, brake and change lanes to navigate to a users destination. Related Article Road safety Chinese ban on Tesla-style door handles likely to flow through to Australia Drivers using FSD must be paying attention to the road. An internal camera ensures they are not distracted and are ready to intervene and take over control should the car make an error. A car will end FSD mode if it detects a driver is repeatedly distracted. However, full functionality of the FSD feature is limited to Tesla vehicles with its latest technological hardware, known as HW4, which includes the most modern sensors and computer system. Despite this, Tesla offered FSD to owners of vehicles with older on-board tech, known as HW3. As such, these customers have vented their fury online at what they say is a significantly limited automated driving experience.

Advertisement

Whereas FSD in more modern Tesla models can perform almost all driving manoeuvres, those with HW3 vehicles who paid the same price for the feature report only slightly enhanced automated features such as automatic lane changing and automatic parking. Andy Young is one such Tesla owner now taking legal action against the car manufacturer. Young has lodged a claim at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, alleging the electric vehicle giant breached Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct when selling him lifetime FSD access, priced at $10,100, when he bought his Model 3 in December 2021. He claims Tesla has failed to supply its FSD feature in the subsequent four years, and that the purpose of the FSD product it sold him was not fit for the intended purpose, a contravention of consumer law if proved. Young is seeking a refund of the $10,100, as well as $3530 in NSW EV stamp duty rebate he was unable to benefit from because the inflated cost he unnecessarily paid for the vehicle pushed its purchase value over the rebate threshold.

Advertisement

The inflated cost meant Youngs purchase also incurred $2059 in luxury car tax, for which he is also seeking a refund. Additionally, he is seeking interest on these amounts. Related Article Exclusive

Taxis One in four women cop driver misbehaviour in rideshares and taxis Separately, Tesla is facing a broader law firm-led class action launched in the Federal Court last year on behalf of other Australian customers who paid for FSD for their cars which were actually incapable of fully benefiting from it. The class action also includes claims covering other Tesla customers related to phantom braking and battery concerns. Young lodged the tribunal matter separately to the class action, as he was not satisfied it incorporated all of the issues he wanted to raise, nor the amounts of compensation and refunds he sought. Tesla asked for Youngs matter to be either dismissed or stayed, arguing he was automatically covered by the class action that deals with the same issue. Young had not yet been able to opt out of the class action.

Advertisement

However, principal tribunal member David Robertson rejected Teslas claim that allowing Youngs matter to proceed would be frivolous or vexatious. Robertson will now consider Youngs case through written submissions, while the class action  still in its early stages  progresses. In determining both the federal and NSW matters could continue against Tesla concurrently, Robertson noted that individual vehicle owners had the right to seek recourse through a tribunal, a process that would probably lead to a faster resolution than a national class action. Robertson noted the tribunals guiding principle is to facilitate the just, quick and cheap resolution of the real issues in the proceedings. Tesla was contacted for comment. Self-driving vehicles, including robotaxi-style operations such as Googles Waymo, have been common on roads in some US cities for years, in contrast to Australia, where regulatory requirements are more cautious of the technology.

Advertisement

Teslas FSD, in requiring a drivers supervision to operate, is classified as a level 2 advanced driver assistance system under Australias road rules, with the human behind the wheel considered legally in control of the vehicle. The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
Advertisement

BusinessMarketsWorld markets The $830 million bet on oil minutes before Trump sent markets tumbling Amanda Cooper March 25, 2026  8:31am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Traders bet more than half a billion dollars on the price of crude only 15 minutes before US President Donald Trump announced a five-day delay to attacks on Irans energy infrastructure that sent the market plunging, exchange data and Reuters calculations showed. Having issued Iran with a Monday (US time) deadline to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz or face its power plants being obliterated, Trumps post on Truth Social at 11.05am Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on Monday unleashed a powerful selloff in oil and natural gas. Trumps Truth Social post sparked chaos on global markets. AP Brent and US oil plunged as Trump indicated constructive talks between Washington and Tehran were ongoing, prompting investors to price in the possibility of a de-escalation that could unblock the millions of barrels of oil now choked off in the Gulf. LSEG data shows that between 10.49am and 10.50am GMT, traders placed bets on 5100 lots of Brent and WTI crude futures. The Financial Times reported $US580 million ($830 million) in bets were placed.

Advertisement

The data also shows that, in the minute in which those contracts changed hands, it was selling that dominated volumes. It was not possible to establish who traded the oil. The roughly 2000-lot spike in volume in Brent futures at that point was far larger than those logged earlier in the day. View post on X But turnover was dwarfed by what followed when Trump posted. Over 13,000 lots of Brent and WTI crude futures, equivalent to 13 million barrels of oil, changed hands in the space of 60 seconds at 11.05am GMT.

Advertisement

Brent crude crashed to around $US99 a barrel from $US112 before the pre-announcement trades took place, while WTI fell to $US86 from closer to $US99 prior to Trumps post. The Intercontinental Exchange, on which Brent crude is traded, and CME Group, which owns the NYMEX exchange on which WTI trades, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for

comment. A White House spokesman told the Financial Times that it did not tolerate any administration official illegally profiteering off of insider knowledge. The US Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission was not immediately available for comment. With around a fifth of the worlds daily oil supply cut off by the Middle East war, prices are still more than 40 per cent higher than they were when the conflict erupted in late February.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Exclusive CultureDancePerforming arts Sydney Dance Company artistic director Rafael Bonachela reveals departure date Nick Galvin March 25, 2026  5:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Long-time artistic director and choreographer Rafael Bonachela is leaving Sydney Dance Company (SDC). Spanish-born Bonachela will step down in the middle of 2028, marking 20 years at SDC. Under his leadership, the company has emerged as a significant player on the global dance stage and established extensive training programs for young dancers. By the time I leave it will be 20 years, said Bonachela, who turns 54 next week. For 20 years I have had the incredible privilege to be running this company. I could do this forever, trust me. I love it with every cell of my body, but I also believe this is the right time for change. Bonachela works with two dancers this week. Peter Rae Bonachela has been in discussions with the board chair Emma-Jane Newton and other directors for several weeks and said he had set a long period before his final departure to allow for an orderly transition.

Advertisement

Hopefully, by the end of this year, someone will be appointed and they will have a year to program the second half of 2028, he said. While Im still around and the person is here, I can help in whichever way I can. When Bonachela was handed the reins in 2009 (amid a flurry of hes from Barcelona headlines) he had inherited a company still reeling after the sudden death of his predecessor Tanja Liedtke, who was killed in a road accident in 2007 just three months after her appointment. Liedtkes tragically brief time at SDC followed the 30-year tenure of legendary dancer and choreographer Graeme Murphy. Bonachela will have clocked up 20 years when he leaves in 2028. Peter Rae Ive always been taking these crazy jumps in the unknown, said Bonachela, who has tattooed on his forearm the words (in Spanish) In love with life. I came here to work but they were looking for a director  I didnt even know that. I came here with a three-year contract and a company artistically struggling but I felt like a challenge and I thought, Whats the worst that can happen? Bonachela came to Sydney from London, where he had worked with Rambert Dance Company for 13 years as a dancer and choreographer. He also worked with Kylie Minogue, choreographing her Showgirl and Fever tours.

Advertisement

At SDC, as well as making new work himself, Bonachelas focus has been on taking the company to the rest of the world and nurturing new Australian talent, in particular through the pre-professional year program established in 2014. Bonachela in 2007 when he was guest choreographer at Sydney Dance Company. I came here to run a dance company and now I see Sydney Dance Company as a cultural powerhouse and a national centre for education, said Bonachela. Artistically, I wanted the company to become a repertory company, but of new creations. So to commission new work and to build an identity that was part of a global conversation. I did not move to Australia to lie in Bondi Beach. In fact, sometimes a whole summer goes past and Im like, I better go to the beach at least once! I came here because I knew that there was an opportunity for me to make a difference. And while Bonachela said there had been too many highlights to narrow down to one, he does remember with particular fondness a show that was part of the 2017 Sydney Festival. A collaboration with the Art Gallery of NSW, in Nude: art from the Tate collection, the dancers  and audience  were naked, including Bonachela himself.

Advertisement

Once were all naked, were all the same, in a way, he said. That was a really beautiful experience. Related Article 

Sydney live reviews The skins still perfect, but maybe its time Lloyd Cole mixed things up a bit SDC audiences have come to expect and appreciate Bonachelas trademark physicality in the many works he has made for SDC. It demands much of the dancers, and he hopes that will be at least part of his legacy. I remember being in New York and there were people from New York City Ballet and they were like. Oh my God, there is being fit and then theres Sydney Dance Company fit! That is so true because we have to work really hard. I am so into physicality and movement, the thrill of it and how far we can go. Its part of my identity. I hope the dancers will carry that identity forwards  the virtuosity and rigour that is ingrained in the organisation. And what words does he have for his successor?

Advertisement

Be yourself, of course, he said. They will bring their own set of skills and talents. And theres always the artistic vision thats very important because you bring everyone along behind you. But its also something that keeps moulding and shifting and changing. Flexibility in the way you lead a company really helps. Must-see movies, interviews and all the latest from the world of film delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our Screening Room newsletter.
Advertisement

Married At First Sight relationship expert Mel Schilling has died. The 54-year-old psychologist was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023. Earlier this month she revealed the cancer had spread into her brain, leaving no chance of recovery. She leaves behind her husband Gareth Brisbane, and 11-year-old daughter Madison. Brisbane revealed the news on Instagram on Tuesday night. In her final moments, when I thought cancer had taken away her ability to speak, she ushered me closer and whispered a message for Maddie and me that will sustain me for the rest of my life, Brisbane wrote. It took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. Even then, her only thought was for Maddie and me. Married At First Sight expert Mel Schilling has died. This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42  and nailed both. This is a woman who, through two years of chemotherapy, when she could barely lift her head from the pillow, never complained and never stopped showing courage, grace, compassion and empathy, and never missed a day of filming. To most of you, she was Mel Schilling  matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. To Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate. On behalf of our family and her incredible friendship group, thank you for the support from around the world.

Advertisement

Schilling joined the Australian version of the reality show in 2016. Along with fellow psychologist John Aiken and sexologist Alessandra Rampolla, who joined in 2021, Schilling counselled couples on the reality juggernaut. She also appeared on the UK version of MAFS, which she was still filming this year. Aiken led tributes to his former co-star and dear friend as he struggled to accept her passing. I am heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe, he said in a post on social media. It was a privilege and an honour to sit beside her on the MAFS couch and watch her shine  Its not fair that my partner in crime is gone. She was one of the good ones.

Advertisement

Nines executive director of entertainment, streaming and broadcasting Michael Healy said the network was deeply saddened by Schillings death. Loading Mel was a wonderful colleague and friend, Healy said in a statement. She had a gift for connecting with people and helping them navigate lifes challenges. For years, she guided us through the complexities of the human heart with wisdom, honesty, and kindness. Mel was a big part of our family, and she will be greatly missed. Our hearts and deepest sympathies are with her husband Gareth, their daughter Maddie and her entire family during this incredibly difficult time. Endemol Shine Australias director of content Tara McWilliams said the production company was beyond heartbroken to say goodbye to our beloved Mel and that working with her on MAFS over the last 10 years had been a privilege. We will miss you more than words can say, said McWilliams.

Advertisement

Related Article Updated

Reality TV My light is starting to fade: Married At First Sight expert reveals cancer has spread It was only on March 13 that Schilling revealed her light was starting to fade, sharing on Instagram she had been diagnosed with a tumour the size of a lemon in December 2023. This was successfully removed in surgery, but in February 2024, a routine scan revealed small nodules in her lungs. Over the next two years, Schilling underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy. However, in December 2025 she discovered the cancer had spread to her brain, and in February, she announced her departure from MAFS Australia, citing health challenges and a desire to prioritise her family. Over Christmas ... I began experiencing blinding headaches and numbness down my right side, Schilling wrote in the Instagram post earlier this month, including a photograph with her husband and their daughter. After many tests, I was told the cancer had spread to the left side of my brain and, despite subsequent radiotherapy sessions, my oncology team have now told me there is nothing further they can do, she continued.

Advertisement

Married At First Sight Australia experts Alessandra Rampolla, Mel Schilling and John Aiken. Hearing those words changed everything, she said. But I am still here, still fighting, and surrounded by the most incredible love. Simple tasks have become incredibly difficult, and I am relying on my beautiful family to look after me. I honestly dont know how long I have left, but I do know I will fight to my last breath and will be surrounded by the love and support of my people. MAFS is broadcast by Nine, the owner of this masthead. Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.
Advertisement

This story appears in the Good Food chips collection. See all stories .

We dont have to tell you that steak frites are everywhere right now. Lately, though, its even started showing up in sandwich form. A steak frites sandwich is essentially a steak sanga with a few key differences. Firstly, its served on a crusty French baguette. Secondly, theres the small but important matter of the fries, which are stuffed inside. And finally, theres the sauce. Not tomato or barbecue, but something herby, buttery and delicious. In the latest edition of Sandwich Watch  the column that tracks all the sandwiches you need to know about  weve rounded up our favourite steak frites sandwiches in Sydney, and crowned the citys best. Sandwich americain from Cafe Loulou Loulou's sandwich americain is steak frites encased in a baguette. Steven Woodburn

Advertisement

This take on the steak frites sandwich, known as a sandwich americain in France and mitraillette in Belgium, swaps the sliced steak for a minced beef patty, which ends up being juicier, crispier and infinitely easier to eat. But this $23 sandwich is no sloppy fast food number, at least not at Loulou, which serves le sandwich at its Martin Place bistro and North Sydney cafe. It starts with the bakerys own French baguette, split and stuffed with a medium rare Haverick Meats beef patty. On top goes a tumble of hot fries and a slick of sauce andalouse, which is sweet, tangy and sharpened with confit garlic, espelette pepper and a splash of cornichon brine. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up 168 McLaren Street, North Sydney, loulou.sydney Mitraillette from Bouillon LEntrecote The mitraillette at Bouillon L'Entrecote features a secret sauce. The crew at this CBD French restaurant pride themsevles on their steak frites and have put a mitraillette on the lunch menu as a more accessible way to experience it. Between 11.30am and 5pm, you can eat their hefty sandwich with thin slices of wagyu sirloin (choose between rare or medium rare) on a house-made baguette with a generous scattering of French fries. On the side sits a silver gravy boat of buttery and herbaceous sauce inspired by the secret sauce at Parisian steak restaurant Le Relais de lEntrecote. Going for $35, its enough to feed two, or one mega-starving diner if youre keen to tackle it solo.

Advertisement

6 Loftus Street, Sydney, bouillonlentrecote.com.au The caricato from Dom Panino The caricato is an evolution of the Philly Cheesesteak. We reckon Tony Soprano would approve of this Italian-American style sandwich. The caricato at this Leichhardt panini powerhouse is an evolution of its rocky, their take on a Philly cheesesteak. Caricato is Italian slang for being loaded in the card game briscola, and this sandwich is indeed loaded with slices of crisp, salty MB+4 wagyu. The caramelised strips of meat are placed on its signature pane di casa roll and layered with sheets of melted provolone cheese, then finished with shoestring fries, kewpie mayo and house-made salsa verde. Its $24, and is what hangover dreams are made of. 122 Marion Street, Leichhardt, dompanino.com.au

Advertisement

And the winner is: steak frites sandwich from Franks Deli You could easily eat these ingredients seperately and have a very good time. Dion Georgopoulos This is the steak frites sandwich to measure all other steak frites sandwiches. Thats partly due to its superb chips-to-meat-and-sauce ratio, but also the ingredients this Waverley shop uses are elite. Each chewy baguette (from Grain Bakery across the road) comes with 180 grams of flank steak (120-day grain-fed premium Riverina Angus beef with a marble-score of 2 from Haverick Meats), which Franks sous vide and then finishes on the grill. Golden, well-seasoned chips are layered on top, then a verdant entrecote sauce is liberally applied. It has upwards of 20 ingredients, says owner and head chef Sammy Jakubiak. There are fresh herbs  tarragon, thyme, parsley  capers, anchovies, mustard, egg yolk, garlic, escallops and a lot of butter.

Advertisement

Made to her own recipe, Jakubiaks luscious sauce importantly gives the big bundle much-needed lubrication and zest to cut through the richness. Yes, its a task to smoosh the ingredients together so you can even pick it up, let alone eat it. But its size means you can easily share it with a buddy and be deeply satisfied. Its $32, but the ingredients are worthy of even eating it deconstructed and in plate form (you know what we mean). 279 Bronte Road, Waverley, franksdeli.com.au It doesn't get much better than this, the ones from Frank's Deli. Dion Georgopoulos And more fried-potato-filled sangas to try

Advertisement

The most famous Sydney chip sandwich is probably the chip butty with curry sauce from Petershams Splash. Good Food reviewer Lee Tran Lam likes the fry-heaped joy so much she ordered it five times in three days. In Camperdown, Derrels serves a chip putty, which is like a chip butty, only served on a soft Indian pav bread, doused in a butter chicken gravy. Two French sisters are behind Marrickvilles Metro BrewIn, which also serves hefty steak frites sandwiches (find the cafe on Edinburgh Road). Chip butty with butter chicken gravy. Jennifer Soo

For some double potato action, head to Lus Deli in Newtown, where the steak sandwich on the dinner menu ups the potato factor with a sandwich-friendly hash brown inside, plus French fries on the side. Add the fries into the sandwich to reach potato nirvana. Chicken and chips lovers should try this sandwich special currently at Happy Alley in Rockdale. The house-made, sesame-speckled Lebanese kaak bread is filled with spiced hot chippies, juicy lemon and garlic-marinated chicken, pickles, cheese, tomatoes and shredded lettuce. They have also done a steak frites sandwich special in the past, which is making a return soon.

Advertisement
Advertisement

MoneySuper & retirementSuperannuation Your super is about to grow even faster  and you dont have to do a thing Nina Hendy March 24, 2026  12:02pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Watching his parents prepare for retirement by checking their superannuation balance and make extra contributions has taught Jacob Jackson about the importance of preparing for retirement early. He might still be early on in his career, but the 29-year-old senior account manager continues to keep a close eye on his superannuation payments. Jackson routinely checks his payslip to make sure his super contribution has been paid, and checks his fund balance every couple of months. Young worker Jacob Jackson is one of many who are about to benefit from more regular super payments. He admits hes more engaged with his super than others, which is why he knows from July 1 his year, his super balance will start to grow even faster thanks to the new Payday Super changes coming into effect. Dubbed one of the most positive reforms for working Australians in decades, the changes require employers to pay super at the same time as wages. Its a major shift from the current model that allows super to be paid quarterly, and it will boost employee retirement savings as they will earn interest on their super sooner.

Advertisement

It will also be easier to track super payments and reduce the potential for employers to delay payments. The legislation requires employers to make sure contributions land in the employees fund within seven business days of pay day  whether thats weekly, fortnightly or monthly  with non-compliance to trigger costly penalties. The change means at least 4.5 million workers will get more frequent super payments without having to do anything at all. Young workers like Jackson stand to benefit the most, with decades for more frequent compounding to work in their favour. The problem with quarterly payments is that youre essentially giving your employer an interest-free loan for up to three months. Jacob Jackson Ive been lucky enough for my parents to show me how super works as we talk about their retirement down the track, and I do stash some extra into my super fund when I can manage it, Jackson says. A male aged between 25 and 29 years of age should have around $27,000 in their superannuation fund. Jackson, who has been working since he was about 14-year-old when he started out part-time in a pizza shop, says his super is on track.

Advertisement

The problem with quarterly payments is that youre essentially giving your employer an interest-free loan for up to three months. Multiply that across a career, and it adds up to thousands in lost earnings. Related Article Superannuation Millions to be better off in retirement under compulsory payday super plan The shift to Payday Super comes after the benchmark guide to how much money you need to live in retirement rose last year to $35,503 a year for singles hoping for a modest lifestyle, or $50,055 a year for renters. The lump sum needed by retirement age to fund a comfortable retirement if youre single is $630,000, or $730,000 for couples. But the super industry is battling against a largely ignorant workforce when it comes to their nest eggs. Most (80 per cent) of employees have never heard of Payday Super, while six in 10 employers are similarly unaware about the change, data from payroll software provider Employment Hero shows.

Advertisement

Less than half of workers actively engaged with their super fund to some extent over the past year, says Employment Heros general manager of super Rob Dunn. Payday Super is one of the most positive reforms for working Australians in decades. More frequent contributions mean better visibility, fewer lost accounts and ultimately, healthier retirement savings for millions of people, Dunn says. Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their personal circumstances before making any financial decisions. Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter.
Business director found guilty over skydiving deaths

A Goulburn skydiving business director has been found guilty of breaching workplace safety duties over the deaths of an instructor and his passenger during a jump gone wrong in 2021.
For the first time, Australian organisations can capture standardised neurodiversity data about their workforce.

Whats happening: Diversity Council Australia has opened expressions of interest for its 2026-2027 Inclusive Employer Index, which this year introduces a new standardised question to establish baseline neurodiversity data across Australian workplaces for the first time.

Why this matters: Most Australian employers currently have no reliable way to understand the inclusion experiences of neurodivergent employees or the barriers they face at work. For business owners managing teams of any size, that is a significant blind spot.

Diversity Council Australia has opened expressions of interest for its 2026-2027 Inclusive Employer Index, with a significant addition this year. For the first time, the index will include a standardised question to establish baseline neurodiversity data across Australian workplaces, marking what DCA describes as an Australian first in understanding and improving workplace inclusion for neurodivergent employees.

Catherine Hunter, CEO of Diversity Council Australia, said the move addresses a long-standing gap in how Australian organisations understand their workforce. An estimated 15 to 20% of people are neurodivergent, yet until now many organisations have lacked the tools they need to understand their employees experiences or the barriers they face at work, Hunter said. Capturing neurodiversity data safely and respectfully is a vital first step toward identifying and removing these barriers.

The introduction of the neurodiversity question was informed by DCAs newly released Neurodiversity Data at Work guide, developed through a national consultation involving nearly 3,000 participants, including more than 2,200 neurodivergent individuals as well as HR and diversity and inclusion practitioners.

For employers, the practical implication is straightforward. If one in five workers is neurodivergent and most organisations have never measured the inclusion experiences of those employees, they are making workforce decisions, including hiring, retention, management and team structure, without a significant piece of information about how their people actually experience their workplace.

Why neurodiversity data matters

The DCA Inclusive Employer Index is Australias only inclusion index run by an independent peak body, developed in partnership with Cultural Infusion. It enables organisations to measure, benchmark and strengthen their workplace inclusion efforts across ten diversity dimensions, including gender, race, disability, age and LGBTQ+ inclusion. The neurodiversity question adds an eleventh data point to that picture.

Hunter said building a truly inclusive workplace requires understanding the experiences of the people within it. The Inclusive Employer Index provides organisations with powerful insights to help them identify strengths, address gaps, and make meaningful progress. With the introduction of neurodiversity data collection, we are setting a new standard for how organisations can understand and support all employees, she said.

Insights from last years index showed that DCA member organisations are on average more inclusive, more likely to value having a diverse team and their employees are significantly less likely to face discrimination or harassment, according to DCA.

Organisations that participate receive insights into employees lived experiences of inclusion and exclusion, access to an interactive dashboard to explore workplace diversity and inclusion data, and comprehensive benchmarking against the national workforce, DCA members and industry peers where available. The index also includes the five employee experience questions required for the Workplace Gender Equality Agencys Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation.

Hunter said with increasing expectations for transparency and meaningful action on inclusion, participating in the index is a strategic investment. It allows employers to demonstrate genuine commitment and take evidence-based steps to create workplaces where everyone feels valued, respected, and able to perform at their best, which ultimately unlocks more productive, engaged and innovative workplaces, she said.

Expressions of interest are open now and close on 14 August 2026. Organisations that register before 5 April 2026 are eligible for a 10 per cent early-bird discount, available to both DCA members and non-members.

Register your interest to participate in the 20262027 Inclusive Employer Index.

All details sourced from Diversity Council Australia. Commentary attributed to Catherine Hunter, CEO of Diversity Council Australia.

Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Advertisement

Exclusive NationalNSWDomestic violence He kicked in a door to assault his ex. A loophole got him off a serious crime Michaela Whitbourn March 25, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

He kicked open a door secured with three locks to assault his ex-partner in the apartment they once shared. The wooden doorframe shattered. He grabbed, shook and yelled at his terrified former partner, then threw her mobile phone to the ground when she tried to call for help. It was 6am. A majority of the High Court found a NSW man could not break and enter his own apartment, despite kicking the door in after moving out. Nathan Perri But a High Court decision in 2023 said this was not a break and enter because he remained on the apartment lease, even though he had already moved out, stopped paying rent and collected his possessions. The NSW government will introduce a bill in parliament on Wednesday to close the loophole that resulted in this perpetrator being acquitted of break and enter.

Advertisement

Attorney-General Michael Daley said the proposed changes were narrowly crafted to avoid disadvantaging victim-survivors of domestic abuse. It means perpetrators who no longer live with their current or former partner wont be protected when it comes to breaking and entering even if they are still on the lease, he said. Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Jodie Harrison said the government was making sure perpetrators are held to account, and not escaping liability due to a legal loophole. The proposed changes Under existing NSW law, all break and enter offences require another serious offence either to be intended or committed in the property, rather than criminalising breaking and entering alone.

Advertisement

In this case, the man was charged with aggravated break and enter and committing the offence of intimidation. Under the proposed changes, an alleged perpetrator must no longer be an occupant of the home and must commit, or intend to commit, a personal violence offence against their current or former partner in the property. How the proposed law works The premises must be a dwelling-house, a defined term in the NSW Crimes Act that covers residential dwellings, including boats and vehicles.

The alleged perpetrator must not be an occupant of the dwelling at the time.

The provision applies only where the perpetrator commits or intends to commit a personal violence offence at the dwelling.

The personal violence offence must be committed or intended to be committed against a current or former intimate partner. This would cover physical assault, stalking and intimidation, and destruction of property. In a bid to ensure victim-survivors are not caught by the provisions if, for example, they returned to their former home to collect their belongings, less serious offences such as theft or common assault, involving limited or no physical contact, are excluded.

Advertisement

An alleged perpetrator would be deemed not to be an occupant if there was an apprehended violence order, court order, or condition of bail or parole that prohibited them residing at the home or required them to live elsewhere. The High Court case followed a NSW District Court trial where a directed verdict of not guilty was entered on the basis the man, as co-tenant, had a right to enter and could not be guilty of breaking in. The man subsequently pleaded guilty to lesser charges of common assault, intimidation and property destruction, carrying maximum prison sentences of between two and five years compared with 20 years for aggravated break and enter. The Crown appealed against the District Court decision. The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the acquittal and ordered a retrial, but the High Court by majority reinstated the acquittal. The Crown had told the Court of Criminal Appeal it was not uncommon for an estranged partner to break into their former home in these circumstances, and two judges expressed concern the lesser offences did not reflect the offenders overall criminality.

Advertisement

Then-justice Paul Brereton said those offences did not take into account that the crimes took place in the complainants home, in which she was entitled to feel secure. This was the very rationale of the break and enter offence, he said. The High Court ruling was controversial even among its judges. The court was split 4:3. It involved a break and entry The then chief justice, Susan Kiefel, and justices Stephen Gageler  who is now chief justice  and Jayne Jagot were in dissent. This was not a borderline case, the trio said. There was a forcible entry  against the sole occupants express wish.

Advertisement

It involved a break and entry, they said. Nothing seems more apt to  engender potential violence against people in their own homes than concluding that, in kicking the door down to enter, and then assaulting his former partner  the [accused] committed no crime. The perpetrators rights under the NSW Residential Tenancies Act offered no defence  or excuse, they said. But the majority of the court  Justices Michelle Gordon, James Edelman, Simon Steward and Jacqueline Gleeson  said the meaning of break and entry was established in historical circumstances quite different from contemporary society, including when domestic and family violence was generally not treated as criminal. The NSW government had not amended or replaced these older concepts, the majority said. In this case, the accused had lawful authority to enter, including by force, they said.

Advertisement

Karen Bevan, chief executive of Full Stop Australia, a non-profit providing support for survivors of sexual, domestic and family violence, said the proposed changes addressed a gap where abusers could act with impunity by leveraging existing laws. Victim-survivors were at an increased risk of harm and even fatal assault in post-separation periods, she said. But Bevan said it was important the changes were made in a measured way to avoid any unintended consequences. While she believed the proposal was effective in addressing the issues that arose from the High Court decision, Bevan said it would be critical to keep an eye on it to make sure its operating as intended. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter
Remove items from your saved list to add more.

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

A Sydney real estate agent allegedly sent confronting and graphic messages to former colleagues, encouraging one to commit suicide and providing her details to funeral homes to arrange funeral services.

Adrian Bruno, 38, has been charged with 20 offences, including 17 counts of sending menacing, harassing or offensive messages, one count of sending messages encouraging suicide, one count of using false information for benefit, and one count of damaging property.

Adrian Bruno leaving Burwood court on Tuesday. The real estate agent has been charged with harassing former colleagues. Edwina Pickles

The barrage of allegedly threatening text messages was sent from properties in Double Bay and Oatlands from mid-last year to January this year. One message allegedly encouraged his former colleague to commit suicide, listing the type of method she should use, court records show.

Police allege he then provided her contact details to funeral companies, who then contacted her to arrange end-of-life celebration services.
Advertisement

NationalQueenslandQueensland courts Childcare abuser jailed, family left disgusted by long wait for justice Dan Nolan March 24, 2026  8:56pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

The family of a girl who was sexually abused by a Sunshine Coast childcare worker say their daughter has been failed by the system, after a long-running case involving a bureaucratic bungle that resulted in his premature deportation to Fiji. Arvind Ajay Singh, 43, was jailed on Friday, but will spend only 10 months behind bars  a sentence the victims father said had left him absolutely devastated. Singh was removed from Australia as an illegal non-citizen last July despite the fact he was still awaiting trial on the alleged rape of a four-year-old girl. Arvind Ajay Singh, 43, was convicted of indecent treatment of a child under care. A Current Affair After A Current Affair first exposed the case last September, motivation to extradite Singh gathered steam, with a Maroochydore District Court judge issuing a bench warrant for his arrest.

Advertisement

Singh then agreed to return voluntarily in February to finally face trial, almost four years since the complaint was first made. Its been such a prolonged process, our daughter has had to continually wait to hear what is happening, the victims mother told A Current Affair. Singhs victim was four when she was abused at the childcare centre where he worked, and is now aged eight. A Current Affair Shes been asking questions. Whats happening to Mr AJ? Is he going to jail? Singh was known as Mr AJ when he worked at the Appleberries childcare centre at Burnside on Queenslands Sunshine Coast.

Advertisement

The victim, who legally cannot be identified, was aged four at the time and is now eight years old, and has been affected by the long wait for justice. What they put our daughter through was just absolutely disgusting, said her father. The young girl gave evidence before a Maroochydore District Court judge via videolink whilst clutching a teddy bear for support. Prosecutor Alex Stark set out for the jury the little girls clear disclosure about the alleged offending  first to her father, then both parents, and finally to Queensland Police during a recorded interview. Every time when Im sad he gives me a cuddle. Sometimes when I cuddle him he pulls my undies to the side and puts his fingers in it, she told police.

Advertisement

Singh pleaded not guilty, but, as is his right, never took the stand, nor gave a police interview. With a lack of DNA evidence to support the allegation, Singhs defence barrister, Lachlan Ygoa-McKeown, cast doubt on the young girls testimony in closing submissions. Just because the witness is 4 or 5, it does not excuse the weak, tenuous or vague nature of evidence that she gave, Ygoa-McKeown said. The girls mother described that approach as utterly disgusting. She had a voice to stand up and speak out and he just tried to discredit her, she said.

Advertisement

After a three-hour deliberation, the jury delivered its verdict, finding Singh not guilty of rape but guilty of a lesser charge of indecent treatment of a child under care. Judge Glen Cash described the offending as brazen and a betrayal of trust. The reduced charge resulted in a lower sentence of 20 months in prison, to be suspended after serving just 10 months. Id get longer if I didnt pay my taxes, the victims father said. The victims mother said they were proud of their bravest little girl for standing up and making a difference.

Advertisement

We had to fight for our daughter to get her justice, and we had to fight to get him off the streets so he could no longer work with children again, she said. At the end of Singhs sentence, he will be automatically deported back to Fiji to live his life as a convicted paedophile. The victims father described Singh as an absolute gutless coward. Hes never said anything from start to finish, hes never put his hand up, hes just been spineless throughout the whole thing. It shows what kind of grub weve had to deal with. The court heard the abuse left the victim suffering from fear, distress and anxiety, and that she still has trouble sleeping in her own bed.

Advertisement

Her mother also said the childcare centre involved failed to protect her daughter. We placed trust in a childcare system that promised protection and the system failed us, they failed our daughter, she 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

NationalQueenslandGender Top gender clinic psychologist ready to quit over trans ban Courtney Kruk Updated March 24, 2026  7:25pm ,first published 4:52pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

The psychologist who helped establish Queenslands first childrens gender clinic has aired plans to resign following the Crisafulli governments ban on hormone therapies for kids, citing fears she can no longer provide evidence-based healthcare or fulfil her professional duties. Olivia Donaghy has worked with transgender kids and in child and youth mental health services for nearly 20 years, and in 2016 was recruited to develop a care model for The Queensland Childrens Gender Service in Brisbane, a first-of-its-kind public clinic for trans and gender diverse kids. Olivia Donaghy helped establish Queenslands first gender clinic for trans kids in 2016. Courtney Kruk When the service opened the following year, Donaghy continued as the statewide co-ordinator, a role she maintained until taking extended leave in December 2023. Donaghy is due to return to her position this year but said she is reconsidering her future following the governments decision to ban stage one and two hormone therapies for transgender children.

Advertisement

I cant see how its feasible for me to return when the thing that Im employed to do, I am restricted and unable to do, she told this masthead in an interview this week. Related Article Updated

Gender Kids public hospital gender care ban extended despite inherent risks In my view, a gender clinic that cannot offer clinically recommended treatments is not a gender clinic. Its likely that I will resign because I dont want to return to a counselling service ... there are no universally adopted or endorsed clinical guidelines that say that [only offering] counselling is an appropriate response. The service, located in the Queensland Childrens Hospital in South Brisbane, was designed to offer multidisciplinary care to trans children with gender dysphoria, using clinical guidelines developed with local and international expertise.

Advertisement

It included a gender-affirming model of healthcare, allowing a team of medical specialists to prescribe puberty blockers and hormone therapies if needed. Donaghy, who features in an upcoming episode of SBSs Insight program discussing trans medicine, said this approach hinges on two fundamental principles: that trans people are real people whose gender and sex is incongruent, and that there is nothing wrong with anybody who is trans. Olivia Donaghy features on the latest episode of SBSs Insight program discussing trans medicine. Insight If youve got those two principles clear in your head as a health practitioner providing healthcare, you then move on to what is a very classic approach to healthcare called evidence-based medicine, she tells host Kumi Taguchi. In an interview with this masthead at the private gender clinic she co-founded with Dr Stuart Aitken in Brisbane, Donaghy said the prescription of medical intervention was not taken lightly.

Advertisement

We, like every other doctor and health professional, are not ever wanting to put people on medications that they dont need, she said. She said the directive meant the clinic could no longer provide the treatments written in clinical guidelines that informed their practice, and placed further restrictions on providing referrals. Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls. Courtney Kruk [In my role with Queensland Health] it created an immediate clash between my obligations as a psychologist and registered health professional to provide the best evidence-based treatments for those individuals that needed it. Under the governments directive, children who had already started at the Queensland Childrens Gender Service would continue receiving care until the end of their treatment period.

Advertisement

Donaghy is worried that once the group finishes, the clinic will be closed by stealth, reduced to a counselling service that could potentially harm trans and gender-diverse kids. Related Article Courts Gender blocker ban reinstated after being struck down in court There can be a risk with [only offering counselling services] that they will try to counsel a person out of being transgender, which is of course conversion therapy, which is outlawed in Queensland by health practitioners, she said. Donaghy later said she did not believe this was what the government intended to do, but it was a risk. There are medical professionals who do not agree with the gender-affirming model of trans healthcare, and the Queensland government has maintained its ban on hormone therapies is necessary until further research on their effectiveness can be conducted.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Theyre following international documents that are not based on Australian models of care, Donaghy said. Its just mind-boggling to me  when [Australian researchers] are currently engaged in the worlds largest cohort study on the health outcomes of trans youth. Asked whether the governments position has changed in light of the UK studys pause, a spokeswoman for Nicholls said: Safety concerns raised by the UKs Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) validates the Queensland Governments decision on Stage 1 and Stage 2 hormone therapies for those aged under 18. Donaghys parting message, which may signal the end of her public health role, is critical of the precedent set by the LNP government and its lack of compassion for a vulnerable health population. Whatever a persons view on trans medicine, they should be really concerned about politicians coming and inserting themselves into that patient consultation room in between the child and their parent and the doctor, and telling them what they should and shouldnt be prescribed, Donaghy said.

Advertisement

I think its very dangerous. SBS Insight episode Trans Medicine airs tonight at 8:30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.

CLARIFICATION This story has been updated to clarify some of Olivia Donaghys comments.
Advertisement

NationalQueenslandQueensland councils Ratepayers foot bill for mayors flights on Trump resort trip Julius Dennis Updated March 24, 2026  8:03pm ,first published 5:04pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has declared the Trump Organisation paid for his accommodation at Mar-a-Lago where he met with the US president in February  but ratepayers footed the bill for flights. In an updated version of his register of interests, available on the council website, Tate said the business paid for his accommodation, meals and transport to and from Miami airport on his trip to the resort, which is also the presidents home. However, a spokesperson for the council said the city paid for all flights related to the Mayoral Mission. The meeting with the president and his son Eric Trump was part of a two-night stay at the resort, during a month-long overseas trip at the start of the year. Tate stopped off at Mar-a-Lago during a month long trip. A Current Affair

Advertisement

Less than two weeks later, Eric Trump took to X to announce the organisation planned to build a 91-storey skyscraper in Surfers Paradise, which would be the tallest building on the Gold Coast and the first Trump Tower in Australia. Australian developer Altus director David Young had signed an agreement with the organisation while on a trip Mar-a-Lago himself in February. I am so proud to announce what will soon be the tallest building in Australia, the US presidents son posted to X less than two weeks after Tates visit. The tower would be the tallest on the Gold Coast, but would not actually be this much taller than Q1. X Earlier this month Tate said ratepayers had not footed the bill for the trip, but declined to elaborate on how the trip was paid for.

Advertisement

Some part of the trip I pay and some other parts was an invitation as mayor of the city to be there, by the Trump Organisation, he said in an interview with the ABC in early March. I was there as mayor of the city; thats a gift to the city, not to me. Related Article Opinion

Gold Coast Donald wants a Trump Tower in Australia. Rejecting it could be a problem Anthony Dennis Editor, Traveller Im pretty sure Tom Tate wouldnt have gotten an invite, mayor of the Gold Coast got an invite. While no development application has been made for the beachfront tower, there has been heated discussion about whether it should be built.

Advertisement

An online petition calling for the development to be stopped had garnered more than 138,000 signatures by Tuesday afternoon. Beyond issues of overdevelopment, environmental impact, and pressure on local infrastructure, many residents are deeply uncomfortable with the Trump brand and what it represents, it said. Tate has been approached for comment. Get alerts on significant breaking news as happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

A Melbourne man has been jailed for at least four years for grooming children on a secret dark web page he administered, where he shared sexual abuse material and had sexual conversations with boys aged eight to 12 years.

Police said the 78-year-old Ringwood East man also recruited young people in Australia and overseas through his invite-only website to have sexual conversations with children and share child abuse material.

The Victorian joint anti-child exploitation team  a taskforce of Victorian and federal police  raided the mans three properties on July 2023, and had been investigating him since June 2022.

Officers seized four computers, a mobile phone, five digital storage devices, 221 CDs and DVDs, 149 magazines and three books from his homes in Ringwood East, Wantirna South and Healesville. Forensic examination of the items found they contained child abuse material.
Advertisement

One of Melbournes largest hyperscale data centres will double in size to cover a 10-hectare parcel of land in West Footscray if plans before the state government are approved. NextDC, an ASX-listed data centre builder, has applied to the Allan governments fast-track planning program to expand its centre on Indwe Street, West Footscray, which it began building in 2021. The completed first stage of the West Footscray data centre. Joe Armao The data centre  which is already operational and one of the citys biggest  is eight kilometres from the city centre and immediately across the street from scores of homes. Though it is expanding inside an industrial zone, the site has drawn strong opposition from locals.

Advertisement

Jacqui Glover and the Next DC data centre that has been built metres from her home. Justin McManus Homes along the data centres northern boundary are 15 metres away from the property, and a handful of residences are less than 40 metres from large water towers attached to the side of the facility. The first stages of the data centre, which replaced several factories and warehouses on the site, opened in 2022. NextDC says 41,000 square metres of technical space is now available. Resident Jacqui Glover, who has lived in West Footscray for more than a decade, said the expansion plans needed to be reined in for the good of residents living alongside the project.

Advertisement

Its just expanded, expanded, expanded. Now its just getting out of control, she said. It feels like were never ever going to be getting out of this nightmare that we live in. The application is being processed under the Allan governments Development Facilitation Program, a scheme designed to bypass traditional planning delays for priority projects. Construction costs for the expansion, which will cover close to 5 hectares, are expected to exceed $750 million. The project is expected to be completed in late 2027, with total spending on construction across the sites various stages reaching about $1 billion. The planning application for the project says that once operational and running at full capacity, the centre is expected to deliver 100 jobs  65 of which will be located onsite.

Advertisement

The community consultation period for the project ends on March 28. Although West Footscray was already an industrial area when Glover moved in, she said the reality of living next to a data centre of this scale was grim, particularly because of the constant hum of the air-cooling units and the layers of dust from construction now permanently coating her house. I just cant understand how this is allowed to happen, how this is allowed to even be put forward, she said. The plan to expand the data centre beyond its already enormous footprint was all about money. Stop making it all about these businesses, she said. A NextDC spokeswoman said the company had no comment on the plans beyond the application that was before the government.

Advertisement

NextDC operates three data centres across the city  in Port Melbourne, Tullamarine and the first phase of the West Footscray site. A fourth centre in Port Melbourne to cost almost $1 billion was green-lit by the state government in February after just 75 days. Editor's pick Exclusive

Data centres $1b data centre given planning tick in just 75 days as state gets cosy with big tech Victoria is desperate for more data centres to be built, in part because of the construction jobs it will create. Last year, Premier Jacinta Allan promised to be ruthless about attracting data centres to the state. Along with AirTrunk, Amazon Web Services, CDC and Microsoft, NextDC is part of a small group of technology companies that control the data centre industry in Australia. The country has rapidly become Asia-Pacifics third-largest data centre market, behind China and India. Data Centres Australia, which represents a coalition of heavyweight industry operators, has spearheaded the sectors campaign to reshape energy and planning laws concerning data centres.

Advertisement

Our members say they have seen more demand for data hall space in the past 12 months than in the past 10 years, the groups chief executive, Belinda Dennett, said on Tuesday. Dennett said the push for hyperscale facilities such as those in West Footscray was largely driven by Australias rapid uptake of digital services and AI. The site in February. Joe Armao Data centres are not built on speculation  the growth is driven by demand, and that demand is not slowing, she said, noting Australia now ranked fourth globally in the business use of Anthropics Claude AI. To handle this digital surge, Dennett argued, hyperscale centres and purpose-built co-location data centres were the most sustainable path forward because they were 67 per cent more energy-efficient than companies keeping private computer servers on their own premises.

Advertisement

A spokeswoman for Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny did not directly respond to questions about the potential environmental or community impacts of the expansion. She said the application would be carefully assessed by the relevant agencies and stakeholders, and that because the proposal was under consideration, it would be inappropriate to comment further. A Maribyrnong Council spokeswoman said the municipality would make a submission to the state government regarding the application. 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

NationalWACourts Fuel thief behind bars for alleged hit-and-run drive-off as six WA petrol stations run dry Heather McNeill and Amber Wilkinson March 24, 2026  5:29pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

A Perth man accused of stealing fuel from a petrol station and then running over an attendant with his car as he fled will spend the next fortnight behind bars. Glenn McCagh, 39, allegedly attempted to drive off without paying for his fuel at a Vibe station in Armadale, in Perths outer south-east, around 11am on Monday, before a service attendant noticed and tried to stop him. Loading As McCagh allegedly accelerated away, the attendant went over the bonnet of the car, smashing the windscreen. He then fell off the vehicle around 50 metres down the road before allegedly being run over by McCagh. The victim, aged in his 30s, suffered serious injuries and remained in hospital in a stable condition on Tuesday.

Advertisement

McCagh was located late Monday night after WA Police put out a public appeal to identify him. He was charged with driving with false plates, stealing, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, failing to stop and render assistance, and failing to report an incident. He attempted to apply for bail in Armadale Magistrates Court on Tuesday, but the prosecution opposed the application, telling the court there was CCTV and a strong case against him, with prison time likely. McCagh will be remanded in custody for the next two weeks while the magistrate considers whether home detention could be appropriate, as he has children he cares for and a limited criminal record. WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said police were aware of the anxiety around the countrys increasing fuel prices, which averaged 245 cents a litre in Perth on Tuesday.

Advertisement

I think the financial pressure and strain on fuel prices goes for everyone ... and I cant speak to the motives of this particular individual, but what I can say is that there is a person in our community has been harmed from this, and thats inexcusable, he told media. Related Article Exclusive

Petrol prices Perth woman lodges complaint after petrol price jumps 30 cents in 20 minutes WA Industrial Relations Minister Simone McGurk said there was no justification for allegedly stealing fuel or assaulting an attendant. I understand the pressures that people are feeling with cost of living ... and that the increased fuel prices are adding to peoples anxiety, and perhaps their hip pockets as well, she said. Blanch said while police were bracing for an increase in fuel station thefts, the fuel crisis had not yet reached a level that required police input.

Advertisement

There are levels of any emergency, and we are currently at a very low level that doesnt require police involvement, he said. At the moment, its all about the demand for fuel and the distribution of fuel, and thats certainly not a police responsibility. Were a long way from that, at this point. There are other departments, the Department of Energy and the Energy Coordinator who looks at the distribution and logistics of fuel today, to make sure that the people who need fuel have it, so its probably not for me to comment at this time until police are required. There is an Emergency Management Act, there is a State Hazard Plan, we are always prepared for the worst, but we are nowhere near that yet. Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen told parliament on Tuesday that six service stations out of 771 in WA had run out of fuel.

Advertisement

WA was faring better than bigger states including New South Wales where there are 164 stations without diesel and 289 without at least one type of unleaded fuel, out of a total of 2417 service stations. In Queensland, there are 55 service stations without diesel and 35 without regular unleaded out of 1800 service stations. In Victoria, there are 162 with one or more grades unavailable out of 1627 service stations. WA Nationals leader Shane Love has accused the state government of keeping drivers in the dark about the fuel shortage situation in the west. He said other states were tracking shortages in real time, and providing daily updates, while WAs regime requires petrol stations to self-report stock levels.

Advertisement

Families are preparing to head on road trips, yet service stations in parts of regional WA cannot guarantee fuel will be available, he said. This government is sending people onto our roads without the most basic certainty, that they can fuel their vehicle and get home safely. A state government spokesman said authorities were working with industry to implement a new digital reporting system. This data will inform the work of the Fuel Industry Operations Group who will continue to respond to these issues, he said. Weekly updates on the work of the FIOG will be provided publicly each Friday. 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

PoliticsFederalGST Opinion The GST is broken, and hurting NSW and Victoria badly Shane Wright Senior economics correspondent March 25, 2026  5:00am

March 25, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

This is the first comment to the Productivity Commissions inquiry into how GST revenue  about $100 billion a year  is shared among the states and territories. WA already pay more GST contributions than all of Australia. We desperately need more GST to fix our critically ill hospital and health system, our schools are crumbling, lacking the funding to fix them and infrastructure including house [sic] is desperately lacking, the West Australian resident notes. Photo: Simon Letch To quote Luke Skywalker: Impressive. Every word in that sentence was wrong. By any measure, the largest share of GST comes from NSW consumers. Theyll pay around $32 billion this year (Victorians will pay about $25 billion) compared with the $10 billion or so handed over by West Australians.

Advertisement

The WA state government is expecting a budget surplus of $2.4 billion this year. If the states hospital system or schools or infrastructure are crumbling, a government that has been running surpluses for seven years clearly has the cash on hand to deal with these issues. That it hasnt is not for want of GST. When the GST was introduced by John Howard in 2000, all of the revenue raised by the new tax was to be shared by the states and territories. It would be their guaranteed source of funding. That someone actually believes WA pays more GST than the rest of the country combined, or thinks a state government with huge surpluses is so hard-up for cash it needs even more money, is evidence of some sort of Jedi mind trick. But it goes to the problems that will flow when the Productivity Commission later this year produces its report into the GST deal put in place by the Morrison government.

Advertisement

Related Article Opinion

Federal budget Up in smoke: How one budget burnt a $115 billion hole in the nations finances Shane Wright Senior economics correspondent The deal followed a collapse in WAs share of the GST through the 2010s. Even as WA went through a local recession (between 2015 and 2016), its share of the GST fell further and further to less than 30 for every dollar of the tax raised within the state. To assuage angry West Australians (and angry West Australian members of the federal Liberal Party), then treasurer Scott Morrison tasked the Productivity Commission to look at how the GST was allocated. That report effectively argued the federation was a mess and the nations treasurers should sort out the mishmash of payments between states and the Commonwealth (a finding it could make today). On the day that report was made public, Morrison released his own plan, in which WA would be topped up with cash over several years until it got at least 75 for every dollar of GST it raised. It would then change to the system we have this year, where no jurisdiction can get a smaller share of each dollar raised than either NSW or Victoria.

Advertisement

When then treasurer Josh Frydenberg first included the GST deal in the 2019-20 budget, it was expected to cost federal taxpayers $2.3 billion. The deal assumed iron ore prices  pivotal to WAs share of GST  would fall. Instead, iron ore prices stayed high. Under the complex rules of the deal, in which no state or territory can be left worse off, federal taxpayers must now cough up extra cash for the GST pool to be shared across the federation. Scott Morrison, with former finance minister Mathias Cormann. The PMs GST is fracturing the budget and the federation Alex Ellinghausen Based on current projections, by 2029-30 the total cost of Morrisons arrangement will have reached almost $60 billion.

Advertisement

Submissions to the Productivity Commissions inquiry have been made public, and reveal some strange bedfellows. Eric Abetz, who was part of the Morrison government, is now the treasurer of Tasmania, which has the weakest budget position of any state and territory. He wants the deal revoked, saying its terrible for the federal budget and everyone east of the Nullarbor Plain. Josh Frydenbergs finance minister (and West Australian), Mathias Cormann, put his head up from his job running the OECD to argue the deal is great. He went so far as to argue that while there may be legitimate complaints about the deals hit to the federal budget, it was affordable for taxpayers. This came from a co-author of the 2014 budget that contained funding cuts on everything from dental services to veterans disability pensions. Talk about turning to the fiscal dark side.

Advertisement

Unsurprisingly, Victoria and NSW  both facing extreme budget problems caused by their own spending proclivities (Victoria) or the way the GST is working against them (NSW)  are arguing for change. Related Article Exclusive

Australian economy Overgoverned, overtaxed and overcomplicated: How Australia was set up to fail Given both Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor know they need to win seats in WA to form government, the chances of either backing an end to the current deal are remote. But NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey is right in his complaint that the way GST is allocated by the Commonwealth Grants Commission is somewhere between a mystery and conspiracy. Its only two years ago that NSW lost $200 million in GST because the geographic definition of the mid-North Coast coastal city of Coffs Harbour changed (even though the home of the Big Banana did not move).

Advertisement

At present, the grants commissions allocations are year-by-year. Mookhey says that as states and territories have to work on four-year estimates on revenue and spending, it shouldnt be beyond the wit of the grants commission to also deliver four-year estimates. But thats the least of his problems, and the problems created by the current GST deal. When it was put in place, there were real fears that without change the federation could fracture as West Australians turned their backs on the rest of the nation. Now, the nations state and territory governments  Labor and Coalition  are turning their back on the deal and the grants commission process. Broken, the GST deal is. Shane Wright is a senior economics correspondent. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
Advertisement

PropertyLivingInterior design Welcome to the world of Tom Dixon, where restlessness is a virtue Robyn Willis March 24, 2026  7:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

You have to be pretty sure of yourself to launch an outdoor furniture range in Australia, especially if its your first. With the worlds highest levels of solar radiation, surpassing even Africa, Australia experiences almost twice the amount that Europe is exposed to. When I point this out to UK designer Tom Dixon, in Sydney for the briefest of visits this month to check out his first flagship store in the country and talk about his new outdoor furniture range, Groove, he laughs softly. It will be interesting to see how they survive, he says. Tom Dixons latest release is the Groove range of outdoor furniture. It is the culmination of 10 years work. It is Dixons first visit to his flagship store in Woollahra. Renee Nowytarger Groove is a range of aluminium tables, chairs and stools finished in VOC-free polyester powder coating and designed to weather the elements with enduring presence  whether set on a terrace, balcony or courtyard, according to Living Edge, Dixons Australia retailer.

Advertisement

The collection is the latest release from the eponymous label, launched in 2002, and covering everything from lighting, candles and tableware to furniture, glassware and soft furnishings. If the Tom Dixon name is not familiar, chances are you know his work. The one-time bass guitarist with 80s band Funkapolitan (they supported Simple Minds and The Clash back in the day) and art school drop out has designed, produced and marketed lighting and furniture designs so popular that they have been copied endlessly. Among his most commercially successful designs are his Beat collection of pendant lights, released in 2004 as part of an initiative to keep metal craft skills alive in India, and the Fat range of sofas and chairs launched in 2019. Tom Dixon Beat pendant lights and Fat dining chairs are among his most popular designs. Living Edge

Advertisement

His connection to Australia is longstanding, with Bennelong Restaurant home to the Melt range, installed in 2015, the first appearance of the lights anywhere in the world. Dixons work also extends into interiors, with fit outs for Shoreditch House in London, Drugstore Brasserie on Les Champs-Elysees in Paris and the lobby of Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney among his list of achievements through the companys Design Research Studio. The heritage constraints of Bennelong Restaurant meant the Melt lights were fixed to freestanding lamps rather than the ceiling. Jennifer Soo Dixon has worked with everyone from Vivienne Westwood to Ikea and worked as creative director of Sir Terence Conrans Habitat in the late 90s before launching his own brand, always with one eye on business outcomes. Key to his work is experimentation with materials. With that comes a likelihood of failure. The story of the outdoor range is one of 10 years of trying, and trying, and trying again to make a metal chair with an industrial aesthetic, he says.

Advertisement

Trials making furniture using an industrial robot he took to Milan Design Week proved unsuccessful, but not fruitless, with the lessons learned applied to the next iteration. Related Article Housing affordability What was the Great Australian Dream? I tried again with a Norwegian aluminium company. I made a chair taking all my learnings from the metal robot which was making these grooves and I took that idea and I made an aluminium chair that was completely corrugated and so efficient and light that it would fly away in the wind. But it was so expensive, and it was so high tech  it was 2000 pounds a chair. And then it was still pretty uncomfortable. It was very corrugated to make it very stiff and very light. I overdid it basically.

Advertisement

After all that trial and error, Groove was born. Dixon is hoping the Australian market will take it to heart. My post rationalisation of that range for the Australian market is that you [Australians] love corrugated iron, he says. The sound of the rain on a corrugated roof is an Australian sound, right? Dixon continues to explore the limits of materials such as metal, glass and timber in his work. Renee Nowytarger The range is also further exploration by Dixon of the changing nature of work and life, with the lines between indoor and outdoor living and residential and commercial design continuing to blur. Groove is designed to complement other elements in the Tom Dixon catalogue, notably the cordless lamps in his range, including the Jack lamp, itself an experiment in moulded plastic and the Bell table lamp, which works in residential settings as well as hotel or restaurant environments. It is perhaps unsurprising to discover that the word consistently used to describe him is restless.

Advertisement

My interest is definitely in how you make something, so you are bound to fail, he says. Im not an expert until Ive done it and [thats] partly because some ideas are simple. But its getting to market thats complicated. You learn a lot as you go along. None of those ideas were wrong, but maybe they were at the wrong time. And sometimes it does take 10 years to get it right.

Property listings
The primary reason for creating the UN in the wake of World War Two was to stop future wars. And yet the UN keeps getting bogged down on tangential issues and failing in that core mission, said Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at the United Nations Security Council.



The UNs inability to stop the war in Ukraine is an unfortunate example of this failure, observed Deputy Secretary Landau. That terrible war has now lasted more than four years longer than the United States itself was involved in World War Two.



President Trump has made it clear that hes determined to end the war in Ukraine. That war never would have happened if hed been president, said Deputy Secretary Landau, and its imperative to end the senseless death and destruction.



The war doesnt just affect the belligerents. It has thrown the entire international political, economic, and military order out of whack and has imposed enormous costs on the belligerents, first and foremost, but also on many other nations.



President Trump continues to pursue a deal to end the war. Talks with both sides have remained ongoing, said Deputy Secretary Landau.



What were trying to do is to show both sides that they have more to gain from ending the war than from continuing to fight. Peace would unlock prosperity like this region has never seen before.



Its unfortunate that the UN has failed to play a constructive role in seeking peace between Russia and Ukraine.



Its our fervent hope that the U.S. Presidency of the Security Council this month can mark a moment where the UN produces more than words and actually creates a pathway for peace, said Deputy Secretary Landau. We extend a hand of friendship and cooperation to anyone who has constructive ideas for how we can close a deal to end the war.



Deputy Secretary Landau called on both sides to negotiate in good faith, in a spirit of flexibility, compromise, and a duty to protect and preserve the lives of their citizens.



There is no greater honor than being a peacemaker, he said. Its time for the UN to play a role in bringing about peace in Ukraine, so that people looking back on this period wont say that the UN rendered itself irrelevant, and that peace was ultimately achieved despite the UN, not because of the UN.
Advertisement

InspirationLuxury holidays The London hotel so fabulous, you could live in the loos Penny Watson March 25, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Have you seen the ladies loos yet? asks my guide. And, before I can answer: Theyre so fabulous you could live in them. Lets go and take a look. The Bees Knees Dancers at Claridges, Mayfair. Im at Claridges hotel, in Londons Mayfair, on a tour led by the hotels knowledgeable archivist, Kate Hudson, to celebrate the centenary of art deco. This is possibly the only hotel in the world that can proudly tout its toilets as somewhere fabulous enough to live. I follow her across the shiny, black-and-white checkerboard marble tiles of the hotel lobby and through a decadent archway of pressed metal and patterned glass where ladies room is back-lit by a soft white light. Inside, I am fittingly agog. The room is the quintessence of a design era known for its glitz and glam, its elaborate styling, its exquisite craftsmanship. The room has dado oak wood panelled walls and a whimsical mural featuring dreamily silhouetted palm trees and a showy parrot (a nod to the pet of long-time guests and philanthropists Stephen and Virginia Courtauld).

Advertisement

The ballroom entrance. Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now. In keeping with the island theme (and exuberance of the style), a column between two archways is playfully bejewelled with a painted treasure: strings of pearls, gold chains, cameo brooches. Fussying around the basins, aproned bathroom attendants  some of whom have worked at Claridges for decades, according to Hudson, are at the ready with hand towels, a service best appreciated with a pound coin or two in the silver tip plate. On the way out, I take a moment to admire two decadent polished wooden dressing tables each with extravagant arched bevelled mirrors and glass lamps. With welcoming wooden chairs, they offer a place to sit and gossip, to apply lipstick and rouge, perhaps even  in their day - to light a slimline cigarette. When I suggest as much, Hudson pulls out a black and white photo that perfectly captures the era. In it, dancing girls are gathered around the dressing table. Elbow-length gloves covering their slender arms perfectly match their dazzling beaded hair nets and spangled flapper dresses. In the mirrored reflection they look ready to party, their lips big and smiling, the sassy twinkle of a long-ago era in their eyes.

Advertisement

As we continue our walk around the hotel, Hudson regales me with other intriguing insights. Though the phrase art deco, from the French arts decoratifs, wasnt well-used until the 1960s, the globally recognised design era kicked off in 1925 with the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. The Bees Knees Dancers. The hotel lobby. Up until that point, it was called the modern decorative style, and all kinds of other things, Hudson says. But the exhibition in Paris is considered the birthplace of art deco. It was put on by the French government who wanted to take ownership of style and taste, and really set themselves up as the arbiters of such things.

Advertisement

It couldnt have been more successful. Running from April to October (and extended another month due to its success), the exhibition attracted 17,000 exhibitors  predominantly from Europe  and millions of visitors from across the world. I cant think of anything comparable today, Hudson says. It was the place to see and the place to be seen, and the success of the event rippled throughout the world and is still recognised today in architecture and design. Related Article Opinion

Luxury holidays My hotel charged $100 for a baguette. Ill just eat a bag of chips, thanks Lee Tulloch Travel columnist The art deco era also neatly evokes that unique boom period between the two world wars. In London, this was the heyday of the so-called Bright Young Things, a carefree bohemian generation of hobnobs and young aristocrats who revelled in exuberant fancy dress parties buoyed by exotic cocktails and recreational drugs. It was the playground for a luminary creative set including writers Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh, and society photographer Cecil Beaton. The roaring 20s, the Jazz Age, the Bright Young Things, all those phrases, which we use so glibly, marked Londons inter-war period, Hudson says.

Advertisement

It was this incredibly stylish period, but also a very unsettled period with a feeling that life is slightly fragile. In many ways, there was a sense of carpe diem, you know, to just enjoy those moments. Still today, a stay at Claridges elicits just such joie de vivre. Any Londoner who has business in Mayfair is sure to have met here for a rendezvous in the fantabulous lobby, a champagne in The Fumoir bar, or brunch under a gleaming Chihuly glass sculpture in the magnificent Foyer restaurant. The restaurant at Claridges. For out-of-town guests, it presents an excellent people-watching opportunity, a chance to see London at its most vivacious, from the fashionistas and celebs to the local characters including the chatty top-hatted doormen, the second-generation concierge, the Mayfair locals who treat the hotel like their second home. Inside a Claridges suite.

Advertisement

Such a hotel vibe doesnt happen overnight. Claridges has been open on this site since 1856, but it was rebuilt between 1894 and 1898 and so has the late Victorian era and architect C. W. Stephens (who also created Harrods department store in Knightsbridge) to thank for its grandeur and striking facade. Between 1926 and 1932, hot on the heels of the exhibition, a refurbishment and extension led first by high society designer Basil Ionides and continued by architect Oswald Milne, saw it evolve with the times. Standing out the front of the hotel with Hudson, the facade tells the story  the archetypal red-brick Victoriana frontage mingles with a glorious art deco entrance. Replacing the old horse and cart circular carriageway is a black and white portico made from plate glass and chrome metal either side of playful jousting tent revolving doors. Sitting above the portico, behind enormous fluttering Union Jack flags, are fruit-filled black urns, replicas of a motif that featured in the original exhibition catalogue. Its rather wonderful isnt it? Hudson says as we step back inside the lobby. This is another spectacular space with gleaming marble floors, doorways framed with plaster tassels, geometric carpets and an original Lalique glass panel presented to the hotel in 1926 by the famous glassmaker Rene Lalique himself. The Mayfair Terrace suite. Sitting in big leather couches near the lobbys Georgian fireplace (which came from sister hotel The Berkeley in 1898), I eye-off the heavily ornamented Victorian ceilings and cornices, and the imposing original wooden staircase spiralling to the floors above.

Advertisement

Its such an eclectic mix of styles, and yet somehow it works because the layers upon layers of history make it so individual. Later, with the tour complete, I settle into my luxuriant two-roomed suite, a mingling of modern stylish amenities with contemporary deco touches  geometric carpet, wood and chrome accents, and furniture and fabrics imbued with the eras zigzag, chevron and sunburst motifs. A copy of F. Scott Fitzgeralds Flappers and Philosophers lies in wait on the coffee table, but I have other plans. On the concierges recommendation, I am off to the West End to see The Great Gatsby stage show. As I put my lipstick on in the suites snazzy black and white marble bathroom, Hudsons parting words again make me smile: Always judge a hotel by its loos. THE DETAILS

Advertisement

Claridges Superior Rooms cost from 842 ($1595) a night including minibar stocked with British treats and exclusive access to the spa, swimming pool and sauna. See claridges.co.uk Five more London hotels with history The Connaught

Nearing 130-years-old, this illustrious Mayfair hotel has hosted presidential guests including Dwight D. Eisenhower and Charles de Gaulle. It boasts lavish suites, butlers, three Michelin-star cuisine, and the famed Connaught Bar, loved as much by locals as by guests.

See the-connaught.co.uk The Langham

Opening its doors in 1865, The Langham, on Regent Street, was known as Europes first grand hotel, a go-to for high society, royalty, artists and authors. In the 1870s it offered guests electric lights, hydraulic lifts and air-conditioning, an elevated level of luxury that the hotel is known for today. Recent additions include a new luxury tavern, The Wigmore and Chuan Spa.

See langhamhotels.com Browns Hotel

Another Mayfair staple, Browns opened in 1832 as Londons first luxury hotel. It has been a bolthole for a litany of authors including Rudyard Kipling, Stephen King and Agatha Christie who all credit it with inspiration for their books. Afternoon tea in the streetside Drawing Room is a must-do.

See roccofortehotels.com

Advertisement

The Savoy

The Savoy is arguably Londons most famed historic hotel, located between the Strand and the River Thames in the theatre precinct. It was opened in 1889 by theatre king Richard DOyly Carte of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, and owes its reputation to Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz who would go on to open The Ritz hotels. See fairmont.com St Ermins Hotel

Lesser-known but no less historical, St Ermins opened in Westminster in 1899, after transitioning from smart apartments to hotel with a red-brick Queen Anne facade and a central carriageway courtyard. Its proximity to the Houses of Parliament put it centre-stage during the 1940s. The hotel still taps this history today with its line-up of WWII-related experiences. See sterminshotel.co.uk The writer travelled as a guest of Claridges.
Advertisement

WorldMiddle EastMiddle East at war Iran assigns club-wielding corrupt commander to make a deal with Trump Akhtar Makoii March 24, 2026  11:39am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

The man whom Iran has entrusted to lead negotiations to end the war with the US has never shied away from doing the regimes dirty work. In 1999, as student protests broke out in Tehran against media censorship, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf got on the back of a motorcycle, grabbed a club, and beat the demonstrators himself. Ghalibaf is known for his uncompromising views  could he be the one to make a deal with Trump? NurPhoto via Getty Images Maintaining order required someone willing to be on the street with a stick in hand, even if that someone is a general, he later boasted. Now, Irans parliamentary Speaker and former Revolutionary Guard commander faces a much bigger challenge.

Advertisement

Only on Sunday, Ghalibaf threatened to bomb anyone holding US treasury bonds, which he said were soaked in the blood of Iranians. Purchase them, and you purchase a strike on your HQ and assets, he said. Related Article Middle East at war US-Iran war as it happened: Trump postpones strikes on power plants, says Iran wants to make a deal; Iranian Speaker labels talks fake news But hours later, he was reportedly having conversations with foreign intermediaries as Irans lead negotiator to end the war and save the Islamic Republic. Of course, he has denied direct negotiations with America. The fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped, he posted on X. The paradox is the point.

Advertisement

Only someone who threatens to bomb US bondholders and publicly denies that talks are even taking place could sell a deal to hardliners in Tehran without it looking like a capitulation to America. Iran needs to end this war. It has seen more than 1400 civilians dead, its supreme leader killed, its military infrastructure devastated, and its economy collapsing. But the regime cannot survive being seen to surrender. Ghalibaf solves that problem. In Irans view, when a diplomat negotiates, its appeasement, but when an IRGC general negotiates, its forcing America to the table. Ghalibaf addresses the media at the Iranian parliament last December. NurPhoto via Getty Images

Advertisement

Donald Trump said on Monday he was dealing with a top person who is the most respected and the leader given that weve wiped out everybody. Related Article Analysis

Middle East at war In a contest between Trump and Tehran, its tough to know who to believe Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader, is still out of the picture, and Ali Larijani, the secretary of Tehrans national security council, is dead. Choosing Ghalibaf over Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reveals everything about how the Islamic Republic understands its survival crisis. Araghchi is Irans most experienced nuclear negotiator. He was in the talks that produced the 2015 agreement, knows American officials, understands Washingtons bureaucracy, and speaks their diplomatic language.

Advertisement

By any rational measure, hes the obvious choice. But rational measures dont apply when a regime that has built nearly half a century of legitimacy on Death to America now needs to accept American terms. Araghchi comes from the faction that hardliners view as treasonous. He sits with Hassan Rouhani, the former Iranian president, and Javad Zarif, his foreign minister: both reformists who believed engagement with Washington could work. Death to compromisers At the Quds Day rally on March 13, as hundreds of thousands demonstrated support for the Islamic Republic during wartime, someone in the crowd shouted, death to compromisers when Araghchi was giving an interview  a direct reference to the Rouhani-Zarif-Araghchi diplomatic approach.

Advertisement

Ghalibaf commands widespread support among Irans hardliners. Getty Images The Islamic Republics calculation is simple because it is better for Tehran to accept worse terms from Ghalibaf than better terms from Araghchi. After all, only Ghalibaf can frame those terms as victory. Ghalibafs hardline credentials are unshakeable. He joined the Revolutionary Guards at the age of 20 in 1980. By 22, he commanded a combat division fighting Iraqi aggression. He spent eight years in combat, leading the 25th Karbala Division. After the war, he commanded the fearsome Basij paramilitary force, then led the IRGCs air force, and at 39 became Irans police chief. In 1999, as students protested across Tehran demanding reforms after the Salam newspaper was shut down, Ghalibaf led the crackdown himself.

Advertisement

He later boasted about wielding sticks against protesters, saying maintaining order required someone willing to be on the street with a stick in hand, even if that someone is a general. In 1999, he co-authored an infamous letter from 24 IRGC commanders threatening Mohammad Khatami, the then-president, if he didnt crush the student protests. The 1999 student demonstrations were suppressed by the IRGC, with Ghalibaf taking a hands-on role. AP Ghalibaf has said he and Qassim Soleimani  the Quds force leader killed by the US during Donald Trumps first term  drafted the letter and collected signatures. The letter signalled the IRGCs emergence as an explicit political actor, intervening directly to prevent reforms. Ghalibaf cannot be accused of insufficient commitment to revolutionary principles. But there is another power dynamic that makes him the perfect choice inside Iran: his close relationship with Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader.

Advertisement

Multiple scandals Khamenei has protected Ghalibaf through multiple corruption scandals that should have ended his career. In 2017, while mayor of Tehran, Ghalibaf was accused of selling 2000 government-owned properties to friends and associates for discounts of up to 50 per cent. He was further accused of embezzling $4.4 billion in public money through transactions between the Tehran municipality and a front company linked to the IRGC. Security forces in Tehrans Enqelab Square on January 12 during a pro-government rally. Getty In 2021, while he was Speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ghalibafs wife, daughter, and son-in-law were pictured returning from a luxury shopping trip in Turkey with 294 kilograms of luggage, while Iran was embroiled in economic turmoil, and he was calling for simple living.

Advertisement

He allegedly transferred more than 70,000 square metres of public land and provided municipal aid to the Imam Reza Charity, which is owned by Zahra Sadat Moshirand, his wife. He was then accused of purchasing two flats in Istanbul for $2.3 million. The nickname corrupt commander has followed him around for years. Related Article Opinion

Middle East at war Trump has no idea what hes doing. Now his hubris has put the world on edge Peter Hartcher Political and international editor But throughout it all, Ghalibaf was protected by the son of the former supreme leader Ali Khamenei and never charged with any wrongdoing. His subordinates served jail time. This creates perfect conditions for negotiation. Ghalibaf cannot challenge Mojtaba Khamenei because he has saved his career multiple times. He cannot use negotiations to build an independent power base because his power depends entirely on Khameneis protection.

Advertisement

For the new supreme leader, still not seen in public since the war began in February with the assassination of his father, Ghalibaf is the ideal negotiator. Araghchi might negotiate better terms  sanctions relief, nuclear restrictions and regional de-escalation frameworks. But better terms delivered by someone viewed as a traitor by the revolutionary core wont save the regime. For a system that built legitimacy on revolutionary ideology rather than government competence, perception matters more than substance. The Telegraph, London 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

WorldMiddle EastMiddle East at war Opinion Trumps Iran war has inflamed bitter rivalries that will shake the world Kylie Moore-Gilbert Political scientist and writer March 24, 2026  3:30pm

March 24, 2026  3:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

US President Donald Trump has backed away from the 48-hour deadline he gave Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, pending the outcome of backchannel talks with a senior Iranian official, rumoured to be the powerful parliamentary speaker and former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Trumps threatened strikes on Irans electricity network had dramatically raised the stakes for the Americans Arab Gulf allies, after Tehran countered with threats to strike their energy, water and communications infrastructure in retaliation. The Iranians have denied that any such talks have taken place. But given the current disarray within the countrys leadership, including a new supreme leader who has been neither seen nor heard since his elevation two weeks ago, it is possible that a faction within the regime is in discussions with Washington about an off-ramp. A bulk carrier sits anchored at Muscat, Oman, about 200 kilometres south of the Strait of Hormuz. Getty Images My expectation is that the American involvement in the war will wrap up in the coming days or weeks. However, this does not mean that the regional conflict will come to an end. Irans Arab Gulf neighbours are reeling from being drawn against their will into a war they had long worked hard to prevent; one that has resulted in not just US bases, but civilian sites targeted, including major Gulf airports, hotels, oil and gas facilities and even housing. Regardless of what Trump does next, for the Gulf everything has changed.

Advertisement

The Gulf Co-operation Council states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait are now faced with a wounded and volatile Iranian regime that has crossed all of its previous red lines. Most prominent among them is its pursuit of brotherly relations with fellow Muslim nations, which used to be Tehrans favourite way to spin the periodic rapprochements it would engage in with strategic competitors such as Saudi Arabia. The Gulf states had entered into one such period of rapprochement with Iran shortly before the current war, with Riyadh and Tehran re-establishing diplomatic ties after a mediation in Beijing in 2023, followed by Manama, Bahrain in 2024, and efforts by all Gulf council member states to de-escalate tensions. These vaunted brotherly relations have been perhaps irrevocably destroyed by the IRGCs decision to rain down missiles and drones on neighbouring countries. Qatar and Oman have particular reason to feel aggrieved. Both have long-standing histories of friendship with Iran, and both had been actively engaged in mediation on behalf of Tehran when the war began. Qatar and Iran share the worlds largest undersea gas field and have long co-operated on resource extraction. This made it all the more galling to Doha that, following an Israeli strike on Irans South Pars share of this reservoir, Iran sought to target Qatars section of the same gas field, wiping out 17 per cent of the countrys liquefied natural gas processing capacity. Australian National Universitys Dr Jessie Moritz, an expert in the political economy of the Gulf council states, says the strikes on Qatar and Oman show the Iranian regime is willing to sacrifice every diplomatic relationship [it has] in the region in order to survive.

Advertisement

While the Omani government has voiced scepticism about the war, key Gulf council nations including the UAE appear to be hardening their stance towards Iran, signalling a profound shift in strategic thinking likely to shape the regions post-war relationship with its troublesome northern neighbour. Related Article Explainer

Middle East at war Its seven emirates united 50 years ago. Now the UAE faces its biggest challenge yet In a widely shared post on X, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan declared his country will never be blackmailed by terrorists. Anwar Gargash, a top diplomatic adviser to the UAE president and the former foreign affairs minister, has been more strident, denouncing treacherous Iranian aggression and doubling down on the countrys relationship with the US, declaring that the price of Irans miscalculations will be the strengthening of our security partnerships with Washington. Influential Emirati political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla declared that Iran is Public Enemy No.1 and implored Trump to finish the job. Irans ability to control the Strait of Hormuz will remain a central concern following the cessation of active hostilities. Unfettered access to this major artery of the global economy is crucial to the economic model of the resource-rich Gulf states, and continuing efforts by Iran to frustrate shipping in the strait would be unacceptable to the regions leaders. There have already been unverified reports that the Islamic Republic has been levying fees on shipping companies for safe passage. Some countries have continued to successfully export oil through the strait with Irans consent, among them China, Pakistan and, ironically, Iran itself, after Trump lifted sanctions on the regime in a failed attempt to stabilise oil markets.

Advertisement

Gargash has said Irans bullying of the straits is an existential concern for the Gulf, warning that it is inconceivable that this aggression should turn into a permanent state of threat. Abdulla went further, declaring that the world will not allow Iran to hijack the Strait of Hormuz, and the path to that lies in liberating the UAEs islands. Related Article Opinion

Middle East at war The war may be over soon, but its damage will stay with us for years to come Stephen Bartholomeusz Senior business columnist This raises the spectre of conflict spreading not just to control of shipping through the Strait, but to territory itself, specifically the three small islands, Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, seized by the Iranian navy in 1971 and claimed by the UAE. The Emiratis hardened stance towards Iran and the need to prevent Tehran from turning Hormuz into a permanent choke point  threatening decades of Gulf economic prosperity  might lead to the reignition of this historical territorial dispute. Moritz says, ultimately, the Gulf states desire stability over all else, and that they are not made secure by an unstable Iran. The longer Iran entrenches its control over the Strait of Hormuz, the more likely it is that its Gulf Arab neighbours will abandon their longstanding instincts to de-escalate. Even if Trump pulls out of the war tomorrow, he will leave behind tensions that could destabilise energy security and global trade for years to come. Kylie Moore-Gilbert is a research fellow in Security Studies at Macquarie University and a regular columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
In the last post we mentioned a tweet from the Iranian embassy in Thailand. Well, theres another post from them that warrants explanation.

The post at 1.22pm AEST is a Lego-style animated video, showing Iran retaliating to a US missile strike on a girls school  an apparent reference to the US hitting the Shajereh Tayyebeh elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war, killing at least 165.

The 84-second video ends with bombs raining down on supposedly American cities, and Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump crying in a situation room next to a US serviceman and a horned demon named Baal.

This is not a new phenomenon: Iranian state media shared another Lego-esque video earlier this month with caricatures of Trump, Netanyahu and Satan looking at the Epstein files, and an enraged Trump responding by hitting a big red button to launch missiles, also at a school.
Willemstad/Philipsburg:--- The Centrale Bank of Curacao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) has rolled out the educational project Money Week to primary schools in Curacao and Sint Maarten this week. With this initiative, the CBCS aims to make children aware of the value of money, the importance of saving, and the need to make financial choices at a young age.

This week, all primary schools will receive a number of cash boxes containing play money banknotes and coins in the Caribbean guilder. Teachers can use these cash boxes during math lessons to teach money and financial topics in a playful, practical way.

Money Week opened in Sint Maarten at the Oranje Primary School. There, CBCS Sint Maarten interim director Dwayne, and Minister of Education Melissa Gumbs, jointly delivered a guest lecture to the children in group 5 at the school. Minister of Finance Marinka Gumbs and CBCS employee Ghyslaine Rollocks-Petrona also contributed to the kick-off with a guest lecture at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Primary School. During these guest lectures, students learn more about the new Caribbean guilder, and responsible money management is discussed interactively.

In Curacao, Money Week was also formally opened with a guest lecture by CBCS President Richard Doornbosch, along with Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas and CBCS employee Shekinah Dare, at Kolegio San Hose in Barber. The closing of the Money Week takes place on Friday, March 27, at the Johan van Walbeeckschool, where Minister of Education Sithree van Heydoorn, together with CBCS Executive Director Leila Matroos-Lasten, will deliver the final guest lecture.

In addition to the opening and closing lectures, CBCS staff will give guest lectures to group 5 students at various schools in Sint Maarten and Curacao later this week. The primary schools, which had previously been informed about the project, responded particularly enthusiastically to the initiative. The CBCS received a large number of requests for guest lectures in a short period and is very pleased with the positive response from the schools.

With the launch of this project, the CBCS underscores its commitment to promoting financial self-reliance within the communities of Curacao and Sint Maarten. In line with this social responsibility, the Money Week  inspired by the Dutch version  has been included in the CBCS's strategic planning for 20262028. Money Week takes place annually in March; the first edition runs this year from March 23rd through March 27th.



Willemstad, March 23, 2026

CENTRALE BANK VAN CURACAO EN SINT MAARTEN
PHILIPSBURG:--- Bureau Telecommunications and Post (BTP) proudly congratulates the St. Maarten robotics team on securing an impressive 2nd place among eight competing countries. This remarkable achievement is even more inspiring given that the team had only a few weeks to prepare, while competing against teams with years of experience.

BTP extends its sincere appreciation to the teachers, the Science Fair Foundation, and all individuals involved for their dedication in guiding and supporting the students throughout this journey. Their collective efforts have played a vital role in this success.

As a proud sponsor, BTP remains committed to supporting initiatives that promote technology and innovation among young people. The organization will continue to work closely with schools and students to inspire and motivate the next generation to pursue careers in technology.

Director of BTP, Judianne Hoeve, stated:

This achievement shows what is possible when our youth are given the right opportunities and support. We are incredibly proud of the team and remain committed to fostering talent and interest in technology across St. Maarten. I encourage all students to continue developing their technical skills and to pursue careers right here at home, as the technology sector continues to grow with opportunities in areas such as AI, robotics, and data centers.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Sint Maarten hosted the fifth edition of a regional forensic mental health seminar on March 9 and 10, 2026, marking the first time the event was held on the island. Organized through a collaboration between the Universities of Curacao, Aruba and Utrecht, and Judicial & Institutional Services (J&IS) St. Maarten, the two-day seminar convened at the Simpson Bay Resort under the title "Psychiatric and Psychological Assessments and Reports as Entrance for Forensic Mental Health Care in the Caribbean Area." The event brought together prosecutors, judges, attorneys, psychiatrists, psychologists, academics, and justice and mental health professionals from across the region.

The central argument running through the seminar was unambiguous: without proper psychiatric and psychological assessment, the justice system responds to behavior without understanding its causes. That gap drives reoffending, limits effective intervention, and places sustained pressure on victims, professionals, and institutions alike. Across the Caribbean, mental health issues are too often identified late, forensic assessment capacity remains constrained, and access to specialized care is still developing. The result is that individuals cycle through the justice system without addressing the conditions underlying their behavior.

The seminar was formally opened by Cynthia Clarke-Filemon, Director of J&IS St. Maarten, Professor Frans Koenraadt of the Universities of Utrecht, Curacao, and Aruba, and Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling, each underscoring the urgency of strengthening the interface between the justice system and mental health care.

The program addressed the issue from legal, clinical, cultural, and practical perspectives. Manon Ridderbeks, Chief Public Prosecutor of Sint Maarten, outlined the prosecutorial role in initiating forensic mental health assessments within criminal proceedings. Attorney Sjamira Roseburg addressed how defense counsel can frame expert questions to produce meaningful, actionable outcomes. Judge Jos van Mulbregt examined how courts weigh mental health findings in determining criminal responsibility and sentencing.

Cultural and linguistic dimensions received significant attention. Dr. Eric Mijts demonstrated how language barriers, a persistent reality across the multilingual Caribbean, can directly undermine both the quality of assessments and defendants' access to justice. Dr. Margo Groenewoud examined the place of religion and spirituality in the functioning of Caribbean citizens, situating behavior within its broader social context. Professor Janine Janssen, criminologist and cultural anthropologist, presented on violence in dependent relationships and the recognition of early warning signals, arguing for data-driven and culturally informed approaches to detection. Professor Frans Koenraadt addressed the patterns and dynamics specific to domestic homicide, one of the most complex areas in regional forensic practice.

Psychiatrist Dr. Carl Blijd focused on the roots, triggers, and management of aggression, linking mental health directly to risk assessment. Dr. Gregory Richardson explored the role of identity, music, and cultural expression in shaping behavior. Forensic psychologist Johnny Boekhoudt and psychiatrist Nathalie Kingsale led an interactive case session in which participants applied assessment frameworks to real scenarios, a deliberate effort to move discussion from principle to practice. Aarti Baran delivered a hands-on session on self-defense and de-escalation, emphasizing proportional and controlled response in high-risk professional situations.

A panel discussion featuring Dr. Blijd, Director Clarke-Filemon, and Boekhoudt brought key themes together in direct exchange. Participants acknowledged the shared structural challenges: limited forensic capacity, delays between arrest and assessment, and insufficient integration between the justice and care systems. The seminar closed with two case presentations by J&IS probation officers Shelley Gordon and Ivan Plantein, who drew on active caseload experience to illustrate how policy, assessment, and intervention intersect in practice, grounding the academic discussion in operational reality.

Sint Maarten's hosting of this edition reflects the island's increasing engagement with justice reform at a regional level. Ongoing training, cross-jurisdictional collaboration, and growing institutional awareness are laying a foundation for more structured forensic capacity across the Kingdom. The work, however, remains incomplete.

The seminar's closing message was precise: a justice system that prioritizes assessment does not merely react to crime, it is positioned to prevent it. Building that capacity across the Caribbean is not a long-term aspiration. It is a present and pressing obligation.
A worker assembles a new energy vehicle at the workshop of Chinese Automaker Chery in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 8, 2026. (Photo by Liang Zidong/Xinhua)

TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese automakers have surpassed their Japanese counterparts in global vehicle sales for the first time, marking a significant shift in the global automotive industry, according to a recent report by Nikkei.

The report said that total global sales by Japanese automakers fell slightly to around 25 million units in 2025, causing Japan to lose its long-held top position for the first time since 2000. Meanwhile, Chinese car manufacturers recorded nearly 27 million units in global sales last year, rising to the top spot worldwide.

The conclusion was based on data released by major automakers and research conducted by automotive data platform MarkLines, Nikkei said.

Among individual companies, BYD surpassed Ford to rank sixth globally in 2025, while Geely overtook Honda to secure the eighth place, the report said.

Six Chinese automakers entered the global top 20 rankings, including Chery, Changan Automobile, SAIC Motor, and Great Wall Motors, outnumbering Japan's five.

In the electric vehicle segment, BYD also exceeded Tesla to become the world's leading EV seller, it added.

Tang Jin, a senior researcher at Japan's Mizuho Bank and an expert in the automotive sector, noted that China's rise to the top is more than a simple change in rankings. It signals a restructuring of the global automotive landscape, driven by China's strengths in advanced technology, cost efficiency, and rapid research and development.

He added that Japan needs to reassess its strategies in vehicle electrification and global market positioning in response to the evolving competition.

Editor: ZAD
Eight dead as Colombia military aircraft crashes with 125 aboard: officials



Bogota, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2026



At least eight people died and scores were injured when a Colombian military plane carrying 125 troops and crew crashed on takeoff Monday, government officials said.

The Hercules aircraft went down shortly after departure from Puerto Leguizamo, near the southern border with Ecuador and Peru, strewing burning wreckage on the jungle floor.

The toll was announced in a video statement by regional governor Jhon Gabriel Molina, who said 83 people had been injured.

He added that investigators were probing the cause of the crash.

A military source had earlier intimated that 80 people may have been killed, amid official reports that some 40 survivors had been found.

The troubled border area has been the scene of heavy military activity in recent weeks, as the Colombian and Ecuadoran militaries try to tackle drug-running cartels and militias.

Ecuador's government as well as that of fellow Colombian neighbour Venezuela offered condolences to the families of accident victims.

AFP images from the scene showed civilians clambering around the broken tail of the aircraft, marked FAC 1016, as smoke and flames billowed above the trees.

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed "deep sorrow" over the disaster as military personnel headed to the remote scene.

"It is a deeply painful event for the country. May our prayers bring some measure of comfort," said Sanchez.

He added it was too early to determine what lay behind the tragedy.

General Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda said that 114 troops were aboard and 11 crew.

They had been travelling between Puerto Leguizamo and another Amazon outpost nearby.

"The airport is small and there are several difficulties" regarding the evacuation of bodies and the injured, Putamayo region governor Molina said in a video posted to Facebook.

Local people recounted they heard a loud bang.

"I felt an explosion in the air and, when I looked up, the plane was flying close to the house on my plot," said Noe Mota, a farmer.

Colombia's left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, shared footage showing the aircraft attempting to gain altitude before plummeting earthwards.

Petro described the crash on X as a "horrific accident" and stressed the need to modernize Colombia's military hardware, without specifically saying if its current state was related to the accident.

The crash is the second by a C-130 Hercules aircraft in South America in under a month.

A Bolivian military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed while landing near La Paz on February 27, leaving at least 24 people dead.

The Hercules is a four-engine turboprop plane built by Lockheed Martin.

Renowned for its ability to operate from makeshift airstrips, it is widely used by militaries around the world and can carry everything from troops to vehicles.
Israel detects new Iranian missile launch



Jerusalem, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2026



Iran fired missiles at Israel early Tuesday, the Israeli military said, hours after US President Donald Trump announced Washington had held talks with an unnamed Iranian official -- a report denied by Tehran.

The military said the latest Iranian missile barrage was aimed at northern Israel and that it was "working to intercept the threat".

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency services said it had no immediate reports of casualties following the barrage, but had dispatched paramedics to one area where a reported impact was received.

Roughly 20 minutes after the launch report, the military's Home Front Command cleared people to leave their shelters.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump and relayed that the president believed US-Israeli military gains in Iran could be converted into a negotiated agreement that protects Israel's interests.
Israel strikes south Beirut, says captured Hezbollah members



Hazmiyeh, Lebanon, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2026



Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday, the first attack on the Hezbollah stronghold in days, as its military said it had captured two members of the Iran-backed group in southern Lebanon.

An earlier Israeli strike had hit the upscale, predominantly Christian area of Hazmieh near Beirut, with Israel saying it targeted a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm.

AFPTV's live broadcast showed a cloud of smoke over the capital's southern suburbs, and Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported at least five strikes on the area, with low Israeli warplanes heard across Beirut and its surroundings.

The Israeli military also announced it was "striking Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut" after having called on residents to leave the southern suburbs beforehand.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Israeli-US attack.

Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,039 people, and sent ground troops into the country's south.

In a statement on Monday, the Israeli army said that "during an activity to locate weapons in southern Lebanon, (Israeli) troops identified several armed Hezbollah Radwan Force terrorists who were planning to fire an anti-tank missile", referring to the group's commando force.

"After being identified, the terrorists surrendered. They were apprehended by the troops and transferred to Israeli territory for further questioning," it added.

The Israeli military told AFP two Hezbollah members were captured.

Hezbollah, for its part, announced more than 50 attacks targeting Israeli troops and bases in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, particularly in the border coastal town of Naqura.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced Monday that its headquarters in Naqura had been hit by a projectile, probably launched by a "non-state actor".

Elsewhere in the south, the NNA reported several Israeli strikes.



- Strike near Beirut -



The Israeli strike on Hazmieh killed at least one person, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

The upmarket area, overlooking Beirut and adjacent to the presidential palace, houses diplomatic missions, government offices and luxurious residential buildings.

The Israeli military said it had "struck an IRGC Quds Force terrorist in Beirut", referring to the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Mayor Jean Asmar told journalists at the scene that the strike targeted a room inside an apartment rented by a displaced family.

Asmar said the attack forced the municipality to take new measures in regards to hosting people displaced by the war, "so that this incident is not repeated".

Israel had previously struck the area on March 5, though it was not clear who the target was. It said another strike in central Beirut days later killed five people, including three Quds Force commanders.

Iran accused Israel of killing four of its diplomats in that attack.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Sunday told the Al Hadath network that Iran's Revolutionary Guards were "unfortunately... managing the military operation in Lebanon".



- 'Only just begun' -



The two Hezbollah members captured in the south were the latest additions to a list of Lebanese who have been held in Israel since the last war between it and the group.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein al-Haj Hassan said in January that Israel was holding "20 Lebanese prisoners", alleging 10 had been abducted "inside Lebanese territory after the ceasefire" that sought to end the previous conflict in 2024.

The next month, Israeli forces seized a member of the Hamas-allied Jamaa Islamiya in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson Ella Waweya said on Monday "the battle against Hezbollah... has only just begun".

Israel earlier struck a bridge linking areas in southern Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country, a day after a major bridge in the Tyre region was targeted.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the military to "destroy all the bridges over the Litani River that are used for terrorist activity".
N. Korea's Kim vows 'irreversible' nuclear status, warns Seoul of 'merciless' response



Seoul, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2026



North Korea will never change its status as a nuclear-armed state, its leader Kim Jong Un said, state media reported on Tuesday.

The declaration -- delivered on Monday -- follows Kim's reappointment a day earlier as head of the authoritarian nation's highest policymaking body, the State Affairs Commission.

"We will continue to firmly consolidate our status as a nuclear-armed state as an irreversible course, while aggressively stepping up our struggle against hostile forces," he said in a policy speech at the rubber-stamp legislature in Pyongyang.

In a lengthy policy address reported by the official Korean Central News Agency, the third-generation leader addressed a wide range of issues, from nuclear weapons and defence policy to economic goals and relations with South Korea.

"We will, in line with the mission entrusted by the Constitution of the Republic ...., further expand and advance our self-defensive nuclear deterrent," he said, referring to nuclear weapons.

Pursuing an expansion of nuclear weapons to consolidate its status as a nuclear-armed state has been "entirely justified", he added.

The isolated country will ensure "precise readiness" of its nuclear forces, he said, to fend off "strategic threats".

Kim did not mince words about his southern neighbour, which he called "the most hostile state".

"We will designate South Korea as the most hostile state and deal with it by thoroughly rejecting and disregarding it," Kim said.

Pyongyang will "make it pay mercilessly -- without the slightest consideration or hesitation -- for any act that infringes upon our Republic," he added.

Kim's remarks targeting Seoul come despite repeated overtures by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, a dovish leader who took office in June, for dialogue without preconditions. Pyongyang has ignored these gestures.

- 1.5 times -

Kim is the third-generation ruler of the state founded by his grandfather Kim Il Sung in 1948, and has ruled the country since his father's death in 2011.

The North's legislature re-elected Kim as president of state affairs, KCNA reported earlier, without saying whether the decision was unanimous or whether there was any dissent.

Critics argue that elections in North Korea are pre-determined and designed to give the leadership a veneer of democratic legitimacy.

On the economic front, Kim outlined a goal of increasing industrial output by 1.5 times.

Over the next five-year plan period, the isolated country "must significantly strengthen the development foundations of the overall industrial sector", he said, in order to "raise industrial production by about 1.5 times".

There had been "clear progress in economic growth" over the past five years, he said.

"Over the past five years, we have renovated key machine factories... while overcoming various difficulties and deviations", he noted.

Such feats "shattered... false claims of hostile forces that there can be no prosperity without nuclear abandonment", he said.
Blast over Jerusalem, Israel building hit after Iran missile fire



Jerusalem, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2026



A loud blast rang out over Jerusalem early Tuesday as the Israeli military sent search and rescue teams to a damaged building following two rounds of Iranian missile fire.

Israel's military announced the Iranian launches hours after US President Donald Trump said Washington had held talks with an unnamed Iranian official - a report denied by Tehran.

Minutes after the second missile alert, AFP reporters in Jerusalem heard a loud explosion, but the military said people were now cleared to leave their shelters and medics reported no casualties.

Following the first launch, the military said it had sent "search and rescue forces to operate at a scene in northern Israel where reports of an impact have been received."

The Magen David Adom emergency services released video of a damaged building, with a smashed area on an upper floor and rubble spread across the ground.

The medics said they were providing treatment to a man in his 30s who suffered mild injuries after stepping on shrapnel, but there were no other casualty reports.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump and relayed that the president believed US-Israeli military gains in Iran could be converted into a negotiated agreement that protects Israel's interests.
War in the Middle East: latest developments



Paris, France, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2026



Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:



- New missile salvo -



Iran fired missiles at Israel early Tuesday, the Israeli military said, noting that the barrage was aimed at the country's north and that its substantial air defenses were "working to intercept the threat".

Minutes later, a loud blast rang out over Jerusalem, AFP reporters in the city heard.

The Magen David Adom emergency services said it had no immediate reports of casualties following the strike, but had dispatched paramedics to one area where a reported impact was received.



- Syrian base targeted -



Syria's army said Monday that one of its bases in the northeast was targeted by a missile strike from neighbouring Iraq, while an Iraqi official said a local armed group was behind the attack.

The Iraqi official, requesting anonymity, told AFP that "an Iraqi faction fired seven Arash-4 rockets, an improved version of the Grad rocket, towards a base in the Hassakeh region".



- Trump-Netanyahu call -



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had spoken with Donald Trump and that the US president believed the countries' military gains in Iran could be converted into a negotiated agreement that protected Israel's interests.

"President Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the (Israeli military) and the US military in order to realise the war's objectives in an agreement -- an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Earlier Trump announced he had shelved plans to attack Iran's power plants in a stunning about-turn, sparked by what he said were "very good" talks with unidentified Iranian officials to bring an end to the war.



- Israel strikes Beirut suburbs -



An Israeli strike hit the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, hours after the Israeli army issued a warning for residents of the area to evacuate, saying it was "striking Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut".

AFPTV's live broadcast showed a cloud of smoke over the southern suburbs, which are considered a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group.



- Pakistani, Iranian leaders speak -



Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on "the grave situation in the Gulf region", and promised that Pakistan was committed to playing "a constructive role in advancing peace".



- Israeli interceptor system malfunctions -



A malfunction in Israel's "David's Sling" aerial interceptor system allowed two Iranian ballistic missiles to strike the south of the country, wounding dozens of people over the weekend, the military confirmed.

The system is a key component of Israel's multi-layered air defence shield.



- Israel strikes Guards' site -



The Israeli military said it struck a site in Tehran belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and used for directing battalions of the Basij paramilitary force.

The hit came days after Israel announced it had "eliminated" the intelligence chief of the Basij in a strike that also killed the force's top commander, Gholamreza Soleimani.

Israel has been targeting the Basij force as part of efforts to undermine the Iranian authorities' grip on power.



- UK summons Iran envoy -



Britain's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to London, Seyed Ali Mousavi, criticising what it called Tehran's "reckless and destabilising actions" in the UK and overseas.

"The summons follows the recent charging of two individuals, one Iranian national and one British-Iranian dual national, under the National Security Act, on suspicion of providing assistance to a foreign intelligence service," a Foreign Office spokesperson said.



- 'Point of no return' -



The International Committee of the Red Cross demanded a halt to the "war on essential infrastructure" in the Middle East, warning of potential "irreversible consequences" including harm to nuclear facilities.

"What we have seen in recent days in the Middle East risks reaching a point of no return," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said.



- UK sends Gulf air defences -



Britain is sending short-range air defence systems to the Middle East to counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

"We're deploying short-range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed," Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding that Britain was "doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia".

burs-mlm/js
An ambulance leaves a military hospital after transporting the injured from a Colombian military aircraft crash, in Bogota, Colombia, on March 23, 2026. The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

BOGOTA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. 

An ambulance leaves a military hospital after transporting the injured from a Colombian military aircraft crash, in Bogota, Colombia, on March 23, 2026. The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

This photo taken on March 23, 2026 shows a military hospital where some of the injured from a Colombian military aircraft crash are treated, in Bogota, Colombia. The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

An ambulance leaves a military hospital after transporting the injured from a Colombian military aircraft crash, in Bogota, Colombia, on March 23, 2026. The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
Strike in western Iraq kills seven fighters: armed group source



Baghdad, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



A strike in western Iraq on Tuesday killed seven fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, a source from the group told AFP, blaming the strike on the United States.

Seven fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and now part of the regular armed forces, were "killed and 13 wounded in a US strike" targeting their base in western Anbar province, a PMF source said.

They added that the bombing occurred during a commanders' meeting, with some people "still trapped under rubble".

A security official told AFP that the wounded were being treated at a hospital.

A PMF statement condemned the strike, saying it had killed a commander and a number of fighters, but did not give further details.

Iraq has been unwillingly pulled into the war triggered by Israel and the United States striking Iran on February 28.

Since the start of the conflict, Baghdad has repeatedly denounced attacks on the Hashed al-Shaabi, which also includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups.

Pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups.

Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in the country during the latest conflict.
Iraq armed group says commander, fighters killed in strike



Baghdad, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



A strike in western Iraq on Tuesday killed a commander and several fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, the group said.

The bombing targeted a base in Anbar province during a commanders' meeting, a source from the group told AFP on condition of anonymity, blaming the United States for the attack.

Seven Hashed al-Shaabi fighters were "killed and 13 wounded in a US strike", the source added.

Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), is part of Iraq's regular armed forces but also includes some brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups.

A PMF statement condemned the strike, which it said killed the provincial commander and head of operations in Anbar, Saad Dawai al-Baiji, as well as several fighters, but did not give further details.

A security official told AFP that the wounded were being treated at a hospital.

Iraq has been unwillingly pulled into the war triggered by Israel and the United States striking Iran on February 28.

Pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups.

Since the start of the conflict, Baghdad has repeatedly denounced attacks on the Hashed al-Shaabi.

Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the latest conflict.
Iran state media says 'new wave of missiles' launched at Israel



Tehran, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Iran launched another round of missiles towards Israel on Tuesday morning, state television announced, after earlier strikes hit a building in the north while a loud explosion rang out in Jerusalem.

"Iran fires new wave of missiles at occupied territories," the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) posted on Telegram.

Moments later, it posted that the "Iranian missiles pass(ed) through several Israeli missile defences".

The Magen David Adom emergency services released video of a damaged building in the north of Israel, and said there were no deaths from the incident.

The Israeli military later on Tuesday morning issued several notices that it had detected incoming Iranian missiles and was working to intercept them.
N. Korea's Kim vows 'irreversible' nuclear status, warns Seoul of 'merciless' response



Seoul, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



North Korea will never give up nuclear weapons, leader Kim Jong Un said, indicating that the country will soon designate South Korea the "most hostile state", state media reported Tuesday.

Kim also told the country's rubber-stamp legislature in a policy address on Monday that the United States was committing "state terrorism" in an apparent reference to its military attacks on Iran.

"We will continue to firmly consolidate our status as a nuclear-armed state as an irreversible course, while aggressively stepping up our struggle against hostile forces," Kim told the Supreme People's Assembly.

"We will, in line with the mission entrusted by the Constitution of the Republic... further expand and advance our self-defensive nuclear deterrent," Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

While the United States and Israel have said that their attacks on Iran are to stop the Islamic republic from developing nuclear weapons -- an aim Tehran denies -- Pyongyang's atomic activities are thought to be light years ahead by comparison.

Despite years of sanctions and diplomatic isolation, the Chinese ally is estimated to have dozens of nuclear warheads and the fissile material for many more.

The poor communist country has also unveiled increasingly sophisticated delivery systems, including new solid?fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles that can launch with little warning. It has done six nuclear tests.

Kim, a day after his reappointment as head of the authoritarian nation's highest policymaking body, the State Affairs Commission, also did not mince words about his southern neighbour.

"We will designate South Korea as the most hostile state and deal with it by thoroughly rejecting and disregarding it," Kim said.

The announcement came despite repeated overtures by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, a doveish leader who took office in June, for dialogue without preconditions. Pyongyang has ignored these gestures.

Pyongyang will "make it pay mercilessly -- without the slightest consideration or hesitation -- for any act that infringes upon our Republic," Kim added.



- 'Grave concern' -



Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that Kim's comments on consolidating its nuclear status reflect "the extent to which Kim and the leadership perceive the current US actions with deep concern and seriousness".

"It indicates that Kim and the leadership, viewing recent US attacks on Venezuela and Iran with grave concern, interpret these developments as reinforcing their decision to pursue the further advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities," Hong told AFP.

In recent months, Washington has pushed to revive high-level talks with Pyongyang, eyeing a possible summit with Kim this year, potentially around US President Donald Trump's delayed visit to Beijing in April.

"The United States and its allies are constantly bringing nuclear strategic assets into the areas surrounding our country, shaking the foundations of regional security," Kim said.

"The United States is carrying out acts of state terrorism and aggression across the world, but the arrogant and reckless exercise of its power has not weakened progressive humanity's will to oppose domination and subjugation and to achieve independence and equality."

Photos released on state media on Tuesday showed Kim, wearing a suit, waving to legislators in response to their standing ovation and being cheered by a flag-waving crowd as he strode down a red carpet.

Kim is the third-generation ruler of the state founded by his grandfather Kim Il Sung in 1948, and has ruled the country since his father's death in 2011.

On the economic front, Kim outlined a goal of increasing industrial output by 1.5 times.

There had been "clear progress in economic growth" over the past five years, he said.

"We have renovated key machine factories... while overcoming various difficulties and deviations", he noted.

Such feats "shattered... false claims of hostile forces that there can be no prosperity without nuclear abandonment", he said.

Kim said 15.8 percent of the total spending for 2026 will be devoted to defence, compared to 15.7 percent in 2025.
Russian strikes kill three in Ukraine: regional authorities



Kyiv, Ukraine, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Russian missile and drone strikes triggered air raid alerts across Ukraine on Tuesday, with attacks killing two people in Poltava and another person in Zaporizhzhia, regional military administrations said.

Air raid alerts were issued in the small hours in all of Ukraine except for Odesa region, according to regional authorities.

"As a result of the enemy attack on Poltava community, damage was recorded to residential buildings and a hotel. Fires broke out," Vitali Dyakivnych, head of the Poltava regional military administration, posted on Telegram.

"Unfortunately, two people died and seven were wounded as a result of the attack," he said, later revising the number of wounded to 11.

Farther south, Russia carried out a "massive combined missile-drone strike" in Zaporizhzhia, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional military administration.

"One person died, five were wounded: the number of victims of the nighttime enemy attack on Zaporizhzhia is increasing," Federov posted on Telegram.

Six apartment buildings and two private houses, a shop, non-residential buildings, and an industrial infrastructure facility were damaged, he added.

On the eve of the strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in his daily televised address that "there is information from our intelligence that the Russians may be preparing a massive strike".
Iran fires new wave of missiles at Israel after denying Trump talks



Tehran, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Iran launched a new wave of missiles against Israel Tuesday, hours after US President Donald Trump hailed "very good" talks to end the war despite Tehran denying any dialogue had taken place.

Trump's surprise disclosure -- which prompted a positive response from jittery markets and pushed oil prices down -- came ahead of a deadline he imposed for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane or see the US "obliterate" its power plants.

Trump said his administration was speaking with an unidentified "top person", while warning if talks failed in the next five days "we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out".

Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Trump's interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's speaker of parliament and one of its most prominent non-clerical figures.

The outlet reported US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance possibly joining.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not deny the reports, saying "speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House".

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Monday he spoke with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad's help to bring peace to the region.

But Ghalibaf said on X that "no negotiations" were underway, insisting Trump was seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets".

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war", but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran's official IRNA agency reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to Trump and acknowledged Washington thought a deal was possible, but vowed to continue striking Iran and Lebanon to protect Israel.

"Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the IDF and the US military... in an agreement," he said.

Early Tuesday, state-run Iranian media reported another round of missiles fired at Israel, and rescue services there showed images of a damaged building in the north but reported no casualties.

Lebanese state media said Israel carried out seven air raids on south Beirut overnight.



- 'Trump blinked' -



On Monday, Iran's neighbours breathed a sigh of relief after Trump stepped back from his threat to target the country's power infrastructure.

Tehran had vowed to deploy naval mines and strike power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation, threatening to escalate an energy crisis of already historic proportions.

"Trump blinked first -- out of a clear understanding that striking Iran's energy infrastructure would trigger a direct and significant retaliation," Danny Citrinowicz, a security analyst and former Israeli intelligence Iran expert, wrote on X.

Thousands of US Marines are headed to the Middle East, reinforcing America's presence following weekend speculation Trump was mulling ground operations either to seize Iranian oil assets or to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.



- 'Major threat' to economy -



Since the war erupted, Tehran has retaliated against US-Israeli attacks by throttling traffic through the Strait, a conduit for one-fifth of global crude, and by hitting Gulf energy sites and US embassies as well as targets in Israel.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned if the war is protracted, daily oil losses would pave the way for a crisis worse than the combined impact of both 1970s oil shocks and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Oil prices have been driven above $100 a barrel by the conflict, but they tumbled sharply after Trump's announcements.

Asian markets were up Tuesday, following rises in Europe and on Wall Street in the wake of Trump's announcement.

Trump said there were already "major points of agreement" with Iranian negotiators.

US conditions included Iran abandoning any nuclear ambitions and giving up its enriched uranium stockpiles, he said.



- Lebanon ground campaign -



Trump has offered shifting timelines and objectives for the war, saying Friday he was considering "winding down" the operation -- only to later threaten Iran's power plants, of which it has more than 90.

Netanyahu has spoken of a long-term campaign against Iran's government, a sponsor of Hamas, which launched the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war.

In Lebanon, Israel has expanded its ground campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah, warning of "weeks of fighting", striking southern Beirut again Monday and claiming to capture two Hezbollah fighters.

Israel's attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than a million, Lebanon's health ministry said.

The war has killed at least 3,230 Iranians, including 1,406 civilians, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. AFP cannot access strike sites nor independently verify tolls in Iran.

burs-fox/hmn
Israeli strike near Beirut kills 2 while raids target southern suburbs



Beirut, Lebanon, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



An Israeli strike on Bshamoun, south of Beirut, killed two people on Tuesday, Lebanon's health ministry said, while strikes on the capital's southern suburbs continued throughout the night.

"The Israeli enemy raid on the town of Bshamoun in the Aley district resulted, in a preliminary toll, in the martyrdom of two citizens and the injury of five others," the ministry said in a statement.

Located in the mountainous, Druze-majority Aley district southeast of Beirut, Bshamoun lies outside of Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel attack.

Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,039 people, and sent ground troops into the country's south.

Separately, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that Israel's overnight attacks on Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah holds sway, had targeted seven areas.

"Enemy warplanes launched seven raids overnight on the southern suburbs, targeting the areas of: Bir al-Abed, Al-Ruwais -- outskirts of Al-Manshiyya, Haret Hreik, Sayyed Hadi Nasrallah Highway, Saint Therese, Burj al-Barajneh and Al-Kafaat," NNA said on Tuesday.

The Israeli military on Monday renewed its calls for residents of the southern suburbs to evacuate.

A spokesperson for the UN secretary-general estimated this week that the ongoing war has displaced about one in five residents of Lebanon.
Pentagon tightens press restrictions after court ruling



Washington, United States, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



The Pentagon beefed up restrictions on journalists covering the US military on Monday, days after a court ruled that its earlier overhaul to press access was unconstitutional.

The clampdown is the latest in a string of measures by President Donald Trump and top officials against journalists and news outlets often derided as "fake news" when their reporting displeases the administration.

A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Defense Department's changes to press access last year, which saw accreditations from a host of prominent media outlets withdrawn, violated the constitution.

But the Pentagon responded with even tighter restrictions, announcing Monday that it would close a press area called the Correspondents' Corridor and that "all journalist access to the Pentagon will require escort by authorized Department personnel."

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell cited security risks for the change, and said the department would appeal Friday's court ruling.

"Effective immediately, the Correspondents' Corridor is closed," Parnell posted on X.

He said a new press workspace will be established "in an annex facility outside the Pentagon, but still on Pentagon grounds."

The Washington-based National Press Club said the new policy restricted reporters' ability to do their work.

"Closing the Correspondents' Corridor and forcing escorted access undermines independent reporting at the Pentagon at a moment when the public needs clear, unfiltered information about the U.S. military," National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr said in a statement.

The Pentagon announced last year that eight media organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC and NPR had to vacate their dedicated office spaces in the Pentagon, alleging that there was a need to create room for other -- predominantly conservative -- outlets.

It also required journalists to be accompanied by official escorts if they go outside a limited number of areas in the Pentagon.

US media including the Times and Fox News, and international news outlets such as AFP and AP, declined to sign the new policy, resulting in the stripping of their Pentagon credentials.

bur-cms/lga

X
Moldova disconnected from key power line with Europe after Russian strikes on Ukraine



Chisinau, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Moldova announced on Tuesday that its key power line with Europe was disconnected following overnight Russian strikes in Ukraine, urging citizens to use energy wisely during peak hours.

The ex-Soviet country imports electricity from neighbour EU member Romania mostly through a power line which passes through southern Ukraine.

"Overnight strikes disconnected Moldova's key power link with Europe. Alternative routes are in place, but the situation remains fragile. Russia alone bears responsibility," President Maia Sandu wrote on X.

Among the alternative routes used are four other interconnection lines between Romania and Moldova, the government said on Telegram.

"We urge the public to use energy wisely during peak hours to avoid overloading the electricity transmission and distribution networks," it added.

The foreign ministry condemned the Russian attacks.

"These actions undermine regional energy security and endanger critical civilian infrastructure," it wrote on Telegram.

The Issacea-Vulcanesti power line was also affected at the end of January, when disruptions in Ukraine's power grid led to outages both in Moldova and Ukraine.

In Moldova, the capital and other towns were left without power for several hours. Traffic and border crossings were managed manually.

Moldova produces its own electricity, but also uses imports, mostly from neighbour Romania.

Russia has frequently targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure after the 2022 invasion, with Kyiv saying this winter has been the toughest yet.
Tel Aviv mayor says building damaged in 'direct' hit after Iran missile warning



Tel Aviv, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



The mayor of Tel Aviv said a "direct strike" damaged a building on Tuesday after an Iranian missile attack warning, as Israeli first responders said they had treated four people for light injuries.

The strike in an upscale neighborhood in the north of the Israeli coastal city tore open the facade of an old three-storey building and scattered debris across the street, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai told reporters that the building had been hit by a "direct strike".

According to several Israeli media outlets, including military radio, police believe the damage was caused by a cluster munition missile equipped with three to four warheads, each carrying around 100 kilograms of explosives.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service released a video from one of the affected apartments that showed extensive damage from the explosion.

MDA said it had treated and quickly discharged four people, revising down an earlier toll of six people lightly wounded.

A source at the MDA said the individuals had inhaled smoke following a small fire caused by the explosion.

The Israeli military had so far issued on Tuesday seven warnings of incoming missile fire from Iran in central and southern Israel, as well as at least six warnings of missiles or rockets fired from Lebanon in the north.

Israel's military has said that it intercepts just over 90 percent of incoming fire from Iran and regularly reminds residents to take shelter during alerts, as missile defence is not completely "airtight".

Police said they had deployed bomb disposal teams to "several impact sites of munitions" in the Tel Aviv district, but no injuries were reported beyond the four people treated following the direct strike on the residential building.
Nova Post Europe, part of the NOVA group and currently operating in 16 European countries, is working on developing a streamlined franchise package to attract partners and expand its network, including into new countries, CEO Oleksandr Lysovets told Interfax-Ukraine.

"We are developing a new franchise package that will allow us to attract even more partners for growth. We are currently conducting many experiments, but we already have plans to enter new countries," Lysovets said.

According to him, the key criteria for entering European markets are population size, the presence of large cities, and their population density.

"We initially entered countries based on the number of Ukrainians who relocated after the start of the war. Now we have already opened in the countries with the largest Ukrainian populations, and we are actively engaging with local residents who use our services," he explained.

The CEO also noted that this year the company plans to focus on strengthening its presence in countries where it already operates.

"This year we have already planned investments of more than $5 million, but that covers roughly six months. Every six months we revise the amount and objectives. We are even trying to shorten the planning horizon to three months. So I am confident that this years investment will be no less than last years," he said.

Among the key development plans for 2026 are opening 2,000 branches, installing new parcel lockers, and automating sorting hubs, Lysovets added.

Nova Post Europe is also focusing on developing door-to-door parcel pickup services. The service is already available in Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, London, and Chisinau, he noted.

"Here [at the Nova Summit in Kyiv on March 19], we presented a 60-minute parcel pickup service. It is already available in five European cities, and we plan to scale it to others," Lysovets said.

Earlier, Nova Poshta co-owner Viacheslav Klymov said that Nova Post Europe plans to double its branch network in Europe in 2026 while maintaining a strategic focus on maximizing delivery speed and quality. According to him, by 2028 the company aims to double the number of countries it operates in to 32.

In 2025, Nova Post Europe processed more than 13 million international shipments. The company operates 300 branches and 165,000 partner service points.

The core business of Nova Poshta, the main asset of the NOVA group, is express delivery of documents, parcels, and palletized oversized cargo. Its ultimate beneficial owners are Volodymyr Poperyshniuk and Viacheslav Klymov.
Iran hits Israel with missiles after denying Trump talks



Tehran, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Iran fired a fresh broadside of missiles at Israel Tuesday, causing damage and injuries in Tel Aviv, as uncertainty swirled over possible talks to end the three-week Middle East war.

AFP images showed rubble-strewn streets and the side of a building in Israel's commercial hub in ruins, as first responders scrambled to assist at least four people lightly injured at four different locations.

Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai told reporters a "direct strike" had targeted a building in the upscale neighbourhood, as AFP video showed the facade of the three-storey block torn open.

According to several Israeli media outlets, police believe the damage was caused by a cluster munition missile equipped with three to four warheads, each carrying around 100 kilograms of explosives.

Iranian media reported US-Israeli warplanes had struck two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack energy sites citing "very good" talks to end the war.

Trump said his administration was speaking with an unidentified "top person", warning if talks failed in the next five days "we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out".

But Tehran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, reportedly involved in talks, said "no negotiations" were underway, insisting Trump was seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets."

Stock markets soared and oil prices saw brief respite after Trump's abrupt about-turn that came ahead of a deadline he had set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane or see the US "obliterate" Iran's power plants.

US media outlet Axios reported US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance possibly joining.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not deny the reports, saying "speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House."

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Monday he spoke with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad's help to bring peace to the region.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war", but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran's official IRNA agency reported.



- 'Tremendous achievements' -



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to Trump and acknowledged Washington thought a deal was possible, but vowed to continue striking Iran and Lebanon to protect Israel.

"Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the IDF and the US military... in an agreement," he said.

Israel kept up its bombardment on Beirut's southern suburbs throughout the night, while a strike on Bshamoun, south of the capital, killed two people on Tuesday, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

AFP images showed smoke billowing from gutted buildings in Beirut, as rescuers picked through the rubble and twisted metal.

Strikes also targeted several service stations linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah that Israel has vowed to dismantle.

Israel's attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than a million, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

The war has killed at least 3,230 Iranians, including 1,406 civilians, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. AFP cannot access strike sites nor independently verify tolls in Iran.



- 'Sudden pivots' -



On Monday, Iran's neighbours breathed a sigh of relief after Trump stepped back from his threat to target the country's power infrastructure.

Tehran had vowed to deploy naval mines and strike power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation, threatening to escalate an energy crisis of already historic proportions.

"Trump has been a master of sudden pivots and switches. So it's sometimes hard to know if there is a strategy or if it's just always improvisation," said Garret Martin, a professor of international relations at American University in Washington.

Thousands of US Marines are headed to the Middle East, reinforcing America's presence following weekend speculation Trump was mulling ground operations either to seize Iranian oil assets or to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the war erupted, Tehran has retaliated against US-Israeli attacks by throttling traffic through the Strait, a conduit for one-fifth of global crude, and by hitting Gulf energy sites and US embassies as well as targets in Israel.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned if the war is protracted, daily oil losses would pave the way for a crisis worse than the combined impact of both 1970s oil shocks and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Oil prices have been driven above $100 a barrel by the conflict, but they tumbled sharply after Trump's announcements.

bur-ric/ser
Israeli strike near Beirut kills two as raids target southern suburbs



Beirut, Lebanon, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Lebanon said an Israeli strike outside Beirut killed two people on Tuesday after several strikes on the capital's southern suburbs overnight as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict entered its fourth week.

AFP correspondents saw destruction to an apartment building in Bshamoun, a mixed town in the Aley region, located in the mountains the capital to the southeast, outside of Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.

Abbas Qassem, 55, who owns the apartment next to the one targeted, was weeping at the damage to his flat, which was not occupied at the time.

"There's nothing left. It's all burned or destroyed... No walls, the windows are gone, the facade is gone, all my hard work has been lost," said Qassem, his wife also crying.

"What have I done to have my home destroyed? I'm just a normal person," said Qassem, who works for the state telecoms provider.

The health ministry gave a preliminary toll of two dead and five wounded in the strike.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,039 people and displacing more than a million others, and sent ground troops into the country's south.



- Vast destruction -



Overnight, Israel repeatedly struck Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah holds sway, after the Israeli military had renewed its calls for residents there to evacuate.

On Tuesday morning, an AFP photographer saw vast destruction near the site of one of the strikes in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood, with rubble piled up and debris covering the street.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes overnight and on Tuesday morning on various areas of the country's south, including on several gas stations belonging to the Al-Amana fuel company, which the Israeli army has said finances Hezbollah.

The agency also reported strikes in the Hermel region in the country's far northeast near the border with Syria.

The NNA also said an Israeli army unit carried out an incursion into the southern border town of Halta where the forces "raided a number of homes and opened fire" on locals, reporting one dead and another wounded.

It said the forces "abducted" another resident "before withdrawing from the town".

The Iran-backed Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on Tuesday including several against Israeli soldiers in the south Lebanon village of Qawzah, as well as at sites in northern Israel.

The NNA reported Israeli shelling on the outskirts of Qawzah and also said the Israeli army destroyed a bridge linking areas in southern Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country, a day after Israeli strikes targeted the same bridge.
Russian barrage hits apartments across Ukraine, killing five: Kyiv



Kyiv, Ukraine, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



A barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed five people and wounded more than two dozen across Ukraine on Tuesday in the largest attack in weeks, officials said.

AFP reporters in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia -- repeatedly battered by Russian attacks -- saw a fire raging across multiple floors in a high-rise residential block, windows and balconies blasted out and grey smoke bellowing from the building.

The nightime attack came with Ukraine concerned that it could struggle to repel the relentless Russian aerial strikes as its supplies of US air defence systems dwindle amid the war in the Middle East.

Russia fired more than 390 attack drones and 34 various missiles -- ballistic, cruise and guided air-launched -- during the night, Kyiv's air force and President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"These numbers clearly show that more protection is needed to save lives from Russian strikes," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.

"It is important to continue supporting Ukraine and to ensure that all agreements on air defence are implemented on time," he added.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga accused Moscow of "deliberately" targeting civilians.

Ukraine's air force said it had intercepted 365 drones and 25 missiles. Search and rescue operations were underway across the country, Zelensky said.

A third round of US-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv aimed at ending Russia's four-year invasion has been derailed by the war in the Middle East.

Ukraine sent a delegation to the United States last weekend in a bid to revive the negotiation process, but the effort yielded no immediate result.

Kyiv has been seeking to trade its anti-drone technology and expertise for conventional air defence missiles, which it urgently needs and has despatched around 200 of its military experts to Gulf countries facing Iranian drone attacks.



- Housing, infrastructure hit -



On the eve of the strikes, Zelensky had warned in his daily televised address that "there is information from our intelligence that the Russians may be preparing a massive strike".

Russian missiles and drones rained down on residential areas as well as on transport and energy infrastructure, Ukrainian authorities said.

In the central Poltava region, two people were killed and 12 wounded, including a five-year old child who was left in intensive care, emergency services said.

Local media published images of residential buildings with blown-out windows and scorched facades.

A 61-year-old passenger on a train in Kharkiv "died on the spot" after the carriage was hit by a drone, the regional prosecutor's office said.

And in Zaporizhzhia, where AFP saw the burning apartment block, a "massive combined missile-drone strike" killed one person and wounded at least nine, the regional governor said.

One person was also killed in their home in the southern frontline city of Kherson, officials said.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has since occupied large swathes of the east and south of the country while raining missiles and drones on its neighbour in daily attacks.

The war has forced millions to flee their homes and has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians.

On the battlefield, Russia's army said Tuesday it had captured a Ukrainian village in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Moscow's troops have been grinding forward for months, though progress has been slow and come at immense human cost.
Iran Guards threaten 'heavy' missile fire on Israel in support of Lebanese, Palestinians



Tehran, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened on Tuesday to conduct "heavy" missile and drone attacks on Israel in what it described as support for Lebanese and Palestinian civilians.

"We warn the regime's criminal army that if its crimes against civilians in Lebanon and Palestine persist," Israeli forces "will be the target of heavy missile and drone strikes", the Guards said in a statement.

Iran is at war with Israel and the United States, while Israel is also battling Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Deadly strikes in Iraq blamed on US and Iran



Baghdad, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



An air strike in Iraq killed 15 members of a former paramilitary coalition, the deadliest attack on the group since the Iran war began, as missile fire elsewhere in the country killed six Kurdish security personnel.

Iraq has been pulled into the war triggered by Israel and the United States striking Iran on February 28, and which has since engulfed much of the region.

The Hashed al-Shaabi coalition, part of Iraq's regular armed forces but which also includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups, blamed the strike that killed a commander and 14 other fighters on the United States.

In autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, a ballistic missile attack killed six peshmergas, with the region accusing Iran of conducting the first such deadly attack since the war began.

Neither the United States nor Iran commented on the accusations.

Since the war began, pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups.

In a statement, the Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, said those killed in the strike targeting its fighters included a top provincial commander.

It described the strike, the deadliest in Iraq since the Iran war began, as a "treacherous American attack that targeted the operation headquarters".

The overnight strike targeted a base in the western Anbar province bordering Syria, long the scene of operations against the Islamic State group.

Since the start of the Middle East war, Baghdad has repeatedly denounced attacks on the Hashed al-Shaabi, formed in 2014 to fight IS.

After the jihadists were defeated in 2017 in Iraq, the coalition gained influence within the security forces. Its armed factions also developed political roles, including representation in parliament, as well as economic interests.

Some of these factions, backed by Iran, have claimed responsibility for dozens of drone and rocket attacks against US military personnel and interests since the US and Israel launched strikes on the Islamic republic.

Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the current conflict.

On Tuesday, the PMF urged "political forces to take responsibility and confront these repeated American violations".

On another front, a missile attack in autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan targeted armed peshmerga forces, the regional defence ministry said, killing six fighters and wounding 30 others in an attack it blamed on Iran.

"Six Iranian ballistic missiles targeted them," said the Iraqi Kurdish authorities, branding the attack as "hostile, treacherous".

Although close with Washington, Iraq's Kurds have sought to maintain neutrality in the Iran war, after relations with the Islamic republic had warmed in recent years.
Iran strikes Israel, denies Trump talks



Tehran, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Iran fired a fresh broadside of missiles at Israel Tuesday, causing damage and injuries in Tel Aviv, as uncertainty swirled over possible talks to end the three-week Middle East war.

AFP images showed rubble-strewn streets and the side of a building in Israel's commercial hub in ruins, as first responders scrambled to assist at least four people lightly injured at four different locations.

Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai told reporters a "direct strike" had damaged a building in the upscale neighbourhood, with AFP video showing the facade of the three-storey block torn open.

According to several Israeli media outlets, police believe the damage was caused by a cluster munition missile equipped with three to four warheads, each carrying around 100 kilograms of explosives.

Iranian media reported US-Israeli warplanes had struck two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack energy sites citing "very good" talks to end the war.

Trump said his administration was speaking with an unidentified "top person", warning if talks failed in the next five days "we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out".

But Tehran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, reportedly involved in talks, said "no negotiations" were underway, accusing Trump of seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets."

Stock markets soared and oil prices saw brief respite after Trump's abrupt about-turn that came ahead of a deadline he had set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane or see the US "obliterate" Iran's power plants.

US media outlet Axios reported US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance possibly joining.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not deny the reports, saying "speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House."

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Monday he spoke with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad's help to bring peace to the region.

"Pakistan is one of the few countries with warm ties with both Tehran and Washington," said Michael Kugelman from the Atlantic Council think tank.

"It's been engaging heavily at the highest levels with both capitals over the last year, going back to the brief Iran conflict last summer," he noted.

Traditional mediator Qatar said Tuesday it "supports all diplomatic efforts" to end the war.



- 'There's nothing left' -



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to Trump and acknowledged Washington thought a deal was possible, but vowed to continue striking Iran and Lebanon to protect Israel.

Israel kept up its bombardment on Beirut's southern suburbs throughout the night, while a strike on Bshamoun, south of the capital, killed two people on Tuesday, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

"There's nothing left. It's all burned or destroyed... No walls, the windows are gone, the facade is gone, all my hard work has been lost," said Abbas Qassem, 55 from Bshamoun, weeping at the damage to his flat.

In Beirut, AFP images showed smoke billowing from gutted buildings, as rescuers picked through the rubble and twisted metal.

Strikes also targeted several service stations linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah that Israel has vowed to dismantle.

Israel's attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, and displaced more than a million.

The war has killed at least 3,230 Iranians, including 1,406 civilians, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. AFP cannot access strike sites nor independently verify tolls in Iran.

The conflict has upended global energy markets, threatening a world-wide economic shock, and spiralled quickly through the region, pulling in even former safe-havens in the Gulf.

Underscoring the war's broad impact, Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region accused Iran of killing six of its fighters on Tuesday in the first deadly attack on the regional security forces since the start of hostilities.



- 'Sudden pivots' -



Iran's neighbours had breathed a sigh of relief after Trump stepped back from his threat to target the country's power infrastructure.

Tehran had vowed to deploy naval mines and strike power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation, threatening to escalate an energy crisis of already historic proportions.

"Trump has been a master of sudden pivots and switches. So it's sometimes hard to know if there is a strategy or if it's just always improvisation," said Garret Martin, a professor of international relations at American University in Washington.

Since the war erupted, Tehran has retaliated by throttling traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for one-fifth of global crude, and by hitting Gulf energy sites and US embassies as well as targets in Israel.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned if the war is protracted, daily oil losses would pave the way for a crisis worse than the combined impact of both 1970s oil shocks and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

bur-ric/ser
US-Israeli war on Iran is 'breach of international law': German president



Berlin, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a "deep rift" with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a "breach of international law".

In unusually strong comments, the German head of state said that just as there was no going back from Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "there will be no going back to before January 20, 2025", when US President Donald Trump entered the White House for a second time.

"The rift is too deep and the trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies but... worldwide," he said at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the German foreign ministry.

Although Steinmeier's role is largely ceremonial, his words carry weight in Germany, which has not officially condemned the war against Iran.

Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, said: "Our foreign policy does not become any more convincing simply because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law."

He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".

"There is little doubt that, in any case, the justification of an imminent attack on the US does not hold water," he added.

Germany's head of government, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has harshly criticised Iran's leadership and backed several key US-Israeli war goals but also stated that, had Berlin been consulted in advance, it "would have advised against" the war.

Merz has repeatedly said Germany shares "the objective that Iran should no longer pose a threat in future", while also making clear Germany would not enter the conflict.

Steinmeier called the military campaign "a politically disastrous mistake" and "a truly avoidable, unnecessary war".

"Realism means we must be pragmatic in our dealings with this US administration and focus on our core interests," he said.

"But realism also means we must not compromise our own principles.

"The US government has a different world view to ours, one that shows no regard for established rules, partnership or hard-won trust.

"We cannot change that. We must deal with it. But this is my conviction: we have no reason to align ourselves with this world view."
UN rights council will meet Wednesday on Iran's Gulf strikes



Geneva, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



The UN Human Rights Council said it will hold an urgent debate on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.

The session was called following an official request submitted by Bahrain on behalf of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Jordan.

Human Rights Council spokesman Pascal Sim told a press conference on Tuesday that the countries will present a draft resolution to UN's top rights body.

The council will "discuss the recent military aggression launched by Iran against Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates... targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, which has resulted in the loss of innocent lives", according to the request.

It will be the 11th urgent debate of the Human Rights Council since its creation in 2006.

Sim said that on Monday, the Human Rights Council president received a letter from Iran's mission in Geneva on behalf of Iran, China and Cuba requesting another urgent debate.

That request, entitled "protection of children and educational institutions in international armed conflicts", will be discussed by the council bureau later on Tuesday, said Sim.

The Human Rights Council is holding its first session of the year, which opened on February 23 and runs until March 31.
Israel says will take 'control' of security zone up to Lebanon's Litani River



Jerusalem, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that the military would take control of south Lebanon all the way to the Litani River.

"All five bridges over the Litani that were used by Hezbollah for the passage of terrorists and weapons have been blown up, and the IDF (Israeli military) will control the rest of the bridges and the security zone up to the Litani," Katz said during a visit to a military command centre in Israel.

The military said it had destroyed a bridge across the Litani river overnight, which it says was used by Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah "for transferring weapons, rockets and launchers".

Katz added that the hundreds of thousands of south Lebanon residents who were displaced by the Middle East war this month "will not return south of the Litani River until security is guaranteed for the residents of the north" of Israel.

He said that Israel's military was "following the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun", two cities that were largely destroyed during more than two years of war in Gaza, and which remain under Israeli military control.

In southern Lebanon, Katz said this meant that the military was destroying Hezbollah infrastructure "as well as the houses in the Lebanese contact villages near the border which serve as actual terror outposts".

Several towns and villages directly across Israel's border with Lebanon had remained empty and mostly destroyed since the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire in November 2024.

Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,039 people and displacing more than a million others, and sent ground troops into the country's south.
Rubio to meet G7 ministers in France on Iran



Washington, United States, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet G7 counterparts in France on Friday on the war in Iran, the State Department announced.

The trip comes after President Donald Trump announced that the United States has been talking with Iran -- a claim denied by Tehran -- as he put on pause his threat to destroy the country's electricity production.

Rubio, in his first foreign trip since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, will join the G7 foreign ministers' talks in Cernay-la-Ville, near Versailles on the outskirts of Paris, the State Department announced Tuesday.

Rubio will speak to counterparts on the "Russia-Ukraine war, the situation in the Middle East and threats across the world to peace and stability," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

France is the current head of the Group of Seven, the club of industrialized democracies that also includes Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan.

While all G7 nations are close US allies, none has unambiguously offered support for the assault on Iran, angering Trump.

G7 foreign ministers on Saturday came together to urge an "immediate and unconditional" end to Iranian attacks on US allies in the Middle East.

Iran has fired a barrage of missiles and drones at energy-rich Gulf Arab monarchies, close military partners of the United States, sending global oil and gas prices soaring.
Photo: President's Office / www.president.gov.ua

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, during which key issues were identified, in particular, the need for more systematic approaches to managing people in the army.

We identified key priorities for the near term that require decisions. We will continue working to scale up Russian losses  this requires a sufficient number of drones of all types, as well as more systematic approaches to personnel management in the army, so that frontline positions are stronger, Zelenskyy said in an evening address on Monday.
Deadly strikes in Iraq blamed on US and Iran



Baghdad, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



An air strike in Iraq killed 15 members of a former paramilitary coalition, the deadliest attack on the group since the Middle East war began, as missile fire elsewhere killed six Kurdish security personnel.

Iraq has been pulled into the war sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, and which has since engulfed much of the region.

The Hashed al-Shaabi coalition, part of Iraq's regular armed forces but which also includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups, blamed the strike that killed a commander and 14 other fighters on the United States.

In Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, a ballistic missile attack killed six peshmerga fighters, with the region accusing Iran of conducting the first such deadly attack on Kurdish security forces since the war began.

Neither the United States nor Iran commented on the accusations.

Since the war began, pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups.

In a statement, the Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), said those killed in the strike targeting its fighters included a top provincial commander.

It described the strike as a "treacherous American attack that targeted the operation headquarters".

The overnight strike targeted a base in the western Anbar province bordering Syria, long the scene of operations against the Islamic State group.

Since the start of the Middle East war, Baghdad has repeatedly denounced attacks on the Hashed al-Shaabi, formed in 2014 to fight IS.

After the jihadists were defeated in 2017 in Iraq, the coalition gained influence within the security forces. Its armed factions also developed political roles, including representation in parliament, as well as economic interests.

Some of these factions, backed by Iran, have claimed responsibility for dozens of drone and rocket attacks against US military personnel and interests since the start of the Middle East war.

Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the current conflict.

On Tuesday, the PMF urged "political forces to take responsibility and confront these repeated American violations".

The PMF also said a "Zionist-American strike" on Tuesday morning had targeted their Mosul office in northern Iraq.

A security official said the building was coalition leader Faleh al-Fayyad's second home, adding that he was not present during the attack.

The Kurdish defence ministry in the north separately said the strike that targeted their peshmerga forces killed six fighters and wounded 30 others, blaming the attack on Iran.

"Six Iranian ballistic missiles targeted them," said the Iraqi Kurdish authorities, branding the attack "hostile, treacherous".

Although close with Washington, Iraq's Kurds have sought to maintain neutrality in the Iran war, after relations with the Islamic republic had warmed in recent years.
Israel says will take 'control' of security zone in south Lebanon



Beirut, Lebanon, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Israel said on Tuesday that its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, as deadly strikes pounded the country.

In the latest unprecedented step by Lebanese authorities since a new war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's foreign ministry declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata, giving him until Sunday to leave the country.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,039 people and displacing more than a million others in more than three weeks of fighting. It has also sent ground troops into the country's south.

Israel kept up strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, with the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reporting attacks in the country's south and east, as well as near Beirut, after a night of bombardment on the capital's southern suburbs.

On Tuesday morning in south Beirut, an AFP photographer saw vast destruction near the site of an Israeli strike overnight, with rubble piled up and debris covering the street.

The Israeli army said that overnight its forces "struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Beirut and in additional areas in Lebanon".



- 'Nothing left' -



In Bshamoun, a mixed town in the Aley region southeast of Beirut, outside of Hezbollah's traditional strongholds, AFP correspondents saw destruction to an apartment building hit by an Israeli strike.

"There's nothing left. It's all burned or destroyed... No walls, the windows are gone, the facade is gone, all my hard work has been lost," said Abbas Qassem, 55, weeping at the damage to his unoccupied flat near the targeted apartment.

"What have I done to have my home destroyed? I'm just a normal person," said Qassem, who works for the state telecoms provider.

Lebanon's health ministry said three people were killed including a three-year-old girl, and reported five others killed in Israeli strikes in south Lebanon.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military "will control... the security zone up to the Litani", adding that displaced Lebanese residents will not return south of the river "until security is guaranteed for the residents of the north" of Israel.

The area south of the Litani has seen vast destruction since hostilities erupted between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023 in the wake of the Gaza war, and despite a November 2024 ceasefire.

Many border villages were largely empty of residents even before the Israeli army resumed heavy bombardment and incursions into the area since the latest war erupted more than three weeks ago.



- 'Violation of diplomatic norms' -



Israel has repeatedly issued sweeping orders for residents to evacuate the area, while Hezbollah has reporting regular attacks on Israeli troops there, including in the strategic border town of Khiam in recent days, and in the village of Qawzah on Tuesday.

Katz said Israel's military was "following the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun", two cities that were effectively razed during more than two years of war in Gaza, and which remain under Israeli military control.

Lebanon's foreign ministry said it summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires in Lebanon over "Tehran's violation of diplomatic norms" and said Beirut had withdrawn approval "of the accreditation of the appointed Iranian ambassador".

On Sunday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards were commanding Hezbollah's operations in the war against Israel, and authorities this month banned the Guards' activities in the country.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed Lebanon's decision to expel the envoy as a "justified and necessary step" and urged the government to take steps against Hezbollah.

"We call on the Lebanese government to take practical and meaningful measures against Hezbollah, whose representatives still serve as ministers within it," Saar said in a post on X.

Israel has said it has struck Guards operatives in Lebanon in recent weeks, including on Monday.

Iran's Guards on Tuesday threatened "heavy" attacks on Israel "if its crimes against civilians in Lebanon and Palestine persist".

bur-nad-lg/jsa
What we know about Trump's 'talks' with Iran



Paris, France, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



US President Donald Trump has executed another spectacular about-turn, from threatening to escalate the Iran war to announcing "very good" talks to end it, which were denied by the Islamic republic.

AFP looks at the facts, the speculation and what might happen now:



- Are there talks happening? -



Yes, according to Trump, no according to Tehran, but it might depend on how "talks" are defined.

Trump claimed Monday that the US had been engaging with an unnamed Iranian leader who he described as "the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader" and was "very reasonable."

He clarified that he was not the country's injured supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, however.

The Axios newsite, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified the mystery interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's powerful speaker of parliament who is one of the most prominent non-clerical figures in Tehran.

But Ghalibaf stated that "no negotiations" were underway in a post on X, adding that the announcement was "fake news" intended "to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped."

The New York Times, citing unnamed officials, also said there had held "direct communication" between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff "in recent days" -- although neither side has confirmed this.

But that doesn't mean other "talks" aren't happening.



- Why? -



Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed that messages had been received over the weekend from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war".

Trump's administration has held two rounds of talks with Iran since the US leader returned to the White House in 2025, with both ending in surprise US-Israeli attacks on the country -- in June last year and most recently on February 28.

All of these negotiations were indirect -- with Gulf state Oman playing the role of mediator, shuttling messages between the two sides which have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980.

Oman has been left burned by its experiences, but other countries with friendly relations with Tehran and Washington appear to have stepped in to pass messages between the two sides, principally Egypt, Pakistan and possibly Turkey.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called his Iranian counterpart Araghchi and Trump's envoy Witkoff on Sunday and Monday.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said he spoke with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, while army chief Asim Munir liased with Trump on Sunday, according to a report in The Financial Times.

Pakistan already acts as a diplomatic go-between for Iran in Washington, with Sharif writing on X that his country was committed to playing "a constructive role in advancing peace in the region".

Qatar, a frequent backchannel for US and Israeli diplomacy in the region, has ruled out playing a role.







- What will negotiations cover? -



Principally, Iran's nuclear programme again, the subject of talks and friction since 2003.

"We want no enrichment, but we also want the enriched uranium," Trump said Monday, referring to Iran's known 440-kilogram stockpile of uranium which is enriched to 60 percent -- close to the 90 percent needed to make a bomb.

In the last round of talks before the US-Israeli attack on February 28, Tehran offered to retrieve the stockpile from under its bombed nuclear facilities and blend it down to lower levels, according to Iranian foreign minister Araghchi.

Tehran, which has always denied wanting to build a nuclear weapon, had also offered to allow the UN's IAEA nuclear agency inspectors to return, reports say.

Trump said Monday that there were already "major points of agreement" with Iranian negotiators.

But having been attacked twice, Iran is now likely to seek guarantees of non-aggression in the future, financial compensation for the bombing, and a lifting of sanctions.

Iran's hold over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas shipping route which has been effectively closed, gives it leverage it did not hold in previous rounds of talks.

"I'm very sceptical (about the talks) because trust has been completely destroyed and the positions of the warring parties are further apart than ever," David Khalfa, a Middle East specialist at the Jean-Jaures Foundation, a Paris-based think-tank, told AFP.

"The margin for maneuvre on both sides is very limited," he added.

There is also another possible reading of the whole sequence: Trump is buying time again before sending in US ground troops to try to open up the Strait of Hormuz or seize Iranian oil assets.

burs-adp-dla/sjw/ser

X
Amazon's cloud arm says Bahrain service disrupted after drone attacks



Manama, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Amazon's cloud arm told AFP on Tuesday that its service in Bahrain had been disrupted, after drone attacks hit the region.

An Amazon Web Services (AWS) spokesperson said the disruption was ongoing, without specifying the exact location affected or any potential damage done.

"The AWS Bahrain Region has been disrupted as a result of the ongoing conflict," the spokesperson said, adding that the company was helping affected customers migrate to AWS servers elsewhere in the world.

"We are working closely with local authorities and prioritising the safety of our personnel."

AFP journalists in Bahrain said the government's portal for online procedures was inaccessible, as were several other services.

The country's main telecommunications company sent a message to its customers apologising for a "technical problem" affecting its operations.

Since the Middle East war erupted in late February, Bahrain and other Gulf countries have been regularly targeted by Iranian missile and drone strikes in retaliation for the US-Israeli campaign.

Iran threatened earlier this month to target US and Israeli economic targets in the Gulf, including banks, as well as other companies.

The Tasnim news agency at the time published a list of potential targets on Telegram that included the offices of tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia in Gulf countries.

AWS said in early March that drone strikes damaged two of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates and a facility in Bahrain.

AWS is the world's leading cloud computing provider, competing with rivals including Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud to offer infrastructure that underpins popular apps and websites, as well as powering generative AI.

A 2025 blog post on the AWS website said that "more than 85 percent of (the Bahraini) government's workload (was) now hosted in the cloud".

mdh/sar/apz/amj/jsa

Amazon.com

GOOGLE

MICROSOFT
US-Israeli war on Iran is 'breach of international law': German president



Berlin, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a "deep rift" with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a "breach of international law".

In unusually strong comments, the German head of state said that just as there was no going back from Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "there will be no going back to before January 20, 2025", when US President Donald Trump entered the White House for a second time.

"The rift is too deep and the trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies but... worldwide," he said at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the German foreign ministry.

Although Steinmeier's role is largely ceremonial, his words carry weight in Germany, which has not officially condemned the war against Iran.

Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, said: "Our foreign policy does not become any more convincing simply because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law."

He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".

"There is little doubt that, in any case, the justification of an imminent attack on the US does not hold water," he added.

Germany's head of government, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has harshly criticised Iran's leadership and backed several key US-Israeli war goals.

But he has also stated that, had Berlin been consulted in advance, it "would have advised against" the war.

- 'Den of thieves' -



Steinmeier called the military campaign "a politically disastrous mistake" and "a truly avoidable, unnecessary war".

"Realism means we must be pragmatic in our dealings with this US administration and focus on our core interests," he said.

"But realism also means we must not compromise our own principles."

He added: "The US government has a different world view to ours, one that shows no regard for established rules, partnership or hard-won trust.

"We cannot change that. We must deal with it. But this is my conviction: we have no reason to align ourselves with this world view."

Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, labelled Steinmeier's comments on the war "grossly inappropriate" and said they displayed a "smug know-it-all attitude".

"The mullah regime has been threatening and waging war against Israel's very existence for years," he claimed, accusing Steinmeier of turning a "blind eye to these dangers".

Tuesday's comments were not the first time the German president has criticised the United States.

In January, shortly after the US intervention in Venezuela, Steinmeier spoke of a "breakdown of values" in the United States and insisted the world must not be allowed to turn into a "den of thieves".
War in the Middle East: latest developments



Paris, France, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:







- Islamabad talks offer -



Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad is prepared to host negotiations to stop the US-Israeli war with Iran, after mounting speculation it could act as a mediator.



- G7 war discussion -



US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet G7 counterparts in France on Friday to discuss the war, the State Department said.

While all G7 nations are close US allies, none has unambiguously offered support for the offensive on Iran, angering President Donald Trump.

Trump has since announced his government is speaking with Iran, a claim denied by Tehran.



- Iran arrests -



Iranian authorities said that 466 people have been arrested, accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity.

The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided. Internet has been shut down in Iran since the start of the war on February 28.



- Iran security chief -



Iran named a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, succeeding Ali Larijani, who was killed last week in an Israeli strike.



- Gulf 'breakdown' -



The Gulf states will need to re-evaluate their shared security after the war, which has resulted in a "breakdown of the security system," a Qatar foreign ministry spokesman said.



- Iran envoy out -



Lebanon withdrew the accreditation of Iran's ambassador and gave him until Sunday to leave the country.

The move came after Beirut accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of commanding the operations of the Tehran-backed Hezbollah in its war against Israel.



- Isfahan strikes -



Israel's military said that it had completed a "large wave of strikes in Isfahan".



- 'Security zone' -



Israel said it military will seize control of an area 30 kilometres (20 miles) into Lebanon a "security zone", as it presses its fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told AFP that Israel should "refrain" from that measure, warning it would have "major humanitarian consequences".



- UN rights meet -



The UN Human Rights Council said it will hold an urgent meeting on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries in the Gulf region.



- Iran energy sites hit -



Iranian media reported on Tuesday that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after US President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure.

In an interview with state TV, Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said that Iran was less vulnerable to attacks on energy infrastructure because it was spread out, with 150 power plants across the country.



- Iraqi Kurdistan targeted -



A rocket attack in Iraq's north killed six fighters from the Peshmerga armed forces of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, officials said.

The region's armed forces ministry blamed Tehran, saying "six Iranian ballistic missiles targeted" the troops in two attacks.



- Wounded in Tel Aviv -



Four people were wounded in Tel Aviv, where police reported several impact sites after the military warned of incoming missiles from Iran.

The city's mayor said the hit in an upscale neighbourhood in the north was a "direct strike".

Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to conduct "heavy missile and drone strikes" in what it said was support for Palestinian and Lebanese civilians hit by Israeli fire.



- Two killed near Beirut -



An Israeli strike on Bshamoun, a town south of Beirut which lies outside the traditional strongholds of Iran-backed Hezbollah, killed at least two people, Lebanon's health ministry said.



- Iraq deaths -



A strike in western Iraq on Tuesday killed 15 fighters, including Saad Dawai al-Baiji, provincial commander and head of operations in Anbar for the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

The PMF is now part of Iraq's regular army but also includes some pro-Iranian groups. It has blamed the attack on the United States.

burs/rmb
France urges Israel 'to refrain' from seizing south Lebanon zone



Paris, France, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Israel should "refrain" from sending in forces to take control of a zone in south Lebanon, France's foreign minister told AFP on Tuesday, saying such a move would have "major humanitarian consequences".

"We urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such ground operations, which would have major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country's already dire situation," Jean-Noel Barrot said.

Israel said earlier its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Lebanon's government has acted against Iranian interests and withdrew its approval of the Iranian ambassador's accreditation on Tuesday, a decision Barrot hailed as "courageous".

Iranian ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani was told to leave Lebanese territory by Sunday.

"I wish to commend the statements and actions of the Lebanese government... which this morning took a courageous decision by expelling the Iranian ambassador," Barrot said, accusing Hezbollah of dragging Lebanon into a new conflict.

Beirut has accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of commanding Hezbollah's operations in its war against Israel.
Pakistan PM says Islamabad 'ready' to host talks to end Mideast war



Islamabad, Pakistan, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday Islamabad was prepared to host negotiations to stop the US-Israeli war with Iran, after mounting speculation it could act as a mediator.

"Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the WAR in Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in (the) region and beyond," he wrote on X.

"Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict."

Tehran's foreign ministry suggested on Monday that messages had been received from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations at ending the war", according to the official IRNA news agency.

Sharif then said he had spoken with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising his government's help in bringing peace to the region.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also said he had been in touch with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.

On Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi told AFP earlier that Pakistan was "always willing to host talks" and had "consistently advocated for dialogue and diplomacy to promote peace and stability in the region".

The country's former ambassador to Oman, Imran Ali Chaudhry, told 92 News late on Monday that Pakistan's army chief recently held talks with US negotiators in the Gulf.

"Around two to two-and-a-half weeks ago, Field Marshal Asim Munir went to Oman on a trip that was not disclosed and he held a four-hour meeting with (Steve) Witkoff and (Jared) Kushner," he said.

Iran is a long-standing ally of Pakistan and Islamabad has condemned the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It also sent congratulations to his son and successor, Mojtaba.

Shia Muslims make up about 10-15 percent of Pakistan's population and Ali Khamenei's death sparked deadly riots at US diplomatic missions across the country.

zz-phz/abs
UAE defence ministry says civilian contractor killed in Bahrain



Dubai, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



The UAE defence ministry said on Tuesday that a Moroccan contractor with the Emirati military was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack, with Manama saying the man had been assisting the local armed forces.

"The Ministry of Defence mourns the loss of a Moroccan civilian contractor serving with the UAE Armed Forces, who was martyred during a routine mission in the Kingdom of Bahrain following an Iranian missile attack," the UAE ministry said in a statement on X.

Five UAE ministry of defence personnel were also injured in the attack, the statement added.

Bahrain's military had announced that a UAE army personnel was killed in its territory while helping Bahraini forces defend against Iranian attacks.

It said UAE and Bahraini army personnel had also been injured without specifying how many.

Gulf forces have reported coming under attack in Bahrain before.

On March 6, Qatar said members of its naval forces were inside buildings targeted by Iran in Bahrain, though they were unharmed.

At least 36 people have been killed in the Gulf, including 17 civilians, since Iran began its retaliatory strikes on February 28.

bur-aya/smw
India's Modi says 'useful' talks with Trump on Mideast war



New Delhi, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that US President Donald Trump had called him to discuss the Middle East war -- and the importance of the Strait of Hormuz.

Modi said it was a "useful exchange of views", adding that India "supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest", he wrote on social media.

Maritime traffic through the Gulf chokepoint -- which normally carries a fifth of the world's seaborne crude -- has come to a virtual standstill since US-Israeli strikes on Iran last month, triggering a regional conflict that has rattled global energy supply chains.

"Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world," Modi said.

US Ambassador Sergio Gor also said on social media that the leaders had discussed the war, "including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open".

India is the world's second-largest buyer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is used for cooking and predominantly sourced from the Middle East -- and supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have been strangled by the conflict.

Modi has urged states to curb black marketing and avoid panic, stressing that India's energy supplies remain stable.

Modi has close ties to Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, but New Delhi has sought to be neutral in the war.

ash/pjm/abs
Photo: President's Office / www.president.gov.ua

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed Ukraines fuel situation with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Naftogaz CEO Serhiy Koretsky.

"Government officials, Naftogaz and all institutions must work very closely with fuel market participants so that supplies are uninterrupted and so that society can see more clearly what state support options are available," Zelenskyy said in his evening address Monday.

He also thanked Ukraines neighbors "who, through reliable cooperation with us, are helping us get through this difficult period."
What we know about Trump's 'talks' with Iran



Paris, France, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



US President Donald Trump has executed another spectacular about-turn, from threatening to escalate the Iran war to announcing "very good" talks to end it, which were denied by the Islamic republic.

AFP looks at the facts, the speculation and what might happen now:



- Are there talks happening? -



Yes, according to Trump, no according to Tehran, but it might depend on what is meant by "talks".

Trump claimed on Monday that the US had been engaging with an unnamed Iranian leader whom he described as "the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader" and was "very reasonable."

He clarified that the individual was not the country's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said by state media to have been injured in an airstrike.

The Axios news site, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified the mystery interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's powerful speaker of parliament who is one of the most prominent non-clerical figures in Tehran.

But Ghalibaf stated that "no negotiations" were underway in a post on X, adding that the announcement was "fake news" intended "to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped."

The New York Times, citing unnamed officials, also said there had been "direct communication" between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff "in recent days" -- although neither side has confirmed this.

But that doesn't mean other "talks" aren't happening.



- What about indirect talks? -



Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed that messages had been received over the weekend from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war".

Trump's administration has held two sets of multi-round talks with Iran since the US leader returned to the White House in January 2025, with both ending in surprise attacks on the Islamic republic -- in June last year and most recently on February 28.

All of these negotiations were indirect -- with Gulf state Oman playing the role of mediator, shuttling messages between the two sides which have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980.

Oman has been burnt by its experiences, but other countries with friendly relations with Tehran and Washington appear to have stepped in as backchannels for the two sides, principally Egypt, Pakistan and possibly Turkey.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called his Iranian counterpart Araghchi and Trump's envoy Witkoff on Sunday and Monday.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country represents Iranian diplomatic interests in Washington, said on Tuesday that Islamabad was prepared to host negotiations "subject to concurrence by the US and Iran".

Ross Harrison, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and author of "Decoding Iran's Foreign Policy", was highly sceptical of Trump's claim to be speaking to a "top person" in Iran.

"I don't think they are talking to anybody. I think it's through mediation somehow," he told AFP.



- What would negotiations cover? -



Principally, Iran's nuclear programme, which has been the subject of talks and friction since 2003 and a main driver of the international sanctions on Tehran.

"We want no enrichment, but we also want the enriched uranium," Trump said Monday, referring to Iran's known 440-kilogram stockpile of uranium which is enriched to 60 percent -- close to the 90 percent needed to make a bomb.

In the last round of talks before the US-Israeli attacks on February 28, Tehran offered to retrieve the stockpile from under its bombed nuclear facilities and blend it down to lower levels, according to Iranian foreign minister Araghchi.

Tehran, which has always denied wanting to build a nuclear weapon, had also offered to allow the UN's IAEA nuclear agency inspectors to return, reports say.

Trump said on Monday that there were already "major points of agreement" with Iranian negotiators.

But having been attacked twice, Iran is now likely to seek guarantees of non-aggression in the future, financial compensation for the bombing and a lifting of sanctions.

Iran's hold over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas shipping route which has been effectively closed, gives it leverage it did not hold in previous rounds of talks.

"I'm very sceptical (about the talks) because trust has been completely destroyed and the positions of the warring parties are further apart than ever," David Khalfa, a Middle East specialist at the Jean-Jaures Foundation, a Paris-based think-tank, told AFP.

"The margin for manoeuvre on both sides is very limited," he added.

There is also another possible reading of the whole sequence: Trump is buying time again before sending in US ground troops to try to open up the Strait of Hormuz or seize Iranian oil assets.

burs-adp-dla-sw/sjw/dcp

X
Hezbollah calls on Lebanon to 'immediately reverse' Iran ambassador's expulsion



Beirut, Lebanon, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Hezbollah on Tuesday called the decision by Lebanon's foreign ministry to expel the newly appointed Iranian ambassador a "sin", and demanded the authorities "immediately reverse" the move.

In the latest unprecedented step by Lebanese authorities since a new war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's foreign ministry declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata, giving him until Sunday to leave the country.

"Hezbollah calls on the president of the republic and the prime minister to demand that the foreign minister... immediately reverse this decision because of its dangerous repercussions," the Iran-backed group said in a statement, calling the move a "national and strategic sin".

A source from Hezbollah told AFP that "the foreign minister's decision violates the most basic diplomatic norms and is an insult to the Shia community in Lebanon".

"The foreign minister must retract it, and we will ask the Iranian ambassador to remain in Beirut and consider the decision null and void," the source added.

The foreign ministry clarified in a separate statement that its decision does not constitute a severing of diplomatic relations with Iran, but rather "a measure against the ambassador for violating diplomatic protocol and his obligations as an appointed ambassador to Lebanon".

The ministry accused him of making statements "interfering in Lebanon's internal politics and evaluating the decisions taken by the government".

Earlier this month, Lebanon summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires for a meeting after the Guards claimed responsibility for a coordinated missile attack with Hezbollah on Israel.

Beirut decided on March 5 to ban any activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the country.

The government also took the unprecedented step of imposing a ban on Hezbollah military activities and called on the group to hand over its weapons to the state.
Israel military says Iranian missile fell in Beirut on Tuesday



Jerusalem, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



The Israeli military said a ballistic missile launched from Iran fell in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, as the Middle East war dragged into its fourth week.

"Following an assessment and based on the data available to the IDF, alongside the launches carried out toward the State of Israel earlier today, a ballistic missile fired by the Iranian terror regime fell in Beirut," a military statement said.
Colombia military plane crash death toll rises to 68



Bogota, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



The death toll in one of Colombia's worst air accidents in recent history rose to at least 68, an updated tally released Tuesday showed, as the government faulted a "junk" aircraft donated by the United States.

The C-130 Hercules plane, acquired for Colombia's military in 2020, crashed to the ground Monday one kilometer from the runway it had taken off from in the Amazonian town of Puerto Leguizamo, near the border with Peru.

The aircraft was carrying 128 people as well as ammunition, according to the latest information, although the numbers are still being finalized.

The accident, which is still under investigation, left dozens injured, including residents who rushed in trying to rescue survivors and were subsequently wounded by exploding munitions in the wreckage.

Authorities also reported that one soldier is missing.

Left-wing President Gustavo Petro is blaming his predecessor Ivan Duque for having accepted a "junk" plane manufactured in the United States in 1983.

"Why did you buy such an old plane? Who advised you to do something so foolish?" Petro wrote on X, adding he had requested the replacement of the Hercules aircraft a year ago.

Duque called Petro "vile and unintelligent" and urged him to conduct "an investigation that includes the weight" the plane was carrying at takeoff and the condition of the small airport's runway. Duque maintains that it was in fact a donation -- not a purchase -- from Washington.

The Defense Ministry ruled out an attack by guerrilla groups operating in the territory, which is rife with coca crops.

Jhon Molina, governor of the Putumayo department where the crash occurred, told Blu Radio that the airport "has several problems" and "needs more investment."

The crash site can only be reached by plane or a five-hour boat journey from the departmental capital Puerto Asis.

The help provided by local residents during the rescue was key to preventing the death toll from being even higher, Molina said.

Images of people forming human chains to throw water and residents taking the injured away on motorcycles went viral on social media.

The bodies of the victims will be transferred to Bogota for forensic investigations, the National Institute of Legal Medicine said.
US still deciding how to resume nuclear tests: official



Washington, United States, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



The United States has not yet decided how it will resume nuclear testing, a senior official said Tuesday, after President Donald Trump ordered an end to a decades-old moratorium.

Thomas DiNanno, the under secretary of state for arms control and international security, repeated that it would not be an atmospheric test of the sort seen at the start of the nuclear era.

"We are still assessing," DiNanno told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"We have made no decision specifically on how or what any testing program would look like."

Trump said in October that the United States would resume nuclear testing for the first time since 1992.

Trump later allowed the expiration of New START, the last remaining treaty with Russia that limited deployment of nuclear warheads, as he called for a new agreement that also includes China, whose arsenal is much smaller than those of the other two powers but quickly growing.

Another senior official, Christopher Yeaw, said last month that renewed US tests would be low-yield to match what the United States alleges China and Russia have secretly carried out.

Asked if the United States could instead carry out a larger detonation, DiNanno said, "I've heard no discussion of any atmospheric testing whatsoever."

China has denied the allegations of secret testing, accusing the United States of creating an excuse to pressure it into a new nuclear agreement.

The US talk of new nuclear testing comes as the United States and Israel attack Iran in part over allegations that the cleric-run state was building a nuclear weapon, a prospect denied by Tehran and which most experts said was not imminent.

The United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in war, destroying the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and Israel has a widely discussed but never officially acknowledged nuclear program.
Trump says Iran gave US 'gift' linked to Strait of Hormuz



Washington, United States, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran gave him a "very big present" related to the Strait of Hormuz, boosting his confidence that he was talking to the right people in Tehran to end the war.

The cryptic announcement came a day after Trump unexpectedly postponed threatened attacks on Iran's power plants and said Washington was in negotiations with unspecified figures in Iran.

Tehran has denied being part of any talks to end the war, which is now in its fourth week and has disrupted global oil supplies passing through the strategic Hormuz Strait.

"They did something yesterday that was amazing actually. They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

"That meant one thing to me -- we're dealing with the right people."

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for new US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Trump said the "gift" was "very significant", adding that it was "oil and gas-related."

Asked if it was related to his demand that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic, Trump replied: "Yeah, it was related to the flow and to the strait."

The US president added that the "present" was not related to Iran's nuclear program, but repeated his claim that the Iranian side "agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon."



- 'We negotiate with bombs' -



Trump has not yet revealed who the United States is negotiating with in Tehran, saying only on Monday as he postponed a threat to attack Iran's energy sites by five days that it is a "top person."

"We're actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly," Trump said.

Former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the joint Israeli-US air campaign, and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public.

But Trump said that the killing of Khamenei senior and a host of other top Iranian officials meant "we have really regime change. The leaders are all very different with the ones that we started off with."

US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, global envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were all involved in the Iranian talks, Trump said.

But he did not confirm reports that Witkoff and Kushner were headed to Pakistan for talks with Iran, with Vance possibly to follow afterward if the negotiations appeared serious.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered on Tuesday to act as a mediator to end the conflict.

He said he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad's help to bring peace to the region.

Trump meanwhile joked that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth "didn't want it to be settled" because he wanted to keep striking Iranian targets.

"We see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs," Hegseth said when he was called to the podium by Trump.
Gang crackdown carried out without 'abuses,' Guatemalan defense chief says



Guatemala City, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Guatemala has cracked down on gangs while safeguarding human rights, its Defense Minister Henry Saenz told AFP in an exclusive interview, rejecting the brutal methods neighboring El Salvador has used to curb rampant criminal activity.

Gang-affiliated inmates took hostages at three prisons and unleashed a wave of violence in mid-January, killing 11 police officers and causing deep shock among Guatemalans. President Bernardo Arevalo ordered a month-long state of emergency in response.

Soldiers and police are still heavily deployed as a preventive measure across six departments of the Central American country of 19 million people.

But Arevalo is pursuing a security strategy that respects human rights, Saenz insisted, drawing a contrast with the warrantless arrests and overflowing prisons in El Salvador.

President Nayib Bukele's war on gangs is popular because violence in El Salvador has dropped to historic lows. But the methods used include enforced disappearance and torture, lawyers and advocacy groups say.

Across Central America, Barrio 18 and its arch-rival MS-13 -- declared terrorist organizations by the United States and Guatemala -- run criminal enterprises, from drug trafficking rings to extortion rackets, often from behind bars.

Saenz told AFP in an interview on Monday that fighting the scourge "without abuses" is a "longer road" but "the better one."



Question: What are the results of the recent government operations?

Answer: All the raids we carried out were done with an order from a judge. Respecting human rights, strengthening a democratic framework that we can show the international community, is positive.

We cut off the communications of gang leaders. By cutting it off, they were stuck without a command structure, without orders, and so we were able to reduce street killings by 50 percent and extortion by 33 percent. We took control of territory, we already have safer borders.

But, though the data is encouraging, we aren't naive. We have made little progress; there is much work still to be done.



Q: Is there a risk for more prison riots like those in January?

A: The threat is latent, permanent. For the Guatemalan military, (the work) is ensuring that inside prisons they don't have weapons, drugs, alcohol, things that lead to new riots, hostage-takings, and killings.

For now, the military needs to be involved in the prisons and on the streets... so that the strategy is sustainable over time.

Q: Have you sought to copy the Bukele model?

A: No. We're a democratic country. The (maximum security) prison that's being planned will be created with standards required for international certifications.

We aren't going to pile 200, 300 people into a single cell with just one bathroom. We're not going to do that because no human being ceases to be human, and we're well aware of this in Guatemala. Everyone has their rights.

We're not defending criminals, we're attacking, persecuting, and capturing them through a lawful system.

Far from following a model, we're raising our hand to make a new one. It's a longer path, but it's the better one, a plan that's safer for everyone.

Q: What are you doing to avoid abuses like those denounced in anti-gang operations in Honduras and El Salvador?

A: We've gone two months... and there hasn't been a single complaint regarding abuses. What have we done, then? Respect the Guatemalan citizenry and all of their civil rights.

The idea is to allow the military to contribute to the operation, without giving them a free pass to violate the rights of the citizenry.

Q: Can you guarantee there haven't been any arbitrary detentions?

A: Not a single one. We've waited for orders from a competent judge before making a move, we've accompanied civilian security forces and we haven't committed a single arbitrary act.

Q: What is your expectation for the alliance against drug trafficking led by the United States?

A: Our strategic ally says that we need all the armed forces in the hemisphere to get involved in (attacking) cartels. We're already doing it.

Good times are coming for the hemisphere, where everyone, without exception, will combat drug trafficking from our respective positions.
War in the Middle East: latest developments



Paris, France, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:



- Trump says Iran gave US 'gift' -



US President Donald Trump said Iran gave him a "very big present" related to the Strait of Hormuz, "worth a tremendous amount of money".



- US to deploy 82nd Airborne: media -



The United States is planning to send some 3,000 soldiers from its elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East to support operations against Iran, US media reported.



- US in Iran talks 'right now': Trump -



Trump said negotiations with Iran to end the Middle East war were under way "right now," adding Tehran wants to make a deal "so badly."



- Hezbollah backs Iran diplomat -



Hezbollah called Lebanon's decision to expel the newly appointed Iranian ambassador a "national and strategic sin", and demanded authorities "immediately reverse" the move.



- China FM encourages talks -



China's top diplomat told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call that "talking is always better than to keep fighting" after Tehran denied Trump's claim that negotiations had taken place.

"It is hoped that all parties can seize every opportunity and window for peace and start the peace talks process as quickly as possible," Wang Yi told Abbas Araghchi, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.



- Explosions near Beirut -



Explosions rocked several areas north of Beirut that had been spared in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war, according to residents and local media, with a military official saying the blasts likely came from an intercepted Iranian missile.

"A number of citizens sustained minor injuries from flying shrapnel," according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.



- UAE says contractor killed -



The UAE defence ministry said that a Moroccan contractor with the Emirati military was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack, with Manama saying the man had been assisting the local armed forces.



- Islamabad talks offer -



Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad is prepared to host negotiations to stop the US-Israeli war with Iran, after mounting speculation it could act as a mediator.



- G7 war discussion -



US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet G7 counterparts in France on Friday to discuss the war, the State Department said.

While all G7 nations are close US allies, none has unambiguously offered support for the offensive on Iran, angering President Donald Trump.



- Iran arrests -



Iranian authorities said that 466 people have been arrested, accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity.

The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided. Internet has been shut down in Iran since the start of the war on February 28.



- Iran security chief -



Iran named a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, succeeding Ali Larijani, who was killed last week in an Israeli strike.



- Gulf 'breakdown' -



The Gulf states will need to re-evaluate their shared security after the war, which has resulted in a "breakdown of the security system", a Qatar foreign ministry spokesman said.



- Isfahan strikes -



Israel's military said that it had completed a "large wave of strikes in Isfahan".



- 'Security zone' -



Israel said it military will seize control of an area 30 kilometres (20 miles) into Lebanon a "security zone", as it presses its fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told AFP that Israel should "refrain" from that measure, warning it would have "major humanitarian consequences".

burs/pdw/giv
Iraq summons US, Iran representatives after deadly strikes



Baghdad, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Iraq said late on Tuesday it would summon the US charge d'affaires and the Iranian ambassador after deadly strikes blamed on their countries, as Iraqi authorities granted targeted former paramilitary groups the "right to respond".

Iraq has been pulled into the war sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, and which has since engulfed much of the region.

The former paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi coalition, part of Iraq's regular armed forces but which also includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups, blamed the US for the country's deadliest strike so far, which killed a commander and 14 other fighters.

In the autonomous Kurdistan region, a ballistic missile attack killed six Peshmerga fighters, with the region accusing Iran of conducting the first such deadly attack on Kurdish security forces since the war began.

Neither the United States nor Iran commented on the accusations, but in a statement released late on Tuesday, Iraq said its foreign ministry would summon both representatives to "deliver formal notes of protest regarding the attacks".

It also emphasised the necessity of maintaining balanced relations both internationally and regionally to prevent Iraq being "drawn into areas of conflict".

Since the war began, pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups including state-linked positions.

In the statement from the prime minister's office however, Iraq granted former paramilitaries within the official armed forces the right to "respond to military attacks" by drones and aircraft that targeted their headquarters.

The Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), said those killed in the strike targeting its fighters included a top provincial commander.

It described the strike as a "treacherous American attack that targeted the operation headquarters", and later urged authorities to "confront these repeated American violations".

The overnight strike targeted a base in the western Anbar province bordering Syria, long the scene of operations against the Islamic State group.

Since the start of the Middle East war, Baghdad has repeatedly denounced attacks on the Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces or PMF, formed in 2014 to fight IS.

After the jihadists were defeated in 2017 in Iraq, the coalition gained influence within the security forces. Its armed factions also developed political roles, including representation in parliament, as well as economic interests.

Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the current conflict.

On Tuesday night, the sound of fighter jets was repeatedly heard in the skies above the capital Baghdad.



- Iraqi Kurdistan -

Earlier, the PMF said a "Zionist-American strike" had targeted their Mosul office in northern Iraq, with a security official saying it was a second home for coalition leader Faleh al-Fayyad, although he was not present during the attack.

The Kurdish defence ministry in the north separately said a strike targeting peshmerga forces killed six fighters and wounded 30 others, blaming the attack on Iran.

"Six Iranian ballistic missiles targeted them," said the Iraqi Kurdish authorities, branding the attack "hostile, treacherous".

Although close with Washington, Iraq's Kurds have sought to maintain neutrality in the Iran war, after relations with the Islamic republic had warmed in recent years.
12 wounded in Israel following Iranian missile launch: emergency services



Bnei Brak, Israel, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Israeli emergency services said at least 12 people were injured in the centre of the country on Tuesday evening following a missile launch from Iran.

The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency services said it provided first aid to nine casualties in the city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, before taking them to hospitals in the area.

It said the wounded included a 23-year-old man in moderate condition with shrapnel injuries to the abdomen and head and "eight in mild condition, including six children."

Three people were also wounded in nearby Givat Shmuel, the MDA said.

AFPTV footage from Bnei Brak showed heavy damage to buildings, including a balcony that collapsed onto a car, while images published by MDA showed a building where a top-floor apartment had collapsed into the floor below.

The Israeli military has issued 12 alerts warning of incoming Iranian missiles since midnight Tuesday.
UNSC convenes regular meeting on Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine - Sybiha

Photo: https://x.com/andrii_sybiha/status/

The UN Security Council (UNSC) convened its next meeting on "Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine," Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha announced.

The situation in Ukraine demands sustained and principled attention. This is not only about Ukraine  it is about the credibility of the entire international system. Pressure on Russia must increase  political, economic, and legal, he said on X.

Sybiha noted that the aggressor must be forced to stop its violations, agree to a complete ceasefire, and begin genuine diplomacy.

According to him, Russias ongoing war of aggression continues to undermine international peace and security and calls into question the very foundations of the UN Charter.

Accountability is essential. Lasting peace can only be achieved in full respect of Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law, the foreign minister stressed.
Discover the best photographs from the past year in a diverse display of over 300 pictures

See Joel Meyerowitzs work in a new light through an immersive mixed media presentation

Be part of photography's unmissable annual moment

The world-class photography exhibition is back. Offering an insight into the artists working in the medium today, the Sony World Photography Awards bring the best images from the past year to the West and East Wings of Somerset House.

This curation is a unique opportunity to see all of the winning and shortlisted images under one roof. Explore the very best of photography across a variety of styles, themes and genres: from urban encounters with capybaras to retirement home carnival celebrations; from young people in Uzbekistan rediscovering their roots through K-pop to the whimsical phenomenon of mushroom sporulation.

Delve into two special showcases

Outstanding Contribution to Photography

A pioneer of colour and a street photography icon, Joel Meyerowitzs imagery will transport you to the streets of Europe and beyond through a mixed-media display including photographs, videos and soundscapes.

2025 Photographer of the Year

Last year's Photographer of the Year Zed Nelson returns with an expanded presentation of his winning series The Anthropocene Illusion, which spotlights and questions humanity's attempts to tame and possess nature.

From emerging talents to established artists, this is where the world comes to see what matters in the medium today.
Mr Atkinson asserted: You moved from the Hong Kong police to a role in London that allowed you to continue to act as an investigator for Hong Kong, to gather information for Hong Kong. That was part of your job, that was why you were here.
We are Jews who will stand up for ourselves, and we will not let this country be radicalised. This is why we dance and we spread love, and we dont let the dark and the hate overtake us.
Former director of security at Iran TV, Roger MacMillan, told The Telegraph: There are enough people in the UK who would be willing to perpetrate an operation like this. They may not necessarily be motivated by ideology, but they might have some sympathy with the cause.
In his post, written all in capitals, the US president said: "I AM PLEASE TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
A defence source said: Its really important to stay close with the lessons that we are learning from Ukraine about the blend of crewed and uncrewed and a hybrid solution here, as to the extent to which you want to put high-end expensive platforms such as Type 45s or Arleigh Burkes into there or uncrewed platforms which we are bringing into service and accelerating and using that to offer a hybrid multi-national solution to it.
One man, who lives in Highfield Road, said: My wife was afraid for her life. People were shouting to just grab a bag and leave but did not tell us where to go. It was very scary and Im still shaking now.
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
Why Arsenal may be the big winners from PSG vs Bayern thriller

Why Arsenal are the big winners from PSG vs Bayern thriller
Latvia has signed a memorandum of understanding with leading Ukrainian business and defense organizations, the Latvian Defense Ministry press service reported.

"The document is aimed at establishing close long-term cooperation between the two countries, promoting joint development of the defense industry. The memorandum provides for targeted state support for Ukrainian companies that plan to start or expand their operations in Latvia," the statement said.

The defense ministry said the partnership is aimed at creating a joint defense industry ecosystem that will facilitate technological exchange and economic growth in both countries.

For his part, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said that "the combat experience of the Ukrainian defense industry and the technological potential of Latvia is a powerful combination."

"The signed memorandum is not just a formal agreement, it is a practical tool for joint development of innovative solutions that will strengthen the security of both countries and the capabilities of the armed forces. Latvia is becoming a stable base for Ukrainian companies in Europe, while building up its own industrial potential," Spruds said, according to the ministrys press service.
JavaScript is disabled in your browser. Please enable JavaScript to proceed.

A required part of this site couldnt load. This may be due to a browser extension, network issues, or browser settings. Please check your connection, disable any ad blockers, or try using a different browser.
Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy heard a report by acting head of the SBU, Yevhen Khmara, and his deputy, Oleksandr Poklad, on long-range activity and the elimination of networks of Russian influence, as they operated through religious communities.

Work against enemy agent networks is ongoing as well. In particular, todays report covered the neutralization of such Russian influence networks operating through religious communities. There was also a report from Major General Oleksandr Poklad. In particular, we managed to prevent crimes on the territory of our state  the Russians were preparing assassination attempts. There were corresponding detentions, Zelenskyy said in his evening address Monday.

He noted that the details of the attack are not public, but thanked the SBU for protecting people.

The president also thanked the Security Service for its accuracy in long-range activity against "Russian oil wallets."

Russias war must not receive additional resources from the geopolitical situation and such crisis-driven oil prices. As always, the Security Service of Ukraine also continues to deliver strong results on the frontline in eliminating the occupiers, he noted.
In Donetsk region, 496 people, incl 31 children, evacuated from front line in past 24 hours  authorities

Over the past 24 hours, 496 people, including 31 children, were evacuated from the front line in Donetsk region, reported Vadym Filashkin, head of the Regional Military Administration.

In just one day, Russian forces shelled populated areas in Donetsk region 13 times, with no casualties reported, Filashkin wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.
Photo: https://t.me/Ukraine_MFA

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the latest Russian missile and drone strike on Ukrainian cities overnight another act of terror against civilians.

A massive combined missile and drone attack targeted cities across the country. In the Poltava region and Zaporizhzhia, at least three people have been already confirmed killed, with over ten injured. Civilians are being deliberately targeted. When Russia fails on the battlefield and cannot impose its will at the negotiating table, it resorts to terror against civilians. Typical methods of Russian criminals, he said on X.

Sybiha emphasized that pressure on Russia must be immediately increased and sanctions must be tougher. The minister called for the adoption of the 20th EU sanction package.

The shadow fleet must be anchored. Those complicit in this war must face travel bans and full isolation. Russia must not be admitted to any international sporting or artistic events. Together, we must defend international peace and security through strength and decisive action. Russia will not stop on its ownit must be made to stop, he stressed.

As reported, on the night of March 24, Russia launched a combined attack on Ukraines critical infrastructure using attack drones, air- and land-based missiles. Air defenses shot down 25 missiles and 365 enemy drones, while six missiles and 27 drones were hit.
Number of people injured in house attack on Dnipro grows to nine, incl small child  authorities

Nine people, including an 18-month-old child, were injured in a drone strike on a multi-story building in the regional center, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration.

"Nine people have already been wounded as a result of the Russians morning attack on Dnipro. Among the injured is an eighteen-month-old boy," he wrote on Telegram.

According to him, the child has been hospitalized. Doctors are assessing the boys condition as moderate.

Earlier, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that the State Emergency Service and police were evacuating residents of the building, and door-to-door canvassing was ongoing. In total, about a dozen multi-story buildings were damaged.

Earlier reports indicated eight injuries, four of whom were hospitalized.
Lt. Gen. Joel Carey speaks to reporters inside the Officers' Club after taking command of 5th Air Force at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 24, 2026. (Marcus Castaneda/Stars and Stripes)



YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan  A veteran fighter pilot who led air wings in Texas, Afghanistan and Okinawa has taken charge of 5th Air Force amid efforts to turn U.S. Forces Japan into a warfighting command.

Lt. Gen. Joel Joker Carey took command Tuesday during a ceremony attended by U.S. and Japanese troops and government officials at USFJs home in western Tokyo.

The change separates leadership of 5th Air Force from USFJ. The commands have been led by a dual-hatted Air Force general since USFJ was established in 1957.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Jester Jost, who held both roles for the past 18 months, relinquished command of 5th Air Force but will continue to lead USFJ as it transitions from a liaison role to a warfighting headquarters.

Lt. Gen. Laura Lenderman, deputy commander of Pacific Air Forces, hands the 5th Air Force guidon to Lt. Gen. Joel Carey at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 24, 2026. (Marcus Castaneda/Stars and Stripes)



Fifth Air Force and USFJ have grown in importance and responsibility, Pacific Air Forces deputy commander Lt. Gen. Laura Lenderman said at the ceremony. Its now time to allow each command to move forward in critically important ways under separate commanders.

Lenderman presided over the ceremony in place of PACAF commander Gen. Kevin Schneider, who was occupied with an emerging mission, Carey told the audience. PACAF, headquartered in Hawaii, did not immediately respond to an email requesting details that afternoon.

The change allows Jost to focus his full energy on the operation and evolution of USFJ and the alliance with Japan, Lenderman said.

Meanwhile, Carey will concentrate his energy and talents on leading the men and women of 5th Air Force, she added.

Carey was commissioned in 1992 and flew F-15 Eagle fighters at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, from 1998-2001. On a second tour at the base, from 2009 to 2012, he commanded the 44th Fighter Squadron, and then Kadenas 18th Wing from 2019 to 2021.

Lt. Gen. Joel Carey gives his first salute as the first dedicated 5th Air Force commander at Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 24, 2026. (Marcus Castaneda/Stars and Stripes)



His command tour at Kadena was his third wing command in a row having previously served as the 12th Wing commander at Randolph [Air Force Base, Texas] and the 438th Wing commander in Kabul, Afghanistan, Lenderman told the audience.

Carey most recently served as chief of staff at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii.

The 5th Air Force  known as the Fighting Fifth  played a major role in World War II and the Korean War, recording thousands of aerial victories, Lenderman said.

The 5th Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force will deter those who seek to undermine the peace and stability that we have known for decades, she said.

Carey told those gathered that U.S. forces must be prepared for conflict in the region.

Our potential adversaries continue to manipulate and exploit for their advantage especially toward weaker nations and actively work to weaken partnerships and security critical to enduring stability and prosperity in the region, he said.
Paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division participate in a training event at Fort Bragg, N.C., on June 10, 2025. The 82nd AD's Immediate Response Force is being considered for deployment in support of operations in Iran, the New York Times reported Tuesday. (Nicole Miller/U.S. Army)



The 82nd Airborne Divisions quick reaction brigade is being eyed for a possible deployment tied to operations in Iran, The New York Times reported, as thousands of Marines also make their way to a region where questions swirl over the potential for a ground operation.

No final order has been issued to dispatch the 82nd Airbornes Immediate Response Force comprised of 3,000 soldiers, but prudent planning was underway, senior defense officials told the Times in a late Monday report.

The Fort Bragg-based brigade can be deployed anywhere in the world in under 24 hours and serves as the Armys emergency response force.

Soldiers assigned to 82nd Airborne Division deploy their parachutes after jumping out of a C-130J Super Hercules as part of an airborne operation at Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, on June 8, 2025. The 82nd AD's quick reaction brigade is being eyed for a possible deployment tied to operations in Iran, according to a New York Times report. (Devin Klecan/U.S. Army)



On Tuesday, Fox News reported that the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, and his command element, along with members of his headquarters staff, have been ordered to deploy to the Middle East amid discussions about possible ground operations. Later in the day, The Wall Street Journal reported a written order was imminent.

If President Donald Trump decides to send in ground forces, a possible mission could revolve around Irans Kharg Island, a small 5-mile landmass that handles 90% of Irans oil exports. The island already has come under heavy fire from U.S. forces since the start of the conflict. The island is packed with oil infrastructure and a civilian population of industry workers and an unknown number of military personnel.

Trump, who ordered a large bombing raid on the island earlier this month, has described the location as Irans crown jewel. But he hasnt indicated whether using ground forces to seize the territory is in the works.

Still, the potential for an assault on the island, whether through an amphibious landing, paratroopers flying directly in, or a combination of those tactics, is being hashed out in political and defense circles.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, the influential Iran hawk and South Carolina Republican, garnered headlines Sunday when he favorably compared a potential Marine invasion of Kharg to the Corps famous attack on Iwo Jima during World War II that killed thousands of Marines.

We got two Marine expeditionary units sailing to this island. We did Iwo Jima. We can do this. My money is always on the Marines, Graham said on Fox News Sunday. I dont know if you take the island or you blockade the island. But I know this: the day we control that island, this regime, this terrorist regime, has been weakened. It will die on a vine.

Critics of the idea have countered that such an operation would be high risk and put Marines and other forces called upon into the line of fire from missiles and drones, potentially causing significant casualties.

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Okinawa, Japan, is expected to arrive by weeks end in the Central Command area while a second Marine force from San Diego could arrive within a few weeks.

Retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former supreme allied commander of NATO, said if their mission is to control Kharg, the first challenge for the Marines is to get the MEUs ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranians should be expected to fire massive drone attacks; small boats, some loaded with explosives for unmanned and potentially suicide missions along with missiles directed at the MEU, Stavridis said in a Bloomberg op-ed Tuesday.

The ground force would likely land on Kharg by air, from tilt-rotor Ospreys and helicopters, Stavridis said.

Any Iranian ground troops still effective following pre-attack strikes should be easily overcome by the first waves of US forces, Stavridis wrote.

Still, such an operation carries significant risks and potential pitfalls, he said.

For example, much of the island could be booby-trapped. There also is the danger that the Iranians could manage to get a direct hit on one of the Marines amphibious ships, which would be a significant blow.

A less risky option would be to use the Marine expeditionary force to blockade the island rather than seize it, which would likely result in fewer casualties and could achieve a similar economic effect, Stavridis said.

Ultimately such an invasion would likely be far from surgical  expect rising casualties on both sides and among civilians  and still leave Iran with plenty of other potential steps to create mayhem and improve its bargaining position, Stavridis said.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin returns to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on March 23, 2026. (Taylor DiMartino/U.S. Navy)



YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan  The USS Mustin returned this week to the homeport of the U.S. 7th Fleet after five years in San Diego for modernization, the service said.

The guided-missile destroyer replaces the USS Robert Smalls, one of 10 Ticonderoga-class cruisers left in the Navy and the last of its kind based in Japan. The cruiser departed earlier this month for San Diego as part of a routine homeport shift.

While in San Diego, the ships engineering spaces were improved, its command and control systems upgraded and its living spaces refurbished. London-based Bae Systems undertook the work in 2022 under a $89.4 million Navy contract.

Mustin Nation is proud to return to Japan, the destroyers skipper, Cmdr. Christina Appleman, said in a Navy news release after the ship steamed into port on Monday. Our arrival has a special meaning for our Sailors and their families. We are rejoining a phenomenal team here in the 7th Fleet and are eager to work alongside our allies and partners in the region.

A spokesperson for the 7th Fleet did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Tuesday.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin returns to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, March 23, 2026. (Taylor DiMartino/U.S. Navy)



The Mustin was previously based in Yokosuka from July 2006 to June 2021. It now rejoins Destroyer Squadron 15, the Navys largest deployed destroyer squadron and 7th Fleets principal surface force.

Welcoming USS Mustin back to the [Destroyer Squadron 15] family is a significant moment for us, squadron commander Capt. David Huljack said in the release. Their return to the tip of the spear is a clear demonstration of our commitment to maritime security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Commissioned in 2003, the destroyer is named for the Mustin family, whose members served in the Navy for nearly a century.

The Robert Smalls arrived in Yokosuka in 2015 under its former name, the USS Chancellorsville. It was renamed in 2023 after a man born into slavery who seized a Confederate transport ship during the Civil War and turned it over to Union forces.

Congress in 2019 set a 10-year limit for Navy ships deployed overseas following two fatal collisions involving Yokosuka-based destroyers in 2017.
A sign marks the entrance to Headquarters and Support Battalion on Camp Foster, Okinawa, March 24, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)



NAHA, Okinawa  A Japanese court handed a U.S. sailor a two-year, suspended sentence Tuesday after convicting him of attempting to smuggle magic truffles onto Okinawa through the Japanese mail system.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyle Mudd, 27, was sentenced in Naha District Court for violating Japans Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act and the Customs Act. The sentence was suspended for four years, meaning he will serve no prison time unless he commits another offense in Japan in that period.

Judge Kazuhiko Obata presided over a three-judge panel at the hearing.

Mudds sentence reflected his lack of a previous criminal record in Japan, Obata said during the sentencing.

Mudd was indicted July 11 for attempting to have a package with 71 grams of truffles containing the narcotics psilocin and psilocybin sent to his home address in Ginowan city. The amount is about equal in weight to three AA batteries.

Truffles, unlike mushrooms, grow underground.

Mudd also purchased a cultivation kit online, Obata said in court.

We can say that he already possesses affinity for illegal substances, and the criminal responsibility is not light, he said.

Mudd is assigned to Headquarters and Support Battalion on Camp Foster, Marine Corps Installations Pacific spokesman Maj. Brett Dornhege-Lazaroff said by phone Tuesday.

The sailor will remain confined to military bases except for official travel to and from work and his home for the rest of his tour on the island. Dornhege-Lazaroff did not know how long that would be.

We take these things seriously, and we continue to remain committed to our alliance and to ensuring the highest standards of conduct for our service members, he said.

On Feb. 19, 2025, Tokyo customs officials at Narita Airport intercepted a package containing two blocks of the drug sent from the Netherlands 10 days earlier, according to the indictment.

Mudd pleaded not guilty through his attorney, Tetsu Amakata, at his initial hearing on Nov. 4.

Prosecutor Kazutaka Ikeda told the court that Mudd paid about $250 for the drugs. He played a video in court showing Mudd receiving the parcel from an undercover officer.

Ikeda also submitted as evidence Mudds internet search history and text messages between Mudd and the website, neither of which were shown in court.

During a Feb. 10 hearing, Amakata told the court that the text messages refer to truffles only and that any link to illegal drugs is speculation.

Suspended sentences for U.S. service members, Defense Department civilian employees and their families for importing drugs onto Okinawa via mail are not uncommon.

A U.S. military spouse convicted of receiving liquid cannabis through military mail received a suspended, 18-month sentence on March 16. A Marine convicted in October 2024 of importing a synthetic cannabinoid received a 30-month sentence, also suspended.
Photo: President's Office / www.president.gov.ua

Russia is prolonging the war in the Middle East by supporting the Iranian regime with intelligence and preparing for new conflicts in the coming years, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following a briefing on US meetings.

The geopolitical situation has become more complicated due to the war against Iran, and unfortunately, this is emboldening Russia. But the fundamental circumstances have not changed. Russia continues this war and its destabilization of Europe, supports the Iranian regime with intelligence, and thereby prolongs the war in that region, while also preparing for new conflicts in the coming years. This threat of constant war across the map must be stopped, Zelenskyy said on X Tuesday.

The President noted the significance of the fact that during the negotiators report, Russia launched a new wave of shaheds against Ukraine.

The team reported on what was actually discussed in Florida  the key points, opportunities, and challenges. The most important task is to develop security guarantees in a way that brings us closer to ending the war. Security is the key to peace, he noted.

According to him, this can only be achieved by the United States, Europe, and other global actors working together.

Zelenskyy noted the need for a meeting at the leadership level to "truly resolve these issues."

I have instructed the team to continue working as actively as possible with partners so that diplomacy is substantive and that, in particular, humanitarian issues such as prisoner exchanges are resolved. I also instructed the team to brief our European and Canadian partners about the meetings in Florida, he briefed.
(Scott Schonauer/Stars and Stripes)



Naval Station Rota, Spain, Feb. 28, 2003: Petty Officer 3rd Class Ralf Williams, right, dishes out lunch to a sailor at the Naval Station Rota galley. Base shops have extended hours and the galley will temporarily no longer serve family members of military personnel because of the influx of people at the naval station. The base population had grown due to the U.S. military buildup in preparation for what was then a potential war against Iraq.
Emergency personnel with Bahrains Civil Defence force work to put out a fire after an Iranian strike hit a company facility in the country. Missiles and drones continued to fly in the Middle East on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would pause its strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure until the end of the week. (Bahrain Ministry of Interior via X)



Missiles and drones continued to fly in the Middle East on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would pause its strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure until the end of the week.

The ongoing fighting comes as the president says U.S. negotiators are holding positive talks to potentially end the war  a claim that Tehrans leadership has vehemently denied. The president has threatened to attack Irans energy infrastructure if the country doesnt free up traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which acts as a critical waterway for nearly 20% of the globes fuel.

Despite the break in U.S. strikes, Gulf nations said they were continuing to receive drone and missile attacks late Monday and into Tuesday morning.

Iranian missiles slammed into Tel Avivs city center, destroying property and wounding several people, Israeli authorities said. The Israel Defense Forces, meanwhile, fired a barrage of attacks on Iran overnight, striking 50 targets, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites, the IDF said.

In Bahrain, home to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, emergency workers responded to a blaze caused by Iranian attacks on Tuesday morning, the Interior Ministry said. Amazon said its Bahrain data centers were also disrupted as a result of the ongoing conflict.

The United Arab Emirates, which has received some of the heaviest fire from Iran since the war began, said it intercepted 17 drones and five ballistic missiles on Tuesday. Emirati authorities also said that a civilian contractor in the UAE Armed Forces was killed in a strike against Bahrain while on a routine mission.

Military forces in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia also reported intercepting drones and missiles.

As negotiations continue, the U.S. is prepared to send in thousands more troops and at least three warships to the Middle East to aid in Operation Epic Fury. The president has not ruled out sending in ground forces. A total of 13 U.S. service members have died since the war began on Feb. 28. As of Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said 290 troops had been wounded in the operation, 255 of which have returned to duty. Ten have been seriously injured, it added.

The ongoing hostilities have some allies in the Gulf inching towards joining the U.S.-Israeli fight against Iran.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Saudi Arabias de facto leader, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing Trump to continue the war, and sees an historic opportunity to remake the Middle East.

Saudi Arabias foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told reporters last week that the kingdoms patience with Iranian attacks was not unlimited, and that any belief that Gulf countries are incapable of responding is a miscalculation.

A coalition of 22 nations, including many NATO members and partners, signed a statement over the weekend condemning Irans attacks on commercial vessels and civilian infrastructure, and said they are ready to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Department of Defense Education Activity students work on word puzzles at Fort Knox, Ky., on Sept. 17, 2024. DODEA announced Monday that it had selected Tiffany Hoben as its new Chief Academic Officer, saying her focus will be advancing patriotism, classical learning and civics education within the military school system. (DODEA)



The Pentagon will look to emphasize patriotism, classical learning and civics education in its school system with its latest leadership change.

Tiffany Hoben was named the new chief academic officer, the Department of Defense Education Activity announced late Monday.

Hoben will oversee the education of more than 67,000 students in pre-K to 12th grade at 161 schools in Europe, Asia and the United States.

In that role, Hoben will ensure continued innovation and excellence, while advancing a strong focus on patriotism, classical learning, and civics education in support of military-connected students worldwide, a DODEA statement said.

Hoben has experience leading initiatives that align with those values and more than two decades of work as a teacher and administrator, according to DODEA.

She was the regional director of K-12 civics literacy at the Florida Department of Education, where she was responsible for implementing the states Civics Literacy Excellence Initiative under Gov. Ron DeSantis and revising the civics and government standards for more than 1 million students, DODEA said.

The Florida initiative strove to prepare students to become knowledgeable, civically engaged adults who contribute positively to their communities with a heavy focus on the U.S. Constitution, according to an official description of the program.

Hoben replaces Jayme Linton, who served as DODEAs chief academic officer since February 2025. DODEA did not respond to a question about whether Lintons departure was voluntary. Hobens arrival marks the agencys second big leadership change in the last month.

Paul Craft was named DODEAs new director effective March 9. He replaced Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, who had been in the job for less than two years. No reason was given for her departure.

Craft called Hoben a proven leader with a deep commitment to educational excellence and student achievement.

Her experience leading instructional initiatives and her dedication to serving students and educators make her exceptionally well-suited to guide DODEAs academic vision, he said in the statement.

Craft also thanked Linton for her service, noting that her leadership and commitment to students strengthened DODEAs academic programs.

Hoben most recently worked for the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy as the director of education partnerships and strategy, according to her LinkedIn profile. The nonprofit think tank promotes greater access to public and private school choice options.

Hoben also served for several years in the Florida National Guard as a combat medic specialist, according to DODEA. She has a Master of Arts in education administration from the University of South Florida.
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, both left, shake hands with Old Dominion University ROTC cadets at a ceremony that saw them receive military honors for stopping a shooting, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (U.S. Army Cadet Command via Facebook)



Army ROTC cadets attending Old Dominion University in Virginia received eight meritorious service medals and two Purple Hearts on Sunday in recognition of their efforts to stop a shooter at the university two weeks earlier.

The private ceremony saw the unnamed cadets awarded by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer, U.S. Army Cadet Command said in a Facebook post.

An ROTC cadet at Old Dominion University greets Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. (U.S. Army Cadet Command via Facebook)

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll awarded meritorious service medals and Purple Hearts to ROTC cadets attending Old Dominion University on Sunday, March 22, 2026. (U.S. Army Cadet Command via Facebook)

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll at a ceremony honoring ROTC cadets attending Old Dominion University, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (U.S. Army Cadet Command via Facebook)



On March 12, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh fired in a classroom at the university, killing one person and injuring two others. Jalloh, a previously convicted terrorist and former member of the Army National Guard, was stopped by students.

The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him  actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement, FBI Director Kash Patel said the day of the shooting in a post on X.

The man who was killed, retired Army Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, 41, was a decorated military veteran who led the universitys ROTC program and was credited with boosting its size.

The greatest gift to the nation from [Shah] who lost his life, is the training he gave these cadets, one person wrote in a comment on the commands Facebook post.
The 2026 USO Service Members of the Year are (top row, left to right): U.S. Army Captain Emily Malcom; U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Matthew Garcia; U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Joseph Hawthorne; (second row, left to right) U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Theodore Dudley; U.S. Space Force Master Sergeant David Gudgeon; U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Cody Dmochowski; Colorado National Guard Master Sergeant Jon Osterhout. (USO)



The USO recently announced its service members of the year, recognizing seven individuals who demonstrated heroic actions and selfless service.

Each year, command leadership from every military branch nominates service members for acts of bravery, many of which saved the lives of fellow service members and civilians in life-threatening situations.

A USO committee then selects the service members and invites them to an annual gala to formally celebrate their heroism.

This years service members of the year are:

Army Capt. Emily Malcom: On July 4, 2025, Malcoms hometown of Kerrville, Texas, was devastated by catastrophic flash flooding which resulted in 100 deaths. She left her duty station at Fort Bliss, joined the local volunteer fire department, and worked alongside a search and rescue team to help lead recovery operations. Over the course of 180 hours, she navigated hazardous terrain and dangerous flood conditions to locate victims.

Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Garcia: Garcia rescued a fellow Marine who was suddenly overtaken by heavy surf and rip currents more than 50 yards from shore. He stabilized the Marine and brought him safely to shore before lifeguards could arrive on the scene.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Joseph Hawthorne: Hawthorne led an underwater recovery mission in Lithuania after an armored vehicle became submerged, resulting in the deaths of four service members. Over several days of 24-hour operations, he and his team operated in hazardous conditions, including zero-visibility waters, risks of entrapment and environmental poisoning.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Theodore Dudley: Dudley led children, several families and five elders to safety after his apartment caught fire and filled with smoke. He then re-entered the building to ensure no one remained inside. Dudley also notified police about suspicious behavior he observed from a non-resident nearby during the evacuation, along with evidence recovered at the scene, resulting in the apprehension of a the suspected arsonist. Dudley helped save 14 lives.

Space Force Master Sgt. David Gudgeon: Gudgeon demonstrated life-saving actions during two separate medical emergencies. During the first incident, Gudgeon reacted immediately when a recruit began choking. He quickly and successfully performed the Heimlich Maneuver, allowing the recruit to resume training. In the second incident, Gudgeon triaged two unconscious trainees until medical professionals arrived.

Coast Guard Yeoman 2nd Class Cody Dmochowski: Dmochowski saved the life of an individual who had been thrown from their motorcycle into a heavily wooded area. He found the victim suffering from severe injuries and significant blood loss, and rendered aid. He also assessed the victims condition and relayed the information to emergency dispatch.

National Guard Master Sgt. Jon Osterhout: Osterhout accepted a high-risk and short-notice deployment to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, in 2025. He led a 585-member maintenance team under constant missile threat and drove 14,500 maintenance actions, which enabled 2,500 combat sorties, 29 aerial victories, and 671 guided munitions. The effort helped reduce regional missile attacks by 87%.
Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery of Ukraine and Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Kuleba held a meeting in Brussels with European Commission Director-General for Mobility and Transport Magda Kopczynska.

"We discussed Ukraines transport resilience and its integration into the European transport space. Ukraine needs at least EUR 500 million in guarantees to mobilize EIB (European Investment Bank) and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) financing for road infrastructure. Poor road conditions are already limiting the effectiveness of logistics corridors, including Solidarity Lanes. Thats why were talking not only about repairs, but also about the resilience of the transport network as part of European security," Kuleba wrote on his Telegram channel following the meeting.

According to him, recent estimates show that the need for financing rapid road recovery in 2026 is $15.25 billion.

"At the same time, the greatest need over the next 10 years is in the transport sector: over $96 billion. Due to daily attacks on railways and ports, these needs have increased by another 24.2%," Kuleba said.

Separately, the parties discussed expanding Ukraines access to the Connecting Europe Facility, using SAFE Military Mobility for critical transport corridors, developing infrastructure in the Danube region, and long-term preservation of the freight transport agreement with the EU.

"I also had the wonderful opportunity to present a state award to Deputy Director General of DG MOVE Maja Bakran Marcich  one of Ukraines key partners in transport integration with the EU. Maja systematically supports the development of the Solidarity Lanes, liberalization of transportation and development of Ukraines infrastructure. For her significant contribution to supporting Ukraine, she was honored with a state award  the Order of Merit, 3rd class," the minister added.
Hector Barbotta Sevilla 24/03/2026 a las 09:50h.

President of the Junta de Andalucia Juanma Moreno announced on Monday that the next regional elections will be held on 17 May.

Earlier that day, Moreno had convened his regional ministers to inform them of his decision, which entails the dissolution of the regional government. Consequently, the meeting scheduled for this Wednesday, in which four laws were to be approved, will not take place.

Moreno justified the choice of date by stating that it guarantees maximum voter turnout and allows Andalucia to start the summer with a clear political horizon.

According to Spanish law, elections take place exactly on the 54th day after their announcement. The electoral campaign will begin at midnight on Friday, 1 May.

The elections are taking place earlier than expected, as the initial plan placed them between 31 May and 14 June, excluding 7 June, which is when the Pope is visiting.

Juanma Moreno has repeatedly insisted on his intention to serve out his full term.

Strategic movement

The chosen date is both a technicality and a strategic move to capitalise on the regional president's current popularity in the polls. A public shift, however, could still occur in the two months remaining until election day.

"Andalucia has completed a four-year term with stability, confidence and good coexistence among Andalusians," Moreno said during the announcement on Tuesday.

According to Moreno, the reforms his regional government implemented over the past seven years have borne fruit. He highlighted Andalucia's public services and positive employment figures, with a particular focus on employment among young people and women.

Moreno noted that over the years he had been encouraged on many occasions to call early elections because his opponents didn't even have a candidate. However, he has always stated that he was going to serve out the full term, something that hadn't happened in Andalucia since 2012.

Moreno reminded the Andalusian population that four years ago he won a sufficient majority at the polls. Since then, the Junta "has approved 64 laws and decrees".

According to the Junta's president, holding elections every four years after the completion of a legislative term and having approved four budgets is normal democratic practice.

The regional elections fall in Andalucia's season of festivities, with the Feria de Sevilla between 21 and 26 April, the Rocio pilgrimage between 22 and 25 May and Corpus Christi on 4 June.
Susana Zamora 24/03/2026 a las 13:46h.

The Spanish data protection agency (AEPD) has fined a private school in Madrid - the Holy Mary Catholic School - for misuse of the Google Workspace for Education (GWE) platform. According to the investigation, children were accessing online content inappropriate for their age through the suite.

The investigation started when a mother noticed that her children had access to video games and YouTube through the school's accounts. According to the AEPD, the school violated several articles of the GDPR law.

The data protection agency has stated that the processing of data of 531 students (395 of them under 14 years of age) lacked a solid legal basis, since it could not be based exclusively on a "legal obligation" or "public interest" for a use that exceeded the strict academic management.

One of the key aspects of the resolution refers to the lack of transparency: "This information did not contain relevant aspects of the data processing that the data subjects should have been aware of." The school did not adequately inform about international data transfers to the US, inherent in the use of Google servers.

Sensitive data

In addition, although the school claimed that it only processed basic identifying data, the investigation showed that much more sensitive information was collected: IP addresses, cookies, activity logs and metadata from Chromebook devices. "The platform collects student usage data that is associated with student profiles, such as device information, access to content viewed or uploaded by users, etc.," the resolution states.

The AEPD also considers that the data protection impact analysis that the school has provided "does not reflect the full reality of the processing", as it ignores the risks arising from Google's tracking of minors' online activity.

The AEPD reiterates that privacy must be guaranteed "by default" - something the school failed to demonstrate conclusively by not providing documentation on regular security reviews of student accounts.

The school has chosen to acknowledge its responsibility and voluntarily pay a fine that initially amounted to 20,000 euros, but which, after legal reductions, has been set at 12,000. This implies that the school accepts responsibility for the alleged infractions and the AEPD requires it to adopt immediate corrective measures.

The text concludes by urging the school to provide, within three months, a valid legal basis for continuing to use the platform or, failing that, to cease processing and delete the data.
Maria Jose Diaz Alcala 24/03/2026 a las 16:11h.

The 38-year-old suspect of the death of 74-year-old Angel in the Costa del Sol will remain under constant supervision at the Alhaurin de la Torre prison. The facility management made this decision after the detainee demonstrated "aggressive" behaviour upon entering the prison.

According to sources, the suspect attacked several workers as soon as he entered. Although there were no injuries, the prisoner has proved to be a risk factor.

The workers have requested that he be treated as a dangerous prisoner, incapable of coexisting with other inmates. As a result, he will stay in one of the modules with maximum surveillance controls.

As established in Spanish law, he will have very little contact with other inmates and have a maximum of three hours of outdoor time per day.

The police arrested the man on 16 March, when they found him hiding in the building where the deceased - 74-year-old Angel - lived.

A neighbour had discovered the victim's body earlier that day, after family members had asked him to go to Angel's home and check on him. They hadn't heard from Angel in a while and it was unusual for him to go long periods without communicating.

As soon as the neighbour entered, he found Angel's body on the floor, with blood stains around.

When the emergency services arrived, they discovered several injuries to Angel's face and other parts of his head.

The court ordered the suspect's provisional imprisonment last week.
Nuria Triguero Malaga 24/03/2026 a las 14:07h.

Malaga's cyber ecosystem has managed to attract a new company: Canadian firm Devolutions, which specialises in privileged access management (PAM), passwords and remote connections.

This is the company's first European office. It will support and enable the growth of its customer base in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Founded in Canada in 2010, Devolutions primarily targets SMEs (small- and medium-sized companies). The company has more than one million users in 140 countries.

The office in Malaga

Devolutions launches in Malaga with a team of five to ten employees who will be offering services in English, French, German, Spanish and English.

The new office will act "as a strategic hub for multilingual customer support and regional business operations, as well as a driver for the Canadian company's community throughout the EMEA region".

"The opening of an office in Malaga marks an important milestone for Devolutions," CEO David Hervieux said. "Europe has always been central to our background and this new location brings us even closer to the customers who rely on us every day," he stated.

For Devolutions, Malaga's image as a growing technology hub makes it a favourable environment for the company's international development. In addition, the location's skilled and multilingual talent supports its goal of building a sustainable European structure, reducing dependence on remote operations.

The Malaga office will support the company's full range of products. The company's Deputy President of Product Maurice Cote is relocating to Malaga to support this new phase of growth and oversee strategic alignment, product integration and execution of regional priorities.

"Having a local presence allows us to better understand the environment, integrate into the community, facilitate exchanges and adapt our actions to the needs expressed by our customers," Cote said.
Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.
Matias Stuber 24/03/2026 a las 15:53h.

Malaga University will soon have the first quantum computer in Andalucia, thanks to an agreement with Quantum Labs. The 'super machine' capable of processing unprecedented amounts of data could be up and running at the TechPark by the end of the year.

Quantum computers exploit the properties of quantum physics to perform certain calculations with unprecedented efficiency. Instead of using zeros and ones, they calculate with the infinite quantum states of so-called cubits. They represent the biggest breakthrough in computer technology since the invention of the transistor 80 years ago.

This implies a quantum leap for the research community. Malaga University already has one of the few supercomputers in Spain, at the UMA's Centro de Supercomputacion.

The quantum computer will attract businesses from all over Spain and Europe, as regional minister of industry Jorge Paradela said during the presentation of the agreement.

"It is a tremendous source of pride for the university to have this quantum computer," rector Teodomiro Lopez said.

The installation of this computer - the Origin Wukong model manufactured in China - is a complex task and requires qualified personnel, hence the relatively long process before its launch.

Technological sovereignty

Whoever masters this technology could achieve the unimaginable and in record time. For a long time, researchers all over the world have been working on building computers that use the strange properties of quantum mechanics and can therefore perform certain tasks incredibly fast.

Quantum computers are expected to be much faster and, above all, much more energy-efficient than supercomputers. Cracking the encryption system commonly used in global banking, for example, would take conventional supercomputers billions of years. Experts have calculated that quantum computers could, in theory, do it in an afternoon.

Another advantage of quantum computers is that they don't consume as much energy as supercomputers, which require entire rooms and consume as much electricity as a city.

What makes this milestone so important for Malaga, Andalucia and Spain is the concept of technological independence and sovereignty in an era of drastic geopolitical changes. That is why quantum researchers are doing everything they can to prevent Spain from becoming technologically dependent on other powers.
Drone that crashed in Lithuania was Ukrainian drone that went off course  PM

The drone that crossed Lithuanian airspace on Monday before crashing and exploding in the Varena district was Ukrainian, Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said, according to the Lithuanian ezine Delfi.

"Today we can confirm that the drone that crossed our airspace and flew into the Varena district was Ukrainian. This is related to the operation the Ukrainians carried out that night against Russia," the prime minister said on Tuesday.

"It was a drone that had gone off course," she added.

Ruginiene noted that it is too early to say what type of drone crossed Lithuanian airspace.

"An investigation is currently underway, and the data is being analyzed. Fully accurate information and precise data will be available a little later. The investigation will answer the main questions regarding what kind of object it was," the head of government said.

Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas assured that everything is being done within the limits of available capabilities.

"I would like to point out that, unfortunately, neither Belarus nor Lithuania saw it, since the drone apparently flew below 300 meters; the services are still investigating," the minister said.

He also noted that during his visit to Ukraine at the end of March, he would discuss how to shoot down drones using cheaper means.

As reported, a drone, presumably a drone, landed in Lithuania on Monday night and crashed in Varena district. The army reported that the object was not detected by radar; the incident was reported on Monday afternoon.
AI bias issues are increasingly evident in modern models, with Grok 4.1 bias highlighting challenges in fairness, representation, and decision-making. Training data imbalances and demographic skews can produce unequal outcomes in hiring, lending, and content moderation. These systemic biases require active intervention to prevent reinforcing societal inequities.

Combatting AI bias in Grok 4.1 AI issues involves careful dataset curation, adversarial training, and fairness constraints to address both subtle and overt discriminatory patterns. With up to 1525% of model responses exhibiting bias on sensitive topics like gender, race, and politics, organizations must prioritize transparency, auditing, and human oversight. Addressing these issues is essential for building trustworthy AI capable of fair decision-making across diverse populations.

What Is AI Bias?

AI bias refers to systematic errors in machine learning models that produce unfair or unequal outcomes for different groups of people. These biases often arise from imbalanced or unrepresentative training data, flawed labeling, or algorithmic design choices that unintentionally favor certain demographics.

AI bias can manifest in various applications, from hiring algorithms and loan approvals to content moderation and healthcare diagnostics. When unchecked, it can reinforce societal inequalities, perpetuate stereotypes, and lead to discriminatory decisions. Understanding AI bias is the first step toward designing fair, accountable, and transparent AI systems that serve diverse populations effectively.

What Causes Grok 4.1 Bias and AI Bias Issues?

AI bias issues often originate from the data used to train models. Training datasets scraped from the internet and social media frequently reflect historical inequalities, with 80% being English-centric and Western-focused. This underrepresentation of global cultures, languages, and experiences can skew model behavior.

Grok 4.1 bias also arises from reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), where raters' cultural backgrounds and priorities influence model responses. Majority viewpoints can be amplified, while minority experiences are marginalized. Combatting AI bias requires identifying proxy variables, like zip codes or income levels, that correlate with protected characteristics, preventing unintended discrimination in sensitive applications such as hiring or criminal justice algorithms.

How Can Organizations Detect Grok 4.1 AI Issues Effectively?

Detecting Grok 4.1 AI issues begins with systematic testing of outputs across demographic groups. Techniques like demographic parity check whether attributes such as gender, age, and race produce equal distributions in model decisions.

AI bias issues can also be measured using equalized odds, comparing false positive and false negative rates across populations, and counterfactual fairness, ensuring individual outcomes remain consistent when protected attributes are altered. Organizations combat AI bias through red-teaming and adversarial prompts that probe edge cases and cultural sensitivities. Systematic audits, third-party validation, and transparent documentation of mitigation efforts help maintain accountability and monitor bias over time.

What Are Proven Strategies for Combatting AI Bias in Grok 4.1?

AI bias in Grok 4.1 can be effectively reduced through a combination of pre-processing, in-processing, and post-processing strategies. These methods aim to balance datasets, enforce fairness constraints, and provide ongoing human oversight. Embedding these practices ensures more equitable outcomes and strengthens model reliability across diverse applications.

Pre-processing techniques  Reweighting and resampling training data increase representation of underrepresented groups. Synthetic data generation helps balance distributions, reducing inherent model skew.

 Reweighting and resampling training data increase representation of underrepresented groups. Synthetic data generation helps balance distributions, reducing inherent model skew. In-processing fairness constraints  Methods like Lagrangian multipliers penalize disparate impacts during optimization, ensuring the model treats all groups more equitably.

 Methods like Lagrangian multipliers penalize disparate impacts during optimization, ensuring the model treats all groups more equitably. Post-processing approaches  Equalized prediction thresholds and other adjustments maintain group fairness after the model generates outputs.

 Equalized prediction thresholds and other adjustments maintain group fairness after the model generates outputs. Human-in-the-loop monitoring  Domain experts flag and correct biased outputs in real time, providing accountability and immediate remediation.

 Domain experts flag and correct biased outputs in real time, providing accountability and immediate remediation. Continuous feedback loops  Ongoing review and organizational oversight embed fairness throughout the model lifecycle, improving both trust and performance.

Regulatory and Technical Frameworks

Grok 4.1 AI issues must navigate evolving regulations such as the EU AI Act, which classifies high-risk AI systems and mandates conformity assessments, impact evaluations, and bias documentation. Compliance with 2026 deadlines requires systematic attention to risk management and transparency.

Combatting AI bias also leverages technical frameworks like the NIST AI Risk Management Framework. Organizations implement measurable fairness metrics and explainable AI (XAI) techniques to understand decision pathways clearly. These frameworks enable structured approaches to bias detection, mitigation, and reporting, ensuring AI systems are both effective and accountable in sensitive applications.

Overcome AI Bias Issues and Grok 4.1 Bias Today

Addressing AI bias issues in Grok 4.1 requires proactive strategies that embed fairness at every stage of model development. From careful dataset curation to adversarial testing and post-deployment monitoring, these methods reduce discriminatory outputs and promote equitable outcomes.

Combatting AI bias ensures that Grok 4.1 AI issues are managed transparently and responsibly, protecting users and supporting organizational trust. By integrating human oversight, continuous feedback, and adherence to regulatory frameworks, companies can maintain ethical AI practices while improving model reliability and inclusivity. Systematic bias mitigation today sets the foundation for fairer AI systems tomorrow.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Grok 4.1 bias?

Grok 4.1 bias refers to discriminatory patterns observed in AI model outputs due to imbalanced training data or reinforcement learning feedback. It can manifest in areas such as gender, race, and cultural representation. The bias can subtly influence decisions in hiring, lending, or content moderation. Detecting and correcting these biases is critical to ensuring fairness and reliability.

2. How can AI bias issues be detected effectively?

AI bias issues are detected through testing methods like demographic parity, equalized odds, and counterfactual fairness. Red-teaming and adversarial prompts can identify edge cases and cultural sensitivities. Third-party audits provide independent validation of fairness. Transparent documentation ensures ongoing monitoring and accountability.

3. What strategies are effective for combatting AI bias in Grok 4.1?

Effective strategies include pre-processing data with reweighting and synthetic samples, in-processing fairness constraints, and post-processing equalized thresholds. Human-in-the-loop monitoring allows real-time corrections. Continuous feedback loops and expert oversight strengthen accountability. Embedding these practices ensures models produce more equitable outcomes.

4. What regulatory frameworks help address AI bias?

The EU AI Act provides guidelines for high-risk AI systems, including bias documentation and impact assessments. NIST AI Risk Management Framework offers measurable fairness metrics. Explainable AI (XAI) techniques improve transparency in decision-making. Compliance ensures ethical, accountable deployment of AI systems.
Photo: SBU

Military counterintelligence, the Main Investigative Directorate, special forces from the Security Services Special Operations Center "A," and officers from the SBU Main Directorate in Donetsk and Luhansk regions have thwarted a new attempt by the enemy to commit a series of contract killings in Ukraine, specifically targeting volunteer Serhiy Sternenko and Russian citizen Ilya Bogdanov, who is fighting for Ukraine, the SBU reports.

"As a result of a special operation personally coordinated by First Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Oleksandr Poklad, a Russian military intelligence covert action group (better known as GRU) was neutralized and a killer who resisted arrest with a weapon was eliminated," the SBU said on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), more than 10 other participants have been taken into custody.

The investigation established that the suspects were plotting the murders of prominent individuals in various regions of our country.

"Among them are Defense Minister Advisor and volunteer Serhiy Sternenko, as well as Russian citizen Ilya Bogdanov, who has been fighting for Ukraine since 2014," the SBU clarified.

The Ukrainian security services note that to commit the murders, the perpetrators tracked the addresses and routes of military personnel and public figures, and then sent the collected data to the groups leader (resident).

"He turned out to be a forensic expert from Poltava recruited in the Russian Federation, who collected intelligence information and reported to the Russian special services," the department noted.

Further, as noted by the SBU, the occupiers directly transmitted the data of potential victims to the liquidator agent, in particular, the residential addresses and travel routes of the "targets."

According to the case file, the killer originates from the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk region. There, he underwent combat training at a Russian GRU base and was subsequently transferred to Ukraine-controlled territory.

"It was established that he was supposed to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and plant them under his victims cars or near their homes. If the explosion failed, the killer received instructions from his Russian handler to shoot the victims point-blank," the report says.

During searches, firearms, ammunition, voice recorders, computer equipment, and CCTV cameras with evidence of work for Russian intelligence services were seized from the defendants.

"The operations success was largely achieved thanks to the infiltration of enemy ranks and the active work of SBU counterintelligence officers in Poltava region, as well as a range of operational and combat operations in the temporarily occupied territory. The SBUs sources have been located in government-controlled territory and are safe," the SBU emphasized.

Now, the Security Service investigators have notified the detainees of suspicion under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 111 (high treason committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons under martial law); Part 2 of Article 28, Part 7 of Article 111-1 (collaboration activity committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons); Part 2 of Article 114-2 (unauthorized dissemination of information about the direction, movement or deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, committed under martial law); Part 1 of Article 14, Part 2 of Article 258 (preparation for a terrorist act committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons); Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives).

The perpetrators are being held without bail. They face life imprisonment and confiscation of property.

Comprehensive measures were carried out under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor Generals Office.

Sternenko later wrote on his Telegram channel: "Thanks to the SBU. Im fine. Unlike the killer."
Living on the Moon provides a strategic advantage due to its proximity to Earth, allowing travel in just three days compared to Mars' six- to nine-month journey. This short distance enables frequent resupply missions and rapid emergency returns, which are critical during early colonization phases. Moon vs Mars colonization also considers gravity differenceslunar gravity is 1/6th of Earth's, providing easier adaptation, while Mars' 38% gravity and thin CO2 atmosphere create higher risks for human health.

Future of space living prioritizes establishing lunar habitats first, testing life support systems, rovers, and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies. The Moon's constant sunlight at the poles and accessible lunar water ice offer opportunities to refine techniques before committing to higher-risk Mars missions. Starting with the Moon allows gradual, methodical progress toward Mars colonization while minimizing early mission failures and technological gaps.

Why Scientists Are Considering Colonization of the Moon and Mars

Scientists view the Moon and Mars as stepping stones for humanity's expansion beyond Earth. The Moon's proximity, abundant sunlight at the poles, and confirmed water ice make it an ideal testing ground for habitats, life support systems, and in-situ resource utilization technologies. Lunar gravity at 1/6th of Earth's helps humans adapt gradually to low-gravity environments, while short travel times allow frequent resupply and emergency support.

Mars presents a longer-term colonization challenge but is highly appealing for scientific exploration and future habitation. Its thin CO2 atmosphere, polar water ice, and potential subsurface resources could support life support and fuel production, though higher gravity, radiation exposure, and long travel times make it less immediately habitable. Together, the Moon and Mars provide complementary opportunities: the Moon for short-term, low-risk experimentation, and Mars for testing endurance and self-sufficiency in more extreme conditions.

What Are the Travel Time Differences for Living on the Moon vs Mars?

Living on the Moon requires approximately a three-day journey, with near-constant launch windows and relatively low delta-V requirements of 15.3 km/s. This proximity simplifies resupply logistics, emergency returns, and iterative testing of habitats, suits, and rovers.

Mars missions, in contrast, demand six- to nine-month transits during 26-month synodic launch windows. Extended journeys expose crews to cosmic rays, solar flares, and psychological isolation, elevating both physical and mental risks. Moon vs Mars colonization clearly favors lunar operations for short-term missions, allowing engineers and scientists to refine technologies before attempting long-duration Martian missions.

How Does Radiation Protection Compare for Living on the Moon and Mars?

The Moon lacks both a magnetosphere and atmosphere, exposing its surface to galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events at levels around 1000 mSv/year. Without sufficient shielding, this dose is lethal within weeks. Solutions for lunar habitats include regolith coverings or 23 meters of water ice at the poles to protect colonists.

Mars has a thin atmosphere, roughly 1% of Earth's pressure, providing partial protection from cosmic rays and reducing exposure to 1625 mSv/year. Natural shielding options, such as lava tubes or regolith bricks, make long-term surface operations safer. Moon vs Mars colonization strategies must carefully balance radiation exposure with available protection methods to ensure crew safety.

What Resources Are Available for Living on the Moon Compared to Mars?

The Moon contains confirmed water ice in permanently shadowed regions near the south pole. This resource enables in-situ propellant and oxygen production, life support, and construction using regolith sintering techniques. Constant sunlight in some areas provides reliable solar energy for operations.

Mars offers water in the form of permafrost at polar caps and a CO2-rich atmosphere. Chemical reactions like the Sabatier process allow methane and oxygen production, but higher gravity and launch costs make return missions significantly more challenging than on the Moon. Future of space living favors lunar colonization first, as water extraction is easier and lower gravity enables development of propellant depots for Earth-Mars missions.

Infrastructure Mission Plans

NASA's Artemis program (20262028) aims to establish a lunar base camp with international collaboration, testing propellant production, habitats, and scalable infrastructure for future missions. Starship lunar landings will support these efforts, creating a model for sustained lunar operations.

Mars missions, such as SpaceX Starship plans, target uncrewed launches in 2028 and crewed missions in the 2030s. These operations require higher delta-V, extensive life-support systems, and multi-year endurance from crews, increasing both psychological and physical risks. Validating ISRU and ensuring radiation protection are critical, but much remains to be tested before humans can safely live on Mars.

Why Moon vs Mars Colonization Favors Lunar Start

Living on the Moon establishes the foundation for living on Mars by providing a nearby, lower-risk environment. Moon vs Mars colonization allows future space living to progress methodically, validating habitats, life support, and resource utilization technologies. The Moon's proximity, water ice, and constant sunlight enable rapid iteration, preparing systems and crews for the challenges of Mars' gravity, thin atmosphere, and radiation. By starting on the Moon, humanity can build a sustainable, scalable approach to multi-planet colonization.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is the Moon considered a better starting point than Mars?

The Moon is only three days away from Earth, enabling rapid resupply and emergency returns. Lunar gravity and constant sunlight make life support and construction easier. Accessible water ice allows for propellant and oxygen production. Starting on the Moon reduces risk while testing technologies for Mars.

2. How long does it take to travel to Mars compared to the Moon?

Moon missions take about three days, while Mars requires six to nine months depending on launch windows. Mars travel exposes crews to cosmic rays and isolation for extended periods. Lunar proximity allows rapid iteration and mission adjustments. Mars missions are logistically and psychologically more challenging.

3. How do radiation levels compare on the Moon and Mars?

The Moon has no atmosphere or magnetosphere, exposing colonists to lethal radiation without thick shielding. Mars has a thin atmosphere, reducing cosmic ray exposure but still requiring protective habitats. Lunar ice and regolith can provide immediate shielding. Mars requires a combination of natural and artificial protection for long-term operations.

4. What resources are most useful for colonization on the Moon vs Mars?

The Moon offers water ice, regolith for construction, and abundant sunlight for solar power. Mars has polar water permafrost and CO2 for fuel production, but higher gravity increases launch costs. Lunar resources are easier to access and process. Starting on the Moon lays the groundwork for future Mars missions.

Originally published on Science Times
'Plundered': Senegal fishers feel sting of illegal, industrial vessels



Rufisque, Senegal, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Ibrahima Mar first lost his livelihood then lost his son when the fish off Senegal's coast began to disappear, rupturing a way of life that had sustained his family for generations.

Industrial and illegal fishing, among other factors, have contributed to a sharp decline in the region's fish stock, robbing the west African nation of a traditional source of nutrition and income.

In recent years, fish have been "increasingly plundered", said Mar, who lives in a fishing village in the Dakar suburb of Rufisque.

The 55-year-old fisherman, a member of the Lebou ethnicity, a traditional fishing people, spoke to AFP from one of Rufisque's boat landings, explaining that the fish had been "taken from our path. So, there's no hope left".

Bottom trawlers and other industrial ships, generally flagged to Senegal but whose owners' real nationalities are difficult to trace, send their catches abroad.

"If you dig a little deeper into the ultimate beneficial ownership" the boats are Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese and Turkish, among other nationalities, Bassirou Diarra, country manager for Senegal at the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), told AFP.

"Not only is there a shortage of fish for the Senegalese market, for food security, but the money that should come back in terms of currency for the national economy isn't coming back," he said.

Destructive and illegal practices meanwhile include "fishing in prohibited areas, nets that do not comply with regulations, MPA (marine protected area) rules that are not respected, and the abusive granting of licences", Diarra said.



- Fish dependency -



A 2025 EJF report suggests that 57 percent of fish populations exploited in Senegal are in a state of collapse.

Members of coastal fishing communities have become increasingly desperate, illegally immigrating in traditional wooden canoes called pirogues along the deadly Atlantic migration route to Europe.

That includes two of Mar's sons, both fishermen.

After one succeeded, Mar received a call several years ago from his other son, in his late teens.

He phoned "to tell me he was in a pirogue heading for Spain. That pirogue had 140 people on it," Mar said.

The family waited the five- to six-day journey for news of his arrival, then 15 days, 20 and 30.

But they never heard from him again.

Colourful pirogues are ubiquitous along Senegal's 700-kilometre (435-mile) coast.

"What a pirogue used to catch in two months, now that same pirogue can fish for six or seven months to catch the same amount, which is a problem," Mamadou Diouf Sene, president of the Fishing Wharf Revenue Commission of Rufisque, told AFP from the city's wharf.

A web of professions from cart driver to ice seller, as well as fishmonger and processor, depend on fish.

Fishmonger Fatou Seck, 39, sat at the Rufisque wharf alongside several other women with small trays of sea bream, white carp and mullet.

"Times are really tough right now," the mother of six told AFP, adding that "many of us base our hopes on this work, which is our only source of income to feed our children".

More than 82,000 people in Senegal work in fishing according to latest census information, comprising some two percent of the workforce in 2023.

A surge of artisanal fishermen has additionally contributed to fish population decline, as people flock to the profession which requires minimal training.

Estimates on pirogue numbers in Senegal vary but generally fall between 12,000 to 19,000.

Meanwhile, climate change is pushing west Africa's small pelagic fish -- smaller, often schooling species caught by artisanal fishers -- to move northward, according to research.



- Wild West -



Fish have declined for some 40 years but artisanal fishers really took note when small pelagics like sardinella and horse mackerel started vanishing some 15 years ago.

The prospect of Senegal having to import fish, a part of its cultural identity and a major natural resource, "is catastrophic", Mar said.

Cheikh Salla Ndiaye of Senegal's Directorate of Fisheries Protection and Surveillance described monitoring the sea as "very difficult", even with assistance from the navy and air force.

Mar recently spent time on a Greenpeace ship with four other fishermen learning how to better spot and report illegal fishing.

"We used to call the high seas like the Wild West because there was no way to see what was happening out there," Sophie Cooke, a fishing vessel analyst with Greenpeace, told AFP aboard the ship.

But technologies such as tracking devices, satellite radar and even smartphones, which fishermen can use to take pictures and pinpoint boats' locations, are changing that, she said.

Mar intends to take these tools back to his community.

With his two fishermen sons now gone, one in Spain and the other taken by the sea, Mar's experience with declining fish stocks is deeply personal.

As for his third son, Mar said: "I put him in a training centre. He's learning metal welding."
Thai court orders firm to pay villagers for mining damages



Bangkok, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



A Thai court ordered a mining firm on Tuesday to compensate nearly 400 villagers for health and environmental damages linked to its decades-long operations, awarding up to just over $6,000 per person.

The case stems from long-running complaints against Akara Resources' gold mine in Thailand's central province of Phichit, where residents have alleged contamination of water sources and adverse health effects.

Owned by Australian gold and silver producer Kingsgate Consolidated and operated by its Thai subsidiary Akara, the Chatree mine began operations in 2001 but faced legal challenges and was closed in 2016, before reopening three years ago.

A Bangkok civil court ruled on Tuesday that the company must pay affected villagers up to 200,000 baht ($6,100) for the impacts caused by its operations.

"The defendant's operations have affected both the plaintiffs and the environment, which is a key source of their livelihood," one of the judges said in court.

"The defendant's actions therefore constitute a violation of the plaintiff's rights."

The court said 382 people had undergone health assessments as part of the class-action lawsuit, and ordered Akara to make payments within one month or face possible asset seizures.

It also ordered the company to stop using one of its mining tailings ponds due to risks posed to the local community.

Around 40 villagers attended the verdict announcement, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the message: "The gold around your neck is made of our tears."

Manushya Foundation, an organisation advocating for the affected villagers, called the ruling a "win".

"We are very happy for the villagers, but the fight is not over," its founder, Emilie Palamy Pradichit, told reporters outside the court, adding the group would continue pushing for the closure of a second tailings pond.

She told AFP they plan to appeal for additional compensation.

Some residents said the ordered payouts do not make up for the damages suffered.

"I'm not satisfied. It's not worth it for the loss of nature and our ways of life because these are irreplaceable," farmer Pimkwan Sinthornthammatas, 54, told AFP.

A representative from Akara Resources said the company accepted the ruling but is reviewing its legal options.

"There are some legal complexities, and we will consult with our team before taking any further action," Cherdsak Utha-aroon, a company manager, told AFP.
Outlook worsens for whale stranded on German coast



Berlin, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



The health of a humpback whale stranded on Germany's Baltic Sea coast is deteriorating, conservationists said Tuesday, as efforts to free the animal continued.

The 10-metre (33-foot) long whale was first spotted stuck in shallow water close to Niendorf near the city of Luebeck early on Monday.

Rescuers have been trying since to get it back into deeper water, so far without success.

Carsten Manheimer of the marine conservation group Sea Shepherd told AFP that the whale had developed a skin condition resembling barnacles due to the water's low salinity.

"It is impossible to pull the whale out to sea," Manheimer said, adding that the animal was weak and that such an operation may do more harm than good.

On Monday, boats were used to generate waves in an effort to help the whale return to deeper water, without success.

However, rescuers did manage to partially free the whale from the netting that had become wrapped around its body.

Police said they had erected fencing on the beach to ensure the whale is not disturbed by onlookers.

Further discussions about possible rescue options for the animal were expected for Tuesday.

Manheimer said his group was "on standby in case the experts still see a way" to help the whale.

It is possible that the stranded animal is the same whale that became entangled in a fishing net further east along Germany's Baltic Sea coast earlier this month.

A week before that, a whale had likewise been sighted in the Baltic port of Wismar.
Moldovas government has approved declaration of state of emergency in countrys energy sector for 60 days starting March 25, Ministry of Energy reports.

"Cabinet of Ministers approved declaration of state of emergency in energy sector throughout Republic of Moldova for period of 60 days, starting March 25, 2026," Ministry said on Facebook on Tuesday.

Decision requires parliamentary approval, with emergency session convened today.

"In context of military attacks by Russia on infrastructure in southern Ukraine, which led to decommissioning of 400 kV Vulcanesti-Isaccea overhead power line, decision is based on risk analysis, need for urgent intervention to protect critical infrastructure and mobilization of additional resources," Ministry emphasized.

Earlier, Prime Minister Alexander Muntyanu broadcast government meeting on Facebook where decision was made.

Muntyanu noted state of emergency allows government to act faster to mobilize resources and protect infrastructure.

"This is not measure of panic, it is measure of responsibility. It is necessary measure to act quickly, harmoniously and in interests of people," Muntyanu explained.

He stressed situation is not accident, stating Russias attacks on civilian energy infrastructure in Ukraine are war crimes and attacks on people in Moldova.

According to him, Russias strikes overnight led to disconnection of main power line supplying Moldova, Vulcanesti-Isaccea. Despite connection of four lines with Romania, situation remains difficult.

"Russia is solely responsible for this," Muntyanu emphasized.

As reported, following overnight shelling by Russia of Ukraine, key 400 kV Isaccea-Vulcanesti line between Romania and Moldova was disconnected for over 10 hours. Countries utilized alternative 110 kV lines.

President Maia Sandu called Russias strikes on Ukraines civilian energy infrastructure war crime and "attack on all of us."

She said night strikes severed Moldovas key energy link with Europe. While alternative routes exist, situation remains unstable. Sandu emphasized Russia is fully responsible.
Philippines declares 'national energy emergency'



Manila, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2026



Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of "national energy emergency" on Tuesday, citing risks to the domestic fuel supply and energy stability created by the Middle East war.

The state of emergency was declared just hours after the country's energy secretary said the Philippines planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.

"A state of national energy emergency is hereby declared in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and the resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country's energy supply," the executive order released Tuesday evening said.

The order authorises the country's Department of Energy to make advance payments of 15 percent to secure fuel contracts while taking direct action against hoarding or profiteering.

"The declaration... will enable the government, through the (energy department) and other concerned agencies, to implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks posed by disruptions in the global energy supply and the domestic economy," the order said.

The order also grants the transportation department the ability to direct public transportation fuel subsidies and reduce or suspend toll charges and aviation fees, while fast-tracking aid to individuals in "crisis situations".

The Philippines, which has some of the region's highest energy costs, is heavily dependent on imported fuel to keep its power plants running.



- Leaning on coal -



The archipelago nation of 116 million relies on coal for about 60 percent of its electricity generation.

Energy secretary Sharon Garin told reporters earlier Tuesday that with the cost of LNG (liquefied natural gas) soaring, the country would "temporarily" be forced to lean even more heavily on the carbon-belching fossil fuel.

While hoping to "maximise" the use of local coal, the Philippines was also keeping the option of upping its purchases of coal from top supplier Indonesia, the energy secretary said.

"We talked to the generation companies, the coal-powered plants, to check how much they can increase their generation," Garin said, calling it a "temporary measure" that could start as early as April 1.

"If we are successful in implementing this, at least we can decrease the electricity rate hikes because of the conflict in the Middle East," she said.

Indonesia, meanwhile, had assured the Philippines it would place no limits on coal orders.

"There's no restriction on our importation of coal from Indonesia as of today," Garin said, adding increased purchases may not be necessary.

President Marcos in January announced a "significant" discovery of natural gas made near the country's rapidly depleting Malampaya offshore natural gas field.

It was hoped the discovery could extend the life of the field, which supplies about 40 percent of power to main island Luzon and was expected to run dry within a few years.
Born in the Handsworth area of Birmingham in 1965, the first British-born child of Jamaican parents, Hurvin Anderson got his first blast in the spotlight with a Turner Prize nomination in 2017. Since then, hes earned a reputation as one of Britains most skilful and genuinely experimental painters, building to this major Tate retrospective.

Andersons mission, defined in the shows opening text is to see the Black vision, to broaden out the view of life in Britain, a place where, he says, your vision shrinks somehow. For all this apparently subversive intent, Anderson is big on artistic virtues we like to think of as typically British: emotional reticence and a doggedly patient focus on whats in front of him. And he has created some of the most resonant images of English suburban life I can think of.

Sliding (2015), which dominates the first room, is a large-scale blizzard of dark green smears overlain with dripping yellow, that might be taken for a slightly ominous, Caribbean forest-scape, of which there are many later in the exhibition. But a glance into the background reveals what appear to be the neatly maintained paths and fences of an English suburban park. The painting is typical of Anderson in appearing at once very freeform and very precise, as though even the loosest dabs of paint were painstakingly thought out. Indeed, his decision to leave in some of the lines from the grid he used to transpose the original photograph to the large canvas, is at once a stylistic flourish and an attempt to honestly reveal his methods. What it brings to mind is about the least likely association imaginable: the dour English realism of the interwar Euston Road School, whose capturing of reality through quasi-mathematical measured drawing has left them probably the least cool phenomenon in 20th-century British art.

Anderson, however, is conscious of his position in a British tradition of observational painting. And if he generally works from photographs, rather than directly from reality, that perhaps explains his ability to imbue his images with the quality of memory.

The Banqueting Palace, completed only this year, which he describes as wanting to recapture the walk home from school, captures the mood of a rainy English dusk to a tee. Blurry figures reflect in shining pavements, with the dark venue looming in the background. Andersons ability to craft atmosphere with layers of wash and drips with free overpainting is highly seductive.

Audition (1999), a view of a vast municipal swimming pool, peopled with sketchily drawn swimmers, like figures in an architects diagram, is so evocative of a certain kind of slightly repressed, old-school English experience you can practically hear the echoing voices and taste the chlorine. People, generally, are few and far between in his paintings, seen from a distance or behind or deliberately blurred. Even in his depictions of barbershops, those classic venues for Black male bonding (anyone remember the early Nineties sitcom Desmonds?), the customers tend to be glimpsed in mirrors, when they appear at all.

open image in gallery Hurvin Andersons Shear Cut ( Richard Ivey )

In Is It OK To Be Black? (2005-6) his attention is on the images of Black heroes pinned to the barbers wall: Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and various boxers. But by Jersey (2008), these images have been reduced to blocks of single colours, distributed around the walls with a Mondrian-like feel for the precise balance of rectangles. Clumps of hair litter the floor around the empty chairs, while in Essentials (2017), only the abstract patterns of the posters remain.

open image in gallery Hurvin Andersons Jersey ( Matt Greenwood/Tate )

If this is the only completely abstract image in the exhibition, theres a constant tension, a battle almost, between his figurative images and their abstract potential, with the unsettling sense that the human presence is mostly hidden, just out of view. This is particularly apparent in paintings of Jamaica, where lush foliage is overlain by the patterns of the security grills around affluent homes. Touches of vibrant colour, such as the splash of red across the deep greens of Ashanti Blood (2021), can evoke disquieting colonial memories  in this case, the local name for the red flowers alludes to the massacre of African slaves during a brutally suppressed uprising in 1761.

Discussing his experiences in the Caribbean, Anderson notes in the wall text that he has always been intrigued by the idea of a no mans land, a kind of in-between space and what that might look like, what it might mean.

On the strength of this fascinating exhibition, everywhere is a kind of no-mans land for Anderson. But its that quality of detachment, even alienation that gives his painting its unique quality.

My only gripe is that the meandering chronology  the curators term  makes it difficult to follow the development of Andersons art, to see how he evolved his signature approach, or if he arrived with it fully formed and has simply stuck with it.

Yet this is an absorbing survey of an undoubtedly significant figure. If I was to say that Anderson is our best hope for a standard-bearer for the great British tradition of figurative painting represented by 20th-century greats such as Bacon, Freud, Auerbach and co, that might make him sound conservative. Very far from it. The linking factor is a commitment to developing his craft, painting, that is quite humbling.

Hurvin Anderson is at Tate Britain from 26 March until 23 August
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

South Koreas highest-grossing film of all time, The Kings Warden, is rolling out internationally after its record-breaking domestic run, opening in UK and Irish cinemas this month.

The historical drama about exiled Joseon monarch Danjong and a village chief tasked with guarding him has rewritten box-office benchmarks, earning over 70m to become the top-grossing film in the countrys history, according to The Korea Herald.

The Kings Warden has now secured distribution deals in the UK and Ireland, North America, Australia, and multiple Asia countries, including Japan, Singapore, and Thailand, Screen Daily reported.

Directed by Jang Hang Jun, the film follows the sixth monarch of the Joseon dynasty, Danjong, who ascended the throne in 1452 at the age of 12 and was forced to abdicate three years later in a coup led by his uncle. The young boy was stripped of his titles and exiled to a remote mountainous region, where he was eventually killed at the age of 16.

Released on 4 February, the film crossed 10 million admissions within a month and became the first film to do so in two years after 2024s Exhuma and The Roundup: Punishment. Earlier in its run, it drew 2.67 million admissions over the five-day Lunar holiday period alone, accounting for 62.5 per cent of total box-office revenue during that stretch, according to Yonhap.

The film, produced on a budget of $6.9m, is also the third most-watched film in Korean cinema history, with 14,757,103 cumulative admissions.

It ranks behind only two films by admissions  the 2014 war epic The Admiral: Roaring Currents, which drew 17.6 million viewers, and the 2019 action-comedy Extreme Job, which recorded 16.2 million, according to Korea Joongang Daily.

In revenue terms, however, The Kings Warden has already surpassed both, taking 142.5bn won (71m), compared with 135.7bn won (67.6m) for The Admiral: Roaring Currents and 139.6bn won (69.5) for Extreme Job.

open image in gallery ( Youtube/Showbox )

Veteran South Korean actor Yoo Hae Jin plays Eom Heung Do, the village chief who watches over the exiled king, while Danjong is played by Park Ji Hoon, who played the lead in 2022s Weak Hero.

Historical accounts offer conflicting versions of Danjongs death, with some suggesting he was strangled and others that he was given poison, the customary method of execution for deposed royals. Some records also say his uncle, King Sejo, ordered the body to be thrown into a river and decreed punishment for three generations for anyone who recovered or buried it.

Despite this, records refer to a low-ranking official, Eom Heung Do, who is believed to have secretly retrieved the body and buried it at what is now known as the royal tomb Jangneung, before going into hiding.

Local media say that the films success has been largely driven by the emotional pull of its tragic historical narrative, strong word-of-mouth buzz, and Yoos and Parks performances, even leading to repeat viewings well beyond its opening weeks.

It is not just about political fights in the palace. I saw it as a story about ordinary people, which is quite rare in Korean historical movies, Lim Eun Jung, CEO of the films production company Onda Works told The Korea Times, on why the film chose to centre the relationship between the teenage deposed king and the village chief, as opposed to the coup that preceded it.

open image in gallery Daegu, which is where the village chief Eom Heung Do is buried, has launched a series of themed tours taking visitors to sites linked to figures associated with Danjong ( Youtube/Showbox )

The films popularity has even led to a wave of royal mania across the country, with tourists heading in droves to Yeongwol, the mountainous county in Gangwon province where the king was historically exiled.

Visitors have been heading in droves to Cheongnyeongpo, the kings place of exile, and Jangneung. According to the Korea Times, sales across 2,161 tourism-related businesses in Yeongwol rose 35.7 per cent in the four weeks following the films release compared with the previous month.

More than 70,000 people visited the two main heritage sites, nearly double the countys population of 35,917.

Hong Jeong Hak, who runs a restaurant near Yeongwol Station, told the outlet that the number of out-of-town customers had risen by more than 30 per cent since the films release.

Other regions like Daegu and Jecheon have also tried to capitalise on the momentum. Daegu, which is where the village chief Eom Heung Do is buried, has launched a series of themed tours taking visitors to places linked to figures associated with Danjong, including the Yuksinsa Shrine, which commemorates six loyalists who attempted to restore the king.
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

Zazie Beetz must be exhausted. Not only did she train for four months to play They Will Kill Yous Asia Reaves  an ex-con hacking and slashing her way through an elite New York hotel to rescue her sister Marie (Myhala)  she also had to carry the entire damn film on her shoulders. Kirill Sokolovs action-horror-comedy leans its entire body weight onto her magnetism. Practically every other shot is a crash zoom into her features, either snarled up or quieted with killer focus, wielding a blade, a fire axe set on fire, or a decapitated pigs head possessed by Beelzebub.

Beetz, via FXs Atlanta or Deadpool 2 (2018), has steadily built up a portfolio of pleasingly jagged-edged women  bitingly funny, tender-hearted, uncompromising. Asias all those qualities, plus a little of John McClane and his (literally) barefoot resilience and The Bride, of Kill Bill fame, and her single-minded fixation. Shes brilliant.

The only problem with They Will Kill You is that its confused iconography with substance. It operates under the assumption that if it creates enough of a mystique around its protagonist  and theres every trick in the book here, to the point it feels as if someones playing paddle ball with the camera  then everything else will fall neatly in line.

Only Sokolov, who co-wrote his script with Alex Litvak, has provided Asia with little more than a bloodied dollhouse to romp around in. His primary location, The Virgil, might as well be part of the Ready or Not franchise (one of those movies was only released last week). Its a satanic getaway in which inhabitants are granted immortality in return for human sacrifice, plucked from the citys population of vulnerable women, most of them minorities, and lured in by the promise of work and board.

The one quirk to this eat the rich offering is that, because they cannot die, well watch Asia dismember this cabal  three of them played by Heather Graham, Tom Felton, and Patricia Arquette, the latter doing what would be a half-decent Newfoundland accent if it werent actually meant to be Irish  only for their limbs to reattach and their necks to sprout new heads.

Zazie Beetz in They Will Kill You ( Warner Bros )

Here, They Will Kill You does feature some charming, Sam Raimi-esque practical gore effects. A detached eyeball scoots around the place like a gristly worm. Yet the fact its villains are unable to die eventually works against the film, with Asia trapped in a cycle of chopping up the same five or so people again and again.

Theres little more to the antagonists beyond their faux-presentation of reasonableness (if you get to know us, were really nice people, one whines), and little more to the hero beyond her guilt of having abandoned her sister to the whims of their abusive father (10 years ago, she shot him in self-defence and fled the scene, eventually ending up in prison for it).

Even the Virgil feels half-realised as a location. Theres a notion vocalised early on that Asia will have to methodically work her way down the floors of the hotel, The Raid (2011) style, with each representative of a deadly sin. She manages lust, then gluttony, before the film realises envy and pride require an abstract approach and the idea is swiftly abandoned. Why work that hard when you can instead lay it all at your stars feet?

Dir: Kirill Sokolov. Starring: Zazie Beetz, MyhaLa, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, Patricia Arquette. Cert 15, 94 minutes.

They Will Kill You is in cinemas from 27 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

Huw Edwards has furiously hit out at a new Channel 5 factual drama exploring his grooming of a 17-year-old, claiming it is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened.

The one-off special, titled Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, dramatises the events leading up to Edwards pleading guilty to making indecent images of children in 2024, with Martin Clunes playing the disgraced newsreader.

In July 2023, it was reported by The Sun that a top BBC star had paid a teenager for sexual images, with Edwards wife naming him as the presenter shortly after.

According to Edwards, 64, Channel 5 and production company Wonderhood made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative before starting work on the project.

They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response, Edwards added in a statement shared with the Daily Mail.

They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions.

For the drama, writer Mark Burt spoke to Edwards anonymous victim, who was involved in every stage of the production.

He based the script on affidavits and firsthand primary source materials provided by The Sun  including court documents that detailed Edwards psychological reports and text messages.

Martin Clunes plays Huw Edwards in new Channel 5 drama ( Channel 5/ITV )

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 17-year-old  who remains anonymous  is given the fake name Ryan Davies in the drama and is played by former Emmerdale actor Osian Morgan. Edwards was never charged with a criminal offence in relation to the victim of the grooming.

Edwards resigned from the BBC on medical advice in April 2024, three months before the then-62-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.

In his new statement, Edwards expressed his deep regret and remorse for the crimes he committed, stating: In pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, I took full responsibility for my reprehensible actions.

I am repelled by the idea that some people enjoy viewing indecent images of children. Every image represents an innocent victim. I offer my sincere and profound apologies for what I did.

He also revealed he wants to produce his own account of these terrible events, but said the fragile state of his mental health is making that a slow process.

Edwards added that while mental illness can never be an excuse for criminality, he believes it can at least help explain why people sometimes behave in shocking and reprehensible ways, and why things fell apart for me in the way they did.

Channel 5 said in response to Edwards statement: Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards is based on extensive interviews with the victim, his family, the journalists who revealed his story, text exchanges between the victim and Edwards, and court reporting. It has been produced in accordance with Ofcoms Broadcasting Code.

All allegations made in the film were put to Huw Edwards via his solicitors six weeks before transmission.

The drama screens on Channel 5 on Tuesday 24 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

One of the years most unexpectedly brilliant shows has just been renewed  something viewers are calling a miracle.

In January, Disney+ released Marvel series Wonder Man, a comedy show following a struggling actor (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his friendship with British thespian Trevor The Mandarin Slattery, the Iron Man 3 character played by Ben Kingsley.

The satirical series felt unlike anything Marvel had released in years and was acclaimed by viewers. However, the ratings were lower than MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) shows tend to receive.

Wonder Man amassed streams of 549.6 million minutes in its first 10 days of release, which fell far short of the 731 million-minute streams amassed by Echo in just six days.

However, Disney+ has confirmed a second season will happen, with both Abdul-Mateen II and Kingsley set to return. Fans are shocked by the news as MCU shows very rarely get commissioned for follow-ups. To date, only Loki and Daredevil: Born Again have received second seasons, with WandaVision, Moon Knight and Ms Marvel among the one-season offerings.

This is genuinely kind of a miracle given its viewership numbers??? Pretty dang cool, great news, one fan wrote on X/Twitter, with another adding: Im shocked Marvel actually cared about Wonder Man. An additional fan wrote: WOW! This one surprised me. Looking forward to it.

Wonder Man, which is being lobbied for Emmys and Golden Globes, is the 17th TV series released as part of the MCU since 2019s WandaVision, and is based on the Marvel Comics character first introduced in 1964.

Abdul-Mateen II plays the lead character of Simon Williams, an anxiety-ridden jobbing actor desperate to be revered, who auditions for the lead role in the remake of the beloved superhero film Wonder Man.

He soon meets Kingsleys Slattery, who may or may not have been recruited by the DODC (Department of Damage Control) to unearth a dangerous secret harboured by Simon. But before too long, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship.

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.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Wonder Man ( Marvel/Disney+ )

Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton and sitcom writer Andrew Guest, whose previous credits include 30 Rock, Community and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, will be behind the new episodes.

Abdul-Mateen II is best known for roles as Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections (2021), Black Manta in the Aquaman franchise (2018-23), and he received acclaim in 2019 for his role in Damon Lindelofs HBO series Watchmen (2019).

Speaking about showing his vulnerable side in Wonder Man, Mateen II told Refinery29: It was really gratifying, and sometimes scary at the same time, to show that vulnerability, to show that anxiety, to show what it looks like to not be sure of myself at all but still have to proceed.

The actor will next play CIA officer-turned-bodyguard Creasy in a TV remake of 2004 action film Man on Fire, which starred Denzel Washington. Wonder Man is available to stream now.
Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

A new survey revealed that in states with abortion bans, more women last year obtained abortions via telehealth-prescribed pills than by traveling to legal states.

This finding underscores why these states are increasingly focusing on restricting access to medication sent by out-of-state providers.

Most of the states with the political will to impose broad bans have already done so in the nearly four years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to enforcing them. So far this year, just one state has a new one.

Heres a look at where things stand as many state legislatures are wrapping up or have completed their 2026 sessions.

States are taking steps to make abortion pills harder to get

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, a Republican, signed a bill last week that makes it a felony to advertise, distribute or sell abortion pills.

Similar measures have cleared both legislative chambers this year in Mississippi, where the House and Senate need to iron out differences before sending a bill to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.

A survey of state abortion policies from the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, finds that at least three states  Florida, Oklahoma and Texas  already have laws that specifically ban providers from mailing the pills to patients. Louisiana has classified mifepristone as a controlled dangerous substance.

Bills intended to keep out the pills have cleared one chamber in Arizona, Indiana and South Carolina this year. Republicans control the legislatures in all three states and the governors office in two of them. In Arizona, any restrictions that pass could be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Survey suggests more women using abortion pills in states with bans

A Guttmacher survey released Tuesday sheds light on why abortion opponents may be focusing on pills.

The report suggests that in 2025, for the first time, more women in the 13 states that ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy obtained pills through telehealth than traveled to other states for abortion.

The prescriptions come from providers in states with laws adopted since the fall of Roe that are intended to protect those who prescribe abortion pills to patients in states with bans. Most often, women using pills for abortion are prescribed a regimen of two drugs  mifepristone and misoprostol. They're approved for use in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

open image in gallery Multiple states are challenging the federal rules that allow mifepristone to be prescribed via telehealth ( Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

The estimated increase in the mailing pills comes as Guttmachers estimates also suggest fewer women are traveling to obtain abortions in states like Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico.

Guttmacher's estimates are based on data from a monthly survey conducted among a random sample of U.S. abortion providers, combined with historical data from every provider in the U.S. They reflect a trend documented in other surveys of abortion providers.

Court battles are also centered on pills

Multiple states are challenging the federal rules that allow mifepristone to be prescribed via telehealth. Requiring in-person prescriptions instead would at least dent the ability of out-of-state providers to get pills into states with bans.

Louisiana has such a lawsuit in federal court there; the attorneys general of Florida and Texas have one in Texas; those two states, along with Idaho, Kansas and Missouri, are making the same case in a Missouri court.

Meanwhile, Texas has filed civil cases and Louisiana criminal ones against providers accused of sending pills into their states.

The Food and Drug Administration last year approved a generic version of mifepristone, which frustrated abortion opponents.

One state imposed a ban, but its fate is uncertain

Wyoming is the only state this year that has imposed a new abortion ban.

Under a law signed in March by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, it became the fifth state with a ban on abortion at about six weeks gestational age  before many women realize theyre pregnant. Like most of the others, Wyomings bans abortions once cardiac activity can be detected.

But courts have rejected previous Wyoming efforts to limit abortion, and the Wyoming Supreme Court in January struck down a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

The idea of punishing women is not gaining ground

No state has adopted a measure intended to allow criminal prosecutions against women who have abortions.

Proposals to do so keep getting made but sputter early in the legislative process.

The farthest such a bill has advanced was a hearing last year before a Senate subcommittee in South Carolina. One was scheduled for a subcommittee hearing in Tennessee this month, but didnt get one.

Pregnancy Justice, which advocates for the rights of pregnant people, says its tracked new abortion-as-homicide measures introduced in six states in 2026  down from 13 states last year.

The major established anti-abortion groups oppose the approach. Women require compassion and support, said Ingrid Duran, the state legislative director for National Right to Life. Not prosecution.

open image in gallery Multiple states are challenging the federal rules that allow mifepristone to be prescribed via telehealth ( Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Melissa Murray, a professor at New York University School of Law, says that by introducing bills with penalties against women, the movements less compromising abolitionists can break down the idea that such policies are off-limits.

You keep pushing the boundary, pushing the envelope, eventually you will get what youre seeking, Murray said. It will no longer feel fanciful or shocking.

She also noted that women are already sometimes charged with crimes related to their pregnancies. This month, police in Georgia charged a woman with murder after allegedly using an abortion pill and the opioid painkiller oxycodone.

Abortion will be on ballots in November

Abortion questions will be before voters in at least three states in November.

Missouri lawmakers are asking voters to repeal the right to reproductive freedom that they put into the state constitution in 2024.

Elsewhere, voters are being asked to add constitutional amendments that largely mirror current state abortion laws.

In Nevada, a state constitutional amendment to allow abortion until fetal viability  generally considered to be sometime after 21 weeks of pregnancy  passed in 2024, and needs voter approval a second time to take effect.

A Virginia ballot measure would guarantee the right to reproductive freedom, including access to contraception and making decisions on abortion care during the first two trimesters of pregnancy.
Situation in Verkhovna Rada is under control, and work is underway to return to parliaments operating mode to which society is accustomed, stated head of Servant of the People parliamentary faction David Arakhamia.

"Society is used to this parliament working like clockwork. Yes, there are certain difficulties, and we have voiced them, but the situation is under control, and as we have already said, work is being carried out so that the Verkhovna Rada returns to the mode of operation to which society is accustomed," Arakhamia said in comment to Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday.

According to him, to settle situation, it is necessary to work at all levels. "The situation is difficult throughout the parliament, but it is obvious that Servant of the People has the greatest influence on voting results, so work within the faction is a priority. We will work in groups, study the opinions of colleagues and form a vision of how we move forward," Arakhamia noted.

In addition, head of faction said that work is underway to improve cooperation between parliament and government of Yulia Svyrydenko.

"We are also working with the Prime Minister of Ukraine on a plan to improve the interaction of the government with the parliament. I hope everyone is as constructive as possible on this issue," Arakhamia said.

He emphasized that Verkhovna Rada of IX convocation has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to make most difficult decisions, for which there was lack of political will in all previous convocations.

"Since 2019, and throughout the full-scale invasion, the parliament has been coping with its work  both when it was necessary to promptly respond to Covid, and when it was necessary to declare martial law, and when deputies held meetings in semi-surrounded Kyiv, and when a legislative base was needed to quickly obtain the status of a candidate for EU membership. No previous parliament worked in such conditions, so some decisions are made faster, some longer, but in the end they are made," Arakhamia reminded.

Head of faction asked media representatives not to dramatize events in parliament.

"A separate request to journalists who also live in this country  do not resort to exaggerations in assessing the situation, relying on ephemeral statements of several blogger-deputies. Because whether someone likes this parliament or not  inside the country we will definitely all reach an understanding as citizens. What is important is how the enemy manipulates this information today," Arakhamia noted.

He also stressed that despite all circumstances, every deputy understands responsibility that lies with parliament.

"The question is not whether we move forward or not. The question is how we move. And the answer to it will definitely be found," Arakhamia is convinced.

As reported, earlier Peoples Deputy of Ukraine, leader of European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko expressed conviction that Ukraine is in deep parliamentary crisis. He also calls for creation of joint team for negotiations with partners, which should include representatives of various political forces.

Deputy head of Servant of the People faction Andriy Motovylovets stated on March thirteen that key reason for failures of voting on bills under programs with International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union (EU) is crisis within Servant of the People faction, members of which do not wish to vote after being served with suspicions by NABU and SAPO. "The key problem is that the Servant of the People faction has lost its core. What is the core? When I collect votes in parliament, I clearly understand which deputies are definitely ready to support this or that law. It became difficult to do this after NABU and SAPO suspicions were served to five deputies from Servant of the People," the MP said.

According to him, core of Servant of the People faction previously included 180 deputies, but now only 111. Meanwhile, seventeen MPs have already been summoned for interrogation.

On Monday, deputy chairperson of Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Olga Vasylevska-Smagliuk (Servant of the People) drew attention of colleagues in closed faction chat to need to accumulate votes for voting on bills, writing: "if everyone is silent, no one speaks to each other, then there are two ways: changing the operational leadership of the faction, which cannot cope with the accumulation of votes, dialogue and constructive actions or do we disperse? Well, why torture each other?". This message was distributed on Telegram by Peoples Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko (European Solidarity faction).
Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

A young woman from Norwich claims her debilitating endometriosis symptoms were dismissed for a decade, with doctors repeatedly attributing her pain to her weight or "just a bad period." Tehyana Johnson, 22, expressed a profound wish that "someone would have just listened" to her pleas for help.

Ms Johnsons ordeal began with painful periods, heavy bleeding, blood in her urine, full body pain, and vomiting, symptoms she says were consistently ignored by medical professionals. From 2014 onwards, she recounts being "fobbed off" and believes she has undergone more than 250 consultations in the past three years alone, all while her condition worsened.

She eventually self-diagnosed herself with endometriosis  a condition where tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body  before receiving an official diagnosis in July 2025. This came after a laparoscopy, a keyhole surgery, which revealed extensive endometriosis with lesions and scar tissue on multiple organs, including her bowels.

While the diagnosis brought a sense of vindication, Ms Johnson feels much of her suffering could have been prevented. She is now campaigning for earlier diagnosis of this "invisible" and currently incurable condition.

open image in gallery Tehyana is campaigning for earlier diagnosis for endometriosis ( Collect/PA Real Life )

"Id been fobbed off for so long and told that this isnt whats wrong with me, so when I was diagnosed, I almost felt vindicated because I was right  but I was angry," Ms Johnson told PA Real Life. "I was doing the research into whats wrong with me and I was right every single time. But this is something Im going to have to live with for the rest of my life because everything we have tried so far hasnt worked. I wish someone would have just listened to me in the first place."

According to the charity Endometriosis UK, it takes an average of more than eight years from the first GP visit to receive a diagnosis for endometriosis, a condition affecting 176 million women worldwide. Symptoms vary but can include pelvic pain, severe period pain, heavy bleeding, and pain during or after sex or when urinating.

Ms Johnsons symptoms began at age nine with heavy bleeding, leading to an iron deficiency diagnosis. By 12, her condition escalated to include nausea, vomiting, and such severe cramping that she would be "off school, in bed for days."

"I couldnt move and Id just curl up into the foetal position," said Ms Johnson, who works as a regional assistant for a social care company. "That would go on for days but when we went to see the doctors when I was about 14, there was no investigation and they just stuck me on the pill."

open image in gallery Tehyana during one of her hospital admissions ( Collect/PA Real Life )

Despite the pill stopping her periods, she experienced "phantom pain" and occasional light bleeding, along with back pain dismissed as "growing pains." Her symptoms continued to worsen, leading to hospital admissions where she felt her "body was on fire," yet she claims she was still "ignored."

"I would go to hospital, and they would say, are you sure its not just a bad period?," she explained. "Theyd tell me to go back to my GP and, effectively, ignore me, and then my GP would say, if your pain is that bad, you need to go to hospital."

In 2023, Ms Johnson was finally referred to a gynaecologist but faced a year-long waiting list, during which her symptoms severely impacted her ability to sleep, walk, and study. A change of GP surgeries led her to a locum doctor who recognised the severity of her pain, prescribed codeine, and escalated her referral.

However, in 2024, after seeing a male gynaecologist and undergoing clear ultrasound and MRI scans, she was again told she did not have endometriosis. Instead, her weight was cited as the cause of her symptoms.

open image in gallery Tehyana said her symptoms were 'ignored' for around a decade ( Collect/PA Real Life )

"He spent the whole (appointment), telling me its because of my weight and he said to me: Your weight is my ideal weight as a 6ft 5in man," she recounted. "Trying to explain (my symptoms) to someone who has already decided what he thinks is the answer, he just wasnt listening."

Convinced something was profoundly wrong, Ms Johnson began her own research while at university. "I wasnt going into my lessons because I couldnt get up, I didnt have any support, so I started Googling my symptoms and looking at WebMD and I came across endometriosis," she said. "I just thought, wait a second, this is whats been going on with me for the past 10 years."

Later in 2024, an unplanned pregnancy became a suspected ectopic pregnancy, which Ms Johnson claims doctors also dismissed. A private scan a week later identified a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, leading to an emergency hospital visit. Although she suffered a partial rupture, the pregnancy later "dissolved" without surgery.

After advocating for a laparoscopy, considered the "gold standard" for diagnosis, she endured another year-long wait. During this time, her symptoms intensified, including severe abdominal pain, nausea, bladder spasms, bowel dysfunction, and debilitating sciatica.

open image in gallery Tehyana said her symptoms would often leave her crying in pain on the floor ( Collect/PA Real Life )

"Its traumatic. Im on the floor, Im screaming, crying, and the pain lasts for hours," she described.

In July 2025, Ms Johnson finally underwent the diagnostic laparoscopy. Upon waking, she was informed of the extensive endometriosis. While some tissue was removed, she was told not all could be safely excised due to its widespread nature and location.

"They said there are lesions which look like theyve been there for about 15 years, and Ive got massive scarring on basically everything," she stated. "At this point, Im thinking, youve left it so long that now theres not a chance that (treatment) will work."

Ms Johnson continues to experience "flare-ups" but uses a TENS machine for pain relief and is pushing for more referrals. She may require further surgery or, in severe cases, a hysterectomy, but for now, she is dedicated to raising awareness and advocating for better education and support.

"Always advocate for yourself and fight for yourself but youre not alone as there are millions of us with this condition and there are support groups," she urged. "Id say to GPs, think about if this was your child or your wife or your partner, youd want them to be heard. Medical professionals need to educate themselves and be willing to be educated again."

open image in gallery Tehyana said endometriosis is an 'invisible' condition ( Collect/PA Real Life )

During Endometriosis Awareness Month, intimate wellness brand Intimina highlights that diagnosis takes an average of eight years and 10 months. Dr Susanna Unsworth, a womens health expert for Intimina, commented: "Too many women are still told that severe period pain is just something they have to live with. But pain that stops you going about your normal daily life is not normal and should always be assessed. If your periods are affecting your quality of life, trust your instincts, seek medical advice and keep advocating for yourself. Women deserve to be listened to when they say something isnt right."
Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

Ordinary and universal, the act of writing changes the brain. From dashing off a heated text message to composing an op-ed, writing allows you to, at once, name your pain and create distance from it. Writing can shift your mental state from overwhelm and despair to grounded clarity  a shift that reflects resilience.

Psychology, the media and the wellness industry shape public perceptions of resilience: Social scientists study it, journalists celebrate it, and wellness brands sell it.

They all tell a similar story: Resilience is an individual quality that people can strengthen with effort.

The American Psychological Association defines resilience as an ongoing process of personal growth through lifes challenges.

News headlines routinely praise individuals who refuse to give up or find silver linings in times of hardship. The wellness industry promotes relentless self-improvement as the path to resilience.

In my work as a professor of writing studies, I research how people use writing to navigate trauma and practice resilience. I have witnessed thousands of students turn to the written word to work through emotions and find a sense of belonging. Their writing habits suggest that writing fosters resilience. Insights from psychology and neuroscience can help explain how.

People can use the written word to work through their feelings ( Getty/iStock )

Writing rewires the brain

In the 1980s, psychologist James Pennebaker developed a therapeutic technique called expressive writing to help patients process trauma and psychological challenges. With this technique, continuously journaling about something painful helps create mental distance from the experience and eases its cognitive load.

In other words, externalizing emotional distress through writing fosters safety. Expressive writing turns pain into a metaphorical book on a shelf, ready to be reopened with intention. It signals the brain, You dont need to carry this anymore.

Translating emotions and thoughts into words on paper is a complex mental task. It involves retrieving memories and planning what to do with them, engaging brain areas associated with memory and decision-making. It also involves putting those memories into language, activating the brains visual and motor systems.

Writing things down supports memory consolidation  the brains conversion of short-term memories into long-term ones. The process of integration makes it possible for people to reframe painful experiences and manage their emotions. In essence, writing can help free the mind to be in the here and now.

Taking action through writing

The state of presence that writing can elicit is not just an abstract feeling; it reflects complex activity in the nervous system.

Brain imaging studies show that putting feelings into words helps regulate emotions. Labeling emotions  whether through expletives and emojis or carefully chosen words  has multiple benefits. It calms the amygdala, a cluster of neurons that detects threat and triggers the fear response: fight, flight, freeze or fawn. It also engages the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that supports goal-setting and problem-solving.

About the author Emily Ronay Johnston is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Global Arts, Media and Writing Studies at University of California, Merced. This article was first published by The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

In other words, the simple act of naming your emotions can help you shift from reaction to response. Instead of identifying with your feelings and mistaking them for facts, writing can help you simply become aware of whats arising and prepare for deliberate action.

Even mundane writing tasks like making a to-do list stimulate parts of the brain involved in reasoning and decision-making, helping you regain focus.

Making meaning through writing

Choosing to write is also choosing to make meaning. Studies suggest that having a sense of agency is both a prerequisite for, and an outcome of, writing.

Researchers have long documented how writing is a cognitive activity  one that people use to communicate, yes, but also to understand the human experience. As many in the field of writing studies recognize, writing is a form of thinking  a practice that people never stop learning. With that, writing has the potential to continually reshape the mind. Writing not only expresses but actively creates identity.

Writing also regulates your psychological state. And the words you write are themselves proof of regulation  the evidence of resilience.

Popular coverage of human resilience often presents it as extraordinary endurance. News coverage of natural disasters implies that the more severe the trauma, the greater the personal growth. Pop psychology often equates resilience with unwavering optimism. Such representations can obscure ordinary forms of adaptation. Strategies people already use to cope with everyday life  from rage-texting to drafting a resignation letter  signify transformation.

Building resilience through writing

These research-backed tips can help you develop a writing practice conducive to resilience:

1. Write by hand whenever possible. In contrast to typing or tapping on a device, handwriting requires greater cognitive coordination. It slows your thinking, allowing you to process information, form connections and make meaning.

2. Write daily. Start small and make it regular. Even jotting brief notes about your day  what happened, what youre feeling, what youre planning or intending  can help you get thoughts out of your head and ease rumination.

3. Write before reacting. When strong feelings surge, write them down first. Keep a notebook within reach and make it a habit to write it before you say it. Doing so can support reflective thinking, helping you act with purpose and clarity.

4. Write a letter you never send. Dont just write down your feelings  address them to the person or situation thats troubling you. Even writing a letter to yourself can provide a safe space for release without the pressure of someone elses reaction.

5. Treat writing as a process. Any time you draft something and ask for feedback on it, you practice stepping back to consider alternative perspectives. Applying that feedback through revision can strengthen self-awareness and build confidence.

Resilience may be as ordinary as the journal entries people scribble, the emails they exchange, the task lists they create  even the essays students pound out for professors.

The act of writing is adaptation in progress.
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

Many Independent readers are questioning whether a monarch still needs to personally believe in the faith they are meant to lead, following recent discussion of Prince Williams quieter approach to religion.

While aides stress he is committed to the Church of England and preparing for his future role as Supreme Governor, readers noted his limited church attendance and past reports that he has considered stepping back from duties.

Some argued that personal belief should matter, suggesting that if William were an atheist or non-Christian, someone else might be better placed to lead the Church. Others emphasised the symbolic nature of the monarchys religious role, where tradition, ritual and public expectation can outweigh individual conviction.

A poll reflected this debate: 67 per cent of readers said faith is personal and the future monarch need not be a regular churchgoer, while 33 per cent felt attending church is an essential part of the role.

Commenters also questioned the Churchs relevance in a changing UK, citing declining attendance, rising atheism and the growth of other religions such as Islam.

Some framed Williams role as a broader test of religious authority and tolerance, arguing that a monarch should promote inclusivity rather than uphold a single faith.

Many agreed that while the monarchys religious duties are rooted in centuries of tradition, the personal beliefs of the future king may be increasingly private and nuanced.

Heres what you had to say:

Constitutional crisis and role of the monarch

Does William have a choice? If he decides he is an atheist or prefers Buddhism, then can someone else become Governor or can the Church be dis-established?

As it stands, it would be a constitutional crisis. But these can be resolved. William III was a Calvinist. George I a Lutheran. One doesn't have to be an Anglican to be a non-executive Chair.

somerset sage

Duty to the Church of England

One of the prices the British monarch has to pay is a born commitment to the Church of England, whatever his private view of religion. All because a 15th-century tyrant king appointed himself the head of a new order to break away from the Pope for his own purposes. Such is the heritage the present monarch has to live up to.

StansHumbleOpinion

Education, science and declining religion

Education and science have taught us that what we need is love and tolerance to have a peaceful country, and the Church does not do that.

There are so many non-Christians living in Britain, and more and more Christians are leaving religious beliefs behind. Let us say we are human beings only. We see countries with religious laws becoming intolerant and poorer.

TotiCalling

Stand against religious intolerance

The best thing the Prince of Wales can do, if he wants to confirm his commitment to the Church of England, is to make a firm stand against religious intolerance and extremism. That goes for all religions.

Whether it's the antics of the Taliban and their suppression of personal freedom and equality, or the right-wing Christian fundamentalists who believe in full-scale war as a prelude to the so-called 'end of times'. This latter group is more dangerous because they have money, influence and power in the White House, and their madness can affect us all.

tommy2tops

An atheist should not be head of the Church of England

The articles wording is notable for what it does not say. We are told that the Prince had a warm and substantive conversation with the new archbishop and takes a genuine interest in the Churchs work and its role in preserving the Anglican tradition. Yet there is no clear statement of Christian belief. The language is very careful, but it stops short of expressing any personal beliefs.

In isolation, that might not matter. But set alongside his limited church attendance and past reports that he has considered stepping back from the role of Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a pattern starts to emerge. This is not proof, but it is an indicator.

It is therefore reasonable to suggest that a future head could be agnostic or even atheist. That is not a claim of certainty, but a possibility that arises from the available evidence. This ought to be profoundly concerning.

William is entitled to his opinion  and entitled to be an atheist if he wishes. I do not know whether he is an atheist or not, but if he is, he should not be head of the C of E and should allow someone else to take on that role.

Musil

Criticism of religion and schools

No religion should have legal protection from criticism.

Right back in 1906, it was proposed in the House of Commons that religion should be banned in schools, and no religious schools should be allowed (at the time that meant mostly Church of England schools, with a few Methodist ones too). The Church of England demanded that this was overturned in the House of Lords (which was much more powerful then than it is now), and sadly the idea was defeated.

These days there seem to be more religious schools than ever. As Northern Ireland has demonstrated, segregated schools are a major problem in integration.

JoeRobson

Religious symbolism

Prince William drawing a line in the sand regarding the Church of England, and saying that his approach to the Church is a quieter one, is a nice way of putting that he's not religious at all. Yet when he is crowned one day, he will have to hold the royal regalia called the Orb, and this is a symbol that the monarch's power is derived directly from God, which means he rules by the divine right of God. He has no problem holding that orb with its symbolism, but he's not even interested in religion like his father and his grandmother.

Stacey Benoit

Tradition, monarchy and constraint

Ehm, as a consummate atheist and republican, I feel justified in criticising William. He is king-to-be and, as such, bound to be the Archbishop's boss in the near future. The monarchy and the Church of England are mired in, or wrapped in, heaps of tradition, convention and ritual. That is a package deal. The British C of E are stuck with Chuck and Billy, but Chuck and Billy are stuck with the rulebook as well. There will be some Barquentine-style Master of Ritual to keep Billy in line, and let's face it, William is no Titus Groan to question your Gormenghast, and he knows it. All this speculation by unnamed "aides" and "people close to" is just to lull those in the C of E aching for some modernisation into sleep and submission.

RebootedyetagainHans2

Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.

Want to share your views? Simply register your details below. Once registered, you can comment on the days top stories for a chance to be featured. Alternatively, click log in or register in the top right corner to sign in or sign up.

Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment, click here.
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

Starbucks has launched a new secret menu item to celebrate Hannah Montanas 20th anniversary  but fans are insisting that Miley Cyruss iconic character would never order the drink.

The Secret Popstar Refresher is not on the official Starbucks store menu, but starting Monday, customers can order the refresher variation on the mobile app or by repeating the recipe in person: a grande Strawberry Acai Refresher with raspberry cold foam, two pumps of raspberry syrup and no strawberry inclusions.

The bright pink drink is thought to be what Hannah Montana would order at the coffee chain, but devoted fans of the iconic Disney Channel show quickly called out the fact that the fictional pop star famously hated raspberries.

In season one episode 25 of the show, titled Smells Like Teen Sellout, Hannah Montana tells her best friend Lilly that raspberries made her sick after she ate too many of them at a county fair pie-eating contest as a kid.

Even a whiff of raspberries makes me sick, she says in the 2007 episode.

The Hannah Montana-inspired Starbucks drinks includes raspberry syrup and cold foam  which does not add up with the fictional character's preferences ( Starbucks )

Fans were quick to point out the irony on social media.

Hey [Starbucks]... there was literally an entire episode about Miley hating the smell of raspberries, one fan called out on Threads. As Hannah Montana said, everybody makes mistakes. You had the opportunity for a lavender lemonade or a loco hot cocoa RIGHT THERE.

One person wrote on X, Whoever came up with this needs their Hannah Montana fan card REVOKED. Another complained: starbucks having a raspberry hannah montana refresher when hannah HATES raspberries is so funny to me like did they think this through or ?????

Another fan joked, raspberry cold foam for a HANNAH MONTANA DRINK? real ones know shes allergic to raspberries whos flop idea was that?

One commenter wrote on a Starbucks Instagram post, doesnt Miley dislike raspberries? prompting the brand to respond, 20 years later and Miley decided shes so over that.

Starbucks did not immediately return The Independents request for comment on the ingredient choice.

According to a press release from Starbucks, the limited-time drink will be available to order until April 5. Fans can also expect to hear a Hannah Montana-inspired playlist Tuesday at U.S. stores.

The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special will be available to stream on Disney+ starting Tuesday. The tribute special, filmed in front of a live audience, will feature an interview with Cyrus as well as archival footage of the show that has never been seen before.
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 man accused of abandoning his puppy at an airport after being unable to fly with it, and later claiming that an "Uber driver" had ditched the young dog, has been arrested on animal cruelty charges.

42-year-old Omar Perez of Texas was approached by authorities in the terminal who had begun their inquiries after reports of a Labrador puppy running free near the curb outside Pittsburgh International Airport's departures area at around 5 pm on Friday.

Perez told officers he had seen an Uber driver discard the animal, but they later learned that Perez had simply left the dog on its own at the airport after learning he would not be able to take it on board the flight.

"Don't leave your pets behind," said the Allegheny County Police Department in a statement. "We will investigate and we will file charges."

open image in gallery Ruff deal: The abandoned Pitsburgh pup after its rescue ( Allegheny County Police )

Posting a photograph of the pup on Facebook, the police added: "At approximately 5:00 pm today, County Police officers working at Pittsburgh International Airport were notified of an abandoned dog running loose at the departures curb. Officers and witnesses were able to locate and safely secure the dog."

They added: "The dog, a Labrador puppy, is doing well and will be placed in foster care. A special shoutout to Patrol Officer Riley Tkatch for his role in the investigation and helping secure a safe home for the dog!"

Underneath the official social media post, many people expressed their adoration of the abandoned pup, as well as their displeasure with Perez.

open image in gallery 'This gorgeous baby will now be shown what love is', according to one comment on Facebook ( Allegheny County Police )

"What a beautiful pup! Thank you for saving that sweet angel and giving him a better life! What is wrong with people!" added Mandi Lion.

Debbie Forrest went further: "How could anyone do this to such an innocent puppy ? That P.O.S. deserves the book thrown at him. This gorgeous baby will now be shown what love is."

This is not the first time Pittsburgh International Airport has been used as an impromptu dog-drop-off facility.

open image in gallery The Pitsburgh pup gazes at rescuer Patrol Officer Riley Tkatch, who received a particular shout out from colleagues for his work in securing the dog a safe home until it is fostered ( Allegheny County Police )

In 2023, a woman left her dog in a stroller near shortterm parking after being told she needed a crate to fly with it, CBS News reported. She declined the crate, declined the dog, and accepted a flight to Mexico instead. Charges were later withdrawn after a guilty plea, and she paid a $150 fine  roughly the same cost as a midrange airline-approved dog crate.

Just months later, another dog was found tied to a pole in Pittsburgh's short-term parking garage.
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 21-year-old Texas man is accused of killing his grandmother after he got into a heated argument over his allowance money, police said.

Rontrell Jackson, 21, was arrested on Friday and charged with one count of murder, according to an Arlington Police Department news release.

Police say Jackson shot and killed his 68-year-old grandmother and then moved her body to an outdoor patio in an attempt to conceal the crime. Jacksons grandmother, whose name has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The killing stemmed from a dispute over Jacksons allowance money, police said. Its unclear how much money Jackson was receiving.

open image in gallery Rontrell Jackson, 21, allegedly admitted to the fatal shooting of his 68-year-old grandmother, police said ( Tarrant County Jail )

Officers with the Arlington Police Department responded around 4:40 p.m. Friday to an apartment complex in the 1800 block of Carriage House Circle after a family member reported finding the woman unresponsive, and covered by a blanket, on the patio outside her apartment.

Jackson was taken into custody and questioned by police. He admitted to killing his grandmother and dragging her body outside. Authorities said a firearm believed to be the murder weapon was recovered inside the apartment.

Neighbors Jerry and Keiarra Dennis, who live in the apartment below the woman, told WFAA that they are struggling to comprehend the violence so close to their home.

For someone to have lost their life over an allowance, over a disagreement, thats the part where its hard to process, Keiarra Dennis told WFAA.

All I can do in this moment and want to do in this moment is just pray for their family, she added.

Dennis said she was home the day of the killing, but said she did not hear any disturbance. She did, however, notice an unusual number of flies on her patio.

But she and her husband were shocked when they learned what happened.

For this to be this close to you, Jerry Dennis said, its very hard to process, even in words.

Jackson is being held at the Tarrant County Jail on a $750,000 bond, according to jail records.
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 bomb squad was called to a traffic stop in Florida after a driver was spotted with missiles mounted to the back of his truck, according to authorities.

Florida Highway Patrol Troop C confirmed in an Instagram post that it had received multiple calls from motorists on Interstate 4 about the truck. Eventually, the driver, whom the FHP referred to as #RocketMan, was stopped on SR-39 near Plant City, outside of Tampa.

Multiple agencies, including the Plant City Police Department, fire department, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, established a perimeter around the scene until the bomb squad arrived, reports WESH.

open image in gallery Authorities pulled over a truck on a major road in Florida after drivers reported seeing missiles strapped to the vehicle ( Instagram/fhp__Tampa )

Eventually, the missiles were determined to simply be plastic devices used for show and events, the FHP wrote, adding that all was determined safe.

The driver, Michael Nipper, told authorities he had purchased the missiles online for an event, according to WESH.

The FHP said the driver was subsequently advised on how to transport the model weapons in the future.

#NeverADullMoment in #Tampa, the force concluded in its statement.

The incident unfolded on Sunday.

open image in gallery One of the rockets was marked with "AIM -120B" and sported bright yellow markings ( Instagram/@fhp__tampa )

In images released by the FHP, two rockets appear to be fixed to the truck by a series of posts.

The smaller missile has a bright red tip and electric-blue fins, while the other is grey and yellow. The larger projectile is emblazoned with AIM - 120B.

Members of the FHP even posed in front of the faux missiles in one image, grinning as the rockets stretched out behind them.

open image in gallery Members of the FHP posed with the missiles in a photograph released by the force ( Instagram/@fhp_tampa )

Social media users were divided on whether the vehicle should have been stopped, with some urging drivers to mind their own business.

Others had a more humorous response to the post.

Nobody tailgating him one joked.

God forbid a man has hobbies, said another.

The Independent has contacted the FHP for comment.
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 US Park Police officer was seriously wounded in an apparent ambush shooting in Washington D.C. on Monday evening.

Park Police Chief Scott Brecht told reporters the unidentified officer was "ambushed" by two gunmen who fired at his unmarked white Tesla. He was working on an ongoing Park Police investigation when shot. The chief declined specifics of the inquiry, but noted the force has "jurisdiction in all of Washington, D.C."

The veteran officer was airlifted by U.S. Park Police helicopter to an area hospital, said Vito Maggiolo, public information officer for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department. The call came in about 7:30 p.m.

A law enforcement official, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed the officer was shot in the shoulder and is in serious but stable condition.

Authorities are searching for two suspects, Chief Brecht added.

The U.S. Park Police confirmed in an email that the officer was in "non-life-threatening condition."

The shooting took place in the District's Southeast quadrant, close to the border with Maryland.

Jeffery Carroll, Washington's interim police chief, said the officer was targeted. "There's no reason that anybody, a police officer or not a police officer, should be shot just for being out here driving through the neighborhood," he said. "We believe potentially they did know he was a police officer, but that'll all be part of the ongoing investigation as relates to the actual shooting incident."

Federal officials said they were assisting in the investigation.

"I've spoken to Mayor Bowser and Police Chief Carroll and was briefed on the shooting," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a posting on X.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in his own X post that he was "Praying for the Park Police officer shot in Washington, D.C. The FBI is actively supporting the investigation alongside our law enforcement partners and will bring those responsible to justice."
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 former San Diego TV journalist who once reported for Spanish-language outlets is accused of carrying out two separate shootings along a scenic overlook on Palomar Mountain, allegedly opening fire on victims after asking about their ethnicity.

Ricardo Berron, a 46-year-old former reporter for Univision and Telemundo stations, was arrested March 10 at San Diego International Airport, the San Diego County Sheriffs Office said in a news release. He has been charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the attacks. Prosecutors are also seeking hate crimes enhancements, Fox5 reports.

Authorities allege the shootings occurred at the same location but months apart and involving different victims. The first took place on October 6, 2025, around 9:30 p.m., when the alleged victim, Joseph Valentino, said he was shot in the arm while sitting in his car at a scenic overlook on Palomar Mountain.

I looked over my left shoulder and saw the silhouette of somebody holding a rifle at my head and wearing a hoodie, Valentino told KUSI shortly after the incident.

I raised my hands and asked him not to shoot. He asked me if I was Mexican. I responded yes. At that point, I saw him zero in on my head, and instinctively turned to the right. I heard the shot. It missed my face and caught my arm, he said.

open image in gallery Ricardo Berron, 46, is accused of shooting two men in separate incidents on Palomar Mountain in San Diego, allegedly asking each of them if they were Mexican before opening fire ( Facebook )

open image in gallery Authorities searched Berrons home and found a 9mm handgun believed to be linked to at least one of the shootings ( San Diego County Sheriffs Office )

Valentino said he sped away after the encounter, and that a second shot hit his rear tired. He managed to reach a nearby home and call for help. Deputies and paramedics arrived about an hour later, and he was taken to Palomar Medical Center, where doctors were able to save his arm despite severe injuries from the gunshot.

Then, on February 23, a second man reported being approached on the mountain while stargazing.

"During the interaction, the suspect produced a handgun and fired a single round through the driver's side window while the victim was seated inside his vehicle. The suspect then fled the scene in a vehicle. The victim was not hurt, the sheriff's office said.

The second alleged victim also said the suspect asked him about his ethnicity before firing.

Authorities later searched Berrons Chula Vista home and found a 9mm handgun believed to be linked to at least one of the shootings.

The father of five has since been released on bail and was scheduled to appear in court on March 17, Fox 5 reported Monday.

Berron declined to answer questions when approached outside his home, driving away without comment, the outlet reported. His wife pushed back on the accusations, saying authorities have the wrong person.

The Independent has contacted the SDSO for comment.
Photo: TechEx

Agents of Russian special services placed wiretapping system and other special equipment in office of chief engineer of Ukrainian drone manufacturer TechEx.

In company statement published on Facebook and broadcast on Channel 24, it is said that SBU Counterintelligence Department prevented attempt by Russias agents to gain access to TechExs secret data.

It is noted that Russias agents sought to learn about engineering solutions, component supply chains, information about partners, and data on Ukrainian Defense Forces units working with TechEx products. As result of successful special operation, Russian special services received false data for long period, which made it possible to protect production facilities and secure critical data.

Company representative noted that preventing real leak of highly sensitive information was possible because State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Counterintelligence Department informed manufacturer of enemys intentions in advance. TechEx calls on Ukrainian weapons manufacturers to strengthen interaction with intelligence services for protection against technical and cyber threats.

"Today we managed to expose the enemy, but we understand that this is not his last attempt. All Ukrainian gunsmiths, their technologies, employees, suppliers and production facilities are under the target of Russian intelligence," he said.

Data that enemy tried to obtain is of critical importance not only for individual manufacturer, but for industry and Ukraines defense capability as whole. "We consider security of production, documentation, personnel data and partner networks as element of protecting our countrys technological independence. This time, coordinated work with SBU Counterintelligence Department made it possible to avoid data leak and use situation in states favor, as we leaked false information to the enemy. Today, for defense enterprises, issue of information security is just as important as issue of quality and pace of production," company statement says.

TechEx is Ukrainian defense company specializing in development and production of unmanned aerial systems, including FPV drones and interceptors. TechExs main products are Stalker line of fiber-optic drones (XO-10, XO-15) and Striker Mini interceptor designed to destroy enemy drones. Company uses advantages of fiber-optic communication, making their drones invulnerable to EW systems. This ensures stable control even in difficult combat conditions. Striker Mini interceptor strengthens capabilities to counter enemy UAVs, allowing for prompt detection and destruction of targets in air. In combination with FPV drones, this forms comprehensive approach to modern warfare.
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/RedCrossUkraine

Volunteers from the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) are assisting people affected by a Russian drone strike in Dnipro.

"The Ukrainian Red Cross emergency response unit in Dnipropetrovsk region worked together with all the city's emergency services at the site of today's strike," the URCS said on Facebook.

Volunteers provided first aid to three injured people and evacuated two people with limited mobility from the upper floors of the damaged building. They also rescued two rabbits and three cats living in one of the apartments.

The Ukrainian Red Cross is currently distributing humanitarian aid to Dnipro residents whose homes were damaged. Residents can receive plastic sheeting for temporarily covering broken windows, blankets, emergency kits and food parcels.

As reported, 13 people were injured in the enemy strike on Dnipro on Tuesday, including a 12-year-old girl and an 18-month-old boy. In a 14-storey residential building, walls, balconies, windows and the technical floor were damaged. Fires broke out on the top two floors and were extinguished by firefighters.
Misti Cordell, Chairwoman of the Louisiana Board of Regents, speaks during a bill signing at LSUs Memorial Hall on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
With TSA screens lines closed, travelers navigate their way through the screening process lines at Louis Armstrong International Airport in Kenner, La. Monday, March 23, 2026. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
Advertisement

CultureBooksReview This tale of chosen family and motherhood fizzes and sings Nicole Abadee March 25, 2026  5:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Whats good, whats bad, and whats in between in literature? Here we review the latest titles. See all stories .

FICTION

Kin

Tayari Jones

Penguin, $34.99 Blood alone cant give you kinship. So says one of the characters in Kin, the fifth novel by American writer Tayari Jones, whose last novel, An American Marriage, won the 2019 Womens Prize for Fiction. The question of kinship  the kin you are born to and the kin you create - is central to the deeply moving story of two motherless best friends Vernice (Niecy) and Annie (who call themselves cradle friends), raised together in Louisiana, whose lives diverge when they turn seventeen. Set in the dying years of the Jim Crow era of segregation in the American South, Kin has dual themes  the lifelong impact of never knowing your mother, and the power of female friendship. In her first foray into historical fiction, Jones drew on the lives of her parents, both civil rights activists  her mother was a part of sit-ins in Oklahoma when she was fifteen. The girls are born in the (fictional) town of Honeysuckle. In 1941, when Niecy is six months old, her father shoots her mother dead. Annies 16-year-old mother, Hattie Lee abandons her when she is a few days old. Niecy is raised by her Aunt Irene, Annie by her grandmother. Both attend to the girls material needs, but not their emotional ones. While I was tended to, I was never mothered, Niecy says.

Advertisement

Both girls miss their mothers terribly and this shapes their lives. Niecy is determined to have a family of her own, while Annie is obsessed with finding her mother. At 17, Niecy heads to Spelman College in Atlanta (which Jones herself attended) to become a teacher. Annie runs away to Memphis  where she believes her mother is  with friends Clyde, Babydoll and Clydes cousin Bobo. Both encounter misadventure along the way. Niecy is thrown off a segregated bus after mistakenly sitting in the white section. Annie finds herself in a whorehouse in Mississippi run by the no-nonsense Lulabelle when Clydes car breaks down. Bestselling author and Oprah favourite author Tayari Jones. Julie Yarborough Once Niecy makes it to Spelman, and Annie reaches Memphis, their lives proceed upon different trajectories. Niecys is upwards, as she studies literature, sings at glee club and is cured in the kiln of respectability. Meanwhile, Annie works in a bar and alienates her friends as she accosts strange women she mistakenly believes are her mother. The two maintain their tight childhood bond through the exchange of intimate letters. One consequence of being motherless is that both women crave female love and affection; Niecy revels in being a part of the Spelman sisterhood and Annie tells Lulabelle, You gave me the closest to mother-love I ever felt. It also impacts upon their romantic choices  Annie quickly falls in love with Bobo because I have never known what it is to be truly cherished. Niecy, who has been rehearsing all [her] life for motherhood, makes a life-changing choice between a passionate, unconventional relationship that will not give her children and one that will  plus wealth and social status as well. Jones has said that Much of the novel is about  hope: is hope a virtue or a detriment? Is Niecy (as her Aunt Irene tells her when she is small) luckier than Annie because she has no hope  she knows her mother is dead? Will Annies eternal hope of a reunion - a hope that defines her life - set her up for a lifetime of disappointment, or worse?

Advertisement

Related Article Review From romcoms to Rasputin: 10 new books for your bedside table The spectre of segregation looms large in the womens lives  from catching buses, to seeing movies, to the provision of bathrooms. It also  ominously  governs access to healthcare. Almost as significant as race  and connected to it  is class. Niecy learns at Spelman that money talks in the Jim Crow south. Poor African-American students (like her) face expulsion if they break curfew; wealthy students do not. A department store open only to whites will open after hours to African-American women with money. Joness language fizzes and sings  a movie theatre sprawls the whole block like a rich mans girlfriend stretched out on a chaise. She is a fierce admirer of fellow American writer Toni Morrison because she is not afraid of plot, not afraid of politics and not afraid of language. The same could be said of Jones herself. The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.
Queensland to ban under-16s from e-bikes

The Queensland Government is set to introduce nation-leading laws in parliament this week that will ban children under 16 from riding e-bikes and e-scooters.
Advertisement

NationalVictoriaHealthcare Banned doula ordered to break silence over influencers fatal free birth Henrietta Cook March 24, 2026  12:49pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Banned doula Emily Lal has been ordered to give evidence to a coronial inquest into the death of a Melbourne wellness influencer Stacey Warnecke, who suffered a fatal haemorrhage following a so-called free birth. Lal, who was present during Warneckes catastrophic birth in September 2025, has so far refused to provide a statement to investigators about what happened in the lead-up to the first-time mothers death. Stacey Warnecke died in September after giving birth at home. Instagram The Coroners Court heard on Tuesday that Lal has sought to be excused on the grounds of self-incrimination. But counsel assisting the coroner, Rachel Ellyard, said Lals version of events was crucial.

Advertisement

Related Article Women's health Freebirthing, wild pregnancies and the banned birth keeper She was present at the birth, can be heard on the Triple Zero call, and she was involved, as we understand, in the clearing up of the house after the birth, Ellyard said. [This] makes her a highly relevant witness to the events of the birth and to the events of Staceys deterioration before she was taken to hospital. Coroner Therese McCarthy ordered a witness summons be served to Lal, adding she was prepared to provide a certificate to protect evidence being used against her. Ms Lal is a crucial part of the picture leading up to the death of Ms Warnecke, McCarthy said.

Advertisement

I really hope that Ms Lal agrees to participate in the proceeding. Warnecke died on September 29 after giving birth to her son, Axel, in a water bath at her Seaford home in Melbournes south-east. The medical examiner has proposed the cause of death was a postpartum haemorrhage in the setting of a home birth. An earlier direction hearing in December revealed that the 30-year-old nutritionist appeared well after giving birth at 3am, but rapidly deteriorated after she passed the placenta and began losing a large volume of blood. Warnecke was rushed to Frankston Hospital by ambulance in a critical condition at 5am, accompanied by her husband, Nathan, Lal and their newborn son, Axel, who survived the ordeal.

Advertisement

Doula and home-birth influencer Emily Lal. Instagram In an extensive effort mounted by 24 clinicians to save Warneckes life over the following six hours, the hospital ultimately exhausted its entire supply of a key blood type. This included inserting a balloon to stem the bleeding, performing an emergency hysterectomy and treatment to remove a large amount of fluid that had gathered around her heart. The court previously heard that when police visited the home to photograph the scene, they were told Lal had extensively cleaned the scene of the tragic birth. The coronial inquest is set to run from June 15 to 19 and will investigate the cause of Warneckes death, the extent to which doulas can advertise themselves, and the impact of free-birthing on the health system.

Advertisement

Related Article Exclusive

Healthcare These are avoidable: Dozens of babies dead or permanently injured after freebirths It will also examine the maternity care available for women who dont want to give birth in hospital and the contact between Warnecke and Lal in the lead-up to Axels birth. In October, Victorias Health Complaints Commission issued a public warning about Lal and said she was under investigation after allegations were made that she is facilitating and/or participating in home births which may put both mothers and babies at risk. This masthead revealed on Sunday that at least 13 babies had died following so-called free births in Victoria over the past five years, while a further 11 have suffered potential lifelong brain injuries. A free birth is an unassisted birth that takes place without any registered medical or midwifery professionals present.

Advertisement

Related Article Healthcare Hospital exhausted blood supply in attempt to save wellness influencer after freebirth Experts say the rise in free-birthing is linked to medical scepticism brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coroners Court previously heard that Warnecke was profoundly affected by the COVID-19 vaccine mandates that were introduced in 2021. The nutritionist received no medical care during her pregnancy, had no ultrasounds and did not consult a midwife or obstetrician. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/kpszsu?locale=uk_UA

Ukrainian air defence neutralized 541 out of 556 drones launched by Russian occupiers at Ukraine between 09:00 and 18:00 on March 24.

According to a statement posted on the Telegram channel of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), 15 impacts were recorded.

Together with the 392 drones and 34 missiles launched by the enemy against Ukraine overnight into Tuesday as of 09:00, this marked the largest air attack in a single day since the start of Russias aggression. Overnight, 365 drones and 25 missiles were neutralized, while hits by six missiles and 27 strike UAVs were recorded at 22 locations, along with falling debris from downed drones at ten locations.

"The geography of the daytime strike was broader than at night: Poltava region, Kyiv region, Mykolaiv region, Vinnytsia region and the western regions of the country, from Khmelnytsky to Lviv. Unfortunately, 15 impacts were recorded. All available air defence assets were involved in repelling the air attack  manned aircraft, anti-aircraft drones, electronic warfare systems and ground-based air defence," the statement reads.

As reported, the previous most massive strike was carried out by the occupiers on September 7, 2025, using 818 strike UAVs and ground-launched missiles, of which air defence neutralized 751 aerial targets, though hits by nine missiles and 56 strike UAVs were recorded at 37 locations, with debris from downed targets falling at eight locations.

The highest percentage of drones and missiles neutralized was recorded overnight into July 9, when 718 out of 729 drones and missiles launched by the occupiers were neutralized, giving an effectiveness rate of about 96.9%.
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen told parliament this afternoon that six West Australian service stations out of 771 had run out of fuel.

In response to a question from WA MP Rick Wilson, Bowen detailed the number of service stations across the country without fuel.

WA was faring better than bigger states including New South Wales where there are 164 stations without diesel and 289 without at least one type of unleaded fuel, out of a total of 2417 service stations.

In Queensland, there are 55 service stations without diesel and 35 without regular unleaded out of 1800 service stations.
Advertisement

PoliticsFederalMiddle East at war Australias emergency plan starts with carpooling, escalates to fuel caps Brittany Busch March 25, 2026  8:57am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Australians would be urged to tackle a fuel shortage by carpooling and using electric vehicles under the governments emergency fuel plan, while more extreme measures would ration fuel by shutting petrol off at the pump once a daily allowance was exceeded. The plan, devised in 2019 by the Department of Environment and Energy, reveals the lifestyle changes that could be imposed on Australians to ease demand as the war in Iran has strangled about 20 per cent of global oil supply. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Energy Minister Chris Bowen have said Australias oil supplies have been arriving onshore as planned. Alex Ellinghausen Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has assured Australians that shipments of oil have been arriving onshore as planned, but the industry has sounded the alarm that the nations fuel supplies are heading for a cliff by the end of April. As petrol prices continue to climb, hitting a record high of an average of $2.38 a litre last week as the conflict in the Middle East drags on, state premiers have urged the federal government to lead a national response.

Advertisement

The most severe measure under the National Liquid Fuel Emergency Response Plan  released under freedom of information laws and seen by this masthead  would allow petrol pumps to shut off once they reach a dollar limit set by the energy minister. The daily total transaction limit would be adjusted depending on the availability of supply, with the price to be determined once the emergency plan is activated. Environment Minister Murray Watt on Wednesday dismissed the prospect of a cap at $40, as reported by News Corp, as that figure was used as a hypothetical example seven years ago. Were not considering this idea of a $40 price cap, Watt said. That comes from a document from the then-government, which was released in 2019, and the situation has obviously changed between 2019 and 2026. But Watt urged Australians to consider the needs of others, and to be sensible about the amount of fuel they buy.

Advertisement

We know there are real issues getting fuel into some parts of the country at the moment, and its one of those times that we need to think of each other and not just ourselves and only purchase the fuel that we need. Related Article Middle East at war Rate rises and war push consumer confidence into death spiral Education Minister Jason Clare insisted to ABC News Breakfast that any talk of rationing, I think its way too soon to be talking about that. To declare a liquid fuel emergency that would allow the government to introduce emergency restrictions, Energy Minister Chris Bowen would consult the states, territories and industry stakeholders before making a recommendation to the governor-general that the country was in a crisis. A national liquid fuel emergency ... may be declared only if the governor-general is satisfied that the use of these emergency powers is in the public interest, there is no real prospect of averting the shortage by voluntary augmentation of supplies by oil companies, and the minister has provided the opportunity for prior consultation with the relevant state and territory ministers, the plan states.

Advertisement

Light-handed measures would be used first, including an information campaign to encourage uptake of carpooling, public transport and use of electric vehicles. The government would urge motorists to carpool, and corporations to rein in their own fuel use. The light-handed measures were estimated to save 3 to 5 per cent of general fuel consumption. Coalition frontbencher Phil Thompson, the defence industry spokesman, said the opposition would be going through the price-gouging legislation being introduced on Wednesday with a fine-toothed comb.

Advertisement

Punishing those that are ripping people off, that sounds like a great thing, but I also want to hear about what that means, he said. What is the government going to do about fuel supply? What is it going to do to stop the prices going up? Is this all going to be captured into this bill? We dont know. Thompson said the government needed to urgently provide answers on the fuel crisis: This is Mad Max stuff. Some of Australias Indo-Pacific neighbours, squeezed by the oil shock have introduced measures to ease pressure on demand. The Philippines has declared a state of national emergency, while Vietnam has announced it will cancel many domestic flights to conserve jet fuel.

Advertisement

Brent crude oil dropped to $US95 a barrel overnight, the lowest price in a fortnight, after US President Donald Trump backed down on an escalation in Iran, and Iran said it would allow ships from allied nations through the Strait of Hormuz. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
Advertisement

PoliticsFederalTrade Europe, Australia compromise on cheese and wine names in $10b trade deal Matthew Knott March 24, 2026  6:10pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Key points The recent free trade agreement between Australia and the European Union to boost the domestic economy by $10 billion annually.

The deal eliminates a 5 per cent tariff on European imports and ensures 98 per cent of Australian goods enter the EU duty-free.

While prosecco and parmesan labels remain for local sale, other names such as ouzo must be phased out.

The luxury car tax remains, but the threshold for electric cars has been lifted to $120,000.

A breakthrough free trade agreement with Europe will boost the Australian economy by $10 billion a year and cut prices for local shoppers, but angry farmers have accused the Albanese government of failing to drive a hard enough bargain to secure expanded access to Europes 450 million consumers. A compromise deal will allow Australian producers to continue marketing their products as prosecco, parmesan and kransky, but names such as ouzo and parmigiano reggiano will be phased out. EU President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese put pen to paper on the new agreement. Alex Ellinghausen European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged Australia and Europe to avoid overdependence on China, as she said democracies face an increasingly brutal, harsh and unforgiving world. Getting China right is a strategic imperative, she said.

Advertisement

We cannot and will not absorb Chinas export-led growth model and its industrial overcapacity. Related Article Trade deals Prosecco, feta, luxury cars: Long-delayed Europe trade deal finally a reality The red meat sector labelled it the worst ever free trade agreement for beef and sheep farmers, while the motor lobby lamented the fact the luxury car tax remains in place for most vehicles. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed the agreement as a win-win, calling it a defining moment in the relationship between Australia and the European Union. This is a comprehensive, balanced and commercially meaningful agreement that will reduce costs for Australian consumers and open new markets to Australian producers, he said.

Advertisement

Von der Leyen said: Im so proud that we got this done because its a fair deal, and one that delivers for your businesses and one that delivers for our businesses. Negotiations for the agreement began in 2018, and collapsed in 2023 over a dispute over agriculture, but US President Donald Trumps tariff policies breathed new life into the talks. Australias current 5 per cent tariff on European imports will be removed, while 98 per cent of Australian goods exports will enter the EU duty-free when the agreement comes into force. Albanese and von der Leyen also struck a new security and defence partnership, and an agreement to speed up Australias entry into the worlds biggest research and innovation fund.

Advertisement

In a bid to resolve the complex issue of the use of geographic indicators, Australian producers will continue to be able to use the term parmesan freely and existing feta manufacturers will continue to be able to use the term. Ouzo manufacturers, however, will have to stop using the term seven years after the agreement comes into effect. Loading Prosecco producers will be able to label their wine prosecco in Australia indefinitely, but the term will be phased out for Australian wine for export over a period of 10 years. Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said: This has been a long and complex negotiation, but this agreement delivers meaningful gains for Australian businesses and households, while also strengthening collaboration with Europe on research, innovation and new technologies.

Advertisement

Exporters will be able to sell 35,000 tonnes of beef to Europe within 10 years, while sheep exporters will be able to sell 31,000 tonnes of lamb. Photo: Matt Golding Nationals leader Matt Canavan said the agreement must go down as the worst trade deal ever, saying it was no better than offers that Australia had previously rejected. Andrew McDonald, chair of the Australia-EU Red Meat Market Access Taskforce, said meat exporters were devastated by the outcome, which fell short of what nations such as New Zealand had been able to secure. Australias red meat sector has been profoundly let down by this outcome, he said.

Advertisement

To land a deal so far below what other suppliers have secured is genuinely bewildering. National Farmers Federation president Hamish McIntyre said the agreement appears to offer no material change for key agricultural commodities as what the government rightly rejected in October 2023. Related Article Analysis

EU Brutal, harsh, unforgiving: EU leader offers bracing message to Australia The cane-growing lobby said the deal was a horrendous outcome for the sector, while the timber industry said it would further undermine the competitiveness of Australian timber. Australian Dairy Industry Council chair Ben Bennett said: This is neither a free nor fair deal for Australian dairy, and it is a worse deal than what was on the table in 2023 ... It is unfair on many fronts  most notably it expands access to heavily subsidised European dairy imports, while failing to secure reciprocal access for Australias exports to the EU.

Advertisement

The luxury car tax survived, despite speculation it could be eliminated, but the threshold for taxing zero-emissions vehicles will rise to $120,000. Vicki Thomson, chief executive of the Group of Eight universities, said joining Horizon Europe, a massive research and innovation fund, would give Australia a front-row seat to the worlds biggest breakthroughs. It places our researchers, industries and institutions inside the worlds most influential collaborative research and development ecosystem  where standards are set, breakthroughs are scaled and global priorities are shaped. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
Advertisement

PoliticsFederalManufacturing Rules are in flux: $2b bailout for Rio Tinto as Labor cites national sovereignty Mike Foley March 25, 2026  8:26am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

A $2 billion taxpayer-funded subsidy has been announced for Rio Tintos Queensland aluminium smelter, as the Albanese government doubles down on its commitment to save local manufacturing with another bailout. The rescue package marks the governments fourth intervention to prop up a struggling metals processor as Australian manufacturers struggle to compete internationally due to high operating costs. Rio Tintos smelter at Boyne. The federal and Queensland governments will each invest $1 billion over 10 years to support the Boyne aluminium smelter, located in Gladstone, which Rio Tinto says delivers 1000 jobs at the site and an additional 2000 indirect jobs. This is a good day for Queensland jobs, a good day for Australian industry, and a step toward an economy where no one is held back and no one is left behind, said Industry Minister Tim Ayres, who announced the deal in Gladstone on Wednesday morning.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Ayres will speak at the National Press Club on Wednesday, where he will say that rules are in flux and governments must respond. He told this masthead on Wednesday that the funding for the Boyne smelter was an extension of that thinking, under the governments Future Made in Australia policy. Its the biggest pro-manufacturing package in Australian history, and I think I can say without contradiction that this investment in Queensland is the biggest investment in Queensland industrial capability, Ayres said. The public funds will be delivered under a production credit, earned by Rio Tinto for manufacture of aluminium and running for 10 years from 2030. Ayres said the deal represented good value for taxpayers money.

Advertisement

This is an absolute slam dunk in economic terms. Its an investment in economic resilience and future industrial capability. Related Article Exclusive

Gas Crippling prices: Manufacturers demand gas reservation Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in December the government was close to securing a deal, which would also be worth billions of dollars, to secure the future of its NSW aluminium smelter, which also employs 1000 and is located at Tomago near Newcastle. Tomago Aluminiums owners, including Rio Tinto, had warned its future is threatened by a doubling of energy costs when the current electricity contract expires in 2028. The government is currently negotiating with NSW over its component of the funding.

Advertisement

We want to make sure we deliver a similar outcome in NSW. The Tomago Aluminum facility supports 5500 jobs in the Hunter Valley, Ayres said. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
Advertisement

PoliticsVictoriaLocal council Not how a healthy democracy is meant to function: council gag order passes Rachael Dexter Updated March 25, 2026  5:55pm ,first published March 24, 2026  3:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Hobsons Bay City Council has formally adopted restrictive new media and secrecy policies, despite a fierce last-minute stand by a bloc of councillors who warned the move marked the end of transparent local democracy and likened it to Big Brother state oversight. The western suburbs council on Tuesday night voted to pass the controversial media policy and councillor confidentiality policy, effectively centralising all public communication under the mayor and shielding internal briefing documents from public view. Hobsons Bay Council chambers. The vote split the chamber, passing 4-3, with Deputy Mayor Lisa Bentley, and councillors Daria Kellander and Michael Disbury voting against the measures. The proposed media policy designates the mayor as the principal spokesperson for the council, and prohibits other councillors from providing media comment without the mayors discretion and approval.

Advertisement

Deputy Mayor Lisa Bentley wants residents to attend the Hobsons Bay council meeting on Tuesday. Hobsons Bay Council A separate confidentiality policy also passed, which classifies all agendas, officer papers and presentations for councillor briefing meetings as internal documents shielded from public view. This council confidential policy is not about good governance. Its about control, Bentley said. Its about restricting the very people who elected you ... its about reducing transparency at the exact moment our community deserves it more, not less. Councillor Daria Kellander said councillors are not employees of the communications department. We are directly elected representatives accountable to our communities, not to a bureaucratic approval process ... This is not how a healthy democracy is meant to function. However, the councils pro-policy bloc  including councillors Kristin Bishop, Paddy Keys-Macpherson, Rayane Hawli and Mayor Diana Grima  defended the changes as a necessary uplift of governance standards.

Advertisement

Individual councillors are simply not authorised to make their own opinions the position of council, and that is essentially what is being prevented by this policy, Bishop said. Earlier in the day Bentley suggested councillors were being strong-armed into accepting the rules  which appeared in the council agenda five days ago  under state government intervention at the council. In my opinion, this is strong-armed tactics coming from [the state government], which has appointed monitors to become essentially Big Brother at our council, she said. In separate statements to The Age, a council and a state government spokesperson denied any suggestion that any threats had been made to extend the term of state-appointed monitors if the policies were blocked. Council policies put forward for consideration are entirely a matter for Hobsons Bay City Council and any suggestion otherwise is false, the state government spokesman said.

Advertisement

Disbury said the changes were an attempt to gag elected officials. It will severely restrict what I can say ... I will be subject to sanctions and possibly loss of my pay, he said. Community advocate Gill Gannon feared councillors would be muzzled over red-hot issues, including the Williamstown Lifesaving Club redevelopment and imminent road closures. You cant represent your community if youre not able to speak, said Gannon, who is also running as a candidate for The West Party in the seat of Williamstown for this years state election. On Monday night, Kingston City Council in Melbournes south-east accepted changes to its governance rules to expand the chief executives power to reject notices of motion. Both councils are under the oversight of the same state-appointed municipal monitor, John Tanner. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on Tanners part. Municipal monitors appointed by Victorian Local Government Minister Nick Staikos were put in place at Hobsons Bay in June last year. While the terms of reference for the monitors are vague and cite a need to improve governance, the appointments came after former chief executive Aaron van Egmond was suspended amid allegations of unacceptable workplace behaviour.

Advertisement

The Australian Services Union previously said it had received complaints regarding the behaviour of certain managers at Hobsons Bay that had raised mental health concerns. Van Egmond subsequently resigned in April 2025, and Tanner was appointed two months later. A second monitor, Rebecca McKenzie, was appointed in January. Under the Local Government Act, councils must foot the costs associated with municipal monitors, which cover their daily fees and expenses. Related Article Victorian councils The secret intimidation tactics councils use to deny compensation claims The council defended the proposed media rules to The Age, saying that councillors were still entitled to express their personal views. However, the draft policy explicitly states that councillors may only provide comment to the media at the discretion and approval of the mayor. Regarding the secrecy rules, the council argued that releasing information internal working documents could be misleading to the public, and that briefings should remain a safe place for frank discussion with staff. The policy explicitly states that any information shared in these private sessions  not just physical documents  cannot be released without the chief executives permission.

Advertisement

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

WorldMiddle EastMiddle East at war Pakistans PM offers to host US-Iran talks for a comprehensive end to the war Aamer Madhani and Jon Gambrell Updated March 25, 2026  12:42am ,first published 6:47pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Dubai/Washington: Pakistans prime minister says his country is ready to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks to end the Iran war, despite Iran vowing to fight until complete victory. Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote in a post on X. View post on X Pakistan is one of the countries pushing diplomatically for talks between Iran and the US after US President Donald Trump said there were ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Trump started the fourth week of his war against Iran by offering the world some guarded optimism that the US could soon be winding operations down, a claim that has drawn a muted response from the Iranian regime but temporarily calmed the nerves of global markets.

Advertisement

Trump said on Monday (US time) that he was holding off on attacking Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, citing major points of agreement with Iran. He said the Islamic Republic wanted to make a deal and claimed that US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner had held talks on Sunday with an Iranian leader. He did not say who the Iranian leader was, but confirmed that Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was not involved in any negotiations. Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistans prime minister, and US President Donald Trump pictured together in Switzerland in January. Bloomberg Iranian officials have dismissed Trumps comments as a ploy to stall for time to reduce energy prices and to buy time for implementing his military plans. Iranian state television later quoted Major General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, the spokesman of Irans top military command, as saying: Irans powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Irans integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory.

Advertisement

But reports from US media outlet CBS News, citing a senior unnamed Iranian foreign ministry official, said Iranian officials were reviewing US messages sent through various mediators. Related Article Analysis

Middle East at war In a contest between Trump and Tehran, its tough to know who to believe Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan were all named as potential mediators, with a Gulf diplomat telling the Associated Press that Egypt and Turkey were leading de-escalation efforts. For now, it appears they managed to avert an energy catastrophe that would result if Trump attacked Irans energy facilities and Iran responded, said the diplomat, who was not authorised to speak with journalists and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on whether that country had relayed messages between Iran and the US. However, Turkish officials have confirmed the countrys Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has spoken to his counterparts from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt and the European Union, as well as US officials, as part of efforts to end the war.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, an Egyptian official said the US and Iran exchanged messages through Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan at the weekend, aiming to avert strikes on energy infrastructure. The official was not authorised to speak to the media and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Loading Trump has also had a conversation with Pakistans chief of army staff, Asim Munir, about the conflict with Iran and talks with the country, a person familiar with the matter said. Pakistan is leveraging close ties fostered with Trump together with its longstanding bonds with neighbour Iran and other key players such as Saudi Arabia. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also spoken to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and US news outlet Axios has reported that mediating countries were trying to convene a meeting in Islamabad with Witkoff, Kushner and possibly US Vice President JD Vance, citing an unidentified Israeli official. All Im saying is we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal, Trump said during an extended exchange with reporters before boarding Air Force One on Monday (US time) to make his way from his home in Florida to an event in Memphis, Tennessee.

Advertisement

And I think, if I were a betting man, Id bet for it. But again, Im not guaranteeing anything. Related Article Middle East at war Iran assigns club-wielding corrupt commander to make a deal with Trump The turnaround from Trump served to drive down oil prices and offered financial markets a reprieve from the recent sabre-rattling by both the US and Iran. However, hopes of de-escalation may be short-lived amid reports that Trumps Gulf allies  Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  are preparing to enter the conflict. The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the situation, that Saudi Arabia has agreed to give the US military access to King Fahd Air Base, an apparent reversal after saying its bases couldnt be used to attack its long-time rival. The New York Times reported Saudi Arabias Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been pushing Trump to continue the war against Iran for the destruction of the hard-line government, according to people briefed by US officials on those conversations.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates closed an Iranian-owned hospital and club  undercutting a key source of support for Tehran. Videos apparently also showed that some missiles used in attacks on Iran were launched from Bahrain, the report said. If Trump were to end the war now, he would be walking away from the fight when he still hasnt fully achieved his stated objectives, some regional analysts have noted. Over the course of the past few weeks, Trump has offered shifting reasons for launching the war as Democrats accuse him of needlessly shaking the global economy and polls at home show Americans are divided along party lines about the conflict. But the president has settled on a list of goals he has said must be achieved, including degrading Irans missile capability, destroying its defence industrial base, eliminating the Iranian navy, preventing Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons, and securing the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said on Monday that the US would retrieve Irans enriched uranium as part of a potential agreement with the Islamic Republic, but he offered no details on how, beyond saying the US military would take it ourselves.

Advertisement

The US and Israeli air bombardment has made progress on some of those goals. But analysts say Trump would strain credulity if he were to claim, at this point, that he had made good on achieving his aims  particularly definitively ending Irans ability to build a nuclear bomb. Rescue workers using heavy machinery clear debris from a destroyed residential building in northern Tehran, Iran. Getty Images The US and nuclear watchdogs believe some 970 pounds of highly enriched uranium remains buried beneath rubble at three key Iranian nuclear sites that were badly damaged by a limited US military operation last June during the 12-day Israel-Iran war. Trumps war choice has not accomplished his military goals, Aaron David Miller, a former State Department Middle East negotiator who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said on X. Miller noted that Iran is still able to attack Gulf allies and effectively control the Strait of Hormuz. No nukes; no enrichment, good luck with that. A singularly incompetent use of Americas power.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, more US troops are still on the way and Trump has sought to leave plenty of space for himself to take another abrupt turn. Trump ordered additional troops to the region last week as the US administration weighed possible action to take control of the strait that would allow the safe passage of tankers bringing oil from the Gulf nations to Asia. Related Article Middle East at war How Trumps elite marine unit could wrest control of the Strait of Hormuz We are witnessing how a conflict that began over politics and security is moving to be defined by energy and economics, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank. Its hard to ignore the logic inherent in the presidents own commentary, which both calms markets but also buys time for Marines to arrive.

Advertisement

AP, with staff reporter, Reuters and Bloomberg Get the days breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.

Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share More: Middle East at war

Iran

Donald Trump
Three-year collaboration brings curated events and subscriptions from The Atlantic, culminating in a 12-day Seabourn Conversations cruise

SEATTLE, March 23, 2026 -- Seabourn is bringing The Atlantic aboard for an exclusive three-year partnership to host a series of curated events on select itineraries, developed specifically for Seabourn guests and designed to deepen onboard enrichment through thoughtful dialogue and cultural exchange. The partnership will culminate in a full itinerary takeover in 2028, during Seabourn's 40th anniversary year, on a 12-day cruise from Montreal to Boston, where The Atlantic was founded in 1857.

This is a first of its kind partnership for both The Atlantic and Seabourn. The Atlantic will develop programming on select Seabourn cruises reflecting a range of topics, including culture and books, business and science, health and tech  with conversations led by its writers. The Atlantic, which has been dramatically growing its editorial platforms and live programming over the past several years, is known for convening must-attend journalistic and idea-driven events like its annual Atlantic Festival and recently launched a nationwide tour, The Atlantic Across America, that will hold events in all 50 states across the next three years.

Departing October 4, 2028, Seabourn Quest will sail on a "12-day With The Atlantic: A Seabourn Conversations Exclusive" voyage as part of Seabourn's 40th anniversary year. Set against the backdrop of Canada's fall foliage, the cruise will feature exclusive editorial programming inspired by The Atlantic Festival, moderated discussions, and thematic experiences. Additional voyages featuring programming from The Atlantic will be announced at a later date and will happen in 2026 and 2027.

The partnership includes a subscription integration: Guests on a cruise featuring an Atlantic event will have free digital access while on board and receive a complimentary three-month subscription after their sail. The Atlantic is also curating the libraries on each ship fleetwide, with recent issues of the magazine and books by its current and historical writers.

This programming is part of Seabourn Conversations, Seabourn's enrichment program known for offering guests insights from leading thinkers, authors, and experts in an intimate, conversational setting. Designed to foster meaningful dialogue, Seabourn Conversations brings guests face-to-face with influential voices across culture, science, politics, history, and the arts, for the world's most compelling conversations at sea. The collaboration reflects Seabourn's continued commitment to offering enrichment without borders and onboard access.

"We're thrilled to be collaborating with Seabourn to bring The Atlantic and the experience of our live events to their voyages," said Alice McKown, The Atlantic's publisher and chief revenue officer. "Storytelling and connection define our work, and this allows us to develop one-of-a-kind events in intimate settings for Seabourn's guests."

"Our guests are driven by a desire to explore  drawn not only to new destinations, but to the discovery of ideas, culture, cuisine, design and beyond that shape the world around them," said Kacy Cole, Seabourn's chief marketing officer. "With The Atlantic, we're extending that exploration beyond place, bringing meaningful conversation and perspectives on board in a way that feels immersive, relevant, and unmistakably Seabourn."

For reservations or more details about Seabourn, please call Seabourn at 1-800-929-9391, visit www.seabourn.com or contact a professional travel advisor.

About The Atlantic

The Atlantic was founded in 1857 as a magazine of politics, arts, and letters, with a mission to understand the American idea. That work has intensified and expanded through reporting on culture, science, national security, technology, literature, and more. In the past year alone, The Atlantic has added more than 50 journalists to its staff as part of a major editorial expansion; launched broader coverage of defense, national security, technology, health, and science; begun publishing two more print issues annually; introduced a Games hub; and begun offering free digital access to every public U.S. high school. It has a record number of subscriptionsmore than 1.4 millionafter many years of continuous and dramatic subscription growth.

About Seabourn

Seabourn represents the pinnacle of luxury ocean and expedition travel and operates a suite of six modern ships. The all-inclusive, boutique ships offer all-suite accommodations with oceanfront views; award-winning dining; complimentary premium spirits and fine wines available at all times; renowned service provided by an industry-leading crew; a relaxed, sociable atmosphere that makes guests feel at home; a pedigree in expedition travel through the Ventures by Seabourn program and two new luxury purpose-built expedition ships, including Seabourn Venture that launched in 2022 and Seabourn Pursuit in 2023. Seabourn takes travelers to every continent on the globe, visiting more than 400 ports including marquee cities and lesser-known ports and hideaways. Guests of Seabourn experience extraordinary offerings and programs, including partnerships with leading entertainers, dining, personal health and wellbeing, and engaging speakers. Seabourn is a brand of Carnival Corporation and plc .

IMAGES HERE

SOURCE Seabourn
LOS ANGELES, March 23, 2026 -- New data shows that California oil refiners have been making more than a dollar per gallon more than they made in January from every gallon of gasoline. By contrast, the cost of crude oil has pushed up gas prices by 66 cents.

As of Friday, oil refiners' gross margins were approximately $1.50 per gallon, according to the crack spreads reported by the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), and have grown since. By contrast, refiners' gross refining margins were 51 cents in January, as reported by the California Energy Commission. Gross refining margins are the standard industry measure for profit, what refiners keep after taking out the cost of crude, environmental fees and taxes. It's approximated by the crack spread.

"This is a pig at the trough moment for California oil refiners," said Jamie Court, president of the nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog. "Governor Newsom needs to call for emergency regulations on refiners' resupply obligations, minimum inventory requirements and a price gouging penalty. The legislature authorized these rules in 2023 and 2024 and the California Energy Commission hasn't written them. Newsom needs to stand up for Californians and direct his Energy Commission to issue emergency regulations or he is as culpable for this jump at the pump as Trump."

Oil companies point to state taxes and environmental fees as the reason for the high gasoline prices, but they total 87 cents per gallon. As of today, California refining margins are nearly double that amount.

Crude costs are roughly $2.26 per gallon, which comes to $95 per barrel. The crack spread for refiners in Los Angeles, the difference between the cost of crude oil and what they can charge for gasoline, was $64 per refined barrel, or $1.52 per gallon. The daily price of gasoline has grown from Friday's $5.67 per gallon price to $5.79, suggesting refiners margins have gone up another 10 cents over the weekend.

"This is a crisis at the pump and California oil refiners are treating consumers like an ATM because they can," said Court. "Now is the time for Governor Newsom to use the tools the legislature gave him to rein in their profiteering and tame pump prices. The numbers don't lie. Oil refiners are taking advantage of the moment and appeasement in Sacramento to rip us off just like they did in 2022 and 2023. Newsom has a choice. He can be Churchill or he can be Chamberlain."

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference 'In search of a new social contract: a silent people and irresponsible government'

On Wednesday , March 25, at 12.00, the press center of Interfax-Ukraine will host a press conference entitled "In search of a new social contract: a silent people and irresponsible government."

Participants: founder and head of the Power of the Nation party, head of the Protection and Assistance public organization, and specialist in trade port management, Andriy Peliukhovsky, moderator  press secretary of the Power of the Nation party Viktoriia Skrypnychuk.

The event will be held at 8/5a Reitarska Street.

The event will be broadcast on the Interfax-Ukraine YouTube channel. On-site registration for journalists requires editorial identification. Additional information is available at (096) 551-51-51 or [email protected].
On Wednesday, March 25, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference titled "In search of new social contract: silent people and irresponsible authorities." Participants include founder and head of the Power of the Nation party, head of the Protection and Assistance public organization, and specialist in trade port management, Andriy Peliukhovsky; moderator  press secretary of the Power of the Nation party Viktoriia Skrypnychuk (8/5a Reitarska Street). The event will be streamed on the Interfax-Ukraine YouTube channel. Admission requires registration on the spot with ID cards. Additional info by phone: (096) 551 51 5151 or at: [email protected].
bae Returns





Actor Ananya Panday is ready to return as Bella Bae Chowdhary in the second season of the web series Call Me Bae. The announcement was made recently during a slate event by Prime Video in Mumbai. At the event, the platform confirmed that the show will return with a new season and Ananya will once again play the lead role. The upcoming season will focus on Bae's journey as her own news show finally goes on air. While this brings her fame and attention, it also brings new challenges in both her personal and work life. In the second season, Bae's life becomes more complicated when her ex-husband returns. At the same time, she also finds herself getting distracted by her charming boss. This leaves her confused as she struggles to balance her feelings and her growing career. Her close group of friends will also face problems in the new season.

The arrival of a "Nayi Behen" in their circle will start creating tension among the group. The show is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla and Apoorva Mehta. The series will be directed by Collin D'Cunha and written by Ishita Moitra, Samina Motlekar and Rohit Nair. Apart from Ananya, several actors from the first season will return. The cast includes Vir Das, Shruti Haasan, Gurfateh Pirzada, Varun Sood, Vihaan Samat, Muskkaan Jaferi, Niharika Lyra Dutt and Lisa Mishra. Actor Mini Mathur will also join the cast in the new season. The first season of the show was released in September 2024. It followed Bae, a rich and stylish young woman whose life changes after she is cut off from her wealthy family. She then moves to Mumbai and starts a new life while learning to live independently, build friendships and discover herself. n
Beyond numbers

THE assessment of the performance of Mr. Narendra Modi as head of the Government cannot be done on the basis of how many days he has been holding the high office first as Chief Minister and later as Prime Minister. The fact that he has held the highest office in the State or Central Governments for as many as 8931 days and the count is still on, does demonstrate his longevity, all right. But more importantly, it showcases a fulfilling career at the helm complete with innovation, integrity and insightfullness not just in governance but also in offering the people leadership on the widest possible range of issues. His success in politics, therefore, must be assessed from not the number of days in office, but by the number of ideas he produced and implemented impacting the lives of common people. Just a few days ago, as he spoke at the farewell of a few Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament, Mr. Modi had said that politics had no full-stop. His words assumed a great authenticity because Mr. Narendra Modi knows all too well how politics can be a great tool to achieve high-quality socio-economic justice and equality.

As a young boy who started working with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a volunteer, Mr. Narendra Modi has been practising what was preached in the RSS -- an inclusive activity that rose above petty considerations. As a base-level volunteer, as a grass-root worker, as a young political activist walking a rising trajectory of service and dedication to national cause, Mr. Narendra Modi followed to the hilt what he believed and what he had been taught in the RSS. Each of those contributions reflects so correctly in his long and successful political career. There is no full-stop, and the road ahead is long and arduous -- a reality Mr. Modi has never forgotten even for a moment. His relentless pursuit of higher and finer performance, thus, is a non-stop activity that will go on whether he is in the Government or not. Absolute people-orientedness is Mr. Narendra Modis speciality -- and the people do not miss it. They realise that the man has not lived a single day for himself. He has availed no holiday -- even for a day -- and he has not allowed himself to be engaged in his personal family at the cost of the work as the head of the Government. Even when his mother passed away, he attended the funeral and then immediately proceeded to fulfill his commitments as Prime Minister.

And he has spent each festival -- such as Diwali or Holi -- with the men in uniform at some distant place, sending to the nation the message of his unwavering commitment to the cause of the people and the nation, beyond politics. His success has been phenomenal, to say the least. But what counts most is the relentless pursuit of excellence that strengthens his claim to fame as Indias longest serving head of the Government. He lives like a rishi -- all the time dedicated to the task at hand, all the time thinking about what to do next to help the larger Indian society. Ideas emerge from him one after another -- in an uninterrupted flow that often amazes people, ordinary or extra-ordinary.

It is not without reason that Mr. Narendra Modi has endeared himself not just to the Indian community in the country and abroad, but also to the international community because of the virtue he brings along -- of openness, of sincerity, of transparency, of clarity of thought and action, and no-nonsense promotion of Indias national interests (which are above anything else). By the time he will complete his third term as Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi will have added another 1,000 days to his record as Head of the Government. Common people of India do not understand much about such numbers. For, all they know is that Mr. Narendra Modi should continue as Prime Minister and national leader as long as he wishes and as long as his health permits him to do so. And this wish stems from only one point -- the people know Mr. Narendra Modis value and worth.
Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference at 16:00 today regarding incident with Oschadbank collectors in Hungary

Today, March 24, at 16.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host Chairman of the Board of Oschadbank, along with a representative of the law firm Asters and a member of the cash collection team, will comment on the circumstances of the incident, the current status of the case, and further actions to protect the bank's interests.

Key issues: the circumstances of the illegal detention of Oschadbank's cash collection employees; the status of the return of seized assets; and further legal steps.

Participants include Chairman of the Board of Oschadbank Yuriy Katsion; Managing Partner of Asters Law Firm Oleksiy Didkovsky; member of the cash-in-transit team Hennadiy Kuznetsov (8/5a Reitarska Street).

The event will be streamed on the Interfax-Ukraine YouTube channel.

Admission requires registration on the spot with ID cards.
BMC Unveils Rs 3,938 crore budget, Massive push for water, sewage and lake rejuvenation. Mayor Malti Rai presents roadmap for FY 2026-27 with no new taxes; Rs 1,050 crore earmarked for sewage network expansion





Mayor :

Malti Rai on Monday presented a Rs 3,938.45 crore budget for the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the financial year 2026-27. The budget focuses heavily on strengthening the citys water supply, expanding sewage networks and urban infrastructure upgrades. While the Mayor maintained a no new tax stance for the general public, the budget proposes a 13% increase in commercial sewage tax and an estimated deficit of Rs 108 crore. Water and Sewage Infrastructure Overhaul: A significant portion of the outlay is dedicated to the Amrut 2.0 scheme to modernise the citys utility network. Mayor Malti Rai stated that the corporation is currently executing works worth Rs 582 crore to install 36 overhead tanks, four filtration plants, and a 600-km pipeline network. Additionally, Rs 1,050 crore has been allocated to expand the sewage network to cover 70% of the city, aiming to increase treatment capacity to 80%. The plan also includes replacing bulk connections with individual tap connections in 829 colonies to ensure better distribution. Dedicated Funds for Upper Lake Beautification: In a major ecological move, the BMC has allocated substantial funds specifically for the citys primary water body.

An amount of Rs 14.9 crore has been sanctioned for the Upper Lake, also known as Bada Talab, to focus on its beautification and protection from encroachment. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to preserve the lifeline of Bhopal and enhance its aesthetic appeal for residents and tourists alike. Redevelopment of Lower Lake and Surrounding Areas: The Lower Lake is set for a significant transformation under the CM Infrastructure Scheme. With a dedicated Rs 7 crore outlay, the project aims to redevelop the lakefront and improve the surrounding infrastructure. This effort is designed to integrate the historic water body into the modern urban landscape while ensuring that its environmental integrity is maintained through systematic civil works. Conservation of Kaliasot River and Shahpura Lake: Substantial financial provisions have been made for the Kaliasot River and Shahpura Lake, with allocations of Rs 34 crore and Rs 9 crore respectively. These funds will be utilised for conservation activities and the construction of specialised immersion ponds to prevent the direct dumping of waste during festivals. These measures are expected to significantly reduce pollution levels and protect the local aquatic ecosystem from further degradation.
Goa BJP Councillors son held in sexual abuse case of over 30 minor girls





PANAJI :

THE South Goa Police arrested 20-year-old Soham Sushant Naik in the wee hours of Monday following an intense public outcry over an alleged sex scandal involving 25 to 30 minor girls. Naik, a resident of Madegal-Cacora and the son of a BJP Curchorem Municipal Councillor, was taken into custody after a mob of concerned citizens and local leaders picketed the police station.

The investigation suggests a disturbing pattern of abuse spanning the last three years. According to preliminary reports, the BJP corporators son engaged in sexual relations with numerous minors, filming the encounters and subsequently using the footage to threaten the victims into silence. The scandal came to light last week after Soham Sushant Naik allegedly boasted about his actions during a social gathering, showing explicit videos of the victims to his associates. As rumours of the sexual abuse recordings spread through South Goa, local tension reached a boiling point. However, before this, the case was being discussed in South Goa for the last few days. Local citizens gathered at the Kudchade police station on Sunday night seeking action as the case was linked to a local BJP corporator. Finally, the police took the corporators son Soham Naik into custody.

The action came after the accused showed some videos to his friends at a drinking party last week. This led to the revelation of the years of alleged sexual abuse of minors by the BJP leaders son. On Sunday, Curchorem residents had marched to the police station demanding a fair probe into the alleged sex-racket videos involving minors. The protestors had warned of a bandh if police failed to act immediately and arrest the accused within 48 hours. The residents had also demanded that the police register a suo motu FIR in the case rather than wait for victims to come forward.
Petrol, diesel supply disrupted in city





HPCL petrol pump on Wardha Road closed on Monday evening.

Staff Reporter :

The situation will normalise as banks have reopened, payments are being processed, and fuel dispatch has resumed, though panic buying might alone cause supply disruption

Petrol pumps remained shut and supply at several outlets in Nagpur was disrupted over the past two days due to a combination of advance payment rules, bank holidays, technical delays and panic buying. Amit Gupta, President, Federation of Maharashtra Petrol Dealers Association, said the issue is linked to supply timing instead of availability. Gupta explained that, oil companies have recently shifted all dealers to an advance payment system, under which fuel is released only after payment is received.

Earlier, dealers were given short-term credit, but this facility has now been withdrawn in phases, with HPCL and BPCL stopping credit from March 12, IOC from March 18, and all three companies ending credit completely, including during bank holidays, from March 21, he explained. This sudden change disrupted supply as payments could not be processed during the weekend bank closure. He said, the impact was visible at the retail level, with pumps near Ajni Police Station, Medical Square and Ashok Chowk among those that shut temporarily due to lack of stock. Panic buying further worsened the situation, as people rushed to fill fuel fearing shortage, quickly exhausting available stock.

Unusual late-night rush was seen at pumps such as Panchsheel Chowk due to public concern, he added. He then said that, technical issues also contributed, as the Hindustan Petroleum system was down, delaying loading operations. Explaining the reason behind the policy change, Gupta said, crude oil prices have risen to around 115 dollars per barrel, putting financial pressure on companies that are buying fuel at higher rates, while selling at controlled prices. He said, companies have therefore moved to a daily payment system to manage cash flow. Dealers are facing difficulty as they continue to extend credit to long-term customers such as transporters and industries, while companies have stopped giving them credit suddenly. Retail fuel prices have not increased, and only bulk consumers are paying higher, market-linked rates, Gupta clarified. He concluded that, the situation is now improving as banks have reopened, payments are being processed and fuel dispatch has resumed, though panic buying is still visible in some areas due to fear linked to global tensions and that might alone cause supply disruption.
Producers Path





Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan, who was last seen in the box-office debacle War 2, sought some production advice from Bollywood multi-hyphenate Karan Johar. The actor attended the launch of his 2 shows Mess and Storm at the Prime Video PLay event on Thursday. As he took to the stage, he spoke with KJo, and called him the best producer whom he has ever worked with. He then asked KJo for some advice as a producer. KJo, flattered by his words, then went on to deliver a monologue in which he summed up the actors cinematic journey. KJo said, Lets get some facts right, youve grown up on film sets. Youre the son of Rakesh Roshan, the prolific filmmaker then you were an assistant director for many years before you launched yourself into the biggest silver screen debut there ever was. I think youve been training through your life to join the producers club.

The actor said, I feel a lot better now, thank you for reminding me. Meanwhile, the OTT series Mess follows the story of a motley group of robbers, who invade the family house of a man with OCD. They slowly realise, its not the family but them who need to survive this one night standoff. Storm tells the story of five women, each nursing wounds, dreams, and deadly secrets, as they are drawn into a web of deception that threatens to crush them or set them free when a sustainable housing project unravels into a deadly scam. Earlier, Hrithik used social media to pay a heartfelt tribute to Veteran filmmaker M M Baig, who passed away at his home in Andheri West in Mumbai at the age of 70. Hrithik shared that he will forever be thankful to the late filmmaker for being a pillar of support for him during his initial days in the industry.n
Trump halts strikes on Iran power plants for five days





DUBAI :

PRESIDENT Donald Trump extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, saying on Monday that the US would hold off on threatened strikes against Iranian power plants for five days. In his announcement on Truth Social, Trump also held out the possibility of a resolution to the war - though Iranian officials denied there were negotiations. Trumps turnaround appeared to offer something of a reprieve after the US and Iran traded threats with potentially catastrophic repercussions for civilians across the region. Trump later told reporters that Iran wants to make a deal, and claimed United States envoys have been holding talks with a respected Iranian leader. He said his Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, conducted talks on Sunday evening, and that the negotiations would continue. Trump did not name any official or officials representing Tehran. He said the US has not talked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Trump said if a deal is reached with Iran, the US will move to take Irans enriched uranium critical to its disputed nuclear programme.

The war, now in its fourth week, has already seen several dramatic turning points - the killing of Irans supreme leader, the bombing of a key Iranian gas field, and strikes targeting oil and gas facilities and other civilian infrastructure in Gulf Arab nations. The conflict has killed more than 2,000 people, shaken the global economy, sent oil prices surging, and endangered some of the worlds busiest air corridors. The latest threatened attacks could have cut electricity to wide swaths of people in Iran and around the Gulf and knocked out desalination plants that provide many desert nations with drinking water. There are also increasing concerns about the consequences of any strikes on nuclear facilities. Trump issued a deadline and then extended it Trump said over the weekend that the US would obliterate Irans power plants unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours - a deadline that would have expired late Monday Washington time.

But on Monday morning, Trump wrote on his Truth Social site that the US and Iran have had very good and productive conversations that could yield a complete and total resolution in the war. Trump added that the suspension of his threat to attack power plants was subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions. Trump did not elaborate on the negotiations that had taken place, and the state-owned IRAN newspaper reported that Irans Foreign Ministry denied that there had been any. Remarks by the US President are part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans, the newspaper said. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Turkey has been an intermediary before in negotiations between Tehran and Washington. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also said Monday that Egypt has delivered clear messages to Iran focusing on de-escalating the conflict, according to his office.
Photo: Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko

Oschadbank and its legal counsel have sent formal requests to various Hungarian authorities demanding explanations regarding the detention of the bank's cash-in-transit vehicles on March 5 this year, the alleged mistreatment of bank employees, and the seizure of its assets ($40 million, EUR 35 million, and 9 kg of gold), but so far all such requests have gone unanswered, said Oleksiy Didkovsky, managing partner at Asters law firm, which represents the bank's interests.

"Unfortunately, from the moment of these events until now, none of our questions or appeals have received any explanations or documents in any form regarding the incident. Therefore, we will continue working on this with our legal team, addressing both tactical and strategic objectives," he said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday.

Oschadbank Board Chairman Yuriy Katsion said that the bank sought legal assistance to protect its interests on the very first day after the incident.

"The bank initiated criminal, procedural, and international legal steps and provided information to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies as well as relevant international counterparties and creditors in accordance with our contractual obligations. At the same time, Oschadbank has not received any official notifications regarding the grounds for the detention of its personnel and cargo either before or after the incident," the Board Chairman said.

@Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko

According to Didkovsky, both Ukrainian and Hungarian legal teams, as well as additional international teams, are involved in the case.

He said that the legal strategy currently includes two main tracks: in the short term, the necessary statements and appeals have been filed in both Hungary and Ukraine, primarily in the criminal law domain.

"We are now analyzing additional steps that can be taken in Ukraine, Hungary, and across the European Union, with the aim, first, of protecting the rights of the individuals involved, and second, of restoring what was taken from them, namely, the right to enter the EU for a period of three years. These are unprecedented actions carried out without any explanation," the managing partner said.

He added that further claims and lawsuits would be filed regarding the damages incurred by the bank, as the seized assets have not yet been returned.

"The bank will pursue legal action both to recover these assets and to obtain compensation for the damages caused by these events," Didkovsky said.

@Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko

He said that requests are being submitted to a broad range of entities in Hungary that were involved in these unprecedented actions.

The lawyer added that claims may also be filed against the Hungarian state over the actions that took place.

The head of Oschadbank said that the bank knows where its seized assets are being held and is attempting to communicate with Hungarian representatives through Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as through Ukraine's ambassador to Hungary and its consul.

Katsion added that the need to summarize interim results is linked to attempts to spread false information in the media space regarding the seizure of the bank's assets by Hungary.

"In recent days, false narratives that were initially circulated during the first two days of the incident have begun to reappear in Ukraine's media space. These narratives, in fact, spread Russian information-psychological operations and conspiracy theories that have no factual basis. They harm not only the reputation of the state-owned Oschadbank but also pose a threat to Ukraine's financial sector as a whole and may also affect the prospects of recovering the illegally seized funds from Hungary," the Board Chairman said.

He once again stressed that the cargo had been registered in accordance with international transport rules and European customs procedures, and that all accompanying documents were immediately submitted to the National Bank of Ukraine for verification. In addition, Oschadbank initiated an independent review by leading international financial auditing firms.

Katsion thanked Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Bank of Ukraine, and 35 members of the European Parliament for their support, noting that they had called on the European Commission to respond to Hungary's unlawful actions.

"We also have a statement of support from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who believes that the attack by Hungary's Counter Terrorism Centre special forces on Oschadbank cash collectors poses a threat to the currency stability of the European Union," he added.

As reported, on March 5 in Hungary, during a special operation by the Counter Terrorism Centre at a gas station on the M5 motorway, two Ukrainian cash-in-transit vehicles carrying $40 million, EUR 35 million, and 9 kg of gold were detained. Seven cash collectors were also detained, later released, and returned to Ukraine.

Ukraine's National Police opened criminal proceedings over the abduction of Ukrainian citizens and the seizure of Oschadbank service vehicles on Hungarian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the detention of the Oschadbank convoy in Hungary as an act of banditry. On March 9, Hungary's ambassador to Ukraine, Antal Heizer, was summoned to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, where he was issued a strong protest over the seizure of hostages and assets.
Photo: Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko

State-owned Oschadbank, following Hungary's seizure on March 5 of two of its cash-in-transit vehicles carrying $40 million, EUR 35 million, and 9 kg of gold, has temporarily suspended the import of cash foreign currency into Ukraine and is working on new secure routes, the bank's Board Chairman Yuriy Katsion said.

"We are working on new secure transportation and delivery routes, taking into account the risks we experienced and observed while using Hungarian territory," he said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday.

Katsion added that Oschadbank is the only commercial bank in Ukraine that holds a valid license to transport cash foreign currency across the territory of the European Union.

"That is why we are able to purchase [currency] directly, avoiding intermediaries, from the largest bank providing such services," the Board Chairman explained.

@Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko

He said that the transportation of funds and banking metals had been carried out on a regular basis, essentially every week, under an international agreement with Raiffeisen Bank International signed back in 2020.

"Ground logistics is currently the only route for bringing foreign currency cash into Ukraine, as air travel has been unavailable since the start of the full-scale invasion. Previously, such currency shipments were delivered by aircraft to Boryspil Airport," Katsion recalled.

According to him, the National Bank is currently covering market demand from its own reserves, but the situation requires a solution, as the volume of cash currency purchases is quite significant: the population and the financial system need to be supplied with physical cash.

He noted that the difference between the amount of currency purchased and sold by the population in 2025 alone amounted to the equivalent of $6.8 billion, which had to be imported into Ukraine.

In 2025, $1.451 billion and EUR 387 million were sold to the public through the bank's cash desks, while about $522 million and EUR 82 million were purchased from the population.

In addition, Oschadbank supplied physical currency to 39 Ukrainian banks in 2025 in the amount of $1 billion and about EUR 800 million.

Katsion recalled that the seized assets  $40 million, EUR35 million, and 9 kg of bank gold  remain in Hungary, which on March 12 returned only the two armored vehicles, showing signs of damage.

@Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko

Deputy Director of the Cash Collection, Counting, and Storage Department at Oschadbank, and member of the collection team, Hennadiy Kuznetsov, said that the returned vehicles had their internal surveillance system wiring cut, along with the hard drives used to store recorded data. According to him, there is no online video streaming due to the fleet size of more than 400 vehicles, but GPS tracking systems are in place, so the routes taken by the vehicles in Hungary and their parking locations have been preserved.

As reported, on March 5 in Hungary, during a special operation by the Counter Terrorism Centre, two Ukrainian armored cash-in-transit vehicles carrying $40 million, EUR 35 million, and 9 kg of gold were detained at a gas station on the M5 highway. Seven collectors were also detained, later released and returned to Ukraine.

The National Police of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings over the abduction of Ukrainian citizens and Oschadbank service vehicles on Hungarian territory.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the detention of the Oschadbank cash convoy in Hungary as an act of banditry. On March 9, Hungary's Ambassador to Ukraine Antal Heizer was summoned to Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was issued a strong protest over the seizure of hostages and assets.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) conducted operations from March 9 to March 13 to exchange non-cash foreign currency held by banks for cash currency to replenish their vaults, totaling $153.1 million and EUR 111 million, out of a declared volume of $500 million and EUR 265 million.

"The actual demand from banks was significantly lower than the offered volume of currency, which confirms the absence of a shortage of cash foreign currency," the regulator said on its website.
Concerns have been raised about the voters register as the election approaches, while officials maintain that safeguards are in place. How confident are you in the integrity of the register? Share your view in our poll.

You voted:
Chinese automakers overtake Japanese counterparts to lead global sales for 1st time: media

Xinhua) 08:21, March 24, 2026

A worker assembles a new energy vehicle at the workshop of Chinese Automaker Chery in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 8, 2026. (Photo by Liang Zidong/Xinhua)

TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese automakers have surpassed their Japanese counterparts in global vehicle sales for the first time, marking a significant shift in the global automotive industry, according to a recent report by Nikkei.

The report said that total global sales by Japanese automakers fell slightly to around 25 million units in 2025, causing Japan to lose its long-held top position for the first time since 2000. Meanwhile, Chinese car manufacturers recorded nearly 27 million units in global sales last year, rising to the top spot worldwide.

The conclusion was based on data released by major automakers and research conducted by automotive data platform MarkLines, Nikkei said.

Among individual companies, BYD surpassed Ford to rank sixth globally in 2025, while Geely overtook Honda to secure the eighth place, the report said.

Six Chinese automakers entered the global top 20 rankings, including Chery, Changan Automobile, SAIC Motor, and Great Wall Motors, outnumbering Japan's five.

In the electric vehicle segment, BYD also exceeded Tesla to become the world's leading EV seller, it added.

Tang Jin, a senior researcher at Japan's Mizuho Bank and an expert in the automotive sector, noted that China's rise to the top is more than a simple change in rankings. It signals a restructuring of the global automotive landscape, driven by China's strengths in advanced technology, cost efficiency, and rapid research and development.

He added that Japan needs to reassess its strategies in vehicle electrification and global market positioning in response to the evolving competition.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Senior Chinese legislator urges closer people-to-people exchanges with Russia

Xinhua) 09:05, March 24, 2026

Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, also chairman of the Chinese side of the China-Russia Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development, meets with Boris Titov, chairman of the Russian side of the committee, in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Li Hongzhong, chairman of the Chinese side of the China-Russia Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development, met with his Russian counterpart, Boris Titov, on Monday in Beijing.

Li, also vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has maintained high-level development.

He called on the committee to take the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state as the fundamental guidance, give full play to the role of the committee as the main channel for people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia, and serve the overall development of bilateral ties.

Li also briefed on the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress.

Titov said Russia fully supports the committee in playing an active part in promoting bilateral cooperation and strengthening friendship and mutual trust between the two countries.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
On the Plan | Finnish elevator maker KONE ready to contribute to China's urban renewal

10:40, March 24, 2026 By Chang Sha, Sheng Chuyi, Zhong Wenxing ( People's Daily Online

China's 15th Five-Year Plan charts a clear course for future development amid a changing international landscape, said Philippe Delorme, president and CEO of Finland-based elevator and escalator giant KONE, at the China Development Forum (CDF) 2026, held in Beijing from March 22 to 23.

In Delorme's view, the 15th Five-Year Plan's emphasis on urban renewal indicates greater demand for modernizing elevators, presenting strong growth potential for the company.

"China is a place of opportunity and is the biggest market when it comes to elevators," he said.

Meanwhile, China's push for digitalization aligns with the company's aspiration to deliver better products and experiences to customers through technology, Delorme added.

Speaking at a symposium during the CDF, Delorme described China as "an inexhaustible source of groundbreaking technology and a driving force for accelerating business going forward." He also expressed willingness to continue investing in China to support urban renewal and high-quality development.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Wu Chengliang)
In a respite from India's energy crisis amid the US-Iran war, two LPG carriers from the UAE and a crude oil tanker from Saudi Arabia are en route to Indian ports via the Strait of Hormuz. The escalating shipping blockade in the Persian Gulf has also severely crippled regional energy supplies.

Two Indian-flagged vesselsthe MV Jag Vasant and the MV Pine Gasdeparted their UAE ports at 6:00 AM IST on Monday, bound for India. Sailing just five nautical miles apart, the ships were allowed to proceed after securing transit clearance from Iran.

The vehicles carrying 92,612.59 MT of LPG transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, the shipping ministry said.

The vessels have 33 and 27 Indian seafarers on board, respectively.

According to the ministry, the Jag Vasant is likely to reach Kandla port on March 26, and Pine Gas is scheduled to reach New Mangalore on March 28.

Indian Navy warships will escort the LPG vessels for 24 hours through the Gulf of Oman before the merchant ships begin their journey toward Indias west coast ports.

The MT Kallista, a Panama-flagged crude oil carrier currently loading at the Saudi Arabian port of Yanbu, is scheduled to depart on Tuesday for Paradip Port in India via Jeddah. To ensure safe passage, Indian Navy warships will provide an escort through the high-risk Gulf of Aden, in coordination with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Amid ongoing missile and drone strikes across the Persian Gulf, Indian crews stationed aboard tankers in the conflict zone are facing severe psychological stress. In response, the Indian Navyalongside vessel ownersis actively providing operational and mental health support.

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi cancelled his visit to Australia and New Zealand scheduled from March 19-23 in the wake of the ongoing crisis.

Did India pay $2 million to pass through the Strait of Hormuz?

Currently, no reports indicate that India has paid $2 million to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. But reports said that Iran is charging $2 million per vessel for the transit through the passage.

A statement from the Iranian embassy in India stated that these claims are false.

In response to certain claims regarding the alleged receipt of a sum of 2 million dollars by the Islamic Republic of Iran from vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, it is emphasised that such claims are unfounded. The statements made in this regard merely reflect the personal views of individuals and do not, in any way, represent the official position of the Islamic Republic of Iran, read the official statement on X.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Council (IRGC) is not allowing an Indian warship to escort Indian-flagged vessels through the passage.

The Indian Navy has been tasked with deploying its Kolkata-class destroyers around the Gulf of Oman and Aden to ensure the safe passage of these vessels.
On the Plan | Adam Tooze sees sci-tech, common prosperity as key to China's 15th Five-Year Plan

13:45, March 24, 2026 By Chang Sha, Sheng Chuyi, Zhong Wenxing ( People's Daily Online

"My keywords are sci-tech and common prosperity," said Columbia University professor Adam Tooze, sharing his understanding of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).

Tooze made the remarks in an interview with People's Daily Online during the China Development Forum 2026, held in Beijing from March 22 to 23. He commended China's impressive achievements in science and technology, noting their global impact.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Tooze believes that how China strikes a balance between sci-tech, industrial progress and real benefits delivered to the broader population will shape its economic and social trajectory over the next five years.

Tooze also spoke highly of China's indispensable role in the global green transition, saying more cooperation should be expected in areas ranging from solar energy, batteries and electric vehicles to green hydrogen.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Wu Chengliang)
Last evening, by around 4.20 pm in India, something peculiar happened on the other side of the world. It was a quiet pre-market hour in New York, when global markets were already falling on fresh Iran tensions. Suddenly, someone made two very large, supposedly very well-timed bets. And this has now raised major suspicions.

According to the reports from outlets such as NDTV, someone bought S&P 500 futures worth $1.5 billion (that is about 12,600 crore), betting on a market rally. At the same time, they supposedly sold oil futures of $192 million, or 1,615 crore, placing another wager on a fall in crude prices.

Reports state that in a single one-minute window, Brent and WTI contracts worth roughly $580 million, four to six times normal volume for that hour, changed hands.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, at 7.05 am New York time, US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the United States had held talks with Iran and would halt planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.

Markets moved exactly as the trades had predicted. S&P 500 futures jumped more than 2.5 per cent. Oil prices plunged sharply. By some estimates, the oil position alone could have generated over $100 million (around 840 crore) in profits within twenty minutes, with equity gains pushing the total significantly higher.

The only problem is that there was no public signal or scheduled announcement when the bets were placed. The massive, precisely timed market calls will soon be under scrutiny.

As of now, market-specific agencies Reuters and Bloomberg have yet to report anything in this line. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet commented. The White House denied any insider trading.

Many hedge fund managers are calling the trade "highly unusual", and even Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, denied that any negotiations with Washington had even taken place. He alleged that the latest Trump announcement was a "fake news used to manipulate financial and oil markets".

The jury is yet to be out on whether these suspiciously timed trades had any insider trading angle attached to them. But the sheer volume of it might qualify it for mass market manipulation, if there is any truth to the matter. Similar timed trades have preceded other major US policy announcements in recent months, including a Polymarket bet placed just before Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was arrested.
Summer is not the only thing Indias air conditioning industry is looking forward to... they will now bet on startups. Blue Star has followed Voltas in joining the government to support the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Tuesday announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Blue Star Limited to support startups, innovators, and entrepreneurs working in areas such as HVAC technologies, digital solutions, advanced manufacturing, and supply chain innovation.

This came a couple of weeks after DPIIT announced another MoU signing with Voltas, Tatas consumer energy and AC arm, to "facilitate industrystart-up collaboration in the cooling and smart appliance ecosystem".

Under the latest partnership, selected startups will get access to Blue Star's R&D laboratories and testing facilities, opportunities to develop and validate Proof-of-Concept (PoC) solutions, structured mentorship from industry experts, and potential integration into Blue Star's supply chain and value networks, according to DPIIT.

Innovation challenges under the Bharat Startup Grand Challenge and hackathons focused on HVAC and digital manufacturing will be organised jointly.

The MoU was signed by Deputy Secretary DPIIT T. L. K. Singh and Blue Star Managing Director B. Thiagarajan. Speaking on the occasion, Joint Secretary DPIIT Shri Sanjiv said the collaboration "represents an important step towards fostering industry-driven innovation in the manufacturing sector," adding that such partnerships enable startups to "engage with real-world problem statements and scale solutions with tangible outcomes."

Blue Star currently holds about 14 per cent market share in room air conditioners and has publicly set a target of becoming a 20,000 crore company by 2030. To get there, it has earmarked 70 crore each for R&D, marketing, and manufacturing investments in FY 2026-27. Tapping the startup ecosystem for innovation, without bearing full internal R&D costs, seems to be a logical extension of that strategy.
In the current landscape of Indian literature, a troubling paradox has emerged: while Indias "Kindle generation" increasingly seeks out leadership narratives, the actual history of our post-independent military remains, as experts warn, "comatose". Sinking into a sea of hagiographic accounts or dry textbooks, the human reality of soldiering is often lost. It is at this critical juncture that a question long bubbling under the surface finally pops: Why is heroism in India only remembered through the narrow lens of broadcast spectacles and iconic medals? Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh (Retd.) and Rajan Arya, in their latest work Echoes of Courage: Untold Heroism of the Indian Armed Forces, set any doubts on this topic to rest, offering a detailed compendium that recovers the "moral texture" of service.

The authors shake things up by expanding the definition of courage across 18 layered chapters, arguing that heroism is a continuum of character rather than a momentary act. The journey begins not on a kinetic battlefield, but in the shadowed corridors of intelligence. Major O.S. Kalkat is presented as a masterclass in moral courage; by discovering Pakistans Operation Gulmarg plan in 1947, he chose to carry the "most lethal thing he could: knowledge," altering history without firing a shot. This intellectual heroism is mirrored by Colonel Narendra Bull Kumar, whose strategic foresight at the frozen heights of Siachen secured the glacier for India years before it became the worlds highest battlefield.

The book truly comes alive when documenting the tactical edge of bravery, where split-second decisions shape national destiny. The account of Rifleman Devi Prasad Limbu, who "fought like a tiger" at Chola Pass in 1967, is so visceral that even his Chinese adversaries returned his body with full military honoursa rare instance of international recognition from a foe. Similarly, the record-breaking feat of nineteen-year-old Rifleman Dhan Bahadur Rai, who brought down a supersonic Pakistani Sabre jet with a light machine gun, is narrated with a disciplined economy of language that allows the raw reality of the achievement to stand on its own.

Beyond masculine combat tropes, the volume successfully shatters gender ceilings and integrates spiritual belief into the framework of military excellence. The portrayal of Lt Col Poonam Sangwan reframes her Everest expedition not as a symbolic feat, but as a professional extension of military resilience and leadership under extreme conditions. Simultaneously, the book ventures into the realm of continuous belief and military folklore with the legend of Baba Harbhajan Singh, treating such stories as essential spiritual frameworks that sustain morale in the worlds harshest environments. The inclusion of the anonymous intelligence operative Zafar-4 adds a haunting dimension to the narrative, reminding us that much of what keeps a nation secure must remain forever unacknowledged.

Perhaps the most moving expansion of the ethical horizon is the tribute to animal warriors like Pedongi the mule and Mansi the dog. By recording their service with dignity rather than novelty, the book reminds readers that the true cost of peace is a sacrifice shared across species. This moral canvas is further broadened by the account of the Armed Forces' response to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, where soldiers acted as first responders in a toxic environment, proving that national service extends far beyond war fields and borders.

For the younger generation, Echoes of Courage functions as a "Youth Manifesto". It reframes leadership not as machinery or technology, but as human character, empathy, and the discernment of when not to act recklessly. It encourages readers to see themselves as inheritors of a moral tradition where "Nation First" is an obligation carried to its furthest ethical end. For defence aspirants, this is an essential "bucket list" resource; it provides the human context that technical manuals lack, proving that strategy ultimately rests on the bedrock of individual integrity.

Stylistically, the book is "textbookish in its aspirations" to preserve institutional memory, yet it remains a "guiding light" for anyone seeking to understand what courage looks like when no one is watching. It is a timely intervention that ensures quiet heroism is neither forgotten nor misunderstood, restoring the echoes of silent guardians to their rightful place in the nations collective conscience.

Echoes of Courage: Untold Heroism of the Indian Armed Forces

Written by:Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh (Retd.) and Rajan Arya

Publisher: Pentagon Press LLP

Price: Rs 495

Pages: 192
In what comes as a testament to the jointness of the Indian armed forces, the Kharga Sappers, which are a major pillar of the Indian Armys combat engineering arm, along with the Indian Air Force, for the first time, have deployed a pontoon assault bridge.

A Chinook heavy-lift helicopter of the IAF deployed the assault bridge during a joint exercise.

The Western Command of the Indian Army, in a tweet, said the Kharga Sappers and the Indian Air Force "successfully validated rapid air movement and deployment of an Assault Bridge during a joint exercise, showcasing joint planning, seamless coordination, enhanced battlefield mobility, and operational synergy, reinforcing joint war-fighting capability."

#StrongAndCapable#ImposersofNationalWill#JointnessAndIntegration



Samyukta-Saktya Vijayah#KhargaSappers and #IndianAirForce successfully validated rapid air movement and deployment of an Assault Bridge during a joint Exercise, showcasing Joint planning, seamless pic.twitter.com/h8EKT8v3VG  Western Command - Indian Army (@westerncomd_IA) March 23, 2026

There are several water bodies, including rivers and canals, in the terrain where the Western Command of the Indian Army operates. Assault bridges are an important force multiplier that helps the Army formations keep moving even when there are natural obstacles like water bodies, preserving momentum and sustaining combat power across the battlefield.

ALSO READ: IAF urged to totally spend budgetary allocation for modernisation, upgradation

The assault bridge is assembled from modular segments that are typically transported on heavy-duty Tatra trucks. Once deployed, these segments are connected in the water to form a continuous span of up to 300 metres, a Times of India report said.

Indias strike corps, equipped with the T-90 Bhishma MBT (main battle tank), can use these bridges to cross water obstacles with ease.

A video posted with the Western Commands tweet shows a Chinook heavy-lift helicopter deploying assault bridge segments into the water, while a Kharga Sappers team assembles them into a fully operational bridge.

For more defence news, views and updates, visit: Fortress India

The capability to airlift and deploy such bridges using helicopters can significantly enhance the Indian Armys offensive reach, particularly in river-heavy terrains like Punjab and Jammu.

This ability also comes in handy during natural disasters, enabling the rapid installation of temporary pontoon bridges to improve access for the Army and other relief agencies in affected areas.
When "Wonder Man" was announced last year, nobody knew what to expect. When the show finally landed on streaming in India in January, it took not just many Marvel enthusiasts by surprise but also religious followers of comic books and associated properties across of any studio.

Despite being a little-known  regular viewers, that is superhero from the Marvel stable, the show managed to impress with its focus largely on its characters and relationships, an approach not attempted before by any superhero movie or series.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who played the titular superhero Simon Williams, who happens to be a struggling actor looking for his big break in Hollywood, won over many with his warm and endearing performance, aside from Ben Kingsley's character, Trevor Slattery (who pretended to be Marvel big baddie Mandarin in "Iron Man 3"), a veteran actor who guides Williams through Hollywood's tricky internal and external channels.

Though the show primarily revolved around a struggling actor who wants to work with one legendary filmmaker, while also trying to keep his 'super' urges in check, it also explored other interesting characters whose stories have a major bearing on the journey of its main man.

Both are officially returning for the next season, which was expected considering how Season 1 ended with a tease of exploring the "other" side of Williams in a new season.

The "Wonder Man" comics boasts a fascinating origin story. Developed by writer Stan Lee and artists, Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first showed up in the ninth issue of The Avengers comics as a supervillain but eventually reformed and evolved into a hero, teaming up with, and fighting alongside, the Avengers.

Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed the successful "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", returns as executive producer, and is expected to direct a few episodes, with Andrew Guest involved again as the showrunner.

For more about "Wonder Man", read our opinion piece on the show here.
With the Kerala Assembly polls approaching, a controversy has erupted after a BJP seal was reportedly found on an official Election Commission of India (ECI) letter. The CPI(M) has alleged a conspiracy, reiterating its long-standing claim that the poll body is "rigged."

CPI(M) had posted the letter on their official party handle, and it was widely circulated on social media.

Have all pretences been dropped by the BJP?



It is no secret that the same power centre seems to control both the Election Commission of India and the BJP. Even then, at least maintain the courtesy of two separate desks.



Now even that seems unnecessary.



Seals are being casually pic.twitter.com/MfMXNaXTgk  CPI(M) Kerala (@CPIMKerala) March 23, 2026

Kerala Police had issued a notice to a Uttar Pradesh journalist for posting the EC letter with the BJP seal.

I have full respect for the election commission of India which is the most impartial constitutional body of the country. Gyanesh Kumar as its chief has led a historic term and is the most successful election commissioner of India till date. Is it okay, @TheKeralaPolice? https://t.co/gBwaCoCVdr  Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) March 24, 2026

By flagging the letter on X, CPI(M) asked, "Have all pretences been dropped by the BJP?

"It is no secret that the same power centre seems to control both the Election Commission of India and the BJP. Even then, at least maintain the courtesy of two separate desks," the party wrote.

"Seals are being causally swapped," it added.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala, meanwhile, dismissed the incident as "purely a clerical error." The BJP had recently submitted a photocopy of a 2019 directive while seeking clarification on guidelines regarding the publication of candidates' criminal antecedents. The party seal was already present on that copy, the office added.

Clerical error, they say.

A BJP seal on an Election Commission document - reduced to a casual mistake and quietly withdrawn.

This is a serious institutional lapse.

When the line between the ruling party and constitutional bodies begins to blur, it is not an error - it is a pic.twitter.com/Dbbuqw15pV  CPI(M) Kerala (@CPIMKerala) March 24, 2026

Due to an oversight, the office failed to notice the party symbol on the submitted document and inadvertently redistributed it to other political parties as part of the requested clarification, it further said.

The CEO also said that the mistake was identified and rectified immediately.

Further to the clarification issued in the matter, the Assistant Section Officer dealing with the file in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer has been placed under suspension pending enquiry. The original communication sent to all political parties is available at page 29 https://t.co/ZkPZPNNMo0  Chief Electoral Officer Kerala (@Ceokerala) March 23, 2026

Taking action, an Assistant Section Officer handling the file was suspended pending an enquiry.

Urging restraint, the CEO's office appealed to the public and media not to spread "misleading messages".
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has now hit out at the Election Commission of India on the issue of a BJP seal appearing on one of its letters.

Speaking to a reporter outside Kolkata airport, she said, "The Election Commission is not impartial. That's why their notification has the symbol of the BJP's vote."

The incident she was referring to occurred after a party in Kerala highlighted the issue. A controversy erupted after a BJP seal was found on an official letter of the ECI, and the ruling CPI(M) posted the letter on X, questioning its presence. The Kerala Police, meanwhile, issued a notice to a journalist for raising the issue on X.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala, meanwhile, dismissed the incident as "purely a clerical error."

The cat is out of the bag Mama said, commenting on the incident.

She questions whether the appearance of a BJP logo on the letter was just a clerical mistake, "This is not just a matter of Kerala. It is written above that all states and union territories. What does it mean? If we call it a clerical mistake, will it be okay? Or is it an attempt to fulfil political objectives? I will tell all political parties to fight against this one-sided dictatorship, one-party rule, against their agency. Let's protest. We have to see that the elections are held fairly and impartially."

She also raised the reshuffling of IPS and IAS officer by the commission ahead of the election and releasing the supplementary list of SIR at midnight.

"Why will the list be released at midnight? So far, the list has not been displayed anywhere in the booth, block, or district. Yesterday, too, two people committed suicide. Two people committed suicide before that. About 220 people died for this," she alleged.

She alleged that the ECi had no transparency and accused it of working with the BJP .

"I do not need the support of any party. But to protect democracy, to protect the constitution, everyone should unite... forget who is left and who is right. Those who want to fight against this conspiracy together do not need to be by my side. But be by the side of the people," she said.
Harish Rana, the man whose long legal battle helped shape Indias passive euthanasia framework, died at AIIMS Delhi on Tuesday after spending 13 years in a coma.

His story was never just a legal case; it was the story of a familys grief, hope, and ultimately, acceptance.

Rana had been in a vegetative state since 2013 following a severe brain injury. For over a decade, machines kept him alive while his family kept hope alive. His hospital room became a second home for his loved ones, who marked festivals, birthdays, and anniversaries beside his bed, speaking to him as if he would respond.

His death brings closure to a case that played a crucial role in shaping Indias conversation on the right to die with dignity.

A tragedy that became a landmark case

Harish Ranas condition never improved after the brain injury that left him in a permanent vegetative state. Doctors eventually informed the family that there was no realistic chance of recovery and that he was surviving only due to life-support systems.

Faced with an impossible situation, the family approached the Supreme Court, seeking permission for passive euthanasia or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. The case became one of the early instances after the Supreme Court recognised passive euthanasia and living wills, laying down guidelines for such cases.

The court allowed passive euthanasia under strict safeguards, including medical board approval and consent of family members, reinforcing that the right to die with dignity is part of the right to life under Article 21.

The familys 13-year vigil

For Ranas family, the court case was not about law; it was about love and letting go.

Even though the Supreme Court allowed passive euthanasia and recognised living wills, implementation remains complicated in India due to legal procedures and hospital protocols.

Many families still struggle to navigate the system during emotionally devastating times.
Amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to US President Donald Trump to discuss the need to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

Taking to X, PM Modi said he received a call from President Trump and had a "useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia."

He asserted that India backs de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. "Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability," the PM posted.

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor was the first to reveal about the call between the two leaders. "President Donald Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi. They discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open," Gor posted on X.

Earlier today, while speaking in Rajya Sabha, Modi said India wants peace in West Asia through dialogue and diplomacy. "India's attempt is to encourage all sections to peacefully resolve all issues," he said.

"We are trying to procure gas, crude oil from all possible sources," he said, adding that efforts will continue in the coming days.

"If West Asia crisis persists for a longer period, serious consequences are imminent. There is no other option for India but to become self-reliant," Modi pointed out. "In past 11 years, 53 lakh MT strategic oil reserves have been created; work on 65 lakh MT additional capacity is on."

This comes as the Centre is loading LPG onto Indian vessels in the Persian Gulf amid gas shortage, reported Reuters.

Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the shipping ministry, revealed that eight LPG carriers, four crude oil ships and one LNG tanker were among 24 Indian-flagged vessels stranded in the region due to the war. He revealed that one of the vessels would be fully loaded with LPG in three to four days while give tankers carrying 230,000 metric ton of LPG are in the Strait of Hormuz.

This is the worst LPG crisis the Centre has faced and the government has cut supplies for industries. India's LPG imports account for 60 per cent. Of this, 90 per cent came from the Middle East.
The recent arrest of American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke, a Georgetown University educated security contractor with a resume that describes him as a CIA black-ops recruit has uncovered what is being seen as the first layer of the deep mix of multitude of threats that have emerged from vast swathes of land across the porous Indo-Myanmar border. It is here from where Indian insurgent groups, mercenaries of global intelligence agencies and transnational drugs and weapons syndicates have been operating unchecked breeding cross networks.

What is ringing alarm bells for security agencies after the arrest of VanDyke and his Ukranian associates is the continued vulnerability of this porous border stretch to cross border movement of arms, drugs, and insurgent groups like Peoples Liberation Army, NSCN(IM), ULFA who take shelter on Myanmarese territory and cross over to northeastern states like Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

In the last few years, a significant number of cadres of Indian insurgent groups crossed over to the strife torn country, either to set up shelters, consolidate strength, carry out training, and gain access to smuggling networks. As civil strife continued, many of them were used as mercenaries during the conflict between the military junta and various resistance groups. The longer the instability and strife, threats from within and outside multiplied to the extent of the area being used as a testing ground for intelligence agencies and their proxies and agents to further their interests, said senior security officials.

Similar to technology strides being made by militaries around the worldfrom the Ukranian battlefield to the Pakistan armys attempt at drone warfare during Operation Sindoordrones in conflict zones have simultaneously turned into cost effective, easy and expendable tools to mount surveillance, hit targets with grenades and mortar shells and run transnational smuggling networks of arms and narcotics. It is not unnatural for drones finding their way into the hands of armed insurgent groups, the official said, just like they were found to have been used by the rebel groups in Myanmar.

What did not serve as a wake up call for security agencies, however, were the series of drone strikes that were taking place on Myanmarese soil as late as January this year when Myanmars junta had to officially close the Myitkyina Airport after a drone strike damaged a Myanmar National Airlines ATR-72. The regime had blamed the Kachin Independence Army and PDFs, who denied targeting civilians.

Last year, resistance fighters in Myanmar downed MI1-17 helicopter that was on a resupply run to its military operational command. The drone attack mirrored drone attacks in Ukraine signalling the use of FPV and interceptor drones beyond the Ukraine conflict.

On March 22, as suspected ULFA(I) militants launched a brazen attack on an Assam Police commando camp in Jagun, Tinsukia district, firing multiple rocket-propelled grenades, all eyes were once again on how sophisticated weaponry was providing firepower to the insurgent group operating on these border stretches.

The narcotics pipeline running from Chin State straight into Manipur and Assam funds both the Myanmar insurgents and ULFA(I) operatives, said a senior security official .

Already , security agencies have been studying the patterns of IEDs, RPGs and drones used during the strife in Manipur, where once again both the Hill and Valley based insurgent groups were playing mercenaries to either side during the conflict in Myanmar.

The NIA probe into the latest case of VanDyke and his Ukrainian associates is connecting the dots  from their illegal entry in Myanmar through the northeast corridor to training Myanmar rebels in drone warfare. At the same time, security agencies are also carefully examining how deeply the cross movement of men and weapons may have taken place with insurgent groups active in northeastern states that might have gone unnoticed. .

The extensive use of drones by ISI-backed criminal groups and terror operatives in Pakistan to send narcotics, arms and counterfeit currency across the heavily guarded border in recent years has been the focus of security agencies so far. A similar approach is needed on the eastern borders, said a security official.

Meanwhile, evidence with the NIA has opened doors for a wider probe that will not only help unearth the nexuses but also pin point the gaps that need to be plugged to strengthen security on the porous border stretches.

Whether one or more American mercenaries operating with the US Intelligence agencies, were training armed wing of transnational narcotics insurgency networks and resupplying them remains a matter of investigation. Interestingly, the plot was uncovered by yet another nations intelligence - the Russian, which is learnt to have tipped off their counterparts in India - about the network that led to VanDyke's arrest.

For now, the entry of a Western Intelligence asset operating in the grey zone in Myanmar into the Northeast remains a high risk concern - but in conflict lands of Indo-Myanmar border, it is only a peep into the long pipeline of threats waiting to be busted.






Boao Forum for Asia 2026 Annual Conference gets underway in S China's Hainan

14:46, March 24, 2026 By Michael Kurtagh ( People's Daily Online

A scene from the BFA Annual Conference 2026 press conference in Boao, south China's Hainan. (People's Daily Online/Cai Hairuo)

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) 2026 Annual Conference officially opened on Tuesday, March 24, in Boao, south China's Hainan province, with a press conference outlining the event's agenda, themes, and key participants.

BFA Secretary-General Zhang Jun described this year's gathering as high level, broad participation, and strong representation. Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, will attend and deliver a keynote speech at the plenary session, alongside meetings with global leaders, business representatives, and BFA board members.

Other prominent participants include Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Azerbaijani National Assembly Speaker Sahiba Gafarova, Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne, and Kazakhstan First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Minseok will address the forum via video link.

Around 2,000 delegates from more than 60 countries and regions are attending, along with over 1,100 journalists from about 150 media outlets. Participants include policymakers, former leaders of international and regional organizations, business executives, and scholars.

Zhang Jun, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, makes opening remarks at the BFA Annual Conference 2026 press conference in Boao, south China's Hainan. (People's Daily Online/Cai Hairuo)

This year's theme, "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation," reflects both the profound transformations and growing uncertainties facing the world. Zhang said the forum aims to send a clear message that while challenges persist, opportunities remain, and cooperation is essential to building a better future and a community with a shared future for humanity.

More than 50 events are scheduled, organized around four main areas. The first focuses on global trends, including economic uncertainty, global trade shifts, climate governance, and the role of Global South countries. The second centers on regional cooperation, with discussions on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Asia-Pacific integration, and cross-border payment systems.

The third highlights innovation and transformation, covering topics such as industrial upgrading, humanoid robotics, artificial intelligence in healthcare, green development, and the blue economy. The fourth emphasizes partnerships and inclusive development, with sessions on corporate strategy, ESG, and the role of young entrepreneurs.

Zhang Jun, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, makes opening remarks at the BFA Annual Conference 2026 press conference in Boao, south China's Hainan. (People's Daily Online/Cai Hairuo)

China's development outlook remains a key focus. This year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan and a new phase for the Hainan Free Trade Port. Sessions such as "China Economic Outlook" and "Invest in China, Share the Future" aim to highlight opportunities for investment and cooperation.

Two flagship reports were also released: the Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report and the Sustainable Development: Asia and the World Annual Report. They note that despite global challenges, Asian economies continue to demonstrate resilience and contribute significantly to global growth and trade.

The reports emphasize that multilateralism, economic globalization, and sustainable development remain important forces. They call for deeper regional integration, greater innovation, green transition efforts, and stronger cooperation to address global challenges.

Zhang expressed confidence that Asian economies can achieve high-quality development and play a leading role in the Asian Century, provided countries maintain unity, confidence, and a commitment to cooperation.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Wu Chengliang)
Confusion over the first supplementary list of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal persists within 24 hours of the list being released on Monday by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The list decides the fate of close to 29 lakh voters in West Bengal under the adjudication category from the final SIR list released on February 28. Sources say around 10 lakh voters have been deleted from the list, which is 40 per cent of the first supplementary list, though the exact number of deletions is still not clear as the list is not consolidated and is being released in parts for the 294 assembly constituencies.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the ECI on Tuesday over the lack of preparedness and harassment caused to voters under the scanner. Why was the supplementary list published at night? The lists have still not been put up in blocks and districts, and people are still unaware of their voting status. Even yesterday, two people committed suicide. The number of SIR-related deaths is now almost over 200, said Banerjee before leaving for her campaign in Siliguri in North Bengal.

The CM went on to question why the EC sought a weeks extra time to release the supplementary list and whether this time was used to add extra voters of a specific party, hinting at the BJP. Whatever names have been added to the supplementary list have only been added as a result of our case in the SC. Why does the ECI fear publishing the full list with clarity? It must be because the ECI isnt entirely truthful and transparent, otherwise this wouldnt have taken so long, especially after the judges had finished their work long back, added the CM.

She urged all political parties to come together against the autocratic one-party rule of the BJP and its agencies. Im not asking this for any political support from any party; this is entirely to save and protect democracy and the Constitution. Its time to forget differences in politics. You dont need to stand by me, but standing by the people is of utmost importance right now, she said.

She pointed out the ECIs alleged bias, saying, I am here to prove only one thing to you, that this ECI is not unbiased. In the ECs notification, there is the BJPs symbol, which has been published in newspapers. Under whose directions is the ECI functioning? asked the CM.

She alleged that Nandigrams Block Development Officer (BDO) was being brought to the Bhawanipore constituency. BJP leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari is contesting from both seats.

Seventy-three returning officers were replaced on Monday, in addition to around 70 IAS and IPS officers from the state, a move by the ECI which the CM condemned

Voters harassment

Mohammad Shafiul Alam, a booth-level officer (BLO) from Bashirhat in North 24 Parganas district, has to reapply as a fresh voter as his name has been deleted in the first supplementary list. Alam is disappointed after being instrumental in helping voters in his constituency with the SIR exercise and being left out of the SIR supplementary list.

The names of his parents are in the 2002 SIR, and despite furnishing relevant documents as per EC guidelines, he stands to lose his voting rights in the upcoming assembly elections.

My name is not in the list, and the reason is not mentioned. There was under adjudication written on my name earlier, but now it is written in Bengali on the top of the list that it is deleted. I have been told to reapply within 15 days, said Alam, a BLO of Bashirhat North assembly constituency.

I have digitised my own enumeration form and helped people whose documents were not in place. Now I am noticing that despite many voters submitting documents as per the list of 13 relevant documents suggested by the EC, voters names have been deleted, added the BLO.

Like Alam, several voters placed in the under-adjudication category face an uncertain future. More than 700 judges were appointed to scrutinise documents to decide on genuine voters. The second supplementary list will be released in the coming days, which will decide the fate of the remaining 30 lakh voters. A total of 60 lakh voters were placed in the under-adjudication category. West Bengal goes to the polls on April 23 and 29, leaving little time for judicial officers to process and clear the names of voters under the adjudication category.
Amid US President Donald Trumps statement that his administration was engaged in productive talks with the US, a report has emerged stating that Irans new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has approved talks and a potential deal with the US.

Mojtabas message was secretly relayed to US envoy Steve Witkoff, Al Arabiya reported on Tuesday.

The report, quoting sources, said the Supreme Leader agreed to end the war quickly in accordance with Irans condition. Mojtaba, who is said to be injured in the Israeli airstrike that killed his father and former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has not been seen in public since the attack. Israeli spy agency Mossad and the CIA are said to be searching for Mojtaba, who is allegedly undergoing treatment in Russia.

Though Trump claimed that both sides were close to an agreement under which Iran would agree not to seek nuclear weapons and would give up enrichment, Iran denied that talks were taking place. This comes as reports hint that Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey were engaged in talks with the US and Tehran to arrive at a potential deal.

However, three senior Israeli officials told Reuters that it is unlikely Tehran will accept US demands.

Iran has been continuously rubbishing claims about talks. Irans foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran had received messages from the United States through friendly states requesting negotiations, adding that appropriate responses were given [to those initiatives] as per the countrys fundamental positions.

A senior Iranian lawmaker told Iran International that there would be no negotiations with the United States and warned that Iran could escalate pressure in energy markets. Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of parliament, said Washington had made a strategic mistake and failed to weaken Irans system, adding that the country would not return the Strait of Hormuz to normal conditions. There is no negotiation, he said.
Pakistan hogged the limelight on Monday after it reportedly offered to act as a mediator to broker an end to the US and Israeli war against Iran. Pakistan, along with Turkey and Egypt, held backchannel communications with the US and Iran, which were described as substantive rather than symbolic, according to reports.

Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir spoke with US President Donald Trump on Sunday, Pakistan local media claimed, adding that officials at Ankara and Cairo had played a significant role in backchannel diplomacy and served as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran to bridge the gap. According to US media reports, the officials from these countries separately engaged with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Islamabad also claimed that PM Shehbaz talked to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone, stressing the need for dialogue and diplomacy.

Soon, reports quoting Israeli officials said the US and Iran could hold talks in Islamabad as soon as this week, and the summit could see the participation of US Vice President JD Vance.

Though there was no official confirmation from Pakistan, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told Karachi-based newspaper Dawn that if the parties desire, Islamabad is always willing to host talks.

However, to the Pakistani medias dismay, the White House downplayed the reports of any possible US-Iran talks in Pakistan, saying any such diplomatic engagement would be formally announced.

When asked about the potential Islamabad summit, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US will not negotiate through the press.

This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House, Leavitt said.

Not just Washington, even Iran denied holding direct talks with Washington. Irans foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran had received messages from the United States through friendly states requesting negotiations, adding that appropriate responses were given [to those initiatives] as per the countrys fundamental positions.

Irans parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, dismissed reports of direct negotiations as fake news, accusing the United States and Israel of attempting to influence financial and oil markets. An Iranian official described the reports about Pakistan hosting talks as speculative.

However, that did not stop the Pakistani media from waxing eloquent about the proactive leadership of PM Shehbaz Sharif and the strategic-level engagements of Asim Munir. Another report claimed that Pakistan's balanced foreign policy has earned international recognition for maintaining positive relations with all key stakeholders.

Another report that appeared in Dawn claimed Pakistan has been acting as a go-between for some time, delivering US messages to Tehran and back. Pakistan is reaffirming its role as a net regional stabiliser, leveraging its unique diplomatic position to shift the focus from confrontation toward meaningful dialogue, Dawn quoted an unnamed source.
The war in Iran has become a stage for competing narratives, where military escalation intertwines with political theatre and diplomatic manoeuvring. At the centre of this drama is US President Donald Trump, whose unpredictable statements have left allies, adversaries, and global markets in a state of confusion. His weekend ultimatum demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face strikes on its power plants was followed by a sudden announcement of a five day pause in planned attacks. This oscillation between threats and gestures of de escalation has deepened uncertainty, with analysts suggesting Trump may be searching for an exit ramp from a war that has proven domestically unpopular and economically damaging.

Iran, however, has firmly rejected Trumps claims of ongoing negotiations. Senior officials, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), dismissed his statements as fake news and accused Washington of fabricating dialogue to manipulate oil prices and buy time for military planning. Esmaeil Kowsari, a parliamentarian and military figure, warned that such tactics were designed to create division among Iranians and foster scepticism toward their leadership. Tehrans denials underscore its determination not to appear as though it is bowing to US pressure, even as the conflict stretches into its fourth week.

Vaishali Basu Sharma

Yet, behind the public denials, regional powers have begun exploring diplomatic channels. Reports suggest that foreign ministers from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan met in Riyadh to discuss a possible off-ramp. Egyptian intelligence officials reportedly opened a backchannel with the IRGC, proposing a temporary halt in hostilities to build confidence towards a broader ceasefire. These developments highlight the contrast between the public rhetoric of confrontation and the quiet efforts of regional actors to prevent the war from spiralling further.

Talks are being held among Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The breadth of these contacts underscores the urgency felt across the region, as multiple capitals attempt to position themselves as credible interlocutors in a conflict that has already destabilised energy markets and heightened geopolitical tensions.

For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East

Pakistan has emerged as a particularly active player in this diplomatic theatre. Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have engaged both Saudi and Iranian leaderships, positioning Islamabad as a potential venue for talks. Pakistans involvement is driven by the precarious position in which it finds itself. A defence pact signed with Saudi Arabia last year obliges Pakistan to act if its strategic partner is attacked, effectively tying Islamabads fate to Riyadhs confrontation with Tehran. This has created a nightmare scenario for Pakistan, which shares geographic ties with Iran but cannot afford to alienate Saudi Arabia, one of its largest donors. Munirs controversial remarks to Shia clerics, telling them to go to Iran if they loved it so much, have sparked domestic backlash, exposing the internal strains of Pakistans balancing act.

Israel, meanwhile, has expressed frustration at Trumps apparent willingness to explore negotiations. Analysts suggest that Prime Minister Netanyahu may have oversold the prospects of a quick victory and regime change in Iran, leaving Trump searching for a way out. Israeli officials fear that Washingtons pursuit of talks undermines their own strategy of entrenching US involvement in the conflict, and the lack of consultation has been interpreted as a rebuke of Netanyahus influence.

India finds itself deeply affected by the economic fallout. The disruption of fuel supplies has hit the country hard, with shortages of LPG and piped natural gas leaving factories idle, households struggling, and output slashed by nearly half. In an attempt to ease global energy disruption, the Trump administration issued a third, 30 day sanctions waiver allowing the purchase of Iranian oil already at sea. These waivers are designed to permit limited transactions without formally lifting sanctions, essentially buying time for refiners to secure cargoes already en route. Yet, Indias state run refiners have hesitated to act on them, citing unresolved issues around payments, shipping insurance, and the risk of secondary sanctions. By contrast, Russian barrels covered under earlier waivers have been snapped up more readily, thanks to established logistics and trade lines. The shortage of LPG, a fuel essential for cooking in millions of households, has underscored the vulnerability of Indias energy security to external shocks, while the lack of clear government guidance has left refiners to navigate this volatile environment largely on their own.

The opposition has seized on the crisis, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of compromising Indias foreign policy by aligning too closely with US and Israeli interests. Rahul Gandhi, speaking in the Lok Sabha, charged that Modi only does what America and Israel want him to do, arguing that Indias foreign policy has been subordinated to external powers. Addressing the Lok Sabha, Modi acknowledged the seriousness of the crisis, warning that prolonged conflict could have grave consequences for Indias economy. He has pledged to secure alternative energy supplies and cushion the domestic impact.

As the worlds third largest oil importer, the West Asian conflict has laid bare the fragility of Indias supply chains and underscored the constraints on its foreign policy autonomy. Trumps shifting rhetoric reflects both the domestic unpopularity of the war in the United States and the broader economic disruption it has triggered globally. Irans denials are aimed at preserving its image of defiance, while Pakistan seeks to broker a diplomatic solution that safeguards its own strategic interests. Whether the tentative diplomatic talks, be it in Cairo, Muscat, Doha, or Islamabad, will evolve into meaningful de escalation remains uncertain. For the moment, India must navigate a highly volatile landscape in which energy security, foreign policy independence, and domestic stability are simultaneously imperilled.
Last week, the residents of Yosler neighbourhood in Turkeys Ordu Province were in for a major surprise when an unidentified foreign object washed up on their shores. The province, which lies on the coast of the Black Sea, immediately alerted the authorities about the unique find,

Civilians who noticed the unidentified object alerted authorities, and gendarmerie teams were dispatched to secure a perimeter around the site.

Officials who inspected the vessel was a AEGIR unmanned surface vessel (USV) belonging to U.S.-based Sierra Nevada Corporation, and was laden with ammunition.

The AEGIR USV is an advanced autonomous combat vessel, approximately 10 meters long, capable of reaching speeds of over 25 knots and an impressive operational range of approximately 900 kilometers. It can carry a payload of up to 300 kg.

Turkish experts also found that the vessel remained operational, following which it was decided to tow it offshore. The vehicle was destroyed in a controlled blast, and nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution during the operation, according to Turkiye Today.

A U.S. naval drone has washed ashore in Turkey, Turkish outlet SavunmaSanayiST reports.



According to the report, the Sierra Nevada-built device lost control during a mission and ended up in a coastal area.



It is believed to be a naval drone, likely an experimental development. pic.twitter.com/wDjKbv5C0m  NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 21, 2026

While there is no official confirmation about how the vessel ended up in Turkish shores, the possible explanation is that the vessel was used in testing in connection to the war in Ukraine. However, there were no earlier reports about AEGIR USV being used in Ukrainian service or undergoing trials there. The officials are yet to publicly acknowledge any transfer of AEGIR USV to Ukraine.

However, experts believe it was unlikely that any such testing of USV could go unnoticed by the Russians, especially during daytime hours. They believe Ukrainian troops could have been operating the USV before losing control of it and going astray, according to The Aviationist.

Though there were speculations that the Russian military could have disabled the vessel, it appears unlikely, as there has been no update from the Russian Ministry of Defence in this regard over the last two days.
US President Donald Trump appears to have backed off from his most extreme wartime threat because of rising energy prices and mounting pressure from regional allies. Gulf governments reportedly warned Washington that destroying Irans power plants would mark a dangerous escalation that could trigger retaliation against critical infrastructure across the Middle East, including energy facilities and desalination plants. At the same time, the sharp surge in global oil prices was beginning to create serious political pressure in the United States.

As a result, the US has postponed the planned strikes on Iranian power plants and granted a five-day window to explore possible peace talks. The reversal is especially striking because only days earlier, while departing for Florida, Trump had dismissed the idea of negotiations altogether. That hardline rhetoric culminated in a 48-hour ultimatum over the weekend: reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of key civilian power facilities. By backing away just hours before the deadline expired, Trump has opened a fragile diplomatic offramp.

At the same time, Tehran issued blunt counter-threats. Iranian officials warned that if power plants were hit, they would respond by targeting energy facilities and desalination plants belonging to US allies in the Middle East. For countries that rely heavily on desalination for drinking water, such threats carried enormous weight. The fear of a regional infrastructure war  one that could cripple water supplies as well as oil exports  appears to have pushed Washington to reconsider its next steps.

Domestic economic pressures added another layer of urgency. Oil and gas prices have surged sharply since the conflict began in late February, with some benchmarks rising by as much as 40 per cent. The head of the International Energy Agency described the situation as worse than the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 combined. Financial markets reacted instantly when Trump announced the five-day diplomatic window. The S&P 500 rose by more than 1 per cent, while Brent crude dropped by roughly 10 per cent, offering a brief sense of relief to an administration that had been facing growing criticism over the wars economic fallout.

A network of countriesincluding Pakistan, Oman, Turkey, Egypt and Qatarhas stepped in to carry messages between the two sides. Pakistans army chief has been in contact with Trumps designated envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while Turkish and Egyptian officials have also been actively involved in coordinating messages.

Several proposals for face-to-face meetings have already been floated. One suggestion involves Vice President JD Vance travelling to Pakistan to meet Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Another possibility under discussion is a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoys Witkoff and Kushner. European leaders, including the British prime minister, have indicated that they are aware of these highly sensitive diplomatic efforts, although none has publicly confirmed their details.

At the centre of the current diplomatic push is a 15-point proposal reportedly shared with Iran through Pakistani intermediaries. Trump has publicly highlighted several of the most demanding elements. Chief among them is the complete dismantling of Irans nuclear programme. The US president stated bluntly that the Iranians will never have a nuclear weapon, making it clear that the issue dominates the proposed agreement. Washington is demanding that Tehran abandon uranium enrichment entirely, surrender its existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium and accept strict limitations on its defence capabilities. Additional demands reportedly include ending support for regional proxy groups and formally recognising Israel. Regional officials have warned privately that such sweeping conditions closely resemble earlier proposals that Iran rejected, making them extremely difficult for Tehran to accept now.

Irans response so far has combined public defiance with cautious engagement behind the scenes. Senior Iranian figures initially denied that any negotiations were taking place at all, dismissing Trumps statements as an attempt to manipulate global energy markets and to escape what they described as a military stalemate. State media suggested that the US had backed down out of fear of Iranian retaliation. However, the foreign ministry later acknowledged receiving messages through friendly countries and confirmed that the proposals were under review. Iranian officials have also made it clear that they are not interested in a short-term ceasefire. Instead, they want a broader agreement that includes sanctions relief and firm guarantees that the United States and Israel will not launch further attacks.

Any diplomatic breakthrough is complicated by the deeply unsettled state of Irans leadership. Recent Israeli strikes have reportedly eliminated several senior figures, leaving the political system more fragmented than at any point in recent years. President Masoud Pezeshkian is widely seen as a moderate voice, but critics say he lacks the authority and experience needed to negotiate a complex nuclear settlement. At the same time, the countrys new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, remains largely invisible, fuelling speculation about who actually holds the power to approve a final deal. Trump himself has claimed that he is deliberately communicating with a different, unnamed senior figure in Iran rather than directly with the supreme leader, arguing that he wants to protect his contact from possible assassination.

The diplomatic shift has also exposed growing differences between Washington and Israel. While the Trump administration appears willing to test a negotiated settlement, Israeli leaders remain firmly focused on continuing the military campaign. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the objective is to destroy both Irans missile programme and its nuclear infrastructure, and Israeli operations inside Iran have not slowed. Even as Trump paused the threat against power plants, US officials confirmed that other strikes were continuing and that additional American forces were moving toward the region.
An Iranian media outlet with close ties to the elite Revolutionary Guard claimed on Tuesday that two energy sites were struck by airstrikes hours after US President Donald Trump announced a five-day pause in military operations.

Fars News Agency, a semi-official outlet, reported that one strike targeted natural gas infrastructure in Isfahan, while another hit a gas pipeline connected to the Khorramshahr power plant. Neither Israel nor the US has officially claimed responsibility for the strikes, though both countries often refrain from acknowledging such operations.

It remains unclear whether these sites were specifically targeted or damaged as part of broader strikes in the region.

On Monday, Trump stated that he had ordered a five-day delay on attacks against Iranian power plants and revealed that the US was in talks with Tehran to bring an end to the conflict.

However, Iran has rejected Trump's claims of negotiations, asserting that it would retaliate by targeting the water infrastructure of Gulf countries if the US strikes its electricity grid. This threat has caused significant concern among Gulf nations, as desalination plantscritical for their survivalare among the region's most sensitive civilian infrastructure.

In response to the US-Israeli strikes, Iran has already launched missile and drone attacks on neighboring countries hosting US military bases. Also, Tehran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a major global oil chokepoint, sending shockwaves through world markets and causing oil prices to surge.
Retired Iranian military commander Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr was on Tuesday appointed the country's security chief to fill the shoes of his slain predecessor Ali Larijani, according to Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at the Iranian president's office.

Larijani was killed in last week's joint strikes by the US and Israel.

Who is Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr?

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr reached the rank of brigadier general in the IRGC. He had been serving as the secretary of Iran's Expediency Council.

He headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' educational division in the 1980s. He also commanded the IRGC's irregular warfare headquarters and the Ramazan headquarters.

He was appointed the deputy chief of general staff of Iranian Armed Forces for Basij-related affairs in 2007. In 2012, he became the deputy judiciary chief for strategic affairs.

Zolghadr's wife Sedigheh Begum Hejazi has served as the director general of the Office of Women and Family Affairs. His son-in-law, Kazem Gharibabadi is an envoy who represented Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other global organisations.

The appointment comes as Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi of Iran's Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters said on Tuesday that its armed forces will fight "until complete victory."

"Iran's powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Iran's integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory," Iranian state television quoted Aliabadi as saying.
A US quadruple amputee, Dayton James Webber, who was previously known for being a champion cornhole player, has now been arrested on suspicion of murder in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Webber, 27, had lost all of his limbs after contracting a bacterial infection when he was about 10 months old. He now faces murder charges relating to the death of Bradrick Wells, authorities said on Monday.

Investigators said that Wells, also 27, was travelling with Webber in his car as his front-seat passenger on Sunday at about 10:25.

The two then began arguing in front of two other passengers in the backseat of the vehicle. Webber then allegedly shot Wells to death and pulled over in the community of La Plata.

Charles County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Diane Richardson said, "I know it escalated rather quickly, but we don't know what the argument was about, and that's something, hopefully, we learn."

An agency spokesperson said that the method used to fire the weapon is unknown when they were asked whether Wells used a gun which was adapted for his use.

Webber's YouTube channel has a video showing him practicing shooting with a gun.

"What I would say to answer any questions about how he did this, I would simply refer people to the internet. They can go to his YouTube page," Richardson said. "Mr Webber is a well-documented individual. There have been many stories written about him and plenty of videos to see."

Webber had then asked the other passengers to help him remove Wells body from the car, investigators said.

The other passengers refused and got out and fled the scene.

Webber, meanwhile, drove away with the body. The two scene then alerted police who were patrolling in the area just before 10:30 pm Sunday. They set out on a search for Webber.

Hours later, a resident of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, called investigators to report a body found in their yard.

The Charles County sheriffs office said its deputies obtained a warrant to arrest Webber.

Webbers car was found 150 miles away from where the body was recovered in Charlottesville, Virginia.a

They found him at a nearby hospital where he reportedly sought treatment for a medical issue.

The Albemarle county police department arrested Webber as a fugitive upon his dischange. Charles County sheriffs deputies said they planned to book Webber with murder and other charges after his transfer to their custody.

Investigators said that Webber, Wells and the other passengers were all known to each other. The motive for the killing is unknown.

Dayton Webbers arrest has quickly gained attention, as he was known for being a pro-cornhole player. Cornhole is a sport that involves tossing small bags of dried corn at a target made from wood.

He was also the first quadruple amputee player in the American Cornhole League (ACL).
Pakistan ranked as the most polluted country in 2025 in a recent report. The country recorded particulate matter known as PM2.5 up to 13 times higher than recommended World Health Organisation levels, the report by Swiss IQAir showed on Tuesday.

The particles come from combustion, industrial processes, and dust and can cause health concerns.

The reports also showed that 130 out of 143 monitored countries and territories failed to meet the WHO standards.

Bangladesh and Tajikistan ranked the second and third in the list.

Among cities, Indias Loni was the world's most polluted city in 2025, with an average of PM2.5 levels of 11.5 micrograms, followed by Hotan in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang at 109.6 micrograms

All of the world's most polluted cities were in India, Pakistan and China.

Only 14 per cent of the world's cities met the WHO standard in 2025, down from 17 per cent a year earlier, with Canadian wildfires driving up PM2.5 across the United States and as far as Europe.

Only 13 countries met the average PM2.5 levels of having less than 5 micrograms per cubic meter in 2025, up from seven in 2024.

The countries that met the standard were Australia, Iceland, Estonia and Panama.

About 75 countries reported lower PM2.5 levels in 2025 compared to a year earlier, while 54 recorded higher concentrations, IQ Air said.

The data this year has been considerably lower compared to 2024 as the United States shut down a global monitoring programme that compiled pollution data collected from its embassy and consulate buildings, citing budget constraints.

The lead author of the IQAir report, Christi Chester Schroeder, said, "The loss of the data in March made it appear there was a significant drop in PM2.5 levels (in Chad), but the fact of the matter is that we don't know."

The decision led to a loss of data in many smog-prone countries like Burundi, Turkmenistan and Togo.
On the Plan | BASF CEO upbeat about China's innovation, green transition opportunities

16:01, March 24, 2026 By Zhong Wenxing, Chang Sha, Sheng Chuyi ( People's Daily Online

Markus Kamieth, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors (CEO) of German chemical giant BASF, has expressed strong confidence in China's development prospects in an interview at the China Development Forum (CDF) 2026, highlighting innovation-driven growth and green transformation as key drivers of future opportunities.

Referring to China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), Kamieth noted that the country's strong focus on fostering innovative emerging industries would create significant opportunities for the chemical sector. He added that continued efforts to advance a greener industrial ecosystem are expected to further expand business prospects.

China's push to stimulate domestic demand and its ongoing opening up have also enhanced its appeal as a key market. "China has everything it takes to become a very attractive market for me," Kamieth said.

Kamieth also spoke highly of China's technological progress. "It's amazing," he said, pointing to sectors such as artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors and the low-altitude economy.

"If you come here every three to six months, you can almost see the speed of development," he said, noting that China is becoming an innovation leader in many areas. In sectors such as batteries and electric vehicles, China has taken the lead not only in market size but also in innovation.

"It is absolutely important for us to stay close to the companies that will shape these future sectors here in China," he added.

(Web editor: Wang Xiaoping, Wu Chengliang)
A Colombian military plane carrying 128 people crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo airfield, resulting in 66 deaths and leaving several others injured. Four individuals remain missing, and a search operation is underway to locate them.

The Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 transport plane was carrying 11 Air Force members, 115 army personnel, and two national police officers.

Puerto Leguizamo is a small, remote town near the border with Peru. A member of the firefighting team told Caracol TV that the plane appeared to have been struck near the end of the runway during takeoff, with one of its wings clipping a tree as it plummeted.

Local residents were the first to reach the crash site for rescue efforts, with videos showing wounded soldiers being transported to hospitals on the back of motorcycles.

Authorities said the crash site was in a difficult-to-reach area, hindering rescue operations.

Videos shared by Colombian media outlets showed a thick black cloud of smoke rising from the field where the plane had crashed.

In a post on X, President Gustavo Petro criticised officials for creating obstacles to his efforts to modernize the military. "I will grant no further delays; the lives of our young people are at stake," he stated. "If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed."

The Hercules C-130 planes, first introduced in the 1950s, were initially acquired by Colombia in the late 1960s. In recent years, Colombia has modernized some of its older C-130s with newer models sent by the United States under a provision that permits the transfer of used or surplus military equipment.

According to a Reuters report, Hercules C-130s are frequently used in Colombia for troop transport as part of the militarys operations in the countrys ongoing six-decade-long internal conflict, which has resulted in over 450,000 deaths.
More than a dozen unidentified drones repeatedly penetrated the restricted airspace of a U.S. Air Force base housing a fleet of nuclear-capable bombers over the course of a week, and proved resistant to military efforts to bring them down, officials said.

Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana, was infiltrated by multiple unauthorized drones between March 9 and March 15, a base spokesperson confirmed. Home to the B-52 Stratofortress bomber fleet  aircraft capable of delivering nuclear strikes with worldwide precision, according to the Air Force  Barksdale also serves as a key node in the Air Force Global Strike Commands nuclear defense infrastructure, making the breaches a matter of acute national security concern.

The first intrusion triggered a shelter-in-place order and a terror alert on the installation. What followed was more alarming: subsequent incidents involved swarms of 12 to 15 long-range drones penetrating the no-fly zone in coordinated waves, according to an internal military briefing reviewed by ABC News. Security forces observed the devices operating over sensitive areas of the base on multiple occasions throughout the week, with activity recorded every day except March 13 and 14. Each flight lasted approximately four hours, with routes varying each time.

Most troublingly, the drones appeared to employ specialized signal technology that blocked the militarys jamming attempts, neutralizing one of the bases primary tools for countering unauthorized aircraft. Officials noted that the devices seemed to be testing security responses, probing entry and exit points in ways designed to avoid detection.

The incursions forced the base to shut down its runway for takeoffs and landings, putting aircraft already airborne at risk.

Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and ABC News contributor, said the sophistication and consistency of the intrusions pointed to deliberate, coordinated action. Certainly, it seemed to be more than just your average drone enthusiast who just pushed it too far, he said. It looked like this was deliberate and intentional to see just how they would react.

Flying drones over a military installation is a federal crime. Officials said the incidents pose a significant threat to public safety and national security, and an investigation is underway in coordination with federal and local law enforcement.

We are working closely with federal and local law enforcement agencies to investigate these incursions, a Barksdale spokesperson said. The security of our installation and the safety of our people are top priorities, and we will continue to vigilantly monitor our airspace.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility. The origin and operator of the drones remain unknown.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A string of foiled terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in recent weeks has reignited fears of a deepening domestic extremism crisis in the United States, and security experts warn the threat is far from over.

The most dramatic incident came when an attacker drove a truck loaded with explosives through the gates of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, before being stopped and neutralized by security personnel. Just days earlier, two Pennsylvania men were arrested in New York after attempting to hurl improvised explosive devices  packed with nails and screws  at demonstrators near Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York Citys mayor.

Devorah Halberstam, one of New Yorks foremost voices on terrorism and hate crimes, says the incidents are not flukes, and should not be treated as such.

I have never looked at any act of terrorism as an isolated incident, said Mrs. Halberstam, who chairs the board of commissioners at the mayors office for combating antisemitism and also heads the NYPDs civilian panel for reviewing hate crimes. It is only a matter of time before things like this happen.

Mrs. Halberstam knows the stakes personally. In 1994, her 16-year-old son Ari was shot and killed in an attack on the Brooklyn Bridge carried out by an Lebanese immigrant. This past week marked the 32nd yahrtzeit.

Speaking to Yisrael Hayom, she described the current moment in stark terms. We are living in very serious times, she said, noting that the Jewish community is at great risk. At the same time, she credited law enforcement with doing an outstanding job protecting the community in the recent cases, and pointed out that the public remains largely unaware of how many plots are quietly foiled before they reach the public.

When the FBI or one of the investigative agencies stops a plot, they dont always tell the public about it, and rightly so. But when an incident actually happens, as here, it can no longer be hidden.

One of the most unsettling features of recent attacks, Mrs. Halberstam said, is that the perpetrators often have no prior criminal record and no known organizational ties. Very often, these are people who are completely new to this field. They have no criminal record, no known connection to any organization, and then suddenly something inspires them, and they decide to act.

She pointed to social media as a key accelerant. If you follow Instagram and social media, you see so much hatred there that it gives you chills. Terrorism is just one of the ways people vent that hatred.

Mrs. Halberstam also raised the specter of Iranian sleeper cells operating inside the United States, a concern that has grown more acute since the U.S. joined Israels military campaign against Iran in Operation Epic Fury. This is not something new. There were cells like this even before 9/11, she said. The real threat today is from people who have lived here for years, sometimes even American citizens, but whose loyalty is not to this country.

She described the challenge facing security agencies as a needle in a haystack, adding: We need to be more thorough in our investigations and constantly ask ourselves whether we are doing enough. As far as I am concerned, the answer is that it is never enough.

New York City, she said, will always be a prime target. New York is the center of the world. People come to it from every country and for every possible reason. If someone wants to make an impact, they do it in New York. She warned particularly of mass-casualty scenarios involving the subway system. The subway is a closed system packed with a large number of people. If you have a bomb and you throw it in there, the impact can be enormous.

The recent attack in New York drew a rebuke from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, though his condemnation came alongside criticism of the right-wing rally that had been targeted, which he described as rooted in prejudice and racism. The framing was widely perceived as drawing a moral equivalence between the attackers and their targets.

Mrs. Halberstam declined to engage directly with the political controversy. The mayors response is his personal response, she said, noting that the investigation is now in federal hands.

The incidents have added urgency to calls for better inter-agency cooperation. You cannot hold information close to the chest, because sometimes one agency holds a small detail that connects to the bigger picture at another agency, Halberstam said.

She argued that the principle applies equally to international intelligence-sharing. There is one clear common denominator  no country wants terrorism on its soil, and so it is essential to share information between governments and security agencies.

Recent months have also seen an attempted vehicle ramming at the global Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn  the community Halberstam herself belongs to  where a driver accelerated toward the compounds gate before being stopped. The moment the door opened, and they began using language against Jews again, it became a slippery slope, she said. Suddenly, its coming from all directions.

She pushed back against any suggestion that Jewish institutions are over-hardened targets. We dont put up security because we want to. We do it because we are targeted again and again. The numbers on antisemitic attacks are not made up  they come straight from NYPD data.

Asked which category of terror threat concerns her most, Halberstam did not hesitate. The answer is always all of them: organized networks, individuals who have radicalized online, or anything else. Each one can cause destruction.

Anyone working in this field cannot afford a moment of calm. All we can do is hope and pray, trust the people who need to be out there watching and doing the job, and hope that God will be with us.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Italian voters on Monday rejected a judicial reform backed by conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni, delivering a stinging setback to the right-wing government one year ahead of national elections.

Italian citizens have decided and we respect their decision as always, Meloni said in a video posted on Instagram. She pledged, as anticipated, to complete her mandate, which runs into 2027.

We will move forward as we always have: with responsibility, determination, and above all, with respect for Italy and its people, Meloni said, admitting some regret for a missed opportunity to modernize Italy.

The No camp won almost 54% of the vote against the governmentbacked Yes campaign, which secured about 46%, according to final results released by the Interior Ministry.

Turnout over the twoday ballot, which began Sunday, was considerably higher than expected at almost 59% following a polarizing campaign. It energized the centerleft opposition, which framed the reform as a threat to judicial independence, while simultaneously exposing divisions within Melonis rightwing coalition.

The proposed judicial reform had been billed by Melonis coalition as a key step toward streamlining Italys judicial system  long criticized as slow, bureaucratic, and vulnerable to political influence.

But critics argued that the measures risked concentrating too much power in the executive branch. Opposition parties, civil society groups and legal associations mounted a unified front, warning that the reform could undermine institutional checks and balances.

With political tensions already running high, public debate intensified in the final weeks before the vote, turning it into a de facto confidence test on Melonis leadership itself.

The defeat, especially after a campaign so closely tied to her personal leadership, raises questions about the stability and cohesion of Melonis governing coalition.

The stakes extend beyond Italys borders. The Italian premier faces growing scrutiny over her controversial alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump and his increasingly unpopular war on Iran.

Italy has defied its reputation for government instability in recent years, said Jess Middleton, senior Europe analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. This defeat punctures Melonis image of strength, weakening her status as a pillar of domestic stability and as a consistent player in an increasingly volatile European political landscape.

Analysts also noted that the referendum win provides a major boost to the center-left opposition, with frustrations around the governments performance on the economy and the war in the Middle East coming into focus throughout the campaign.

The key question now is whether these disparate opposition forces can maintain some cohesion and present themselves as a credible alternative ahead of next years vote, Middleton said.

Elly Schlein, leader of the center-left Democratic Party, hailed the referendum result and said opposition forces would remain united.

Well continue to work together and well build a real alternative to this government, she said at a news conference celebrating the No victory.

(AP)
The federal trial of a former Miami congressman accused of secretly lobbying for Venezuelas government during the first Trump administration began Monday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to testify over his interactions with his old friend.

Prosecutors allege David Rivera was a hired gun for former President Nicolas Maduro, leveraging Republican connections from his time in Congress to push the White House to abandon its hard line on Venezuelas socialist government.

Rivera, who at one time had been Rubios roommate in Florida, allegedly persuaded then Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez  now Venezuelas acting president  to award him a $50 million lobbying contract to be paid by state oil company PDVSA. As part of the alleged foreign influence campaign, prosecutors say Rivera was aided by Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions and a convicted Cali cartel associate as he sought meetings with the White House and Exxon Mobil on Maduros behalf.

The trial offers a rare glimpse into the often unseemly role Miami  long a haven for exiles, corruption and anti-communist crusaders  plays in shaping U.S. policy in Latin America. As such, it is perhaps fitting that Rubio, Miamis most prominent politician, is set to take the stand Tuesday about his meetings with Rivera while the former congressman and an associate were allegedly helping Maduro mount a charm offensive in Washington.

Also likely to face scrutiny is Rodriguez, who relied on Rivera to set up meetings in New York, Caracas, Washington and Dallas in a bid to build U.S. support for normalizing relations with Venezuela  an effort that failed at the time but now appears within reach, albeit on unequal terms, following Maduros ouster and the ascent of his more pragmatic aide.

This case is about two things: greed and betrayal, prosecutor Roger Cruz said in his opening statement Monday. The evidence will show that for $50 million these two defendants made a pact to secretly lobby for Nicolas Maduro, the communist director, and his second in command Delcy Rodriguez.

Indictment details alleged covert lobbying and money-laundering scheme

An 11-count indictment, unsealed in 2022, charges Rivera and Miami political consultant Esther Nuhfer with money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent.

Prosecutors allege that to hide their work, Rivera set up an encrypted chat group called MIA  for Miami  with his main conduit to the Maduro government: Venezuelan media tycoon Raul Gorrin, who was subsequently charged in the U.S. with bribing top Venezuelan officials.

Members of the group used playful code words to discuss their activities: Maduro was the bus driver, Sessions Sombrero, Rodriguez The Lady in Red, and millions of dollars melons, according to prosecutors.

Rivera, 60, denies wrongdoing. His attorneys counter that his one-man firm, Interamerican Consulting, was hired by an American subsidiary of Venezuelas state-owned oil company  not PDVSA itself  and therefore did not need to register as a foreign agent.

His three-month, $50 million contract, they say, was focused exclusively on luring Exxon back to Venezuela  commercial work that is generally exempt from the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

This is like a murder case without a murder, a drugs case without drugs, a kidnapping case without a kidnapping, Riveras defense attorney Ed Shohat said in his opening statement to the 12-person jury.

Nothing happened, he added. Not one single policy of the U.S. was impacted by this case.

Riveras meetings with Rubio and others was wholly distinct from that consulting work, Shohat said, and tied to efforts he undertook with Maduros opponents to usher in leadership less hostile to the U.S.

He described Rivera as a staunch freedom fighter and ardent opponent of communism who would never do anything to benefit Maduro. The governments theory is utterly preposterous.

Plaintiffs in a parallel civil case accuse Rivera of doing little of the promised work and using the contract as cover for illegal lobbying. Of the roughly $20 million he received, $3.75 million went to a South Florida company that maintained Gorrins luxury yacht.

No turkey without Rubio

Rubios expected testimony is highly unusual  not since Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan testified at a mafia trial in 1983 has a sitting member of the presidents Cabinet taken the stand in a criminal trial.

While Rubio isnt charged and theres no indication in the indictment that he acted improperly as a senator at the time, prosecutors say Rivera viewed him as a key ally in his outreach to the White House. For Rubio, prosecutors said in a pre-trial hearing last week, contact with Gorrin offered a backchannel to Caracas at a time U.S. authorities had detected a possible death threat against him from Venezuelan socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello.

Rivera and Rubio met at the senators Washington home on July 9, 2017, according to the indictment. Rivera, the indictment says, told Rubio that he was working with Gorrin, who had persuaded Maduro to accept a deal in which he would hold free and fair elections.

Remember, U.S. should facilitate, not just support, a negotiated solution, Rivera texted Rubio two days later as the senator was set to meet Trump, the indictment says. No vengeance, reconciliation.

Following a second meeting between Rubio, Rivera, Gorrin and others, Rivera remarked in the chat that the bus driver  Maduro  would have to pay him for setting up the meeting with Rubio. Without the senators support, Rivera said, there would be no turkey, he wrote. At the same time, the group was trying to secure a meeting with White House aide Kellyanne Conway.

The outreach quickly unraveled, however. Later that month, Trump sanctioned Maduro and labeled him a dictator, launching a maximum pressure campaign to unseat the president. Rubio took to the Venezuelan airwaves to press the White Houses agenda.

For Nicolas Maduro, who I am sure is watching, the current path you are on will not end well for you, Rubio said July 31, 2017, in a rare 10-minute address to the Venezuelan people that aired on Gorrins network.

The State Department declined to comment.

Outreach to Exxon for Rodriguez

After the contract was signed, Rivera and Gorrin arranged a meeting in New York City between Rodriguez, then foreign minister and a PDVSA board member, and Sessions, whose Dallas-area district included Exxons headquarters.

Later, Sessions tried to broker a meeting for Rodriguez with Darren Woods, who had succeeded Trumps then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as CEO of Exxon. Rodriguez was looking to resolve a long-running investment dispute and enroll Exxon in reviving the OPEC nations collapsing oil industry. The meeting never happened as Exxon lawyers rebuffed the outreach.

Almost a year after helping Rivera make inroads with Exxon, Sessions secretly traveled to Caracas for a meeting with Maduro arranged by Gorrin and Rivera, the indictment says. As part of the effort, Sessions also agreed to deliver a letter from the Venezuelan president to Trump.

The defense team also wanted Maduro and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles to testify. Maduro, through a lawyer, said he would invoke his constitutional right to remain silent if compelled, while prosecutors successfully quashed an attempt to subpoena Wiles, who was a registered lobbyist for Gorrins Globovision network at the same time the media magnate was working with Rivera.

Before being elected to Congress in 2010, Rivera was a high-ranking Florida legislator. During that time he shared a Tallahassee home with Rubio, who eventually became Florida House speaker.

Rivera has previously faced controversy, including allegations he secretly funded a Democratic spoiler candidate in a 2012 congressional race. Last year, federal prosecutors dropped the case after an appeals court threw out a sizable fine imposed by a lower court. Rivera was also investigated  but never charged  for campaign finance violations and a $1 million contract with a gambling company while serving in the Florida legislature.

Rivera has denied any wrongdoing and said both investigations were politically motivated.

(AP)
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday a summit between her brother and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wont happen if Japan sticks to its anachronistic approach.

Kim Yo Jongs statement came after Takaichi told reporters last week that she had informed U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit in Washington that she had a very strong desire to meet Kim Jong Un.

But this is not the one that comes true, as wanted or decided by Japan, Kim Yo Jong said. In order for the top leaders of the two countries to meet each other, Japan should first be determined to break with its anachronistic practice and habit.

Kim Yo Jong, who is also a senior official, didnt explicitly say what Japans anachronistic practice and habit are. However, in 2024, she said in a statement that North Koreas acceptance of a reported offer for a meeting by one of Takaichis predecessors would depend on Japan tolerating the Norths nuclear weapons program and ignoring its past abductions of Japanese nationals. The meeting eventually didnt occur.

In her latest statement carried by state media on Monday, Kim Yo Jong said: I dont want to see the prime minister of Japan coming to Pyongyang. But she still described her rejection as just my personal position, suggesting she was pressuring Japan to make concessions.

Observers say North Korea likely aims for better ties with Japan to drive a wedge between the United States and its allies. Meanwhile, Tokyo wants to resolve the cases of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea during the 1970s and 1980s.

After years of denial, North Korea acknowledged in a 2002 summit between Kim Jong Il, the late father of Kim Jong Un, and then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, that its agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese. North Korea allowed five of them to return to Japan. Japan believes more people might have been abducted and that some could still be alive.

Koizumi made a second visit to North Korea and met Kim Jong Il again in 2004, the last time the two nations held talks.

Chances for a North Korea-Japan summit remain slim as North Korea refuses to return to diplomacy with the U.S. and South Korea since 2019. Trump, who met Kim Jong Un three times between 2018 and 2019, has repeatedly expressed his intentions of resuming dialogue with Kim, but the North Korean leader suggested he could only return to talks if the U.S. drops its delusional obsession with denuclearization of North Korea.

Takaichi said that Trump expressed his support for the immediate resolution of the abductees cases and that he indicated he would provide cooperation in various ways concerning meeting Kim Jong Un.

(AP)
Belgium has deployed soldiers to major cities to reinforce security at Jewish sites following a series of antisemitic attacks.

Defense Minister Theo Francken announced that troops are being sent to Brussels and Antwerp, with plans to expand to Liege.

The deployment, coordinated with federal police, will focus on protecting synagogues, schools, and other Jewish institutions.

The move comes after an explosion at a synagogue in Liege, which authorities described as antisemitic, as well as related incidents in neighboring Netherlands, including arson at a synagogue in Rotterdam and an explosion at a Jewish school in Amsterdam.

Officials say the increased security is necessary amid growing concerns over threats to Jewish communities, particularly in light of the ongoing war involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
President Donald Trumps economic approval ratings have cratered to historic lows, with new data showing him further underwater on the issue than any other president of the past quarter-century  a finding that carries significant implications for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.

CNN data analyst Harry Enten highlighted the figures on CNN Newsroom, drawing on a recent CBS News poll. If I were in the White House, only one word to describe them: Yikes,' he said.

Just before Trumps reelection, a plurality of Americans  44 percent  said his policies were making them financially better off. That figure has since collapsed to 18 percent. Over the same period, the share of Americans saying Trumps policies are making them worse off fiscally has surged from 38 percent to 53 percent.

The picture is bleaker still among independent voters, the bloc that typically decides national elections. Three in five independents  60 percent  now say Trump is making them worse off financially, while just 13 percent say he is making them better off. That represents a 47-point swing from just before his reelection, when independents favored better off by two points.

Taken together, Trumps net economic approval rating among independents stands at minus 48 points. Enten put that figure in historical context: it is twice as bad as Barack Obamas net economic approval among independents at the equivalent point in his second term, when Obama was 25 points underwater, and worse by double digits than George W. Bushs standing at the same stage of his presidency.

Hes last in the pack when it comes to 21st-century presidents and how Americans are viewing him on the economy, at least among independents, Enten said.

If I were a Republican running for Congress, I would be shaking in place, Enten said, because theres really nowhere to hide if youre a Republican running for Congress and President Trump is in this bad a shape among independents and Americans overall when it comes to the economy.

The poll results come as Trumps approval ratings have been under pressure from multiple directions, including economic anxiety tied to the ongoing Iran conflict, rising gas prices linked to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, and broader concerns about the direction of the country. Midterm elections are set for later this year.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The Senate confirmed Sen. Markwayne Mullin as the next Secretary of Homeland Security on Monday, placing the Oklahoma Republican at the helm of the nations largest federal department as it navigates a government shutdown, a contentious immigration debate, and the fallout from a series of high-profile enforcement controversies.

Mullin was confirmed in a 54-45 vote, with two Democrats  Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico  crossing the aisle to support his nomination. He becomes the second Homeland Security secretary of President Trumps second term, succeeding Kristi Noem, whom Trump fired earlier this year.

The confirmation puts Mullin, 48, in charge of a department of more than 250,000 employees  roughly 100,000 of whom are currently working without pay due to a partial government shutdown that has snarled funding negotiations between Senate Democrats and the White House.

Im not scared of a challenge. I am scared of failure, Mullin said during his confirmation hearing last week. My goal in six months is that were not in the lead story every single day.

That may prove difficult. DHS has been at the center of some of the most contentious fights of Trumps second term, overseeing a record expansion of immigration detention, a dramatic drop in border crossings, and a series of enforcement surges in major cities. The most recent surge, in Minneapolis, resulted in the deaths of two U.S. citizens by federal agents.

Noem, who was a visible and aggressive advocate for the administrations immigration agenda, was ousted after drawing fire from both parties. Critics pointed to her description of a man shot by Border Patrol agents as a domestic terrorist and questions surrounding a $250 million ad campaign encouraging immigrants to self-deport, which DHS awarded without a competitive bidding process.

Mullin signaled a somewhat different approach. During his hearing, he pledged to use judicial warrants  rather than the administrative warrants DHS approves internally  when entering homes or businesses, except when agents are in active pursuit. He also committed to visiting a New Jersey community where the agency is seeking to convert warehouses into immigration detention facilities, a proposal that has generated significant local opposition. And he said he believed FEMA should be restructured rather than eliminated  a position that put him at odds with some in the administration while reassuring lawmakers whose states depend on federal disaster relief.

Some Democrats said they were cautiously hopeful that Mullin would bring a steadier hand to a department that has lurched from controversy to controversy. Heinrich, who voted for Mullin, called him a friend and praised his independence.

I have also seen first-hand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views, Heinrich said, adding that he looked forward to having a secretary who doesnt take direction from White House adviser Stephen Miller.

But skeptics warned that the change at the top would not translate into a meaningful shift in direction. Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, who voted against Mullin, said the department needed a steady leader who wont rush to judgment without having all the facts. Peters also raised concerns about undisclosed foreign travel by Mullin  a line of questioning that Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky joined, with both ultimately voting no. The matter was expected to be taken up in a classified briefing.

The confirmation arrives at a particularly fraught moment for DHS funding negotiations. Talks between Senate Democrats and the White House had shown some signs of progress, with Democrats seeking limits on aggressive enforcement tactics in exchange for ending the shutdown. But those discussions hit a wall over the weekend after President Trump insisted that any deal include passage of the Save America Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote  a demand Democrats have flatly rejected.

Whether Mullin can help break that impasse remains an open question. For now, he inherits a department under strain, a workforce going without paychecks, and a mandate from a president for whom immigration enforcement remains the defining priority of his second term.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Antisemitic attacks across Europe continue unabated, with the latest attack occurring overnight Monday, when three masked thugs set a car on fire outside a Jewish-owned restaurant in Antwerp, Belgium.

The vehicle did not belong to a Jewish owner, but the arsonists believed it didwith an Iran-linked Islamic terror group later claiming that it targeted Appelmansstraat Street (known for its diamond district)claiming that it is the most important street in Antwerp, which has a large Zionist community.

Thanks to a rapid response by the Chaveirim and Shmira night patrol teams, whose members subdued the blaze with fire extinguishers, the fire was put out before any damage was caused to nearby vehicles.

According to local reports, two suspects were later arrested. The Jewish communal security organizations teams continued patrols throughout the night to protect the community.

The Iran-linked Islamic Ashab al-Yamin terror organization, which has been carrying out terror attacks in Jewish kehillos in Europe over the past weeks, claimed responsibility for the act of arson, releasing a video of the attack.

The group also issued a statement saying: The city of Antwerp in Belgium is one of the most important European cities, characterized by its strategic location and significant economic role, especially in the diamond trade. It also has a large Zionist community, giving it particular religious and cultural significance for some Jews, and it is sometimes referred to as the Jerusalem of the North. The most important street in the city, Appelmansstraat, was a target.

Operations will continue to escalate and intensify until the liberation of our occupied lands in beloved Palestine and in revenge for the blood of Palestinians, Lebanese, and all Muslims.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

The incident comes two days after a previous incident in London, which the group also claimed responsibility forthe torching of four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green.

Belgian soldiers have been deployed to Jewish neighborhoods in Antwerp and Brussels in recent days due to the surge in antisemitic attacks. It is unclear if the troops were present during the incident.

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken announced that troops will also be sent to Liege, where an attack at a shul occurred last week, with Ashab al-Yamin claiming responsibility for that incident as well.

The majority of Belgian Jews live in Antwerp and Brussels, but there are smaller communities as well, including Liege, which is located in Belgiums French-speaking region and has an Ashkenazi community of about 1,200 Jews, dating back to the 18th century.

(YWN Israel DeskJerusalem)
A planned terror attack on a shul in the Netherlands was foiled by the police last week, bchasdei Hashem. Explosives were found near the building.

On Friday morning, around 1:15 a.m., the police in the town of Heemstede in northern Netherlands, about a 20-minute drive from Amsterdams Schiphol Airport, noticed two teenagers behaving suspiciously. The suspects, teens from Amsterdam, were questioned at the scene and then arrested.

Detectives had been monitoring the building, which houses a Chabad center, partly due to attempted attacks in recent weeks on a shul in Rotterdam and a Jewish school in Amsterdam.

Following reports about the attempted attack, the European Jewish Congress (EJC) issued a statement: Dutch authorities have foiled a planned attack on a synagogue in Heemstede, where multiple explosive devices were discovered in close proximity to the site.

This attempted attack comes amid a wave of recent incidents targeting Jewish institutions in the Netherlands and across Europe, including attacks in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Liege.

The discovery of explosive materials near a place of worship is extremely alarming and highlights the serious and ongoing threat facing Jewish communities. Preventing this attack likely averted potentially devastating consequences.

This incident underscores the urgent need for heightened vigilance, strong intelligence cooperation, and reinforced protection of Jewish sites. Authorities must ensure that those responsible are identified and that any wider networks behind these attempts are dismantled.

Jewish communities must be able to live, gather, and pray in safety. Attempts to terrorize them will not succeed.

The Iran-linked Islamic Ashab al-Yamin terror organization claimed responsibility for the attacks in the Netherlands as well as more recent attacks in London and Antwerp.

(YWN Israel DeskJerusalem)
Afghanistans Taliban authorities on Tuesday released American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul, the countrys capital, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistans Supreme Court considered his previous imprisonment sufficient.

Coyle was detained in January 2025 on allegations of violating laws, although Afghan authorities never publicly stated what laws he was accused of having violated.

In a separate statement, the ministry indicated the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had helped mediate Coyles release, and said Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had met in Kabul with former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad ahead of the release.

Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department announced the designation of Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing it of engaging in hostage diplomacy. Afghanistan joined Iran as countries singled out by the United States for detaining Americans in hopes of extracting policy concessions.

Afghanistans government rejected U.S. allegations that it detains foreigners to obtain leverage over other countries, saying Afghan authorities arrest people for violating laws not to make a deal.

Afghanistan released Coyle based on humanitarian sympathy and goodwill, and believes that such steps can further strengthen the atmosphere of trust between countries, the Foreign Ministry said in its statement, adding that Kabul also expresses the hope that both countries will find solutions to the remaining problems through understanding and constructive dialogue in the future.

The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment on Coyles release.

Afghan authorities are believed to hold at least one other U.S. national. Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, vanished in the country in 2022.

The FBI and Habibis family have said they believe he was taken by Taliban forces, but Afghan authorities have denied holding him.

Habibis brother, Ahmad Habibi, welcomed Coyles release but said in a statement that we hope that our family will soon have the same feeling of relief, when Mahmood is returned home to us.

(AP)
The European Union and Australia on Tuesday agreed on the final text of a free trade agreement, some two years after negotiations broke down over Australian demands for more red meat market access and complaints about Australian products labeled with traditionally European names such as prosecco.

The breakthrough comes as both the EU and Australia seek to diversify their trading networks and reduce their economic reliance on China and exposure to uncertain U.S. tariffs.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed the agreement at the Australian Parliament House after protracted negotiations that began in 2018. The leaders said the pact demonstrated that both sides benefitted from rules-based trade.

Today we are telling an important story to a world that is deeply changing. A world where great powers are using tariffs as a leverage and supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited, von der Leyen told reporters.

In our story, open rules based trade delivers positive some outcomes. Trust matters more than transactions, she added.

Albanese said the context in which the agreement was reached was an important factor in allowing negotiations that collapsed in October 2023 to restart.

This is both the European Union and Australia asserting that we believe in free and fair trade, that we understand that trade advances the prosperity of both trading entities who are involved, that it is in our interest to get this done, Albanese said.

The leaders also announced a new defense partnership that will bring closer military cooperation and the start of negotiations toward Australia becoming an associate of the research and innovation funding program Horizon Europe.

Albanese said the defense partnership would provide a framework for the EU and Australia to cooperate on global challenges, marking as areas of collaboration defense industries, maritime security, cyber security, countering terrorism and combating hybrid threats such as disinformation.

It shows our shared commitment to global peace and security, including reaffirming our steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Russias illegal full-scale invasion, Albanese said.

Albanese said the pact also removed tariffs on key Australian exports including wine, seafood and horticulture.

The EU will open two tariff rate quotas of a total of 30,600 metric tons (33,731 U.S. tons) for Australian red meat, with 55% of that duty free.

Under the trade deal, Australian producers of prosecco, traditionally a sparkling wine from northern Italy, will be banned from using the name on exports 10 years after the pact takes effect.

A start date for the pact has not been announced.

The pact will also help the EU secure supplies of critical raw materials including lithium and tungsten.

Hazel Moir, an economist from the Australian National Universitys Center for European Studies, said that both the Europeans and Australians were keen to reach a deal in response to U.S. President Donald Trumps push to impose global tariffs.

Whats changed is all of Trumps behavior on tariffs. So everyone got nervous and they wanted to do other things, Moir said.

Moir said it was too soon predict the impact on bilateral trade, as the agreements full text has not yet been released.

An EU free trade deal with four South American countries will begin on May 1 after more than a quarter-century of negotiations and new global economic uncertainty.

(AP)
A Chicago man was charged this week with threatening to attack a Jewish house of worship after posting the threat on social media in apparent response to news of an Iranian leaders assassination, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday.

Timothy Holmes, 31, allegedly wrote Im going to shoot a synagogue in a reply to a post from an official Israeli government account. Prosecutors say he also published a series of derisive posts concerning Jewish people and shared what he claimed was the U.S. address of relatives of an Israeli government official.

Holmes was arrested in Florida and appeared that afternoon before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Despite the governments objection, he was released on a $100,000 bond under strict conditions: no firearms or dangerous weapons, no contact with victims or witnesses, no use of social media or chat platforms, mandatory GPS monitoring, and full access to his electronic devices for compliance checks. His travel is restricted to the Illinois and Florida districts where he is required to appear in court.

He faces up to five years in federal prison.

Andrew Boutros, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, did not mince words. Antisemitism has no place in our society, he said. This administration has made clear that threats and violence against the Jewish community will not be tolerated. Working closely with our law enforcement partners, we will find, prosecute and hold accountable the perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic threats and violence.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The UK government announced it will replace Hatzalah ambulances destroyed in the antisemitic arson attack in Golders Green.

The Department of Health and Social Care said replacement vehicles will be provided, with temporary ambulances already being loaned by the London Ambulance Service starting immediately.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting strongly condemned the attack, calling it shocking, cowardly, and despicable, and said it targeted both the Jewish community and a life-saving emergency service.

He stressed that the government will cover the cost of replacing the destroyed ambulances and ensure Hatzola can continue responding to emergencies without disruption.

The aim of these attackers is clear  they want Jewish people in this country to live smaller lives, to live less Jewish lives, to be less visible as Jewish people, and to fear going about Jewish life  whether thats attending school or providing the services and support that makes the Jewish community one of the most resilient, strong, and proud communities in the country.

Hatzolas volunteers represent the very best of public service, providing rapid, life-saving care to anyone in need, and it is appalling that such a service has been targeted in this way.

Of course, the best form of solidarity is practical solidarity, which is why today, our London Ambulance Service colleagues are providing support to the team in Golders Green to make sure that we dont skip a beat when it comes to responding to emergency call-outs. We will also be providing four replacement ambulances, initially on loan until we can provide permanent replacements. The Jewish community should not bear the cost of this hatred.

This moment demands more than practical support. The Jewish community will not stand alone  the government and this entire country stand with them.

The Iran-linked Ashab Al-Yamim terror group claimed responsibility on Monday for the arson attack on four Hatzolah ambulances in Golders Green, London.

The terror group released a video claiming responsibility for the attack, but unlike its previous videos, the footage did not show the suspects carrying out the act.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
An Israeli source said that the Trump administration has marked April 9, 2026, as the target date for ending the war, leaving only 18 days for negotiations and/or attacks, Ynet reported.

The report comes after President Donald Trumps dramatic announcement on Monday morning, revealing that the US is holding talks with Iran over the end of the war.

According to the source, talks between Iran and the United States may take place later this week in Pakistan. According to the Financial Times, Pakistan is positioning itself as the primary mediator seeking to end the United States and Israels war with Iran. The report added that Pakistans army chief, Asim Munir, spoke with Trump on Sunday, citing two individuals familiar with the call.

The Israeli source added that the US did not update Israel about the talks with [Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher] Ghalibaf, the source said.

Previous Israeli reports identified Ghalibaf as the Iranian official the US is currently communicating with.

(YWN Israel DeskJerusalem)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expressing frustrated that a Mossad-backed plan to ignite a popular revolt inside Iran has not come to fruition, according to a report published by The New York Times, citing current and former American and Israeli intelligence officials.

The plan, presented to Netanyahu by Mossad chief David Barnea in the lead-up to the war, envisioned that a targeted assassination campaign against Iranian leadership would create an opening for the agency to galvanize the Iranian opposition  fomenting riots and acts of resistance through covert intelligence operations, and ultimately triggering the regimes collapse.

Barnea reportedly presented a version of the plan to the White House as well, and Netanyahu used it as part of his case to bring President Donald Trump into the conflict.

That vision has not taken shape. Irans leaders have dug in, its security forces remain intact, and the streets have stayed quiet  much as U.S. officials had privately predicted. In one early wartime security meeting, Netanyahu complained that the plan was not working, the Times reported, and expressed concern that Trump could decide to halt the campaign at any moment.

American and Israeli officials now view regime change as unlikely in the near term. Proposed efforts to mobilize Kurdish militias from outside Iran to help bring down the government have also stalled without advancing into action.

Analysts point to two key factors suppressing potential unrest. Before the war, mass protests inside Iran were crushed in a bloody government crackdown that killed thousands. And Trump, in a speech at the wars outset, urged Iranians to take to the streets only after shielding themselves from the bombing campaign  an instruction many took as reason to stay home.

Nate Swanson, a former member of the Trump administrations Iran negotiating team, told the Times he had never seen a serious plan for fomenting revolt. A lot of protesters are not coming into the street because theyll get shot, he said. Theyre going to get slaughtered. He estimated that roughly 60 percent of the Iranian public  people who dislike the regime but are unwilling to risk their lives opposing it  would remain on the sidelines.

The shift in expectations has been quietly reflected in both leaders public messaging. Netanyahu has said several times this month that he cannot guarantee the Iranian public will rise up, though he stressed at a press conference last week that one war aim remains creating the conditions for the Iranian people to grasp their freedom, to control their destiny.

Israeli officials insist hope is not lost. I think that we need boots on the ground but theyve got to be Iranian boots, and I think theyre coming, Israels ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, told CNN on Sunday. What we have to focus on now is degrading to the point where they have no power left in this regime.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The IDF says it has destroyed or disabled approximately 330 of Irans estimated 470 ballistic missile launchers.

More than half were destroyed in direct strikes, while others were rendered inoperable after the Israeli Air Force targeted entrances to underground storage facilities.

The IDF says it is continuing to hunt down the remaining roughly 150 launchers, as missile fire on Israel has dropped significantly  from about 90 missiles on the first day of the war to around 10 per day in recent days.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
U.S. President Donald Trump, who made a dramatic announcement on Monday morning about US-Iran talks to end the war, repeated later on Monday that there is a strong chance of reaching an agreement with Iran to end the war. He added that such a deal could remove threats to the United States. We had great talks with Iran. Weve been talking a lot, but this time theyre serious, he said.

However, the Wall Street Journal reported that, despite indirect US-Iran contacts, significant gaps remain between the sides, and Arab mediators expressed doubt that the talks would yield an agreement.

According to the report, Arab officials have held separate talks with both Washington and Tehran. However, Iran has set a very high bar for ending hostilities, with demands described as extreme.

At the center of the negotiations is the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which roughly one-fifth of the global oil supply passes. Since Iran restricted shipping there, global oil and gas prices have surged.

Arab mediators proposed placing the strait under a neutral regional committee to guarantee safe passage. Egypt also suggested a five-day ceasefire to build trust.

Irans response reportedly came from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose influence has grown since the war began. According to sources, the IRGC demanded a new arrangement in which Iran would collect transit fees from ships passing through Hormuz, similar to Egypts fees in the Suez Canal.

Additional Iranian demands include guarantees that the war will not resume, meaning no future U.S. or Israeli strikes; the closure of U.S. bases in the Middle East; compensation for war damages; and a halt to Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. A separate Saudi report indicated Iran also seeks to include Lebanon in any final agreement.

The report notes that Iran has hardened its positions since the second week of the war. Having withstood extensive U.S.-Israeli strikes and hit sensitive targets in the Gulf, Tehran is unlikely to settle for a simple ceasefire that leaves it vulnerable to future attacks.

However, the Gulf states strongly oppose Irans demand to collect transit fees. Some officials said Saudi Arabia made clear it would not allow Iran to gain the upper hand in the strait.

The United States continues to insist on suspension of Irans missile program, a ban on uranium enrichment, ending Iranian support for militias and terror groups, and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump suggested any agreement might involve joint control of the strait, adding, Maybe me me and the Ayatollah, whoever the next Ayatollah is.

Despite skepticism, multiple countries are involved in mediation efforts, including Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman.

According to the Financial Times, Pakistan is positioning itself as a key mediator. Its army chief, Asim Munir, reportedly spoke with Trump, and Pakistani officials have relayed messages between Tehran and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Jared Kushner.

Pakistans lack of U.S. bases and the fact that it has not been targeted by Iran have helped it present itself as a neutral intermediary.

An Iranian official told Al Jazeera that while formal negotiations are denied, messages have been exchanged via Egypt and Turkey to reduce tensions. He warned that closing the strait and laying mines remain options in the case of any reckless US actions.

An Israeli official said, There is a U.S. desire to explore options. There are different voices in the administrationsome want to continue and some to end the war. The Americans know our red lines, and they are very similar to theirs.

(YWN Israel DeskJerusalem)
The anniversary of the military coup finds the country under a government that downplays state terrorism, while literature, film, and other art forms continue to elaborate on the legacy of the genocide

Fifty years later, there are still unburied dead and nameless graves. Fifty years later, there are still people who, unknowingly, live with someone elses identity. Fifty years later, there are still unsolved crimes and unpunished criminals. There are still trials underway and trials that havent even begun. Fifty years after March 24, 1976, the day the last military dictatorship and its machinery of extermination began in Argentina, the process of memory, truth, and justice that made the country exemplary is under threat, besieged by a government that, since 2023, has canceled or neutralized human rights policies and promoted discourses aligned with denialism.

But, while the national state withdraws, the immense cultural and artistic production that in five decades has been central to coping with the grief and trauma of the genocide continues to generate books, films, performance interventions and other artistic expressions, in a journey that has gone from testimony and denunciation of the horror to, more recently, the freedom to imagine and resignify the still open wounds through fantasy, irony, and humor.

We will fight relentlessly against subversive crime in all its manifestations, to its total annihilation, declared dictator Jorge Rafael Videla (1925-2013) shortly after assuming the presidency. The war on subversion  that is, against the armed organizations of Peronism and the left  would serve as the justification for the self-styled National Reorganization Process implemented by the dictatorship until 1983. According to the Argentine justice system, it was based on a systematic plan of state terrorism that deployed clandestine centers for kidnapping, torture, and murder throughout the country.

The disappearance of 30,000 people and the appropriation of some 500 babies  according to estimates by human rights organizations  summarize the atrocities committed. Their counterpart was, and continues to be, the tireless demand sustained to this day by the mothers and grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo in their search for their children and grandchildren.

To remember is always to forget, and throughout these 50 years, the construction of collective memory about the dictatorship has been a shifting field of disputes and tensions. There, writers, artists, intellectuals, and academics sowed the seeds of their works  members of a cultural community that was especially targeted by the dictatorship through disappearances and threats that drove many into exile. As an inextinguishable symbol of that brutal persecution, the burning of 24 tons of books published by the Centro Editor de America Latina in 1980 remains. That same year saw the publication of Artificial Respiration, Ricardo Piglias cryptic novel, which is perhaps the best example of how, under the regime of terror, when censorship reigned, literature resorted to displaced allusion, to allegorical or metaphorical narratives to recount what was happening.

Mural of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, in March 2025, to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1976 military coup. Roberto Tuero (Zuma Press / Contacto)

Military secrecy [] turns most arrests into kidnappings that allow for unlimited torture and execution without trial Rodolfo Walsh, 'Open letter to the military junta' (1977)

From the final stages of the dictatorship, the militarys war on subversion rhetoric began to be challenged by denunciations of human rights violations against innocent victims. The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo were pioneers, beginning in 1977 with their marches in front of the Casa Rosada, their heads covered with headscarves. The disappeared, Videla declared in 1979, is an enigma, has no existence, is neither dead nor alive, is disappeared. The Mothers countered the sinister clandestine nature of the repression by displaying photographs of their children.

Among the Mothers, there was a very early awareness of the need to find ways to take action that would make them visible to society and the international press, as well as to each other, says Ana Longoni, a PhD in arts, specializing in the intersections of art and politics. There are two main frameworks for representing disappearances, she explains. One was the use of photographs, which began as an individual resource and then became collective, when banners with numerous photos together appeared. The other framework, she says, was the silhouettes, the drawing of human figures with the names of the missing persons, a proposal by the artists Julio Flores, Rodolfo Aguerreberry, and Guillermo Kexel to materialize the absence of the disappeared with a mark in space. Like the photographs, the silhouettes were adopted by human rights organizations and, over time, became central to numerous interventions in public spaces, known as the Siluetazos (Silhouette Protests). If the photos seek to emphasize a biography prior to the abduction, Longoni observes, the silhouettes emphasize the void left by those lives torn away, interrupted.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo (center) and lawyer Julio Cesar Strassra (right) present accusations against former military leaders including dictator Jorge Rafael Videla (left)  accused of human rights violations, in Buenos Aires on September 13, 1985. STR / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

My entire country was transformed into a single, numerous death that at first seemed intolerable and that was later accepted with indifference and oblivion Tomas Eloy Martinez, 'Lugar comun la muerte' (1979)

Before the eyes of a society shaken by what it had failed or refused to see, the restoration of democracy brought an explosive exposure of the crimes perpetrated by the dictatorship. The testimony of survivors and the families of the disappeared became the dominant narrative. The National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons, created by the Radical Civic Union president Raul Alfonsin (1983-1989), produced the foundational document of the era, Nunca Mas (Never Again, 1984). Its interpretation of the recent past proposed the so-called theory of the two demons: society as a victim of the violence of both left-wing and right-wing extremism.

The culmination of that first post-dictatorship period was the trial of the military juntas, recently recreated in the film Argentina, 1985 (Santiago Mitre, 2022). In that trial, nine of the 10 leaders who governed the country between the coup and the Falklands War (1982) were tried. Five of them were convicted of kidnapping, torture, and murder; Videla and Emilio Massera received life sentences. But the hope of extending justice to the entire structure of those responsible soon turned to disillusionment. Pressure and uprisings by the armed forces led Congress to pass impunity laws to prevent the trials from progressing. These laws were further reinforced by the pardons granted to the recently convicted military officers and also to former guerrillas, issued between 1989 and 1990 by Peronist President Carlos Menem (1989-1999).

The Never Again report and the trials of the juntas were a turning point, argues sociologist and researcher Valentina Salvi. The disappeared, who were previously considered subversives, came to be seen as people with rights, whose lives were violated by repressive violence. The notion of state terrorism emerged forcefully, as a way to differentiate between human rights violations committed by the state and the violence of armed organizations. But this narrative, Salvi points out, by emphasizing a humanitarian perspective, obliterated the status of these disappeared individuals as militants and members of armed organizations, and failed to account for Peronisms responsibility in the process. Cinema expressed this imaginary, where denunciation assumed that innocence and apoliticism were synonymous, in films such as The Official Story (Luis Puenzo, 1985), distinguished with the first Oscar for an Argentine film, or Night of the Pencils (Hector Olivera, 1986).

A woman tries to prevent the arrest of a young man at an anti-government demonstration in Buenos Aires, in March 1982. It is estimated that 30,000 people were killed or "disappeared" at the hands of the military. Horacio Villalobos (CORBIS / GETTY IMAGES)

Under the bushes / in the tall grass / on the bridges / in the canals / there are corpses Nestor Perlongher, 'Cadaveres' (1981)

In the mid-1990s, when the memory of the terror seemed to be fading under the pacification and national reconciliation promoted by Menem and his pardons, what had been denied found ways to return. The events commemorating March 24 became increasingly massive. 1995 was a pivotal year. That year saw the emergence of the organization HIJOS (Sons and Daughters for the Assertion of Identity and Justice Against Oblivion and Silence), which brought together descendants of the disappeared. Since those responsible for the genocide could not be brought to justice, HIJOS set out to denounce the repressors and mark the places where they lived with the slogan Justice and Punishment. These public shaming protests introduced another way to make the demonstration visible and, as the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo had done, appealed to aesthetic resources of urban intervention, now with the Street Art Group (GAC). Also in 1995, the Argentine army issued its first institutional self-criticism regarding the crimes committed. And it was that same year when the book The Flight, by Horacio Verbitsky, revealed the public confession of a repressor, Adolfo Scilingo, about the macabre death flights, in which thousands of detainees were drugged, transported in airplanes, and thrown into the sea, alive, naked.

A renewed memory boom began to take shape, a surge in literary and cinematic works of denunciation, testimony, or analysis, but now under a narrative that would reclaim the political activism of the 1970s as an essential part of the victims identity. Examples include La voluntad. Una historia de la militancia revolucionaria en la Argentina (1997-1998), the monumental trilogy by Eduardo Anguita and Martin Caparros, and Poder y desaparecido: los campos de concentracion en Argentina (1998), by Pilar Calveiro. In the world of cinema, one can cite the documentary Montoneros, una historia (1998), by Andres Di Tella. Around the same time, fiction was exploring new approaches, as in Villa (1995), where Luis Gusman presented a doctor complicit in the repression as the narrator.

Photos and documents of various repressors collected clandestinely at the ESMA by Victor Basterra, a graphic worker kidnapped by the military between August 1979 and December 1983. Ricardo Ceppi (GETTY IMAGES)

At what age can you start torturing a child? Martin Kohan, 'Dos veces junio' (2002)

The profound crisis that gripped Argentina in 2001 ushered in a turning point for the country. This included, of course, a shift in how the dictatorship and its legacy were addressed: the main change lay in the role of the state. The governments of Peronists Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015) embraced the demands for memory, truth, and justice championed by human rights organizations, in a partnership that broadened the possibilities for commemorating and confronting the harm of the genocide, as well as mitigating the risks of these organizations becoming enmeshed with a political party. Policies of remembrance were institutionalized through reparations for victims and the establishment of museums and memorials at the sites of former detention centers, with the Navy Mechanics School (ESMA) serving as a prime example. After the annulment of the impunity laws and pardons, around 2006 the trials of military personnel and civilians accused of crimes against humanity were restarted.

In the cultural sphere, the dawn of the 21st century brought with it the emergence of works created by the generation following that of the disappeared  those born in the 1970s and later. If there is a common thread running through their various books and films, it is perhaps an exploration that  operating within the blurred boundaries of autobiography and fiction  critiques the sacralization of the discourse surrounding memory and human rights. This period can be considered to have begun with the release of Los rubios (2003), Albertina Carris film that ostensibly presents itself as a documentary about her parents disappearance.

When memory was at risk of becoming official, new generations proposed new narratives to relate to loss, mocking and inventing new experimental and playful characters to revisit the legacies of terror, analyzes sociologist Cecilia Sosa, PhD in drama. Thus, humor, fantasy, and irony emerge in books such as Los topos (2006) by Felix Bruzzone, Diario de una princesa montonera: 110% verdad (2012, expanded in 2021) by Mariana Eva Perez, and Aparecida (2015) by Marta Dillon, three authors who are children of the disappeared. In Los rubios, says Sosa, Carri reconstructs her parents absence as a reality show of memory, proposing a new community where grief becomes a transferable and expansive experience. In Los topos, Bruzzones autobiographical fiction gives birth to the unforgettable transsexual character of Maira, a newly disappeared person, as a legacy of state violence. In Diario de una princesa montonera, Perez reveals the sorrows and pleasures of the world of the hijis [children of the disappeared] and, during a tour of the ESMA, demands a VIP star for the room where her mother gave birth to her brother, ironically commenting on the privileges of the victims. In Aparecida, Dillon writes about the experience of recovering her mothers remains 35 years after her murder and talks about the possibility of organizing a postponed funeral as if it were a party.

The freedom to reimagine the dictatorship introduced by these and other works  such as Lola Ariass biodrama Mi vida despues (2009)  opened multiple paths that continue to be explored today. Mariana Enriquezs literature, in Nuestra parte de noche (2019) and other texts, employs the horror narrative to depict the sinister persistence of the dictatorship as an omnipresent, dark latency. With an ethnographic approach, anthropologist Mariana Tello Weiss studies in Fantasmas de la dictadura (2025) the haunting of the families of the disappeared by apparitions, specters, and tormented souls.

Aerial view of the demonstration in which human rights organizations marched together with unions and political parties to commemorate the National Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice, in Buenos Aires, on March 24, 2025. Abaca Press / Contacto

Terror does not operate solely on the victims, but fundamentally on society as a whole Daniel Feierstein, 'Genocide as a social practice' (2007)

Not without setbacks, the public policies on historical memory enshrined in 2003 continued for 20 years, spanning the administrations of conservative Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) and Peronist Alberto Fernandez (2019-2023). With the rise to power of the far-right populist Javier Milei, what seemed to be a deeply rooted social and institutional consensus was shattered. Human rights departments and programs were gutted of funding and staff. The state withdrew its support for trials for crimes committed during the dictatorship and, among other measures, obstructed the search for the children of the disappeared who were appropriated by repressors, as denounced by the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo. In the 42 years since the return of democracy, the Grandmothers have succeeded in restoring the identities of 140 grandchildren; they are still searching for another 350.

The narrative the government is trying to establish revives a discourse born within the military and among genocide deniers. Unlike in the early days of democracy, it doesnt consist of vindicating the heroes who fought against subversion, already delegitimized by the judicial demonstration of the abhorrent crimes they perpetrated, but rather in the idea that it is necessary to construct a complete memory. Valentina Salvi, coordinator of the book What are the Right Wing Doing with the 70s? (2026), argues that this discourse uses the slogans of human rights organizations to demand justice for the victims of armed groups (to date, Argentine courts have determined that these were not crimes against humanity and the statute of limitations has expired). And regarding this idea of a complete memory, she warns, in recent years a much crueler and more belligerent memory has developed among ultra-right-wing youth, one that stigmatizes women, the disabled, migrants, and also the disappeared and their families.

In this context, Argentina marks the 50th anniversary of its last military coup. On March 24, thousands of people, carrying photos, silhouettes, and other reminders of the disappeared, are expected to demonstrate in Plaza de Mayo, called together by human rights organizations to commemorate the Day of Remembrance. The Casa Rosada is also expected to release, as it has in the previous two years, an official statement that downplays state terrorism. The words and images that endure will contribute to shaping the countrys past and future.

Sign up forour weekly newsletterto get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer found himself in a tense on-air exchange Monday with Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough, who repeatedly pressed the New York Democrat to acknowledge that degrading Irans military capabilities was a positive development  a question Schumer repeatedly deflected before offering a partial concession.

The back-and-forth grew visibly heated as Scarborough asked Schumer directly whether weakening Irans military infrastructure was a good thing.

All right, so senator, hold on a second. You gotta answer my question first. Is it a good thing that Iran  and I think you would agree with me, epicenter of terrorism in the world since 1979  is it good that their military infrastructure is being degraded to the degree that it is, yes or no? Scarborough pressed.

Schumer declined to answer directly, pivoting instead to the economic consequences of the war  namely, skyrocketing gas prices tied to halted shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Scarborough pushed back, insisting he was asking strictly about the military dimension, separate from any political or economic judgment.

Co-host Mika Brzezinski came to Schumers defense, calling it a trick question and arguing that military action cannot be evaluated in isolation from its strategic consequences. Scarborough disagreed, answered the question himself, and declared that the American public would do the same.

Schumer held his ground, up to a point. Joe, in all due respect, if you ask the American people if you have the choice of degrading the military structure in Iran, but having gasoline be $6 a gallon and our economy falling into a deep recession where millions lose their job, what do you think? he said.

A frustrated Scarborough replied, Youre not listening to me, before quipping, All right, why dont we talk about the Yankees because youre not following me here.

Schumer eventually offered a qualified acknowledgment. The fact that the leader, Khamenei, is gone, no one regrets that. The fact that Iran has less ability to create military trouble, no one disputes that. He stopped short, however, of offering the clean affirmation Scarborough had sought.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A newly released collection of oral history interviews reveals that President Barack Obama reprimanded his Director of National Intelligence and cut him out of future meetings  not for a security breach or policy failure, but for asking him to answer a straightforward question about Irans nuclear program.

Dennis Blair, who served as Obamas DNI from the start of his presidency until his resignation in May 2010, recounted the episode in interviews conducted by the University of Virginias Miller Center and reported Monday by The New York Times.

During a White House meeting on Iran policy, Blair said he posed what he considered the unavoidable threshold question.

When it came my turn to speak at this meeting, I said, Mr. President, you really just have one decision to make Are you going to tolerate Iran having a nuclear weapon or not?' Blair recalled.

It was not a gotcha  it was a framework. Rejecting a nuclear Iran would require covert operations and military options. Accepting one would require a strategy of containment and deterrence. Either way, the administration needed an answer before it could build coherent policy. Obama refused to give one. Instead, he pulled Blair aside afterward and made clear the question itself was unwelcome.

The president took me aside after that meeting and said, Denny, dont ever put me on the spot like that again,' Blair recalled. I said Yes, sir, Mr. President. I certainly wont.' The professional consequences followed swiftly. I was kept out of meetings from that time forward.

Blair said he had understood the meeting to be a genuine opportunity for senior officials to weigh in on Iran policy, and admitted he had made the mistake of believing the president was actually looking for fresh insights. He was wrong. Obama, it turned out, did not want his core assumptions challenged  he wanted the question left unanswered.

The episode casts a long shadow over the Iran nuclear deal Obama negotiated during his second term, which his administration celebrated as a landmark diplomatic achievement that constrained Irans nuclear ambitions without military conflict. If Blairs account is accurate, the deal was constructed on a foundation Obama had never been willing to examine honestly: whether a nuclear Iran was, in fact, intolerable, and what the United States would actually do about it if the answer was yes.

Critics of the deal argued it delivered billions in sanctions relief to the worlds most active state sponsor of terrorism while merely delaying, rather than eliminating, Irans nuclear path. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018.

The Miller Center interviews also shed light on a separate episode of Obama-era political calculation: the effort to keep Vice President Joe Biden out of the 2016 presidential race. Top Obama strategist David Plouffe recounted bluntly discouraging Biden  still grieving the 2015 death of his son Beau  from entering the contest.

Theres no room. Theres just no room for you, Plouffe told him, adding, Im concerned about you as a human being. Im not sure youre in a state to run. Biden stood down. The race came down to Hillary Clinton, Obamas preferred candidate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Clinton won the nomination and lost the general election to Trump.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A New York City man has been convicted of a hate crime for attacking a Jewish Israeli tourist in Manhattan shortly after the October 7 Hamas attack.

Yehia Amin was found guilty of third-degree assault as a hate crime for the October 18, 2023 incident near Times Square.

According to prosecutors, Amin targeted a group of Israelis wearing yarmulkes, shouted antisemitic threats including Hamas should kill more of you and All Jews should die, and then punched a 23-year-old victim in the back of the head before fleeing.

He was quickly apprehended after being chased by the victims and a police officer.

While in custody, Amin continued making antisemitic statements, prosecutors said.

He is expected to be sentenced at the end of May to 90 days in prison followed by five years of probation.

Authorities say the attack was part of a surge in antisemitic incidents following the October 7 massacre. Hate crime convictions remain relatively rare due to the high legal standard required to prove bias.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Senior U.S. military officials are considering deploying thousands of ground troops to support operations in Iran, including a possible assault on Kharg Island, the countrys primary oil export terminal, defense officials cited by the Wall Street Journal said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive planning, described the deliberations as prudent contingency work and stressed that no deployment order has been issued by the Pentagon or U.S. Central Command, which declined to comment.

At the center of the planning is the 82nd Airborne Divisions Immediate Response Force, a combat brigade of roughly 3,000 soldiers based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hours. Officials are also considering an assault by approximately 2,500 troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, currently en route to the region.

The two options reflect different tactical tradeoffs. Kharg Islands airfield was damaged in recent U.S. bombing raids, making a Marine-first approach more attractive in the initial phase  combat engineers embedded with Marine units could rapidly repair the runway and other infrastructure, allowing the Air Force to begin flowing supplies and reinforcements via C-130s. Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne could then augment or relieve the Marines once the airfield is operational.

The airborne option offers speed  paratroopers can arrive overnight  but comes with a significant vulnerability: the 82nd deploys without heavy armored vehicles, leaving troops exposed if Iranian forces mount a counterattack. The Marines, conversely, bring more firepower but lack the sustainment capacity for a prolonged hold. Current and former officials described a combined approach  Marines securing the island, paratroopers relieving them  as one scenario under active consideration.

In addition to the combat brigade, officials are weighing the deployment of elements of the 82nd Airbornes divisional headquarters staff to serve as a subordinate command element for mission planning and coordination in what officials described as an increasingly complex operational environment.

Signs of preparation have already emerged. In early March, the Army abruptly pulled the divisions 300-member headquarters from a scheduled exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Army officials said the decision was made to keep the command element at Fort Bragg in case the Pentagon ordered a rapid deployment to the Middle East, not wanting the headquarters caught out of position if orders came through.

The 82nd Airbornes ready brigade has been called up repeatedly in recent years for rapid-response missions, including to Baghdad in January 2020 following the attack on the U.S. Embassy, to Kabul in August 2021 to support the Afghanistan evacuation, and to Eastern Europe in 2022 in connection with operations related to the war in Ukraine.

Kharg Island handles the overwhelming majority of Irans crude oil exports. Its seizure would represent a significant escalation of the conflict and a severe economic blow to Tehran, a pressure point that U.S. planners appear to be actively gaming out as Operation Epic Fury enters its fifth week.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Israeli officials say the chances of a diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran are very small, amid widening gaps between the sides and continued U.S. military preparations in the region.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the divide is not only over American demands  including limits on Irans nuclear program, ballistic missiles, and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz  but also over Tehrans own conditions.

At the moment, the Iranians are insisting on American compensation, as well as guarantees from the administration that there will be no further action against Iran as part of any agreement, two sources involved in mediation efforts told the Post.

Despite public statements from President Donald Trump suggesting progress in negotiations, officials say developments on the ground tell a different story.

A source familiar with the details said the deployment of American forces in the Middle East is continuing as usual, including additional U.S. Marines positioned for a potential operation involving Irans Kharg oil island in the Strait of Hormuz  a strategic move that could help secure freedom of navigation.

Trump has not yet made a final decision on whether to launch such an operation, with the outcome still tied in part to ongoing negotiations.

Meanwhile, an American source told the Post that the strikes are continuing as planned.

Israeli officials also emphasized that coordination with the U.S. military remains unchanged, along with operational planning.

Everything is continuing as usual. There is no change in the American war plans  and we do not see any such change, one Israeli source said.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The IDF announced Tuesday that more than 3,000 Iranian regime targets have been struck since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, as Israel continues its large-scale campaign across Iran.

The military said over 50 targets were hit overnight, including ballistic missile storage sites and launchers.

Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets also carried out strikes on Monday targeting key regime infrastructure, including IRGC intelligence command centers and a command center belonging to Irans Intelligence Ministry. Weapons depots and air defense systems were also struck to expand Israeli aerial superiority.

Additional strikes were carried out Tuesday afternoon on production sites in the Isfahan area.

Following an Iranian missile strike that caused damage in Tel Aviv, the IDF launched another wave of attacks Tuesday morning, targeting missile launchers and infrastructure in western Iran, with air defenses activated in Tehran.

Iranian media reported six people killed and nine wounded in a strike in Tabriz, while the IRGC-linked Fars News Agency claimed gas infrastructure was targeted, though officials said operations were not disrupted.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry has ordered the Iranian envoy in Beirut to leave the country by Sunday and has declared him a persona non grata

I instructed today the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants to summon the Iranian Charge dAffaires in Lebanon to inform him of the decision to withdraw the agrement for the designated Iranian Ambassador, Mohammad Reza Shibani, declare him persona non grata, and request that he leave Lebanese territory no later than 29 March 2026, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi stated.

According to the Associated Press, a Lebanese spokesperson said that the Iranian Embassy will still have a charge daffaires to head its diplomatic mission.

(YWN Israel DeskJerusalem)
U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf are inching toward direct involvement in the war against Iran, hardening their stance after repeated attacks that have disrupted their economies and risk giving Tehran longterm leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Gulf states have taken steps recently to strengthen Americas ability to conduct airstrikes and open a new front against Irans finances. They have stopped short of openly deploying their militaries, a threshold Gulf leaders have long hoped to avoid, but pressure is mounting as Iran seeks greater influence over the energyrich region.

Saudi Arabia has recently agreed to allow U.S. forces to use the King Fahd air base on the western side of the Arabian Peninsula, according to people familiar with the decision. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is now eager to restore deterrence and is close to deciding to join the attacks, the sources said. It is only a matter of time before the kingdom enters the war, one of them added. Additionally, according to a New York Times report, Bin Salman is urging President Trump to send ground troops into Iran to seize energy infrastructure.

The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, has begun cracking down on Iranianowned assetsa major financial lifeline for Tehranwhile debating whether to send its military into the fight and lobbying against any ceasefire that leaves parts of Irans military intact.

The UAE recently shut down the Iranian Hospital and the Iranian Club in Dubai, according to people familiar with the closures. Phone numbers, WhatsApp channels, and the hospitals website were offline on Monday. Dubai health authorities confirmed the facility was no longer operating.

Certain institutions directly linked to the Iranian regime and IRGC will be closed under targeted measures after being found to have been misused to advance agendas that do not serve the Iranian people, and in violation of U.A.E. law, the government said, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The UAE, which has faced over 2,000 Iranian attacks during the war, has been a major financial hub for Iranian businesses and individuals for years. After Iran began striking its territory, it warned that it could freeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets. Such steps could sharply restrict Tehrans access to foreign currency and global trade networks.

Although Gulf states publicly insist they are not carrying out attacks on Iran or allowing their airspace to be used for strikes, the reality is more complicated. Videos verified by Storyful show that some groundbased missile launches targeting Iran originated from Bahrain. Five U.S. Air Force refueling planes were damaged on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia after an Iranian missile strike, U.S. officials said.

The U.S. military declined to say whether Arab states were assisting, saying Gulf governments should speak for themselves.

The actions by Saudi Arabia and the UAE highlight how Gulf monarchies are being drawn deeper into the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, a role they would prefer to avoid.

But Iran is forcing their hand, especially by its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Gulf leadersespecially in the UAE and Saudi Arabiaare urging Trump in frequent calls to finish the job and dismantle Irans military capabilities before moving on, Arab officials said. The escalating attacks are also convincing them that they may need to deliver their own response to restore deterrence.

Their confidence in U.S. security guarantees and diplomatic engagement with Iran has eroded. That became clear last week when Iran struck Qatars Ras Laffan energy hub, along with key Saudi, Kuwaiti, and Emirati facilities.

The Gulf states are united in their anger toward Iran, officials said, but also frustrated by their limited influence over U.S. decisionmaking despite their close security ties and heavy investments in the relationship.

Theyre just caught in this structural bind that weaker parties always have in an alliance with a stronger party, said Gregory Gause, an analyst of U.S.-Gulf ties at the Middle East Institute in Washington. If the stronger party is taking bellicose positions, theyre worried that theyre going to be dragged into a war they dont want to fight.

(YWN Israel DeskJerusalem)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is urging U.S. President Donald Trump to continue and even escalate the war against Iran, the New York Times reported.

According to the report, in a series of conversations over the past week, Bin Salman conveyed a clear message that the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation represents a historic opportunity to reshape the Middle East by toppling the regime in Tehran.

Bin Salman emphasized to Trump that Iran poses a long-term strategic threat to Gulf states, and that the only way to eliminate that threat is by removing the current regime. He is pressing Trump to deploy US troops in Iran to seize key energy infrastructure and accelerate regime change.

According to analysts, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states fear that if the US pulls out without bringing down the regime, they will be vulnerable to frequent attacks by an emboldened Iran and would be forced to deal with it alone. In addition, Iran would likely continue creating disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

When Trump raised concerns about the economic consequences of continuing the war, particularly a surge in oil prices and damage to the global economy, bin Salman sought to reassure him, arguing that such effects would be temporary and would give way to long-term regional stability following regime change.

Senior officials in both Saudi Arabia and the United States are concerned that if the conflict continues, Iran could carry out even more severe attacks on Saudi oil facilities, and that the United States could become entangled in an endless war.

The wars impact on Saudi Arabias economy and national security is already significant. Iranian missile and drone strikes, launched in response to U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, have already caused major disruptions in the oil market.

Saudi officials certainly want the war to end, but how it ends matters, said Yasmine Farouk, director of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula project for the International Crisis Group.

(YWN Israel DeskJerusalem)
Israels Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced Tuesday that Israeli forces intend to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, spelling out for the first time the countrys stated goal of seizing territory amounting to nearly a tenth of Lebanon as a permanent defensive buffer.

Speaking at a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani, a river that meets the Mediterranean approximately 30 kilometers north of Israels border. He described the effort as establishing a forward defensive line, with buildings near the border being cleared and demolished to push the threat away from communities. He drew an explicit comparison to Israels approach in Gaza.

The announcement drew immediate pushback from Hezbollah. The Iranian-backed terrorist group called a potential Israeli occupation south of the Litani an existential threat to the Lebanese state, and senior lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah vowed resistance. We have no choice but to confront this aggression and cling to the land, he told Reuters.

A day earlier, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich went beyond Katz, calling outright for Israel to annex southern Lebanon up to the river. The new Israeli border must be the Litani, Smotrich said on Israeli radio Monday, adding that the military campaign needs to end with a different reality entirely.

Israel last occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 until its withdrawal in 2000.

Israel has destroyed five bridges over the Litani since March 13 and accelerated the demolition of homes in Lebanese villages near the border, which it characterizes as part of a campaign against Hezbollah infrastructure. Under international law, attacks on civilian infrastructure are generally prohibited.

Lebanon on Tuesday declared Irans ambassador persona non grata, giving him until Sunday to leave the country, a move Beirut said did not constitute a severing of diplomatic ties with Tehran. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised the decision.

Lebanons president said Tuesday the war could have been avoided had Israel withdrawn from occupied areas in the south and honored the 2024 ceasefire deal. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Washington and Tehran may be nearing an agreement to end the broader conflict, though Iran has denied any negotiations with the U.S. are taking place. Whether a Lebanon ceasefire would be part of any such deal remains unclear.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Two brothers from Bnei Brak have gone missing after setting out on a trip in the Shomron.

Yehuda Schreiber (20) and Yisroel Schreiber (19) left their home at 11:30 a.m. to travel to the Churvat Shilo area. Contact with them was lost in the early afternoon.

Israel Police are asking for the publics assistance in locating the missing brothers.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police immediately by calling 100.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The Trump administration has conveyed a sweeping list of 15 conditions to Iran as the basis for ending the current conflict, Israels Channel 12 reported, outlining demands that cover the full range of American and Israeli war objectives while also offering Tehran significant economic incentives in return.

The disclosure comes amid growing unease in Jerusalem over what Israeli political and security officials fear could be a rushed diplomatic process. According to Channel 12, senior Trump aides Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have been driving a framework modeled on previous Trump-era agreements  a monthlong ceasefire during which both sides would negotiate the full 15-point deal  similar to the arrangements brokered with Hamas in Gaza and with Lebanon. President Trump confirmed Tuesday that indirect negotiations with a senior Iranian figure had produced roughly 15 points of tentative agreement.

Israels concern, the report notes, is not with the conditions themselves, which align closely with its own war aims, but with the pace and ambiguity of the process.

The scenario of a rapid, ambiguous agreement in principle is giving Israels political and security leaders sleepless nights, Channel 12 wrote, warning that a framework deal reached before its terms are precisely defined could leave Iran having effectively emerged with the upper hand.

Citing a Western source, Channel 12 published 14 of the 15 points. On the nuclear front, the US is demanding that Iran fully dismantle its existing nuclear infrastructure, permanently renounce the pursuit of nuclear weapons, and cease all uranium enrichment on Iranian soil. Tehran would be required to transfer its stockpile of approximately 450 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent to the International Atomic Energy Agency on a timeline to be negotiated. The Natanz, Isfahan and Fordo nuclear facilities would be dismantled entirely, and the IAEA would be granted full access and oversight inside the country.

Beyond the nuclear file, Washington is demanding a fundamental shift in Iranian regional behavior. Iran would be required to abandon its proxy network paradigm, ending the funding, direction and arming of militant groups across the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz must remain open as a free maritime corridor. Irans ballistic missile program would be curtailed in both range and quantity, with specific thresholds to be determined in later negotiations, and future missile use would be restricted to self-defense.

In exchange, Tehran would receive a full lifting of international sanctions, along with US assistance in developing a civilian nuclear program  including continued operation of the Bushehr nuclear power plant for electricity generation. Notably, the so-called snapback mechanism, which allows for the automatic reimposition of sanctions upon Iranian non-compliance, would be removed  a concession that had been a sticking point in previous nuclear negotiations.

The fifteenth condition was not disclosed in the report.

The outline represents one of the most comprehensive diplomatic frameworks put forward since the collapse of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Whether Iran will engage with the terms  and whether Washington and Jerusalem can agree on what constitutes an acceptable final deal  remains to be seen.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The Government is encouraging private developers to use college-owned land to deliver purpose-built student accommodation, as the further education minister said the country needs 42,000 additional beds by 2035.

The National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026-2035 sets out a multi-annual plan to urgently deliver new student accommodation, including through State-financed, purpose-built student accommodation on public or private lands.

The stategy, which is designed to deal with affordability and viability of supply, projects a requirement of 42,000 beds by 2035  including an existing deficit of 15,000 beds.

The Department of Further Education expects to include 10,000 digs-style rent-a-room agreements in the 42,000 target.

The scheme sets out a plan to provide land owned by higher education instutitions (HEIs) to developers under a long-term licence.

Further education minister James Lawless said the approach was an innovative measure to unlock significant State lands.

He said HEIs had significant land banks around the country that were untapped.

The strategy says this would be done with necessary safeguards and could reduce cost and enhance the attractiveness to the developer.

Technological Universities have already entered into licence agreements to facilitate the development of educational buildings on land they own through public-private partnerships.

HEIs have secured planning permission for on-campus, purpose-built student accommodation of around 2,359 beds and are actively developing further proposals which could be advanced through private sector delivery, the plan said.

Mr Lawless said: This will be done through a public private partnership-type (PPP) model, where we make those public lands available to private sector investment under terms that include the land always remains in the possession of the State, but that the private investment can come in, build out at scale student accommodation on those sites and in a way that guarantees occupancy for the students.

The minister said it was appropriate to use every lever at our disposal given that there is known private sector interest and a situation where 15,000 beds with planning permission are not being delivered due to viability issues.

The HEIs would have a nomination agreement, which would allow them to specify a minimum number of beds they would take up within each development.

The minister said this could, for example, be between 75-90% of the beds on site with the remainder going to staff or other frontline workers.

Mr Lawless said 53 suitable sites around the country had already been identified.

On affordability, Mr Lawless said 176 million euro in new money had been committed for student supports including bursaries and grants.

He added that students would also benefit from recent rental reforms.

The scheme highlights that there is 250 million euro in capital exchequer funding for student accommodation between 2023-2030, and a 14,000 euro rent-a-room relief scheme for homeowners.

Asked about the yearly delivery under the overall strategy, Mr Lawless said there were currently no annual targets as part of the plan.

He said the scheme would be rolled out on a phased basis starting with Dublin, Cork and Galway, followed by Limerick, Waterford and Athlone and then other regions.
Amid a brief pause in fighting . . . Here's how local activist "journalists" describe the latest American intervention in the Middle-East . . . And, as always, we note their bombastic sentiments if only because so many other local news outlets choose to help platform these fiery local scribes.

Check-it:

"If you are reading this from Kansas City, here is why this matters to you right now.



"Your gas prices are climbing. Your groceries cost more this month than last. The global economy is in an energy crisis the International Energy Agency says is worse than the 1970s oil shocks. All of it traces back to an illegal war your government launched without your permission, without congressional authorization, and without a shred of legal justification."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Lots of things to consider for the late night and early morning but MOSTLY worsening local gunfire and a dearth of cowtown conflict resolution as we check court cases, police action and, as always, community outreach.

Check TKC news gathering . . .

Suspect in custody after officer-involved shooting in northeast Kansas City A suspect is in custody following an officer-involved shooting in northeast Kansas City on Monday night.

Rolling shooting, fiery crash in Prairie Village started with suspect following driver A rolling shooting that started Sunday evening in Overland Park and ended with a car crash that caught fire in Prairie Village left a passenger with gunshot wounds and a driver injured.

Before fatal shooting, man allegedly said he felt 'emasculated' by victim Demario McGee, 37, faces a second-degree murder charge for his alleged role in a fatal shooting in south Kansas City over the weekend.

Man accused of shooting, killing girlfriend after argument over where the couple would stay the night A homeless man who went to a Kansas City, Missouri, house to record music is accused of killing his girlfriend after he felt "emasculated" during an argument over where they would stay the night.

Olathe community raises more than $30K for school teacher who was stabbed in neck at park A woman was stabbed in broad daylight at an Olathe park on Thursday afternoon in what police are saying was an "unprovoked" attack.

Murder charges filed against man following deadly south Kansas City shooting Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson charged 37-year-old Demario McGee with second-degree murder on Monday.

Investigators looking for possible victims in KCI restroom recording case Platte County prosecutors spoke Monday about the investigation into 32-year-old Teriosi Ludwig, a former Kansas City International Airport (KCI) worker accused of recording dozens of women in a pub...

Fired again: Suburban Chicago cop axed for pro-ICE posts a decade after his brief termination over Ferguson comments A veteran suburban Chicago police officer was fired Friday after urging Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to enforce the law and remove illegal immigrants from his community. The cit...

Overland Park shooting leads to crash in Prairie Village; police search for suspect's vehicle Police are investigating a shooting Sunday evening near 99th Street and Roe Avenue, with at least one victim taken to the hospital.

Fierce blowback to parole decision in 1978 murder case could uproot Kansas' system * Kansas Reflector Jimmie Nelms was caught on a dead-end road.He rammed his 1973 white Mercury Marquis through a metal gate and a wire fence into a pasture, then head-on into a Kansas Highway Patrol car that had been tailing him. After a shootout, he and two others were arrested.

KCPD expands drone security ahead of World Cup despite privacy concerns Officials say the technology enhances safety, but community voices remain divided on privacy concerns.

'Operation Spring Cleaning': Southwest Missouri Crime Sweep Nets 101 Arrests - Missourinet Law enforcement took a power washer to the entire southwest Missouri region as part of a sting called "Operation Spring Cleaning." That's according to Matt Price, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. During a news conference, he said the operation led to more than 100 people being charged for a variety of [...]

Faith and Service Inspire New KCPD Captain By his teenage years, Tim Jones had seen enough to know he was going to be a difference maker in his community.

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.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. On March 24, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense visited servicemen receiving treatment at the Main Clinical Hospital of the Ministry, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense.

First, flowers were laid in front of the monument to the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, erected on the hospital territory, and tribute was paid to his memory.

The ministrys leadership enquired about the health condition of the personnel undergoing treatment and wished them a speedy recovery and a return to their places of service.

The medical personnel were thanked for their care and high level of professionalism in treating the servicemen.

The hospital staff and the servicemen receiving treatment expressed their deep gratitude to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Ilham Aliyev, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense for the conditions created in the military medical institution, as well as for the comprehensive attention and care shown.
Photo: The Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 24. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan discussed prospects for expanding cooperation in the agricultural sector, Trend reports via the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan.

The issue was reviewed during a meeting between Uzbekistans Minister of Agriculture, Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, and Kazakhstans Vice Minister of Agriculture, Yermek Kenjekhanuly, held on the sidelines of the Italy-Central Asia (C5) + Azerbaijan International Agribusiness Forum.

During the talks, the sides put forward proposals on new areas of cooperation aimed at ensuring sustainable agricultural development amid environmental and climate challenges.

In particular, the parties discussed opportunities to deepen collaboration in the processing of grain, legumes, and oilseed crops, as well as the expansion of meat and dairy production.

According to the ministry, the initiatives are expected to contribute to closer integration in the agricultural sector between the two countries, strengthen food security, and increase export potential.

Meanwhile, Tashkent is hosting the international business forum Regenerative Agriculture and Digitalization for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems on March 23-24, with the participation of representatives from Italy, Central Asian countries, and Azerbaijan.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 24. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan discussed the expansion of joint projects in the agricultural sector and agreed to develop a roadmap for further cooperation, Trend reports via the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan.

The issue was reviewed during a meeting between Uzbekistans Minister of Agriculture Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov and Kyrgyzstans Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry Almaz Zheenaliev on the sidelines of the Italy-Central Asia (C5) + Azerbaijan International Agribusiness Forum.

Particular attention was paid to accelerating the digitalization of agriculture. The sides emphasized the importance of this area and exchanged views on the possible introduction of Uzbekistans experience in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The dialogue also focused on expanding cooperation in livestock development, production and processing of animal products, vegetable oil manufacturing, and horticulture. In addition, the parties discussed specific proposals related to potato farming, increasing meat production, and improving efficiency through the introduction of modern technologies.

The parties acknowledged the necessity to enhance collaborative efforts that yield reciprocal advantages by executing joint initiatives, securing investments, and fostering industrial partnerships.

Meanwhile, Tashkent is hosting the international business forum Regenerative Agriculture and Digitalization for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems on March 23-24, with the participation of representatives from Italy, Central Asian countries, and Azerbaijan.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 24. Agricultural trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Italy reached $58.6 million, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev wrote on his social media account, Trend reports.

The statement followed Khodjaevs meeting with Italys Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, held on the sidelines of the international forum Italy-Central Asia (C5) + Azerbaijan.

The discussion focused on areas where our partnership is already delivering tangible results, as well as sectors with strong potential for further development, he stated.

The deputy prime minister noted that Uzbekistan and Italy are steadily expanding practical cooperation across several key areas, including trade, agricultural education, science, capacity building, and the introduction of modern solutions in agriculture.

During the meeting, specific steps were outlined to further strengthen cooperation in areas such as crop breeding and genetics, modernization of agricultural machinery, agri-drones, and smart agriculture; and the establishment of modern laboratories for food safety and certification, as well as joint research projects on climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration, including in the Aral Sea region, he noted.

Khodjaev added that with the support of the leaders of both countries, Uzbek-Italian cooperation in the agricultural sector is entering a new stage of qualitative growth.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 24. Uzbekistan and Italy signed 7 agreements on cooperation in the agricultural sector, Trend reports via the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan.

The documents were signed on the sidelines of the Italy-Central Asia (C5) + Azerbaijan Business Forum held in Tashkent.

According to the ministry, the agreements are aimed at expanding bilateral trade in agricultural products, attracting investment, and strengthening cooperation in the agro-industrial sector. The documents also provide for the mechanization of agriculture, the introduction of modern agrotechnologies, increased production efficiency, and the modernization of the agro-industrial complex.

The sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in the exchange of knowledge and technologies, the adoption of advanced practices, and the implementation of joint projects in agriculture.

Meanwhile, Tashkent is hosting the international business forum Regenerative Agriculture and Digitalization for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems on March 23-24, with the participation of representatives from Italy, Central Asian countries, and Azerbaijan.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 24. Rustam Baltabaev has been appointed Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, Trend reports, citing the ministry.

Prior to his appointment, he served as Executive Director of the Association for the Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex of Kyrgyzstan, where he led a number of projects aimed at advancing the industry.

In his new role, Baltabaev will oversee areas including processing, organic production, and exports.

Baltabaev has over 12 years of experience in the agro-industrial sector. Previously, he has outlined initiatives to create new processing facilities (including plans to build 385 such facilities), develop organic production, improve veterinary control, and address water supply issues in agriculture.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 24. Uzatom and Russias Rosatom have signed a roadmap on cooperation within the nuclear power plant (NPP) construction project in Uzbekistan, Trend reports via Rosatom.

The document was signed by Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and Uzatom Director Azim Akhmedkhadjaev.

The roadmap covers key areas of cooperation under the NPP construction project, including personnel training, public awareness of modern nuclear technologies, and the development of a future nuclear town near the plant.

According to Rosatom, the signing of the roadmap confirms the comprehensive nature of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia in the nuclear field, with the project expected to contribute to technological development and support long-term economic growth.

Earlier, on June 20, 2025, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Rosatom and Uzbekistans Atomic Energy Agency signed an agreement on the main terms for the construction of a 2.4 GW nuclear power plant in the country. In August, site survey works began at the selected construction site.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 24. A ceremony marking the start of the first concrete works has been held at the construction site of a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistans Farish district of the Jizzakh region, Trend reports via Uzatom.

The ceremony was attended by Director of the Nuclear Power Plant Construction Directorate of Uzbekistan Abdujamal Kalmuratov and Vice President, Project Director for NPP construction in Uzbekistan at Atomstroyexport (Rosatoms engineering division) Pavel Bezrukov.

The works are being carried out as part of the construction of a power unit equipped with a RITM-200N reactor. The start of the concrete stage marks the transition to active construction of the facility.

According to Uzatom, currently, concrete preparation works are underway for the reactor building. The stage is expected to be completed in April 2026, with about 900 cubic meters of concrete to be poured. Upon completion, the foundation base for the reactor building will be prepared, including waterproofing and grounding.

The small nuclear power plant is part of the integrated nuclear energy project being implemented jointly by Uzbekistan and Russia.

Earlier, on June 20, 2025, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Rosatom and Uzbekistans Atomic Energy Agency signed an agreement on the main terms for the construction of a 2.4 GW nuclear power plant in the country. In August, site survey works began at the selected construction site.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. A memorandum of cooperation has been signed between Aqrar Tdaruk v Tchizat OJSC (ATT), operating under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Italys main farmers organization Coldiretti, as well as the Filiera Italia Association, which brings together the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors, Trend reports.

The memorandum was signed within the framework of a meeting between Minister Majnun Mammadov, Italys Minister of Agriculture, and the President of the Italian Trade Agency.

Thus, Azerbaijans Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov, who is on a visit to Uzbekistan, met with Italys Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida, and the President of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), Matteo Zoppas.

During the meetings, the parties discussed the development of cooperation in the agricultural sector, increasing trade turnover of agricultural and food products, expanding ties between business representatives, encouraging participation of entrepreneurs in international exhibitions and fairs held in both countries, the transfer of modern technologies, cooperation in agricultural research and agricultural education, as well as strengthening ties and expanding the exchange of experience in areas such as winemaking, livestock breeding, and dairy production.

The parties expressed their interest in further developing bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector between the two countries and increasing trade turnover of agricultural and food products. An extensive exchange of views took place on issues of mutual interest.

Within the framework of the meeting, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between Aqrar Tdaruk v Tchizat OJSC (ATT), Italys main farmers organization Coldiretti, and the Filiera Italia Association. The document outlines the directions of future cooperation in the agricultural sector. According to the memorandum, the parties agreed to expand cooperation in building a productive, sustainable, and export-oriented agricultural economy in the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will establish a new regional capacity development center in Rome aimed at strengthening economic institutions and policymaking across Southeast Europe, the Fund said, Trend reports.

The Southeast Europe Technical Assistance Center (SEETAC) will support Western Balkan countries  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia  as well as Moldova, all of which are pursuing European Union membership. The center is expected to begin operations by January 2027.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the initiative would address significant capacity development needs in the region, helping to enhance macroeconomic stability, resilience and growth prospects, while supporting progress toward EU accession.

SEETAC will become part of the IMFs global network of 17 regional capacity development centers. It will provide targeted technical assistance in key areas including fiscal policy, monetary and financial sector policies, macroeconomic frameworks and forecasting, statistics, and legal frameworks.

The new center will also complement existing training programs delivered to the region by the IMFs Joint Vienna Institute.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has agreed to provide a 70 million loan to NLB Komercijalna banka to expand financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Serbia, Trend reports via the Bank.

The loan, extended under the EBRDs Financial Intermediaries Framework (FIF), will allow NLB Komercijalna banka to offer working capital and investment loans to private businesses, helping to address persistent financing gaps, particularly in regions outside Serbias major cities.

At least 30 percent of the funds will be earmarked for projects that support the countrys transition to a green economy, including initiatives that enhance energy efficiency and promote renewable energy solutions.

SMEs are a cornerstone of Serbias economy, contributing significantly to employment and value added. However, access to long-term financing remains limited. Through this loan, the EBRD aims to strengthen SME competitiveness while supporting a more resilient financial sector by promoting high environmental and financial standards.

Aleksandra Vukosavljevic, EBRD Director of Financial Institutions for the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe, said: This financing will enable NLB Komercijalna banka to expand lending to small and medium-sized enterprises across Serbia, fostering business growth, job creation, and regional development. By directing a substantial portion of the funds toward green investments, the project also supports Serbias transition to a more sustainable and resilient economy.

The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Serbia, having committed more than 10.7 billion across 405 projects to date. Its investment priorities in the country focus on enhancing private-sector competitiveness, advancing the green economy, and supporting sustainable infrastructure.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a 90 million loan to the Port of Rotterdam Authority to install shore power facilities at three deep-sea container terminals in Europes largest port, Trend reports via the Bank.

The financing will support Rotterdam Shore Power, a joint venture between the Port of Rotterdam Authority and energy company Eneco. The project includes the onshore power supply installation, grid connections, cabling, and related construction and excavation works. In total, eight kilometres of quay will be equipped with shore power, creating 35 connection points for seagoing container vessels.

In addition to the EIB loan, the project is expected to receive around 70 million in grants from the European Commission under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

Currently, large container ships rely on engines or fossil fuel generators to power onboard electrical systems, producing CO emissions, noise, and particulate pollution. The new shore power installations are planned to be delivered and commissioned in phases starting in the second half of 2028.

The EIB, the EUs long-term lending institution owned by its Member States, provides financing for investments that advance EU policy goals. The Netherlands holds a 5.2 percent share in the bank. Over the years, the EIB has provided more than 36 billion to projects in the Netherlands, covering sustainable transport, social infrastructure, research and development, drinking water, healthcare, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is an EU funding instrument designed to support sustainable, high-quality, and efficient trans-European networks in transport, energy, and digital sectors. It provides grants and procurement funding to accelerate the green transition, strengthen energy security, and promote cross-border cooperation.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority is responsible for the sustainable development, management, and operation of the port and industrial area. Its mission is to ensure efficient, safe, and smooth shipping services while developing Rotterdam as a climate-neutral and future-proof logistics hub.
Premium Kazakhstan's exports of oil, petroleum products to Spain plummets

Exports of crude oil and petroleum products from Kazakhstan to Spain decreased in January 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.
Premium content

Get full access to in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and weekly briefings.

Welcome offer $10 $1 first month Then $10 / month

Already have an account? Login
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 24. Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhstans national gas company QazaqGaz, Alibek Zhamauov, discussed cooperation with representatives of Shell and Eni on the sidelines of the CERAWeek international energy conference in Houston, the U.S., Trend reports via QazaqGaz.

In particular, Zhamauov met with Senior Vice President of Shell Suzanne Coogan. The parties discussed current issues in the gas industry and prospects for further cooperation amid the evolving global energy agenda. They also explored joint actions aimed at strengthening collaboration and exchanging expertise in geological exploration.

Additionally, Zhamauov held talks with Luca Vignati, Upstream Director at Eni. The discussions were held in a businesslike manner and formed part of a broader series of meetings with international energy companies focused on expanding cooperation and sharing experience in upstream activities.

Meanwhile, in early March 2026, Kazakhstans Ministry of Energy and Shell Kazakhstan signed a contract for geological exploration at the Zhanaturmys site in the Aktobe region. The agreement provides for seismic surveys, data acquisition, and technical assessment in line with current regulatory requirements and subject to obtaining the necessary permits.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 24. Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) Talgat Aldybergenov and China State Railway Corporation Board Chairman Zhuxue Guo discussed freight cooperation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) during a meeting in Beijing, Trend reports via KTZ.

The Chinese side highlighted the steady growth of freight volumes in 2025, and both parties outlined plans to further increase cargo traffic and train exchanges through interstate border points in 2026. Special attention was given to joint development of container services along key routes: TITR, China-Europe, China-Central Asia, and China-Russia.

To strengthen transit potential, the sides agreed to increase container train numbers, deepen digitalization of coordination processes, and provide advance information for transport planning and management.

According to the KTZ, infrastructure projects will also progress, including synchronization of second-track construction on the Alashankou-Dostyk section, development of terminal capacities, and modernization of the Altynkol-Khorgos and Khorgos-Jinghe sections. Implementation of the third cross-border railway passage Bakhty-Tacheng, including forecasted cargo volumes and types, was also discussed.

Additionally, to strengthen cultural ties, the parties considered launching a tourist train from China to cities in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 24. Kazakhstans Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yermek Kosherbayev, and the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Kazakhstan, Mohammed Al-Ariqi, discussed the current situation in the Middle East and exchanged views on regional security issues, Trend reports via Kazakhstans Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The parties also acknowledged the robust political discourse between the two nations, alongside the vigorous advancement of trade, economic, and investment collaboration.

Kosherbayev expressed concern over rising tensions in the region and reaffirmed Kazakhstans consistent position in favor of resolving all disputes exclusively through political and diplomatic means in accordance with international law.

Following the talks, the parties confirmed their commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation and coordinating efforts within international and regional organizations.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear program, the U.S. and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.

From March 1 through March 5, the confrontation expanded further, affecting several countries across the Middle East.

The ongoing conflict has significantly threatened the regions energy infrastructure and maritime transport. Oil prices have surged on global markets due to heightened security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several countries to advise their citizens to leave the region.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 24. Kyrgyzstans Cabinet of Ministers has submitted for public discussion a draft resolution approving an action plan to mitigate identified risks of financing criminal activity and money laundering for 2026, Trend reports via the document.

The draft has been developed in line with Article 11 of the countrys law on countering the financing of criminal activity and the legalization (laundering) of criminal proceeds, as well as in accordance with the procedure for conducting risk assessments approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in November 2025.

The main objective of the document is to approve a set of urgent state response measures aimed at eliminating vulnerabilities and minimizing threats identified during the National Risk Assessment for 20222024. The plan is also designed to establish an effective risk-based approach ahead of the upcoming round of mutual evaluation of Kyrgyzstans anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system by the Eurasian Group (EAG).

Under the draft, ministries, state committees, and other executive authorities are instructed to ensure timely and full implementation of the planned measures and to submit quarterly progress reports to the countrys financial intelligence body.

The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan is recommended to ensure the implementation of the plan and report within the established timeframe. Meanwhile, the State Financial Intelligence Service under the Ministry of Finance will be responsible for monitoring and coordinating the plans execution, as well as reporting on its progress to the Presidential Administration and the relevant commission on a semi-annual and annual basis.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The Iranian conflict should be resolved through negotiations, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told reporters during her visit to Australia, Trend reports.

"It's extremely important that we find a negotiated solution, a solution that puts an end to the military clashes that we are witnessing today in the Middle East," von der Leyen noted during a joint speech with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra.

Leyen said that some EU countries are preparing to provide assistance within the framework of a "mission" to protect the Strait of Hormuz after the war is over.

"We are all feeling the indirect effects on gas and oil prices, our businesses, and our societies. The trade route is of vital importance for global energy supply lines," she added.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear program, the U.S. and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.

From March 1 through March 5, the confrontation expanded further, affecting several countries across the Middle East.

The ongoing conflict has significantly threatened the regions energy infrastructure and maritime transport. Oil prices have surged on global markets due to heightened security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several countries to advise their citizens to leave the region.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The U.S. Embassy in Oman has lifted its shelter-in-place advisory for Americans in the country, amid a relative easing of the security situation, Trend reports.

The relevant statement was posted on the diplomatic mission's official website.

"The U.S. Embassy Muscat has lifted the shelter-in-place guidance for Muscat. Embassy personnel are restricted to movement within 50 kms around U.S. Embassy Muscat," the statement said.

The diplomatic mission noted that U.S. citizens in other parts of Oman should continue to exercise caution and follow the advice of local authorities.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear program, the U.S. and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.

From March 1 through March 5, the confrontation expanded further, affecting several countries across the Middle East.

The ongoing conflict has significantly threatened the regions energy infrastructure and maritime transport. Oil prices have surged on global markets due to heightened security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several countries to advise their citizens to leave the region.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. Iran's energy infrastructure has been attacked amid the ongoing escalations in the Middle East, Trend reports via the Iranian media.

According to the media, two gas facilities and a pipeline were attacked in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.

"As part of the ongoing attacks, the gas administration building and gas pressure regulation station located on Kaveh street in Isfahan were targeted," the media said.

The media added that these facilities, located in central Iran, were partially damaged. One of the attacks also targeted the gas pipeline of the Khorramshahr power plant located in the southwest of the country.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear program, the U.S. and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.

From March 1 through March 5, the confrontation expanded further, affecting several countries across the Middle East.

The ongoing conflict has significantly threatened the regions energy infrastructure and maritime transport. Oil prices have surged on global markets due to heightened security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several countries to advise their citizens to leave the region.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz against the backdrop of the Iranian war will make the situation even more dire in countries whose populations suffer most from hunger, including Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia, said Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, Trend reports.

According to him, the consequences of the rising tensions in the Middle East "go far beyond the borders of the countries affected by the conflict."

The expert pointed out that the developing countries in Asia and Africa will bear the brunt of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

"Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz endanger the supply of energy resources. This affects the fertilizer market and threatens food security in countries with the highest levels of hunger or food insecurity, including Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia," he added.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear program, the U.S. and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.

From March 1 through March 5, the confrontation expanded further, affecting several countries across the Middle East.

The ongoing conflict has significantly threatened the regions energy infrastructure and maritime transport. Oil prices have surged on global markets due to heightened security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several countries to advise their citizens to leave the region.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The Israeli army has launched over 3,000 strikes across Iran since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, says the statement of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on their X page, Trend reports.

According to the statement, yesterday, the IDF targeted IRGC (the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) command centers, weapons storage facilities, and aerial defense systems.

Overnight, more than 50 additional targets, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites, were struck.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear program, the U.S. and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.

From March 1 through March 5, the confrontation expanded further, affecting several countries across the Middle East.

The ongoing conflict has significantly threatened the regions energy infrastructure and maritime transport. Oil prices have surged on global markets due to heightened security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several countries to advise their citizens to leave the region.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr has been appointed Secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Trend reports, citing the Deputy Information Officer of the President's Office

The appointment was made by presidential decree with the opinion and approval of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Zolghadr has held a number of senior positions over the course of his career. Following the Iran-Iraq war, he served for eight years as Chief of the Joint Staff (19891997), and later spent another eight years as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 1997 to 2005.

In addition, Zolghadr has served as Deputy Minister of the Interior and held roles within Irans judiciary, including at the Supreme Court level. Since 2021, he has been serving as Secretary of the Expediency Council.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear program, the U.S. and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.

From March 1 through March 5, the confrontation expanded further, affecting several countries across the Middle East.

The ongoing conflict has significantly threatened the regions energy infrastructure and maritime transport. Oil prices have surged on global markets due to heightened security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several countries to advise their citizens to leave the region.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. The Israeli military reported that it had detected missile launches from Iran aimed at Israeli territory and began intercepting them with air defense systems, Trend reports, citing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The statement noted that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) detected a missile launched from Iran towards Israeli territory. Missile defense systems are working to prevent threats.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States (US) and Iran over the nuclear program, the US and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and US military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 24. U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that the Iranian authorities have agreed not to seek the acquisition of nuclear weapons, Trend reports.

I dont want to speak in advance, but they have agreed that they will never have nuclear weapons, the American leader said while answering journalists questions at the White House. He did not specify with whom exactly the United States is holding consultations.

Trump also stated that Iran had presented Washington with a major gift related to oil and gas, as well as the Strait of Hormuz, but did not disclose further details.

Since no concrete agreement was reached in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the nuclear program, the U.S. and Israel began military airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. military facilities located in countries across the region, starting the same day.

On the first day of the air strikes against Iran, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking military officials were killed. On March 8, Irans Assembly of Experts elected Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as Irans third Supreme Leader by majority vote.

From March 1 through March 5, the confrontation expanded further, affecting several countries across the Middle East.

The ongoing conflict has significantly threatened the regions energy infrastructure and maritime transport. Oil prices have surged on global markets due to heightened security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several countries to advise their citizens to leave the region.
By Nicole Lyons, March 24, 2026

The University of Central Missouri (UCM) Division of Music continues its series of spring piano concerts with two guest artists, the annual Piano Showcase and the inaugural UCM Piano Day.



On Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. in Hart Recital Hall in the Utt Building, Angela Kim will perform a solo recital of piano sonatas by Haydn and Scarlatti, paired with recent works by Leilehua Lanzilotti, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Juantio Becenti. The recital is underwritten by grants from the Missouri Arts Council and UCMs Digital Learning and Instructional Innovation Speaker Series.



Angela Kim, DMA, is an associate professor of Piano at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE). Praised as a dynamic and versatile pianist of the highest technical standard, Angela Kim has performed around the globe and taught at the New England Conservatory of Music. She also served as a visiting professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music, where she and Albert Kim, DMA, associate professor of Piano at UCM, studied concurrently with Natalya Antonova.

Lucy Tan, DMA, director of Keyboard Studies at Washburn University, will perform a solo recital of piano works by Chen Yi, Tan Dun, Florence Price, and William Grant Still at 7 p.m. Monday, March 30 in Hart Recital Hall.



Tan launched her performing career at age 11 with her radio debut on WBGHs Morning Pro Musica and was later featured on NPRs From the Top. She has given concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and has been a featured performer at Chamber Music Amarillo, Grace Episcopal Cathedral, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival and the Music Academy of the West.



The spring piano concerts will wrap up with the annual UCM Piano Showcase at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11 in Hart Recital Hall.



The concert will feature performances by UCM faculty and students. The showcase also serves as the conclusion of UCM Piano Day, a new event for pre-college-age students hosted by Music faculty members Albert Kim and Mia Kim, DMA, professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy.



Piano Day is geared toward students in grades 7-12 with at least three years of piano study. Participants will receive private lessons from UCM faculty and attend workshops on advanced piano technique, managing performance anxiety and incorporating music into college studies regardless of a students degree program. The day includes lunch with UCM Music students and faculty. Activities will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude with the 2 p.m. concert.



All three spring piano concerts are free and open to the public. No tickets are required. For more information, contact the Division of Music at 660-543-4530.



Students attend Piano Day at no cost, but registration is required by April 6. For more information or to register, contact Albert Kim at akim@ucmo.edu or 660-543-4471 or visit ucmo.edu/ucmpiano.
Welcome Guest! You are here: Home

Rajasthan 10th Result 2026: Steps, Links to Check

The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) has declared on its official website rajresults.nic.in the result of Class 10 or SSC Matric 2026 exams today i.e. Tuesday March 24, 2026.

RBSE 10th Result 2026: The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) has declared on its official website rajresults.nic.in the result of Class 10 or SSC Matric 2026 exams today i.e. Tuesday March 24, 2026.

As per the result data released today, the board has registered an overall pass percentage of 94.23. Cheshta Sharma is the State Topper in the Rajasthan Class 10 exam with 99.00 Per cent.

The Rajasthan Board Class 10 exam this year was conducted from February 12 to 28, 2026 for which a total of 10,68,078 students from different districts of Rajasthan had registered.The exam was held at 6,195 centres across the state.

Along with Class 10th, the Rajasthan board has also announced the results of classes 8th and 5th.

RBSE 10th Districtwise Result 2026

Jhunjhunu: 97.77%

Didwana-Kuchaman: 97.59%

Sikar: 97.43%

Nagaur: 97.09%

Jodhpur: 96.48%



RBSE 10th result 2026 date and time

Earlier, the final date of BSER Class 10th Matric result declaration was confirmed by the RBSE Jaipur in Rajasthan, as per meultiple media reports.

The Rajasthan Ajmer board confirmed that the RBSE 10th result will be announced today i.e. Tuesday March 24, 2026 at 01:00 pm, local media reported citing the board sources.

The board declared the 10th result in a press conference. The board officially did not release the list of toppers and merit list.

This is also important to note that this is the first time in years when the Rajasthan board is declaring 10th board exam result so early.

Direct link to check Rajasthan board Class 10 result 2026

Go to the official website of the Rajasthan Board by clicking here: " rajresults.nic.in ".

". Enter your roll number in the provided space.

Click on Submit button.

Result should appear on your screen. Take a print out for further reference.

Rajasthan 10th result 2026 can also be checked on "rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in", "rajshaladarpan.nic.in" and DigiLocker.

RBSE Class 10 Result 2026 on SMS

Rajasthan Board Class 10 Results 2026 will also be available on Mobile via SMS. To get your result via SMS type RESULT<space>RAJ10<space>ROLL NUMBER and send to 56263.

Rajasthan 10th result can also be checked on the website " rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in".

Some third party websites are also hosting the board exam result. However, students are advised to check their scorecard and marksheet from the official website only.

The Rajasthan board has not yet declared the Class 12th 2025 result.

RBSE 10th Result of Past Few Years

The Rajasthan Board Class 10 exam last year was conducted from March 6 to April 4, 2025, and the result was declared on May 28, 2025 .

The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) Ajmer had registered an overall pass percentage of 93.03% in the 2024 Class 10 board exam .

In 2023, the overall pass percentage in 10th board exam was 90.49%. The pass percentage in 2022 was 82.89%.

Rajasthan board had declared 10th result of 2021 board exams on July 30 when it registered overall pass percentage of 99.56 .

The pass percentage in 2020 was 80.63 per cent, 2019 - 79.85 per cent , 2018 - 79.86 per cent, and in 2017 the pass percent was 78.96.

Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.

Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic
Why USCIFR recommends ban on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

The USCIRF is calling for a ban on the RSS and the need for such a strong move now, but the first person to realise and ban this organization was Indias first Home Minister and Deputy prime Minister Sardar Patel.



As India embraced the path of secularism and democracy with Independence, there were still some forces which were opposed to these values and harped on India being a nation for Hindus only, one among them being Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS.

The R.S.S. has completed one hundred years of its existence through its dogged work in spreading its narrative, has reached the peak during the last few decades. Its ideology of Hate minorities has consistently demonized Muslims right from the beginning, and Christians from the last few decades.

The result has been that Freedom of Religion has gone into a free fall and the atrocities on religious minorities have gone up exponentially. Phenomenon of hate is going through the roof from the last decade or so as the Hindu Nationalist Government is in power and the mischief mongers now know that they can get away without any punishment, rather their acts of violence will be duly rewarded by the ruling Government.

With this, the propaganda against religious minorities and vast network of hate spreaders has become the social common sense, very difficult to combat. Consequently, we have seen a continuous rise of the marginalization of the religious minorities in India. This is accompanied by the decline in the global indices of India, pertaining to freedom of religion, freedom of expression, hunger index and most other assessments related to Indias social and political freedom.

This gets reflected aptly in many of the reports related to the lives of Indian minorities prepared by Indian as well as global agencies. One such agency is United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIFR).

How USCIFR views RSS?

The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal body established under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor global conditions of religious freedom or belief, review violations, and provide policy recommendations to the U.S. President, Secretary of State, and Congress. It releases its reports every year reflecting on the minorities of various countries. Last seven odd years it has been labelling India as a country of particular concern. Its report this year is very disturbing as it has called India not only the country of particular concern but has also asked for a ban on RSS and its affiliated organizations.

The report says that the RSS is the body responsible for the worsening intercommunity scenario and the intimidation of religious minorities. As per the report:

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh should face targeted sanctions for its responsibility for and tolerance of violations of religious freedom in India. This US panel has made recommendations to the Donald Trump administration. The sanctions could include freezing the organisations assets and barring entry to the US.

In India specific report the USCIFR points out that the RSS is the parent organization of the ruling BJP, under whose rule...

 the commission had noted that the interconnected relationship between the RSS and BJP allows for the creation and enforcement of several discriminatory pieces of legislation, including citizenship, anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws.

The report underlines most of the policies of the BJP which has tormented the Indian minorities. We know here the violence against these sections of society is becoming more widespread. Though the ghastly violence of the type of Gujarat is not there we observe that it is occurring on regular manner in a lynching or other acts of violence here and there.

The attacks on prayer meetings take place on a regular basis. What happened on the occasion of Christmas 2025 by Bajrang Dal activists was a new low in the violence. It also mentions the move of Central Government in disenfranchising the Muslims through NRC-CAA . It reported the abandoning of over 50 Rohingyas of which around 14 were Christians; in the high seas. The dastardly imprisonment of Umar Khalid and Sharjil Imam, who are in the prison for over five years, without any trial reflects the status of the justice delivery system. The Cow, love jihad and jihad of various types remains its core method of targeting the Muslim minorities.

Reactions

The spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry has rejected the report as biased. But, the main opposition party, the Indian national Congress, in a tweet has stated:

The US should impose a ban on RSS. This recommendation was made to the Donald Trump administration by the USCIRF, an official US government body. The USCIRF has warned that the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) poses a threat to people's religious freedom. Its recommendations are clear, Ban the RSS immediately. Seize its assets. Prohibit entry into the US for RSS members.

US based Hindus for Human Rights has been opposing the politics of RSS combine in a very serious way. They agree with the Commission's recommendations.

The Freedom of Religion Acts, basically to prevent conversions by those who wish to convert are prevalent in nearly 11 states and now Maharashtra is the new one to join this list. While conversion to Islam and Christianity is a pretext to beat up some, there is an open call for conversion to Hinduism by a phenomenon called Ghaar Vapasi. This is a clever move to impose Hinduism on those who belong to other religions.

When was RSS banned first?

The USCIRF is calling for a ban on the RSS and the need for such a strong move now. But, the first person to realise and ban this organization was Indias first Home Minister and Deputy prime Minister Sardar Patel. A communique of the Ministry of Home affairs under Patel stated:

The objectionable and harmful activities of the Sangh have, however, continued unabated and the cult of violence sponsored and inspired by the activities of the Sangh has claimed many victims. The latest and the most precious to fall was Gandhiji himself.

The RSS was banned yet again in 1975 during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi and then in 1992 after the demolition of Babri Masjid by the kar seva called by the BJP.

Today its activities of spreading hate are qualitatively and quantitatively at much worse level. While within the country most people feel the pinch of the atmosphere where democratic norms are being stifled, the USCIRF has put the hammer on the head of the nail to underline the impact of this organization calling for Hindu Rashtra. It has already spread its wings in many countries with innumerable organizations affiliated/associated with it.

Now the ball is on the American Presidents table. But of course, he has his own weird ways of working.

[The writer, Ram Puniyani, is former Professor of IIT Bombay. Views are personal.]

Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.

Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic
What makes Chinese brands click with overseas consumers?

Follow Xinhua correspondent to hit Australia's trending Chinese brand hotspots and find out how these brands are winning over local consumers.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service 
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.
Rio de Janeiro police said Monday they had arrested eight people for brutally beating a capybara -- the world's largest rodent whose chill demeanor has inspired countless memes online in recent years.

Resembling a giant, gentle guinea pig, the shaggy, light brown capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is often seen roaming in the Brazilian city, particularly near streams and lagoons.

In an incident filmed by security cameras before dawn on Saturday, a group of attackers beat the capybara with sticks and iron bars in the working-class neighborhood of Ilha do Governador.

"This is a brutal crime that shocks society," said Felipe Santoro, the police commissioner in charge of the investigation, was quoted as saying by the O Globo daily newspaper.

"It is an act of extreme cruelty toward a creature that posed absolutely no threat...yet was deliberately attacked nonetheless," he added.

The attackers -- including two minors -- were identified through CCTV footage and arrested on Saturday, police said in a statement.

The capybara, a 65-kilogram (143-pound) male, was taken to the Wildlife Care Center (CRAS) at the private Estacio University in southwestern Rio.

"We have been treating Rio's wildlife here for 22 years, and I have never before received a capybara subjected to such extreme aggression," veterinarian and head of CRAS Jeferson Pires told AFP on Monday.

He said the creature was doing better, but was "suffering from head trauma, swelling with internal bleeding around his left eye, and multiple injuries to his back."

In recent years the semi-aquatic capybara -- native to South America -- has gained a devoted following online, and its image is increasingly used on toys, clothing and home decor items.

It is often used in posts about being zen and going with the flow.

One popular meme is "Comrade Capybara" -- depicting the animal as a communist revolutionary -- inspired by the 2021 "invasion" by capybaras of a luxury gated estate in Argentina that was built on a wetland that had been their natural habitat.

In early January, the death of a stray dog after it was beaten to death by teenagers sparked a massive wave of outrage in Brazil, even prompting a reaction from First Lady Rosangela "Janja" da Silva.

lg/fb/jgc
PYONGYANG, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said she does not "want to see the prime minister of Japan coming to Pyongyang," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday.

"However, this is just my personal position," said Kim Yo Jong, department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Kim's remarks came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed during her recent visit to Washington her intent for a summit with the DPRK leader.

"This is not the one that comes true, as wanted or decided by Japan," Kim said.

"If the prime minister of Japan seeks to resolve its unilateral matter not recognized by us, our state leadership will have no intention to meet or sit face to face with her," she added. 
DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A Decatur man found guilty of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl was sentenced to 57 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Juan Manuel Pacheco-Ruiz was sentenced to three counts of 15 years, adding up to 45 years that must be served at 85%. Then, Pacheco-Ruiz was given three other four-year sentences that will be served concurrently with the other counts.

Following his time in the Illinois Department of Corrections, he must serve three years to life of mandatory supervised release and also register as a sex offender for life.

Pacheco-Ruiz was arrested in May 2025 on charges of criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault of a minor under the age of 13.

He was found guilty of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13 and one count of grooming in November 2025.

Copyright 2026. WAND TV. All rights reserved.
SYDNEY, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Children younger than 16 will be banned from riding electric mobility devices in the Australian state of Queensland under new safety laws announced on Tuesday.

Queensland's state government said on Tuesday that it has accepted, or accepted in principle, all 28 recommendations made by a parliamentary inquiry into e-mobility safety, including the under-16 ban.

Brent Mickelberg, Queensland's minister for transport, said in a statement that the government will introduce nation-leading reforms to parliament within days to legislate the inquiry's recommendations.

Under the new laws, e-bike and e-scooter riders will be required to at least hold a Queensland learner driver's license, the minimum age for which is 16, to ensure they have knowledge of road rules.

The parliamentary inquiry found that 12 people were killed and 6,300 were injured in e-mobility-related incidents in Queensland in 2025.

"We are banning under-16s from these devices because the safety of kids is paramount," Mickelberg said on Tuesday.

The new laws will also introduce speed limits of 10 km per hour for e-mobility devices on footpaths and grant police additional powers to seize and destroy illegal devices and subject riders to random breath tests. 
Italian premier Meloni lost key referendum on constitutional reform in a major blow to her right-wing coalition.

The Italian government of prime minister Giorgia Meloni is facing its most serious political crisis since taking office, as two senior figures at the justice ministry resigned on Tuesday in the immediate aftermath of the government's defeat in the constitutional referendum on judicial reform.

Justice under-secretary Andrea Delmastro has stepped down, as did Giusi Bartolozzi, chief of staff to justice minister Carlo Nordio.

Both resignations emerged from meetings held at the ministry's Rome offices, where Nordio met the pair separately during the afternoon.

The twin departures represent a significant blow to Meloni's administration and to Nordio personally - a minister who had staked his political reputation on the passage of the reform.

The referendum result represents the first major electoral defeat for Meloni, who leads the third longest-serving government in the history of the Italian Republic, with general elections due in 2027.

With turnout approaching 60 per cent, and 54 per cent for the "No" side, Italians decisively rejected the constitutional reform.

Delmastro affair

Delmastro's position had been untenable for days before his resignation was confirmed.

The shake-up is linked to the affair concerning his participation in a company managing a restaurant whose shares were held in the name of the 18-year-old daughter of Mauro Caroccia, sentenced to four years' imprisonment for fictitious registration of assets on behalf of the Senese organised crime clan, who has been in prison since February in Viterbo.

Delmastro sold his shares upon learning of the Caroccia family's background, but had failed to notify either the chamber of deputies or the justice ministry of the change in ownership - a potential breach of conflict-of-interest rules.

Opposition parties were quick to exploit the scandal during the final days of the referendum campaign, with the opposition Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) announcing a parliamentary motion to revoke his appointment.

In his resignation statement, Delmastro said he had "always fought crime, even with concrete and important results", and acknowledged having "committed a blunder" which he had remedied "as soon as I became aware of it", adding that he was assuming responsibility "in the interest of the Nation".

The timing could scarcely have been worse for the government. The case broke into the open just as the referendum campaign was in its final stretch, with photographs published showing Delmastro dining at the restaurant in question alongside Bartolozzi herself.

Bartolozzi and the "firing squad" controversy

Bartolozzi's resignation carries its own distinct controversies. The chief of staff had provoked outrage after declaring during a Sicilian television broadcast that judges were "a firing squad" and that if the "No" vote won, she would "flee abroad".

Her words were sufficiently inflammatory that Nordio himself was obliged to apologise on her behalf.

Bartolozzi is also under investigation for allegedly making false statements to prosecutors in connection with the case of Libyan general Osama Almasri, and faces the prospect of being committed for trial, as she enjoys no parliamentary immunity.

As recently as Tuesday morning, Nordio had appeared on television insisting that Bartolozzi would not be resigning - a position swiftly overtaken by events.

The impetus for both resignations came from internal pressure from the leadership of Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia party and from Palazzo Chigi itself, following deliberations at the highest levels of the party and the government, according to newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Santanche's position precarious

The political turbulence may not end with Delmastro and Bartolozzi. Tourism minister Daniela Santanche, who faces multiple legal proceedings including an accusation of false accounting in the Visibilia case, is said to be in an increasingly precarious position.

She is reported to be resisting pressure to resign, though her situation remains far from settled, according to Italian media reports.

No confidence vote ruled out

Despite the scale of the crisis, Meloni has moved swiftly to contain the political damage. The prime minister has no intention of seeking a parliamentary confidence vote following the referendum defeat, with government sources indicating there is no political crisis requiring such a step.

No meeting between Meloni and president Sergio Mattarella is currently scheduled.

The opposition, however, is unlikely to be satisfied. Former prime minister and M5S leader Giuseppe Conte accused Meloni of having missed the moment to act, arguing she should have forced Delmastro's resignation far sooner, and called in the same breath for Santanche's departure.

Nordio, who acknowledged "political responsibility" for the referendum defeat and hinted he might return to private life when his term ends, for now remains in post.

Whether he can steady a ministry shaken by the loss of two of its most senior figures remains uncertain.

Photo credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com.
Olivia Kelleher

A woman whose husband died in a stabbing incident in Cork city has told mourners at his funeral that he meant the whole world to her and their infant daughter.

A picture of Ukrainian national, Oleksandr Zhyvtskyi, was placed on his coffin at the North Cathedral Church in Cork city.

Oleksandr (31) had left the home he shared with his wife and their 11-month-old daughter in Camden Court, Carrolls Quay in Cork city at 7.30 pm on March 16th last in order to buy food.

When he returned to the apartment shortly afterwards, he was visibly injured. His wife raised the alarm.

Paramedics rushed to the scene but they were unable to resuscitate him and he died in his home.

His wife Viktoriya Sanchuk said that her late husband adored their daughter Yeva. She also spoke of her devotion to Oleksandr.

He (Oleksandr) loved his little daughter dearly. She was his whole world. His greatest joy and the meaning of his life. For me he wasnt just a husband. He was my strength. My support and my safe place in life.

"He will forever remain in the hearts of his family and loved as a bright and kind person who brought so much love in to this world. His life was short but filled with meaning, warmth and authenticity.

"You were my home, my strength and my heart. Our daughter and I will always and forever love you.

Viktoriya said that Oleksandr was a giving person who had much to offer the world.

His close friends and his younger brother are grateful for his help and guidance in technical matters. From painting homes to repairing cars from replacing cooling systems to laying tiles he could do it all.

The world would deeply miss such a talented, creative and hard working person. His greatest value in life was his family. For his loved ones he was someone who would do anything  without hesitation and until the very end.

Meanwhile, a priest of the Byzantine Rite of the Greek Catholic Church, Fr Roman Biletskyy, sang hymns and recited prayers for his countryman at the mass.

The noon mass was concelebrated by Fr Sean Crowley. Also in attendance was Bishop Emeritus John Buckley.

Oleksandr was a metal fabricator by profession and had lived in Ireland for several years.

In addition to his wife and daughter, he is also survived by his parents Halyna and Mykola, brother Maksym, in-laws Nadya and Serhiy, sister-in-law Alina, brother-in-law Jimmy, extended family, work colleagues and his many friends.

He will be laid to rest this afternoon at St Catherines Cemetery in Kilcully, Co Cork.

A 42-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Mr Zhyvtskyi. He is due back before Cork District Court tomorrow.
High Court Reporter

A landlord strongly denies he unlawfully evicted a family of eight while wielding a hammer, claiming instead he acted in an honourable manner at all times.

Imtiaz Khan, who is also a practising solicitor and principal of Dublin-based IMK Law, told the court he went to the rental property in Ongar Village, west Dublin, for a peaceful and voluntary handover.

Contrary to allegations made by tenant Muhammad Amjad, no forceful removal occurred, Khan said, adding he did not hold a hammer or any other object in hand from entry to exit.

The court heard Amjad stands over his claims, and Judge Brian Cregan noted the pictures painted by the opposing sides are sharply divergent.

Amjad, represented by RNL Solicitors, alleged Khan arrived at the rental property accompanied by eight others and carrying a hammer.

He alleged Khan issued explicit threats to strike me if I did not vacate within three minutes. He said his children were visibly traumatised after witnessing the incident and the family could not regain access.

Amjad said Khan and IMK Property had issued a purported notice of termination, but he was advised it was invalid.

Allegations

After hearing Amjads allegations earlier this month, Cregan granted him temporary orders restraining Khan or IMK Property from interfering with the familys quiet enjoyment of the premises. He ordered the landlords to facilitate their re-entry to the home.

Khan and IMK Property on Tuesday told the court Amjads claims are extremely serious and entirely untrue, causing considerable stress and reputational damage.

In a sworn statement to the court, Khan alleged no incident was reported to gardai about the events of February 28th. He claimed that an inspection on behalf of Fingal County Council in February 2025 found that the property was not compliant with regulations and required a gas safety check and the installation of carbon monoxide and smoke alarms.

The property had to be vacated so works could be safely carried out, and IMK Property determined the tenancy should be terminated due to the extensive nature of the repairs, he said.

He said the tenants were properly served with notice of lease termination and there was no coercive or intimidatory campaign as alleged by Amjad. The family had agreed the property could be handed over on February 28th, Khan claimed, adding Amjad was not coerced into sending a message confirming this.

Unlawful eviction

Khan denied an unlawful eviction occurred because new rental laws were due to come into force two days later.

He said the case must be viewed in light of the plaintiffs lawyers, RNL Solicitors, operating in substantially the same client pool as his company, IMK Law. He said he fears RNLs zeal has tainted the proceedings.

Khans barrister, Alan Cormack, said his clients primary concern has been the safety and welfare of Amjads children and other residents of the complex.

David OBrien, counsel for Amjad, said Khans version of events is not accepted  by any stretch.

The case returns in mid-April when a date is expected to be scheduled for the court to hear Amjads application for longer-term orders. The courts earlier short-term orders remain in force until then.
This year's St Patrick's Day Parade in Waterford City was a vibrant, colourful affair and Waterford News & Star photographer, Joe Evans was there to capture images of those in attendance.

Photos are also contained in the current print edition of the newspaper and also online here at waterford-news.ie.

Photos of other events are also available to view here on the website under the 'Archive' section and collections of nostalgic photos from our archive, titled 'Colourful Memories of Waterford - Volume 1 and 2', are currently available as fantastic photobooks on sale at The Book Centre or through our office on Gladstone Street.

Hard copy prints of photos are also available to buy through our office.

Staff photographer, Joe Evans, is going to look back through the archives of Waterford News & Star to compile galleries of photos from Waterford's past.

Photos will also appear in the forthcoming print edition of the newspaper and also online here at waterford-news.ie.

Photos of other events are also available to view here on the website under the 'Archive' section and collections of nostalgic photos from our archive, titled 'Colourful Memories of Waterford' - Volumes 1 & 2, are currently available as fantastic photobooks on sale at The Book Centre, in-store or through or office on Gladstone Street.

Hard copy prints of photos are also available to buy through our office.

Roanmore GAA and Camogie Club at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Ballyduff Lower GAA, LGFA and Camogie Club, at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Autism Friendly Waterford at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Fran Conroy, Irish Coast Guard, at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Emily and Anthony, at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Droney family and friends, at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
The St Patrick's Day Parade in Waterford was a great success again this year and Waterford News & Star photographer, Joe Evans was there to capture images of those in attendance.

Photos are also contained in the current print edition of the newspaper and also online here at waterford-news.ie.

Photos of other events are also available to view here on the website under the 'Archive' section and collections of nostalgic photos from our archive, titled 'Colourful Memories of Waterford - Volume 1 and 2', are currently available as fantastic photobooks on sale at The Book Centre or through our office on Gladstone Street.

Hard copy prints of photos are also available to buy through our office.

Mia and Jonathan Power, at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Soul Dance Arts at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The Irish Coast Guard at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Waterford city.

Gerry, at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

For Tommy McDonagh's first birthday his dad Arthur drove him in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Soul Dance Arts at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
The 36th Waterford Tramore Bay Scout Group has been granted permission to construct a meeting hall and outdoor activity area at Riverstown in Tramore.

The approved meeting hall will have a stated height of 5.4m and a floor area of 162sqm.

The structure will accommodate a meeting hall, leaders room, toilets, kitchen and storage.

There are four car parking spaces to accommodate the development.

The project was granted permission subject to seven conditions by the local authority last week

(Funded by the Local Democracy Scheme)
TOKYO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Japan will start releasing oil from state reserves on Thursday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday, as concerns over supply mount amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The measure, announced during a meeting of relevant Cabinet members to discuss ways to cushion the impact of the tensions in the Middle East on the Japanese economy, comes after Japan started releasing oil from private-sector stockpiles last Monday. 
On Friday, a sheet of glass stood lodged in soil at the base of a Waterford city apartment block, its sharp pointed corner facing upwards. This image is telling of the horror that unfolded when two children fell from a two-storey balcony.

They missed the dangerous glass balcony pane, that fell ahead of them, by inches. It had given way causing little Jayden O'Neill, aged three, to tumble after it, followed by his seven-year-old sister. Both children were rushed to hospital, with Jayden understood to have suffered a brain bleed as a result of his injuries.

His parents, Regina Smith and Ryan O'Neill, endured a horrific wait over the weekend, but, thankfully, both children are now released from hospital, though their parents remain anxious for their son, whose recovery is being monitored.

Waterford City and County Council held an emergency meeting on Friday, attended by the six elected councillors in Tramore/Waterford City West, in the aftermath of the incident. The public will be aware of concerns relating to Mount Suir Manor in Carrickphierish - which have been highlighted on numerous occasions by the Waterford News & Star.

A 2023 report into the section of Mount Suir that is Waterford council-owned had described the block as being in good condition. The apartment block has been under the Councils remit since 2020. The survey, undertaken in June that year, was visual only, and limited to five apartments.

The report stated that the nature of complaints was similar to the Councils overall housing stock. It also said that "significant further education" was required in relation to tenant responsibilities in relation to ventilation, heating and energy-use in apartments to avoid potential mould issues.

Our local politicians have been advocating for the tenants, who have been complaining about issues at Mount Suir for years. Sinn Fein's Councillor Jim Griffin had previously called for a task force to be created to deal with longstanding issues at the apartment block.

CATU (Community Action Tenants Union) called a residents meeting over ongoing complaints regarding the apartments in January at Carrickphierish Library.

"For years, residents at Mount Suir Apartments have been calling for one simple thing: a safe and secure home, CATU Waterford said at the time. The conditions in Mount Suir Apartments have been horrible for a long time, with persistent mould, decaying and defaced communal areas, and unsafe surroundings.

On Saturday, as a result of the balcony incident, Waterford Council contacted tenants of the entire apartment complex, advising them to stay off their balconies until they are inspected.

The children's fall must have been unimaginable for their parents, siblings and loved ones - and we wish them both well for a full recovery.

For the rest of us, it sent a chill. How vocal must ordinary tenants be, who are dependent on landlords - whether council, private or under the HAP scheme - for safety to be robustly monitored, and, where lacking, to be acted upon.

These are ordinary people - who recognise that mould and damp is not ok. But what else are they not being made aware of?

The 'education' message should really be pointed in the direction of those responsible for providing homes, which are safe and secure. There must be full transparency now in relation to Mount Suir Manor.
Pieta reaffirms its ongoing commitment to the people of Waterford

We understand there has been concern in recent days across Waterford and the surrounding areas regarding Pieta, our local services, and Darkness Into Light.

We want to reassure the community: Pieta is continuing to support Waterford. Over the coming months, we will be moving to a new co-located space, ensuring that our services remain accessible, sustainable, and focused on those who need them most.

Our priority remains unchanged  to provide compassionate, in-person therapy and support, alongside our phone and video services. While we will transition from a standalone building, people in Waterford will continue to access support in a way that works best for them.

This evolution reflects our commitment to strengthening Pieta for the future, allowing us to continue delivering vital frontline services for years to come.

Local support continues to grow

We are actively working to secure a new co-located space locally, with the clear goal of maintaining strong, accessible services within the community  both now and into the future.

In 2025, Pieta therapists supporting Waterford worked with 359 people and delivered 1,561 support sessions. Notably, 70% of these sessions took place in person, with additional supports provided via phone and video  offering flexibility and choice to those who need it most.

This transition is about ensuring we can continue to provide free, professional support to people experiencing crisis, self-harm, or bereavement  not just today, but sustainably into the future. Our focus is firmly on protecting and enhancing frontline services so that support is always there when it matters most.

Thank you to the Waterford community

We would like to sincerely thank the people of Waterford for the incredible support shown to Pieta over many years. The generosity, compassion, and commitment of the community  particularly through Darkness Into Light  has had a profound and lasting impact.

While an organised Darkness Into Light walk may not take place locally this year, the spirit of the event remains as strong as ever. We warmly encourage people to take part in whatever way feels meaningful  whether by joining a nearby official walk, walking with friends and family, or marking the sunrise within your own community.

To find an official walk or support Pieta, please visit:

darknessintolight.ie Pieta continues to rely on the support of communities like Waterford. Your support helps ensure that free, life-saving services remain available to those who need them  with resources focused where they matter most: on frontline care.

If you or someone you know needs support, Pieta is here

Pieta 24/7 Crisis Helpline Freephone: 1800 247 247 Text HELP to 51444 Visit: pieta.ie

Pieta is here for Waterford  today and into the future.
Advertisement

BusinessCompaniesTragedy The estate of Britains Bill Gates ordered to pay $1.8 billion to US giant two years after his tragic death James Titcomb March 25, 2026  3:21am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Mike Lynchs estate has been ordered to pay the US technology company Hewlett Packard 920 million ($1.8 billion), two years after the British tech tycoons death on his superyacht. A High Court judge said HP was owed the sum as compensation for the fraudulent sale of Lynchs software company, Autonomy, 15 years ago. The figure would bankrupt Lynchs estate. Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, were among those who died on the yacht. The entrepreneur, who was known as Britains Bill Gates, died along with his teenage daughter Hannah and five other victims on his Bayesian superyacht off the coast of Sicily in 2024. He was celebrating his freedom after beating criminal fraud charges in the United States related to the 7 billion sale of Autonomy in 2011.

Advertisement

Related Article Emergency services Super yacht was hosting party for tech magnates acquittal when it sank off Sicily The deal had been the biggest ever involving a British tech company. But a year later HP wrote down its value by billions and claimed Lynch and other executives had inflated the companys value by overstating revenues. HP sued Lynch and his former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain for $US5 billion ($7.2 billion) in the English courts in 2015. The pair were found liable in 2022. US prosecutors charged him with multiple counts of fraud in 2018, threatening decades in prison. Lynch beat the US charges in 2024, in a shock defeat for American prosecutors, and had been planning to rebuild his life before the Bayesian sank in a freak storm off the Sicilian coast in August 2024. However, HP won the High Court civil case and continued to pursue it after his death, claiming a reduced sum of 1.5 billion in damages last year.

Advertisement

On Tuesday, Justice Hildyard awarded total damages of $US1.24 billion including $US236 million of interest. The estate will also have to pay HPs legal costs. The judge also denied Lynchs lawyers permission to appeal the case, although they can now seek to overturn it at the Court of Appeal. Seven people died after the Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily in 2024. Lynch was estimated as being worth $US450 million by his lawyers in US proceedings, meaning the judgment would bankrupt his estate. Angela Bacares-Lynch, Lynchs widow, who escaped the Bayesian as the superyacht capsized, has substantial assets in her own name. It is unclear whether HP will pursue her for the shortfall.

Advertisement

A spokesman for the Lynch family said: We are disappointed by the courts refusal and believe an application to the Court of Appeal should follow in the interests of justice. HPs $US5 billion damages claim has already been shown to be vastly exaggerated. Todays judgment describes the exaggeration as without foundation and the purposes for which it was calibrated, publicised and pursued as objectionable, misleading shareholders and extending the litigation unnecessarily. Dr Lynchs acquittal in the US, where witnesses were properly cross-examined, exposed the truth. The damage to Autonomy was the result of HPs own actions and failures, not wrongdoing at Autonomy. Loading A spokesman for HP said: HP is pleased with the courts ruling and its rejection of the estates request for permission to appeal, which brings us another step closer to resolution of the dispute. HP has since split into two companies  Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP  with the damages to be divided between them.

Advertisement

Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share More: Tragedy
Advertisement

PayPal has offered some relief to those who bought tickets to the 2026 Byron Bay Bluesfest, announcing a special refund exception amid the fallout from the music festivals cancellation and liquidation. The online payment platform  which was one of Bluesfests principal non-bank payment channels  on Monday said it would temporarily relax its refund policies to help some ticket holders get their money back. Bluesfest was one of Australias oldest and most popular music festivals before it went into administration earlier this month. When you purchase tickets using PayPal, you may be eligible for a refund under PayPals buyer protection policy if an event is cancelled, or if tickets are fake or do not arrive, a PayPal spokesperson told this masthead. In light of Bluesfests sudden cancellation, and to support our customers, PayPal is making a one-time exception to its standard buyer protection eligibility window. PayPal will consider all eligible claims for Bluesfest 2026 (Byron Bay) tickets purchased using PayPal, including those made more than 180 days prior to the dispute.

Advertisement

Related Article Music festivals Bluesfests collapse leaves many questions. These six demand immediate answers Those who purchased Bluesfest tickets using the buy now, pay later service PayPal pay in 4 should contact PayPal via the contact us section on the platforms website for assistance with their claim, the spokesperson added. This feature was enabled for all Bluesfest tickets and add-ons, allowing punters to divide payments over four interest-free payments over six weeks. The relaxation of this policy is likely to offer hope to the approximately 10,000 people who spent hundreds of dollars on Bluesfest tickets before its sudden cancellation on March 13. Organisers of the hugely popular Byron Bay music festival shut it down just weeks before its Easter weekend run. A liquidator has been appointed to manage all financial matters, including vendor and partner obligations, Bluesfest director Peter Noble said in a statement following the festivals cancellation. Insolvency firm Worrells has been appointed as liquidator of two Bluesfest-related companies.

Advertisement

In a March 13 email to creditors, including some ticket purchasers, Worrells said: At this stage it seems unlikely that you will be refunded from the liquidation any money, but we will notify you if the position changes. This was because tickets were sold via Moshtix, a subcontracted service provider that accepts no responsibility for refunds. A screenshot of the disclaimer shown to Bluesfest customers buying tickets from Moshtix using PayPal (a similar message was shown to those using Stripe). For this event, Bluesfest used its own merchant facility for payments, so payments were made directly to Bluesfest, Moshtix said in a statement last week. Where this occurs, under our terms and conditions of sale, it is the obligation of the event organiser to provide refunds to ticket purchasers and not Moshtix. A one-day ticket to this years Bluesfest was priced at $257 per adult. Three- and four-day adult passes cost up to $554 and $686, respectively. Then there were those who spent around $112 a night for camping, as well as car parking costs.

Advertisement

Related Article Updated

Music festivals Bluesfest music festival cancelled as organisers appoint liquidator Those who used a credit card to buy their ticket may be able to recoup the purchase via their bank. PayPal has been named by the liquidator as a creditor, with the company listed as being owed $1.73 million in documents filed to ASIC. A second non-bank payment channel, Stripe, was also listed in the same ASIC report as being owed $3.92 million. Stripe has been contacted for comment. Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
Advertisement

NationalWAChildcare Perth childcare fined $25,000 for leaving child on bus on 39-degree day Hannah Murphy March 25, 2026  2:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

A Perth childcare has been fined $25,000 after it was found they had locked and left a child on board the services bus for five minutes on a hot summer day. Kiddos OSHC & Vacation Care in Ellenbrook was taken to the State Administrative Tribunal by the Department of Communities chief executive over the February 2025 incident, which saw the seven-year-old accidentally left on the ten-seater minibus. The incident sparked a number of revisions at the childcare centre to their policies and procedures. Glenn Hunt The tribunal heard the boy was picked up from his pre-primary class and boarded the bus with other children who had been picked up from different schools around the suburb. The educators dropped off the other children until the boy was the only one left on the bus and they returned to the service.

Advertisement

When they parked the bus, the tribunal heard the two carers became occupied in a conversation with a parent and left the bus without checking. The boy was left on the bus, which had been turned off, and was locked inside. The temperature was about 39 degrees as the carers walked into the service, and conducted a head count. After about five minutes the educators realised the boy was still on the bus, and another carer driving into the facility heard knocking coming from the window. [The educator] turned around and saw [the boy] in the front passenger seat of  the bus, the tribunal found.

Advertisement

[The boy] looked visibly distraught - [he] was crying and red in the face. Related Article Local government Council documents do little to quell parents anger as much-loved Bassendean daycares sale looms The educators were able to unlock the bus and free the boy, but the tribunal said it was clear the seven-year-old had been at risk of injury if they hadnt noticed his absence. The tribunal said the service failed to take a number of steps to stop the incident from happening, and found they had contravened national regulation by failing to maintain a clear disembarking procedure, and keeping an accurate record of children being signed in and out of the service. It also found that out of the seven educators that worked on the day of the incident, none of them held an approved qualification as defined by national regulations. Under the regulations, at least one educator involved in educating and caring for children must hold at least a certificate III in early childhood education and care.

Advertisement

It also found none of the educators collecting children and dropping them off at the service on the day of the incident held any emergency health qualifications set out in national regulations. They were also unable to provide paperwork about the incident. The tribunal noted the service had immediately notified the department about the incident, carried out its own internal investigation, contacted the boys parents to apologise and shown genuine remorse and contrition. It also found it had since made a number of improvements to stop the incident from happening again, along with hiring two permanent qualified educators and setting up new procedures and policies to manage risk and regulation when it came to the transportation of children in its care. However, the tribunal still opted to order the childcare to pay the department a penalty of $25,000 plus legal costs.
Advertisement

Analysis PoliticsFederalEU Brutal, harsh, unforgiving: EU leader offers bracing message to Australia Matthew Knott March 24, 2026  12:49pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

Europes de facto leader came to celebrate a seemingly good news story  the signing of a sweeping free trade deal with Australia  but there was no avoiding the dire state of global affairs when Ursula von der Leyen visited Canberra on Tuesday. In the first speech to federal parliament by a female world leader, the European Commission president peppered her address with references to drinking flat whites, sampling pavlova and the hard yakka of trade negotiations. Ursula von der Leyen speaking in the House of Representatives. Alex Ellinghausen However, these were mere sprinkles of levity atop a bracing message of turmoil and disruption. The world we live in is brutal, harsh and unforgiving, von der Leyen said. It feels upside down. What we knew as certainties are in question. The comfort blanket of yesterday is ripped away. It is confronting.

Advertisement

Thomas Hobbes famously pessimistic description of life without government as nasty, brutish and short came instantly to mind. Related Article Political leadership Australia politics as it happened: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets Anthony Albanese in Canberra Von der Leyen, who served as German defence minister for five years, was once mooted as a future leader of NATO, and her speech showed why. She is steely as well as suave. Von der Leyen wanted her Australian audience to know the fuel price shock they are enduring because of the United States and Israels war against Iran is just the latest energy wake-up call. Europeans have suffered several shocks in recent years.

Advertisement

When Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian gas became a no-go overnight as Europeans realised they had become dangerously dependent on a dictator to keep their heaters on. While the war in Ukraine no longer dominates the headlines, there is no sign of peace in Eastern Europe. Climate change is still ravaging the globe. Social media algorithms are distorting impressionable young minds. And, as von der Leyen stressed in a notable intervention, the challenge of dealing with Chinas rise to superpower status remains  despite Australias normalisation of trade ties with Beijing. Getting China right is a strategic imperative, von der Leyen said. We cannot and will not absorb Chinas export-led growth model and its industrial overcapacity. Last year, for the first time, every single EU member state ran a trade deficit with China. Both the threat to our supply chain security and the shock to our industrial base need urgent responses. Left unsaid was the fact that Europe has also had to contend with the return of a tempestuous US president who has threatened to seize Greenland, undermined NATO and imposed trade barriers on some of Americas closest allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meeting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. Alex Ellinghausen

Advertisement

It is largely because of Donald Trumps tariffs that Europe  itself a fan of protectionism, especially for its politically powerful farmers  has rushed to strike a series of free trade deals. After 27 years of tortuous negotiations, the EU finally agreed to a free trade deal with Latin America in January; a pact with India followed just a few weeks later. Now theyre inking a free trade deal with Australia after eight years of on-and-off negotiations. Related Article Analysis

Foreign relations A political rock star comes to Canberra. Did he match the hype? It was just a few weeks ago that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney came to Canberra arguing that, after the breakdown of the rules-based international order, middle powers should join together to resist domination by global hegemons. 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. Von der Leyens speech carried a similar call to action. We are rearming, we are decarbonising, we are preparing, she said. We are becoming an independent Europe, and this means a more outward Europe, and this is why I am here today.

Advertisement

Rather than rely on any one economic or security partner, diversification is crucial  even if that means compromise on red meat quotas and prosecco labels. We live in a dangerous, contested, unpredictable age, requiring concerted action on trade, critical minerals, defence and climate change. In simpler times, Australia and Europe could wax lyrical about shared democratic values and let their relationship coast. Those days are over. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
Advertisement

WorldMiddle EastMiddle East at war Security zone: Israeli military plans to occupy swath of southern Lebanon David Crowe March 25, 2026  4:16am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A

London: Israel has outlined plans to occupy a security zone in southern Lebanon after bombing bridges along a key river that will serve as a new demarcation line, adding to pressure on 1 million people who have already fled their homes. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz set out the plans with a new call on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah fighters or face even greater military assaults and a long occupation that could make it impossible for families to return to their communities. An Israeli strike on the Qasmiyeh Bridge over the Litani River in Lebanon on Sunday. AP The move deepens the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon after more than three weeks of aerial attack from Israel, leaving 1072 dead and 2966 wounded, while large numbers are now living on streets or in shelters after being told to evacuate their homes. Israeli authorities have named the Litani River, about 30 kilometres north of the border with Israel, as a key marker of the occupation zone, telling everyone living south of the river to move north. The Israel Defence Forces destroyed five bridges along the river, saying this would halt Hezbollah, but the impact has also stopped civilians from returning to their homes.

Advertisement

The IDF has also ordered residents to head north of the Zahrani River, which is 15 kilometres north of the Litani, and deepened concerns in Lebanon about the huge area that could be occupied by Israeli ground forces. Hezbollah, which attacked Israel on March 2 in a show of support for Iran, described the new warning from Israel as an existential threat to Lebanon and stepped up its rocket fire on northern Israel. Israeli emergency services said a woman in her thirties was killed in the district of Mahanayim Junction on Tuesday when a Hezbollah rocket struck the area in northern Israel, while two others were wounded. The death followed a Hezbollah attack on Monday that wounded four Israelis in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona, heightening fears in Israel of continued attacks on civilian communities despite the attempts to eliminate the Lebanese militia.

Advertisement

Related Article Middle East at war US-Iran war as it happened: US reportedly sends 15-point-plan to end war as Trump claims Iran gave him present related to Strait of Hormuz; Pakistans PM offers to host talks to end war French President Emmanuel Macron called again on Tuesday for peace talks that would protect Lebanon while disarming Hezbollah and shielding Israel from further attack, while Australia has also urged an end to the war. Macron spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to express solidarity with Israel against the attacks from Iran and Hezbollah, but he argued for a peace deal that would preserve Lebanese borders. I also highlighted the urgency of preventing a new escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, whose stability and territorial integrity must be preserved. Hezbollah made a major mistake by deciding to attack Israel, he said on X. Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke with Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar late on Tuesday, Australian time, according to a statement from Israel that defended its military action despite the global concern about the death and displacement of civilians.

Advertisement

Saar said he told Wong about the danger to Israelis in communities near the border with Lebanon, saying residents had been kept out of their homes for a year. Related Article Middle East at war It was carnage: How an Israeli raid tore apart this tiny Lebanese town I emphasised the massive scale of missile, rocket, and drone attacks against Israel from Lebanon, he said on X. Israel is acting to defend its communities and citizens. Most international media outlets are currently portraying the situation on only one side of the border. Unfortunately, the Lebanese government is not taking practical steps against Hezbollah, neither to stop the attacks on Israeli civilians, nor in other contexts.

Advertisement

Wong, who announced $5 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon on Saturday, has criticised Hezbollah, which is listed as a terrorist group by Australian authorities. Australia condemns Hezbollah for its ongoing strikes on Israel and for dragging Lebanon into conflict, she said on Saturday. Australia calls for all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law and for the protection of civilians and aid workers. A major Israeli ground offensive into Lebanon will only exacerbate the worsening humanitarian situation in the country. The area being claimed by Israel for its security zone includes the southern city of Tyre, known as Sour in Arabic. When this masthead visited Tyre on March 10, the residential districts were largely evacuated, but some business owners remained in the area, and some fishermen continued to gather at the historic harbour. One fisherman, Mehdi Istambouli, said he had to stop fishing because of the Israeli airstrikes.

Advertisement

The first of two Israeli airstrikes on the Aabbassyieh neighbourhood in the city of Tyre in Lebanon on March 10. KATE GERAGHTY While the Lebanese government has said Hezbollah should disarm, it has not taken any practical step to achieve this goal, highlighting the power of a militia with deep roots in local communities and decades of loyalty to the Iranian regime. Related Article Middle East at war Stranger danger: With every Israeli airstrike, Lebanon pays a painful price Lebanons Health Ministry said a 15-year-old boy was killed early on Tuesday when Israeli troops carried out an incursion into the south-eastern town of Halta and abducted a man. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An overnight strike on an apartment south-east of Beirut killed three people, including a three-year-old girl, according to the Health Ministry. The blast tore open walls and scorched furniture in a neighbouring apartment.

Advertisement

The owner of the apartment, Rawaa Eido, told Reuters that militants who expect to be targeted should not be staying in residential buildings. We dont have any political affiliation to anyone at all ... Why, when theyre being targeted, do they want to hide in houses among people? she said, in tears. There was no comment from the Israeli military. With Reuters 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.
WINDHOEK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Tuesday called for a stronger focus on implementation to accelerate agricultural transformation and improve food security across the continent.

Speaking at a continental consultation on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) Kampala Results Framework in Windhoek, AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment Moses Vilakati said that despite more than two decades of CAADP implementation, over 300 million Africans remain food insecure, while the continent spends nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars annually on food imports.

Vilakati said the newly adopted Kampala CAADP Action Plan (2026-2035), aligned with the African Union's Agenda 2063, should serve as a practical and results-driven framework to transform agrifood systems.

The commissioner highlighted a 100-day rolling action plan to boost agricultural productivity and resilience through initiatives such as soil mapping, improved fertilizer access, youth employment, climate change adaptation and the development of the blue economy.

According to Vilakati, draft results frameworks and indicators for the Kampala CAADP are still under consultation and must undergo broad engagement with AU members, regional economic communities and development partners before adoption to ensure ownership and effectiveness. 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB)  Ethel Cain, Little River Band, Pixies and classic movies headline the 2026 season at Iroquois Amphitheater.

Mayor Craig Greenberg and Louisville Parks and Recreation announced the lineup Tuesday, with multiple concerts, movie nights and community events scheduled.

Some of the free outdoor movie nights include "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Announced concerts:

Ethel Cain: The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour | April 29

Oteil & Friends (Presented by 91.9 WFPK) | May 28

Lou Gramm with John Waite | June 6

Little River Band | June 13

Spoon & The Beths: U.S. Tour 2026 (Presented by WFPK) | July 1

An Evening with Band of Horses and Dinosaur Jr. | July 22

Queensryche with Special Guest Great White (Presented by 95.7 WQMF) | July 31

Andy Grammer: The Big Stupid Heart Tour | Aug. 11

The String Cheese Incident: Just Keep Spinning Tour | Aug. 13

Totally Tubular Festival | Aug. 14

Blues Traveler and Gin Blossoms with support from Spin Doctors | Sept. 8

Cann Presents: Yacht Rock Revue  Primetime | Sept. 10

Pixies (Presented by 91.9 WFPK) | Sept. 22

For the full event calendar, click here.

Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol at La Guardia Airport in New York, the United States, on March 23, 2026. ICE agents assisted at busy airport security checkpoints amid a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that has lasted more than a month. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent stands on duty at La Guardia Airport in New York, the United States, on March 23, 2026. ICE agents assisted at busy airport security checkpoints amid a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that has lasted more than a month. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol at La Guardia Airport in New York, the United States, on March 23, 2026. ICE agents assisted at busy airport security checkpoints amid a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that has lasted more than a month. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol at La Guardia Airport in New York, the United States, on March 23, 2026. ICE agents assisted at busy airport security checkpoints amid a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that has lasted more than a month. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent stands on duty at La Guardia Airport in New York, the United States, on March 23, 2026. ICE agents assisted at busy airport security checkpoints amid a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that has lasted more than a month. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent stands on duty at La Guardia Airport in New York, the United States, on March 23, 2026. ICE agents assisted at busy airport security checkpoints amid a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that has lasted more than a month. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB)  Police in Louisville arrested a man accused of attacking another man with a hatchet.

According to court documents, Louisville Metro Police said Garrett Edlin, 21, hit the victim in the head several times with a hatchet Saturday night on Treeview Court, off of St. Andrews Church Road.

According to Edlin's arrest citation, the victim told officers he was eventually able to wrestle the hatchet away, and Edlin ran away.

Officers said they found Edlin nearby, and he told them the victim just gave him a look, so they started fighting.

The victim had a deep gash on his face, police said. Edlin is charged with assault.

Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, addresses the reception celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting in Beijing, capital of China, on March 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Dai Tianfang)

BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) has grown from a seed to a towering tree, setting an example for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when addressing the reception celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first LMC leaders' meeting.

Wang said over the past decade, the LMC countries have linked their future more closely together, gained more robust momentum for development, forged a stronger underpinning for security, and deepened their people-to-people exchanges.

He pointed out that upholding good neighborliness, friendship and a shared future, focusing on development to serve the people, as well as pursuing innovation and breaking new ground are the three principles essential to the robust development of the LMC.

Stressing the importance of better synergizing development strategies among the LMC countries, Wang called on the six countries to jointly build an LMC 2.0, and set an LMC example for global governance.

Wang called for unity and cooperation in the LMC, carrying forward the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness. He said the six countries should pursue openness and win-win outcomes, and press ahead with infrastructure connectivity.

On green and innovation-driven development, Wang said the six countries should advance cooperation in digital economy, artificial intelligence, sci-tech innovation and ecological governance, and promote investment in new energy.

The six countries should pursue mutual learning among civilizations, deepen cooperation in media outlets and think tanks and step up personnel and youth exchanges, Wang said.

They should also step up efforts to combat cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, and ensure the success of the Mekong River joint patrol and law enforcement operation, he added.

China will work with the five Mekong countries to usher in a new golden decade of the LMC, Wang said, calling for building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home.

Envoys from the five Mekong countries to China, diplomats from ASEAN member states and relevant international organizations in China, as well as officials from Chinese ministries, local governments, and think tanks attended the reception.

Two reports, "Building a Community with a Shared Future among Lancang-Mekong Countries: A Common Vision and Practical Pathways" and "Master Plan for Connectivity, Common Development, and Deep Integration in the Lancang-Mekong Region over the Next Decade," were released at the reception. 
TEHRAN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Iran reserves the "inalienable and natural" right to defend its territory.

Pezeshkian made the remarks when exchanging views with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the consequences of the "illegal" U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in a phone conversation, according to a statement published on the Iranian president's office website.

During the phone call, the two sides also discussed bilateral ties and the latest regional developments, said the statement.

Pezeshkian said Iran did not start the war, noting the United States and Israel launched military aggression against Iran in the middle of nuclear negotiations, killing the country's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, high-ranking military commanders and civilians, and targeting Iranian public facilities.

He said that Iran consistently makes efforts to protect regional stability and security and stressed that the country still seeks to strengthen cooperation among states in the region.

"The insecurity imposed on the Strait of Hormuz is a direct result of the military aggression by the United States and Israel," he said, adding that Iran has taken necessary measures to ensure the security and safety of navigation and the safe passage of vessels through the waterway.

Sharif, for his part, expressed deep regret over the U.S.-Israeli attacks against Iran as well as the deaths of Iranian civilians and senior officials, extending the Pakistani government's sympathy and condolences.

He praised Iran for allowing the safe passage of Pakistan's vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, calling for collective efforts by regional states to de-escalate tensions and restore sustainable peace and stability in the region.

"Pakistan has always been and will always be by the side of the Iranian government and nation," Sharif said. 
The Gospel Choir from St Joseph's Secondary School, Castlebar, is celebrating a remarkable achievement following their success at last weeks Feis Ceoil competition in Dublin.

Under the musical direction of Ms Aoife Durcan, the choir secured first place in the Feis Ceoil Youth Choir National Competition.

Their outstanding performance also earned them the prestigious Folens Publishers School Choir of the Year 2026 award, along with a 3,000 prize, presented at the RDS in Dublin.

Competing against winners from all choral categories, the group was ultimately awarded the overall title, among 30 youth and school choirs from across Ireland, scoring a total of 94%.

The performance featured soloist Cera Maloney, a second-year student, and the choir was accompanied by the distinguished composer and organist Mr Aleksandr Nisse.

As a result of this accomplishment, the choir has been invited to perform at the National Concert Hall this June as part of the Feis Ceoil Gala Concert.
Derrywash National School recently celebrated the culmination of two years of participation in the Creative Schools Programme with a special event at the Linenhall Arts Centre, bringing together pupils, teachers, artists and members of the local community.

The evening began with an opening reception for an exhibition of the childrens artwork. A series of short speeches reflected on the impact of the project. Deirdre Melvin from the Linenhall Arts Centre welcomed guests and spoke to the dedication and commitment of the Derrywash teaching in ensuring that access to the arts is embedded in the life of the school. This was followed by remarks from Aisling McDonnell, Principal of Derrywash National School, who shared stories and highlights from the project.

Pictured at the launch is Caoimhe Kearns.

The significance of the exhibition was underlined by the attendance of representatives from the Arts Council of Ireland. Joanna McGlynn, Creative Schools Co-Ordinator with the Arts Council, spoke about the importance of creativity in education and the value of partnerships between schools and the arts sector. Pupils were also delighted to hear from artist Breda Burns, who worked with the school as its Creative Schools Associate over the past two years and led the creation of the artwork. She highlighted the talent and imagination of the pupils and reflected on the creative journey they undertook together.

Throughout the programme, pupils took part in a wide range of creative projects. Each child created their own painted canvas, while a whole-school collaborative artwork saw every pupil design and paint a unique piece using shaped Foamix material. These individual pieces were later combined to form one large artwork, showcasing the creativity of the entire school community.

Pictured at the launch are Aaron O'Malley and Jack Thomas.

Senior pupils also had the opportunity to work with visiting artist Michael Gannon, who introduced them to the cyanotype process, an early photographic printing technique.

The celebration concluded with a performance in the foyer by the Derrywash School Choir, who performed a newly composed school song developed during the project to rapturous applause.

Artwork created by the pupils is on display at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar throughout March, celebrating their creativity, teamwork and artistic achievements. Members of the public are warmly encouraged to visit and enjoy the colourful and vibrant exhibition.
HANGZHOU, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Westlake Robotics, a Chinese robotics company, has revealed its humanoid robot Titan o1 empowered by the company's independently developed large model General Action Expert (GAE), which can imitate human movements in real time, without limitations of time and space.

Powered by this foundation model, multiple robots can perform the same tasks simultaneously under the operation of one person, the company said.

Demonstrating the technology in Hangzhou, an operator dressed in a motion capture suit waved, turned and kicked a ball, with Titan o1 mirroring every move in milliseconds.

From arm swing angle and torso rotation to step length and leg lift height during the kick, the rhythm of the robot's movements was highly synchronized with that of its operator.

"These movements were real-time responses to the operator's spontaneous actions," explained Professor Wang Donglin, founder of Westlake Robotics. According to Wang, regardless of who the operator is or how his movements change, Titan o1 is able to quickly adapt and keep up.

In the human body, the cerebellum is responsible for coordinating movement, maintaining balance, and ensuring precise, smooth motion. The GAE serves as the humanoid robot's powerful "general-purpose cerebellum," enabling it to instantly execute the most appropriate actions upon receiving a signal, no matter whether they have ever been performed before.

In addition, the GAE offers cross-embodiment capability, allowing this foundation model to be deployed on a wide range of robots with different structures and sizes, Westlake Robotics said. 
Reading, PA (19601)

Today

Mostly cloudy; a dry start, but showers becoming more likely towards later afternoon and evening. .

Tonight

Cloudy skies with some rain showers likely overnight, especially before midnight.
BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 1.05 million seniors in China have benefited from a nationwide subsidy program, which provides consumption vouchers for elderly care services to disabled individuals, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Tuesday.

The program, which started on Jan. 1, has facilitated the nationwide use of over three million vouchers, with a total verified value of 2.35 billion yuan (about 341 million U.S. dollars). These vouchers have driven an estimated 11.5 billion yuan in elderly care consumption, according to the ministry.

The vouchers, released monthly in electronic form, can be used to cover a wide range of services, such as meal assistance, bathing assistance, housekeeping assistance, mobility support, emergency aid, medical assistance, rehabilitation nursing and daytime care.

Seniors or their designated representatives can apply for the subsidy through an official app. Those assessed as eligible will receive consumption vouchers worth up to 800 yuan per month, which can be used to offset part of the cost of community and institutional elderly care services.

"Unlike previous programs that distinguished recipients based on economic status, this policy represents a large-scale welfare initiative targeting seniors with moderate to severe disabilities," said Sun Wencan, a senior official of the ministry.

The assessment, which focuses on applicants' self-care capability, mobility, mental state, perception, and social participation, must be done in accordance with national standards, the official said. "The evaluation results must be reliable and stand up to scrutiny."

Du Peng, dean of the School of Population and Health and director of the Institute of Gerontology at Renmin University of China, described the policy as an "innovative and landmark" shift in the development of the country's elderly care services.

He noted that the program focuses on three key aspects, namely the population with the most pressing needs, scenarios of elderly care consumption, and standardized third-party assessment mechanisms.

"It injects a stable stream of targeted purchasing power into the market," Du said. "This not only directly eases the burden on families but, more importantly, drives supply-side improvements and expansion via demand-side reform. It effectively incentivizes the allocation of resources toward professional elderly care services."

To expand coverage of this program, the ministry said it will streamline procedures, improve service quality and strengthen oversight during program operations, ensuring more elderly people benefit from the country's development. 
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Partly sunny and still fairly pleasant. A later afternoon shower is possible but most will stay dry for the day..

Tonight

There might be an early shower; otherwise, mostly cloudy.
BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes companies from the United States to continue expanding their presence in the Chinese market and prosper together with China, according to Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.

The minister made the remarks on Monday during a meeting with a delegation of member companies of the U.S.-China Business Council, led by board chair Rajesh Subramaniam and president Sean Stein. The two sides exchanged views on China-U.S. economic and trade relations, the development of U.S. companies in China, among other topics.

Despite differences and frictions in bilateral economic and trade cooperation, it is crucial to respect each other's core interests and major concerns and to properly address differences through dialogue on an equal footing, Wang said.

China hopes that the United States will work with China to maintain the stable, healthy and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations, he added.

Amid a turbulent global landscape, China's economic development provides stability and certainty, Wang said, emphasizing that the country will promote high-quality development, steadily advance high-level opening up, and continue improving its business environment.

He also added that the outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) offers not only a new blueprint for the country, but also fresh opportunities for global development.

During the meeting, delegates from the U.S. side highlighted the importance of continued, practical communication between China and the United States and expressed hope for further development of bilateral economic and trade ties. 
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Mostly cloudy; a dry start, but showers becoming more likely towards later afternoon and evening. .

Tonight

Cloudy skies with some rain showers likely overnight, especially before midnight.
China shares valuable experience in global intangible cultural heritage protection

09:09, March 24, 2026 By Luo Wei ( People's Daily

Qiang women dance around a bonfire in Heihu Qiang village in Maoxian county, southwest China's Sichuan province. (Photo/Wang Chu)

Last December, at its 20th session, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage under UNESCO decided to move China's "Hezhen Yimakan storytelling" from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

It was another item from China to be moved to the Representative List after the traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering, the traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges, and the Qiang New Year festival, which joined the list in 2024.

Intangible cultural heritage is living heritage, and its protection is an ongoing, dynamic process.

Under the framework of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, intangible cultural items that are endangered and in need of immediate protection should be included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

If an item is removed from the list and added to the Representative List, it signals that the item has been effectively preserved, revitalized and strengthened, with its viability significantly enhanced.

The addition of the four Chinese items to the Representative List not only reflects the effectiveness of China's systematic safeguarding efforts, but also offers useful reference for other countries. It is, at the same time, a recognition by the international community of China's achievements and its fulfillment of convention obligations.

Take the Qiang New Year festival as an example. The Qiang-inhabited areas, primarily located in Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan province, were severely damaged in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. This once put the continuity of the festival at risk.

An inheritor of traditional Li textile techniques makes a piece of embroidery at the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum in Beijing. (Photo/Zhang Yongxin)

In response, a national-level Qiang cultural and ecological protection zone was established in October of that year to provide comprehensive protection for Qiang-inhabited areas as a whole. This timely intervention enabled the Qiang New Year festival to be preserved without interruption, even in the aftermath of the major natural disaster.

Moreover, the festival has evolved significantly. A rotating system has been introduced, with host celebrations held in Wenchuan, Lixian, Maoxian and Beichuan counties, replacing the earlier village-based observances. What was once celebrated within individual communities has now become a regional event, attracting participation not only from the Qiang people but also from Han, Tibetan, Hui and other ethnic groups.

China has adopted a multi-pronged approach to safeguarding its intangible cultural heritage, including legislative protection, rescue-oriented safeguarding, productive conservation, holistic preservation and digital preservation. These efforts are aimed at strengthening the capacity for heritage transmission, protecting spaces where heritage is practiced, and continuously enhancing the viability of intangible cultural heritage.

Traditional Li textile techniques, once endangered by industrialization, were revived through government funding, policy support, and multi-stakeholder collaboration involving skill training, cooperative production, and sustainable market development.

A woman visits the Qiang Museum of Maoxian in Maoxian county, southwest China's Sichuan province. (Photo/Wang Chu)

The addition of these items in the Representative List reflects not only outcomes, but also the accumulation of valuable experience. Strong support from the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government for the preservation and development of fine traditional Chinese culture has provided a solid foundation for high-quality intangible cultural heritage protection.

In recent years, China has established a protection system for intangible cultural heritage that is tailored to its national conditions and provides essential institutional safeguards. With the government playing a leading role to clarify responsibilities, it encourages public participation to uphold people's cultural rights. The system is guided by long-term planning rooted in a science-based approach to development, adheres to the principle of "protection first" as its fundamental direction, and prioritizes emergency safeguarding to address the most pressing tasks.

Rooted in the daily lives and cultural practices of diverse countries and ethnic groups, intangible cultural heritage embodies how people think, what they do, and the aspirations they hold.

Through its engagement in the global effort to safeguard intangible cultural heritage, China is presenting captivating stories of its heritage, sharing its experience, and contributing its vision.

In doing so, it conveys a distinctive Chinese cultural ideal -- one that celebrates one's own heritage, appreciates that of others, and seeks harmony in diversity, envisioning a world of shared beauty.

(Luo Wei is director of the center for cultural development strategy studies at the Chinese National Academy of Arts.)

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Wu Chaolan)
The News in Brief Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Peter Andreoli, a representative from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, has begun an official visit to Georgia to engage with a broad cross-section of the country's leadership and civil society.The U.S. Embassy confirmed the visit in a statement issued on March 23, outlining a schedule that includes meetings with government officials, private sector stakeholders, and representatives of Georgian society.The visit will extend beyond the capital, with a planned trip to the port city of Poti. Andreoli is scheduled to tour a significant American investment at the port, highlighting the economic partnership between the two nations.Additionally, the official will visit the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL). This segment of the trip is expected to focus on the current security situation and the challenges facing communities near the boundary.Before departing for Tbilisi, Andreoli visited the Georgian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to pay tribute to the late Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II.Georgian Ambassador to the U.S. Tamar Taliashvili stated on March 20th that Andreoli "left a message in the book of condolences" opened in honor of the spiritual leader. While the Ambassador confirmed the meeting, no further details regarding specific diplomatic discussions in Washington were provided.Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili defended national interests at the Patriots for Europe meeting in Budapest. She described Georgia's EU aspirations as a historical quest for sovereignty rooted in European values.Botchorishvili claimed that Georgia's EU membership bid, supported by 80% of its population, is being used as a tool for political pressure and external interference. She noted these challenges exist both outside and within EU member states.The Minister linked Georgia's 9.5% economic growth to sovereign decision-making. She argued that maintaining peace in a challenging geopolitical climate requires respect for a nation's right to self-determination.The panel included Hungarian Minister for EU Affairs Janos Boka, Fidesz Vice-President Kinga Gal, and MEPs from Poland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Austria. Botchorishvili concluded that national sovereignty is the only solid foundation for Europe's future.
BANGKOK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's exports expanded for the 20th consecutive month in February, led by growth in electronics and electrical appliances, which was bolstered by AI-driven technological advancements and geopolitical supply chain shifts, official data showed on Tuesday.

Exports, a key driver of the Southeast Asian country's economic growth, amounted to 29.44 billion U.S. dollars year-on-year last month with a growth rate of 9.9 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The data also showed that imports grew by 31.8 percent to 32.27 billion dollars in February from a year earlier, resulting in a trade deficit of 2.83 billion dollars.

For the first two months of 2026, Thai exports increased by 17.0 percent to 61.01 billion dollars while imports increased by 30.5 percent to 67.15 billion dollars, yielding in a trade deficit of 6.14 billion dollars.

Thailand's export outlook for 2026 is projected to maintain its growth momentum despite global geopolitical risks, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement also indicated that the prolonged security situation in the Strait of Hormuz, however, continues to impact energy prices, production, and logistics costs, thereby weakening the purchasing power of Thailand's trading partners.

In response, the ministry is set to map out strategies, including driving food exports during the crisis and diversifying into new markets, to mitigate nationwide consequences and seize emerging opportunities. 
George Yong-Boon Yeo, former foreign minister of Singapore speaks at a panel discussion themed on "Free Trade Ports: Opportunities and Missions as Gateways for Opening-up" during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 24, 2026. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows a view of a panel discussion themed on "Free Trade Ports: Opportunities and Missions as Gateways for Opening-up" during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows a view of a panel discussion themed on "Free Trade Ports: Opportunities and Missions as Gateways for Opening-up" during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

Cao Yuanzheng, visiting professor of management practice with School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, speaks at a panel discussion themed on "Free Trade Ports: Opportunities and Missions as Gateways for Opening-up" during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 24, 2026. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)
Global STEM leaders gather at Wits for TechWomen 2026

TechWomen is U.S Department of state-sponsored global programme that connects women STEM professionals from U.S innovation hubs with emerging leaders in Africa.

On Monday, 16 February 2026, the University of the Witwatersrand hosted TechWomen under the theme @WITS Connecting Global Leaders in Technology and Innovation.

TechWomen is a global initiative that empowers women leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by expanding their access to networks, resources, and professional growth opportunities.

Each year, TechWomen hosts two international delegation trips to different partner countries, creating opportunities for crosscultural exchange and strengthening pathways for womens advancement in STEM.

In 2026, these visits are being hosted by South Africa and Kyrgyzstan. Within this framework, delegation trips play a pivotal role in deepening global collaboration by fostering mentorship, handson learning, and knowledge sharing between U.S. delegates and international partners.

Through STEM outreach, designthinking workshops, entrepreneurship dialogues, and institutional partnerships, the delegation seeks to inspire young people, support educators, and advance womens leadership in technology, innovation, and social impact.

The visit to Wits University - as a leading African research institution with strong ecosystems in digital innovation, engineering, health sciences, and creative technologies - served as a strategic anchor of this mission.

This year, Wits University staff and students joined more than sixty international delegates for an afternoon of focused dialogue and practical insights workshops, ranging from the latest innovations to strategic positioning.

Professor Lynn Morris, Wits Deputy ViceChancellor for Research and Innovation, opened the proceedings by highlighting how societies advance when barriers are removed and impactful partnerships are formed. As a globally recognised scientist and female leader in her own right, her message resonated strongly with attendees personal experiences.

This years event bridged disciplines to explore how AI and digital innovation can transform education, healthcare and the technology industry.

The programme at Wits was coordinated by TechWomen alumnae and Wits lecturers Amanda Jankowitz (School of Therapeutic Sciences) and Dr Chioniso KuchwaDube (School of Mechanical, Industrial & Aeronautical Engineering), in close collaboration with Professor Rene Smith, Head of the School of Arts, and Dr Olu Randle in Digital Arts.

Smith illustrated how the sciences and the arts are intertwined to enhance the experience of the everyday technologies that society now relies on. Today's lesson? Artists and designers infuse magic into the production line. We make machines beautiful, and even in the most techadvanced nations, it is aesthetics and creativity that drive true innovation, she said.

The programme featured three concurrent workshops on Design Thinking, Marketing and Industry Partnership Through Digital Storytelling, and HumanFirst Health Tech.

The Design Thinking workshop guided participants in applying its principles to AI integration across education and industry. The discussions emphasised problemsolving approaches that respond to societal needs.

Jill Finlayson, Managing Director of the CITRIS Innovation Hub at the University of California, highlighted that design thinking is most effective when grounded in local context and data. While it serves as a useful framework, she noted that its real strength lies in how individuals engage with it. It is essential that we teach others to question, validate and iterate, because those are the things that will make these tools truly valuable, she explained.

As an expert in innovative ecosystems, she added that older generations may benefit even more from AI, as their lived experiences equip them with perspectives that make the tools not only innovative but also genuinely meaningful.

Equally compelling was the session on Marketing and Industry Partnerships Through Digital Storytelling, which demonstrated how storytelling can drive collaboration and entrepreneurial growth. It plays a vital role in creating digital products, research breakthroughs and impactful social initiatives.

The HumanFirst Health Tech workshop reinforced the social aspect of innovation, particularly in improving healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. Speakers stressed that AI health innovations should support healthcare practitioners in enhancing care, not replace them. The Head of the School of Therapeutic Sciences, Professor Hellen Myezwa, noted: Innovation grounded in empathy, courage and wisdom is transformative.

To inspire a new generation of women in technology, the TechWomen delegation also engaged with learners, students, and emerging innovators across multiple locations in South Africa. Their outreach included school visits in Soweto, Johannesburg, and in Durban, where delegates spoke with learners about future career possibilities in AI, innovation, and the broader STEM ecosystem.

The delegation also visited the Gordon Institute of Business Science to engage with entrepreneurs on navigating the AI frontier, and the Durban University of Technology to connect with university students exploring career pathways, future skills, and the impact of emerging technologies.

These interactions not only exposed young people to global STEM leadership but also enriched the delegates own learning. As one participant reflected after the visit to Orlando, Soweto, I feel empowered learning about different cultures and how different people think and what is important to them.

Although the event at Wits celebrated womens contributions to STEM, challenges remain. We must raise our voices to bridge support gaps for women. It is our responsibility to empower young women in STEM to meet the demands of their field. And I will carry this inspiration back to my culture to motivate others in my community, said Riffat Jaffer, TechWomen mentor and leader in STEM talent acquisition.

In her closing remarks, Myezwa urged that the principles discussed at the event become a movement. Let us ensure that women are not only present but powerful in shaping systems, she concluded.
VIENTIANE, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A hailstorm struck the Sikhottabong district in Lao capital Vientiane on Sunday, causing extensive damage to homes, vehicles, and public facilities and affecting more than 2,000 households, the Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare reported Tuesday.

On Monday, Lao Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Phoxay Sayasone visited the affected areas to assess the situation, provide support to residents, and deliver emergency relief supplies.

Officials said efforts are underway to secure construction materials to accelerate repairs to damaged homes. The ministry is also planning longer-term recovery measures to restore livelihoods, with targeted assistance to affected households. 
BAGHDAD, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Six Iraqi Kurdish military personnel, known as Peshmerga, were killed and 30 others injured early Tuesday when Iranian ballistic missiles struck military positions in Erbil province, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, local authorities said.

According to a statement by the Peshmerga Ministry of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government, the headquarters of the 7th Infantry Division and a force from the 5th Infantry Division of the Peshmerga forces were hit by six Iranian ballistic missiles.

The Peshmerga Ministry condemned this attack, reaffirming that it has the full right to respond to any attack targeting its people and land.

The attacks came amid heightened regional tensions following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional allies have responded with attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests across the Middle East. 
On Monday evening, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened an emergency COBRA meeting to discuss the expanding war on Iran and its devastating impact on the economy. The meeting was attended by the chancellor, foreign secretary, energy secretary and the governor of the Bank of England.

COBRA meetings are convened to respond to national emergencies. The latest was the third since the US-Israeli onslaught on Iran began almost a month ago. It took place as the claims of the crisis-ridden Labour government that Britain is not participating in the war on Iran have unravelled.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer watches Dutch-UK Marine training, June 24, 2025. [Photo by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Last Friday, the government designated military action against Iran collective self-defence. This allows strikes against Iranian missile systems threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, not just missiles directly threatening British personnel or allies. It replaced a policy, supposedly operative since March 1, allowing the US to use British bases only for a specific and limited defensive purpose.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Londons actions will definitely be considered as participation in aggression we reserve our inherent right to defend the countrys sovereignty and independence.

President Donald Trump later issued an ultimatum on his social media platform threatening to wipe out the infrastructure upon which 90 million Iranians depend.

A government statement on Sunday confirmed that Britain would do nothing to prevent such an attack. Sky News broadcaster Trevor Phillips asked government minister Steve Reed, What is the governments position on this 48-hour deadline? Are we saying to the Americans, No, dont do this because this is escalating the situation, or are we simply standing on the sidelines waiting to see what happens?

Reed replied, I think you need to ask President Trump about the things that President Trump is talking about.

This took place amid a deluge of media attacks on Iran, following a claim by the Wall Street Journal that Tehran had attempted to hit the joint UK-US military base of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean with intercontinental missiles.

The UK media predictably lined up behind a spokesman for the far-right Israeli government, screaming that if Iran was able to strike Chagos, then what was to stop it striking London and other European capitals.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei denied that Iran had fired a missile at Diego Garcia.

In an interview with the BBCs Laura Kuenssberg, in which Reed declared, We are not going to be dragged into this war. We will not see this country dragged into this war, Kuenssberg responded, Thats not quite right though, is it? Our involvement is increasing. We are getting more involved whether you like it or not. Our RAF jets have been shooting down more drones. We are now giving the Americans additional permission to do more.

Kuenssberg then asked Reed, Isnt it time for a vote in Parliament on what the UK is doing?

He replied that this would be unnecessary, as it would be unprecedented to call a vote in Parliament on defending British people and British assets There is no precedent for a vote in Parliament for defending British people.

This statement speaks to a government utterly hostile to democratic norms and accountability. The fact that Reed, who is the housing secretary (!), was chosen to make such an astonishing statementimpacting the lives of literally millions of people in Iran, Britain, and internationallyspeaks volumes.

Notwithstanding all the repeated claims that Britain is not being dragged into a wara phrase Reed repeated four times to Phillips and six times to Kuenssbergthe only meaning of his statement is that the population, even via their supposed parliamentary representatives, can have no say over a Labour government once again involving the UK in an illegal war.

Reed is to the right of even Tony Blair, who took Britain into the US-led, illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. Blair, who felt unable to cite Royal Prerogative to launch a deeply unpopular war, called a parliamentary vote on participation on March 18, which he won by 412 votes in favour to 149 against, confident that most MPs would join him in defying overwhelming public opposition.

There still remains no formal legal requirement that Parliament must approve military action, but the ensuing political catastrophe around the Iraq warwhich saw the resignation of Blair four years laterestablished, as a parliamentary convention, that governments would seek approval before launching major combat operations. Votes were held on British participation in the NATO intervention in Libya in 2011 and on proposed military action against Syria in 2013.

The Starmer government can only proceed in backing the US against Iran because it relies on the support of a Parliament that acts even more firmly than in 2003 as a single party of imperialist war.

On Monday afternoon, Starmer appeared before Parliaments Liaison Committee of MPs. The main criticism of Starmer was from MPs demanding an even more aggressive military posture and that he commit to a rapid escalation of military spending.

For the last month, a substantial section of the USs heavy bomber fleet has been operating from the Royal Air Force Fairford base in Gloucestershire, launching strikes against Iranian targets. Yet Starmer maintained a straight face as he told the committee that This is not our war, and we are not getting dragged into this war. He had maintained a divide between Britain and Washington over this, and UK military bases were only being used for the purposes of collective self-defence.

B1 Lancer bomber departs from RAF Fairford, England, as another B1 is parked on the apron, March 10, 2026 [AP Photo/Alastair Grant]

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, a former shadow defence minister, attacked the government, saying, We are already at war, and we need to be in a war-fighting mentality to deal with the emergencies that were facing. When Starmer said his government was still finalising the investment plan, for last years strategic defence review, Jenkin responded that this approach smacks of enormous complacency. He further denounced Starmer declaring, It sounds as though you are at peace while we are actually at war... When you are at war, you get on with it; you dont wait around for a plan.

Declared opposition to the war has come from a tiny minority of MPs and is led by Jeremy Corbynthe figurehead of the Stop the War Coalition and leader of Your Party, who centres his bankrupt programme on futile appeals to complicit governments to oppose war.

On March 4, Corbyn put forward the Military Action (Parliamentary Approval) Bill, a private members bill, co-sponsored by just 11 MPs, which has no chance of being passed in a 650-seat chamber stuffed with warmongers. Parliaments own website notes that the Second Reading of the Bill is not scheduled to take place until April 17, although the House of Commons is not expected to be sitting on that date!

Nowhere in a Bill of just 81 words does it even refer to the war on Iran, let alone describe it as illegal. It merely requests that there be parliamentary approval for the deployment of UK armed forces and military equipment for armed conflict; to require parliamentary approval for the granting of permission by Ministers for use of UK military bases and equipment by other nations for armed conflict; to require the withdrawal of that permission in circumstances where parliamentary approval is not granted.

Even this is negated by Corbyns caveat that the Bill still provides for certain exemptions from these requirements where necessary.
The US-Israeli onslaught against Iran, backed by Anthony Albaneses Labor government, has provoked deep anger among workers across Australia, including in the health sector. Health workers who spoke with the World Socialist Web Site this week expressed outrage over the criminal assault and the complicity of the government and trade union apparatus.

The Labor government was among the first internationally to endorse the attack and has integrated Australia directly into it through the deployment of weaponry, personnel and intelligence assets. None of the major unions, including those covering health workers, have condemned the war or called for industrial action to stop the flow of military materiel.

The WSWS urges nurses, doctors and other health workers send statements of opposition to sephw.aus@gmail.com for publication.

Gerry, a mental health worker, said he was completely shocked by Trumps decision to wage war on Iran.

Israel has completely devastated Gaza and killed tens of thousands of peopletheyve committed crimes on an industrial scale. Within hours of the attack, the Albanese Labor government declared its support. Were not independent, were part of that American war machine, he said.

Gerry denounced the war as criminal and said: You cant just attack a boat, kill people and leave others to drown. Thats a war crime. They had Australian personnel on the submarine. Targeting elected leaders is also a criminal act. The Albanese government doesnt represent my views or the views of most working people. Nobody supports Donald Trump and nobody supports war, especially an illegal one.

He drew a connection between the war and the social crisis confronting workers. The people running society are completely disconnected from working people. This war serves their interests, not ours. Like the Iraq War, its about oil and resources. Workers are barely surviving as it is.

The government is starving social servicescutting the NDIS, underfunding aged care and forcing user-pays systems. In my workplace were using outdated, sometimes broken equipment. Meanwhile billions go to the military. Ive heard nothing from the unionsno statements, no leaflets, nothing opposing the war.

On what should be done, Gerry said: Dont send your children to war. Dont participate in it. War requires mass participationthey need us to send our children, to build weapons, to supply the army. If the working class refuses, it stops.

Health workers at Sydney mass protest against Gaza genocide, February 11, 2024.

Paula, a nurse from Melbourne, first learned of the attack on Iran through social media.

My first reaction was, What is the world doing? Then I saw Albanese had declared support. It was incredibly disappointing. Labor says one thing and does another, she said.

Were repeating history. The US removes one leader, installs another, then later decides that leader must also go. Its a vicious cycle driven by powerful men playing dangerous games that devastate ordinary people.

Paula rejected the claim that Irans nuclear program justified the attack. Thats just the pretext. Israel has nuclear weapons, as do the US and others. This goes back to the 1950s when Iran tried to nationalise its oil. The West made sure it retained control and profits, keeping Iran subordinate. The US has opposed Irans independence ever since the 1979 revolution and has repeatedly sought regime change, always claiming its about getting rid of a bad leader. But what about Netanyahu?

She warned that the war would have severe domestic consequences. It will mean even deeper cuts to healthcare and social services. We already cant staff wards properly; things will only deteriorate.

Asked whether she supported an international socialist program to end imperialist war, Paula said: Yesabsolutely. I used to think Labor was a socialist party, but its capitalist. I hadnt heard much about the Socialist Equality Party before, but Ive been impressed by the meetings Ive listened to. I agree with its outlookits common sense about how to build a fairer and humane society.

A research scientist at a major Melbourne hospital also condemned the attack. The assault on Iran is a criminal act with nothing to do with supporting ordinary Iranians, she said. The line that this is about freedom or liberation is false. Its about control of the region and its oil. The US and Israel want to dominate and monopolise those resources.

The scientist added: Everyone now understands why Israeli President Herzog visited Australia earlier this yearit was to secure Albaneses backing before the attack. As soon as the bombs began falling, Labor declared its support. These are blatant war crimes under the Geneva Conventions, but they are carried out with total impunity.

Healthcare workers are horrified. Our duty is to save lives, but doctors and nurses in Gaza have been detained, tortured and even killed. Its intolerable.

She emphasised that the fight against war must be taken up by workers themselves. Thats how we fight thisthrough collective resistance. Those in power rely on our labour to sustain their system. The power lies with the working class, and its time to use it.

These interviews underscore the necessity for health workers to take matters into their own hands by forming independent rankandfile committees in hospitals, agedcare centres and other healthcare facilities.

These committees must unite with other sections of workers to mobilise against the war and Labor governments attempts to slash health, education and social services to fund it. The fight against war requires, above all, the building of a unified international movement of the working class based on a socialist program.
The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) spoke with workers and young people in South Australia during the March 21 state election, revealing widespread discontent with the major parties and opposition to war.

As the WSWS wrote, the election marks a deepening crisis of the two-party parliamentary system.

The pro-business Labor government was returned to office, but there were sharp swings against it in key working-class areas. The conservative Liberals vote plummeted, as part of its existential crisis, not only at the state level but nationally. The far-right One Nation received the second highest vote of any party, exploiting discontent with the major parties and the social crisis.

SEP campaigners went to polling booths in the working-class suburbs of Salisbury and Elizabeth in Adelaides north, a region hit by job losses and entrenched social disadvantage. The former centres of auto production have been battered by the closure of the car industry, enforced by Labor and the corporatised trade unions.

The SEP found widespread hostility to the illegal US war on Iran and Australias participation in it; hostility to inequality and the cost-of-living crisis; concern over the degradation of social services and an interest in a socialist alternative.

Tyryn, right, with SEP assistant national secretary Max Boddy

Tyryn, a young worker in Elizabeth, said the war against Iran is about US control of oil reserves in the region. Theyre accepting nothing less than a total surrender, which would mean integration into the US, and also that the American dollar has more control over the oil than it currently does. Every party in the election supports the war because, he said, theyre going to get a slice of that pie. Once they get the oil, theyre going to have extra money for their own personal gain.

Tyryn had followed the Gaza genocide protests, including in Sydney where police had gone on a violent rampage against protesters in February. Its horrible, he said. People that want change are the ones being suppressed.

He believed that to fight against war, youve got to break down the system and build it back up from the bottom, because otherwise the cycle will repeat. Socialism is a good ideology. I wish it was more embraced in modern society as a whole. Capitalist democracy has taken us to a certain point where only through exploitation can people rise up, meaning they crush those below them to then rise up. But with socialism, exploitation can be completely cut.

The options in this election all feel the same. They say different things, but at the end of the day it's the same person, just a different face. They say one thing but do another.

When SEP members explained the necessity of building a party of the working class against the establishment, Tyryn responded: Its probably the best bet for Australia moving forward. Currently capitalism is in this constant downward trend, since I started getting into politics when I was 15. Something needs to change.

Corey

Corey, a warehouse worker in Salisbury, said, The election is a big waste of time. Its corrupt. Theres a lot of stuff going on in the world, and these elections wont change anything.

When asked if he thought the Labor government had done anything for workers, Corey said: Not at all. Neither Liberal nor Labor. It goes back and forth, but each election things for us keep getting worse, life gets harder. The cost of living keeps rising. A lot of broken promises. Just before every election, all those so-called leaders come out and promise all these things, but never come through with them.

Corey spoke on the war on Iran: No worker wants war. No one wants to be killing or to be killed. If you put your military bases in a region and surround a country that doesnt want you there, what do you think is going to happen? America shouldnt be doing this, and Australia shouldnt be involved. Its a disaster. I dont think we should go to war, especially when we didnt start it. Donald Trump did.

Ranti

Ranti, a nurse working in Adelaide who we met at Elizabeth, spoke on the worsening crisis in the healthcare system.

The main thing is that this election feels like we are just going through the motions, she said. The people we elect dont really do much. While she said she still hoped if we choose the right people, they could do something, she stressed that in healthcare there have been so many promises and nothing has been done.

Describing conditions in the hospitals, Ranti said: As nurses, we are under pressure. There is a shortage of nurses and the care is increasing. She explained that she is frequently called in to work additional shifts due to understaffing, sometimes immediately after finishing overnight work, warning that thats not safe.

She pointed in particular to the impact of ambulance ramping and lack of resources in emergency departments. Patients who need immediate care are left waiting because there are not enough staff or resources, she said. There is a shortage of nurses, doctors, everything. The resources are very low. So how can patients receive proper care?

Ranti also drew a connection between the crisis in healthcare and government spending priorities. We say we dont have enough resources for our healthcare system, but we have money to spend on war That money should be prioritised to help the community and help ourselves.

Michelle, also a nurse, spoke on the deepening crisis in the healthcare system Its hard. Its exhausting and its just sad, she said. I go to work and its like a repeating issue that no ones addressing. She pointed to the ongoing crisis of hospital capacity: No ones fixing the ramping. Theres not enough beds the critically sick patients cant get beds.

Michelle stressed that the crisis is compounded by the inaccessibility of basic services. Even the GP some people could go there, but its not accessible. Theyre working Monday to Friday and it closes early, she said, adding that the solution is clear: Build more hospitals make it more accessible for people.

She drew a sharp contrast between these conditions and government spending priorities. Wheres the money going? Anything but what we need to spend money on, she said, pointing to military expenditure. We have money to spend on war when it should be prioritised here in Australia.

Michelle opposed the war on Iran, stating: Im against any war I dont like the killing of innocent people. This war should stop. She attributed the conflict to geopolitical interests, adding: Its all about the oil.

Michelle noted the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. I dont even think billionaires should exist what do you do with all that money? she said, describing the situation facing workers as deflating.

Tyson, 22, another warehouse worker, said: The major parties definitely represent an agenda that doesnt reflect your average sort of person. Even if you look at the how-to-vote cards, you can see their preferences and how they want you to vote. The favouritism they give to other parties. Its all set up to benefit a two-party system.

Tyson agreed that One Nation was not an alternative to Labor or the Coalition, but a far-right party of big business. I have no fondness for One Nation in my heart, he said. Look at [One Nation leader] Pauline Hansons history. What they say doesnt represent what they are. They say one thing but go in a completely different direction.

He strongly opposed the US war against Iran: This war is entirely unfounded. Its just a ploy for the US to control. Theres no reasonable grounding for the war. Theres no benefit to average people at all. In fact, it has a negative impact on them. The government here is following Trump, someone who just wants to make money out of the chaos of war.

On the SEPs perspective to build a movement of the working class against the whole political establishment, he said: Its definitely very interesting and unique. I want to read your statement. And the way the official parties are going, its not beneficial to ordinary people, so it makes sense to have an independent movement.

Mike, right

Mike, a child protection worker originally from Uganda said, This war is not good. Its affecting people even here in Australia, in Adelaide. Even though the war is not directly here, people are already suffering. Prices have gone up, fuel, food, groceries. Everything is skyrocketing.

Asked on why the war is occurring he said, I think its political. Theyre playing political games. The US wants to control Iran.

On the SA election, If all of these parties support the war, then the election has no meaning. What are we voting for? Are we voting for the war to continue or for change? No one is even raising the question of war, so people dont get a chance to have their voice heard. Its just not good.

Asked about socialism, Mike said, People should be equal, and if the whole world is involved, then people need to come together and do something good.
Since our last comment on The Pitt January 28, the HBO Max medical drama has continued to attract large audiences, averaging roughly 12 million US viewers per episode across various platforms by mid-February, a 50 percent jump over Season 1. It has collected added honors, including a Directors Guild of America award for best direction of a drama (Amanda Marsalis) and an award for outstanding performance by an ensemble at the 2026 Actor Awards (formerly the Screen Actors Guild Awards).

The Pitt and ICE agents

An episode involving ICE agents (5:00 P.M.) that aired March 19 has drawn wide attention. It is another indication of the broad-based opposition to the Trump administration and its drive toward dictatorship, including its vicious anti-immigrant witch-hunt.

The series takes place in the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Centers emergency room (the Pitt). Attending physician Dr. Michael Robby Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) is a central figure. Over the course of the second season, Dr. Robby continues to experience a severe mental health crisis and an emotional breakdown.

It seems he has a plan to end his life on an upcoming motorcycle trip. The emotional compartmentalization Robby relies or claims to rely on is visibly failing. When one of his senior residents, Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), has a panic attack in 5:00 P.M., he has an outburst and belittles her in front of colleagues. In a previous episode, Dr Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), who will replace him as department chief during his trip, faulted him for lacking basic human empathy.

When Dr. Mohan apologizes for a mistake she made with a patient, Dr. Robby drills into her: This is what happens when you bring your personal life into work. Patient almost died.  You have to think of these walls like a force field. You cannot let anything in. Your mothers not in here. She is out there. You keep everything out there. That is the key. That is the difference between the best doctors and the ones that dont make it.

However sincere he may be, Robby often says one thing but does something different. The pressures are intense. His idea of keeping his work entirely separate from his personal struggles, as well as the outside world, is making him a worse doctor and alienating him from colleagues, not to mention that it is pushing him to give up on life altogether.

The much anticipated ICE sequence illustrates the futility of attempting to block out the external world. While berating Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif) for treating a homeless and xylazine-addicted young woman in a public park near the hospital (McKay is part of the street program and a former addict herself), Robbys face drops as he catches sight of something behind her.

Two ICE thugs walk in with a visibly distressed and zip-tied woman Pranita (Ramona DuBarry). Their sinister masks and goon-like appearance contrast with the hospital setting, a frantic but vulnerable and caring place. The agents simply claim she took a nasty fall and that she screamed in pain when we put the ties on her. She needs to be looked at before we process her.

Pranita was caught up in an ICE sweep at a restaurant, and shoved down some alley stairs. As nurses examine her and McKay offers to call someone for Pranita, one ICE agent interjects, No phone calls.

The staff is visibly shaken, McKay is pleading with Robby to try to help the woman beyond her injury and Charge Nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) whispers to him Cant we just tell the agents to fk off? They are not gonna leave without their patient.

Robby is laser-focused on getting Pranita treated as fast as possible to minimize the danger for everyone inside the hospital. But the effect of the ICE presence is immediate and devastating. Patients leave the waiting room in droves and so do staff members on all floors, as soon as word gets around.

Robby, frustrated, walks up to an ICE agent lingering around the reception area.

You know patients come in here for help, right? Because theyre either sick or theyre injured, and documented or undocumented, they have a right to emergency care. TB, measles, fracturesnone of its getting treated cause everybodys too scared to come in. But then they end up here anyway, but then its too f-ing late! So please, for the love of God, can you just go wait over there in the room with your detainee, so I dont lose any more patients or staff?

ICE agent Russo says, No problem, Doc, and then marches over to Pranita declaring shes been cleared to leave. When nurse Jesse Van Horn (Ned Brower) and Dr. McKay protest that she still needs her sling, Russo ignores them, grabbing her by her injured arm to drag her out. Jesse steps in to defend Pranita. The episode cuts to Dana and Robby who hear an altercation taking place in the distance. When they reach the scene, Jesse is being handcuffed on the floor, while staff shout at the agents and one films with her phone.

Robby tries to reassure Jesse that they will get the hospital attorney and instructs him not to say anything. He then pleads with the agents to tell him where theyre taking him and when they refuse to say, asks staff about the nearest detention center.

Nurse Perlah Alawi (Amielynn Abellera) asks Robby, What can we do?

Robby orders the staff to reassure their patients and get back to work.

Unsurprisingly, the powerful episode has generated a great deal of discussion on X, Reddit and other platforms. The upcoming ICE plot had been announced by media outlets and many viewers were undoubtedly waiting excitedly, some apprehensively, to see how the showrunners would portray the ICE-Gestapo.

The Pitt, Season 2, Episode 11

Over the past weeks, there have been student walkouts against ICE met with violent repression, mass protests in several cities, including the Detroit area, a further expansion of raids across the country and a pattern of systematic abuse, not exempting children and babies as young as two months old. On March 3, nearly 4,000 healthcare professionals from 49 states issued a joint open letter to then DHS Secretary Kristi Noem demanding the immediate release of all children from ICE detention centers.

In general, critics welcomed the Pitt episode. One at AV Club wrote, 5:00 P.M. rightly depicts ICE as thugs who are tearing apart families and communities, terrorizing American cities, and making hospitals less safe with their presence. In a season full of social issues, its a welcome, full-throated condemnation of one of the existential threats of our time. No one is safer when ICE is around.

Various commentators on social media argued that the horror and the ripple effect of ICE agents appearing in a healthcare facility were well depicted. A vocal subset, however, felt that the show sanitized ICE by having too few agents, too much restraint and even presenting the agencys willingness to bring an injured detainee to the hospital.

One of the critics complained, This was literally a nice portrayal of ICE. They never would take someone to the ER, they would let them be in pain/bleed out. Also they would have arrested everyone in the room, not just Jesse.

The creator and executive producer R. Scott Gemmill has commented that the episode was most likely written around mid-2025, before things had escalated beyond what the writers could have imagined. In retrospect, I think we could have pushed a little harder.

John Wells (executive producer/director) explained that when he told HBO about the planned ICE episode, they gave a note to make sure its balanced and were not just treating the situation as if it doesnt have other points of view. Other points of view on a cruel, anti-democratic crusade by a fascistic White House and its various thuggish accomplices would not do justice to art or the truth.

Gemmill has said in interviews that the episode was written with the possibility in mind that the ICE situation might go away and the episode might not resonate by the time it aired. That this seemed a plausible scenario reflects a certain amount of wishful thinking and the view that the current political situation is an aberration that will correct itself.

In any event, the writers and creators deserve credit for what they produced, imagery and drama that will remain in the minds of the millions who watched the episode. It contributes to the intensifying atmosphere of opposition and resistance.
Leaflet distributed at JBS plant in Sao Paulo.

Last Friday, reporters for the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) visited the JBS Jaguare plant in Sao Paulo to speak with Brazilian workers about the historic strike by their fellow workers at the companys plant in Greeley, Coloradothe largest work stoppage in the US meatpacking industry since the 1950s, now entering its third week.

The WSWS team distributed a Portuguese language version of the statement Organize the working class to support the JBS meatpacking strike! which calls for the international unification of JBS workers as the only effective path to confronting the transnational company and winning real improvements in working conditions and wages across all the countries in which it operates.

The distribution took place against the backdrop of the rapidly escalating global capitalist crisis and the criminal US-Israeli war against Iran. The war on Iran has already triggered a sharp rise in oil and fuel prices worldwide, directly striking Brazilian workers. Donald Trumps tariff offensive is deepening trade tensions and intensifying the assault on the living standards of the working class in both countries. The same pressures that drove Greeley workers to launch a strike are present, with equal force, at JBS plants in Brazil.

Despite the Greeley strike having continued for two weeks, most workers the WSWS spoke with at the Jaguare plant were unaware of its existence. This news blackout is not accidental.

Workers speak out on wages, conditions and JBS

A factory worker, upon receiving the WSWS leaflet, was direct: Something is going on, because the money isnt enough. If we cant have a slightly better quality of lifebecause it seems like things keep falling further behindwhat needs to be adjusted? Its the wages, to keep up with our expenses, right?

The Jaguare complex, which specializes in margarine production, was formerly owned by the US-based corporation Bunge and was acquired by JBS in 2019. The base wage at the plant is R$2,543 (US$486) per month for a 44-hour work weekthree times less than the Necessary Minimum Wage calculated by DIEESE, defined as the minimum for a worker to support a family of four in Brazil, which stands at approximately R$7,629 (US$1,459) per month.

A group of three cleaning workers, upon hearing from the WSWS team that workers in the United States are on strike over very low wages and conditions that wear workers down very quickly, responded without hesitation: We know exactly what thats like.

The WSWS also spoke with independent truck drivers responsible for distributing the plants products. More than one of them, when approached, said spontaneously: This company is garbage.

One of them, Gilson, described in detail the disorganization and lack of basic humanity in the companys operations:

Man, every place has its problems. But here its something else. Theres so much disregard for people. Just today, one of the drivers knocked down a wall inside while maneuvering. The scale has been broken for days, so we have to go inside to sign the invoice. The guy tried to back up and there wasnt enough space. He hit the wall. Hes going to have to pay for it, and hell be blocked, [i.e. barred from working for the company].

Helio, a truck driver who previously had a formal employment contract with JBS and now works for the company as an independent contractor, pointed directly to the companys freight rate squeeze: They showed the [companys] freight rate table. But its wrong. Because theyre so well-connected with the government, no one talks about it. But to put it plainly: they dont follow the official freight table. The standard rate for trucks, for example, is R$3.80 (US$0.73) per kilometer. Here they pay R$2.50 (US$0.48). Thats R$1.30 (US$0.25) less. Hell, if you drove from here to Rio de Janeiro and back, thats R$1,300 (US$249) less on your freight. They pay four thousand [R$4,000, US$765]; you should be earning R$5,300 (US$1,014).

Helio also spoke about the impact of the war against Iran on fuel prices: Its going to have an effect, its going to hurt. Recent surveys indicate that diesel prices have risen nearly 20 percent at distributors and fuel stations across Brazil. There are gas stations out there where diesel is already R$8.80 (US$1.68) a literits outrageous, he said. Since I only drive in the city its still just about manageable, but putting the truck on the highway just doesnt pay.

Union bureaucracys hostility to the international unity of JBS workers

Representatives of the Union of Workers in the Dairy and Food Industries of Sao Paulo (STILASP) had visited the Jaguare plant just days earlier, with the stated purpose of directly engaging with workers, listening to their demands and reinforcing the importance of collective organization and broadening resistance against the employers attacks. The last thing that could have crossed these bureaucrats minds was to draw attention to the historic strike at the companys Greeley plantwhich is not so much as mentioned by the union.

This silence is not a casual omission. JBS workers in Brazil, the United States and other countries are all subordinated to a single regime of exploitation for the benefit of the same international financial oligarchy, and united by the same objective class interests. The union bureaucraciesin Brazil as in the United Statesare actively opposed to the political affirmation of that unity. While cross-border unification is the greatest weapon JBS workers have in confronting the corporation, the union bureaucracies have their interests and operations firmly anchored in the outmoded bourgeois nation-state.

STILASPs leadership, installed in August 2024 in a single-slate electoral process, placed the defense of Brazils reindustrialization at the center of its political programan explicitly nationalist program aligned with big capital. Its inauguration ceremony was held at the headquarters of the General Union of Workers (UGT), in a joint affiliation event attended by UGT president Ricardo Patah and Antonio Magri, former Labor Minister under the right-wing government of Fernando Collor.

The UGT is historically associated with pelego unionismcompany unionismand with the semi-fascist nationalist laborism of former president Getulio Vargas. Alongside the other Brazilian union federations, the UGT has responded to the world capitalist crisis and the escalation of imperialist aggression with an increasingly open defense of the interests of Brazilian big capital.

In response to Trumps tariffs against Brazillaunched in 2025 as an open act of imperialist intervention in defense of the former fascist President Jair Bolsonarothe union federations met with representatives of the PT government and national business representatives and published a document which, as the Socialist Equality Group (GSI) wrote at the time, expressed support for the positions of the National Congress and the Supreme Court, hailed expressions of opposition from sectors of the press and the business community, and proposed creating permanent spaces for collaboration between government, workers and employers.

The reactionary nationalist program advocated by the trade unions represents a call for continuing the capitalist policies pursued under the first PT administrations of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the beginning of the 21st century, which built up JBS as the massive transnational corporation it is today.

In what became known as the national champions policy, the PT administration selected a handful of private groups to receive colossal sums of state investment and political backing. In the context of the so-called commodities boom driven by the growth of Chinese economy, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) injected at least 8.1 billion reais (approximately US$3.24 billion) into the Batista brothers meatpacking company between 2005 and 2014, financing a sequence of acquisitions across four continentsincluding Swift and Pilgrims Pride in the United States, Tasman in Australia, Inalca in Italy, and Swift Armour in Argentina. JBSs revenues jumped from 4 billion reais (US$1.86 billion) in 2006 to 170 billion (US$48.6 billion) in 2016: a 3,400 percent increase in ten years, bankrolled with public money and converted into private profit.

This process did not merely produce a large company; it produced a distinct financial oligarchy in Brazil. When a massive corruption scandal involving JBS and the Brazilian political establishment erupted in 2017, Joesley Batista revealed during his plea bargain depositions that the JBS controller had paid approximately R$500 million (US$156 million) in bribes to politicians from virtually every relevant party in the country, including presidents of the Republic, ministers and senior BNDES officials. While Joesley and his brother spent some six months in jail, these capitalist oligarchs power was preserved intact.

The overwhelming influence of the Batistas, emblematic of the parasitic financial elite over political life in Brazil and beyond, emerged with full force in relation to the recent explosive developments related to the US imperialist drive on Latin America.

When US tariffs on Brazilian beef exports were raised to 76 percent, Joesley Batista arranged, totally independent from Brazils diplomatic channels, a 30-minute meeting with Trump in the Oval Officereportedly the only Brazilian businessman to have gained direct access to the American fascistto argue that the tariffs were disrupting JBSs global operations.

This same role as an extraofficial political operator assumed an even more sinister form months later, in November 2025, just weeks before the US military invasion of Venezuela, Batista secretly traveled to Caracas to meet with Nicolas Madurowith the knowledge of the White House according to Bloombergto persuade him to relinquish power. No episode more clearly illustrates what the power of a transnational capitalist oligarchy actually means in concrete terms: the capacity to operate simultaneously in meat markets, on the New York Stock Exchange and behind the scenes of a military regime-change operation.

It is in this context that the character of the relationship between JBS and the union federations must be understood. Batistas plea agreement not only revealed his relations to the political establishment, but to the official unions themselves. He cultivated massively lucrative operations with workers pension fundsthe Funcef, covering Caixa Economica Federal employees, and Petros, covering Petrobras workersand had his entry facilitated by CUT unions officials who sat on the co-managed boards of those funds.

Among those called in by the Federal Police for questioning in the investigations against Batista was none other than Ricardo Patah, president of the UGT, the same federation to which STILASP affiliated in a festive ceremony in August 2024. This was not a coincidence, but continuity: the same bureaucracy that helped build the JBS oligarchy with workers money now presents itself as their representative at the gates of the Jaguare plant.

The trajectory of JBSfrom a regional slaughterhouse to a transnational corporation, built with public money, sustained by systemic corruption and operated as an instrument of imperialist policyis the most eloquent indictment of the nationalist program promoted by the Brazilian unions, the PT and the pseudo-left. The history of JBS demonstrates, incontrovertibly, that there is no national capital to be defended against imperialism and that nationalism is not a weapon of the working class.

The interests of JBS workers and of the entire working class can be effectively defended only through the establishment of their active international unity, through the building of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). We encourage all workers who wish to discuss this perspective to contact the WSWS.
Elevenlabs AudioNative Player

The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, front, and the landing ship USS Carter Hall, back travel through the Red Sea, Tuesday, August 8, 2023. [AP Photo/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Riley Gasdia/U.S. Navy]

On Monday morning, US President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that the United States and Iran had held conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East. He said he had instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period.

Just two days earlier, Trump had threatened to destroy Irans power plants if the country did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Trump said that he is postponing an attack for just five days. This is completely inconsistent with the claim that major progress has been made toward a negotiated settlement. What it means is that Trump is working within the framework of ultimatums. No one would expect that this war could be settled within five dayseven if negotiations were going extremely well. At best, it might be possible to hold out the possibility of an indefinite ceasefire to allow talks to proceed. Nothing of the sort was indicated by Trump. The entire story is not simply unbelievable. It is sinister.

Trump has used negotiations as cover for military strikes three times in the past year. In January, US officials indicated they were seeking negotiations with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hours before the raid in which he was kidnapped by US special forces. In June 2025, while indirect talks with Iran were ongoing, seven B-2 bombers hit Irans nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer. On February 28, the US murdered Irans supreme leader and launched the current war while negotiators were engaged in talks in Geneva that had concluded just two days earlier. Every time, Trump talked peace while plotting a criminal war of aggression.

It cannot be excluded that discussions are ongoing in some format. But if talks had been taking place, they would have been with the same people Trump has publicly threatened to murder or already attempted to murder. In statements to the press on Monday, Trump boasted: Weve wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two and largely phase three.

The five-day window corresponds closely with the timeline for the arrival of Marine forces capable of launching a ground invasion. Two Marine amphibious groupsthe Tripoli from Okinawa and the Boxer from San Diegoare converging on the Persian Gulf with roughly 4,500 Marines. The Tripoli is arriving this weekend. An additional 50,000 US troops are already deployed across the region.

On Monday, just hours after Trump made his announcement, the New York Times carried an article titled Pentagon Officials Weigh Deployment of Airborne Troops for Iran War. The article reported that senior military officials are preparing to deploy a combat brigade from the 82nd Airborne Divisions Immediate Response Force3,000 soldiers capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hoursto seize Kharg Island, Irans main oil export hub.

Nearly four weeks of bombingmore than 8,000 targets struck, according to CENTCOM, 130 naval vessels destroyed, the supreme leader and dozens of senior officials assassinatedhave not overthrown the Iranian government or reopened the Strait of Hormuz. Airstrikes alone cannot accomplish what the administration set out to do. The US media is already agitating for a ground invasion. The Wall Street Journal has argued that control of Kharg Island is the key to forcing open the Strait of Hormuz.

An operation to seize Kharg Islandor any other strategic point tied to the Strait of Hormuzwould not be improvised over a weekend. It would be planned and set in motion weeks in advance, with preparatory strikes shaping the battlefield, forces repositioned across oceans and units placed on alert. A source with knowledge of White House thinking told Axios on March 20: We need about a month to weaken the Iranians more with strikes, take the island and then get them by the balls and use it for negotiations.

Irans foreign minister has directly rejected Trumps claims. There are no talks with the United States, he stated. President Trumps statements are an attempt to lower energy prices and buy time for military plans. This assessment corresponds to the objective reality. The five-day pause announced by Trump aligns not with any credible negotiating timetable but with the arrival of Marine and naval assets in the theater and the further softening up of Iranian defense, with US and Israeli strikes on Iran continuing during the five-day period.

Nor can Kharg Island be treated as the only, or even the main, option under consideration. The intense public focus on taking the island could prove to be an attempt to conceal a different military objective: a coastal seizure aimed at physically controlling approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, including major port areas; or deep inland raids on nuclear sites, such as Isfahan or Natanz, requiring thousands of troops and extended occupation of Iranian territory.

The 82nd Airborne doesn't seize islands. It seizes airfields and inland objectives, establishing a perimeter for follow-on forces. A former assistant secretary of defense described the Isfahan scenario as beginning with 'an airborne force seizing the area to establish a protective cordon enabling a sizable assault force of elite units from Joint Special Operations Command to secure the facilities.' That is what the 82nd Airborne trains for. Its involvement suggests an inland mission, not an amphibious island assault.

Whatever option is, or already has been, selected, it will result in a massive loss of lives, both Iranian and American.

The Washington Post reported last week that the administration is seeking $200 billion from Congress to fund the war, a supplement that would bring this years direct military spending above $1 trillion. For comparison, at the peak of the Iraq occupation, when 170,000 American soldiers were on the ground, annual war spending reached $144 billion. The Iran war has not yet involved ground troops, and the administration is already demanding more.

This war is part of a plan to re-establish American global hegemony through global war. The $200 billion supplemental is not the cost of a limited war. It is the down payment on an escalating global war directed ultimately at China, which purchases 37.7 percent of all crude oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

All of this is unfolding within the framework of complete illegality. The United States has launched a war of aggressionthe crime for which Nazi leaders were prosecuted at Nuremberg. The systematic assassination of Irans political and military leaders constitutes a campaign of extrajudicial killing prohibited by the laws of armed conflict.

The war was launched without a declaration of war or congressional authorization. Far from opposing the war, however, the Democrats have funded and endorsed it. The entire Democratic leadershipSchumer, Jeffries, Durbin, Clark, Aguilarvoted for the $839 billion military budget. On ABCs This Week, former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Donna Brazile declared: Democrats understand that Iran has posed a threat, not just to the region, the Gulf, but to the world itself.

What is being revealed is a complete breakdown of the mechanisms of democracy. A president launches an illegal war, murders the leaders of a country, threatens a war of annihilation against a nation of 90 million peopleand there exist no mechanisms within the political establishment capable of opposing, let alone stopping, this ever-expanding war.
Family on the picket line at the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana.

Almost 900 workers at the BP Whiting refinery in northwest Indiana remain on the picket lines after being locked out by the oil giant on March 19. BPs last, best and final offer was nothing less than a declaration of war against the oil workers, with the company demanding job cuts, reductions in pay and free rein to introduce AI-based automation and further job cuts down the line.

With an output of around 440,000 barrels per day, the refinery is the largest inland facility in the country and the largest in the Midwest, refining crude from Canada and Texas delivered via pipeline.

Workers at the refinery are overwhelmingly united in their opposition to BPs demands. They voted by 98.3 percent to reject the offer, with a 94 percent turnout. Locked-out workers are receiving widespread support from the local community who are supporting the pickets and expressing solidarity with their struggle by dropping off food and other supplies.

Workers expressed concern not only for the attacks on their own jobs and living standards but for the environmental impact of the contract proposals and the lockout. The Whiting refinery is adjacent to residential neighborhoods and has a history of violating federal air quality standards. According to workers, BP intends to eliminate the entire Environmental Department at the refinery.

Workers noted that the refinery is over 100 years old and that their long experience gives them a much deeper understanding of how to avoid serious problems that might be missed by engineers and other salaried workers, who are not as close to the actual conditions at the plant. They say this is all the more true given BPs preference for quick fixes that maintain the refinerys output. Managements attempts to keep up output during the lockout creates a real danger of equipment damage or catastrophic failure.

As if to drive the point home, on Monday a massive explosion rocked the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. No injuries were reported as of this writing, but this is the second major incident at a US refinery in the last six months, following an explosion at a refinery in the Los Angeles area last October.

Several workers the WSWS spoke to were on the list to lose their jobs as BP moves to eliminate 115 positions in non-core crafts, such as HVAC and the construction of scaffolding. Under BPs proposals, their job functions are to be transferred to contractors, who already make up a substantial part of the workforce.

According to the United Steelworkers (USW), 300 union jobs have been eliminated at the refinery since the 2015 sellout contract. An article in Business Focus magazine reports the plants workforce is around 3,000, of whom 1,500 are contractors. Under a third are USW members.

Workers also expressed anger over BPs proposal to reclassify workers in order to cut their pay while claiming to raise average base wages by $7 per hour over the next four years. BP also wants to impose a 6-year contract on the refinery, which would remove Whiting from the national pattern bargaining timeline and set a precedent for other facilities.

However, workers are being hamstrung by the leadership of the United Steelworkers (USW), which completely ceded the initiative to BP and gave the company ample time to train salaried workers and contractors to prepare for a lockout.

Workers are also being left on their own to deal with the financial repercussions of the lockout. The USW will not pay any benefits until three weeks have elapsed, and while Local 7-1 does have a strike fund, that money is reserved for those who are most in need, meaning most workers are totally on their own for several weeks. Workers are also on the hook for paying the full costs of their health insurance during the lockout. One worker noted he lost $20,000 during the last strike.

Union officials, including USW President Roxanne Brown, have called BPs decision to lock out workers unacceptable and unlawful. Workers told the WSWS that BP wants to break the union, and that the provocative offer was not a serious attempt to get an agreement.

USW officials, however, are doing everything they can to isolate the strike. In February, they announced a national pattern agreement, now being imposed at other facilities, with a paltry 15 percent wage increase over four years. This is the second national contract in a row which will enable US oil and gas companies to make billions in bumper profits off of war-driven shortages. The deal was announced only days before the start of the war against Iran; the last contract was struck right at the start of the war in Ukraine.

BP is demanding a six-year contract at Whiting, removing the facility from national contract talks. Coming after a similar move by ExxonMobil at its plant in Beaumont, Texas, in 2022, this would create a precedent for management to divide and conquer refinery workers across the country.

The bureaucracys overwhelming concern is to secure an agreement that keeps the dues money flowing into its pockets while avoiding any outbreak of militancy which could potentially break free from its suffocating control.

Refinery workers both at Whiting and across the country must organize to break the isolation of the strike and build a national movement uniting workers across the industry.

The beginning of an independent struggle must begin through the formation of a rank-and-file committee in the plant to take control out of the hands of the USW bureaucracy. This committee should link up with oil workers at other refineries around the country and turn the lockout into a nationwide strike against the oil companies to defend jobs, wages and safety.
The foreign ministers of Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates participated in the meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 18, 2026. [Photo: TC_Disisleri/X]

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates held a summit in Riyadh on Wednesday, March 18, titled the Consultative Ministerial Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of a Group of Arab and Islamic Countries on Iranian Aggression, and condemned Iran, which is under illegal assault by the United States and Israel.

In the meetings final statement, the ministers affirmed their condemnation and denunciation of Irans attacks on US targets in Arab countries under the right to self-defense and declared that such attacks could not be justified under any pretext or in any manner whatsoever.

The statement, which distorts the truth, called on Iran to respect international law, international humanitarian law and the principles of good neighborliness, and to put an end to the escalation. The ministers signaled their intention to join the war against Iran by declaring that they would adopt the necessary legitimate measures ... to halt the Iranian heinous attacks on their territories.

This shameful statement, which bears witness to the reactionary nature of the pro-imperialist regimes across the region, not only fails to condemn the unlawful, unprovoked imperialist war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran but also fails to even mention the aggressor by name and instead blames Iran. This statement provides political justification and active support to the Trump administration, which is making criminal threats against Irans energy infrastructure and preparing for a ground operation, using the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a pretext.

By allowing the United States to use their military bases and airspace, these regimes have aided and abetted the killing of dozens of high-ranking Iranian officials, the bombing of civilian infrastructureincluding hospitals and schoolsand the killing of more than 1,000 civilians, at least 210 of whom were children.

The gap between Ankaras support for the waras evidenced by its signing of this statement, which is an expression of its subservient allegiance to US imperialismand the sentiments of the people is so vast that the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has still not been able to publish the statement on its Turkish-language website or social media accounts.

According to a survey conducted by Asal Research in 26 provinces following the US-Israel attack on Iran, 96 percent of participants did not support the war. According to more recent research by Areda Survey, when asked, Is there a legitimate reason for the war launched by Israel and the U.S. against Iran?, 94.7 percent of respondents answered no.

While President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government is unable to openly defend the statement in public, the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) is attempting to exploit the governments predicament; however, in doing so, it is revealing its inability to take a principled stand against imperialist war.

Namk Tan, the CHPs deputy chairman responsible for foreign policy and foreign relations, stated that condemning Iran was appropriate, but then complained that the attacks by the US and Israel against Iran had not been mentioned, and spoke of the importance of international law. In fact, under international law, it is not possible to condemn both the unjust attacks by the US and Israel and Irans legitimate acts of self-defense at the same time.

Regardless of the CHPs token criticisms, it too acts as a mouthpiece for the same ruling class as the Erdogan government. A report submitted by the CHP to NATO in September echoed US and Israeli propaganda, declaring Iran the source of regional instability and recommending NATOs expansion into Middle Eastern countries.

The Turkish bourgeoisie fears that the escalation of the war will drag NATO member Turkiye into the vortex of conflict, trigger a new wave of migration, further increase the influence of its rival Israel, and lead to separatist initiatives by Kurdish nationalist forces linked to the US and Israel in Iran and Turkiye. Ankara therefore continues to call for a solution through negotiations.

However, Ankaras response to the escalation of the war is increasingly aligned with the aggressive Middle East policy of US imperialism. In doing so, the Erdogan government has fully embraced the narrative that portrays the war against Iran as an Israeli war, in order to avoid straining relations with the Trump administration.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking in Qatar on Thursday, once again condemned Iran, stating, As you know, Israel is the instigator of this war that has plunged our region into an unprecedented crisis, and called for putting a stop to Israels expansionism.

This narrative is untrue and aims to conceal Ankaras collaboration with US imperialism and, consequently, with Israeli Zionism. As David North, Chairman of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, stated at an emergency meeting organized by the WSWS: The tail may wag very, very vigorously, but its the dog thats running the show. Israel does not drive American policy. To present this as simply an Israeli war is to provide an alibi for American imperialism and to extract this war from the entire global strategy of the United States.

The Turkish bourgeoisies deep financial and military-strategic ties to imperialism are dragging Turkiyealong with Israels open ally Azerbaijan and collusive Arab regimesinto a reactionary, disastrous war against Iran alongside the United States.

According to a statement from the Ministry of National Defense, following the outbreak of war against Iran, Patriot air defense systems were deployed to the Incirlik Air Base in Adana and the Kurecik Radar Base in Malatya, both of which are used by the US as part of NATO. Ankara has stated that the bases in Turkiye are not currently being used directly in the war against Iran. Tehran has also stated that it has no intention of striking US bases in NATO member Turkiye.

These deployments were made following claims that Iran had fired missiles at Turkiye on three occasions. Tehran had categorically denied these claims. Cumhuriyet columnist Mehmet Ali Guler drew attention to the possibility of a false-flag operation, stating: The U.S. claims that an Iranian missile targeted Turkiye, while Iran asserts that it did not launch an attack against Turkiye. What is certain is that the debris that fell in Hatay and Gaziantep belongs not to the alleged Iranian missile, but to the U.S./NATO munitions said to have struck it. So, while the three missile incidents were not enough to provoke Turkiye against Iran, they served as a pretext for deploying Patriots at Incirlik and Kurecik!

Guler added, At this stage, the Patriots will serve not so much as a protective shield but rather as a tool for the U.S. to integrate Turkiye into its Iran strategy.

The war against Iran is escalating at a time when discontent and spontaneous strikes are on the rise among the working class due to rising living costs and eroding wages in Turkiye. As the Erdogan government prepares for war in cahoots with the Trump administration, this is accompanied by the suppression of opposition at home. The recent arrests of Mehmet Turkmen, chairman of the independent rank-and-file union BIRTEK-SEN, on baseless charges of inciting the public to hatred and hostility, and of BirGun newspaper columnist Ismail Ar on charges of publicly disseminating misleading information, are part of this campaign of repression.

The escalating US-Israeli war against Iran and the collaborationist nature of the Riyadh statement reveal that the anti-war sentiments prevailing among workers and youth in Turkiye, the Middle East, and around the world can only find political expression on the basis of a revolutionary socialist program against imperialism.
Last month, a Your Party Scotland founding conference attracted just 200 people and significantly deepened Your Partys political debacle.

Less than 200 people listening to the speech of Your Party leader Jeremy Corbyn [Photo: Your Party/YouTube]

From the first, Your Party has been bogged down in vicious factional fighting between Jeremy Corbyns The Many faction and Zarah Sultanas Grassroots Left, incorporating much of the British pseudo left.

Both factions put forward social reformism under capitalism.

Corbyn and his supporters, led by longtime Labour Party and trade union apparatchiks, advocate the mildest collection of social improvements. They conceive of the party as an instrument to pressure the Labour Party, which Corbyn never wanted to leave.

Sultana offered a more left-sounding agenda, with occasional mentions of workers control of the economy and more trenchant criticisms of the Labour governments social and war policies.

Thus riven, Your Partys membership has fallen to 41,000 members, of whom 2,500 were delegated to attend the founding conference, and 25,000 voted in the partys leadership elections.

Neither Corbyns nor Sultana s vision of social concessions and opposition to imperialist war under capitalism are remotely viable. Both are completely at odds with the trajectory of British and world capitalism, in which the globally integrated world economy is organised by competing cliques of the capitalist oligarchy based on the most brutal exploitation of the working class. All the social reforms of previous eras are being rapidly destroyed, along with democratic rights, fuelling an eruption of militarism and war.

Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana at The World Transformed event, October 2025

Your Party Scotland conference votes for separatism

Developments in Scotland have deepened the factional fissures. Your Party in Scotland is dominated by the nationalist pseudo left, with the Socialist Party Scotland (SPS), the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the Scottish Socialist Youth (SSY) and a clutch of former Greens all supporting Sultanas Grassroots Left faction. All see Your Party as a vehicle in which to revive their campaign tail ending the Scottish National Partys (SNP) drive for a second Scottish independence referendum. In a 2014 vote, Scottish secession from the UK was rejected by 55 to 45 percent.

In line with this, the Dundee conference voted by a substantial majority to set up an autonomous nation Your Party Scotland (YPS). This was presented by Philip Stott of the SPS as an opportunity to walk away from the collective mistakes, the bureaucratic and top-down measures which have dominated the first seven or eight months of the existence of Your Party...

He then argued for a Scottish version of the English and Welsh partys reformist agenda. After criticising Your Party regarding its restrictive organisational structures, especially the proscription of duel membership of pseudo-left groups, Stott said that rejecting such proscriptions provided an opportunity to fully engage in an independent discussion on how we relate to the Holyrood elections, how we relate to the national question...

The main debate at the founding conference, ignoring all else, was on Scottish independence.

Owen Maitland of Scottish Socialist Youth, and a political officer for Unite the Union, wanted to re-unite the political forces that campaigned alongside the SNP for a Yes vote in the 2014 independence poll.

The Scottish independence movement represented one of the biggest instances of mass-scale working class engagement with a political movement since the days of the miners strike and the poll tax, he claimed. We have to face reality, there is no British road to socialism, there is no route to a better society within the confines of an archaic, crumbling imperial power waging a perpetual class war on behalf of the super rich.

Owen Maitland [Photo: Your Party/YouTube]

Agreeing with Maitland, the conference voted in favour of a political statement which declared:

Your Party Scotland recognises the ongoing and evolving nature of the Scottish constitutional debate, and the variety of deeply held views held by our members and the wider Scottish public. We support and will defend the right to self-determination, including the right of the Scottish Parliament to call a second referendum on independence.

Your Party Scotland believes that an independent Scotland is the best route to improve the lives of people in Scotland and achieve socialism.

YPS voted to stand candidates in the Scottish elections on this basis.

Lessons of the SEPs 2014 campaign for a No vote

Fundamental points must be made on this unequivocal embrace of nationalism and separatism by YPS.

Firstly, there is no national question in Scotland. As the Socialist Equality Party noted in its 2014 statement Vote no in the Scottish referendumFight for a socialist Britain:

Scotland is not an oppressed nation, but part of an imperialist state. Its ruling elite has committed countless crimes and shared in the brutal exploitation of millions the world over. Waving the Saltire [Scottish flag]in peoples faces is meant to conceal the basic fact that workers in Scotland are not oppressed because of their nationality, but because of their class position within capitalist society. This is just as reactionary as the waving of the Union Flag by their opponents. The Act of Union in 1707 provided the framework for the development of capitalism and a vast growth in the productive forces. This in turn formed the basis for the emergence of the first industrial working class in the world. Since then, working people in England, Scotland and Wales have fought side by side in epic struggles, including the great revolutionary Chartist movement for democracy and equality, the general strike of 1926, the mass strike movement that brought down a Tory government in 1974 and the year-long miners strike of 1984-85.

Secondly, social reformism under capitalism is bankrupt everywhere in the world. The prospects of a meaningful and sustained increase in living standards being secured by carving out a new and tiny capitalist state from the UK are non-existent.

Scottish separatism, and the various left garbs in which it is cloaked, serve definite class interests opposed to those of the working class on both sides of the border.

A Trident missile-armed Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarine leaving its base in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland [Photo by bodgerbrooks / CC BY-SA 2.0

The SNP remains the dominant capitalist party in Scotland, seeking ever greater autonomy from Westminster on behalf of Scottish capital. While seeking to maintain stable relations with British imperialism, on which its trade depends, it sees separatism as a means of establishing more direct connections with the European Union and both European and US transnational corporations. The goal is to establish a cheap labour, low-tax investment platform focused on the European market, emulating the policies pioneered by the bourgeoisie in the Republic of Ireland.

This is the perspective which is enthusiastically backed by the declining membership of the pseudo-left tendencies, dominated by aspiring middle class layers in the trade union apparatus, academia, local government and cultural institutions, seeking to benefit from the bounty and status they think would accrue to them within any new state arrangements.

Their cynical talk of anti-imperialism and progressive social reform depends upon their concealing the experiences of other European separatist movements.

In areas such as Catalonia and Flanders, these are aimed at stopping the flow of tax revenues from these relatively rich regions to poorer parts of the country through social spending, allowing a reduction of the tax burden to the benefit of the regional capitalists and the upper middle class. Separatism also gives these elites the freedom to undercut international competitors with corporate tax breaks and slashed protections, accelerating a brutal and fratricidal race to the bottom in terms of the living standards of the working class.

The SNP beneficiaries of the pseudo-left rejection of socialism

Thirdly, Maitlands claims about the working class character of the 2014 separatist movement are bogus. Following decades of betrayals and defeats at the hands of the trade union and Labour Party apparatus, sections of workers and young people in Scotland certainly became caught up with the Yes movement. But they fell in behind a movement dominated by the capitalist SNP and its myriad pseudo-left apologists who echoed the lie that sustained social improvements would follow independence.

While the SNP busied itself with persuading big business and the major imperialist powers that its perspective of a new capitalist state headquartered in Edinburgh would serve their interests, the pseudo left campaigned in working-class areas presenting the same divisive agenda as a step towards socialism.

Although the referendum vote was lost, the main beneficiaries were the SNP who, despite already having years of austerity policies under their belt after the 2008 financial crisis, secured their electoral dominance. Since then, it has almost wholly supplanted the Labour Party in national elections and expelled Labour from many of the local authorities it ran for decades, only to continue and intensify the policies of endless spending squeezes that made Labour so despised.

A picket line of striking teachers at Thornwood Primary school in Glasgow in January 2023 opposing pay cuts demanded by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish National Party government

Maitlands demagogic comments about there being no British road to socialism utilises fake internationalist rhetoric to proclaim a Scottish road to socialism. But bitter experience has demonstrated repeatedly that the break-up of existing capitalist states is a path to social reaction, not progress. In countries such as Spain, Italy and Belgium, pro-capitalist secessionist movements have promoted regional identity in preference to class unity to devastating effect.

The dismemberment of Yugoslavia

In 2014 the SEP noted:

As was proved in Yugoslavia and now again in Ukraine, the promotion of nationalism is a recipe for disaster. If the fake-left get their way and Scotland indeed becomes a model for others, the map of Europe could resemble that of the Middle Ages. And what will be the result of encouraging separatism in India, Africa, Asia, even in North America? Far from weakening imperialism as they claim, history has proven again and again that all such divisions are exploited by the major powers to secure their class interests.

The SEP insisted that the task facing the working class was not the building of smaller and less viable nation states but forging a unified movement for the overthrow of the British capitalist state, and the entire nation state system, through socialist revolution.

Maitlands comments, typical of the Scottish pseudo left, express a political hostility, rooted in definite social interests, towards the prospect of an emergent movement in the working class seeking to overcome national and regional divisions through a unified struggle in defence of jobs, living standards, and democratic rights, and in opposition to imperialist militarism and the capitalist system that gives rise to it.

The YPS conference was followed by a swift breakdown in relations between YPS and the now Corbyn-dominated Your Party HQ in London. YPS elected former Green, Niall Christie, as the Scottish delegate to the Your Party Central Executive Committee (CEC). Christie complained on social media that the Corbyn-led CEC had ignored requests from Scotland for assistance in preparing to stand candidates in the May 7 elections in Scotland.

Niall Christie [Photo: Your Party/YouTube]

No doubt Corbyns faction considered it useful to their relations with Labour and their internal factions to sabotage their comrades election campaign north of the border. The dispute makes it more likely that, sooner rather than later, Your Party Scotland will split from the organisation in England, hastening the collapse of both.

The SEPs call for class unity

The SEP noted in 2014, immediately after the referendum result, Our intervention centred on combating the lies and distortions of the pseudo-left groups. Explaining that the potential breakup of the UK was rooted in the deepening crisis of world capitalism and the outmoded division of the planet into antagonistic nation states, we urged the adoption by the working class of a new socialist and internationalist program and leadership.

In the 12 years since the SEPs principled campaign, the crisis of world capitalism has intensified. Multiple wars for the redivision of the world have already begun, fascism is re-emerging and every single democratic and social right won by working people and the oppressed masses worldwide is under threat.

A new mass socialist party of the working class is urgently needed. But Your Party is not that party. Its accelerating collapse testifies to the outmoded character of its program and perspective, based on national reformism and the maintenance of the capitalist system.

Under todays conditions of globally integrated production, with a massive expansion of the working class globally, only a party which seeks to resolve the contradiction between world economy and the nation state system by directing every social and democratic struggle of working people towards the struggle for world socialism can find a way forward.

As the SEP stated in our 22 October 2025 Open Letter to Your Party supporters:
On Monday, President Donald Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Gestapo to 13 major US airports. He further threatened to send National Guard troops into airport terminals, escalating the administrations fascist campaign to turn the immigration police and National Guard elements into Trumps personal armed political force ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent stands at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in the Queens borough of New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. [AP Photo/Ryan Murphy]

We will also bring out, if we dont have enough, the National Guard, where we need it, to help out at the airports. But we are not going to let this happen, Trump said Tuesday in Memphis, Tennessee.

ICE agents were sent to airports, including Chicago OHare, Cleveland Hopkins, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Houstons Hobby and Bush Intercontinental, JFK and LaGuardia in New York, Louis Armstrong in New Orleans, Luis Munoz Marin in San Juan, Newark Liberty, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Phoenix Sky Harbor, and Southwest Florida International in Fort Myers. The deployment comes amid Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staffing shortfalls and a broader Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget confrontation. As many as 40 percent of TSA screeners did not come into work on Sunday, according to the agency, after going weeks without a paycheck.

It is unclear exactly why some of the airports were chosen. While several, such as Atlantas airport, are among the busiest in the country and have experienced significant delays during the more than six-week partial government shutdown, others are comparatively small and have not faced the same level of disruption.

Atlanta News First reported Monday from Hartsfield-Jackson that even after the arrival of ICE agents, lines still remain long. Traveler Michael Montisano summed up ICEs presence: Theyre here, theyre not helping, adding that he did not expect them to because they are not trained to provide airport security. Video from throughout the day shows the agents milling around and menacing passengers at the various airports.

Speaking in Memphis, Trump made clear that the operation had nothing to do with alleviating long security lines. Instead, he used the airport crisis to demand that Democrats back his attempts to disenfranchise voters. Addressing congressional Republicans, he said, Dont make any deal on anything unless you include voter ID, adding, The most important part of Homeland Security is voter ID and proof of citizenship.

Combining anti-immigrant racism and attacks on transgender people, Trump grunted, [The Democrats] are holding it up because they want to take care of illegal immigrants coming into our country, they want to take care of criminals that are in sanctuary cities, they want to take care of transgender for everybody, literally the mutilization of our children. Men in women sports. But what they dont want to do is give us anything to do with citizenship for voting or voter ID.

He further demanded that Republicans weld the SAVE America Act directly into DHS funding legislation. In other words, Trump is using the airport crisis to force through a voter suppression law designed to disenfranchise millions ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration and is aimed at making it more difficult for millions of eligible voters to cast ballots. In a March 23 New York Times opinion piece, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) warned that the measure was a system for purging eligible voters from the electorate.

He wrote that the purge would begin with the Department of Homeland Security. Under the SAVE Act, every state would be required to turn over its voter rolls to the department, an extraordinary federal intrusion into the state administration of elections. It would hand Washington control over voter eligibility, something Democratic- and Republican-led states have long resisted.

Schumer continued: The next step would involve running the voter rolls through an algorithm that would ostensibly root out noncitizens, a program overhauled by Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has already proved dangerously unreliable. In a trial run of the program in Boone County, Missouri, more than half of the voters flagged as ineligible were, in fact, eligible American citizens. County clerks in Texas also found many examples of wrongly identified voters. Citizens were removed from the voter rolls anyway.

But the fatal premise of the Democratic response is that the assault on democratic rights can be stopped through appeals to the same capitalist institutions and party that enabled Trumps return and refused to hold him accountable for his previous coup attempt.

Schumers conclusion made clear the political dead end of this perspective. Democrats are united in opposing the SAVE Act, he wrote. We know the right to vote is not a partisan advantage to be engineered or withheld. It is the foundation of American democracy.

Speaking from Newark Liberty International Airport, Senator Cory Booker made clear that Democrats want to fund TSA and were demanding immediate funding for the agency, while also calling for the removal of ICE agents from airports. Booker was obliged to acknowledge the deep hostility felt by broad layers of the population toward ICE, an agency identified with raids, detentions and killings. But he stopped far short of calling for its abolition. Instead, the Democratic response remained within the framework of cosmetic reform: demands that ICE abide by civil rights, use warrants and dont kill people with no accountability. He said nothing about Trumps threats to deploy ICE agents to polling stations, nothing about the National Guard threat, and nothing about the broader drive toward dictatorship.

That danger was underscored Monday by Trump co-conspirator Steve Bannon, who declared on his War Room podcast that the airport deployment was a test run for the 2026 midterm elections. Democracy Docket reported Bannon saying, We can use this as a test run, as a test case, to really perfect ICEs involvement in the 2026 midterms, before going further and insisting that ICE is going to be there in the fall of 26, just like theyre in airports today.

The attacks on immigrants are the spearhead for broader attacks on the democratic rights of the entire working class. Trump is using airports, as he has used cities and border operations, as laboratories for new forms of domestic repression. The administration is normalizing the use of armed immigration agents in major civilian spaces under the pretext of security, while its political allies openly describe these measures as preparation for election intervention.

Lessons must be drawn. The failure of Trumps January 6, 2021 coup was not due to any principled or determined resistance from the Democratic Party or the trade union apparatus. Its failure lay above all in the inexperience, confusion and ineptitude of Trumps paramilitary allies, including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, who were unable to secure hostages, seize the Electoral College ballots and consolidate control of the Capitol. In the aftermath, the Democrats worked to contain and suppress mass opposition, channeling everything back behind the institutions of the capitalist state.

Their central line after the failed coup was the construction of a strong Republican Party in the name of national unity, including waging war against Russia in Ukraine and supporting Israels genocide in Gaza. Trump and his principal co-conspirators were never held to account politically or legally in any serious way for the attempt to overturn the election. He was allowed to return to the White House and resume the same conspiracy under conditions far more advanced than in 2021.

Since returning to office, Trump has continued to insist that he did not lose the 2020 election, has threatened to stay in office past 2028, and has already overseen confirmed seizures of election materials in Georgia, where the FBI took ballots, voter rolls and tabulator tapes from Fulton County, and in Puerto Rico, where federal officials seized voting machines and related data. In Arizona, the FBI has subpoenaed election audit records. Trumps threat to send National Guard troops into airports comes amid the ongoing military occupation of Washington D.C., where the Guard deployment was already extended through the end of 2026 and is now reportedly under consideration for continuation through early 2029, to the end of Trumps term.

Under conditions of historic unpopularity, intensified by war, rising prices and mass deportation operations that have provoked outrage among workers, students and immigrant communities, Trump and the financial oligarchy he represents know that they cannot rely on a democratic process. Hence, the SAVE America Act is aimed at stripping millions of their voting rights through forced re-registration, citizenship checks and the integration of election procedures with the DHS apparatus, giving the administration another weapon to target those it regards as politically hostile.

The task facing workers and youth is not to place their faith in the Democrats, who have again demonstrated that they will not mount a serious struggle against dictatorship and war. It is to turn to the working class, the only revolutionary social force in capitalist society, and build a mass movement independent of both big business parties to drive the fascists and their agents out of the airports, the neighborhoods and Washington itself.
BEIRUT, March 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 17 people were killed and several others wounded in a series of Israeli airstrikes and ground operations across southern Lebanon, Mount Lebanon, and Beirut's southern suburbs overnight and early Tuesday, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The Israel military on Tuesday confirmed its strikes, saying that it had completed another wave of airstrikes across Lebanon, targeting fuel stations belonging to a Hezbollah-controlled company.

An Israeli airstrike targeted the village of Bchamoun in the Aley district, killing two and wounding five others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry Emergency Operations Center.

In southern Lebanon, four people were killed and four others injured in an airstrike that targeted a house in the village of Selaa. Another two people were killed and five others wounded after Israeli warplanes conducted three air raids at dawn on the village of Tayr Debba in the Tyre district.

In the Arqoub area, an Israeli infantry force entered the village of Halta after midnight, raided a house, and opened fire on its residents, killing one and wounding several others.

Later, an Israeli airstrike targeted a pickup truck at the junction of the village of Chehabiyeh, killing one Syrian national. Two people were also killed and two others wounded in an airstrike that targeted the area between Adloun and Abu al-Aswad.

An Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the town of Maaroub, killing one person, while another person, identified as Mahmoud Hamad, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Kfar Tebnit. Three people were also killed in an airstrike that targeted a house in the Mieh Mieh camp east of Sidon.

The latest Israeli attacks, coming after Israel bombed five bridges over the Litani River, were part of Israel's attempt to weaken Hezbollah's financial infrastructure.

Hezbollah entered the confrontation on March 2 by launching rockets from southern Lebanon toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire on Nov. 27, 2024, prompting Israel to carry out an intensified military campaign targeting multiple areas across the country. 
BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China's top diplomat Wang Yi met with Jonathan Powell, British prime minister's national security adviser, in Beijing on Monday, and the two sides exchanged views on the situation in Iran, the Ukraine crisis and other issues.

Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, introduced China's objective and impartial position, stating that the spillover effects of the situation in Iran have expanded and the prolonged war will only bring more damage and serious aftereffects.

What all parties should do now is not to add fuel to the fire but to address the root cause and jointly bring the issue back to the track of political settlement through dialogue and negotiation, Wang added.

Noting that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's successful and historic visit to China in January was positively received in both countries and by international community, Wang said this fully demonstrates that developing a long-term, stable comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Britain is an inevitable trend and aligns with the aspirations of the people.

It also shows that as long as both sides move toward each other and engage in constructive communication, they can properly address challenges and issues to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, Wang added.

Both sides should implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, carry out exchanges at all levels, deepen cooperation in various fields, effectively manage differences, and promote the consistent and forward development of China-Britain relations, Wang said.

For his part, Powell said that the British side is willing to work with China to implement the outcomes of Prime Minister Starmer's visit to China, enhance communication and cooperation, and jointly develop a long-term and consistent comprehensive strategic partnership. 
Chance the Rapper courtesy of Renee Dominguez/Getty Images

Chance the Rapper has won an exploitation countersuit against his ex-manager, Pat Corcoran. The legal battle began at the end of 2020, when Corcoran sued the rapper for breach of contract, claiming he was owed $3.8 million in unpaid expenses and royalties after being terminated by Chance in 2020. Two months later, Chance filed his own lawsuit, alleging that Corcoran breached his fiduciary responsibilities, diverted business opportunities to his separate companies, and demanded and accepted kickbacks. The countersuit asked for at least $1 million in damages.

At Chicagos Daley Center on Friday, March 20, a Cook County jury found that there wasnt sufficient evidence that Corcoran was owed $3.8 million in damages. After deliberating for two hours, reports the Chicago Sun-Times, the jury decided that Corcoran owed Chance $35, and suggested Corcoran flip the internet domain name ChanceRaps.com, the website Corcoran once used to sell Chance the Rapper merchandise. I claim victory in the name of the Lord, Chance told the Sun-Times after the verdict was announced.

Advertisement Advertisement

We respect the jurys decision, but the message to music managers is clear: Get it in writing, Corcorans lawyer Jay Scharkey said in a statement via the Sun-Times. The jury award of $35 speaks to how seriously the jury viewed Chances case.

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows a job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A two-day job fair for universities of science and technology kicked off here on Tuesday. The event gathers more than 500 enterprises and provides over 17,000 jobs covering multiple industrial fields including electrical engineering, automation, computer science and new materials. (Photo by Liu Yang/Xinhua)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows a job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A two-day job fair for universities of science and technology kicked off here on Tuesday. The event gathers more than 500 enterprises and provides over 17,000 jobs covering multiple industrial fields including electrical engineering, automation, computer science and new materials. (Photo by Liu Yang/Xinhua)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows a job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A two-day job fair for universities of science and technology kicked off here on Tuesday. The event gathers more than 500 enterprises and provides over 17,000 jobs covering multiple industrial fields including electrical engineering, automation, computer science and new materials. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

A job seeker exchanges contact information during a job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, March 24, 2026. A two-day job fair for universities of science and technology kicked off here on Tuesday. The event gathers more than 500 enterprises and provides over 17,000 jobs covering multiple industrial fields including electrical engineering, automation, computer science and new materials. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows a job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A two-day job fair for universities of science and technology kicked off here on Tuesday. The event gathers more than 500 enterprises and provides over 17,000 jobs covering multiple industrial fields including electrical engineering, automation, computer science and new materials. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows a job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A two-day job fair for universities of science and technology kicked off here on Tuesday. The event gathers more than 500 enterprises and provides over 17,000 jobs covering multiple industrial fields including electrical engineering, automation, computer science and new materials. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Job seekers talk with staff members from enterprises during a job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, March 24, 2026. A two-day job fair for universities of science and technology kicked off here on Tuesday. The event gathers more than 500 enterprises and provides over 17,000 jobs covering multiple industrial fields including electrical engineering, automation, computer science and new materials. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows a job fair at Harbin University of Science and Technology in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A two-day job fair for universities of science and technology kicked off here on Tuesday. The event gathers more than 500 enterprises and provides over 17,000 jobs covering multiple industrial fields including electrical engineering, automation, computer science and new materials. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
A reality TV star and Scituate native is returning to her roots as she continues to grow her food business.

Emma Hernan of the television show "Selling Sunset" has purchased a $4.6 million 28,000-square-foot frozen food manufacturing facility in Hingham, the Boston Business Journal reported.

Selling Sunset is a reality television series created for Netflix that revolves around the agents at Oppenheim Group, a high-end real estate brokerage firm in Los Angeles.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Hingham facility will produce items for Hernan's food brand Coast to Coast, including frozen seafood dishes like crab cakes and shrimp spring rolls. The brand launched exclusively at Target nationwide in February.

The factory will also make products for brands owned by members of Hernan's family, like Yankee Trader Seafood. The facility will employ about 50 people and open in July.

Ammea Hernan family already has a South Shore presence

According to the Boston Business Journal, the Hernan the family operates a 32,000-square-foot facility in Hingham that has about 100 employees, as well as a factory in Pembroke.

Hernan's maternal grandfather, Gerry McAdams, founded the Pembroke-based Yankee Trader Seafood. The company is now co-run by Hernans mother, Stephanie Hernan, and other family members.

Advertisement Advertisement

Her late paternal grandfather, Thomas W. Hernan, served on the Cohasset Fire Department, while her father, Thomas G. Hernan, was a firefighter in Scituate.

Scituate native Emma Hernon appears in Season 4 of "Selling Sunset" on Netflix.

Food, dining and grocery reporter Jessica Trufant can be reached at jtrufant@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Reality TV star buys frozen food plant in Hingham
NEED TO KNOW

Lexi Frederick, 16, suffered a stroke when she was just 6 weeks old and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy

Since then, she's participated in pageants and used the stage as a platform to raise awareness about pediatric strokes and disabilities

Pediatric strokes affect 1 in 4,000 newborns and 2,000 older children annually, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine

An Iowa teen is spreading awareness about pediatric strokes over a decade after her own experience.

Lexi Frederick, 16, suffered a stroke when she was just 6 weeks old. Her unexpected medical emergency  which doctors still dont know the cause of  eventually led to the diagnosis of cerebral palsy and epilepsy, according to KCCI.

Advertisement Advertisement

Frederick has trouble doing everyday tasks, like tying her shoes, due to stiffness on the right side of her body.

"Sometimes, I feel like I am not as good as others because of the limitations that I have, but I adapt, and I just be myself," she told KCCI.

Those limitations dont stop her; she finds joy in being on stage, from participating in pageants to giving motivational speeches. The teen realized she could turn her passion for pageants into a platform, encouraging teens with disabilities and raising awareness about pediatric strokes.

"I just want to change the world, make it a better place for everyone, no matter where they come from, not matter what challenges they have, she told the outlet. I want everyone to know that even a small thing like a smile makes a difference in the world."

NICU babies in Hatay, Turkiye on February 24, 2023.

Credit: Mahmut Serdar Alakus/Anadolu Agency via Getty

Her work has also helped her become one of the nine finalists for the National Stroke Association's Stroke Hero Award  the winner of which will be announced on May 1.

Advertisement Advertisement

She told the outlet one of her life mottos is "Kids can have strokes too.

Frederick explained that she wants everyone to be aware of pediatric strokes so they can support and understand others. She doesnt want people to avoid those with the condition; instead, she wants them to help them feel good about themselves.

In 2025, Lexis mother, Kelli, told International Alliance for Pediatric Stroke that in the years after Lexis stroke, she had her share of ups and downs, but her innate happy demeanor has brought learning and joy for many.

Lexi has been a pillar of hope and inspiration, advocating for pediatric stroke, sharing her story, and developing into a powerhouse of change and positivity, Kelli said. Lexi is someone who is not afraid to try, to share her passion, and to help others with encouragement, creating waves of change across the world. We are so proud of her!"

Advertisement Advertisement

Pediatric strokes are a rare condition affecting one in every 4,000 newborns and an additional 2,000 older children each year, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

When a newborn suffers from a stroke, they typically will have seizures, extreme sleepiness or altered mental status and the use of only one side of the body. Causes of pediatric strokes include congenital heart defects, blood vessel problems, blood clotting disorders, and sickle cell disease, per the research university.

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.

PEOPLE reached out to the Frederick family for comment.

Read the original article on People
Dear Abby: I'm a Christian. I've raised my family to be Christians, and they have raised theirs to be Christians, even though we may not all be members of the same denomination.

One of my grandsons believes that his denomination is the only one and the rest of us are all sinners. He and his wife have decided that no one outside of his church can see his child. It's his decision, his choice, but I'm heartbroken and, of course, angry. I'm afraid my great-grandchild will grow up never knowing his great-grandparents or his grandparents. I believe that I will never know him.

I told my grandson I understand that this is his family and, therefore, his choice. He knows I'm heartbroken. Since they won't be coming to family gatherings, how should I handle gifts in the future? Should I acknowledge the baby and send a gift in the mail? I pray that someday soon my grandson realizes that we love him and his family.

Advertisement Advertisement

 Principled in Florida

Also: Alcoholic ex refuses to accept it's over

Dear Principled: I always thought Christianity was a welcoming religion. This is the first time I have heard of a denomination that decides other Christians are not Christian enough. The church your grandson has joined sounds more like a cult than a religion. Before making any decisions about how, what or whether to gift anything to the new baby, ask your grandson whether accepting a gift from an "outsider" is even allowed.

Dear Abby: A dear friend of 40 years, "Dorothy," came to visit me for my birthday. She has visited numerous times over the years, and this was her third trip to my current home. As we were walking into the garage to take my car for a drive, she slipped off a small step and fell, injuring her shoulder and foot. Six months later, she still wasn't healing and said she would file a claim against my insurance to cover some of her expenses (her medical was covered, but she needed more in-home care and had to board her dog for many months).

Advertisement Advertisement

My insurance company has been diligent about investigating the incident and decided I had no liability as a homeowner. They determined that Dorothy's physical condition (diabetes, neuropathy in her feet, obesity) was more likely the cause of her fall and slow recovery. They recommended I have no contact with Dorothy, so we haven't spoken in eight months. When she learns of the insurance company's decision, I suspect she may sue me next.

I truly don't feel I am at fault. The area was clearly lit, there was no clutter or other impediments, and she had been up and down that step many times. I'm sorry to lose a treasured, decades-long friendship, but here we are. Am I wrong?

 Innocent in the West

Dear Innocent: You are wrong to end a 40-year friendship because some employee at an insurance company told you not to speak to Dorothy eight months ago. What you should have done then was tell your friend to contact her insurance company so the two companies can thresh out in court who is responsible for what and to what degree. It may not be too late to revive the friendship if you give her a call now.

Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Dear Abby: Grandson restricts access to his righteous flock
Easter never lands on the same date two years in a row. It can shift by more than a month, reshaping the entire spring calendar.

Wondering if it's late or early this year? Here's what to know about why it moves and which spring holidays are coming up.

Christmas always falls on Dec. 25, but some religious holidays aren't tied to one date. Movable feasts change every year. Some depend on which denomination is celebrating.

Advertisement Advertisement

The first day of spring has come and gone.

We're almost done with the 40 days of Lent right now. Holy Week will be here soon, followed by Easter.

Here's what you need to know about upcoming Christian holidays. Plan photos, egg dying and family meals around your 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

During Lent, many Christians avoid meat on Fridays and on Ash Wednesday. Some give up personal vices or habits (like eating sugar) and do extra prayers or service activities.

When was the spring equinox?

The spring or vernal equinox is the first day of spring. It was on March 20, 2026.

When is Easter in 2026?

Most Christians, including Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians, will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 5, 2026.

Is Easter early or late in 2026?

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.

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 does Easters date change every year?

On the Gregorian calendar, Easter is the Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox.

Advertisement Advertisement

2026 skygazing: When every full moon shines in this year. Dates, times for MS and the history behind each name

Why do some churches celebrate Easter, Lent on different days?

Most Christian churches use the Gregorian calendar. The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the older Julian calendar. They celebrate on Sunday, April 12, this year.

Their dates for Lent accordingly run from Monday, Feb. 23, to Saturday, April 11, 2026.

The two calendars wont match Easter dates again until 2028, according to Greek City Times.

Why do we celebrate with a chocolate bunny?

The chocolate bunny traces back to German Easter traditions and symbols of spring fertility.

What is Holy Week?

Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday.

Holy Wednesday, also called Spy Wednesday, is just before the Triduum.

Advertisement Advertisement

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. It's the story of Jesus' last days and crucifixion.

When is Good Friday this year?

Good Friday marks the day Christians believe Jesus died 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.

The date is April 3, 2026.

Is Good Friday a federal or state holiday? Will I be off work?

No, Good Friday is not a federal holiday, per a calendar from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Advertisement Advertisement

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 for Lent, Holy Week and Good Friday in MS
A blind harbor seal has found a new home at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

His name is Onion and hes 11 years old.

He was found in 2015, stranded at just 17 months old on Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He was rescued by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and admitted to the National Marine Life Centers marine animal hospital on Cape Cod for rehabilitation before joining the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

Advertisement Advertisement

During his recovery, Onion developed a serious eye infection that left him blind in his right eye and with a lesion in his left eye, making him non-releasable to the wild. Since then, hes had both eyes removed for his own comfort.

Onion lived in Cleveland for about 10 years. He recently relocated to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium after receiving an Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP) breeding recommendation with the zoos two females, Riley and Qilak.

Animals like Onion remind us how adaptable and resilient marine mammals can be when given the right care, said Jen DeGroot, the Rocky Shores Curator at Point Defiance Zoo. Were excited for guests to get to know him and see how well hes adjusting to his new home.

According to the zoo, Onion is already getting along swimmingly with Qilak and Riley. Qilak, born in 2004, is the eldest of the trio and is known by keepers for her calm, confident demeanor. Riley, born in 2011, is described as shy and sweet.

Advertisement Advertisement

Were incredibly proud of the care our team provided to Onion during his time at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, said Chris Kuhar, Executive Director of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. We are happy he will be at a facility that will support his long-term wellbeing and continued success. His Species Survival Plan recommendation reflects the importance of accredited zoos working together to advance conservation, and we know he will serve as an inspiring public ambassador for harbor seals and marine life.

The community is invited to meet Onion this weekend during his public debut, March 27-March 29.
Like many Jewish holidays, the Passover celebration beginning Wednesday, April 1 is very much focused on food. In turn, New York City restaurants and even bakeries and sweet shops are churning out special Passover-inspired meals, dishes and treats for the eight-day holiday. Note that some of these foods are not rabbinically certified as kosher for Passover, but made in the spirit of the holiday without any flour or leavening.

The trendy bakery downtown is making its own Passover treats this spring. Pre-order sheets of Elbows own matzo, Meyer lemon macaroon tarts and Passover chocolate chocolate russe for pickup between March 31 and April 8.

Executive chef Hillary Sterling is hosting her annual intimate Passover dinner on Tuesday, April 7 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to celebrate the holiday, build community and honor traditions from her own Seders growing up.

Advertisement Advertisement

The evening includes a four-course, family-style dinner that blends Chef Hillarys Jewish and Italian traditions, including her wood-fired matzo with ramp-horseradish butter. Dinner is $165 per person, including beverage pairings. The matzo is also available for pre-order for pickup from March 31 through April 9.

The famous Lower East Side deli is offering a Passover dinner for shipping and local pickup. Designed to serve up to 8 adults, the complete dinner includes gefilte fish, matzo ball soup, slow-cooked brisket with gravy, potato kugel and a honey cake for $180.00. Dishes are also available to order a la carte, with additions like kishka and mini latkes.

The Passover spread from Katz's on the Lower East Side Katz's

The Russian Tea Room will celebrate all eight days of Passover with a special holiday menu, featuring Eastern European staples like matzo ball soup, gefilte gish and kugel, along with other dishes like mint-crusted lamb chops and filet mignon. The menu items will be served with a Seder plate, with Haggadahs available upon request, for $145 per person ($85 for children).

In Tribeca, Bubbys is hosting a special Seder dinner on April 1 and 2. Guests are invited to bring their own Haggadah. Whether its your first Seder or 100th, the three-course menu features classic Jewish comfort dishes including pot roast, chopped liver, deviled eggs, matzo ball soup and a special matzo crust berry pie, for $100 per person. Reservations are in two-hour blocks from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

New Yorks 103-year-old chocolatier is offering a lineup of kosher-certified gourmet chocolates, all handmade at its factory in Brooklyn, available for pick up at any of Li-Lacs six New York City locations or shipped. Treats include chocolate-covered matzo in milk or dark chocolate, 72% dark chocolate dipper orange slices, chocolate truffles and more.
WhatsApp has taken action against the PIN Code scam that has spread widely this year, which allows attackers to take over WhatsApp accounts in seconds.

The scam has spread rapidly in the UK, with messages urging users to rapidly input a code.

But WhatsApp introduced new measures which make it easier (although not impossible) to spot the scam in its early stages.

How does the PIN code scam work?

The PIN code scam usually arrives from a close friend, often someone who you have messaged recently.

Advertisement Advertisement

The person who sends it has already had their account taken over, and sends a message asking you to input a six-digit code for them.

But the six digit code arrives by SMS not WhatsApp, and hands the scammer control of your device.

Scammers get in touch and pretend that it is an emergency (Whatsapp/Rob Waugh)

Other variations fool users into scanning a QR code on their phone, either via bogus websites or QR Code stickers (although these are less common). Once scanned the QR code gives the attacker immediate access to the device.

Paul Bischoff, security and privacy advocate at Comparitech tells Yahoo News: "The six-digit code WhatsApp scam is a standard phishing scam. The scammer attempts to log into your WhatsApp account. When they do so, WhatsApp sends you a six-digit login code.

The scammer sends you a message asking for the code. If you give the scammer the code, they can log in and hijack your WhatsApp account.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Like most scams, scammers will most likely try to instil a sense of urgency in their victims. They will contrive a reason for the code to be a time-sensitive matter. Victims who are rushed to make a decision often make the wrong one, and scammers know this.

What has Meta changed?

Its now harder (although not impossible to fall for the scam) as WhatsApp now offers a warning that a device in a different location is connecting.

Previously there was a smaller on-screen warning, but it was easily overlooked in the heat of the moment.

So, for example, it will say, This will connect your device to a device in Bangkok, Thailand.

Advertisement Advertisement

Meta is now also testing warnings for suspicious Friend requests, and suspicious messages via Messenger.

How can you get back in if you fall victim?

To get back in, choose the option to authenticate yourself via a call, rather than text.

This bypasses the timer the scammer has run up to prevent you resetting via SMS.

How can you protect yourself?

Bischoff says, Never share passwords or one-time codes with third parties. Enable two-factor authentication to prevent hackers from breaking into your account with a single form of verification.

To stop this scam from working, enable two-factor authentication in Whatsapp.

Bischoff says, "Never share passwords or one-time codes with third parties. Enable two-factor authentication to prevent hackers from breaking into your account with a single form of verification."

Advertisement Advertisement

To enable it, tap Account > Two-step verification > Turn on or Set up PIN. This sets up a PIN code which means its harder for criminals to get into your account.

You can also add an email address to the account which also makes it easier to recover in future.
On Monday, Virginias Democratic members of Congress and state health care leaders commemorated the 16th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act online and at a roundtable in Newport News.

They also noted mounting concerns over Americas shifting health care landscape  especially lapsed parts of the ACA program and steep cuts to Medicaid funding.

The ACA helped establish state-run health insurance marketplaces for people without employer-provided insurance or who would have otherwise struggled to purchase private insurance on their own. The ACA also allowed states to expand Medicaid eligibility to help reach more people.

Advertisement Advertisement

The policy was a hallmark of former President Barack Obamas administration that has faced fierce Republican pushback from its inception, with calls to repeal and replace it. In 2017 during President Donald Trumps first term, a repeal effort passed the House of Representatives but fell in the Senate.

They almost got it, if not for John McCains iconic thumbs down, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, said at the roundtable hosted near his district. McCain, the now-deceased Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona, sided with his Democratic colleagues to protect the law.

Though Congressional Republicans have been unsuccessful in undoing the ACA, theyve been able to undermine it and other federal health policy, Virginias Health and Human Resources Secretary Marvin Figueroa emphasized as he sat next to Scott at Mondays gathering.

He likened GOP actions against ACA as sabotage to the program in lieu of being able to successfully eliminate it outright.

Advertisement Advertisement

When they were unable to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they started doing things. So you had a reduction of the period that people had to enroll. You had (them) playing around with the tax credits.

An extension of ACA subsidies was allowed to expire at the end of last year, after Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping budget bill that slashed billions in federal spending on social service programs.

Congress shut down for over a month last fall at an impasse over renewing the credits  which help people at 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level purchase their ACA insurance.

By January, U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, became one of only 17 Republicans nationwide to support extending them. He framed his vote as a strictly temporary solution to spare his constituents from losing coverage while Congress explores other health policies. He has not yet clarified specifics of what those policies could look like.

Advertisement Advertisement

The subsidies have not been renewed and thousands of Virginians have already fallen off their health insurance this year.

Twenty-five thousand Virginians dropped their ACA plans in Virginia as of late February  a number that is three times what it looked like last year, state marketplace director Keven Patchett said last month. About 100,000 of Virginias roughly 400,000 ACA clients had used the expired subsidies for their insurance. The full scope of those who dropped insurance will become clearer this spring, Patchett has said.

The roundtable panelists also weighed in on forthcoming changes to Medicaid that are expected to further spur loss of health insurance coverage in Virginia and nationwide.

State Medicaid director Jeff Lunardi told state lawmakers that about 500,000 Virginians could be at risk of falling off when the compliance date takes effect as dictated by the reconciliation bill.

Virginia state lawmakers will return to Richmond next month to finalize the next state budget. They will try to fund state-level subsidies and invest in state agencies handling Medicaid verifications to prevent significant coverage drop offs where possible.

Advertisement Advertisement

While its a tall order for state lawmakers caught in the funnel between federal and local government, an array of health care providers are facing their own challenge: bracing for growing financial losses as more of their patients become unable to pay for their care.

Sentara vice president of government relations Andy Stephenson said that his health system is getting hit on all sides between its health insurance plan, its hospitals and clinics around the state.

Figueroa and Scott had met with him and regional health providers at the Sentara Community Care Center in Hampton Roads on Monday. The facility, a partnership between the hospital chain and local nonprofits, has wraparound services that include a health clinic, mental health services and a food pantry.

Stephenson said private insurers are likely going to raise premiums over time, due to fewer Virginians being covered by ACA or Medicaid.

Advertisement Advertisement

Uninsured people are likely to put off care until emergencies arise and force them to visit hospital ERs. Hospitals must care for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, but over time negotiations with private insurers can lead to premium spikes and more cost for insured patients to help cover the uncompensated care.

This is a big issue for not just all of us in this room, but for all our friends and families and neighbors, Stephenson said. Every single resident in the commonwealth of Virginia is going to be impacted by this bill.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
IT MIGHT FEEL LIKE AS A COUNTRY were currently flying at 30,000 feet with the plane on fire. But as a longtime Democratic operative, I cant stop thinking about where the plane might be six years in the future.

Why is 2032 keeping me up at night? Because as Americans move to warmer climates, somewhere between eight and twelve congressional seats will move from states Democrats traditionally win to states Republicans traditionally win. It will put whatever success we Democrats have this cycle at permanent risk. And it means that we cant make everythingthis election includedjust about President Donald Trump.

Yes, Democrats have no bigger need this year than to win back the House in order to provide a critical check on the Trump administration. But what we also need to do this year is take advantage of the unique opportunity that Trump has given us to massively (dare I say bigly) expand the map and compete in places that even just two years ago were unthinkable. We need to think beyond this cycle.

Advertisement Advertisement

Because if we dont, were screwed.

The 2032 Cliff

THE CURRENT BASIC MATH for a Democrat to win the Electoral College, and with it the White House, is pretty simple: Win the reliably blue states, plus the blue wall states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and youre president.

But this all changes in 2032. With those eight to twelve congressional seats moving from blue and blue wall states to redder regions, that same path to 270 Electoral College votes now lands you somewhere around 260.

Sure, in 2020, the map expanded a bit when my old boss, Joe Biden, won Arizona and Georgia. But we won those two states by fewer than a combined 23,000 votes that year. Before that, Georgia had voted for a Democrat for president only one other time since 1980, and Arizona only voted Democratic one other time since Harry Truman won the state in 1948. As for North Carolina, a state that feels tantalizingly close each cycle, it has only voted for a Democratic nominee for president twice since Lyndon Johnson won it in 1964: Carter in 1976, and Obama in 2008the latter by about 14,000 votes.

Advertisement Advertisement

Think of it another way. The three states most likely to be the tipping point for Dems in 2032 have each voted for the Democratic nominee only once this century, and by a combined margin of roughly 35,000 votes. And the options to flip states beyond these three are even bleaker: My home state of Florida? Texas? Ohio? Kansas?

You get the point.

Share

But the challenge in the presidential math is like childs play compared to the math for the House of Representatives.

Florida and Texas are expected to gain eight new seats between them after the 2030 census. These are states that have GOP trifectas that will control redistricting.

Advertisement Advertisement

Other states that could see new seats include Utah, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina. How many legislative chambers do you think Democrats control in these four states? If you guessed zero, you nailed it.

On top of this, we have an additional problem: Our coalition is geographically shrinking. Our voters are increasingly living in more compact urban areas while Republican support is growing most everywhere outside of suburban counties with high college-education rates.

In other words, when states draw districts, the GOP already has a built-in advantage because its voters are more spread out.

Hang with me as I nerd out for a second to explain how this works:

Advertisement Advertisement

According to the most recent Cook Political Report ratings of districts, Democrats hold 59 seats where they have a partisan advantage of more than 20 points, compared to the GOP with 35. By comparison, the GOP controls 167 seats where their partisan advantage is between 5 and 20 (compared to 108 for Democrats).1

This demonstrates the compactness of our coalition geographically. And to understand how challenging this is, give yourself this thought experiment: If Dems had to pick up eight to ten seats in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolinaeven in this very favorable electoral climateto win the majority in Congress, could we do it? Realistically, we all know the answer is no.

It wasnt that long ago that Democrats controlled competitive seats in places like Montana and even Tennessee. But today, you can drive more than 1,600 miles from Spokane, Washington to Davenport, Iowa without going through a single Democratic district. The long drive you could take to stay in Democratic-controlled territory is confined to New England or along the Pacific coast.

To maintain control of the House after the next census, we are going to have to win more (and potentially create more) competitive seats in states where Republicans will control the map-making.

Advertisement Advertisement

Thats incredibly daunting.

But its not impossible.

Why? Because Trump is giving us an opening.

The Economist has been tracking Trumps numbers every week since the inauguration. And as prices have continued to rise, voters have demonstrated frustration with his presidency. In just thirteen months, Trumps net approval has gone down among all voters by 18 points. Trump has also seen precipitous drops in his support among Hispanic voters, young voters, moderate voters, and independents.

Its promising political terrain for Democrats. But its not a given we will benefit from it.

Get 20% off for 1 year

Advertisement Advertisement

According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Americans hold a more positive view of ICE than they do of the Democratic party right now. Democrats have a net approval lower than Trumps (by 10 points).

There is one other key detail in the poll that is worth highlighting: A plurality of voters consider themselves either somewhat or very conservative (37 percent), more than those who consider themselves moderate (34 percent) or somewhat or very liberal (29 percent).

Republicans dont need a majority of moderates to win, but Democrats do. To win those voters back to our side, we have to take advantage of Trumps broken promises on the economy, closing the trust gaps on the major issues.

To understand the challenge, and how to solve it, I am going to take you on a trip. Grab a jacket.

IT WAS A COLD AND SNOWY NIGHT in Macomb County in suburban Detroitparticularly for a Florida Man who only packed a heavy hoodie. This is a county that voted for Obama twice, but in 2024 gave Trump 55.8 percent of its votemore than it had given him in the previous two elections or Obama in either 2008 or 2012.

Advertisement Advertisement

Just a few weeks after President Trump took office for the second time, I had traveled north to spend two nights listening to 2024 Trump voters. These werent the type of Trump voters that CNN loves to interview in rural diners. Most of them had supported Barack Obama, and in many cases, Joe Biden in 2020.

These voters were clear-eyed about Trump. They didnt agree with him on everything and they werent looking forward to a return to the drama that drove the news in his first term.

Share The Bulwark

But even with those concerns, they believed Trump would make their own personal financial situation better. Moreover, they expected it. At the same time, they thought my party didnt get itthat Democrats had lurched left and lost touch.

Advertisement Advertisement

That night in Macomb County, I felt like I was reliving a lot of my own childhood in Kankakee, Illinois, a small town south of Chicago whose economic fortunes were directly tied to the manufacturing boom in America that led so much of the Midwests economic prosperity in the twentieth century.

I remember the labor contract disputes that led to plants closing and my friends parents losing their jobs, as factories moved to states with lower wages. In the end, my parents left too, and each time I returned, I came back to a town largely frozen in time.

So why were these voters open to Obama just a few election cycles ago? For one, Obama was laser-focused on the economy. He talked about middle-class tax cuts, and fighting companies who offshored jobs. He used health care to talk about economic anxiety in a way that many felt. He also took on the issue of immigration from the vantage point of economic populism, arguing that the United States should crack down on companies that were profiting from knowingly hiring people in the country illegally.

The Trump voters in that Macomb County room, just like so many others Ive heard in focus groups, say the same thing: Obama was the last Democrat who truly understood their lives. When asked what Dem they would vote for, they often said someone like Obama, before going on to call Democrats too woke, too weak, and too focused on niche social issues. They said we could not be trusted on immigration and crime, and that we did not seem to understand the reality of the economic situation facing everyday Americans.

Advertisement Advertisement

These same voters were extremely clear about the issues that motivate them and the messages that reached them. They want candidates to understand the ways in which the modern economy has proved challenging: giving opportunity to more people to change their station in life but with a costless security for an already pinched middle class.

They were not looking for a bridge back to the Democrats, unless Trump breaks his promise to them.

And . . . he has.

Join now

A Marshall Plan for the Democrats

TRUMP HAS GIVEN DEMOCRATS an opportunity to win not just the 2026 midterms but to get in place for the more existential challenge of the post-2030 redistricting. But the next six years still require solving three problems:

Rebuilding the Democratic brand in places that may not have seen candidate messaging in years; Building a farm team for Congress in those areas; and Where possible, impacting legislative control on redistricting.

These arent problems that will be solved with a silver bullet, or some app, or AI optimization, or a $20 million effort to find better podcasters. Nope, these problems will only be solved with two basic things: rooting our national message in the concerns of the median voters where we need to win, and investing real money in communities we have walked away from.

First, our brand. For Democrats to win in places where weve been losing, we must redefine how voters view us on issues such as the economy and immigration.

Voters were very clear in post-2024 surveys: They thought we had moved too far from the mainstream. Honestly, even our own base thinks this. We must re-establish ourselves as a party of strength, a party that takes on Washington to improve the economics of middle-class families, and a party that supports common-sense solutions on immigration.

We need to never again adopt Abolish ICE messaging. We dont even need more studies. We just need to listen to what voters are telling us. When voters tell us that they both disapprove of Trumps handling of immigration and yet they dont trust us to handle immigration, they are saying that they want Democrats to start talking about how to strengthen the border and make communities safer without allowing armies of masked men to detain and deport people on a whim.

The original Obama frame on immigration was classic sticks and carrots. Toughen up at the border, make people in the country illegally pay a fine and go to the back of the line, crack down on companies that are profiting off hiring people in the country illegally over Americans, while at the same time creating pathways to residency and more opportunities for people from Latin America to immigrate legally. Test that approach in any lean-GOP district in America and I guarantee you its still very popular.

We also need to do a better job of leaning into hard issues and ignoring consultants who suggest we should talk only about issues where Democrats have an advantage. Take crime for example: Of the last two presidents, only one substantially increased funding for community policing, and only one tried to cut funding for policingand I bet most Americans would reverse which was which.

And we have to stop walking into every trap and taking every piece of bait on cultural issues. A Democrat who is running in a rural Southern district is likely going to talk about guns differently from one running in Brooklynand that has to be okay.

New messaging like this will take the fight to the Republicans, something Democrats have for too long been afraid to do. The two most successful Democratic politicians of my lifetimeObama and Bill Clintonboth played on the GOP side of the field all the time, including on immigration. We wont win if we dont try.

But creating a broader map over the long term is not just about issues. Its about investments. Lets say I had $100 million to spend this year. Here is what I would do.

First, I would put significant resources in the next tier of congressional races in rapidly growing states. This means investing significantly in lean-red districts in both Florida and Texas. There are real opportunities in places like Alaska, Montana, Iowa, Tennessee, and Ohionot to mention in more competitive states like Arizona and North Carolina.

Get 20% off for 1 year

Much has been written about Mary Peltola in Alaska and Rob Sand in Iowa, both phenomenal candidates whom Democrats can build around. But there are so many more great people who have stepped up to run.

Take North Carolinas 11th Congressional District, a seat in the western part of the state, where voters are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Helene. The Democratic candidate, Jamie Ager, is a fourth-generation cattle farmer whose family was rocked by the hurricane. How did Trump respond? He gave $40 billion to Argentina for their cattle industry, while guys like Jamie struggled to build back from a storm FEMA has largely ignored. After just two quarters, Jamie already has more cash on hand than his Republican incumbent opponent.

Or Floridas 7th district, where Bale Dalton is challenging Cory Mills, a member of Congress who has faced assault allegations, running in a district Trump won by 10 points on the all-important I-4 corridor. Dalton, a veteran, and former NASA leader, is the type of candidate who can compete in a district that Democrats held as recently as 2020, and in the type of seat we will need to win in the post-2030 map.

To get to a majority in 2032, we are going to have to win a share of seats like these, and now is the time to make sure our messages are being heard in these communities. Even if some Democratic candidates lose in tough races this cycle, there is real long-term value in the message investment, as well as in building political infrastructure.

I would also invest down the ballot and in state parties in the new battlegrounds: Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and, yes, Texas and Florida. Even if the latter two arent particularly competitive at the top of the ticket, growing the bottom of the ticket is vital for long-term success. But most of the Democratic parties in these states dont have anywhere near the kind of political infrastructure needed to succeed, and what infrastructure does exist tends to live and die around election time. Even dropping in just half a dozen community and digital organizers in each of these states and letting them do their work over the next four years after 2026 will have massive dividends.

There is an example of this working: 2005 and 2006. Over those two years, the DNC invested in staff all across the country with Howard Deans 50-State Strategyand kept their foot on the gas, even when races came calling for money. Many people, me included, questioned the efficacy of spending everywhere in a cycle where we had a chance to make serious gains in the House and Senate. But those investments not only led to huge gains in 05 and 06 but laid the critical groundwork for Obamas mandate in 08 as well. (And Ive written about what happened in my state when those investments disappeared.)

I have no doubt the money will be there for individual congressional races, but we need to have the discipline to commit to spending a small percentage of the billions that will get raised and spent this cycle on the very non-sexy work of political organizing deep down the map.

Doing this will also help solve a secondary problem: We dont have a good career ladder for young operatives outside of blue states and D.C. The reality is many smart young operatives are willing to go work in tough places, but there just arent many year-round jobs or opportunities for growth. By investing in longer-term infrastructure with an eye for 2032, we would give a number of young people an opportunity to build real relationships and skills in these communities where we need to be more competitive, and build something special over multiple cycles.

Finally, Democrats must try to win a state legislative chamber or two in states set to gain congressional seats. There arent a lot of great opportunities, but there are still three remaining cycles to try to flip a chamber in one of these states. There is a pathway now in Arizona. Where possible, we should also look at constitutional or legislative citizen initiatives to create more rational and fair redistricting policies in states where the GOP controls the map-drawing pens. And while winning more seats in places like the Texas or Georgia statehouse wont get Democrats close to a majority, we have to start chipping away if we want to have any prayer of impacting 2030 redistricting.

Join now

NONE OF THE ABOVE is meant to diminish the work Democrats must do in 2026. Winning back the House and, if possible, the Senate are the most important immediate objectives for the partyand the country.

But I do believe we canwe mustwalk and chew gum at the same time, and what Trump has done is allow us to re-engage the voters who have left us. Its an opportunity we might not see again for many yearsand likely the best one we will get before the reality of 2032 takes hold.

Competing across the map and down the ballot in states where we have to improve is an opportunity to hit the reset button. If we can pull it off, we can set ourselves up for a decade or more. Its too dark to think about what happens if we dont.

Share

1

Democrats disadvantage due to living in cities is the result of political choices by Republican-controlled state legislaturesits not a mathematical rule. As Virginias proposed congressional map demonstrates, lines can be redrawn to favor either party, because members of Congress represent people, not land.
A man is dead after being shot by police at a home in central Massachusetts on Monday afternoon, authorities announced Tuesday.

Officers responded to a residence on South Ashburnham Road in Westminster to serve an arrest warrant on a 22-year-old man shortly before 4:45 p.m., according to the Worcester District Attorneys Office.

Upon arrival, officers made contact with the man, who allegedly moved toward officers while holding a large knife.

Advertisement Advertisement

According to the DAs office, the officers discharged their firearms, striking the man and immediately rendering aid to him.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement Advertisement

The suspect was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to a Worcester-area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

No Westminster police officers were injured during this incident.

Investigators noted that it appeared to be an isolated incident, and there is no ongoing threat to the community.

According to the DAs office, the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave in accordance with standard protocol pending the outcome of the investigation.

The incident remains under 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
KABUL, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Police have unearthed arms, ammunition and illegal drugs in eastern Afghanistan's Laghman province, a news release of the provincial police office said on Tuesday.

Acting on a tip-off, police raided a place in Alishing district on Monday and discovered arms and illegal drugs, the news release said.

Police have taken four individuals into custody, it said. 
As the City Schools of Decatur and residents remain at odds over how to fund a planned Early Childhood Learning Center, state lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to put the decision directly in the hands of voters.

State Sen. Elena Parent sponsored the legislation, which would require that any approval of a $23 million, 40-year bond to fund the facility be decided by referendum in Decatur. The bond also includes another nearly $30 million for modifications to Decatur High School.

Parents Senate Bill 625 requires that in order to issue the revenue bonds, voters must approve any project that costs greater than $20 million.

Advertisement Advertisement

Should the bill pass both chambers and get approved by Gov. Brian Kemp, the City of Decatur would have to request election staff put the question of bond issuance for the project before qualified voters of the City Schools of Decatur district.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Bond revenue would not be allowed to be used until a majority of voters approve it.

In the state senate, 44 of the states 56 senators voted in favor, none against.

Another 12 senators either did not vote or were excused from voting on the measure.

TRENDING STORIES:

Advertisement Advertisement

The Decatur School Board has plans to use the bond funding to pay for the new Early Childhood Learning Center as it shifts its strategy for handling student learning needs and future enrollments.

But in November, a group of Decatur residents began efforts to block the bond issuance.

One of the residents contesting the bond validation by City Schools of Decatur, Leah Humphries, said they challenged the bond in response to what they said were broad concerns about the process.

The $23 million for the Early Childhood Learning Center represents one of the largest financial commitments in Decaturs recent history, Humphries said in a letter sent to members of the community.

Advertisement Advertisement

In January, a court battle over the bond stalled and intervenors were preparing to appeal when an attorney representing the district announced plans to seek damages and a surety bond over the case if further appeals failed.

Humphries told Channel 2 Action News in January that the bond challenge did not succeed in court and an attorney for the school district sent a letter to the residents requesting a surety bond for the case, which she said indicated an intention to seek recovery of alleged delay damages estimated at $10-15 million, from the intervenors challenging the bond, if the appeal were unsuccessful.

A letter from Robert E. Wilson sent on behalf of CSD said the school board is obligated to protect the taxpayers from any increased financial costs and to construct the ECLC and DHS projects in the most-effective way possible.

Additional bond funding for Decatur High School changes would put the total bond approved at $52 million.

Advertisement Advertisement

Due to the significant personal financial risk for individual community members, the intervenors did not continue their appeal.

Now that the Georgia Senate has passed legislation to require a referendum vote by Decatur voters on approval of the bond, the path forward has moved into the Georgia House of Representatives.

Decaturs legislators, state Reps. Mary Margaret Oliver and Omari Crawford, are also supportive of a referendum. Along with Parent, the lawmakers sent a letter on March 15 to the Decatur City Commission urging a voluntary referendum.

Channel 2 Action News reached out to City Schools of Decatur for comment and is waiting for a response.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
A legal letter sent to State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble alleges a coordinated effort by the Massachusetts State Police to protect one of their own. It goes on to demand a truly independent investigation into the 2023 crash that took the life of a man with special needs.

The letter, written by attorney Michael F. Mahoney on behalf of the family of Angelo Schettino, details the December 12, 2023, crash on Lexington Street in Woburn. According to the document, data from State Police Sergeant Scott Quigleys cruiser reveals he was traveling 59 mph in a 30-mph zone when his cruiser crossed the double yellow line, striking a wheelchair transport van

Medical records cited in the document reveal that Trooper Quigleys blood was drawn approximately one hour after the crash at 6:01pm, and his Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.114 was available 29 minutes later.

Advertisement Advertisement

Mahoney calls it indisputable evidence that the Trooper was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision. Furthermore, court documents allege that Quigley had been consuming alcohol at a Woburn restaurant prior to the crash, with another member of the MSP.

An attorney for Quigley previously told Investigative Reporter Ted Daniel that Quigley is entitled to the full presumption of innocence.

The letter outlines several instances of what it terms a deliberate cover-up by MSP personnel designed to shield Quigley from accountability. Recordings show Trooper Martin Cooke was told not to interview Quigley at the hospital, an order he noted did not make sense, according to Mahoneys letter.

State Police Investigator Jennifer Pentons final crash report, dated August 2024, falsely stated that no alcohol test was administered and that alcohol use was not suspected. Quigley was not interviewed until eight days after the crash and was only issued a written warning for a marked lanes violation.

Advertisement Advertisement

Additionally, Mahoney stated the MSP repeatedly denied public records requests for over a year, claiming the matter was still under investigation long after it had been completed.

Mr. Schettino, who was confined to a wheelchair at the time of the collision, died from injuries sustained in the crash. His family continues to pursue litigation and seeking to move their lawsuit to federal court.

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 30-year-old Indiana woman has been charged with first-degree murder in the "targeted" deaths of three people found in a Will County home Monday.

The Will County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that Jenna Strouble of St. John, Indiana had a relationship and children with one of the victims, 32-year-old Jacob Q. Lambert.

The other two people killed were Lambert's parents, Stacy J. Forde, 54, and Patrick J. Forde, 55, Will County officials said.

Advertisement Advertisement

The sheriff's office said Strouble made incriminating statements after the murders, and police recovered a gun that matched the one used in the incident.

Police said Lambert was found dead in a car in the driveway, and his parents were found dead inside the home, on the first floor, near the front door, in the 3400-block of East Norway Trail in Crete Township.

Strouble was taken into custody in St. John.

She is still being held at the Lake County, Indiana jail and will be in their custody until she's extradited back to Illinois.

Officials said Lambert and his parents lived in the home, where they were found.

Advertisement Advertisement

Autopsies were performed Tuesday, and final cause and manner of death will be determined after police and toxicology reports, the coroner's office said.

The sheriff's office said the incident appears to be domestic in nature and there is not a threat to the public.

Neighbors reported hearing gunfire before the bodies were found.

You can contact the Illinois domestic violence hotline at 1-877-863-6338 click here for more information.
A crash in downtown Wilmington, Delaware left three people dead early Saturday after police say a speeding drunk driver slammed into the victims' vehicle, pushing it several blocks before it caught fire.

The crash happened around 4:18 a.m. at 9th and Walnut streets, according to police.

Surveillance video shows the victims' car was struck from behind and pushed to 10th Street, where it became engulfed in flames. The sidewalk remains charred, and a memorial now honors the victims just feet away.

Advertisement Advertisement

Police identified the victims as 41-year-old Brandon Hill, 48-year-old Curtis Jackson and 35-year-old Caroline Shockley.

Authorities said 30-year-old Nicholas Resto was driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding at the time of the crash. He is charged with three counts of manslaughter and driving under the influence.

Resto was taken into custody and transported to a hospital in stable condition. He will be sent to the Department of Corrections with a bond set at $105,200 cash.

Brigette Sellers, Hill's mother, said she is struggling to cope with the loss of her son.

"I'm bitter, and I'm mad with him for taking my baby from me," she said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Sellers said Hill, known by many in Wilmington as "Meatball (Sauce)," was a father of four who had overcome significant challenges in his life.

"He got shot in 2004, left for dead..." Sellers said. "But he still continued to thrive and try to do the best he can. He finally got his life together and was a substitute teacher."

She added that her son remained close to his family.

"He was my everything, he just was everything to me," Sellers said. "He calls me every day. He says good night to me, he says good morning. He'll come see me so I can see his face, and I just - I barely even can sleep."

Advertisement Advertisement

She described the overwhelming grief of losing her son.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do, I'm just, I'm lost," Sellers said. "I'm never gonna see my son again and that part just breaks me."

Sellers also expressed conflicting emotions about the suspect, and said she's hoping she and the other families will someday get justice.

"When I heard that the first time, I said, 'Why didn't he die too?' But then I said I'm a Christian; God forgive me for that because I don't wish that for nobody. But I pray that he never gets out of jail," she said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Shockley's loved ones are also devastated, and say the 35-year-old leaves behind a 2-month-old child.

"Picturing the scene and everything else is very hard," Michaelena Matusky of Wilmington said. "Thirty-five years old and still had a whole life ahead of her."

Matusky described Shockley as a loving parent.

"She was kindhearted, very sweet, loving; she always wanted the best for her kids," Matusky said.

Police said the investigation remains ongoing.
Pennsylvania State Police are offering a $5,000 reward for information regarding a 2009 home invasion that left a Greene County woman dead and her husband wounded.

The incident happened on March 22, 2009, at a rural home in Morris Township.

An unidentified man entered the home, saying he needed assistance with a flat tire, before shooting Betty McClellan and her husband, Jacob McClellan.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, the suspect produced a weapon and demanded money and guns from the couple once they were at the door.

Advertisement Advertisement

During the encounter, the gunman shot Jacob McClellan twice, with the bullets striking his neck and jaw. The suspect then entered the home and shot Betty McClellan while she was in the bedroom. She died from her injuries at the scene.

Jacob McClellan survived the shooting and was able to hide behind bushes outside the house. From his hiding spot, he observed the suspect fleeing in a 1980s Ford Econoline van. After the vehicle left, he returned to the house and found his wife in the bedroom.

The suspect is described as a white male in his 40s with a medium build. He stands approximately five feet seven inches tall and weighs between 150 and 170 pounds. At the time of the incident, he was unshaven and had brown, shoulder-length hair that was pulled back into a toupee.

The Pennsylvania State Police Troop B - Washington is the primary agency handling the case. The $5,000 reward is being offered for any information that leads to a resolution of the homicide investigation.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Chicago police said investigators are questioning two people of interest after a 67-year-old man was gunned down near the United Center in broad daylight on Tuesday.

Police said the shooting happened in front of a Near West Side residential building near West Madison and South Leavitt streets just before 1 p.m.

Two armed suspects approached the man on the relatively busy street, just steps from a fire house and a public library, before taking out handguns and firing shots, police said.

Advertisement Advertisement

A nearby resident, Julie Losch, said there was at least a handful of shots fired.

"I just heard four or five gunshots, and I walked out onto my balcony, and then I saw the police were immediately there. Took a minute for the ambulances to get there," Losch said.

The shooting prompted a large police response, in part because there was initially an emergency call to assist responding officers, ABC7 is told.

Whether officers were nearby when the shooting happened was not immediately clear, but no officers were injured in the shooting.

Witnesses said first responders performed CPR on the victim, who was shot in the head. But the man was transported to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity was not immediately released.

Advertisement Advertisement

"There's people going to work, walking around. There's a couple schools down the block, you know, a lot of families walking their kids, so yeah, it's kind of disturbing," said neighborhood resident Mike Ramirez. "It's just concerning that, especially during daylight, you know, anything can happen."

Police remained on the scene until about 4 p.m. Officials cordoned off a long stretch of Madison Street between Leavitt Street and Hoyne Avenue for hours.

Area detectives are investigating. Police did not immediately offer a motive for the shooting or release more details about what led to the gunfire.

INTERACTIVE SAFETY TRACKER Track crime and safety in your neighborhood
Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced $5 million in state grants for forensic psychiatry fellowships at nine Texas medical training centers.

The funding, administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, supports one-year accredited programs for licensed physicians specializing in the subspecialty, which applies psychiatric expertise to civil, criminal, and administrative legal proceedings, including evaluations, treatment, and research on safety and risk mitigation.

Texas remains steadfast in increasing access to mental healthcare across our state, Abbott said. These grants will create opportunities for our renowned higher education institutions to develop the next generation of healthcare leaders. I thank the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for their continued work to expand and improve mental health services that will benefit Texans in every community.

Advertisement Advertisement

Higher Education Commissioner Wynn Rosser said, Higher education institutions will better serve Texans in regions across the state through this grant funding, which state leaders and lawmakers provided in the budget.

Rosser added, All nine recipients highlighted innovative programs and strong collaboration with other institutions in their grant applications, demonstrating a shared commitment to make Texas a national leader in forensic psychiatry.

Each recipient receives $555,555:

Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Lubbock)

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso

The University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)

The grants align with Abbotts priorities to expand access to mental health care and strengthen the states physician workforce through advanced training, as detailed in the announcement.
As states that already ban abortion look to further restrict access this year, much of the focus is on pills sent by out-of-state providers.

A survey released Tuesday helps explain the emphasis. It suggests that more women in states with bans obtained abortions last year using the pills prescribed via telehealth than by traveling to places where it's legal.

Most of the states with the political will to impose broad bans have already done so in the nearly four years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to enforcing them. So far this year, just one state has a new one.

Advertisement Advertisement

Heres a look at where things stand as many state legislatures are wrapping up or have completed their 2026 sessions.

States are taking steps to make abortion pills harder to get

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, a Republican, signed a bill last week that makes it a felony to advertise, distribute or sell abortion pills.

Similar measures have cleared both legislative chambers this year in Mississippi, where the House and Senate need to iron out differences before sending a bill to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.

A survey of state abortion policies from the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, finds that at least three states  Florida, Oklahoma and Texas  already have laws that specifically ban providers from mailing the pills to patients. Louisiana has classified mifepristone as a controlled dangerous substance.

Advertisement Advertisement

Bills intended to keep out the pills have cleared one chamber in Arizona, Indiana and South Carolina this year. Republicans control the legislatures in all three states and the governors office in two of them. In Arizona, any restrictions that pass could be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Survey suggests more women using abortion pills in states with bans

A Guttmacher survey released Tuesday sheds light on why abortion opponents may be focusing on pills.

The report suggests that in 2025, for the first time, more women in the 13 states that ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy obtained pills through telehealth than traveled to other states for abortion.

The prescriptions come from providers in states with laws adopted since the fall of Roe that are intended to protect those who prescribe abortion pills to patients in states with bans. Most often, women using pills for abortion are prescribed a regimen of two drugs  mifepristone and misoprostol. They're approved for use in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Advertisement Advertisement

The estimated increase in the mailing pills comes as Guttmachers estimates also suggest fewer women are traveling to obtain abortions in states like Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico.

Guttmacher's estimates are based on data from a monthly survey conducted among a random sample of U.S. abortion providers, combined with historical data from every provider in the U.S. They reflect a trend documented in other surveys of abortion providers.

Court battles are also centered on pills

Multiple states are challenging the federal rules that allow mifepristone to be prescribed via telehealth. Requiring in-person prescriptions instead would at least dent the ability of out-of-state providers to get pills into states with bans.

Louisiana has such a lawsuit in federal court there; the attorneys general of Florida and Texas have one in Texas; those two states, along with Idaho, Kansas and Missouri, are making the same case in a Missouri court.

Advertisement Advertisement

Meanwhile, Texas has filed civil cases and Louisiana criminal ones against providers accused of sending pills into their states.

The Food and Drug Administration last year approved a generic version of mifepristone, which frustrated abortion opponents.

One state imposed a ban, but its fate is uncertain

Wyoming is the only state this year that has imposed a new abortion ban.

Under a law signed in March by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, it became the fifth state with a ban on abortion at about six weeks gestational age  before many women realize theyre pregnant. Like most of the others, Wyomings bans abortions once cardiac activity can be detected.

Advertisement Advertisement

But courts have rejected previous Wyoming efforts to limit abortion, and the Wyoming Supreme Court in January struck down a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

The idea of punishing women is not gaining ground

No state has adopted a measure intended to allow criminal prosecutions against women who have abortions.

Proposals to do so keep getting made but sputter early in the legislative process.

The farthest such a bill has advanced was a hearing last year before a Senate subcommittee in South Carolina. One was scheduled for a subcommittee hearing in Tennessee this month, but didnt get one.

Pregnancy Justice, which advocates for the rights of pregnant people, says its tracked new abortion-as-homicide measures introduced in six states in 2026  down from 13 states last year.

Advertisement Advertisement

The major established anti-abortion groups oppose the approach. Women require compassion and support, said Ingrid Duran, the state legislative director for National Right to Life. Not prosecution.

Melissa Murray, a professor at New York University School of Law, says that by introducing bills with penalties against women, the movements less compromising abolitionists can break down the idea that such policies are off-limits.

You keep pushing the boundary, pushing the envelope, eventually you will get what youre seeking, Murray said. It will no longer feel fanciful or shocking.

She also noted that women are already sometimes charged with crimes related to their pregnancies. This month, police in Georgia charged a woman with murder after allegedly using an abortion pill and the opioid painkiller oxycodone.

Abortion will be on ballots in November

Abortion questions will be before voters in at least three states in November.

Advertisement Advertisement

Missouri lawmakers are asking voters to repeal the right to reproductive freedom that they put into the state constitution in 2024.

Elsewhere, voters are being asked to add constitutional amendments that largely mirror current state abortion laws.

In Nevada, a state constitutional amendment to allow abortion until fetal viability  generally considered to be sometime after 21 weeks of pregnancy  passed in 2024, and needs voter approval a second time to take effect.

A Virginia ballot measure would guarantee the right to reproductive freedom, including access to contraception and making decisions on abortion care during the first two trimesters of pregnancy.

___

Associated Press reporter Amelia Thomson DeVeaux contributed to this article.
The Allegheny County District Attorneys Office served a sealed search warrant on the City of Pittsburgh.

DA Stephen Zappalas Office said the warrant was served on Monday.

The details of the search warrant have not been released officially by the DA at this time.

Sources tell 11 Investigates the warrant is tied to the finances of the citys previous administration. The DAs office was looking for wide-ranging documents and contracts.

Advertisement Advertisement

Those questioned, 11 Investigates sources say, include city council members and staff members. Some of the questions were reportedly about no-bid contracts, the Stop the Violence Trust Fund and the Jim Rogers settlement.

Mayor Corey OConnors office will not be commenting on the investigation at this time, his office tells Channel 11. The office added that the administration will be cooperating with court orders.

Controllers office spokesperson Coleman Lamb stated, The Controllers office has not received any documents from the District Attorney, and as a general rule, our office does not comment on active investigations or legal matters. We are committed to transparency and will cooperate with any court orders.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on the 9th Digital China Summit in Beijing, capital of China, March 24, 2026. (Xinhua/Pan Xu)

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The 9th Digital China Summit will convene in Fuzhou, east China's Fujian Province, from April 29 to 30, placing greater emphasis on showcasing achievements, releasing cutting-edge technologies and fostering a thriving digital ecosystem, an official said on Tuesday.

Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration (NDA), made the remarks at a State Council Information Office press conference, adding that the theme of the upcoming summit is accelerating innovation and development in digital technologies and deepening the building of Digital China.

The summit will highlight landmark accomplishments and milestone progress in the development of Digital China. Key releases will include the Digital China Development Report (2025) and the Digital China Development Index.

More than 30 critical policies, reports and standards related to Digital China will be unveiled by governmental bodies, including the NDA, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Nearly 400 leading enterprises, including China Southern Power Grid and Alibaba, will introduce their latest technologies and products in digital transformation.

The summit will also showcase nearly 100 exemplary cases of data element integration across agriculture, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, culture and tourism, with over 65 percent of exhibits making their debut.

The summit will see the launch of over 20 technical outcomes from seven top universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, alongside over 10 research institutions such as the National Data Development Research Institute and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

It will feature four ecosystem conferences focused on AI subsectors, organized by China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile and Huawei. These sessions will gather over 400 upstream and downstream enterprises to explore collaboration and development opportunities.

This year's summit will introduce an "industry matchmaking hub" to directly connect innovative outcomes with market demand.

The summit is jointly hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission, the NDA, the CAC, the MIIT and the People's Government of Fujian Province. It will feature more than 50 dialogue and exchange sessions, a Digital China Innovation Competition, and an on-site experience zone, while over 100 special events will be held concurrently. 
Rep. Robert Matzie announced that the borough of Ambridge has been awarded $13,500 in historical grant funding.

The award is part of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commissions Certified Local Government Grant Program.

The program aims to provide financial support for administering local preservation programs. The funds allocated for Ambridge will be used specifically to update facilities at Old Economy Village.

Advertisement Advertisement

The funding will support the preservation of 17 historic buildings in the village located along the Ohio River. The grant program provides financial assistance for local preservation efforts, including the development of tools, products and services for historic sites.

Rep. Matzie (D-Beaver) emphasized the impact of the investment on the communitys visibility.

Ambridge has been a site of historic beauty for quite some time and Im proud to support funding that grows the boroughs profile and engages the public with everything the borough has to offer, Matzie said. I thank the commission for its generous support.

The award is part of a larger distribution of $151,477 in grants provided to seven counties across the state. This total includes a specific set-aside for scholarships and mini-grants. The funding amount reflects the required 10% of the commissions award from the National Park Service. Matzie noted that historical preservation remains a personal priority for his legislative work.

Advertisement Advertisement

Preserving Pennsylvania history has been a cause of mine because we should all be proud of where we come from, Matzie said. This is a wonderful state with a deep, rich history; and we should all take some time to interact with our historical landmarks and museums. The better we broadcast our history, the more people will be invested in our present and future.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
A slightly shorter and lighter-weight carbine version of the U.S. Armys new 6.8x51mm M7 service rifle has now gotten its own designation: XM8. This choice of moniker is somewhat interesting, given that the service previously applied this designation to an abortive modular family of firearms designed to ape the looks of the guns in the 1997 movie Starship Troopers. The M7 had faced some significant criticisms of its own previously over its weight, ergonomics, and other aspects of the design, which the Army and manufacturer Sig pushed back strenuously against. At the same time, the design has continued to evolve and has been fielded more widely, as evidenced by the carbine version.

The Soldier Systems blog was the first to report on the new XM8 designation for the carbine variant of the M7 earlier this month. The Army subsequently confirmed this to Task & Purpose.

The Army chose what is now designated the M7 as its standard service rifle back in 2022. That year, the service chose Sig as the winner of its Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) competition. The NGSW also includes a new 6.8x51mm light machine gun from Sig, designated the M250, as well as a suite of accompanying ammunition types for both guns. The NGSW system also includes computerized XM157 optics, which the Army is procuring separately from Vortex Optics.

The XM8 is just over 32 inches long overall, compared to 37 inches for the M7, with a barrel length dropped from 13 to 11 inches and its suppressor from 7 to 6 inches, according to Task & Purpose, citing Sig Sauers product manager for rifles and suppressors Joshua Shoemaker. Without the suppressor, the XM8 weighs 7.33 pounds while the M7 weighs 8.36 pounds. The carbines suppressor shaves down to 1.31 pounds from the M7s 1.46 pounds.

Advertisement Advertisement

The carbine also comes with a fixed stock after soldiers said they preferred it to the M7s folding stock, Task & Purposes piece adds. The carbine also has a softer butt pad and a more rigid handguard for optics and other mounted equipment.

The XM8 builds on what the Army had originally referred to as the product-improved or PIE version of the M7. This is one of two lighter-weight versions of the rifle that Sig had on display at the Association of the U.S. Armys (AUSA) main annual symposium last September, both of which are seen in the picture at the top of this story.

Theres basically two combined efforts going on within the M7, Jason St. John, senior director of strategic products for the Defense Strategies Group at Sig Sauer, told TWZ at that time. We have a carbine version, and then we have a lightened, improved version of the M7. And so when you look at the standard M7 thats been issued to the troops, the overall weight of the firearm was 8.3 pounds. Now, the improved M7 is 7.6 pounds, and the carbine version weighs 7.3 pounds. So were getting closer and closer to [a] rifle weight system similar to the M4.

The carbine variation Sig had previously presented then had a 10-inch barrel. Past reports have said that the PIE M7 had a 10.5-inch barrel. The baseline M7 has a 13.5-inch barrel. The 5.56x45mm M4A1 has a 14.5-inch barrel and weighs 8.63 pounds (including a sling and loaded magazine), according to the Army. It should be noted that optics and other accessories add appreciable weight to any firearm. The XM157 is heavier, as well as physically larger, than the types the Army has historically issued with M4A1s.

A US Army soldier fires an M4A1 in training. US Army

In terms of how the PIE M7 was lightened, theres the upper receiver, weve redesigned and taken some weight out of it. Weve lessened the barrel profile slightly to get some weight out of it, Sigs St. John had also told us. Weve done some lightening efforts within the operating system, as well as remove the folding stock hinge. By removing that hinge, we save some weight.

Advertisement Advertisement

The XM8s configuration could well evolve further as early testing by operational Army units gets underway, which Task & Purpose says could happen as soon as October.

Regardless, as noted, this is not the first XM8 carbine the Army has tried to adopt. For a time in the early 2000s, the service looked set to replace all of its existing M16 rifles and M4 carbines with a new family of 5.56x45mm rifles and carbines known collectively as the XM8, developed by famed German gunmaker Heckler & Koch.

An infographic showing the proposed XM8 family for the US Army. Heckler & Koch

The previous XM8 had evolved from an earlier and more ambitious Army small arms program that envisioned future soldiers carrying a single weapon that combined a compact 5.56mm gun with a highly computerized 20mm grenade launcher firing programmable ammunition. That gun, called the XM29 Objective Infantry Combat Weapon, was beset by technical and other issues. In 2004, the Army decided to pursue the rifle and grenade launcher components as separate programs. The grenade launcher evolved into a 25mm design designated the XM25 and eventually nicknamed the Punisher.

The standalone XM8 family was based on Heckler & Kochs G36, which the German armed forces had adopted as its standard infantry rifle in the late 1990s. However, U.S. Army officials specifically asked if the gun could be made to look more Starship Troopers, in reference to the 1997 film, which is a very loose adaptation of the 1959 Robert Heinlein science fiction novel of the same name, according to firearms researcher Ian McCollum, who runs the website ForgottenWeapons.com. As a result, the XM8 evolved to have a much sleeker and futuristic-looking appearance externally.

Testing of the XM8 proceeded relatively well by all accounts. Versions of guns also gained a foothold in popular culture, appearing in several video games in the 2000s. Replicas were also featured in the movies Children of Men and District 13: Ultimatum.

Advertisement Advertisement

In the end, though, a future Army with soldiers carrying Starship Troopers rifles was not to be. The program was cancelled in 2005. Continually evolving requirements and domestic U.S. political factors, together with broad questions about whether the cost, not to mention the time and effort, of adopting a new standard infantry weapon was justified by the reliability and improvements the XM8 was expected to offer over the existing M16/M4 family, were key factors.

A US Army soldier with an XM8 carbine with a 40mm under-barrel grenade launcher, at left, and one with a full-length rifle variant, at bottom. US Army

Work on the XM25 grenade launcher continued for more than another decade before that program was axed, as well. The Army is now pursuing a new futuristic grenade launcher through a program called the Precision Grenadier System (PGS).

In the late 2000s, elements of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) evaluated the XM8. The Royal Malaysian Navys Pasukan Khas Laut naval special warfare unit, or PAKSAL, subsequently adopted multiple variants of the gun, but on a very limited level. The extent to which those guns remain in sevice today is unclear. There are no other known users anywhere else globally. You can read more about the full story of Heckler & Kochs XM8 here.

@FranticGoat also note that MAF and RMP had trialled the XM8 3-4 years earlier. PASKAL XM8s probably came from these trials and then more from a later purchase.



pics from a local magazine ca. 2007 pic.twitter.com/LuCwBKPWAU  amimim (@amimjk) April 30, 2020

The Armys selection and fielding of the M7 have not been entirely smooth, either. As mentioned, the rifle has been the subject of criticism in the past. Army Capt. Braden Trent drew particular attention with a presentation that slammed the rifle at the annual Modern Day Marine conference last year. That assessment was based on the findings of a report written while he was a student at the Expeditionary Warfare School, which is part of the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Both the Army and Sig had vehemently disputed his claims, as you can read more about here.

Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll fires an M7 rifle. US Army US Army

Advertisement Advertisement

It still remains to be seen how widespread the adoption of any variation on the M7, including the XM8 carbine, might be across the rest of the U.S. military. In February, the U.S. Marine Corps notably told Task & Purpose that the service had no intention currently of adopting a version of the Armys new 6.8mm rifle, and would instead stick with its 5.56x45mm M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR).

We will continue to monitor development of the M7 [Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle] to inform future requirements, a Marine Corps spokesperson told that outlet.

In the meantime, at least some Army soldiers now look to be in line to finally carry XM8 carbines, but not the Starship Trooper rifles they were once promised.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com
Army ROTC cadets attending Old Dominion University were awarded eight meritorious service medals and two Purple Hearts for their actions during a shooting incident that occurred in their classroom earlier this month.

In a private ceremony Sunday, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer granted the cadets the honors for their bravery and sacrifice during the March 12 shooting on the Norfolk, Virginia, campus, U.S. Army Cadet Command said in a Facebook post Monday.

The cadets names have not been released for privacy reasons, the post says.

Advertisement Advertisement

On March 12, a gunman yelled Allahu Akbar before opening fire in a university classroom and killing one individual and injuring two others. The ROTC students subdued the gunman and rendered him no longer alive, Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBIs Norfolk field office, said in a news conference following the shooting.

The gunman was identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Army National Guard member who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was released from federal custody in 2024.

It is unclear how Jalloh died during the incident, but Evans said he was not shot.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a March 12 post on X that the ROTC students actions undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement.

Advertisement Advertisement

The deceased victim was identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, who led the Army ROTC program at Old Dominion University since 2022.

Shah joined the Army in 2003 and received his Army commission in 2007 after graduating from the university.

A devoted ROTC instructor, Lt. Col. Shah didnt just lead a life of service to our country, he taught and led others to follow that path, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said in a March 12 post on X after confirming Shah as the victim.

I am grateful for his example, deeply saddened by his death, and praying for his family, Spanberger continued.
Nearly 60 years ago, three Americans made history as the first humans to ever break free of Earth's orbit on their way toward the moon.

And when they passed behind the moon to the side Earth never sees, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell (who died in August) and William Anders became the first humans in space to lose sight of their home world.

Now, similar to the Apollo 8 mission of 1968, NASA is preparing to send a new crew of astronauts on a relatively short voyage circling Earth's only natural satellite. And like their predecessors, the Artemis 2 crew members may not have the honor of making a lunar landing, but will instead pave the way for future astronauts to step foot on the lunar surface.

Advertisement Advertisement

Interactive graphic: See how the Artemis II crew will get to the moon, step-by-step

Here's a look at how NASA's upcoming Artemis 2 moon mission compares to the iconic Apollo 8.

When is the Artemis 2 rocket launch date?

NASA is targeting April 1 for a launch of the Artemis 2 lunar mission from NASA's Kennedy Space Center along the Atlantic Coast near Cape Canaveral, Florida.

A crew of four astronauts will hitch a ride to orbit on an Orion capsule. Built by Lockheed Martin, the Orion vehicle will be perched atop NASA's 322-foot Space Launch System rocket, built by Boeing and Northrop Grumman.

While no moon landing is in store for the astronauts, the mission will serve a vital role in testing the systems and hardware on the spacecraft needed for future expeditions to the lunar surface.

Apollo 8 was 1st to send astronauts around the moon and back

The impending mission will not only represent NASA's first human moon mission since the Apollo era ended in 1972, but the first since that era really began with a similar mission in 1968.

Advertisement Advertisement

Lifting off Dec. 21, 1968, from the Kennedy Space Center, the Apollo 8 mission sent three NASA astronauts on a six-day trip orbiting the moon before making a landing Dec. 27 in the Pacific Ocean.

As a prelude to a lunar landing, the flight was an important step in testing the flight trajectory and operations before astronauts stepped foot on the moon's surface.

The mission also made history in many ways.

The crew became the first humans to orbit the moon and the first to see the Earth rising on the lunar horizon in an event known as an Earthrise. Apollo 8 was also the first crewed launch for NASA's iconic Saturn V rocket, which at 363 feet tall remains to this day of the largest rockets ever made.

The Apollo 8 crew is seen inside the gondola during centrifuge training Nov. 1, 1968. Left to right are astronauts William A. Anders, lunar module pilot, James A. Lovell Jr., command module pilot; and Frank Borman, commander. The Apollo 8 Crew included James Lovell, Command Module (CM) pilot; William Anders, Lunar Module (LM) pilot; and Frank Borman, commander. The first crewed Apollo mission launched Dec. 21, 1968 aboard the Saturn V rocket, with the crew returning Dec. 27 safely to Earth. Astronauts William A. Anders, James A. Lovell Jr., and Frank Borman, (left to right) are Oct. 28 1968 seen inside Apollo Boilerplate 1102A during water egress training Recovery activities of the Apollo 8 Crew and Command Module (CM)-103 Spacecraft inspection onboard the USS Yorktown The Apollo 8 mission captured this photos of the moon Dec. 22, 1968. NASA's towering Saturn V spacecraft launches Dec. 21, 1968 on its first crewed mission, Apollo 8, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. he Apollo 8 crew leaves the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) during the Apollo 8 prelaunch countdown. The Apollo 8 crew stands in front of the Apollo space vehicle as it leaves the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Launch Complex 39A. The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower are atop a huge crawler-transporter. The Apollo 8 crew consisted of (left to right) astronauts Frank Borman, commander; James A. Lovell Jr., command module pilot; and William A. Anders, lunar module pilot. The 363-foot-high Apollo Saturn V space vehicle dwarfs the Apollo 8 Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders as it's rolled out Oct. 9, 1968 to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The crew of the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission, astronauts William A. Anders, James A. Lovell Jr. and Frank Borman, are pictured Nov. 1, 1968 suited up for centrifuge training. See photos of Apollo 8 as NASA prepares for next moon orbiting mission 1 of 10 The Apollo 8 crew is seen inside the gondola during centrifuge training Nov. 1, 1968. Left to right are astronauts William A. Anders, lunar module pilot, James A. Lovell Jr., command module pilot; and Frank Borman, commander.

Who were the Apollo 8 astronauts?

Apollo 8 was composed of a crew of three NASA astronauts, all of whom have since died:

Advertisement Advertisement

Frank Borman , commander of the mission who had previously flown on the Gemini 7 space orbital rendezvous mission with Gemini 6.

Jim Lovell , pilot of the command module who would also later command the infamous Apollo 13 mission.

William A. Anders, lunar module pilot.

Artemis 2 to go even further from Earth than Apollo mission

The crew of Artemis 2 are set to become the first humans to see parts of the far side of the moon that not even the Apollo 8 astronauts witnessed.

Traveling in the Orion capsule, the astronauts will venture up to 6,000 miles beyond the far side of the moon  the farthest humans have ever ventured in space, according to NASA. As a result, the astronauts will see the entire disk of the moon, including areas near the north and south poles.

The planned trajectory for the four-day return journey will use Earth's gravity to naturally pull Orion back home after flying by the moon, negating the need for propulsion or much fuel.

Who is the crew of Artemis 2?

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stands with the Artemis II crew during an SLS rollout press briefing. The crew of Artemis II (from left: Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Pilot Victor Glover and Commander Reid Wiseman) answer questions at a press conference as their Space Launch System rocket is transported to Pad 39B January 17, 2026. Artemis II is tentatively scheduled to launch on a mission to th Moon in early February. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman answers questions during a press conference at Kennedy Space Center, FL January 17, 2026. The Artemis II crew is tentatively scheduled to launch in early February. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover answers questions during a press conference at Kennedy Space Center, FL January 17, 2026. The Artemis II crew is tentatively scheduled to launch in early February. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen answers questions during a press conference at Kennedy Space Center, FL January 17, 2026. The Artemis II crew is tentatively scheduled to launch in early February. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK The Artemis II crew poses in front of an Orion simulator Jan. 23, 2026 at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. Four astronauts will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA's path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The 10-day flight will help confirm systems and hardware needed for early human lunar exploration missions. The crew of Artemis II (from left) Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman leave crew quarters December 20, 2025 during their pre-launch rehearsal. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch talks with spectators as the crew leaves crew quarters December 20, 2025 during their pre-launch rehearsal. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK The astronauts of Artemis II (from left) Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch leave crew quarters December 20, 2025 during their pre-launch rehearsal. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK Artemis 2 crew members, shown Aug. 8, 2023 inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, walk toward their Orion crew module. Artemis II crew members Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover answer questions from reporters during the first downlink event of their mission. NASA's Artemis 2 mission to fly 4 astronauts around moon. Photos of crew 1 of 12 NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stands with the Artemis II crew during an SLS rollout press briefing.

Here's a look at the four-member crew of Artemis 2:

Advertisement Advertisement

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman , a Baltimore native and the mission's commander who last flew to space in 2014 on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover , the pilot from Pomona, California, who flew to space in 2020 on a SpaceX mission to the space station.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch , a mission specialist from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who holds several space agency records and who flew in 2019 on a Soyuz ISS mission.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, another mission specialist who will fly to space for the first time.

Koch and Glover represent the first woman and first African American, respectively, assigned to a NASA lunar mission. Additionally, Hansen is set to become the first Canadian to fly close to the moon, according to Reuters.

Both Apollo 8, Artemis 2 missions to precede a moon landing

Like Apollo 8 before it, Artemis 2 is meant to precede a moon landing attempt in the years ahead.

In the case of Apollo 8, two more missions came before astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to step foot on the moon in July 1969 during Apollo 11. That included Apollo 9 in March 1969  during which two astronauts piloted a lunar module in Earth orbit  and Apollo 10 later in May, which was another moon-orbiting mission.

Advertisement Advertisement

NASA had originally planned for a moon landing mission to follow Artemis 2 before leaders at the space agency announced an overhaul to the program at the end of February.

Before a moon landing is now attempted during Artemis 4 in 2028, astronauts in the Orion capsule are due to meet and dock in Earth orbit with at least one of the lunar landers being developed by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX. That new mission, targeted for 2027, is known as Artemis 3.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Similar to Apollo 8, NASA's Artemis 2 won't include moon landing
BANGKOK (AP)  Asian countries are turning to coal as the Iran war disrupts oil and gas shipments.

The continent is exposed because it relies on imported fuel, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz  a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and natural gas trade.

LNG is a natural gas cooled to liquid form for easy storage and transport. It has been promoted as a bridge fuel in the shift from oil and coal to cleaner energy sources. The U.S. has sought to expand exports of LNG across Asia. It burns cleaner than coal, but still emits climate change -causing gases, especially methane.

Advertisement Advertisement

The war has countries shifting back to coal to cover LNG shortfalls. India is burning more coal to meet higher summer demand. South Korea has lifted caps on electricity from coal. Indonesia is prioritizing using its domestic supply. Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam are boosting coal-fired power.

Burning more coal risks worsening smog in major cities, slowing the transition to renewable energy and increasing the regions planet-warming emissions.

Coal is a short-term fix, experts say, while renewables are the long-term solution. Continued reliance on coal exposes Asia to future shocks, said Julia Skorupska of the global coalition Powering Past Coal Alliance.

This kind of crisis is a real sort of warning, she said.

Rising demand drives Asia back to coal

Coal is integral to Asias emergency energy plans. Its wide availability in Asia makes it the default backup when renewables or gas fall short, said Sandeep Pai, an energy expert at Duke University.

Advertisement Advertisement

China, the top coal consumer and producer, has built record coal power generating capacity since 2021 to improve its energy security. Its national policy calls for continued use of coal, even as its vast clean energy capacity offers some relief.

India, the second-largest coal consumer and producer, is bracing for a scorching summer and will rely more on coal to meet peak demand of 270 gigawatts  nearly twice the electricity Spain can produce. It has enough coal for about three months, with some stockpiles earmarked for small businesses.

Two Indian liquefied petroleum gas shipments totaling more than 92,700 tons recently made it through the Strait of Hormuz. Such imports will likely be directed to industries such as fertilizer production rather than power generation, Pai said.

Coal advocates such as Michelle Manook of FutureCoal say the shortfall would be worse without coal and future use should be strategic. The lesson has to be diversity, she said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Pauline Heinrichs, who studies climate and energy at Kings College London, points to China's boosting use of coal to offset hydropower shortfalls due to droughts, worsening emissions that contribute to climate change.

You learn to respond to shocks generated by certain insecurities by reproducing the insecurity, she said.

Indonesia keeps coal for its own use

Adding to the vulnerability for import-dependent countries, Indonesia, the worlds largest exporter, is prioritizing domestic use over exports. That could tighten regional supplies and push global prices higher, said Putra Adhiguna of the Energy Shift Institute.

Coal prices are set globally, leaving importers exposed to swings and disruptions. More coal does not guarantee cheap or reliable power, said Russell Marsh of E3G.

Advertisement Advertisement

Vietnam is already facing that volatility. It increased imports after weather-related shortages, but supplies from Indonesia are now uncertain so it's considering importing coal from the U.S. and Laos, according to energy market tracker Argus Media.

The main price for coal used in Asia, called Newcastle coal from Australia, has risen 13% since the war began.

Higher prices will also hurt Southeast Asia, the world's third largest coal-consuming region. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday declared a state of national energy emergency.

Relying on coal now could backfire

More coal use now will slow and possibly undermine long-term efforts to phase out coal-fired power.

Advertisement Advertisement

Indonesia was already struggling to meet targets to retire coal plants early, with financing delays even before the Iran war.

Coal power in Indonesia was 48% more expensive in 2024 than in 2020 due to aging plants and higher costs, according to the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis or IEEFA. Subsidies to the national utility rose 24% to $11 billion, about 5% of the national budget.

Jakarta has promoted use of LNG to ease a shift from coal. But the renewed coal use sends a signal that switching to gas is not as easy as it sounds, Adhiguna said.

South Korea has pledged to retire most coal plants by 2040 and halve its emissions by 2035. But it is allowing more use of coal when air pollution is low and LNG is in short supply.

Advertisement Advertisement

In 2023, South Korea needed a major renewable expansion  about 8 gigawatts of new wind annually  to meet net-zero goals, Agora Energiewende said. Growth has been slow, with renewables supplying just 10% of electricity in 2024, versus a global average of 32%, according to IEEFA.

Over the past 11 years, South Korea has committed $127 billion to fossil fuels. That's 13 times more than it spent on renewables, with 60% of export finance going to LNG and $120.1 billion spent on fuel imports in 2024 alone, said Joojin Kim of Solutions for Our Climate.

South Korea still plans to phase out use of coal, but the recent moves could outlast the crisis, Kim said. The concern is not just the decision itself. It is the precedent it sets.

For countries with limited coal, like Thailand, the impact on electricity prices would be minimal, as coal accounts for too small a share of capacity, said Jitsai Santaputra of The Lantau Group. Domestic coal makes up less than 10% of the Thai energy mix.

Coal brings dirtier air

Burning coal produces fine particles that lodge deep in the lungs and bloodstream, raising the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic respiratory disease, according to the World Health Organization, or WHO.

Advertisement Advertisement

It's a problem across Asia, especially during seasons when farmers are burning their fields.

All 1.4 billion Indians breathe air with concentrations of these particles the WHO considers unsafe, according to a report by the Energy Policy Institute of Chicago. The government has now paused air-quality rules, allowing restaurants to burn coal to ease a gas shortage.

Vietnam also faces severe air pollution, with PM2.5 far above WHO limits. It is promoting electric bikes and has targets to cut coal use.

Lan Nguyen, a shopowner in Hanoi, said she knows coal is essential for electricity right now, but worries for her asthmatic sons health. I worry for my sons lungs every day, she said.

Advertisement Advertisement

___

Ghosal reported from Hanoi, Vietnam. Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Video captured a man handling an 8- to 10-foot snake found along the Atlanta Beltline, but environmental officials are warning the public against handling wildlife they find.

Joseph Ragland shared video of the incident with Channel 2s Audrey Washington.

Thats not a typical Georgia snake; thats something different, Ragland said.

Im walking up behind it trying to see if I can see the head and then somebodys uncle comes out of nowhere and starts yanking it out of the bush, Ragland explained.

Advertisement Advertisement

All of the sudden theres 10 feet of snake laying on the beltline, He added.

Ragland said he has no idea if the man seen handling the snake in the video is the owner or not.

The owner of Southeastern Reptile Rescue, Jason Clark, said Tuesday the video is very concerning.

The problem was if someone picked it up, the snake couldve bitten, Clark said.

Lt. Bubba Stanford with the Law Enforcement Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said the situation could have turned dangerous, quickly.

Wild animals are regulated in Georgia to protect the public as well as our native wildlife, thats why we have the laws, rules and regulations in place, Lt. Stanford said.

Advertisement Advertisement

In a statement, an Atlanta Beltline spokesperson wrote in part:

As always, we urge the public to avoid approaching or handling unfamiliar animals and to report concerns to the appropriate authorities.

Ragland said hes now focused on giving the snake a nickname.

We got the Atlanta-Conda, the Beltline Boa, some people were saying the Peachtree python, Ragland said.

The City of Atlanta Park Use Rules strictly prohibit bringing in and abandoning any animalincluding wild animals like raccoons or opossumsin city parks without written permission from the Commissioner.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a disruption in its Bahrain cloud region on Monday following reports of drone activity tied to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, reported Reuters.

An Amazon spokesperson stated that the company is supporting customers as they migrate to other AWS regions while recovery efforts continue.

In a statement on Monday night, Amazon said: As this situation evolves and, as we have advised before, we request those with workloads in the affected regions continue to migrate to other locations.

Advertisement Advertisement

No further information was provided regarding the scale of the damage or a timeline for restoration.

This marks the second instance since the escalation of conflict between the US, Israel and Iran that drones have impacted AWS infrastructure in Bahrain.

Earlier this month, AWS reported power outages affecting its data centres in both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On 1 March, unidentified objects triggered a fire at an AWS facility in the UAE, prompting a power shutdown as emergency crews responded.

That incident coincided with reports of missile and drone attacks across several countries, including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Advertisement Advertisement

AWS said the fire affected only one availability zone in the UAE, and that its other data centres continued operating normally.

At the time, AWS advised customers experiencing connectivity issues to switch to alternative regions while it worked to resolve the network disruptions.

The company also acknowledged issues at its Bahrain site earlier this month without specifying causes linked to regional hostilities.

The AWS Middle East (Bahrain) Region comprises three availability zones and supports numerous businesses and government clients.

The continued disruptions underscore the risks facing cloud infrastructure operating in regions affected by armed conflict.

Advertisement Advertisement

Globally, AWS maintains 123 groups of data centres across 39 regions.

"AWS Bahrain cloud services face disruption due to drone incident" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.




By Jonathan Stempel

March 24 (Reuters) - The city of Baltimore sued Elon Musks xAI on Tuesday, claiming its Grok chatbot illegally generates nonconsensual sexually explicit images, including of children.

Baltimore, with a population of about 568,000, is the largest city to sue xAI over "deepfakes" attributed to Grok, its lawyers said.

Musk launched Grok in 2023 and distributes it through his social media platform X, which like xAI is now part of his rocket and space exploration company SpaceX.

Advertisement Advertisement

Neither SpaceX nor xAI immediately responded to requests for comment.

The Maryland city said in a complaint filed in Baltimore Circuit Court that xAI is violating its consumer protection statute by promoting Grok as a safe, general-purpose artificial intelligence assistant for everyday people.

Baltimore said Grok has flooded X users with objectionable content, becoming one of the largest distributors of material depicting nonconsensual sexual activity and child sexual abuse despite promising it bans such content and permits only consensually produced adult nudity.

The city also said X, formerly known as Twitter, generated an estimated 3 million realistic-looking sexualized images --including more than 23,000 of children -- over 11 days around the start of the year.

Advertisement Advertisement

Were talking about tech companies enabling the sexual exploitation of children," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement. "It's a threat to privacy, dignity and public safety, and those responsible must be held accountable."

REGULATORS IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES PROBING GROK

Musk's xAI faces regulatory probes in several countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and in Australia over Grok.

In mid-January, xAI said it restricted image editing in Grok, and blocked users from generating images of people in revealing clothing in "jurisdictions where it's illegal."

Advertisement Advertisement

Musk said at the time he was "not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok. Literally zero."

The complaint includes a Grok-generated image that Musk shared on December 31, 2025, depicting the 54-year-old in a blue string bikini. Baltimore called it a "public endorsement" of Groks ability to generate revealing edits of real people.

The 3 million estimate came from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, based on a random sample of 20,000 images that Grok generated.

Baltimore is seeking an injunction requiring xAI to change Grok's "exploitative" design features, and pay unspecified fines.

Advertisement Advertisement

Last month's combination of SpaceX and xAI created the world's most valuable private company, worth about $1.25 trillion at the time.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New YorkEditing by Bill Berkrot)
FALL RIVER  A New Bedford man was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the first-degree murder of 20-year-old Lorenzo Gomes, also of New Bedford, in 2023.

Xavier Luis Rodriguez, 22, was sentenced Monday, March 23, in Fall River Superior Court after he was found guilty following a jury trial.

He was 20 at the time of the shooting and will be eligible for parole after 25 years. Thats in keeping with a 2024 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision to prohibit life-without-parole sentences in first-degree murder cases when the defendant is over 18 but not yet 21.

Xavier Luis Rodriguez, 22, left, was sentenced Monday March 23 in Fall River Superior Court after he was found guilty following a jury trial.

Why life without parole is unconstitutional

The court had ruled in the case of Commonwealth vs. Mattis that it was an unconstitutional sentence for emerging adults" in that age group.

Advertisement Advertisement

The court identified four key characteristics of emerging adults: a lack of impulse control in emotionally charged situations, a heightened tendency to engage in risktaking behaviors in pursuit of rewards, increased susceptibility to peer influence, and greater capacity for change.

Rodriguez was also found guilty of carrying an illegal firearm and sentenced to three years to three years and one day. Its to be served consecutively so Rodriguez will have to serve it first before the murder sentence, according to court records.

Prosecutors said he was one of four passengers in a Honda Civic, which included a 16-year-old boy, involved in the shooting.

Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert

Rodriguez shot Gomes from the cars rear driver's side passenger window, prosecutors said during his arraignment. Gomes had been driving another car.

Advertisement Advertisement

Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert shortly before midnight on June 30, 2023, in the area of Tallman Street and North Front Street.

Police found several spent shell casings as well as a vehicle parked at the side of the road that had been struck by bullets. There was no one at the scene, which appeared directly below a city camera, according to prosecutors at the arraignment.

Police were analyzing the video when a 911 call came in from a friend of Gomes who said he had been talking with him on the phone when he heard gunshots. Gomes indicated he was hit and then was unresponsive, according to prosecutors.

Police pinged Gomes' cellphone to find him

The caller gave police Gomes' cellphone number and they pinged it and located the car at the intersection of Tallman Street and Belleville Avenue, a short distance away from the scene of the shooting.

Advertisement Advertisement

Gomes was found inside with bullet wounds. He was brought to the hospital and pronounced dead at 12:40 a.m., according to prosecutors. They also found a loaded high-capacity firearm on Gomes' lap that didn't appear to have been fired.

Prosecutors said during the arraignment they were able to identify the car in which Rodriguez was a passenger based on the video from the scene.

Police were then able to develop a timeline of the shooting based on surveillance video of the car at various locations in the city. They included a stop at a Taco Bell prior to the shooting in which Rodriguez could be identified when he pulled down a mask he was wearing to eat, according to prosecutors during his arraignment.

Shooting seen on city video cameras

Video from city cameras also showed the shooting, according to prosecutors during the arraignment.

Advertisement Advertisement

They said the car in which Rodriguez was a passenger is seen following Gomes car and then pulling up alongside it. A gunshot could be seen coming from the rear driver's side window into Gomes car, they said. Several additional gunshots were seen being fired into the front windshield of Gomes car, they said, before the car in which Rodriguez was a passenger sped off, they said.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford man sentenced for first-degree murder in 2023 shooting
When Courtney Patterson was born on his familys farm in Lenoir County, North Carolina, 80 years ago, he was fortunate that a country doctor recorded his birth, ensuring that he would have a document later.

But many other people who grew up with me didnt even have that, Patterson recalled. Babies were usually delivered at home by midwives who were illiterate. On the rare occasions a doctor visited, he might leave with a ham or produce  payment from families with little cash. Documentation of births, if it existed at all, was written down in a family Bible.

That absence of a legal record  which springs from a segregated health system and informal birth practices  is now part of a bitter political fight over voter eligibility.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, a Republican-backed bill that passed the House and is currently being debated in the Senate, would require people to show proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, to register to vote and to provide photo identification at the polls. Voting rights advocates say that the measure, known as the SAVE America Act, would narrow ballot access, especially for Black communities.

Some 21 million voting-age Americans dont have readily available proof of citizenship, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. But the burden of this lack hits Black Americans with particular force.

While birth certificates are frequently viewed as universal, access to them is uneven, especially for Black Americans born in the Jim Crow South. One-fifth of Black Americans born in 1939 and 1940 were never issued birth certificates, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. And only about one-third of Black Americans have passports, while half of all American adults do.

This isnt an ID law, Demetria McCain, the director of policy at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, told Capital B, referring to the SAVE America Act. Your drivers license isnt going to help you, in this instance, to prove your citizenship. Youve got to have something like a passport or a birth certificate.

Advertisement Advertisement

Documentation barriers arent only rooted in policy and history; theyre also a matter of cost.

Obtaining a birth certificate often means taking time off work, traveling  sometimes long distances  and paying fees. Securing a passport could be more expensive and time-intensive, requiring payment of application fees and submission of photographs. Hurdles compound quickly for hourly workers.

All of that costs money, said McCain, before drawing a direct line to history and the mechanisms that were used in the past to prevent Black Americans from voting. And guess what the poll tax was about? It was about money, she said, referring to the fees that people had to pay to exercise their right to vote.

The SAVE America Act, if signed into law, could also disrupt how many Black Americans first enter the electorate.

Advertisement Advertisement

For decades, voter registration has orbited around Black civic life: churches, historically Black fraternities and sororities, and other community organizations. Those drives seek to meet people where they are, whether theyre in the foyers after Sunday services or outside grocery stores. But proving citizenship requires having formal documentation verified.

And you cant do that at a church registration drive, McCain said. You cant do that in front of a grocery store.

This shift could move voter registration away from community spaces and toward government offices, places that require time, transportation, and money to access. The result is a system that disproportionately burdens the very communities those drives were designed to reach.

Additionally, the SAVE America Act could inject administrative risks into the voting landscape, McCain said. Matching voter rolls with documentation raises the possibility of introducing errors such as wrongful purges. Even small discrepancies could trigger mismatches. And people with common names, as well as women who have changed their names after marriage, could face heightened scrutiny if their papers dont perfectly align.

Advertisement Advertisement

At the same time, the issue that the legislation claims to remedy  noncitizen voting  is vanishingly rare. Thats in part because existing law already requires voters to attest to their citizenship under penalty of perjury.

To Patterson, who has served on the Lenoir County Board of Elections for close to 15 years, this disconnect between reality and the SAVE America Acts espoused ambitions only reinforces his view that the legislation is less about security than about access for some and not for others.

The whole time that Ive been on the board, Patterson said, we have never had to investigate a case where someone has falsely claimed citizenship to vote. What he sees in the bill, he said, is behavior similar to that of earlier eras of U.S. history, when practices such as requiring someone to take a literacy test or guess the number of jellybeans in a jar were used to block Black Americans from registering to vote.

Its the same pattern, he told Capital B.

Advertisement Advertisement

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also has made historical parallels: Its Jim Crow 2.0, the Democrat told MS Nows Morning Joe in February. What theyre trying to do here is the same thing that was done in the South for decades to prevent people of color from voting.

Black voters ages 50 and older are less likely to identify as or lean Republican (7%) than those under 50 (17%), according to the Pew Research Center.

Bracing for whats next

Supporters of the SAVE America Act, including President Donald Trump, maintain that its needed to secure elections, citing unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential contest.

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Republican and the longest-serving Black senator, has defended the legislation, asserting on Saturday that it would make it harder to cheat. Scott has historically received a small share of the Black vote, showing a gap between his and his partys support among these voters and his role in influencing policies that disproportionately affect them.

Courtney Patterson has served on the Lenoir County Board of Elections in North Carolina for nearly 15 years, and says the board has never had to investigate a case where someone has falsely claimed citizenship to vote. (Courtesy of Courtney Patterson)

In response to these efforts, organizers in and beyond North Carolina are preparing for a scenario in which the legislation is signed into law, despite the uphill battle it faces in the Senate.

Advertisement Advertisement

Patterson works with a network of nonprofit organizations that focus on building a more just political system, including through voting education and election protection. Part of that work involves helping people, particularly Black elders, to make sure that they have everything they need to cast a ballot.

Its been years, Patterson said, since hes had a conversation with someone who didnt have a birth certificate  many of this generation have begun to pass away. But he added that his work is guided by his personal awareness of a time when people were born in circumstances that prevented them from having a documented birth.

This kind of grassroots work, he said, has long served as a bulwark against voter suppression, and it continues today  sometimes in new forms.

In Louisiana, voting rights advocates this month publicly announced a push for a state-level Voting Rights Act. Unlike the SAVE America Act, its designed to expand access to the ballot box by protecting against vote dilution and voter suppression.

Advertisement Advertisement

A State Voting Rights Act is how Louisiana decides whether we are a democracy for everyone, or only for a few, Ashley Shelton, the president and CEO of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, said in a statement.

At a time when federal protections are under threat, states have a responsibility to step up and protect the fundamental rights of their citizens, she added. Louisiana has the opportunity to lead by ensuring that every voter, especially those historically excluded, has a fair chance to participate and be represented.

Nine states currently have their own Voting Rights Acts: Colorado (2025), Minnesota (2024), Connecticut (2023), New York (2022), Virginia (2021), Oregon (2019), Washington (2018), Illinois (2011), and California (2002).

To Patterson, embracing a wide array of voter protections is essential to expanding democratic participation  but so is remembering how the present is tied to the past.

Advertisement Advertisement

The gaps in documentation that some lawmakers are focusing on now didnt arise by accident, he said. Rather, they were shaped by the realities of deep-seated segregation that governed Black American life for generations.

Patterson managed to receive a birth certificate that, eight decades later, would become a quiet assurance. Many of his peers, he said, werent so lucky.

The post Black Elders Without Birth Records Could Lose Vote Under SAVE America Act appeared first on Capital B News.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng delivers a speech during the China-Kenya Business Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, March 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

NAIROBI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Monday attended the China-Kenya Business Forum in Nairobi, where he reaffirmed China's commitment to expanding trade with Kenya and the wider African region.

Han said that in April last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kenyan President William Ruto jointly agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era, setting the direction for the long-term development of relations.

The Chinese vice president put forward three proposals to strengthen bilateral ties. First, to consolidate strategic mutual trust. China stands ready to strengthen alignment between its development strategies and the Kenya Vision 2030, and to support African countries, including Kenya, in transforming resource advantages into development strengths so as to advance modernization together.

Second, to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation. China is Kenya's largest trading partner and source of foreign investment, while Kenya is China's largest trading partner in East Africa. China is willing to expand cooperation in areas such as agricultural technology, the digital economy and green energy, and encourages more capable Chinese enterprises to invest and operate in Kenya.

Third, to uphold multilateralism. President Xi has announced that starting May 1, China will implement a zero-tariff policy for all products from 53 African countries with diplomatic ties to China. China is ready to work with African countries, including Kenya, to safeguard the multilateral trading system and foster an open, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for international economic cooperation.

Han said that China's recently concluded annual "two sessions" approved the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, which charts the country's development blueprint for the next five years. China will remain committed to expanding high-level opening-up and will share opportunities and achieve success with countries, including Kenya, through open development.

Prior to the event, Han also held talks with Kenyan Deputy President Kithure Kindiki. He said China supports Kenya in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions and welcomes Kenya to make full use of trade facilitation measures to boost exports of high-quality and distinctive products to China, tapping into the vast opportunities of the Chinese market.

China is a good partner and friend of Kenya, Kindiki said, noting that through the Belt and Road Initiative, China has promoted regional connectivity and created significant opportunities for Kenya.

Kenya is willing to fully leverage the benefits of the zero-tariff policy to expand exports to China, promote balanced trade, enhance technological exchanges, and position itself as a gateway for China to the broader African market, Kindiki added. 
Dairy farmers impacted by damage caused by blizzard conditions and winter storms that roared across Wisconsin earlier this month may be eligible for aid. Those farmers are encouraged to report crop, livestock and infrastructure related losses to the local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and inquire about available disaster recovery assistance.

FSA officials the March 14-16 storms created serious challenges for dairy producers, affecting livestock health, feed supplies, transportation and daily milk production.

Milk cant wait. When trucks cant reach farms or processors on time, producers face costly delays and, in some cases, must dispose of milk that cant be stored. Those disruptions, coupled with livestock losses, create real economic consequences for Wisconsin dairy operations, said Sandy Chalmers, FSA State Executive Director in Wisconsin. We recognize the significant economic strain these adverse weather events place on a producers bottom line."

Advertisement Advertisement

Chalmers said the FSA is focused on ensuring producers receive timely disaster assistance when extreme weather impacts their operations.

"Reporting storm-related losses helps us quickly initiate a disaster designation and move forward with recovery support for Wisconsin dairy producers, she said.

Producers who experience livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality or sell injured livestock at a reduced price may be eligible for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). To participate in LIP, producers will have to provide acceptable documentation of death losses or evidence of reduced sales resulting from an eligible adverse event, including an adverse weather event, and must submit a notice of loss to FSA no later than March 1, 2027, for 2026 calendar year losses.

For LIP eligibility, producers should keep good records of livestock losses or animals sold at a reduced price. Documentation must include sufficient data that identifies the quantity and the livestock kind, type, and weight range. For loss documentation details, review the LIP Verifiable and Reliable Documentation fact sheet.

Advertisement Advertisement

Meanwhile, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides eligible producers with compensation for feed and grazing losses. ELAP also includes costs associated with equipment rental fees for hay lifts and snow removal. For ELAP, producers are required to complete a notice of loss and application for payment to their local FSA office no later than March 1, 2027, for 2026 calendar year losses.

Producers with NAP coverage should report crop damage to their local FSA office and must file a Notice of Loss (CCC-576) within 15 days of the loss becoming apparent.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin State Farmer: Blizzard recovery assistance available for Wisconsin dairy producers
Video footage of federal officers detaining a crying woman at San Francisco International Airport drew outrage Monday from local officials, although it was unrelated to President Donald Trump's deployment of immigration officers to short-staffed airports during a partial government shutdown.

One video posted on social media showed a woman crying and yelling as officers held her down and attempted to handcuff her while her child looked on. The Department of Homeland Security said in an email that officers arrested Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and Wendy Godinez-Jimenez at the airport Sunday as the family had an outstanding final order of removal to Guatemala from 2019.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco and candidate for Congress, held a news conference Monday outside the airport to denounce the actions of federal authorities. Several Democratic candidates for California governor also sharply criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to the video.

Advertisement Advertisement

We dont want ICE here and when ICE descends on our communities, it only creates fear, Wiener said.

On social media, the footage generated concerns over Trump's move to place ICE officers at airports as many Transportation Security Administration officers have quit or are calling out sick after weeks of working without pay. ICE officers were spotted Monday at several airports after Trump said he would deploy them unless Democrats agree to a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats say they are holding out until the administration makes reforms in the wake of a crackdown in Minnesota that led to the fatal shootings of two protesters.

San Francisco International Airport is not among airports where ICE officers are expected, airport officials said. That's because the airport uses private contractors to screen passengers so it is not affected by the current impasse in Congress.

We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to suspect broader enforcement action at SFO, airport spokesman Doug Yakel said in a statement.

Advertisement Advertisement

While being escorted to the international terminal for processing, Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee and resisted law enforcement officers, DHS said. The department typically has offices or processing facilities at international airport terminals. ICE plans to return the family to Guatemala, the statement said.

This arrest occurred BEFORE ICE officers were even deployed to bolster TSA efforts to help American travelers who are facing hours long lines across the country, the statement said.

In video of the detention, the officers ignored repeated requests by bystanders to see their identification badges. They were not in uniform, and at one point an officer tells the crowd to step back. Other videos show a sizable crowd of onlookers, many of them filming. One video appears to show the woman eventually being pushed away in a wheelchair with the child walking behind.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and a spokesperson for the airport said they believe this was an isolated incident and not indicative of a broader immigration crackdown. Lurie, a Democrat, called the incident upsetting.




A Modesto man has been sentenced to more than six years in state prison after pleading no contest to stalking a woman and breaking into her home to commit a sexual act, authorities said.

Cristian Alejandro Solorio Anguiano, 28, was convicted of felony stalking and assault with intent to commit a sex offense during a burglary, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office.

He received six years and eight months in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under California law. Prosecutors said he also faces separate federal drug trafficking charges.

Advertisement Advertisement

Authorities said the case began in February 2025, when Solorio encountered the victim at her workplace and became fixated on her. He repeatedly showed up at her job, loitered outside and approached her as she left, prosecutors said. He asked her out multiple times and sent her a letter expressing a desire to take her to Mexico, according to court records.

The behavior escalated over several weeks, according to the district attorney's office.

On May 21, 2025, Solorio went to the woman's home in Ceres after figuring out where she lived. After the victim's father left, Solorio broke into the residence, authorities said.

The woman awoke to find Solorio in her bedroom "sucking on her toes," according to prosecutors. Investigators said he also bit and licked her toes.

Advertisement Advertisement

Fearing for her safety, the woman spoke calmly to try to keep him from escalating, authorities said. Family members eventually entered the room and ordered him to leave. Solorio fled, and the victim called 911.

Stanislaus County sheriff's detectives later identified and arrested him. Authorities said Solorio admitted to breaking into the home to contact the victim.

Deputy District Attorney Vita Palazuelos, who prosecuted the case, said the victim's actions helped prevent further harm.

"I'm glad the victim came forward," Palazuelos said in a statement.

Under California law, the conviction qualifies as a "super strike," prosecutors said. Solorio will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

This article originally published at California man gets maximum sentence after breaking into woman's home and sucking her toes.
By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY, March 24 (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Tuesday that Catholics can receive transplants of animal tissues to address medical conditions, as procedures involving genetically modified pig or cow organs continue to advance.

In an 88-page document providing ethical guidelines for such transplants, the Vatican reaffirmed an earlier teaching and said the Church has no objection to such treatments, provided they follow best medical practices and do not treat animals with cruelty.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Catholic theology does not have preclusions, on a religious or ritual basis, in using any animal as a source of organs, tissues or cells for transplantation to human beings," the document said.

The text addressed xenotransplantation, or the transplanting of organs or tissues from one species to another. The Vatican first greenlit such procedures in 2001, when they were in very early stages of development.

Animal organ transplants for human use are still rare. The first pig-to-human kidney transplant was carried out in the United States in 2024.

The Vatican document, which was drafted with the help of doctors from Italy, the U.S. and the Netherlands, called on scientists to pursue animal transplants in a manner that is "purposeful, proportionate and sustainable".

Advertisement Advertisement

It also called on doctors to disclose the risks of animal transplants, including the probability of rejection by a patient's immune system and the possibility of causing infection from microorganisms.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Andrei Khalip)
A woman from Central Florida received nearly $4 million from a jury following a slip-and-fall at a Kissimmee Publix. The verdict held the grocery store entirely responsible for the injuries Victoria Marcano suffered in June 2023.

The $3.967 million total award covers past and future medical costs plus pain and suffering. However, Publix has requested a new trial, claiming that the court wrongly permitted the jury to review inflated medical bills that go against Florida law.

Marcano lodged the initial complaint after an incident at the Publix on North John Young Parkway. The lawsuit states she slipped on a liquid substance inside the store, leading to what was described as severe, grievous and permanent injuries. After a trial, the jury found the supermarket chain entirely liable for the incident.

Advertisement Advertisement

The $3.967 million total award comprises various damage categories. The jury assigned $411,000 for past medical expenses and $556,000 for future medical care Marcano is anticipated to require.

The remaining amount covers non-economic damages such as disability, physical impairment, disfigurement, and mental anguish.

The jury awarded $750,000 for past damages in the non-economic portion of the award. An extra $2.25 million was granted for pain and suffering, as well as the projected loss of enjoyment of life.

In its motion for a new trial filed earlier this month, Publix argued the following:

Because the trial court incorrectly applied section 768.0427, Florida Statutes, and allowed Ms. Marcano to present evidence of inflated medical bills rather than the restricted evidence mandated by section 768.0427(2), a new trial on all damages is warranted. The inflated evidence of past medical damages not only affected the jurys determination of future damages, but also its award of past and future non-economic damages by exaggerating the degree of medical care needed

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
BEIJING, March 24 (Reuters) - China has lodged a protest and made representations with the Japanese government after what it described as a "forceful break-in" at its embassy in Tokyo, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

An individual who claimed to be an active-duty officer of Japan's military, the Self-Defense Forces, scaled the wall and forcibly entered the Chinese Embassy on Tuesday morning, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference.

"The individual admitted that the actions were illegal and threatened to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel in the so-called name of God," Lin said.

Advertisement Advertisement

China is deeply shocked by the incident, Lin said, urging Tokyo to conduct a thorough investigation, punish those responsible and provide an explanation.

"The Japanese side must effectively guarantee the safety of the premises and personnel of Chinese embassies and consulates in Japan, reflect on and correct its policies towards China, and fundamentally prevent such incidents from occurring again," he said.

Japan's Ministry of Defence said in an emailed message it was aware of media reports on the incident but it declined to comment further.

Ties between the Asian neighbours have deteriorated since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan, the democratically governed island China claims its own, could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

Advertisement Advertisement

Japan is set to downgrade its description of ties with China from "one of its most important" relationships in an annual diplomatic report and will instead describe it as an important neighbour and the relationship as "strategic" and "mutually beneficial", citing a series of confrontations with Beijing over the past year, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters.

Asked about the decision, Lin reiterated a call for Takaichi to withdraw her remarks.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Ethan Wang; Additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Arun Koyyur)
A former Trump administration official called out CNNs resident MAGA pundit for heaping praise on President Trump on air and then taking a very different tone when the cameras stop rolling.

Miles Taylor, an alumnus of Donald Trumps first presidential term who has since become one of his loudest critics, delivered a blistering assessment of Scott Jennings, a former George W. Bush administration aide, on Tuesday.

You know whos a perfect metaphor for the GOP? Scott Jennings, Taylor, 39, wrote in a post on X.

Miles Taylor sounded off on Scot Jennings after a heated debate the night before. / Screenshot/ / X

A pundit who mocks Trump with us during commercial breaks  but fawns over Trump when the camera is rolling, he continued. Brave enough to speak out in the green room.

Advertisement Advertisement

Jennings publicly opposed Trump during the 2016 election cycle, but has since emerged as a staunch supporter of the presidentat least publicly. The Daily Beast has reached out to Jennings for clarification.

Taylors accusation comes after a heated on-air clash between the two men Monday night on CNN, where they sparred over Trumps surprise war with Iran, launched in coordination with Israel on Feb. 28 without congressional approval. The Daily Beast has reached out to Taylor for additional comment.

Things grew heated between the two men over Iran. / Screenshot/X / X

During the segment, Taylor cast doubt on Trumps weekend claim that he was engaged in VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST with Iranian officialswho have denied such talks took place.

The former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff went on to allege that U.S. allies in the Middle East had privately expressed frustration with Trumps handling of the conflictprompting a sharp exchange.

Advertisement Advertisement

Anyone who plays chess knows that. Donald Trump hasnt played chess. Donald Trump doesnt know how to play chess, Taylor said. And our allies tonight even told me in meetings that because Donald Trump kept shifting his objective

You keep saying that. Who was that? Who was it? Jennings interrupted.

Well, Ill tell you, when the president tells us who hes negotiating with, Taylor responded. When Jennings pressed further, Taylor said, I talk to people from the region all the time, Scott, to which Jennings shot back: The region or with governments?

The pair also clashed over Trumps Sunday announcement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be deployed to airports to help ease travel disruptions, as passengers face crippling delays tied to a partial government shutdown that has left Transportation Security Administration staff unpaid.

For his part, Jennings has previously drawn attention for controversial takes on Trumps moves on Iran, describing the conflict as merely a three-week situation. He also referred to the presidents decision to bomb nuclear sites in the country last June as a de-escalation of tensions with the Islamic regime.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

A Saeqeh-2 variant at a defense exhibition in Tehran. | Credit: Fars News

Chinese eTail giant Alibaba has removed listings and suspended the accounts of sellers that were found to be advertising cruise missiles and suicide attack drones. Australias ABC News uncovered the concerning sales of several one-way attack drone models, some of which looked strikingly similar to the Iranian Shahed design, others with a cruise missile profile.

The Alibaba commercial listings touted the drones as pesticide sprayers, or for aerial mapping. However, ABC dug into the product catalogs to confirm the Shahed-a-likes were suicide attack drones capable of carrying 2kg (4.41 pound) warheads for distances up to 100km. Moreover, with their thermal imaging and AI guidance, these devices could "achieve autonomous locking of targets (people, building, vehicles, ships, etc.)

Advertisement Advertisement

These kamikaze drones would not be casual impulse buys. ABC reports that the listing prices of the cruise missile style drones were approaching $50,000. If that sum was reported in Australian dollars, it equates to approximately USD $35,000.

ABC continued to look closely through the various supplier catalogs it found from the Alibaba suppliers. One of the China-based suppliers offered five kinds of "suicide attack drones" with two having near identical dimensions and specs to the Iranian-made Shahed 136, says the news report.

Dual use conundrum

Drones inhabit a twilight dual-use segment of the commercial landscape. Many can quickly and easily be adapted for peaceful purposes or war duties. An Alibaba statement received by ABC News, was clear, though. The online retailer stated that it strictly prohibits the sale of military weapons. It also acted quickly to remove what it characterized as non-compliant third-party listings.

Talking to a handful of the suppliers, the Australian news organization saw that the sellers generally didnt care what the drones they sold were used for. For example, one of the retailers contacted shrugged After the customer makes a purchase, what they use it for has nothing to do with us.

A screenshot of some Alibaba drone listings today | Credit: Future

Is the delivery what you expected?

Importantly, just because these kamikaze drone adverts exist, it doesnt mean that the advertisers would actually ship these exact products.

We reported on overclocking expert De8auer falling victim to fake metal exporters on Alibaba recently. That transaction meant 40,000 down the drain, and orders delayed. Who knows what you would have got if you ordered a Shahed-a-like before the listing was removed? Wed imagine it would be difficult to complain and get any recompense from a Shahed lost in the post, or after receiving a tiny replica, or another scam item.
A Murrells Inlet fast food restaurant has been receiving negative attention after someone apparently hoisted a Confederate flag on the restaurants pole outside.

The flag had been flying on the pole outside Wendys, 1305 Tadlock Drive, for about three hours Sunday before the general manager was notified by a customer. General Manager Mikey Ashworth said that when he came into work about 6 a.m. the flag was not on the pole.

Ashworth said he normally does a walk around the building to make sure everything is OK. He said there has not been a flag on the pole since he began working about three months ago.

Advertisement Advertisement

As soon as I found out ... I immediately took it down and threw it in the trash, Ashworth said.

Ashworth said hes not sure who put the flag up. He said it is easy to access the hooks that are on the pole.

Ashworth said he is upset that the flag was placed on the pole and that it was not an employee who did it.

The flag is regarded as a sign of racism, symbolizing the Confederacy during the Civil War which fought to maintain slavery in America.
Tuesday's hearing lasted only a few minutes, but it represented the first step in the legal process that will see a Cook County judge decide whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate federal immigration officers' actions last fall.

It's a petition the Cook County State's Attorney's Office vehemently opposes.

Speaking out after court on Tuesday, lawyers for a coalition of some 200 groups, clergy and public officials blasted Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke for failing to investigate alleged crimes committed by federal immigration officials during operation "Midway Blitz."

Advertisement Advertisement

"A murder was committed. There was an attempted murder. Months and months have gone by," said Loevy & Loevy Partner Locke Bowman.

The killing of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez in Franklin Park and the shooting of Marimar Martinez are two of those most often cited.

It is why they are calling for an independent special prosecutor to investigate, even as O'Neill Burke herself has called such a move illegal. Her office has already outlined a protocol for charging federal agents committing violent crimes.

"People want somebody to do something. I get that. But us violating the law doesn't get us where we need to go," O'Neill Burke said.

Advertisement Advertisement

That argument is part of the filing that was submitted in court by her office, saying, in part, "The law permits the appointment of a special prosecutor for an actual conflict of interest in two distinct scenarios... Neither scenario exists here."

The state's attorney's office also argued that "in Illinois... federal agents must be investigated by law enforcement... The petition before this Court is baseless, frivolous, and contrary to law. It must be denied."

The petitioners' attorneys called O'Neill Burke's position an abdication of her duty.

"There is absolutely nothing that stops a state prosecutor from looking into, from evaluating evidence and from bringing charges," said Loevy & Loevy Partner Steve Art.

Advertisement Advertisement

But do they have a case? ABC7 Legal Analyst Gil Soffer believes the odds are against them.

"There are extraordinary circumstances, as is often the case with laws where you could, in this case, have an investigation conducted by the state's attorney's office. But it would be the extraordinary case," Soffer said.

Judge Erica Reddick set April 10 as the next court date in this case, at which time the petitioners will have to offer up their formal response to the state's attorney's opposition.
By Alimat Aliyeva

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor is recalling 69,060 three-row SUVs in the United States and Canada due to a defect in the system designed to prevent the second and third-row seats from folding onto a person or object, AzerNEWS reports.

The recall affects 2026 models of the Hyundai Palisade Limited and Calligraphy series. Hyundai has submitted the recall request to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and temporarily suspended sales of the affected vehicles in the U.S. following reports of passengers being pinched by the electric rear seatsone of which tragically resulted in the death of a young child.

According to a police report, a fatal incident occurred in Ohio on March 7, when the automatic rear seat of a 2026 Palisade crushed a child, leading to respiratory failure.

From mid-August 2025 to March 9, Hyundai received a total of 17 complaints concerning Palisade seats. Four passengers experienced minor injuries, highlighting the serious safety concerns associated with the defect.

Hyundai has pledged to release a software update by the end of March that will improve the seat systems response to obstacles. In addition, the company plans to implement further safety measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. Experts note that this recall underscores the growing importance of rigorous testing for advanced automotive features, especially as more vehicles adopt automated and electronically controlled components.

Interestingly, industry analysts suggest that this recall could accelerate regulatory scrutiny of power-adjustable seats across all major manufacturers, potentially reshaping safety standards for family SUVs worldwide.
KABUL, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan welcomed around 2.3 million domestic and international tourists to its recreational areas and natural attractions during the Eid al-Fitr holiday that ended on Sunday, reflecting a significant increase over previous years, an official at the Ministry of Information and Culture announced on Tuesday.

"The ministry is committed to further developing and reinforcing the tourism sector nationwide. Efforts are under way to improve facilities and enhance convenience for all visitors," Khubaib Ghufran, spokesman for the ministry, posted on his X account.

He emphasized the need for public cooperation in preserving the environment, maintaining cleanliness, and protecting tourist sites. 
NEED TO KNOW

Alecia Ai Lindsay, 31, died of hypothermia on Feb. 8, 2024, after authorities were notified that she was outside of a residents home and sitting on the ground

More than two years after her death, her family has filed a lawsuit against the Municipality of Anchorage

The complaint claimed that if EMS had been dispatched immediately after the first 911 call was placed, Lindsay could have received medical treatment for hypothermia sooner, before she lost consciousness and stopped breathing

The family of an Alaska woman who died of hypothermia amid freezing temperatures has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that a 911 dispatcher failed to adequately help her in time.

Alecia Ai Lindsay's family filed the complaint on Feb. 5 in Alaska Superior Court, accusing the municipality of Anchorage, its dispatchers and the police department of negligence and liability stemming from the events leading to her death.

Advertisement Advertisement

According to the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, in the early morning hours of Feb. 7, 2024, Lindsay, 31, drove to Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage but did not board her flight. She lost her vehicle at the airport and was driven home by airport police.

In the early afternoon that same day, Lindsay returned to the airport, the complaint said. At around 4:15 p.m. local time, she hailed a vehicle at the airport that took her downtown. The driver of the vehicle later said he called 911 out of concern for Lindsays safety as she was standing in the middle of the road.

An Anchorage police detective told Lindsays family that authorities made contact with the woman and let her go, thinking that she did not need help at the time, according to the complaint.

The following day, at approximately 7 a.m., Anchorages emergency communication center received a call from a man who said that a woman was knocking on his door sitting on the ground at his residence, appearing disoriented and, possibly homeless, wearing all black, not speaking, and looking kind of weird. 

Advertisement Advertisement

In response, the dispatcher told the caller that officers would be sent to the residence and to call back if anything changed, the complaint alleged.

Around 7:30 a.m., 30 minutes after the first 911 call, the resident placed a second 911 call to the emergency communication center, court documents read. He reported that the woman  later identified as Lindsay  was crawling around his patio area and not leaving, and that she appeared to be on drugs or experiencing a medical emergency.

The resident's wife told the dispatcher that the woman had trouble speaking, needed time to comprehend, appeared overwhelmed and required help, the complaint added. The wife said that she offered the woman hand warmers and a blanket and told her help was on the way.

Temperatures that day ranged from 17 to 28 degrees with 35 inches of snow on the ground, according to KTUU.

Advertisement Advertisement

The complaint alleged that the dispatcher didnt sound concerned for Lindsays safety after hearing the couples reports of what was happening.

Instead, she [the dispatcher] asked if they knew the woman, if she had any weapons out, if they were able to stay separated from her until someone arrived, and if they can lock their door, the complaint stated.

The dispatcher told the resident that someone would drop by, and to call the emergency communication center again if Lindsay escalates the situation, according to court records.

At about 7:47 a.m., Anchorage police officers arrived at the residents home. Ten minutes later, they reported to EMS that Lindsay was breathing but in and out of consciousness.

Advertisement Advertisement

Alecia can be heard on the bodycam audio moaning in pain, the complaint read.

At about 8:06 a.m., emergency responders arrived, lifted Lindsay from the cold ground and brought her to the ambulance. Six minutes later, a police officer could be heard saying that Lindsay stopped breathing, according to bodycam audio, the court documents said.

The ambulance arrived at about 8:26 a.m. at Providence Hospital, where Lindsay died, the complaint said.

The complaint also stated that Lindsay was wearing only a lightweight black sweater, black jeans and black boots, described as "inadequate clothing for prolonged outdoor exposure" during the winter conditions in Anchorage.

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.

Among the allegations listed in the complaint levied against the Municipality of Anchorages dispatchers included failing to recognize multiple reports of a non-responsive person lying on icy ground in freezing conditions as an emergency involving an imminent risk of death or seriously bodily harm from hypothermia; treating the woman as a trespasser or nuisance rather than as a medically compromised, vulnerable person requiring immediate assessment and rescue; and failing to relay accurate medical risk information to the responding officers.

Advertisement Advertisement

The complaint also claimed that if EMS had been dispatched immediately after the first 911 call, Lindsay could have received medical treatment for hypothermia sooner before she lost consciousness and stopped breathing. It also alleged that the dispatchers appeared more concerned about the safety of the callers.

Alecia Lindsay passed away on Feb. 8, 2024 as a direct result of hypothermia, while lying outdoors with her bare skin on icy ground, unable to communicate, and left without timely rescue in freezing conditions despite multiple 911 calls," the complaint read.

PEOPLE contacted the Municipality of Anchorage on Tuesday, March 24, but did not receive an immediate comment. Police deferred PEOPLE to the city.

Read the original article on People
Crews and residents in Hawaii were assessing the widespread destruction left by the worst flooding the state has seen in more than 20 years.

Back-to-back "kona storms," which are subtropical, low-pressure systems that typically hit the leeward side of the islands, brought devastating rainfall and high winds in Oahu and Maui. Floodwaters washed out homes, damaged roads, submerged vehicles and threatened a major dam in northern Oahu over the weekend.

"On average, one to two kona storms affect Hawaii each season. However, it is extremely rare for two Kona storms to impact the islands within the same month, especially in the span of a week, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

A woman sits on the back of a pickup carrying a ruined mattress and other home effects after the Kona Low storm flooding that devastated the Otake Camp community in Waialua, Hawaii, on March 22, 2026. Severe rains have battered the region over the weekend prompting officials to order evacuations. A young girl jumps over thick mud and water after the Kona Low storm flooding devastated the Otake Camp community in Waialua, Hawaii, on March 22, 2026. Severe rains have battered the region over the weekend prompting officials to order evacuations. Hawaii floods leave communities reeling  see the recovery efforts 1 of 2 A woman sits on the back of a pickup carrying a ruined mattress and other home effects after the Kona Low storm flooding that devastated the Otake Camp community in Waialua, Hawaii, on March 22, 2026. Severe rains have battered the region over the weekend prompting officials to order evacuations.

The storm prompted evacuation orders for about 5,500 people north of Honolulu, and more than 200 people were rescued from catastrophic flooding, authorities said. Evacuation notices were later lifted, but much of the state remained under a flood watch through the weekend.

Advertisement Advertisement

As residents returned to their damaged homes Monday, March 23, forecasters and authorities warned the flood watch was still in effect for the Big Island through the afternoon. A flash flood warning was also in place for the island of Oahu, according to the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management.

Aerial images and videos showed inundated communities and destroyed homes covered in thick mud. Scott Humber, spokesperson for the Honolulu Emergency Operations Center, told USA TODAY it was too early to provide a reliable damage estimate.

"Our immediate focus remains on life safety, supporting impacted residents, and stabilizing affected areas," Humber said in a statement. "As conditions improve, City teams will continue damage assessments across impacted communities, particularly on the North Shore but also on the Leeward coast of Oahu."

Spring 2026: New forecasts warn of the dreaded 'heat dome'

Clean up, recovery efforts underway

In a news release March 22, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said the immediate threat from the storm had passed, and state and county crews were working to assess the damage and clear debris.

Advertisement Advertisement

Multiple departments from the city of Honolulu were assisting with debris removal on March 23, Humber said. The Honolulu Ocean Safety Department and Honolulu Fire Department were helping with safety operations, and local police were providing traffic control and security.

"Today, we are deploying additional resources directly into Waialua, including more than two dozen roll-off dumpsters to support large-scale cleanup, and we have waived tipping fees to make it easier for residents to dispose of debris," Humber said.

Damage from the flooding could total $1 billion, according to Green. The cost includes damage to homes, roads, schools, airports and a Maui hospital.

The storms struck many areas of the island, but Oahus North Shore was hit particularly hard. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply issued a boil-water notice for North Shore residents, warning of the risks of harmful bacteria. The agency was unable to provide an estimate of when water service would return.

Advertisement Advertisement

Weather: Can we blame El Nino or La Nina for March's crazy weather?

The governor advised residents to "remain cautious as conditions stabilize" and noted that some areas were still experiencing flooding, road closures and infrastructure damage. He urged the public to avoid entering floodwaters and unsafe areas.

"The strength of Hawaii is our people," Green said in a statement. "Throughout this storm, we saw neighbors helping neighbors, communities stepping up, and our emergency teams working tirelessly to keep everyone safe. I want to thank our essential workers and partners for their incredible dedication  and I am deeply grateful to the people of Hawaii for looking out for one another during this challenging time."

Hawaiis worst flooding in over 20 years

The flooding is the worst the state has seen since the 2004 Manoa Flood, Green said. A flood on Oct. 30, 2004, was one of several flash floods amid a storm that brought heavy rain. Rain peaked at a rate of 1.29 inches in 15 minutes and 8.71 inches in six hours.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Manoa Stream overflowed in several areas, and the worst flooding occurred when a flood wave tore through a residential area and into the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. Floodwaters destroyed irreplaceable documents in the basement of Hamilton Library and damaged several laboratories housing crucial experiments, according to the National Weather Service.

No deaths or injuries were reported, but damage costs reached about $85 million at the time. About 120 homes were damaged, and a footbridge over the Manoa Stream was destroyed.

Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver, Jeanine Santucci and Kate Perez

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawaii residents, crews shift to recovery mode as flood risk lingers
Early Monday morning, responding to a demand from the Texas Department of Transportation, crews showed up at a busy intersection in Dallas and got to work.

At Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue, in the heart of the citys LGBTQ+ district, they began washing away the rainbow crosswalks. Within hours, the color that had marked the neighborhood for years was fading into standard white lines.

Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.

Advertisement Advertisement

Its the first step in a citywide, three-week project to remove about 30 decorative crossings, including both Pride crosswalks and Black Lives Matter crosswalks in South Dallas, according to local Fox affiliate KDFW. City officials say the work is expected to wrap up by late April, bringing all intersections into compliance with state standards. Dallas leaders didnt plan to do this on their own volition.

The removals come after TxDOT told the city that decorative crosswalks dont meet the states traffic control standards, which govern how roads are marked and designed. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has suggested that rainbow crosswalks pose traffic hazards.

Related: Meet the lesbian minister whose church clapped back at Texas's ban on rainbow crosswalks

Related: Texas follows Florida's lead in demanding end to rainbow crosswalks and street art

Advertisement Advertisement

City leaders asked for an exception. The state denied it and made the stakes clear: comply or risk losing transportation funding.

The directive stems from an order by Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, whose administration has insisted the issue is one of safety and uniformity, arguing roads should not include markings that could distract drivers.

Local officials and advocates say theres little evidence to support that claim. Many of the crosswalks were installed with private donations, not taxpayer money.

To understand why this moment feels bigger than road paint, you have to understand Oak Lawn.

Its long been the center of LGBTQ+ life in Dallas. Its a place where people have gathered for decades, especially when it wasnt always safe to be visible elsewhere, according to the Texas State Historical Association. Cedar Springs Road runs through it like a spine, lined with bars, clubs, and community spaces.

Advertisement Advertisement

The crosswalks werent just decoration. They told people where they were and, for some whod never before been told so, that they were welcome. Its attempting to demoralize, resident Justin Longoria said, calling the move punching down, according to The Dallas Morning News. Others said the Pride and Black Lives Matter crosswalks made communities that are often targeted feel visible in public space.

Related: Overnight standoff over Houstons rainbow crosswalks ends with arrests

Related: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy implies rainbow crosswalks could lead to traffic dangers

In Houston, when a rainbow crosswalk in the Montrose neighborhood was removed last October, protesters showed up and tried to stop it. Some stood in the street. Others refused to move. Police arrested several people who stayed.

Advertisement Advertisement

In San Antonio, officials also removed Pride crosswalks in December after the state denied an exemption, but quickly began looking for ways to move those symbols off the road and into nearby spaces.

And beyond Texas, the same kind of conflict is playing out under different reasoning.

In Washington, D.C., the large Black Lives Matter mural painted on a street near the White House, created during the 2020 protests after George Floyds murder, was dismantled after Republican lawmakers threatened to withhold federal funding unless it was removed.

In Maryland, a mayor ordered a Pride crosswalk milled away at dawn, citing government neutrality. In Florida, even a rainbow-colored bike rack became a political flashpoint.

Advertisement Advertisement

Back in Dallas, officials are already trying to figure out what comes next.

The citys Office of Arts and Culture is planning community meetings in April to explore other ways neighborhoods can express identity, without putting it on the street, where state rules apply.

This article originally appeared on Advocate: Dallas destroys rainbow crosswalks under Texas mandate

RELATED
After lawmakers rejected proposals to incentivize the construction of large data centers in South Dakota, the governor signed a bill into law Tuesday that will place new limits on the industry.

The law applies to data centers with a peak electrical demand of 10 megawatts or greater. It will require data center companies to ensure their water use does not overburden local resources and to pay for the electrical infrastructure costs attributable to them. It also prohibits the state from overriding local ordinances limiting, prohibiting or otherwise regulating data centers.

Another bill Rhoden signed into law Tuesday allows the state Public Utilities Commission to assess data center companies the costs of regulatory reviews related to their projects.

The laws emerged from a broader fight about data centers during the recently concluded legislative session.

Advertisement Advertisement

Economic developers and some lawmakers unsuccessfully supported incentives such as a 50-year sales tax exemption on the equipment and software purchases for data centers, or the expansion of an existing sales tax rebate program to accommodate data centers.

Another bill that failed would have exempted large backup generators that are not connected to the grid  such as those used by large data centers  from regulatory and siting review by the state Public Utilities Commission.

Backers of those bills said data centers could bring more jobs to the state and more property tax revenue to local governments. Opponents raised concerns about the amount of water used by data centers for cooling, and the potential effect of data centers electrical demands on the rates of everyday electrical customers.

South Dakotas biggest data center consumes a maximum of 30 megawatts, and the state has none of the vastly larger data centers that have proliferated elsewhere in response to the growth of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and other data-intensive industries.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Delivery as a competitive advantage (not a cost center)

When was the last time a customer touched your brand? Really touched itheld it, opened it, felt it? The answer, for most ecommerce businesses, is the delivery. Just the delivery.

And yet, most retail operations still treat delivery like a back-office functionsomething to hand off, minimize, and hope for the best. At The Delivery Conference 2026, a room full of retail and logistics leaders made a compelling case that this mindset is quietly killing retention. The ecommerce delivery experience, they argued, isnt a cost center. Its the point.

In this article, ShipStation shares insights from expert-backed sessions at The Delivery Conference 2026 on ecommerce delivery, AI, sustainability, logistics, and more. Youll learn why your ecommerce delivery experience is a growth lever.

The leaky bucket problem

Chris Forbes, co-founder of Cheeky Panda, put it plainly in the Delivery That Delivers session.

Advertisement Advertisement

Youve really got to focus on not having a leaky bucket, Forbes said. If youre working really hard to get your customers, youve got to have retentionand retention is about delivery and customer experience.

That metaphor is worth sitting with. Retailers collectively spend enormous sums on acquisition: paid social, SEO, influencer partnerships, promotions. But every poor delivery experiencea late package, a silent carrier, a frustrating returnpunches a hole in the bottom of the bucket. You pour more in; it keeps leaking out.

Kristian Tottmar, logistics network strategic lead at H&M, made a similar point about organizational design. Delivery doesnt fail because of bad carriers. It fails because it gets siloed.

Delivery fulfillmentit is not only a logistic question, Tottmar said. It needs to be anchored, strongly, to your brand and company strategy.

Advertisement Advertisement

What hes describing is a company-wide posture shift. Not a logistics upgrade. Not a carrier swap. A fundamental change in how delivery gets treated inside the orgwho owns it, who it reports to, what its measured against.

Matthias Krieger, co-founder of UK carrier HIVED, described the economics of getting that wrong in the session, Turning Delivery into a Revenue Stream. When companies cut logistics spend without accounting for what that spend actually protects, they often churn the very customers they were trying to serve cheaply. The net outcome is worse. The businesses pulling ahead in ecommerce are the ones that understand the end-to-end formula.

Its not about speed. Its about trust.

Heres the finding that surprised people in the room most: Customers dont actually need their packages faster. They need to believe the package is going to show up.

Krieger was direct about it.

Advertisement Advertisement

People are really all about trust and certainty, he said. They dont necessarily mind if things arent as optimal as they could beas long as they trust what youre telling them is actually going to happen and that the path is still acceptable.

When things go wrong

Alan Mullen, senior customer service manager at Superdry, had the living proof. During the Smart Costing session, he described a peak period when thousands of Superdry orders were stuck at customs. His team braced for an inbox crisis. What they found instead: When customers were proactively updated with clear timelines, the flood of support contacts didnt come. Customers who knew what was happening didnt need to ask.

Jade Roberts, general manager of customer experience at Monica Vinader, had taken this principle further than almost anyone else on the stage. During the Make Delivery Your Advantage session, she described a system her team built: Whenever a parcel was predicted to arrive late, an email went out before the customer had any idea there was a problem. The delivery charge was automatically refunded. The estimated arrival was updated. A personal concierge from customer care was assigned to see the order through.

What were telling you at that point is your parcels going to be late, Roberts said. But were doing everything we can to make sure you dont have to contact us.

Advertisement Advertisement

The result was higher Net Promoter Scores (NPS) across every carrier they initially tested it with. Some customers wrote back to say thank youfor a delivery that was running behind.

Thats the counterintuitive heart of this: A late delivery, handled well, can strengthen the customer relationship more than a delivery that arrived on time and was never acknowledged. The post-purchase window isnt dead space. Its an opportunityand branded notifications and tracking can make that window feel like your brand, not a carriers.

When a return becomes a reason to come back

Every panelist in the Delivery That Delivers session kept circling back to the same insight: What you do when something goes wrong matters more than whether it went wrong.

Returns are the most loaded test of that. A difficult return is a customer youve probably lostnot just because of the hassle, but because the hassle is the last thing they remember. A smooth one can actually increase lifetime value. Customers who have a frictionless return experience are statistically more likely to buy again than customers who have never had a problem at all. The return itself becomes the relationship.

Advertisement Advertisement

The implication is uncomfortable for brands that treat returns purely as cost: You cant optimize your way out of returns. You can only decide what it means for the customer. Making that decision intentionala branded, self-service experience that communicates Weve got you, rather than, Figure it outis what separates the brands that recover loyalty from the ones that just refund it.

The operational case: getting out of your own way

Theres a reason retailers who understand all of this still struggle to execute it consistently. The operational overhead is real.

Rate shoppingcomparing carrier options for every order based on cost, speed, and service levelis the kind of decision that should happen automatically, but often doesnt. Done manually, its either skipped in favor of a default carrier or delegated to whoever is staffing the floor that day. Making it automatic means every shipment gets the right carrier at the right rate, without anyone having to stop to think about it. The savings are there to protect margin, pass on to customers, or both.

The same logic applies to the rule-based decisions that quietly eat hours: Which carrier gets this order? What happens when an order comes in overweight? Does this one need a signature? An intelligent automation engine can handle those decisions based on the rules you setso when volume spikes, throughput scales with it. For instance, it can remove even more friction from the front end, auto-populating shipment details from order history so the team isnt re-entering the same information order after order.

Advertisement Advertisement

The goal of all of it is the same: more bandwidth for the work that actually requires a human. Thats what makes the strategic ecommerce delivery experience possible in the first placegetting the operational layer out of the way.

What comes next

Mullen offered a parting thought during the Smart Costing session that was hard to shake.

Within the next couple of years, people are going to have their own bots, he said. Were gonna have bots talking to our own AIand the customer world is going to change as well.

Hes describing a near future in which the ecommerce delivery experience is negotiated between systemswhere a customers AI agent checks your shipping options, reviews your return policy, compares them to a competitors, and makes a recommendation before the customer has typed a single thing. The brands positioned to win in that environment are the ones who have already built delivery into their strategy, not as a cost to be managed but as a differentiator to be designed.

Advertisement Advertisement

The retailers at TDC 2026 arent waiting. The leaky bucket is real, the evidence is overwhelming, and the tools to fix it exist. The question is just whether youre going to treat your next shipment like a transactionor like a relationship.

How do you know if youre getting your ecommerce delivery experience right?

A quick gut check. Youre in good shape if

Delivery is a company-wide conversation. Your ops, marketing, and customer experience teams are aligned on what a good delivery experience looks likeand what it costs when it goes wrong.

Youre proactive, not reactive. When something goes wrong, your customer knows before they have to ask. Youre not waiting for the wheres my order? email.

Advertisement Advertisement

Your post-purchase window feels like your brand. The tracking page, the notification emails, the returns flowthey look and feel like you, not a carrier.

Returns dont feel punitive. Customers can self-serve a return without hunting for instructions or waiting on hold. The experience communicates, Weve got this, not Good luck.

Your team isnt doing things a system could do. Rate decisions, carrier selection, label detailsif these are still manual, thats time and money that could go elsewhere.

Youre measuring what matters. Its not just about tracking your on-time delivery rate. Youre looking at NPS, repeat purchase rate, and post-delivery contact volumethe signals that tell you how the relationship is holding up.

If most of those are yes, youre ahead of the curve. If a few gave you pause, thats where the opportunity is.

This story was produced by ShipStation and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
In remarks Saturday evening at the Spring Gala in Butler County, Ohio -- the same county that Vice President JD Vance is from -- Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear assailed the vice president, calling him the "most arrogant politician" he has ever seen.

Beshear's comments come as Vance is viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate and the successor to President Donald Trump to lead the MAGA movement. Beshear is considered a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"There is no one who will work harder -- no matter what I am doing that year -- to beat JD Vance in 2028," Beshear said. "He is the most arrogant politician I have ever seen -- and given his current boss, that's saying something," Beshear said in Ohio, according to a copy of his speech and audio obtained by ABC News.

Julie Carr Smyth/AP - PHOTO: Andy Beshear

During his remarks, Beshear accused Vance, whose memoir explores issues such as poverty and the lack of opportunity in Appalachia and the Rust Belt, of talking down to the people of Kentucky.

Advertisement Advertisement

"I'll be honest. Your former and now our vice president burns me up. He wrote an entire book that trafficked this tired stereotypes about the people in my state," Beshear said. "Calling the people who mined the coal that powered the Industrial Revolution helped us to win two world wars. He called them lazy. He said that addiction is the fault of the people struggling, not the opioid companies that flooded our communities with thousands of pills for every individual."

Beshear went after Vance on social media ahead of Saturday's event, saying in an X post on Thursday that the vice president "pretends he's from Kentucky."

Some GOP donors plot shadow 'draft Rubio' 2028 effort as his star rises: Sources

Vance came under attack from Beshear several times during the 2024 election.

Advertisement Advertisement

Beshear, who supports abortion access, criticized Vance over his views on restricting access to the procedure, saying Vance should "go through" a pregnancy resulting from rape. Vance responded on social media by calling the Kentucky governor a "disgusting person."

Ahead of Beshear's remarks, Vance's spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said in a statement to ABC News that "Every time Andy Beshear attacks the Vice President to try to get himself publicity, he ends up humiliating himself in the process, but maybe that's something he's into?"

Paul Sancya/AP - PHOTO: JD Vance

Beshear also used his time Saturday to highlight his own record as a Democrat "who won in deep-red Kentucky in three consecutive statewide elections."

"The best way to push back against Trump is to show that when Democrats win, we stay focused on the issues that matter most to the people," he said. "As governor, I stand up for every one of my convictions. I push back against discrimination in any form, but I have a rule where I spend 80% of my time on things that matter to 100% of the people of Kentucky."

Advertisement Advertisement

Beshear pointed to his electoral success in Kentucky as an example of why Democrats can win in red states and that the party's focus on affordability will lead them to success in November.

"Democrats have been outperforming everywhere and we've been doing so with a relentless focus on lowering costs and making people's lives better," Beshear said. "And in doing so we've sent a strong message to Donald Trump, and I know we're going to do this again in the midterms this year, when we take back the House of Representatives.

Beshear also gave a nod to former Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running for reelection against Republican Sen. Jon Husted after losing his long-held Senate seat in the 2024 election to Sen. Bernie Moreno.

"And when we elect Sherrod Brown as your next U.S. senator, we're going to make a run [at] flipping that chamber," Beshear said.
Detroit  Protesters gathered in front of a federal office building downtown Monday, waving Iranian and Palestinian flags in opposition to President Donald Trump's threat to "obliterate" Iranian power plants.

"He told us three weeks ago that the war was over, that the Iranian military was finished," said Abayomi Azikiwe from the Detroit-based Moratorium NOW! Coalition, which organized the rally. "Now (Trump and his supporters) are holding up the world economy."

Azikiwe was joined by about 15 people on a chilly March afternoon in front of the McNamara Federal Building on Michigan Avenue. Supporters honked their horns as they drove past.

Advertisement Advertisement

The group decided to take to the street after Trump posted an ultimatum Sunday night on Truth Social, saying the U.S. would hit and obliterate Iranian power plants, starting with the biggest one first, if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping within 48 hours.

An activist holds a sign during a protest against President Donald Trump and the war in Iran, Monday, March 23, 2026, in front of the McNamara Federal Building on Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

Trump wants Iran to reopen the strait because it is a critical global chokepoint through which about 20% of the worlds oil supply flows, and its closure threatens energy supplies and the global economy, Reuters reported.

On Monday morning, Trump pumped the breaks, saying he was postponing military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days following productive conversations. Iranian officials have said no such negotiations have taken place, according to Reuters.

"He needs to stop the lies, stop the war and try to bring peace to that whole region," Azikiwe said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is seeking another $200 billion in funding for the Iran War, the Washington Post reported. In Detroit, protesters said the high cost of war is being felt back home.

"Just look at the gas price. I used to fill my car for 30 bucks. Now it is 50 or 60," said Ismail Noor, 76, of Dearborn, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Mideast in his 20s. "The bills for food are going up the bills for housing is going up."

Ismail Noor of Dearborn holds a Palestinian flag during a protest, Monday, March 23, 2026, outside the McNamara Federal Building on Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

mreinhart@detroitnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Trump's threat on Iranian power plants draws protesters in Detroit
A Detroit woman pleaded guilty to her role in a decade-long scheme to obtain federal student aid, officials said.

Michelle Denise Hill, 48, entered the plea Monday to a charge of wire fraud in federal court in Detroit, said Jerome Gorgon, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

She is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 3 and faces up to 20 years in prison, Gorgon said in a statement. Hill also will pay $2,530,854 in restitution, he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Federal student aid exists to open doors for Americans who are working to better themselves and their families," Gorgon said. "Michelle Hill slammed those doors shut, turning a lifeline into a racket and stealing millions from a program that belongs to our hardworking neighbors."

Hill's attorney, Steven Scharg, said his client "is very remorseful for what occurred."

"She has every intention for the restitution to be paid, no matter how long it takes," Scharg said.

Authorities said Hill fraudulently obtained more than $2.5 million in federal student aid funds from July 2015 through July 2025.

Advertisement Advertisement

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Education said she submitted fraudulent aid applications to obtain Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student Loans for more than 80 individuals seeking to attend Wayne County Community College District in Detroit.

They said she obtained the necessary high school diplomas on their behalf, many from the same online school in Florida, and completed their online coursework for them, often simultaneously, to create the appearance of academic progress and extend their eligibility for aid across multiple semesters.

Officials said Hill split the fraudulently obtained aid with the purported students.

Her plea came weeks after two people accused of stealing $2.6 million in COVID-19 relief loans were charged in federal court.

Advertisement Advertisement

Also this month, federal court documents showed a suspended Detroit district court judge accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other crimes could be facing additional charges.

Last month, a West Bloomfield Township man was sentenced to 41 months in prison after being convicted in federal court of wire fraud in connection with an unemployment insurance scheme.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

@CharlesERamirez

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit woman pleads guilty to wire fraud in student aid scheme
Washington  Senate talks aimed at ending the 38-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security hit a new roadblock on Monday after President Trump called on Republicans to hold out for passage of an elections bill that Democrats strongly oppose  though some key senators suggested Monday a deal to fund parts of DHS is still possible.

"I'm suggesting strongly to the Republican Party, don't make any deal on anything," Mr. Trump said. "The most important thing we can have is called the SAVE America Act."

The SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot, has already been a headache for Senate Republicans. The chamber has been debating the measure for nearly a week in an attempt to placate conservatives who have demanded that the Senate maneuver around a 60-vote threshold to pass the bill. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been clear that the votes aren't there.

Advertisement Advertisement

Speaking at an event in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday, Mr. Trump said the SAVE America Act's voter ID and proof of citizenship provisions should be "welded in" to DHS funding.

"I'm requesting that the Republican senators do that immediately," Mr. Trump said. "You don't have to take a fast vote, don't worry about Easter, going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus."

The Senate is scheduled to leave for a two-week recess at the end of the week. But Thune has suggested the chamber could stay in town until the shutdown is resolved.

Tepid optimism began to emerge among senators late last week that a deal could be possible, with acknowledgement that the two sides still had significant ground to cover. A bipartisan group of senators met Thursday and Friday with border czar Tom Homan. The meetings marked a key step forward as the two sides expressed more willingness to engage. But the weekend showed little progress.

Advertisement Advertisement

As the chamber reconvened Monday, Thune told CBS News that the president's request to link the DHS funding to the election legislation was a "wrinkle" in the talks. He outlined to reporters that despite widespread GOP support for the SAVE America Act, the idea that the Senate would have to guarantee the bill's passage to reopen the government isn't "realistic." Thune said discussions continue over DHS funding.

By Monday evening, however, members of both parties suggested there may be a path forward.

After meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House on Monday, Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama told reporters at the Capitol they have a solution to the issue, but did not elaborate. A handful of Senate Democrats indicated that an agreement to fund most of DHS  while carving out ICE's deportation and immigration enforcement division  was possible.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said: "Both sides are talking in a serious way."

Advertisement Advertisement

The ramp-up in talks over DHS funding in recent days came as the shutdown began wreaking havoc at some airports. As TSA workers continue to go without pay, staffing issues have worsened, creating long security lines and prompting the administration to send ICE agents to more than a dozen locations to help ease the burden. While Democrats have opposed funding immigration enforcement, they have repeatedly offered to approve funding for TSA and the other agencies that DHS oversees.

Some Republicans have appeared to come around to the idea of funding non-ICE components of DHS in recent days, including Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. Kennedy told CBS News on Sunday that "we ought to accept the Democrats' offer to open everything up but ICE," before turning to the budget reconciliation process to fund the immigration enforcement agency without help from Democrats. He said "a lot of people are talking about it, but the only person that counts is our majority leader."

Thune expressed openness to the idea Sunday as well, telling reporters that "there are lots of ideas swirling right now." He added on Monday that it would be an option and "we aren't taking any options off the table."

Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters late Monday that he hadn't seen a written GOP proposal yet, but as he understood it, GOP lawmakers were offering to fund all of DHS aside from ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division.

Advertisement Advertisement

In that scenario, Congress would still fund Customs and Border Protection and ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division, according to Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware. He said that plan could involve "some reforms" to immigration enforcement.

DHS's immigration-focused agencies  ICE and CBP  are somewhat insulated from the shutdown because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed last summer, approved tens of billions of dollars in immigration funding.

The majority leader and the president spoke about the possible offramp on Sunday. But Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday evening that Republicans shouldn't make a deal with Democrats unless they work with the GOP to pass the elections legislation.

Democrats have warned that the White House must get serious on negotiations. They refused to sit down with Senate Republicans for weeks, saying the White House could dash any agreement that may be reached.

Advertisement Advertisement

Schumer criticized the president for "trying to sabotage negotiations" on Monday. He said "Democrats are going to keep working in good faith."

"Both sides talked all weekend long. We had some constructive conversations, but there's considerably more work to be done, and Democrats are ready to keep negotiating," Schumer said.

The New York Democrat said his caucus' position "has not changed," and that they want to pay TSA workers and meet with the White House to continue talks. He said they were going to meet Monday morning with Homan, but "apparently the White House pulled that meeting because of Donald Trump's temper tantrum."

"We hope that Donald Trump will stop derailing these talks and let negotiations continue," Schumer said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump claims talks with Iran went "perfectly" and says Tehran wants to make a deal

Iran inflicts heavy damage on Israel in latest missile strikes

Air Canada Express plane collides with ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport
TOKYO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks rose Tuesday as reports of potential diplomatic progress in the Middle East triggered a sharp pullback in oil prices, though gains were pared by fears that the conflict in the region could drag on.

The benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, ended up 736.79 points, or 1.43 percent, from Monday at 52,252.28. The broader Topix index finished 73.23 points, or 2.10 percent, higher at 3,559.67.

On the top-tier Prime Market, insurance, oil and coal products, and nonferrous metal issues led the gains.

Market sentiment improved after U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that the United States and Iran had engaged in "very good and productive conversations," and that he had ordered the Pentagon to postpone all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.

As the benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell below 90 U.S. dollars per barrel overnight on the news, the Nikkei stock index opened sharply higher, briefly rising over 1,100 points in early trading.

However, uncertainty lingered as Iran denied having held talks with the United States, unsettling investors, analysts said. 
A prosecutor is in trouble after the Georgia Supreme Court questioned her about submitting fake documents.

The assistant District Attorneys boss said its a good guess she used AI to write the documents.

The query over the documents came at the end of oral arguments where convicted murderer Hannah Payne asked the high court to grant her a new trial.

Thats when the Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson dropped a bombshell.

Advertisement Advertisement

He told Clayton County Assistant District Attorney Deborah Leslie: So before you sit down. One more thing I need to ask you about. Unfortunately.

Justice Peterson seemed hesistant to give Leslie the bad news. But he told her in reviewing the Clayton County Superior Courts motion denying Payne a new trial, he noticed something unusual in the states order.

There are at least 5 citations to cases that dont exist, Peterson pointed out.

He went on to say theres at least 5 more questionable citations from the state. Including citations that have 3 quotations that dont exist.

He wanted to know if Leslie submitted the phantom cases.

Advertisement Advertisement

No, your honor. I do not believe so. They were not, she replied.

Leslie says she prepared an order, but it was revised.

Her boss, Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley said that was not true, and nothing was revised.

Mosley said you dont lie to the court.

The DA said she was watching the oral arguments. Then she heard Justice Peterson bring up the phantom cases.

Mosley said it was utterly devastating to realize that these cases do not exist. She said an investigation is underway.

She was asked if she thought Leslie used AI to write the order. Mosley said its a good guess but said using AI is against department policy.

Advertisement Advertisement

There was a clear policy that AI should not be used. That is a violation, she said.

Mosley says she has disciplined Leslie but wouldnt say how.

Mosley says she has apologized to Kenneth Herrings family and the Superior Court judge who handled the trial.

Payne was convicted and serving a life sentence for the 2019 deadly shooting of Herring. Prosecutors said Payne chased Herring after he left the scene of a minor car accident.

She went to Herrings car and insisted he return to the scene. There was a struggle and Herring was shot.

The District Attorneys office has to explain how the fake documents ended up in the court file by April 2.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Dominion Energys major Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is now sending surges of power to the grid, after its first commercial turbine was switched on Monday. It is the largest offshore wind project in America.

The single turbine, separate from the structures two pilot turbines that have been operational since 2020, is producing 14.7 megawatts, transmitting electricity via underwater cables. Dominion said this is a major milestone for the project, which faced a federal stop-work order due to reported national security concerns in December.

This project is not just about energy  its about national security, said U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, Reliable, domestically produced power strengthens the resilience of critical military infrastructure, including our local bases, ensuring our forces can operate without disruption.

Advertisement Advertisement

Virginia Democratic U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, in celebrating the project Monday, stating that CVOW continues to create jobs for Virginians and is growing the states clean economy.

After years of work, were absolutely thrilled that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, the largest commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States, is now providing clean, reliable energy to Virginians, the joint statement said.

The project is about 70% completed, with 176 monopiles built and 157 transition pieces installed. Its located off the coast of Virginia Beach and power flows to a transmission station at the nearby State Military Reservation.

Two permanent turbines have been constructed, although power is currently only being generated from one. Construction on a third is just beginning. The turbines will be turned on gradually throughout the rest of the year until the project, estimated to wrap in early 2027, is finished.

Advertisement Advertisement

CVOW started with a price tag of $9.8 billion and the cost has risen to $11.5 billion.

The most recent increase, the company reports, is due to tariffs creating an additional $137 million in costs. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Managements December suspension order added $228 million due to delayed work, but Dominion says theyre still on track to complete the project next year.

Customers have to pay for 100% of the costs up to $10.3 billion and only responsible for 50% of the cost of the project up to $11.3 billion, according to the State Corporation Commissions original approval. Anything above that cost, up to $13.7 billion, is on Dominion. The utility is splitting their costs with their equity partner for the project, Stonepeak.

When the project is complete it will produce 2.6 gigawatts of energy, enough to power 660,000 homes.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX




Recent commentary regarding the reopening of Camp Mystic has framed the conversation as a debate over tragedy versus tradition. As the father of Lila Bonner, one of the 27 girls lost on July 4, I must respond.

I sat in the courtroom on March 4 when one of the camp's directors testified to a Travis County judge that his family fled to higher ground while my daughter was told to stay in her cabin. So for me, this is not a debate about a camp's traditions or what they mean for alumni. The question is far more urgent: Can we allow a camp to reopen with the same leaders in charge just months after one of our nation's most catastrophic and preventable losses of young lives? Has enough been done to protect future campers? The answer to both questions is no.

Advertisement Advertisement

As Camp Mystic enters its 100th year, its owners have made "tradition" their primary argument for reopening. They say future campers should get the chance to participate in the fun and friendships that previous generations have enjoyed. But tradition is a dangerous distraction.

The scale of last summer's loss, 27 children in a single night, is a failure of childcare without precedent in our recent history. To put this in perspective, that single event resulted in more fatalities than the entire U.S. amusement park industry, serving 385 million people, sees in an entire year. By any objective measure of child safety, this site is no longer a sanctuary of tradition; it is a location of unaddressed mass casualty. Its website suggests new safety measures have been implemented. But safety should have been a prerequisite decades ago. It should not be a tool to recruit and reopen.

I have never met a parent who argued that their child should not participate in a school fire drill. We accept these drills as a common-sense prerequisite for child care even though we know school fires are rare. Yet we know now that Camp Mystic, operating in "Flash Flood Alley," did not have a well-rehearsed plan for evacuating its campers in a flood, and had never practiced a flood evacuation drill with its campers. Camp leaders cannot sugarcoat the failures of that night: Texas law required a robust, functional evacuation protocol, and Camp Mystic simply did not have one. That kind of lawlessness cannot be ignored.

Camp Mystic is operating as if it is still 1958, the year the Our Lady of the Angels (OLA) school fire in Chicago killed 92 children. Much like the Camp Mystic flood, there was time to safely evacuate that tragic day, but the school lacked a functional, practiced evacuation protocol. When we compare these two events, the reaction window available to Camp Mystic makes its owners' lack of action even more indefensible.

Advertisement Advertisement

Initial alert: the OLA fire smoldered unseen for more than 20 minutes, but at Camp Mystic, the National Weather Service issued a flood alert by 3 p.m. on July 3, the day before lives were lost.

Critical warning: The first sign of trouble in 1958 was when students and teachers noticed smoke, but in 2025, the NWS issued a "life-threatening" flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4.

Time to evacuate: People in the OLA building had only about 25 minutes before it became impossible to escape. But Camp Mystic staff delayed moving some girls to safety while water continued to rise for more than three hours.

Actions: Tragically, OLA students were told to stay in class, with corridors blocked. Just as tragically, some Camp Mystic campers were told to stay in their cabins, while others self-evacuated.

Advertisement Advertisement

Impact: 92 students were lost in the OLA fire; 27 were lost at Camp Mystic.

Thankfully, our country did not ignore the failures of 1958. We implemented mandatory fire drills and codes that have all but eliminated mass-casualty school fires in America. We must do the same for camps. But eight months after 27 girls died at Camp Mystic, a camp owner's testimony revealed he couldn't answer basic questions about evacuation plans. Mystic's website simply states its plans are under review with a third-party safety consultant. In short, the "new tradition" of safety ignores the most glaring failures of the recent past.

That is why I and other parents who lost daughters in the flood are not fighting "tradition" in opposing the camp's reopening; we are fighting to make verifiable safety standards a baseline for child care.

There is currently a joint investigation led by the Texas House and Senate. We are calling for a pause in reopening until that investigation is complete. Just as the 1958 OLA fire resulted in expert-led codes rather than school-led suggestions, Camp Mystic should not be allowed to define its own safety standards before the state concludes its work.

Advertisement Advertisement

These 27 deaths were not caused by an act of God; they were the result of human error. Specifically, a stay-in-place policy that ignored three hours of rising water while camp directors moved their own families to safety.

After the 1958 OLA fire, the president of the National Fire Protection Association said, "There are no new lessons to be learned from this fire; only old lessons that tragically went unheeded." The same is tragically true here.

Camp Mystic must pause reopening until the ongoing independent investigation is complete, all identified failures are rectified, and a verified emergency plan is in place.

My conscience will not allow these lessons to go unheeded again.

Advertisement Advertisement

Blake Bonner of Dallas is the father of Lila Bonner, one of the 27 campers killed in the Central Texas floods last July.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here .

If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com
The 80-year-old driver who plowed into and killed a family of four in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood two years ago will be forced to provide answers about exactly what led up to that deadly crash during the upcoming civil cases.

Mary Fong Lau was sentenced to six days in jail, plus two years' probation and 200 hours of community service by a judge on March 20 after entering a plea of no contest.

The judge said he considered the driver's age in the sentencing and her clean record prior to the crash.

Advertisement Advertisement

The jail sentence is the number of days she's already served -- there will be no additional time.

RELATED: driver who killed family of 4 in West Portal sentenced to probation by San Francisco judge

Two years ago, the family of four was on their way to the San Francisco Zoo with their two young children when they were killed by Lau, driving 70 miles an hour in the residential area of West Portal in San Francisco.

During the criminal trial, Lau did not take the stand and provide any explanation of why she was driving so fast in a 25 mph zone.

No car issues have been identified that might have caused this crash. A witness on the scene said Lau told her she had hit the gas instead of the brakes.

Advertisement Advertisement

Lau pleaded no contest in the criminal trial. In the civil lawsuits she will be required to testify under oath about what happened during the crash.

"She will not be able to invoke her 5th amendment privilege against self-incrimination because the criminal case is over. There is no risk that she will be charged criminally for that so she can't hide that behind that anymore," said David Levine, Professor at the University of California

College of the law in San Francisco.

Professor Levine said Lau's "no contest" plea in the criminal case will make the civil case longer.

"By pleading no contest, she has not agreed that she is liable for the accident. So the plaintiff will have to go through the trouble of putting out the evidence regarding what happened and ask a jury if she is responsible for the accident," said Professor Levine.

RELATED: 80-year-old driver who killed SF family unlikely to face prison time; victims' family 'devastated'

The 80-year-old driver who killed a family in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood is unlikely to face prison time, and the victims' family is devastated.

Advertisement Advertisement

There are two civil cases against Lau that were on hold pending the criminal sentence.

"We have made it clear, we believe is a slap on the wrist for somebody who took four lives, but in the civil case, we're going to try to hold her accountable based on, civil liability, which measures her assets to figure out what is a fair resolution, and that's what we want to do. We want to hold her accountable for what she did," said Jim Quadra, Lawyer representing the victim's family.

The first is a wrongful death lawsuit and the second a suit that claims she transferred assets to hide them from the wrongful death lawsuit.

"That is already proceeding, and we're getting that information to confirm that there are no other assets that were transferred improperly, and so we can either get them back, or figure out where the cash flow came from those sales," said Quadra.

Advertisement Advertisement

The victims' family pointed to the second suit as a clear sign that Lau was not remorseful for her actions because she allegedly tried to shield millions of dollars of assets from being part of the first civil suit.

"There are public records of transfers when this occurred," explained Jim Quadra after the criminal case ended. "All of those properties were transferred after the crash occurred clearly with the effort of hiding it."

Lau's attorney said she was remorseful after the criminal case ended.

RELATED: Changes come to SF West Portal intersection a year after family of 4 killed in crash

"There are no good outcomes for such an immense tragedy. Everyone who came to court felt the pain in the community and from these families, and we feel it, too. Mrs. Lau feels the pain of this tragic loss. She has taken accountability by pleading no contest. Not requiring the district attorney's office to do a preliminary hearing or to take the case to trial, which would have taken years with an unknown outcome. She hopes that by entering a no-contest plea, it could begin a process of healing for these families," said Seth Morris, Lau's attorney.

Advertisement Advertisement

Lau finally broke her silence and addressed the victim's family during the sentencing hearing, saying that she was sorry for their loss.

The victims' family now hopes that she will soon be forced to break her silence and give them answers about exactly what happened on that fateful day.

The jury will decide compensation amount in the civil lawsuits.

"The lawyer can say and they will typically pick what seems like a small number $5, 10 dollars. Everybody will say that is too small, but the lawyer will say it's okay to pick that. Then the attorney will say think about how many days, this mother will suffer, her son is gone, her grandson is gone. If we say 10 dollars a day and she is going to live 30 years, multiple that out and before you know it you are at a pretty big number," said Professor Levine.

If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
VILNIUS, March 24 (Reuters) - A military drone that crashed in Lithuania came from Ukraine and was aimed at attacking Russia's oil exports before going astray, the Baltic country's government said on Tuesday.

Lithuania's armed forces said on Monday a suspected drone had entered the country's airspace and crashed into an ice-covered lake some 20 km (12 miles) from the border of Belarus.

It was part of a Ukrainian attack on the Primorsk oil loading terminal, one of two major export facilities on Russia's Baltic Sea coast that were hit around the same time, the Lithuanian government said.

Advertisement Advertisement

"This is not a local incident, this is a part of wider security picture. Russian aggression against Ukraine creates additional risks for the whole region," Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene told a press conference on Tuesday.

NATO alliance member Lithuania is a staunch supporter of Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Lithuania last year asked NATO for more air defences after military drones from Belarus landed on its territory twice in July 2025. Lithuanian intelligence said earlier this month that both drones had entered Lithuania accidentally.

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, editing by Terje Solsvik)
A drone that crashed in south-eastern Lithuania near the Belarusian border originated from Ukraine, the government said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred as part of a Ukrainian operation targeting Russian territory, Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said after a meeting of the National Security Commission meeting.

She said it could be said "with certainty" that the flying object was "a stray drone."

Advertisement Advertisement

A flying object entered Lithuanian airspace near the border with Belarus overnight on Monday, coming down on the frozen Lavysas lake in the far south of the country.

The wreckage of the flying object, which was neither detected by military radar nor noticed by border guards, was collected to investigate the incident.

A buzzing sound emanating from a flying object can be heard on a video taken by a surveillance camera published by Lithuanian radio. An explosion can then be seen, with flames lighting up the horizon and burning fragments falling to the ground.

No one was injured in the incident.

Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas cited initial findings suggesting that the drone was part of a swarm deployed to attack the port of Primorsk in north-western Russia.

Advertisement Advertisement

It is highly likely that it was diverted by Russian jamming, he said.

According to Kaunas, the drone was flying at low altitude, which is why it was not detected by either Belarus or Lithuania

Ruginiene and Kaunas said that Lithuania had ordered additional radar equipment to detect low-flying drones.

Drones have repeatedly entered Lithuanian airspace since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, apparently from Belarus, a close Russian ally.
The State Objection Panel moved Tuesday to give Iowa Rep. Eddie Andrews, a 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate, and his attorney until 8 a.m. Wednesday to review challenges to his place on the primary ballot.

Andrews was one of five candidates across various Iowa races to have their place on the June 2 primary ballot challenged. The challenge to the Johnston Republicans nomination, submitted by David Bush, included claims Andrews campaign failed to meet nomination paper size and paper header information requirements, as well as the signature requirement to qualify for the ballot

Candidates running for the 2026 Iowa primaries were required to submit their nomination petitions by 5 p.m. March 13 to appear on the ballot. Many candidates submitted signatures in the week leading up to the deadline. Andrews was the final GOP gubernatorial candidate to turn in his paperwork, coming to the Secretary of States office with batches of signatures at 4:55 p.m. Friday.

Advertisement Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Andrews cites missing signatures

Andrews gave some context to the panel Tuesday, saying nomination forms with signatures supporting his campaign disappeared before he could submit the paperwork to the Secretary of States office.

I think many of you guys know, weve not yet filed a police report, but we know that many of you are aware that some of those nomination forms disappeared, and we had to go and do them again, Andrews said.

Speaking to reporters, he said some papers containing signatures from several counties went missing from his vehicle.

A couple weeks ago, we were set to turn in our numbers, turn in the signatures, Andrews said. And not the first time things went missing from our car, but this was one where the counties of  right on the line, so Carroll, Greene, Boone, Story, Marshall, Jasper  all were missing.

Advertisement Advertisement

When asked if he believed the papers were stolen, Andrews added, or borrowed, but did not respond directly to the question. He said after this incident, his team worked to gather additional signatures on a short timeline to meet the qualification requirements.

Andrews maintained that even with this setback, his campaign had gathered the needed 3,500 signatures and met the requirements for 100 signatures from at least 19 counties. He said his campaign and volunteers gathered in good faith signatures from all 99 counties.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Brenna Bird, members of the Iowa Objection Panel, reviewed signatures and documents at a March 24, 2026 hearing as they went through challenges to Rep. Eddie Andrews 2026 gubernatorial campaign nomination papers. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

While the paper size issues were dismissed as the panel found his campaign submitted the petition in good faith, the state legal counsel reviewing the signatures found Andrews campaign fell short of the requirement for gubernatorial candidates to submit at least 100 signatures from at least 19 counties.

After reviewing the objection, four counties were found to have fewer than 100 signatures: Clayton County was found to have 99 valid signatures, OBrien County had 63, and Clarke County had 98.

Advertisement Advertisement

The review found two additional counties had more than the 100 required signatures  Story County had 121 valid signatures and Scott County had 132 signatures. This left Andrews campaign with 18 counties meeting the threshold, still under the 19 counties required to qualify for a ballot, according to legal counsel for the panel.

While the review had originally found Harrison County did not qualify with 71 valid signatures out of 100, the State Objection Panel accepted some signatures that were deemed invalid because of the paper size, putting the total number of valid signatures from the county at 112. With this review from the panel, Andrews campaign may have met the requirement to have 100 signatures from 19 counties  however, a decision and review of the challenge overall will not be finalized until Wednesday.

Andrews told reporters from his understanding, his campaigns nomination filings contained more than 100 signatures from 23 counties.

Andrews and his attorney, Jacob Heard, said Andrews was not given sufficient time or notice to dispute the objection, and that his campaign was not provided the paperwork showing issues like invalid addresses and duplicate signatures that would allow them to specifically counter the challenges to certain ballot signatures. Heard said he did not request a full record of the objection on Monday.

Advertisement Advertisement

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said his office informed Andrews via email of the challenge Friday. Andrews said he received an email from the office after typical working hours Friday, and that because he was on the campaign trail over the weekend, he did not see information on the challenge until Monday. Andrews received the notification by mail at his home Monday.

Heard said the panel did not provide Andrews the needed information on a reasonable timeline in order to properly prepare and provide information to counter the objection.

Its not due process and its not a way to kick a candidate for governor off of the ballot, Heard said. Mr. Andrews does have sufficient signatures, and after this process is done, if they dont believe so, well go to the district court to prove it.

Candidates have the ability to challenge the panels decision in court.

Advertisement Advertisement

Pate told reporters he did not agree with Andrews characterization that he was not properly notified.

In all due respect, I understand hes out campaigning, but you still have to follow up getting on a ballot, Pate said. Weve all been around long enough weve seen some real sad situations where candidates really work hard to try to be on the ballot, and because of not doing the final homework, they didnt make the cut. So my message to all candidates: please be diligent.

The panel extended the hearing for the objection to Andrews campaign until 8 a.m. Wednesday to give Andrews and his team adequate time to review materials, Pate said.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, another panel member, had also requested that staff review and recount the signatures in the counties discussed in the challenges.

Advertisement Advertisement

The last thing we would want to do is miscount the number of signatures that are close to a threshold, Bird said So if we could do that on the counties that weve gone through, that we believe may have to be disqualified, I think its really important that we do that.

The other challenges heard by the three-member board include Democrat Xavier Corrigan, who is running in Iowas 3rd District, Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, who is running for Iowa Senate District 23; Republican Eric Pearson running for Senate District 21, and Democrat Jared Gadson running for House District 75.

Pate, Bird and Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig considered the objection against Andrews campaign. While Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is typically on the panel, because he is running as a Democratic candidate for governor in 2026, he recused himself from weighing in on the objection. Sand also recused himself from reviewing the objection to Gadsons candidacy, as Gadson is running against Democrat Drew Stensland, who works at the auditors office.

The challenge to Corrigan, Gadson and Pearsons campaigns  which found certain signatures did not meet the nomination requirements  were sustained, meaning the three candidates will not appear on the ballot. The signature challenge to Bousselots campaign was overruled, as Bousselot found 15 of the disputed signatures came from out of the Senate district, but provided information showing seven of the challenged signatures came from individuals within the district.

Advertisement Advertisement

Additionally, challenges to Bousselots qualifications based on not living in the district and the notarization of his affidavit for candidacy were overruled, with Bousselot and counsel pointing to information from the Secretary of States office and prior panel decisions stating a candidate does not have to live within the district until 60 days of the general election.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
The Trump administration ending its war against Iran now would essentially cede control of the key energy choke point of the Strait of Hormuz to Tehran, President Donald Trump's former secretary of Defense said Monday.

The assessment from former Gen. Jim Mattis comes as President Donald Trump declared a five-day pause on military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure after the U.S. and Israeli attack against Iran enters its fourth week. Iran's retaliation has forced the de facto closure of the narrow passage, where 20 percent of the worlds oil and seaborne gas supplies move from the Middle East to the wider market.

Iran right now, if we declared victory, they would now say they own the strait, Mattis said during the CERAweek by S&P Global conference. Youd see a tax for every ship that goes through.

Advertisement Advertisement

Were in a tough spot, ladies and gentlemen, Mattis said. I cant identify a lot of options.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions on Mattiss remarks.

Oil prices retreated to $90 a barrel Monday after Trump declared a five-day pause on attacks against Iran to pursue negotiations. Prices have swung between nearly $120 and below $90 since the United States and Israel first struck Iran on Feb. 28.

Despite the pause, it's unlikely that the United States or Iran will be able to find compromise for a solution, Mattis said. While U.S. missiles have laid waste to military targets in Iran, they haven't done anything to cement U.S. strategic interests in the war, he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Neither side has the ability right now to move the other side off of where they're at," Mattis said. "Never in history has air power alone changed a regime."

Oil industry executives attending the conference have said they were hoping to hear from the administration about how long it would pursue the attacks against Iran. Some executives had privately begun to lean toward the U.S. establishing a permanent presence in the Strait of Hormuz to remove Irans ability to attack oil tankers in the strait  only to be caught off-guard by Trump saying he would start negotiating with the Iranian regime.

Industry as of last week was thinking, lets find a permanent solution, said one oil industry executive granted anonymity because he wasnt authorized to speak to the media. The solution being discussed was, is there a permanent presence we can build in the Strait Of Hormuz to take that big bargaining chip, to take away Irans presence there once and for all? To hear a ceasefire  thats what it sounds like  its a pretty remarkable change of direction.

The pause is not likely to lead to a lasting peace, Suzanne Maloney, director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution think tank, said from the CERAWeek stage. Iran and the United States are too far apart in their objectives to guarantee an agreement, Maloney added.

Advertisement Advertisement

Irans goals in negotiations would include reparations," Maloney said. It would include end of U.S. military presence and support in the region. Those are probably untenable objectives from the point of view of Washington or from the point of view of their neighbors in the Persian Gulf, she said.

"I'm not optimistic about negotiations under the current circumstances," Maloney said.

THIS WEEK ONLY: Follow POLITICO Pub CERAWeek like an insider with a free seven-day trial of POLITICO Pros Morning Energy newsletter, delivering the deals, policy moves and conversations shaping the week. Plus access to E&E News, POLITICO's essential suite of energy and environment coverage. Sign up now.
The House and Senate churned through hundreds of bills in double and triple floor sessions Monday, but that doesnt mean there was not serious debate, as the fate of pending legislation continued to get clearer.

Senators gave final approval to a bill that would make it easier for lawmakers to hold second jobs with state or local governments, despite conflict-of-interest concerns from opponents, and they gave a preliminary OK to a bill limiting partisan activity by charities, after churches were amended out of the bill. The Senate also approved, by the thinnest of margins, a bill streamlining the process for adults to change their gender identification on their birth certificates.

Both chambers passed versions of bills banning dynamic pricing, or the possibility that a retailer might charge different people different prices based on the customers personal information, with some differences that will have to be worked out between the Senate and House.

Advertisement Advertisement

And House members debated lead in ammunition and PFAS in sludge spread on farmland before voting to approve restrictions on both.

Such is the nature of crossover day, the date by which a bill has to pass out of one chamber to be guaranteed a hearing in the second in the remaining three weeks of the session. Even then, passage is not assured, and bills with enough support or powerful enough patrons can still find their way to passage. But crossover day remains an important deadline for lawmakers and bill watchers.

As the Senate wrapped up its third floor session of the day late Monday, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said that the body is in a great spot with 21 days to go.

The desk is officially cleared for crossover, Ferguson said just before 10 p.m. Well done, we got through a lot.

Advertisement Advertisement

But the day was not without dispute.

Jobs for legislators

The Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 618, making it easier for a legislator to work for the state or a local government, despite conflict-of-interest concerns from critics.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Ron Watson (D-Prince Georges), who gave up a job with Prince Georges County schools after questions were raised about whether current state law would allow him to both work for the county and continue to serve as a state senator.

Current exceptions include legislators who held a government job before being elected or appointed to office, for a person who provides education instruction and for a career promotion, change, or progression that is a logical transition from a preexisting relationship.

Advertisement Advertisement

Under the bill, which passed 32-10, a legislator could work for a state, county or local government if that person had served one elected term in the General Assembly and met other standards, including having objectively satisfied the minimum education, licensure and experience requirements of the job. It would take effect Jan. 13, 2027, when the next legislature is sworn in.

Im just very happy that that weve actually provided the flexibility and the recognition of how hard this work is and how hard it is to do a part time job and the impediments it puts on full time employment, Watson said in a brief interview after the Senate vote Monday night. Looks like we made a giant step forward to modernize our ethics rules, and I look forward to it benefiting members of the General Assembly.

The bill received a boost Friday, when the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics voted 10-2 for an amended version of the bill, which includes the committee issuing guidance to lawmakers that would include necessary actions that a member should take to avoid a conflict of interest.

Sen. Ron Watson (D-Prince Georges) talks with Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey (R-Upper Shore) on a bill granting lawmakers more flexibility to take government jobs. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore), who serves on the ethics committee, offered an amendment that would prohibit legislators from taking a job as an at-will employee. Only merit-based positions would qualify.

Advertisement Advertisement

If there is truly a job that makes sense, that youre skilled at and that you want to apply for, thats one thing, Hershey said. But to have a brand new county executive, for instance, in a certain county say that I want certain senators to work for me  thats where were going to lose this and thats where were going to run into potential corruption.

Watson said Hersheys amendment isnt necessary because both at-will and merit jobs are competitive, and the amendment failed 27-13.

Another member of the ethics committee, Sen. Jason Gallion (R-Harford and Cecil), offered an amendment that would require that the committee post a list of each legislator, according to a recent financial disclosure statement, who has been employed or is employed by the state or a local government.

Watson, noting that lawmakers already report employment annually, called Gallions amendment redundant and not necessary. The amendment was rejected 29-13.

Advertisement Advertisement

Concerns about conflicts of interest with government agency employment are not new: A 1998 report that looked at the states public ethics laws after an ethics concern led to former Sen. Larry Young of Baltimore City being expelled from the Senate, said the appearance of improper influence can be unavoidable when a lawmaker is employed by other governmental agencies.

State agencies are quite dependent on the good will of legislators in the budget process an in the enactment of legislation, according to the report. Local governments, especially a legislators home county, are likewise heavily reliant on legislative actions  for their fiscal health and the passage of necessary legislation.

SB 618 now move to the House where a companion bill sponsored by Del. Andrea Harrison (D-Prince Georges) has yet to get a committee vote.

Nonpartisan nonprofits bill carves out religious institutions

A bill to restrict the ability of charitable organizations to engage in partisan activity was put on hold last week, amid concerns that it would have a chilling effect on political actions that that originate out of Black churches.

Advertisement Advertisement

After having a weekend to work out some of the concerns, bill sponsor Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) agreed to offer an amendment to carve religious institutions out of the bill.

I dont love this amendment, but there were concerns about the impact of Senate Bill 4 on our faith institutions and religious organization, she said on the floor Monday.

SB 4 would codify the Johnson amendment, a provision of the federal tax code that prohibits 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits from engaging in political campaigns in exchange for their tax-exempt status. The rule has been in place for 72 years, but the Trump administration has moved toward weakening it, with the IRS proposing last summer that houses of worship be allowed to formally endorse political candidates without risking their tax-exempt status.

During floor debate, Kagan argued that SB 4 wouldnt halt any political activity that is taking place in religious spaces now. While it wasnt ideal in Kagans perspective, she thought it would be helpful to clarify that the legislation would not affect religious institutions.

Advertisement Advertisement

The weekend delay in consideration of the bill means SB 4 did not get a final vote Monday. While that would spell trouble for many bills, SB4 has the Senate president as a co-sponsor, and Kagan said she anticipates that the Kagan-Ferguson bill has a good chance of progressing even if the Senate vote comes after crossover.

Senate, House move bills aimed at dynamic pricing

The House and Senate advanced slightly different versions of bills to prohibit dynamic pricing, defined in the original versions of the bills as the practice of varying prices of consumer goods or services within a business day based on demand or other factors, including through the use of artificial intelligence or models that retrain or recalibrate based on received information in real-time.

The Senate Monday passed Senate Bill 385, which was amended to remove the 24-hour time frame and changed the definition of dynamic pricing. The Senate version prohibits retailers from the discriminatory practice of offering or setting a personalized price for a good or service that is specific to a consumer based on the consumers personal data, regardless of whether the seller collected or purchased the personal data.

The House version of House Bill 895, passed Saturday, changed the definition of dynamic pricing to remove the reference of surveillance data and artificial intelligence, replacing it with personal data, and prohibiting the use of dynamic pricing to alter the costs of a product within the same business day.

Advertisement Advertisement

The House version also includes language from House Bill 1475, sponsored by House Speaker Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D-Prince Georges and Anne Arundel), to require that stores have a disclaimer if a price has been set by personal data: This price was set by an algorithm usPeing your personal data.

Pena-Melnyk, Ferguson and Gov. Wes Moore (D) all announced their support of dynamic pricing restrictions before the session, so the bill has a better chance than most. But House and Senate differences will need to be worked out before it can be sent to the governor.

X marks the gender

When LGBTQ+ advocates rallied in early March, they knew that legislation to modernize and streamline the process of changing ones gender on a birth certificate would be one of the more challenging bills this session.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Advertisement Advertisement

That proved true Monday, with Senate Bill 626 barely passing on a 24-16 vote  24 votes are the minimum to pass in the 47-member Senate  late in the day, with four Democrats voting against the bill and seven lawmakers absent or not in the room during the vote.

The bill would create a new category of X on birth certificates, to recognize individuals who are transgender or nonbinary.

It makes it easier for adults to request a new birth certificate with a gender designation different from the original document, by removing the current requirement that a physician attest to the gender transition of an individual. Language offering that streamlined process for minors was removed following discussions on the Senate floor  meaning a physician would still have to attest to the transition for a minor.

The Senate on Monday also accepted an amendment from Sen. Mike McKay (R-Western Maryland) requiring that the state health department keeps a historical record of changes in birth certificate designations. Those records would be sealed and not subject to the states Public Information Act.

Silver and Starter Homes bill struggles

Part of Moores priority housing legislation, the Starter and Silver Homes Act, may fall by the wayside this session. The bill would prohibit local jurisdictions from placing restrictions on how small a lot or house could be, to encourage the development of smaller homes.

But House Bill 239 has not been approved by the Economic Matters Committee, and Senate Bill 36 has yet to get a vote in the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee.

Committee Chair Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery) said that the committee was more focused on one of Moores other housing bills, pushing the legislation granting developers whats called vesting rights  Senate Bill 325  out of committee. It was approved by the Senate before the crossover deadline.

While the Starter and Silver Homes Act was not the priority of the committee, Feldman noted that theres still three weeks left.

As part of the governors priority legislation, there is a greater chance that the legislation could be worked on even after crossover, but it is not a guarantee by any means for a complicated bill with the clock ticking.

Lead in bullets

A firearms debate on the House floor got fiery on Monday, as GOP legislators opposed a bill that would phase out lead-based ammunition from hunting.

Democrats said the goal is to protect wild animals from lead poisoning.

In 2008 ,California started banning lead ammunition because it was recognized that it started impacting waterways and waterfowl there, said the bills sponsor, Del. Michele Guyton (D-Baltimore County). They were finding that animals were not only dying of lead poisoning when they had been shot  but they were also dying of lead poisoning when they ate  other animals that had been shot with lead.

But Minority Whip Del. Jesse Pippy (R-Frederick) said that the House Bill 1067 goes too far in penalizing hunters. Because some people merely hunt on their own land, they do not need licenses and may not become aware of the new law, Pippy said. But if theyre caught with lead ammunition, they would face a $750 fine under the bill.

Were not saying lead is good. Were just saying: Lets be reasonable about it, Pippy said. Too much sun exposure is not good. But were not going to ban people from going outside.

The bill passed by a vote of 91-42.

PFAS in sludge

For Del. Kevin Anderson (R-Lower Shore), a Somerset County farmer, the bill was a quandary, but he ultimately voted yes on a bill to apply new limits on sewage sludge that comes from wastewater treatment plants and is applied to farm fields.

Under the bill, if the sludge contains the harmful chemical PFAS at a level of 25 parts per billion, there are new restrictions about how it can be applied to land. At 50 parts per billion, the sludge cannot be applied to land at all. By comparison, federal limits for specific PFAS compounds in drinking water are as low as 4 parts per trillion.

I have very strong concerns about [the bill], but as I looked into it, as a farmer, it sets regulation for parts per billion that we dont have today. Thats a benefit to the farmer, said Anderson. who sits on the environmental committee.

Another Republican on the committee, Del. Robin Grammer (R-Baltimore County) expressed concern that farmers could face liability under the bill for the health effects from PFAS, which can include cancer, reproductive harms and cholesterol worries.

There is no liability here. And the way I see this is that were leaving a liability to the farmers, Grammer said.

He was one of a handful of no on the bill, which passed 130-7. The bill passed the Senate unanimously on Friday. The same measure stumbled last year because of concerns from the wastewater industry.

Del. Dana Stein (D-Baltimore County) said the bill adds new guidelines to limit peoples exposure to PFAS in the food system, and the concentrations could be made more stringent over time. He added that even without the bill, citizens could file suit over PFAS contamination and associated health concerns.

Without this bill, there would be no limits on the concentration of PFAS that can be applied on the farms, he said.
The family and friends of a school crossing guard say he was hit by a car while doing his job.

David Spatz, affectionately known as Mr. Dave, was hit Monday morning outside Kedron Elementary School in Fayette County.

He smiles and wave to everybody, and everybody loves him, parent Andrea Stein told Channel 2s Tom Regan. Its terrible and its tragic and were praying for him.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Parents like Stein were stunned by the crash that critically injured Spatz. The 74-year-old crossing guard was guiding kids and parents across the street when a driver hit him and sent him flying over the cars hood.

Advertisement Advertisement

Theres a fractured skull, he has some brain bleeds, he doesnt know what happened, said parent James Clifton, who has been in contact with the crossing guards wife at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Dave is a beloved part of the Kedron family. From what I understand some of the kids actually witness the incident, Clifton told Regan.

Regan also spoke with another crossing guard, Rich Winiarski, about the risks of their jobs.

Have you had any close calls? Regan asked.

Yes, almost everyday, he said.

Winiarski says speeding drivers are a constant threat in school zones.

A Channel 2 Action News recently conducted an investigation with our Cox Media Group sister stations and the Associated Press. Our investigation found more than 225 crossing guards, including 19 in Georgia, have been hit over the last 10 years across the country.

Advertisement Advertisement

But there are likely many more. Massachusetts and New Jersey are the only states that keep track of crossing guards hit every year, and no one tracks the total nationwide.

As for Mr. Dave, the community is now rallying around him and his wife. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the medical expenses. It has raised more than $15,000.

Its so sad to see something like this happen to him, so were trying everything we can do to support his family, Clifton said.

Peachtree City police said the driver who hit Mr. Dave stopped to help. Police did not say if the driver will be cited or charged.

RELATED STORIES:
Israeli security forces and emergency responders work at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 24, 2026. A missile fired from Iran struck Tel Aviv on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging buildings and vehicles, Israeli authorities said. (Tomer Neuberg/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A missile fired from Iran struck Tel Aviv on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging buildings and vehicles, Israeli authorities said.

Loud explosions were heard across the city, with eyewitnesses reporting large plumes of smoke rising from both northern and southern parts of the country's commercial hub.

Israel's Army Radio, citing security officials, reported that it was apparently a cluster-type missile containing several bomblets, each weighing about 100 kg, with the bomblets or their fragments impacting several sites.

At an impact site in northern Tel Aviv, a missile struck between buildings, "causing a powerful blast wave that heavily damaged three buildings," Miki David, commander of the Tel Aviv district in the Home Front Command, told reporters at the scene. He said shelters in the buildings remained intact, and those inside were unharmed.

Images shared on social media showed that the impact left a crater.

In a statement, the Israeli military said search and rescue teams were operating at "several sites" in central Israel after impacts were reported.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said six people were lightly injured and did not require hospital treatment.

Air raid sirens were activated seven times across Israel overnight and into Tuesday morning amid continued missile fire from Iran. The last missile attack activated sirens in southern Israel, including in Dimona, where Israel's nuclear facility is located.

The strike came as the regional conflict entered its 25th day, with tensions remaining high despite U.S. President Donald Trump's claim of ongoing negotiations, which Iran dismissed as "fake news." 

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows an impact site of an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel. A missile fired from Iran struck Tel Aviv on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging buildings and vehicles, Israeli authorities said. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows an impact site of an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel. A missile fired from Iran struck Tel Aviv on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging buildings and vehicles, Israeli authorities said. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli security forces and emergency responders work at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 24, 2026. A missile fired from Iran struck Tel Aviv on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging buildings and vehicles, Israeli authorities said. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

This photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows an impact site of an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel. A missile fired from Iran struck Tel Aviv on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging buildings and vehicles, Israeli authorities said. (Tomer Neuberg/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli security forces and emergency responders work at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 24, 2026. A missile fired from Iran struck Tel Aviv on Tuesday, injuring several people and damaging buildings and vehicles, Israeli authorities said. (Tomer Neuberg/JINI via Xinhua)
As his retirement looms, Gregory Bovino, the US border patrols former commander-at-large, has contended that efforts to curb illegal immigration by Donald Trumps administration have not gone far enough  showing no remorse over federal agents killings of two US citizens in Minneapolis in January.

I wish Id caught even more illegal aliens, he told the New York Times on Tuesday in an exit interview, during which he also referred to the Republican president as the Trumpster and acknowledged his retirement at the end of March was not entirely voluntary.

We went as hard as we could, but theres always a creative and innovative solution to catching even more.

Advertisement Advertisement

Bovino announced his retirement from the patrol earlier in March.

He had spent most of his 30-year career in Californias El Centro sector before being tapped by the Trump administration to lead its sweeping Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota.

Related: Gregory Bovino, who led Minnesota operation, says hes retiring end of March

Trump then demoted Bovino after federal agents fatally shot 37-year-old US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good in separate encounters in January, each of which remains under investigation.

In successive sweeps through Democratic-led cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans, Bovino was the public face of the ongoing campaign, personally lobbing pepper gas canisters into crowds and reporting directly to the since-replaced secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem.

Advertisement Advertisement

He became a figure of hate for the left. Californias governor, Gavin Newsom, said Bovinos dark green, double-breasted coat looked as if he literally went on eBay and purchased SS garb, referring to the Nazi paramilitary group that managed concentration camps during the Holocaust and second world war.

In his Times interview, Bovino said he bought the coat as a young agent. He referred to himself in the third person as Chief Bovino and said he felt he had been hampered by bureaucrats who limited his turn and burn tactics of high-speed operations meant to be completed before protesters could descend on them.

We wanted total border domination, Bovino told the outlet. When you use terms like that, perhaps it scares some of the weaker-minded people. Domination. I want you to dominate that border.

Im not going to control it. Were going to dominate the hell out of that damn place.

Advertisement Advertisement

In what is bound to rank as one of the most starting career-reflection interviews, Bovino praised Trump and said he had received a lot of kudos from the Trumpster. He said that commendation was relayed to him by Corey Lewandowski, a top aide to Noem, whose replacement as homeland security secretary, the US senator Markwayne Mullin, received Senate confirmation on Monday.

Bovino said his plan  the White House cut it short  was to enable the deportation of 100 million people (far more than the number of immigrants estimated to be in the US without permission).

The Times cited previously unreported legal documents which show Bovino referred to undocumented immigrants as scum, trash and filth.

Occasionally, the Times noted, the exaggerated persona Bovino adopted drew comparisons to the fictional Col Steven J Lockjaw, played by Sean Penn in the Oscar-winning film One Battle After Another. Bovino commented that he had not seen the movie but dismissed Penn as fringe, left, liberal.

Advertisement Advertisement

Other politically incorrect terms that Bovino said he relished included calling Barack Obama by the former presidents middle name, Hussein. He also referred to migrants at the US border during the Covid-19 pandemic as walking zombies.

He said he organized teams to approach people at gasoline stations and transit hubs to ask about their immigration status in the US  a tactic he described as consensual encounters.

Bovino also used social media to get his message across to residents in cities upon which federal agents descended, even if it caused a reprimand. I got yelled at a whole lot and got in trouble a whole lot, and didnt care, Bovino told the outlet.

Bovino said the immigration raids he led were targeted at criminals, though agents didnt know the criminal or immigration history of most people they arrested, according to a judicial ruling generated by a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Advertisement Advertisement

The Times interview alluded to how a homeland security spokesperson told another outlet that the Trump administration had selected Bovino to lead its immigration crackdown because hes a badass.

But after the killings of Good and Pretti by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and border patrol agents, respectively, Bovino was told to stand down.

He said he stood by his comments that Pretti wanted to massacre law enforcement when agents killed him. Video at the scene showed Pretti was unarmed at the moments agents shot him to death.

Bovino furthermore confirmed that he had brushed aside a warning that his tactics could result in fatalities.

Advertisement Advertisement

He told the outlet he recalled replying to the warning: Its possible, yes.

Bovino is facing a number of lawsuits from civil rights groups as well as an internal investigation for disparaging a Jewish prosecutor in Minnesota taking time off for Shabbat  an accusation he calls unfounded and made by troglodytes.

Bovino denied reports that he had been thrown out of a bar in Las Vegas at 12.30am during a farewell tour of US cities, saying the night was a really positive experience and the bartenders loved his group.

Bovino, who holds a degree in natural resource conservation, said his retirement plans include cracking down on non-native invasive species that are killing off local timber rattlesnakes in the North Carolina Appalachian region in which he was raised.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Times said he was referring to coyotes  but, as he put it, not the human smugglers nicknamed coyotes who smuggle undocumented immigrants into the US.

Of that retirement mission, he told the Times: Ill take it in my own hands.
A former Milwaukee police officer was sentenced to five years in prison in what one prosecutor called "the most serious case of law enforcement misconduct to come through the Milwaukee federal courthouse in over a decade."

Juwon Madlock, 30, pleaded guilty in December to five charges related to using his position to funnel information to a member of a violent street gang  including potential addresses for rival gang members.

Madlock was a "dirty cop" who engaged in a series of "betrayals and lies that put his colleagues at the Milwaukee Police Department and the public he has sworn to protect in mortal danger," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Knight said at Madlock's sentencing hearing March 24.

Advertisement Advertisement

U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig acknowledged that Madlock's conduct was particularly egregious due to his duties as a police officer. However, the judge decided on a sentence less than the recommendations of both the prosecution and Madlock's own defense attorney.

Ludwig said he thinks Madlock made "a series of really foolish actions and statements made to a gang member," but that prosecutors overstated Madlock's level of "brazen criminality."

"My read is that you were continuing to communicate with someone you considered a friend. And you were talking big maybe, talking smack, trying to inflate yourself," Ludwig told Madlock.

Despite the lower-than-recommended sentence, Ludwig noted that the five-year prison sentence was still substantially higher than federal sentencing guidelines. Those guidelines, Ludwig said, didn't take into account the context of Madlock's betrayal of public trust.

Advertisement Advertisement

Ludwig sentenced Madlock to three years of supervised release after his time in prison. The judge also encouraged Madlock to take advantage of vocational training opportunities in prison, since he won't be able to work as a police officer.

Madlock was arrested in March 2025, weeks after agents arrested a suspected member of the BZF, also known as the Burleigh Zoo Family, and searched a house in Greenfield. Madlock resigned from the Milwaukee Police Department on the day of his arrest.

During the investigation, agents uncovered texts that showed Madlock tipped off the suspect to law enforcement action, provided potential addresses for a rival gang member and offered guns for sale, according to court records.

MPD Officer Juwon J. Madlock is seen in his department-issued photo.

Prosecutors requested a 13-year prison sentence, the highest allowed under the terms of a plea agreement, saying that Madlock had betrayed his colleagues at the Milwaukee Police Department and repeatedly put the public at risk.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Betrayers like our defendant deserve some of the most serious penalities," Knight said.

Michael Steinle, Madlock's attorney, suggested a 7-year prison sentence, which he said was more than appropriate for the severity of the charges. He also noted that, as a former police officer, Madlock will likely be facing "hard time," because former law enforcement officers tend to be targeted in prison.

Madlock was convicted of two counts of lying to federal agents, possessing a firearm with a machine gun-conversion device, transferring ammunition to a felon, and aiding and abetting the possession of stolen property. Attorneys noted that, if Madlock had gone to trial, a conviction on the machine gun charge could have come with a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence.

Steinle provided several letters of support, including one from a woman who identified herself as a city dispatcher. The dispatcher wrote that Madlock had been shot at least twice while on the job and described him as "a father who made a serious mistake but has the potential to contribute positively to society in the future."

Advertisement Advertisement

At his sentencing hearing, Madlock's father, mother and a friend all gave statements to Ludwig, asking the judge to take into account Madlock's positive characteristics and lack of criminal history.

Before his arrest, he was the primary caretaker of a 7-year-old daughter and had a two-month-old baby, they said. Madlock wanted to protect the city where he grew up, his father said.

More: Milwaukee County tracks officers with credibility problems. But the system is inconsistent and incomplete.

He joined the department at age 18, and worked there for 10 years.

During his career, Madlock was investigated by Internal Affairs for six incidents, according to department records. Several resulted in policy reviews or remedial training.

Advertisement Advertisement

Two incidents led to findings that he had violated the department's rules and policies, and one of those incidents led to his placement on the county's list of officers with a history of credibility concerns, bias or past crimes, known as the Brady list.

Madlock was added to the Brady list in 2021 after internal affairs found he had misled supervisors about his response to a shooting investigation. He was among two dozen law enforcement officers who kept their jobs after being added to the list, which is maintained by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.

Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ex-MPD officer gets 5 years in federal prison for helping street gang
By Jana Winter

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - A special counsel investigation that began in 2022 of Kash Patel, who is now the FBI director but was then a private citizen, included demands for more than two years of phone records, text messages and financial information, according to two grand jury subpoenas and nondisclosure orders viewed by Reuters.

Special Counsel Jack Smiths team issued subpoenas to Verizon Communications for Patels communications at the time when they were investigating whether President Donald Trump had interfered with the 2020 election and had hidden classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Reuters could not determine the nature of Smith's investigation of Patel and what allegations of wrongdoing, if any, were being probed at the time.

Advertisement Advertisement

The new records regarding Patel were authorized for release by Republican Senators Charles Grassley, Ron Johnson and Ted Cruz ahead of a subcommittee hearing Tuesday on the Smith investigation, which was code-named Arctic Frost.

Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022. Reuters previously reported that Smiths team had subpoenaed the phone records of Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles while they were private citizens but involved in Trumps campaign to reclaim the presidency in 2024.

The new documents viewed by Reuters show that the probe into Patel was more extensive than previously reported. In addition to phone, online user names, and text messages, Smith and his team sought mailing and email addresses, billing and IP addresses and bank account information, according to the documents.

The requests included records of calls and texts sent and received but not the contents of those phone calls or messages themselves, the documents show. They also included records of session times and the duration of calls, as well as subscriber information associated with Patels accounts.

Advertisement Advertisement

One subpoena requested records from January 1, 2021 to November 23, 2023. The other was for the time period of October 1, 2020, through February 22, 2023.

Reuters was unable to determine whether the investigation into Wiles was more extensive than previously reported.

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Reuters the records show improper actions by Smith and the FBI at the time.

The FBI under prior leadership was weaponized in ways the American people are only now beginning to fully grasp, Williamson said.

A spokesman for Smith did not respond to a request for comment. He previously told Congress that his investigators were concerned about possible obstruction of justice. He told lawmakers in January that his office followed Justice Department policies, observed legal requirements and took actions based on the facts and the law.

Advertisement Advertisement

Democrats in Congress have defended Smith from previous GOP criticisms, saying he had acted appropriately in seeking phone records and other evidence they said was necessary to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Trump and his associates. It is not unusual for investigators to seek phone and other records, even of prominent people, while seeking facts about a case.

Former FBI director Christopher Wray, who ran the bureau during Smith's investigation, did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James Mazzone issued a nondisclosure order on November 30, 2022 in the probe of Patel which stated that the court had "reasonable grounds to believe that disclosure will result in flight from prosecution, destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses and serious jeopardy to the investigation."

Reuters could not determine whether Verizon complied with Smiths requests, or how that information was used. Verizon did not respond to a request for comment.

Advertisement Advertisement

My oversight of Arctic Frost has proven the more you dig, the more you find," said Grassley, the Republican chairman of the subcommittee probing Smith's investigation.

Patel publicly said in 2022 that Trump had declassified the documents taken to Mar-a-Lago, a claim prosecutors disputed and Trumps lawyers did not make in court. Patel was summoned before a grand jury hearing evidence in the case that year after he was given limited immunity from criminal charges.

(Reporting by Jana Winter; Editing by Michael Learmonth, Craig Timberg and Lincoln Feast.)
The New Hampshire Executive Council is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to confirm Gerard Boyle, Gov. Kelly Ayottes pick for Youth Development Center settlement fund administrator. Boyles confirmation would solidify the transition of the administrator position from independent to political appointee.

The YDC settlement fund is a pool of money the state set aside to pay victims who were abused in New Hampshires juvenile justice system. After a deluge of allegations emerged in recent years about rape, assault, and emotional abuse being perpetrated against young detainees, the state established a nonpartisan administrator appointed by the judicial branch to administer the fund.

The fund operates as an alternative to the lengthy and complicated trial process. However, in 2025, the state Legislature changed the administrator role as part of the 2026-27 budget legislation to be a political appointee chosen by the governor and to give the attorney general veto power over settlements. In response to those changes, John Broderick, who had been serving as administrator, stepped down from the role.

Advertisement Advertisement

Earlier this month, Ayotte nominated Boyle, a former circuit court judge, to be the new administrator. Boyle presided over the New Hampshire Circuit Court in Concord for 21 years before retiring in 2016. Prior to the circuit court, Boyle presided over the Merrimack County Teen Court, which was established to help rehabilitate young first-time offenders. Hes also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The change from a nonpartisan neutral administrator to a political appointee has been controversial and was done against the wishes of many victims.

The confirmation of a new administrator to the YDC Settlement Fund does not undo the damage done to what was an impartial process, Chuck Miles, who survived alleged abuse including rape and physical violence at several facilities in New Hampshire and now serves on the board of the organization Justice for YDC Victims, said in a statement to the Bulletin. There are more than a thousand of us with claims still in limbo, and the fund doesnt have the money to pay what were owed.

Ive been told to be patient my entire life  patient while I suffered, patient while I healed, patient while I waited for someone to believe me, Miles continued. I have waited decades for the state to acknowledge what happened to me and make it right. Im hopeful this is a turning point, but hope is hard to hold onto when the state keeps changing the rules. Regardless of any single appointment, what we need is a process that is fair and independent. We were promised justice, and we intend to hold the state to that promise.

Advertisement Advertisement

Broderick, the former administrator, has been outspoken in opposing the changes, which he has told several news organizations he believes were done so the state could save money on settlement payouts.

The neutral and independent administrator the Legislature thought was necessary for the funds credibility only 3 years ago is now a fiction, Broderick wrote in an open letter published by InDepthNH in July. In what world does a defendant get to choose and remove the judge in their case and get to reject any jury verdict with which it disagrees? Certainly, none that we would respect.
Last night's runway crash involving an Air Canada jet and a Port Authority fire truck at New York City's LaGuardia Airport resulted in the deaths of two pilots and sent more than 40 other people to the hospital, some with serious injuries.

Yet as tragic as the situation is, the outcome could have been "much, much worse" if not for "pure luck," says a former safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

'Pure luck' saved lives

CNN safety analyst David Soucie, a onetime FAA inspector, said Monday that more lives would have been lost if the Air Canada jet didn't strike the fire truck in the manner it did.

Advertisement Advertisement

This could have been much, much worse, Soucie said. Because that aircraft hit directly in the middle of the fire truck, the fire truck was moved forward, and the aircraft was damaged in the nose.

If the collision occurred in a different spot, it would have struck against the wing, the fuel cells, the engines and would have created a huge fire and  many, many fatalities, Soucie said.

So as tragic as this is for the two that weve lost, just out of pure luck, that airplane hit in the middle of that fire truck and reduced the number of fatalities significantly," he added.

More details on the deadly crash

The accident occurred at around 11:40 p.m. ET Sunday, according to a statement from LaGaurdia Airport. The Air Canada plane was reportedly carrying 72 passengers and four crew members.

Advertisement Advertisement

Both the pilot and co-pilot of the jet were killed, and 41 other people were taken to the hospital. As of this afternoon, 32 of those 41 had been released.

Two of those hospitalized were Port Authority firefighters, but both are expected to be discharged soon, according to NBC News.

"Both were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital," said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia, who identified the men as Sgt. Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez. "We expect one to be released later this afternoon, and the other to be kept overnight for observation."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Mar 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Claim:

Scientists released an image showing the "Cosmic Vine" discovered through the James Webb Space Telescope as a line of galaxies connected to each other in a helix structure.

Rating:

Rating: False

Context:

While researchers did use the James Webb Space Telescope to discover a cluster of galaxies they called the "Cosmic Vine," they didn't release an image circulating on social media as part of their studies.

Advertisement Advertisement

In March 2026, a Facebook post (archived) claimed that the James Webb Space Telescope revealed "a breathtaking structure now dubbed the 'Cosmic Vine': a string of 20 galaxies stretching across a staggering 13 million light-years."

The post included an image credited to NASA and other space agencies that appeared to show massive galaxies linked in a helix-like shape.

Screenshot of Facebook post about Cosmic Vine, including an image of a bunch of galaxies linked together in a vertical chain. The text of the post reads:

(Facebook page Science and Astronomy)

The same image of this "Cosmic Vine" spread on other social media platforms, including Instagram (archived) and X (archived), as early as mid-2025. Some posts, such as this one from Instagram (archived), shared the image and claimed the vine "resembles the human DNA."

Advertisement Advertisement

While researchers did use the James Webb Space Telescope to discover a cluster of galaxies they called the "Cosmic Vine," they didn't release the above image as part of their studies. The images released by researchers studying this Cosmic Vine show the galaxies aren't linked together and do not resemble human DNA. Therefore, we have rated this claim as false.

A group of researchers published their first study concerning the Cosmic Vine in February 2024. The paper described it as a massive vine-like structure from the early universe  a time in which the earliest galaxies were forming  consisting of 20 galaxies.

The study included an image of the Cosmic Vine, noting galaxies within it by circling them in green:

An image of a distance stars and galaxies. Galaxies making up the Cosmic Vine are aligned in a faint crescent shape. Most of the galaxies in the vine are far apart from each other.

The authors of the study circled galaxies that make up the Cosmic Vine in green. (Cosmic Vine: A z = 3.44 large-scale structure hosting massive quiescent galaxies Shuowen Jin, Nikolaj B. Sillassen, Georgios E. Magdis, Malte Brinch, Marko Shuntov, Gabriel Brammer, Raphael Gobat, Francesco Valentino, Adam C. Carnall, Minju Lee, Aswin P. Vijayan, Steven Gillman, Vasily Kokorev, Aurelien Le Bail, Thomas R. Greve, Bitten Gullberg, Katriona M. L. Gould and Sune Toft A&A, 683 (2024) L4)

Those researchers have continued studying the Cosmic Vine in the years since publishing that first paper. In February 2026, the scientists published a new paper on the Cosmic Vine, refining their previous research. In this paper, they described the Cosmic Vine as a massive protocluster  a large group of galaxies in the process of coming together  of 136 confirmed galaxies from before the universe was 2 billion years old.

Advertisement Advertisement

The 2026 paper included an updated image of the Cosmic Vine:

Image of a bunch of stars and galaxies in space. Some galaxies, spread throughout the image, are circled in green  those are the galaxies of the vine. Various clusters and groups of galaxies are suffered. To the right are images of individual galaxies, none of which are very detailed.

(Cosmic Vine: High abundance of massive galaxies and dark matter halos in a forming cluster at z = 3.44 Nikolaj B. Sillassen, Shuowen Jin, Georgios E. Magdis, Francesco Valentino, Emanuele Daddi, Raphael Gobat, Malte Brinch, Kei Ito, Tao Wang, Hanwen Sun, Gabriel Brammer, Sune Toft and Thomas R. Greve A&A, 706 (2026) A344)

The galaxies circled in both green and orange are confirmed members of the Cosmic Vine. Galaxies in yellow are part of a different structure, which the researchers dubbed the "Leaf." The white contours identify the densest areas of these structures. The purple circles are the main groups of the two structures.

Even in the updated image with over 100 galaxies added to the Cosmic Vine, the galaxies are still spread out rather than chained together. The images of individual galaxies on the right also show that they are not linked together  though in at least one instance, two appear to be merging.

Advertisement Advertisement

In clusters, gravity keeps at least 100 galaxies close to each other. Protoclusters, like the Cosmic Vine, are future clusters in the process of forming. This image of an even older protocluster captured by the James Webb Telescope is similarly made up of galaxies that appear far apart in the night sky.

It's unlikely a chain of galaxies like the one from the social media post could form in that shape. Galaxies that get too close to each other often  but not always  merge. During merging, a pair of galaxies may hook into each other and appear linked. The appearance of a third galaxy or more would be unlikely to form a chain; NASA has one image of three merging galaxies appearing to come together at a point between them all.

So, where did the image of the galaxies chained together in a helix shape come from? We were unable to track down the source, but we did find examples of it (archived) on social media dating back to at least May 2025. Similar fake Cosmic Vine images (archived) of galaxies linked to each other were also posted on social media around the same time.

The Cosmic Dawn Center, of which many of the Cosmic Vine's researchers are affiliated, did not publish a press release for the first study and did not use the widely circulated image of the chain of galaxies when it published a press release for the most recent Cosmic Vine study.

Advertisement Advertisement

The image is likely an artistic representation of the Cosmic Vine or an AI-generated image depicting it.

For further reading, we investigated claims about the discovery of a "super-Earth" exoplanet.

Sources:

@pinboy93. "The "Cosmic Vine"  a Galaxy Megastructure in the Early Universe ." X (Formerly Twitter), 5 May 2025, x.com/pinboy93/status/1919404726908596530/photo/1. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.

From Quarks to Quasars. "From Quarks to Quasars." Facebook.com, 7 May 2025, www.facebook.com/fromquarktoquasars/posts/pfbid02JZTqhY9Gzhs7h4N3cXpwTYUSW8rR3ZMJmXxgm4UfUNmfAZQCNYmVMqyYczXYqLV3l. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Galaxy Details and Mergers - NASA Science." Science.nasa.gov, science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/science-highlights/galaxy-details-and-mergers/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.

Jin, Shuowen, et al. "Cosmic Vine: A Z = 3.44 Large-Scale Structure Hosting Massive Quiescent Galaxies." Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 683, 29 Feb. 2024, pp. L4L4, www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2024/03/aa48540-23/aa48540-23.html, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202348540. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.

Laursen, Peter. "James Webb Finds Surprisingly Mature Galaxies in Early Cosmic Megastructure - Cosmic Dawn Center." Cosmic Dawn Center, 20 Feb. 2026, cosmicdawn.dk/news/james-webb-finds-surprisingly-mature-galaxies-in-early-cosmic-megastructure/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.

NASA. "Large Scale Structures - NASA Science." Science.nasa.gov, 22 Oct. 2024, science.nasa.gov/universe/galaxies/large-scale-structures/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.

Advertisement Advertisement

NASA Hubble Mission Team. "Hubble Views a Merging Galactic Trio - NASA Science." Science.nasa.gov, 28 Mar. 2025, science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-views-a-merging-galactic-trio/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.

Sillassen, Nikolaj B., et al. "Cosmic Vine: High Abundance of Massive Galaxies and Dark Matter Halos in a Forming Cluster at Z = 3.44." Astronomy & Astrophysics, vol. 706, 19 Feb. 2026, p. A344, www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/02/aa57857-25/aa57857-25.html, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202557857. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.

X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/A Bogdan; Infrared (JWST): NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Edmonds and L. Frattare. "Chandra :: Photo Album :: JADES-ID1 :: January 28, 2026." Harvard.edu, 28 Jan. 2026, chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2026/protoc/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A family is taking legal action following a deadly shooting inside a Las Vegas auto parts store, alleging the business failed to provide adequate security despite known safety risks.



The lawsuit, filed in Clark County District Court on March 18, stems from a May 23, 2025, shooting at an AutoZone near East Charleston Boulevard and 13th Street. According to court documents, 21-year-old David Gabriel Carcamo was shot and killed inside the store after a man allegedly grabbed his firearm during an encounter.



The suspect, identified in previous 8 News Now reporting as Kyle Capucci, was accused of acting erratically before the shooting. Investigators said Capucci later tested positive for methamphetamine.

Download the 8 News Now streaming app

According to the civil complaint, Capucci entered the store without pants or shoes, wandered inside, and approached Carcamo. The lawsuit alleges Capucci saw that Carcamo was openly carrying a firearm, attacked him, and was able to take the weapon before shooting him in the neck.



Carcamo was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the filing.



Records show Capucci had recently been released from prison on April 28, just weeks before the killing. The Nevada Parole Board had denied him parole in 2024. In 2022, Capucci pleaded guilty to an attempted robbery charge after police said he threatened a restaurant employee with a knife. As part of that plea agreement, prosecutors did not oppose Capuccis entry into drug court and probation.



As part of the plea deal, Capucci could serve a prison sentence of 21 years to life, meaning, with credit for time served, he will be eligible for parole in 2046 in 20 years, should the judge sentence him to the terms of the deal.



The lawsuit, filed by Carcamos family, claims the store was located in a high-crime area and that the company was aware of ongoing safety concerns but failed to take action. The complaint alleges that AutoZone did not have security personnel on site and did not properly train employees to respond to dangerous situations.

Advertisement Advertisement

Man accused of grabbing gun, murder inside Las Vegas store tested positive for meth

Attorneys for the family argue the shooting was foreseeable and claim the company prioritized profits over safety by choosing not to hire security, despite known risks.



The suit also alleges employees did not intervene or assist during the attack.



Carcamos family is seeking damages for wrongful death, negligence, and emotional suffering.



Police previously said Capucci fled the scene but was later taken into custody.



The case remains ongoing.





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.
Faculty at the University of Florida will continue to have the right to appeal workplace disputes to an impartial judge after a federal court ruled March 20 in favor of a lawsuit filed by the universitys faculty union challenging a 2023 state law that granted public university presidents final authority over such disputes.

In 2024, the United Faculty of Florida at UF filed a lawsuit against members of the Florida Board of Governors and the UF Board of Trustees, the entities charged with enforcing the statute. District Judge Mark E. Walker granted a permanent injunction blocking State University System officials from enforcing the arbitration ban.

UFF President Robert Cassanello said the Florida Legislature overstepped its constitutional authority when it passed SB 266 and said the ruling helps protect faculty from threats to academic freedom.

Advertisement Advertisement

This decision restores a fundamental protection for higher education professionals across Florida  the right to a neutral, third-party arbitrator to resolve employer disputes, he said in a statement. This is not only a win for faculty and graduate assistants, but for our students who deserve to attend colleges and universities that are grounded in the right of faculty to teach without political interference and students to learn without fear.

Courts: Judge dismisses fraud suit against UF trustee Bill Heavener

The law barred faculty from appealing decisions involving evaluations, promotions, tenure, discipline or termination beyond the university president or a designated official, according to court records, and stated that the presidents written decision was final and not subject to arbitration.

UFF and its UF chapter argued that the Federal Arbitration Act, which broadly protects the right to resolve disputes through arbitration, preempts that portion of the state law.

Advertisement Advertisement

UFFUFs collective bargaining agreement with the university allows for arbitration of grievances. Although the contract expired in June 2024, negotiations remain at an impasse, leaving the previous agreement in effect. Court filings indicate that since the law took effect, at least six UFFUF members were denied arbitration after seeking to grieve employment disputes.

The injunction applies only to UFFUF members.

Separate claims brought by the Florida State University chapter of UFF against the Board of Governors and the FSU Board of Trustees were dismissed by the judge for lack of jurisdiction.

Faculty at UF, FSU and Florida International University filed another lawsuit in January 2025 challenging SB 266, which also bars public universities from funding DEI or politically oriented programs and removes DEIrelated topics from general education requirements.

Advertisement Advertisement

The plaintiffs argue the law violates academic freedom and First Amendment rights. A federal court denied their request for a preliminary injunction in April 2025, and that case remains ongoing.

The UF Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors have not yet responded to requests for comment.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Federal court blocks arbitration ban for University of Florida faculty
A perfect storm has arrived on the ledgers of many state budgets, bearing down on the people who often need help the most.

Federal and state policy decisions, the end of pandemic aid and long-term fiscal trends  such as people aging into Social Security benefits  are requiring states to take a tougher look at their financial plans than they have in the past.

President Donald Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act is weighing heavily on legislators, who face having to make up for billions of dollars the bill cuts out for states to help fund programs, such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, that allow low-income people to receive health care and pay for groceries.

Advertisement Advertisement

At the same time, states are grappling with the end of federal funds they had been receiving since 2021 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and the American Rescue Plan Act.

The combination leaves lawmakers in many states grappling with ways to lessen the impact on Americans.

Potential Medicaid cuts

Kansas is projected to lose more than $3.9 billion in Medicaid funding over the next 10 years, according to a report by the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and Reach Healthcare Foundation, both based in the state.

David Jordan, president and CEO of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, said he does not expect the state to backfill the federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Advertisement Advertisement

Its really going to trickle down to Kansas in a way that just makes (residents) lives harder economically. Its going to make it tougher to get those supports like Medicaid or help putting food on their table, which is really too bad, Jordan said.

The federal cuts to the program could leave more Kansans uninsured. That means hospitals would then receive less in reimbursements, which could lead to higher medical costs and potential closures, according to the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and Reach Healthcare Foundation.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kellys fiscal year 2027 budget lays out plans to designate $15 million to handle the increased caseload in the Childrens Health Insurance Program to help maintain health coverage for children.

In Arizona, legislators had three budgetary options going into the session: go above and beyond to conform with the bill, do the bare minimum or not conform at all.

Advertisement Advertisement

In the six years that Ive been here, this is the first time that we have not gone into session saying, Yeah, were going to rubber-stamp conform to the federal and keep right on marching,  said Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, D-Tucson.

She said the biggest impact of Trumps bill will be felt in health care and that social services, Medicaid, food and other benefits would be hit hard. The state does not have enough rainy day funds to backfill the programs that will be impacted by the bill.

Tax increases might seem to make up the difference, but they are very difficult to pass as they require a two-thirds vote, according to Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics at Arizona State University.

Were going to cut income taxes again this session to conform with the Big Beautiful Bill, Hoffman said. So, it just means that theres less limited resources to go around to support other things.

Advertisement Advertisement

Systemic changes to Medicaid will require almost 200,000 Arizonans to submit paperwork to Arizonas state Medicaid service, to keep their coverage. Thats because a major aspect of Trumps bill is that enrollment in Medicaid will require workforce participation or participation in another qualifying activity, like education or a work program. States must implement that condition by Jan. 1, according to the Center for Health Care Strategies.

The Grand Canyon Institute, a bipartisan economic think tank, analyzed the states three main options.

Significant conformity with the new regulations would create a deficit of more than $300 million and cut funding to other agencies, according to the institute. Minimal conformity would leave a small surplus but would not fund all other priorities, and non-conformity would fund other state agency priorities but risk penalties for being out of compliance with the new regulations.

SNAP

As Tennessee expects to face a tighter budget in the next fiscal year, lawmakers are moving to seek federal funding through the federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program after Republican Gov. Bill Lee declined to opt in for the second consecutive year.

Advertisement Advertisement

Lees decision has left hundreds of thousands of Tennessee children not receiving school meals during the summer. The legislation would require Tennessee to participate as long as the federal program remains available.

The program provides grocery benefits to families who receive free school meals. It served about 700,000 Tennessee students during its nationwide rollout in 2024.

In its absence last summer, the General Assembly created a Tennessee Summer Nutrition Program funded by a $3 million grant, which reached only about 18,200 children statewide.

Advocates have said the loss of Summer EBT will increase child hunger and negatively affect local economies, particularly in rural communities, by removing federal food dollars that support families and grocery stores statewide.

Advertisement Advertisement

Some of these students are receiving breakfast and lunch from school five days a week.  Thats an extra 10 meals a week (per child) that families are having to provide with no additional support, said Anna Grace Breedlove, anti-hunger policy coordinator at the Tennessee Justice Center.

State of the budgets

In addition to federal funding cuts, some states are encountering rough waters as revenue, the workforce and the cost of living fluctuate.

In Virginia, newly sworn-in Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanbergers proposed budget aims to offset expenses for housing, health care and energy costs.

Spanberger campaigned on affordability, but Republicans want to put money back into peoples pockets by cutting certain taxes.

Advertisement Advertisement

Prices have been rising for years, Spanberger said. But the economic uncertainty and instability coming out of Washington (D.C.) over the past 12 months, particularly for Virginia, have made things undeniably worse.

The state has one of the highest rates of federal workforce reductions in the nation, with almost 24,000 jobs cut last year.

Despite the reduction in the federal workforce, state Republicans point to the states unemployment rate, which is lower than the national average.

In Colorado, as the state faces an estimated $850 million budget deficit this year, two legislators have shown fundamental differences in how to handle finances.

Advertisement Advertisement

State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, who is running for governor, has criticized the current Democratic administration and called for spending cuts.

Colorados budget didnt break by accident, Kirkmeyer said at the meeting sponsored by the Colorado Sun at the University of Denver.

It broke because politicians at the Capitol keep chasing new programs and bigger government while shortchanging the basics that families actually rely on, like schools, health care providers and services people use every day.

By contrast, Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, has focused on protecting access to state services.

Advertisement Advertisement

She pointed to the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, which helps homeowners in high-risk areas get property insurance and was passed by the Democratically controlled legislature in 2023.

Some states are able to be optimistic about their budgets this upcoming fiscal year.

After five years of historic revenue growth from an oil and gas boom, New Mexico state lawmakers in January proposed a 2.5% budget increase.

The state has been on a multi-year streak of record-breaking income from oil and gas, and although projected revenue came in lower than expected this year, Democratic leaders are confident about spending.

Im grateful and excited that we have a strong fiscal position. That comes after years of planning, strategic saving and focusing on the highest-value investments for New Mexicans, said House Appropriations and Finance Committee Chair Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces.

The $11.1 billion budget was signed by the governor in March.

How we got here

Long-term fiscal trends, like aging populations and more expensive natural disasters, and federal and state policy decisions are key factors colliding in states upcoming budgets, explained Josh Goodman, a senior officer on state fiscal policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

He also said that almost-dried-up federal aid from the COVID-19 pandemic could affect financial planning for states next fiscal year.

States have to generally balance their budgets each year. The federal government has a lot more flexibility to engage in deficit spending, Goodman said. So, if you have this economic downturn  some kind of crisis like COVID  then its typical for the federal government to offer help to states.

One of the biggest forms of funding, totaling $350 billion, came in the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds  the money allocated to state and local governments during the pandemic era under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Dollars from that fund have two deadlines: to have been allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

That money is essentially gone now, Goodman said.

I think part of the story now is: Its not as though states have been just returned to the old status quo of federal funding. There are these new discussions going on, he said.

Going forward

Whatever the effects on states budgets, federal funding changes have immediate, medium-term and long-term impacts, explained Wesley Tharpe, senior advisor for state tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Like in Arizona, immediate budget impacts include having to find new administrative dollars for processing costs, Tharpe said.

States are having to do things like invest in new IT systems, hire new, full-time employees, to kind of stand up and operate these systems in ways that theyre going to have to immediately account for in their budgets, Tharpe said.

Short-term impacts include the early stages of the Medicaid cuts that are beginning to trickle down to states, he said.

Those are costs that are going to have to be accounted for right now, heading into states next fiscal year budget, Tharpe said.

The rest of the decade will see regulation changes that are implemented gradually. The big example here would be the SNAP cost shift requirement that states now have to take on, he said.

Although they are a little way down the road, policy changes like these are ones that states are already thinking about, but they have a little bit of time to basically constructively plan for, Tharpe said.

Due to an uneven economy and the expiration of federal pandemic aid, Tharpe said, States and localities were likely already gonna be facing hard choices in a lot of places, and now this huge suite of federal tax and budget changes are stacking on top of that.

What Tharpe sees is a fairly dire challenge, but also a fairly significant opportunity to show leadership on what their response to these factors is gonna be.

The story was reported by Zoe Naylor, a reporter and journalism masters student at the University of Missouri. Allie Fischer of the University of Kansas, Cassandra Chavez of the University of New Mexico, Audrey Lippert of Arizona State University, Evelyn Archibald of the University of Washington, Luke Purvis of Colorado State University, Kacy Lee of Virginia Commonwealth University, and Kayelyn McCaslin and Beeta Baghaevaji of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga contributed.
BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China is deeply shocked that an outlaw claiming to be an active-duty officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces forcibly broke into the Chinese embassy in Japan by climbing over the wall, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday.

Lin said that China has lodged solemn representations and a strong protest with the Japanese side. 
A Sumpter Township man accused of sex trafficking young girls and having sex with at least one of them has been charged, officials said.

Bryce Silas Patterson is named in a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Detroit that was unsealed on Thursday, according to authorities.

Jerome Gorgon, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said Monday that Patterson was also arrested last week with the help of Sumpter Township police officers.

Advertisement Advertisement

The 30-year-old is charged with sex trafficking of a minor, sexually exploiting children, and possessing child pornography. Patterson appeared in federal court on Monday, and a judge scheduled a preliminary examination hearing for his case for April 2, Gorgon said.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking a minor, up to 10 years for sexually exploiting a child, and up to 10 years for child porn possession.

Patterson's attorney, Jeff Perlman, was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.

Officials said Patterson became a sex trafficking suspect after a task force made up of FBI agents and police conducted an undercover operation to recover a 16-year-old girl on Dec. 15.

Advertisement Advertisement

"These alleged crimes are disgusting," Gorgon said in a statement. "The Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force is designed to hunt down sex traffickers who try to sell our children. And we are honored to do this good work with our federal, state, and local partners."

Task force members found an online advertisement for sex with the girl on a website. An undercover agent called the phone number on the ad and arranged a meeting with the intent of having sex with her, federal documents said.

A person who answered the call directed the undercover agent to a location in the 100 Block of Glynn Court near Woodward Avenue and Chicago Boulevard on Detroit's west side, authorities said. Agents picked up the girl and interviewed her.

She told agents she met Patterson in the summer through a mobile phone app, according to court records. She also said he managed her commercial sex work and they had sex on her 16th birthday, which was in December 2025.

Advertisement Advertisement

In February, officers executed a search warrant at Patterson's Sumpter Township home and seized his cell phone, according to investigators.

A search of Pattersons cellular device revealed images and a video that he created that depicted one of the victims he allegedly trafficked, prosecutors said.

During questioning about commercial sex ads, Patterson told agents that girls had heard about him and asked him to post the advertisements, investigators said. He admitted girls paid him to place the ads and for gas to drive them to commercial sex dates, according to authorities. Patterson also admitted to agents he had sex with the victim once, the criminal complaint said.

"The allegations in this case are as disturbing as they are unacceptable," Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said in a statement. "Child exploitation is apredatory crime that targets the most vulnerable in our society, and it will not be tolerated.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Let me be clear: those who exploit children will be found, and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This case reflects the strength of our partnerships  through the SEMTEC Task Force, the Sumpter Township Police Department, and our federal partners  working together to protect victims and hold offenders accountable. The FBI will remain relentless in pursuing these criminals and ensuring survivors have the support they need to rebuild their lives."

Others have faced accusations of sex trafficking in Michigan.

Last month, three people accused of operating a human trafficking operation in Metro Detroit were charged.

In December, a Detroit man convicted of sex trafficking was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Advertisement Advertisement

In October, a Sterling Heights man was charged in Oakland County with conducting a human trafficking enterprise, accepting earnings from prostitution, and transporting a person for purposes of prostitution.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

@CharlesERamirez

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Feds accuse Wayne Co. man of sex trafficking young girls
The Scoop

Former Rep. Susan Wild is the latest Pennsylvania Democrat to consider challenging Sen. John Fetterman in 2028, according to a person familiar with her thinking who told Semafor shes getting encouraged to run.

Its the latest sign of Pennsylvania Democrats keen interest in ousting Fetterman, whos increasingly isolated in his party, even within his state delegation. House members from the same state are generally loath to criticize their colleagues, especially in a battleground like Pennsylvania, but frustrations with Fetterman are boiling over a full two years before a possible Senate primary.

Fetterman has enraged many in his party lately by voting to confirm GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security secretary and to advance DHS funding. Thats led Pennsylvania House Democrats to launch public campaigns aimed at pressuring him on key votes  and others to criticize him on social media.

Advertisement Advertisement

Recent polling bolsters the belief among his possible primary foes that Fetterman could be vulnerable in 2028, with 62% of Pennsylvania Democrats disapproving of his job in a Quinnipiac poll released last month. Yet Fetterman maintained a net positive approval rating with Pennsylvania registered voters, bolstered by stronger numbers among Republicans.

Some in the party believe Fetterman might opt against a reelection bid or even switch parties, though he dismissed any plans to become a Republican as amateur hour st in an interview with Semafor last year. If he runs, Wild  who narrowly lost her purple district in 2024  isnt the only Pennsylvania Democrat who might take him on.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., raised eyebrows by declaring Fetterman needs to go in a social media post after the senator voted to advance Mullin out of committee. His posturing, and his nearly $5 million campaign war chest, has Pennsylvania Democrats suspecting he might run against Fetterman, though it would mean giving up a desirable House perch in a safe district.

Boyle left the option open in a statement to Semafor.

Advertisement Advertisement

Right now Im only focused on doing everything I can to help Democrats win back the House this November, and become the next Chairman of the House Budget Committee. As for 2028, I dont rule anything out, Boyle said.

Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., whos also increasingly critical of Fetterman in public, might also end up in the mix. Axios previously reported he could run if Fetterman declined to run for reelection.

Fetterman declined questions from a reporter on Capitol Hill, and his office did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

Know More

Wild isnt even the only former Pennsylvania House Democrat whos leaving the door open to a Senate bid. Former Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb, who lost to Fetterman in the 2022 Senate primary, has toured the state over the last year as part of what he called a push for accountability for Fetterman.

Advertisement Advertisement

Lambs string of town halls and other public events has convinced many in the party that his tour is more of a Senate campaign-in-waiting. Lamb, in an interview, called the senators performance in office awful.

I generally think that what you do when someones doing a bad job in office is, you campaign against them at the next election, Lamb said. And so thats probably going to have to be what happens.

Fetterman contextualized his Mullin vote by noting that hed called for President Donald Trump to fire former DHS chief Kristi Noem, but his break from his party began even before Trump took office again; the senator met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. He then helped pass a Trump-backed immigration bill that another more centrist Democratic lawmaker now says she regrets.

Nicholas Wus view

Senate primary challenges to incumbents always get tough. A Democratic challenge to Fetterman, given how openly his party is blasting him now, could easily break toxicity records.

Advertisement Advertisement

And a race that nasty leaves Democrats at risk of damaging their eventual nominee in one of the swingiest states in the country during a presidential election year when Pennsylvania will be a must-win for them.

Perhaps the best-case scenario for the party is Fetterman opting against reelection. And even then, the open seat would likely spark a larger free-for-all among ambitious Democrats  and Republicans  for the seat.

Room for Disagreement

Theres always a chance that Fettermans prospective foes get talked down from the ledge. One compelling argument for them to stand down: His high ratings among Republicans and independents might be his saving grace in a general election, making him tough for the GOP to beat on its own.

Even if Fetterman loses a Democratic primary, he might be able to make a play for the general election as a write-in candidate. The same Quinnipiac poll showing him underwater with Democrats had nearly half of independents approving of him.

Advertisement Advertisement

That same tactic worked out for Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski  who, like Fetterman, has faced plenty of intraparty ire. She famously staged a successful write-in campaign in 2010 after losing her partys nomination to a more conservative opponent.

Notable
Body camera footage captured the moment firefighters rescued a man from a house fire in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

He was one of two people crews saved from the home along the 900 block of North Emery Street on Friday morning.

Firefighters could be heard telling the man to lift his leg out of a window and to take his time to get down to safety.

You see the man climbing out of the window and onto the ladder.

Six people made it out safely and five were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

The Red Cross is assisting the family.
Dayton crews are on the scene of a house fire early Tuesday morning.

The call came out just before 1:30 a.m. to the 30 block of North Jersey Street, according to a Montgomery County Regional Dispatcher.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

TRENDING STORIES:

No additional information was available.

News Center 7 is working to learn more about what caused the fire and if anyone was injured.

[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Solange Tremblay's survival, said one aviation expert and pilot, was "a miracle."

Tremblay, a flight attendant with Jazz Air Canada, was reportedly ejected from Flight 8646 when the Air Canada Express CRJ900 collided with a fire truck on a runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York on March 22. She survived, multiple outlets including CNN and the New York Post reported.

Two pilots on the plane were killed and several others injured in the late night crash, which occurred as the plane was landing while a fire truck, responding to an issue on another plane, crossed the runway in front of it.

Debris hangs from a damaged Air Canada Express jet that had collided with a ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, March 23, 2026. Emergency services work at the scene after an Air Canada Express jet collided with a ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, March 23, 2026. Debris hangs from a damaged Air Canada Express jet that had collided with a ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, March 23, 2026. A screen at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport shows canceled flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport after an Air Canada Express jet collided with a ground vehicle there, in Arlington, Va., March 23, 2026. Emergency personnel respond to an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 that is sitting on the runway after colliding with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on March 23, 2026. Air Canada Express flight AC8646 originated from Montreal and collided with the fire truck during landing. Emergency crews work around an Air Canada Express jet that had collided with a ground vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, March 23, 2026. Emergency personnel respond to the Port Authority fire truck that was struck by a landing Air Canada Express plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on March 23, 2026. A bus transports plane crash survivors after an Air Canada Express jet collided with a ground vehicle at LaGuardia Airport, March 23, 2026. An Air Canada Express CRJ-900 sits on the runway after colliding with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on March 23, 2026. Passengers wait outside a police cordon, on the day an Air Canada Express jet collided with a ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport, March 23, 2026. Police officers close an entrance to LaGuardia Airport following a collision between an Air Canada Express plane and a fire truck on the tarmac on March 23, 2026 in New York City. An Air Canada Express plane sits on the tarmac after it collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026 in New York City. Photos show Air Canada crash wreckage at LaGuardia airport 1 of 12 Debris hangs from a damaged Air Canada Express jet that had collided with a ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, March 23, 2026.

James Brauchle, an attorney and U.S. Air Force veteran, said that "as sad as it was that two pilots lost their lives," the collision could have been catastrophic.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Having investigated hundreds of [airline] accidents, the dynamic force, especially at those speeds, is shocking," he told USA TODAY. "You'd be surprised at how many things detach (from the plane) and where they might land."

The investigation: Fire truck in LaGuardia crash had no transponder to trigger warning, NTSB says

Tremblay's daughter, Sarah Lepine, told a Quebec TV station that it was a "complete miracle" that her mother survived, and that she'd been launched more than 100 meters (just over 328 feet) from the plane. USA TODAY reached out to Lepine but did not immediately receive a response. More than 100 people posted well-wishes on a Facebook profile that appears to belong to Tremblay.

Listen to some of the air traffic control communications before the deadly Air Canada Express collision with a truck at LaGuardia Airport.

How flight attendants' seats are different

Brauchle said that the seat where Tremblay was at the moment of impact may have been what saved her life.

Advertisement Advertisement

So-called "jump seats" are smaller and are usually attached the plane's bulkhead, a physical wall separating sections of the plane. They also have a shoulder strap, unlike passengers' seats. That, he said, likely made all the difference for Tremblay: "There's the 'flail,' the more your body flails [after the collision], the worse it is."

In a March 23 statement on its website, Jazz Air Canada Express said it was "an incredibly difficult day for our airline, our employees and most importantly, the families and loved ones of those affected" by the collision. The carrier added it was "deeply saddened by the loss of two employees and are working to support family members and employees at this difficult time," pledging "our unwavering support" to those who've been injured. USA TODAY reached out to the airline but did not receive an immediate response.

Whatever pilots did 'saved the rest of the people on the plane'

People can survive crashes, he said, but not without serious injuries that can include fractures and concussions. The latter, Brauchle added, often comes not from direct impact to the head, but from what he called "the intense forces acting on the brain."

Survivors of plane crashes often struggle with trauma as well, he added: "There's a psychological impact as well. Many survivors are left with PTSD."

Advertisement Advertisement

Seeing video of the LaGuardia collision and the mangled aftermath, Brauchle said he was surprised that it wasn't much worse.

"The pilots, even though they lost their lives, whatever they did before impact saved the rest of the people on the plane," he said. "You can see where the plane could have cartwheeled, followed by an explosion and huge fire."

Brauchle said Tremblay's life might never be the same, but "it really is a miracle that she survived."

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flight attendant's survival after being ejected from plane 'a miracle'
Florida state lawmakers did not finalize a permanent ban on 7-OH, a synthetic opioid derived from kratom, before the legislative session ended.

As a result, a temporary ban currently restricting the sale of the product is scheduled to expire at the end of June.

The substance has been identified as potentially addictive.

Although a temporary measure was put in place to halt sales, the Florida Legislature failed to take final action to make those restrictions permanent before the session concluded earlier this month.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Florida Department of Agriculture issued new and more detailed rules for 7-OH labeling requirements last week.

These guidelines establish specific standards for how the product must be presented and identified to consumers.

Unlike the sales ban, these administrative rules focus on transparency and packaging standards for the substance.

The temporary ban was originally implemented as a stopgap measure while the Florida Legislature considered a more permanent solution.

Because lawmakers concluded their business for the year without a final vote on the matter, the current legal restrictions on the sale of 7-OH will lapse once the expiration date passes.

Advertisement Advertisement

This leaves the future regulatory status of the kratom-based product uncertain beyond the early summer.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
This story has been updated with new information and to correct a typo.

Former Gov. Matt Bevin faces a 60-day jail sentence or a $500 fine after a Jefferson County family court judge decided on penalties for him March 24 after he was previously found in contempt of court for violating an order in his ongoing divorce case.

Bevin did not appear in-person for the March 24 hearing because he had attended a relative's funeral in Oklahoma the day before, he said, and was not yet in Kentucky when he stopped to appear on Zoom. Bevin also appeared on Zoom during a contempt hearing March 20. After the previous hearing, Judge Angela Johnson ordered Bevin to file financial documents, including state and federal tax returns and bank statements, by 10 a.m. March 24 in order to have potential penalties against him waived.

Advertisement Advertisement

An arrest warrant filed March 24 shows Bevin was served a $500 cash bond and must also provide financial records to be released from custody. It is unclear when Bevin could be back in Kentucky following the out-of-state funeral.

The sentencing decision comes after Johnson ruled Bevin had not acted "in good faith" when he was ordered to provide "complete and unredacted" financial information pertaining to his adopted son Jonah Bevin's request for retroactive child support. Jonah Bevin intervened in his parents' divorce case in an attempt to receive payment for time he spent in his teen years at academies for "troubled teens," one of which in Jamaica was raided by police over abuse allegations.

Matt Bevin said in court he "had already provided all disclosures and documents about his personal income" and that anything else "would not have been germane" to the court.

Johnson said she had asked Matt Bevin to provide complete financial records "more than once" dating back to 2025.

Advertisement Advertisement

"I can not treat you any different from anyone else," she said.

Jesse Mudd, Matt Bevin's counsel who one day earlier had filed a motion to recuse Johnson from the case, objected to Johnson's sentencing decision and said in court he would seek an opinion on the matter from the Kentucky Supreme Court. Mudd declined to comment to reporters following the hearing.

Prior to issuing her sentencing decision, Johnson denied Mudd's motion to recuse, saying it had not been filed appropriately. She also said she sought counsel from the Kentucky Supreme Court regarding the motion to recuse and decided it was best to move forward with the March 24 hearing.

A March 27 hearing over the child support matter will remain as scheduled, unless the Kentucky Supreme Court deems it should be postponed, Johnson said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Following the March 24 proceedings, Melina Hettiaratchi, an attorney for Jonah Bevin, told reporters she thought Johnson exercised restraint in her ruling and could have issued a higher fine and a longer sentence since Bevin was not physically present.

"Instead, she gave him his day in court," she said.

Attorneys for Jonah Bevin argued March 20 the former governor had failed to provide additional documents, including his most recent state and federal tax returns, along with bank account statements and other financial disclosures, that will be relevant for the March 27 trial to determine what relief the young man could be entitled to.

The financial disclosure statements Matt Bevin initially turned over were significantly redacted, The Courier Journal previously reported. He then filed the documents again with only his home address blacked out.

Advertisement Advertisement

Background: Ex-Gov. Matt Bevin held in contempt of court amid child support push

At issue in the fight for child support is the diploma Jonah Bevin received from a Florida boarding school, which his attorneys have said may not be legitimate.

Glenna Bevin, the former governor's ex-wife, is a party in the case, but her adoptive son's attorneys did not seek to hold her in contempt. Attorney John Helmers previously said she had not done anything to "directly impact our ability to move forward with the case."

Glenna Bevin filed for divorce in 2023, saying her marriage with Matt Bevin was "irretrievably broken." The divorce was finalized in 2025, but Jonah Bevin moved to intervene in the case last spring.

Advertisement Advertisement

Tell us what you think. Submit your letter to the editor.

Lucas Aulbach contributed. Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@usatodayco.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Matt Bevin faces jail time, fine after being found in contempt
Former Missouri City police officer Blademir Viveros was convicted of aggravated assault by a public servant on Monday.

After five days of witness testimony, body camera footage, and tears in the courtroom, the jury found Viveros guilty after he was accused of killing three people in a high-speed wreck while responding to an emergency.

PREVIOUS REPORT: Families of victims testify, state and defense rest cases in former MCPD officer manslaughter trial

Arguments closed just after 2:30 p.m. on Monday.

Advertisement Advertisement

Chief Prosecutor Alison Baimbridge made it clear throughout the trial that no stone was left unturned in the investigation in this case, saying that this crash was avoidable and not an accident.

Defense attorneys tag-teamed their closing argument, with Eric Cagle going first as he told the jury Viveros intended to help the victims of the robbery he was responding to.

Defense attorney Robert McCabe then spoke, adding that Viveros has a servant's heart. He called the crash an accident and said that Viveros did not drive his car intentionally into the car of Mason and Angela Stewart.

McCabe told the jurors Viveros was negligent and should've done better, and mentioned the failures by the police department and his supervisors.

Advertisement Advertisement

"This case just doesn't belong here, it just doesn't in this court...in criminal court...in criminal district court on a felony offense with a weapon, alleged for these facts. For this case, it doesn't belong here. Justice comes in many forms and shouldn't be sought in this court. There's plenty of reasonable doubt." McCabe said.

"If you think about the facts in this case, they're not disputed," Baimbridge said. "Nobody is arguing that this crash did not happen in the way that the officers say it did. No one is arguing the defendant turned off his patrol lights and his sirens. No one is arguing he was going 107 miles per hour when he took lives from our community - he just wants a pass."

After the closing arguments, the jury was sent out of the courtroom to deliberate. The jury then returned about two and a half hours later, finding Viveros guilty on all three counts of aggravated assault by a public servant.

The punishment phase of the trial begins on Tuesday morning. Viveros now faces five years to life in prison.

For updates on this story, follow Daniela Hurtado on Facebook, X and Instagram.
A pair of former political rivals is teaming up again to fight against President Donald Trumps effort to impose federal control over state election functions ahead of the midterms.

The Bipartisan American Election Project is the latest effort by Ben Ginsberg and Bob Bauer to advocate for the nonpartisan administration of elections and push back on federal encroachment over an area delegated by the Constitution to the states.

Ginsberg has represented the Republican National Committee and served as legal counsel on the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. Bauer has represented the Democratic National Committee and served as former President Barack Obamas White House counsel.

Advertisement Advertisement

The pair came together to study election administration in the U.S. more than a decade ago as co-chairs of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, which called for elections to be treated as a matter of nonpartisan public administration. Since then, they have worked on efforts to build public trust in elections and provide free legal help to election workers.

The challenge to proper election administration has never been greater, Ginsberg told POLITICO on Monday. The purpose of this project is because of the onslaught that courts have been under in a variety of unique cases challenging many of the bipartisan constitutional principles and the traditional ways of administering elections.

The groups first action, filing amicus briefs in two ongoing legal fights over the Trump administrations efforts to obtain state voter rolls, aims to provide a counterargument to the Justice Departments assertions that the federal government needs to play a larger role in election administration.

The Constitution divides power between the state and federal governments to secure Americans liberty, they write in briefs filed in lawsuits brought by the Justice Department against Georgia and Massachusetts.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump has called for Republicans to nationalize the voting and continues to assert claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Whether the federal government can demand copies of state voter rolls is a question that seems destined to be answered by the Supreme Court, Ginsberg and Bauer say. But they say the Justice Departments lawsuits against 29 states and the District of Columbia are creating confusion during a midterm election year.

While the resolution of this case eventually may be down the road, the immediate impact is significant, Bauer said. Which is why its really important for the views, which we hope will ultimately prevail, to be put as forcefully to the courts as possible.

Ginsberg and Bauer are joined in their effort by several other notable names in election law. Former Biden campaign lawyer and White House counsel Dana Remus is participating as a board member, along with former Obama Solicitor General Donald Verrilli and Biden-Harris lawyer John Devaney. Prominent Republican litigator Michael Carvin and former George W. Bush administration official Daniel Troy will serve a senior advisory group.

Advertisement Advertisement

The BAEP is initially focused on the voter roll lawsuits, but Ginsberg and Bauer anticipate growing their team and being involved on the state and local level.

Theres a lot going on around the country that does not dominate the headlines quite the way Department of Justice litigation does, Bauer said.
With four weeks to go before Virginia voters decide whether to redraw the states congressional map, early voting data is painting a familiar but uneasy picture for Democrats: they hold a commanding financial edge, but reliably Republican districts are showing up strong at the polls.

More than 354,000 ballots had been cast statewide as of Monday, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project, a steady acceleration since early voting began March 6 and continues through April 18.

The pace marks a sharp increase from the opening days of voting, when roughly 73,000 ballots had been cast by March 10  a sign that engagement is picking up as the April 21 referendum draws closer.

Advertisement Advertisement

But beneath those topline numbers, a deeper divide is emerging.

Early participation varies widely by region, with Republican-leaning areas generally posting higher turnout rates so far.

In some GOP strongholds, between 10 and 15% of registered voters have already cast ballots, outpacing many Democratic-leaning areas, particularly in Northern Virginia, where early voting infrastructure tends to ramp up later in the cycle.

At the congressional district level, the same pattern holds. Districts currently represented by Republicans are seeing stronger early turnout than those held by Democrats  an early signal of partisan intensity around a referendum that could reshape Virginias congressional delegation ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Advertisement Advertisement

I think the Democrats have to be worried, longtime Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth said. They have a financial advantage, but the challenge the Democrats have here is that they dont really have a face for their campaign.

Local data underscores those disparities even more clearly.

Across Virginia, many of the highest-turnout jurisdictions so far are smaller, Republican-leaning counties in central and western parts of the state.

Mathews County, a strongly Republican-leaning locality on the Middle Peninsula where GOP candidates consistently get more than 60% of the vote in local, statewide and federal elections, has posted the highest early voting rate statewide, with roughly 16% of registered voters already casting ballots as of Monday.

Advertisement Advertisement

Similar patterns are visible elsewhere, where GOP-leaning counties are exceeding statewide averages and outpacing more urban, Democratic-leaning jurisdictions.

By contrast, large Democratic strongholds  including Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties  have reported significantly lower early voting rates in the first weeks of balloting, often well under 5% of registered voters.

Taken together, the early returns suggest Republican-leaning areas are currently driving turnout, both in raw participation and as a share of registered voters, while Democratic-leaning regions have been slower to engage.

Democrats dominate fundraising, but lack a clear messenger

Holsworth said that while Democrats have built a well-funded operation, they lack a central, visible figure to rally voters.

Advertisement Advertisement

Whos the face of the Democratic redistricting here thats out there campaigning for it every day? he asked. They have an argument, but they dont have a face for their argument who is the absolute champion.

That dynamic is unfolding even as Democrats dominate the money race. Millions of dollars from national sources have flowed into pro-referendum efforts.

House Majority Forward, a progressive nonprofit, has contributed $15 million over the past six weeks to Virginians for Fair Elections, the most visible pro-redistricting group. The organization also received a $5 million donation from the Fund for Policy Reform Inc., a nonprofit affiliated with the Open Society Foundations network founded by Hungarian-American billionaire and philanthropist George Soros.

The Soros-linked contribution has angered Republicans, who have seized on it in their social media messaging.

Advertisement Advertisement

We dont want any more Steve Descanos and Ramin Fatehis endangering our communities, Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick, said in a post on X, referencing two Virginia Democratic local prosecutors whose campaigns Soros supported.

Holsworth downplayed the political impact of the funding source itself.

Hes funded some Democratic commonwealths attorney races that have been fairly successful, at least in the location, Holsworth said of Soros. But I dont think the people who are voting in this are looking at how its being funded, for the most part.

Instead, he said, the core challenge for Democrats remains turnout and persuasion.

Advertisement Advertisement

I think that the challenge the Democrats have is they have to mobilize their base, and they have to run halfway decently with independents here, he said. They certainly have a chance of winning.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger casts her ballot in favor of referendum to allow a one-time mid-decade redistricting of congressional maps. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)

Spanbergers shift and national context

That absence has stood in contrast to similar efforts in other states.

The distinction with California is twofold. One, California is more Democratic, but secondly, California has an active, energetic champion for this, Holsworth said, referring to the states governor, Gavin Newsom, who has been a de-factor spokesman of the redistricting push there.

While Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has voiced support for the amendment and backed it up by marking her referendum ballot yes last week, Holsworth said she has not taken on the same high-profile role.

Advertisement Advertisement

Governor Spanberger said she supports it and has become more supportive, but shes not out there putting her political capital on the line for it every day, he said.

Spanbergers view on the issue has evolved.

On the campaign trail last August, she said she had no plans to pursue redistricting. But after casting an early yes vote in Henrico County on Friday  inviting the media to cover the moment  she framed her support as a response to national developments.

I continue to support the 2020 redistricting amendment that set up a bipartisan commission, Spanberger told reporters. This amendment is temporary and responsive to this moment in time where we have a president who has gone to other states seeking additional congressional seats.

Advertisement Advertisement

The push for new maps follows a broader national movement that began after President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw their districts to strengthen their majority in the U.S. House. The effort began in Texas and has since spread, prompting both red and blue states to revisit their maps.

As Republicans have criticized Virginias proposal as a partisan maneuver, Spanberger pushed back.

Had they spoken in opposition to those efforts, I would perhaps take their level of consternation with a bit more seriousness, she said of similar moves in GOP-led states at Trumps request.

Democrats have also leaned on national figures to help make their case.

Advertisement Advertisement

Last week, the party sent mailers featuring former President Barack Obama urging Virginians to vote in favor of the amendment. Obama first publicly supported the effort in a video released earlier this month after the Virginia Supreme Court allowed the referendum to go forward.

Virginia, we are counting on you, Obama is quoted on the mailer. Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years. But you can stop them by voting yes by April 21.

A campaign mailer featuring former President Barack Obama urges Virginians to vote yes in the April 21 redistricting referendum, as national Democrats step up efforts to boost turnout. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Holsworth said that the ad could provide a boost, but not a substitute for local leadership.

That could help, but thats not somebody who has been running in Virginia all the time, he said of the former president. Who is here, actively campaigning every day for the referendum out here? And thats what you need in a campaign.

Opposition ramps up as GOP base shows energy

Opponents of the referendum have mounted an aggressive campaign of their own.

One group deployed civil rights-themed mailers and messaging to argue the proposal would weaken protections against partisan gerrymandering, sparking a heated political fight over both the substance of the amendment and the tone of the campaign.

Recent electoral results suggest Republican voters may be particularly energized.

In a special election earlier this month to fill the Virginia Beach-area seat of the late Del. Barry Knight, Republican Andrew Rice defeated Democrat Cheryl Smith with 62% of the vote, outperforming Knights margins in his last two elections by about five points.

The result has fueled Republican optimism heading into the referendum.

If we could get some funds, we can win this redistricting fight in Virginia and secure the midterms for @POTUS, Del. Karen Hamilton, R-Orange, wrote on X.

Elections analyst Sam Shirazi said the referendum has become a motivating issue for GOP voters.

I think one explanation of what happened is the Republicans are fired up and theyre upset about the redistricting referendum, Shirazi said on a recent episode of his Federal Fallout podcast. At the end of the day anger is a very strong motivator to vote.

He added that the dynamic reflects a broader pattern in Virginia politics.

This is kind of a common thing we see in Virginia, Shirazi said. Republicans are upset and perhaps they are starting to organize, whereas last year they were a little bit asleep.

Virginia Mercury reporter Charlotte Rene Woods contributed to this story.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
JERUSALEM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday that it has struck more than 3,000 targets in Iran since its military operation began on Feb. 28.

In a statement, the IDF said the strikes are part of ongoing efforts to further degrade Iran's "core systems and capabilities."

On Monday, dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets conducted a large-scale wave of airstrikes targeting infrastructure sites in central Tehran based on real-time intelligence, the statement said.

The targets included several command centers, among them two belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization and one affiliated with Iran's Intelligence Ministry, it said, adding that weapons storage facilities and air defense systems were also struck.

The Israeli-U.S. strikes against Iran have entered their third week, and the conflict has spread across the Middle East as Iran and its regional allies responded with missiles and drone strikes targeting Israeli and U.S. bases and assets in the region.

Early on Tuesday, Iran launched a new wave of missiles towards Israel, state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported, saying that the missiles passed through several Israeli missile defenses. 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A woman was killed last week at the hands of a wrong-way driver, who Metro police say was behind the wheel of a stolen truck. Now, friends of the victim are raising money to lay her to rest back home in Nigeria.

Emmanuel Odiahi did not know it at the time, on Friday afternoon, March 20. But he was driving on the same road as the wrong-way driver who police say killed his friend, Oluwalayomi Fadero.

She was going to pick up the food they had ordered for herself and her boyfriend, he said. And the next thing we heard is shes dead.

Advertisement Advertisement

PREVIOUS | Felon on parole faces charges after wrong-way crash kills woman on Murfreesboro Pike

Odiahi said he drove past the person arrested.

I was like, OK, whats wrong with him? He didnt see the light, he said. And next thing I knew, the cops were, you know, after him.

Fadero was with her dog Nala, turning onto Hickory Woods Drive when police say Ray Eugene Padgett was driving the wrong way in a stolen truck. The truck hit Faderos drivers side door, killing her. Her dog escaped and is now safe with Faderos boyfriend.

He even took the dog to the hospital to be checked again, and theyre good, he said. Theyre hanging in there, and she will always be missed.

Advertisement Advertisement

Faderos small community in Nashville wants to bring her back to her family.

Its going to cost a lot more than we expect to take her, of course, back to Nigeria, he said. So we just need a community to in any way they can assist because the parents are back home with mother, father, brother and sisters. All she has here is us, her friends.

As they raise money, they want to remember the good moments.

She was a very loving person, she had this great smile, very generous, he said. In fact, shes a sister because, I mean, we are a small community of young Nigerians and international students.

Advertisement Advertisement

She graduated from Fisk University last year with a computer science degree. She also interned with Amazon in 2023. Her friends said she went back to school to become a nurse.

She put everything she had into it because she wanted to be a help to humanity, he said. Shes the one who loves to help the less privileged.

She was set to graduate this August. Odiahi has a message for the man police say took his friends life too soon.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Youre forgiven, he said. But you need to change your ways. And you need to forgive yourself and just change your ways.

They are now mourning the bright future taken away.

Advertisement Advertisement

I just want the community to help in any way they can, he said. I mean, it will go a long way. It will. It will show that we are one.

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 WKRN News 2.
A North Fulton County company sued the Fulton County Sheriffs Office and won $2.6 million.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Sophia Choi showed you the monitoring wristbands, produced by Talitrix at the jail in Alpharetta in 2023.

Those wristbands are supposed to alert guards if an inmate is having a health issue or is possibly in a fight.

But the program ended. And the company never got paid.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Talitrix CEO Justin Hawkins sat down with Choi exclusively to discuss the case and the contract.

Advertisement Advertisement

We were a victim of a political vendetta between the sheriff and the county commission, Hawkins said.

In February 2023, Sheriff Pat Labat announced a partnership with Talitrix.

TRENDING STORIES:

Advertisement Advertisement

The company said the Sheriff signed a contract worth $2.1 million for 500 wristbands without alerting the County Commission.

Months later, only 15 inmates had them, so the commissioners decided to claw back the money.

But not before the sheriff already owed hundreds of thousands for work the company says it already performed.

So Talitrix sued, something Hawkins said Labat encouraged.

Sheriff Labat. This was his actual idea, Hawkins told Choi.

A judge ruled that the Sheriff owed $865,000 for work by Talitrix, and $140,000 for attorneys fees.

Then last week, a jury of Fulton County citizens voted to give another $1.6 million to Talitrix for attorneys fees.

Advertisement Advertisement

Attorney Robbie Ashe represented Talitrix.

After four days of testimony, the jury concluded in the fastest jury verdict Ive ever seen that indeed Fulton Countys refusal was bad faith and did cause unnecessary trouble expense, Ashe said.

In the end, it will be a waste of money, Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts told Choi.

Choi learned that money will come from the county budget, not the Sheriffs.

In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, Sheriff Pat Labat said:

It is unprecedented to require any constitutional officer or County department head to pay a legal judgment out of their budget.

Advertisement Advertisement

Pitts said Labat spends his budget and signs contracts as he wishes, as a constitutional officer.

But his actions ultimately will cost Fulton County.

Its taxpayers who are responsible for paying the money to Talitrix.

Labat said he is considering appealing certain parts of the ruling.

You can read a full statement from the Fulton County Sheriffs Office here.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
BERLIN, March 24 (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday that he believed U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement about talks with Iran could mark a turning point in the nearly month-long conflict.

"Something is happening, and that's a good thing in this time when there have been more risks of escalation than possibilities of bringing this conflict under control," Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told broadcaster MDR.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the U.S. and Iran had held "very good and productive" conversations about a "complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East". Iran has said no negotiations had taken place.

Advertisement Advertisement

Wadephul said he believed Trump did hold serious talks with Iran because "otherwise he wouldn't have said it that way" and he would not have postponed his threatened attack on Iranian power plants.

"It's a fragile beginning, but it's a start nonetheless," said Wadephul.

"We should all strive to ensure that this progress flourishes and that there's a way to control this conflict."

(Writing by Miranda MurrayEditing by Ludwig Burger)
Six months after a suspected left-wing extremist attack on the power supply of a Berlin technology park that left thousands without power and produced multi-million euro damages, police carried out raids against the suspects, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Apartments and other premises in 17 locations in the capital and in the states of Brandenburg, Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia were searched on Tuesday morning, the Berlin public prosecutor's office said.

The attack was directed against a science park in Berlin's Adlershof neighbourhood, which is home to numerous technology centres as well as several departments of Berlin's Humboldt University, according to a text published on the left-wing platform Indymedia and signed by "some anarchists."

Advertisement Advertisement

"Police are on duty on behalf of the Berlin General Public Prosecutor's Office in connection with the arson attack near Adlershof in September last year," a spokesman for the Berlin General Public Prosecutor's Office said.

In Berlin, police were searching 14 properties.

"Today's searches show that we pursue every lead with the highest priority," the head of Berlin's interior department, Iris Spranger, said.

"Anyone who attacks our critical infrastructure attacks the security of our entire city. We will not accept that."

Hundreds of police officers deployed

A total of 500 police officers were deployed. Masked officers were standing in front of some apartment houses in Berlin on Tuesday morning which police said were associated with the left-wing scene.

In the north-western Wedding neighbourhood, police led a sniffer dog into a building. Rooms and offices on the ground floor were searched. Officers carried laptops out.
By Andreas Rinke and Miranda Murray

BERLIN, March 24 (Reuters) - The Iran war is a "disastrous mistake" that breaches international law, Germany's president said on Tuesday in an unusually blunt rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy, which he said marked a rupture for German ties with its biggest post-war ally.

In a scathing verbal attack, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose largely ceremonial role allows him to speak more freely than politicians, took a far more critical line than Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has skirted questions on the war's legality.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Our foreign policy does not become more convincing just because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law," Steinmeier, a former foreign minister from the centre-left Social Democratic Party, said in a speech at the foreign ministry.

"We must address this with regard to the war in Iran. For, in my view, this war is contrary to international law," he said, adding he had little doubt that the justification of the imminent nature of an attack on U.S. targets did not hold water.

Calling the war unnecessary and a "politically disastrous mistake", Steinmeier said Trump's second term marked a rupture in German foreign relations as profound as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Just as I believe there will be no going back in relations with Russia to before February 24, 2022, so too do I believe there will be no going back in transatlantic relations to before January 20, 2025," said Steinmeier.

Advertisement Advertisement

REDUCING DEPENDENCY

Germany had to apply lessons it learned in extricating itself from "excessive dependencies" on Russia and apply them to the U.S., particularly in defence and technology, which translate to power, he said.

Germany has stressed the importance of creating alternatives to U.S.-dominated technology as concerns grow over U.S. access.

China returned to being Germany's top trading partner in the first eight months of 2025, overtaking the U.S. as higher tariffs weighed on German exports. Trade between the U.S. and Germany amounted to more than 163 billion euros ($190 billion) over that period.

Advertisement Advertisement

The recent spat between the Pentagon and Anthropic over safety guardrails surrounding the latter's artificial intelligence could be a wake-up call, or even an opportunity, for Europe, said Steinmeier.

"Europe as a technology hub has talent, markets, opportunities and, importantly, ethical standards. We should build on these," he said.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Miranda MurrayWriting by Miranda Murray and Madeline Chambers Editing by Ludwig Burger and Aidan Lewis)
An Ohio Republican lawmaker wants to require absentee voters provide a copy of their photo ID when they submit their ballot. But the proposal may have found the limit of the GOP supermajoritys zeal for new voting restrictions.

At Ohio House Bill 577s first hearing, committee members on both sides of the aisle balked at its logistical challenges.

How it works

The bills sponsor, Ohio state Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, said one thing the General Assembly has been exceptionally good at this session is increasing the integrity of our elections.

Advertisement Advertisement

This bill, he said, takes it a step further, ensuring that every single voter in the state of Ohio does show a photo ID.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Ferguson contends a photo ID is the best way to ensure the integrity of our elections. But Ferguson thinks absentee voters are getting to cast a ballot without the same oversight as voters showing up in-person at the polls.

Under his proposal, absentee voters would have to include a front and back photocopy of their license or other ID when they return their ballot.

Ferguson argues that photo ID requirements for voting are broadly popular, but he makes no real argument for the utility of including a photocopied ID.

Advertisement Advertisement

When you vote in person, a poll worker checks the picture on your license against the person standing in front of them. Thats not possible with an absentee ballot arriving in the mail.

In most cases, including a copy of your ID merely reiterates the information included on the identification envelope  albeit with a picture.

But to Ferguson it boils down to a simple formula: If voters have to a show an ID when they cast a ballot at the polls, voters casting their ballot at a mailbox should have to do so, too.

This is about fairness, he said, which is really what the whole bill is about.

Debate

Lawmakers on the panel raised several questions about the mechanics of Fergusons proposal, the most obvious being what about people who dont own a copy machine or printer.

Advertisement Advertisement

Ohio state Rep. Eric Synenberg, D-Beachwood, asked about seniors who dont have access to a printer at home.

I know many people that still dont, he said. I dont actually have a good printer at my home, believe it or not  I have a printer, but not a copier, let me clarify that  is this a burden for them?

Not a problem at all, Ferguson claimed. Agencies like the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and county boards of elections among others will provide copies free of charge, he said.

Any of these places, that I referenced before, where you can currently register to vote, you have the ability to get a copy there, he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

The list includes libraries and agencies providing public support like the Department of Job and Family Services. But it also extends to public high schools, vocational schools, and county treasurer offices.

For those voters who cant make it out of the house, Ferguson added, the bill codifies an existing BMV homebound ID program, adding a requirement that officials provide a photocopy of an individuals ID for voting.

Ferguson compared the idea to a program where elections officials visit homebound voters so they can cast their ballots.

(They) could go there, the one Republican, one Democrat from the board of elections and get that copy for that senior voter or any other homebound voter that doesnt have the ability to do it.

Advertisement Advertisement

The committee chair, Ohio state Rep. Sharon Ray, R-Wadsworth, seemed taken aback at sending bipartisan teams to voters homes just to copy a license.

Was that your suggestion? she asked.

Ferguson confirmed it was, adding that the program already exists in state law.

One of the hurdles, he explained, could be getting a copy, so were expanding their ability to do that as well.

As a former member of the Medina County Board of Elections, Ray isnt just familiar with the program, she was actually part of a team visiting homebound voters.

I guess my concern is this would be such a much larger group to deal with, she said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Looking down the list of places that would provide photocopies, she asked have these organizations been contacted to see if they would participate in this? Or is this something that we know they participate in (in) other states?

Ferguson didnt directly respond.

He said simply that we kept it consistent with places that provide registration forms, but hes open to the committee adding or subtracting from the list.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
A state loan fund intended to incentivize housing construction will soon be available for airport improvement and maintenance projects in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.

The change is in legislation that lawmakers approved earlier this month and South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden signed into law Tuesday while visiting the Rapid City Regional Airport.

More gates, more flights and more destinations means more visitors, more business and more opportunity, Rhoden said.

More legislative news

See all of Searchlights coverage of the 2026 legislative session.

Advertisement Advertisement

Read the latest >

The money for the loans is held by the states Housing Infrastructure Financing Program. Legislators and then-Gov. Kristi Noem created the program three years ago. The money can be used for housing-related infrastructure such as streets, roads, sewer lines and water lines.

The fund has supported 85 projects across the state, helping create 7,421 single-family housing lots or units and 5,754 apartment or other multi-family units.

The program initially held a $200 million mix of state and federal funds. The state Housing Authority issued half of the money as grants. The other half, for loans, had about $65 million remaining as of late last year, which led the governor and lawmakers to propose tapping into the fund for airport projects.

Advertisement Advertisement

The new law will take effect in July. It allows for loans from the fund to South Dakota airports in metropolitan statistical areas with populations of at least 125,000, which is a threshold that only the Sioux Falls and Rapid City areas currently meet. The loans will have 20-year terms at 2% annual interest.

Last year, lawmakers and Rhoden authorized a $15 million, zero-interest loan from the housing fund to help with construction of a new elementary school in the Douglas School District, based in Box Elder. The district, which borders Ellsworth Air Force Base, is experiencing rapid growth related to the impending addition of B-21 bomber planes.

This years bill is one of 210 that Rhoden has signed into law from the annual legislative session. Another bill Rhoden signed Tuesday will add necessary site work to the list of allowable uses for housing infrastructure money, and change the programs maximum loans from one-third to one-half of total project costs.

Lawmakers concluded most of their work March 12 but will return Monday to the Capitol in Pierre to consider the governors vetoes. He has issued one veto so far against a ban on lab-grown meat, as part of his compromise support of a five-year moratorium that he approved.

More recent bill signings

Other bills signed recently by Gov. Larry Rhoden have included:
A Grosse Pointe Public School System parent has sued the district after it issued him a no-trespass order for posting a video on social media criticizing LGBTQ flags hung at the middle school in September 2024, arguing the district violated his free speech rights.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleged parent Gary Pruitt was wrongfully banned from the school and asked for the no-trespass order to be lifted, among other things.

"A foundational core of our Constitutional Republic is that the State cannot punish citizens for engaging in speech that is protected by the First Amendment," according to the lawsuit. "Just as citizens cannot be criminally punished for protected speech, a public school cannot retaliate against or punish speech that falls within the ambit of the First Amendment."

Advertisement Advertisement

More: Grosse Pointe school board approves 'historic' superintendent hire amid controversy

More: Grosse Pointers push back on GOP legislation expanding school choice

Superintendent Andrea Tuttle did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

Pruitt saw the rainbow LGBTQ flags at a back-to-school night he attended in September 2024 at Parcells Middle School, according to the lawsuit. He later went back to the building and took video of one of the flags, then posted the video to a parent Facebook group with a voiceover calling the flag political, "extremely divisive" and intimidating.

Advertisement Advertisement

"No authority figure, especially teachers, should be injecting controversial political statements into a classroom of children," Pruitt said in the voiceover. "This is a radical programming being forced upon children by adults. ... Do you want to continue to let these groomer teachers push their distorted world view upon your children and the views you raised them with?"

Then-Parcells Middle School Principal Jason Wesley sent an email to all parents with kids at Parcells Middle School, asking for input about the video and noting there would be an increased police presence at Parcells, "implying that Mr. Pruitt was somehow a threat to students and staff at the middle school," according to the lawsuit.

He was served with a no-trespass order on Oct. 21, 2024, that barred him from entering school property, despite him not causing any disruption or harassing or intimidating anyone at the school, according to the lawsuit.

"Defendants further retaliated, alienated, humiliated, and stigmatized Mr. Pruitt by publicly posting his photograph in the middle school office and publicly stating in writing that he was a trespasser and not allowed on school property," according to the lawsuit. "As a result of the posting of his picture and the statement, his child was stigmatized, ridiculed, and harassed by other children and individuals at the school. Other parents, students, and community members were able to observe and see the posting of his photograph and the statement at the school office in an attempt to publicly shame him for exercising his constitutionally protected free speech rights."

Advertisement Advertisement

In its trespass letter, the district's attorneys said Pruitt intimidated the teacher whom he recorded sitting under the flag in his video. They also said the district received complaints from the staff and community members about the video, in particular, the reference to grooming.

"The complaints allege that your conduct is intimidating, harassing and defamatory," the attorneys wrote in the letter. "It has caused a substantial disruption to the educational environment in our District."

Pruitt said in the lawsuit he tried to talk to the vice principal, superintendent and school board about the flags after his initial visit to the school. The superintendent and School Board President Valarie St. John allegedly told him nothing was likely to change. In an email to St. John, Pruitt said he found it unacceptable "that adults are trying to indoctrinate children with these symbols of homosexuality."

St. John told him in an email, "I can assure you that none of our teachers have been forced to hang rainbow flags in their classrooms. If any teacher is indoctrinating children into any sexual orientation, please report that to the principal, as that would be inappropriate. However, if you are simply concerned that your child is seeing the colors of therainbow, I would suggest sending them with tinted sunglasses so they aren't subjected to the full spectrum. Michigan law requires that we protect our LGBTQ+ students."

Grosse Pointe Trustee Valarie St. John

Pruitt is seeking to rescind the no-trespass order, stop the district from enforcing the order and make district officials remove his photos from the district offices, have the district declare its actions were unconstitutional, make changes to policies so other parents aren't punished for similar acts and pay for attorney fees.

Advertisement Advertisement

"The clear purpose and intent of Defendants actions described above was to intimidate Mr. Pruitt and others and to chill their speech if they disagreed with any action by GPPS," according to the lawsuit.

The U.S. Department of Justice began investigating in February whether three public school districts in Michigan  Detroit Public Schools Community District, Lansing School District and Godfrey-Lee Public Schools in the Grand Rapids area  have been teaching students about sexual orientation and gender ideology without parental consent.

The probe comes after the Michigan Board of Education in November passed new guidelines to help districts set curricula for a wide range of health topics, including gender identity and sexual orientation.

In February, Republican Michigan State Board of Education Nikki Snyder asked the federal government in a letter to investigate the Michigan Department of Education's policies regarding gender and sex education instruction. Snyder called the state Department of Education the "root problem in education" for creating policies that purportedly violate the Supreme Court's rulings, as well as an executive order by President Donald Trump that threatens to pull federal funding from schools that teach students about "gender ideology" without parental consent.

Advertisement Advertisement

kberg@detroitnews.com

Want to comment on this story? Become a subscriber today. Click here.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: LGBTQ flag video leads to lawsuit against Grosse Pointe schools
BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The One-China principle is the political premise for China's Taiwan region's participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday.

Lin made the remarks at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' decision to skip a high-level WTO meeting in Cameroon after Taiwan was listed as a province of China in visa documents.

"The DPP authorities exploited the issue of participating in the meeting for political manipulation, which is utterly despicable. Their attempt to seek independence will only fail and disgrace themselves," Lin said.

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, Lin said.

"China's stance has been consistent and clear on the issue of China's Taiwan region participating in the events of international organizations. It must be handled in accordance with the One-China principle," he added.

Lin said the international trade order is facing severe challenges, with unilateralism and protectionism on the rise and the multilateral trading system seriously impacted.

Noting that it is of great significance that the WTO ministerial meeting will return to Africa after a decade, the spokesperson said China firmly supports Cameroon in making it a success. 
Lockheed Martin has developed a launcher called Grizzly that fires AGM-114 Hellfire missiles from within an otherwise unassuming 10-foot shipping container. Employed alone or in groups networked together, Grizzly presents a flexible and relatively low-cost means of bolstering point defenses against aerial threats, including drones, and targets on the surface. The launchers can also hide in plain sight, intermixed with regular containers, creating targeting dilemmas and uncertainty for opponents.

Grizzly has already successfully completed two live-fire tests, according to a press release Lockheed Martin put out today. The launcher took just six months to build, and makes heavy use of existing and often commercial off-the-shelf components. This includes leveraging the proven M299 four-rail launcher, which is in widespread use globally today, most commonly as a means for launching Hellfires from various types of helicopters.

An M299 launcher seen on the stub wing of a US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. US Army

In one test we launched missiles vertically, Chris Murphy, senior manager of Business Development for Integrated Air and Missile Defense Advanced Programs, told TWZ and other outlets during a call yesterday. In another test, we launched them at an angle to prove out some of the flexibility of the system.

Advertisement Advertisement

The container itself has a roof that hinges open for firing. Lockheed Martin says the containerized launcher can be configured to be self-powered or make use of a tertiary power source.

A Hellfire missile is fired vertically from a Grizzly launcher during a test. Lockheed Martin

Broadly speaking, you might think of a depth of magazine as being a really large magazine, Murphy explained. Another way to achieve depth of magazine is to have several launchers. What weve tried to do is take a lot of the cost out of those launchers and use containers where possible.

The idea is that you can leave these somewhat unattended, he continued. Obviously, they would be in proximity to some support, but as opposed to having a full-on launcher sitting out someplace or moving around someplace, youll just have some ideas to have some containers available. And they protect the system from weather, but they also then allow rapid access and also rapid reload when the time comes. 

The idea is to provide these [Grizzly container launchers] in multiple places and to make the enemy uncertain of what is where, Murphy added. By using commercial materials and commercial launchers, its not obvious where you have protection capability, and it allows you to spread the protection out geographically. It allows it to be remotely operated.

Advertisement Advertisement

In general, containerized launchers are also inherently mobile and readily deployable via truck, as well as by cargo aircraft and ships. They also offer opportunities to be employed from any vessel with sufficient deck space, which we will come back to later on.

A US Army Palletized Load System (PLS) truck seen offloading a standard 20-foot shipping container. US Army

Lockheed Martins press release today otherwise says that Grizzly is command and control and sensor agnostic and can be utilized to support any service or mission, anywhere.

That being said, the fact that the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Advanced Programs division led the development of Grizzly points to a clear surface-to-air application for the launcher. The millimeter-wave radar-guided AGM-114L variant of the Hellfire has a demonstrated anti-air capability against various types of drones, which is a particular pressing threat. Loaded with AGM-114Ls and linked to air search radars and other sensors, the containerized launch system could offer a way to rapidly boost air defenses, especially at forward locations.

The current conflict with Iran provides a number of real-world instances where this could be valuable. In particular, Iranian-backed militias have launched repeated drone attacks on the U.S. Embassy complex in Baghdad, Iraq. In line with the remote operation concept Lockheed Martins Murphy outlined, Grizzly launchers could be placed around the outer edge of the larger Green Zone in Baghdad, creating an outer layer of close-in defense.

Advertisement Advertisement

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is currently protected by Centurion counter-rocket, artillery, mortar (C-RAM) systems linked to Saab Giraffe-1X radars, as well as microwave counter-drone radars and other sensors, all of which Grizzly could also leverage. The Centurion is a ground-based version of the Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) used on warships.

Last night, Iranian-backed militias struck the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, destroying the facilitys rooftop Giraffe-1X Multi-mission Radar.



The Giraffe-1X handled drone detection and C-RAM tracking. pic.twitter.com/qda5bcyyCX  OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 14, 2026

Footage captures a massive blaze following a kamikaze drone strike by Iran-backed militias on the U.S. State Departments support facility at Victory Camp within Baghdad International Airport.



A Saab Giraffe 1X SHORAD radar can be seen at the targeted site, indicating that a pic.twitter.com/SNsnFYriQZ  Egypt's Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT) March 20, 2026

Grizzly could be used to fire AGM-114Ls, along with laser-guided Hellfire variants, at targets on land or at sea. The picture Lockheed Martin included in its press release today notably shows the launcher firing a laser-guided Hellfire vertically during a test. As an aside, several countries already have or are developing ground-based launch systems for Hellfire that are designed to be employed in the coastal defense role against landing craft and amphibious vehicles. With assistance from the United Kingdom, Ukraines armed forces have also fielded a launch system for the Hellfire-derived Brimstone missiles concealed inside civilian-style trucks that has been used for more general surface-to-surface attacks.

The video below includes clips of a Hellfire launcher concealed inside a typical civilian truck now in development in Taiwan for coastal defense applications.

As noted, Grizzly has the potential to be employed from ships and locations on land in any role. Purpose-built launchers for the AGM-114L are already integrated onto some of the U.S. Navys Freedom and Independence class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) to provide extra protection against drones and swarms of small boats.

Advertisement Advertisement

The idea behind Grizzly was for it to be a low-cost approach, and we believe that its appropriate for multiple customers, Lockheed Martins Murphy said yesterday in response to a question about using the launcher in this domain. The maritime environment may pose some challenges that you might have to rethink a couple of things, but the general concept is valid.

Hellfire might not be the only missile Grizzly can fire, either. Murphy said that the launcher was designed to allow for the ready integration of additional functionality, including other missiles, down the line without having to change much of anything. One obvious candidate would be the AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM), which is derived from the AGM-114R and can already be fired from many of the same launchers, including the M299. Conceivably, the overall concept could be expanded to a launch system in a larger container with more total missiles.

An AGM-179A JAGM seen loaded on an M299 launcher during testing. US Army

Containerized systems, in general, present particular benefits for expeditionary or distributed operations. Launchers like Grizzly could be particularly relevant for supporting operations in forward areas across the broad expanses of the Pacific during a future major conflict with China. As mentioned, having the additional benefit of being able to deploy them discreetly presents challenges for opponents.

I think, again, it aligns to our ability to operate in multiple domains, U.S. Army Gen. Ronald Clark, head of U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), said in response to a general question about containerized launch capabilities at an event last year that the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) think tank in Washington, D.C. Our ability to target our adversaries at scale and our ability to be able to be literally ubiquitous with boxes of rockets at different places, that look like boxes of something else, really gives our adversary pause, because its in real time providing deterrence.

Advertisement Advertisement

Lockheed Martin has also touted Grizzly simply as an example of its ability to rapidly produce a working prototype system, which could then be produced and fielded on at least a limited level without necessarily having to commit to large-scale production.

There are many instances where you can develop a prototype, such as this Grizzly launcher, and maybe you only need a few of them, but maybe you need a couple 100. Those are still not numbers that you come up with  that you would come up with for a large-scale production line, Lockheed Martins Murphy said. Weve got a couple other programs that were working through the same approach and are proving to ourselves and proving to our customers that this is a very good intermediate step between one or two prototypes versus dozens, or maybe even hundreds of early capability products, until you get to the point where you think that youre ready for lets go ahead and have a full-scale, full-rate production.

Grizzly, in its current form, certainly offers potential anti-air and other capabilities that could be of interest across the U.S. military, as well as to foreign customers, especially armed forces that already have Hellfire variants in inventory.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com
A woman has died in a rocket attack on northern Israel mounted by Hezbollah from Lebanon on Tuesday, Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service reported.

Two other people were slightly injured in the attack near Safed, some 15 kilometres from the Lebanese border.

A paramedic said the woman had been found with shrapnel wounds in a ditch at the side of the road and died at the scene.

Israeli media reported on the basis of military sources that the Iran-backed militia has launched dozens of rockets and drones at Israel since Tuesday morning.

The Shiite militia has resumed attacks on Israel since the start of the Iran war at the end of February. Israel has reacted with air attacks and deployed ground troops across the border in southern Lebanon.
This Draco AK-47 style semi-automatic weapon was seized by Hampton County police after a two-county, high-speed pursuit that netted two arrests.

Two suspects allegedly caught with firearms in plain sight were apprehended after leading police on a high-speed chase.

On Monday, the Hampton County Sheriffs Office announced it was actively investigating an incident that occurred during a traffic safety checkpoint earlier that evening in the Varnville area near Brookwood Drive that led to a seizure of guns and two arrests.

After a two-county, high-speed car pursuit, followed by a foot chase, the HCSO announced the arrest of two suspects Monday:

Advertisement Advertisement

Henry Keshawn Kearse Jr., 22, of Varnville, charged with Failure to Stop for Blue Lights; Driving Under Suspension, 1st Offense; and Operating an Uninsured Vehicle.

Craig Shondel Collins Jr., 22, of Varnville, charged with Resisting Arrest.

During the checkpoint, the suspect vehicle initially stopped for law enforcement, but during the stop deputies reportedly observed multiple high-capacity firearms in plain view, stated a HCSO report, which added that one firearm was next to the driver, and the passenger was also observed holding a firearm.

The firearm close to the driver was described by the HCSO as a "Draco-style weapon equipped with an extended magazine." A Draco-style gun is a compact, Romanian-made semi-automatic pistol designed to look and function like a short-barreled AK-47, a common Soviet designed assault rifle.

Shortly after stopping, the vehicle fled the scene, leading deputies on a high-speed pursuit that continued into neighboring Colleton County, where the driver, identified as Kearse, was successfully apprehended without further incident, stated the HCSO.

Advertisement Advertisement

The passenger, identified as Collins, exited the vehicle and fled on foot, but was later apprehended.

Our deputies proactive efforts likely prevented a potentially dangerous situation from occurring, including the possibility of a shooting," said H.C. Sheriff Anthony Russell. This incident is a direct example of why proactive policing matters. Because our deputies were in place and alert, we were able to intervene before a potentially dangerous situation escalated, possibly preventing harm to innocent citizens. Our priority remains the safety of this community, and we will continue to take decisive action to protect it.

The HCSO would like to extend its sincere appreciation to Sheriff Guerry Buddy Hill and the Colleton County Sheriffs Office for their assistance and coordination in bringing this incident to a safe resolution, added the H.C. Sheriff's Office

This remains an active and ongoing investigation, added the HCSO, and additional information may be released as it becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Bluffton Today: High-speed chase leads to seizure of semi-automatic weapons, two arrests
After 400 years underwater, a Swedish Navy vessel in the Baltic Sea off Stockholm has become visible. Sunk on purpose back in the 17th century, the ship has resurfaced after the waters reached their lowest level in the past 100 years. Marine Archeologist, Jim Hansson, from Stockholm's Vrak Museum of Wrecks, explained the conditions which led to its reemergence to AFP, as reported by CBS. "There has been a really long period of high pressure here around our area in the Nordics. So the water from the Baltic has been pushed out to the North Sea and the Atlantic." .

The unidentified ship was sunk around 1640 so it could be used to form the foundation of a bridge connecting to the Kastellholmen island. There are currently five sunken ships in the area. The Swedish Navy is looking into reusing their oak hulls rather than using new wood. Researchers are currently attempting to identify these sunken ships as part of a research program called "The Lost Navy."

Read more: 10 Of The Largest Navies In The World, Ranked By Self-Reported Total Naval Assets

How did the shipwreck survive underwater for 400 years?

1600s shipwreck in sweden - CBS Texas/YouTube

It might seem baffling that a wooden ship could survive in the ocean for 400 years, but the Baltic Sea had the right conditions to keep the Swedish Navy vessel largely intact. According to Hansson, that part of the ocean doesn't have shipworms, meaning the sunken ship wasn't eaten. Shipworms, which can grow up to two meters long, are sea creatures that use bacteria in their gut to break down wood and consume it. They're so proficient at it that they can sink a boat.

Advertisement Advertisement

Rather than rotting the wood away as you'd possibly expect, the water actually keeps the boat intact  especially at deep levels  creating a time capsule of sorts. In fact, most boats can remain undisturbed deep under the water indefinitely  but bringing the shipwreck to the surface can cause the wood to break down since it was only being held together by water between its cells.

This has been a big issue with recovering the Vasa, another vessel in Sweden that sank back in 1628. Its wood is being ruined by iron and metal pieces that have started to acidify, now it's out of the water. Scientists discovered that earth alkaline hydroxides can neutralize the acid, stopping the chemical reaction that destroys the wood, but it's still a challenge to preserve uncovered shipwrecks. This means the low water levels in the Baltic Sea could pose a problem for the newly uncovered warship.

Want the latest in tech and auto trends? Subscribe to our free newsletter for the latest headlines, expert guides, and how-to tips, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.

Read the original article on SlashGear.
On Monday, President Donald Trump deployed ICE agents to airports to help TSA with security amid an ongoing partial government shutdown.

The shutdown has sidelined Transportation Security Administration officers and has caused long lines at security checkpoints across the country. Travelers are being warned to expect delays as TSA agents working without pay for over a month call out sick or even quit.

A spokesperson for Orange County's John Wayne Airport said local officials were working with their federal counterparts.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Responsibility for the Transportation Security Administration, including staffing levels and resources, are determined at the federal level. We remain in close communication with our federal partners to receive information on efforts to mitigate potential impacts to travelers at John Wayne Airport," airport Public Information Officer AnnaSophia Servin told City News Service.

Trump's decision to order federal immigration agents to U.S. airports to help with security during a budget impasse is drawing concerns that their presence may escalate tensions among air travelers frustrated over hourslong waits and screeners angry about missed paychecks.

"I think a lot of people are realizing that something needs to happen. Whether it's ICE agents or TSA... I think, ICE, however you feel about them, they are probably trained in checking for people's IDs and things to get on an airplane and travel safely. So I'm OK with that if that helps relieve, you know," said Leann Tweeden, a traveler at LAX.

Federal immigration agents are seen at Newark Liberty International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

ABC News obtained a list of airports where ICE has been deployed, with the list subject to change, according to sources. At this time, there are no L.A.-area or California airports on the list.

Advertisement Advertisement

Airports, so far, include:

Chicago-O'Hare International Airport

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Houston's William P. Hobby Airport

Houston's Bush Intercontinental

John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York)

LaGuardia Airport (New York)

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

Newark Liberty International Airport

Philadelphia International Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Pittsburgh International Airport

Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida)

At LAX, things appeared to be running smoothly, although security lines were pretty long in some terminals on Monday following record TSA call-outs over the weekend. At Terminal 7, wait times were relatively short, but on the opposite side at Terminal 1, travelers reported longer-than-anticipated wait times. Still, wait times were not nearly as extreme as those seen at other U.S. airports.

"We didn't notice any changes. There were a lot of police at the airport today, which was unusual. But no, nothing. We didn't see any ICE agents," said Lauren Stabile, who traveled from Chicago to LAX.

Advertisement Advertisement

"We did not see any ICE agents. We were concerned, but we were more concerned about the construction outside of O'Hare Airport. So we did really well," said traveler Marilym Pohm, who also traveled from Chicago to L.A. on Monday.

Cellphone video of people lined up for hours at airports like Atlanta scared one Riverside family into showing up extra, extra early.

"And so now we're here like five hours early," the mother of the family said.

They were so early, they had to find a pre-security perch to wait at.

"You can't check your bags in until three hours before your flight, so we came way too early," the father said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Long Beach Airport (LGB) was among those hit hardest by staffing shortages. More than 21% of TSA agents there did not report for work on Saturday, according to TSA data. Travelers at the airport on Sunday said they prepared for delays by arriving early, though many reported smooth experiences at other airports, including Sacramento, Reno and Salt Lake City.

Long Beach was among U.S. airports hit hardest by staffing shortages this weekend. More than 21% of TSA agents did not report for work on Saturday, according to TSA data.

Trump made clear on Sunday that he was going ahead with the plan to have immigration enforcement officers assist the Transportation Security Administration by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs unless Democrats agreed to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats are demanding major changes to federal immigration operations and showing no sign of backing down.

Hundreds of thousands of homeland security workers, including those from the TSA, U.S. Secret Service and Coast Guard, have worked without pay since Congress failed to renew DHS funding last month.

Advertisement Advertisement

Lawmakers say that they are working to get TSA agents paid, but so far, there's been a standstill as Democrats demand immigration enforcement reforms. Some, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, are blasting the idea of deploying ICE agents to airports, saying they are not trained or certified in aviation security.

"By sending ICE into airports, Trump is proving the problem in real time: ICE has become the president's lawless, under-trained, personal police force, deployed to serve his agenda - not the law," Newsom said in a post on X.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the decision to use ICE agents at airports, saying they are trained to operate screening equipment.

On Monday, Trump hinted that he would also deploy the National Guard if needed.

ABC News, City News Service and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sources tell ABC News that hundreds of ICE agents are expected at 14 airports this week, including Philadelphia International Airport.

The Trump administration is deploying the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as Transportation Security Administration officers continue to work without pay during the ongoing partial government shutdown.

The move comes as hundreds of TSA officers have quit and thousands continue to call out.

Advertisement Advertisement

Other airports where ICE will be deployed, according to ABC News, include:

- Chicago-O'Hare International Airport

- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

- Houston's William P. Hobby Airport

- Houston's Bush Interncontinental Airport

- John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York)

- LaGuardia Airport (New York)

- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

- Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

- Newark Liberty International Airport

- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

- Pittsburgh International Airport

Advertisement Advertisement

- Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida)

While ICE agents haven't been seen working in Philadelphia as of Monday, they have been spotted in airports in Atlanta and Newark.

Lashanda Palmer is with AFGE Local 333, the union that represents TSA employees at PHL. She says her officers are concerned about this move, especially as they handle mounting financial stress.

"I don't know when they're going to start. I don't know anything. But I do know they were there. They were not working in any capacity," Palmer told Action News on Monday.

"We're not being paid. The one agency that you guys are arguing and fighting about is being paid, and being paid well. And now you're about to bring them into the airports," she added.

Advertisement Advertisement

Passenger lines at the airport fluctuated throughout the day.

Many travelers said they arrived hours early, anticipating delays tied to the partial government shutdown and staffing shortages at the TSA.

Jeff Trainer of Allentown, Pennsylvania, said his family arrived well before dawn to avoid potential problems.

"Get up at one. He's like, 'What are you, crazy?' I said nope, we were one of the first ones here," he said.

Breckyn Loynd of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, said concerns about long waits prompted her and her friends to arrive early.

"We were really scared, we didn't want to be waiting in line for two hours. I'd rather be here early and be in the front of the line," said Loynd.

Advertisement Advertisement

The partial government shutdown has entered its third week, and TSA agents remain without pay. Some have called out of work, and more than 400 have quit, contributing to busier airports nationwide.

Tasha Johnson of West Philadelphia said reports of lengthy lines influenced her decision to plan ahead.

"I heard people were standing in line for four hours and still missing their flights, and I was like, that's not going to be me," she said.

At one point, the security line at Philadelphia International Airport stretched back to the parking garage at Terminal A-East. For much of the morning, however, lines moved quickly.

Advertisement Advertisement

Shawn Walker of Abington, Pennsylvania, said warnings about airport delays led him to arrive earlier than usual.

"The warning signs were out there. We knew we had to get here three hours before our flight. We woke up early, and we're here. It's not too bad, not as bad as I anticipated," Walker said.

Meeshach Stennett of Smyrna, Delaware, said he hopes the situation does not further disrupt travelers.

"I hope it doesn't disrupt people's lives, Americans that are trying to travel. I hope this ends soon. These TSA workers don't deserve this," said Stennett.

Some travelers expressed uncertainty about whether ICE agents would be present.

Advertisement Advertisement

"I was actually hoping maybe Elon paid for some of the people to come in to work, but I don't know what's going on. I wasn't sure if they'd be here or not," said Stacey Peev of East Greenville, Pennsylvania.

If the government shutdown is not resolved by Friday, TSA agents will have gone three weeks without pay.
OMAHA  When Nebraskan Rose Godinez chose a legal career, she was motivated by the opportunity to help immigrants, including some of her own family, knock down barriers to realizing their American dream.

Today the Lexington-raised attorney  who recently directed the legal team for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska  is confronted with perhaps her most trying predicament yet.

Rose Godinezs parents and brother Carlos at a ceremony when she was sworn in as an attorney in a Lexington courtroom. (Courtesy of Godinez family)

Older brother Carlos Godinez, who has lived in Nebraska all but the first decade of his 47 years, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and faces deportation to Guatemala. The oldest of five siblings who all graduated from Lexington High School, Carlos attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is a long-time restaurant owner and community figure.

Advertisement Advertisement

Its probably one of the most difficult times of my life, both professionally and personally, in that my family is the reason I became a lawyer in the first place, to understand the law and know how to maneuver, Rose Godinez said. Despite all the skills and abilities Ive gained in the immigration court system  I feel powerless in a sense right now.

She is doing whatever is possible to help family and friends raise awareness and support demonstrating her brothers community standing that she said might assist in anti-deportation efforts led by Omaha immigration attorney Rachel Yamamoto.

Mixed-status predicament

The case highlights a predicament facing many families of mixed immigration status as President Donald Trumps administration continues to push its largest domestic deportation operation in history. The White House says it is liberating Americans from the crushing burden of unchecked illegal immigration.

By a twist of fate and birth order, some members of migrant families are born U.S. citizens, while others rely on often complex and time-consuming legal steps to gain permanent residency and citizenship rights that protect against removal from the country.

Carlos Godinez helps hoist up brother Jonathan upon his graduation with a masters degree from Columbia University. (Courtesy of Godinez family)

In the Godinez case, Carlos came to the U.S. at age 10 with his mom to join his dad who at the time was working on the West Coast. The family a couple of years later moved to Nebraska for meatpacking jobs. Rose, born in Los Angeles, was two when the family arrived in Lexington.

Advertisement Advertisement

Carlos eventually married in Nebraska, divorced and is raising two sons, ages 11 and 13. For more than 15 years he has operated and owned Nicks Gyros in Kearney but lacks his own lawful residency status.

On March 11, federal agents took him into custody, and he is on an ICE hold in Hall County Jail in Grand Island. Court records show he had been on probation in Buffalo County after violating terms last summer of a drivers license revocation. His sister believes the legal interaction triggered an ICE notification.

She referred more specific legal questions to his immigration attorney, Yamamoto, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

Childhood plane ride

As Godinez faces a March 31 appearance before an Omaha-based immigration judge, his restaurants social media account has been filling up with well wishes and words about his community contributions. One critic quipped that federal law doesnt include a good guy clause, while others questioned why he didnt seek a legal remedy sooner.

Advertisement Advertisement

Rose Godinez, who now leads a private practice specializing in nonprofits and small businesses, said her brother had options including a citizen family member petitioning on his behalf. That route often takes many years. She said her brother, whom she described as a pull yourself up from the bootstraps kind of guy, balked at depending on anothers status to gain his own.

In a media statement, Carlos Godinez said he was raised with the American belief that if you work hard, you earn your keep.

Carlos Godinez, around age 10, with baby sister Rose, when the family was in California and soon to move to Nebraska. (Courtesy of Godinez family)

He recalled flying on a plane as a boy to the U.S., not knowing where we were going, only that I would see my father again.

I built a business, gave back to my community and lived what I believe is the American Dream which is now at risk of being taken away, Godinez wrote.

Advertisement Advertisement

His parents and all but one sibling live in Nebraska. The youngest brother, Jonathan, is working on his doctorate degree at Columbia University in New York.

Maria Godinez, their mother, said she is devastated for her grandchildren and family. She said she was recently hospitalized, and son Carlos offered support via a call from the jail.

We are not a family that asks for help, but today I am asking, she said in a statement. As a mother, Ive watched my son grow into someone who works tirelessly, not just for our family but for our entire community. Carlos has built a business, helped so many people and shown leadership.

Yolanda Nuncio of Grand Island, said she met the Godinezes decades ago when she was a principal in the Lexington public school system. She said the whole family, including the grandma, attended school and community events together. She said she watched Carlos ascend as an entrepreneur and his siblings grow into professional careers.

Advertisement Advertisement

Its a strong family thats been here for many years and has contributed so much to the community in all areas, Nuncio said. For this to be happening to Carlos and the family  because it does affect the entire family  is unthinkable and hard to understand.

Nuncio views the situation as a sign of an inadequate immigration system. We need to get this corrected, because it is destroying families and communities, she said.

Trumps ironclad commitment

The Trump administration has doubled-down on the presidents ironclad commitment to enforcing the nations laws, contending in January that the efforts have resulted in less crime, lower housing costs, higher wages and more jobs.

A worker is escorted in June 2025 to a bus headed to a detention center after she was apprehended at Glenn Valley Foods of Omaha during largest Nebraska immigration raid since President Donald Trump took office. (Courtesy of Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Through mass deportations, the Trump administration is freeing up resources, revitalizing opportunity and restoring safety  delivering tangible results that put Americans first, the statement reads. ICE officials did not respond to a request for comment on the Godinez case.

Advertisement Advertisement

Supporters of Carlos Godinez say that through his business, he has hosted and sponsored community events and created opportunities for students. Juan Guzman, a friend and longtime UNK staff member, said in a statement that he has been active in his fraternity and in backing service initiatives.

He has helped organize and financially support impactful educational events such as the Beta Men Conference for middle school boys and the NCUC programs, which aims to inspire and guide high school students to pursue higher education, said Guzman.

Rose Godinez said her brother financed his own business that has employed many students. She said that as a first-born, he is a focused self-starter and leader. She said he is preparing for his day in immigration court.

Via social media, Carlos Godinez asked community members to pass on a message to the immigration judge Abby Meyer: Let her know that Im an asset and not a liability to this country I call home.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The deployment of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports in Phoenix and other cities will sow "fear and distrust" among air travelers, a Latino civil rights group warned.

The Trump administration deployed ICE officers on March 23 to ease long lines at security checkpoints at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and airports in at least a dozen other cities as a partial government shutdown took a toll on TSA security staffing.

"There isn't a justifiable reason to deploy ICE agents to the airports, and it inevitably is going to cause fear and additional distrust amongst the flying public," said Deborah Fleischaker, senior adviser for immigration policy at UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights organization. Fleischaker was acting chief of staff at ICE under the Biden administration.

Advertisement Advertisement

"People at this point are scared of ICE," Fleischaker said, in the wake of an "overreach" by the agency that culminated in the actions by federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens were killed in separate incidents in January.

"People are rightfully scared," Fleischaker said. "They don't know what (ICE officers are) going to be doing. ICE agents aren't trained to be security screeners and therefore have no real role there. It's not clear how they're going to be helping and not simply hurting."

Deployment of ICE officers at airports could also lead to air travelers being stopped and questioned about their immigration status simply based on their appearance, Fleischaker said.

"I don't think we've seen evidence of that yet," Fleischaker said, "but given that ICE agents have been given the go-ahead to use race, ethnicity and language spoken as the grounds to make a stop and do an immigration check, I'm not sure we should feel confident that they won't be doing that in the airports as well."

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent works at a TSA security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on March 23, 2026.



A plea for help: Phoenix Sky Harbor appeals to public to donate to unpaid TSA workers An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent works at a TSA security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on March 23, 2026. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent works at a TSA security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on March 23, 2026. See ICE agents fill in for missing TSA agents at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport 1 of 3 An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent works at a TSA security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on March 23, 2026.



A plea for help: Phoenix Sky Harbor appeals to public to donate to unpaid TSA workers

Why are ICE officers at airports?

The Trump administration sent ICE agents to help manage long lines and backfill for short-staffed TSA personnel, who have been working without pay since Feb. 14 amid the partial government shutdown.

Advertisement Advertisement

That shutdown was triggered by an impasse over Department of Homeland Security funding in Congress, with Democrats refusing to approve funding unless Republicans agreed to add restrictions on ICE's use of force after the two fatal shootings in Minneapolis.

Border czar Tom Homan said the ICE officers would be in support roles at the airports, while TSA agents would continue to do screening.

We're just trying to augment them where we can, that doesn't require their specific talent and training, and relieve those officers to do that specific task of screening, Homan told Chris Cuomos SiriusXM show. So we're trying to move the lines quicker. And I think ICE can help."

At Sky Harbor on March 23, one ICE officer could be seen at a checkpoint in Terminal 4, aiding travelers moving in line. ICE officers also were present at Terminal 3 checkpoints.

Republic reporter Ray Stern contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ICE officers at airports could sow 'fear,' Latino group warns
An Idaho bill that could make it a crime for transgender people to use restrooms aligned with their gender identity is now before the state Senate, advancing one of the most punitive bathroom proposals in the country.

Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.

House Bill 752, already approved by the Idaho House in a 5415 vote, was taken up this week by the Senate, where Republicans hold a 296 majority. If enacted, the measure would require people to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and similar facilities based on their sex assigned at birth in both government buildings and private businesses open to the public.

Advertisement Advertisement

Related: Idaho Republicans pass bill making it a felony for transgender people to use public bathrooms

Related: Idaho Republicans pass House bill forcing doctors to out transgender kids

The penalties escalate quickly. A first violation would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. A second offense within five years could be charged as a felony, carrying a prison sentence of up to five years.

The Legislature has a fundamental duty to protect the bodily privacy and safety of Idaho citizens, Sen. Ben Toews, the bills sponsor, said in a Monday committee hearing, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. House Bill 752 provides a clear, proactive tool to secure sex-separated private spaces in our state, while accommodating common-sense realities.

Advertisement Advertisement

Supporters of the measure have called the bill necessary as a matter of safety and privacy in sex-segregated spaces. But opponents of the legislation, including civil liberties groups, some lawmakers, and law enforcement voices, say the proposal creates an enforcement problem that risks turning suspicion into probable cause.

Related: Thousands of paper hearts flood Idaho capital as lawmakers pass anti-LGBTQ+ bills

Related: Idaho Republicans are trying to strip localities of nondiscrimination ordinances that protect LGBTQ+ people

Transgender people are warning that bills like this put them in danger of being assaulted. For example, the boyfriend or husband may see a transgender man following their girlfriend into a restroom, because the trans man has to use restrooms according to his sex assigned at birth, and could confront them.

Advertisement Advertisement

In committee testimony, transgender Idahoans described how that could unfold. Nikson Matthews, a transgender man, told lawmakers that someone who recognizes or suspects he is trans could call police, prompting officers to respond to what would otherwise appear to be a bearded man using the mens bathroom. If an officer decides he violated the law, Matthews said, I could go to jail for up to a year for peeing, washing my hands, or even being in the bathroom.

Related: Idaho Republicans pass bill making it a felony for transgender people to use public bathrooms

The alternative, he said, could be worse. Being forced into womens facilities, Matthews warned, risks confrontation or violence. Every single day when Im out in public, I have to decide, he said. Do I feel like going to jail today, or do I feel like being attacked?

This article originally appeared on Advocate: Idaho Senate takes up bill to jail trans people for using public bathrooms

RELATED
SINGAPORE, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Singapore reported 1,019 new cases of active tuberculosis disease among residents in 2025, marking the seventh consecutive year of decline, the Communicable Diseases Agency said on Monday.

The incidence rate fell to 24.2 cases per 100,000 population in 2025, down from 27.6 per 100,000 in 2024, the agency said.

Older adults and men continued to account for a large share of cases. Of the total in 2025, 77.3 percent were aged 50 and above, while 65.6 percent were male.

Tuberculosis remains endemic in Singapore, the agency said, noting that latent tuberculosis infection continues to serve as a reservoir for potential future disease.

People with latent tuberculosis infection carry the bacteria but are not infectious, as the bacteria remain inactive and cause no symptoms. However, the bacteria can reactivate later in life, particularly when the immune system is weakened, leading to active disease.

Up to 20 percent of people aged 70 and above in Singapore have latent tuberculosis infection, the agency added. 
The IDF announced that it struck an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force member in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday afternoon, although it did not initially name the target.

The Israel Navy killed Muhammad Ali Kourani, a Quds Force terrorist who was planning terror attacks directed by Iranian intelligence officials from within Lebanon, during a strike on Beirut on Monday.

The IDF announced that it struck an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force member in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday afternoon, although it did not initially name the target.

Advertisement Advertisement

Earlier on Monday, the IDF conducted a series of strikes in Tehran - the first, at approximately 4 a.m., purported to target terror regime infrastructure, while the second, at 2 p.m., aimed for "Iranian terror regime targets."

IDF conducts wide-scale wave of strikes in Tehran overnight

Dozens of IAF fighter jets completed another wave of strikes in Tehran overnight on Sunday night.

During the strikes, the IDF targeted several Iranian regime security organization headquarters and bases, as well as key weapons manufacturing sites.

According to the IDF report, over one hundred munitions were used in the strikes, which targeted several IRGC and IRGC Quds Force sites.
People gather during the funeral of two Kurdish opposition fighters in Erbil, in Iraq

Iran and its militias struck northern Iraq, killing six Peshmerga and wounding 19, as attacks on the Kurdistan Region escalate amid the wider Middle East conflict.

Six Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga were killed early on Tuesday when missiles targeted their base. The missiles were likely fired by Iran or Iranian proxies in Iraq.

Iran has a network ofIranian-backed militias in Iraq. These groups nominally come under government control as paramilitaries of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). They are also called Hashd al-Shaabi.

Advertisement Advertisement

Iran and its proxies have been attacking the Kurdistan Region since the US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.

There have been more than 300 drone and missile attacks targeting the autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. The Peshmerga are the official military forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Rudaw Media Network in the Kurdistan Region noted that at least five Kurdistan Region Peshmerga fighters were killed and over 19 others wounded in missile strikes targeting a base in Erbil province early Tuesday.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on January 18, 2026 near Erbil, Iraq. (credit: Ethan Swope/Getty Images)

The report said that officials in Erbils Soran administration told Rudaw that Division 7 of the Peshmerga forces was hit, killing five fighters and injuring nearly 19 others.

Peshmerga base hit in Erbil, several wounded

There were also a number of wounded. They were taken to hospitals in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region. In a statement, the Peshmerga Command Area One said the headquarters of Division 7 was struck twice, first at 1:50 am with five missiles, causing no casualties, and again at 2:50 am with one missile, without specifying casualties, Rudaw noted.

Advertisement Advertisement

The report noted that last week, three Peshmerga fighters were wounded in two separate drone attacks on bases in Sulaimani and Erbil, according to a ministry statement.

Rudaw characterized the attacks as coming from outlawed terrorist groups which have carried out more than ten attacks on Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga forces over the past three weeks.

However, the use of missiles in the attacks and the precision may imply that the attack came from Iran or was with direct Iranian guidance to a militia in Iraq. The militias have also attacked the national intelligence headquarters in Baghdad, killing one person last week. In addition, they have targeted US forces dozens of times.

In many cases, the militias and Iran have targeted Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region. Kurdish regional leaders such as Nechirvan Barzani, Masrour Barzani, and Bafel Talibani have sought to end the attacks.

Advertisement Advertisement

However, talks with Baghdad and with Iran or others have not led to an end to the attacks. In fact, the attacks appear to be increasingly deadly.

One Iraqi militia, Kataib Hezbollah, had said it would pause attacks against US sites in Iraq during this week. This came after it also paused attacks over the weekend. The militias hope US forces and US diplomats will leave Baghdad. Iran would see this as a victory, as it has spread the war to Iraq.

The attack on the Peshmerga comes as the militias also attacked Syria overnight. In addition, several members of the PMF were killed in an airstrike in Anbar overnight.

Reports of the attack that killed the Peshmerga say it occurred on Mount Spilk in the Soran region. The Kurdistan Region is a close partner of the US and hosts US forces and a large US consulate. The militias have targeted the consulate and also the UAE consulate in Erbil.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr was appointed as Larijani's successor as secretary of the SNSC, the Iranian president's deputy of communications posted on X on Tuesday.

Iran named a formerRevolutionary Guards commander and senior figure in the hardline political faction on Tuesday to replace the powerful head of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, killed in US-Israeli strikes last week.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr was appointed as Larijani's successor as secretary of the SNSC, the Iranian president's deputy of communications posted on X on Tuesday.

Advertisement Advertisement

The SNSC, formally chaired by the elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, coordinates security and foreign policy, and includes top military, intelligence, and government officials in addition to representatives of the supreme leader, who has ultimate say over all matters of state.

Zolghadr is a former Revolutionary Guards commander

Zolghadr is a former Revolutionary Guards commander who has in the past held senior security positions such as deputy for security at the Interior Ministry, deputy at the armed forces' general staff, and advisor to the judiciary chief for crime prevention.

He headed the electoral headquarters of the hardline political faction, the Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces.

Since 2022, he has served as secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, an assembly that resolves differences between parliament and the Guardian Council of Shi'ite clerics and jurists who can veto legislation and supervise elections.
By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall

DUBAI, March 24 (Reuters) - Iran's negotiating posture has hardened sharply since the war began, with the Revolutionary Guards exerting growing influence over decision-making, and it will demand significant concessions from the United States if mediation efforts lead to serious negotiations, three senior sources in Tehran said.

In any talks with the U.S., Iran would not only demand an end to the war but concessions that are likely red lines for U.S. President Donald Trump - guarantees against future military action, compensation for wartime losses and formal control of the Strait of Hormuz, the sources said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Iran would also refuse to negotiate any limitations to its ballistic missile programme, they said, an issue that had been a red line for Tehran during the talks that were taking place when the U.S. and Israel launched their attack last month.

MIXED SIGNALS OVER NEGOTIATIONS

Trump said on Monday that Washington had already had "very, very strong talks" with Tehran more than three weeks into the war, but Iran has publicly denied this.

The three senior sources said Iran had only had preliminary discussions with Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt over whether the groundwork existed for talks with the United States over ending the war.

Advertisement Advertisement

A European official said on Monday that, while there had been no direct negotiations between Iran and the U.S., Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf states were relaying messages. A Pakistani official and a second source also said on Monday that direct talks on ending the war could be held in Islamabad this week.

If any such talks were arranged, Iran would send Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to attend, the three Iranian sources said, cautioning that any decisions would ultimately lie with the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

ISRAELI SOURCES DOUBT AGREEMENT POSSIBLE

Three senior Israeli officials also said on Tuesday that, although Trump seemed determined to reach a deal, they viewed it as unlikely that Tehran would agree to U.S. demands, which they believed would include an end to Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.

Advertisement Advertisement

Iran's use of ballistic missiles and its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually flows, have been its most effective responses to the U.S.-Israeli strikes.

It could not agree to give these up without leaving itself defenceless against further attacks, analysts say.

Iranian strategists may also be unwilling to trust to agreements with the U.S. and Israel after coming under attack following an earlier deal last year, despite being involved in talks that were then current. They have also watched Israel continuing to strike Lebanon and Gaza after ceasefires there.

Inside Iran, domestic concerns are also constraining Tehran's manoeuvring room in negotiations, the senior Iranian sources said.

Advertisement Advertisement

These concerns included the greater clout of the Revolutionary Guards, uncertainty at the top of the system, with the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei having not yet appeared in photographs or video since his appointment, and a public narrative of resilience in the war.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, writing by Angus McDowall, Editing by Alex Richardson)
Israel's Bedouin community rushed to support over 100 people wounded after an Iranian missile destroyed residential buildings in Dimona and Arad.

After an Iranian missile destroyed residential buildings in Dimona and Arad, wounding over 100 people, Israels Bedouin community rushed to local Facebook groups to offer their homes, food, and messages of solidarity.

Sager Abu Srehan, a father of six and a vice principal at the Amal Reut School living in the small Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, was one of the first to extend his hand to those impacted by the Iranian attacks.

Advertisement Advertisement

Srehan, who proudly shared that his three daughters and three sons grew up to become doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, and chefs in Israel, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that he sent the message because We live together with the Jewish society as brothers.

I think the real reality is what matters. We live together with the Jewish society as brothers, on the sameland and under the same sky. We study together, work together, and this country belongs to all of us. We are people who belong here and who love our country, he shared. The partnership between us as a society, with many examples of cooperation, is what creates the beautiful colors in the mosaic of Israeli society.

Now studying a masters degree at Ben-Gurion University in the department of Management and Conflict Resolution, Srehan said it was more important now than ever before to make it clear that the Bedouin community is attached to Israels Jewry.

Sager Abu Srehan, vice principal at the Amal Reut School, was one of the first to extend his hand to those impacted by the Iranian attacks in Arad and Dimona. (credit: Courtesy)

The same missile does not distinguish between Bedouin and Jew, and therefore we must always stand together, make use of every moment, and continue educating for the love of the land, he asserted. We must always stand together, make use of every moment, and continue educating for the love of the land.

Israels Bedouin show unity after southern missile attack

Asked about why he felt the need to reach out to those in Arad and Dimona, he said, Helping in difficult times is not something special we do once  it is part of our DNA as a Bedouin society.

Advertisement Advertisement

That is why, whenever there is a need, you will always find the Bedouin community among the first to come and help. We believe that in times like these we must stand together, support one another, and show that we are one society living in one country, sharing the same fate and the same future, he continued.

In my opinion, people are measured in situations like these, and I believe the Bedouin community has never hesitated to help and contribute. We saw this clearly during the events of October, when the Bedouin community mobilized and gave a lot. Joint aid centers were established for both Bedouin and Jews.

Despite the communitys willingness to help, Srehan acknowledged that the war has exposed a number of challenges faced by Israeli Bedouin.

A large part of our community lives in unrecognized villages, where there are no protected shelters, and this creates a very big challenge and puts people in a difficult situation, he shared.

Advertisement Advertisement

I truly hope the state will be able to provide proper protection solutions, because it is not easy, especially when people live in very limited conditions, sometimes even in tin structures or tents. I am not saying this in order to blame anyone, but rather with the hope that the state will find a professional and fair solution to this problem.

Some 120,000 Bedouin live in dozens of unrecognized villages, according to the New Israel Fund. Without proper infrastructure, those residing in these towns often rely on dirt holes to provide some cover from missiles, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

The war also affects our youth and our students, just as it does everywhere else, but the fact that many of our students live in unrecognized villages makes it harder for them to connect to distance learning during emergencies. The lack of infrastructure, protection, and stable conditions creates real difficulties for them, Srehan said, adding he hopes this war will soon end and Israel will invest in ensuring every citizen has proper protection.

Concluding the brief interview, Srehan promised, Our homes are always open to all residents of Dimona and Arad. I hope the war will end soon and that we can return to normal life.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it has attacked Irans main explosives production facility.

The site in Isfahan was bombed during last years war. However, Irans leadership had been working in recent months to restore the facilitys capabilities.

The Israeli Air Force targeted dozens of sites in Iran during the course of the day, including missile launch pads, the Israeli military said in a statement. The information could not initially be independently verified.

Advertisement Advertisement

Meanwhile, Israel came under renewed rocket fire from Iran on Tuesday evening, with warning sirens wailing in the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv and other cities.

One of the missiles fired from Iran is said to have been equipped with cluster munitions, according to Israeli media reports.

Iran recently confirmed the use of the munitions, which are condemned internationally.

Israeli police said there were strikes in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service reported that several people were injured, including a child, in a suburb of Tel Aviv. A residential building was reportedly hit.
A bill meant to create clarity about what public officials can call and text about outside of public meetings is creating more confusion, press advocates said

Professional journalist groups and Oregon news publishers are calling on Gov. Tina Kotek to veto a bill passed last month by the state Legislature that the groups, along with government ethics watchdogs, say erodes public meetings laws.

In recent letters to Kotek and in editorials, the Oregon chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Oregon News Publishers Association, The Oregonian and roughly a dozen small publishers, called on the governor to veto House Bill 4177.

Advertisement Advertisement

Kotek has until April 9  30 days after it got to her desk from the Legislature  to sign, veto or let it take effect by default. When asked what action shell take or if she has reservations about the bill, Kotek spokesperson Elisabeth Shephard told the Capital Chronicle in a short email that: The governor reviews all bills that come to her desk.

House Bill 4177 is meant to clarify a 2023 law prohibiting public officials from deliberating and deciding measures via text, phone call and other chain conversations  essentially meeting through the ether outside the view of the public  to circumvent state public meetings law. House Bill 4177 exempts from the law such serial communications if they are made for the purpose of gathering information relating to a decision that will be deliberated upon or made by the governing body.

Proponents of the bill say its needed to clarify that public officials arent violating state law when they text an article related to an issue to one another, or share their opinion with a reporter ahead of a vote, who then shares that opinion with other members of the governing body in the course of the reporting.

But journalists and leaders of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, the latter tasked with enforcing the public meetings law, say the bill fundamentally redefines what constitutes meetings and deliberations in a way that would allow public officials to do important work in private with little transparency.

Advertisement Advertisement

Ethics leaders in a memo to the House Rules Committee on March 2 warned of unintended outcomes.

Much of the information gathering that normally occurs in public meetings (work sessions or executive sessions) could instead be done privately, they wrote of the bills consequences. The transparency and accountability that comes with public meetings, where the public has notice of what a governing body is discussing and the media can observe an executive session, will be lost.

State lawmakers passed it anyway just a few days later, vowing to come back in 2027 to make fixes that might be needed.

In a statement, Susan Myers, executive director of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, said though there are good and well intentioned changes being made to public meetings laws in the bill, there are also areas of serious concern.

Advertisement Advertisement

OGEC is all in favor of having an informed, considered review of the laws and making updates that work for the public bodies, public officials, members of the public and the media. That is why OGEC has suggested getting the Oregon Law Commission to take on this project, she said. In the absence of that, we would support further workgroups, legislative or otherwise, to address not only any issues raised with the implementation of HB 4177, but to consider other changes and updates that may be needed.

Clarifying or confusing

Rep. Nathan Sosa, D-Hillsboro, a former chair of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission who backed the 2023 law, sponsored House Bill 4177 during the February session. It was conceived of by a workgroup Sosa convened made up mostly of lobbyists and attorneys representing cities, counties and school boards. A lobbyist for the Society of Professional Journalists was the sole press advocate in the group, and several bipartisan lawmakers and state ethics leaders participated in meetings and were consulted about drafts of the bill.

The lack of journalist representation on a bill that could affect reporters access to public meetings and information is among the sticking points for many of the publishers calling on Kotek to veto the bill, as well as what it does not define. Though it allows public officials to text, call and otherwise communicate privately for the purpose of gathering information it does not define what gathering information means, according to Laurie Hieb, executive director of the Newspaper Publishers Association.

Advertisement Advertisement

As written, the bill would allow public bodies to meet secretly as a quorum, selectively receive information, include or exclude interested members of the public from the meeting and hold private discussions about public issues, she wrote in the groups letter to Kotek.

Leaders for the Society of Professional Journalists also raised concerns that Sosa did not share with them or the wider workgroup several emails and memos from state ethics officials he received before the session, warning of the bills unintended consequences and requesting that legislative action be delayed to 2027.

Nick Budnick, sunshine chair of the journalists group, said they only saw those when journalists filed a public records request for communications after the session.

Sosa said the emails and memos were a restatement of the questions, objections, and concerns raised in workgroup meetings by Myers of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, and the feedback was discussed and debated at-length during meetings.

Advertisement Advertisement

Government ethics and transparency are topics that I care deeply about, Sosa said in an email. This bill was a good faith effort to provide greater clarity for everyone while preserving the purpose of our public meetings laws.

Other members of the workgroup confirmed they had not seen the emails or memos but they would not have changed their support for the bill.

Chilling effect

Scott Winkels, a lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities, said the 2023 law and the government ethics commission were having their own chilling effects on news gathering and public information.

Thats because commission trainings meant to help public officials understand the new law included materials insinuating that an official of a governing body might be in violation of serial communications rules if they discussed a voting matter with an intermediary, such as a constituent or reporter, who then talked about it with other members of the governing body, Winkels said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Simply answering constituent questions should never be discouraged. Talking to a reporter  nobody should refuse a speaking engagement. I mean, it got to the point where we had told our members to take our training class and avoid the OGEC one, and we still havent lifted that advice, he said.

He said some public officials  many who are volunteers on boards and committees  opt out of staying in their roles, fearing the reputational damage that can come from being found guilty of a state ethics violation, even if unintentionally perpetrated.

The government ethics commission has reviewed, or is in the process of reviewing, 50 members of eight public governing bodies for potential violations of the 2023 law banning serial communications since it was enacted, according to commission data. Of them, 90% of the complaints against the public officials were dismissed with no penalties.

Note: Oregon Capital Chronicle Editor Julia Shumway is board treasurer of the Greater Oregon Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, which is requesting Kotek veto the bill referenced in this article. She did not participate in the editing of this item.

This article was originally published by Oregon Capital Chronicle and used with permission. Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom and can be reached at info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com.
UPDATE: Jacksonville police capture man accused of shooting 2-year-old boy to death

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office is asking the publics help in searching for the man accused of fatally shooting a 2-year-old at an apartment on Labelle Street on Sunday night.

JSO says 21-year-old Steven Dodson Jr. was involved in the dispute that led to the discharge of a gun, causing a 2-year-old boy to lose his life. Dodson reportedly ran away from the scene.

Advertisement Advertisement

Officers and detectives with JSO in conjunction with the US Marshals have been searching for him since they were called about the shooting.

The sheriffs office encourages anyone with details on his location to contact them at 904-630-0500. You can report any tips to the US Marshals by calling 1-877-926-8332 or clicking here.

JSO says when they find Dodson, he will be arrested for Murder, Attempted Murder, Child Endangerment, Tampering with Evidence, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
CAIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate phone conversations late Monday with his counterparts from various countries, and stressed that diplomatic efforts remain the only way to prevent comprehensive chaos in the region.

During the calls, diplomats from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Turkiye, Pakistan, France, Cyprus as well as U.S. president's special envoy Steve Witkoff discussed ways to realize regional de-escalation and restore stability and security, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

They discussed possible negotiations between the United States and Iran, the ministry said in a statement, adding, "The language of dialogue is the real guarantee to avoid the expansion of the conflict."

The statement emphasized Egypt's keenness to continue coordination and consultation with Arab, regional and international partners amid heightened tensions in the region.

Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to advancing all initiatives aimed at ending the war, reiterating the country's stance of supporting dialogue and diplomacy to maintain regional and international stability.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States and Iran want to make a deal and the two sides have "major points of agreement" after he ordered a five-day delay of planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.

Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities on Feb. 28, with then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior military commanders and civilians killed in the strikes. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and U.S. bases and assets across the Middle East. 
A veteran federal prosecutor was appointed Monday as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, ending a dispute between the judiciary and President Donald Trump over control of the office that included the disqualifications of the administration's previous picks for the position.

A U.S. District Court judge issued a one-sentence order naming Robert Frazer as the top federal prosecutor in the state  the result of an agreement between federal judges and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Department of Justice thanks the district court for working with the Department to appoint Robert Frazer to serve as US Attorney so that once again criminal prosecutions can resume without needless challenge or delay on behalf of the people of New Jersey," the department said in a statement.

Advertisement Advertisement

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann disqualified three Justice Department officials who were sharing authority over the office, saying they were appointed in an illegal power grab by the Trump administration. They replaced Trump's first choice for U.S. attorney, his former personal attorney Alina Habba, whom Brann barred from the job last year because she had stayed too long without Senate confirmation.

The three officials  Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox and Ari Fontecchio  had been appointed to replace Habba indefinitely, in an unusual move by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

In a court hearing last week, another federal judge in New Jersey ordered the three to answer his questions under oath and threw another government official out of the proceeding in frustration over the Justice Department's chaotic oversight of federal prosecutions in the state.

Habba, who is now a senior adviser at the Justice Department, congratulated Frazer in a social media post Monday, saying New Jersey deserves a great chief federal law enforcement official who is in line with President Trump's agenda of making this country safe and NJ great!

Advertisement Advertisement

Frazer, who had been serving as senior trial counsel in the New Jersey U.S. attorney's office, did not immediately return an email message Monday.

The judiciary and Trump's administration have been odds over the process for selecting U.S. attorneys, who ordinarily must undergo Senate confirmation to stay in their positions.

Judges have ruled, in separate cases, that people installed as the top federal prosecutors for Nevada, Los Angeles and northern New York were all serving unlawfully.

Lindsey Halligan, who pursued indictments against a pair of Trumps adversaries, left her position as acting U.S. attorney in Virginia after a judge concluded in November that her appointment was unlawful. The judge also ruled that indictments she brought against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey must be dismissed.

Advertisement Advertisement

In some instances, judges have exercised their power under the law to appoint U.S. attorneys to oversee prosecutor offices until one of the presidents picks is confirmed by the Senate. The Justice Department has responded by immediately firing those judicial appointees.

___

Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the CTA a temporary restraining order Tuesday, ruling that a federal funding suspension was not allowed, the CTA said in a news release.

The CTA had filed a lawsuit last week against the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Transit Administration, seeking the restoration of funding obligated to the CTA for the Red Line Extension and Red & Purple Modernization projects.

The prolonged payment pause, which began last October, has threatened continued progress on RLE and RPM. Without court intervention, CTA would have been forced to stop work on both projects this Friday, the CTA said.

Advertisement Advertisement

The ruling calls for payments to resume by 10 a.m. Friday, CTA officials said.

"Today, the CTA secured a major victory for the Red Line Extension and the residents of Chicago's Far South Side. CTA promised the community that it would fight for RLE, and this ruling is a massive step toward restoration of funding for this historic project. RLE will provide transit access and opportunity for generations to come, and we are fully committed to seeing it move forward," CTA acting President Nora Leerhsen said in a statement.

The FTA previously committed to providing funds for RPM and RLE, including nearly $2 billion in federal grant funding for RLE, CTA previously said.

RPM is nearing completion, and initial work for RLE began four years ago, the CTA said.

Advertisement Advertisement

RLE will extend CTA service 5.3 miles south from 95th Street to 130th Street.

As part of RPM, the CTA has opened four new stations and reconstructed the Red and Purple Line Express track.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement:

"Today we celebrate yet another victory in the fight to protect federal dollars promised to Chicagoans from being withheld and used to advance Trump's campaign of retribution. While we are encouraged by this ruling, I am redoubling my commitment to protect Chicago from this president's reckless abuse of power and attacks on our city.

"In describing the vindictive motivations behind the illegal recission of these funds, Trump said explicitly he would slash what he called 'Democrat programs.' Today's ruling is a victory not just for Chicago, but for every local government across our country who has been caught in the crosshairs of Trump's punitive attempts to take resources away from working families and punish communities who did not vote for him.

Advertisement Advertisement

"My administration worked intentionally to secure the federal funds necessary to get the long discussed Red Line Extension project off the ground. This transformational project will bring connectivity and opportunity to areas on the Far South Side of our city which have for decades persisted and thrived despite neglect by leadership at every level of government.

"When completed, RLE will spur newfound economic development while opening up new career and educational opportunities for residents of the Far South Side. My administration will continue to make the necessary investments to ensure every Chicagoan has access to the resources they need to get ahead and thrive.

"I want to thank our partners at the Chicago Transit Authority for leading on this lawsuit and applaud their dedicated service to Chicago.

"As long as I am Mayor of the City of Chicago, I will use every tool at my disposal to preserve every last dollar of federal funding Trump has attempted to steal from the people of our city."
The Trump administration suffered another loss in court after a federal judge ordered them to bring a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient they deported to Mexico while she was in the process of applying for lawful permanent residency.

Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1998 when she was 15 years old and received DACA protection in 2013. Last month, the Sacramento, California, resident showed up at an immigration hearing with her 22-year-old U.S. citizen daughter, only to be greeted by federal agents, detained, and deported.

But on Monday, U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins declared Juarezs deportation unlawful and demanded that the Trump administration return her to the United States by March 30, calling it a flagrant violation of the regulatory protections afforded to her under DACA.

Advertisement Advertisement

It is difficult to argue that Petitioners removal constitutes anything less than an extreme circumstance, Coggins wrote in her order. Less than 24 hours after Petitioners good faith appearance to pursue lawful permanent resident status in this country  she was removed to a nation where she had not lived in over 27 years pursuant to an order purportedly entered against her when she was fifteen years old.

The Justice Department claims that Juarezs DACA status did not exclude her from deportation, while the Department of Homeland Security has yet to publicly comment. In the past, DHS has tried to argue that DACA status is not protection from deportation, even though the status of the program is tied up in court.
A jury found 73-year-old Stephen Paul Gale guilty of raping two women at a Framingham clothing store in 1989 on Tuesday, according to the Middlesex County District Attorneys Office.

Gale was convicted on four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping and a single count of armed robbery after about eight hours of jury deliberations, WCVB reported. Gale, who uses a wheelchair, showed no emotion as the verdicts were read in Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutors say Gale posed as a customer at a Hit or Miss store on Dec. 27, 1989, before pulling a gun on two women who worked there. He then made the women close the store and forced them into back rooms where he assaulted and robbed them.

Advertisement Advertisement

Authorities identified Gale as a suspect through DNA matching after submitting a genetic profile from the scene to a new lab in 2022. He was arrested in Los Angeles in August 2024 after a car chase with police that lasted about an hour and a half.

In December 2024, Gale was extradited to Massachusetts to face justice. His trial began earlier this month.

Gales defense attorneys said they plan to appeal the conviction, WCVB reported. He will remain in custody until his sentencing, which is scheduled for March 30. He faces a sentence of up to a lifetime in prison.

The victims testimony

Both victims testified during Gales trial, which lasted a week, WCVB reported. On Tuesday, the two women shared statements speaking to the enduring impact of the assaults.

Advertisement Advertisement

Not a day goes by that I am not haunted by what was done to me, said one victim, who was 18 at the time of the attack. On that day I was terrorized with continued threats of being killed if I didnt do what I was told. From that, I have experienced debilitating fear for years. What was done to me that day has changed my life forever.

On the first day of the trial, the then-store manager, who was 29 at the time, told the jury that Gale walked into the store around 10 a.m. After a brief conversation about the merchandise, he forced her and her 18-year-old coworker to abruptly close the store at gunpoint.

In staff-only areas of the store, Gale raped them, threatening to kill them if they didnt comply. He also forced them to give him everything in the stores safe, as well as their purses.

Less than an hour after Gale arrived at the store, the two women ran through Framingham wearing nothing but their coats and contacted authorities.

Tracking Gale down

The key piece of evidence in the case, according to Assistant Middlesex District Attorney Katharine Folger, was a tissue the store manager spit into after Gale forced her to perform oral sex on him. Investigators were able to create a DNA profile from the tissue in 2001, but it didnt match any existing profiles in the FBIs national DNA database.

Advertisement Advertisement

Decades later, investigators used genetic genealogy to link the profile to the Gale family through public DNA databases, Folger said. They then collected DNA samples from Gales brother and son, and genetic testing indicated that the profile belonged to Gale.

Prior to his arrest, Gale was last seen at a family event outside Massachusetts in 2007, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. At the time of his arrest in 2024, he was living on a yacht estimated to be worth $750,000 to $1 million.

Investigators struggled to find Gale because he used at least nine aliases over the years and lived in various states across the country, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said previously. During the police chase in California in 2024, an acquaintance of his tried to toss him a bag with a cellphone, credit cards and a fake ID inside.

Afterward, a woman who saw the chase on the news called the Framingham Police Department to report that she recognized Gale, but knew him as Paul Costa. As Costa, Gale had been hired to oversee her familys trust, which had paid out over $1.5 million to his company over the past year and a half.

More local crime stories

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
A Northern Kentucky farm family's recent decision to reject a $26 million land offer is putting a spotlight on a growing national tension: the collision between farmland preservation and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Ida Huddleston, 82, and her daughter, Delsia Bare, turned down a lucrative proposal to sell part of their roughly 1,200-acre farm near Maysville, Kentucky  land their family has worked for generations.

"Stay and hold and feed a nation," Bare said, according to WKRC. "$26 million doesn't mean anything."

Advertisement Advertisement

The offer came from an unnamed company seeking land for a large-scale data center. The proposed development is part of a broader push by major technology firms to secure rural land for AI-powered infrastructure.

For the Huddleston family, the decision wasn't financial, it was personal and historical.

"My grandfather and great-grandfather and a whole bunch of family have all lived here for years, paid taxes on it, fed a nation off of it," Bare told the TV station. "Even raised wheat through the Depression and kept bread lines up in the United States of America when people didn't have anything else."

That generational connection to the land ultimately outweighed an offer far above market value. Bare told Realtor.com, "There is no price on earth enough for what they are getting ready to do. There's no replacing what they're getting ready to destroy."

The Mason County proposal is not an isolated case. As Realtor.com reported, "The clash is turning this normally quiet corner of northern Kentucky into a flashpoint in the national debate over the massive data centers needed to power the artificial intelligence boom."

Advertisement Advertisement

The planned project would span more than 2,000 acres and could bring hundreds of jobs, according to local officials. But many farmers remain skeptical of both the economic promises and the long-term impacts.

Across the country, similar conflicts are emerging. Yahoo Finance, citing Moneywise, reported that farming families are rejecting multimillion-dollar buyout offers from tech companies scrambling to build sprawling AI data centers on rural land.

Huddleston herself voiced concerns that go beyond her own property.

"They call us old stupid farmers, you know, but we're not," she said. "We know whenever our food is disappearing, our lands are disappearing, and we don't have any water  and that poison. Well, we know we've had it."

Advertisement Advertisement

She was even more direct about the company's promises. "I say they're a liar, and the truth isn't in them," she said. "That's what I say. It's a scam," according to WKRC.

Other reporting suggests those concerns are shared widely. Realtor.com said that residents have raised alarms about water usage, energy demand, and whether data centers deliver meaningful long-term employment compared to traditional agricultural or manufacturing uses.

The Huddlestons' decision also reflects a growing divide about land stewardship.

As Maysville Today wrote, "The Huddlestons decision to forgo a life-changing financial windfall in order to maintain their familys farming legacy underscores the enduring value that some rural landowners place on stewardship and tradition over pure profit."

Advertisement Advertisement

Bare also told Realtor.com, "The quietness and the beauty of nature, of the trees, and everything thats there, its all going to be destroyed completely. To give up this kind of beauty, just so people can sit there and play with computers."

Nonetheless, the project may still move forward. WKRC indicated that other landowners are willing to sell their lands and that the authorities are considering rezoning more than 2,000 acres for the project. The process is set to continue with the scheduling of public hearings.

For now, the Huddlestons remain firm.

As demand for AI infrastructure accelerates, so too will the pressure on farmland, and the farmers who must decide whether to sell or stand their ground.

The post Kentucky farm family rejects anonymous $26M data center offer appeared first on AGDAILY.
Mar. 23A Kentucky man is facing charges for allegedly having sexual contact with a young child in Warren County.

Seth Loren Summers, 30, of Fort Wright, Kentucky was indicted Friday in Warren County Common Pleas Court of seven counts of gross sexual imposition.

According to a grand jury report, Summers is accused of having sexual conduct with a child under 13 years old from September 2023 through June 2024 in Franklin and Franklin Twp.

Advertisement Advertisement

Summers is scheduled for arraignment April 10. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but at the time of writing he was not in the Warren County Jail, according to jail website records.

We have reached out to the Warren County Prosecutor's Office for more information.
FRANKFORT  The Kentucky Senate received articles of impeachment against a Central Kentucky judge after the House voted last week to charge her.

Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, delivered the articles of impeachment against Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Goodman, along with testimony taken by the House Impeachment Committee and reports from Republicans and Democrats on it, to the Senate Tuesday afternoon. Blanton added that he and other House members had been appointed to prosecute the case against Goodman in the Senate.

Fayette Circuit Julie Goodman (Kentucky Court of Justice photo)

House members approved the impeachment articles by a 73-14 vote Friday. Most voting in favor were Republicans, while most voting against it were Democrats. A few lawmakers did not register a vote.

Advertisement Advertisement

An impeachment proceeding is a rare occurrence in the Kentucky Senate. The chamber held its last impeachment trial in 2023 and unanimously convicted former prosecutor Ronnie Goldy who asked a defendant for nude images in exchange for prosecutorial favors. Goldy was later convicted on federal fraud and bribery charges and sentenced to 41 months. Before that, the Senate last held an impeachment trial in 1888 against former state Treasurer Honest Dick Tate, who was tried for stealing nearly $200,000 in state funds.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, of Manchester, said that Goodmans trial could differ from Goldys, as he did not contest the proceedings.

It is my opinion this is the sole and exclusive remedy for either side, that there is no appeal, Stivers said when asked if Goodman could potentially appeal the Senates decision.

Stivers said that within the next day or so, subpoenas for persons or records may be issued for the Senates impeachment trial.

Advertisement Advertisement

Stivers said that hes told all senators  both Republican and Democratic  to avoid watching and reading about the Houses inquiry before it came to the Senate, which now acts as a jury.

As for whats next, the Senate will impanel its own impeachment committee to take proof and hear evidence, likely during the upcoming veto recess that begins next week, Stivers added. If needed, the Senate can stay in session after the final day of the 2026 legislative session, which is April 15, to finish impeachment proceedings.
Democrats in Florida are jockeying for a rare opportunity to flip a state House district that includes President Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort, as the party looks to galvanize voters and maintain its overperformance streak ahead of November.

Democrat Emily Gregory is competing against Republican Jon Maples for a state House seat in Palm Beach County. Republican Mike Caruso previously held the seat until Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) tapped him to become the county clerk and comptroller last summer.

While Trump won the district in 2024, the entire county narrowly backed former Vice President Harris  and the contest offers Democrats a unique chance to make inroads in Trumps backyard. The race is one of a handful of local special elections Florida will hold Tuesday.

Advertisement Advertisement

Here are the key things to watch for in the special election on the presidents turf:

Competitive statehouse seat in Mar-a-Lagos backyard up for grabs

Both parties are closely watching the special election for Florida House District 87, where Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach is located. The resort is the presidents primary residence, and he stays there regularly when not at the White House.

Gregory, a health fitness small business owner, is running against Trump-backed Maples, a financial advisor. Maples has faced questions over his residency, though the GOP candidate has said that he lives in the district.

The state House district voted for Trump by about 9 percentage points in 2024, according to Florida Politics, while Caruso more handily won the district last cycle by almost 20 points. The entire county backed Harris by less than a point in the presidential election.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Florida state House district is represented by both Reps. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.) in Congress.

National figures, groups seek to sway voters

National political leaders and groups from both sides of aisle have waded into the race, underscoring how Republicans and Democrats alike are closely monitoring Tuesdays elections. Special elections, particularly those down the ballot, generate less turnout than primary and general elections.

Since Trumps 2024 victory, Democrats have better mobilized voters, making GOP efforts to turn out their base in the Florida contests all the more important.

Jon is a very successful Businessman and Civic Leader, who is known and loved, and also endorsed by so many of my Palm Beach County friends, including by Great State Representative MAGA Meg Weinberger, Trump wrote in a social media post endorsing Maples. Jon will be a terrific Legislator!

Advertisement Advertisement

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), whos running for governor, has appeared with Maples on the campaign trail and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) endorsed the Republican candidate.

Democrats, meanwhile, have also invested in Gregorys bid to flip the seat.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) supported the Florida Democrat in the race, with DLCC President Heather Williams calling her exactly the kind of candidate who can defy the odds and connect with voters as a small business owner and mom in a statement this month.

Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in Trumps first impeachment trial who is seeking to unseat Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) this fall, hosted a virtual fundraiser for Gregory earlier this month. Frankel has also endorsed the small business owner.

Contests offer another test of Democratic enthusiasm

The race will serve as the latest test of the Democratic Partys efforts to sustain voter enthusiasm heading into the November general election. Recent special elections and primaries have so far shown the party overperforming  and even flipping a number of state legislature seats across the country.

Advertisement Advertisement

Early indicators suggest voters are eager to vote Tuesday. Data from Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections showed close to 18,000 Floridians having voted early, meaning 15 percent of active eligible voters have cast their ballots in District 87 race.

In welcomed news for the Florida GOP, data from county showed that both parties have turned out to vote ahead of Tuesdays race. About 7,400 Democrats have voted early while close to 7,200 Republicans have done the same.

A separate roughly 3,100 people who had no party affiliation or were classified as other also voted in the early period.

The Palm Beach County special election isnt the only contest on Tuesday. Voters in parts of Polk and Hillsborough Counties will also vote in elections for another state House district and one state Senate seat.

Advertisement Advertisement

Floridas 14th Senate District and 51st House District seats were both most recently held by Republicans and are expected to stay red. But a Democratic upset in any of these three districts would add another notch to the partys belt as they seek to maintain momentum heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

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 little girl, the victim of a kidnapping last month, was rescued by police in San Bernardino.

Officials with the San Bernardino Police Department did not provide the exact date and time of the incident, but said officers responded to a reported kidnapping in February and were quickly able to locate the suspect.

Body-worn camera footage of the arrest showed officers ordering the male suspect out of the vehicle with his hands raised as he slowly walked backward toward them before being taken into custody and placed into the back of a patrol cruiser.

Advertisement Advertisement

Video also showed an officer helping a little girl out of the back of a squad car and carrying her inside the station to her waiting mother.

A young girl was rescued after she was kidnapped by man who had previously been in dating relationship with childs mother. (SBPD)

Its unclear how long the suspect had the child before he was apprehended.

The individual involved was not the childs father, had no legal custody rights, and was not listed on the birth certificate, SBPD said in a Facebook post. He has since been arrested and charged with felony kidnapping.

Investigators said the man was known to the little girls mother and that the pair had previously dated.

A young girl was rescued after she was kidnapped by man who had previously been in dating relationship with childs mother. (SBPD) A young girl was rescued after she was kidnapped by man who had previously been in dating relationship with childs mother. (SBPD) A young girl was rescued after she was kidnapped by man who had previously been in dating relationship with childs mother. (SBPD) A young girl was rescued after she was kidnapped by man who had previously been in dating relationship with childs mother. (SBPD)

No additional details were provided, including the suspects identity.

Advertisement Advertisement

Were thankful for a safe outcome and proud of the teamwork that helped bring this child home where she belongs, police officials said.

Barrage of gunfire at Rancho Cucamonga apartments leaves manager injured

The rescue comes weeks after a kidnapping in Los Angeles in which two girls  ages 11 and 16  were kidnapped by a male suspect but managed to escape his vehicle, suffering only minor injuries in the process.

Investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department released a forensic composite sketch of the suspect, described as a 21- to  23-year-old Hispanic male in hopes that someone from the public might recognize him.

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 KTLA.
Under the law, rabbinical courts may act as arbitrators only with the consent of all parties.

A law that will expand the power of rabbinic and Sharia courts in Israel and grant them authority to act as arbitrators in limited civil matters was passed in the Knesset plenum in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The Religious Courts Arbitration Bill, backed by the government, passed with 65 lawmakers in favor and 41 against.

Advertisement Advertisement

The bill was debated for many hours late into Monday night before it was approved after strong objection from the opposition over claims it could undermine the states democratic character and harm womens rights. Numerous objections were also raised to passing the controversial law during wartime.

The bill was initiated by the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, sponsored by lawmakers MK Moshe Gafni and MK Yisrael Eichler of the United Torah Judaism party (UTJ), as well as MKs Yaakov Asher and Yinon Azoulay.

Under the law, rabbinic courts may act as arbitrators as long as all parties provide consent.

It was decided to exclude from the scope of the law arbitration any criminal or administrative matters, as well as proceedings in which the state or a local authority was a party. Matters involving married or formerly married couples were also excluded.

Advertisement Advertisement

The law will allow for civil matters such as employment disputes and neighbor disputes to be brought to the rabbinic courts for arbitration.

THE RABBINICAL court of Tel Aviv. It has been said that rabbinical courts allow men to hold back consent to divorce their wives in order to extort the women into agreeing to unfair overall terms. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

The bills explanatory notes say that, for many years, rabbinical courts have handled civil disputes by mutual consent of the parties until it was determined that they lacked the authority to adjudicate such matters.

The rabbinic courts are required to verify that consent was given from all sides, according to the proposal.

Rabbinical courts rule on family, property, and Jewish law

Rabbinical courts are part of the judicial system and primarily deal with matters such as divorce, property disputes, child visitation, wills, and inheritance, as well as the recognition of Jewish status and conversion. They operate following halacha (Jewish law), rather than the secular civil courts system.

Advertisement Advertisement

Chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee Simcha Rothman welcomed the bill, saying that it was a great privilege to pass it into law.

He argued that there is nothing more liberal than allowing two adults to decide that they want to resolve a dispute between them, by consent, according to Torah law.

Critics of the law have expressed strong concern that womens rights could be harmed due to the nature of the rabbinic courts.

They have also warned of broader democratic implications, arguing that the legislation may deepen division between the haredi community and the rest of Israeli society, and that it could harm the countrys status quo.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Israel Hotsheet movement, which deals with legislation in religious-state affairs, strongly condemned the passage of the law on Tuesday.

Expanding the rabbinical courts jurisdiction to civil arbitration is not just another technical amendment, but rather a creation of a parallel, unregulated judicial system, grounded in religious law, the group stated.

The organization warned that the law lacks basic safeguards and judicial oversight.

This is not what democracy looks like. This is a dangerous slide toward a regime in which civil rights are governed by religious authorities, the group added.

Advertisement Advertisement

The chairperson of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, Meirav Cohen (Yesh Atid), spoke on the risk that the bill poses to women at the plenum ahead of the vote.

She said that rabbinical courts are not egalitarian because Jewish law itself is not.

Anyone who says that expanding the authority of the rabbinical courts is just another option, just another track is simply misleading the public, she said.

Its not just an expansion of authority, its a restriction of womens freedom, she added.

The Israel Womens Network stated on Sunday that a survey it conducted in early March showed that only 16% of women in Israel support the rabbinical courts.

Advertisement Advertisement

Make no mistake, haredi women will pay the heaviest price, as they will face pressure to agree to arbitration in a religious court that is not bound by principles of gender equality, the organization said when the bill passed its first reading.

The passage of the law has also drawn sharp criticism from the opposition for advancing controversial legislation during wartime.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett called the law disgraceful, adding that it tears the nation apart during wartime and severely harms individual rights.

He said that the rabbinic courts will be able to control the lives of more and more citizens who will become dependent on them (for example, ultra-Orthodox or vulnerable citizens who, in many cases, lack real choice).

Advertisement Advertisement

Bennett vowed that if he were to be elected, a government led by him would repeal the law.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) sharply criticized the government for the timing of advancing the bill and warned that it would destroy the status quo in the country.

Today, March 23, 2026, is the day the status quo died. There is no longer any status quo on matters of religion and state, Lapid said during a press conference at the Knesset on Monday ahead of the vote.

There is a name for this, when rabbis are given the powers of the courts: its called a halachic state, he added, noting that the government had promised initially to only advance legislation related to the war when it began.

The opposition leader also criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus ruling Likud Party, saying it was behaving like a doormat for the haredim (ultra-Orthodox).

Advertisement Advertisement

The timing of the vote on the bill also comes shortly before the final readings on the 2026 state budget that the coalition must pass by next week at the latest. By law, if the budget does not pass by the end of the month, the Knesset will dissolve, and early elections will be triggered.

During the state budgets first reading in January, haredi parties had threatened to vote against it if they did not receive various concessions. This led to a coalition crisis until agreements were reached, allowing the budget to ultimately pass its first reading.

At another press conference on Monday, Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman also slammed the government for advancing the bill during the war.

Today, while millions of citizens are running to shelters several times a day, while residents of the north hear real sirens on average every 22 minutes, on this very day, the Knesset is set to debate the most important issue for the State of Israel: expanding the powers of the rabbinical courts, he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

This is absolute madness and a moral bankruptcy. I dont understand how the leaders of the coalition manage to fall asleep at night, Liberman added.

Blue and White Party leader MK Benny Gantz also sharply criticized the move on Monday.

While millions of citizens are jolted awake by sirens in the middle of the night and head down to shelters with their neighbors, we will sit here with our neighbors from the coalition in the plenum and deal with the arbitration law, intended to give more power to the rabbinical establishment, he said.
This photo taken on March 23, 2026 shows a panel discussion of the China-Kenya Business Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya. The China-Kenya Business Forum was held on Monday in Nairobi, bringing together more than 350 representatives from the government and business sectors of both countries to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment. Themed around China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, the forum was jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

NAIROBI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The China-Kenya Business Forum was held on Monday in Nairobi, bringing together more than 350 representatives from the government and business sectors of both countries to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment.

Themed around China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, the forum was jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency.

Kenyan Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, CCPIT Chairman Ren Hongbin and Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry Lee Kinyanjui delivered addresses, while representatives from Chinese and Kenyan businesses also shared their insights.

China will implement zero-tariff treatment for the 53 African countries starting May 1, which will provide more opportunities for African exporters to access the Chinese market, Ren said.

The event showcased Kenyan products eligible for zero-tariff access, he added, calling on businesses from both sides to seize opportunities, strengthen exchanges and achieve tangible results.

A total of 64 Chinese enterprises from sectors including agriculture, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing and finance participated in the forum. During the event, Chinese and Kenyan companies reached procurement agreements and explored cooperation in areas such as coffee, avocados and minerals.

Business matchmaking sessions covered sectors including agriculture and food, manufacturing, energy and mining, trade and finance, and technology, facilitating practical cooperation between enterprises.

During thematic discussions, government and business representatives exchanged views on the implementation of the zero-tariff policy, the development of logistics corridors and agricultural cooperation.

At the exhibition, 25 Kenyan companies from sectors including agriculture, mining and manufacturing showcased specialty products eligible for zero-tariff export to China. 

An exhibitor displays local-produced avocados at the exhibition of the China-Kenya Business Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, March 23, 2026. The China-Kenya Business Forum was held on Monday in Nairobi, bringing together more than 350 representatives from the government and business sectors of both countries to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment.

Themed around China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, the forum was jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

Participants communicate at the exhibition of the China-Kenya Business Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, March 23, 2026. The China-Kenya Business Forum was held on Monday in Nairobi, bringing together more than 350 representatives from the government and business sectors of both countries to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment.

Themed around China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, the forum was jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

An exhibitor arranges flowers at the exhibition of the China-Kenya Business Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, March 23, 2026. The China-Kenya Business Forum was held on Monday in Nairobi, bringing together more than 350 representatives from the government and business sectors of both countries to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment.

Themed around China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, the forum was jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

Kenyan Deputy President Kithure Kindiki speaks at the China-Kenya Business Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, March 23, 2026. The China-Kenya Business Forum was held on Monday in Nairobi, bringing together more than 350 representatives from the government and business sectors of both countries to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment.

Themed around China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, the forum was jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

A performance is staged at the China-Kenya Business Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, March 23, 2026. The China-Kenya Business Forum was held on Monday in Nairobi, bringing together more than 350 representatives from the government and business sectors of both countries to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment.

Themed around China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, the forum was jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
Lansing  Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Tuesday there's "no truth" in a viral social media post that claimed he had inside knowledge of a Democratic plot to rig the 2020 presidential election in Michigan.

"It's fake," Kilpatrick wrote in a text message to The Detroit News. "Never happened."

A lengthy X post from an account named @JoshHall2024 alleged that Kilpatrick had stated Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson  two top state Democrats  "received millions of dollars from hostile foreign governments in order to rig the 2020 election in Michigan."

Advertisement Advertisement

More: Kwame Kilpatrick money hunt leads feds to cash stash at Comerica

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick speaks during the annual Lincoln Day Dinner at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Mich. on August 21, 2024. The event is hosted by the Oakland County Republican Party.

Some supporters of Republican President Donald Trump have maintained for years, without providing evidence to back up their assertions, that widespread voter fraud led to Trump's loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Michigan's 2020 race.

"Former Democrat Mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick says he has friends in Wayne County who oversaw the 2020 election who have informed him that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson personally ordered the shipment and counting of hundreds of thousands of fraudulent Biden ballots in the middle of the night on election night when it became evident that President Trump was going to win the state," @JoshHall2024 wrote.

In the post, @JoshHall2024 claimed Trump "was the lawful winner" of a "STOLEN election."

Advertisement Advertisement

The post had been shared more than 10,000 times on X and viewed nearly 500,000 times as of Tuesday afternoon. Yet, Kilpatrick, the subject of the post, said there was no truth in it.

Kilpatrick was in a federal prison during the November 2020 election.

"I was fighting for my freedom," Kilpatrick said of his situation in November 2020, "and absolutely disinterested in Michigan politics in any form or fashion.

"There's no truth in it," Kilpatrick added.

The website Deadline Detroit first reported Kilpatrick's rejection of the viral post.

Before leaving office in January 2021, Trump commuted Kilpatrick's prison sentence, 16 years before Kilpatrick was to be released for running a racketeering enterprise out of City Hall.

Advertisement Advertisement

Kilpatrick was sentenced in 2013 on two dozen counts of using his positions as mayor and state representative to carry out a decade-long criminal racket involving extortion, bribery, conspiracy and fraud.

More: How Kwame Kilpatrick collected state pension checks last year

During the 2024 campaign, Kilpatrick became a prominent supporter of Trump, who has spread theories about vast election fraud in Detroit, Michigan's largest city.

Meanwhile, in 2020, Trump outperformed his own result in Detroit from four years earlier. Overall, Biden received 94% of the vote in Detroit, and Trump 5% in 2020. which marked an improvement for Trump. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton got 95%, and Trump received just 3%.

Advertisement Advertisement

A June 2021 report from a GOP-led state Senate committee found "no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud" in the 2020 election.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

Staff Writer Robert Snell contributed.

Want to comment on this story? Become a subscriber today. Click here.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Kwame Kilpatrick says 'no truth' to viral 'stolen election' post
In the East Bay, we're learning more about a fatal stabbing over the weekend, which left a man dead. It's the first homicide in Lafayette in 20 years. A suspect from Butte County is now in custody.

"I was horrified watching police run down the street with rifles," said Christina Coleridge.

Coleridge returned home to Westminster Place in Lafayette Saturday, as police were descending on the house across the street.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department says 34-year-old Christopher Jaber was killed. Christina says she knew Christopher, and says he lived with his parents.

PREVIOUS STORY: 35-year-old Northern California man arrested in deadly stabbing in Lafayette, police say

"He tried to be chatty, I knew he had mental health challenges, he was the son who lived at home- he'd ride his bike, parents are both physicians," Coleridge said.

"We saw someone getting apprehended," said neighbor Jesse Tippett.

Deputies arrested a 35-year-old man from Chico for the crime. ABC7 Eyewitness News is not naming the man until he's formally arraigned later this week. Neighbors say the suspect did not run from the scene.

Advertisement Advertisement

"I think he walked out down the street, not in a hurry," said Coleridge.

Pictures taken by neighbors show the backyard of the house with police markings.

A recent bizarre Facebook post from a man with the same name as the suspect, appears to target the victim. "If you need the Chaos of the supernatural to end, Chris Jaber 34, AKA the eye resides at 5 Westminster Place, Lafayette. Go with God."

Last week, an updated post said: "can someone please kill this man."

"That was chilling, awful. It seems like that should've been picked up by some technology who knows," added Coleridge.

Advertisement Advertisement

It's still unclear how the suspect knew the victim.

Violent crimes are rare in Lafayette. Police say the last homicide here was 20 years ago.

If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
A large explosion at a Valero oil refinery in Port Arthur, near the Texas Gulf coast, shot plumes of smoke into the air and forced some nearby residents to shelter in place on Monday.

Port Arthur Mayor Charlotte Moses told CBS News there were no fatalities or injuries and said "Valero is working diligently to contain the fire." As of late Monday, there were no air quality issues, she said.

Still, she urged residents in parts of the west side of the city to say put.

In this still image taken from a video provided by KBMT, smoke rises near the Valero Port Arthur Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas on March 23, 2026. / Credit: KBMT via AP (KBMT via AP)

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said on social media that "emergency response coordinators and regional staff have been deployed with handheld and mobile air monitoring assets" to the refinery.

Advertisement Advertisement

CBS San Antonio affiliate KENS-TV cited a message sent out over the Southeast Texas Alerting Network in reporting that the shelter-in-place was lifted and an area highway reopened just after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, nearly 12 hours after the explosion.

Refinery spokesperson Carol Herbert told CBS News, "All personnel have been accounted for. Valero's emergency response team is responding and coordinating with local authorities. ... As always, the safety of our workers is our top priority."

The explosion comes amid a spike in gas prices driven by uncertainty over the global oil supply because of the Iran war.



The refinery has about 770 employees and can process about 435,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Valero's website. The plant refines heavy sour crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.



Images and video posted online show a large plume of smoke and flames billowing out from the refinery. Some residents reported hearing a loud boom and seeing their windows shake.

A security camera at a home in nearby Nederland, Texas shook from the blast.



"For your safety please remain in place until the 'All Clear' is given by emergency personnel," the City of Port Arthur said in a post on its Facebook page.



Valero didn't respond to an email or call from The Associated Press seeking comment.



Texas state Rep. Christian Manuel said in a post on social media that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had arrived at the refinery with air monitoring equipment and was working with local and state partners.



He told nearby residents to stay inside.



"Please limit outdoor activity, keep windows and doors closed, and follow guidance from local officials," he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Port Arthur is about 90 miles east of Houston.



Trump claims talks with Iran went "perfectly" and says Tehran wants to make a deal

Quadruple amputee, who is a professional cornhole player, accused of murder

Iran inflicts heavy damage on Israel in latest missile strikes
HOUSTON (AP)  An oil refinery fire near the Texas coast was put out Tuesday and a shelter-in-place order was lifted following air-quality testing, hours after a large explosion at the complex shot plumes of smoke into the air, officials said.

No one was injured in Monday's explosion at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Houston, Carol Hebert, a Valero spokesperson, said in a statement.

All personnel are accounted for, Herbert said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Images and video posted online show a large plume of smoke and flames billowing out from the refinery.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Mayor Charlotte M. Moses said she was grateful the explosion wasn't more serious.

With something like that, we definitely could have had mass loss of life and injuries, Moses said. I'm just thankful and grateful that all we encountered was a fire ... We're safe."

She had urged residents in parts of the west side of the city to stay put during the shelter-in-place order.

Air monitoring that was done by Valero, the Port Arthur Fire Department and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed there was no threat to air quality, Hebert said.

Advertisement Advertisement

The cause of the fire is under investigation, she said.

Residents at least several miles away said they felt their homes shake. Some schools in the area were closed Tuesday as a precaution.

The explosion comes amid a spike in gas prices driven by uncertainty over the global oil supply because of the Iran war.

Valero did not immediately reply to emails asking for additional information on the extent of the damage at the refinery and what units at the facility were impacted by the fire.

But if the refinery's diesel hydrotreater unit was damaged, that could likely exacerbate the prices of diesel and jet fuel, which have already gone up because of the Iran war, said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president for energy and innovation at the University of Houston. Even without the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the lack of production from this plant due to a fire would still affect diesel and jet fuel prices as it would have a huge impact on the amount of diesel that gets into the marketplace," Krishnamoorti said. But the war will make the impact worse, he added.

Advertisement Advertisement

Most goods in the U.S. are moved by trucks that run on diesel, and increased transportation costs will eventually be felt by consumers, Krishnamoorti said.

Thats gonna be a pretty significant impact on everything that comes downstream in terms of things that have hit the grocery shelves. Prices of eggs will go up. Prices of milk will go up, even a few cents. But its gonna have an impact on all of us, Krishnamoorti said.

The refinery has about 770 employees and can process about 435,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Valeros website. The plant refines heavy sour crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

___

Golden reported from Seattle.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70
Senators are discussing a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including Transportation Security Administration airport workers who are going without pay. The deal would exclude U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's removal operations, which have been core to the dispute.

As U.S. airports remain jammed with long lines due to short staffing at TSA, President Donald Trump ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to provide airport security, alarming some lawmakers. At least 458 TSA officers have quit altogether, according to DHS.

DHS is now being overseen by Markwayne Mullin, whose nomination the Senate approved on Monday. Mullin has tried to present himself as a steady hand, saying his goal as secretary would be to get the department off the front page of the news.

Advertisement Advertisement

Here's the latest:

Insane lines span multiple floors at Houston airport

In Houston, passengers spent hours Tuesday navigating meandering security lines that twisted and turned across multiple floors at Georgia Bush Intercontinental Airport.

It looks like maybe its about an hour per floor. Maybe, said traveler Griffin Davis. And you have to go down to the third floor, up to the second floor, outside, back inside.

Brisa Hendricks said she missed her flight from Houston to Minneapolis on Monday after waiting four hours to get through airport security. She returned to the airport Tuesday, rescheduled to depart that night.

So we got here extra early, Hendricks said. And weve been in line for about two hours now.

Advertisement Advertisement

Like other travelers, Steven Roche was trying to estimate how much longer hed be waiting in line. After two and a half hours, there was no end in sight.

It looks like probably another hour or so to go, said Roche, who was flying from Houston to Las Vegas. Yeah, its insane.

Mullin says ending the shutdown is his top priority

Getting the Department of Homeland Security reopened is my No. 1 priority, a freshly sworn-in Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told DHS employees Tuesday afternoon in an email viewed by The Associated Press.

Doing so would ensure employees receive the paychecks youve earned, Mullin said.

He also vowed to work alongside staff to keep our borders secure, enforce our immigration laws, safeguard U.S. cyber infrastructure, deliver rapid relief to Americans in the face of natural disasters, and deter terror threats.

Longest line at Philly airport? Cheesesteaks, not security

People in black aprons assembled cheesesteaks along tables set up in the walkway between Terminals B and C on Tuesday, filling rolls from silver buckets as they moved past storefronts.

Advertisement Advertisement

Organizers say they achieved a new Guinness World Record for the longest line of cheesesteak sandwiches, with 1,291 lined up inside a departure hall to mark National Cheesesteak Day. The display far surpassed the previous benchmark of 500 sandwiches.

We went for the world record for the longest cheesesteak in history, said Clarence LeJeune of MarketPlace PHL, a company that operates airport concessions. Today we accomplished that goal here in Philadelphia.

After the record was certified, volunteers handed out the sandwiches to travelers, airport workers and TSA staff, who have been working without pay during the government shutdown.

The cheesesteak, which originated in Philadelphia in the early 1900s, is widely considered the citys signature food.

Advertisement Advertisement

 Read more

Union leaders representing TSA workers criticize Trumps ICE deployment

Instead of solving the problem of paying TSOs, the administration sends ICE, said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA workers, during a Tuesday press call. Thats like giving a person dying of pneumonia a teaspoon of cough syrup. It doesnt address the problem, and its not gonna work.

At Atlantas Hartsfield-Jackson airport, ICE officers have been monitoring lines of travelers. But AFGE Local 554 president Aaron Barker says thats a job that city workers, not federal TSA officers, already do.

The White Houses Rapid Response social media account on Tuesday posted a news clip showing short lines at Atlantas airport, claiming that the difference was thanks to Trumps deployment of ICE officers.

Advertisement Advertisement

Barker told reporters the shorter lines have nothing to do with ICE presence being there, noting that ICE officers in Atlanta werent participating in screening and that Tuesdays typically see shorter lines because its not a peak travel day.

Republicans and Democrats still at odds over Homeland Security bill

Democrats are insisting that any bill to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown must contain some changes to how immigration enforcement operations are conducted.

That demand could prove problematic to getting a spending bill done after Republicans said they were willing to move forward without funding some ICE operations as part of a deal to fund the rest of the department.

If youre not going to have funding, I dont know how all of a sudden now you can demand reforms, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Tuesday.

Advertisement Advertisement

But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said strong reforms were needed, and we need to rein in ICE.

Well be sending them an offer back, and I can assure you it will have significant reforms in it, Schumer said.

Airport chaos inspires bill to end Congress TSA perks

Under longstanding rules, Congress members can bypass airport checkpoints and get escorted to the front of the line  a privilege that sharply contrasts the hours many passengers are facing right now at some airports.

The End Special Treatment for Congress at Airports Act, sponsored by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, would require lawmakers to undergo the same TSA screening as everyone else. It would also bar the use of federal funds to provide U.S. lawmakers with expedited or preferential access at security checkpoints.

Advertisement Advertisement

Nobody should be above the rules and regulations imposed on the American people, and a member pin on your lapel should not give you carte blanche to skip airport screening lines while everyday Americans are forced to patiently wait their turn, Cornyn said when he introduced the bill earlier this month.

The bill passed the Senate last week.

Why are we making TSA employees the pawn on the chessboard?

Union leaders representing transportation security officers across the U.S. reiterated the financial strain many workers are facing as the shutdown drags on.

Stop asking me about the long lines. Ask me if somebodys gonna eat today, said Hydrick Thomas, TSA Council 100 president of the American Federation of Government Employees, on a Tuesday press call.

Advertisement Advertisement

Thomas, who has been employed with TSA for nearly 24 years, stressed that workers are struggling to pay rent and meet other critical expenses like utilities and child care. Those who have quit, he added, are quitting because they have no choice.

He and others underlined that TSA workers have been in this position before, pointing to the record 43-day full government shutdown that also left TSA workers without pay last fall.

Why are we making TSA employees the pawn on the chessboard? Thomas asked.

Trump punts on question about emerging DHS deal

The president, when asked Tuesday whether he would back a deal that would separate funding for immigration enforcement operations from the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, said, Theyre working on all of that.

Advertisement Advertisement

Senators are drafting language on a potential agreement that would include funding for DHS agencies, such as TSA, but not enforcement and removal operations at ICE.

Thats a detail that theyll explain later, Trump said.

The White House had said earlier that discussions were ongoing but that the rough contour of the deal seems to be acceptable.

Trump spoke as he hosted a swearing-in for Markwayne Mullin to lead DHS.

New Orleans travelers see quick lines, despite Mondays chaotic queues

Today I walked straight to the front, Amanda Stewart wrote on Facebook, where she shared a video of a handful of people walking up to a mostly-empty TSA checkpoint inside Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

After hearing about Mondays delays  during which lines stretched out to the airport parking garage  Stewart was worried she would miss her flight to Kansas City, Missouri, especially because she left her home in Houma, Louisiana, later than she had hoped.

But the maze of stanchions set up to control long lines was empty, and she sailed right through security, she said.

Stewart noticed similarly calm conditions when she landed at Kansas City International Airport.

Estimated wait times removed from Atlanta airports website

A decision was made to take it offline due to the estimated wait times being inaccurate, an airport spokesperson told The Associated Press in an email Tuesday.

Our system is designed to track passenger flow at the beginning of the security checkpoint area, said Alnissa Ruiz-Craig, interim director of communications and media affairs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. With the increase in passenger traffic, sometimes extending to our baggage claim area and beyond, it does not capture that portion of the queue and, in turn, is not providing an accurate projection.

Atlantas airport is one of the worlds busiest and has been the scene of hourslong waits to get through security in recent days.

Short lines and coffee breaks at LaGuardia

Federal immigration officers didnt appear very busy Tuesday at New Yorks LaGuardia Airport.

Security check-in lines were fairly short and seemed to move without delays. Many flights were canceled two days after Sundays deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck.

More than a dozen federal officers wearing tactical vests were on duty Tuesday at one of LaGuardias three terminals. Four of them stood near the checkpoint where TSA agents were reviewing passenger IDs, but werent actively assisting.

Elsewhere in the terminal, an Associated Press photographer saw immigration officers huddled in small groups, talking among themselves and occasionally chatting with passersby. Some officers were sipping coffee.

At least 300 inbound and departing flights at LaGuardia were canceled Tuesday, and about the same number were delayed, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

Philadelphia wait times were under 10 minutes this morning

At Philadelphia International Airport, two TSA security checkpoints are temporarily closed, but passenger lines at the remaining checkpoints were moving smoothly, with wait times under 10 minutes Tuesday morning.

An Associated Press journalist also saw several ICE agents in the terminals, positioned away from the main TSA screening areas.

A protester was also at one of the checkpoints holding a sign criticizing ICE.

Delta temporarily suspends special service for Congress members

Next to safety, Deltas no. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment, Delta Air Lines said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The airline cited the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown in its decision.

The airlines congressional services typically include airport escorts and red coat services. The suspension means that members of Congress who fly with Delta will be treated like other passengers based on their SkyMiles status, the company confirmed.

Deltas Capital Desk reservations line remains open.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported news of the services suspension.

ICE spotted helping with a security checkpoint in Chicago

Federal officers wearing green tactical vests were seen working alongside TSA agents Tuesday behind a security checkpoint at Chicagos OHare International Airport.

The two federal officers stood with TSA agents at an X-ray machine used to scan baggage at one of the airports five terminals. One officers vest identified him as ICE personnel. The second had a vest patch that read: federal agent.

Security lines appeared to be moving normally at OHare, with no obvious signs of delays.

An Associated Press photographer at the airport also saw five agents in black vests designating them as Homeland Security officers walking through a different terminal and getting into a vehicle parked outside.

More than 450 TSA agents quit during the shutdown

Since the shutdown began Valentines Day, at least 458 TSA officers have quit altogether, according to DHS.

Nationwide on Monday, nearly 11% of TSA workers who were scheduled to report for duty  more than 3,200  missed work.

DHS figures show the callout rate at some major airports was three or nearly four times higher:

William P. Hobby International Airport in Houston: 40%

Atlantas Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport: 37%

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston: 36%

John F. Kennedy International Airport: 34%

Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans: 35%

Baltimore-Washington International Airport: 30%

Some TSA PreCheck, CLEAR and priority lanes remain closed

Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport confirmed that CLEAR and TSA PreCheck were not available at its checkpoints on Tuesday. George Bush Intercontinental saw some of the most significant disruptions, with wait times for general screenings averaging about four hours as of midday.

Other airports have narrowed the availability of priority screenings.

Miami International Airport, for example, noted on its website that several of its priority and PreCheck lanes were also closed at certain checkpoints on Tuesday  but those options were still available at other entries.

How to monitor airport security lines at US airports

Airport conditions have become increasingly unpredictable as the shutdown drags on, with staffing shortages driving uncertain wait times.

Complicating matters, the airport wait times listed in the MyTSA mobile app and third-party trackers may be outdated right now because TSA isnt actively updating its websites during the shutdown.

So what can travelers do in the meantime?

Travel industry analysts recommend checking an airports website and social media feeds. Many airports have been posting timely updates and guidance on the social platform X, often including terminal-specific information.

Even so, conditions can change quickly. Travelers should check early and often, not just before leaving for the airport. Build extra buffer time into travel plans and have backup options in place, such as renting a car or flying out of nearby airports.

Need to go? It might be risky to hold it at one Houston airport

Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport suggested travelers should find a bathroom before getting into security lines, where the wait could last as long as four hours Tuesday.

The airport said lines could stretch down to the subway tunnel, which was not designed for queuing and does not have restrooms or food options.

Faster security options, known as CLEAR and TSA PreCheck, were not available for travelers at terminals A and E. People were moving slowly in at least eight lines at times.

LaGuardia and JFK travelers still cant see online wait times

Travelers headed to LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports in New York  as well as Newark Liberty International in neighboring New Jersey  still couldnt check online TSA wait times Tuesday morning.

All three airports said this week that they had temporarily suspended the live security wait times they typically provide on their websites, due to rapid changes in passenger volumes and TSA staffing.

Beyond TSA waits, LaGuardia saw additional delays and cancellations after it temporarily shut down following Sunday nights fatal collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck on the airports runway.

Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight, the airport wrote on social media Monday.

TSA call-out rates climbed over the weekend

Nationwide on Sunday, 11.8% of TSA agents missed work  the highest rate of the shutdown so far  with over 3,450 officers calling out, according to DHS. More than 400 officers have quit during the shutdown, the department said.

Some have accused the government of using TSA workers as pawns in the ongoing budget fight. And aviation unions have raised additional safety concerns in light of the Trump administrations deployment of ICE officers.

Whats being floated in the current DHS funding proposal?

ICEs Homeland Security Investigations would be funded, as well as Customs and Border Protection  but with new guardrails to position officers from those divisions in their traditional roles, rather than as they have been used more recently in immigration roundups.

It would also include immigration operations changes that Democrats have demanded, including mandating officers to wear body cameras and identification.

Since so much of ICE is already funded through Trumps big tax breaks bill, and immigration officers are still receiving paychecks during the partial government shutdown, senators said the new restraints also would be imposed on operations that rely on that funding source.

 Read more

LaGuardia collision investigator was delayed by a long TSA line

A National Transportation Safety Board specialist who was trying to get to New Yorks LaGuardia Airport to help investigate a deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck ran into wider airport delays on Monday.

The air-traffic control specialist, who was flying from Houston, was in line with TSA for three hours, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said during a news conference Monday evening. The NTSB called officials there to beg to get her through, Homendy said.

When did DHS funding lapse?

Routine funding for the department has lapsed since Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation Security Administration agents call out rather than work without pay.

Democrats are demanding that the Trump administration make changes in immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during protests this year in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the latest proposal, and talks have stalled.

Some airports are still asking travelers to arrive hours before their flights

A day after the Trump administration began deploying federal immigration officers at some airports security checkpoints, long lines and hourslong waits persisted.

Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport said wait times at standard security checkpoints ranged from three and a half to four hours Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Atlantas Hartsfield-Jackson International urged travelers to allow at least four hours for both domestic and international screenings.

Baltimore-Washington International advised passengers to arrive three hours before their flights, noting that while wait times were currently minimal, that could change.

After weeks of missed paychecks, many TSA agents have called in sick or even quit their jobs under the financial strain. Thats forced some airports to close checkpoints at times, with wait times swinging dramatically.

Some airports are reporting shorter wait times  including Los Angeles International and Detroit Metro Airport, whose online trackers showed average waits of just several minutes early Tuesday.

Is it unusual for immigration agents to be at airports?

Federal law enforcement officers are a routine presence at international airports. Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving passengers, and Homeland Security Investigations agents conduct criminal inquiries tied to cross-border activity.

But immigration agents are rarely visible at TSA checkpoints, the front line of domestic air travel.

Where have federal immigration agents been spotted?

On Monday, Associated Press journalists observed ICE officers and agents patrolling terminals and lingering near long lines of passengers at HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International, John F. Kennedy International in New York, Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston and Louis Armstrong International outside New Orleans.

A handful of other airports  including Phoenixs Sky Harbor International  also confirmed ICE would be on-site.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said his office was monitoring the deployment of federal officers at OHare International.

 Read more

How Senate leaders are describing the negotiations

All I can say is that the discussions have been very positive and productive, and hopefully headed in the right direction, said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters late in the evening: Both sides are working in a serious way.

Senators consider deal to fund Homeland Security but not ICE enforcement as airport lines snarl

Senators are discussing a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including Transportation Security Administration airport workers who are going without pay, but excluding ICEs enforcement and removal operations, which have been core to the dispute.

The potential breakthrough came after a group of Republican senators headed to the White House late Monday to meet with President Donald Trump. Senators said they expected the negotiators to work through the night, hammering out the details and present written proposals for both parties to discuss Tuesday at their weekly caucus lunches.

 Read more
Continuing the fallout from allegations that famed labor leader Cesar Chavez sexually abused multiple women, including United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, the Los Angeles Unified school board Tuesday approved renaming namesake schools and recognizing March 31 as Farmworkers Day.

"The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved steps to celebrate Farm Workers Day, rename schools, revamp instruction, and remove murals and statutes that previously focused on Cesar Chavez," a statement from the office of board member Kelly Gonez said.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved two motions Tuesday to review county recognitions of Chavez and rename the holiday as Farmworkers Day.

The Los Angeles Unified School District board approved renaming Cesar Chavez schools and recognizing March 31 as Farmworkers Day.

The move to rename the upcoming holiday follows similar actions being taken by the state Legislature, and by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who signed an executive order last week renaming the city's Cesar Chavez holiday Farmworkers Day.

Advertisement Advertisement

County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn introduced a motion calling for the county to rename the upcoming holiday, which is marked on Chavez's birthday, March 31. The motion also called on county leaders to remove "the name and likeness of Cesar Chavez from all county holiday-related events, communications and materials, and updating existing materials accordingly." It says any events held in connection with the holiday should "proceed on themes of farm worker justice, labor rights and community service."

The LAUSD resolution approved by the Board of Education on Tuesday states that the district will commemorate March 31 as Farmworkers Day, "honoring the collective contributions of farm workers and their enduring impact on our communities, and ensure that future instructional calendars reflect anticipated changes in the state holiday, which could include both the name and designated day."

The LAUSD resolution -- introduced by board members Kelly Gonez and Rocio Rivas -- also states that the district "with meaningful engagement with students, families, educators, and community members, shall immediately commence an expedited process to rename the Cesar Chavez Learning Academies in San Fernando and Cesar Chavez Elementary School in El Sereno, bringing proposed new names that reflect the District's values of equity, justice, and community leadership to the board for approval by no later than Fall 2026."

The county Board of Supervisors will also consider a separate motion calling on its CEO and attorney to "develop a community-driven process for the renaming of parks, streets, County facilities, real property, monuments, and other County programs that bear the name of Cesar Chavez, including the removal of related imagery in civic artworks and report back in writing in 21 days."

Advertisement Advertisement

The motion, brought by Solis and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, states that the county "is deeply shaken" by the abuse allegations, which were revealed in a report by The New York Times last week.

A known mural in Watts featuring farmworker movement leader Cesar Chavez has undergone a facelift to replace him with civil rights icon Dolores Huerta.

"These allegations are grave and painful, demanding a thorough, transparent, and trauma-informed response," the motion states. "Survivors must be believed, supported, and treated with dignity, and they must never again feel that their voices are secondary to any movement or individual. The county also recognizes and uplifts the critical role of Dolores Huerta and the countless women whose leadership, vision, and resilience have shaped the labor movement and advanced justice for generations of workers. The farmworker movement is far greater than any one individual. It was built on the courage, sacrifices, and organizing of farmworkers, women leaders, and allies, whose collective efforts secured safer working conditions, fair wages, and dignity for countless families."

Meanwhile, in Orange County, Santa Ana College student Helen Estrada said she was "actually very happy that the school took action.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Our president of Santa Ana College announced that they will be renaming this building, and then they will also be covering up the mural," Estrada said, standing inside an on-campus building that bore the name of Chavez, who is depicted in a mural inside.

City News Service contributed to this report.
Decades after The Fox and the Hound forced audiences to choose between Team Tod or Team Copper, a similar real-life battle is shaping up in Colorado over a controversial hunting practice.

According to Summit Daily, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will consider a ban on commercial fur sales. The move comes after an hours-long debate at a March 4 meeting over how to manage furbearers, including foxes, beavers, coyotes, bobcats, and mesocarnivores like raccoons.

As it stands, individuals with small-game licenses can legally hunt furbearers in the Centennial State after obtaining a specialized $10 permit.

Advertisement Advertisement

During the 2024-25 fiscal year, CPW issued nearly 20,000 of these permits. Permit-holders have no restrictions on the number of furbearers they can hunt. However, since 1996, they have been banned from using leghold traps, instant-kill, body-gripping traps, poisons, and snares.

Still, animal welfare advocates argue that CPW's outdated furbearer management policies and the commercialization of fur threaten to throw the state's ecosystems out of balance. No matter the reason for biodiversity loss, the consequences can be devastating.

In India, for example, vulture populations drastically declined due to accidental poisoning, and this contributed to disease spread. When wolves were hunted to near extinction in Yellowstone National Park, elk lost a natural predator, and their overgrazing caused riverbank erosion.

However, while it may feel like a surprising twist, regulated hunting can actually promote biodiversity by helping to control overabundant species.

Advertisement Advertisement

Opponents of the ban  proposed via a citizen petition from a state representative from the Center for Biological Diversity  say CPW's current approach supports conservation while ensuring the cultural tradition of hunting and trapping isn't a casualty of overzealous restrictions.

On March 4, a ban on fur sales was perhaps the most heavily debated item on the docket, as Summit Daily reported.

For Samantha Miller, senior carnivore campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, outlawing the commercial sale, barter, or trade of wildlife fur is "common sense" that aligns with the state's other policies involving wildlife management, according to the outlet.

For John Swartout, former Colorado Department of Natural Resources liaison, the notion seemed like a surefire way to "turn partners and collaborators into adversaries." CPW director Laura Clellan agreed that Colorado's current management plan was sufficient.

Advertisement Advertisement

Nonetheless, the Parks and Wildlife Commission went against that recommendation.

One of the commissioners, Jess Beaulieu, shared that her decision to push the motion forward was influenced by another collection of threats facing Colorado that "sets off alarm bells," including wildfires, water pollution, and increased recreation pressures.

"Fur trapping alone doesn't cause biodiversity loss, but in my opinion, continuing non-essential commercial exploitation and an already stressed system is wrong," Beaulieu said, per Summit Daily.

Now, CPW "will draft a proposed rule to initiate our rulemaking process, along with an issue paper or draft regulations outlining any proposed exceptions," according to Clellan.

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.
NEED TO KNOW

At least 66 people died and dozens more were injured when a military plane crashed shortly after taking off from the town of Puerto Leguizamo in Colombia on the morning of March 23

Colombias Air Force said the aircraft had been carrying 110 soldiers of the National Army and 11 crew members

Head of the countrys armed forces, General Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto, called the crash a "tragic accident"

At least 66 people have reportedly died and dozens have been injured after a military plane crashed following takeoff in Colombia.

The C-130 Hercules aircraft took off from the town of Puerto Leguizamo in Putumayo province at around 9:54 a.m. local time on Monday, March 23, before the tragedy occurred, Colombias Air Force said in an initial release.

Advertisement Advertisement

The release noted that the aircraft had been carrying about 110 soldiers of the National Army and 11 crew members.

Its since been reported that the plane had 128 on board at the time of the incident, including 115 from the army, 11 crew members and two from the national police, according to the Associated Press.

Credit: Photo by MiPutumayo.com.co/EPA/Shutterstock

At least 66 people are believed to have died in the tragedy, Reuters reported, citing a top official. The news agency stated that dozens of survivors had been taken to local hospitals, adding that four people are still believed to be missing.

A military source told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) that 58 soldiers had died following the crash, along with two police officers and six air force personnel, per BBC.

A photo of the scene after a military plane crashed in Colombia on March 23, 2026

Credit: daniel ortiz / AFP via Getty

Head of the countrys armed forces, General Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto, said that, in addition, four military personnel were missing following the incident, per the AP.

Advertisement Advertisement

Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died, he said, according to the news agency. At the moment, we have no information or indications that it was an attack by an illegal armed group.

Baretto said 57 people had been evacuated from the scene, per the AP.

A photo of the scene after a military plane crashed in Colombia on March 23, 2026

Credit: Colombian Civil Defense / Handout/Anadolu via Getty

Colombias Air Force confirmed in a follow-up release that six of its members had died in the tragedy. Authorities identified the victims as: Lieutenant Colonel Amador Pinilla Juan Pablo, Major Jaime Alexander Fernandez Camargo, Mayor Natalia Rojas Velandia, Second Lieutenant Julian David Gonzalez Herrera, First Technician Mendez Torres Javier Fernando and Second Technician Pinzon Reyes Jhonathan Stid.

The release stated, With deep sorrow, the Colombian Aerospace Force informs the public of the tragic death of six (06) of its members, who lost their lives in the line of duty in the accident of the C-130 Hercules aircraft, registration FAC 1016.

Advertisement Advertisement

It added, The Colombian Aerospace Force extends its deepest condolences to the families, colleagues, and loved ones of our crew members, who gave their lives in service to the nation. We honor their memory, their dedication to service, and their commitment to the homeland.

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.

Pedro Sanchez, Colombias defense minister, previously confirmed Mondays incident in a post shared on X.

With deep sorrow, I report that a Hercules aircraft from our @FuerzaAereaCol suffered a tragic accident while taking off from Puerto Leguizamo (Putumayo), as it was transporting troops from our Public Force, Sanchez wrote.

Advertisement Advertisement

Military units are already at the scene of the incident; however, the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined, he added at the time.

Commander of Colombias air force, Carlos Fernando Silva, said that further details regarding the tragedy were not yet known, except that the plane had a problem and went down about two kilometers from the airport, per the AP.

The investigation continues.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Colombian Air Force for additional information, but didnt immediately hear back.

Read the original article on People
The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority announced that firefighters had been dispatched to Tel Aviv and extinguished several vehicle fires.

At least six people were wounded following shrapnel hitting the Tel Aviv area after an Iranian missile was intercepted on Tuesday morning, Magen David Adom announced.

A missile with a 100-kilogram warhead hit the site, according to Israeli media reports citing Israel Police's Tel Aviv district commander.

Advertisement Advertisement

Emergency responders at the scene of a shrapnel hit in the Tel Aviv area, March 24, 2026. (credit: MAGEN DAVID ADOM)

Multiple buildings were damaged in the Tel Aviv area following the incident.

Video footage shared on Israeli media also appears to show a vehicle on fire in the area following a hit.

The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority announced that firefighters had been dispatched to Tel Aviv and extinguished several vehicle fires.

Authorities remove a vehicle damaged after an Iranian missile caused damage in Tel Aviv, March 24, 2026. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)

The IFRA also conducted search operations at a building that suffered damage in Tel Aviv, finding that people successfully reached the shelter, which protected them from the hit.

Advertisement Advertisement

United Hatzalah stated that its emergency responders were being dispatched to the scenes of several sites across the region following receiving reports of shrapnel falling across the area.

IDF Search and Rescue soldiers were also dispatched to the area after reports of hits were received.

MDA also noted that several people were treated for minor injuries sustained en route to shelters after sirens sounded.

German ambassador to Israel posts in solidarity with Tel Aviv

German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert commented on the incident on his official X/Twitter, writing, "After a day without rocket attacks, Iran has struck civilian life again. Still vitally important to go to the shelters at every alarm. It saves lives," while sharing a picture of damage following a hit in Tel Aviv.

Additionally, the Rosh Haayin municipality confirmed that shrapnel hit several sites in the city, but emphasized that there was no direct missile impact within the city.

Advertisement Advertisement

Emergency responders are investigating reports of additional hits in an open area near the city, the municipality added.

The municipality also announced that part of a missile fell on Route 444, and roadblocks have been established in the vicinity, and emergency responders, including police bomb diffusion units, are at the scene.

Sirens also sounded in the Beersheba area at approximately 9 a.m. following the detection of an Iranian missile launch.

A large missile fragment hit the ground in an open area within Samaria, footage shared by Israel's public broadcaster KAN News shows.

Initial reports from United Hatzalah also indicate that shrapnel fell in the Haifa area at approximately 10:30 a.m. following two waves of rocket launches from Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

Advertisement Advertisement

No injuries have been reported as part of these barrages.

An Israel Police officer investigating reports of shrapnel falling in an open area in the Upper Galilee following a Hezbollah rocket barrage, March 24, 2026. (credit: ISRAEL POLICE)

Israel Police, at approximately noon, reported that officers are investigating reports of shrapnel falling in open areas in the Upper Galilee following Hezbollah rocket launches.
The decision comes after a week of meetings between Lebanese officials and other leaders from the region, many of whom have been on the receiving end of Iranian attacks.

Lebanon declared Irans ambassador-designate Mohammad Reza Sheibani persona non grata on Tuesday, giving the appointed figure until Sunday to leave the country, the Lebanese foreign minister announced.

Lebanons foreign ministry summoned the Lebanese ambassador to Iran for consultations, citing what it described as Tehrans violation of diplomatic norms and established practices between the two countries.

Advertisement Advertisement

I instructed today the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants to summon the Iranian Charge dAffaires in Lebanon to inform him of the decision to withdraw the agrement for the designated Iranian Ambassador, Mohammad Reza Shibani, declare him persona non grata, and request that he leave Lebanese territory no later than 29 March, 2026, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi confirmed.

Sheibani was only appointed to the role in February and had not yet presented his credentials, though he had served in the same role in the 2000s.

Lt.-Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, the founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center, who previously complained to The Jerusalem Post about Lebanons inaction against Hezbollah, said the latest move could lay the foundation for trust needed with Jerusalem for direct talks.

Irans ambassador-designate to Lebanon Mohammad Reza Sheibani with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT)

This is very important because the Iranian embassy is traditionally known as a branch of the IRGC. The IRGC operated from within this embassy for many years to activate Hezbollah in Lebanon. And Im very happy that Lebanon is doing that, Zehavi told the Post.

Advertisement Advertisement

It is definitely a step in the right direction. And with more physical step measures like this one, it will be very helpful to build the trust between Israel and Lebanon to talk about negotiations and also to build a new future while Israel is still fighting Hezbollah and to disarm it, doing what the Lebanese government refrained from doing for many years.

The move was also celebrated by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who said that the decision was a justified and necessary step against the state responsible for violating Lebanons sovereignty, for its indirect occupation through Hezbollah, and for dragging it into war."

"We call on the Lebanese government to take practical and meaningful measures against Hezbollah, whose representatives still serve as ministers within it, he added.

The decision comes after a week of meetings between Lebanese officials and regional leadership, many of whom have been on the receiving end of Irans missile and drone attacks or have found members of the regimes proxy group on its soil.

Advertisement Advertisement

Last week, the foreign ministry stated its solidarity with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates after the discovery of Hezbollah terror cells there and reiterated that as of March 2, all military and security exercises by the Iran-backed group were banned in Lebanon.

Lebanese FM: Iran exploits Arab security for its own aims

Raggi also appeared at a meeting in Riyadh late last week, where he condemned Irans attacks on Saudi Arabia. The kingdom also notably named a number of Iranian officials as persona non grata.

By targeting Arab and Islamic countries, Iran is attempting to hijack their security and peace and trade them for its own opportunistic objectives, Rajji said at the meeting, condemning the Iran-backed Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into another war.

The most dangerous aspect of these attacks is that they are directed against countries that have consistently pursued a policy of de-escalation with Iran. These are countries that have always adhered to good neighborly relations, extended bridges of cooperation, and strived to prevent the region from sliding into conflict What message is Iran sending to our region when moderation is rewarded with aggression?
SUVA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Fiji has reactivated its Tourism Action Group as the Middle East conflict continues to intensify.

Led by Tourism Fiji, the group will support the sector in preparing for potential impacts of the global crisis by strengthening coordination and ensuring a unified response, reported Fiji Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka said the group has historically played a key role in guiding the industry during times of crisis, noting that its reactivation is timely as global uncertainties grow.

According to Tourism Fiji Chief Executive Paresh Pant, the group's immediate focus is on the April to October period, where efforts are being made to reassure existing bookings and maintain visitor confidence.

He added that planning is also underway for the October to April period, as other destinations, particularly in Southeast Asia, may launch aggressive recovery campaigns after experiencing booking losses linked to disruptions in Middle Eastern travel routes.

As part of its strategy, the group aims to capture and redirect travel demand to Fiji, ensuring the country remains competitive in key source markets. 
BEIRUT (AP)  Lebanons Foreign Ministry declared Irans ambassador to Beirut persona non grata Tuesday, ordering him to leave the country by the end of the week.

The decision was the clearest sign yet of deteriorating relations between the two countries and raises tensions within Lebanon over the role of Tehran and its Lebanon-based ally, the militant Hezbollah group.

The decision is the latest step taken by Lebanons government against Iran after the most recent Israel-Hezbollah war broke out on March 2, during which Israels military killed several members of Irans Revolutionary Guard in strikes around the long-suffering country.

Advertisement Advertisement

Hezbollah triggered the latest war by firing rockets into Israel two days after Israel and the United States began their attacks on Iran, in which they killed top Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Hezbollah said one of the reasons it attacked Israel was to avenge the killing of Khamenei, who was one of the most important Shiite Muslim religious figures worldwide.

IRG directing Hezbollah ops in Lebanon, prime minister says

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Irans Revolutionary Guard is commanding Hezbollahs operations in Lebanon, adding that the firing of missiles toward Israel threw the small nation into a broad confrontation that the Lebanese government "was not willing to get involved in.

"It is not the duty of the Lebanese to avenge Khameneis killing, Salam said.

Salam also said the IRG was behind the firing of drones from Lebanon toward the Mediterranean island of Cyprus earlier this month.

Advertisement Advertisement

Hours after Hezbollah fired rockets on March 2, triggering the war that has so far killed 1,072 people in Lebanon and wounded nearly 3,000, Salams government declared all military activities by the Iran-backed group illegal. He also said the group should hand its weapons over to the state. The government also ended visa-free entry to Lebanon for Iranian citizens.

Salam said after an emergency Cabinet meeting in early March that only the state should decide on matters of war and peace and called on security agencies to prevent the firing of missiles or drones from Lebanon and detain those behind the launch.

Decision deepens divisions within Lebanon

The move to expel Irans ambassador to Lebanon reflects the Mediterranean nation's deep divisions between a Western-backed coalition and another that is led by Hezbollah and supported by Iran.

Even before the resurgence of war between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon had made moves to reduce Iran's once-considerable influence. Iranian commercial planes have been banned from landing at the Beirut airport for more than a year out of fears that they would bring in weapons or cash for Hezbollah and might lead to Israel striking the airport.

Advertisement Advertisement

Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi posted on X that he instructed the ministrys secretary-general to summon the Iranian charge daffaires in Lebanon to inform him of the decision to withdraw approval of the Iranian ambassador to Beirut.

Raggi added that Irans new ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Shibani, will be declared persona non grata, and requested that he leaves Lebanese territory no later than 29 March 2026.

The ministry later said the move does not mean that Lebanon is severing its diplomatic relations with Tehran.

The decision by the ministry was harshly criticized by Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon, while cleric Ali al-Khatib, a top Shiite religious figure in the country, called on the government to abolish the reckless and hasty decision.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Shiite mufti in Lebanon, Ahmad Kabalan, said the ambassador should not leave the country, adding that we will not allow the reckless authority to slaughter Lebanon politically.

Hezbollah rejected the decision, saying this reckless and condemned step serves neither Lebanons supreme national interests, nor its sovereignty or national unity; rather, it constitutes a blow against them.

Others praised the move saying it comes after many years of Iranian activities in Lebnon.

Israel says it has been targeting Revolutionary Guard

Since the latest war began, Israel says it targeted Iranian-linked commanders in attacks in Lebanons capital and suburbs.

Advertisement Advertisement

On March 8, an Israeli strike hit a hotel in Beiruts Raouche district, a major seaside tourist area, killing four Iranian citizens. Another Israeli strike on Monday in Beiruts southeastern suburb of Hazmiyeh killed Mohammed Ali Kourani a Lebanese official in the Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force. Kourani had escaped a strike on a hotel in a nearby area earlier this month.

Since the early 1980s, Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard helped develop Hezbollah, which has since grown to become the largest and most powerful group in Lebanon. Over the past four decades that followed its formation, Hezbollah has received billions of dollars in funding as well as different types of Iranian weapons.

After Lebanons 1975-90 civil war ended, Hezbollah was the only group to be allowed to keep its weapons as it was considered a resistance movement fighting Israel that was occupying parts of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has fought three major wars with Israel since it withdrew its forces from Lebanon in 2000 ending an 18-year occupation. The 14-month war that ended in November 2024, severely weakened the group, with many of its political and military commanders killed.

Advertisement Advertisement

During the Sept. 17, 2024 pager attack by Israel that wounded thousands of mostly Hezbollah members, Irans then-ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was wounded as he was carrying a pager.

When Hezbollah leader and co-founder Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in September 2024, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general was killed with him.

___

Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb and Abby Sewell contributed to this report.
Legal experts believe Fort Bend County Judge KP George could avoid prison time.

After posting bond, Judge KP George was released from jail on Friday. Although he was convicted of felony money laundering charges, he won't be sentenced until this June.

SEE ALSO: Fort Bend County Judge KP George bonds out of jail after guilty verdict in money laundering trial

George could go from a felony money laundering conviction at the justice center courthouse last week to the historic courthouse for commissioners court this week. Commissioners will meet on Thursday afternoon.

Advertisement Advertisement

On the agenda is an item to discuss the county judge.

"The commissioners court has no authority or role in removing KP George from office," Rice University political science professor Mark Jones explained. "That's something only the courts can do right now."

Prosecutors plan to ask a judge to suspend George from his duties as a county judge during sentencing. Even if the trial judge does it, experts said it could still complicate getting business done in Fort Bend County.

"That's easier said than done when you have two Republicans and two Democrats," Jones said. "If they can't work it out amongst themselves, that job would effectively remain vacant through the end of the year."

Advertisement Advertisement

A jury convicted George of two felony money laundering charges after prosecutors said he stole more than $46,000 of his campaign funds. George elected to have the trial judge, not the jury, determine the sentence.

Legal experts said she can choose between prison and probation. Given that it's a non-violent offense and George's lack of criminal history, attorney Steve Shellist believes George won't be put behind bars.

"I think she's going to do what she believes in her heart is the right decision for this case and won't be swayed by politics despite what people may want on the outside," Shellist said.

We'll have to wait three months for a sentence, but for his role as county judge, we'll have an idea in days whether George plans to continue serving after the conviction.

For updates on this story, follow Nick Natario on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Clockwise from top left: Xavier Becerra, Tony Thurmond, Betty Yee and Antonio Villaraigosa. (Nathan Ellgren / AP; Josh Edelson / For The Times; Betty Yee, California State Board of Equalization; Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

USC canceled its planned Tuesday gubernatorial debate, a stunning about-face that came after days of fiery criticism about excluding every prominent candidate of color from participating.

Although the university defended the methodology used to determine who was invited to participate in the forum, it called off the event less than 24 hours before it was to take place.

In a statement late Monday night, the university said it recognized concerns about the selection criteria had "created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters." The university said it discussed potentially expanding the field with debate co-sponsor KABC-TV Los Angeles but was unable to reach an agreement.

Advertisement Advertisement

USC said that it was a "difficult decision" to cancel the debate, and that the university "will look for other opportunities to educate voters on the candidates and issues."

Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former state Controller Betty Yee  all Democrats  had been excluded from the debate field.

Meanwhile, some candidates were scrambling to organize a new event and keep a spotlight on the race.

Democrat Tom Steyer, a wealthy climate activist who has pumped more than $95 million of his own money into his campaign, told reporters Tuesday morning that his team had secured a venue in Los Angeles and was reaching out to invite all the major candidates, including Republicans.

Advertisement Advertisement

However, those plans ultimately fizzled out amid scheduling conflicts, according to a campaign official with knowledge of the talks.

Read more: Democrats excluded from USC gubernatorial debate urge rivals to boycott in solidarity

USC had faced increasing criticism in recent days, including from the four prominent candidates of color who were excluded from the gathering as they called on their fellow Democrats to boycott the forum.

"We fought. We won! We stood up against an unfair candidate debate set-up that prematurely chose winners and losers," Becerra posted Monday night on X.

"Thank you to everyone who stood up, raised hell and demanded justice," he added. "Never give up when youre fighting for fairness!"

Advertisement Advertisement

Conservative commentator Steve Hilton, one of two main Republicans in the race who have been leading polls, blasted the university.

"What a pathetic humiliation," he said in a statement. "USC receives over a billion dollars in federal funding, and I have written to Education Secretary Linda McMahon calling for an immediate suspension of all federal payments to USC pending a full investigation into this anti-free-speech shambles. Whoever is responsible at USC should be fired."

USC's decision came hours after Democratic legislative leaders called on voters to boycott the debate if the university did not invite the excluded candidates.

"The outcry over this debate is deafening and includes legal demands from the excluded candidates attorneys, public calls by elected leaders across the state, concerns from the included candidates own campaigns, and growing alarm from California voters," said the letter sent Monday evening to USC President Beong-Soo Kim by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), state Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limon (D-Goleta) and the leaders of the legislative Latino, Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, Native American, LGBTQ+, Jewish and women's caucuses.

Advertisement Advertisement

Kim emailed people involved with debate planning at 10:30 p.m. Monday to advise them he had decided to cancel the event.

"I know this will make several of you extremely disappointed," he wrote. "I hope you will understand the decision was made in good faith based on my long-term view as to what was best for the university."

Rivas and other political leaders commended Kim for canceling the event.

"At the core of our democracy is the principle that voters deserve maximum access to the candidates seeking their support," the speaker said in a statement. "Its the responsibility of institutions like USC to uphold that principle, and I'm glad they recognized this before more harm was done."

Advertisement Advertisement

Tuesday's debate was set to take place less than two months before ballots begin arriving in voters' mailboxes, in the midst of a gubernatorial contest with a sprawling field of candidates that is more unpredictable than any statewide race in recent memory.

The cancellation came amid a growing possibility that Democrats could be shut out of the general election under the states top-two primary system.

A poll released Tuesday by the California Democratic Party  an effort by Chairman Rusty Hicks to pressure lower-polling candidates to drop out of the race  again showed two Republican candidates leading the field.

Hilton led with 16% support, followed by Chad Bianco, the Republican sheriff of Riverside County, with 14%. Democrats Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin), former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter and Steyer were tied with 10% support while all other Democrats polled in the low single digits. The largest bloc of voters, 24%, said they were undecided.

Advertisement Advertisement

It's yet another reminder of the undeniable fact that all candidates must honestly assess their viable path to win, and I continue to call for them to do so, Hicks said.

Pressed on how he defines viability, the party chair said, If you're polling at 1% to 2%, do you have a path to get to 20[%]? That's the question. Do you have a path to put you in a position to win the primary election?

Turmoil over the debate centered on the criteria used to determine who was invited. The formula included a fundraising score for each candidate that was calculated by dividing the amount of money each candidate raised, according to public filings, by the number of days they have been in the race.

Candidates and politicians blasted that methodology, arguing that it penalized candidates who got into the race early and who have raised recent funds through small-dollar donations, which are not required to be reported right away. During the 90 days preceding an election, state law requires donations over $1,000 to be disclosed within 24 hours.

Advertisement Advertisement

But political scientists, public policy professors and researchers associated with USC, UCLA, Stanford, Harvard and several other universities across the nation issued a letter Monday defending Christian Grose, the USC political science professor who developed the methodology.

They called on the university to publicly defend Grose, arguing that although scholarly debate is important, the criticism about the debate criteria he fashioned had turned ugly and was part of a broader effort to chill academic speech.

"What Professor Grose has faced ... is not substantive or methodological debate. Attacks and insinuations from members of the political classes include completely baseless allegations of election-rigging, inconsistency, bias, and data manipulation," the letter said. "These are harmful character assassinations. ... They are of a piece with other attempts to strong-arm or malign scholars that have become all too common in America."

USC's statement about the debate's cancellation said the university "vigorously defends the independence, objectivity, and integrity of USC Professor Christian Grose, whose data-driven candidate viability formula is based on extensive research and enjoys broad academic support."

Advertisement Advertisement

Grose did not respond to a request for comment late Monday night.

The controversy over the methodology that Grose developed to select which candidates to include centered on the inclusion of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan  a white candidate who recently entered the race and is polling in the single digits.

"The university's selection process  built on a formula never before used for a debate of this scale, has delivered a result that is biased," the legislative leaders' letter said. "When a methodology produces this outcome  one that elevates a candidate with notable ties to USC's donor community and the co-director of the Dornsife Center for the Political Future  the burden falls on USC to explain itself, not on everyone else to accept it."

The Dornsife Center and its broadcast partners, KABC-TV Los Angeles and Univision, "categorically, unequivocally" denied that the debate criteria were biased for or against any candidate.

Advertisement Advertisement

The methodology was based on well-established metrics consistent with formulas widely used to set debate participation nationwide  a combination of polling and fundraising," they said in a statement on Friday.

Mike Murphy, a co-director of the Dornsife Center, has been voluntarily advising an independent expenditure committee backing Mahan. The veteran GOP strategist previously said that he had nothing to do with organizing the debate and that he had asked for unpaid leave at the university through the June 2 primary if he were to take a paid role.

Read more: USC and ABC7 criticized for exclusion of all candidates of color in upcoming gubernatorial debate

USC also has received tens of millions of dollars in donations from billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso and his wife. Caruso, a USC alumnus who served as a trustee for years, is also a Mahan supporter.

Caruso told The Times he "had no conversations with the debate hosts or organizers," and said he believes such forums "should include all the credible candidates."

In a statement on Tuesday, Caruso said the debate should be rescheduled. He also criticized the California Democratic Party, saying it "needs to wake up and toughen up. Candidates whove been campaigning for two years, cant raise money, and remain in the low single digits need to step aside or be pushed aside."

Dan Schnur, who teaches politics and communications classes at USC and other California universities, said that in canceling the debate, the university took a bad situation and made it slightly less bad. The best answer would have been to include all 10 candidates on the debate stage. But failing that, they knew they couldnt sustain the criticism of appearing to exclude four minority candidates.

Schnur also signed onto the public letter supporting Grose, and said the professors methodology was perfectly fine in a political vacuum."

"But its unfortunate that no one at USC noticed the problems it would create once the political reality changed and Mahan entered the race with backing from Caruso and Murphy, Schnur said.

Read more: Democrats face the possibility of a historic upset in California governors race, poll finds

The Democrats who were set to participate Tuesday  Swalwell, Porter, Steyer and Mahan  condemned USC's selection criteria but did not pull out of the debate before its cancellation.

"It is a shame that USC has decided to elevate one candidate at the expense of others," Swalwell wrote on X on Sunday. "USC, and every host of a gubernatorial debate, should employ fair, objective, and honest criteria for all candidates."

Porter expressed similar thoughts.

"Criteria used to determine which candidates qualify to participate in a debate must be transparent, fair, and objective," she wrote on X. "Im disappointed by how USC handled the process for Tuesdays debate. Candidates and Californians deserve answers."

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A veteran pilot with more than 40 years of experience says Sundays deadly crash at LaGuardia Airport was entirely avoidable  and believes the fault lies squarely in the control tower.

Robert Katz, a longtime commercial pilot and flight instructor, says the Air Canada flight involved in the crash had been cleared to land on Runway 4 when the air traffic controller began communicating with multiple other planes. Katz believes the distraction set the stage for disaster.

This was, in my opinion, all controller error rests squarely with the controller. No one else, Katz said.

Advertisement Advertisement

According to Katz, after clearing the Air Canada jet to land, the controller went on to speak with five additional aircraft before authorizing a fire truck to cross the same runway.

Truck one and company, LaGuardia tower requesting to cross 4 at Delta. Truck one and company cross 4 at Delta, the controller can be heard saying in tower audio.

Katz argues that the controller had lost track of where the arriving aircraft actually was when that clearance was given. Ten seconds later, the situation turned catastrophic.

Stop truck one stop mmm the controller urgently transmitted as the collision unfolded.

Advertisement Advertisement

Katz says the moment he heard the audio, he was reminded of a neardisaster at San Diego International Airport in 2023, when a business jet cleared to land came close to striking a Southwest plane preparing for takeoff. In that case, Katz says, the controllers attention was diverted  not by ground vehicles, but by yet another aircraft dealing with a mechanical problem away from the runway.

Completely zoned out the arriving business jet which almost struck the Southwest plane on the end of the runway. So its nearly an identical circumstance to what happened in LaGuardia last night, Katz said.

He believes the public hears only a fraction of the incidents caused by what he describes as controller distraction and poor prioritization. In his view, the FAA is not doing enough to ensure controllers keep their focus on aircraft already in the air  the ones most vulnerable and with the least margin for error.

Katz also points to airport design as a contributing factor in some locations. He argues that San Diego International, in particular, poses unnecessary risks because of its layout.

We see one runway used for landing and taking off and lots of intersections where airplanes cross or vehicles can cross, he said.
There were 14 total cancellations at the Pittsburgh International Airport because of the closure at LaGuardia.

A passenger jet struck a fire truck at LaGuardia early Monday morning.

RELATED COVERAGE >>> LaGuardia Airport crash: Pilot, copilot killed in jet, fire truck collision

Channel 11 spoke with an aviation expert, Craig Conroy, about its impact not just here in Pittsburgh, but beyond.

Fire trucks play an important role in aviation and certain situations there are on the taxi way, and on the runway if theres an incident, if there would be, but normally an incursion with a fire truck doesnt happen, Conroy said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Conroy says an investigation could take well over a year.

As for Monday in Pittsburgh, six departing and eight arriving flights from LaGuardia were cancelled.

Channel spoke with one traveler who lived in New York for 33 years. She was relieved she was flying out of Pittsburgh.

Whenever you shut down LaGuardia or JFK its just, you are messing up with so many schedule but if they gotta do what they gotta do, then they have to do it, Margarita Alcantara

The airport said people flying into Laguardia should check with their airlines about additional delays or cancellations.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
After tragedy struck at LaGuardia late Sunday night, flyers at Logan Airport Monday were travelling with heightened anxiety in an already understaffed airport.

Although lines at Terminal A were short Monday night, TSA union representatives told Boston 25 it may not be that way for long if theyre not paid.

The morale is very low, said Mike Gayzagian, president of AFGE Local 2617. People are full of anxiety over whats going to happen if the checks dont come through on Friday.

Advertisement Advertisement

Gayzagian said if theyre not paid Friday, he and the roughly 1,500 TSA agents he represents in New England will be behind 2.5 payments since the partial DHS shutdown starting in February.

He added, Theres nobody who does it better than we do. We dont deserve to be treated this way. We come in everyay, we work really hard. We deserve to have our pay given to us on time.

Gayzagian said out of Logan Airports roughly 1,000 TSA workers, more than two dozen workers have left in the last month.

Boston 25 crews noticed short lines at Terminal A Monday night. Gayzagian said that could change if the partial shutdown drags on  drawing massive lines seen in airports across the country over the past two weeks.

Advertisement Advertisement

Meanwhile, travelers Monday were more focused on the flight board and roughly 315 delays and 40 cancellations at Logan Airport, according to FlightAware.

Our stress level has just gone up and up and up, said flyer Susan Burgess, travelling to Florida Tuesday morning with her husband Eric.

He added, Weve been obsessing about this for a week now.

Like others, they planned to arrive well before their flight in case wait times grow amidst the staffing shortages.

Margaret Pierce of Duxbury showed up four hours before her flight to Washington DC Monday night.

Im worried about the safety of this world, she said. Just get here early and be kind.

Advertisement Advertisement

Gayzagian told Boston 25 the shortages will grow more apparent with busy Boston summer months ahead.

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 Louisiana senator is proposing a state constitutional amendment to allow legislators and the governor to remove judges from the bench, all the way up to justices on the Louisiana Supreme Court.



A Senate judiciary committee voted 5-1 Tuesday in favor of Senate Bill 123, its first step in the legislative process. The proposal from Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, now heads to the full Senate for debate.

Morris heavily reworked his bill before the vote. It no longer allows the governor and lawmakers to remove district attorneys. Morris said he would not have been able to get enough legislators to support the bill with that measure included.

Instead, the senator stretched his legislation to give state lawmakers and governor new leverage over the most powerful judges in the state.



Morris original bill only covered municipal, family, juvenile and district court judges.

Advertisement Advertisement

This bill is not going to miraculously make the judges who are not that great be awesome, but they will all be looking over their shoulder a little more, Morris said at the committee hearing Tuesday.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Weimer declined to comment on the legislation Tuesday afternoon. Justices had only learned Morris had put them in the bill a few hours earlier.

The legislation says judges can only be removed for gross misconduct, malfeasance or incompetence but doesnt include a definition for those words.

Morris revised proposal also reconfigures the role of the governor in the judicial removal process from his original bill. Under the new version, the governor has to certify the removal of a judge only after the legislature votes to force them from their job.



In the original bill, the governor was responsible for initiating the removal process of a judge with a recommendation to the legislature.



People had concerns of overreaching by the governor, Morris said about the change to the bill. The governor didnt care. He just said we need something to bring accountability to the judiciary in this state.

Advertisement Advertisement

Its unclear if the new version of the amendment gives the governor ultimate veto power over a judges removal.



Morris rewritten measure doesnt explain what happens if the governor doesnt certify the legislatures decision to remove a judge.



Its also not clear how the process to remove a judge would begin in the current version of the bill. It indicates a legislative address would be used to kick off the deliberations, but the bill doesnt define a legislative address.

Morris said during the committee hearing that Louisianas legislative address process would look similar to one used in Maine. But he didnt provide any more details.

According to the current bill, the Senate would hold a trial to remove a judge and need a two-thirds majority in favor of forcing the person off the bench. A simple majority of members in the House of Representatives would also need to be in favor of the removal.



Morris said he intends to file a companion bill that iron out the details of how the full process would work.

Advertisement Advertisement

The senator became interested in judicial discipline after being alarmed about one judge in his Northeast Louisiana community who acquitted a person accused of murder.



He said a local sheriff had filed 18 complaints about the same judge with the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana but its members had not removed the person from the bench.

That gave me great concern and started me on this path, Morris said.



Currently, the judicial commission, in conjunction with the Louisiana Supreme Court, has the power to force a judge from their job. But Morris said they dont do enough to punish judges when they release people who are dangerous to the public.



The current system is, at the moment, failing us, Morris said.



Opponents of his legislation said Morris is overlooking another avenue for punishing judges  an impeachment process that applies to many types of elected officials.



The impeachment process is similar to what Morris has created in his bill. In impeachment, the Louisiana House of Representatives initiates the removal of an elected official, then the Louisiana Senate holds a trial and has the option of voting to convict and remove a person from office.

But Morris said theres disagreement about whether impeachment can be used on judges.



Others said the law is clear and a judge can be impeached. It just hasnt happened in recent memory.



Sarah Whittington, advocacy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, questioned why legislators who are fed up with judges havent tried to impose impeachment instead of creating another system for removal.



Bruce Reilly, deputy director of Voice of the Experienced, an advocacy organization for incarcerated people, also suggested lawmakers look at revising the existing impeachment process or adjusting the states recall election statute instead of setting up a new removal system.

Advertisement Advertisement

Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of the legislature for approval before they can be placed in front of state voters.



Morris wants his amendment to appear on the April 17, 2027, ballot.

Republican Sens. Mark Abraham, Heather Cloud, Valarie Hodges, Caleb Kleinpeter and Morris voted in favor of the legislation. Sen. Regina Barrow, the only Democrat on the committee, voted against the proposal.


Look out, tobacco and electronic cigarette retailers  if you're selling to underage customers in Louisville, you could soon find yourself in the middle of a sting operation.

As part of a new program that aims to reduce and prevent usage of e-cigarettes and tobacco among young people, the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness is sending investigative aides into stores to verify whether clerks request customer identification and deny sales to underage customers.

The underage surveillance program, launched in October, is one of multiple new initiatives the health department is taking up with funding received after the city settled a lawsuit against e-cigarette company Juul Labs, Inc.

Advertisement Advertisement

In 2020, Louisville Metro Government filed a federal lawsuit seeking damages to combat the company's role in fueling nicotine addictions in the community, especially among young people. That lawsuit was settled in 2023 for $2.8 million, according to a copy of the settlement obtained by The Courier Journal.

After deducting various legal costs, the city netted $2.6 million from the settlement, said Matt Mudd, press secretary for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg's office. Of that total, $1.2 million has been appropriated to the health department for prevention and cessation initiatives. The remaining sum has not yet been appropriated, Mudd said.

"The main focus is obviously to reduce usage of vapes by children in the community, but it's also to help children who are already vaping to get away from it," said Patrick Rich, executive administrator for the Department of Public Health and Wellness.

The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness is using funds obtained from a settlement with Juul Labs, Inc., an e-cigarette company, to fund various new initiatives aimed at preventing and reducing youth smoking and vaping.

Juul settlement enables e-cigarette sting operations in Louisville

Julia Mack, the health department's tobacco enforcement and licensing supervisor, oversees the underage surveillance program.

Advertisement Advertisement

Here's how it works: Mack and an investigative aide, aged 18-20, go into the community several times a month to check whether stores follow laws requiring customers to be 21 or older to buy tobacco products.

Before Mack and her aide hit the road, she maps out which businesses they plan to hit. Before entering a store, the aide hands their identification card to Mack. This is to preempt any potential claim that the store clerk did indeed check an ID. The aides are instructed to give their true age or date of birth if asked.

"Then they will either have a successful sale or not, and then they will come back out to the car, let me know that, yes, they did, no, they didn't," Mack said.

Don't miss a story: Get a recap of politics news in our weekly newsletter.

Advertisement Advertisement

If the aide leaves the store with a smoking product, Mack goes inside to initiate an enforcement action. Under Louisville law, establishments can receive a $500 citation. Louisville has 888 retailers licensed to sell tobacco or e-cigarette products, leaving no shortage of businesses to vet.

"I need for them to be on their toes," Mack said of tobacco and e-cigarette retailers. "You slip up and you don't card someone, that could be that person and that could be that hefty fine."

From October through the end of 2025, the health department visited 38 locations for the underage surveillance program and issued four citations, Mack said. The department has visited 20 locations and cited another four establishments in 2026.

"We're going to try to get out to everybody and our hopes are that people catch on and say, 'Hey, I'm not going to sell to children anymore. It costs me more money to sell to a child than I'm going to make off of a child," Rich said.

The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness is using funds obtained from a settlement with Juul Labs, Inc., an e-cigarette company, to fund various new initiatives aimed at preventing and reducing youth smoking and vaping.

Louisville working on other prevention, cessation initiatives

For a business, a $500 citation may sting, but the program's aim goes beyond penalties.

Advertisement Advertisement

Rather, the goal is to remedy an issue that has gripped young people in recent years. According to Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which cites data from the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 19.7% of Kentucky high school students use e-cigarettes and 5.3% smoke.

"We are concerned about somebody developing a lifelong addiction that's going to affect their health for years to come," Rich said.

Louisville's lawsuit against Juul accused the company of fostering a "public health crisis" through its products and marketing, court records show. While the city dropped its claims as a condition of the settlement  and the company did not admit fault  the settlement funding enables the underage surveillance program and other upcoming initiatives.

One of those initiatives is to build out various technologies and platforms designed to improve departmental transparency and efficiency, like an online dashboard to track the locations and enforcement history of city-licensed smoking retailers and an internal system for city health inspectors to refer possible smoking law violations to members of the department's tobacco team, Rich said.

Advertisement Advertisement

The department also plans to roll out a youth-prevention marketing campaign in the coming months.

"We have to protect our youth," Mack said.

Kentucky landed its own Juul settlement

Juul e-cigarettes rose to prominence and began to dominate the e-cigarette market in 2016, according to the Public Health Law Center at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, which has done extensive research on the tobacco industry and tobacco policy.

Marketed as an alternative for adults trying to quit smoking cigarettes, Juul has also been accused of targeting youth with its advertising tactics and promotion of flavors like mango, mint and creme brulee. Meanwhile, teen vaping rates surged in the late 2010s, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Advertisement Advertisement

State and local governments around the U.S. filed a cascade of lawsuits against Juul for the company's alleged role in the rise of youth vaping.

Under former Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Kentucky agreed to a settlement worth more than $14 million. The settlement is separate from the one Louisville received.

Two laws proposed in the 2026 legislative session, Senate Bill 74 and House Bill 187, would create a vaping settlement trust fund for Kentucky's Juul settlement funds to be spent on youth prevention and cessation efforts, though neither have advanced out of their respective chambers as the session nears its close.

Killian Baarlaer covers Louisville Metro Government. Reach him at kbaarlaer@courier-journal.com or @bkillian72 on X.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville sting operations target underage vape sales
Louisville Metro Government has agreed to pay $800,000 to cover attorney fees for a Louisville photographer who successfully claimed in a 2019 lawsuit that a city law violated her First Amendment rights, court records show.

Christian nonprofit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Chelsey Nelson in the case, announced the settlement in a March 24 news release.

The settlement marks the end of the years-long case, which commenced after Nelson, a wedding photographer and owner of Chelsey Nelson Photography, claimed Louisville's Fairness Ordinance infringed on her constitutional rights as a Christian because it could force her to take on same-sex wedding assignments against her religious beliefs.

Advertisement Advertisement

"The government cannot force Americans to say things they dont believe," ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart said in the news release. "For almost six years, Louisville officials tried to do just that by threatening to force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs. Louisville's threats contradicted bedrock First Amendment principles which leave decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. This settlement should teach Louisville that violating the U.S. Constitution can be expensive."

Chelsey Nelson won a lawsuit against Louisville Metro Government, which claimed the city's Fairness Ordinance infringed on her First Amendment rights.

In a March 24 statement, Matt Mudd, press secretary for Mayor Craig Greenberg's office, said the settlement ends the litigation and only provides for attorney fees.

"We are committed to fully enforcing Louisville's anti-discrimination ordinances, including the Fairness Ordinance, which bans discrimination against LGBTQ people," Mudd said.

In the 2019 lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Nelson claimed Louisville's Fairness Ordinance could require her to photograph same-sex weddings and prevent her from sharing her views on marriage on her studios website. The ordinance, passed in 1999, prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, public accommodations and employment.

Advertisement Advertisement

In a final judgement filed in October, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton kept in place a permanent injunction that bars the city from enforcing the law against Nelson and ordered the city to pay Nelson $1 in nominal damages, which are typically small, symbolic payments acknowledging the plaintiff has suffered a legal wrong.

The settlement announced March 24 resolves the issue of the ADF attorneys' fees, costs and expenses. The nonprofit legal organization touts itself as a defender of free speech and religious freedom.

ADF also represented former University of Louisville professor Allan Josephson, who claimed in a 2019 lawsuit that he was demoted and fired after he spoke out against youth gender transitions at a Heritage Foundation event. That lawsuit was settled in 2025 for $1.6 million, The Courier Journal reported.

Tell us what you think. Submit your letter to the editor.

Advertisement Advertisement

This story has been updated to reflect Louisville agreed to the settlement.

Killian Baarlaer covers Louisville Metro Government. Reach him at kbaarlaer@courier-journal.com or @bkillian72 on X.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville pays $800,000 in photographer Chelsey Nelson's lawsuit
Daniel OConnor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural government as part of the partnership between The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers.

One of Maines top law firms is pressing legislators to oppose a full ban on the construction of new data centers in a bid to save its clients ventures in the state.

Preti Flaherty, an Augusta-based law firm thats representing companies trying to build data centers in Sanford and Jay, launched social media advertisements targeting legislators late last week, according to Metas ad database.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Legislature is slated to weigh two versions of a bill that would pause approvals for new data centers until November 2027. Through an online campaign called Next Century Maine, Preti Flaherty is asking residents of 28 districts to call their representatives to push for a version of the bill with carveouts for projects that are already underway.

Data centers have become political lightning rods after reports that they can drive up utility costs by consuming large amounts of water and power. Local opposition to data centers quickly shut down plans for construction in Wiscasset and Lewiston last year.

The developer of the Jay project told the Bangor Daily News earlier this month that the proposed moratorium would effectively kill the planned data center in the towns former mill.

Both versions of the bill would pause new projects until a Maine Data Center Coordination Council can be created to regulate new projects for data centers with demand for more than 20 megawatts of electricity. But Republicans and Democrats on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee could not agree on whether to allow ongoing projects to continue uninterrupted, and the committee sent two versions of the bill to the House floor.

Advertisement Advertisement

Committee Republicans version would allow the Public Utilities Commission to exempt certain projects that are already underway ahead of the laws effective date if they would not materially increase utility costs to consumers.

Since the law wouldnt go into effect until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns, this would create a window for more projects to get started. But it could also allow the state a veto over any projects they find will increase prices.

Tony Buxton, senior counsel at Preti Flaherty, said that version of the bill would give the state significant regulatory authority without disrupting ongoing projects. He said the projects the firm represents are small enough that they may decrease energy prices by spreading out charges for fixed costs.

We need to have increased data center capacity, and its going to happen somewhere, he said. Reasonably sized projects are probably a good thing for Maine.

Advertisement Advertisement

The campaign is targeting 24 Democrats, two Republicans and two unenrolled representatives. All are in the House of Representatives, where Democrats slim majority make a floor fight over the bill likely.

Rep. Walter Runte, D-York, sits on the energy committee and voted for the version of the bill with no exemptions. He is also one of the legislators targeted with ads on social media. He voiced concern with the campaign in a Facebook post.

This is a pseudo advocacy group created by a lobbyist law firm to benefit two of its clients, not some broad based effort to bring sound policy to Maine, Runte wrote, calling the Republican-backed version of the bill a needless, rushed, and narrow carve-out for two projects that are far more speculative than advertised.

Buxton said he was not sure how the 28 legislators were selected for targeted advertising and the goal was to inform all legislators.

Advertisement Advertisement

Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, said she was aware of the ad targeting her district but had not heard from any constituents. She expressed skepticism toward carveouts, but said there might be room to negotiate.

If those carveouts for Jay and for Sanford do not involve the kind of vetting that we would ask for other projects, then I would have a problem with that version of the bill, she said.

As Democrats jostle with Republicans to be viewed as champions of affordability, its unclear whether arguments that well regulated data centers may reduce utility bills will stick.

Literally no one has asked me to prioritize data centers, Roeder said. You can lobby me all you want, but if my constituents actually dont care, or are kind of indifferent to data centers, thats going to inform my vote more than any sort of paid lobbying would.
Qabil Ashirov



A new batch of goods is set to be transported to Armenia via Azerbaijan today, marking another step in the ongoing transit operations through the countrys territory, AzerNEWS reports.

The shipment will include four railcars of fertilizer and one railcar of buckwheat. The cargo will pass through Azerbaijan in transit en route to Armenia.

The development follows Azerbaijans decision to lift longstanding restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia. On October 21, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev announced during a joint press statement with Kazakhstans President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev that all limitations on transit shipments to Armeniaimposed since the period of occupationhad been removed. He noted that the first such shipment under the new framework involved the delivery of Kazakh grain to Armenia.

Since then, a series of consignments have been sent through Azerbaijan. On December 18, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) delivered 1,220 tons of AI-95 gasoline to Armenia.

Further shipments followed in early 2026. On January 9, a total of 2,698 tons of cargocarried in 48 railcarswas dispatched, including 1,742 tons of AI-95 gasoline and 956 tons of diesel fuel. Two days later, on January 11, another train consisting of 18 railcars transported 979 tons of AI-92 gasoline.

Transit operations continued in the following months. On February 25, Azerbaijan sent 4,500 tons of diesel fuel to Armenia. On March 5, an additional 31 railcars carrying 1,984 tons of diesel fuel, along with two railcars loaded with 135 tons of Russian fertilizer, were dispatched. This was followed on March 9 by a freight train of seven railcars carrying Russian grain.

Most recently, on March 11, Azerbaijan facilitated the transit of grain shipments totaling 1,023 tons (770 tons net weight), transported in 11 railcars.

These developments underscore a growing pattern of logistical cooperation in the region, as Azerbaijan increasingly positions itself as a transit hub for goods moving toward Armenia.
Photo taken by cellphone shows people gathering beside rows of empty gas cylinders while waiting to refill them in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, March 24, 2026. A fresh rise in prices of essential goods and services is deepening economic hardship in war-ravaged Yemen, as households face mounting costs stemming from supply disruptions, higher import expenses and recent policy adjustments affecting key commodities. (Photo by Murad/Xinhua)

ADEN, Yemen, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A fresh rise in prices of essential goods and services is deepening economic hardship in war-ravaged Yemen, as households face mounting costs stemming from supply disruptions, higher import expenses and recent policy adjustments affecting key commodities.

In the country's government-controlled southern provinces, residents report a surge in the cost of living in recent weeks, extending beyond food to include transportation, dining and basic household needs. The increases come at a time when many families are already grappling with limited incomes and prolonged economic instability.

"Prices are rising on multiple sectors at once," said Bashir Ali, a resident in Aden. "It is no longer just about food -- everything connected to daily life is becoming more expensive here."

A notable development is a recent adjustment to cooking gas prices, a staple for local households. The shift has coincided with the long queues at gas distribution points in Aden.

Under a newly issued government directive, the price of a gas cylinder has been set at 12,000 Yemeni riyals (nearly 8 U.S. dollars), a 33-percent increase from the previous rate of 9,000 riyals.

The adjustment is expected to have a ripple effect on household expenses, particularly for low-income Yemeni families.

Local traders say the cumulative impact of higher fuel-related costs, including cooking gas, is likely to drive up broader market prices. "When energy costs go up, it affects transportation, storage and production," Ahmed Al-Haddy, a gas station owner in Aden noted. "This eventually pushes up prices for consumers."

The surging costs are a reflection of external factors, including rising global energy prices and ongoing disruptions to maritime routes. Increased shipping costs and insurance premiums, driven by heightened regional tensions, have added further pressure to import-dependent markets.

Some Yemeni people say the price hikes have been both sudden and severe. Khalid Jalal, a Yemeni citizen in his 40s, described the recent increases as "shocking and unexpected," noting that the escalation of regional conflict has had an immediate impact on daily living costs.

"People here are always the ones who pay the price," Jalal said. "Whether it is internal conflict or external crises, it is the ordinary citizen who suffers the most."

Travel expenses have also been affected. "Moving between cities or returning from abroad like Saudi Arabia now costs much more than before," said Mustafa Al-Kapy, highlighting the broader strain on mobility and trade.

Despite growing public concerns, official government statements have largely focused on ensuring the stability of supply, with authorities frequently emphasizing the availability of goods and calling for stricter market oversight. However, the underlying causes of the price increases have remained unaddressed, local residents said.

"There is no clear horizon yet for de-escalation, and the longer the regional conflict persists, the deeper its economic impact will be," Nabil Kasim, a local economic researcher noted. "For countries like Yemen, which depend heavily on imports, even minor disruptions in maritime trade can trigger sharp increases in prices and worsen living conditions."

According to recent assessments by the World Food Programme, Yemen continues to face a worsening food security crisis as it enters 2026.

January data show that about 63 percent of Yemeni households are unable to meet their minimum food needs, while 36 percent are suffering severe food deprivation. 

Photo taken by cellphone shows residents standing near lines of cooking gas cylinders under a tree as they await refills in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, March 24, 2026. A fresh rise in prices of essential goods and services is deepening economic hardship in war-ravaged Yemen, as households face mounting costs stemming from supply disruptions, higher import expenses and recent policy adjustments affecting key commodities. (Photo by Murad/Xinhua)

Photo taken by cellphone shows vehicles and residents queuing at a gas filling station as shortages persist in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, March 24, 2026. A fresh rise in prices of essential goods and services is deepening economic hardship in war-ravaged Yemen, as households face mounting costs stemming from supply disruptions, higher import expenses and recent policy adjustments affecting key commodities. (Photo by Murad/Xinhua)
A northern Kentucky man has admitted to cyberstalking and threatening a U.S. senator and U.S. congressman, according to our media partners WCPO-9 TV.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Benjamin Keebler, 55, pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and threatening communications charges in federal court on Friday.

TRENDING STORIES:

Advertisement Advertisement

As part of his plea deal, two other charges were dropped.

Keebler was indicted in January for using a cell phone to harass and intimidate a U.S. congressman between February 2023 and May 2025, WCPO-9 reported.

The indictment indicates that on separate occasions, Keebler called a phone system affiliated with the congressman and threatened to hurt him, including shooting him in the head at a town hall.

He also threatened to shoot him in the head at a town hall and lynch him.

Keebler did the same thing to the U.S. senator.

He said, somebody needs to come to (the Senators) house and do a ... hammer visit, according to the indictment.

The victims were not named in the indictment, WCPO-9 reported.

Keebler will remain out on bond until he is sentenced on July 30.

[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  A 37-year-old man was arrested for an outstanding warrant for deceptive trade practices, according to a news release by the El Paso County Constables Office for Precinct Three on Monday, March 23.

A constable deputy conducted a surveillance operation at a residence along the 1100 block of N. Cotton Street after receiving prior information that Justin Martinez, 37, had an outstanding criminal warrant for deceptive trade practice with prior convictions.

Justin Martinez. Photo courtesy of the El Paso County Constables Office for Precinct Three.

The warrant stems from an El Paso Police Department investigation in which a victim reported about $3,000 in financial loss.

Advertisement Advertisement

During the surveillance operation, the constable deputy saw Martinez leave the area in a vehicle. Then, the vehicle was stopped during a traffic stop along the 2000 block of Bay Court. Constable deputies made contact with Martinez and confirmed the outstanding warrant.

Martinez was then taken into custody, without incident, and transported to the El Paso County Jail.

The Fast Track Booking System was utilized, allowing for an expedited booking process. Martinez was processed and later released in accordance with the booking procedures, read part of the news release.

Constable Hector Bernal said he encourages the use of the fast track booking system to help facilitate the booking procedure, reduce jail processing times and improve overall efficiency within the criminal justice system.

Advertisement Advertisement

Anyone with information regarding individuals with outstanding warrants is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers at (915) 566-TIPS (8477) or the El Paso County Constables Office Precinct Three at (915) 273-3590. Tips may remain anonymous.

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 KTSM 9 News.
An Oakhurst rental home owner is behind bars and accused of turning family vacations into nightmares by recording his guests during their most private moments.

Shocked neighbors want him to stay away.

"I really hope they don't let him out. Right now, it's safe, and we didn't even know we were in danger," said Anthony Polfer, who lives just down the street.

The Madera County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of 44-year-old Christian Parmalee Edwards on Monday.

Advertisement Advertisement

He was booked on multiple felony charges related to the possession and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material and invasion of privacy.

The sheriff's office initially received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which led to an investigation into Edwards' devices.

One neighbor, Amy Gray, told Action News she and her children nearly found themselves in Edwards' house of horrors.

"He even offered me to move in over there at one point and pay him rent," Gray said.

"I'm sure he did have plans for my friends and her kids," Polfer added.

Advertisement Advertisement

Detectives say their initial investigation uncovered over 4,000 digital images of child sexual abuse material.

But they say that was only the beginning of his predatory practices.

"When they seized his devices at the home, they began uncovering videos of children and women being filmed in places where they should have had their privacy," said Madera County Sheriff's Office Director of Communications Kate Woertman.

Edwards had been renting the Oakhurst home to guests since 2023, which sits just a mile away from Yosemite High School.

Action News also learned Monday that the recording wasn't done through hidden cameras, but from just feet away.

Advertisement Advertisement

"What detectives have found so far was that he was actually on site recording through cracks in the blinds in little private areas," Woertman said.

Detectives are working to track down any guests who might have been victimized during their stay.

They say anyone who rented the home from 2023 to March 2026 should contact investigators immediately.
The man charged in connection with an alleged violent struggle with MBTA Transit Police officers at the Forest Hills station last Friday was arraigned and ordered held without bail on Monday.

Micah Martin, 29, of Hyde Park, was arraigned on one count of armed carjacking, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, assault with a dangerous weapon (knife), resisting arrest, disorderly conduct on a public conveyance, four counts of assault and battery attempt to disarm a police officer, and six counts of assault and battery on a police officer, according to Suffolk County District Attorneys office.

A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.

Advertisement Advertisement

Officers responding to reports of a knife-wielding man who was threatening people and trying to deflate bus tires at the upper busway at Forest Hills station late Friday morning.

MBTA Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said Martin grabbed for the officers weapon and during the struggle, there was a discharge of the officers weapon.

Nobody was struck by the gunshot or stabbed. Sullivan said investigators are working to determine how the weapon was discharged.

Both officers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement Advertisement

A judge ordered Martin held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on March 30.

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 MyNorthwest.com.

A California man has been convicted on federal sex trafficking charges in Seattle. Prosecutors said he used fists, lies, and manipulation to get vulnerable women to support his lavish lifestyle. That lifestyle included a Bentley wrapped in gold.

Brandon Washington, 33, was convicted Wednesday of six federal felonies tied to a multi-state trafficking operation, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Washington.

Advertisement Advertisement

Prosecutors said victims testified that Washington moved them through several states  including Washington, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Hawaii  between 2014 and 2021.

After a four-week trial and three days of deliberation, the jury convicted him of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion; one count of sex trafficking by fraud and coercion; and four counts of transporting women for the purpose of prostitution through coercion and enticement.

The attorneys office noted that sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion is punishable by up to life imprisonment. Transporting a victim for prostitution is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

In court, prosecutors said women who managed to escape were left with nothing. They also said Washington obtained a $120,000 Bentley through one victim and had it wrapped in gold.

Advertisement Advertisement

Washington was charged with trafficking four different women, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on three other counts of sex trafficking.

According to a news release from Washingtons attorney, Emily Gause, the outcome underscores the substantial weaknesses in the Governments theory and the credibility concerns surrounding key witnesses.

From the outset, Mr. Washington has maintained that he never forced any woman to do anything, the release said. That position was reinforced at trial. Of the six women called by the Government and labeled as victims, three made clear that Mr. Washington never forced them to engage in sex work, and they did not agree that they were a victim of anything.

Gause said five more women who worked with Washington said the same thing.

Advertisement Advertisement

Eight women testified that while Mr. Washington assisted with aspects of their escort businesses, he did not use force, threats, or coercion, the release said.

Retired Bellevue officers tip helped launch sex trafficking investigation

A retired Bellevue officer working security noticed a lot of men visiting a luxury apartment building in Bellevue over the course of a few weeks. The investigation then took off, with law enforcement investigators analyzing financial records, travel records, ads for commercial sex posted in online forums, and social media posts linked to the sex trafficking.

At trial, four named victims testified. According to the release, some of them described brutal assaults and threats he used to control them and other women. They earned him hundreds of thousands of dollars through commercial sex acts, according to the release.

When women were finally able to get free from his control, they left without any of the money they had earned, the release stated. Evidence at trial showed that Washington used his victims earnings to fund his lifestyle, including luxury apartments in downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Las Vegas, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, designer clothes, fine dining, and luxury vehicles.

Advertisement Advertisement

Prosecutors presented text messages and social media messages in which Washington described the money he took from women he controlled.

In those messages, he also discussed the violence he used to control them and the manipulation and promises he used to recruit other victims, the release stated. In some text messages, Washington stated that he was searching for victims with low self-esteem or who were otherwise particularly vulnerable targets whom he could force and manipulate into sex work.

Washington is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, 2026.

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
NEED TO KNOW

Weston Huff, 33, died attempting to BASE jump in Utah, police said.

Huff died instantly after the fall from Rock Canyon, according to his sister

"He was at risk of his life in his own hands," his mom said

A 33-year-old man has died while attempting to BASE jump in Utah, authorities said.

In a news release shared with PEOPLE, the Provo Police Department said first responders were summoned to Rock Canyon around 12:50 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 21, following a report of a man who had fallen into an area known as "Bad Bananas."

Advertisement Advertisement

"Sadly, the male did not survive the fall," police said.

Detectives identified the victim as Weston Huff, 33, from American Fork, Utah. The police added that Huff was adventuring alone but was an "experienced sky diver."

It appears he was base jumping from atop the canyon and likely experienced a parachute malfunction, authorities added. Our sympathies are with the family and loved ones of Weston Huff.

A spokesperson with the Provo Police Department told PEOPLE that the investigation into the incident remains open until the medical examiner's office provides its report.

Advertisement Advertisement

In addition to his experience in paragliding and BASE jumping, Huff was a certified tandem paragliding instructor, Trina Preece, the victims mother, told NBC affiliate KSL.

People put their lives in his hands, she said. And when it wasnt someone else, he was at risk of his life in his own hands.

The family noted that Huff was diagnosed with Tourettes and Aspergers syndrome.

Weston had a lot of difficulties, of things that we could share or things that he absolutely would never share that were too painful, trauma, things that he might have suffered, Preece told the outlet.

So for someone like that to have a takeaway of goodness and kindness and love, I mean, a lot of people walk away from hard experiences being jaded and hardened, she continued.

Advertisement Advertisement

His family also shared that Huff lived for flying, telling KSL that Rock Canyon was where their loved one had previously jumped from.

Based off of one of the people that were there, he pulled the cord and his chute didnt fully expand, and he died on impact, Kalli Bistrattin Machado, Huffs sister, told KSL. And there were people that came running when they saw it and switched out for CPR for 10 to 15 minutes before emergency services arrived and pronounced him dead.

A GoFundMe was created on behalf of Huffs family

Weston shared a special bond with all of his family members, especially his mother, Trina, who brought him into this world 33 years ago against all the odds stacked against them," the organizer wrote in the fundraiser's description.

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.

Weston came into and left this world in the same exact way: flying, free, and full of love, the organizer added.

PEOPLE contacted the GoFundMe organizer on Tuesday, March 24, but did not receive an immediate response.

Read the original article on People
A man is in jail after police say he holed up inside a Waffle House while armed with a BB gun.

According to a police report obtained by Channel 2 Action News, a McDonough police officer spotted Tremaine Mathis walking down the street and told him that someone might complain about his gun being visible.

The officer says Mathis secured it in his waistband, picked up his pace and kept walking.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Someone later called 911 to say they saw Mathis walking around with a gun. The officer then saw him walking into a Waffle House.

Advertisement Advertisement

When he went inside the restaurant, employees and customers told him that Mathis had locked himself in the restroom.

When he refused commands and did not exit, officers evacuated the restaurant, made their way into the restroom and arrested Mathis.

TRENDING STORIES:

Investigators found what they described as a BB gun in the left leg of his pants.

He was arrested and is being held in the Henry County Jail on charges of disorderly conduct obstruction and disorderly conduct loud noise.

Mathis was also criminally trespassed from Waffle House.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
WASHINGTON  With the help of two Democrats, the Senate has confirmed Markwayne Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as the head of the Department of Homeland Security.

The pugilistic Oklahoma Republican senator now is tasked with leading not only a crucial federal agency in mounting crisis but also the immigration agenda of a White House that has increasingly found its hard-line enforcement policies a political liability in a midterm year that could cost the president's party control of Congress.

The largely partisan vote, 54-45, on March 23 was a break from precedent, as senators of both parties have in the past shown at least some deference to their colleagues in the legislative chamber to support nominees for Cabinet positions. It was a stark reminder of a staunchly polarized Congress, especially when it comes to immigration.

Advertisement Advertisement

Read more: With airports in chaos, Trump bats down potential DHS deal over SAVE Act battle

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) testifies during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) testifies during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026. Chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks during a confirmation hearing for Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) is sworn in during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) (L) greets Teamsters president Sean M. O'Brien before testifying at a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) testifies during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026. Mar 18, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) sheds tears as he testifies during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Mar 18, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) wipes tears from his eye as he testifies during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Inside Markwayne Mullins DHS confirmation hearing 1 of 8 Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) testifies during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026.

All GOP senators except one, Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted to confirm Mullin, a former mixed martial arts fighter who ran a multimillion-dollar plumbing business before he was elected to Congress as a member of the House of Representatives more than a decade ago.

Paul's relationship with his colleague soured after the Oklahoman expressed sympathy with an attacker who left Paul with broken ribs and a damaged lung years ago. During Mullin's confirmation hearing, Paul, chairman of the Senate committee that oversees DHS, called him a "man with anger issues."

Chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks during a confirmation hearing for Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington DC, on March 18, 2026.

"I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force," Paul said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Two Democrats  Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico  voted to confirm Mullin. Heinrich said in a written statement that though it may "surprise some people," he considers Mullin a friend.

I have also seen first-hand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views," he said. "I look forward to having a secretary who doesnt take their orders from (Trump adviser) Stephen Miller."

Read more: A Cabinet hopeful, a Senate hearing  and a pink bouncy ball

Homeland Security Department still shut down as talks heat up

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, talks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on March 12, 2026, in Washington, DC.

For nearly six weeks, the agency Mullin will head has been partially shut down.

After the killings in January of two Minnesotans by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents, Democrats refused to fully fund DHS, the 9/11-era Cabinet agency those divisions fall under, until the White House agrees to changes. Funded by other cash reserves, ICE and Customs and Border Protection have continued operating.

Advertisement Advertisement

After a period of relative calm, the consequences of the shutdown have been dramatically worsening, seemingly by the day. The operations of the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, which is part of DHS, have rapidly devolved as unpaid workers call out sick with greater frequency. Hundreds of employees have resigned entirely, causing security lines to snake around airports across the country. Negotiations to reopen DHS have gained steam in recent days.

Mullin, a close friend of President Donald Trump's and a lawmaker with an adeptness at navigating congressional dynamics between the House of Representatives and Senate, has pitched himself as the person to right the ship. Though a hard-liner on illegal immigration, he has demonstrated an alacrity to ensure that lawmakers are better informed about Homeland Security operations.

He also said during his Senate confirmation hearing that under his leadership, ICE would not conduct immigration raids without a judicial warrant. That concession has been a major sticking point in negotiations to end the DHS shutdown and one to which the White House still hasn't publicly agreed.

"We will not enter a home or place of business without a judicial warrant," he told lawmakers, "unless we're pursuing an individual."

Advertisement Advertisement

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 confirms Markwayne Mullin to lead DHS amid agency shutdown
President Donald Trump swore in Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., on Tuesday as the newest secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Mullin is replacing Kristi Noem as the lead of the countrys border security and immigration efforts after the president was unsatisfied with her handling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement deployments, particularly in Minneapolis, and her testimony to Congress about it.

Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post earlier this month, saying Noem would be reassigned as the special envoy for the shield of Americas, a security initiative that was created after his announcement.

Advertisement Advertisement

The president said Mullin was chosen because he gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda.

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 posted.

Trump celebrates Mullin at swearing-in ceremony

Trump started off the ceremony in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon saying it was a great day for him because he has a lot of confidence in Mullin.

And I just want to say, Markwayne, congratulations. You deserve it, great man. Let me also thank Secretary Mullins beautiful family, Trump said of his wife and six kids.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump also noted others in attendance at the ceremony, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. For 13 years, Markwayne has represented for the incredible state of Oklahoma.

He was in there in Congress as a member of the House and then as an outstanding United States senator. And he really has been outstanding, Trump later added. Hes been a close and vital partner in helping us secure the border, stop migrant crime and the scourge of illegal drugs and make America safe again and make America great again.

Trump said he believes Mullin will fight for homeland security for the U.S. and secure the country to make it really strong. He criticized the Biden administration for its open borders and said he believes it wont happen again under Mullins leadership.

With Secretary Mullin at DHS, we will continue our record setting efforts to deport these illegal alien criminals from our country, and we are doing it at record levels, despite a very unfair court system, Trump said, later adding, And now, were going to see all of our cities take a big step because of Markwayne.

Advertisement Advertisement

Bondi then swore Mullin in and the newest secretary said he thinks that was the most nervous Ive ever been.

It just seems surreal being in the Oval Office and having the president of the United States speak so highly of me, and then recognize my family and know my family by name, its humbling and I never take it for granted, he said. But I made this very clear that I dont care what color your state is. I dont care if youre red or youre blue. At the end of the day, my job is to be secretary of Homeland and protect everybody the same. And we will do that. Ill fight every single day.

Now that Mullin has been confirmed and sworn in by the president, he will vacate his seat in the Senate. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt can now appoint a temporary senator to take over until the fall election. State law in Oklahoma stipulates that the individual who temporarily fills Mullins seat cannot run for the position come November.

Alan Armstrong, an oil and gas executive, was appointed to fill Mullins seat, Stitt announced Tuesday after Mullins confirmation was completed. Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern has announced his candidacy for the position once Armstrong leaves office later this year.

Comfortable confirmation

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during his swearing-in in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Washington. | Alex Brandon

Mullin was partially caught off-guard after the president chose him to replace Noem. He rushed out of the Senate Republicans lunch early this month and accepted the position via a phone call with Trump before the official announcement went public.

Advertisement Advertisement

Speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill, he said he needed to continue the conversation with the president so they can get on the same page. He didnt say he could do a better job than Noem, calling her a friend, but said theres always room for improvement.

He shared that he wanted to win over Democrats in the confirmation process, noting that yes, hes a Republican and a conservative, but as leader of DHS, his goal is to enforce the policies passed by Congress regardless if you support me.

Mullin was confirmed by the Senate earlier this week and was preparing to take the lead of the department more than five weeks into a shutdown stemming from Democratic demands to change immigration policy.

The Senate on Monday voted 54-45 to confirm Mullin to the position. His first objective as secretary will likely be to continue negotiations with Senate Democrats to fund the department, which has been impacted by the shutdown, especially the Transportation Security Administration.

Advertisement Advertisement

Two Democratic senators, Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, voted to confirm Mullin. A lone Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, voted with the rest of the Democrats against confirming him. Paul pointed to past comments and outbursts from Mullin as to why he was hesitant to confirm him.

Mullins confirmation hearing was a fiery one. He faced tough questions from Democrats who wanted to know how hed operate differently than Noem. Republicans largely supported Mullin and directed their criticism at Democrats over the DHS shutdown. However, Paul consistently pushed back on Mullins previous actions and travel he took while in the House.

Mullin making headlines

Mullin has represented Oklahoma in the Senate since 2023. Hes the second member of the Cherokee Nation to serve in the Senate. Before that, Mullin served 10 years in the House and has often served as a mediator between the two chambers of Congress and the Trump White House.

Hes a staunch Trump ally and made headlines during his time on Capitol Hill, including in November 2023, when he nearly engaged in a physical altercation with Teamsters President Sean OBrien during a committee meeting. Mullin, a former MMA fighter, told OBrien to stand your butt up.

Advertisement Advertisement

Before serving in Congress, Mullin was a rancher and business owner. He was once involved in an ethics investigation due to his involvement in his familys businesses while serving in the House.

Noem frustrations mount over months

Trump had reportedly been frustrated with Noems performance for a while before her departure, and this grew after she gave testimony he disagreed with. He made it clear to Republican leaders that he was considering replacing her.

Senate Republicans were notified of Trumps decision during their lunch meeting. Mullin left the meeting after receiving a call from the president. Sen. Eric Schmitt, of Missouri, announced Noems ouster to the room by reading Trumps Truth Social post aloud to the senators.

Noem, a former South Dakota congresswoman and governor of the state, was leading Trumps deportation initiatives and tightening security at the countrys southern border. It was one of the presidents top priorities.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump praised her for her work at the border, but she came under fire in recent months for deportations and detentions elsewhere around the country. She particularly was criticized for the detention and deportation of people who didnt commit crimes, but also for not paying enough attention to the duties she had as the leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

She was sharply criticized for her handling of the shooting of two protesters by federal agents in Minnesota earlier this year.

In a post responding to Trumps announcement of her departure, Noem thanked Trump for appointing her to her new position and said she looked forward to working more closely with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again, she wrote.
LUXEMBOURG, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies in emerging industries operating in Europe plan to step up investment over the next three years despite mounting regulatory pressure, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report, jointly published in Luxembourg by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU, China Economic Information Service Shanghai Headquarters, and Xinhua News Agency's Europe Regional Bureau, was based on a survey and interviews with about 100 Chinese companies in Europe. It also called on the European Union (EU) to provide a more stable and predictable business environment.

Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they planned to expand investment in the bloc over the next three years, highlighting Europe's importance in their global strategies even as companies face tighter EU scrutinies in areas such as subsidies, data and national security.

The report said Chinese businesses increasingly viewed Europe as a key destination because of the strategic fit between the two sides and the opportunities created by the global shift toward green and digital industries.

Chinese companies in Europe have been advancing a "In Europe, for Europe" strategy, the report said, by creating local jobs, bringing in technology and integrating more deeply into regional supply chains, particularly in sectors such as electric vehicles and clean energy.

It said Chinese investment in Europe had become more diversified in recent years, spanning 18 industries, with companies seeing room for further cooperation in areas including renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, information and communications technology, and the digital economy.

China and the EU remain each other's second-largest trading partners. According to Chinese customs data, China's trade with the EU reached 5.93 trillion yuan (about 860 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up 6 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 13 percent of China's total foreign trade.

At the same time, policy uncertainty in the EU has become the biggest concern for many Chinese firms, outweighing challenges such as cultural differences, geopolitical risks and market access barriers, according to the report.

More than half of respondents identified uncertainty around EU policies as their top concern, while nearly three-quarters said policy stability and predictability were the improvements they most wanted to see.

The report said worries were especially pronounced in sectors such as new energy, information technology and healthcare, where companies feared policy shifts could reshape the competitive landscape.

It also said businesses wanted progress on tax policy, non-tariff barriers and market access, and some hoped the EU would restart the ratification process for the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between China and the EU.

The report described China-EU economic ties as fundamentally complementary and mutually beneficial, arguing that the two sides could not only expand cooperation in each other's markets but also work together in third-country markets. 
A parent of students at a Jamaica Plain private school is suing the schools founder, claiming he ran a Ponzi scheme that solicited loans from families to fund construction projects at the school.

Scott Given, founder and executive director of the Croft School, has been accused of forging bank documents and keeping two sets of books to hide $13 million in debt for years. In the lawsuit, Paul Crockett, whose children attend the schools Jamaica Plain campus, said he loaned the school $160,000 after Given falsely said Croft was on sound financial footing.

Crockett agreed to loan money after Given introduced what he called Croft Bonds, which he told families would be repaid in full, plus 12.5% interest. The bonds were intended to help finance the construction of new fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms and an expanded outdoor play area at Crofts Jamaica Plain campus.

Advertisement Advertisement

Given told parents, including Crockett, that the school had considered traditional bank funding for expansion projects, but that Given wanted to offer parents of students an opportunity to invest personally and make a profit, in a win-win transaction, Crocketts attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, filed in Norfolk Superior Court on March 20.

The school also has locations in the South End and Providence, Rhode Island.

Given first solicited money from Jamaica Plain parents in the form of Croft Bonds in August 2024, according to the lawsuit. He wrote in an email at the time that interested families could contribute between $100 and $250,000, receiving interest paid annually, and receive the full amount back at the end of the loans four-year term.

He wrote that the school was hoping to raise up to $1 million through the Croft Bonds and would finance the remaining approximately $1 million for the construction projects through traditional bank loans.

Advertisement Advertisement

Given told families that Croft had a financial support fund that never dropped below $4 million and would be used to support the bonds. He later elaborated in an email to Crockett that this fund was backed by 15 high net worth individuals with long-term commitments to contribute annually, and any money taken from the fund each year is replenished by those contributions.

The Croft Bonds would also be senior debt, meaning repayment would take priority over any other debt the school held.

In a worst-case scenario (which is not at all anticipated) whereby Croft did not have the funds in its operating and capital accounts to repay the loan at maturity, the source of the repayment would be the cash in our financial support fund, Given wrote in his initial email to parents.

He also provided financial statements showing approximately $4.6 million in debt, alongside $4.6 million in the financial support fund.

Advertisement Advertisement

The school founder later told Crockett over email that over 40 families had expressed interest in Croft Bonds and that if they did not cap the initiative at $1 million, they would have raised between $2 and $2.5 million.

Crockett initially agreed to loan $120,000 to the school. However, the following September, Given sent a financial update to the households that had provided loans, saying he hoped to increase the amount of Croft Bonds from $1.2 million to $1.4 million, and Crockett offered another $40,000.

Its great to see Croft in such a strong position, with both the operating performance and the support fund looking solid, Crockett wrote in an email to Given. I am inclined to expand my current bond position a bit, as I continue to see this as a true win-win investment.

However, in the lawsuit, Crocketts attorneys wrote that it was clear Crofts finances are not what they were represented to be. They claimed that Given had issued Croft Bonds to almost 50 families, totaling millions of dollars, well beyond $1.4 million.

Advertisement Advertisement

In addition, they wrote that Given had solicited the second round of Croft Bonds to fund interest payments from the first round, in the style of a classic Ponzi scheme.

Neither Croft or Givens attorney immediately responded to a request for comment Monday morning.

The lawsuit is the second accusing Given of financial fraud this month. In the first, which also names the school as a defendant, real estate company 1421 Washington Associates LLC accused him of forging a $500,000 letter of credit to secure a lease for a space on Washington Street where he intended to expand Crofts South End campus.

Croft backed out of the expansion plans due to outrage from neighbors, who were dismayed that the buildings current occupant, Foodies Market, was closing, though the closure was unrelated to the schools plans. The landlord group argued in their lawsuit that by pulling out, Croft had violated its lease.

Advertisement Advertisement

Given admitted his financial coverups to Crofts board of directors after a manager of Washington Associates attempted to cash the letter of credit he had provided and learned it was a fake, the board told families in a letter last week. Given was suspended from his position on March 7.

The board of directors wrote in the letter that after suspending Given on March 7, they took steps to secure the schools finances. After paying employees with what little cash was left in Crofts accounts and securing a $400,000 capital contribution from an undisclosed source, the school was left with about $448,000, enough to cover payroll for the rest of the month.

A spokesperson for Croft said Monday that parents and the board are searching for other funding sources. The board said previously that they would need $5 million to finish out the school year.

More boston

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
A makeshift memorial lined a Salisbury neighborhood on Tuesday, less than one week after a man was shot and killed during a home break-in on Beard Street.

ALSO READ: Man arrested in shooting that left 1 dead in Salisbury neighborhood

Sebastian Rankin Jr. was shot and later died at the hospital, police said.

Salisbury police charged Namyous Dejhmariekkali Jackson with first-degree murder.

He shot and killed Rankin on Thursday inside this home, police said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Chopper 9 was overhead while police investigated.

Police arrived at the home close to 4 p.m. in response to a breaking-and-entering in progress.

Multiple people inside the house were hurt and said it was a domestic incident that turned into an assault, police said.

Three people were inside, including two men. A female was also hurt and taken to a hospital.

VIDEO: Historic Ford dealership in Salisbury transformed into senior living
In January, two detectives visited Miami Beach resident and former political candidate Raquel Pacheco at her home to question her about her Facebook comment criticizing the city's mayor. She captured the moment on video, and the police visit quickly went viral, drawing attention from free speech advocates.

Now, those officers, the city of Miami Beach, the mayor, and other city officials are facing a federal lawsuit from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) for violating Pacheco's First Amendment rights. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for the "distress, fear, humiliation and reputational harm she has endured."

In January, Pacheco commented on Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner's Facebook post, which said Miami Beach was a "safe haven for everyone." Under the post, Pacheco wrote, "The guy who consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians, tried to shut down a theater for showing a movie that hurt his feelings, and REFUSES to stand up for the LGBTQ community in any way (even leaves the room when they vote on related matters) wants you to know that you're all welcome here."

Advertisement Advertisement

Two Miami Beach Police Department detectives later showed up at Pacheco's home, asking if she had posted the comment. Pacheco refused to answer the officers' questions without a lawyer present, Reason's C.J. Ciaramella reported at the time.

During the visit, one of the officers told Pacheco the post could "probably incite somebody to do something radical."

A few days later, Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne A. Jones released a statement defending his decision to send the officers to Pacheco's home, "given the real, ongoing national and international concerns surrounding antisemitic attacks and recent rhetoric that has led to violence against political figures." He stated he had directed the detectives to "initiate a brief, voluntary conversation regarding certain inflammatory, potentially inciteful false remarks" to ensure there was no threat to the mayor or broader community.

As Ciaramella noted in January: "Although police and politicians on the receiving end of inflammatory criticism may believe the threat is clear enough, there is a difficult First Amendment bar to clear to meet the legal standard for incitement." In Pacheco's case, her comments did "not include any call to action or the sort of imperative statements usually associated with incitement," wrote Ciaramella.

Advertisement Advertisement

The ADC's lawsuit alleges that this is not the first time the city and its officials have violated the First Amendment rights of "individuals and groups who express support for the Palestinian people and/or criticize the State of Israel." Last March, Meiner sent a letter to the CEO of O Cinema, asking the theater to "reconsider" showing the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. In the letter, he called the documentarywhich chronicles some of the destruction of a Palestinian community in the West Bankan "antisemitic" and "hateful" piece of propaganda. After the theater (which rents its space from the city) still screened the movie, Meiner introduced a resolution to terminate the city's lease agreement. Meiner announced he was dropping the resolution during a Miami Beach City Commission meeting where the "vast majority of attendees" opposed Meiner's proposal, the Miami Herald reported.

Although the theater was able to continue operating and Pacheco was not arrested for her speech, the ADC alleges that the city's actions created a chilling effect on speech for both Pacheco and the "broader community watching the incident unfold online."

"[We] filed this case to ensure that the Mayor's message is rejected and that the Constitution's protections apply equally to all viewpoints, including those expressed in support of Palestinian human rights," the ADC said in a press release. "We call on civil liberties advocates, community leaders, and the public to stand in defense of Ms. Pacheco and the fundamental right to speak freely without fear of government retaliation."

The post Miami Beach Woman Visited by Detectives Over a Facebook Comment Files Free Speech Lawsuit appeared first on Reason.com.
The Miami Beach City Commission voted all in favor of banning shark fishing from the shoreline as well as any land-based structures, such as bridges and docks, Coastal Breeze News reported.

Miami Beach joins at least four other municipalities that have banned land-based shark fishing. The move was mainly motivated by a desire to keep the beach safe for visitors, but it also protects animals and the broader marine environment.

"We're targeting heavy-duty fishing equipment that can cause serious injuries to families or anyone who happens to be enjoying our public beach areas," Miami Beach Commissioner Laura Dominguez, who sponsored the measure, said in a press release.

Advertisement Advertisement

Dead sharks have also been found along the coastline and in nearby communities, likely due to improper fishing, Coastal Breeze News reported.

The release further stated that the legislation looks to prevent the "intentional or negligent capture, injury or killing of sharks within or adjacent to city waters."

Neighboring Biscayne Bay serves as a nursery and year-round habitat for critically endangered great hammerhead sharks, according to the University of Miami.

This type of legislation is increasingly important as rising ocean temperatures push sharks and other marine wildlife into new territories with greater frequency in search of resources and suitable habitat. This has led to increased human-shark encounters, which increases the possibility of attacks, making it more important to separate humans and sharks.

Advertisement Advertisement

Sharks and other marine wildlife, such as whales, sea turtles, and seals, often get caught in discarded fishing gear by accident, too, including mesh nets put in place to protect people.

As apex predators, sharks are integral to the overall health of ocean ecosystems, and overfishing is a major threat to their survival. Shark fishing bans have also been enacted in Australia, Central Asia, and Mexico, among other places.

Regarding the Miami Beach ban, Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said, "We are not only reducing dangerous human-shark interactions in our swimming areas, but also taking a firm stand against the degradation of our vital marine ecosystem. This is a critical step in ensuring our world-class beaches remain a safe environment for every resident and visitor."

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.
The Michigan Democratic Party officially came out in opposition to a ballot measure that advocates are hoping to put on the 2026 ballot which would implement strict voter ID rules starting in the 2027 election cycle.

The voter suppression ballot measure, that submitted petition signatures earlier this month with the hope of getting on the November ballot, is a blatant attempt from Michigan Republicans to make it harder to vote and disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Michiganders, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said in a press release. This measure would put in place burdensome requirements for voters, force many to re-register to vote, and only make the voting process more difficult. Michigans elections are safe and secure, and this is just a power-grab attempt from Michigan Republicans who are desperate to limit access to the ballot box.

The proposal would establish new voter roll verifications, compelling the secretary of state to regularly review voter rolls and remove non-citizens if they are found. It would also establish a new requirement for voters to possess a photo ID before casting a vote.

Advertisement Advertisement

Michigan election law already requires voters to show a photo drivers license or a photo state identification card at their election precinct, or in the absence of one, sign a legal affidavit. The same is true for obtaining an absentee ballot.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

The group behind the proposal, Americans for Citizen Voting, said in early March that they had collected 750,000 signatures on their proposal, well above the threshold to get the initiative on the ballot, though those signatures have not yet been verified by the Department of State.

Other groups in opposition, including Voters Not Politicians, have shared similar concerns about the ballot measure, arguing that it will make it harder for eligible citizens to vote  and that it is already a legal requirement that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections.

Advertisement Advertisement

Democratic Party leadership also came out in opposition to a state constitutional convention, or Con-Con, with Hertel saying that both ballot measures would have disastrous effects on our state, and Michigan families cannot afford either one. The Michigan Democratic Party is urging voters to vote no on both measures.

The last time Michigan voted to take on a constitutional convention was in 1961, when the ballot question passed by just two percentage points. Since then, the ballot questions have failed by large margins, with no votes getting 77% of the vote in 1978, 72% in 1994 and 67% in 2010.

A constitutional convention would be a long and drawn-out process where wealthy insiders and special interests would attempt to re-write Michigans constitution and put at risk the progress that voters have passed in recent years, including protecting abortion rights and establishing a nonpartisan redistricting process, Hertel said. Voters have rejected previous constitutional conventions by large margins, and its crucial that Michiganders once again reject a constitutional convention this November.

Other groups in opposition to the constitutional convention have similarly said that it would open the state constitution up to a wide range of outside interest groups, especially far-right interests seeking to undo progressive changes made in recent years.
Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains severely restricted amid the war in Iran.

According to data provider Kpler, only three ships with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) switched on passed through the bottleneck in the Gulf on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said Iran allowed two liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to pass through without incident. Two Indian-flagged gas tankers passed through earlier this month.

Advertisement Advertisement

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denied passage to the container ship Selen, flying the flag of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

According to the Tasnim news agency, Navy Commander Ali-Reza Tangrisi cited a lack of authorizations as the reason. He stated that use of the Strait of Hormuz is permitted only in consultation with the Iranian authorities.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz was fundamentally open  except to ships belonging to the "aggressors," namely the US and Israel, as well as their supporters.

On Saturday, Araghchi had written on X that shipping companies were hesitant because insurers were shying away from the risk of war.

Advertisement Advertisement

The waterway, which is central to international energy trade, is effectively blocked for much of the shipping industry.

Irans control, as well as warnings of mines, drone attacks and the withdrawal of war risk insurance, have made passage virtually impossible for Western shipping companies. Hundreds of tankers, container ships and freighters are stranded in the region.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey has appointed Donald L. Bennett to represent the 94th district in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Bennett will serve the remainder of the term of late Del. Larry Kump, R-Berkeley.

Kump served nearly 10 years over three separate tenures in the House of Delegates. He died earlier this year.

Bennett is a U.S. Army veteran and small business owner who has lived in Martinsburg nearly 20 years, according to a news release from Morriseys office. He works in health care, according to the release.

Donald Bennett brings a strong record of service, leadership, and real-world experience to the House of Delegates, Morrisey said in the news release. From his time in the United States Army to his work in healthcare and as a small business owner, he understands the challenges facing West Virginia families and is prepared to deliver results.
Police have identified the two men killed in a quadruple shooting on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware, that left two other people critically injured.

Authorities have not released a motive or any information about what led up to the gunfire.

According to police, the shooting occurred around 2:30 p.m. on North Adams Street, near West 7th Street, where first responders were seen treating multiple victims.

Advertisement Advertisement

Two men, 19-year-old Ryan Evans and 21-year-old Wahkee Tabron, both of Newark, were taken to the hospital and later died.

A 36-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The violence unfolded just outside the home of Terrielle Jordan, who said she initially mistook the sounds for construction.

Wilmington shooting leaves 2 dead, 2 critically injured

"I've never been so close up on something that happened like that," she said.

Jordan said a bullet struck her front door, and the incident left her thinking about how easily she or her children could have been harmed.

Advertisement Advertisement

"I could've been walking to the corner store and been caught in the crossfire. My kids could've been without a mom, or I could've just genuinely opened my door to see what's going on," she said. "So I just think that everybody should be a little more considerate of other people that's around them."

Jordan added that this is the third shooting nearby since moving into the neighborhood a few months ago.

"I was debating on if I wanted to stay another year, but I think I'm probably going to move. This is too much," she said.

Chopper 6 was over the scene of a shooting on N. Adams Street in Wilmington, Delaware on March 24, 2026.

Advertisement Advertisement

Another neighbor, who has lived in the area for nearly a decade, suggested the shooting may have been drug-related, though police have not confirmed any motive.

"It's commonplace here, it's common," said Rick Johnson. "They need to come here and clean this up. That's what they need to do. They know what's going on."

It remains unclear whether any of the victims may have been innocent bystanders. The investigation is ongoing.

Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact Wilmington Police or Delaware Crime Stoppers.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) ripped Senate Republicans for holding the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) hostage amid the partial government shutdown.

The partial government shutdown has been affecting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, causing massive security delays at airports across the country. This is because Senate Democrats and Republicans have disagreed on approving spending for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than a month.

Booker said on MS NOWs Morning Joe that Democrats have proposed a deal that would fund TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Coast Guard. But Senate Republicans have rejected the legislation seven times without funding for ICE, Booker said.

Advertisement Advertisement

He also bashed President Donald Trump for deploying ICE agents to U.S. airports to help TSA security screenings.

They put ICE in our airports to cause more chaos and frankly, cruelty to the passengers who are waiting in long lines. Thats not where ICE belongs, he said on MS NOW. We should have paid TSA weeks ago. Democrats have, for seven times, tried to get them just to pay TSA, pay FEMA, pay the Coast Guard.

We were fighting over ICE because theyve been doing horrific, hellish things in our communities, slamming Americans to the pavement, barging and breaking down doors to American homes, pulling veterans out in their underwear and putting them in zip ties, he said.

Watch

Advertisement Advertisement

He explained that the Senate Democrats do not want to give ICE more funding without reform.

Democrats have said, were not giving more money to an agencys out of control without substantive reforms. Well, what this president and the Republicans position is, OK if you dont want to fund ICE, youre not going to fund any other agency. Were going to shut down the whole Department of Homeland Security, Booker said.

And thats absurd. Theyre holding TSA hostage, causing pain there in hopes that itll force many of our moderates to break and say, okay, dont hurt us anymore. Well give you what you want with ICE. Thats just not happening, he added.

Multiple news outlets reported Monday that Trump shut down a bipartisan deal that would have funded TSA despite a handful of Senate Republicans backing the proposal.

Advertisement Advertisement

Booker held a news conference at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday to demand that the administration pull ICE officers out of airports. The Trump administration deployed ICE agents to assist TSA screenings as airports face widespread delays during the ongoing shutdown.

This is not complicated, Booker said on Monday. Pay TSA and get ICE the hell out of our airports.

The fight over DHS has been complicated by Trumps demand to tie the funding to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a voting reform bill staunchly opposed by Democrats. The legislation would require U.S. adults to show a proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.

Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday that he did not want Republicans to make any deal with Democrats. But Republicans would need some Democratic support to clear funding for DHS and advance the SAVE Act.

Advertisement Advertisement

I dont think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!! Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary, he added.

While the SAVE Act narrowly cleared the House, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate where 60 votes are necessary to advance the legislation. The Republicans hold just a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning that they would need Democratic support to advance the bill for a final vote.

Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
NASA will host a daylong public event to highlight the space agency's upcoming missions to land astronauts on the moon and other objectives under President Donald Trump.

Kicking off at 9 a.m. ET, Tuesday, March 24, the event includes a series of panels and briefings at NASA's headquarters meant to outline plans to return to the moon and build a permanent lunar base.

In just over a week, the first human moon mission in more than 50 years could launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending four astronauts on a journey around the moon.

Advertisement Advertisement

The event also comes more than three months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order meant to pave the way for ensuring the U.S. remains a major leader in space exploration. Signed Dec. 18, 2025, the order sought to "extend the reach of human discovery, secure the nations vital economic and security interests, unleash commercial development and lay the foundation for a new space age."

Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander captures its shadow on the moon's surface after completing a successful landing March 2 near a volcanic feature on the moon called Mons Latreille. The vehicle became the first of two landers manufactured by a U.S. company to reach the moon is 2025 in crucial missions to lay the groundwork for NASA to return humans to the lunar surface in the years ahead. Athena, the lunar lander on Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission, captured this image of the moon's surface with Earth seen in the distance ahead of a March 6 landing attempt. While the lander was the second U.S. vehicle to reach the moon within a week, it ultimately landed on its side, which hindered much of its mission. NASA astronaut Suni Williams is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft March 18 following a return to Earth after a nine-month stay at the International Space Station. She and NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore crewed the Boeing Starliner, which had launched in June 2024 on a failed test flight that was meant to return them to Earth a few days later. Butch Wilmore reacts after he and Suni Williams and two other astronauts splashed down March 18 in a Crew Dragon space capsule following their return to earth from the International Space Station off the coast of Florida. The astronauts' extended stay at the orbital outpost dominated the news cycle for months. A SpaceX support team member is seen airborne while working to lift the SpaceX Dragon capsule that returned the Starliner astronauts and two others onto a recovery vehicle following its landing off the coast of Florida. This picture shows the crew of a privately-funded mission known as Fram2, from left to right, mission specialist and medical officer Eric Philips, mission commander Chun Wang, pilot Rabea Rogge and vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen on March 19, 2025 in Hawthorne, California. Launched March 31 from Florida using a SpaceX Dragon capsule, the mission became t first ever human spaceflight over the Earth's polar regions. Pop musician Katy Perry emerges April 14 from Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule in West Texas following a brief flight to the edge of space. Perry was part of an all-women crew that also included broadcast journalist Gayle King that took the ride from Blue Origin's facility called Launch Site One. The high-profile launch attracted plenty of headlines and even drew some backlash from those who viewed the mission as a wasteful publicity stunt. Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket carrying astronauts Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, and Lauren Sanchez lifts off April 14 from Launch Site One near Van Horn, Texas. Blue Origin has since launched five more human spaceflights on the New Shepard in 2025. This photo depicts a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the latest batch of Amazon's broadband satellites on Dec. 16 to low-Earth orbit after launching from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Formerly called Project Kuiper, the venture has since been renamed Amazon Leo. Since its debut April launch, Amazon Leo has deployed 180 of 3,000 satellites planned for its first constellation, which could challenge SpaceX's Starlink. A group of Blue Origin employees with their friends and families gather on the beach in Cape Canaveral for the launch of Blue Origin's second New Glenn rocket in 2025. Following its January debut, the rocket launched for the second time Nov. 13 from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, sending NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft on their trek to Mars. Darkness falls Nov. 9 as a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket is prepped for its second-ever launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin is developing the towering rocket for heavy-lift missions that could see Jeff Bezos' company compete with Elon Musk and SpaceX. The SpaceX Starship spacecraft sits Oct. 12, 2025 atop the Super Heavy booster before sunrise as preparations continue for its 11th test flight from the company's complex in Starbase, Texas. A SpaceX Super Heavy booster carrying the Starship spacecraft lifts off Oct. 13, 2025, on its 11th ever test flight at the company's launch pad in Starbase, Texas. The launch was Starship's fifth of 2025, and second consecutive successful test flight following a year that was early on marked by explosive failures. SpaceX is developing the rocket for future missions that would help NASA astronauts land on the moon and also potentially transport the first humans to Mars. 2025 spaceflight in photos. See images of Blue Origin, SpaceX missions 1 of 13 Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander captures its shadow on the moon's surface after completing a successful landing March 2 near a volcanic feature on the moon called Mons Latreille. The vehicle became the first of two landers manufactured by a U.S. company to reach the moon is 2025 in crucial missions to lay the groundwork for NASA to return humans to the lunar surface in the years ahead.

Here's everything to know about NASA's public panels and how you can watch them.

NASA hosts 'high-level' public event on Trump's space policy

NASA will host a daylong public event at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., as it prepares for a historic human lunar mission that could set the stage for a defining era of space exploration in the years ahead.

Opening remarks from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman at 9 a.m. ET Tuesday, March 24 will be followed by a series of "high-level" panels on the agency's overall space exploration goals under Trump  most prominently including astronaut moon landings under the Artemis program.

Advertisement Advertisement

The day will end with a news conference at 4:45 p.m. ET "recapping major announcements discussed throughout the day," NASA said in a press release.

How to watch NASA livestream coverage

Coverage will be available on the agency's streaming app, NASA+  also available on YouTube and the agencys X account  as well as Amazon Prime. Netflix, which provides some live NASA coverage, including rocket launches, is not promoting the event on its platform.

What is NASA's Artemis lunar program?

Established during Trump's first term, NASA's Artemis lunar program is the space agency's ambitious campaign to return American astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo era came to an end in 1972.

Missions under the Artemis campaign began in 2022 with the uncrewed flight test of NASA's towering 322-foot Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule were astronauts will ride to lunar orbit.

Advertisement Advertisement

Now, four astronauts are on the cusp of the first U.S. human moon mission in more than 50 years as part of Artemis 2. That mission could get off the ground as early as April from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending three Americans and one Canadian on a 10-day trip around the moon.

Ultimately, NASA aims to establish a permanent lunar base near the moon's south pole to facilitate exploration and, eventually, the first human expeditions to Mars.

When will astronauts return to moon? What to know about 2028 landing

A moon landing is now targeted for no earlier than 2028 under the Artemis 4 mission.

NASA leaders announced the updated target timeframe at the end of February while also unveiling a new mission under the lunar program now known as Artemis 3. Planned for 2027, that mission will involve sending a crew of astronauts to Earth orbit in the Orion capsule, where they will meet and dock with at least one of the lunar landers being developed by billionaire-owned Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Advertisement Advertisement

After an initial human lunar landing, Isaacman envisions another crewed surface mission later in 2028, followed by at least one crewed moon landing each year.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA event to detail space exploration plans under Trump. Watch
The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on achievements of the 2023-2025 special action plan for patent commercialization and utilization, in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Pan Xu)

BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China's top intellectual property regulator said on Monday it had completed its first-ever screening of over 1.3 million patents held by universities and research institutions nationwide.

In this process, it identified 680,000 invention patents with strong commercialization potential and connected them with 460,000 companies in a push to move innovation from lab to market.

This patent stock review is part of a special action plan for patent transformation and utilization issued by the State Council in 2023. Sorting out and revitalizing existing patents at universities and research institutions is one of the major tasks. Over the past three years, about 80,000 invention patents from more than 2,700 universities and research institutions across the country have entered the market.

"By the end of 2025, the industrialization rates of these patents from universities and research institutes had reached 10.1 percent and 17.2 percent, respectively, showing greater improvement compared with the pre-action period," said Hu Wenhui, deputy commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, at a press conference.

Hu added that the action plan was forward-looking, with a group of key core technology patents deployed in future-oriented industries, such as quantum technology, bio-manufacturing, brain-computer interfaces and 6G communications, laying a solid foundation for high-value patent commercialization.

Additionally, a number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that focus on hard tech and hold strong patents have benefited from this initiative and grown stronger. Hu noted that cutting-edge companies known as Hangzhou's "Six Little Dragons," including globally trending startup Unitree Robotics, have thrived under the SME patent industrialization program implemented in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Large companies that have cultivated and developed patent-intensive products also generated high profits and achieved a significant increase in overseas sales, Hu said, highlighting that commercialized patents contribute to economic growth.

China has become the first country to amass over 5 million valid domestic invention patents, and its international patent applications have led globally for six consecutive years. However, its industrialization rate of invention patents remains low, especially in universities and research institutions. Prior to the special action, data from 2022 showed that the industrialization rate for China's university invention patents was only 3.9 percent, leaving many patented technologies unused.

According to Hu, there are several factors that have contributed to the low rate: a lack of commercial vision among lab researchers, long transfer cycles and high risks that weaken incentives, a shortage of professionals skilled in patent transfers, and an inefficient patent transfer ecosystem.

The country has in recent years stepped up efforts aimed at enhancing patent transfers, seeking to turn scientific and technological research outcomes into tangible drivers of economic and social development.

Over the past three years, multiple measures have been introduced to address these problems, such as establishing a pre-application evaluation system for lab inventions, providing researchers with rewards for successful commercialization rather than for patent filing, setting up specialized platforms and cultivating talent in the field of technology transfers, and rolling out a series of new favorable policies like technology shares to remove barriers on the path from the lab to the market.

The Ministry of Education is also exploring the use of technologies including artificial intelligence and big data to create smart profiles of university patents, identifying their potential value and possible application scenarios, said Zhou Dawang, an official with the ministry.

"Inventions that simply sit in labs are like castles in the air," noted Wei Wei, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. "Technology must move out of the lab and onto the production line to become tangible products that people can see, touch and use in their daily lives." 
SOUTH BEND  No Kings 3 will occur downtown on Saturday, March 28. The nationwide protest is the third since June 2025. No Kings movement organizers oppose what they call the increasingly authoritarian actions of Donald Trump and his administration.

More than 3,000 No Kings protests will be held all across the country. There are 60 No Kings protests across Indiana, according to the No Kings website.

The South Bend protest is organized by the Michiana Alliance for Democracy, an Indivisible network member. They will be joined by Concerned Voices of St. Joseph County and MADVoters.

Advertisement Advertisement

While families face rising costs for groceries, housing, and healthcare, organizers point to expanded federal immigration enforcement funding and policies they say have terrorized communities, a press release said. They cite reported deaths this year connected to ICE and CBP enforcement actions, including Keith Porter Jr., Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and others.

"And now we are in a war with Iran, a press release said. A needless war based on our president using the American military to carry out his every whim and to settle any wrong that he feels he has experienced.

At the first No Kings protest in June 2025, The Tribune reported that between 4,000 and 5,000 people attended. Then, in October 2025, The Tribune reported that between 5,500 and 6,500 people gathered.

We just hope we get more, said Carrie Bowie, a member of the Michiana Alliance for Democracy. The mobilization across the country has been like two million more each time, nationally.

Advertisement Advertisement

"And so, were just hoping for more people to come out, Bowie said.

South Bend protesters will gather at 1 p.m. at Jon Hunt Memorial Plaza in front of the Morris Performing Arts Center, 211 N. Michigan St. The non-violent protest is expected to last until 3 p.m.

The focus is we want no kings, Bowie said. This country doesnt belong to strong men, and it doesnt belong to billionaires; it belongs to the people.

People attend the protests, she said, for different reasons.

"Thats why its called No Kings, because everybody has their personal reasons," Bowie said. "But it all comes together in saying we dont want a strong man. We are a democracy, and we want to live like that.

Carrie Bowie of Michiana Alliance for Democracy addresses the crowd Oct. 18, 2025, at the start of the "No Kings 2" protest at the Jon Hunt Plaza in front of the Morris Performing Arts Center in downtown South Bend.

What to expect

Protesters can expect citizen speakers, Singing Resistance and various calls to action.

Advertisement Advertisement

Theyre ordinary people from our community," Bowie said. "Its not like were having stars in from elsewhere or celebrities, but theyre people just in our neighborhoods and people we know that we feel can express some of our concerns.

According to Tribune news-gathering partner WNDU, Saturday, March 28 is expected to be 45 degrees, mostly cloudy with 10 mile-per-hour wind.

Weather will always affect what happens, but were going to have it. Were going to hope people come out, Bowie said. They had below-zero temperatures in Minnesota and people came out, so well just go ahead and go with what we get.

Be prepared: What Indiana protesters can, can't do at March 28 'No Kings' rallies

Advertisement Advertisement

Protesters are encouraged to bring signs, water, food or cash donations, and a commitment to peaceful, lawful action, a press release said.

Thousands of protesters at Jon R. Hunt Memorial Plaza participate in the national No Kings rallies on Saturday, June 14, 2025, in South Bend, Indiana. The protests, organizers say, are meant to take action to reject authoritarianism  and show the world what democracy really looks like.

Where are other events near me?

Apart from the South Bend rally, there are also six other demonstrations happening in the Michiana area.

 Elkhart: 10 a.m. to noon, Civic Plaza,350 S. Main St.

 Goshen: noon to 3 p.m., Historic Elkhart County Courthouse, 101 N. Main St. #205

 Warsaw: 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., Warsaw Community Public Library, 310 E. Main St.

 LaPorte: noon to 1 p.m., LaPorte County Courthouse, 813 Lincolnway

 Cassopolis: 2 to 3 p.m., Cass County Historic Courthouse, 120 N. Broadway

Advertisement Advertisement

 Niles: 4 to 5 p.m., 92 E. Main St., corner of Main and Second streets

Email Tribune staff writer Juliane Balog at jbalog@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: No Kings 3 protests are coming to South Bend and surrounding cities
STUART  A man who always wanted to be a city manager in Florida got his wish March 23.

Michael Giardino, a 26-year U.S. Navy veteran received unanimous approval from the City Commission. here on a contract for the city manager's job. But the unanimous approval didn't come without contention between commissioners.

"This is a different caliber of person," Mayor Christopher Collins said after Commissioner Campbell Rich tried to amend a motion to approve Giardino's contract.

Advertisement Advertisement

Rich wanted Giardino limited to receiving only two weeks severance if he is fired for any reason within his first six months on the job. Giardino's contract gives him 20 weeks severance if he is fired without cause.

The Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. Louis Boglioli III, Stuart's former interim city manager and finance director, speaks during public comment in the Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. Interim City Manager Roz Johnson Strong during the Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. The Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. Louis Boglioli III, Stuart's former interim city manager and finance director, speaks during public comment in the Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. The Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. Louis Boglioli III, Stuart's former interim city manager and finance director, speaks with Vice Mayor Sean Reed after speaking during public comment in the Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. The Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. The Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager. Louis Boglioli III, Stuart's former interim city manager and finance director, speaks with Vice Mayor Sean Reed after speaking during public comment in the Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the city manager finalist. The Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the city manager finalist. March 2026 in photos: 'No Kings', county fairs, breaking news 1 of 11 The Stuart City Commission regular meeting, March 9, 2026, at City Hall. On the agenda were the Lyric Theatre Centennial Celebration proclamation, a presentation of the Florida Department of Transportation Monterey Road at FEC railroad crossing grade separation project and the selection of Martin County resident Michael Giardino as the next city manager.

Rich made the suggestion "in light of what happened with the previous hire that everyone was very enthusiastic about and which ended up costing the city and the taxpayers quite a bit of money," he said.

But, Rich said, "I do not anticipate this happening."

Former City Manager Michael Mortell was fired by the commission Oct. 27. Finance Director Louis Boglioli III was named interim city manager, but he claimed he was pressured by a city commissioner to step down from that post. Human Resources Director Roz Johnson Strong was then tapped to take the interim position.

Becoming annoyed

But Collins was annoyed.

Advertisement Advertisement

"I don't appreciate even that comment from you," Collins said to Rich. "We are blessed that we've had him (Giardino) apply."

New Stuart City Manager Michael Giardino. The Stuart City Commission on March 23, 2026, approved Giardino's contract. He is expected to start April 27, 2026.

Whether it was hiring Environmental Attorney Ruth Holmes and now Giardino, Collins said, "there has to continuously be a negative cloud from you and Mr. Campenni, your good friend."

Collins was referring to former Commissioner Tom Campenni, who now publishes the Friends & Neighbors newsletter, which has been critical of Collins and commissioners Laura Giobbi and Sean Reed.

Start date and salary

In the end, the commission approved Giardino's contract unanimously, setting his salary at $195,000 annually. He comes to Stuart after a long military career, which included service as a helicopter pilot and and helping run Naval Air Station Key West. He retired from the Navy there in 2011 as a commander.

Advertisement Advertisement

He begins his new job in Stuart April 27, according to city records. Giardino now is deputy general manager of works New York's LaGuardia Airport, overseeing about 300 people.

He will report to the City Commission.

Caution from the public

Despite Giardino's solid credentials, resident Robin Cartwright urged caution that something unfavorable might be in the works.

She pointed to former City Manager Dave Ross, who resigned just seven months after he started, following accusations of taking undocumented time off and poor leadership.

"Certain community members are setting this up and even rooting for this to fail, including some closely affiliated with the city and including some of our friends and neighbors," Cartwright said during the meeting's public-comment period.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Speculation can be made as to why," she said, "and I would hope that whatever the reason, it's not really the case."

His first words

But Giardino seemed to shake off any negativity. He thanked commissioners, Johnson Strong and City Attorney Lee Baggett following approval of his contract.

"The process was rigorous," he said. "It was fair."

Then he introduced himself to the public.

"To the citizens, I'm Mike Giardino," he said.

He grew up in Rochester, New York, joined the Navy and "had a fabulous career," he said.

More on Stuart: Florida city might finalize deal to hire Navy vet as next city manager

Advertisement Advertisement

More on Brightline: Who would own a Stuart Brightline station? The answer's not so simple

"I finished in Key West, Florida," Giardino said, "and I always wanted to be a city manager in Florida since I retired."

"I am grateful to be here," he said. "I am proud to be here, and I am ready to work."

Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Navy vet to fulfill his dream to be a city manager in Florida
North Carolinas nonpartisan consensus economic forecast, released Tuesday, projected hundred of millions of dollars more in revenue than anticipated. But state leaders were far from consensus on how to view the change, with Republican legislative leaders voicing optimism and Democratic Gov. Josh Stein warning that the states financial future is still in doubt.

The report, a collaboration between the legislatures Fiscal Research Division and the Office of State Budget and Management, which is overseen by the governor, reflected a $370 million increase in expected revenue for the current fiscal year, a bump of 1%. The 2026-27 fiscal year forecast increased by $951 million, or 2.8%, following higher-than-expected economic growth estimates.

The report noted that the financial outlook may still change, pointing to the potential of the U.S. war with Iran to slow economic growth and raise prices, and the chance for an April Surprise of lower-than-expected income tax payments.

Advertisement Advertisement

The adjusted outlook still predicts a decrease in revenue from the current fiscal year to the upcoming one, from $35.07 billion in 2025-26 to $34.72 billion in 2026-27, a point that the governors office cited as reason to pause pending tax cuts passed by the legislature years ago.

It is time to fund Medicaid, Gov. Josh Stein said in a news conference Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Raleigh. Because if [lawmakers] fail to do so, people are suffering. And it is unacceptable. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

Those cuts are set to take effect when the state hits certain levels of revenue. According to the report, the state is expected to hit two triggers for personal income tax rate reductions this biennium, dropping the rate to 2.99% by tax year 2028, which Stein warned would cause a deficit.

Todays forecast means that we will soon fall into a budget gap of at least $2.8 billion, causing the state to have to make painful cuts to critical services like public safety, education, and health care, Stein said in a statement. As our population rapidly grows and the federal government becomes a less reliable partner, I urge this General Assembly to study these new realities, hit pause on outdated, irresponsible tax triggers, and invest in our most important resource: our people.

Both Stein and House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) identified the automatic tax cuts as a concern, urging budget restraint in response.

Advertisement Advertisement

Todays announcement of a surplus demonstrates the success of the fiscally responsible policies enacted by our Republican majority over the last fifteen years, Hall said. We must protect North Carolinas hard-earned reputation for fiscal strength by passing a responsible budget sooner rather than later.

North Carolina has gone more than two years without a full budget, in part because of policy differences between Senate and House Republicans over whether to pause the automatic tax cuts, a move that both Stein and House leadership support but which the state Senate has resisted.

North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) speaks to reporters on Oct. 21, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

Halls statement called for continuing gradual, thoughtful tax cuts and cutting down on Medicaid spending, which he said has entirely consumed any gains from the revenue surplus. This program must be reformed in order to preserve our ability to fund public safety, education, and other priorities, Hall said.

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), who on Tuesday afternoon conceded his primary to opponent Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page, did not express any need for caution in his statement on the forecast.

Todays forecast once again confirms that Republican-led, pro-growth fiscal policies have transformed North Carolina into an economic juggernaut, Berger said. As we prepare for the legislative session, this forecast provides a roadmap to continue those efforts and ease the tax burden for hardworking North Carolinians.
North Dakota State University and Minot State University are helping two smaller colleges balance their books as the state University System looks to establish a more long-term policy for shared services such as accounting.

Campus and North Dakota University Systems leaders on Tuesday briefed legislators on how the larger campuses are helping resolve accounting issues identified by the state Auditors Office.

Staffing challenges are blamed for creating some accounting issues at Dickinson State University and Dakota College at Bottineau, officials told the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee.

Advertisement Advertisement

NDSU is helping clean up the books for Dickinson State and expects to continue to provide financial services for DSU.

Bruce Bollinger, NDSU vice president for finance and administration, said it can be a challenge to find employees with the skills needed for managing the finances at a college.

With staff turnover, that led Dickinson State to not having had its books reconciled since July 2022.

David Krebsbach, deputy commissioner and chief financial officer for the University System, said a draft policy for how North Dakotas larger colleges can support the smaller colleges is in the works.

The state Auditors Office last year identified problems with the bookkeeping at Dakota College and Dickinson State.

Advertisement Advertisement

At Dakota College, unreconciled transactions ranged between about $75,000 to nearly $363,000 for each of four months that were reviewed. That led to a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars between the colleges financial records and its bank balances, the report showed.

Dakota College at Bottineau is already under the supervision of Minot State.

Minot State President Steve Shirley said Tuesday that Dakota Colleges finances are in a much much better place than before Minot State stepped in with accounting help in November.

The audit report on Dickinson State showed a lack of documentation for financial transactions. It also said the college charged students for fees without justification and that tuition waivers were granted without properly documenting the students eligibility.

Advertisement Advertisement

NDSU started helping Dickinson State in December. Bollinger said his staff had not identified any fraudulent behavior.

NDSU staff said they hoped to be caught up on reviewing Dickinson States financial transactions by the end of April.

Travis Aho of the NDSU accounting office cited short staffing and entries being made incorrectly or not in a timely manner while reviewing DSUs books.

Not the best work being done throughout the last few years, Aho said.

Scott Molander, who became president at Dickinson State last year, expressed gratitude for NDSUs help.

Theres been wonderful collaboration with NDSU, Molander said.

Advertisement Advertisement

He said Dickinson State is compensating NDSU for its work.

Karin Hegstad, NDSU associate vice president for finance and administration, said taking on Dickinson State has meant extra hours and work for her staff, but the workload should ease up.

Its very time intensive up front, Hegstad said. Once DSU is integrated, it should be a much easier process.

Bollinger said NDSU is happy to share its resources and expertise with other schools.

Were making Dickinson more efficient. Were making the University System more efficient, Bollinger said.

Reach North Dakota Monitor deputy editor Jeff Beach at jbeach@northdakotamonitor.com.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
LINCOLN  In a U.S. Senate race marked by allegations of planted candidates, an unusual thing happened on the filing deadline day: Democratic candidate Cindy Burbank paid the $1,740 filing fee for Legal Marijuana NOW Party candidate Mike Marvin, state records obtained by the Nebraska Examiner show.

A photo of Mike Marvin (courtesy of his facebook page)

Payment records from the Nebraska Secretary of States Office indicate Cynthia J Burbank paid Marvins filing fee via a check at the close of business on the last day for candidates to file, at 5:03 p.m. March 2, via an agent drop off. Thats a way of saying a person besides Marvin or the Post Office dropped off the check.

Burbank had been at the filing office at the Secretary of States Office in Lincoln that day to file for herself at 4:43 p.m., using the same name. She filed her own paperwork to run about 13 minutes after Democrat William Forbes filed and paid for his own fee at 4:30 p.m., with a check, state records show.

Advertisement Advertisement

Marvins final day filing as a candidate came just as the office was closing, nearly two months after the other marijuana candidate, Earl Starkey. He filed at 11:53 a.m. on Jan. 8.

Three of those candidates have been involved in some of the races recent controversy.

Burbank and the Nebraska Democratic Party have accused Forbes  an anti-abortion pastor  of being a planted candidate to help Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts. Ricketts supporters, the Nebraska Republican Party and former leaders of the Legal Marijuana Party NOW have described Burbank and Marvin as plants to help registered nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn, Ricketts likely general election opponent in a race drawing national attention and dollars.

A screenshot of Cindy Burbanks campaign website on March 3, 2026.

Leaders of the Nebraska Democratic Party have encouraged voters to vote for Burbank in the partys 2026 primary race and have described Forbes bid as a political maneuver engineered by Pete Ricketts to split the opposition vote and protect his Senate seat.

Advertisement Advertisement

When the Examiner asked Marvin last weekend why Burbank had paid his filing fee, Marvin said, I have no idea what is happening.

I keep waiting for the check I wrote to clear, Marvin said. I have been unable to find out what is happening right now.  I dont even know Cindy Burbank.

The Examiner requested copies of any checks used to pay for Marvins filing, and only a copy of Burbanks check was provided. The Secretary of States Office declined to comment on the specific circumstances from that final filing day.

Burbank, in a follow-up email Tuesday, told the Examiner she was in the election office in early March and saw the secretarys people refusing to take Mikes check because it was for ten dollars too much.

Advertisement Advertisement

It pissed me off, and I paid for it  Ive never met Mike, Burbank said. If Ricketts can throw his money around then so can I!

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Until this year, Evnen said he could not remember a candidate paying for another candidates filing fee over the past eight years. The other: This year in Legislative District 48, a western Nebraska couple registered in competing parties to challenge State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering.

A photo of William Forbes deleted facebook on Cindy Burbank website.

The Nebraska Republican Partys brief filed to the Nebraska Supreme Court as part of a failed legal attempt to keep Burbank off the ballot mentioned Burbank paying Marvins filing fee. The states high court ruled Monday that Secretary of State Bob Evnens action to remove Burbank from the ballot came too late. It put her back on.

Advertisement Advertisement

Attorneys for Evnen and the state GOP had argued that Burbanks campaign website and comments from state Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb indicated that Burbank did not plan to serve in Congress but planned to compete for the minority partys nomination and eventually step aside and support former Omaha labor leader Osborn, giving him a fair shot against Ricketts.

Mark Elworth, a former leader of the Legal Marijuana Party NOW, has pointed to Marvins union ties and actions taken by Osborn supporters in 2024 to win his partys nomination and then drop out to keep competing names off the general election ballot. Marvin has denied being a plant. Osborns team has denied involvement with Marvin as well.

Nebraska U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and registered nonpartisan Dan Osborn. (Juan Salinas II and Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Burbanks campaign website, which she named, NOT a Pete Ricketts plant, shared alleged Facebook photos of Forbes, an anti-abortion Democrat, attending a banquet for Nebraska Right to Life and a separate photograph allegedly posted by Forbes of Ricketts speaking at the Capitol for the 2025 Nebraska Walk for Life. Forbes has sidestepped a question about whether he wanted to address allegations of being loyal to Ricketts. Team Ricketts has denied any involvement with Forbes or his campaign.

The outcome of the Democratic primary and the two-person Legal Marijuana NOW primary could determine whether the general election ballot is cleared for Osborn in his nonpartisan bid against Ricketts, who faces only nominal opposition in his own partys primary.

Advertisement Advertisement

Ricketts paid his own filing fee on Feb. 4 around 11:44 a.m., records indicate. Starkey and a Republican candidate, Eric Mortimore, filed as pauper candidates, which waives the filing fee. GOP candidate Debb Axtell Schultz paid on March 2 at 4:55 p.m. with a bank check.

Nebraskas primary election is May 12. The general election is Nov. 3.

B8161874-ck1004_Redacted

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
March 23 (UPI) -- A flood watch remains in effect for parts of Hawaii after two days of heavy rain led to serious flooding, totaled cars, destroyed homes and damaged infrastructure.

A kona low -- a seasonal Hawaiian cyclone -- caused widespread destruction as the island chain was hit by its heaviest rainstorm in roughly two decades, NBC and USA Today reported.

Residents in some neighborhoods have been started to clean up, including on the North Shore communities of Haleiwa and Waialua, where some were trapped in the houses as floodwaters raced in reaching at least waist high, KHON-2 reported.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Everyone's kind of in the street, just shoveling out mud and pulling out soaking debris and doing whatever they can to kind of start drying things out," Wailua Beach resident Mac Burton said.

"But we're still without power here, so it's making some of those efforts a little more difficult," Burton said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said repairs to airports, schools, roads and other facilities, along with clean-up that has just started moving, could cost more than $1 billion.

Clean-up is likely to take months, Burton said.

A boil water issue has stayed in effect because of damage to the water system and the state's board of water supply has been making water tankers available to people in areas where the water is unusable.

"Residents and visitors are urged to stay vigilant, avoid hazardous areas and follow official guidance as impacts continue," the Hawaiian government said in an Instagram post.
President Donald Trump held another public praise session during a briefing in Memphis on Monday, a move critics likened to a scene straight out of North Korea.

At one point, Trump even jokingly demanded more flattery.

Politics: Top Trump Official's POTUS Praise Goes Viral For Cringiest Reasons

In clips going viral on social media, Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller credited Trump with a national miracle for his work on border security and public safety.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump beamed at the praise, then turned to FBI Director Kash Patel.

So, Kash, see if you can top that, the president said. Thats a tough one, Kash.

Patel then did his best, saying that while America has had the greatest warriors on Gods green Earth, they were still missing something.

Politics: 'No, Daddy! No!': Trump's New DHS Head Boasts About Spanking His Kids In Unearthed Video

But what we didnt have was you, he said to Trump. We didnt have a commander-in-chief to back the blue.

Far from backing the blue, Trump, on his first official day in office last year, issued blanket pardons to the MAGA crowd that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to block the certification of the 2020 election. Those pardons even covered rioters who were convicted of violent acts against police officers.

Advertisement Advertisement

Yet Patel praised Trump for his law enforcement efforts, saying the president had allowed law enforcement to catch criminals at record historic levels.

This is an enduring mission, Mr. President, because you have made it enduring, he gushed. It is gonna go on for generations to come.

Politics: 'Never Seen Anything More Pathetic': Trump Envoy Mocked After Public Groveling Session

Patel also celebrated Trumps brilliant leadership and thanked him for delivering America the safest, safest, safest country on Gods green Earth.

Trumps critics could hardly believe what they were seeing:

Not beating the cult allegations. https://t.co/gis2gbqdAu  Jessica Tarlov (@JessicaTarlov) March 23, 2026

Toxic, narcissistic leadership paired with conformist followership is responsible for one of America's greatest strategic disasters



This exchange alone explains how we got here and why America is doomed if this continues for another three years https://t.co/7LLNgnYGuZ  Dr Andreas Krieg (@andreas_krieg) March 23, 2026

This is the most un-American ******** imaginable at this point. https://t.co/t5XAGIj4mY  SK Media (@SpaghettiKozak) March 23, 2026

Maximum North Korea-style sycophancy.  Darkblue714  (@darkblue714) March 23, 2026

Advertisement Advertisement

Grown-*** adults competing to see who can be the most shameless bootlicker. https://t.co/vC2uu3Ok9S  Michael Freeman (@michaelpfreeman) March 23, 2026

Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost.

Kim Jong-Un really needs to take notes on how to make his subordinates praise him as Dear Leader.



This is some serious next level boot licking. https://t.co/mzSSVQieRh  Fozon Capital (@FozonCapital) March 23, 2026

Advertisement Advertisement

The North Korea level of fawning from this cabinet gets more pathetic by the day and none of it will ever fill the cosmic void that is Trump's soul. He is an unfix-able sociopath. https://t.co/Mumc5Hmftn  Tom Ryan (@ComedianTomRyan) March 24, 2026

This is the weirdest ****. https://t.co/e0Qu6Qclwk  Rosie's Strait of Hormel (@DarnelSugarfoo) March 23, 2026

Theres no end to the humiliation Trumps minions are willing to endure. https://t.co/0CE9VucguL  Linda Henderson   (@linZlou2u) March 23, 2026

This is so embarrassingly pathetic and also not a word of it is true. This *** kissing would make even Kim Jong Un blush. https://t.co/DjVaz4V4WH  Camille MacKenzie (@CamRMacKenzie) March 23, 2026

Advertisement Advertisement

Such a bizarre humiliation ritual https://t.co/OQM3E1KUB4  Justin (@jdabre11) March 23, 2026

This evening's Dear Leader Talent Contest https://t.co/C3RV6P4b5E  Andre Vlok (@vlok_andre) March 23, 2026

Its a cult. https://t.co/FhDUmqaBVz  Law of War Fella  (@BabylonsLawyer) March 23, 2026

Advertisement Advertisement

Read Next

Read the original on HuffPost
Legislation that would expand New Jersey voters' access to ballot boxes on election days is advancing in Trenton.

A bill, known as The Voter Convenience Act, would allow for voters to cast their ballot at any polling place in their municipality on Election Day. Currently, New Jersey voters have to go to a specific designated polling place within their district in their town, township or city on primary and general election days.

New Jersey has been making strides in recent years to expand access to polling places. Early, in-person voting began during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Advertisement Advertisement

Voters set a record in 2024 when 1,172,842 people used early, in-person voting opportunities, with lines in some places nearly every day.

What did Trenton lawmakers say?

Senate President Nick Scutari said the bill would be considered but would have to work through the process.

Weve got to see what it costs, see if its economically feasible and see if theyre able to do that but I think people would like that, he said. Were going to consider it, not sure if its definitely going to happen but were going to consider it.

Calandria Ortiz-Resende of the League of Women Voters said the bill would help significantly remove barriers and increase participation in elections.

Advertisement Advertisement

She is concerned that the bill would allow for the consolidation of polling locations in a given town though.

That sentiment was shared by Heather Richner, an associate counsel for the democracy and justice program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

While the Institute is generally in support of this bill, we are concerned about guardrails. This legislation could lead to future consolidation of polling locations and creates confusion for voters, she said.

More: GOP, Dems battle over Trump's SAVE Act. But who will it really help?

A child joins his parent while casting a vote at a polling location in Warren Point School in Fair Lawn on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

Legislation advances as SAVE America Act is pondered in Washington

Two other election-related bills also cleared a state senate committee on March 23. Those bills would require county clerks to send applications for mail-in ballots to registered voters on their 18th birthday and would establish a public awareness campaign about the changed rules for postmarks by the United States Postal Service and the effect on mail-in ballots.

Advertisement Advertisement

This comes at a time when the federal government is considering legislation aimed at restricting access for voters.

The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to vote in the form of certain specific documents when arriving at the polls.

Those documents include a passport, birth certificate, enhanced driver's license or other government-issued photo ID to prove you are a U.S. citizen.

New Jersey does not offer enhanced drivers licenses, which is different from a Real ID.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ voting ballot access could expand
The New Jersey Lottery offers multiple draw games for people looking to strike it rich.

Here's a look at March 23, 2026, results for each game:

Pick-3

Midday: 5-8-9, Fireball: 8

Evening: 3-8-0, Fireball: 0

Check Pick-3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick-4

Midday: 3-6-3-4, Fireball: 8

Evening: 1-1-6-9, Fireball: 0

Check Pick-4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Jersey Cash 5

04-13-33-43-44, Xtra: 43

Check Jersey Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick-6

02-03-06-33-38-41

Advertisement Advertisement

Check Pick-6 payouts and previous drawings here.

Millionaire for Life

01-14-19-29-35, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Quick Draw

Drawings are held every four minutes. Check winning numbers here.

Cash Pop

Drawings are held every four minutes. Check winning numbers here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the New Jersey Lottery drawings held?

Cash4Life: 9:00 p.m. daily.

Pick-3: 12:59 p.m. and 10:57 p.m. daily.

Pick-4: 12:59 p.m. and 10:57 p.m. daily.

Jersey Cash 5: 10:57 p.m. daily.

Pick-6: 10:57 p.m. Monday and Thursday.

Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a New Jersey Sr Breaking News Editor. You can send feedback using this form.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Lottery Pick-3, Pick-4, Cash 5, Pick 6 Lotto winning numbers for Monday, March 23
A gun rights advocate has sued the New Jersey State Police for refusing to release anonymized records on how many retired law enforcement officers have gun carry permits.

John Petrolino, a firearms instructor and writer who focuses on Second Amendment issues, wants the data to see both how many retired officers are licensed to carry and if racial disparities he discovered among civilian applicants who were denied carry permits extend to retired officers too.

This is like a sunshine-related topic to me. It paints a picture of who is and isnt taking advantage of these types of permits. Right now, we dont have a full picture of the number of permit-to-carry holders in the state, Petrolino said. This should be public record, period. Why are we hiding this stuff thats no different than how many drivers licenses  or liquor licenses or anything else  there are?

Advertisement Advertisement

In 2023, former Attorney General Matt Platkin ordered police departments statewide to submit carry permit application data including demographics to the state police, and the state launched a publicly accessible, searchable website in March 2024.

The data there shows police have fielded 99,689 carry applications, approving all but 481, since December 2019. Applications spiked after June 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court in a ruling known as Bruen declared that gun owners have a constitutional right to carry guns and states cannot require gun owners to prove a need to take firearms outside their homes or businesses.

The number of civilians with active carry permits likely is lower than 99,689, though, because permits are valid for two years and the dashboard doesnt show how many permits expired since 2019.

The dashboard also does not show how many retired officers have carry permits  but its likely in the thousands, given that the New Jersey State Policemens Benevolent Association, the states largest police union, has said it represents about 17,000 retired officers.

Advertisement Advertisement

Retired officers dont need a separate license to carry a concealed gun because the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 gives them that right, and federal courts have backed it. But a New Jersey state law expands retired officers carry rights  allowing things like open carry and carrying hollow-point ammunition and higher-capacity magazines  if they get a special retired police officers permit that has an age cap and qualification requirements.

The states carry permit website had not been updated since Platkin and former Gov. Phil Murphy left office in January  until Friday, after the New Jersey Monitor asked the attorney generals office about it and the National Rifle Association issued a statement complaining about it. The NRA accused Gov. Mikie Sherrills administration of either dragging its feet or  choosing to sweep this under the rug and urged supporters to press legislators to pass a bill now in the Statehouse that would codify public reporting on permit data and applicant demographics.

The carry-permit website is one of about a dozen where the state publicly reports everything from shootings, bias incidents, and traffic accidents to police discipline, officer diversity, and civil asset forfeitures. On some of those sites, the reporting appears to be months to a year or more behind, but Michael Symons, a spokesman for the Attorney Generals Office, said they all remain active, with updating occurring monthly, quarterly, or annually.

New Jersey has gotten a new attorney general, Jen Davenport, and state police superintendent, Lt. Col. Jeanne Hengemuhle, since Sherrill took office in January. Symons referred further questions to the state police, whose spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment. Sherrills spokespeople also did not comment.

Advertisement Advertisement

Petrolino filed records requests in January with both the state police and the attorney generals office for deidentified data and demographics dating back to 2024 about retired officers who applied for and got or were denied permits.

Both agencies rejected his requests, with the state police telling Petrolino last month that state law bars them from releasing firearm applications and background investigations into applicants to anyone other than law enforcement. That law, though, does not prohibit the public reporting of anonymized data.

Petrolino wants a state judge to order the state police to release that data, saying their refusals violate the Open Public Records Act, the common law right of access (which favors disclosure when information serves the public interest), and his civil rights because of the agencys perfunctory lack of analysis in its records denial.

A decision will be issued on April 28, according to the court docket.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Monday commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, calling on governments, institutions, businesses and communities to work together to safeguard the dignity, justice, equality and rights of every person.

"Racial discrimination is a violation of human rights and human dignity," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) event marking the international day.

Recalling the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 in South Africa, when police fired into a crowd peacefully protesting apartheid, killing 69 people, Guterres said: "We honor all those who have stood against racism and racial discrimination around the globe."

"It should have no place in our world, but it rears its head in schools, workplaces, and countless everyday interactions," he said, adding that "racism harms us all."

"The remedy is solidarity," the UN chief stressed, calling for urgent and concrete steps to end racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The secretary-general expressed his determination to tackle racism in every form, from harmful interpersonal interactions to deeply ingrained institutional and systemic biases, and emphasized the importance to utilize the many tools and instruments to fight racism and discrimination so that equality and a truly shared humanity become a lived reality for all.

"Let's fight for the dignity, rights and inclusion of everyone. And together, let us vow to eradicate racism from our world," he said.

In her speech, UNGA President Annalena Baerbock said the international day "is about much more than Sharpeville." "It is about all of our nations and communities -- none of which are immune to the scourge of racism," she said.

Noting that racism "is a violation of human rights, a barrier to sustainable development, and a threat to peace and security," Baerbock said its consequences "extend far beyond individuals."

She called on the international community to act and take a firm stand against discrimination "whenever and wherever it appears," as the struggle against discrimination in all its forms, including racism, "is never finished."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action provide a comprehensive global framework to confront racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, and that many countries have adopted anti-discrimination laws and created independent human rights and equality institutions.

"We have made some progress on the long road towards a more just world. But we are approaching a checkpoint -- where this progress is questioned, delayed, and even pushed backwards," he said.

Turk also called for political will to fight discrimination through laws, to focus on solutions, to strengthen accountability for all forms of racial discrimination and hatred, and to work together with civil society, human rights defenders, national human rights institutions, and affected communities to find lasting solutions.

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed annually on March 21 to commemorate the Sharpeville massacre, was established by the UNGA in 1966 to raise awareness and encourage global action against racism. 
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronhas return to X at the beginning of the year was hardly noticeable at first.

He ended his 13-month hiatus on the social media platform with a photo of him on a sailboat against the backdrop of the sun setting over the Newport Pell Bridge. Several posts supported Keith Hoffmann, whom Neronha endorsed over three other Democratic candidates vying to succeed him. He reposted an announcement from Northwestern Universitys Internal Medicine Residency account about a lecture being led by his son.

But little by little, Neronhas unfiltered and occasionally confrontational style reemerged. He took subtle jabs at his longtime foe, Gov. Dan McKee, and overtly denounced President Trumps administration, including FBI director Kash Patel. Even the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence faced Neronhas sharp social media tongue after the release of a scathing report chronicling decades of abuse by local clergy.

Advertisement Advertisement

Over the weekend, he engaged in a testy back and forth with House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, chastising the Foster Republican and his feckless caucus after Chippendale penned a tongue-in-cheek post about Neronhas period of transparency followed by a series of popcorn bowl emojis.

Chippendales March 21 post seems to suggest Neronhas lack of immediate political aspirations  he announced in October that he would not run for governor after widespread rumors and self-admitted contemplation  has unbuttoned the states top prosecutor.

Neronha disagrees.

Ive always been that way, he said in an interview Monday. I enjoy the back and forth. I just wish more people had the guts to do it in person, to my face.

Advertisement Advertisement

Neronhas raw approach to social media, not unlike national Republican lawmakers and cabinet members in the Trump administration, stands in a stark contrast to the polished and scripted style of most state lawmakers and officeholders, said Adam Myers, an associate professor of political science at Providence College.

Ive always been that way. I enjoy the back and forth. I just wish more people had the guts to do it in person, to my face.

 Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha on his social media presence

He clearly is closer to the playbook of the Republican politicians nationally, Myers said of Neronha.

Advertisement Advertisement

Which might not be a bad thing.

A lot of folks have made the argument that Republicans have bested Democrats in the social media attention wars over the last few years, Myers said. One could make the argument that Democrats need more politicians like Neronha on X and other places, willing to say things that raise eyebrows given that so much of politics has become about capturing public attention.

Unwanted attention

In late 2023, Neronha drew the ire of Rhode Island Superior Court Associate Justice Daniel Procaccini, who filed a complaint with the disciplinary board for the Rhode Island Supreme Court, alleging Neronha violated professional conduct rules by posting on X about a case in the middle of a bench trial.

Neronha didnt temper his social media presence despite Procaccinis rebuke nor the judicial review of his actions, which concluded in the summer of 2025 with no findings of misconduct, he said Monday.

Advertisement Advertisement

He deleted his X account after the November 2024 election, fed up with the feed of right-wing politicians and supporters, he said. He turned to Bluesky, an alternative social media platform viewed as less vitriolic and ad-driven than X. But he found the open source alternative lacking  not all the news and users he wanted to keep up with were on Bluesky.

I cant afford to be behind the news cycle, Neronha said. Theres too much going on.

Hence, the new profile on X, created in November, one month after Neronha publicly announced he would not run for governor. The decisions are unrelated, he said.

This time, hes limited his feed, following just a dozen accounts, mostly local journalists and news channels. He swapped his profile photo, replacing a professional press shot taken when he was U.S. attorney for the sunset boat ride snapped by one of his sons.

Advertisement Advertisement

But he didnt change his mindset.

Im not somebody whos going to back down from people who take shots, Neronha said.

Take Chippendales March 21 post, for example. Neronha said it struck a nerve because of his tensions with state Republican lawmakers over his offices decision to set up a pediatric dental fund with money from a settlement against a state contractor. In June, House Republicans attempted to block Neronha from dictating how to spend the $11 million from a state settlement over contamination during the Route 6/10 Interchange construction, arguing the legislature should decide where the money goes. The proposal, introduced as an amendment to the fiscal 2026 budget in June, failed to advance without support from Democratic lawmakers. Recipients of the funding for pediatric dental care access were announced March 17.

Two days later, the House Committee on Finance held a preliminary review on the proposed fiscal 2027 budget for the AGs office. Chippendales absence was noted by Neronha in his response on X.

Advertisement Advertisement

Missed you at house finance last week, he wrote on Saturday, You could have asked me all those questions you always claim to have. In fact, whenever I see you, you dont have much to say.

Always been that way. Missed you at house finance last week. You could have asked me all those questions you always claim to have. In fact, whenever I see you, you dont have much to say. Watching you and your feckless caucus is like watching paint dry. https://t.co/whRCjecKVL  Peter Neronha (@PFNeronha) March 21, 2026

Chippendale responded by noting that he was not a member of the subcommittee scheduled to review the testimony. However, as House minority leader, he can attend any committee hearing.

What would you and I talk about if I did see you? Chippendale wrote on Sunday. Perhaps youd regale me with stories of your superiority? I think Ill just continue to work with my caucus on the things RIers want, but dont get from your party.

Rep. Jon Brien, the chambers lone independent, interjected during the online debate, calling Chippendale one of the most principled and cerebral lawmakers I have ever known.

Advertisement Advertisement

This is an unforced error committed by you General, Brien wrote on X on Sunday.

Chippendale declined to comment on the exchange. Brien did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment.

Neronha had no regrets about spending part of his weekend firing back on social media.

My wife was traveling and it was a rainy day anyway, he said.

Mission awareness

As much as he enjoys a friendly spar, Neronha said his goal is to bring attention to issues he thinks go unnoticed. On March 12, he shared a story from the Providence Journal about the slow rollout of cannabis licenses, accusing present and former leadership at the Cannabis Control Commission to share blame for the delay. Kim Ahern served as commission chair before stepping down to run for attorney general.

Advertisement Advertisement

He clearly is closer to the playbook of the Republican politicians nationally.

 Adam Myers, an associate professor of political science at Providence College

Neronha did not name Ahern in the post, nor a second post the same day in which he wrote that she  meaning Ahern  told voters on at least 2 occasions that she did not support the release of a dual state investigation into a botched education contract awarded to the ILO Group, which had ties to McKees administration.

I could never support/endorse/validate a candidate who believed that those facts should not come to light, Neronha wrote of the ILO investigation released by his office and Rhode Island State Police in October 2024.

Advertisement Advertisement

On Monday, Neronha reiterated that he did not think Ahern was fit to be attorney general.

He hoped his social media posts about Ahern would prompt more scrutiny of her stance on the state investigation into the ILO contract.

Then, Ive achieved my mission, Neronha said. You read them, you talk about it, when you talk about it, I rack up wins.

Josh Block, a spokesperson for Aherns campaign, said Neronha was free to pontificate on his personal Twitter account as much as he would like.

Kim is focused on traveling across Rhode Island to speak with neighbors in every community about her unique experience and vision for the Attorney Generals Office, and this will remain her focus throughout the campaign, Block said in an email Monday.

McKees office and a spokesperson for the Diocese of Providence also did not return requests for comment on Neronhas social media posts about them.

Nine months away from the end of his term as attorney general, Neronha is keeping his next move under wraps. But he doesnt intend to stop posting on X when his time in public office concludes.

The only difference is I am going to block the trolls the day I walk out of here, he said. Right now, I just mute them.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Another round of "No Kings" rallies will take place in Chicago Saturday, March 28, amid backlash against the actions of federal immigration officers, the ongoing Iran war and increased cost of living.

The nationwide demonstrations are considered a follow-up to those planned in June and October of last year. "No Kings" reports that more than seven million Americans joined over 2,700 events across 50 states in October.

Here's what you should know about "No Kings" and the upcoming demonstrations scheduled in Chicago.

What are 'No Kings' protests?

The protest's organizer, Indivisible, originally planned the June 14, 2025, demonstration as a "nationwide day of defiance" in response to the $40 million military parade President Donald Trump orchestrated on his birthday.

Advertisement Advertisement

The movement preaches the idea that "America has No Kings," and says, "Now, President Trump has doubled down," referencing the recent actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, healthcare cuts and more.

"America does not belong to strongmen, greedy billionaires, or those who rule through fear," the website says. "It belongs to us, the people."
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  North Carolina governments most influential politician, Republican state Senate leader Phil Berger, conceded the primary race for his seat to Sam Page on Tuesday, shaking the power structure in the ninth-largest state and likely soon ending Berger's preeminence as the states top conservative architect.

Berger trailed Page, the Rockingham County sheriff, in their March 3 primary by only 23 votes. He has been Senate leader since 2011 when Republicans took full control over the General Assembly for the first time in 140 years. President Donald Trump had endorsed Berger for reelection, praising him for his policy accomplishments.

Trumps endorsement came several weeks after the legislature redrew the states U.S. House district map in an attempt to flip a Democratic seat as part of the presidents redistricting campaign to retain GOP control of the U.S. House in this years midterm elections.

Advertisement Advertisement

While this was a close race, the voters have spoken, and I congratulate Sheriff Page on his victory, Berger said in a news release. Over the past 15 years, Republicans in the General Assembly have fundamentally redefined our states outlook and reputation. It has been an honor.

A razor-thin outcome after millions spent in race

Unofficial results on primary election night showed Page leading Berger by just two votes out of more than 26,000 counted in the 26th Senate District that includes part of Greensboro and neighboring areas.

Pages lead expanded as elections boards in the two counties within the district reviewed provisional, absentee and other ballots. Later recounts were conducted and Bergers campaign filed formal protests. But Berger gave up after a hand recount of a small portion of the ballots Tuesday morning showed no change in Page's razor-thin lead.

Page will now advance to the November general election in the GOP-leaning district against Democrat Steve Luking, whom Berger defeated in 2024. Page said Berger called him Tuesday to concede.

Advertisement Advertisement

I thank him for wishing me the best moving forward, Page said in a statement. Now its time for our community to come together and focus on winning in November.

Page's campaign was outspent by Bergers campaign by more than 40-to-1 through mid-February, finance reports show. That doesnt include several million dollars that a pro-Berger independent expenditure group spent on mailers and advertising.

Berger can remain a senator and Senate leader through years end  things he sounds like he plans to do based on Tuesdays concession and previous suggestions. Senators would pick a new chamber leader in early 2027.

Berger, a 73-year-old attorney, has been a force in North Carolina government as the General Assembly implemented a rightward agenda despite opposition from a string of mostly Democrat governors, whose inherent powers are relatively weak.

Possible casino stirred opposition back home

Page, who was first elected sheriff in 1998, tapped into local voter discontent with a narrative that Berger was more interested in the state rather than in looking out for constituents. Bergers unsuccessful efforts in 2023 to pass a law that could have brought a casino to Rockingham County also angered social conservatives and gave Page an opening.

Advertisement Advertisement

While endorsing Berger in December, Trump praised Page and said he wanted the sheriff to instead come work for us in Washington, D.C. rather than run against Berger. Page  who had supported Trumps immigration enforcement policies over the years  declined.

Berger figures most everywhere in conservative shift

Berger first joined the Senate in 2001 and was minority leader before a GOP sweep in the 2010 elections.

He figured into every conservative policy prescription since, including income tax reductions, private-school vouchers for any family, restrictions on abortion and looser regulations on gun access. Bergers allies say hes chartered fueled economic success in the state of 11 million.

Current GOP House Speaker Destin Hall, who has grappled with the Senate recently over an unresolved budget, praised Berger late Tuesday as a true titan of conservative leadership in North Carolina.

Advertisement Advertisement

With support from the House speaker, Berger also enacted efforts to shift appointment powers away from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and former Gov. Roy Cooper toward lawmakers and other officials. Despite clashing with Cooper, Berger and then-Speaker Tim Moore ultimately reached a deal with him to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of adults.

Given Bergers longevity and his ability and willingness to quietly but effectively wield power and you are left with the most powerful politician in North Carolina, Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper wrote Tuesday in an email.

Bergers critics said his agenda benefited the rich, kept down salary increases for state employees and teachers and failed to adequately fund public schools while funneling money to private schools. Democrats also have accused legislative Republicans of eroding rights for women and transgender people.

Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch said in a news release that Berger has put power, politics, and special interests ahead of the people he was elected to serve."

Advertisement Advertisement

The General Assemblys chief work session for 2026 begins in April, when senators will begin jockeying in earnest to succeed Berger as Senate leader should the GOP maintain a majority in the fall. The chambers 50 members pick a leader every two years.

__

This story has been updated to correct that Berger's campaign outspent Page's campaign by more than 40-to-1 through mid-February, not more than 50-to-1.
A 37-year-old north suburban man has been charged after a bus crash injured dozens in Wisconsin over the weekend, Green Bay police said Tuesday.

Police say Ghebry Figueroa was driving the tour bus to a Michigan casino from Chicago on Sunday.

The Prospect Heights man now faces two felony counts of knowingly operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license and causing great bodily harm.

Figueroa made his first court appearance on Tuesday. ABC7's Green Bay affiliate reports that he has since been released from jail, posting a $5,000 bond after he was formally charged.

Advertisement Advertisement

Green Bay police say there were 54 passengers on board, and the number of people injured in Sunday's crash has now risen to 41. They previously said two were critically injured.

One of the victims appeared in court on Tuesday, speaking on a video call from their hospital bed, saying, "He messed up my life."

Video obtained by ABC affiliate WBAY shows the charter bus speeding across four lanes of traffic before it went over an embankment and ultimately stopped between two warehouses off North Webster Avenue, near Interstate 43.

"It's like seeing a plane crash in front of you," said witness Scott Miller. "The bus literally went 120, 125 yards after it impacted the curb."

Advertisement Advertisement

Video from witness Miller's dashcam was captured just as he approached the intersection. He says he was seconds away from being in the path of the bus.

"Thank goodness I wasn't about six seconds sooner. Things wouldn't have been good," Miller said.

Figueroa was arrested on the night of the crash.

Court documents revealed Figueroa's license was revoked and that he admitted on body camera that he did not have a valid license. He told officers that as he was taking the exit ramp, his brakes failed and he lost air. He said the emergency brakes also failed.

The complaint says Figueroa passed a field sobriety test and agreed to a breath test that came back "zero." The court also ordered Figueroa not to drive without a valid license.

Advertisement Advertisement

If convicted on all counts, Figueroa faces a potential maximum sentence of seven years behind bars. He is due back in court on April 1.

Those with information on the crash are asked to call Green Bay police at (920) 448-3200. Those who want to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (920) 432-STOP (7867).
A council member for a southern Ohio village has been charged with assault after a public meeting on Monday, according to our media partner, WCPO-9 TV.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

A physical altercation occurred outside the Batavia Village Administration Building after the council meetings public participation session, the Clermont County Sheriffs Office said.

Michael Gardner, a member of the Batavia Village council, allegedly followed a resident who addressed them at the meeting outside.

TRENDING STORIES:

Advertisement Advertisement

Gardner is accused of verbally confronting and physically assaulting the resident, WCPO-9 TV.

Both Gardner and the victim refused medical treatment on scene.

WCPO-9 reported that Gardner is also a former police chief for Batavia.

Its unclear what the resident spoke about during the meeting.

WCPO-9 received the following comment from the village on the situation:

The matter is under review by the Clermont County Sheriffs Office, a statement from the village said. Once the review and any related investigation has been completed, any records will be provided to the extent permissible under Ohio Law.

Advertisement Advertisement

Gardner was charged with one count of assault on Tuesday and transported to the Clermont County Jail.

He was granted a $7,500 cash bond and will appear in court for a temporary protection order next.

[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has said it will let federal courts decide whether tribal members are allowed to hunt and fish on tribal reservations without a state-issued license.

The state's highest civil court declined to hear a lawsuit filed by Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation against Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

Stitt sued Drummond after the attorney general wrote an opinion saying that the state has no authority to prosecute tribal members who hunt within the reservations created by Congress and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court's landmark McGirt ruling.

Advertisement Advertisement

Specifically, Stitt and the ODWC opposed Drummond's belief that his opinion was legally binding. Attorneys for the agency contended Drummond's opinion should be treated as non-binding because it usurps the role of the courts, considers facts that weren't in the original request and is inconsistent with the attorney general's role to provide opinions.

More: Drummond says Oklahoma can't prosecute tribal hunters on tribal land

People watch the video monitor outside the Senate as Sen. Adam Pugh talks about SB 1546 at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. A group of people surround the state seal on te ground floor at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. A group of people stop to look at "Pro Patria" by Thomas Gilbert White on the 4th floor at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Rep. Mickey Dollins leans against a wall while talking on his phone on the 4th floor at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. A man stops to say hello to Rep. Mickey Dollins on the 4th floor at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Rep. Mickey Dollins visits in the hall outside of the House of Represenatives at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Oklahoma Historical Society Exec. Dir. Trait Thompson gives a tour at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. The painting behind them is "Pro Patria" by Thomas Gilbert White. Oklahoma Historical Society Exec. Dir. Trait Thompson gives a tour at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. The painting behind them is "Pro Patria" by Thomas Gilbert White. Don Spencer, OK2A, outside the House of Representatives, at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Two men look up at the dome from the ground level by the state seal at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Se. Carri Hicks visits in the Senate lobby at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Sen. Chuck Hall visits in the 4th floor rotunda at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Medical personnel fill the halls of the fourth floor of the Oklahoma Capitol during Immunization Day sponsored by Oklahoma Alliance for Healthy Families, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. People stand in front of the portrait of Will Rogers by Charles Banks Wilson on the 4th floor at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. A woman wears a tee shirt that questions covid deaths at hospitals at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. See inside the Oklahoma Capitol 1 of 15 People watch the video monitor outside the Senate as Sen. Adam Pugh talks about SB 1546 at the Oklahoma Capitol, Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

Instead of wading into the facts of the case, ruling on criminal laws, or taking a bite from the apple currently sitting on the desk of a federal judge, the Oklahoma justices simply declined to rule. They did not agree on why, however.

In one of three separate writings issued Monday, March 23, Chief Justice Dustin Rowe and Justice John Kane wrote that the same question addressed in Drummond's opinion is pending before the federal district court in Tulsa.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Once the federal court resolves this question, its decisiongrounded in federal lawwill likewise settle the state question addressed in the opinion," they wrote.

Vice Chief Justice Dana Kuehn declined to hear the case because she believes the Oklahoma Supreme Court isn't the correct venue. Kuehn wrote that the court was asked to determine whether Oklahoma can prosecute tribal citizens for criminal violations, but that she and her colleagues have "no jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions."

Those cases, Kuehn inferred, are best left to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

The third separate writing, from Justices Travis Jett and James Winchester, also agreed that the court should not explore the merits of the case while the federal court considers the facts. In their lengthier commentary, though, Jett and Winchester wrote that Drummond's opinion was merely advisory, not binding.

Advertisement Advertisement

Although the justices didn't explicitly rule for Drummond's position, his office issued a news release touting that the Oklahoma Supreme Court had sided with him in refusing to take up with the case.

"The court would not be used as a tool to override settled federal law and decades of cooperative wildlife management. My position has never wavered: federal law is clear, and it is my duty to uphold it," Drummond said.

Drummond, who is campaigning for the Republican bid for governor, has long disagreed with Stitt about the state's power to regulate tribal citizens on tribal lands.

Stitt had not yet issued a statement about the latest case as of late Tuesday, March 24.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Supreme Court declines Stitts tribal hunting lawsuit
Gaza City  Palestinians in Gaza say the cost of electricity provided by private generators has surged, even as residents increasingly rely on them after Israels genocidal war on the enclave destroyed its public power network.

With fuel supplies severely limited and prices at record highs compared with pre-war levels, the cost of electricity has risen sharply. The price per kilowatt-hour has increased from about 2.5 shekels ($0.80) to between 20 and 30 shekels ($7 and $10)  nearly 10 times higher  placing it beyond the reach of many households.

The price means that many Palestinians, already suffering from a war-induced economic crisis, have to seek alternatives.

Advertisement Advertisement

Abdullah Jamal, a baker, is one of them. He feeds wood into a small oven to keep it burning as he prepares bread for displaced families living nearby.

Palestinians in Gaza have been pushed to search for alternatives for cooking and baking, says Abdullah of the gas crisis that has now stretched beyond two years.

He adds that people continue to ration gas use despite limited quantities being allowed into the enclave in recent months, fearing supplies could be cut off again.

Although Israeli forces have permitted some fuel and gas shipments since the October truce agreement with Hamas, Palestinian sources say that only 14.7 percent of the amount agreed upon in the ceasefires humanitarian protocol has entered the territory.





Limited supplies, rising costs

Abdullah says the small quantities of gas reaching Gaza are distributed to households, with each family receiving just 8kg (17lbs), delivered every two to three months.

Advertisement Advertisement

He earns about $10 a day, money he cannot afford to squander on extra gas or power.

Nearby, another young man sells bottles of diesel to vehicle owners.

Fuel prices remain volatile. At the height of the war, as a result of Israeli import restrictions, diesel reached about 90 shekels ($29) per litre. Prices are still roughly triple their pre-war level of 7 shekels ($3.30), pushing up transportation costs.

Israels war, which has killed more than 75,000 Palestinians, has left Gaza facing overlapping crises affecting all aspects of life for more than 2 million Palestinians. Most homes lack reliable electricity and gas, and many families cannot afford alternative energy sources.





Limited supplies

According to Gaza government data from this month, Israeli authorities have only allowed 1,190 fuel trucks into the enclave out of the 8,050 that had been expected since the ceasefire began. The agreement stipulates that 50 fuel trucks be allowed into Gaza per day.

Advertisement Advertisement

That amounts to a compliance rate of just 14.7 percent, explaining the severe shortages.

Iyad al-Shorbaji, the director general of Gazas Petroleum Authority, said that the territory requires between 350 and 400 cooking gas trucks per month, as well as 15 million litres (4 million gallons) of diesel and 2.5 million litres (660,000 gallons) of gasoline.

He told Al Jazeera that current supplies fall far short, with only 100 gas trucks entering monthly.

Fuel shipments, he added, are largely channelled through international organisations for use in health and public services, alongside limited commercial quantities of no more than 3 million litres (390,000 gallons) per month.

Advertisement Advertisement

Al-Shorbaji warned that the deficit is disrupting the economic and service sectors, with some facilities forced to operate by buying gas originally allocated to stations or households.





Families struggling

Households now receive an 8kg (18lbs) gas cylinder at irregular intervals tied to incoming supplies, ranging from every 45 days in the best case scenario, to as long as every 100 days in the worst.

Al-Shorjabi noted that before the war, families could obtain gas whenever needed, with an average consumption of about 12kg (26lbs) every 25 days per family.

He attributed the rising prices to higher purchase costs, transportation expenses, coordination fees for suppliers, and the combined effect of scarcity and increased demand.

Advertisement Advertisement

Al-Shorjabi expressed hope that fuel and gas supplies would improve, but said that it remains dependent on Israeli procedures controlling the crossings into Gaza, which he described as part of the policies of suffocation and restriction imposed on the Palestinian enclave.




SOUTH BEND  Palm Sunday nears and We Make Indiana invites members of the public to join in a Palm Sunday Path through downtown South Bend at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 29.

Across the country, organizers in 13 states are hosting events in conjunction with Palm Sunday Faith Action, which intends on reclaiming Christianity in the public square.

Instead of a politics of greed, war and brutality, faith leaders call for a politics of compassion and care, a press release said.

Advertisement Advertisement

The South Bend walk will begin at Howard Park, 219 S St Louis Blvd., and walk into the downtown area in front of government buildings holding signs and palms, as well as singing songs.

Armed federal agents are ripping apart families and shooting protesters in cold blood. Our answer is to love our neighbors and welcome the stranger, said Pastor Teresa Dutcher-Smith of Kern Road Mennonite Church in a press release. On Palm Sunday our congregation will take our faith outside to speak up against Christian nationalism and to stand for love of God and love of neighbor.

The walk will conclude at Howard Park at 3:15 p.m. with refreshments and a brief commitment service.

Those who are interested in participating can register online.

Advertisement Advertisement

According to the press release, We Make Indiana is a multi-faith and multi-racial movement that partners with public and elected officials to affect policies so everyone can flourish.

In the case of rain, participants will gather at Zion Community Church, 211 S. St Peter St.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Palm Sunday walk aims to reclaim compassionate Christianity
BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday called on relevant parties to bring an immediate ceasefire and an end to hostilities and return to peace and dialogue as soon as possible, after the U.S. claimed to postpone planned strikes against Iran's power plants for negotiations.

Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a related query. 
President Donald Trump is begging ICE agents to lower their masks and behave like other law enforcement officers as they interact with travelers in American airports starting Monday.

A rambling Trump, 79, pleaded with the agents to wear NO MASKS while deployed to assist TSA agents at 13 major airports, including those in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, and New York.

ICE agents are roaming airports as of Monday morning, including at John F. Kennedy International Airport (above), but do not appear to be helping TSA speed up its screening process. / Adam Gray / REUTERS

I am a BIG proponent of ICE wearing masks as they search for, and are forced to deal with, hardened criminals, many of whom were let into our Country by Sleepy Joe Biden and his wonderful Border Czar, Kamala (she never even went to the Border!), through their absolutely INSANE Open Border Policy, Trump began.

Advertisement Advertisement

He eventually got to the point, adding, I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc.

Trump responds to concerns that ICE agents might be masked while assisting TSA operations at airports. / TruthSocial

The White House did not respond to an email asking why Trump was OK with agents being masked while sowing chaos on American streets but not in its airports.

Federal agents have concealed their identity with masks and neck garters throughout MAGA 2.0, including when officers fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in January. Their rogue nature under Trump has led some, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, to refer to the agency as Trumps personal police force.

A TSA agent looks at passengers in a long line to pass through security at New York's LaGuardia airport on Sunday. / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images

ICE being permitted to conceal the identity of their agents has been widely criticized, and Democratic Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson went as far as to sign a pair of bills last week that prohibit federal agents from wearing masks in the state.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump said last week that he would deploy ICE to airports to assist TSA as the agency struggles with staffing shortages amid a partial government shutdown. Agents were sent to 13 airports on Monday morning.

TSA agents have been working without pay for over a month and are calling out at a record pace, causing airport chaos as travelers wait in security lines for as long as six hours, some report on social media.

It is not clear how ICE agents, who are not trained in airport screening, will help matters. Several DHS sources told CBS News over the weekend that the department, which oversees ICE, was blindsided by Trumps order. One official said bluntly, I have no idea what were doing.

Images emerging Monday back up that anonymous officials statement.

Advertisement Advertisement

A viral photo on X shows an ICE officer standing behind a TSA agent, staring at her screen as she checks a passengers ID.

ICE agents are officially in major U.S. airports, but it is unclear what they are doing to actually help matters. / X

The poster, who was flying through Atlanta, wrote in follow-up posts that the ICE agent was not scanning anything, they are looking at the screen after the person scans your ID.

Other photos captured by Reuters photographers show ICE agents standing together in a group, not assisting TSA screening.

ICE agents, including one masked, mingle with local police at John F. Kennedy International Airportfar from where TSA agents screen passengers before their flights. / Adam Gray / REUTERS

There have been no signs of relief at the airports to which ICE has been deployed. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport still have their security wait-time trackers disabled because the lines have become too long to quantify.

Advertisement Advertisement

Airport officials in Atlanta are pleading with passengers to arrive at least four hours early. Those who do are still reporting that they are not making it through in time for their flights.

Security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have become so long that they are spilling outside into a pickup area. / Alyssa Pointer / REUTERS

We thought four hours would do it, and we still missed our flight, an Atlanta traveler named Julie Curtis told CBS News. You need to be here six hours early.

For now, ICE has sent agents to Hartsfield-Jackson, JFK, Newark, LaGuardia Airport, Chicago OHare International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Houstons William P. Hobby Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Pittsburgh International Airport, and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.
NEED TO KNOW

A JetBlue passenger claims in a filing that she suffered burns after being given dry ice instead of an ice pack for swelling

A civil complaint, obtained by PEOPLE, claims Patricia Matzenbacher suffered bodily injury, including but not limited to burns and tissue damage to her left leg"

The passenger is seeking damages and alleges her injuries from the incident are severe and permanent

A JetBlue passenger is suing the airline, claiming flight crew members handed her an ice pack containing dry ice to treat her swollen leg.

The allegations come from a civil complaint, obtained by PEOPLE, filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court of New York on March 2. In it, New York resident Patricia Matzenbacher claims she suffered bodily injury, including but not limited to burns and tissue damage to her left leg.

Advertisement Advertisement

The incident occurred on JetBlue flight 1908 from Paris to New York Citys John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 31, 2025, per the complaint. During the course of the flight, Matzenbacher reportedly requested ice from the cabin crew for the purpose of reducing swelling of her left leg.

A JetBlue plane

Credit: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty

The complaint alleges that the flight crew undertook her request and subsequently provided her with what was represented to be an ice pack. However, Matzenbacher says that instead of a typical ice pack, the item she was given contained dry ice, or frozen carbon dioxide, which is significantly colder than frozen water.

A bag of dry ice

Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty

Dry ice is typically used for industrial refrigeration, food preservation and specialized cleaning due to its extremely low temperature. It requires a number of important precautions when handling, including wearing insulated gloves when handling dry ice. According to the New York State Department of Health, making contact with dry ice can cause skin burns similar to frostbite.

The complaint claims JetBlues crew negligently provided the dry ice pack for direct contact with [her] skin and as a direct result, [Matzenbacher] sustained bodily injuries. She further claims in her complaint that the injuries are severe and permanent.

Advertisement Advertisement

The complaint cites Article 17 of the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that places the liability for bodily injuries sustained by passengers caused by an accident on an international flight on the airlines.

In the complaint, Matzenbacher demands a trial by jury and is seeking damages in an amount to be determined in court.

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.

When reached for comment by PEOPLE, Matzenbachers attorney, Jeffrey Brecker with New York Citys Godosky & Gentile, P.C., declined to comment on the matter.

PEOPLE has reached out to JetBlue for comment.

Read the original article on People
In a close vote, Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD's board retained Superintendent Brent Jaco amid an alleged comment recently surfacing online.

In a recorded video, sources tell NewsWest 9 that Jaco can be heard mocking former Pecos Mayor Venetta Seals disability while discussing an issue during a meeting last June. They also say you can hear the laughter of administrators in the background.

But not everyone finds the comment funny.

Advertisement Advertisement

It boiled my blood," said Julia Guerra, PBTISD parent. "The former mayor is a very good friend of mine and for him to come herehes not even from hereand mock somebody, a person like she is, is not acceptable.

At Monday night's board meeting, Jacos job status was on the agenda. Before the board went into a lengthy executive session to figure it out, many students and staff members came to his defense.

Supporters cited his leadership, the districts growth, and upcoming state testing as reasons he should remain in his position.

Making up this narrative about the superintendent, who has done nothing but try to bring good things to our community, hes overhauled our district with some of the best facilities in West Texas," said Elyzabeth Orona, PBTISD staff member. "Hes brought in programs like the teacher apprentice program that have helped so many individuals.

Advertisement Advertisement

Supporters say the allegations are just noise.

But Seals, a former four-term mayor, sees it differently. She says the comment was humiliating and that Jacos apology amounted to a single text message.

Seals declined to speak before the board, but her friend addressed members on her behalf.

These are people that he brought in, people who pretty much replaced others that he got rid of, said Guerra.

Neither the board nor Jaco has yet to officially comment on the decison.
The Pennsylvania House has passed a bill that would increase the states minimum wage.

House Bill 2189, also known as the Minimum Wage Act of 1968, passed with Democratic-controlled State House with bipartisan support on Tuesday, 104-95. Four Republicans voted in favor of the bill, though two Democrats voted against it.

Its been my mission to provide a living wage for all working Pennsylvanians, and this bill passing the House is a huge step forward in that mission, said the bills sponsor, State Rep. Jason Dawkins (D-Philadelphia). If you work hard, you shouldnt have to worry about your next meal or having a roof over your head. Pennsylvania needs a minimum wage suitable for everyone, not just to survive, but to thrive in our state.

Advertisement Advertisement

If passed, the legislation would gradually increase the minimum wage from the current rate of $7.25 to $15 in 2029, followed by annual cost-of-living adjustments.

The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled State Senate.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, on social media, said the ball is now in the Senate Republicans court, and urged them to bring the bill to a vote and send it to his desk.

BREAKING: The Pennsylvania House just passed a bill to raise our minimum wage to $15/hour with bipartisan support.



This is the THIRD year in a row that the House has stepped up to do their part. The ball is now in the Senate Republicans' court.



Its time for them to bring  Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) March 24, 2026

Pennsylvanias minimum wage hasnt been increased since 2009.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
The New York Times on Tuesday accused the Pentagon of disobeying a judges ruling that undid much of the restrictive agreement journalists were forced to sign or lose access to the building.

The judge, Paul Friedman, granted an injunction on Friday that overturned much of the language in the media in-brief document that had so concerned many news organizations that cover the Pentagon that almost all journalists chose instead to give back their press badges. He also ordered that seven journalists from the Times be returned their badges.

Instead of complying with the judges order, the Pentagon chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, announced on Monday night that the department would permanently close a designated work space for journalists known as correspondents corridor and create a new and improved press workspace in an annexed facility outside the building. The Pentagon also issued a revised policy that now requires journalists to be escorted into the building.

Advertisement Advertisement

Rather than comply with the courts order and accompanying opinion, defendants are contemptuously defying it  both in letter and spirit in a newly released interim policy, lawyers for the Times wrote. Among other things, for the first time in history, the interim policy bars reporters with press passes from entering the building without an escort, sets up unprecedented rules governing when a reporter can offer anonymity to a source, and leaves in place provisions that this courts order struck.

Although the government claimed that it satisfied the judges order, the revised policy still prevents journalists from intentionally inducing the unauthorized disclosure of government information  though not from receiving unsolicited information. And it includes an assertion that by offering a potential source anonymity, journalists are acknowledging that a defense department employee was not authorized to release the information.

The intent is obvious: the interim policy is an attempted end-run around this courts ruling, the Times charged, saying it constitutes nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to flout this courts ruling and prevent journalists and news organizations whose editorial viewpoints defendants dislike from engaging in independent, protected newsgathering and reporting at the Pentagon.

Journalists who cover the Pentagon have strongly pushed back against new press access rules.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents journalists who cover the defense department (which Trump has attempted to rename the Department of War), strongly rebuked Parnells announcement, which it called a clear violation of the letter and spirit of last weeks ruling by a US federal court. The organization said it was consulting with legal counsel on next steps.

At such a critical time, we ask why the Pentagon is choosing to restrict vital press freedoms that help inform all Americans, the PPA said in its statement.

Related: US judge blocks Pentagons restrictions on press after New York Times lawsuit

Parnell has said the Pentagon plans to appeal the judges ruling.

Advertisement Advertisement

Seth Stern, director of advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation, said on Tuesday that the Times was correct to challenge the Pentagons new press policies.

The revised policy is not a good faith effort to comply with Judge Friedmans order, he said. It adds mostly meaningless window dressing while retaining the core constitutional violation  subjecting journalists to punishment for doing their jobs.

While the lawsuit was filed and litigated by the Times, many other news organizations felt that the ruling should also open the door for them to regain access to the building.

Dozens of news organizations including the Guardian opted last October to give back their press passes rather than sign on to a new policy that included strict rules on the solicitation of information from defense employees, with vague language guiding how exactly reporters would be able to get the material they needed to do their jobs.

Advertisement Advertisement

Related: Has the pro-Maga media turned on the Pentagon over Iran?

CNN was among the networks that said it would seek to regain press access. In that vein, one CNN journalist went to the Pentagon on Monday hoping to regain their press credential but was not given firm guidance, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Now it seems likely that Judge Friedman will have to weigh in on whether the new policies announced by Parnell are in line with his ruling last Friday.

It will be up to the courts to decide if this latest policy complies with what the judge ordered, Barbara Starr, a former CNN Pentagon correspondent, told the Guardian. But the fact is that all reporters undergo an FBI background check as a condition of receiving a press credential. So [the defense department] in fact retains authority to revoke it if there is a reason beyond that [Secretary Pete Hegseth] just doesnt like the coverage.

Advertisement Advertisement

Starr also lamented the loss of correspondents corridor and the close physical access it provided for journalists to quickly get updates from military officials on breaking developments. Working from a remote building outside the Pentagon does not provide that, she said. (While the press room will not be in the Pentagon building, Parnell said it would still be on Pentagon grounds.)

Although the vast majority of journalists for large news organizations no longer have guaranteed access to the Pentagon, many have been let back in to attend press briefings about Iran conducted by Hegseth, though they have been relegated to the back of the briefing room.

Instead, the vast majority of questions have been asked by a group of conservative journalists and pro-Maga influencers, some of whom have asked substantive questions about American strategy in Iran and the timeline of the war.
March 24 (UPI) -- The Department of Defense has announced new restrictions on reporters, including removing their office space from the Pentagon, after a judge last week struck down a Trump administration policy that threatened journalists' credentials for obtaining unauthorized information.

Under the new policy announced Monday, reporters will be required to work from new office space outside the Pentagon but in an annex facility on its grounds. It also requires credentialed journalists to be escorted by Department of Defense personnel at all times within the Pentagon.

The announcement comes after the Defense Department announced a new policy in October that required all journalists with access to the Pentagon to sign a form acknowledging they could have their credentials revoked for collecting unauthorized information. Most Pentagon reporters declined and surrendered their credentials.

Advertisement Advertisement

The New York Times then sued the administration of President Donald Trump. On Saturday, a federal court judge ruled in the paper's favor, stating the policy was unconstitutional and ordered the Pentagon to reinstate the credentials of seven journalists with The Times.

The Pentagon intends to appeal the decisions, and in the interim announced the new policy shuttering the Correspondents' Corridor and mandating journalist escorts, which Sean Parnell, assistant to the Defense secretary, said in a statement was in compliance with the court's order.

"The Department always complies with court orders but disagrees with the decision and is pursuing an appeal," he said.

A spokesperson with The Times quickly repsonded to the new policy, saying "We will be going back to court."

Advertisement Advertisement

"The new policy does not comply with the judge's order," Charlie Stadtlander, the Times spokesperson, said in a statement.

"It continues to impose unconstitutional restrictions on the press."

The Trump administration has repeatedly taken actions that critics say are aimed at influencing its media coverage, including the October memorandum, restricting access to outlets over editorial decisions and seizing control of the White House press pool.

Journalists and free speech organizations were quick to crticize the policy, with the National Press Club calling the closure of the Correspondents' Corridor an effort to undermine independent reporting of the Pentagon while it is fighting a war with Iran.

Advertisement Advertisement

"At a time when the United States is engaged in active military conflict, the public depends on journalists being able to observe, report and ask questions freely," NPC President Mark Schoeff said in a statement.

"Independent reporting on the U.S. military is not optional. It is essential to accountability, transparency and public trust. Any policy that curtails that access should concern everyone who values a free and informed society."

The Pentagon Press Association said it was consulting with its legal counsel, according to a statement obtained by Axios.

"Press freedom is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and an informed public is vital to democracy," the organization said.

"At such a critical time, we ask why the Pentagon is choosing to restrict vital press freedoms that help inform all Americans."
The Phoenix Police Department said three officers violated department policy after they created a fake gang and falsely charged 18 protesters as gang members during an October 2020 demonstration, but those law enforcement officials will not be disciplined for their actions.

Details on the review were released six years after the incident

After a thorough review of the criminal and internal investigations against the group, Chief Matt Giordano determined that three of the six officers investigated by the PPDs Professional Standards Bureau violated department policy.

However, those officers are retired and will not be reprimanded for their roles in the city scandal, sources familiar with the matter told ABC15 and a news release from the Phoenix Police Department.

Advertisement Advertisement

The incident occurred on Oct. 17, 2020, when 18 protesters were arrested in the downtown Phoenix area. Former Officer Joseph Crowley made arrests after mistakenly believing former Sergeant James Groat called for the arrests. Through PSB interviews, agency investigators determined that Groat did not give permission to make arrests and that Crowley misunderstood his statements, according to records obtained by ABC15.

The records also stated that Crowley did not verify probable cause for the arrests with Groat and wrote a supplemental Incident Report (IR) about the arrest, which contained false information. The body camera footage also invalidated the information Crowley had provided in the report. PSB investigators also determined that the false information Crowley provided in his IR prompted former Sergeant Doug McBride and Officer Jeffrey Raymond to provide false testimony before a grand jury unknowingly.

Another former officer, Alex Volk, submitted the Form IV statement with probable cause for the arrests, which also contained false information. PSB investigators found that Crowley had actually submitted the document under Volks credentials, according to the records. Volk was not involved in the protester arrests and was unaware of his own arrest.

Volk, Crowley and McBride are the three officers who violated department policy by providing false information and taking actions that jeopardized the status of a criminal or administrative investigation or prosecution, Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez said, according to AZFamily.

Advertisement Advertisement

Days after the arrests, PPD and the Maricopa County Attorneys Office teamed up and created a false gang, leading to the 18 protesters being arrested and charged as gang members.

The police and county officials lied to the grand jury to make the charges stick, stating that the street gang was compared to the crips, Bloods and Hells Angels, according to a confidential transcript obtained by ABC15 and AZ Family.

The three other police officers investigated did not commit any wrongdoing or violate department policy.

After review, the charges against the protesters were dismissed

The actions surrounding these events fall short of our standards and expectations. The Department then and now strives to make continuous improvements. Since 2020, the City Council has directed and the Police Department has implemented improvements to strengthen accountability, improve transparency, and ensure constitutional rights are protected in every interaction, the department stated further, per the news release.

Advertisement Advertisement

It continued, While these reforms cannot erase the impact on those affected, they reflect our commitment to accountability,

collaboration, and continuous improvement. We remain steadfast in our mission to serve with integrity,

fairness, and respect for the rights of all individuals.

The case outcome revealed how the charges against the protesters were false and later dismissed. Several county officials admitted to misconduct, with the lead prosecutor being suspended from practicing law for two years. A large group of the targeted protesters filed a lawsuit against the City of Phoenix and the Maricopa County Attorneys office. The complaint was settled in December for $6 million. While most of the protesters dropped out of the case, only two remain.







The post Phoenix Officers Wont Be Disciplined After Creating Fake Gang And Falsely Charging 18 Protestors appeared first on Blavity.
A popular foodie hot spot in the Valley has closed its doors.

Giuseppes on 28th in Phoenix has officially closed after its final day of service on March 22. The small, authentic Italian restaurant was a favorite among locals for more than 20 years.

The restaurant near Indian School Road and 28th Street was even visited by Guy Fieri and featured on his show, "Triple D Nation," in 2024.

"It has been a great pleasure to share food, stories, and make connections with our customers in the past twenty years," a post from their Facebook page read.

>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.

Watch 12News for free

You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12+ app!

Advertisement Advertisement

The free 12+ app from 12News lets users stream live events  including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.

12+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.

Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.

Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."

Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12+ app to add to your account, or have the 12+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
A driver who allegedly fled from a state police trooper is dead following a crash in New Haven on Tuesday.

The crash occurred on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard between Washington Avenue and Truman Street, the New Haven Police Department said in a social media post shortly after 9 a.m.

A Connecticut State Police spokesperson said a trooper from the Troop G barracks in Bridgeport had tried to stop the vehicle prior to the crash, but the driver allegedly took off. Shortly thereafter, the trooper got off the highway and found that the vehicle was involved in a serious head-on collision.

Advertisement Advertisement

New Haven police said they are withholding the drivers name until family members are notified.

A passenger in the fleeing vehicle suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. The driver of the other vehicle that was involved suffered injuries that were also not considered life-threatening.

State police were initially expected to act as the lead investigating agency, New Haven police said. According to a state police spokesperson, the Office of the States Attorney decided that the New Haven Police Department would handle the crash investigation.

The police department said its Crash Reconstruction Unit is investigating.
NOUAKCHOTT, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Mauritanian government has announced a ban on the use of state-owned four-wheel-drive vehicles as part of a set of measures aimed at cutting energy consumption amid sharp price volatility linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

The measure does not apply to vehicles used by the armed and security forces, ambulances or other health-service vehicles, Minister of Economic Affairs and Development Abdallah Ould Souleymane Ould Cheikh-Sidia told a press conference late Monday.

The use of government-owned light-duty vehicles will also be strictly limited to only meeting the essential needs of public administration, he said.

At the same press event, Minister of Energy and Petroleum Mohamed Ould Mohamed Malainine Ould Khaled warned against any speculation in fuel prices, saying sanctions would be imposed on service stations found in violation.

Government spokesman Houssein Ould Medou said about 550 tonnes of fuel were seized in recent weeks and exports to certain neighboring countries had been suspended as a preventive measure.

The government has also moved to strengthen its strategic stocks of energy and food products to secure supplies. 
A 15-year-old student brought a gun to Hillgrove High School prompting a lockdown, according to school officials.

The Cobb County School District said school police responded to the school on Tuesday afternoon and took the student into custody.

Were hearing from parents who rushed to campus and getting answers from the district for Channel 2 Action News starting at 4:00

The situation  from detection to lockdown to the student being taken into custody  was resolved in approximately 12 minutes," a district spokesperson said.

Advertisement Advertisement

We are grateful for the swift action of our police department. There is no active threat, and teaching and learning have resumed.

NewsChopper 2 flew over the scene and spotted

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Police are warning residents about what they describe as an unusually bold scam targeting a senior citizen, in which a caller impersonating TD Bank not only spoofed the bank's number but also sent someone to the victim's home to collect cash.

Police say the victim received a call Friday that appeared to come from TD Bank, where she has an account. The caller claimed they could help her obtain more money, but only if she first provided funds.

"She would have to provide them with the money, and they would promise her money back in exchange," Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik said. "She went to TD Bank. They kept her on the phone while she made a withdrawal. And once she got home, a courier actually came to her house and picked up the money."

Advertisement Advertisement

Later that day, the woman realized she had been scammed and notified the police.

Nationwide data from the FBI shows that reports of elder fraud in 2024 increased 46% from the previous year, with an average reported loss of $83,000.

At the Washington Township senior center, residents say they constantly try to stay aware of evolving schemes.

"If you're not really thinking or if you're not too sure, it is scary. It could happen," said Sharon Brendlinger, who adds she was nearly scammed by someone claiming to be from her electric company.

Police say they plan to hold a seminar at the township senior center alongside the FBI on April 9 at 11 a.m.

Advertisement Advertisement

"We'll discuss with them what the current trends are in fraud that target senior citizens," Gurcsik said.

According to the TD Bank website, the company advises customers to never trust unsolicited phone calls. If someone claims to be calling from the bank, customers should get the person's name, hang up, and then contact the bank directly.

Police say the woman in this case was able to recover her money after reporting the incident to the bank.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Washington Township police.
Did anyone win Monday night's Powerball drawing for the jackpot of $135 million?

The cash option for the March 23 jackpot was $61.0 million.

Here's what we know about the drawing on Monday, March 23:

Powerball winning numbers for March 23 lottery drawing jackpot

The winning numbers for the March 23 drawing were 12, 18, 47, 56, 63. The red Powerball was 1, and the Power Play was 10X.

Did anyone win Powerball?

No one won the jackpot in the March 23 drawing. There was no $1 million Match 5 winner. There was one Match 5 plus Power Play $2 million prize winner in New York.

When is next Powerball drawing?

The next drawing is on Wednesday, March 25.

What is the Powerball jackpot up to?

The jackpot for the next drawing is an estimated $147 million with a cash value of $66.6 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: Did anyone win Powerball last night? Powerball numbers for 3/23/2026
Mar. 24There won't be many names for local races on the primary ballot on June 2 as all four incumbents run unopposed. Democrats won't have any local races on their ballot as the candidates are all running on the Republican ticket.

County Attorney Shane O'Toole has been serving since his appointment in 2021, replacing Tim Kenyon after his retirement. The following year, O'Toole ran unopposed, earning 3,790 votes. He is seeking re-election this year, a four-year term.

County Supervisor Dennis Hopkins is the newest addition to the three-person board, this being the end of his first term.

Advertisement Advertisement

In 2022, Hopkins won a four-way race for the position, earning 2,647 votes. This election, he's on the ticket alone. At the Union County Republicans Caucus in February, fellow supervisors Dennis Brown and Rick Friday both gave their endorsement of the incumbent.

"I believe that Union County is in tip-top form with the right people in the right places and that includes Supervisor Hopkins," Friday said during the caucus. "I want to thank you for electing him three years ago."

Union County Treasurer Kelly Busch has been serving since being appointed in 2008. She was elected in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. She earned 4,100 votes in the latest election. If re-elected, she will have served for 22 years at the end of her term. Busch was spoken highly of at the caucus, attendees noting her dedicated work behind the scenes.

County Recorder Katie Carlton was first elected to her position in 2018, earning 4,077 votes. In 2022, she was re-elected with 3,990 votes.

Other races on the ballot will include U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative District 3, Governor and more. Find a full list on the Iowa Secretary of State website.




A prominent Texas wine maker was arrested Saturday and charged with a DWI and unlawful carrying of a weapon, according to jail records.

John Rivenburgh, the 50-year-old owner of Rivenburgh Wine in Kerrville and former president of nonprofit Texas Wine Growers, was booked into the Kerr County Jail after his blood alcohol content was found to be almost double the legal limit.

His high BAC  more than or equal to 0.15%  escalates the DWI charge to a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by fines of up to $4,000 and up to one year in prison.

Advertisement Advertisement

Rivenburghs charges carried $3,500 and $1,500 bonds and he was released the same day, records show.

The Kerrville Police Department told MySA that the wine maker was arrested after a traffic stop along the 100 block of West Main Street in Kerrville. The stop reportedly occurred around 11: 43 p.m.on Friday, March 20. A firearm was also found in his vehicle during the stop, leading to the second charge.

He was booked just after midnight Saturday.

Rivenburghs term as president of Texas Wine Growers ended on Feb. 25, 2026, according to a representative for the organization.

The current president of Texas Wine Growers, Bryan Chagoly, addressed Rivenburghs arrest in a statement and said he wanted to reaffirm where the organization stands when it comes to driving while intoxicated.

Advertisement Advertisement

We hold our current and former leadership to the same high standards we promote to our members and the public, Chagoly wrote. Driving under the influence is dangerous and inconsistent with those values. Our focus remains on our members, our community and advocating for responsible wine culture.

Rivenburghs winery brand includes the Wine Incubator, Kerrville Hills Winery and Hill Country Spirits. Google lists Rivenburgh Wine as temporarily closed.

A LinkedIn profile with his name and identifying information reads, Drink Texas, Texas! The profile also details his past experience serving on the Texas Wine Advisory Council through the Texas Department of Agriculture from 2015 to 2021.
Space image processing and anomalies specialist Keith Laney wasnt looking for anything extraordinary.

In 2001, while reviewing publicly available images from NASAs Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), he noticed a striking geometric formation in Valles Marinerisa canyon so vast it would stretch across the continental United States, dropping four miles at its deepest points. The feature has three sides, appears roughly symmetrical, and is about the size of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.

Laney flagged it on his website and in online anomaly communities, highlighting its unusual symmetry and suggesting it warranted closer scrutiny. Nothing much happened, and no official investigation followed, and the structure remained a niche curiosity in the public data archives.

Advertisement Advertisement

However, the formation showed up three more times in imaging through 2016, in the same shape at each visit. It spent the better part of two decades sitting quietly in the data until documentary filmmaker Brian Dobbs (director of the Mars anomalies film Blue Planet Red2023) posted footage on X recently, and the conversation caught fire again.

The Case for Closer Scrutiny

Valles Marineris, the solar systems largest canyon system, a colossal east-west gash along Mars equator east of the Tharsis volcanic bulge, is the kind of place that chews rock into strange shapes. In the simplest of terms, its inundated with layered cliffs, sheer drops, and geological chaos on a scale that dwarfs anything on Earth.

Unusual geometry, therefore, isnt rare here, especially in its central chasms like Candor Chasma, where the structure sits in the western region. Thats the sensible explanation, and Dobbs is aware of it. What he keeps returning to is the consistencythree sides, held across 25 years of observation, in a canyon that should be grinding things into rubble.

Mars researcher George Haas published a paper back in 2017 making a similar case. The geometry, he argued, isnt the kind of erosion that tends to produce. Rocks and sculptures look different, he said, and this looks like neither. Laney put it simply back in 2001. Something this shape, found on Earth, would already have people digging.

Advertisement Advertisement

Nobody is planting a flag on alien civilization. The argument is quieter than thatjust that an anomaly sitting in the most dramatic canyon in the solar system might be worth a closer look than its received.

Sources: NASA, ScienceDirect, NYP, HiRise, George HAAS 2017 Paper

Read the original article on GEEKSPIN.

Affiliate links on GEEKSPIN may earn us and our partners a commission.
Just across from Crocker Pond, on a quiet South Ashburnham Road in Westminster, things appeared calm at the home which was the center of an arrest warrant that ended in a 22-year-old man being shot and killed by police Monday afternoon.

The shooting happened after police reported the 22-year-old started moving toward them with a large knife.

The person who lives right next door to the home said hes not too familiar with his neighbors but indicated three people live at the home.

Advertisement Advertisement

There was an incident when they were trying to serve an arrest warrant but outside of that, I dont know anything else, the neighbor said.

Though, the neighbor was aware that police are familiar with the home. Court documents indicate in May of 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at this same address which ended in a 21-year-old being charged with possession of child pornography.

Law enforcement expert Todd McGhee said with investigations like this, prior history will be evaluated, though what remains to be known is exactly what Mondays arrest warrant was for.

We need to peel back the layers on what the actual warrant, what was in the language of the warrant to be able to decipher more about law enforcements response in serving this warrant, so all those particulars are very important to understand, McGhee explained.

Advertisement Advertisement

Boston 25 did reach out to the Worcester County DAs office to find out what the arrest warrant was for. The DAs office indicated the investigation is ongoing and no further information would be released.

No officers were injured in the shooting, though all involved have been placed on administrative leave which is standard protocols in these sorts of incidents.

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
Many people are looking for a new spot to settle down, including those living here in Fresno.

The 2025 renter migration report from Apartment List says 39% of renters on the website are searching for a new home, with 24% considering moving to a new state entirely.

In the Fresno area, 40% of users are looking for their next place.

Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are the top three destinations for Fresno renters.

Of those looking to come to Fresno, the most interest is also from those three California cities.


Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his team want to Make Rural America Healthy again.

He has suggested that AI nurses could save dying rural hospitals. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz said robots could give ultrasounds to women and touted how AI avatars could help. And President Donald Trumps administration is infusing $50 billion over five years to improve rural health, with some states proposing to use the money for drones to deliver lab samples or prescriptions.

Advertisement Advertisement

The rural health care industry has long faced tight budgets, doctor shortages and challenges reaching patients in remote areas. But even as Trump officials pitch advanced technology to close these clinical gaps, rural health providers are worried that much of it is being oversold.

And the one-time $50 billion injection the administration has promised for innovation, they argue, wont make up for the estimated $137 billion in Medicaid dollars rural areas are expected to lose over the next decade due to cuts from what Trump called the big, beautiful bill, according to an analysis by health policy research and news organization KFF.

The challenges are daunting, said George Pink, a senior research fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nearly 200 rural hospitals have closed or converted into facilities with fewer services in the last 20 years, as patients have became more likely to be uninsured or rely on Medicare and Medicaid, which have lower reimbursement rates than private insurance.

But rural providers are also happy to see money invested into confronting the challenges they face to operate, experts said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Theres a healthy amount of skepticism and caution, Pink said of the CMS infusion, noting also theres optimism that the money will be helpful in transitioning, or in helping rural hospitals meet the challenges that theyre going to be facing over the next few years.

In a statement, CMS vowed that the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation fund would close access gaps.

The goal is not fewer services, rather more sustainable rural healthcare, the agency said.

Though the AI nurses Kennedy mentions do not exist, some states are considering how the promise of other technological advancements could improve their rural health care systems.

Advertisement Advertisement

North Dakota hopes to tap federal funds to use drones for rapid delivery of supplies and laboratory samples. Massachusetts expects to deploy AI support systems to bring care directly to rural residents in geographically isolated communities. And Texas officials say they hope to speed up fax processing by increasing AI-based automation.

Unlike other states, Alaska doesnt rely on Medicaid provider taxes that Congress limited to reduce federal health care spending. As a result, the influx of nearly $1.4 billion over five years from the Rural Health Transformation fund is a one-time opportunity to improve soft infrastructure, access and the workforce, state Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg said.

She hopes to see drones delivering critical medical supplies, lab tests or medication - a potential game changer in a state where the vast majority of its communities arent connected by roads.

Women throughout the state often have to fly to Anchorage at 36 weeks pregnant to prepare to deliver babies, Hedberg said. The state hopes to invest in strategies that would deploy AI to interpret fetal heart rate patterns for those living in more remote areas, so health care providers can expedite medical care if an anomaly is detected.

Advertisement Advertisement

The goal is to give our providers additional tools and support so that mothers and babies receive the safest care possible, and that moms can stay in community longer, she said.

But, Hedberg cautioned, AI is not the panacea - it is not going to solve everything.

Tough conversations are playing out as some rural facilities may not be able to make up for lost Medicaid funds and face closure.

Across the country in Maine, leaders bemoaned how the nearly $1 billion they received over five years would not come close to solving the health care funding gap. The state said in December that the one-time funding offered by the administration is likely to be only a fraction of the $5 billion that Maine is estimated to lose under the law.

Advertisement Advertisement

The distribution of the new funds also did not target states with high death rates among their rural populations, according to a JAMA research letter released this month.

States with the lowest rural mortality (Hawaii, Massachusetts, Colorado) received more than twice the per-rural-resident funding as states with the highest rural mortality, the authors wrote.

The human touch

Rural hospitals have long faced workforce shortages. But leaning on new technology to fill in the gaps is complex.

In many rural areas with a hospital, the health care industry is the largest employer, said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association.

Advertisement Advertisement

AI is not going to treat a broken bone. AI is not going to treat a trauma case, he said. You start extracting that job out and to a national or international company, there will be an economic consequences.

CMS stated that the agency does not want to replace physicians but to support them.

Technology allows clinicians to extend their reach so patients can receive faster diagnoses, specialist input, and continuous monitoring without traveling hours for routine care, a CMS spokesman said.

Experts also worry health care providers could become overly reliant on and too trusting of AI judgment, pointing out the systems arent always trained to detect differences between the elderly and the young, the rural and the urban, and various races.

Advertisement Advertisement

A study last month in Nature found that ChatGPT Health can frequently miss the urgency of a medical situation, under-triaging problematic medical issues such as impending respiratory failure, and can lack the ability to detect suicidal ideation. (The Washington Post has a content partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.)

AI becomes risky for older adults when its treated as a substitute for quality geriatric care, said Anthony Zizza, a geriatrician who works as the chief medical officer of Element Care Pace, which helps older adults age in place across the greater Boston area.

He pointed to the complexity of caring for elderly patients with multiple chronic conditions - common among aging rural populations. A urinary tract infection in an elderly patient can look like confusion instead of pain with urination, which can be harder for a chatbot to adequately detect.

It doesnt know their medication list. It doesnt know their home environment, their caregiver capacity and what a small change in function means for that specific person, said Zizza, adding that chatbots risk creating potential false alarms or false reassurances.

Advertisement Advertisement

Jennifer Bacani McKenney practices as a family physician in Fredonia, Kansas, a town of more than 2,000 people.

Would Oz treat his children with AI, she wondered?

Were talking about lesser, nonhuman care, she said. Were not lesser humans.

CMS officials said that there would be no difference in safety or quality standards between rural and urban health care and that they would not support one.

Physicians in major urban health systems are already using AI-enabled tools, remote monitoring, predictive analytics, and digital assistants to improve care coordination, reduce diagnostic delays, and enhance patient safety, the agency said in the statement.

Augment people

There is potential to address the rural workforce shortages through innovative approaches - if presented correctly, experts said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Jason Corso, the Toyota professor of AI at the University of Michigan, is working on a five-year, federally funded project that aims to equip vans run by physician assistants or nurses in rural areas with an AI system that can give guidance on board. The system would help direct health care providers on how to give ultrasounds and other advanced screenings and take notes to generate a health care report after the visit.

Many people in rural America have to drive an hour or more to reach care, Corso said.

AI is not here to replace anyone. Its here to augment people, he said.

AI can help doctors flag things with mounds of data, freeing them up for other tasks, said Tommy Ibrahim, a physician and executive vice president and chief transformation officer at Sanford Health, a multistate rural health system network based in the Midwest. He pointed to a risk score the system has developed to identify chronic kidney disease: Since launching the tool, theyve tripled the early-diagnosis rate and deployed a similar tool for colorectal cancer.

The group has also deployed AI voice technology through an AI-enabled chat to screen patients for high-risk conditions and get an understanding of their health status. The technology could also enable follow-ups for short-staffed hospitals.

Humans need to continue to be intimately connected into these workflows that are enabled by technology but not actually using the technology as a replacement, Ibrahim said. The administration absolutely believes that, as well.

Companies, for their part, are trying to capitalize.

Melinda Laird, the CEO and chief nursing officer of Cordell Memorial Hospital, said she receives five to 10 emails a day about how to deploy AI in her rural Oklahoma hospital.

Now everybodys trying to get on that bandwagon, said Laird, whose hospital serves over 10,000 people in her county.

While she noted that the hospital had deployed some AI technology to help its staff save time documenting patients conditions, shes more hesitant around AI interpreting and making judgments on their care.

I dont feel like anything should be done without having clear oversight on it, she said.

Related Content
For years, President Donald Trump has offered crass and insensitive comments about people who died  especially his foes.

But on Saturday, he explicitly celebrated the death of former FBI Director Robert Mueller, writing, Good, Im glad hes dead.

As a special counsel, Mueller probed Trump and his 2016 campaign as the leader of the Russia investigation during the presidents first term.

Robert Mueller just died, Trump posted on social media shortly after the death was first reported. Good, Im glad hes dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!

Advertisement Advertisement

While it was the culmination of a yearslong series of such comments by Trump, it was hardly an isolated incident.

In 2017, one of the first big controversies of Trumps first term was his insensitive alleged comments to the widow of a soldier who had just died. Trump was accused of telling the widow that her husband knew what he signed up for. And while Trump claimed it had been a very respectful conversation, the White House eventually seemed to tacitly confirm the comments.

After John McCain died in August 2018, Trump in early 2019 resumed his yearslong attacks on the former Arizona senator. He criticized the Republican for killing Trumps health care law, saying, I never was a fan of John McCain, and I never will be. Trump also falsely claimed the recently deceased had graduated last in his class and falsely accused him of sharing the Steele dossier with the FBI before the 2016 election.

In late 2019, Trump attacked another legislative foe who died that year  longtime Rep. John Dingell  by suggesting the Michigan Democrat was looking up from hell.

Advertisement Advertisement

Dingells widow, Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, responded: Im preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder.

By 2021, Trumps jabs at the deceased became more instantaneous. About 24 hours after former Secretary of State Colin Powell died, Trump released a statement criticizing his big mistakes on Iraq and calling him a classic RINO who was always the first to attack other Republicans.

(Powell had openly criticized Trump and crossed party lines to vote against him in 2016 and 2020.)

And Trumps tendency has really ramped up in recent months.

Advertisement Advertisement

In December, he reposted a series of attacks on the Kennedy family just hours after John F. Kennedys granddaughter, environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, died following a terminal brain cancer diagnosis.

That came just a couple of weeks after arguably Trumps most insensitive comments about a deceased critic. And this wasnt just someone who had recently died, mind you, but someone who had been brutally murdered.

Shortly after the killing of director Rob Reiner and his wife, Trump suggested Reiner had died from Trump Derangement Syndrome.

He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights recently, Trump added.

Advertisement Advertisement

A number of Republicans criticized Trumps post.

But just three months later, here is Trump again.

Except this time, hes not just saying crass things about someone who died, but rather explicitly celebrating their demise.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chairs a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired the symposium. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

XIONG'AN, Hebei Province, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Monday called for efforts to build the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province into an innovation hub in the new era and a model of promoting high-quality development.

Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, where he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the new area.

He emphasized the need to firmly uphold Xiong'an New Area's primary functional positioning as the major recipient of functions relieved from Beijing that are non-essential to its role as China's capital.

The new area should strengthen endogenous development momentum through reform and innovation, and unlock vitality via reasonable concentration of production factors and resources, Xi said.

On Monday morning, Xi arrived in Xiong'an and traveled by vehicle to inspect construction progress in the start-up zone. He then visited China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd., which moved over 1,000 employees to Xiong'an in October 2025, and heard briefings on the company's relocation, industrial layout and innovative development.

At the company, he had a cordial exchange with representatives of officials and staff from relocated organizations already operating in the new area and those currently under construction, to learn about their life and work.

Xi also visited the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School, where he conversed with teachers and students in the classroom to learn about the teaching situation there. In the school canteen, he examined the dining environment and the variety of dishes available.

On Monday afternoon, Xi chaired the symposium and delivered an important speech. He acknowledged that important progress has been achieved in the construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area.

It has been fully proved that the CPC Central Committee's decision to develop the new area is entirely correct, and all related work has been solid and effective, he added.

Xi stressed efforts to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as the national capital and integrate them into the new area in a more vigorous and orderly manner, and advance the construction of relocation projects for state-owned enterprises directly administered by the central government, universities and hospitals in an active, steady and phased manner.

Xi stressed systematic planning and the integrated advancement of high-quality development and efficient governance, urging efforts to improve the public service system, safeguard and enhance people's well-being, and actively explore future-oriented smart city management models.

Xiong'an must develop a modern industrial system suited to its realities, Xi said, noting that it should advance the high-standard development of a science park to accelerate the application of scientific and technological achievements.

The new area should cultivate clusters of emerging industries and industries of the future, pioneer the implementation of innovative policies in science and technology, finance and other fields, and create a market-oriented and law-based business environment that is up to international standards, he added.

Xi further urged the new area to strengthen Party leadership and Party building while firmly establishing and practicing a correct understanding of governance performance.

Xi was accompanied by Premier Li Qiang, Cai Qi, director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, who are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets representatives of officials and staff from organizations relocated as part of the projects to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as China's capital, which have moved in or are under construction, in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, greets representatives of officials and staff from organizations relocated as part of the projects to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as China's capital, which have moved in or are under construction, in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Photo by Sheng Jiapeng/Xinhua)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits the Xiong'an campus of Beijing No. 4 High School in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the area. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chairs a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired the symposium. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chairs a symposium on further advancing the high-quality construction and development of the Xiong'an New Area in the Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 23, 2026. Xi inspected the Xiong'an New Area on Monday, when he also chaired the symposium. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)
These are today's HELOC and HEL rates, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. With home prices moving in different directions across the U.S., it's a great time for all homeowners to lock in a rate for a home equity line of credit or a home equity loan.
Russia has equipped its cheap "Molniya" strike drones with more battery power and better cameras.

The modifications allow Russia to use these drones for a new purpose  battlefield reconnaissance.

Moscow doesn't need to rely too heavily on its more expensive reconnaissance drones.

Russia has boosted the range and vision of its fixed-wing Molniya drones, turning cheap, crude aircraft into more capable platforms that can now scout as well as strike in Ukraine.

The upgrades let Moscow lean more on the Molniya ("lightning" in Russian) for battlefield reconnaissance, replacing the pricier surveillance drones like the Supercam and Orlan-10.

Advertisement Advertisement

Russia has been equipping some of its Molniyas with additional batteries to extend their range, a high-definition camera, and a mesh modem for better communications, Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukraine's defense ministry, told Business Insider.

The Molniyas have historically been considered one-way attack drones that carry a warhead and explode on impact. They have been adapted for other missions, though, including carrying smaller first-person-view (FPV) quadcopters, resembling a mothership.

Beskrestnov, a prominent Ukrainian drone warfare expert, said Russia began operating newly modified Molniyas around two months ago and has increasingly used them for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) purposes since then.

The Molniya ISR variant lacks a warhead and is instead equipped with advanced surveillance electronics, including a microcomputer and a rotating camera with a 10-fold optical zoom, according to a US military weapons information portal.

Advertisement Advertisement

The modified Molniyas are significantly cheaper than the more traditional fixed-wing Supercam S-350 or the Zala Z-16, well-known Russian reconnaissance drones estimated to cost up to $100,000 apiece. The inexpensive Molniyas are made of light materials such as plywood, foam, and aluminum.

Molniya drones are cheap to produce and crudely designed. Dmytro Smolienko via Reuters Connect

Beskrestnov said that Russia can obtain 10-15 Molniyas for the same price. The saturation of Ukrainian interceptor drones over the battlefield has pushed Moscow to opt for cheaper, more expendable assets for reconnaissance and targeting.

He speculated that this shift is driven by increased Ukrainian interceptor activity.

Dimko Zhluktenko, a soldier in Ukraine's 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment, said the modified Molniya drones are relatively easy to manufacture, giving Russia an ideal price for reconnaissance missions. He called these efforts "the war of scale" in a social media post earlier this month.

Advertisement Advertisement

Neither Russia's defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to a request for comment on the Molniya ISR developments.

Russia and Ukraine have been constantly modifying their drones during the war to try to gain an advantage before the other side either catches up with the technology or develops a defensive countermeasure.

One of the biggest changes is a shift from radio links  easily jammed  to fiber-optic cables that are largely immune to the electronic warfare saturating the battlefield.

These fiber-optic cables have primarily been used to operate smaller FPV drones. However, Russia has begun using them with larger, fixed-wing platforms such as the Molniya.

Advertisement Advertisement

Russia and Ukraine have taken their innovations a step further with unusual armaments, in some cases equipping drones with air-to-air or surface-to-air missiles to hunt down aircraft.

Read the original article on Business Insider
More than three weeks after North Carolinas primary election, Senate President Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) has conceded the race to his primary rival, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, who led Berger by 23 votes after two recounts.

Berger, whos led the Republican majority in the state Senate since 2011 and is arguably the states most powerful politician, congratulated Page Tuesday afternoon in a statement: While this was a close race, the voters have spoken.

I appreciate Senator Bergers call earlier today and his concession, said Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page.

Advertisement Advertisement

Berger called Page around 4:00pm Tuesday to officially concede the hotly contested race.

He wished me best of luck in the future as we move forward to November, Page told reporters at a hastily-called news conference late Tuesday afternoon. Likewise, I thank him for his contributions that hes done as our senator representing us here in Rockingham County and in Guilford County.

Page said that Berger told him all legal protests that were scheduled in Guilford and Rockingham County would be dropped.

Berger and groups supporting him spent more than $10 million on this campaign. Berger also had the benefit of President Donald Trumps endorsement.

Advertisement Advertisement

Page said none of that mattered in the end.

What I said was this race will not be won on money raised. It will be won on relationships that weve established and the trust we built over the past 28 years with the citizens, said Page. It truly rang true today.

Page said he is now focused on November. He is also encouraging the legislature to pass a comprehensive state budget.

There a lot of people who work for the state and do important things to help run state government, looking after our citizens, said Page. Let go ahead and make sure we get that budget set, and from this point forward shoot for July 1.

Advertisement Advertisement

North Carolina is the only state that failed to pass a budget last year.

No change in second recount

A sample hand-eye recount conducted Tuesday morning in Guilford and Rockingham counties did not find any additional votes for Berger, who continues to trail Page by 23 votes.

The votes were already recounted using voting tabulators with no change to the margin. As allowed by law, Berger requested a sample hand-eye recount to double-check the machine results.

Guilford County election workers conduct a partial recount of ballots cast in the Senate District 26 race. (Photo: Guilford Co. Board of Elections live stream)

Under state law, the North Carolina Board of Elections randomly selects 3% of precincts in a contested race. It selected two precincts in Guilford and one in Rockingham, totaling about 1,300 votes out of the more than 26,000 cast in the primary.

Advertisement Advertisement

Guilfords recount found no errors. Neither did Rockinghams.

By law, a full hand-eye recount isnt conducted unless the sample recount finds a large enough deviation from the machine recount to change the outcome of the race if extrapolated across the rest of the precincts in the district. In this case, Berger needed to pick up two votes to proceed to a full recount.

Berger had filed protests amounting to 13 votes, saying some voters were given incorrect ballots and others were either improperly allowed to vote or prevented from casting a vote. Both county boards were scheduled to hear evidence in those protests in the coming days.

Berger had also asked the State Board of Elections to order a full hand-eye recount of 217 ballots that voting tabulators rejected as undervotes or overvotes.

Advertisement Advertisement

An undervote is when a voter appears not to have voted in a race. The voter may not have fully marked the ballot, or may simply have opted not to vote in that race. An overvote is when there are marks besides both candidates. Sometimes, voters can vote for more candidates than allowed, or start marking one name, then change their mind.

These overvotes and undervotes could very likely determine the outcome of this race, Berger wrote in his request.

The state board declined to consider Bergers request. State elections director Sam Hayes said theres no provision in state voting that specifically allows it. Berger argued the board has the authority to order such a recount, anyway, but Page said that would amount to special treatment.

Berger had also filed an election complaint against the Page campaign, alleging voter intimidation. Page has denied any wrongdoing.

This story is developing and will be updated.
The San Diego Police Department is investigating a murder-suicide on Monday night that left two people dead in the neighborhood of Burlingame, near South Park.

Police responded to a report of gunshots at the 2400 block of San Marcos Avenue at 7:39 p.m. Officials said that a woman in her 80s was dead and a 51-year-old man was transported to a local hospital, where he also died.

According to homicide detectives, the man shot his mother before turning the gun on himself.

It is unknown what led up to the shooting, but officials say there is no danger to the neighborhood.

This is a developing story. CBS 8 will update this story as more information becomes available.
Heres what youll learn when you read this story:

In 2015, a paleoanthropology team discovered jaw remains of a roughly 42,000-year-old Neanderthal in France.

Over the next several years, the team, led by Ludovic Slimak, found more of the Neanderthals remains and began to analyze its genome.

Despite its proximity to other groups of Neanderthals and the eras modern humans, the lineage of the specimen, dubbed Thorin, found by Slimak managed to stay totally isolated from groups of other early beings.

There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something, says Thorin Oakenshield in J.R.R. Tolkiens beloved fantasy novel The Hobbit. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.

Advertisement Advertisement

For example, in 2015, paleoanthropologist Ludovic Slimak made a remarkable discovery at Grotte Mandrin, a cave in Rhone Valley, France. He and his team had been working the area since 1998 to find remnants of humanitys prehistoric forbearers, and after 17 years, they certainly found something: a piece of a jaw belonging to a Neanderthal.

As the years went on, more and more remains of this Neanderthal were discovered. I began to find {remnants of the Neanderthal's jaw} in 2015, Slimak told the New Statesman in 2022, but each year we find one tooth, or one fragment of bone. Slimak determined that this particular Neanderthal lived 42,000 years ago, towards the end of that species time on this planet.

As such, he named the Neanderthal Thorin after the Tolkien character. Thorin in the Hobbit is one of the last dwarf kings under the mountain and the last of its lineage, Slimak told the website IFLScience. Thorin the Neanderthal is also an end of lineage. An end of a way to be human.

MATTHIEU RONDEL - Getty Images

To confirm his suspicions about Thorins age and attempt to glean more information about not just when but how this particular specimen lived, Slimak and his colleagues had Thorins genome analyzed. The results, published in the journal Cell Genomics, show that Thorins lineage managed to stay isolated from the rest of the Neanderthal population, in spite of the fact that other groups lived nearby.

Advertisement Advertisement

Nearly a decade before ever finding Thorin, Slimak had already theorized that any Neanderthals who had resided in the Rhone Valley would have been different from those in the surrounding areas. His assessment, at that point, was based on the stone tools found at various sites, noting that those in the Rhone Valley didnt reflect the newer tool-making style found at other locations.

It turns out that what I proposed 20 years ago was predictive, Slimak told the publication Live Science. The population of Thorin had spent 50 millennia without exchanging a single gene with the classical Neanderthal populations. The analysis showed that Thorin had high genetic homozygosity, which indicates inbreeding in the lineages recent past. It also offers no evidence of interbreeding with modern humans of the time.

Everything must be rewritten about the greatest extinction in humanity and our understanding of this incredible process that will lead Homo sapiens to remain the only survival of humanity, Slimak said in assessing what this discovery means. How can we imagine populations that lived for 50 millennia in isolation while they are only two weeks walk from each other? All processes need to be rethought.

You Might Also Like
default

A couple of weekends ago, as dusk was falling over the Escandon neighbourhood of Mexico City, Abel Ortiz was startled by the sound of two American women yelling at each other on the street outside his apartment.

They were nose to nose, screaming in English while bemused Mexicans looked on.

I cant believe you called my fucking mom! said one.

You should go back home! bellowed the other.

What jarred Ortiz even more than the spectacle of two American tourists behaving badly was his own reaction. He wanted to run out and confront them.

Advertisement Advertisement

No, you dont get to do that! he imagined himself telling them. Not in my country!

His visceral response surprised him. Though Mexican by birth, Ortiz has spent a total of only nine months in the country. He was spirited away by his parents in search of a better life in the US when he was only two months old. He went on to live for 38 years in Los Angeles, rarely stepping outside the city.

Until Donald Trump came along, casting undocumented people like him as public enemy No 1, Ortiz perceived himself to be wholly American.

How do I live, when Im neither here nor there? Abel Ortiz

Last August, that changed. He packed two bags  clothes and a few cherished photographs  and left.

Advertisement Advertisement

In doing so, he became a statistic in the brutal campaign against those Trump calls illegal aliens. The US government has made their lives so unpleasant, so imbued by fear, that leaving became the lesser evil. Trump likes to emphasize the supposed voluntary aspect of their departure by calling them self-deportees.

Others use a different phrase that stresses the cruelty driving such decisions: Ortiz and others like him have been ICEd out.

In his case, that meant saying goodbye to a thriving hair salon business, his best friend and a community he had cultivated over decades. He has returned to a country that he barely knows, and a language  Spanish  that he speaks only haltingly.

Ive done the hardest thing I ever could, he says. There are days when I feel literally insane with the duality of it.

Advertisement Advertisement

Since moving to Mexico City he has come to appreciate the citys vibrant and verdant culture, and has rejoiced in a sense of liberation. But there is also deep and intensifying pain. The sadness of what he has left behind bears down on him. He is disoriented, and racked by existential questions.

Who am I? What do I want? he asks himself. How do I live, when Im neither here nor there?

***

Ortiz quit the US on 4 August 2025. By then he had grown unnerved by the pervasive presence in Los Angeles of national guard troops, helicopters whirring overhead, and ICE agents ready to pounce in unmarked Fords and Chevys.

Advertisement Advertisement

He was too afraid to risk LAX airport, so he travelled overland to Tijuana.

With him in the car as he crossed the border were a pair of film-makers, director Isabel Castro and her producer husband, Jamie Goncalves. They lived over the road from LuXcy, the hair salon that Ortiz co-managed in Highland Park, LA, and Goncalves was one of his clients.

When they learned that the hairstylist was preparing to leave the US they followed their instincts and instantly began filming. The result is a 14-minute short movie, published by the Guardian, that captures Abels poignant final moments in LA.

Its kind of crazy to think that I wont see any of these places possibly again, he says on camera as he drives one last time through LA streets.

Advertisement Advertisement

The film ends as Ortizs plane from Tijuana lands in his new home: Mexico City. Seven months later, I meet him there to find out how his life as a so-called self-deportee is going.

In Mexico Im surrounded by people with my own features. A part of my identity had been filled in Abel Ortiz

In the early days, Ortiz enjoyed an almost tactile sense of freedom. It was partly that he was armed with a Mexican passport, allowing him to hop on planes to visit beach towns such as Puerto Escondido and Puerto Vallarta, something he had never been able to do in the US.

As a citizen, he no longer had to be looking over his shoulder for that idling Chevy. More nebulously, he no longer felt like an outsider.

In LA there was always a part of me that was asking whether I belonged in a room. That has gone. In Mexico Im surrounded by people with my own features. A part of my identity had been filled in. I feel lighter.

Advertisement Advertisement

We are sitting in the living room of his Escandon apartment. It is spacious and light, an attractive contrast to growing up poor sharing bedrooms with his nine siblings.

His father left school when he was 12 to sell candy on the streets of Aguascalientes, in central Mexico. The grinding poverty was what led him to take infant Abel to the US  to give his son a fighting chance.

As it happened, the clandestine journey across the arid border in 1987 almost killed two-month-old Abel. The boy was so dehydrated by the time they reached LA he needed hospital care.

When he was 13, Ortiz came out and ran away from home. As a teenager he picked up a felony conviction related to credit card fraud, and as a result was later deemed ineligible for the Daca scheme that offered work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children.

Advertisement Advertisement

Through dogged perseverance, he still managed to forge a good life for himself in LA. He trained as a hair stylist and by the time he left the US was running a successful salon alongside his best friend since high school, Regina.

As a gay man, Ortiz has chosen to locate his new life in a supportive place. Mexico City was the first city in Latin America to legalise gay marriage, in 2009. His skills as a hair stylist, combined with his LA cool and a lively Instagram page, makes him highly employable. He earns a fraction of the income he made at LuXcy, and is no longer his own boss, but his new salon, Dos Flamingos, in the tourist-rich Roma district has given him a purchase into his new life.

He knows how relatively lucky he is to have found work so easily. One night, as he was walking home from the salon feeling particularly low and missing his old LA life, a man stopped him on the street.

The man asked for directions to a place, using a Spanish word that Ortiz didnt recognize. It took a while to work out he was referring to a refugio  a temporary shelter for homeless US deportees.

Advertisement Advertisement

I dont take it for granted, Ortiz tells me. I know that could so easily have been me.

The salon is flamboyantly bilingual, and most of his clients are English-speaking American women. Bienvenidos! Welcome! a sign says at the entrance. Walk-ins & Reservaciones.

His neighbourhood is luxuriously tree-lined and full of birdsong, and the jacarandas are in stunning purple bloom. There are great tacos in a street stall outside his apartment.

All told, Ortiz is reveling in newfound independence of the sort that many young Americans get to experience in their mid-20s. Its just that for him the launch into adult life was delayed for more than a decade by his immigration status.

Advertisement Advertisement

It sounds silly, but it feels like Ive grown up, he says. Ive been given a second chance to live my own life, to have my own voice. This is my country.

If the story of Abel Ortiz ended here, it would have a pleasing simplicity. Its so much more complicated than that.

***

At the heart of the concept of self-deportation is a contradiction: that you can be coerced into doing something voluntarily. Ortiz left of his own volition, but only after he had been made so fearful that he felt he had no alternative.

I couldnt breathe in LA, he says.

For Trump and his top adviser Stephen Miller theres a lot riding on instilling such terror. Its a way to bump up the numbers of those departing, allowing Trump to boast that he has fulfilled his campaign pledge to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, responding to Guardian questions, claimed that since Trumps second inauguration, 2.2 million illegal aliens have voluntarily self-deported. More than 100,000 had used the visionary CBP Home App, a portal that offers undocumented people a one-way plane ticket home and an exit bonus of $2,600.

Ortiz had never heard of the app, and says he wouldnt have touched it if he had. I dont trust the American government, or American anything, really.

Immigration experts are skeptical of the DHS statistics. That 2.2 million figure appears to have been extrapolated from an earlier estimate floated by anti-immigration group, the Center for Immigration Studies. The calculation was based on monthly population data from the Census Bureau that the agency itself warns should be handled with utmost caution.

I dont trust that number, it looks inflated, said Julia Gelatt, an immigration policy expert with the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute.

Though Trumps data should be taken with a big pinch of salt, it is true that an unknown number of undocumented immigrants have headed for the exit. Ortiz was among them.

Since leaving, he has watched ICE spread its net from LA to other cities. It has fortified his conviction that he made the right decision.

When news broke of the killing by federal agents of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis he felt vindicated. If they could kill a white woman, and then a white man, if they could kill these white people, what would they have done to me?

***

Theres a pattern experts have observed among undocumented US immigrants who return to their native countries: the initial euphoria often fades quickly. The relief of escaping fear and reclaiming basic freedoms can give way to something more complicated, allowing darker emotions to swoop in.

[Norteado] is the experience of being disoriented, physically and socially Claudia Masferrer

Claudia Masferrer, a sociologist at the Colegio de Mexico who co-wrote The Returned that explores the lives of US migrants coming back to Mexico City, has a word for the discombobulation that follows. Norteado.

Its the experience of being disoriented, physically and socially. Its a reference to the US, el norte [the north], but also the sense that you can no longer determine the points of the compass, the disorientation of returning.

Ortiz has never heard of norteado. But he can relate to what it describes.

We are walking from his apartment to the Dos Flamingos salon to begin his days work. We stop at a coffee shop where he orders the traditional Mexican spiced drink, cafe de olla, and a sweet doughy churro.

Ive been kind of antisocial lately, just processing everything, he says as we sit.

Theres the loss of loved ones back in the US. Though hes not especially close to family and says he hasnt suffered homesickness, he did have a twinge recently when he was absent from his fathers 57th birthday celebration.

He misses his best friend, Regina, co-manager of LuXcy. She hasnt returned his calls since October, mad at him for abandoning her.

Im angry right back at her, he says. She cut me off, just when I need her most.

At the Mexican end, hes wrestling with mounting irritations. English is his first language, and his Spanish is scratchy. As a result he gets labelled an extranjero  foreigner  and asked where he comes from.

It happens every day, he says. I dont blame anyone, but its definitely annoying. Its a reminder that Im not really from here.

Back in LA he had a teeming community of friends, long-term salon clients, fellow gym junkies at the local gym where he worked out daily. In Mexico City he has cordial relations with his Dos Flamingos co-workers, but his clients are new, and everywhere else he goes he is a stranger.

The things that bring me joy and give me comfort  going to the gym, being healthy, walking the city  those things arent working any more.

He hasnt been to the gym for four months.

I dare to suggest that he sounds depressed.

Yeah, I think there is a level of depression, he concedes, adding that hes come to see his predicament as a form of grief. Im grieving the life I had. Not crying-on-the-bathroom-floor type of grief, but still grief.

After three hours of talking, I ask him if he is tired of so many prying questions. No, he says. Im just tired of being me.

I dont want to hold on to my resentment towards white America. I dont want to become an angry old man Abel Ortiz

Theres another side to his creeping malaise. The longer he has been away from the US, the more his blood boils over the country that was his home for 38 years.

He fumes about Trump and his ongoing immigration crackdown. Its vile, its horrible. Its amazing what hes gotten away with, and it shows how racist America is.

He feels rising resentment about how he was treated over all those years. He can see more clearly now, with the benefit of distance, how condescending many Americans were towards him.

He witnesses the same dismissive treatment being doled out by US clients towards his Mexican co-workers in Dos Flamingos. He doesnt like it.

He also now recognizes that as a person of color and undocumented immigrant, he tended to keep his head down in LA and avoid answering back. Hes trying to break free of that lifelong habit.

The other day, a young American woman who was in Mexico City for a wedding behaved haughtily towards him as she sat in his salon chair, going so far as to question his judgment about styling techniques. For once he didnt remain silent.

He calmly, but firmly, refused to serve her.

He sees that as maybe a way out of his non-bathroom-floor grief. Keep moving, keep asserting, avoid bitterness.

Ive made a decision that I dont want to hold on to my resentment towards white America. I dont want to become an angry old man.

Yes, there are doubts aplenty about what he has done. But he insists they are not regrets.

He does not regret turning his back on the place he thought was home until Trump showed him it wasnt. But he does have questions.

The Abel that I was, I left that person behind in LA, he says. So who is the Abel I want to become?

He hopes to find the answer when he goes off traveling. First stop, Barcelona in May where he plans to attend a concert by Bad Bunny, whose half-time Super Bowl show he loved so much.

After that, who knows?

Watch the full Guardian documentary following Abels last week in the United States below.
The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary late Monday, approving President Donald Trumps nominee to take over the embattled department after the firing of Kristi Noem during a public backlash over the administrations immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations.

Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma known for his close friendship with Trump, has tried to present himself as a steady hand, saying his goal as secretary would be to get the department off the front page of the news. He takes over at a difficult time as Trump has ordered ICE agents to bolster airport security during a budget standoff in Congress. And he tangled with the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who questioned Mullins character and temperament during last weeks combative confirmation hearing.

Senators confirmed him on a largely party-line vote, 54-45.

Advertisement Advertisement

Routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security has lapsed since Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation Security Administration agents call out rather than work without pay. Democrats are demanding the Trump administration make changes in immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during protests this year in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the latest proposal, and talks have stalled.

MMA fighter takes on Homeland Security

While the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in Congress, and with the management experience of running an expanding family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a key force in immigration issues.

A former mixed martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler who has led early-morning workout sessions in the members-only House gym, he became close with members of both parties and is often seen as a negotiator in partisan Washington.

It is his loyalty to Trump that landed him the job, and hes not expected to sway from the presidents approach. Mullin was a strong supporter of Trumps immigration agenda and ICE officers before being tapped for the DHS job.

Advertisement Advertisement

I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of homeland Ill be protecting everybody, Mullin said during his confirmation hearing.

Immigration enforcement at center of funding stalemate

Mullins first challenge will be to restore routine funding to the department that has been blocked since mid-February as Democrats demand tighter restraints. They want immigration officers to identify themselves and not wear masks; refrain from enforcement operations around schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive locations; wear body cameras; and obtain a judges approval on warrants before entering peoples homes or private spaces.

At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin sought to portray himself as a steady hand at a pivotal time for the agency  an image that was challenged by the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, in a heated exchange. Democrats are also skeptical, seeing him as a loyal executor of Trumps agenda.

Paul voted against Mullin during the committee vote. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joined most other Republicans in advancing the nominee in a Sunday vote.

Advertisement Advertisement

Markwayne Mullin is ready to lead, said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 ranking Republican. He said Mullin will serve with seriousness and character. He will be a leader who makes our country safer.

Mullin comes into office at a time when public support for the presidents immigration agenda has fallen after a year of high-profile operations in multiple American cities. Under Noems leadership, officers were accused of using force to arrest immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions and bypassing due process to rapidly deport immigrants.

Mullin did walk back some of his comments during his confirmation hearing, saying he was wrong to malign protester Alex Pretti after he was shot and killed by an ICE officer. He said that as secretary he would refrain from making judgments before an investigation is carried out.

He shed light on other ways he might influence policy when it comes to immigration. For example, he said officers would be required to use a warrant signed by a judge  not the administrative warrants now used by ICE officers  to enter a house except in rare circumstances.

Advertisement Advertisement

He acknowledged the concerns some communities have over building massive ICE detention facilities in their neighborhoods and said cutting off federal funds to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that dont work with ICE would be a last resort.

But ultimately, it is the White House that sets the agenda when it comes to how Trumps vision for immigration enforcement is carried out, and Mullin is expected to follow its lead. Trump faces a strong lobby within the GOP pushing him to make good on his promise to deport 1 million people a year.

FEMA and federal disaster aid in flux

Mullin will also have his hands full charting a new course at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has come under scrutiny as it delivers disaster aid to parts of the country hard-hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters.

A growing number of critics, even fellow Republicans, said Noems policy of personally approving contracts over $100,000 slowed disaster response, and the department still doesnt have a full-time administrator.

Advertisement Advertisement

Mullin presented a fresh approach on federal emergency management during his Senate confirmation hearing, rejecting the idea of eliminating FEMA and saying he would revoke Noems contract approval rule.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Senate confirmed Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to lead the Department of Homeland Security amid a growing crisis within the agency over immigration enforcement, which has resulted in a partial shutdown of the department and chaos at airports nationwide.

The Senate backed Mullin by a vote of 54-45, with Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joining every Republican but one  Rand Paul of Kentucky  in favor of his confirmation.

Politics: Pete Hegseths Pastor Says He Wants James Talarico To Die

Trump tapped Mullin, a first-term senator, to replace Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary earlier this month after bipartisan outrage over Noems tenure at DHS, including a scandal-ridden $220 million, self-promoting ad campaign. Trump himself was said to be angry with Noem after she testified before Congress that the president had personally approved her ads.

Advertisement Advertisement

Mullin vowed to take a different approach during his confirmation hearing last week, promising to work across the aisle and implement a softer tone on immigration in the wake of Noems often-violent crackdown on immigrants in Minnesota and elsewhere around the country.

My goal in six months is that were not in the lead story every single day, Mullin told his Senate colleagues, promising to set the partisan side down to deal with urgent issues, including securing funding for DHS.

Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Jan. 14, 2025, on Capitol Hill. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File

The hearing grew tense and confrontational, however, when Mullin clashed with Paul, the homeland security committee chair, over disparaging comments Mullin had made about Paul being physically assaulted by his neighbor in 2017. The assault left Paul with broken ribs and long-term health issues. Paul questioned whether Mullin, a former MMA fighter, was fit for the job, given that he had also once threatened to fight a witness in a Senate committee hearing.

Advertisement Advertisement

You told the media that I was a freakin snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted, Paul told Mullin. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force.

Politics: Trump Weighs In On Potential Funding Deal, More Laguardia Airport Crash Details Revealed: Live Updates

Paul voted against Mullins nomination in committee, but it advanced to the Senate floor because of Fettermans vote for the Oklahoma Republican.

Mullin also picked up a surprise Democratic vote from Heinrich, who said he considered Mullin a friend due to their close working relationship on Capitol Hill.

Advertisement Advertisement

I have also seen first-hand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views, and I look forward to having a Secretary who doesnt take their orders from Stephen Miller, Heinrich said in a statement last week, referring to Trumps top political adviser, who is known for his anti-immigrant views.

Mullin will have his hands full upon taking over from Noem next week. Many DHS staffers, including Transportation Security Administration agents, have been working without pay since the department shutdown began on Feb. 14. More than 3,400 TSA workers called out sick in a day, and many have quit entirely, leading to long security lines at airports and frustration for travelers.

Politics: WSJ Editor Spots Unsettling Reality Of Donald Trumps Iran War Claims

In Oklahoma, GOP Rep. Kevin Hern has emerged as a front-runner to replace Mullin in the Senate next year. The lawmaker has been endorsed both by Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

Advertisement Advertisement

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that every Republican voted for Mullins confirmation.

Related...

Read the original on HuffPost
An ambulance leaves a military hospital after transporting the injured from a Colombian military aircraft crash, in Bogota, Colombia, on March 23, 2026. The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

BOGOTA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. 

An ambulance leaves a military hospital after transporting the injured from a Colombian military aircraft crash, in Bogota, Colombia, on March 23, 2026. The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

This photo taken on March 23, 2026 shows a military hospital where some of the injured from a Colombian military aircraft crash are treated, in Bogota, Colombia. The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

An ambulance leaves a military hospital after transporting the injured from a Colombian military aircraft crash, in Bogota, Colombia, on March 23, 2026. The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia's Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported on Monday, citing military sources. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)
The US Senate on Monday confirmed Markwayne Mullin to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, elevating the Republican senator to a role where he will be among the public faces of Donald Trumps crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

The Republican controlled chamber confirmed Mullin largely along party lines, with a vote of 54-45. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote against him, while Pennsylvanias John Fetterman and New Mexicos Martin Heinrich were the sole Democrats to vote in favor.

While Fetterman endorsed Mullin shortly after his nomination, support from Heinrich was a surprise. After voting to advance his nomination over the weekend, Heinrich released a statement calling Mullin a friend who is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views.

Advertisement Advertisement

I look forward to having a secretary who doesnt take their orders from Stephen Miller, Heinrich said, referring to the White House official who is an architect of Trumps immigration policies.

Mullin is set to play a key role in implementing those policies, which polls show are growing increasingly unpopular among the public ahead of the November midterms, in which Republicans will be defending their control of the Senate and House of Representatives.

A former House representative who was elected Oklahomas junior senator in 2022, Mullin now leads a 260,000-employee department whose sub-agencies include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol.

Among his first tasks is sure to be stepping up efforts to reopen its operations, parts of which were shuttered in mid-February, when Democrats rejected funding legislation for the department because it did not include new guardrails on immigration enforcement operations.

Advertisement Advertisement

Democrats demanded the restrictions after immigration agents killed two US citizens during a weeks-long intensive enforcement operation in Minneapolis, and have listed among their demands a ban on officers wearing masks, a requirement that they display identification and adhere to rules on use of force, with all violations investigated.

The shutdown has not impacted ICE or other agencies involved in immigration enforcement, because Republicans authorized tens of billions in dollars of spending for their operations in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year.

The funding negotiations have grown newly complicated after Trump said no deal should be made with the Democrats until they support the Save America Act, a bill to impose new voter ID requirements that the minority is currently blocking in the Senate. He also deployed ICE agents to some airports to relieve hours-long lines at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.

At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin struck a diplomatic tone while signaling hed take a less public approach to leading DHS compared to his predecessor Kristi Noem, who Trump fired reportedly after becoming dissatisfied with her personal appearances in a series of advertisements for the department.

Advertisement Advertisement

My goal in six months is that were not in the lead story every single day. My goal is for people to understand were out there, were protecting them, and were working with them, Mullin told senators.

While he expressed regret for saying Alex Pretti, the second US citizen killed in Minneapolis two months ago, was a deranged individual that came in to cause maximum damage, he either deflected questions from Democrats about specific immigration arrests or tactics, or signaled he would not alter course.

Among policies he refused to endorse was keeping immigration agents away from polling stations, where some Trump allies have said they should be deployed, prompting fears that they will scare off voters in the November elections.

I dont understand what the concern about enforcing immigration at polling places is anyways. Because, honestly, if youre not a citizen, you shouldnt be voting anyways, Mullin said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Mullin did, however, affirm that immigration agents would not enter homes or businesses unless they had a judicial warrant signed by a judge. Reports had recently emerged of ICE agents being told that they could enter properties with an administrative warrant, which is an internal document authorized by a supervisor at the agency.

We will not enter a home or place of business without a judicial warrant unless were pursuing the individual that runs into a place of business or a house, Mullin told senators.

Mullins departure from the Senate allows Oklahomas Republican governor Kevin Stitt to appoint a replacement, who under state law must be from the same party as the incumbent, and cannot stand in the next election for the seat. The special election to replace Mullin will take place during the midterm elections in November.
A senator has opened an investigation into the countrys two largest child care companies that are controlled by private equity  as families grapple with rising prices.

On Tuesday, Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley sent letters to KinderCare Learning Companies and Learning Care Group, in addition to their respective owners, requesting detailed information about how the Wall Street-backed firms operate.

Some analysts suggest that the growing role of private equity and other profitmaximizing ownership models in child care centers increase challenges related to affordability, staffing, and accessparticularly where investor strategies increase financial pressure to raise prices, constrain labor costs, or concentrate capacity in higher-revenue markets, Merkley wrote in one letter.

Advertisement Advertisement

He pointed to an analysis showing that eight of the 10 largest child care firms are owned by private equity, while also citing studies that found such centers are more likely than their nonprofit counterparts to have staffing shortages, lower wages and higher prices.

Merkley also noted that regulators in several states have cited KinderCare for inadequate supervision, while centers owned by Learning Care Group have been reported for health and safety violations in some states.

A Democratic senator has opened an investigation into the country's two largest child care companies controlled by private equity  as families grapple with rising prices (Getty Images)

He then asked the companies to turn over key information by April 7, such as parent entities, sponsors, subsidiaries, committee minutes, presentations, and related legal proceedings.

Our future generations are our greatest resource, and we owe it to them to ensure their safety and security are at the forefront of everything we do, the third-term senator said. The private equity firms and the child care companies they control owe it to the families they serve to fully cooperate with this investigation, and I look forward to fully examining the documents and information we are requesting.

Advertisement Advertisement

KinderCare Learning Companies is owned by Partners Group, a private equity firm based in Switzerland, while Learning Care Group is owned by American Securities, a U.S.-based private equity company.

Both companies stressed that they view their role in delivering quality care as a serious and essential commitment.

At KinderCare, our mission is simple and unwavering: to support working families and to provide a safe, nurturing, high quality learning environment so their children can thrive, a company spokesperson told The Independent. Every day, millions of parents across the country rely on early education and care so they can contribute to their communities and their workplaces. Annually, the federal government provides less than $250 in child care funding per American child while the cost of quality care continues to rise.

Every decision we make is grounded in providing safe, high-quality care and being a good place to work for our teachers, Learning Care CEO John Bork said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post. We believe thoughtful, long-term investment supports that mission, and we welcome the opportunity to work with policymakers to strengthen the system for families and educators.

'Ensuring working families can access safe and affordable child care is paramount to building out the middle class and making it easier for families to get ahead,' Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, said in a statement (Getty Images)

Child care costs in the United States have become a growing financial burden for many families, especially in recent years.

Advertisement Advertisement

According to the First Five Years Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to early childhood policy, the average annual cost of child care now exceeds $13,000 per child. In many cases, that price tag rivals  or even surpasses  monthly rent, as a 2025 LendingTree analysis found.

The vast majority of voters, 80 percent, believe that the inability of working parents to find affordable child care options is a major problem or a state of crisis, according to a February FFYF survey.
SHEBOYGAN  Sheboygan-area community members can participate in another No Kings protest against the Trump administration this weekend amid widespread ICE arrests and the United States involvement in the Iran war.

The local event, which is one of more than 3,000 scheduled across the country, will be hosted by Lakeshore Indivisible at Peace Park, at the intersection of Broughton Drive, North Third Street and Michigan Avenue, from noon to 1:30 p.m. on March 28.

With every ICE raid, every escalation abroad, and every abuse of power at home, Americans are rising up in opposition to Trumps attempt to rule through fear and force, Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, a progressive political organizing nonprofit, said in a news release. Each day Trump crosses a new red line, and more people are deciding theyve had enough.

Advertisement Advertisement

Family speaks about mother's detainment: Family calls for release of mother after 'egregious' ICE detention

No Kings organizers expect one of the largest nationwide protest days

Indivisible anticipates the spring "No Kings" protest could be one of the largest single-day nationwide protests in U.S. history, following those held in June 2025 and October 2025 that drew 5 million and 7 million people, respectively.

Nearly 90 protests are planned in Wisconsin, including Port Washington, Manitowoc, West Bend and Oshkosh.

Hundreds have attended local anti-Trump protests over the past year, including Good Trouble Lives On, May Day Strong and weekly We the People protests.

How to help at the protest: Donate canned goods for the food bank

Sheboygan protest organizers are collecting canned goods on Saturday for the Sheboygan County Food Bank. High-demand items include canned meats and peanut butter.

Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: No Kings protest in Sheboygan set for March 28 at Peace Park
The Iowa Department of Corrections recently hired an unlicensed mental health counselor despite the man facing a set of disciplinary charges for practicing three years without a license.

State records show that in February 2015, the Iowa Board of Behavioral Professionals awarded a social work masters level license to Keith R. Keller of southeast Iowa. In August 2023, the board says, it fielded a complaint of an undisclosed nature about Keller, whose license had expired in December 2022.

Keith R. Keller (Photo courtesy of the Iowa Department of Corrections)

One year later, in August 2024, a board investigator followed up on the complaint by checking the website of Kellers employer, who has not been publicly identified by the board. The board alleges the organization was promoting Keller as a licensed social worker specializing in therapy related to individuals, couples, adolescents and substance abuse.

Advertisement Advertisement

According to the board, Keller didnt respond to initial inquiries about practicing without a license, but on Sept. 3, 2024, he allegedly acknowledged the issue and explained to a board investigator that he was concerned about his ability to pass an examination for licensure.

Keller then stopped communicating with the board, which meant the board investigator was unable to gather any information regarding the original 2023 complaint, the board alleges. In May 2025, the board charged Keller with falsely representing himself as a licensed social worker, practicing with an expired license, and failing to cooperate with a board investigation.

On Jan. 5, 2026, the board held a hearing on the matter, which Keller failed to attend. Last month, the board determined Keller was guilty of all three charges and voted to suspend his still-expired license for at least 90 days. No other sanctions or penalties were imposed.

State records indicate that two weeks before the suspension took effect, while the charges were still pending, the Eighth Judicial Districts Department of Correctional Services hired Keller as its new community corrections program coordinator.

Advertisement Advertisement

According to the departments Facebook post announcing the hiring, Keller is an Iowa-licensed master social worker. The department credited Keller with a strong background in both service and care, including prior service in the United States Army and extensive experience as a substance abuse and mental health counselor.

The Facebook post also indicated that prior to joining state government, Keller worked for many years at Counseling Associates in the Keokuk/Fort Madison area, where he partnered closely with the Fort Madison Drug Court and supported justice-involved individuals.

Calls to Kellers state office in Burlington were not returned Tuesday. Kellers supervisor, Kurt Rosenberg, and the Department of Corrections media contact did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment on the matter.

Its possible that the licensing boards five-month delay in publicly announcing the disciplinary charges against Keller contributed to his hiring by the state. Board records show the charges were approved by the board on May 27, 2025, but were not announced or published online until Oct. 30, 2025.

Advertisement Advertisement

Since the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing took over the administration of the states licensing boards in 2023, there have been lengthy delays between the boards taking action in a case and DIALs public disclosure of that action. In some cases, those delays have been as long as eight months.

DIAL has referred questions on the delays to the Iowa Attorney Generals Office which has, in turn, referred all questions about the issue back to DIAL.

The Iowa Department of Corrections oversees eight Judicial District Departments of Correctional Services that provide community-based corrections across Iowa. Each district operates independently under the accreditation and funding of the DOC.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
From Waikiki to Waimea Bay on Oahus North Shore, the storms have transformed near-shore ocean waters from turquoise blue to brown.

The Hawaii Department of Health has a message for the public  when the water is brown, stay out.

DOH has issued brown water advisories covering the ocean around the entire islands of Kauai, Oahu, and Maui, as well as the west and south sides of Hawaii island in the wake of the recent Kona-low storms. Officials warned the public to stay out of waters that appear brown or murky, especially following storms or heavy rains due to contamination from pathogens and pollutants.

Advertisement Advertisement

People should stay out of all waters that appear brown or turbid, said DOH in a statement. If the water is brown, turn around. Storm water can contain harmful micro-organisms (pathogens) and other harmful pollutants from overflowing sewage systems, such as cesspools or septic tanks, and animal feces flowing into storm drains.

Additionally, DOH said, Excessive storm water can also contain sewage from overflowing manholes or chemicals from polluted runoff from commercial and industrial facilities. Standing water from heavy rains, DOH said, can also contain pathogens from cesspools.

As a general rule, the department recommends staying out of the water for 48 to 72 hours after the rain has stopped and after the beach has received full sunshine. Heavy rains continued to pound Oahu on Monday.

The Honolulu Ocean Safety Department, citing DOH guidance, urged everyone to avoid ocean waters for at least 72 hours after the last rainfall.

Advertisement Advertisement

Even beyond that timeframe, said Ocean Safety in a news release, the public should continue to avoid entering areas where the water is brown or murky, especially near stream mouths, drainage outlets, and other locations where runoff flows into the ocean.

Potential illnesses include staph infections; skin rashes; ear, eye, and respiratory infections; and gastroenteritis, which includes symptoms such as nausea, stomachache, and diarrhea.

There have been, however, no official beach closures on Oahu, Ocean Safety said.

On Monday, some people still went into the ocean in Waikiki, as could be seen via live webcams from some hotels there. At Kailua Beach, where normally turquoise waters were a chocolatey brown, a lone kitesurfer traversed the ocean Monday afternoon without the usual crowds.

Advertisement Advertisement

I would say, only go in if you have absolutely no fear of getting sick, said Arleen Velasco, co-coordinator of the Surfrider Foundations Blue Water Task Force, which tests ocean sites independently. I would wait a good week before going in, when its this polluted.

Velasco said brown waters are murky waters, and sharks love murky waters because there are more nutrients and fish.

So its dangerous right now, she said. I would not go in the water.

The nonprofit puts out an annual Hawaii Water Quality Report which has consistently found that stream mouths, beaches with freshwater outlets, and bays without much circulation typically have higher bacteria levels.

Advertisement Advertisement

This has been a chronic issue, and not just following the Kona low storms.

Weve been testing this for years and weve been able to prove our beaches are pretty polluted pretty consistently  not all, but a lot, including certain locations on the North Shore and East side, she said. My concern is it doesnt seem to get the attention of our elected officials.

This includes addressing aging infrastructure and illegal cesspools. Velasco said she is also concerned about the lack of signage warning people of the dangers of brown waters.

In Waikiki, there arent any signs right now, she said. I dont think any tourists should be in the water. Absolutely not.

Advertisement Advertisement

On Maui, Daniel Sykes, owner of The Snorkel Store, has alerted its customers that its just not a good time to snorkel.

For the past decade, the business, which has locations in Kaanapali and in Kihei, has put out the snorkel reportoffering helpful tips, including the weather forecast and which spots to avoid.

Were telling them, absolutely not right now due to the brown water advisory, murky water, and weather conditions, said Sykes. Were definitely hoping for the end of the storm, and asking them to check back.

Safety is important, said Sykes, and understandably, many visitors to Maui for a limited time want to get in the water.

Advertisement Advertisement

For some visitors coming from snow-cold weather, the storm may not seem that bad and they might think its okay to get in the ocean, but should be aware of brown water hazards.

DOH installed permanent signs about brown water at popular beaches on Maui and Molokai, but has not yet placed them on Oahu, Kauai, or Hawaii island.

According to Velasco, Surfrider volunteers collected water samples to test for enterococci on Sunday, and found concerning results on Monday.

Enterococci are bacteria found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, and are thus, a key indicator of fecal waste contamination in water used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has set the threshold at 130 colony-forming units of enterococci per 100 milliliters of water.

Advertisement Advertisement

At the Hui Nalu Canoe Club launch area at Maunalua Bay in Hawaii Kai, Surfrider found enterococci levels at 6,488 per 100 mL of water, well above the threshold.

At Makalei Beach in Diamond Head, where Velasco saw surfers Monday morning, the enterococci levels were at 2,909 per 100 mL.

At Kailua Beach, the enterococci levels were at 1,607 per 100 mL, she said. Waimanalo Beach, however, where a wastewater discharged has been reported at Puha Stream, registered the highest levels of all, at 24,196 per 100 mL.

Wastewater discharges have also been reported at Kamanaiki Stream in Kalihi, Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai, and at Lake Wilson.

Advertisement Advertisement

HAWAII WATER ADVISORIES

Brown water

>> Islandwide: Oahu (since Friday); Maui (since March 16); Kauai (since March 11)

>> On Hawaii island: From Kiilae Bay south to Kalae Point, or South Point (since Saturday); from Alula Beach south to Honaunau Bay and from Pauoa Bay south to Honokohau Harbor and from Pololu Valley to Holoholokai Beach Park (since March 16)

Wastewater discharges

>> Puha Stream and Waimanalo Beach, Oahu

>> Ahuimanu Stream leading to Kahaluu Pond, Oahu

>> Nuupia Pond, Kailua, Oahu

>> Kamanaiki Stream near 2527 Kalihi St., Oahu

>> Kawa Stream near Kaneohe Tunnel Influent Facility and YWCA Kokokahi

Advertisement Advertisement

>> Koko Marina (Kuapa Pond), Hawaii Kai

>> Lake Wilson due to discharge from 111 California Avenue

For more information, Call DOHs Clean Water Branch at 808-586-4309 during normal business hours.

Source: State Department of Health
A verdict nearly four decades in the making was delivered Tuesday, as Stephen Paul Gale was found guilty on all counts in a rape and kidnapping case dating back to 1989.

Gale  once known as the Boston Strip Mall Rapist  was convicted on four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of armed robbery. The verdict was announced just minutes after jurors returned to the courtroom in Woburn.

Prosecutors say Gale attacked two women at Hit or Miss, a Framingham clothing store in 1989, brutally raping them at gunpoint before fleeing the state.

Advertisement Advertisement

He remained at large for decades until he was captured in Los Angeles in 2024.

During the trial, the Commonwealth presented DNA evidence they said conclusively linked Gale to the assaults, securing the longawaited conviction.

The court entered recess following the guilty verdict. A decision has not yet been made on the timing of victim impact statements or Gales sentencing hearing.

More updates are expected as the court schedules the next phase of proceedings.

The Middlesex District Attorneys Office is planning a 5:30 p.m. news conference on the conviction.

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
Concerns continue for a whale stranded on the Baltic Sea coast in northern Germany, as efforts to guide the animal back into deeper water have so far failed, authorities said on Tuesday.

A police spokesman said the high tide around midnight (2300 GMT on Monday) was not enough for the roughly 10-metre whale to free itself.

The animal was first spotted early on Monday near Niendorf, which is part of the municipality of Timmendorfer Strand in Lubeck Bay. Rescue teams had been attempting to free it from a sandbank since midday, using police boats, inflatable craft, drones and support from volunteers and experts.

Advertisement Advertisement

The reason the whale ended up in the shallow waters is unclear. Stephanie Gross from the Hanover-based Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) said the whale's may have become stuck because it was sick, injured, exhausted, or simply unlucky.

Marine conservation group Sea Shepherd said the animal is a humpback whale, likely a young male on its migration. The group believes it may be the same whale repeatedly sighted in the area in March.
Florida State University administration renewed the suspension of Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in March, with the sanction scheduled to lift in the spring 2028 semester.

The FSU Division of Student Affairs initially announced a 16-month suspension for the organization on Jan. 26, 2024, for disrupting an FSU Board of Trustees meeting in 2023. The FSU Faculty Senate later issued a resolution stating the division held a disciplinary hearing on Jan. 12, 2024, before suspending the group on Jan. 26 through the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

SDS claimed in a March 5 Instagram post that its suspension was renewed due to its opposition to the university's partnership with ICE. SDS Vice President Kaiden Rosa told the FSView that the organization is appealing the decision based on bias and unreasonable consequences.

Advertisement Advertisement

Senior Director for University Communications Amy Farnum-Patronis told the FSView that FSU declined to comment on the situation, as the student organization conduct process is still ongoing.

SDS disciplinary history and 287(g) protest appeal

The suspension renewal follows numerous protests held by SDS after the FSU Police Department signed a 287(g) agreement, which allows campus officers the authority to perform specialized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tasks under the agency's oversight.

Students have expressed concern regarding the repression of free speech on campus, specifically the guidelines for student protesting. FSU Regulation FSU-3.003, Freedom of Expression Rights and Responsibilities, regulates where and when students may gather for protests. The regulation states individuals may use designated areas from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., provided previous scheduling does not preclude such use.

FIRE rankings and campus free speech compliance

More: Florida State drops 14 spots in FIRE's free speech ranking

Advertisement Advertisement

The dispute over the SDS suspension coincides with FSU dropping 14 spots in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The university specifically received an "F" for "administrative support" in the report, which measures the extent to which students believe administration would support and defend free speech.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization cadre member Juniper Curtis said the university's administration has spent years creating arbitrary rules for protesters.

The idea of setting an acceptable time when students are allowed to protest goes against the very idea of protesting, Curtis said to the FSView. The administration wants to keep the student movement from growing, but these attacks from admin are only going to make the movement stronger.

Administrative conduct hearings and student targeting allegations

SDS has also alleged that the FSU administration is targeting specific students, particularly SDS Vice President Rosa. Rosa told the FSView that during a conduct hearing for the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), administrators spent most of the meeting asking activists interrogating questions about him and his role in the anti-ICE movement on campus.

Advertisement Advertisement

Student activists from both SDS and YDSA said administrators continually tried to place all the blame on Rosa as an individual during the hearing. FSU declined to comment, citing the ongoing student organization conduct process for this case.

Leon County Progressive Caucus shows solidarity

More: FSU students and community speak out against campus police ICE partnership

The Leon County Progressive Caucus issued an Instagram statement in support of SDS, calling the universitys decision to ban the group a direct assault on the fundamental rights of students to assemble, speak, and demand justice. The caucus stated it stands in "firm solidarity" with the group and criticized the administration for penalizing activists who protest the 287(g) agreement and its ties to ICE.

SDS President JJ Glueck told the FSView that the organizations fourth suspension in five years will not alter its strategy or presence on campus.

Advertisement Advertisement

We will continue our campaign as if nothing happened because we refuse to allow this biased overreaction to dampen our spirits, Glueck said. The FSU community deserves better than this and we will demand it until this struggle is won.

Never miss a beat: Sign up for the FSView Newsletter today

Paula Fleddermann is a Staff Writer for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com.

This article originally appeared on FSU News: FSU renews SDS suspension following 287(g) agreement demonstrations
Mobility for Vinny DeMando has never been easy.

In 2021, at just 3 years old, he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rapidly progressing muscle disease with no cure.

In the past few months, changes have come rapidly. He's falling more, struggling to walk and relies on his parents to carry him up and down the stairs.

But he hasnt let that stop him. And anyone who has a chance to meet the Massillon 8-year-old, with his grin and sense of humor, knows that wont change anytime soon.

Advertisement Advertisement

He is always smiling, said Jes Richardson, a family friend and supporter. That little kid is so optimistic and just happy all the time.

Jill DeMando, Vinnys mom, said he has his highs and lows. At the center of so many of those highs is a community rooting for Vinny.

Like last Valentines Day, when Vinny received hundreds of treats and cards at the Massillon Mayors Office. Or a surprise Country Fest meet and greet with country star Niko Moon.

Those are just kind things that people do that are core memories for him, incredible memories we might not be able to have otherwise, DeMando said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Vinny lives with his parents, Jill, 39 and Mike, 41, along with two siblings, Charlie, 2, and Eliana, 11. As the family prepares for Vinny's transition to a power wheelchair, they have turned to that same community for support.

Disease progression impacts mobility

Vinny's mobility is declining faster than Jill DeMando, a collections account manager, and Mike DeMando, an employee at Southway Fence, can make their home and daily routines accessible.

We had gone to breakfast one morning and he fell in the restaurant three times while we were in there, DeMando said. His legs, it was just like they were giving out without warning.

He can no longer walk or stand for a few minutes without needing to sit down or hold onto something for balance. Doctors point to disease progression. And those changes in mobility led them to recommend a transition into a power wheelchair.

Advertisement Advertisement

It is difficult for us as parents because it is earlier than we expected, DeMando said.

According to Nationwide Childrens Hospital, some children with Duchenne lose the ability to walk as early as 7 years old. Most rely on a wheelchair by 10 or 12.

We always talked to Vinny about a future need for a power chair, DeMando said. We never wanted it to be a negative thing. We always tried to hype him up about it.

She is excited for Vinny and the independence a power chair could bring. Currently, Vinny relies on someone to push his manual wheelchair. When Vinny tested a power chair, he was nothing less than thrilled.

Vinny DeMando, 8, of Massillon, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is preparing for a transition to a power wheelchair.

He was so excited and he did so well driving it," DeMando said. He loved it."

Advertisement Advertisement

But with a new chair will come a need for change to accommodate how Vinny moves through the world. Ramps, a stair lift, wider doorways and an accessible vehicle will be needed to keep him safe and mobile without added risk.

And as those changes rapidly approach, along with their accompanying financial expenses, DeMando expressed a need for support.

I think that we were kind of naive to all of the changes that would come once the power chair was a need like it is now. DeMando said. It crept up on us a lot quicker than we anticipated.

'Very heartwarming': DeMandos seek and find support

DeMando started with a GoFundMe, something she had never done before.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Nobody wants to ask for people to donate for anything, but we were kind of in a situation where we didn't really know what we were going to do," DeMando said. "There were so many things we didn't think about with this transition."

As of mid March, the fundraiser was 77% to its goal. As donations come in, so do other forms of support, such as strangers reaching out to donate a ramp and nonprofit organizations stepping in to assist.

Richardson, a former Massillon police officer, has volunteered previously with Legacy of Honor, a Louisville based nonprofit. The organization is dedicated to connecting those in need to resources, with a large focus on veterans, first responders and their families.

The DeMando family is navigating changes in 8yearold Vinnys mobility. From left are Charlie, 2; Mike, 41; Vinny, 8; Jill, 39; and Eliana, 11.

When Richardson saw DeMandos fundraiser, she connected the family with Legacy of Honor.

Advertisement Advertisement

Volunteer program coordinator Sarah Meshew said the organization has been working with the DeMando family. She was connected with a construction partner to help with in-home accessibility changes. The nonprofit is also working to identify other ways it can help.

Meshew's family received support from Legacy of Honor after her husband, former Creston Police Chief Bryon Meshew, was in an accident, resulting in paralysis.

"It's hard to ask for support and help," Meshew said. "There's no judgment. We are just here to help."

While Legacy of Honor hopes to assist DeMando, Meshew acknowledged they are a small nonprofit with limited resources. She said she hopes people feel empowered to help the DeMandos, whether that's through a donation or volunteer work.

Advertisement Advertisement

Another important piece of community and support, DeMando said, is increasing awareness of Duchenne and its impacts. In 2024, Ohio became the first state in the nation to begin screening all newborn babies for Duchenne.

That growing network of awareness and support has brought comfort during an uncertain time.

Its definitely very heartwarming, the people who have reached out so far," DeMando said.

Contact Abreanna Blose by email at ablose@usatodayco.com or by phone at 330-580-8513.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: 8-year-old's mobility loss brings changes for Massillon family
If you want to see the dire state of American anti-corruption efforts, look no further than the Supreme Courts docket. No fewer than three state and local officials are begging the justices to overturn their criminal convictions for various corruption-related offenses. Joining some of their pleas are three public-corruption defendants who had their cases tossed by the justices, as well.

At issue here is whether otherwise lawful campaign donations to a candidate can amount to quid pro quo bribery. Prosecutors and juries in these cases answered that question in the affirmative, as did the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. But the Supreme Court may opt to use one or all of the cases to further bulldoze the governments ability to police corruption among public officials.

All three of the active petitioners are Ohio officialstwo of whom were participants in the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal a few years ago, and one who was convicted of more pedestrian corruption charges. Well start with the boring one since it is more helpfully illustrative of the unsavory dynamic that these officials want to protect.

Advertisement Advertisement

Prior to his legal troubles, P.G. Sittenfeld served on the Cincinnati City Council in the late 2010s and hoped to run for mayor. In September 2018, according to court records, he told local real estate developerand, unbeknownst to Sittenfeld, FBI informantChinedum Ndukwe that he wanted a $10,000 campaign donation. The majority of developers in Cincinnati, he told Ndukwe at one point, [are] going to be giving [me] ten grand.

In further conversations, Sittenfeld appeared to suggest that his support for a redevelopment project would be tied to campaign contributions from Ndukwe and his allies. The FBI recorded the conversation, and it later became part of the criminal charges against Sittenfeld. The most relevant portion is below (emphasis mine):

Sittenfeld: Just so, just so you know like, look I have, you know I, I love what you do as someone revitalizing our city creating jobs. I am fond of you as a friend. I also have like you know obligations to do the things I need to do to be a successful candidate so  Ndukwe: Absolutely. Sittenfeld: So, but what that means is I dont really get like, if if you say look I dont want to support you in the name of Chinedum Ndukwe, but some guy Ive never met from Columbus is going to use a coup, you know, you know [your] network are going to a, round up a bunch of LLC checks. Like thats great. I actually dont care. But I mean the one thing I will say is like, you know I mean, you dont want me to like be like hey Chin like love you but cant, you know like, you know, I mean like, you know like. I, I, I want people to support me, thats like  Ndukwe: Absolutely. Sittenfeld:  If a candidate doesnt want people to support them, theyre a shitty dumb candidate  Ndukwe: Yeah, right, yeah, right. Sittenfeld:  and you know Ive been [unintelligible], a lot of people have come through in a really big way thats been awesome so far and I would love, I would love for you to be one of those people too.

Note how cagey and indirect Sittenfeld became at this point. Prosecutors interpreted the hey Chin, like, love you but cant statement to mean that if Ndukwe did not provide the requisite donations from himself and his associates, he would be unable to get Sittenfelds support on the City Council on future redevelopment projects. Ndukwe himself testified at trial that he thought it was very clear that if I donated, he was going to support and be supportive in my efforts, and if I didnt, he wasnt going to be supportive.

In a later conversation, Ndukwe pressed Sittenfeld on his support for a redevelopment project known as 435 Elm, saying that he and his allies wanted to know that its gonna be a yes vote, you know, without, without a doubt. Sittenfelds answer was open to interpretation. I mean, obvas you know, obviously nothing can be illegal, likeillegally nothing can be a quid, quid pro quo, he replied. And I know thats not what youre saying, either. But what I can say is that Im always super pro-development and revitalization of especially our urban core.

Advertisement Advertisement

Based on these conversations, as well as other ones where Sittenfelds support was discussed alongside the logistics of donating tens of thousands of dollars to his political action committee, a federal grand jury indicted Sittenfeld on multiple counts of bribery, honest-services wire fraud, and extortion in 2020. After a 2022 trial, jurors convicted Sittenfeld on one count of bribery and one count of extortion while acquitting him on the other charges.

Sittenfeld appealed the verdict, arguing (as relevant here) that the government had presented insufficient evidence to the jury to support its finding of an explicit quid pro quo. In the 1991 case McCormick v. United States, the Supreme Court had concluded that, to support a federal bribery conviction involving campaign donations, prosecutors must prove that there was an explicit promise or undertaking by the official to perform or not to perform an official act.

The McCormick ruling sought to harmonize the structural demands of an electoral system where legislators must solicit campaign funds with the legitimate government interest in stamping out public corruption. By requiring an explicit quid pro quo, the court said that it sought to lower the risk that providing legitimate constituent services to campaign donors would become a criminally prosecutable act.

Lower courts had split on how stringent they should be on proving an explicit quid pro quo after McCormick, prompting the justices to clarify matters in the 1992 case Evans v. United States. A public official could violate the law through passive acceptance of some kind of benefit, so long as they knew it was being offered in exchange for a specific requested exercise of his official power. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing in concurrence, explained more simply that the two sides need not state the quid pro quo in express terms, for otherwise the laws effect could be frustrated by knowing winks and nods. (Or, in Sittenfelds case, by simply saying it isnt a quid pro quo out loud.)

Advertisement Advertisement

Sittenfeld argued that McCormick and Evans required the quid pro quo to be as explicit as possible. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. Federal prosecutors must prove a meeting of the minds between the parties and that the agreement must be unambiguous from their perspective, the court explained. But the [existence] of that agreement is governed by the reasonable doubt standard and can be proved with circumstantial evidence.

Turning next to the Supreme Court, Sittenfeld argued in his petition for review that the Sixth Circuits interpretation would lead to all sorts of abuses and woes for the nations elected officials. He invoked his own denial of a quid pro quo exchange in the recordings of his conversations with Ndukwe as evidence of his lack of guilt. Sittenfeld also played into the Supreme Courts perception of the inherent corruption of electoral politics. He noted that politicians at the state and federal level surely make even more targeted promises when talking one-on-one to supporters, even while actively soliciting campaign contributions.

Under the approach adopted below, all of these politicians are open to prosecution if they say anything during these often informal, unscripted conversations that can be read to even hint at a possible quid pro quo, no matter how ambiguous the statement or how vehemently the politician disclaims any intent to enter a quid pro quo agreement, Sittenfeld warned. (Emphasis his.)

Right about here is normally where I would describe the Justice Departments counterargument to these claims. This time, however, there isnt really one. President Donald Trump pardoned Sittenfeld last May. Sittenfeld nonetheless pursued the appeal because the government has not refunded him his $40,000 fine upon convictionand, perhaps more importantly, because he wants the high court to vacate the Sixth Circuit ruling that ties his and his fellow politicians hands when soliciting campaign contributions. The Justice Department is quibbling with him on the former but agrees with the latter.

Advertisement Advertisement

Overturning the Sixth Circuits decision, according to Sittenfeld, is necessary to save public officials from the overzealous pursuits of federal prosecutors. Even the most cautious politician is unlikely to be safe under this regime, because juries are all too willing to infer corruption from routine political activity, he warned, referring to the Sixth Circuits interpretation of the law and not using regime in the more pejorative sense.

Sittenfeld pointed to a 2016 study where researchers told a large, nationally representative sample of mock jurors that a politician and his donor simply had background knowledge about the reciprocal interests of each other, and acted in accordance, without any direct or indirect contact between the parties. One could imagine this to be, say, an oil industry executive who donates to a senator because that senator wants to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, without their ever meeting or communicating with each other.

Quid pro quo bribery is plainly impossible under those circumstances, Sittenfield claimed. Yet after being given standard jury instructions, nearly half of the mock jurors were willing to convict a politician for bribery on these facts. As that study shows and this case confirms, many jurors are willing to infer a corrupt bargain from pure First Amendmentprotected activity. Absent strong judicial safeguards, then, every politician and donor risks conviction.

That is certainly one interpretation of the study. Another view is that the American people are better at sniffing out corruption than the litigants who appear before the Supreme Courtand, indeed, much better than the Supreme Court itself appears to be.

Advertisement Advertisement

Two other criminal defendants are also asking the Supreme Court to tighten the quid pro quo standard for campaign contributions, both of whom were part of the same criminal conspiracy. In 2020, federal prosecutors charged Larry Householder, the powerful speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, former state GOP chairman Matthew Borges, and multiple other officials with racketeering as part of a scheme involving nuclear energy in Ohio.

According to prosecutors, Householder and his allies funneled more than $60 million in campaign donations from FirstEnergy, a state utility company, to various state House candidates that supported Householders bid to become speaker. In return, Householder engineered a $1.3 billion taxpayer bailout for two nuclear power plants that FirstEnergy operated in Ohio. At the time, news outlets and government officials described it as the worst public corruption scandal in Ohio history.

Householder, for his part, described it as business as usual. He told the Supreme Court in a petition for review last December that this is just how things work. Larry Householders need for money to fund his ambition to be Speaker had to come from political donorsthat is obvious, he told the justices. Political donors tend to support the ambitions of those politicians who share common legislative goalsthat is equally obvious. So, politicians tend to fundraise through their ideological allies.

None of the above is anything other than what happens every day in the course of politics throughout the nation, from city councils to the highest state and federal offices, Householder continued. That FirstEnergy had expectations attendant to the millions of dollars they donated to Householders 501(c)(4) is echoed by millions of Americans who make far more modest contributions to candidatesbut who also expect that their candidate will come through for them.

Advertisement Advertisement

In Householders reading, the First Amendment allows, in its infinite majesty, for both major utilities companies and ordinary citizens alike to shuffle $60 million into an elected officials political coffers so that he will provide billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars for their benefit. As a journalist, I no longer contribute to political campaigns, but I would expect any candidate to help bail out my two nuclear reactors, as well. (Borges, who was charged on RICO grounds, had at least the good civic sense to not defend the scheme outright in his own petition for review.)

Supporting Sittenfeld and the other two officials in their petitions are three figures who know a little something about public corruption cases at the Supreme Court: Bob McDonnell, Joseph Percoco, and Bridget Kelly. All three were the named defendants in cases where federal anti-corruption convictions were overturned by the justices, sometimes in unanimous decisions.

In their friend-of-the-court brief, the three ex-defendants sought to further normalize their own misconduct, warning the justices that lower courts had eviscerated the guardrails that the justices had sought to erect. The result is that core First Amendment rights are threatened, officials such as [Sittenfeld] are at risk of losing their liberty and suffering significant reputational damage based on routine political conduct, and states and localities lose their constitutionally-protected ability to regulate their own affairs, they claimed. A similar brief was filed in Borgess case, but not in Householders.

All three cases also illustrate the high courts limited understanding of how corruption works. McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia, and his wife had taken roughly $175,000 in luxury gifts and loans from Johnnie Williams, the CEO of a tobacco-based nutritional supplement called Anatabloc. (The Food and Drug Administration later forced it off the market, in 2014.) In return, according to court records, McDonnell arranged meetings for the CEO with other state officials, hosted events at the governors mansion, and contacted other state officials on Williamss behalf.

Advertisement Advertisement

Williamss goal was to get Virginia state universities to conduct studies on the supplements main active ingredient, which would help obtain FDA approval. Along the way, he lavished the McDonnell family with Rolexes and luxury clothes, tens of thousands of dollars in personal loans, and even a $10,000 cash wedding gift to one of McDonnells daughters.

An ordinary person would probably conclude that these things all constitute official acts, as required by the federal bribery statute. It is impossible to separate these things from McDonnells status as governor. Unless you, the reader, happen to be Abigail Spanberger, you cannot set up meetings with Virginia state officials or host special events at the Virginia governors mansion. State officials are much more likely to listen to the governor, by virtue of his official position, than they would listen to me or any other ordinary American. A federal jury in Virginia agreed and convicted McDonnell accordingly.

The Supreme Court unanimously overturned that conviction in 2016 on the basis that none of these things were official acts. Roberts, writing for the court, took a staggeringly blinkered view of government operations. Simply expressing support for the research study at a meeting, event, or call, the chief justice wrote, similarly does not qualify as a decision or action on the study, as long as the public official does not intend to exert pressure on another official or provide advice, knowing or intending such advice to form the basis for an official act.

This is simply not how the real world works. Here, from Robertss own opinion, is one instance of how McDonnell express[ed] support for Anatabloc:

In March 2012, Governor McDonnell met with Lisa Hicks-Thomas, the Virginia Secretary of Administration, and Sara Wilson, the Director of the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Virginias health plan for state employees. At that time, Governor McDonnell was taking Anatabloc several times a day. He took a pill during the meeting, and told Hicks-Thomas and Wilson that the pills were working well for him and would be good for state employees.

Imagine, for a moment, that you are one of these two employees. Imagine that your boss joined you in a meeting about employee health plans, where he specifically and unambiguously told you how great a certain supplement is, how he takes it all the time, and how employees should do the same. Would you conclude that your boss was bizarrely oversharing his personal medical regimen with his subordinates? Or would you infer that he was telling you to do something while carefully avoiding an explicit order that could be used against him later in court?

Advertisement Advertisement

Percoco, one of the other officials on the friend-of-the-court brief, was a Cuomo administration official in New York who left his formal government job to work for the governors reelection campaign. Along the way, he took $35,000 from a real estate developer and then urged state redevelopment officials to drop a pro-union requirement before receiving state funds. Federal prosecutors charged and successfully convicted him of honest-services wire fraud, but the Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2023. Private citizens, the court concluded, had no honest services of which they could deprive the public, even if they were intimate members of the governors inner circle.



Kellys scandal was perhaps the most famous of them all. While working for former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in 2013 as his deputy chief of staff, she and her associates sought to pressure a local mayor to endorse Christies reelection bid. When the mayor declined, Kelly opted for political retribution. The co-conspirators misled the Port Authority into conducting a fake traffic study on lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee, Kelly wrote in an email at the time. The chaotic gridlock that followed may have contributed to the death of a woman suffering from a heart attack who could not be reached by paramedics in time.

Federal prosecutors charged Kelly and her associates with defrauding a federally funded programnamely, the Port Authorityfor misappropriating its resources under false pretenses for personal political gain. Once more, jurors convicted them on the charges. But the Supreme Court rode to the rescue of a corrupt defendant yet again. Since Kelly and her associates had not sought to personally obtain money or property for themselves, the court concluded in a unanimous 2020 ruling, the federal wire fraud statute did not apply. Any misuse of the bridges lanes was an exercise of regulatory power, Justice Elena Kagan reasoned for the court.

Taken in isolation, some of these rulings might be tolerable or even defensible. The overall effect, however, is to nullify nearly any federal anti-corruption prosecution unless it takes the form of a Thomas Nast cartoon: One guy in a top hat hands a big bag of cash with the label BRIBES on it to a senator, while the senator hands a piece of paper back to the hatted individual labeled VOTES. (Or, more accurately in some of these cases, official acts.)

Advertisement Advertisement

Unfortunately for the American people, public officials are now much more adept at covering their tracks than nineteenth-century political cartoons had expected. If the Supreme Court reverses the Ohio political corruption convictions, it will be writing a roadmap for lawmakers and wealthy corporations and individuals alike on how to engage in de facto bribery in a constitutionally protected manner. Neither the eighteenth-century Americans who drafted the Bill of Rights nor the twenty-first-century Americans who revere the First Amendment had any such outcome in mind.

As shown by that study that Sittenfeld invoked, Americans recognize that corruption is among the most dangerous infections in any healthy republic, and that strong medicine is sometimes required to purge it from the body politic. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has all too often decided that the cure is worse than the disease. Whether it will once again make things worse for the patient will likely become clear by the end of the current term.
TOKYO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government has begun considering the nationalization of manufacturing facilities such as defense equipment factories, sparking widespread concern, local media reported.

The proposal was presented at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday and is expected to be one of the key topics when Japan moves to revise its three security documents, including the National Security Strategy, later this year, according to Kyodo News.

The initiative was outlined in a policy agreement reached between the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party in October 2025. However, the document used terminology associated with pre-World War II military munitions factories, raising concerns among opposition parties.

Akihiro Sado, a professor at Osaka Seikei University, said that Japan's postwar pacifist framework has long kept the government from direct involvement in the military production sector. The potential policy shift, he noted, suggests that the principle is now changing, adding that "Japan is taking down its signboard as a peaceful nation."

Japanese netizens also voiced concern in the report's comment section, with some arguing that "the government's single-minded push for military buildup could further fuel social unease," while others cautioned that "dangerous policy moves have been piling up since Sanae Takaichi took office, and it is hard not to worry about Japan's future." 
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision stemming from an incident between a law enforcement officer and a protester nearly a decade ago.

The incident dates back to 2015, during the Vermont gubernatorial inauguration. Protesters, including Shela Linton, participated in a sit-in on the House floor in demand of universal health care. As they were being removed from the Capitol, Linton refused to leave.

Sergeant Jacob Zorn asked Shela Linton to stand up and warned her that he would eventually have to use force to remove her, per the courts filing. Zorn took Lintons arm, put it behind her back, placed pressure on her wrist, and lifted her to her feet.

Advertisement Advertisement

Linton then sued Zorn, accusing him of violating her Fourth Amendment right and causing damage to her physical and mental health.

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Zorns actions qualify for immunity from litigation.

The Second Circuit held that Zorn was not entitled to qualified immunity. We reverse, the justices per curiam opinion, from which the three liberal justices dissented, states.

The majority ruling also explained that law enforcement officers are typically protected from civil liability unless prior case law proves their actions were unlawful. The six justices concluded that the case law used in the 2nd Circuit Court did not prove Zorn violated Lintons constitutional rights.

Advertisement Advertisement

However, in her dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that given that this case is at the summary judgment stage, the Court must view the evidence ... in the light most favorable to Linton, the nonmovant, with respect to the central facts of the case.

She accused her colleagues of a one-sided approach that transforms the doctrine into an absolute shield for law enforcement officers, gutting the deterrent effect of the Fourth Amendment.

The majority today gives officers license to inflict gratuitous pain on a nonviolent protestor even where there is no threat to officer safety or any other reason to do so, Sotomayor continued. That is plainly inconsistent with the Fourth Amendments fundamental guarantee that officers may only use the amount of force that is necessary under the circumstances.
A surfer suffered serious bites to both of his legs in a shark attack off the California coast. Witnesses described the frightening animal that struck, resulting in the victim having to be rushed to the hospital and forcing beach closures. Here's what has been revealed about the incident so far.

What Happened During the Shark Attack

Close view of a great white shark's formidable jaws and teethillustrating the potential danger in coastal waters where a surfer recently suffered severe leg bites. Stock Photo via Getty Images (Stock Photo via Getty Images)

On Wednesday, March 18, a 39-year-old local teacher was surfing off the Big River Beach in Mendocino Headlands State Park when a shark bit both of his legs at around 5:18 p.m. local time. The man, who ABC News identified as James Eastman, freed himself, and three off-duty lifeguards gave him medical attention until he could be transported to the hospital.

While talking to ABC News from his hospital bed, Eastman described the terrifying moment when he saw the shark approach. "I could see the shark's head kind of above the water. I thought of my wife and my kid, and I was just like, I cannot die. I can't die right now." He went on to tell the outlet that with both of his legs inside the shark's mouth, he went into survival mode, striking its nose until it let go.

Advertisement Advertisement

Eastman wasn't the only one who witnessed the startling event. Surfer.com cited the Mendocino Coast News, which described what witnesses saw when the shark attacked. A witness described the shark as gigantic, visible from shore. Several reported that the shark struck the victim, who witnesses said was a local man multiple times and then circled both him and other surfers.

The species of shark that bit Eastman hasn't been confirmed, but Surfer.com hypothesized it was likely a great white shark. They came to that conclusion because the species is known to have a presence in the location of the attack and because of the extent of his injuries. Following the incident, nearby beaches were closed for the safety of swimmers and surfers alike.

James Eastman was rushed to Adventist Hospital in Fort Bragg, where his wife Chloe works as an emergency room nurse. She told ABC News about how she reacted upon learning what happened to her husband. "I'm in the middle of work in the ER and I just like dropped to the ground like, 'What?' It's my worst fear too -- that happening to him."

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the shark attack story is something else Eastman told ABC News. While talking to the outlet, he expressed how lucky he feels and implied that he intends to resume surfing once he recovers. "I love surfing so much and I would be very sad if I didn't surf again. As far as everything else is concerned, I was extremely lucky."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Mar 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Two people have been detained in Germany and Spain over allegations of spying for Russian intelligence, Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said on Tuesday.

The agency said the spies' target was a German man who supplied drones and related components to Ukraine.

A 45-year-old woman from Romania was held in the north-western German city of Rheine, while a 43-year-old Ukrainian man was arrested in the south-eastern Spanish city of Elda.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Ukrainian national is alleged to have been spying on the man from December 2025 onwards.

"To this end, the accused gathered information online and filmed the victims workplace," the statement said.

After he moved to Spain, the woman is said to have taken over his assignment from March 2026 at the latest. She visited the mans home address and made video recordings with her mobile phone, the prosecutors alleged.

"The spying activities were presumably intended to prepare further intelligence operations against the target," the statement added.

The woman is due to appear before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Wednesday. The judge will decide whether the 45-year-old will be remanded in custody. The detained man must first be transferred from Spain to Germany.

Advertisement Advertisement

German intelligence agencies have warned of the increasing threat posed by Russian espionage, sabotage and disinformation since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

With traditional intelligence operations involving professional spies having become more difficult due to sanctions and the increased vigilance of Western authorities, Russian actors have been accused of recruiting individuals from the petty criminal underworld for espionage or sabotage operations in return for payment.
Tennessees sole female death row inmate, Christa Pike, is set to be the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years.

Her execution is scheduled for September 30, 2026  more than 30 years after authorities said Pike, then 18, violently killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

On Thursday, March 19, the state responded to a lawsuit Pike filed in January, in which Pike argued that the states execution method  lethal injection  goes against her constitutional and religious rights, USA Today reported.

Advertisement Advertisement

The state contended in its response that Pike, now 50, has not sufficiently demonstrated that lethal injection would violate her constitutional rights, according to USA Today.

In her lawsuit, Pike argues that she will be prevented from communicating with her Buddhist spiritual advisor ahead of her scheduled execution, and that will restrict her sincerely held religious belief of Buddhism, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Tennessee Teen Shot and Killed by Ex-Boyfriend As She Tried to Escape His Car

Since she is also challenging the lethal injection execution method, she has to select a different means of execution, according to the center. However, in her lawsuit, Pike argues that choosing a different method goes against her Buddhist faith because it would make her a participate[e] in any process leading to her own death.

Advertisement Advertisement

The states lethal injection method was changed in December 2024 to include one drug, pentobarbital, instead of three different drugs used in prior executions, the Nashville Banner reported.

Pikes attorneys write in the lawsuit, according to the newspaper, that the protocol established in December 2024 violates her constitutional rights because of her unique medical conditions," and that it is plagued with the same issues that have marked botched executions for decades: secrecy, intentional omission, inattention to detail, and untrained and unlicensed prison personnel attempting to fill a medical role.

Because of these failures, the new protocol is sure or very likely to result in unnecessary and superadded pain and suffering, terror, and disgrace, her attorneys also wrote in the filing, obtained by the Nashville Banner.

Pike has been imprisoned following her conviction in the death of Slemmer, a fellow student at the Knoxville Job Corps, USA Today reported.

Advertisement Advertisement

Pike had been dating a 17-year-old in the Job Corps and perceived Slemmer as someone who was trying to encroach on their relationship, according to the outlet, which cited prosecutors arguments during Pikes jury trial.

Pike, her boyfriend and friend are accused of leading Slemmer into the woods on January 12, 1995, when Pike allegedly brutally attacked and killed Slemmer, the outlet reported.

There Are No Winners: Texas Killer Shares Final Words With Victims Families Before Execution

The then 18-year-old was accused of smashing Slemmers head with asphalt, torturing her and cutting her throat, according to witness testimony, the Nashville Banner reported.

Advertisement Advertisement

Pikes boyfriend was sentenced to life in prison for his alleged role in the killing, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Her friend was sentenced to probation after she testified against Pike and Pikes boyfriend.

Court filings said that ahead of the murder, Pike experienced a tumultuous life involving trauma, neglect, poverty and sexual assault, the Death Penalty Information Center reports.

In a 2023 letter to The Tennessean, Pike wrote that she has changed drastically and that "It sickens me now to think that someone as loving and compassionate as myself had the ability to commit such a crime.
BANGKOK (AP)  A Thai court on Tuesday ruled that the operator of a major gold mine in northern Thailand is responsible for environmental damage and health impacts on nearby villagers, in a long-awaited verdict that could set a precedent for climate litigation in the country.

The case stems from a 2016 class action lawsuit filed by hundreds of villagers in Phichit province, who accused the Australian-owned Chatree Gold Mine of causing toxic contamination through its operations. The Bangkok Civil Court found the company liable and ordered compensation for affected residents.

The ruling could shape whether communities view the courts as a pathway or a dead end, said Emilie Palamy Pradichit of the Bangkok-based human rights group Manushya Foundation that has been supporting the villagers in the lawsuit.

Advertisement Advertisement

This decision could set a positive precedent for future climate cases in Thailand and establishes a new benchmark for environmental law in Southeast Asia, legal analysts say. These types of polluter pays cases are becoming more common across the region, mirroring a global trend of increasing climate litigation.

The verdict is a clarion call for many of the cases that are currently taking place in other Southeast Asian nations, like the Philippines and Indonesia, said Jameela Joy Reyes with the London-based Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Courts often look to rulings in other jurisdictions to guide decisions, even if those precedents arent binding, according to Reyes, who said this is especially true in new legal fields like climate litigation.

Thailand verdict could set precedent

More than 300 villagers filed the case against Akara Resources, operator of the Chatree Gold Mine, which is Thailands largest and is owned by Australia-based Kingsgate Consolidated. The case was the countrys first environmental class action following a 2015 legal amendment allowing such lawsuits.

Advertisement Advertisement

They alleged toxic runoff from the mine, with medical surveys showing elevated levels of heavy metals, including arsenic, cyanide and manganese, among residents. On Tuesday, the judge said the company failed to prove the contamination was unrelated to its operations and ordered compensation ranging from 50,000 ($1,535) to 200,000 baht ($6,143) per affected individual, plus payments for medical care and emotional distress.

Chatree's legal controversy spans multiple cases, several medical surveys and a counter lawsuit. There was also a direct intervention from former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who used sweeping powers under the post-coup military government to shut down mining operations.

Kingsgate then sued the Thai government in 2017 for unfair license revocation. Both sides reached a settlement last year.

Thanyalak Boontham, one of the plaintiffs, said her blood tests showed toxin levels exceeding safety standards. While the compensation fell short of expectations, she welcomed the ruling.

Advertisement Advertisement

The fight is also for our future generation, she said outside the court after the verdict. I'd like them to be able to grow up in a good environment.

Cherdsak Utha-aroon, Akara Resources general manager for sustainability, who was present at the hearing, told The Associated Press afterward that the company respects the courts ruling and that its legal team will discuss the next steps. He declined to comment further.

Southeast Asia's watershed polluter pays cases

These polluter pays cases, where communities sue corporations over environmental damage, are becoming more common in climate litigation, said Georgina Lloyd, an environmental law expert with the United Nations Environment Program.

Asias share of climate and environmental litigation is increasing, Lloyd said. We continue to see this trend growing both in the volume of cases but also the geographical scope of jurisdictions.

Advertisement Advertisement

Around 225 climate litigation cases were filed in 2024, according to the Grantham Research Institute, which tracks nearly 3,000 case across 60 countries.

The number of climate cases in climate-vulnerable regions like Southeast Asia, which have been battered by deadly extreme weather events that have caused billions of dollars' worth of damages, is expected to increase, said Reyes with the institute.

Two watershed polluter pays cases in Southeast Asia are taking a novel legal approach in attempting to hold companies liable for climate harms triggered by their climate change -causing emissions, Reyes said.

Survivors of 2021 Super Typhoon Odette in the Philippines sued the energy giant Shell in the United Kingdom last year on the basis that Shell's emissions greatly contributed to climate change and thus the intensity of the typhoon.

Advertisement Advertisement

A Swiss court in 2025 also allowed a case to proceed that was filed by fisherfolk from Indonesias Pari Island against the cement company Holcim over emissions they say contribute to the flooding and sea-level rise that threatens their homes and livelihoods.

These two cases, as well as Thailand's Chatree verdict, are a very poignant call for discussions on climate justice," Reyes said.

Regardless of compensation, Reyes said, "the fact that the court made a proclamation of liability is a win in and of itself. That could be translated to other jurisdictions and be used as a cautionary tale for other companies moving forward.

___

The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
White House border czar Tom Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will assist Transportation Security Administration at airports to ease long security lines during staffing shortages, but they will not operate X-ray machines or conduct passenger screenings.

ICE To Support TSA By Covering Security Duties

On Sunday, Homan, speaking on CNN's State of the Union, emphasized that ICE agents will not operate X-ray machines or perform passenger screening.

"Wherever we can provide extra security, I don't see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because theyre not trained in that," he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Instead, ICE officers will take over certain security tasks, such as monitoring exits and other airport areas, freeing TSA agents to focus on screening passengers and reducing long lines.

Don't Miss:

"There are certain parts of security that TSA is doing that we can move them off those jobs, and put them in the specialized jobs to help move those lines," Homan added.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that ICE will assist TSA at airports starting Monday.

Advertisement Advertisement

He praised their efforts and criticized Democrats for withholding funding. He said, "THEY WILL DO A FANTASTIC JOB. The great Tom Homan is in charge!!!"

ICE and TSA did not immediately respond to Benzingas request for comments.

See Also: This Startup Thinks It Can Reinvent the Wheel  Literally

Airport Delays Worsen Amid TSA, ICE Shutdown

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) pushed to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection separately from the Homeland Security budget to address airport delays caused by the partial government shutdown.

He said, "Lets fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation and the Democrat lunacy on open borders can be put to an end."

Advertisement Advertisement

The shutdown left TSA officers unpaid, causing absenteeism and delays of up to four hours at major airports during spring break.

Elon Musk offered to cover TSA salaries while airports like Denver International and Seattle-Tacoma provided grocery cards and on-site food support.

Musk wrote, "I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country."

Airline executives condemned the shutdown, warning staffing gaps disrupted major airports and urging Congress to fund homeland security operations and protect frontline workers.

Read Next:

Advertisement Advertisement

Photo Courtesy: Joey Sussman on Shutterstock.com

UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets.

Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga:

This article Tom Homan Says He Doesn't See ICE Agents Looking At X-Ray Machines At Airports Because They Are 'Not Trained In That' originally appeared on Benzinga.com
The case of a missing 14-year-old South Dakota girl found dead more than 50 miles from her home is drawing the attention of federal authorities, internet sleuths and national news media as police remain tight-lipped about what they believe happened to the teen.

McKenna Wendel's body was found on Thursday, March 19, in Brookings, South Dakota, roughly an hour north of the home she shared with her grandparents in Sioux Falls. The Sioux Falls Police Department announced the location of McKenna's body during a news conference on Monday, March 23.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, who was at the scene in a rural area when McKenna's body was recovered, told reporters on Monday that he has assured her family "that law enforcement is giving this the attention it deserves."

Advertisement Advertisement

"This is a 14-year-old little girl," Jackley said. "You can be assured that law enforcement is going to continue to give this the attention it deserves to bring justice to what happened to McKenna."

At times during the news conference, authorities sounded cryptic about whether they believe someone killed McKenna between the time she went missing in the early-morning hours of March 14 and when her body was found a week later.

McKenna Wendel

"I have no suspect of any crime yet," Lt. Terrance Matia told reporters on Monday. But when asked why police have said they don't believe the public is in any danger, Matia responded that "there's no one out there assaulting someone."

"We think that all the people that were involved or know her whereabouts we have either in custody on unrelated charges or we know who they are," he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Matia acknowledged releasing limited information but said it's "because the whole point of the investigation is for McKenna, and to make sure that if there is a prosecution, it is successfully prosecuted."

Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum said that all the investigators "are very dogged in the pursuit that we have of the job we have in front of us."

"This is a tragedy," he said. "And this is one that'll stick with us for the entirety of our careers."

Here's what we know about the case so far.

What are circumstances surrounding McKenna Wendel's death?

McKenna Wendel was last seen in Sioux Falls, where she lived with her grandparents, around 1:30 a.m. on March 14. She was reported missing on March 15, with police Lt. Aaron Nyberg saying she was last known to be with a family member, though he didn't specify who, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Advertisement Advertisement

On Thursday morning, authorities went to a rural area of Brookings and found her body. Two people led authorities to the location, Matia said, though he did not elaborate.

When asked how McKenna may have ended up where her body was found, he said she was "transported in a vehicle."

Authorities have said very little about what they believed happened to McKenna, though Matia said that she "and others may have traveled to other locations" during the time she was gone, including Iowa, Minnesota and multiple locations in South Dakota. Matia declined to elaborate but said his agency is working with the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the South Dakota Attorney General's Office "in locating where the venue would be if criminal charges were to come in the future."

He said authorities plan to release more information after McKenna's autopsy is finished later this week. The autopsy began on Monday.

Capt. Terrance Matia with the Crimes Against Persons unit, alongside Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum (right), South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and representatives of numerous state law agencies, speaks Monday, March 23, 2026, at the Sioux Falls Law Enforcement Center about the disappearance and death of 14-year-old McKenna Wendel, who was found dead on March 19 near a creek in rural Brookings County, South Dakota.

Owner of property where McKenna Wendel was found is 'just sick'

Authorities began looking for McKenna's body in the area where it was found on March 17, the Argus Leader reported. It's called the Six-Mile drainage creek just west of Brookings.

Advertisement Advertisement

Todd Voss, who owns the land where McKenna was found, told the Argus Leader that he gave authorities permission to search the property. After they scoured it for over 24 hours with no result, Voss advised them to look at heavy grass and willows along the drainage ditch near a bridge.

When Voss got the news they had found McKenna, he flew back home from Arizona and started processing the tragedy.

I sat there on the bridge and was just sick, Voss told the newspaper. This is my peaceful place, where I go out and enjoy the wildlife ... This will probably taint it forever. I will be thinking of her every time I walk out there.

The body of 14-year-old McKenna Wendel of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was recovered March 19, 2026, along Six-Mile Creek, somewhere near 214th Street west of Brookings, South Dakota. Some, but not all, first responders participating in the water recovery included the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Brookings County Sheriff's Department and the Brookings County Fire Department.

Who was McKenna Wendel?

McKenna Rose Wendell, who turned 14 in January, was a big sister to two siblings, made friends easily, and "had a vibrant personality and a zest for life," according to her obituary.

Advertisement Advertisement

"She loved being outdoors  climbing trees, playing in the park, and riding her bike," her family wrote. "She could often be found digging in the dirt looking for critters or catching tadpoles to bring home as pets."

McKenna loved animals so much that she "spent a great deal of time trying to convince her grandma that they should adopt lizards, frogs, and any other little creature that caught her eye," the obit said. "They finally settled on two hermit crabs and a sheepadoodle named Iris. When her hermit crabs passed away, she held a funeral for them and had her Papa make a cross for their burial."

McKenna, who was Indigenous, lived with grandparents Ralph and Rose Wendel, and the trio often went to Pow-wows together. McKenna particularly "loved the singing and the beautiful sounds of the drums," her obituary said.

McKenna also loved spending time with her best friend Aaliyah, and the two girls who hold sleepovers, make dance videos and watch the sunset together, the obituary said.

Advertisement Advertisement

"McKenna's sweet, gentle nature and her fun sense of humor will be cherished and greatly missed," the obituary said. "She was the center around which her grandparents' lives revolved. She touched the hearts and lives of all who knew her."

McKenna's funeral will be held on Thursday, March 26.

Angela George writes for the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers cold case investigations and the death penalty for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 14-year-old McKenna Wendel found dead in South Dakota: 'A tragedy'
Travelers have encountered a perfect storm of chaos at some U.S. airports in recent days, as spring break crowds jammed into short-staffed security lines.

On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered the mix, sent by President Donald Trump to assist Transportation Security Administration workers who are not being paid due to a partial government shutdown - and who are calling out of work in large numbers.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

Advertisement Advertisement

At some airports, hours-long lines have covered multiple levels or snaked outdoors. Some travelers have given up and rebooked their flights when it became clear they would not make it through security in time. Others reported sleeping at airports.

Democrats and civil rights groups have raised concerns about an ICE presence at airports, though administration officials have said they expect them to work in a supportive role to the TSA. Heres what travelers should know.

Which airports have ICE agents been sent to?

The Department of Homeland Security said it would not confirm the locations for operational security reasons, but The Washington Post confirmed 14 airports with ICE officers Monday. The airports share a common trait: They have some of the highest callout rates - 41.5 percent at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, for instance, and 42.3 at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, according to DHS data from Sunday.

Nationwide, the agency reported 11.8 percent of TSA officers, or more than 3,450 employees, did not report for their shifts Sunday, the most absentees since the start of the partial government shutdown.

Advertisement Advertisement

The airports with an ICE presence are:

Chicago OHare International Airport (ORD)

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IAH)

Houstons William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

New Yorks LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)

Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico (SJU)

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)

Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW)

Keith Jeffries, a former TSA director for Los Angeles International Airport, said DHS could dispatch ICE agents to other airports, especially ones with mounting callout rates.

What are ICE officers doing at airports?

TSA acting deputy administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News on Monday that ICE agents would be conducting non-specialized security support - manning the exit lanes, crowd management, line control  to help alleviate the challenges that our officers are facing.

Advertisement Advertisement

In a statement, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport said ICE would be responsible for supporting TSA operations in a non-screening role, including assisting with passenger flow and divesting. The Ohio airport said the agents are not checking IDs or screening passengers.

Kimberly Kraynak-Lambert, a District 3 manager of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing federal workers, said at Pittsburgh International Airport, ICE will be in charge of crowd control and directing foot traffic, such as moving passengers to shorter lines - jobs, she said, that a volunteer could perform.

They will be standing next to and working with people not getting paid, as ICE receives a paycheck, Kraynak-Lambert said.

How long will ICE be at airports?

No specific timeline has been released, but agents have been deployed in response to TSA staffing shortages. Senators said late Monday that they were working on a deal to fund much of DHS, including TSA. An agreement could pave the way for airport operations to return to normal.

Will ICE agents substitute for TSA officers?

Not likely. They will be playing more of a supportive role than running operations, especially in the technologically advanced screening area.

Advertisement Advertisement

They clearly cant come in and take over for TSA without a huge disruption, because do they know how to perform explosives-trace detection on hands or resolve an alarm? If somebody has a pacemaker, can they go through? said John S. Pistole, a former TSA administrator. There are all those subtleties and nuances that TSA officers are trained to understand.

Jeffries said screening makes up about 80 percent of the TSA pie. To become a TSA officer, or TSO, recruits must commit to eight months of training on average.

The schooling starts with two weeks at a federal law enforcement center, where they learn how to operate the vast array of equipment found in the field. They next receive on-the-job training, often focusing on such basic tasks as checking documents, guarding exit lanes, pushing bins and reminding passengers to remove their coats and shoes, if applicable, and toss their liquids.

Jeffries and Pistole said ICE will primarily monitor and control the crowds or maintain the PreCheck lanes, positions airline personnel will sometimes fill during peak travel periods such as spring break and holidays.

Advertisement Advertisement

The former administrators worry that bad actors could take advantage of the long, chaotic lines or possible gaps in security.

[ICE agents] cant work at the checkpoint. Thats not their training or background or experience. And heaven forbid a potential terrorist sees this as an opportunity to try to get through a checkpoint because its less secure, Pistole warned.

Will ICE be checking travelers immigration status?

Democrats have raised alarms about agents potentially harassing travelers, checking papers and citizenship, or detaining people without due process.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement that federal officials had indicated that this deployment is not intended to conduct immigration enforcement activities.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump, however, warned on Truth Social on Saturday that ICE agents would do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country.

Can ICE agents ask for proof of citizenship?

The airport is no different from any other public space, said Nicole Hallett, director of the Immigrants Rights Clinic and a clinical professor of law at the University of Chicago.

If an ICE agent suspects an airport patron of an immigration violation, they can briefly detain the individual, requesting identification and issuing an arrest if they believe the person has broken the law.

If they are acting in their capacity as ICE agents at the airport, then they essentially have the same duties and responsibilities that they would have in any place, which is to say if you were on a public street, they could walk up to you and ask you questions, Hallett said.

Advertisement Advertisement

There are limits to their powers, however. Without a warrant, Hallett said, they cannot search a passengers personal belongings, such as a carry-on bag, or scour their phone or laptop for incriminating evidence. They can conduct those types of probes only if they are authorized to work on behalf of the agency that performs such security duties, such as TSA at domestic checkpoints and Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry.

If theyre acting as a TSA agent, they have to follow TSA rules. If theyre acting as a CBP agent and doing Border Patrol work, then they have the authority that Border Patrol has, Hallett said. And if they are just merely standing in the airport as ICE officers, then they have the same legal authority that any ICE officer standing in a public location has.

What should you do if an ICE agent tries to interrogate you?

If an ICE agent approaches, Hallett does not recommend running away, which could raise suspicions. If an officer starts to pepper you with questions, you can invoke the Fifth Amendment.

You can calmly say, Im exercising my right to remain silent, she said. They should allow you to do that, but whether they actually allow you to do that is another story.

Advertisement Advertisement

By law, you do not have to carry proof that you are a U.S. citizen or legal resident. However, if you fear that ICE may target you because of certain physical features, presenting a document verifying your status could quickly quash any inquisition.

The American Civil Liberties Union has said that noncitizens without legal status should consider the risks of flying, including on domestic flights within the U.S.

Can ICE approach you anywhere in the airport or just at security checkpoints?

There are no ICE-free zones. They can approach passengers anywhere, anytime - in the arrivals terminal, in the security lanes, in line for a Dunkin coffee, at the gate. Hallett recommends travelers stay alert during their entire time in the airport.

Be aware of your surroundings and be prepared, and know what youre going to do if youre approached.

Are ICE agents helping the TSA lines move any faster?

Lines remained long at some airports Monday, when more than 2.6 million people went through TSA checkpoints. As The Post reported late Monday, the deployment of the agents appeared to have limited effect in reducing security lines, as passengers reported wait times as long as five hours in Houston and lengthy delays in other major cities.

Advertisement Advertisement

On Tuesday, a day when passenger numbers are generally lighter, results varied by airport. Lines at the Atlanta airport had eased by late morning, according to news reports. But Bush airport in Houston continued to warn that waits could last more than four hours.

Doesnt TSA already have backup - the local police?

A consortium of law enforcement entities and federal agencies oversees security at airports. Depending on the facility, the police may be on staff, on loan from the local force or on call from the citys police department.

Each unit has a distinct role, but they often work in concert. TSA has a very narrow search authority, Jeffries said. The agencys primary role is to identify dangerous prohibited items such as guns, explosives and incendiary devices, he said. If the officers discover contraband, they will contact law enforcement.

TSA doesnt arrest anybody, Jeffries said. They find items that are not authorized into the transportation sector.

How should passengers prepare for long TSA lines?

Travelers should start monitoring wait times, watching for airline updates and seeking out airport information long before their flight starts boarding. They should not rely on official TSA times, which are generally estimates and are not being updated during the partial shutdown anyway.

Some airports have stopped providing specific wait times due to extremely long lines. Atlanta, for example, does not give them but warns travelers on its website to allow at least four hours or more for security screenings.

Passengers should go for the fastest lane they can use at the airport. If open, TSA PreCheck is generally faster than a standard line if travelers have paid for the service. PreCheck Touchless ID, a separate lane, can be even faster - but passengers need to opt in before checking in for their flight. Clear, a subscription service, is offering a two-month free trial and day pass through its app.

If you expect to miss your flight, check options for later in the day to reschedule or contact the airline for help. Dont want to brave the chaos? Some airlines are offering flexibility to change flights proactively without fees, including Delta in Atlanta and United in Houston.

Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Marianne LeVine and Amy B Wang contributed to this report.

Related Content
The Trump administration will pay $1 billion (860mn) to the French energy giant TotalEnergies SE to walk away from two US offshore wind leases as it ramps up its campaign against offshore wind and other renewable energy.

TotalEnergies has agreed to what is essentially a refund of its leases for projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York, and will invest the money in fossil fuel projects instead, according to their press statement.

"Considering that the development of offshore wind projects is not in the countrys interest, we have decided to renounce offshore wind development in the United States, in exchange for the reimbursement of the lease fees, said Patrick Pouyanne, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer at TotalEnergies.

Advertisement Advertisement

Pouyanne also said that the refunded lease fees will finance the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in Texas and the development of its oil and gas activities, calling it a more efficient use of capital in the US.

After it makes those investments, TotalEnergies will be reimbursed up to the amount paid in lease purchases for offshore wind, according to the Department of the Interior.

TotalEnergies purchased a lease for its Carolina Long Bay project in 2022 for about $133 mn (115mn). It aimed to generate more than 1 gigawatt there, enough to power about 300,000 homes.

It purchased the lease off New York and New Jersey, also in 2022, for $795mn (685mn).

Advertisement Advertisement

This was planned as a larger project, with the potential to generate 3 gigawatts of clean energy to power nearly one million homes. TotalEnergies is involved in major offshore wind projects in Europe and Asia.

Trump administration intensifies push against wind energy projects

President Donald Trumps administration has tried to halt offshore wind construction, but federal judges have repeatedly overturned those orders.

Last year, the Trump administration halted five major offshore wind plans, including Denmark's rsted project, citing national security reasons.

Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed all five projects to resume construction, effectively concluding that the government had not shown the risk was so imminent that construction must halt.

Advertisement Advertisement

Related

Concerning the current deal, the Interior Department hailed the innovative agreement with the French energy giant and said the American people will no longer pay for ideological subsidies that benefited only the unreliable and costly offshore wind industry.

We welcome TotalEnergies commitment to developing projects that produce dependable, affordable power to lower Americans monthly bills, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.

Environmental groups condemn deal as billion-dollar bribe

Environmental groups denounced the deal as an alternative way to block wind projects, with one group calling it a billion-dollar bribe to kill clean energy.

Advertisement Advertisement

After losing again and again in court on his illegal stop-work orders, Trump has found another way to strangle offshore wind: pay them to walk away, said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action.

Ted Kelly, clean energy director at the Environmental Defense Fund, called the proposed deal an outrageous misuse of taxpayer dollars to prevent Americans from having clean, affordable power exactly when they need it most.

East Coast states are building offshore wind because it boosts affordable electricity supply on the grid, even as natural gas prices are rising, Kelly concluded.
BRUSSELS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission said on Monday that the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and four countries of Mercosur, a South American economic and political bloc, will be provisionally applied from May 1.

The Commission said it has notified Paraguay, the current holder of Mercosur's rotating presidency, completing the final procedural requirement for the deal's provisional application. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic described the move as an important signal of the bloc's credibility as a global trading partner.

The EU reached a political agreement in December 2024 with four Mercosur countries - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - on a partnership expected to eliminate duties on more than 90 percent of goods traded between the two sides.

Despite this progress, the agreement has faced resistance within the EU. Farm groups and several member states have warned that increased access for Mercosur agricultural exports could expose European producers to unfair competition from lower-cost goods. Concerns have also been raised over imports such as beef, poultry and sugar, as well as environmental issues, including deforestation linked to agricultural expansion in parts of South America.

Nevertheless, the Council of the EU adopted the necessary decisions by qualified majority in January this year, authorizing the signing of both the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the Interim Trade Agreement, despite objections led by France.

The agreement still requires approval from the European Parliament before it can fully enter into force. However, during its January plenary session, Parliament voted to refer the deal to the Court of Justice of the EU for legal review, a move that could delay its full implementation.

The EU is Mercosur's second-largest trading partner in goods. In 2024, EU exports of goods to the bloc reached 57 billion euros (66.25 billion U.S. dollars). The EU also accounts for about a quarter of Mercosur's total trade in services, with exports to the region totaling 29 billion euros (33.71 billion dollars) in 2023. 
President Donald Trump, who has frequently railed against voting by mail, submitted his ballot by mail for a Florida special election.

The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections voter records show Trump's status in the March 24 state representative election in his district as "you voted by Mail Ballot." The ballot was received for processing on March 15, records show, the day after early voting began. Trump was staying at Mar-a-Lago for the weekend.

Trump said in August his party would do everything in its power to get rid of mail-in voting, calling mail-in ballots "corrupt."

Advertisement Advertisement

"You know, brought to my attention today that we're the only country that does mail-in voting. Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating,' and we got to do something about it all," Trump said in Memphis on March 23.

Dozens of countries also used postal ballots even before the COVID-19 pandemic, when they became more popular, according to Pew Research.

More: Supreme Court looks poised to limit mail-in ballots, a possible win for Trump

US President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 20, 2026, en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he steps from Air Force One upon his arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media, flanked by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) speaking to the media, as Trump departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media, flanked by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while boarding Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media, flanked by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while walking with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to board Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump boards Marine One as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to board Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media, flanked by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio step out from Marine One to board Air Force One, as President Trump departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump salutes next to Secretary of State Marco Rubio while boarding Air Force One, as they depart from Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to board Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media near Marine One, flanked by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump gestures toward members of the media while walking with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media, flanked by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speaking to the media, as Trump departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he steps from Air Force One upon his arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Donald Trump steps from Air Force One upon his arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY US President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 20, 2026, en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters as he departs the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters while departing the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) US President Donald Trump waves while boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on March 20, 2026, before departing for his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he will spend the weekend. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images) US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walk to board Air Force One prior to departure from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, March 20, 2026, as they travel to Florida for the weekend. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images) US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as he departs for his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he will spend the weekend, on March 20, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images) JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) walk to board Air Force One on March 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on March 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on March 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One on March 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One on March 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters while departing the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) approach reporters while departing the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) as he stops to speak to reporters while departing the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump salutes as he boards Air Force One with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) on March 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters while departing the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters as he departs the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio () looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters while departing the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters while departing the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) US President Donald Trump walks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2026 for his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he will spend the weekend. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) as he departs the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2026 for his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he will spend the weekend. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2026 for his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he will spend the weekend. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters as he departs the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) as he departs the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) as he departs the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) US President Donald Trump walks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2026 for his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he will spend the weekend. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. President Donald Trump talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) as he departs the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) US President Donald Trump walks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2026 for his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he will spend the weekend. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards Marine One as he departs the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) US President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2026 for his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he will spend the weekend. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) US President Donald Trump walks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2026 for his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he will spend the weekend. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images) Trump returns to Mar-a-Lago for 24th visit in second term 1 of 59 US President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 20, 2026, en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

What election did Trump vote in by mail?

In response to a question about why Trump used mail-in voting for this election, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said exceptions should be made for mail-in voting for illness, disability, military or travel.

Advertisement Advertisement

"As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C., " Wales said in a statement. "This is a non-story.

Trump voted in a Florida election for his local state representative. The election covers part of Palm Beach County to replace Rep. Mike Caruso, who became Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller for Palm Beach County.

Trump has endorsed Republican Jon Maples, who is running against Democrat Emily Gregory for the seat.

"TO ALL GREAT PATRIOTS IN FLORIDA STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 87: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR JON MAPLES!" Trump said in a March 23 social media post.

Supreme Court could side with Trump to limit mail-in grace periods

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 23 heard oral arguments for Watson v. Republican National Committee, a case challenging a Mississippi law that allows ballots to be counted up to five days after Election Day so long as they are sent on time. The RNC says the lawsuit aims to have all ballots received by Election Day to reduce confusion. The Justice Department is backing the RNC's push to overturn the law.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump has previously tried to end grace periods and mail-in voting altogether through executive order and by pushing Congress to pass legislation. The conservative-leaning court seemed poised to side with Republicans, which could lead to stricter voting guidelines around the country.

Mississippi argued that Election Day was defined by when the voters chose a candidate. Nearly 30 states accept some ballots that arrive late but are postmarked by Election Day. Democrats are usually more likely to use mail-in ballots.

"And we as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots," Trump said in the Oval Office in August. "We're the only country in the world  I believe I may be wrong  but just about the only country in the world that uses them. And because of what's happened, massive fraud all over the place."

(This story was updated with new information.)

Advertisement Advertisement

Contributing: Terry Moseley, Maureen Groppe, C.A. Bridges, USA TODAY

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Did Trump vote by mail? Yes, though he has tried to end absentee voting
President Donald Trump cast a mail ballot in an upcoming Florida special election, according to Palm Beach County records, as he publicly condemns the voting method as fraudulent.

"Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating, and we got to do something about it all," Trump said Monday.

Public records indicate his mail ballot was received and counted by election officials in Palm Beach County, where he is registered to vote, though the records don't detail how it was delivered to election officials.

Advertisement Advertisement

It's a familiar refrain  and action  from Trump, who has often criticized mail voting as rife with fraud. He has used such rhetoric to push a massive elections overhaul bill in Congress called the SAVE America Act.

The bill wouldn't end mail voting, as he has suggested in public comments.

As President Trump has said, the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, or travel  but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because its highly susceptible to fraud. As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C. This is a non-story," White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said in a statement.

Trump was in Palm Beach over the weekend; early voting ran through Sunday.

Advertisement Advertisement

This isn't the first time Trump has voted by mail while condemning the method: He did so in 2020, too.

At that time, NBC News asked Trump how he reconciled his criticism of mail-in voting with the fact that he voted by mail.

"You know why I voted? Because I happened to be in the White House and I won't be able to go to Florida and vote," he said.

"There's a big difference between somebody who is out of state and does a ballot and everything is sealed and certified and everything else," he said then, before he claimed without evidence that thousands and thousands of people were signing ballots fraudulently in their living rooms. "I think mail-in voting is a terrible thing. I think if you vote, you should go."

Advertisement Advertisement

NPR reported at the time that his ballot was hand-delivered by a third party.

Trump blamed the expansion of mail-in voting during the pandemic in 2020 for his loss in his second presidential bid, though there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in American elections. Since then, mail has been at the center of Trumps repeated false claims about election security.

In his State of the Union address this year, Trump called for "no more crooked mail-in ballots" and said, "Cheating is rampant in our elections."

Trump has posted on social media that he would want mail-in voting to be available only in cases of ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!

Advertisement Advertisement

Mail ballots are verified in different ways depending on the state, often by checking voters signatures against their voter registrations.

Trump made his comments Monday as he touted the SAVE America Act, which would add voter ID and documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements to federal elections nationwide. Trump says he won't sign any bill until it reaches his desk, but the measure is stalled in the Senate, where it lacks the requisite 60 votes to pass under the current rules.

Trump has suggested the SAVE America Act would end mail voting, which isnt true. The proposed law would make mail voting more complicated  voters would have to photocopy their photo IDs to submit alongside their ballots  but it wouldn't end the practice.

In his remarks Monday in Memphis, Tennessee, Trump also reiterated a false claim he has made before, saying it was "brought to my attention today that were the only country that does mail-in voting."

Advertisement Advertisement

Voters cast ballots through the mail in at least 32 countries, according to tracking by a Swedish organization, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, which says it "supports democracy worldwide."

Florida has a slate of state legislative elections Tuesday to fill vacant seats, including in the state House district that includes Mar-a-Lago. Trump carried the district by about 11 percentage points in the 2024 presidential race, according to The Downballot, a left-leaning political site that tracks partisan change in state special elections.

Trump endorsed Republican Jon Maples in the race and encouraged people to "get out and vote" on Truth Social this month. Maples faces Democrat Emily Gregory.

Since Trump began his second term, Democrats have flipped nine state legislative seats around the country in special elections, in addition to gains they made in regularly scheduled legislative elections in New Jersey and Virginia last year.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Supreme Court case examining state deadlines for election ballots sent in the mail is just the tip of the spear in President Donald Trumps war on mail-in voting.

Trump has never let go of his unfounded beliefs that voting by mail is rife with fraud, as he has called on Congress, the judiciary and state legislators to cut back on the practice. His administration has also sought to use its levers of power to force changes by states, an effort further revealed in new documents obtained by CNN. Also at his insistence, US Senate Republicans have devoted several days to debating an election overhaul bill that Trump wants to end most mail-in voting. But it is expected to die in Congress due to a Democratic filibuster.

Where Trump has seen some success on the issue is what the Supreme Court will scrutinize on Monday: the practice by some states of counting mail ballots that arrive at election offices after Election Day.

Advertisement Advertisement

His Justice Department convinced at least one state to eliminate its mail ballot grace period by threatening a lawsuit, and other GOP-led states changed their deadlines proactively. On Monday, Trumps top Supreme Court lawyer will argue in support of a challenge to Mississippis mail ballot deadline that was brought by the Republican National Committee.

The mail voting deadlines of more than a dozen states  including states like California, Texas and Alaska that will be pivotal in determining which party controls Congress  are now in jeopardy as the Supreme Court examines whether those policies run afoul of federal law.

Employees direct traffic to where voters can drop off their mail-in ballots in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2024. - Rebecca Droke/AFP/Getty Images

The dispute is the latest example of Trumps push to put the federal governments heavy hands in the machinery of election administration  a task the Constitution largely delegates to the states. The president has suggested that he has the power to implement voter ID requirements on his own that are part of the election overhaul bill. He also demanded that GOP lawmakers add to that legislation a ban on no-excuse absentee voting.

A loss in the Supreme Court could further enrage a president who recently fumed at the justices for not overturning his 2020 electoral defeat. A decision would likely come before the end of June.

Advertisement Advertisement

The legal challenge centers on statutes passed by Congress in the 19th and early 20th centuries that standardized federal elections for the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Republicans argue those statutes preclude states from setting post-Election Day ballot receipt deadlines.

Election-day receipt promotes election integrity and voter confidence as much today as it did when Congress passed that law, the Trump administration told the Supreme Court in a legal brief.

Trumps opponents counter that the federal Election Day statutes dont go that far, and that states have flexibility in whether to embrace mail-in ballots and how to regulate them. They argue that if the Supreme Court were to accept the GOPs logic, it would make it impermissible for states to offer mail-in voting or even early in-person voting.

What Donald Trump wants, and has said that he wants, is Election Day voting only, in-person, only, Marc Elias, a lawyer for voter groups that are defending the state laws, told reporters Monday. So doing away with vote-by-mail is like the most convenient way for them to start, but it will not be where they end.

DOJ sent Ohio a draft lawsuit on voting deadlines

Ohio voters walk to drop off their ballots at the Board of Elections in Dayton, Ohio on April 28, 2020. - Megan Jelinger/AFP/Getty Images

An executive order Trump signed a year ago was his first attempt to rein in voting by mail, using multiple federal levers to pressure states to drop post-election grace periods for mail-in ballots. It instructed the withholding of federal election funding from those states, while also commanding the attorney general to take all necessary action to enforce the federal Election Day statutes.

Advertisement Advertisement

A top attorney in the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division suggested in court last April that the executive order could lead to criminal actions against states that refuse to move up their mail ballot deadlines.

Such criminal actions never materialized. But the attorney, Michael Gates, who has since left the department, used the threat of a civil lawsuit against at least one state to force it to change its law.

In early September, Gates emailed Ohio state officials a draft lawsuit that argued the federal Election Day statute prohibited the states acceptance of mail-in ballots up to four days after the election. He also offered a proposed legal agreement  known as a consent decree  that would have avoided litigation by having Ohio agree to have its deadline changed by court order instead.

According to communications obtained by CNN via a public records request, the state officials convinced Gates that Ohio lawmakers would be amenable to passing a bill to change the deadline instead, so that court action would not be necessary. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Secretary of State Frank LaRose, both Republicans, advocated in favor of the bill last year by pointing to the threat of litigation.

Advertisement Advertisement

Yet when GOP Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill, he said he was doing so reluctantly, according to the Statehouse News Bureau.

Another three states  Kansas, North Dakota and Utah  eliminated their grace periods in the past year. North Dakotas deputy secretary of state, Sandy McMerty, told CNN that the state was responding to the Trump executive order and to the legal fight now at the Supreme Court.

Courts have since blocked much of executive order and the bulk of its provisions seeking to pressure states on their mail ballot deadlines.

Supreme Court asked to change rules nationwide

The Supreme Court could hand Trump the win he was not able to achieve through unliteral action, though legal experts are skeptical of the Republican arguments for why the state policies are unlawful.

Advertisement Advertisement

A ruling from a conservative appeals court in New Orleans that sided with the GOP was likely the reason that Supreme Court felt the need to take up the case, according to Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The case started as a 2024 Republican National Committee lawsuit against Mississippis law giving mail ballots five days to arrive after Election Day. Mississippi severely limits who can vote absentee, so the RNCs choice to challenge the policy there was seen as a strategic move to get the case before the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

Thirteen other states, as well as the District of Columbia, have post-Election Day mail ballot receipt deadlines, and 15 more have extended deadlines for certain ballots submitted by military families on deployment and US citizens overseas, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court not to eliminate the grace periods for military ballots.

Advertisement Advertisement

The 5th Circuit majority embraced the arguments by Republicans that Congress  when it set a federal Election Day  meant for that day to be the final day for ballots to be received by election officials. But other judges who looked at the question have disagreed, saying that the laws text includes no such receipt-deadline for mail-in ballots and only require that individual voters make their choice by Election Day.

The Justice Department, under President Joe Biden, initially supported Mississippi. But once the case reached the Supreme Court, and after Trump had returned to the White House, the Justice Department not only switched sides, but also sought the opportunity to make oral arguments at Mondays hearing.

It was once rare for the Justice Department to insert itself in a case it was not a party to when the justices hadnt asked for its input. But Trumps solicitor general, John Sauer, has been piping in on high-profile cases on a more frequent basis. Still, Sauers decision to argue the ballot deadline case on Monday, rather than assign it to one of his deputies, shows its significance to the administration.

Several Republican state attorneys general, GOP members of Congress and conservative election integrity groups have also lined up behind the Republicans arguments. By contrast, Trumps demand that Congress add a national ban on no-excuse absentee voting to legislation focused on voter ID and citizenship verification prompted debate among Senate Republicans, many of whom who represent states with expansive mail-in voting policies.

Advertisement Advertisement

Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Election Project, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the RNC, said that requiring Election Day mail-in ballot deadlines is a very popular position with the voters, and a best practice as far as election administration is concerned.

I think everybody understands that the ballot is really considered a vote when its received by an election official, Snead told CNN. Thats a bright line rule, and that brings clarity to the process.

Despite the momentum Trump has seen in his broadsides against mail-in ballot grace periods, Hasen predicted a unanimous or near-unanimous ruling from Supreme Court upholding the state policies, which in turn will provoke a ballistic response from Trump.

The backup position is always, if the courts or Congress cant make these changes, the election is full of fraud, Hasen told CNN, adding that if Democrats win in Novembers midterms, its a convenient backup.

CNNs Lauren Fox contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Republican state Sen. Liz Brown has gained President Donald Trumps public endorsement even as two prominent Indiana Trump loyalists are backing her primary challenger.

Trump included his support for Brown among 17 posts Tuesday to his social media account weighing in on Indiana Senate Republican primary races that gained his attention after the December defeat of the GOP-backed congressional redistricting proposal.

Brown, a Fort Wayne senator who voted in favor of the redistricting bill, faces challenger Darren Vogt in the May primary.

Advertisement Advertisement

Vogt is a staffer to Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and has endorsements from Banks and state Attorney General Todd Rokia  both of whom are strident Trump supporters and have clashed with Brown over her handling of immigration crackdown legislation.

Trumps post said Brown is a MAGA Warrior who is doing an incredible job representing Indianas 15th State Senate District!

Another new Trump endorsement was for Sen. Ron Alting of Lafayette, who supported redistricting but has at times voted against conservative-backed measures, such as the 2022 near-total abortion ban bill.

Alting faces a primary challenger from Richard Bagsby, who argues hes more conservative than Alting and has the backing of Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trumps posts for Brown and Alting used similar wording, saying they both were working to Protect Hoosier Values, including efforts to Stop Migrant Crime  and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.

Trump repeated six previous endorsements of state Senate candidates, including five who are challenging incumbent Republicans who voted against redistricting.

The president also endorsed nine other Republican senators who supported redistricting but are either unopposed in the primary or are regarded as heavy favorites to win renomination.

Those senators are: Scott Alexander of Muncie, Gary Byrne of Georgetown, Chris Garten of Charlestown, Mike Gaskill of Pendleton, Tyler Johnson of Leo, Randy Maxwell of Guilford, Jeff Raatz of Richmond, Daryl Schmitt of Jasper and Jim Tomes of Wadesville.

Trump, however, has not weighed in on the primary races involving three Republican senators  Dan Dernulc of Highland, Rick Niemeyer of Lowell and Linda Rogers of Granger  who voted against redistricting and face GOP challengers.
President Trump on Monday rejected a bipartisan deal that could end the partial government shutdown and ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to patrol some airport security checkpoints as air travel delays kept getting worse.

As ICE agents headed to 14 airports in the New York area and nationwide, Trump refused a proposed deal with Democrats that would end the airport chaos by having the Senate pass a spending package for the entire Department of Homeland Security except for ICE.

He wants the GOP to keep pushing Democrats to cave and accept his unrelated bill imposing new voting restrictions and urged Senate leaders to scrap their planned Easter break.

Advertisement Advertisement

Dont worry about Easter, going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus, OK? Trump said in a speech in Memphis. Thats what I tell them. It would be a damn good thing.

ICE agents, which have sparked controversy with their aggressive tactics, were deployed early Monday at Newark and Kennedy airports. They were expected at LaGuardia, which was temporarily closed after a deadly Air Canada runway collision late Sunday.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, blamed Trump and his Republican allies for refusing to negotiate a solution to pay TSA agents.

Hes using them and the passengers who wait on line for hours and hours as hostages, Schumer said on MSNOWs Morning Joe.

Advertisement Advertisement

The immigration agents were expected to help understaffed Transportation Security Administration screeners operate airport security checkpoints as lines stretched for hours at busy airports, especially during busy morning periods.

The president Monday said ICE agents should not wear masks covering their faces while patrolling airports.

Hundreds of thousands of Homeland Security workers, including TSA, U.S. Secret Service and Coast Guard, have worked without pay for a month since Congress failed to renew DHS funding. Many airport screeners are calling out sick in protest or to work other jobs.

An ICE document identified all three major New York-area airports along with Philadelphia, Atlanta and a handful of other major hubs as initial locations for the new operation, several media reports said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Senate Republicans want to accept a Democratic offer to pass a bill funding DHS without ICE. Democrats have refused to fund ICE without wide-ranging reforms to Trumps unpopular immigration crackdown.

The GOP would then seek to fund ICE using the reconciliation process that only requires a simple majority, instead of the 60-vote supermajority required for most legislation to pass the Senate.

Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. John Kennedy, both conservative Republicans, backed the potential deal over the weekend.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune presented the deal to Trump late Sunday, but Trump rejected it, Punchbowl News reported.

Advertisement Advertisement

The president wants to force senators from both parties to agree to his package of strict voting restrictions, which leaders on both sides of the aisle say has no chance of passing unless Republicans scrap the filibuster rule.

All Democrats and a handful of Republicans oppose the SAVE Act, which would ban mail-in voting and force voters to provide proof of citizenship, like a passport or birth certificate, to cast a vote.

_____
Under intense pressure from a desperate and vindictive boss, U.S. Senate Republicans, including Ohio U.S. Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, are frantically spinning a radical voter suppression bill as a simple voter ID measure.

Whats not to like? Husted and Moreno know the misnamed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility America Act does much more than require a photo ID to vote, yet they never acknowledge the devil in the details.

The so-called SAVE Act would block millions of American citizens from voting who cant produce birth certificates or passports to register to vote or update their registrations.

Advertisement Advertisement

Some 21 million citizens lack ready access to those documents.

That doesnt include 69 million married women nationwide who have changed their names (more than 3 million in Ohio) who would have to jump through extra hoops just to prove their citizenship.

Less than half of all Americans have passports. If the SAVE Act were enacted, with Husted and Morenos help  your drivers license, REAL ID, or military ID would no longer be good enough to exercise your most fundamental right to vote.

Effective immediately you would have to show documentary proof of your citizenship for what Donald Trump called the greatest privilege of them all, voting in America.

Advertisement Advertisement

Sorry, voting is a right not a privilege bestowed by a convicted felon who tried to subvert it when an election didnt go his way.

Trump is planning a sequel in 2026.

The SAVE Act is his preemptive manipulation of another election not expected to go his way.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

The lower Trumps approval ratings fall the more he fixates on controlling who gets to vote with gratuitous obstacles championed by regime bootlickers as commonsense election reform.

Its going to clean up our elections and give, most importantly, people faith and confidence in our elections, claimed Moreno, reinforcing Trumps baseless 2020 lies about rigged elections and rampant voter fraud that sow unfounded doubts about gold standard American elections.

Advertisement Advertisement

The SAVE Act that Moreno is cheerleading would make it harder for some Ohioans to cast a ballot if they have to dig up a birth certificate first, (if one even exists) or match a marriage certificate with a maiden name birth certificate, or shell out $165 for a passport that may or may not arrive before the midterms.

Citizens would also have to show their papers in person.

Forget about registering to vote by mail, online, or through voter registration drives  methods used by 94% of Americans.

If the SAVE Act became law now, voter registration systems across the country could be upended with chaos and confusion, a recipe for depressed voter turnout.

Advertisement Advertisement

When it is hard to vote  with onerous paperwork that costs time and money to get or in-person registration requirements that stymie rural Ohioans and others with mobility and transportation challenges, many eligible voters dont.

The papers-please barriers in the SAVE Act, that Moreno and Husted conveniently skip over in their just-a-voter-ID script, could sideline millions of citizens in the upcoming election  especially those in rural areas, women, minorities, students, seniors, the disabled, and low-income working Ohioans unable to gather or afford documents never before required to vote.

Republicans claim the bill is needed to keep noncitizens from voting (which is already illegal) even though study after study has shown they do not vote.

It is a virtually nonexistent problem. Even the right-wing Heritage Foundation concurs.

Advertisement Advertisement

Affirmations of citizenship on voter registrations, signed under penalty of perjury, worked for decades without issue until one was invented as a pretext to erect voting hurdles on Americans Trump fears at the polls.

Silencing those voters steals their power to decide the outcome of elections.

The SAVE Act gives Trump control over who gets to vote and how to engineer favorable election outcomes with the right voters.

Passage of the bill will guarantee the midterms, he told GOP lawmakers.

We have to win this one, (the SAVE Act) Trump said, exhorting Republicans to essentially suppress the vote to win in November and save him from a third impeachment.

Advertisement Advertisement

Well never lose a race for 50 years, he promised, but if we dont win, theyll find a reason to impeach me.

Apparently lost on Trump is how many Republican voters in rural areas or with low incomes will also be impacted.

Husted championed the SAVE Act even though it would diminish the power of millions of Ohioans to have a voice in elections, on specious grounds of made-up problems.

As a former chief elections officer in the state, the senator could have dispelled voter fraud and noncitizen voting falsehoods with facts learned on the job.

But Husted preferred Trumps endorsement.

As Ive been saying for a decade and a half it is possible to make it both easy to vote and hard to cheat and we should make that a standard with a national ID law that is easy to implement and proven effective.

Advertisement Advertisement

Kansas might beg to differ.

Its 2013 version of the SAVE Act (with birth certificates or passports) prevented thousands of eligible applicants from registering to vote before the catastrophic law was struck down.

If denying citizens their right to vote isnt bad enough, the SAVE Act would also make every state submit full voter rolls to Trumps shadowy Department of Homeland Security with no restrictions on what DHS can do with the sensitive data it collects.

Yet Moreno hails the bill as a long overdue voting safeguard in his parody of protecting the cornerstone of our democracy: Screw voters; he got a thumbs up from the boss.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since he returned to the White House, as rising gas and food prices take a toll on Americans, and the public expresses a growing dislike of hiswar in Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The weekly poll released on March 24 showed that 36% of Americans approve of Trump's job performance, a decrease of four percentage points (40%) since a similar Reuters poll was conducted last week.

Most Americans appear angry with the president as food and gas prices have surged since the United States and Israel's joint attack on Iran early Feb. 28. The new Reuters poll said 25% approve of how Trump is handling the current cost of living, a centerpiece of his 2024 presidential election campaign.

Advertisement Advertisement

The U.S.-Israel war with Iran is proving controversial with Americans, as similar nationwide polls conducted show that around half of voters disapprove of Trump's handling of the war or the overall military actions in Iran. Trump's approval rating was at 47% during his first days in office and has hovered at around 40% since last summer, the new poll noted.

Continuous low approval ratings for the president could be unsettling to Republicans seeking to maintain control of Congress after the crucial midterm election votes are all cast in November.

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.

With the midterm primaries already underway, Trump's standing within the Republican Party remains strong, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. About 1 in 5 Republicans said they disapprove of the president's overall performance in the White House, a slight change from about 1 in 7 from last week's poll.

Yet, the percentage of Republicans polled who disapprove of Trump's handling of the cost of living rose to 34% from 27% last week. The new Reuters/Ipsos weekly online poll of 1,272 American adults was conducted from March 20 to 23, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Advertisement Advertisement

US to send more troops to Middle East: Iran war live updates.

War remains heavy on Americans' minds, poll says

The war in Iran, entering a fourth week, continues to weigh heavily on most Americans' minds, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The poll discovered that 35% of Americans approve of the U.S. strikes on Iran, down from 37% in a similar poll conducted last week. Those figures remain higher than the first Reuters/Ipsos poll related to the war in Iran, conducted from February 28 to March 1. That poll found 27% of Americans approved of the strikes, 43% disapproved, and 29% were unsure at the time.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, with a portrait of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the background, as he attends Markwayne Mullin's swearing-in as Department of Homeland Security Secretary, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2026.

Overall, about 61% of those polled disapproved of the strikes, an increase from 59% who disapproved of the strikes from last week's poll.

Advertisement Advertisement

Despite Trump's declining overall popularity, 38% of registered voters polled said Republicans had better stewardship of the U.S. economy, compared to 34% of voters who picked Democrats on the topic.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's likability continues to tank due to Iran war, new poll says
Voice of America staffers accused Kari Lake and the U.S. Agency for Global Media of "censorship" and "propaganda" in a new lawsuit filed in federal district court in Washington, DC.

The employees said Lake and Michael Rigas, the acting CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media, used VOA to control journalists' reporting, "suppressing" material the Trump administration opposed and passing off "partisan messages" as "news." Global Media agency is an independent agency of the U.S. government that overseas Voice of America.

That has led to censoring interviews, video footage and stories about the Iran war and "hijacking" VOA's Mandarin Service, which provides radio and broadcast programming in China, "to republish verbatim White House talking points and label them, falsely, as 'news,'" the complaint says. Under Rigas' leadership, journalists rarely leave the newsroom to report and instead publish stories "that often appear to be re-written press releases" from the federal government, according to the complaint.

Advertisement Advertisement

"They are ... turning VOA into a partisan mouthpiece of the Administration," the lawsuit alleges, "disseminating images of President Trump in the style of Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il" of North Korea.

Voice of America is a U.S. funded international news broadcast service, providing news in 50 languages to more than 354 million people, its website states. The broadcaster produces digital, television and radio content.

The complaint alleges that "stories that VOA would normally cover in detail, like the deadly bombing of a girls school in Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, are barely mentioned, and uncomfortable facts, like death tolls from U.S. strikes in Iran, are omitted from the coverage altogether."

The Trump administration's control over VOA "is antithetical to the tradition of press freedom that has marked America since its founding," according to the lawsuit. It violates the First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects speech from government infringement, as well as federal law that requires VOA to provide independent, accurate and objective news coverage, the complaint says.

Advertisement Advertisement

Federal law erects a "firewall" between the VOA newsroom and its publishers and federal political appointees, which has been broken, the lawsuit says. The result has silenced journalists and editors and deprived listeners, viewers and readers from around the world who rely on VOA of news.

Alex Nicoll, director of public affairs for USAGM, said in response to the lawsuit: "American taxpayers fund USAGM and Voice of America, and those funds by law must support broadcasting that reflects U.S. policy and the interests of the American people. USAGM is responsible for oversight of its networks, including Voice of America, and for ensuring compliance with the VOA Charter, which requires authoritative, accurate journalism that is reflective of and clearly presents U.S. policies."

That Charter says in-part, "VOA will represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions."

It says also, "VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies."

Advertisement Advertisement

The March 23 lawsuit comes after Lake and the USAGM suffered a separate court loss earlier this month, when U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth found that Lake was unlawfully running the agency. Lamberth ordered more than 1,000 VOA journalists back to work, undoing Lake's prior decisions to abruptly place 1,042 out of 1,147 full-time employees on administrative leave a day after Trump issued an executive order to reduce the federal work force.

The federal agency was initially given a March 23 deadline to reactivate the employees but successfully sought an extension. Lamberth ordered USAGM to file a progress update on April 1.

Who is behind the VOA lawsuit against Kari Lake?

The latest lawsuit was brought by four VOA staffers who were placed on leave; PEN America, a writers' group focused on free speech; and Reporters Without Borders Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on preserving the right to freedom of information.

The individuals and groups are seeking a jury trial and a permanent injunction banning Lake, Rigas and USAGM from infringing on the newsroom's editorial independence.

Advertisement Advertisement

The VOA staffers include:

Barry Newhouse, the acting director of the VOA Central News Division in Washington, DC, from October 2023 until December 2025;

Ayesha Tanzeem, director of VOAs South & Central Asia (SCA) Division, placed on leave in March 2025.

Dong Hyuk Lee, who joined VOA in April 2006 as chief of the Korean Service.

Ksenia Turkova, who worked for the VOA Russian Service from 2017 to 2025 as a personal services contractor.

Lake, a former Fox 10 Phoenix newscaster, took a role in the Trump administration after her losing bids for political office in Arizona in 2022 and 2024.

She has carried out Trumps plan to dismantle the agency in line with the conservative Heritage Foundations Project 2025 report.

Why was Voice of America a target for cuts in the Trump administration?

VOA, Radio Free Europe and related government-funded operations quickly became a target for elimination when Trump returned to the White House.

Advertisement Advertisement

Lake made Frank Wuco an adviser to her at USAGM. He is a conservative former talk show host who promoted the birther conspiracy involving former President Barack Obama and is credited for help on the Project 2025 reports chapter critical of USAGM and its organizations, including VOA.

In the section of the 920-page report dealing with USAGM, it said USAGMs firewall preventing editorial oversight of its media organizations has paved way for the media organizations to join the mainstream medias anti-U.S. chorus and denigrating the American story  all in the name of so-called journalistic independence.

In a February 2026 social media post, USAGM said, "Voice of America is carrying President Trumps message about Operation Epic Fury across all language services."

Lake, in a February interview with the Gateway Pundit, said, What were doing right now is were getting the presidents message out.

Advertisement Advertisement

Contributing: Ronald J. Hansen

Taylor Seely is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Do you have a story about the government infringing on your First Amendment rights? Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.

USA TODAY Network's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake hit with First Amendment lawsuit from VOA workers
By Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran had made a major energy-related concession to the United States, describing it as a positive development, although he did not give details.

Trump suggested the gift was related to the Strait of Hormuz, the oil transit waterway that the United States has struggled to keep open.

"They gave us a present and the present arrived today, and it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Advertisement Advertisement

"It wasn't nuclear, it was oil-and gas-related, and it was a very nice thing they did."

Trump, reiterating that he felt the United States had already won the war, indicated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was disappointed as how quickly the campaign had gone.

"Pete didn't want it to be settled," he said, but did not give details.

Trump said the United States was talking to "the right people" in Iran in order to reach a deal to end hostilities, adding the Iranians wanted to reach a deal very badly.

"We're in negotiations right now" over Iran, he said, but would not provide details, particularly on whether U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner planned talks this week. He said Witkoff, Kushner, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were involved in negotiations.

Pakistan has said it is willing to host talks between the United States and Iran.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson, Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland;Editing by David LjunggrenEditing by David Ljunggren)
TOKYO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Embassy of China in Japan lodged solemn representations and strong protests with the Japanese side after a Japanese outlaw forcibly broke into the embassy on Tuesday, demanding that Japan provide a responsible explanation.

According to the embassy, a man claiming to be "an active-duty officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces" forcibly broke into the embassy by climbing over the wall on Tuesday morning, threatening to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel.

The incident seriously violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and posed a grave threat to the safety of embassy staff and premises, constituting an act of extremely serious nature and impact, the embassy said.

The situation once again demonstrates the rampant spread of far-right ideology and forces in Japan, and the dangers posed by the unchecked expansion of the Self-Defense Forces, which must raise high vigilance within the international community.

The embassy said it has lodged solemn representations and strong protests with Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging the Japanese side to immediately conduct a thorough investigation, severely punish those involved, and provide a responsible explanation to the Chinese side.

It also called on Japan to take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel and premises, as well as Chinese citizens in the country, and to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. 
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court sounded open on March 24 to letting the federal government send back asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, although the justices also debated whether they can even rule on a policy thats not currently being used.

We dont have an actual policy, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of the courts three liberals, said during more than an hour of oral arguments. "None is on the table."

The practice often called ''metering"  used by Democratic and Republican administrations alike to manage the number of people who can claim asylum each day  was rescinded by the Biden administration.

Advertisement Advertisement

But the Trump administration  which already has a sweeping ban on asylum at the border that is facing a different legal challenge  wants to be able to use it, calling the policy a critical tool for addressing border surges.

I cant predict when the next border surge occurs, Vivek Suri, an attorney for the Justice Department, told the Supreme Court during oral arguments. But I can say that when it does occur, this is a tool (the Department of Homeland Security) will want in its tool box. Its not something the court should leave to future uncertainty.

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that the government is required to process a claim once someone reaches a port of entry.

Immigrant rights organizations and asylum-seekers challenging the policy argue the government has used it to turn away people who are desperate, even when theres sufficient staffing and other resources to deal with them.

Advertisement Advertisement

This case was never about capacity, said Nicole Elizabeth Ramos of Al Otro Lado, an immigrant rights group that helped bring the initial 2017 class action lawsuit. It was about cutting off access to a group of people that the government  specifically the president and his administration  deem undesirable.

In a 2020 report, internal watchdogs at the Homeland Security Department said that, regardless of a port's actual capacity and capability, border patrol agents at some crossings routinely told migrants they werent able to process them.

When Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another of the courts liberals, pressed the Justice Department about that report, Suri disputed it. He also said that the question the court is being asked to decide is whether the policy is legal under any circumstance.

But under questioning from Justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of the courts six conservatives, Suri acknowledged the government believes it can turn back asylum-seekers even when border ports are not overwhelmed.

Advertisement Advertisement

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said it needs flexibility to manage its varied agenda, which includes stopping drug trafficking and facilitating lawful trade and travel.

Migrants crossed the Rio Grande and approach the Texas National Guard to enquire when they will be allowed to be processed by Customs and Border Protection to seek asylum in El Paso, Texas on Dec. 20, 2022

Can the U.S. legally turn back asylum-seekers?

To be granted asylum  a process that can take years  an applicant must demonstrate they have faced persecution based on one of five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

The 1986 Immigration and Nationality Act allows anyone who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States to apply for asylum.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the best way to interpret arrives in is that it doesnt mean the same thing as physically present, which would be redundant.

Advertisement Advertisement

Instead, the term encompasses those who encounter officials at the border, whichever side of the border they are standing on, a divided panel of judges said.

Otherwise, the court said, the law gives migrants an incentive to try to circumvent border crossings, something Congress likely did not intend.

The Justice Department says that interpretation defies the plain text of the law.

You cant arrive in the United States while youre still standing in Mexico, Suri said. That should be the end of this case.

A demonstrator holds a sign as a small group of clergy gather for a vigil prior to arguments in Noem v. Al Otro Lado, a case to determine if noncitizens blocked on the Mexican side of the border by U.S. officials can apply for asylum, at the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2026.

He faced the most skeptical questions from the courts liberal justices, including Sotomayor who pressed Suri on whether the administrations interpretation violates the letter or spirit of federal law protecting refugees.

Advertisement Advertisement

Some of the courts six conservative justices gave Suri a chance to emphasize the issues the government was trying to address when it used the policy.

Suri said ports of entries were overwhelmed with asylum seekers, including not always having enough food or shelter to house them.

Kavanaugh wondered if the court should even focus on the definition of arrives in when deciding if the policy can be used.

The bigger question, it seems to me, is can the government physically stop people before they get to wherever that line is, no matter how we define it, he said.

Border policy used in past administrations

The practice of not letting an asylum-seeker pass through a checkpoint was used periodically during the Obama administration, when border officers began turning away hundreds of Haitian asylum-seekers at ports of entry in California.

Advertisement Advertisement

Customs and Border Protection officers could stop undocumented migrants from physically setting foot on U.S. soil whenever they considered a border crossing too busy.

The policy was formalized during the first Trump administration, and the Biden administration lifted the policy but allowed exceptions.

As a result, immigrant rights groups say, asylum-seekers lived for months in makeshift camps on the Mexico side of the border without reliable food, shelter or safety.

Members of the CASA advocacy group hold Save Asylum signs during a press conference on Jan. 18, 2024.

Religious groups back migrants

Their lawsuit is backed by the Catholic Church and other religious organizations.

Every major faith tradition makes protecting the stranger a core value, said Liz Theoharis, executive director at the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice. For Christians like myself, protecting and welcoming the immigrant is one of Jesus first and most powerful teachings.

Advertisement Advertisement

More: Will the majority-Catholic Supreme Court listen to the church on immigration?

But Eric Wessan, the top appellate lawyer for the Iowa attorney generals office, said the justices probably agreed to take the case because they believe the appeals court misread the law.

As a textual matter, he said, I just find it really hard to believe that the Supreme Court that we have is going to interpret 'in the United States' to include people stopped outside the border that are not in the United States.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court debates policy of turning away asylum-seekers at border
As thousands of TSA workers go without pay amid a political standoff in Washington that has triggered a partial shutdown, Democrats and labor advocates say the dysfunction is not random. Over 30 days into a Department of Homeland Security funding crisis, TSA agents remain unpaid as negotiations stall over federal spending and voting legislation.

They argue the crisis reflects an intentional effort to weaken and ultimately restructure airport securityan idea that conservative lawmakers have floated for years.

Last week, the Senate advanced a short-term DHS funding measure to avoid a full shutdown, according to The Hill. But the impact is already felt by TSA agents and passengers alike. As airports deal with staffing concerns, workers are being pushed to the brink financially.

Advertisement Advertisement

For critics, that instability is the whole point. Their argument gained traction after reports that President Donald Trump privately urged Republicans to block a deal that would have funded TSA operations. Mediaite reported that Trump intervened in Democrats negotiations with Senate Republicans, urging them to block a funding deal to force movement on his so-called SAVE Act.

Political strategist Christopher Webb echoed that concern on X, writing that Trump had said the quiet part out loud by encouraging Republicans to stall funding in order to force movement on the SAVE Act. I hope TSA workers realize Trump is holding their paychecks hostage, Webb added.

Trump just said the quiet part out loud.



He told Republicans to block a deal that would pay TSA agents, so he could force the SAVE Act through.



I hope TSA workers realize Trump is holding their paychecks hostage. pic.twitter.com/KZ75LKfxST  Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) March 23, 2026

Photo: Megan Varner/Getty Images

The plot to privatize airport security

Introduced by Senate Republicans, the Abolish TSA Act, according to Congress.gov, would dismantle the agency within three years and shift airport screening responsibilities to private contractors under federal oversight. The bill directs DHS to submit a reorganization plan within 90 days and gradually reduce TSA personnel as operations move to private companies. It also requires ongoing federal reporting and congressional oversight throughout the transition.

Critics say this approach aligns with Project 2025, the conservative policy agenda backed by Trump allies, which clearly outlines plans to restructure the agency all together.

Advertisement Advertisement

According to an onlabor.org report published in 2025, Chapter 5 of the 900-page document states that [u]ntil it is privatized, TSA should be treated as a national security provider, and its workforce should be deunionized immediately.

Political strategist Shea Jordan Smith pointed to that framework in a post via X, describing how funding cuts push workers out and start to strain the system, creating the conditions for privatization.

#Project2025 literally outlines a plan to privatize TSA.



But they cant do that while TSA is unionized.



Defund DHS  TSA agents miss paychecks  people quit  airports spiral  step in with emergency fixes  suddenly ICE shows up in airports as the privatized solution  Shea Jordan Smith (@shea_jordan) March 23, 2026

To Smiths point, Democracy Docket reported that former Trump adviser Steve Bannon suggested the administrations use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in major U.S. airports could serve as a test run ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. According to the administration, those officers are not conducting passenger screenings, but are instead assigned to roles such as monitoring exit lanes or checking identification.

Furthermore, this new form of airport safety wont just stop at Immigration and Customs officials, according to Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman. He reported via X that Trump said if ICE presence in airports is not enough, he would bring in the National Guard.

Advertisement Advertisement

For Black travelers, that kind of escalation raises real concerns. More law enforcement in transit spaces often means more surveillance and more policing, making routine travel feel like another place to be watched.

Demonstrators protest against ICE at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort. | Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images

What this means for Black workers and cities like Atlanta

Home to Hartsfield-Jackson, the worlds busiest airport, the city of Atlanta depends heavily on airport infrastructure as a source of employment, especially for Black workers in public sector and service roles. Missed paychecks can quickly increase financial pressure on communities already facing rapidly rising costs.

Sen. Raphael Warnock warned on X that withholding pay from TSA workers threatens both public safety and economic stability in states like Georgia, where the airport is a major economic engine.

We now know why Republicans in DC have been blocking TSA funding.



Its because President Trump wants to use TSA as leverage to pass his voter suppression bill.



Enough with the games. Fund TSA now.  Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) March 23, 2026

The warnings are now playing out in real time. Democrats introduce multiple bills to restore TSA funding, and they get blocked immediately. In the meantime, the workers responsible for keeping the nations airports secure remain unpaid, and the system continues to crumble.

Advertisement Advertisement

This moment raises the question: what is this actually meant to do? Regardless of the answer, the harm is clear, and its here. It is falling on the people most vulnerable to it.

Because when systems start to break down, its almost never the people in power who feel it first. Its the workers, the families and the communities left to deal with the consequences.







The post This TSA Debacle Wasnt A Mistake  It Was Planned appeared first on Blavity.
The defendants' lawyer asserted that they acted to "harm and deceive the Iranian enemy and should be awarded the Israel Prize for their contribution to the nation's security."

The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment against two brothers from the Judean Foothills for conducting espionage on behalf of Iranian agents, Walla reported on Tuesday.

The indictment, filed several weeks ago, was subject to a press embargo due to the nature of the investigation.

Advertisement Advertisement

The two brothers, from Beitar Illit and Beit Shemesh, respectively, were accused of serious security offenses of contact with a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy.

They received over NIS 100,000 from Iranian agents in exchange for information provided, much of which was fabricated.

The indictment describes how the main defendant deceived his Iranian handler by creating a false impression and providing information obtained through the use of Artificial Intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini.

The silhouette of a person, with Iran's flag in the background (illustrative). (credit: Canva/adi arianto, Wavebreakmedia from Getty Images)

The defendant then passed on information about a future Israeli-American attack in Iran, and a list of strategic locations in Iran found using AI and Google Maps.

Advertisement Advertisement

The defendant found personal details of an Iranian citizen and his wife on Telegram, passing them to the handler, along with a forged document he created, which implicated the "Iranian" with cooperating with Israel during strikes targeting senior Iranian regime officials during Operation Rising Lion in June, according to the indictment.

Defendant knew it was Iranian agent, decided to trick him

It also states that the connection was made in August when the agent contacted the defendant via Telegram, asking if he was interested in making money. The defendant, suspecting that the handler was an Iranian agent, responded positively, provided a fake name, and told the handler that he was a computer science student who was about to enlist in the IDF Intelligence Directorate's Unit 8200, responsible for Signal Intelligence and analysis of chatter.

The defendant later fabricated a story about having a friend in the unit, using the name of an actual person whose identity card and driver's license the defendant found online. He created a false impression with the agent by presenting screenshots of a supposed conversation that he had with the Unit 8200 soldier in which he tried to convince him to cooperate with the Iranian handler.

The defendant then created a Telegram group where the agent, the defendant, and "soldier," who was actually the defendant as well, were members. The agent then started chatting with the "soldier" and asked to send his ID card for verification.

Advertisement Advertisement

The defendant found a video of an unspecified Israeli citizen, as well as their driving license, and sent it to the agent. However, the agent was not satisfied with this and insisted on receiving a photograph of the "soldier" with an ID document, eventually agreeing to accept a picture of them making an "ok" hand gesture.

The defendant created this image using AI software, sending it to the agent, the indictment states. Later, the agent asked for a document proving that the "soldier" really served in Unit 8200, causing the defendant to send a forged document he found online, edited with the details of the "soldier."

Israel's role in Iran's Raisi's helicopter crash questioned

The indictment also revealed that after then-Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash, the agent asked the defendant if Israel was involved in the incident. The defendant said yes, sending a document created with ChatGPT, referencing Israel's involvement.

When the agent later sought to verify the credibility of the "soldier," the defendant used ChatGPT to answer several questions about Unit 8200 and the "soldier's" supposed role within the unit. He compiled details into a password-protected PDF file, sending it to the agent.

Advertisement Advertisement

In October, the defendant learned from his friend in Unit 8200 that part of his role was mapping different sites, the indictment noted. As a result of this, the defendant claimed that the "soldier" belonged to the mapping department of the unit, and told the agent that Unit 8200 used an advanced system based on AI and satellite assistance.

The agent later asked the defendant for information about the coordinates mapped by the unit, and the defendant found various coordinates across Iran using Google Maps. He created a PDF document, wrote coordinates and targets, including an airport in Tehran, a building with a senior regime official's residence, and a commercial factory suspected of being a weapons depot, sending this "document" to the agent.

In early January, amid the widespread anti-regime protests across Iran, the agent contacted the defendant, asking again about mapped sites, the indictment stated.

The defendant used Gemini to ask about targets for a US strike on Iran, and responses, including various pro-regime symbolic sites, were sent to the agent, later alerting the agent to an alleged heightened security alert at the Unit 8200 base.

Advertisement Advertisement

During his interactions with the agent, the defendant also passed on fabricated information about an Iranian citizen, whose details had been found on Telegram, and was used to allege collaboration with Israel in assisting the assassination of senior Iranian regime officials.

Using Grok, the defendant created a full narrative about the Iranian citizen's supposed involvement, stating that he could operate a drone and ride a motorcycle, and was recruited by "Israeli handlers" via a social media network.

The citizen was arrested, interrogated, and cleared of suspicion.

The defendant also learned from a military acquaintance studying with him at university that there was an expected development in Iran on January 7, the indictment mentions. The defendant informed the Iranian agent about this.

Advertisement Advertisement

Later, the defendant overheard a conversation between this military acquaintance and a senior military official in which one of the parties mentioned a decision to target Iranian infrastructure.

The defendant inferred that this conversation was regarding Iran and updated the agent, saying, "We received a date." Later in the conversation, the defendant also detailed what Israel's and the US's respective roles would be in an attack, gathering the information from Telegram channels.

Lawyer: This is 'an outrageous indictment'

"The indictment is outrageous," the defendant's lawyer said.

"As seen in the indictment materials, these are two patriotic Zionist brothers who sought to trick the Iranians. The Jewish mind is known for inventing patents, and as loyal sons of the start-up nation, they sold fabricated information to the Iranians using ChatGPT in exchange for money," the lawyer continued.

"Their intention was to harm and deceive the Iranian enemy, and they succeeded in doing so. Instead of filing an indictment in this unnecessary case, the state should award them the Israel Prize for their contribution to the nation's security," the lawyer asserted.
From machinists and nurses to environmentalists and abortion rights advocates, U.S. Rep. John B. Larson is rolling out a series of prominent endorsements in the four-way battle for Congress in Greater Hartford.

The biggest endorsement came from Planned Parenthood, which is a key player in Democratic politics and a sought-after backer in high-profile elections. Larson, 77, is running in his toughest race in more than 25 years as he battles former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin, state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest of West Hartford, and Hartford attorney Ruth R. Fortune. They are all raising money and collecting endorsements before a convention on May 11 to determine which candidates can receive at least 15% of the delegates to automatically qualify for the August primary.

Besides Planned Parenthood, Larson announced endorsements from a wide spectrum that includes The National Alliance for Retired Americans, Nurses for America, League of Conservation Voters, International Association of Machinists Union International, IAM District 26, and the Connecticut State Council of Machinists.

Advertisement Advertisement

Congressman Larson has been a champion for reproductive rights throughout his career, Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement released by Larsons campaign. In the state Senate, he helped make Connecticut the first state in the nation to enshrine abortion rights in state law. Today in Congress, Rep. Larson is fighting to protect these rights nationwide.

She added that Larson consistently opposed President Trump and Congressional Republicans defunding Planned Parenthood, and continues to fight to remove financial barriers to abortion care. Planned Parenthood Action Fund is proud to endorse Congressman Larson  a champion fighting back against attacks on reproductive freedom, protecting access to care, and ensuring every person can make their own decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures.

The League of Conservation Voters has been a longtime leader in environmental advocacy at the state Capitol in Hartford and at the national level.

As our climate and our democracy face unprecedented attacks, it has never been more important to elect fighters who will stand up for our rights and our planet, said Craig Auster, the vice president of political affairs for the LCV Action Fund. From creating thousands of clean energy jobs to co-sponsoring the Green New Deal and helping pass the hydrogen energy tax credit, Representative Larson has been a relentless champion for climate action. Hes also taken the fight directly to Trump, demanding the restoration of funding for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and opposing efforts to open new areas to offshore drilling.

Advertisement Advertisement

The National Alliance for Retired Americans serves more than 4 million members, and the AFL-CIO-created group focuses on strengthening retirement security nationwide. In addition, the Connecticut Alliance also endorsed him.

Congressman Larson has been fighting for American families on all fronts  working to cut costs, defend their rights, and protect and expand their hard-earned benefits like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, said Robert Roach, Jr., president of the Alliance for Retired Americans. Hes been one of the strongest fighters for workers, unions, and the retirement security of all American families. In the face of relentless attacks on our working families, seniors, and labor organizations, we need his leadership, tenacity, and unyielding vigor in the fight to expand access to the social safety net and protect the number 1 anti-poverty program in the world.

While Larsons campaign is touting the endorsement as indicative of widespread support from environmentalists to senior citizens, his opponents are not as impressed.

John can claim all the institutional endorsements in the world, but what were hearing from actual Democratic voters is a hunger for new energy and a new generation of Democratic leaders, Bronin, 46, said Monday. If were going to defend a womans right to choose, save our climate, or protect the right to organize and make our economy actually work for working families, its not going to happen by doing the same thing weve been doing for decades. Our country is in crisis, and we need to build a different kind of movement with a whole different kind of energy in our Democratic Party.

Advertisement Advertisement

After nearly 30 years in office, John Larson getting endorsements isnt surprising  thats how his version of Washington works, said Gilchrest, who recently turned 44. But voters know that on abortion, climate, labor rights, and dozens of other issues, things have only gotten worse over the last 30 years. Im happy to put my record against anyone in this race, and Im confident voters will see the difference.

Fortune, 37, said that she is looking to the future, rather than the past.

Congressman Larsons endorsements reflect a long career, but this election isnt about tenure, its about urgency, Fortune said Monday. Families in Connecticut cant afford to wait for change. I respect his service, but Im running to bring new energy, real-life experience, and accountability to Washington because the status quo isnt working for the people were supposed to serve.

She added, Congressman Larson is running his campaign as if things are normal and its just politics as usual. With unqualified and untrained ICE agents currently being deployed in United States airports, what is happening in our country is anything but normal. And it is going to take a new kind of leader to shake things up, get our country back on track and deliver massive reforms on Social Security, healthcare, affordability, living wage, education, immigration and more.

Advertisement Advertisement

Larsons campaign said that his growing coalition of support from workers, elected leaders, and national organizations reflect the strong network of support united behind his leadership and record of delivering results for Connecticut families.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
A man shot and killed on Chicago's South Side over the weekend has been identified as a UPS driver, his family said Tuesday.

Michael Hunter, 36, was found shot in the head early Sunday morning in the 8000-block of South Hermitage Avenue in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, police said.

Chicago police said he died on the scene.

Hunter's family on Tuesday was demanding justice, from the site of his death.

Advertisement Advertisement

They said he was trying to track down his stolen truck when he was killed.

His family is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

They said Hunter was their world.

"He was a provider; whenever you called, he was there," sister Tori O'Hearn said.

Hunter was a father of three.

He and his fiancee had recently bought a home together on the far South Side.

"I thought he would see me graduate and walk the stage," stepdaughter Brooklyn Nailer said.

"Michael meant everything to me; Michael was my heart, my soul," his fiancee Ryan Mitchell said.

Hunter's father tearfully explained he and his son were partners, and drove long-haul trucks for UPS, splitting the driving time.

Advertisement Advertisement

"They took my son, my driving partner," Michael Hunter Sr. said.

His family said they found Hunter's stolen truck the next day 3 miles away.

The family put up fliers in the area, asking for people to step up with information.

"Look at the hurt, and look at the pain you've caused. This family did not deserve this; this family deserves justice," philanthropist Early Walker said.

CPD Area Two Detectives are investigating the shooting.

Police did not immediately provide any additional information on what led up to the fatal shooting.

"Please, I beg you, the city of Chicago, to see this face. Know that he meant everything to us, and we are standing behind him. And we will not stop until justice is served," Mitchell said.

Advertisement Advertisement

His family said Hunter grew up in Auburn Gresham, and he had many friends and family in the area.

He had just visited his mom when his truck went missing, and he was shot.

INTERACTIVE SAFETY TRACKER Track crime and safety in your neighborhood
The USS Nimitz is deploying to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility for a maritime exercise with South American partner nations, the Navy announced on Monday.

The carrier, along with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley, will join countries to conduct passing exercises, undergo operations at sea and swap subject matter expertise.

The Southern Seas 2026 deployment provides a unique opportunity to enhance interoperability and increase proficiency with our partner-nation forces across the maritime domain, said Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet. Deployments like this demonstrate our unwavering commitment to ensuring a secure and stable Western Hemisphere.

Advertisement Advertisement

Representatives from South American countries, which include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Uruguay, will also observe U.S. aircraft carrier operations up close, the release said.

Port visits are scheduled for Brazil, Chile, Panama and Jamaica.

The exercise marks the 11th iteration of Southern Seas since 2007.

USS Nimitz heading to Middle East, defense official says

Since September 2025, U.S. Southern Command has overseen lethal military strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea in support of what the Pentagon has labeled counternarcotics efforts.

Advertisement Advertisement

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group includes its flagship, Nimitz, the embarked members of Carrier Strike Group 11, Commander Destroy Squadron 9, embarked Carrier Air Wing 17 and the USS Gridley.

Carrier Air Wing 17 is comprised of six squadrons flying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, C-2A Greyhounds and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks.

The service life of the USS Nimitz was extended to March 2027, a Navy official confirmed to Military Times on March 14.

The carrier, which was commissioned in 1975, was initially slated to return to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and be decommissioned in 2026.

The Nimitz most recently returned from a nine-month deployment to the U.S. 3rd, 5th and 7th Fleets that began March 21, 2025, when it set sail from Naval Base Kitsap, Washington.
Utahs efforts to keep the Intermountain Power Plants coal-powered units are still preliminary two years after the Legislature moved to block their planned closure. Now, lawmakers want to accelerate the process to re-open them by creating a new special district to ease the process for potential buyers for the plants coal generators.

That provision was included in a bill Santa Clara Republican Rep. Neil Walter sponsored this year expanding the Utah Energy Council from five to seven members. The council is a panel created in 2025 to coordinate and assess around-the-clock electrical energy developments.

According to Walter, the special district designation would work similarly to a water conservancy or a mosquito abatement district, and would help the council to raise funds, if needed, to complete the purchase of the coal generators at IPP, located in Delta.

Advertisement Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Were trying to facilitate that transaction, Walter said, and we need to be able to have a means to transfer them from Intermountain Power Agency to the Utah Energy Council, and then to be able to raise capital from the operations.

The bill is still waiting for the governors signature to become law.

The special district would be able to issue bonds and buy energy facilities, but it may not directly sell electricity to retail customers, according to the bill.

The state has had its eye on IPPs coal units for years, but it wasnt until 2024 that the Legislature passed a law requiring the Intermountain Power Agency, which owns the plant, to sell the generators to the state. Utahs plan was to then look for a third-party buyer to keep the units operating.

Advertisement Advertisement

That has been a controversial move, with the Intermountain Power Agency, which is transitioning to a multibillion-dollar natural gas facility, protesting the legislation. The agency argued that forcing the coal generators to remain open interferes with municipal control of assets that have been developed and operated without any public funds, and was at odds with environmental commitments the agency had made to the Environmental Protection Agency to pursue its new natural gas project.

Ultimately, lawmakers tweaked the legislation during a special session, after a request from the governor, and gave IPA more time to give a decommission notice and to submit air quality permit applications. The agency didnt oppose those changes, and since last November, IPP coal generators are no longer working.

The units, which have a capacity of roughly 1,800 megawatts, are still in an operable condition. But the state hasnt identified a buyer yet.

IPA is fine with the bill, John Ward, a spokesperson for the agency said about the recent special district proposal in an email. It creates financing options that might be useful for a buyer of the coal units if one can be identified by the Energy Council.

Advertisement Advertisement

Walter said the state is still on the first step of its plan to keep the coal units open longer. However, hes uncertain about a timeline to find a final buyer, months after the state received 14 responses to an initial request for information to gather data on companies interested in keeping the coal units going.

We did think it would go faster than it is going. So thats part of the reason why all the RFI ran earlier, Walter said. But were still in step one.

Since the other coal-powered plants in the state arent facing retirement soon, Walter said hes not anticipating needing this tool for other facilities.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
MOSCOW, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has acknowledged that a strike on Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant posed a threat to the facility's physical integrity, Russia's envoy to international organizations in Vienna said Tuesday.

Speaking at a briefing, Mikhail Ulyanov said IAEA director general Rafael Grossi had linked recent developments in Iran to the agency's seven key pillars of nuclear safety, effectively indicating violations, particularly regarding the physical protection of nuclear facilities.

Ulyanov noted that nuclear sites have become targets of attacks, which was previously hard to imagine, but is becoming increasingly frequent.

He added that actions by the United States and Israel in Iran dealt a serious blow to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28. The two countries carried out two airstrikes on the Natanz nuclear facilities on March 1, struck a building within the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant complex on March 17, and launched another strike on the Natanz uranium enrichment facility on March 21. 
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. For the Veteran Crisis Line, press 1, text 838255 or chat online. For information on resources available to Kentucky veterans, visit this site.

Donnie Distler, a 21-year Navy veteran who lives in Bloomfield, spent years as part of the stigma around mental health.

Then, right before retirement, he saw a military psychologist because his blood pressure was through the roof as he struggled with the anxiety of what his life would look like as a civilian.

Advertisement Advertisement

The embedded psych he saw broke down his misconceptions about what it means to need  and get  help, he said. He realized he was having a common experience and that help was available.

This time of transition between military and civilian life is a key stressor veterans face, experts say. They need strong community and ample resources during this time, which is why the Humana Foundation says it gave $5 million this month to Face the Fight to aid in the coalitions efforts to prevent veteran suicide.

The foundation helped found Face the Fight in 2023 alongside USAA and Reach Resilience. The coalition now has 300 partners. In 2025, Face the Fight gave money to a slew of organizations aimed at supporting veterans and their families and preventing suicide, including the Crisis Text Line and the Wounded Warrier Project.

Veterans may also be feeling some angst around the U.S. military actions in the Middle East that have already resulted in the deaths of at least 13 American soldiers, including Kentuckians Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, and Tech Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown.

Advertisement Advertisement

Its hard for all of us that love those that serve and have served, and those that care, and you cant help but  have some angst about what could happen, said Babs Chase, executive director of the Face the Fight Coalition, who spoke with the Lantern before Penningtons and Pruitts deaths were announced. These are our friends. This is our community, and you feel that loss so broad, and you take that to heart.

Tiffany Benjamin (Photo provided)

Deaths in the community are all the more reason for mental health support, Chase said. The more we look out for each other and make sure its OK to let people know youre struggling, and then you lift everybody up at the same time.

According to a 2025 VA report on veteran suicide, Kentucky had a rate of 39.3 veteran suicides per 100,000 people in 2023, the 17th highest in the nation.

What we know is the veteran suicide rate is higher than that for civilians, and we just sort of felt like for people whove done so much for us, we should do something to help address stigma, but then also reduce that rate across the board, Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation, told the Lantern.

Advertisement Advertisement

The $5 million will help fund grants that focus on underserved veterans and community based solutions to prevent suicide, Benjamin said. That includes a focus on veterans with historically less access to resources: those in rural areas, women and younger veterans, for example.

Not all the money will stay in Kentucky, but Chase said veterans need to be able to access help anywhere. Particularly in the military community, people are moving around, she said, so we want to make sure that people have access to resources close to home, but also these are programs that can help them, no matter where they end up landing.

Part of something

Distler, the Kentucky veteran who now works at Humana, said the transition back to civilian life is difficult because it is a time of routine adjustment.

When we were a part of the military, we were a part of something, and the same thing happened every day at the same time. The flag goes up at 08, rain or shine, no matter where you are in the world, thats something we can count on, he said. And you know what else you can count on? The people to your left and to your right. And you just keep walking that line. Thats what we did.

Donnie Distler (photo provided)

Becoming a civilian means losing that stability and embedded trust in the people around you, which many veterans seek out through community-based programs and organizations that the Humana grant money will support.

Advertisement Advertisement

My personal experience with these kind of organizations is its a place where the community that you once had still exists, Distler said.

Theres no one single approach that cares and cures and solves this problem with veteran suicide, right? he added. Theres not a one-size-fits-all answer. But what there is is bringing people together, putting resources on the table, and showing people the impact in that.

Face the Fight has a goal of saving 15,000 veteran lives by 2032. Chase said coalition efforts have saved an estimated 6,500 so far.

We understand this is not a problem you solve in 10 minutes, Benjamin said, and it was really important for us to pick a long term goal.

Fighting stigma with hope

Distler believes stigma around mental health is often tied to pride and social isolation exacerbated by technology.

Advertisement Advertisement

I feel like we are more socially involved in a screen than we are socially involved with one another, he said.

In the military, strength is the thing that is often exemplified, but we really believe that true strength is saying, I need help, Benjamin said. True strength is saying, Im not OK and I need someone to help me pull through.

The more conversations people have about stigma, Chase said, the more it will dissolve.

I think we are seeing a culture shift because theres more conversations around the fact, she said. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to that shift, Benjamin said.

I think COVID really laid bare some of the challenges that already existed, and we sort of globally went through some real mental health trauma, she said. For all the downsides of that, it opened up everyone having a conversation about mental health.

Advertisement Advertisement

With more openness comes increased hope, said Chase.

Veteran suicide is not inevitable, she said. It is preventable, but it takes all of us coming together to make that difference.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Former Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton has died after being hit by a car earlier Monday in a hit-and-run crash in the Hineston area, according to the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office confirmed Hilton's death just after 6 p.m., saying the "facts of the incident are still under investigation."

"Sheriff Hilton's leadership, dedication and service to our community have left a lasting impact, and we know this loss will be felt by many parish, state and country wide."

Advertisement Advertisement

The name of the person taken into custody has not been released by the sheriff's office, which cites the "ongoing and complex investigation" in its initial news release. That was reiterated in the release announcing Hilton's death.

The report of a hit-and-run crash "where the suspect allegedly ran over the victim and intentionally fled the scene" came in just before 1 p.m., according to the release.

Hilton was taken to a hospital by a helicopter.

No new date: Federal trial for 5 men accused in Cenla visa fraud scheme continued

Lake Rodemacher crash: NTSB expected Monday at Boyce-area site of plane crash

Advertisement Advertisement

'Messed everything up': Former Louisiana trooper sentenced to prison

The suspect was driving a blue Nissan Moreno, and it was spotted on La. Highway 28 West at Leavines Road "traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed," it reads. The driver would not stop and was driving at speeds higher than 100 mph.

Spike strips were placed on La. 28 West at Cloverleaf Boulevard, which is near the Walmart Supercenter. After running over those, the driver stopped and was taken into custody.

In announcing Hilton's death, the sheriff's office urged people to keep "his family, friends and the RPSO family in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this difficult time together."

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Former Rapides Sheriff William Earl Hilton dies after hit-and-run crash
A bill that passed the New Hampshire Senate earlier this year proposes something that might sound familiar: funneling millions from the Renewable Energy Fund, designed to finance investment in green projects statewide, into the general fund.

That was one of the many provisions of last years biennial budget trailer bill, House Bill 2, which was signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte in June 2025. The budget called for a surplus of approximately $15 million, plus millions in annual revenue, to be transferred from the Renewable Energy Fund to the general fund in 2026 and 2027, leaving $1 million for programs and a similar amount for administrative costs. It also removed residential solar projects from the list of projects the fund could finance.

However, when another bill from last years session, House Bill 682, took effect on Sept. 30, those changes were inadvertently undone, leaving the Renewable Energy Fund in limbo. Now, another bill, Senate Bill 599, seeks to restore the Renewable Energy Fund sweep as outlined in last years budget.

Advertisement Advertisement

SB 599s prime sponsor, Loudon Republican Sen. Howard Pearl, said the bill would restore the intentions of the Legislature as passed in last years budget.

But Sam Evans-Brown, executive director of Clean Energy New Hampshire, said he was disappointed by what he saw as a lack of transparency from the Department of Energy and legislators regarding the evolving status of the Renewable Energy Fund and related bills. Those who oppose the weakening of the fund in this biennium, he said, missed a chance to oppose the move in the Senate because of the confusion.

Instead of government transparency, we had some government obfuscation, he said.

Bill timing complicated Renewable Energy Fund status

HB 682, the legislation that complicated the sweep, was sponsored by Strafford Republican Rep. Michael Harrington. The bill removed offshore wind energy from the purview of one of the departments funded by the Renewable Energy Fund, redirecting department focus away from the technology.

Advertisement Advertisement

To do so, it amended the statute that establishes the fund, working off a pre-budget version of that language. HB 682 cleared the House and Senate before the budget was signed, but it reached Ayottes desk after, and ultimately took effect that fall. Thus, on Sept. 30, HB 682 undid some of the changes to the Renewable Energy Fund statute that had been included in the budget.

That included cancelling the planned transfer to the general fund of Renewable Energy Fund dollars, Sen. David Watters, a Dover Democrat, said at a Jan. 8 meeting of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Flip-flopping status of Renewable Energy Fund went largely unnoticed

Harrington said in an interview Wednesday that undoing the budgets provisions had not been his intention. He said he was not aware of unintended effects of HB 682s passage. Harrington does not believe investment in renewable energy benefits ratepayers, he said, and he supported the move in last years budget to sweep the Renewable Energy Fund.

Initially, the changes also escaped the notice of Renewable Energy Fund supporters, said Evans-Brown. Believing that the fund had already been swept, he did not initially consider the second bill, SB 599, significant.

Advertisement Advertisement

Susan Richman, of the New Hampshire Network for Environment, Energy, and Climate, is the only party listed on the Senate hearing report for SB 599 as opposing the measure. On Wednesday, she said she did not know, at the time, the full context of the bill, but broadly opposed the weakening of the Renewable Energy Fund.

At that January hearing, Watters, who introduced the bill on Pearls behalf, noted the conflict between HB 682 and the budget. The intent of SB 599 was to correct that, he said, and to do so in alignment with the terms the Senate had pushed for during the budget process, including the conservation of the Department of Energy administrative funding contained within the Renewable Energy Fund.

This would keep the fund intact and functioning, said Pearl in an interview Wednesday. Without it, the fund was going to be defunct. Pearl said the sweeping of the Renewable Energy Fund was necessary because of the tight budget year in 2025.

We need that money, and were spending it, said Watters in January.

Advertisement Advertisement

At the hearing, Megan Stone, legislative liaison for the New Hampshire Department of Energy, and Christopher Ellms, then-deputy commissioner of the department, answered questions about the intended breakdown of remaining funds between administrative and grant funding, but did not provide additional testimony on the bill. Stone is listed on the hearing report as neutral.

Evans-Brown said the quiet treatment of SB 599 had allowed the bill, and the situation it seeks to address, to fly under the radar until it passed through the Senate in February.

The passage of HB 682 also reverted the statutory duties of the department to their pre-budget state, including requiring them to invest Renewable Energy Fund dollars in energy projects.

In her email statement, Stone said the department could not do so because the funding had already been swept by the time HB 682 went into effect. That, she said, left the department without money to invest in such programs beyond what was funded with the $1 million conserved in the budget: $500,000 for a low- and moderate-income community solar program and $500,000 for a non-residential competitive grant program.

Advertisement Advertisement

Stone said the Department of Energy had identified the conflict after HB 682 went into effect and notified the office of the Legislative Budget Assistant.

Some see SB 599 as a simple fix, others a missed opportunity

We are against this, because the REF [Renewable Energy Fund] is one of the remaining bits of state support for renewables, said Reinmar Seidler, of the New Hampshire Network. Seidler also hadnt known about the conflict that preceded SB 599, which he said would weaken the fund considerably.

When the Renewable Energy Fund was initially gutted in last years budget, renewable energy advocates criticized the move and laid blame on the Department of Energy, saying that sluggish management of the fund and its programs had limited its ability to deliver results while allowing the surplus to accrue in the first place. But opponents said the surplus was evidence that the program was not functioning, and questioned the role of the state in encouraging renewable energy development.

Regardless of the outcome of SB 599, the future of New Hampshires Renewable Energy Fund beyond this biennium remains unclear. As clean energy advocates had pushed for during last years budget process, the current language of SB 599 deals only with this two-year period.

Advertisement Advertisement

Pearl said he intended SB 599 to keep the Renewable Energy Fund alive after this biennium.

I felt it was important to make sure we preserve that for the future, as we were going forward, he said.

However, other bills this session propose changes to the Renewable Energy Fund that would weaken or sweep it in 2028 and beyond, including by rebating its funding to individual ratepayers.

SB 599 passed the full Senate on a voice vote on Feb. 19. It will next be heard before the House Committee on Science, Technology, and Energy, though the date of that hearing is not yet available.
During a visit to Memphis March 23, President Donald Trump told the crowd about his love for Tennessee, going so far as saying he might move here.

The president was in town to discuss the work of the Memphis Safe Task Force, which began working to reduce crime in September 2025, following the president's executive order.

"I love Tennessee," Trump said while expressing his appreciation for the support he receives in the state. "Maybe someday I'll move to Tennessee, I might have to move."

Advertisement Advertisement

The president also mentioned a visit to Graceland, where he toured Elvis Presley's home and signed a guitar.

President Trump visits Graceland  the iconic home of Elvis Presley  pic.twitter.com/1BeNeiE7se  The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 23, 2026

Why was Trump in Memphis?

Trump made a stop in Memphis on March 23, to promote the victories of the Memphis Safe Task Force, which began working to reduce crime in September 2025, following the president's executive order.

During his speech, the president discussed the drop in crime, the increase in arrests, and the overall shift in the city's perception.

The multi-agency task force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement organizations, has made 7,240 arrests and seized 1,188 firearms since operations began in September 2025, according to the White House.

Advertisement Advertisement

The stage included Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, among other state and federal public officials.

Related: Trump, Lee tout Memphis Safe Task Force results in Bluff City

State Reps. Mark White and John Gillespie, both Republicans representing portions of Shelby County, and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti were also in attendance.

How to watch Trump's Memphis speech?

Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal and Tennessee. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Video shows Trump saying he loves Tennessee so much, he might move
(The Center Square)  New York City officials are weighing potential changes to school funding as enrollment declines, with fiscal analysts warning the current system is increasingly disconnected from student needs.

At a hearing Monday on the NYC Department of Educations $38 billion Fiscal Year 2027 preliminary budget, the Citizens Budget Commission told the city council that New York could save more than $400 million annually by tying school funding more closely to actual enrollment.

Public school enrollment has dropped 17% over the past decade, and overall enrollment across all school types is down by more than 118,000 students. Projections show a further decline of nearly 70,000 students by 2033.

Advertisement Advertisement

Ana Champeny, the commission's vice president for research, said the trend is driven by falling birth rates and families leaving the Big Apple.

This provides city lawmakers the opportunity to rationalize school budgets, saving money without shortchanging students or schools by allocating resources based on actual enrollment, Champeny said.

Since the 202021 school year, the city has maintained a policy allowing schools to keep funding levels even as enrollment declines. Analysts say that approach has led to a growing gap between school budgets and student populations.

Hundreds of school buildings are now underused, with 380 operating below 60% capacity, while many schools have shrunk to sizes that drive up per-student costs, the commission showed. In 2024, New York leads as the highest per-pupil spending state, at $32,284.

Advertisement Advertisement

Some lawmakers questioned whether New York City should continue funding schools with declining enrollment.

City Councilmember Phil Wong, D-District 30, raised concerns during the hearing.

At what point do we acknowledge are we funding empty seats? Wong said.

Education officials caution against abrupt funding changes, arguing that stability remains critical for schools serving vulnerable communities and recovering from the pandemic.

Nobody wants to think about removing funds, if you will, from a school, New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels responded. Were continuing to have those difficult conversations within DOE, and no decision has been made.

Advertisement Advertisement

The commission also called for changes at the state level, including relief from the class size reduction mandate, which is projected to cost the city $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2027.

The chancellors office did not respond to The Center Squares request for comment.
Increasing settler violence and reprisals in the West Bank are drawing international condemnation, with leaders warning that lawlessness could undermine security and Israels democratic foundations.

In the last several days, the increasing frequency of attacks on Arab civilians in the West Bank has received attention both in Israel and abroad.

Recently, US Senator Jacky Rosen wrote on X/Twitter, The coordinated attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank at the hands of Israeli extremists are unacceptable, and the perpetrators must be arrested and prosecuted. Violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank is a national security threat to Israel and must be treated as such.

Advertisement Advertisement

As The Jerusalem Post reported three days ago, Israeli civilians committed over 20 attacks against Palestinian villages and towns in the West Bank on Saturday night, Israeli media reported. At least 11 Palestinians were injured during the widespread attacks, and dozens of vehicles and buildings were set on fire.

These attacks, reportedly consisting of groups of Jewish teens and adults attacking Arab villages in the West Bank, have become increasingly common. Videos from several incidents show dozens of individuals running through the streets, attacking homes, burning cars. According to those who support or excuse the attacks, the perpetrators are angry over the murder of Jews and have decided to take the law into their own hands. Hence, they carry out reprisals against random Arabs in random towns.

Israeli security forces clash with Jewish settlers during the evacuation of Illegal structures in Tzur Misgavi, an outpost in Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, November 17, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/NAAMA STERN)

West Bank attacks fuel concerns over governance

Last week, Israels IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir condemned the violence in the West Bank, calling it morally and ethically unacceptable.

He noted that, in recent months, there has been an increase in nationalist crime incidents, some of which are directed against our troops and toward civilian populations. It is unacceptable that, during a multi-front war, the IDF is also forced to confront a threatening minority from within. These are rioters who do not represent the greater population. In reality, they endanger residents, security, stability, and our values as a people and as a state. I call on all authorities in the country to act against this phenomenon and stop it before it is too late.

Advertisement Advertisement

Former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, wrote on X, This must stop. Israeli authorities must put a stop to it. And the US administration should make clear what it calls for and expects.

Earlier this month, the German Ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, stated, It is possible and necessary to be appalled by both: Iran using cluster bombs against Israeli civilians, and five Palestinians killed in one weekend of settler violence. My best wishes to the injured in Tel Aviv and sincere condolences to the bereaved families in the West Bank.

He also noted on March 22, the violent settler rampage in Palestinian villages following the tragic and to-be-investigated death of one of their own.

Israels Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar slammed Seibert, claiming, Ambassador Seibert finds it very difficult to condemn attacks against Israelis without bringing up the Palestinians. His obsession with Jews living in Judea and Samaria prevents him from even condemning the death of a Jew caused by a Palestinian.

Advertisement Advertisement

The response to the rising violence and lawlessness in the West Bank is unclear. In some cases, the IDF has bolstered its forces in the West Bank because of the chaos. However, the IDF does not have police power; it cant investigate, arrest, or press charges.

When a home or car is burned, or when a person is shot, an investigation is required. That requires authorities to treat the victims as deserving of having rights to life, liberty, and property. These are basic concepts that have underpinned the concept of law and order in most countries for thousands of years. These concepts, such as the right to a trial or basic aspects of police work to investigate crimes, are foundations of Western civilization. This is what separates countries of law and order from those that are run by mob violence. This has always been a basic challenge for societies.

A strong modern country has the rule of law. Failed societies and states generally do not have rule of law and become Hobbesian places where survival of the fittest or law of the jungle is the norm. Usually, this results in people retreating back to the concept of tribes or clans, or even gangs, in order to find protection.

This spectrum of law to chaos forms the first scene in the filmThe Godfather when a father comes to Don Corleone to ask for help regarding an injustice to his daughter. He says that men attempted to rape his daughter, and they beat her, but a judge suspended their sentence and let the men go. He wants justice. He wants them killed. The Godfather says he will help, but notes that killing these men is not a just response. In this case, we see how justice has failed to protect a community. Subsequently, some members of that community seek mob justice.

Advertisement Advertisement

Although the scene is poignant and moving, most of us would prefer a society where we dont have to go to a mafia don to get justice. However, while most of us wouldnt want the mafia running our lives, we look at the West Bank, and we dont always draw the same line between chaos and law.

One argument about settler violence asserts it is a myth. This is the stance taken in an article by the publication Tablet.

The argument asserts, depending on who makes it, that Palestinians are the ones causing more violence. The assertion is that we should focus on them. This is kind of a two wrongs make a right argument.

Some Arabs commit violence, and then several Jews retaliate by attacking random Arabs. Then, in response, Arabs attack random Jews. When examining this, the article argues that we should assess the situation and decide which side is more violent. The theory is that, when a few Arabs do something wrong, communal revenge is normal, and we should downplay it because the others are worse.

Advertisement Advertisement

This concept of community-based violence  of tribes taking revenge  can be found in places like Syria or Afghanistan, or the Congo. When Bedouin in Syria justify attacks on Druze or Kurds, they argue that the Druze did it first or a Kurd took down a Syrian flag and insulted it. Their excuse is that if one Druze or one Kurd does something wrong, then the whole community should be attacked. Similarly, in Pakistan, when members of the minority Hindu or Christian community are accused of a crime, the entire community is attacked.

Is the West Bank, controlled by Israel for 59 years, becoming like Afghanistan, the Congo, or Syria in terms of lawless communal violence?

It would be surprising if Israel, which built Iron Dome and is considered one of the most hi-tech success stories in the world, cant enforce basic law and order.

The challenge in the West Bank boils down to providing Arabs with the right not to be attacked and not having their homes, cars, and businesses burned. This means giving them the right to testify and press charges, taking statements, and creating files and reports for each incident. Treating the incidents as nationalist violence that can be addressed with more troops doesnt provide an answer. Troops are not trained to be police; they cant take statements, nor can they investigate or create a court case.

Advertisement Advertisement

Some argue that Israel should annex or extend sovereignty to the West Bank. This means having laws for everyone and reducing lawlessness.

The essence of Zionism argued that Jews should be able to create a country like other countries. Law and order was a basic agenda of David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, and all the early Zionists and founders. They gifted Israel with a strong sense of law and order, not mob rule. In fact, preventing mob rule was a basic agenda of Israels politicians in 1950 after the War of Independence.

One of the key documents that led to Israels creation is the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Israels Foreign Affairs Ministry has a copy of the text and an explainer on its website: The Balfour Declaration recognized not only the inalienable rights of the Jewish people, but it also stipulated that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration made clear that supporting Jewish rights did not preclude the rights and liberties of the Arab side.

Israels own Foreign Affairs Ministry notes this. Arabs in the West Bank deserve rights and liberties. Among those rights are to be secure in their homes and property. If their homes are burned, they should be able to press charges.

Those who see Israel as part of the West and Western civilization should want the basic concepts of law and order applied to the West Bank.
On day 2 of the Kelsey Fitzsimmons trial, Officer Patrick Noonan testified that it was possible he called her a whack job after, as he claimed, she tried to kill him.

Former North Andover officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons is accused of pointing a gun at fellow officers as they attempted to serve a restraining order at her home last year. The order was filed by her former fiance, Justin Aylaian, who said he feared for his life and the life of his child.

Live court video, updates: Day 2 of trial for ex-North Andover police officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons

Advertisement Advertisement

Fitzsimmons defense team argues that she was experiencing postpartum depression and was attempting to take her own life, not injure her fellow officers, when Noonan shot her once in the chest.

During extensive cross-examination, Noonan testified that Fitzsimmons pulled a gun at my face and pulled the trigger while he was upstairs with her as she packed belongings for the baby.

Noonan also said he did not know Fitzsimmons well, despite the defenses claim that the two had previously responded to calls together and exchanged text messages. The defense referenced a murder-suicide call they worked on together in October 2024.

I was being a senior officer trying to help out a rookie, Noonan said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Defense attorney Tim Bradl asked, Is it possible you called her a whack job to your neighbor?

Its possibleafter she tried to kill me, Noonan responded.

Noonan added that at the time, he believed he may have been in the way of Fitzsimmons attempting to harm her fiance, who was downstairs.

The defense also questioned Noonan about whether he was drug tested after the incident and whether he continued working paid details while on leave.

The defense also read prior testimony from Noonan regarding the shooting: She reached up and grabbed my hand and asked why, and she looked right through me, like a death stare.

Advertisement Advertisement

You didnt say anything about that in your testimony before, did you? the defense asked.

Noonan said he did not remember.

Noonan was also questioned about his account of firing shots at Fitzsimmons when she allegedly pulled a gun on him. He testified that he fired twice in rapid succession, but also stated that he fired, gave Fitzsimmons commands, and then fired again.

Noonan said Fitzsimmons tried to fire at him twice, but her gun misfired.

Gun expert testimony

Another key witness on Day 2 was Detective Michael Bonasoro of the Massachusetts State Police, who examined the firearms involved in the case. He testified that the spent shell casings recovered matched Officer Noonans gun. However, he acknowledged under cross-examination that not all collected evidence was logged. He also stated he found no malfunctions in any of the firearms, including Fitzsimmons gun.

Officer testimony

Officer Timothy Houston also took the stand. He told the court he had been invited to Fitzsimmons wedding and remained in contact with her while she was on maternity leave.

Advertisement Advertisement

Houston said that when he went to the home to serve the restraining order, he was aware Fitzsimmons had previously been sectioned but did not know the details. He testified that she appeared surprised to see the officers and tried to get him to go downstairs while he was upstairs with her. He also said Fitzsimmons told him she wanted Justin Aylaian to leave the house when he arrived to pick up the baby. When he heard the shots fired, he ran upstairs and heard Kelsey say three times: Im sorry.

Whats next

The prosecution is expected to rest its case. On Thursday, the defense is expected to take the judge to Fitzsimmons home, where the incident occurred, for a viewing.

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
HONG KONG, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 Implementation Rules for Amending the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) were gazetted on Monday and came into effect on this day, the HKSAR government said.

The amendment rules were made by the HKSAR chief executive, in conjunction with the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR based on the valuable experience gained by the HKSAR in safeguarding national security, which will help enhance the HKSAR's capability to continuously safeguard national security.

Article 43 of the national security law in Hong Kong stipulates the various measures that law enforcement authorities of the HKSAR may take when handling cases concerning offences endangering national security, and authorizes the HKSAR chief executive, in conjunction with the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR, to make relevant implementation rules for the relevant measures.

According to the relevant provisions, the HKSAR has a constitutional duty to continue to improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security, in order to continuously and effectively prevent, suppress, and impose punishment for acts and activities that endanger national security.

The Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR, made by the HKSAR chief executive in conjunction with the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR, for the first time came into effect on July 7, 2020.

In the course of handling cases concerning offences endangering national security and the application of the implementation rules over the past several years, the HKSAR has gained some practical and implementation-related experiences. With reference to these experiences, as well as relevant court cases, the HKSAR chief executive, in conjunction with the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR, made the amendment rules to enhance measures that the law enforcement authorities of the HKSAR may take and further clarify relevant legal procedures and technical arrangements, so as to strengthen the enforcement power of law enforcement authorities, prevent and investigate cases concerning offences endangering national security more effectively, and prevent and mitigate risks to national security in a timely manner.

A spokesperson for the HKSAR government said that the making of the amendment rules is in conformity with the HKSAR Basic Law, including the provisions concerning human rights, as well as the relevant provisions under the national security law in Hong Kong.

The amendment rules set out stringent requirements by providing in detail under what circumstances the law enforcement authorities can exercise the powers; and incorporating mechanisms with the judiciary playing the gatekeeping role for various measures introduced by the amendment rules, with a view to ensuring that when law enforcement officers carry out various measures, acts and activities endangering national security can be effectively prevented, suppressed and punished, and at the same time the lawful rights and interests of individuals and organizations are adequately protected in accordance with the requirements of Article 4 and Article 5 of the national security law in Hong Kong, the spokesperson added. 
Marine wildlife experts have again failed to free a whale that has been stranded off Germany's Baltic Sea coast, with the latest attempt using a sand dredger proving unsuccessful on Tuesday.

Rescuers attempted to suck up the sand from beneath the animal, which has been stranded at Timmendorfer Beach since early on Monday, in order to free it.

"Unfortunately, it turned out that the sand was too compact," said Stephanie Gross from the Institute of Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW).

Advertisement Advertisement

"We will try everything to save the animal," local mayor Sven Partheil-Bohnke vowed.

Different equipment is en route to the scene but it not expected until Wednesday afternoon, she added. A fresh attempt is to be made on Thursday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the whale, which is surrounded by shallow water, was measured using a drone.

The 10-metre-long animal is a humpback whale and is probably a young male, according to Sea Shepherd, a marine advocacy group.

The group said it likely got stuck while migrating and it might be the same whale repeatedly sighted in the area this month.

Stranding site cordoned off over a wide area

The beach around the stranding site has been cordoned off with construction fencing and red-and-white barrier tape. Curious onlookers have approached the scene, with parents lifting their children into the air so they can catch a glimpse of the whale.

Advertisement Advertisement

"It is sad for the animal. You don't want to be gawking," said one walker whose family lives in nearby Niendorf. She hopes the whale will be freed.

Another walker said she simply felt sorry for the whale. Other passers-by expressed similar views.

"The poor guy. I hope he can still be rescued," said Stefan Stauch, who came with his wife from Scharbeutz, a few kilometres away.

Initial rescue attempts unsuccessful

The high tide around midnight was not enough for the massive marine mammal to be able to swim free, a police spokesman said. Several attempts to get the whale off the sandbank since early Monday have all failed.

Advertisement Advertisement

The rescue measures were repeatedly disrupted by onlookers, Mayor Partheil-Bohnke said. Some had tried to approach the animal by boat or bypass barriers. Attempts to get close panicked the whale and made the already complex measures even more difficult.

Euthanasia not an option

Killing the young humpback whale to spare it possible suffering is not an option, according to ITAW head Ursula Siebert. There are international agreements on what can be done and how.

"The bigger the whale is, the more difficult the whole thing becomes," Siebert said. The local conditions are also unfavourable.

The German Oceanographic Museum said that the water is too shallow for the whale but too deep for a targeted killing. "In addition, there is no reliable method of euthanasia for such a large whale that can completely rule out further suffering."

Extremely difficult situation

The German Oceanographic Museum told dpa it was an extremely difficult situation in which experts on site would have to weigh every measure and decision very carefully.

Advertisement Advertisement

"Euthanasia would be very difficult under the circumstances prevailing" in the area "as the whale is still in the water."

Longer it is stranded, the weaker the whale becomes

It is very difficult to assess how the whale is actually doing, Siebert said. The animal is still in good nutritional condition but has had skin changes. The longer it lies in its current position, the weaker it will become. At the moment, however, the assessment is that it still has the will to live.

Experts at the Oceanographic Museum access the whale's survival chances as low.

"The whale's state of health is worrying, both in terms of its skin and its general condition." And even if it is freed, the Baltic Sea is not suitable for the whale in the long term, they said. There are numerous disturbances, for example from shipping, and there are also bottlenecks in Danish waters.

Masters of song, leaps and hunting

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are found in all polar to tropical seas. They mainly stay in the open sea but can also be found close to the coast, especially in breeding areas.

Lengths of more than 10 metres and weights of 30 tons are possible. A characteristic feature is their long pectoral fins, known as flippers, which can reach a third of the body length.

A suction dredger is being used to create a passage for a whale stranded on the Baltic Sea coast near Niendorf. Biologists hope the animal will then be able to move into deeper water on its own. Police have cordoned off the area to avoid disturbing the whale. Ulrich Perrey/dpa
Its Whale Watching Week in Oregon, which means coastal visitors will get the chance to spot gray whales as they swim north to their Arctic feeding grounds.

Each winter, gray whales travel to the warm tropical waters of Baja California, Mexico where they reproduce and raise their calves. In the spring, they migrate north to Alaskan waters where they spend the next five to six months eating enough crustaceans along the ocean floor to energize them for the remainder of the year.

Its the longest migration of any mammal on the planet, said Josh Stewart, an assistant professor at Oregon State Universitys Marine Mammal Institute.

Advertisement Advertisement

But as much as tourists come from worldwide to gather along Oregons cliffs and shores to whale watch, these beloved marine mammals arent immune to the impacts of climate change.

Scientists say fewer whales may swim by compared to prior years. In 2025, scientists estimated the eastern North Pacific gray whale population was at about 13,000. Thats the lowest number since the 1970s  the decade when they were listed as an endangered species. Gray whales have since been delisted, but reproduction among the species remains low, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

While gray whale populations have historically fluctuated with natural cycles in food availability, the ongoing decline is lasting longer than normal and scientists have seen fewer calves since 2019, Stewart said.

Thats because the Arctic sea ice, which helps store nutrients that sustain the crustaceans whales eat, is melting earlier in the year  disrupting the food chain whales depend on.

Advertisement Advertisement

These feeding areas that they migrate such long distances to are warming four times as quickly as the rest of the planet on average, and thats having a major impact on their prey availability, Stewart said.

For more information about Whale Watching Week in Oregon, visit the Oregon State Parks website.

Other impacts, including ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, pose threats to whale populations.

This distant Arctic ecosystem thats warming is impacting species that we care about, that are economically valuable for our coastal communities and that pass right by our shores, he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Each year, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department helps tens of thousands of visitors learn about gray whales during Whale Watching Week, which began Saturday and ends March 29. From Astoria to Brookings, volunteers and park rangers between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. are stationed at 15 locations across the coast to help spot whales and answer visitor questions.

Spring is a great time for whale watching because the gray whale migration can be a bit closer on their return trip north, usually within a few miles from shore, Oregon State Park ranger Peter McBride said in a statement. As we get later into the spring, we can sometimes see the mothers with calves in tow.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Senate Republicans are nearing a deal with the White House to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security after Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, visited with President Donald Trump and other administration officials Monday evening.

It would likely involve a funding agreement with Democrats to reopen most of DHS, except for certain buckets of immigration enforcement.

Theres a wrinkle, though: The more money in the deal for Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, the more changes to immigration enforcement that Democrats will insist on, a Democratic senator said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Trump also wants assurances that portions of the voter ID and citizenship verification bill can move  likely in a party-line budget reconciliation bill.

Still, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins said shes optimistic that DHS will be funded by the end of the week.
More than 100 Trump family members, supporters, and advisors were targets of Democrats lawfare after the 2020 presidential election, including more than a dozen Trump lawyers who were disbarred, or suffered other financially devastating discipline for giving legal advice to Trump and his campaign.

Jim Troupis is one of those lawyers. Troupis spent more than 30 years at the pinnacle of Wisconsins legal profession before his life was turned upside down for advising Donald Trump about potential fraud in the 2020 election. The abuse began with frivolous complaints to the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) and state bar. Then, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, another Democrat seeking fame in the pantheon of Donald Trump-haters, unfathomably indicted Troupis for doing that which Kaul said he should do.

It violates due process for a state to indict someone for following its advice, or to suppress exculpatory evidence. Yet, Kaul did both, leveraging misconceptions about alternative electors to falsely allege that Troupis led Republicans to commit election fraud.

Advertisement Advertisement

Troupis received his law degree from Northwestern University and began his career in Illinois, before moving to Madison, Wisconsin. There, as chair of the litigation practice at Michael Best & Friedrich, he was instrumental in taking the firm from 12 lawyers to a nationwide force. Troupis was highly respected for his counsel on election law, with clients such as the Republican Party, governors, judges, the state legislature, numerous presidential campaigns, and voter integrity programs. He was a principal author of Wisconsins recount statute and election law, and served on the Special Joint Legislative Committee on Election Law. From 2015 to 2016, he was a circuit court judge.

Shortly after the 2020 presidential election, Trump advisor Reince Priebus recruited Troupis, who was then retired, to guide the Trump campaign on potential challenges to the Wisconsin results, a recount, and selecting electors. Troupis informed Kauls office and counsel for the Biden campaign of plans to select electors and schedule a ballot. Neither objected. In December 2020, Wisconsins assistant attorney general shared this information with the WEC. It did not object.

In briefs filed in the Wisconsin Supreme Court that month, Troupis and Kaul litigated whether the court should hear the Trump campaigns request for a recount on an expedited basis. Kaul argued there was no urgency because the Republican electors could vote, and both the Democratic and Republican "certificates would then be presented to Congress for its ultimate decision" in January. Based on that position, Troupis advised the court that the Trump campaign would proceed with its elector process. Ultimately, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 against a recount.

In January 2021, Congress certified the Wisconsin Biden slate and Biden-Harris as the winners of the 2020 presidential election. The following month, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari to the Trump campaigns efforts to reverse the Wisconsin results.

Advertisement Advertisement

Democrats then filed numerous bar complaints against Troupis and a complaint with the WEC asserting that Troupis violated the states election laws, and requesting the Milwaukee district attorney investigate criminal violations "affecting the administration of government and forgery." In February 2022, after reviewing the complaint, Kauls office advised the WEC that that there was no basis to proceed. As a result, the WEC unanimously denied the complaint. The bar complaints remain pending.

Thirteen months later, in June 2024, contrary to his previous advice and the WECs determinations, Kaul indicted Troupis and two other campaign advisors for allegedly creating forgeries by preparing documents for the Trump electors. The indictment was premised on a novel theory that though the documents were correctly executed by their signatories, and were what they purported to be, they were "forgeries" because they did not acknowledge that their effectiveness depended upon the outcome of the certification process. Yet, everyone involved knew this, including the electors whom Kaul now alleges were defrauded.

If the electors were defrauded (they were not), Troupis had no role in the deception. The evidence shows that Troupis neither advised nor interacted with the electors. A separate law firm did so. That exculpatory evidence was omitted from the indictment. Kaul then unsuccessfully sought to seal the evidence, including his previous legal opinions, and to gag Troupis from discussing the case, so that only Kauls calumny would be available to the media and public.

Kauls case suffers numerous other defects, including the Constitutions Supremacy Clause, which gives Congress the power to select among competing slates of electors. As Kaul acknowledged, to preserve Trumps rights, his electors had to complete their ballot in a timely manner.

Advertisement Advertisement

In 1876, early returns had Samuel Tilden winning the popular vote in his race against Rutherford B. Hayes, but he needed Florida, Louisiana, or Oregon to win the Electoral College. In each of those states, both campaigns alleged fraud, and both fielded elector slates for congressional certification. The ballots were sent to Congress, which deadlocked; Republicans controlled the House and Democrats the Senate. Congress formed a commission which declared Hayes the winner.

A decade later, Congress passed the Electoral Count Act which reduced the risk of disputes. Nonetheless, in 1960, two slates of electors were selected in Hawaii, and both cast their ballots. Vice President Nixon resolved that dispute. The same problem almost recurred in 2000 during the Bush-Gore election. But for an error made by the Gore team, Gore could have arranged for an alternative elector slate. Florida then would have had time for a recount, which likely would have changed the outcome of the election.

Due process and democracy require that those who advise candidates not risk poverty or prison merely for being on the losing side. The next time a Democrat rants about preventing existential threats to democracy, Josh Kaul would be a good place to start.

Kenin M. Spivak is founder and chairman of SMI Group LLC, an international consulting firm and investment bank. He is the author of fiction and non-fiction books and a frequent speaker and contributor to media, including RealClearPolitics, The American Mind, National Review, television, radio, and podcasts.
An allegedly well-practiced New York bank robber is on a losing streak  and still on the run  after hitting six Chase branches across Queens, Brooklyn, Harlem and the Bronx over five consecutive days and coming away with just $605, according to authorities.

New York police have yet to catch the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Gustavo DeJesus Torres, who began holding up the banks on Friday, 13 March and informing tellers in a written note that they might get hurt if they didnt hand over the cash he demanded.

But the suspects success rate, luck or skill is in question after withdrawing just $320 during a robbery in Jackson Heights, $265 from a branch in Flatbush, and a $20 from a Harlem location. In three other attempts, he came away with zero. None of the robberies or attempts resulted in injuries.

Advertisement Advertisement

It is believed that in 2021, Torres pulled $6,000 from a Chase in New Jersey after handing the teller a note that read: Im heavily armed dont make a scene. He also had previously been arrested for allegedly robbing $600 from a TD Bank in Manhattans Tribeca section.

A news release from the New York police department (NYPD) has asked for the publics assistance in finding Torres.

The NYPD identified Torres as the suspect from several security-camera photographs. In one, taken during the 57-minute interval between a zero-take robbery in downtown Brooklyn and the $265 in Flatbush, the suspect could be seen on a subway platform, holding a coffee cup.

Police have said that their suspect does not claim to carry a weapon during the bank jobs and the string of stick-ups carried on until 17 March. Officials said he typically leaves the scenes of hold-ups on foot, describing him as a balding man with a beard who sometimes wears a mask.

Advertisement Advertisement

Bank robberies have been in decline for years, according to an FBI database, with 1,362 in 2023, down from 2,440 in 2019 and 7,556 in 2004. About 60% of cases are solved, with over a third solved on the same day.

The average take has also declined  to about $4,200.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for more pressure on Moscow after multiple people were killed and dozens injured in a wave of Russian attacks across the country.

Zelensky said on Tuesday that the "scale of today's attack strongly indicates that Russia has no intention of really ending this war."

A series of Russian airstrikes overnight were followed by drone attacks during the daytime, including in the historic centre of the western city of Lviv.

Advertisement Advertisement

Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said 26 people are being treated in hospitals in the wake of Russian drone attacks.

He reported strikes in several parts of the city, noting that one residential building was hit twice.

Lviv's old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was added to the list of endangered sites in 2023 due to the Russian invasion, which has been ongoing for more than four years.

Zelensky said a fire broke out at St Andrews Church, whose history dates back to the early 17th century.

Elsewhere, two people were killed in an attack on the centre of Ivano-Frankivsk, Governor Svitlana Onishchuk wrote on Telegram.

Advertisement Advertisement

Four others were injured, including a child, while a separate attack in Vinnytsia left one dead and 13 injured according to Governor Nataliya Zabolotna.

The latest attacks came after Russian airstrikes overnight left four people dead and dozens injured across the country, Zelensky said.

Russia continues to target Ukraines energy supply in particular, Zelensky said, adding that more than 550 drones were deployed.

Most of them were intercepted, but there were also strikes in nine regions, he said.
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data.
BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that all hotspot issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, rather than through the use of force.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the urge in a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi at the latter's request.

Araghchi briefed Wang on the latest developments in the regional situation. Thanking China for providing emergency humanitarian assistance, he said the Iranian people are more united in resisting foreign aggression and safeguarding the country's sovereignty and independence.

Iran is committed to achieving a comprehensive end to the war, rather than merely a temporary ceasefire, Araghchi said. The Strait of Hormuz is open to all and ships can pass safely, but countries at war with Iran are not under consideration, he said.

He expressed the hope that measures taken by all parties would help de-escalate the situation rather than intensify the conflict, expecting China to continue playing a positive role in promoting peace and ending the war.

For his part, Wang reiterated China's principled position, saying that dialogue is always better than continued fighting. This serves the interests of Iran and its people, and also reflects the common aspiration of the international community, he said.

Wang called on all parties to the conflict to seize every opportunity and window for peace, and start peace talks as soon as possible.

China will continue to uphold an objective and impartial stance, oppose violations of other countries' sovereignty, actively promote peace and ceasefire, and work for regional peace and stability, Wang said. 
MAPUTO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has provided support to the National Institute of Disaster Management and Reduction (INGD) of Mozambique to help the southern African country respond to recent flooding.

Speaking at a ceremony held Monday at the INGD in Maputo, Sun Kai, general director of CNOOC Mozambique Limited, said the company decided to contribute 50,000 U.S. dollars to assist emergency relief and reconstruction efforts after learning about the impact of floods across parts of the country.

"We are committed to fulfilling our social responsibilities and standing together with the Mozambican people at this difficult moment," Sun said.

Luisa Meque, head of INGD, expressed appreciation for the support, noting that the contribution comes at a critical time when several provinces, including southern regions and Sofala Province in central Mozambique, have been affected by floods.

She said the assistance would be directed to communities most in need to help families recover from losses caused by the disaster.

Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique Zheng Xuan said that Chinese enterprises in Mozambique are not only participants in economic cooperation but also active contributors to social responsibility.

She added that China firmly supports Mozambique in addressing challenges posed by climate change, advancing post-disaster reconstruction and improving people's livelihoods. 
DAR ES SALAAM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian health authorities on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to eliminating tuberculosis by 2030, according to a statement issued by the government's Chief Medical Officer Grace Magembe.

Magembe said that World Tuberculosis Day, marked on March 24, aims to raise awareness and accelerate efforts to end one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases.

Despite remaining a major global health threat, Tanzania has made significant progress in reducing tuberculosis infections and deaths in recent years, Magembe said.

According to data cited by the health official, new tuberculosis cases in Tanzania declined from 306 per 100,000 people in 2015 to 172 per 100,000 in 2024, marking a 44 percent decrease. Tuberculosis-related deaths also dropped from 56,000 to 23,500 over the same period, a reduction of 59 percent.

"These achievements place Tanzania among a few countries on track to meet the global target of ending tuberculosis by 2030," she said.

Magembe attributed the progress to increased government investment in healthcare infrastructure, expanded diagnostic services using modern technologies, and improved access to treatment.

She added that the government continues to strengthen community-level services and public awareness campaigns through media outreach and health workers.

Magembe also called on the public to seek early testing for symptoms such as persistent cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss, adhere to prescribed treatment, and avoid stigma against tuberculosis patients. 
by Nurul Fitri Ramadhani

JAKARTA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is intensifying its fight against tuberculosis (TB) as the country marks World TB Day on Tuesday, rolling out a series of strategic measures to curb infections, improve case detection, and accelerate progress toward its ambitious goal of eliminating the disease by 2030.

TB remains a major public health challenge in Indonesia. According to the Global TB Report 2024, the country has the second-highest TB burden in the world, after India. It is estimated to record around 1.09 million TB cases and 125,000 deaths each year, equivalent to roughly 14 deaths every hour.

"The medicine exists and is very effective, but the disease has never been fully resolved," Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said during a recent hearing in the House of Representatives in Jakarta.

He stressed that Indonesia is stepping up efforts to tackle the high number of cases through coordinated national strategies and improvements in health system performance. The country is working to ensure that one million TB patients are identified and linked to treatment within a year, with a treatment success rate targeted at 90 percent, he added.

Indonesia's anti-TB strategy includes the development of the National TB Strategic Plan 2025-2029, formulated based on the findings of a national TB program review conducted with support from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The plan focuses on assessing progress, identifying systemic gaps, and outlining priority actions to strengthen the national TB response, enhance case detection, improve treatment outcomes, and boost community engagement.

Indonesia is also advancing regulatory and financing reforms to support TB elimination. A joint program review by the WHO recommended updating the 2021 presidential regulation on TB to strengthen legal authority, secure sustainable funding and improve coordination. It also called for expanded screening, faster referrals and reduced diagnostic delays to narrow the gap between estimated and reported cases.

Since mid-2025, Indonesia has strengthened surveillance and data systems as part of its anti-TB efforts. Health authorities are integrating the national TB Information System (SITB) into the broader Satu Sehat digital health platform to ensure more accurate and timely reporting across public and private healthcare facilities.

Improved data systems are expected to help identify undiagnosed patients and allocate resources more effectively, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children and people living with HIV.

Officials noted that underreporting and underdiagnosis remain significant challenges, with at least one in four TB cases previously going undetected. By enhancing surveillance and expanding digital integration, the Indonesian government aims to ensure that no patient is left untreated and to curb ongoing transmission in communities.

The country is also scaling up community-level interventions by strengthening village health systems, raising public awareness, and addressing upstream determinants such as smoking, undernutrition, diabetes, and alcohol use disorder, all of which are known to increase TB risk. These community-based measures are seen as crucial to preventing new infections and ensuring treatment adherence.

In addition to improving treatment and prevention, Indonesia is investing in innovation, particularly in vaccine development, and is preparing for the potential introduction of a TB vaccine by 2028 or 2029.

The TB vaccine candidate M72/AS01E has entered phase 3 clinical trials in Indonesia, marking a critical step toward potential large-scale approval and use. The trials involve more than 2,000 participants nationwide and are expected to be completed around 2028, paving the way for broader implementation if proven safe and effective.

Health expert and Chair of the honorary board of the Indonesian Society of Respirology, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said the new vaccine is designed to prevent tuberculosis in adults and could potentially replace the existing BCG vaccine, while also serving as a booster to enhance its protective effect.

"The new vaccine is also expected to function as a form of immunotherapy or adjuvant treatment, helping to shorten the duration of TB treatment," he said. 
ISLAMABAD, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Subject to concurrence by the United States and Iran, Pakistan stands ready to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post on Tuesday.

He said Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the conflict in the Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in the region and beyond.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke by phone with Shehbaz Sharif on Monday and reaffirmed Tehran's commitment to regional cooperation, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported. 
PYONGYANG, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s top leader Kim Jong Un said his country will regard South Korea as its "most hostile state" and thoroughly reject and ignore it through explicit words and actions, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.

Kim, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, made the remarks Monday in a policy speech at the first session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly.

Kim said his country will make South Korea "pay the price" without mercy for provocative acts, and will never remain a passive observer to any attempt to violate its sovereignty, security interests or right to development.

Kim also said the United States and its allies have continued to deploy strategic nuclear assets near the Korean Peninsula, threatening regional security.

He said the United States is carrying out "state-sponsored terrorism and aggression" around the world, but it has not weakened what he described as the will of progressive people to oppose domination and enslavement and pursue independence and equality. 
TASHKENT, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank said Monday it has approved a 200-million-U.S. dollar program for modernizing transport infrastructure in Uzbekistan's Surkhandarya region.

The five-year program includes expanding a 91-km section of the M41 road from a two-lane road to a four-lane highway.

The upgrade of the road will benefit around 35,000 drivers and passengers daily, and expand access to transport services and economic opportunities for around 550,000 residents in the surrounding communities, said the bank.

Around 180 bridges and drainage structures will also be built or repaired to withstand increasing climate-related flooding risks.

According to the bank, the transport sector contributes nearly 8 percent to the country's GDP and employs about 1 million people. Modernizing the transport network is seen as a critical step toward unlocking the country's potential as a key transit hub in Central Asia. 
PHNOM PENH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn said on Tuesday that the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) has stood as a successful model of win-win cooperation, built on the spirit of unity, mutual trust and shared development.

The LMC consists of six countries, namely China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

In a congratulatory message to mark the LMC's 10th anniversary and LMC Week 2026, Sokhonn, who is also a deputy prime minister, said this year marked a golden decade of long-standing friendship, partnership, close cooperation, and practical collaboration dedicated to advancing peace, stability, shared prosperity, and sustainable development among the six LMC countries.

He said since its inception, the LMC has delivered tangible achievements across various sectors, including connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resource management, agriculture and poverty reduction.

"These achievements affirm that the LMC is more than a cooperation mechanism -- it is a living and evolving partnership rooted in trust, solidarity and shared aspirations," Sokhonn said.

"It stands today as a successful model of win-win cooperation and a compelling example of South-South cooperation, demonstrating how countries of the Global South can work together to transform challenges into opportunities and foster a future of shared prosperity," he added.

He said the first LMC Leaders' Meeting in Sanya city of southern China's Hainan province in 2016 set the foundation, providing clear strategic direction and translating high-level commitments into actionable initiatives.

"Together, these mechanisms have ensured that the LMC remains both responsive and results-oriented, delivering meaningful benefits to our peoples," he said.

Sokhonn said a cornerstone of the LMC's success is the LMC Special Fund, which has supported hundreds of practical, people-centered projects across diverse sectors, including rural development, water resource management, agriculture, environment, education, mine action, tourism, cultural heritage, women's empowerment, and youth development.

He said that to date, Cambodia has received 106 projects funded by the Special Fund.

"These initiatives have not only improved livelihoods, but also strengthened national connectivity, enhanced rural development, and reinforced the effectiveness of the LMC model, deepening the bonds of friendship among our nations," he said.

He expressed his sincere gratitude to the government and people of China for their generous and continued support in funding LMC projects, saying that their steadfast commitment has greatly advanced Cambodia's development priorities and strengthened sub-regional cooperation.

Sokhonn said as the LMC embarked on the next golden decade, it reaffirmed its collective commitment to openness, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation, green development, innovation and lasting peace.

"Looking ahead, it is essential that we further strengthen collaboration in key priority areas, including sustainable water resource management, regional connectivity, economic integration, green development, digital transformation, and inclusive growth, for the shared benefit of all our peoples," he said.

He said Cambodia will continue to actively promote LMC as one of the most relevant and effective sub-regional frameworks for supporting multilateralism and regional integration, aiming to address shared challenges, seize emerging opportunities, and realize the leaders' vision of building a community of a shared future for peace, stability and prosperity across the Lancang-Mekong sub-region. 
SYDNEY, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Two teenage boys have died after the motorcycle they were riding collided with a bus in western Sydney on Monday night.

The police force in the state of New South Wales (NSW) said that emergency services were called to reports of a collision on a transitway reserved for buses and emergency vehicles in Sydney's outer western suburbs at around 7:10 p.m. local time on Monday.

Officers arrived at the scene and found that an off-road motorcycle had collided with the side of a commuter bus and become trapped underneath the vehicle.

The rider and passenger of the motorcycle, boys aged 15 and 14, were treated by ambulance paramedics but died at the scene.

The local mayor for the region, Frank Carbone, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the incident was a terrible tragedy.

"We can only imagine what the parents are going through and to have lost such young lives, it's a tragedy for our community," he said.

In a statement posted on social media, Carbone called for the NSW parliament to take action against illegal e-bikes and motorcycles that have "taken over" the restricted transitway.

The NSW Police Force said that an investigation into the collision has commenced. 
WARSAW, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The parliamentary group of the Polish People's Party (PSL) on Tuesday submitted a bill to establish a Polish Defense Investment Fund, PSL party leader and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has announced.

The bill aims to address shortcomings in the presidential "SAFE 0%" proposal, and comes amid an ongoing dispute between the president and government over how to finance Poland's defense expansion.

Earlier this month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a legislation enabling Poland to access 43.7-billion-euro (50.66-billion-U.S.-dollar) loans under the European Union (EU)'s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program, citing concerns over long-term debt and EU influence over Poland's defense policy.

Nawrocki and central bank governor Adam Glapinski responded by proposing the "SAFE 0%" concept, suggesting that profits from revaluing Poland's gold reserves could fund defense spending without borrowing from the EU.

However, the PSL and government officials have criticized the proposal for lacking clear funding mechanisms and for granting the president an oversight role they say is unconstitutional.

Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the new PSL bill expands the fund's scope to include not only the military but also police, border guards, cybersecurity, intelligence services, and military healthcare. It seeks to clarify funding sources and place the fund under government control, while including representatives of both the president and the prime minister in its governing bodies. 
BERLIN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Czech police announced on Tuesday that three suspects, including Czech and U.S. citizens, have been arrested for allegedly setting fire to an arms factory in the eastern Czech city of Pardubice.

One suspect was arrested in Slovakia, while the other two in the Czech Republic, the police said on social media platform X. The fire broke out Friday at facilities belonging to the Czech defense firm LPP Holding, which manufactures military equipment, including drones supplied to Ukraine.

The police added that they are working closely with international partners to track down the remaining suspects.

A group claimed responsibility for the arson attack and issued a statement giving LPP Holding an "ultimatum" to publicly sever ties with the Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems and condemn the occupation of Palestine and

threatening to leak stolen classified documents if their demands are not met.

According to the Czech News Agency, LPP Holding announced plans to jointly produce drones with Elbit Systems several years ago, but the project has never materialized. 
LISBON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Patent applications from Portugal reached a record high of 368 in 2025, according to the European Patent Office (EPO) Technology Dashboard 2025 released on Tuesday. This represents a 6.1 percent year-on-year increase, and more than doubles the amount of patent applications since 2016.

According to EPO, the figures reflect an increasingly dynamic innovation ecosystem in Portugal. Computer technology and health-related sectors are the primary areas of innovation in the country, with medical technology posting particularly strong growth of 32 percent compared to 2024. Meanwhile, biotechnology grew by 5 percent, bucking a general downward trend at the EPO level.

Other sectors recording sharp increases included packaging and handling technologies, up more than 75 percent; furniture and games, up more than 62.5 percent; and transport and automotive technologies, up more than 50 percent. Pharmaceutical applications, however, fell by 9.5 percent.

OPRIMEE-Innovation Design Engineering Solutions led the Portuguese applicants with 26 patent requests, followed by NOS Inovacao with 18, and INESC Porto-Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering of Porto with 14.

The northern region of Portugal accounted for 39 percent of all national applications, making it the most active part of the country for patent activity.

At European level, the EPO received a record 201,974 patent applications in 2025. This represented a 1.4 percent rise from the previous year, and the first time the agency has surpassed 200,000 applications.

Applications from within Europe grew by 0.4 percent, while those from outside Europe increased by 2.1 percent.

EPO President Antonio Campinos welcomed the figures as a sign of Europe's innovation capacity but called for focused attention on strategic sectors. These include artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, health, and quantum technologies. Gaps remain despite the progress shown by the data, he underlined. 
WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Senator Markwayne Mullin's nomination for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, replacing embattled Kristi Noem, amid the department's continued shutdown.

The upper chamber voted 54-45 to approve 48-year-old Mullin, who has served in the Senate since 2023, following a decade in the House representing the state of Oklahoma. One Republican senator voted against the nomination and two Democrats supported it.

Mullin's nomination, announced by President Donald Trump on March 5, came amid growing bipartisan frustration with Noem's leadership and marked the first Cabinet shakeup of Trump's second term.

Noem has been under bipartisan pressure after federal law enforcement officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January and further angered Trump with her performance at congressional hearings early this month, when senators from both parties grilled her on a 200 million-dollar ad campaign project, among other issues.

The fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens -- Renee Good and Alex Pretti -- by federal enforcement in Minneapolis in January have prompted Democrats to seek changes to how immigration agencies operate.

Disagreement over immigration enforcement regulations led to a deadlock in Congress, as Democrats requested that funding for DHS be removed from an omnibus funding package, resulting in a brief partial shutdown from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3.

The Congress then passed a funding package, which funded multiple U.S. federal agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year, but DHS only received a two-week continuing resolution at current funding levels, allowing both parties and the White House to continue negotiations.

Over the past few weeks, negotiations between the two parties on immigration enforcement have shown little progress.

The Senate rejected the DHS funding bill for the fifth time on Friday, leaving the department's operations, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, crippled. 
NEW YORK, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A huge pillar of smoke rose following a massive explosion Monday evening at a refinery in the U.S. city of Port Arthur, Texas, local 12newsnow.com reported.

Witnesses said they heard a boom that rattled car windows, and one resident at the scene said the area smelled of rotted eggs.

There was an incident at the Valero facility, Antonio Mitchell with the Port Arthur Fire Department was quoted as saying.

Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens said the blast might have involved a heater unit. Officials were monitoring air quality in the area.

Port Arthur police and fire departments advised residents nearby to shelter in place, but no evacuations have been ordered. The Texas Department of Transportation also urged drivers to avoid the area.

The Port Arthur Fire Department has advised residents who live on the west side of Port Arthur to take shelters following the explosion at the Valero refinery in the city, FOX 26 Houston reported.

Residents in the surrounding area are strongly encouraged to remain indoors until further notice, keep windows and doors closed, and follow guidance from local officials.

Port Arthur officials said there could be road closures in and around the explosion area, according to the report. 
NEW YORK, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A huge pillar of smoke rose following a massive explosion Monday evening at a refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, local 12newsnow.com reported.

Witnesses said they heard a boom that rattled car windows, and one resident at the scene said the area smelled of rotted eggs.

There was an incident at the Valero facility, but there were limited details at the time, Antonio Mitchell with the Port Arthur Fire Department was quoted as saying.

Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens said the blast might have involved a heater unit. Officials were monitoring air quality in the area.

Port Arthur police and fire departments advised residents nearby to shelter in place, but no evacuations have been ordered. The Texas Department of Transportation also urged drivers to avoid the area.

No injuries have been reported at this time, said the report. 
A man standing at a vegtable stand at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, January 24, 2018. (photo credit: Liba Farkash/Flash90)

Even before the current campaign, the Bank of Israel said in February that geopolitical uncertainty had resurfaced amid the prospect of a confrontation with Iran.

As Israelis move between missile alerts, protected rooms, and another week of war with Iran, a study from the Shoresh Institution suggests that the countrys social gaps look starker when measured not only by income, but by what households can actually afford in daily life  especially food, housing, and transportation.

The timing is hard to ignore. Even before the current campaign, the Bank of Israel said in February that geopolitical uncertainty had resurfaced amid the prospect of a confrontation with Iran, and that Israels risk premium had increased slightly. During the war itself, the Home Front Command has repeatedly stressed that civilians must continue following life-saving shelter instructions under ongoing missile fire.

The study, published Tuesday by Shoresh researcher Yoav Tuvia, argues that standard measures of inequality tell only part of the story. The Gini coefficient for disposable income  a common measure of inequality  fell from 36% in 2003 to 33% in 2023, while inequality in total consumption declined from 28% to 26%. But when the study looks at basic needs, the picture becomes less reassuring: the gaps between lower- and higher-income households remain wide, and in some cases have grown over the past two decades.

That distinction matters in wartime. Income figures do not always show how financially exposed a household really is, especially if families are relying on savings, debt, or unreported income to get by. The Shoresh study notes that lower-income households in the bottom two income groups appeared to consume more than their reported disposable income, which it says may partly reflect underreporting.

At the same time, a March 2026 Bank of Israel release said household debt had risen to about NIS 903 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, including about NIS 653b. in housing debt. In practice, that means a familys ability to withstand an emergency may depend less on its reported income than on whether it can keep paying rent, get to work, and manage rising living costs.

An Arab guard at the entrance to a Shupersal grocery store in the northern Israeli city of Karmiel, on November 8, 2017. (credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)

Wealth gap seen in Israel food spending

Food is one of the clearest examples. The study found that the gap in per-capita food spending between households near the top and bottom of the distribution widened from 5.2-to-1 in 2003 to 5.8-to-1 in 2023. In other words, households near the top spent nearly six times as much per person on food as those near the bottom. The study also found differences in the kind of food people spend money on: eating out makes up a much larger share of food spending among wealthier households, while poorer households devote more of their food budget to meat, poultry, and fish.
By Renju Jose

SYDNEY, March 24 (Reuters) - Australia and the European Union signed a free trade agreement on Tuesday after eight years of negotiations, removing tariffs on almost all goods and potentially easing EU access to Australian critical minerals.

However, some Australian agricultural exports, including beef and sheep meat, will face quotas. Australian farmers criticised the pact for offering what they called "subpar" access to the bloc, while French farmers argued the quotas were too generous.

More from Yahoo Scout What economic benefits are expected from this trade pact? Why are Australian farmers disappointed with the agreement? What are the key provisions of the Australia-EU trade deal? How will critical minerals access impact global supply chains?

The deal follows intensified talks amid sharply higher U.S. tariffs under the Trump administration and growing Western concerns over China's dominant position in rare earths and other critical minerals. The two sides also signed an agreement to deepen security and defence cooperation.

"The EU and Australia may be geographically far apart but we couldn't be closer in terms of how we see the world," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

"With these dynamic new partnerships on security and defence, as well as trade, we are moving even closer together."

The agreement will remove more than 99% of tariffs on EU goods exports to Australia, saving companies 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) a year. EU exports to Australia are expected to grow by up to 33% over the next decade.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the deal would be worth about A$10 billion ($7 billion) annually to the Australian economy. He said scrapping almost all import tariffs on Australian critical minerals entering the EU would help stabilise global supply chains.

"For both Europe and Australia, getting China right is a strategic imperative, and this is why bringing to life our critical minerals partnership will be crucial to our success," von der Leyen told Australia's parliament.

"We cannot be over-dependent on any supplier for such crucial ingredients, and that is precisely why we need each other."

The agreement also underscores Europe's growing engagement in the Indo-Pacific, following trade accords concluded with Indonesia in September and India in January.

EU industry groups including BusinessEurope, SpiritsEurope and the European Services Forum welcomed the deal.

"Australia's resources potential is still far from being fully tapped by us," said Volker Treier, head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

AUSTRALIA AGREES TO BEEF QUOTAS

Australian tariffs will drop to zero from day one for European wine, sparkling wine, fruit, vegetables and chocolates, and over three years for cheeses.
BYD and Chery are formulating expansion strategies after Canada opened its doors to Chinese automakers. The starting point of their operation is the Greater Toronto Area.

Canada recently relaxed its tariff structure for Chinese electric vehicles, allowing them to enter the country at a revised duty rate of just 6.1%. This allows brands such as BYD and Chery effortless access. However, they are only allowed to bring in a fixed 24,500 Chinese-made EVs under the quota.

That is still enough for both brands to start a business through a clever dealership network. A report by Carscoops stated that both brands are planning to establish independent dealerships. However, whether the brands can sustain multiple dealerships under a limited vehicle quota is something that is yet to be ascertained.

For now, the plan involves establishing dealerships in the Greater Toronto Area and then expanding east and westward to cities like Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver. Sources claim that BYD is aiming to build 20 dealerships in the first year of its operation in Canada.

Read More from MotorBiscuit:

Two cars parked in a parking lot next to a building byd

Farid Ahmad, CEO of Dealer Solutions Mergers & Acquisitions, a consultancy that has already had discussions with three possible BYD locations, told The Globe And Mail:

Theyve asked us to help them find as many of the 20 that they possibly can, but theyre out there doing that themselves, as well.

We have been engaged with a number of Chinese manufacturers that are looking to establish their dealer network here in Canada.

Will Chinese EVs Enter The U.S. Market This Year?

Chinese automakers are working to expand their operations on a global level, to eventually enter the U.S. market. Although they are not permitted to enter the country at this stage due to cybersecurity laws that prohibit sales of Chinese EVs, the rules could be relaxed in the future.

BYD has not revealed an official launch date for its Canadian operations, but it is expected that, together with Chery, it will intensify competition in the automotive industry, which is being dominated by North American, South Korean, and European brands.

MotorBiscuit reported how another Chinese EV manufacturer, Xpeng, is gearing up to launch its vehicles in Mexico at the end of this month. Now with BYD and Chery entering Canada, the trend highlights increasing competition from Chinese EVs right here in the United States backyard.
By Francesco Guarascio

HANOI, March 24 (Reuters) - The involvement of Chinese vendors in the rollout of Vietnam's 5G network may deter foreign companies from investing in the Southeast Asian nation, a top EU official said on Tuesday.

European telecom firms Ericsson and Nokia are developing Vietnam's core 5G network, but in recent months Vietnamese state-owned operators have awarded 5G contracts to Chinese rivals Huawei and ZTE.

More from Yahoo Scout How could Chinese 5G involvement affect foreign investment? Why is Vietnam choosing Chinese 5G vendors? Which companies are competing for Vietnam's 5G contracts? What security concerns surround Chinese telecom equipment?

That marks a notable shift following years of caution towards China, and the change has sparked concerns among Western officials.

"Be careful with dependencies in strategic areas," EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Sikela said when asked about the Chinese contracts.

"5G is the new battlefield," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an EU-Vietnam investment forum in Hanoi. "Through the network you can access a lot and you can control a lot, and you have to be always careful who is your trusted vendor."

"If investors have doubts about the security of their data, they might decide not to take the risk and not to invest," he said.

Vietnam's foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Hanoi did not immediately reply to emailed requests for comment.

Vietnam is a major industrial hub and hosts large manufacturing operations of big Western multinationals, including European firms Adidas and Lego. Its decades-long economic boom hinges on foreign investment.

The European Union and European states on Tuesday announced a new package of investment in Vietnam's transport and energy sector.

Sikela said risks to future investments from unsecure networks were at this stage theoretical, and noted that several European countries allowed Chinese telecom vendors in the past.

Huawei and ZTE are banned from the telecom networks of several European countries and in the United States, because they are seen as risks to national security.

The companies have criticised the restrictions as unfair, rejecting the concerns as baseless.

Vietnamese officials have said that Chinese telecom equipment is reliable and cheaper, while downplaying security risks. Additional contracts with Chinese firms are under discussion, Reuters reported earlier this month.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Kevin Buckland)
For primary data collection, researchers used insights from interviews with in-person interviews with business owners and managers along Mission Street in Santa Cruz. The interviews included a mix of franchised business owners and independent business owners.

To assess the impacts of Californias $20 minimum wage policy on fast-food workers, researchers used primary and secondary data.

The bill also established the Fast Food Council to set future wage increases  up to 3.5% annually  and working standards for workers through 2029.

Singed into law in September 2023, AB 1228 increased the minimum wage for fast food workers at national chains to $20 per hour, higher than the states hourly minimum wage of $16.90.

Here's what to know about the study.

The debate centers on AB 1228 , a sweeping labor law that took effect statewide in April 2024 and requires large fastfood chains to pay workers at least $20 an hour  well above Californias general minimum wage. When Newsom signed the bill into law in 2023, he said it would help workers keep pace with the states high cost of living while improving conditions across the industry. Today, we take one step closer to fairer wages, safer and healthier working conditions, and better training by giving hardworking fastfood workers a stronger voice and seat at the table, Newsom said at the time.

State officials strongly dispute those findings. The 'analysis' is based on a handful of interviews on one street in Santa Cruz. It isnt peerreviewed, and its claims are flat wrong, said Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for the governors office. The facts are clear: higher wages are strengthening our economy and lifting workers out of poverty.

 Based on what weve found , I think this legislation is a classic case of no good deed goes unpunished, UC Santa Cruz Economics Lecturer Stephen Owen, who conducted the study, said in a March 18 news release. There are unintended consequences and knock-on effects, and overall, I think the results have definitely not been as positive as policymakers had been expecting.

The study, released late last year, suggests the landmark wage hike may be producing unintended consequences across the states fastfood industry, including reduced worker hours, higher menu prices and growing pressure on franchise owners to cut costs or automate jobs.

A new working paper from the University of California, Santa Cruz, is raising fresh questions about the impact of Californias $20 minimum wage for fastfood workers  and prompting a sharp rebuttal from Gov. Gavin Newsoms office.

Story Continues

Researchers also assessed secondary data from publicly available economic and policy sources, such as economic reports and policy briefs related to the legislation; labor market data; and historical data on prior minimum wage increases in the state.

While Santa Cruz serves as the primary site for direct interviews and observation, the patterns identified are evaluated in the context of a statewide policy that applies to fast food employers across California, according to researchers.

Higher demand for jobs but less work to be found, study finds

One of the impacts of the fast-food minimum wage increase was the demand it created for such roles, which were now seen as significantly more desirable, the universitys researchers said.

By analyzing data for the number of monthly job applications for a Burger King franchise group for 2023, 2024 and early 2025, Owens team found a dramatic increase in applications.

August 2024 had one of the largest spikes, with a 400% increase compared to the same month in 2023, according to researchers.

Simultaneously, though, higher wages created a greater interest in fast food jobs, the higher labor costs for businesses are creating less demand for workers, the report found.

Between October 2023 to October 2024, for instance, one of Burger King location reported a more than 21% decline in shift work for employees, according to the teams research.

Some locations partially restored hours by 2025, but labor-hour levels remained reduced from those measured in 2023, researchers said.

At the same time, 18 McDonalds locations in the Central Valleys saw workers hours decline by nearly 12% across 12-month periods from April 2023 to March 2025, equivalent to a loss of 62 full time jobs for a year, the study found.

This is not an unexpected impact, per economic theory, Owen said.

What happens to demand for labor when you increase the minimum wage is not really an arguable question; its more about whether that is better or worse for society, Owen said in the release.

The legislations effects for fast-food workers, so far, have been complicated, researchers noted.

Even though most now earn more per hour, many also now have fewer hours, which limits improvements to their overall earnings, researchers said.

With fewer hours, fewer employees also qualify for benefits, according to researchers.

In addition, many franchises have eliminated overtime, which had previously been an important way for longer-term employees to increase their earnings," researchers said.

One potential positive effect of increased wages has been reduced turnover, from between 150% and 300% to about 150% and 200%.

Higher wages lead to rising costs for businesses, consumers, study says

In response to rising labor costs, franchise owners have raised menu prices, researchers said.

The new minimum wage for fast-food workers increased labor costs for businesses by approximately 25%, which Owen says could be expected to raise overall operating costs by about 9%, if businesses made no other changes, according to university researchers.

Since September 2023, franchise fast food restaurants have increased their menu price by about 8 to 12%, the study found.

The increase was likely the result of a combination of factors, including increased labor costs, other inflationary factors, and supply chain dynamics, according to the report.

Since fast food is often considered an 'inferior good,' these price increases will disproportionately affect low-income consumers, Owen says, researchers said.

Despite the price increases, businesses may still face impacts on their bottom line.

One Burger King franchise owner in Northern California, for instance, told US Santa Cruz researchers they plan to close the lowest performing 10% of their locations over the next two years to mitigate the impact of reduced profit potential.

Businesses can absorb increased costs to a certain extent, but the question is for how long, Owen said in the release. I would argue that we will likely see closures ahead.

To avoid future closures, researchers found that many fast food franchises are looking to labor automation as a cost-cutting measure.

As an example, university researchers pointed to Burger King, McDonalds, and Taco Bell all investing in automated kiosks to take orders and payments.

Some were also piloting AI voice ordering systems and automated dish washing, researchers said, adding that mobile app ordering is also a growing trend.

Such trends will ultimately lead to significant job losses in the sector, according to researchers.

Competitiveness in the fast food industry has always been about progressions in sophistication and efficiency, so the industry is really ripe for automation, Owen said in the release. Is what were seeing a natural, organic adoption of these technologies in fast food? I think theres definitely an element of that, but I would argue that it has been accelerated by introduced wage pressures.

Researchers thoughts for state-level policymakers moving forward

Owen said one of the key takeaways from his research has been that minimum wage increases may not be the best policy tool for state-level policymakers to achieve their desired goals.

Though there is a need to better support the working poor in the Golden State, wage increases for the lowest paid jobs can create perverse incentives for those trying to enter and stay in those industries.

When we see a massive increase in applications for fast food jobs, if youre running the state, thats probably not really where you want to be incentivizing people to work, Owen said in the release.

When you have minimum wage increases to a specific sector, it has the effect of prioritizing that industry, according to Owen.

So if youre going to do that, then it might make more sense to target industries like healthcare or manufacturing that are more value-added industries, Owen said.

Even if it is intended to target big business, such a minimum-wage increase policy can have ripple effects on small businesses.

With the fast-food minimum wage, for example, though it only applied to franchised restaurants some independent restaurants still felt squeezed, researchers said.

The research team found that, in speaking with Santa Cruz restaurant owners, theyve felt pressured to raise wages and menu prices to compete for employees, leaving them concerned about long-term sustainability.

Policies with potential unintended consequences like business closures or reduced scale of job opportunities actually risk exacerbating economic inequities, Owen says, according to university researchers.

Instead, researchers said, policymakers can look to alternative approaches, such as improvements to the social safety net, changes to the earned income tax credit, and substantial reductions in business regulations could avoid these potential pitfalls while also more directly helping those in need.

(This story was updated with new information.)

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California $20 fast food wage may have unintended consequences
Visa and Mastercard have spent decades building secure networks, developing fraud prevention technologies, refining payment standards and establishing a global distribution system that allows cards to be issued by banks and accepted by millions of merchants worldwide.

The scale of investment required to build a viable card scheme is often underestimated in political discussions.

Perhaps most importantly, they provide payment guarantees. When a retailer accepts a card payment and hands over goods or services immediately, the merchant does so with confidence that the funds will be received. That guarantee, often taken for granted, is the fundamental tenet that has built trust in global electronic payments, and replicating it is no trivial task. It was foundational to building consumer trust, not just a feature.

Now, they maintain global acceptance across millions of merchants, manage fraud detection systems capable of operating in real time, support complex multi-currency settlement infrastructure and operate consumer protection frameworks such as chargebacks and dispute management.

These networks provide much more than a technical payment rail. Domestic European schemes were struggling before integration with Visa/Mastercard.

Visa and Mastercard did not become the backbone of global commerce overnight. Their networks are the result of more than four decades of sustained investment, technological development, regulatory adaptation, and market building. Behind every simple tap of a card or smartphone sits an extraordinarily complex ecosystem.

The current discussion lacks grounding in how payments actually work. Payments infrastructure is not something that can simply be replicated on a whim.

But while the motivation may be understandable, the conclusion is economically irrational. Building a new payment network purely for the sake of as nebulous a term as sovereignty would be an enormously expensive and risky undertaking, and one that will almost certainly fail. It will face significant challenges in order to succeed and even less likely to deliver meaningful benefits to consumers or merchants.

In recent months, the idea of creating a sovereign UK or European card network has resurfaced in policy circles. The argument is simple enough: reduce dependence on global card schemes such as Visa and Mastercard and regain control over critical financial infrastructure. This move comes as no surprise for top-line analysts, as Europe currently depends on non-EU providers for more than 80% of its digital products and services.

Story Continues

This network extends far beyond the card schemes themselves. It includes processors, acquiring banks, issuing banks, payment technology providers and compliance infrastructure that collectively employ tens of thousands of highly skilled professionals across Europe. This means disrupting European jobs and expertise, making sovereignty arguments self-defeating in employment terms too.

Consumer expectations have evolved alongside this ecosystem. Payments today must be instant, contactless, secure and seamlessly integrated across devices, from smartphones to smartwatches, while remaining resilient against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

A brand-new scheme would have to replicate all of this effectively from scratch.

Realistically, such an effort would take at least 10 to 20 years to reach a meaningful scale. During that time it would require enormous capital investment while generating limited efficiencies. For investors, the economics would be extremely challenging and perhaps unviable. For governments, the alternative would be heavy taxpayer support, which tends to be even more inefficient and take even longer.

And even after such investment, success would not be guaranteed. Consumers ultimately choose the payment method that is easiest, safest, and most widely accepted. They are not ideological about payment methods. No amount of political will can override that preference. And competing with established global networks on those terms is a formidable challenge.

Europes payment history tells an important story

The history of European payment systems also provides an important lesson.

Over time, many domestic card schemes across Europe have been integrated with or co-branded alongside Visa and Mastercard. In many cases this was not a loss of sovereignty, but a practical evolution in a global market. Many domestic schemes were actively struggling and facing irrelevance before co-branding saved them.

So, these partnerships extended the life of domestic schemes that were struggling to maintain relevance in an increasingly globalised economy. They enabled international acceptance for European cardholders and created efficiencies for merchants operating across borders. The result is a payment ecosystem that already combines local infrastructure with global interoperability. And unwinding this would mean losing hard-won efficiencies, instead of just failing to gain new ones.

Attempting to unwind this progress in order to create an entirely new system risks discarding decades of practical improvements.

Sovereignty does not require reinvention

The underlying concern behind calls for a sovereign payment network is not unreasonable. Governments understandably want to ensure that critical financial infrastructure remains resilient in the face of growing geopolitical uncertainty. But sovereignty does not require building a new system from the ground up.

There are far more practical ways to achieve resilience and independence while preserving the efficiencies that existing networks provide.

An initial option would be to formally classify card schemes operating in Europe as critical infrastructure. This would allow regulators to require independent European governance structures capable of prioritising regional stability and continuity, even in the face of international political pressures.

Another possibility would be to revisit the ownership structures that emerged when Europay International and Visa Europe were absorbed into their US counterparts. European banks and investors could explore mechanisms to regain greater influence through joint ownership or strategic participation, while still operating within the established global networks. These alternatives achieve the actual objective of sovereignty without the economic irrationality of reinvention.

These types of approaches would strengthen Europes position without disrupting the payment systems that consumers and businesses rely on every day.

Lessons from extreme scenarios

Even in the most extreme geopolitical situations, global card networks have shown remarkable adaptability. Russia offers an interesting example. Following the invasion of Ukraine, international operations of Visa and Mastercard in Russia were effectively severed from the global system. Yet within the domestic market, card payments continued to function because the underlying infrastructure remained in place.

Russian-issued cards could still be used within the country, even though they no longer worked abroad.

This points towards an interesting area, that existing payment networks can continue operating locally even when international connectivity is restricted.

In other words, the foundation for sovereign payment functionality already exists within the systems we have today.

Toward a more constructive debate

The discussion around payment sovereignty, especially by policymakers, often suffers from oversimplification. Payment networks are sometimes portrayed as interchangeable utilities that can be replicated with sufficient political will.

In reality, those who actually operate within these systems know they are complex ecosystems built over decades through continuous investment, innovation and collaboration between private companies, banks, regulators and merchants. Replacing them would not simply be difficult, but more likely economically hugely irrational.

A more productive conversation would focus on strengthening governance, resilience, and strategic influence within the systems that already power global commerce.

Rather than attempting to build a new payment network from scratch, policymakers should ask a different question: how can Europe ensure that the existing infrastructure continues to serve its interests in a changing geopolitical environment?

The answer is far more likely to lie in cooperation, regulatory oversight, and strategic investment than in constructing an entirely new payments ecosystem.

In payments, as in geopolitics, sovereignty is less about standing alone than ensuring you never have to.

Johannes Kolbeinsson, CEO and co-founder at PAYSTRAX

"The future of payments in the UK" was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand.




Are state pensions sufficient to meet the cost of living in Europe?

In 20 out of 39 European countries, they do not, according to research by payroll and HR firm Moorepay. Living costs exclude rent. If rent were included, this number would likely rise significantly.

So, how much of living costs are covered by state pensions, excluding rent, as of late 2025?

Across the 39 European countries, including EU members, candidate countries, EFTA countries and the UK, pensions as a share of living costs range from 22% in Georgia to 225% in Luxembourg.

This reflects the living cost of a single person and one pension in late October 2025.

While Moorepay collected data on average pensions, the cost of living data comes from Numbeo and represents the national average. The situation may vary depending on the city.

For example, in Luxembourg, the average state pension is 28,790 while the cost of living is 12,791. This leaves a surplus of 15,989. That means the state pension is more than twice the cost of living.

Pensions are also more than double the cost of living in Italy (210%) and Finland (208%). Spain (199%) and Denmark (189%) are also close to this level.

Pensions as a share of living costs range between 150% and 180% in several other countries, which is still comparatively high.

These countries are Iceland (179%), Norway (178%), Germany (176%), Belgium (170%), Austria (165%), France (160%), the Netherlands (159%) and Sweden (158%).

Six countries fall between 100% and 150%. State pensions are still sufficient to cover the cost of living for a single person, excluding rent, but the surplus is limited.

These are Switzerland (131%), Ireland (126%), the UK (120%), Poland (112%), Czechia (108%) and Greece (103%).

Pensions are not enough in 20 countries.

In some cases, they still cover over 80% of living costs. These include Slovenia (95%), Slovakia (94%), Estonia (91%), Portugal (90%), Montenegro (89%), Lithuania (85%), Croatia (82%) and Hungary (81%).

However, the situation is not good in many countries, falling below 65% in several cases.

Albania (29%), Ukraine (29%) and Moldova (42%) follow Georgia (22%) at the lower end. In all these countries, pensions are not enough to cover even half of living costs.

Pensions as a share of living costs are also 53% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 58% in Cyprus, 61% in North Macedonia, 64% in Turkey and 65% in Latvia.

Noel Whiteside, visiting professor at the University of Oxford, stated that some EU countries are simply poorer than others and require families to subsidise the pension income of elderly relatives and help out.
By Mike Dolan

March 24 - What matters in U.S. and global markets today

By Mike Dolan, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets

As President Trumps 48-hour countdown to attacks on Iranian power plants becomes five days thanks to an apparent breakthrough with Tehran, markets are as confused as anybody about who exactly is talking to who. U.S. and Iranian messaging on the matter differs starkly.

More from Yahoo Scout What impact did geopolitical tensions have on markets? What's happening with Apollo's private credit fund redemptions? How did Trump's Iran announcement affect oil prices? Why are Fed rate cut expectations changing?

Trump's announcement caused wild market swings on Monday, with oil plunging, stocks rallying, and yields easing. But some of that relief momentum is looking a little less certain today.

Ill get into that and more below.

But first, check out my latest column on how bonds' Iran-war doldrums fit a long historical pattern - and what might be needed for a turnaround.

And catch todays episode of the Morning Bid podcast, where I unpack the whiplash and contradictions roiling markets. Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week.

FROM 48 HOURS TO FIVE DAYS

Oil prices plunged more than 10% on Monday in the wake of Trump's announcement, with Brent dropping to as low as $97 per barrel and WTI touching $86. Other markets rallied on the back of that, with all major U.S. stock indexes finishing up more than 1%.

But Iran claimed that no negotiations with the U.S. had taken place and that the whole thing was fake news aimed at calming markets.

Thats dampened things somewhat, with oil retracing some of its losses on Tuesday to leave Brent hovering just above $100 per barrel and U.S. crude around $90.

In equities, Asian shares managed to eke out a gain on Tuesday, but European shares were shaky and U.S. stock futures edged down before the bell.

The Strait of Hormuz remains closed - except to a handful of India-flagged tankers - and missiles kept flying overnight. If nothing gets resolved, its going to be another nervous Friday ahead.

Whatever the truth behind all the politics and maneuvering, financial traders subscribing to the idea that Trump always backs down when financial markets quake will see this latest episode as confirmation of that stance.

Specifically, the surge in U.S. Treasury yields early on Monday to their highest in seven months - before easing after Trump's post - was another indication that rising government borrowing costs are the president's kryptonite during his more disruptive ventures.

Either way, markets remain nervous and will today keep tabs on just how much damage the Middle East conflict has done to business confidence in March as flash business surveys are released around the world.
Air cargo rates have surged throughout March amid the volatility from the war in Iran that has snarled freighter capacity, escalated oil prices and restricted activity at major Middle Eastern airports.

According to more than 500,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD, average global air cargo rates rose by 10 percent in the week to March 15, reaching $2.67 per kilogram when including surcharges. The increase followed a week in which rates increased 8 percent.

More from Sourcing Journal

Jet fuel availability and prices have become a major factor in the rapid price hike, with the constrictions of oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz doubling jet fuel prices 94 percent over pre-war levels. On a week-over-week basis, these prices rose 11 percent.

In a statement to employees, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the air carrier is trimming its unprofitable routes that comprise roughly 5 percent of its planned capacity due to the high oil prices.

Much of the cutsabout 3 percentage points of capacitywill come from off-peak flights such as midweek and redeye routes, while another percentage point will be from reductions at Chicago OHare. Another percentage point tied to suspended services to Tel Aviv and Dubai.

Nothing changes about our longer-term plans for aircraft deliveries or total capacity for 2027 and beyond, but theres no point in burning cash in the near term on flying that just cant absorb these fuel costs, Kirby said.

The cancellations are expected to last throughout Q2 and Q3, he added. United currently plans to restore the full schedule this fall.

Our plans assume oil goes to $175 per barrel and doesnt get back down to $100 per barrel until the end of 2027, said Kirby. Honestly, I think theres a good chance it wont be that bad, butthere isnt much downside for us to preparing for that outcome.

Delta Airlines has also said it could adjust capacity if fuel prices stay elevated.

According to a client advisory from Seko Logistics Monday, more than 26,000 flights have been impacted to date, driving the persistent global backlogs. The global capacity shortfall has eased slightly to an estimated 13 percent to 8 percent, with approximately 12 percent to 13 percent tied directly to Middle East airspace closures.

Timesensitive cargo delays now averaging between four and eight days, Seko said.

Data from freight booking software provider CargoWise estimates that 43.4 percent of the roughly 540 logistics organizations using the platform have experienced air cargo interruptions, totaling 12,200 disrupted shipments.
Corn price action has been back and forth early on Monday, with contracts down 1 to 2 cents so far. Futures sputtered late on Friday, with contracts down 3  to 4  cents on the day, as some deferreds were fractionally lower. May was down 1  cents last week. Open interest was up 2,905 contracts on Friday, with exception to the front month May, dropping 7,023 contracts. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was down 4 cents to $4.23 3/4.

Early on Monday morning, President Trump put out a Truth Social post ordering the military to postpone strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for 5 days after weekend talks were good and productive. Iran state media responded stating there was no direct or indirect contact with the President. Oil is down $6.51 this morning.

More News from Barchart

The Friday update to the CFTC Commitment of Traders report showed a total of 35,533 contracts added to the managed money net long position in corn futures and options as of Tuesday, That took the net long to 228,804 contracts, as shorts dropped to their lowest level since last March. Commercials added 44,702 contracts to their net short of 522,116 contracts as producer selling continues to pick up.

Export Sales data from Thursday brought the marketing year corn export commitments to 67.658 MMT, which is 30% larger than the same period last year. That is 81% of USDAs export number and near the 82% average pace. Shipments at 43.46 MMT are now 52% of USDAs number and running ahead of the 45% average pace.

Brazils AgRural estimates the Brazilian second corn crop at 97% planted as of last Thursday, as last year was already completed by this point.

May 26 Corn closed at $4.65 1/2, down 4 1/4 cents, currently down 2 cents

Nearby Cash was $4.23 3/4, down 4 cents,

Jul 26 Corn closed at $4.76, down 4 cents, currently down 2 cents

Dec 26 Corn closed at $4.90 3/4, down 3 3/4 cents, currently down 1 3/4 cents

New Crop Cash was $4.49 1/2, down 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
Major Drilling Mexico, a subsidiary of Major Drilling Group International, has started mobilising a drill crew and a diamond drill rig at the El Cristo target within Zacatecas Silvers project in Mexico.

The commencement of this phase signifies a shift to active exploration for Zacatecas Silver, with initial drilling expected to begin shortly.

This programme will help examine priority targets along the El Cristo vein system.

The targets include both extensions of existing silver and base metal mineralisation and new prospects identified through recent geological modelling and surface analysis.

El Cristo is a largely underexplored area of the Zacatecas Silver Project.

Historical drilling at the site intersected mineralisation in 22 out of 28 scout holes, indicating significant continuity and near-surface potential.

The vein system stretches roughly 3km and is believed to continue north-west as part of the extensive Veta Grande system.

The Zacatecas Silver Project is situated in the Fresnillo Silver Belt.

The company aims to extend known mineral zones and discover new ones as part of its broader exploration strategy.

Zacatecas Silver CEO Eric Vanderleeuw said: The successful mobilisation of Major Drilling to El Cristo is a significant milestone for the company and marks the start of an exciting new phase of exploration. With drilling set to commence in the coming week, we are entering a period of sustained activity and consistent news flow.

El Cristo is a compelling target with strong historical results and clear potential for discovery, and this programme is designed to both grow known mineralisation and unlock new resource opportunities.

Zacatecas Silver is now positioned with an active drill programme, a growing portfolio of high-quality exploration assets, and a clear strategy focused on expanding resources and unlocking the broader potential of its land package in one of Mexicos premier silver districts.

"Drill rig arrives at Zacatecas Silvers El Cristo site" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to dominate global cobalt supply, accounting for around 72% of total production in 2025. This leading position is underpinned by the countrys vast cobalt resources and long-standing strategic partnerships with Chinese mining companies, which have enabled large-scale mine development and sustained output growth.

The countrys cobalt mine output is estimated to have increased by 3.7% to reach 237,300 tonnes (t) in 2025. Supply growth was driven primarily by higher grades and expanded volumes from Glencores Mutanda mine, alongside the commencement of underground operations at the Musonoi project in September 2025. The Musonoi project, jointly owned by Jinchuan Group (75%) and Gecamines (25%), has a production capacity of around 7,400t of cobalt and an estimated mine life of up to 14 years, strengthening the countrys medium-term supply outlook.

The production trajectory is further supported by consistently strong output from China Molybdenums (CMOC) major operating assets in the DRC, particularly the Kisanfu (KFM) and Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) operations, which remain key contributors to national cobalt production. However, some of this growth has been partially offset by the suspension of operations at MMGs Kinsevere mine in December 2024, reflecting challenging market conditions marked by cobalt oversupply and declining prices.

Looking ahead, cobalt production in the DRC is projected to continue rising in 2026, with a 4.4% annual growth rate, supported by higher-grade feed from the Mutanda and the ramp-up of the Musonoi underground project. Despite short-term market headwinds, these operational developments are expected to sustain positive production momentum.

Chinas influence in the DRCs mining sector has been reinforced through the long-standing minerals-for-infrastructure (Sicomines) agreement, originally signed in 2008. Under this framework, Chinese companies gained access to large copper and cobalt resources in exchange for infrastructure development financed by mining revenues. While the agreement has delivered capital and technical expertise, it has also raised concerns around economic sovereignty, benefit sharing, and policy influence.

In response to prolonged domestic criticism, the Sicomines agreement was revised between January and March 2024. The revised terms increased infrastructure funding commitments to $7bn, up from $3bn, extending to 2040. Chinese operators continue to benefit from tax, duty, and royalty exemptions until 2040; however, the revised deal raises annual royalty payments to the DRC Government to 1.2% and introduces a profit-sharing clause that allocates an additional 30% of profits to infrastructure funding if copper prices exceed $12,000 per tonne, improving alignment with national development objectives.
Indonesia, once a minor player in the global cobalt market, has emerged as a significant force, largely driven by investment in high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) facilities. In 2025, the country is estimated to have produced 49,300 tonnes (t) of cobalt, a 42.6% increase over the previous year, primarily driven by the increase in supply at Ningbo Lygend Minings PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Project, due to ongoing expansion and commissioning of additional HPAL production lines, which are reaching towards full operational capacity. The PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Project suspended operations in 2024 to cut operational costs due to the prevailing market conditions such as oversupply and lower prices.

In addition, the ongoing ramp-up of Zhejiang Huayous Huafei Cobalt-Nickel Project, which started production in Q1 2024, further supported the countrys growth trajectory in 2025.

Looking ahead, the countrys cobalt output is expected to grow further in 2026, by an annual growth rate of 21.2% to reach 59,800t. This will be supported by the start of the Pomalaa and Morowali coupled with the ongoing ramp-up of the Huafei Cobalt-Nickel Project and ongoing expansion at the PT Halmahera Persada Lygend Project.

Over the past decade, Indonesia has witnessed a steep rise in cobalt production, increasing from just 1,300t in 2015 to 49,300t in 2025, making it the second-largest producer globally. This transformation is a result of the government's proactive approach to developing a domestic supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs).

The export ban in 2020 proved to be a pivotal moment, attracting substantial foreign investment, primarily from Chinese companies, into the country's nickel and cobalt processing industries.

The Indonesia Growth Project (IGP) Pomalaa, which is owned jointly by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., PT Vale Indonesia, and Ford Motor Company, is a prime example of this. The project is developing a nickel mine and an HPAL processing plant, and the associated mine infrastructure to process nickel ore. Currently, the project is advancing its construction activities and is scheduled to commence operations in Q4 2026. The HPAL plant, once operational, will produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a key material used in the production of EV batteries.

Other prominent investments include Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), which is jointly owned by Chinas Tsingshan Holding Group (66.25%) and PT Bintang Delapan Group (33.75%) through their subsidiaries. The IMIP has numerous smelters and HPAL facilities. These partner companies develop infrastructure for battery material production, enabling cobalt extraction as a byproduct of nickel processing.
Crypto is inching closer to Australias retirement system, with one of the countrys largest super funds now actively exploring how to offer it to members.

Australian industry superannuation fund Hostplus is exploring whether to open a path into Bitcoin and other digital assets for its members, according to a Bloomberg report.

This move would put the $105 billion (A$150 billion) retirement giant among a small group of global pension funds willing to take on crypto exposure.

As soon as one super fund breaks ranks on crypto assets, Id say there's a high probability the rest follow, Jason Titman, CEO of Australian crypto exchange Swyftx, told Decrypt. Around a quarter of Australians want their super funds to offer digital assets, and that number is likely to increase when the market is regulated.

The fund's CIO, Sam Sicilia, told Bloomberg the plan is focused on Choiceplus, a self-directed window that lets members manage a slice of their own retirement savings, currently about 1% of the fund's total book.

Theres certainly a demand from some of our members who write in and say, Why cant I have access to cryptocurrency? he said.

A launch could come as early as next financial year, pending regulatory approval and internal product design work, Sicilia said.

Australia Senate Panel Backs Crypto Framework in Latest Regulatory Push

Hostplus, which serves nearly two million members with an average age in the mid-to-late 30s, is still reviewing consumer protections and product design.

Sicilia said the fund's view of crypto has evolved considerably since an earlier assessment roughly a decade ago, and that the current review covers not just Bitcoin but a broader universe of digital assets, including potential tokenized exposure to areas such as music rights.

Kraken Australia managing director Jonathon Miller told Decrypt the move, if implemented, is a positive step forward for the sector.

"We have come a long way in the last decade, and for many Australians, digital assets are increasingly viewed as a legitimate long-term investment; however, access to them, outside of SMSFs, has remained limited," he said.

Expanding availability through platforms like Choiceplus gives investors more flexibility in how they build and diversify their portfolios, Miller said, adding that more choice and easier access would benefit both consumers and the broader market.

Australia Puts Crypto Oversight Gaps on 2026 Risk List

Still, volatility remains a key barrier as AMP Super, one of the few funds to experiment with crypto, recently cut its Bitcoin futures exposure to around 0.02% after a sharp downturn wiped out roughly $700 billion from the market earlier this year.
XRP ETFs pulled in $164 million on Day 1 of trading and went 35 consecutive trading days without a single net outflowa streak that neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum ETFs matched in their early months. By the end of 2025, cumulative inflows had crossed $1.18 billion. The pace continued into early January, pushing total inflows to $1.44 billion. March has slowed down, though, with only four positive inflow days so far this month. Combined AUM has dropped from a January peak of $1.65 billion to roughly $1 billion, almost entirely because of XRP's 43% price drop in 2026 rather than investors pulling money out.

REX-Osprey's XRPR was first to market in September 2025, and by December, six more spot XRP ETFs had launched from Canary Capital, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, 21Shares, and Amplify. Canary's XRPC holds the largest AUM of the group, Bitwise's fund trades the highest daily volume, and Franklin Templeton's XRPZ charges the lowest fee at 0.19%. All seven are physically backed, meaning they hold actual XRP in cold storage.

We mapped the full XRP ETF pipeline, from what's approved to what's pending to who's still missing, and looked at what it would actually take for institutional inflows to push the XRP price out of the range it's been stuck in.

Have You read The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans ? Americans are answering three questions and many are realizing they can retire earlier than expected.

The SEC and CFTC recently classified XRP as a digital commodity, putting it on the same legal footing as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The latest batch of spot XRP ETF applications will hit the final SEC deadline on March 27. But the firms that could actually shift the supply dynamics at scaleBlackRock, Fidelity, and Invescohaven't filed yet.

Seven U.S. spot XRP ETFs went live between September and December 2025, and together theyve pulled in $1.44 billion. XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) holders spent years waiting for this kind of institutional access, and it arrived faster than almost anyone expected. But the XRP price hasn't followed. It's hovering around $1.40 right now, down 43% since January and 61% below its July 2025 cycle high of $3.65.

Have You read The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans ? Americans are answering three questions and many are realizing they can retire earlier than expected.

If the CLARITY Act passes, projected XRP ETF inflows of $4 to $8 billion could push the XRP price past $2.00 and toward its $3.65 cycle high.

Goldman Sachs holds $153.8 million across four XRP ETFs but 84% of XRP ETF assets still sit with retail investors, and BlackRock says it needs $3 billion in XRP ETF demand before filing.

U.S. spot XRP ETFs have pulled in $1.44 billion since November 2025, but combined AUM has dropped from $1.65 billion to $1 billion as XRPs 43% price decline eroded asset values despite steady inflows.

Story Continues

Goldman Sachs' Q4 2025 13F filing revealed a $153.8 million position spread across four XRP ETFsBitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shareslarger than the next 29 institutional holders combined. Millennium Management came in second at $23.1 million. Around 84% of XRP ETF assets still sit with retail investors, though, so institutional adoption is real but concentrated in a handful of names.

At $1 billion in AUM, XRP ETFs represent roughly 1.1% of XRP's $88 billion market cap. Bitcoin ETFs hold close to $100 billion, closer to 5% of BTC's total value. The gap is why XRP ETF inflows haven't moved the XRP price yetthey need to grow several times over before they carry that kind of weight, and that depends on who enters the market next.

What's Still Pending Approval? March 27 SEC ETF Deadline

bigjom jom / Shutterstock.com  bigjom jom / Shutterstock.com

March 27 is the 240-day maximum deadline for the SEC to approve or deny the latest batch of crypto ETF applications, and XRP-related filings are in that queue. There are 91 outstanding crypto ETF applications across 24 tokens as of late 2025, and the SEC has been working through that backlog ever since. The March 27 deadline applies broadly across crypto ETFs, but the XRP applications are among the most closely watched given that seven spot funds are already live and absorbing capital.

Not every issuer stuck around for the SECs decision. WisdomTree withdrew its spot XRP ETF application on January 6, 2026, and CoinShares pulled its XRP, Solana, and Litecoin filings around late 2025. Both still operate XRP products in Europe, so the exit wasn't about losing interest in XRP. It was about a crowded U.S. market where Canary, Bitwise, and Franklin Templeton had already locked up most of the early inflows.

The March 17 XRP commodity classification removes the biggest obstacle for whatever's still in the queue. The SEC and CFTC jointly classified XRP as a digital commodity under the same framework that Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs were approved through. This leaves the agency with little statutory ground to deny the remaining XRP ETF filings. That said, this classification is an interpretive release, not legislation. The CLARITY Act still needs to pass Congress to make XRP's commodity status permanent under federal law.

The bill has stalled in the Senate over a stablecoin yield dispute, and Galaxy Digital warned it was likely dead for 2026 if it didn't clear committee by end of April. But on March 20, Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks reached an agreement in principle on the stablecoin yield language, and Senator Lummis confirmed the Banking Committee is targeting a markup in the second half of April.

The Names That Haven't Filed an XRP ETF and What It Would Take

TopMicrobialStock / Shutterstock.com  TopMicrobialStock / Shutterstock.com

BlackRock is the biggest name missing from the XRP ETF lineup. The firm's Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) holds over $54 billion in assets, but BlackRock hasn't filed for a spot XRP ETF. Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock's head of digital assets, has said that client demand from pensions, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds hasn't crossed the firm's internal threshold. Client demand is the factor BlackRock weighs most heavily when deciding whether to launch a new crypto product. Fidelity and Invesco haven't filed for XRP either, though Invesco has already submitted a Solana ETF application, which shows these firms are expanding beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg expects BlackRock could file by late 2026 or 2027, and he's pointed to a specific number. He suggested XRP ETF assets need to reach roughly $3 billion before the commercial case is strong enough for BlackRock to enter. That's about three times the current $1 billion. A filing from Fidelity or another major rival would also create competitive pressure that could speed up BlackRock's timeline, since the firm doesn't like being first but doesn't want to be last either.

BlackRock isn't completely disconnected from Ripple's world, though. Mitchnick worked at Ripple before joining BlackRock, and the firm's tokenized treasury fund BUIDL already uses Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin as collateral. The connection to Ripple's ecosystem exists, but what's missing is enough client demand to justify building a product around XRP.

If inflows pick up through the second half of 2026 and the CLARITY Act gives institutions permanent legal comfort, that demand signal could arrive faster than McClurg's late-2027 estimate, and the XRP price would likely respond to a BlackRock filing before the fund even launches.

What Institutional-Scale XRP ETF Inflows Would Do to the XRP Price?

SergeiShimanovich / Shutterstock.com  SergeiShimanovich / Shutterstock.com

Each $1 billion in XRP ETF inflows locks roughly 500 million tokens in custody, which is about 0.8% of XRP's 61 billion circulating supply. At the current $1 billion in AUM, ETFs hold 772 million XRP. At $5 billion, they'd hold roughly 2.5 billion tokensmore XRP than every crypto exchange combined. Exchange balances already dropped from about 4 billion to 2.6 billion during 2025, the lowest level since 2018, so the available float for trading is already thin.

Standard Chartered projected an XRP price of $8 by end of 2026, assuming $4 to $8 billion in total ETF inflows. The forecast was revised down to $2.80 after inflows slowed and macro headwinds picked up. But the bank kept its 2030 target at $28, which tells you the long-term conviction on ETF-driven demand is still intact. The broader consensus for 2026 sits between $3 and $5 if conditions cooperate, with the XRP price needing to clear $1.60 first, then $2.00, and eventually $3.65its July 2025 cycle highbefore any of those targets come into play.

XRP ETFs were pulling in $43 million a week in early January, but that dropped to under $2 million a week by early March. At the slower pace, ETFs would add maybe $100 million by year-end and the price goes nowhere. At December's pace of $483 million a month, they'd reach $5.8 billion by December and start creating the supply pressure that would force the XRP price to adjust.

Whether inflows pick back up depends on the same triggers: the CLARITY Act passing, new ETF approvals landing after March 27, and whether BlackRock or Fidelity decides to file.

When Does XRP ETF Demand Actually Break the Price Out?

Every piece of infrastructure XRP needed is now in placeseven spot ETFs, commodity classification from both the SEC and CFTC, and proven institutional demand from names like Goldman Sachs. What's still missing is the one thing that turns a regulatory win into permanent law: the CLARITY Act. The stablecoin yield compromise that stalled the bill for months just broke through, and the Senate Banking Committee is targeting a markup in late April. Senator Moreno has warned that if the bill doesn't pass by May, midterm election dynamics will push it off the table for the rest of 2026.

That puts the XRP price outlook on a very specific clock. If the CLARITY Act clears committee in April and moves toward a Senate floor vote, the projected $4 to $8 billion in XRP ETF inflows becomes a realistic H2 2026 scenario. At that scale, the supply would force the price past $2.00 and toward the $3.65 cycle high. Without the bill, XRP likely stays between $1.50 and $2.50 for the rest of the year, and the bigger institutional allocators keep waiting. The next four to six weeks in Washington will tell us which version of 2026 XRP holders are getting.

The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans

You may think retirement is about picking the best stocks or ETFs and saving as much as possible, but you'd be wrong. After the release of a new retirement income report, wealthy Americans are rethinking their plans and realizing that even modest portfolios can be serious cash machines.

Many are even learning they can retire earlier than expected.

If you're thinking about retiring or know someone who is, take 5 minutes to learn more here.
Olympia Financial Group has agreed to sell its wholly owned subsidiary, Olympia Currency and Global Payments (OCGPI) to Shift Connect.

The company did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.

OCGPI is a boutique foreign exchange and global payments firm. It offers customised currency exchange and cross-border payment services to individuals and small- and mid-sized businesses across Canada.

In a statement, Olympia said there will be no immediate changes to day-to-day operations.

The change in ownership will provide them with access to more currencies, additional banking relationships, and elevated global payment infrastructure though Shift Connect.

Olympia executive vice-president Craig Skauge said: This transaction allows Olympia to sharpen its strategic focus while ensuring that Olympia Currency and Global Payments is well positioned for its next phase of growth.

We are confident that Shift Connect is a strong partner for the business, its clients, and its employees.

A Canadian financial services company, Shift Connect focuses on digital payments and financial technology. The acquisition is expected to further strengthen its position in the domestic financial services market.

The transaction is expected to complete on or before 31 March 2026, subject to Bank of Canada approval under the Retail Payment Activities Act (Canada), along with customary closing conditions.

Olympia Financial Group conducts most of its operations through a non-deposit taking trust company called Olympia Trust Company. It is licenced to conduct trust activities in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

"Olympia to divest payment unit to Shift Connect" was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand.




Key Takeaways

A $1.5 billion futures trade before Trumps Iran announcement has triggered insider trading concerns.

Senator Chris Murphy called the move mindblowing corruption.

Prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, are tightening rules.

A senior U.S. senator has alleged potential insider trading after a roughly $1.5 billion futures position was placed about five minutes before President Donald Trumps surprise announcement that the U.S. would halt planned strikes on Iran.

The move, which the senator described as mindblowing corruption, comes as an analytics platform revealed a single bettor has made $1 million in war betting since 2024  even as prediction market operators have moved to tighten rules.

Insider Trading Concerns

U.S. equity and oil futures saw a sudden burst of activity early Monday, just minutes before Trump disclosed that Washington had engaged in talks with Iran and would pause planned military action.

Around 6:50 a.m. in New York, trading volumes in S&P 500 e-mini futures rose sharply during typically thin premarket conditions. Activity in West Texas Intermediate crude futures also jumped at roughly the same time.

Donald Trump paused planned military strikes. | Source: Truth Social

Then, at 7:05 a.m., Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. was halting strikes on Iranian power and energy facilities.

Markets reacted immediately, with stock futures climbing more than 2.5% ahead of the opening bell, while crude futures fell by roughly 6%.

Data flagged by market-tracking account Unusual Whales indicated that traders bought approximately $1.5 billion in S&P 500 futures five minutes before the announcement, while selling about $192 million in oil futures.

Political Backlash

The activity prompted a sharp response from Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, who slammed the move as mindblowing corruption.

In a post on X, Murphy called for answers on who may have been involved in the $1.5 billion bet.

He wrote: Who was it? Trump? A family member? A White House staffer?

Others pushed back on aspects of Murphys characterization.

Investor Adam Cochran said the figure referred to notional exposure rather than cash deployed, and emphasized that the trades took place in regulated futures markets overseen by U.S. authorities.

Cochran argued that, if wrongdoing occurred, it would fall squarely within the jurisdiction of regulators such as the SEC and CFTC, and urged congressional scrutiny of enforcement agencies.

This fraud is fleecing American pension funds, and is something the SEC and CFTC have *clear* jurisdiction over, he wrote.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) ranks among the best most active stocks to buy right now. Following encouraging results from Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)s FreeDM trial, Benchmark reiterated a Buy rating and $145 price target for the companys shares on March 13. In comparison to individuals using whole blood glucose meters with fingerstick blood samples, the trial demonstrated that patients with Type 2 diabetes on basal insulin therapy who employed FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring technology achieved better glucose results.

The findings from the UK trial were supported by a second interventional trial from Italy delivered at the same conference. Both results emphasize the need for expanded insurance coverage of continuous glucose monitoring in European nations where Libre has not been officially covered.

Although no decision is expected very soon, the CMS is thinking about expanding compensation in the US. According to Benchmark, as one of the top providers of continuous glucose monitoring, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is well-positioned to profit from this development.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is a leading global healthcare company that manufactures a wide range of branded generic medications, medical devices, diagnostics, and nutritional items.

While we acknowledge the potential of ABT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Revenue: Bozzetto generated $84.2 million, a decrease of 1.9% year-over-year; Cortland generated $34.3 million, down 17% year-over-year.

Adjusted EBITDA: Bozzetto's adjusted EBITDA was $15 million with a margin of 17.8%; Cortland's adjusted EBITDA decreased to $4.1 million.

Net Loss: Included a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $14 million at Cortland.

SG&A Expenses: Increased due to $2.9 million related to the Bozzetto transaction and $1.2 million for a litigation settlement.

Cash Position: Ended the year with $109 million, up from $106 million at the end of Q3.

Cash Flow from Operations: $19.4 million in Q4.

Bozzetto Sale Proceeds: Expected net proceeds of $265 million to $271 million.

Senior Notes Redemption: $142.6 million if all notes are redeemed.

Holdco Costs: Reduced to $7.7 million for 2025, below the target of $9 million.

Release Date: March 24, 2026

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

Aimia Inc (AIMFF) achieved its financial guidance for the year, demonstrating strong performance despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties.

The company is on track to enhance shareholder value through the divestiture of its Bozzetto core holding, which is expected to generate significant net proceeds.

Aimia Inc (AIMFF) has successfully reduced its holdco costs to $7.7 million in 2025, surpassing its target of $9 million.

The company has a strong cash position, ending the year with $109 million, and expects to further increase liquidity with the Bozzetto sale.

Aimia Inc (AIMFF) plans to utilize its substantial tax loss carryforwards, which will help mitigate tax costs on future transactions.

Negative Points

Consolidated revenues were down in Q4 2025 due to lower volumes and pricing pressures in core businesses.

The company incurred a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $14 million at Cortland, impacting net loss for the quarter.

Bozzetto's revenue decreased by 1.9% year-over-year, with significant declines in the Textile and Water Solutions sectors.

Cortland's revenue fell by 17% from the previous year, affected by unfavorable market conditions and increased SG&A costs.

The company faces challenges in deploying capital effectively, as the process of identifying and acquiring undervalued companies will take time.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you clarify which assets Aimia is considering monetizing? A: Rhys Summerton, Executive Chairman of the Board, mentioned that Aimia has a few smaller assets they are in the process of monetizing. They also have an investment in China that is not ready to be sold yet but is trending in the right direction for a future exit.
Management highlighted that Alaska is a little disadvantaged on the West Coast due to refinery margins and recent refinery closures in California, citing two closures in the past six months (one in the San Francisco area and one in Los Angeles). The company said this dynamic has at times resulted in fuel costs about $0.20 per gallon higher than peers.

Demand was described as the bright spot, consistent with commentary from other airlines at the conference. The company also said it observed some accelerated bookings after fuel prices spiked, with management suggesting some customers may have booked earlier out of concern that fares could rise further. Alaska said those trends appeared to level off after the initial surge.

Alaska said it is maintaining its Q1 guidance. Management noted that, absent the effects from recent conflict-related developments in the prior few weeks, results would have been better than the midpoint of its Q1 guide.

Executives from Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) said they are not changing first-quarter guidance despite recent volatility, while emphasizing that demand remains strong and outlining initiatives to address a persistent fuel-cost disadvantage on the West Coast. Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference, the company also discussed progress on its Alaska Accelerate plan, milestones in the Hawaiian integration, share repurchases, fleet growth plans, and early results from new international routes out of Seattle.

The company reiterated its path to $10 EPS via the Alaska Accelerate program (targeting $1B of pre-tax gains), is accelerating share buybacks ($750M of a $1B plan), and plans fleet growth to about 500 aircraftincluding ~40 widebodies by 20272030while aiming for investmentgrade credit by 2027.

Management warned of a West Coast fuel-cost disadvantage (about $0.20/gal higher) and outlined an "audacious" plan to tanker fuel from Singapore to the Pacific Northwest to cut West Coast fuel reliance to the lowtomid40% range and potentially save roughly $0.10/gal within two years.

Alaska is holding its Q1 guidance despite recent volatility, saying demand remains strong with an initial surge in bookings after fuel-price spikes that has since leveled off.

Story Continues

 Planet Labs: The Satellite Stock That Keeps Shooting to the Moon

Despite Bad Headlines, Boeing Still Wins Billion Dollar Contracts

As a mitigation strategy, Alaska discussed plans influenced by the Hawaiian acquisition, noting it can source fuel from Singapore for Hawaii and that the per-gallon cost to tanker fuel there has been lower than what it pays on the West Coastan example management used to illustrate the disparity in regional fuel pricing.

The company said that prior to Hawaiian, roughly 60%65% of its fuel came from the West Coast. Post-Hawaiian, that figure is about 56%. Alaska outlined an initiative to reduce reliance on West Coast fuel to the low-to-mid-40% range over the next two years by tankering fuel from Singapore to the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle, and said it is working with partners to build supporting infrastructure. Management characterized the effort as audacious and said it could potentially improve costs by around $0.10 per gallon within two years if successful.

 Copper Cools After Record JanuaryBut This ETF Is a Buy-the-Dip Opportunity

On whether West Coast refining spreads could normalize on their own, Alaska said it does not currently see additional production coming online that would bring margins in line with the rest of the country. Management added that hope is not a strategy, and said the company is taking steps to reduce its risk.

Fare increases, fuel math, and international surcharges

Alaska discussed the scale of fuel sensitivity in airline economics, saying it burns about 100 million gallons per month (roughly 1.2 billion gallons annually). Management said a $1 per gallon increase would translate to about $100 million of additional monthly cost. It also cited about $1 billion per month in coupon revenue (excluding loyalty, cargo, and other items), framing that offsetting $100 million of fuel cost would imply roughly a 10% increase in coupon revenueabout $20 on a $200 average fare. The company said it has been pleased that fare increases have stuck so far.

Alaska also noted that some of its international flying is subject to international fuel surcharge mechanisms, and said it has seen higher quality fares in its international markets.

International growth: early load factors and upcoming Rome launch

Management said it is encouraged by the performance of newer international routes from Seattle, including Tokyo and Seoul, launched last year. For spring break travel, the company said it is seeing load factors in the 90% range. It added that its current 787 cabin configuration is not yet ideal, citing the lack of premium economy, which it said is being worked on over the next two years.

Alaska also said it plans to launch Rome in five weeks and described bookings as fantastic, including strong mileage redemptions. The company attributed part of the international ramp to loyalty strength in the Pacific Northwest and the ability to keep loyalty activity within Alaskas network rather than customers earning and redeeming with other carriers. Management said that at Seattle it has about twice the domestic capacity of any competitor, which it believes supports loyalty-driven international demand. The company also pointed to benefits from its oneworld partnership for onward connections via London.

Looking longer term, Alaska said it expects to have more than 12 international flights per day and indicated it would have roughly 40 widebody aircraft by 2027 into early 2030, up from about 30 widebodies today, consisting of 787s and A330s.

Alaska Accelerate, $10 EPS target, integration milestones, and capital allocation

On the companys path to $10 EPS goal, management reiterated its commitment and said Alaska Accelerate is expected to generate $1 billion of additional pre-tax profit through synergies, revenue initiatives, and cost savings, roughly one-third per year. Alaska said it is on track or better on those components and described the Hawaiian acquisition as doing extremely well, adding that without it the company would be in a worse position.

Management said the macro environment was a $500 million$600 million headwind last year, and that guidance assumptions contemplate recovery of a portion of that headwind, with upside if macro conditions recover more fully. Alaska also cited fuel as a current uncertainty, noting that it is facing about $3.50 per gallon fuel at present (prior to considering fare increases), versus an exit rate discussed around $2.50$2.60.

On capital return, Alaska said it repurchased $570 million of shares last year and is $100 million into this year, with plans for up to $250 million by midyearbringing total repurchases to $750 million out of a $1 billion plan. Given the stock price level, management suggested repurchases could occur faster than previously expected, while also noting fuel as a factor in pacing.

Regarding balance sheet priorities, Alaska said the goal is to reach investment grade by the time Alaska Accelerate is achieved in 2027, noting it is currently a notch below investment grade with two agencies. Management cited $3 billion of liquidity and $18 billion of unencumbered assets, including more than 100 airplanes and its loyalty program.

On integration, Alaska identified a major remaining milestone: combining reservation systems, targeted for April 22. Management said that by then it will have completed three major integration steps: a single operating certificate, a single loyalty program, and a single reservation system. The company said the remaining complex milestone is achieving joint collective bargaining agreements, with timelines varying by union, and estimated it could take 12 to 36 months. Alaska said it expects to pay competitively with the Big Four airlines and highlighted that flight attendant work rulesparticularly Alaskas pay-by-trip model versus Hawaiians pay-by-hour approachcould take the longest to merge.

Alaska also discussed fleet planning following what it described as its largest aircraft order in history. Management said the order provides about 10 years of coverage, growing from roughly 400 aircraft to 500 over a decade, including 41 widebodies and the remainder narrowbodies. The company described this as implying about 4% annual growth, including roughly 75 retirements, and said it aims to level set capital expenditures at around $1.5 billion per year. It also said it is evaluating options for replacing the 717 fleet used for inter-island flying in Hawaii, emphasizing engine reliability as the top requirement and indicating a decision framework over the next 12 months.

Finally, management said it is pursuing artificial intelligence initiatives through a partnership with UP.Labs, with seven mini companies focused on safety, operational efficiency, guest experience, back office, and commercial functions. Alaska said one safety-related toolfocused on reporting, data analysis, and predictive identification of safety issuescould be close to launch within six months. Management said it is not assuming AI benefits in long-term targets, but suggested that if several projects succeed they could produce meaningful bottom-line benefit.

About Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that operates two main airlinesAlaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Through these carriers, the company offers scheduled passenger and cargo services across a network spanning the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its core business activities include domestic and international air transportation, loyalty program management under the Mileage Plan brand, and ancillary revenue streams such as baggage fees, in-flight sales and code-share partnerships with other global airlines.

The roots of Alaska Air Group trace back to the foundation of its flagship carrier, Alaska Airlines, in 1932.

The article "Alaska Air Group Holds Q1 Guide as Demand Stays Strong; Eyes Singapore Fuel Plan to Cut Costs" was originally published by MarketBeat.
Make better investment decisions with Simply Wall St's easy, visual tools that give you a competitive edge.

Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) has been selected for the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program.

The company will work with partners in Texas, Florida, and New York to prepare for electric air taxi operations.

The program focuses on early deployment and operational learning for Archers Midnight aircraft in multiple U.S. markets.

For investors watching Archer Aviation, the eIPP selection puts fresh attention on a company whose shares recently traded at $5.76. NYSE:ACHR has seen mixed performance, with a 128.6% return over 3 years, a 33.9% decline over the past year, and a 29.2% decline year to date. That combination suggests the stock has already experienced periods of strong enthusiasm along with more recent pullbacks.

This new government backed pilot program provides Archer with a clearer path to test electric air taxi services with major transportation authorities in several states. As the company works toward commercial use of its Midnight aircraft, investors are likely to watch how quickly concrete routes, timelines, and operational data emerge from these early deployments.

Stay updated on the most important news stories for Archer Aviation by adding it to your watchlist or portfolio. Alternatively, explore our Community to discover new perspectives on Archer Aviation.

NYSE:ACHR Earnings & Revenue Growth as at Mar 2026

2 things going right for Archer Aviation that this headline doesn't cover.

This eIPP selection gives Archer something many early stage aviation companies are still working toward, a defined path to put aircraft in real world service with government partners. Working directly with transport authorities in Texas, Florida, and New York can help Archer test route economics, charging needs, turnaround times, and passenger acceptance for its Midnight aircraft. For you as an investor, that kind of operational data often matters more than prototype milestones, because it starts to show how an electric air taxi network might actually function at scale. It also places Archer alongside larger aerospace players that are pursuing urban air mobility, such as Joby Aviation, Lilium, and to some extent established aerospace groups like Embraers Eve Air Mobility, which are also working with regulators and cities.

How This Fits Into The Archer Aviation Narrative
Most concerning, hes likely being taken advantage of. (Photo subject is a model.) - Getty Images/iStockphoto

Dear Quentin,

I have an update on my earlier letter. I mentioned how shocked I was when my elderly brother reached out to ask for a loan. In addition, his bank sent me a fraud alert this week regarding numerous Zelle charges on his account.

When I try to talk to him, he brushes it aside, saying he felt sorry for this woman, whom he claims to have met in person. Thats possible, as he travels throughout the city and still practices law.

Most Read from MarketWatch

I have a meeting scheduled with an elder attorney and am in touch with the bank. I will also be contacting the states attorney generals office. Its his money, but I believe he may be depleting his retirement account, which is very out of character for him. Most concerning of all, he is likely being taken advantage of.

The bank told me I could be liable, since we are on the same account, if any payments become more than 60 days past due. I was added to his account during COVID as a precaution, but I have never monitored it.

Im angry, but also sad and unsure of what to do.

The Sister

Related: I fell victim to an online dating scam. Im $27,000 in debt. Without commenting on my obvious stupidity, how do I recover from this?

The bank will not release you from this account until the balance reaches zero and/or a net positive balance. - MarketWatch illustration

Dear Sister,

Your brother appears to have fallen for a romance scam.

His romantic interest may or may not be real. Either way, you have a vested interest in helping him resolve this: (1) He may have cognitive impairment and (2) you are on the hook for any debt incurred. Implore him to call the bank to freeze the account. As a joint account owner, you are liable for this debt  assuming you are not merely an authorized signer  and the bank will not release you from this account until the balance reaches zero and/or a net positive balance.

Go through the account activity together, framing it as a routine check rather than accusing him of being foolish or incompetent. Tell him that you are both in this together and you are both on the hook; propose setting up transaction alerts or daily limits on his other accounts. Contact the bank together to clarify charges on your joint account and, if necessary, report the potential fraud involving Zelle. This will help stop the existing charges from continuing.

Approach this as a collaborative effort, not as a sister parachuting into his personal and financial life all guns blazing. Tell him, We can figure this out together. If this woman exists, you could tell her youd like to meet her (she likely wont show) even to show that you are on his side. Let him know that theres a chance this is a romance scam/honey trap and that even the smartest people get hoodwinked by nefarious characters who take advantage of their loneliness.
Berkshire Hathaway, the US conglomerate led by Warren Buffett, is set to acquire a 2.49% stake in Japanese insurer Tokio Marine for approximately $1.8bn (Y287.4bn) as part of a newly formed strategic partnership.

Tokio Marine will sell around 48.2 million treasury shares to National Indemnity Company (NICO), Berkshires primary reinsurance subsidiary.

To avoid diluting current shareholders, Tokio Marine will repurchase up to Y287.4bn of its own shares.

NICO may increase its stake in the future, mainly through the open market, but cannot exceed 9.9% without approval from Tokio Marines board.

The agreement covers equity investment, reinsurance collaboration and joint work on mergers and acquisitions.

Berkshire Hathaway insurance operations vice-chairman Ajit Jain said: We are pleased to build a long-term collaborative relationship with TMHD [Tokio Marine Holdings], which has a strong underwriting franchise and an exceptional management team. We expect this strategic partnership to create compelling long-term opportunities for both organisations.

As part of the alliance, NICO will join Tokio Marines reinsurance panel and take on some risk through a Whole Account Quota Share arrangement.

The companies plan to expand this arrangement over time in line with their partnership.

According to the agreement, this should increase the stability and resilience of Tokio Marines reinsurance programme, particularly regarding natural catastrophe exposures.

The two companies also intend to work together on international investment opportunities and joint acquisitions.

The partnership is structured to combine NICOs capital resources with Tokio Marines experience in acquisitions.

TMHD Group CEO Masahiro Koike said: We are delighted to establish a strategic partnership with Berkshire Hathaway, one of the worlds leading investors, whose corporate culture and values closely align with ours.

This strategic partnership represents a major step forward in advancing our insurance business and delivering sustainable value creation by combining the strengths of both organisations. Through disciplined management, we remain fully committed to enhancing corporate value over the long term.

Last year, Bloomberg reported that Tokio Marine plans to allocate more than Y1.53tn for acquisitions to strengthen its overseas business, citing unit co-head Brad Irick as the source.

"Berkshires NICO to take $1.8bn stake in Tokio Marine" was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand.




Key takeaways

Frost Bank and Texas Capital Bank are great regional banking options with solid customer service and products for Texans.

If you prefer a credit union, Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union has 65 branches in the state.

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union serves over 1 million members with 60 branches and fee-free checking accounts.

Consider Chase for its huge physical footprint, but beware potential fees and generally low yields.

As the saying goes, Everything is bigger in Texas  including your banking options. The Lone Star State hosts hundreds of banks and credit unions, from major national institutions to community-focused regional players. Whether you need extensive branch access, competitive rates or exceptional customer service, Texas has financial institutions to match your priorities.

Bankrates top picks for the best banks and credit unions in Texas for 2026 include regional and larger banks so you can find the right fit for your wallet.

Our picks for best banks and credit unions in Texas

Best for customer service

Frost Bank

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

3

Read review
UK accountancy group bk plus has moved into the London market through the acquisition of local company Freeman Carr.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Chiswick-based practice was established in 2003 by Lisa Carr and provides services to individuals and businesses across London and the South East.

Carr began her professional career at KPMG before launching her own practice.

She said: I founded Freeman Carr to give clients clear, practical advice delivered in a way that is approachable and supportive. Joining bk plus allows us to continue doing that while giving our clients access to a wider range of expertise as their businesses grow.

Following the deal, Freeman Carrs clients will continue to work with the same team, while gaining access to a wider pool of specialist support through bk plus.

The transaction increases bk plus network to 43 offices across the UK and its workforce to more than 800 people.

The company said it intends to keep expanding as a nationwide practice with a particular focus on owner-managed businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises.

bk plus CEO Shaun Knight said: Freeman Carr is a strong firm with a great reputation and loyal client base. Lisa has built something special and we are pleased to welcome her and the team to bk plus.

London and the South East are important markets for us. This is a key step as we continue to grow our presence across the UK.

From the start, our aim has been to build a national business made up of strong regional teams. Moving into London is another step forward.

Freeman Carr will retain its existing London office, with its current staff remaining in place under the bk plus structure. bk plus indicated that further deals are anticipated as it continues to expand its footprint across the UK.

"bk plus acquires London accountancy practice Freeman Carr" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand.




The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) ranks among the best most active stocks to buy right now. On March 6, Jefferies reaffirmed its Buy rating and $295 price target for The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), citing reports that the company had entered talks with China to clinch an order for up to 500 MAX aircraft. According to reports, The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) is exploring the agreement as part of the ongoing trade talks between the United States and China. The order is expected to be issued during President Trumps April visit to Beijing.

Since 2017, Chinese operators have not placed a new order with The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), though there has been some modest publicly disclosed activity.

Additionally, the US Department of War has awarded Boeing a $166.8 million contract to support the Navys P-8A systems with software and engineering. The arrangement covers services that include engineering reviews, software maintenance, and modernization activities.

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) is a global aerospace leader that designs, manufactures, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense systems, and space technologies.

While we acknowledge the potential of BA as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) ranks among the best most active stocks to buy right now. Following a discussion with Arvind Krishna, CEO of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM), BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating and a $340 price objective for the companys shares on March 10. The firm invited Krishna as part of its View from the Top CEO call series, and BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan stated that the discussion underlined IBMs portfolio posture for agentic AI technology.

JuliusKielaitis / Shutterstock.com

Krishna stated that systems of record, including databases and various other software components, may experience faster expansion as AI agents require access to infrastructure. He emphasized the significance of solid return on investment evidence in the coming two years to justify capital investments in AI infrastructure.

In a separate vein, International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) revealed a five-year partnership with Lam Research Corp. to research techniques and materials for sub-1nm logic scaling. This collaboration aims to accelerate IBMs logic scaling plan by focusing on new materials and high-NA EUV lithography.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM), together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments.

While we acknowledge the potential of IBM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
With a market cap of $61.6 billion, Carvana Co. (CVNA) is an e-commerce company that specializes in buying and selling used cars through a fully online platform. The company offers services such as vehicle acquisition, inspection, financing, and delivery.

Companies valued more than $10 billion or more are generally considered large-cap stocks, and Carvana fits this criterion perfectly. In addition to its retail operations, Carvana also runs auction sites and provides post-sale customer support.

More News from Barchart

Shares of the Tempe, Arizona-based company have declined 38.2% from its 52-week high of $486.89. Over the past three months, its shares have decreased 33.8%, lagging behind the broader State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETFs (XLY) nearly 10% dip during the same period.

www.barchart.com

CVNA stock has fallen 31.4% on a YTD basis, underperforming XLY's 7.9% drop. However, shares of the online used-car retailer have climbed 51.7% over the past 52 weeks, exceeding XLYs 11.4% gain over the same time frame.

Yet, the stock has been trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since early February.

www.barchart.com

Shares of Carvana tumbled nearly 8% following its Q4 2025 results on Feb. 18 as the company missed earnings expectations, reporting adjusted EBITDA of $511 million and EPS of $1.06. The decline came despite strong revenue growth of 58% to $5.6 billion and 163,522 units sold (up 43% year-over-year), as high expenses of about $2.16 billion, driven by inspection, repair, detailing costs, and elevated depreciation, hurt margins.

In comparison, rival Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (PAG) has shown a less pronounced decline than CVNA stock on a YTD basis, with PAG stock falling 11.2%. Nevertheless, PAG stock has dropped 6.3% over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind CVNA stock.

As the stock has outperformed relative to the sector over the past year, analysts remain strongly optimistic about its prospects. CVNA stock has a consensus rating of Strong Buy from 23 analysts in coverage, and the mean price target of $444.19 represents a premium of 49.6% to current levels.

On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal 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
Consumers are tightening their budgets and, at the same time, GLP-1 drugs are changing the way people eat. That has investors worried about food makers like Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS). The stocks have historically high yields of 5.2% and 6.5%, respectively. If you are looking for dirt cheap dividend stocks, you'll want to get to know these consumer staples companies today.

Hormel and General Mills are reliable dividend payers

Hormel is a Dividend King, with six decades worth of annual dividend increased under its belt. General Mills has paid a dividend for 127 years and counting. The dividend has trended generally higher for decades. These are not upstarts; they are seasoned food companies that are going through a difficult period. And they have both proven they can survive hard times while continuing to reward dividend investors well.

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.

The key is that both Hormel and General Mills make necessity items. You aren't going to stop eating because there is a recession or a bear market. And they both have long and successful histories of updating their brand portfolios to keep pace with changing consumer preferences. Hormel's protein focus is particularly on point today, as GLP-1 drug use is spreading. Increasing protein intake is important to stave off muscle loss. However, if history is any guide, they will both figure out how to deal with the current headwinds, using tools such as innovation, acquisitions, and cost-cutting, among others. General Mills has notably been leaning into growing trends like pet food and moving away from food brands that have seen stagnant growth, such as Hamburger Helper, which was recently sold.

The value opportunity is huge

As already highlighted, both Hormel and General Mills have historically high dividend yields, which suggests the stocks are cheap. Although earnings are under pressure, making price-to-earnings ratios less useful, both companies have price-to-sales and price-to-book ratios that are well below their five-year averages. That helps confirm the value opportunity available for investors today.

With each company actively working to turn its business around, buying today will get you in before those upturns arrive. A $1,000 investment will buy around 26 shares of General Mills or 45 shares of Hormel. And you'll lock in lofty yields from companies that have proven they know how to survive and reward income investors for sticking around through both the good and bad times.
Walt Disney said, "To all who come to this happy place, welcome." That promise built one of the most trusted brands in the world. For more than a century, Disney stories have shaped culture because they reflect a core value of this company, inclusion. As Bob Iger himself said, one reason Disney's storytelling has such a meaningful and positive impact is because it embraces inclusion, acceptance, and tolerance.

A shareholder spoke about the new proposal in a statement on the call. Here's what was shared by the advocate for the proposal:

The proposal "urges The Walt Disney Company to assess the legal, financial, and reputational risks associated with its controversial Disability Access Service (DAS) overhaul." A vote in favor of this proposal would require Disney to commission an independent third-party review of its accessibility and disability inclusion practices, evaluating risks , comparing them against standards and competitors, and sharing the findings publicly and internally . The annual shareholder meeting for The Walt Disney Company was on March 18, 2026, at 1 PM ET, and shareholders finally voted on the DAS proposal.

DAS was significantly restructured in 2024 in an effort to curb overuse, misuse, and other issues that were beginning to weaken the program's effectiveness. As a result, many guests who were previously eligible for these accommodations became ineligible after the changes . One of the most recent responses to this overhaul was the shareholder proposal supported by disability advocates.

Disney shareholders have now voted on the proposal related to changes to the Disability Access Service (DAS) at Disneyland and Walt Disney World during the Walt Disney Company's annual shareholder meeting. Advocates of the proposal have been anxiously awaiting the results of this vote, which would call for a company review of the recent DAS changes.

Story Continues

The disability community is one of the fastest growing demographics in the world. These are not fringe guests. They are families planning multi-generational vacations, loyal customers who invest extraordinary time, coordination, and resources to make a Disney trip possible. Accessibility for disabled guests is not charity. It is not politics. It is smart market positioning, responsible brand stewardship, and sound risk management. And right now, there are warning signs.

A recent study found that 85% of disabled Disney guests surveyed said they are unlikely to return because of recent accessibility changes. That is not noise, that is a strategic signal. We are already seeing tightening consumer spending, raising competition for travelers, and leadership acknowledging lower park volumes tied to attendance, as well as a class action lawsuit. At a moment like this, we can't afford to erode one of Disney's most powerful brand promises that everyone belongs and is welcome. An independent review of accessibility practices is not an admission of failure, it is leadership.

It shows shareholders that the board takes risk management, brand strength, and guest loyalty seriously. Disney magic is not only created in films, it is created in how people feel when they walk through the gates. Protecting that magic means protecting the people who believe in it. I urge you to support this proposal.

The preliminary report on the vote for the item states that only 5% of shares approve the proposal and so the proposal did not pass. Three total shareholder proposals were not approved during the shareholder portion of the meeting.

Why Did Disney Shareholders Vote No?

Disability Access Sign at Disneyland

This is disappointing news for disability advocates who were in favor of this shareholder proposal. But this wasn't unexpected, as it is rare for investors not to follow the board's recommendation unless there is a strong governance or financial concern. In this case, Disney's board had previously argued that the company already reviews accessibility policies internally and that the proposal was unnecessary. The board argued that the proposal would not add meaningful value for shareholders and would require resources without providing new or useful information, leading it to unanimously recommend a vote against the proposal.

Since shareholders were recommended by the board to vote no, it's not surprising that a majority followed that guidance.

Shareholder proposals typically gain more support when the issues are clearly affecting financial performance or shareholder value. While the proposal argued that the new limitations on DAS were affecting park attendance, a claim Disney denied in its response, many investors may have viewed the issue as outside the company's core financial priorities. Other investors also might have felt that Disney leadership should retain discretion over how the parks manage their accessibility programs.

Some shareholders might also agree with Disney's position that tightening eligibility was necessary to preserve the program for guests with developmental disabilities. Disney has repeatedly stated that the program experienced significant misuse, which prompted the 2024 changes.

Most shareholder proposals at large companies typically receive low support, especially if they do not involve major issues like corporate governance, executive pay, or broader environmental and social policies.

READ MORE  Hidden Details on Disneyland Rides That You Will Completely Miss if You Don't Know Where to Look

Don't Miss the Latest Disney News

Don't miss the latest Disneyland and Disney World news from Mickey Visit. Join the FREE Mickey Visit newsletter that over 100k readers receive every single week. Mickey Visit is here to help you save money and experience more during your Disney and Universal vacation. See the Mickey Visit guide to Disneyland and the Mickey Visit guide to Disney World for tips.

The post Disney DAS Disability Pass Change Shareholder Proposal Vote Results Are In appeared first on Mickey Visit - Disney News & Planning Tips.
Net debt increased to 108 million, with 20% gearing slightly above the target range of 10 to 20%, indicating higher financial leverage.

The investment portfolio generated a total return of just over 11%, well ahead of the index, indicating strong investment performance.

The industrial-focused JV Origin is performing well, with initial schemes completing on time and on budget, contributing to the growth of their development program.

The company has seen a significantly better planning environment, allowing them to nearly triple the amount of planning applications made last year to 11,000 plots.

Henry Boot PLC ( FRA:0KH ) achieved total land and property sales of over 350 million, with a share of 193 million, indicating strong demand for their offerings.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .

Story Continues

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you provide insight into the expected profitability of Hallam land sales in 2026, considering the mix of land types? A: Tim Roberts, CEO, stated that they have good visibility on the sales, with 15 sites anticipated for sale this year. Most sites are either exchanged or under offer. The expected profit per plot is likely to be about 20% below the long-term average due to the mix of land types.

Q: What is the current status of the balance sheet, and how might gearing change by the year's end? A: Darren Littlewood, CFO, explained that gearing is expected to be at the top end of the 10-20% range by year-end, depending on transaction timing. The company is transaction-led, and significant cash from Hallam land sales could impact gearing.

Q: Regarding Stonebridge, what is the target for the average number of sites, and how are sales rates distributed across sites? A: Tim Roberts mentioned they aim to trade from 14 sites this year, with an average of over 11 sites. Sales rates have been evenly spread across sites, and the company is not relying on specific sites to achieve targets.

Q: What were the main issues affecting Stonebridge's performance in 2025, and what changes are being implemented? A: Tim Roberts noted that a challenging budget, market conditions, and planning delays impacted completions. Management changes and a fresh start plan are being implemented to improve operations and align with strategic goals.

Q: How does the company plan to improve return on capital employed across its business segments? A: Tim Roberts emphasized the diversity of their business segments, with Hallam having a strong year. The focus is on maintaining capital employed flat in Hallam, optimizing the property development portfolio, and increasing Stonebridge's output to improve returns.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
There's a lot going on in the world right now, and if you're feeling rattled by it all, you're not alone.

Stock prices are falling, recession fears are ramping up, and many investors are worried about what this means for their finances. Is it still safe to invest? Or should you hold off until the market stabilizes?

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 

While no two bear markets or recessions are the same, history can give us an idea of how the market tends to perform during periods of political uncertainty -- and it has good news for investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Is the U.S. headed for a recession in 2026?

Top economists at Moody's recently predicted a 49% chance for a U.S. recession to begin in the next 12 months, but whether it actually occurs will largely depend on oil prices and the war in Iran.

While we're in a unique political situation right now, many investors are drawing parallels to the early 2000s. Not only was the U.S. in another war in the Middle East at the time, but we also experienced the dot-com bubble burst after years of hype surrounding internet companies.

To be clear, we don't know whether an AI bubble is looming, and even if it is, it may not mirror the dot-com meltdown. We also don't know how long the war in Iran might last. But it could still be helpful to see how the market fared during the early 2000s to get an idea of what might happen next.

There's good and bad news for investors

The bear market following the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s was one of the longest in U.S. history. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) lost nearly half of its value between March 2000 and October 2002, and it wouldn't reach a new all-time high until mid-2007.

Again, this was a particularly long bear market. The average S&P 500 bear market since 1929 has lasted approximately nine months, according to research from Bespoke Investment Group.

The good news for investors, though, is that even the worst recessions and bear markets are only temporary. Since March 2000, the S&P 500 has soared by 326%. In other words, if you'd invested $10,000 in an S&P 500-tracking fund at the very beginning of the dot-com bear market, you'd have around $42,600 by today.

This isn't to minimize the impact of volatility in the early 2000s, as those years were rough for investors. But the market has proven time and time again that it can recovery from even the most severe recessions, going on to reach new record highs.
March 23 (Reuters) - Italy's competition regulator on Monday slapped a fine of 4 million euros ($4.6 million) on online review platform Trustpilot and its units for failing to adequately verify the authenticity of reviews and for misleading consumers about how their services work.

The platform's review collection services allowed businesses to handpick which consumers received review invitations, undermining the representativeness of published ratings even when reviews were labelled as "verified", the Italian Competition Authority said.

More from Yahoo Scout How is Trustpilot responding to these regulatory charges? What violations did Italy's regulator find against Trustpilot? What are the financial implications of this fine? How did Trustpilot allegedly manipulate review authenticity?

"We strongly disagree with the conclusions reached in this finding by the AGCM (regulator) and will be appealing it robustly," Trustpilot said in a statement.

The fine comes months after short seller Grizzly Research accused Trustpilot of creating fake profiles that gave negative reviews and then pressuring companies to pay for subscriptions - allegations which the company rejected.

The watchdog found that Trustpilot also used interface design techniques typical of "dark patterns" to obscure key information about its platform's functioning and which businesses paid for services, in breach of Italy's consumer code.

The company said it does not expect the fine to have any material impact on its operations or finances. Its shares, which fell as much as 2.7% in early trading, were trading up 4.2% as of 1416 GMT.

($1 = 0.8670 euros)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Arun Koyyur)
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) shares rose 8.04% in premarket trading after the Financial Times reported that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG), Japan's second-largest banking group, is considering a takeover. The discussions are preliminary, with no certainty a deal will materialize.

SMFG has been building a stake in Jefferies since 2021 and has agreed to increase its position to as much as 20%. Taking full control would give the group a more direct route into global investment banking. Jefferies shares are down roughly 37% year to date. Investors are concerned about its exposure to the collapsed auto-parts group First Brands and broader underwriting practices. Jefferies' market capitalization has now fallen to about $8 billion.

Even so, the path to a deal is far from straightforward. Regulatory hurdles, cultural differences, and potential resistance from Jefferies' management and major shareholders could all complicate any transaction.

Bloomberg later reported that SMFG has no immediate plan to pursue a takeover, suggesting any potential deal remains longer term and uncertain.
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is one of the stocks highlighted in Jim Cramers latest Mad Money recap as he provided top stock insights. Noting that the stock has been between $125 and $130 for quite a while, a caller inquired if they should add to their position. Cramer replied:

No, no, we own Corning for our, the Charitable Trust. We have almost a double in it. I want the stock to come down before I tell people to buy it right here because this markets awful. And I think that the stock, which is down $8.50 today, it could be down $10 on Monday. And I dont want you to buy it and then say, hey listen, it just dropped $10. I think that all stocks that have moved big here are vulnerable. Cornings vulnerable. Well pick some up after the sell, not before.

A stock market graph. Photo by energepic.com

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) develops optical fiber, cables, and related hardware for telecommunications, and produces glass substrates for displays used in TVs, computers, and mobile devices. Moreover, it supplies specialty materials, emission control products, and laboratory equipment. During the March 2 episode, Cramer mentioned the stock while discussing Februarys noteworthy S&P 500 stocks and stated:
Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) is one of the stocks highlighted in Jim Cramers latest Mad Money recap as he provided top stock insights. Cramer explained the reason the stock should be bought, as he remarked:

Another great option is Enbridge. Thats a member of the elite eight income stocks with growth that I highlight in How to Make Money in Any Market. This diversified Canadian energy company has a major pipeline business It moves 30% of the crude oil produced in North America, no ones near that, and nearly 20% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S., while also operating the continents largest natural gas utility. Enbridge has exposure to the LNG export story via its immense natural gas pipeline business. But the direct LNG angle here is an LNG export terminal in British Columbia, which Enbridge has a 30% interest in. Its expected to enter service next year, and because its on the West Coast, itll be the fastest way to ship natural gas to Asia. Most of our LNG facilities are on the Gulf Coast or the East Coast, so they have to put, they have to cut through the Panama Canal first to get to Asia Of course, I mainly like the stock because its a pipeline operator with a terrific dividend, currently yields 5.3%. You dont buy Enbridge for its LNG exposure; you buy it for the gas pipelines and the bountiful dividend.

Photo by Nicholas Cappello on Unsplash

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) operates major energy infrastructure, as the company transports oil and natural gas and manages utility and renewable energy assets.

While we acknowledge the potential of ENB as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) is one of the stocks highlighted in Jim Cramers latest Mad Money recap as he provided top stock insights. Cramer discussed the companys performance since the IPO, as he remarked:

Finally, theres a controversial one we gotta talk about. Its called Venture Global. This is a potentially high upside pure play. The company came public in January of last year, $25 a share. Everyone was very excited about it, but the IPO ultimately disappointed almost immediately. At the end of 2025, the stock was trading below $7 Because the war staged a remarkable rebound, its now past the $15 mark. Its up 130% year to date. Venture Globals rise was built on moving very quickly to build export capacity, this is what youre looking for, starting with Calcasieu Pass in Louisiana. The problem is that the Calcasieu Pass became the center of a major dispute. When it opened in 2022, the Russia-Ukraine war had sent global LNG spot prices soaring. Venture sold cargoes into that much harder short-term market, while long-term customers argued that those volumes should have been delivered under existing contracts. And that is what created the backlash. That arbitration overhang has weighed on the story ever since, even as Venture keeps expanding. While the reputational damage was real, theyve already settled some of these cases and maybe even won a couple Shell and Repsols.

What makes Venture Global so compelling now is the fact that its no longer just a one-asset story. The companys first three projects are Calcasieu Pass, Plaquemines LNG, and CP2 LNG. Just last week, they announced financing for Phase 2 of CP2, saying they expect this facility to become the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the whole country. This is the most aggressive grower in the group, with the company attempting to grow from controversial upstart to major scale exporter in a short period of time. Venture Global generated about $13.8 billion in revenue in 2025, up 177% year over year. This is a pure play. This is the one you want to own if youre a true believer.
Q : Can you elaborate on the key drivers of your space growth target of 1.5 to 2.5% per year? A : Thierry Garnier, CEO, explained that Screwfix, particularly in the UK and France, presents significant potential. In Poland, there is room for expansion in both large and medium-sized formats. The expansion is not linear, but the medium-term target remains clear.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .

Story Continues

Q: How is the marketplace growth being driven, and what role do new vendors play? A: Thierry Garnier noted that growth is driven by both new vendors and an expanded range of SKUs from existing vendors. The introduction of cross-border vendors is expected to be a significant growth driver, as currently, only a small percentage of vendors are from outside the UK.

Q: Can you explain the improvements in inventory management and its impact on cash flow? A: Thierry Garnier highlighted the reduction of inventory days through better software and real-time visibility, which allows for improved negotiation with vendors. Bhavesh Mistry, CFO, added that structural initiatives like supply chain visibility tools are key to ongoing improvements.

Q: What are the expectations for CapEx, and how does it relate to store openings? A: Bhavesh Mistry stated that CapEx was 388 million this year, with a focus on store investments and maintenance. The guidance for the next year is 400 million, reflecting continued investment in store openings and technology.

Q: How do you plan to manage costs and profitability as the marketplace grows? A: Thierry Garnier explained that the marketplace is already contributing to profits, with a commercial margin of 10-15%. Marketing costs are expected to decrease over time, leading to stronger profit flow-through. Additional services to vendors could further increase profitability.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Burlington, North Carolina-based Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH) provides laboratory services that aid doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients. Valued at a market capitalization of $21.7 billion, it operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. LH offers various tests, including blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid tests, PAP tests, hemoglobin A1C, PSA tests, and tests for sexually transmitted diseases, among others.

Companies with a market cap of $10 billion or more are typically referred to as large-cap stocks. Labcorp Holdings fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size and influence in the diagnostics and research industry.

More News from Barchart

Despite its strength, LH stock slipped 10.5% from its 52-week high of $293.72, reached on Oct. 21, 2025. Yet, the stock is up 4.4% over the past three months, outperforming the S&P 500 Indexs ($SPX) 4.8% decline during the same time frame.

www.barchart.com

However, LH has lagged behind the broader market over the longer term. The stock surged 11.5% over the past 52 weeks, while SPX delivered 14.9% returns over the same time frame.

LH has been trading below its 200-day and 50-day moving averages since this month, indicating an ongoing bearish momentum.

www.barchart.com

On Feb. 17, LH stock fell 2.1% following the release of its mixed Q4 2025 earnings. The companys total revenue for the quarter grew 5.7% from the prior years quarter to $3.5 billion, but fell short of the Streets estimates. Moreover, its adjusted EPS for the period amounted to $4.07, successfully beating Wall Street estimates. Labcorp expects full-year earnings in the range of $17.55 to $18.25 per share and its revenue is anticipated to be between $14.61 billion and $14.79 billion.

When stacked against its peer, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX), LH has failed to keep up its pace. Over the past year, DGX stock has surged 17.3%.

Wall Street is taking a highly optimistic stance on LH. Among the 18 analysts covering the stock, the overall consensus rating is a Strong Buy. Its mean price target of $308.70 suggests 17.4% rebound potential from current price levels.

On the date of publication, Sristi 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
Although AMD's Instinct series GPUs haven't been able to keep up with Nvidia over a short sprint, its chips nevertheless remain highly valuable. They're less costly than Nvidia's hardware and may offer shorter wait times. First-mover advantage in the AI space isn't all about compute, and AMD can absolutely take advantage of this dynamic.

To build on this point, it's unlikely that AMD or any overseas competitors will close the gap anytime soon. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is spearheading an aggressive innovation cycle that'll see a new advanced AI chip introduced annually. The Vera Rubin GPU will succeed Blackwell Ultra when it hits the market in the second half of 2026.

Nvidia's GPUs have held a virtual monopoly in enterprise data center market share for years. Several generations of its GPUs, including Hopper, Blackwell, and Blackwell Ultra, have been superior to external competitors, including AMD, in terms of compute capabilities.

Most of the hoopla surrounding these juggernauts stems from their GPUs. While both companies have other product lines, many of which are profitable/successful, investors' focus has been on growth in their respective GPUs -- i.e., the brains powering split-second decision-making, generative AI solutions, and large language model training in AI-accelerated data centers.

However, before digging into the details behind this warning, investors need to understand how Nvidia and AMD became two of the most consequential companies in the AI arena.

But while the operating results of this dynamic duo validate investors' excitement, Wall Street's immediate reaction to their quarterly results is nothing short of a $711 billion warning that AI investors can't ignore .

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 

Analysts at PwC believe artificial intelligence can add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. If this estimate is even remotely close, it explains why shares of graphics processing unit (GPU) titans Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), commonly known as "AMD," have soared. Since the start of 2023, shares of Nvidia and AMD have climbed by 1,140% and 208%, respectively.

The advent and proliferation of the internet began altering corporate growth trajectories more than three decades ago. Since then, investors have been waiting (impatiently) for the next technological leap forward. While several other hyped trends followed in the footsteps of the internet, including nanotechnology, 3D printing, and blockchain technology, it's artificial intelligence (AI) that's truly stepped up.

Story Continues

In their latest respective fiscal years, Nvidia reported full-year data center segment sales of $193.7 billion (up 68%), while AMD recorded $16.6 billion in revenue (up 32%) from its data center operations.

It's also worth noting that GPU scarcity has played a critical role in the success of both companies. With demand for AI infrastructure seemingly insatiable, Nvidia and AMD have been able to raise prices on their most advanced GPUs. Higher prices have translated into more attractive gross margins for both companies.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors can't ignore this $711 billion AI warning

While a laundry list of things has gone right for Nvidia and AMD, history has been cautioning for some time that a reversal of fortune is coming. Until recently, historical precedent was the clear tailwind in the sails of skeptics. But there's a new, tangible headwind for AI investors that's simply too big to ignore.

When Nvidia reported its fiscal fourth-quarter operating results after the closing bell on Feb. 25, its share price quickly jumped to as high as $203.10 in after-hours trading. Two days later, as of the closing bell on Feb. 27, Nvidia stock had dipped to $177.19. On a peak-to-trough basis, Nvidia lost approximately $630 billion in market value following its quarterly report.

But it's not alone. From the closing bell on Feb. 3, when AMD lifted the hood on its fiscal fourth-quarter results, to the close of trading on Feb. 5, AMD shares plunged from $242.11 to $192.50. This decline erased roughly $81 billion in market cap.

Collectively, Nvidia and AMD lost $711 billion in market value on a peak-to-trough basis less than 48 hours after they unveiled their respective fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year operating results. The message is loud and clear: investors' AI expectations are too lofty.

History shows that every game-changing technology has had to navigate an early innings bubble-bursting event over the last 30 years. Although there isn't any rhyme, reason, or warning as to when the music stops, the constant of every next-big-thing trend has been investors overestimating the adoption and/or optimization of said innovation.

Artificial intelligence doesn't have an adoption issue. Nvidia's and AMD's operating results make clear that businesses would spend even more if world-leading chip fabricator Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing could further expand its monthly chip-on-wafer-on-substrate capacity.

However, expecting businesses to optimize AI solutions to maximize sales and profits is a tall task in a short time frame. It took public companies well over a half-decade to decipher the ins and outs of the internet to maximize its potential. It'll likely take several more years before companies unlock the true potential of AI.

Nonetheless, it insinuates that history is rhyming once more and that investors have overestimated the early stage optimization of AI solutions. If this proves accurate, an AI bubble will eventually form and burst, dragging Wall Street's most prominent AI hardware stocks down with it.

Nvidia and AMD may also be challenged by internal competition. Many of their largest customers by net sales are internally developing GPUs to use in their data centers. Even though these chips aren't on the same level as Nvidia's and AMD's hardware, they'll be notably cheaper and more readily accessible. This is a recipe that could stamp out the GPU scarcity that's fueled strong pricing power and juicy margins for Nvidia and AMD.

If shares of Nvidia and AMD can't power forward after record quarterly sales, it should serve as a warning to Wall Street that investors' expectations may be unreachable.

Should you buy stock in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, 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 Nvidia 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 $495,179!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $1,058,743!*

Now, its worth noting Stock Advisors total average return is 898%  a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% 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 22, 2026.

Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Have Sounded a $711 Billion Warning to Wall Street That AI Investors Simply Can't Ignore was originally published by The Motley Fool
Quick Read

NVIDIA (NVDA) shares rose 2% Monday as the company forms partnerships with AES (AES), Constellation Energy (CEG), and NextEra Energy (NEE) to build AI factories that operate as flexible grid assets, and collaborations with Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) for AI-driven drug discovery through NVIDIAs BioNeMo platform.

NVIDIA is moving beyond its data center core by positioning AI infrastructure as a solution for grid stability and pharmaceutical research, creating new revenue streams that diversify its addressable market.

Have You read The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans? Americans are answering three questions and many are realizing they can retire earlier than expected.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares are up roughly 2% in Monday morning trading, offering a modest but welcome rebound after a rough stretch to start 2026. The stock closed Friday at $172.70, down 7% year to date heading into today's session.

The broader market is helping. Reports of progress on U.S.-Iran diplomatic discussions sent the Dow surging Monday morning, lifting risk assets across the board. NVDA stock is catching a bid alongside that broader rebound, but the company-specific catalysts announced today are doing real work of their own.

For context on why this move matters, NVIDIA and the broader semiconductor complex have been under pressure for weeks, with NVDA losing ground steadily through the first weeks of 2026. Today's combination of macro tailwinds and fresh strategic announcements is giving the stock room to breathe.

Have You read The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans? Americans are answering three questions and many are realizing they can retire earlier than expected.

NVIDIA Bets on Power-Flexible AI Factories

The headline catalyst this morning is a new collaboration between NVIDIA and Emerald AI, partnering with major energy companies AES (NYSE:AES), Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG), and NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) to build what the companies are calling "flexible AI factories" that operate as grid assets. The idea is straightforward but genuinely novel: instead of AI data centers being passive energy consumers that strain the grid, they become active participants in grid stability, ramping compute workloads up or down based on grid conditions.

The technical backbone is NVIDIA's Vera Rubin DSX AI Factory reference design and DSX Flex software, combined with Emerald AI's Conductor platform. This lets facilities connect to the grid faster while generating AI tokens and supporting grid reliability simultaneously. It's a clever two-sided value proposition: utilities get a demand-response partner, and NVIDIA gets to plant its architecture deeper into critical infrastructure.
Quick Read

Oracle (ORCL) reported cloud infrastructure revenue growth of 84% year-over-year to $4.89B in Q3 FY2026, with remaining performance obligations of $553B (up 325% YoY) providing exceptional visibility into contracted future revenue, while Bank of America upgraded the stock to Buy with a $200 price target.

Oracle must convert its massive contracted backlog into recognized revenue while managing a $50B capex program and negative free cash flow of -$24.7B as it scales AI infrastructure capacity to meet demand that exceeds supply.

Have You read The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans? Americans are answering three questions and many are realizing they can retire earlier than expected.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) has had a turbulent stretch heading into this analyst call. Shares are down 24.20% year-to-date and around 55% below their 52-week high of $345.72. Currently trading around $147.94, the stock is still inspiring some hope among the broader analyst community, which carries a consensus target of $249.02, reflecting a more optimistic longer-term view.

Bank of America analyst Tal Liani has reinstated coverage with a Buy rating and a $200 price target from current levels. That target sits below the Street consensus but makes a focused, near-term case rooted in AI infrastructure demand. Can ORCL realistically reach $200 by end of 2026, and what would need to go right?

Tal Liani's $200 ORCL Prediction

Liani's thesis centers on what he calls "large and visible revenue potential" from accelerating AI infrastructure demand. Oracle's remaining performance obligations hit $553 billion in Q3 FY2026, up 325% year-over-year, representing contracted future revenue with exceptional visibility. Cloud infrastructure revenue grew 84% year-over-year to $4.89 billion last quarter, and management has stated that AI-driven demand continues to exceed supply. Liani adds that Oracle must still prove it can deliver capacity, convert long-dated contracts into revenues, and manage a capital-intensive buildout , a credible set of conditions that keeps the call grounded.

Have You read The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans? Americans are answering three questions and many are realizing they can retire earlier than expected.

Key Drivers of ORCL Stock Performance
Kingfisher has reported an increase in profit in the financial year ended 31 January 2026, alongside a modest rise in revenue, as stronger trading in the UK & Ireland (UK&I) helped counter weaker performance in some continental European markets.

Group sales at the European home improvement retailer rose 1.3% year-on-year to 12.94bn, compared with 2024/2025.

Operating profit before adjusting items increased 3.7% to 651m. After adjusting charges of 182m, the reported operating profit climbed 15.2% to 469m.

Profit for the year before adjusting items grew 9.2% to 416m, from 381m.

Profit for the year, including adjusting items, rose to 245m, compared with 185m in 2024/2025. Earnings per share (EPS) also improved.

Basic EPS increased 38.6% to 14.0p from 10.1p while diluted EPS rose 39.4% to 13.8p from 9.9p.

On an adjusted basis, adjusted basic EPS was 23.8p, up 15% from 20.7p, and adjusted diluted EPS increased 14.7% to 23.4p from 20.4p.

The company said the main adjusting items related to store and goodwill impairments, restructuring costs, a loss on the disposal of the Romania business, and an impairment linked to its Turkey joint venture.

By division, UK&I delivered like-for-like (LFL) growth of 3.3%, with B&Q up 3.3% and Screwfix up 3.2%.

Performance was supported by trade activity, higher digital sales and Homebase closure transference.

France recorded a sales decline but outperformed its market and posted a slight improvement in profit, with a retail margin of 2.5%.

Poland saw LFL sales fall 1.1%, with profit down largely due to a one-off IT impairment. Iberia was the strongest region, with LFL sales up 8.8% and retail profit almost doubling.

Kingfisher CEO Thierry Garnier said: We have continued to execute our strategy at pace and delivered good margin and cost discipline. This resulted in significant market share gains, profit growth of +13% when excluding last years business rates one-off and strong free cash flow.

E-commerce now represents one-fifth of total group sales. With a mixed consumer environment across our markets, we continue to focus on delivering our strategic priorities, maintaining cost discipline and driving shareholder returns. This positions us well to capitalise on the attractive long-term structural growth opportunities within our markets.

"Retailer Kingfisher posts higher profit as UK&I growth offsets softer markets" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.




Reyes Beverage Group has finalised a deal for the operations of fellow US distributor Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) in ten states and Washington DC.

The company said the transaction will be its "largest acquisition to-date" but did not disclose financial terms.

Under the agreement, Reyes will take over RNDCs operations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington, DC.

In January, the company said it was in talks to purchase RNDCs assets in six US states and Washington, DC, before widening the scope earlier this month to include five additional markets.

Illinois, part of the January talks, was excluded from the final deal.

Reyes said it will operate the acquired businesses separately from its own operations while bringing on new employees and suppliers.

Tom Day, the CEO of Reyes, said: As Reyes celebrates its 50th anniversary, this marks an exciting new chapter for our team. Our thanks to the RNDC team for their engagement throughout this process. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome new team members, supplier partners and customers in these markets.

The parties expect to complete the transaction as early as the end of May, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

Marc Sachs, the president and CEO of RNDC, said: We believe Reyes is the right distributor to lead in these markets. We are committed to working with the RBG team to ensure a smooth transition for our employees, suppliers and customers.

The deal follows a series of changes to RNDCs US network.

The company exited California last year after losing major contracts there, including Brown-Forman, which shifted its distribution in the state to Reyes.

Proximo Spirits also announced a shake-up of its US distribution network at the start of this year, moving away from RNDC in all current territories, except for Georgia and New Mexico.

Last week, Pernod Ricard said it would move away from RNDC, appointing Reyes to distribute its "mainline" and ready-to-drink products in Maryland and Washington, DC.

RNDC secured new funding from its lenders in January.

At the time, the alcoholic beverage distributor said the capital would support its operations as it continues to align its organisational structure, operational capabilities, and portfolio focus to ensure executional excellence.

"Reyes Beverage Group, RNDC reach agreement on assets sale" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.
HSBC Asset Management has named Thorsten Michalik as the new chief executive of its alternatives division, effective 1 April.

He will replace Joanna Munro, who is set to retire following a career spanning over 40 years in asset management, including two decades at HSBC.

Munro has been at the helm of the alternatives business since 2021.

Michalik joined HSBC Asset Management in November 2019 and most recently held the position of CEO for Europe, UK, and Americas, overseeing both sales and management operations, as well as supervising the regional country CEOs.

His earlier roles at the firm include global head of wholesale and partnerships, followed by head of sales for Europe, Middle East, Americas, and wholesale from 2022.

Michalik will remain based in London and report to Nicolas Moreau, CEO of HSBC Asset Management.

Matteo Pardi, who is currently CEO for Continental Europe at HSBC Asset Management, will take on Michaliks previous responsibilities as interim CEO for Europe, UK, and Americas from 1 April.

Pardi will continue with his current duties and report to Moreau.

He has been with HSBC since 2001 and has worked across markets in Continental Europe and the Middle East.

Moreau said: Joanna has made an outstanding contribution to HSBC Asset Management, most recently leading our global alternatives business and playing a pivotal role in shaping it into what it is today, as well as being an inspiring role model to many in the industry.

With Thorstens strong track record and deep knowledge of the business, were confident he will build on this momentum and lead our alternatives platform into its next phase of growth as we invest in our business. As client demand for alternative investments continues to grow, we remain focused on expanding our capabilities and delivering differentiated solutions for investors.

"Thorsten Michalik named CEO of HSBC AM Alternatives" was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.




This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Uber (NYSE:UBER) appears to be edging closer to a potential expansion into premium mobility, with Manager Magazin reporting that the company is nearing an agreement to acquire German chauffeur services startup Blacklane. According to sources cited in the report, the contract is close to being signed, although final terms have not been disclosed and both companies have not immediately responded to requests for comment. The development could signal a broader strategic move by Uber to deepen its presence beyond standard ride-hailing into higher-end transport services.

Sources familiar with the matter indicate Blacklane may be valued at an upper three-digit million amount, though it was not specified whether this refers to euros or dollars. While the financial structure and timing remain unclear, the reported valuation may reflect Blacklane's positioning as a premium global operator, with services spanning more than 40 countries. The absence of confirmed deal specifics leaves open questions around execution, but the advanced stage of discussions suggests alignment could already be forming.

Blacklane, founded in 2011, counts Mercedes-Benz and the family office of German billionaire Carsten Maschmeyer among its major shareholders, according to the report. If completed, the transaction could potentially strengthen Uber's exposure to chauffeur-driven services and higher-margin segments within mobility. For investors, the move may indicate an ongoing effort to diversify revenue streams, though further clarity on integration and deal structure could be needed before assessing full impact.
Middle East countries deeply concerned about impact of war: Chinese special envoy

Xinhua) 09:26, March 24, 2026

BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Middle East countries are deeply concerned about the impact of the war, and they call for an immediate ceasefire, a Chinese special envoy said on Monday after concluding his visit to the region.

Zhai Jun, special envoy of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue, told a news briefing that he recently visited several regional countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Egypt, and had in-depth exchanges of views with their foreign ministers and the secretaries general of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the League of Arab States on the regional situation.

Zhai said he also had a thorough discussion with the Iranian side.

Noting that his visit took place as the war was escalating and spilling over, he said the regional countries stress that nonmilitary targets, especially livelihood and energy infrastructure, must not come under unwarranted attacks, and that the life and safety of ordinary people must be protected.

"All sides oppose the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. All sides believe that the strait is vital to global energy security and supply chain stability. Its continued closure will bring unbearable consequences to all," he said.

The regional countries recognize that Iran is a neighbor that cannot be moved away. They welcome the statement Iran once made that it would not attack neighboring countries, and call for resolving differences through dialogue and negotiation, he said.

The regional countries highly commend China's just position on the current situation and its sustained diplomatic mediation since the conflict broke out, Zhai said, adding that they expect China to play a bigger role in bringing about de-escalation.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Slattery also reiterated Verticals strategy to operate as a pure play OEM, relying on tier-one aerospace partners for key systems and certification support. He said the company has contracted the vast majority of partners and expects to bring final partners on board later in 2026 as it progresses toward critical design review (CDR) in the summer.

Slattery described Valo as combining a commercial aircraft-style safety architecture with performance and efficiency required for real-world commercial airline operations. He pointed to several design elements he said differentiate the aircraft, including a seat next to the pilot for training, separation between pilot and passengers, a roomy cabin, and a large luggage bay. He also emphasized what he called an upgradable sizing approach, designed to accommodate four, then five, and then six passengers over time, which management said could improve economics for operators.

Chairman Domhnal Slattery said Vertical recently hosted a series of Valo showcase events in London, New York, Miami, and Atlanta that brought together airline partners, investors, regulators, suppliers, and other advanced air mobility stakeholders. He said the energy and enthusiasm around the market opportunity stood out, and that the response to Valo had been extraordinary.

Vertical Aerospace (NYSE:EVTL) used its full-year 2025 business and strategy update call to highlight recent Valo showcase events, provide an update on its piloted transition flight test campaign, outline its battery manufacturing plans and battery as a service model, and discuss liquidity and expected spending as it ramps toward critical design review and pre-production assembly.

Financially, Vertical reported $93M cash (short-term liquidity ~ $85M) and an ATM capacity of ~$78M, but expects to spend $190200M over the next 12 months, saying it will need to raise additional capital though management feels comfortable with current liquidity.

The company is scaling its in-house battery capabilitypilot production is live and a 30,000 sq ft Vertical Energy Centre 2 is planned for late 2026and is launching a battery-as-a-service model (target ~40% margins) with potential secondlife revenue opportunities.

Vertical is in the "final innings" of completing a full piloted transition under U.K. CAA oversight, estimating under 10% of tests remain, with a mid-year target for Critical Design Review that would enable building seven pre-production aircraft for certification work.

Story Continues

Flight test progress: nearing full piloted transition under CAA oversight

 Macys Beats Expectations Again, But Guidance Spooks Investors

Flying Cars and Rising Bars: The 2026 eVTOL Breakout Begins

Chief Engineer David King said Vertical has been flight testing a full-scale piloted prototype of Valo for 20 months and began piloted transition testing in November. He framed the testing approach as incremental, working from both ends of the envelopeaccelerating from hover toward wing-borne flight and decelerating from wing-borne flight back toward thrust-borne conditionswhile operating under disciplined U.K. CAA oversight.

King said a key differentiator is that Vertical is flying from a public airport in public airspace, working with the same U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) specialists expected to be involved in certification. He characterized that as a huge de-risker and described the prototype effort as essentially a mini certification program, with flight data used to update models and airworthiness documentation before proceeding to subsequent test points.

 Super Micro's Plunge: An AI Deep Value Opportunity?

Management repeatedly emphasized that the company is in the final innings of completing full piloted transition. Slattery said the team is close to completing the five profiles and expects to finalize them soon. In Q&A, King said the program is in the tail end of the S-curve typical of envelope expansion and estimated less than 10% of tests remain, citing weather and the sequential nature of regulatory permitting as major factors in the pace of testing.

Executives described 2026 winter weather in the U.K. as a meaningful constraint, noting extended periods of rain that prevented flight activity. They also said the permitting process requires coordination with the CAA for each flight, including review of learnings and any required updates to models and documentation.

After completing full piloted transition, King said the company plans to focus on operational demonstrations and continue progression from prototype to pre-production, certification, and production. He added that the companys final prototype aircraft number three has completed commissioning tests, and that the company recently operated two prototype aircraft at the same time for the first time. King said the company expects to complete CDR by mid-year, which would freeze the design and enable the build of seven pre-production aircraft intended to conform to type design and be used for certification credit.

Battery strategy and manufacturing expansion

CEO Stuart Simpson described Verticals battery system as the companys secret sauce and core in-house technology, even as the broader corporate strategy leans on external tier-one suppliers for much of the aircraft. He said Vertical sources cells and manufactures battery packs internally, and expects pack performance to improve as cell technology evolves.

Simpson said testing to date supports the current batterys ability to deliver power such that, at launch, Valo would be able to provide lift for one pilot, four passengers, and 70 pounds of luggage per person. He added the company is already testing next-generation batteries intended to improve payload and range over time.

Simpson also announced that the battery pilot production line is now operational and said Vertical is expanding battery manufacturing via a new 30,000-square-foot Vertical Energy Centre 2 adjacent to existing facilities, which is expected to open later in 2026. He said the company plans to host an investor day at the Vertical Energy Centre in July ahead of the Farnborough Airshow.

In addition, Simpson outlined a battery as a service business line, stating the company expects batteries to be replaced approximately once per year over an aircrafts roughly 20-year operational life, which management characterized as a predictable, high-margin revenue stream. He said Vertical anticipates margins of about 40% for this offering and noted that the companys published Flightpath 2030 figures do not include potential second life revenue opportunities. Simpson said that after batteries are removed from aircraft under European aerospace standards when they degrade below about 93%, they may still be suitable for other applications such as surface transport, marine, and storage. He also said the company has received inbound interest from third parties seeking to understand its battery technology and whether it could be sold beyond Verticals own aircraft programs.

Hybrid and defense interest, partnerships, and ecosystem initiatives

Vertical also discussed hybrid-electric and defense opportunities. Slattery said the company plans to be a leader in the hybrid-electric defense space and expects to deepen discussions with militaries, particularly in Europe, ahead of the Farnborough Airshow. In Q&A, executives said they are dedicating a significant amount of internal resources to defense sales, and suggested they may be able to share progress later in 2026.

King said the aircrafts size and modularity could enable a hybrid configuration without changing the airframe, by using the baggage bay to insert a turbo-generator systemsomething he said the company is demonstrating on prototype aircraft number three. Management also highlighted autonomy as an area of interest for defense use cases, referencing the Honeywell flight control system and describing autonomy as one small step from the current architecture.

On the supplier front, management addressed a recently announced partnership with Evolito for the development and supply of EPUs. Simpson said Vertical did not previously have an established tier one supplier for certification on the EPU side, and described Evolito as having certification processes in place, including a design organization approval (DOA) and progress toward a production organization approval (POA). King added that Evolitos U.K. proximity was also helpful for collaboration during U.K. CAA certification.

King also discussed government-backed ecosystem initiatives, including the U.S. eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (EIPP), which he said Vertical was not eligible to join directly as a non-U.S. manufacturer. He said Vertical is participating in similar European initiatives, including the U.K. Future Flight Challenge, a GBP 150 million government-backed program, and referenced planned demonstrations at Skyports Bicester Vertiport and work related to potential operations between Oxford and Cambridge.

Financial snapshot, spending outlook, and capital options

Simpson said Verticals fiscal 2025 spend was in line with prior guidance of $110 million to $125 million. The company reported cash and cash equivalents of $93 million as of December 31, 2025, and said short-term liquidity was estimated at about $85 million, including cash on hand and anticipated near-term receipts. Simpson also said the companys at-the-market (ATM) facility, put in place in September 2025, had remaining capacity of about $78 million.

Looking ahead, Simpson said Vertical expects to spend about $190 million to $200 million over the next 12 months as it ramps manufacturing footprint and begins assembly of the first Valo. In Q&A, he said that spend estimate covers planned 2026 activities including expansion of battery manufacturing, a new aircraft manufacturing facility, conversion of aircraft 3 into a hybrid, and the start of the build of the first Valo.

Slattery and Simpson both stressed that cash is critical through certification and that the company will need to continue raising capital, while also emphasizing optionality across capital markets, strategic investors, and government support. In Q&A, management said it felt pretty comfortable with liquidity as of the call and did not feel pressured to raise capital immediately, stating it would execute financing when the timing is right for the company and shareholders.

About Vertical Aerospace (NYSE:EVTL)

Vertical Aerospace is a United Kingdombased aerospace manufacturer specializing in the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for urban air mobility. Founded in 2016 by entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick, the company is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EVTL. Vertical Aerospace's mission is to deliver zero-emission, high-speed electric aircraft designed to transform short-haul journeys in densely populated areas.

The company's flagship model, the VA-X4, is a piloted, five-seat eVTOL craft engineered for quiet operation, low running costs and minimal environmental impact.

The article "Vertical Aerospace Q4 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat.
ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is among the 5 Tech Stocks with Best Earnings Growth in 2026. On March 6, Citizens reaffirmed a Market Outperform rating and a price target of $260 on ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW), highlighting the companys footing for the agentic era. This is achieved through the companys customer relationships, architecture, and AI Control Tower offering. In 2026, Assist ACV is anticipated to reach $1 billion, up from the current $600 million.

Citizens emphasized the companys pending Armis deal, which is forecasted to end in the initial half of this year, while believing that ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is an appealing opportunity for capital appreciation in the long run. According to CEO Bill McDermott, the company targets a total addressable market (TAM) of over $600 billion.

When ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) participated in the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2026 on March 4, the company described its role as AI Control Tower for business transformation, integrating with both hyperscalers and language models. Strategic acquisitions and innovative pricing models are the basis for achieving a valuation of $1 trillion by 2030.

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is a California-based provider of cloud-based solutions for digital workflows. Incorporated in 2004, the company delivers a diverse range of products, including customer service management, field service management applications, and source-to-pay operations.

While we acknowledge the potential of NOW as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 11 Best Stocks In Each Sector in 2026 and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
ZF Friedrichshafen its annual report revealed it may sell additional businesses as it works to further reduce net debt.

In 2025, the German auto-parts maker reduced financial liabilities by around 250m, lowering net debt to 10.2bn ($11.7bn).

This deleveraging is an important sign of stability and confidence  for employees, customers, and capital markets, said CFO Michael Frick. We will continue this path of organic debt reduction, complemented by proceeds from selective divestments.

ZF has already been pursuing disposals. In December, it agreed to sell its driver-assistance business ADAS to Samsung Electronics Harman for 1.5bn.

The group also spun off its wind power division into a standalone unit, saying the move would open up strategic options for that business.

On trading, ZF reported group sales of 38.8bn for fiscal 2025, down 6% from 41.4bn in 2024. Excluding M&A and currency effects, sales rose by around 0.6% organically.

The overall picture hasnt changed: We see no broad based recovery in demand. We must perform in an environment without meaningful market growth. That requires higher profitability. This remains our focus, along with cash flow generation to reduce our debt, Frick said.

Adjusted EBIT increased to 1.7bn from 1.5bn a year earlier. The adjusted EBIT margin improved to 4.5% from 3.5%.

ZF said it is preparing for another year of subdued demand, forecasting 2026 revenue to be broadly stable at just over 38bn.

To reduce pressure from debt and refinancing costs, the company is continuing a restructuring plan that could include up to 14,000 job cuts in Germany by the end of 2028.

ZF said it halted several e-mobility projects early and booked 1.6bn in one-time charges in fiscal 2025, citing a slower-than-expected shift to electric vehicles.

It added that it is now counting on stronger demand for combustion-engine and hybrid powertrains, while also watching for a potential easing of European Union restrictions on internal combustion engines.

During the results presentation, CEO Mathias Miedreich addressed regulatory issues.

Location factors continue to weigh on us. We expect Berlin to present a new reform agenda. And we expect Brussels to be honest about fleet wide CO legislation.

"The European Commission has hinted at more flexibility but continues an industrial policy collision course.

"We urgently need adjustments, especially regarding plug in hybrids, which are a key transition technology. They ease range anxiety, support the ramp up of electric mobility, and help safeguard jobs, said Miedreich.
Circle (CRCL) rebounded as much as 7% on Wednesday, recovering from its biggest single-day drop on record as Wall Street digested details of proposed legislation that would limit rewards on stablecoin balances.

Rising competition from rival Tether may also have contributed to the dramatic move, which saw Circle fall 20% on Tuesday.

Trading platform Coinbase (COIN), a Circle partner that receives revenue from the stablecoin issuer, also rebounded 4% on Wednesday after sinking 8% in the prior session. (Disclosure: Yahoo Finance has a partnership with Coinbase.)

Part of the catalyst appeared to be a Crypto in America report that signaled the latest text of the Clarity Act proposal in Congress would prohibit platforms from offering yield "directly or indirectly" for holding a stablecoin in a manner that resembles a bank deposit.

Read more: How stablecoins work

"While it's difficult to fully appreciate these nuances without full access to the latest draft, these restrictions seem less Draconian than many might have feared," Compass Point Ed Engel wrote in a note on Wednesday. The analysts have a Neutral rating on Circle, with a $79 price target.

The bill, which aims to lay out rules for which federal agency oversees what portions of the crypto markets, has struggled to pass through Congress.

A key point of contention is whether crypto platforms should be able to pay customers "yield," or interest on their stablecoin balances, a move seen as a threat to banks.

"For the broader crypto industry, this is the single most consequential policy question on the table right now," Colin Butler, executive vice president of capital markets at Mega Matrix, told Yahoo Finance.

"Yield is what has been pulling real capital into stablecoins. Without it, people transact in stablecoins but don't hold them," he added.

Another headwind for Circle came from rival Tethers announcement that it would hire a Big Four accounting firm to complete its first independent financial statement audit.

Analysts say the move makes Tether look more trustworthy to major investors.

"This could materially improve trust among U.S. investors and accelerate onshore adoption," Fundstrat's head of digital assets, Sean Farrell, wrote in a Wednesday night note.

"If successful, it represents a structural competitive threat to Circle, which already operates with thinner margins," he added.

Circle stock has been on a tear in recent weeks, rallying from around $60 in late February to $130, or roughly 110%, just last week.
SYDNEY, March 24 (Reuters) - The European Union and Australia finalised a long-awaited free trade deal on Tuesday as the bloc seeks to diversify its export markets and expand ties beyond its traditional partners.

Here are the highlights:

OVERALL BENEFITS

Both sides will eliminate tariffs on almost 100% of EU exports of goods, with the exception of certain steel products and some EU farm produce. The European Commission says EU exports to Australia will be spared 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) of Australian duties, and the value of those exports should rise by a third over 10 years. Australia says the agreement will be worth about A$10 billion ($7 billion) annually to its economy.

AGRICULTURE

Tariffs will fall to zero from day one for key EU export products such as wine and sparkling wine, some fruit and vegetables, including preparations and fruit juices, chocolate, sugar, confectionery and ice cream and many processed agricultural products.

Tariffs on EU cheese will drop to zero over three years.

The EU will also remove tariffs on most Australian agricultural products including wine, nuts, fruit and vegetables, honey, olive oil, most dairy products, wheat, barley and seafood.

Australian beef, sheep meat, sugar, rice, wheat gluten, skimmed milk powder and butter will get either new or expanded tariff rate quota volumes. For beef, a flashpoint for farmer demonstrations over the EU's deal with South American bloc Mercosur, the annual quota will rise over 10 years to 30,600 metric tons. The EU says this represents around 0.5% of EU domestic consumption and less than 2% of all Australian beef exports.

Both sides can trigger safeguard measures to counter import surges.

PROTECTED EUROPEAN PRODUCT NAMES

Australia will fully protect 165 EU 'geographical indications' (GIs) for agrifood products such as Comte cheese and 231 spirits GIs such as Irish whiskey. In some cases, including for Ouzo or Pecorino Romano, there is a relatively short phasing-out period.

For some other products, such as feta or gruyere, prior Australian users having used the term in a continuous manner for at least five years can retain the right to use the terms assuming the origin of the product is clearly labelled.

Producers who make and sell Prosecco wine in Australia will be allowed to continue doing so domestically. Exports will be stopped after 10 years.

AUTOMOBILES

Australia will fully liberalise market access for all EU passenger cars and other vehicles, with the exception of a few tariff lines on trucks, for which duties will be gradually removed over a short period.
Photo Courtesy: Autorepublika.

European Union regulators quietly relaxed emissions compliance requirements last year, a decision that proved especially beneficial for Germanys largest automakers. According to an analysis by Der Spiegel and the environmental research organization International Council on Clean Transportation, the European automotive industry avoided as much as $4,865 billion in potential EU fines as a result of the revised rules.

Under the framework adopted earlier in the decade, automakers selling new vehicles in the EU were required to cut average fleet carbon dioxide emissions by 15% by 2025 compared with 2021 levels. Manufacturers failing to meet those targets would have faced significant financial penalties tied directly to their excess emissions.

In May 2025, the European Union approved a key modification. Instead of enforcing compliance strictly in 2025, regulators extended the evaluation period through 2027. This change allows higher fleet emissions in one year to be offset by better performance in another, effectively spreading compliance over a three-year window.

Beginning after the end of 2027, automakers will be required to pay about $110 per vehicle for every gram of CO by which their average fleet emissions exceed the target across the 2025 to 2027 period.

Volkswagen, Mercedes, and BMW Benefit Differently

Photo Courtesy: Volkswagen.

According to Der Spiegel, Volkswagen emerged as the biggest beneficiary. The automaker avoided roughly $2,3 billion in penalties it would likely have faced under the original timeline. Volkswagen did not participate in any emissions pooling arrangements, suggesting it expected to compensate for its higher emissions with improved results in subsequent years.

Mercedes Benz reached its CO targets only by working with emissions pool partners such as Smart and Volvo. Those brands had lower average fleet emissions and were able to transfer surplus compliance credits, effectively allowing Mercedes to avoid fines without drastically altering its product mix.

BMW was in a stronger position than its domestic rivals. The company was already below the required emissions threshold last year; BMW Group reports fully electric vehicles accounted for around 18% of its total sales in 2025. That higher share of EVs reduced BMWs exposure to regulatory risk.

Why the Fines Never Materialized

Der Spiegel notes that the avoided fines remain theoretical. Once regulators signaled flexibility, manufacturers were able to plan without the immediate threat of penalties. Peter Mock, European director of the ICCT, explained that automakers typically explore every available alternative before accepting fines, including pooling arrangements, production shifts, and delayed compliance strategies.
By Gwladys Fouche

OSLO, March 24 (Reuters) - Norway's $2.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, will eventually allow some investment decisions to be made by AI systems under human supervision, but not yet, as the tools still make errors, fund officials said on Tuesday.

At present, around half of the 700 employees at Norges Bank Investment Management code their own AI tools using Anthropic's Claude large language model, according to Stian Kirkeberg, the fund's head of machine learning and AI.

Staff primarily use these tools to gather information to help them make decisions, Kirkeberg told a fund seminar on AI.

This ranges from monitoring the 7,000 companies the fund invests in for ESG and financial risk, to simulating a contract negotiation or preparing for company meetings.

Kirkeberg said that in time, some AI agents will be allowed to make limited decisions autonomously.

"The principle is that we make better human decisions by getting AI to analyse it for us," he told Reuters after the seminar.

"At some stage, we're going to trust that the agent can make some of the decisions and we just monitor what it does," Kirkeberg said.

He added that the fund was moving toward that approach but was not applying it yet, emphasising that human oversight would remain essential.

FIRMS IGNORING AI ARE 'COMPLETE MORONS'

Chief Executive Nicolai Tangen has been a vocal supporter of using AI both internally and in the companies the fund invests in, once describing firms that fail to adopt the technology as "complete morons".

He said the wealth fund, which manages Norway's oil and gas revenues for future generations, is not under the same pressure as short-term investors to automate investment decisions.

"You have investment firms which have automated investment decisions ... We're not doing that. But we are also not a high-frequency trader, ... we are a long-term investor, so it's a bit different", Tangen told Reuters.

One exception is the fund's use of AI to analyse when to trade or not, helping to reduce transaction costs.

FUND SEES BIG COST SAVINGS

Tangen said the fund had invested "millions of crowns" in AI and returned benefits "in the billions", without giving specific figures or a timeframe.

He expected the headcount to remain steady at around 700 across its offices in Oslo, London, New York and Singapore, but roles would shift as a result of AI toward front-end investment from back-end administration.
By Stephen Nellis

SAN FRANCISCO, March 23 (Reuters) - Oracle is revamping its cloud-based financial software used by large companies to work with artificial intelligence agents, with a goal of having humans ask the system business questions and letting AI figure out how to find the data.

The changes, which Oracle planned to announce at an event in London on Tuesday local time, are part of a broader trend in which providers of highly specialized corporate software are revamping it to be used by AI agents that can carry out tasks on behalf of human users.

Oracle's shares are down about 40% this year as the company has been swept by investor concerns that AI tools will largely supplant complicated business software. Oracle's executives have argued that the company is embracing AI tools to keep its software ahead of those changes.

In the latest case, Oracle is updating its Fusion suite of software, which includes core business tasks such as planning production in factories and collecting money from customers.

Steve Miranda, executive vice president of applications development at Oracle, said the company's goal is to make it easier to focus on business questions, such as how to make a new product design cheaper and faster, while minimizing the risks to supply chain disruptions.

The data needed for those decisions, Miranda said, is scattered among the various applications in Oracle's suite and third-party software connected to it. AI will take on tasks such as entering and gathering data and making recommendations, while for human employees there will be more emphasis on skills like knowing how to negotiate with suppliers and what kind of risk tolerance for supply disruption a company has, Miranda said.

Sign up for the Yahoo Finance Morning Brief By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Subscribe

"Typing in an invoice isn't a particularly high-value skill to your enterprise or to the person you know who does that part of their job," Miranda said.

"Decision making is still kind of up to that human and weighing the different pros and cons of that case. But certainly the execution, the typing of the invoices, the typing of the purchase order, that is what is going to be replaced in whole in AI."

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Taxes arent exactly romantic, but your relationship status can have a big effect on your taxes.

Whether you just got married, recently combined finances, or are navigating a more complex partnership, the IRS uses your status as of Dec. 31 to determine how you file for the entire year. That means one life change can ripple through your withholding, credits, and overall tax bill  sometimes in ways couples dont see coming, for better or for worse.

So, whether youve been married for years or just tied the knot, heres what you need to know  from how to file together for the first time to the tax advantages of being married and when filing separately might be smart.

Just married? Take care of these things first.

As we said earlier, the IRS generally looks at your marital status as of Dec. 31, so if you were married by the end of 2025, youre considered married for that entire tax year and will need to choose a filing status: either married filing jointly or married filing separately.

If you recently got married and youre filing together for the first time, there are a few things to put on your radar right away.

Report a name and address change (if applicable)

First, the IRS says newlyweds should make sure any name change is reported to the Social Security Administration and that any address change is updated with the U.S. Postal Service, employers, and the IRS.

If your tax documents dont match your legal name or current address, youre setting yourself up for potential headaches down the road. The IRS offers four ways to update your address:

Fill out Form 8822

Use your new address when you file your tax return

Send a signed written statement with your full name, old and new addresses, and Social Security number to the address where you would file your return

Tell them in person or by phone. Theyll want to verify your identity, and youll have to have the following on hand: full name, old and new addresses, and Social Security number.

You should also take a fresh look at your tax withholding.

Reviewing your withholdings as a married couple is critical so you don't get slammed with a surprise tax bill after you get married, said Phillip Hulme, CFP and chief financial advisor at Stars and Stripes Financial Advisors in Atlanta.

Hulme said this is often a big issue when couples earn significantly different amounts of income. Employers don't know what your new spouse earns, so they don't know how much to withhold from your paycheck, explained Hulme.

You can use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to calculate your withholding.

But automatically switching your W-4 withholding to married filing jointly doesnt always make sense, though that option sounds intuitive because it matches how many couples ultimately file their taxes.

That disconnect can create problems in dual-income households, said Ryan Johnson, CFP and founder at Hundred Financial Planning. This can actually result in you withholding too little in taxes. If you select married filing jointly on your W-4, the system can assume this is the only income that your household will make.

So if both partners are working, selecting married filing jointly can end up withholding half of what you needed to, said Johnson.

It often makes sense to keep the tax withholding the same unless theres been meaningful income changes at the same time as the marriage, like someone deciding not to work, he added.

Read more: Withholding tax: What is it, and how can I check or change it?

Tax advantages of being married

Marriage doesnt automatically lower your taxes, but it can unlock better tax treatment, especially if you file a joint return.

Higher deductions

The most obvious benefit is a bigger standard deduction. For the 2025 tax year (for filing taxes in 2026), the standard deduction is $31,500 for married filing jointly, compared with just $15,750 for single filers and married people filing separately.

If you file jointly, you effectively get double the 2025 standard deduction. That alone can reduce taxable income substantially, especially for couples who dont itemize.

There are also itemized deduction differences. For example, the 2025 cap on the deduction for state and local taxes is $40,000 for joint filers, compared with $20,000 for married couples filing separately. That wont help every household, but for higher earners in high-tax states, it can make a noticeable difference.

Read more: Best tax deductions to claim this year

Better access to credits and phaseouts

This is where filing jointly often pulls ahead. Some tax breaks are either completely unavailable or much harder to claim if you file separately.

Filing separately generally bars couples from claiming the following tax breaks:

American opportunity tax credit

Lifetime learning credit

Student loan interest deduction

Earned income tax credit, unless you qualify for the narrow exception for certain separated spouses

Child and dependent care credit in most cases, unless you meet the IRS exception for certain spouses living apart

Adoption credit in most cases

Enhanced senior deduction under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Deduction for qualified tips (no tax on tips)

Deduction for qualified overtime (no tax on overtime)

Exclusion of interest from qualified U.S. savings bonds used for higher education

Joint filers also usually get more favorable income limits before certain benefits phase out.

That can matter for traditional IRA deductions and other tax perks that shrink as income rises.

For tax year 2025, if youre covered by a workplace retirement plan, the deduction for traditional IRA contributions phases out at a modified adjusted gross income of $126,000 to $146,000 for those married filing jointly.

But for single filers, the phaseout is between $79,000 and $89,000, and for married filing separately, the tax perks of contributing to a traditional IRA disappear completely if your AGI is above just $10,000.

Read more: Free tax filing: How to file your 2025 return for free

Easier long-term tax planning

Marriage can also create more planning opportunities over time.

Getting married is a great opportunity to think about taxes more strategically over the long term, said Jake Taylor, CFP and founder of Astra Wealth Management in San Diego.

Filing jointly may make it easier to coordinate retirement contributions and future estimated tax payments as a household, added Taylor. As couples age, or if they're getting married later in life, strategies such as Roth conversions, RMD planning, and timing the sale of investments  along with gifting and estate planning  can become very important, he said.

That doesnt mean filing jointly is always the best choice. But in many cases, it gives couples a wider range of tax-saving opportunities.

Tax implications of spousal IRAs

One marriage-related tax benefit people often overlook is the spousal IRA.

Despite the name, its not a joint retirement account. Each spouse still owns their own IRA. If you file a joint return, a spouse without taxable compensation can still contribute to an IRA, as long as the couple has enough earned income and meets the normal eligibility rules.

That can be especially helpful if one spouse stepped back from work or stayed home with children.

However, marriage can also create new restrictions. If your combined income gets too high, you may lose the ability to contribute directly to a Roth IRA.

Sometimes people don't realize that once they get married, their income disqualifies them from contributing the way they were before, said Gabbi Cerezo, CFP at Sustain Financial in Los Angeles.

For tax year 2025, married filing jointly Roth eligibility phases out from $236,000 to $246,000. But for married filing separately, the rules are much harsher if you lived with your spouse during the year. In that case, the phaseout range is $0 to $10,000.

In other words, married filing separately can eliminate direct Roth IRA eligibility almost instantly.

Scenarios when you should file separately

Most financial experts recommend filing jointly if youre married since doing so often leads to a lower tax bill. But there are times when married filing separately is the smarter move.

Filing separately may be worth considering if:

One spouse owes back taxes.

One spouse owes unpaid child support.

One spouse has certain debts that could trigger a refund offset.

One spouse qualifies for reduced student loan payments under an Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plan.

One spouse doesnt trust the others reporting or tax behavior.

If you file a joint return, your refund could be used to pay certain debts that belong only to your spouse, such as back taxes, unpaid child support, or some other government-related debts. Filing separately may help protect the other spouses refund.

Another common scenario involves federal student loans, said Cerezo.

Filing separately can make sense if one partner has large student loan debt and is in an IDR plan, she explained. By filing separately, they exclude their spouse's income and can qualify for a lower IDR payment.

Theres one more important tax rule to note: When filing separately, if one spouse itemizes deductions, the other spouse generally has to itemize, rather than taking the standard deduction.

Read more: There are 5 federal tax filing statuses. Which one is right for you?

Filing jointly or separately: Which one is best for you?

There isnt a universal right or wrong answer. You have to run the numbers and figure out what works best for your specific situation. The cleanest way to do that is to prepare the return both ways in tax software or have a tax professional compare the outcomes.

Dont just look at the refund figure in isolation. Look at total tax liability, eligibility for credits, retirement account implications, and any downstream effect on student loan payments or debt offsets.

A smaller refund doesnt always mean a worse overall result. A bigger refund isnt always a good thing, and it could mean your withholding was off all year.

In general, most financial experts recommend filing together. The perks simply outweigh the downsides in most cases.

Learn more: Tax refunds are bigger this year. Why thats not good news for taxpayers.

Taxes and relationships FAQs

Should you file separately if youre getting a divorce?

Often, couples going through a divorce still benefit financially from filing a joint return for the final year of marriage. However, cooperation can break down during divorce negotiations, and one spouse may prefer filing separately for legal or personal reasons. A tax professional can help determine which option makes the most financial sense.

Can you still file single if you got married during the year?

No. If you were legally married as of Dec. 31, the IRS generally doesnt let you file as single for that tax year. Instead, youll need to file as either married filing jointly or married filing separately. The main exception is if you qualify for head of household under special rules, which usually requires living apart for a significant part of the year and meeting other IRS requirements.
Based on its $9 billion return in 2025 and expectations for continued strong performance, shareholder returns are in the ballpark of $4 billion in ordinary dividends alone , with additional cash coming from buybacks.

For 2026, ConocoPhillips plans to return roughly 45% of its cash from operations to shareholders, consistent with its long-term track record.

It's also investing in major projects that it says will double its 2025 free cash flow by 2029, CNBC noted .

The energy behemoth has more than two decades of low-cost drilling inventory across the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford, and Bakken.

The U.S., as the world's largest oil producer with its own strategic reserves, is somewhat shielded from the worst of the disruption.

The spread between Brent and WTI has also widened sharply, exceeding $14 per barrel, a gap analysts say reflects that countries outside the U.S. face more immediate supply risk.

IEA member nations have already agreed to release a record 400 million barrels from strategic reserves to help ease the crunch .

The International Energy Agency called the situation "very severe," with its executive director saying it is worse than the oil shocks of the 1970s and the Russia-Ukraine gas crisis combined .

Analysts warned that if the Strait stays mostly closed for 10 weeks, Brent could surpass its all-time high from July 2008, when it briefly hit around $147 per barrel.

Goldman Sachs sharply raised its oil price forecast in response, now projecting Brent to average $110 in the near term, a roughly 62% jump from the 2025 annual average. The bank also bumped its WTI estimates higher for the coming months.

Brent crude , the international benchmark, recently topped $113 per barrel . West Texas Intermediate ( WTI ), the U.S. standard, crossed $101.

The disruption stems from escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, pushing oil markets into near-panic mode.

The Strait of Hormuz , a narrow waterway that normally handles roughly 20% of the world's oil supply, has been largely closed to commercial shipping since late February .

Here's what investors need to know.

Now, with crude surging on geopolitical tensions, the case for ConocoPhillips as a dividend and growth stock is getting louder.

The Houston-based energy giant just wrapped up a strong 2025 . It increased production, cut costs, and returned $9 billion to investors.

Oil prices are back above $100 a barrel . And for ConocoPhillips , a company founded in 1917, that's the kind of environment where its long-term strategy starts to shine.

Story Continues

COP stock also grew its base dividend at a top-quartile S&P 500 rate in 2025 and plans to do so again in 2026.

Analysts tracking the energy stock forecastfree cash flow to improve from $7.24 billion in 2025 to $12.80 billion in 2030.

A widening FCF base should translate to consistent dividend hikes over the next five years, given its annual dividend expense of roughly $4 billion.

Key COP stock dividend ratios investors should know:

Shareholder return target: 45% of cash from operations (CFO) annually, a commitment the company has met consistently.

2025 total shareholder returns: $9 billion, including $1 billion+ in buybacks in Q4 alone.

Dividend growth rate: Top-quartile S&P 500, with the base dividend increased again in 2025.

Free cash flow breakeven: Currently in the mid-$40s per barrel (pre-dividend); targeting the low $30s by the end of the decade.

Net debt position: Reduced by nearly $2 billion in 2025; cash and short-term investments ended the year at $7.4 billion.

Organic reserve replacement ratio: 99% in 2025; 106% over three years; 133% over five years.

2026 CapEx guidance: Approximately $12 billion, down $600 million year over year on improved capital efficiency.

The $7 billion free cash flow bet

ConocoPhillips has four major projects underway. Combined with its cost-reduction push, management says these will drive a $7 billion free cash flow inflection by 2029, effectively doubling its 2025 free cash flow generation.

The plan unfolds in stages. ConocoPhillips expects about $1 billion in incremental free cash flow each year from 2026 through 2028.

Then comes Willow.

Related: The worlds biggest gas field matters just as much as oil right now

Willow is a massive oil development on Alaska's North Slope, currently nearly 50% complete and on track for first oil in early 2029.

When it comes online, it's expected to deliver another$4 billion in additional free cash flow. The project is ahead of schedule and under budget, with permanent camp facilities already open on-site.

Chief Financial Officer Andy O'Brien walked analysts through the math. With preproductive capital spending rolling off and production ramping up, the company's free cash flow breakeven, currently in the mid-$40s per barrel, should fall into the low $30s by the time Willow comes online.

That's a meaningful number. At a $30-something breakeven, ConocoPhillips can keep paying and growing its dividend even in a significantly weaker oil price environment.

The company is also expanding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) footprint.

Its offtake portfolio now stands at roughly 10 million tonnes per annum, with two LNG projects, NFE and Port Arthur, more than 80% complete and expected to add significant cash flow starting in 2027 and 2028.

O'Brien added that for every $1 move in Henry Hub natural gas prices, ConocoPhillips sees more than $400 million in cash flow sensitivity  a reminder that the company isn't just an oil play.

Lower 48 efficiency gains are key for dividend growth

One of the quiet wins in ConocoPhillips' 2025 results was what happened in the Lower 48.

The company improved its drilling and completion efficiencies by more than 15% last year. In the Delaware Basin (part of the Permian), oil productivity per foot rose about 8% year over year, even as average lateral lengths grew 9%.

In the Eagle Ford, productivity per foot climbed another 7% on top of an already-strong 2024.

More Dividend Stocks:

That performance comes from better completion designs, smarter spacing strategies, and the integration of Marathon Oil assets acquired in 2024.

The result? ConocoPhillips expects to deliver modest production growth in 2026 while actually cutting capital spending by more than 5% from 2025 levels. That's the kind of efficiency that directly benefits shareholders and dividend growth.

Long lateral development is also playing a bigger role. Back in 2023, about 60% of the company's Permian future inventory was planned at two miles or greater.

Today, that figure sits at 80%. For the 2026 drilling program, 90% of wells will be two miles or longer. Going from a one-mile to a two-mile lateral improves the cost of supply by roughly 25%. Push to three or four miles, and you get another 10% to 15% on top of that.

The bottom line on the $4 billion dividend

ConocoPhillips is built on a multi-decade inventory of low-cost resources, disciplined capital allocation, and a commitment to shareholder returns that it has consistently honored.

With oil above $100, that foundation looks even stronger. Higher prices boost free cash flow, make the breakeven trajectory more achievable, and give the company flexibility to keep buying back shares while investing in its major growth projects.

For income investors, the story is straightforward: a company with a deeply funded balance sheet, falling debt, growing dividends, and a free cash flow profile set to roughly double by 2029.

Lance put it plainly on the earnings call: "I believe we have the highest quality asset base in our peer space." With oil spiking and dividends flowing, the market may be starting to agree.

Related: Goldman Sachs reveals top oil stocks to buy for 2026

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Mar 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) is one of the top nuclear energy stocks to invest in for the next 5 years.

On March 12, 2026, Centrus Energy said it partnered with Palantir Technologies Inc. to use Palantirs Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform in support of Centrus multi-billion-dollar expansion of uranium enrichment capacity in Piketon, Ohio. The company said the software will be used across project controls, engineering, manufacturing execution, supply chain management, and regulatory compliance.

How Centrus Thinks Palantir Can Help Cut Costs in Its Enrichment Expansion Effort

dan-meyers-F_DSvG5Fb0A-unsplash

Centrus said early work from the partnership, which began in late January, had already identified nearly $300 million in potential cost savings and efficiencies. The company also said the effort had identified opportunities to reduce manufacturing lead times and accelerate the timeline for bringing new enrichment capacity online. Chief Executive Officer Amir Vexler said the partnership follows Centrus recently announced EPC partnership with Fluor and is aimed at reducing unit costs and improving execution as the company scales its enrichment technology for commercial deployment.

Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) is an American supplier of nuclear fuel and services for the nuclear power industry. The company says it has provided utility customers with more than 1,850 reactor-years of fuel since 1998 and is also advancing High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium production and broader U.S. uranium-enrichment capacity.

While we acknowledge the potential of LEU as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years. Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
Global rare earths production is estimated to have increased by a modest 2.6% in 2025 over 2024 to 390,000 tonnes of rare-earth oxide (REO), supported by stable supply chains and sustained output from China. China retains its dominant position in the global rare earths market, accounting for 69.2% of global rare earths output in 2025. Chinas dominance extends beyond mining, with the country processing nearly 90% of global rare earths, strengthening its control across the value chain.

The US and Australia are the worlds second-largest and third-largest producers, accounting for 13.1% and 7.4% of global production in 2025, respectively.

The US reinforced its position as the worlds second-largest rare earths producer in 2025, with output reaching 51,000t. This was supported by federal initiatives such as the Defense Production Act (DPA), which helped mobilise funding and long-term offtake arrangements to expand the Mountain Pass mine and build out domestic separation capacity. However, despite rapid gains in mining, the US remains at an early stage in developing commercial-scale refining capability, leaving it short of the end-to-end capacity needed for full supply-chain independence.

Meanwhile, Australia produced 29,000t and is increasingly focusing on downstream processing and magnet supply chains through government-backed critical minerals programs and partnerships with the US and Japan.

Myanmar contributed 22,000t, rebounding from earlier disruptions caused by armed conflicts and logistical issues. However, production remains volatile due to regulatory uncertainty, environmental scrutiny and intermittent border controls, keeping Myanmar a high-risk but essential supplier.

While Thailand is not a major player, it has a niche role in the industry, particularly in downstream processing (and mainly relies on imports from China). While it has limited domestic reserves, it functions as a processing hub for refining rare earths. Thailand has a developed downstream processing industry for REEs that includes the production of rare earth magnets and other high-value products. The countrys mine output doubled from 2,100t in 2024 to 4,800t in 2025, underpinned by intensified domestic mining due to the presence of reserves in the Northeastern region (particularly Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) and Buriram region).

Nigerias rare earths output is estimated to have declined significantly from 7,200t in 2023 to 1,500t in 2025, due to the lack of extensive geological surveys, along with the technical challenges of extracting rare earth elements, which have limited progress. The country is planning to develop its rare earths sector through collaborations with other countries, the most recent one being the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with France in December 2024 to secure supply chains for rare earths by leveraging France's technological expertise.
McCain Foods is reportedly preparing to close one of its two processing sites in New Zealand.

Multiple media outlets reported the plans today (24 March), with a spokesperson for McCain quoted as saying the facility in Hastings will shut by the end of January next year.

"The decision follows a strategic review of our Hastings operations and reflects a shift in how McCain will supply its vegetable portfolio within Australia and New Zealand," a statement from a McCain spokesperson read, according to outlets including NZ broadcaster 1News.

The spokesperson added: "After carefully considering a range of options, we determined that transitioning to a different supply model is the most responsible path forward and best supports the long-term vision of our organisation. McCain is currently consulting with all employees whose roles would be affected by the planned closure."

Just Food has approached McCain for comment.

Earlier this month, Kraft Heinz set out plans to close three factories in New Zealand. The company pointed to increasingly difficult operating conditions in the country.

Before Christmas, McCain announced the sale of its vegetable manufacturing operations in South Africa. The privately-owned group said the deal fit its strategy to strengthen its core potato portfolio.

In November, McCain acquired US potato-products group Penobscot McCrum.

"McCain to shut New Zealand factory" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.




Topline

Gas prices in the U.S. neared $4 per gallon on Tuesday, as the ongoing U.S.-Israel war against Iran continued to disrupt global oil shipments.

Gasoline prices in the U.S. are set to breach the $4 a gallon mark. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Key Facts

According to AAAs fuel prices tracker, the national average price of gasoline stood at $3.977 on Tuesday morning, up nearly 35% since last month.

Patrick De Haan, Gasbuddys Head of Petroleum Analysis, reported a slightly higher national average price of $3.981 per gallon, and wrote: We'll likely see the national average cross [$4 per gallon] in the next 24 hours.

The global benchmark Brent Crude Index stood at $102.12 per barrel on Tuesday morning, up more than 2% Mondays close, but still significantly down from Mondays peak of around $113.

Although some of the market optimism has subsided, oil prices fell below $100 per barrel on Monday morning after Trump said the U.S. had held productive talks with the Iranian regime to discuss a total resolution of the ongoing war.

Iran has vehemently denied having any talks with U.S. officials, triggering some volatility in oil prices, but De Haan noted on Monday that gas stations were still passing along the surge from late last week.

Big Number

$5.345. That is the national average price of diesel, which has risen 43.41% since last month, an even steeper spike compared to gasoline. Diesel is used to fuel heavy vehicles like trucks, tractors, combines, and construction machinery and its price increase will not impact most car owners at the pump. However, costlier diesel is expected to have a major impact on other parts of the economy, driving up prices of groceries, farm goods and shipping.

Crucial Quote

On Monday, the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, warned that the global energy crisis triggered by the Iran conflict is a major, major threat to the global economy. He said no country will be immune to the effects of this crisis, and added that it could have a worse impact than the combined effects of the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks.
Oil prices increased on 24 March amid concerns over supply disruptions after Iran denied it is engaged in talks with the US to resolve the conflict in the Gulf.

Irans denial refutes statements by US President Donald Trump suggesting an imminent deal, reported Reuters. Tehran also fired several waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, after Trump announced he would postpone strikes on Iranian energy facilities, citing productive talks.

In the wake of the hostilities, the price of Brent crude increased by $1.25, or 1.3%, reaching $101.19 per barrel (bbl) at 08:58 GMT.

Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) saw a rise of $2.15, or 2.4%, to $90.28/bbl.

On Monday, crude futures experienced a significant drop of more than 10% after President Trump announced a five-day delay on attacks against Iranian power plants, claiming discussions with unnamed Iranian officials had resulted in "major points of agreement".

The ongoing Operation Epic Fury and the resulting Iranian retaliation has disrupted oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for approximately 20% of the world's supply.

Despite the tensions, two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) successfully navigated the strait en route to India on Monday, Reuters reported.

Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been unable to export since the onset of the conflict on 28 February, following Iranian assaults on vessels and threats to shipping through the southern strait.

Data from the London Stock Exchange Group confirmed that the two Indian-flagged tankers carried more than 92,000t of LPG and are expected to arrive at Indian ports between 26 and 28 March.

According to ship-tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform, the Pine Gas, loaded in UAE waters, navigated through the strait, followed closely by the Jag Vasant, which was transporting LPG from Kuwait.

In response to claims from Washington regarding talks, Tehran dismissed them as attempts to influence markets. Iran also claimed responsibility for attacks on US targets, denouncing Trump's remarks as "worn-out psychological operations".

Recent attacks targeted energy infrastructure in Iran's Isfahan and Khorramshahr regions.

To address potential shortages, the US has temporarily eased sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil currently at sea. Traders have reportedly offered Iranian crude at a premium to Indian refiners.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency has been consulting with Asian and European governments on potentially releasing more strategic reserves, if needed.
Australia remains the worlds largest lithium producer, accounting for 33.5% of global lithium output in 2025. The countrys lithium mine production is estimated to have increased to 113,500 tonnes (t) in 2025, a 1.8% marginal growth over 2024. This limited growth was primarily supported by the ramp-up of Liontown Resources Kathleen Valley project and SQMs Mt Holland lithium project, both of which commenced operations in mid-2024, alongside ongoing expansions at the Pilgangoora and Greenbushes lithium operations.

However, persistently weak spodumene prices and cost-cutting measures have prompted several producers to scale back operations. Key examples of this market-driven consolidation include PLS Group Limited (formerly Pilbara Minerals) placing its Ngungaju plant under care and maintenance in December 2024, Mineral Resources (MRL) suspending operations at its Bald Hill project in November 2024 (which remains suspended as of January 2026), and Rio Tinto Lithium halting operations at Mount Cattlin in March 2025. Collectively, these shutdowns highlight a strategic industry shift toward capital preservation and operational rationalisation in response to the current pricing downturn.

Looking ahead, Australias lithium output is expected to rebound in 2026, with production projected to grow by 6% to reach 120,300t. This growth will be driven primarily by operational enhancements and capacity expansions at key mining sites. A major contributor will be the Kathleen Valley project, which completed its phased transition from open-pit mining to a fully underground operation on 21 December 2025, and is now ramping up production as planned. This transition is aimed at targeting higher-grade ore, improving operating margins, and enhancing long-term operational efficiency and sustainability.

Further upside to output growth is expected from continued expansion activities at the established Greenbushes lithium operations and the Pilgangoora project, both of which are set to contribute materially to overall supply growth through 2026, reinforcing Australias position in the global lithium market.

From a policy perspective, the Australian Government is actively attracting investments in the critical minerals industry through the Critical Minerals Strategy 20232030 and the "Future Made in Australia" plan. These include significant funding and tax incentives (a 10% production tax incentive for processing and refining costs) to encourage private investment in the critical minerals sector.

In February 2026, the Australian Government released its Critical Minerals Prospectus, profiling 78 investment-ready projects from 60 companies, including one lithium project. The prospectus also listed 29 midstream processing opportunities, four of which were lithium-related. Core Lithiums Finniss Lithium Operation was shortlisted in the upstream category while Albemarles Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant, Tianqi Lithium Energy Australias Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery, Liviums Livium project, and Li-S Energys lithium metal foil line were shortlisted under midstream processing.
Radisson Hotel Group is rolling out a global expansion of its Verified Net Zero Hotels (VNZ) programme, aiming to certify 100 properties by 2030.

The move transitions the programme from its pilot phase last year to a longer-term roadmap that will scale the initiative across multiple regions over the next five years.

The next phase of the VNZ scheme was unveiled at the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) 2026, which runs through 25 March.

The new rollout will start this year in Norway before extending to Denmark, Sweden, the UK, and South Africa, the latter becoming the first country on the African continent to participate in the programme.

Further expansion is scheduled for Germany, Austria, and Spains Canary Islands as part of the ongoing development efforts.

Radissons VNZ concept began as a proof-of-concept to demonstrate the possibility of achieving net zero status in operational hotel buildings.

The programme is structured around eliminating Scope 1 and 2 emissions using electrification and renewable energy sources such as city heating and cooling networks.

It also aims to reduce Scope 3 emissions in areas such as foodservice, waste management, laundry operations, hotel amenities, and business travel.

All participating hotels will receive independent verification by TUV Rheinland based on internationally recognised standards aligned with the Science Based Targets Initiative.

To date, two VNZ hotels operating in Manchester and Oslo have reported that they maintain guest awareness levels above 70%; approximately one-fifth of their guests cite net zero status as a booking factor.

Radisson Hotel Group chief sustainability and security officer Inge Huijbrechts said: The excellent results from the Manchester and Oslo VNZ hotels support the expansion of Radisson Hotel Groups pioneering program.

The hotels show strong carbon reduction across all emission scopes, high guest awareness, and clear support for sustainable meetings and events.

The new phase includes a distinct icon for verified properties, which Radisson revealed at IHIF 2026.

The icon will be displayed throughout each hotel and features QR codes for digital information access. It is produced partly from organic waste generated during hotel operations.

As interest grows among regulators, investors and guests regarding sustainability measures in hospitality, Radisson Hotel Group is positioning its VNZ rollout as an externally audited model for operational transparency and scalability within the sector.

"Radisson sets goal of 100 Verified Net Zero Hotels worldwide by 2030" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is stepping down as board chair of the Helion  the fusion startup he backs  amid reported talks between the two companies.



The deal, which was reported by Axios, is in early stages, and it could guarantee OpenAI 12.5% of Helions production  five gigawatts by 2030 and 50 gigawatts by 2035. OpenAI partner Microsoft signed a similar deal with Helion in 2023 to buy power starting in 2028.

If the figures in Axios report prove to be accurate, it suggests that Helion expects to be able to rapidly scale production of its fusion power plant. The startup has said that each of its reactors will generate 50 megawatts of electricity, meaning it will need to build and install 800 reactors by 2030 and an additional 7,200 by 2035.

Helion wouldnt confirm if talks with OpenAI were underway. A spokesman told TechCrunch the company has not announced any new customer agreements beyond those it already has with Microsoft and Nucor. However, the company did confirm to TechCrunch that Altman is leaving the board chair of Helion, suggesting that the two companies may eventually work together.

Sam is stepping down from Helions Board of Directors after more than a decade. This decision enables Helion and OpenAI to partner on future opportunities to bring zero-carbon, safe electricity to the world, David Kirtley, co-founder and CEO of the company, told TechCrunch in statement. We look forward to continuing to work with him in this new capacity.

Helion is racing to build its first commercial-scale reactor by that time. If the startup is successful, it would place it years ahead of the competition, which is mostly targeting early 2030s for commercial operations.

The startup raised $425 million last year from investors, including Altman as well as firms Mithril, Lightspeed, and SoftBank.

Most fusion startups are pursuing one of two approaches  harvesting heat from the fusion reactions and using a steam turbine to turn it into electricity. Helion is taking a different tack, developing a reactor design that would use magnets to convert fusion energy into electricity.

Inside the hourglass-shaped reactor, fusion fuel is first turned into plasma at either end and then shot toward each other using magnetic fields. When they collide in the middle, another set of magnets compresses the merged plasma ball until fusion occurs. The reaction pushes back on the magnets, which can convert that energy directly into electricity.

Helion is currently operating its Polaris prototype in advance of its push to commercial power. In February, the company generated plasmas inside the reactor that hit 150 million degrees Celsius, almost to the 200 million degrees Celsius the company thinks will be required for commercial operations.
Then theres the challenge of getting necessary permissions. Grid operator PJM Interconnection has to approve any projects added to the already backlogged grid ; just this year, it is starting to review applications filed since 2022.

And SB Energy would have a hard time securing skilled labor to build the plant, Wamsted said, given the competition for a limited pool of workers already in high demand for data centers and other energy projects.

Turbines for gas plants are pretty much sold out in the U.S. through 2029 or 2030, Wamsted said. However, its possible that SB Energy could jump up in the line if it can pay other companies enough to delay their projects.

I would doubt that that thing ever gets built, certainly at the size theyre talking about, said Dennis Wamsted, an energy analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

These real-world constraints  and the fact that the announcement came as a complete surprise to state and local officials who would usually be involved in big energy decisions  have left some critics wondering about the projects feasibility.

Meanwhile, other questions remain: Where will SB Energy get equipment amid a supply chain backlog for gas turbines? How soon can the facility connect to the grid in a region where plants typically wait years for that approval?

Several key details are missing from the administrations announcement. Exactly where will the plant be built? Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son will be in Piketon, Ohio , about 25 miles north of Portsmouth, on Friday afternoon, so more particulars may be coming then.

The U.S. Department of Commerce unveiled the plan last month in a press release listing projects supported by the administrations trade deal with Japan last year, in which the Asian country agreed to invest $550 billion in America. A fact sheet from the agency paints a broad-strokes picture of the project: The $33 billion, 9.2-gigawatt plant, it says, will be built somewhere around the southern Ohio city of Portsmouth by SB Energy, a subsidiary of Japanese tech giant SoftBank.

The Trump administration says one of the worlds biggest natural gasfired power plants will come to Ohio. But financial risks, permitting hurdles, and uncertainties about the projects access to equipment have critics doubting when  and if  the plant will come online.

Story Continues

PJM spokesperson Jeff Shields said via email that the grid operator was not aware of the project prior to its announcement but is excited about its prospects due to the need for new supply to meet burgeoning data center/large load demand growth. The project could apply for interconnection in PJMs next review cycle, which is accepting applications through April 27. But, he added, PJM has no specific information yet beyond the Department of Commerce announcement.

The plant would also need siting and construction permits from Ohio regulators. No applications for those approvals have been filed yet. Although a law passed last year speeds up the permit approval process to just a few months for priority projects, issuance is not guaranteed. Any appeal can add a year or more to the timeline.

On top of all that, SB Energy will need new pipelines and other infrastructure to get natural gas from where its extracted to wherever the facility is built. This likewise will require regulatory approvals from state and possibly federal authorities.

The flux in U.S. trade policy further complicates matters. Three days after the Trump administration announced the power plant, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the widespread tariff program that the U.S. government used to extract a variety of trade concessions from different countries  including Japan. The validity of the new tariffs has not been determined. And last week, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer launched investigations into allegedly unfair trade practices by Japan and other countries.

Rulings against the Trump administration might ultimately cause SoftBank and SB Energy to back out of deals with the U.S. government if the threat of higher tariffs is removed, particularly if their financial risks for the Ohio plant increase.

The Department of Commerce has not answered Canary Medias repeated requests for more details about the power plant deal, nor have SB Energy and SoftBank responded to questions.

About the only thing that wont be a hurdle for the proposed plant to procure is the amount of gas needed for at least the first decade of its operation  although a big jump in demand could increase the price of natural gas for everyone in the region.

I would say a plant that large would probably use about 1.2 billion cubic feet per day, said Jimmy Stewart, president of the Ohio Gas Association. On an annual basis, that would be roughly one-fifth of Ohios production, he said.

Thats a lot, but Ohio already exports much of its natural gas, Stewart noted. The states gas plants can also source fuel from elsewhere. And while the administrations announcement last month was a surprise, theres been plenty of people assuming there would be more natural gas generation facilities announced over the next couple of years, he said.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Risky business

If the plant does ultimately come online, it would emit massive amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases, along with other health-harming pollution.

Direct carbon dioxide emissions from the plant could range from 16.2 million metric tons per year to more than 20 million metric tons, according to separate estimates from the Rhodium Group and Energy Innovation, two policy and economic analysis organizations. That is roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of 4 million cars, based on federal data.

Fugitive methane emissions  the pollution that leaks during the production and transport of natural gas  could add about 26 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, Eric Gimon, a senior fellow at Energy Innovation, said via email.

Nitrogen oxide emissions could total between 300 and 2,000 tons per year, Gimon estimated. Exposure can irritate the lungs, eyes, nose, and throat, and cause a variety of health problems.

In contrast, renewables and storage emit zero pollution during the operation phase of their life cycles. And they can get on the grid much more quickly, Wamsted noted.

A gas-fired megaplant also poses financial risks and could saddle Ohioans with higher electric bills in the years to come.

Although the current federal government and Ohios governor and legislature now favor natural gas, that could change. Renewed limits on greenhouse gas emissions could restrict the plants ability to operate, or require the plant to install costly equipment to capture and handle that waste.

Meanwhile, sky-high forecasts for electricity demand may not materialize if, for example, utilities load forecasts have been overstated and data center growth is less than projected. Other utility customers may foot the bill for overbuilding power plant infrastructure if hyperscalers require less energy than expected.

If demand doesnt materialize, you will be left with stranded assets intended to use expensive fuel, Gimon said. Renewables and storage, on the contrary, dont need matching fuel infrastructure. He added that its easier to repurpose those assets than a gas plant and pipelines; for example, solar panels and batteries could be relocated to another area where they are needed more.

The price volatility of natural gas is also a concern. Even before last months announcement, Ohios leadership was betting heavily on natural gas for our future of generation, said Andrew Thomas, executive-in-residence at Cleveland State Universitys Energy Policy Center. And you dont want to see natural gas prices double if that is the bet were making.

The cost of the plants construction, along with its required infrastructure, would factor into the price it charges for electricity for years to come. Given the Department of Commerces estimation of $33 billion for the investment, Wamsted said, I cant fathom how that would be cost-competitive compared with other sources like renewables with batteries.

A rush to gas is bad economic risk management, Gimon said.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
By Marianna Parraga and Nathan Crooks

HOUSTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told Reuters on Tuesday that early interest in Venezuela's oil sector is positive but she called for more transparency and contract security, including a new oil law, to further increase crude and gas output in the South American country.

In January, Venezuela's National Assembly approved a sweeping reform of the country's main oil law after the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro this year. The new law grants foreign producers autonomy to operate and export the OPEC country's oil, yet many companies have said more changes are needed to reach U.S. President Donald Trump's goal of attracting $100 billion in investment.

"I'm here to attract attention to Venezuela, not delay it," she said in an interview before her Tuesday afternoon speech at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

Machado said Venezuela could eventually produce as much as 5 million barrels of oil a day, with $150 billion in investment needed. Investors, however, need rule of law, independent institutions and respect for contracts in Venezuela in the long term, which Machado says would be granted by a new government once the country holds a presidential election.

In the meantime, she said, Washington's supervision of oil revenue is needed to prevent corruption or wrongdoing. Since January, the U.S. has been controlling oil proceeds through bank accounts handled by the Treasury Department, and the Venezuelan administration of interim President Delcy Rodriguez is working to restore output to the 1.2 million bpd it was producing before a strict U.S. oil blockade was implemented to pressure Maduro.

With some investors starting to travel to Caracas to consider new investments in the country, ConocoPhillips thinks more needs to be done before oil majors agree to develop major new projects. The company departed Venezuela after its assets were expropriated in 2007 and is still owed around $12 billion.

CEO Ryan Lance, who also spoke at CERAWeek on Tuesday, said Venezuela needs to "completely rewire" its fiscal system and called recent reforms "woefully inadequate."

Even Chevron, the only U.S. oil major currently operating in Venezuela, wants additional legislation. "There's still things that need to happen to encourage investment at the scale that people would like to see," CEO Mike Wirth said in remarks at the same conference on Monday.

Spanish energy group Repsol plans to triple its gross crude production in Venezuela to 150,000 barrels per day over the next three years, Francisco Gea, executive managing director of exploration and production, said on the sidelines of the conference on Tuesday.
Venture Global has agreed to an offtake deal with Dutch energy and commodities company Vitol for the supply of approximately 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Under the terms of the agreement, Venture Global will supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Vitol over a period of five years, starting from this year.

Venture Global has more than 100mtpa of capacity either already in production, currently under construction, or in the development phase.

The company commenced LNG production from its first facility in 2022 and is currently one of the largest LNG exporters in the US. Its projects include Calcasieu Pass, Plaquemines LNG and CP2 LNG, all located in Louisiana.

Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel said: Global demand for flexible, reliable US LNG is rapidly growing, and Venture Global is proud to work with premier LNG trading companies like Vitol to provide this critical supply to the market.

Thanks to our innovative model, we have the ability to provide our customers with short, medium and long-term LNG supply, and this agreement is another important step in diversifying the tenor of our LNG portfolio.

Vitol has participated in LNG markets since the mid-2000s and maintains a broad range of global contracts and equity interests in the sector. Last year, the company supplied 23 million tonnes of LNG and 1,800 terawatt-hours of natural gas.

Vitol LNG global head Pablo Galante Escobar said: Vitol is delighted to be working with Venture Global, a leading producer and supplier of LNG to world markets.

LNG is important to many economies worldwide. Through this transaction Vitol is expanding its supply base to be able to offer diverse and reliable sources of energy to our customers and partners around the world.

Earlier this month, Venture Global made a final investment decision and secured $8.6bn in project financing for the second phase of its CP2 LNG project. Combined with the phase one financing announced last July, this represents the largest stand-alone project financing in the US bank market.

For phase two, commitments surpassed $19bn, building on the $34bn committed for phase one, all without requiring any additional equity investment from outside sources.

"Venture Global signs five-year LNG offtake deal with Vitol" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




President Trump knows exactly what he is doing, and his entire energy team has taken many actions to mitigate the effects of these short-term disruptions, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement. Ultimately, once the military objectives are completed and the Iranian terrorist regime is neutralized, oil and gas will flow more freely than ever before and prices will rapidly drop again.

The White House said tankers would again move through the strait freely  and energy prices fall  once the United States achieves its military goals.

How do you replace all this gas, all this oil, helium? The list goes on, he said.

This is the worst Ive seen, Paul Sankey, senior adviser at consulting firm Oliver Wyman and a longtime energy market analyst, said of the turmoil in the oil market due to what he called Gulf War III.

For many in the sector, the war has turned their worst fear  the closure of the Strait of Hormuz  into reality. The waterway through which 20 percent of the worlds oil leaves the Middle East to reach the wider market has been targeted by Iran, which has also destroyed or heavily damaged major refineries, oil and gas fields, and gas export plants around the Persian Gulf.

Executives from the worlds largest oil companies appeared more astonished about the scale of the supply disruption from the war than thrilled about the higher prices. The war has snarled the Mideast operations for several companies, some of whose CEOs  including Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco  skipped the conference even as high prices boosted their profits.

The energy market fallout is becoming political as well. Trumps approval rating fell to 36 percent amid the publics anger over the war and the steep jump in gasoline prices, according to a Reuters poll released Tuesday . The dissatisfaction threatens to doom Republicans attempts to keep control of Congress in this years midterm elections.

Weve not seen anything like this  there's been no disruption of this scale in the past, Gareth Ramsay, chief economist at oil and gas giant BP, told the conference. Its every oil analysts study piece or worst nightmare  one that we never thought would happen.

Its the second time in four years that top White House officials have taken the stage at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference to plead with producers to ramp up their drilling to cover supply disruptions from war-driven oil and natural gas price shocks. But unlike the coordinated international response to counter Russias 2022 attack in Ukraine, the Middle East war has drawn little support from allies and has seemed disturbingly ad hoc, industry executives said, leaving the industry feeling unsure on how to react.

HOUSTON  Global energy leaders have been jolted by the enormity of what the U.S.-Israel war with Iran means for their business  and theyre not liking what theyre seeing.

Story Continues

The sheer scale of the chaos the war has brought to the industry poked some holes in the face of the conference itself: Some of the worlds top oil producers who are regulars at the annual Houston gathering were notable in their absence. Exxon Mobil CEO and Chair Darren Woods, whose company has major oil and gas operations in the Gulf, and Amin Nasser, CEO of national oil company Saudi Aramco, skipped this year to address the disruptions. Top executives from the state-run oil companies in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates appeared virtually.

We are outraged by this attack against us, Shaikh Nawaf Al-Sabah, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., said of recent strikes by Iranian projectiles that damaged a major refinery there. This is an attack against not only the Gulf, but it is an attack that is holding the worlds economy hostage.

Trump administration officials, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and National Energy Dominance Council Executive Director Jarrod Agen, have been meeting with industry executives throughout the week in Houston and have projected confidence that oil companies will heed their calls to speed their drills.

Markets do what markets do, Wright said on Monday, noting surging crude prices should encourage their companies to ramp up production. And Agen told the POLITICO Pub at CERAWeek that producers are all on board with the administrations push and hes heard no pushback.

But privately, members of the oil, natural gas, investment and insurance industries at CERAWeek expressed a mix of disbelief that the Trump administration thought it could quickly hobble Iran  and worries about how it will hurt their businesses and the broader economy.

ConocoPhillips CEO and Chair Ryan Lance said his conversations with administration officials have focused on protecting oil and gas fields, export plants, and refineries in the Middle East.

A lot of my conversations with the administration are really pleading to try to get some extra protection around the U.S.-owned assets in Qatar, Lance said.

One investment analyst bemoaned to POLITICO that oil traders are having to make quick decisions based on Trumps social media posts, only to see Trump deliver a starkly different message soon after. Oil markets have swung in a $40 range during the first three weeks of the war.

BPs Ramsay said he doubted producers would approve any production increases due to the conflict, calling the volatility in crude prices not something any oil company wants to see.

Over the sort of short time frame we're talking about, at the moment, there is no supply response, he said. There is no potential supply response.

Geoffrey Pyatt, who led the energy office at the State Department under the Biden administration, said there were echoes to the 2022 crisis, when then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholms call for producers to turn up their drills at the same conference drew a tepid response.

Maybe the most important thing that I learned working on these issues in government was the limitation that we faced trying to pull levers to incentivize new investment or new production in a sector where the [return on investment] is measured in decades, and where the timeline for implementing projects runs into years, Pyatt said in an interview.

NEDCs Agen said Venezuela and Alaska were two locations that could quickly make up for the losses in supply from the Persian Gulf. And Wright said Venezuela had already upped its production by 200,000 barrels a day.

But some major companies have also rebuffed the idea of investing in Venezuela, and executives said they need to see much more reform from Caracas to assure them that the country is ready for large-scale increases in production.

They have a lot of ways to go to make the country competitive globally  to attract the kinds of billions of dollars in investments required, ConocoPhillipss Lance said. Not only do you need the physical safety and security, you need contract sanctity, you need policy durability.

Chevron, the only major U.S. oil company still operating in Venezuela, is looking at small-scale increases in production through existing infrastructure, CEO Mike Wirth said on Monday.

Theres still things that need to happen to encourage investment at the scale that people would like to see, Wirth said. To get to [production] levels that the country was at 20 years ago will require tens of billions of dollars and time.

The only thing the industry can see clearly as of now regarding the war  which Trump has at times said would last mere weeks and other times he would end when he feels it in my bones  is that the effects will be long-lasting.

The industry will not only have to rebuild billions of dollars of lost infrastructure in the Middle East, but countries dealing with the extreme price hikes for imported energy will likely look to develop supplies closer to home, executives said.

There will be knock-on effects, tailwind effects for a not insignificant period of time, said Tom Donilon, vice chair at investment management firm BlackRock and a former national security adviser in the Obama administration.

Fuel prices will remain elevated even after hostilities subside, analysts said. Companies will likely buy more fuel than they normally would have pre-war to increase their inventory on hand. The higher price on fossil fuels will offer a second chance for renewable energy, said Brian Falik, chief investment officer at commodities trading firm Mercuria.

We'll see some stockpiling, and it won't be just toilet paper this time, Falik said of the fuel market.

THIS WEEK ONLY: Follow POLITICO Pub CERAWeek like an insider with a free seven-day trial of POLITICO Pros Morning Energy newsletter, delivering the deals, policy moves and conversations shaping the week. Plus access to E&E News, POLITICO's essential suite of energy and environment coverage. Sign up now.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated Tom Donilon's title. He is vice chair of BlackRock.
By Amina Niasse

March 24 (Reuters) - CVS Health said on Tuesday it has reached a proposed settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission on insulin pricing.

Pharmacy benefit managers, which set how drugs are covered by health insurance, have faced a decade of scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers over pricing practices.

The company said on Tuesday its pharmacy benefit management unit, Caremark, has long focused on lowering prescription drug costs.

Shares of CVS Health rose 1.05% in afternoon trading.

CVS expects the settlement process to conclude in the coming weeks, but said final terms were still pending and would be confirmed once the settlement was officially finalized.

A source familiar with the terms of the settlement said CVS' deal was modeled on a deal the FTC struck with rival pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, which is owned by Cigna.

That deal was finalized two weeks after being proposed, and CVS' could be signed into effect sooner, they said.

Cigna's settlement required the company to curb rebate pricing, where a drugmaker gives the pharmacy benefit manager a discount after a certain drug is dispensed. Regulators have said this model incentivizes companies to introduce higher list prices and steer customers to more expensive drugs, driving larger discounts.

Cigna's deal also required the company to adopt more transparency and shift to a fee-based compensation structure. Violating terms of the deal could trigger further action from the regulator or lead to penalties.

Lisa Gill, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, said changes to the way CVS' Caremark prices drugs will have a nominal impact on company earnings.

"We broadly view these as manageable and, importantly, not larger in scope than the changes CVS was already implementing to address regulatory concerns and de-risk its PBM business," said Gill, adding the changes will remove regulatory risks for the company.

(Reporting by Amina Niasse in New York and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Caroline Humer, Shilpi Majumdar and Aurora Ellis)
Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) is one of the 10 Best Diagnostics and Research Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.

Danaher (DHR) Projects 2026 Revenue Growth at TD Cowen 46th Annual Health Care Conference

On March 3, 2026, Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) presented its 2026 strategic vision at the TD Cowen 46th Annual Health Care Conference. CEO Rainer Blair projected revenue growth of 3%-6% for 2026, driven by the bioprocessing segment. Also, the company anticipates a 100-basis-point operating margin expansion. Additionally, the Masimo acquisition is expected to expand the margins and provide high single-digit returns by year five. The management further projects a revenue impact of $75 million to $100 million from market shifts in China. However, the company expressed optimism, citing long-term opportunities in AI-based drug development and domestic reshoring initiatives.

Separately, on February 24, 2026, Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) announced the approval from its Board of Directors to pay a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.40 per share of its common stock. The companys shareholders of record on March 27, 2026, will be eligible to receive the dividend that will be paid on April 24, 2026.

Founded in 1984, Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) is a leading global innovator in life sciences and diagnostics. Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C.

While we acknowledge the potential of DHR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 10 Best Stocks to Invest in During a Recession and 10 Best Space Exploration Stocks to Buy According to Analysts

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
Everest Group has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Canadian retail insurance business, Everest Insurance Company of Canada (Everest Canada), to the Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company (Wawanesa).

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The proposed disposal is part of Everests stated shift away from its commercial retail insurance activities.

The company previously outlined plans to exit this area, including a 2025 deal to transfer renewal rights for its global retail commercial insurance business to American International Group (AIG).

That deal covered its commercial retail operations in the US, UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Everest Canada is described as Everests largest remaining retail platform.

Following the agreement with Wawanesa, Everest said it will further concentrate on its core reinsurance operations, alongside its global wholesale and specialty insurance businesses.

Everest president and CEO Jim Williamson said: This transaction represents a strong outcome for both organisations, our shareholders and our colleagues. The Canadian Retail team has built a high-quality, disciplined portfolio.

This agreement enables us to realise compelling value and to transition our colleagues to a growth-oriented organisation committed to expanding its commercial retail presence in the Canadian market.

Wawanesa said the deal will strengthen its position in the Canadian market. Everest Canadas portfolio includes specialty commercial products spanning accident and health, aviation, cyber, marine, professional liability, and property and casualty cover for larger businesses with complex or emerging needs.

The transaction is expected to contribute around C$305m in annual commercial lines premiums, which would represent an increase of around 30% on Wawanesas current volume, according to Wawanesa.

Wawanesa president and CEO Evan Johnston said: Everest has built a respected commercial business in Canada, powered by strong talent, deep specialty lines expertise, and a disciplined, entrepreneurial underwriting culture.

We look forward to welcoming the Everest Canada team and investing in their proven model to further expand our ability to serve more Canadian businesses across an even broader range of industries.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

"Everest to sell Canadian retail insurance unit to Wawanesa" was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand.




Gilead Sciences is set to acquire Ouro Medicines for $2.2bn, marking the companys first move into the T-cell engager (TCE) space and a deepening of ties with long-term partner, Galapagos.

Through this deal, the California-based big pharma company will hand over $1.68bn upfront, while pledging up to $500m in milestone payments to absorb the latters BCMA/CD3-targeting TCE, gamgertamig (OM336). The therapy is currently in clinical development for antibody-mediated orphan diseases such as immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA).

According to Citi analysts, Gileads Ouro acquisition both aligns with the big pharma companys plans to diversify beyond HIV and complements the autoimmune push its subsidiary, Kite is currently making.

While this is all standard protocol for an acquisition, Gilead may add a layer of complexity to the deal, as the company is in late-stage negotiations with Galapagos to co-develop gamgertamig.

Potentially building on the pairs long-term partnership, the acquisition could see Galapagos join the equation by taking on half of the upfront and milestone payments, as well as any costs centred around registrational trials involving gamgertamig.

In exchange, Galapagos would absorb Ouros operating assets and employees, while securing 20-23% of gamgertamigs net sales outside of greater China, if the drug were to make it to market.

Ouro previously bought the ex-Greater China rights to gamgertamig from Keymed Biosciences in January 2025.

Deal signals Galapagos pipeline plan

Galapagos ploy to expand its pipeline comes as the company goes through a period of significant restructuring. In October 2025, the biotech shuttered its cell therapy unit, marking a move away from a modality that has polarised the pharma industry in recent years.

Instead of betting on cell therapies, Galapagos plans to drive its future success through the acquisition of lucrative pipeline candidates. The biotech will achieve this with its 3bn ($3.5bn) in cash reserves, which the company will use to acquire late-stage assets in the immunology and oncology sectors, Galapagos CEO, Henry Gosebruch previously told Pharmaceutical Technology.

Currently, Galapagos pipeline includes one drug, GLPG3667, which the company is developing for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and dermatomyositis. GLPG3667 is an oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) blocker, which has demonstrated mixed efficacy in mid-stage trials thus far.

TCEs take on the autoimmune space

In previous years, pharma companies have primarily developed TCEs for use in oncology, with candidates like Johnson & Johnsons Tecvayli (teclistamab) and AbbVie & Genmabs Epkinly (epcoritamab) securing approval in multiple myeloma and B-cell lymphomas, respectively.
Insmed is looking to expand the role of its inhaled Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) lung disease therapy, Arikayce (amikacin), following the drugs success in a Phase IIIb trial.

In the ENCORE study (NCT04677569), the antibiotic plus a multidrug combination of azithromycin and ethambutol significantly improved the baseline change in respiratory symptom scores over the placebo-multidrug at month 13  meeting the trials primary endpoint.

Alongside its impact on respiratory symptoms, Arikayce also triggered a culture conversion rate of 82.4% at 13 months, compared with 55.6% in the placebo arm. This means that significantly more patients given Arikayce over placebo tested negative for MAC bacteria following treatment.

Arikayces safety profile was generally consistent with previous studies of the drug, though 32% of patients did experience at least one severe treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) in the study. The TEAE-prompted discontinuation rate was 31% and 18% in the Arikayce and placebo treatment arms, respectively.

The global ENCORE study enrolled 425 patients across 258 sites with MAC lung infections. None of the patients had previously received treatment with antibiotics for this particular infection.

Arikayce is an inhaled antibiotic therapy designed to kill bacteria by both disrupting the cell membrane and stopping protein production. Unlike traditional oral antibiotics used for MAC lung infections like azithromycin and ethambutol, Arikayce is delivered directly to the lungs via liposomes, which Insmed says can enhance the uptake of the drug into locations where MAC bacteria reside.

Insmed seeks approval for Arikayce in earlier lines

Following the positive results of this study in frontline MAC, Insmed is now eyeing a label expansion for Arikayce in both the US and Japan. The biopharma company plans to submit a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to American and Japanese regulators in H2 2026.

Insmed first secured provisional approval for Arikayce in 2018, which saw it become available in combination with multidrug therapy for patients with limited or no alternative treatment options. Physicians generally prescribed the drug to patients who still tested positive for MAC lung disease after at least six months of treatment with a multidrug treatment regimen.

If approved, Insmeds CMO, Martina Flammer, noted that patients with a new MAC infection could see benefit with Arikayce earlier in their treatment journey, which could improve outcomes in this population.

William Blair analyst Matt Phipps echoed this sentiment, noting that he expects the ENCORE results to allow Insmed to secure regulatory approval for Arikayce in MAC all-comers. William Blair expects Arikayce to launch in this population in 2027.
Eli Lilly & Company (NYSE:LLY) ranks among the best high profit margin stocks to buy. Following the reveal of an innovative employer access platform for obesity therapies, Morgan Stanley reiterated its Overweight rating and $1,313 price target for Eli Lilly & Company (NYSE:LLY) on March 5. Eli Lilly recently established its Employer Connect platform in the US, which provides flexible benefit designs geared at increasing access to obesity treatments like Zepbound.

Pixabay/Public Domain

In order to produce solutions that enhance employee access to obesity management medications, the platform facilitates collaboration with independent program administrators.

According to Morgan Stanley, the update may facilitate future development in US volume and provide Zepbound with another commercial access route. The firm also anticipates contributions from the introduction of Orfor, an oral GLP-1 therapy, in April, as well as increased Medicare access in the latter half of the year.

In a related development, Eli Lilly & Company (NYSE:LLY) stated that its Orfor therapy outperformed oral semaglutide in a Type 2 diabetes trial, meeting all primary and significant secondary goals.

Eli Lilly & Company (NYSE:LLY) is a major global pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and distributes a wide range of drugs. Founded in 1876, it has grown to become one of the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies.

While we acknowledge the potential of LLY as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) is one of the 10 Best Diagnostics and Research Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) Partners With AIM ImmunoTech on Phase 3 Cancer Trial

On March 2, 2026, AIM ImmunoTech announced entering into an agreement with the PPD clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) to design a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for Ampligen. The study will evaluate the drug as a treatment for late-stage pancreatic cancer. It will utilize the Phase 2 results from the ongoing DURIPANC trial conducted with AstraZeneca. As pancreatic cancer remains a high-priority unmet medical need, AIM believes this strategic collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) offers the greatest growth potential for its stockholders.

Separately, on March 11, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a visit to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) in Ohio. Trump highlighted the companys $2 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing and credited it to his America First trade and tariff policies. The investment will potentially repatriate high-paying jobs and strengthen domestic supply chains.

As of March 21, 2026, CNN recorded a consensus Buy rating on Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO), with a 1-year average upside potential of 40.71%, based on 29 analysts following the stock.

Founded in 2006, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) is a life sciences and clinical research company. The company supplies analytical instruments, clinical development solutions, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology services. Its headquarters is in Massachusetts.

While we acknowledge the potential of TMO as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 10 Best Stocks to Invest in During a Recession and 10 Best Space Exploration Stocks to Buy According to Analysts

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
Quick Read

iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE) has 46.8% of its $1.1B portfolio concentrated in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), up 14% year-to-date on strong DARZALEX sales of $3.90B, and Eli Lilly (LLY), down 15% year-to-date despite Mounjaro hitting $7.41B in Q4 2025 revenue. The fund itself is flat year-to-date, down 0.5%, reflecting opposing performance between its two dominant holdings facing pricing pressure and manufacturing constraints.

The Trump administrations aggressive drug pricing reform through proposed CMS rules like GLOBE and GUARD, combined with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s regulatory scrutiny of the GLP-1 category, is creating structural headwinds that could materially compress revenues across the entire ETF in 2026.

Have You read The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans? Americans are answering three questions and many are realizing they can retire earlier than expected.

Half of every dollar invested in iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEARCA:IHE) rides on just two companies pulling in opposite directions in 2026. With a 0.38% expense ratio, nearly $1.1 billion in net assets, and a 20-year track record dating to May 2006, it offers income-oriented and sector investors a focused vehicle for pharmaceutical exposure. Focused exposure means the fund's performance depends heavily on a small number of companies navigating serious headwinds.

Feverpitched / iStock  Feverpitched / iStock

Multiple prescription medicine bottles and loose pills represent the pharmaceutical industry.

When Two Stocks Are Nearly Half Your Fund

The ETF holds 50 positions, but the top two dominate in a way that makes the rest almost incidental. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) carries a 25.4% weight, and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) sits at 21.4%. Together they account for roughly 46.8% of the entire fund. The next six largest holdings each represent between 4% and 5% of the portfolio. For nearly half the capital invested, the fund's performance is largely determined by two companies.

Have You read The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans? Americans are answering three questions and many are realizing they can retire earlier than expected.

The two giants are pulling in opposite directions in 2026, and neither is immune to the regulatory environment bearing down on the industry.

Johnson & Johnson has held up well relative to the broader fund. Shares are up roughly 14% year-to-date, driven by strong pharmaceutical growth. DARZALEX generated $3.90 billion in the most recent quarter, up 26.6% year-over-year, and TREMFYA posted $1.59 billion, up 67.6%. But JNJ faces real headwinds: STELARA biosimilar erosion cut that drug's revenue by 47.7% in Q4 2025, and the company is navigating $854 million in litigation charges in the same quarter. A planned separation of its Orthopaedics segment adds further complexity.
By Max A. Cherney

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Reuters) - Arm Holdings announced a new artificial intelligence data center chip on Tuesday which it said will add billions of dollars of revenue and represent a significant shift in the company's strategy.

The new chip, called the AGI CPU, will address data-crunching needed for a specific type of AI that is able to act on behalf of users with minimal oversight, instead of responding to queries as part of a chatbot.

So-called agentic AI has jump-started demand for the central processing units (CPUs) produced by the likes of Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

Arm shares gained 1% in early afternoon trading as the stock has advanced 25% this year.

For years, Arm, majority-owned by Japan's SoftBank Group, has relied only on intellectual property for revenue, licensing its designs to companies such as Qualcomm and Nvidia and then collecting a royalty payment based on the number of units sold.

Last year, Arm signaled to investors it was investing in making its own chip, a process that can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and that the company had hired key executives to assist with the effort. The AGI CPU will be the first chip under that new strategy.

"It's a very pivotal moment for the company," CEO Rene Haas said in an interview with Reuters.

The new chip will be overseen by Mohamed Awad, head of the company's cloud AI business, and Arm has additional designs in the works that it plans to release at 12- to 18-month intervals.

Meta Platforms will be the company's lead partner for the AGI CPU and the two companies worked together on the design. Arm's customers for the new chip include ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Cloudflare, SAP and SK Telecom.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is fabricating the device on its 3-nanometer technology and is made from two distinct pieces of silicon that operate as a single chip. Arm plans to put it into volume production in the second half of this year but has received test chips that function as expected.

"It's back, and it works, and it's doing everything we thought it would," Haas said, referring to the new chip.

In addition to the chip itself, Arm is working with server makers such as Lenovo and Quanta Computer to offer complete systems.

For its current fiscal year, Wall Street expects Arm to generate a net profit of $1.75 per share on revenue of $4.91 billion, according to LSEG estimates.

(Reporting by Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Nick Zieminski)
By Max A. Cherney

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Reuters) - Arm Holdings announced a new artificial intelligence data center chip on Tuesday which it said will add billions of dollars of revenue and represent a significant shift in the company's strategy.

The new chip, called the AGI CPU, will address data-crunching needed for a specific type of AI that is able to act on behalf of users with minimal oversight, instead of responding to queries as part of a chatbot.

So-called agentic AI has jump-started demand for the central processing units (CPUs) produced by the likes of Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

Arm shares jumped 6.5% in the extended session after the company issued its financial projections. Arm stock closed down 1.4% on Tuesday and have advanced 22% this year.

For years, Arm, majority-owned by Japan's SoftBank Group, has relied only on intellectual property for revenue, licensing its designs to companies such as Qualcomm and Nvidia and then collecting a royalty payment based on the number of units sold.

Last year, Arm signaled to investors it was investing in making its own chip, a process that can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and that the company had hired key executives to assist with the effort. The AGI CPU will be the first chip under that new strategy.

"It's a very pivotal moment for the company," CEO Rene Haas said in an interview with Reuters.

Arm, is forecasting the new chip will generate roughly $15 billion in annual revenue in about five years, Haas said.

Overall, Arm expects to generate annual earnings per share of $9 and revenue of $25 billion, also in five years, he said.

Haas said the company expects the intellectual property business to double over roughly five years.

The new chip will be overseen by Mohamed Awad, head of the company's cloud AI business, and Arm has additional designs in the works that it plans to release at 12- to 18-month intervals.

Meta Platforms will be the company's lead partner for the AGI CPU and the two companies worked together on the design. Arm's customers for the new chip include ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Cloudflare, SAP and SK Telecom.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is fabricating the device on its 3-nanometer technology and is made from two distinct pieces of silicon that operate as a single chip. Arm plans to put it into volume production in the second half of this year but has received test chips that function as expected.

"It's back, and it works, and it's doing everything we thought it would," Haas said, referring to the new chip.
Fresh-faced college graduates are watching the American Dream be swept out from underneath them, and entering a gloomy entry-level job market pillaged by AI automation. However, not every company is reeling back hiring young professionals in favor of the tech tools; Reddit CEO Steve Huffman says his business is actually ramping up its recruiting of the digitally-savvy generation.

The kids coming out of college right now learned how to program with AI, Huffman said recently during the Sourcery with Molly OShea podcast. Theyre really good at it, and so I think we will go heavy on new grads, because theyre so much more AI native.

While some CEOs marvel over the abilities of chatbots and AI agents, recent graduates are actually ripe for the new tech-driven world of work: the digital natives grew up with the internet, and spent most of their higher education in the ChatGPT era. Theyre deeply familiar with the technology and are much more apt to leverage it in their work. And the cofounder of the $26.7 billion social media empire says that propensity is actually a gift: older generations are more resistant to automating their craft, even if its for the better.

Its the old people like me, its like I didnt want to give [coding] up. I finally did, the 42-year-old millennial CEO explained. The younger people dont have that baggage. They just write with AI.

And while Huffman approves of new Gen Z hires, Reddit says it values employees of all age groups, and is still dedicated to hiring older employees in continuing its success.

Reddit CEO says not hiring Gen Z grads is a costly mistake

Tech workers may be nervous that their AI use will lead to their inevitable displacementbut Huffman was resolute that the tech wont reduce the companys engineering headcount.

A Reddit spokesperson also underscored to Fortune that its emerging talent team focuses on recruiting young professionals, also offering new grad opportunities and internships developing essential skills like machine learning, data science, and computer science.

While the tide seems to have shifted away from tech companies recruiting college talent before graduation, Huffman warned that could be a costly mistake. The billionaire says employers need to hire graduates right out of the gate, or risk having to pay them 100 times more down the line.

There are so many reasons to hire new grads, Huffman continued. If you dont hire them as new grads, you will never see them. They will never be on the job market again. Theyre too valuable to ever let them be on the job market.
By Wen-Yee Lee

TAIPEI, March 24 (Reuters) - Chip designer Broadcom says it is seeing supply chain constraints across the technology sector, including capacity limits at its manufacturing partner TSMC, as soaring demand for AI chips strains production.

"We are seeing that TSMC is hitting (production capacity) limits," Natarajan Ramachandran, director of product marketing in Broadcoms Physical Layer Products division, told reporters on Tuesday, adding he would have described TSMC's capacity as "infinite" until a few years ago.

"They will be increasing the capacity to 2027, but that has become a bottleneck, or that has kind of choked the supply chain in 2026," he said.

TSMC did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The Taiwanese firm, the world's main producer of advanced AI chips, said in January that capacity was tight, as the boom in AI infrastructure buildout has soaked up much of its advanced production lines.

The world's largest contract chipmaker, whose major customers also include Nvidia and Apple - also said at the time that it was working hard to narrow the gap between supply and demand.

SUPPLY STRAINS BEYOND CHIPS

Ramachandran said the shortages extend beyond semiconductors, affecting several adjacent supply chains.

"Even though there are multiple suppliers in the industry today ... there is definitely a supply constraint in the laser space, he said, adding that printed circuit boards had also emerged as an "unexpected" bottleneck.

He cited PCBs used in optical transceivers, saying lead times have stretched from about six weeks to six months.

Both Taiwanese and Chinese PCB suppliers are facing capacity limits, contributing to the delays, Ramachandran said, without naming the suppliers.

He said that he is not overly concerned about the industry as new entrants and capacity expansion are expected to ease supply constraints over time.

Many customers are now entering long-term agreements with suppliers to secure capacity commitments for as long as three to four years, he added.

The trend was underscored by memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics, which said last week that it is working with major customers to shift to longer contracts of three to five years.

The move reflects customers desire for longer-term supply security and suppliers efforts to guard against demand swings.

(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Kevin Buckland and Louise Heavens)
By Kevin Krolicki and Qiaoyi Li

SHENZHEN, March 20 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Chinese autonomous drive startup ZYT says the AI system his company is about to debut is already a better driver than he is on the crowded streets of Shenzhen.

ZYT, a spin-off from Chinese drone maker DJI, will demonstrate what it calls a "mobility foundation model" at the Beijing auto show in April. It's a system CEO Shen Shaojie, 39, describes as a cost-saving departure from the way autonomous drive systems have been built and trained.

Rather than relying on dedicated modules to detect cars, pedestrians or traffic lights and training a system based on the geography and traffic patterns of a particular market, the ZYT model can work out how to drive on its own, Shen said in an interview with Reuters.

In addition to video from road driving, Shen said the foundation AI system was fed video from drones, robots, household vacuum cleaners, motorcycles and even people carrying a moving camera.

That gives it the ability to operate across vehicle types and geographies in ways that conventional systems tuned for specific road types and conditions cannot, he said. It could also make it useful for controlling the movement of future autonomous robots or other devices.

The rollout comes as China embarks on an effort to embed AI in every corner of its economy under a push by Xi Jinping to develop new productive forces that provide a counter to U.S. efforts to limit technologies that also have potential military applications. It also underscores the fast-moving competition to develop AI-powered driving systems by Tesla and a range of Chinese automakers and suppliers, including Xpeng.

DJI, which retains a stake in ZYT through an affiliate, has been operating under U.S. sanctions because of what U.S. agencies have described as national security concerns.

ZYT's rivals include Huawei's smart driving unit and Momenta. The start-up is vying for the fast-developing market for AI-powered driving, where it also faces competition from Xpeng and Tesla among others.

While the technology landscape is changing quickly, "if you can get six months of advantage, that's already a huge thing," Shen said.

ZYT is targeting a Hong Kong listing as early as 2027, Shen said, as it seeks to capitalise on a string of commercial partnerships, including in Chinas trucking market, and a recent major investment from state-owned automaker FAW Group. "The potential quickest is somewhere sometime 2027," Shen told Reuters.
Sofidel is one of the largest manufacturers of paper products in the world, but its primarily known in Europe, specifically in Italy, where the company is based. However, the toilet tissue and paper towel producer is making major moves in the U.S., where market leaders like Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble, and Georgia-Pacific dominate.

Last October, Sofidel announced plans for a major U.S. expansion to meet growing demand, particularly in the south. The company knew it was going to expand capacity at one of its 14 production sites in the U.S. it just didn't know which one.

Most Read in Manufacturing

About two weeks ago, the Lucca, Italy-based company behind the Regina and KittenSoft brands finally made a decision, and it includes state-of-the-art equipment and a near-billion-dollar investment at the company's integrated facility in Inola, Oklahoma.

Sofidel is constructing a new facility to install a 75,000-metric-ton Valmet TAD (Through-Air-Dried) paper machine, along with related converting lines, to make finished products.

Valmet has been designing and manufacturing these machines for the tissue industry for about 40 years, and has partnered with Sofidel for 30 of those years. According to the company, these machines can produce a high-quality product while using less fiber than any other process on the market.

The Oklahoma project also includes expanding the pulp and parent reel warehouse and constructing a fully automated finished goods warehouse with 100,000 pallet positions. The finished goods warehouse will install E80 Group technology, an automated intralogistics solution typically used by CPG companies for end-to-end automation. For example, laser-guided vehicles (LGVs) will transport parent reels from the paper machine to the warehouse, and an automated loading system will be connected directly to the automated finished goods warehouse.

The new buildings will add some 1,000,000 square feet in Inola, and the total investment will reach $775 million. Sofidel expects the new machine to come online in Q2 2028.

In just 10 years, Sofidel has become the fourth-largest tissue producer in the North American market, which today accounts for 50% of the companys total revenue. It also holds a leadership position in the private label segment.

Sofidel has made some aggressive moves in the U.S., including the recent acquisition of Clearwater Papers tissue division, which includes four facilities in North Carolina, Idaho, Nevada, and Illinois, as well as four Royal Paper facilities in Arizona and South Carolina. The company also expanded existing facilities in Duluth, Minnesota and Circleville, Ohio.
March 24 (Reuters) - Microsoft has agreed to rent a data center project in Texas that was originally being developed for Oracle and OpenAI, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation.

The Abilene site, which accounts for roughly 700 megawatts of capacity, sits next to Oracle and OpenAI's flagship Stargate campus, the report said.

Microsoft struck an agreement with developer Crusoe after both Oracle and OpenAI walked away from talks to occupy the site, according to the report.

A source familiar with the matter, however, told Reuters that there are no changes to OpenAI's existing agreements with Oracle.

A spokesperson for Microsoft said it had nothing to share. Oracle declined to comment, while Crusoe did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that Oracle and OpenAI had abandoned plans to expand an AI data center in Texas after negotiations dragged over financing and OpenAI's changing needs.

Oracle later said the claims that planned capacity at the Abilene site is delayed were inaccurate.

Technology companies have been pouring billions of dollars into data centers to power generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Copilot, which require huge amounts of computing power.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
Following the fatal collision between an Air Canada Express passenger plane and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in the late hours of March 22, the family of Antoine Forest identified him as one of the two pilots killed aboard the flight.

The Bombardier CRJ-900 plane departed from Montreal's Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and had been given clearance to land at LaGuardia's Runway 4. The air traffic controller, who was operating alone navigating both air and ground traffic for hours before the flight, also gave the fire truck permission to cross the same runway at approximately 11:37 p.m.

Air traffic controller footage captured him desperately yelling at the truck to stop immediately after the collision.

Photos that emerged from the scene show the nose of the plane and part of the fuselage completely mangled as the 41 passengers and other crew aboard the flight were evacuated with injuries of varying degrees of severity.

Antoine Forest remembered as "always flying"

A native of Coteau-du-Lac southwest of Montreal, Forest had been working as a first officer for Air Canada's Jazz Aviation regional partner since 2022.

Great-aunt Jeannette Gagnier described him as someone with a lifelong passion for flying who started learning to pilot a small plane in rural Quebec at the age of 16, The Toronto Star reported.

At around that age, Forest moved closer to a larger city to improve his knowledge of English and increase his chances of becoming a pilot for a major North American airline. Forest began his career flying single-engine jets for regional airline Air Saguenay before progressing to larger planes for several carriers.

Related: Family killed in Hudson River helicopter crash booked sightseeing tour of NYC

He was always taking courses and flying," Gagnier, whom Forest and his brother considered a grandmother, told the Toronto Star. "He never stopped. He flew his first plane when he was 16 years old."

A joint probe into the cause of the crash from both U.S. and Canadian investigators is currently ongoing, but in a press briefing on the morning of March 23, Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said anyone driving through the runway area "always is in deference to the control tower."

In the recording from the tower, the air traffic controller is heard saying, "We were dealing with an emergency earlier; I messed up."

Antoine Forest was one of the two Air Canada pilots killed in the crash at LaGuardia Airport.Facebook  Facebook

"A very bad day for me": Memories and condolences pour in

"It's a very bad day for me, Gagnier said in an interview from her home. The name of the captain killed has not yet been released by aviation authorities.
A venture capital firm supporting Black tech companies has closed its second fund.

BKR Capital

Led by Managing Partner Lise Birikundavyi, alongside co-founder Isaac Olowolafe, Toronto-based BKR Capital invests in technology or technology-enabled startups. According to the firms website, they target companies with diverse teams that have at least one Black founder and are at the pre-seed to seed stage. The firm primarily focuses on companies based in Canada, though up to 10% of its portfolio may be global.

We need to keep innovation at home, Birikundavyi explained, according to The Globe and Mail. We all want a Canada that is strong economically  where our children can grow up and have everything they need.

Fund II Details

BKR Capital has raised $20 million for its second fund, aiming to reach $50 million by the end of 2026, per The Globe and Mail. The raise was supported by Royal Bank of Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, and others, according to Shoppe Black.

BKR Capitals work aims to address the funding gap highlighted by the 2026 Black Startup Funding Report, which found that Black-led startups in Canada received just $10 million in venture capital across 11 companies, according to BetaKit. BKR Capital has invested in 15 tech companies through its first fund, which raised more than $22 million, reports the outlet.

According to The Globe and Mail, the firms portfolio includes healthcare startups, a focus Birikundavyi says is increasingly important as resources become more constrained. One example is Moneta Health, a digital health startup serving patients with early-stage dementia, traumatic brain injuries, and other forms of mild cognitive impairment. Other investments include Woveo, an AI-powered financial platform, and Protexxa, a cybersecurity platform.

These innovators are working on problems that affect everybody, Birikundavyi said, according to The Globe and Mail. We believe we played a key role in making sure they were able to bring their innovation to the world.

The post Toronto-Based BKR Capital Raises $20M For Its Second Fund To Invest In Black-Led Tech Companies appeared first on AfroTech.







The post Toronto-Based BKR Capital Raises $20M For Its Second Fund To Invest In Black-Led Tech Companies appeared first on AfroTech.
Valmet is initiating negotiations on potential changes to its manufacturing operations in Sweden and Poland.

The company has begun talks about a possible closure of its Sundsvall site in Sweden, as well as restructuring measures at its Gothenburg facility and the Jelenia Gora site in Poland.

The measures under consideration could affect up to 170 positions in Sundsvall, 55 roles in Gothenburg, and 130 jobs in Jelenia Gora.

Valmet cited ongoing economic uncertainty and its impact on customer behaviour as factors behind the review.

According to the company, the proposals are intended to improve long-term efficiency and competitiveness in its biomaterial solutions and services segment.

The changes are part of a broader effort to optimise Valmet's global manufacturing network and meet cost-efficiency targets.

The company aims for 100m ($115.7m) in cost reductions from procurement, logistics, and production by 2030.

The planned restructuring actions in Sweden and Poland are among the main steps currently identified in this process.

Valmet estimates that if the proposed adjustments proceed, annual net savings could reach approximately 20m, with full effects anticipated by early 2027.

Negotiations with employee representatives will be held according to local regulations in both Sweden and Poland.

Valmet stated it will work with staff and their representatives throughout the process and provide support for those affected.

The company added that it intends to continue meeting customer delivery and project commitments during any transition period.

Earlier this year, Valmet launched a new line of press roll covers designed to reduce dependence on fossil-based materials in the pulp and paper industry.

"Valmet to review manufacturing operations in Sweden and Poland" was originally created and published by Packaging Gateway, a GlobalData owned brand.




Amazon packages move along a conveyor at an Amazon warehouse in Goodyear, Ariz. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

Jeff Bezos is trying to leapfrog into the artificial intelligence race with a $100-billion fund to acquire manufacturers and bring more AI superpowers to factory floors.

The Amazon founder has reportedly traveled to the Middle East and elsewhere to meet with potential investors for the massive fund. If he succeeds, it would be one of the largest buyout funds and could change the way products are designed, made and distributed.

Here is what you need to know about the big plans:

What is the fund?

Documents connected to the fund described it as a manufacturing transformation vehicle that would buy companies that could use an AI upgrade in sectors including chip manufacturing, defense and aerospace, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The fund is expected to use AI solutions developed by a new Bezos-backed venture, Project Prometheus, for manufacturing.

Since stepping down as chief executive of Amazon in 2021, Bezos has turned his attention to his space company, Blue Origin, and his newspaper, the Washington Post. He remains on Amazons board as its chairman.

But last year, in one of his first official leadership roles after Amazon, he became co-CEO of the little-known Project Prometheus.

His co-founder and co-CEO, Vik Bajaj, is a professor at Stanfords School of Medicine who previously co-founded Googles life science division, Verily. David Limp, the CEO of Blue Origin, was appointed to Prometheus board of directors.

Project Prometheus has raised $6.2 billion in funding, including from Bezos. The startup does not have a website, but nonetheless it has poached top AI researchers from OpenAI and DeepMind.

What is Project Prometheus?

Project Prometheus is building an AI system to simulate and predict real-world behavior, according to reports.

Its technology, for example, could simulate how air flows around airplane wings, or predict where a metal part might crack under pressure, the the Journal reported. Without flying an actual plane, companies can use AI to generate scenarios to pressure test the wings so a plane can be brought to market faster.

Chatbots such as ChatGPT are large language models that were trained on vast quantities of text, images and videos from the internet. They identified patterns in online information and learned to mimic how people string words, music and pixels together.

They are good at creating images, text and code, and even solving complex math. Most of those AI capabilities exist in the digital world, and many companies are trying to find more ways to bring AI into physical workspaces, whether it is washing dishes, delivering packages or building products.
Xpeng has created a dedicated robotaxi business unit as it steps up its work on autonomous driving.

The newly established division will sit as a tier-one organisation within the Chinese electric vehicle maker.

It will be responsible for coordinating product definition, project integration, R&D testing and day-to-day operations.

The unit will run with a lightweight structure, drawing on shared resources from across the companys platform-based ecosystem.

The company is aiming to start real-world passenger trials in the second half of 2026.

Speaking at Xpengs Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings call, chairman and chief executive He Xiaopeng said the business plans to begin passenger-carrying demonstration operations for its robotaxis in the second half of this year to assess the technology, user experience and commercial model.

Xpeng expects its robotaxis to be able to operate without safety operators next year, He Xiaopeng added.

The company has also been reorganising to support what it describes as a shift from L2 to L4 autonomous driving and to advance its global approach.

Over the past year, Xpeng said it has adjusted its organisational structure, reworking its autonomous driving technology architecture, R&D approach and internal set-up, and moving to a framework led mainly by AI and software.

In February, Xpeng combined its autonomous driving centre and smart cockpit centre, forming a general intelligence centre.

Earlier this year, the company released factory test footage of robotaxi vehicles using its second-generation VLA (Vision-Language-Action) system. Xpeng said the vehicles have cleared third-party closed-track tests and are now taking part in regular Level 4 autonomous driving trials on public roads.

According to the company, its robotaxi vehicles are built for L4 autonomy and include dual hardware redundancy for safety.

They use four Turing AI chips, which Xpeng said provide up to 3,000 TOPS of computing power, and run on the second-generation VLA system.

The vehicles are also set to include external interaction features designed to show pedestrians the cars intended manoeuvressuch as turning or looking for parkingvia displays on the front windscreen.

"Xpeng sets up standalone robotaxi unit" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.




At a March 17 House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust hearing, the effects of maritime shipping regulations and competition on the dairy sector were laid out in testimony by Tony Rice, senior director of Trade Policy, National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Rice urged subcommittee members to remember that dairy farmers  and the economic sector at large  are vulnerable to whats currently a foreign-dominated maritime shipping industry, increasingly subject to economic volatility and geopolitics.



Significant consolidation continues in the global shipping sector; Rice noted that currently there are less than one dozen significant worldwide ocean carriers, most of which are under the auspices of just three carrier alliances  with further consolidation occurring very recently between two major carriers. Right now, U.S. stake in the maritime shipping industry is vanishingly small, with only 2.3% of global shipping capacity (measured by deadweight tonnage) made up of ocean-going fleet flying the stars and stripes. Shipments to Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, among other routes, are wholly dependent upon foreign entities to transport U.S. dairy products, Rice emphasized. With 17% of domestic dairy products bound for international customers, including those who receive goods via ocean transport, a stable and reliable supply chain is vital to producers and processors alike.

Such foreign dependence in U.S. global trade interests plays out in a multitude of ways, Rice said, explaining to committee members that Our members regularly report difficulty securing vessel space, shipments being rolled to later sailings, and containers leaving U.S. ports empty while export cargo remains on the dock. These translate to missed delivery windows, lost contracts, and damage to long-term relationships with overseas customers, he added.

The same stressors that threaten the dynamic with existing customers can affect efforts to expand across potential markets as well; with demand for U.S. dairy products growing overseas, quality control is of the essence, Rice told the subcommittee. Many dairy products are sensitive to handling conditions and transit times, he said, cautioning that When shipping disruptions occur, they do not just create logistical problems and cost, they risk compromising product quality and eroding the confidence that overseas customers place in U.S. dairy products.



Regarding the Trump Administrations investment plans for shipyards and infrastructure, Rice said this attention will help move the needle and suggested that Congress should consider how permitting reform can hasten new capacity at shipbuilding yards and build relationships with material providers to facilitate the process. Being mindful of global competitiveness might include cultivating more foreign investment, adopting automation, and implementing reasonable labor policies, he suggested.

Rices concluding remarks focused on the need to address fundamental structural issues in the maritime supply chain as it stands today. He drove the point home by pointing out that For a dairy farmer in Wisconsin, these supply chain issues are not abstract policy concerns. Export sales play an important role in supporting the price farmers receive for their milk. And the logistical problems ripple out to the larger dairy sector as well, with missed sales opportunities and higher production costs serving to undermine the nations competitive advantage and reputation in a high-stakes global market rife with opportunity  for those who have an edge. The U.S. should develop policies and strategically invest in initiatives that will build long-term capability to gain such an edge, Rice said.

The Pier Pressure: Regulation and Competition in Maritime Shipping hearing video and testimony can be accessed here.
Small businesses can put AI to work directly inside Salesforce Suites , now powered by Agentforce, turning customer data and context into action across every team.

Small business teams are under pressure to move fast  often while wearing multiple hats and juggling customer conversations across sales, service, and marketing. You already have data about your customers, but turning that information into clear next steps  searching for context, clicking through tabs, and piecing together details  takes time you dont have.

Now, Salesforce is bringing artificial intelligence (AI) directly into Salesforce Suites  the CRM designed for small businesses and startups  so growing teams can turn context and customer data into action, faster. Teams can quickly understand whats happening with customers, follow up faster, and act on insights, all from the same place you already run your business.

With no required setup, small businesses can use AI to stop managing tedious tasks and start focusing on the big picture right away:

Walk into every meeting fully briefed: Get an instant, high-level summary of exactly where a deal stands without digging through tabs or old emails. With one click, all of the key details of a record are surfaced  recent activity, next steps, potential risks, and what matters most.

Get an instant, high-level summary of exactly where a deal stands without digging through tabs or old emails. With one click, all of the key details of a record are surfaced  recent activity, next steps, potential risks, and what matters most. Send the perfect follow-up in seconds: Use AI to draft personalised emails using your customer data and business context. Start with a template or provide your own instructions, and get a ready-to-send draft instantly  so your team can focus on meaningful conversations instead of starting from scratch.

Use AI to draft personalised emails using your customer data and business context. Start with a template or provide your own instructions, and get a ready-to-send draft instantly  so your team can focus on meaningful conversations instead of starting from scratch. Eliminate the busy work: Keep your records current and your pipeline accurate with an Employee Agent that works alongside you. With a conversational command, it can provide instant summaries, draft personalised communications, and log activities.

AI thats helpful, not heavy

AI tools are most useful when they understand your business context  the customer records, conversations, support history, and activity your team already relies on every day. When AI lacks that context, teams are left stitching pockets of information together and translating generic outputs into something actually useful.

In the latest Small and Medium Business Trends Report, 90% of small-to-midsize business leaders said AI tools are making them more efficient. But 46% feel overwhelmed by too many business tools, and 44% say there isnt time to master them all. With budget constraints, limited technical expertise, and inflexible tools recognised as major hurdles, small businesses like yours, need AI tools that are easy to learn and use right away  without straining your resources.

Now, Salesforce Suites offers AI directly where customer information lives  unifying sales, service, marketing, and Slack into one cohesive platform. Teams get built-in intelligence that delivers the kind of capabilities typically reserved for larger organisations, but without extra costs, learning curves, or third-party tools. Instead of forcing teams to piece everything together, AI interprets whats happening and surfaces what matters most so you can move forward with confidence.

Starter Suite dashboard displaying the Employee Agent panel.

Turning customer data into action

With AI in Salesforce Suites, everyday work becomes faster and smarter. Customer details that were once multiple clicks away appear with a simple command to the Employee Agent, giving the sales rep exactly what they need before the call. A dense account record is instantly summarised with a single click, so a service rep can quickly grasp a support case. A thoughtful email that recalls previous interactions and nudges a prospect down the funnel, is now drafted in seconds.

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) using Salesforce are already seeing the benefits from AI actioning on their customer data. Asymbl, a workforce orchestration company that coordinates humans, technology, and autonomous agents to deliver on business outcomes, is one example that has unlocked significant time savings across their sales and customer success workflows.

Before Salesforce: Scattered. After: Unified.

Meeting prep used to mean digging through old notes and hoping you remembered where you left off, Now our team opens the panel, asks for context, and theyre ready. Draft with AI handles the follow-up. Our people focus on the conversation, not the research. says Michael Clark, Chief Revenue Officer at Asymbl.

Theyve seen benefits across multiple teams:

Sales productivity: Asymbls sales teams used to spend 15 minutes clicking through tabs to prepare for client calls. Now, they ask their Employee Agent for account context and see deal status immediately  giving them more time to actually sell.

Asymbls sales teams used to spend 15 minutes clicking through tabs to prepare for client calls. Now, they ask their Employee Agent for account context and see deal status immediately  giving them more time to actually sell. Data integrity: Sales reps no longer have to waste time logging notes. The Employee Agent can quickly find the record and do it for them. This keeps data current and trusted, while eliminating blind spots.

Sales reps no longer have to waste time logging notes. The Employee Agent can quickly find the record and do it for them. This keeps data current and trusted, while eliminating blind spots. Agile service: Their lean customer success team manages their growing business with agility. They can quickly gauge customer health using AI Summary within an Account record. Whenever they spot a risk, they use the Draft with AI feature for a quick and personalised follow-up email to respond quickly and thoughtfully.

The power behind AI in Salesforce Suites

AI in Salesforce Suites is powered by Agentforce 360  Salesforces AI platform that connects humans, data, and AI. In the Suites, Agentforce enables these features to identify patterns in large amounts of data and execute tasks across sales, service, and marketing workflows.

With the Agentforce infrastructure, AI adapts to your business needs wherever you are in the Salesforce journey. Whether you stay intentionally lean or scale up operations (and adopt more autonomous agents), the platform grows with you. The more customer information you capture in one place, the more helpful AI becomes  creating compounding value over time, without increasing the day-to-day burden.

Agentforce ensures customer data stays protected and governed across all AI features in Salesforce. Your data stays yours  no copy-pasting into third-party AI tools, no wondering whats being shared. Permissions, security, and trust are built in, so teams can move faster with confidence and peace of mind.

AI designed for how small businesses actually work

AI in Salesforce Suites is designed for how small businesses and startups actually work today  and how you want to operate tomorrow. By reducing friction and keeping intelligence close to where customer information lives, teams spend less time searching and more time building relationships.

Small businesses have always thrived on building excellent customer relationships. Now you have AI to match  with fewer tools, clearer context, and the breathing room to focus on what matters most.

Start your CRM journey with embedded AI features in Free Suite today, and see how your AI assistant helps you get more done in a Starter Suite trial.
COMPANY NEWS: Lightstorm, a leading cloud and AI network infrastructure platform delivering high-performance terrestrial and subsea connectivity across Asia-Pacific, today announced the successful quadrupling of client service capacity of its JapanGuamAustralia (JGA) submarine cable system . Powered by Cienas WaveLogic coherent optical technology, the upgrade significantly increases capacity and performance across the JGA route. This enables scalable, ultra-low-latency connectivity between Japan and Australia , while providing improved Pacific network resiliency.

JGA is the newest, low-latency subsea cable system connecting Tokyo to Sydney, delivering an advanced Pacific route optimised for cloud, AI, and data-intensive workloads.

Enabling Cloud and AI-Driven Growth

The move from 100Gbps to 400Gbps client traffic between two major data centre hubs represents a significant increase in efficiency, scalability, and economics for customers supporting hyperscale cloud services, AI training and inference workloads, content distribution, and latency-sensitive enterprise applications.

By increasing fiber-pair efficiency and lowering cost-per-bit, the JGA cable upgrade allows Lightstorm to rapidly scale capacity, while maintaining high levels of network performance, resilience, and route diversity. These capabilities are increasingly critical as cloud and AI workloads drive sustained, multi-terabit demand between major Asia-Pacific compute regions.

The upgraded JGA system is already supporting large-scale, multi-terabit deployments for a leading global cloud platform, carrying production traffic between Japan and Australia. These deployments leverage JGAs ultra-low latency, high availability, and rapid scalability, validating the systems readiness for the most demanding cloud and AI use cases operating at hyperscale.

JGA provides a compelling alternative to traditional Asia-Pacific routes that transit the South China Sea, offering improved end-to-end latency between Tokyo and Sydney, along with enhanced operational and geopolitical diversity for global carriers, cloud service providers, and large enterprises.

Collaboration with Ciena

Lightstorm worked closely with Ciena Services to deploy Cienas industry-leading coherent optics across the JGA system. Lightstorm is also leveraging Cienas Navigator Network Control Suite for consistent, end-to-end management of its network, to drive operational efficiencies, and ensure high spectral efficiency, long-haul performance, and seamless scalability.

Upgrading JGA to 400Gbps client traffic is a major milestone to us delivering AI-ready, cloud-optimised connectivity across the Pacific, said Amajit Gupta, Group CEO and MD. As the newest and lowest-latency cable between Tokyo and Sydney, JGA provides a powerful foundation to support cloud and AI architectures. Cienas technology enables us to unlock greater capacity from our subsea assets while delivering greater performance and reliability.

Subsea operators like Lightstorm require scalable, high-performance optical solutions to meet surging cloud and AI bandwidth demands, said Amit Malik, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Japan and India, Ciena. With WaveLogic coherent optics, Lightstorm is transforming JGA into a platform capable of delivering 400G services today and seamlessly scale to 800G services in the near future.

About the JGA Cable System

The JapanGuamAustralia (JGA) submarine cable system delivers a highly diverse, ultra-low-latency path between Tokyo and Sydney, with intermediate Pacific landing points supporting resilient, flexible routing. With the introduction of 400Gbps clients, JGA supports next-generation network architectures designed for hyperscale cloud platforms, AI workloads, and global enterprise connectivity.
GUEST OPINION: Federal procurement rules for security technology are becoming increasingly stringent, and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has become the defining standard for what agencies can and cannot buy.

For IT professionals, integrators and federal contractors, understanding what NDAA compliance demands and where equipment sourcing can fail makes every purchasing decision faster and more defensible.

What Is NDAA Compliance in Security?

NDAA compliance, in the context of federal IT and video surveillance, is a set of procurement rules  not a certification. The requirements focus on the country of origin for a product's components and the ban on procuring equipment from manufacturers designated as national security risks.

Who Must Comply With NDAA Requirements?

The rule covers U.S. federal agencies, their contractors and any entity receiving federal funding. If an integrator or CCTV dealer supplies equipment for a federally funded project, that equipment must be compliant, regardless of whether the end client is a government agency.

Key Compliance Considerations for 2026

Two provisions form the bulk of compliance decisions on government-related security projects.

Understanding Section 889

Section 889 of the 2019 NDAA is the compliance core for the surveillance industry. It works in two parts. The first prohibits federal agencies from procuring surveillance or telecommunications equipment from flagged manufacturers. The second bars the government from contracting with any entity that uses such equipment, even outside a specific contract's scope.

The Prohibited Brands Blacklist

Section 889 names five tech and communications companies whose products federal agencies cannot procure or use. The ban extends to subsidiaries, affiliates and original equipment manufacturer products that rebrand equipment from these manufacturers. This is why working with a vetted distributor is important.

Huawei Technologies

ZTE Corporation

Hytera Communications

Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology

Dahua Technology

How to Verify NDAA Compliance

Look for manufacturer datasheets and official compliance paperwork. Reputable manufacturers disclose their components' origins and log in detail whether their products meet Section 889 requirements. Products made in Trade Agreements Act-designated countries, such as South Korea, Taiwan or Japan, are typically strong compliance indicators.

What Is the Best NDAA-Compliant Security Equipment for Government Projects?

The best NDAA-compliant security equipment depends on your specific project requirements. However, what will set reliable vendors apart are manufacturing transparency and consistent post-sale support. The full vendor ecosystem, from video surveillance hardware to cloud-based security platforms, determines long-term success.

Three brands providing cameras and systems for government projects stand out based on confirmed NDAA compliance, breadth of product offerings and a track record supporting government-related installations.

1. Optiview

Optiview is a U.S.-based distributor with decades of industry experience, offering NDAA-compliant video surveillance and cloud-based security solutions. Free technical support, jobsite design planning and preconfigured, out-of-the-box systems give integrators everything they need for complex federal installations, all without the back-and-forth.

2. Hanwha Vision

Hanwha Vision has a broad portfolio of NDAA-compliant cameras and recorders with powerful AI analytics and built-in cybersecurity. It is well-suited for large-scale federal deployments that focus on threat detection and data integrity.

3. Vivotek

Vivotek, headquartered in Taiwan, researches, develops and manufactures entirely in-house. Its online compliance tools speed up product verification for integrators. Sourcing the best NDAA-compliant security equipment for government projects becomes straightforward when a vendor makes compliance documentation a default.

Frequently Asked Questions About NDAA

These are the questions federal IT professionals and contractors ask most often when sourcing NDAA-compliant security equipment.

Is NDAA the same as TAA?

No. The TAA governs approved countries of origin for federal procurement  NDAA Section 889 bans specific manufacturers. A product can be TAA-compliant but still fail NDAA if it uses components from banned companies. Most verified NDAA-compliant products are also TAA-compliant.

Does the NDAA ban apply to existing equipment?

The law targets new procurement and contracts. That said, Section 889's second provision bars agencies from contracting with any entity that uses banned equipment.

Can I get a waiver for a noncompliant security system?

Waivers are rare and require authorisation from the director of national intelligence only in very limited circumstances. For CCTV and video surveillance, there are compliant alternatives from established manufacturers, so a waiver might be unnecessary.

Navigate Federal Security Procurement with Confidence

NDAA compliance is a procurement standard that follows every federal installation throughout its life cycle. The agencies and contractors that treat it as foundational are the ones that will build truly defensible and lasting security infrastructure.
New identity for solving enterprise challenges reflects companys evolution and AI leadership. The global leader in AI cybersecurity has adopted a name to match. TrendAI is the new name for the enterprise cybersecurity business unit of parent company Trend Micro Incorporated . The new identity aligns with the companys focus on solving real-world security challenges as AI becomes foundational infrastructure and cyber risk is managed as a core business priority.

This is not a cosmetic change. It signals where we are going and how we intend to lead. TrendAI reflects our conviction that security must evolve as quickly as the technology it protects. Enterprises are redesigning their operations around AI, data and automation. Our role is to ensure they can do so with confidence, control and resilience built in from the start." Eva Chen, CEO of Trend Micro

This is an exciting moment for our customers and partners across Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands as we bring together decades of cybersecurity leadership and AI innovation under TrendAI. Organisations are at a crossroads of digital disruption, and AI is becoming the future operating model for enterprise technology. Powered by world-leading threat intelligence and ongoing investment in our homegrown R&D and customer success team in Sydney, the TrendAI Vision One platform transforms security from reactive defence into an enabler of innovation." With thousands of customers across the region, including key government and critical infrastructure organisations, TrendAI is focused on strengthening AI capabilities and strategic global partnerships with NVIDIA, AWS, Google, Microsoft, and our collaboration with the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) to help shape our platform roadmap and align with evolving global AI security standards. Srujan Talakokkula, Managing Director ANZ & Pacific Islands at TrendAI

The move marks the completion of a transformation from a portfolio of industry-leading security products to a unified enterprise AI cybersecurity platform, TrendAI Vision One. Led by Rachel Jin, Chief Platform & Business officer, TrendAI is recognised as a leader across cloud, endpoint, network and threat detection by analyst firms like Gartner, IDC, and Forrester. The new brand aligns how TrendAI builds and delivers security solutions for the AI-powered enterprise with how modern organisations manage cyber risk.

TrendAI is also rolling out:

AI Security Brief: A new podcast series delivering timely, real-world stories at the intersection of AI and security.

A new podcast series delivering timely, real-world stories at the intersection of AI and security. TrendAI  Spark : A flagship global events ecosystem, bringing together customers, partners, and the broader technology community to examine how AI is reshaping security, risk, and leadership decision-making.

 : A flagship global events ecosystem, bringing together customers, partners, and the broader technology community to examine how AI is reshaping security, risk, and leadership decision-making. S-RM Partnership: Expands TrendAI partner ecosystem through a global incident response and cyber risk advisory partner embedded in post-breach workflows, helping organisations transition from containment to long-term risk reduction and security strategy. Learn more here.

Expands TrendAI partner ecosystem through a global incident response and cyber risk advisory partner embedded in post-breach workflows, helping organisations transition from containment to long-term risk reduction and security strategy. Learn more here. HackerVerse collaboration: Independent adversarial testing powered by autonomous AI agents executing real MITRE ATT&CK techniques, continuously validating detection efficacy through measurable, proof-based results.

To learn more about TrendAI, visit: https://www.trendaisecurity.com

About TrendAI

TrendAI, a global leader in AI security, empowers enterprises to innovate fearlessly by securing AI, cloud, networks, endpoints, and data across the modern attack surface. At the core is TrendAI Vision One, a unified cybersecurity platform that centralises cyber risk exposure management and security operations to protect the entire AI lifecycle from infrastructure to models to users. The platform is fueled by world-class threat intelligence and insights that protect organisations from hundreds of millions of threats every day. With 6,000 TrendAI experts across 75 countries, TrendAI empowers security leaders to stay ahead of threats, driving proactive security outcomes across the entire attack surface. This includes critical environments like AWS, Google, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. AI Fearlessly.
GUEST OPINION: The chip shortage headlines of 20212023 have faded, but a quieter threat is surging in 2026: component obsolescence. As AI hardware, new automotive architectures, and IoT refresh cycles shrink semiconductor lifetimes, purchasing teams face a record wave of end-of-life (EOL) noticesand, more dangerously, the lack of them.

This guide unpacks the financial stakes and offers a field-tested playbook hardware leaders can use to keep production lines running when critical parts disappear overnight.

Why EOL Risk Spiked Again

The global supply chain finally caught its breath in 2024, only to run into a new wall two years later.

Three converging forces are behind the fresh squeeze:

Accelerated silicon road-maps. GPU vendors and ASIC foundries now tape out new nodes every 1824 months to feed generative-AI demand. Older SKUs are culled earlier to free fab capacity.

GPU vendors and ASIC foundries now tape out new nodes every 1824 months to feed generative-AI demand. Older SKUs are culled earlier to free fab capacity. Traceability regulations. Europes PFAS restrictions and a patchwork of state-level U.S. bills push suppliers to retire legacy parts lacking updated materials data.

Europes PFAS restrictions and a patchwork of state-level U.S. bills push suppliers to retire legacy parts lacking updated materials data. Quiet exits. In 2025, more than 620,000 electronic parts were discontinued52% of them without any product-change notice (PCN) from the manufacturer.

When a manufacturer pulls a voltage regulator or CAN-bus transceiver without warning, every bill of materials (BOM) that relies on it is suddenly at risk.

The blind-spot problem is growing because smaller fabless suppliers often skip JEDEC PCN guidelines entirely.

Without early signals, OEMs discover the issue only when franchised distributors mark the part Not For New Design or when no stock is left.

Downtime Is Now a Board-Level Cost Centre

Parts going dark is not just a purchasing headache; it is a direct hit on enterprise value.

Consider the numbers:

Unplanned manufacturing downtime is set to cost UK & EU firms over 80 billion in 2025.

61% of manufacturers suffered unplanned downtime in the past year, driving losses of up to US $852 million every week (average US $1.7 million per hour).

Translate those regional figures to a single mid-sized electronics OEM running a mixed SMT line: if an obsolete power-management IC halts one product family for just two 12-hour shifts, the direct margin erosion can exceed the annual salary of a senior hardware engineer. Add SLA penalties and brand damage, and the true cost multiplies.

Boards and private-equity owners have begun tracking Hours of production lost to component availability as a key risk KPIputting procurement and engineering leaders on the hot seat.

[Surging AI data-centre refreshessee iTWires deep dive NetApp Goes All-In on AI Infrastructure, and the Numbers Back It Upare intensifying demand for next-gen silicon, accelerating the retirement of mature parts and driving those downtime figures even higher.]

Four Signals Your BOM Is on Borrowed Time

How do you know a seemingly stable part is about to vanish? Watch for these early warning lights:

Single-source ICs older than seven years

If a part appears on only one authorised line card and its first-release date starts with a 201, treat it as high-risk. Component lifecycles average five to seven years in todays AI-accelerated market.

Recent PCNsor suspicious silence

Ironically, both a sudden wave of PCNs and the absence of any notice can spell trouble. If peers receive notices while your account sees none, the suppliers CRM database may be outdated, leaving you blind.

Lead-times beyond 26 weeks or broker-only availability

When even franchised distributors quote half-year lead-times, fabs have likely re-allocated capacity. Prices on secondary marketplaces spike next, signalling last-time-buy (LTB) territory.

Datasheets lacking RoHS-3 or PFAS language

Upcoming environmental rules force vendors to pull parts that cannot be recertified cheaply. If the datasheet revision is older than 2019, assume recertification is unlikely.

For each signal, map the at-risk part to finished-goods revenue so executives grasp the exposure quickly.

The Six-Step Obsolescence Playbook

Map Risk  Revenue

Start with a cross-matrix: rows are BOM lines, columns are annual shipment volumes and margin contribution. A $0.35 legacy MCU that sits inside a $9 000 industrial controller can endanger a $50 million revenue streampriority triage data the CFO understands.

Lock in Last-Time Buys the Smart Way

LTBs save the day only when sized correctly. Multiply monthly demand by redesign lead-time plus a 20% cushion. Balance Economic Order Quantity against shelf-life limits (e.g., humidity-sensitive ICs). Finance teams often approve the carrying cost once they see the downtime scenarios above.

Qualify Form-Fit-Function Crosses Early

Use JEDEC JEP 30 parameterspinout, package, electrical specto rank candidate crosses. Begin bench testing before stockouts hit so the lab has calendar slack. Document test plans; many auditors now ask for cross-qualification evidence.

Diversify Sourcing Channels

Franchised distributors are the first stop, but when they run dry, independent brokers fill the gap. Independent distributors such as Rantle can secure hard-to-find or EOL inventory with escrow and third-party lab testing. Require X-ray and decap certificates on each lot.

Stand Up a Rolling Re-design Queue

Agile hardware teams treat obsolescence like software technical debt: allocate sprint capacity for alternate PCB spins each quarter. This prevents a massive, business-halting redesign binge later.

Institute Obsolescence Governance at the Exec Level

Create a cross-functional council (Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance). Track: percentage of BOM under surveillance, number of high-risk parts with mitigation plans, and downtime hours avoided. Quarterly reviews keep attention high after the current crisis fades.

Downloadable EOL Response Checklist

To operationalise the playbook, we have compiled a printable checklist covering:

12-point incoming-inspection procedure for brokered stock (including XRF, SAM and solderability tests)

LTB quantity calculator (Excel with shelf-life decay curve)

Cross-qualification template referencing JEDEC JESD 47 stress tests

Executive dashboard KPIs and colour-coded risk heat-map

Readers can download the file directly from iTWires resource library and customise thresholdssay, adjusting the red-zone lead-time from 26 to 20 weeks for automotive programmes. Embed the sheet in your PLM so engineers see live risk scores when they open the BOM.

Counterfeit Landmines: Vetting Non-Franchised Stock

Buying from the open market raises a frightening spectre: counterfeits. Modern clones pass visual checks, so insist on a multi-layer test chain:

X-ray for die size anomalies. A recent telecom OEM caught a batch of RF amplifiers whose lead frame matched spec, but the die was 30% smallerflagged only via X-ray. Decap & die-mark inspection. Compare wafer IDs against known-good samples. Electrical characterisation at hot/cold corners. A counterfeit LDO often fails the dropout-voltage spec at 40 C. Authenticity paperwork. Trusted brokers like Rantle provide chain-of-custody docs and indemnification clauses.

Skipping these steps is false economy: one field failure can trigger a recall, dwarfing any savings.

Case Snapshot: How a MedTech OEM Saved a Legacy Platform

A European diagnostics company faced the EOL of a 16-bit ADC integral to a blood-gas analyser still generating 30 million annually. The vendor issued no PCN; purchasing discovered the problem when lead-time shot to 52 weeks.

Week 01: Cross-functional task force formed; risk-to-revenue mapped.

Cross-functional task force formed; risk-to-revenue mapped. Week 24: Rantle sourced 13 000 pcs of the obsoleted ADCenough for 18 monthsafter third-party X-ray and decap clearance.

Rantle sourced 13 000 pcs of the obsoleted ADCenough for 18 monthsafter third-party X-ray and decap clearance. Week 516: Engineering qualified a pin-compatible drop-in alternative; firmware patch validated under IEC 60601.

Engineering qualified a pin-compatible drop-in alternative; firmware patch validated under IEC 60601. Month 6: Production switched to the new ADC with zero line stoppage. Estimated downtime avoided: 720 hours; margin preserved: 6.8 million.

Key takeaway: Acting within the first month bought the time needed for an orderly redesign.

Turning EOL Turbulence into Competitive Advantage

Obsolescence is here to stay, but organisations that treat it as a strategic disciplinebacked by data, governance, and the right sourcing partnerswill convert chaos into market share. Secure your playbook now and keep your lines and customers humming.
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT: Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), has been recognised as an innovation leader, winning the Supply Chain Innovation category at the ABA100 Business Awards.

The award recognises Manhattan Active Warehouse Management, part of the Manhattan Active Supply Chain suite, for its continued advancement of intelligent, cloud-native warehouse operations and its expanding use of AI-driven capabilities to improve speed, accuracy and resilience across supply chains.

The ABA100 Supply Chain Innovation Award celebrates organisations delivering measurable innovation in logistics, distribution and supply chain execution. Manhattan Active Warehouse Management was recognised for its ability to dynamically adapt to operational change, its highly configurable user experience and its continuous delivery model, which enables customers to access new functionality through regular updates without disruptive upgrades.

Built as a true cloud-native platform, Manhattan Active Warehouse Management supports real-time visibility and coordination across inventory, labour, automation and storage environments. In recent releases, the solution has expanded its use of embedded intelligence and AI to support smarter decision-making on the warehouse floor, including enhanced demand responsiveness, improved task prioritisation and greater orchestration across increasingly complex fulfilment networks.

These capabilities help organisations respond more effectively to labour constraints, rising customer expectations and the growing volume of omnichannel orders, while maintaining compliance and operational consistency.

Winning the ABA100 Supply Chain Innovation Award is a strong validation of our continued investment in intelligent, cloud-first supply chain technology, said Raghav Sibal, Vice President, APAC at Manhattan Associates. Manhattan Active Warehouse Management is designed to evolve alongside our customers operations, with AI-driven insights and continuous innovation that help organisations move faster, operate smarter and scale with confidence.

Sibal added that the platforms architecture allows customers to adopt new capabilities as their needs mature, without the disruption traditionally associated with upgrades. Our customers are navigating constant change, from peak volatility to shifting consumer expectations. Having a platform that can continuously adapt and introduce new intelligence over time is now critical.

As supply chains become more interconnected and digitally driven, Manhattan Associates continues to invest in unified, cloud-based solutions that bring together physical operations and digital commerce. The companys ongoing innovation roadmap focuses on using AI and automation to simplify complexity, improve execution and deliver more responsive, resilient supply chains.

The ABA100 Australian Business Awards are among the countrys most respected business accolades, recognising excellence, innovation and leadership across Australian and international organisations operating in the local market.
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT: Informatica from Salesforce , a leader in AI-powered enterprise cloud data management, today announced deeper integration with Microsoft at the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference in Atlanta. The announcement includes general availability of support for Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) for Microsoft Fabric Open Mirroring, as well as the launch of a new Microsoft Azure-based IDMC point-of-delivery (pod) in Switzerland.

These innovations advance customer choice and simplify how Azure customers can better ingest, manage, and govern data across Azure and Microsoft Fabric while reinforcing the trusted data foundation required for AI and analytics initiatives spanning multicloud environments.

Simplifying Data Synchronization with Support for Open Mirroring

With the April 2026 IDMC release, Informatica now supports Open Mirroring directly within its Cloud Data Integration and Replication (CDIR) services. Customers can enable Open Mirroring capabilities with a single click while creating and maintaining mass ingestion pipelines in IDMC, streamlining ingestion from over 300 enterprise data sources into Microsoft Fabric mirrored databases.



Open Mirroring functionality allows data to be synchronized between Fabric OneLake and Fabric Data Warehouse. By integrating this capability directly into Open Mirroring with IDMC, Informatica simplifies the creation and maintenance of mirrored database pipelines while enabling customers to apply enterprise-grade data governance, data quality, and master data management services to their data. With Informaticas enterprisewide data integration capabilities, customers can gain near-real-time data access and reduced costs for their AI and analytics initiatives with Fabric.



As organizations are accelerating their AI and analytics initiatives, they require trusted context to succeed, said Krish Vitaldevara, Chief Product Officer at Informatica. "By embedding support for Microsoft Fabric Open Mirroring directly into IDMC, we are helping customers streamline ingestion from more than 300 enterprise sources while helping to ensure data is governed, high quality, and ready for analytics and AI at scale.



Informaticas support for Microsoft Fabric Open Mirroring enables customers to take advantage of Informaticas wide range of connectivity and the flexibility of Open Mirroring, said Arun Ulag, President of Azure Data at Microsoft. As organizations scale their analytics and AI strategies, the combination of Microsoft Fabric and Informaticas data management capabilities helps ensure insights and AI models are built on trusted, enterprise-grade data.

Expanding Regional Choice with New IDMC Azure Pod in Switzerland

Informatica also announced the establishment of a new IDMC Azure pod in Switzerland, available in March 2026. The new pod delivers the full suite of Informatica cloud data management capabilities on Azure, including advanced serverless integration as an Azure Native Service and AI-empowered data, data governance, data quality, and master data management.



The Switzerland-based pod is designed to support European customers with data residency, sovereignty, and regulatory requirements that call for local data processing. Customers can purchase Informatica IDMC services via Microsoft Marketplace, with qualifying purchases eligible to count toward Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitments, in accordance with Microsoft program terms.



By expanding its Azure footprint, Informatica provides organizations with additional flexibility to deploy enterprise-grade data management capabilities closer to where their data resides. This ultimately helps them meet compliance requirements while advancing AI and analytics initiatives.

Advancing Trusted Data for the AI Era

As mirrored databases, sovereign cloud deployments and AI-driven architectures become increasingly central to modern enterprise strategies, Informatica and Microsoft continue to deepen their collaboration to simplify data integration and governance across hybrid and multicloud environments.



By combining Fabrics capabilities with Informaticas AI-powered data management platform, joint customers can reduce complexity, increase confidence in their data, and accelerate time to value for AI and analytics initiatives.

Availability

Support for Microsoft Fabric Open Mirroring in IDMC is generally available with the April 2026 release. The Informatica IDMC Azure pod in Switzerland is available beginning March 2026.
SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here.

Gov. Maura Healey is risking becoming the next national poster child for benefits fraud  another clueless Tim Walz  as she continues to deflect blame for massive government fraud in Massachusetts.

It's not enough for her just to set up yet another hotline to report ICE misconduct  Healey must accept her share of the blame for Medicaid fraud and face the heat.

Does she really want to be sitting in front of a congressional committee taking pointed questions from Republican congressmen?

National GOP leaders have already cited examples of fraud and abuse in Massachusetts and would love to grill Healey on what she's doing to prevent more theft.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a rash of letters to Healey and nine other state governors earlier this month demanding they produce records showing how they are policing the billions of dollars handed out to residents.

Healey is under pressure to provide written responses and "all responsive documents" about rooting out potential schemes by this Tuesday.

The committee earlier this month alleged the Minnesota governor, the Democratic party's vice presidential nominee in 2024, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison lied about what they knew about food stamp fraud and actively worked to "silence" whistleblowers.

If Healey isn't careful, she'll wind up in the same hot seat as Walz, who she lavishly praised when Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate

"This is a dream ticket," Healey infamously said of Harris and Walz two years ago. "People are going to come to know Tim Walz, and they're going to be really, really impressed."

Impressed is not the word most Americans would use to describe Walz now.

And there are plenty of examples in Massachusetts over the last few years of the similar kind of fraud uncovered in Minnesota.

State Auditor Diana DiZoglio last week announced her office of special investigations had uncovered more than $4.4 million in public benefits fraud.

Healey herself, when she was attorney general, announced in 2022 that her office's Medicaid Fraud Division recovered more than $71 million in stolen benefits.

"The tens of millions of dollars recovered by the Division during this fiscal year send a strong message that we are committed to ensuring that our MassHealth dollars are going to our most vulnerable residents and we take seriously attempts to defraud our important safety net health care system," Healey said then.

But since she became governor Healey has seemed more concerned about protecting illegal immigrants and slamming President Trump than rooting out Medicaid corruption right under her nose.

Healey and Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced the new web portal to report ICE activity the same day DiZoglio announced the discovery of $2.4 million in SNAP fraud and $1.7 million in MassHealth and Medicaid fraud.

"Your submission might help the Governor's Office and/or Attorney General's office identify patterns of potential misconduct by federal agents, inform possible legal action or policy recommendations, and support affected residents," the web portal said.

Good to know what their real priorities are.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Joe Battenfeld

Boston Herald/(TNS)

Joe Battenfeld is a veteran Boston Herald political columnist and multimedia reporter.

Previously:
SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here.

For years it was a punch line. Now the Laffer Curve  which purports to show that tax cuts can increase revenue  is making a kind of comeback. This time around, it is providing more of an intellectual than a policy framework, but that is a useful role as some states and city governments appear eager to test the proposition that no tax is too high.

Famously (or infamously?) drawn on a napkin by the economist Art Laffer in 1974, the Laffer Curve is a concave shape plotting the relationship between tax revenues and the tax rate. It shows that at a certain point, tax cuts lead to greater revenue. When the tax rate is too high, people work less, thus reducing tax revenue.

The Laffer Curve was part of the justification for the tax reform of the 1980s, which lowered rates and got rid of many deductions. But then a funny thing happened: Revenue fell after the tax cuts. There are plenty of rationales for cutting taxes, such as efficiency or fairness, but more revenue did not appear to be one of them.

Still, thoughtful skeptics admit that the Laffer Curve illustrates a valid point. Consider what would happen if people were taxed at 150%, so they had to give up not only all the money they earned but also another 50%. The answer is obvious: No one would work. The practical problem now, however, is that with the federal income tax rate topping out at 37%, the US is not close to the point where it would get revenue increases from a tax cut.

That's true for income taxes. What about wealth taxes? The Laffer Curve could kick in much sooner for taxes on wealth, because it is relatively easy for people to change how and where they invest. State tax rates are more sensitive than federal rates because it is easier to move to another state than to another country.

Nonetheless, states and cities are eyeing very high tax rates. In California , a 5% tax on fortunes of $1 billion may get on the ballot in the fall. Yet research by Josh Rauh of the Hoover Institution estimates it would decrease tax revenues by $24.7 billion. That's because rich people will move, and the state will lose both the prospective tax revenue from their wealth and the existing tax revenue from their income. An earlier paper estimates that California's high income taxes have already caused some high earners to leave the state.

Now Washington State is trying a similar experiment. Washington has long been a no- earned-income-tax state, which attracted many tech businesses such as Amazon and Microsoft. Its House of Representatives just passed a 9.9% tax on income above $1 million, which may have already encouraged some wealthy residents to move. It may not reduce tax revenues immediately, but it will probably reduce property tax revenues and discourage future business creation, which could lead to slower growing tax revenue.

History suggests that once a state imposes an income tax, it does not stay contained to high earners. Losing its status as one of nine no-income-tax states  Washington taxes income from capital gains but not from wages or salary  would erode one of the state's a comparative advantages (and it lacks California's gorgeous weather). New York State is also considering higher taxes on higher earners, while New York City's mayor is proposing several new taxes on the wealthy.

Supporters of high taxes say they are calling the wealthy's bluff: Are they really prepared to leave California or Manhattan ? And for years it was true, high earners in high-tax states such as New York or California did not leave for Texas or Florida . But that's changing. Maybe that's because blue states aren't offering the same level of services they used to, whether it's in schools or transportation, while quality-of-life crime such as shoplifting is up in cities like New York . Or maybe it's because network effects aren't as strong as they used to be; living in close proximity to the center of finance or technology isn't so valuable as to be worth the higher taxes.

All of which means that point on the Laffer Curve where higher taxes result in lower revenue could hit a lot sooner than many states and cities realize.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Allison Schrager, a Bloomberg columnist, is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.
Independent medicine is often described as nostalgic, a relic of a prior era in which physicians owned small practices and made decisions without corporate oversight. But independence is not nostalgia; it is infrastructure.

Today, nearly 75 percent of physicians in the United States are employed by hospitals, health systems, or corporate entities, according to the American Medical Association. In 2012, that number was closer to 50 percent. Private equity investment in physician practices has accelerated sharply over the past decade, particularly in procedural specialties.

The illusion of consolidation

Consolidation was sold as a solution to rising costs and fragmented care. Yet health care spending has continued to climb, reaching nearly 18 percent of U.S. GDP. Meanwhile, studies have shown that hospital acquisition of physician practices is usually associated with higher prices for the same services, without clear evidence of improved outcomes.

For patients, consolidation often translates into fewer choices and higher facility fees. For physicians, it frequently means diminished autonomy, productivity quotas, and administrative directives that supersede clinical judgment, leading to moral injury.

When physicians lose the freedom to question, to decline unnecessary directives, or to design systems around the needs of their own communities, something fundamental shifts. We risk becoming technicians rather than independent professionals accountable first to patients.

This is not an argument against employment. Many physicians thrive in employed settings, and large systems provide valuable services, particularly in tertiary and quaternary care. But independence, whether in solo practice, group ownership, or hybrid models, serves a stabilizing function within the broader ecosystem of health care.

The role of distributed infrastructure

Independent practices typically deliver lower-cost outpatient services. They can move more nimbly in response to community needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many independent physicians collaborated outside hospital systems to secure and distribute protective equipment, keeping local practices open when supply chains faltered. In the case of a cyberattack or failure, independent electronic health records (EHRs) are more resilient than giant linked systems.

In South Carolina, recent policy shifts reflect this tension. The repeal of certificate of need (CON) laws has reduced barriers to entry for outpatient facilities. Legislative scrutiny of noncompete clauses has increased. Conversations about economic credentialing and hospital consolidation are no longer confined to academic panels; they are occurring in statehouses and exam rooms.

These developments are about resilience rather than ideology.

Independent medicine functions as distributed infrastructure. It provides redundancy when centralized systems strain. It preserves direct accountability in the physician-patient relationship. It offers young physicians an alternative career pathway at a time when burnout and moral injury remain pervasive.

Stewardship and the future of practice

The question is not whether every physician should own a practice, but whether the profession benefits from maintaining meaningful independent pathways. If independence disappears entirely, so does leverage in negotiations, in policy discussions, and in shaping the future of care delivery.

There is an ancient teaching that states: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you free to neglect it.

Health care reform will not be completed in one legislative session or solved by a single business model. But physicians retain agency in how they practice, how they mentor younger colleagues, and how they participate in policy discussions that shape the profession.

For those who are independent, stewardship matters. For those who are employed, engagement matters. Asking questions about contracts, governance, transparency, and patient access is not disloyal; it is professional responsibility.

Independent medicine is not a rejection of modern health care. It is one of the pillars that keeps it balanced. And balance, in any complex system, is what allows it to endure.

Through my work advising physicians exploring transitions into private or hybrid practice models, I have seen firsthand that independence today looks different than it did a generation ago. But it remains viable and, in all communities, essential.

Marcelo Hochman is a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
China is preparing to loosen one of its most closely watched financial valves: the ability of domestic investors to move money abroad.

According to Bloomberg, yesterday, authorities are set to issue a fresh round of quotas under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) program, a mechanism that allows selected mainland institutions to invest in overseas assets ranging from US Treasuries to global equities. The move signals a cautious but deliberate shift in Beijings approach to capital controls, balancing financial stability with growing demand for international diversification.

Bloomberg reports that the new quotas will expand the pool of outbound investment at a time when global markets remain volatile but broadly accessible. The QDII system has long acted as a pressure-release valve for domestic capital, and its periodic expansion tends to coincide with moments when policymakers feel confident enough to tolerate greater cross-border flows. The last increase came in the summer, and this latest adjustment suggests Beijing believes conditions remain sufficiently stable to proceed.

Zhu Hexin, head of Chinas top currency regulator, framed the decision in pragmatic terms. Speaking at the China Development Forum, he said the goal is to better meet the cross-border investment needs of domestic institutions, a line Bloomberg highlights as emblematic of Beijings gradualist reform strategy. In other words, this is not a free-for-all  it is a controlled opening, calibrated to avoid sudden capital flight while still giving institutions more room to maneuver.

That balancing act has become easier, at least for now. Bloomberg notes that Zhu described Chinas cross-border capital flows as basically balanced, despite ongoing global uncertainty. This relative stability has given policymakers what amounts to rare breathing space. When inflows and outflows are roughly aligned, the risks associated with loosening controls diminish, allowing Beijing to inch forward with reforms that would otherwise be considered too risky.

At the heart of this shift is a longer-term ambition: making the yuan a more prominent global currency. Zhu emphasized that more than 90% of Chinas capital-account items are now at least partially open, a statistic Bloomberg cites as evidence of steady, if incomplete, progress. Over the next five years, he said, China will continue to push for greater capital-account convertibility while coordinating that effort with broader financial reforms and the internationalization of the yuan.

If Zhu Hexin provided the official line, former Peoples Bank of China deputy governor Zhu Min offered a more strategic  and arguably more candid  perspective. Bloomberg reports that Zhu Min pointed to a fundamental mismatch between Chinas economic weight and the global role of its currency. As the worlds second-largest economy, China remains underrepresented in international finance, where the US dollar still dominates.

That dominance, however, may be softening. Zhu Min argued, according to Bloomberg, that the US economy is no longer large enough relative to the global system to sustain a single dominant currency indefinitely. As Americas share of global output and trade declines, other countries are increasingly hedging their exposure to dollar-denominated assets. Diversification, in this view, is not ideological  it is risk management.

To accelerate the yuans rise, Zhu Min outlined a familiar but still challenging agenda. Bloomberg notes his call for expanded use of the Chinese currency in trade, particularly across the Global South and within industrial supply chains. He also emphasized the need to deepen Chinas domestic capital markets, making them more attractive to foreign investors, and to further develop infrastructure such as the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS).

The expansion of QDII quotas fits neatly into this broader strategy. By allowing more capital to flow outward, Beijing is not just responding to investor demand  it is also laying the groundwork for a more internationally integrated financial system. As Bloomberg suggests, the message is clear: China is opening up, but on its own terms, and at its own pace.

Like this: Like Loading...
United States President Donald Trump says Iran wants to make a dealand claims U.S. envoys have been holding talks with a respected Iranian leader.

Trump told reporters yesterday his Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner conducted talks Sunday evening. He said talks would continue today.

Trump did not name any official or officials representing Tehran. Trump said the U.S. has not talked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

Trump said if a deal is reached with Iran, the U.S. will move to take Irans enriched uranium critical to its disputed nuclear program.

Hour before, Trump extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, saying that the U.S. would hold off on threatened strikes against Iranian power plants for five days.

In his announcement on Truth Social, Trump also held out the possibility of a resolution to the war  though Iranian officials denied there were negotiations. Trumps turnaround appeared to offer something of a reprieve after rhetoric reached a fever pitch when the U.S. and Iran traded threats with potentially catastrophic repercussions for civilians across the region.

Shortly after Trumps announcement  hours before the deadline was set to expire  Iranian state television declared that the American leader had backed down following Irans firm warning.

The war, now in its fourth week, has already seen several dramatic turning points  the killing of Irans supreme leader, the bombing of a key Iranian gas field, and strikes targeting oil and gas facilities and other civilian infrastructure in Gulf Arab nations. The conflict has killed more than 2,000 people, shaken the global economy, sent oil prices surging, and endangered some of the worlds busiest air corridors.

The latest threatened attacks could have cut electricity to wide swaths of people in Iran and around the Gulf and knocked out desalination plants that provide many desert nations with drinking water. There are also increasing concerns about the consequences of any strikes on nuclear facilities.

Trump extens deadline

Trump said over the weekend that the U.S. would obliterate Irans power plants unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours  a deadline that would have expired late Monday Washington time.

But on Monday morning, Trump wrote on his Truth Social site that the U.S. and Iran have had very good and productive conversations that could yield a complete and total resolution in the war.

Trump added that the suspension of his threat to attack power plants was subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.

Trump did not elaborate on the negotiations that had taken place, and the state-owned IRAN newspaper reported that Irans Foreign Ministry denied that there have been any.

Remarks by the U.S. president are part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans the newspaper said.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Turkey has been an intermediary before in negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also said Monday that Egypt has delivered clear messages to Iran focusing on de-escalating the conflict, according to his office.

Iran threatened retaliation

Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard promised retaliation if Trump made good on his threat, saying Iran would hit power plants in all areas that supply electricity to American bases, as well as the economic, industrial and energy infrastructures in which Americans have shares.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran would consider vital infrastructure across the region to be legitimate targets, including energy and desalination facilities critical for drinking water in Gulf nations.

Irans semiofficial Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guard, published a list of such facilities, including the United Arab Emirates nuclear power plant. Over the weekend, Iran launched missiles targeting Dimona in Israel, near a facility key to its long-suspected atomic weapons program. The Israeli facility wasnt damaged.

In the wake of Trumps turnaround, Fars and the Tasnim news agencies portrayed the American president as backing down.

Since the start of the war, messages have been sent to Tehran by some mediators, but Irans clear response has been that it will continue its defense until the required level of deterrence is achieved, Tasnims report said. With this kind of psychological warfare, neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to pre-war conditions nor will calm return to energy markets.

With the U.S. deploying more amphibious assault ships and additional Marines to the Middle East, Iran also warned against any ground attack.

Any attempt by the enemy to target Irans coasts or islands will, naturally and in accordance with established military practice, lead to the mining of all access routes  in the Persian Gulf and along the coasts, Irans Defense Council warned.

Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but also has said he retains all options. Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.

Oil prices have soared

Irans chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has wreaked havoc on energy markets, pushed up prices of food and other goods well beyond the Middle East and sent shock waves throughout the global economy.

No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction, said Fatih Birol, the head of the Paris-based International Energy Agency.

Oil prices were stubbornly high in early trading Monday, but plunged after Trumps announcement.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, a senior United Nations official, said the world has already seen a ripple effect, including exponential price hikes in oil, fuel and gas that have had a far-reaching impact on millions, primarily in Asian and African developing countries.

There is no military solution, he said. MDT/AP

Like this: Like Loading...
The birth of the God Tou Tei (Earth God) was once again celebrated by the residents of the Horta e Mitra neighborhood.

Over five consecutive days, starting March 18 (the second day of the second lunar month) and ending March 22, people gathered to celebrate the special occasion, which this year coincided with the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the neighborhoods Foc Tac Temple.

Every year, the management committee of Foc Tac Temple in the Horta da Mitra neighborhood (Cheok Chai Un Foc Tac Temple Committee) organizes a series of festive events, creating a vibrant, celebratory atmosphere in the local community.

Celebrations include the Opera for Appeasing the Gods (a performance of plays to celebrate the birth of a divinity); deity worship and blessings; lion and golden dragon performances; and a festive banquet for senior citizens.

As is tradition at the site, the Opera for Appeasing the Gods was performed in a temporary theater built in the open space in front of the temple, with the main stage located right beside it.

Over five consecutive days, there were nine performances of the classic opera.

Besides this year marking the 140th anniversary of the Horta da Mitra neighborhoods Foc Tac Temple, it also celebrated the fifth anniversary of the inscription of the Belief and Customs of Tou Tei in Macau on the National List of Representative Elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China.

The beliefs and customs of Tou Tei have a long history in Macau and feature a variety of altars, including tablets, stone tablets, large and small altars, and temples.

Currently, there are around 10 temples and over 160 altars dedicated to Tou Tei in Macau, in addition to individual tablets at the entrances of numerous residences and shops.

Known by the names Tou Tei Kung, Foc Tac Cheng San, or Tai Pak Kung, Tou Tei is one of the most popular Chinese folk deities and is considered by believers to be in charge of lands and to protect the life, health, and wealth of residents, among other aspects.

Like this: Like Loading...
More than a decade after a Taiwanese popstar tied the knot in Selby Abbey, brides from China are still flocking to the 1,000-year-old church in search of the same fairytale backdrop.

Standing at the heart of the North Yorkshire market town, the medieval abbey was where Jay Chou married his Australian model wife Hannah Quinlivan in 2015.

Ever since, it has been transformed into an international wedding destination, with many fans turning up to soak up the abbeys grandeur.

The Revd Canon John Weetman, vicar at the abbey, said there was quite a demand from Chinese couples and more than 30 weddings were booked in this year.

One bride, Qing Li, explained her reason for flying from China to marry there.

She said: I love York and another personal reason is there was a Chinese celebrity who had their wedding here.

Another visitor, Isobel, from Beijing, said she had chosen to visit the venue after watching videos of Chous wedding online.

We came here because we are fans of Jay Chou and their wedding was so splendid.

Meanwhile, Weetman said the influx of visitors to the abbey started the day after the celebrity couples ceremony.

While couples would usually need to fulfil certain criteria to be able to get married at the church, such as living in the parish or attending services regularly, a spokesperson said the venue also offered a blessing service not governed by marital law and without any qualifying criteria.

Chou, who is still married to Quinlivan, with the couple having three children together, had a blessing ceremony in 2015, the spokesperson added.

From the very next day, we had people coming to visit  Chinese students and people coming over from China on their holidays.

York obviously gets a lot of Chinese visitors and a number of those were making a detour and coming here.

He said the demand for weddings was such that he had to turn couples away.

Because we have quite a demand we do restrict them to no more than one a week.

Last year we had 25 and this year we have more than 30 booked in but the demand is more than two or three times that. BBC News

Like this: Like Loading...
Members of the Legislative Assemblys Second Standing Committee expressed support for the governments updated draft of the advertising bill, calling it more comprehensive and refined. Committee chair Ip Sio kai said the revisions clarify that regulations cover both online and offline ads, assign responsibility to internet platforms, and differentiate rules for local and non-local real estate advertising. The bill also refines definitions for endorsements and live marketing, and proposes liability insurance for certain advertising installations.

Like this: Like Loading...
The Coca-Cola system in South Africa announced the results of a comprehensive socio-economic impact study, conducted by global consulting firm Steward Redqueen.

This new independent study highlights the scale of the Coca-Cola systems contribution to South Africas economy, employment, and communities, said Luis Felipe Avellar, president of the Africa operating unit of The CocaCola Company. He spoke during a media briefing hosted by the Honourable Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Mr. Parks Tau, ahead of the 2026 South Africa Investment Conference, where the Coca-Cola system will participate as a sponsor.

The study reveals that the Coca-Cola system in South Africa  comprising Coca-Cola and its authorized bottlers  alongside a broad network of local suppliers, distributors, and retailers, contributed R51.2 billion in value-added economic activity in 2024.

Through its value chain, the Coca-Cola system supported over 87,000 jobs through suppliers, partners, and customers. This means that for every direct job created by the system, 10 more jobs were supported across South Africas economy.

Our business is interconnected with local communities, we hire locally, produce locally, distribute locally and, where possible, source locally, helping to build a stronger, more integrated economy in South Africa, Avellar said.

Charl Goncalves, Managing Director of Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages, emphasized the systems focus on partnerships: We remain committed to creating opportunity for our people, our partners, and the communities we serve.

The study also highlights the Coca-Cola systems strong local integration, with R25.6 billion worth of goods and services sourced from suppliers in South Africa in 2024. This local procurement supports industries as diverse as sugar production, packaging, transportation, and marketing, reinforcing the Coca-Cola systems role as a partner for growth in South Africas economic development.

South Africa remains one of our most strategic markets in Africathe beginning of a legacy that dates back to Coca-Colas first entry on the continent in 1928. These findings reaffirm the Coca-Cola systems role as a key driver of shared value and sustainable growth within the South African economy, said Sunil Gupta, CEO, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.

The Coca-Cola system has strengthened its footprint in South Africa through sustained investment and innovation, including the launch of a new bottling line at CCBSAs manufacturing facility in Midrand. This investment highlights the systems commitment to investing, producing, and distributing locally, while contributing to South Africas social and economic development.

The Coca-Cola systems contribution extends beyond economic impact. South Africa is one of the beneficiaries of the Africa Water Stewardship Initiative (https://apo-opa.co/4bFqSiD), a nearly $25 million investment through 2030 to help address critical water-related challenges in local communities in 20 African countries.

The study conducted by Steward Redqueen measured the direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts of the Coca-Cola system in South Africa, combining company operational data with trusted third-party economic sources. The analysis demonstrates how Coca-Colas local operations ripple across the economy  from farmers growing sugarcane to retailers selling beverages  creating jobs, generating income, and building opportunities.
The World Bank has approved 240 million U.S. dollars to fund the first phase of the West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience and Blue Economy Programme (WACA+), according to a statement received on Thursday, March 19.

The initiative targets coastal protection and economic development in Benin and Mauritania, focusing on tackling erosion and flooding while expanding sustainable blue economy opportunities.

In Benin, the project will stabilise the Bouche du Roy estuary and the Mono River mouth, safeguarding communities, farmlands, tourism sites and key transport routes. In Mauritania, efforts will centre on strengthening the dune barrier protecting Nouakchott to reduce flood risks in densely populated and economically significant areas.

Across both countries, the programme will also restore up to 3,000 hectares of mangroves and coastal wetlands to boost fisheries, support ecotourism and aquaculture, and enhance climate resilience. The intervention comes as West Africas coastal regionshome to over 360 million peopleface mounting environmental and economic pressures despite their critical role in driving growth, particularly in tourism, fisheries and port services.
On March 20, 2026, Ethiopian Muslims across the country celebrated the 1447th Eid al-Fitr, marking the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan with collective prayers, vibrant gatherings, and a renewed sense of national unity.

Thousands congregated at Addis Ababa Stadium, where worshippers joined in reflection, gratitude, and shared festivities.

From urban centres to rural communities, celebrations included prayer, charitable acts, family visits, and communal meals, highlighting the core values of compassion, solidarity, and generosity associated with the occasion.

The President of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, Sheikh Haji Ibrahim Tufa, led the central prayer in Addis Ababa alongside other religious leaders and invited dignitaries, reinforcing the spiritual significance of the day.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, joined by Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh and senior officials, extended Eid greetings to the Muslim community, describing Ramadan as a period of patience, devotion, and support for the vulnerable. He urged citizens to carry forward the spirit of empathy, brotherhood, and civic responsibility cultivated during the month.

Looking ahead to the June 2026 elections, the Prime Minister connected the values of Ramadan to national unity and democratic participation, calling on Ethiopians to celebrate the holiday by uplifting others and reinforcing the countrys tradition of religious coexistence, peace, and mutual respect.
Angola and Botswana are preparing to sign 17 cooperation agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, as part of ongoing high-level engagements between the two nations, according to a report published on March 19, 2026.

The planned agreements are expected to cover multiple strategic sectors, reinforcing collaboration in areas that underpin economic growth and regional integration. The initiative reflects a renewed commitment by both countries to deepen diplomatic and economic ties.

The development comes amid an official visit by Botswanas President, Duma Boko, to Luanda, where he is holding talks with Angolan President Joao Lourenco focused on expanding trade and investment cooperation.

Key sectors under discussion include mining, energy, tourism and environmental management, with both sides seeking to leverage shared resources and geographic proximity to unlock new economic opportunities.

The anticipated signing of the agreements signals a strategic push to consolidate long-standing relations between the two countries, positioning their partnership as a catalyst for broader regional development within Southern Africa.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have agreed to take concrete steps to ease tensions following high-level talks hosted by the United States in Washington, amid a fragile and stalled peace process in eastern Congo.

In a joint statement with the US, the two countries pledged to respect each others sovereignty and territorial integrity, with Rwanda committing to disengage its forces and lift defensive measures in designated areas, while DR Congo agreed to intensify efforts to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

The renewed diplomatic push follows recent US sanctions against the Rwandan Defence Forces and senior officials over allegations of backing the M23 rebel group, which has been blamed for escalating violence in the region. Rwanda has consistently denied supporting the group, describing its military posture as defensive.

Despite a US-brokered peace deal signed in December under President Donald Trump, fighting has persisted, with M23 maintaining control over large parts of eastern DR Congo, including key cities such as Goma and Bukavu, raising fears of a broader regional conflict.

Tensions have further intensified following recent drone strikes that resulted in casualties, underscoring the fragile security environment and the urgent need for sustained diplomatic engagement to stabilise the mineral-rich but volatile region.
The Malian Army has announced over the week-end the killing of about 40 militants, including a senior leader, during a coordinated security operation in the western Kayes region.

In a statement issued by the General Staff, the week-long operation, code-named Dougoukolo, was carried out from March 14 to 21, targeting key areas such as Yelimane and Segala, following earlier missions in Ambidedi and Diboli.

Military forces reportedly dismantled several militant hideouts, including two major bases in Medina-Kayes. The operation also led to the rescue of 12 hostages who had been held by armed groups.

Security personnel seized a significant cache of weapons and equipment, including ammunition, communication radios, kamikaze drones, and more than 3,000 litres of fuel. Three vehicles, among them a commercial bus, were also recovered and are expected to be returned to their owners.

The rescued individuals are currently undergoing medical assessment before being reunited with their families.

The army reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining operations against armed groups across the country.
Trump says U.S. intent on reaching deal with Iran

Xinhua) 09:32, March 24, 2026

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the United States is "very intent on making a deal with Iran," CNBC reported.

Trump told the media outlet that discussions with Iranian authorities had been intense and believes a positive outcome can be achieved.

Iran wants to make a deal badly and that could come within five days or less, Trump told Fox Business Network on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Trump said the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive" talks over the past two days, and announced a postponement of planned U.S. strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure.

Iran has denied the existence of such talks, describing Trump's move as an attempt to lower energy prices and "buy time" for his military plans.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
South Sudans President Salva Kiir dismissed Unity State Governor Justice Riek Bim Top and reappointed Dr. Joseph Nguen Monytuil to the role, according to a decree reported by the state broadcaster in Juba on March 23, 2026.

The leadership change marks a return for Monytuil, a long-standing ally of the President and a familiar figure in Unity States political landscape. The decision follows a deadly attack three weeks earlier in Abiemnhom County in the Ruweng Administrative Area, where armed youth allegedly from Mayom County killed more than 200 people, including soldiers.

While the timing has raised questions, authorities have not confirmed whether the governors removal is directly linked to the violence.

Justice Riek Bim Top had been appointed in May 2024, replacing Monytuil, who had previously served multiple terms in the same position. Before his tenure as governor, Bim held roles within the military justice system in Juba. Both the outgoing and incoming governors are members of the ruling SPLM, under which the president retains authority to appoint and dismiss state officials as outlined in the 2018 peace agreement.

Monytuils political career spans more than a decade, beginning as caretaker governor in 2013. He later became the first governor of Northern Liech State in 2015 and resumed leadership of Unity State from 2020 until his dismissal in May 2024. His tenure, however, has been shadowed by controversy, including a vote of no confidence passed by the Council of States in August 2022 over insecurity and alleged human rights abuses.

International scrutiny has also followed Monytuil. In December 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned him over alleged involvement in actions threatening peace and stability, including accusations of systematic abuses in Leer County in 2022. A United Nations-backed commission further identified him among officials potentially warranting investigation for serious violations, claims the South Sudanese government has rejected as external interference.
A drugs-related cold case from 2008 has come back to haunt 170 people, with police knocking on their doors with arrest warrants and forcing them to scurry for legal help long after they thought the nightmare was over.



The case goes back 17 years, when a posse of cops led by then DCP (Zone 1) Vishwas Nangre Patil rounded up 240 youngsters during a dramatic late-night raid at the upscale Juhu pub Bombay 72 Degrees on suspicion of large-scale drugs use. Among them were models, film industry kids and others from well-to-do families.



After a Mumbai sessions court recently issued non-bailable arrest warrants against 180 of them, police are going door to door looking for the accused. Warrants have already been served to 170  many of them married, with children and families, running successful businesses.



Last week, officers came with an arrest warrant. It felt like my past had come back to punish me. My parents panicked. I was lost all over again, said a 36-year-old artist, who 18 at the time of the incident. Multiple people Mirror spoke to said they were harassed and humiliated, while the real names behind the drugs supply chain were allowed to go free. They alleged that the case has seen systemic apathy, with the judicial process dragging on for years and denying them closure.



Nangre Patil, a hero from the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is currently the Additional Director-General of the state Anti-Corruption Bureau and was not available for comment till press time despite repeated efforts to contact him.



How the case became hot again



The case that was lying cold for years suddenly got galvanised after the Supreme Court gave a directive on speedy disposal of long-pending cases and the Bombay High Court highlighted tens of thousands of matters stuck due to delayed forensic reports.



Proceedings in the matter resumed before NDPS Special Judge VM Sundale in January, when it became clear that 66 accused had already secured immunity over the years by submitting medical certificates on being clinically drug-free. An immunity order under the NDPS Act, 1985 grants protection from prosecution to a drug addict who voluntarily seeks de-addiction treatment.



Many others are out on bail and failed to appear. The court took a strict stance after noting the absence of representation even from the police station concerned.



The original chargesheet



According to the chargesheet filed on October 5, 2008, the Azad Maidan Anti-Narcotics Cell received credible information that a trance party was scheduled at Bombay 72 Degrees, Juhu, where drugs like ecstasy, LSD, MDMA, charas, and cocaine would be consumed and sold. The then DCP Vishwas Nagare Patil led the raid, with several accused identified and arrested. This included Sameer Shah, Rajesh Talwar, Velan Brito, Rahul Karmakar, Salil Kothari, Romik Roy, and a woman named Annu, for allegedly possessing, consuming, and participating in drug-related activities at the party.



The chargesheet further states that specific quantities of narcotics were recovered from these accused  charas, LSD , and ecstasy pills  which were seized, sampled, sealed, and later confirmed positive by chemical analysis. It alleges a clear nexus between organisers, hotel management, and suppliers who facilitated the event, including bringing in a foreign DJ, Ben Hayun Shimon, for the party. Additionally, 231 partygoers were detained and medically examined, out of which 227 allegedly tested positive for drug consumption, leading to further arrests during the investigation. The chargesheet invokes offences of possession, consumption, sale, and criminal conspiracy under Sections 8(c), 20, 22, 27, and 29 of the NDPS Act, portraying the incident as an organised drug-fueled event involving multiple levels of participationfrom peddlers and organisers to consumers.



Among those present were several high-profile names, including Azhar Abdul Supariwalla (grandson of Haji Mastaan), Siddhant, son of Shakti Kapoor, Junaid shaikh, Sana Pancholi, Erica Pacquard, and Sana Nirmal Pancholi, daughter of Aditya Pancholi, along with students from a reputed city law college, a fashion stylist, and a TV artist. However, the police team failed to trace the supplier who got the drugs to Mumbai.



17 Years Later, case is reopened



Non-bailable warrants have been issued against around 180 of the 240 accused, while many others have secured immunity orders in 2010.



VOICES:



My age was misrecorded, I was 16



I am seeking bail and immunity, and I remained absent from proceedings as I was never informed about a case pending against me for nearly 18 years. I was just 16 years old, but the police recorded my age wrongly. Instead of branding us as offenders and putting our lives at risk, the senior officer should have carried out a large-scale investigation to arrest the real culprits.



We were paraded like hardened criminals



Some influential individuals managed to escape by paying hefty bribes running into lakhs. For me, it began on a Facebook group about Technodome music. But the police stormed in, and Vishwas Nagare Patil announced the raid on the mic. They even beat a few people in front of us. We were terrified  we didnt understand what was happening. We were made to sit on the floor for hours, repeatedly questioned, and subjected to intrusive checks. During the medical tests, there were no proper staff  interns kept poking me 10 to 12 times before finding a vein. We were paraded before the media like hardened criminals. Two months later, an FSL report alleged cannabis consumption. I immediately sought detoxification proof with the help of a competent lawyer and was granted immunity



Haunted by a Case That Never Ended: Artist Faces Arrest 17 Years After Youthful Ordeal



I was just 18 back then. I had gone out with friends for some harmless fun. After the raid, we were made to sit on the floor in groups, our details were taken, and the next day we were sent for blood tests before being taken to the police station. A month later, the FSL report claimed cannabis in my blood. I was shocked  I had never even smoked. My lawyer later told me everything was over, and the trial never even began. Last week, officers came with an arrest warrant. It felt like my past had come back to punish me. I have now applied for immunity



I was at my in-laws house with my two-year-old child when my mother called to say that police had come with an arrest warrant. I was 23 at the time of the raid, panicked when her mother called to inform her that the police had come with an arrest warrant. I was stunned that after so many years, they suddenly decided to issue a warrant. I wasnt an alcoholic back then, and Im not one today either. How could they claim to have found drugs in my blood, I dont know. I had to visit the court twice to cancel the warrant, leaving my child at home.




In a first for HBT Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari (East), the administration has issued an on-call roster for its Dental Casualty Department, while simultaneously cracking down, yet again, on doctors and staff who continue to avoid biometric attendance despite repeated orders.



Office Order No. HBTH/HO/10366 signed by Dental Department in-charge Dr. Pawar Prakash and countersigned by the Medical Superintendent, assigns three doctors to fixed emergency duty slots: Dr. Ranganathan (March 2125), Dr. Jyoti (March 2630), and Dr. Vaibhavi (March 31April 5).



Each doctor is listed with a contact number  marking a rare instance of direct accountability in a hospital where, until now, even basic duty rosters were opaque.



The development comes against the backdrop of earlier revelations first reported by Mumbai Mirror. On September 26, 2025, Mirror reported allegations that 6070 doctors were placed on HBTs payroll without due process. A follow-up report on January 5, 2026, suggested that a December 30 biometric directive would end the malpractice  an assumption the latest order now appears to contradict.



On the same day as the dental roster, the hospital issued a second circular in under three months mandating biometric attendance for all contractual doctors and staff. The order scraps manual registers, makes biometric logging compulsory from March 21, and links salary payments strictly to attendance records from March 22. The earlier directive had failed to ensure compliance, forcing the administration to escalate both tone and consequences.



No biometric record, no salary. Any payment made without attendance proof will be recovered, the March 20 circular states bluntly, adding, All unregistered staff must report immediately. Department heads will be held personally responsible.



Despite the probe, officials say several staff members have still not registered for biometric attendanceraising questions about deliberate non-compliance. Biometric isnt a routine reform  it disrupts an entire ecosystem of absenteeism. When people resist something this basic, its not about inconvenience  its about exposure said an official.



Investigations over the past months have pointed to a system where doctors allegedly remained on payroll without attending duties, with salaries continuing to be processed through administrative channels. In some cases, insiders claimed, intermediaries siphoned off portions of these payments.



The persistence of such irregularities has also highlighted systemic gaps. Salary approvals in municipal hospitals pass through multiple levels, making it unlikely that ghost appointments could continue for years without either widespread negligence or active complicity.



BMC has appointed a two-member inquiry committee, Dr Shailesh Mohite, Dean of BYL Nair Hospital, and senior official Mrinalini Surve, to investigate the matter. However, officials acknowledge that enforcement of attendance norms will be as critical as the findings of the probe.




The man who brought down a self-proclaimed godman was not a police officer but his own employee  a 35-year-old office assistant who risked his life to expose astrologer Ashok Kharat, now accused of sexually exploiting multiple women.



The employee, who joined Kharat in 2019 on a salary of Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000 a month, grew suspicious of his activities about 18 months ago and began keeping a close watch. After months of observing his behaviour, he allegedly installed a hidden camera inside Kharats cabin to gather evidence. According to police sources, the first red flag came from the assistants wife  now pregnant and also a complainantafter she visited Kharat. She warned her husband about his conduct and claims of special powers, but her concerns were initially dismissed. It was only after he learnt of other alleged instances of sexual exploitation that he began closely monitoring the godman.



As the baba sensed that the office assistant might expose him, he began targeting him and filed two false FIRs for extortion  one in Nashik and another in Shirdi, a source said. Fearing for his life, the whistleblower went into hiding.



Sources said the employee then tried to reach Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis through journalists and friends. After he managed to connect, he explained the case, prompting the CM to take cognisance and order a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the FIRs registered against him. During the probe, crucial CCTV footage surfaced, exposing Kharat and leading to his arrest.



Police have since recovered more than 100 video clips, believed to show different women allegedly being sexually assaulted by Kharat.



In his statement to police, the employee described how the ordeal began.



In 2023, when his wife became pregnant, he asked Kharat for permission to leave work early to care for her. Kharat allegedly told him to bring her in for blessings and said he would perform a ritual to ensure a healthy child. The visit did not take place at the time.



However, in her seventh month of pregnancy, Kharat allegedly insisted that she be brought to the office immediately, claiming a pregnant woman needed protection from evil forces and promising rituals for a smooth delivery and the birth of a son.



Trusting him, the employee brought his wife to the office. Inside the cabin, Kharat allegedly asked for their birthdates and told the husband to step out so he could perform the ritual alone. When the woman emerged some time later, she appeared visibly shaken.



That evening, she broke down and told him, Your baba is a womaniser and a fraud. She alleged that Kharat switched off the lights, touched her inappropriately under the pretext of checking the baby, asked her to lift her saree, and attempted to sexually assault her.



The employee initially found it difficult to believe her, citing Kharats reputation. However, after she swore on their unborn child, he said he realised the truth. The incident left her traumatised and depressed for nearly a month, while he resolved to monitor Kharats activities.



The employee further alleged that Kharat conducted so-called Aghori rituals under the guise of religious practices. He claimed he was made to procure wild tamarind seeds for Rs 100 per kg, polish them to resemble gemstones, and sell them to clients for Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Fake stones sourced from Nashik Road were also allegedly sold for lakhs.



The assistant told police he was asked to procure plastic film, fake cloth tigers and plastic snakes, which Kharat allegedly used during rituals at the Ishaneshwar Temple in Mirgaon to frighten devotees and extort money. Videos of high-profile visitors were allegedly recorded, and a trust named Shivanika Sansthan Mirgaon was used to route funds and launder money.



KEY FOOTAGE



The employee also claimed that CCTV cameras were installed at the temple to record devotees. Determined to expose Kharat, he secretly installed a camera inside the astrologers Nashik office cabin with the help of a friend.



After accessing the footage, he alleged that Kharat was seen giving women  some as young as his daughters age  food or water laced with intoxicants before sexually assaulting them.



Despite the risks, the employee continued working there to monitor the situation but did not approach the police due to Kharats alleged influence. When he began refusing to participate in these activities, he was allegedly fired in November 2024 and denied two months salary.



Kharat later allegedly suspected that the employee had access to incriminating videos and threatened to kill him and his family if the footage was not handed over. Fearing for his life, the employee fled and initially did not approach the police. He also alleged that a false case was filed against him.



The office assistant is now under police protection as there is a serious threat to his life, sources said. Amid mounting pressure from the Opposition, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday addressed the assembly and said a detailed statement would follow today.



We have found that he sexually assaulted several women, and the police are investigating the matter. It has also come to light that he manipulated women by making them believe he possessed special powers. We expect more women to come forward and file complaints, he said. The issue was raised by Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who demanded action against Kharat and his associates. Fadnavis assured the House that action would be taken.



The sources said the police have so far identified several victims and believe more may come forward. Some video evidence has also been shared with the Shirdi police.




More than 20 senior Iranian military and intelligence officials have been killed since the United States and Israel launched their joint offensive on February 28. The latest high-profile casualty is Ali Larijani, secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council.



Yet, despite these significant losses, Irans military command structure remains intact and operational, with Tehran continuing retaliatory strikes across West Asia.



The explanation lies in a strategy Iran has spent decades developing. As Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently indicated, Tehran has closely studied US military campaigns, designing a system capable of sustaining operations even under direct attacks on its leadership and capital. At the core of this system is what Araghchi described as a decentralised mosaic defence  a doctrine built on region-specific, semi-autonomous units that can operate independently even when cut off from central command. The aim is to create a resilient, dispersed and asymmetric force capable of fighting prolonged wars.



A decentralised military structure



At the top of Irans military hierarchy is Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the commander-in-chief with ultimate authority over the armed forces. The president and defence minister are not part of the formal chain of command, though they influence security policy through the Supreme National Security Council. The Defence Ministry largely manages the military-industrial base and arms procurement. Below this sits a structured system comprising the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with around 190,000 personnel, and the Artesh (regular army), which has roughly 420,000 active troops, along with the Law Enforcement Command.



Two key institutions ensure coordination: the Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS), which sets overall military policy, and the Khatam ol Anbia Central Headquarters, which oversees joint operations and wartime coordination. This dual structure is designed to maintain continuity even during conflict. The result is a warfighting model geared not for swift victories but for endurance  forcing adversaries into prolonged, complex engagements with no quick resolution.



How the system works



Irans military doctrine classifies threats into three categories: hard, quasi-hard and soft.



Hard threats refer to conventional military attacks. Quasi-hard threats include internal risks such as cyber operations, insurgency and unrest. Soft threats encompass socio-cultural challenges, particularly the influence of Western values.



This layered threat perception is matched by a tiered military response. The Artesh serves as the first line of defence, using its infantry and armoured units to absorb initial attacks and slow enemy advances. Air defence units rely on dispersal, concealment and deception to complicate efforts to establish air superiority.



As the conflict intensifies, the IRGC and the Basij take over. Their role is not conventional warfare but turning the conflict into a prolonged struggle. Through decentralised operations, ambushes and disruption of supply lines, they aim to stretch and exhaust the adversary across varied terrain  from cities to mountains and remote regions.



The Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, consists of roughly 450,000 personnel spread across all 31 provinces. Its localised units are granted autonomy, allowing them to adapt to specific battlefield conditions.



Irans strategy also extends beyond land warfare. Naval forces focus on disrupting movement in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz using mines, fast attack craft and missiles. Missile units provide long-range strike capability, while allied groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen expand the conflict geographically. Together, these elements prevent any quick or decisive victory by dispersing the conflict across multiple fronts, domains and timelines.



Why Iran built this system



The roots of Irans mosaic defence doctrine lie in the lessons of the 198088 Iran-Iraq War and Israels invasion of Lebanon during its civil war  conflicts that shaped Tehrans strategic thinking. These experiences pushed Iran towards asymmetric warfare, proxy forces and ballistic missiles to offset the technological superiority of its adversaries.



The Iran-Iraq War, in particular, left a lasting imprint. Sustained missile attacks on Iranian cities reinforced the importance of developing a strong missile programme. At the same time, Irans reliance on proxy forces grew out of efforts to project power and safeguard the Islamic Revolution, most notably through its support for Hezbollah.



This three-pronged strategy  missiles, militias and asymmetric tactics  was formalised in 2005 when the IRGC, under General Mohammad Jafari, introduced the mosaic defence model. It was further reinforced after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, as Iran prepared for the possibility of a prolonged regional conflict.



The doctrine led to a major reorganisation of the IRGC into 31 separate commands, each capable of operating independently and even mounting an insurgency if Iran were invaded.



Limitations



Despite its resilience, the strategy has clear limitations. Analysts note that it cannot fully protect missile and drone infrastructure from sustained airstrikes. Over time, logistics weaken, while economic and human costs accumulate. Sanctions and internal pressures further constrain Irans ability to sustain long conflicts.



The model also depends heavily on public support and internal cohesion. Growing fatigue, dissent or political divisions could undermine coordination and create competing loyalties.



While mosaic defence may prevent a rapid collapse following initial strikes, it does not guarantee strategic success. Without clear political direction, it risks prolonging conflicts without delivering decisive outcomes.



Sources: American Enterprise Institute, Al Jazeera, IranWire, The Soufan Centre




He first came to prominence during the 2011 Libyan Civil War, fighting as a foreign volunteer against the Muammar Gaddafi regime. Three years later, he founded Sons of Liberty International, a non-profit security consultancy, and went on to assist the Libyan National Army. Since 2020, he has trained and advised Ukrainian forces in their fight against Russia.



More recently, 46-year-old Matthew Aaron VanDyke turned his attention to Myanmars civil war, an involvement that has now landed him in legal trouble in India.



The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested VanDyke along with six Ukrainian nationals on charges of terror conspiracy and illegal entry into Myanmar via Mizoram, to train ethnic rebel groups. Mizoram is among the four northeastern states bordering Myanmar where foreign nationals require special permits to enter. A Delhi court has remanded the seven accused in 11-day custody.



A US Embassy spokesperson said it was aware of the case but declined to comment due to privacy considerations. The Ukraine foreign ministry said Kyiv had sought immediate release of its citizens as there were no proven facts yet to establish their involvement in illegal activities in either India or Myanmar.



Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, There are certain restricted and protected areas in India where prior permission is required. Whether they [the seven accused] were in possession of such permissions will come out in court proceedings.



VanDyke wears many hats  adventurer, filmmaker, war correspondent and security consultant  often offering his services to what he calls vulnerable groups free of charge. He has drawn global attention for embedding himself in conflict zones and aligning closely with rebel movements.



According to The Guardian, he first came into the spotlight during the 2011 uprising in Libya, where he fought alongside anti-Gaddafi rebels. During the conflict, he was captured and held for six months in Tripolis Abu Salim prison before escaping after the regimes fall.



In 2014, he founded Sons of Liberty International (SOLI), which provides military training and strategic advice to local armed groups in conflict zones worldwide.



VanDyke also describes himself as a freedom fighter. He later appeared in Syria during the Aleppo uprising, where he said he was filming a documentary on the rebel movement. However, he acknowledged advising fighters on weaponry based on his experience in Libya.



He has actively used social media and crowdfunding platforms to promote his projects, aiming to create viral content that draws global attention to conflicts such as Syria and generates support for rebel groups



VanDyke maintains that his work is driven by a belief that such conflicts are underreported, and that compelling storytelling can shape public opinion and support on the ground  even as he acknowledges the significant personal risks involved.



Is he a CIA asset?



Speculation has persisted about whether VanDyke has links to US intelligence agencies, though there is no clear evidence to support such claims. He earned a masters degree in political science from Georgetown University in 2004, where he studied under Middle East experts. He later applied to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), aspiring to become an operative, but withdrew as his views shifted amid the politics surrounding the Iraq war. According to an India Today report, many of his peers went on to join the CIA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other US government bodies and think tanks.He advanced significantly in the CIA recruitment process, completing multiple assessments, including analytical, drug, and psychological tests, and even meeting officials at the agencys headquarters in Langley. However, he did not clear the polygraph test, which yielded inconclusive results.



An NDTV report adds that Indian investigators are now examining whether VanDyke was involved in any covert operations in the countrys Northeast on behalf of foreign agencies.



Whats the NIA case?



Investigators allege VanDyke and the six Ukrainian nationals crossed from Mizoram into Myanmar, where they were training ethnic war groups. They are also suspected of transporting a large consignment of drones from Europe into India for use in Myanmar.



Myanmar descended into civil war after a military junta seized power in a 2021 coup, with pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic armed groups now controlling large parts of the country. After returning to India, the Ukrainians were arrested in Delhi and Lucknow, while VanDyke was nabbed in Kolkata.



They have been charged with conspiring to commit terrorist acts against the Indian state, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.



India has long been wary of certain Myanmar-based factions that share ethnic ties with communities in Mizoram and Manipur, amid concerns over a potential spillover of violence and unrest.However, Guwahati-based journalist and insurgency expert Rajeev Bhattacharyya, who has travelled extensively in rebel-held areas of Myanmar, offered a different perspective. He said there is no evidence that foreign nationals crossing into Myanmar from Mizoram have trained anti-India groups, noting that many such groups are seen as pro-India.



However, he added that entering Mizoram without the required restricted area permit remains a concern for the government. Mizorams chief minister had earlier claimed that thousands of Western mercenaries had passed through the state en route to Myanmar, though this assertion is difficult to verify. India has so far fenced only a small portion of its 1,643-km porous border with Myanmar, which stretches across remote forests and rugged mountainous terrain.



Meanwhile, thousands of villagers  mainly from Myanmars Chin state  have fled into India as the conflict has intensified.




A surge of additional US forces to Middle East and President Donald Trumps threat to obliterate Irans energy infrastructure have set the stage for what US and Israeli security officials increasingly see as the wars possible endgame: a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz and key energy installations. Reopening the strait  a critical conduit for global energy supplies  has emerged as perhaps the paramount objective of a war that security officials now believe is unlikely to achieve goals that briefly seemed possible at the outset of the US-Israeli military operation, including overthrowing Irans theocratic regime and putting a nuclear weapon permanently out of Tehrans reach.



Instead, breaking Irans stranglehold on the strait could enable Trump to wind down the war while claiming victory, halt an expanding global energy crisis and deprive Iran of a potent deterrent against future strikes  which senior Israeli officials described as inevitable if Tehran resumes ballistic missile production or moves to develop a nuclear weapon.



New phase of war



In Israel, Trumps online threats have raised expectations that a new phase of the war could soon get underway with the arrival of additional US firepower. In a sign of rising global anxiety over political and economic instability, stock markets in Asia fell sharply on Monday, with Japans Nikkei closing down 3.5 per cent and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index finishing 6.5 per cent lower.



A contingent of 4,500 US sailors and Marines is heading to the Middle East, including an infantry battalion landing team backed by helicopters, F-35 fighter jets and armoured landing vehicles. Those Marines arent coming for decoration, said an Israeli official, one of several who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military and intelligence issues. An Iranian military spokesman on Sunday said that Iran would retaliate for attacks on its oil and gas assets by hitting US-linked energy targets, information technology and water desalination infrastructure in the Persian Gulf region.



Tehran also hammered Israel overnight Sunday with one of its most powerful airstrikes yet  two ballistic missiles that made rare direct hits on two southern Israeli towns, injuring about 115 people. One of the towns, Dimona, is about eight miles from a nuclear research facility. Iranian state television framed the strike as payback for a reported attack Saturday on Irans Natanz nuclear site. (Israels military said it was not aware of a strike on the facility.) The new US deployment signals a plan to take the island and the strait, the Israeli official said, referring to Kharg Island, Irans main hub for exporting petroleum. Doing so could enable the United States and Israel to starve Tehran of oil revenue and provide a political off-ramp for a president who, the Israeli official said, needs to show that the strait is open.



Political unease



If Iran doesnt FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST! he posted on the Truth Social platform.



At the same time, Trumps unusual decision to lift oil sanctions on Iran, potentially giving his enemy access to a windfall of revenue, has prompted a handful of Republicans to raise concerns about the wars direction and merit. Sen. Rand Paul (Kentucky) has voted to take up two war powers resolutions that would force Trump to cease hostilities with Iran, but both have failed on procedural votes. Sen Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) said sending in ground troops would take the war to a completely different level than what had been advertised to us.



Congress deserves and should demand greater engagement with the administration on the plans, Murkowski told reporters Sunday. We havent received that to date.



Other Republicans have encouraged Trump to go forward. Sen Lindsey Graham (SC) urged seizing Kharg Island and tightening pressure on Tehran.



A risky military ops



Any effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz would overwhelmingly fall to the United States because of its naval capabilities. Adm. Brad Cooper, leading the war effort, previously commanded the US Navys 5th Fleet in the region. Restoring commercial traffic could take weeks and expose US forces to mines, drones and attacks from concealed coastal positions. Maintaining safe passage would require prolonged escort missions and constant surveillance, and even a single successful strike could trigger panic in energy markets.



At the site of a missile strike in Arad, an Israel Defence Forces sergeant said the war is frustrating because its quiet and then its not.



Resident David Azran said a missile struck just metres from his home. They cannot beat us. We build it again stronger and nicer, he said, standing in the rubble. For Israel, the outcome carries long-term consequences. Officials expect the need for follow-on strikes against Iran even after the current conflict ends. If Iran loses its ability to threaten Hormuz, Israel would face fewer constraints in targeting any revival of Tehrans missile or nuclear programmes. But if Iran can block Hormuz, they have a deterrence tool, said Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli military intelligence chief.



Chason reported from Abu Dhabi, and Levine from Dimona. Theodoric Meyer in Washington contributed to this report.




Its an understandable instinct to do something  anything  to protect the young from dangers lurking online. Yet the government will never protect children better than their parents can.



Indonesia is set to become the second country to outright ban children under 16 from using major social media platforms. Australia imposed similar restrictions last year, and laws banning social media for kids are advancing across Europe.



Parts of the US have joined the trend. Virginia wants to limit children under 16 to one hour a day on social media, and Florida requires certain platforms to verify user ages. The future of both laws will be decided by federal courts.



The biggest problem with social media bans for kids is that they dont work. The Australian experiment is now three months old, and the early results arent encouraging. Kids have figured out how to download their old apps, setting up new accounts using fake ages and an adult-looking face.



By inevitably being so easy to circumvent, bans encourage lawbreaking. If kids know something is illegal but everyone does it anyway, they can develop an unhealthy disregard for other sensible but unpopular statutes.



Everyone intuitively understands that too much time online is not healthy for kids. Anecdotally, social media use has been associated with depression, body negativity, bullying and self-harm. But children mature at different rates. One 14-year-old might be well-prepared to deal with harmful content online, or know how to turn it off, while another might be more susceptible.



Social media can also be beneficial. It allows kids to form and join communities of their peers with similar interests. This is especially true for those who live in remote areas or feel isolated in general.



Using social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful to young people, the American Psychological Association concluded in 2023. Its report said the effect on children largely depends on pre-existing strengths or vulnerabilities, and the contexts in which they grow up.



The various bans risk becoming obsolete even before they are enacted because of the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence being embedded into search engines. AI comes with different, and potentially even more harmful, risks to kids. Rather than block access, the better approach is to teach them how to use tools properly.



Social platforms continue to improve parental controls, content filters and time limits. Schools can improve digital literacy. Ultimately, though, moms and dads will always know their children better than bureaucrats. The Washington Post




Wilseyville, CA  A major project planned for construction in the Wilseyville area of Calaveras County is one of three in California to receive a combined $61-million in funding from the USDA Timber Production and Expansion Guaranteed Loan program.

The Blue Mountain Electric Company, LLC, plans to build and operate a 3-megawatt gasification plant in Wilseyville to convert forestry biomass waste into synthetic natural gas through thermochemical processing. USDA awarded $25 million in financing for the estimated $42.2 million project, with USDAs investment going toward plant construction and working capital for operating expenses.

Another California entity receiving loan dollars is Alpenglow Timber, LLC ($18.5 million), to establish a new sawmill in Nevada County. It will fund facility construction and equipment to expand timber production in an area of high need.

In addition, a $17.5 million loan is going to Sierra Products Holdings, Inc. (which owns a mill in Terra Bella, California) to modernize and improve its operational efficiency, and increase timber processing capacity. Sierra Forest Products has contracts with the US Forest Service to cut and remove timber from high-priority areas and supports cleanup and recovery following wildfires.

The value of National Forest Systems lands is demonstrated by providing various forest products, such as timber, lumber, paper, bioenergy, and other wood products, said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. The American forest products industry is critical to maintaining the health of the nations forests. The Timber Production and Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program is one of many ways the Forest Service partners with the timber industry to maintain rural jobs, processing facilities, and an outlet for wood that needs to be removed from national forests.

Bryan Anguiano, the California State Director for Rural Development with the USDA, adds, After years of severe wildfire impacts across the Golden State, California is grateful to receive the largest TPEP investment in the nation. This funding reflects the Trump Administrations commitment to protecting our state from wildfire risks, while strengthening domestic timber industries that create jobs and keep our forests clean.

$115 million in TPEP loans were approved across eight states.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke yesterday on the Senate floor.

Schumer was Tuesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words:

This morning, Tom Homan from the Department of Homeland Security said ICE agents have arrived at 14 airportsNew York, Chicago, Atlanta, Pittsburg, elsewhere.

Everywhere ICE goes, trouble follows, weve seen that, and it is highly likely that airports will be no exception. No one trusts that ICE is going to make things better. Patrolling airports is not in ICEs job description. Its certainly not what they are trained to do.

And lets be clear: ICE agents performing the work of TSA officers is not going to make our airports any safer. It is going to make them less safe because ICE agents arent trained in airport security. These agents arent familiar with the layout of the airports theyre walking into. They dont know the protocols or procedures in the same way TSA workers do.

Its a simple solution, Donald Trumppay the TSA workers so you dont have to bring ICE agents in there.

ICE agents are going to miss things, and thats assuming they just focus on security. What if they do what theyve done in other cities and start harassing travelers, asking to check papers, check their citizenship, detain them without due process, even if they are American citizensjust as weve seen them do for months now? And I wouldnt be surprised if Donald Trump and Stephen Miller would encourage them to do just that at the airport.

And in any case, ICEs mere presence is going to inflame the situation at these airports where tensions are already sky high.

Every time a traveler walks to their gate, or stands in line at security, and sees an ICE agent lurking about, they are going to be reminded of Donald Trumps chaos. Theyre going to be reminded of Minneapolis. And theyre going to think the chaos is now coming to my city too.

So Donald Trump: the more you keep ICE agents at our airports, the more you will be reminding people of how much chaos and fear ICE has already caused. It is a terrible idea that could backfire on the country and on Donald Trump.

Instead of trying to replace TSA workers with ICE agents, Donald Trump should pay TSA workers and get Republicans to come to a deal before the chaos gets worse.

Let me repeat that because its so simple: instead of trying to replace TSA workers with ICE agents, Donald Trump should simply pay TSA workers and get Republicans to come to a deal before the chaos gets even worse.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
OAKHURST, CA  A man is behind bars following a disturbing investigation that uncovered thousands of illicit files and a hidden camera scheme targeting unsuspecting vacationers.

On March 19, 2026, Madera County Sheriffs detectives, in coordination with the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, executed a search warrant at a residence located at 50730 Granite Butte Way.

The operation was triggered by a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) originating from the area.

During the search, investigators seized all electronic devices on the premises. A preliminary forensic examination revealed more than 4,000 digital files containing CSAM.

There was also evidence suggesting the suspect was recording guests in private moments without their consent.

Detectives identified the homeowner, 44-year-old Christian Parmalee Edwards, as the primary suspect. Authorities allege that Edwards utilized his Oakhurst home as a short-term vacation rental, using the platform to surreptitiously film his guests.

Edwards was arrested and booked into the Madera County Jail. He currently faces multiple felony charges related to the possession and distribution of CSAM. Additional charges, including invasion of privacy, are pending as detectives continue to comb through the seized electronic data.

The investigation is ongoing as we work to identify every victim impacted by these invasive and illegal actions, the Sheriffs Office stated.

Potential victims are urged to come forward.

The Madera County Sheriffs Office has released a photo of the property to alert anyone who may have rented the home recently. If you stayed at the residence on Granite Butte Way and believe you may have been a victim, or if you have information regarding the case, contact authorities:

Detective Eder Andrade: (559) 517-7997

Madera County Sheriffs Office: (559) 675-7770
The Ford Kenya party, led by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, has firmly rejected calls for it to dissolve and merge with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), warning that such demands threaten Kenyas multiparty democracy.

In a statement released on Monday, March 23, Ford Kenya Secretary General John Chikati dismissed the proposal and accused some UDA leaders of pushing an agenda aimed at collapsing smaller affiliate parties within the Kenya Kwanza Alliance ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Chikati singled out remarks by Nandi senator Samson Cherargei, who recently warned smaller coalition partners to dissolve and fold into UDA.

RELATED  Cherargei Warns Kenya Kwanza Parties: Refuse UDA Merger, Lose Cabinet and Parliamentary Roles

According to Chikati, such statements undermine the spirit of coalition politics that helped bring the current administration to power.

The FORD Kenya Party has noted with deep concern the consistent and sustained threats issued by senior leaders within UDA. These utterances, demanding that affiliate parties within the Kenya Kwanza administration should fold up and join UDA ahead of the 2027 General Elections, are not only outrageous but a direct affront to the democratic fabric of our nation, read part of the statement.

FORD Kenya cannot and will not be dissolved. It can only be enhanced and protected for future generations, it added.

Ford Kenya Defends Role in 2022 Victory

Chikati said the narrative that smaller coalition partners should now fold into the UDA ignores the reality of how the ruling alliance won power during the 2022 Kenyan General Election.

He argued that Ford Kenya and other affiliate parties played a decisive role in securing the coalitions electoral victory and accused some leaders within the ruling party of behaving as though they could have achieved that win alone.

This narrative is a blatant dismissal of reality. Ford Kenya, alongside other affiliate parties, played a vital and decisive role in securing the current administrations mandate, he said.

Chikati compared the push to dissolve affiliate parties to biting the finger that once fed you, claiming that some leaders appear to treat coalition partners as disposable political tools.

Warning Against Return to One-Party Dominance

Ford Kenya also warned that forcing smaller parties to merge into a single dominant party risks undoing decades of political progress since Kenya embraced multiparty democracy in the early 1990s.

According to Chikati, dismantling the multiparty system would require constitutional steps and could even demand a national referendum.

The calls for a single-party monolith are a regressive attempt to return Kenyans to the dark days of political stifling. Multipartyism allows citizens to participate in governance through diverse ideologies, Chikati said.

Coalition Tensions Surface

The party further pointed to what it described as contradictions within the ruling coalition. While some leaders advocate dissolving smaller parties, others are reportedly building new political alliances with opposition figures.

Ford Kenya also referenced the fallout following the dissolution of parties such as the Amani National Congress (ANC) into UDA, arguing that such mergers have left many members feeling politically displaced.

According to the party, several politicians now find themselves without a clear political home, a situation that has triggered defections and internal instability.

Forced mergers do not create unity; they create resentment and instability, Chikati said.

Party Vows to Protect Its Identity

Ford Kenya insisted that its leadership holds the party in trust for the Kenyan people and therefore lacks the moral or legal authority to dissolve it. The party also warned that allowing ruling elites to absorb smaller parties at will could destabilize Kenyas political future.

If we establish a precedent where parties are swallowed at the whim of the ruling elite, we jeopardise the stability of our nation, the statement read.

Despite the tensions, Ford Kenya reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the government led by President William Ruto. However, the party urged coalition leaders to focus on delivering development and fulfilling campaign promises instead of pushing premature political realignments ahead of the next election cycle.

Governance should be based on merit and pre-election agreements, not political blackmail, Chikati said, adding that the party remains steadfast in defending its identity and constitutional rights.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki struck back at his predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua, after Gachagua issued a 10-day ultimatum to the government regarding the surge of insecurity in Meru North. Gachagua had criticized Kindiki for failing to stop cattle rustling in the area, warning that he would mobilize Meru residents to defend themselves if the state did not deploy security forces along the Isiolo and Samburu borders.

Kindiki responded with a sharp social media post, dismissing the warning and accusing Gachagua of incitement. He questioned Gachaguas own record, claiming the former deputy president failed to provide enough support to these communities during his own time in office.

The deputy president defended the current administrations strategy against banditry by highlighting his past work as interior cabinet secretary. He noted that he personally managed security operations on the ground throughout 2023 and 2024 to dismantle criminal groups.

When I assumed office as Interior Minister, I spent months in that region and the neighbouring counties, sleeping in bush camps and coordinating security formations to crush bandit networks, Kindiki wrote.

Kindiki claims those operations effectively halted banditry in Meru North at the time. He noted that the region has struggled with these issues for over a decade, arguing that the situation worsened while Gachaguas current political partners oversaw national security.

The deputy president also called out Gachagua for failing to provide any real support during his tenure, pointing out that his predecessor never visited Meru North to stand with the residents as he is doing now. Kindiki acknowledged that bandit attacks have spiked over the last two weeks, causing both deaths and the theft of livestock.

The government will crush the criminals, like we did in 2023 and 2024. To your shock and dismay, we will succeed, Kindiki told Gachagua.

He further challenged the former deputy president to name a single initiative or development project he successfully championed for the country while in office.

Are you aware that you cannot pinpoint one single development project you fought for its implementation anywhere in the Republic of Kenya while you were in office? Kindiki asked.

Kindiki also brushed off the derogatory nicknames Gachagua used for him and President William Ruto, insisting the public would not be swayed by such talk.

You can rant all you like about Kasongo this and Soprano that, but your hateful rhetoric and useless threats wont sell, Kindiki said. Lets compete on who has pushed the peoples agenda and well-being more, and I will show you dust any day, anywhere in this country.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) moved to drop charges against three Nairobi Hospital directors previously accused of failing to file financial records with the Registrar of Companies.

Prosecution counsel Nora Otieno informed the court that the DPPs office wants to pull all charges against the accused under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code while they take another look at the case.

We have made a request to review the charges further, the prosecution submitted, adding that the application was aimed at allowing the DPP to re-evaluate the matter.

The case targeted Barclay Mogere Onyambu, Magdalene Koki Muthoka, and John Nyiro Mwero. The trio served as directors for the Kenya Hospital Association Limited, the entity that manages Nairobi Hospital.

Authorities originally claimed the directors violated the Companies Act by neglecting to submit the organizations annual financial statements over several years.

In the first count, the prosecution charged all three individuals with missing the December 31, 2024, deadline to submit their 2024 financial statements. Muthoka faced two extra counts for allegedly failing to file records for 2022 and 2023.

Defense lawyers, however, pushed back hard against the request to withdraw the charges.

Senior Counsel James Orengo criticized the prosecutions handling of the case. He pointed out to the court that the legal teams had waited since morning and deserved earlier notice if the state did not intend to proceed.

Yes, you can withdraw, but not under Section 87(a). The accused should not have charges hanging over their heads, Orengo argued, urging the court to instead terminate the case in a manner that would bar future prosecution on the same facts.

Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama also challenged the move, asserting that the suspects held a legal right to a formal court appearance.

The accused persons have a right to be brought to court. The suspects outside in the parking lot have a right to be produced in court, he said.

Kanjama further took the prosecution to task for dropping the charges without providing a clear reason. He pressed the court to release the suspects under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code instead.

The court will now decide how to proceed with the prosecutions request.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has stood by his plan to restore the Nairobi River, declaring that the county will press on with clearing waterways and reclaiming riparian land, even in the face of pushback.

Sakaja called on those living on riverbanks to move out voluntarily to make room for environmental cleanup and new infrastructure.

Even if it is a problem of 130 years, we shall address it. We must make tough decisions, he stated.

He also shared details about a new, modern market in Gikomba, which he said will support local businesses while lowering the risk of flooding.

We have lost so many people and property, but we shall never go there again. We are saving a generation, he said.

This push comes at a critical time, as Nairobi is currently grappling with a severe flooding crisis that has already claimed over 70 lives this month.

Tensions are particularly high in Gikomba, where traders recently protested a new government directive expanding the no-build riparian zone from 30 to 50 meters. Adding to the urgency, the Water Resources Authority recently warned that the Nairobi Dam is full to the brim, posing an immediate threat to those living downstream.

The governor reiterated the critical risk at Nairobi Dam, noting that the Water Resources Authority (WRA) reports the reservoir is full to the brim. He warned that a breach could cause a catastrophe and urged nearby residents to evacuate at once.

This is not a time for politics. Those inciting people must understand that saving lives comes first, Sakaja said. He added that the county is investing in drainage and sewer upgrades designed to last 50 years.

However, he insisted on taking immediate action, including forced relocations if necessary, to keep people safe.

For those living along riverways, please move. If need be, they will be moved, he warned.

The governor also justified the ongoing evictions and river cleanup by pointing to over a century of historical warnings about Nairobis flood risks. Speaking at a Pefa church service in Gikomba on Sunday, March 22, 2026, he argued that leadership requires tackling both todays crises and deep-seated structural flaws.

Sakaja linked Nairobis current struggles back to the early 1900s, noting that colonial officials originally worried about building on a swampy floodplain. He cited a 1906 letter from Sir James Sadler to Winston Churchill that questioned whether Nairobi should even be the capital. He also mentioned later warnings from Sir Charles Eliot and Dr. Macdonald regarding the citys permanent flood hazards.

Additionally, he pointed out that the 1928 Nairobi master plan had identified the Mathare, Ngong, and Nairobi rivers as critical areas requiring buffer zones, though the government failed to apply these rules fairly.

The less privileged were left in low-lying areas while the elite occupied higher grounds like Karen, Muthaiga, and Lavington, Sakaja said, adding that the current administration is determined to correct what he described as a 130-year problem.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has concluded that former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju faked his own abduction  and wasted a significant amount of state resources in the process.

DCI Director Amin Mohamed made the explosive declaration at a press briefing on Monday, March 23, 2026, announcing that forensic evidence and intelligence placed Tuju inside his Karen home throughout the entire period he was supposedly missing.

Based on solid intelligence and meticulous forensic analysis, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations concludes, without an iota of doubt, that Honourable Raphael Tuju was physically present within his residence throughout the period in question, Mohamed told journalists.

The Timeline Doesnt Add Up, Says DCI

Investigators say the sequence of events provided by Tuju and his associates simply does not hold up against the evidence. According to Mohamed, surveillance, forensic tracking, and corroborated intelligence all pointed to the same conclusion  Tuju never left his residence during the alleged abduction window.

He was at his current residence on the 21st of March 2026, even at the precise time he was allegedly missing, Mohamed stated.

The DCI boss added that Tujus decision to resurface only came after it became clear that investigators were closing in on the truth.

When confronted with the reality that police were closing in on the truth and that his deception could no longer be sustained, Mr. Tuju chose to resurface, Mohamed said, adding that the reappearance confirmed what authorities had already suspected  that this was a carefully staged disappearance rather than a genuine case of abduction.

State Resources Wasted on a Charade, Says DCI

Beyond the personal drama, the DCI is treating this as a serious abuse of public institutions. Mohamed condemned the incident not merely as a false report but as a deliberate manipulation campaign.

The National Police Service views this conduct not merely as an isolated act of falsehood, but as a deliberate attempt to mislead the Kenyan public, misdirect law enforcement resources, and undermine confidence in the institutions tasked with protecting our citizens, he said.

Specialized personnel, round-the-clock surveillance teams, and advanced forensic analysts were all deployed to investigate a disappearance that authorities now believe never happened. Mohamed suggested that the staging may have been driven by a desire for political sympathy or an attempt to shape the narrative around Tujus ongoing legal battles.

This deliberate conduct appears to be intended to generate unwarranted sympathy and to undermine the integrity of both the National Police Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, he added.

Tuju Tells a Different Story

Shortly after resurfacing, Tuju addressed the media and flatly denied that the incident was a stunt. He said he had spotted a white Toyota Land Cruiser with no number plates trailing him and made the decision to go into hiding for his own safety, citing a deep mistrust of the police.

His vehicle was discovered abandoned on Miotoni Lane on Sunday morning with the hazard lights still on  a scene that prompted political allies, including Governor James Orengo, to raise alarm about a possible kidnapping.

Tujus legal team, led by Kalonzo Musyoka, is standing firmly behind their client. They maintain that the former CS was genuinely terrified of what they describe as an abduction squad and argue that the DCIs aggressive stance amounts to state-sponsored harassment connected to his ongoing land dispute.

Arrest and Health Scare at Karen Police Station

Authorities arrested Tuju at the Karen Police Station just hours after he came forward. He now faces potential charges of providing false information to a public officer and causing public alarm  offences the DCI links directly to the misuse of critical law enforcement resources.

The arrest did not go smoothly. Tujus lawyer, Ndegwa Njiru, alleged that officers handled the former CS forcefully, pushing him into a vehicle in a manner that aggravated a pre-existing back injury. Tuju subsequently experienced severe pain during processing, prompting doctors to be called to the station.

Kalonzo Musyoka and other leaders rushed to Karen Police Station, where they reportedly resisted attempts by detectives to move Tuju to an undisclosed location before he could officially record his statement in the Occurrence Book.

Property Dispute Looms Large in the Background

Investigators are also exploring whether the alleged abduction was a calculated move to stall legal proceedings in a KSh 3.5 billion property dispute involving the Dari Business Park and the East African Development Bank (EADB).

Police have been occupying Tujus business premises for over a week as part of that ongoing case, and authorities suspect the staged disappearance may have been intended to divert attention or buy time in that battle.
Safaricom has called on the High Court to reject an application to freeze the governments planned sale of its shares in the telco. The company argues that the transaction follows the law and remains under strict regulatory watch, making temporary court orders unnecessary.

Represented by its legal team, the firm warned that pausing the sale now would rattle the market and damage investor confidence. Safaricom maintains that the situation is a commercial matter already being reviewed by the proper authorities.

The company also pointed out that Parliament must still fulfill its constitutional role, as the National Assembly  currently on recess  has yet to give its final approval. Safaricom further assured the court that the public has already been consulted and that the deal will not lead to any job losses.

Lawyer Andrew Musangi argued that the process requires several regulatory approvals beyond just Parliament. He also dismissed claims that the deal would endanger data security.

He told the court that the potential investors are legitimate stakeholders rather than guests and pointed out that no evidence has been provided to show any real threat.

How do they suddenly come under threat now? You have not been told where the threats are from, Musangi argued.

Safaricom also dismissed concerns that the sale would damage its local identity, maintaining that it remains a Kenyan company at its core.

The firms lawyers warned the court against issuing orders that might effectively decide the case too early. They urged the judge to allow the petitioners to present their full evidence during the main hearing instead. Additionally, they argued that the petitioners failed to provide enough proof to justify a freeze on the sale, calling the application an attempt to trick the court into stopping the deal without facts.

The attorney general also opposed the request, clarifying that the sale has not yet started and remains in its earliest stages.

On the other hand, petitioners represented by senior counsel Kalonzo Musyoka and lawyer Lempaa Suyiaka asked the court to maintain the current situation. They warned that moving forward with the deal would make their legal challenge pointless and result in the loss of what they call sovereign assets.

We are asking for the court to give out conservatory orders to stop the government from selling the safaricom sell shares, they submitted.
By Eldaniz Gusseinov and Rassul Kospanov

Pakistan's declaration of open war on Afghanistan in late February 2026, following sustained airstrikes on Kabul, Kandahar, and Bagram airbase under Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, has effectively closed the principal corridor through which Afghan trade reached the sea. While attention has been concentrated to the immediate military dimension, a structurally more consequential process is unfolding in parallel: a reorientation of Afghanistans external economic links away from Pakistan and toward Central Asia. This shift was already underway, driven by periodic border disruptions, trade friction, and the steady maturation of northern infrastructure, but the war has compressed its timeline considerably. Three concurrent developments: the collapse of Pakistan-Afghanistan commerce, the ratification of a preferential trade agreement between Uzbekistan and Kabul, and the near-completion of the CASA-1000 power transmission project, suggest that Afghanistan's economic geography is quickly being redrawn.

Image Credit: View of the old city of Kabul, Afghanistan, first uploaded on Wikipedia Commons [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User: Casimiri]

BACKGROUND:

Afghanistans economic dependence on Pakistan long predated the current escalation. The Torkham and Chaman crossings served as the countrys principal gateways to Karachi and Gwadar, providing access to maritime trade routes that Central Asian landlocked corridors could not replicate. Yet the relationship was structurally vulnerable. Kabuls refusal to formally recognize the Durand Line as an international border underpinned recurring post2001 border closures and trade disruptions, and the Talibans return to power in August 2021 added a new layer of friction as Islamabads demands that Kabul curb TTP sanctuaries went largely unmet. By 2024, divergence was increasingly visible: Pakistan substituted Afghan coal for seaborne coal imports and other suppliers while Afghan exporters faced tightening customs and transit restrictions. Bilateral commerce between Pakistan and Afghanistan contracted from approximately USD 2.46 billion in 2024 to USD 1.77 billion in 2025. At the same time, Afghanistans trade with Central Asian countries increased significantly, rising by 77 percent. The main driver of this growth was trade between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, which expanded by 53 percent, reaching approximately US$ 1.6 billion.

The February 2026 escalation removed whatever residual reliability the southern corridor retained. Pakistani airstrikes under Operation Ghazab Lil Haq targeted Taliban military infrastructure across multiple provinces, a full trade suspension was imposed, and buffer-zone operations along the Durand Line added a physical barrier to the political and commercial obstacles already in place. For Afghan business networks and logistics operators, the southern route shifted from periodically unreliable to operationally closed.

Uzbekistans Hairatan border crossing on the Amu Darya handled approximately 76 percent of Afghanistans northern freight transit before the current escalation, channeling goods toward Russia, China, and the Caspian. Afghanistans dependence on Central Asian electricity suppliers, principally Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, which together provide 80-85 percent of the country's power imports, had established dense operational relationships at the border long before formal trade policy followed. Total transit volumes through Afghanistan reached 5 million tons in 2024, demonstrating that the trans-Afghan corridor had become integral to Central Asian commerce with South Asia. The Central Asian factor in Afghanistans economy was already structural; yet the war changed its relative weight.

IMPLICATIONS:

The most immediate institutional development is the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan Preferential Trade Agreement, signed at the Tashkent International Investment Forum on June 10, 2025, and ratified by President Mirziyoyev in March 2026. The agreement eliminates customs tariffs on 14 categories of goods, prioritizing Afghan agricultural exports, streamlines phytosanitary certification for Afghan farm produce, and formalizes 24-hour operations at the Hairatan-Termez border crossing to accommodate increased volumes. Tashkents stated ambition is to raise bilateral trade from roughly US$ 1.6 billion toward US$ 5 billion within five years. It is significant not merely as a commercial target but as a political signal. By institutionalizing preferences and creating a structured long-term framework, Uzbekistan has moved well beyond the ad hoc transactional engagement that characterized the immediate post-2021 period.

The CASA-1000 project, which will add approximately 300 megawatts to Afghanistans power supply via a transmission line from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, has reached an advanced stage of completion on the Afghan segment, with commissioning targeted for 2027. Uzbekistan has separately committed US$ 1.15 billion in deals for gas-fired generation and transmission infrastructure within Afghanistan, while a 25-year contract for development of the Toti-Maidan gas field deepens the bilateral energy relationship further. In parallel, following the KazakhstanAfghanistan business forum held in Shymkent, Astana announced plans to begin geological exploration in Afghanistans Laghman province. As part of this initiative, the Kazakh companies Kazatomprom and Kazakhmys conducted two geological missions to assess the potential development of beryllium and lead deposits.

These linkages carry strategic weight beyond their technical specifications: a country that depends on Central Asia for the electricity powering its cities and industries has strong incentives to sustain institutional connectivity with the region, irrespective of the diplomatic nuances in its relations with individual Central Asian capitals.

The Trans-Afghan Railway, whose feasibility framework was signed in July 2025, constitutes the third pillar of this emerging architecture. The corridor, linking Uzbekistan through Mazar-i-Sharif toward South Asian ports, had historically been conceived as a north-south bridge serving Central Asian exporters seeking sea access through Afghanistan.

Kazakhstan does not oppose Uzbekistans project but is promoting an alternative corridor through western Afghanistan. The route TurgundiHeratKandaharSpin Boldak is considered technically simpler due to its largely flat terrain, compared to the Uzbek route that passes through the high-altitude Salang Pass. Kazakhstan plans to invest around US$ 500 million, including the construction of railway segments and the creation of a logistics hub in Herat, which is expected to become a key dry port for Kazakh cargo.

If realized, this project would represent the first attempt since the nineteenth century to build a railway corridor in this direction. In 1879, British authorities considered constructing a railway to Kandahar. It was never implemented due to resistance from local tribal elites and the ongoing Anglo-Afghan War. After the Russian Empire captured the Panjdeh area north of Herat in 1885, Russian officials explored but never realized the possibility of extending the Trans-Caspian Railway from Krasnovodsk (now Turkmenbashi) through Merv to Herat. Kazakhstan is now demonstrating political boldness by advancing an ambitious initiative seeking to accomplish what the great empires of the past ultimately failed to achieve.

While the Pakistani military campaign has not eliminated the long-term logic of that corridor, it has introduced a medium-term disruption that reinforces Afghanistans own interest in northern connectivity, not merely as a transit function enabling others.

The structural dynamic underlying all three of these processes is that Central Asian states, particularly Uzbekistan, have pursued a consistently pragmatic engagement with the Taliban since 2021. Tashkent, Astana, and Ashgabat have avoided formal recognition while building dense working relationships on trade, border management, energy supply, and security coordination. For the Taliban, whose options have narrowed sharply as a result of the Pakistan conflict, this transactional model is comparatively attractive. Central Asian partners do not demand regime change or condition economic engagement on governance reforms and are geographically indispensable for the countrys energy supply. Tashkent and Kabul are not natural allies but increasingly unavoidable partners.

The risks in this trajectory lie in its structural fragility. Afghanistans trade deficit reached approximately US$ 9.4 billion in 2024, its export base remains concentrated in agricultural goods and coal, and its settlement infrastructure relies heavily on informal hawala transfers rather than banking channels. Northern trade growth has been accompanied by a persistent imbalance: Central Asian exports to Afghanistan are growing in volume while narrowing in variety, concentrated in flour, fuel, and electricity, with volatility coefficients suggesting that these supply chains remain sensitive to disruption. A durable transformation will require not merely preferential tariff access but energy and industrial investment capable of shifting Afghanistan from a consumer of basic goods to a contributor of productive capacity. For Central Asian states, this is not merely an altruistic objective: without a functional industrial base in Afghanistan, Central Asian exporters will face continued concentration risk in a market that is simultaneously growing and fragile.

CONCLUSIONS:

The Pakistan-Afghanistan war has accelerated Afghanistans northward economic pivot. By severing the southern corridor at precisely the moment that Central Asian infrastructure like CASA-1000, the Hairatan-Termez corridor, and the Trans-Afghan Railway framework are reaching operational maturity, the conflict has compressed a decade-long structural transition into a period of months. Uzbekistan has moved most aggressively to institutionalize this realignment through the Preferential Trade Agreement and its energy investment commitments, but the broader dynamic reflects a regional logic that extends to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan: Central Asian states require a stable Afghanistan as a transit corridor and buffer against militant spillover, while Afghanistan requires Central Asian energy, markets, and institutional connectivity as substitutes for a now-hostile southern partner. Whether this convergence of interests consolidates into durable integration will depend on whether both sides can address structural fragilities such as payment infrastructure, export diversification, and logistics gaps, which continue to constrain the corridors full potential. The war has resolved an ambiguity in Afghanistans foreign economic orientation; the harder task of building a resilient northern integration architecture now begins.

AUTHORS BIO:

Eldaniz Gusseinov is Head of Research and o-founder at the political foresight agency Nightingale Int. and a non-resident research fellow at Haydar Aliyev Center for Eurasian Studies of the Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul. Rassul Kospanov is a Senior Researcher at the National Analytical Center under Nazarbayev University, where he coordinates socio-political research projects and prepares analytical reports and policy recommendations for central and local government bodies. His work focuses on political processes in Kazakhstan and across Central Asia, as well as issues of regional cooperation.
By Laura Thornton

Armenians head to the polls on June 7 to elect all 101 members of parliament at a time of critical regional and geopolitical consequences. Following the 2018 Velvet Revolution and Nagorno-Karabakh war, the country has embarked on a new path of democratic reform and foreign policy alignments. Previously dependent on Russia for security guarantees and economic stability, the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is now forging new ties with the European Union (EU) and United States, while redefining the countrys relationship with both Azerbaijan and Turkey. The election presents a choice beyond minor policy options but a vision for the countrys governance and geopolitical alignment. Given the stakes, both domestic and foreign actors have intensified their tactics, manipulating existing vulnerabilities, and present serious threats to the election process.

BACKGROUND:

The election is taking place at a historic pivot point for Armenias positioning in the region and beyond. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia has tied to Russia militarily, economically, and ideologically. Armenia has been part of the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russian initiative to ensure economic integration, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led security alliance. Russia has been Armenias largest supplier of military aid and key trading partner. Russia also owns key infrastructure in Armenia, including railways and telecommunications. However, Russias failure to defend Armenia during the 2020 and 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts damaged ties between the two states, with Yerevan suspending its participation in the CSTO and demanding the removal of Russian border troops.

While turning away from Russia, the government has pursued European Union (EU) accession and signed a framework to implement the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), which aims to establish a transit route in the south Caucasus. Further, regional calculations have dramatically changed, paving the way for a redefined relationship with both Azerbaijan and Turkey, with a peace agreement being formed with the former and new border and trade discussions with the latter.

Two main opposition blocs, which are closely tied to Russia, are challenging the ruling Civil Contract party of Pashinyan. The ruling party is running on peace, which it defines as continuing the negotiations with Azerbaijan and building closer ties with the EU and U.S. The opposition blocs oppose the governments peace agreement, accuse the government of being under Azerbaijani and Turkish control, and say EU goals are unrealistic.

While the political contest does not fall along neat pro-West vs. pro-Russian divides as in some frontline democracies, and none of the viable parties embraces a full break from Russia (mindful that the plurality of Armenians believe Russia is the countrys most important political partner), the parties do differ significantly on the nature of the relationship. The Kremlin has taken note and activated its hybrid warfare playbook, employed in Georgia, Moldova, and other democracies, to defeat the ruling party.

The political landscape is also shaped by a fierce conflict between the government and Church leaders. Church leaders  headed by Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians  accuse the Pashinyan government of losing the war in Nagorno-Karabakh and have called for the Prime Ministers resignation. In turn, the government has prosecuted several bishops on charges ranging from calling for a coup to drug charges, prosecutions which many independent groups believe lack strong evidence. Opposition parties have seized on this issue, criticizing the government and defending the Church.

IMPLICATIONS:

Given the partisan divergence on the countrys foreign policy orientation, the geopolitical stakes in the election are high, activating malign actors. The Kremlin sees clearly the threat of the ruling Civil Contract, which has pledged more decoupling from Russia and greater alignment with Europe and the U.S. While recently on a pre-election assessment mission to Yerevan, government officials, civil society representatives, diplomats, and observers described Russias hybrid warfare in the country as unprecedented. There was also widespread agreement that the country was not adequately prepared for the threat, made worse by the elimination of USAID and its support in bolstering the countrys defenses.

Information is central to the Kremlins strategy. Russia dominates the airwaves, with Russian channels freely broadcast on national television, and social media, where there are few regulations. Narratives focus on Armenias need for Russian security, and how the Pashinyan government has ceded sovereignty to Azerbaijan, and for the Russian market. Emphasis is on Armenia as part of Russias sphere of influence. Disinformation about elections, institutions, and democracy is prevalent, particularly sowing distrust in the integrity of the upcoming election. Russian information campaigns bolster opposition talking points, such as those accusing the government of suppressing speech and political prosecutions.

The Kremlin has infiltrated charities, movements, and foundations, such as the Foundation to Battle Injustice, established by the late Wagner Head Yevgeniy Prigozhin. Russia and Armenian Church leaders are also in lockstep, each amplifying the others attacks on the government, messaging on traditional values, and criticism of Western institutions. Russia has also mobilized the Armenian diaspora to vote in previous elections, paying for transport and vote buying. Russian banks and businesses operate throughout the country making financing of influence operations and proxies easy.

It is widely acknowledged in Yerevan that the country is not adequately prepared to defend against this threat. Government bodies are poorly resourced and often lack the mandate, technology, and tools to investigate or conduct counter efforts. There are also legal loopholes, such as the lack of regulation on third parties, which frequently engage in political activity. Civil society groups, research institutes, and independent media  central to building resilience to hybrid threats  are also poorly resourced, particularly since the elimination of USAID.

Electoral victory for the main opposition blocs, the beneficiaries of Russian influence, would signify a reversal on the countrys current trajectory. Russian citizen Samvel Karapetyan, owner of the Russian Tashir Group, founded the opposition Strong Armenia. The other main opposition bloc, Armenia Alliance, is led by former President Robert Kocharyan who serves on the board of directors for Sistema PJSFC, one of Russias largest investment companies. In addition to their obvious Russian ties, the parties reject Pashinyans peace agreement (and do not offer a clear alternative), do not approve of TRIPP, and believe Armenia is not ready for the EU.

According to recent polling, Civil Contract is polling at 24 percent, Strong Armenia at nine percent, and everyone else below the threshold. This polling also shows the majority of support for the ruling party comes from older (56+) and more urban citizens. Importantly, those who select Civil Contract are far more likely to identify as pro-Western (73 percent) while those who support Strong Armenia believe the countrys policy should be pro-Russian (71 percent).

CONCLUSIONS:

Armenias election could lead to the continuation of the countrys new foreign alignment course, forging new economic and security relationships and exerting greater freedom from Russian control. Alternatively, the country could abandon this direction, taking a closer path to that of neighboring Georgia, which has alienated the West and forged closer ties with Russia, China, and Iran. At a time of upheaval and uncertainty in the region, a strong alliance of pro-Russian governments along the vertical axis from Moscow to Tehran would have significant consequences. It could block Western interests in and access to the region and beyond, lead to new destabilization between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and embolden Russia to act elsewhere.

Enhanced U.S. and European support would help fortify the elections from malign actors through increased technical assistance, intelligence, financing, and training to Armenian partners.

AUTHORS BIO:

Laura Thornton has spent more than 30 years in the democracy, governance, and security space both as a practitioner and policy and advocacy expert. She lived more than two decades in Asia and the former Soviet Union and has held positions at the McCain Institute, the German Marshall Fund, International IDEA, and the National Democratic Institute.
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 24: Chettinad Cement proudly extends its warmest birthday wishes to one of its esteemed dealer partners, Mr. Anand Subhashchara Lonawat, proprietor of Jainam Associates (9101202), on the occasion of his special day.

With a remarkable journey in the cement business that began in 1968, Mr. Anand Subhashchara Lonawat has built a legacy rooted in trust, quality service, and long-standing customer relationships. His association with Chettinad Cement since 2015, spanning over 11 successful years, stands as a testament to his commitment to excellence and partnership.

Over the years, Jainam Associates has played a significant role in strengthening Chettinad Cement's market presence in the region. Known for his deep industry knowledge, reliability, and dedication to customer satisfaction, Mr. Lonawat has earned immense respect among builders, contractors, and the construction community.

"Our dealers are the backbone of our success, and Mr. Anand Subhashchara Lonawat exemplifies the values we stand for. His unwavering dedication and long-standing contribution make him an integral part of the Chettinad Cement family."

As Chettinad Cement celebrates this special occasion, the company expresses its heartfelt gratitude and wishes Mr. Lonawat continued success, good health, and many more milestones in the years ahead.

About Chettinad CementChettinad Cement is one of India's leading cement manufacturers, known for its commitment to quality, innovation, and reliability. With decades of excellence in the construction industry, the brand continues to be a trusted choice for builders and infrastructure projects across the country.

For more information visit: https://www.chettinadcement.com

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.)
NewsVoir New Delhi [India], March 24: A decarbonisation initiative led by the Foundation for MSME Clusters (FMC), supported by HSBC and implemented in collaboration with the Centre for Responsible Business (CRB), has concluded with a strong, measurable impact in the Panipat textile cluster, demonstrating that sustainability can be both practical and profitable for MSMEs. The project, "Demonstrating Decarbonisation Pathways through Pilots in Textile SMEs," set out to enable MSMEs to transition towards low-carbon operations and in doing so, with the recommendations, has projected reduction in annual emissions up to 5655.60 tonnes of CO2, developed bankable proposals of INR 39.94 crore for green financing for MSMEs and unlocked annual cost savings of 6.47 crore across participating enterprises. Conceived at a time when textile MSMEs face increasing pressure from global sustainability standards but limited access to finance, technology and technical know-how, the initiative aimed to bridge this gap by demonstrating scalable, business-friendly decarbonisation pathways. Anchored in Panipat, India's leading recycled textile hub, the project focused on strengthening both environmental performance and global competitiveness of MSMEs, proving that climate action need not come at the cost of growth. What distinguishes the initiative is FMC's ecosystem-driven, implementation-first approach. Moving beyond awareness, the project engaged 40 MSMEs, including 16 pioneering enterprises that received intensive support through diagnostic assessments, customised decarbonisation plans, technology linkages, and facilitation of green finance. A series of targeted BDSP promotion events further strengthened the ecosystem by bringing together MSMEs, financial institutions, and technical experts, resulting in 215 enterprises being sensitised and creating strong linkages with service providers. These interventions translated into real interest and action around energy audits, solar adoption, digitalisation, and cleaner production processes, areas critical for both cost efficiency and compliance with global standards. For MSMEs on the ground, the shift has been both perceptual and practical. "Earlier, sustainability felt like an added burden. Through this project, we realised it actually improves efficiency and reduces costs. We are already seeing savings and feel more confident in meeting international buyer expectations," said Mr Ankur, an entrepreneur from Panipat. Reflecting on the broader significance, Mr Manoj Bhatt, FMC representative, noted, "This initiative shows that decarbonisation for MSMEs is not just about compliance--it is about competitiveness. By combining technical support, financial access, and ecosystem partnerships, we have created a model that can be scaled across India's industrial clusters." As the project concludes, it leaves behind more than just numbers; it offers a clear roadmap for scaling sustainable transformation across MSMEs. The key learnings are unequivocal: awareness must be backed by continuous handholding, adoption accelerates when the business case is clear, local service providers play a critical bridging role, and ecosystem collaboration is essential for long-term impact. In a global market increasingly defined by sustainability, the Panipat experience stands as a compelling blueprint for how India's MSMEs can transition towards a low-carbon future while strengthening their economic resilience. About FMC Foundation for MSME Clusters (FMC) is a leading non-governmental, not-for-profit public charitable trust, established in India in 2005. FMC has made remarkable strides in fostering sustainable livelihoods and environmental progress through our innovative cluster development approach. Our work spans more than 300 MSME clusters, supporting over 100,000 artisanal and industrial units, ranging from household operations to medium-sized production entities. As an empanelled Nodal Agency with the Ministries of MSME and Rural Development, FMC extends support to prominent schemes like SFURTI, and is also providing technical, research and evaluation support to various organisations, including SIDBI & KVIC. FMC has implemented multiple projects on environment and livelihoods with support of agencies like NABARD, UNIDO, UNDP, EU, ADB, and major corporates such as CISCO, Mahindra Finance, HCL, Yes Bank and Hindalco. Since its inception, FMC has enhanced more than 275,000 livelihoods, impacted more than 100,000 women by generating income of more than 75 Crore INR and facilitated the reduction of 60,000 tons of carbon. For more details,Please Contact: Mr Manoj BhattMobile no: +91 7742907423Email: manoj@msmefoundation.orgWebsite: www.fmc.org.in (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.)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 24: The celebration saw the presence of Rahul Roy, Rajpal Yadav, Sajid Wajid, Pranav Desai, Rajat Bedi, Hiten Tejwani, Shibani Kashyap, Kirti Choudhary, Priyanka Bajaj Sibal, Siddharth Sibal, Prishita Singh, Kiran Acharya, Subhash Rajput, Samarth Sharma, Navpreet Kaur, Khushi Mukherjee, Arvind Vegda, Himanshu Patel, Meggha Bhatti, Mikul Soni, MK Sabhani, Utkarsh Khatri, Kinnal Nayak, Satish Poojary, Dinesh Lamba, Bhoomi Somani & Many More.

The much-awaited Gujarati urban entertainer "KUKA is Money Cash" celebrated a power-packed Trailer & Songs Launch, marking the beginning of an exciting journey for audiences and the film fraternity. Presented by Shree Maruti Art, the film is directed by Himanshu Patel and produced by Juhi Desai and D.H. Patel, with Piyush Mishra as the co-producer.

The launch event witnessed an electrifying response as the trailer showcased the film's fast-paced narrative, lively characters, and a gripping blend of urban drama. The songs, vibrant, youthful, and reflective of today's Gujarati pop culture added to the spirited ambience, receiving immense appreciation from attendees.

"KUKA is Money Cash" promises a refreshing cinematic experience set against the backdrop of contemporary city life, exploring ambition, friendship, twists, and the unpredictable highs and lows of chasing success.

Director Himanshu Patel expressed enthusiasm, saying "This film is very close to my heart. We've tried to capture the urban pulse of Gujarat, its youth, their hustle, their dreams and present it in a fun, engaging way. The audience will definitely relate to the energy and emotion woven into every frame."

Producers Juhi Desai and D.H. Patel shared "We believed in 'KUKA is Money Cash' from day one because it brings a strong commercial flavour with a rooted Gujarati soul. The trailer and songs are just a glimpse; the film has so much more to offer."

Co-producer Piyush Mishra added "The chemistry of the cast, the storyline, and the music together create an urban entertainer that will connect with audiences of all ages. We are thrilled to bring this project to life."

"KUKA is Money Cash" is gearing up for its theatrical release soon, bringing a fresh wave of urban Gujarati cinema to the big screen.

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.)
Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], March 24: The World Meditation Foundation has appointed Pujya Shree Shivkrupanand Swamiji, founder of Himalayan Samarpan Dhyanyog, to its prestigious World Meditation Expert Committee, marking a significant global recognition for India's spiritual leadership.

The honour comes soon after UNESCO's declaration of December 21 as 'World Meditation Day', an initiative driven by the World Meditation Foundation to promote global mental and spiritual well-being.

Acknowledging Swamiji's deep spiritual insight and decades of service, the World Meditation Day Committee and Jungto Society had recently invited him as a distinguished speaker at the Second World Meditation Day Forum, held on March 20-21, 2026, at the Jungto Social and Cultural Centre in Seoul, South Korea.

Pujya Swamiji, who has canter Mahudi Village Road near Gandhinagar in Gujarat, has spent several years in the Himalayas in intense spiritual practice, attaining profound knowledge that he has been sharing with society for over 31 years through meditation. Today, practitioners across 72 countries experience transformative spiritual growth through Himalayan Samarpan Dhyanan enduring testament to his global influence.

This year's World Meditation Day Forum brought together eminent meditation masters, leading scientists, and global practitioners to address the world's rising mental, emotional, and environmental challenges. The conference aims to create a holistic, science-aligned, and globally inclusive meditation ecosystem.

Swamiji's guidance is expected to play a pivotal role in shaping the forum's vision, particularly in advancing the universal philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'--the world is one family. His contribution underscores India's leadership in nurturing global harmony through meditation and spiritual wisdom.

(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.)
PNN New Delhi [India], March 24: In a grand celebration of beauty, transformation, and purpose-driven leadership, VG Miss & Mrs India Global Icon 2026 concluded with remarkable impact, strengthening its position as one of India's most powerful transformational pageant platforms. Curated by Visionara Global, the event brought together women from across the nation--not just to compete, but to rediscover their identity, confidence, and purpose, emerging as empowered leaders of tomorrow. Founded by Binita Shrivastava, Founder, Visionara Global | India's Leading Women Transformation Leader, and led by CEO Dr. Vishwas Srivastava, Visionara Global has redefined beauty pageants as platforms of transformation, leadership, and impact. The grand finale showcased months of intensive grooming and personal evolution, culminating in a powerful display of confidence and individuality, seamlessly anchored by Manu Mirdha the event was choreographed by Show Director Syed Khizar Husain, with visual artistry by Nick Mahl. Kangaroo Films Private Limited, led by Shikhar Shrivastava and Ravikant Jaiswal, as the Official Media Production Partner powered the Whole Show for 5 days with their efficient production team & crew. National Title Winners - Season 7 in Different Categories The evening witnessed the crowning of national titles winners across prestigious categories. In Mrs Category, Shradha V Nair was crowned VG Mrs India Global Icon 2026, with Neha Vyas as the 1st Runner-Up and Neetu Sangwan as the 2nd Runner-Up. In the Ms category, Komal Anand secured the title of VG Ms India Global Icon 2026, followed by Radhika Lakra as 1st Runner-Up and Rita Bauri as the 2nd Runner-Up. The Phoenix category saw Neelam Shankhwar emerge as the winner, with Manisha Naik and Deep Kunwar as the 1st and 2nd Runner-Ups respectively. In the Finesse category, Mamta Ratnu was crowned winner, with Shobha Naveen and Gurpreet Kaur as the 1st and 2nd runner-ups, while the Gracious category honoured Savita Negi as the winner, followed by Dr. Poonam Sharma and Kamlesh Chauhan as the 1st and 2nd runner-ups. Zonal Winners Reflecting the national diversity and scale of the platform, zonal titles were awarded to Archna Mishra (North), Vibhuti Paliwal (South), Puja Prasad (East), Sameeksha Taank (West), Rakhi Srivastava (Central), and Dina Rai (North East), representing excellence across India's regions. State Winners The pageant further celebrated nationwide representation through its state title holders including Radhika Lakra (Andaman & Nicobar), Rupjili Phangchopi (Assam), Seema Neeraj (Bihar), Laxmi Baghel (Chhattisgarh), Bharti Singh (Delhi), Pooja Saxena (Goa), Sameeksha Taank (Gujarat), Shashi Bala (Himachal Pradesh), Neetu Sangwan (Haryana), Dr. Poonam Sharma (Jammu & Kashmir), Nisha Kumari (Jharkhand), Shobha Naveen (Karnataka), Neha Vyas (Kerala), Dr. Manisha Bhatnagar (Madhya Pradesh), Vaidahi Patil (Maharashtra), Gurpreet Kaur (Punjab), Dr. Rani Singh (Rajasthan), Dina Rai (Sikkim), Eswari Pratap (Tamil Nadu), Dr. Aishwarya Choudhary (Telangana), Dipti Nair (Uttar Pradesh), Neelu Suyal (Chandigarh) and Sushma Verma (West Bengal), each embodying the spirit of confidence and transformation. Pageant Rounds & Performances Contestants dazzled across three signature rounds: Traditional Round - celebrating India's traditional elegance, Red Dress Round - highlighting moves, confidence and personality, and Evening Gown Round - showcasing grace and poise The Top 23 finalists advanced to the Q&A round, where intellect and compassion determined the crown bearers. Sub Titles & Warriors Titles Beyond titles, the platform recognised individuality through an extensive range of subtitle honours celebrating qualities such as strength, creativity, leadership, wellness, and resilience. Sub-Titles such as Power Within, Legacy Creator, Photogenic Queen, Fit & Fierce, Creative Visionary, and Radiance Expert and many more reflected the platform's commitment to holistic development. The prestigious Warrior Titles were awarded to Amrata Srivastava, Dimpal Sharma, Dr. Neha Singhai, Kavita Sentu, Lalita Rawat, Mamta Meena, Manjit Bisht, Priyanka Sahu, Seema Zambre, Somasree Purkait, and Sumita Sanyal, honouring their inspiring journeys of courage and perseverance. Beauty with Purpose - The Charity Drive A defining highlight of the event was its strong commitment to social impact through the "Beauty with Purpose - Ketto Charity Drive." Continuing its legacy of purpose-driven initiatives, the contestants collectively raised an impressive 9,48,667 for social causes. The Top Contributors were honoured with prestigious charity titles including: Shradha V Nair - VG Global Icon Ketto Charity Queen 2026, Neha Vyas - VG Global Icon Beauty with Purpose 2026, Bharti Singh - VG Global Icon Humanitarian 2026, Radhika Lakra - VG Global Icon Philanthropist 2026, Somasree Purkait - VG Global Icon Heart of Gold 2026, Priyanka Sahu - VG Global Icon Angel of Impact 2026, Vaidahi Patil - VG Global Icon Change Maker 2026, Pooja Saxena - VG Global Icon Voice of Hope 2026, Dr Poonam Sharma - VG Global Icon Woman of Purpose 2026, and Dipti Nair - VG Global Icon Community Leader. With this achievement, Visionara Global proudly continues its legacy of contributing over 45+ lakhs towards social causes since 2019, reinforcing its belief that true beauty lies in giving back to society. The Jury & Dignitaries The event was evaluated by a distinguished jury panel comprising accomplished VG Queens including Jyotsana Rao Bakshy, Vijaya Jain, Mini Pushkar, Namita Kulshrestha, Meenakshi Wats, Ankita Banerjee, Shweta Anand, Mithula Nair, and Shimpy Matharoo. Sponsors & Partners The grandeur of the event was further elevated by collaborations with Ashfaque Ahmad Design Studio as the Official Fashion Partner, Lakme Academy Lajpat Nagar as the Makeup & Hair Partner, and Rise to Frame Productions for decor and execution, with Mulberry Weddings as Associate Partner and esteemed gifting partners including Vaidibhyo, Naturally Yours, and Souls Spry by Shiimpy. Eminent industry expert Minu Ghai, contributed as the Official Groomer. Event Highlights The 5-day journey featured: Talent Round - celebrating India's diverse art and creativity, Personal Interviews - where contestants revealed their life journeys, resilience, and aspirations, Fashion Photoshoots - glamour paired with confidence, Dance & Posing Sessions - elegance in motion, Transformative Dance Night - celebrating womanhood and unity, Influence Session - empowering women with futuristic career options and Celebrations. "The Queen Code" Adding a powerful intellectual and inspirational dimension to the event, Visionara Global also unveiled the second edition of "The Queen Code" magazine, a premium publication capturing the real-life transformation journeys, success stories, and voices of VG Queens across India. As reflected in the magazine's feature narratives , The Queen Code goes beyond glamour to document purpose, resilience, and identity, while also outlining Visionara Global's future expansion vision, including leadership ecosystems, global exposure, and entrepreneurial opportunities for women, making it a legacy publication of transformation and empowerment. Launch of VG City Franchise Marking a historic milestone, Visionara Global further announced the launch of VG City Leadership, a visionary national expansion initiative designed to empower VG Queens to become city-level leaders obtaining its city franchise. This transformative model enables women to lead pageants, leadership platforms, and empowerment ecosystems within their own cities, backed by a structured national framework. As part of its first phase, Meenakshi Wats was appointed as VG City Director for Lucknow and Ankita Banerjee as VG City Director for Dhanbad, symbolising the beginning of a powerful women-led leadership movement across India. A Movement Beyond Pageantry Sharing her vision, India's Leading Women Transformation Leader, Binita Shrivastava stated that this platform is not just about crowns but about creating confident, independent, and purpose-driven women who can lead their lives and inspire others. Dr. Vishwas Srivastava emphasised that Visionara Global is building a scalable ecosystem where transformation meets opportunity, enabling women to grow as leaders, entrepreneurs, and influencers across cities and communities. A Legacy of Empowerment From a homemaker to a beauty queen, and today India's Leading Women Transformation Leader, Amazon Bestselling Author, TEDx Speaker, and Entrepreneur, Binita continues to lead Visionara Global in empowering thousands of women through pageants, education, and entrepreneurial ventures. VG Miss & Mrs India Global Icon 2026 concluded as more than just a pageant--it emerged as a movement that celebrates transformation, leadership, and purpose. As Visionara Global continues to expand its footprint across the nation, it carries forward its powerful belief: The evening concluded with celebrations, red-carpet moments, and the crowning of new queens who will carry India's spirit of beauty, compassion, and empowerment to global platforms. Looking Ahead As the curtains fell on Season 7, the applause lingered, marking another milestone in the legacy of VG Miss & Mrs India. With each edition, Visionara Global continues to celebrate diversity, redefine elegance, and empower women nationwide. Dream. Dare. Be The Queen. Participate Today in VG MISS & MRS INDIA 2026 - Season 8 Apply for VG Pageants - Season 8: https://live.binitashrivastava.com/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.)
Jindal Steel Ltd New Delhi [India], March 24: Member of Parliament from Kurukshetra, Shri Naveen Jindal, today strongly endorsed the Finance Bill 2026 in the Lok Sabha, describing it as a transformative and forward-looking roadmap that will shape the future of 140 crore Indians. He emphasised that India's growth story is being powered by the combined strength of its taxpayers and the private sector--both of whom are indispensable partners in nation-building. Calling the Finance Bill more than just a fiscal exercise, Shri Jindal said it lays the foundation for inclusive and sustainable development by empowering farmers, enabling youth, enhancing women's dignity, and securing long-term economic resilience. "This bill is not for any one party; it is for the future of the nation, and its benefits will reach every citizen," he stated. Highlighting the critical role of the private sector, Shri Jindal underscored that it contributes over 80% of employment and more than 60% of India's GDP, while also driving innovation and global competitiveness. He noted that India's IT exports have surpassed USD 200 billion, the pharmaceutical sector serves over 200 countries, and the country today has more than one lakh recognised startups and over 100 unicorns. "The private sector is not just a means of profit-making; it is a strong pillar of nation-building," he said. Shri Jindal also called for a shift in mindset towards taxpayers, advocating for a more respectful and citizen-centric approach. He highlighted improved compliance trends, noting that the GST taxpayer base has crossed 1.5 crore and gross GST collections in FY 2024-25 exceeded 22 lakh crore. "A taxpayer is not a suspect, but a partner in nation-building. Their contributions must be respected," he emphasised. Drawing from his personal background, Shri Jindal compared India's economic resilience to the perseverance of farmers, who continue to work despite challenges. He noted that India has demonstrated a strong recovery in the face of COVID-19, geopolitical tensions, and global supply chain disruptions. Emphasising sustainability and quality of life, he advocated for greater promotion of natural farming to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers, lower subsidy burdens, and ensure healthier food systems. He stressed that development must be measured not only by GDP, but by improvements in everyday life. "We must look beyond numbers and focus on what we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the overall quality of life," he said. While welcoming the provisions of the Finance Bill, Shri Jindal also proposed key reforms to strengthen the taxation framework, including the introduction of joint tax filing for families, institutionalising dispute resolution mechanisms such as "Vivad se Vishwas," promoting faster and more structured resolution of tax disputes, and ensuring that tax notices are simple, transparent, and respectful in nature. Concluding his address, Shri Jindal called for unity across political lines to accelerate India's journey towards becoming a strong, self-reliant, and developed nation. "We may have different views, but when it comes to nation-building, we must move forward together," he said, extending his full support to the Finance Bill 2026. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by Jindal Steel Ltd. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
Amid rumours of petrol and diesel shortages in some cities, the Gujarat government, Indian Oil Corporation, and the Petroleum Dealers Association issued a joint statement assuring the public that adequate fuel stock is available across the state. In this regard, Additional Chief Secretary of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Mona Khandhar, stated that sufficient quantities o petrol and diesel are available at all petrol pumps in the state as per requirement. She said citizens need not form long queues or panic, as the state also maintains an adequate fuel buffer stock, eliminating any need for concern or haste, according to the Gujarat CMO. The Additional Chief Secretary further added that reports of petrol and diesel shortages in certain places are merely rumours. Moreover, strict legal action will be taken against any dealer who deliberately keeps a pump closed despite having sufficient stock or causes inconvenience to the public. The State Nodal Officer and Executive Director of Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Sanjib Behera, stated that adequate petrol and diesel inventory is available at all depots and terminals across Gujarat. He assured that citizens need not queue at petrol pumps, as fuel will be available whenever required, the release noted. The President of the Petroleum Dealers Association of India stated that oil companies have extended supply hours and increased stock availability. He urged citizens not to crowd petrol pumps due to misleading messages or rumours on social media, assuring that there is no fuel shortage in Gujarat and none is expected in the future. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday expressed his readiness to transfer the investigation into the death of Punjab official Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, who was allegedly tortured by former Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). His statement came after Amritsar Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, demanding a probe into the "wrongdoing" by Bhullar, who has resigned due to the video left by the Punjab Warehousing Corporation (PWC) Officer before he committed suicide, in which he purportedly blamed the minister of harassment. "This is a matter of the Punjab state. I request all the MPs from Punjab to write to me formally that the case be transferred to the CBI. I will do it immediately," Shah said. Punjab Police arrested Laljit Singh Bhullar on Monday after they registered an FIR naming him in connection with the suicide case earlier, the officials said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Investigation in Amritsar, Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu said, "An arrest was made today. Our team has reached Amritsar. He (Laljit Singh Bhullar) has been kept in the CIA staff and will be presented in the court tomorrow. We have brought Laljit Singh Bhullar (to the CIA staff)... Sections related to abetment of suicide and threatening will be imposed on him." The Punjab State Warehousing Corporation Union also staged a sit-in protest, demanding justice in the Punjab Warehousing Corporation (PWC) Officer Randhawa's suicide case. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, following the resignation of Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, asserted that his government has zero tolerance for corruption. The AAP leader said, "We have zero tolerance for corruption, and it's not our first case. Our party has taken such action before, even in Delhi. So, if someone does something wrong and forces someone to take their own life, it's a matter of investigation. But whether it's our minister or anyone else, the law is the same for everyone. The law is taking its course." On Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Mann accepted Bhullar's resignation, following the political uproar triggered by a controversy involving Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, a District Manager in the Punjab Warehouse Corporation, Amritsar, who was allegedly tortured by Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, due to which he committed suicide. (ANI)
With the second leg of the Parliament Budget session set to resume today, the Lok Sabha will take up key legislative and procedural business, including Question Hour, tabling of official papers, and presentation of committee reports. This will be followed by the consideration of any pending government business carried over from the revised agenda of the previous sitting, indicating that unfinished legislative matters may be taken up for discussion and disposal. Several Union Ministers will lay official papers on the Table of the House. These will include representatives from multiple ministries such as Culture, Education, Finance, Labour and Employment, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Corporate Affairs. In addition to routine business, a significant report related to women's safety will be presented. The Fourth Report of the Committee on the Empowerment of Women for the year 2025-26 will be tabled, focusing on the subject of 'Cyber Crimes and Cyber Safety of Women'. The report will pertain to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Further, a statement from the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs will also be laid before the House. The statement will outline the final action taken by the government on recommendations contained in a previous report related to the evaluation of the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha today on several aspects of the ongoing West Asia conflict and India's energy security. PM Modi made a statement in Lok Sabha on Monday over the West Asia conflict, noting that the situation in the region is "worrisome." (ANI) He said that the Centre has made adequate arrangements for fertilisers amid concerns over imports due to the West Asia conflict, saying that the government has never "allowed the burden of global crises to fall on farmers." (ANI)
By Lydia Sawatsky

Azerbaijan is increasingly stepping away from Russian influence as Russias military dominance in the Caucasus slips due to its involvement in the war in Ukraine. Baku has responded to these changing dynamics through a series of policy measures, including border closures, restrictions on Russian soft power, and surveillance of Russian-aligned organizations. This shift has only grown more visible in recent weeks as Vice President JD Vance made a historic visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan, and President Aliyev met Ukrainian President Zelensky for the third time at the Munich Security Conference. At Munich, Aliyev publicly accused Russia of deliberately striking the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Kyiv on three separate occasions, underscoring just how strained the Baku/Moscow relationship has become.

BACKGROUND:

Historical episodes of Soviet and Russian military intervention in Azerbaijan, including the Soviet Unions crackdown on Azerbaijani protesters in Baku in January 1990 and Moscows long-standing support for Armenia, have reinforced Azerbaijans efforts to safeguard its sovereignty. Azerbaijan has often maneuvered around the consequences of openly opposing Kremlin positions by maintaining a cautious and cordial relationship with Moscow despite recurring tensions. Even when differences emerged over regional conflicts or broader geopolitical alignments, Baku prioritized diplomatic stability within the structural constraints imposed by Russias dominant role in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan gained regional confidence as Turkey stepped into the role of security guarantor. The alliance with Turkey signaled to Baku that it would not face regional threats alone. The Shusha Declaration promised military support against any foreign aggression. Military cooperation with Turkey intensified after Irans direct provocation of Azerbaijan by conducting a military exercise on the border simulating a military crossing of the Araz River. In response, Turkish troops, along with the Turkish Chief of the General Staff, participated in a similar joint drill to cross the river. Turkeys promise of military aid and quick responses to military provocations reinforced Azerbaijans sense of security and showed Russias declining role as the primary regional power in the Caucasus.

Despite diverging interests, Baku largely accommodated Moscows continued involvement in regional security affairs to preserve stability. Following Azerbaijans victory in the Second Karabakh War in 2020, Russia rapidly deployed peacekeeping forces to the region. Similarly, the 2022 Declaration of Allied Cooperation with Russia, signed two days before the Ukraine war, is most revealing for the reaction it provoked rather than its substance, as it sparked concerns that Azerbaijan was drifting back into Moscows sphere of influence. In practice, however, Bakus foreign policy remained largely unchanged, showing how Azerbaijan used symbolic accommodation to create misleading perceptions of alignment.

Russias withdrawal of its peacekeeping forces from Karabakh in 2024, largely driven by mounting military demands in Ukraine, marked a critical turning point in Azerbaijans assessment of its regional environment. The redeployment signaled a reduced Russian capacity to sustain its military presence in the region, giving Baku a window to increase its autonomy. While Azerbaijan did not pursue openly anti-Russian policies, Moscows growing preoccupation elsewhere encouraged a more assertive approach to Azerbaijani national sovereignty.

Beyond the military realm, Russias persecution of ethnic minorities has grown more visible due to widespread social media use, as reports of unlawful arrests of Azerbaijani citizens, beatings across Russia, and Chechnyas deportation of Azerbaijani nationals to forcibly fight in Ukraine have become increasingly more common. Azerbaijanis have become more vocal in voicing their anger, with one journalist going so far as to call for the destruction of the Embassy of Russia in Baku.

Azerbaijans frustration with Russia intensified significantly after Russia shot down Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 over Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, in December 2024, allegedly mistaking the passenger aircraft for a Ukrainian drone. After the plane was hit, Russian authorities denied it permission to land and redirected it to the Kazakh city of Aktau, an action analysts suggest was meant to cover up the incident, possibly hoping the plane would crash into the Caspian Sea. The previously maintained cordial and diplomatic relationship between Chechnya and Azerbaijan devolved so rapidly that when Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov tried to call Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev on December 30, Aliyev refused his call.

The crash of the Azerbaijani airline and the diplomatic fallout underscore why this matters for Azerbaijan. The incident exposed the risks of non-transparent and highly centralized security structures operating near its border. Azerbaijans refusal to allow the issue to be dismissed and its insistence on formal acknowledgment and compensation reinforced Bakus insistence on formal state accountability rather than relying on informal crisis management.

As Azerbaijani-Russian relations were slowly returning to normal, Azerbaijan agreed to the US-backed TRIPP plan, moving towards closer economic ties with the U.S. and the West. Aliyev further raised the stakes at the February 2026 Munich Security Conference, publicly accusing Russia of deliberately striking Azerbaijan's Kyiv embassy three times in 2025, even after Baku had provided the coordinates of its diplomatic missions. Azerbaijan again directly and publicly criticized Russia, with little of the political cordiality that Azerbaijan has extended towards Russia in the past.

IMPLICATIONS:

These developments have coincided with a broader set of Azerbaijani policy adjustments. Azerbaijan's government is clearly considering the potential instability caused by its policies toward Russia. To mitigate the fallout, Azerbaijan is heavily restricting contact and influence with Russia in numerous ways.

Despite its geographic proximity to Russia, Azerbaijan has separated itself significantly from its neighbor in the last few years. Azerbaijan closed its borders with all neighbors in 2020 during the COVID pandemic and has kept each of them closed for political reasons, severing many regional ties. Citizens who once crossed the border regularly to shop or visit relatives now face near-total separation. There are no longer direct flights from Baku International Airport to the Dagestani cities of Grozny, Makhachkala, or Derbent, forcing travelers to travel instead through Moscow, often with long layovers. This not only makes it more difficult to travel but also significantly raises the financial burden, with an average ticket costing around $500, which is more than the average monthly salary for most Azerbaijanis, especially outside the capital. This means that there is much less flexibility in migration across the border.

Azerbaijani attitudes toward Russification and Kremlin narratives have also shifted dramatically. Leaked Kremlin documents dated to December 2025 acknowledge this reality, noting that Russian-speaking Azerbaijani citizens now face increased security surveillance and that organizations protecting Russian minority interests have been eliminated or restricted to the purpose of promoting interethnic harmony between Russians and Azerbaijanis.

Russias inability to pivot away from Ukraine or divert resources to the Caucasus has driven Azerbaijans move away from its neighbor and toward greater independence. This strategy will protect Azerbaijan from potential unrest in Russia spilling over into its borders and accelerate Azerbaijan's pivot away from Russian soft power toward diverse global partnerships. The border closures, flight cancellations, and restrictions on Russian influence are more than temporary precautions: they reflect a permanent change.

Azerbaijan has already structurally insulated itself from Russias northern periphery, and recent shocks have only revealed how far that decoupling has gone. Recent tensions did not create Azerbaijans distancing, but exposed Azerbaijans preexisting insulation strategy as it enacted restrictions on cross-border movement, limited soft power influence, and asserted itself diplomatically. Russia is an increasingly unpredictable and unstable partner, and though Azerbaijan remains economically and geographically tied to Russia, it can now better pursue multi-vector diplomacy and diversification. Azerbaijans recent actions and diplomatic posture suggest not a geopolitical realignment, but a calculated effort to reduce exposure to instability stemming from Russia while preserving functional interstate relations.

CONCLUSIONS:

Ultimately, Azerbaijans response to Russias declining power is a policy of calculated insulation. This shift is structural rather than merely reactionary, as the permanent closure of land borders and the dismantling of transport links to the North Caucasus serve as a physical barrier against potential Russian instability and soft power.

Measures such as increased surveillance of Russian-speaking citizens and the removal of pro-Kremlin interest groups indicate a shift away from Russian soft power toward a new era of regional cooperation with Central Asia and Turkey, as well as Western-led global partnerships. Vice President J.D. Vance's February 2026 visit to the South Caucasus signals the kind of high-level Western engagement that Azerbaijan and its neighbors are now actively courting. While the fundamental, pragmatic ties between Baku and Moscow are unlikely to fully rupture, Azerbaijan is working harder than ever to decouple its security from Russias influence. While Azerbaijan is unlikely to fully sever its ties with Russia, given enduring geographic and economic constraints, its current diplomatic trajectory marks an unprecedented departure from decades of accommodating Russian regional dominance, opening a timely window for deeper Western engagement and the advancement of a more durable strategic partnership in the South Caucasus.

AUTHORS BIO:

Lydia Sawatsky is a researcher with American Foreign Policy Councils Central Asia-Caucasus Institute. A recent graduate of Wheaton College, she grew up in Sumqayit, Azerbaijan, and has spent extensive time in the Caucasus and Central Asia. She previously worked with International Literacy and Development (ILAD) in Baku, Azerbaijan, researching access to education for Afghan and Pakistani refugees residing in the country.
Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not condemning the United States and Israel's strikes on Iran in his Parliament statement on the West Asia conflict, saying the omission sent a clear message. On Monday, he told ANI,"His speech today was on COVID. Not once did he mention Israel or America. You can understand the meaning of this speech." This comes after PM Modi addressed the Lok Sabha over the West Asia conflict, noting that the situation in the region is "worrisome." The Prime Minister informed of India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region. He informed that the region also remains crucial as it provides a route for India's trade with other countries as well. "This war has also posed unprecedented challenges for India. These challenges are economic, related to national security, and humanitarian as well. India has extensive trade relations with the warring and war-affected countries. The region where this war is taking place is also an important route for our trade with other countries of the world. In particular, a large part of our needs for crude oil and gas is met by this very region," he added. He informed the House that the government has prioritised domestic LPG consumers amid the uncertainty in supply. "As we all know, the country imports 60 per cent of its LPG requirement. Due to uncertainty in supply, the government has prioritised domestic LPG consumers. At the same time, domestic production of LPG is also being increased. Continuous efforts have also been made to ensure that the supply of petrol and diesel across the country remains smooth. LPG production in the country is also being increased," he added. He also noted that India has strategic petroleum reserves of more than 5.3 million metric tons. The Prime Minister made a statement against the backdrop of escalating tensions and conflict that began on February 28 with the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel. While Iran, in its retaliation, targeted Israeli and US assets in several Gulf countries and Israel, causing disruption in the waterway and affecting international energy markets and global economic stability. (ANI)
The Special Staff of the Delhi Police's Central District apprehended a wanted criminal sought in connection with murder and robbery cases, following an encounter in the IP Estate area. Several rounds of gunfire were exchanged, resulting in the criminal, identified as Ajay Kaliya, sustaining a gunshot wound to his leg. The accused fugitive was involved in numerous criminal incidents. Multiple rounds were fired from both sides during the exchange. An Inspector from the Special Staff had a narrow escape, as a bullet struck his bulletproof jacket. The Delhi Police had received intelligence indicating that a fugitive criminal would be visiting the area; acting on this tip-off, the Special Staff set up a trap to apprehend him. Upon spotting the criminal approaching, the police attempted to intercept him; however, the accused--Ajay Kaliya--opened fire on the police party. In retaliatory fire, the police shot the accused in the leg to subdue him. The criminal was subsequently captured while in an injured state. Earlier, the Delhi Police cracked an armed robbery case following a 12-day manhunt, arresting three accused persons, according to an official release issued on Sunday. According to the Delhi Police, the case began following a complaint by Kuldeep Sharma, who reported being robbed of a bag containing 23 lakh at gunpoint near the Shastri Nagar Metro Station on February 23. Based on his statement, a case under Sections 309(4), 311, and 3(5) of the BNS was registered at Police Station Sarai Rohilla, and an investigation was launched. During the probe, the team analysed CCTV footage from the crime scene and surrounding areas. The footage showed two suspects on a motorcycle following the victim from the point where he collected the cash. Further scrutiny revealed that three suspects were initially together at Keshav Puram before one separated from the group. The team tracked this third suspect via CCTV from Rampura to Kanhaiya Nagar Metro Station, and eventually to Tis Hazari. Images of the suspect were developed and circulated among local informers, leading to his identification as Kalaram, a resident of District Sirohi, Rajasthan. Although raids at Kalaram's Rajasthan hideout found him absconding, police obtained his mobile number from local residents. CDR and IPDR analysis subsequently led investigators to an associate named Monu. On March 9, acting on a tip-off, police apprehended Monu from Bhalswa Dairy, Delhi, recovering a pistol, a live cartridge, and 3.95 lakh in cash. During interrogation, Monu disclosed that the robbery was executed by his associates, Sandeep and Sagar, while he and Kalaram handled the planning. Following an analysis of Sandeep's CDR/IPDR, which showed he was frequently changing numbers and hideouts, police finally apprehended him on March 19 in the Mangolpuri area. A sum of 5 lakh was recovered from him. Based on Sandeep's information, his co-accused Sagar was also arrested, with 7 lakh recovered from his possession. The interrogation revealed that Kalaram, who remains at large, provided the "tip-off" regarding the cash movement. Monu and Kalaram hatched the plan, with Monu arranging the motorcycle and the pistol. Sandeep was assigned to execute the robbery and brought in his friend, Sagar. The duo followed the complainant from the collection point and looted the cash at gunpoint near the Metro station. Currently, police have recovered 15.95 lakh of the robbed amount. Further investigation is in progress as efforts continue to nab the key accused, Kalaram, and recover the remaining cash. (ANI)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's son, Janata Dal (United) Leader Nishant Kumar, on Tuesday, wishes the people of his state as well as of the country, on the occasion of Chhath Puja being celebrated today. He says, " It is Chhath Puja today. On this occasion, I extend my greetings to all the people of the state and the country..." Nishant recently joined politics, marking an unprecedented shift in Bihar politics. He formally joined the JD(U) on March 8, following in the footsteps of his father. After joining the party, Kumar addressed the party workers and heaped praise on his father, Nitish Kumar, for serving the state for 20 years. "I thank everyone. I will try to live up to the trust you all have placed in me. I, the entire Bihar and the entire country are proud of what my father has done in the last 20 years." Union Minister and NDA's Rajya Sabha candidate Ram Nath Thakur told ANI that Nishant Kumar is joining the party to remain connected with the people. "It was the decision of JDU workers and the common people that Nishant Kumar (son of CM Nitish Kumar) join the JDU and listen to the voice of the people... It is for the same reason that he is taking JDU membership today... It was his (Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's) wish to go to the Rajya Sabha..." Bihar minister Ratnesh Sada called Nishant Kumar the "future of Bihar". "This is Bihar's future, and we will complete and demonstrate the work that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has left unfinished," Sada told ANI. Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh extended "best wishes" to Nishant Kumar in his political journey. The timing of Nishant's entry into the party is directly linked to a major transition made by his father. On Thursday, March 5, Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha, signalling the end of his record-breaking tenure as Chief Minister. (ANI)
The national drug regulator on Tuesday intensified its vigil on the supply chain of GLP-1-based weight loss medications following reports of unauthorised sales and misuse. The move comes after the drug regulator conducted coordinated inspections at 49 different sites, including online pharmacies, wholesalers, and wellness clinics across the country. The action aims to secure the supply chain and ensure these specialised drugs are not distributed through illegal channels. Recently, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) issued a strict advisory warning pharmaceutical companies against promoting prescription weight drugs to the general public. Doctors say this diktat must be followed by all. On the other hand, on Monday, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) launched a nationwide crackdown on unapproved Fixed Dose Combination (FDCs). The drug regulator has requested to examine the 90 FDCs in the generic name, whether approval is granted by the state or UT drug controllers, according to a letter accessed by ANI. These drugs include Multi vitamins, folic acids, syrups, Paracetamol, Clotrimazole and Betamethasone Cream, Diclofenac Potassium and Dicyclomine Hydrochloride Tablets, etc. Meanwhile, the generic GLP-1 has entered the Indian market at a huge discount compared to innovator products already available, according to an expert from AIIMS, Dr Nikhil Tandon, professor and HOD of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Dr Nikhil Tandon told ANI, "One should not consume it (generic semaglutide) recklessly as these are serious medicines for a serious problem. People should be careful, as there can be side effects." On GLP-1, he said, "The GLP-1 was initially used for diabetic management but was later found to have an impact on weight." Earlier, Dr V Mohan, renowned diabetologist and Chairman of Dr Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, said, "Strict pharmacovigilance must be maintained." "While they are very effective and fairly safe, side effects can occur, but more Indian data needs to be collected." He further said that these drugs must be prescribed by qualified doctors. "This will make it accessible to many more people, and quality is important. People are advised to strictly use these drugs under the advice and supervision of a doctor, as these drugs can these drugs are very powerful and can produce side effects in some people," he said. (ANI)
The Delhi Legislative Assembly and its Speaker Vijender Gupta have received fresh threats via email, warning of a potential bombing at the Assembly premises. According to officials, the Vidhan Sabha Metro Station, located near the Assembly, also received a similar threat. The threatening emails were sent early on Tuesday, with one reaching the Speaker's account at 7:49 AM and another to the Assembly's official email account at 7:28 AM. The emails mention several leaders, including Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Sandhu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa. Following the threat, a sniffer dog squad was deployed at the Assembly to inspect the premises and ensure security. Investigations are underway to trace the origin of the threats. Meanwhile, the traditional 'Kheer Ceremony' kick-started the Delhi Assembly Budget Session on Monday, as Chief Minister Rekha Gupta reiterated the vision of 'Viksit Delhi, Harit Delhi' (Developed Delhi, Green Delhi) and said this budget will prove to be an important step towards realising the dreams of nearly 3 crore Delhiites. According to a press statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office, CM Gupta said the 'Kheer Ceremony' is not only the traditional beginning of the budget process, but also a symbol of the resolve for prosperity, auspiciousness, and public welfare, which will be reflected in the upcoming budget. The 'Kheer Ceremony' was attended by farmers, school students, teachers, doctors, members of the transgender community, women drivers, and media persons, along with the Chief Minister. On this occasion, farmers honoured the Chief Minister by traditionally presenting her with a turban. Cabinet Ministers Pravesh Sahib Singh, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra, along with MLAs and several dignitaries, were present on the occasion. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the government's second budget will accelerate the pace of Delhi's development. "This budget will not only strengthen infrastructure, but will also become a means to elevate the living standards of Delhiites. This budget is moving towards building a Delhi where citizens can live with better health facilities, excellent education, strong infrastructure, and a clean and green environment. In this budget, priority is being given to better facilities for students, strong infrastructure in the health sector, cleanliness, pollution control, and a green environment," CM Gupta said, according to the official statement. The Second Part of the Fourth Session (Budget Session) of the Eighth Legislative Assembly will conclude on Tuesday. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Prakash Reddy on Tuesday slammed AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal's remarks as "ridiculous," accusing him of making baseless political predictions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure. Reddy said Modi, now the longest-serving head of government, will continue as Prime Minister as long as his health permits, calling Kejriwal's comments politically motivated and harmful to democratic discourse in India's politics. Speaking to ANI, Reddy said, "The statements are ridiculous. How can you predict this? Day before yesterday, he became the longest-serving head of government in the country and will continue to be the Prime Minister as long as his health cooperates... These statements are politically jealous ones and will demoralise Indian politics. Such politicians will not be accepted by the people in the future." Reddy's remarks came after Kejriwal on Monday said that PM Modi might not be the Prime Minister by the end of 2026. Speaking at the launch of the book "Unlikely Paradise" authored by Shiv Sena (UBT) Leader Sanjay Raut, where he launched a sharp attack on the Centre and the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said, "PM Narendra Modi might not be the Prime Minister by the end of 2026. He and Amit Shah are about to go, and their rule is about to end..." "Everyone should read this book. The Modi government includes all the dishonest people in its party and puts all the honest ones in jail. The way they (BJP) win the election by misusing the Election Commission is not good for the country," he said while speaking to reporters. The event was attended by Kapil Sibal, Former minister of Law and Justice Eminent Jurist and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Digvijaya Singh Former CM, Madhya Pradesh Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Jaya Bachchan, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Derek O'Brien, TMC Parliamentary Party Leader (Rajya Sabha) at Mavalankar Hall, Constitution Club of India in New Delhi.
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari on Tuesday criticised Uttar Pradesh AIMIM state president Haji Shaukat Ali, alleging that his controversial statements are indirectly benefiting the BJP in the upcoming elections. Reacting to Ali's remarks that AIMIM only seeks 11 MLAs in UP, that anyone harming a Muslim would face fatal consequences in an encounter, and that homes and madrasas are being bulldozed or closed, Tiwari said he disagrees with Haji Shaukat Ali's language and accused him of helping the BJP by cutting votes, calling him the party's "estranged twin brother" and claiming his statements benefit only the BJP. "I don't agree with the language he is using. But I want to say that if a BJP government is formed in Bihar, it's because of Owaisi ji and the votes your party cut. That's your job. He acts like the BJP's estranged twin brother. You come to elections, just make statements and do only those things that benefit the BJP. I'm accusing you directly," he told ANI. On Monday, Haji Shaukat Ali stirred political controversy in the state by warning that anyone who harms a Muslim would be killed in an encounter. Addressing his supporters, Ali said, "Give us just 11 MLAs in UP, not 111." He also said that anyone who kills a Muslim will also be killed in an encounter, and he was leaving with this promise. He told his supporters that if mosques and madrasas are to be protected, they will need to create a stick, a flag, a leader, and reach the Assembly. Highlighting development concerns, Ali said progress should reach beyond Gorakhpur and Saifai to cities like Meerut. Referring to a statement by the Meerut Captain about revoking licenses of those offering street prayers, he expressed hope that similar action would be taken during the Ram Navami procession against practices such as the Naagin dance in front of mosques. The AIMIM leader also claimed that Muslims, despite contributing to the country's liberation, have faced significant injustices. He alleged that madrasas were locked, homes demolished on false charges, and people were shot. He criticised political parties, stating that those who elected 111 MLAs are now saying that this is not their government. Meanwhile, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has announced that the party will contest the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections in alliance with Humayun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan Party. Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) founder and former All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Humayun Kabir said that his party will contest 182 seats in the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The West Bengal Assembly elections will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29, 2026, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 4. (ANI)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called a meeting on Tuesday morning on the evolving situation in West Asia. The meeting has been convened for 11 am. On March 21, Singh, while addressing a programme in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, on the completion of four years of the state government, had said that India has taken a clear stand on the issue, emphasising that a solution should be found through dialogue and diplomacy. Noting that the world is going through a period of crisis, with conflicts prevailing in several regions, he said that the ongoing attacks in West Asia are a matter of concern not only for India but also for the entire world. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha today on several aspects of the ongoing conflict and India's energy security. The conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28. In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability. Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Lok Sabha to brief members on the developments in West Asia and their potential impact on India. Describing the situation as "worrisome". He highlighted that the ongoing conflict poses unprecedented challenges that are not only economic and related to national security but also humanitarian. The Prime Minister reflected on the global challenges which have emerged due to the conflict and India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region. The opposition parties, on the other hand, called it a "master class in self-boasts and partisan dialogue-baazi (dramatic dialogue)." "The situation in West Asia is worrisome. This conflict has been going on for more than three weeks. It has a severe impact on the global economy and the lives of the people, and that is why the world is urging all sides for an early resolution to this conflict," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister informed of India's trade relations with countries in the West Asian region that were witnessing war, stating that a large part of the country's need for crude oil and gas was met by the war-affected region. He informed that the region also remains crucial as it provides a route for India's trade with other countries as well. (ANI)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday strongly dismissed allegations made by Congress leader KC Venugopal regarding an alleged understanding between the CPM and the BJP, terming them "baseless and absurd." Addressing a press conference, Vijayan said,"These are baseless and absurd allegations. In 1971, when A. K. Gopalan contested from Palakkad, the Congress candidate was an RSS-backed leader. The Indian National Congress has a long history of aligning with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh without any hesitation. Such alliances have been repeated multiple times, eventually leading to what is known as the 'coalition of convenience.' Was it not the Congress that helped the Bharatiya Janata Party open its account in Nemom? The leakage of Congress votes was evident. The same pattern was visible during the Thrissur parliamentary elections as well." He added, "The BJP's primary political opponent has always been the Left. At various points, it is the Congress that has entered into opportunistic understandings. The BJP knows that it can easily deal with the Congress, and in many cases, it prefers a Congress victory. These allegations of a 'deal' are nothing but a preemptive defence by the Congress to cover up its own history of such arrangements. Those who are making these accusations are the ones who have long been accustomed to such political deals." CM Vijayan's remarks came after the Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal alleged a "clear and unholy nexus" between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the CPI(M) in Kerala, claiming that both parties have entered into a tacit understanding in several constituencies. Speaking to the reporters, Venugopal said the allegation is "not baseless" and can be observed by closely examining the candidate lists of the two parties. "There are clear allegations of an unholy nexus between the BJP and the CPI(M) in Kerala. This is not a baseless claim; if you closely examine the candidate lists of both parties, you can clearly see an underlying understanding and mutual support in several constituencies. The Chief Minister has, for quite some time now, been a compromised leader. He does not speak up against Narendra Modi and appears to be functioning under pressure, including fear of central agencies like the ED," he said. The Congress leader also claimed that the CPI(M), fearing a loss of political ground in Kerala, has entered into what he termed an "unethical political arrangement" with the BJP. "As a result, he is not taking a firm stand against the Centre on critical issues. Now, sensing that Kerala may slip out of their hands, the CPI(M) leadership has entered into an unethical political arrangement. There are multiple instances where CPI(M)'s actions seem to be aimed at creating opportunities for the BJP to gain advantage, even in constituencies where the BJP is traditionally strong. It is clear that both the CPM and the BJP have, in effect, misled and betrayed their own party workers, "Venugopal added. The developments come as Kerala prepares for its 140-member Legislative Assembly elections, which will be held in a single phase on April 9, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 4. The main electoral contest in the State is expected between the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Indian National Congress. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, is also in the fray for the Assembly polls. (ANI)
Congress leader and United Democratic Front candidate from Kerala's Nemom Assembly constituency, K S Sabarinathan on Tuesday said that he is filing a complaint with the Election Commission of India against Rajeev Chandrasekhar, alleging non-disclosure of Rs 200 crore worth of assets by the BJP leader. "Yesterday, I filed the nominations. This morning, there is a scrutiny process for the Kerala Assembly elections at 11 am. There are serious allegations against BJP leader Chandrasekhar regarding his assets and declaration in the form so the UDF and Congress, and me as their candidate we are formally approaching the EC during the scrutiny process and further details along with evidences will be presented ...." Sabarinathan said. The BJP Kerala President and former Union Minister Chandrasekhar is the party's candidate from the Nemom, which is part of the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency. Congress Kerala had yeterday posted on its X platform that Chandrasekhar "has not disclosed his residence, a 49,000 sq.ft mansion in Koramangala 3rd Block, Bengaluru, in his affidavit." "This is a 1.07 acre property in one of the most expensive locations in the country, where many Indian billionaires live. Land here costs around 35,000 to 50,000 per sq.ft or more. By a fair estimate, the land value alone could be around 200 crore," the INC Kerala said. Along with the allegation, the Congress party has posted a copy of the property tax receipt of the property on its X social media platform. Further, it said that Chandrasekhar "is a habitual offender and appears to believe he can mislead the Election Commission of India repeatedly. His affidavit even suggests that he owns no residential property or car despite being a billionaire businessman." "We request you to intervene in this matter and disqualify the candidate as per the People's Representation Act. Otherwise, it's only fair for the public to question whether the office is acting impartially," the Congress party said. https://x.com/INCKerala/status/2035957251995815952?s=20 Chandrasekhar, on his part, has dismissed the Congress allegations as "imaginary lies" "They are a party that is simply an incorrigibly stupid party that only relies on lies and innuendo instead of putting forth a good vision for the people of Kerala. I can only advise them that bring on whatever you can, bring on your best against me. You have tried this for the last 15 years against me, from 2010. I have dealt with each one of your attacks on me decisively, and I can assure you that the more you throw stuff at me, the more determined I will be to defeat you...Everything I have done in my life, I have done openly and transparently," he told ANI on Monday. Meanwhile, the presence of a seal of the BJP Kerala unit on a 2019 Election Commission of India letter on poll-related guidelines, which was distributed to political parties recently, sparked a row in the State yesterday on the final day for submitting nominations for the April 9 Assembly polls in the State. "Is the election commission's seal in the BJP's office or is the BJP's seal in the election Commission's office. That much only we need to know. They are very heavily compromised. Today when the UDF candidate is going before them for the scrutiny we have to hope that that there will be no further compromise," Sabarinathan said. The Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala), however, attributed the issue to a "clerical error" and added that corrective measures had been taken. It issued a clarification in the matter and also placed under suspension an Assistant Section Officer in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer. The BJP had won its first-ever MLA seat in Kerala from the Nemom constituency in 2016 with the victory of O Rajagopal. However, in the 2021, elections BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan lost the seat to CPI (M)'s V Sivankutty, who is currently a minister in the ruling Chief Minster Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Party (LDF) government. Congress candidate K Muraleedharan came in third position in that contest. Sabrinathan, a former MLA and the son of late veteran Congress leader and former Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan, had on March 23 filed his nomination to contest the upcoming polls to the 140-seat Kerala Assembly. (ANI)
The Book

Crowned & Unfiltered

Crowned & Unfiltered is not your average mid-life memoir but a sassy, soul-baring manifesto for women who are done squeezing themselves into anyone elses comfort zone or Spanx. Part memoir, part wake-up call, this book plunges into raw, unfiltered stories and the not-so-quiet rebellion of a woman putting herself first.

With 12 punchy lessons drawn from real-life epiphanies, it torches the outdated rules handed down by society, the patriarchy, and even our own inner critic. Backed by stats, laced with wit, and brimming with hard-won wisdom, Crowned & Unfiltered is for every woman wondering if its too late to rewrite her story. Spoiler: its not.

Whether youre freshly single, newly empty-nested, or just tired of biting your tongue while everyone else gets the mic, this book hands you the crown and dares you rock it like rules were made to be rewritten. If youre ready to laugh till you snort, cry like it heals, reflect like a queen, and rise like you own the damn sky  welcome to mid-life majesty. Your next chapter isnt waiting. Its kicking down the door.

About Paula Ketterer

Author of Crowned & Unfiltered, PAULA KETTERER explains: My sister and I were in the thick of one of our signature conversations about midlife majesty moments talking about life, purpose, and the undeniable fact that every woman is basically royalty. Queens, obviously. Not the dainty kind who curtsies on cue, but the bold, brilliant kind who's earned her crown through chaos, courage, and a whole lotta coffee.

A few days later, she sent me a wee surprise: a bee brooch. Tiny, but mighty. Outlined in gold, its body shimmered with iridescent pink, and its wings sparkled like they were cut from stardust. Attached was a card that read, "In every woman there is a Queen." I had to know more. Turns out, it's part of an old Norwegian proverb. The full version? "In every woman there is a Queen. Speak to the Queen and the Queen will answer."

We all have that inner Queen. The one who knows exactly what we should do, what we deserve, and when to walk away from nonsense. But sometimes, she's stuck behind a curtain of self-doubt, bad habits or just plain exhaustion. And that's when it clicked. How often we know what we should do, but we don't act. We silence our inner Queen, ignore her wisdom, and settle for less. This book is my way of saying: enough. It's a glitter-dusted nudge to bridge the gap between knowing and doing. To summon your inner Queen, hand her a mic, and let her rule. (NOTE: This is what I've named 'Majess' - mid-life majesty with sass!)

Born in the USA and a former Miss Virginia contestant, Paula Ketterer moved to the UK to launch her career studies with Christies. After earning her MBA, she built a successful path in Scotlands corporate sector. An unexpected turn of events opened the door to featuring on channel 5s 10 episode series How To Be a Property Developer. She now serves up raw insight and flair, owning mid-life majesty with zero apologies. She runs the podcast Mind Your Own 50s which is available on Apple and Spotify with a new episode every Tuesday.

Why should I buy this book?

Well if tick the boxes ie 50 or over, female, and want an exciting 'mid life' or even if you are none of these - why wouldn't you? Its a fun look at life which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Natalie Key for Female First

RELEASE DATE: 28/03/2026 ISBN: 9781806341252 Price: 12.99
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Peravur MLA Sunny Joseph has targeted Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan, claiming that he is repeatedly raising baseless allegations against Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and senior leader of the Congress. Joseph said that Rahul Gandhi was strongly protesting across the country against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies and leading powerful protests both inside and outside the Parliament. The Congress MLA alleged a secret understanding between the CPI(M) and the BJP and that Vijayan was making these allegations solely to facilitate the CPI(M)-BJP alliance in the upcoming Assembly elections. "Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is never ready to say even a single word against the Prime Minister. Does the CPI(M) central leadership approve of the Chief Minister's stance? We all know that CPI(M) candidates in Tamil Nadu are asking for votes by using the photograph of Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India's opposition," he said while addressing a press conference here today. "We know that because he spoke out strongly against the BJP and took firm political stands, more than 30 cases-36 cases to be exact- have already been filed against him in various parts of the country. Even though BJP leaders tried to trap him in legal cases to make him retreat, Rahul Gandhi is moving forward courageously as the face and leader of secular India." "The country witnessed the malicious attempts made to revoke Rahul Gandhi's Parliament membership from Wayanad. Why is it that [the Chief Minister is silent on this]...?" Joseph said. Earlier today, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal also alleged a "clear and unholy nexus" between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the CPI(M) in Kerala, claiming that both parties have entered into a tacit understanding in several constituencies. Addressing reporters today in Alappuzha, Venugopal said the allegation is "not baseless" and can be observed by closely examining the candidate lists of the two parties. Kerala CM Vijayan has dismissed the allegations and termed them as "baseless and absurd." Addressing a press conference today in Idukki, Vijayan said, "These are baseless and absurd allegations. In 1971, when A K Gopalan contested from Palakkad, the Congress candidate was an RSS-backed leader." The Congress, the chief minister said, "has a long history of aligning with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh without any hesitation" "Such alliances have been repeated multiple times, eventually leading to what is known as the 'coalition of convenience.' Was it not the Congress that helped the Bharatiya Janata Party open its account in Nemom? The leakage of Congress votes was evident. The same pattern was visible during the Thrissur parliamentary elections as well." The BJP had won its first-ever MLA seat in Kerala from the Nemom constituency in 2016 with the victory of O Rajagopal. However, in the 2021 elections, BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan lost the seat to CPI (M)'s V Sivankutty, Vijayan further said, "The BJP's primary political opponent has always been the Left. At various points, it is the Congress that has entered into opportunistic understandings. The BJP knows that it can easily deal with the Congress, and in many cases, it prefers a Congress victory. These allegations of a 'deal' are nothing but a preemptive defence by the Congress to cover up its own history of such arrangements. Those who are making these accusations are the ones who have long been accustomed to such political deals." Meanwhile, in the upcoming April 9 elections to the 140-seat Kerala Assembly, the KPCC president Sunny Joseph is pitted against K K Shailaja of the CPI (M). Shailaja had lost the 2011 election to Sunny Joseph by a narrow margin of around 2,700 votes.Shailaja had lost the 2011 election to Sunny Joseph by a narrow margin of around 2,700 votes. Joseph had also won the 2016 and the 2021 Assembly elections from Peeravoor. (ANI)
A team of Municipal Corporation on Tuesday carried out a demolition drive, removing the alleged illegal structures and houses in Begum Bagh Colony situated near Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple after their lease expired, an official said. The administration removed around 16 structures constructed on approximately 11 plots. During the process, proper security measures including police deployment and barricading were in place at the site. According to the officials, Ujjain Development Authority (UDA) leased out plots in the Begum Bagh area for residential use on a 30-year lease in 1985. But instead of utilising these plots for residential purposes, the plot holders used them for commercial activities which falls in violation of the regulations. Additionally, the leases expired in 2014-15 and were not renewed. The UDA issued a series of notices regarding these plots and the authority terminated the leases held by the plot holders in 2023-24. After that plot holders approached the courts, where they obtained a stay order. Cases concerning these plots remained pending in various courts. After their pleas were dismissed by lower courts, high court and Supreme Court, demolition proceedings were initiated. "This area was developed under a residential scheme and people were granted lease of the plots for residential use. But people misused the plot, following which around 45 leases were cancelled due to violations. In this episode, today 16 structures built on approximately 11 plots are being removed. The district administration, police, and municipal authorities are overseeing the removal process, after which the land will be taken under control. Since the land belongs to UDA, it is taken into its custody. Along with this, these lands will be utilised in the widening of the Hari Phatak bridge and road construction by the Madhya Pradesh government," said Sandeep Soni, CEO, Ujjain Development Authority. City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Rahul Deshmukh said that around 50 police personnel were deployed at the site and the situation was also being monitored through CCTV cameras and drones. "Today, some houses with expired leases are being demolished in Begum Bagh colony here and in view of security measures, three police stations in charge and around 50 police personnel have been deployed at the site. Additionally, barricades are in place and continuous monitoring is being done through CCTV surveillance, and drone cameras. Along with this, traffic management is being handled to ensure minimal disruption, with one route kept open for devotees. The area around the demolition is temporarily closed, and efforts are being made to complete the work swiftly to restore traffic flow," said CSP Deshmukh. (ANI)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Tuesday unanimously elected as President of the Janata Dal (United), after no other candidate filed nomination for the post. The announcement was made in the national capital by JD(U) leader Anil Hegde during a press conference, who outlined the election process. He stated that the last date for filing nominations was March 22, scrutiny was conducted on March 23, and the deadline for withdrawal of nominations was today at 11 am. With only Nitish Kumar's nomination in contention, he was declared elected unopposed. "The last date for filing nominations was on the 22nd, scrutiny took place on the 23rd, and today was the last date for withdrawal of nominations until 11 AM. Since only one nomination was filed--that of the current president, Nitish Kumar--I hereby declare Nitish Kumar as the National President of the party," Hegde said. Meanwhile, JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha lauded Nitish Kumar's leadership. He noted that the party was built through Nitish Kumar's "hard work and dedication," tracing its roots back to the formation of the Samata Party in 1994, when Jharkhand and Bihar were still one state. "This party was built by Nitish Kumar through his hard work and dedication. When the party was formed, Jharkhand and Bihar were one. In 1994, the Samata Party was formed, and the journey began from there. Today, in 2026, we are sitting here--nearly 32 years later. This 32-year journey is significant. Especially now, as we are in Delhi, it is worth noting that earlier, people from Bihar living in other parts of India and abroad used to feel a sense of inferiority. No one believed that Bihar could change," Jha told reporters. He credited Nitish Kumar's tenure in alliance as part of NDA for ushering in a new phase of development. "Nitish Kumar got the opportunity to work when the Janata Dal (United) came to power as part of the NDA. Over the past 20 years, the work we have done will be recorded in the pages of history. What we have achieved in Bihar during this period will be remembered--call it a golden period or whatever you may--but if there is one person who restored the pride, history, and identity of Bihar, it is Nitish Kumar," Jha said. (ANI)
The figures shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are part of state-wise information received from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The state-wise data detailing custodial deaths from 2021 to 2026 shows a notable increase compared to the previous year.

In 2024-25, the total number of cases registered in respect of custodial deaths stood at 140, while earlier years recorded 157 cases in 2023-24, 163 in 2022-23, and 176 in 2021-22.

Among states, Bihar reported the highest number of custodial deaths this year so far, with 19 cases, followed by Rajasthan with 18 and Uttar Pradesh with 15. Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra recorded 14 cases each.

In southern states, Tamil Nadu registered seven cases, Telangana five, and Karnataka three. Kerala also reported three cases during the same period. In eastern India, West Bengal recorded seven cases, while Odisha reported nine.

In the northeastern region, Assam accounted for five cases, while Arunachal Pradesh reported three. Several smaller states and Union Territories, including Mizoram, Sikkim, and Ladakh, reported no custodial deaths during the period.

Among Union Territories, Delhi recorded four cases, while Jammu and Kashmir reported none in 2026 so far. Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Puducherry reported one case each.

The data reflects variations across states but indicates an overall rise in custodial deaths in the current year compared to the previous financial year. (ANI)
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the Opposition was not allowed to seek clarifications over the West Asia conflict after his address in the Rajya Sabha. Following his statement in Lok Sabha on Monday, PM Modi addressed Rajya Sabha today, calling for a united voice promoting peace and dialogue globally, as the ongoing West Asia conflict disrupts trade, energy supplies, and affects the safety of millions of Indians in the Gulf region. In an X post, Jairam Ramesh called the Prime Minister's address a "pre-prepared text brimming with self-praise." Ramesh said, "The Prime Minister spoke in the Rajya Sabha for about 20 minutes this afternoon on West Asia. Just like his statement in the Lok Sabha yesterday, after reading out his statement in the Rajya Sabha as well, the opposition was not allowed to seek any clarification whatsoever. As expected, it was a pre-prepared text brimming with self-praise over all its so-called achievements of the past eleven years." Flagging "weakening of MGNREGA" with the Viksit Bharat--Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) scheme, he added, "Some hypocrisy was also on display, when he appealed for cooperation from those states whose constitutional rights are being continuously violated; when he asked the states to protect migrant workers after weakening MGNREGA, which proved to be a lifeline for migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic; and when he asked the states to implement the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which is based on the 2013 National Food Security Act that he had opposed while serving as Chief Minister." Earlier today, PM Modi said that India has sufficient crude oil reserves and robust arrangements for continuous supply amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. He highlighted the expansion of strategic petroleum reserves and increased refining capacity, as global trade through the Strait of Hormuz faces disruptions. Addressing the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi said, "In the last 11 years, strategic petroleum reserves have been developed to more than 53 lakh metric tonnes, and work is underway to expand them to over 65 lakh metric tonnes. Additionally, India's refining capacity has also been significantly increased in the last decade. I want to assure the House and the country through you that India has adequate crude oil storage and arrangements for continuous supply." "The Hormuz Strait is one of the largest routes for global trade. A significant amount of transport related to crude oil, gas, and fertilisers takes place through this region. Our endeavour is to ensure that oil and gas supplies reach India from wherever possible. The country is witnessing the results of such efforts. In the past few days, ships carrying crude oil and LPG from several countries have arrived in India. Our efforts in this direction will continue in the coming days as well," PM Modi said. This comes in the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28. In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability. Meanwhile, today, Arab News has cited Israeli Media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth to report that Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was prepared to negotiate with the Americans. (ANI)
Congress MP Varun Chaudhry on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent address in Lok Sabha on the ongoing West Asia conflict, saying his statement came, but not a single condemnation has been issued against the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader. Speaking to ANI, the Congress MP questioned where is the 'Vishwaguru' and India's foriegn policy, and stated that the attack on Iran has not been condemned in the whole speech. "His statement came, but not a single condemnation has been issued against the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader... Talks are going on that Pakistan is going to mediate... Where is Vishwaguru? In the whole statement, not a single time has the attack on Iran been condemned. Where is our foreign policy? This is very sad," said MP Varun Chaudhry. Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of the West Asia conflict, alleging that India has been sidelined in international negotiations and describing the PM as "compromised." Responding to a question on reports that Pakistan could be facilitating talks between Iran and the US, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said, "Our foreign policy is Prime Minister Modi's personal foreign policy. You can see the result of this. It's a universal joke. Everybody considers it a universal joke." "Yesterday, he gave an irrelevant speech. I mean, he is the Prime Minister of India; it should be visible that he is India's Prime Minister. What is the position? There is no position at all." Gandhi added. These remarks come after PM Modi's address in the Lok Sabha on the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict. In his speech, the PM highlighted the escalating conflict in West Asia, which has entered its fourth week, was posing significant challenges for India, particularly in terms of energy security and trade disruptions. "The situation in West Asia is worrisome. This conflict has been going on for more than three weeks. It has a severe impact on the global economy and the lives of the people, and that is why the world is urging all sides for an early resolution to this conflict," PM Modi said. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in New Delhi on Tuesday awarded a life sentence to Kashmiri separatist Aasiya Andrabi and a 30-year jail term to her two associates, Sofi Fehmida and Nahida Nasreen, in a terror case lodged by the National Investigation Agency. Andrabi is the alleged chief of women's pro-separtist outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander Jit Singh awarded the sentence to three convicts for different offences proved against them. The court had held them guilty on January 14, 2026, for the offences. Andrabi was arrested in 2018. NIA had invoked charges against her under sections relating to waging war against the State, promoting enmity between communities, and terror conspiracy under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The case was heard at Patiala House Court by ASJ Singh, and judgment was reserved. Thereafter, he was transferred to Karkardooma Court. Therefore, the sentence was pronounced from Karkardooma Court. On December 21, 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court had ordered framing of charges against Kashmiri separatist Asiya Andrabi and her two associates for allegedly waging war against India, sedition, and conspiracy to commit terror acts in the country. ASJ Parveen Singh had ordered framing of charges against Andrabi, founder of Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DEM), and her two associates -- Sofi Fahmeeda and Naheeda Nasreen -- for allegedly waging war against India, sedition, and conspiracy to commit terror acts in the country. The court had ordered framing of charges against them under Section 120B, Sections 121, 121A, Section 124A, Section 153B, and Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code and various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Andrabi is a Kashmiri and the founding leader of Dukhtaran-e-Millat. This group is allegedly part of the separatist organisation 'All Parties Hurriyat Conference' in the Kashmir valley, and the Government of India has declared it as a "banned terrorist organisation." DEM, a banned outfit under the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, was allegedly involved in anti-India activities by inciting the general populace of Kashmir for an armed rebellion against the Government of India with aid and assistance from various terrorist organisations based in Pakistan. According to the NIA chargesheet, Asiya and the two other accused were allegedly using various media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TV channels, including channels in Pakistan, to spread "insurrectionary imputations and hateful messages and speeches against India." (ANI)
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his handling of the West Asia conflict. Amid reports of Pakistan allegedly facilitating talks between Iran and the U.S., the Congress leader alleged that PM Modi will follow the orders of America and Israel. Further criticising the Indian government's foreign policy, Gandhi declared that the Prime Minister is not working in the interest of the country at large. Commenting on the upcoming all-party meeting on the West Asia crisis, he mentioned that he wouldn't be able to attend the meeting due to a scheduled programme in Kerala. "I would not be able to attend because I have a program in Kerala. All-party meeting should take place, but a structural blunder has been made... And this cannot be fixed, especially since the Prime Minister cannot. He will do whatever America says and will not work in the interest of the farmers and the country. He will do whatever America and Israel say," said Gandhi. The Government of India has called for an all-party meeting on March 25 (Wednesday) at 5 PM on the West Asia crisis. Earlier, the White House had downplayed speculation regarding U.S.-Iran talks being facilitated in Pakistan. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that "no meeting should be considered final until officially announced," emphasising that the U.S. will not negotiate through the press in such a fluid diplomatic situation. "These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House," she said. Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, severely disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. These tensions escalated following the death of Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint military strikes by the U.S. and Israel on February 28. Following the joint military strikes, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries in retaliation, which caused further disruptions to the waterway and impacted international energy markets as well as global economic stability. (ANI)
A meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the evolving West Asia situation was held at Parliament House on Tuesday, focusing on its potential impact on essential supplies, particularly fertilisers. According to sources, the ministers reviewed the current availability and supply of fertilisers and concluded that there is no immediate shortage for the upcoming Kharif season, assuring that farmers' requirements will be met. However, the ongoing crisis in the region is likely to impact fertiliser production by an estimated 0.6 to 0.9 million tonnes. The GoM also discussed contingency measures to address any potential shortfall. Sources said the government is planning to bridge the gap through imports from countries such as Morocco and other global suppliers. The meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and Health and Fertilisers Minister JP Nadda, among others. The government has also convened an all-party meeting on Wednesday to further deliberate on the West Asia situation. Meanwhile, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, said that there was no shortage of LPG stocks. "The supply of LPG is affected due to the prevailing geopolitical situation. But a lot of cargo has been lined up, and no dry out has been reported at the LPG distributorships. Yesterday, we also observed some panic booking. But the delivery was normal... Sufficient stocks are available. There is an adequate supply of petrol and diesel. LPG cylinders are also being given to all domestic consumers. PNG supply is 100% for domestic consumers," she said. Addressing the inter-minsterial briefing Rajesh Sinha, Special Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, informed that two LPG carrier had exited the Strait of Hormuz and were enroute to India. "All Indian ships and sailors in the Gulf region are safe. No maritime incidents have been reported in the last 24 hours. Late last evening, two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, both are loaded with LPG. Both vessels safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz and are headed towards India. Pine Gas is carrying 45,000 metric tons of LPG and is due to arrive at the New Mangalore Port, likely in the morning of March 27th. The other LPG carrier vessel, Jag Vasant, is carrying approximately 47,600 metric tons of LPG and is headed towards Kandla, with an estimated arrival date of March 26th. Thus, with the departure of these two ships from the Persian Gulf, there are now 20 Indian-flagged ships, carrying 540 Indian sailors, in the Persian Gulf...No congestion has been reported at any port,." he said. (ANI)
The Editor of Thuglak magazine, Swaminathan Gurumurthy, said that the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections are expected to produce a fractured verdict, with no single party likely to secure a clear majority. "The arithmetic of Tamil Nadu politics is complex. I am not saying who will win, but it is clear that no party will achieve a single-party majority. This election will mark a major shift in the state's political scenario," Gurumurthy said in an interview with ANI. Gurumurthy said that despite the increasing prominence of actors-turned-politicians like TVK chief Vijay and Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman, their anti-DMK stance is unlikely to work in their favour. He cited historical precedents, recalling how Vaiko's votes shifted to DMK during the 1996 elections, demonstrating the limits of anti-establishment movements in Tamil Nadu. "When the anti-establishment wave built, the first casualty was Vaiko. He got 3% votes... because if Jayalalithaa has to be defeated, it is not Vaiko who will defeat. It is only Karunanidhi," he said, referencing former chief ministers late M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa. According to him, a similar dynamic could play out again. "The more anti-DMK feeling Vijay builds... people know he is not going to defeat the DMK. The only force which can defeat the DMK is AIADMK and BJP," he said. Gurumurthy emphasised the idea of "strategic voting," claiming that voters may abandon smaller or newer parties if they believe those parties cannot realistically defeat the ruling DMK. "Even if they like Vijay, they will say there is no use of wasting this vote," he noted, suggesting that votes could consolidate behind stronger Opposition alliances. He also shared anecdotal evidence, "In my house, there were 18 votes. Except me, nobody voted for BJP. They all said, what is the use of wasting the vote? Vote for the AIADMK." He further highlighted the role of influential minority communities, particularly Brahmins, who, though small in number, can sway multiple votes each. "I never regard Brahmins as just 3%. Each can influence 2-3 people. Historically, they preferred ADMK over BJP because a vote for BJP was seen as indirectly supporting DMK," Gurumurthy added. On the DMK-led alliance, he noted that its insistence on a single-family leadership could fuel anti-establishment sentiment. "By saying only DMK will rule, the party has complicated its position. Had there been power-sharing, the anti-establishment wave could have been mitigated," he said. Gurumurthy also criticised the DMK and its allies for not embracing power-sharing arrangements, suggesting it could fuel anti-incumbency. Referring to Chief Minister MK Stalin, he remarked, "If I were Stalin, I would have accepted it because the anti-establishment feeling would have come down." "They are asking votes, saying only DMK will rule... it means my family will only rule," he further said. Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4. The current tenure of the 234-member state assembly ends on May 10. The main electoral contest is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which includes Congress, DMDK, and other parties. Looking to unseat the ruling alliance are the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies. (ANI)
Bonnie Blue doesn't care if people don't believe she is pregnant.

Bonnie Blue doesn't care about her critics

The controversial adult entertainer had sex with 400 men without protection last month in a bid to start a family and she later revealed her "breeding mission" was "a success" as she confirmed her pregnancy, and she is "not fazed at all" if people have written off her news as a publicity stunt because she knows it will keep people interested in her while they try to figure out if she is telling the truth.

She told Us Weekly magazine: Its not my job to convince them I am actually pregnant. The more doubts, the more comments, the more views, and it will stay that way

" I saw a comment say, Even if Im seen having a baby, theyll think its a doll. So enjoy watching me carrying a doll around this year because I am pregnant, but I am not fazed at all if people dont believe me.

Bonnie teased lots of Spring Break content will be shared soon, and the really fun event just shows Ive been able to continue doing what I do despite being pregnant or not pregnant.

The 26-year-old star also insisted she is "fine", despite being charged with outraging public decency earlier this month in connection with a since-deleted December 2025 video she shared which showed her mimicking oral sex while holding an Indonesian flag outside the country's embassy in London.

She said: Im feeling fine. Im going to reveal and answer all the questions regarding me being charged in my latest gangbang video. It will be a very explicit video.

Bonnie said "anyone that's intrigued" about the charges will get their questions" answered while I'm doing what I do best".

The OnlyFans model - who could face up to six months in prison if convicted - had shared the video on the same day she returned to England after being deported from Bali on suspicion of making pornographic content online.

She reportedly mimicked the sex act as she said in the now-deleted clip: Yes, I got arrested in Bali for filming. So I thought it was about time I came to the embassy so they could watch it in person.

Bonnie is due to appear in court on 22 April.
BJP MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal on Tuesday slammed the opposition over their criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in Lok Sabha on the ongoing West Asia conflict, saying it has become a habit of the opposition to comment on everything, and they should learn to digest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the world and the country about positive things which are being accepted globally. Speaking to ANI on the opposition's criticism of PM Modi's address in the parliament, BJP MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal said the Prime Minister has given importance to every single thing and also told the world that India is sending a message through the Lok Sabha that there should be peace in the world. "It has become a habit of the opposition to comment on everything. I feel that the Prime Minister has appealed to the world and the country about so many positive things, and the world and the country are accepting it. But the opposition is still not able to accept it. The opposition should learn to digest it; the opposition should start trying to digest it. He(PM Modi) has given importance to every single thing. He has also told the world that they are sending a message through the Lok Sabha: that there should be peace and tranquility in the world," said Singh. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of the West Asia conflict, alleging that India has been sidelined in international negotiations and describing the PM as "compromised." Responding to a question on reports that Pakistan could be facilitating talks between Iran and the US, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said, "Our foreign policy is Prime Minister Modi's personal foreign policy. You can see the result of this. It's a universal joke. Everybody considers it a universal joke." "Yesterday, he gave an irrelevant speech. I mean, he is the Prime Minister of India; it should be visible that he is India's Prime Minister. What is the position? There is no position at all." Gandhi added. The remarks come after PM Modi's address in the Lok Sabha on the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict. In his speech, the PM highlighted the escalating conflict in West Asia, which has entered its fourth week, was posing significant challenges for India, particularly in terms of energy security and trade disruptions. "The situation in West Asia is worrisome. This conflict has been going on for more than three weeks. It has a severe impact on the global economy and the lives of the people, and that is why the world is urging all sides for an early resolution to this conflict," PM Modi said. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav attended a State-Level Kisan Sammelan held in Datia district on Tuesday and distributed benefits to farmers related to agricultural equipment, animal husbandry, and food processing. Addressing the program, CM Yadav said that Madhya Pradesh would soon become the number one state in the country. He also inaugurated or performed the bhoomi pujan of 12 development projects costing Rs 62.23 crore, including a grand Sandipani School, a travellers' rest house at the sacred site of Ratangarh, a stadium, and others on the occasion, according to an official release. The Chief Minister urged farmers to adopt modern agricultural equipment, expand into animal husbandry and fisheries and establish agro-based industries and food processing units to double their income. Several schemes have been introduced to support these efforts. Farmers are now also producing fodder through machines as part of crop residue management, enabling them to earn from both wheat and straw. The CM further said the state government is committed to expanding the irrigation coverage in the state. The irrigated area, which once stood at 7.5 lakh hectares, has now increased to 55 lakh hectares. In the last two years alone, irrigated land has expanded by nearly 10 lakh hectares. Additionally, CM Yadav appealed to farmers not to burn crop residue after harvesting, as it reduces soil fertility. The state government is providing Happy Seeder machines to beneficiaries for straw production. Farmers can sell the fodder to nearby gaushalas, enabling them to earn additional income along with their wheat produce. To ensure small farmers get timely access to farm machinery on rent, Custom Hiring Centres are being established at the assembly constituency level. The Chief Minister also assured that farmers will be provided 24-hour electricity for irrigation after the monsoon season. Furthermore, the Chief Minister said the state government has launched the 'Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Kamdhenu Scheme' to enhance farmers' income through animal husbandry. The state aims to increase milk production from 9 to 20 per cent. Under the scheme, farmers establishing a unit of 25 cows costing Rs 40 lakh will receive a Rs 10 lakh subsidy from the state government. Along with this, the Chief Minister also stressed that Sandipani schools in the state are like temples, shaping the bright future of children. Students studying in government schools are being provided free textbooks, uniforms, bicycles, laptops, and even scooters. From the current academic session, milk packets will also be distributed to school children under the Yashoda Scheme. (ANI)
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader TKS Elangovan on Tuesday criticised the AIADMK manifesto, alleging that General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami is "afraid of defeat" and is adding new promises and freebies to mislead voters. Speaking to ANI, Elangovan said that such assurances would not convince the people of Tamil Nadu, as the AIADMK government, according to him, had failed to deliver meaningful benefits during its tenure. He questioned the intent behind the fresh promises, calling them an attempt to secure a few additional seats. "He is afraid of his defeat. That is why new things are being added to his manifesto, offering freebies to the people. It only shows that he is scared of losing. However, people will not believe him because his government has not done any good for the people of Tamil Nadu right from the beginning. Then why all these promises? Only to mislead people and somehow secure a few more seats," said Elangovan. Elangovan further recalled that when the DMK had earlier promised Rs 1,000 assistance for women, Palaniswami had dismissed it as unrealistic. "Now, when he was the Chief Minister, we released our manifesto stating that we would give Rs 1,000 to every woman. But at that time, he said that Stalin was cheating and could not deliver. Now, all these promises are meant only to cheat the people of Tamil Nadu," said Elangovan. Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday released the party's election manifesto, promising Rs 2000 monthly to female heads of households. Palaniswami released a manifesto with 297 promises, including a special assistance of Rs. 10,000 per family to combat tax burdens and rising prices of goods. "Under the administratively incompetent Stalin-led DMK regime--characterised by its lack of vision--the prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed over the past five years. Consequently, the public has been severely affected. Furthermore, various taxes--including property tax, house tax, electricity tariffs, and water charges--have been hiked. As a result, the daily financial burden on households has increased manifold. Therefore, with the aim of alleviating this burden on the people, a special assistance sum of Rs. 10,000 will be provided to every family," the manifesto read. EPS promised the 'Kula Vilakku Scheme' for women, and the manifesto said, "To foster economic equilibrium within society, a monthly assistance allowance of Rs 2,000 will be provided to all ration cardholders through the 'Kula Vilakku Scheme.' This amount will be deposited directly into the bank account of the female head of the household." AIADMK has also promised that the ration card holders will receive lentils along with rice, and will also receive refrigerators. The party has promised to extend the free bus travel scheme to men, in addition to women. Three free cooking gas cylinders per year for every ration cardholder, the manifesto said. Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4. Under the NDA seat-sharing agreement, the alliance led by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will contest over 170 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been allotted 27 seats, followed by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) with 18 seats, and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) with 11 seats. The main electoral contest is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which also includes Congress, DMDK, and the VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is set to make his electoral debut with TVK, attempting to turn the upcoming elections into a three-way contest. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that only Hindus, Sikhs or Buddhists can claim the status of a Scheduled Caste person as per the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 and the rule is absolute. A bench of Justices PK Mishra and NV Anjaria upheld an Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling that had quashed criminal proceedings against six persons accused of caste-based abuse under various provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) holding that the appellant (complainant) cannot claim protection under the SC/ST Act since he had been openly professing Christianity and working as a Pastor for about a decade. The High Court was of the view that Christianity does not recognise the caste system and that a person who has converted and continues to actively work as a Pastor and professes Christianity, cannot, in law, claim protection under the SC/ST Act. "At the very outset, it must be unequivocally stated that the offences registered under the SC/ST Act against respondent nos. 2 to 7 at the instance of the appellant cannot be sustained. Having already held that the appellant ceased to be a member of the Scheduled Caste community upon his conversion to Christianity, he cannot subsequently invoke the provisions of the SC/ST Act. The said statute is a special legislation enacted with the avowed object of preventing atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and once the foundational requirement of caste status stands extinguished, the statutory protection thereunder is no longer available. Therefore, we are of the view that the High Court was right in holding that the appellant has ceased to be a member of the Scheduled Caste on his conversion to Christianity. Accordingly, the appellant cannot be a person aggrieved under the SC/ST Act", the Supreme Court noted. The apex court found that the complainant in the present case was originally born into the Madiga community, which is a Scheduled Caste community. But, it also noted that the complainant had openly and undisputedly embraced Christianity. However, it ruled that after having converted to Christianity, the complainant lost his status as a member of the Scheduled Caste. "Once the appellant converted to Christianity, the caste status, which he earlier enjoyed as a member of the Madiga community, stood eclipsed in the eyes of law," the Court stated. Building on this reasoning, the Court laid down a set of governing principles (postulates) to determine when a person can claim Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The Court clarified that a person must clearly establish, through cogent and unimpeachable evidence, that they belong to a caste or tribe specifically notified under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 or the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. It underscored that the restriction under Clause 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 is absolute - only persons professing Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be recognised as Scheduled Castes. Conversion to any other religion leads to an immediate and complete loss of SC status, irrespective of birth, and such a person cannot claim any reservation, protection, or statutory benefit linked to that status, the Court noted. The Court further held that a person cannot simultaneously profess another religion and claim Scheduled Caste status, as the two are legally incompatible and mutually exclusive under the constitutional scheme. To validate claims of SC/ST status in cases where the claimants have reconverted (back to SC/ST community status) the Court laid down a strict three-fold test: the individual must prove original membership of a notified Scheduled Caste, demonstrate genuine and complete reconversion with actual adherence to the original religion''s practices and establish acceptance by the concerned caste community. All three conditions are mandatory, and the burden of proof lies entirely on the claimant. The judgment also clarified that once SC status is lost due to conversion, all associated statutory benefits and protections automatically cease. With respect to Scheduled Tribes, however, the Court drew a distinction, noting that the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 does not impose a religion-based bar. Instead, ST status depends on the continued existence of tribal characteristics such as customs, social organisation, and community recognition. Conversion alone is not; what matters is whether the person remains integrated with, and accepted by, the tribal community. Applying these principles to the present case, the Court noted that the appellant, though born into the Madiga Scheduled Caste, had converted to Christianity and never reconverted or rejoined the community. On the contrary, he continued to profess Christianity and serve as a Pastor, thereby losing his Scheduled Caste status in the eyes of law and rendering his claim under the SC/ST Act unsustainable. Thus, it upheld the Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling and rejected the appeal. (ANI)
Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, MB Ghalibaf, on Tuesday said that the world is divided between those who support the cause of Gaza and the 'Epstein class'. Ghalibaf said that Iran was fighting for humanity, and there is no middle ground whatsoever. In a post on X, he said, "Iran is fighting for humanity. The world is either with Gaza and against this colonial terror regime, or it stands with the Epstein class and child torturers. There is no middle ground. #GazaGenocide." https://x.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2036170045923922224?s=20 Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he spoke to US President Donald Trump. In a post on X, he said, "Earlier today, I spoke with our friend President Trump. President Trump believes there is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have attained with the U.S. military to realise the war objectives in the agreement--an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests." https://x.com/netanyahu/status/2036161707689537832?s=20 He added, "At the same time, we continue to strike both in Iran and in Lebanon. We are crushing the missile program and the nuclear program, and continuing to inflict severe blows on Hezbollah. Just days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists--and the hand is still outstretched. We will safeguard our vital interests in any scenario." Meanwhile, cautious relief has swept through financial markets after Trump said the US talked with Iran about a possible end to their war. Oil prices eased, and stock prices rose on Wall Street following severe losses taken elsewhere in the world before Trump's announcement, as per Al Jazeera. The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 10.9 per cent to settle at USD 99.94, down from nearly USD 120 at one point last week. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1 per cent for its best day since the war began, as per Al Jazeera. Netanyahu on Monday (local time) said he spoke to US President Donald Trump and they will realise the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests. (ANI)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X, "On March 23, FMs Sergey Lavrov & Seyed Abbas Araghchi spoke over the phone. The Ministers discussed the deterioration in the Persian Gulf caused by US-Israeli aggression. They also voiced concern over the conflict's dangerous expansion into the Caspian region." https://x.com/mfa_russia/status/2036059638970327524?s=20 Sergey Lavrov stressed the categorical unacceptability of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which create unacceptable risks for the safety of Russian personnel and could lead to catastrophic environmental consequences for all countries of the region without exception, an official statement said. Both Sides also expressed concern over the dangerous expansion of the conflict provoked by Washington and Tel Aviv into the Caspian region. The Russian Side emphasized the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for a political settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of all parties involved, above all Iran. Russia will continue to adhere to this stance at the UN Security Council. Abbas Araghchi thanked the Russian leadership for the substantial diplomatic and other support being provided to Iran, including the delivery of humanitarian assistance, it added. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Iran has one more opportunity to end its threats to America. "We hope they take it. Either way, America and the entire world will soon be a much safer planet," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (local time) said he spoke to US President Donald Trump and they will realise the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests. Netanyahu pledged to keep attacking Iran and Lebanon. https://x.com/IsraeliPM/status/2036160778709938402?s=20 In a post on X, he said, "Earlier today I spoke with our friend President Trump. President Trump believes there is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have reached alongside the US military to realize the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests. At the same time, we are continuing to strike in both Iran and Lebanon. We are smashing the missile program and the nuclear program, and we continue to deal severe blows to Hezbollah. Just a few days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists - and we are still active. We will safeguard our vital interests under all circumstances." (ANI)
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri interacted with the visiting delegation of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development of the Sri Lankan Parliament. Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said on Monday that the talks focused on progress in ongoing projects aimed at deepening cooperation. In a post on X, Jaiswal said, "Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri interacted with the visiting delegation of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development of Parliament of Sri Lanka, who are on a week-long study tour to India. Discussions covered progress in ongoing projects in energy, transport, ports and other sectors vital to further deepening connectivity and integration for stability, predictability and mutual prosperity." https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2036134546761253236?s=20 Earlier on Sunday, Sri Lankan Member of Parliament (MP), JC Alawathuwala, on Sunday offered prayers to Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam in Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh. According to the official website of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, in terms of his career, MPJC Alawathuwala was the Chairman of Reedigama Pradeshiya Sabha from 1991 to 1993, Member of Provincial Council North Western Province (NWP) from 1993 to 1994, Member of Sri Lankan Parliament from 1994 to 2000, Member of Provincial Council NWP from 2004 to 2010, Opposition Leader of Provincial Council NWP from 2010 to 2015 and Member of Parliament from 2015 to 2020. Currently, he is serving as the MP of Sri Lanka. India is Sri Lanka's closest neighbor and the relationship between the two countries is more than 2,500 years old, sharing a strong civilizational and historical connection. Sri Lanka has a central place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and Security and Growth for all in the region (S.A.G.A.R) vision. The bilateral relations are mature and diversified, encompassing all areas of contemporary relevance. The shared cultural and social heritage of the two countries and the extensive people-to-people interaction of their citizens provide the foundation to build a multifaceted partnership. (ANI)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said that he has the evidence of the fact that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran for the war. Zelenskyy said that the aid is helping Iran stay afloat and prolonging the war. "There is growing evidence that the Russians continue to provide the Iranian regime with intelligence support. This is clearly a destructive activity, and it must be stopped, as it only leads to further destabilization. All decent states are interested in guaranteeing security and preventing a larger crisis. Markets are already reacting negatively, and this is significantly complicating the fuel situation in many countries. By helping the Iranian regime stay afloat and strike more accurately, Russia is effectively prolonging the war. There must be a response," Zelenskyy said. https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2036168688739487744?s=20 Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X, "On March 23, FMs Sergey Lavrov & Seyed Abbas Araghchi spoke over the phone. The Ministers discussed the deterioration in the Persian Gulf caused by US-Israeli aggression. They also voiced concern over the conflict's dangerous expansion into the Caspian region." https://x.com/mfa_russia/status/2036059638970327524?s=20 Sergey Lavrov stressed the categorical unacceptability of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which creates unacceptable risks for the safety of Russian personnel and could lead to catastrophic environmental consequences for all countries of the region without exception, an official statement said. https://x.com/netanyahu/status/2036161707689537832?s=20 Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (local time) said he spoke to US President Donald Trump, and they will realise the goals of the war through an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests. Netanyahu pledged to keep attacking Iran and Lebanon. (ANI)
The US State Department said that Iran-aligned terrorist militias have conducted widespread attacks on US citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, as it cautioned the nationals to leave the country immediately. In a post on X, it said, "Iraq: Iran-aligned terrorist militias have conducted widespread attacks on U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR). U.S. citizens should leave Iraq now. U.S. Mission Iraq remains open while on ordered departure to assist U.S. citizens in Iraq. Do not attempt to come to the embassy in Baghdad or the consulate general in Erbil in light of ongoing risk of missiles, drones, and rockets in Iraqi airspace. All routine consular services remain suspended, including all visa services. Americans should contact BaghdadACS@state.gov or ErbilACS@state.gov in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy in Iraq reminds U.S. citizens of the Level 4: Do Not Travel warning for Iraq. U.S. citizens are advised: "Do not travel to Iraq for any reason. Leave now if you are there."" https://x.com/TravelGov/status/2036096522811555920?s=20 Earlier on Saturday, the US Department of State on Saturday (local time) issued a worldwide warning for its citizens, saying that Iranian supporters may attack US citizens. The warning said that the citizens must follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest US embassy or consulate. https://x.com/TravelGov/status/2035776595642757436?s=20 "Worldwide Caution: The Department of State advises Americans worldwide, and especially in the Middle East, to exercise increased caution. Americans abroad should follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. Periodic airspace closures may cause travel disruptions. U.S. diplomatic facilities, including outside the Middle East, have been targeted. Groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or locations associated with the United States and/or Americans throughout the world." (ANI)
In Bangladesh, Retired Lieutenant General Masududdin Chowdhury, who emerged as an important figure in the military-controlled government of 2007-2008, was arrested by the police in a late-night operation after being detained by detectives. According to the detective branch of police, various media outlets report that there are five cases against him, which lead to his arrest. After retiring, Masududdin Chowdhury became a member of the Bangladesh Parliament; prior to that, he served as an ambassador. Police said Chowdhury was detained from a house in the Baridhara DOHS area. In 2007-2008, when the military-controlled government took power, Masududdin Chowdhury was the GOC of the most important 9th Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army. After the formation of this military-controlled government, he held a significant role in a committee that, in the name of anti-corruption, detained various major businessmen. At that time, he held a substantial amount of power. At that time, the government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed, which was known as the army-backed caretaker government, was closely supported by the army chief, General Moeen Uddin Ahmed. Reports suggest that Masududdin Chowdhury was instrumental in this, as he oversaw the arrest and detention of major politicians in Bangladesh, including former Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. He also arrested many businessmen and is widely credited with playing a key role in imposing the state of emergency in Bangladesh at that time. As per BDNews 24, Masud had served in the Rakkhi Bahini when the force was formed in 1975--which was later absorbed into the army. Masududdin Chowdhury was later appointed as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Australia, and after returning from there, he joined the Jatiya Party of former military ruler General Ershad and was elected as a member of parliament from the Jatiya Party. (ANI)
Miley Cyrus has joked she's too "tired" for a full Hannah Montana reboot.

Miley Cyrus at Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special premiere

The 33-year-old former child star rose to fame as the titular character in the hit Disney sitcom between 2006 and 2011, and while she has filmed a 20th anniversary special to mark two decades since the first episode aired, she hinted that actually bringing back the show would be a step too far.

Asked about a potential reboot on the red carpet of the Disney+ special's premiere, she told Variety: "Girl, I'm already tired! This has already been a lot."

The beloved sitcom starred Miley as teenager Miley Stewart, who lives a double life as a famous pop star.

In the special, Miley sings some of the show's most popular songs, as well as sitting down for an interview with Call Me Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper.

There will also be a surprise appearance from Selena Gomez, who played Hannah's pop star rival Mikayla Skeech in season two, plus never-before-seen archival footage.

Miley was joined by her fiance Maxx Morando, 27, for the premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, as well as sister Brandi, 38, and her mother Tish, 58, who attended with her husband Dominic Purcell, 56.

Dad Billy Ray, who starred in the sitcom and will appear in the special, wasn't at the premiere, while former co-star Emily Osment was also missing.

The 34-year-old actress - who played Miley's best friend Lilly Truscott - has confirmed she didn't take part in filming for the anniversary show due to filming commitments for her series George and Mandy's First Marriage.

She said in an Instagram video: "I wanted to say hello and thank you to everybody that has stuck by us for all these years.

So grateful that you guys all still love this show. I'm so proud to be a part of it.

She added in the caption: "Hannah Montana changed my life, it gave me a lifelong respect for this medium of comedy, it taught me discipline, patience, timing and respect working in an adult space so young.

I cant tell you what your sweet messages mean to me and how lucky I feel to have been apart of this once in a generation goliath of a television show.

Thank you for letting me into your living rooms and I hope to still be there many years from now.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Tuesday announced that the European Union and Australia have concluded a long-negotiated Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In a post on X, von der Leyen said the agreement came after years of negotiations. She said, "After almost a decade of work - we can say: we did it. We have concluded the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement. And it is such a win for both sides." https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/2036237280239820916 According to von der Leyen, the deal expands Europe's trade partnerships significantly, connecting markets across multiple regions. In the joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, she said, "In less than two months, Europe added nearly two billion people to our free trade market. With agreements spanning 3 continents. From Latin America to India and now Australia. It's a true trade trilogy." https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/2036269272469561355 She said the agreement would provide immediate economic benefits for European businesses, exporters and farmers. She added," For EU businesses, this agreement will deliver immediate, tangible benefits. EU exporters, producers and farmers will save 1 billion euros in tariffs. Our exports of goods to Australia are expected to grow by 33 per cent over the next decade." Von der Leyen noted that the deal also includes protections for agricultural products through geographical indications, while offering expanded export opportunities for farmers. She said, "And our farmers will benefit from greater export opportunities combined, as usual, with strong safeguards. With the protection of geographical indications, for example. It's a perfect balance." In a separate X post, von der Leyen highlighted cooperation on critical minerals between the two partners. https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/2036290994677633318 She said, "Australia is one of the world's most important producers of critical raw material. In contrast, Europe is one of the world's major users." She said both sides agreed on four major projects covering the production of rare earths, lithium and tungsten, key materials used in advanced technologies and the clean energy transition. The two sides also agreed to launch negotiations on Australia's accession to Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship research and innovation programme, she added. (ANI)
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) on Tuesday recorded the presence of 9 PLAN vessels, 3 sorties of PLA aircraft and 1 official ship around its territory. As per the MND, three out of the three sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern part ADIZ. Sharing the details in a post on X, it said, "3 sorties of PLA aircraft, 9 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 3 out of 3 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern part ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/2036246622967873653?s=20 Earlier on Monday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence detected the presence of seven Chinese naval vessels and three official ships operating around its territorial waters. In a post on X, the MND said, "7 PLAN vessels and 3 official ships operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded. No flight path illustration is provided, as we did not detect PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan during this timeframe." China's claim over Taiwan is a complex issue rooted in historical, political, and legal arguments. Beijing asserts that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, a viewpoint embedded in national policy and upheld by domestic laws and international statements. Taiwan, however, maintains a distinct identity, functioning independently with its own government, military, and economy. Taiwan's status remains a significant point of international debate, testing the principles of sovereignty, self-determination, and non-interference in international law, as per the United Service Institution of India. China's claim to Taiwan originates from the Qing Dynasty's annexation of the island in 1683 after defeating Ming loyalist Koxinga. However, Taiwan remained a peripheral region under limited Qing control. The key shift came in 1895, when the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War, marking Taiwan as a Japanese colony for 50 years. After Japan's defeat in World War II, Taiwan was returned to Chinese control, but the sovereignty transfer was not formalised. In 1949, the Chinese Civil War resulted in the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland, while the Republic of China (ROC) retreated to Taiwan, asserting its claim to govern all of China. This led to dual sovereignty claims: the PRC over the mainland and the ROC over Taiwan. Taiwan has operated as a de facto independent state but has avoided declaring formal independence to prevent military conflict with the PRC, United Service Institution of India states. (ANI)
Sikyong Penpa Tsering (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the Tibetan government-in-exile, said increasing international recognition of Tibet's historical status could push China to reopen dialogue, while emphasising existing back-channel contacts as largely "inconsequential". Speaking to ANI in Dharamshala, Tsering said the CTA's current strategy is to reach out to more governments worldwide to acknowledge Tibet's historical sovereignty. "By having more countries accept the reality of Tibet's sovereignty in the past, that might force the Chinese government to come and talk to us, that's one idea," he said. The Sikyoong said prospects for " productive" talks "look very unlikely" under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding that the Tibetan administration will continue engaging the international community until conditions for dialogue improve. "Right now, if you look at the policies of the Xi Jinping government, one pillar of the government looks very unlikely that there could be any productive talks, so that's why we keep saying that till such a time we will have to reach out to the international community," Tsering said. He added that the Tibetan side is not asking other countries to "lie, Tibet was an independent country", but to recognise documented historical perspectives. "We are not asking other countries to lie; Tibet was an independent country. We have these two books I always carry, one by a Chinese professor with irrefutable evidence that if you consider Yuan and the Qing also as Chinese dynasties aside from the Mings, imperial China has never considered Tibet as a part of China. Then there is another book looking at Tibetan history from the legal perspective and also proves that Tibet was never considered as part of China," he said. Tsering acknowledged that some communication channels with Beijing still exist but said they have not led to meaningful engagement. "There have been back channels. I cannot lie about what is happening and what is not happening. I have said that many times, but it's inconsequential because there is nothing that can come out of it, because the whole idea is whether we can re-establish contact or not. Are they willing to talk or not? So we have not reached that level also. It's just more information sharing, those kind of things. So yes, we do keep this contact just in case we need a channel of communication otherwise... we don't expect much from the back channel," he said. Tsering also expressed concern about the situation inside Tibet, saying increasing surveillance and restrictions have made it harder for Tibetans to leave the region. "Last year it was less than 50, and this year it's just a few that managed to come out because there are much more restrictions. There is much more control inside Tibet," he said. He alleged that Chinese authorities use advanced surveillance technologies to monitor Tibetans. "China's monitoring and surveillance of Tibetan people using the Silicon Valley products, including IBM, thermal DNA testing and all that using Western technologies to control... they have perfected the art of control and surveillance... so they can track everything, including your financial track record and transactions. That's how they control you," he said. He added that despite restrictions, Tibetans continue to show loyalty to the Dalai Lama and remain commited to preserving Tibetan culture. He said, "But still revenge spirit has not broken. Even though they're not able to come out. Their spirit, their respect and loyalty for his Holiness the Dalai Lama and for the importance of Tibetan culture." Tsering also thanked Tibetan voters after being re-elected as Sikyong. The Tibetan Election Commission-in-exile on February 13 declared him elected for the 17th Kashag, after he secured more than 60 per cent of the total votes in the preliminary round, eliminating the need for a final round of voting under election rules. (ANI)
President of the European Council Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday called for an immediate end to "hostilities" in the Middle East, warning that the escalating conflict is creating a "critical" situation for global energy supply chains, according to France 24. Addressing the Australian Parliament during her visit to Canberra, the European Commission President said the ongoing conflict is already having far-reaching consequences worldwide. "We all feel the knock-on effects on gas and oil prices on our businesses and our societies," von der Leyen said alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra, as quoted by France 24. As quoted by France 24, she added, "It is of utmost importance that we come to a solution that is negotiated, and this puts an end to the hostilities that we see in the Middle East." Von der Leyen also highlighted deepening strategic ties between the European Union and Australia, announcing the launch of a new 'Security and Defence Partnership' aimed at strengthening cooperation across multiple domains. In a post on X, she said the partnership would expand collaboration from joint maritime exercises to space coordination, defence industry engagement and efforts to counter hybrid threats. https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/2036243785764556878 "Today, we are also launching our new Security & Defence Partnership. We will deepen our cooperation from joint maritime exercises to space, defence industry and countering hybrid threats. And we will work hand in hand to strengthen the resilience of our democracies, " von der Leyen said. In a post on X, she further stressed that Europe and Australia share common strategic interests, particularly in maintaining stability across the Indo-Pacific region. https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/2036251306009174096 "Europe and Australia are long-standing friends and allies. Our security matters to you. The reverse is also true.Stability in the Indo-Pacific is now our common goal," she added. Meanwhile, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union and Australia have concluded a long-negotiated Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In a post on X, von der Leyen said the agreement came after years of negotiations. She said, "After almost a decade of work - we can say: we did it. We have concluded the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement. And it is such a win for both sides." (ANI)
Addressing the presidential segment, Lula criticised the perceived inaction of the UN Security Council in resolving ongoing conflicts, warning that unilateral actions and violations of sovereignty are becoming increasingly common. Without naming specific countries, he referred to escalating global crises and stressed that "a world without rules is an insecure world."

Highlighting the historical role of the United Nations, Lula said the institution is facing a moment of "exhaustion," particularly in conflict prevention and mediation. He called for stronger international cooperation, advocating policies of inclusion over walls and hate speech, as reported by Brasil 247.

On the environmental front, Lula contrasted his administration's policies with those of his predecessor, attributing past damage to Brazil's global image to earlier governance. He asserted that since 2023, Brazil has made significant progress, including halving deforestation in the Amazon, reducing it by over 30% in the Cerrado and cutting Pantanal fires by more than 90%.

The president also outlined Brazil's broader environmental agenda, citing initiatives such as the Tropical Forests Forever Fund and efforts to expand protected areas. New measures announced include the creation of a 41,000-hectare reserve in northern Minas Gerais and expansions of the Pantanal National Park and Taiam Ecological Station.

Lula emphasised regional cooperation, noting joint efforts by South American nations to protect migratory birds. He also expressed hope for the approval of the Escazu Agreement and progress on global initiatives like a South Atlantic whale sanctuary.

Framing environmental protection as a pillar of diplomacy, Lula positioned Brazil as a key global actor committed to sustainability, cooperation, and institutional strengthening. (ANI)
Arab News has cited Israeli Media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth to report that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was prepared to negotiate with the Americans. Ahrnaooth cited a coversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. intermediary Steve Witkoff which was approved by the highest level in Iran. Earlier, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry had dismissed US President Donald Trump's claims of talks with Iran, saying Tehran has had no negotiations with Washington over the past 24 days of the unprovoked US-Israel war against the Islamic Republic. The key development comes after United States President Donald Trump on Monday said the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route, will be "open very soon" amid the conflict in West Asia and suggested that he envisions it being managed jointly by the US and Iran. Speaking to reporters in Florida, Trump said that the strait will be "open very soon" if ongoing negotiations with Tehran continue successfully. He added that he and the newly appointed Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, will "jointly" control the critical shipping and global energy route. "It'll be jointly controlled. Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah is," the US President added. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical transit route that normally handles 15 million barrels per day of crude oil and 5 million barrels per day of oil products, representing roughly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade. However, due to the conflict in the region, the waterway has been considered high-risk for transit, choking the global energy supply. Trump also highlighted that the recent early strikes in the conflict had targeted much of Iran's senior leadership, saying, "And there'll also be a very serious form of regime change. There's automatically a regime change," and noted that talks over the weekend showed potential to reduce tensions. Commenting on the individuals involved in negotiations, Trump said, "But we're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are, they're very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for." Earlier, the US President announced that he had instructed the US Department of War to delay any military action against Iranian power plants and energy sites for five days, citing ongoing diplomatic engagements with Tehran amid escalating tensions in West Asia. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive conversations" over the past two days aimed at resolving hostilities in the region. He added that the decision to pause strikes was based on the "tenor and tone" of the discussions, which he described as "in-depth, detailed, and constructive". Trump further stated that the conversations will continue through the week. The key development comes as the conflict between US-Israel and Iran has now entered into its fourth week--with ripple effects being felt beyond West Asia and the Gulf region as concerns intensify over global energy security, with supply bottlenecks and damaged infrastructure- civilian, military and energy. (ANI)
Israeli Defence Forces said on Tuesday that it conducted over 50 overnight military strikes on the targets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and attacked its command centres, weapons storage facilities and aerial defence systems. Sharing the details in a post on X, the Israeli Defence Forces said that it has conducted over 3000 strikes across Iran since the start of Operation Roaring Lion. The IDF wrote on X, "3,000+ strikes across Iran since the start of Operation Roaring Lion. Yesterday, the IDF targeted IRGC command centers, weapons storage facilities, and aerial defense systems. Overnight, an additional 50+ targets were struck, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites." https://x.com/IDF/status/2036349414663442778?s=20 As tensions continue to escalate in the region, Al Jazeera Breaking reported in Tuesday that explosions were heard in Baghdad. It further mentioned that the death toll rose to 14 after a US airstrike on PMF base in Iraq. Al Jazeera Breaking cited Iranian media and said that energy infrastructure in the country was attacked. It also noted that Bahrain said a fire broke out at a facility due to "criminal Iranian aggression". Six people have been lightly injured after an Iranian missile hit Tel Aviv, the Times of Israel reported on Tuesday. It mentioned a Chanel 12 report that cited police who said that a munition carrying about 100 kilograms of explosives impacted central Tel Aviv. Multiple buildings and vehicles were damaged in the attack. Missile parts also impacted in Rosh Ha'ayin, east of Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, Press TV said on Tuesday that Imam Ali Hospital in the city of Andimeshk has been evacuated and is no longer in service after direct attacks by the US and Israel. As tensions continue to rise in West Asia and the Gulf region, Al Jazeera Breaking reported that an Israeli attack has hit a petrol station in southern Lebanon, which triggered a huge explosion and fire. It added that the Israeli army had issued displacement orders to residents. As the security situation evolves in the region, Arab News has cited Israeli Media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth to report that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was prepared to negotiate with the Americans.Ahrnaooth cited a coversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. intermediary Steve Witkoff which was approved by the highest level in Iran. The key development comes as the conflict between US-Israel and Iran has now entered into its fourth week--with ripple effects being felt beyond West Asia and the Gulf region as concerns intensify over global energy security, with supply bottlenecks and damaged infrastructure- civilian, military and energy. (ANI)
A young resident of Panjgur district in Balochistan has reportedly gone missing after being forcibly taken by unidentified armed individuals, according to local reports, raising renewed concerns about law and order in the region, as reported by the Balochistan Post. According to The Balochistan Post, he was allegedly picked up from the Isa locality a day before the report. Witnesses in the area claimed that several armed men arrived and took him away to an unknown destination without presenting any legal warrant or explanation. Local sources have suggested that those involved may be linked to a pro-state armed network often described by residents as a "death squad." These groups are widely accused by locals of operating with tacit support, though no official acknowledgement of their existence has been made by Pakistani authorities. The incident reflects a broader pattern where similar cases have surfaced across districts such as Panjgur, Kech, and Turbat. Residents and rights organisations allege that enforced disappearances, targeted violence, and intimidation tactics have become recurring features of life in these areas. Pakistani officials, however, continue to reject such allegations. Authorities maintain that all operations are carried out strictly by formal security institutions and within the legal framework, dismissing claims of parallel armed groups as unfounded, as highlighted by The Balochistan Post. Despite these denials, the issue of enforced disappearances has persisted in Balochistan for nearly two decades. Families of missing persons continue to demand accountability, claiming that many individuals are detained without due process or access to legal recourse. His reported abduction adds to the growing list of unresolved cases in the province. At the time of filing this report, there has been no official statement regarding his detention, nor any clarity about his condition or whereabouts, as reported by The Balochistan Post. (ANI)
China on Tuesday urged all parties involved in escalating tensions around Iran to immediately halt hostilities and return to dialogue, warning that a prolonged conflict would benefit no one, the China Daily reported. Speaking after reports that the United States postponed planned strikes on Iran's power plants, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing was "deeply concerned" about the potential "spillover effects" of the crisis across West Asia. "A prolonged conflict in Iran serves no one's interests, and a ceasefire and dialogue remain the only way out," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, according to China Daily. Lin added that China has urged all sides to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation in the region. "Beijing is deeply concerned about the spillover effects of the crisis and urged all parties to immediately stop the fighting and return to the track of peaceful dialogue," the spokesperson said, according to China Daily. Earlier on March 20, highlighting the global repercussions of the deteriorating security situation, China on Friday warned that the "current conflict in the Middle East is continuing to escalate and expand," impacting vital international sectors and harming the "common interests of all countries." Addressing a foreign media query regarding the regional crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian noted that the fallout extends far beyond the immediate battlefield. He emphasised that the instability is "not only undermining peace and stability in the region, but also directly impacting international energy, finance, trade and shipping." The spokesperson underscored Beijing's stance against the use of force, suggesting that kinetic actions often yield counterproductive results. "History and reality have repeatedly shown that military force is not a solution to problems, and armed confrontation will only breed new hatred," Lin told a regular press conference. In a direct appeal for de-escalation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged that the "parties concerned should immediately press the pause button on military operations to prevent the situation from deteriorating further." Reaffirming China's role as a diplomatic mediator in the ongoing crisis, he expressed Beijing's commitment to finding a non-military resolution. "China will continue to engage in mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire and end the hostilities, so that peace and stability can return to the Middle East at an early date," Lin added. (ANI)
Pakistan's efforts to revive its declining cotton sector have hit another setback as the proposed merger between the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) remains stuck in bureaucratic limbo, despite receiving legal clearance earlier this month, as reported by Dawn. According to Dawn, the Ministry of Law cleared the merger draft on March 4 and directed the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to move the summary forward for approval. However, officials have yet to act, leaving the process stalled without explanation and raising concerns among stakeholders about governance inefficiencies. The merger, first approved in principle by the federal cabinet and Establishment Division in January 2025 with a June deadline, was designed to consolidate cotton research and improve productivity. Yet, more than a year later, the absence of formal notification has exposed persistent administrative inertia. Khalid Mahmood Khokhar, President of Kisan Ittehad Pakistan, criticised the delay, blaming the bureaucracy for prioritising perks over research funding. He pointed out that while resources are available for administrative expenses, the scientific community continues to face neglect. Financial disputes have further complicated the issue. The PCCC has historically depended on a cess collected from the textile sector, but research activities suffered a major blow after the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) stopped payments in 2014. Experts argue that the industry is unwilling to fully fund research while still seeking control over institutional decisions, as highlighted by Dawn. Muhammad Asif, Vice Chancellor of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Agriculture University, stated that Aptma appears reluctant to bear administrative costs despite its interest in governance. Meanwhile, textile representatives have raised concerns about past misuse of funds, claiming that only a small portion of cess collections was spent on research. Despite directives from Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to accelerate the process, there has been no visible progress, as reported by Dawn. (ANI)
Trump says U.S. delays strikes on Iran's energy sites for 5 days

Xinhua) 09:34, March 24, 2026

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he had ordered the military to delay strikes on Iranian power plants and energy facilities for five days after what he called "productive" talks with Iran.

Iran, however, denied any such contact soon after Trump's remarks, saying there had been no negotiations, "direct or indirect" with Washington as described by Trump, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said the two sides had held "very good and productive conversations" over the past two days aimed at resolving hostilities in the Middle East.

Based on the "in-depth, detailed, constructive" nature of the talks, he had instructed the Pentagon to postpone any strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, pending further discussions.

The conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran escalated sharply after Trump on Saturday gave Tehran 48 hours to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning that otherwise Washington could strike Iranian power infrastructure. Tehran responded by signaling it would retaliate across the region if such attacks went ahead.

Iran's primary military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said Sunday that power plants in countries hosting U.S. bases would be treated as legitimate targets if the United States attacks Iran's electricity facilities. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also warned that energy and oil infrastructure across the region could face "irreversible" damage if Washington follows through on its threat.

The war began on Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities, triggering Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East. The fighting has also severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade.

The conflict has rattled global markets, sending oil prices on a rollercoaster this week and heightening fears of broader economic fallout. Analysts say Washington is facing growing pressure as the war strains alliances, fuels anti-war sentiment and deepens instability in energy markets.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Sienna Miller is finding being pregnant in her 40s "so much easier" than her 20s.

Sienna Miller is finding pregnancy in her 40s 'so much easier' than her 20s

The 44-year-old actress is expecting her third child, and she says being pregnant in her 40s is "the best" because her life is in a "more grounded space" now.

Sienna - who has a two-year-old daughter with actor Oli Green, and 13-year-old daughter Marlowe with her ex-boyfriend Tom Sturridge - told Glamour magazine: "Having had a baby at 29, and then having a baby at 42, and now 44, its so much easier when you dont have the conflict of feeling scattered and like you want to be doing X, Y, Z.

"If Im in bed at 9 p.m. with a book, Im so happy now.

"And now Ive got the excuse to do it.

"Life is in a more grounded space. I think the 30s are chaos.

"Youre like, 'I want to settle down. I want kids.' "

Sienna has also found being pregnant in her 40s easier because she doesn't care "what anyone else thinks".

She added: "But by the time you hit 40, youre like, 'I kind of know who I am. I dont really give a s**t about what anyone else thinks.'

"Im a much more grounded human.

"We dont judge men who are having kids in their 80s. Why on earth is there any sort of narrative?"

The Layer Cake star previously froze some eggs, but she "didn't use them", and she counts herself as "really fortunate" to be pregnant again naturally.

She added: "And I froze eggs. That was really revealing. I didnt use them.

"I was really fortunately able just to get pregnant, but it was an existential relief having done that in my late 30s."

Earlier this month, Sienna admitted she was "looking forward to taking some time off" as she prepared for the birth of her third child.

She told Grazia magazine: "Im looking forward to taking some time off, being with my kids more consistently and surrendering to how random life is.

"Thats something that Im much more curious about as I get older - I have a much clearer understanding of how quickly life goes.

"Ive always tried to fill my life with as much diversity as possible, and its never been boring, so Im excited to buckle up and continue whatever journey comes my way - the highs, the lows and everything in-between."
After six people were lightly injured in an Iranian missile in central Tel Aviv, the Home Front Command has begun with rescue operations along with emergency organisations, the Israeli Defence Forces said on Tuesday. Meanwhile it shared updates from the overnight strikes carried out in Lebanon on Monday, which targetted the Hezbollah broadcasting station and its intelligence unit headquarters among other targets. Sharing the details in a post on X, it said, "Documentation from the operations of the Home Front Command forces in the impact zones in the center of the country. Rescue and salvage forces of the Home Front Command are currently operating in collaboration with emergency organizations in the areas where reports of impacts have been received in the center of the country." https://x.com/idfonline/status/2036335143825138082 The IDF urged people to avoid gatherings in the affected areas and called upon the public to continue to heed the life-saving instructions and to act accordingly as required upon receiving the alert. According to the Times of Israel report, it was mentioned that Chanel 12 cited police who said that a munition carrying about 100 kilograms of explosives impacted central Tel Aviv. Multiple buildings and vehicles were damaged in the attack. Missile parts also impacted in Rosh Ha'ayin, east of Tel Aviv. As tensions escalate in the region, the IDF an update on its overnight operations against Hezbollah--saying that it struck a broadcasting station operating under Hezbollah and the headquarters of the 'Radwan Force' unit In the strikes carried out in Beirut, the headquarters of the terror organisation were targeted. In addition, the IDF struck the headquarters of Hezbollah's Intelligence Unit. https://x.com/idfonline/status/2036365095584911551?s=20 Earlier the IDF had shared that it conducted over 50 overnight military strikes on the targets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and attacked its command centres, weapons storage facilities and aerial defence systems. Sharing the details in a post on X, the Israeli Defence Forces said that it has conducted over 3000 strikes across Iran since the start of Operation Roaring Lion. https://x.com/IDF/status/2036349414663442778?s=20 As tensions continue to escalate in the region, Al Jazeera Breaking reported in Tuesday that explosions were heard in Baghdad. It further mentioned that the death toll rose to 14 after a US airstrike on PMF base in Iraq. Al Jazeera Breaking cited Iranian media and said that energy infrastructure in the country was attacked. It also noted that Bahrain said a fire broke out at a facility due to "criminal Iranian aggression". Meanwhile, Press TV said on Tuesday that Imam Ali Hospital in the city of Andimeshk has been evacuated and is no longer in service after direct attacks by the US and Israel. As tensions continue to rise in West Asia and the Gulf region, Al Jazeera Breaking reported that an Israeli attack has hit a petrol station in southern Lebanon, which triggered a huge explosion and fire. It added that the Israeli army had issued displacement orders to residents. With the evolving security situation in the region, Arab News has cited Israeli Media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth to report that Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was prepared to negotiate with the Americans. Ahrnaooth cited a conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. intermediary Steve Witkoff which was approved by the highest level in Iran. The key development comes as the conflict between US-Israel and Iran has now entered into its fourth week--with ripple effects being felt beyond West Asia and the Gulf region as concerns intensify over global energy security, with supply bottlenecks and damaged infrastructure- civilian, military and energy. (ANI)
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday highlighted India's intensive diplomatic outreach regarding the volatile situation in West Asia, noting that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held high-level deliberations with global and regional partners to mitigate the impact of the ongoing conflict. Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal provided details on Jaishankar's recent engagements, stating, "External Affairs Minister yesterday spoke with US Secretary of State. The two leaders discussed the situation in West Asia and its impact on the international economy, with particular focus on energy security concerns." Providing further context to these diplomatic manoeuvres, Jaishankar on Monday held a detailed telephonic conversation with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio. Writing on social media, Jaishankar noted that the discussion "focused on the West Asia conflict and its impact on the international economy," adding, "We particularly spoke about energy security concerns. Agreed to remain in touch." These high-level discussions come amid growing concerns about the conflict's impact on India's food, fuel, and fertiliser security. The diplomatic outreach follows a recent session of the Cabinet Committee on Security, which outlined measures to protect India's immediate and long-term supply chains for essential commodities following the military shocks in the region. In a further move to strengthen ties with key energy and diaspora partners, the External Affairs Minister also engaged with the diplomatic corps of the Gulf nations in the national capital. The spokesperson stated, "External Affairs Minister met with all GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) ambassadors here in Delhi yesterday. There again, he exchanged views on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and thanked each one of them for their continued support to the Indian community in the region." The meeting, which included the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar, highlighted New Delhi's commitment to the well-being of approximately 10 million Indians residing in West Asian nations. Following the meeting, Jaishankar stated that he and the envoys had "exchanged views on the conflict in West Asia," while he personally "thanked them for their continued support to the Indian community in the region." Expanding on New Delhi's efforts to coordinate with maritime neighbours, the spokesperson noted that the discussions extended to the immediate region. "EAM also spoke with his counterpart, Vijitha Herath, the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka. Both leaders discussed the repercussions of this ongoing conflict. External Affairs Minister reaffirmed India's commitment to Neighbourhood First and Mission MAHASAGAR," Jaiswal added. The outreach to Colombo is particularly significant as several neighbouring nations have reportedly sought additional fuel supplies from India to manage energy shortages resulting from the crisis. The Minister confirmed on social media that he "discussed the repercussions of the West Asia conflict," while reaffirming that "India stands committed to Neighbourhood First and Vision MAHASAGAR." Broadening India's engagement with European partners, the External Affairs Minister also held discussions with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, on Sunday night to deliberate on the ongoing crisis. The MEA's briefing underscores India's multifaceted approach, balancing global economic interests with a steadfast commitment to regional stability and the welfare of its citizens abroad. (ANI)
In a significant diplomatic escalation against Tehran, Bahrain has circulated a draft United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution aimed at authorising member states to "use all necessary means" to curb Iranian threats and ensure free passage of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post. The text explicitly condemns ongoing threats against commercial shipping, highlighting the severe consequences such actions have on international trade, energy security, and the global economy. The proposal authorises member states, acting independently or through multinational maritime partnerships, to "use all necessary means" in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including within the territorial waters of coastal states, to ensure free passage and counter attempts to block or disrupt navigation, The Jerusalem Post reported. The draft states, "We are determining that Iran's actions near and around the Strait of Hormuz, including its recurring threats and attacks on commercial and merchant vessels, and actions impeding the freedom of navigation, constitute a threat to international peace and security." However, it was unlikely to get through the UNSC, where Russia and China had veto power. Moving beyond mere condemnation, the resolution is framed as an operational text under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This legal framework would grant member states the authority to take "concrete action" at sea, marking a departure from previous resolutions that focused solely on diplomatic rebukes. The Jerusalem Post reported that the proposal calls for the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately cease all attacks against merchant and commercial vessels, as well as any attempts to "impede lawful transit passage or freedom of navigation" in and around the strategic waterway. The draft notes, "The Security Council authorizes Member States, acting nationally or through voluntary multinational naval partnerships, for which advance notification has been provided to the Security Council, to use all necessary means, in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including within the territorial waters of littoral states within or bordering the Strait of Hormuz, to secure transit passage and to repress, neutralize, and deter attempts to close, obstruct, or otherwise interfere with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, until such time as the Council decides otherwise." To ensure accountability, the resolution stipulates that any military or maritime actions taken under this mandate must be reported quarterly to the Security Council. As per the details shared by The Jerusalem Post, the draft also expresses a readiness to impose further measures, including "targeted sanctions," against any actors found to be undermining the freedom of navigation. While the text is expected to undergo various revisions as it is debated among Security Council members, the move signals an increasingly assertive stance by Gulf states as they seek "active measures" to secure the world's most vital energy transit route. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday spoke with Prime Minister Modi. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor informed of the development saying the two leaders discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. The ongoing conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route, will be "open very soon" amid the conflict in West Asia and suggested that he envisions it being managed jointly by the US and Iran. Trump said that the strait will be "open very soon" if ongoing negotiations with Tehran continue successfully. He added that he and the newly appointed Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, will "jointly" control the critical shipping and global energy route. "It'll be jointly controlled. Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah is," the US President added. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical transit route that normally handles 15 million barrels per day of crude oil and 5 million barrels per day of oil products, representing roughly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade. However, due to the conflict in the region, the waterway has been considered high-risk for transit, choking the global energy supply. The US President also revealed that the US is currently in negotiations with a "top person" within the Iranian regime to conclude the war. However, he clarified that these high-level discussions do not involve the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. Meanwhile, PM Modi told Parliament that he had been in regular contact with several Gulf Countries and the US and had advocated a solution through dialogue. "Since the start of the war, I have held two rounds of phone conversations with the heads of state of most countries in West Asia. We are in continuous contact with all the Gulf countries, and we are also in touch with Iran, Israel, and the United States," PM Modi said. "Through diplomacy, India is trying to ensure safe commutation of the country's ships even in a war situation. India has opted for a solution through dialogue to resolve this issue," PM Modi added. The Prime Minister said that it was India's priority to ensure safety of the large Indian diaspora in the Gulf. "Around one crore Indians live and work in the Gulf countries, and ensuring the safety of their lives and livelihoods is also a major concern for India. Many ships from around the world are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, and many Indian crew members are on board them, which is also a major concern for India. In such a difficult situation, it is necessary that from this Upper House of India's Parliament, a united voice for peace and dialogue should go out to the entire world," he said. At an interministerial briefing, Rajesh Sinha, Special Secretary, Ministry of Shipping clarified that there was no permission being sought to cross the Strait of Hormuz. "No permission is required (to cross the Strait of Hormuz). As I said, it is an international Strait. Permission was not required before. It is not required even today. You definitely assess the situation as to how the safety will be, how one should move, at what time one should move, but still, it is not that permission is required from anyone," he said. As you would know, this is an international Strait, and as per international convention, it has the right of freedom of navigation and no levy fee can be imposed on it as per international regulation. Therefore, any fact presented by anyone, any argument made by anyone has no basis. It is baseless. This is a baseless argument," he added. With the conflict in West Asia in its fourth week, there seem to be signs of a possible settlement with the US announcing its negotiation efforts. (ANI)
Highlighting the strategic objectives of the ongoing military operations, Ambassador of Israel to India, Reuven Azar, stated that the primary goal is to eliminate systemic threats posed by the Iranian regime while providing an opportunity for the Iranian people to determine their own future. On being asked about Israel's endgame, in an interview with ANI, Azar said, "We said very clearly at the outset, and everybody can quote me, because I said it multiple times on Indian media, that we want to remove the existential threats that the regime in Iran has created against us -- the nuclear program, the ballistic missile program, their support for the proxies -- and we want to give the Iranian people an opportunity to embrace their future, if they choose to do so, by degrading the mechanisms of oppression of the Iranian regime." He noted that significant progress has been made in weakening the regime's offensive capabilities over the course of the conflict. "We are not sure that is going to happen, but for sure, what we have achieved so far is a very substantial debilitation of the Iranian regime's capability to hit us and to continue the aggression that has been going on for the last 47 years. So we have achieved already a substantial debilitation, and we are continuing with this operation until either there will be a culmination that has to do with an agreement between the regime and the United States that will ensure our interest for the long term, or that we will continue the operation until we get to the conclusion that our military targets were fulfilled," the Ambassador added. Addressing Israeli PM Netanyahu's recent statement that strikes on Iran and Lebanon will continue, Azar emphasised that military necessity dictates the continuation of the campaign. "We are continuing the operation because we still have military targets, both over Iran and especially in Lebanon, as a result of Hezbollah's continuation of the attacks against us. They are firing missiles and rockets against Israel. They started unilaterally, and they should know that this is completely unacceptable. We will do whatever we need in order to defend ourselves," he stated. The Ambassador further clarified that shifts in US tactical decisions regarding specific targets do not signal an end to Israel's broader military objectives. "So, the fact that the President of the United States has temporarily decided not to fulfil the threat of hitting energy targets doesn't mean that we won't continue targeting military targets as we are doing," he noted. Regarding the possibility of an off-ramp deal where Iran might retain its nuclear and missile capabilities, Azar maintained that there would be no compromise on core security demands. "It is very clear, and the Americans have said that at the outset, even before the war started, during the negotiations, that they won't compromise on removing the enriched uranium out of Iran, and they won't compromise on curbing the Iranian ballistic missile program and the support for the proxies. So, the fact that some negotiations have started gives us the hope that this time, the Iranians will basically cooperate with the demands of the international community, and if they don't, the President always has the possibility to go back to fulfil his threat," he explained. Responding to US President Donald Trump's announcement of a five-day halt in attacks on Iran's energy facilities, the Ambassador viewed the development as a sign that external pressure is yielding results. "It's a good development. I think that the fact that the Iranian regime has decided to engage in negotiations is a good development because they were refusing to do so until now; it means that the American and Israeli pressure is working, and they are actually looking for a way out," he said. On reports of Pakistan positioning itself as a mediator between the US-Israel and Iran, Azar suggested that the venue and mediator are secondary to the outcome. "As long as our positions and our conditions are met, it's up to the United States to decide whether they want to do the negotiation here and there. I don't think it has much importance. At the end of the day, we are here in order to meet our interests, and as long as we continue to be in sync with the United States meeting its interests, we are satisfied," he noted. When asked if Israel would halt its operations against Iran while talks between the US and Iran are underway, he stated, "That is what we are doing." (ANI)
Highlighting the strategic depth of the ongoing bilateral dialogue, Ambassador of Israel to India, Reuven Azar, has underscored that both nations are maintaining high-level communication regarding the current regional operations. Azar noted that Israel remains committed to ensuring India is fully briefed on the security dynamics shifting across West Asia. In an interview with ANI, Ambassador Azar detailed the frequency of these diplomatic exchanges. "We have been having conversations at the top level, both of our Prime Minister and our Minister of Foreign Affairs. They have been updating the Indian government on the aims of this operation and about the situation of the operation. I'm sure that India is doing whatever it needs in order to meet its own interests," he stated. The Ambassador pointed out that the neutralisation of specific regional threats is a prerequisite for safeguarding the millions of Indian expatriates contributing to the Gulf economy. "But the bottom line from our perspective is that once we have achieved the removal of these terrible threats that were looming over West Asia from Iran, a radical Islamic theocratic country that was pursuing a nuclear arsenal and also building thousands of ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of drones, that plan would undermine the stability of the region and would undermine the lives of 10 million Indians that are living in the Gulf region," Azar remarked. Beyond immediate safety concerns, the envoy linked the success of these operations to the viability of long-term economic visions, such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which aims to turn the region into a global investment hub. He explained, "More importantly, they would undermine the great plans that we all have together with India to make West Asia an area that is attractive for investment, that is stable, and that can actually engage in projects of connectivity, especially since India has signed so many trade agreements that are going to increase the number of transactions and of merchandise that is going to move east and west. I think that there's a lot to gain from the change in conduct of this regime." Addressing the feasibility of the IMEC specifically, Azar was candid about the necessity of a stable security environment before such grand connectivity projects can fully materialise. "Any economic project has to lie on very solid security foundations and political foundations. Once we are able to solve this situation in which the area is so threatened by a radical regime, we will have consolidated the security regime that we need in order to have a solid security foundation. Then it will be much easier to get into political agreement, and then the economic dimension will come very fast," the Ambassador stated. Azar further warned that economic progress cannot exist in a vacuum while "disruptive forces" remain active, emphasising that investor confidence is directly tied to regional peace. "We cannot fantasise that in an area that is constantly threatened by disruptive and malign forces like the Iranian regime that is invading other Arab countries and is trying to destroy a country in the region like Israel, that under those circumstances, we will be able to do economic projects, because investors will not come to a region that is threatened in such a way," he added. (ANI)
The motion was introduced by Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) President Penpa Tsering and backed by Norzin Dolma. After detailed deliberations, members of the House passed the resolution unanimously, reflecting strong political consensus, as reported by Phayul.

According to Phayul, the resolution notes that China's National People's Congress approved the legislation on March 12, with enforcement set for July 1. Tibetan lawmakers argue that the law violates international legal norms and contradicts China's own constitutional assurances regarding ethnic autonomy and equality.

Criticism within the resolution centres on what it calls a systematic push towards forced assimilation. Lawmakers linked the legislation to Beijing's broader "second-generation ethnic policy," which aims to absorb minority identities into a unified national framework under the idea of "Zhonghua Minzu."

The Parliament stated that this approach undermines Tibet's unique cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage. A key concern raised is the emphasis on building a "shared national identity," which lawmakers say is being enforced through aggressive state policies in education and governance.

These include prioritising Mandarin in schools, reshaping curricula, and sidelining the Tibetan language and traditional knowledge systems.

The resolution also flagged policies that alter cultural and social landscapes, including changes to architecture, place names, and religious practices under a broader push for "Sinicisation." Measures encouraging demographic integration through migration and employment restructuring were described as efforts to weaken Tibet's cultural continuity, as highlighted by Phayul.

Further concerns were raised over governance structures that consolidate power under the Chinese Communist Party, alongside increased surveillance and political control. Lawmakers warned that such mechanisms would further shrink space for cultural and political expression.

The Parliament also objected to the law's extraterritorial reach, warning it could target Tibetans and advocacy groups abroad accused of supporting separatism, as reported by Phayul. (ANI)
The Sambhali Trust hosted a compelling photo exhibition titled 'The Desert Daughters of India' at the iconic Broken Chair Monument in Geneva on the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Stories of resilience, displacement, and survival echoed as the event brought global attention to the struggles of women and children, particularly asylum seekers from Pakistan now living in Rajasthan's desert regions. Founder of the Sambhali Trust, Govind Singh Rathore, addressing the gathering, emphasised the urgency of amplifying grassroots human rights concerns. He noted that the exhibition represents the lived experiences of women who have crossed borders under distress and are striving to rebuild their lives in Jaisalmer. Rathore highlighted that, despite global conflicts, it is essential to bring such personal narratives to international platforms like the United Nations. He also expressed gratitude to the UN and the Geneva Canton authorities for providing space to showcase these stories. Rathore highlighted Sambhali Trust's long-standing commitment since 2007 to empowering women, children, and gender minorities. Stressing a broader message, he called for a world rooted in peace and equality, asserting that human rights must be addressed from grassroots levels rather than through top-down institutional approaches. Volunteer Tasha Mauricette Stoppler, who has been associated with the organisation for two years, described the exhibition as a small but significant step towards awareness. She said the initiative aims to shed light on the harsh realities faced by marginalised women and children in western Rajasthan, many of whom endure violence and lack access to basic opportunities. According to her, platforms like this are crucial to ensure that their voices are heard globally. Meanwhile, Virendra Chouhan, Strategic Representative of the Trust, reiterated the need for empathy towards asylum seekers. Speaking at the exhibition, he urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to adopt a more compassionate approach towards displaced communities. He highlighted Sambhali Trust's work in providing vocational training and educational support through dropout centres, helping women regain dignity and independence. (ANI)
Amid escalating regional tensions in the West Asia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting on Tuesday with Iran's Ambassador Mohammad Fathali and appreciated the support provided to Indians in Iran in "these challenging times." In a post on X, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar detailed the meeting, stating, "Met with @IranAmbIndia Dr. Mohammad Fathali this afternoon. Discussed the conflict in West Asia. Appreciate the support provided to Indians in Iran in these challenging times. @Iran_In_India." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/2036443204401418626?s=20 This diplomatic meeting followed a critical high-level telephonic conversation held earlier on Tuesday between PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. Amid intensifying global efforts to secure vital energy corridors, the two leaders discussed the prevailing conflict in West Asia, as regional tensions continue to impact global energy markets and maritime security. In a post on X, PM Modi detailed the diplomatic exchange, stating, "Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia. India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability." US envoy Sergio Gor earlier confirmed the exchange, noting that the dialogue focused on the ongoing situation, "Including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open." This outreach occurs as President Trump signalled a potential de-escalation in the US-Israel standoff with Iran, noting on Monday that his administration was already engaged in "productive" talks with Tehran. Trump has extended his deadline for potential strikes on power plants by five days.While Iranian officials claimed the US President had backed down "following Iran's firm warning," reports from CBS suggest Tehran has "received points from the US through mediators and they are being reviewed." Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, PM Modi underscored India's proactive role in navigating the crisis through constant communication with all stakeholders. "Since the start of the war, I have held two rounds of phone conversations with the heads of state of most countries in West Asia. We are in continuous contact with all the Gulf countries, and we are also in touch with Iran, Israel, and the United States," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister further highlighted that New Delhi is leveraging its diplomatic capital to protect its maritime and diaspora interests. "Through diplomacy, India is trying to ensure safe commutation of the country's ships even in a war situation. India has opted for a solution through dialogue to resolve this issue," PM Modi added, reiterating that the safety of the Indian community remains a "priority." (ANI)
The External Affairs Ministry on Tuesday said that India is engaging with concerned stakeholders over the United States' conditional sanctions waiver till April 26 for the Chabahar Port in Iran.. In a written reply to CPI(M) MP John Brittas in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in MEA, Kirti Vardhan Singh, said that India has fulfilled its commitment of contributing USD 120 million for the procurement of port equipment, and there is no further financial commitment from New Delhi towards Chabahar Port. Kirti Vardhan Singh said, "On 13 May 2024, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) signed a ten-year contract with the Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO) of Iran for equipping and operating the Shahid Beheshti Terminal at Chabahar Port. Under the provisions of the contract, India has fulfilled its commitment of contributing USD 120 million for the procurement of port equipment. Therefore, there is no further financial commitment from the Government of India towards the port." "On 16 September 2025, the US State Department revoked the sanctions exception issued in 2018 under the Iran Freedom and Counter Proliferation Act of 2012 for Afghanistan's reconstruction and economic development, effective 29 September 2025. Pursuant to discussions with the US side, the latter issued guidance extending the conditional sanctions waiver until 26 April 2026. The Government of India remains engaged with all concerned in order to address the implications of these developments," Singh said. The Chabahar Port project was conceptualised to provide much-needed connectivity to Afghanistan for its reconstruction and economic development, and to boost trade and economic linkages with Central Asia. On 13 May 2024, IPGL signed a ten-year contract with the Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran to equip and operate the Shahid Beheshti Terminal at Chabahar Port. Under the contract, India has fulfilled its commitment to contribute USD 120 million toward the procurement of port equipment. In January 2026, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "On the question of Chabahar, on 28 October, 2025, as you are aware, the US Department of the Treasury had issued a letter outlining guidance, the guidance on the Conditional Sanctions Waiver, which is valid until 26 April 2026. We remain engaged with the US side in working out this arrangement." (ANI)
Christian Bales portrayal of Frankenstein in The Bride! was shaped by punk icon Sid Vicious and musician Richey Edwards.

Christian Bales portrayal of Frankenstein in The Bride! was shaped by punk icon Sid Vicious and musician Richey Edwards

The actor, 52, said he drew on music and other imagery to build the character in a while explaining how director Maggie Gyllenhaal encouraged him and his co-star Jessie Buckley to immerse themselves in music during production.

Describing how the creative process involved sharing songs that could inform their performances or potentially feature in the soundtrack, with music playing a central role throughout filming, Christian told NME: There was so much music (on set.)

An early inspiration was Sid Vicious in the white jacket, walking down the steps and singing My Way.

Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers cutting 4 Real into his arm was another.

The Bride! is a reimagining of the classic Frankenstein story, and features Jessie as The Bride, with Christian taking on the role of Frankenstein, also known as Frank.

Christian added about his other inspiration for the part: One of the inspirations was a chimpanzee s******* into his hand then throwing it, which Ive actually experienced at San Diego zoo!

Its a protest dance that ends in revolution though. Its something of an answer to meeting your heroes. Frank finally meets his hero Ronnie Reed but because of his intense loneliness and lack of companionship, cant believe that Ronnie doesnt know him as well as he knows Ronnie. Hes an Eminem Stan figure really. The dance comes out of the pain of being rejected  and its the birth of the true Frank.

Christian also confirmed reports he attended a Harry Styles concert in Los Angeles in 2022.

He said: I was there to see Ben Harper because hes a friend of a friend, but full kudos to Harry. It was a fantastic show.

Discussing music he values most, Christian also said: There are going to be so many bands that I dont mention, and that Ill feel awful about.

Music is the most essential art form in my life. Movies are ridiculously difficult because youre incorporating everything into one. Music you can carry with you. I use it for acting all the time. Its the thing I would absolutely die without.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a telephonic conversation with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and discussed evolving situation in West Asia, with particular focus on disruptions affecting global energy security. Both the leaders also "reviewed progress on key initiatives aimed at strengthening India-Sri Lanka energy cooperation and enhancing regional security." In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi shared details of the high-level exchange, "Spoke with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and discussed the evolving situation in West Asia, with particular focus on disruptions affecting global energy security." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/2036466892739846417?s=20 Reaffirming the deep-rooted ties between the two neighbouring nations, PM Modi emphasised their mutual resolve to navigate the current geopolitical hurdles. "As close and trusted partners, we reaffirmed our commitment to work closely together in addressing shared challenges," he added. This outreach to Colombo followed a strategic dialogue held on Monday between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Sri Lankan counterpart, Vijitha Herath. In a post on social media on March 23, Jaishankar noted that they "discussed the repercussions of the West Asia conflict," while reaffirming that "India stands committed to #NeighbourhoodFirst and #VisionMAHASAGAR." The coordination with regional partners occurred amidst intensifying global efforts to secure vital energy corridors, as PM Modi also held a high-level telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The dialogue with Washington comes at a critical juncture as West Asia conflict continue to impact global energy markets and maritime security. In a post on X, PM Modi detailed the diplomatic exchange with the US President, stating, "Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia. India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability." US envoy Sergio Gor earlier confirmed the exchange, noting that the dialogue focused on the ongoing situation, "including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open". This diplomatic outreach occurs as President Trump signalled a potential de-escalation in the US-Israel standoff with Iran, marking on Monday that his administration was already engaged in "productive" talks with Tehran. Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, PM Modi underscored India's proactive role in navigating the crisis through constant communication. "Since the start of the war, I have held two rounds of phone conversations with the heads of state of most countries in West Asia. We are in continuous contact with all the Gulf countries, and we are also in touch with Iran, Israel, and the United States," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister further highlighted that New Delhi is leveraging its diplomatic capital to protect its maritime and diaspora interests. "Through diplomacy, India is trying to ensure safe commutation of the country's ships even in a war situation. India has opted for a solution through dialogue to resolve this issue," PM Modi added. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump has triggered intense diplomatic speculation regarding a potential mediating role for Islamabad in the ongoing Washington-Tehran standoff, after he shared an official statement from Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The move follows a post on X by Prime Minister Sharif, in which he expressed Islamabad's eagerness to facilitate a diplomatic resolution to the regional crisis. Sharif stated that Pakistan was "ready and honoured" to moderate "meaningful and conclusive talks" between the United States and Iran, provided there is a mutual agreement from both parties. Expanding on Islamabad's position, the Prime Minister noted, "Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in the region and beyond." He further clarified that, "Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict." President Trump's decision to share the post on his Truth Social account without further comment has been viewed by observers as a sign of active backchannel diplomacy. This development aligns with international reports suggesting that Pakistan, alongside Egypt and Turkiye, is quietly working to broker a peace deal in the Middle East. While Islamabad is reportedly being positioned as a potential neutral venue, the White House has maintained a stance of strategic caution. US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the current environment as "sensitive" and "fluid," advising against treating unconfirmed reports as definitive. "These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House," Leavitt cautioned. This statement comes amidst unverified claims that Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff could potentially meet Iranian officials on Pakistani soil. Despite the lack of formal confirmation, indirect communication appears to be intensifying, with Islamabad reportedly serving as a critical conduit for messages. According to reports from CNN, the United States has utilised Pakistani channels to transmit a 15-point list of requirements to Tehran. The network further indicated that high-ranking Pakistani intelligence officials have maintained active communication with US figures, including Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, to facilitate these diplomatic exchanges. The sudden diplomatic momentum follows President Trump's recent declaration of a five-day pause on planned strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure. Trump attributed the pause to "very good and productive conversations" with Tehran, claiming the US is in contact with a "top person" in Iran. Conversely, Tehran continues to maintain that it has not entered into direct negotiations with Washington since the commencement of the hostilities. (ANI)
Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a human rights organization working against religious discrimination, has warmly welcomed the resolution introduced on March 20 in the second session of the 119th Congress of the United States House of Representatives by Congressman Greg Landsman, calling for the recognition of the 'genocide' committed in Bangladesh during the Great Liberation War of 1971. In a press statement issued by the organization's central committee, the call made in the resolution for the protection of religious minorities has also been described as "appropriate and timely." The statement further expressed deep concern that, even in the 54 years since independence, under different governments, religious and ethnic minorities in Bangladesh Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and indigenous communities have repeatedly been targeted by extremist communal groups in various political contexts, in ways reminiscent of the atrocities committed during the Liberation War. As a result of such continued acts of crimes against humanity, genocide, and persecution, the proportion of religious minorities in the country has declined from 19.07% in the 1970s to 9.02% at present. In other words, as part of a process of dispossession, minorities have been forced to leave the country. The statement also notes with concern that, to date, justice has not been ensured for those involved in these crimes. The continued culture of impunity has further emboldened communal perpetrators, who have at times been patronized by governments of various political parties. Taking advantage of this environment, such groups remain active in seeking opportunities to continue their heinous activities. In this context, with the determination to safeguard the distinct existence of minority communities, the Unity Council has for several years been placing an eight-point demand before successive governments. These include the immediate enactment of a Minority Protection Act, the establishment of a Ministry for Minority Affairs, and the formation of a National Minority Commission. The organization remains committed to advancing the movement for religious equality and human rights through constitutional and democratic means despite numerous adversities, the statement said. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump said that the US has won the war, adding that Iran's navy and air force have been completely decimated. Speaking at the Swearing-In Ceremony for the Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump said, "We're in negotiations right now. I can tell you, they'd like to make a deal and who wouldn't if you were there? Look, their navy's gone, their air force is gone, their communications are gone. pretty much everything they have is gone." On how hopeful he is that the peace negotiations with Iran will work out, Trump said, "I think we are going to end it. I cannot tell you for sure. We have won this... We literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can't do a thing about it. For instance, if I wanna take down that power plant, they can't do a thing about it... They are totally defeated... Militarily, they are dead." Trump pointed out that Iran will not have any nuclear weapons. "We will have control of anything we want. If we can end this without more lives being lost, without knocking out $10 billion electric plants, that are brand new, the apple of their eye, I would like to be able to do that. They can't have certain things. It starts with no nuclear weapons, and they have agreed to that. There won't be any nuclear weapons. We are in about the best bargaining position. We are way ahead of schedule. They have no Navy, no Air Force and no missile protection," he said. On why he is holding the talks regarding negotiations with Iran amidst the ongoing West Asia conflict, Trump said, "Because they are going to make a deal... They gave us a present yesterday, and it arrived today. It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money... It was a very significant price, and they gave it to us, and they said that they were gonna give it. That meant one thing to me: that we are dealing with the right people... It was oil and gas related... The leadership was killed. All gone. Khamenei was all gone, as the expression goes, the past Supreme Leader. Then the new Supreme Leader was, at a minimum, racked up pretty good... We are dealing with a group of people who turned out. The present they gave to us was very significant... They are the only ones that could have done it... It was related to the flow, to the Strait (of Hormuz)." Trump said that, nevertheless, he does not trust Iran. "I don't trust anybody. Why do you say trust? Do you think I trust them? I don't trust them." Asserting that the US has killed all of Iran's leadership, Trump said, "We have a new group, and we can easily do that, but let's see how they turn out. This is a change in the regime because the leaders are all very different from the ones that we started off with, who created all those problems." On what made him pursue the ceasefire amidst the ongoing West Asia conflict, Trump said, " The fact that they are talking to us and they are talking sense. It all starts with: they cannot have a nuclear weapon. They said, what are the top 10? I said, number 1, 2 and 3 is they can't have a nuclear weapon. They have agreed that they will never have a nuclear weapon." Trump, while speaking on the negotiations with Iran amidst the ongoing West Asia conflict, said that Iran wants to make a deal. Trump said, "We are in negotiations right now... The other side would like to make a deal... All of the anti-aircraft and most of their missiles are gone... Today we were gonna have the privilege of shooting down a very big electric generation plant, one of the biggest in the world... We held off based on the fact that we are negotiating." Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has triggered intense diplomatic speculation regarding a potential mediating role for Islamabad in the ongoing Washington-Tehran standoff, after he shared an official statement from Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The move follows a post on X by Prime Minister Sharif, in which he expressed Islamabad's eagerness to facilitate a diplomatic resolution to the regional crisis. Sharif stated that Pakistan was "ready and honoured" to moderate "meaningful and conclusive talks" between the United States and Iran, provided there is a mutual agreement from both parties. The sudden diplomatic momentum follows President Trump's recent declaration of a five-day pause on planned strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure. (ANI)
OSAKA, Mar 24 (News On Japan) - A 56-year-old man was arrested for allegedly slashing train seat covers on a JR line in Osaka on March 19th, with police suspecting links to around 300 similar incidents reported over the past four years.

The suspect, identified as company employee Masaaki Hanagata, was taken into custody at the scene and later transported to Sonezaki Police Station, where he was seen being escorted with his head lowered.

According to investigators, Hanagata allegedly used a box cutter to repeatedly slash the seat upholstery while sitting in a box seat on a train traveling along the JR Yamatoji Line at around 7:30 p.m.

The incident is believed to have occurred while he was returning home from work, and during questioning, Hanagata stated that he had been angered by frequent delays and service suspensions.

He further admitted that he had committed similar acts at least 50 to 60 times, police said.

Authorities are now investigating a possible connection between Hanagata and approximately 300 cases of similar seat damage reported mainly along the Yamatoji Line over the past four years.

Source: FNN
Love Music Hate Racism is standing in solidary with The Zutons guitarist Boyan Chowdhury after he was assaulted in a "vile" attack.

Boyan Chowdhury from The Zutons was attacked over the weekend

The charity has shared a statement after the Valerie musician revealed he was attacked by a "gang of lads" on Saturday afternoon (21.03.26) in Liverpool, leaving him with his head split open "down to the skull".

In his original Instagram post alongside graphic images of his injury, Chowdhury wrote: "I was racially attacked by a gang of lads yesterday afternoon.

"Got called a P***, SAND N***** and DIRTY ARAB. Then one of [them] ran at me from the side with a two foot long piece of wood.

"If I hadnt of turned around I believe I wouldve been struck on the back of the head and dead right now...

He got me across the front and as you can see split my head open down to the skull. They had ran back to his friends house to get the piece of wood to attack me.

"This city is f****** s***. Full of dirty horrible racist rats. And its just getting worse by the day."

On Monday (23.03.26), Love Music Hate Racism shared a strong statement backing the musician.

They posted: "Love Music Hate Racism stands with musician Boyan of The Zutons and against the vile racists who attacked and assaulted him.

This gross act of far-right racist violence is a reminder of how important it is for us all to make clear that there are more of us than them.

We call on everyone to march through London as part of the Together Alliance demonstration this Saturday. Love The Zutons, Hate Racism. No Reform."

Merseyside Police has said Chowdhury was "racially abused" in an "altercation" with a group of men.

Officers have called for further information about the incident near Fieldway, and described the attack as "hate related".

Chowdhury was The Zutons' original lead guitarist from 2001 until 2007 when he left due to "musical differences.

He played on their first two albums, Who Killed... The Zutons? and Tired Of Hanging Around, with the latter featuring the group's megahit Valerie, which was famously covered by Amy Winehouse.

He would rejoin in 2018 for the band's reunion tours, but left again four years later and wasn't part of the sessions for 2024 album The Big Decider.
The United States newly declared strategic review of MINURSO, coupled with the Security Councils Resolution 2797 renewing the mission with strengthened oversight, marks a decisive shift in the UNs approach to the Sahara file, one that aligns increasingly with Moroccos longstanding call for a political solution based on autonomy under its sovereignty.

A senior UN evaluation team from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is expected in Laayoune on Tuesday for a wideranging onsite assessment of MINURSOs performance, Hespress reported citing UN sources.

The delegation will inspect the missions various bases and facilities to assess its operational relevance more than three decades after its establishment in 1991.

The visit forms part of a broader evaluative process intended to inform a comprehensive report to UN decisionmaking bodies at a time when global scrutiny of longrunning peacekeeping missions is rising sharply.

This shift comes as Washington openly signals dissatisfaction with peacekeeping missions that fail to deliver political progress.

During a congressional hearing in New York on March 20, US representative to the UN Mike Waltz confirmed that the United States is conducting a strategic review of MINURSO, describing many longstanding UN missions as ineffective and costly.

Waltz stressed that mandate renewals should no longer be technical formalities but must be tied to tangible political outcomes.

The United States, he said, has already begun pressuring the UN system to curb mission creep, reduce costs, and close or resize outdated operations.

His comments reflect the broader US posture since recognizing Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara in December 2020.

Washington has repeatedly expressed frustration with peacekeeping missions that, in its view, perpetuate stalemate rather than encourage political settlement. MINURSO, present for half a century without delivering its original referendum, has become a prime example.

In his annual report, the UN Secretary General has mentioned that the mission faced obstacles in its mission from Algeria and the Polisario.

Resolution 2797, adopted late last year, codifies this new direction. While extending MINURSOs mandate to October 31, 2026, it requires the SecretaryGeneral to deliver a strategic review within six months, effectively before the end of April.

The resolution also reaffirms Moroccos Autonomy Plan as the serious and credible framework for a lasting solution, reflecting a growing international consensus.

Rabat has repeatedly urged the UN to assume its responsibility by guiding all parties, especially Algeria, toward a realistic political process centered on autonomy.
Moroccos main ports operator, Marsa Maroc Group, has unveiled a $2.1 billion investment program over 2025-2030 period to strengthen the groups regional leadership.

The investment roadmap was approved by the companys board of directors during its latest meeting convened to endorse the 2025 financial statements.

Consolidated revenue of Marsa Maroc increased from $500 million recorded in 2024 to $ 578.5 million posted in 2025, driven by higher volumes handled across the groups ports and the expansion of its logistics service offering.

The Companys total cargo traffic surpassed 67 million tons, a 6 percent year-on-year increase and the highest level in the companys history.

Container traffic exceeded 3 million TEUs for the first time, placing Marsa Maroc as Africas fourth-largest container operator.

Marsa Maroc operates 24 terminals nationwide and employs over 2,200 staff. It holds a 30-year concession for Container Terminal 4 (CT4) at Tanger Med, one of Africas busiest ports, and recently expanded at Casablanca with modernized facilities for 600,000 TEUs annually.

Marsa Maroc is expanding its African footprint, with the signing of a deal to manage the Port of Monrovia in Liberia by early 2026 and securing projects in Benin and Djibouti.
The Defense and National Security Committee of the Libyan House of Representatives issued on March 23 a warning over the repercussions of the attack on the Russian liquefied natural gas tanker, Arctic Meta Gas, which occurred earlier this month in international waters of the Mediterranean.

The Committee highlighted the drifting tanker near Libyan shores as a serious environmental and security concern.

The statement described the attack as an act of maritime terrorism, emphasising that any military or security operations in Libyas territorial waters without prior approval violate national sovereignty and international law. The committee stressed that safeguarding the countrys territorial waters and airspace is a red line for national security.

Libyan authorities firmly rejected claims that drones used in the attack were launched from Libyan territory, calling for a transparent international investigation to identify those responsible. The committee urged accountability and the presentation of clear evidence to prevent misinformation and security breaches.

The proximity of the damaged tanker to key Libyan oil facilities, particularly the Mellitah complex, was highlighted as a major economic and security risk. Authorities urged maximum vigilance, activation of emergency security plans, and careful coordination of rescue operations to mitigate potential threats to the coastline.

Updates from the Municipality of Zuwara reported that the tanker is currently drifting northwest, approximately 65 kilometres from the coast, under continuous monitoring. Coordination with the operations room remains active to ensure public safety and prevent environmental or security incidents as the situation develops.
Oil markets are turning chaotic as conflicting signals from Washington blur realitytalks with Iran may or may not be happening, threats shift by the day, and yet crude keeps climbing amid escalating tensions.

Is the White House Trading Its Own Announcements?



- A move widely interpreted as another edition of a classic Trump TACO move, the White House has announced a 5-day postponement to US attacks on Iran power and energy infrastructure, citing very good and productive conversations.

- Whilst the move sent oil prices down by more than $10 per barrel as market participants continue to guess whether the talks are happening or not (Iran denies any interaction), Trumps Truth Social post also raises potential insider trading issues.

- According to Bloomberg, contracts worth at least 6 million barrels of Brent and WTI were sold in the two minutes before Trumps Iran post, almost tenfold the usual trading volume in oil futures.

- The S&P 500 index saw a similar surge in trading activity, seeing some 6,000 contracts traded that represent more than $2 billion in notional value.

- Meanwhile, the bullish positions taken up by hedge funds are mind-boggling with the total net length held in ICE Brent futures and options rising to 428,704 contracts in the week ending March 17, the highest in six years.

Market Movers



- Brazils state oil company Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) and its partner Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) confirmed a large gas discovery offshore Colombia, finding significant reserves with its Copoazu-1 wildcat in the vicinity of the 6 TCf Sirius gas find.

- The Trump administration released French oil major TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) from $1 billion in offshore wind leases, compensating it dollar-for-dollar provided the company redirects those funds to oil and gas investments in the US.

- Brazil has granted an exploration drilling license to Norways state oil firm Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) for its offshore Raia project, believed to contain more than 1 billion boe with peak production potentially reaching 126,000 b/d of crude.

- Global trading firm Vitol has signed a 1.5 mtpa LNG supply deal with US LNG developer Venture Global (NYSE:VG), starting later this year for a 5-year period, with the volumes coming from the 27.2 mtpa Plaquemines export terminal.



Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Following the crude markets is gradually becoming an extreme sport rather than a financial hobby, with US President Trump unleashing a flurry of contradictory messages this week. Is the US holding talks with Iran? Trump says the talks are constructive, Iran says there were none. Can the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz? One day, Trump states he would obliterate Iran if it doesnt, the next day the President claims he and the ayatollah will share control over it. In an atmosphere of absolute madness, ICE Brent remains in triple digits, climbing to $103 per barrel today after the military side of the Iran-Israel conflict keeps on escalating.

Qatar Declares Force Majeure on Its Supply. Having halted its Ras Laffan LNG liquefaction plant in the first days of the war on March 2, QatarEnergy has now officially declared force majeure on its term contracts with South Korea, China, Italy and Belgium, citing significant damage to the plant.

Tehran Takes Over the Hormuz. According to top Iranian officials, Tehran is now charging vessel operators $2 million to transit the Strait of Hormuz, citing the cost of war, saying that for vessels from non-enemy combatant countries the waterway is open if they make the right arrangements.

Related: 5 Stocks to Buy Now That The Strait of Hormuz is Closed

Russian Oil Exports Hit by Drone Attack. Loadings at Russias main Baltic Sea export terminal of Primorsk, supplying some 930,000 b/d of crude last year to global markets, were halted for a day after a Ukrainian drone attack, with media reporting on a fuel tank catching fire on Monday.

IEA Flaunts Potential More SPR Releases. The International Energy Agency is consulting with member nations on further releases of strategic petroleum reserves, over and above the 400 million barrels agreed on March 11, citing a longer-than-assumed recovery for damaged upstream assets.

Tehran Claims No More Oil on Water Left. The speaker of the Iranian parliament Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said that Irans oil stored on water, believed to be around 30 million barrels before the US lifted sanctions on them, were now completely sold out and NIOC had no more oil to offer.

India Dives Headfirst into Iranian Oil. Simultaneously to Tehrans claims of having no more oil left, Indias largest private refiner Reliance Industries reportedly bought 5 million barrels of Iranian crude within days of the US Treasury Departments sanctions waiver, at a $7 per barrel premium to Brent.

Libya Scares Markets with Shut-Ins. Libyas National Oil Corporation was forced to completely halt its 90,000 b/d El Feel field that is normally sent into its Sharara export stream, after a fire caused by a leak on the two fields connecting pipeline made transportation impossible for at least a week.

UAE Restarts Key Gas Processing Unit. The United Arab Emirates resumed operations at the Habshan facility, the countrys largest gas processing plant with a total capacity of 6.1 bcf/day, following an Iranian drone attack last week, whilst minimizing LNG production in the country.

Germany Nudges Buyers to Diversify Beyond US. According to Bloomberg, Germanys Ministry of Economy is pushing the countrys gas companies to secure more LNG contracts to deal with the ramifications of the US-Iran was, eyeing new regions as US accounts for 94% of Berlins LNG imports.

Gulf War Breathes Life into EV Sales. Europes EV sales have recovered from a prolonged winter slump in February, spearheaded by a 27% year-over-year jump in Germany after Berlin announced a new 3 billion subsidy scheme, also available for customers that seek to buy cheaper Chinese EVs.

Iran Halts Gas Flows to Turkey. The Israeli strike on gas facilities of the South Pars field in Iran that damaged key energy infrastructure in the Middle Eastern country has led to a halt in natural gas exports to Turkey, with Iranian flows accounting for 13% (or 7 bcm) of Turkeys gas imports.

Explosion Halts Key US Gulf Refinery. US downstream giant Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) has shut its 380,000 b/d refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, following an explosion and massive fire at the plants diesel hydrotreater unit, suggesting diesel production in PADD 3 could take a sizeable hit.

Philippines Declares National Energy Emergency. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a national energy emergency in the Philippines as the country had only 45 days of refined product supply based on current consumption levels, aggravated by China banning exports of fuels abroad.

EU Delays Vote on Permanent Russian Oil Ban. The European Commission postponed a vote on a previously submitted proposal to permanently ban Russian oil imports on April 15, citing current geopolitical developments, as Brussels wants to legislate a phase-out of Russian crude by end-2027.

Saudi Arabia Moves Ahead with Red Sea Re-Routing. According to ship trackers, Saudi national oil company Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222) ramped up crude exports from its Red Sea port of Yanbu to almost 4 million b/d last week, up 50% compared to the pace of loadings in the first half of March.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Middle Eastern oil producers have slashed production by between 7 and 12 million barrels daily since the first strikes that the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran on February 28. Exports have been paralysed almost completely, and Iran is charging $2 million for every vessel it lets pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia, however, has an alternative: a pipeline that was built for just such a situation.

The East-West pipeline leads to Saudi Arabias Red Sea port city of Yanbu. The pipeline is 1,200 km long, and it was initially built in the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq war that also threatened to disrupt traffic in the Persian Gul although it never came close to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz that has now sent the world reeling. Maximum capacity stands at 7 million barrels daily after a series of upgrades over the years, yet average flows are lower, even now.

According to figures cited by Bloomberg, last week loadings from Yanbu averaged 4 million barrels daily, with tankers essentially standing in line to load Saudi crude from the Red Sea port. Data from Kpler, quoted earlier this week by Reuters, suggested that the daily loading rates at Saudi oil export terminals since the start of the month have averaged 4.355 million barrels. Loadings from Yanbu specifically are seen at an average of 3.8 million barrels daily, which would be an all-time high.

Related: 5 Stocks to Buy Now That The Strait of Hormuz is Closed

Even so, the total for March would be a lot lower than the February average, which stood at 7.1 million barrels daily. As a result, the Saudis have told some of their Asian clients they will be getting smaller volumes of crude next month, after such a warning was issued for March loadings for Asia as well.

The mere existence of an alternative route helps calm markets by reassuring buyers that not all the regions exports are trapped, Carole Nakhle, CEO of energy consultancy Crystol Energy, told Bloomberg this week. That said, its not a risk-free alternative. If Yanbu and the East-West system were to come under sustained pressure, that would mark a serious escalation.

Indeed, Iran has already hit a refinery in Yanbu, which Aramco operates jointly with Exxon. The strike suggests there is no safe piece of energy infrastructure in the Middle East, which is certainly food for thought right now. Still, as noted by Nakhle, the presence of an alternative export route has some mitigating effect on sentiment about supply security, even if exports from the Red Sea are much lower than what the Saudis used to export before the war. The problem is, the Red Sea could also see severe traffic disruption.

A couple of years ago, the Yemeni Houthis choked off maritime transport via the Red Sea in response to Israels bombing of Gazans, diverting a solid portion of world trade around Africa. Since last year, after Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire, the situation has improved, but the Houthis, which are affiliated with Irans government, have recently stepped up threatening rhetoric, as described by the Wall Street Journal.

If the Houthis enter the conflict, it really raises the stakes, Adam Baron, a fellow at liberal think tank New America, told the publication. It pulls the Suez Canal and the Egyptians in, it brings Saudi further in.

In other words, the East-West pipeline has provided some much-needed relief to the Middle Easts biggest oil exporter, but it cannot really be a replacement for the Strait of Hormuz, not only because of its capacity but because of its location. What the events since February 28 have reminded the world is that a fifth of the worlds oil supply comes from a highly vulnerable region with the potential for massive supply disruptions.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
It comes to something when Libya looks like a relative beacon of stability compared to key Middle Eastern states, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, but here we are, nevertheless. Of course, the recent fire at Libya's largest oil field, Sharara, caused by a pipeline leak, may have been the product of another attack by one of the many warring factions there, so it is not exactly Switzerland in terms of the global peace rankings table. However, Libyas appeal to international oil companies (IOCs) has been on the rise again since Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, as Western countries looked to new oil and gas supply sources to compensate for those controlled by the Kremlin. This resurgence of Western interest coincides with Libyas re-energised plan to boost crude oil production to at least 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2028, and the announcement last year that 22 offshore and onshore blocks would be licensed in the initial bidding round to this effect. Recent news underscores how positively these initiatives are currently playing out.

One of the Western companies that has been among the trailblazers to secure non-Russian energy supplies from as diversified a portfolio as possible is Italys Eni, and it announced last week new offshore gas discoveries in Libya. The European oil and gas giant said these were made following exploration activities near the Bahr Essalam field, Libyas largest producing offshore gas field. Both locations -- Bahr Essalam South 2 (BESS-2) and Bahr Essalam South 3 (BESS-3) -- are located about 85 kilometres (km) offshore in water depth of around 650 feet, according to Eni. It added that its preliminary estimates are that the two structures contain more than 1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas in place. As the two sites are positioned only around 16 km south of the existing Bahr Essalam facilities, the company expects to be able to develop them on a fast-track development trajectory, through tie-ins to the Bahr Essalam facilities. Eni highlighted that the resulting gas will partly go to Libyas domestic market and partly to Italy, supporting both local energy supply and export revenues.

Related: 5 Stocks to Buy Now That The Strait of Hormuz is Closed

This deepwater drilling is a testament to Western firms confidence in their ability to continue their business in Libya over many years, as it requires long-term capital and security guarantees that IOCs do not commit to unless they believe Libya is entering a more stable, Western-aligned phase. Indeed, it was also Eni that recently started drilling the first deepwater offshore well seen in Libya for nearly two decades, in its energy-rich Sirte basin. This exploration work continues in the basins Matsola exploration prospect in Contract Area 38/3 in the Mediterranean Sea, according to Eni. The project also marks the first major new operation between it and Great Britains BP -- with the joint venture comprising a 42.5% stake each for the two firms, with the remaining 15% held by the countrys sovereign wealth fund -- the Libyan Investment Authority. The joint venture is committed to drilling a further 16 wells in Libya, across onshore and offshore areas. Moreover, BP also recently signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate options for redeveloping the giant Sarir and Messla onshore fields in the Sirte basin, and to assess potential unconventional oil and gas development. The firms executive vice president for gas and low carbon, William Lin, stated that the agreement reflects our strong interest in deepening our partnership with Libyas NOC [National Oil Corporation] and supporting the future of Libyas energy sector.

In a similar vein, last week also saw another of the Wests vanguard firms engaged in sourcing new non-Russian energy supplies -- Frances TotalEnergies -- announce the restart of production at Libyas Mabruk oil field in Libya, in which the firm holds a 37.5% stake. Again, this marks a major turnaround in Libyas fortunes, as the onshore field, positioned around 130 km south of Sirte, saw production stopped in 2015. This restart illustrates our long-term commitment in Libya, said Julien Pouget, Middle East and North Africa director for TotalEnergies exploration & production business. This project, which follows TotalEnergies recent announcements regarding the extension of the Waha concessions, brings low-cost, low-emissions oil production in line with the companys strategy, and contributes to our objective of 3 per cent annual production growth per year until 2030. The French energy giant agreed more broadly back in to continue its efforts to increase oil production from the giant Waha, Sharara, Al Jurf, and Mabruk oil fields by at least 175,000 bpd. It also agreed with the NOC to make the development of the Waha-concession North Gialo and NC-98 oil fields a priority. These fields have a combined estimated capacity of at least 350,000 bpd. At the same time, improvements in Libyas refinery operations look likely over time, beginning with the announcement last week that U.S.-based technology and engineering giant KBR was awarded

a contract to provide project management and technical services for the South Refinery Project (SRP) in Ubari, southwest Libya. The SRP is in line with KBRs efforts to advance key oil and gas infrastructure across the country.

Related: Could This Be Chinas Strategy To Paralyze the Pentagon?

In broad terms, none of this interest is that surprising, as before the removal of Muammar Gaddafi as leader of Libya in 2011 and the civil war that ensued, the country was producing around 1.65 million bpd of mostly high-quality light, sweet crude oil, particularly in demand in the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe. It also remained the holder of Africas largest proved crude oil reserves, of 48 billion barrels. Moreover, in the years leading up to Gaddafis forced exit, oil production had been on a rising trajectory, up from about 1.4 million bpd in 2000, albeit well below the peak levels of more than 3 million bpd achieved in the late 1960s, as analysed in my latest book on the new global oil market order. Positively as well, Libyas NOC was advancing plans at that point to roll out enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques to increase crude oil production at maturing oil fields, and its predictions of being able to increase capacity by around 775,000 bpd through EOR at existing oil fields looked well-founded. However, in the depths of the civil war, crude oil output fell to around 20,000 bpd, and although it has recovered now to just under 1.3 million bpd -- the highest level since mid-2013 -- various politically-motivated shutdowns in recent years pushed this down to just over 500,000 bpd for prolonged periods.

Having said all of this, there remain deep-seated issues that may derail Libyas progress unless they are finally resolved. At the time of signing the interim peace agreement with Tripolis U.N.-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) on 18 September 2020, the Commander of the rebel Libyan National Army (LNA), General Khalifa Haftar, made it very clear that enduring peace would depend on a solution being reached on how the countrys oil revenues would be distributed over the long term. The key to this in his view -- and supported by the GNA back then -- would be the formation of a joint technical committee, which would: Oversee oil revenues and ensure the fair distribution of resources and control the implementation of the terms of the agreement during the next three months, provided that its work is evaluated at the end of 2020 and a plan is defined for the next year. To address the fact that the then-GNA effectively held sway over the NOC and, by extension, the Central Bank of Libya (in which the revenues are physically held), the committee would also prepare a unified budget that meets the needs of each party and the reconciliation of any dispute over budget allocations and will require the Central Bank [in Tripoli] to cover the monthly or quarterly payments approved in the budget without any delay, and as soon as the joint technical committee requests the transfer. None of these measures has yet been put into place, and there are no ongoing discussions aimed at resolving them. It may be that the bolstered presence of Western interests in Libya may affect such changes, but until they do, the countrys long-term stability remains in question.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
At the end of February, the Alberta government released its draft budget for the year, forecasting a deficit resulting from low oil prices, set to extend over the next three years. Now, Canadaand Alberta specificallyare about to become some of the big winners from the oil price rally resulting from the Middle East supply crunch.

Canadian oil producers are set to get an additional revenue of some C$90 billion ($65.6 billion) from the rally, Enverus recently predicted, using modelling that showed for every $10 gain in oil prices, Canadian producers stood to see additional revenues to the tune of between C$25 billion and C$30 billion.

$90 a barrel over the course of the year would be sufficient to wipe out, and probably turn into a surplus, what was going to be a $10-billion deficit, one former adviser to the Canadian Prime Minister said earlier this month in comments on the global oil supply situation and its impact on Canadian oil revenues.

In fairness, Canadian crude has yet to reach $90 per barrel. However, it has gone up from around $54 per barrel at the end of February to over $86 per barrel at the time of writing, just like all the other benchmarks. Ninepoint Partners Eric Nuttall called the situation a unique opportunity for Canadian oil producers, noting the amount of yet untapped reserves of heavy crude that producers could bring into the market if the supply disruption extends further in time.

The resource is definitely there. Producers are definitely capable of ramping up production to that level. And its just a question of responding to what is a time-bound opportunity, the chief executive of TC Energy, Francois Poirier, said recently, as quoted by the Financial Times. The problem, however, is the lack of sufficient transport infrastructure to take the oil to customers.

Related: Little-Known US Company Lands Important Pentagon Contract in Rare Earth Race

We would like to see the underlying regulatory environment get simplified, get streamlined and timelines accelerated, because that is what will be required to get capital to flow to Canada, Poirier said, urging the federal government to implement fundamental reform of existing regulations on oil pipelines.

Canada sends almost all of its export oil to the United States. Recently, the industry has gotten more serious about finding more markets, to which end the Trans Mountain pipeline was expanded, doubling its capacity. As a result, China quickly became Canadas second-largest oil client after the United States. South Korea, India, and Singapore have also become buyers of Canadian crude after the expansion of the Trans Mountain conduit.

Diversification of buyers, then, works. Now, however, the question is how fast Canadian producers can ramp up production in response to the crisis in the Middle East. The industry has been expanding production consistently, despite the growing burden of climate regulations. Last year, the average daily hit 5.19 million barrels, down from an all-time high of 5.44 million barrels daily in December 2024 but up from the 2024 average of 5.13 million barrels daily, according to the latest data from the Canada Energy Regulator. Still, the expansion cannot simply accelerate without an outlet for the additional crudewhich is why calls for new pipelines to the west coast are going to intensify in all likelihood.

This war is yet another screaming example of why its in Canadas national priority and why the global oil market needs Canada to build a new 1 million-barrel-a-day pipeline, Ninepoints Nuttall told the Financial Times. The publication went on to note recent research that calculated Canada could generate an additional C$31.4 billion in annual GDP over the next ten years if it builds a new pipeline with a capacity for 1.5 million barrels daily.

Related: How Chinas Rare Earth Ban Backfired into a U.S. Tech Breakthrough

That additional GDP growth would translate into 1.1%, according to the research conducted by Studio Energy and ATB Financial. That 1.1% may seem modest, but its not too shabby for a country that saw its economy grow by a rather modest 1.7% in 2025the slowest GDP growth pace since 2020, according to Yahoo Finance.

New energy infrastructure doesn't yield just a marginal gain for Canada's economy  it's a structural shift that will pay ongoing export dividends, the chief economist of ATB Financial, Mark Parsons, said. Expanding our export capacity would fundamentally improve our national economic health and global standing at a time when Canada needs it most.

Building a new pipeline, however, is easier said than done. For all the Prime Ministers talk of the new governments pivot towards a more pragmatic view on energy, opposition to new energy infrastructure could interfere with plans for international expansion. The latest evidence: opposition towards a proposed pipeline from Alberta to the west coast that PM Carney said the federal government would exempt from climate regulations.

Canada certainly has the capacity to become a more prominent international player in oil markets. Whether it can realize its potential in this respect, however, remains to be seen, depending on the federal governments genuine interest in energy expansion.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Ed O'Brien has revealed his Radiohead bandmate Thom Yorke has a new solo album on the way this year.

Thom Yorke has a new solo album on the way this year, according to bandmate Ed O'Brien

The Creep band's guitarist is releasing his own solo project, Blue Morpho, on May 22, and while promoting the seven-track collection, he let slip that the frontman also has something up his sleeve to follow 2019's Anima.

He told Consequence: Whats so lovely is it feels they both can coexist.

The Radiohead thing can go out and tour  and thats the mothership, I guess, for all of us. But weve got these little satellites.

He continued: You know, theres The Smile, and theres  Thoms got a solo album thats going to come out later in the year, I think. And Jonnys got his stuff, and you know, Philip [Selway]s got his stuff, and Colin [Greenwood]s playing with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Anima was released in tandem with a short directed by Oscar winner Paul Thomas Anderson.

In between solo records, Thom has released Tall Tales, a joint effort with Mark Pritchard, and the soundtrack to 2024's Confidenza.

Ed recently confirmed that the band are preparing to return to the stage with a new, carefully paced touring model to combat burnout.

The indie band returned to the stage in 2025, following a seven-year hiatus, to play a limited run of shows across Europe with stops in Madrid, Bologna, London, Copenhagen, and Berlin.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Ed said the band has agreed on a longterm plan that will see them perform in focused bursts rather than undertaking the kind of exhaustive world tours they once did.

Asked if they are hitting the road again, he said: Its definitely happening.

What were going to do is, every year were going to do a different continent, and were going to do 20 shows each year. No more, no less.

He also confirmed that Radiohead will remain inactive throughout 2026, but are aiming to regroup the following year.

He said: We wont do anything this year, but well do something next year."

Ed explained that the new approach is designed to preserve the bands energy and ensure every performance feels meaningful.

He said: We want to give absolutely everything each night.

We do not ever want it to be like were going through the motions or were having to run on empty. Weve got to be able to do it. And you know what? Were not spring chickens anymore.

The guitarist also spoke candidly about the period after Radiohead wrapped up touring in 2018, admitting he felt emotionally and creatively drained.

He said: I was done with Radiohead.

It had got to a place where I just wasnt enjoying it. I just didnt resonate with it anymore, and I wanted to do my own thing I think wed run out of road. Wed run out of inspiration.

Despite his reluctance, Ed ultimately agreed to finish the tour.

He said: The others said they wanted to tour. I didnt really want to tour, and they knew that. But I did it and Im glad I did. I saw it through to the end.

Lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood recently admitted he was amazed the latest jaunt happened at all, while admitting he was unsure what the future holds for the band.

He told The Times newspaper: "Im surprised that the tour actually happened and that we all enjoyed it so much."

Regarding future shows, he added: "Venues get booked so far in advance. To do another we would have to decide now, and even then it wouldnt happen for 18 months."
In just over a year, the world saw several instances of a choked supply of commodities indispensable for todays economies and military capabilities.

From Chinas restrictions on rare earths and critical minerals supply to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, policymakers and analysts began to realize that the control of oil, critical minerals, rare earths, and magnets is as important as building and maintaining stockpiles of advanced weapons. It also became clear that without these resources, defense and military capabilities could be weakened. The actual arms race goes hand in hand with the new battle for the resources that underpin economic, manufacturing, and advanced military development.

Great-power competition has returned to basics: who controls the physical resources that modern economies and militaries run on, Alice Gower, a partner at London-based political-risk advisory firm Azure Strategy, told the Wall Street Journal.

Energy, critical minerals and industrial capacity are leverage, not just economic assets, Gower added.

Iran and the Strait of Hormuz

The war in the Middle East and the blockage at the Strait of Hormuz laid bare the reality of choked energy supply. The worlds most vital oil and LNG chokepoint, through which 20% of daily global trade flowed before the Iran war, has been essentially closed for most tanker traffic for more than three weeks.

The massive supply shock, the worst disruption in the oil market in history, showed that the world is dependent on energy resources, and that geography and actual physical supply matter. With so much oil and gas stranded in the Middle East, oil prices spiked to above $100 per barrel, natural gas prices in Europe doubled, and Asian spot LNG prices hit multi-year highs.

Related: 5 Stocks to Buy Now That The Strait of Hormuz is Closed

The precarious situation in the Middle East is reverberating across Asia, the region most dependent on oil and LNG supply from the Persian Gulf. Asian refiners pay sky-high premiums for non-Middle Eastern crude, many are considering cutting or have already cut processing rates, and countries have started to enact fuel-preserving measures, from four-day work weeks to bans on fuel exports.

In Europe, the gas refilling season will be the toughest yet, as Asia is outbidding Europe for spot LNG supply after Qatars LNG is effectively sidelined and full capacity may not return for up to five years following Iranian missile attacks last week.

Even the energy independent United States, the worlds top oil producer, is not independent when it comes to global supply shocks of such magnitude.

The national average price of gasoline is approaching $4 per gallon nationwide, more than $1 a gallon compared to a month ago, before the start of the war.

Oil is a global resource, traded on a global market, and prices reflect fundamentals, although they have been driven by hectic trading activity on geopolitics in recent weeks. But the fundamentals show that there is no resource available to plug the gap that has opened in Middle Eastern supply. Producers are slashing output due to a lack of storage capacity, which further delays a rapid recovery in supply when this mess ends.

All this goes to show that whoever controls the Strait of Hormuz has enormous leverage on inflicting global economic pain.

China and Rare Earths

While the world is focused on the Strait of Hormuz, the race for rare earths and critical minerals continues, with the U.S. and Western countries scrambling to dent Chinas dominance.

Since China restricted exports of rare earth elements early in 2025, Western countries have raced to create mine-to-magnet supply chains to reduce dependence on Chinese supply in the key military and automotive industries.

China holds a 59% share of the mining of rare earths, 91% in refining, and a whopping 94% in magnet manufacturing, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates.

The U.S. has responded by taking stakes in minerals mining companies, the launch of a U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve, known as Project Vault, and is leading efforts to break the Chinese stronghold on the pricing of these minerals critical for the defense and auto industries and national security.

Chinese dominance could be eroded, but it would take years.

Still, rising neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) supply from countries like the U.S. and Australia is set to reduce Chinas market share to 69% by 2030 from 90% in 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) said in new research this month.

Were seeing a surge in rare-earth investment as modern technologies demand more critical materials, said Jack Baxter, Global Metals & Mining Analyst at BI and co-author of the report.

That said, we anticipate a significant shortfall in supply due to trade uncertainties, with lead times as long as 10 years to get new material out of the ground, Baxter added.

This will give pricing power to the few producers that currently are able to supply critical materials outside of China, fracturing the globalized market.

Amid fractured markets and high geopolitical uncertainty, one thing is certain  the next arms race, alongside the actual arms race, will be for control of key resources such as oil and critical minerals.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
While the worlds eyes are fixed on the Iran-Hormuz crisis and the war in Ukraine, a deeper tectonic shift is quietly reshaping the West. The transatlantic alliance is losing its illusions in real time. For decades, Europe viewed this as a partnership; today, it looks more like leverage. Washingtons recent signals are unmistakable: trade support is the price of admission, and US LNG is the tool used to enforce it. This isn't diplomacyit's hard power in economic form. Yet, leaders in Brussels and The Hague remain dangerously, almost naively, unprepared for the reality of this new landscape.

European policymakers have congratulated themselves on the fact that they have escaped their decades-long dependence on Russian gas. For most EU strategies, but also for countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, and others, this narrative has been clean, politically convenient, and strategically comforting. They have all been pushing the theory that diversification has been achieved and that security has been restored. At the same time, the USA stepped in as the indispensable supplier, more than willing to fill the gap left by Moscow. This move, however, should never have been framed or understood as a neutral shift. In reality, it is a substitution of dependencies, not their removal. European countries, led by Brussels, have moved from one dominant external supplier to another, based on the assumption that alignment of values will always guarantee alignment of interests. That assumption is now collapsing.

At present, roughly half of Europes LNG imports originate from the United States. This situation is not to be framed as diversification, but as concentration. And concentration creates leverage. The more structural Europes reliance on US LNG becomes, the more the continent will be exposed to precisely the kind of pressure now being hinted or bluntly stated by US diplomats at in transatlantic trade discussions. Still, the language or threats may be couched in diplomatic phrasing, but Europeans should get the message that access to energy is no longer unconditional.

Related: 5 Stocks to Buy Now That The Strait of Hormuz is Closed

This clear and dangerous shift comes at a time that could not be worse. Europes energy system is not only very tight but also structurally fragile. The disruption of flows through the Strait of Hormuz, combined with instability affecting Qatari LNG exports, has and will be even more the coming weeks and months push the global gas market into a new phase, which is going to be defined not by surplus but constraint. Due to the Qatar LNG situation, the Ras Laffan attacks, and Abu Dhabis LNG export constraints, around 1213 million tons per year of LNG capacity have been disrupted or placed at risk. At the same time, Europeans still dont understand that logistical bottlenecks are stripping an additional 510% of effective supply from the system. This comes at a time when European gas storage levels remain critically low relative to seasonal requirements; the buffer that policymakers, especially in the Netherlands, assume will protect them is not there and will not be for a long period.

In this context, which is not yet in the minds of Europeans, the suggestion that US LNG could be used as a bargaining chip should not be assessed as provocative but as a clear sign of destabilization. LNG is not oil, as it cannot be redirected instantly without consequences. LNG volumes are contracted, infrastructure fixed, and flexibility is very limited. If US flows are even partially withheld, repriced, or politically conditioned, Europe does not have a ready substitute. This is already happening, as seen in the growing number of LNG cargoes meant for Europe now being rerouted to Asia. The idea that alternative suppliers can seamlessly fill the gap is not only comforting fiction for politicians but also an increasingly dangerous position to take.

The changes in the market at present are no longer linked to market fluctuations but rather to the emergence of energy as an overt instrument of Western intra-alliance power politics. The Trump Administration is not even hiding it behind ambiguity anymore. Washingtons analysis is clearly based on the understanding that its structural position in global gas markets has never been better, and it is prepared to use it. The irony is difficult to ignore. For decades, the United States has been criticizing others, especially Russia and OPEC (oil), for weaponizing energy. At present, Washington signals it is willing to do the same, though that is still couched in the language of trade negotiations rather than geopolitical confrontation.

The response from Brussels has been, until now, dangerously complacent. There is still a tendency in Brussels to treat these signals as rhetorical excess rather than as strategic intent. European diplomats should wake up to the fact that they are misreading the moment. Even if no immediate action is taken, a strong and dangerous precedent is being set. The market will certainly internalize it, increase risk premiums, and reassess long-term contracts. At the same time, trust (emotions also), which is the invisible foundation of energy trade, will erode.

Europe's energy insecurity directly threatens industrial output, consumer bills, and economic competitiveness. Recognizing these tangible risks should inspire policymakers to prioritize immediate measures, fostering a sense of responsibility to prevent deindustrialization and economic decline.

The Brussels approach is clearly not like that of an investment fund, which prides itself on prudence. By refusing to confront domestic options, the European approach smells of negligence. One of the clear options for Europe is the Groningen gas field, which is clearly the most obvious but also the most politically sensitive. Europes largest onshore gas field has been treated for years as a closed chapter, a hydrocarbon relic of a past that Europe was eager to leave behind. While not dismissing the social and environmental concerns, it should be understood that, at present, there is a new strategic reality confronting the continent. Brussels and The Hague are willingly accepting external vulnerability while keeping their most significant internal resources off the table.

Looking at Iran-Ukraine but also Washingtons LNG weaponization, Europe should understand that this is no longer a tenable position. The choice is not between perfect solutions, but between controlled, managed risk at home and uncontrolled, external risk abroad. The reopening or partial reactivation of Groningen will be controversial, but it will also send a powerful signal. It would make clear that Europe is prepared to take responsibility for its own energy security. Brussels should also apply the same logic to other marginal fields across the continent. Even though none of these options are sufficient on their own, but collectively they will reduce the degree of dependency that now defines Europes position.

Related: The Invisible Metals Powering a Trillion-Dollar Economy

There is also the need to abandon another illusion. The EU, and all its member states, should abandon the illusion that the energy transition, in its current form, can deliver security in the near term. The role of renewables is important, but at present and in the years to come, they will not be a substitute for dispatchable gas in a stressed system. Hydrogen is a future promise, but definitely not a present solution. Electrification, while critical, as we have seen throughout the continent, does not eliminate the need for stable energy inputs. Europeans should understand and openly admit that the gap between policy ambition and physical reality is widening and being exposed by geopolitical events.

There is an increased need for strategic recalibration, as energy policy can no longer be treated as a subset of climate policy. Brussels and its members should not only recognize but also refine their strategies to make it clear that energy is a core component of national and European security. The latter means that there is a strong need to integrate supply security, infrastructure resilience, and geopolitical risk into every aspect of decision-making. At the same time, Brussels and cohorts should accept that some previously unthinkable options may need to be reconsidered.

Washington, at the same time, is playing a very rational game by leveraging its strengths in a world that is becoming increasingly transactional. LNG exports are now a real source of economic power. Washington now signals that it is willing to use that power. This is not a surprise, at least not from a purely strategic perspective. What is surprising is Europes apparent reluctance to respond in kind.

We are looking at a bigger risk here, which extends beyond the immediate energy crisis. If the transatlantic relationship is defined by conditionality and leverage rather than mutual trust, the foundations of this system are weakened, affecting not only energy but also trade, security, and the broader geopolitical balance. Europe cannot afford to drift into a position where it is simultaneously dependent and politically constrained.

Policymakers must treat this moment as a definitive wake-up call. The convergence of the Hormuz crisis, Qatari instability, and aggressive US signaling has created a perfect storm that leaves Europe dangerously exposed. This vulnerability is being noted by allies and adversaries alike. The longer Brussels ignores this shift, the more painful the eventual adjustment will be.

Europe is not stuck in a corner by accident. As Johan Cruyff might have said, poor positioning is a choice, and choices can be changed. However, reclaiming a seat at the table requires more than just hope. It demands the political courage to confront uncomfortable trade-offs. Passivity is a luxury Europe can no longer afford. While the Hague treats Groningen as untouchable, the ground is shifting beneath the entire continent. The era of comfortable assumptions is over. Energy has been weaponized once again, and the Old Continent is currently on the receiving end

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Shares of Chinese battery makers and green energy manufacturers have jumped since the start of the war in the Middle East as investors bet on higher global demand for renewable energy and electric vehicles, as the conflict traps most of the Middle Easts oil and gas supply at the Strait of Hormuz.

Over the past three weeks, domestic energy sources have gained prominence everywhere in the world, which is experiencing the biggest supply disruption in the history of the oil market. The stranding of Qatars LNG supply and the damage to its liquefaction facilities that could take years to fully repair are also driving increased investor interest in clean energy.

That has been a huge boost to green energy stocks in China, which is the worlds biggest renewable energy developer and a dominant supplier of batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, and other critical components for clean energy solutions.

Chinas CSI Green Electricity Index has gained 6% so far this month and the CSI New Energy Index has risen by 2%, even if the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has lost 6% so far in March amid the frequent global equity selloffs when oil prices were soaring.

Shares in solar power developer GCL Energy Technology Co Ltd (SHE: 002015) have surged by 57% in one month, with most of the rally taking place after the war in the Middle East began on February 28.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), the battery giant, has gained nearly 20% in March, the EV manufacturing giant BYD has jumped by 22%, and solar energy developer Sungrow has seen its stock rise by about 19%.

After this war, people would have a second thought on gas-powered cars, Yuan Yuwei, a hedge fund manager at Trinity Synergy Investments, told Reuters.

Chinese green energy companies are well-positioned to benefit from the global rethink of high dependence on fossil fuel imports that the war will bring, according to Yuan.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Foreign investors are pulling the most money out of Asias key equity markets since the 2008 financial crisis as the oil shock from the war is ripping through Asian energy supply and economic prospects.

Foreign investors in the key Asian markets have sold so far in March a net $50.45 billion worth of equities in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, according to data from LSEG cited by Reuters.

The sum is the highest selloff of Asian equities on these exchanges in one month since at least 2008, according to the data.

Taiwan saw the biggest outflows, at $25 billion so far in March, which is the largest outflow in at least 18 years. Overseas investors have also pulled $13.5 billion out of South Korea and $10.17 billion from Indian stocks, the LSEG data showed.

Asian stocks and indexes have suffered for most of this month as the worst supply disruption in the history of the oil market reverberated through Asia, the Middle Easts key oil and gas buyer. The soaring oil prices and the high volatility in these have clouded the economic growth prospects in many Asian countries, all of which are net importers of energy. Fears of stagflation and expectations of pre-emptive rate hikes amid the oil price shock have forced recalibration of expectations of economic and equity performance.

A prolonged increase in fuel and input costs resulting from the Middle East war could force some tech companies to halt expansion plans, analysts say. Tech stocks and the AI boom were major winners in Asian markets last year.

In the early days of the war, South Koreas Kospi Index on the Seoul stock market plummeted by 12% in a single day for its worst one-day showing on record. At the same time, foreign investors were pulling money out of emerging Asian markets at the fastest pace in four years amid concerns that the oil shock would seriously dent Asias growth and will upend monetary policy in many of the energy import-dependent economies.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Japan is preparing to start releasing crude oil from stockpiles held jointly by the country and oil producers as well as national stocks, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in an X post.

The announcement follows the start of oil releases from private stockpiles earlier in March, with the second release beginning later this month at an unspecified date, and the tapping of national stockpiles starting March 26.

Through these measures, we will respond with all our might to minimize the impact on economic activities, Takaichi said, noting that the Japanese government had started subsidizing gasoline, diesel, heavy fuel oil, and jet fuel.

Reuters recalls Japan would release 80 million barrels of oil and fuels from its state reserve as part of the International Energy Agencys coordinated release of 400 million barrels. The amount of oil jointly held in Japan by the state and three Gulf producersSaudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAEstands at 13 million barrels, which is enough to cover seven days of consumption in Japan.

The countrys finance minister, meanwhile, said the government stood ready to do whatever it takes to keep energy prices stable. The statement followed a Reuters report that the Takaichi cabinet was considering intervention in the oil futures market.

It is widely said that speculative moves in crude oil futures markets are also affecting the foreign exchange market, Minister Satsuki Katayama said, as quoted by the publication. As the Japanese government, taking into account the impact that currency movements have on people's lives and the economy, we are determined to take thorough action at all times and on all fronts, she added.

Resource-poor Japan is overwhelmingly dependent on imported energy. In crude oil, Japanese refiners rely on imports from the Middle East for as much as 95% of their feedstocks. Most of the oil comes from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Of these Middle Eastern supplies, about 70% typically arrive in Japan on tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Oil prices were spiking again in early Asian trade on Tuesday, reversing part of the previous sessions steep losses as Iran denied claims that it had engaged in negotiations with the U.S.

At the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate had climbed to $91.54, up 3.87%, while Brent crude had risen 3.43% to $103.40.

The rebound follows a dramatic selloff on Monday, when Brent briefly fell below $100 per barrel for the first time since March 11 after President Trump claimed Washington had held very good and productive conversations with Iran and would delay strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure.

Markets initially interpreted the comments as a potential de-escalation signal. Trump said planned attacks on Iranian power plants and energy sites had been postponed for five days following discussions over the weekend.

Iran immediately denied any direct negotiations with the United States, although some sources claim the mediation efforts involved regional powers, including Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey. An Israeli official told Axios that the U.S. negotiators had been in touch with the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Ghalibaf said in a statement on X that no negotiations have been held with the U.S., calling the claims fake news aimed at manipulating oil markets.

Asian equity markets moved higher on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street gains after Trumps remarks, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific index rising around 1.5% in early trade.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% on Monday, reflecting investor optimism that diplomacy could avert further escalation.

But oil markets, unlike equities, are recalibrating around uncertainty rather than relief. Ultimately, oil markets will always return to fundamentals, and as long as supply is removed and does not return, there will be upward pressure on prices.

With this conflict now in its fourth week, oil flows across the Middle East have been disrupted and production reduced. The damage that has already been inflicted on energy infrastructure in the region is likely to keep prices structurally elevated even if hostilities ease. At least 40 major energy sites across the region have been severely damaged, according to the International Energy Agency.

By Josh Owens for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Saudi Arabia is publicly calling for regional stability. Peace, even. But privately, the Kingdom is pushing the White House to press on with its campaign against Iran, with oil prices comfortably above $100a move that could very well trigger oil demand destruction.

According to multiple reports out of Washington on March 24, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been urging the Trump administration to stay the course in its campaign against Iran, framing the current conflict as a rare window to reshape the regional balance of power, worried, according to NYT sources, that a prolonged conflict could result in further attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.

MBS has even pushed for ground operations, sources suggested.

Saudi officials have denied the allegations that MBS is lobbying the White House to take a harder stance on Iran. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict, even before it began, an official Saudi statement reads.

The White House refused to comment, the NYT said.

Brent is holding above $100 per barrel, with WTI in the low $90s, as disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz move from risk premium into actual supply constraint. Flows through the region remain impaired, and while Saudi Arabia can reroute some barrels via its East-West pipeline to Yanbu, that system maxes out well below normal export volumes. In other words, its softening the blow but hardly a sufficient substitute.

The higher prices help offset budget pressures and support its aggressive spending plans tied to Vision 2030. But the same disruption driving those prices is hitting The Kingdom directly, with Iranian retaliatory strikes already targeting regional energy infrastructure. A half-finished war, the sources suggest, could open Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure up to further attacks.

Washington is weighing options that range from de-escalation to more aggressive targeting of Iranian export infrastructure, including key nodes like Kharg Island. Each carries obvious risks, including one of the biggest risks of all: sustained triple-digit prices that start to threaten demand as much as they support supply-side revenues.

Saudi Arabias fears go beyond oila prolonged war could undermine investor confidence for many of the ambitious projects in the works that would transform Saudi Arabia from oil-dependent economy to global business hub.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
A very large crude carrier under a Panama flag has passed through the Strait of Hormuz carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude, Bloomberg has reported, citing ship-tracking data. This makes the Omega Trader the first tanker to export Iraqi crude since Iran all but shut off the strait.

According to the data, the Omega Trader, which is operated by Japans Mitsui OSK, had arrived in India, which is where most of the oil that has been allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three weeks has been delivered.

The latest vessel traffic data from Windward suggests that movement via the strait remains severely constrained, with the tracking firm reporting only 16 crossings of vessels with their AIS turned on over the last week.

Iran continues to consolidate control over the Strait of Hormuz through a selective transit model, enabling passage for specific vessels and cargo types via corridors within its territorial waters, Windward noted in its latest daily update on Hormuz. This includes energy shipments bound for China, agricultural cargo flows, and select LPG movements, reinforcing a permission-based access framework rather than a full closure.

Separate reports over the past couple of days show Indian LPG cargoes moving through the strait, as well as so-called zombie tankers, which assume the identity of retired vessels taken out of operation.

Two very large gas carriers, Jag Vasant and the Pine Gas, on Monday traveled from the UAEs coast to the Iranian islands of Qeshm and Larak, which sit on the northern section of the Strait of Hormuz, signaling they were Indian-owned. Meanwhile, one tanker that was supposed to have been sent to a scrapyard five years ago appeared in the Persian Gulf during the weekend and has since moved into the Gulf of Oman, meaning it had crossed Hormuz.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Freight rates for tankers to ship Saudi crude from the Yanbu port on the Red Sea to Asia have slumped from the highs seen earlier this month, as more vessels are diverting to the Saudi export port that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

Tanker rates on the Yanbu-Asia route have slumped from a high of over $450,000 per day in early March to about $200,000 per day for voyage agreed this week on a 2011-built very large crude carrier (VLCC), according to sources familiar with the deals and brokerage reports cited by Bloomberg.

With the Persian Gulf-Asia route effectively closed for most crude, especially the one from Saudi Arabia, the Yanbu port has become the go-to place for tankers to remain busy in the trade to ship crude from the Middle East to its key export region, Asia.

Saudi Arabia is accelerating the shift from Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea as commercial traffic through the strait remains near-collapse levels.

Iran continues to enforce a controlled transit model through Hormuz, enabling selective passage via IRGC-managed corridors based on cargo type and destination, maritime intelligence firm Windward said in a note on Monday.

With the Strait of Hormuz open only on the discretion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Saudi Arabia is shifting as much of its crude exports as it can to the Red Sea route.

In the week March 15 through 21, about 22.9 million barrels were loaded at Yanbu, which was a 20% jump compared to the previous week, Windward said, citing vessel-tracking data from Vortexa.

This acceleration reinforces Saudi Arabias strategic pivot toward Red Sea export routes to reduce reliance on Gulf transit corridors, according to Windward.

Despite the pivot to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia cannot fully offset the loss of all the supply it was shipping through the Strait of Hormuz before the war.

Saudi oil giant Aramco has reportedly notified customers of term supply in Asia that they would receive in April only the flagship Arab Light grade loaded at the Yanbu export port on the Red Sea.

So far in March, Saudi Aramco has exported about 4.355 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters. Thats way below the 7.1 million bpd in exports in February, before the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
Valero has shut down its Port Arthur refinery after an explosion late on Monday set a diesel processing unit on fire, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources.

Other reports say that emergency services have been sent to the site, and a shelter-in-place order has been issued for the western parts of Port Arthur. Al Jazeera said police sources had told local media that the cause of the fire was an industrial heater.

Valeros Port Arthur refinery is one of the largest in the United States, with a daily capacity of 380,000 barrels. Its diesel hydrotreater, where the explosion occurred, has a daily capacity of 47,000 barrels.

The accident comes at a time of rising fuel prices amid the international oil price rally prompted by tanker traffic disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. As of Monday, the national average for gasoline stood at $3.956 per gallon, according to AAA, with the diesel average at $5.285 per gallon. These figures compare with $3.126 per gallon of gasoline a year ago and $3.597 per gallon of diesel in late March 2025.

A high diesel price is especially concerning as planting season begins for farmers across the northern hemisphere. Higher diesel prices eventually drive up the price of everything, most notably food. This time, the effect on food prices would be aggravated by fertilizer prices, which have also been affected by the Middle East war since the region is a major producer of fertilizers and fertilizer feedstocks.

With the oil flow disruption driving prices higher, there has been talk in political circles in the U.S. about a possible cap on exports of crude oil from the worlds largest producer, but the Trump administration has ruled that out. Oil and gas export restrictions are not under consideration, one administration official told the Financial Times last week.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to produce a polo-themed TV drama for Netflix.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are working on a polo drama

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's Archewell Productions are to work on the as-yet untitled series as part of their new first-look deal with the streaming service, Deadline reports.

The programme will be written by Dynasty scribe Francisca X Hu, who will also serve as executive producer alongside Harry and Meghan, and will follow two rival polo teams and the families that run them.

The drama will be set in Wellington, Florida, where the national polo centre of America is based.

Harry and Meghan previously executive-produced the 2024 documentary series Polo, a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of professional polo players but it only lasted one season.

They also have other projects in development at Netflix, including movies The Wedding Date and Meet Me at the Lake.

The royal couple's first-look deal replaces their previous five-year contract, which ended last year, but the streaming service have insisted they are not looking to cut ties with the pair.

Bela Bajaria, Netflixs chief content officer, said at a recent Next on Netflix event in Los Angeles: She said: We still have a relationship with them. We have movies in development with them. We have an amazing doc with them.

They have things in development on the TV and film side. Deals come and go all the time, and we dont renew so many deals, those just dont get as much press for obvious reasons. Theres no juicy story there.

However, earlier this month it was announced Netflix had ended its partnership with Meghan's lifestyle brand As Ever, which she launched last year.

In a statement shared with CNN, a spokesperson for As Ever said: "As Ever is grateful for Netflixs partnership through launch and our first year.

"We have experienced meaningful and rapid growth and As Ever is now ready to stand on its own. We have an exciting year ahead and cant wait to share more."

Netflix also released a statement, confirming that it will cease to provide financial support to As Ever.

The streaming giant said: "Meghans passion for elevating everyday moments in beautiful yet simple ways inspired the creation of the As Ever brand, and we are glad to have played a role in bringing that vision to life.

"As it was always intended, Meghan will continue growing the brand and take it into its next chapter independently, and we look forward to celebrating how she continues to bring joy to households around the world."

Meanwhile, Ted Sarandos, the CEO of Netflix, previously claimed that the Duchess is "underestimated in terms of her influence on culture".

The royal has starred in the Netflix series Harry and Meghan and With Love, Meghan, and Ted believes the public are "fascinated" by the duchess.

Speaking to Variety in 2025, Ted explained: "I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture.

"When we dropped the trailer for the 'Harry and Meghan' doc series, everything on-screen was dissected in the press for days. The shoes she was wearing sold out all over the world. The Hermes blanket that was on the chair behind her sold out everywhere in the world.

"People are fascinated with Meghan Markle. She and Harry are overly dismissed."
The longevity economy, also known as the silver economy  which covers the rapidly expanding commercial activities connected to the aging population  took center stage at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026.

South China Sea sub-forum calls for greater restraint, dialogue, cooperation to safeguard regional peace A two-day South China Sea sub-forum at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 ended Friday with calls for greater restraint, dialogue and cooperation to safeguard regional peace.

Dairy innovation tackles lactose intolerance in senior citizens China is experiencing a profound demographic shift as its population rapidly ages, prompting food giants and health experts to turn to scientific innovation and precise nutrition to bridge the widening gap between seniors' nutritional needs and their actual consumption.

China-ROK climate ties seen as vital globally Climate cooperation between China and the Republic of Korea carries special significance, especially in light of the United States' withdrawal from the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said.
By Purna Bahadur Pokhrel

Pokhara, Nepal, March 24, 2026: On a typical March morning, Pokharas Lakeside should be a symphony of diverse languages, the rhythmic clicking of trekking poles, and the aroma of Italian coffee mingling with crisp Himalayan air. Instead, an uneasy silence has taken hold.

For Dorje Lama, a trekking guide with fifteen years of experience, this was supposed to be the "recovery spring." After years of pandemic-induced debt, he had three groups from Germany and France booked for the Annapurna Circuit. By last Tuesday, all three had canceled.

"Its not that they don't want to come to Nepal," Dorje says, looking out at a cloud-covered Machhapuchhre. "They are simply stuck. Their flights through Doha were canceled, and alternative tickets cost more than their monthly salary. My backpack is ready, but my calendar is empty."

The "Transit Trap"

The conflict in the Middle East may be thousands of miles away, but in Nepals tourism heart, the distance is felt through the silence of international transit hubs. Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board, became the face of this crisis when he was stranded in Doha for six days.

"Behind every cancellation is a traveler who saved for years to see our mountains, and a Nepali family whose livelihood depends on that traveler's visit," Joshi noted. The "Transit Trap" has effectively severed the link between the West and the Himalayas, leaving thousands of dreamsand jobsin limbo.

The Anxiety of the 'Wait-and-See' Approach

At the Hotel Association Pokhara, President Laxman Subedi witnesses the anxiety in his staff's eyes every morning. With occupancy crashing to 30%, the concern is no longer just about profit; it is about payroll.

"When a foreign government issues a travel advisory, it might just be a document in an office abroad. But here, it means a waiter doesn't know if he can send money home to his village this month," Subedi explains. "The Middle East is our gateway. When those gates close, Pokhara feels like an isolated island."

Finding Hope in the 'Fewa New Year'

Despite the gloom, the spirit of "Atithi Devo Bhava" (The Guest is God) remains resilient. Gopi Bahadur Bhattarai and other local leaders are now pinning their hopes on their neighbors.

The upcoming Fewa New Year Festival in mid-April is being reimaginednot as a global party, but as a national gathering. The "Jaun Hai Pokhara" (Let's Go to Pokhara) campaign is a heartfelt plea to fellow Nepalis to fill the void left by international travelers.

"If the world cannot reach us right now, we must reach out to each other," says Mani Raj Lamichhane of the NTB.

As the sun sets over Fewa Lake, the colorful wooden boats sit idle at the shore, reflecting a sky that is currently too turbulent for many to cross. Yet, for the people of Pokhara, the resilience that survived earthquakes and pandemics is being tested once morewaiting for the day the world can finally fly back to the mountains.
Geneva, 23 March 2026: Another radio professional was killed in the Philippines last Friday spreading panic among the media fraternity in the island nation. The victim, identified as Julio Calo (49), was shot dead by a miscreant in front of his residence at Barangay Robles under La Castellana locality on 20 March 2026. Julio used to work as a community radio block-timer for 88.3 DNN News FM and he died on the spot after sustaining a serious injury on head. The gunman left the crime place in a white sport utility vehicle.

Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights organization condemned the incident and demanded justice for the victim. PEC chief Blaise Lempen observed that the Philippines continues to be a dangerous country for journalists and other media workers. "The island nation has lost a significant number of media employees in recent years, but shockingly most of the cases remain unresolved where the perpetrators get immunity from the corrupt system. PEC (pressemblem.ch) urges for an impartial probe into the incident and stringent punishment to the murder under the law," said Lempen.

PEC's south and southeast Asia representative Nava Thakuria informed that a block-timer, recognized as a broadcaster in the Philippines, usually purchases airtime from a radio station to host community programs independently. The victim ran a program in a community radio station based in Himamaylan City. Julio thus becomes the 14th journo-victim this year around the world and first one in his country. It recorded four journo-casualties (Juan Johny Dayang, Erwin Labitad Segovia, Noel Bellen Samar and Gerry Campos in 2025.
Government Security Cabinet reports 79% decrease in homicide figures across Quintana Roo

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  The Security Cabinet of the Government of Mexico reports a 79% decrease in state homicides. Daily average homicide numbers have decreased from two in September 2024 to 0.4 in February 2026.

Authorities say the numbers for the state of Quintana Roo for February 2026 are the lowest since 2016.

The Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, Marcela Figueroa Franco, reported that the month of February saw the lowest number of homicides since 2016.

Marcela Figueroa Franco with President Sheinbaum March 2026.

She reported figures dropping from an average of 1.2 to 0.4 victims per day between February 2025 and February 2026, representing a 68 percent reduction.

She reported that high-impact crimes also showed a downward trend, with a 36 percent decrease compared to October 2024, falling from a daily average of 9.16 to 5.89 in February 2026.

The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar Garcia Harfuch, reported that in Quintana Roo, under the National Security Strategy, from October 1, 2024, to March 18, 2026, 3,219 people were arrested for high-impact crimes, 573 firearms were seized, and two tons of drugs were confiscated.

Likewise, under the National Strategy against Extortion, from July 6, 2025, to February 28, 2026, the incidence of this crime in the state decreased by 45 percent, 12 people were arrested and 116 investigations were opened.

The governor of Quintana Roo, Mara Lezama, pointed out that the state is experiencing a moment of profound transformation thanks to the national project led by President Claudia Sheinbaum and the state government.

Omar Garcia Harfuch with President Claudia Sheinbaum March 2026.

President Claudia Sheinbaum reported that in Quintana Roo, coordinated work with the state government achieved a 79 percent reduction in intentional homicides from September 2024 to February 2026.
Increased security leads to another drug related arrest on Isla Holbox

Holbox, Q.R  Police say another drug dealer has been arrested on the island of Holbox. The Secretary of Citizen Security (SSC) said Monday that Juan Manuel N was arrested, suspected of involvement in drug-related offenses.

He was taken into custody after being seen handling narcotics at the intersection of Tiburon Ballena Street and Paseo Kuka Street in Isla Holbox. He is the third person to be arrested on the small island for drug-related offences in a month.

Members of the Centurion Group of the Secretariat of Citizen Security were on patrol when they noticed a man in the street, the SSC reported.

He took several small plastic bags containing a green, dried plant material resembling marijuana from his fanny pack and began counting them.

Upon noticing the police presence, the man put the bags back in his fanny pack and became visibly nervous. The incident occurred at the intersection of Tiburon Ballena Street and Paseo Kuka Street on Isla Holbox, Lazaro Cardenas municipality.

He was informed of the violation and a preventive search was conducted. Thirty-seven small, clear, Ziploc-type plastic bags containing a green, dried plant material resembling marijuana were seized along with a black fanny pack and a gray and black cell phone.

The evidence, as well as the detainee, were turned over to the Specialized Prosecutors Office for Combating Drug Trafficking.

Authorities have stepped up island security after resident complaints of drug crimes and extortion.
Tabasco native wanted for two Playa del Carmen murders captured in home state

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  A suspect wanted in relation to two murders in Playa del Carmen has been captured. Police say Estanislao N, a Tabasco native, was arrested in his home state for his involvement in the death of two men.

Elements of the Investigative Police, in collaboration with the Prosecutors Office of Tabasco, executed an arrest warrant against Estanislao N, alias El Gato in Villahermosa, Tabasco.

The detainee, originally from Tabasco, was wanted by Quintana Roo authorities for the aggravated homicide of two males. The deceased, Miguel Angel N and Jose Luis N, were killed in the Santa Fe neighborhood of Playa del Carmen.

According to the investigations, Estanislao N is accused of ordering the hit against the two men. The motive for the attack stemmed from revenge. Police reported Monday that Jose Luis N had assaulted a member of the criminal group to which Estanislao N belongs.

Estanislao N remains in custody while police search for four other accomplices related the the double execution. The news of his arrest was made public Monday during a press conference.

Police did not say when Estanislao N was arrested, nor did they provide a date for the double Playa del Carmen murders.
Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo is expanding its U.S. footprint, with three new stores set to open across the East Coast and Midwest by early April.

Uniqlo plans to open new stores in Chicago, New York City and Boston between March 27 and April 10, according to the companys New Store Openings page.

The expansion comes as the retailer pushes toward a goal of 200 North American stores by 2027, Fast Company reported.

Advertisement Advertisement

Our strategy is about thoughtful growth  opening the right stores in the right places  while ensuring every location reflects our customers voices and delivers a meaningful, highquality experience, Fuminori Adachi, CEO of Uniqlos U.S. division, told the outlet.

Here is what you need to know about Uniqlos upcoming openings.

More: Publix to open 5 new stores by end of April. See upcoming locations.

Where is Uniqlo opening new stores?

The following three stores are scheduled to open between March 27 and April 10.

600 N Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois - March 27

860 Broadway, New York, New York - April 10

399 Washington St., Boston, Massachusetts - April 10

Apart from those upcoming openings, these two stores recently opened their doors, according to Uniqlo:

510 5th Ave., New York, New York

187 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, New York

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

Advertisement Advertisement

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Uniqlo is about to open 3 new US stores, heres where
Netflix reportedly wants to produce more shows with Louis Theroux, following the success of Inside the Manosphere.

Documentary maker Louis Theroux

In less than two weeks, more than two million people watched the documentary, in which Louis, 55, explores the toxic ultra-masculine network and controversial influencers.

An insider at the streaming giant told The Sun newspaper's TVBiz column: "This is going to make very uncomfortable viewing for the BBC, as theyve already had to watch him front his first documentary that wasnt for the corporation.

"Now Netflix will be clamouring for more shows from him, which may even include another visit into the manosphere - after all, he wont be short of subject matter.

"Although hes likely to be able to pick whatever subjects he wants to explore, Louis has always had a broad spectrum of interests, from the world of celebrities to serious politics."

Inside the Manosphere marked Louis first feature-length documentary for Netflix, and it came a year after he made BBCs Louis Theroux: The Settlers, which was about the increasing numbers of Israeli settlers on the West Bank in the Middle East.

Louis' 90-minute Manosphere film sees him travel to meet several prominent online figures associated with the movement, including Harrison Sullivan, known online as HS Tikky Tokky, Myron Gaines, Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy  known as Sneako  Justin Waller and Ed Matthews.

And Louis said the rise of the online manosphere reflects a troubling mix of misogyny, racism and self-constructed online identities.

Speaking during a question-and-answer session ahead of the documentarys release, Louis addressed criticism about whether the programme risks amplifying the views of those featured.

According to the Radio Times, he said he objects to the suggestion that his documentary simply platforms toxic voices.

Louis added: You could have someone on a podcast and say, Just tell me what you think for an hour.

Or you can put them in a documentary and work really hard to give it a sense of context, of proportion, and push back with appropriate questions, which is obviously what I think we do.

The COVID-19 lockdowns developed Louis' interest in the "manosphere" and looking into how social media personalities are reshaping conversations around masculinity and reviving ideas associated with the mens rights movement.

He said: "As a father of three boys, (it) was something I was aware of."

Louis - who has sons Albert, Frederick, and Walter, with his wife, Nancy Strang - added: "Like a lot of parents in lockdown, I saw my kids' social media content, and Andrew Tate was a name that came up, and I think it felt like this subject just combined a lot of things that I'm interested in.

"I've been joking that it's like the final boss of subjects in my career."

He said: "And it combines obviously homophobic, misogynistic, racist content, also kind of adult content, adjacent and cult-like mentality and media self-presentation."

Louis added: So basically, it just seemed like the most obvious and best choice to make a film.
AFP: U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was postponing any strikes against Irans power plants for five days to allow for talks. Trump said that his administration was speaking with an unidentified Iranian top official. What is Chinas comment on this? And what is Chinas position on who the U.S. should negotiate with from Iran?

Lin Jian: A drawn-out conflict serves no ones interest. Ceasefire and dialogue is the only way out. China is deeply concerned about the continued escalation and spillovers, which have dealt a blow to regional and international peace and stability. We call on relevant parties to end hostilities immediately and return to the track of peace and dialogue as soon as possible.

Reuters: The European Union and Australia have signed a trade deal today and European Commission President von der Leyen in her speech about this deal said that the EU and Australias critical mineral partnership would be crucial and that both cannot be overdependent on any supplier. She also spoke out against absorbing Chinas export-led growth model and industrial overcapacity. Does China have a response to these remarks?

Lin Jian: International trade is in essence a two-way choice by the market that benefits both sides. The EU itself has always enjoyed a trade surplus. Chinas high-quality and innovative products enrich global supply, boost trade and drive industrial development. China never seeks trade surplus. In fact, 40% of exports of China-based European companies are sold to Europe and counted as Chinas surplus. But the profits of the sales go to European investors. China is ready to be not only a world factory but also a world market. Committed to high-quality development and high-standard opening-up, China is actively implementing the strategy of expanding domestic demand. We are increasing imports of quality foreign products through such platforms as the China International Import Expo and the China International Fair for Trade in Services, unlocking consumption potential at a faster pace, and injecting fresh momentum into the world economy.

We hope the EU will abandon the zero-sum mentality, steer clear of protectionist measure, and view Chinas development in a rational and objective light. By seizing new opportunities presented by Chinas 15th Five-Year Plan blueprint, the two sides can work together to seek robust and balanced trade. It is hoped that the EU will work with China to keep the international trade environment open and inclusive.

AFP: Taiwan said that it would skip for the first time a high-level World Trade Organization meeting in Cameroon. Taiwan said that Cameroon had designated the island as a province of China in paperwork issued to its delegation. What is the Foreign Ministrys comment on this?

Lin Jian: There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory. Chinas position on the Taiwan regions participation in the activities of international organizations is consistent and clear, that is, it must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle. The one-China principle is the political prerequisite for the Taiwan regions participation in the WTO. The DPP authorities are engaging in political manipulation despicably under the pretext of participation in the WTO conference to create disruption and serve their Taiwan independence agenda. There is no way they will succeed.

As the international economic and trade order faces severe challenges with unilateralism and protectionism on the rise and the multilateral trading system gravely impacted, it is of special significance that the WTO holds a ministerial conference in Africa again after a decade. China firmly supports Cameroon in making this WTO Ministerial Conference a success.

Reuters: This is according to a draft reviewed by Reuters. Japan will downgrade its description of ties with China from one of the most important to instead describing China as an important neighbor and the relationship as strategic and mutually beneficial. This is in an annual diplomatic report that is being under review by the government. Does China have any comment on this?

Lin Jian: The root cause of the current situation facing China-Japan relations is Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichis erroneous remarks on Taiwan, which have sparked outrage from the Chinese people and tested the red line of the post-war international order. If the Japanese side truly wants to improve and develop relations with China, it needs to abide by the four political documents between China and Japan and its own commitments, retract the erroneous remarks on Taiwan as soon as possible, do soul-searching and correct its wrongdoings, and take concrete actions to uphold the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

AFP: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will travel to China from April 13 to 15 for an official visit, according to his office on Monday. Can China confirm this trip or provide comment for your expectations for this visit?

Lin Jian: China and Spain are comprehensive strategic partners. In recent years, bilateral relations have maintained sound momentum. On the visit that you mentioned, I have no information to share at the moment. Please stay tuned.

Global Times: Weve learned that this morning, a member of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces broke into Chinas embassy in Tokyo. Could you share more details with us?

Lin Jian: On the morning of March 24, a man who claimed himself to be a sitting officer of Japans Self-Defence Forces scaled the wall and broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. The individual admitted that his actions were illegal and threatened to kill Chinese diplomats in the so-called name of god.

China is deeply shocked at this incident and has lodged strong demarches and protests with Japan. The incident is a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and posed a grave threat to the safety and security of Chinese diplomatic personnel and facilities. The incident is egregious in both nature and impact. The incident once again highlighted the danger of the rampant spread of far-right impact and neo-militarism in the country. It also reveals the toxicity of the Japanese governments erroneous policies on vital issues concerning China-Japan relations such as history and Taiwan, and Japans failure in maintaining discipline in SDF and in fulfilling its responsibility to protect the Chinese diplomatic and consular premises and personnel.

China asks the Japanese side to thoroughly investigate the incident at once, bring the full weight of law to bear on the perpetrator and fully account for the incident. The Japanese side must ensure the safety and security of Chinese diplomatic and consular premises and personnel, reflect on and correct its erroneous policies on China and get rid of the root cause for such incidents once and for all. The international community needs to stay on high alert against Japans accelerating rightward turn and loss of control inside the rapidly expanding SDF.
On March 23, 2026, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) Zhao Leji met with a delegation of the Mongolian Peoples Party led by Nyam-Osor Uchral, Chairman of the Mongolian Peoples Party and Chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, in Beijing.

Zhao Leji noted that under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, the China-Mongolia comprehensive strategic partnership is steadily advancing toward building a community with a shared future characterized by peaceful coexistence, mutual assistance, and win-win cooperation. China stands ready to work with Mongolia to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, enhance strategic mutual trust, continue to respect each others core interests and major concerns, strengthen exchanges between legislative bodies, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, promote people-to-people friendship, and enhance multilateral coordination. Zhao Leji also introduced Chinas practices in whole-process peoples democracy.

Nyam-Osor Uchral noted that developing long-standing, stable, friendly relations featuring mutually beneficial cooperation with China is Mongolias consistent foreign policy. The State Great Hural of Mongolia stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the NPC of China and promote the continuous growth of practical cooperation between the two countries.
On March 23, 2026, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Thongloun Sisoulith on his re-election as President of Laos.

Xi Jinping noted that China and Laos are friendly socialist neighbors sharing a common destiny, always treating each other with sincerity and standing by each other, firmly supporting one another on issues concerning core interests and major concerns, reflecting the deep camaraderie of comrades and brothers. 2026 marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Laos and the Year of China-Laos Friendship, during which both sides will hold a series of celebrations to inject new momentum into the friendship between the two peoples.

Xi Jinping emphasized that this year marks the beginning of Chinas 15th Five-Year Plan period and Laos 10th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2026-2030) period. Both countries are at a crucial stage of development and revitalization, and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides faces even broader prospects. He attaches great importance to the development of relations between the two Parties and the two countries, and is willing to work with General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith to draw a new blueprint for comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries, advance the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future to a higher level, better benefit the two peoples, and contribute more to regional peace and development.

On the same day, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang sent a congratulatory message to Sonexay Siphandone on his re-election as Prime Minister of Laos. Li Qiang expressed his willingness to join hands with Sonexay Siphandone, guide various departments and localities of both sides to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and promote the China-Laos community with a shared future to achieve more fruitful results.
Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that technology barons both love science fiction and chronically fail to understand what science fiction is trying to tell them. The late Iain Banks Culture novels, about a utopian socialist society run by artificial intelligences, is often cited by Elon Musk, no socialist, as an inspiration for his Neuralink brain-implant company. Mark Zuckerberg so admires Neal Stephensons 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash that he used to require all Facebook product managers to read it, and he named his unenthusiastically received virtual world, Metaverse, after the one in Stephensons bookthis despite the fact that Snow Crash takes place in a corporate-dominated dystopia where average citizens are forced to live in shipping containers, with dips into the metaverse as their only relief. Upon the launch of ChatGPT-4o, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted one word, her, a reference to the 2013 Spike Jonze film Her, in which a man falls in love with an A.I. voiced by Scarlett Johansson, an attachment that ends badlythough not as badly as some real-life instances of A.I. psychosis.

Why are these mogulsmen whom the business media have been praising as geniuses for the past 40 yearsso dumb? Musk may very well be the dimmest of the lot in this department. He described the armored Cybertruck as what Bladerunner would have driven even though blade runner is a job description and not a character, and, as Max Read has written, the hero of the 1982 Ridley Scott movie, Rick Deckard, spends all of Blade Runner recognizing that his work is soul-crushing and inexcusable, even in the context of the urban hellscape he inhabits. You dont need the truck that Bladerunner [sic] would have driven,  Read explains for the obtuse (which apparently includes Musk), because you dont live in the world of Blade Runner.

Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale



Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus  Alex Blechman (@AlexBlechman) November 8, 2021

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Youd think that would be self-evident, but Silicon Valley persists in trying to realize fictional inventions that are meant to be understood as terrible ideas, apparently just because they look cool. The industry that has been propelling the developed world into the future is dominated by the mentality of a 12-year-old boy. Science fiction has a long history of anticipating and even inspiring technological change, and the genres authors have at times been consulted by governmentusually the military or security forcesto model potential threat scenarios and ways to respond to them. That work has presented its own moral conundrums, but at least they were the dilemmas of adults, not the overgrown manchildren shaping so much of our daily lives.

Argentinian novelist Michel Nieva is not distracted by the juvenile visions of tech moguls. In an essay translated by Rahul Bery and published in his recent book, Technology and Barbarism: or: How Billionaires Will Save Us From the End of the World, Nieva argues that cyberpunks pessimism about life on Earth has been repurposed by Musk as a justification for his pet project: establishing colonies on Mars. To Musk, Nieva writes, the panacea for terrestrial problems is not to reduce the gulf between rich and poor or to halt the socio-environmental crisis that is driven by capitalism, but, rather, to transfer this systems logic to another planet. While mid-20th-century science-fiction authors typically portrayed interplanetary travel and settlements as government operations on behalf of the greater good, the crumbling societies envisioned by cyberpunk must cede such initiatives to business and its profit imperative.

For his own part, Jeff Bezos advocates not colonizing other planets but creating self-sustaining space settlements, after an idea posed by the physicist Gerard ONeill in his 1976 book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space. Blue Origin, Bezos rocket company that famously took Katy Perry to spaceyou cant help viewing this as a riposte to Musks SpaceX and Mars ambitionsis working on creating a technological gateway to enable such settlements. The plan is for a real-life version of the luxury space station in the 2013 movie Elysium, but Bezos avoids mentioning an awkward truth that the film foregrounds: Only a privileged few will get to live in such arks, while the majority of humans will be stuck on our devastated home planet, if were lucky and arent just wiped out in some catastrophe.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Nieva wrote the essay Capitalist Science Fiction, the only piece on this subject in his book, to express my puzzlement as a reader at finding that my favorite literary genre, science fiction, should have been transformed into one of the mythological engines of contemporary capitalism. Yet both science fiction and capitalism come in more varied forms than Nieva seems to realize in his vitriolic and sometimes muddled essay. In their new book Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, historian Quinn Slobodian and tech writer Ben Tarnoff dig into the mindset of Silicon Valleys most gauche tycoon and touch on science fiction more tangentially, but their firmer grasp of just what flavor of capitalism Musk and his cohort represent sheds a brighter light on the topic.

Slate receives a commission when you purchase items using the links on this page. Thank you for your support.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Slobodian and Tarnoff, for example, believe that Mars was never a serious exit plan for Musk. His power and wealth, they argue, are built less on achievement than speculation, the belief that he is always about to produce some epochal breakthrough. Musk is, above all, a proponent of deglobalization, the retraction of national economies from global markets and an increasing reliance on controlling entire supply chains, which is how Musk himself structures his factories. He does not just sell cars, rockets, or satellites, Slobodian and Tarnoff write. He sells the fantasy that, in an increasingly unstable world, both states and individuals can fortify their self-reliance by plugging into his infrastructures. They call this fortress futurism.

Advertisement

Many of the ideas that tech barons pluck out of science-fiction novels feed into this fantasy of control and the elimination of the unpredictable. The extraterrestrial colony liberated from government regulations (though amply funded with taxpayer dollars, to judge by Musks past ventures), the terrarium-like ONeill cylinders floating through space, the solipsistic virtual reality and A.I. relationships that shield their users from encounters with real people in the real world, the armored car that asserts your power and invulnerability on the streetthese are all visions of life in a self-contained capsule. The prototype for all of these dreams of total self-reliance is the spaceship, that enduring science-fiction motif.

Advertisement

In much of science fiction, the spaceship has served as a vessel for adventure and discovery. But in fortress futurism it represents a retreat to a womblike existence in which the main character gets to pick and choose from what he likes about the current worldrobots, some simulation of hot women, cool space suits (Nieva notes that Musk hired a Hollywood costume designer to create SpaceX gear that emphasizes its wearers biceps and pectorals), liquid meal replacements, etc. Everything else, including the wayward needs and desires of other people, will be blissfully eliminated.

For people who claim to champion disruption and creativity, tech barons seem intent on eliminating any inconvenience and unpredictability from their lives, along with all the unexpected experiences that lead to fresh ideas. Is it any wonder, then, that when it comes to the books they claim to love, these people have become experts at surgically extracting the bits they find pleasing and discarding anything they dont want to hear? Science-fiction authors can issue all the warnings they want. In Silicon Valley, they will always fall on deaf ears.
Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily.

On Cinco de Mayo in 2018, I found myself dancing at a gay bar with Dolores Huerta.

I hadnt wanted to go out that day. Just the day before, writer Zinzi Clemmons had stated that the Latine writer Junot Diaz had forcibly kissed her when she was a graduate student. I was attending a conference for Latinx educators in Los Angeles when I read the news. During break times, I read the stories of several other women who had since come forward against Diaz with similar stories of their own. By Saturday, I thought I needed time alone to process it all, but conference friends persuaded me to instead dance it out at Mickys, a gay bar in West Hollywood.

I spotted her on the dance floor. She wore a bright carnation-pink shirt, a gray blazer, and a beautiful orange-and-turquoise beaded necklace. She held a tequila drink with lime in her right hand. She came with a small group of women and assistants who had accompanied her to the United State of Women Summit, where she had spoken earlier that day.

Afterwards, she just told us she really wanted to dance, one of her assistants said to me.

Song after song, Dolores danced with us. When the DJ played Robin S. Show Me Love, a man vogued for her, and she bobbed her head and swayed to the beat, cheering him on. Later, we all applauded as a drag queen, wearing a red sequin dress and a golden halo headpiece, performed Cucurrucucu Paloma flawlessly.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

I was mesmerized the whole night by how free she seemed. I dont know if Dolores Huerta will ever identify as queer, but watching her, at age 88, unapologetically dancing with us gays until late into the night in and of itself felt queer to me, like a giant statement of what an elder womans single life could be like, how liberating it could feel, how fun.

Advertisement

Last Wednesday, Huerta released a statement describing how Cesar Chavez, with whom she co-founded United Farm Workers, had sexually assaulted her twice. Both times resulted in pregnancies she kept hidden from nearly everyone. After witnessing the liberation she modeled for me that night at that gay bar, I was devastated to know what it had cost, what she has always had to hold in her body, even on the nights she seemingly looked so free.

In Latine activist spaces, this was not new. Critiques of Chavezs racism, xenophobia, and womanizing had existed for years. The militant machismo of the Brown Beretsa Chicano revolutionary organization that fought against police brutality, government abuse, and social inequalitywas so deeply entrenched that Gloria Arellanes and other women within the East Los Angeles chapter together wrote, We have found that the Brown Beret men have oppressed us more than the pig system has, which is a serious charge in the eyes of revolutionaries.

Advertisement

Advertisement

This has been true of so many Latino men and organizations who call themselves revolutionary, yet who never include the autonomy of a womans body in their cause. During the Mexican Revolution, leader Pancho Villa ordered the rape of every woman in the town of Namiquipa to retaliate against a man who had betrayed him. In 1970 the Puerto Rican Young Lords 13-Point Program embraced the idea of revolutionary machismo, until Denise Oliver-Velez persuaded the organization to explicitly take a stance against it.

Advertisement

In an essay for Salon about the aftermath of the Junot Diaz allegations, Latine writer Ricardo Frasso Jaramillo lamented that our historic examples of Latine masculine leadership so often become only examples of what to avoid. I am struck by the realization that perhaps we all deserve more than a model of what it means to be broken, he wrote.

As a light-skinned queer nonbinary Latine person with U.S. citizenship, and a survivor of multiple experiences of sexual assault, I have written extensively about how I grapple with the nuanced power dynamics at play in each incident. When I was assaulted while traveling abroad, my U.S. citizenship gave my story a specific kind of narrative power that other women didnt necessarily have. But living in the States as a woman of color, the power flips. I have internalizedas so many other women of color havethat it is my responsibility to hide the abuse men of color commit, rather than contribute to stereotypes of these men as violent. Living in a country where the current president called Mexican men rapistsa country that lynched thousands of Black men based on false accusations of rapeI believed I could not provide yet another piece of evidence toward what our country already assumed about these men. I could not put their literal lives at risk in a legal system that has always wanted to kill them. Cis men of color have certainly protected me from sexual and physical violence, but they have also enacted the worst of it.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

I cant imagine holding the immensity of what Huerta held for decades, but I do know what its like to hold secrets for the sake of abusive men. I have refused to physically describe the person who raped me at a party, because they were one of few men of color attending, and I didnt trust the mostly white organizers to handle the situation correctly. As a teacher, I wrote a recommendation letter on behalf of the high school student of color who assaulted me to ensure that he could still attend a good school. And now, as a writer, I have strategically rearranged the details in my work so that I can tell the stories of my assaults while not risking these men being identified. I dont know if I regret any of these actions, and I dont know if I stand by them. Perhaps, like Dolores, those are questions I will grapple with all my life.

Advertisement

Advertisement

But possibly what most disturbs me about her story is that it illustrates just how well versed and practiced women of color are at swallowing our own pain, and enduring rape and assault as if it isnt just as traumatic as the other violations we fight against in our movements. For the years I have written about sexual trauma, I have dreamed of what our movements would be like if they prioritized the trauma experienced by women and trans and nonbinary people as much as that of cis men. It would mean that the decision Dolores felt she had to makebetween hurting a movement and hurting herselfwould no longer be necessary. It would mean that men would no longer, as Victor Interiano wrote, center their own trauma, act out abusively from that trauma, then expect women to set aside their own healing so they can coddle masculine fragility.

Advertisement

Advertisement

My great-grandmother was also named Dolores, and was also a survivor of sexual abuse from a prominent man in the very small town where she was raised. Like Dolores Huerta, she held this secret for decades, though a family member told me that she also began sharing more about her experience later in her years. Dolores Huerta was 95 years old on the day she finally decided to share her story. For both women, I keep thinking about the incredible amount of energy they exhausted on enduring and hiding the violations inflicted on their bodies. I keep thinking about what different lives they could have lived had this not happened to them. What would their desires have looked like? Who would they have become? I grieve so much that we will never know those answers. And, at the very least, I am grateful that both Dolores Huerta and Dolores my great-grandmother did not spend the final years of their lives ashamed or in fear. They did not die holding this entirely on their own.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Just a few weeks ago, I marched in Guadalajara, Mexico, for the 8M protest against gender violence, with a poster that read Marchando Por Mi Bisabuela (Marching for My Great-Grandmother). I felt such solidarity seeing dozens of others with posters honoring their survivor grandmothers and exposing abuse in their families and communities too.

Advertisement

Advertisement

In one portion of the route, someone had left a giant blank sheet of butcher paper with the title Expon a Tu Agresor. Expose Your Abuser.

By the time I reached it, the sheet was blanketed with names and had no more empty space. Later, I saw another sheet of butcher paper, tacked to a wall, titled: Deja tu huella si alguna vez te han acosado (Leave your handprint if you have ever been assaulted).

Related From Slate The Cesar Chavez Sexual Abuse Allegations Show a Disturbing Similarity to Jeffrey Epstein Read More

The entire poster was covered in painted hands. There was no empty space on that poster either. All along the route, protesters had spray-painted the names of their abusers on city walls. Some had written the names of abusive priests and church officials on the walls of churches. Others on the walls of a university. Folks marching past would chant:

Advertisement

No estas sola. No estas sola. No estas sola. You are not alone.

Dolores Huerta admitted that she had decided to share her story only after hearing that Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas, and Esmeralda Lopez were ready to share their own. I cant stop thinking about this, how a survivors story has exponential power, how one story emboldens another and another, which emboldens a hundred more, and then a thousand more, until our stories become marches, become movements, become historical events.

Advertisement

One of my favorite posters at the march read, Espero que sepas que hay mucha vida despues del dolor (I hope you know that there is a lot of life after pain).

Advertisement

When I think back to that night dancing with Dolores at the gay bar in Hollywoodknowing now what she held during that time, what she had survived, what she carriedit is still so clear to me that Dolores was determined to have a life after pain. The only memory I have of my great-grandmother is her singing and laughing in Guanajuato, the one and only time I got to see her before she died. Id like to believe that this means she too gifted herself a life after what had happened to her. And by choosing to tell our stories, we gave ourselves even more life still: a life after secrets, a life after holding them alone.
Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily.

Congratulations to everyone who has waited in a long airport security line over the past week: Youve finally gotten Congress attention. Nearly a month and a half after funding expired for the Department of Homeland Securityan agency that includes the Transportation Security Administrationa path has emerged in the Senate toward ending the partial shutdown.

The path, in short, is to fix airport lines now by teeing up what later could be the biggest legislative fight of the year. Just at the point when members of Congress and senators begin to check out of governance mode ahead of election season, Republicans are considering another party-line megabill that could fully fund ICE, pay for Donald Trumps Iran war, and cut a check for whatever other items Republicans want to squeeze in before they risk losing control of Congress.

The developments to end the shutdown started over the weekend with a rejected offer.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune presented Trump with an plan to end the DHS shutdown. Congress could pass a bill funding the department with the exception of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Then, the Republicans could quickly move to a reconciliation billa vehicle that is not subject to the 60-vote filibusterto fund ICE on their own. That would allow the party to get airport lines moving again, first, then deliver ICE its funding without having to agree to immigration enforcement reforms that Democrats have been demanding.

Trump said no. He insisted that no deals be cut with Democrats until Republicans had figured out a way to pass the SAVE America Act, the GOPs flagship elections law that requires photo ID at the polls and proof of citizenship to register to vote. That bill has been under consideration on the Senate floor since last week, but its entirely for show: Theres no path to the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster for it, and Republicans dont have the support among themselves to nuke or skirt the filibuster in order to pass it.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

One day after Thunes visit with Trump, though, a group of GOP senators offered a similar plan, but with an important tweak. The idea would still be to fund DHS, absent ICE, then pursue the ICE funding through reconciliation. But Republicans also pitched Trump that they would attempt to pass the SAVE America Actor something in keeping with its spiritin that same reconciliation bill. While the White House didnt say anything about the offer, and the president didnt post on social media about it one way or another, he was apparently warm enough to the idea that GOP senators worked around the clock to put together a bill.

Well, Im going to look at it, Trump finally weighed in with reporters Tuesday afternoon. And were going to take a good, hard look at it. I want to support Republicans.

While convoluted, the plan seems promising only because its difficult to figure out what else Republicans would do. The sudden hustle and bustle from Senate Republicans to reach a deal suggests that the public is pinning the blame on them, the party in power, for the airport chaos. And yet, Trump wont budge on anything until progress is shown on the SAVE Act, which has heretofore been jammed against an impenetrable wall in the Senate. Theres no easy answer to any of this. What the latest plan would achieve, though, is advancement, a leap from the chambers present logjams to new ones.

Advertisement

Advertisement

And both steps of this processfunding DHS, then doing a reconciliation billare arduous.

To complete the first stepreopening all the non-ICE elements of DHSRepublicans would need Democratic votes. But Democrats on Tuesday were cautious to provide them, suggesting that they would still need to see ICE reforms in a DHS funding bill in order to support it. This was incredibly frustrating to Republicans, who argued that you dont get reforms to an agency if youre unwilling to lend your votes to funding it.

But most of the problems are on the GOPs side.

If Well just pass the SAVE Act via reconciliation sounds like a ruse, thats because it basically is. Budget reconciliation is governed by strict rules, enforced by a strict parliamentarian, requiring that reconciliation items pertain to taxes and spending. The act is a policy billit requires this, requires that, bans this, bans thatnot a budget bill. Republicans can try to square the circle by, say, offering federal grant money to states that implement voter ID or proof of citizenship, or tying existing grant money to such policies. Proposals are already circulating. But these are still tricky to get past the parliamentarian, and whatever could would likely lack the teeth of the actual SAVE America Act. In short: If moving this law through reconciliation could be done, it already would have been.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The conservatives pushing the elections bill were not taken in by the ruse.

Its hard to imagine how the SAVE America Act could be passed through reconciliation, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, the bills biggest cheerleader in the Senate, posted on X. And by hard I mean essentially impossible. 

This is gaslighting, the House Freedom Caucus posted. The American people are not stupid and will not accept more failure theater from Republicans in Congress.

Should the ruse prevail, though, Republicans reward would be a mountain of homework in the form of the reconciliation bill.

The possibility of doing another big reconciliation billTrumps giant tax and Medicaid cut package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed through the process last yearhas been a matter of dispute between the House and Senate. While House leaders have been more interested in it, Senate Republicansas senators often arehave been more dismissive. Elections are nearing, and it would take an awful lot of discipline, discipline that may not exist, to get the House, Senate, and White House, all with their own problems, on the same page about party-line legislation.

Advertisement

Related From Slate Markwayne Mullins Confirmation Hearing Was the Funniest in Agesand Might Have a Stunning Outcome Read More

But if the Senates hand is forced into at least trying to satisfy Trump, it wont be limited to funding ICE and fiddling around with election grant money.

The Pentagon is preparing to request a reported $200 billion from Congress for the Iran war, and reconciliation could become the vehicle for achieving that. Thats real money for an unpopular war, and Republicans would prefer not to shoulder that load on their own. If they had to approve that money on a party line, deficit hawks would request that all of that money be paid for with cuts elsewhereand a messy fight about finding budget cuts would ensue.

Advertisement

This is just the start. This could be the last time for a while that Republicans have control of the White House, House, and Senate, with the opportunity to pass big legislation without Democratic votes. Every member, with thin margins in the House and Senate, would have a lot of leverage. Its a recipe for a mess, as all reconciliation billssuccessful and unsuccessfulare. And theres no guarantee that the final product would be popular. (The OBBBA polled about 20 points underwater around the time of its passage.)

Advertisement

Which is why the entire reconciliation-bill proposal itself might ultimately be a ruse as well. In his weekly press conference Tuesday, Thune merely mentioned that reconciliation was available to them, and that they could use it. He also emphasized, however, that Republicans had substantially pre-funded ICE in last years One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is why the agency has remained funded through the DHS shutdown. If a reconciliation bill doesnt get off the ground, or cant pass, it wouldnt leave a government agency unfunded indefinitelymeaning, it does not need to happen. And things that dont need to happen in Congress typically dont.

That reconciliation fight can all wait, though. The priority now is for members and senators to get home for Easter recess at the end of the week without having to arrive at the airport four hours in advance of their flights. And where theres a will, theres a way.
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.

Donald Trumps Department of Justice quietly caved in one of its biggest brawls with the federal judiciary on Monday, conceding district courts authority to appoint U.S. attorneys after a series of stinging legal defeats. In a filing, the Justice Department accepted a courts appointment of Robert Frazer as head of New Jerseys U.S. attorneys office, an abrupt reversal of its assertion that courts have no such power. Its capitulation ended an eight-month standoff during which New Jersey lacked a lawfully serving U.S. attorney after the DOJ refused to replace Alina Habba with a legitimate successor. This (entirely avoidable) leadership vacuum jeopardized myriad criminal indictments and unleashed a wave of chaos that culminated in a federal judge throwing one prosecutor out of his courtroom last week.

The practical consequences of the Justice Departments surrender are immense. But the deeper implications for the Trump administrations self-proclaimed war against judges are just as important. For the first time, it accepted the federal judiciarys constitutional prerogative to appoint U.S. attorneys as prescribed by Congress, retreating from its earlier position that only the president can name top prosecutors. This white flag marks the Trump administrations biggest step back from its maximalist vision of a unitary executive who holds total control over his entire branch. It is a begrudging admission that the other two branches of government can still restrain the presidencyproof that the separation of powers is more resilient than Trump had anticipated.

Related From Slate The Supreme Court Just Heeded One of Ketanji Brown Jacksons Sharpest Dissents Read More

The Justice Departments struggle to appoint U.S. attorneys stemmed from a mix of obstinance and incompetence. As a rule, these prosecutors are supposed to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Under federal law, though, Attorney General Pam Bondi may appoint interim U.S. attorneys who may serve for up to 120 days. If they have not yet been confirmed when their term expires, this law allows federal district courts to replace them with a new U.S. attorney who may serve indefinitely.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Of course, the Trump administration would not have to worry about this backstop if it had picked interim U.S. attorneys capable of Senate confirmation. But instead, it named unqualified partisans, like former Trump personal attorneys Lindsey Halligan and Alina Habba, who could be trusted to prosecute the presidents political opponents but stood no chance of Senate confirmation. When their terms expired, the DOJ concocted workarounds to try to keep Trumps loyalists in office as acting U.S. attorneysmaneuvers that were rejected by courts in Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, California, and New Mexico.

With these offices vacant, the task fell upon district courts to name interim U.S. attorneys, which they did with admirable professionalism. Until Monday, however, the administration rejected the many court rulings ousting its preferred prosecutors and rebuffed the courts authority to replace them. When the New Jersey District Court named Desiree Leigh Grace to succeed Habba, Bondi fired her. When a Virginia District Court named James Hundley to succeed Halligan, Bondi fired him. When a New York District Court named Donald Kinsella to succeed John Sarconea former Trump campaign attorneyBondi fired him. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the departments justification for these rapid removals on X, declaring twice that judges dont pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does. For support, he cited Article II of our Constitution.

Advertisement

Advertisement

But the Constitution actually does allow the judiciary to exercise this kind of appointment power. And the Justice Departments tortured reading of federal law really did violate constitutional restrictions on the presidents authority to staff the executive branch. So for all their bluster in public, Bondi and Blanche were floundering in court as losses piled up. They hit a new low earlier this month after a court ruled against their effort to evade constitutional limits by appointing three different prosecutors to serve as New Jerseys U.S. attorney. Even though the court threatened to throw out indictments and plea deals signed by this triumvirate, the Justice Department refused to replace it with a lawful successor. This defiance prompted U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi to unload on career prosecutors last Monday, throwing one out of the courtroom and ordering the triumvirate to testify under oath about their illegal leadership structure.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Generations of assistant U.S. attorneys had built the goodwill of that office for your generation to destroy it within a year, Quraishi told a prosecutor. What youve told me today, what your representation is  I dont believe.

It now appears that Quraishis (well-justified) benchslap spurred the Justice Department to finally relent. The agency reportedly acceded to the New Jersey District Courts appointment of Robert Frazer, a longtime prosecutor, following negotiations behind the scenes. The courts chief judge installed Frazer on Monday, and he promptly signed paperwork to shore up prosecutions that were imperiled by the illegitimate triumvirate. By all accounts, Frazer is well-respected and independent-minded, meaning he is unlikely to charge Trumps foes with bogus crimes. His appointment marks a total defeat for the administrations crusade to fill the seat with pliant allies who would weaponize the machinery of federal law enforcement.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The significance of this climbdown is hard to overstate. Since Trump returned to office, his Justice Department has insisted that he has absolute authority to staff the entire executive branch. In its view, the president holds unreviewable discretion over the appointment and firing of subordinates, including leaders of once-independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve. Over and over again, it has claimed that neither Congress nor the courts can stop Trump from installing or removing whomever he wants from office. The Justice Departments war over U.S. attorneys was a key part of its quest to transform this radical theory into reality, effectively repealing the judiciarys long-standing ability to appoint top prosecutors under terms set by Congress. That campaign has now failed. In the face of fierce, unanimous judicial resistance, the administration stood downproof that there is nothing inevitable about this presidents unlawful consolidation of power.
Mexico has recorded nearly 200,000 repatriations of its citizens from the United States since President Donald Trump returned to office and tightened immigration policies, according to figures released by the Mexican government.

Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez said that between late January 2025 and mid-March 2026, a total of 189,830 Mexican nationals were returned to the country. Most arrived through land border crossings, while tens of thousands were flown back as part of coordinated repatriation efforts. The returns are being handled under the government's national strategy known as "Mexico te abraza."

Rodriguez said more than 130,000 returnees have received assistance through the program's network of reception centers, primarily located along Mexico's northern border as well as in southern cities such as Villahermosa and Tapachula, as EFE reports. "Those who decide not to go to these spaces are still given assistance," added Rodriguez.

The program is designed to manage both the immediate arrival of deported migrants and their longer-term reintegration. Upon arrival, individuals receive a repatriation document that allows them to access services including temporary shelter, healthcare, job placement support and social programs. Authorities have also coordinated transportation to migrants' home states at no cost.

Officials say the strategy includes a broader effort to stabilize returnees economically and socially. Many have been enrolled in public health coverage through the Mexican Social Security Institute, while others have been connected with employment opportunities in the private sector. Financial support is also provided through government-issued assistance cards to help cover initial expenses.

The "Mexico te abraza" plan operates through multiple components, including consular support in the United States, reception infrastructure in border states, and reintegration programs focused on employment, education and access to basic services. It also includes digital tools and expanded consular services aimed at assisting Mexican nationals before and during the repatriation process.

Rodriguez said the government remains committed to supporting returnees. "Our country awaits them with open arms," she said, describing the program as a coordinated effort to ensure a structured and dignified transition for those arriving back in Mexico.

Originally published on Latin Times
OnePlus is creating a buzz in India with early teasers for the OnePlus Nord 6, and fans are particularly excited about a rumored "Naruto" Limited Edition.

Leaked images reveal that the standard Nord 6 will be available in at least two colors, but the anime-inspired variant could make it a must-have for collectors.

What to Expect About 'Naruto' Limited Edition

According to the OnePlus India support page, the "Naruto" Limited Edition will likely feature exclusive design elements. Custom wallpapers, themed icons, and a unique user interface are expected to bring the beloved anime aesthetic to life.

OnePlus Nord 6 Naruto Edition coming? . Spotted on the Repair & Service page.



Leak or hint? This could be interesting.#oneplus #oneplusnord6 pic.twitter.com/ZknH5SGfkN  Aajib (@aajib_mohammad) March 22, 2026

While the official launch date remains unconfirmed, speculation suggests it could arrive alongside the standard Nord 6 models. If you're a fan of the anime franchise, it's high time to get this limited-edition release. It's also possible that it will get Naruto-themed accessories during its launch.

Powerful Performance Under the Hood

Leaks reveal that the Nord 6 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC, paired with up to 12GB of RAM. It will run Android 16 with OxygenOS 16 out of the box.

Storage is expected in a single 256GB variant, with RAM options of 8GB or 12GB. This setup promises smooth multitasking, gaming, and app performance, making the Nord 6 a high-performing mid-range to flagship device.

Display and Camera Features

The Nord 6 will feature an OLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate, delivering buttery-smooth visuals for gaming, streaming, and daily use.

On the photography front, users can expect a 50MP main camera paired with a 32MP front camera for selfies and video calls. The upgrades will appeal more to social media content creators and mobile photographers.

Battery Life and Fast Charging

Powering the device is a massive 9,000mAh battery with 80W wired fast charging, ensuring long-lasting usage and minimal downtime. According to GSMArena, the battery capacity makes the Nord 6 one of the most enduring devices in its segment, ideal for heavy users and gamers.

Ideal Smartphone For Every Collector

Limited editions often come with exclusive packaging and accessories, adding collector value. While OnePlus hasn't revealed specific items for the "Naruto" variant, fans expect extras that complement the anime theme.

There might be a few options in the design. Aside from the typical "Naruto" color (orange), we might get other options, including Kakashi (blue), Sasuke (purple), and Sakura (pink).

Originally published on Tech Times
Moi nhat oc nhieu
What is going on at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport? See TSA wait times

Travelers are seeing TSA wait times grow as United States airports struggle with airport security staffing.

The partial government shutdown caused Transportation Security Administration employees, who are not paid during a shutdown, to call out or even quit and security lines have reached nearly two hours at some airports.

More than 400 TSA employees have quit, according to the Department of Homeland Security. It's unclear how many, if any, of those are from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Advertisement Advertisement

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers began assisting TSA with security at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Monday, March 23. A sign at the queue for the TSA security checkpoint at Sky Harbor's "A" gates in Terminal 4 alerted travelers that ICE was helping out. One ICE officer could be seen at the checkpoint on March 23, aiding travelers moving in line. ICE was also present in Terminal 3 checkpoints.

President Donald Trump ordered ICE to 13 airports, including Sky Harbor, after the latest negotiations failed to end a federal partial shutdown that halted paychecks for employees of TSA and several other agencies, some of whom have stopped going to work.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent works at a TSA security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on March 23, 2026.



A plea for help: Phoenix Sky Harbor appeals to public to donate to unpaid TSA workers An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent works at a TSA security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on March 23, 2026. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent works at a TSA security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on March 23, 2026. 1 / 3 See ICE agents fill in for missing TSA agents at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent works at a TSA security checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on March 23, 2026.



A plea for help: Phoenix Sky Harbor appeals to public to donate to unpaid TSA workers

Here's how the shutdown is affecting TSA wait times at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airports and what travelers must know.

TSA wait times at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

TSA wait times at Sky Harbor ranged between 6 and 30 minutes last week as some checkpoints were forced to close due to TSA staffing shortages.

Advertisement Advertisement

Here is the time at each checkpoint as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25:

Terminal 3 checkpoint : 9 minutes

Terminal 4 checkpoint A : 11 minutes

Terminal 4 checkpoint B : Closed

Terminal 4 checkpoint C: 8 minutes

Wait times for Terminal 4 checkpoint D are not posted on Sky Harbor's website.

Is TSA still operating during the government shutdown?

TSA officers are considered essential workers and continue reporting to work during the shutdown, but are working without pay; because of this, some officers don't report to work, leading to worker shortages.

What should travelers know if they're flying today?

Anyone flying out of Sky Harbor should be aware that passenger traffic will be higher than usual because of spring break and Cactus League spring training, officials said. March is usually when passenger traffic peaks at the airport.

They offered these tips for passengers who are flying for spring break:

Advertisement Advertisement

Check your flight with your airline before leaving for the airport.

Plan to arrive at least two hours before flights within the U.S. and three hours before international flights to allow enough time to check bags, get through security and find your gate.

TSA Security Checkpoint wait times are available live on skyharbor.com. Brodsky said that Terminal 4 passengers can access their gate through any of the terminal's four security checkpoints, so they could use a checkpoint that posts a shorter wait time if they choose.

Use the 24th Street or 44th Street PHX Sky Train stations for free, easy access to the terminals.

Reserve a spot in the security checkpoint line with PHX RESERVE, a free program available in both terminals.

Arizona Republic reporter Ray Stern contributed to this article.

Do you have a tip or a question you need answered? Reach the reporter at dina.kaur@arizonarepublic.com. Follow @dina_kaur on X, formerly known as Twitter, and on Instagram @dina_kaur.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why are TSA lines so long? See wait times at Phoenix Sky Harbor
The Trinidad and Tobago stock market recorded its fourth consecutive year of decline, according to the Central Banks latest Annual Economic Survey.

The Central Bank said that in 2025, declines in the Composite Price Index (CPI) deepened, falling 11.8%, driven by a 13.2% drop in the All T&T Index (ATI) and a 7.3% contraction in the Cross Listed Index (CLI).
A flight attendant survived a deadly plane crash at LaGuardia Airport after being thrown from an Air Canada aircraft during a collision, in what her family and experts are calling a "total miracle."

The incident happened Sunday night when an Air Canada jet carrying more than 70 passengers collided with a fire truck on the runway.

The truck was responding to an issue involving another plane at the time. The crash caused severe damage to the front of the aircraft, killing both the pilot and co-pilot.

Despite the destruction, flight attendant Solange Tremblay survived after being ejected from the aircraft while still strapped into her seat, AP News reported.

Her daughter, Sarah Lepine, said her mother suffered multiple fractures in one leg and will need surgery but is otherwise expected to recover.

"It's a total miracle," Lepine told a Canadian news outlet. "I'm still trying to understand how all this happened, but she definitely has a guardian angel watching over her."

Wild new footage



New footage captures the horrifying moment an Air Canada Express plane (Flight AC8646) slammed into a Port Authority fire truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York

pic.twitter.com/TeHtkdz7mq  kyle . Taylor (@livingbyyyz) March 23, 2026

Jump Seat Helped Attendant Survive Crash

Experts say her survival may be linked to the special seat she was using.

Aviation safety specialist Jeff Guzzetti explained that flight attendants sit in what is called a "jump seat," which is attached firmly to the aircraft wall and built to handle strong impact.

"It's a very robust seat," Guzzetti said. "It's designed to withstand probably more crash loads than passenger seats because you need the flight attendant to help passengers get out of an airplane after a crash."

According to Yahoo, he added that her position near the aircraft's structure may have helped protect her during the crash, even as the plane's nose was destroyed.

The accident has drawn attention because of how rare such survival cases are. In past crashes, being thrown from an aircraft often leads to severe or fatal injuries.

For example, during the 2013 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in San Francisco, flight attendants were also ejected and seriously hurt. That incident involved 291 people, and three passengers lost their lives.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the collision at LaGuardia. Early reports indicate the plane was landing when it struck the emergency vehicle on the runway.

Originally published on vcpost.com
In an interview published in yesterdays Express, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar revealed the principles guiding her administrations policies. As is usual with politicians, however, there was a notable gap between rhetoric and reality.

Asked about her strong and vociferous support for American President Donald Trump, the Prime Minister explained, The current US government believes in conservatism and capitalism, and that aligns with my views.
Benghazi, Libya (PANA) - The Commission on Defence and National Security of the Libyan House of Representatives said it is following with great concern the serious security and military repercussions of the incident involving the Russian LNG carrier Arctic Metagas'', attacked on 3 March in international waters in the Mediterranean and having subsequently drifted near the Libyan coast, more precisely off the city of Zouara in the west
A: I went to Bali to see where my fig spread was selling. I was fascinated. Ever since then, I visit Bali almost every year.

Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?

A: Even though I lived in Miami Beach for over 10 years back in the 1990s, I am always so excited to go back there and feel that sticky hot and humid air. The beaches, relaxed style of living, great place for fitness and the night life makes it my number one choice.

Q: What was a trip you took as a child that stands out?

A: My first trip was when I was still living in Croatia and my parents sent me to England to learn English for one month. I was only 12 years old. I remember waiting two hours and more every day to come back home to my host family. I would come [back] late at night hours. That was torture. I must have not known the bus schedule well, I guess. That one-month trip was not a good experience. I was robbed by my classmates as well. At the end, I am ashamed that I didn't make a good impression on my host family. I did not behave as well as I could. So if they ever read this and recognize me, I am sending my apologies.

Q: Where are your favorite weekend getaways?

A: During some weekends I drive from Zagreb to my grandfathers house. The town is called Vodice and I converted his original house into an Airbnb called Dida Boza House, [which] has a cafe and a gift shop. When I worked and studied in Boston, my getaways were always Cape Cod.

Q: Do you have a knack for picking up new languages?
The Governor's Office and the Arizona Department of Water Resources haven't decided yet whether they'll sue. In part, that's because the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has yet to decide on a final plan for managing the river and its reservoirs for the next 20 years after its current operating plan expires at the end of September. A plan is due later this year when the bureau releases a final environmental impact statement on the river.

The seven states are still negotiating after having blown through two federally imposed deadlines for reaching an agreement. At a press briefing held Monday to announce the hiring of Sullivan and Cromwell, Arizona governor's representatives said Hobbs remains committed to a negotiated solution but must be prepared for litigation if necessary. The office's ground rules for the briefing were that the representatives who provided the information could not be quoted by name.

The firm appointed by the governor will have to take on a complex, multi-faceted legal dispute that has dramatically heated up in the past two years but has roots dating back more than a century.

The three Lower Colorado River Basin states, of Arizona, California and Nevada, are likely to press a claim that the four Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming will be violating the 1922 Colorado River Compact. That's because as of this year, drought conditions on the river are so bad that it is almost certain to have carried less water over the past decade than the compact requires the Upper Basin states to deliver to the Lower Basin states, under the Lower Basin states' interpretation of the compact.
Narelda Jacobs returns to 10 News Perth

Narelda Jacobs will present a Perth local bulletin on weekends from the west.

Narelda Jacobs will return to 10 News Perth for a reinstated local weekend bulletin.

Most recently, she presented the national 10 News First Midday bulletin from Sydney before taking parental leave for the arrival of her baby daughter with her wife, Karina.

Natalie Forrest will continue as weekday presenter of 10 News Perth, with Narelda Jacobs to commence from April.

This means Georgie Tunny will no longer need to present a Perth-only bulletin from Sydney on weekends.

Narelda said: After six years presenting national news from Sydney, Im excited to be coming home with my family. News doesnt stop breaking over the weekend and Im thrilled to be able to deliver it live and local, to the west from the west.

Lachlan Reid, Executive Editor, Perth said: We are excited to have Narelda back home and most importantly back in the newsroom. 10 News is dedicated to serving the Perth community and Narelda is the perfect fit to give us a live and local feel over the weekend.

Martin White, VP News, Paramount Australia said: Narelda is one of the best journos and presenters around and is a trusted local voice in Perth. Shes perfect to front our live and local WA weekend bulletin, to give people the news they need about their local community.
Vale: Mel Schilling

Mel Schilling, best known for Married at First Sight, has died.

Mel Schilling, best known for Married at First Sight, has died aged 54.

Melanie Jane Brisbane-Schilling passed away peacefully today, surrounded by love, husband Gareth wrote on her Instagram.

In her final moments, when I thought cancer had taken away her ability to speak, she ushered me closer and whispered a message for Maddie and me that will sustain me for the rest of my life, he wrote.

It took all of her remaining strength, and that gesture summed up our wee Melsie perfectly. Even then, her only thought was for Maddie and me.

This is a woman who became a new mum and a TV star at 42  and nailed both.

This is a woman who, through two years of chemotherapy, when she could barely lift her head from the pillow, never complained and never stopped showing courage, grace, compassion and empathy, and never missed a day of filming.

To most of you, she was Mel Schilling  matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. To Maddie and me, she was our wee Melsie: an incredible mum, role model, and soulmate.

Mel Schilling joined Married at First Sight in its second season in 2016 alongside John Aiken, and Trisha Stratford. She would go on to complete 13 seasons for Endemol Shine Australia and Nine, as it grew to become the biggest show on television.

She also joined the UK adaptation in 2021 alongside experts Carrick Brunson and Charlene Douglas as the series followed the Australian reversioning.

She shared her colon cancer diagnosis in December 2023, before announcing earlier this year her departure from the show.

As recently as March 13 she revealed the cancer had spread to the left side of her brain and sadly, her oncology team advised there was nothing further they could do.

Husband Gareth said, Life can be beautiful, and life can be incredibly cruel. But ultimately, life is fleeting, fragile, and tomorrow is promised to no one.

If you can do anything to honour Mel, please live life to the full, love your people well, and try not to sweat the small stuff.

I had 15 wonderful years with my soulmate, and it was the privilege of my life to be by her side. For that, I will be forever thankful.

Goodbye, my love. My one. Until we meet again.

Michael Healy, Nines Executive Director  Entertainment, Streaming & Broadcasting said, All of us at Nine are deeply saddened by the loss of Mel Schilling.

Mel was a wonderful colleague and friend. She had a gift for connecting with people and helping them navigate lifes challenges. For years, she guided us through the complexities of the human heart with wisdom, honesty, and kindness.

Mel was a big part of our family, and she will be greatly missed. Our hearts and deepest sympathies are with her husband Gareth, their daughter Maddie and her entire family during this incredibly difficult time.

Tara McWilliams, Director of Content, Endemol Shine Australia, We are beyond heartbroken to say goodbye to our beloved Mel. In this moment of deep sadness, there are no words that really feel like enough, only a huge sense of loss for a beautiful woman who meant so much to so many of us here at ESA.

Mel was deeply loved, for her kindness, her warmth, her honesty, her sparkle, and the way she made everyone around her feel seen and understood. She had a rare and beautiful way of connecting with people, being in her presence was something truly special.

Were holding Gareth, Maddie, Mels family and friends in our hearts and sending all of our thoughts during this unimaginable time.

For the past 10 years we were privileged to work alongside you. We will miss you more than words can say.

John Aiken said, Its with great sadness and heavy heart that today I lost my dear friend and fellow MAFS expert Mel Schilling. I am heartbroken, devastated and finding it hard to breathe.

She came into my life 10 years ago and together we rode this @mafs juggernaut, being there for one another through it all. Nothing could prepare us for what lay ahead, but she was always in the fox hole with me.

It was a privilege and an honor to sit beside her on the MAFS couch and watch her shine. She was warm, supportive and honest, and she deeply cared about all our participants. I had a front row seat to her remarkable skills and she truly believed in the experiment. At her core she loved love 

And behind the scenes we had so much fun. Before going on set we would sing, dance, face time her daughter and eat lollies. Every time I came to set she would squeal, jump out of her chair and run and embrace me  squeezing me tight.

And through all of these years she was an amazing mother and wife. She was loving, committed, loyal, fun and so very very kind. And she always had as her driving force her family. She was a role model for all to see.

And when her illness struck she never complained. She kept her challenges to herself and continued to deliver time and time again. She was an inspiration, a fighter, a leader.

Its not fair that my partner in crime is gone. She was one of the good ones. I am unravelling just thinking about it. I wanted to sit on our couch together forever. She knew my rhythms and I knew hers. But its simply not to be.

Dearest Mel  I want to thank you for everything you have given me over the past decade. I am distraught. Sadly and devastatingly I have to accept that you are now gone.

The MAFS universe weeps, as does all your dearest family and friends. Particularly, all my love and prayers go to Gareth and Maddie  we have all been blessed to have known her.

I love you and I miss you gorgeous. xx

Sophie Monk: How heart breaking. Sending so much love to everyone around her. Such a beautiful light. Rest in peace angel.

Anna Heinrich: Absolutely heartbreaking.

This post updates.
China's long-term development planning offers lessons for Africa: expert

Xinhua) 09:41, March 24, 2026

LUSAKA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- African countries could learn from China's experience in long-term development planning to help achieve stability in their development agendas, a Zambian expert said Monday.

Johnstone Chikwanda, an energy expert and business consultant in Zambia, told Xinhua that China's long-term development planning contributed to its consistency in policies, which holds lessons for African countries.

Commenting on China's recently approved 15th Five-Year Plan, Chikwanda said China's development leap over the past decades was the result of meticulous long-term planning and its consistency and determination in pursuing the development agenda have ensured effective implementation of the plans.

He expressed optimism about China's goal of becoming a global innovation powerhouse, saying that the country has the resources and research facilities to reach the goal.

He further noted that China's technological advancement will benefit the African continent due to their strong partnership.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA)  Israels systematic torture of Palestinians, long shielded by decades of impunity and political cover, has become a defining instrument of ongoing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory, a UN expert warned on Monday
In the highlands of Giang Pang, Son Luong commune, Lao Cai province, tea is more than a means of livelihood. It has become breath, belief and the quiet force sustaining the lives of the Mong people through seasons of mist, frost and sun.

Mong people harvest ancient Shan Tuyet tea leaves.

At dawn, clouds blanket the mountaintops. Cold winds weave through ancient tea trees, their rough trunks cloaked in moss. Tender buds, still damp with dew, release a faint, earthy aroma into the crisp air. The Mong people here are accustomed to harsh winds, to snow-covered slopes, and to the crackling sound of firewood in wooden homes when winter settles in.

Beside a glowing stove, in a thin veil of smoke, Giang A Ho, 73, speaks slowly, his voice low like mountain fog: tea is the breath of the village, the soul of the Mong people in Giang Pang.

Sitting across from him, listening to the fire snap and hiss, I ask why, amid such unforgiving terrain, the Mong have chosen tea as their anchor. He gazes into the flames for a long moment, then smiles: Wherever the Mong go, we look for land with water, forests and clouds. Here in Giang Pang, the land chose the people first, and only then did the people choose tea to live by.

In that moment, I understand that the story of tea is not told merely in words, but in entire lifetimes bound to the mountains.

More than a century ago, a group of Mong people left Sung Do in the former Van Chan district, crossing mountains in search of new land. They brought with them Shan Tuyet tea varieties from Suoi Giang. At an elevation nearly 700 meters higher than Suoi Giang, Giang Pang remains cold year-round, often blanketed in snow. The tea buds grow slowly, preserving their signature silvery fuzz - a flavor that, even after a century, is regarded as the green gem of the mountains.

In the early days, tea grew wild and unattended. Some winters were so harsh that snow turned leaves pale and lifeless, killing entire trees. Villagers abandoned the crop to clear other fields. But one day, seeing how people in Suoi Giang lived off tea, the people of Giang Pang returned. They cleared grass, pruned branches, nurtured the roots and revived the tea trees. From then on, the Mong here settled permanently among the Shan Tuyet hills.

Evening falls quickly in Giang Pang. As the cold mist thickens along narrow paths, I make my way to the home of elder Giang A Ho, nearly 80, affectionately known as the villages living tea repository. Bent over a blackened iron pan, his hands tremble with age yet remain deft as he stirs the tea leaves. Firelight flickers across his weathered face.

The tea tree is like a person, he says, lifting his head. It must endure wind and frost to keep its fragrance.

When asked how tea was made in the past, he smiles, eyes half-closed as if turning the pages of memory. We picked the leaves, rolled them by hand, then dried them under the sun. The stronger the sun, the redder and more astringent the tea. It was bitter, but it warmed the body. Tea kept us through snowstorms and was what we offered to guests from afar. Now machines help, but the mountains aroma remains unchanged.

Covers content

Not interested

Inappropriate

Seen too often ADBRO is the full service ad network for high impact contextual advertising with direct access to the exclusive in-image inventories across major local publishers. We provide free creative adaptation into rich media, interactive and playable ads formats. Campaigns in our channel are delivered under guaranteed prices for actions with programmatic & managed delivery. We provide contextually segmented in-target audiences for over 60 industries with a full range of brand safety solutions. ADBRO operates across SE Asia, including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia. To test our channel for your advertising campaigns or consider partnership programs for publishers, please contact us at www.adbro.me Traditional tea roasting process in the highlands.

Quality inspection of Shan Tuyet tea for export to France.







His words linger in the smoke-filled kitchen like the aftertaste of old tea. Stepping out of those memories, I encounter a Giang Pang in transition. The buds still come from high mountains, the forest scent unchanged, but the hands that shape them are younger, and the rhythm of tea-making has shifted. A new generation is quietly continuing the old story in new ways.

Inside a workshop filled with the scent of fresh leaves, Giang A Cu, around 30, adjusts a batch of drying tea and turns to me with bright eyes. In the past, tea sold for just VND100,000 per kilogram (US$4). Now green tea is around VND400,000 (US$16), and specialty varieties can exceed VND3 million (US$120). We can stay here, make tea and do tourism without leaving our village.

Mua Thi My, a young woman with luminous eyes, adds: I learned tea roasting techniques in Yen Bai. Now we make clean tea, without chemicals. I want people from the lowlands - and even abroad - to remember Giang Pang tea once they taste it.

The hum of drying machines blends with the laughter of young villagers, softening the chill of the mountain afternoon. I jokingly ask whether they still drink sun-dried, hand-rolled tea like their elders.

Of course, Giang A Lenh replies with a grin. But now we use machines and controlled heat, so the color is clearer and the taste smoother. Some places even order mold tea or tea cakes like in China and Taiwan. Buyers come all the way here to try. Giang Pang tea now has QR codes and is already exported abroad.

Amid the steady rhythm of machines and youthful voices, it becomes clear that while the story of tea has turned a new page, its roots remain deeply anchored in the clouds and mountains of Giang Pang. Where once tea was sun-dried and sharply bitter, modern processing now preserves its green hue, gentle astringency and lingering sweetness without losing its forest essence.

From this remote highland, Shan Tuyet tea has reached China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East and Europe. Hands once rough from shifting cultivation now move with ease between iron pans and drying ovens. A traditional craft has found new life through knowledge and innovation.

As dusk thickens, mist pours over the hills. Walking back to the village, I am joined by Trinh Xuan Thanh, Party Secretary of Son Luong commune, who has long been connected to Giang Pang. Having worked in various tea regions such as Suoi Giang, Phinh Ho and Ta Sua, he reflects on what sets this place apart.

Giang Pang tea has a unique flavor, he says slowly. Rich yet refined. It carries the altitude, the mist and the hands of the Mong people.

I ask, half in jest, whether a green revolution is unfolding here.

He smiles, gazing toward the tea-covered hills fading into the mist. Perhaps. But the essence lies in the peoples awareness. They are the ones who preserve the soul of the mountains in each bud, no matter how modern the technology becomes. The government supports, creates mechanisms and opens pathways, but the spirit of the tea remains in the hands of the people.

After a pause, he adds, his voice firm: Giang Pang tea is now exported to many countries. But what matters most is that the Mong people are building prosperity on their own land, without losing their culture or leaving the mountains.

The people of Giang Pang are not merely preserving tradition. They are forming groups, establishing cooperatives and building production chains that are clean, standardized and sustainable, ensuring that tea not only thrives on the hills but stands strong in the market.

Inside the tea workshop, Mua Thi My, director of the Sung Do Agro-Forestry and Community Tourism Cooperative, pours a pot of white tea and shares with quiet pride: We sell to Cao Tra Muc Nhan Company for export to China. Each year, our cooperative produces over one ton of white tea, nearly 500 kilograms of raw black tea and more than one ton of green tea. It is hard work, but it is rewarding because our tea is more widely known, sells at better prices and allows people to live from their own land.

Giang A Ly, owner of the villages first tea workshop, adds: We produce white, black, green and raw Pu-erh tea. Giang Pang tea has been introduced in China, France, Germany and the Czech Republic. To compete, it must be clean and meet standards. We used to sell mainly to China, about 7 to 8 tons a year. This year, as imports paused, we shifted to the domestic market and Europe.

Giang A Lenh, a young man selling tea through social media, laughs: I produce about 300 to 500 kilograms a year. Customers from the US like Stever Shafer and Anna Ye order regularly. In Japan, Keko helps promote our tea.

From bamboo trays of sun-dried leaves laid out in front of wooden homes to modern drying systems, from tea carried on the backs of villagers to weekly markets to shipments crossing oceans to the US, Japan and Europe, the journey of Giang Pang tea reflects a community that learns, adapts and evolves without losing itself.

In the drifting mist of late afternoon, the sound of tea roasting mingles with the scent of early spring. Amid the vast clouds of Giang Pang, the Shan Tuyet buds continue to sprout - carrying with them a quiet, enduring ambition.

Dang Phuong Lan
Vietnam is facing both opportunities and challenges as it seeks to sustain strong export performance in the coming period. Rising technical barriers, increasingly stringent quality standards, traceability requirements, and social responsibility expectations are creating new pressures for the countrys import-export sector.



Against the complex backdrop of global trade, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is determined to maintain export growth of 1516% while sustaining a trade surplus of around 23 billion USD to make a significant contribution to achieving double-digit GDP growth in 2026 and beyond.



Numerous challenges ahead



Vietnams aquatic product exports reached a record 11.3 billion USD in 2025, and growth continued into the first two months of 2026 with a 20% year-on-year increase to 1.7 billion USD. Nevertheless, the sector faces multiple challenges.



Le Hang, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), highlighted the impact of rising logistics costs due to Middle East conflicts. Aquatic product exports, heavily reliant on maritime transport, are affected by diverted shipping routes via Africa, which extend delivery times to Europe and the US East Coast by one to two weeks, thus increasing costs. Insurers have also refused coverage for high-risk Middle East routes, while packaging and processing material costs are soaring.



Additionally, the sector must navigate trade defence measures and tariffs on key products such as shrimp and tra fish. Since January, the US has banned seafood from twelve fisheries that were not recognised as equivalent under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. In February, the US issued final results of the 19th administrative review of anti-dumping duties on shrimp, imposing nearly 26% tariffs on two Vietnamese firms and over 4.5% on non-reviewed companies, causing a 60% drop in shrimp exports to the US that month.



Trade with the UAE is also subject to volatility. Bilateral trade reached over 6.5 billion USD in 2025, with Vietnam exporting nearly 5 billion USD more than it imported. The Vietnam-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), effective February 3, initially boosted exports to almost 1 billion USD in the first two months of 2026. However, ongoing Middle East tensions pose logistical disruptions, fuel price volatility, and production cost increases, potentially affecting competitiveness and key agricultural exports such as spices and fresh fruits.



Expanding markets, reducing dependence



Vietnams textile and garment industry, a major export sector, ships products to around 130 countries but relies heavily on the US, EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China, which account for nearly 90% of exports. Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) Truong Van Cam urged the ministry to help businesses explore new, high-potential markets and strengthen supply chains for raw materials and auxiliary inputs. Enhancing domestic production capacity is essential to fully benefit from free trade agreements.



VASEP also recommended diversifying markets for aquatic products beyond traditional destinations like the US and EU to regions such as Brazil, South America, and South Asia, while promoting Vietnamese exporters through overseas trade offices. Providing timely market information and early warnings will help businesses plan production and respond proactively to trade challenges.



Nguyen Anh Son, Director of the Agency for Foreign Trade, emphasised that the Ministry of Industry and Trade will closely monitor market developments and coordinate with related agencies to guide exporters effectively./.

VNA
The ministry is seeking feedback on a draft amendment to the Law on Housing, which includes the proposal on tighter control over social housing transactions to ensure benefits go to the right recipients.

Under the draft, after five years, owners of social housing who wish to transfer their property will no longer be allowed to sell freely under market mechanisms as they currently do.

Instead, transactions will be limited to buyers who meet eligibility criteria. The proposal, aims to prevent policy abuse while creating more opportunities for low-income groups to access housing.

In practice, after a period of use, many social housing projects have recorded significant price increases. In Hanoi, many units after 510 years are traded at prices approaching those of commercial market housing, reflecting strong demand and fluctuations in market prices.

Many apartments are now listed at prices close to, or even equal to, commercial housing. A survey on the secondary market found that units at Dai Kim Building (Dinh Cong ward) are being offered at around VND7580 million per sqm, equivalent to more than VND5 billion per unit.

In the Linh Dam area, apartments at the Rice City project (Hoang Liet ward) are also commonly priced at around VND5 billion per unit. Newly launched social housing projects are also setting higher price benchmarks.

Before 2023, social housing prices in Hanoi ranged from VND1317 million per sqm, but since late 2024 they have risen sharply. Rice City Long Chau  Thuong Thanh (Bo De ward) currently has the highest price at VND29.4 million per sqm.

Earlier, the Ha Dinh social housing project (Thanh Liet ward) drew attention with an estimated price of about VND25 million per sqm. Projects in Dong Anh commune and Kim Hoa (Tien Thang commune) are priced at VND20.6 million per sqm and VND20.2 million per sqm, respectively.

The lowest-priced project at present is CT3 Kim Chung (Thien Loc commune), at VND18.4 million per sqm.

Some opinions suggest that the transfer mechanism needs clearer definition to avoid complications. Buyers are concerned about how resale prices are determined - whether based on the original contract price or market value, especially when property values have increased over time.

Prior to that, the Vietnam Institute for Real Estate Market Research (VARS IRE) recommended that, after five years, transfers should give priority to buyers eligible for social housing and be certified by competent authorities. If sold to non-eligible buyers, the owner has to return the incentives previously received.

On February 9, the authority to verify income eligibility for purchasing social housing was transferred from commune-level Peoples Committees to commune-level police.

Hong Khanh
Authorities from the Investigation Police Agency under the Hanoi Police have recently completed their investigation into a case involving fraud and asset misappropriation led by Pho Duc Nam.

According to investigators, after allegedly defrauding more than VND1,301 billion (US$52 million) from investors, Pho Duc Nam, also known as Mr Pips, carried out money laundering activities.

Among those proposed for prosecution on charges of money laundering are Pho Duc Thang (born 1968, Nams father), Le Thi Lieu (born 1969, Nams mother), and Nguyen Hoa Binh, widely known as Shark Binh.

Investigators allege that to facilitate the laundering process, Nam coordinated with his finance team to open e-wallet accounts at intermediary payment companies. One of these was Ngan Luong Joint Stock Company, where Nguyen Hoa Binh serves as Chairman and oversees operations.

In this case, Nguyen Hoa Binh is accused of acting as an accomplice in money laundering through the companys e-wallet system.

According to the investigations findings, Nam and his associates used Ngan Luongs payment system as an intermediary to receive funds from investors and channel them into multiple unlicensed forex trading platforms in Vietnam, including GKFX and DK Trade. Funds transferred by investors were routed into e-wallets, then circulated across various bank accounts before being deposited into trading platforms.

From June 2020 to September 2022, approximately 150 victims transferred hundreds of billions of dong into Ngan Luong e-wallet accounts. This amount represents a portion of the more than VND1,300 billion (US$52 million) that Nam is accused of misappropriating.

In addition to this case, Nguyen Hoa Binh is currently in detention as part of a separate investigation involving three charges: fraud, violations of accounting regulations causing serious consequences, and tax evasion.

For over two decades, Nguyen Hoa Binh had been regarded as one of Vietnams prominent figures in the technology sector, particularly during the rapid growth of e-commerce and digital payments.

Born in 1981, he began his entrepreneurial journey early and gradually built NextTech Group into a multi-sector technology ecosystem. The group operates across e-commerce, logistics, financial technology and digital transformation, with dozens of affiliated companies.

A key pillar within this ecosystem is Ngan Luong Joint Stock Company, an e-wallet and online payment gateway established in 2012. It was among the pioneers in Vietnams intermediary payment sector during the markets early stages.

Ngan Luong grew rapidly by leveraging the rise of e-commerce, connecting with nearly 40 financial and telecommunications institutions, serving millions of users and hundreds of thousands of e-wallet accounts. Between 2016 and 2018, the company reportedly generated revenue reaching into the trillions of dong, becoming a major profit driver within the NextTech ecosystem.

Beyond its scale, Ngan Luong functioned as a financial infrastructure platform, facilitating payment flows between users, businesses and online platforms.

However, the companys financial picture has also seen notable fluctuations. In 2022, its charter capital increased sharply from over VND50 billion (US$2 million) to nearly VND370 billion (US$15 million) within a short period, before dropping back to its original level by early 2024 - a decline of around 86%. These shifts have raised questions in the market regarding financial strategy and shareholder structure.

In parallel, Nguyen Hoa Binh gained widespread recognition through his role on Shark Tank Vietnam. As Shark Binh, he developed a distinct investment style, focusing on technology startups, particularly in fintech and e-commerce, and invested in dozens of ventures.

From a pioneer in digital payments who built a large-scale technology ecosystem, to becoming a suspect in serious financial cases, Nguyen Hoa Binhs trajectory underscores the thin line between innovation and regulatory risk.

At the center of this trajectory, Ngan Luong - once seen as a symbol of Vietnams digital payment evolution - has now become a critical node in a major investigation, raising broader questions about governance, oversight and transparency in the rapidly expanding fintech sector.

Manh Ha
Ha Giang evokes both geological grandeur and human stories, where winding mountain passes such as Ma Pi Leng and Tham Ma captivate domestic and international travellers alike, each curve revealing a new and distinct landscape.

Yet what places Ha Giang alongside some of the worlds most celebrated mountain destinations, according to Time Out, lies not only in its dramatic terrain but also in the cultural depth of Vietnams northeastern frontier. The province is home to 43 ethnic groups whose long-standing traditions have shaped a unique social and cultural fabric, with each village preserving layers of indigenous heritage and collective memory.

Harsh natural conditions combined with enduring cultural traditions have created a destination that offers visitors more than scenic views, it provides an immersive experience rooted in local life and identity.

Gen Z travel blogger Vuong Cong Nam, who travelled across Vietnam by motorbike to explore lesser-known stops, described Ha Giang in spring as particularly striking, echoing Time Outs assessment.

Beyond its landscapes, he highlighted the distinctive atmosphere of Lunar New Year celebrations in the highlands, where early-year markets come alive with colourful traditional costumes, lively conversations and simple daily activities that create a warm and intimate cultural experience.

If Ha Giang represents the beauty of space, Hoi An embodies the beauty of time. The ancient town stands out not only for its distinctive visual charm but also for its vibrant living environment and its rare ability to preserve a natural connection between heritage and contemporary life.

According to Time Out, the warm yellow tones of Hoi Ans old streets, narrow lanes marked by the passage of time, and lantern-lit evenings create an emotionally rich setting where visitors do more than observe, they become part of the experience.

Local cuisine adds another dimension, serving not merely as famous dishes but as stories of culture and memory passed down through generations. Visitors can immerse themselves in traditional craft villages and everyday community life, gaining deeper insight into how cultural values are preserved and transmitted over time.

Hoi Ans recognition therefore represents more than an accolade; it affirms the destinations enduring cultural value and long-term appeal to global travellers.

Leaders of Da Nang city expect recent international honours to support tourism growth targets, including welcoming around 19.1 million visitors in 2026, up 10.2% from 2025. Of the total, international arrivals are projected to reach approximately 7.86 million, reinforcing the citys position as one of Vietnams leading tourism hubs./. VNA
The returnees, all of whom previously held permanent residence registration in Ho Chi Minh City, were deported by US authorities for violating laws or failing to meet legal residency requirements. They were subsequently handed over to Vietnamese authorities in accordance with established procedures.

The reception process was carried out in strict compliance with legal regulations, while also ensuring diplomatic considerations and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the citizens on humanitarian grounds. Functional forces conducted identity verification, provided initial assistance and coordinated with local authorities and families to facilitate their reintegration.

Officials noted that in recent times, the number of Vietnamese citizens being deported or repatriated from foreign countries has shown signs of increasing and becoming more complex, particularly from the US, Cambodia and Canada.

Statistics from the first three months of 2026 show that the Immigration Department has recorded 138 deportation cases involving Vietnamese citizens returning to Ho Chi Minh City. Of these, 77 cases were from the US, 58 from Cambodia and four from Canada.

The Ho Chi Minh City police have advised citizens planning to study, work or reside abroad to strictly comply with the laws of host countries. Violations may lead to penalties, detention or deportation, resulting in serious legal consequences.



Dam De
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, seafood has long been one of the countrys key export sectors, which makes a significant contribution to trade growth and the livelihoods of millions of coastal workers.



As the European Union (EU) conducts inspections to assess illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Vietnam, the domestic seafood industry is entering a period of profound transformation. This process represents not only a test of fisheries governance but also an opportunity for the country to demonstrate its commitment to building a transparent, responsible and sustainable sector  increasingly essential criteria in global trade.



More than a conventional trade fair, the upcoming event is designed as a global supply chain transaction hub, where hundreds of international buyer delegations are expected to visit Vietnam to source suppliers across multiple industries, with seafood identified as a priority sector.



For Vietnamese fishery firms, the event offers a valuable opportunity to showcase production capacity, processing expertise and supply chain management aligned with international standards, while highlighting reforms aimed at sustainable fishing and aquaculture in line with the stringent requirements of markets such as the EU, the US and Japan.



Notably, the expo is expected to attract major purchasing missions from Europe, the US, Japan and China, where demand for high-quality, traceable and environmentally compliant seafood products continues to rise. Direct engagement between Vietnamese producers and global importers at the event is likely to narrow the gap between manufacturers and international distribution networks, opening the door to long-term partnerships.



Statistics indicate that Vietnams fishery exports reached approximately 707 million USD in February this year, bringing the total for the first two months to 1.7 billion USD, an annual increase of 20.2%.



Exports in March are projected to maintain growth, though performance is expected to vary significantly across markets and product categories./.







VNA
Agribank Branch 5 has announced plans to select an auction organization for a group of corporate debts, including a loan tied to Eva de Eva Company Limited.

The full debt of Eva de Eva stems from a credit agreement signed in December 2021. As of January 30, 2026, the outstanding balance stood at VND72.059 billion (US$2.9 million), including VND56.450 billion (US$2.3 million) in principal and VND15.609 billion (US$630,000) in accrued interest.

The starting auction price for this debt is set at VND73.5 billion (US$3 million), excluding value-added tax and other applicable fees.

According to Agribank, Eva de Eva is headquartered at 4 Bis Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Ben Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. The company operates in the garment business but is currently inactive.

Beyond this case, Agribank Branch 5 is simultaneously seeking buyers for debts linked to several other Ho Chi Minh City-based companies.

These include VND125.324 billion (US$5.1 million) owed by Kien Tao Nha Xanh Company Limited; VND124.41 billion (US$5.1 million) by Dau Tu Xay Dung va Phat Trien Hop Phat Company Limited; VND123.608 billion (approximately US$5 million) by PT Ha Tang Truong Son Company Limited; and VND124.809 billion (approximately US$5.1 million) by PT Simply Living Company Limited.

Additional debts include VND102.249 billion (approximately US$4.2 million) owed by Truong Thanh Sai Gon Company Limited; VND74.90 billion (US$3 million) by Dau Tu SNS Company Limited; VND62.80 billion (US$2.6 million) by Tu Van Thuong Mai - Dau Tu - Phat Trien Hung Phat Company Limited; VND61.81 billion (US$2.5 million) by Honor Shine Global Company Limited; and VND27.421 billion (US$1.1 million) by Duc Loi Company Limited.

Other borrowers include Vinson Group Company Limited with VND60.114 billion (US$2.5 million), Nguyen Anh Production Construction Service Import Export Company Limited with VND44.180 billion (US$1.8 million), and Janus Holding Group Company Limited with VND51.449 billion (US$2.1 million).

As of January 30, 2026, the total book value of the 13 debts reached VND1.055 trillion (US$43 million), including VND836.889 billion (US$34 million) in principal and VND218.284 billion (US$8.9 million) in interest.

The loans are backed primarily by real estate assets. Properties linked to companies such as Hop Phat, Truong Son, Simply Living and Truong Thanh Sai Gon are valued at VND559 billion (US$23 million), with ownership attributed to Hop Phat.

Meanwhile, loans associated with Vinson Group, Eva de Eva, Nguyen Anh, Janus Holding, Kien Tao Nha Xanh, Dau Tu SNS, Hung Phat and Honor Shine Global are secured by nearly 3,300 square meters of commercial service land in Dong Thap Province, owned by Hop Phat and valued at around VND600 billion (US$24 million).

Additional collateral includes seven land-use rights in the Tan Thai Thinh residential area in Tay Ninh Province, owned by Tan Thai Thinh Trading Service Investment Joint Stock Company, securing debts for Dau Tu SNS and Honor Shine Global.

Tuan Nguyen
Phan Chau Trinh passed away before his granddaughter was born. Yet decades later, his patriotism, reputation and ideas would help save her from a death sentence. That granddaughter is former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh.

She recounted the remarkable story when reflecting on her grandfather, the renowned patriot Phan Chau Trinh, on the 100th anniversary of his death (March 24, 1926 - March 24, 2026).

Archival images of patriot scholar Phan Chau Trinh. Photo: Archive.

In 1951, a case file had been completed, accompanied by a report signed by Sonnet Albert proposing a sentence that could range from life imprisonment to execution. A 24-year-old woman, Nguyen Chau Sa, had been arrested by the French military police (PSE) on charges of undermining national security.

Inside an interrogation room of the French secret police in Saigon, her fate seemed sealed. But far away, on the other side of the globe, a letter was written. It bore the signature of Senator Marius Moutet, former French Minister of Colonies and the man who had signed the September 14, 1946 preliminary agreement with President Ho Chi Minh.

Within that letter was a detail that forced the colonial system to pause: This woman is the granddaughter of Phan Chau Trinh, a patriot and national hero.

The young woman was Nguyen Thi Binh. Her grandfather had passed away a year before she was born, yet what she later called a blessing from him helped spare her life.

I am grateful for my familys tradition and my grandfathers ideals

My childhood was shaped by the stories my mother told about him. Among them were accounts of his time in France and his close relationship with the young patriot Nguyen Tat Thanh, the son of Nguyen Sinh Sac, who was both his classmate and longtime friend, Nguyen Thi Binh recalled slowly.

From early on, I formed a sense that I had to fight the French to win independence and freedom for our homeland.

Growing up in such an atmosphere, she absorbed patriotism almost instinctively. As she described it, national spirit does not emerge suddenly. It develops gradually over time, through everyday encounters.

Even when I was still in school, I had confrontations with French children who discriminated against and looked down on Vietnamese people.

These small clashes were enough to awaken a sense of dignity, helping a young girl recognize the line between the colonizer and the colonized. As she grew older, she joined student movements, while news of uprisings in the South further fueled her determination.

She later became involved in revolutionary activities, was arrested and imprisoned, and after her release emerged as a key figure in various movements across regions. She also took part in founding the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, traveled to the North to meet President Ho Chi Minh and the Party leadership, and received assignments.

Looking back, she saw how the patriotism instilled in her youth matured over time.

Love for the country became political awareness, revolutionary spirit - as I myself was shaped and matured through struggle and imprisonment, she shared.

During the four-party negotiations with the US in Paris, she later tried to locate the families of her grandfathers acquaintances but was unsuccessful. She believes that Phan Chau Trinhs powerful patriotism and resilience had deeply moved progressive French figures, which may have contributed to saving her from execution.

Former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh is the granddaughter of patriot scholar Phan Chau Trinh. Photo: Hoang Ha.

At the age of 99, Nguyen Thi Binh said she feels profoundly fortunate to have lived through a heroic period in the nations history and to have contributed, even in a small way, to shaping it.

I am grateful for my familys tradition and my grandfathers ideals, which led me to patriotism and revolution from a very early age, allowing me to live a meaningful life, she said, her voice filled with emotion.

The bond between her and Phan Chau Trinh goes beyond blood. It is a continuation of ideals. While the grandfather pioneered the path of enlightening the people, strengthening the national spirit and improving livelihoods, the granddaughter carried that spirit forward through the struggle for national independence.

The pine of Quang Nam land

When speaking of her grandfather, Nguyen Thi Binh does not merely describe a person, but an entire system of thought. A patriot determined to liberate the nation, Phan Chau Trinh possessed a sharp vision. He understood that to revive the country and restore independence, it was necessary first to strengthen internal capacity and to confront backwardness and shortcomings.

He is often seen as a quintessential figure of Quang Nams character: upright, resilient and unyielding.

Scholar Hoang Xuan Han once noted that among intellectuals searching for a path to save the nation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Phan Chau Trinh was the first to recognize that one of the root causes of national decline lay in the countrys backward level of development. His solution was clear: enlighten the people, strengthen the national spirit, improve the peoples livelihoods.

For this reason, he has been likened to a pine tree of Quang land - steadfast and enduring. He was one of the four great figures of Quang Nam and a pioneer of the Duy Tan reform movement in the early 20th century.

It was no coincidence that Nguyen Sinh Sac once referred to his friend as the first to organize the idea of civil rights in Vietnam.

Phan Chau Trinh stated very clearly: Better to learn, Nguyen Thi Binh recalled. According to her, that idea has not faded with time. It remains deeply relevant today, as the story of national development still begins with people and with knowledge.

A call for reform, education and democracy

A school named after patriot Phan Chau Trinh in Da Nang City. Photo: G.X.

Phan Chau Trinh (1872 - 1926), from Quang Nam, was one of the most prominent patriots of the early 20th century. Although he passed the imperial examinations, he abandoned an official career to dedicate himself to national salvation.

Unlike many contemporaries, he advocated peaceful reform, emphasizing the principles of enlightening the people, strengthening the national spirit and improving livelihoods, while calling for modernization, educational development and democracy.

He co-founded the Duy Tan movement, was arrested by the French and exiled to Con Dao, and later continued his activities in France. Through essays and poetry, he spread progressive ideas that helped awaken Vietnamese society.

He passed away in 1926, leaving behind a profound and lasting influence on the nations intellectual history.



Hien Anh-Thanh Hue
A series of photos and videos capturing joyful moments from a bride-less wedding in Vinh Long has recently drawn strong attention on social media.

Behind those images is a love story, marked by a willingness to overcome obstacles and walk side by side, of a VietnameseAmerican couple: Le Thanh Nhan Tran (often called Nathan Tran, born 1990, from Vinh Long, currently living and working in the US) and Ken Hamill (born 1983, American).

Nathan Tran shared that since high school, he had realized he had special feelings for people of the same gender. However, academic pressure pushed those feelings aside.

Only when I moved to the US to study and work did I truly understand who I am and what I want.

I once told my mother about this. She simply said, You can love anyone you want, as long as you are happy. I asked What if people find out your son likes someone of the same gender and start gossiping? She replied, Let them say whatever they want. I do not care. At that moment, I knew how lucky I was, he said.

Nathan Tran had dated a few people before, but it was only after meeting Ken, a talented and intelligent man, that his love truly became deep.

They met at a gym in 2018. At first, they just exchanged casual greetings like newly acquainted friends.

Some time later, fate brought them together again. It was then that Nathan Tran learned about Kens outstanding academic and professional achievements. In his late 30s, Ken already held a PhD and had a flourishing career in medicine.

Ken was also drawn to Nathan Trans talent and drive. The more they interacted, the more he realized that the Vietnamese man was someone with clear goals who never gave up once he committed to something. Admiring each others abilities and determination, their special bond gradually formed.

When COVID-19 broke out, we had much more time together. Many people said that during the pandemic, couples who stayed too close for too long ended up in conflict and broke up, but we were the opposite. The more time we spent together, the more we understood and loved each other, Nathan Tran said.

In 2022, the couple bought an apartment and moved in together. In the summer of 2024, their relationship took a major step forward after Kens unexpected and romantic proposal.

At that time, I was on a business trip in France, and Ken was working in South Korea. As soon as he finished his work, Ken flew to France to surprise me. When we visited the Eiffel Tower, Ken knelt down and proposed. That was when we officially committed to a long-term future together, Nathan Tran said.

An emotional wedding

The couple held their wedding with the full support and blessings of both families. In October 2025, a wedding was organized in the US with 150 guests in attendance. Nathan Trans parents also traveled there to witness their sons happiness.

In February 2026, another wedding was held in Vietnam, complete with traditional rituals.

I wanted Ken and his family to experience a traditional Vietnamese wedding, so everything was prepared very carefully.

The ceremony included all the rituals such as the wedding gift procession, the ancestral altar ceremony, and toasting both parents. Beforehand, I introduced and explained the meaning of each ritual to Kens family. Everyone was very excited to see Vietnamese wedding culture, Nathan Tran recalled.

During the ceremony, the excitement and joy were clearly visible on the faces of Ken and his family. Ken was delighted to wear a traditional ao dai wedding outfit. His parents also chose elegant and appropriate attire to bless the couple.

We received many wedding gifts, but the one that moved me the most was the presence of parents. Their sincere blessings gave us more confidence and helped us cherish our happiness even more.

You never know how many times you will get to witness moments when family and friends gather together. That is why every moment of our wedding deeply moved both Ken and me, Nathan Tran said.

Nathan Tran is currently a business development director for a maritime transport company, while Ken is a vice president of clinical research for a healthcare company. Together, they are building a happy home in a vibrant city in the US.

Thanh Minh
The Merced City School District in central California is facing sharp criticism after signing a $270,000 contract with Fresno-based company School Yard Rap to bring a rap-based "edutainment" curriculum into its schools, even as only 13% of the district's students meet math proficiency benchmarks.

The contract, first reported by the New York Post on March 20, includes a summer "Rap Camp" and an "African American Affinity Group" designed for up to 100 African American students.

The program offers hands-on training in DJing, dance, and hip-hop songwriting, along with recording sessions in a professional studio setting. Students also explore identity and community through personal storytelling and lessons on African American history and culture, according to Fox News.

The district, which serves roughly 11,400 students from kindergarten through eighth grade, has paid School Yard Rap a total of $610,000 over roughly the past year across three contracts.

Its student body is 69% Hispanic and just under 5% African American, and 83% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, according to Niche.com. Reading proficiency stands at 33% and math proficiency at 20%, both below state averages.

The U.S. Department of Justice has weighed in. Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, told Fox News Digital that race-based programming raises legal concerns, the New York Post reported.

"It is illegal for the government to offer benefits solely on the basis of race. We have not had the opportunity to investigate these allegations, but if true, they are troubling," Dhillon said. Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act prohibits race-exclusive programming in public schools.

School Yard Rap founder Brandon Brown, a former teacher who goes by "Griot B," pushed back on the criticism. He told the Post that the African American Affinity Camp "is open to every single student grades 3rd to 8th, focusing on African American history and the diaspora." Brown called the scrutiny politically motivated and added that teaching children about diverse cultures "helps eradicate a lot of hate and ignorance in the country."

Founded in 2016, School Yard Rap operates in 28 states and describes its mission as transforming "history lessons into relatable characters presented through songs and storytelling."

One signature program, "Moor than a Month," features lyrics addressing racial themes, including the lines: "History books have a white male skew, but believe me I ain't blaming you."

Education advocacy group Defending Education also criticized the spending. Representative Erika Sanzi said, "If equity was my goal, I'd start with reading and math scores and income level to identify the students most in need of extra support," as per The College Fix.

The DOJ has launched similar probes recently, including a 2025 investigation into Chicago Public Schools' Black Student Success Plan over race-based benefits. Merced district officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin highly appreciated the significance of the visit by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, affirming that Russia values the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, considers Vietnam one of its top important partners in the Asia-Pacific region, and always seeks to further enhance the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation across all fields.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that Vietnam consistently pursues an independent, self-reliant, and diversified foreign policy, always viewing Russia as a trusted friend and one of its most important partners in Europe.

During the talks, both sides informed each other about their respective political and socio-economic situations and reviewed the outcomes achieved in bilateral cooperation.

Political trust and close ties between the two countries have continued to strengthen. High-level exchanges have been maintained regularly, notably the recent phone call between Party General Secretary To Lam and President Vladimir Putin.

The two sides held in-depth and substantive discussions on the current state and prospects of bilateral relations, agreeing that there remains significant potential for cooperation and expressing confidence that Vietnam-Russia relations will continue to develop positively.

Both Prime Ministers discussed and agreed on directions to address existing challenges and obstacles, promote comprehensive cooperation, and elevate Vietnam-Russia relations across all areas.

The two sides agreed to strengthen dialogue, consolidate political trust, and promote exchanges at all levels and through various channels, thereby creating a solid foundation for comprehensive bilateral cooperation, particularly in economy, trade, investment, energy, oil and gas, agriculture, transport, logistics, education, culture, tourism, science and technology, local cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

Both sides reaffirmed their determination to elevate economic, trade, and investment cooperation into a spearhead of bilateral relations; effectively implement the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Russia is a member; further open markets for each others exports; and promote two-way investment activities.

A new symbol of friendship in nuclear energy

The two sides acknowledged the achievements in energy and oil and gas cooperation over the years, including contributions from joint ventures in this sector. The two leaders emphasized that energy cooperation is a traditional and symbolic pillar of effective collaboration and reaffirmed their determination to elevate this strategic area through key joint projects.

They also agreed to soon explore and expand cooperation in new energy, clean energy, and renewable energy, contributing to green transition and sustainable development.

Notably, both leaders welcomed and affirmed the signing of an agreement on cooperation in building a nuclear power plant in Vietnam. They considered this a significant step forward in bilateral cooperation in peaceful nuclear energy and expressed confidence that the project would become a new symbol of friendship between the two countries.

The two sides also welcomed the signing of additional agreements in energy, oil and gas, and transport between enterprises of both countries, contributing to energy security.

Both Prime Ministers agreed that science and technology cooperation should become a new pillar of bilateral relations. They also agreed to promote exchanges within the framework of the 2026 Cross Year of Science and Education, leverage existing cooperation platforms, and expand potential projects, particularly in information technology and artificial intelligence.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh encouraged Russia to participate in consulting, designing, transferring technology, and building metro systems in Vietnam, especially in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin noted that Vietnam is currently a favorite destination for Russian tourists and expressed a desire for both sides to further facilitate travel, promote cultural exchanges, and expand Vietnamese language teaching in Russia and Russian language education in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that Russia continue supporting Vietnam in training high-quality human resources, increasing scholarships for Vietnamese students, especially in digital technology, emerging technologies, biomedical science, transport, basic sciences, and the arts.

He also expressed hope that Russia would continue to create favorable conditions and ensure the safety of Vietnamese citizens living in the country, while affirming that Vietnam will facilitate favorable conditions for Russian citizens to live, study, and work in Vietnam.

Following the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin witnessed the signing of the agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in building a nuclear power plant in Vietnam.

Tran Thuong
According to Dr. Nguyen Hong Minh, former Deputy Director of the Vietnam Petroleum Institute, an affiliate of Vietnam National IndustryEnergy Group (Petrovietnam), under normal conditions Vietnam exports part of its domestically produced crude oil while importing crude feedstock for processing at the Dung Quat Refinery in Quang Ngai and the Nghi Son Refinery in Thanh Hoa.



Since the two refineries came on stream, Vietnam has been able to meet about 70% of its domestic fuel demand, significantly reducing reliance on imported refined products compared with the previous period, he said, adding the remainder is supplemented through imports from overseas markets.



Minh said this reflects a common structure in the global energy industry, where many oil-producing countries both export and import crude to optimise refining, diversify supply sources, enhance the flexibility of their refining systems and safeguard energy security.



Since the Middle East conflict disrupted crude and refined fuel supply chains, Petrovietnam has swiftly activated a range of response measures while moving decisively to implement the Governments Resolution 36/NQ-CP dated March 6, 2026 to secure energy supply for the market.



Petrovietnam has proposed that the Government consider halting crude oil exports to prioritise domestic refining demand.



At the same time, it has reviewed all feedstock sources, including crude and intermediate products in inventory from both domestic and imported supply, to map out stable operating plans for refineries in the coming months.



It has also engaged with international partners to secure additional crude supplies, while supporting Nghi Son Refining and Petrochemical LLC (NSRP) in signing new crude purchase contracts to sustain operations at the Nghi Son Refinery.



Meanwhile, Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR), another subsidiary of Petrovietnam, is running the Dung Quat Refinery at above 100% capacity, helping boost fuel supply and standing ready to support NSRP if needed.



In addition, by the end of March, the Dung Quat Refinery is expected to receive fuel ethanol from the Central Biofuels JSC for blending into E10 RON95 gasoline, further lifting domestic output.



Customs data show that in the first 15 days of March, Vietnam imported more than 533,000 tonnes of petroleum products, up 41.4% in volume, with import value surging 89.2% amid global energy price volatility.



Alongside refined fuel, crude imports have also been maintained to secure feedstock for the two refineries.



Thanks to diversified supply sources, proactive import, and flexible use of the fuel price stabilisation fund, the domestic fuel market is now largely meeting demand, helping curb price hikes.



Meanwhile, the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) and Petrovietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL) have proactively purchased ethanol from domestic plants and signed import contracts with the US and Brazil, where supply is abundant and unaffected by the Middle East conflict, to secure feedstock for E10 RON95 biofuel blending.



Together controlling nearly 70% of Vietnams fuel market, the two firms have also upgraded storage tank systems and increased E10 RON95 blending capacity to accelerate the transition from conventional gasoline to biofuel.



Bui Ngoc Bao, Chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association, said that although importing ethanol from the US or Brazil is relatively straightforward, the long transit distances remain a challenge. He suggested the Ministry of Industry and Trade swiftly adopt favourable policies enabling foreign suppliers to ship goods to Vietnam and store fuel or ethanol in bonded warehouses without paying the 1% contractor tax when transferring products out of the bonded zone.



According to energy expert Dao Nhat Dinh, over the long term, Vietnam needs to build an independent national reserve system, separate from commercial storage, gradually scaling fuel and crude reserves to levels approaching international standards to create a safety buffer for the economy against energy shocks.



Ha Dang Son, Director of the Centre for Energy and Green Growth Research, said Petrovietnam should be given leeway to expand oil and gas exploration and production activities, while taking a more proactive role in signing long-term crude import contracts to secure stable feedstock for domestic refineries.



He added that a clear coordination mechanism between the State and enterprises is needed to ensure energy security, with Petrovietnam positioned as the central player in the value chain -from exploration and reserves to refining and fuel supply./.





VNA
At the meeting, Hai affirmed that the VietnamFrance Comprehensive Strategic Partnership continues to develop strongly, with economic cooperation expanding in both scope and depth. Railway development has been identified as a key priority area of cooperation.



He also highlighted recent high-level exchanges, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs working visit to SNCF in June 2025 and French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarots visit to Vietnam in March 2025, which have helped advance bilateral cooperation, especially in transport infrastructure.



Diaz shared SNCFs more than 40 years of experience in operating the TGV high-speed rail system, one of the worlds most successful models. The SNCF representative reaffirmed the companys readiness to support Vietnam through strategic consultancy, human resources training and technology transfer, while sharing practical lessons in planning, operation and management of modern railway systems.



Both sides held in-depth discussions on high-speed rail development models, emphasising the importance of a phased approach to ensure economic and financial efficiency as well as long-term sustainability. International experience, particularly from France and Morocco, shows that implementing projects in initial sections can help optimise national resources over time and minimise risks.



Hai spoke highly of Frances strengths in railway technology, especially the TGV (Transmission Voie-Machine) system, known for its high safety standards, operational efficiency and environmental friendliness, which aligns with Vietnams green transition orientation. He expressed hope for stronger cooperation with SNCF in areas such as workforce training, network development consultancy and management experience sharing.



The ambassador also commended French-supported cooperation projects in Vietnam, particularly programmes involving the French Development Agency (AFD) and SNCF, including strategic technical assistance for the transport sector, the Nhon  Hanoi Station metro line project, and studies on expanding urban railway networks. These initiatives demonstrate Frances commitment to accompanying Vietnam in building a modern, sustainable and multimodal transport infrastructure connecting aviation, rail and maritime systems. Close cooperation will help Vietnam accelerate development and establish a modern, safe and low-emission backbone transport network.



The two sides agreed to continue effectively implementing cooperation agreements focusing on technology transfer, financial support, human resources training and experience sharing. They also pledged to strengthen exchanges in key areas such as workforce development, network planning consultancy, system governance and operations, new technology development, and the establishment of technical standards for the railway sector./.









VNA
Opening the forum, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai said both Vietnam and India are entering new development phases driven by innovation, digital transformation, and deeper integration into global value chains. He highlighted Vietnams goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045 and Indias Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, noting strong alignment between the two countries strategies.

He stressed that Vietnam is implementing key policy frameworks, including Resolution 57 on digital transformation and innovation, and Resolution 59 on international economic integration, alongside the Governments Go Global initiative encouraging Vietnamese firms to expand abroad, with India identified as a priority partner. Vietnam, he added, also welcomes Indian enterprises to invest and expand cooperation.

Do Thi Thuy Huong, Vice Chairwoman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association (VEIA), said the electronics sector has become a pillar of Vietnams economy as the country shifts from an assembly base to an important link in the global supply chain.

She noted that the supply chain is increasingly complete, with semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) set to play a decisive role. The VEIA aims to strengthen business connectivity, promote high-tech cooperation, and help Vietnamese firms integrate more deeply into global value chains.

The forum brings together more than 100 enterprises and over 20 leading trade and industry associations from both countries. (Photo: VNA)

Rashmi Saluja, Chairperson of the Global Trade and Technology Council of India (GTTCI), commended Vietnams proactive adoption of new technologies, highlighting its effective implementation from rural to urban areas. She said Vietnams advantages in technology costs and digital solutions could support wider adoption in markets like India. In the context of global geopolitical fluctuations, she emphasised the growing importance of VietnamIndia cooperation, particularly in semiconductors, blockchain, and digital technologies, adding that GTTCI is committed to promoting technology transfer, financial support, and business incubation.

G. Vibha Gupta, President of the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA), noted that cooperation between the two countries is expanding in electrical, electronics, and energy sectors. With highly complementary economies and growing bilateral trade, she said there is ample potential to boost collaboration in manufacturing, digital transformation, and clean energy, with IEEMA ready to facilitate partnerships and technology transfer.

Sudhanshu Mittal, Director of Engineering Solutions at NASSCOM, highlighted efforts to support enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, in applying technology to address challenges in manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics.

A key highlight of the forum was business presentations and B2B matchmaking sessions, where companies explored partnerships in electronics manufacturing, software services, digital transformation, AI, and fintech.

The event formed part of activities marking the 10th anniversary of the VietnamIndia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (20162026), underscoring the dynamic growth of bilateral ties and strong potential for deeper cooperation in electronics, IT, and emerging technologies./. VNA
At a press briefing on March 23 ahead of the first National Conference on Livestock and Veterinary Science and Technology, leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment stressed that while the sector holds significant potential, it must undergo deep transformation to realise its ambition of becoming the worlds kitchen.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien emphasised that renewal is not optional but essential if Vietnam is to compete on the global stage.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that to become the kitchen of the world, Vietnam must reinvent itself.

According to Phan Quang Minh, Deputy Director of the Department of Livestock and Veterinary, the sector currently accounts for around 2628% of agricultural GDP, playing a central role in ensuring food security and supporting millions of livelihoods.

Yet behind this contribution lies a complex set of constraints. Small-scale household farming remains widespread, with continued reliance on imported breeds and inputs. Dangerous animal diseases continue to evolve unpredictably, while grassroots veterinary capacity remains uneven. At the same time, pressure is increasing to control antibiotic use, ensure food safety and address environmental concerns. Digital transformation and supply chain linkages also lag behind expectations.

These challenges stand in sharp contrast to the ambitious development strategy for 2030, with a vision to 2045, which calls for comprehensive modernisation across the entire value chain, stronger disease control, enhanced competitiveness and a shift towards export-oriented production.

To bridge this gap, science, technology and innovation must become the central driving force. The sector is being urged to move away from experience-based practices towards systems grounded in data, advanced technologies and risk management.

Covers content

Not interested

Inappropriate

Seen too often ADBRO is the full service ad network for high impact contextual advertising with direct access to the exclusive in-image inventories across major local publishers. We provide free creative adaptation into rich media, interactive and playable ads formats. Campaigns in our channel are delivered under guaranteed prices for actions with programmatic & managed delivery. We provide contextually segmented in-target audiences for over 60 industries with a full range of brand safety solutions. ADBRO operates across SE Asia, including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia. To test our channel for your advertising campaigns or consider partnership programs for publishers, please contact us at www.adbro.me Livestock and veterinary services, a sector currently contributing around 26-28% of agricultural GDP. Photo: NN.

Over the past decade, livestock has been the fastest-growing and most stable segment within Vietnams agricultural sector, expanding at an annual rate of approximately 4.56.5%, according to Deputy Minister Tien. Advances in science and technology have laid a foundation for more sustainable development, spanning breeding, housing systems, farming methods and feed production.

Notably, Vietnam has emerged as one of the pioneering countries in successfully researching and producing vaccines for African swine fever, significantly strengthening its disease prevention capabilities.

Looking ahead, the sector aims to accelerate the adoption of modern technologies, tighten biosecurity standards, promote digital transformation and build integrated databases alongside traceability systems. Strengthening the link between research institutions and businesses will also be critical to ensuring that innovations are quickly translated into practical applications.

Regulators, meanwhile, are expected to maintain a comprehensive understanding of technological capabilities across the entire value chain - from breeding and feed to slaughtering and processing - in order to formulate more effective policies and management strategies.

The livestock and veterinary sector has immense potential, but to become the worlds kitchen, we must reinvent ourselves, Deputy Minister Tien said.



Vu Diep
After a journey of more than 11,000 nautical miles over nearly 60 days to participate in the Exercise Kakadu Fleet Review marking the 125th anniversary of the Royal Australian Navy and the Exercise Kakadu 2026, on March 23, the commanders and crew of Ship 016Quang Trung hosted representatives of Vietnamese diplomatic missions, Australian guests, and members of the Vietnamese community living and working in Australia. Visitors came aboard for tours and exchanges in a warm, friendly, and meaningful atmosphere.

Rear Admiral Christopher Smith, Commander of the Royal Australian Navy Fleet, delivers remarks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Attending the event were Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, Commander of the Royal Australian Navy; Rear Admiral Christopher Smith, Commander Australian Fleet; Colonel Alana Burkitt, Australian Defence Attache to Vietnam; Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam; Consul General in Sydney Nguyen Thanh Tung; Rear Admiral Nguyen Dinh Hung, Deputy Commander of the Vietnam People's Navy; Colonel Nguyen Minh Lanh, Deputy Chief of Staff of Naval Region 4, Vietnam Peoples Navy; and Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Anh Vu, Vietnamese Defence Attache to Australia; among others.



The ceremony opened in a solemn atmosphere as the national anthems of Vietnam and Australia were played.



In his opening remarks, Rear Admiral Nguyen Dinh Hung noted that over more than half a century since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973, VietnamAustralia ties have been continuously strengthened and developed on the basis of political trust, mutual respect, and shared interests. The upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024 marked a significant milestone, opening up space for broader and more effective cooperation across multiple fields.



Within the overall bilateral relationship, defence cooperation, particularly naval ties, has become a key pillar, increasingly substantive and effective through delegation exchanges, dialogues, training, port visits, and mutual support at multilateral forums. These efforts have contributed to maintaining peace and stability in regional waters, he said.



Hung expressed confidence that through shared voyages, the two countries would continue to build trust, enhance cooperation, and together write new chapters in their bilateral friendship for the benefit of their people and for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the world.



In response, Rear Admiral Christopher Smith affirmed that Australia and Vietnam are important partners, especially following the elevation of ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024. Alongside cooperation in peacekeeping, both countries have worked together to foster a growing relationship.



On behalf of the Royal Australian Navy, he congratulated the ship on its successful voyage to Australia and thanked the Vietnam Peoples Navy for its contributions to a peaceful and stable maritime environment. He expressed hope that through continued cooperation, both navies would further contribute to ensuring maritime security and safety.



In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Colonel Nguyen Minh Lanh said the mission was carried out in line with the Party and States policies, as well as directions from the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence on international integration and defense diplomacy. This voyage is the longest round-trip journey in the history of the Vietnam Peoples Navy and marks the first time a Vietnamese naval ship has participated in a fleet review alongside 29 ships from 20 countries worldwide.



The presence of the Vietnamese navy participating in exercises with countries around the world made me feel even prouder to see the nations status increasingly elevated, he said, expressing his confidence that Vietnam will continue to develop and reach new heights.



Australian guests also highly appreciated the voyage of over 11,000 nautical miles undertaken by Ship 016Quang Trung. Commander Support Force Ben Favelle of the Royal Australian Navy hailed the trip as a historic milestone for both the Vietnamese ship and the Royal Australian Navy. He said he hopes that bilateral cooperation will continue to be strengthened and deepened.



This voyage of Ship 016Quang Trung provides a valuable opportunity for the Vietnam Peoples Navy to gain experience, while also enhancing mutual understanding, trust, and coordination between the Vietnamese and Australian navies in particular, as well as with other countries in the region and worldwide. As the longest voyage ever undertaken by a Vietnamese ship, the Vietnam Peoples Navy has demonstrated its long-range capability and increasingly deep international integration./. VNA
Warmly welcoming PM Chinh and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, Chairwoman Matviyenko thanked PM Chinh for his significant contributions to the bilateral relationship over the past time and expressed her confidence that the PM's visit would create new momentum, helping to consolidate and further deepen the traditional friendship as well as the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Russia.



The Chairwoman congratulated Vietnam on successfully holding the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels, expressing her confidence that the new legislature will continue to cooperate closely and constructively with the Federal Assembly of Russia, promoting the continued strong development of Vietnam-Russia relations.



On behalf of the Government and people of Vietnam, PM Chinh thanked Chairwoman Matviyenko, a dear and long-time friend of Vietnam, for her warm and cordial reception given to the high-level Vietnamese delegation.



Conveying the warm greetings and best wishes from Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to Chairwoman Matviyenko, PM Chinh stated that the Party, State, and people of Vietnam always cherish the loyal, close, and sincere affection that the leaders and people of Russia have reserved for Vietnam. Vietnam has always considered developing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia as one of the top priorities in its foreign policy, he stressed.



Congratulating Russia on its socio-economic development achievements, PM Chinh also stated that in recent years, Vietnam has continued to develop stably, achieving important and comprehensive results, including completing all socio-economic targets in 2025.



Highly appreciating the role of the parliaments of both countries, including the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Parliamentary Group, in promoting bilateral relations in the past, the two leaders agreed that in the future, it is necessary to continue increasing the exchange of delegations at all levels and through all channels, including the parliamentary channel, thereby contributing to consolidating political trust and creating a foundation for comprehensive cooperation.

An overview of the meeting beetween Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly Valentina Matviyenko. (Photo: VNA)

Both sides also agreed to continue promoting the role of the two parliaments, coordinating the supervision of the implementation of agreements reached between the two governments in the fields of economy and trade, energy and oil and gas, science and high technology, security and defense, human resource training, and infrastructure; supporting the removal of legal obstacles to promote effective cooperation in the new era; and strengthening cooperation in culture, tourism, people-to-people exchanges, and connectivity between localities.



Welcoming the results achieved at the talks between PM Chinh and PM Mikhail Mishustin, Chairwoman Matviyenko affirmed her support for Vietnam's proposals and pledged to cooperate and support the effective implementation of the commitments reached by both sides.



She emphasised that in the current context, both sides need to promote cooperation in the fields of energy and oil and gas, while also prioritising humanitarian cooperation, promoting people-to-people exchanges, education and training, tourism, and cultural exchanges to enhance mutual understanding between the people of the two countries.



Chairwoman Matviyenko suggested that both sides should strengthen local cooperation, effectively implement existing relations, and promote the establishment of new local partnerships, especially after Vietnam's recent administrative boundary reorganisation, to further improve the effectiveness of this area of cooperation.



She also stressed that Russian people are very fond of traveling to Vietnam due to its beautiful natural conditions and scenery, and suggested that the two countries should organise more cultural days and create favourable conditions for teaching the Russian language in Vietnam to enhance mutual understanding between the two countries. Chairwoman Matviyenko also expressed her hope that more Vietnamese people would visit Russia, not only major cities but also other famous tourist destinations.



PM Chinh requested the Federation Council to continue supporting and facilitating the integration of the Vietnamese community in Russia into the local society, contributing positively to the socio-economic development of Russia and friendly relations between the two countries.



The two sides also discussed strengthening coordination at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Eurasian Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP), contributing to peace, cooperation, and sustainable development.



PM requested the Federal Assembly of Russia to continue maintaining an objective and balanced stance, and to voice support for the position and views of Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in handling the East Sea issue on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).



On this occasion, Chairwoman Matviyenko conveyed her greetings to National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. PM Chinh respectfully conveyed the invitation to visit Vietnam from Chairman Man to Chairwoman Matviyenko, and she happily accepted the invitation./. VNA
In 2022, Hung, 35, decided to open a Korean-style cafe after much consideration and referencing a similar model in Hanoi.

Every time he visited that shop, he saw customers flocking to take photos and order drinks. The cafe was so crowded that customers had to queue sometimes. He believed that if this model were replicated, it would certainly succeed.

Hung decided to borrow VND1.8 billion from a bank to open a cafe with a similar style. He rented a wide street-front house in a densely populated residential area in Hanoi and began renovating the space.

Most of the capital was used for design and decoration. The shop was decorated in a Korean style with many green plants, large windows, and warm lighting. Wooden tables, chairs, and several items were imported to create a difference from the surrounding cafes.

The space was carefully designed with multiple photo spots, aiming to attract young customers, a group that has helped many check-in cafes become popular.

During the first few months after opening, the cafe attracted a considerable number of visitors. Some were friends and acquaintances coming to support him, while others were curious customers drawn by the new concept. In the first three months, customer traffic was relatively strong, and Hung believed he had made the right decision.

However, the situation soon changed. Customer numbers gradually declined month by month. On weekdays the cafe became quite quiet, with only modest crowds on weekends.

After reviewing the surrounding area, Hung realized the problem. Although the cafe was located on a busy residential street, most residents were middle-aged families and older people. Their preferences leaned toward traditional coffee shops or familiar local cafes rather than photo-friendly check-in spaces.

In addition, the area had few universities or office buildings, the main customer sources for check-in cafe models.

Another mistake was the lack of a marketing strategy before opening. Hung expected the street-front location and attractive space to naturally draw customers. In reality, most early visitors came out of curiosity. Once the novelty effect faded, the cafe did not have a large enough base of loyal customers to maintain revenue.

Monthly operating costs also created pressure. Rent, staff salaries, ingredients, and maintenance expenses meant the cafe needed relatively high revenue just to break even.

After about 6 months, the shop began to operate at a moderate level. By the 10th month, when the reserve funds were nearly exhausted, he was forced to close the cafe and liquidate the furniture. The total amount of loss after liquidating assets and paying the remaining costs amounted to nearly VND800 million.

Sharing about the failure, Hung believed his biggest mistake was the decision to do business just because he saw another model that was crowded.

Mistakes that cause cafes to fail

According to Van Nguyen, a consultant in the F&B field, cases like Hung's are quite common among new entrepreneurs. Many people are convinced by images of crowded shops but forget to analyze the factors behind them such as location, customer segment, brand, or marketing strategy.

A business model may succeed in one area but not necessarily work in another. Consumer habits, residents age groups, office density, and the presence of universities all directly affect customer traffic.

Copying a business model without researching the local market can lead to large investments but failure to reach the right target customers.

Van Nguyen said that before investing in the F&B sector, entrepreneurs must clearly answer one key question: where their real customers are.

Do not start a business simply because others are crowded with customers. Start a business because you truly understand your customers.

In many cases, a smaller cafe with moderate costs located in an area with the right customer base may have a much better chance of surviving and growing sustainably than a large investment placed in the wrong market.

Duy Anh
In this free webinar, see how formulation decisions directly impact Critical Quality Attributes. Attendees will learn how comprehensive analytical data informs robust control strategy development. The featured speakers will share how well-structured CMC documentation strengthens regulatory submissions.

TORONTO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- GLP-1 peptide therapeutics are rapidly reshaping the treatment landscape for diabetes and obesity, creating increased demand for robust formulation development and comprehensive analytical characterization strategies that enable safe, scalable and market-ready drug products. This webinar explores integrated approaches to GLP-1 peptide development, highlighting how formulation science and analytical strategy work together to accelerate CMC readiness and regulatory success.

As global programs advance from early development to commercialization, GLP-1 drug products present unique challenges related to peptide stability, solubility, aggregation behavior, viscosity control, device compatibility and manufacturability. Addressing these complexities requires deliberate formulation design supported by scientifically rigorous analytical control strategies.

This webinar will examine contemporary formulation approaches, including rational excipient selection, fatty acid conjugation, incorporation of non-canonical amino acids and strategies to optimize solubility and viscosity for injectable delivery systems. Case references from marketed therapies such as liraglutide, semaglutide and tirzepatide will provide real-world development context.

A significant portion of the webinar will focus on advanced analytical characterization tools that underpin GLP-1 peptide quality and lifecycle management. Techniques, including LC-MS, SEC-MALS, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), peptide mapping, cell-based bioassays and stability-indicating methods, will be discussed from both scientific and regulatory perspectives. The session will demonstrate how integrated analytical data informs Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs), supports control strategy development and strengthens CMC documentation for global regulatory submissions.

Participants will gain practical insights into aligning formulation decisions with analytical evidence to enhance product consistency, scalability and compliance across development phases.

Register for this webinar to learn how integrated formulation and analytical development strategies can support robust GLP-1 peptide development and advance programs efficiently toward market readiness.

Join experts from OneSource Specialty Pharma, M.S. Vijaykanth PhD, SVP & Head  R&D; and Nandakumar Sundaramoorthy, PhD (Dr. rer. medic.), Director & Head  Analytical Development Department, for the live webinar on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 11am EDT (5pm CEST/EU-Central).

For more information, or to register for this event, visit Accelerating GLP-1 Peptides to Market Through Integrated Formulation & Analytical Development.

ABOUT XTALKS

Xtalks  The Life Science Community empowers professionals across pharma, biotech, medtech, healthcare and research with the trusted knowledge and collaborative insights that move the industry forward. Powered by Honeycomb Worldwide Inc., Xtalks delivers news, feature articles, webinars, podcasts, videos, expert interviews, curated job opportunities and more designed to support informed decision-making in a fast-evolving sector.

Every year, thousands of professionals rely on Xtalks for timely intelligence, peer perspectives and industry thought leadership. Join our life science community to stay informed, connected and ready for what's next.

To learn more about Xtalks, visit www.xtalks.com

For information about working with Xtalks to host your webinar, visit https://xtalks.com/partner-with-us/

Contact: Vera KovacevicTel: +1 (416) 977-6555 x371Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Xtalks
Insiders may stand to receive substantial financial benefits not available to ordinary shareholders.

The proposed transactions may contain terms that could limit superior competing offers.

Shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm to discuss their rights and options at no cost or obligation. We would handle any matter on a contingent fee basis, whereby you would not be responsible for out-of-pocket payment of our legal fees or expenses.

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating the following companies for potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties to shareholders relating to:

Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. (NYSE: TPH)'s sale to Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd. for $47.00 per share. If you are a Tri Pointe shareholder, click here to learn more about your legal rights and options.

KORE Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: KORE)'s sale to Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. and Abry Partners for $9.25 per share. If you are a KORE shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options.

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE: NSA)'s sale to Public Storage for 0.14 of a share of Public Storage common stock or partnership units for each National Storage share or unit. If you are a National Storage shareholder, click here to learn more about your legal rights and options.

On behalf of shareholders, Halper Sadeh LLC may seek increased consideration, additional disclosures and information, or other relief and benefits.

Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Halper Sadeh LLC

Daniel Sadeh, Esq.

Zachary Halper, Esq.

One World Trade Center

85th Floor

New York, NY 10007

(212) 763-0060

[email protected]

[email protected]

https://www.halpersadeh.com

SOURCE Halper Sadeh LLP
Slated to operate as a limited liability company with initial charter capital of $20 million, the new entity, branded as ACB Insurance, follows an updated proposal dated March 19.

Ownership structure involves two wholly owned subsidiaries: ACB Asset Management Co., Ltd., which will hold a 91 per cent stake, and ACB Securities Co., Ltd., holding the remaining nine per cent.

The Vietnamese non-life insurance sector is entering a new growth phase, characterised by resilience despite broader economic fluctuations.

According to a report by Kafi Research, the market recorded a 10.1 per cent on-year increase in premium revenue during the first nine months of 2025, reaching approximately $2.57 billion.

Despite this momentum, the sector remains significantly under-penetrated. Vietnam's non-life insurance penetration stands at a mere 0.8 per cent of GDP, notably lower than regional peers such as Malaysia at 1.4 per cent or Singapore at 1.8 per cent.

Kafi Research identifies health insurance as the core non-life segment, accounting for 36 per cent of revenue, followed by motor vehicle insurance at 23 per cent.

While the outlook is bolstered by regulatory updates such as Decree No.105/2025/ND-CP, which adjusts compulsory fire and explosion insurance fees, the sector faces rising pressure from climate-related risks.

Against this market backdrop, ACB Insurance intends to capitalise on the parent bank's internal ecosystem to drive rapid expansion. The group plans to leverage a network of 389 branches and a customer base exceeding eight million to integrate insurance products directly into retail and SME banking portfolios.

By doing so, ACB aims to diversify revenue streams through fees, financial returns from funds, and secondary income from appraisal and reinsurance services.

While Kafi Research projects a market-wide compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 6.7 per cent through to 2029, ACB has set considerably more aggressive internal targets. The bank expects its subsidiary to achieve a CAGR in premium revenue exceeding 50 per cent over the first five years, aiming for a total asset scale of $80 million and a market share of over 1.5 per cent by 2030.

The competitive environment for this venture is defined by high concentration, with the top five non-life insurers currently controlling 49.6 per cent of the market.

Industry leaders PVI Insurance and Bao Viet Insurance maintain the largest shares at 18.1 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively, followed by Bao Minh Insurance Corporation, Military Insurance Corporation, and BIDV Insurance Corporation.

ACBs entry reflects a growing trend of bank-backed insurance entities, such as the 2024 establishment of Techcom Insurance and the resurgence of firms like OPES and HD Insurance, which are tied to VPBank and HDBank ecosystems.

To distinguish itself, ACB Insurance plans to offer a comprehensive suite of products covering property, cargo, aviation, motor vehicle, and health segments, with an initial focus on property and health products that offer stable profit margins.

Financial stability remains a core component of the expansion plan, with the parent bank reporting a strong capital position. ACB recorded a non-performing loan ratio of 0.99 per cent as of December 31, 2025, maintaining a position among the top three lenders for asset quality in the system.

Banks ramp up capital plans ahead of AGM season Many banks are planning significant charter capital increases during the 2026 AGM season through share issuances, stock dividends and private placements to strengthen financial capacity and support future credit growth.

Deposit rate hikes expected to continue as banks compete for liquidity Deposit rates are expected to trend higher in early 2026 as banks compete for liquidity, raising funding costs and creating upward pressure on lending rates, including mortgages.
This partnership reflects a shared commitment to fostering a modern, intelligent, and environmentally responsible aviation ecosystem, aligned with national priorities and global development trends.

The signing forms part of a long-term strategic orientation to reduce carbon emissions across airport operations, contributing to the achievement of environmental, social, and governance objectives and the net-zero target by 2050.

It also aims to enhance the positioning of Vietnams airports as green  smart hubs, in line with Decision No. 876/Q-TTg dated July 22, 2022.

The two parties have agreed to collaborate in researching and implementing integrated solutions across multiple domains. These include the exploration of advanced energy technologies and the development of sustainable power supply models tailored to the stringent operational standards of airport infrastructure.

Both sides will develop infrastructure supporting electric mobility, including charging networks and associated utilities, ensuring alignment with operational demand. Green passenger transport solutions will also be explored and integrated within airport environments, contributing to enhanced operational efficiency and long-term value creation.

ACV and Vingroup will consider cooperation in developing a comprehensive service ecosystem within airport terminals. This may encompass commercial, retail, and passenger service models, with the dual objective of supporting strategic growth and elevating the overall passenger experience.

The two parties have further agreed to explore opportunities to prioritise the use of each others products and services within their respective ecosystems and affiliated entities. In addition, both sides will jointly study mechanisms and preferential policies to facilitate employee access to a wide range of essential services, including mobility, healthcare, education, hospitality, and commerce.

Tran Anh Vu, deputy general director of ACV, said, "The corporation places high value on the potential of this partnership in advancing green, smart, and modern airport development. The integration of capabilities, experience, and ecosystems between the two organisations is expected to unlock new opportunities to enhance service quality, support sustainable development objectives, and contribute to the modernisation of national aviation infrastructure in alignment with the governments strategic direction on green growth and energy transition."

Nguyen Viet Quang, vice chairman and CEO of Vingroup, said, "The comprehensive cooperation with ACV represents a significant milestone in boosting sustainable partnership models with leading institutions. Hopefully, Vingroups diversified ecosystem, spanning energy, infrastructure, technologyindustry, and commercial services, will contribute to improving the quality and international standing of Vietnams aviation infrastructure, in close coordination with ACV towards shared green development goals."

This strategic collaboration underscores not only the complementary strengths of two leading enterprises, but also a strong and enduring commitment to supporting Vietnams transition towards a greener world.

ACV proposes second runway at Long Thanh Internatinal Airport A proposal has been made to build a second runway at Long Thanh Airport and level the area for the T3 terminal to improve operational efficiency.

ACV begins cargo terminal construction at Danang Airport A new cargo terminal project has broken ground at Danang International Airport, as authorities move to ease congestion and upgrade air freight capacity in central Vietnam.
On March 23, the company collaborated with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Ly Son Marine Protected Area (MPA) Management Board, and the Quang Ngai Fisheries Association to deliver the training in Ly Son Special Zone. The event also marked the handover of an exterior renovation project for local homes and community murals on An Binh Island.

The activities fall under a MoU between AkzoNobel Vietnam and IUCN to strengthen marine conservation in Vietnam, with a focus on protecting sea turtles and other marine species. Through the partnership, AkzoNobel is advancing its 'Let's Colour' initiative  a global initiative launched in 2009 to improve living spaces and support communities through colour.

Between October last year and February, AkzoNobel Vietnam, IUCN, and the Ly Son Marine Protected Area Management Board carried out an extensive renovation of An Binh Island, covering more than 17,000 square metres. The work included repainting 83 houses, An Vinh Kindergarten and Primary School, and the Ong Mausoleum, along with 20 new murals aimed at raising awareness of sea turtle and marine ecosystem conservation.

The scheme has helped create a more vibrant landscape for An Binh Island, supporting tourism development while reducing pressure on marine resources and improving local livelihoods. It also restored community spaces and mural artworks from 2017 and 2018 that had deteriorated due to the island's harsh weather conditions.

As part of the undertaking, AkzoNobel supplied nearly 10,000 litres of Dulux paint in vibrant colours designed to harmonise with the island's natural landscape. The Colours of the Year 2026  The Rhythm of Blues  served as a key accent, inspired by the island's beauty and the distinctive rhythm of life.

Alongside the renovation of An Binh Island, AkzoNobel Vietnam, IUCN, Quang Ngai Fisheries Association, and Ly Son MPA Management Board, ran awareness-raising and outreach activities on marine ecosystem conservation, sea turtle protection, and plastic pollution reduction.

Between March 21 and 23, IUCN organised a training for teachers on marine conservation and sea turtle protection; guided local fishers on using a smartphone app to monitor and report bycatch of sea turtles and marine mammals; provided guidance on marine wildlife rescue and plastic waste reduction; and handed over the completed murals to local authorities in Ly Son Special Zone.

"This collaboration reflects our long-standing commitment to marine conservation through multi-stakeholder partnerships," said Jake Brunner, head of IUCN's Lower Mekong Sub-region. "By revitalising living spaces while creating murals about marine ecosystems, it offers a creative approach to raising awareness about protecting marine life and coastal resources. We greatly appreciate AkzoNobel's contributions and hope this partnership will continue delivering positive outcomes for Ly Son and other MPAs across Vietnam."

The agreement will see AkzoNobel and IUCN continue strengthening marine conservation efforts across Ly Son Special Zone and other protected areas, including Con Dao, Hon Cau, Cham Islands, Nui Chua National Park, and beyond. Replicable activities include mural paintings, environmental education, bycatch-reduction training for fishers, knowledge exchange programmes, volunteer engagement, and technical support.

"We believe in the power of colour to transform spaces and improve quality of life," said Nguyen My Lan, business unit director of ASEAN Decorative Paint at AkzoNobel. "Through Let's Colour and our partnership with IUCN, we are helping preserve cultural and natural heritage while raising awareness about protecting marine environments. The Colours of the Year 2026  The Rhythm of Blues also served as a reminder of the ocean's calm beauty and its significance to An Binh Island."

AkzoNobel has donated thousands of litres of paint to renovate lighthouses, heritage sites, schools, and community spaces across Vietnam. Under the MoU with IUCN, both parties aim to continue implementing conservation and environmental protection projects in marine protected areas and national parks nationwide, contributing to the global 'Let's Colour' initiative.

AkzoNobel Vietnam protects Cu Lao Xanh lighthouse from harsh weather AkzoNobel, the leading global paints and coatings company and the major producer of Dulux brand, has completed repainting the Cu Lao Xanh Lighthouse project with Dulux Weathershield. It is the third lighthouse in Vietnam recoated under the Lighthouse Protection Campaign of AkzoNobel.

The Rhythm of Blues  Colours of the Year 2026 AkzoNobel announced The Rhythm of Blues as the Colours of the Year 2026 on December 5.
Representatives of BW, BV Power and VSSES at the signing ceremony on March 24

Lance Li, CEO of BW, said that Vietnam was entering a new phase of industrial growth, driven by digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and rising demand for cleaner, more reliable energy.

These partnerships strengthen BW's ability to meet that demand at scale. They also reflect our ambition to build industrial ecosystems that are not only ready to back the growth today, but relevant to support the economy of tomorrow, said Li.

Under the first MoU, BW will partner with BV Power to support the development of large-scale power infrastructure at BW Supply Chain City Industrial Park, one of BW's flagship industrial developments.

The partnership is intended to strengthen the site's ability to serve future hyperscale data centre projects and high-tech industrial tenants requiring stable, scalable electricity supply. It also supports Ho Chi Minh Citys digital transformation ambitions, as the City is planning a concentrated digital technology zone in Binh Duong Ward that includes BW Supply Chain City.

The collaboration builds on an agreement signed on January 13, under which development approvals are underway for a 110kV substation within the park. That venture is on track to deliver an initial 120 MW within the next year, securing the first phase of supply capacity.

The newly signed MoU establishes a pathway for the next phase of growth. Subject to demand, BW and BV Power will evaluate and develop additional 220kV and 110kV substations that could add up to 580 MW of new capacity, bringing the site's total planned power supply to approximately 700 MW over the next three to five years.

BW has also signed an MoU with Vietnam-Singapore Smart Energy Solutions (VSSES) to develop a 30 MWp rooftop solar system at BW Bau Bang Industrial Hub, with the potential to expand to more than 100 MWp over time.

With 30 MWp at a single industrial hub, this first phase of installation is expected to be among the largest single-site rooftop solar deployments in Vietnam's industrial and logistics real estate sector.

The initiative also marks BW's largest rooftop solar milestone to date and builds on pilot projects completed in 2024 at Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park and My Phuoc 3 Industrial Park.

The initial phase is expected to deploy solar systems across approximately 240,000 square metres of rooftop space, generating up to 40.5 million kWh of renewable electricity annually.

BW will co-lead development and management of the rooftop solar platform, while VSSES will provide engineering and operational expertise. BV Power will serve as offtaker, purchasing the electricity generated and supporting distribution and grid integration.

With nearly three million sq.m of rooftop space across its portfolio, BW has a strong foundation for broader solar deployment. The initiative is designed to expand tenants' access to renewable electricity and support their sustainability goals.

These two MoUs underscore BW's strategy to integrate advanced power infrastructure and renewable energy solutions across its platform in response to rising demand from data centres, advanced manufacturing and other digital economy tenants.

The agreements mark an important step in BW's strategy to build the essential infrastructure required by high-growth customers, including hyperscale data centres, advanced manufacturers and global tenants seeking more sustainable operations. Together, the partnerships enhance BW's ability to deliver power-ready, future-focused industrial space in one of Asia's most dynamic manufacturing and digital economies.

With more than 10 million sq.m of land bank, 60 projects across 10 key provinces and over 475 tenants, BW continues to strengthen its position as a leading provider of industrial infrastructure for the new economy.

BW has been focused on developing modern for-rent factories and warehouses to capture outsized growth opportunities driven by manufacturing, increasing domestic consumption, and the rapid rise of e-commerce.

BW was founded by Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm and one of the largest and most active investors in Asia real estate, and Becamex Group, the largest state-owned industrial and infrastructure developer in Vietnam.

In 2023, ESR Group, a leading Asia-Pacific real asset owner and manager, became a strategic investor in BW.

BW Industrial plans for IPO in Vietnam BW Industrial, a logistics and industrial property developer, aided by the US Warburg Pincus is continuing to explore the Vietnamese market with a plan for an initial public offering (IPO) soon, according to The Business Times.

BW Industrial expands strongly and reinforcing pioneering position BW Industrial (BW) continues to affirm its leadership with over 10 million square meters of industrial land and 59 projects across nine provinces.
The award was presented at the 34th World HRD Congress, held from February 16-18, in Mumbai, India - one of the most influential global HR forums, bringing together over 2,000 senior professionals from 133 countries.

With the theme Employee Health & Wellness + Technology for Change (AI) + Employer Branding = Future of Work 2026, the World HRD Congress 2026 reaffirmed the increasingly vital role of human resources in shaping agile, sustainable, and future-ready organisations.

The Global HR Tech Icons recognition honours outstanding leaders in HR technology, learning and development, and people transformation.

The selection process is rigorous and globally benchmarked, encompassing peer nominations, independent research, advisory board reviews, and validation by an international jury panel.

Simon Thucs recognition with this award is a testament to his leadership, his contributions to human capital transformation, and his commitment to nurturing talent, truly embodying the spirit of the Global HR Tech Icons award.

The recognition is a testament to Simon Thucs leadership and contributions to human capital transformation.

This also marks another milestone in Simon Thucs journey of making a strong impact on the regional and global HR map. In May 2024 Thuc was the only Vietnamese honoured to receive the Global Inclusive Talent Leadership Award  Mighty 90 Winners by Verdict Software. And in September 2025, he was recognised among the Top HR Leaders  Vietnam, certified by the CHRO Asia and the World Federation of HR Professionals.

For ITL Corporation, a market leader in integrated logistics, entering a transformation journey with sustainable growth ambitions, human capital continues to be the foundation driving the companys momentum.

ITL is steadily building a workforce that is agile, adaptable, and continuously learning, growing together and ready to embrace new opportunities on the journey ahead.

ITL Corporation completes acquisition of Sotrans Group Indo Trans Logistics (ITL) Corporation today announced the successful acquisition of South Logistics JSC (Sotrans Group), raising its ownership ratio to 97 per cent.

ITL takes lead in making Vietnams logistics globally integrated Participating in the Transport Logistic and Air Cargo Southeast Asia exhibition and conference in Singapore, ITL reaffirmed its role in contributing to making Vietnam a new regional transit hub for goods.
On March 23, the document was signed by Alexey Likhachev, director general of Rosatom, and Tran Van Son, Minister and Head of the Vietnamese Government Office. The ceremony took place in the presence of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and PM Chinh.

The agreement sets out the terms and key areas of cooperation for the nuclear power plant venture, which will involve the construction of two Russian-designed power units with VVER-1200 reactors, totalling 2,400 MW of installed capacity. The Leningrad NPP 2 (units No.1 and No.2) has been selected as the reference project. The document establishes the legal framework for construction and will guide Russian-Vietnamese cooperation in the nuclear field for decades to come.

"For us, this is not merely an agreement to build two nuclear power units. We see it as the foundation for a long term industrial partnership that will strengthen Vietnam's energy independence and open up new opportunities for economic growth," said Likhachev.

Rosatom possesses reference technologies for the construction of both large capacity nuclear power plants and small modular reactors. Russian VVER 1200 reactors are successfully operated in Russia and abroad, confirming the highest standards of safety and efficiency. Nuclear power plants with VVER 1200 reactors comply with the most stringent international requirements and form the core of Rosatom's export portfolio.

Russia and Vietnam have a long history of successful cooperation across various fields, and nuclear energy holds a special place in this partnership. In addition to the flagship Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant, the parties are continuing the implementation of the project to build a Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology (CNST) in Vietnam, which includes the construction of a Russian designed research reactor. The development of the feasibility study materials for the CNST will be completed in April, and the parties will begin discussing the contract for the construction of the centre.

Another area of longstanding cooperation is the successful operation of the Dalat research reactor, which uses Russian supplied fuel and provides Vietnam with medical isotopes. Currently, Vietnam is also expressing interest in participating in the international consortium based on the Multipurpose Fast Research Reactor.

Beyond traditional nuclear energy, cooperation is expanding into new promising areas: the development of logistics via the Northern Sea Route, container shipping by the FESCO transport group (part of Rosatom's management perimeter), additive technologies, and energy storage systems.

New MoU sets stage for Vietnams first nuclear power project Vietnam is advancing plans for its first nuclear power plant through a strategic partnership with a top Russian energy company, aiming to strengthen expertise, infrastructure, and project readiness.

Russia's Rosatom proposes reactor for Vietnam nuclear power plant Russian nuclear major Rosatom State Corporation announced on May 13 that Rosatom and Vietnam have signed an inter-agency roadmap for the development of nuclear technologies through 2030.
GREEN BAY, Wis., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) today announced it expects to release first quarter 2026 financial results on Thursday, April 23, 2026, after market close. The Company also expects to host a conference call for investors and analysts at 4:00 p.m. Central Time (CT) on the same day.

Interested parties can access the live webcast of the call through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website, http://investor.associatedbank.com. Parties may also dial into the call at 877-407-8037 (domestic) or 201-689-8037 (international) and request the Associated Banc-Corp first quarter 2026 earnings call. The financial tables and an accompanying slide presentation are expected to be available on the Company's website just prior to the call. An audio archive of the webcast is expected to be available on the Company's website approximately fifteen minutes after the call is over.

ABOUT ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) has total assets of $45 billion and is the largest bank holding company based in Wisconsin. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Associated is a leading Midwest banking franchise, offering a full range of financial products and services from nearly 200 banking locations serving more than 100 communities throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri. The company also operates loan production offices in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Texas. Associated Bank, N.A. is an Equal Housing Lender, Equal Opportunity Lender and Member FDIC. More information about Associated Banc-Corp is available at www.associatedbank.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this presentation which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This includes any statements regarding management's plans, objectives, or goals for future operations, products or services, and forecasts of its revenues, earnings, or other measures of performance. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "should," "intend," "target," "outlook," "project," "guidance," "forecast," or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on current management expectations and, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements include the ability to complete the proposed transaction involving Associated Banc-Corp ("Associated") and American National Corporation ("American National") and to integrate the two businesses successfully and in a timely manner, if at all; the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized when expected or at all; and such other risk factors as identified in the Company's most recent Form 10-K and subsequent Form 10-Qs and other SEC filings, and such factors are incorporated herein by reference.

Investor Contact: Ben McCarville

Senior Vice President | Director of Investor Relations

920-491-7059 | [email protected]

Media Contact: Andrea Kozek

Vice President | Senior Manager, Public Relations

920-491-7518 | [email protected]

SOURCE Associated Banc-Corp
Photo: Shutterstock

On March 23, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the Trade Reciprocity Mission which seeks to secure fair, reciprocal trade for American farmers, ranchers, and producers.

Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke J. Lindberg is leading a delegation representing a cross-section of American agriculture that stands to benefit from expanded access to one of Asias fastest-growing markets.

American farmers, ranchers and producers thrive when they have strong, reliable markets for their high-quality products, said Under Secretary Lindberg. By strengthening our trade relationship with Vietnam, were opening doors for US agriculture, ensuring they have a fair chance to compete and succeed, and that they can bring the benefits of that success to communities here at home.

Vietnam has become a top destination for US agricultural products. In 2025 alone, agriculture, fishery and forest products exports surged by 45 per cent to a record $5.6 billion, making Vietnam the US eighth-largest market. This mission will build on that momentum by expanding market access, connecting suppliers with new buyers, and advancing negotiations under President Trumps strategy to deliver fair, enforceable trade for American farmers and ranchers.

During the visit, USDAs Foreign Agricultural Service will lead industry tours, host business meetings, and engage with Vietnamese officials to advance US trade priorities and support US producers.

The delegation includes the California Fresh Fruit Association, the California Prune Board, Potatoes USA, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, the US Dairy Export Council, the US Grains and Bioproducts Council, the US Meat Export Federation, the US Soybean Export Council, the US Wheat Associates, and the Washington Apple Commission.

This is USDAs third Trade Reciprocity Mission of 2026. Later this year, the department will return to Vietnam with a broader agribusiness trade mission to continue expanding opportunities for US food and agricultural exports.

US agriculture secures greater market access in Vietnam, Thailand, and Brazil US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins on June 6 announced American agricultural producers will have greater market access to Vietnam and Thailand and maintained access to Brazil.

US and Vietnam agree on framework to boost trade and market access The United States and Vietnam have agreed on a framework for a new trade deal designed to boost bilateral commerce and market access.
Find the Best Commercial Fly Zapper in Craigavon, Bangor and Portadown for Businesses and Restaurants

Commercial fly zappers provide effective, hygienic pest control for businesses and restaurants. Ideal for multiple locations, they ensure a clean environment, reduce contamination risks, and offer long-term, cost-efficient protection.

Maintaining a clean and hygienic environment is essential for businesses, especially in the food and hospitality industries. Flies can spread bacteria, contaminate food, and harm your reputation. Investing in a reliable solution like a commercial fly zapper is crucial. With trusted products from Pest Control Shop NI, businesses and homeowners can effectively manage flying insects and maintain high hygiene standards.

Why Commercial Fly Zappers Are Essential

Commercial fly zappers are designed to attract and eliminate flying insects using UV light technology. Unlike traditional sprays, these devices offer continuous protection without harmful chemicals. Many businesses searching for a Commercial Fly Zapper in Craigavon or a Commercial Fly Zapper in Bangor prefer these systems because they are efficient, low-maintenance, and suitable for indoor environments. They help ensure compliance with hygiene regulations while improving customer confidence.

Ideal for Restaurants, Shops, and Workspaces

Restaurants, cafes, warehouses, and retail stores require consistent pest control to maintain a professional image. Flies are not only a nuisance but also a health risk.

Availability Across Key Locations

Installing aor ahelps businesses prevent infestations before they become a serious problem. These devices operate quietly and effectively, making them perfect for areas where cleanliness and customer experience are priorities.

Businesses can easily access high-quality fly zappers across multiple regions. Whether you are looking for a Commercial Fly Zapper in Ballymena, a Commercial Fly Zapper in Newtownards, or a Commercial Fly Zapper in Dungannon, there are reliable options available. Demand is also growing for a Commercial Fly Zapper in Armagh and a Commercial Fly Zapper in Cookstown, showing the increasing need for effective pest control solutions across different commercial sectors.

Features to Look for in a Quality Fly Zapper

When choosing a commercial fly zapper, it is important to consider key features such as coverage area, durability, and ease of maintenance. Look for units with strong UV attraction, energy efficiency, and easy-clean collection trays. Midway through your selection, you will find that Pest Control Shop NI offers high-performance devices designed for long-lasting use and maximum efficiency, ensuring reliable protection for your business.

Cost-Effective and Long-Term Investment

Although commercial fly zappers may seem like a larger upfront investment compared to sprays, they offer significant long-term savings. They reduce the need for repeated pest control treatments and minimize the risk of contamination-related losses. Whether you choose a Commercial Fly Zapper in Craigavon or other nearby areas, these devices provide continuous protection, making them a smart and cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.

Easy Installation and Maintenance

Commercial fly zappers are designed for convenience. Most units can be wall-mounted or suspended from ceilings, allowing flexible placement based on your space. Maintenance is simple, requiring occasional cleaning and bulb replacement. With proper installation, whether its a Commercial Fly Zapper in Bangor or a Commercial Fly Zapper in Portadown, you can ensure optimal performance and long-lasting results.

Conclusion

Finding the right commercial fly zapper is essential for maintaining a clean, safe, and professional environment. These devices provide effective, chemical-free pest control, making them ideal for restaurants, shops, and workplaces. Whether you are searching for a Commercial Fly Zapper in Craigavon, Bangor, Portadown, or other locations such as Omagh, Ballymena, Newtownards, Dungannon, Armagh, and Cookstown, there are excellent options available to meet your needs. For dependable quality and performance, trust Pest Control Shop NI to deliver advanced pest control solutions that protect your business and enhance customer satisfaction.

News From Pest Control Shop NI

Category: Domestic and Commercial Pest Control Profile: Pest Control Shop NI is a trusted online store that offers pest control equipment in Belfast across Northern Ireland and helping homes and businesses to control mice, rates and insects.
Our 2026 global market reports are now updated with the latest data, delivering insights into key trends, segments, and growth drivers.

The job costing software sector has been evolving rapidly, driven by technological advancements and shifting business needs. As companies increasingly seek efficient solutions to manage project expenses and resources, this market is set to experience significant growth.

Below, we explore how the market is developing, the forces propelling it forward, its key segments, emerging trends, regional variations, and leading players shaping its future.

Current Expansion and Projected Growth of the Job Costing Software Market

The job costing software market is anticipated to grow substantially over the coming years, reaching a valuation of $6.6 billion by 2030. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4%.

Several factors contribute to this expansion, including greater integration with AI-powered analytics, increasing adoption of cloud-based project management tools, and rising demand from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) focused on cost efficiency. Additionally, the widespread shift to remote work and collaboration technologies, along with heightened requirements for compliance and regulatory reporting, further support market growth.

Key trends expected to shape the industry include the broad uptake of cloud deployment, enhanced payroll and resource management integration, emphasis on real-time cost tracking and reporting, expanded job scheduling and time tracking capabilities, and growing interest in related services such as implementation, consulting, and managed services.

Download the Free Report Sample Now:

https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/sample.aspx?id=33571&type=smp&utm_source=Whatech&utm_medium=Paid&utm_campaign=Mar_PR

Primary Factors Supporting Growth in the Job Costing Software Market

The expansion of project-based industries is a major driver behind the increasing demand for job costing software. These industries revolve around delivering unique, client-specific projects within defined timeframes, rather than mass-producing uniform products.

The rising preference for customized solutions fuels the growth of sectors that rely heavily on accurate project cost management. Job costing software plays a critical role in these industries by facilitating detailed tracking of costs, resources, and schedules, which helps improve budgeting accuracy, evaluate profitability, and ensure projects run efficiently.

For example, data from Eurostat in August 2024 shows that construction output in the euro area climbed by 1.0% in June 2024 compared to the same month in 2023. Such growth in project-centric sectors directly boosts the demand for job costing solutions.

Segmentation of the Job Costing Software Market

This market can be divided into the following major categories:

1) Component Type: Software and Services

2) Functionality: Job Estimation, Job Scheduling, Time Tracking, Cost Management, and Project Reporting

3) Deployment Models: Cloud-Based, On-Premises, and Hybrid

4) Organization Size: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Large Enterprises

5) End-User Industries: Construction, Manufacturing, Retail, Information Technology and Telecommunications, Healthcare, and Others

Download the Detailed Report Today:

www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/ign=Mar_PR

Further subsegments include:

- Software Types: Project Cost Estimation, Job Cost Tracking and Budgeting, Time and Expense Management, Project Accounting and Financial Reporting, Resource and Labor Cost Management, and Change Order and Cost Control

- Services: Implementation and Deployment, Consulting and Advisory, Training and User Enablement, Maintenance and Technical Support, Software Customization and Integration, as well as Managed and Cloud Support Services

Innovative Trends Creating New Opportunities in Job Costing Software

Leading companies in this field are heavily investing in AI-driven tools to improve cost estimation accuracy, minimize budgeting mistakes, and optimize resource allocation. AI-powered cost estimation platforms use machine learning algorithms to automatically forecast project costs, including materials, labor, and resources, empowering businesses to plan budgets better and make more informed decisions.

A concrete example is Taktiful Software Solutions from the US, which in May 2025 launched Taktify, a platform designed specifically for digital print embellishments such as foil, varnish, and UV coatings. This software provides instant cost estimates that consider factors like materials, labor, machinery, location, industry vertical, and application.

It also offers market-driven selling price recommendations to improve printer profitability and quoting speed. After 18 months of beta testing and receiving the Pinnacle Award, Taktify assists usersincluding firms like the Kennickell Groupin eliminating guesswork, analyzing historical pricing trends, and adapting quotes by ZIP code and industry sector to ensure profitable project execution.

Regional Market Dynamics Highlighting Growth Patterns

In 2025, North America was the leading region for the job costing software market, holding the largest share. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region is projected to experience the fastest growth throughout the forecast period.

The market analysis encompasses key geographical areas such as Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, and Africa, providing a broad view of global development trends.

Prominent Companies Driving the Job Costing Software Market

Several major players are influential in shaping the job costing software industry, including:

Intuit Inc., Trimble Inc., The Sage Group plc, Zucchetti S.p.A., Procore Technologies Inc., Xero Limited, ServiceTitan Inc., FreshBooks Cloud Accounting Inc., Jobber Technologies Inc., Scoro Software OU, Seradex Ltd., Archdesk Sp z o o, UDA Technologies Inc., Creative Manager Inc (dba Workamajig), Paymo LLC, ClickTime Inc., CostTracker, eSUB Inc., eTEK International Inc., Knowify Inc., FEST Technologies LLC, PrioSoft Inc., PROCAS LLC, and BuilderPad Inc.

Access This Detailed Market Report today:

https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/purchaseoptions.aspx?id=33571

Americas +1 310-496-7795

Europe +44 7882 955267

Asia & Others +44 7882 955267 & +91 8897263534

The Business Research Company - www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/?utm_so_page_test

News From The Business Research Company ...

Category: Industry Reports & Market Analysis Profile: The Business Research Company is a leading market research and consulting services provider. It offers over 9,500 market reports across 27 industries in 60+ geographies, providing detailed insights and forecasts. Its customised research solutions support companies in making critical decisions, while its continuous research service enhances organizational capabilities. The flagship Global Market Model database provides comprehensive market intelligence with 1,500,000 datasets covering 8,000+ mark ...
GMG Launches European Sales Team; G(R) Lubricant Patent Accepted for Europe

Brisbane, Australia--(ACN Newswire - March 23, 2026) - Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd (TSXV: GMG) (OTCQX: GMGMF) ("GMG" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has officially launched its European sales activity. During the week of March 9th, GMG held a kick off training workshop in London where it brought together its new team members from various locations in Europe and UK for technical product and sales training.

The GMG European Sales team numbers more than 10 professional sales executives based in Europe and UK who focus on lead generation, inside sales and executive sales business development for GMG's G Lubricant and THERMAL-XR products.

images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8"image" />

Figure 1: Members of the GMG European Sales Team

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8igure1.jpg

Separately, the Company is also pleased to announce that it has been informed that the G Lubricant patent in Europe has been accepted to be granted for a period of 20 years.

Craig Nicol, CEO & Managing Director of the Company, commented "Building a sales force in key areas of the world is one of GMG's key activities it is focused on right now and to get the European team set up and running so fast has been a great achievement."

Jack Perkowski, Chairman and Non-Executive Director of the Company, commented: "I congratulate the Company on building the European Sales team and look forward to hearing of future success."

About GMG:

GMG is an Australian based clean-technology company which develops, makes and sells energy saving and energy storage solutions, enabled by graphene manufactured via in house production process. GMG uses its own proprietary production process to decompose natural gas (i.e. methane) into its natural elements, carbon (as graphene), hydrogen and some residual hydrocarbon gases. This process produces high quality, low cost, scalable, 'tuneable' and low/no contaminant graphene suitable for use in clean-technology and other applications.

The Company's present focus is to de-risk and develop commercial scale-up capabilities, and secure market applications. In the energy savings segment, GMG has initially focused on graphene enhanced heating, ventilation and air conditioning ("HVAC-R") coating (or energy-saving coating) which is now being marketed into other applications including electronic heat sinks, industrial process plants and data centres.

Another product GMG has developed is the graphene lubricant additive focused on saving liquid fuels initially for diesel engines.

In the energy storage segment, GMG and the University of Queensland are working collaboratively with financial support from the Australian Government to progress R&D and commercialization of graphene aluminium-ion batteries ("G+AI Batteries"). GMG has also developed a graphene additive slurry that is aimed at improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries.

GMG's 4 critical business objectives are:

Produce Graphene and improve/scale cell production processes Build Revenue from Energy Savings Products Develop Next-Generation Battery Develop Supply Chain, Partners & Project Execution Capability

For further information please contact:

Craig Nicol, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of the Company at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. +61 415 445 223

+61 415 445 223 Leo Karabelas at Focus Communications Investor Relations, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. +1 647 689 6041

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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends", "believes" "expects" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or will "potentially" or "likely" occur. This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, the size, term and success of GMG's European sales team and the eventual granting of and successful enforceability of the Company's G Lubricant patent.

Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions of management, including the European sales team will perform and the Company's G Lubricant patent will be patented successfully. Additionally, forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of GMG to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, without limitation that the GMG European Sales team does not successfully drive sales for the Company and the Company's G Lubricant patent is not patented and the risk factors set out under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated November 4, 2025 available for review on the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit www.newsfilecorp.com/release/289529
The UAE's Buy Now, Pay Later market is growing at over 20% annually, driven by a young, digitally connected population and the success of regional players like Tabby and Tamara. For businesses looking to enter this space, choosing the right development partner is critical.

Buy Now, Pay Later has moved from a Western fintech novelty to a mainstream financial product across the Middle East. In the UAE, a young, high-spending, digitally connected population has embraced BNPL with remarkable speed. From luxury retail in Dubai Mall to everyday electronics on noon.com, consumers are increasingly choosing to split payments rather than pay in full  and the market is responding.

The numbers tell the story clearly. The BNPL market in the UAE and broader GCC region is projected to grow at a compound annual rate exceeding 20% through 2028. Homegrown players like Tabby and Tamara have achieved unicorn valuations. Global giants like Klarna and Afterpay are watching the region closely. And behind every successful BNPL platform is a team of engineers, designers, and product thinkers who built the technology that makes it all work.

If you're a fintech startup, a retailer, or an investor looking to enter the UAE BNPL space, choosing the right development partner is the most consequential decision you'll make. Here's a carefully curated list of the top companies driving BNPL app development across the UAE  and what makes each one worth considering.

1. Dev Technosys UAE

Headquarters: UAE (with global delivery centers)

Dev Technosys UAE is one of the most recognized names in Middle East fintech development, and for good reason.

Their portfolio includes payment platforms, digital wallets, and lending apps built for the Gulf market. For BNPL specifically, they bring deep expertise in credit decisioning logic, merchant integration frameworks, and the compliance architecture required by the UAE Central Bank's consumer finance regulations.

Their discovery process is thorough  they spend significant time understanding your business model, target demographic, and regulatory obligations before designing a solution. For founders who want a partner that thinks like a product team, not just a vendor, Dev Technosys UAE consistently delivers.

Best for: Funded fintech startups and enterprise retailers entering the UAE BNPL market.

2. Techugo

Headquarters: UAE

Techugo has built a strong reputation across the UAE for delivering consumer-facing fintech apps that combine strong performance with exceptional design. Their BNPL solutions are built with the end consumer experience at the center  smooth onboarding, instant credit decisions, transparent repayment schedules, and clean checkout integrations that don't interrupt the shopping flow.

Their regional presence means they understand the cultural and behavioral nuances of UAE consumers  including preferences around Arabic-language interfaces, local payment methods, and trust signals that resonate specifically with Gulf audiences.

Best for: Consumer-focused BNPL platforms prioritizing user experience and regional market fit.

3. Hyperlink InfoSystem

Headquarters: UAE

Hyperlink InfoSystem brings speed and depth to fintech projects. Their development frameworks for payment and lending apps are well-established, allowing them to move quickly without sacrificing the compliance and security standards that financial products demand. For BNPL platforms, they have particular strength in building the merchant-side infrastructure  the APIs, dashboards, and settlement systems that retailers need to offer BNPL at checkout.

Their pricing is transparent and competitive, making them a strong option for startups working within defined budget constraints without wanting to compromise on capability.

Best for: Startups needing fast delivery and strong merchant-side BNPL infrastructure.

4. Intellectsoft

Headquarters: UAE office, global presence

Intellectsoft brings a consulting-led approach to every engagement, which is especially valuable in the complex world of BNPL development. Before any technical work begins, their team works to deeply understand your credit model, risk appetite, regulatory obligations, and competitive positioning. The result is a platform architecture that is genuinely aligned with your business  not a generic template with your logo on it.

Their strength in AI-powered credit scoring, real-time risk assessment, and behavioral analytics makes them the partner of choice for BNPL operators who want to compete on the quality of their underwriting, not just the smoothness of their UX.

Best for: BNPL operators who want AI-driven credit decisioning and risk management built into their core platform.

5. DevTeam.Space

Headquarters: Global, strong UAE client focus

DevTeam.Space operates on a dedicated team model, assembling specialized engineers around each client's specific project. For BNPL platforms  which require rare expertise across payment rails, credit infrastructure, fraud detection, and regulatory compliance simultaneously  this focused approach delivers results that generalist agencies struggle to match.

Their technical depth in microservices architecture, real-time transaction processing, and cloud-native infrastructure makes them well-suited for BNPL platforms expecting significant transaction volumes from launch.

Best for: Technical founders and CTOs building high-performance, scalable BNPL systems from the ground up.

6. Mobisoft Infotech

Headquarters: UAE regional office

Mobisoft Infotech takes a data-first approach to fintech development. Their BNPL platforms are built with analytics at the core  giving operators real-time visibility into approval rates, repayment performance, merchant conversion impact, and cohort-level customer behavior. For BNPL businesses where the difference between profitability and loss often comes down to a few percentage points of default rate, this operational intelligence is invaluable.

They also bring strong integration experience with UAE-specific financial infrastructure  Central Bank reporting systems, Al Etihad Credit Bureau data feeds, and local payment networks.

Best for: Data-driven BNPL operators who want deep operational analytics and local financial infrastructure integration.

7. Sphinx Solutions

Headquarters: UAE

Sphinx Solutions has developed a strong niche in white-label fintech solutions for the Gulf market. For businesses that need to launch a BNPL product quickly  perhaps a retailer adding BNPL as a checkout option or a bank extending its consumer lending digitally  their white-label framework offers a significantly faster path to market than a fully bespoke build.

Their solutions are customizable enough to reflect your brand and business rules while being pre-built enough to eliminate months of foundational development work. Localization for UAE and Saudi audiences is baked in from the start.

Best for: Retailers and banks looking for fast-to-market white-label BNPL solutions with Gulf market localization.

8. ToXSL Technologies

Headquarters: UAE

ToXSL Technologies rounds out this list with a strong combination of technical capability, transparent process, and competitive pricing. Their fintech app development experience spans payment apps, digital wallets, lending platforms, and investment tools  giving them a broad foundation from which to approach BNPL architecture.

Their project management approach is milestone-based and highly communicative, which matters enormously on complex fintech builds where requirements evolve and stakeholder alignment is critical. For first-time app founders navigating the complexity of BNPL for the first time, ToXSL's structured process provides genuine reassurance.

Best for: First-time BNPL founders who want a structured, transparent development process with strong fintech foundations.

What to Look for When Choosing Your BNPL Development Partner

With strong options across the market, here are the criteria that should anchor your evaluation:

Regulatory Knowledge  UAE Central Bank regulations around consumer finance, buy now pay later products, and data protection are non-negotiable. Your development partner must understand these requirements and build compliance into the architecture from day one  not retrofit it later.

Credit Infrastructure Experience  BNPL is fundamentally a lending product. The development team needs experience building or integrating credit scoring engines, bureau data feeds, risk decisioning logic, and collections workflows. Payment app experience alone is not sufficient.

Merchant Integration Capability  A BNPL platform without a strong merchant network is just a lending app. Look for teams with experience building clean, well-documented merchant APIs and checkout plugins for major ecommerce platforms used in the UAE  Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and custom-built retail systems.

Security and Fraud Prevention  Financial platforms are high-value targets. Your partner should have demonstrable experience with device fingerprinting, behavioral biometrics, transaction monitoring, and real-time fraud alerting. Ask specifically about their approach to identity verification and KYC.

Scalability Architecture  BNPL transaction volumes can spike dramatically during retail events  White Friday, DSF, Ramadan promotions. Your platform must handle these peaks without degrading performance or creating settlement delays.

Final Thoughts

The UAE BNPL market is at an inflection point. Regulatory frameworks are maturing, consumer adoption is accelerating, and the competitive landscape is consolidating around players who have built the most reliable, compliant, and user-friendly platforms.

Whether you're a startup building a standalone BNPL brand, a retailer adding installment payments to your checkout, or a bank extending its consumer lending digitally, the partner you choose will define the quality, compliance, and scalability of what you build.
CHICAGO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Belay Diagnostics announced the publication of a new retrospective study demonstrating that its Summit and Vantage tests provided meaningful clinical impact in 82% of CNS lymphoma cases evaluated. The study, which analyzed 50 specimens from 48 patients during the first 12 months of commercial availability, found that Summit and Vantage helped resolve differential diagnoses, confirm recurrence or progression, aid in disease stratification, and support clinical trial workups in cases where existing standard-of-care tools were limited in scope and sensitivity.

Summit and Vantage provided meaningful clinical impact in 41 of 50 specimens (82%), including resolving differential diagnoses, informing diagnosis, confirming recurrence or progression, aiding in disease stratification, and supporting clinical trial workups. Summit detected clinically relevant variants in 64% (32 of 50) of specimens, and negative results also proved informative in several cases, helping rule out CNS lymphoma or confirm successful response to therapy. In one case highlighted in the publication, Summit was the only test that provided actionable information after MRI, biopsy, and blood-based testing all returned indeterminate results. The full study, published in Lymphatics, is available here.

Belay Diagnostics' CSF liquid biopsy showed 82% clinical impact in CNS lymphoma when other methods were inconclusive. Post this

The most commonly detected alterations in this cohort were MYD88, a hallmark of CNS lymphoma, followed by TP53 and CD79B, demonstrating that Summit can identify alterations critical to CNS lymphoma diagnosis. Aneuploidy findings were also clinically significant: several cases with concern for metastatic CNS lymphoma showed five or more aneuploidy events with no accompanying SNVs, supporting concern for CNS metastasis. In two additional cases, Summit was used for longitudinal monitoring, and the absence of previously detected variants suggested successful response to therapy.

The findings underscore the clinical value of Summit and Vantage in CNS lymphoma, particularly in cases where other diagnostic methods are negative, non-diagnostic, or indeterminate. Michael Youssef, MD, a neuro-oncologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, has seen this firsthand: "The Summit assay has enabled molecular diagnoses in patients who were unable to undergo surgery, providing actionable clarity without the need for tissue. The ability to longitudinally track variant allele frequency (VAF) has further strengthened our capacity to monitor treatment response in real time." Since this study was conducted, Belay has expanded its offering with Summit 2.0, which adds 488 additional genes, copy number variants, fusions, tumor mutational burden, and microsatellite instability to its CSF profiling capabilities.

About Belay Diagnostics: Belay Diagnostics is a Chicago-based laboratory dedicated to serving patients and the clinicians who care for them. Using licensed technology developed through more than 10 years of scientific research at Johns Hopkins University, Belay has developed three proprietary CSF liquid biopsy tests  Summit 2.0, Ascent, and Vantage  each clinically validated against the gold standard of tissue biopsy to help inform the diagnosis and management of primary and secondary CNS malignancies. Belay's tests offer a minimally invasive alternative to cytology, imaging, and brain biopsy, providing clinicians with comprehensive molecular insights from a standard lumbar puncture. For more information, visit www.belaydiagnostics.com.

SOURCE Belay Diagnostics
archives 26 Apr - 3 May (2) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (5) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (4) 5 Apr - 12 Apr (2) 29 Mar - 5 Apr (1) 22 Mar - 29 Mar (3) 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)
Plans for a 22.9 million business and innovation hub at Wrexham University have taken a major step forward after securing key approval from Ambition North Wales.

The Board has given the go ahead to the universitys Outline Business Case (OBC) for a new Business Gateway.

The project aims to create a central access point for businesses to tap into the universitys expertise, research and specialist support, with a focus on innovation and growth areas such as artificial intelligence.

It will be delivered in two phases, starting with the development of new incubator hubs in 2027, followed by the construction of a new, purpose-built Gateway building. Expected to open in September 2028, planning permission is already in place for the project.

The scheme is backed by a funding package of more than 12.5 million from public sources, including over 7 million from the North Wales Growth Deal, 4 million from the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone and 1.5 million from 1.5million from Welsh Governments MEDR (the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research). The university will also provide match funding.

Once complete, the project is expected to create over 130 new jobs and deliver an economic boost of up to 94 million for the region.

Professor Joe Yates, Vice-Chancellor of Wrexham University, said the Gateway will strengthen links between the university and regions industry.

He said: The Business Gateway represents a significant step in our mission as a modern civic university. It will provide a clear, welcoming front door for businesses and entrepreneurs to access our expertise, facilities and networks.

We are committed to working with partners across all sectors to deliver a project that supports innovation, creates opportunities and will bring tangible benefits to the region.

Cllr Mark Pritchard, Leader, Wrexham County Borough Council and Chair, Ambition North Wales  which works in partnership with Flintshire and Wrexham councils to deliver the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone, said: The fact that this project will be enabled, by funding from both the Growth Deal and the Investment Zone really demonstrates our regional collaboration in action.

By working closely with partners, projects such as the Business Gateway can move towards delivery and will benefit North Wales hugely.

Cllr Dave Hughes, Leader of Flintshire County Council and Lead Member for the Growth Deals Innovation in High Value Manufacturing Programme, added: This is an ambitious proposal that can make a real difference to the economy of North Wales. The Business Gateway will bring industry and academia closer together, promoting innovation, skills development and business growth.

I welcome the progress made so far and look forward to seeing the next stage of this exciting development.

Wrexham University will now move to the next stage of the process, developing a full business case for further approval later this year.

Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com
North Wales Police are warning residents of a rise in number spoofing, where scammers deliberately change the caller ID on their calls to disguise who they are.

Caller ID  the number that appears on your phone before you answer  can be faked using technology that allows criminals to display any number they choose, including those belonging to banks, credit card companies and government bodies.

The practice, known as spoofing, is used to trick people into thinking a call is genuine before asking for sensitive information such as bank account details or login credentials.

North Wales Police say anyone receiving an unexpected call asking for personal or financial information should not provide it, regardless of what number appears on their screen.

The advice is to hang up and call the organisation back using a number from an account statement, a phone book, or the organisations official website.

Police say callers should wait at least five minutes before calling back to ensure the line has cleared and they are not still connected to the fraudster.

Anyone who believes they have been a victim of spoofing or fraud can report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at reportfraud.police.uk.

Reports can also be made via 101, or 999 if a crime is in progress.

People who suspect a scam can also contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133, which can pass details to Trading Standards.

North Wales Police are also encouraging residents to warn family, friends and neighbours about the threat.

Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com
Eluned Morgan to set out how North Wales to become centre of gravity for the industries that will define the next generation of jobs.

Wrexham.com caught up with the First Minister at at Welsh Labours North Wales Senedd election launch at Boccards manufacturing site in Deeside, where Morgan set out her partys economic pitch for the region.

The event centred on plans for a new industrial strategy for Wales, to be published in the first year of a Welsh Labour-led government, and the creation of a National Jobs Council chaired by the First Minister to drive job creation across Wales.

Ken Skates MS opened for the First Minster, stating: A new chapter in Wales is about to be written, and the key question is, who should hold the pen? Should it be the commanders of chaos and petulant protesters in the Welsh Nationalist Party Plaid Cymru and in the English Nationalist Party Reform? Or should it be the competent grown ups in the room?.

In her speech the First Minister pointed to what she described as a cluster of major investments already secured for North Wales, including a 2.5bn commitment to the UKs first Small Modular Reactor at Wylfa, supporting around 3,000 jobs, and an AI Growth Zone across the Menai Strait with sites at Anglesey and Trawsfynydd projected to create a further 3,000 jobs. Rolls-Royce SMRs plans to develop a modular manufacturing facility in North Wales were also cited as part of the regions emerging role in clean energy and advanced engineering.

On health, Morgan committed to rebuilding Wrexham Maelor Hospital through what Welsh Labour calls a 4bn Hospitals of the Future Fund, and announced a dedicated North Wales Surgical Centre in Llandudno. The party also pointed to the already-announced redevelopment of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Rhyl and the opening of the North Wales Medical School in Bangor as evidence of existing investment in the region.

After the speeches, and after a tour of the impressive Boccard operation, Wrexham.com had ten minutes for a quick chat with Eluned Morgan 

We asked why the commitment to a new hospital for Wrexham is coming now just ahead of the election, and whether it should have happened sooner  to commit her or whoever the winning administration is  to a redevelopment.

The reason we couldnt do it before is because we didnt have the money. Weve been starved of capital investment. The money to pay for bricks and mortar and stuff, its been slashed over the past 14 years. Now the taps have been switched back on again. So thats why we can do it. Itll be through a series of different measures, well have to borrow some money to do it. But theres more money for capital.

You get to a point where you have a choice. Are you going to just keep on sticking a plaster over things to sort things out, or are you going to do a thorough transformation? Thats the path were going to go down, because at the end of the day, it costs almost as much to just keep on upgrading things to do something really transformational.

We pointed to the recent exchange in the Senedd between Wrexhams MS and the First Minister where parking issues were raised, and possible solutions revolved around tins of paint.

The thing that that hurts a lot, when I was Health Secretary, I remember having to sign off a lot of money to fix the electrics in the hospital. I just thought, hang on a minute, whats going on here? Where are we heading here? You cant allow them to fail, but youve got to think a bit longer-term about where were heading. So thats what were doing with that promise for a new hospital in Wrexham.

We asked what the new hospital might look like and where it would be built, with land outside the bypass previously mooted, as well as developments being linked to junction improvements that did not happen.

The whole point is its got to be the health board that drives this, and its got to be driven by the needs of the local community. Im very clear that what we should be looking at is as much care in the community as we can. But, there will always be a need for major hospitals. Major hospitals have to be as modern as they can be, they have to be as digitised as they can be. But the holy grail is stopping people from going to hospital in the first place.

The day saw a range of stats released, which we described as a bit like VAR as interpretations depends where you draw lines. Some see the biggest drop in wait lists ever, but figures show patients in north Wales are waiting longer in A&E, for cancer treatment and for diagnostics  that is in the wider context of dodgy data.

Lets not kid ourselves, theres still a long way to go with Betsi (Cadwaladr University Health Board). They still have a long way to go. But what weve done is weve said we cant wait any longer  weve actually sent Welsh Government officials in there to book people in for their operations, because it wasnt happening. So weve had to step in to help them out.

We asked if that extra intervention at such a detailed level was special, special, special measures?

Yes, really, because it wasnt moving fast enough. It wasnt lack of money. It was a lack of discipline of getting things done, of inviting people in for their operations, making sure things happen. Now, weve literally got our people in there doing it. But its the local people who need to learn this is how you do it and sort it out.

The fact is weve seen the biggest drop of all in Betsi. The average waiting time now in Betsi is about 19 weeks. Thats a lot better than it has been.

We pointed out it feels like the eternal question at election time, how would you sort out the health board, is it too big?

I made a really strategic decision when I was became the Health Secretary. I knew the issues in relation to Betsi, particularly when I put them into special measures. Obviously I considered is the structure right, and I had to make a call then, and all the time you have to make a call. Are you going to spend time restructuring, which takes peoples eye off the front line?

My real interest was in making sure we got as many people sorted as fast as we can. If you start restructuring, the one thing you can be sure of is that all those managers that are supposed to be sorting it out will be focusing on restructuring. I didnt want that.

Plaid Cymru are talking about that as a possibility, I just think thats not the direction of travel in health today  what happens is that actually people are becoming more specialised. I think it would be a step backwards, and certainly would not help frontline services. But theres still work to do in Betsi  there is no question about that,

In a speech before the interview the First Minister said she took two things from current polling, that people are confused and people are impatient. Wrexham.coms reading of the polls was Labour are in third place, and asked surely that was the takeaway?

The truth is, I think I dont think anybody knows whats going to happen. I think its all to play for I think the instability in the world, and people can see the prices going up. I think theyve seen that Keir Starmer has made the right call on the Middle East, and they recognise now, why are you spending quite so much time on Foreign Affairs  because it impacts on their lives directly, immediately.

I do think what people are looking for, and I guess that theyre impatient, but its only now that the taps been turned on. Thats why we can offer that hospital. But, its not like we walked away when times were tough  you heard today  53 schools in North Wales were built under the Labour government, and they just slashed the budget in England, and that was a political choice.

Wrexham.com has recently reported that major repairs are needed in over half of Wrexhams secondary schools, as they are cat C with the council saying they need more cash.

We we have poured money into this. I get theres always going to be a need for more. But, in the Wrexham area, there have been new school builds. There are new college buildings, it has had extensions, and thats all been funded by Welsh Government. We didnt walk away. We actually stood there, and we made sure that we continue to invest. We will always need to upgrade schools, but the investment we put in is quite remarkable.

The First Minister touched on AI in her speech, and we asked how radical the manifesto would be amid predictions of substantive social change and possible millions of jobs lost around the world due the technology, and would we see returns to Universal Basic Income that had trials under Labour.

Well be elaborating a bit more on this next week, but the key thing for me is our lifelong retraining guarantee. Its going to happen, whether we like it or not. Its going to transform our lives. Its going to transform the detection of cancer. Its going to transform how our children are taught in schools. Its going to transform this place (high tech industry), it already is.

The question is, how are you going to use AI for good? What are the guardrails around it? Weve been working with trade unions a lot on that. How do you protect services? It makes things more efficient, and you can get people doing different kinds of jobs. Retraining, lifelong retraining guarantee, thats one of our biggest offers in this election.

With the manifesto being mentioned we asked if the wording would be tighter this time around, as 20MPH changes were a manifesto commitment and the public giving it a mandate (default speed limit in residential areas) but the output clearly was not met with wider approval.

You have to wait until the manifesto comes out. But Im not going to apologise, I believe in the 20mph speed limit, because the fact is its saved a lot of lives already. Its saved countless accidents, it has reduced insurance in some instances. Certainly around schools and hospitals and things there is a consensus that people are happy with that. Weve given councils the flexibility to determine where they think it should be different. So its up to them to make that call.

We asked about the Wrexham Local Development Plan, which was withdrawn in theory that day, and whether the timing was politically motivated ahead of the election to nullify a possible local issue, noting the problematic optics of Welsh Government Ministers facing off against councillors in the courtroom.

Some of this is simply about timing, its just taken a while to get here. But for me, development plans are important because thats what generates growth. Thats what gives people the indication of where you can build new homes, where you can build new factories, where you can regenerate for the community. Youve got to get that right. Im always, as far as possible, somebody who would want to work together with the council to get the best for local people. Im not interested in the fights.

On the legal issues she added, Its not a comfortable position. I just think we need to draw a line and move on now.

We asked whether Natural Resources Wales was fit for purpose, following concerns that phosphate regulations were blocking planning applications across the area, Hafod Quarry issues and other local problems.

Ive been getting weekly updates on phosphates, because its a situation that is unacceptable to me. Weve got to get the balance right between protecting the environment and allowing regeneration. I do think its important that we get the balance right.

We put a lot more resources into Natural Resources Wales, because that was part of the problem. They just didnt have people. Because of the cuts wed had, we had to make difficult decisions. We decided to put money into schools and things, and we had to take it away from some areas. We put more money back in now, I have challenged my government to be the fastest place in the UK to get a planning decision, and for that you need to make sure that people are tooled up and ready to make a decision.

With our final final question already used up we asked about the general landscape of this election, with it feeling like there is more misinformation circulating than ever on various social media, and if the UK and Welsh Governments had done enough to ensure secure elections.

Weve been discussing this very thing. We got an act through Parliament last week about making sure that people dont mislead in elections and things.

What I hope will happen in the run-up to this election, is that people will take a good look at what theyve got. Things that they assume are going to be there, like free bus passes, like free prescriptions, like a stable government that leads to investment. When that pen is hovering over that ballot paper. I think theyll realise theres a really big risk. You can take a risk on others, but my God, itll be a risk. The things that are there this day may not be there for them tomorrow.

Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com
Vet practices across the UK will be required to publish price lists, cap prescription fees and disclose whether they are part of a large corporate group under legally binding rules announced today by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The CMA concluded its market investigation into veterinary services on 24 March 2026, ordering a package of measures it said would address a lack of pricing information it found was leading to weak competition and high costs for pet owners.

Written prescription fees will be capped at 21 for the first medicine and 12.50 for any additional medicines.

The CMA found some practices are currently charging 30 or more per prescription.

Practices will also be required to tell pet owners they can obtain a written prescription and buy medication elsewhere.

The watchdog estimates that more than 70% of pet owners currently buy long-term medication directly from their vet practice, and that many could save 200 a year by purchasing online instead.

Practices must publish a comprehensive price list covering consultations, common procedures, diagnostics, written prescriptions and cremation options.

For any treatment expected to cost 500 or more, a written estimate must be provided in advance, with an itemised bill to follow.

Emergencies are the only exception to the written estimate requirement.

Practices that are part of a larger chain will be required to make that clear on signage, at the premises and online.

The CMA found that fewer than half of people using a large veterinary group were aware their practice was part of a chain.

Pricing and ownership information will be made available through the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Find a Vet service, which will share data with third-party comparison websites.

Martin Coleman, Chair of the independent Inquiry Group, said: Too often, people are left in the dark about who owns their practice, treatment options and prices  even when facing bills running into thousands of pounds.

He said the measures would mean it will be made clear to pet owners which practices are part of large groups, which are charging higher prices, and for the first time, vet businesses will be held to account by an independent regulator.

Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the government was focused on helping families save money on vet services by improving transparency and choice around pricing and would respond to the report and set out next steps for proposed legislative reforms in due course.

The CMA is also backing government proposals to reform the Veterinary Services Act, which it described as 60 years old and outdated, to make veterinary businesses as well as individual practitioners accountable to an independent regulator for the first time.

The RCVS will take a central role in monitoring compliance and running the comparison service, funded by a levy on veterinary businesses estimated at between 450 and 550 per practice annually.

The CMA has six months to put legally binding orders in place, meaning they will be in place by 23 September 2026.

Most changes will follow within three to twelve months of the orders being made, with smaller businesses given three months longer than larger ones to implement the required changes.

The investigation was launched in September 2023 and received 56,000 responses, including 45,000 from the general public and around 11,000 from people working in the veterinary industry.

Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com
Youth unemployment in Wales has risen 9.5 percentage points compared with a 1.9 per cent increase across the UK, the Senedd has heard, prompting the First Minister to say she had been asking what on earth is going on.

Plaid Cymrus Llyr Gruffydd put the figures to Eluned Morgan at the Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister on 13 March, noting that the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training had also risen 6.2 per cent in Wales against 0.5 per cent UK-wide.

Were not seeing that volatility in the English or the UK-wide figures, Gruffydd said. Something must account for that, despite the young persons guarantee, which, of course, is welcome. Were going on a different trajectory to the rest of the UK.

Morgan said she was disappointed to see those figures and put the current rate at 16.3 per cent, down from 24 per cent in 2012 but having risen again.

I am very worried about that coming back up, she said. This is a question Ive been asking, Llyr, I can assure you: what on earth is going on? Because weve got this young persons guarantee.

She pointed to the young persons guarantee, which she said had helped 64,000 young people, secured employment for 10,000, and seen more than 900 launch their own businesses.

Andrew Jeffreys, the Welsh Governments director of finance, urged caution over the headline figures. He told the committee there were some problems with the labour market stats now and that the Office for National Statistics recognised the issue.

There is particular volatility in the Wales stats because the sample sizes are relatively small, Jeffreys said. And because of the general problem with response rates to surveys like this being much lower than they were, there tends to be a lot more volatility between periods.

He said the Welsh Governments statistics service recommended looking at a range of measures. Based on a range of indicators, it looks like whats happening in Wales is very similar to whats happening in other parts of the UK, he said. Its a general UK-wide problem with the labour market, and its particularly affecting young people, with fewer entry-level jobs being created in the market.

Jeffreys cautioned against reading too much into one dataset. I think its dangerous to look at one particular measure in one particular period if you want to draw robust conclusions about whats happening, he said.

Gruffydd accepted there were caveats but noted that the Welsh Governments own release stated it was appropriate to use the annual population survey statistics  the same data showing the 9.5-point increase.

Morgan also told the committee the Welsh Government was working with the UK Government on a Trailblazer programme, with three pilots in Neath, Denbighshire and Blaenau Gwent specifically targeted at young people with health issues.

The exchange took place during the final session of the Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister before the end of the sixth Senedd.

Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com
An online tip led investigators to uncover thousands of illicit files and ultimately a federal sentence for a Reno man already required to register as a sex offender.

A Reno man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Anne R. Traum to 60 months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release for receiving child sexual abuse material images and videos after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children forwarded a CyberTip to law enforcement.

The United States Sentencing Guidelines range for this offense was 151 to 188 months. Prosecutors had recommended a 151-month sentence to be followed by lifetime supervised release.

According to court documents, beginning about June 6, 2024, William Alan Barragan Diaz downloaded and possessed images and videos of child sexual abuse material.

Law enforcement served a search warrant at his home and found files on his cell phones. Some of the material involved children under 12 years of age engaged in sexually explicit conduct and intercourse with adults. In total, more than 6,200 images and more than 400 videos were recovered from two electronic devices seized from Diaz.

A registered sex offender who received thousands of child sexual abuse images and videos was sentenced to the mandatory minimum penalty, said First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. As part of the Justice Departments Project Safe Childhood initiative to combat child sexual exploitation, we remain committed to working with the Northern Nevada Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force to protect young children and bring child predators to justice.

Mr. Diaz was a serious threat to children due to his repeated exploitation, said Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBIs Las Vegas Field Office. This sentencing demonstrates the unwavering commitment of the FBI and our partners to justice for vulnerable victims. Few situations are more urgent than when a child is at risk. Those who exploit children cause lasting harm, and possessing and trading child sexual abuse material only continues the abuse.

In addition to imprisonment, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Diaz will be required to register as a sex offender and keep that registration current.

The case was investigated by the Northern Nevada Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Nevada Attorney Generals Office, the Sparks Police Department, and the Washoe County Sheriffs Office. Assistant United States Attorney Randolph J. St. Clair prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse
The milestone year also marks Faraway's expansion to the American West and a deepened commitment to Jackson Hole. Following Blue Flag's 2023 acquisition of Snake River Lodge & Spa and the neighboring Alpenhof Lodge, two beloved properties at the base of Teton Mountain, Blue Flag has been actively operating and repositioning the hotels as part of its long-term vision for the destination. This summer, the former Snake River Lodge & Spa will be transformed into the new Faraway Jackson Hole, while Alpenhof Lodge will temporarily close in April 2026, re-opening in 2028 to introduce a new chapter that harkens back to its early upscale roots. Together, the properties anchor Blue Flag's growing presence in Teton Village, reinforcing its commitment to stewarding historic hotels while introducing its signature design-driven hospitality to a new generation of travelers.

Alongside Jackson Hole, Faraway is deepening its presence along the East Coast with the transformation of the historic Baron's Cove into Faraway Sag Harbor. A natural next chapter in Blue Flag's coastal story, the 67-room property is being reimagined as an elegant compound designed to feel collected over time. Blue Flag's growing collection also includes the new high-design beachside retreat, Hotel Corduroy in Montauk, and Oyster Estate, a boutique hotel drawing inspiration from the nautical history of its setting in downtown Greenport, NY. The expansion underscores the firm's commitment to acquiring and developing highly differentiated lifestyle hotels with bold design identity, compelling food and beverage concepts, and the operational infrastructure to be a key player in competitive and sought-after travel markets.

Founded with a mission to rediscover the soul in hospitality, Blue Flag combines strategic real estate stewardship with immersive brand creation, supported by distinct design, sensory guest experiences, and operational expertise through its in-house management company, Collared Martin Hospitality. The brand's current established operating properties include Faraway Martha's Vineyard, Faraway Nantucket, along with Beachside Hotel, Blue Iris, Brass Lantern, and Life House Nantucket.

"Hospitality is at its best when it connects deeply with guests and the communities around it," said Blue Flag Capital Co-Founder and CEO, Jason Brown. "For us, honoring historic properties goes far beyond preserving beautiful buildings, it's about honoring the people, traditions, and hospitality that make these places so meaningful. As our portfolio continues to grow, our mission remains the same: to steward these properties thoughtfully and help restore the soul of these remarkable destinations for both travelers and the communities that surround them."

Summer 2026 Openings

Hotel Corduroy | Montauk, NY  Set in a prime location on the edge of Montauk, Hotel Corduroy is a boutique hotel that has been reimagined for today's modern traveler. Offering a refined interpretation of Montauk's surf heritage, the East End escape offers 29 contemporary styled guest rooms with custom design accents across three buildings, a private beach, and an expansive central lawn space for leisure. Opening early May 2026 with guest room bookings available online HERE.

Faraway Sag Harbor | Sag Harbor, NY  Arriving on the Hamptons waterfront, Faraway Sag Harbor is an intimate 67-room boutique hotel rooted in maritime history and whaling heritage, featuring layered coastal interiors. The hotel's waterfront restaurant, Zagara, brings Amalfi Coastinspired seafood and coastal flavors to the harbor's edge, complementing the hotel's overall vibrant food and beverage program also including a ground-floor bar and lounge. The property offers residential-style guestrooms, a pool and terrace, and intimate communal spaces that embody Sag Harbor's harborfront lifestyle. Opening early June 2026 with guest room bookings available online HERE.

Faraway Jackson Hole | Jackson Hole, WY  Expanding Blue Flag's geographic reach westward, Faraway Jackson Hole debuts as the first noncoastal property, bringing a contemporary mountain aesthetic to one of the country's premier year-round destinations. Located in Teton Village and opening with 90 rooms & suites and 48 residences, the hotel features warm, natural interiors and expansive alpine views. Sure Hand, the onsite restaurant, sits adjacent to a lobby lounge with a wood-burning masonry fireplace, offering seasonal dishes and craft cocktails inspired by the local spirit and ingredients of Wyoming. Key amenities include a year-round indoor/outdoor pool, hot tub, sauna, and direct ski access, offering a refined basecamp experience. Faraway Jackson Hole is in close proximity to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, bringing summer's hiking, wildlife, and outdoor adventures within easy reach of guests. A second phase, planned for 2028, will bring expanded guestrooms, a signature restaurant, and dedicated meeting and event space. Opening early June 2026 with guest room bookings available online HERE.

Oyster Estate | Greenport, NY  A reimagined 34-room boutique hotel in the heart of Greenport Village, Oyster Estate brings a bold, design-forward identity to the North Fork, inspired by both the historic harbor and the surrounding farms and vineyards. At its center is a newly built courtyard pool and patio that serves as the focal point and social hub of the property, complemented by Fortune Favors, a vibrant onsite cocktail bar and dining destination. Additional amenities include a gym and dedicated meeting space, making the hotel one of the most thoughtfully appointed boutique offerings in the village. Opening September 2026 with more information to come HERE.

"We're incredibly excited to bring Faraway west to Jackson Hole, it's one of the most iconic, year-round leisure destinations in the country," said Blue Flag Capital Co-Founder and CDO, Brad Guidi. "Similarly, expanding across Long Island felt like a natural progression from Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. These are legacy markets with enduring demand, and we believe there's room for design-forward hotels that feel deeply connected to their surroundings. We've partnered with celebrated collaborators in the design space, including interior design firms Ward + Gray, Jenny Bukovec Studio, ISLYN Studio, and architects Workshop/APD, across these four openings to deliver a product that's elevated, welcoming, and intentionally crafted to introduce fresh, unique experiences to each market while honoring the local character and culture."

The addition of Jackson Hole and substantial presence in Long Island represent a meaningful next chapter for Blue Flag, Collared Martin, and the Faraway brand, which has plans for international expansion in the near future. With four openings in one season and continued strategic acquisitions underway, Blue Flag is quickly emerging as a distinctive new brand in lifestyle hospitality, blending meaningful property investment, clear brand vision, commitment to exceptional hospitality, and enriched guest experiences in the communities and destinations where they operate. As the company grows, its mission remains clear: to steward meaningful experiences and restore the soul of these remarkable properties for travelers and the communities that surround them.

ABOUT BLUE FLAG

Blue Flag Capital is a Boston-based hospitality investment company focused on creating culture-led, experience-forward, and design-driven hotels rooted in a strong sense of place. Founded on the belief that great hospitality begins with thoughtful design and authentic local connection, Blue Flag partners with leading creatives, brands, and communities to develop distinctive properties in sought-after leisure destinations. Operating across its portfolio through Collared Martin Hospitality, Blue Flag's in-house management and operations platform, the company brings a hands-on, hospitality-first approach to each property.

Blue Flag's growing portfolio includes the Faraway brand, with operating locations in Faraway Martha's Vineyard and Faraway Nantucket, as well as Beachside, Blue Iris, Brass Lantern, and Life House all located nearby in Nantucket. The company's pipeline includes several forthcoming openings in 2026, including Hotel Corduroy in Montauk, Oyster Estate in Greenport, New York, and two additional Faraway locations debuting in Sag Harbor and Jackson Hole.

Across its properties, Blue Flag emphasizes elevated design, vibrant food and beverage programming, and social-forward spaces that feel deeply connected to their surroundings  creating experiences that resonate with modern travelers while honoring the character, history, and culture of each destination. www.blueflagcap.com

ABOUT FARAWAY HOTELS

Faraway Hotels is a boutique hospitality brand dedicated to crafting immersive, design-forward experiences where "the experience is the souvenir," inviting guests to explore both familiar comforts and paths less taken. More than a place, Faraway is a mindsetleaning into maximalism and sensory storytelling to reimagine beloved destinations through the lens of a fictional local heroine whose legacy shapes each property's narrative. Each hotel is thoughtfully reimagined through layered, story-driven design that blends historic architecture with contemporary interiors rich in pattern, commissioned artwork, vintage curiosities, lush greenery, and candlelit ambiance. Custom fragrances, curated music programming, and theatrical yet welcoming spaces engage all senses, creating an atmosphere that feels transportive, slightly offbeat, and deeply rooted in place.

Designed for modern voyagers, discerning sophisticates, and culturally attuned locals alike, Faraway fosters a vibrant social spiritwhere guests are encouraged to revel, connect, and discover. Signature rituals, from locally authored adventure guides and complimentary bikes to thoughtful daily touches and communal gathering spaces, invite travelers to engage more deeply with each destination. With two coastal escapes now open in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, and additional properties debuting this summer in Sag Harbor and Jackson Hole, Faraway continues to expand its portfolio of soulful, destination-driven retreats. Rooted in community, rich storytelling, and a spirit of discovery, Faraway Hotels offers artful stays that linger long after checkout. www.farawayhotels.com

ABOUT COLLARED MARTIN HOSPITALITY

Collared Martin Hospitality (CMH) is a Boston-based lifestyle and luxury hospitality management company dedicated to infusing soul into every stay by curating intentional, authentic experiences rooted in place, purpose, and personal connection. Founded in 2025 and led by CEO Steven Rubin, CMH operates the Faraway hotel brand along with a curated collection of independent boutique hotels, restaurants, and cocktail clubs across premier leisure destinations, including Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Jackson Hole and the Hamptons. Named for the collared martin swallow  a symbol of exploration, loyalty, and homecoming  CMH champions narrative-driven design and service that evoke meaning, belonging, and a profound sense of discovery. As the management arm for Blue Flag Capital's growing hospitality portfolio, CMH combines operational excellence with creative storytelling to craft soulful, memorable destinations that reflect the culture, character, and spirit of the communities they serve. www.collaredmartin.com

SOURCE Blue Flag Capital
Leading M&A Advisory Firm Continues to Strengthen Its Position as a Trusted Advisor in the Franchise Services Sector

JUPITER, Fla., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Boxwood Partners, a leading boutique investment bank, is pleased to announce the sale of Franchise Creator, LLC ("Franchise Creator" or the "Company"), a portfolio company of Liftout Capital, to Franchise FastLane, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital. The Company's partnership with Liftout has helped accelerate the Company's growth trajectory, further solidifying its position as an industry leader in franchise services. Boxwood Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to Franchise Creator.

Boxwood advises Franchise Creator sale, expanding a leading platform in franchise development services. Post this Boxwood Partners advised Franchise Creator, a portfolio company of Liftout Capital, on its sale to Franchise FastLane, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital.

Founded in 2011 by CEO Hossein Kasmai, Franchise Creator has established itself as a premier resource for emerging and established business owners, interested in converting their business into a franchise operation. Franchise Creator's comprehensive franchise services include end-to-end franchise development, marketing, and franchise sales services. With more than 14 years in business and a trusted brand spanning food & beverage, home services, medical, retail, health & beauty, and beyond, the Company has helped brands such as Strickland Brothers, Sugaring NYC, 4Ever Young, and Sebanda Insurance scale from single locations to national franchise systems.

The Boxwood Partners deal team included Brian Alas (Managing Director), Clayton Patton (Vice President), Gio Lagnerini (Associate), and Will Moore (Associate).

"This partnership creates a compelling opportunity for Franchise Creator and its clients to benefit from a full suite of franchise servicesfrom initial formation through scaled expansion," said Brian Alas, Managing Director at Boxwood. "In partnership with Franchise FastLane, the platform can now deliver a true one-stop solution, offering franchise brands meaningful value at every stage of their growth journey. We're excited to support the Company's continued success."

Boxwood continues to establish itself as a leader within the franchise services sector, having now advised on five transactions in the sector including Franchise Creator, IFPG, Franchise Fastlane, FranDevCo, and iFranchise Group over the last three years.

"We are extremely grateful for the expert guidance provided by the Boxwood team throughout this process," said Hossein Kasmai. Founder and CEO of Franchise Creator. "Their comprehensive knowledge of the franchise sector combined with the depth of their relationships is truly unmatched, and we cannot thank them enough for finding us the perfect partner to help drive our next stage of growth."

Franchise FastLane's acquisition, backed by Southfield Capital, will support Franchise Creator's continued expansion of its franchise development platform, further growth of its service offerings, and strategic initiatives aimed at capitalizing on the rapidly growing demand for outsourced franchise consulting and development services.

Boxwood Partners continues to strengthen its role as a trusted advisor across the franchising ecosystem, having advised on numerous deals on both the buy- and sell-side. To learn more, please visit www.boxwoodpartners.com.

About Boxwood Partners

Boxwood Partners, LLC, is a boutique investment bank based in Jupiter, Florida with offices in Richmond, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina. Boxwood Partners combines a unique blend of senior-level transaction advisory, business operating experience, and proven process execution skills to give its clients a distinct advantage in the market. The firm's extensive relationships within the global capital and buyer communities (including U.S. and international private equity groups, corporations, and lenders) and other essential transaction-related service providers such as consultants, attorneys, and accountants, ensure that the firm's clients receive the attention, service, and results they deserve. For more information about Boxwood Partners, please visit www.boxwoodpartners.com.

About Franchise Creator

Franchise Creator Franchise Creator is a leading franchise consulting firm, specializing in turning businesses into successful franchise brands. Franchise Creator provides end-to-end franchise consulting services including franchise strategy, development, marketing and sales, to help brands expand nationally and internationally through franchising. Learn more at www.franchisecreator.com.

About Liftout Capital

Liftout Capital is an investment holding company investing in lower middle market founder owned services companies. With deep sector expertise in industrial and business services, Liftout partners with management teams to drive long-term growth through a flexible, partnership-oriented investment approach. Learn more at liftoutcapital.com.

About Franchise FastLane

Franchise FastLane is a leading franchise sales organization that partners with emerging and high-growth franchise brands to accelerate unit expansion through a proven sales and marketing engine. Backed by Southfield Capital, Franchise FastLane combines deep franchise expertise with a data-driven approach to connect qualified franchise candidates with the right opportunities. Learn more at franchisefastlane.com.

About Southfield Capital

Southfield Capital is a private equity firm focused on investing in and building lower middle market companies through operational excellence, growth initiatives, and strategic acquisitions. Learn more at southfieldcapital.com.

SOURCE Boxwood Partners LLC


Extensive Soil Anomalies Confirm Priority Drill Targets

Sydney, Mar 24, 2026 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Pantera Minerals Limited ( ASX:PFE ) ( PTMLF:OTCMKTS ) provided an exploration update on its 100% Gillham project, covering ~5,000 acres in southwest Arkansas, USA. Results from the first modern exploration program have identified significant antimony, silver, gold and base metal anomalism, supported by high-grade rock samples and historical workings, highlighting the potential for multiple mineralised zones and advancing priority drill targets at the Gillham Project (See figure 1*).



First modern exploration assays from the Gillham Project have delivered high-grade antimony and base metal results, validating the project's potential and accelerating progress toward a maiden drill program.



HIGHLIGHTS



First pass rock chip sampling confirms high-grade antimony and base metal mineralization across multiple prospects, confirming the project's exploration potential.



- Significant results include:



- 3.92 percent Sb, 0.47 percent Pb, 10.3g/t Ag (GR008)



- 1.1 percent Sb, 1.32 percent Pb, 6g/t Ag, (GR009)



- 1.59g/t Au (GR021)



- 0.47g/t Au (GR016)1.96 percent Cu, 1.465 percent Zn 0.29 percent Pb (GR019)



- 4.79 percent Pb, 0.22 percent Cu, 20.5g/t Ag (GR041)



- 0.85 percent Sb (GR001)



Soil sampling has defined strong antimony anomalism, with peak values of 2,660ppm and 1,205ppm Sb, highlighting the scale of the mineralized system.



Coincident soil and rock sampling anomalies support the presence of multiple vein systems within the project area.



Two standout coherent coincident Sb-As-Zn-Pb anomalies (~500m strike) present as high priority drill targets.



Barnaby Egerton-Warburton, Executive Chairman and CEO, commented:



"These initial results provide highly encouraging validation of the Gillham Project, with high-grade antimony in rock chips up to 3.92 percent Sb directly associated with exceptional soil anomalies, up to 2,660ppm Sb. These results define coherent and compelling drill targets with the scale and continuity of the geochemical footprints supporting the presence of a potentially significant underlying mineralised system.



Importantly, previously unrecognised gold anomalism identified at West Gillham highlights the broader fertility of the system providing additional upside potential.



With multiple high-confidence targets now defined across a meaningful strike extent, we are advancing rapidly toward a maiden drilling program, which we expect will be a key value inflection point for the Company."



RECONNAISSANCE ROCK SAMPLING



Results have been received for the 46 rock chip samples (GR001-GR046) collected across the Gillham project area from old workings, mine dumps, sub crop and outcrop.



This represents the first ever modern exploration program undertaken at Gillham, confirming the historical results and validating the prospectivity of the project area.



Importantly, no drilling has been conducted across the Gillham project, highlighting the significant exploration upside and potential for new discoveries.



Stewart Prospect:



Historical records indicate the Stewart Mine produced ~1,000 tonnes of Stibnite, highlighting the prospect's established antimony endowment (Figures 1 & 4*).



Recent sampling has further validated and upgraded the prospect, returning high-grade results up to 3.92 percent Sb and +1.1 percent Sb, confirming strong antimony mineralisation and ranking it as a priority drill target.



Significant Results included:



- 3.92 percent Sb, 10.3g/t Ag, 0.47 percent Pb, (GR008)

- 1.1 percent Sb, 6 g/t Ag, 1.32 percent Pb, (GR009)



Davis Mine



The Davis Mine represents the largest historical operation within the Gillham Project area, with extensive underground development and favorable geological structures (Figure 5*).



Mineralisation is associated with structurally control zones within shale and siltstone units, with deformation along northeast-trending faults supporting fluid flow and metal deposition.



Recent rock-chip sampling has confirmed significant base metal and silver mineralisation, reinforcing the prospectivity of the area and its potential for follow-up drilling.



The two main shafts at Davis dip steeply to the to the north, with host units comprising shales and black siltstones dipping approximately 40 degrees to 60 degrees north.



Structural deformation along bedding planes and northeast-trending faults is evident at the shaft collars, with the overall strike of units and the vicinity estimated at approximately 070 degrees (ENE).



Significant results included:



- 1.96 percent Cu, 1.465 percent Zn 0.29 percent Pb (GR019)

- 4.79 percent Pb, 0.22 percent Cu, 20.5 g/t Ag (GR041)

- 0.31 percent Cu, 0.98 percent Zn (GR017)



New Prospect Areas



Multiple new prospect areas have been identified, reinforcing Gillham's potential to host district-scale polymetallic mineralised systems. Key areas include:



Andrews Gold Prospect:



The Andrews gold prospect is located approximately 2km west of the Davis Mine along a similar east-west structural trend and represents a newly recognised target not identified in historical records (Figure 5*).



Reconnaissance mapping identified several shallow historical diggings (~1-2m deep) with mineralised quartz mullock exhibiting iron staining, fine sulphides and evidence of sulphide depletion, supporting the presence of a prospective mineralised system.



Significant results included:



- 1.59 g/t Gold (GR021)

- 0.47 g/t Gold (GR016)



South-east Davis:



A series of historical diggings were identified ~400m to the ESE of the Davis Mine. Where four rock samples were collected from shaft walls and nearby outcrop (Figure 5*).



Three of the four samples returned anomalous gold mineralisation, highlighting the potential to extend mineralisation within the Davis area.



Anomalous gold values included:



- 0.16g/t gold (GR037)

- 0.13 g/t gold (GR036)



Antimony Bluff:



Several historic mine shafts have been identified at the Antimony Bluff mine site, highlighting established mineralisation within a favourable geological setting.



The local geology comprises shale unit dipping at ~55 degrees to the North, with a sandstone horizon forming the hanging wall. Mineralised quartz veins are interpreted to occur along the footwall contact and follow consistent east-west structural trends, in line with the broader project geology.



Significant results included:



- 0.85 percent Sb (GR001)

SOIL SAMPLING



Pantera Minerals completed first pass soil sampling program across five priority target areas, defined through detailed geological and structural interpretation.



A total of 1,411 soil samples were collected on a 100 x 50m grid with soil material taken from 20-30cm depth and sieved to -2mm to obtain a 300-500 gram sample.



Peak soil results returned 2,660ppm Antimony (Sb), 680ppm Zinc (Zn) and 1,245ppm Lead (Pb) highlighting strong multi-element anomalism across the project.



The sampling program in the Eastern License has defined two distinct and coherent antimony anomalies (~400m and ~500m strike) along the Stewart/May trend, supported by coincident arsenic (+30ppm), Lead (+80ppm) and Zinc (+80ppm) anomalism.

The two anomalies follow the interpreted E-W trend and extend ~400m and ~500m in strike length, respectively. The western anomaly is supported by coincident high-grade rockchips with results up to 3.92 percent Sb and 1.1 percent Sb. Both anomalies are linked by a broader +1ppm Sb trend extending over 2,000m along strike, highlighting the scale and continuity of the mineralised system.



The eastern high-grade anomaly remains untested by mapping or rock sampling and represents a high-priority follow-up target.



In the Western Gillham Project, the historic Davis Mine is defined by a +80ppm lead anomaly with coincident +80ppm zinc and minor arsenic anomalism, while the newly identified South-East Davis gold prospect coincides with a +30-ppm arsenic soil anomaly, warranting follow-up field investigations across additional unexplored arsenic anomalies in the area.



The company is highly encouraged by the results of the first-phase geochemical sampling program, which has successfully defined multiple high-priority targets and supports ongoing advancement toward drilling. Further exploration activities are planned to refine and expand these targets.



Pantera is executing a U.S.-focused critical minerals strategy, advancing Gillham toward drilling while continuing to assess additional high-impact opportunities to build a diversified portfolio of strategically positioned assets.



Next Steps:



- Infill soil sampling and targeted rock sampling to refine anomalies.



- Detailed mapping and advancement of drill planning



- Assessment of additional U.S. - based mineral project opportunities to complement the Company's strategy



*To view tables and figures, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/649H8FB0





About Pantera Minerals Limited





Pantera Minerals Limited (ASX:PFE) (OTCMKTS:PTLMF) is a forward-looking critical minerals exploration and development company focused on advancing projects in critical minerals across the United States with a particular focus on its projects located in Southwest Arkansas.

With newly acquired mineral leases covering historically productive ground, Pantera is positioned to re-establish exploration in a district that has seen no systematic modern work for nearly a century.

The Company is committed to leveraging modern exploration methods  including geochemistry, geophysics, and advanced modelling  to unlock value in regions historically mined for critical minerals, which are recognised by the U.S. government as essential to supply chain security.

Related Companies


Signs offtake Agreement extension with Traxys Europe S.A.

Sydney, Mar 24, 2026 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Group 6 Metals Limited ( ASX:G6M ) announced the signing of a multi-year offtake agreement extension with prominent global commodities trading firm, Traxys Europe S.A. ("Traxys").



The extended agreement which comes into immediate effect, provides significant benefits for both parties and ensures G6M's continuity of access to global tungsten markets through a highly respected and trusted raw materials trading house. Under this agreement, G6M will be delivering to Traxys a minimum of 10,000 MT of WO3 contained in scheelite concentrates over the next several years, with prices linked to spot APT prevailing prices.



At current APT prices and AUD/ USD exchange rates, the minimum contract value equates to US$1.75 billion over 6 - 8 years.



Group 6 Metals Executive Chairman Kevin Pallas said:



"We are proud to have concluded this significant agreement and to be closely associated with Traxys. Working together with this global leader in the raw materials industry provides Group 6 Metals with access to the entire spectrum of tungsten concentrate consumers. We are now able to leverage Traxys' extensive market network and importantly, benefit from Traxys' participation in various Government initiatives for securing supply chains of critical raw materials, such as the recently announced US$12 billion Project Vault.



"Having worked with the Traxys team over the past several years, we have forged a close relationship in which Traxys has been very supportive during our production ramp-up. The extension of our offtake agreement commits a significant portion of our future tungsten concentrate production to Traxys, and we are excited about the opportunities that such a partnership will bring to our stakeholders."



Traxys' CEO Mark Kristoff said:



"The extension of our contract with a high quality, reliable partner, reinforces Traxys' position in the tungsten market and improves the resilience of our critical minerals trade flows as demand continues to evolve. We aspire to a bright future together with Group 6 Metals."



Traxys' Head of the Specialty Metals division, Ioannis Kallinikos, said:



"This agreement provides certainty to our current supply position but also serves as a platform for further collaboration with Group 6 Metals in their growth journey to become a leading producer of tungsten raw materials globally. Traxys is committed to creating value for our suppliers and customers in the tungsten space, by putting our best foot forward to solve problems and mitigate risks for miners and processors alike."



In conclusion Mr Pallas said:



"This offtake agreement represents a very significant value proposition to G6M and underpins our future revenue stream as we progress the Dolphin Tungsten project on King Island."



About Traxys



TRAXYS is a physical commodity trader and merchant in the metals and natural resources sectors. Its logistics, marketing, distribution, supply chain management, and trading activities are conducted by over 450 employees in over 20 offices worldwide, and its annual turnover reaches ~USD 10 billion. TRAXYS is engaged in sourcing, trading, marketing, and distributing non-ferrous metals, ferro-alloys, minerals, industrial raw materials, and energy.



The Group serves a broad base of industrial customers and offers a full range of commercial and financial services. TRAXYS is committed to the highest internationally recognized principles for responsible business conduct, and to ensuring that its operations are equitable, sustainable, and transparent. TRAXYS premises its practices on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards that enable Traxys to set a leading example for the responsible sourcing and trading of metals and minerals.





About Group 6 Metals Ltd





Group 6 Metals Limited (ASX:G6M), previously known as King Island Scheelite Limited (ASX:KIS), is an Australian resources exploration and development company. The Company's name honours tungsten as Group 6 Metals' first commodity project (The Dolphin Mine) under development, as tungsten is a member of Group 6 of the periodic table along with chromium and molybdenum, as well as being a critical mineral and a geopolitically strategic resource.

The Company is focused on redeveloping its Dolphin Mine located on King Island, Tasmania. Initially, the focus is on producing a high-grade tungsten concentrate with longer-term plans to value-add the product for supply to the upstream tungsten industry.

Related Companies
Beth & Rip's story continues. Watch the Yellowstone spinoff, premiering May 15, 2026, only on Paramount+.

AceShowbiz - Yellowstone fans have a new reason to celebrate as the highly anticipated spinoff series focusing on Beth and Rip is set to premiere on Paramount+ on May 15, 2026. The show, currently titled Dutton Ranch, will follow the lives of the beloved couple played by Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, continuing their story beyond the conclusion of the original series in December 2024.

The characters of Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler were first introduced when Yellowstone debuted in 2018, quickly becoming fan favorites for their complex relationship and strong presence in Montanas rugged landscape. After the original show ended, it was confirmed that this powerful duo would return in a new series centered on their life away from the larger Dutton family drama.

Despite early references to the spinoff as "Dutton Ranch," Hauser clarified in a May 2025 interview with Fox News Digital that the official title was still undecided at that time. However, the series has since been formally named Dutton Ranch. Hauser expressed enthusiasm about the project, noting, "We can expect the same that we've been doing for the last seven years, Kelly and I going and working our ass off trying to create something special."

Since its inception, Yellowstone has spawned multiple spinoffs, fueled by the rich narrative of the Dutton family, owners of the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. The original series final season saw Beth and Rip relocating with their adopted son, Carter (played by Finn Little), to a smaller ranch in Montana, setting the stage for the new show to explore their fresh challenges and personal growth.

The upcoming series will delve into Beth and Rip's efforts to maintain peace and build a future together, away from the turbulent dynamics of the Dutton clan. According to the official synopsis, the couple is "grateful for peace after they sought, fought, and nearly died for with their 7,000-acre Dutton Ranch." With new hardships and fierce competition on the horizon, the series promises to depict their struggle to survive while guiding Carter on his path to manhood.

The cast of Dutton Ranch boasts several notable additions from the wider Taylor Sheridan universe. In August 2025, it was announced that Annette Bening would join the show as Beulah Jackson, described as "the powerful, cunning, and charming head of a major ranch in Texas." This casting brought significant excitement as Bening is a high-profile addition to the ensemble.

September 2025 brought more casting updates: Ed Harris is set to portray Everett McKinney, a seasoned veterinarian with a compassionate touch and a good sense of humor. Alongside him, Jai Courtney will play Rob-Will, characterized as an imposing and unpredictable ranch foreman, adding layers of tension and drama.

Further announcements in October 2025 expanded the ensemble with fresh faces. Natalie Alyn Lind joined as Oreana, "a striking young woman with a wild and free spirit." Marc Menchaca was cast as Zachariah, a former inmate aiming to rebuild his life as a wrangler and cowboy. Juan Pablo Raba will appear as Joaquin, a resourceful ranch worker who solves problems big and small. Lastly, JR Villarreal will take on the role of Azul, a whipcord wrangler and Rips trusted right-hand man.

The plot of Dutton Ranch is set in South Texas, where Beth and Rip confront new challenges far removed from the shadows of their past in Montana. The series synopsis highlights the brutal realities they face and the emergence of a relentless rival ranch determined to protect its empire at all costs. The narrative promises to explore themes of survival, loyalty, and the high personal stakes involved in maintaining power and legacy.

While the original Yellowstone saga revolved around the expansive Dutton family, this spinoff will offer a more intimate look at Beth and Rips partnership and family life. Fans can expect the same intensity and emotional depth that defined their characters throughout the original series, along with fresh conflicts and alliances unique to this new chapter.

As anticipation builds for the May 2026 premiere, viewers are eager to see how the relationship between Beth and Rip evolves amid the harsh realities of ranch life and new adversaries. The combination of high-profile cast members, compelling storylines, and the creative vision of Taylor Sheridans universe ensures that Dutton Ranch will be a significant addition to the Paramount+ lineup.

Overall, the spinoff offers a continuation of a beloved story with a blend of familiar faces and intriguing new characters, promising to deliver the drama and grit that fans have come to expect from the Yellowstone franchise.
PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson's "Stateside" hits No. 1 globally after Alysa Liu's Olympic gold medal skate. A historic chart moment for both artists.

AceShowbiz - The collaboration between PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson on the track Stateside has soared to the No. 1 spot on both the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. This rise in popularity followed a memorable moment when figure skating champion Alysa Liu skated to the song during her exhibition performance at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on February 21, shortly after winning the first U.S. womens figure skating gold medal in 24 years.

PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson each celebrate their first No. 1 achievement on these prestigious global charts. PinkPantheress notably becomes the second consecutive British artist to claim the top position, following Harry Styles' "American Girls," which debuted at No. 1 the previous week. This marks a continuation of a strong UK presence on the charts, which in 2022 included a remarkable 21-week streak at No. 1 on the Global 200 by British acts like Glass Animals, Styles, and Kate Bush.

In addition, PinkPantheress is the first English female artist to lead these charts since Adele with "Easy on Me" in 2021. Meanwhile, Zara Larsson becomes the first Swedish artist to top the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts since their inception in September 2020.

Alongside their success, Dominic Fike enters the top 10 on both charts for the first time with his refreshed track "Babydoll," originally released in 2018. This resurgence highlights the ongoing impact of streaming and global sales on artist visibility worldwide.

The Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts are compiled by Luminate, which gathers streaming and sales data from over 200 territories. The Global 200 includes worldwide data, while the Global Excl. U.S. chart excludes U.S. figures. Rankings are calculated using a weighted formula that accounts for official streams from both paid and ad-supported tiers across audio and video platforms, as well as download sales from full-service digital music retailers worldwide. However, sales from direct-to-consumer sites are excluded from the rankings.

During the tracking week of March 13-19, Stateside led the Global 200 with 47.7 million streams, a slight 6% decrease, and sold 2,000 units worldwide, marking a 2% increase. The song also dominated the Global Excl. U.S. chart with 31.7 million streams, down 4% outside the U.S.

Meanwhile, HUNTR/X's "Golden" climbed from No. 8 to No. 2 on the Global 200 after spending 18 weeks at No. 1 between last July and December. The song saw a 9% increase to 40.1 million streams and a 93% jump in sales to 12,000 units globally in the week ending March 19. This spike followed the tracks Academy Award win for Best Original Song on March 15, alongside its parent movie, KPop Demon Hunters, which won Best Animated Feature.

Other notable moves on the Global 200 include Olivia Deans "Man I Need," rising from No. 4 to No. 3 after previously peaking at No. 2; "American Girls" falling to No. 4; and Bruno Mars "Risk It All" sliding from No. 3 to No. 5, two weeks after debuting at No. 1.

Dominic Fikes "Babydoll" made a significant leap from No. 17 to No. 7 on the Global 200, bolstered by a 13% rise to 41.8 million streams worldwide. Concurrently, Fike's "White Keys," released in November, jumped from No. 47 to No. 30, and he secured another top 40 hit with "Love Hangover," featuring JENNIE, which reached No. 29 in February 2025.

On the Global Excl. U.S. chart, "Golden" soared from No. 7 to No. 2 after a record 20 weeks at No. 1 from July to January. Taylor Swifts "The Fate of Ophelia" climbed from No. 4 to No. 3 after eight weeks at the top between October and February. Olivia Deans "Man I Need" rose from No. 5 to No. 4, while Bad Bunnys "DtMF" slipped from No. 3 to No. 5 after four weeks at No. 1 beginning in February. Additionally, "Babydoll" jumped from No. 14 to No. 7 with 29.1 million streams outside the United States, up 13%.

The weekly Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts dated March 28, 2026, will be updated on Billboard.com on Tuesday, March 24. The top 100 positions on both charts are publicly accessible, while the complete 200-song rankings are available on Billboard Pro, Billboards subscription service. Fans and industry professionals can follow the latest chart news via @billboard and @billboardcharts on social media platforms X and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider for Billboard, rigorously reviews all incoming data submissions used to compile weekly rankings. In collaboration with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed according to established standards to ensure chart integrity before final publication.

As Stateside continues to resonate with audiences worldwide, buoyed by its Olympic exposure and strong streaming performance, the track exemplifies the dynamic interplay between music and cultural moments that drive chart success in todays global music market.
NOVATO, Calif., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Brayton Purcell LLP has released Episode 12 of its podcast, From Dust to Verdict, delivering a comprehensive examination of the February 19, 2026 Cal/OSHA Standards Board meetingan event that may determine whether California will prohibit fabrication and installation of countertops made from crystalline silica artificial stone, a material composed of at least 90% silica with nanosized particles and approximately 10% additional toxic metals, resins and dyes and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The episode discusses the life-or-death implications for the state's countertop fabrication workforce amid the accelerating epidemic of silicosis tied to artificial stone.

Cal/ OSHA at the crossroads. Host James Nevin asks, "Will California ban crystalline silica artificial stone, or let workers continue to die while foreign manufacturers make billions?"

Physicians and Public Health Experts Warn of a Worsening Epidemic

Host James Nevin, partner at Brayton Purcell LLP, walks listeners through testimony presented by occupational medicine physicians, public health leaders, and Cal/OSHA's own scientific staff. Their message was unequivocal: artificial stone is uniquely toxic, cannot be fabricated safely by human beings even with advanced controls, and has driven an unprecedented surge of accelerated silicosis in California.

Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, director of the California Silica Support and Research Network at UCSF, described diagnosing young workersoften fathers in their twenties and thirtieswith incurable, progressive lung disease requiring lung transplantation. She warned that current and proposed enforcement-based approaches are failing and risk pushing fabrication work further underground, making the epidemic harder to trace and control.

Dr. Kimberly Brayton, an attorney and physician with Brayton Purcell LLP, emphasized that silicosis cases are occurring across hundreds of fabrication shops, including those using wet methods and following Cal/OSHA protocols. Her testimony underscored that disease is occurring despite compliance, not because of its absence.

Dr. Robert Blink, speaking for more than 600 occupational health physicians with WOEMA, explained that fabricating crystalline silica artificial stone would require exposure reductions of 1,000 to 3,000foldlevels achievable only with "spacesuitlevel" protection, making safe fabrication by humans impossible.

Cal/OSHA Scientific Staff Confirm Artificial Stone's Unique Toxicity

Cal/OSHA medical and scientific personnel reinforced that crystalline silica artificial stone is fundamentally different from natural stone. While natural stone fabrication historically produced no silicosis cases, artificial stone has produced near-daily cases, driven by nanosized silica particles and added chemical toxins.

Even highly sophisticated shops investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment were unable to keep silica levels below lethal limits, confirming that compliance alone cannot prevent disease.

Foreign Slab Manufacturers Oppose a Ban and Promote Criminal Enforcement

Foreign slab manufacturers and Cambria representatives argue that noncompliancenot the productis the problem. They urged criminal prosecution of shop owners instead of prohibiting artificial stone. Episode 12 details how these proposals ignore medical science, misrepresent the cause of the epidemic, and risk shifting blame onto alreadyvulnerable workers.

A Defining Moment for California

The Cal/OSHA Standards Board has not yet voted on WOEMA's petition. A formal recommendation memo is expected at an upcoming meeting. Episode 12 lays out the central choice before the Board: adopt a prohibition supported by medical science and public health experts, or allow continued fabrication of a uniquely hazardous product while workers face a fatal, entirely preventable disease.

About Brayton Purcell LLP

Brayton Purcell LLP is a nationally recognized law firm with decades of experience advocating on behalf of individuals and families harmed by toxic exposures, including those impacted by artificial stone. The firm remains committed to transparency, public education, and accountability within industries linked to hazardous materials.

Media contact:

Nolan Lowry

[email protected]

415-399-3107

SOURCE Brayton Purcell LLP
Sofia Coppola & Kirsten Dunst's fifth film collaboration is cancelled. Explore their iconic partnership and the projects that defined it.

AceShowbiz - Sofia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst were set to collaborate on their fifth feature film together, but recent updates have confirmed the project has been cancelled. The pair, known for their long-standing creative partnership, have worked on several acclaimed films over the years, including The Virgin Suicides (1999), Marie Antoinette (2006), The Bling Ring (2013), and The Beguiled (2017).

Kirsten Dunsts rise in Hollywood was notably boosted by early roles in films like Spider-Man and Interview with the Vampire, with The Virgin Suicides becoming a cult classic that solidified her status. Their collaboration has been praised for its unique storytelling and artistic vision, making the cancellation of their latest project a significant disappointment for fans.

In a recent interview with Elle magazine, Sofia Coppola shared insights into her current creative pursuits, including a documentary titled Marc by Sofia, which explores the life and work of American fashion designer Marc Jacobs. However, she also delivered the unfortunate news about the mysterious new film with Dunst. According to Coppola, the project was ultimately abandoned.

"It felt too sad. It's confusing in these dark times. I want to offer some hope and beauty in the world, but then you also don't want to do something shallow, because it feels like a time for deep things," Coppola explained, highlighting the emotional complexity behind the decision to halt the film.

The cancelled film was expected to mark the fifth collaboration between Coppola and Dunst, following their last joint project in 2017. The film was initially announced when Dunst mentioned in an interview with Town and Country Magazine that she had just read the script for Coppolas next film, which they planned to produce together the following year. Journalist Mickey Rapkin noted, "Dunst has a few projects she's set to star in (including a mermaid story with Anora's Mikey Madison), and she tells me she has just read the script for Coppola's next film, which they'll make together next year."

Meanwhile, Coppolas most recent major release, Priscilla, offered a fresh perspective on the life of Priscilla Presley and her relationship with Elvis Presley. The film was noted for its intimate portrayal of their early years, providing a deeper interpretation compared to other depictions. This release followed Baz Luhrmanns Elvis biopic and his concert documentary titled EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert.

During the Elle interview, Coppola also expressed her growing passion for documentary filmmaking and revealed her fascination with pop icon Britney Spears. She mentioned her hope to be involved in future projects about Spears life, stating, "Supposedly Jon Chu is doing it. But I hopeyeah, I would love to do that story."

Fans of the director-actor duo continue to hope for a future reunion on screen, though it remains uncertain if The Beguiled will be their final collaboration. In discussing her career trajectory, Coppola reflected on the challenges she faced with Marie Antoinette in 2006, when the industry doubted the commercial viability of films targeted primarily at female audiences. She recounted, "It was like, 'It has to have a boy as the central character.' They actually told me that you can't make a movie that a boy wasn't going to go to."

Coppolas films have inspired countless women worldwide, and despite this recent setback, there is optimism that she and Dunst will collaborate again in the future. For now, however, their fifth project remains officially shelved, leaving fans to cherish their previous work together.
Reacher star Alan Ritchson under police investigation for alleged assault on neighbor in Tennessee. Details on the reported altercation.

AceShowbiz - Alan Ritchson, star of the Prime Video series Reacher, is currently under investigation by police following an alleged assault involving his neighbor in Brentwood, Tennessee.

The incident reportedly began over the weekend when Ritchson and neighbor Ronnie Taylor had a series of confrontations. On Saturday, Taylor allegedly made an obscene gesture toward Ritchson as he rode his motorcycle through the neighborhood. The following day, tensions escalated when Ritchson returned on his motorcycle, and Taylor asked him to stop the noise disturbance.

This interaction reportedly led to a physical altercation in which Taylor claims Ritchson punched him four times. According to Taylor, the exchange turned violent after he pushed Ritchson while the actor was approaching on his bike. Taylor says he was then struck in the back of the head, causing him to fall and cover himself to protect against further blows.

Brentwood Police Captain Steve Pepin confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the department is investigating the matter but emphasized that no arrests have been made at this time. Requests for further comment from the Brentwood Police Department to other outlets have not been immediately returned.

In a video interview with TMZ, Taylor showed visible bruising on his forehead and expressed that while he does not hold malice toward Ritchson, he felt compelled to "take a stand" against the motorcycle noise he described as disruptive to the neighborhood.

The situation remains under review as local authorities gather information and assess the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault. Both parties initial interactions appear to have stemmed from neighborhood disturbances involving motorcycle noise and gestures, which unfortunately escalated into violence.

This developing story highlights tensions that can arise in residential areas and the importance of resolving disputes without resorting to physical confrontation. Further updates will depend on the outcome of the police investigation.
Sakamoto Days anime Season 2 is coming! Plus, get details on the 2026 live-action film. Thrilling battles & unique story await.

AceShowbiz - Sakamoto Days, the popular action comedy manga by Yuto Suzuki, first began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in November 2020. Since then, it has earned a strong reputation for its thrilling battles, engaging characters, and unique storyline, quickly becoming a standout title in the magazine.

Following its success as a manga, Sakamoto Days was adapted into an anime series in 2025, with the first season running for two cours. Fans were thrilled when the second season was officially announced during Jump Festa 2026 in December of last year, although further details about the new season have yet to be released.

In addition to the anime, a live-action adaptation of Sakamoto Days is scheduled to premiere in Japanese theaters on April 19, 2026. The film is generating significant buzz among fans due to its acclaimed action sequences and carefully chosen cast. Notably, the live-action project will be released in two parts, with the possibility of more news emerging after the first installments debut in April.

As anticipation builds, Yuto Suzuki recently opened up about his impressions of the film. In his authors notes, which appear regularly in the mangas chapters in Japan and are translated globally through Viz Medias Mangaka Musings, Suzuki expressed his admiration for the film. Upon watching an early screening, he shared, "I watched the Sakamoto movie! The action and the actors were so cool! Great music too!"

While Suzukis comments in Mangaka Musings are brief and do not delve deeply into the films details, his enthusiasm offers strong reassurance to fans that the adaptation is faithful and impressive. This endorsement is significant, given that creators are often very selective about how their work is represented in other media.

Since the announcement of the live-action adaptation, Suzuki has continuously shown his support. Earlier in the year, he praised the cast featured in the film, noting their cool and fitting performances. This ongoing encouragement from the original creator highlights the collaborative spirit behind the adaptation.

The film is directed by Fukuda Yuichi, who brings experience from writing screenplays for notable live-action projects such as Gintama Live Action the Movie. Among the cast, Meguro Ren, a prominent Japanese actor and member of the idol group Snow Man under Smile Up, is set to portray the protagonist Taro Sakamoto. Their involvement has further elevated expectations for the films quality and appeal.

Meanwhile, fans can currently stream both parts of the first season of the Sakamoto Days anime exclusively on Netflix. For those interested in the original manga, it is available through the official Manga Plus app as well as the Viz Media website, which also offers options to purchase physical and digital volumes.

As the April release date for the live-action film draws near, the excitement surrounding Sakamoto Days continues to grow. Suzukis positive remarks, combined with the experienced director and talented cast, make this adaptation one to watch for fans of the series and newcomers alike. The two-part film promises to bring the mangas dynamic action and humor to life on the big screen in a way that honors the original work.

Fans are encouraged to share their thoughts and join discussions about the film and anime adaptation in the ComicBook Forum, fostering a community eager to celebrate this expanding franchise.
Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" makes history with 4 weeks at #1 on Billboard Hot 100, setting a new record for female country artists.

AceShowbiz - Fans are captivated by Ella Langleys hit song Choosin Texas, which has now spent its fourth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This achievement sets a new record for a female artist who has also reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, surpassing previous milestones.

Before Langley, the record was shared with Taylor Swift for her 2012 hit We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, which held the top Hot 100 spot for three weeks. Now, Langley stands alone with the longest reign at No. 1 among female country artists on the Hot 100.

Her four-week run doubles the time spent at No. 1 compared to three other country hits by women that topped the Hot 100 for two weeks each: Beyonces Texas Hold Em in 2024, and Dolly Partons classics Islands in the Stream with Kenny Rogers (1983) and 9 to 5 (1981).

In addition to dominating the Hot 100, Choosin Texas has now held the No. 1 position on the Hot Country Songs chart for 17 weeks and also leads the Streaming Songs chart, highlighting its widespread popularity.

The song, co-written by Langley, Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick, and Joybeth Taylor, tells a story of regret. The narrator reveals how she inadvertently caused her boyfriend to return to his ex by moving him from Tennessee, known as the Volunteer State, to Texas, the Lone Star State.

Throughout the lyrics, there are several references to songs, cities, and cultural elements associated with both Texas and Tennessee. Billboard has examined these mentions, noting that while Texas features prominently, the song cleverly balances nods to both states.

One notable mention is Abilene, a city in west central Texas famously celebrated in George Hamilton IVs 1963 No. 1 country hit Abilene. It's the place where the storys protagonist brings her love, only to regret the decision soon after.
Sequel confirmed! Get all the latest news on 'Red, White & Royal Wedding' release date, cast, and what's next for Alex & Henry's love story.

AceShowbiz - The beloved romantic film Red, White & Royal Blue successfully transitioned from Casey McQuistons bestselling novel to the screen in 2023, earning a nomination for Best Television Movie at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. Released on Prime Video in August 2023, the film stars Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex Claremont-Diaz, the First Son of the United States, and Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Henry of England, chronicling their heartfelt love story.

Following the original films popularity and strong fan demand, a sequelunofficially referred to as Red, White & Royal Weddingwas approved and completed filming by early 2026. Hollywood Life has compiled all the latest information about what lies ahead for Alex and Henry.

Red, White & Royal Blue 2 Release Date Insights

On May 9, 2024, the cast and crew hosted a post-screening Q&A in Los Angeles where both director Matthew and author Casey McQuiston confirmed they were actively writing the sequel. When questioned about a follow-up film, Matthew excitedly affirmed its development to an enthusiastic audience.

More than a year later, Prime Video officially announced the sequels progress with an Instagram video titled Red, White & Royal Wedding. The project will be directed by Jamie Babbit, signaling a continuation of the beloved story.

Anticipated Release Timing for Red, White & Royal Wedding

While an exact premiere date remains unconfirmed, the cast revealed that filming wrapped in early March 2026. Given typical post-production timelines, the movie could potentially debut late in 2026 or early 2027 if all proceeds smoothly.

Plot Expectations for Red, White & Royal Wedding

Contrary to fan speculation that the sequel would center around Alex and Henrys wedding, actors Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine clarified in a January 2026 behind-the-scenes video that the wedding referenced in the title actually belongs to Bea, a supporting character. Filming in Manchester, England, suggests the narrative will explore Alex and Henrys adjustment to life in New York City.

Taylor Zakhar Perez further teased to VMAN magazine that everythings shifted now that Alex is in a committed relationship with Henry. He explained in March 2026, Alex is in a committed, real relationship with Henry, hes graduated from law school, and hes more self-aware and more settled in his identity. The storys focus has evolved beyond questions of sexuality or secrecy to new challenges involving life, love, career, and the world around them.

Is There Another Book After Red, White & Royal Blue?

There is no official sequel novel following Red, White & Royal Blue. However, in October 2022, Casey McQuiston released a bonus epilogue chapter as part of a collectors edition. Told from Henrys perspective, this chapter jumps forward seven years after the original storys events.

Within this epilogue, readers learn that Alex and Henry are engaged and planning their wedding. They reside in a Brooklyn brownstone Henry purchased after stepping back from his royal duties. Alex is grappling with whether he wants to continue his high-powered legal career. Ultimately, the couple chooses a quieter life outside the spotlight, moving to Austin, Texas, Alexs hometown, by the chapters end.

Casey McQuiston hinted at the possibility of expanding the story further in 2019, saying, Anythings possible. I will say I have plenty of ideas for stories set in this world and would love the chance to explore one of them someday. I would be surprised if youve seen the last of Alex and Henry.

How the Red, White & Royal Blue Movie Ends

The film adaptation closely follows the books conclusion. Its final moments take place on election night, with Henry standing by Alex as President Claremonts team anxiously awaits results. The outcome hinges on Texas, where Alexs mother successfully flips the state to win the election.

The victory speech features Henry proudly joining Alex on stage, their relationship openly celebrated. After the political excitement, the couple visits Alexs childhood home in Austin, where Alex gives Henry a key to the house, symbolizing their deepening bond and future together.

With the sequel wrapping production and key cast members sharing insights, fans can look forward to continuing the journey of Alex and Henry as they navigate new phases of love and life in Red, White & Royal Wedding.
A queer doctor's life shatters after an accusation of misconduct. Her wife faces an impossible choice in this gripping Netflix thriller.

AceShowbiz - Accused is making significant waves on Netflix worldwide, quickly ascending to the number one spot across multiple countries shortly after its February 27, 2026 release. This psychological thriller, directed by Anubhuti Kashyap and running 106 minutes, stars Konkona Sen Sharma and Pratibha Ranta in leading roles. The films gripping narrative revolves around a celebrated queer doctor based in London whose life unravels when she faces accusations of sexual misconduct, forcing her wife into a complex dilemma of trust and truth.

Unlike Netflixs usual chart-toppers, which often include big-budget studio films or popular rewatched franchises like the Knives Out murder mysteries, Accused stands out for its intense social and emotional stakes. The story explores themes of reputation, institutional power, marriage, and public judgment, making it resonate deeply with viewers across diverse regions.

Following its release, the film rapidly climbed into the Top 10 in multiple countries and secured the number one position in India and Pakistan. It also led the charts in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Israel, Kenya, the UAE, and several other markets. According to FlixPatrols global rankings as of March 4, 2026, Accused achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the top movie on Netflix worldwide.

This international success is particularly notable given the films controversial subject matter. It challenges audiences by focusing not just on the crime itself but on the ripple effects of accusation: how doubt and suspicion spread through institutional channels like HR, the court of public opinion, and intimate relationships alike. The narratives tension lies more in the erosion of trust than in uncovering the perpetrator, setting it apart from typical thriller formulas.

Despite its popularity among viewers, Accused has faced harsh criticism from professional reviewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a low 27% critics score based on 11 reviews, with no audience score currently available. User ratings on IMDb reflect similar dissatisfaction, with a rating of 4.4 out of 10 derived from over 1,000 votes. This disparity highlights a disconnect between critical reception and viewer interest, underscoring the films ability to provoke discussion and engage audiences despite its perceived flaws.

As Accused continues to trend strongly, including a current position of #7 in the United States and prominence in dozens of other territories, it exemplifies how streaming platforms can elevate challenging and provocative stories to global prominence. The films success also illustrates the growing appetite for diverse narratives that explore complex social issues through the thriller genre.

For those interested in the dynamics behind why such films surge on streaming services despite mixed reviews, subscribing to industry newsletters can provide insightful analysis and context. These resources help decode chart movements, cultural controversies, and what ultimately captures the attention of global audiences in the ever-evolving streaming landscape.

Stay tuned to Collider for ongoing updates on Accused and other trending titles as Netflixs content offerings continue to shift worldwide viewing habits and spark conversations across cultures.
Paapa Essiedu addresses racist death threats after his casting as Severus Snape in HBO's Harry Potter series. The actor reveals the severe backlash.

AceShowbiz - Paapa Essiedu, who is set to portray Severus Snape in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series, has publicly addressed the intense backlash following his casting announcement. The actor has revealed that the reaction to his role has escalated beyond mere criticism to include death threats and racist abuse. This marks the most severe public response any of the series' principal cast members have spoken about so far.

In a candid interview with The Times, Essiedu described the disturbing messages he has received since the casting was revealed. He shared, "I've been told, 'Quit, or I'll murder you.' The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, 'I'm going to come to your house and kill you.' While I hope I'll be okay, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job."

Essiedu, who is English with Ghanaian heritage, emphasized that this is the most vicious backlash he has ever experienced in his career. Although he has not filed official reports regarding these threats, he acknowledged the difficulty of simply ignoring the harassment. "Even if you successfully ignore it, it doesn't mean it's not happening," he explained.

Despite the vitriol, Essiedu is determined not to let the abuse force him out of the role. Rather, he finds motivation in it. "The abuse fuels me," he said. "And makes me more passionate about making this character my own, because I think of how I felt as a kid. I would imagine myself at Hogwarts on broomsticks, and the idea that a kid like me can see themselves represented in that world? That's motivation to not be intimidated by someone saying they'd rather I died instead of doing work I'm going to be really proud of."

The HBO adaptation of Harry Potter officially announced Essiedu as Snape in April 2025. He is a key member of the adult cast, which also includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.

In the interview, Essiedu also reflected on the significant personal commitment involved in taking on this role. He noted, "I'll be 45 by the time I finish, and I know my life is going to change in a big way, but I have to just surrender to that."

The Harry Potter HBO series is scheduled to premiere in 2027, generating considerable anticipation amid both excitement and controversy. Essiedu's openness about the darker side of fandom reactions adds a sobering perspective to the ongoing conversation surrounding diversity and representation in major franchises.

While the backlash has been harsh, Essiedu's resolve highlights the importance of visibility and the impact it can have on audiences, particularly children who see themselves reflected in beloved stories. His determination to embrace the role despite threats underscores the challenges actors can face in high-profile adaptations but also their potential to inspire change within the industry and fan communities alike.
Josh Duhamel & wife Audra Mari are expecting a baby girl! See their sweet announcement and his excitement to become a "girl dad.

AceShowbiz - Josh Duhamel and his wife, Audra Mari, are preparing to welcome their second child together. The couple, who married in 2022, recently shared the exciting news that they are expecting a baby girl, following the arrival of their son Shepherd Lawrence Duhamel.

Audra Mari took to Instagram on March 5 to announce the pregnancy, sharing a heartfelt caption alongside a series of black-and-white photos. In the images, the mother-to-be cradled her noticeable baby bump. She wrote, Adding a little girl to our story. We cant wait to meet you.

Josh Duhamel enthusiastically responded in the comment section, expressing his excitement with a pink heart emoji and writing, Cant wait to meet that little cutie. Love you momma.

With the impending arrival of a daughter, Josh Duhamel is preparing to embrace a new role as a girl dad. In a September interview with Us Weekly, he shared, It was fun to look at some of the things that I could even do better as a dad. I work a lot, and I often have a lot of guilt about not being there as often as I could be. So I try to maybe overcompensate or do things to be there often.

Josh Duhamel also spoke about teaching his children the value of hard work and dedication. He explained, You want your kid to look and see this is what you have to do to provide for your family. So on the one hand, you cant be there all the time, because youve got to be setting an example. But on the other hand, you might be missing out on life moments that youd [be there for] if you were a 9 to 5 dad who went to work every day and came home.

Looking ahead, Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari are eagerly anticipating the arrival of their baby girl, ready to embrace the joys and challenges of expanding their family.
Discover the secret wedding of JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette on remote Cumberland Island, revealed in FX's new series "Love Story.

AceShowbiz - John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette prioritized privacy above all else when planning their wedding. Carolyn was determined to avoid the glare of public attention on her special day, refusing to be the center of a media circus. To achieve this, John suggested Cumberland Island, a remote 18-mile-long stretch off the coast of Georgia accessible only by boat or helicopter. He was familiar with the location from a past visit with a former girlfriend, Christina Haag.

This lesser-known detail is one of many revealed in the March 5 episode of FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. The show stars Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon as the couple, portraying their vow to love and honor one another until death. In reality, the couples wedding, held on September 21, 1996, was a carefully guarded secret. Without ever publicly confirming their engagement, they managed to wed in a candlelit ceremony attended by only 40 guests at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island.

Following the ceremony, the reception took place at the Greyfield Inn, the islands only commercial establishment and sole hotel. Despite Carolyns close relationship with her sisters Lauren and Lisa Bessette, she chose Johns sister, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, as her maid of honor. This gesture helped ease some tension between the families, as Caroline had expressed doubts about the couples relationship, especially after a public argument between John and Carolyn in Washington Square Park on February 25, 1996.

Caroline accepted the role, and her entire family was present for the ceremony. Her daughters Rose Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg, then aged 8 and 6, served as flower girls, while her son Jack Schlossberg, age 3, was the ring bearer. John's cousin and longtime friend Anthony Radziwill stood as best man.

John and Carolyn took extensive measures to keep the press at bay. The wedding programs were printed at the office of Johns then-new magazine, George. John personally phoned the select VIP guests just weeks before the wedding to inform them of the date. His executive assistant, RoseMarie Terenzio, managed much of the logistical planning, including a clever misdirection: booking tickets for the couple to Ireland that same weekend to throw off any suspicion.

Guest Billy Noonan later recalled in the 2019 TLC special JFK Jr and Carolyn's Wedding: The Lost Tapes, We knew we were going to a wedding but we didn't know where. The flight manifest misleadingly listed Florida as the destination, but John hinted they were not really headed there, keeping everyone guessing.

The Greyfield Inns owner initiated the marriage license process, and Shirley Wise, a clerk from Camden County Probate Court, was sent to the airport to collect the couples signatures  unaware of their identities at first. She recounted to the New York Times that once Carolyn revealed her new surname would be Bessette-Kennedy, she recognized Johns identity. Carolyn asked for discretion, emphasizing how much effort they had put into secrecy. Catering and hotel staff had even signed nondisclosure agreements to maintain confidentiality.

The brides wedding dress was designed by her close friend and fellow Calvin Klein alum, Narciso Rodriguez, who was then the creative director at Nino Cerruti. The process involved multiple trips to Paris for fittings. The final gown was a $40,000 pearl-colored silk crepe slip dress, which Narciso gifted to Carolyn as a wedding present. The dress, instantly iconic, was praised for its sensual simplicity. Narciso told the New York Times, Its a very sensuous dress. Thats what we both wanted from the beginning.

Notably, the dress had no zipper, requiring last-minute alterations so Carolyn could slip it over her head. This complication contributed to Carolyn arriving nearly two hours late to her own ceremony. John, known for his chronic lateness and occasional forgetfulness, was also late, having misplaced his shirt before the 5 p.m. party.

The couple walked down the aisle by candlelight because the church lacked electricity and darkness had fallen. This only enhanced the fairy tale ambiance. Carolyns hair was styled in a simple chignon, held by a clip that belonged to her late mother-in-law, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She carried a bouquet of lilies of the valley. Her longtime colorist Brad Johns later revealed to Vogue that he refused Carolyns last-minute request to dye her hair black, sensing something big was happening and wanting her to maintain her signature look.

John wore a dark blue suit designed by Gordon Henderson, a close friend of Carolyns, and accessorized with a watch that once belonged to his late father. Carolyn completed her ensemble with a silk tulle veil, crystal-beaded satin Manolo Blahnik sandals, and long white gloves.

Only one photograph from the wedding was ever released publicly. Renowned Kennedy family photographer Denis Reggie captured the famous image of John kissing Carolyns hand on the church steps. Reflecting on that moment in a 2021 interview on TODAY, Denis described it as a magic filled with surprise and elation and love and romance. He noted Carolyn had requested the photo to prominently showcase her dress, honoring the friendship and artistry behind it.

Narciso Rodriguez later called the dress the most important dress of her life in a 2018 Vogue interview, describing the wedding as both a highlight of his career and personal life.

The wedding day was notably free of media intrusion, despite a helicopter buzzing overhead earlier that day which turned out to be a false alarm. An anonymous guest told the New York Times it was wonderful to have no press around and expressed excitement over fooling everyone.

At the Greyfield Inn reception, the newlyweds danced to Princes Forever in My Life and cut a three-tier vanilla buttercream cake adorned with floral decorations. Two days later, while honeymooning in Turkey, a memo titled Breaking News was sent out to the staff at George magazine. John himself wrote, I just wanted to let you all know that while you were all toiling away, I went and got myself married. I had to be a bit sneaky for reasons that by now I imagine are obvious.

The FX show Love Story captures many of these authentic details but also dramatizes aspects of the couples life and wedding. The episode delves into Carolyns growing isolation in their Tribeca loft, worn down by intrusive paparazzi and tabloid rumors, including speculation about depression, drug use, and pregnancy. The story also touches on her shock upon learning about Princess Dianas tragic death, highlighting the emotional strains the couple endured in the public eye.

The real-life wedding of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette remains one of the most iconic secret nuptials in modern American history. Their careful planning, the intimate setting, and the close circle of loved ones ensured their day was a private celebration of love amid the relentless glare of fame.
Cillian Murphy returns in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, a WWII-era gangster film where Nazis and underworld collide, handled with a provocative but light...

AceShowbiz - The upcoming Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man marks the return of Cillian Murphy to the gritty British gangster saga, set against the backdrop of World War II. This new film explores a period where Nazis and British gangsters intersect, but Murphy stresses that the movie is not meant to be a heavy political treatise.

Speaking with The Sunday Times, Murphy emphasized that while the presence of Nazis is central, the film handles the subject with a light touch rather than delving into intense political discourse. He explained, "That's profoundly upsetting, but this film wears that lightly - it's not 'The Zone of Interest,' let's put it that way." He further noted his desire to avoid any work that feels preachy or dogmatic, stating that films should not dictate emotions but instead provoke questions.

The film reunites Murphy with series creator Steven Knight, who wrote the screenplay, and director Tom Harper. This project is the first return to the Peaky Blinders universe since the television series ended its six-season run from 2013 to 2022.

Murphy described the film as an entertaining action piece with emotional depth, saying, "This should be an entertaining action film with a big heart. But if you want to look closer it could be provocative too. The best mainstream entertainment operates simultaneously on those levels."

He drew a parallel between this film and his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which earned him the Best Actor Oscar. Both films, he suggested, offer a dual experience as grand cinematic spectacles and thoughtful social commentaries. "If you want to talk about where we are in the world and look at how close we are to nuclear f-king Armageddon, you can think about 'Oppenheimer' in that way. But if you just want to look at a great film with big explosions then that's cool as well," he said.

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is scheduled for release in select cinemas on March 6, followed by a Netflix premiere on March 20.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookdale Senior Living, the nation's largest operator of senior living communities, has been named a "Best Pet Workplace" by WUF World, an organization dedicated to celebrating the human-animal bond. The certification signifies Brookdale's commitment to pets as a central part of resident and associate life. Brookdale is the first senior living operator to receive this designation.

Brookdale Senior Living, the nations largest operator of senior living communities, has been named a Best Pet Workplace by WUF World, an organization dedicated to celebrating the human-animal bond. Speed Speed

"Pets bring joy, comfort, love and companionship to our residents and associates every day," Brookdale Chief Executive Officer Nick Stengle said. "They are an important part of the experience at Brookdale. Extending this philosophy to our Community Support Center team through the Best Pet Workplace certification is a significant milestone in our industry. We believe supporting the well-being of our associates ultimately enhances the high level of care and compassion we deliver to residents and their families every day."

Brookdale earned this recognition in part for the pet-friendly environments across its communities, where many residents live with their pets, often enjoy visits from therapy animals, and utilize dog walking services where Brookdale at Home is available.

Community Support Center associates can now bring their dogs to work, fostering connections and strengthening workplace culture. The Best Pet Workplace certification provides structured guidelines to help ensure a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for associates and their pets. The company also supports pet parents with benefits such as pet insurance that includes virtual veterinary visits.

"Our goal at Brookdale is to create places to live and work where residents and associates feel truly supported," Brookdale's Chief Human Resources Officer Jaclyn Pritchett said. "The Best Pet Workplace certification provides us with a valuable framework to have dogs in our offices and communities nationwide. We're excited about the positive impact this will have on engagement, collaboration and overall well-being. We look forward to experiencing the strong and loving bonds between associates and their dogs firsthand."

"We are proud to collaborate with Brookdale Senior Living, whose leadership recognizes the power of the humananimal bond to strengthen workplace culture," WUF Co-Founder and CEO Clinton Misamore said. "By formally integrating pet-inclusive practices, Brookdale is setting a new standard for connection, belonging, and employee and resident experience in senior living."

For more information about Brookdale, visit brookdale.com.

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. is the nation's premier operator of senior living communities. With 584 communities across 41 states and the ability to serve approximately 51,000 residents as of December 31, 2025, Brookdale is committed to its mission of enriching the lives of seniors through compassionate care, clinical expertise, and exceptional service. The Company, through its affiliates, operates independent living, assisted living, memory care, and continuing care retirement communities, offering tailored solutions that help empower seniors to live with dignity, connection, and purpose. Leveraging deep expertise in healthcare, hospitality, and real estate, Brookdale creates opportunities for wellness, personal growth, and meaningful relationships in settings that feel like home. Guided by its four cornerstones of passion, courage, partnership, and trust, Brookdale is committed to delivering exceptional value and redefining senior living for a brighter, healthier future. For more information, visit brookdale.com or connect with Brookdale on Facebook or YouTube.

About WUF

WUF is dedicated to fostering happier pets, healthier people, and stronger workplaces. Through our Best Pet Workplaces Certification and Pets Behind the People storytelling platform, we enable employers to meaningfully support pet-loving employees and design benefits that reflect modern life.

WUF partners with leading employers to integrate pet-inclusive policies and programs into Total Rewards and employee engagement strategies - recognizing the needs of pet parents as a meaningful component of overall employee wellbeing. The humananimal bond is a powerful catalyst for connection, stress reduction, social cohesion, and physical and mental health, strengthening individual resilience and workplace culture alike.

By advancing a pet-inclusive employee experience, WUF helps employers deepen belonging, elevate morale, and drive performance across the enterprise.

For more information, visit www.wuf.world

Contact: Media Relations, 615-564-8666, [email protected]

SOURCE Brookdale Senior Living
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure expands! Steel Ball Run anime hits Netflix, plus a groundbreaking live-action series with an original TV-only storyline.

AceShowbiz - The JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise is expanding with exciting new adaptations set to thrill fans worldwide. On March 19th, the series is returning to Netflix with the eagerly awaited release of the Steel Ball Run arc, following Johnny Joester and Gyro Zeppeli as they race across America in pursuit of their deepest desires.

However, the latest news reveals more than just a new anime installment. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has officially announced a fresh live-action adaptation that stands out for its originality. Unlike previous adaptations that closely followed the manga, this upcoming live-action project will present a completely new storyline created for television, marking a unique entry in the franchise's history.

While the franchises live-action history includes a film based on the Diamond is Unbreakable arc, its most notable adaptations have centered around the character Kishibe Rohan. The live-action series Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan not only produced multiple episodes but also two feature-length films: Rohan au Louvre and Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: At a Confessional. These works explored the manga artist's quest for inspiration through supernatural encounters.

The new live-action story, titled Izumi Kyoka Does Not Shut Up, will shift the focus away from Rohan himself to his editor, Izumi Kyoka. This fresh narrative is authored in collaboration with the original creator, Hirohiko Araki, ensuring authenticity while exploring uncharted territory within the series.

Izumi Kyoka is a new character in the JoJo universe who differs significantly from Rohan. Unlike Rohan, she does not possess a Stand, the supernatural powers central to much of the franchise, which introduces a new dynamic and potentially more suspenseful scenarios. The story is set to premiere in Japan this May, and it remains unclear whether Kyoka will gain a Stand during the events, but fans are eager to see how her character evolves.

Actress Marie Iitoyo, who portrays Izumi Kyoka, recently shared her excitement about the project and her role in this original story. She reflected on her seven years of involvement with the Kishibe Rohan series and expressed surprise and honor at being cast as the lead in a storyline that breaks new ground. According to Iitoyo, Hirohiko Araki was directly involved in creating the script, which brings a fresh perspective on Kyokas character and the supernatural elements she will encounter.

She described Kyoka as a "being of light" with a positive and proactive attitude, emphasizing that the new episodes are produced by a team passionate about maintaining the spirit of the JoJo world, even with new writers and directors onboard. The challenge for Kyoka will be solving supernatural conflicts without Rohans usual presence, which adds a compelling twist to the narrative.

This new live-action project marks a significant expansion for the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise, demonstrating its willingness to innovate beyond the manga's original stories. Fans can anticipate an intriguing blend of supernatural suspense and character-driven drama when Izumi Kyoka Does Not Shut Up premieres, offering a fresh perspective on the beloved universe.

As anticipation builds, viewers are encouraged to share their thoughts and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum, where discussions about the franchises evolving adaptations continue to thrive.

Alongside this, the franchise maintains momentum with the upcoming English dub trailer release for the Steel Ball Run anime, further solidifying JoJos presence on Netflix and in global pop culture.

With multiple projects spanning anime and live-action formats, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure continues to expand its storytelling landscape, blending original content with fan-favorite arcs to keep audiences engaged and eager for what comes next.
Jayme Lawson praises Michael B. Jordan & Delroy Lindo's grace after a BAFTA outburst, criticizing the event's failure to ensure true inclusion.

AceShowbiz - Jayme Lawson, star of Sinners, commended her co-stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo for their dignified response to a disturbing incident at the 2026 BAFTA Awards. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the NAACP Image Awards, Lawson expressed admiration for how they managed a racial slur shouted at them during the ceremony.

The incident involved John Davidson, a Tourettes advocate who was broadcasted shouting the N-word at Jordan and Lindo on live television. Davidsons condition, coprolalia, causes involuntary offensive outbursts. While the audience was informed of Davidsons disability, Lawson argued that the organizers failed to take adequate measures to protect both Davidson and the individuals targeted by his outbursts.

Institutionally, we still don't understand what inclusion means, Lawson said. She emphasized that simply inviting someone into a space without providing the necessary support to ensure everyone's safety is not true inclusivity but exploitation. That mans disability got exploited that night, and it led to multiple offenses, she added, highlighting the lack of care shown by the events organizers.

The BBC aired the incident but controversially only showed Davidsons use of the N-word, omitting his other outbursts. Lawson criticized the broadcasters decision, stating it demonstrated a careless disregard for the Black actors involved. She also revealed that the BBC cut out the phrase Free Palestine from director Akinola Davies Jr.s speech, who is Black, further underscoring what she sees as selective censorship.

Lawson pointed out that the production designer for Sinners was also subjected to the N-word during the event, an aspect that received little attention. She accused the BBC and the BAFTAs of valuing Black art but failing to protect the dignity and humanity of Black artists. You do not care for our dignity, our humanity. You want to celebrate our art, but you wont protect it, she said.

The BBC defended its editing choices by citing time constraints. However, Lawson found this explanation unconvincing, especially since the phrase Free Palestine was also muted during the BRIT Awards, suggesting a pattern of censorship rather than a simple timing issue.

The controversy raises important questions about how institutions approach inclusion and the responsibility they have to safeguard all participants, especially when disabilities and sensitive issues intersect. Jayme Lawsons outspoken critique shines a light on the ongoing challenges faced by marginalized communities in high-profile events and media coverage.
Ryan Gosling surprises Eva Mendes with a birthday tribute on live TV. A rare public appearance for the private couple.

AceShowbiz - Ryan Gosling made a heartfelt gesture for his wife, Eva Mendes, during an appearance on "The Tonight Show" on March 5, 2026. The usually private couple made a rare public appearance, marking their first official event together since 2013.

Gosling was promoting his new sci-fi thriller, Project Hail Mary, in which he stars as Dr. Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher and the lone astronaut on a mission to save Earth. After discussing the film, he seized the moment to honor his wife on her birthday right on the show.

He told the audience, primarily made up of teachers, that it was Eva's birthday, and that she was present in the studio. He shared a charming detail that Mendes still treasures her hall monitor sash from childhood, which is displayed in their home, illustrating her fondness for educators. Gosling then invited the audience to sing "Happy Birthday" for her before a staff member escorted Mendes to the stage.

The actress, dressed casually in jeans, a striped sweater layered over a John Lennon and Yoko Ono T-shirt, expressed her appreciation for educators. "We owe so much to you guys. You're so underpaid ... just thank you so much," she said warmly, acknowledging the audience.

Gosling introduced band directors from North Bergen High School, who were in attendance. To Mendes' delight, the school's band appeared from behind the curtain, carrying a large banner that read, "Happy Birthday, Eva!" The band then performed the birthday song as confetti fell, creating a festive atmosphere. The couple shared affectionate moments before host Jimmy Fallon gave out passes to see Gosling's film to the audience.

This event marked a significant moment as it was the first time the couple publicly appeared together at an official event since they walked the red carpet promoting their 2013 film The Place Beyond the Pines.

Earlier in the interview, Gosling praised his co-star in Project Hail Mary, German actress Sandra Huller, highlighting a standout singing scene in the film. He explained how Hullers singing talent came to light unexpectedly on set.

Gosling recalled hearing her sing from her dressing room and asking if she could perform in the movie. Two days later, they filmed a karaoke scene where Huller chose to sing Harry Styles 2017 hit, "Sign of the Times." The song became a key thematic element of the film after Styles gave permission for its use, which Gosling attributed to Styles being "as cool as you think he is."

In addition to promoting his film, Gosling spoke about his upcoming fourth time hosting Saturday Night Live, where he will be joined by the musical group Gorillaz, making their SNL debut. Reflecting on his previous hosting stint in 2024, he shared a memorable story about a sketch involving Beavis and Butt-Head, which he enthusiastically embraced.

He described how he volunteered to play Beavis after hearing the writers' idea for a serious take on the characters. His enthusiasm and performance were highlights of that season, demonstrating his comedic versatility.

The birthday surprise for Mendes on "The Tonight Show" was a touching public display of affection from one of Hollywoods most private couples. Their close bond was evident as they enjoyed the moment together, sharing smiles and kisses amid the celebration.

Fans and viewers can watch the birthday surprise segment starting at the 15:20 mark of the episode for a full look at the heartfelt tribute.

This rare appearance and celebration underscore the couples strong relationship and mutual respect, especially highlighting Mendess admiration for educators and her dedication to family, despite their low-profile lifestyle.

Gosling continues to balance his acting career with personal moments like these, offering glimpses into the couples life that fans rarely see but deeply appreciate. The heartfelt birthday tribute on national television was a memorable occasion for both the couple and the audience alike.
The transaction, by the Prudential Assurance Company Limited (Prudential), M&Gs wholly-owned subsidiary providing life and pensions solutions, is part of 1.5 billion of BPA deals completed by M&G during 2025. The Trustees of the Scheme selected M&G due to its strong financial position and administration capabilities. The Trustees also welcomed M&Gs commitment to working in partnership to ensure excellent member experience was maintained following the buy-in. LCP acted as the lead transaction adviser for the Plan, as well as Scheme Actuary and investment adviser. Gowling WLG provided legal advice to the Trustees on the contractual terms and Squire Paton Boggs provided legal advice to the Trustees on the benefits being insured. The deal is M&Gs first transaction using LCPs streamlined buy-in service, which simplifies the buy-in process for smaller schemes through pre-negotiated contracts with enhanced terms, making transactions faster and more cost effective. M&G is a founding member of the BPA market and has a strong track record in pension risk transfer, backed by a robust balance sheet and commitment to customers. Looking ahead, M&G continues to strengthen its position through product innovation to support long term growth in the market and achieve its ambition of 3-4 billion per year in BPA transactions by 2027. Rosie Fantom, Head of Bulk Annuity Origination & Execution at M&G, said: Were pleased to have worked with the Trustees of the Panasonic UK Pension Plan to deliver a solution tailored to the Plans needs, securing the benefits of around 650 scheme members. The transaction benefitted from having pre-agreed terms in place under LCPs streamlined buy-in service which allowed us to execute the transaction in just over three weeks after agreeing exclusivity. Our ability to execute transactions quickly and effectively reflects M&Gs strength and expertise in the market and we will continue building on this to support trustees in managing pension risk and deliver certainty for members. Lisa Mundy, Professional Trustee, BESTrustees, said: We are absolutely delighted to have completed this deal with M&G, where the Trustee's number one priority was to secure the long-term pension benefits of our members. With the strong support of Panasonic and the guidance of LCP we are pleased to say that we have achieved just that. Peter Rawson, Partner, LCP, said: We are delighted to have supported the Trustees in securing a full buy-in with M&G. This was the third buy-in completed by the Trustees using LCPs streamlined buy-in service, and the first with M&G. This transaction demonstrates that, when a scheme is well-prepared and there is strong collaboration with the sponsor, trustees can act quickly to take advantage of market opportunities. Through the LCP streamlined buy-in service, the Trustees were able to run an expedited process securing strong terms, whilst still undertaking a thorough selection and due diligence process.
Former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Joe Kent, resigned, raising two issues. First, does Kents experience equal wisdom? In his case, no. And second, was he correct in his resignation letter that Israel is really why were at war? Again, the answer is no.

Advertisement

Kent, a former Democrat and Bernie Bro, shows an ideological flexibility that seems more grounded in opportunity than in conviction. Regardless of his position, he argues, implicitly and explicitly, that his military servicesomething he volunteered for lends weight to his views. He implies that, having been there, he sees more clearly.

It turns out that the anti-Israel, anti-war crowd is flexible about whether experience matters. It turns out not to matter when someone experienced opposes their position. A glaring example occurred during an April 10, 2025, debate between Douglas Murray and Dave Smith on The Joe Rogan Experience, in which Smith made arguments similar to Kents. Smiths anti-war, anti-Israel position carried weight because he is ostensibly Jewish (although its doubtful hes very familiar with the Torah), while Murrays firsthand experience in the Gaza War theatre (because of his pro-Israel views) was dismissed.

Advertisement

So, no. For the anti-Israel crowd, experience matters only if it supports their positions. Thats pure hypocrisy and should be discounted.

The next question is whether Israel forced the U.S. into war, and thats a more serious question. Certainly, Israel has an interest in destroying Irans current governing system. Before Operation Epic Fury, Israel bore the full brunt of direct attacks from Iran and fought on its own against Iran and its proxies.

Advertisement

The October 7, 2023, attacks and previous ongoing missile barrages underscore the fact that Israel has always faced and continues to face persistent and immediate threats from Iran and its proxies. Only an ideologue with a sociopolitical axe to grind would argue otherwise. As early as 2001, former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani spoke openly about the devastating impact a single nuclear strike could have on Israel. For Israel, the danger is not theoretical.

If you are gullible enough to believe that Irans nuclear program is for peaceful civilian use, you havent asked why Iran has simultaneously developed a broad and deep arsenal of ballistic missiles that are kept deep underground. Might these be historys first peaceful ballistic missiles? These are the very ballistic missiles that are being fired at Israel and were just fired over 4,000 km at Diego Garcia. Israel is an easy target for a nuclear Iran.

Advertisement

Israel responds to reality with persistent vigilance, including with systems like Davids Sling and Iron Dome, designed to intercept incoming attacks. For decades, Israelis have lived under constant threat of rockets and missilessomething no other nation would be expected to tolerate indefinitely. Their experience reinforces a simple lesson: repeated threats, especially when paired with action, must be taken seriously.

But what about America?

Advertisement

Until this month, the only US involvement was on June 2122, 2025, Operation Midnight Hammer, when the USAF carried out coordinated strikes against Irans nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Israel might have done this itself, but it does not possess bomber aircraft with the capacity to deliver such ordnance. Only the US possesses the B-2.

So why did America step up? Does Iran pose an imminent threat to the United States? Kents apparent argument is that such a threat exists only when Iran possesses fully operational nuclear weapons, the capability to deliver them, and has launched them. This definition of imminent is deeply flawed. A threat does not become real only upon impact.

Advertisement

The concept of preemptive self-defense is not new. Even outside religious or philosophical frameworks, it is widely understood that waiting until an attack is underway can be too late. The question of imminence is not about the final moment before launch or impact, but about recognizing credible intent and capability before irreversible harm occurs. To argue otherwise risks reducing national security to reactive guesswork.

Historical context matters. Since the Islamic Republics foundingmarked by the seizure of the US Embassy and the hostage crisisAmerica has been labeled the Great Satan, and chants of Death to America have been a consistent feature of the regimes rhetoric. These are not isolated incidents but part of a longstanding posture.

Although Americans are unwilling to recognize it as reality, the Islamic Republic of Iran is and has been at war with the US (and Israel) since 1979. As with any totalitarian regime, its driven ostensibly by ideological and practically by the necessity of a scapegoat for its failures, political, military, and, in Irans case, ecological, for it has inadequately addressed a severe water crisis.

Kents reasoning, therefore, raises concerns. If an adversarys hostility is clear, its capabilities are advancing, and its rhetoric consistent, then dismissing a known threat until the last moment is not cautionit is denial. The same logic has failed catastrophically in other historical contexts, including the events leading up to 9/11.

Another troubling aspect of this debate is the suggestion that Israel is simply a dependent actor, relying on the US for defense, or that its influence in American politics is uniquely disproportionate. This framing ignores both Israels demonstrated military independence and the broader reality of international influence.

Israel is not just another country in the regional or historical sense. It is the only liberal democracy in a volatile region and has repeatedly shown both its ability and the courage to defend itself. Its significance is not only geopolitical but also cultural and religious. The Holy Land holds deep meaning for billions of people worldwide. Reducing it to a passive beneficiary of US support strips away this complexity.

At the same time, discussions of influence focus disproportionately on pro-Israel lobbying while overlooking other sources of foreign funding and engagement. Wealthy states in the Middle East have invested heavily in Western institutions, particularly universities, for decades. These contributions, which total in the tens of billions, dwarf those of the pro-Israel lobbies and nefariously shape discourse in ways seldom scrutinized.

The broader point is not to single out one group or another, but to recognize that influence in modern societies is multifaceted. Simplistic narrativeswhether about Israel, Iran, Arab oil states, or domestic politicsfail to capture the reality of competing interests and motivations. Read here about how Qatari money begets influence in Washington.

Ultimately, the debate surrounding Kents resignation highlights a deeper issue: the tension between perception and reality. It is easier to redefine threats than to confront them, easier to attribute motives than to analyze them, and easier to simplify than to attempt to understand.

But clarity matters. Misjudging threatswhether by exaggerating (COVID-19) or dismissing them (Iran)carries real consequences. Wisdom = reason + knowledge + experience. The challenge is not merely to accumulate knowledge, but to augment it with experience, then apply reason to create the wisdom that will lead to the best action for each unique situation.

Image created using AI.

Jonathan Gault is a pseudonym.
Before Washington, DC became Americas capital city, a large swath of land to the south was known as the Dismal Swamp, a place where insect-borne diseases and other perils felled early settlers. Construction since these early times has transformed the surface of the capital and nearby suburbs in the Beltway, but the threat posed by the festering swamp of unelected individuals who hold levers of power, important ones, in our vast government bureaucracy and infect the body politic has only risen.

Advertisement

Self-anointed insiders and their family members pull down compensation and other benefits from a maze of entities, posing as foundations or institutes, that boldly flout settled laws and regulations, but are never punished. If youre wondering about whats going on today, its worth looking back to how hard the George W. Bush presidency worked to protect his predecessors from scrutiny, especially on matters related to the Iran-Contra affair.

Days after the National Archivist worked with the Department of Justice and the FBI to raid Mar-a-Lago, I wondered what a librarian might have to fear about Donald Trumps return to power in 2025. For years, I also mulled over why President Trump repeatedly and haplessly managed to pick manifestly ineffective people to lead the Department of Justice as Attorney General, culminating in his first term with George H.W. Bush loyalist Bill Barr.

Advertisement

Back then, I was not aware of how far Presidents might go to bury inconvenient truths about their tenure in the White House. In the years that have passed, what former presidents say and what they do not write about in their overpaid memoirs has helped me get closer to the truth. The Clinton presidency and the decades since then help clarify this issue.

On his last day in office, Bill Clintons early morning pardons of Susan Rosenberg, Marc Rich, Pincus Green, and too many other despicable criminals ignited a firestorm. However, instead of pursuing an in-depth review of Clintons early morning clemency decisions, the FBI, Department of Justice, and IRS carried out a limited investigation into whether a supposed charity with the legal name The William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation was used to exchange contributions for pardons. This demonstrably feeble effort began in February 2001 and vanished into oblivion by early 2005.

Advertisement

Looking back, the George W. Bush administration was remarkably aggressive about protecting Reagan- and Clinton-era information. When George W. Bush assumed the presidency, he did not provide access to certain sensitive records of the Ronald Reagan administration. He should have, for they were statutorily required to become public 12 years after Reagan left office.

Invoking arguably spurious requests for more time to review Reagans Presidential Records, Bushs team waited until November 1, 2001, to issue Executive Order 13233, which flouted the clear intent and letter of the President Records Act. One of the most outrageous elements of this Executive Order (and there are many) was granting the right to assert executive privilege to heirs of presidents and to presidential designees who wished to block the release of sensitive records. So, during the entire W. Bush administration records through January 20, 2009, and Reagan-era Presidential Records that should have reached the public by January 20, 2001, were sealed up tight as a drum, as were Clinton presidency records.

Advertisement

Presidential Records for George H.W. Bushdue out starting January 20, 2005 were also cloistered under Executive Order 13233, locking them up through January 20, 2009.

What do so many have to fear going all the way back to 1981? And why did relations warm up between the Clinton and Bush families? Bill Clinton gave us part of the answer decades ago.

Advertisement

The hardcover (2004) and paperback (2005) editions of Clintons My Life are actually quite revealing in numerous respects. Writing about the controversial pardons that his predecessor, George H.W. Bush, made on December 24, 1992, effectively ending investigations into and consequences from the Iran-Contra affair forever, Clinton noted (page 457 of the hardback):

President Bush gave a big Christmas present to some former associates, and potentially to himself when he pardoned [former Defense Secretary] Caspar Weinberger and five others who had been indicted in the Iran-Contra scandal by Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh. Weinbergers trial was about to get under way, and President Bush was likely to be called as a witness. Advertisement

As an afterthought, Clinton observed:

Just two weeks earlier, Walsh had learned that the President and his lawyer, Boyden Gray, had failed for more than a year to hand over Bushs own contemporaneous notes relating to Iran-Contra, despite repeated requests to do so.

Why did George H.W. Bush and his counsel work so hard to evade producing highly relevant evidence to Independent Counsel Walsh through 1992? What knowledge, if any, did Bill Barr have about these decisions?

If regime change (for the better) occurs soon in Iran, perhaps we may finally learn more about what actually happened under Reagan, Bush, and then-Governor Bill Clinton, when numerous parties defied the law to send money to Central American rebels through leaky foundations, including the National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty, the Nicaraguan Refuge Fund, and the Nicaraguan Development Fund.

Who cooked up these schemes, and how widely have similar schemes been employed by Republicans and Democrats alike?

The use of ostensibly tax-exempt organizations to siphon taxpayer funds back to the families of influential politicians and to the donor class, while also meddling in foreign and domestic affairs, should certainly be included in the expanded remit that Vice President Vance and Treasury Secretary Bessent have been given to fight fraud.

With the benefit of hindsight and the looming potential to gain deeper access into historical records in America and in relevant foreign countries, especially including Venezuela and Iran, the time has come to revisit how the presidency, until it hit the Trump wall, has spent decades embracing unregulated globalismand how this rush has been aided with tax-exempt organizations tied to former presidents and their cronies.

Over the years, John Solomon has made steady progress unwrapping some of the ways that swamprats seem to have subverted elections, beginning with the election on November 6, 2012.

Meanwhile, the Trump Administration should expand its mission to release sensitive files and expose how dynastic political families in both parties have used nominally tax-exempt organizations to augment power and attract personal wealth, especially including the Bush family; Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton; Joe and Jill Biden; and Barack and Michelle Obama.

Image created using AI.
The Russia-collusion saga ranks among the boldest political deceptions in modern American memory -- not for the facts it revealed, but for the damning realities it worked so hard to obscure.

Advertisement

What started as a desperate deflection from one candidate's scandals exploded into a years-long assault on democratic norms -- because the FBI and Department of Justice actively abetted it: protecting Clinton's corruption, suppressing the Russian memos that exposed it, and redirecting their fire toward Trump.

In my new book, Clinton Hoax, Obama Coup: The Declassified Story of the Trump-Russia Delusion, I lay bare the intercepted Russian intelligence memos -- raw, internal reports never meant for American eyes -- that accurately captured what was unfolding in Washington.

Advertisement

These weren't propaganda; declassified U.S. records, including John Durham's investigation, CIA Director John Brennan's handwritten notes, and Sally Yates's directives, confirmed their key elements: Clinton's team pushing a Trump-Russia narrative to deflect from her scandals, high-level briefings on the plan, and pressure to bury Clinton probes.

These memos exposed an uncomfortable truth the "hoax" architects still refuse to face -- and the book puts the full declassified picture together for the first time.

Advertisement

Here are just five revelations from Clinton Hoax, Obama Coup, each more damning than the last, that together form a portrait not of foreign meddling, but of domestic rot.

First, the FBI permitted alleged Russian intruders to prowl Democratic National Committee servers for months unchallenged. Warnings began in late 2015, yet the Bureau never seized the hardware, never conducted its own forensic examination, never compelled full access. This was no mere bureaucratic lapse; it was a studied refusal, born of political calculus in an election year where one party's nominee faced existential legal peril.

Advertisement

Second, that peril supplied the motive for obstruction. Hillary Clinton's private email server and the Clinton Foundation were under active scrutiny -- investigations that, if widened by FBI agents examining DNC communications, risked exposing corruption, pay-to-play schemes, and deleted evidence of far greater consequence. The convergence of two probes -- one into foreign intrusion, the other into domestic scandal -- was intolerable. Better to let potential adversaries linger than invite federal agents into the very servers that might bury a presidential campaign.

Third, as early as January 2016, the FBI had in hand intercepted Russian memos outlining Clinton's calculated plan to frame Donald Trump as a Russian asset -- a deflection from her own vulnerabilities. These reports referenced private Democratic communications the Russians claimed to possess, and senior Bureau and DoJ officials were briefed long before the public ever heard of a "hack." One must ask: When agents later pressed for DNC metadata, were they merely chasing hackers, or quietly testing Moscow's intelligence against American reality?

Advertisement

Fourth, the memos laid bare Democratic admissions of guilt and cover-up. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, in one January dispatch, conceded that the FBI lacked "persuasive evidence" against Clinton only because of "timely deletion of relevant data from mail servers." Others implicated Barack Obama in directing Attorney General Loretta Lynch to pressure Director James Comey and described the use of "all administrative levers" to smother the Clinton probes. The irony is profound: Russian intelligence, in its raw candor, resurrected scandals the Obama administration had desperately interred.

Fifth, the entire "Russian hack" edifice rested on outsourcing attribution to private firms because the FBI could not -- or dared not -- provide conclusive proof. A memo detailed Clinton's approval of advisor Julianne Smith's plan to elevate "Putin's support for Trump" to scandalous heights, disseminated through "FBI-affiliated" cybersecurity entities like CrowdStrike and ThreatConnect. The Bureau obliged by handing the investigation to CrowdStrike -- led by a former senior FBI cyber official -- rather than assert jurisdiction.

Advertisement

This maneuver evaded evidentiary rigor, shielded Clinton from scrutiny, and manufactured the narrative Democrats required: a foreign villain to eclipse domestic corruption.

These revelations are not conjecture; as detailed in Clinton Hoax, Obama Coup, they align with declassified U.S. findings -- Durham's probe, Brennan's notes, Yates's directives -- proving the Russian reports observed reality, not invented it.

Yet Julianne Smith, central to the alleged framing operation and a veteran of Biden's national security circle, escaped the subpoenas and scrutiny that befell far lesser Trump figures. The double standard is not accidental; it is emblematic of a justice system that protects its own.

What we confront here is no isolated episode, but a symptom of institutional decay: when the guardians of law become instruments of political survival, when evidence is buried to preserve power, when foreign intelligence inadvertently exposes what domestic authorities conceal.

The true scandal of 2016 was not Russian hacking, but the willingness of American elites to subvert their own republic to shield one candidate and destroy another.

Civilizations endure when truth is pursued without fear. They falter when institutions prioritize protection over justice.

The Russian memos, once dismissed, now demand reckoning -- not for what they say of Moscow, but for what they reveal about us.

Drew Thomas Allen is a columnist for The Daily Signal, a conservative author, and publicist who hosts The Drew Allen Show. He is the author of Americas Last Stand, For Christ and Country: The Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk, and his latest book, Clinton Hoax Obama Coup: the Declassified Story of the Trump-Russia Delusion.

Image: Post Hill Press
Last year, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a native of New Jersey, ran for the governorship of Virginia. Her platform was that she was a moderate, playing well with Northern Virginia voters, a hotbed of liberalism in the state. She stated that she had law enforcement experience and was a former CIA Case Officer and congresswoman. During her campaign, she claimed that she was not in favor of gerrymandering. She claimed she wanted common sense gun control.

Advertisement

Northern Virginia had dealt with the federal downsizing and the election was more of a referendum on their hatred of Donald Trump rather than what was good for the state. Spanberger played into that perfectly.

One of her running mates, Jay Jones, had gone so far as to say he wanted to shoot his opponents and their children and, piss on their graves. Spanberger refused to call for him to step down in the campaign. In retrospect, that was a clue, an early warning as to how radical she was. Still, she put on a positive spin, smiles and handshakes, claiming she was a moderate, who argued that she would run to bring about affordability.

Advertisement

It was all a facade -- a lie.

Spanberger was a manufactured candidate, a package which was sold to voters by the Democrat party. Her law enforcement experience was as a postal inspector. As Democrats secured control of the General Assembly and Senate, they, along with the new governor, began one of the most dramatic and sweeping changes to ever hit a state.

Advertisement

Her very public views of being against gerrymandering were cast aside. In violation of the states constitution, the Democrats pushed for a change to the district. Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Charlottesville would control the new districts. Where before, Democrats held five seats, and the Republicans four; the new maps left Republicans with a shot at one representative.

All this was positioned as a response to what Texas and other states were doing. Barack Obama was trotted out to say it was the right move. Most Virginians, however, felt that the issues in other states needed to be dealt with there that punishing half of the citizens of Virginia was not the right answer. The Democrats went so far as to say on the bill, it was to restore fairness. To Republicans in the state, it was akin to a declaration of war. They would be governed by people who didnt share their values or even know where they lived.

Advertisement

Spanberger wasnt done. Despite claiming she was in favor of affordability, she implemented a raise of the income taxes, a new digital and service tax (so your online purchases would cost more), a transportation delivery tax, taxes on storage units, dog walking (no, Im not kidding), ammunition, guns, and landscaping equipment. Virginia, which had a massive budget surplus, should have been in a position to do away with the property tax on automobiles, something she ran in favor of. Instead, it levied more new taxes than had ever been done in the Commonwealth before.

Virginia Democrats and Spanberger werent done there. Sixteen new gun laws were drafted, approved, and are awaiting her signature. Some weapons are banned. Those that arent banned, are going to be illegal to transport. One of the gun laws allowed Democrat lawmakers to be exempt from the new laws, because they had the need to defend themselves. While this was changed in the final bill, it was a classic example of laws for thee, not me. There was a revolt over these bills, one not covered in the mainstream media. Over 120 Virginia municipalities have declared themselves as Second Amendment Sanctuaries, refusing to enforce her dictatorial grab at guns in the state. They stand as patriots, refusing to play games with the Second Amendment.

Advertisement

The Democrats are gleeful in the angst they have inflicted. Spanberger was even chosen to give the rebuttal to the State of the Union Address. Rumors have her preparing for a run for the Presidency. Shes the latest darling of the progressives.

This could all very well backfire on the Democrats running across the country. Virginia should be held up as an example of any Democrat candidates calling themselves moderates. Spanberger should be made the poster child for left-wing deceit and lying. Her greedy grab and abuse of power should serve as a national example of what happens when voters trust Democrats running for office. The taint of her indulgences at the expense of everyday Virginians should be held up and exposed for what they are.

Advertisement

Blaine Pardoe is a New York Times Bestselling and award-winning author canceled by one of his publishers in 2022. His conservative political thriller series, Blue Dawn, is the story of the violent overthrow of the government by radical progressives. His most recent series, Tenure, is about a Punisher-like hero that goes after the woke. He also authors the bestselling military science fiction series, Land&Sea.
Nigerian sinologist aspires to tell real stories of China

People's Daily Online) 09:51, March 24, 2026

The China-proposed Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) has created a platform for dialogue and exchanges among countries, Uzodinma Chinenye Gerlof, a young Nigerian sinologist, recently said in an interview.

Marking the initiative's third anniversary this year, Gerlof stressed that only by deepening understanding through exchanges and building trust can countries work together to tackle global challenges.

Gerlof, who goes by the Chinese name Li Mingcheng, is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the World Sinology Center and the Belt and Road Academy of Beijing Language and Culture University, where he focuses on cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

At the 2025 World Chinese Language Conference held in Beijing from Nov. 14-16, 2025, 61 young sinologists from 51 countries wrote a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, sharing their experiences gained through studying China. They expressed their commitment to deepening their research on China and serving as bridges for communication among civilizations.

Gerlof was among the sinologists who initiated the letter. Soon afterward, they received a reply from Xi encouraging them to serve as messengers to help connect Chinese civilization with others around the world.

The reply left Gerlof deeply encouraged. "It strengthened me to want to do more, research more. So it's kind of boosts your morale to keep working and keep researching to connect the two countries, my country and China," he said.

His fascination with China took root early. "Talking about me as a child, I used to watch Chinese movies. It wasn't just only the Kung Fu, it was about the whole Chinese culture," he said.

Living and studying in China has only deepened that connection. "Being here, I've seen firsthand how an ancient civilization has woven itself into modern life, and how traditional culture is being passed down and protected," he said.

This year also marks the 70th anniversary of China-Africa diplomatic relations and the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. As both a witness and a participant, Gerlof sees this as an opportunity to deepen China-Africa relations, break down stereotypes and enhance mutual understanding through people-to-people exchanges, putting the bilateral partnership on a stronger, more enduring footing.

For Gerlof, being a sinologist comes with a clear sense of mission: to serve as a platform to tell the real China story, to connect China and the rest of the world and connect the rest of world with China. Toward that end, he expressed hope of helping the world understand China and China understand the world through translations and stories.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
With Centric Shoppingfeed fully live on Temu, sellers can manage their product listings, inventory and orders more efficiently as they expand into new markets

CAMPBELL, Calif., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Centric Software is pleased to announce that Temu, the global e-commerce company, has partnered with Centric Shoppingfeed to support sellers with opportunities for greater efficiency and scalable growth.

Temu

The partnership connects Temu's marketplace with Centric Shoppingfeed's technology platform, enabling sellers to manage their product listings, inventory and orders more efficiently as they expand into new markets. With the service now live, merchants using Centric Shoppingfeed can connect to Temu while maintaining consistency across their broader multichannel operations.

Centric Software delivers innovative, integrated AI-powered enterprise solutions to take products from concept to commercialization. Home, consumer electronics, food & beverage, cosmetics & personal care as well as multi-category retail companies can plan, design, develop, source, comply, buy, make, price, allocate, assort, sell and replenish products to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.

Designed to reduce operational complexity for sellers, the solution streamlines catalog management and stock synchronization, allowing businesses to focus more on growth and less on manual processes. Centric Shoppingfeed supports more than 1,000 global sales and marketing channels, including over 200 online marketplaces and 800 product distribution and promotion tools such as Google Shopping, Meta, Criteo and Awin.

Fabrice Canonge, CEO of Centric Software says, "We are very pleased that Temu has partnered with Centric Software to enable scaling for both Temu and its sellers through smooth onboarding and automation of tasks. We are excited about further synergies between our two companies and are thrilled to support Temu's continued, rapid growth trajectory."

The full rollout of the Centric Shoppingfeed integration aligns with Temu's wider efforts to open its platform to Europe-based sellers. Temu has expanded its Local Seller Program in more than 20 European markets, including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. Over time, the company expects up to 80% of its European sales to be fulfilled locally.

"As more European sellers join Temu, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to manage their operations," says a Temu spokesperson. "Working with Centric Shoppingfeed means our sellers can connect once and keep everything in sync, which frees them up to focus on growing their business."

Centric Software is aligned with Temu's growth strategy in multiple areas. By combining Centric's AI technology with Temu's e-commerce expertise, the two parties have the potential to explore a new generation of intelligent retail models, setting a higher benchmark for local businesses and the cross-border e-commerce industry.

Learn more about Centric Software

Request a Demo

Temu (temu.com)

Temu is a global e-commerce platform that connects consumers with millions of manufacturers, brands and business partners. Operating in more than 90 markets worldwide, Temu is committed to offering affordable, quality products that help customers live better lives.

Centric Software (www.centricsoftware.com)

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software provides an innovative and AI-enabled product concept-to-commercialization platform for retailers, brands and manufacturers of all sizes. As experts in fashion, luxury, footwear, outdoor, home, food & beverage, cosmetics & personal care as well as multi-category retail, Centric Software delivers best-of-breed solutions to plan, design, develop, source, comply, buy, make, price, allocate, sell and replenish products.

Centric PLM, the leading PLM solution for fashion, outdoor, footwear and private label, optimizes product execution from ideation to development, sourcing and manufacture, realizing up to 50% improvement in productivity and a 60% decrease in time to market.

the leading PLM solution for fashion, outdoor, footwear and private label, optimizes product execution from ideation to development, sourcing and manufacture, realizing up to 50% improvement in productivity and a 60% decrease in time to market. Centric Planning is an innovative, cloud-native, AI solution delivering end-to-end planning capabilities to maximize retail and wholesale business performance, including SKU optimization, resulting in an up to 110% increase in margins.

is an innovative, cloud-native, AI solution delivering end-to-end planning capabilities to maximize retail and wholesale business performance, including SKU optimization, resulting in an up to 110% increase in margins. Centric Pricing & Inventory leverages AI to drive margins and boost revenues by up to 18% via price and inventory optimization from pre-season to in-season to season completion.

leverages AI to drive margins and boost revenues by up to 18% via price and inventory optimization from pre-season to in-season to season completion. Centric Market Intelligence is an AI-driven platform delivering insights into consumer trends, competitor offers and pricing to boost competitively and get closer to the consumer, driving up to a 12% increase in average initial price point.

is an AI-driven platform delivering insights into consumer trends, competitor offers and pricing to boost competitively and get closer to the consumer, driving up to a 12% increase in average initial price point. Centric Visual Boards pivot actionable data in a visual-first orientation to ensure robust, consumer-right assortments and product offers, dramatically decreasing assortment development cycle time.

pivot actionable data in a visual-first orientation to ensure robust, consumer-right assortments and product offers, dramatically decreasing assortment development cycle time. Centric PXMTM, AI-powered product experience management (PXM) encompasses PIM, DAM, content syndication and digital shelf analytics (DSA) to optimize the product commercialization lifecycle resulting in a transformed brand experience. Increase sales channels, boost sell through and drive margins.

Centric Software's market-driven solutions have the highest user adoption rate, customer satisfaction rate and fastest time to value in the industry. Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, appearing regularly in world-leading analyst reports and research.

Centric Software is a subsidiary of Dassault Systemes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D digital mock-up and PLM solutions.

Centric Software is a registered trademark of Centric Software, Inc. in the US and other countries. Centric PLM, Centric Planning, Centric Pricing & Inventory, Centric Market Intelligence, Centric Visual Boards, Centric PXM, Centric PIM, Centric DAM, Centric Shoppingfeed and Centric DSA (including Centric Digital Shelf Analytics) are trademarks of Centric Software, Inc. All third-party trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts Centric Software:

Celia Newhouse, Global Communications Director

[email protected]

Nav Sangha, Americas

[email protected]

Stephanie Dullin-Brule, EMEA

[email protected]

Kristine Kim, APAC

[email protected]

SOURCE Centric Software
During my teaching days, the first thing my high school students did every day was copy common Latin words and phrases from the board into their notebooks. Wed translate and discuss them and point out how Latin informs our language and how often Latin appears in our daily lives. Ars gratia artis appears over the head of the MGM Lion at the beginning of every Metro Goldwyn Mayer film. My kids delighted in telling me how amazed their parents and friends were when they translated itart for arts sakewhen they attended an MGM movie.

Advertisement

Faithfully copying and translating those words and phrases was part of their semester grades, and they got extra credit in pop quizzes for knowing them.

We understand BC to mean before Christ, but most think AD is after death, which presents a problem. If thats the case, how do we account for the 30-33 years Jesus lived?

Advertisement

Christ is also not Jesus last name. Mary and Joseph werent Mary and Joseph Christ. Christ means Messiah, more specifically the Messiah prophesied by the Jews. It comes from the Greek Christos, which means the anointed one or the chosen one. The Hebrew term is MashiachMessiah. So Jesus Christ is Jesus the anointed one, Jesus the chosen one, or Jesus the Christ--Jesus the Messiah.

AD, rather, is anno dominiin the year of our lord. We live in AD 2026, the year of our Lord, 2026, 2026 years after His birth. The British Museum is not amused. Nor is it apparently, much concerned with historical accuracy:

Advertisement

Graphic: X Post

Advertisement

Wait a minute. Why would the British Museum, of all august institutions, ignore Christianity, and whats this about BCE--Before the Common Era--and CE--Common Era?

Advertisement

Graphic: X Post

Thats what my studentsWyomingites and Texansasked. I explained they probably wouldnt see those acronyms unless they attendedas Kurt Schlichter saysthe university of college.

Advertisement

But why? my kids would ask.

"Because few, if any, professors want to acknowledge Jesus, Christianity or the transformative effect He, and Christianity, have had on mankind, Id reply.

Well, thats stupid, theyd say.

Yes, it is, and it explains a lot.

Some suggest Americas troubles began when we took Jesus, Christianity and prayer out of the classroom. That narrow assertion is well-intentioned but false.

As the old aphorism goes: so long as there is algebra, there will always be prayer in school.

If one is going to properly teach history or literature, one must make frequent references to Christianity and the Bible. Kids and teachers may pray in school; they just cant do it in disruptive ways. Kids cant jump up in the middle of English class and call down Gods wrath on their evil English teacher. They cant pray silently or loudly when they should be paying attention or doing schoolwork.

Kids and teachers can carry and read Bibles in school, but again, not in disruptive ways. I had multiple versions of the Bible available in my classroom library, and we taught several classes on biblical literature.

Most importantly, teachers cant proselytize. They cant ask or require students to pray, nor can they try to convert them to any faith.

To be sure, some schools, out of an abundance of caution and/or out of ignorance of the law, try to eliminate everything that is plainly allowed. Others eliminate it out of the kind of hostility that causes people to use BCE and CE rather than BC and AD.

What event, what person separates BCE and CE? Why would that person or event be so momentous it causes us, to this day, to recognize it/them? Why would it affect the very way we mark time? Why would academics, people whose lives are supposedly dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and truth, want to ignore, and in many cases, denigrate Jesus, the Son of God, who changed the nature of reality, of history, of literature, of art, of the way we think, see and experience life, who made Western Civilization possible? And why was it/they so important we classify everything as occurring before that day and thereafter?

No professor--no one--need be a Christian believer to acknowledge objective reality. One need not demand absolute archeological proof of every place, person and event mentioned in the Bible to be a believer, though there are voluminous proofs and more discovered all the time. One takes Christianity on faith or not. Thats the way God wants it.

BC/AD, BCE/CE are our poor attempts to reflect His glory and creation--some poorer than others.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
Harvard tried to practice its usual hand-wringing when the feds came after them in 2024 regarding its pathetic handling of antisemitism on campus. Since Harvard has basically been non-responsive, on March 20, the Justice Department filed a civil rights lawsuit against Harvard for race and national origin discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students, violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Advertisement

Harvard made some token gestures to satisfy the federal government, after Donald Trump warned some of the more elite universities that they were going to be held to account. He tried to terminate over $2 billion in grants to Harvard, without linking it to a civil rights violation, but a judge dismissed the case:

[Allison] Burroughs said the evidence she had seen suggested that Trump used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this countrys premier universities. Advertisement It is clear, even based solely on Harvards own admissions, that Harvard has been plagued by antisemitism in recent years and could (and should) have done a better job of dealing with the issue, she wrote.

Its intriguing that the judge noted that Harvard is guilty of ignoring the antisemitism on its campus, but that fact was insufficient for stopping its funding.

Advertisement

But now the DOJ is filing this civil rights case, since Harvard failed to make sufficient inroads against the antisemitic attacks on its campus.

The university has failed to protect students, according to asst. attorney general Harmeet K. Dillon, who adamantly states that Jewish students must be protected. Even members of Congress were writing about the abuse. In addition, Harvard wasnt enforcing the rules that prohibited harassment of Jewish students.

Advertisement

Even Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy. Jr., whose department also provides research funds to Harvard, spoke out about the attacks on students, insisting that antisemitism has no place at the university.

Early in 2025, Harvard learned that it was being investigated by HHS regarding its actions to stop antisemitic and anti-Israeli discrimination. After four months, HHS discovered that Harvards responses to address Title IV were mostly insufficient to protect students.

Advertisement

In the current lawsuit, the DOJ described the protests that had taken place. Protests were encouraged by professors and were intended to substitute for in-class instruction:

One week after the October 7 attacks, students organized a demonstration outside a university library; some instructors even excused students from class to allow them to protest. Advertisement For affected students, this replaced neutral educational opportunities (e.g., in-class learning) with an alternative (e.g., attending the demonstrations) that was explicitly hostile to Jewish and Israeli students as such, reads the lawsuit. The complaint further states that it does not have information suggesting that instructors excused students from class to attend pro-Israel demonstrations. The lawsuit identifies several factors indicating that the on-campus demonstrations amounted to direct, targeted actions against Jewish and Israeli students on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Those factors include explicit calls for the extermination of Jewish and Israeli people, and further directing such speech towards individuals who had been identified as Jewish or Israeli.

Even the university police did not intervene.

The lawsuit also describes professors who held study-ins in the libraries, which were silent activities intended to intimidate Jews and Israelis.

Finally, a task force was formed at Harvard to investigate the accusations that were made against those who intimidated and attacked these communities. They claimed in their final report that they were looking to discover the root causes of antisemitism, but it was never addressed in the over 300-page report, and the term root cause wasnt even mentioned.

In spite of Harvards claims of responsiveness, its obvious that the university has not taken its own task forces recommendations or the concerns of the federal government seriously. The number of protests has shrunk, but the anti-Israel activists are complaining about some of the steps that have been taken. Some of them claim that Palestine programming has been banned; Ta-Nehisi Coates spoke on campus and read from his pro-Palestinian book on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

Its clear that the antisemitic and anti-Israel protesters are determined to get their way and to continue attacking and intimidating the other students whom they despise. And the administration has decided to support them in their efforts.

Harvard likes to believe that it is an elite university that practices the virtues and values of the people who go there. Its traditions of honor and truth, however, have been discarded in order to practice a distorted and bigoted agenda, only for a certain select student membership. Perhaps Harvard swallowed its pride when it first let Jews attend the university, but over time, the virulence of hatred showed its ugly head, and the administration has hoped that the Jews and Israelis will get the message: Youre not wanted here.

Lets hope that the DOJ will be successful in this lawsuit and send a message to other universities that theyre out of line.

Image: Widener Library, Harvard University. Credit: Joseph Williams via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Remember when we were told that Iranian missiles were a threat to European cities? Well, we learned that they are, and that their missiles can go a long distance, i.e. 2,500 miles. Check this out:

Advertisement

Iran launched ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in Diego Garcia on Friday, demonstrating a weapons capability that goes beyond what Tehran was known to have possessed. Advertisement The base, a strategic airfield that can host B-2 stealth bombers located nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) away from Iran, suffered no damage, according to a person familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity. It was the first time in the three-week-old war that Tehran was reported to have deployed weapons with that kind of range, with one expert suggesting it may have used a modified space launch vehicle to conduct the attack. US and Israeli strikes have already destroyed some parts of Irans satellite and rocket programs. Advertisement The strike on Friday came hours before Prime Minister Keir Starmers government gave permission to the US to use British bases including Diego Garcia for specific and limited defensive operations. Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has hit out at the move, warning that Tehran will exercise its right to self-defense. US Central Command didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Without directly referencing Diego Garcia, the UK Ministry of Defence criticized Tehrans reckless attacks, calling them a threat to British interests and British allies. Advertisement

Threat to British interests? No kidding, Mr. Prime Minister. What if one of those missies had travelled the other way toward an European city loaded with a dirty bomb? It may have hit one of those British interests that youre worried about.

Once again, we see how dependent European countries are on US security. They've left their defenses down in the name of free tuition and climate change and now must confront the reality that they can't stop those missiles.

Advertisement

So. they may hate President Trump but realize that he is the only power capable of defending them or willing to eliminate the threat.

The other lesson is that you can't trust Iran. We were told that they didn't have those missiles, but they do.

Advertisement

The missiles missed Diego Garcia, but they could have hit European soil. And that's the way it is--to paraphrase the famous newsman.
It has been written that if we dont solve the problem of widespread election fraud, the American experiment is over. That is true, but theres another problem for which the same has been said: If we dont punish the perpetrators of the Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax (AKA Russiagate), the American experiment is over.

Advertisement

Aside from the prominent names involved like Obama, Biden, Hillary Clinton, Adam Schiff, Brennan, Clapper, Comey, Wray, McCabe, Strzok, and Page, the long list of perpetrators feels like a walk down memory lane.

With overwhelming evidence now revealed for all to see, conservatives keep saying the day of reckoning is finally here and are waiting for the perps to be prosecuted, convicted, and jailed. Im very sorry to say, but it just wont happen.

Advertisement

First of all, the five-year statute of limitations is up. Those who think the argument that the clock starts over with the slightest cover-up action or misleading statement to the press will hold up in a D.C. courtroom, let alone elsewhere, are delusional. Those who think censuring rogue judges like James Boasberg who played a role will make a difference are also delusional: Complaints against judges are heard by the chief judge, who will tend to side with the left, or at least not go after a colleague. And get this: Boasberg himself is a chief judge. Congress would have to make substantial changes to the judicial process. Although impeachment of rogue judges by a Republican Congress is within the realm of possibility, removal from office  requiring two thirds of the Senate  is not. The embarrassment of being impeached is not enough of a punishment for, or deterrent to, partisan activist judges, especially when given MSM cover.

So what can be done? Well, speaking of MSM cover, one of the collective perpetrators of the hoax is the leftist press; see here, here, here, and here. Without their collusion, this never would have happened. Conservative media have done a great job exposing the MSM, but the problem is that for the most part, only conservatives are exposed to these efforts.

Advertisement

So saving the republic falls on the Trump administration itself. In this case, it is not enough to call the MSM out and embarrass them, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt quite admirably did to a biased reporter asking a dumb question about ICE. Trump, his press secretaries, and his Cabinet officials must throw any MSM question on any topic back onto the Russia hoax. How can we trust anything you guys say when all you did was report like lackeys every partisan leak as if it were gospel? You never apologized, let alone returned your Pulitzers, even after being proved wrong from unassailable investigations and documents. You still deny it was a hoax? Even Maggie Haberman of the New York Times admitted Marc Elias lied for over a year when he denied that Hillary used the law firm Perkins Coie as a cutout to fund Fusion GPS to create the Steele dossier.

Just keep that up relentlessly and indefinitely until they cry uncle and concede what they did, thereby hurting the reputations of the perps, or until word spreads even more about the hoax, and trust in the press gets even lower and hurts their bottom line.

Advertisement

No, this is not as satisfying as watching the partisan perps get punished as they should be for their seditious plot to bring down a presidency. But under the circumstances, this is all that can be done.

Well, there is one more thing: Try typing Trump-Russia collusion hoax in a search engine, and most of the hits, at least on the first page, are MSM links claiming there really was Trump-Russia collusion and that it was not a hoax. I kid you not. Maybe a Republican congressional committee can haul in and grill the purveyors of such search engines. Less bias in search engines would go a long way in avoiding future seditious plots and perpetuating their hoaxes.

Advertisement

W.A. Eliot is a pseudonym.

Advertisement

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Rocky Mountain high, Colorado, sang John Denver, AKA Henry Duetschendorf Jr. in 1972. Those were heady days for Colorado. Ski resorts, the Rockies, natural beauty aplenty and the promise of new beginnings enticed many, including me, to move to Colorado. My stay on the west slope was brief, and over the years, Colorado has descended from a more-or-less business-friendly and affordable state to a Democrat Peoples Republic, increasingly crowded and hostile to civil liberties and prosperity.

Advertisement

I occasionally travel to Colorado Springs for service on my recumbent trike and bike at the best recumbent shop in this part of the country. The traffic on I-35 is always horrific, driving through Denver is a nightmare and road construction and delays are eternal. I yet have friends and family in Colorado. My family worries about entrusting their still-infant kids to Colorado schools when the time comes. They also worry about Colorados increasingly draconian anti-liberty/gun laws.

They have other worries too. Colorado is facing a $1.5+ billion dollar budget shortfall, a half-billion more than expected. Republicans blame Democrat overspending. Democrats blame Republicans for noticing.

Advertisement

Coloradans are also noticing increasing power outages. Colorado currently is 26th in the nation for power outages and is 27th for the number of power customers affected. At Complete Colorado, Jon Caldera has noticedwhen his lights have been on. Hes noticed that Colorado can be windy.

But only in the last few months have I witnessed our power utilities preemptively turning off electricity during high winds to prevent fires. Advertisement

Caldera is suspicious:

Is Colorado suddenly windier than it has been during my entire life? Unless our eyes have been lying to us, the answer is comfortably: no. Advertisement Yet, I type this under an official warning that my power might be turned off because of another rather normal day of high winds. Is it too tinfoil-hat to wonder if this is really about preventing fires? Advertisement Is it too QAnon to think they might be conditioning us for Colorados future of intermittent electricity?

But why would the state do that?

Advertisement

They know sizable power disruptions are in our future  because they ordered them. So, theyd better start getting YOU used to it. Currently about two-thirds of Colorados electricity comes from fossil fuels. And already our power is becoming less reliable and more intermittent. Thanks to state mandates, by 2050  and the legislature is already flirting with moving that deadline up to 2040  none of our power can come from fossil fuels. [skip] Our leaders  and the corporate energy leeches who feed off them  know they need to prepare you for wildly intermittent, Third World energy.

Caldera reasonably notes Colorados energy consumption is expected to triple in the near future in part due to the proliferation of energy intensive data centers. He also notes that all-renewable energy sourceswind and solarcoming remotely close to meeting Colorados energy needs is fantasy. Thats true for the nation. But when a states rulers live in their own fantasy world and try to force everyone else to live in it too, thats the kind of policy you get.

Graphic: X Post

However, real reality may intrude due to power outages at Denver International Airport, one of Americas five busiest:

A power outage on Wednesday morning impacted operations at Denver International Airport. The airport experienced a power incident around 9:20 a.m. Certain areas of the airport are still experiencing an outage, including DENs train to the gates, the airport said on social media. Technicians are working as quickly as possible to restore power. We will share updates as soon as we have them, it added. Denver International Airport officials said power was restored at 11:04 a.m., nearly two hours after the initial outage. They said that operations would return to normal and asked for patience. According to witness accounts from inside the airport, passengers were not allowed to board waiting planes, and power outages were impacting bathroom services.

Id rather not imagine what impacted bathroom services looked and smelled like.

Around 11 a.m., users said that power was on, though there were still large crowds of people, and bathrooms were hit or miss. [skip] According to flight tracking tool FlightAware, there were 96 flights delayed and 6 canceled as of 10 a.m. That increased to 258 delays by 11 a.m., and is up to 474 delays as of 1:30 p.m.

Ive flown into and out of Denver. Its hellish even when the power is on.

Now the question is whether even those kinds of inconveniences will be sufficient to convince Colorados Peoples Assembly to realize renewable energy isnt remotely realistic.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
Like many seniors, I find that my calendar now has doctor appointments scattered among fun events. Speaking with friends, we agree that sometimes calling for an appointment is worse than the reason for the call. Several days ago, I needed to make an appointment, and this is how it went 

Advertisement

Thank you for calling Happy and Healthy Medical Care, where our 100 physician assistants, 75 nurses, and three doctors are committed to keeping patients happy and healthy. Please remain on the line, and a representative will be with you soon.

If this is a medical emergency and you are profusely bleeding, holding your chest in pain, or believe the situation will become a Dateline episode, please hang up and dial 911.

Advertisement

Please listen carefully as our happy and healthy menu has recently changed.

For English, press one for a representative with a very thick accent.

Advertisement

Press two for someone who speaks Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, or Russian.

For an update on our malpractice policy, press three.

Advertisement

For billing, press four.

To make an appointment, press five...

Advertisement

(I press five)

Thank you for calling Happy and Healthy Medical Care, where we want to keep you happy and healthy. A happy and healthy representative will be with you soon. Have you had your Covid booster? We are proudly offering Covid booster number 24. Visit our website for more information and watch a video by Dr. Fauci.

Advertisement

For faster service and to better serve you, be sure you have downloaded our Happy and Healthy app, log onto our Happy and Healthy portal, and navigate to urgent messages as we might have important news such as the value of wearing a mask.

So that we can get you to the right representative, please press one if you have a terminal illness and need immediate hospice care.

Press two if you have been in intense pain for more than a year and are still waiting for your referral to be approved.

Press three if you have a rash that has spread to your entire body.

Press four if you have bladder control issues.

Press five if you are seeking Botox treatment.

Press six if you desperately need to be seen by a physician, but will take a first-year nursing student.

(I press six)

Thank you, your call is very important to us. A Happy and Healthy Medical Care representative will be with you soon. As a reminder, we now offer more than 200 vaccines to keep you happy and healthy. Pick the vaccine that best fits your happy and healthy lifestyle. Ask the representative who will be with you shortly.

Please note that we only accept new patients who are covered by a government program. Click on the learing center icon on our website for more details.

We appreciate your patience as our Pakistani representatives are helping other patients. Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.

Your wait time is approximately two hours and three minutes. If you prefer to leave your callback number, you wont lose your place in line. However, Pakistan is 12 hours ahead, and if you dont take the call, you will have to start over.

Thank you for your patience. Please be sure to have your health insurance information and your 2028 calendar so we can make your appointment to keep you happy and healthy. If your medical issue is urgent, dont worry. You will be given an appointment in 2027.

After making your appointment, please stay on the line for a brief 50-question patient satisfaction survey.

Thank you again for calling Happy and Healthy Medical Care. While waiting, please enjoy the music from Les Miserables.

Image created using AI.

Robin M. Itzler is a regular contributor to American Thinker. She is the founder and editor of Patriot Neighbors, a free weekly national newsletter and can be reached at [email protected].
Did you know that California is a virtually tax-free paradise, and Texas and Florida are the two most highly taxed states in America? U-Haul certainly doesnt, but it must be true because Gavin Newsom said it, and he wouldnt lie about a thing like thatwould he? After all, who you gonna believe? Newsom or your own lyin eyes and ears, innumerable U-Haul trucks and trailers rolling out of California and the empty bank accounts of Californians?

Advertisement

California Gov. Gavin Newsoms repeated claims in recent weeks promoting his state as more tax-friendly than Florida and Texas don't add up, according to an expert who ran the numbers. "Texas and Florida are the REAL high-tax states," Newsom recently posted on X, explaining onstage at SXSW in Austin, Texas that California has the most "progressive tax rates in America" while taking shots at the tax burden in Florida and Texas. Advertisement "Your middle class pays more taxes in Texas than our middle class in California," Newsom said in Texas. "Its a great mythology, its just the richest of the rich come here because they can avoid paying a damn penny.'"

Wait a minute! How can he say something so obviously, ridiculously false? Hes Gavin Newsom and a Democrat. They make their own reality and demand everyone else live in it. The Democrat media propaganda arm fully supports whatever narrative Democrats invent and trumpets it until its replaced by a new, entirely fanciful, narrative.

Advertisement

The comments drew pushback from conservatives on social media, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and from Just Facts President James Agresti, who says he looked into a "number of different angles" to determine the "validity" of Newsoms claims. "I looked at how much is each state taxing each of its citizens on average? So if you look at California, they collect about $10,000 a year in taxes for every person in the state, whereas the figures for Texas and Florida are only about $5,000, or about half as much," Agresti told Fox News Digital. Advertisement "However, California is a higher-income state, so I also looked at it as a percentage of the states' economies and what I found is that California taxes about 14% of its economy, as opposed to 9% for Texas and Florida."

Tom Bevan at Real Clear Politics agrees:

Advertisement

Graphic: Social Media Post

Advertisement

Its California's middle class that is being beaten to death with Californias state income tax and daunting taxes on every other facet of their lives. Theyre the people struggling to survive with gas constantly many dollars above every other state. Theyre the people making U-Haul wealthy.

Among the most egregious lies of the left, one favored by Joe Bidens handlers, and badly read off a teleprompter by Biden, is the idea that the wealthy dont pay their fair share of income taxes. Nonsense:

"In fact, a survey done by Just Facts found that about 80% of America's voters believe this fiction, even though the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. Treasury, and the center-left Tax Policy Center all say that middle-income Americans pay an average effective federal tax rate of about 15% while upper income, or the top 1%, pay a rate of about 30%. And by the way, that includes all taxes and all income, all tax loopholes, it's basically all taxes paid divided by all income earned or received."

And did you know California has the worlds 4th largest economy, bypassing Japan? Newsom says so.

"Here's the fatal flaw in what he's doing there," Agresti said. "He is converting Japanese yen into U.S. dollars using a highly deceptive measure called foreign currency exchange rates. Scholars in this field warn explicitly: You are not to convert GDPs using exchange rates because it inflates the relative sizes of economies that have high prices, as California does. When you actually look at the proper way to transfer these exchange rates and account for them, Japan's GDP is 56% larger than California's."

Except for being completely wrong, Gavin Newsom is right about Californias tax-free utopia. We can, without a doubt, know two things about Newsom: much of Californias faltering oil production goes into his hair, and if his lips are moving, hes lying.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
Back in December of 2008, then President-elect Barack Hussein Obama said hed use his middle name at his inauguration because of tradition (most presidents-elect use their full names at inauguration). But he also explained that simply by dint of having it  and, of course simply by being him, The One  he presented a unique opportunity to reboot Americas image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular.

Obama was absolutely cocksure he could sweep into the Middle East, riven by centuries of conflict, give a speech, and have the sun break out. Towards that effort he gave his very first post-inauguration interview to a Muslim outlet, Al Arabiya, then set off on his six-month long  apology tour.

About five months into it, in June 2009, he went to Cairo for what the White House billed as the big kahuna, the major speech, the one he was no doubt sure would usher in his imagined Middle East Oasis of Peace. And sure enough, once again, he mentioned his middle name.

Much has been made of the fact that an African American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President.

Of course, the effete and obsequious Cairo speech didnt work, and by the sunset of his presidency, if not well before, the Muslim world had caught on to what a weakling and fraud he was and is and, well, Ill let the below quote speak for itself. The speaker, Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, a professor of political science at Emirates University was referring to the Muslim world and is from the region:

I don't think they have a deep respect, a deep trust for Obama and his promises.

Thats as gentle  and devastating  an assessment as could have been given. At the time he said it, the spring of 2015, just 18 months or so from the end of his second term, Obama was trying to get the regions Sunni Muslim leaders on board with his Shiite Iran deal and they were having none of it. They knew he was a at best, a paper tiger, and at worst, in league with them.

President Obama convened the May 13-14 [2015] Camp David summit with the Sunni Arab leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) [Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman] in pursuit of a grand bargain. If the Gulfies would mute their objections to his coveted nuclear agreement with Iran, he would compensate them with the American security guarantees against Iranian aggression in the region they sought.

Professor Abdullah further asserted that 4 of the 6 invited Gulf leaders were staying away to signal their displeasure over the nuclear talks. That they blew off Obama at Camp David was a huge snub, and it was even reported so at the time by some in the legacy media. Notable among the absences was leader of Saudi Arabia, who Obama had been counting on. The Saudis, like the other three that skipped, sent a subordinate. It appeared Obamas big Iran deal might have been dealt a fatal blow.

Pshaw. No matter. Obama plowed ahead, and by August 5, 2015, deal now firmly in pocket, he was in front of his teleprompter again, lying his skinny ass off. Check out this banger

 This is the strongest non-proliferation agreement ever negotiated."

Uh-huh. He further elaborated:

[Weve ensured] that all pathways to a bomb are cut off.

Uh-huh. Not so much, Barry. Just 4 years and several pallets of cash later, Iran was known to be so flagrantly violating the agreement it was no longer possible to hide it. Via American Thinkers columnist Clarice Feldman

... [By] the middle of 2019 Iran violated the terms of the agreement, it exceeded the agreed upon 300 kg stockpile of enriched uranium; exceeded the enrichment of uranium to close to weapons grade; it expanded the number and type of centrifuges, resumed prohibited research and development and reduced the IAEAs access and monitoring of its nuclear facilities. Such a deal! Such negotiators!

Within 10 years the Iranians had enough enriched uranium for eleven bombs.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) calculated in its September 2025 verification and monitoring report that on the eve of the June 2025 attacks by Israel and the United States, Iran had in its possession 440.9 kg of uranium enriched up to 60% of the explosive uranium isotope, U-235.

But we neednt have worried. Obama had this all figured out. He done did the math. Once again, from his August 2015 speech. Emphasis mine:

The defense budget of the United States is more than $600 billion. To repeat, Irans is about $15 billion. Our military remains the ultimate backstop to any security agreement that we make. I have stated that Iran will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Yes, well, heres your backstop now, Barry: Operation Epic Fury. (Notably, as of this writing, Obama still has not commented on Operation Epic Fury. Not. A. Peep.).

Saudi Arabia has even threatened : We reserve the right to respond militarily.

Trumps first term Abraham Accords brought the Muslim world together in ways previously unimaginable, normalizing relations between Israel and The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. And recently, Kazakhstan and Somaliland have pledged to join the Accords.

Trumps second term Operation Epic Fury has united the wider Muslim world in the effort to finally extinguish the threat Iran has posed to all of us for 47 years, and there are even some nascent rumblings about the Abraham Accords being expanded  possibly with Saudi Arabia leading the pack  once the dust has settled on the sandbox surrounding Tehran.

Can you imagine the swooning had Obama achieved such monumental unanimity? He wouldnt just get the Nobel Peace Prize, theyd shut it down and name an entirely new prize after him. There would be statues, monuments, songs, celebrations, and fainting couches selling out all over the worlds most famous designer furniture houses. His name would be etched for all eternity on everything etch-able as The Peacemaker.

Obama believed he could simply show up, read a teleprompter competently, and the world would bend to his will. Trump knew showing up was merely the start, not the end of the job. (The posture of a man who has actually produced something of value in the private sector.).

The worlds press may still have an Obama love hangover, and will surely not notice or characterize Trump as The Peacemaker, but the many tens of millions of people in the Middle East and Western Europe upon whom peace not bombs will fall, may, quietly, whisper it.

M. Walter blogs at www.mwalterwriter.com.
Democrats and their media propaganda arm have kept one narrative vibrantly alive for at least six years: 2020 was the most honest, fraud-free election in American history. As evidence they say: because we say so, and present Joe Bidens 306 electoral votes and his 81.2 million popular votes, the most ever in a presidential election, far more than those of Barack Obama--The Lightbringerin either of his elections.

Advertisement

Normal Americans have always been skeptical of those assertions, as Biden, who ran a campaign from his basement and was clearly already in the throes of dementia, shouldnt have been able to win a local dog catcher election.

There was also voluminous evidence of wide-spread election fraud, expertly covered up by the media, the Democrat Party, Democrat election officials and numerous cooperative leftist judges. Among the worst centers of likely election fraud was Fulton CountyAtlantaGeorgia. With Bidens Handlers in office and the entire federal government weaponized against Donald Trump and Normal Americans, there was no possibility of an honest investigation into election fraud, which Democrats tell us just doesnt happen, which is why they partially claim to oppose the SAVE Act supported by 80-90% of Americans, including most Democrats.

Advertisement

But with the advent of the second Trump Administration, the DOJ is finally looking into 2020 election fraud, and Fulton County is already looking very bad indeed:

Advertisement

Graphic: X Post

On January 28, the FBI raided the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center, hauling out ballots, tabulator tapes, and ballot images from the 2020 recount. By the bureaus count, they left with 656 boxes. While thats a lot of boxes, its a lot lower than the 750 boxes county officials had previously claimed existed. Advertisement The substantive request in the subpoenas would require a review of all materials retained from the 2020 election, which have been archived in approximately 750 boxes, Michael Tyler, a lawyer representing the county, wrote in a Nov. 15, 2024, petition. Petitioners estimate temporary staff of approximately 20 full-time people will need to be retained to review the documents. Less than two months later, the number decreased to 700. Advertisement Fulton Countys 2020 election materials are stored in over 700 boxes, each of which must be opened, searched, and sorted systematically to locate the majority of the documents requested in the subpoenas, Elections Director Nadine Williams said in an affidavit dated Feb. 4, 2025.

The FBI found only 656. A Georgia election official is less than impressed:

Advertisement

Thats almost 100 boxes of evidence, Janice Johnston, vice chair of the Georgia State Election Board, told The Daily Signal. She referenced one county affidavit that only estimated over 700 boxes at the county elections hub. She said, Even 50 [extra] boxes would be a lot of evidence.

Graphic: X Post

Fulton County officials are claiming they fully complied with the FBIs search warrant and search, but theyve also sued the FBI, demanding all documents be returned and the FBI be prevented from reviewing them. Thats a bit odd for fully cooperative people with nothing to hide.

Johnston disagrees with Fulton Countys professed forthrightness and she has the receipts, noting about 370,000 ballot images are somehow missing. Biden won Georgia with a margin of only 11,779 votes, 0.3% of the votes supposedly cast.

The FBIs search warrant affidavit contained these, and other, assertions:

Unfolded Ballots: Poll workers reported discovering batches of "pristine" absentee ballots that showed no signs of being folded or creased, a requirement for any ballot returned in a standard mailing envelope. Missing Digital Receipts: Fulton County officials admitted to lacking scanned images for thousands of ballots counted during the original tally and subsequent recounts. Statistical Anomalies: Data analysts identified "duplicate" ballot images where unique stray marks appeared on multiple files, suggesting some ballots may have been scanned more than once to make recount totals match.

Up to 100 missing boxes. About 370,000 missing ballot images. Innumerable affidavits from 2020 and beyond supporting purposeful vote, and vote counting, fraud. Fulton County election officials and Commissioners claiming they fully cooperated with an FBI subpoena but are suing the FBI to keep them from reviewing what they were able to seize and demanding the FBI return all materials unexamined.

Something is rotten in the state of Georgia, and Georgia election officials desperately dont want anyone figuring out what it is and whos responsible for the stench.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
Artificial intelligence is beginning to displace American workers at a speed and scale that existing policy frameworks were never designed to handle. By 2030, as many as 30 million jobs could be affected, from legal research and accounting to logistics and customer service. Yet the dominant policy responses remain trapped in a familiar but failing logic: Redistribute after the fact.

Advertisement

Universal Basic Income  a monthly check from the government  has become the darling of Silicon Valley and progressive think-tanks. It is seductive in its simplicity. If machines do the work, why not simply give people money?

The problem is that UBI does not solve the underlying crisis. It addresses income, not purpose. It provides a floor but no ladder. More importantly, it transforms citizens into dependents of the state  a condition that runs directly counter to the American tradition of selfreliance and ownership.

Advertisement

The alternative being offered by many on the right is often learn to code  retrain workers for the jobs of tomorrow. But the halflife of skills is collapsing faster than any training program can keep up. A displaced factory worker who enrolls in an eighteenmonth data analytics program may find that the entrylevel jobs she trained for have already been automated by the time she graduates.

There is a third path  one that depends not on government checks or endless retraining, but on ownership.

Advertisement

What if the workers displaced by A.I. could become the owners of the very systems that displaced them? What if the same productivity gains that are eliminating jobs could be harnessed to build wealth that workers own, control, and pass to their children?

This is not socialism. It is the most conservative economic principle imaginable: Those who create value should own it.

Advertisement

The architecture for such a system already exists in prototype. It begins with the recognition that A.I., for all its power, has a fatal flaw: It hallucinates. It makes confident errors. It cannot reliably navigate the edge cases that any trained human eye catches. The workers who spent years mastering a craft  whether it is legal research, precision machining, or customer service  become the human validators that make A.I. trustworthy.

In this model, displaced workers supervise fleets of machines. A former truck driver with twentytwo years of experience can oversee one hundred autonomous vehicles, handling the judgment calls and customer relationships that no algorithm can manage. A bookkeeper whose work was absorbed by software can join a cooperative that offers small business consulting  using A.I. as a tool while owning the business herself.

Advertisement

The capital to fund these transitions does not have to come from taxpayers. Private capital, patient investors, and even the corporations that deploy A.I. can be brought into the system through market mechanisms. Tax credits, procurement reforms that break large government contracts into microlots accessible to small businesses, and guarantee structures modeled on successful programs like the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) can redirect existing flows of capital without appropriating a single new dollar from the Treasury.

The result is that workers become owners. Wealth is distributed through equity, not through checks. The ladder of economic mobility is restored, not because the government builds it, but because the people themselves own the means of production.

Advertisement

This vision is already being tested in pilot communities across the country  from former auto workers in Ohio forming robot maintenance cooperatives to displaced retail managers in Phoenix launching A.I.augmented service businesses. The results show that when people own the tools of their own labor, they build businesses that last, hire their neighbors, and keep wealth circulating in their communities.

The choice before us is not between letting the robots take over and paying people to do nothing. It is whether we will allow the gains of the A.I. revolution to be concentrated in the hands of a few shareholders, or whether we will design the ownership structures that let every American participate in the prosperity they helped create.

For two hundred years, the American Dream rested on a simple premise: If you work hard, you can own something. In the A.I. age, that premise is more urgent than ever. Ownership is the key to a future where technology serves human dignity, not the other way around.

Michael Macchiarella is the author of The Quantum Hive: Universal Prosperity for All  Not Universal Basic Income. The book is available free at major ebook retailers.

Image via Unsplash.
Cooper joined Chesapeake Utilities in 1990 and held numerous roles in the financial and strategic planning areas of the Company until she was named CFO in September 2008. Throughout her tenure, she advanced the Company's strategy by driving industry-leading earnings growth and above-average returns, ensuring balance sheet strength and financial discipline, and propelling the Company toward significant, sustained long-term growth.

"On behalf of the entire Chesapeake Utilities family, I'd like to congratulate Beth on a truly impressive track record of service, performance and growth. Her passion for the Company, unmatched work ethic and strength in building relationships have had an outsized impact on who we are today and what we've achieved over the last few decades," said Jeff Householder, chair of the Board, president and chief executive officer. "We are grateful for Beth's authentic leadership and strategic guidance that will continue to benefit the Company for years to come."

"It has been a joy and privilege to spend my career at Chesapeake Utilities, surrounded by people that consistently bring their best each and every day," said Cooper. "I am proud of the success we achieved as we expanded the business, served increasing customer demand and created value for all stakeholders. Supported by our perseverance and the reputation we've built, I'm confident the Company is well-positioned for continued long-term growth."

Following increasing responsibilities driving revenue growth and business strategy, Sylvester served as vice president of customer care at Chesapeake Utilities subsidiary Florida Public Utilities from 2010 to 2012 before serving as vice president of operations at Black Hills Energy. He returned to Chesapeake Utilities in 2019 as senior vice president of operations and was named chief operating officer in 2022, leading overall company operations, customer care, project development and safety.

Sylvester began his career in financial analyst and controller roles at ThruPoint, GTE and Plantronics. He holds a Bachelor of Science in finance management and a Master of Business Administration in finance from Clemson University.

"Jeff brings deep financial and operational knowledge of our business alongside valuable expertise in acquisitions, integrations and large-scale transformations, all of which are critical for our next stage of growth and development," Householder said. "I am confident in his leadership and ability to drive continued success within the three pillars of our growth strategy as we deliver energy that strengthens our customers and communities."

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is a diversified energy delivery company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:CPK). Chesapeake Utilities Corporation offers sustainable energy solutions through its natural gas transmission and distribution, electricity generation and distribution, propane gas distribution, mobile compressed natural gas utility services and solutions and other businesses. For more information, visit www.chpk.com.

For more information, contact:

Lucia M. Dempsey

Head of Investor Relations

347.804.9067

[email protected]

SOURCE Chesapeake Utilities Corporation
The latestMarch 23--from President Trump on Truth Social is at once promising and concerning:

Advertisement

Graphic: Truth Social Post

Advertisement

It's promising because ending a war is usually, but not always, a good thing. There are worse things than war. Its concerning because the Iranians Islamists are proven liars. Theyve lied about every agreement theyve ever made with us and anyone else. Islam, in fact, teaches its adherents to lieits called Taqiyya-to infidels and even to other Muslims to defeat enemies. The Iranian Mullahs are ardent, expert practitioners of Taqiyya. They lied to Barack Obama and Joe Biden and played both like a harp from Hell.

Theyre begging for a deal now because theyre in real danger of utter defeat. Theyre an honor culture. Their near-total military defeat in just three weeks thus far is an irredeemable humiliation. It exposes them as the cowards and monsters they are. Its one thing to brutalize unarmed civilians, and quite another to take on The Great Satan commanded by a man with a grip on reality. Losing their grip on power, their Islamist state losing all political and military power in Iran, would be an even greater humiliation.

Advertisement

And there are very personal concerns involved. Normal, non-Islamist Iranians taking control would mean the deaths of millions of the Islamist demons that have imprisoned, tortured, raped, mutilated and murdered hundreds of thousands of Iranians for nearly a half century. There is hardly an Iranian family that hasnt been brutalized by the regime, and theyre not going to want to sing Kumbaya if theyre able to oust the Islamists. Theyre going to want to kill their tormentors to make sure they never again control Iran, and who can blame them?

If were smart, we want the same thing, and for the last three weeks, weve made a good start on achieving that necessary, world-saving goal. The destruction of the Iranian Islamists would give world-wide militant Islam pause, at least until another Democrat occupies the White House.

Advertisement

Apparently, Trump is not stopping our bombardment of military and other regime targets, which surely includes wiping out Irans ability to block the Strait of Hormuz. A deal would likely dramatically reduce gas and energy prices and would, at least superficially, prove Trump right in launching the attack on the regime.

President Trump seems to be on top of the involved realities:

Advertisement

Graphic: X Post

Advertisement

Scott Johnson at Powerline concludes with this:

I hope this isnt premature, and I hope it doesnt condemn 90 million Iranians to more decades of tyranny. If peace does ensue on favorable terms, the price of oil plummets, and prophets of doom are made to look ridiculous, then one thing we know for sure is: Democrats hardest hit.

Quite so. Every Trump success, every benefit hard won for the American people and Western Civilization makes the Democrats hardest hit.

Above all, what would be the point of making a deal with Iranian Islamists when we know they will absolutely cheat? When we know if they remain in power, theyll immediately rebuild their military and internal oppression apparatus? When we know theyll immediately refund and rearm their terrorist proxy armies and work even harder and faster at buildingand usingnuclear weapons? We cant discount the possibility that Russia or China might provide nukes to Iran out of self-interest and anger at Trump for helping to tank their economies and their dreams of world domination.

Worse for the Iranian people, if they retain power, theyre going to murder millions of Iranians for daring to want freedom. Theyll engage in an orgy of torture, mutilation and rape in the process, of course. Wheres the fun and Islamic purity in merely hanging people or shooting them dead in the streets? Terrorists rule by terror.

And if that happens, if President Trump is tricked into believing the Islamists, hell throw away what may be a legacy on par with that of Washington and Lincoln. But whats a presidential legacy in comparison with the safety and security of Israel and those other, shamefully feckless, allies, and with our own national security? We dare not kick this can down the road again when weve already come so close to ending the Iranian threat for the foreseeable future.

The Islamists are on the ropes and in imminent danger of losing anything. Ending a war, particularly a war with Islamists without utterly crushing their ability to make war, without defeating them utterly, will only guarantee even worse bloodshed and horror in the not very distant future. We cant possibly be that stupidcan we?

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
Columbia-Based Food Truck Extends Reach to the Upstate Following Successful February Launch

GREENVILLE, S.C., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cousins Maine Lobster (CML), the industry-leading fast-casual lobster roll brand, is continuing its expansion across South Carolina with a Greenville grand opening event, extending its reach into the Upstate following a highly successful February debut in Columbia.

Maine's ultimate luxury, lobster tail in shell, served with drawn butter and a side of tater tots.

The Cousins Maine Lobster food truck will celebrate its Greenville debut on Saturday, April 4, from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Grateful Brew, located at 501 S Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, SC 29607. Known as a vibrant local gathering spot for craft beer and community events, Grateful Brew provides the perfect backdrop to introduce Greenville guests to CML's signature Maine Lobster experience.

This milestone builds on the strong momentum of the brand's Columbia launch earlier this year, which marked Cousins Maine Lobster's first permanent presence in South Carolina. Since then, the truck has seen enthusiastic turnout, repeat guests, and growing demand across the Midlands, prompting expansion into the Upstate, one of the state's fastest-growing and most dynamic food scenes.

"Our Columbia launch exceeded expectations, and we've been eager to build on that momentum by introducing Cousins Maine Lobster to Greenville," said Lindsay Herberger, Director of Franchise Development at Cousins Maine Lobster. "Greenville is known for its incredible food culture, strong sense of community, and support for unique dining experiences, making it a natural fit for our brand. We're excited to bring that same energy, quality, and customer experience to the Upstate."

Led by franchisees Matt Cobb and Dave Blosser, the Columbia-based truck is designed to serve multiple markets throughout the region, allowing the brand to connect with communities across South Carolina while maintaining a strong local presence. Their focus on community engagement and delivering a memorable customer experience has already made an impact in Columbia, and now, they're bringing that same excitement to Greenville.

"We've seen firsthand how the truck brings people together," said Cobb and Blosser. "From the excitement of the line to that first bite of wild-caught Maine lobster, it creates a unique experience you don't find every day. Greenville has such a great local energy, and we're excited to be part of it and introduce more people to what makes Cousins Maine Lobster special."

Guests attending the Greenville grand opening can enjoy CML's signature menu, including chilled Maine lobster rolls with a touch of mayo on a New England-style roll, warm butter lobster rolls, lobster tacos, lobster grilled cheese, and classic whoopie pies, each showcasing premium, wild-caught Maine lobster. For more information on our Columbia food truck calendar of events, check out our Facebook page: Cousins Maine Lobster Columbia.

As one of the fastest-growing seafood concepts in the U.S., Cousins Maine Lobster continues to expand its national footprint through both food trucks and brick-and-mortar locations. The brand is actively seeking qualified owner-operators interested in bringing high-quality seafood to their communities through a flexible, scalable business model.

To learn more about franchise opportunities with Cousins Maine Lobster, visit https://www.cousinsmainelobster.com/franchise.

About Cousins Maine Lobster:

Cousins Maine Lobster is a leader in fast-casual seafood, partnering with local entrepreneurs to bring the highest quality Maine lobster rolls to neighborhoods everywhere by way of their famous food trucks, brick & mortar restaurants, and a shore-to-door online shop that delivers the highest quality live Maine lobsters directly to your home. In 2012, Cousins Maine Lobster was co-founded by real-life cousins Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis with the desire to bring their local Maine family traditions to the West Coast masses. They later appeared on Shark Tank, where they partnered with real estate mogul and shark Barbara Corcoran. Since then, Cousins Maine Lobster has franchised to expand their footprint across the U.S. and has become one of the top Shark Tank investments of all time. For more information, visit www.cousinsmainelobster.com and follow on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube @cousinsmainlobster and Twitter @cousinsmainlob. To find a location near you, visit www.cousinsmainelobster.com.

DISCLAIMER: This news is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy a franchise. Any actual offer or solicitation can only be made through a Franchise Disclosure Document. If you reside in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, or Wisconsin, we may not be able to offer you a franchise until it has been registered in your state.

Contact: Lindsay Herberger

Cousins Maine Lobster

[email protected]

SOURCE Cousins Maine Lobster
When you are looking for the best name for a Swiss Bernese Mountain Dog, you want something that describes how much you adore this big and gentle breed. After all, as a pet parent, choosing what you're going to call your pup is part of the fun when you're welcoming a new furry famly member. However, narrowing it down to one thing can be hard seeing how there are so many amazing ones to choose from. To help you out, weve put together a list of 300 Bernese Mountain Dog names with meanings.

Originally from the land of the Alps, "Berners" were bred as versatile farm dogs to herd cattle, guard property, and pull carts of dairy products. However, today many people have them as pets and consider them to be amazing companions. Its easy to see why these dogs are so beloved, especially if you like big dog breeds, as these pups weigh up to 110 pounds and are known to be great around adults and kids.

By using inspiration from their size, cute looks and land of origin, these male and female Bernese Mountain Dog names reflect their sweet disposition and loyal nature. Take a look at the ones we gathered below to find the perfect name for your gentle giant.

Best Names for Swiss Bernese Mountain Dog

A Bernese Mountain Dog walking outside.Getty Images Jill Lehmann Photography (Getty Images Jill Lehmann Photography)

From goofy antics to snuggly moments on the couch, Bernese Mountain Dogs bring joy everywhere they go. These top names match their lovable and loyal personality. Check them out and see what you think!

Bear  Big and strong.

Fawkes  Inspired by Dumbledores loyal and magical phoenix from Harry Potter.

Fluffy  A luxuriously thick coat.

Heidi  Cheerful, sweet, and classic Swiss name; perfect for a friendly dog.

Luna  Moon," calm, beautiful, and slightly mystical vibe.

Matterhorn  Iconic Swiss mountain peak.

Mocha  Warm brown coat inspiration; soft, rich, and cozy feeling.

Rigi  named after the Queen of the Mountains in Switzerland; majestic and elegant.



Teddy  soft and adorable like a teddy bear, ideal for a loving, fluffy companion.



Swiss Bernese Mountain Dog Male Names

Male Bernese Mountain Dogs are calm, confident, and gentle giants, making them excellent family pets. Choosing a Swiss-inspired name is a meaningful way to honor their heritage while matching their strong, loyal, and affectionate personality.

Archie  Bold yet sweet.

Ash  Soft gray tones.

Benny  Cute and lovable.

Bern  Capital of Switzerland where the breed originates.

Blizzard  Powerful snowstorm.

Coal  Deep black coloring.

Ember  Warm glowing tone.

Franz Traditional Alpine name.

Frost  Cool and calm.

Gus  Friendly and approachable.

Hugo  Means mind/intellect.

Klaus  Strong Germanic name meaning victory of the people.

Leo  Means lion, strong and brave.

Luca  Popular Swiss/European name meaning bringer of light.

Maximus  Means greatest.

Midnight  Black as night.

Moose  Large but gentle.

Onyx  Black gemstone.

Otto  Means wealthy or prosperous.

Snow  White fur accents.

Storm  Powerful and bold.

Theo  Means gift of God.

Timber  Forest strength.



Walter  Calm and wise.

Swiss Bernese Mountain Dog Female Names

A female Swiss Bernese Mountain Dog and her baby sitting together.Getty Images BiancaGrueneberg (Getty Images BiancaGrueneberg)

Celebrate your female Bernese Mountain Dogs Swiss heritage with names inspired by the Alps, Swiss culture, and traditional Swiss charm. Here are some of our top choices:

Alpine  From the Alps mountains.

Anika  Means grace.

Bella  Means beautiful.

Clara  Means bright/clear.

Daisy  Cheerful flower.

Elsa  Noble and graceful.

Freya  Norse goddess of love and beauty.

Frostine  Icy and elegant.

Greta  Means pearl.

Ingrid  Means beautiful, beloved.

Ivory  Creamy white color.

Lola  Playful and charming.

Luzia  Swiss form of Lucia; light.

Marta  Means lady.

Meadow  Peaceful grassy field.

Millie  Soft and sweet.

Molly  Gentle and friendly.

Penny  Small but lovable.

Ridge  Mountain ridge line.

River  Calm and flowing.

Rosie  Sweet and loving.

Ruby  Red gemstone.

Sadie  Means princess.

Shadow  Dark fur.

Sierra  Mountain range.

Sofia  Means wisdom.

Truffle Rrich dark brown.

Willow  Graceful tree.

Funny Bernese Mountain Dog Names

Berners do not reach full-grown maturity until 2 to 3 years of age. They are known to stay in the puppy stage longer than other breeds which is a win for pet parents who love silly puppy energy! Honor their goofiness with a funny Bernese Mountain Dog name.

Acers  Brave and tough.

AstroGirl  Futuristic and fun.

Augie Doggie  Playful pup.

Bark Twain Literary pun for a chatty pup.

Beethoven  Big, messy, lovable.

Benji  Clever and resourceful.

Blue  Curious and clever.

Bluey  Playful and energetic.

Bolt  Energetic and heroic.

Brian Griffin  Smart and sarcastic.

Bruno  Loyal and sleepy.

Buck  Strong and adventurous.

Buster  Energetic and friendly.

Captain Floof  In charge of all the fluff.

Cerberus  Powerful guardian.

Charlie  Charming and mischievous.

Chase  Brave police pup.

Chewbacca  Furry and lovable, Star Wars-inspired.

Chief  Wise and experienced.

Copper  Kind and loyal.

Cujo  Intense and powerful.

Dodger  Street-smart and charming.

Dogbert  Clever and sarcastic.

Droolius  Big dog who drools.

Droopy  Calm and deadpan.

Dug  Friendly and loyal.

Everest  Snow rescue pup.

Fang  Big but gentle.

Fluffzilla  Giant fluffy monster.

Furcules  Strong and fluffy, like Hercules.

Ghost  Quiet and loyal.

Goofy  Silly and lovable.

Grey Wind  Swift and fierce.

Gromit  Intelligent and calm.

Hachi  Ultimate loyalty.

Hooch  Slobbery and loyal.

Huckleberry Hound  Laid-back and friendly.

Itchy  Loyal sidekick.

Krypto  Super-powered hero dog.

Lady  Gentle and noble.

Lassie  Loyal and heroic.

Marley  Chaotic but lovable.

Marshall  Clumsy and kind.

Max  Loyal helper.

Mr. Peabody  Genius dog.

Mutley  Mischievous.

Nana  Caring and protective.

Nymeria  Fierce and independent.

Odie  Goofy and energetic.

Old Yeller  Loyal and protective.

Padfoot  Dog form nickname.

Peg  Bold and sassy.

Perdita  Caring and loving.

Pongo  Brave father.

Professor Annabelle  Kind and graceful.

Reggie  Friendly.

Ren  Wild and chaotic.

Rin Tin Tin  Brave and smart.

Rocky  Resourceful.

Rubble  Strong and construction-loving.

Sam  Loyal companion.

Santa's Little Helper  Loyal underdog.

Scrappy-Doo  Small but brave.

Shaggydog  Wild and untamed.

Sir Sniffs-a-Lot  Loves sniffing everything.

Sir Wags-a-Lot  For a dog who cant stop wagging.

Pluto  Loyal and playful.

Skye  Fearless flyer.

Slinky Dog  Loyal and funny.

Snowy  Loyal companion.

Spike  Tough but loving.

Stimpy  Goofy and lovable.

Summer  Loyal protector.

Toto  Brave little companion.

Tracker  Jungle explorer.

Tramp  Adventurous.

Trusty  Loyal old hound.

Tyke  Cute puppy.

Zero  Ghostly and loyal.

Zuma  Water-loving.

Cute Bernese Mountain Dog Names

A Bernese Mountain Dog puppy near flowers..Getty Images Marketa Vydrova (Getty Images Marketa Vydrova)

Are you looking for a big dog who is a cuddler? Berners want to spend time on the couch with you as you watch a movie and will probably be the first to fall asleep. These adorable and cute Bernese Mountain Dog names capture their sweetness.

Freesia  Innocence and trust.

Orchid  Rare beauty and elegance.

Pearl  Precious and elegant.

Peony  Prosperity and romance.

Primrose  Young love and new beginnings.

Sion  Historic town in Switzerland; grounded and strong.

Snowdrop  Delicate winter flower.

Tulip  Perfect love and happiness.

Pebble  Mix of earthy colors.

Mosaic  A combination of pieces.

Smudge  A blend of colors.

Splash  Bold color markings.

Swirl  A mix of flowing colors.

Unique Bernese Mountain Dog Names

If you live in an area that gets a good bit of snow during the winter season a Bernese Mountain dog will gladly join you on a long hike or snowball fight with the kids. With their love for the outdoors and playful spirit, these dogs deserve a name thats just as special and distinctive as they are. Thats where unique name ideas come inperfect for highlighting your pups one-of-a-kind personality.

Alpenglow  The pinkish light on mountains at sunrise.

Alp  Short for Alps mountains.

Aspen  Elegant mountain tree.

Avalon  Mystical island.

Birch  Light-colored tree.

Boulder  Sturdy and solid.

Canyon  Deep and grand.

Cedar  Strong and enduring tree.

Cinderpaw  Smoky and magical.

Cliff  Bold and steady.

Emberlyn  Glowing warmth, cozy and rare.

Fluffernutter  Long, silly, and affectionate.

Fuzzle  Fuzzy and adorable.

Glacier  Slow, strong, and majestic.

Juniper  Fragrant, resilient tree.

Lily  Elegant and pure.

Marigold  Bright and cheerful.

Nimbus  Fluffy cloud.

Oakley  Mighty oak tree.

Petal  Dainty and cute.

Pine  Evergreen, strong, and tall.

Poppy  Playful and vibrant.

Rose  Classic, sweet, and loving.

Rowan  Magical tree of protection.

Sequoia  Massive and majestic tree.

Snorfle  Funny, playful, and unique.

Stone  Strong and enduring.

Summit  Peak of a mountain.

Valley  Peaceful and calm.

Violet  Delicate and pretty.

Wobbleton  Funny and endearing.

Zephyra  Gentle west wind.



Swiss-Inspired Bernese Mountain Dog Names

A Bernese Mountan Dog in Switzerland.Getty Images Charis Hoekstra (Getty Images Charis Hoekstra)

Bernese Mountain Dogs originate from Switzerland, so a Swiss-inspired name is a meaningful way to honor their heritage. From charming Alpine towns to traditional Swiss names, these ideas capture the spirit of your pups roots

Alba  Means dawn.

Appenzell  Traditional Swiss town.

Arosa  Scenic Swiss mountain village.

Basel  Cultural Swiss city.

Beni  Friendly.

Bratwurst  Traditional sausage.

Cailler  Historic Swiss chocolate brand.

Davos  Mountain resort town.

Eiger  Famous mountain in the Alps.

Emil  Playful.

Emmental  Swiss region known for cheese.

Fondue  Melted cheese or chocolate.

Fritz  Ruler.

Geneva  Global Swiss city by the lake.

Grindelwald  Picturesque mountain village.

Gruyere  Hard, nutty cheese.

Hansi  Form of Hans.

Interlaken  Town between two lakes.

Jura  Mountain range along Switzerland.

Lausanne  Scenic city on Lake Geneva.

Leni  Short for Helena.

Lindt  Famous Swiss chocolate brand.

Lotti  Playful.

Luca  Bringer of light.

Lucerne  Swiss lakeside city.

Mila  Gracious.

Nina  Sweet girl.

Noel  Christmas.

Nougat  Candy.

Otto  Wealth.

Raclette  Melted cheese dish.

Rhine  Major European river.

Romi  Gentle.

Rosti  Classic Swiss potato dish.

Sbrinz  Oldest Swiss hard cheese.

Tobler  Inspired by Toblerone.

Ueli  Swiss form of Ulrich.

Zermatt  Alpine mountain village.

Zita  Seeker.

Zopf  Swiss braided bread.

Zurich  Largest city in Switzerland.

Bernedoodle Names

Known for being friendly, and often low-shedding family pets, Bernedoodles are a combination of a calm Bernese with the hypoallergenic-friendly coat of the Poodle. Whether your pup is goofy, cuddly, or full of energy, these name ideas are perfect for this adorable mix.

Aurora  Dawn or northern lights.

Bingo  Fun and lively.

Bliss  Peaceful and happy.

Buddy  Loyal and friendly.

Caramel  Sweet and golden.

Chestnut  Reddish-brown coloring.

Chewie  Playful and fun.

Cinder  Like soft ashes; dark and soft.

Cocoa  Warm brown coat.

Espresso  Dark and energetic.

Joy  Brings joy to the home.

Lucky Brings good luck and happiness.

Lumos  Brings light, inspired by Harry Potter.

Marshmallow  Sweet and squishy.

Nova  Bright star.

Nox  Night-inspired, mysterious.

Nyx  Greek goddess of night; mysterious and elegant.

Puff  Soft and light.

Sirius  The Dog Star and a black dog reference.

Snickers  Playful and sweet.

Sunshine  Cheerful and happy.

Ziggy  Energetic and quirky.





This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Mar 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Dogs section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Products featured in this Yahoo article are selected by our shopping writers. We will earn a commission from purchases made via links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Tributes paid to pilots killed in LaGuardia crash as its revealed miracle survivor was hurled 320ft across tarmac

The pilots who are being hailed as heroes by the passengers they saved when their Air Canada Express flight collided with a Port Authority fire truck at New Yorks LaGuardia Airport on Sunday have been identified.

They were named as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther. Both the pilot and co-pilot were based in Canada, Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia told reporters.

In the cockpit with Forest and Gunther was flight attendant Solange Tremblay, who was sitting in the planes jump seat. It has emerged that Tremblay was hurled 320 feet across the runway but miraculously survived.

The Bombardier CRJ-900, operated by Jazz Aviation, was arriving from Montreal with 76 passengers and crew when it struck the emergency vehicle on Runway 4 at approximately 11.40 pm. The truck had been cleared to cross the active runway while responding to a separate incident involving a United Airlines flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are conducting a joint investigation into the collision.

The nearly 14-hour closure forced the cancellation of more than 500 flights on Monday.

Antoine Forest

Forests family has confirmed that the Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, native was one of the two pilots who died in Sundays crash, relatives told The Toronto Star Monday. The town is located about 25 miles southwest of Montreal.

Antoine Forest was one of the two pilots who was killed in the crash on Sunday (Antoine Forest / Facebook)

Forests great-aunt, Jeannette Gagnier - whom he considered a grandmother - told the Star that he had been flying since he was 16 years old.

He was always taking courses and flying, Gagnier said, recalling how he first learned to pilot bush planes as a teenager. He never stopped.

Forest spent his youth between his home in Quebec and Hawkesbury, Ontario, where he and his younger brother spent summers fishing and watching television with Gagnier.

During his 11th-grade year, he moved in with Gagnier specifically to improve his English, a step he believed was vital for his future career as a pilot.

According to his professional records and LinkedIn profile, Forest began his career flying smaller bush planes, such as the de Havilland Canada Beaver and Otter, for Air Saguenay. He later moved on to pilot twin-engine aircraft for ExactAir before joining Jazz Aviation as a first officer in December 2022.

Jeannette Gagnier, Forests great-aunt, said that she remembered the pilot as a handsome young man (Reuters)

Photos on Forest's Facebook page reflect his love for the outdoors, showing him hiking snow-capped mountains and spending time on the water.

Gagnier, who received the news of the crash from her son on Monday, remembered the pilot as a "handsome young man" who would still cuddle with her at bedtime during his summer visits as a child.

Its a very bad day for me, she told the Star.

While investigators are still analyzing flight data, survivors continue to point to the crew's actions as a reason more lives weren't lost.

Reports from the cabin suggest the pilots attempted to deploy reverse thrust in the final seconds - a move that may have prevented the jet from veering further off course after the nose was destroyed.

Mackenzie Gunther

Mackenzie Gunther, the first officer on the flight, was also killed in the collision, according to Radio-Canada sources.

Seneca Polytechnic, a multi-campus public college with locations in the Greater Toronto Area and Peterborough, shared in a statement that Gunther was an alumnus.

Mr. Gunther graduated from the Honours Bachelor of Aviation Technology (FPR) program in 2023, the statement read. Through the Jazz Aviation Pathways Program, he joined Jazz Aviation immediately after graduation and began his professional flying career.

Rebecca Liquori, a passenger on the plane, said that she is forever indebted to the pilots (Getty)

Seneca sends our deepest condolences to Mr. Gunthers family and friends, and to his former colleagues and professors, the statement continued. He will be deeply missed.

To honour the memory of Mr. Gunther, flags at Senecas campuses will be lowered to half-mast on Tuesday, March 24.

Rebecca Liquori, who was a passenger on the plane, told CNN that she is forever indebted to the pilots.

I felt like the pilots saved our lives, she said. Theyre the reasons I was able to make it home safe to see my boys, and my heart goes out to their families.

Another passenger, Joe, described the two pilots as heroes while speaking to CNN.

Those two pilots, I truly believe that whatever they did at the end, whether it was pulling a break or trying to stop or divert at the last moment, they saved everybody on board, he said. I will be forever grateful to them, and theyre always going to be heroes to me.

Solange Tremblay

Flight attendant Solange Tremblay suffered multiple fractures in the crash, according to her daughter.

Speaking to Quebecs TVA News, Sarah Lepine said that her mother was strapped into her seat behind the pilots at the moment of impact.

The force of the collision with the fire truck was so severe that it ejected Tremblay from the aircraft, throwing her more than 320 feet onto the tarmac.

Solange Tremblay was ejected more than 100 meters from the plane, according to her daughter (Facebook)

Its a complete miracle. At the moment of impact, her seat was ejected more than 100 meters from the plane. They found her and she was still strapped into her seat, Lepine added.

She had a guardian angel watching over her, Lepine continued. It could have been much worse.

Tremblay will undergo surgery for a broken leg at the hospital, according to Lepine.

Well-wishers have flocked to Tremblays Facebook page, with many sending their thoughts and prayers.

Just weeks ago, Tremblay responded to a post claiming that aircraft passengers had grabbed their luggage while evacuating from a plane in a separate incident. The post suggested that trying to take carry-on luggage during an evacuation should be punishable.

Yes absolutely! Tremblay wrote in response. Life time (sic) ban & A huge fine ! A human life is more important.

Officer Adrian Baez

Adrian Baez is one of the two Port Authority officers inside the truck that collided with the plane.

A CNN safety analyst said that the plane hit directly in the middle of the fire truck (AFP/Getty)

Both men were injured, Bobby Egbert, a spokesperson for the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, told The New York Times.

Kathryn Garcia told reporters that the two men had been taken to New York-Presbyterian Queens.

Baez was later released from the hospital on Monday, according to Egbert.

Sgt. Michael Orsillo

Sergeant Michael Orsillo, the other officer who was inside the truck, remains hospitalized, according to Egbert.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association said that one of the officers in the truck has been released from hospital (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

David Soucie, a safety analyst at CNN, revealed that many more lives could have been lost if the plane had collided with the truck in a different manner.

This could have been much, much worse, he told the network. Because that aircraft hit directly in the middle of the fire truck, the fire truck was moved forward, and the aircraft was damaged in the nose.

Soucie said that if the truck had been 40 feet back, the planes wing, fuel cells, or engines could have been damaged. That could have caused a fire to break out, leading to further fatalities.

So as tragic as this is for the two that weve lost, just out of pure luck, that airplane hit in the middle of that fire truck and reduced the number of fatalities significantly, he said.
The Celebrity Traitors winner Alan Carr has said he has genuinely bought a castle to live in for his new Disney+ show.

The 49-year-old comedian said he would be moving out of his house to the castle in Scotland for the reality TV series Castle Man, which he said came after he initially thought about buying one during his time on the BBC reality gameshow.

Speaking at Advertising Week Europe in London, Carr said: Hopefully (people are) entertained and enjoying it, but also maybe see a side of me that they dont normally see.

Carr says his Celebrity Traitors win inspired the show (Ian West/PA) (Ian West)

Because, what I want to say is, as well, I genuinely have bought the castle, and I saw some whisperings, they think, oh no, yeah, yeah, I get it, were used to seeing gimmicks on TV and going, oh yeah, Disney+ have bought your castle  no, I bought the castle.

Im selling up, Im moving up there, its genuine. There was in the paper that Im turning it into a leisure centre and spa, I love the smell of chlorine in the house.

Its genuine and my heart is going, its a lot of money and Im moving up to Scotland so its got to work.

He said the idea came to him while he was mincing around the Traitors castle during down time on the show, and added that he wanted to help the surrounding community with the project.

Carr added: I just fell in love with it, and I know you sound like a wanker when say youve got a castle, but what I want to do with it, community-based, fun things, a real sense of getting a relationship with the community and stuff.

Ive got some wonderful ideas, its giving something back, thats what excites me more.

He said community events at his castle would include dog shows, comedy, fetes, and joked that he would also judge the biggest courgette in the village.

The Weymouth-born star went on to say that he had been offered loads of things after Traitors but said he wanted to do something that made people stop him in the street.

Carr won The Celebrity Traitors last autumn in a nail-biting series finale, which saw him snatch victory from two faithfuls, historian David Olusoga and actor Nick Mohammed.

A release date for Castle Man, which will follow Carr has he buys the castle and attempts to run it, is yet to be announced.
Unwinding the Claude AI tool from US military applications could prove to be a daunting task. Photograph: Koshiro K/Shutterstock (Photograph: Koshiro K/Shutterstock)

Anthropic faced off against the Department of Defense in a federal court on Tuesday afternoon, as the artificial intelligence company seeks a temporary pause on the governments decision to bar the US military and any contractors from using its technology. The two sides have been locked in an escalating feud over Anthropics refusal to allow its Claude AI chatbot to be used for domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous lethal weapons. Donald Trump has ordered all US government agencies to stop using Anthropics tools, which the company is also contesting.

Representatives for the AI firm and the government appeared in a northern California district court, where Judge Rita Lin presided over the hearing for a temporary injunction. The hearing is one of the first steps in Anthropics lawsuit against the defense department, which it filed earlier this month after Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, declared the company a supply chain risk  a designation that Anthropic alleges will cause irreparable harm and cost hundreds of millions or more in revenue.

Anthropics suit and Lins decision will have widespread ramifications for both the company and the US government, which has come to extensively rely on Claude over the past year for a variety of uses, including in its military operations against Iran. The standoff between the defense department and Anthropic, especially the formers move to categorize a US company as a supply chain risk for the first time ever, has also created significant tension in Silicon Valleys close relationship with the Trump administration.

Lin opened the hearing with her thoughts on the case, calling it a fascinating public policy debate while saying that her role was to narrowly decide whether the governments actions were illegal. Lin also said she had questions about the governments actions, which appeared to go beyond a decision simply not to work with Anthropic and veer into punitive measures.

It looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic, Lin said.

Lawyers for the government argued that Hegseths social media post last month declaring that no contractors could do business with the government was not a legal action and no entity would face noncompliance issues if they ignored it. The governments argument seemed to conflict with Hegseths post on X that any contractor that does business with the military is prohibited from working with Anthropic.

Related: Baltimore sues Elon Musks AI company over Groks fake nude images

Youre standing here saying, We said it, but we didnt really mean it, Lin pressed the governments lawyer on their claim. Lin later asked why Hegseth would post the claim if it had no legal effect.

I dont know, the governments lawyer replied.

Anthropic declined to comment on the lawsuit. The defense department has previously stated that as a matter of policy it does not comment on litigation.

Anthropic alleges that the government violated the companys first amendment rights by designating it a supply chain risk, arguing that the decision was an attempt at punishing the company for displeasing the president and for not complying with the defense departments request to loosen safety guardrails on Claude.

These actions are unprecedented and unlawful. The constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech, Anthropic stated in its California suit.

Anthropic has argued that its AI model is not reliable enough to be used for the purposes of mass domestic surveillance or fully automated lethal weapons, while its CEO, Dario Amodei, has expressed concerns about AI being used in authoritarian ways. US defense officials and Trump have meanwhile framed the companys actions as a politically biased betrayal of the country, with Trump calling it a A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Despite the defense department striking deals in recent weeks with rival firms OpenAI and Elon Musks xAI to allow them to operate in a classified environment, disentangling federal agencies from their use of Claude is an enormous undertaking that would take months of disruption to complete. The companys technology is deeply intertwined with government operations, including in the military, where it is reportedly being used to select and analyze targets of missile strikes in Iran.
Products featured in this Yahoo article are selected by our shopping writers. We will earn a commission from purchases made via links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Border Patrol leader Gregory Bovino showed no remorse for the Trump administrations aggressive immigration crackdown  and said he wished he had deported even more immigrants as he prepares for retirement.

I wish Id caught even more illegal aliens, he recently told the New York Times. I mean, we went as hard as we could, but theres always a creative and innovative solution to catching even more.

Bovino, 55, led a military-style deportation campaign across cities until January, when two Americans were killed at the hands of federal agents during chaotic operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

As he prepares to retire at the end of this month, after nearly 30 years with the agency, he doesnt have regrets about his hard-line methods.

We wanted total border domination, Bovino said. When you use terms like that, perhaps it scares some of the weaker-minded people. Domination. I want you to dominate that border. Im not going to control it. Were going to dominate the hell out of that damn place.

Gregory Bovino joined Border Patrol in 1996, but wasnt widely known until Trump appointed him as commander of his immigration crackdown in Los Angeles (AP)

Bovino joined Border Patrol in 1996, though he wasnt known outside of the agency until last June, when he became commander of President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown in Los Angeles.

The LA stint resulted in thousands of arrests as federal agents rounded up immigrants without legal status as well as some U.S. citizens. Border Patrol under Bovinos command adopted several unusual moves, including in one operation where they leapt out of an unmarked box truck to make arrests in a Home Depot parking lot, and another where Border Patrol troops conducted what appeared to be a symbolic show of force as mounted troops paraded through LAs MacArthur Park.

City-wide protests that included setting cars on fire prompted the deployment of the National Guard and Marines over the course of a month.

Bovino, who would often appear publicly in tactical gear, joined masked Border Patrol agents during raids in several other cities, including Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans and Minneapolis.

While agents were carrying out Bovinos hardline enforcement in these cities, they were often accused of excessive force and racial profiling against immigrants and citizens alike, which they denied.

Federal agents under Bovinos command were also responsible for the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mom of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Bovinos exit comes as he was reportedly under investigation for the Minnesota operation (AP)

Federal agents under Bovinos command were also responsible for the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mom of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis earlier this year (AFP via Getty Images)

Bovino left Minnesota shortly after Pretti was killed on January 24 and was replaced by White House border czar Tom Homan. Bovino returned to his position as chief patrol agent in the El Centro sector of California in January.

Following his reassignment, President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview that Bovino was very good but that he is a pretty out there kind of guy, and in some cases, thats good, maybe it wasnt good here.

Bovinos exit from the border agency comes as he is reportedly under investigation by local authorities for the Minnesota operation.

A senior DHS staffer told The Daily Beast earlier this month: He sees where the wind is blowing. Hes got an internal investigation looming, and hes already been sent back to El Centro. Now with Noem out, its a sign of things to come. Chosen to jump before hes pushed.

Customs and Border Protection, parent agency of Border Patrol, has also reportedly opened an internal investigation into whether Bovino made disparaging remarks about the faith of a Jewish federal prosecutor in Minnesota.

His retirement comes soon after Trump fired Secretary Kristi Noem, ending her controversial 13-month stint at Homeland Security that has seen tens of thousands of immigrants removed from the U.S.

She was subsequently named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas which the president described as our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.

Bovino previously had high praise for Noem. She is the best Secretary I ever worked for, period. The others werent even close. Noem is the ultimate patriot, he said earlier this month.

Trump nominated Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her. The Senate confirmed Mullin to be the next DHS secretary Monday.
British troops shot down 14 Iranian kamikaze drones targeting allied bases in Iraq as Tehran stepped up attacks across the Middle East on Tuesday.

The ministry of defence said the defensive action marked the largest number of drones destroyed in a single night since the US and Israel began joint military action against Iran more than three weeks ago.

Defence secretary John Healey told ministers at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting that a counter-drone team had intercepted the drones, which were used to attack the Erbil base in northern Iraq. British and American troops are housed at the base, which has previously been targeted.

A defence source said: "Where we have UK forces operating the Rapid Sentry system, they shot down 14 one-way attack drones just in one night last night, I mean, hugely impressive action, and that is the largest number that they've shot down in a single night.

"What we're seeing is the rate of attacks last night returning to the norm that we'd seen pre-Eid," the defence source said, referring to the Islamic Eid al-Fitr celebration at the end of last week.

John Healey said a counter-drone team had struck down several drones overnight (PA Wire)

Specialist troops from the RAF Regiment used the UK's Rapid Sentry air defence system to defeat the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Defence chiefs said two weeks ago that several UAVs targeted the camp and caused injuries to US troops.

Mr Healy told ministers that British forces had defended allies in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan overnight, and that UK pilots had flown nearly 900 hours defending British interests and allies since the war began.

A kamikaze drone is designed to fly to a target area, loiter, and crash into a target to explode. They are designed for single use.

In an update on Tuesday, the ministry of defence also said that additional British Army Stormer air defence systems armed with state-of-the-art missiles had arrived in Cyprus to further strengthen air defences in the region.

Royal Air Force Typhoons and F-35 jets had continued their defensive missions overnight on Monday, including over Cyprus, Jordan, and Qatar, the ministry also said.

In a post on social media, it said: Force protection measures in the region continue to be at the highest levels - ensuring UK personnel are as safe as possible. We are also working closely in co-ordination with allies."

Iranian-made Shahed-136 'Kamikaze' drone (Middle East Images/AFP/Getty)

It comes as Rachel Reeves indicated on Tuesday that millions of British households would receive no help from the government with soaring energy bills due to the war in Iran, but would offer targeted support to those who need it most.

The chancellor said targeted support wouldnt be unveiled for another month, as she admitted that the conflict in the Middle East would create significant challenges for the UK economy.

She said she also intended to meet with supermarkets and banks to discuss how they can help customers struggling with increased prices.

Elsewhere, it was reported that the UK is considering plans to send a Royal Navy ship as part of an international effort to hunt and destroy mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The government is said to be leading coalition efforts between nations including France and the US to help ships move through the key oil route, which has been blocked amid war with Iran.

Plans could include sending a Royal Navy ship or leasing an commercial vessel to carry autonomous uncrewed systems to hunt the mines, which officials believe have been laid in the Strait of Hormuz.
NEW YORK, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hubbard Dianetics Foundation at the Church of Scientology of New York held a mental health outreach across New York City in early March, offering free stress tests and copies of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron Hubbard at locations including Herald Square, the Times Square42nd Street subway station and Harlem.

Dianetics volunteers offer free stress tests to commuters at the Times Square 42nd Street subway station during a global mental health outreach spanning 50 countries and 250 cities (Hubbard Dianetics Foundation)

The outreach drew a broad cross-section of New Yorkers and visitors alike. Teenagers and retirees, postal workers and business owners, locals and visitors from Algeria, Ecuador, Indonesia, India and several European countries stopped at the tables. As temperatures dropped, the team continued the outreach in the subway system, where volunteers offered stress tests to rush-hour commuters, musicians from a nearby Ecuadorian band, and a man whose interest was renewed in a copy of Dianetics his grandfather had given him years earlier.

Many participants shared personal stresses and challenges they wanted to address. A woman whose family calls her "Figure it out Michelle" because she holds everything together said she was glad to have a new tool to help her do so. A man who described feeling as though his world was ending whenever something went wrong said he saw Dianetics as a way to change that. A 60-year-old man, shaken after learning that his brother had been shot and hospitalized, received the book and took part in an introductory Dianetics session.

Volunteers said they were motivated by their own positive experiences with the book. When a young Algerian woman requested an Arabic copy, one volunteer ran 12 blocks and returned with the edition before she came back from an errand. Dianetics is available in 50 languages.

"Once people see what is really bothering them and talk about it, they often want to improve their mental health," said Marty Gottlieb, a Dianetics volunteer. "I've lived in New York all my life and have seen people facing all kinds of problems. It is rewarding to see people recognize what is holding them back and take steps to address it."

Now in its 75th year, Dianetics has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide. The New York outreach was part of a coordinated global effort spanning 50 countries and more than 250 cities.

The Hubbard Dianetics Foundation holds Dianetics Seminars weekly at the Church of Scientology of New York for those interested in doing something to take control of their mental health.

For more information, visit www.dianetics.org.

SOURCE Church of Scientology International
The RAF gunners used the Rapid Sentry ground-based missile system (pictured) to shoot down the drones - Ministry of Defence

British troops in Iraq shot down more than a dozen Iranian kamikaze drones during an aerial blitz on Monday evening.

Gunners from the Royal Air Force regiment based in Erbil used the Rapid Sentry ground-based missile system to destroy 14 one-way attack aircraft swarming the base.

The figure represents the largest number of drones to be shot down by British forces in a single night since the Iran war began almost four weeks ago.

A defence source said: They shot down 14 one-way attack drones just in one night. Its a hugely impressive action.

Rapid Sentry, acquired in secret in 2022, fires supersonic, lightweight, multi-role missiles, which have been used by Ukrainian forces to down Russian drones.

There were no British casualties in the attack on Erbil, a coalition air base from which special forces soldiers from the SAS have previously operated.

The attack marks another attempt by Iran to drag Americas Western allies into the war that broke out on Feb 28 with joint US-Israeli air strikes.

The conflict is the closest that Britain has come to drone warfare and is the first time UK troops have faced repeated and sustained drone attacks from an enemy nation.

Last week, the military outpost in northern Iraq came under repeated assault from swarms of drones, believed to be Iranian Shaheds. Two were destroyed by UK troops, but others eluded defences and struck the base, injuring some American personnel stationed there.

It was unclear what model was used in the latest attack, but Shaheds have been used extensively by Tehran in attacks across the Gulf.

Donald Trump is considering sending paratroopers to Iran, despite saying he had begun talks to end his war.

The US president could send a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, known as the immediate response force, to the Gulf.

Military insiders suggested that the force, which specialises in parachute assaults, could be used to take control of Kharg Island, Irans oil export hub, depending on the success of negotiations with the Islamic Republic.

US officials told The New York Times that the preparations were part of prudent planning and said the division had not yet received orders to deploy.

Washington has already deployed two amphibious fighting forces towards the region, which could see more than 4,000 US marines arriving in the Gulf in a matter of weeks.

Britain has not received any requests from Mr Trump to deploy ground troops to the region, a UK defence source added.

At the weekend, it emerged that Iran had launched two ballistic missiles at the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia. One fell short of the island while the other was intercepted by US forces in the region.

The attack prompted alarm about Irans missile capabilities. Previously, the regimes weapons were only believed to have a range of about 1,300 miles, but Diego Garcia is about 2,500 miles from Iran. The Israel Defense Forces claimed that the Iranians could now hit London.

On Tuesday, British defence officials said the missiles used by Iran were likely experimental. A source said: We have not seen Iran use weapons with that range before, which implies to me that these are new and experimental capabilities.
Chad Bianco, the Riverside county sherif, and conservative political commentator Steve Hilton polled at 14% and 16% respectively. Composite: Getty Images (Composite: Getty Images)

Republicans continue to lead the California governors race amid a crowded field of Democrats, a new poll commissioned by the states Democratic party found, fueling concerns of a conservative win in the famously liberal state.

The party on Tuesday published the results of a large-scale poll of 2,000 likely voters conducted by Evitarus Research that revealed that 16% of participants would back the conservative political commentator Steve Hilton in the upcoming primary, while 14% would support Chad Bianco, the Riverside county sheriff.

Meanwhile, three Democrats were in a dead heat. Congressman Eric Swalwell, former Representative Katie Porter and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer each had support from 10% of people surveyed.

The results were somewhat similar to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released last week in which Hilton and Bianco were in the lead with 17% and 16% respectively, while Swalwell had 14%, Porter came in with 13% and Steyer had 10%.

Related: Gavin Newsom says he regrets using term apartheid to describe Israel

Voters remain largely disengaged and unenthusiastic about the candidates and the election, Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Berkeley IGS Poll, said in a statement announcing the results of that survey.

In California, the top two candidates in the June primary will advance to the November election regardless of their party affiliation. At least eight Democrats are in the running to replace the outgoing governor, Gavin Newsom, and even candidates with low polling have stayed in the race despite pleas from the California Democratic party for them to drop out.

Earlier this month, Rusty Hicks, the party chair, warned the crowded field could lead to an unlikely but possible Republican win and urged candidates without a viable path in the race to withdraw. Just one candidate did so.

Along with the top three Democrats, the candidates include the former health and human services secretary and state attorney general Xavier Becerra, San Joses mayor, Matt Mahan, state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state controller Betty Yee.

The Evitarus poll showed Becerra, Villaraigosa and Mahan with 3%, Yee with 2% and Thurmond with 1%. But it also suggested voters were not particularly engaged in the race as 24% said they were undecided and not leaning toward any single candidate.

Controversy has sprung up around the race and the Democratic partys position that candidates with little support should end their campaigns. Thurmond said earlier this month that the political system was rigged and that the party was essentially telling every candidate of color in the race for governor to drop out.

The University of Southern California was set to hold a debate featuring Hilton, Bianco, Swalwell, Porter, Steyer and Mahan on Tuesday, but cancelled the event the night before amid criticism for not including any candidates of color.

Hilton described the move as yet another example of insane Democrat incompetence and suggested that the Trump administration should suspend federal funding to USC over the cancellation.
California man gets 6 years in prison after breaking into womans house and sucking her toes

A California man has been sentenced to more than 6 years in prison after breaking into a womans house and sucking her toes, according to officials.

Cristian Solorio, a 28-year-old from Modesto, was convicted of stalking and breaking into a residence with the intent to commit a sex act, the Stanislaus County District Attorneys Office announced on Facebook last Friday.

Solorio first saw the unnamed woman at her workplace in February 2025 and immediately became obsessed with her, the DAs office said.

He would show up at her job multiple times a day, loitering outside as he waited to approach her when she left, according to prosecutors. Solorio asked the woman out multiple times and sent her a letter in which he said he wanted to take her to Mexico, the DAs office said.

He harassed the woman for several weeks and learned where she lived, according to prosecutors. On the night of May 21, 2025, he went to her house, and after her father left the home, he broke in, the DAs office said.

Cristian Solorio, a 28-year-old from Modesto, has been sentenced to more than 6 years in prison after breaking into a womans house and sucking her toes, according to officials (Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office)

The woman woke up to find Solorio in her bedroom, sucking her toes, according to prosecutors.

Although terrified, the victim managed to talk with Solorio in a friendly demeaner [sic] in an attempt to keep him calm and de-escalate his actions, the DAs office said.

After the womans other family members came into her room, they demanded Solorio leave, and then he fled, according to prosecutors. The woman reported the incident to the local sheriffs office, which later identified Solorio and arrested him.

Stanislaus County Deputy District Attorney Vita Palazuelos told The Independent Solorio was ID, located, and arrested within hours.

The victim was incredibly brave and did all the right things to get him to leave her alone, Palazuelos added.

Solorio had admitted to breaking into the home to approach the woman, according to prosecutors. But he pleaded no contest to stalking and breaking into a residence with the intent to commit a sex act.

When a defendant pleads no contest, they do not admit guilt, but also do not contest the charges against them, according to California-based Southwest Legal Criminal Defense Attorneys.

Solorio was given the maximum sentence of 6 years and 8 months.
Tania Warner and daughter, Ayla. Photograph: Family handout (Photograph: Family handout)

A Canadian woman who has been imprisoned with her seven-year-old daughter by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has cautioned other immigrants that they are at risk of detention, even if they follow the correct legal process  and warned them to keep out of sight for as long as Donald Trump is president.

Dont go anywhere near a checkpoint, and if your papers are in processing, just lay low. Trump meant what he said  he is trying to get rid of everyone, whether they are good or bad, said Tania Warner, 47, who is currently held with her autistic daughter, Ayla, at the Dilley immigration processing center in south Texas.

The people in here are not criminals  Theyve had their dignity and their freedom stripped from them because they have their papers processing, she told the Guardian. You shouldnt be putting children, families in jail. Its unjust.

The pair moved from British Columbia to Kingsville, Texas, in 2021 when Warner married Edward Warner, who is a US citizen.

The family was driving home from a baby shower in Raymondville, Texas, on 14 March when they were stopped at a border patrol checkpoint in Sarita. Tania Warner and her daughter were taken in by ICE agents to be fingerprinted, and neither returned.

Warners husband told the Vancouver Sun last week that ICE officials said she overstayed her visa, though he provided the paper with a copy of a US employment authorization card issued to his wife last year, and it had an expiry date of 8 June 2030.

They were originally held at Rio Grande Valley central processing center in McAllen, Texas, but were moved early on Friday to Dilley  which was originally opened under Barack Obama but later shuttered during the administration of Joe Biden. It reopened in early 2025 to hold detained families and has been heavily criticized for inhumane conditions.

Tania Warner described the treatment of her and her daughter as horrific from the start. After being held for about five and a half hours at the checkpoint, they were sent to the first facility, where every single person  was handcuffed  including children, the mother said.

There, they slept on the floor on 2in mats and the lights were on 24 hours a day. Agents would not let Warner call a lawyer and constantly pressured her to sign documents agreeing to self-deport.

Theyre abusive, and their tactics are to threaten you and to be so inhospitable that you deport yourself, Warner said. She and her family say she has made it clear they have all the correct documents to live and work in the US, but that has been ignored.

My life is here with my husband. I love him. I dont want to leave. But at the same time, Ive gotten a really ugly taste in my mouth for the United States, she said.

Throughout the ordeal, Ayla has put on a brave face, befriending other children who also just want to go home, said Warner. But she has also developed a persistent full-body rash, for which she has been given Benadryl.

I think shes internalizing a lot, she said.

Conditions at Dilly are marginally better, Warner said  inmates have access to windows and can sometimes go outdoors  but they have no privacy and are watched round the clock by guards.

Related: Canadian mother and daughter traumatized by ICE detainment, husband says

The familys lawyer is working to get the pair released on payment of a $15,000 bond.

Amelia Boultbee, a member of the legislative assembly of British Columbia, where Tania Warner is originally from, said she is urgently lobbying Canadas federal government to help get Warner and her daughter released.

Were exploring diplomatic and legal avenues to have these Canadians released from detention, and Im hoping that we take a strong stand against these illegal and unethical detentions by ICE, she said.

But the course of action for Canadian authorities is unclear as there are few precedents of cases of Canadian families held in US detention, Boultbee said.

There isnt a clear template to follow, diplomatically or legally. So were exploring the best way  to advocate for this family and get them out of detention, she said.

Global Affairs Canada, the federal ministry that handles consular services and diplomatic relations, said on Thursday it was aware of multiple cases of Canadians currently or previously in immigration-related detention in the US.



Consular officials advocate for Canadian citizens abroad and raise concerns about justified and serious complaints of ill-treatment or discrimination with the local authorities but cannot exempt Canadians from local legal processes, a spokesperson said. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.

Approached for comment on 20 March, ICE asked for more information about the Warners case. The Guardian provided that information, but four days later ICE had still not replied.
Donald Trump reversed course and will accept an offer from Democrats to reopen parts of the Department of Homeland Security, excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and end the nations growing airport delays, a White House official said on Tuesday.

Homeland Security, which includes both ICE and the Transportation Safety Administration, has been in shutdown mode since February as Democrats have refused to vote to authorize ICE funding unless a set of reforms to immigration enforcement operations and tactics were made nationwide. Among those reforms is a requirement that ICE obtain judicial warrants before conducting searches and an end to roving enforcement operations.

That has left the nations airports in turmoil as TSA agents have gone unpaid and are calling out sick and quitting in droves, resulting in hours-long security lines at the nations busiest airports. Trump, meanwhile, has deployed ICE agents to the airports as a supplement, even though those agents are not trained in security screening. As a result, congressional discomfort over the increasingly dire situation in the nations airports is weakening resistance on both sides of the aisle, as senators seek an off-ramp to the deadlock.

Democrats on Monday offered the White House and Senate Republicans a deal that would reopen every part of DHS, excluding ICE, and allow Republicans to attempt to reauthorize funding for ICE through a budget reconciliation package that would only require 50 votes to clear the Senate. A White House official told NewsNation on Tuesday that the president had decided to accept the offer.

Donald Trump was opposed to any deal with Democrats to fund DHS, Sen. John Kennedy said on Monday. On Tuesday, he changed course. (Getty)

The flip-flop from Trump  the kind of reversal on a hard-line stance that has come to be known as TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) among his critics  came a day after he insisted that Republicans not make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats and urged them to work through the Easter break if necessary to force through his voter ID initiative.

Only hours earlier a Republican senator who is a staunch ally of the president had claimed that Trump had rejected the offer out of hand.

On Monday, Sen. John Kennedy told Fox News that Donald Trump rejected one of those off-ramps, which he and another conservative Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz, both supported. Their support indicates that the deal supposedly offered by Democrats would have been met with broad support within the GOP caucus.

"The Democrats offered to open up everything but ICE. Ted [Cruz] and I said, 'Ok, let's accept their offer,' and then at the same time we would offer a bill through reconciliation, where we don't need any Democratic votes to do whatever we wanted to do with ICE. That way we're out of the shutdown and DHS is back open, said Kennedy, explaining the framework of the proposed deal.

We submitted that, [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune submitted that to President Trump. As is his right, [Trump] said, 'No. No deals with the Democrats.'

He added: So we're back to square one."

Donald Trump urged Republicans to not back down on DHS funding talks in a pair of Truth Social posts on Sunday and Monday (Truth Social - Donald Trump)

Donald Trump's second post on Truth Social on Monday showed no signs of willingness to accept a Democratic deal (Truth Social - Donald Trump)

Trump himself posted on Truth Social late Sunday evening: I dont think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. It is far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate.

He even called on the Senate to work through the Easter holiday, and combine the effort to renew DHS funding with his voter ID push: Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary. He was no less dogmatic on Monday, writing that he would fight [Democrats] all the way, and WIN!

The presidents flip-flop is likely to give Democrats ammunition as they seek to blame the White House for the ongoing shutdown and its effects on travelers nationwide. Airports in cities including Houston, Atlanta, New York and Baltimore among many others have reported serious TSA staffing gaps as Congress quickly approaches another soft deadline: March 31, when thousands of federal workers will once again miss a paycheck.

At the same time, it could anger Democratic voters who may once again see a deal as members of their party taking actions that would allow Republicans to accomplish objectives related to green-lighting the presidents mass deportation agenda while covering themselves, politically, from the fallout.

Democrats in the Senate previously backed down from their demands during a shutdown showdown last year and abandoned an effort to seek the renewal of health care subsidies for millions of Americans after holding out for weeks.

Many TSA agents have been refusing to work without pay during the DHS shutdown, causing long lines at airport security checkpoints (AFP/Getty)

Trumps status as an obstacle to a deal being struck is not new, but Mondays confirmation from Kennedy is the first sign of Trump actively torpedoing a specific attempt by Congress to reopen the agency. For weeks, the president has vowed to block any legislation that reached his desk from becoming law over the inability of the Senate to pass the SAVE Act, a piece of voter ID legislation that is opposed by every Democrat in the chamber as well as one Republican, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Republicans in the chamber could only pass the bill by making changes to the 60-vote filibuster rule (or dropping it entirely), which they also do not have the votes to do.

Kennedys plan would see most of the agency reopened by cutting a deal with Democrats, and ICE funding authorized through a budget reconciliation measure that would require a simple majority in the Senate to pass. Some lawmakers have separately fretted that Republicans couldnt pass a bill even with the vote threshold in the Senate much lower.

Republicans used the budget reconciliation path to pass the Big, Beautiful Bill last year which served as vehicle for several Republican policy objectives, including a surge of funding for ICE and infrastructure for Trumps mass deportation program. Senate rules restrict the process from being used to pass anything that isnt strictly budget-related.

Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer reportedly offered Republicans a deal that would allow them to reopen most of DHS, and fund ICE through reconciliation (REUTERS)

As a result of the presidents decision, theres no sign of a resolution coming soon for the security screening delays affecting air travelers in many cities. Some lines have been reported as high as three or four hours long, with two airports (New Orleans and Atlanta) reporting TSA call-out rates north of 40 percent, per DHS.

Lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were reaching up to four hours long, officials warned travelers on Tuesday, as were delays in Houston. Other airports such as LaGuardia, site of a fatal crash between a passenger jet and a Port Authority vehicle on Monday, were suspending wait time estimates altogether.

"My flight leaves in 16 minutes. I got up at 3 a.m., one frustrated traveler in a Houston TSA checkpoint line told a Fox News reporter during a live broadcast at 10:00 a.m Tuesday morning.

The White House announced over the weekend that ICE agents would be taken off the streets and put into the nations airports to fill staffing gaps, but Trumps own officials werent even clear whether those agents were trained to take roles in airport security.

Photos and videos taken at airports on Monday seemed to confirm the opposite. ICE agents were spotted milling around and performing patrol duties while long security lines went unaddressed.
(Handout/PA Wire)

Debut author Harry Shukman has been awarded the prestigious Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award for his compelling account of infiltrating British far-right groups.

Shukmans acclaimed book, Year Of The Rat, was lauded by judging chairwoman Johanna Thomas-Corr as "investigative journalism with the nerve of a thriller and the wit of a great piece of reportage".

A former news reporter, Shukman now serves as a researcher for the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate.

The books creation involved significant personal risk, with Shukman immersing himself in extremist circles.

He spent time canvassing with Britain First and befriended Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis, and a Silicon Valley-backed race-science organisation.

Year Of The Rat reveals how these groups operate and normalise extreme ideologies.

Thomas-Corr said: "By going undercover among Britains far-right networks, Harry Shukman reveals a world that is by turns sinister, absurd and frighteningly close to the mainstream. Its courageous, sharply observed and very timely  exactly the kind of bold work the prize exists to celebrate."

The front cover of Harry Shukman's book, Year Of The Rat, which has won the Sunday Times Young Writer Of The Year Award (Handout/PA Wire)

Fellow judge Esther Freud added: "Year of the Rat reads like the perfect thriller. Nail-bitingly tense, darkly funny, unexpectedly compassionate and urgently important."

Recognised as the most influential prize for young writers across the UK and Ireland, the award comes with a 10,000 prize.

Past recipients of The Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award include literary figures such as Sally Rooney, Zadie Smith, Max Porter, and Simon Armitage.

Graham Norton, another judge, said: "I thought I knew what this book was going to be but it confounded my expectations. Brave and humane, Harry Shukman delivers a nuanced and insightful portrait of a world many of us would prefer not to see."
Mette Frederiksen on the campaign trail ahead of the election. Photograph: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Reuters (Photograph: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Reuters)

Mayasa Mandia, a recent graduate living in the small Danish town of Kokkedal, will be voting for the left in Tuesdays general election  but it wont be for Mette Frederiksens Social Democrats.

The 23-year-old, a practising Muslim, says that under Frederiksens government far-right commentary has become normalised in the Danish mainstream. She has seen this, she says, at her own university, where there were discussions about banning prayers.

There are more important issues to talk about than the skin tone of someone or whether or not they wear a scarf on their head and whether that scarf is reflective of our Danish values or not, said Mandia.

But, under Frederiksens centrist coalition, anti-immigrant rhetoric and Islamophobia have become increasingly commonplace in Danish politics, she feels.

On Tuesday, in an election expected to give Frederiksen a third term as prime minister, Mandia will be giving her vote to one of the leftwing parties hoping to form a red bloc coalition with the Social Democrats.

Unusually in a continent where far-right forces are making unprecedented inroads, polling for the anti-immigration Danish Peoples party (DPP) is relatively low  the party is forecast to garner about 7.5% of the vote, with smaller parties of a similar bent predicted to pick up a further 9%. Many feel that is not because their ideas have been vanquished, but because they have been co-opted by Frederiksens centre-left.

The prime ministers hardline immigration policies  she came into government in 2019 saying she wanted to cut asylum seeker numbers to zero  have attracted global attention and inspired similar approaches across Europe, including in Sweden and, more recently, the UK. Domestically they have been stalling the growth of the far right, while at the same time pulling rightwing rhetoric and extremist ideas leftward into the mainstream, say analysts.

When, on the campaign trail, Frederiksen said she did not want Denmark to receive any refugees from Iran, which is under attack from the US and Israel, Mandia felt the prime minister was courting those rightwing voters. The difference in her approach to those fleeing war from Ukraine, she said, was hypocritical  and telling.

We should be open to give asylum to them the same way we open to give asylum to western people affected by war, she said.

Kokkedal, which lies north of Copenhagen in Zealand, became a DPP flashpoint back in 2012 after news spread of a decision by a housing association to not have a Christmas tree but spend money on a celebration for Eid. The association was accused of waging a war on Christmas.

Flyering outside a branch of Lidl on Monday afternoon, close to the Egedalsvnge housing estate, DPP candidate Mikkel Hartwich said the row had contributed to his attraction to the party.

We have to make sure that Denmark is still for the Danish guys and girls, and if you have to come to Denmark you have to contribute, he said, holding a basket of mini Haribo sweets. You have to be careful about what we are and you have to help with a lot of stuff.

Michala Clante Bendixen, who runs the refugee advisory group Refugees Welcome Denmark and is Denmarks country coordinator for the European Commissions Migrant Integration Hub, said: What we have seen is the Social Democrats copying the nationalist parties, especially the Danish Peoples party (DPP), and every time they try to meet them, the nationalist parties will just take it one step further, then accuse the Social Democrats of not doing anything.

The overall effect, she said, had pushed the whole of the political spectrum right on the issue of immigration. What used to be extreme ideas that were not taken seriously by the major parties are now mainstream ideas in Denmark. So they have pushed the whole scene to the right.

This was also reflected in polling, she said. The general population in Denmark used to be very open-minded and tolerant compared to other countries in Europe, but now surveys show we have changed.

Rune Stubager, a political science professor at Aarhus University, said that with the exception of 2015, when they exceeded 20%, immigration-sceptic parties had not been able to grow beyond about 15% of the overall vote.

Had the mainstream parties not moved, I would have expected the immigration-sceptic parties to grow like weve seen in other countries where mainstream parties have not tightened immigration regulation to the same extent, he added. So, in that sense, they have not suppressed the immigration-sceptic parties, but they have prevented them from growing beyond a certain segment of the electorate.

Frederiksen has been widely predicted to continue as prime minister after the election, but the last Verian poll, published on Monday, predicted that neither the red nor the blue bloc would be able to form a majority without the Moderates, putting the Moderates leader, Lars Lkke Rasmussen, in the position of kingmaker.

Pensioner Mohammad Iftikhar, 71, said he planned to vote for the Social Democrats. He liked Frederiksen, he said, particularly for her handling of the Greenland crisis when Donald Trump threatened to acquire the Arctic island.

The former university worker, who is from Pakistan and used to live in the UK, said it was no good Britain trying to copy Denmarks immigration policies because it is so much bigger. This is a small country, he says. They have eyes on everything. They can help everyone. Not in England. His wife, Hanne Iftikhar, 62, who works for the union 3F, said the current coalition had done well, but that Frederiksen had gone a little too far on immigration.
Motorists in the UK have paid an additional 300m at the pumps since the US and Israel began their war against Iran, although Rachel Reeves said on Tuesday there will be no extra help for millions struggling with soaring bills.

Analysis by the RAC Foundation said price rises since the conflict began on 28 February have cost motorists an additional 307m for petrol and diesel.

It came as the chancellor shocked MPs by failing to announce any new measures to deal with the cost of living despite warning the conflict will create significant challenges for Britains economy, including inflation.

A petrol service station in Huddersfield on 19 March (AFP/Getty)

Oil prices have soared to more than $100 a barrel in response to Irans stranglehold on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran is blockading the strait, stopping the flow of oil through the vital shipping route.

But Ms Reeves rebuffed demands  including from some Labour MPs  for emergency help for households facing higher energy bills.

Instead, she said she would meet supermarkets and banks later this week to discuss what help they can offer customers, while the Competition and Markets Authority is being given new powers to clamp down on price gouging.

She told MPs: This is not a war that we started, nor is it a war that we joined but it is a war that will have an impact on our country.

Her statement was ridiculed by opposition MPs, with Tory shadow chancellor Mel Stride saying: Labour have no plan and hardworking families are paying the price. The chancellor must axe the fuel tax, drop the net zero dogma and open up the North Sea."

New figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero showed prices at petrol pumps have risen again.

Rachel Reeves in parliament on Tuesday (House of Commons)

On 16 March, the average price of unleaded petrol at pumps in the UK was 140.28p per litre. For diesel, the average price stood at 158.78p per litre. On Tuesday, the department announced the average price on 23 March was 144.16p for unleaded and 166.88p for diesel  a weekly rise of 3.9p and 8.1p for respectively. It is the highest price for diesel since March 2023 and the highest price for unleaded petrol since July 2024.

The RAC Foundation said its analysis showed prices were even higher, at 146.4p for petrol and 169.8p for diesel, as of Monday.

On Friday 27 February, the day before the conflict began, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil was roughly $72 while pump prices in the UK averaged 132.9p per litre for petrol and 142.4p per litre for diesel, the foundation said.

It took into account average daily pump prices and fuel consumption rates to calculate that UK drivers have spent an estimated 4.574bn on petrol and diesel since 28 February.

Its analysis found this figure would have been 4.267bn if pump prices had remained broadly stable. The charity described the 307m difference as a direct cost of the war and warned the figure would continue to rise even if the conflict was resolved tomorrow because of the time lag between changes in the barrel price of oil and pump prices, as well as the time it will take to repair war damage to oil production, refining and distribution infrastructure.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: This puts a financial price of the war not just for UK drivers but also the nations businesses. Whether you are running a household or a company, fuel prices make up a significant part of the budget.

Even those who dont drive will be impacted by higher transport costs as firms pass on their additional costs to their customers. All of which is adding to the cost of living crisis.

In the Commons, Labour MP Andrew Cooper warned motorists were being exploited by unscrupulous petrol retailers who are not letting a crisis go to waste.

He said one retailer in his Mid Cheshire constituency was selling unleaded fuel at 15p per litre more than the cheapest forecourt in the area.

Earlier, energy minister Michael Shanks said British drivers did not need to change their habits, despite suggestions from the International Energy Agency (IEA) aimed at conserving fuel.

Vehicles queue to fill up at a petrol station in Bristol (PA)

The IEA has advised motorists across the world to reduce their speed on highways, share rides and work from home when possible to reduce how much petrol or diesel they use.

Asked on Times Radio if British drivers should change their habits, Mr Shanks said: They should do everything as absolutely normal because there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment. We monitor this every single day, I look at the numbers personally. Theres no issue at all with that.

The minister added: People should go about their business as normal. Thats what the RAC and the AA have said. Its really important people do that. Theres no shortage of fuel and everything is working as normal.

With fuel prices rising and pressure building on household budgets, you can put your questions directly to our personal finance expert. Join our live cost of living Q&A and get advice on everything from petrol costs to mortgages, bills and savings.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will help produce a new polo-themed drama for Netflix.

Set in the town of Wellington, Florida, the new untitled project will follow two rival teams and the families that lead them.

The scripted series is their latest offering under their first look Netflix deal which gives the streaming giant first option on projects by the Sussexes Archewell Productions.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will help produce the drama (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (Jordan Pettitt)

A spokesman for the Sussexes suggested there would be more announcements coming on the productions front with Netflix and other streamers soon.

According to US outlet Deadline the series will be written by Francisca X Hu, known for the TV series Dynasty, who will also act as an executive producer alongside the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Harry and Meghan previously executive produced the 2024 docuseries Polo which captured a behind the scenes look into professional polo players lives on and off the field.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to make further announcements about productions (Aaron Chown/PA) (Aaron Chown)

It comes after figures showed earlier this year that the duchesss With Love, Meghan second season failed to crack the top 1,000 most-watched programmes on the platform.

Her lifestyle company As Ever, which sells jams, herbal teas and chocolates, was meanwhile revealed to have ended its partnership with Netflix this month, with a spokesperson saying the brand was now ready to stand on its own.
The Sussexes at a polo event at Americas national polo centre in Wellington, Florida, where the new drama will be set - PA

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are producing a polo-themed television drama for Netflix.

The as-yet untitled series, set in Wellington, Florida  where Americas national polo centre is based  will follow two rival teams and the families that run them.

It will be the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs latest offering under their new first-look Netflix deal, which gives the streaming giant first option on projects by their company, Archewell Productions.

Deadline, the US news website, reported that the series will be written by Francisca X Hu, known for the 2017 TV series Dynasty, who will also act as an executive producer alongside the Sussexes.

The Duke and Duchess previously executive-produced the 2024 documentary series Polo, a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of professional polo players.

A scene from Polo, Prince Harrys five-part behind-the-scenes series about the sport, released on Netflix in 2024 - Netflix

Earlier this year, it emerged that the second series of the Duchesss lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, had failed to make the top 1,000 most-watched programmes on the streaming platform.

As Ever, her lifestyle company, has cut ties with Netflix, allowing her to take complete control. The Duchess was said to have been frustrated by its cautious approach and was keen to expand globally, with Australia chosen as the next target market.

The Sussexes first-look deal with Netflix replaces a lucrative five-year deal, which ended last year. Earlier this month, Variety reported that the company was done with the couple and their relationship with key executives had soured.

Prince Harry playing polo at an event in Singapore to raise funds for Sentebale, a charity for children and young people in southern Africa - Getty

However, Bela Bajaria, Netflixs chief content officer, defended the couple. She said at a Next on Netflix event in Los Angeles, California, that they had several TV, film and documentary projects in development.

She said: We still have a relationship with them. We have movies in development with them. We have an amazing doc with them.

They have things in development on the TV and film side. Deals come and go all the time, and we dont renew so many deals, those just dont get as much press for obvious reasons. Theres no juicy story there.

As well as the polo drama, Archewell Productions is involved with a film called The Wedding Date, based on a 2018 book by Jasmine Guillory, and an adaptation of Meet Me at the Lake, a romance novel by Carley Fortune.
NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A historic underwater expedition in the South Pacific has yielded the final resting place of four WWII shipwrecks and their entombed crews. The discoveries were made in late 2025, led by The Lost 52 Project and Tim Taylor, CEO of Tiburon Subsea Inc.

Multibeam Echosounder (MBES) high-resolution 3D point cloud imagery

The Lost 52 Project, founded by Tim Taylor, has long been recognized for its dedication to uncovering and documenting the final resting places of lost submarines, submariners and ships from World War II. In achieving four major discoveries in just one month, Mr. Taylor and his team have elevated their legacy as pioneers in maritime exploration archaeology, honoring the memory of hundreds of servicemen and preserving vital chapters of naval history.

This recent expedition has created an extraordinary milestone in maritime history and ocean exploration and technology. This significant achievement and herculean effort was able to locate and collect maritime data of these shipwrecks, lost in the waters of the Sea of Japan for over 80 years.

His current expedition located the U.S. Navy Sumner-class destroyers USS Drexler (DD-741) and USS William D Porter (DD-579), the Japanese merchant ship Konzan Maru, and the famed Gato-class submarine USS Bonefish (SS-223).

USS Bonefish (SS-223): Honoring Heroes

The discovery of USS Bonefish (SS-223) and her courageous crew is a poignant highlight of this expedition. The Bonefish, under Commander Lawrence L. Edge, completed seven daring war patrols in the Pacific, earning the Navy Unit Commendation and seven battle stars for her distinguished service. Her final mission in June 1945 in the Toyama Wan area of the Sea of Japan ended in tragedy, with the loss of 85 brave servicemen. This 9th submarine discovery by the Lost 52 Project team brings long-awaited closure to their families and the naval community, standing as a symbol of valor and sacrifice.

Two Destroyers: USS Drexler (DD-741) and USS William D Porter (DD-579): Stories of Bravery and Loss

The identification of the Sumner-class destroyer Drexler and Fletcher-class destroyer William D. Porter further cements the Lost 52 Project's status as a leader in uncovering WWII naval history.

These ships played a critical role in the Pacific campaign, and the bravery and sacrifice of their crews will forever be etched in the annals of heroism. The Drexler was sunk in a kamikaze attack during the Battle of Okinawa with a loss of 158 men, while the William D Porter met her fate after a series of similar fateful events, with 61 wounded and no loss of life. Both served with distinction until their loss.

Konzan Maru: A Window into WWII Maritime Heritage

The Japanese merchant ship Konzan Maru and its crew lost in the chaos of war, represents the broader impact of conflict on seafaring nations. Her discovery provides closure for descendants and enriches our understanding of the Pacific theater's maritime history. The ship's final resting place will be preserved as a solemn reminder of the cost of war and the importance of international remembrance.

Revolutionizing Underwater Archaeology

"Working with pioneering underwater robotic technology has allowed me and my team to document each gravesite using advanced 4D modeling photogrammetry. Thus, creating the most comprehensive historical and archaeological records to date, ensuring that the legacy of our heroes is preserved for generations to come," states Tim Taylor.

The Lost 52 Project is an exploration and underwater archaeological initiative dedicated to the search, documentation, and preservation of American submarines and their crews lost during World War II. Through meticulous underwater survey and historical research, the Project builds an enduring foundation of knowledge  honoring the sacrifice of those who served and ensuring their legacy is preserved for future generations.

Tim Taylor is an ocean explorer, entrepreneur, and the founder of the Lost 52 Project, bringing more than three decades of experience advancing innovative diving technologies and leading complex underwater expeditions worldwide. In recognition of his landmark discoveries, he was awarded the U.S. Navy Distinguished Public Service Medal  the Navy's highest honor bestowed upon a civilian. Taylor serves as Founder and CEO of Tiburon Subsea Inc., where he leads the development of patented autonomous underwater robotic technologies for defense and commercial applications.

For more information contact Christine Dennison - Media Relations 212-744-6763, [email protected]

SOURCE Lost 52 Project
Gregory Bovino in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 21 January 2026. Photograph: Madison Swart/Reuters (Photograph: Madison Swart/Reuters)

As his retirement looms, Gregory Bovino, the US border patrols former commander-at-large, has contended that efforts to curb illegal immigration by Donald Trumps administration have not gone far enough  showing no remorse over federal agents killings of two US citizens in Minneapolis in January.

I wish Id caught even more illegal aliens, he told the New York Times on Tuesday in an exit interview, during which he also referred to the Republican president as the Trumpster and acknowledged his retirement at the end of March was not entirely voluntary.

We went as hard as we could, but theres always a creative and innovative solution to catching even more.

Bovino announced his retirement from the patrol earlier in March.

He had spent most of his 30-year career in Californias El Centro sector before being tapped by the Trump administration to lead its sweeping Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota.

Related: Gregory Bovino, who led Minnesota operation, says hes retiring end of March

Trump then demoted Bovino after federal agents fatally shot 37-year-old US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good in separate encounters in January, each of which remains under investigation.

In successive sweeps through Democratic-led cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans, Bovino was the public face of the ongoing campaign, personally lobbing pepper gas canisters into crowds and reporting directly to the since-replaced secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem.

He became a figure of hate for the left. Californias governor, Gavin Newsom, said Bovinos dark green, double-breasted coat looked as if he literally went on eBay and purchased SS garb, referring to the Nazi paramilitary group that managed concentration camps during the Holocaust and second world war.

In his Times interview, Bovino said he bought the coat as a young agent. He referred to himself in the third person as Chief Bovino and said he felt he had been hampered by bureaucrats who limited his turn and burn tactics of high-speed operations meant to be completed before protesters could descend on them.

We wanted total border domination, Bovino told the outlet. When you use terms like that, perhaps it scares some of the weaker-minded people. Domination. I want you to dominate that border.

Im not going to control it. Were going to dominate the hell out of that damn place.

In what is bound to rank as one of the most starting career-reflection interviews, Bovino praised Trump and said he had received a lot of kudos from the Trumpster. He said that commendation was relayed to him by Corey Lewandowski, a top aide to Noem, whose replacement as homeland security secretary, the US senator Markwayne Mullin, received Senate confirmation on Monday.

Bovino said his plan  the White House cut it short  was to enable the deportation of 100 million people (far more than the number of immigrants estimated to be in the US without permission).

The Times cited previously unreported legal documents which show Bovino referred to undocumented immigrants as scum, trash and filth.

Occasionally, the Times noted, the exaggerated persona Bovino adopted drew comparisons to the fictional Col Steven J Lockjaw, played by Sean Penn in the Oscar-winning film One Battle After Another. Bovino commented that he had not seen the movie but dismissed Penn as fringe, left, liberal.

Other politically incorrect terms that Bovino said he relished included calling Barack Obama by the former presidents middle name, Hussein. He also referred to migrants at the US border during the Covid-19 pandemic as walking zombies.

He said he organized teams to approach people at gasoline stations and transit hubs to ask about their immigration status in the US  a tactic he described as consensual encounters.

Bovino also used social media to get his message across to residents in cities upon which federal agents descended, even if it caused a reprimand. I got yelled at a whole lot and got in trouble a whole lot, and didnt care, Bovino told the outlet.

Bovino said the immigration raids he led were targeted at criminals, though agents didnt know the criminal or immigration history of most people they arrested, according to a judicial ruling generated by a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The Times interview alluded to how a homeland security spokesperson told another outlet that the Trump administration had selected Bovino to lead its immigration crackdown because hes a badass.

But after the killings of Good and Pretti by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and border patrol agents, respectively, Bovino was told to stand down.

He said he stood by his comments that Pretti wanted to massacre law enforcement when agents killed him. Video at the scene showed Pretti was unarmed at the moments agents shot him to death.

Bovino furthermore confirmed that he had brushed aside a warning that his tactics could result in fatalities.

He told the outlet he recalled replying to the warning: Its possible, yes.

Bovino is facing a number of lawsuits from civil rights groups as well as an internal investigation for disparaging a Jewish prosecutor in Minnesota taking time off for Shabbat  an accusation he calls unfounded and made by troglodytes.

Bovino denied reports that he had been thrown out of a bar in Las Vegas at 12.30am during a farewell tour of US cities, saying the night was a really positive experience and the bartenders loved his group.

Bovino, who holds a degree in natural resource conservation, said his retirement plans include cracking down on non-native invasive species that are killing off local timber rattlesnakes in the North Carolina Appalachian region in which he was raised.

The Times said he was referring to coyotes  but, as he put it, not the human smugglers nicknamed coyotes who smuggle undocumented immigrants into the US.

Of that retirement mission, he told the Times: Ill take it in my own hands.
Donald Trump has claimed he has achieved regime change in Iran and that the war has been won, giving hope the conflict will come to an end soon.

The US president said the Iranian regime has agreed it will never develop a nuclear weapon, while also suggesting that US-Israeli strikes have resulted in a change in leadership, which he described as a key objective at the start of the war.

Speaking about the military action and assassination of senior Iranian leaders, Trump said: We have really achieved change, this is a change in the regime because the leaders are different to the ones that caused all those problems.

He added: We can say we really have regime change.

But, he added: I dont trust anybody.

It comes as Royal Navy sea drones and Type 45 destroyers may be deployed to ensure safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, defence sources say.

Britain is putting itself at the helm of efforts to build a multi-national maritime mission to get oil tankers moving again through the key strait once the war is de-escalated.

Trump speaking to members of the media (Getty Images)

This could include a Strait of Hormuz summit in London, which would be expected to be attended by countries from the Gulf, Europe and the US, to inject momentum into the plans.

The strait has been effectively closed by Iran by targeting more than a dozen ships since the start of Donald Trumps war.

The blockade has triggered the biggest ever oil supply shock, fuelling petrol prices and other bills in the UK and other countries.

Asked by reporters outside the White House how confident he is that a peace deal with Iran will hold, Trump said: "This war has been won".

The president also claimed Iranian negotiators have offered the US a "very significant prize" related to oil and gas.

He said the offer is linked to the Strait of Hormuz, but did not provide further details.

Trump added that this indicated to him that "we're dealing with the right people".

Smoke spewing off the Thai bulk carrier 'Mayuree Naree' near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack (ROYAL THAI NAVY/AFP via Getty Im)

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to deploy Royal Navy warships for Trumps plan for a maritime operation to re-open the strait, through which a fifth of the worlds oil is transported, with France, Germany, Australia and Japan among countries taking a similar stance.

However, the UK is working with allies, including the US, on how to get commercial vessels travelling through the strait once the war ends or at least significantly decreases.

Such a mission is likely to involve sharing intelligence with shipping firms so they can make informed decisions on the risk to any tanker which seeks to transit the strait, as well as possibly military escort vessels which could include Royal Navy maritime drones or Type 45 destroyers.

Defence chiefs are likely to be wary of deploying Royal Navy warships into the Gulf where they could be attacked by Irans air, sea and underwater drones, as well as hundreds of military fast-boats.

As the UK has been developing a hybrid navy, it opens up the option of using maritime drones instead or in combination.

A defence source said: Its really important to stay close with the lessons that we are learning from Ukraine about the blend of crewed and uncrewed and a hybrid solution here, as to the extent to which you want to put high-end expensive platforms such as Type 45s or Arleigh Burkes into there or uncrewed platforms which we are bringing into service and accelerating and using that to offer a hybrid multi-national solution to it.

Some Indian, Chinese and Pakistani ships are already sailing through the strait, with the consent of Iran, showing there is a safe route despite Tehrans threat to mine the waters.

Britain could also deploy anti-mine maritime and underwater drones to safeguard the waterway.

File picture of the the Rapid Sentry System, which was used to take down the attacks drones (MOD)

With the war in its fourth week, British troops downed 14 drones launched in one night at an allied base in northern Iraq which has previously come under attack.

The number of drone and missile attacks unleashed by the Tehran regime and its militia allies had been falling in recent days.

However, this changed dramatically on Monday night.

What we saw last night in a number of places was that step up again, said a defence source.

In Erbil where we have UK forces and operate the Rapid Sentry System, they shot down 14 one-way attack drones just in one night last night, hugely impressive action.

Thats the largest number they have shot down in a single night.

The RAF Regiment is understood to have played a key role in downing the drones.

Meanwhile, explosions were heard in Tel Aviv on Tuesday as Israels military reported waves of missiles fired from Iran.

The missiles triggered air raid sirens in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv where blasts from interceptions were heard. In one attack, homes in northern Israel were damaged by falling debris following an interception. No deaths were reported.

The attacks follow Trumps claim, disputed by Tehran, that the US and Iran are in talks to end the war.

Israel pounded Lebanon with more airstrikes overnight.

Firefighters spray water in a crater left by an Iranian missile in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Tuesday, March 24 (Getty Images)

A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least two people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The latest attacks came after the US president postponed the bombing of the Islamic Republics power plants and energy infrastructure because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the US and Iran had held very good and productive conversations about a complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.

As a result, Trump said he was postponing for five days a plan to hit Irans power plants, which he had threatened if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Israeli firefighters work to put out a fire in Tel Aviv following Iranian missile strikes (REUTERS)

Trumps unexpected intervention sent share prices higher and oil prices sharply lower to below $100 (75) a barrel, with allegations of insider trading said to have made some investors millions.

The market changes were in jeopardy on Tuesday, however, after Irans powerful Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who an Israeli official said was the interlocutor in the talks on the Iranian side, said no negotiations had taken place.

Irans Revolutionary Guards said they were launching fresh attacks on US targets, and described Trumps words as psychological operations that were worn out and having no impact on Tehrans fight.

But the US president said his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, had held discussions with a top Iranian official.

We have had very, very strong talks. Well see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement, he said.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday, March 24 (AFP via Getty Images)

A European official said that while there had been no direct negotiations between the two nations, Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf states were relaying messages.

There was talk that a meeting could take place between delegations from the US and Iran within days, possibly in Pakistan.
Wild horses being rounded up by helicopter in Nevada. Federal land managers plan to round up and remove over 14,000 wild horses throughout the Western U.S. this summer and fall, citing concerns that drought and wildfires have left little to forage for the animals (Getty Images)

More than 14,000 wild horses are to be removed throughout the West this summer by federal agents using controversial helicopter round-ups.

The planned removal, by the Bureau of Land Management, is due to increasing threats of drought and wildfire in western states, leaving little food and water for the wild animals. The agency plans to use helicopters to drive mustangs from above and push wild horses into corrals.

Wild horses will be removed from several Western states, including Colorado, Nevada, California, Arizona and Oregon, according to the BLMs public schedule.

The plan, set to take place this summer and fall, has angered animal rights advocates who are urging BLM to come up with more humane solutions to control the booming population of wild horses. Helicopter roundups can cause injuries or fatalities to wild horses as the animals flee for miles across rough lands.

Advocates in Las Vegas gathered outside a Bureau of Land Management office on Monday, chanting, Keep our horses wild and free, according to Fox 5 Vegas.

Wild horses being rounded up by helicopter in Nevada. Federal land managers plan to round up and remove over 14,000 wild horses throughout the Western U.S. this summer and fall, citing concerns that drought and wildfires have left little to forage for the animals (Getty Images)

If theres a problem with overpopulation of horses, theres other means that can be done, such as using birth control, protester Maya Sinstress said.

Rather than capturing all of these wild horses and burrows and putting them in sort of detention centers where theyre not properly cared for and where they could be sold for slaughter, theres other solutions, she added.

Sinstress called for more transparency surrounding BLMs plan.

Activists in Colorado had similar complaints. Scott Wilson, a photographer and Director of Strategy and Awareness at the American Wild Horse Conservation, said they were trying to convince federal officials from using helicopters to remove the animals from public land, The Colorado Sun reported.

Despite earnest efforts to bring stakeholders round the table with the formation of the Colorado Wild Horse Working Group, we are back where we were in 2022, with more than 1,000 horses being targeted for removals by helicopter, Wilson told the outlet.

He also said the plan to remove 1,111 mustangs in Colorado, and put them in holding pens for the rest of their lives, would cost taxpayers $53 million.

The largest planned operation will see 911 mustangs rounded up by helicopter from the Piceance-East Douglas, a herd management area that sits on 200,000 acres of public land in northwestern Colorado, this August.

When herds grow faster than the land can support, it puts stress on public lands and on the horses, BLM spokesperson Steven Hall told the local outlet. Colorado is experiencing a record drought, and forage and water sources will be impacted, which will impact wild horses particularly hard.

The agency said it hopes to reduce the size and frequency of future roundups by expanding fertility-control treatments.

A helicopter flying over wild horses in Nevada. Federal officials plan to use helicopters across several U.S. states this summer to round up and remove wild horses (Getty Images)

According to Hall, herds can grow between 15 and 20 percent each year without management, making fertility control essential to long-term, humane and sustainable population management, he said.

Some of the areas in Colorado that will see horses removed are not suitable for the species, Hall said.

One area in particular is West Douglas, which saw many of the animals removed several years ago after wildfire consumed all remaining forage, Hall said.

While some wild horse advocates have taken issue with rounding up the animals by helicopter, Hall said they provide one of the safest, most efficient means of gathering wild horses.

The number of wildfires in Colorado has more than doubled over the past 20 years, from an average 3,400 fires per year from 2000 to 2003 to roughly 7,200 fires a year from 2020 to 2023, according to the Colorado Sun.

In June, there will also be a higher risk of fire expanding across the Colorado West Slope, the Southwest and Southern Utah, according to the National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook.

More than half the continental U.S. is currently facing drought conditions, months ahead of the summer. In Colorado, there are currently 3.6 million residents in areas of drought, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.

The Independent has contacted BLM for more information.
Fever-Tree has seen annual profits slump 16% as it took a hit from a disputed 2.8 million packaging tax and beds in its US tie-up with Molson Coors.

The soft drinks and mixers firm reported underlying earnings of 42.4 million for 2025, down from 50.7 million in 2024 after setting aside 2.8 million in case its legal challenge against the Environment Agency fails.

Fever-Tree is taking legal action over the Extended Producer Responsibility packaging tax, which Fever-Tree argues should not apply to some glass bottles sold in bars and restaurants.

The group said: This is in line with the position taken by the UK government in relation to other packaging regulations.

As previously disclosed, the Environment Agency has challenged this view, and in recent weeks we have launched a formal legal challenge.

As a result of this development, and given there is uncertainty in the outcome, from an accounting perspective the board now considers it prudent to provide for the potential incremental EPR liability.

The firm said earnings were also weighed on by profit margin pressure as the new partnership with Molson Coors gets under way, due to short-term transition-related cost inefficiencies alongside the impact of sharing US profits.

American beer maker Molson Coors bought a stake in the company last year, giving it exclusive rights to market its drinks in the US.

Fever-Tree said it had also seen a tariff impact as it was making the majority of US products in the UK after winding down a local US bottling contract ahead of the Molson Coors tie-up.

We are working to mitigate this impact ahead of the prospective onshoring of US production in the medium term, which alongside Molson Coors operational capabilities and economies of scale will unlock significant incremental US profitability, the firm said.

Results showed pre-tax profits fell to 29.9 million from 35.5 million in 2024 as underlying revenues rose 3% on a constant currency basis to 375.3 million.
Young Harry Potter walks towards the Hogwarts quidditch pitch in a red and gold Gryffindor cloak bearing his name in the first look at the new TV series about the wizard.

The highly anticipated series will star Dominic McLaughlin in the role that made Daniel Radcliffe a household name.

Each season of the HBO show will be a faithful adaptation of the books by JK Rowling, who is an executive producer.

The first image shows Harry from behind as he makes his way to the pitch, behind a large group of students.

Large flags for school houses Gryffindor and Hufflepuff hang from the outside of the pitch.

The hooded cloak he is wearing bears his surname and his player number, seven.

The Instagram post is captioned Tomorrow, alongside a lightning bolt, hinting that more information about the show is imminent.

Not featured in the picture are Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron.

Nick Frost in character as Rubeus Hagrid (Aidan Monaghan/HBO/PA)

The three children were cast in the starring roles after a casting call saw around 32,000 children audition for the lead roles, with the team reviewing up to 1,000 tapes a day.

Also among the cast will be Nick Frost as the friendly groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu as Professor Severus Snape and US star John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore.

Ozark actor Janet McTeer will star as Professor Minerva McGonagall, British stage actor Luke Thallon will play the first books main antagonist Quirinus Quirrell, and Welsh comedian and actor Paul Whitehouse will play the magic-less Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry caretaker Argus Filch.

Warwick Davis will return to Hogwarts to reprise his film role as Professor Filius Flitwick.

The show is expected to air on new streaming service HBO Max in the UK in 2027.
Gavin Newsom in San Lorenzo, California, on 18 March 2026. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images (Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images)

The California governor, Gavin Newsom, backtracked on earlier remarks likening Israel to an apartheid state in a new interview with Politico published on Tuesday.

In the interview, the Democrat, who is widely expected to launch a presidential bid in 2028, said that when he used the term three weeks ago, he meant it to apply to Israels future should it continue on its present trajectory.

Asked whether he regrets using the term, Newsom said: I do in this context. I said it, and I referenced why I used it  a Tom Friedman article  in that same sentence where Tom used it in the context of the direction that Bibi is going. (Bibi is the nickname of Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.)

Pressed further, he clarified he does not believe the term applies to Israels present. He added: And that is a legitimate concern I have, that I share with Tom  that that direction, if that vision and that direction of the far right that Bibi is indulging, that if they see the full annexation of the West Bank, then thats not something  thats a word you may hear others use.

When asked if he considers himself a Zionist, the governor did not respond directly: I revere the state of Israel, he answered. Im proud to support the state of Israel. I deeply, deeply oppose Bibi Netanyahus leadership, his opposition to the two-state solution and deeply oppose how he is indulging the far right as it relates to whats going on in the West Bank.

The original remarks came during a book tour event with Pod Save Americas Jon Favreau. At the time, Newsom said of Netanyahu: Hes trying to stay out of jail. Hes got an election coming up. Hes potentially on the ropes. Hes got folks on the hardline that want to annex the West Bank. Friedman and others are talking about it appropriately, [as] sort of an apartheid state.

Newsoms original comment sparked immediate backlash from pro-Israel voices such as the Israeli-American Civic Action Network, which said Newsom was pursuing narratives advanced by Americas enemies over the facts. An umbrella organization representing Jewish community groups from California lamented this isnt the Governor Newsom that we know. Other pro-Israel Democrats such as Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman also weighed in.

Newsoms comments come amid shifting American public opinion on Israel, driven in part by its war in Gaza and the broader Middle East crisis following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which have prompted retaliatory attacks on US allies in recent weeks.

According to a February Gallup poll, 41% of Americans said they sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis in the Middle East. The finding reflects a notable shift, as Americans have historically expressed greater sympathy for Israelis.

A range of international human rights groups and legal scholars have increasingly adopted the label apartheid to describe the Israeli political and legal system.
A synagogue in Golders Green had been staked out by suspicious characters for weeks prior to the ambulance arson attack on Monday morning.

Local volunteers at the Orthodox Machzike Hadath Synagogue in Highfield Road had reported suspicious-looking people in the area, prompting an increase in security.

Just weeks after suspicions were raised, four ambulances operated by a Jewish volunteer force were set alight at around 1.30am on Monday, adjacent to the synagogue.

Jack Taub, a member of the leadership team at the synagogue, told The Telegraph that the site had been staked out in recent weeks.

We have noticed people staking out at the synagogue. We upped a lot of the security, but it was a calculated attack.

Golders Green in North London, which hosts one of the UKs largest Jewish communities, has been on alert following the October 7 attack on Israel.

Several shops and Jewish businesses in the area have security and almost all premises have CCTV.

Footage from the arson attack showed three hooded men approaching the Hatzola ambulances with a jerry can, believed to contain a flammable accelerant.

Charred remains of ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organisation, which were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in northwest London, Britain, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Hannah McKay TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY (REUTERS)

Hatzola, which was established in 1979, provides free medical transportation and emergency response to those living in North London.

In the space of 20 seconds, the ambulances were ablaze, with oxygen canisters onboard the ambulances triggering a number of explosions. Windows in nearby homes were blown out and surrounding streets were still scattered with debris and ash on Monday afternoon.

The incident, which has possible Iranian state links, is being treated as a hate crime at this stage. Armed patrols have been deployed across the area.

There were no injuries, but many members of the Jewish community have been left shaken by the attack.

Mothers Debbie Paster and Miriam Landau served refreshments to emergency services from Golders Green Road as investigations got underway.

Mrs Paster said: It was a matter of when not if. This act was as low as you can get. Its inhumane to attack an ambulance service.

She added that she returned from Israel six days ago and felt safer there with rockets overhead than in Golders Green.

Security has become part of everyday life, she says.

Donny, 27, lives in the area with his family. His parents home, located close to the scene, was covered in ash and debris from the fire.

He said: Theres a tangible feeling that this antisemitism has actually arrived on our doorstep.

Im not here to comment on whos right or wrong but one persons actions somewhere else should not mean this for us here.

The scene was visited by politicians Suella Braverman, Chris Philp, Priti Patel, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting over the course of the day.

Mr Streeting vowed to replace the destroyed ambulance vehicles, belonging to the volunteer force Hatzola, with NHS ambulances.

Though the Prime Minister did not attend to gathering crowds in Golders Green, Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attack, calling it horrific.

London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said the incident was a cowardly attack on the Jewish community.

Investigations are still underway to locate the three suspects.
Hundreds of teenagers across the UK are set to participate in a government trial of social media bans, time limits and curfews, as ministers weigh up potential measures to enhance children's online safety.

The six-week pilot programme, spearheaded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), will involve 300 young people aged 13 to 17.

Participants will test various restrictions on their social media usage, with researchers monitoring the effects on their schoolwork, sleep patterns, and family life.

This initiative coincides with the governments ongoing consultation on a potential Australia-style social media ban, which is due to conclude on 26 May.

Families involved in the trial will be divided into four distinct groups.

One group of parents will be instructed on using parental controls to block or restrict access to specific social media applications, simulating a complete ban.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has backed the trial (PA Wire)

Another cohort will face a daily one-hour cap on popular platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.

A third group will experience a social media curfew, with parents blocking access between 9pm and 7am, allowing for some online time before and after school.

The final group will serve as a control, maintaining their current social media access for comparative analysis.

Interviews will be conducted with participating families at both the beginning and end of the trial to assess the impact of the imposed limits and any challenges encountered during their implementation.

The evidence gathered from this pilot will directly inform government decisions regarding future policies aimed at improving childrens relationship with social media.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: "We are determined to give young people the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future. This is why we are listening to parents, children and experts with our consultation, as well as testing different options in the real world.

These pilots will give us the evidence we need to take the next steps, informed by the experiences of families themselves."

The DSIT said that the social media consultation, launched in early March, has already garnered nearly 30,000 responses from parents and children.

It seeks public opinion on the appropriate age for a potential social media ban  Australia currently prohibits under-16s  and whether platforms should be compelled to disable addictive features like infinite scrolling and autoplay.

A separate study led by Professor Amy Orben, a University of Cambridge psychologist, and the Bradford Institute for Health Research, will recruit approximately 4,000 pupils aged 12 to 15 from ten Bradford schools.

This larger study will investigate how reducing social media time affects wellbeing, body image, school absence, bullying, time spent with friends and family, anxiety and sleep quality.

Professor Orben said: "Large randomised controlled trials, like the one in Bradford, will allow us to both better understand the impact of social media and select interventions that work for young people as well as their families."

Earlier in March, MPs rejected an amendment to the Childrens Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which had been supported by peers, that would have introduced a social media ban for under-16s.
Gypsy-Rose Blanchard is facing backlash for casually joking about her mothers murder in the viral We Listen, and We Dont Judge TikTok trend, which sees people trade embarrassing personal confessions.

The 34-year-old convicted felon, who served eight years in prison for her role in her mother Clauddine Dee Dee Blanchards 2015 killing, recently collaborated with controversial influencer Natalie Reynolds on a video in which the pair recited their most infamous public moments, along with some new revelations.

We listen and we dont judge: I went to prison for eight and a half years because I ... Gypsy said, before making a choking noise and an X symbol with her arms and adding, ... my own mom.

Reynolds acted mildly shocked as Blanchard reminded her: Hey, we listen, and we dont judge.

Many people were quick to express their disapproval of the video in the comments below, with one writing: Man this is not funny this is just bad.

Gypsy-Rose Blanchard (left) partook in the viral 'We Listen and We Don't Judge' TikTok trend (TikTok/nataliireynoldss)

She said it too casually, a second noted. Gypsy rose WTF??? a third said.

We listen and we call the judge, a fourth quipped, while another found the lack of remorse here is wild.

The Independent has contacted Blanchards representative for comment.

Blanchard pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiring to kill her mother with her then-online boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for stabbing Dee Dee to death in her Missouri home.

Dee Dee, 48, allegedly had factitious disorder imposed on another (formerly Munchausen syndrome by proxy), forcing her daughter to pass herself off as younger and pretend to be disabled and chronically ill, while subjecting her to physical and psychological abuse.

Their story was adapted into the 2019 true-crime anthology, The Act, starring Patricia Arquette and Joey King.

Blanchard, 34, served eight years in prison for her role in her mothers 2015 killing (Getty Images)

While in prison, Blanchard married Ryan Scott Anderson in July 2022. They separated in March 2024, just months after her release. Shortly afterward, Blanchard reconnected with her ex-fiance, Ken Urker, and the pair welcomed a daughter, Aurora, in December 2024.

In January 2025, the Life After Lock Up star denied claims that Child Protective Services were called to check on her daughter.

NO, CPS is not involved! (our baby is very safe and healthy), she wrote alongside a rolling eyes emoji in her Instagram Story at the time.

Speaking to People last year, Urker gushed about Blanchard: I couldnt be more proud to have her as the mother of our child and as a partner in life. And I think that even after all the things that shes gone through, that was one of the things that I loved about her from the beginning. I couldnt be happier to have her at my side in this life.
A trader on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. The American S&P 500 stock index rose and oil prices fell below $100 a barrel - Brendan McDermid/REUTERS

Half a billion dollars worth of bets on the oil market were placed 15 minutes before Donald Trump said the US had held productive talks with Iran and announced a ceasefire on energy strikes.

Some 6,200 oil futures contracts  valued at a reported $580m (433.9m)  changed hands between 6.49am and 6.50am EST (10.49am and 10.50am GMT) on Monday.

A quarter of an hour later, the US president announced very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East on Truth Social, which caused oil prices to tumble.

The oil futures market allows investors to buy or sell oil at a set price on a future date, enabling them to guard against any unexpected leaps in prices in the months ahead. Banks and hedge funds also bet on moves in the price of oil to earn profits.

Shortly after Mr Trumps post, oil prices fell below oil prices fell below $100 74 a barrel, with markets hedging that the conflict would probably come to an end soon.

Anonymous traders using the betting site Polymarket, which allows you to wager on the outcome of everything from weather patterns to politics, have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent months.

Bets predicting military action suspicious

One user has made $1m (747,000) since 2024 from well-timed bets predicting military action by the US and Israel against Iran, according to CNN.

Nick Vaiman, who leads Bubblemaps, an analytics company tracking anonymous digital blockchain transactions, described the trades as suspicious.

All of this is strong signalling of insider activity, based on the amount they made, the markets they bet on, the timing of their trades, the success rates of these trades, he told CNN.

Despite Mr Trumps claim of productive talks and traders envisaging an end to the conflict, Iran denied that any negotiations with the US had taken place. Instead, the countrys speaker accused the US president of manipulating the markets with his comments.

Fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the new secretary of Irans supreme national security council, said.

Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf accused Donald Trump of manipulating the markets with his comments

The White House denied that any profiteering had taken place. The only focus of President Trump and Trump administration officials is doing whats best for the American people, a spokesman said.

The White House does not tolerate any administration official illegally profiteering off of insider knowledge, and any implication that officials are engaged in such activity without evidence is baseless and irresponsible reporting, they added.

One market strategist told the Financial Times that its hard to prove causality... but you have to wonder who would have been relatively aggressive at selling futures at that point, 15 minutes before Trumps post.

It is not known if one individual or several entities were responsible for the oil futures trades, or whether or not they had any insider information.

Tim Skirrow, the head of derivatives at Energy Aspects, a market analytics firm, raised doubts about the claims.

That is a larger-than-usual volume [in Brent and WTI] than I would expect at that time of day, but in the same breath, its not excessively large, he said.

Recent reports about betting patterns on Polymarket  which appear to have predicted not only the ousting of Irans supreme leader, but also the capture Venezuelas president  have caught the eye of legislators.

At the start of the conflict last month, a number of large Polymarket bets on the US attacking Iran generated a combined profit of $330,000 (246,000), much of which occurred in the hours before the first strike.

0703 Iran war has led to a spike of polymarket bets

One Polymarket user, known as Magamyman, made more than $500,000 (373,000) with a bet that Irans supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, would be out of power.

Meanwhile, six Polymarket accounts set up between Dec 30, 2025 and January 2, 2026 were paid $133,878 (100,000) after correctly betting on Venezuela-related topics before the US launched its operation to kidnap Nicolas Maduro, the countrys leader.

One individual made $400,000 (300,000) predicting Mr Maduros ousting only hours before he was abducted by US special forces.

Nicolas Maduro is escorted in handcuffs by US officers after being captured in Venezuela in January - XNY/Star Max

Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator, flagged bets showing 109 accounts had made at least $10,000 (7,469) on Iran bets before the war.

Mr Murphy, along with Greg Cesar, a House representative, is to introduce legislation to rein in prediction markets such as Polymarket and another popular platform, Kalshi, which do not require customers to provide their names and work using cryptocurrencies.

Last month, two Israelis  one an army reservist and the other a civilian  were charged over allegations they used classified information to place bets on the website.

The activity on Polymarket has not only raised concerns about individuals profiteering from apparent access to insider information. Some have also flagged that activity on prediction markets could serve as a warning to potential targets.

Any advance notice to an adversary is problematic, Alex Goldenberg, a fellow at the Rutgers Miller Centre who has written about the implications of prediction markets for national security, told The Atlantic.

And these predictive markets, as they stand, are designed to leak out this information.

Polymarket was contacted for comment.
LOS ANGELES, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A BOLD CONVERSATION ON SYSTEMS CHANGE

Sacramento State President Dr. Luke Wood challenges education leaders to move beyond equity talk, stop tinkering with broken systems and redesign actual systems that drive real student success

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR EDUCATION LEADERS

A new episode of On the School Bus with Dr. Spates is challenging education leaders across the country to confront a hard truth: if outcomes aren't changing, systems must.

Students aren't brokensystems are. Dr. Luke Wood urges leaders to redesign education for real equity and results. Post this

In this powerful and unfiltered conversation, Dr. Luke Wood, President of California State University Sacramento, delivers a clear messagestudents are not the problem. Systems are. Let's stop trying to fix broken systems and redesign systems that work.

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Titled "Lead with Reckless Abandon. From Foster Care to College President: Inside Sacramento State's Bold Equity Work with Dr. Luke Wood," the episode goes beyond surface-level conversations and into what it actually takes to produce equitable outcomes at scale. Listen to the entire conversation, a master-class on equity-driven leadership on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4uSp0fp Spotify: https://bit.ly/4t3NIYp or watch on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3N4vNBG

A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

"Systems produce exactly what they were designed to produceand it's our responsibility as leaders to change them," Dr. Wood shares.

FROM LIVED EXPERIENCE TO LEADERSHIP

Drawing from his journey through foster care to leading one of California's largest universities, Dr. Wood challenges leaders to move beyond performative equity and into measurable, system-level change.

"Equity isn't about intentionit's about what actually happens to students," he emphasizes.

EQUITY IN ACTION AT SACRAMENTO STATE

At Sacramento State, that philosophy is already in action through bold, equity-centered initiatives. These include the Black Honors College and the Native American Wileety Honors College, firsts-of-its-kind-- colleges within the university designed to center student excellence and belonging, as well as the university's Basic Needs Center, which provides critical support for housing, food security, and financial stabilityrecognizing that academic success is directly tied to students' basic needs being met.

A NATIONAL MODEL FOR EQUITY

Notably, Sacramento State is the only university in the California State University system designated as a Black-Serving Institution, Hispanic-Serving Institution, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), a distinction that reflects its deep commitment to serving diverse student populations and advancing equity at scale.

SYSTEMS OVER STUDENTS: A SHIFT IN THINKING

Dr. Wood also highlights a broader institutional shift toward culturally responsive supports for historically underserved students, alongside a systems-driven approach that embeds equity into policies, practices, and decision-making structures.

"We have to stop focusing on fixing students and start focusing on fixing the conditions around them," Dr. Wood states.

A FINAL CHALLENGE TO LEADERS

"This conversation is a call to action," said Dr. Spates. "If we're serious about equity, we have to stop explaining the problem and start redesigning the systems we lead."

LISTEN AND WATCH THE EPISODE

The episode is now streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

ABOUT THE PODCAST

On the School Bus with Dr. Spates is a rapidly growing education leadership podcast and media brand reaching educators, school leaders, and changemakers nationwide. Created and hosted by Dr. Krishna Darlene Spates, the platform serves as a vehicle for amplifying bold ideas, sharing best practices, and highlighting leaders who are driving measurable change in student outcomes.

With a focus on equity in action, systems transformation, and community impact, the podcast continues to build a national audience committed to reimagining education and improving outcomes for all students.

SOURCE On the School Bus with Dr. Spates
At times Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, has seemed out of step with Donald Trump, the US president - Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla

Donald Trump said Pete Hegseth didnt want the war to end, as the US president appeared to be manoeuvring to find a fall guy for the war on Iran.

For the second day in a row, Mr Trump laid key decisions about the war at the feet of his defence secretary, claiming that he and another of his top military officials were disappointed when he told them the conflict could end soon.

Pete didnt want [the war] to be settled, the US president said during a press conference in the Oval Office.

On Monday, he said that Mr Hegseth had been the first one to suggest attacking Iran when he consulted senior administration figures about a problem in the Middle East.

Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up and you said, Lets do it because you cant let them have a nuclear weapon, Mr Trump said at an event in Tennessee he attended alongside Mr Hegseth.

Penchant for performance art

Mr Hegseth is seen as a self-promoter with a penchant for performance art, one of his former press secretaries, John Ullyot, told The Telegraph recently. He has given his full-throated support for the war, threatening to rain down death and destruction from the sky and claimed the US was crushing the enemy.

At times, however, he has also seemed out of step with the president on the conflict. Just hours after the defence secretary appeared on CBSs 60 Minutes on March 8 and declared the war was just beginning, Mr Trump said it could end very soon.

During the Tuesday afternoon Oval Office session alongside Mr Hegseth, in which Markwayne Mullin, a former MMA fighter and senator, was confirmed to replace Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, Mr Trump made a number of other claims.

During the session in the Oval Office Mr Trump confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the new US homeland secretary - Jim Watson/AFP

Iran had given the US a big gift, Mr Trump said. They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money. And Im not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize, Mr Trump claimed.

He also said that the US had won the war and achieved regime change.

I dont like to say this. Weve won this with this, the president told reporters. The war has been won. The only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news.

Possible Trump is setting him up

Even before Mr Trumps comments this week, insiders had suggested to The Telegraph that Mr Hegseth could be in the firing line if the public soured on the war.

Its very possible that president Trump is setting him up, a former Trump White House official said earlier this month.

A Pentagon source told The Telegraph that Mr Hegseth could soak up criticism of the war by looking so over the top and out of the loop with what president Trump really thinks.

On March 5, Mr Trump fired Ms Noem, his homeland security secretary, after a disastrous immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis led to two American citizens being shot dead by federal agents.

The president attempted to distance himself from the controversy, contradicting claims made by Ms Noem and others in the administration that one of those killed was a domestic terrorist.

When she later claimed that Mr Trump had signed off on an extravagant advertising campaign featuring her riding a horse through the mountains, he was reportedly outraged both at the self-promotion and the claim he had approved it.

Two days later, she was gone.
The two pilots killed after a plane collided with a fire engine at New Yorks LaGuardia airport have been named, with passengers praising them for saving many lives.

Antoine Forest, 30, and his first officer, Mackenzie Gunther, were piloting an Air Canada flight from Montreal carrying 72 passengers and four crew members when it struck the emergency vehicle on Runway 4 at approximately 11:40pm on Sunday night.

The truck had been cleared to cross the active runway while responding to a separate incident involving a United Airlines flight when it collided with the Bombardier CRJ-900 jet, with surveillance footage showing the plane traveling at approximately 150mph when it struck the fire truck during heavy rainfall.

Debris hangs from the damaged Air Canada Express jet (REUTERS)

More than 40 plane passengers were transported to hospital, with nine still hospitalised after the collision. Employees in the fire truck suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident closed the airport for almost 14 hours, forcing the cancellation of more than 500 flights on Monday.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are analysing flight data as they conduct a joint investigation into the collision.

Passengers onboard the flight have praised the pilots incredible reflexes which they say saved lives.

Photographs reveal the impact of the collision, with the nose of the plane being torn off, leaving cables and wreckage hanging from the cockpit.

Emergency crews following the collision at LaGuardia Airport (REUTERS)

Reports from the cabin suggest the pilots attempted to deploy reverse thrust in the final seconds, preventing the plane from veering further off course after the nose was destroyed.

Rebecca Liquori said she is forever indebted to the pilots, telling CNN's Erin Burnett: I feel like the pilots saved our lives. They're the reasons I was able to make it home safe to see my boys, and my heart goes out to their families.

Clement Lelievre told The Canadian Press how he felt the pilots brake 'extremely hard' as the plane touched down, adding: I don't know the circumstances, but I think he kind of saved our lives because he must have had incredible reflexes.

Audio from air traffic control revealed controllers realised the fire truck was on a collision course with the jet seconds before impact, as one said: Truck One, stop, stop, stop!

The air traffic controller then addresses the plane, saying: JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now.

Experts have said that the death toll could have been far higher if the truck had collided with the fuel stored on the plane.

Antoine Forest died in the crash (Facebook)

Mr Forest was named by Canadian outlet TVA News, and his family has confirmed that he died in the crash.

The pilot from Coteau-du-Lac, a small city about 25 miles southwest of Montreal, had been flying since the age of 16, according to his great-aunt Jeannette Gagnier.

Ms Gagnier said, "He was always taking courses and flying. He never stopped.

Its a very bad day for me, she added.

Antoine Forest began his career flying smaller bush planes, later moving on to pilot twin-engine aircraft for ExactAir before joining Jazz Aviation as a first officer (Facebook)

According to his professional records and LinkedIn profile, Mr Forest began his career flying smaller bush planes, later moving on to pilot twin-engine aircraft for ExactAir before joining Jazz Aviation as a first officer in December 2022.

Mr Forest's Facebook page reflects his love for the outdoors, with pictures of him hiking on mountains and spending time on the water.

Cedric Forest, Antoines brother, posted a tribute on social media, saying his brother was always thinking of his next adventure and encouraged him to "have a good flight."

"We've heard that phrase often, but this time it will be the last," the post says in French. "You left us again, too soon to say goodbye. I love you, my brother."

Toronto-based school Seneca Polytechnic identified Gunther as the other pilot, with a statement on its website saying that Gunther joined the Jazz Aviation after graduating from the school's aviation technology program in 2023.
Financial authorities were under pressure to investigate whether investors raked in tens of millions of dollars through insider trading linked to Donald Trumps halt on attacks on Irans energy sites.

Trades worth nearly $600 million (448 million) were placed on oil markets just minutes before the US president posted a message on his Truth Social platform, according to the Financial Times, which sent the price of oil plunging and stock markets soaring.

Donald Trump who has raised hopes that his Iran war may end soon (REUTERS)

The FT reported that some 6,200 Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures contracts changed hands between 6.49am and 6.50am New York time on Monday, before Trump claimed in his post at 7.04am there had been productive talks which could lead to an end to his Iran war.

It put the notional value of these trades at $580 million (433 million), as hopes rose that a deal could be struck to re-open the Strait of Hormuz which has been effectively closed by Iran targeting tankers.

Amid the unusual trades, it quoted one portfolio manager saying: My gut from watching markets for the last 25 years is this is really abnormal.

Its Monday morning, theres no important data today, there arent any Fed speakers youd want to front run. Its an unusually large trade for a day with no event risk...Somebody just got a lot richer.

Smoke rising from the Thai bulk carrier 'Mayuree Naree' near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack (ROYAL THAI NAVY/AFP via Getty Im)

Responding to claims of insider trading, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged the Financial Conduct Authority in Britain to probe whether there had been any such activity here linked to Trumps war which has seen the price of oil soar and killed thousands of people.

Sir Ed told the London Standard: The financial watchdog should investigate if anyone in the UK has profited from insider trading linked to Trump's war in Iran.

Appearing before the Commons Treasury Committee, Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, was asked by its chair Dame Meg Hillier if it was watching the markets in the UK for signs of insider trading.

He responded: We are absolutely watching the markets.

These are extraordinary times. There has been a significant energy, oil price shock.

The markets are seeking to process in real time very significant pieces of news and our primary focus has been on ensuring resilience and functioning.

Pressed specifically on how the FCA is looking out for any insider trading, he added: We look at the transaction data that we get, the reporting we get, the suspicious activity reports that we receive.

He also emphasised that the oil market was a distinct market with many state actors including oil producing nations and their supply companies.

Earlier, RedboxGlobal financial market news service also highlighted what was seen as surprising trading.

It posted on X: TRADERS FLAG $1.5B S&P 500 FUTURES BUY AND $192M OIL FUTURES SELL FIVE MINUTES BEFORE TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT; INSIDER TRADING

Global business TV channel CNBC laid out the details of trades which were raising so many eyebrows, stating:.

* At around 6:50 a.m. in New York, S&P 500 e-Mini futures trading on the CME recorded a sharp and isolated jump in volume

* A similar pattern was observed in oil markets

* Roughly 15 minutes later, at 7:05 a.m., Trump posted a market-moving announcement about Iran on Truth Social

Trumps intervention triggered the cost of oil to plunged around ten per cent and sharp rises in stock markets.

In his post, written all in capitals, the US president said: "I AM PLEASE TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

"BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS....

However, there was further market turmoil as the Foreign Ministry in Tehran denied that there had been any talks, even indirectly.

Since then it has emerged that Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey may have been seeking to broker talks between the US and Tehran which could happen within days as Iran and Israel traded new airstrikes in the fourth week of the conflict.

Israeli emergency service at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv (AFP via Getty Images)

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Trump himself.

A White House spokesperson said: The White House does not tolerate any administration official illegally profiteering off of insider knowledge, and any implication that officials are engaged in such activity without evidence is baseless and irresponsible reporting.

On Tuesday, Brent crude futures were up 4.2% to $104.21 (78) a barrel, reversing some of their 10% slide from Monday.
Christian Adams

Another crisis, another bailout, though at least this one is on hold for now while everyone waits to see what happens in the Gulf. In the Commons, Rachel Reeves said every option was on the table for offering targeted help with energy bills in the event that the Strait of Hormuz stays closed.

Reports that Iran has mined the waterway suggest that an early end is unlikely. The world faces an oil and gas shortage that will put the 1973 shock in the shade.

It should be apparent to anyone with even a cursory knowledge of political history that governments in the past did not step in with financial assistance. Instead they offered advice such as wrap up warmly against the cold, drive more slowly, or not at all, turn off the TV and stock up on candles.

The impact of the 1973 shock was felt around the world but especially in this country because of a miners strike. A three-day week was imposed and rationing and conservation were the order of the day. What there wasnt was a promise to help with fuel bills.

In recent years, however, the idea that we should be shielded against anything untoward that happens in our lives has taken an almost unbreakable grip on the nations psyche. Politicians compete with one another to offer the most generous mitigation whenever there is an increase in the cost of living in the hope they will be thanked by voters at the polling stations come the next election.

Even though there is already an energy price cap  itself a previously unheard-of intervention in the market  and help for heating oil users in rural areas, MPs always want more.

It is true that the electorate tends to punish the governing party when their living standards fall, even when it is not its fault. That may offer a political rationale for a bailout. But it is not a moral one for the simple reason that we dont have the money to fund these constant rescue packages.

The help given during the pandemic was necessary because legal restrictions were imposed on working. When the state actively stops people from making a living, feeding themselves and their families or paying their mortgages and bills, it is obliged to step in. What was objectionable to the expenditure during Covid was its colossal scale and the length of the lockdown.

Yet despite this massive outlay, when Russians invaded Ukraine and energy prices shot up, Liz Truss devised a universal support scheme costing another 80bn. Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures, she said, and it was certainly that. The Chancellor rightly said that could not be repeated.

But here we are with another clamour for intervention to which the Government is prepared to respond, if not quite so extravagantly. Doubtless, at their Cobra meeting on Monday, ministers prayed that it wouldnt be needed, not least because summer is around the corner.

But Labour is terrified of being seen to offer people less support during a time of need than the Tories did. Indeed, Conservative MPs who should know better are also demanding financial help for their constituents, and not just the poor ones.

But help using what? The country is 3tn in debt, representing around 100 per cent of GDP or about 100,000 per household. The interest payments amount to more than 110bn, more than is spent on defence and police combined.

It represents 3,400 in tax for the average household every year and the debt mountain grows inexorably. The budget deficit in February was 14.3bn even as borrowing costs have risen to their highest level since the financial crash of 2008.

What is it that possesses our politicians to believe that these constant bailouts are even remotely affordable beyond sheer self-preservation? Moreover, who pays? In the long run, it is our children and theirs who will pick up the bill for our apparent inability to put on a jumper when it gets cold. It is not a human right to have the heating on throughout the house in the depths of winter. Indeed, until relatively recently it would have been impossible.

Reeves has imposed taxes on producers and wealth creators - PA

Debt is not in itself bad. Without borrowing most of us would not have our own home for a start. A mortgage is debt paid off with interest over the long term. It enables us to be wealthier and independent and have something to pass on.

But what about the national debt? If the money is borrowed for infrastructure, schools, hospitals, roads, power stations, railways  provided the costs are controlled  it can be justified since it is leaving something for future generations.

But that is not the case when politicians simply add to debt in order to protect people from the vagaries of life today when there may be even greater privations ahead for those who come after us. The money tree has been stripped to provide free childcare, breakfast clubs, TV licence exemptions, triple-locked pensions, reinstated winter fuel allowances. None of these existed even a few years ago. Now they are immutable.

In the early 1980s, the national debt was around 100bn, representing about 45 per cent of GDP. By 1990, it was down to 35 per cent. The Office for Budget Responsibility reckons that on current trajectories, largely because of the soaring welfare bill, debt will be not far off 300 per cent of GDP by 2070, beyond anything seen outside wartime.

These are the consequences of decisions taken by modern politicians in response, it must be conceded, to a public used to instant gratification and no longer prepared to put up with hardship or belt-tightening.

Reeves blamed mythical price gougers and has imposed taxes on producers and wealth creators that have killed off the one thing that would pay down the debt in the long term, namely economic growth.

The Chancellor once again said she was determined to bring down the national debt and yet everything she and her predecessors have done has increased it. As a nation we have become addicted to welfare, bailouts, state intervention and the avuncular arm of government around our collective shoulders.

We have a moral obligation to future generations to rein in this spending, otherwise they will look back on our fecklessness with opprobrium, and rightly so. We are handing them the bills for our lifestyle, rather than paying for it ourselves. It needs to stop.
By postponing his threat to obliterate Irans energy system if Tehran doesnt open the Strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump has revealed the limits of American power, which are understood by its enemies, but not by its president.

Trump claims the five-day pause on his plans to destroy Irans electricity system came about through very good and productive talks with Tehran  talks Iran says never happened.

But the US president did have to account for Tehrans calibrated reaction to his threat. Do that, said Iran, in its first response, and well blow up all the desalination plants that keep your Gulf allies alive in the desert, well shut down the Strait of Hormuz until you fix all our stuff that you bombed, and well go after Israel even harder.

Trump claims the pause on his plans to destroy Irans electricity system came about through very good and productive talks (AFP/Getty)

Later, Tehran seemed to roll these threats back in an uncharacteristic attempt to hold some moral high ground, after the UN observed that destroying water systems could be a war crime.

Iran said it would focus on taking out electricity generating plants in the Gulf  which coincidentally supply power to turn sea water into fresh.

The lying... US president has claimed that the Revolutionary Guards intends to attack the water desalination plants and cause hardship to the people of the countries in the region, the Iranian government said on state media.

We are determined to respond to any threat at the same level as it creates in terms of deterrence... If you hit electricity, we hit electricity.

A pause allows Gulf nations to try to replenish fast dwindling air defences. It buys Irans now highly decentralised military system respite from a possible onslaught. And it gives Trump the chance to reflect, if he is capable of reflection, on how to get out of a quagmire that Tehran has prepared for him.

The Israel-US attacks on Iran, now going into their fourth week, have caused a surge in oil and natural gas prices and threaten to trigger global recession.

Facing mid-term elections in November, Trump can ill-afford skyrocketing prices at American petrol stations.

The cycle of threats to energy was started by Israel which, aping Russian tactics in Ukraine, bombed Irans South Pars gas field. Qatar draws its wealth from the same underground reservoirs and while liquefied natural gas prices spun yet higher, Trump demanded that Israel stop such attacks against Iran.

Brent crude oil prices skyrocketed from the start of March (Trading Economics)

These attacks are also probably war crimes.

But this is moot. The US and Israel believed they could bomb Iran into regime change. They forgot the lessons of recent history  that a threat from a superpower is far more effective than the exercise of that power.

The limits of American-led military operations when it comes to achieving political ends were bitterly exposed with the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Incompetent leaders of the US-led occupying forces set the conditions for a bloody insurgency that led to the establishment of the so-called Islamic State.

An explosion following a strike on a missile facility in Haji Abad, Iran, in a still image obtained from a video on 20 March 2026 (US Central Command)

It also allowed Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies in Iraq, Damascus (the Assad regime), and Lebanon (Hezbollah) to flourish for two decades.

The IRGC fought in Iraq and watched US-led forces in Afghanistan flounder and bleed and learned that a global superpower can be defeated in the long term.

Among the lessons they observed was the threat from then-president Barack Obama to use force against the then ruler of Damascus, Bashar al Assad, if his forces used chemical weapons. Assad used the globally banned weapons  and America did nothing.

It may have been deemed expedient to leave Assad in power and to abandon the democratic and revolutionary forces trying to drive him out for fear of creating more space for al-Qaeda and Isis.

A failure to act may have been the right thing to do  but Assad and his puppet masters in Tehran did not know that. They gambled, and won  and America didnt have the nerve or the muscle to move against them.

Responding to Trumps threat at the weekend to obliterate Irans oil fields, Tehran said: Any attempt to attack Irans coasts or islands will cause all access routes in the Gulf... to be mined with various types of sea mines, including floating mines that can be released from the coast.

A screengrab of a social media video on 23 March 2026 shows destruction and fire at the Iranian governments electronics industries building in Tehran following a strike (UGC)

In this case, the entire Gulf will practically be in a situation similar to the Strait of Hormuz for a long time...

This is an insurgent tactic that the US and Israel, who have had years of experience fighting militant insurgencies, failed to take account of.

It may also be a lie. The Iranians may no longer have the capacity to cripple the global economy in this way.

Tehrans threat was also a dare. Would America ever truly gamble on whether Iran can shut down the route for 20 per cent of the worlds oil, most of Europes gas, and on whether the IRGC can, really, shut down the Gulf plants which make at least 80 per cent of the regions water?

Trump has his own insurgent approach to communications. It keeps his friends off balance and serves his enemies.

Signalling alternatively that he is winding down the US war in Iran, then threatening an escalation. He asks for help from allies to open the Strait of Hormuz then dismisses them, including Britain, as cowards that are no longer needed.

Donald Trump has talked of winding down the war, then threatened an escalation (Reuters)

Gulf countries have seen this behaviour and been dragged into the war with Iran by hosting US bases. Their glistening cities are only habitable because they are powered by gas and oil. Their thirst only quenched by taking the salt out of seawater.

Irans foreign policy under successive ayatollahs is driven by a fundamentalist interpretation of Twelver Shiism. They believe that Iran must remain a conservative theocracy to create the conditions for the Mahdi to reveal himself.

This has driven an obsessive hatred of America and Israel. Iran placed itself at the centre of the Axis of Resistance which included the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Assad regime, and militias in Iraq.

Now Tehran is not only at the centre of this axis, it is the focal point of resistance. And it is Americas president who seems to be backing down (probably under pressure from Gulf allies).

A Liberia-flagged tanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia, seemingly let through the Strait of Hormuz while the blockade continues (AP)

Iran appears to have allowed some Indian and Pakistani oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran may be reeling from air attacks that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei and may have injured his son, and successor, Mojtaba, but it is exploiting opportunities to isolate Trump.

There are no signs that Irans regime is falling or that its long-oppressed and violently abused population is rising against it.

It is trying to extract a price for a war brought to the world by Trump and Netanyahu that none of their friends want to pay.

That is how to beat a superpower.
Aughinish Aluminas trade with Russia does not appear to breach sanctions law. Photograph: Mashup Images/Alamy (Photograph: Mashup Images/Alamy)

A leading Irish metals refinery is part of an international aluminium supply chain that appears to conclude with shipments to arms producers feeding the Kremlins war machine in Ukraine, leaked records and public data suggests.

Trading records show that shipments to Russian smelters from Aughinish Alumina, which is located on the Shannon estuary in the west of Ireland and has been owned by the Russian aluminium group Rusal since 2006, have increased sharply since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ireland exported $243m (180m) of alumina to Russia in 2022, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), a data analytics website,and this rose by 55% to $376m in 2024. Aughinish is Irelands only producer of alumina and the largest producer of the main raw material for making aluminium in Europe, according to a 2021 report by the accounting group KPMG.

The rising trade with Russia does not appear to breach sanctions law and can be interrogated via publicly available shipping records.

However, analysis of further data  leaked to the Russian investigative website iStories and shared with international media groups including the Guardian, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Irish Times  raises fresh questions about the EUs ability to prevent Russian arms manufacturers from utilising the trading blocs raw materials.

The records also appear to misalign with previous reassurance from the Irish government. In 2022, Irelands then public expenditure minister of state, Patrick ODonovan, told the countrys parliament that the plant is not in any way connected to a war machine.

Having been presented with findings from the new data, Aughinish representatives did not comment when asked by the Guardian and the OCCRP how the facility ensured products had not contributed to Russian assaults on Ukraine. ODonovan did not comment.

Prof Aristides Matopoulos, a defence supply chains specialist from Cranfield University, said: Defence supply chains are inherently multi-tier and cross-border, which creates structural gaps that can render sanctions architecture not fully fit for purpose.

When you trace the supply chain  from bauxite mine to alumina refinery, to smelter, to trading intermediary, and ultimately to a weapons producer  it becomes clear that every node in the chain could appear fully compliant while still enabling strategic materials to reach sanctioned end users. This is because end-use tracing of commodities such as alumina across opaque supply chains, while technically possible, remains highly challenging in practice.

Rusals shipments of alumina between its sites in Ireland and Russia are legal as the EU has not placed sanctions on the commodity  even though the resultant aluminium has wide military uses and about a quarter of Rusals shares are owned indirectly by the under-sanctions Russian metals tycoon Oleg Deripaska.

The oligarch has personally been placed under sanctions by the UK, the EU and the US, but in 2019 the US lifted embargos imposed on Rusal after Deripaska relinquished his controlling interest in the aluminium groups largest shareholder, EN+. Rusal also avoided sanctions in the EU and the UK after Russias invasion of Ukraine.

A spokesperson for Aughinish said: We operate in strict compliance with all applicable EU laws, including sanctions, export control measures and trade regulations. We uphold a strong commitment to lawful and responsible business practices and continuously monitor regulatory developments to ensure the highest standards of compliance. The company implemented a robust sanctions compliance and due diligence framework covering its entire supply chain.

The Aughinish refinery was built in the 1970s by the aluminium giant Alcan as Ireland prepared to join what was then the European Economic Community (EEC). The facility was acquired by the commodity trader Glencore, which then joined forces with the Russian aluminium groups Rusal and SUAL in 2006 to create the worlds biggest aluminium producer.

The plant is one of the largest employers in the west of Ireland, and was reported as employing about 900 staff and supplying about 30% of the EUs alumina, for use in everything from medical devices to mobile phones, according to the KPMG report.

Rusals refinery in Aughinish extracts aluminium oxide  otherwise known as alumina  from the sedimentary rock bauxite. The alumina is then shipped to several Russian sister companies in the wider Rusal group, including a huge smelter at Krasnoyarsk, the second largest city in Siberia, where it is converted into aluminium.

Analysis of public records suggests that almost 500,000 tonnes of alumina, worth about $200m, was exported from Aughinish to Krasnoyarsk in 2024, which accounted for around two-thirds of the aluminium oxide imported into Russia by that Rusal smelter that year. The quantities of Irish alumina shipped appear to satisfy about 25% of the Siberian facilitys annual aluminium output of 1m tonnes.

During the same period, aluminium produced at Krasnoyarsk was sold through Rusals in-house trading firm, OK Rusal TD, to a third-party trading company called Aluminium Sales Company (ASK), the leaked records suggest, with ASK seeming to have paid Rusal about $300m in 2024.

The data also sets out apparent connections between ASK and Rusal including overlaps in property and financing: ASK shares addresses with Rusal branches in Russian cities such as Moscow, Volgograd and Bratsk, while it also looks to have received loans from the aluminium group.

Meanwhile, ASK customers include dozens of under-sanctions arms companies that have produced missiles, explosives and long-range bombers that have been used in attacks on Ukraine. For example, during 2024, ASKs largest client appeared to be the Sverdlov plant in the Russian town of Dzerzhinsk, about 250 miles to the east of Moscow, which manufactures missile casings and explosives and was said by Ukrainian forces to have been targeted by its forces in October.

The Sverdlov plant is Russias only significant maker of the high explosives RDX and HMX, according to a Ukrainian intelligence official and the Council of the European Union, which placed the company under sanctions in 2023.

In total, companies that manufacture weapons paid ASK $337m for aluminium under Russian state defence contracts from February 2022 and April 2025, according to the leaked documents.

Spokespeople for ASK, Rusal, EN+ and Deripaska did not respond to invitations to comment on the analysis of the data when approached by the Guardian  including questions on whether the use of an intermediary trading company was a method of avoiding sanctions.

Rusals Aughinishs spokesperson said: We particularly underline the fact that both alumina and aluminium are an internationally recognised basic commodity, the very nature of which means they serve broad general purpose societal needs and vital for countless civilian industries.

We believe, that any attempt to state the contrary is flawed and seeks to create a biased narrative. Especially singling out one company for criticism in this manner discredits legitimate and vital business operations supporting thousands of workers, contractors and families, bringing economic value.

A spokesperson for Irelands department of enterprise, tourism and employment said: The general principle of EU sanctions on Russia is that their imposition does not have a greater impact on a European member state than on Russia itself. The Aughinish plant is not subject to sanctions by the EU, nor has it been proposed by the EU for sanctions. Alumina is also not a sanctioned good therefore its export to other countries, including Russia, is not restricted. The Irish authorities are committed to ensuring all sanctions are observed once they take force.

Ireland remains unequivocal in its continuing support for Ukraine in light of Russias unjustified invasion.
Fox News host Jesse Watters and his colleagues on The Five offered their personal opinions on the physical attractiveness of potential 2028 Democratic candidates in response to an article in The Bulwark that suggested the party needs a conventionally attractive candidate to win.

During Monday evenings episode of the roundtable talk show, Watters praised Democrats for wanting a hot candidate but said former Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee, was not hot.

I have to disagree with Dana, I didnt think Kamala was hot, Watters said in response to his co-host, Dana Perino, who rebuffed the idea that all the Democratic Party needs is an attractive candidate, citing Harris.

She was OK. But I mean if were talking hot, shes not hot, Watters added.

Co-host Greg Gutfeld then pitched New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but Watters responded: Im not going there.

Jesse Watters and The Five co-hosts discussed 'hot' and 'not hot' 2028 Democratic candidates, with Watters saying former Vice President Kamala Harris was not hot (Fox News / The Five)

The commentary was in response to Lauren Egans article for The Bulwark that suggested more Democratic voters want conventionally attractive candidates on the ballot. Egan wrote that the hotness of candidates had come up during conversations with Democratic strategists and former officials.

Democrats have been searching for ways to resonate more with potential voters than they did in 2024, when they lost the White House, the Senate and the House to Republicans.

But when thinking of potential Democratic candidates, the co-hosts of The Five werent impressed.

Gutfeld brushed off California Governor Gavin Newsom, largely considered a top contender for the Democratic nominee, who is also often praised for his looks.

Hes like a six at best, Gutfeld said.

Co-host Emily Compagno pointed out a recent Vox interview where Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, whom she referred to as Peanut Butter Pritzker, was asked whether he was losing weight because he was running for president.

The Five co-hosts largely agreed Harris was attractive but Gutfeld insisted Newsom was a six at best (AFP via Getty Images)

I like the fact that Democrats have gone from like We need like a transgender, Native American, amputee to just someone whos hot. And I feel like thats progress, Watters said.

But other co-hosts disagreed with the notion that Democrats need, or can find, a physically attractive candidate

Kamala Harris was an objectively beautiful person, and she couldnt win, Perino said. So I dont think thats what it is.

Gutfeld poked fun at Democrats' embracing biology to find an attractive candidate, referencing liberal policies that embrace transgender people and advocate for their rights.

You can find a hot candidate, but whos going to buy it, Gutfeld added.

Liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov pushed back on her colleagues for turning the topic into a wide discussion.

Its not that complicated, theyre talking like normal people, she said exasperatedly. [Senator] Jon Ossoff is really good at his job; hes also attractive. Georgia Senate race  now Republicans have all but conceded that theyre not going to be able to flip that seat back because hes that good.

Tarlov went on to say Ocasio-Cortez, Harris and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were all very hot.
Donald Trumps administration deported a woman to Mexico one day after she showed up to a green card appointment in flagrant violation of legal protections for immigrants who came to the country as children, a federal judge has ruled.

Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez entered the U.S. at 15 years old and has lived in the country for 27 years under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that has shielded thousands of immigrants like her from removal.

A federal judge on Monday said immigration authorities violated those protections and failed to give her due process in violation of her Fifth Amendment rights.

I am overwhelmed with relief and hope after learning about the courts decision, Estrada Juarez said Tuesday.

Being separated from my daughter and my home has been incredibly painful, said Estrada Juarez, who lives in Sacramento, California with her 22-year-old U.S. citizen daughter. I followed the rules and trusted the process, and I just want to return to my family and rebuild my life. This decision gives me hope that I will be able to come home soon.

A federal judge said the Trump administration arrested and deported Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez in flagrant violation of her DACA status (Sen. Alex Padilla)

Estrada Juarez showed up for a scheduled green card interview at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in California on February 18 alongside her daughter.

She was arrested moments later and deported to Mexico the next day.

These past weeks without my mom have been devastating, her daughter Damaris Bello said in a statement.

Nothing has felt the same without her, she said. We are so grateful that the court recognized what was done to her was wrong. We are counting the days until she is back where she belongs.

Estrada Juarezs DACA status was undisputedly active, California District Judge Dena Coggins wrote.

The court recognized what we have argued from the beginning: Marias deportation was unlawful because DACA status protected her from being removed from the United States, according to attorney Stacy Tolchin. This ruling will reunite her with her U.S. citizen daughter.

Members of Congress want answers from DHS after the Trump administration arrested more than 200 DACA recipients and deported at least 86 of them in 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)

DACA allows recipients to legally love and work in the U.S. on a renewable, two-year basis.

As of last June, there were about 516,000 people in the DACA program, with the largest share in states of Texas, Illinois and California, according to the Migration Policy Institute, an immigration think tank.

Trump unsuccessfully tried to eliminate the program during his first term and has gradually chipped away at it in his second.

The administration has been accused of moving egregiously slow when it comes to renewing DACA status, putting the lives and careers of people who have counted on DACA at risk, recipients and advocates say.

More than 200 DACA recipients were arrested between January and November last year, and at least 86 were deported, according to Homeland Security data provided to members of Congress, though the Trump administration has provided lawmakers with conflicting data. A separate review found that 270 DACA recipients were arrested and 174 were removed.

Those discrepancies demonstrate gross incompetence or intentional misdirection, according to Democratic Reps. Delia C. Ramirez and Sylvia Garcia, who called on Secretary Kristi Noem to provide a full accounting of DACA deportations this month.

We know that Noem and DHS have refused to abide by the protections that DACA provides to Dreamers. It is clear that DACA recipients are at great risk; we must have transparency, Ramirez said.

Homeland Security argues that the government ordered the removal of Estrada Juarez in 1998  when she was still a child  and she was removed from the United States shortly after.

She illegally re-entered the U.S.  a felony, according to a spokesperson for DHS. She was arrested and her final order re-instated.

But her last entry was under an advance parole, which allows immigrants with pending applications to re-enter the U.S. after traveling abroad without abandoning those applications, according to her attorneys.

This case highlights serious failures in the governments haphazard and irresponsible attempts to remove individuals without following the law, Tolchin added.
A clinics staff member prepares mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, for a patient in Carbondale, Illinois, in April 2024. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters (Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

A Georgia judge set a $1 bond for a woman facing murder charges tied to allegations she used abortion pills to end a pregnancy, potentially paving the way for a possible reduction or dismissal of charges.

Alexia Moore, 31, was arrested by police in Savannah earlier this month on a warrant that echoed a 2019 Georgia law banning abortions after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected.

Moore was charged with murder after police determined she had been pregnant beyond six weeks based on the medical staffs knowledge that the baby had a beating heart and was struggling to breathe.

Moores case is believed to be one of the first occasions of a woman being charged for terminating a pregnancy in Georgia since it passed a law banning most abortions and criminalized medical or hospital staff for aborting a fetus older than six weeks.

Related: Top US Fema official claims to have teleported to a Waffle House before

But superior court judge Steven Blackerby said during a bond hearing on Monday that he thought the charge to be extremely problematic, adding: I have concerns that the state would ever be able to secure a conviction of malice murder.

Moore had been incarcerated since her arrest on 4 March in Camden county. She was released on Monday after posting a bond of $2,001, including $1 for the murder charge and $1,000 each for two drug-related charges.

Under Georgia law, Moore would still need to be indicted by a grand jury before the murder charge can move forward.

Moores family told the Georgia news website the Current, that Moore, a US army veteran, who was arrested on 6 March, welcomed the decision to release her and interpreted the judges decision as favorable.

Have you ever heard of someone having a murder charge with $1 bail? said Rosalyn Jones, Moores biological mother. From looking at the evidence, Im not the judge or the jury. All I can see is God has given her favor, thats all I know.

Keith Higgins, the district attorney, did not object to the bond in court and told the judge police did not consult his office before filing the charges.

According to court records, Moore went to a hospital in December last year with abdominal pain and told medical staff she had taken misoprostol, a drug used in medication abortions, along with oxycodone.

Authorities said medical records estimated Moore was between 22 and 24 weeks pregnant and investigators say the fetus survived for about an hour after delivery at the hospital.

Don Plummer, press officer at the Georgia public defender council representing Moore, said: The decision is a reminder that justice is not served by accusation alone. Our system works best when courts carefully weigh the facts, uphold constitutional protections, and safeguard the rights of every person who comes before them.

The Associated Press contributed reporting
Incoming Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin once bragged to a religious group that he hit his children to discipline them.

Mullin, a father of six who spent a year as a professional MMA fighter before becoming a senator, discussed his use of corporal punishment during a 2023 meeting with the "City Elders." The group, according to Mullin, is an activist group that tries to place "Godly people" into local positions of power.

The incoming DHS head told the group that parents must be "willing to discipline our kids" and insisted that when he was beaten as a child, he "deserved" his lashings.

Ive never seen a man that can take a belt off so fast, double it up and still hit you. I dont know how in the world he done that. I tried it and I just cant, Mullin said of his own father, who was watching from the audience.

He then admitted that he does spank his kids, and that he has "no problem with that." His comments drew applause.

A video has resurfaced on social media showing incoming Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin describing how he spanks his children (City of Elders)

Mullin said that his form of punishment wasn't driving wedges between him and his children, insisting that his daughters often comfort him after he has to spank them.

"I can spank them and Im still upset and theyll come and crawl on my lap two minutes later and just hug on me," he said.

The incoming DHS head did admit that at least one daughter begged him not to hit her, and he had to threaten her to comply with his discipline or get a worse spanking.

No, daddy, no. Daddy, no daddy, no, Im sorry, daddy, Im sorry, dad, he recalled the little girl saying.

He said his daughter would get madder and madder and she just couldnt bring herself to even bend over to for me to bust her butt and I was like, Hun, you got like two seconds or you going to get two instead of one.

Mullin said after that his daughter would be mad at him for "like a day."

He said that disciplining his son was difficult for him because he always cried before he was hit. Mullin said the boy was "so hard on himself because he would just have this huge crocodile tear running down his eyes."

The footage resurfaced as Mullin was confirmed to become the new DHS secretary. He will replace Kristi Noem, who is being shuffled to President Donald Trump's "Shield of the Americas" military coalition. Her ousting comes after she was publicly excoriated for a $220 million ad campaign for the DHS featuring her riding a horse in front of Mount Rushmore.

Kristi Noem was fired as Secretary of Homeland Security. Its believed a $200m ad she filmed contributed to Trumps decision to fire her (DHS)

Mullin was subject to a similarly tense confirmation hearing before taking on his new role. During his hearing, Mullin called on the Senate to restore DHS funding as quickly as possible.

He said during his hearing that he wanted to use the resources at his disposal in DHS to carry out its mission, but to do so in a way that didn't make constant headlines.

"I'm not scared of a challenge. I am scared of failure, and so I will work hard each day," Mullin said. "My goal in six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day. My goal is for people to understand we're out there. We're protecting them, and we're working with them. My goal is to make every one of you guys proud."

The senators asked him about the outcome of the 2020 election, and Mullin was unwilling to admit that former President Joe Biden won. He also refused to directly answer whether or not he'd station DHS uniformed officers at polling places during the midterm elections.

Mullin's strange feud with longstanding Senator Rand Paul reared its head during the confirmation hearing. Mullin has previously called Paul a "freaking snake" and defended the man who assaulted Paul at his home.

Paul brought that point up during the confirmation hearing, asking Mullin to "tell it to the world why you believe I deserved to be assaulted."

"Explain to the American people why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and border patrol agents."

Mullin told Paul that if he has something to say, "I'll say it directly to your face."

He later said he would not apologize for siding with Paul's neighbor.

Paul later played a video of Mullin telling a union leader to "stand your butt up" during a 2023 Senate hearing. Mullin and the union leader had been needling each other during the hearing when Mullin finally challenged the man to a fight.

Mullin noted during his hearing that he and the union leader, Teamsters' Sean O'Brien, had since become friends. He told Paul that he can "set it aside if you're willing to set it aside," but Paul refused the olive branch.

"Somehow you think I'm going to just set that aside?" the senator asked.

Mullin was ultimately confirmed and will be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon. The Independent has requested comment from Mullin.
New feature helps pharma manufacturing teams streamline daily production planning, reduce manual work and improve on time batch execution.

BOSTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- eschbach today announced the release of its new Shiftconnector Activity Scheduler, a feature designed to replace the spread sheet driven planning still common in pharmaceutical production environments with real time, equipment level scheduling and automated coordination.

The Activity Scheduler addresses one of the most persistent challenges in pharma plants: connecting long range planning from systems such as SAP or OMP with the detailed, hour by hour scheduling required on the shop floor. As production complexity increases, manual planning approaches are becoming a growing bottleneck for efficiency, collaboration, and real-time visibility of batch execution. Many teams still rely on Excel files to coordinate staging, CIP/SIP steps, changeovers, and other activities that support batch execution.

"With the Activity Scheduler, we are giving production teams a clear and practical way to coordinate the most important hours of their day," said Andreas Eschbach, CEO of eschbach. "Enterprise systems handle long-term planning well, but it's the daily, shift level decisions that determine whether a plant stays on schedule. This feature brings structure and transparency to a space that has relied on manual tools for far too long."

The new tool enables planners to build and adjust schedules through a drag and drop interface, with dependent tasks automatically rescheduled when delays occur. As schedules evolve, enhanced transparency keeps teams aligned and allows them to respond to deviations in real time, significantly reducing the manual status updates via email, phone, or meetings that often slow decision making.

The software also detects equipment conflicts, supports reassignment to alternate equipment, and provides operators with a clear, task focused view of their shift. Through integration with MES and OT systems, actual start and end times are captured automatically, ensuring accurate execution data without additional manual effort.

The Activity Scheduler includes an administrative area for managing templates and approvals. Templates can contain SOP links, durations, labor times, FTE requirements, triggers, dependencies, and lag times, ensuring consistent planning and controlled deployment across the plant. Managers can also use built-in reporting tools to track delays, cycle times, and performance trends, giving teams deeper insight into delay drivers, lifecycle patterns, and opportunities for continuous improvement based on real execution data.

As part of the launch, Pharma Industry Principal ZenZen Yen will present a live demonstration of the new Activity Scheduler at Pharma MES USA 2026, held at the Encore Boston Harbor. The session will take place today at 8:55 a.m. in Picasso 5 & 6.

The Activity Scheduler is available to Shiftconnector cloud customers beginning this month.

About eschbach

With global headquarters in Germany and North American headquarters in Boston, MA, eschbach is the premier developer of Intelligent Operations Platforms for pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing. Shiftconnector, eschbach's award-winning solution, incorporates AI technology to help manufacturing teams take charge of facility operations, process safety, asset performance, and production quality. Developed in collaboration with industry leaders, Shiftconnector transforms digital manufacturing operations by enabling managers, operators, and technicians to achieve the highest level of team communication and operational excellence. Trusted worldwide by leading companies such as Merck, BASF, and Bayer, eschbach empowers process industries to drive efficiency and compliance across the globe.

Media Contact:

Liam Scott

Ripple Effect Communications

[email protected]

Tel: 617-536-8887

SOURCE eschbach
Israeli soldiers inspect an Iranian missile remnant that landed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank village of Hares on Tuesday. Photograph: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images (Photograph: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images)

The US is poised to deploy airborne troops to the Middle East as strikes intensify, signalling it may consider boots on the ground despite Donald Trumps claims of very good talks with Iran, as it was reported that the US president had delivered a 15-point negotiation plan to Tehran via Pakistan.

Early on Wednesday, Irans Revolutionary Guards said they had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. Drones hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait international airport, the Gulf states civil aviation authority said.

In Lebanon, state media reported Israeli strikes had killed at least six people in a town and a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Sidon area, and three more in another town.

An Iranian military spokesperson mocked the 15-point framework plan for peace that Trump has claimed is being discussed, saying on Wednesday that the Americans were negotiating only with themselves.

Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian militarys Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, said on state media: Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves? Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you, he said.

However, the New York Times reported that the US had delivered the plan to Tehran via Pakistan, according to two officials briefed on the diplomacy, underscoring the Trump administrations push for an off-ramp as it confronts mounting economic fallout.

It remains unclear how widely the proposal has been shared among Iranian officials, or whether Tehran would accept it as a basis for talks.

There has been much speculation as to what Trumps latest claimed plan contains, and how much of it may have been updated from the now outdated document the US presented to the Iranians last May.

According to Israels Channel 12 news, which said it had disclosed the plan, the proposals would require Iran to dismantle key nuclear facilities, halt enrichment, transfer existing material and commit to never pursuing nuclear weapons, while granting full access to international inspectors. They also include limits on missile range and use, an end to funding and arming regional proxies, and guarantees to keep the strait of Hormuz open. In return, sanctions would be lifted, the snapback mechanism removed, and Iran supported  with US and Israeli backing  in developing a civilian nuclear programme.

Channel 12 also reported that Trumps advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were proposing a month-long ceasefire as part of the negotiations.

The Guardian could not independently verify the details.

On Tuesday, Iranian barrages targeted Israel, Gulf Arab states and northern Iraq, while Israeli and US warplanes continued to carry out strikes across Tehran and on other targets in the Islamic Republic. Israel indicated that it planned to occupy control over swaths of southern Lebanon in what one Hezbollah official told Reuters was an existential threat to the Lebanese state.

The US on Tuesday appeared poised to send a combat team to the Middle East comprising up to 3,000 troops from the Armys elite 82nd Airborne Division, which can deploy anywhere in the world in under 24 hours, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The paratroopers would join thousands of US marines already heading for the Gulf, where Trump could order them to wrest control of the strait of Hormuz or storm or blockade Irans oil hub on Kharg Island.

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the war would continue unabated even as she said Trump was exploring the possibility of diplomacy.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump did not give specific details of the supposed talks with Iran but said theyre going to make a deal.

Tehran had offered the US a very specific prize related to the flow of oil and gas through the strait of Hormuz, he said. It had given Washington a very big present worth a significant amount of money that proved were dealing with the right people.

Trump also claimed Iran agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon. He told reporters: It all starts with they cannot have a nuclear weapon  I dont want to say in advance, but theyve agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon. Theyve agreed to that.

He said the US vice-president, JD Vance, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and his envoy Jared Kushner were involved in the ongoing talks.

However, he said that his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, was quite disappointed by the prospect of the US negotiating a ceasefire with Iran. Pete didnt want it to be settled, he said, adding that Hegseth and Gen Dan Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, were the only two people that were quite disappointed.

They were not interested in settlement, he said. They were interested in just winning this thing.

While the human and economic toll from the joint US-Israeli invasion mounts and the conflict enters its fourth week, the White Houses claims of last-ditch negotiations to end the war have not been confirmed by intermediaries or the Iranian government. Irans UN ambassador said that at least 1,348 civilians had been killed in the country since the start of the war.

Official sources in Tehran have denied that any talks are under way. Tehran distrusts any US offer of negotiations in part because it was in talks with the US before the surprise attack that started the war and killed the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and dozens of senior officials. Iran was also in talks last year when the US and Israel attacked its nuclear facilities, starting a 12-day war.

We must think wisely, Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliaments national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. Their nature is to sow discord so that they can make people distrust officials and believe that such actions have taken place, whereas no such action has occurred.

However, potential intermediaries including Pakistan, Oman, Egypt and others have confirmed tentative efforts to establish channels of communication between Washington and Tehran. Analysts point out that there are deep divisions among surviving senior officials in Tehran, which could explain some of the defiant Iranian reaction.

Irans foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has been talking about the war in recent days with his counterparts in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Turkmenistan, his office said.

In Islamabad, officials raised the prospect of a meeting between Iranian officials and Steve Witkoff, Trumps special envoy, Kushner and JD Vance. A European official told Reuters that while there had been no direct negotiations between the two nations, Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf states were relaying messages.

Trump reposted an offer from the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, to host US-Iran talks in Islamabad on his Truth Social platform.

The activity came after the US and Iran traded threats over the weekend of strikes that could have cut electricity to millions in Iran and around the Gulf and knocked out desalination plants that provide many desert nations with drinking water.

On Monday, Trump delayed a deadline for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz for shipping or see its power stations targeted by airstrikes, briefly driving down oil prices and boosting stocks. The deadline will now expire on Friday.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin-Salman, had been quietly lobbying Trump to push for regime change in Iran by destroying the countrys hardline government. Publicly, Saudi Arabia had been more restrained, decrying Iranian missile and drone launches but initially opposing the joint US-Israeli strikes.

Iranian media reported, meanwhile, that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure. The facilities in central Iran were partially damaged, said the Fars news agency, which did not provide a source and was Irans only news outlet to report the incident. It said an attack also targeted the gas pipeline of the Khorramshahr power plant, in the countrys south-west.

Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to strike Iran and Lebanon, where its offensive targets Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Islamist militant movement, even as the US considers a ceasefire. Theres more to come, the Israeli prime minister said.

Iran fired several waves of missiles at Israel early on Tuesday, and there were reports of an impact in the countrys north.

In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100kg (220lb) warhead escaped Israeli defences to slam into a street in the centre of the city, blowing out windows of a neighbouring apartment building and sending smoke billowing.

Earlier in the day, Israel pounded Beiruts southern suburbs, saying it was targeting infrastructure used by Hezbollah.

A strike on a residential apartment south-east of the Lebanese capital killed at least two people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defence shrapnel, causing electricity outages. Missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabias defence ministry said it had destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern province.
Solange Tremblay, the Air Canada flight attendant who was sent to the hospital after being ejected from a plane. Photograph: Twitter/X (Photograph: Twitter/X)

A flight attendant on the Air Canada Jazz flight that collided with a fire truck at New Yorks LaGuardia airport on Sunday survived in what her daughter called a complete miracle, when she was ejected more than 100 metres from the plane while still strapped to her seat.

The CRJ-900 jet, operated by Jazz Aviation, collided with a fire truck as it landed, killing both the pilot and co-pilot. Nine people were sent to the hospital with injuries, including Solange Tremblay, a flight attendant.

Its a complete miracle. At the moment of impact, her seat was ejected more than 100 metres from the plane. They found her and she was still strapped into her seat, her daughter Sarah Lepine told Quebecs TVA News. She had a guardian angel watching over her. It could have been much worse.

Lepine said her mother suffered multiple bone fractures and was taken to the hospital for surgery on a broken leg.

According to her social media profile, Tremblay began working for Jazz 26 years ago as a flight attendant.

Jazz Aviation, owned by Chorus Aviation, is an independent regional airline that operates short-haul flights on behalf of Air Canada under the Air Canada Express brand.

Montreal-based Air Canada did not provide a statement on Tremblay, but several staff members confirmed details of the incident to the Guardian.

TVA identified one of the pilots as Antoine Forest, 30, of Coteau-du-Lac, a city south-west of Montreal. He joined Jazz Aviation in 2022. The other pilot was Mackenzie Gunther, Radio-Canada sources have confirmed.

The loss of our two fellow crew members onboard Flight 8646 is a profound tragedy, said Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, the largest airline pilot union in the world.

These pilots dedicated their careers to the safe transport of passengers, and we are all thinking of their families, loved ones, and colleagues at Jazz Aviation during this devastating time.

In air traffic control recordings moments before the crash, staff could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the runway, then trying to stop it.

Stop, Truck 1. Stop, the transmission says as the controller attempts to divert incoming aircraft from landing. After the collision, audio released by LiveATC appears to show air traffic controllers discussing the incident.

One controller said the impact wasnt good to watch. Another responded: Yeah, I know I was here. I tried to reach out  we were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.

Nah, man, you did the best you could, the other controller says in the recording.

Mark Carney, Canadas prime minister, said the collision was deeply saddening.
Mohamed Salah will leave Liverpool at the end of this season, the Premier League club have announced.

The 33-year-old arrived at Anfield from Roma in 2017 and has made 435 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 255 goals.

During his time on Merseyside, Salah has won two Premier League titles along with a Champions League crown, FA Cup and two Carabao Cup trophies while he is Liverpools third all-time top goalscorer.

A statement on the official Liverpool website said: Mohamed Salah is to bring the curtain down on his illustrious career with Liverpool at the end of the 2025-26 season.

The forward has reached an agreement with the Reds that will see him close a remarkable nine-year chapter at Anfield.

Salah expressed his wish to make this announcement to the supporters at the earliest possible opportunity to provide transparency about his future due to his respect and gratitude for them.

In December, Salahs future at Liverpool had been in doubt following comments made post-match after a draw against Leeds, where he suggested he had no relationship with head coach Arne Slot and said he had been thrown under the bus.

He was left out of the squad for their Champions League game against Inter Milan and was used as a substitute against Brighton before departing to represent Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot had to handle Mohamed Salahs outburst after he was benched at Leeds (Peter Byrne/PA) (Peter Byrne)

The forward returned to the fold for a Champions League victory against Marseille in January and has since been a regular starter, but missed Saturdays Premier League game against Brighton due to injury.

In a video featuring highlights of his time with Liverpool posted on X, Salah said: Hello everyone. Unfortunately, the day has come.

This is the first part of my farewell. I will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.

I wanted to start by saying that I never imagined how deeply this club, this city, these people would become part of my life. Liverpool is not just a football club. Its a passion, its a history, its a spirit. I cant explain in words to anyone not of this club.

We celebrated victory, we won the most important trophies and we fought together through the hardest time in our life. I want to thank everyone who was part of this club throughout my time here, especially the team-mates past and present.

And to the fans, I dont have enough words. The support you showed me through the best time of my career, and you stood by me in the toughest times. Its something I will never forget and something I will take with me always.

Mohamed Salah is to bring the curtain down on his illustrious career with Liverpool Football Club at the end of the 2025-26 season. The time to fully celebrate his legacy and achievements will follow later in the year when he bids farewell to Anfield   Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 24, 2026

Leaving is never easy. You gave me the best time of my life. I will be always one of you. This club will always be my home, to me and to my family.

Thank you for everything. Because of all of you, I will never walk alone.

Liverpool return to action after the international break with an FA Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester City and meetings with Paris St Germain in the final eight of the Champions League.

With seven Premier League matches remaining, a Liverpool statement added: With plenty still left to play for this season, Salah is firmly focused on trying to achieve the best possible finish to the campaign for Liverpool and, therefore, the time to fully celebrate his legacy and achievements will follow later in the year when he bids farewell to Anfield.
Weeks after Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed by US-Israeli strikes, Tehrans future is still unclear.

The Middle Eastern war continues to rage with no immediate end in sight, and Khameneis son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in weeks amid reports he has been injured.

Tehrans top security chief, Ali Larijani, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Basij force commander, Gholamreza Soleimani, were both killed in quick succession last week.

Donald Trump has claimed Iran wants to make a deal to end the conflict, and said US envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner held talks with an unnamed Iranian leader on Sunday.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 64, is reportedly being considered as a potential dealmaker by the US (Middle East Images)

The Jerusalem Post later reported that the top official was Irans parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Ghalibaf denied that any such negotiations have taken place, but reports claim he is being eyed as a potential leadership successor by Washington as Trump looks for someone he can deal with.

An unnamed Trump administration official told Politico that while no decisions had been made, the speaker was a hot option.

Below, we look at all we know about the politician.

Who is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf?

The 64-year-old former military officer is considered a hardliner, with a revolutionary ideology aligning with the current regime and the slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Currently speaker of Irans parliament, a position he was appointed to in 2020, Ghalibaf is prolific on social media like his predecessor in the role, Ali Larijani, who went on to become Irans top security chief before he was killed in an Israeli strike on 17 March.

Ghalibaf cut his teeth within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the early age of 19, rising quickly to command a combat division against Iraq by the age of 22.

Among his other experiences and accolades are leadership of the brutal Basij paramilitary force and leadership of the IRGCs air force.

Ghalibaf is associated with the hardline revolutionary ideology of the Islamic Republic, in contrast to reformists (AFP/Getty)

He led the crackdown against student protests across Iran in 1999 and boasted about wielding sticks against dissidents.

He was so emphatic in his opposition to the demonstrations that he co-authored a letter with 24 other IRGC leaders threatening the then-president Mohammad Khatami to intervene.

Ghalibaf has been largely associated with the religious asceticism propagated by the Islamic Republic, which requires self-discipline, simple living and a rejection of indulgence.

However, he sparked controversy when his wife, daughter and son-in-law were pictured returning from a luxury shopping trip in Turkey with nearly 300kg of luggage. The hefty baggage was attributed to being a layette for their newborn child and was dubbed LayetteGate by social media users.

Irans late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes (Reuters)

Several other allegations of corruption have been levied against the politician, including accusations that he used his influence as a former IRGC commander to cover up controversies.

This included the scandal around a company accused of embezzling an estimated $3bn from Tehran during Ghalibafs tenure as mayor of the capital between 2005 and 2017.

He has also been accused of transferring more than 70,000 square metres of public land and thousands of pounds in aid to the Imam Reza Charity, owned by his wife.

The former ayatollahs son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is reported to be a key advocate for Ghalibaf, shielding him from the effects of some of the worst controversies.

However, the second-eldest son of the late ayatollah has not been seen in public for weeks. There are claims he has been seriously injured and may not be able to wield much influence, if any.

Ghalibaf, though, has not shied away from his aspirations for Iran, having launched several failed leadership bids for the presidency in 2005, 2013 and 2024.
Sir Sadiq Khan has been hit by another backlash from Labour MPs over cuts to London bus services.

It comes as Transport for London announced that more than 20 bus routes will have their frequencies changed, either due to falling passenger numbers or worsening traffic jams. This will mean fewer buses on route 13 between North Finchley and Victoria.

The mayor, who chairs TfL, was already facing criticism over proposed changed to the 19 and 38 bus routes, including from Hackney South and Shoreditch MP Meg Hillier.

Now two south London Labour MPs, Ellie Reeves and Vicky Foxcroft, have written to TfL commissioner Andy Lord to share their deep concern about the reduction in the frequency of route 484.

They said the bus  which links Lewisham station and Camberwell Green  was a vital route, especially for patients and staff travelling to and from Kings College hospital in Denmark Hill.

They wrote: These buses are particularly important because, unlike many other parts of London, our communities do not have access to the Underground network.

Last Saturday, March 21, TfL reduced the 484s frequency to one bus every 15 minutes.

Ms Reeves, the MP for Lewisham West and East Dulwich, posted on X: I am deeply concerned about the changes to the frequency of the 484 bus.

I know what a vital route it is for local people and that's why Vicky Foxcroft and I have written to TfL requesting a meeting to discuss the impacts of these changes and for them to be reversed.

I am deeply concerned about the changes to the frequency of the 484 bus.



I know what a vital route it is for local people and that's why @vickyfoxcroft and I have written to @TfL requesting a meeting to discuss the impacts of these changes and for them to be reversed. pic.twitter.com/GQZxrCNWtd  Ellie Reeves (@elliereeves) March 23, 2026

TfL is making widespread changes to bus routes across the capital in a bid to respond to the long-term decline in passenger numbers, which has primarily been caused by plummeting bus speeds.

Latest figures, for the period between last April and January this year, show that bus journeys were down almost four per cent year-on-year.

This means there were 64m fewer journeys in the 10 months to the end of January than in the same period a year earlier.

The Standard revealed in January that the mayor was having to spend 1.2bn a year subsidising the capitals bus network.

A TfL spokesperson said in relation to the 484 bus: London has one of the most extensive and accessible bus networks anywhere in the world, and we are committed to providing the best service possible.

We are making the network safer and greener and are introducing new services in areas of growing demand  including through our game-changing Superloop network.

We regularly review our services according to customer demand and, following detailed analysis, we have decided to make some changes to the timetable of route 484.

Services are now running every 15 minutes instead of every 12 minutes on Monday to Saturday.

The change allows us to operate the service efficiently to meet demand whilst offering value for money and allowing buses more time to complete their journeys - which should increase reliability.

"As with all changes, we will consider feedback from local stakeholders and continue to keep the changes under review."

TfL is reducing the number of buses in central and inner London and focusing its efforts on attracting more passengers in outer London.

Earlier this month, the 76 and 201 had their frequencies revised to better reflect current traffic levels.

The 204, 206, 260 and E7 routes all had their frequencies widened - meaning longer waits between buses - on a temporary basis.

Last weekend, routes including the 70, 148, C3 and N72 had their frequencies revised to reflect traffic levels - essentially allowing more time for the buses to complete their journeys.

In addition, the closure of the A40 Marylebone Westway flyover for more than a month will result in fewer buses on routes 16, 18, 23, 27, 28, 49, 94, 95, 139, 220, 295, 306, 390 and C1 on a temporary basis.

However a number of routes, including the 111, 172, 188, 238, 285, 325 and 366 had their frequencies restored to previous levels, meaning more regular buses.

There will be further changes from this Saturday, March 28.

These include the 13 being reduced to one bus every 10 minutes, and the 32 being temporarily limited to a bus every 11 minutes.

Routes 60, 278 and 372 will have their timetables revised to better reflect current traffic levels.

The 320 will be temporarily reduced to a bus every 14 minutes during the weekday peaks.

The 493 will have no more than four buses an hour, with a similar frequency on the E6, E7 and E10. The D3 will have be temporarily reduced to a bus every 17 minutes.

From April 4, the 207 will have its daytime frequency reduced to a bus every seven to eight minutes.

The first Superloop buses were launched in 2023 on the SL8 route between Uxbridge and White City (Ross Lydall)

However, the SL8 Superloop, the first of the Superloop routes, will be improved  there will be a bus every eight minutes (rather than every 10 minutes) during the day, and every 10 minutes rather than every 12 minutes in the evenings and on Sundays.

TfLs decision to prioritise its limited-stop Superloop routes has resulted in parallel routes being reduced in frequency or axed.

In Woolwich, the 472 was axed when the SL11 was introduced - but this has resulted in the 177 bus being so overcrowded that passengers are unable to board, according to the Murky Depths website.

London bus route changes

13: Frequency reduced to every 10 minutes.

16: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 11 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

18: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 5/6 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

23: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 13/14 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

27: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 11 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

28: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 11 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

32: Temporary timetable cutting frequency to every 11 minutes.

49: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every nine minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

60: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

70: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

76: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

94: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every nine to 10 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

95: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 13 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

111: Improved timetable with bus every 10 minutes.

139: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 11 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

147: Weekday frequency improved to a bus every eight minutes.

148: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

162: New timetable with minor changes.

172: Improved timetable with bus every 10 minutes.

188: Improved timetable with bus every 10 minutes.

201: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

204: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 11 minutes.

206: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 13 minutes.

207: New timetable with reduced frequency of every seven to eight minutes.

220: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every nine minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

238: Improved timetable with bus every 12 minutes.

260: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every 13 minutes.

278: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

285: Improved timetable with bus every 12 minutes.

295: Temporary timetable reducing daytime service to a bus every nine to 10 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

306: Temporary timetable reducing service to every 14 minutes due to roadworks on the Marylebone flyover.

317: New timetable with minor changes.

320: Temporary timetable reducing service to every 13/14 minutes.

325: Improved timetable with bus every 12 minutes.

366: Improved timetable with bus every 10 minutes.

367: New timetable with minor changes.

372: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

390: Temporary timetable reducing service to every 11 minutes due to Marylebone flyover roadworks.

456: New timetable, including bus every 30 minutes on Sundays.

463: New timetable with minor changes.

484: Frequency reduced to a bus every 15 minutes.

493: Daytime frequency cut to a bus every 15 minutes.

C1: Temporary timetable reducing service to every 13 minutes due to Marylebone flyover roadworks.

C3: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

D3: Temporary timetable reducing frequency to every 17 minutes.

E6: Temporary timetable reducing frequency to every 13-14 minutes.

E7: Temporary timetable reducing frequency to every 14 minutes.

E10: Temporary timetable reducing frequency to every 16/17 minutes.

N72: New timetable to better reflect current traffic levels.

N207: New timetable with minor changes.

SL8: Improved timetable with a bus every eight minutes.

Classic: A Routemaster bus on the 38 route in Essex Road, Islington, on a heritage bus day in March 2026 (Ross Lydall)

TfL confirmed this week that the proposed changes to the 38 would halve the number of buses on Graham Road in Hackney from 12 to six an hour during the day.

TfL says its passenger income for 2025/26 is 112m lower than expected  mostly because of the fall in bus usage.

It is predicting an operating surplus of only 5m by the end of the current 2025/26 financial year.

However the rate of decline in bus usage has slowed to two per cent in January, in part due to an increase in the number of unique passengers in outer London.
At least 66 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a Colombian military plane crashed into the Amazon rainforest moments after taking off.

There were 128 people, mostly soldiers, on board the Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130 plane, which took off on Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, southern Colombia.

The plane was seen slowly descending to the ground shortly afterwards, in a section of dense jungle close to the border with Peru.

Video footage taken shortly after shows the wreckage in flames and engulfed by smoke, with rescuers combing through the debris for survivors. The cause of the crash is not yet known, and an investigation has been launched.

The burning wreckage of a Colombian military plane that crashed on Monday, killing at least 66 people (AFP/Getty)

Onboard were 115 members of the Colombian army, 11 crew and two National Police.

General Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto said that four of the military personnel were still missing.

Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died, he said. At the moment, we have no information, or indications, that it was an attack by an illegal armed group, Barreto said.

The Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130 is an American four-engine military transport aircraft that is used by armies around the world.

Colombia acquired its first C-130 Hercules in the late 1960s and had recently been updating some of its older planes.

Rescuers stand around a military cargo plane that crashed after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo in Colombia (AP)

Colombian president Gustavo Petro wrote on X that this horrendous accident ... should not have happened, and bureaucratic problems had held up plans to modernise the armed forces aircraft.

I will allow no further delays; the lives of our young people are at stake, he wrote.

Last month, another C-130 Hercules plane crashed in Bolivia, killing 20 people and injuring 30 others.

A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said the company was committed to helping Colombia as it investigates the incident.

We extend our deepest condolences to those impacted, as well as the people of Colombia and the Colombian Air Force, a spokesperson said. Safety is our top priority, and we are committed to supporting our customers in any way as they investigate the incident. Anything further will be best addressed by the Colombian government.

People injured in the military plane crash are evacuated to hospitals for treatment (Colombias Armed Forces press office)

Defence minister Pedro Anulfo Sanchez described the crash as a tragic accident, adding that there was no indication of an attack by illegal actors.

I express my sincerest condolences to the families of those affected and, out of respect for their grief, I urge everyone to avoid speculation until official information is available, he said.

Sanchez later added that the plane hit the ground just 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away from where it took off, with ammunition on board detonating as a result of the fire.

According to local media, the crash happened just two miles from a busy urban centre.

In a video on social media, deputy mayor Carlos Claros said the victims bodies were taken to the towns morgue, while two nearby clinics treated the injured before they were flown to the capital Bogota and other larger cities.

I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the victims of this accident, Claros told Colombian television station RCN.
On 9 March, a post on the social media network Telegram, reportedly from a group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), announced the beginning of military operations against US and Israeli interests.

Then, on Monday, a Telegram channel purporting to represent the group  whose name translates as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right  made an unsubstantiated claim of responsibility for an arson attack on four Jewish ambulances in Golders Green, northwest London.

By Tuesday, the channel  which had less than 200 subscribers  had been deleted. The origins of the group remain unclear, although experts have said that their branding is similar to that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its broader network.

Before the Telegram channel disappeared late on Monday night, it had posted videos of four other arson attacks around Europe  and shared information about an attack in the Czech Republic attributed to another group called the Earthquake Faction.

Some of the videos had been circulating in channels affiliated with Iraqi pro-Iranian militia beforehand, according to a digital analysis by researchers at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. One of the claimed attacks  against an unspecified site in Greece on 11 March  is likely to be disinformation, researchers believe.

Four seriously damaged ambulances in Golders Green, London (PA)

While security sources recognise HAYIs modus operandi, they do not recognise their name and cautioned against a rush to attribute the Golders Green attack. The Metropolitan Police have said that they are working to authenticate the claim of responsibility made by HAYI. It has not so far been designated as a terrorist incident.

In CCTV footage of the attack in London, three individuals can be seen setting light to an ambulance in the early hours of Monday morning. The ambulances were run by Jewish charity Hatzola and were parked in the car park of the Machzike Hadath Synagogue.

In posts to Telegram seen by The Independent, HAYI claimed responsibility for the ambulance attack in a video that contained text in Hebrew, English and Arabic. The text did not refer to the ambulances but instead said the target was the synagogue, which was described as one of the main bastions of support for Israel in Britain.

The group also shared a final warning to EU citizens to immediately distance yourselves from all American and Zionist interests. One video apparently claimed an attack outside an American bank near the World Trade Centre in Amsterdam earlier this month; another claimed to show fires being lit outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam.

The mayor of the Dutch capital said on 14 March that the explosion outside the school was a deliberate attack against the Jewish community.

Another unverified video claimed to show an explosion outside a synagogue in Rotterdam. Five young men, three aged 19, one 18 and one 17, have been arrested in relation to this explosion. Dutch authorities have said that it is too early to say whether the incidents are linked.

Firefighters were called to control the blaze in Golders Green after the attack on four Jewish community ambulances (PA)

Russia, in particular, has pioneered the use of young recruits to carry out attacks in Europe in exchange for financial reward. But the chair of the UKs Intelligence and Security Committee said on Tuesday that the Iranian regime were also using proxies for its attacks abroad.

Labour peer Kevan Jones said this made tracking the perpetrators harder for the police as what you are dealing with here is not necessarily just organised crime groups, but also people who are just paid.

It is an approach which the Russians are using, he said. For example, the attack last year on the warehouse in east London, many of those individuals who are not directly linked to any organised crime groups, are just paid money.

Earlier this year, two Swedish citizens, who were aged 16 and 18 at the time of their offences, were jailed for throwing grenades at Israels embassy in Denmark in October 2024.

The court ruled that the pair were part of a criminal network in Sweden, with prosecutors saying the organised criminals were acting as the armed wing of a Middle Eastern terrorist organisation.

The channel claiming to be HAYI also shared the apparent actions of a group called Earthquake Faction against a warehouse of an arms company in the Czech Republic. Czech authorities have launched an investigation into the fire and are treating it as a terror attack, according to local media.

Firefighters attend to the blaze in north London (PA)

Earthquake Faction have been issuing press releases about their apparent attack to UK journalists, claiming to be an internationalist underground network that targets key sites critical to the Zionist entity.

Analysis by Julian Lanches, junior research fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), found no known references to HAYI prior to 9 March, when a post of the group was circulated in a Telegram channel seemingly affiliated with an Iraqi pro-Iranian militia group.

Mr Lanches wrote: The suspicious dissemination patterns raise the question whether HAYI is a genuine terrorist group or merely serves as a facade for Iranian hybrid operations that enable plausible deniability.

He also highlighted inconsistencies, such as unsophisticated linguistic errors in the claim videos and the logo featuring a sniper rifle instead of the more typical AK-style imagery.

Mr Lanches suggested it pointed less to the direct execution of attacks by Iranian intelligence operatives and more towards locally recruited actors.

Roger Macmillan, former director of security at media company Iran International, said: There is a lot of conjecture about the group at the moment. This is an organisation which really seems to have come to life after the joint US-Israeli attacks in Iran. It looks as though theyve claimed responsibility for attacks across Europe, including Liege, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

In the first few days of their existence, it seemed to be other axis of resistance (Iran-linked) Telegram channels which were sharing the information. These attacks are there to instil fear. My gut feeling is that it is Iranian-backed.

Dr Hans-Jacob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, emphasised that HAYI was unlikely to be a new terror group. Referring to their claims of attacks across Europe, Dr Schindler said: Whether the perpetrators are connected, or whether its a framework the IRGC is giving them, is up for discussion.

Its much more powerful to say that a new terrorist group exists, but given they have claimed five attacks in four countries, it is unlikely that a new group would be able to set up that network within weeks. Posts like these create the impression that there is massive terror against Europe. These actors will post everything they can to insinuate that Europe has become very very unsafe.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at the United Against Nuclear Iran, said: Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyyas branding on videos includes logos that are adopted from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its broader terror network.

The IRGC has different options to choose from in activating these groups: it can activate sleeper cells in the United Kingdom or it can employ transnational criminal syndicates to target Israeli interests, Jewish organisations, and the Iranian diaspora.
Security and rescue personnel respond after an Iranian missile struck a building in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Photograph: Erik Marmor/Getty Images (Photograph: Erik Marmor/Getty Images)

Israel said on Tuesday it would seize parts of southern Lebanon to create what it called a defensive buffer, while Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue striking Iran, dimming hopes of de-escalation even as Donald Trump talked up the prospects of a deal to end the conflict.

During a meeting with the military chief of staff, Israel defence minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani, a river in Lebanon that meets the Mediterranean about 30km (20 miles) north of Israels border.

Katzs remarks appeared to suggest the presence of Israeli troops could become prolonged, with Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed armed group, calling the move an existential threat to the Lebanese state.

Katz added all bridges over the Litani river, which he said had been used by Hezbollah to move operatives and weapons into southern Lebanon, have been blown up and the IDF will control the remaining bridges.

The previous day, Bezalel Smotrich, Israels far-right finance minister, said Israel should apply sovereignity areas in southern Lebanon, signalling an expansionist vision that has alarmed critics at home and abroad.

The news of Israel taking control of areas in southern Lebanon comes as tensions between the Lebanese government and Hezbollah escalated on Tuesday after the government expelled Irans ambassador, Mohammad Reza Shibani, declaring him persona non grata and ordering him to leave by Sunday.

The unprecedented move reflects a break from decades of Iranian influence. Prime minister Nawaf Salam urged Hezbollah to halt attacks on Israel, saying avenging Irans leadership has nothing to do with us. Hezbollah condemned the decision as serving Israel and deepening divisions, as fears grow of renewed internal conflict in the country amid escalating regional war.

Lebanon has found itself pulled further into the regional conflict with Iran as Israel bombs the country and fights Hezbollah in the south. On Tuesday afternoon, residents of the northern city of Jounieh emerged from their homes confused as explosions rang out along the coastal area.



An Iranian missile heading towards Cyprus had been intercepted by a foreign naval boat over north Lebanon, according to Reuters, littering the Lebanese coast with debris and damaging streets.

Meanwhile, a fresh wave of Israeli airstrikes battered Iran on Tuesday, after Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with military action against Tehran.

Theres more to come, Netanyahu said in remarks that appeared to corroborate those of three Israeli officials who told Reuters they thought it was improbable that Iran would accept US demands in any new round of negotiations.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would launch heavy missile and drone attacks at Israeli troops in northern Israel and the area near Gaza without restraint unless Israel ceased attacks in Lebanon and Palestine.

Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian production sites, without providing more information. In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighbourhoods and another in the city centre.



Iran also fired at least 10 waves of missiles at Israel.

Related: Pakistans army chief attempts to broker Iran peace talks in call with Trump

A thick plume of smoke rising over Tel Avivs skyline on Tuesday morning reinforced a sense that the end of the war remained distant.

Police said an Iranian munition carrying a substantial explosive payload struck the central city, causing widespread damage to buildings and vehicles. At least six people were lightly injured. Several buildings were damaged across Tel Aviv, with emergency services reporting casualties at one of the impact sites. One building and the adjacent road were heavily affected, with cars set ablaze. Fragments from intercepted missiles also fell in Rosh Haayin, causing minor damage but no reported injuries.

The strikes were the latest in a cycle of retaliation after Israeli operations announced on Monday. About 40 minutes after Trump said he would delay action against Irans power infrastructure, Israel said on X that it had just begun another wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran.

The Israel Defense Forces said energy facilities would be spared, suggesting that Israel may be aligning with Washington in suspending attacks on Iranian power plants and related sites.

Since US-Israeli bombs started falling on Iran, estimates of total deaths (military and civilian) in the country have exceeded 1,500, with some rights groups reporting figures as high as 3,230 as of 21 March.

In recent weeks, Israels military claims to have eliminated more than 70% of Irans ballistic missile launchers, and says it has come close to establishing near-total control of Iranian airspace. Even so, Tehran has continued to penetrate Israels defences.
Caoimhe Archibald speaking to the media at Parliament Building at Stormont in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA) (PA Archive)

Northern Ireland is set to become the first part of the UK or Ireland to offer paid leave to parents affected by miscarriage.

This new entitlement will include the right to two weeks of paid leave, and is set to come into effect from 6 April.

The provision extends the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act, passed by the Assembly in 2022, which covered the death of a child under 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

More than 9,000 people each year in Northern Ireland are estimated to be affected by a miscarriage, either experienced by them or their partner.

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said the new rights allowed women who experienced miscarriage and their partner to take up to two weeks of paid leave (Liam McBurney/PA) (PA Wire)

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, who sought the Assemblys approval for the new rule on Tuesday, said Northern Ireland would become the only region in the UK or Ireland to provide paid bereavement leave and pay to parents who suffered pregnancy loss through miscarriage, adding it would make a meaningful difference.

She said: "Parents who suffer the loss of a child should be treated with care and compassion."

The Minister added: "These new rights allow women who experience miscarriage and their partner to take up to two weeks of paid leave to grieve and to support each other during a very difficult time.

I welcome the Assemblys approval of these regulations, which will make a meaningful difference to many women and families across the north."

The regulations would also make parental bereavement leave and pay a day-one right for workers, abolishing the qualifying period of 26 weeks of continuous employment.

The department confirmed the policy would require only a declaration of entitlement, and not demand medical evidence at a distressing time.
A public prayer event to mark Ramadan at Trafalgar Square in London on 16 March 2026. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA (Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA)

As a young British Muslim, I was troubled to see public prayer described as an act of domination by the shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy (Report, 19 March). To characterise a few minutes of prayer in this way is simply unjust. Britain stands for fairness and equal treatment. If other faiths can gather in public spaces, Muslims should be afforded the same right. To single out one community undermines that principle.

Events such as open iftars are not about imposing beliefs, but about bringing people together. We are often encouraged to integrate, yet when Muslims do so visibly and peacefully, they are criticised. Such language and behaviour are deepening division and making Young British Muslims feel unwelcome in their own country.

Sarmad Anwar

Bradford, West Yorkshire

 While I welcome Keir Starmer and senior politicians condemning Nick Timothys remarks, the underlying issue remains deeply troubling. There is a clear contradiction in demanding that Muslims integrate while condemning them when they visibly participate in public life. Equality cannot be conditional.

If Christians, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs may hold occasional events in Trafalgar Square, Muslims must be afforded the same right. Anything less is discrimination. Peaceful acts such as breaking the fast or offering a short prayer do not amount to domination. There is no evidence of Muslims imposing their beliefs on others. On the contrary, Islam upholds the principle for you your religion, and for me my religion.

To portray Islamic practices, including the call to prayer, as threatening is not only false but irresponsible. Such rhetoric fuels division and risks making Muslims targets of abuse. The principle is simple: the law must apply equally to all faiths. Anything else erodes the very foundation of justice.

Dr Maleeha Mansur

Raynes Park, London

 I wonder why the sight of people lined up for prayer at Trafalgar Square seemed unfamiliar to Nick Timothy, as people of other faiths have congregated at the same place for years to mark their religious days. Perhaps his fear of domination arises from a lack of understanding. A prayer is only an act of communion between a believer and God, regardless of whether its in private or public.

I feel particularly saddened to see even a remote threat to religious freedom in Great Britain. I had the pleasure of inviting a friend to a recent iftar event in Scunthorpe. She wished to join us in the female prayer area to see how we pray and asked for the translation in English. I gave her a translation of the full salat prayer. I encourage the same for anyone who shares Mr Timothys views.

Mariam Sohail

Brigg, Lincolnshire

 While Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage revive old English norms of persecuting minorities, faced by Catholics and Jews for centuries, most British citizens respect religious freedom and tolerance. We need to show which norms we uphold via the ballot box in May.

Titus Alexander

Galashiels, Scottish Borders

 Its a funny thing how British values include monks and nuns praying separately  not to mention wearing weird head coverings and baggy, sexless clothing. Its only when non-Christians get do it that it becomes controversial.

Sylvia Rose

Totnes, Devon

 Have an opinion on anything youve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
National Faith Leader Enters Race Focused on Stability, Security, and Oklahoma Values

TULSA, Okla., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, founder of Pastors For Trump and lead pastor of Sheridan Church, today officially announced his candidacy for Congress at the Tulsa County Republican Party Headquarters, launching his campaign with a message centered on steady leadership, faith, and Oklahoma values.

Pastor Jackson Lahmeyer

Lahmeyer is a nationally recognized faith leader who has built a grassroots network of pastors and community leaders across all 50 states. As founder of Pastors For Trump, he has played a leading role in mobilizing faith-based voters and supporting President Donald J. Trump's America First agenda. At Sheridan Church in Tulsa, Lahmeyer has grown a thriving congregation and hosted national conservative leaders, including Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

He serves on the National Faith Advisory Board and works closely with the White House Faith Office on issues impacting faith communities nationwide.

As a pastor and national faith leader, Lahmeyer has built a grassroots network of pastors and community leaders across all 50 states. His campaign comes at a pivotal moment, as both political parties increasingly recognize the importance of faith-based voters heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

Lahmeyer's campaign is already earning support from conservative leaders across the country. Former National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn, and Rudy Guiliani, Former Mayor of New York City, announced their support, praising Lahmeyer as a principled, faith-driven leader committed to the America First agenda.

"Washington is brokenand career politicians have failed Oklahoma. I'm not a career politician. I'm not running to be part of the political class  I'm running to represent the values important to the people of this Oklahoma district. I'm a pastor and a leader who has spent my life serving others and standing up for what's right.

I spoke loudly when COVID restrictions and government overreach threatened my church. Similarly, I have been outspoken in my support of President Trump and his America First agenda, including through my work with Pastors for Trump. The voters of this district can count on me to stand with President Trump and deliver America First leadership in a time when people are tired of chaos in Washington and want leaders they can trust."

Campaign Kickoff Event

Lahmeyer will host his official campaign kickoff event the evening of his announcement:

Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Time: 6:30 PM

Location: Sheridan Church

7901 E. 41st Street

Tulsa, OK 74145

RSVP HERE

The event is open to the public and will include remarks from Lahmeyer and opportunities for supporters to engage with the campaign.

SOURCE Lahmeyer for U.S. Congress
JD Vance is being put forward as a probable chief negotiator from the US side if talks with Iran go ahead. Photograph: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images (Photograph: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Pakistans prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, says his country is ready to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks to end the war in the Middle East amid attempts to push Islamabad as a possible venue for negotiations between the US and Iran.

Pakistani sources said the US vice-president, JD Vance, was being put forward as a probable chief negotiator from the US side if talks went ahead. Iranian sources have said they would refuse to sit down with Trumps Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, or Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, who led the nuclear negotiations with Iran before the war.

Officials in Pakistan said the US and Iran could meet for negotiations in Islamabad as early as this week to discuss an end to the war, which began almost a month ago.

Sources said Irans parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was the most likely to lead any talks from the Iranian side. However, Ghalibaf has so far dismissed reports of talks between the two sides as fake news.

Pakistans military leadership has been attempting to take a leading role in brokering any peace talks. The White House confirmed that Pakistans army chief, Asim Munir, had a call with Donald Trump on Sunday to discuss the conflict.

Sharif then spoke to the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Monday, where they agreed on the urgent need for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy, according to an official read-out.

Islamabad has yet to be officially confirmed as the venue for any talks, which neither side has formally agreed to so far. Qatar, Turkey and Egypt have been touted as other venues, but sources said Tehrans preference was Islamabad.

Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict, said Sharif writing on X on Tuesday.

An Iranian diplomatic source confirmed that talks were expected this week but said that from the Iranian side there was zero trust in Washington and that they would not accept Witkoff and Kushner as negotiators for any discussions.

Negotiations over Irans nuclear programme were still taking place between the US and Iran when Trump began his bombing campaign. The Iranian regime has since viewed those negotiations, fronted by Witkoff and Kushner, as an attempt by the Trump administration to deceive Iran into thinking it wanted a diplomatic solution, while it planned to attack.

With the previous negotiating team, theres no chance, said one diplomatic source. The Iranian side regards the request for negotiations as another round of deception for the US-Israeli regime to find out a loophole to aggravate the strikes again.

The source said the Iranian side viewed Vance as a more acceptable interlocutor. Vance is widely viewed as a sceptic of the decision to entangle the US in a Middle East war and has largely kept quiet on the conflict. If the negotiations are going to have any outcome, JD Vance should join, they said. With Witkoff and Kushner, nothing will come out of it. We have seen that in the past.

On Monday, Trump gave the strongest indication yet that he would be willing to halt US strikes, claiming that strong talks were being held between Iranian officials and Witkoff and Kushner. We have had very, very strong talks. Well see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement, Trump told reporters.

The US president has now given a five-day deadline to an ultimatum he gave over the weekend, threatening to obliterate Irans power plants and energy infrastructure if they did not reopen the strait of Hormuz, the crucial shipping route currently being blockaded by Irans military. Trumps announcement of talks helped boost markets, bringing oil prices down sharply to below $100 (75) a barrel, the lowest in days.

The Iranians have so far denied that any direct talks are taking place with the Trump administration, but said that certain friendly states had been conveying messages from the US regarding negotiations.

Diplomatic sources have said Pakistan, Oman, Turkey and Egypt have been among the countries communicating with US and Iranian officials in an attempt to bring hostilities to an end.

Pakistans powerful army chief enjoys a close relationship with Trump, whom he has visited twice in Washington, and has been described by the US president as my favourite field marshal. While Pakistan and Iran have complex ties, Pakistan is home to the second-largest population of Shia Muslims after Iran.

Related: We consider every mile we drive: how fuel shortages are affecting readers worldwide

Pakistan also has a close relationship with the Gulf countries, which have born the brunt of Irans retaliatory strikes, and has a freshly signed defence pact with Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan is one of the south Asian countries already suffering from the severe economic fallout as a result of the war. Most of the countrys oil and gas comes through the strait of Hormuz and it has been facing costly shortages and fuel price rises.

Pakistani official sources said the Iranians had told them Islamabad was their preferred venue for talks.

The White House declined to comment directly on the reports of peace talks to be held in Islamabad. These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the United States will not negotiate through the news media, said a spokesperson.
Body camera footage has been released which appears to show Reacher star Alan Ritchson involved in an altercation with a neighbor.

The footage, which comes from Ritchsons own camera, shows the 43-year-old actors perspective as he rides his green Kawasaki motorcycle through a suburban neighborhood in Brentwood, Tennessee.

A neighbor, who has been identified by TMZ as Ronnie Taylor, can be seen stepping into the road to block Ritchson. After stopping his bike, Ritchson can be heard saying: Are you f***ing kidding me, bro? and appears to push Taylor to the ground.

Taylor gets up and points his finger in Ritchsons face, accusing him of driving around this neighborhood like a f***ing lunatic!

Two of Ritchsons sons can also be seen on motorcycles, stopped watching the altercation play out.

Reacher star Alan Ritchsons fist fight with a neighbor in Tennessee was caught on his own body camera (Getty)

When Ritchson attempts to drive away, Taylor appears to push him off his bike. This leads to a physical fight, as Ritchson knocks Taylor to the ground and says: Are you f***ing out of your goddamn mind? and then instructs him to: Stay down!

The Independent has approached Ritchsons representatives, Taylor and the Brentwood Police Department for comment.

Taylor told TMZ that he reported Ritchson to the police, alleging that the actor struck him several times. Authorities are reportedly investigating, but no arrests have yet been made.

Ritchson has not yet commented publicly on the incident, although he has since posted on Instagram stories to share a quotation: Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake - Napoleon Bonaparte.

North Dakota-born Ritchson first came to prominence with a role in Smallville. He is best known for playing Jack Reacher in the Amazon Prime action series Reacher. He recently starred in the Netflix movie War Machine.

In 2024, he revealed he auditioned for the part of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but lost out because he didnt take the audition seriously.

I was like, Theyll throw me the part if I look like the guy; nobody really cares about acting,' Ritchson told Mens Health. The actor said the Marvel casting team rejected him because they thought he hadnt shown that he had the craft.

Ritchson found success with Reacher, which has received critical acclaim and was the most streamed television series in the week the first season was released.

I had about 50 offers the weekend after Season one of Reacher opened, Ritchson said. I knew my life had changed.
Reform UK has suspended its Hampshire mayoral candidate after he appeared to liken a Jewish neighbourhood watch group to Islamists on horseback following an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances.

Chris Parry has been suspended pending investigation following the remarks about Shomrim, a voluntary patrol service, in a series of social media posts on Monday.

He also reportedly described the members of the group as cosplayers, according to The Guardian, in a post which has since been deleted.

Shomrim works alongside Hatzola, the Jewish-led charity ambulance service that was targeted by arsonists early on Monday morning and provides free emergency medical response and transportation to hospitals.

Mr Parry reportedly shared a post from former Brexit party leader Catherine Blaiklock, who had posted a picture of Shomrim vehicles with the caption: Can Christians [sic] in Britain set up their own police and patrol certain neighbourhoods?

Reform UK mayoral candidate Chris Parry has previously had to apologise to David Lammy for offensive remarks (Reform UK)

Resharing the post, Mr Parry added: Remember that these cosplayers have no more jurisdiction or legal authority than ordinary citizens.

Referring to Shomrim, he later posted: They are a community organisation, not a legal entity. Its the same with Islamists on horseback. But if it offends you, Ill remove it.

Mr Parry had been due to stand as Reforms mayoral candidate in Hampshire and the Solent in 2028.

Contacted by The Guardian, which first reported the posts, Mr Parry responded: Most people on X commenting seem to be confusing various community action groups with the real police. Keen that people understand that.

Shomrim president Rabbi Herschel Gluck accused Mr Parry of being ignorant of the work the group carries out.

He said: It shows a level of bias and ignorance which Im surprised at given that this is a politician who aspires to be a mayor. These types of comments are deeply strange, to put it mildly.

We work on a voluntary basis with all sections of the community and have a very close relationship with the police, who are very appreciative of our role.

The remarks on Monday are not the first by Mr Parry to have drawn controversy, with the mayoral candidate having previously urged deputy prime minister David Lammy to go home to the Caribbean.

In a post in January regarding speculation that the government could be considering talks about reparations for slavery, he wrote: Lammy must go home to the Caribbean where his loyalty lies.

He later apologised for any distress or offence caused by that comment, which was condemned as racist by Labour and described by party leader Nigel Farage as over the top at the time.

A Reform party spokesman said on Tuesday: Chris Parry has been suspended by Reform UK, pending investigation.

His candidacy has also been suspended, it is understood.

Mr Parrys latest remarks come after four Jewish community ambulances were set on fire in the early hours of Monday morning.

The incident in Golders Green, northwest London, is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime by the Metropolitan Police but not as terrorism at this stage, the force said.

Sir Keir Starmer called for communities to all stand together in the face of the horrific antisemitic attack, while Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the targeting of the volunteer service was particularly sickening.

It came just months after two worshippers were killed in a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025, while in a separate investigation earlier this month two men were charged with allegedly spying on Jewish people and locations for Iran.

The latest official figures on hate crime recorded by police in England and Wales showed Jewish people had the highest rate of religious hate crimes targeted towards them of any faith group.

The Liberal Democrats said Mr Parrys latest remarks were deeply insensitive, insulting and not befitting of someone who wants to hold public office.

Following his suspension, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said Reform had questions to answer over his initial vetting.

This is a good start, but Farage has some way to go, he said.

There are serious questions to answer as to how this candidate got approved in the first place.

Farage must now ensure he takes firmer action every time a Reform politician or candidate makes racially offensive comments  which is more frequently than most right-minded people would want.
Its amazing how time flies. One moment, an elephant is born, and the next, they are celebrating their third birthday. Of course, such an occasion calls for a special celebration. And for Mwana, the baby elephant, that is exactly what she received at the wildlife sanctuary she calls home. In the video below, she got to run around to celebrate her special day, unleashing her adorable zoomies in the process.

But Mwanas little zoomies session wasnt all that she did to celebrate her special day. To honor her special milestone, she got some extra special care and treats from the staff and her wildlife sanctuary. All in all, she had a truly delightful day, as the adorable video below shows.

According to this video, Mwana is the first wild-born elephant baby in the Umani Unit at the Shieldrick Wildlife Trust. That means that she is in good hands because the Shieldrick Wildlife Trust is the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world.

But not only does the Shieldrick Wildlife Trust do a phenomenal job of rescuing and rehabilitating elephants, but they also do a first-rate job of celebrating these magnificent creatures' birthdays. According to this video, the staff at Shieldrick pulled out all the stops celebrating Mwanas birthday.

Related: Baby Elephants Zoomie Celebration After Moving a Log Is Too Precious for Words

Everyone sang Happy Birthday to her, and then she received a wonderful birthday breakfast of lucerne and nutritious pellets that she shared with her fellow elephants. The Shieldrick Wildlife Trust also encouraged everyone who follows them on social media to join in on the celebration by wishing Mwana a happy birthday.

Social Media Also Celebrated Mwanas Big Day

A playful baby elephant running through the mud.Image via Shutterstock/Wirestock Creators (Image via Shutterstock/Wirestock Creators)

Viewers on social media flooded this videos comments section with all kinds of congratulations and well-wishes for Mwana on her special day: Happy 3rd, sweet one. May your life be free and happy for as long as you live!

Other viewers also wished her a happy birthday while commenting on how cute and playful she is: Aw, Mwana is so cute and playful. Happy birthday, baby!

While others wished her a happy birthday while also giving a shout out to the Shieldrick Wildlife Trust for taking such great care of her: That sweet baby wouldnt be there without the wonderful work you all did in saving her mum. Thank you!

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 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Products featured in this Yahoo article are selected by our shopping writers. We will earn a commission from purchases made via links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

As many as 200,000 adopted children who were born overseas are now at risk of detention or deportation by the Trump administration because they never received U.S. citizenship, lawyers say.

Over the past 80 years, American parents have adopted a total of more than 500,000 children from abroad  some kidnapped from their biological parents by unscrupulous adoption agencies.

But some of those parents never got around to actually obtaining citizenship for their children, leaving tens of thousands who have spent almost their entire lives in the U.S. but have no legal status.

"Most immigrants know from the very beginning what they have to do to gain legal status, but many adoptees have never questioned whether or not they have it, until now," Minnesota-based family law attorney Monica Dooner Lindgren told The New York Times in a recent report shedding light on the problem.

"The Department of State website says that a U.S. valid passport is sufficient to prove citizenship, but that is not preventing agents from detaining adoptees."

The White House has rhetorically backed off from its mass deportation campaign over the past few months, but whether this will lead to any lasting change in enforcement is unclear (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

She added that the Trump administration's enforcement surge in Minnesota  which reportedly has one of the highest rates of international adoption of any U.S. state  had been targeting "all people of color" and were "not discriminating" between different categories of foreign-born people.

It comes after the administration deployed ICE agents to more than a dozen airports across the U.S. amid an ongoing funding battle in Congress over the agency's ballooning budget.

Democrats have refused to back any further funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless it bars its agents from wearing masks on the job and raiding people's homes without a warrant from a judge.

In recent months, federal judges have ruled more than 7,000 times that the Trumps immigration agents illegally detained someone, with government lawyers often not offering a counter-argument.

That has left many international adoptees fearful of being locked up, whether or not they have citizenship, according to The NYT.

Gregory Luce, an immigration lawyer who runs the Minneapolis-based non-profit Adoptees United, estimates that around 200,000 foreign-born adoptees grew up without U.S. citizenship, often only finding out when they applied for a U.S. passport or Social Security benefits.

Congress has tried in the past to shore up the status of foreign-born adoptees, but often left large gaps. A 2001 law granting automatic citizenship to adoptees under 18 left out up to 75,000 adoptees who were older on that date.

A bipartisan bill called the Protect Adoptees and American Families Act, which would give automatic citizenship to all international adoptees, was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in September, but its chances of passing remain unclear.

Luce said many adoptees without citizenship are afraid of applying for it even if they are eligible, lest it cause Trump's immigration forces to take notice of them and target them.

"Naturalization in this environment is much harder and much riskier," Luce told The NYT. "Most people are super scared, and the hard question for me is always, what should they do? Naturalize, renew a green card, do nothing?"
Firefighters in the town of Poltava work at the site of an overnight Russian strike. Photograph: State Emergency Service Of Ukraine/Reuters (Photograph: State Emergency Service Of Ukraine/Reuters)

Russia has launched a huge wave of nearly 1,000 drones at Ukraine, killing at least seven people, as Moscow appears to be stepping up a spring offensive intended to break Ukrainian resistance along the front.

Ukrainian officials said Moscow fired nearly 400 long-range drones and 23 cruise missiles overnight, followed by another 556 drones in an unusual daytime assault on Tuesday, hitting cities across the west of the country.

Taken together, the barrage marks one of the largest aerial bombardments of Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion more than four years ago.

One Russian drone struck the Bernardine monastery, a 16th-century church in Lvivs Unesco-listed medieval centre, causing damage, local authorities said.

Dramatic footage circulating online showed a large kamikaze drone hitting a busy street in Lviv.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the barrage had caused damage in 11 regions and he renewed calls for allies to urgently supply Kyiv with more air defence munitions. He has said repeatedly that Ukraine, which relies on the US for systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, faces looming shortages as Washingtons attention remains focused on the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

Neighbouring Moldova also said a key power line linking it to Europe had been damaged in overnight Russian strikes, and urged citizens to reduce electricity use during peak hours.

After enduring a winter of widespread power and heating cuts, Ukraine is braced for a renewed Russian push. Moscows war of attrition typically intensifies in the spring as weather conditions improve. Russian forces, who outnumber Ukrainian troops by roughly three to one, are seeking to make gains along the eastern and southern fronts.

Russian troops have continued a slow advance in the eastern Donetsk region during the winter, edging closer to the key city of Sloviansk from the north and east. They hold positions about 12 miles (20km) from its outskirts. Open-source analysts also report Russian gains near Zaliznychne in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Kremlin had moved heavy equipment and additional troops to the frontline, the Institute for the Study of War said late on Monday.

Michael Kofman, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, said: Usually there is a Russian wave of mechanised assaults around April, and they once again prove costly and ineffective.

He said Ukrainian defences had been optimised for defeating mechanised assaults, with much of the fighting now focused on suppressing or displacing opposing drone units.

Ukraine has also had a notable boost on the battlefield this year, retaking roughly 150 sq miles of territory in southern Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces had previously been advancing. February was the first month since 2023 in which Kyiv regained more territory than it lost, according to military analysts.

The counteroffensive was aided by Elon Musks decision in February to switch off Russian forces access to Starlink internet connections, disrupting a key line of communication for the troops.

Ukraine is still in a precarious position, however, with much of the worlds attention focused on the war in the Middle East, raising concerns that US Patriot missile interceptors, the backbone of the countrys air defences, could run out.

Ukrainian and US delegations held two days of talks in Florida over the weekend intended to find a path to ending Russias full-scale invasion, but no breakthrough was reported. A key sticking point remains the Donbas, which Moscow wants Kyiv to cede in full.

On Tuesday Zelenskyy wrote on X: We had a detailed discussion on the outcomes of the meetings in the United States. It is telling that while our negotiators were reporting, Russia launched a new wave of shahed drones against Ukraine.

Related: Irish metals refinery is in supply chain that feeds Russian war machine, records suggest

The geopolitical situation has become more complicated due to the war against Iran, and unfortunately, this is emboldening Russia.

The well-sourced outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that the US had put pressure on Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region during the Florida talks, saying Washington could step back from peace negotiations and shift its focus further to the military operation in Iran.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly said any discussion of a voluntary withdrawal would only be possible if Ukraine first received ironclad security guarantees from the west.

The Kremlin, which has benefited from an unexpected economic windfall driven by a surge in global energy prices, said last week that talks between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv on ending the war in Ukraine were on a situational pause because of the conflict in Iran.
Four Jewish volunteer ambulances were destroyed outside a synagogue - ANDY RAIN/Shutterstock

Sir Sadiq Khan has been criticised for not visiting the site of an anti-Semitic arson attack in north London.

The Mayor of London was described as a disgrace for failing to attend the scene where four Jewish volunteer ambulances were destroyed outside a synagogue in Golders Green on Monday.

Angry residents claimed Sir Sadiq would have been there straight away had the attack been on a Muslim group, and urged him to take further steps to protect them.

On Tuesday, police cordons were removed, revealing the extent of the damage caused to the vehicles in the firebombing, which is being treated as a hate crime.

Avi Amor, 56, and his 57-year-old brother Ashe have been running Amors Takeaway on the adjoining high street for nearly 40 years.

Ashe told The Telegraph: The government and the mayor have been too soft and dont do enough. Its been slowly simmering.

There could be a terror cell in north London that is operating slowly and quietly. They are anti-West and anti-Semitic, and they are gaining confidence. They tried to scare the community, and they are doing a good job of it.

Israeli embassy sources told The Telegraph the torching had the bearings of an Iran-backed attack, while a newly formed Islamist militant group linked to Tehran appeared to claim responsibility for it online.

Counter-terrorism police are investigating whether Iran paid amateur proxies.

One theory is that those responsible were recruited online and offered money to carry out the arson attack. Intelligence officials have pointed out that Iran has a history of paying low-level criminals to conduct operations in Europe  a similar tactic to that adopted by the Kremlin in recent years.

Another theory being examined is that those responsible travelled to the UK from elsewhere in Europe specifically to carry out the operation, and may have already left.

Was he afraid?

For the Amor brothers, responsibility fell at the door of the London mayor, who they criticised for not attending.

Avi said: Sadiq Khan is to blame. They are not just a threat to the Jewish community but the British public. Theres not enough of a deterrent in place.

He argued that the mayor would have attended the site if it had been an attack on a Muslim group.

I think he should have shown up, he continued. Was he afraid [of a bad reception]? The fact he didnt come means hes not showing enough support for the Jewish community. As the mayor of London, he should have come.

Iris Abraham, 75, criticised both the mayor and Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister. She said: Theyre not encouraging it, but theyre not taking anti-Semitism seriously.

They show up when the Muslims are attacked, but not the Jews. The English are such good people that they dont want to offend, but in efforts not to do that, they have forgotten to defend.

The retired graphic designer said she had to help her elderly mother, who is 96, out of the block of flats next to the ambulances when the explosions began in the early hours of Monday.

They are not doing enough, because otherwise all this wouldnt have happened, she added.

The burnt remains of the ambulances in Golders Green - Belinda Jiao

Ms Abraham said the country had completely changed in the 50 years she had lived in the area and that anti-Semitic attacks were a daily occurrence.

Another resident, who gave his name only as Jake, said it was an absolute disgrace that Sir Sadiq did not visit to show his support.

When he first started, he was very pro-Jewish, he said. But with everything going on, he is under pressure from pro-Palestine groups. Eventually they will be the victims of their own handiwork. He had plenty to say about the [mass] prayers in Trafalgar Square, didnt he?

He added that Sir Keir should also have shown his face and said both were just not supportive any more.

Officers investigating the attack are still hunting for three men filmed by CCTV cameras fleeing the scene.

On Monday evening, Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Police commissioner, said the force would increase security for Jewish communities.

The mayors office said he had instead attended a Hatzola centre in Stamford Hill on Tuesday.

A spokesman said: Sadiq is proud to stand side by side with Londons Jewish community and this afternoon visited Stamford Hill to meet Hatzola ambulance crews and community leaders. He listened to their concerns and outlined the action being taken by police and partners to ensure Londons Jewish community feel safe and are protected.

The mayor has been absolutely clear that the anti-Semitic arson attack that took place earlier this week was an appalling act of hatred and has spoken in support of our Jewish friends, neighbours, colleagues as well as encouraging all Londoners to show allyship with Londons Jewish community.

An attack on our Jewish community is an attack on London and we will always stand together in the face of those who seek to divide us.
Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr has been announced as the new Iranian security chief

The appointment of Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as the new secretary of Irans supreme national security council reveals one thing: the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has taken over the running of the country.

Mr Zolghadr will fill the position left vacant after Ali Larijani was killed in an Israeli air strike on his daughters house last Wednesday.

The council is Irans highest body for security decision-making. The president chairs it, and it includes the heads of the judiciary and parliament, the foreign and interior ministers, the intelligence minister, two representatives appointed by the supreme leader, and commanders from the Revolutionary Guards and the regular military.

Larijani was Irans de facto leader given that Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader, has not been seen in public since the start of the war.

But the choice of Mr Zolghadr as the replacement reveals how dramatically the balance of power has shifted in Tehran  and how little authority the position now holds.

Mr Zolghadr, 72, is a lesser-known former Revolutionary Guard commander. He will inherit Larijanis title, but does not have his influence and charisma.

Ali Larijani was killed in a strike on Iran last week - ZUMA PRESS/Avalon

While Larijani co-ordinated between competing power centres and maintained enough independence to challenge hardline positions, Mr Zolghadr appears destined to serve as a public face for decisions made by the Revolutionary Guard generals.

The appointment shows the Islamic Republics transformation, under wartime pressure, into an increasingly militarised state in which IRGC commanders  not civilian officials or even senior clerics  hold critical top positions.

It also suggests that real negotiations with the US will be handled by figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker, rather than through the traditional security council apparatus.

By selecting someone without a political base, the IRGC has effectively abolished the councils traditional co-ordinating function and replaced it with a messenger service.

The IRGC does not want someone who will question its decisions or bring alternative perspectives from the foreign ministry, regular military, or moderate political factions.

The generals want someone who will sit in meetings, take notes and announce conclusions without complicating the process by co-ordinating anything.

Mr Zolghadrs career has mostly involved showing up and following orders. He reached the rank of brigadier general in the Guards, and has spent decades in the IRGCs upper echelons.

1803 Iranian command structure

But he has never been a consequential decision-maker, and his career has been characterised by loyal service to more powerful figures.

He co-founded the Ramadan Headquarters during the Iran-Iraq war, an extraterritorial operations unit that worked with Iraqi Kurdish and Shia opposition groups against Saddam Hussein.

The headquarters later became the blueprint for the Quds Force, the IRGCs external operations arm, which Qassem Soleimani commanded until his assassination in 2020.

But while Soleimani became one of Irans most powerful figures, Mr Zolghadr remained a mid-level commander.

After the war, Mr Zolghadr served for eight years as chief of the IRGCs joint staff, the third-ranking position in the Guards hierarchy. He then served for eight years as deputy commander, the second-ranking position.

Yet despite 16 years at the highest levels of IRGC command structure, he never achieved the political influence of contemporaries like Mohsen Rezaei or Mohammad Ali Jafari.

His advancement owed much to personal relationships rather than strategic vision. He was close to Mr Rezaei, who commanded the IRGC from 1981 to 1997, and to Yahya Rahim Safavi, who followed Mr Rezaei as commander until 2007.

When those protectors left their positions, Mr Zolghadrs influence waned.

Members of Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps - AFP

In 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the newly elected president, appointed Mr Zolghadr as security deputy at the interior ministry, a position requiring special permission from Ali Khamenei because Mr Zolghadr was still serving as IRGC deputy commander.

The interior ministrys security deputy oversees the countrys security council  separate from the supreme one  which co-ordinates suppression of protests nationwide, and monitors provincial governors and their security deputies.

Despite initial expectations that Mr Zolghadrs IRGC backing would ensure longevity, Mr Ahmadinejad grew dissatisfied with him. After just two years, he was pushed out  a rare rebuke for a senior IRGC figure.

He then migrated to the judiciary, serving as adviser to Sadeq Larijani, its chief at the time, and later as deputy for social protection and crime prevention.

The position in the judiciary coincided with increased IRGC influence over Irans legal system, with IRGC intelligence interrogators gaining significant sway over prosecutions and trials.

But Mr Zolghadr was not the architect of that expansion  he was a beneficiary of it, occupying space created by more powerful figures such as Hossein Taeb, the IRGC intelligence chief close to Mr Khamenei, the supreme leader.

Mojtaba Khamenei (centre) is Irans new supreme leader but has not been seen in public since the start of the war - Hamid Forootan/REUTERS

Since 2021, Mr Zolghadr has served as secretary of the expediency council, the body theoretically responsible for mediating between parliament and the guardian council when legislation is disputed.

Sadeq, a former judiciary chief and Ali Larijanis younger brother, is the head of the council.

In practice, the expediency council, first under Mr Rezaei and then Mr Zolghadr, has been a sinecure for retired officials rather than an active policy-making body.

The council meets sporadically, issues occasional statements on economic policy and provides a venue for regime grandees to maintain status without exercising real power.

This makes Mr Zolghadr an ideal choice for a supreme national security council secretary position that the IRGC wants controlled but not empowered.

This context explains why Mr Ghalibaf, not Mr Zolghadr, is leading negotiations with the US. Mr Ghalibaf has the political weight, IRGC credentials, and relationship with Mr Khamenei to deliver commitments, but Mr Zolghadr has a title.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is leading negotiations with the US as Irans parliament speaker - NurPhoto

If talks become serious, they will take place through channels the IRGC controls directly: Mr Ghalibaf for political negotiations, IRGC commanders for military agreements and perhaps Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister, for technical nuclear discussions.

The supreme national security council, traditionally the venue for co-ordinating such efforts, appears to have been reduced to a rubber stamp.

The choice of Mr Zolghadr fits a pattern of militarising Irans leadership in wartime.

Masoud Pezeshkian, the moderate president, governs alongside an entirely hardline security apparatus.

The judiciary is led by Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, a former intelligence ministry official, and parliament is led by Mr Ghalibaf, a former IRGC commander and now another IRGC figure at the top of the countrys security decision-making body.

The message is very clear: the IRGC has taken control of Iran.
Senator launches investigation into soaring childcare prices and if Wall Street is to blame

A senator has opened an investigation into the countrys two largest child care companies that are controlled by private equity  as families grapple with rising prices.

On Tuesday, Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley sent letters to KinderCare Learning Companies and Learning Care Group, in addition to their respective owners, requesting detailed information about how the Wall Street-backed firms operate.

Some analysts suggest that the growing role of private equity and other profitmaximizing ownership models in child care centers increase challenges related to affordability, staffing, and accessparticularly where investor strategies increase financial pressure to raise prices, constrain labor costs, or concentrate capacity in higher-revenue markets, Merkley wrote in one letter.

He pointed to an analysis showing that eight of the 10 largest child care firms are owned by private equity, while also citing studies that found such centers are more likely than their nonprofit counterparts to have staffing shortages, lower wages and higher prices.

Merkley also noted that regulators in several states have cited KinderCare for inadequate supervision, while centers owned by Learning Care Group have been reported for health and safety violations in some states.

A Democratic senator has opened an investigation into the country's two largest child care companies controlled by private equity  as families grapple with rising prices (Getty Images)

He then asked the companies to turn over key information by April 7, such as parent entities, sponsors, subsidiaries, committee minutes, presentations, and related legal proceedings.

Our future generations are our greatest resource, and we owe it to them to ensure their safety and security are at the forefront of everything we do, the third-term senator said. The private equity firms and the child care companies they control owe it to the families they serve to fully cooperate with this investigation, and I look forward to fully examining the documents and information we are requesting.

KinderCare Learning Companies is owned by Partners Group, a private equity firm based in Switzerland, while Learning Care Group is owned by American Securities, a U.S.-based private equity company.

Both companies stressed that they view their role in delivering quality care as a serious and essential commitment.

At KinderCare, our mission is simple and unwavering: to support working families and to provide a safe, nurturing, high quality learning environment so their children can thrive, a company spokesperson told The Independent. Every day, millions of parents across the country rely on early education and care so they can contribute to their communities and their workplaces. Annually, the federal government provides less than $250 in child care funding per American child while the cost of quality care continues to rise.

Every decision we make is grounded in providing safe, high-quality care and being a good place to work for our teachers, Learning Care CEO John Bork said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post. We believe thoughtful, long-term investment supports that mission, and we welcome the opportunity to work with policymakers to strengthen the system for families and educators.

'Ensuring working families can access safe and affordable child care is paramount to building out the middle class and making it easier for families to get ahead,' Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, said in a statement (Getty Images)

Child care costs in the United States have become a growing financial burden for many families, especially in recent years.

According to the First Five Years Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to early childhood policy, the average annual cost of child care now exceeds $13,000 per child. In many cases, that price tag rivals  or even surpasses  monthly rent, as a 2025 LendingTree analysis found.

The vast majority of voters, 80 percent, believe that the inability of working parents to find affordable child care options is a major problem or a state of crisis, according to a February FFYF survey.
Its guilty until proven innocent  Mandira Moitra Sarkar (fourth left) with employees at Mandiras Kitchen, which was raided in September. Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian (Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian)

Diners were tucking into their upmarket Indian lunch when the Ice agents slid through the restaurants back fence. Clad in stab vests, the 11-strong unit blocked off every entrance before moving in on their target: Mandiras Kitchen. This wasnt a scene from California or Texas. It happened near Guildford, England, among the rolling Surrey Hills.

Before the Home Offices immigration compliance and enforcement (Ice) officers stormed the restaurant in September, they came up with a codeword in the event they were attacked with any weapons that might be at hand in a kitchen. What they found were customers eating biryani and samosas in a converted barn decorated with plants and a rickshaw bicycle hanging from the ceiling. When they reached the kitchen, they found five junior members of staff cooking. The officers demanded to see their passports. They didnt explain. They didnt ask for permission, says the restaurants owner, Mandira Moitra Sarkar. That 11 officers could burst into her business with no warrant and question staff is astounding, she says. Moitra Sarkar was on holiday in Tanzania when Ice arrived; she was notified by a frantic call from a member of staff.

Moitra Sarkar made her name in the restaurant industry after being lauded by culinary giants including Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver. Her prepared dishes, which can be bought online for home delivery, were featured on a Channel 4 competition to find the countrys best ready meals for Aldi. But this wasnt enough for the Home Office. Its crackdown on illegal working has left many business owners and employees reeling from its heavy-handed tactics.

Related: Immigration officers must treat people with respect

The immigration officers  from South Central Ice, which covers a patchwork of southern England including Portsmouth, Plymouth and Surrey  were accompanied by two officers from Surrey police, who walked around the restaurant among the customers, watching the scene unfold, and then blocked entry to the toilets. Once the Ice officers entered the kitchen, the members of staff were separated and questioned individually. One employee was asked whether his name was really Shamriaz (officers insisted it was Shabbir); another was quizzed on his wife and his child; one was asked about their studies after showing a university ID. Moitra Sarkar says the officers asked questions such as: When was the last time you went to university? What grades do you get? Do you get your assignments done on time? She believes it was completely ad hoc.

After 37 gruelling minutes, having failed to find any wrongdoing, the Ice officers left the premises. To top it all off, Moitra Sarkar says, the Home Office vans left the restaurant car park without paying  non-customers are usually charged 2.

The raid is one of more than 17,400 on businesses carried out since Labour came to power in July 2024  a 77% increase on the year before and almost as many as in the entire previous parliament. The government says the drive has led to the highest number of arrests for illegal working since records began, but critics say the crackdown goes far beyond the partys manifesto pledge of a fair and properly managed immigration system.

While the UKs Ice teams were set up in 2013 as part of Theresa Mays hostile environment policy, Labour has been using the increased number of raids to front much of the Home Offices media output. In January, the Home Office set up a TikTok account, @SecureBordersUK, to show Ice officers raiding a market, a car wash and a nail bar. One video, which appears to show people struggling in open water during small-boat crossings, contains a stark message: To the migrants who come to the UK illegally: you will face deportation or removal.

Most businesses raided by Ice dont know why they were targeted. Anonymous tipoffs, which can be made online, appear to be behind many of the raids (including the one on Mandiras Kitchen). Kevin Barker, a former Ice officer and the director of the paralegal firm Immigration Compliance Ltd, says that while raids are always intelligence-led, a tipoff can be enough to trigger one.

There are steps between a tipoff being filed and a raid being carried out, Barker says. Surveillance is sometimes used, including discreet drive-by surveillance. Barker says Ice will also see if theres any other allegations or previous immigration raids to the business and investigate if a name is given. But more often than not, he says, there are no names mentioned  they just have a suspicion of illegal workers. The nature of anonymity means a tipoff can relate to a personal or commercial grievance. Often, its competitors within the local area filling out the forms, he says.

Moitra Sarkar holds a sponsor licence, which allows her to employ students or workers who might not normally have the right to work in the UK. It was all very intimidating. Oh, youre brown and youre running a food business? Of course youve got illegal immigrants. Its guilty until proven innocent, she says.

Racial profiling is a factor, says Seema Syeda, the advocacy and communications director at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, which provides legal advice for those targeted by raids. She says the high number of arrests doesnt paint the full picture. In 2025, Ice officers carried out 12,791 illegal-working raids and made 8,971 arrests. However, the Home Offices figures show that only a quarter of those arrested (2,251) were detained and 12% (1,087) left the UK, either by force or voluntarily. Syeda says she has seen many cases where people are raided, arrested and then released. It is, she says, very clear to us that this is a performative act.

***

When I arrive at Facing Heaven, the owner, Julian Denis, looks hesitant. Im wearing all black and, for a moment, he worries Ice has returned. His business, a trendy vegan Chinese restaurant near Broadway Market in east London, was raided in September.

It was Saturday night and the restaurant, decorated in bright pink and neon, was packed. About 10 officers made a beeline for the open-plan kitchen. They separated the staff before interrogating them individually, asking to see their IDs and payslips. Apart from speaking to the restaurants general manager, James Nolan, the officers didnt speak to any white members of staff that night. They singled out non-white, foreign-born workers for interrogation, scaring them with the possibility of being immediately jailed, says Nolan.

The lead officer told Nolan they were there off the back of an anonymous tipoff that specified illegal Bengali workers. After failing to find any illegal workers in the kitchen, having carried out their interrogations in plain sight of diners, the officers asked Nolan if there were any more members of staff on the premises. He said there werent. He was then asked the question again, replying with the same answer. Upon being asked a third time, Nolan got frustrated and said not unless theyre on the fucking roof. At this point, the officer gave up trying to catch me out, he says. The officer told Nolan that they were looking for five to six illegal workers.

After about half an hour, with the dinner service halted, Ice left. Nolan asked an officer why they came during their busiest period, allowing customers to look at this charade unfold. The officer said they had to come at a busy time when all staff were working.

Oh, youre brown and youre running a food business? Of course youve got illegal immigrants

Denis is from the US, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has instilled fear in communities of colour by rounding up and detaining people  many of them legal residents or even US citizens  using aggressive and violent tactics. This feeling has been intensified by the filmed killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. Denis describes the raid on his restaurant as a wake-up call. He says his employees, who are legally employed and have the full right to work in the UK, should not have to come to work feeling fearful because of their country of origin. Denis has a two-word message for the Home Office: Fuck Ice.

Mandiras Kitchen and Facing Heaven were raided under the Licensing Act 2003, which makes restaurants particularly vulnerable to surprise visits. It allows Ice officers to enter a business when it is carrying out a licensed activity, such as serving alcohol or selling hot food or drinks after 11pm, without a warrant. In 2025, 28% of all raids were carried out on restaurants, takeaways and cafes, a proportion significantly higher than for any other type of business.

Barker claims that officers often go beyond the powers of the act, which allows them only to enter a business. Once inside, they treat it as though they have carte blanche to speak to whoever they want to and search wherever they want to. For example, Ice could enter a restaurant on the basis of concerns over someone without the right to work selling alcohol, but end up rounding up kitchen staff or delivery drivers, who have no part in the sale of alcohol.

Ice was given greater power to enter businesses in 2017 after amendments to the Licensing Act were passed. The changes had some notable critics, including the MP for Holborn and St Pancras, Keir Starmer, who told the Commons in 2015 that they would give officers a much lower threshold than the usual threshold for entering premises. Barker says the amended act has proved very powerful for Ice: Quite often, I would argue that their intentions have not been anything to do with the licensed activity. Its just used to give them the power to enter.

In Surrey, Moitra Sarkar is still seeking answers. She sent freedom of information requests to the Home Office and Surrey police to find out why her business had been raided. The manager on shift at the time had overheard officers say they had received a tipoff, which has since been confirmed by documents she has obtained.

These documents also reveal that the Home Office contacted the council to ask whether it had licensing concerns (it didnt) and invited council officers to join the raid, which Moitra Sarkar believes was an attempt to beef up the legal justification. The pre-visit report lays out how Ice used the Licensing Act to authorise its raid without a warrant. It cites the cafes website, showing a menu including alcoholic drinks, as evidence that a licensed activity was taking place, which, combined with the tipoff, gave officers the power to enter.

Officers are supposed to get fully informed consent from the business owner, which involves clearly saying why they are there and what they plan to do, as well as the potential civil or criminal penalties that could result from their visit. Businesses should also be told that they can refuse Ice officers entry and can withdraw their consent at any time. However, when Ice raided Mandiras Kitchen, Moitra Sarkar says, the general manager asked the officer whether they could come back another day. The Surrey police officer told her: No, thats not how it works, and pressed ahead anyway.

When the Guardian asked about the raid, Surrey police said Ice and officers from its modern slavery and organised immigration crime unit carried out a joint visit to complete a routine licensing check under section 179 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Fizza Qureshi, the CEO of the charity Migrants Rights Network (MRN), has spoken to a number of affected business owners, many of whom are from migrant backgrounds. She says many are not fully informed of what their rights are and have become resigned to raids being part of their daily life. The Home Office doesnt record ethnicity data when carrying out raids or arrests (although it does record nationality), but research from MRN suggests they are carried out in areas that have large black and Asian populations. Qureshi has spoken to a car wash owner who says he is raided every three months or so, despite no illegal workers being found. The impact can be profound, she says, with raided businesses struggling to shake off the stigma.

Ive seen many cases where people are raided, arrested and then released ... this is a performative act

A Home Office spokesperson said: All enforcement operations are intelligence-led. Race and ethnicity play no role in operational decisions. Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages and fuels organised immigration crime.

We hold our officers to the highest standards of professionalism and categorically refute any suggestion they acted improperly [or] were heavyhanded, the spokesperson added.

Tanya Goldfarb, the head of business immigration at the law firm Bindmans, says care homes, IT companies and hotels have also been targeted by Ice recently. Goldfarb says the raids are frightening and intimidating and that people may be handcuffed: They are taken to detention centres. Sometimes theyre released and sometimes theyre not released. People often dont know where their loved ones are. They dont have a chance to make a phone call to anybody.

While Ice has far fewer powers than ICE in the US, this may not remain the case. Reform UK and the Conservatives have announced plans to create agencies modelled on ICE, should they win power. However, the increase in raids hasnt come without opposition on the ground. Anti-raid groups are springing up, says Syeda. In January, a group in Lewisham, south London, alerted people to a car wash raid. When protesters told those being approached by Ice officers of their rights, no one was arrested.

For Moitra Sarkar, the raid came during a particularly tough time. Days earlier, more than 100,000 people had marched through central London for unite the kingdom, a far-right rally at which racist conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim hate speech rang through Whitehall. Her daughter, who was born and raised in Surrey, was told not to go to work that week. Ive lived in Britain for 28 years and Im the most optimistic person that there is, says Moitra Sarkar. But so many things happened that week.

Aside from the personal impact of the raid, Moitra Sarkar thinks it was a waste of officers time and taxpayers money. We really need to call it out for what it is, she says. Completely ludicrous.

 Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.



 This article was amended on 24 March 2026. An earlier version referred to Ice officers being armed with stun guns during a raid; this was based on information from a witness account that was put to the Home Office prior to publication. However, the Home Office has since informed us that Ice officers do not possess such devices. An additional comment from the Home Office was added on 25 March 2026.
DENVER, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The regional development strategies of Fremont County are set to be the subject of an upcoming segment on "Viewpoint hosted by Dennis Quaid." This production will examine the changing landscape of rural prosperity in America, focusing on how communities can integrate technology, education, and natural resources to create sustainable, long-term growth. As national trends show an increasing interest in relocating away from dense metropolitan hubs, this segment provides an educational look at how regions like the Royal Gorge area are adapting to meet the needs of modern residents, entrepreneurs, and families.

Fremont County, Colorado

The upcoming television segment will explore the concept of economic homesteading, a contemporary approach where individuals prioritize connection, community stability, and professional opportunity over traditional urban density. By highlighting the collaborative efforts of local leaders, educators, and business owners, the program aims to demonstrate how a regional economy functions when diverse sectors, such as agriculture, advanced manufacturing, and outdoor recreation, work in tandem.

This educational focus is intended to provide viewers with an objective understanding of how local governance and economic development corporations support small business growth while maintaining the integrity of their geographic landscape. The production will also address how the region manages the balance between welcoming tourism and preserving the quality of life for permanent residents. By utilizing existing infrastructure and promoting educational pathways through local community colleges and career-ready programs, the county serves as a case study for rural resilience in the 21st century.

"We were thrilled to be approached by Viewpoint for a segment on our holistic approach to today's ever-evolving lifestyle," said Fremont County Commissioner Debbie Bell. "They see success isn't limited to big cities. They understand you don't have to choose between professional success and quality of life - here, you can have both. We are excited to share our story and examine the synergy we have found as an entire community."

The narrative of the segment centers on the idea that success is not defined by geographic scale, but by the ability to leverage local strengths. By fostering an environment where innovation can coexist with a high standard of living, the region provides a template for other rural communities facing similar demographic and economic shifts. The documentary will illustrate how policy decisions, combined with community investment, create a foundation where families can raise children, businesses can scale, and visitors can engage with the natural environment responsibly. This project aims to offer the general public a clearer perspective on the viability of rural living as a strategic choice for the modern professional.

About "Viewpoint hosted by Dennis Quaid": "Viewpoint hosted by Dennis Quaid" is an informational television program that explores a variety of topics, including social, cultural, and technological advancements. The program aims to educate the public on complex issues by presenting factual information in a documentary format. The series is distributed to Public Television stations across the country. For more information, please visit viewpointproject.com.

About Fremont County Co: Fremont County, located in the Royal Gorge Region of Colorado, is an administrative and economic entity dedicated to regional prosperity. Through collaborative initiatives in agriculture, technology, wellness, and education, the county focuses on creating a balanced environment for businesses and residents. For additional details regarding their economic development and community programs, visit fremontcountyco.gov.

SOURCE Viewpoint
Sir Chris Hoy has urged men to get tested for prostate cancer as he launched a major project to screen 25,000 men for the disease.

In a message to men across Scotland, the Olympic cyclist called for those over 40 to get a simple test, saying: It could save your life.

Sir Chris, one of Scotland and the UKs most successful athletes of all time, said he had found a new purpose following his diagnosis of incurable prostate cancer.

In Glasgow, he launched the Scottish Prostate Cancer Initiative, a project to screen 25,000 Scottish men in a bid to improve early detection and diagnosis while saving lives.

Men in Scotland over 40 are being urged to sign up for a screening (Scottish Prostate Cancer Initiative/PA)

Speaking to the Press Association, the Scot said he had a clear message for men.

I think the most important thing is to explain that its just a simple blood test, he said. With a PSA [prostate specific antigen] test youre in and out of the doctors in five minutes.

Its easy, its simple, its painless  and it could save your life.

The Olympian announced his diagnosis in October 2024 and said he had been given between two and four years to live.

He spoke to reporters about how the disease had impacted him, saying: A stage four diagnosis changes your life drastically but I guess its finding a new purpose, and todays event is all about trying to educate men about the importance of catching prostate cancer early.

Early detection saves lives  that is the message to take away from today.

He added: I always assumed there would be some kind of symptoms or early-warning signs. My grandpa had prostate cancer, my dad had it, so I was aware of it.

But even then, were always told its 50 years and above, that its an older mans disease, and its slow-moving, and youll get warning signs. Thats not always the case. So, I think that that is the key thing.

Sir Chris said the fantastic initiative was launched after figures showed some 35% of men in Scotland with prostate cancer were diagnosed when it was too late to be cured, compared to just 12.5% in London.

Sandy and James Easdale at the Scottish Prostate Cancer Initiative testing event (Scottish Prostate Cancer Initiative/PA) (Kirsty OConnor)

Professor Sir Chris Evans, whose company EDX Medical Group is delivering the project, said he had already met with Scotlands Health Secretary, describing the meeting as very, very positive and very constructive.

I think they were quite encouraging of what were doing and they will wait for the outcome, which they should, he said.

The scientist said early detection was important for prostate cancer, both because it saved lives but it saves the Government money.

He said a stage one diagnosis, which is curable, could cost thousands of pounds to treat while stage four, which is terminal, costs hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Each man who participates in the initiative will be asked to give a simple blood sample to measure PSA levels with the results expected to be sent back within days.

Prof Evans said some men in the pilot had already been shown to have the disease at late stages and will receive treatment.

The aim of the study is to explore how the existing clinical pathway for detecting and treating prostate cancer can be improved.

The findings of the study will be made available to NHS Scotland.

Men can book a free PSA test from Tuesday nationwide at www.scottishprostate.com.
Keir Starmer on the way to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 summit, a trip that cost 413,000. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/Reuters (Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/Reuters)

Keir Starmers government is spending an increasing amount on foreign trips, with almost 40 visits abroad adding up to more than 4m since he took office, the latest transparency figures have showed.

The prime minister had his most costly quarter for foreign travel in the last three months of 2025, with eight trips adding up to 1.2m.

The most expensive was his three-day visit to the Cop climate conference in Brazil, along with 29 officials, costing 413,000.

Related: Starmer tells Labour MPs his foreign trips can help fix cost of living crisis

The trade trip to India with 45 staff on a commercial flight cost 341,000, while the G20 in Johannesburg along with 30 staff on an RAF plane came in at 367,000.

Starmers 39 trips abroad have earned him criticism from the Tories, who have called him never here Keir, while some of the prime ministers own aides having tried to get him to spend more time in the UK and less on international diplomacy and attending summits.

However, Tony Blair, David Cameron and Theresa May made as many, if not more, trips abroad in their first two years in office. Blairs annual travel spending was about 2m for 22 overseas visits in 2006.

Rishi Sunak, who was less keen on foreign visits, made only about 22 trips and delegated much of his diplomacy to Cameron, who was appointed as his foreign secretary, while Boris Johnsons premiership was marked by the international travel bans of the Covid era.

Sunaks trips appear to have been less costly than Starmers, with the G20 summit to Indonesia coming in at 204,925, the Cop conference in Egypt costing 112,000 and another in Dubai costing 119,000.

Downing Street sources said Starmers travel was vital and he was banging the drum for the UK and its business interests.

A government spokesperson said: All PM travel is done with consideration to security requirements and value for taxpayers, and is central to rebuilding Britains global influence and keeping people safe through stronger alliances.

These trips have helped secure billions in investment for the UK and tens of thousands of jobs, while strengthening our security, protecting British interests overseas and delivering real benefits for people at home.

The figures emerged in the latest transparency publication released by the government. This showed hospitality given to ministers and their aides, with the culture team taking free tickets to the Brits, Baftas and Winter Olympics  all of which are linked to their brief. Starmer declared only a Munich Security Conference dinner and a reception at the North East Chamber of Commerce.

The transparency release also revealed the salaries of senior civil servants, with some of the highest earners including the chief executive of HS2 getting 660,000 a year, two Network Rail executives earning more than 550,000 and the chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority earning 445,000.
The attack in Golders Green is currently being treated as an antisemitic hate crime. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images (Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images)

From Golders Green, where four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity were set alight in the early hours of Monday, a tangled trail probably leads across two continents to Tehran.

British investigators are circumspect. Speaking at an event on Monday evening, Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan police, described a very relevant and rolling threat from Iran to the UK, and specifically to Jewish targets, but warned it was still too early to attribute the attack in north London to Tehran.

Others who are less bound by the imperatives of policing and politics are not so cautious. In interviews, experts, security officials and others all pointed to Iran, which has been linked to a series of very similar attacks in recent weeks that have all targeted Jewish sites around western Europe with relatively low-tech incendiary devices.

Four days after the US and Israel launched their offensive against Iran, experts noted, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corpss elite al-Quds force, which handles international military operations, warned: The enemy should know that their happy days are over and they will no longer be safe anywhere in the world, not even in their own homes.

Related: Middle East violence continues after Trump claims very good talks with Iran

Since the beginning of the latest conflict, there have been attacks in Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. All have been linked to Iran by local authorities.

There have also been a series of attacks in Europe, all very similar to that in Golders Green. On 9 March, an improvised explosive device was detonated in front of a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liege. Four days later, another went off outside a synagogue in Rotterdam.

Then a Jewish school and a commercial centre were targeted in Amsterdam, also with amateurish incendiary bombs. Two teenagers were arrested overnight between Monday and Tuesday after a vehicle parked outside a Jewish-owned business in Antwerp was torched.

Much of the media coverage this week has focused on a video posted on Telegram shortly after the attack in Golders Green by a group calling itself Harakat al-Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), or the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous, which showed a clip of the burning vehicles and claimed a historic bond between Israel and the Machzike Hadath synagogue, where the ambulance service is based.

The Telegraph reported on the advent of Tehrans newest terrorist proxy, in effect equating HAYI with organisations such as Hamas, which runs half of Gaza and still has tens of thousands of members, and Hezbollah, a movement with an influential political wing, a powerful if now depleted arsenal of up to 25,000 rockets and missiles and a global web of businesses raising huge sums.

Hamas was founded in 1987. Hezbollah, which has been described as a state within a state in Lebanon where it is based, was created with Iranian help around 1983. Comparing HAYI to either organisation, both of which have close, if complex, ties with Tehran, is far-fetched. Indeed, it is very unclear if any such group exists.

Security officials close to the investigation said the current working assumption was that the group doesnt exist and it is a front and a brand invented by Iranian intelligence or the Quds force.

The video of the Golders Green attack was first broadcast on social media channels affiliated with a pro-Iranian Shia militia, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, which was organised, funded, trained and equipped by the Revolutionary Guards. Its name and visual branding suggest inspiration from other Shia militant groups, researchers from the respected International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague say.

What is certain is that Iran has used unconventional attacks against its enemies around the world as a key tactic in its efforts to win an ongoing low-level conflict with much more conventionally powerful enemies  although it has been careful to ensure that evidence of its involvement in terrorism is kept to a minimum.

Rowley said: The rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats is grave: hostile state surveillance activity, 20 disrupted plots and recent attempted attacks on the Iranian diaspora. None of this is isolated. It is part of a rapidly shifting threat landscape.

Magnus Ranstorp, an author and veteran expert who has long tracked Iranian involvement with extremist and terrorist groups, said Tehran had always tried to maintain plausible deniability since its early involvement in the massive bombing of a US military base in 1982 in Lebanon and attacks in Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994, when the Israeli embassy and a Jewish cultural centre were bombed in retaliation for Israeli strikes against Hezbollah.

Related: Irans parliament speaker: the outsider seen by White House as possible partner

However, recent investigations and trials in Sweden, Greece and the US have revealed how Iranian intelligence or Revolutionary Guards officials have recruited individuals to carry out attacks, often working with criminal networks to provide manpower and resources. Two Iranians were charged last week with conducting hostile surveillance on the Jewish community in London for Tehran.

Earlier this month, a Pakistani man was convicted in Brooklyn of planning to kill Donald Trump and Joe Biden as part of an Iranian plot. Asif Merchant admitted during his trial that the Guard Corps had tasked him with political assassinations in retaliation for the 2020 killing by the US of their revered commander Qassem Suleimani, and he described his recruitment by the Guards. Among a wealth of detail, he said his Iranian handler named three people in the course of conversations in Tehran.

The attack in Golders Green is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, not a terrorist incident, and there is still a possibility the attack was the work of individuals or a group acting independently.

It comes less than six months after an attack on a synagogue in Manchester. According to the Community Security Trust (CST), there were 3,700 antisemitic incidents recorded in the UK in 2025, the second highest level ever and a 4% rise on the previous year.

Ranstorp noted that the most recent wave of attacks was not lethal. The Iranians have a record of killing people or trying to kill people, so for them to clearly try quite hard not to kill anyone is interesting. There is no need for them to put out big statements  but this is still about sending a message, he said.
The Houston Police Department says the man is in critical condition at a local hospital following the confrontation (Getty Images)

A blood-covered Texas man who knocked on doors in a neighborhood begging for help was then shot by a homeowner after forcing his way into a property, according to police.

The Houston Police Department says the man is in critical condition at a hospital in the city following the confrontation, ABC13 Houston reported.

The incident began shortly after midnight on Monday when witnesses reported seeing two men running near Campden Hill. One man was reportedly wearing a mask, while the other was bleeding from the head.

According to investigators, the bloodied man began a frantic circuit of the neighborhood, knocking on the doors of several homes. Video footage obtained by ABC13 captured the man shouting for help and banging on a door before he eventually reached a property in the 4800 block.

Authorities say the man kicked in the front door and forced his way inside the house, where he was subsequently shot by the homeowner.

According to KHOU 11, a CBS affiliate in Houston, Lt. J.P. Horelica stated that investigators believe both suspects are in their early 20s.

The masked man was described as wearing a black hoodie and a jumpsuit. He fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction and remains unidentified.

Police have not yet determined the cause of the mans initial injuries or whether he had been assaulted before the break-in.

Residents of the quiet suburb expressed shock at the violence.

Gerald Conkrite, a neighbor, told reporters that such events are a rarity for the area.

"We don't have that over here," Conkrite told ABC13. "It don't work like that over here no more."

KHOU 11 reported that investigators are also asking residents to review home-surveillance footage from the neighborhood to track the suspects' movements before the shooting.
A rare Russian daytime drone attack on Ukraine has killed at least three people, wounded 30 and set a building in the centuries-old centre of Lviv on fire, officials said on Tuesday.

More than 400 drones were launched in the middle of the day, Ukraine's air force said, an abrupt change from Russia's usual tactic of launching similarly massive aerial attacks at night during its more than four-year-old war.

The daytime attack came after at least five people were killed and 27 injured in a wave of Russian drone attacks across Ukraine overnight.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the daytime bombardment caused damage in 11 regions, including a residential building in Lvivs city centre.

A building on fire in Lviv after a barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed five people and wounded more than two dozen across Ukraine (Telegram/@andriysadovyi)

Zelensky repeated calls for allies to urgently supply Kyiv with more air defence munitions, which are dwindling as the United States and Europe have shifted their focus to the war in Iran in recent weeks.

The geopolitical situation has become more complicated due to the war against Iran, and this, unfortunately, bolsters Russias confidence, Zelensky said on Tuesday, adding that the fundamental circumstances have not changed.

Russia is continuing this war and destabilisation in Europe, supporting the Iranian regime with intelligence data and thereby prolonging the war in that region, as well as preparing for new conflicts in the coming years.

Smoke rises from the city centre of Lviv in the west of the country close to the border with Poland (Reuters)

Along with aerial attacks, Moscow has stepped up its ground assaults along the 750-mile front line in the east and south, with 619 attacks in four days in mid-March.

The country is bracing for renewed attacks as weather conditions improve after a winter of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, causing power and heating cuts, exacerbating the already-bitter Ukrainian winter.

The commander-in-chief of Ukraines armed forces, General Oleksander Syrskyi, said Russian troops had made multiple attempts in recent days to break through defensive lines.

People help a woman injured in Russias drone strikes in Lviv (AP)

Fierce fighting unfolded along the entire line of contact, he wrote on Telegram on Monday.

The occupiers are attempting to bring up new units and are preparing to continue attacks, Syrskyi added.

The general said the Russian military is trying to bring up new forces and is relying on poor spring weather conditions, like fog, to reduce the effectiveness of Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes for future attacks.

A Ukrainian military official expects Russia will begin using mobilised military personnel on 1 April, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank.

A firefighter works at the site of a building damaged during overnight Russian drone and missile strikes in Poltava, Ukraine (Emergency Service of Ukraine)

Ukrainian Southern Defence Forces spokesperson Colonel Vladyslav Voloshyn told Ukrainian outlet Interfax Ukraine that Russia will begin moving all mobilised personnel currently in Crimea to Ukraine.

The ISW also reported that Russia was moving heavy equipment to the frontline in preparation for an intensification of fighting as the weather warms, in what it believes is the beginning of their spring-summer offensive.

Michael Kofman, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, told The Guardian: Usually there is a Russian wave of mechanised assaults around April, and they once again prove costly and ineffective.

The latest attacks come after weekend talks between Ukrainian and US delegations in Florida yielded no tangible results.
Uoleva, Tonga. Environmental groups are concerned that deep-sea mining, which involves extracting minerals and metals from the seabed, could damage fragile ocean ecosystems. Photograph: By Wildestanimal/Getty (Photograph: By Wildestanimal/Getty)

The recently elected leader of Tonga has described a deal to partner with the US on deep-sea mineral exploration as an exciting development amid concern in the small Pacific nation over the practice of seabed mining and the potential environmental impact.

Tonga is located in the South Pacific Ocean, a region attracting growing interest over whether critical minerals buried in the seabed could be extracted to help power industries and green technologies.

In some of his first comments on deep-sea mineral exploration, Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua told the Guardian that Tonga had a tradition and historical knowledge of the cultural practice, and the nation would be cautious in ocean exploration.

The US and Tonga struck a deal in February to cooperate to advance marine scientific research for the responsible exploration of seabed mineral resources. The statement, released on 26 February, said the two countries were uniquely positioned to work together in this field.

Together, we commit to responsible exploration of seabed minerals and enhancing global scientific understanding of the deep ocean, the statement said.

Fakafanua, who was elected prime minister in November 2025, said the partnership was an exciting development for us.

He added: With regards to deep-sea minerals, as a nascent industry, Tonga remains fully committed to scientific exploration of our oceans under the multilateral systems we are legally bound to and continues to strictly maintain a cautious approach of firstly do no harm.

Tonga has a long-running partnership with The Metals Company for exploration work, though no mining has taken place.

Environmental groups are concerned that exploration and deep-sea mining could damage fragile ocean ecosystems. Concern has also been raised in Tonga that the public have not been adequately consulted on the US deal.

Related: In the depths of the ocean, a new contest between the US and China emerges

Dr Ungatea Fonua Kata, a respected public figure and academic, is among the strongest critics against deep-sea mining in Tonga. Kata described the Pacific Ocean as the countrys home and said communities rely on the sea for much of their livelihood.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on Earth yet its our home, we are opposed to any activity that could damage that environment, said Kata, who is also education director of the largest church denomination in Tonga, the Free Wesleyan Church.

We have very little land mass, she said. Our livelihood is based in the ocean, so we do not want anything done that would be detrimental to our place of residence.

Kata said plans for cooperation with the US on marine research lacked public consultation, particularly on an issue so vital to Tonga.

Drew Havea, the chair of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga, is a strong opponent to deep-sea mining and has called for a moratorium on the practice.

Most Tongans disagreed with their countrys involvement in deep-sea mining, Havea said. He called for a referendum on the issue at last years November election but the then government did not comply with the request.

Tongas Civil Society Forum has found strong support regionally from the Pacific Network on Globalisation, a leading environmental and advocacy group. Its regional coordinator, Joey Tau, has urged caution and warned that deep-sea mining was a huge unknown.

He said: There is more need for deep-sea science and research, but one that is done independently, that benefits the common good of all humankind, and not one that is driven by industry.

Mining has really a bad history in this part of the world. You can [also] look at other continents  it has displaced people, it has brought about social differences, he said.
The USS Tripoli is due to arrive on Friday, with roughly 2,200 marines on board - Edgar Su/Reuters

Donald Trumps five-day deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will end on the same day that thousands of United States marines are expected to arrive in the Middle East.

The US president told reporters that he would see how negotiations went and if a deal was not agreed by Friday, well just keep bombing our little hearts out.

But the entry of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit gives Mr Trump the option of launching a ground operation, alongside a continuation of air strikes against the regime.

The USS Tripoli will arrive on Friday, with roughly 2,200 marines on board, under the control of US Central Command, which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

It is expected to take a few more days for the ship to reach the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has closed to its usual traffic of tankers carrying around 20 per cent of the worlds oil supply.

The Pentagon has ordered a second marine unit, also composed of around 2,500 personnel, to depart from its base in California and head to the Middle East.

The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which operates from the USS Boxer and its amphibious ready group, left California last week and could reach the theatre by mid-April, the WSJ reported.

On Tuesday afternoon, it emerged that Mr Trump is set to order a unit from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

The brigade combat team is trained to parachute into hostile environments, and can be deployed anywhere around the world within 24 hours. It will be deployed alongside the division headquarters, the Wall Street Journal reported.

US officials briefed that the president was still considering aggressive military action as he declared his support for talks to reach a ceasefire.

Options include an operation to capture Kharg Island, the outcrop in the north of the Gulf through which Iran exports about 90 per cent of its oil, as well as a raid to capture Irans stock of highly enriched uranium.

Analysts and experts have speculated that further targets for potential seizure are Qeshm Island, Kish Island and Hormuz Island, which house various military supplies and economic infrastructure.

2503 US Navys deployed carrier strike / amphibious ready groups

However, both the negotiations and any military operation will demand heavy sacrifices from the US, analysts warn.

Iran has demanded compensation for the damage caused by US strikes, as well as a firm guarantee that any ceasefire will be permanent.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has conveyed to Arab mediators that it intended to charge any ship that crosses the Strait of Hormuz, as Egypt does in the Suez Canal.

Having established that it can strangle the world economy through the strait, the regime is unlikely to agree to terms that do not leave it in a strengthened position compared with before the war.

The USS Boxer has left California and could arrive to the Middle East by mid-April - Seam Apprentice Trace Gorsuch/AFP

Abbas Araghchi, Irans foreign minister, has already called for the end of US sanctions before the strait is reopened. Previously, this was a carrot that Washington would offer only after Tehran had complied with strict limits on its nuclear programme.

Trump faces a difficult set of options, said Danny Citroniwicz, the former head of the Iran branch at the research and analysis division in Israels military intelligence.

Reaching a deal would require meaningful concessions to the Iranian regime on core issues, he wrote on X.

Alternatively, military options, whether strikes on infrastructure, limited operations (e.g. Kharg Island), or broader moves such as controlling the Strait of Hormuz that would be highly complex and carry no guarantee of success.

To seize Kharg Island, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit could land troops on the island either by sea or air.

2103 How the US could invade Kharg Island

US air strikes have destroyed runways on the island, meaning that any airborne operation would involve the use of helicopters or F-35B fighter jets that can land on uneven ground.

Marines could then repair the strips to allow for the further delivery of men and material, potentially through the use of cargo planes such as the C-130.

However, the troops would be exposed to Iranian missile fire and any operation could extract a high cost in blood.

The US has used bunker-busting bombs to strike Irans hardened coastal depots holding missiles and other attack systems.

But elements of the arsenal have survived, and the success rate of Tehrans missile strikes has increased in recent days, even if the overall level of fire has fallen dramatically since the start of the war.
Donald Trump claimed very good and productive conversations had led to progress over the previous two days. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP (Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP)

The 15-point framework plan for peace with Iran that Donald Trump has said is being discussed is based on a proposal put forward by his negotiating team during nuclear talks almost a year ago, diplomats with knowledge of the talks believe.

That original 15-point plan was the basis for negotiations in late May 2025, shortly before the talks collapsed due to Israeli airstrikes on Irans nuclear programme.

There has been much speculation as to what Trumps latest claimed plan contains, and how much of it has been updated from the now outdated document the US presented to the Iranians last May.

The fact that the plan may largely be a rehash of something that Iran did not accept a year ago suggests either a lack of US seriousness about the talks being planned for this week, or more likely a desire by Trump, for whatever reason, to pretend on Monday he had made more progress towards a deal than in reality he had.

The Iranians accused Trump of trying to calm the US markets before they opened by saying he was not going ahead with his threatened attack on Irans energy infrastructure on Monday night. He said he was postponing the strikes for five days to give time to see if 15 points of agreement could be reached.

The US president claimed very good and productive conversations had led to progress over the previous two days. Iran denied there had been any backchannel talks save indirect discussions about reviving talks.

Related: Surprise US talks with Irans fractured leadership offer uncertain path out of conflict

Some of the USs 15 points drafted in 2025 might be regarded as out of date since there have been three further rounds of talks subsequently in 2026, while Irans nuclear programme, especially its key uranium enrichment sites, has been obliterated by US bombing.

Some diplomats close to the talks said they did not believe a radically different new US document existed, and even if the US was working on such a plan, it has not yet been shown to the Iranians, let alone secured their agreement.

The May 2025 15-point plan, described by the US as a term sheet, was a plan put forward unilaterally by the US side containing a large number of proposals that Iran would find difficult to accept, including restrictions applied to Irans use of the money released by sanctions. The plan promised to end only nuclear-related sanctions as opposed to all sanctions including human rights sanctions.

The money released by sanctions being lifted could not be used to fund its ballistic missile programme, the US proposed. The plan proposed all uranium stockpiles would be shipped out of Iran immediately as well as down-blended to 3,67%. All its enrichment facilities would be made unusable within a month and centrifuges would be rendered inoperable. The US would help fund a new Iranian civil nuclear programme with a fuel farm outside Iran and subject to inspection by the UN watchdog.

A regional enrichment consortium would be established involving Iran, the US, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The consortium could have an outside manager

Iran, in any new talks probably overseen by Pakistan and held in Islamabad, would likely seek that the discussions focus on some kind of hard to deliver undertaking that the US will not mount further military attacks on Iran.

The issue of freedom of navigation along the strait of Hormuz would also have to be addressed by Iran. The Gulf states will also be looking for some kind of guarantees from Iran through a non-aggression pact.

As a result, it is likely any deal will be even harder to strike than the previous US-Iran talks since the number of issues have spiralled well beyond simply Irans nuclear programme, the chief focus of the 15-point plan. The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, confirmed Pakistans offer of talks on Tuesday, and there were hopes that JD Vance would attend, a presence that would go some way to assuage Iran since he is seen as a sceptic about the war.

The splits between the US and the rest of the G7 industrialised nations about the wisdom of launching the attack on Iran will be laid bare on Thursday and Friday at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Paris.

Due to be attended by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the Iran war is due to be discussed on Friday lunchtime, but France, Germany, Italy, UK, Canada and Japan have all said that they do not support what they regard as an unlawful and unnecessary war.

The six countries all stress they are acting to help defend Gulf allies, national interests in the region and promote freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz, but that an intervention that could only occur after there is a ceasefire.
President Donald Trump reportedly voted by mail in an upcoming local special election in Florida, despite the Republicans frequent and false claims that mail-in voting is plagued with fraud.

The president cast a mail-in ballot in his home county of Palm Beach as part of a race for the state legislature, The Washington Post reports, even though the Republican was in the area over the weekend when early in-person voting was available.

In a Truth Social post on Monday, the president encouraged voters to take part in the very important special election and shared a link to help find their voting location. The post did not mention Trump wouldnt be joining Floridians in person at the polls.

The Trump administration dismissed the Posts reporting, calling it a non-story because its well known that the president uses mail-in voting, given that his main residence most of the time is the White House.

The president has voted multiple times by mail in the past, including in the 2020 presidential primary and a 2021 Florida election.

President Trump reportedly used a mail-in ballot to vote in an upcoming Florida special election, even though he has repeatedly attacked mail ballots as fraud and is pushing to restrict mail-in voting nationwide (Reuters)

Still, the mail-in ballot was something of an irony, given the presidents long-running attacks on the practice, which continued on Monday.

"Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating, he said while speaking with law enforcement members during a visit to Memphis. I call it mail-in cheating, and we [have] got to do something about it all.

The president, who has repeatedly and falsely tied his 2020 election loss to the virtually non-existent phenomenon of mass voting fraud, is also a driving force behind the GOPs SAVE America Act.

The bill seeks to impose new ID requirements for federal elections, including when voting by mail.

The White House says its fine for the president to vote by mail, given that he spends much of his time away from his current home state of Florida (Getty)

Negotiations around the bill have gummed up the rest of Congress, with the president saying he wont sign new bills until the SAVE America Act lands on his desk, even though the Senate appears unlikely to advance the bill in the face of Democratic opposition.

The Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a case over whether states can keep counting mail-in ballots that arrive late.

All 50 states require ballots be cast or postmarked on or before Election Day, but 14 states have grace periods allowing for delayed counting that can last weeks.
President Donald Trumps approval rating with men has tumbled over the last few months, signaling that the key demographic that helped him get elected is no longer resonating with the presidents agenda.

Across the board, polling from Fox News, Reuters/Ipsos, Quinnipiac University, CBS News/YouGov and more show that men are more skeptical of the president after his first year in office  which could pose a problem for Republicans heading into the midterms.

Between July 2025 and March 2026, the number of men who disapprove of Trumps handling of the presidency increased by 11 percentage points, according to Fox News. Polls conducted between February 2025 and March 2026 by CBS News/YouGov determined that Trumps disapproval increased by 14 percentage points among men.

I think it is very difficult for Republicans to do well in this midterm cycle if Donald Trump is underwater with men, CNN pollster Harry Enten said Tuesday on CNN News Central.

But within that demographic, Enten said his analysis found that Trump had a -19-point net approval among men under the age of 45 compared to approval numbers in November 2024.

Trump's support with men, a voting demographic that helped him win the 2024 presidential election, has declined over the last year by as much as 14 percentage points (AFP via Getty Images)

Young men helped Trump secure the presidency with more than half of men under the age of 30 casting their ballot for Trump, according to AP VoteCast. That was all thanks to the Trump campaigns focus on appealing to issues that directly impact young men  on platforms used by young men.

On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump made time for unconventional media, such as podcasters Logan Paul and Theo Von, live streamer Adin Ross, and YouTubers The Nelk Boys.

The president appealed directly to the demographic, promising to make life more affordable, open up more business opportunities and remove undocumented immigrants from the country.

But that same demographic appears to be disappointed in the presidents execution of those promises, polls show. Among the major issues cited in the polls, the economy and cost of living were a top problem, particularly for young men, Enten said.

Fox Newss recent poll found that 65 percent of men disapproved of Trumps handling of the cost of living. Among 30-year-olds, including women, disapproval was 78 percent.

More than half of men under the age of 30 voted for Donald Trump in 2024, according to AP VoteCast (AFP via Getty Images)

CBS News/YouGovs recent poll determined 59 percent of men disapproved of Trumps handling of the economy. Among voters under the age of 30, it was 60 percent.

While most polls have found Trumps approval with men dropped over the last year, the percentage point decrease varied across polls.

Quinnipiac University polling determined mens disapproval increased by three percentage points between July 2025 and March 2026.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that disapproval among men increased by 11 percentage points from March 2025 to March 2026.

Polling from the Economist/YouGov found that between March 2025 and March 2026, Trumps disapproval rating among men increased eight percentage points.
SAN ANTONIO, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nopalera, a San Antonio-based premium beauty and lifestyle brand founded by Sandra Velasquez, has closed a $4 million funding round led by Morgan Stanley's Next Level Fund, co-led by L'ATTITUDE Ventures, with supporting investors including Sixty8 Capital, Siddhi Capital, Portfolia, Wealthing Club, Alamo Angels, Juniper Growth, Black and Latino Angel Fund, and 14 private investors positioning the fast-growing company to expand its retail presence and product offerings.

Sandra Velasquez, founder of Nopalera, a San Antonio-based premium beauty and lifestyle brand, secures a $4 million funding round led by Morgan Stanleys Next Level Fund, co-led by LATTITUDE Ventures, with supporting investors. Photo Credit: Amanda Lopez.

Launched in 2020 during the pandemic, Nopalera is a "modern Mexican lifestyle brand made for the modern beauty explorer," offering signature fragrances, hair care, bath and body products, and candles. Its products are sold at Ulta.com, Ulta Mexico, Ulta Middle East, Credo Beauty, Mecca, Amazon, hundreds of independents nationwide, and its own website.

"We are thrilled to welcome Morgan Stanley to the cap table and board of directors and are grateful to L'ATTITUDE both our existing and new investors for their belief in what we are building at Nopalera. This new round will allow us to meet the expansion opportunities in front of us," said Velasquez.

Velasquez's foray into the beauty industry began in her New York City apartment in 2019 while she was between jobs. Her vision was to redefine how Latino culture is represented in the global beauty industry and grow her brand into a household name both within her own community and beyond.

San Diego-based L'ATTITUDE Ventures, the largest Latino-focused early-stage venture capital fund investing in Latino(a) entrepreneurs, has been an early supporter of Velasquez and her brand's growth and continues to do so.

"Her achievement stands as a powerful reminder that success is possibleeven in an ecosystem where the odds are often stacked against diverse founders," said L'ATTITUDE Ventures General Partner Laura Moreno Lucas. "Women-led startups receive only about 2 % of U.S. venture capital funding, and Latina founders receive even less. Sandra's success shows the growing impact and potential of outperforming founders."

About Nopalera

Created by Sandra Velasquez, Nopalera is a modern Mexican lifestyle brand designed for today's beauty explorer. Through bold fragrances that transport customers to the heart of Mexico City and unique product formats that deliver hydration, Nopalera offers an exploration of shared culture and courage for today's global generation of beauty consumers. For more information, visit https://nopalera.co/ .

About L'ATTITUDE Ventures

With over $100 million in assets under management, L'ATTITUDE Ventures is the largest Latino early-stage venture capital fund investing in technology-first visionary entrepreneurs. The fund provides capital, support, connections, and visibility to empower founders building the next generation of innovative companies.

Led by Co-Founder and Managing Partner Sol Trujillo, and joined by partners Oscar Munoz, Laura Moreno Lucas, and Pete Amaro, the team brings together experienced investors, proven entrepreneurs, and global Fortune 100 executives to create value beyond capital. For more information, visit https://lattitudeventures.com.

Media Contact:

Marie Lazzara

JJR Marketing

630-400-3361

[email protected]

SOURCE Nopalera; L'ATTITUDE Ventures
Trump would not say who the US had been dealing with in Iran. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images (Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

There have been so many abortive rounds of diplomacy between the US and Iran  the latest appearing to be led by Pakistan after Washington has burned through many other regional mediators  that it was hardly a surprise that President Trumps claims of very good talks with Tehran initially provoked disbelief  especially after Iran denied that any negotiations were taking place at all.

Nonetheless, standing beside Air Force One, Trump did his best to sell the sudden detente with little detail as a US ultimatum to bomb Irans power plants loomed unless Tehran opened up the strait of Hormuz. It was lost on few that the sudden about-face came just hours before US markets were to open for what promised to be another punishing round of trading on Monday.

Asked who the US was negotiating with in Iran, Trump said: We are dealing with a man that I believe is the most respected, not the supreme leader, we have not heard from him. Asked to name the person, Trump suggested he could be targeted if he did so: I cant. I dont want them to be killed.

His description of the terms of a deal was similarly shaky. Iran would not have a nuclear weapon, he said, but control over the strait of Hormuz would be held by maybe me, me and the Ayatollah  whoever the next Ayatollah is. And there will also be some form of regime change, very serious regime change. Once again, envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, were leading the talks.

The reported interlocutor of the United States is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the parliament of Iran, who previously served as an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander and has steadily baited and mocked Trump on social media since the outbreak of hostilities.

Ghalibaf has already denied that he or anyone in Irans government is speaking with the United States and claimed that Trump was seeking to mitigate the financial damage done by Irans closure of the strait of Hormuz. No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped, said Ghalibaf.

While any negotiations face an uphill battle, it is clear that they are moving with a renewed push from Pakistan, an ally of the United States, with which Iran has close ties, as well as other regional powers outside the Gulf, including Egypt and Turkey.

Irans foreign ministry has said that in recent days it received messages from some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war, according to spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, but denied there were ongoing talks directly between Iran and the United States.

The talks have been met with a tentative welcome by international leaders, including Keir Starmer, who made the point that the United Kingdom was aware of the talks in the first place.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader who has sought to manoeuvre Trump into providing Israel further support for the conflict, said on Monday that he had spoken with Trump and sought to present a potential deal as one that could safeguard Israels interests.

Trump believes that there is a chance to leverage the massive achievements of the IDF and the US military in order to achieve the goals of the war through an agreement  an agreement that protects our vital interests, Netanyahu said in the statement.

Yet Israel, which has taken the lead in assassinating successive levels of Irans leadership since 28 February, may not be ready to cut a deal just yet. Israel is continuing to strike, in Iran and in Lebanon, he said.

The latest negotiations may also be another way for Trump to buy time, especially with oil and energy markets. The Pentagon is still moving marines and airborne soldiers into position, and the coming days will see the US poised for a strike or potential occupation of Irans islands or coastline that would allow the reopening of the strait of Hormuz  a likely contingency plan for Trump if he cannot produce a diplomatic triumph at this late hour.
Iran is the clear winner as Trumps desperate bid for peace shows he wants out of the war

Determined to humiliate Donald Trumps efforts to extract his country from a war he started, Tehran launched waves of attacks across the Arabian Gulf and sneered at his peaceful overtures.

No matter that a 15-point plan has been put forward by the US and Pakistan has said it hopes to host direct talks between the US and Iran sometime this week, Irans securocrats have seen an opportunity. Trump wants to get out of the conflict that Israel does not believe has achieved its aims.

Irans regime has fomented instability across the Middle East for decades. It has killed Americans and many other Westerners, run Hezbollah in Lebanon, and backed Hamas in Gaza.

And yet the global perspective is that the war, which is already hobbling global fuel supplies and will have far greater economic consequences, is all the fault of America and Israel.

A Palestinian man climbs on the remnants of an Iranian missile that landed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank village of Hares on Tuesday (AFP/Getty)

The ayatollahs blame the Great Satan, the US, and Little Satan, Israel, and even its enemies and rivals agree.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germanys largely ceremonial president, waded in with his assessment of the war being prosecuted by Trump and Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling it a politically disastrous mistake.

In my view, this war is contrary to international law, said the Nato members president.

Trump has variously claimed that Irans nuclear capability had been obliterated last summer, that Tehran was on the verge of attacking Israel with nuclear weapons in February, and that 100 per cent of Irans military capability had been destroyed, but that if it continued to throttle shipping in the Straits of Hormuz, then it would suffer even greater levels of destruction.

The behaviour of the US president towards his allies in Nato  he has threatened to invade two of them and cut military support for Ukraine, which is holding off Russian invaders who have designs on Nato members  has been noted in Tehran.

The extremist theologians and terrorist-backing gangsters in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have seen that Trump is an incoherent and unreliable ally.

Tehran has taken note that Donald Trump is an incoherent and unreliable ally to Nato members (AFP/Getty)

We were surprised by an American ally, who remains an ally, but who is becoming increasingly unpredictable and doesnt even bother to inform us when they decide to launch military operations, Fabien Mandon, the French army chief, told a security and defence forum in Paris.

It has an impact on our security and it has an impact on our interests.

That was mild stuff compared to what must be being said in the Tel Aviv headquarters of the Israeli defence ministry, where planners still have a very long list of targets they intend to attack in Iran, but can see the US president backing out of any greater role in bombing their enemy.

US aims in Iran are opaque: regime change, protection of civilian protesters, breaking the military, ending Irans nuclear programme. The consequences of trying to do so have never been obscure, apart from to the White House.

That Iran would defend itself, survive the decapitation of its leadership, attack US allies in the Gulf and close the Straits of Hormuz were blindingly obvious. They were the risks that Israel was prepared to take in an effort to destroy a regime that threatens its existence.

Israel has been asked by the US to hold off on attacking Irans energy systems, alongside a five-day pause in US bombardment of power plants ordered by Trump. He said this was to allow talks to advance, which he claimed had gone well.

Iran was quick to insist there had been no direct negotiations and immediately launched attacks across the Gulf region, while it also continued to suffer strikes by the US and Israel across its territory.

A man stands on the rubbles of a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, southern Beirut (Hussein Malla/AP)

With oil at times surging above $110 (82) a barrel and gas prices also skyrocketing because of the closure of the Strait, the Iranians know that the longer they can hang on, the greater the chance Trump will leave just Israel in the fight.

A fifth of the worlds oil and gas usually travels through the 21-mile-wide chokepoint, where Iran now has its foot on the neck of the global energy economy.

But between 25 and 30 per cent of the worlds fertiliser also goes through this artery, and around 50 per cent of the worlds urea, an essential ingredient in industrial fertilisers.

Trump is coming under pressure because of a surge in petrol prices at home. Global food production also hangs in the balance, and if, soon, farmers cannot get access to or afford to buy ingredients to make their crops flourish, there will be shortages, and the instability in the Middle East is certain to spread.

For Israel, this is another reason to wipe out the regime in Tehran. The Iranian governments ability to survive and continue to fight means, to Netanyahu, that the only option is more war.

Rescue workers and first responders work at a residential building hit in an earlier US-Israeli strike in Tehran (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Trump saw no obvious downsides to attacking Iran. He did not see the economic consequences and diplomatic isolation, which have undermined him at home and made him look variously mad or dim abroad.

But they are swimming into focus now.

Iran is reportedly demanding that it be left with a sovereign choice of nuclear developments, keep its nuclear programme, and see the back of American forces now based in the Gulf as conditions for a ceasefire.

Trump demands the opposite. US troops are heading to the Gulf. But he clearly wants out of the whole farrago.

That would leave Israel alone, unable to change Irans regime, very short of victory and blamed by its recently acquired friends in the UAE and Bahrain for shattering their peace and economies for decades.

Tehran will see that as a win.
Passengers wait in a long TSA security screening checkpoint line inside the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta international airport in Atlanta, Georgia, on 23 March 2026. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA (Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA)

Workers with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are reeling from the White Houses deployment of immigration law enforcement into airports as TSA workers enter their sixth week without pay as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown continues.

More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began in February, with major US airports reporting high call-out rates among workers, leading to longer security wait times. On Sunday, more than, 3,450 TSA officers called out of work, with as many as 40% of officers at some airports calling out that day, according to DHS data.

Related: Tell us: are you travelling in the US during the TSA staff shortage?

Senate Republicans are still trying to work with the White House to negotiate a deal with Democrats to reopen the DHS. To help with the TSA staffing issues, Donald Trump sent Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) officers to 14 different airports on Monday.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents TSA workers, said in a statement on Sunday that these ICE agents are unqualified to do the same jobs as TSA officers.

ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints  skills that require specialized instruction, hands-on practice and ongoing recertification, said Everett Kelley, the AFGE president. You cannot improvise that. Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one.

Antoinette Wade, president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1047 that represents TSA workers in Louisiana and Mississippi and a TSA officer in Jackson, Mississippi, said the influx of ICE agents has deflated TSA workers, especially as ICE agents continue to be paid during the shutdown.

It definitely impacts morale when were are expected to show up to work every day and fulfill the duties and the missions that we love and support, keeping the public safe, and were not being paid, Wade said. A lot of people are skeptical about it and definitely offended by it. Basically, we need to be paid.

Democrats in Congress said they will not fund DHS until Republicans agree to ICE reforms after the agencys immigration enforcement operations resulted in the killing of two unarmed US citizens in Minnesota in January, in addition to accusations from federal judges that the agency has been recklessly violating the law and court orders.

Though John Thune, the Senate majority leader, spoke with Trump on Sunday about a bipartisan deal that would fund DHS except for ICE, leaving the agency to be funded by a reconciliation bill later this year, Trump rejected the deal, reported Punchbowl News.

Wade said TSA workers were still recovering from the earlier government shutdown in the fall.

A lot of people took out loans, maxed out credit cards, did what they had to do to survive during that time, said Wade. We had to catch up on all of our bills right in the peak of the holiday season. So people are still paying back some of those loans.

That shutdown lasted for 43 days, but Wade noted backpay wasnt processed for several days after the shutdown ended. Now workers again dont know how long this shutdown is going to last and when they will eventually be paid.

She emphasized that the high cost of gas recently and family members also feeling the economic impacts of rising prices of goods have made it more difficult for TSA workers to work unpaid again during another shutdown.

This shutdown definitely feels a lot different, more intense, and it feels like its coming quicker, and the anxiety and the stress is coming quicker than last time, said Wade. Were just in the middle of all the chaos from these political games; meanwhile, our livelihoods are at stake.

Lauren Bis, the acting DHS assistant secretary, blamed Democrats for the shutdown in a statement, saying that this pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland security workforce has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work because they are not able to afford gas, childcare, food, or rent.

Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted, Bis said. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.

The White House made a similar claim in blaming Democrats, despite Trump turning down a deal offered by Senate Republicans.

Democrats decided to recklessly shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Their decision has forced countless TSA employees to work without pay. Democrats could end this shutdown by simply funding the Department, said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in an email.
A major crackdown on rip-off vets bills for Britains 17 million pet owners was unveiled today by the competition watch-dog after a two and half year investigation.

In the biggest regulatory shake-up of the 6.7 billion sector in 60 years the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered new legally binding reforms including clear price lists, prescription fee caps, a price comparison website, and mandatory branding by the large groups to boost competition and drive down prices.

There will also be a new cap of 21 for a written prescription, and pet owners will have to be given a written estimate in advance for any treatment expected to cost 500 or more plus an itemised bill. The only exception will be emergency care.

The CMA said pet owners using a vet practice that is part of a larger chain can expect to see changes before Christmas.

The CMAs report and measures follows a two year independent inquiry that concluded that a lack of information is leading to weak competition and high prices.

It founds that currently fewer than 40% of practices have prices on their websites - and those that do cover few services and are often hard to find. In future practices will have to publish a comprehensive price list for standard services - including consultations, common procedures, diagnostics, written prescriptions and cremation options.

Martin Coleman, chair of the independent Inquiry Group, said: "This is the most extensive review of veterinary services in a generation, and today's reforms will make a real difference to the millions of pet owners who want the best for their pets but struggle to find the practice, treatment and price that meets their needs.

"Too often, people are left in the dark about who owns their practice, treatment options and prices - even when facing bills running into thousands of pounds. Our measures mean it will be made clear to pet owners which practices are part of large groups, which are charging higher prices, and for the first time, vet businesses will be held to account by an independent regulator.

"Our changes put pet owners at the centre but also help vets by enhancing trust in the profession and protecting clinical judgement from undue commercial pressure - and that is important to ensure our pets continue to get the best care."

Other new requirements include signage making it clear if a practice is part of a bigger chain, and a centralised price comparison service through Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons which will share the data with third-party comparison sites.

One of the biggest vet chains CVS said it welcomes the certainty that this morning's announcement brings after more than two and half years of CMA scrutiny.

It added: Whilst we continue to believe that some of these remedies are not fully justified, we are comfortable with them and believe they are workable. We already comply with many remedies and are well advanced in complying with others, with price lists published on our practice websites in late 2025 and 117 CVS UK companion animal practices already jointly branded.

Mike Thornhill, managing director of Viovet, one of the UKs largest online veterinary suppliers, said:"These measures announced by the CMA support consumer choice.

Pets are cherished family members but looking after them is an increasingly daunting task, due to squeezed household budgets. With all vet practices now required to provide clear pricing, itemised bills and visibility of cheaper online medicine options, these new rules will help pet parents weigh up treatment decisions that work for their wallets as well as the health of their pets.

The CMA now has six months to put in place legally binding orders on businesses and to accept undertakings from the RCVS or impose a legally binding order, to implement these remedies. They will be in place by 23 September 2026.

Once the orders are made, nearly all reforms will be in place in the following three to 12 months. In most cases smaller veterinary businesses will have 3 months longer to implement the proposed changes than larger businesses.

The original call for information in September 2023 brought an unprecedented 56,000 responses - including 45,000 from the general public and 11,000 responses from those working in the veterinary industry, which equates to around a fifth of UK vets and veterinary nurses.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: "We are grateful for all the work of the Competition and Markets Authority. This government is focused on helping families save money on vet services by improving transparency and choice around pricing, so the public can make informed decisions about their pets' care. We will respond to the report and set out next steps for our proposed reforms in due course."
Veteran journalist Bob Woodward is set to release his latest book, an unprecedented memoir that delves into the very process of how he has uncovered decades of Washingtons most closely guarded secrets.

Titled Secrets: A Reporters Memoir, the book promises Woodwards personal insights into the government leaders he has encountered and the groundbreaking news he has helped reveal, from the Watergate scandal to the inner workings of the Trump administration.

Simon & Schuster announced on Tuesday that Secrets will be published on 29 September.

The publishers statement highlights the unique nature of the forthcoming work: "He has kept notes, transcripts and files of all of his interviews with the most important players in Washington." It adds, "For the first time in this one-of-a-kind reporting memoir, Woodward lifts the lid on his historic reporting relationships, some spanning several decades."

Bob Woodward appears at the 2019 PEN America Literary Gala in New York on May 21, 2019 (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Woodward, who turns 83 this week, rose to prominence in the 1970s alongside fellow Washington Post journalist Carl Bernstein, playing a pivotal role in exposing the Watergate scandal and other revelations about the Nixon administration that ultimately led to President Richard Nixon's resignation.

His extensive bibliography includes more than 20 bestsellers, such as All the Presidents Men, Bush at War and the Trump-focused books Rage and Fear.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Woodward explained his motivation for the new book, stating it was a chance to "get into the reporting process in detail."

He noted his extensive, hours-long conversations with presidents and other key figures, adding, "Ive had the benefit of not being in a hurry."

This cover image released by Simon & Schuster for Secrets: A Reporter's Memoir by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster via AP)

While many of his previous works have chronicled current administrations, often timed for election years, Woodward had expressed uncertainty about writing further on Trump after his 2024 win, having already covered his first term.

"I think we know who he is," Woodward remarked this week. "Hes so transparent. Hes out there talking, two or three hours a day."
Russia launched its largest daytime aerial attacks on Ukraine since the war began, hitting the country with 948 drones across 24 hours.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president, condemned Russias absolute depravity after the strikes killed civilians, targeted residential homes and hit a Unesco heritage site.

In an unusual daytime salvo, Russia fired 550 drones without the cover of darkness, killing three people and wounding several dozen in the western city of Lviv, near the Polish border.

Two more people were killed and a maternity hospital was damaged in a drone strike on the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, with another person killed in the central Vinnytsia region.

A blaze in the historic centre of Lviv, in western Ukraine after Russian strikes targeted a Unesco listed monastery - MYKOLA TYS/EPA/Shutterstock

The assault followed an overnight barrage on residential buildings in several cities that killed another five people.

This is absolute depravity, and only someone like Putin could find this appealing, Mr Zelensky said of the attack on Lviv, which has been spared from most of the war owing to its distance from the front.

The scale of this attack makes it abundantly clear that Russia has no intention of actually ending this war, Mr Zelensky said in his daily address, promising Ukraine will certainly respond to any attacks.

A large blaze erupted in Lvivs Unesco-listed 17th-century St Andrews Church and Bernardine Monastery in the city centre, which was struck during evening rush hour. Residents had been seen sheltering inside the church during the attack.



Tetiana Kachkovska, a resident, saw the drone glide past the fifth-floor window of her workplace. My hands were shaking, my legs were shaking, she told Reuters. You cant get used to this.

A spokesman for Ukraines air force, Yuriy Ignat, said: I dont recall there being such daytime strikes with this number of drones.

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of the attack in Lviv - MYKOLA TYS/EPA/Shutterstock

Moscow typically fires its relentless barrages against Ukrainian cities overnight.

On the battlefield, Russia has been reported to be moving heavy equipment and more troops to the front line.

Ukraines military has warned that Moscows forces are trying to break through defensive lines at key points across the entire 640-mile front.

Fierce fighting unfolded along the entire line of contact, General Oleksandr Syrskii, Ukraines commander-in-chief said on Monday. He reported that Russia had launched 619 attacks in four days and that Ukraine had deployed reinforcements to counter the assaults.

Boys at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in central Lviv - Anastasiia Smolienko/REUTERS

The latest attacks come as Ukraine is increasingly concerned over its dwindling supplies of US air defences as Washington exhausts its stockpiles defending against Iranian attacks in the Middle East.

As the conflict continues to cascade across the region, a third round of US-brokered peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv has been derailed.

Ukraine sent a delegation to the United States last weekend in an effort to revive the negotiation process, but the effort yielded no immediate results.

Kyiv has been seeking to trade its anti-drone technology and expertise for conventional air defence missiles, which it urgently needs, and has dispatched around 200 of its military experts to Gulf countries facing Iranian drone attacks.

Firefighters at the site of a building damaged during overnight Russian drone and missile strikes in Poltava - STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE/Reuters

Russia attacked two districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region with drones and artillery more than 20 times, according to Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the regional military administration.

A 76-year-old woman was wounded and taken to hospital, Mr Ganzha posted on Telegram.

In Sumy, the 65-year-old driver of an empty minibus was injured when his vehicle was hit by a drone.

Russias defence ministry said that its air defences intercepted 55 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles over various regions.

Russias Federal Security Service (FSB), police and the national guard in Moscow were put on higher alert because of intelligence that there was a threat of sabotage by Ukraine, Russias state news agency, RIA, reported on Tuesday.

During the four-year war between Russia and Ukraine, both sides have carried out attacks far behind the front lines, using drones and sabotage units to kill and attack critical infrastructure.

RIA said that the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, had received intelligence that Ukraine planned acts of sabotage and attacks on government officials, military personnel of the Russian defence ministry and law enforcement officers.

Lt Gen Vladimir Alexeyev, the deputy head of Russias GRU military intelligence service, was shot three times in February in an apartment block in northern Moscow. He survived the attack.
Bob Monkhouse left his joke books to one of his writers on his death in 2003 - David Cheskin/PA

Bob Monkhouses notebooks were rejected by the BBCs The Repair Shop because producers deemed some of their jokes sexist and racist.

The comedian, who died in 2003, kept leather-bound books for decades that he filled with drawings and ideas for gags. They were put forward for restoration on an episode of the reality show.

But The Telegraph understands producers ruled that Monkhouses material was too racially offensive for a contemporary audience.

Insiders believed some of the material  which included parts dated from the 1960s  was so strong as to leave no question about whether it could be included in a family programme.

Ricochet, the series producer, decided against filming the notebooks, fearing that skirting around their offensive jokes risked a rebuke from Ofcom for misleading the audience.

It was understood BBC bosses backed their decision.

Monkhouse pictured in 1954, near the start of a 50-year career in show business - Maurice Ambler/Getty Images

Joanna Ball, the managing director of Ricochet, said: We planned to fix the joke book, but when we got it to the barn and saw it in its entirety, we realised it contained many jokes that were not appropriate for a programme.

We explained this to the family and returned the book to them.

The notebooks were brought to the programme by Abigail Williams, Monkhouses daughter, and Colin Edmonds, the joke-writer who is their legal owner.

Mr Edmonds worked as a writer for Monkhouse, and was left the books on the comedians death in 2003.

They are filled with cartoons, including sketches of topless women, and jokes written in different inks to represent their subject matter.

Some entries are the first drafts of Monkhouses best-known lines, including: I want to die like my father, peacefully in his sleep, not screaming and terrified, like his passengers.

Mr Edmonds, speaking about the volumes in 2015, gave an indication of their content: They are of their time. There are things that were acceptable in the Seventies which one wouldnt dream of saying today.

The Repair Shop is reality TV format in which members of the public bring items with sentimental value to be fixed by the shows experts - Christopher Pledger for The Telegraph

It is not known which jokes were deemed unacceptable by producers at Ricochet and decision-makers at the BBC.

Monkhouse was famed more for his wordplay than any racial content of his jokes, unlike contemporaries such as Bernard Manning.

However, Monkhouses material did touch on race. In the 1994 live show, Bob Monkhouse Exposes Himself, he made jokes about Indian corner-shop owners, the Chinese, and the Japanese, complete with impressions.

He often spoke of how his jokes were on the edge, but insisted he was not racist.

In the set-up of one gag, he stated: The Arabs have no jokes, and Im not being racist here, its a fact. The Arabs are culturally different to us.

The joke concluded: In the Middle East, if you commit adultery, you get stoned. Now, you and I, we do that the other way around.

Once one of the best-known faces on British television, Monkhouse began his career writing for radio before hosting quiz shows in the 1950s, which earned him roles in several Carry On films.

He later had his own BBC chat show, The Bob Monkhouse Show.
The cargo ship M/V Seaway Hawk transports decommissioned Avenger-class minesweepers - USN

The Royal Navy could charter civilian ships to help clear Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Britain is leading an international coalition of allies, including France and the US, in drawing up options to reopen the narrow shipping lane.

Chartered vessels would act as mine-hunting motherships, deploying drones from their decks to seek out and destroy hidden underwater explosives across the Gulf.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the UKs military, is understood to be considering bolstering the Navys mine-hunting fleet by acquiring commercial vessels.

Were in day-to-day dialogue with industry, a defence source said on Tuesday. Those vessels are literally all over the world.

Youve got an opportunity, potentially with some of this capability, to charter vessels and use a much more commercial model around which you can build with White Ensign or international warships offering force protection around it.

Naval chiefs are also considering converting some of the Royal Fleet Auxiliarys (RFA) three Bay-class landing ships, which are all out of action, into potential mine-hunting vessels. All of those are being explored as we start to bring to life what this could look like with international partners, a military official added.

Echoes of Dunkirk

The Navy has not confirmed which civilian vessels could serve as the new floating drone hubs.

However, it is thought that large ships with open deck space or those capable of launching submersibles  such as the Polar Prince, a former Canadian icebreaker that deployed the doomed Titan submersible  are among those that might work.

The move has similarities to the Admiraltys scramble to requisition 850 little boats during the Second World War to rescue 338,000 Allied troops stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940.

The plan resembles the Admiraltys scramble to requisition a flotilla to rescue Allied troops stranded in Dunkirk in 1940 - Getty Images

Military chiefs said they wanted to accelerate the development of the Navys mine-hunting force, which is in the middle of shifting from old crewed vessels to a robotic force of drones.

Britain removed its last traditional mine-hunting vessel, HMS Middleton, from Bahrain earlier this year, leaving no UK naval ship in the region for the first time in 40 years. Previously, four mine-hunters would have been deployed to defend the Strait of Hormuz.

The Government has already spent 40m on a mine-hunting mothership, which was commissioned into the Navy in June last year, under the name HMS Stirling Castle. The ship was previously a civilian vessel before it joined the RFA in 2023 and then the Navy.

The mission to open the Strait of Hormuz could also involve uncrewed boats and Type 45 destroyers, or just the latter, working alongside allied ships to offer force protection to tankers as they transit through the waterway, UK officials added.

Large ships with open deck space or those capable of launching submersibles  such as the Polar Prince, are among the vessels that could be used

Some 20 per cent of the worlds oil is shipped through the narrow passageway, but the flow has been paralysed because of Iranian threats to tankers off its coast.

Iran has laid at least a dozen Maham 3 and Maham 7 limpet mines in the channel, US intelligence officials have claimed. The Iranian-manufactured Maham 3 is a moored naval mine that uses magnetic sensors to detect nearby vessels without physical contact, while the Maham 7 limpet mine is a compact, high-explosive sticking mine.

The intelligence assessment, first reported by CBS, follows Donald Trumps announcement of a five-day ceasefire on Iranian energy targets on Monday, after he said peace talks with the Islamic Republic were progressing.

The president said on Tuesday that Iran had made a major energy-related concession to the US, suggesting it was related to the Strait of Hormuz.

They gave us a present and the present arrived today, and it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money, he said in the Oval Office.

It is understood that the UK was planning to host a Strait of Hormuz security conference in Portsmouth or London in the coming days as it seeks to work out its response.

Sir Richard is also expected to meet other foreign defence chiefs later this week to discuss the crisis.
Nila Patel succumbed to her injuries two days after the attack - Leicestershire Police/PA Wire

A cannabis dealer laughed at police while being interviewed about stamping on the head of a mother-of-two in a random fatal attack.

Chukwuemeka Michael Ahanonu, 24, attacked Nila Patel, 56, after flipping his BMW near Leicester Royal Infirmary on June 24 last year.

CCTV captured the crash and Ahanonu driving erratically through the city centre, swerving across lanes, through traffic lights and towards a busy bus stop and pedestrians crossing the road.

Ahanonu emerged from the wreckage of his BMW unscathed before targeting Ms Patel at random, punching her and stamping on her head. She died in hospital two days later, having suffered injuries including a fractured skull and a brain injury.

Ahanonu, originally from Peckham, south-east London, but living in Leicester at the time of the incident, admitted manslaughter but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He was found guilty of murder at Leicester crown court on Monday and was jailed for life with a minimum of 21-and-a-half years on Tuesday.

After his arrest, it was found that Ahanonu had been smoking cannabis and had dealer bags of the drug with him in the vehicle.

During a police interview, Ahanonu stated he could only remember the collision and could not remember attacking Ms Patel.

He told officers: I dont remember even doing this. I cant remember anything, do you understand?

After being shown footage of the incident, he began laughing, and an officer asked him: Why are you laughing? He replied: Because if I dont laugh, Ill cry. If I dont laugh Ill cry, Im in so much pain.

Judge Timothy Spencer KC said that the murder was partly racially motivated, revealing that he had talked about dirty Asians.

Sentencing Ahanonu, the judge said: You murdered a wholly innocent woman. It was shocking, brutal and merciless.

You were angry, you were looking for a victim. You selected her, in my judgment, because of three things.

One was her gender, a woman  you would not have attacked a man. The second was her build and her height  5ft 4in tall and of slight build. She was vulnerable. The third thing, Im satisfied, was her race. In an unguarded moment, you talked about dirty Asians.

The pain of losing her in this way is impossible to accept

Ahanonu listened in the dock wearing a dark grey jacket and tracksuit bottoms while Ms Patels son and daughter, Jaidan and Danika Patel, read victim impact statements to the court.

Mr Patel told the defendant: Nine months ago today, you murdered our mother. The pain of losing her in this way is impossible to accept.

Ms Patels daughter, who was 21 at the time of the attack, said she will never be able to make sense of the cruelty and randomness of it.

Speaking outside court, Danika Patel said: Our mum was not just a name in this case. She was a loving mother, a daughter, a sister and a friend, and the heart of our family. We are still trying to process the shock and trauma of losing Mum in such a sudden and violent way.

Paul Raudnitz KC, defending Ahanonu, claimed the defendant had no memory of his violence that day and was shocked when he saw footage of the awfulness of what he had done.

But Judge Spencer told the defendant: Im quite satisfied you retain much more memory of this attack than you have ever had the courage to admit.

Jurors previously heard that Ahanonu was claiming Universal Credit despite running a drugs business, from which he claimed he could earn 10,000 a month.

Det Con Rich Gamage, of Leicestershire Police, said: This was the most horrific, violent and random attack by a stranger on a kind, gentle and loving woman who was simply making her way home.

It is hard to imagine what Nila Patel went through in those moments, and my thoughts continue to remain with her, and her family and friends who have suffered and continue to suffer the most horrendous distress and pain.
A killer faked a mental health crisis to distract police officers during a search for the victim, a court has heard.

Mohammed Durnion, 42, has been found guilty of manslaughter but cleared of murdering Reanne Coulson, a 33-year-old mother of two.

Police were alerted by neighbours who heard screaming and crying coming from Durnions flat in Coventry on May 21 last year.

Officers arrived minutes after the killing, with body-worn cameras capturing Durnion allegedly feigning a mental health crisis and slamming the door.

West Midlands Police searched the property using a mobile phone torch but failed to discover the body of Coulson, which had been hidden under a mattress.

Prosecutors alleged that Durnion had strangled Coulson and placed her body in a suitcase after police left. He then allegedly drove four miles to Binley Woods, near Coventry, where he dug a shallow grave on a bridleway and used petrol to set part of her body on fire. Her remains were found five weeks later.

Police were unable to find Ms Coulsons body, which had allegedly been hidden under a mattress - West Midlands Police/PA

Durnion denied killing Coulson at his flat, claiming she had died of an overdose. On Tuesday, jurors at Warwick Crown Court cleared Durnion of murder but convicted him of manslaughter by an 11-1 verdict.

Jurors also convicted Durnions friend and fellow ground worker Adam Moore of assisting an offender on May 22 by helping in the disposal of Coulsons body in Binley Woods.

Moore, 39, of Marlcroft, Willenhall, West Midlands, had denied the charge, claiming he had gone to the woods to look for Durnion.

Opening the case, Timothy Cray KC, the prosecutor, said Ms Coulson, a sex worker, had disappeared after attending a support group at a Catholic church on May 21, where she appeared to be well.

About an hour later, Durnions neighbour heard a woman screaming in fear and dialled 999 at 11.26pm.

The court heard that police were met by Durnion at the door who shouted Im losing my mind, leave me alone and theres nothing here.

Officers searched Durnions address in the early hours the following day, after he had left the property.

Mr Cray said: We say that the timing and circumstances suggest that this was a deliberate attack by a powerfully built man on a vulnerable and defenceless woman who he had taken back to his address.

The police did not find her body because he hid her and then he threw the uniformed officers off the scent. We suggest that he was acting and knew exactly what he was doing, which was to cover up the fact that he had killed Reanne and hidden her body inside his flat.

Durnion claimed Coulson had died from a drug overdose on a night on which he had also taken stupid amounts of cocaine and panicked.

He could give no explanation at his trial for severe neck and head injuries suffered by Coulson, who was 5ft 1in tall and weighed less than 9st.

Durnion initially refused to answer police questions after his arrest on June 24, but took officers to the makeshift grave after being shown footage of a media appeal by his victims relatives.

Mohammed Durnion took officers to the site where he had buried the body of Reanne Coulson - West Midlands Police

In the footage filmed in woodland on June 27 last year, Durnion could be seen pointing towards undergrowth, telling police she is under there and saying the body was deep enough.

West Midlands Police said a review of the circumstances around the search of the premises was carried out by its professional standards department.

In a statement, the force said: No misconduct was identified, although some opportunities for learning were identified and implemented. We informed Reannes family of the review and expressed our regret we were not able to find her on May 21. We have liaised with Reannes family throughout the investigation into her death.

A post-mortem examination was unable to establish a cause of death, police said, but it revealed that the victim appeared to have suffered head and neck injuries while still alive.

Both defendants will be sentenced on Thursday.